Seahawk (oz15967)

About this Plan

Sea Hawk. Radio control sport floatplane model. Wingspan 60 in, for .60 engine.

Quote: "Seahawk. Semi-scale Schneider racer, designed by Eric Smith for 60 to 80 engines and four channel radio.

When the British Waterplane Association was formed in 1982, it was fortunate to acquire an exquisite miniature of the original Schneider Trophy, won outright by great Britain in 1931 and which is, I believe, nowadays displayed in the Royal Aero Club in London.

In the early days of BWA this miniature trophy was competed for annually in a re-enactment of the full-size Schneider races. Accurate scale models of Schneider aircraft, whether the original prototypes actually reached the start line or not, were flown singly around a triangular course, and were judged on manoeuvrability on water, take-off and alighting performance, and realism in the air combined with scale accuracy, workmanship and finish.

The BWA Schneider Trophy was held by several famous names in the eighties - Carlo Bergamaschi, Dudley Pattison, Jeff Greenhalgh amongst them.

The last Schneider competition which BWA staged was at Colwick Park near Nottingham in 1990, but since that time we have not had any suitable scale aircraft on the scene. It seemed that modellers were not willing to spend a lot of time researching and building a specialised model for one event per year. Some of the Schneider aircraft, are perhaps, not too easy to fly or handle on the water, and this may well have influenced the trend.

During late 1994 we decided that it should be possible to develop a number of semi-scale Schneider types, either by adapting existing practical and successful aerobatic designs, or by just scratch-building look-alikes.

The prototype Seahawk was designed and built during the first half of 1995, and first test flown successfully at Goosedale in August of that year. The model at that stage was powered by a Laser 61, and had a fully-symmetrical wing section. It was rather heavy and, although the handling on water and the appearance in the air were superb, it was rather under-powered, needing rather long take-off runs.

An unfortunate incident at Billing some time later, when one of our lakeside trees leapt straight into the path of the approaching model, caused its immediate demise (the model not the tree)!

Having been reasonably pleased with the model, I commenced construction of a second prototype, as presented here. This was designed with slimmer floats, a semi-symmetrical wing section, lighter construction, and the increased power of a Webra Speed 61. This has transformed the take-off and aerobatic performance, and retained the original's good manners on water.

Initial flights (at Goosedale 1995) were carried out using a K&B 65, but this was later replaced by the Webra.

Seahawk is a practical model, which can be flown in almost any weather conditions, in and out of typical waterplane sites, and is quite suitable for everyday flying.

Constrution: As with any scratch-built model, it is beneficial to cut out all the various parts before commencing assembly, so as to create a kit which will go together rapidly and more enjoyable.

Fuselage: Cut two fuselage sides from hard 1/8 balsa, note scarf joint if using 36 in wood, fit ply doubler at the front, and glue 1/4 in sqare balsa top and bottom, including spacers... "

Sea Hawk from Aviation Modeller July 1996.

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Supplementary file notes

Article pages, thanks to RFJ.

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