Pursuiteer (oz4586)

About this Plan

Pursuiteer. Free flight gas model.

First published in Dec 1938 Air Trails, this is a redrawn plan for MB by Phil Bernhardt.

Quote: "Pursuiteer. Old Timer Model of the Month. Designed by Pete Bowers. Redrawn by Phil Bernhardt. Text by Bill Northrop.

Pete Bowers always had a knack for designing clean, simple, functional, and sharp looking models. The talent carried over into his famous Fly Baby Homebuilt, which even he must admit, is nothing more than a BIG model.

A prime example of his design skill is this snappy little 'Pursuiteer,' which was published in the December 1938 issue of Air Trails. Though it was designed and built almost 40 years ago (when published, it had been around for two years), it is probably one of the most 'R/C-able' old timers ever to appear.

Activating the tail surfaces is a simple matter of substituting two 3/16 sheet spars in place of the single 1/16 sheet spar shown. Build the surfaces in one piece, placing the spars 1/16 inch apart, and cut them apart after the glue is dry. Fill in between the sheets where you intend to put control horns.

As for the wing, the box spar is, in effect, a top and bottom spar, with webbing front and rear. We’d be tempted to increase the top and bottom pieces with hard 1/8 sheet balsa stock. Also, if only to help support the wing hold-down rubber bands, undercut the center and first ribs 1/16 inch so that the first bay can be sheeted.

We'd also suggest adding a filler piece to the trailing edge where it is held down by the wing rubber bands, otherwise the 'reflexed' airfoil could be damaged by rubber tension.

The Pursuiteer suffers a little as far as the OT rules for glow powered models. According to the .10 cubic inch/225 sq in rule, the max displacement allowed is .249 (a Veco 19 or ST 23), which ain't very much for a plane this size - in fact, it's downright unreasonable! One solution would be to add one rib bay to each panel, or 50 sq in. This would allow a reasonably sized .29 or .30 to be used.

Close inspection of the photo would seem to indicate that the landing gear was shortened some when the final plans were drawn. The struts do look a little long, so this is a worthwhile change. Old Timer Pylon Races anyone?"

Direct submission to Outerzone.

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