Fouga Cyclope (oz13440)

About this Plan

Fouga Cyclope. Profile free flight model for Jetex power.

Quote: "The combination of Jetex power and a super soaring sailplane provide a terrific scale jet model. Try it! A real sporty flier. Fouga Cyclope, by Dick Struhl.

One of the most interesting light-planes of the postwar era is the Fouga Cyclone. To most trained eyes this craft is merely a highly efficient sailplane with a small jet engine mounted aft of the cockpit. But the French classify it as a lightplane. Is it possible that 50 million Frenchmen can be wrong?

Casting that argument aside, the plane does present a very nice subject for scale model flying. The configuration leaves very little to be desired from a design standpoint. Long, stable flights are possible with this layout. The jet engine is located over the center of gravity, so that the power-on and power-off adjustments are very near the same. As the fuel pellet is burned up, the reduction of weight does not effect the flight path to any great extent.

We have presented our model in semi-scale form for ease of construction. The fuselage is a sheet balsa profile while the wing and stabilizer are built-up to lighten the model. A Jetex 100 was used in the original model, but you may use the Jetex 150, Jetmaster, if you prefer greater power.

The plans are shown half-size, so it will be necessary to enlarge the plans to double-size. You may use dividers or the convenient graph on the plan. Simplest of all is to have the magazine page photo-statted to the proper size.

FUSELAGE: The fuselage is cut from firm (but not rock-hard) 1/4 in sheet balsa. Round all of the corners and sandpaper the entire unit smooth. Note the section above the wing position that is cut off. This is later cemented to the wing center section and acts as the motor mount. Add the wing and stabilizer platforms. The stabilizer platform is in the shape of a 'V' to accommodate the dihedral angle. The wing platform is flat, with a strip of 1/16 square balsa at each edge to prevent the dihedraled wing from rocking. Small 1/8 dowels act to hold the wing and stabilizer rubber strands in place. Adapt the stabilizer to your favorite type of pop-up dethermalizer. You need something to bring this model back to earth!

STABILIZER: The stabilizer is very simple to construct. Pin the leading edge and trailing edge to the full-size drawing. Add the 1/16 square spar and then cement the 1/16 square lower ribs to fit on either side of the spar. The upper 1/16 square ribs are cemented on top of the lower ribs and the spar as shown.

When the cement has set, remove the stabilizer from the plan and sand the upper ribs to the proper airfoil shape, Next, install the right amount of dihedral. Apply at least three coats of cement to the dihedral joint.

WING: The wing is constructed using built-up ribs. Use Plate 2 as a guide to make a template of the upper camber at the root rib. This template is used as a pattern to cut the upper ribs. Slice as many upper ribs as you require out of a sheet of 1/16 balsa.

Cement the 1/16 square lower ribs in place between the leading and trailing edges. Lay the wing spar in place and cement. The top ribs are then added in place, It will be necessary to trim these to the proper length for each rib section. Trim material from both the front and rear of these ribs to get the proper camber.

When the cement has set, remove the structure from the plan and install the proper amount of dihedral. Only the upper camber of the center section is covered with 132 sheet balsa. Fair the sheet into the leading and trailing edges. The soft 1/4 sheet balsa wing tanks are added after the wing is covered. Be sure not to water-dope the covering until the tanks are in place, otherwise the end ribs will pull in when the covering shrinks.

FINISHING: Cover the wing and stabilizer with light grade silkspan or tissue. Stray with water to shrink the covering. Give the covering sufficient time to dry properly and then add one coat of clear dope. One coat of clear dope is applied to the fuselage and is sanded smooth before the cabin and anti-glare nose section are painted in. Use silver dope for the cabin and flat black for the anti-glare section.

JET INSTALLATION: Mount the engine clip on top of a sheet of asbestos paper as is shown on the plan. Do not use cement as this is a fire hazard.

FLYING: Test-fly the model in the usual manner. First trim the glide by adding weight fore or aft, to obtain a long, shallow turning glide. Because of the absence of torque from the jet engine, the model may be turned to the right or left with equal power stability. Once the glide is satisfactory, make all adjustments on the thrust line so that, when the power cuts, the model goes into the desired glide. "

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Supplementary file notes

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