Live Wire Jenny (oz4842)
About this Plan
DeBolt Live Wire Jenny. Radio control model, for .19 to .45 engines.
Quote: "DMECO'S LIVE WIRE. Did you know that the popular, proven 'Jenny' now has all new instructions and plans? Yes, experience teaches and we have put all the learning from thousands of Jennys into the new instructions, which make it an even better acrobatic trainer for RC!
Did you know that 'Jenny' handles well with only 3-channel radios, yet will match most stunt design maneuverability with 4 channels? That you have a choice of 2- or 3-wheel gears? Yes, it truly is a 'trainer' plus, it not only will teach you to fly but do acrobatics as well!
Remember that there are 3 of these tried and proven 'Quick-Build' models featuring rugged plywood fuselages and ready for glue parts, all giving peak performance with economical .40 engines. Also available is the sporty low wing 'P-Shooter' and the Acrobat bipe for the biplane pattern events. Take a look at one today!"
Direct submission to Outerzone.
Update 8/8/2022: Added kit review from R/C Modeler, March 1964, thanks to RFJ.
Quote: "RCM Product Report: This month, RCM has selected and constructed two new kits in the radio control field. The first is the Livewire Jenny from deBolt Model Engineering Company. This new addition is a definite departure from the usual Livewire kit, not only in design concept, but in prefabrication and construction techniques.
The Jenny, designed for single through full-house proportional use, has a wingspan of 57" and an overall' area of 620 square inches. All up weight is up to five and one half pounds with motor requirements varying from a hot .19 through the larger .45's, depending upon the weight and control system used.
The Jenny, by any stretch of the imagination, does not strike you as a raving beauty with flowing contours. When you have finished the ship, however, you will be amazed at its overall appearance. The photos of the RCM prototype constructed by Don Dewey, finished off in PolyAqua black, red, and white, will give you an idea of just how striking this basic "box" can be.
The Jenny kit, itself, is one of the finest kit efforts we have seen. The fuselage is a combination of plywood and balsa - the forward two-thirds of the fuselage being constructed of straight plywood, butt joined to balsa to complete the unit. All servo mounting holes, dowel holes, etc. are pre-drilled and are exactly accurate! deBolt has gone to such an effort with this kit that every conceivable piece of hardware is included - and this means hardwood dowel pieces, pre-drilled, for push rod bearers, the push rods themselves, all control horns and screws, aluminum tubing for motor and nose wheel push rod bearers, etc. All wood in the kit we purchased from a local hobby dealer was of the highest quality. Die cutting was outstanding, although this can be expected from the first run on new dies.
The plans were completely detailed and the instructions covered every step of the assembly, finishing, and flight trim. We do not personally care for single spar wings, with no leading and trailing edge sheeting, although deBolt feels that the wing gains strength from its inherent flexibility. Despite this, we sheeted the wing top and bottom and carried the spar up to the tops of the ribs by webbing top and bottom. This produced an extremely tough wing. If you follow this procedure, be sure to use a jig or you'll discover you've built-in the warps!
We used a deBolt RC7 tricycle nose gear (not furnished) and installed a reducing arm between the rudder servo and nose wheel. The direct linkage shown on the plans provides an excessive amount of control to the nose gear.
The total weight of our prototype, with Orbit six channel equipment, beefed-up wing, and several coats of epoxy paint was just slightly over five pounds. A K&B .35 proved to be more than ample power.
The Jenny is not only an excellent kit, but is an outstanding flier. As the manufacturer claims, it is stable on rudder only, an excellent trainer for multi reeds and proportional, and a competition machine in Class II. We might also add that it is extremely rugged. Our consensus of opinion warrants our highest recommendation for the Livewire Jenny. "
Supplementary file notes
Review.
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(oz4842)
Live Wire Jenny
by Hal DeBolt
from DMECO
1963
57in span
IC R/C Kit
clean :)
formers unchecked
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Submitted: 19/09/2013
Filesize: 1076KB
Format: • PDFbitmap
Credit*: JJ
Downloads: 3428
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User comments
Few months ago I found deBolt Jenny on Ebay auction and I lost bid. I was so much regretted not bid high enough. I have specially memory with this airplane. This was the very first airplane my father built for me back in 1970’s. Even though my father did not know how to fly or R/C was not his hobby, he just built it for me only because I wanted flying airplane. Can you imagine how much effort he have to put to finish! Now my father is old and I want build it for him.. Thank you so much putting Jenny’s plan. God bless you...kyehwan - 20/11/2013
I suspect this design was the inspiration for Phil Kraft's Ugly Stik, since it was available before the Stik and served the same purpose, a quickly built expendable airplane. At that time, the early sixties, most R/C models were complicated, heavy and not so easily built. The Jenny, with its pre-assembled plywood fuselage, could be built in a week if you weren't too picky about appearances. Powered by a cheap McCoy 35, it flew very well, unfortunately the kit wasn't anything to brag about, after all, it was a DeBolt kit. The Jensen kit for the Ugly Stik was miles ahead of the Jenny in quality and quickly took its rightful place as the most built R/C kit ever.
DougSmith - 22/06/2015
Back in 1977 or so I was a teenager and I found a Jenny at a swap meet. I built it and powered it with a K/B .35 and flew it four channels with an EK Logictrol radio at our field in Harrison New York. The only modification I made was I strengthened the wing with leading and trailing edge sheeting and cap strips. It flew very well. The only issue was the "Band" on landing gear. Anything but a perfect landing and the gear would come out from under it. It was rugged though and I don't remember it ever being damaged. I moved it up in power to a K/B .40 and it became a rocket. I ultimately replaced it with a Sig Kouger. Don't remember what happened to the Jenny. I think after a million or so flights it was sold off for someone else to enjoy.
Richard - 18/06/2020
Greetings, Attached are two photos [main pic, 004] of my just finished deBolt LiveWire Jenny (oz4842). OS 35 for power, 3 channel, fabric and dope finish. Cheers,
Scott Wallace - 30/04/2021
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- Live Wire Jenny (oz4842)
- Plan File Filesize: 1076KB Filename: Jenny_deBolt_57in_oz4842.pdf
- Supplement Filesize: 1885KB Filename: Jenny_deBolt_57in_oz4842_review.pdf
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