Nova (oz5582)

About this Plan

Aeroflyte Nova. Radio control sport parasol model.

Quote: "The Nova-kit No. 165 was designed as a fun aircraft, giving relaxed sport flying with three channel radio and powered by a 15 size RC engine. Extra credit must go to JEM for his beautifully put together CAD drawn full size detail parts list. And a big thank you to DECCA for his trust in loaning me the plan and instruction booklet for scanning purposes. Another one to enjoy."

Quote: "NOVA KIT NO. 165. NOVA has been designed as a fun aircraft, giving relaxed sport flying with minimum investment. With .20 sq metres of wing area, three channel radio, a 15 R/C engine, and a healthy paint finish, the flying weight is around 1130 gm. (Wing loading 5.5Kg/m2 or
18oz/sq ft.)

NOVA excels in the flying department. Take offs are excellent and require little rudder correction. Lift off is smooth with no zoom and once airborne the aircraft is very steady and predictable. With a .10 size engine, flight is slow and relaxed, however, a 15 size gives you the option of very smart performance indeed. Landings are easy with good control all the way in, and the on ground handling is excellent.

CONSTRUCTION: Read instructions fully before starting any assembly. During these instructions, 3 glue types will be mentioned = white glue (any of the woodworking glues available(, epoxy (any of the 5 min. varieties) and Balsa Cement - where no other specification, use C17 Cement for normal balsa work, and C23 Cement for high stress areas.

WING: Build the left hand wing directly over the plan (waxed paper will protect the plan) as follows:

1) Pin down the leading edge, bottom main-spar and the bottom trailing edge sheeting on the plan, allowing overhang at each end of the wing for later trimming.

2) Fit and lay down the bottom centre wing sheeting 40 and 41 in place and glue these joints.

3) Locate and fit main ribs 49 and one outer centre rib 50. Do not fit the other centrerib 50 yet.

4) Glue all ribs fitted in place. Add the top main-spar and top trailing edge sheeting and glue in place.

5) When dry fit the ply brace 39 in position and white glue in place to the main-spars with clothes pegs or similar. While this is drying fit the outer front half of rib 51 and glue in place. Fit and glue in place the 3 rib webs shown (in the front of the mainspars).

6) Using the rib template 52, angle the centre front and back half ribs 51 and 50 and glue in place.

7) When thoroughly dry, carefully trim the leading edge, main-spars and trailing edge sheeting all to the angle of the rib template..."

Update 29/05/2018: added kit review from RCM&E, December 1985, thanks to RFJ.

Quote: "Aeroflyte NOVA reviewed by Ian Peacock, assisted by Catherine.

IT IS NOW OVER TEN YEARS since I wrote my first kit review for an MAP magazine and an amazing 30 years since building my first powered model aircraft. Yet in all this time, only once before have I had any experience of models from 'down under'. This was a control-line, near scale, aerobatic model based on the Japanese Hien (Tony) fighter and kitted by Kookaburra. It was well produced and flew well, furthermore, reference to faded colour photos (it must have been around 25 years back) show that even then I was much into sprayed, mottled camouflage - but that is another story!

Australia seems, somehow, to be so remote from the UK that we tend to forget that they too have their own manufacturing and distributing companies, in just the same way as we do! Consequently it was with great interest that I accepted the task of reviewing the Aeroflyte NOVA.

The Nova is a 1160mm (45-1/2n) wing span cabane monoplane, in many ways resembling the David Boddington Barnstormer (oz8785) designs of yesteryear. It is quite suitable for novices and would normally be expected to operate with three-function radio (Rudder, Elevator and throttle) and a motor of the 0.9 - 0.15cu.in. capacity. First impressions suggested that it would make a good small field, low noise model fitted with the immensely popular (and new!) 0520 four-stroke.

In fact while both the editor and myself agreed on this point, the problem Icy with the aforementioned fact — the OS FS20 is a very popular motor and we just could not get our hands on one in time. Had it not been for the kind intervention of U.K. 0.8. importer, Irvine engines, who lent us one of their sales samples for the duration of the review, we would probably have been unable to complete the mating of this fine kit and engine in time to meet the required press date!

So what of the kit itself? Well it comes packed in a stout box measuring 37 x 11 x 3 in having a full colour box art that is most eye-catching and must surely be a good aid to 'off the shelf' sales. In fact my finished NOVA, due to the differing covering material used, did not look as attractive as this box art.

Antipodean Comprehensivity: Opening the box reveals that Aero-flyte have obviously got their act well and truly together, for the NOVA is a really well thought out and comprehensive kit. Parts quality was good throughout and parts quantity leaves only the covering materials, radio and engine needed for completion.

Balsa and ply parts are all die-cut (some of the wing ribs were just a little crunched —the sign of a worn or blunt tool), but they all separated cleanly from their respective sheets and required only the minimum of attention with the sandpaper block. Amongst the various goodies packed in the box were fuel tank, wheels, preformed U/C wire, snakes and devices, horns and hinges, beautiful vacuum-formed spats and pilot, an amazing variety of nuts, bolts and screws and two tubes of cement (fast and slow drying). The plan is rolled, thereby avoiding those infuriating creases, and is a properly printed sheet, not a die-line copy. An eight-page instruction booklet completes the picture.

Building the NOVA held few surprises, The wing is of conventional configuration having a virtual flat-bottomed section. Structure, too, is quite traditional, featuring top and bottom spars, split trailing edge and, perhaps slightly unusual, a 1/4 x 3/4 in leading edge layout flat! Upper and lower centre section is sheeted as is the upper portion from top spar to leading edge. Balsa wedge in-fills are used at the centre of the trailing edge to reinforce where the wing bands fit and to allow for the curved cut-out (done for eye appeal). Soft 45° block wing tips, together with ply dihedral brace and interspar balsa webbing complete the wing structure, which consumed only a couple of hours, one everting! There is 4° of dihedral on each wing panel. Surprisingly the dihedral brace only covers the centre section (balsa webbing extending outboard for another three rib bays) and I would personally have preferred for this brace to cover a wider span in the interests of integrity. However, part of the brief of a reviewer is to build 'as designed' and to give the manufacturer the benefit of the doubt and this is just what was done. To date there is no sign of any cracks in the wing despite the model being subjected to a fair amount of rough handling (I've been using it to teach my eight-year-old daughter Catherine to fly R/C).

Numbered and noted: Every individual part of this kit is numbered and with comprehensive instruction notes and sketches on the plan, together with the instruction booklet, little trouble should be encountered even by modellers of modest ability or experience! Having said that, those of us whose experience and abilities are such that we can afford to ignore the instructions will, and can (!) still fall foul of the 'system'.

Fuselage construction is also fairly typical having sheet side with balsa doublers. Cabane struts are die-cut and cross-glued plywood, being much easier to make and align than bent piano-wire. The fire wall is laminated from two layers of ply providing a bonus for the modeller in that it is probably stronger (if a little more time-consuming) and for the manufacturer who can cut all the ply parts from a common sheet (damned clever these antipodean chappies what?). Upper rear fuselage is made from side and top sheets whilst the upper front is a machined balsa block.

This then is where the fun started for a brief glance at the assembly sequence showed it to be just a little unusual with the entire fuselage assembled onto one side (including top decking), the other side being added last. Be warned, our cousins from down under have got it right - follow those instructions, Me, being of sound mind and big-head decided to follow tradition, mating both sides to the formers first adding the top block last..."

Update 26/08/2019: Added further kit review from November 1985, R/C Model World, thanks to RFJ.

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