S-3 Shrimpo (oz2020)

About this Plan

S-3 Shrimpo (How to build a Pee Wee Gas Model). Free flight power model.

Note this is not a full size plan, this is a scan of the orginal drawings as they appeared in the magazine in 1937.

Quote: "How to Build a Pee Wee Gas Model. Here's What You Have Been Looking For - A 45 Inch Model for 'Small' Engines That Is Easy to Build, Easy to Carry and Easy to Fly. By Malcolm Abzug and Richard Wachell.

IT SEEMS only a short while ago that my col-laborator and myself were members of that large group of model builders who liked the idea of gaso-line-powered models but were unable to grow enthusiastic over their clumsiness, their short life and their high cost of construction and upkeep. However, at that time as if in answer to our unspoken supplication, the first small engine appeared on the market, the Elf engine, and in a few months, the first Shrimpo was dodging pop flies at the local ball park. But this first model, and the second for that matter, were far from perfect for reasons that will follow shortly, and the third Shrimpo, the present one, was designed and completed at the end of last fall.

After a few test flights winter set in, and veteran modelers will have no trouble recognizing the peculiar feeling suffered by model builders on getting up in the morning and listening to the wind howl outside while looking at a fine outdoor ship in the pink of condition just a-settin' ...just a-settin'. Foolhardiness and ingenuity overcame prudence, and in a week, we found ourselves possessors of the first in-door gas job ever built. The trick was accomplished with a nine foot high jump pole that was heavily weighted at one end, a ten foot length of tough fish cord, and a bronze bushing in these relative positions.

The pole stood in the center of the floor of a small gymnasium. The cord led from the pole to the wing tip of the 'indoor plane' where it passed through a small bronze bushing at the center of pressure of the wing. A retainer at the top of the pole to prevent the cord from coming off and four strong, hard walls completed the picture. With engine barely popping over and set for a run of 45 seconds, the S-3 rolled along the polished floor and gaining speed, picked up. Once in the air, for some unaccountable reason, the engine revived up, and in a few seconds, the pictures we were going to take would have shown a big blur at the end of a fish cord. By the time that the more timid spectators were retreating towards the doors of the room, the engine cut and when the plane touched the floor it was almost capsized by an immense concerted sigh of relief. One more flight like this and miraculously, all our impatience for the spring vanished and the S-3 was gently and respectfully consigned to the shelf from which it had come. You may be very sure that the next flights took place in the wide open spaces, but it was only after quite a few long, soothing, outdoor flights that I was able to carry the S-3 into a room without breaking out into a clammy sweat and looking furtively for a door.

As the indoor flights were notable for speed and danger, the outdoor flights were distinguished by absolute dependability and consistency.

In the first stages of adjustment, the model was unintentionally placed in what are dangerous positions for any model; steep right and left banks. The model was not harmed on landing. Flights are uniformly fine, and climbs of over one hundred feet in the space of 45 seconds followed by long flat glides are usual. In take-offs, the S-3 actually beats the proverbial model; takes off on a dime and has a nickel left. The small size of this gas job has led us to make the wing in one piece and the tail an integral part of the fuselage. This considerably facilitates setting up for flights and yet causes no inconvenience in transportation. The S-3 meets all NAA specifications for a Class D fuselage model.

CONSTRUCTION: Fuselage. But hold on for a minute. Before you pick up one piece of balsa, there is one thing that you must understand. The S-3 is a gas job. That sounds obvious, but consider for it for a few moments..."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Supplementary file notes

Article.

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