T-Craft 20 (oz14341)

About this Plan

T-Craft 20 (Taylorcraft). Radio control scale model. Wingspan 56 in, wing area 497 sq in, for 2-stroke .20-.32 or 4-stroke .26-.30 engine.

Quote: "Exciting aerobatics don't require a big engine investment-just the Great Planes' T-Craft and an economical .20-.30 power plant! What's more, the T-Craft is as easy to build as it is to afford. Interlocking structures and die-cut parts ensure that the T-Craft self-aligns for maximum strength and straightness.

Work-saving add-ins - including the 3-piece cowl, wooden gear covers and a shaped, butyrate windshield - add detail to delight the scale builder's eye. In the air, lightweight wood parts, dual aileron servos and compact, clipped wing design give it the same crisp agility that makes the original an airshow standout!

Introduction: Since its introduction in the late 1930's, there have been 100's if not 1000's of the full size T-Craft sold in the USA. They have come in many versions. Some are very stable, while others are very aerobatic, like the clipped wing T-Craft.

Great Planes has taken the aerobatic qualities of the full size Clipped Wing T-Craft and designed them into this .20 sized scale model. This plane loops, rolls and flies knife edge but still has the stability of a high wing airplane.

So if you’re ready for an easy building, fun to fly airplane, let's finish reading this introduction and start building.

While the T-Craft 20 is easy to fly, it does not have the total self-recovery and stability of a basic trainer like the Great Planes series of PT basic trainers. Therefore, if you have never flown an R/C airplane before, we strongly recommend that you seek out the assistance of an experienced R/C pilot who will be able to check out your construction and help you with your first flights. On the other hand, if you have already learned the basics of R/C flying, and you are able to safely handle a low wing airplane, the T-Craft 20 is an excellent choice to improve your flying skills.

Decisions you must make:

ENGINE SELECTION Recommended engine size:
.25 to .32 cu in 2-stroke
.26 to .30 cu in 4-stroke

Your Great Planes T-Craft 20 will perform well with any of the engines within the recommended range..."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Note: See original listing page of the T-Craft 20 from the (now-defunct) Great Planes site at: https://web.archive.org/web/200410... for tech specs, also links to three different online reviews of this kit, circa 2001.

Quote: "Great Planes T-Craft Pruduct Review. By Dennis Adamisin, RCM, January 2002.

While Giant Scale aerobats are all the rage, sometimes it's nice to have a smaller bird that still looks great and will fit in the car all assembled. And yes, there are aerobatic aircraft that are not Extra 300's! Enter the Great Planes T-Craft, a Sport Scale version of a venerable aerobatic performer designed around the smallest 4-strokes available. In full-scale the aircraft is a distant cousin of a Cub, but the thousands who have witnessed Duane Cole's dazzling airshow routine will attest, a clipped wing T-Craft with some extra 'attitude' under the hood is an impressive performer.

The Great Planes T-Craft comes in a brightly decorated 4.5 x 7.5 x 38 inch box covered with pictures and stats describing the model. Everything was neatly packed and packaged with paper wrapping, offering some special protection for the large molded windshield. All the die-cut parts are clearly marked with part numbers stamped on. The instruction book also includes diagrams of all the die-cut sheets offered as an aid to identifying parts. Two 36 x 46 in rolled plan sheets are supplemented by an outstanding 48-page instruction manual. One of my favorite features of the manual was the centerfold. It has the plans reduced to 11 x 17 in so you can follow along while you check the next building sequence. Die-cutting was the usual outstanding Great Planes effort with parts falling out of the sheets cleanly. I used Great Planes thin and medium CA for most construction along with some Great Planes aliphatic wood glue and epoxy.

Construction: I started construction with the tail surfaces. Curved segments are die-cut and the rest is framed and ribbed with various sizes of 3/16 balsa strips. These are assembled over the plan that I protected with Great Planes Plan Protector - an excellent barrier to prevent gluing the assembly to the plan! After rounding off all the edges, the elevator halves are joined using a pre-bent piece of 3/32 music wire. Great Planes supplies a large patch of CA hinge material from which the hinges were cut. I used the Great Planes hinge slot cutter to make short work of what used to be one of my least favorite tasks.

The wing is a very robust D-tube structure and the semi-symmetrical wing ribs are equipped with 'feet' so the wing can be built flat on a building board. After assembly, the feet are broken off. The T-Craft uses two plywood dihedral braces between the spars which are supplemented by two 1/16 plywood braces overlapping the spars and encapsulating the other plywood braces - this wing will not break in the center joint! The center leading edge has a large cutout corresponding to the top of the windshield that is well braced with 1/8 square basswood spars top and bottom and plywood facing. Great Planes supplies a couple of really nifty plywood dihedral stands to hold the wing at the proper angle. The wing halves are joined prior to the leading edge sheeting being installed. It was easy to build a straight, strong wing.

The T-Craft has an extremely neat aileron servo mount designed for the dual aileron servos; the hollowed out ribs make installing servo wiring a cinch. The large barn door style ailerons are built over a center core by capping the leading edge on the die-cut aileron outline core and then installing ribs top and bottom that get tapering out at the trailing edge.

A while back I had built a Great Planes Electri-Cub (oz14074), and saw some of the same attention to weight saving detail in the construction of the T-Craft fuselage. The sides are built-up of several die-cut pieces and strip stock, with some doublers and triplers used to good effect. Lots of lightening holes are used to keep the bulk down, yet the structure is extremely strong. The upper rear fuselage utilizes a crutch to simplify and align the fuselage; all the other bulkheads are notched in. The engine is mounted rotated about 35 degrees downward from a true side mount, allowing the engine muffler to tuck inside the cowling and vent through the bottom centerline of the firewall. Great Planes has done a nice job engineering the 2 degree side thrust into the firewall and the plans show you how to locate the engine mount so the engine comes out centered. The front of the ABS cowling is also tipped at 2 degrees so the prop looks parallel with the front of the cowling. The upper rear fuselage is formed using three 1/8 dowels. I added some gussets in the dowel joints to the bulkheads.

The cowling and wheel pants are vac-formed in ABS. The instructions show how to cut narrow overlapping strips from scrap ABS then glue them in place on one shell, then join the opposite shell over it. I did all this using liquid plastic model cement. The seams are further reinforced on the inside surfaces using fiberglass cloth applied with PVC pipe cement. After filling of the seams using Squadron Putty, and some careful sanding, I would put the cowl and wheel pants up with the best I've ever seen in plastic or fiberglass. They have also proven to be quite durable..."

Update 7/12/2023: Added kit review from RCM, January 2002, thanks to RFJ.

Supplementary file notes

Manual.
Review.

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