Whip Power P-84 (oz12835)

About this Plan

Whip Power Thunderjet. Simple all-sheet profile model.

Quote: "Whip Power Thunderjet. By Jim Walker, in collaboration with Bill Tyler. The Father of U-Control gives you his ideas and plans for building and flying a fast whip-control model plane.

WHIP Control models can perform any maneuver that you can get out of those souped-up high powered gas jobs. You don't need a motor to be a 'hot-rock' pilot ! You can fly a Whip Control model through every stunt in the books, and when it comes to speed even the 'hottest' gas jobs have difficulty catching them. What's the answer? Simply this. First of all, they have a lot less drag (less air resistance) than gas models, and secondly, by using a long pole you can whip" 'em around at sensational speeds. Naturally, you have to be an experienced pilot to get that kind of performance. But there's one thing for sure - if you can fly a Whip Control model, you'll find flying the powered jobs a cinch. And there's many an expert control- line modeler who broke-in on the whip ships. For instance, Dave Slagle, winner of the National Stunt Championship and the Jim Walker Trophy at the last National Meet, learned control-line flying by first starting off with Whip Control.

Don't for a minute think that just because you haven't got an engine in the nose of the model making a lot of noise that Whip Control is sissie stuff. One thing that you'll have to remember is that you can't just stand around and watch the model fly. You are the fellow who's flying it and you must keep it flying. You can't even stop for a second and admire the beauty of your model. And you can't blame a crackup on the engine's conking out! If you try to climb into the wind and the model slips off on one wing and crashes, you are the one to blame. But once you get the hang of the ."no power" technique, you may even find that you'll lose interest in powered jobs. You can fly without the worries of batteries, props, ignition, or any other of those headaches connected with power jobs. It's a lot cheaper, too!

The P-84 Thunderjet model is an example of how designs can 'be adapted for Whip Control flying. Note that certain requirements such as a long tail moment arm, and large stabilizer area are re-quired for good flying qualities. Other factors such as a light wing loading (the weight of the model compared to the wing area), and smooth sleek finish contribute to good performance. Size, too, has a lot to do with performance. Generally speaking, most models should be kept to a size of under 20 in wingspan. Models larger than this can be flown, however, but they will not have the maneuverability needed for spectacular stunting.

One thing for certain, if you can build a good hand-launched glider, you can build a Whip Control model. They are actually no more difficult. If you've always thought that control-line flying was difficult, or if you've always wanted to try it but didn't have an engine, why not build and fly this Whip Control Thunderjet? For an investment of not more than one dollar in materials at the local model shop plus what you can dig out of the scrap box you can have yourself a lot of fun and learn the fundamentals of control-line flying at the same time.

The plans for this Thunderjet illustrated here are full-size. Simply trace each part on to balsa wood; no re-drawing or enlarging is necessary. A good way to do this is to place a sheet of carbon paper over the Wood, then put the section you wish to duplicate over it and then trace around its outline. Another method is to pin the desired section on to the balsa wood sheet and then pin-prick around the outline. Remove the plan and then cut around the pin-pricked borders along the wood.

Start off first with the fuselage which is cut from 3/16 sheet balsa. Pick fairly hard balsa so that it can stand the shock of a few hard crack-ups while you are learning the tricks of flying. Cut the body roughly to outline shape with a sharp knife and then smooth off any rough spots with fine sandpaper. Be careful when cutting out the notch (slot) where the wing slides through the fuselage to make certain that it is parallel to the setting of the stabilizer (front half of the elevator). Try to make this slot a tight fit so that the wing will not slide around when assembled in position. Add the 1/16 plywood wing mount and cement this piece securely. The bell crank is cut from 1/16 plywood to the exact size shown on the drawings. Punch the holes required with a sharp pointed ice pick, and then mount in the slot below the wing mount. An ordinary one-inch brad pushed through the bottom of the fuselage serves as a pivot for the plywood bell crank.

Cut both the wing and tail surfaces from fairly soft light 1/8 balsa sheet. Sand all surfaces to a streamlined section. If 4 inch width wood is not available at your local dealer you can join two 2 in widths together to make the wing. The center section of the wing where it rests over the wing mount should not be sanded as it would tend to make the wing fit loosely in the slot... "

Direct submission to Outerzone.

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