Pelican (oz16829)

About this Plan

Pelican (Cargo Pelican). Free flight power model. PAA class. 1958 Nationals Winner.

Quote: "A PAA Load model, to quote the 1954 PAA Buie Book, is more than merely a model that flies. It is in all essentials, a working miniature of a full scale man carrying airplane. No other type model follows so closely the requirement, the problem and the realistic solution of full scale mechanical flight.

Simplicity, durability, and attention to detail, is the formula for Cargo. To begin, you must design around the payload.

Size: The hp is the most important factor. Choose a good engine and then talk to the 'speed merchants.' Most any stock engine can he reworked to advantage, including Thermal Hoppers.

HP is proportional to rpm so check through the data sheet. If you know your engine rpm on a givers prop, you can determine the maximum load that has been carried at this output.

Note the relationship of wing area to rpm and load carried. They just keep getting bigger. Although the majority of the big load carriers were in the nine- to- ten-ounce per hundred square-inch bracket, I have been convinced that a lighter wing loading is desirable.

This was well proven at the 58 Nationals. Don Gurnett had a monster of a machine. 1,050 square inches. An engine turning 18,600 rpm. I have 700 squares and my TH turns 19,000. Gurnett takes off with 51 ounces, shortest ground run four seconds. The Pelican with a 47 ounce load requires six seconds ground run. Gurnett needs only 30 feet of altitude. I need 50. By adding 12 inches to the center section of the wing, your Pelican will have the same capabilities. But Gurnett thinks he has too much area. He says climb is too slow. There is an optimum span-area dependent on hp. You have other variables to work with..."

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