Greenfly (oz3266)

About this Plan

Greenfly. Control line team racer, for Amco 3.5 cc diesel engine.

Quote: "Greenfly by C S West from Model Aircraft July 1952. A winning Class B team racer.

This model is the outcome of a desire to build more 'eye-appeal' in a team racer, and in doing so to boost the spectator interest demanded by this sphere of model flying. That this has been achieved without loss of performance has been borne out by the fact that Greenfly placed third in the Davies Trophy finals last year. The construction is unusual in that the fuselage is built up on the sandwich principle from four layers of 1/2 in sheet balsa. This enables us to save wood by fretsawing out each lamination separately to a minimum size, while the glue seams will give a stronger result than by carving from the solid. The writer strongly recommends that a glue of the “Certofix” type be used throughout, as cement is less able to stand up to vibration over long periods.

Fuselage: This is built in three main parts :

1. Lower main section with engine bearers and lower cowling.
2. Upper rear section and fin.
3. Front upper section including cockpit cover, completely removable for access.

Trace the fuselage parts on to 1/2 in medium balsa, remembering when sawing out to cut away the inside of the cowling as shown. At this stage the wing slots and exhaust vents may also be cut out. Glue the engine bearers in position on the outer sections, after fitting the engine bolts, the heads of which should be soldered to tin plates to prevent twisting. Now glue the laminations together, merely spot-gluing the centre seam, so that after shaping the outside, the fuselage can be separated and the inside finally shaped. The other fuselage parts are made similarly, but not assembled until control gear, crossbraces and undercarriage are fitted.

The undercarriage wire should be partly formed as shown into a U-shape and bolted to its ply bulkhead with tin straps. The bulkhead is then glued into place, threading the U/C legs through holes in the fuselage. Final bending to shape should be done when the glue has thoroughly hardened.

Wings: Glue together two 3/8 in medium balsa sheets edge-to-edge, and weight down on a flat surface until dry, then cut to outline shape. After carving to the section shown, cut out the control-plate recess and glue in the ply pivot-bolt mount. On the underside of the port wing carefully cut the leadout channels..."

Here is another from MA July 1952. Greenfly a 31in span Class B Team Racer. Original scan by Zoe Quilter.

Supplementary file notes

Article page, text and pic, thanks to S&T#94.

Corrections?

Did we get something wrong with these details about this plan (especially the datafile)? That happens sometimes. You can help us fix it.
Add a correction