Mini Jazz (oz14665)

About this Plan

Mini Jazz. Radio control sport fun-fly model. For .10 to .15 two-stroke engines.

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Quote: "Hello Mary, and Steve too, In 1997 RCM&E published a 34.5" Fun-Fly model designed by Malcolm Corbin. It was called Mini Jazz.

It was a two part series namely September and October (Issue 10 and 11) of which I only have the second part. The first part, the wing, was found on, eh, another plans site but was in some Scandinavic language and had been converted to metric.

I have combined the drawings and expanded the compressed originals. The format is SVG and anyone can make additions or corrections. Most of the drawing consists of complete parts that can be dragged out for printing.

The second part of the article is not yet scanned in. I don't have a scanner. It will be uploaded later. The first part has to be provided by someone else [fixed now, see below]. Regards from the Netherlands, H.J. van Tol"

Note the main plan download here is a vector format PDF, derived fom the SVG. See CAD zip supplement for the SVG file.

Note photo of completed Mini Jazz model [pic 003] was found online at: https://flugmodel.weebly.com/mini-jazz.html

Update 7/7/2023: Added article (both parts, complete) thanks to RFJ & HJ van Tol.

Quote: "This makes a change - not a kit review but a quick plan build for anyone who fancies something different. It's 6.15pm, Thursday evening and the phone rings. Hello Malc, it's Graham (see, even editors have to work late) Are you up for a little project I have in mind? Go on, was the reply. Well says Graham, I'm after a model that anybody can fly but also one which will appeal to the top end flyers. How do you fancy designing me something? No problem thinks I! Oh and by the way Malc, it has to be full-scale and fit on the centre page of the mag!' Now that, I thought, was getting tough! With only a sheet of A3 paper, less a margin, it was going to be pretty tiny.

Having built a couple of small models before, the most important thing is to keep them slow! They can soon become mini pylon racers if you're not too careful and that would reduce the appeal substantially. A typical Fun-Fly was the obvious choice but I've never really liked the look. The new Jazz from Weston UK had the slow flying ability coupled with a very pleasing look and balance - a credit to its designer, young Alan Greenfield. Anyway, I decided to ask Alan if could do a mini version with a few mods, to assist the building, for example fattening the fuselage to make extra room.

The engine size was worked backwards to match the largest airframe I could squeeze into the space provided and the model you now see is the result of this process. The financial outlay, in wood terms, is minimal and with the current crop of small servos on the market they can be bought almost as cheaply as the standard ones.

Even though I say so myself, it's very easy to build, very very easy to fly and it'll do all the things an ordinary Fun-fly can do. So, don't delay, get the wood, get the accessories and by the time you've built the wing you'll be ready for the fuselage and tail, which will appear in issue 11.

SOME NOTES: It will not be necessary to cut the plan, a simple set of parallel lines on a piece of paper or as in my case drawn on the work bench is sufficient to build the complete wing. All wood should be soft and light. With the airframe weighing 24 oz, do not over-engineer this little machine (it don't need it!). Always remember the lighter they are the slower they fall!

By the way I'm sorry about the combination of imperial and metric measurements but I went to school in the transition period and I'm always getting mixed between the two!

RIBS AND WEBS: Be prepared because this is going to be quick. Start by cutting the twelve ribs necessary to complete the wing. I made one master pattern and then marked all twelve out on a sheet of 1/16 balsa. I then pinned the whole lot together as a sandwich and sanded them as a batch. Before separating take the opportunity to finely time the 1/4 x 1/4 spar slots to insure a perfect fit. If this is done accurately the construction process is made even easier.

Take a piece of 4 in x 36 x 1/16 balsa sheet and cut it straight down the middle. This will form the leading edge sheeting top and bottom. Next cut the trailing edge sheeting which should be two pieces of 1/16 sheet, 36 in long x 20 mm wide (see what I mean about the measurements!). Take two pieces of 1/4 sq 36 long and cyano one to the edge of one 2 in wide sheet and one to a 20 mm wide piece of sheet. Cut out the sheer webs as indicated on the plan and ensure the grain rims vertically.

Mark the wing centreline on both the TE and LE sheeting and cyano the first sheer web 25 mm each side of the centreline and tack cyano a rib to each end. Use a spare sheer web to ensure that the ribs are parallel and then tack glue to the trailing edge sheet. If you use pink Zap or Ripmax Blue, be careful not to use much as it is likely to go through the wood and stick to the bench!

Once the wing is finished and off the board you can flood the joints. If the LE and TE were pinned or taped square to the bench the two ribs should also be square. After checking this, add the next rib followed by a sheer web and repeat the process until all the ribs and webs are gone..."

Update 8/7/2023: Added a revised version (v1.1) of the SVG drawing to the CAD zipfile, thanks to HJvanTol.

Update 9/7/2023: Added alternate plan scan, thanks to Jed Bond. This is a scan of the drawings as they appeared in the original magazine pages.

Update 2/1/2024: Replaced the CAD zipfile with a revised version (v1.2) thanks to HJvanTol.

Quote: "Hello Mary, and Steve too, Hereby I send you MiniJazz V1.2. There are no major changes, just putting the dots on the i's.
On the official plan there is a tailwheel present so I fantasized one too. Outside the "officiel" plan a alternative former F3 with reduced width is drawn.
It should be much easier to make the fuselage bend.
The latest development is the addition of an A4 printing area. It is page 1, and parts can be dragged into it for printing.
You can delete the old files V1.0 and V1.1. They have nothing more to offer and just take up valuable space."

Update 28/8/2024: Replaced the CAD zipfile with a revised version, thanks to HJvanTol.

Quote: "Hello Mary, Hi Steve, Attached you'll find version V1.3 of Mini Jazz. The height of the fuselage side at the location of F3 is adjusted to compensate for the curvature of F3. It is indicated in red.
The wing mounting has more detail. Please replace the V1.2 version with this one... Thank you and greetings from the Netherlands, HJ van Tol."

Supplementary file notes

Alternate plan.
Article.

CAD file

This plan is available for download in CAD format.

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