Stephens Akro (oz15783)

 

Stephens Akro (oz15783) by Brad Shepherd 1992 - plan thumbnail

About this Plan

Stephens Akro. Radio control scale model. Wingspan 73 in. Scale is 1/4.

Quote: "Nowadays, many versions of the Stephens Akro can be seen flying in air shows and as sport acrobatic aircraft. Each is a little different, reflecting the personal touch of its owner/builder. The quarter-size sport-scale model presented here is based on a variant designed by Ray Parker. I chose the plane because of Ray's subtle modifications and the very attractive paint scheme.

Ray had reduced the full-length bubble canopy to a partial bubble and raised the turtledeck. He also had slightly enlarged the tail surfaces, and redesigned the square tips. Internally, he had revised the fuselage framework a bit and redesigned the controls for better feel and optimal performance. In a letter, Ray wrote that while he has built and restored other aircraft, the Stephens remains his favorite, and he flies it often.

Some of my readers may already be familiar with Ray Parker's creative talents and super craftsmanship abilities from the article about his close copy of the Sperry Messenger in the December 1974 issue of the EAA publication Sport Aviation. Ray had used three-views and information gleaned from an article by Pete Bowers, along with some eyeball engineering and guesstimation, to develop the plans for this post-World War I single-place Army biplane.

Ray began his career in aviation in 1940 at a flying school in Missoula. Montana. He progressed to Army Air Corp flying schools and graduated as a photo-reconnaissance pilot flying P-38 photo planes in the Pacific theater of World War II.

After the war, Ray studied at the universities of Montana. Indiana, and Columbia, earning a PhD in geology, then moved on to a career flying all over the world with the US Geological Survey. He is now retired to a residential airport community in Ocala, Florida. Ray recently restored a Piper PA-22, converting it to a Pacer. At this writing, next on his agenda is an RV-6.

Many admirers of the Stephens Akro have requested airframe kits for the plane, and over the years Ray has welded at least 15 kits. Several went to Australia, several were for US modelers, and one was shipped to England.

My decision to replicate Ray's Stephens was based not only on the good looks of the midwing and paint scheme, but also on the fact that it could be built with common, off-the-shelf model materials. This would ensure a light, strong craft that could do aerobatics without the addition of a lot of extra horsepower in the firewall.

Indeed, the model delivers good aerobatic performance when fitted with any of a wide array of engines. I tried a SuperTigre .90 for the first few flights and, using the throttle for speed control, found the plane capable of handling that level of power through any acrobatic routine. From the first flight, the model flew as well as the full-scale prototype, with no need to use the trim levers on the transmitter to line it up. I'd done rolls and vertical up rolls, loops, snaps, and knife-edge flight, and was planning to try a stall and slow flight, when the engine flamed out.

I tweaked open the needle valve and took off for a second flight. The model went straight ahead in the stall; slow flight was very stable, with no sign of tip stalling.

To check the performance with a different power installation, I removed the SuperTigre and added a Saito .80 GK four-stroke. The Hayes mount remained in place. The plane proved every bit as gung ho for aerobatics as it had been with the ST .90. Be aware that the Saito's shaft protrudes a little farther than that of the SuperTigre..."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Quote: "Best of the Season to you, Mary and Steve! Years ago, I scaled this up by drawing a fuselage to match a Laser wing that had been given to me. The plane flew beautifully, but I lost it due to radio failure. Recently I got out my magazine and had a go at enlarging the magazine plan to full scale using GIMP as described by Hogal. This involved enlarging it more than 8 times, so it is a bit fuzzy at this scale. but I believe it would be useful to an experienced scratch builder, if there are any left these days in a world of ARFs! I have attached the drawings and the article. I love the site and look at it every day. Best Regards. MJB"

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

Stephens Akro (oz15783) by Brad Shepherd 1992 - model pic

Datafile:
  • (oz15783)
    Stephens Akro
    by Brad Shepherd
    from Model Aviation
    June 1992 
    73in span
    Scale IC R/C LowWing Civil
    clean :)
    all formers complete :)
    got article :)
  • Submitted: 29/12/2024
    Filesize: 1066KB
    Format: • PDFbitmap
    Credit*: MJB
    Downloads: 591

ScaleType:
  • Stephens_Akro | help
    see Wikipedia | search Outerzone
    ------------
    Test link:
    search RCLibrary 3views (opens in new window)


    ScaleType: This (oz15783) is a scale plan. Where possible we link scale plans to Wikipedia, using a text string called ScaleType.

    If we got this right, you now have a couple of direct links (above) to 1. see the Wikipedia page, and 2. search Oz for more plans of this type. If we didn't, then see below.


    Notes:
    ScaleType is formed from the last part of the Wikipedia page address, which here is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephens_Akro
    Wikipedia page addresses may well change over time.
    For more obscure types, there currently will be no Wiki page found. We tag these cases as ScaleType = NotFound. These will change over time.
    Corrections? Use the correction form to tell us the new/better ScaleType link we should be using. Thanks.

Stephens Akro (oz15783) by Brad Shepherd 1992 - pic 003.jpg
003.jpg
Stephens Akro (oz15783) by Brad Shepherd 1992 - pic 004.jpg
004.jpg
Stephens Akro (oz15783) by Brad Shepherd 1992 - pic 005.jpg
005.jpg

Do you have a photo you'd like to submit for this page? Then email admin@outerzone.co.uk

User comments

No comments yet for this plan. Got something to say about this one?
Add a comment

 

 
 

Download File(s):
 

Notes

* Credit field

The Credit field in the Outerzone database is designed to recognise and credit the hard work done in scanning and digitally cleaning these vintage and old timer model aircraft plans to get them into a usable format. Currently, it is also used to credit people simply for uploading the plan to a forum on the internet. Which is not quite the same thing. This will change soon. Probably.

Scaling

This model plan (like all plans on Outerzone) is supposedly scaled correctly and supposedly will print out nicely at the right size. But that doesn't always happen. If you are about to start building a model plane using this free plan, you are strongly advised to check the scaling very, very carefully before cutting any balsa wood.

 

Terms of Use

© Outerzone, 2011-2025.

All content is free to download for personal use.

For non-personal use and/or publication: plans, photos, excerpts, links etc may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Outerzone with appropriate and specific direction to the original content i.e. a direct hyperlink back to the Outerzone source page.

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site's owner is strictly prohibited. If we discover that content is being stolen, we will consider filing a formal DMCA notice.