FA-200 Aero Subaru (oz12681)

About this Plan

Kyosho FA-200 Aero Subaru. Radio control scale model. Wingspan 1400 mm, for .35 - .45 4-cycle engine and 4 or 5 channels (optional flaps shown).

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Quote: "Hi Steve and Mary - A bit of a rare one. I bought the Kyosho FA-200 Aero Subaru from a local Craigslist seller and scanned the plans."

Update 21/12/2021: Added kit review from Radio Modeller, January 1984, thanks to RFJ.

Quote: "Radio Modeller. Kyosho Fuji FA-200 Aerosubaru. Reviewed by Alan Marshall.

UNLESS YOU ARE a follower of light civil aircraft you will probably never have heard of the FA-200 Aero Subaru. Subaru make motor cars and they make aircraft. This one is a low wing monoplane with fixed undercarriage and modelled by Kyosho as an 'authentic scale airplane kit' and, unusually, specifically for a .40 four-stroke.

Such description you would think merits a very detailed kit. Well, I can confirm straight away that this model is kitted very well, very much as we have come to expect from Japanese suppliers. The wood is all accurately cut even down to the chamfer on the leading and trailing edge spars. The ply formers are die cut and pop out with slight pressure from the finger. Wing ribs, and many other small components are supplied to finished size. This is not to say that it is a simple glue-together-by-numbers model, far from it, there is quite a lot of building to enjoy. You will need to buy wheels, hinges, clevises and covering material, otherwise you will find the kit quite complete.

Fuselage: Of all built up balsa construction the fuselage is sheet balsa around ply formers with the nose built up from balsa blocks. The wood for these in the kit reviewed might have been better chosen as the blocks were a mixture of weight, especially the top. This makes carving and sanding more difficult than need be if it were matched. However other than this there are no peculiarities. There is plenty of room both in the engine bay and under the cockpit.

The plan shows an OS 40 four-stroke fitted sideways. If you do this bang goes that 'authentic scale' since it comes out on the side. I chose to try two engines, the OS 40 four-stroke and an Enya 35 two-stroke. Fitting of these was inverted but fortunately the built up engine mount when turned round will allow this. The Enya will fit fully cowled and thus maintain appearance. The OS does show the tappet box using the scale outline cowl. (A slightly larger one does not detract anything from appearance if you choose).

It is worth noting here that some interpretation of the amusing translation style of the English on the plan can be confusing. All the building instructions are on the plan which itself is well detailed, perhaps in places too much so. My preference would have been for more descriptive notes to ensure the less experienced builder did not go astray.

The very large canopy moulding needs a little trimming and completes the fuselage to a fine standard. If you wish the cockpit floor will allow lowering if you decide to make the interior more scale like in appearance. I did this to mine, and the addition of a pilot plus cockpit detail, albeit simple, makes a big difference to the finished article.

The tailplane is a flat built up section. The fin a sheet construction. Very simple indeed.

Wing: The built up wing is a D section construction 18% semi-symmetrical in shape and each wing has 7 degrees of dihedral. Balsa block wing tips and solid aileron and flaps are used. The latter are ready finished to size and require no work. The wing tip blocks need final shaping and are shown hollowed on the plan.

Capping strips to the ribs and sheeting on the centre section of the wing are the only items needing to be cut from the wood provided. The aileron movement is by piano wire and bellcrank mounted on a ply inter-rib sheet. In my kit these two-ply sheets were too long and had to be cut. This was also true of the undercarriage blocks which are fitted into the ribs. Other than these items the wing was easily built mainly due to the excellent rib spar cut-outs allowing the spars to be fitted accurately and tightly such that the structure was stiff making fittings of leading and trailing edge spars simple and true.

The wing is held in position on the fuselage by three dowels at the front and a single plastic bolt fixing at the rear. Mylar hinges were used for both aileron and flaps. The latter being fitted at the top of the chamfer that has to be put on the flap if they are to be operational.

The centre wing rib is thicker and already shaped to allow the servo box to be made. If flaps are operational there will be needed extra bellcranks and supports as these are not included. Also the servo box will need to be matched to the layout of servos chosen.

The wing dihedral braces are ply and three in number. One on each side of the main spars and the third at the trailing edge. A ply brace is fitted flush to the leading edge forming a plate into which the wing dowels fit and which matches the fuselage contours, A balsa infill block gives the finishing line for the under wing to fair into the fuselage shape.

Finishing: A wide variety of techniques are open for use and I opted for the use of Solartex to cover everything. This choice was made because I wanted the combination of added strength, a shrink covering and the ability to paint over the colour scheme chosen. The paint used was Polykote.

The fuselage shape is such that with a little care the whole fuselage can be covered from one piece of covering material. The wing, tailplane and fin surface being done with two pieces, one top and bottom.

The cockpit interior was given a simple instrument layout drawn on card and Fred fitted to complete the scene. The area of top decking inside the cockpit was covered with a piece of felt wallpaper. If you can get offcuts of this it is useful for upholstery-type use, giving a passable representation of interior lining.

Radio installation: Futaba radio was used, five functions being required. The three servos for throttle, elevator and rudder were mounted on a standard servo tray towards the rear of the wing bay. The throttle servo had two Bowden cable outers as the Enya and OS throttle positions are different. The steerable nose wheel connects to the rudder servo by a Bowden cable having its fixing a little way from the servo. This is to allow the cable to flex and take the shock of harsh bumps. It is sufficiently stiff not to flex on smooth ground.

The flap and aileron servos are mounted in the wing again using standard servo mounts. The dihedral of the wing allows clearance to the servos if you are careful and want to maximise that cockpit space.

The battery and receiver mount either side of the servo tray in rubber. Note this is behind the centre of gravity position but I found that this worked well since no balancing weight or other manoeuvring was necessary to obtain the designed CG position at 1/3 chord.

Flying: The first flights were with the Enya .35 two-stroke fitted, turning a 10 x 6 propeller. Having waited weeks, each weekend seemingly totally dedicated to rain, a Sunday eventually occurred suitable for flying. Even then disaster nearly struck as the model took to its heels down the strip only to veer left as it received a right rudder command! (Must be a moral there somewhere!). However, having put the offending servo to rights (excuse the pun); the next try was successful and up into the blue (well, dark grey actually) it rose. A small amount of right aileron trim was needed but otherwise it soon became apparent that this was to be a docile model.

The Enya 35 was more than adequate and half throttle was used mostly as this is not a design that was intended to hurtle through the skies. A roll was very slow, this was to be expected with large dihedral on the wings, as they are intended to provide stability. Any manoeuvre in the pitching plane, i.e. loop or stall turn, can be performed without trouble. It is very difficult to spin.

Although the two-stroke engine did its job well the four-stroke was even better. The OS 40 turns an 11 x 6 propeller, providing enough thrust and sounded so much more the part. For some reason not too clear the model appeared even more docile than before. Is it the sound that makes that much difference?

Manoeuvres were little different but seemed that much more graceful. Use of flaps had quite a marked effect, they push the nose up noticeably if applied in straight line flight. Although 30 degrees of flap movement does not look very much they have sufficient effect to provide a steeper landing descent thatn without their use. The choice then becomes either a long floating approach or a slow but faster descent. With flaps fully down the pitching moment is slightly accentuated but the ailerons remain quite responsive.

Summary: The FA-200 looks an eye catching model especially if finished in a bright contrast of colour with line trim. It will be called a number of names by enquiring onlookers, no one has yet identified it correctly where I have flown. It is a docile flyer, not a design to fling around the sky, but one to make the most of pottering about in a clear blue backdrop. The flaps if made operational are worth the effort. They work and provide added interest for onlookers. When building, take care to understand the plan and a good product will result."

Supplementary file notes

Review.

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