Delilah (oz17035)

About this Plan

Delilah. Radio control sport flying boat model. Wingspan 38 in, for 2x Cox Tee Dee .020 engines.

Quote: "This twin .020 powered flying boat is a great introduction to twin R/C flying. Delilah, by David Boddington.

If you are looking for a mode] that's versatile, small, manoeuvrable, exciting mid different, I'm sure that Delilah will suit you. Delilah is a 38 inch span twin-engined flying boat, powered by two Cox Tee Dee .020 motors. She's a flighty piece of work, but still handles like a thoroughbred.

Designers of radio control model aircraft have the challenge of producing an aeroplane which is structurally sound and flies well. Meeting these criteria gives an enormous amount of satisfaction, but it is seldom achived without some problems, or without a few changes along the way. I like to have everything drawn out and organised before building commences, including the location of the radio equipment, linkages, fuel tank, engine installation and so on. However, it is probable that during construction, there are parts of the structure or building sequence that I would do differently if I was starting again.

This is the advantage for modellers who build from plans and instructions printed in magazines. Improvements can be incorporated in the final drawings to avoid the mistakes made on the prototype. There are some restrictions with rolled-plywood structures, particularly with regard to changing widths of the fuselage and the design of supporting framework. However, once completed, the resulting structure is extremely strong and quite light. In view of the experimental nature of the project I decided to build a small-scale version of the flying boat before moving on to a larger version(s).

CONSTRUCTION: A few improvements have been found during building and these have been incorporated on the drawings. Thus, the plans presented in this issue are slightly different from some of the construction photographs.

GENERAL COMMENTS: Prepare for construction by cutting out all the parts and forming the struts. You may consider that 1/64 plywood is not very strong (even for a model of this size), but believe me, it is more than strong enough. Adhesives should be of the waterproof variety. Waterproofing must be thorough. Seal the elevator pushrod exit with silicone rubber sealant (apply petroleum jelly to the metal rod when the sealant is positioned to prevent sticking) and pay special attention to the front hatch.

WING: The airfoil shape allows the wing panels to be built directly over the drawing. Start by pinning down the lower trailing edge, rear spar and lower main spar, followed by the wing ribs. On the prototype the 1/16 plywood nacelle plate was fitted at this time; it should not have been..."

Delilah from Aviation Modeller International August 1996.

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Supplementary file notes

Article pages, thanks to RFJ.

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