Hot Wood (oz16490)

About this Plan

Hot Wood. Simple Jetex model for beginners. All-sheet design.

Quote: "Twice a Nationals Winner this sure-shot performer is fun for sport as well as competition. Ho Wood, by James M Mills.

HERE IS A Jetex-powered model developed especially for Junior modelers. It is easy to build, a consistent flyer and, if flown in competition, is capable of bring-ing home a trophy. Hot Wood was de-signed in the 60's for my sons. Tom flew the first Hot Wood in a Dayton Wing-masters Club contest for Jetex 50 powered models, and won.

This model has been flown twice at the AMA National Contest. Jim placed third in Junior Rocket at the 1969 Willow Grove Nationals with one out-of-sight flight, and Greg placed first in Junior Rocket at the 1974 Lake Charles Nationals.

Those who are familiar with Jetex flying know that blown gaskets are a real prob-lem. We use the EN2 HT 50 Jetex engine loaded with the standard Jetex 50 fuel pellets. Since the double retaining springs on the HT 50 nozzle assembly are engineered to handle the very rapid burning HT 50 fuel, we have practically no blown gasket problems.

Give this model a try! Construct it with-out warps and you will have a machine that is fun to fly.

Construction: Start with the wing. Select a sheet of 1/4 by 3 inch lightweight A or C grain balsa, free of warps, for the wing. Mark the outline of the wing on the balsa and cut it out. Locate the high point of the wing, as indicated on the plans, and draw a line along the top of the wing at this point. Mark the dihedral joint locations, making sure they are square with the lead-ing edge. Using a razor plane, cut away the material from the high point of the wing to the trailing edge in a straight line. (See the airfoil section on the drawings.) Any wood left in this area is excess weight, and this model must be light to fly properly.

The front of the airfoil should be planed off carefully, starting at the leading edge, and working back to the high point. Note that the underside of the leading edge is rounded off slightly, so be careful not to take too much off the top.

Taper the wing from the tip dihedral joints to the tip using the razor plane. It is important to keep the tips light. The razor plane should be used to cut the wing close to the final shape and thickness; sanding is then used to obtain the final finish.

If you are not familiar with a razor plane, here are some suggestions: The old Gillette Blue blades are, by far, the best blades to use in a razor plane, but they are almost impossible to find. The stainless steel and other super blades do not work as well; however, Gillette thin blades work reasonably well.

When you plane, cut from the center of the wing towards the tip, and always cut with the razor plane at about a 30- to 45-degree angle to the direction of your stroke.

Try cutting at the trailing edge of the wing first. If the razor plane is cutting too deeply, you can loosen the blade, and shift it back slightly. Make sure the blade is squarely located in the plane. Sometimes turning the blade over will improve the cut. Don't press down hard on the razor plane; use light, long strokes. After the wing is roughed to shape, with the razor plane, sand the wing. A good grade of sandpaper is important..."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

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