Simpleton (oz3390)

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Simpleton (oz3390) by Dick Stouffer 1963 - plan thumbnail

About this Plan

Simpleton. Free flight power model for .020 Cox PeeWee power, for beginners.

Quote: "Die-hard purists will shake their heads at this one! Power modelling reduced to the most simple state for small angines. Simpleton, by Dick Stouffer.

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN if one were to power a simple, all balsa, hand launched glider? In three hours flat at the work bench you can find out - so let's not waste time.

Starting with the wing, select medium soft balsa sheet 1 x 3 x 36 in. Cut off 30 inches and draw a line across the midpoint at 15 inches from one end. Use a square to aid in truing and cutting straight lines.

Use a razor plane, knife, and coarse sandpaper to shape the airfoil indicated on the plans. After shaping, sand with fine sandpaper, and coat with clear dope. Next, cut the wing in two at the midpoint. Using a firm sanding block, sand 1/2 the dihedral angle in each wing butt. (See front view). Pin one half of the wing down firmly to the bench, stand the 6 inch left-over piece of wing sheet on end to block up the outboard tip of the wing, butt the two halves together, and glue firmly. Lay a piece of nylon, cotton, or linen over this centre joint, and work glue into the fabric and joint.

Grab a 1/8 x3 x 36 in sheet of soft balsa and cut off 10 inches for the tailplane and 3-1/4 inches for the fin. Sand a lifting section on the elevator, as shown on plan and round the edges of the fin, then sand and coat with clear dope. Draw a line across the tailplane at the midpoint. Draw the line of the airfoil of the tailplane on the bottom side of the rudder, cut away and sand smooth. Cement the fin to the tailplane at the mid line. Set the fin and tailplane assembly aside to dry.

The fuselage is made from medium hard balsa, 3/16 x 3 x 15 inches. Be careful of the area where the wing seats. This is the angle of incidence, so make it accurate then draw in the remaining outlines, on the sheet.

Now that the fuselage is properly marked on the sheet of balsa, cut it out and true up all straight lines. Use a straight edge to aid in cutting the wing incidence line. Cut the four small pieces of wing mount and engine block material..."

Supplementary file notes

Article text page. Build instructions.

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Simpleton (oz3390) by Dick Stouffer 1963 - model pic

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User comments

I built this when I was a 12yo back in '63. It was my first, and only, as it turned out, attempt at powered f/f. My dad kindly drove us out to Mitchum Common and we selected a launch site in the middle. When setting up, I forgot the instructions about timing the engine run and filled the tank! Minutes later we were watching the model climbing a fairly tight circle but drifting away from the common! We chased it as we saw it come down among some houses. We saw a lady and asked her if she'd seen it whereupon she entered her house and returned holding the errant craft! I don't remember ever trying to fly it again and I can't remember what happened to that PeeWee! Definitely recommend it for a good balance of fun vs time/cost to build.
John Edwards - 19/09/2022
Yes, I remember building one with an 0.049 in the nose, and trying to fly it in the garden. It shredded itself in a tree before it could do more damage, and I can't recall ever trying again. Of course, radio control is now small enough to fit easily enough and only a little more effort would be required to make a fun flyer. Beware the volume of balsa that ends up on the floor when you carve the wing, it might be better to cut a foam wing instead.
Michael Powell - 25/10/2022
You'll notice that the photograph with this article shows a bigger aeroplane. It has a twin cylinder motor and a wider fuselage. It also had a ribbed built-up wing and a separate rudder suggesting that it was radio-controlled. I suspect that Dick Stouffer had a range of these Simpleton designs, but this is the only one I've seen in print.
Michael Powell - 25/10/2022
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Scaling

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