British Champion (oz15508)

About this Plan

British Champion. Wakefield rubber competition model.

Quote: "Our second full-size plan was made by Robert Copland of England. This model won the Stout Outdoor Fuselage in 1936 and the Pilcher and Weston Cups in 1937. In 1938 it set an international record for rubber-powered cabin fuslage with 33:09 at the King Peter Cup Competition, Yugoslavia. It took fourth in the 1939 Wakefield competition. It was flown by Frank Zaic in the 1940 Moffett finals and disappeared in the air after an 11 minute flight..."

Quote: "Copland Model Instructions: The wing is constructed first, as it is used to place the wing channels in the fuselage properly. All wing ribs are given full size, so use carbon paper to trace two of each size onto 1/20 sheet balsa. The root rib (No.1) is 3/32 balsa. Assemble wings directly over plan. Select straight balsa for leading and trailing edges to make sure that the wing will not be warped later. Trim trailing edge for taper and cross section before laying down on board.

As illustrated with rib #1, prop up front part of trailing edge with 1/16 scrap balsa before cementing ribs to it. The leading edge is now pinned down to the board, followed by cementing all the ribs into place. Allow the wing at least two hours to dry, so that it will not warp when removed from the board. The trimming of the butt ends of the leading edge and the trailing edge is shown on the plans, and should be done with accuracy and care. Both the leading edge and the trailing edge are trimmed on the bottom to obtain approximately 4 in dihedral when the wing panels are both slipped into the channels.

Two channels, 4 in long, are now made of hard 1/16 sheet. The inside dimensions of the leading-edge channel are 3/16 x 5/8 in trailing-edge channel, 3/16 x 7/8 in. Both channels should be wrapped with silk or bamboo paper, with an extra coat of cement applied over it. When trimming the butt ends of the wing, make sure that the wings fit snugly into the channels.

After cutting out all the formers, assemble them directly on the top view of the fuselage, propping each one up with scrap 1/20 sheet. (See Step 1, fuselage assembly.)

The proper steps in constructing the fuselage are shown over the side view of the fuselage. The top and side longerons are the first ones to be cemented in place, followed by a lonoeren between each side and top longeron. Remember that all longerons are cemented over all formers except #1 and #16. On #1 and #16, the longerons are butt-cemented against the formers, the outside edge of each longeron being flush with the outside edge of the formers.

In Step 2, the remaining longerons are cemented in place, two between each of longerons already in place. Complete the tail end of the fuselage behind # 16 and let the cement dry thoroughly before removing the lower half of the fuselage from the work-bench. After removing the lower half from the bench, turn it upright and proceed to add the upper halves of each former. A typical former should now appear the same as Step 3. The longerons on the upper half of the fuselage are spaced the same way as those on the bottom, so repeat the procedure used in spacing the lower longerons. The nose and tail ends should now be filled in with scrap 3/32 balsa to provide surfaces to be gripped when the motor is being wound. The rear-wing channel should be cemented in place in the space allowed in the cut-outs on pieces 'T' that are cemented to the rear of former #9.

After the cement has dried, slide the front-wing channel onto the leading edge of one of the wing panels, and slide that panel into place in the rear channel. The front channel should be in place now, ready to be cemented. If it is 1-7/32 in over the center line, cement pieces around it and let dry. Be sure that it is horizontal, however, so that one w ing panel will not be lower than the other when both wing panels are slipped into place. Trim the channels off near the fuselage and sandpaper them flush with the filled-in portion of the fuselage.

The bamboo landing-gear struts are of oval cross-section, to snake sure that they do not revolve in the paper tubes into which they slide. Four layers of brown wrapping paper make up the tubes. They are made right on each strut, cement being applied between each layer of paper for stiffness and strength. Note that landing gear struts taper only in the lower part, and not in the portion that slides into the landing-gear tubes..."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Supplementary file notes

Instructions, 4 pages.

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