Waco YKS-6 (oz4998)

About this Plan

Waco YKS-6. Free flight scale model biplane.

Quote: "Waco YKS-6 by Bill Warner. Even if it hadn't won the first place in F/F Scale Gas at the 1972 Nationals, this beautiful model of a plane from the Classic Age of aviation would deserve top billing.

One of my recent hang-ups is that I cannot build models that I find uninteresting. If I wanted to take the easy approach to contest FF Scale work, I think I'd build a simple homebuilt monoplane and just build it like the original. Most of us, however, don't work rationally when confronted with that LOVE-AT-FIRST-SIGHT 3-view or photo.

When narrowing down subjects to build for a particular contest, I always very scientifically go through hundreds of subjects, narrowi ng down the choices by process of elimination. First, you throw out the ugly and common subjects. Next, you eliminate the ones on which you have too little data. Following that go the ones with paint schemes beyond your capabilities, ones with poor moments, high wing loadings, small stabs, ones which someone else has already built much better than you ever could, etc. Then you have a couple of beers and let a couple of your toughest competitors (Bobby Haight and Chuck West) talk you into a model which they just know will drive you up the wall. To compound the problem, buddies like this will also lay some nifty exterior and interior color photos of the real aircraft an you just to make sure that you can't resist!

Clinching the whole thing was the great Paul Matt 3-view drawing with just enough detail to make it interesting, but not so much as to make your model look stark because you didn't put it all on.

The NATS in Chicago requires a bit different plane than the NATS in California. A light, fluffy antique which might do superbly at Los Al has no place in the rain and wind at Glenview. Taking a hint from the British, sturdiness was the byword from the beginning. Extra gussets, plywood reinforcements, and extra-hard fuselage-box longerons proved later to have been well worth the added weight. In test-flights and several crashes, the silk covering, knock-off wings, and strongfirewallicabin/undercart construc-tion made those critical first few flights possible. A front-heavy, clean design also seemed to make sense considering the wind conditions expected.

Armed with instructions from WCN not to go into basics of construction, etc as anyone attempting this model would be either a pretty experienced builder (or a nut), rendering any such coverage somewhat less than productive, I shall constrain myself from excess and superfluous verbosity in the interest of minimizing obfuscation.

WINGS: Tips laminated with thinned white glue. I can't remember whether or not I used spruce for the spars, but if I didn't, the balsa I used was extra hard. The spars on top of the wing cost scale points, but sure keep that ol' wing from bowing upward. Making ailerons adjustable with bendable aluminum sheet (not soft wire) 'hinges' is a must for on-the-spot flight trim. The wingtip lights may be easily made operating by using model railroad 'grain-of-wheat' bulbs wired to a simple male-female plug at the wing root rib, Built it up from 1/32 inch (male) brass tubing lilting into 1/1 6 inch (female) tubing. Removable battery (9v transistor) and a simple pull switch on the panel will completetheset-up. Panel, tail, and cabin lights can be easily added to the circuit. Interplane struts are made of flattened aluminum tubing with Robart brand hinge points (nylon ball-socket pop-out) used for the attachment to the wings. The 'N' strut was originally fastened together with 1/16 inch thick double-sided tape, but silicone rubber tub caulking might be better..."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

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