Celeste (oz5372)

About this Plan

Celeste. 50in span FF glider from Model Aircraft July 1947.

Quote: "THE Celeste was designed with a view to putting up a high performance and has proved to be very successful. Due to its low wing loading, the model is an excellent thermal hunter, but I should add that even in cold damp weather three minute flights have been consistently obtained.

Fuselage: This is a slab sided structure, which differs from most in that it has L section longerons and T section uprights and crosspieces. The basic square structure is built up from 3/32 sq medium balsa, making sure that it is aligned correctly. Add the nose formers of 3/32 soft sheet balsa and then completely cover the nose with 1/16 sheet up to the curved line shown on the plan. 1/4 by 1/16 medium strip should now be cemented to the two outer sides of each longeron thus forming an extremely strong L section, the tail end of the fuselage should now be covered with 1/16 sheet again following the curve shown on the plan. The uprights and crosspieces are now capped with 1/4 by 1/16 medium strip thus forming T sections.

Mainplane: The ribs are cut indoor fashion using hardwood templates. Construct the centre panel first, pin down the leading and trailing edges, cement in top ribs and leave to set thoroughly. Remove from plan and cement in bottom ribs, slide in spars, cement in position and leave to dry. For the outer wing panels the procedure is as follows: Wind the tips from 1/32 by 1/8 medium balsa round a sheet balsa former. Pin the tip to the plan together with the leading and trailing edges, cement in top ribs which should be cut off at the rear to the required length. Remove from plan and cement in bottom ribs, then slide in the spars which should be tapered to fit exactly between the ribs. Cement the two outer panels to the inner panel at the correct dihedral angle and brace the joint with 1/32 birch ply. When all is thoroughly dry the centre section and top surface of the leading edge should be sheeted with 3/64 medium sheet (ie 1/16 sheet sanded down smooth) and capping strips added to the top surface of the ribs.

Empennage: The tailplane constructional procedure is essen-tially the same as that of the wing except that there is no dihedral and no sheeting.

The fin is a simple structure of fairly soft 1/8 sheet balsa which is cemented between the two centre ribs of the tailplane. Do not omit the two subsidary fins positioned at A/A near the tips of the tailplane as these contribute greatly to the model's stability on the towline.

Covering and Finishing: The original was covered in superfine Jap tissue but as this is very difficult to obtain English tissue will suffice. Incidentally I do not advise the use of English rag tissue on this model as the amount of dope necessary for airproofing this tissue adds undue weight. The covered model should be water sprayed and the wings and tail weighted down on a flat board whilst drying. When dry the model should be given two coats of good quality thin banana oil. The model looks very smart when the sheeted nose and centre section are polished and a streamline of bright colour is painted along the fuselage side with the aid of masking tape or varnish paper. By far the best method of polishing planked surfaces that I have yet come across is the method described by R Jeffries in the December 1945, issue of MODEL AIRCRAFT, and I strongly advise the use of this process on the Celeste. Don't forget to type your name and address on a slip of tissue and dope it on to the fuselage.

Flying: If correctly built the model will give no trouble at all whilst trimming, in fact the first flight made by the original apart from hand launch tests was one of three minutes thirteen seconds using a two hundred foot towline, and this was by no means a fluke as was borne out by later flights. The nose should be weighted to balance the model at about 50 percent of the wing chord, further trimming if necessary should be made by slight movement of the wing and/or the addition of positive or negative incidence on the tailplane."

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Supplementary file notes

Planfile includes article.

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