Mr Mulligan (oz1525)

About this Plan

Mr Mulligan. Scale racer. 56in span jumbo rubber model by Tom Houle, from Model Builder magazine.

Update 21/12/2013: Replaced this plan with a clearer copy, thanks to theshadow.

Quote: "Ben Howard's Mr Mulligan. A really JUMBO scale model of this famous racing plane, with a span of 56 inches. Scale is 1-3/4 inches to the foot. The ship has been extensively test flown, and makes beautiful air trips. By Tom Houle.

It all started with an issue of R/C Modeler. I was leisurely perusing my stack of RCM's looking for nothing in particular (or was it rubber-powered R/C?) when I happened upon a set of Mr Mulligan drawings which could be had full size (56 inch wingspan) from Harold Osborne.

In a moment of light-headedness I saw myself designing a suitable structure, adding a .40 for power, and flying off into the wild blue yonder images of Bendix trophy dancing in my head.

Well, I did order the drawings and what seemed like a 10 pound package came in return for my three-and-a-half bucks. The 10 pound package turned out to be a detailed set of Mulligan scale drawings which could easily be converted to a set of working plans. By now you're probably wondering if and when the R/C Mulligan was ever built - it wasn't. Half way through the plan drawing stage, I suddenly realized: 1) it would cost a fortune in balsa to build an R/C Mulligan, 2) I did not have a suitable radio, and 3) I didn't have the bread to satisfy items 1) and 2). So the project was shelved along with my model building for a couple of years.

Enter MODEL BUILDER. Gee whiz and no kidding. MODEL BUILDER was a distrinctly fresh breeze in the field of model airplane pub's. Look. After read-
ing two issues, it got me going again full steam in aeromodeling. Modelers like Fernando Ramos, Hal Cover, Walt Mooney, Clarence Mather and Bill Hannan have (in my estimation) made great strides into the so-called Sunday afternoon relaxed flying thing.

These guys have Shown the lesser knowledgeable people like myself, how to build and fly low cost rubber pow-ered sport and scale aircraft. And gen-tlemen, with the cost of building materials escalating as it has, l maintain that these guys (and MODEL BUILDER) have made one hell of a contribution to the hobby. The upshot of the whole thing was that after reading several Ramos, Hannan, Mooney, Mather and Cover articles, I was convinced that I could build a rubber powered Mulligan from scratch light enough to fly, ie at 10 - 15 oz.

I shot for 10 oz. but ended up with 13 oz, less rubber. This was my fault because I didn't cut lightening holes anywhere, and I used reasonably firm wood throughout except for the wing ribs, which were super soft. In fact, so soft that several began to buckle when the covering was shrunk!

Just a few hints before discussing the actual building. Use an alphatic resin glue such as TITEBOND or SIGBOND throughout for maximum strength. If you can't get 1/8 inch spruce squares, I'd suggest using hard 1/8 x 3/16 balsa, or better yet, 3/16 square hard balsa longerons with 1/8 x 3/16 uprights. Remember, this is a big airplane and the rubber load and landing stresses are amplified accordingly. And be patient! The Mulligan is a lot of airplane and will not go together overnight.

Also, like most scale models, you must keep the rest of the fuselage light. Choose your wood carefully here, light yet firm.

For the judges in the audience the model is exact scale, with the exception of the wing and stab airfoils, wheel pant and tire width, and the strut attachments. In fact, my wing struts were added mostly as an after thought, since my Mulligan was intended for sport flying..."

Supplementary file notes

Article, thanks to theshadow.

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