Acro Sportster 40 (oz4206)

About this Plan

Acro Sportster 40. Radio control model.

Quote: "I rebuilt an old model from Model Builder 1982. It's the Acro Sportster. I scanned and resized the plan from the magazine. Here is my work for pleasure of another model builders. Best regards".

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Update 04/05/2020: Added article, thanks to rocketpilot.

Quote: "Acro Sportster 40, by Peter Neuer. Super-smooth; would be great for fun-flys and pre-novice and novice pattern, thanks in part to the longer-than-average tail moment. So says Assistant Editor John Elliot after flying this sharp looking sport/pattern model of basic balsa and plywood construction.

Have you ever thought about design-ing that perfect single-purpose airplane, you know, the perfect trainer or the smoothest pattern ship, or perhaps a really good looking scale job that took off and landed with ease. How about one plane that has all those planes rolled into one? Too good to be true, well that's what I thought until I flew my latest creation, the 'Acro Sportster 40'. This ship has been flown by lots of people who fly a lot better than I, and they all loved it, in fact, I had a hard time getting my transmitter back in some cases. Well, if you want a real fun flyer with good looks, easy ground handling, and great aerobatic ability, then wait no longer, get a set of plans and starts chopping balsa.

The construction is straight forward and should be no problem for anyone except an absolute beginner. I think that it's a real time saver when scratch building to start by cutting out all the parts shown on the plans, thereby making yourself a kit.

I use a spray adhesive on the back of each pattern, then stick it to a piece of shelf paper. After cutting out the pat-tern, peel off the backing of the shelf paper and press the pattern onto the wood. The shelf paper will peel off without leaving any adhesive residue.

Use the plans as a guide to mark the 1/8 x 4 x 36 inch fuselage sides. This is to show where the 1/4 sq balsa longerons and uprights will be glued onto the sheets. Use a ball point pen, don't press hard. Be sure to make one LEFT and one RIGHT. Chose two sheets that are the same hardness, if possible. Use firm to hard sticks for the longerons.

After you have glued the longerons and uprights onto the sides, glue F-13 also. Take the 3/16 birch ply firewall and mark a vertical and horizontal line indicating the engine center thrust line. Using a Kraft engine mount or similar. place the mount on the firewall and drill the mounting holes; use 4-40 allen head bolts, they're slightly undersize and will enable you to adjust the mount.

Pull the blind nuts into place, then remove the mount and put the firewall aside until you have glued the side doublers FD-1 and FD-2 in place. Now use a triangle to align the firewall, make sure that it is vertical and at a right angle to the fuselage center line. Glue the one-inch trailing edge stock behind the firewall to reinforce it. Position 1-3 into place, and using a triangle for alignment, put the 3/16 x 1/4 balsa upright in front of F-3 as indicated on the plans.

Before fitting the left fuselage side onto the right, bevel the ends of the longerons as shown on the plans at the rear of the fuselage (see top view). Trial fit F-3 between FD-1 and F-13, check to see that the fuselage sides are parallel, and once you are satisfied that everything is in alignment, go ahead and glue the left fuselage half to the right.

Cut the 3/8 x 1/2 balsa stick that goes between the two sides at the back of F-13, right under the dowel hole, pin and glue. Cut the two 1/4 sq cross braces that are against F-4 and F-5 pin and glue. Now pull the rear fuselage ends together. Check carefully their alignment and glue. Put the rest of the top and bottom cross braces in and glue. Fit and glue LG-1 in place between the fuselage doublers with epoxy glue, use hard 1/4 inch balsa as shown on plans. I use a Hallco B 106-4 landing gear, it's 12.8 inches wide. Drill four mounting holes as shown. I put the nut on the outside of the landing gear and use flat washers on the inside against the wood to keep the heads from pulling through. File off any part of the screws that sticks through..."

Supplementary file notes

Article.

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