Orange Crate (oz5209)

About this Plan

Orange Crate. Control line speed model. Wingspan 16 in.

Quote: "Orange Crate, by Bob Thomas and Wally Wallick.

A couple of speed domon from Orange County get together with a Dooling to cop the Air Trails cup; the Crate is a really great ship.

Is it possible for two modelers living in different counties to team I up for the purpose of competing in model airplane speed events, and do it successfully? If they happen to be Wally Wallick and Bob Thomas the answer is yes. The distance between their homes is 28 miles; Wally lives in Long Beach and Bob in Anaheim Calif, both communities boast of many well-known speed-flyers. The T-W team flies out of Orange County (in which is located the city of Anaheim) and carries the 'Orange Empire' colors in all racing events.

Their first year as a team, Wally and Bob won eight first places out of nine starts, including top honors in All-Western Open, and the Nationals. Wally's record previous to teaming up with Bob is pretty well known since he was the 1946 National speed champion in Class D and had to his credit an impressive array of first-place trophies. Bob did not enter speed-flying until 1947, and during that season he wound up with a series of second places in local meets, the All-Western Open and the Nationals. His one first place that year was a tie in the East-West eliminations.

Wally and Bob, friends for a year decided to team up as each suited the other's temperament, and was an almost, opposite in ideas. This opposition of ideas is what encouraged them to unite, since both felt that individual experimentation, and then combined ideas, would make for a fast-flying team. Their record, which includes winning the Air Trails perpetual trophy at the Nationals, proves the soundness of the plan. Here is the team's own story.

In response to requests for the plans of our Orange Crate (the boys begin), we are happy to present our latest and even faster version. As you may know our first winning model was all-metal, and featured a ring engine mount to minimize frontal area and the weight of engine mounting lugs. On this latest model we have retained the same engine mount in a basswood fuselage and it results in the strongest possible arrangement. By abandoning the metal fuselage and tail we have cut five ounces of our gross weight, and have actually produced a 23 oz airplane with more rigidity and durability than any other type of wood construction, and we have not sacrificed safety.

This reworked ship is 100 percent bass and thin plywood. The Crate requires no power tools to build it. To accommodate the gas tank the fuselage is not round. The basswood is easily worked with a curved hollowing chisel and block plane. The wings are still made of metal since this is the fastest, lightest, and most durable means of construction in that department..."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Update 12/9/2026: Replaced this plan with a clearer copy, thanks to dfritzke. Cleanup by RogerB.

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