Poke Along (oz7331)

About this Plan

Poke Along. Radio control vintage-style sport model. Note this is a low resolution plan.

Quote: "This airplane was designed around popular 1930's and 1940's free-flight models. Some of Poke Along's ancestors have famous names like Kloud King (oz5215), Buccaneer (oz5796), Powerhouse (oz5644), and Buzzard Bombshell (oz5360), just to name a few. The stubby nose, wing planform, tail feathers, and of course, that swept forward landing gear, definitely suggest its vintage free-flight heritage.

Upon seeing the Poke Along for the first time, people's comments are, it sureis cute, and I can't wait to see this one fly. Their comments really get exciting when I fly the Poke Along 4-6 feet off the deck. Coupled with the quiet putt, putt, putt of a 4-stroke at quarter throttle, really makes this airplane especially attractive and it is a real crowd pleaser!

Frankly, when I fly any of my airplanes in this manner, I invariably attract a crowd of onlookers. People sometimes come up and express an interest in learning to build and fly R/C aircraft. I believe we all should practice being responsible ambassadors, helping to promote goodwill and a positive image of R/C modeling, to the general public. Flying an airplane like the Poke Along at eye level helps to accomplish this goal because people can see and gain a real appreciation for an airplane in its element.

As with previous designs, certain criterion or goals were set. I wanted an airplane that looked like an airplane should: a cabin type with windows, a large, roomy fuselage since my hands are quite large and, of course, I wanted the airplane to be large enough so it can be easily seen when flown. I also wanted it to be stable at slow air speeds. Last, I wanted it to have a light to moderate wing loading, 16-17 oz/sq ft.

The Poke Along meets and exceeds these objectives and it also flies well, capturing many of its ancestors' flight characteristics. In short, the Poke Along looks great at any altitude but especially when flown at eye level; and it is sure to generate positive comments from your club members and the spectators - possibly stealing the show!

By the way, don't let the name fool you. As mentioned above, this airplane will poke along at quarter throttle; however, at full throttle with the Saito .56 4-stroke, coupled with an 11 x 8 prop, she will leap for the heavens in as little as 10 feet of runway. Once in the air she will do consecutive inside loops all day, hammerheads, and tight spins both flat and nose down. Stalls are mushy requiring power and some up for recovery. Rolls are sloppy and are difficult to perform, due to absence of ailerons. Even with ailerons, my experience has shown airplanes of this type don't roll well even without dihedral due to the pendulum effect. If high speed, precision aerobatics, and maneuverability are what tickles your fancy, well I suppose the Poke Along won't fill the bill.

Construction. Fuselage: Select five 1/4 sq hard balsa straight sticks for the longerons. Splice, using the long angle method, as indicated. I used gap-filling CA glue hem. Next, locate and mark the exact center of each longeron. Balance each stick by indicating which end is the heavy end; the heavy end goes forward, the light end goes towards the tail. This is an old free-flight trick. You'll be amazed how much a stick of wood can vary in density within the same stick. Since the nose is very short, we want to keep the tail as light as possible..."

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