A-7 Corsair II (oz3433)

About this Plan

A-7 Corsair II. Radio control scale model, for .25 power.

Quote: "When I decide to design an R/C model - at least, one that l'd like to see published - I consider a number of things. Most important, it must be a subject on which I'm prepared to spend the time required to design and build. Second - and almost as important to me - is that it appeal to as broad a range of modelers as possible. (That makes it easier to convince the magazine folks that their readers will love it and, naturally, continue to read future issues of the magazine in anticipation of similar material.) The A-7 presented here certainly satisfies requirement one, and I hope, number two.

The popularity of my little Extra 3.25 (oz7306) reinforced my feeling that a lot of you out there really do enjoy the benefits of building and flying .25-powered, sport-scale airplanes that deliver excellent performance without blowing the budget. Further evidence of the interest in smaller airplanes is the growing attendance at the annual Small Steps Fly-Ins in Dallas TX, and Little Rock AK. Virtually all the models flying at these two meets are .25-powered (or less!). Although I haven't, as yet, attended either of these gatherings, folks who have, tell me that when you do, you're hooked!

Like a lot of you, I read all the R/C magazines I can get my hands on - for the same reasons you do: entertainment and information. What's happening? Who's doing it? What are they flying? What's new and different? Questions for which we'd all like answers. A couple of trends seem to be emerging (to me, anyway): more and more modelers prefer designs that look more like real airplanes. When you get past the basic trainer stage (whose airframes, through necessity, have to look like they do), there shouldn't be a real reason to build or fly anything that doesn't at least resemble a full-scale airplane.

Kit manufacturers have recognized this, and many are responding, Take this one level further: models that look like jets now have a broader appeal simply because - hold on to your transmitter - this is the jet age. Why do you think that some of the more popular kits being sold today look like jets? Because they're new, exciting and look great! Enough about philosophy; let's talk about building your A-7.

Before you start: Before you start hacking up balsa, I'll point out a few things that you should know about the design.

If you've built a number of kits and, perhaps, one or two scratch-built designs from plans, you'll have absolutely no problem building this model; in fact it's easy enough to be your first scratch-built R/C airplane. Unfortunately, I can't recommend it as your first R/C model or trainer because of its size, for one thing. The attribute that makes it appealing is what will get newcomers into trouble: small, warbird or jet-type models generally have higher performance capabilities and higher wing loadings that take them well out of the trainer category. The A-7 is typical of the breed.

If I haven't frightened you off and you're ready to take up the challenge, clear the bench! To make building your Corsair as easy as possible, we've decided to present the construction sequence in the same way as we did the Extra 3.25 - as a step-by-step sequence, much like many of the more successful kits are presented. This sequence, used with the notes on the full-size plan, should make building your A-7 an enjoyable undertaking rather than an exercise in frustration.

To cut down on some of your building and carving time, I am making available a vacuum-formed set of parts for this design. The package consists of a clear canopy, and high-impact plastic parts for the cowling, jet exhaust nozzle, and air-refueling receptacle fairing as used on the Air Force A-7D variant... "

Update 24/07/2017: Added article, thanks to CarlosAB.

Supplementary file notes

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