Szekely Flying Dutchman (oz15193)

About this Plan

Szekely Flying Dutchman. Radio control scale model. Wingspan 52 in, for .26 four-stroke engines.

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Quote: "Flying Dutchman. An unusual subject for our free plan from the Szekely Aircraft and Engine Company. By Philip S Kent.

During the wave of aeronautical prosperity that resulted from the Lindbergh transatlantic flight in 1927, a large number of new aircraft companies were set up. Many of these companies did not last long as the Depression developed in the early 1930's and after building only a few aircraft the companies disappeared. The Szekely company was unusual in that it built both aircraft and engines. It is better known for the engines that it produced as these were much more successful than the aeroplanes. In 1928 a three cylinder engine, the SR 3, was put into production. Developing 40 hp at 1,800 rpm with a weight of 148 lbs. A development of this engine, the SR-3-45 eventually powered several well known designs that included the Curtiss-Wright Junior, Bhul Bull Pup, American Eaglet, Spartan, Rearwin Junior, Prest Baby Persuit, Nicholas Beazley NB-8 and Corben Baby Ace.

In 1929 the Szekely company announced the Flying Dutchman, a single seat low wing monoplane powered by the SR-3 engine. The aircraft was designed to fill the need for a small, light, single seater that had a good standard of construction with modest cost and economy of operation. Construction of the fuselage and tail surfaces was welded steel tubing, fabric covered. The cantilever wooden wing was unusual in having no dihedral. It was claimed that the shape of the tips would allow the aircraft to maintain lateral stability without dihedral. The undercarriage was of the split axle type with rubber ring shock absorbers. Due to the high lift airfoil it was claimed that the aircraft could take off in 75 ft. The top speed was 80 mph with a landing speed of 25 mph. The advertised price at the time was $2,200.

A production run of two aircraft per week was planned but this never materialised due to the stock market crash. At least three aircraft are known to have been produced, the earliest being ID No. 3088 (Ser. No. 7 manufactured in 1929). This machine had a long tapered fairing forward of the windshield. The most photographed aircraft was ID No. 9450 (Ser. No. 12 manufactured in 1929) which had checkerboard decorations and a conventional windscreen. The aircraft was featured on the cover of Aviation magazine of August 19th, 1929 as well as in several advertisements. A third aeroplane, ID No. 9455 (Ser. No. 17 manufactured in 1929) was shown in flight in a photo in the Aircraft Yearbook of 1930. Although the company had some success with their engines the Szekely Company went into receivership in 1932 and was taken over by the Aviation Holding Company. In 1937 the factory was purchased by the Crampton Manufacturing Company who supplied parts for the earlier engines.

The Model: I had known of the Szekely three cylinder engines since building a free flight Buhl Pup (oz239) from a Berkley kit many years ago. The Flying Dutchman was brought to my attention by my good friend Vic Larsen from Texas. Vic had included a small three view drawing with one of his letters along with a brief description of the aircraft. I didn't think anything more about the aircraft until I started looking around for a simple scale model that would be suitable for a beginner to scale. The Flying Dutchman looked a good subject. In fact it looked more like a model than a full size aircraft in some respects. I was short of photographs for a competition type model but it was intended to get people flying a scale model so that didn't matter too much.

There is always a demand for a model that will fit into the car conveniently and one that does not take too much time to build. I therefore decided to design the model around one of my favourite small engines, the O.S. 26 Surpass. At 1/6 scale the model would have a wingspan of 52 in, just right for the engine. I drew the model up and had the drawing reduced in size and sent the copy off to Vic. Imagine my surprise when, a few weeks later, a letter arrived with photographs of two models under construction. The models were in two sizes, one to the drawing that I had sent out, 36 in span and one to the designed 52 in span. Back at home I had supplied another friend, Fred Keegan of the Pontefract club with an enlarged drawing so that he could build a quarter scale version. Photographs in this article include all three of the models.

Construction: The construction of all three models is similar. The fuselage is a basic box with a rounded decking and block balsa cowl. The wings use a D box leading edge and are of all balsa construction. The tail unit uses the well tried sheet core construction with ribs and spars on each side. You can build the model in any sequence, but I like to start with the fuselage, so here goes.

Lay the plan over the building board and cover it with a sheet of clear polythene, the backing from one of the covering materials like Solartex is ideal. Pin down the longerons and the 3/16 sheet pieces that form the wing cut out and cockpit strengthening. Cut and fit the 3/16 square uprights and any sheet parts. Trace the former shapes and transfer the shapes by pricking through onto the balsa sheet and plywood..."

Flying Dutchman from RC Scale International, March 1999.

Supplementary file notes

Article pages, thanks to RFJ.

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