Wittman Special (oz15568)

About this Plan

Wittman Special (Buster). Control line scale model racer. Wingspan 24 in, for Arden 199 engine.

Quote: "Arden-powered and utilizing new glow plug or D-E Diesel conversion head, this model of Goodyear Trophy Winner is excellent flyer. Wittman Special, by Bill Tyler.

ADD to the list of model builders' all-time favorites the Wittman Special. We predict that this design will join the ranks of famous planes such as the Gee-Bee Racer, Folkert's Racer and the ever popular Howard series.

Steve Wittman, the designer of Buster, has been a racing pilot since 1928. He has repeatedly placed high in the Cleveland Air Races, winning second place in the Thompson Trophy Race in 1935, second place in 1937 and fourth place in 1938. Wittman is strictly a pilot's pilot, as during 11 year of racing he has not had a serious accident and has managed to bag over 20 trophies.

This year's Cleveland Air Races introduced a new event, the Goodyear Trophy classification. The requirements for this event' are based on a maximum of 190 cu in displacement engines, a wing loading not to exceed 12 lb per sq ft, and other stringent requirements aimed at safe flying rather than the spectacular man-killing Thompson Trophy type of event. This event has been endorsed by the Professional Pilots' Racing Association and can be compared to the midget racing car type of sport.

The Wittman Special is by no means a new design, as the basic proportions go back to the pre-war Thompson Trophy Races. In fact, Buster is a revamped version of his earlier Thompson Trophy Racer which conforms with the specifications of the Goodyear Trophy event, proving the adage that old planes never die. This 'new' Wittman Special covered the course of 22.5 miles, 8 laps, in 165.857 mph to take first place. The straight away speed would be much greater, very close to 200 mph.

It is interesting to note that the airplane uses the full cantilever landing gear which was patented by Wittman back in 1936 and is now a feature of present day light planes such as the Cessna and Luscombe. This in itself is proof of the value of racing planes in contributing new technical developments to the aircraft industry.

Fortunately for the model builder, the Wittman Special has ideal proportions for a control-line model. Note the long moment arm, ample tail surfaces and the sturdy low aspect ratio wing. In fact Air Trails Model Editor, Al Orthoff, was so entranced by the possibilities of this design that he immediately commissioned us to design a control-line model for his readers.

Three-view drawings of the full scale ship could not be obtained in time to make this deadline but a number of excellent outline-revealing photographs were available: Since we knew the overall dimensions of the ship, that the wing span was 16 ft and the wing area 67 ft square, we had a lead which enabled our draftsman to work out a very accurate outline of the proportions from the photograph.

It was determined that a 24 in wing span would allow an Arden 199 tilted on its side to cowl neatly into the fuselage outline. Other engines, however, such as a Bantam or the D & E Arden converted diesel and Ohlsson 23 can be used. If you are not too interested in scale appearance and desire a swell stunt ship, try using any of the .60 displacement engines mounted upright..."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Supplementary file notes

Article.

Corrections?

Did we get something wrong with these details about this plan (especially the datafile)? That happens sometimes. You can help us fix it.
Add a correction