Cutie Canard (oz16868)

About this Plan

Cutie Canard. Free flight sport model for rubber power. Canard layout. Wingspan 21 in.

Quote: "A successful prototype for a would-be sport plane (a homebuilt), this ingenious design is real fun for small-field free flight. Cutie Canard, by David W Jones.

If you've ever caught yourself sketching an airplane you'd like to build for yourself someday - a real full-sized airplane - but have dismissed it as a hopelessly impossible daydream, take heart! There exists an army of wonderful people who will help and guide you if you are truly serious. I'm talking about the Experimental Aircraft Association.

The EAA is very much like our AMA in that it brings all enthusiasts together so that they can progress and pursue flying activities to the fullest practical extent. EAA members, just like AMA members, design and construct the aircraft they fly. The only essential difference is whether the flying machine is capable of flying with a man aboard. Problems of construction techniques, aerodynamics, materials selection, flying safety, etc, are common to both.

It is quite clear that there is a strong interdependence and similarity between the AMA and the EAA. A great many of the EAA members have been model plane enthusiasts and a suprising number still are. They were originally inspired by the fascination of easily attained flight by way of models. When the fascination wouldn't die, they simply went the next logical step and built super-big models that they could fly in. But it is also clear that model building as we know it today is a ready-made tool for the fellow who has a dream of building and flying in his own self-constructed airplane.

Cutie Canard is an example of one of the steps that any model builder can take to start his idea along the path that eventually leads to a full-sized aircraft. The type of airplane, naturally, dictates the type of models to construct. Usually, though, the first step is a series of similar hand-launched gliders, each with a slight variation. This gives the modeler the initial "feel" for the design's potential and answers a few of the primary questions about stability and distribution of weight.

Simple rubberband-powered models, constructed in a fashion represented by the Cutie Canard, give the next level of insight into the potential characteristics of the full-sized airplane: ground stability, power-on to power-off transition, dynamics of the stall or spin potential, ability to resist gusty winds, a study of pilot visibility, a preliminary structural layout. These and other elements can be observed so that you can begin to properly assess the requirements of the final full-sized design.

The next logical model to build is an engine-powered free flight model. This should be built somewhat larger than the rubber-powered model and with a more rugged structure that, again, simulates that of the projected full-sized machine. With a model engine you get a better feeling for the weight distribution. In fact, this is the logical place to experiment with wing loadings, extreme center of gravity locations, the effect of thrust-line deviations, etc.

If all goes well, an RC version can then be built which will come the closest to demonstrating how the full-scale plane will react to control movements, the rigors of takeoffs and landings and both high and low-speed dynamics of flight.

So you can see how, even before one piece of full-size hardware is purchased, your everyday modeling techniques can compile useful data that can be directly applied to the design and construction of your own unique dream plane..."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

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