Widget (oz6573)

About this Plan

Widget. Radio control sport model. Uses a foam wing.

Quote: "For Galloping Ghost or small digital proportional, the Widget is an attractive 44in span low-wing design that is ideal for small field sport flying. 34oz weight with Midwest foam wing and OS Max .10

For over a year and a half I have been flying Galloping Ghost very successfully, having built a few kits and a number of planes built from plans. For sometime now, I have wanted a plane that was of my own design, one that was attractive and a good flyer. I wanted a plane that incorporated all the features that I have enjoyed in other planes I have flown. Although my idea for a design was only to be for Galloping Ghost equipment, the R/C Modeler Magazine Design Contest pushed the design into reality and also made it big enough to accomodate the new micro-miniaiture proportional systems.

Some of the characteristics of the plane were that I wanted ii to be stable and a smooth flyer, but give it the necessary pushes, and it would become acrobatic. (These pushes are only necessary with Galloping Ghost.) I wanted to be able to take my hands off the controls for a second and not have the plane fall out of the sky. It would also have to be fast at high motor, and have a nice glide at low throttle.

Since I am using Galloping Ghost to control my plane, there are certain compromises that will have to be made. The plane would not have a steerable nose gear, and the elevator throw would have to be cut down in order to get rid of the gallop and looping tendency while going through motor control. Since l am limited in ground handling due to the drag of a steerable nose gear on a Galloping Ghost plane causing too much battery drain, I designed the fixed nose gear of the plane to be shorter than it might normally be. This shortening of the nose gear lets the nose of the plane be lower on the ground than it is when it is flying, The idea behind this is the nose of the plane lifts as the plane begins its takeoff, and the ship is then only riding on two wheels. This makes it easier to steer with the rudder than if it was on three wheels.

The problem of the low motor loop was solved by incorporating a reducer. This is used in the Widget and enables the plane to maintain level flight while going through motor control. While reducing the elevator throw, l maintain enough elevator to aid in penetration, looping, and flaring for landings.

The size of the plane was determined by the ready made foam wing I had chosen. The two reasons I chose this type of wing were because of its simplicity of construction and it had a semi-symmetrical airfoil, which I have found very successful in maintaining turns, not to mention penetration ability.

I chose the low wing because I felt it made the plane more maneuverable as well as enhancing the appearance of the plane. Both the nose and the stabilizer moments were shortened. The latter for the reason that while reducing the elevator area for Galloping Ghost, the tail would become more sensitive and Hie plane would fly faster. The nose moment was shortened to compensate for the reduction od the tail..."

Hi Steve - Here is David A. Ramsey's Widget from RCM magazine issue 10-70 with text and photos. Note this plan uses a foam wing, so no ribs etc are shown.

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Supplementary file notes

Article pages, text and pics.

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