Lil Ghost (oz7249)

 

Lil Ghost (oz7249) by Bill Hall 1968 - plan thumbnail

About this Plan

Lil Ghost. Radio control sport/trainer model for .09 - .15 power. 320 sq in wing area. Model Airplane News, May 1968.

Quote: "Just imagine being the test bed for more than 100 radio systems. Bill Hall of Hallco developed the Li'l Ghost to test and evaluate the 103 system and used this exciting little plane to flight test the first 100 or more systems before they left the factory.

The Li'l Ghost design evolved out of my extensive testing of our Hallco 103 System using two commercially kitted models and my past experience as an aeronautical structural engineer. Testing a new radio system reguires an easy to fly, forgiving, 'bounceable' model. The Li'l Tri Squire (oz619) kitted by Midwest does most of that if structurally improved. Much of our test flying was with such a model. At the same time, I was flying an Ugly Stick (oz5175) with digital proportional gear for my own pleasure and I was very impressed with its flying characteristics, much of which I attribute to the wing.

The Li'l Ghost is the result of a combination of all the above with my fin and rudder. The Li'l Tri Squire fuselage and stabilizer was structurally strengthened and used, the Ugly Stick Wing was scaled down to the 40 in size and a vertical fin/rudder hinge line added. This improves the roll by locating the rudder area low. It also reduces the drag on the Galloping Ghost system since the clevis bind at the end of the travel is eliminated by having the hinge line perpendicular to the pushrod.

The Li'l Ghost, with an OS MAX .10 or Cox .09 Tee Dee, will roll, loop, ROG, and fly inverted satisfactorily. With a .15 engine, it can even do it faster. However, don't start with a .15 unless you are an expert.

The Li'l Ghost will also bounce well, perhaps not off brick walls but you will be surprised at the abuse it will take from trees, bushes, weeds, sod on the nose, etc. Of course, if you never make a mistake this may not be important. Testing flying systems when you deliberately try to make a questionable system malfunction will allow plenty of opportunity for you to appreciate bounceability. If you can have some for free for normal flying, so much the better.

'Bounceability' is partially due to the light weight of this design. My models weigh 32-33 oz dry ready to fly with the Hallco 103 at 7 oz included. I use colored silk and clear dope with dye added on the wing and tail, and silkspan with pigmented dope on the fuselage. A good spray booth is also available. Plenty of dope is used, usually 8 to 10 coats. There is only one coat, however, of pigment on the fuselage/fin in the build up which saves weight yet allows a fully filled, colorful, glossy, finish.

Construction - General: All the good design and correct use of material will not yield a durable model unless care is used during the construction to fit your joints as carefully as possible. Thick glue is very poor under load. A .003 to .006 glue thickness is ideal. You cannot have superior fits in every joint but you can try to and make sure that you do on the important joints.

Excuse the lecture but I have seen many models last only one or two flights because the model takes after the 'one hoss shay' by collapsing into kit form again on a hard but not really bad contact with the ground. I now use Titebond glue. I used to use white glue but changed since Titebond will sand easily compared to the white glues.

Tail Surfaces. The fin and rudder are straight forward as shown on the plans. The plywood fin post extends down to the bottom of the fuselage and is assembled into the fuselage as it is built. The stabilizer can be built as shown or all ribs can be the same as the center three and 1/16 x 3/16 cap strips used on the four outboard ribs. This is really superior to the non-cap stripped version but it takes more time. Glue the stabilizer on at your own peril. I believe in rubber bands here to allow the required flexibility when you cartwheel on a landing. Without flexibility, you generally stop flying, go home, and rebuild.

The elevator is the proper size as shown. When I started Galloping Ghost, I thought that big surfaces were needed because the model only saw the average position, etc. It was found that the prop makes a better propulsion device than a paddle on the rear and all the large surfaces did was load down the Rand actuator..."

Quote: "I received this in answer to a request on RC Groups. Thought I'd pass it along. 'L'il Ghost' by Bill Hall of Hallco. Designed and used as a test vehicle for repaired radio systems. For Galloping Ghost radios with Rand LR-3, or for 3 channel modern radio. Thanks for your dedication and hard work! Much appreciated!"

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Supplementary file notes

Article pages, text and pic, thanks to theshadow.

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Lil Ghost (oz7249) by Bill Hall 1968 - model pic

Datafile:
  • (oz7249)
    Lil Ghost
    by Bill Hall
    from Model Airplane News
    May 1968 
    40in span
    IC R/C Cabin
    clean :)
    all formers complete :)
    got article :)
  • Submitted: 25/11/2015
    Filesize: 430KB
    Format: • PDFbitmap
    Credit*: RFJ, Circlip
    Downloads: 2186

Lil Ghost (oz7249) by Bill Hall 1968 - pic 003.jpg
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Lil Ghost (oz7249) by Bill Hall 1968 - pic 004.jpg
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Lil Ghost (oz7249) by Bill Hall 1968 - pic 005.jpg
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Lil Ghost (oz7249) by Bill Hall 1968 - pic 006.jpg
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User comments

Hi Steve, Here are a few pictures of my L'il Ghost [more pics004-006]. I can't remember why, but I converted it to electric after about 10 flights. The battery went where the fuel tank was. This is a great little plane that will keep you on your toes.
JimHales - 25/06/2016
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