Curtiss P6E Hawk (oz16629)

About this Plan

Curtiss P6E Hawk. Radio control scale model for electric power. Wingspan 28 in.

Quote: "Full size Plan feature: Yesterday's Hawk. The story behind Chris Golds' latest electric powered masterpiece, a 28 inch span Curtiss P-6E for brushless motors.

I have long loved its shape and colour scheme. I modelled it once before for John Mortimer of Flywell Models but this time I wanted to push the boundaries of my 400 motor experience a little further - this time with a brushless 400. Twenty-eight inches of top wing-span, the wing area came to about 1-3/4 square feet and with a possible 26 ounces flying weight this would give a wing loading of about 16 ounces per square foot which I considered feasible for a 400 brushless motor with a direct-drive AFC 7 x 5 inch prop.

With a few days' gap in painting the scenery for our village pantomime, a small model would be just right. So I sharpened my pencil and laid down a clean piece of drawing paper - always a thrilling moment for me.

The model: I wanted it 'simple but scale' with a faithful colour-scheme and so I chose to go for a built-up but lightweight structure. I had to have the wheel spats as well as the radiator and the drop-tank, an amazingly early use of what is, to my generation of fighter pilots, standard external kit. Also, she had to be rigged and that means flying and landing wires from black and very thin shirring elastic. Our advantage is - no fuel exhaust and thus no horrible saggy, wet rigging wires!

The plan contains all the build instructions, which is really a sequence tasks which the experienced modelle may not need. But, PLEASE build light with good quality LIGHT materials and be just parsimonious enough with the adhesives.

The only difficult (or rather, fiddly) task was the building of the cabane which supports the centre of the top wing and thus has to be accurate in incidence, lateral and normal (ie yaw) trim. The balsa crutch will ease the pain but wire bending skills and soldering ability are both at a premium here to achieve a square cabane. This is then stitched to E and F, with further checks for correct alignment.

After the cabane, the model comes together rapidly and allows the making of the interplane struts with their small 20 swg hooks which locate in the short lengths of aluminium tube which are stitched to the wings.

One job which must be done with love is the undercarriage with its legs and spats. These are simple balsa and lightply but they must end up looking right in character..."

Curtiss Hawk from Flying Scale Models June 2003.

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Supplementary file notes

Article pages, thanks to RFJ.

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