Twister Sister (oz14477)

About this Plan

Twister Sister. Control line stunt model.

Quote: "The author has done quite well in CL Precision Aerobatics competition with this full-fuselage stunter, based on the popular Sig Twister. Twister Sister, by John Miller.

In the early '60s I never was a top-rated flier, just one of many kids in Southern California who flew 'toy airplanes.' It was 1984 when I decided to come back to CL Stunt. My first plane this time around was a Top Flite Tutor. It flew well and I used it to polish off a lot of rust that had accumulated over the years.

Later, at the advice of a friend, I built a Sig Super Chipmunk. Now the Chippy is a pretty decent airplane. Powered rightand built light, it will perform with the big boys. Unfortunately I lost mine (pilot error) in the fourth contest I entered - June 1987.

I had already started on a Sig Magnum but was nowhere near completion, and I needed a new ship fast. It was then that I received the August issue of Model Aviation and of course turned right to Ted Fancher's column: Control Line Aerobatics. There at the top of the page was a real slick-looking plane, obviously a stunter, and underneath was a picture of the Sig Twister. I was familiar with the Twister; I had flown against them several times, and they had flown pretty well except for a tendency to 'bobble' in hard maneuvers.

I realized that Ted had modernized the Twister into a much more competitive plane. I just happened to have a Twister in my collection of kits. In a few weeks the new plane, Twister II as Ted had named it, was ready to fly. I had a lot of fun and even won a few contests with it. I still have it, in fact, and use it as a backup for the new ship I call Twister Sister.

After a few years of flying the Fancherized Twister (oz8708), as they soon became known, I felt it was time to get back to a full-bodied plane. I was assured by all the local Stunt Gurus that the full-fuselaged stunter was the only way to go; that even though I was doing OK in Intermediate, to do well in Advanced I would have to make the switch. So in March of 1991 I sat down and drew the first sketches of my new ship.

I wasn't surprised by what came out. Years ago as a teenager the thought of a stringered-fuselage stunter had intrigued me. I also wasn't surprised to see the familiar Twister wing because l knew how easy it is to build. The moments came from the earlier modified Twister and the horizontal stab had the same shape.

I'd replaced the Fox .35 on the original Twister II with K&B's .28 Sportster after experimenting with a .20 Sportster converted to diesel. The diesel has some promise, but the .20 didn't have quite enough power. The .28 with the Davis diesel head runs almost like a piped engine, hardly varying in speed throughout the entire pattern. Naturally the new plane was designed around this same engine.

I took it to the Willow Grove, Illinois contest in May. It was blowing pretty hard and I only had about 10 flights on the plane, so I flew the profile Twister II instead. 1 got 1st in class, only because I didn't crash in the wind.

I next took it to Sig's big contest in Iowa and dorked it in on a wingover - pilot error again. The damage wasn't bad and was easily repaired once I got home. I also added about 1-1/2 inches tothe nose to correct a slight tail-heaviness..."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Scan by MarkD, cleanup by Circlip.

Supplementary file notes

Article.

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