Cosmic Coyote (oz5326)

About this Plan

Cosmic Coyote. Radio control advanced sport model, for .40 - .45 power. Design uses a foam wing.

Quote: "The Cosmic Coyote is a sport pattern aircraft with a racey look. But don't let the sleek Formula One Racer's appearance fool you, for underneath this streamlined cosmetic veneer lies a typical sport aircraft, in regard to flight characteristics. The Cosmic Coyote is designed to be powered by engines of .40-.45 cubic inches of displacement. A conventional .40 will haul it around the sky in fine style, while the installation of a more powerful Schnuerle type engine will produce a real swift and nimble "hot dogger."

Being an avid Formula One flier, I have long yearned to build a sport aircraft
with a 'racer' look. I think that the Cosmic Coyote, with its cheek cowls, wheel pants, and clean lines accomplishes that goal. The basic airframe is, however, pure Sunday Flier. The Cosmic Coyote is not intended as a beginner's or advanced beginner's project. It is, however, well within the capabilities of any RC'er who has had a reasonable amount of four control function building and flying experience.

If you're tired of the usual box fuselage, constant chord wing, sport designs or the sport pattern aircraft that fly fine but don't resemble any known full size aircraft, then the Cosmic Coyote should be of interest to you.

Conventional construction methods and techniques are employed and all pans and materials are readily available, or can be fabricated. The cheek cowls, on the Cosmic Coyote shown in this article, were scavenged from 'deceased' Formula One aircraft, that the ground leaped up and grabbed. If you know a fellow RC'er who flys Formula One, it's a good bet that he will have several of these cowls in his can't throw it out/may need it some day junk box. The existing openings in these old cheek cowls can easily be reshaped to suit your needs. The other cowl alternatives are to purchase the commercially available ABS plastic type or to fashion them from fiberglass cloth and resin or from balsa.

The forward location of the landing gear is intended for flying from grass fields. If youn are fortunate enough to have access to a hard surfaced take-off and landing area, the landing gear can be moved aft or reversed. This will reduce the tendency for the aircraft to 'bounce' on landing. This is a minor point, but still one to consider.

If you have read this far, you must still be interested in perhaps building a Cosmic Coyote, so let's move into the construction details. Since this is not a beginner's design. the assembly portion of this article will not be in a step-by-step or part A to part B sequence. The builder will need or have access to a hot wire foam cutter. No other special tools or equipment are required. As an alternative to the foam wing, a built-up wing could be designed and utilited; using the foam wing templates as rib guides.

As with any R/C aircaft construction project, the builder should first study the plan sheet thoroughly before starting assembly

Construction: Wing: As mentioned, a hot-wire foam cutter is required to cut the cores. The wing is symmetrical and sheeted with 3/32 balsa The 2 inch thick expanded bead polystyrene foam used for the wing cores is readily available through building supply outlets. It comes in 2 x 8 ft sheets and sells for about $4.00 per sheet. This foam is available in several densities so be sure to specify the lightest type.

The foam wing blanks are cut to the basic plan outline and the airfoil is cut, using the root and tip templates as guides for the hot wire cutter. If this is your first attempt at cutting foam wing cores. and the assistance of a fellow modeler with foam cutting experience is not available to you. the foam cutting guide hook listed in the RCM anthology book section of this magazine is heartily recommended.

After the foam cores are cut they should be lightly sanded with a long sanding block to remose any high spots or minor ridges and vacuumed clean. Be sure to save the foam core block scrap pieces as they will be used in the balsa wing skin application step.

The 3/32 sheet balsa wing skins are prepared by gluing the sheet seams as indicated on the plan. A cyanoacrylate glue such as Custom Model Products' Fast Bond is ideal for this step, as well as most other balsa to balsa construction phases. The wing skins should be 1/4 in oversize all around, to facilitate easy application. Sand the skins smooth and vacuum them clean. The wing skins may be adhered to the wing cores with either contact cement or epoxy. 3M brand spray type contact cement was used on the aircraft shown..."

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