Volts Wagon (oz14846)

About this Plan

Volts Wagon. Radio control sport model. Wingspan 54 in, for electric power with Leisure 05 LT motor.

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Quote: "Electric powered R/C aircraft are clean, quiet, and simple to operate. The Volts Wagon is no exception. The following article is a must-read for all potential electro-fliers!

WARNING: Electroflight has been determined to be habit forming. There are varified reports on file of R/Cers eliminating their noisy and oily glow engines and replacing them with electric propulsion units.

Shocking, isn't it? During the past few years, whenever I was asked how best to get into Electro-flight, my advice was to get a good two-meter glider like the Olympic 650 (oz6040) or the Gentle Lady (oz2359) (there are many that work well - whatever you can shoehorn your equipment into), and to get one of the 05 electric motors from Astro or Leisure.

While this was good advice, and does provide a workable starting point, the fact is that (1) sailplane designers do not allow space for the bulky electric propulsion batteries; (2) fitting the electric motors is not always a simple task; (3) the inclusion of landing gear and a steerable tail wheel is just not high on the list of desirable features in soaring circles; (4) unless you have an extremely small radio system, it gets terribly crowded inside those narrow glider fuselages; and (5) a two meter sailplane is a fairly ungainly sized airframe with its six-foot-plus wing. (Admittedly, item three is hardly a necessity, but it is very convenient for taxiing back to the pits after a rewarding flight). There must be a better way!

The 'better way' should be at least as good a performer as a two-meter sailplane, but be less bulky, more compact, easier and quicker to build, cost less, and take into consideration the specialized needs of the electric powered airplane and its unique systems. Such needs would include adequate ventilation for the motor and battery pack, easy access to the battery pack for its replacement, the ability to accept a variety of different battery packs (ie 1200, 800, 550 mah cells), provision for fore and aft movements of the battery pack for ease of balancing; and the ability to change propulsion units (motors) from make to make and size to size without undue complications - hence, the VOLTS WAGON!

With a wingspan of 54 inches, a wing area of 432 square inches, and a flying weight of around 40 ounces, the super functional Volts Wagon achieves all of the aforementioned criteria. Note that, because of the way the front end is designed with its open bottom and removable hatch on top, virtually every available motor in the 05 to 10 range can be easily fitted. The motors are simply suspended from Former A, and it turns out that all the bolt patterns are the same! Even the new Astro Super Ferrite 10 and the Astro 15 Cobalt will fit, though I can hardly recommend such overkill.

The landing gear rides in a vertical slot that allows it to be removed in the event that you decide to fly from tall grass. The steerable tail wheel allows you to taxi back to the pits. And of course, the combination makes takeoffs a simple matter.

The VW has been tested with five motors, two battery combinations (six cell and seven cell), eight propellors, two speed reducers (gear drive and belt drive) and two wings. Both wings are the same except for thickness..."

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