A-Burner (oz3364)

About this Plan

A-Burner. Control line FAI speed model. For Super Tigre 15 power.

Update 19/5/2025: Added article, thanks to theshadow.

Quote: "FAI speed is the newest challenge for American speed flyers. And it really is a challenge. For the last two years the Salina Flight-Masters MAC has been actively promoting this event. One Sunday each month has been set aside for club competition, (weather permitting) and the results have been indeed gratifying.

A-Burner has been a consistent winner in these club meets, and also in regular AMA contests when flown against the AMA 'little' class A size speed planes. A big wing is not near the detriment some may believe it to be.

In 1960 A-Burner won 1st place (116.28 mph) in the FAI Semi-Finals held at Kansas City, Missouri, and also 1st 1st place (117.79 mph) at the FAI Finals in Wichita, Kansas. Since the 1960 Nationals it has been consistantly turning 125 - 130 mph using an Italian Super Tigre .15 (1958 version with the short venturi).

This past August, our A-Burners took 'A' speed at Salina, Kansas with 126.89 mph, and clocked 112.65 in FAI. Super Tigre Jubilee and K&B Tarp respectively.

The complete set of rules pertaining to FAI speed may be found in your AMA Official Rule Book. For those of you who don't have a rule book handy, here are the pertinent rules as to plane size, weight, and engine capacity:

Minimum surface area (wing and tail combined) is 508 square inches per cubic inch of displacement. Maximum surface loading of supporting surface area is 32.8 ounces per square foot. Maximum cylinder capacity: 2.5 cubic centimeters (.1525 cu in)

Now a few words about how this particular design was developed. It was the fourth FAI speed ship built by the author. The other three had smaller wings and larger tails. But none of these had the all around per-formance as number four. It has a faster take off, flies smoother in the wind, and has a slower landing speed. These are qualities that any good speed model should have.

Construction is fairly conventional with one minor exception, in the tail assembly. A dove tail splice puts a stop to a broken stab (V-type) when you happen to smack in kinda hard - like yours truly has done. The impact strength of this type of splice is amazing. Take the extra time to cut out the notches. You won't regret it.

Fuselage: An Italian 'Speed King' pan and spinner is used. The spinner is matched to the crankshaft threads for a Super Tigre .15. Try not to loose the mounting bolts as they are metric thread and not very easy to obtain. You will have to drill and tap the two hold downs in the pan. Either a 40-40 or 5-40 thread will suffice. A 3/32 aluminum skid should be affixed to the bottom of the pan. Two 3-48 bolts tapped into the skid will do the job.

Wing: Cut the wing to outline out of 1/4 in sheet basswood. Spot cement the two pieces together and draw reference lines on the leading and trailing edges (see front and rear view of wing shown on plans). Airfoil can now be shaped quite easily with the aid of a Little Giant razor plane, and don't be afraid to use that sanding block. When the airfoil is completed it should. be symmetrical at the tips and have a modified Clark Y at the root section..."

Supplementary file notes

Article.

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