Zombie (oz1856)

About this Plan

Zombie. Free flight rubber model. This is a half-size replica of the original Zombie V (oz7812) design.

Quote: "Try this half-size replica of Ron Warring's 1949 Wakefield Class. Zombie, by Bill Dennis.

LIVING AS I NOW DO in the middle of Devon, I am surrounded by miles of countryside. The bad news is that it is divided into very small fields by very tall hedges! I was looking for a model suitable for flying in a confined space but with a bit of character and I was inspired by the SMAE/SAM indoor event for half size Vintage Wakefields. Three years ago I had built a 'Zombie' which flew extremely well at the Nationals, but was last seen heading toward Skegness at about 2,000 feet. Hoping that a small version would be successful too, I set to work and managed to finish it in three evenings. I fly my model outdoors, but more careful wood selection and a balsa prop would reduce the weight considerably and make it a good indoor flyer.

Fuselage: It was a long time since I had built with 1/16 in square. I found the most accurate way to pin the longerons down was to use scraps of 1/8 in balsa over them. When assembling the two sides take care that the spacers are accurately cut since these thin longerons are easily distorted. The best way is to fit the spacers midway between F2 and the nose and tail and then trim the others to suit. Note that the fairing over the tailplane is fitted after covering.

Flying surfaces: No special comment required here, except to extol the virtues of basswood (available from SAMS, see classifieds) for making very strong, thin and light tip laminations. Bending is made easier if the strips are first soaked in a 50 per cent solution of household ammonia - preferably outside! Two sets of ribs can be made in minutes by the sandwich method, but start at W2, since the thick W1 rib will distort the taper.

Covering: Use Jap tissue for the wings and tail, and lightweight modelspan for the fuselage. If, like me, you haven't used Jap before, you will find it somewhat different to modelspan. Firstly, it is relatively impermeable, so you cannot attach it by doping through. Instead, use thinned PVA on the structure, or dope. Secondly, all the shrinkage occurs during the water shrinking process and gives a nice smooth finish, while the dope has relatively little effect.

Flying: My model was nose heavy, so I had to ballast the tail to get the CG on the main-spar. I powered my model with 12 strands of 1/6 x 1/24 rubber, which made it fly like a real Wake should, with a zippy climb. With a loop of 1/4 in performance should be a little more sedate. In either case the model is very stable. Hand launches with a model of this size will not tell you much about the glide, so judge this on low power flights. With the tail fairing it is more convenient to trim the glide with ballast, although the prototype flew with no adjustments, except for downthrust. "

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