Me 163 Komet (oz15643)

About this Plan

Me 163 Komet. Radio control sport-scale model, for .15 engine. Wingspan 24 in. Tractor prop layout.

Quote: "Messerschmitt's dangerous little rocket fighter makes an appropriately speedy model. Find a spare .15 size motor and get building! Messerschmitt Me 163, by John Rutter.

While I was on the flying field one Sunday afternoon couldn't help but be impressed by a couple of Cambria Fun Fighters (ME 109 and Mustang). Even though their weight (3-1/2 lb) sounded a bit excessive, I really liked the idea of a small, scalish 'fun' fighter and lost no time looking round for something that was different, lighter, and quick to build. A quick thumb through W. Green's Fighters of WW II and the ME 163 fairly jumped out at me. It struck me as definitely different, very simple in outline, especially the rarely modelled C-O version and, anyway, I like flying wings!

Construction had to be boxy for ease, and a flat plate wing had to be the quickest way to go. Where to put the CG though? 25% of the wing area with a little reflex sounded a good place to start, but the question then was how to test it? A 6 in chuck glider was produced in a few minutes, ballasted until it flew well with the amount of reflex that I thought I would need, and it balanced just about spot on where I though it should. Suitably encouraged I drew up the plan to about 1/11 scale on a bit of lining paper and added 1 in wide strip ailerons to give a little more wing area.

This was still Sunday evening; by Wednesday evening it was ready to fly except for a little tinkering with the radio gear! It's that easy to build. It had to wait till Saturday for the first flight which went great except for some down trim being needed - it doesn't need much reflex at all. However, this is not really a beginner's model; although it is very easy to build and fly, it's very quick, small and therefore easy to lose sight of or disorientate and the lack of a tail and dihedral don't seem to help here.

For the more experienced flier though it's great fun; mine will climb at 60° for ever and gain quite a bit of height vertically after a zoom climb, looking very realistic. Rolls are probably faster than the real one and even the glide is reasonable, though it will not float on for ever like the Cambria models with their proper wing section. The only fly in the ointment is the landing. I'm not surprised that so many blew up on touch down (full-size, that is); the landing skid seems to be too far forward and trips the model up, especially if the landing happens to be crosswind.

Construction: The first thing that I did was to cut out a kit of parts except for the top and bottom sheeting which .were cut after the fuselage was built (photo. 1). Next, glue the wing pieces together using the time honoured Sellotape and balsa cement method. Add the wing reinforcement pieces using the pieces themselves as a template. I glued them in place with 5 min. epoxy; the spacing between them depends on the servos used as they're also the servo rails! Apart from this vital function they also add a great deal of strength to this area after cut-outs are made for the gear, so don't forget them.

The aileron/ elevator mixer is a simple hinged plate, one part glued to the fuselage, the other stuck to the bottom of the aileron servo with servo tape. The only forces on the servo tape are from the torque of the servo, so it's quite safe to use it here. I hinged the plate with Solarfilm (photo 2). Glue the fuselage sides and doublers together with impact glue, and glue formers 2, 3, 4 in place. Lightly stick the hinge plate in the approximate position needed (it will probably have to be moved when the wing is glued in place later and glue the other fuselage side in place. Set aside to dry (not long if you use cyano!) before pulling the tail end in and adding F5. Pull the front end in and glue the 1/tin ply engine mounting plate in with epoxy. Check the whole thing carefully for alignment and leave the engine mount in place.

The exact position of F1 depends on the length of the motor/ mount used. Add the triangular gussets (Photo 3) followed by the wing and fillets (Photo 4). The wing slots through the fuselage once you've trimmed out the middle of the formers with a long sharp knife. Add the top and bottom sheeting, not forgetting to pull in the front end to suit the spinner. The one part of the top sheet which should be tacked only is the fuselage hatch..."

From Radio Modeller November 1985.

Direct submission to Outerzone.

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