Top Cat IV (oz15609)
About this Plan
Top Cat IV. Indoor rubber duration model. Nats winner.
Quote: "Indoor stick at its very best, a Nationals winner and a National record holder. Designed for contest work, the 'Cat' is a real contest threat at any category site. Top Cat IV, by Lt Col Robert Randolph, USAF.
Top Cat IV is the direct descendent of a distinguished family of indoor models of proven performance and which presently hold five National Records. It has been an outstanding flyer and scored easy victories at the last three meets entered. Although the air at the 1967 Nationals was definitely not optimum, the ship logged official flights of 22:15, 22:46, and 23:35 minutes to win. Top Cat IV (built anywhere close to the weights indicated) can be a real contest threat at any category flying site and flights can definitely push record times. Actually, its best performance was at the 1967 Labor Day Record Trials Session in the big Lakehurst Balloon Hanger. With Herb Greenburg packing 2320 turns into a 20 inch loop of .055 Pirelli, Top Cat IV gave us all a good case of record fever. It appeared that the 'Cat' might make the 25 minute mark and better Frank Cumming's Cat III record; however, our best effort was 24:14.3.
I must comment on the old myth that indoor modeling is only for the experts. Literally thousands of modelers have avoided trying indoor models because they are alleged to be so difficult to build and fly. In my own case, I deferred trying for thirty years only to find out that I liked indoor best. The techniques are different and a few new skills have to be developed. These are not difficult and can be mastered with minimal effort. To prove my point, I would like to tell you about the success and progress achieved by my daughter, Linda. Approximately two years ago, when she was 13 years old, Linda became interested and built her own indoor model, without previous model building experience of any kind. She has built a total of three indoor models under my close supervision, winning a dozen trophies and establishing eleven National Records. Admittedly, just about all the performance that these ships were capable of was squeezed out by Old Dad's help in adjusting and flying them. You free fighters, who have been cutting balsa for years, will find indoor to be 'Duck Soup'.
While Top Cat IV is obviously a high-performance contest design, it can be built by indoor novices with satisfying results. I would in this case, suggest substituting a full-length tail boom for the flying tail and the use of spar sizes about 50% larger than indicated. Even for outdoor type models, I have always maintained that the best place to start out is with a proven design. In any opinion, the differences in indoor modeling are really the things that make it so interesting and appeaiing. Costs and building times are low while performance is extremely high. The ships, when cautiously flown, are unbelievably resistant to flight damage and last almost too long. I say this because as your skill increases you will build lighter with each ship. Therefore, you actually end up with many heavier reserve or obsolete models. In addition to the high ratio of flying time to cost and construction. time, what I find most gratifying are the almost laboratory conditions under which you can fly and test out design changes to optimize flight performance. This permits sneaking up to record time in a more methodical and scientific manner than is possible for other type models. Indoor contests do retain a small element of luck in 'ceiling dusting', but more often than not, the best model and flyer usually wins.
Flying sites are all around and require only some effort to locate and obtain permission for their use. I have more flying sites lined up in the Cleveland area than I can use because I work at it. Even for the lowest of sites, such as school gyms, indoor model flights are long and majestic without the unpleasant chase associated with free flight model flying..."
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(oz15609)
Top Cat IV
by Bob Randolph
from Model Airplane News
June 1968
27in span
Rubber F/F
clean :)
all formers complete :)
got article :) -
Submitted: 30/09/2024
Filesize: 175KB
Format: • PDFbitmap
Credit*: dfritzke
Downloads: 155
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