Navy Gnat (oz14996)

About this Plan

Navy Gnat. Free flight sport biplane model for rubber power.

Quote: "Back In the heyday of the biplane, (otherwise known as 'the dear dead days beyond recall') deck fighters such as this Grumman F3F-2 were the glamour planes of the fleet. It was impossible during the middle 30's to pick up an aviation magazine without seeing one or more pictures of carrier planes taking off, stalling in over the stern or flying wingtip to wingtip in flawless formation.

At first glance, this lil' eyecatcher, colorful though it is, may seem a little small and stubby to really perform in the air but such is not the case. You'll draw a bigger crowd at the local school yard with this model than a philanthropic Good Humor man. It's a natural for youngsters, being practically indestructible (unless you persist in flying in the vicinity of nervous buffalo). The afternoon we went out to test fly, our Gnat really got a workout. The bugs were scarcely ironed out when we weakened to the pleas of Kin I try her onc't, Mister, huh, kin I? And before darkness fell and we regretfully headed for the old station wagon, no less than fire little Lindberghs had successfully soloed.

You've probably got enough material in the old scrap box (as these articles always say but nobody really does, so go out and buy the stuff like I had to) and start building - else, how you gonna fly tomorrow after school or work, as the case may be.

Construction is not difficult and a modeller with a few flying models to his credit can probably grind out a Gnat from the plans alone. But for you recently converted stamp collectors, there follows several hundred words, wise and otherwise, outlining the building procedure.

Hack out the fuselage from some nice 1/8 sheet balsa, not too hard, and cement on the prop shaft tubing, noting that it should tip down 3/32 at the front, providing downthrust to prevent a stally, loopy flight. Cement a second time, binding fast with a small silk patch to insure permanence.

Before cutting the curved slot at the tail, it would be wise to make the tail surfaces so you can use the stabilizer as a guide for slot width. A snug fit is important as you will discover when adjusting for flight. Do not cement the stab in place or our Gremlins will come around some night and uncap all your dope bottles and then you'll be sorry.

While the 1/32 sheet balsa is at hand, cut out the four wing panels and curve the airfoil section into them (by pairs) by wetting the top surfaces and smearing bands of cement chordwise on the lower surfaces. The resulting expansion and contraction should do it.

Test the fit at the wing roots where they butt together and trim if necessary so when joined the necessary dihedral (or tip rise) is formed and the joint is so tight that an undernourished balsa bacillus couldn't squeeze through (and you know how small THEY are). Pre-cement these joints and allow to dry before the actual cementing and jointing.

While waiting for various things to dry, you can be bending the wire parts out of .040 music wire obtainable front your neighborhood piano- (correction) hobby shop. Make sure the front wing clip is 1/16 higher at the wing attaching point than the rear clip..."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Supplementary file notes

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