Ocean Breeze (oz13142)

About this Plan

Ocean Breeze. Radio control slope soarer model.

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Quote: "Hi there, Please find attachment for my 88 inch Ocean Breeze design if it's suitable for this site. If you need any further details etc just let me know. Here are some pictures [main pic, 003-006] and some video links. Thanks again, John."

Ocean Breeze Build and Test Flight over the Ocean:
https://youtu.be/Lbbl9zy3zZII

OB-2. Maiden Flight:
https://youtu.be/WXigorxT1sI
This is a slightly updated version on my Ocean Breeze design. All-up flying weight came out at 800g. I used some old car body spray cans to lightly dust the fuselage with colour, then coved it with Hobbyking transparent film. It's not as clear as Mylar window laminating film, but I'm pleased with the unusual finish.

Build notes:

"With the Ocean Breeze I wanted to design a vintage style glider that was relatively simple and quick to build, and incorporated some of my favourite design elements from other models.

It has an 88” span, so it's easily transportable but still has some presence in the air. The design does not have the overall efficiency of newer faster gliders but it is perfect for floating about on a lazy summer evening in light winds. It is probably happiest in about 3-10 mph of breeze.

The wing has a flat bottom profile making it easy to construct and cover. All the wing ribs are identical, again making for fast construction. The large cord gives a low wing loading and very slow stall speed. Elastic bands are used to hold the wings in place which gives the model some crash resistance and again makes it easier to build than trying to align wing bolts.

The horizontal stabiliser sits above the fuselage keeping it clear of the ground, and also means both the elevator and rudder can be built as one moving piece.

Wingtips and rudder are constructed by making a template and laminating several thin strips of balsa around it. This makes for a very strong and light part, with the wood grain following the curve, and is also an efficient use of balsa.

The fuselage is built by steaming the longerons roughly to shape (I just used a kettle) then building two identical sides flat on the building board. The plans show the servos mounted under the wing but they could easily be moved forward under the hatch. The battery sits right up in the nose and it requires very little extra weight to balance the glider.

My model came out at about 800g ready to fly, but this was built as light as possible. I used micro servos and the wing was built in one part. Building a two part wing, using standard servos, and maybe adding some balsa sheeting to the fuselage belly (to protect the covering on landing) would add a little weight but still produce a very light glider for the wing area.

And finally a big thank you to Chris Nother for drawing up my basic outlines into a proper plan."

Update 09/07/2021: Have resized this plan to the correct wingspan at 88 in. There was a scaling issue with the previous version (around 10% oversized). Have checked with John and he's happy for us to replace that original file with this new pdf. The bad news is I have generated this myself using Inkscape (with a scaling factor of 0.9027) - and my skills in vector format are pretty poor. If anyone wants to check this over and produce a neater and/or better version, feel free [fixed now, see below]. Steve.

Update 13/07/2021: Replaced this plan with a clearer copy (on 4 sheets now), thanks to HarryKirkland. Note this is in bitmap format, not vector.

Quote: "Steve, Mary, Attached please find a revised plan of the Ocean Breeze (oz13142). I separated the plan into four pages. One for the fuselage, right wing, left wing and stab. I also made the pages 24 inch wide so there is white space past the edge of the structure. I often do this with plans before I build them, it makes it easier and you don’t have to cut the plans up. I thought people might find this easier to get printed than one very long plan. Hope you can use this. Stay safe and thanks for Outerzone."

Update 15/07/2021: Added a supplement vector format plan (at full size, on 4 sheets) thanks to Miguel.

Supplementary file notes

Previous scan versions.
VectorPDF plan.

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