Judge For Yourself (oz3280)

About this Plan

Judge For Yourself. Miniature rubber contest model. A modern plan for a scaled-down version of the 1936 Judge Wakefield (oz8888) classic design.

Quote: "GROWING nostalgia, fuelled by the success of my version of GWW Harris' GH 20 (oz3582) led to a deepening interest in pre-war Wakefields and a desire to built miniature versions of the pre-war winners. AA (Bert) Judge's Wakefield was the first in the series. All the necessary information came from the October 1986 issue of this magazine.

This model proved the easiest of the series to build. Very few constructional notes are needed. The fuselage is a conventional slabsider with the nose faired to circular section by 1/32 in sheet stringers. All longerons and spacers are 1/16in square balsa. The usual proviso about selecting wood of equal strength and density for the longerons must apply or creation of a distortion-free assembly will be difficult. The nose former is from Mirralyte ply.

Wing assembly demands careful cutting of the tapered spar and ribs. The rib method is detailed on the plan. Tail and fin outlines are from soft 1/16in sheet with 1/32 x 3/32 in ribs top and bottom of the 1/16 in sq spar. Carve propeller and spinner from soft block backed with 1/64 in Mirralyte. Epoxy the freewheel latch to the spinner. Prop shaft is from 20swg wire. Wheels are laminated from 1/16 in sheet. The bamboo undercarriage legs taper from 3/32 to 1/16 in diameter. Wire fittings are bound with fine cotton and reinforced with balsa cement, epoxy or cyano.

Covering in lightweight tissue or Jap, applied slightly damp. Give the entire model one coat of 50/50 dope/thinners mixture and lightly spray the fuselage silver. Don't pull the top wing surface covering excessively or elliptical dihedral may result (this happened to my prototype).

Power and flight. Motive force comes from one loop of 1/4in flat rubber. Pack the leading or trailing edge of the tailplane until a satisfactory glide results (this assumes the model has been correctly balanced first). Wind on a few turns and adjust rudder trim for a right turn. Excessive turn, or stalling, can be trimmed out by side or downthrust. Although this model is essentially a calm-weather flier, its performance is deceptively good. And it really looks most charming in the air!

More to come. Other models in this mini-Wake series an the 1937 winner by Emmanuel Fillon, Cahill's Clodhopper and the famous Korda winner. I have almost satisfied this particular aeromodelling urge, but have left perhaps the most beautiful miniature till last - this being a Copland Streamliner. All are to the same wingspan, not common scale; who knows - maybe we'll feature one or two more in the future!"

Supplementary file notes

Planfile includes article.

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