Snipe (oz2118)

About this Plan

Snipe. Radio control model for .60 power.

Quote: "Those readers who remember my previous designs, The Boomerang, Trident and The Junker Klunker, will recall that I tried to come up with configurations that leaned towards the sport flyer, better known as the 'Sunday Flyer.' I feel that with the Snipe I succeeded in coming up with a good sport flying machine and possibly a contest type aircraft. The summer season will tell.

You will note from the pictures that used a swept-back wing. A swept wing has its advantages such as reducing dihedral without the loss of flying stability. This proved out rather nicely on "The Snipe's" maiden flight.

I had designed the Snipe to have two degrees of downthrust for the engine mounting and 0 degrees incidence for the wing and stab; but somehow in the building of the Snipe I wound up with a slight amount of upthrust in the engine. This was spotted by my friend Al DeSilva. I asked two other flying buddies, Joe Whitney and Don Mott, if they noticed any up-thrust in the engine and they agreed with Al that there was a slight amount. As the designer and builder of this bird, I assured them that this couldn't be: it must be an optical illusion. After all, professional model builders don't make mistakes like this. Well! Here's one guy who did. This was observed rather quickly while taxiing The Snipe on the runway. As soon as I added a little power, the nose wheel would rise off the ground and the plane would balance on its main gear. I decided to fly the plane anyway.

I gave the Snipe full power and it was off like a shot out of a cannon. I gave it a touch of at elevator and it began climbing straight up. I added full down trim immediately, but she was still ballooning. I cot back on the throttle and she began to settle down. I made a 360 degree turn and brought her down. No sense in wiping out a nice airplane.

Commercial time: Let's face it fellows, without commercials there would be no products. The proportional equipment I'm using in "The Snipe" is the new Citizen-Ship four channel digital proportional system DP472. This is quite a piece of equipment. The servos are small and tough. They are supplied with a push-pull and rotary output. The servos are fast and the torque output is more than adequate. The receiver is extremely compact and the shorting plug makes for positive electrical contact. The transmitter has a built-in charger. The control stick action is good and trim levers are where they should be, no hunting for them when you need them..."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Update 14/10/2017: added article, thanks to RFJ.

Supplementary file notes

Article.

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