Baby Ace (oz15855)

About this Plan

Baby Ace. Control line scale parasol model. Wingspan 26 in. Scale is 1/12.

Quote: "Mechanix Illustrated Baby Ace. Designer Walt Musciano. Scale 1 in = 1 ft. Published MI, May 1956. Retraced 7-10-82 by Dick Gleason."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Quote: "An exact scale model of MI's famous Baby Ace, this balsa model has excellent flying qualities.

The May, June and July '55 issues of your favorite magazine carried plans and instructions on the building of a neat, full-size single seater light plane called the MI Baby Ace. The editors took one look at this beauty and decided that the Baby Ace would make a very interesting control line model airplane, especially for the guy whose pocketbook and workshop is a little too small to build the full-size ship. The resulting model proved to have excellent flying qualities and was also very easy to construct.

Our prototype model is built to the scale of one inch to one foot. It can be powered by any glow plug or diesel engine of from .099 to .19 cubic inch displacement. The plans show these engines installed in a variety of positions to suit the builder's taste. The entire plane is made from standard-size balsa wood, available at all hobby shops. Care was taken to keep the variety of wood sizes to a minimum. An interesting feature is the shock-absorbing landing gear which works just like the one on the full-size plane.

Start construction by tracing the fuselage sides, using the pattern, onto 1/8 sheet balsa and cutting to shape with a single-edge razor blade. Be certain that only one side has the holes for the control lines and the slot for the control rod. Now trace and cut the bulkheads to shape. Cut the 14 in plywood firewall with a coping saw or vibrating jig saw.

It is advisable to use fuel-proof cement, available at all model shops. Using this cement join the rear of the two fuselage sides together at the angle shown in the top view drawing. Hold these together with straight pins until the cement is dry. Slip the fuselage bulkheads in place between the fuselage sides, beginning from the rear.

Trace and saw the plywood bellcrank and landing gear foundations to shape. Cement the bellcrank mount firmly between the fuselage sides. While this is drying bend the ivin. music wire control rod to shape. The wire lead-out lines should be attached to the bellcrank at this time. (Bellcranks can be pur chased in any hobby shop.)

The fuel tank should be selected to fit the size of the engine you intend to use. Any commercial metal tank such as Maeco, Acme, Perfect, Froom, or Kap Pak can be used. It will be necessary to attach plastic tubing fuel line to the three fuel tank connections. The filling and vent extensions should be long enough to reach outside of the fuselage, as shown on the side view, while the feed line must be long enough to reach the engine needle valve without kinking. Using scrap balsa, wedge the fuel tank very firmly into the fuselage, for a loose tank will cause erratic engine operation.

The landing gear can be constructed while the fuel tank installation is drying. Bend the music wire to shape following the dimensions given on the plans. Using soft tinned wire, such as that which is found on milk bottle caps, bind the four struts to each other. Now, with a hot soldering iron and fairly soft solder, very firmly join these bound sections of the landing gear. Use enough of the solder to be certain that it has penetrated the wire binding.

This assembly should now be wrapped onto the plywood landing gear foundation, using strong carpet thread. Sew this through the slots in the foundation and around the two horizontal struts. Apply plenty of cement to this assembly, smearing it around the thread. Now, apply cement to the edges of the plywood landing gear foundation and slide the assembly in place between the fuselage sides. Apply several coats of cement to this joint.

The engine mount has been designed to accommodate most of the engines that can be used with the model. The length can be varied by changing one dimension as noted on the plans. Using the pattern cut the mount to shape from 1/16 aluminum or dural sheet. Drill the mounting holes and bend carefully along the dotted lines. Use elastic stop nuts to bolt the engine mount firmly to the firewall. Place the engine on the engine mount, and mark the location of the mounting holes then drill these..."

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