Wolfmeister LR-3 (oz6209)

About this Plan

Wolfmeister LR-3. RC sport model for .09 power.

Quote: "Here are a few general notes concerning the model. The plane was actually designed to test out the new LR-3 Galloping Ghost actuator from Rand Manufacturing Company. This actuator promised to take simple proportional oil the tinkerer's bench and get into the air with the reliability of a much more exotic rig. Gone was the birdcage sticking out behind the north end of the .sonthbouud model. With this new servo, only two standard pushrods were required. insofar as bench checks were concerned, this unit surpassed anything that we had seen to date. Now it was time to give it the acid, or flight, tests as it were.

Since I had never flown Galloping Ghost before, much less designed an airplane for this control form. I felt perfectly qualified for the task. Since we had already discovered that our old flying buddy, Herb Abrams at Rand had put in quite a few flights on a .35 powered beast, we decided to make our test ship in the smaller range. The quickie-build that evolved looked like every other box-with-a-plank-wing, so we dressed it up a bit as a semi-scale type WW I machine.

Although this is somewhere around an .049 size ship, we had a Cox .09 on the shelf and decided to use it in the nose. The actuator was installed, using the standard multi pushrod configuration with Du-Bro Kwik Links at the surfaces and Ellis keepers at the LR-3. A World Engines NND switcher was used so that a single battery supply of 2.4 to 3.6 volts could be used for the actuator, eliminating the need for a power supply on each side of the motor. A Controlaire SHA-100 superhet receiver was used, and it too, used the same battery supply as the actuator. The LR-3 has the arc suppression components in, and the use of the SH-100 (whieh is quite immune to noise) insured a light-weight (5 ounce) installation.

To eliminate a mess of wiring, we cut down Accu-Tie printed circuit board, scraped off some of the copper lands, and secured the NND switcher to the board with GE Clear Seal. All wires then terminated at this common junction board. When we turned on the switch and reached down toward the actuator to find out how much thrust we were putting out, we almost lost a finger! That LR-3 is powerful!

The first flight of the Wolfmeister was a disaster going somewhere to happen. The elevator surfaces were too large and we had used to much throw. In addition, we didn't have enough right thrust in the engine. One other minor factor was a transmitter and puller whose modulation was not compatible with the SHB-100. After launching the ship off my hill, it streaked away with a vicious left turn. After getting that under control, I found that the amount of throw used was such that if you breathed om the transmitter stick you commanded a loop!

A few minutes later the incompatible system created the inevitable - a loss of signal as the ship went out of range at about 500 yards distant. The LR-3 responded by giving neutral rudder and elevator and low motor. With the torque problem. this resulted in a gentle left turn that ended on a slope of the hill about a hundred feet away..."

Quote: "Steve, Here is RCM's Wolfmeister LR-3 designed by Don Dewey for the Rand LR-3 galloping ghost actuator. I have not built this plane nor seen it fly, but if built light with small servos and electric brushless motor, it should be a good flyer. It is the same class as a lot of 36 in. wing plans which make excellent park flyers. Thanks again."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Update 15/08/2017: added article, thanks to davidterrell80.

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