Graduate (oz6608)

About this Plan

Graduate. RC sport model.

Quote: "Have you been flying high wing planes? Do you want to fly low wing planes but don't want a big .60? Did you say you want to use the .29 you have on your high wing plane, or have sitting around, because you can't find a good flying ship for it? If your answer is 'yes', then maybe the Graduate is the answer for you.

The Graduate was designed because I wanted a ship that was inexpensive to build, small but not TOO small, could use one of my two Enya .29's, and most of all would be a good Sunday flyer.

I started by looking through my back issues of RCM, and with the formulas I found, I came up with an intermediate size advanced trainer for a .29. After more figuring I saw that the same design with a .35 would become a hot Sunday flyer. How would it work out in the air? I had to find out! With all the calculations completed I now had to make it look like a semi-scale airplane from 20 feet away. I think I suceeded at this but how would it fly? I started construction the day after I finished the drawing. I found it easy to build and not too expensive. So far so good.

The day finally arrived. It was cold and windy but good enough to run the engine with the new carburetor. We went out to the field (Pennsylvania Avenue Radio Control Society of Brooklyn, NY), and rued up the engine. And experienced our first problem - an engine that just wouldn't run properly. So,it was back to the work shop to change the engine. How about the new Enya .35, would it fit the same mounting holes? There was one way to find out, and that was to try it. It fits but the shaft is 3/16 inch longer. Back to the field. The Enya started up with a couple of flips. The wind was blowing too hard and it was still cold, so tests were limited to taxiing. In order to find out if it would fly I would have to wait one more week.

Believe me when I say that the week couldn't pass fast enough for me! The big day proved to be not too windy and not too cold. Once at the field, I fired up the engine. With second thoughts I felt that I might not be able to handle this ship. After taxiing around, waiting for my friend to arrive and assist with the rust flights, I realized it was getting late and I had to find out if it would fly! The wind was getting a little stronger and I couldn't wait any longer. I gave it high throttle and held my breath. After a thirty foot run it was airborne, climbing and banking to the left. Down and right trim was put in and: There she goes. It FLIES!

After a few 360's around the field I knew I had a ship I would enjoy flying. It was a little fast with the .35 in the nose but I still felt comfortable flying it. Well it was up there, and I had to get it down. The wind was much stronger now so I knew I had to make a short approach. Before I could line up with the runway the motor quit and I was committed. Finally, it was down for a three point landing. I was surprised at the control I had..."

Update 11/05/2015: Added supplementary CAD file of this plan, thanks to JoelCimmino.

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CAD file

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