Delta Vee (oz14054)

About this Plan

Delta Vee. Radio control sport model, for electric power with Astro 035 motor. Delta layout with tractor prop.

Quote: "Some wild flying is in store for those who build this Astro 035-powered electric delta! Full-size airfoil, keel and fin patterns on the following pages. Delta Vee, by William Whitten.

This little electric delta has been more than twenty years in the making. Way back in the Dark Ages (1971), one of the model magazines published a 1/2A delta by Jim Simpson, called the Thunderbird. I wanted to build one, but the CG was left off the plans and I never did track it down, so the project was put on the back burner. Eventually, I quit flying and went on to other interests until just last year, when I found myself hooked on RC planes again.

When one of the local fliers brought out a delta, it reminded me of the one from long ago, so I dug out the old magazine and started figuring how to build an electric version for the '90s. I lifted the airfoil and the foam construction and redesigned the rest to suit an Astro Cobalt 035. The wingspan is 30 inches and the all-up weight is 27-28 ounces. Delta Vee is easy to build and flies nicely as an electric. You know you want one, so let's get started!

Radio and Motor: As with most electrics, you should try to keep the weight down as much as possible, so a light radio is a definite plus. I used a micro receiver and a couple of older model mini servos. Delta Vee needs to be landed under power, so an electronic speed control is almost a must. I used an old Bomar I don't trust BECs on a plane so I used a 100 mAH receiver battery, which is good for quite a few flights.

You will also need some sort of mixer for the elevons. A transmitter mixer is best, but a Du-Bro V-Tail Mixer will also do nicely. It takes a bit of grinding and tinkering to get it short enough to fit under the hatch, though.

The only motor I can recommend for this model is theAstro Cobalt 035 with a five-cell 900/1000 mAH SCR battery pack. This gives as much power as most ferrite 05s, but weighs much less and flies the Delta Vee very well if the weight is kept under 28 ounces. You can try a cobalt 05 and seven 1400 mAH cells, but I doubt it will fly much better and the increased weight will make launches and landings more difficult. Stick with the 035 system; if you feel the need for more power, you can always advance the motor timingorgo to six cells with the resulting shorter flight times.

Construction: Delta Vee is simple - foam cores covered with plastic film. The only wood is a bit of balsa for the elevons and fin and some plywood for the spine.

Start by making the foam cores. Xerox the airfoil pattern, glue it to a scrap of Formica and cut it out to make the template for cutting the cores. Only the wing root airfoil is shown, as the cores are cut using the 'pivot point' method. For those not familiar with this, the usual hot wire bow is not used. One end of the cutter wire is anchored to the workbench and the other is attached to a handle. The wire pivots around the anchor bolt and is stretched tight while cutting. By moving the pivot point, any reasonable tapered core can be cut with just one person and one template. (Francis Reynolds explained the pivot point method in detail in his 'Model Design and Technical Stuff' column in the February 89 Model Builder.)

Once you have the cores, sand them smooth and trim the trailing edges so they area constant 1/4-inch thick. The hot wire will melt the tips some so quite a bit will have to be trimmed. if the final tip dimensions are off a little, it's OK. Glue the 1/4-inch square balsa trailing edges on with white glue or aliphatic resin and sand them flush with the foam..."

Delta Vee. Model Builder, January 1993.

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Supplementary file notes

Article pages, thanks to RFJ.

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