Mini Cavu (oz13703)

About this Plan

Mini Cavu. Radio control sport parasol model. Wingspan 30 in, wing area 135 sq in, for electric power with Park 300 brushless motor.

Quote: "I'm on record as being a fan for the late Ken Willard's model designs. Back in 2006 I produced a 60 inch RC Kiwi Cavu (oz13696) based on a small signed print of his original 1938 Kenway Cavu (oz1081) plan. That model performed very well and was published as a free plan in the now defunct RCMW magazine in April 2007. That model, I did in fact build two, was left in New Zealand when we moved over here to Australia couple of years later. I never forgot that design, and some years later when dabbling with small electric foamy indoor models and parkfliers I decided to produce another model along those lines. This 'Mini Cavu' is the result. This plan and the associated construction article were published in RCMW in March 2016.

It is a simple and easy quick-build model. The fuselage and tailplane are constructed using both 3mm and 6mm Depron, and the wing is a conventional plastic film covered balsa build. Depron construction was all new to me, very much a learn-as-you-go exercise, and I was very pleased with this result. I had some qualms as to what adhesive to use on the foam and eventually settled for 'Weldbond'. It worked well for me in this instance. It is a white water-based product which dries clear and doesn't eat depron.

In the interests of simplicity I took the easy way out and built the model around the cheap r/c gear which, excluding the lipo battery, was built-in for the life of the model. The cowling is a simple lightweight affair produced using several layers of stretchy nylon stocking material over a urethane foam plug and epoxied. Paint on foam can be an issue. In this instance I used a couple of light coats sprayed from a 'TS' 'Tamiya' rattle-can.

I think the result is an attractive little model. It was a bit of a handful to fly in our not overly large indoor venue, but when trimmed became a nice little outdoor parkflier. The model wanted to climb and trimming involved a sliver of 1.5mm balsa packing under the wing trailing edge to reduce the angle-of attack. It is a 'fair-weather' gentle flier and not very happy in the wind. That apart, it's agile enough to readily loop and barrel roll and horse around as required.

I flew this model for several months before moving on to other projects. It then languished in the car shed for a couple of years until a clubmate called past and took it away just a few weeks ago. He still flies it regularly and just loves it."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Update 13/2/2024: Replaced the article with a clearer copy, thanks to theshadow.

Supplementary file notes

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