Slingsby T-53 (oz7438)

About this Plan

Slingsby T-53. Radio control scale glider model.

Quote: "Your FREE Plan! A 63 inch span scale glider for single channel - or why not scale it up for multi? Slingsby T-53, by Jack Headley.

THE T53 sailplane is one of Slingsby's more recent designs, and the T53B, which is the version we've modelled, is the glider used by the ATC for air cadet training. It's quite a contrast from the Kirkby Cadet that we learned to glide in, and looks a little more comfortable. We still have vivid memories of running around a snow-covered airfield holding up the wing tip of a Cadet while the Beaveretts tow car skidded and slid across the grass, back to the launching site, but that's another story.

Our model was designed to a scale of 1 /9.25, which surprisingly enough leads to a wing span of 63 in.

Construction is typical for single channel sports-type glider. The basic design philosophy is not to build the lightest possible model, which usually won't fly without lots of nose weight, but to build a model that will survive the normal crash-type landing and not need constant repair (we like to fly, not fix). The all-sheet approach also pro-duces a model that's easy to build.

We started by building the wings. For this we need four sheets of 1/16, 4-1/2 in wide by 36 in long. Select two for the bottom sheets and draw on these the locations of the spars and ribs, using a ball point pen. Cement into place the 1/4 x 3/8 in leading edge and all the ribs except the three inboard ones. When dry, rig these sheets at the correct dihedral angles and add the spars, dihedral braces, and the remaining ribs. Now add the upper wing sheeting, and the 1/8 x 1/4 in leading edge. Sand to shape and cover with tissue.

The fuselage is next. Cut the two sides as shown by the arrowheads on the plan from 3/32 in sheet. These are joined by the main frame at the wing station, and then the remaining frames and the fin and rudder, etc are added. It's a good idea to install the control rod now before the upper fuselage sheeting, so that any fouls, etc, can be corrected easily.

Complete the fuselage by adding the 1/16 in sheet top decking, the 1/8 in sheet bottom, and the block in the cockpit region. The canopy can either be made from an existing commercial, or fabricated from flat celluloid. This should be removable for access to the radio.

Finish. Our version was finished in a typical late 1960s training glider. Aluminium all over, with an orange band around the rear fuselage, and also an orange nose. The words AIR CADETS appear in large letters on the forward part of the fuselage below the canopy. A typical registration is XV951. Standard roundels appear on wings and fuselage, the wing markings are at about two thirds of the wing span.

Radio. The original had a Testors set installed, but any lightweight system would probably be satisfactory. This system was located in the cabin section.
Flying Most of our flying has been done with the CG location as shown on the plan. This, anyway, is a good place to start, make small adjustments to the weight and the tailplane incidence if required.

Top and centre: two views showing the simple basic structure of both wing and fuselage. Wings are built up over bottom skins, fuselage has flat side sheets. Right: our author/designer with proto-type model and full-size machine."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Update 01/07/2016: article pages, text & pics added, thanks to RFJ.

Supplementary file notes

Article.

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