Vickers Wellesley (oz5124)

About this Plan

Vickers Wellesley. Radio control scale model single-engined bomber, for TD .051 power. Scale is 1/24.

Quote: "For an out-of-the-ordinary scale project that looks real, flies well, and won't break the bank. Vickers Wellesley, by Walter Musciano.

I KNOW BIG IS beautiful, but I think tiny is terrific too. This1/2-inch to the foot stand-off scale R/C model of the Vickers Wellesley bomber can be flown withan AO cubic inch engine and it performs beautifully on three channels. It can be built on the kitchen table and it doesn't require a trailer to bring it to the flying field. In fact, I often fly it in the local supermarket parking lot.

The fascinating story of the full-size Vickers Wellesley and its long-distance record-breaking flight appears alongside this article.

I used lightweight materials to attain a light, strong model, Many of the new super finishes are great but a bit heavy for my purposes so I used the lightest coverings and finishes I could find. Some modelers may want to substitute foam in some areas of this model.

The model has a multi-spar wing, with sheet balsa trailing edges and capstripped, lightweight ribs. The cap-stripping gives the ribs an 1-beam cross section and an excellent strength-to-weight ratio. In addition, capstripping reduces the covering sag between ribs, which preserves the true airfoil and considerably improves lift.

The oval section fuselage could be stringered and silk or Silkspan covered, decided to plank the model, however, because the fuselage is relatively small so the added weight was no big problem. Besides, fuselages do take a beating.

The wide, track-mounted landing gear called for added wing reinforcement. I used plywood spar joiners and spar webs from the center line to the landing gear attachment. 1 attached the wing firmly to a large fuselage bottom hatch, which can be removed to reveal the radio equipment.

My model used three channels of a Cannon Super-Micro System for speed, elevators, and ailerons. The small size and light weight of this equipment made the three-channel installation easier. If you want to use large R/Ccomponents, cut down to two channels for engine and rudder.

Most parts of the model are 1/20-inch balsa. If you can't find this size, take 1/16-inch sheet balsa and sand it to the proper thickness. I cut all the 1/20-inch strips from sheet balsa rather than use already-cut strips.

Wing. Complete the wing structure first. Trace and cut the spar joiners accurately and cement them firmly to each side of the spars, then cut the ribs to shape. Be sure to cut space in the centerline of rib number 1 for the aileron servo. Pin one-half of the lower spar to the workboard with the other half extending above the board. Cement all the ribs to the lower spar, then cement the upper main spar into the rib notches..."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

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