AT-6 Texan (oz13904)

About this Plan

AT-6 Texan. Radio control sport scale model. Wingspan 69-1/2 in, wing area 713 sq in. For .60 to 1.20 engines. Scale is 1/7.

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Quote: "Hello, I posted a request for a plan that you didn't have in your file, and here in Brazil I managed to buy it printed after a lot of searching. I scanned and printed. As it is a giant classic airplane, I had to divide each one of the plans in two [fixed now, stitched].

Top Flite AT-6 Texan 60 -1.20 Gold Edition 69.4 in kit, but note it's not the ARF version.

Specs:
69.4 in wingspan
7.5-10lb complete
.91-1.20 four stroke

I hope it's on par with your site. I also send materials to illustrate. He's my son, in the photo [main pic]."

Update 14/2/2026: Added kit review from RCM&E August 1999, thanks to RFJ.

Quote: "Kit Review. Chris Bowler succumbs to the temptations of an all time classic. Top flite AT-6 Texan.

My recent models have been biplanes, a couple of Tiger Moths and an SE5. The latter suffered a loss of signal one balmy evening and performed a shallow dive at considerable speed into cricket nets. An analogy with a potato and chipper comes to mind! There wasn't a lot left. So to get into the air quickly I built an AcroWot with an ST90 up front. Good flying, plenty of fun but sadly not scale.

After discarding a couple of ideas, a few phone calls were made ending with Jan at the Swindon Model Centre who had a Top Flite Texan in stock. A plug here! Jan and Rose have simply one of the best stocked shops around and they know what they're talking about.

Well, I bought the kit and upon examination of the contents thought, what a lot of wood! A traditional built up kit with self jigging components - not a beginner's kit and certainly a challenge.

The box art is superb, detailing the finished model and complemented by various pictures of the construction sequence. All the wood is packed into sub-packs to aid identification and decals for US Navy and Army are included along with a comprehensive set for the cockpit instrumentation. The instruction booklet is comprehensive, follow it and you won't go far wrong. I deviated a little by building all the flaps and ailerons at the same time but that was all.

Building begins with the tail end which took two evenings and most of a day off. The tail control surfaces are built using the core method with ribs from balsa strip, then sanding to shape.

I made a useful tool for this, a piece of hardwood 10 in long to which I attached self-adhesive industrial abrasive paper on two sides, broad and narrow, giving a good, sharp sanding edge. The broad side enables most of the ribbed section to be sanded at the same time, thus ensuring uniformity. Weight-wise there was a slight variation in wood quality so be careful with the choice.

As far as glues go, the instructions suggest the use of cyano for most of the construction - something I'd not really tried before as I usually use good old PVA and plenty of time - however, I chose to go `by the book' and spent some time gluing away quite happily for most of one day. After sanding some of the ribs to section without wearing a mask I suffered a tightening of the chest and my breathing was affected.

I digress here to say that I usually do wear a mask to keep the dust out and did so on the next building session, but I still suffered the same thing. A quick look around the catalogues (industrial) came up with a filtered version. Comfortable to wear, it keeps out almost all the fumes and dust. I also tried it when mixing chemistry, and it can keep Ammonium Bisulphate out, so it is indeed very effective. Whilst only having a useable life of about 28 days before having to be discarded it is, nevertheless, a worthwhile investment.

Back to the building. The stabiliser and fin are built in a similar way; associated ribs, complete with jig tabs, are pinned to the board before adding the leading and trailing edges. Once removed from the board, they are sanded and then skinned with balsa. The skins are prepared from sheets supplied which are joined and fitted as one piece, very effective and producing a neat finish. I was pleasantly surprised at how little time had been taken to complete this tail unit, the cyano no doubt accounting for this.

Next step in the build are the outer wing panels. Again built using ribs with built-in jig tabs. A spar is pinned to the board and the ribs positioned over and glued in place. The left wing is built upside-down on the right plan and vice versa, so take care when using the polyhedral gauge to set rib No.6 to its correct angle. I opted for working flaps; a little work is required to make the plywood trailing edge fit, and the rear part of the ribs have to be removed to accommodate the flap, but again, follow the building guide book and there are no pitfalls..."

Supplementary file notes

Instructions.
Review.

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