Lil Pinto (oz8087)

About this Plan

Lil Pinto. Radio control semi-scale Temco Pinto model.

Quote: "Designed for Galloping Ghost or small digital proportional systems, the Li'l Pinto is capable of inside's, outside's, vertical eights, lminy's and inverted flying. For .09 to .15 engines. Semi-Scale Temco Pinto by Brad Shepherd.

Having designed and built a few small racers, as well as a combination racer and stunt plane for Galloping Ghost, I was looking for something different and unusual to tackle and had been toying with the idea of using the T-33 jet as a subject, although this idea never did gel. When I received a copy of the October 1967 issue of Sport Flying, there it was - an article on the Temco TT-1 jet trainer. My mind, feeble as it is, got into gear, and this model resulted. The basic layout of this plane is close to that of the racers and stunt plane which proved so successful, and should give you many hours of flying satisfaction.

This is not one of those 'puppy dog' planes ARF! ARF! (almost ready to fly) yet is not difficult for a modeler to build. It has only 3 basic formers in the fuselage, the 1/32 inch ply doubler has proven itself, and the 'egg-crate' front-end is easy once the parts are cut out, making for a stout front-end assembly. The wing is the only part that could cause some difficulty, but using the jig leading edge and exercising some care, even this is not too bad. After all - the bigger the challenge, the more satisfaction, and this is a modeler's project!

If you do prefer to use a foam wing, I am sure Midwest's foam wing and stab kit could be made to fit and look respectable, although the area is somewhat smaller, resulting in higher wing loading. Installing the main gear in the wing would be a challenge, so if you go this way, I would appreciate hearing from you on the results via RCM.

This model did not fly right out of the shop window like another feller I know of who is a 'bye-plane' nut, but fly it did, and was making low level passes on the test flight. Succeeding flights were made in 20-30 mph winds which showed that this little plane has the ability to fly in weather usually reserved for its bigger brothers. The only change that was made to the prototype was to enlarge the rudder, a change which is reflected in the plans.

The landings are pure joy as long as the 'nut' on the end of the stick that protrudes from the little 'box' goes easy. It doesn't slow down too fast, so allow for this on the downwind leg, or you will come in hot! I have done insides, outsides, vertical eights, Immy's and inverted flying with the Lil Pinto. The rudder action is the same inverted as it is right side up, e.g., right is right, and left is left. It will not roll on rudder, so the addition of ailerons, if you are using a small digital rig will, or should, make this a good acrobatic plane with all the looks of a real jet on one of those low level, wide open passes. I would recommend using a .15 engine if a small digital system is employed..."

Supplementary file notes

Article pages, text and pics, thanks to hlsat, JHatton.

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