Falcon 56 Mk II (oz6155)

About this Plan

Falcon 56 Mk II. RC sport/trainer model. Discontinued kit. For .19 to .40 engines and 3 to 4 channel proportional RC. Carl Goldberg Kit # G15 II.

Note this is a later version of the original Falcon 56 (oz2424) from Carl Goldberg.

Planfile includes full build instructions.

Quote: "First, read 'General Instructions' and decide whether you want a 3 or 4 channel airplane. In a 3-channel setup, the wing has no ailerons, but stabilizes itself with sufficient dihedral (the upward bend of the wings). The wing for a 40channel ship is somewhat flatterm and uses ailerons to provide control.

One end of each wing spar has been angled at the factory for the 4-channel dihedral. If you're building a 3-channel wing, die-cut plywood guages will help you change to the greater angle. Also, the plywood wing joiners are designed to accomodate either dihedral. The following instructions cover the construction of both the 3-channel and 4-channel wings..."

Update 17/10/2022: Added decals scan and addendum pages, thanks to Hobiepilot.

Update 5/10/2025: Aded kit review from MAN October 1978, thanks to RFJ.

Quote: "Field & Bench: Goldberg Falcom MkII kit, by Frank McCarthy.

Carl Goldberg's original Falcon 56 trainer has had broad and enduring appeal as a first or second R/C airplane. There are many reasons why. First is solid Goldberg value. For a very modest investment, you get an extremely complete kit including push rods and hardware. The quality of the wood in Goldberg's kits is outstanding and the design is well known. Due to the reasonable price and completeness of the Falcon 56 kit, a beginner on a budget is able to produce a complete airplane (less engine/radio) with a decent finish for around $60.00 (see figure 1). Compare that with some of the other R/C kits advertised! A second reason for the Falcon's popularity is its functionality. That is, people can (and do) learn to fly with it. There is no need for Terry Prather to be your flying instructor!

Anyone who can take off and land a 4-channel R /C airplane can get you started. The Falcon is easy enough to make learning possible and challenging enough to provide a real learning tool. A third reason why so many beginners choose the Falcon 56 is its relative ease of construction. Obviously, it's a long way from ARF but it is at least possible to build a straight flyable airframe without extensive prior experience or elaborate jigs and tools.

Much of the credit goes to the highly prefabricated nature of Goldberg's kits. Almost all of the critical sanding and shaping has already been done. The only exception is the wing and stab tips which are reputed to be a challenge to the fumble-thumbed.

Also a key to the Falcon's ease of construction is the interlocking method of construction. The major alignment joints in the fuse, stabs and wing are self-aligning mortise and Tenon. Since the parts are die-cut, it is difficult to build a crooked airframe. Yet, an average builder will need only about 35 hours to finish the Falcon 56.

There were, of course, a number of limitations to the original Falcon 56, the main one being a somewhat weak wing and very crowded front end for the 40 size engines needed for windy fields. The wing construction is center-sheeted center spar versus the more difficult to build, expensive, modern and elegant D-tube and cap-strip construction. Also, the original Falcon's fuselage front end was somewhat weak and places the tank centerline significantly (3/4") above the carburetor centerline. This can be greatly alleviated by muffler pressure as long as the engine has good fuel draw. Finally, the plan format was not as clear as possible, partially because the original kit has had many minor revisions over the years.

FALCON MARK II: As one of the 'unofficial' instructors of the Somers RCC, I have flown a fair number of Falcons. In fact, I own one which serves as a radio and engine testbed. The guy I bought it from five years ago claimed it had over 1,000 flights on it at the time and it still flys well three wings later. I was delighted, therefore, when Walt Schroder asked me to do a 'Field and Bench' on Goldberg's new Falcon 56 Mark II. I was also curious since seeing the plane at the '77 WRAMS show. Furthermore, the original Falcon worked well and in R/C modeling, if it works, don't fix it, is a long established principle.

THE KIT: A look at the kit, however, indicated that some very serious and smart work has gone into its redesign. First of all, there's a new and truly attractive four-color box. This may mean a lot to the 'maybe' new R/Cer who is debating in the hobby shop whether or not to get involved.

Secondly, the plans have been totally redrawn. Instruction is broken down into more detailed, concise, clearer and easier steps with cleaner drawings and a nice supplemental instruction booklet. A list of necessary and optional accessories is included which will greatly aid the rank novice to familiarize himself with all of the mysterious gadgets that are involved in the avionics of an R/C airplane.

Secondly, the wing has been made much stronger - still the old-fashioned center spar construction, but now with doubled ribs in the center and plywood dihedral joiners. The fuselage is longer and has been strengthened as well. Full plywood doublers and a wider, stronger front end have been added.

Other changes include a permanently attached empenage and better 3-4 channel set-up instructions including a truly complete hardware package with strip ailerons.

The quality of the wood in the kit is superb. Furthermore, Goldberg gives you the same quality in a Sr Falcon wing kit so the kit I received was, in fact, typical. All you need to finish the airplane are wheels, tank, glue, paint and covering material. It appears from the kit that Goldberg's objective was to upgrade the kit without totally re-tooling in order to keep costs within reason. My judgment is that they have done a successful job.

CONSTRUCTION: In general, the easiest way to insure a flyable airplane is to follow the instruction to the letter. An enormous amount of thought and experience went into the instructions, therefore the first step any sane person will take is to read the directions.

I deviated from the instructions in only two ways. First, the fuselage and rib-doublers were laminated with Hobbypoxy Formula II spread very thin with a balsa squeegee. This was done because I have not had much success with contact cement and because epoxy allows repositioning to make sure perfect alignment is achieved. Less than one-half ounce was used so that the weight penalty was surely minimal. If the squeegee technique seems obscure to you, please follow the instructions and use contact cement..."

Supplementary file notes

Addendum (11 pages).
Decals.
Review.

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