Northwest Dakota (oz16547)

About this Plan

Northwest Dakota. Free flight power sport biplane model. Wingspan 30 in.

The Joe Wagner Dakota (oz233) design dates back to 1947. This here is a later plan from 1978, scaled up to wingspan 30 in.

Quote: "Northwest Dakota. Adapted from Dakota design, by Clarence Haught."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Update 2/2/2026: Added article, thanks to DA.

Quote: "Once kitted by Veco, then Dumas, the all-balsa Dakota was an extremely clever small field sport free flight model when powered by an 02 or 049. Our update is enlarged 25%, has built-up wings and 049 power. Rest assured - it's a remarkable aircraft. Northwest Dakota, by Clarence Haught.

Even if you've only been into modeling for a short time you probably have a soft spot in your heart for that one special model or models. It may have been your first or your fiftieth model but some models just turn out to be special. Maybe it was the way it flew or perhaps it had a classical appearance. Whatever the case may be it lingers in the mind.

One such model is the Dakota. A cabin biplane, reminiscent of the old Waco cabins, the Dakota was designed for the Infant engines that emerged in the post World War II years. Construction was all balsa, with the exception of a few plywood parts, making for a rugged and durable model. Designed for sport flying, the little 24-inch span model would put in very acceptable flights on the relatively low-powered engines of the day.

I recently acquired a kit for this old design which went together in a couple of evenings. But there have been some changes in powerplant design and the once adequate .049 has now become far too much power for the Dakota. The kit model was fitted with a Cox Pee Wee .020 which proved ample power.

In view of the abundance of Cox Baby Bee .049 and McCoy .049 engines, now retired from brief careers in plastic ready-to-fly control-line models, it seemed that a modernized version of the Dakota would fill a need for a sport free flight model for young and old alike.

Scaling up the design 25% would result in a 30-inch wing span. Built-up wings attached with rubber bands would provide a better glide with less chance of damage than the rigidly attached sheet wings of the original. Such a model should be about right for the power output of the Baby Bee.

A few evenings later the new version was ready for testing. Hand gliding a model of this type reveals little other than pronounced stalling or diving tendencies. After a couple tosses to satisfy my curiosity the engine was started, tuned, and allowed to run out of fuel. A small amount of fuel measured in a syringe was placed in the tank and the engine restarted.

The safest power pattern for a model of this type is to the left. The model was launched just to the left of the wind but it wanted to go to the right and the climb was too steep. Corrections were applied and the next short hop looked great.

Since the field was large and the wind minimal, the next fuel allowance was rather generous. The ship climbed up quite high until the engine quit and began a gentle spiral down. Suddenly the wings began to rock and the nose perked up and the model began to ascend in strong lift. Five minutes later, from the edge of the field, the model. now just a speck in the sky, disappeared from view..."

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