Das Ghosten Flugboot (oz8143)

About this Plan

Das Ghosten Flugboot. Radio contol sport flying boat model.

Quote: "A 36in span flying boat for lightweight galloping-ghost. Das Ghosten Flugboot, by Derek Walton.

HAVING worked through a number of single channel aircraft, including deltas and flying-boats, I decided it was time to introduce an extra function - and proportional control - by building 'Galloping Ghost.' My first GG model was an all-sheet, shoulder wing job, much on the lines of Weekender (oz1110) but with a Jedelsky airfoil section - ie highly under-cambered with exposed ribs - and a longer moment arm.

When this plane went the way of most models, I had to produce another to replace it as quickly as possible. I also wanted one that would be a functional model and yet with an out-of-the-rut appearance. Innumerable sketches on old envelopes, book margins and table cloths then followed, of every type of model I thought had possibilities - low wing, shoulder wing, high wing and back to deltas and flying-boats, my two main loves in aircraft. I finally settled on a flying-boat, as a delta seemed too fast flying in view of my limited experience. At this time I saw an article on a Ken Willard design, the Shearwater (oz8136) which influenced the end result somewhat.

I designed specifically for the .049 class, and the Cox QZ motor in particular, as I had used this type of engine before and was very impressed with its ease of starting and reliability. (TD's and Medallions would also be fine, mounted in C/L profile fashion as indicated on the plan, but I think to try and use Babe and Golden Bee's which, when muffled, lose a large amount of power, would mean increased take-off run and an all-round reduction in performance).

When designing the airframe I settled on a fairly long moment arm and strip elevator and rudder, to remove as much of the 'gallop' from the GG system as possible. As I was not using a throttle, the engine could be mounted on the wing, enabling a reasonably short nose to be used to assist the model's turning capabilities and recovery. I also decided on a flat-bottomed hull for simplicity; this I knew, from past experience with flying boats and airscrew driven hydroplanes, would be quite satisfactory. It would also allow me to use plywood for extra strength, as I intended to fly the model over grass as well as at the lake. Finally, I decided that a wing cut-out would mean more chance of water getting at the works and so runners were used to seat the wing and have proved quite satisfactory in use.

When building was commenced, I decided to produce two versions. The first one used rudder-only, with a Compact escapement and the increased dihedral detailed on the plan; the second version using a Mighty Midget servo for economy and the 'squirrel cage' type of connections to rudder and elevator - for simplicity of water-proofing the exit. It would be perfectly OK to use a Rand or similar servo but the builder would be advised to locate the push-rod exits on the top of the fuselage. (See 'water-proofing'). Although the wood sizes used in the fuselage may at first sight seem rather thick, careful selection of grades enable a light but very ro-bust fuselage to be built. One, in fact, that will withstand the normal rough field flying. The escapement version weighed in at 20 oz and the GG version at 22 oz, due to the extra Deac used.

Flying these craft gave a great deal of satisfaction as they handle just like a normal sport R/C model, but with no tendency to tip over when landing, and they even proved able to take off from wet grass..."

Note this is a low resolution plan.

Update 03/05/2017: Replaced this plan with a clearer copy (patterned background removed) thanks to TonyP.

Supplementary file notes

Article pages, text and pics, thanks to RFJ.
Alternate scan version, thanks to Circlip.
Previous scan version.

Corrections?

Did we get something wrong with these details about this plan (especially the datafile)? That happens sometimes. You can help us fix it.
Add a correction