Sun Fli 4 (oz3946)

About this Plan

Sun Fli 4. Radio control pattern ship designed by Joseph Bridi. The Sun Fli 4. Wing area 710 sq in, flying weight 6lbs, engine .40 to.61. Sun Fli 4 published RCM July 1969.

Quote: "Latest in a series of designs by one of the nation's top competition fliers, is 1969s hottest pattern ship.

As the rules for pattern flying change, so do the designs of our models in conforming to these new rules and maneuvers. We are always searching for the ultimate in design. In so doing, we try various airfoils, tail moments, tank heights, engine thrust, etc. Sometimes it is necessary to compromise in order to obtain the final design we feel will perform the maneuvers as we would like them performed. The Sun Fli 4 is, I believe, such a model. Easy to construct with a minimum of parts, it is a good performer in any class.

The Sun Fli 4 similar to its predecessor Sun Fli 3 (oz7716), previously published in RCM, but a few changes have been made. These include a slightly shorter wing, shorter tail moment and a larger rudder area, to name a few. We used 3/16 in full-length balsa fuselage sides with no doublers. 1/2 in balsa top blocks were used, as well as a solid vertical fin to decrease construction time. By taking some of these short cuts we were able to cut down our construction time and be out at the field flying instead of building something so complex that it required weeks to construct.

The wing spars were grooved at each rib, illustrated on the plans by the dotted lines, at each rib station. I use a radial saw, and if you have one I would suggest the same procedure, making it much easier to assemble the wing. The fuselage sides were also cut in this fashion, but the bulkheads can be cut smaller if they are not indexed into the fuselage sides.

The Sun Fli 4 was designed for the AMA and FAI pattern maneuvers. For a full pattern ship, it is quite easy to handle. As we go through the list of parts, we will suggest the method we feel best for assembly..."

Update 21/09/2016: article pages, text & pics added, thanks to RFJ.

Supplementary file notes

Article pages, text & pics.

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