F-14 Tomcat (oz7238)

About this Plan

F-14 Tomcat. Control line sport stunt model. For OS Max .35 power.

Quote: "The classic lines of Grumman's F-14 'Tomcat' inspired the design of this pure contest machine. A suggestion of scale realism in a ship engineered for competitive performance, with an 0.S. Max .35 under the hood. F-14 Tomcat, by Vic Macaluso.

Hey Mister! is that a plastic airplane? How much does it cost? Where can I buy one? Anyone who flies stunt competitively has heard these questions dozens of times. Lately the stunt flyers from Flushing Meadow Park in New York have heard a new one; Can I rent one of those at the Boathouse? At first these questions seem funny, but after a while they drive you nuts and you end up being known as a 'prima-donna' stunt flyer! What this all points out is that most competitive Stunt flyers come out with an airplane that not only flies well, but looks as, though it really is 'plastic.'

The F-14 Tomcat is the latest in a series of designs in which I have not only tried to build a Stunt machine but also an airplane that is as scale-like as possible. Anyone who has seen the June 1971 issue of American Aircraft Modeler may recall my F-8 Crusader (oz8326). With that airplane I achieved the effect I was looking for. The Tomcat is a refinement of that basic design, with changes in the planform to give it quite a different appearance.

The big differences in the Tomcat are the huge airscoops, very wide fuselage behind the CG and the twin rudders.

The airscoops being directly in the turbulent prop blast give very little, if any, aerodynamic drag and do not affect the flying trim at all. A very interesting thing happens though when the engine quits. All of a sudden there is no longer a turbulent airflow from the prop and those innocent airscoops become gigantic air brakes. On the first flight this scared the heck out of me when the plane lost airspeed so quickly, but I was equally amazed at how easy the plane was to land. The drag the scoops create kills most of the wing lift when the plane touches down and prevents the ballooning tendency most stunt ships have on a hot landing into the wind.

As most stunt flyers will agree, a stunt ship must turn square corners well or just forget it as a competition airplane. The biggest problem in a square corner is the well known bobble at the end of the turn. Most of this is due to the flyer over con-trolling or not recovering fast enough and some of it of course is due to the design of the airplane. The reason for the wide fuselage in my Tomcat was to try to dampen out the bobbling tendency by presenting a broad area of resistance in the direction of the turn. Throughout construction of this plane I got nothing but encouragement from the stunt stars in my area. It'll never turn! The scoops are too big! Two rudders that big? Are you crazy! Feeling quite confident with all this approval from my peers, I proceeded to shock even myself with the performance of this stunt ship.

It is the best turning, most positive feeling airplane I have ever flown. The feel of a stunt ship in the air has a great influence on the success of an airplane. It may fly well but if it doesn't feel just right a flyer might have a hard time adjusting to the plane. It's a hard thing to describe, but anyone who flys stunt knows what it is and this plane has it.

I've incorporated many adjustable fea-tures into this airplane. When I first started flying stunt, I came out with a new airplane and with the exception of twisting a flap and adding or subtracting nose weight, the way that plane flew was it! I had to compromise my flying to the performance limits of the plane. This is not so today! The plane must fly the way I want it to in order for me to fly competitively. By the addition of adjustable leadouts, adjustable rudders and adjustable wing tip weight, a stunt ship, providing it is built light and without warps, can be made to meet the needs of the most demanding flyer.

The Fuselage. Begin by cutting out all parts from pat-terns shown on planes. The main fuselage sides are shown by the heavy black lines on the plans' side view. Laminate the 1/16 ply nose doublers and 3/8 x 1/2 in motor mounts to the 1/8 balsa sides, using any epoxy type glue. Draw a centerline on formers F-1 through F-6. These will be used to line up the fuselage during assembly. Draw a straight line on your work table slightly longer than the fuselage. Using epoxy glue, assemble F-1 through F-6 and the fuselage sides together..."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Update 19/04/2016: Article added, thanks to RFJ.

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