Aquabat (oz3456)

About this Plan

Aquabat. CL stunt flying boat, designed around .19 engines.

Quote: "A control line flying boat that stunts. Yep that is one rare breed. This was originally a 1/4 size drawing with wing rib and half formers done full size. I have done the enlargement and left the wing ribs at true size. I have also given full formers as opposed to half formers. It was this latter operation that resulted in much swearing and cursing!"

This plan was printed in Flying Models Decade of Designs (1), published 1960.

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Update 09/12/2020: Added article (complete) thanks to Pit. Note this includes the original drawing, unscaled, as printed in the magazine pages.

Quote: "First in a series of new types of models - a hydro stunt flying boat for control-line modellers. Aquabat, by Earl Cayton.

It can't be done, said the first five well known modal designers we contacted. Starting with that, each of them gave us long and detailed reasons on why a control-line stunt hydra couldn't fly. After they got through, we wondered why control line models flew at all! But Earl Cayton was brave enough to give the idea a whirl. His answer was the 'Aquabat' - a successful hydro stunt model which proved to be a terrific flyer on the first attempt, opening an entirely new era of model aviation. Scale up the quarter-size plan and be an 'aqua-stunter'!

Yo ho ho and a bottle of fuel! Here's a model that's guaranteed to wet the feet of any landlubber - a control-line stunt flying boat. What's that you say? No water! Well fret not, the Aquabat is equally at home over land or sea.

It's simple to build, too. We've used the squared-off design lines currently popular in stunt circles. The only deviation is the cute team-racer type cowl - and that's optional. So if you're interested, why not try 'aqua-stunting?'

PLANS: These are drawn quarter-scale, with the bulkheads, rib and firewall shown full-size to save you time. It will he necessary, however, to scale the dimensions for the wing, tail section and fuselage sides. Note that the top edge of the fuselage side is straight from the bow to the tail - use it as a reference line.

WING: Cut out all of the parts before you start cementing any pieces, together, This actually saves a lot of time. Pin down the leading and trailing edges and cement the ribs in position.

After the assembly is dry, fit and cement the spars in place and construct the 1/8 plywood bellcrank floor. Drill a series of holes for the lead-out wires in the left wing. Make these large enough to leave plenty of clearance. Insert the lead-outs and hook them to the bellcrank. Bolt the crank in position so that it moves smoothly and easily. The pushrod should be made from 1/16 piano wire and should be mounted in position at this time.

Using 1/8 plywood, cut and shape the tip float struts. Note that they are bolted to the wing tips. It's advisable to put a piece of brass shim stock under the nuts, and solder them in position. This permits removal of the tip floats without having the nuts drop off inside of the wing.

Once the internal construction of the wing is completed, plank the leading edges, wing tips and center section..."

Supplementary file notes

Article.

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