Hare (oz13230)

About this Plan

Hare. Radio control pylon racer, for 1/2A power.

Quote: "Flown with out-of-the-box engines, this well proven 1/2A pylon racer, is popular with the MARCS club - and in the circuit they fly - both for average members and hot-dog pilots. No one has an overwhelming advantage. The Hare, by Al Scidmore and Frank Baker.

In our club, the Madison Area Radio Control Society (MARCS) one contest event has captured the interest of a large number of members: 1/2A pylon racing. It is an event where the beginning racer and the pro can both have a great time. For the neophyte, just trying to stay with the pack is fun. Yet, in the same race, the experienced racers are shaving the pylons and using their pet strategies.

The popularity is due to a number of factors: equipment requirements and hence investment is minimal, rules preclude winning the event in a machine shop, design parameters lead to a variety of aircraft all with comparable performance, and, finally, little or no practice is necessary.

Most of these points are not well understood by the competition-oriented flier. For example, nothing turns off the average member quicker than an event, such as a pattern, that requires hours and hours of practice before each contest. Some of our most successful pilots fly their 1/2A pylon racers only when there is a contest. Although the old hands often win, the average club member leaves the contest knowing every point was closely fought.

Around 1968, Frank Garcher commissioned MARCS member Owen Kampen to design two 1/2A pylon racers with rudder and elevator control - power by Cox Golden Bees. Bonzo and Hoosier Hotshot, were published in RCM and kitted by Midwest Products. Typical of 1/2A planes based upon the chosen engine and the Testor's foam wing, they were slow and difficult to keep in the groove with rudder/elevator. After Owen designed the Pacer, the speed poten-tial of a clean airplane utilizing the ACE foam wing was recognized.

In 1976, the author designed the Hare using a 200 sq in ACE straight foam wing and a fuselage meeting the 2x4 rules then in effect. Frank Baker then built one from my plans. However, being an inveterate scratch builder, he cleaned up the wing-fuselage junction, lightened and simplified construction. When the ACE GLH (oz5498) appeared in 1977, it was clear that a new level of performance had been established. Both Frank and I created own versions of a swept wing Hare with built-up wings. Both were competitive with the GLH and possessed better aerodynamic properties.

At the end of the 1978 season a number of the local modelers indicated an interest in building a Hare for the 1979 season. Consequently, Frank, who never built two airplanes exactly alike - even from the same plans - and I agreed to pool our variations to provide plans for Hare-V, the version shown on the plans.

This version has all the desirable properties of a 1/2A pylon racer: stability, especially at launch; cornering ability - tightly without loss of speed or altitude; very fast on the straight-away with a superior grooving capability; unusually good wind pene-tration and ability to plow through turbulence; and finally a very smooth, controllable glide..."

Hare, Model Aviation, October 1979.

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Supplementary file notes

Article pages, thanks to RFJ.

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