Strato-Liner (oz7246)

About this Plan

Strato-liner. Control line sport model. Intriguingly, the drawing shows 2 engines, one of which is mounted out on the outboard wingtip, at a jaunty angle.

Quote: "Out of this world maneuvers on 200-foot lines possible on Half A engines! Picture it on Mono-Line, if you can. Strato-Liner, by Carl Risteen.

Why fly on long lines? The answer is obvious. With longer lines, much more flying space is available, re-sulting in immeasurably greater realism and smoothness in maneuvers. But when a regular stunt model is reeled out to fly on very long lines, complications set in. Control response falls off badly, the model develops a floating tendency, and slight winds become a major threat. As a result, the attempt often ends in disaster, and the flier firmly resolves to stick to short lines, and to put up with the disadvantages of poor realism and hurried, jerky maneuvers.

It was a desire to produce a model capable not only of handling extremely long lines, but of flying full pattern stunt, unhampered by a moderate wind, which resulted in the first Strato-Liner.

The theory behind the strange layout was that the engine on the outboard wing should supply a steady thrust, acting directly outwards along the lines, keeping them tight at all times, and supporting the weight of the model in overhead maneuvers.

Accordingly, the first model was set up with the outboard wing engine pointing straight out of the circle.

Failure dogged the first attempts at flight, the model slowly sinking to the ground after the launch, with both engines screaming valiantly. Evidently, the drag of the outboard engine was too great, forcing the model into a badly crabbing attitude, in which the outboard engine pulled partly backwards, as well as outwards. Consequently, very little forward speed was possible. The addition of forward thrust to the outboard engine quickly remedied the situation, however, and the model began to really perform, although hampered still by a very severe wing rocking during maneuvers. A lead counterbalance added to the inboard wing tip cured the wing rocking, and I reeled the model out to successive line lengths of 60, 100, 150, and 200 feet. Performance was very good, with excellent line tension maintained through all maneuvers, even on over 200 feet of line. Despite its weight of over twelve ounces, and its squarish, unstreamlined form, the model flew with surprising speed and maneuverability.

The second model, which is shown on the plans, was built in an attempt to lower the weight, and thus improve line tension in overhead maneuvers. Weight of the model came out at nine ounces. The use of a streamlined fuselage, offering less resistance to the side wind from the outboard engine, greatly improved line tension and handling. The realism of the model in flight is quite uncanny, and its long, screaming dives and huge, sweeping maneuvers are very impressive. The Strato-Liner has enough pep to enter a huge vertical eight immediately after taking off. But if you want to wow the crowd at your next flying session, you'd better start construction now.

The fuselage is carved in two shells from a piece of medium soft balsa measuring 1 x 2 x 36 in. Trace the side and top view of each shell on the balsa, and saw to shape..."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Supplementary file notes

Article pages, text and pics, thanks to theshadow.

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