Pudgey (oz15574)

About this Plan

Pudgey Bostonian. Rubber model. Wingspan 16 in, wing area 48 sq in.

Note this plan is a free download from the aeromodeller.com site at http://aero-modeller.com/bonus-coverage-from-issue-2-920/ where there's also a link to download a copy of the Bostonian rules.

Update 3/10/2024: Added article, thanks to RFJ.

Quote: "The Bostonian class was developed to be fun, simple to build and emulate the designs (to some level) of real aircraft. Since those humble beginnings, the class has evolved into a full fledged AMA event category. Over the years, Bostonians have become very popular in both the UK and US and have began to spread their wings over rest of the world.

By definition, a Bostonian model has a 16-inch maximum wingspan and a fuselage length not to exceed 14 inches. The fuselage must be built-up to enclose an imaginary box 1.5 x 2.5 x 3.0 inches in size. It must have an undercarriage, and all flying surfaces must be covered on both sides.

A Bostonian monoplane has to weigh at least 14 grams without its rubber motor, and biplanes, triplanes and others must weigh in at 20 grams. These weight minimums tend to encourage reasonably robust structures that put up with ham-fisted builders like me and allow them to take a fair amount of day-to-day punishment.

The Bostonian movement encourages cartoon-like features of real aircraft, so you'll find many whimsical designs that promote the prime objective of the class - fun! Bostonian models are an excellent choice for beginners because of their ease of building, ruggedness and tractable flying characteristics.

I am drawn to Bostonians for all these reasons and more. They are fun, sometimes hysterical in design, and all of the models I have seen fly were generally good performers. My inspiration for Pudgey came from a number of directions. I always loved the pot-bellied design of the Lockheed Loadstar/Hudson and the kidney bean-shaped vertical tail plane design made me think of Boston Baked Beans (the thought process of a misdirected mind). The rest of the design evolved from there.

In the true spirit of the Bostonian, the structure is simple and direct with very few curves (no pun intended) thrown at the builder. The laminated rudder surrounds are simple once you have one or two under your belt. In fact, most modellers who master laminations rarely revert to the accepted splicing method once the strength and weight savings benefits have been realised.

The box-fuselage is constructed in the usual way. To make the extreme curve in the lower longerons at the tail end and less extreme curve at the nose, I split the 1/16 sq strip down the middle and soaked the wood in hot water. I made a cardboard form for the rear shape and used push-pins to gently bend the wood to shape and then let it dry before gluing. This method presented no problems.

Once the fuselage sides are built and dry, invert the sides over the top view and insert the three F-2 wing cradle cross-members in their assigned places and glue the adjacent bottom cross-members making sure the fuselage is square and true. Glue the fuselage sides together at the tail post and then insert and glue the remaining cross-members again, making sure the fuselage is square and true.

Cross-laminate 1/8 balsa to construct the nose block. Cut the nose plug to fit snugly into the nose Opening and glue it to the nose block. When dry, fit and sand the nose block assembly to the shape on the plan and carefully sand it flush to the fuselage..."

Supplementary file notes

Article.

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