Holy Smoke 40 (oz13885)

About this Plan

Holy Smoke 40. Radio control sport delta model.

Discontinued kit from Top Flite.

Radio Control sport / pylon delta. Wingspan 36 in, Length 27-3/8 in, Wing Area 586 sq in, Weight 3-1/2 to 4 lb, for .25 to .45 engines.

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Update 15/6/2022: Added kit instructions, thanks to Paul Sluce.

Quote: "Introduction: Holy smoke, what a name for an airplane! The name was derived from comments made by other modelers when they saw this delta fly for the first time. From a marketing standpoint, we're very happy that the standard comment was not 'Holy Cow'!

The delta that we are presenting in this kit was designed by Hal Parenti and it has a long and successful history. The design is exceptionally easy to fly due to its inherent stability and will accept a fairly broad range of engine sizes (2-cycle) and still remain flyable and fun. The design itself is the essence of simplicity. We feel that it is entirely possible to start construction on a Monday evening and have it ready to fly by the following Saturday. It may well be the perfect 'other' airplane.

The HS 40 has been test-flown off of grass fields as well as asphalt with uniformly good results. When powered with one of today's strong-running .40 engines (Enya CX, OS, etc.), the take-off is short and to the point. We have test-flown the airplane with engines as small as .25 (an OS FSR) and it still flys quite nicely. Those of you who may be considering the installation of a .60 engine might first strongly consider one of the .40's or .45's mentioned earlier. A .60 is going to give you some balancing problems which might well result in a rather heavy airplane.

The radio installation in your HS 40 is straight-forward and the radio/tank compartment is roomy enough for all but the largest of servos. As with most R/C models, the radio installation should be made with achieving the correct Center of Gravity as the goal. If your battery pack, for instance, has to be located at the rear of the radio compartment in order to achieve the correct CG, that's fine and superior to having to add lead. The installation shown on the plans is typical of our prototypes; yours may be different due to varying radio components and engine weights.

Flying your HS 40 should prove to be a delight. There just aren't many maneuvers that this design is not capable of. The possible exception might be those maneuvers which require some rudder.

Pre-Construction Notes: The Holy Smoke 40, like other Top Flite kits employs the use of die-cut wood to ease the task of construction, parts fit and identification. The dies used for this kit have been rigorously checked for absolute accuracy and should provide you with excellent fit. Die-cut parts should be carefully removed from their sheets by first lightly sanding the back of each sheet of parts and then carefully removing each part. Use a light garnet paper for the sanding and keep a sharp hobby knife with an X-acto #11 blade, or equivalent, handy for assistance in removing any parts that might not have completely cutthrough by the dies.

Parts which oppose one another and must be precisely uniform - such as ribs, etc - should be carefully 'matched' after their removal from the part sheets. Matching is the process of holding the opposing pieces together with either pins, tape or spot gluing and lightly sanding the edges of the parts until they are identical. A sanding block with light garnet paper is most useful for this and other phases of construction.

Your building surface should be at least large enough to accommodate the wing. This surface should be as absolutely flat as possible and yet be able to accept pins easily..."

Supplementary file notes

Instructions.

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