Rapier (oz12923)

About this Plan

Rapier. Radio control sport model, for .40 to .60 engines. Wingspan 57-1/4 in. Wing area 752 sq in.

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Update 12/3/2023: Added kit review from MAN, October 1981, thanks to RFJ.

Quote: "Field & Bench Review: Rapier, by Frank Tiano. A plane for all seasons! Rapier is great for sport, training, fun-flys, and general horsing around, quick building as well.

According to Webster's, a rapier is a straight, two-edged sword, with a narrow, pointed blade. According to Pica Products, a Rapier is an intermediate style model aircraft that is very docile when powered with a .40 and very fast and aggressive when coupled to a .60.

The Rapier comes packed in a very compact package, but don't be alarmed - all the necessary goodies are buried in there somewhere. In keeping with Pica's fine track record, the Rapier was thoroughly tested before its release and should provide many hours of enjoyment for any modeler, whether beginner or expert. It's a 4-channel ship that measures just a hair over 57 inch in span and stretches 48 in long. The massive chord is 13-1/4 in, which gives the Rapier a total wing area of a whopping 752 square inches. Projected flying weight is right around 6 pounds. With all that wing, however, the Rapier should fly well at weights way over the projected figure.

The package includes all the basic materials such as die-cut wing ribs, machined and shaped balsa, plywood and hardwood parts, a dural landing gear, beautiful plans and a construction manual. The hardware bag holds all sorts of treasures, including all the nuts, bolts, control horns and other sundry items you may need to complete the kit.

The Rapier is the second kit from Mort Tanger of Pica that is not a scale kit. The concept behind the design is to bring the modeler a quick building, good flying, rugged airplane suitable for intermediate training and everyday flying. The kit actually may be built in less than 15 hours. With a little push, I completed mine in exactly 13 hours 45 minutes. I started at 9:00 a.m. one Sunday morning and completed it just before midnight. (Yes, I did take time out to grab a couple of bites to eat!) Anyone with any previous building experience at all should have no difficulty in building one in under 16 hours; this doesn't include covering, though.

The fuselage is built right over the plans and all parts are key fitted to each other to insure a perfectly straight structure. Very little fussing or trimming is required and the entire fuselage may be constructed with Hot Stuff or Hot Stuff "T." Even the stabilizer is attached while the fuselage is still pinned to the building board to minimize any building error. The resulting structure is extremely strong and very durable. A steerable nose gear and an aluminum main gear are also provided, along with the necessary hardware to fasten them to the fuselage. There are no "grey areas" in constructing the fuselage. Everything is either completely explained in the construction manual or shown on the plans.

The tank compartment can accommodate either a 10 oz or a 12 oz tank with no problem. Pushrods should be of the Nyrod type for ease of installation. A 60 or 40 will fit in the nose and you may want to reshape the nose area for a more pleasing appearance (I did). Be sure to mount the main gear to the plywood plate with nuts and bolts or you're liable to lose the gear in flight someday (I did). Sheet metal screws just won't hold up, especially on a grass field. The fuselage and tail feathers may be covered and finished in any way that suits the builder, but the structures are definitely strong enough to use the iron-on coverings. I chose cream-colored MonoKote and maroon trim. Be sure to fuel-proof the engine compartment.

The Rapier's wing is a marvel. The entire structure can be completed in about three hours using Hot Stuff. It's a constant chord, semi-symmetrical unit with strip type ailerons. Construction is started by pinning the usual spars to the plan, and adding the ribs and top spars, then the leading and trailing edge sheeting. There really isn't much more to say than that!

Add the wing tips and the unit is ready for sanding and covering. Once again, MonoKote or a similar material may be used. This wing is very, very strong. Very little dihedral is built into it, and if desired this may be omitted by the more experienced flier.

My ship came out at exactly 6 pounds 3 ounces, ready to fly. I installed a Super Tigre .60 Bluehead in it and no additional nose ballast was needed. With a .40 up front, about 5 or 6 ounces of weight may have to be added. In either case, the total weight should remain right around the 6 pound mark.

The fuselage is roomy enough for any modern system to be installed with ease. I had just bought a new Tower System 4 and it fit in the Rapier perfectly. By the way, the System 4 is really quite a nice system that features full nicads, 4 servos and a charger for less than $150. The servos are quick reacting, but strong, units that have a lot of nice features. For instance, the output arms are almost infinitely adjustable for any pushrod application. The system was hooked up to give maximum control surface throw for a snappy performing airplane. For use in an intermediate trainer, the throws should be set up as described in the manual.

Test flying the Rapier showed that the ship has a couple of outstanding traits. One, it's extremely stable; and two, it's very maneuverable. It's rather unusual for a trainer type aircraft to have both qualities. The Rapier will do every maneuver you can think of except a spin or snap. No matter how much you try to spin it, all you're going to get is a gentle spiral. And yet, it will fly knife-edge, or do three consecutive rolls, stall turns or anything else you want, with ease. With power off, the ship glides well and has made it back to the landing area many times when I would have bet that it wouldn't have.

Penetration in high winds is very good and the wings remain level at all times with minimum input. We've had a few days in upstate New York when almost every plane at the field was grounded because of the wind; but not the Rapier.

On the third day of flying, I lost the main gear and was forced to land on just the nose wheel. No problem; the Rapier settled in perfectly, and only after losing some speed did the wing tip finally lean over to catch the ground. We discovered no damage at all and proceeded to fly the rest of the day with just the nose wheel. In fact, all the flight pictures that accompany this article were taken that day. At least eight different guys at the field flew the Rapier that day and their comments were almost the same: everybody loved the ship and expressed some interest in owning one. Many thought it would make an ideal fun-fly competition machine because of its ability to turn almost around on itself and its inherent stability. I agree.

I consider the Rapier to be just the ticket for stepping up to something when you're used to flying a 3-channel trainer. I also feel that it's a great fun-fly and general horsing around airplane. When powered with a .60 it proves to be a good vehicle to keep sharp on. The strong structure should make for a long-lasting airplane. And as with all Pica kits, the quality is there along with a well proven design and a reasonable price. I recommend it to everyone. "

Supplementary file notes

Review.

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