Dreamer (oz8161)

About this Plan

Dreamer. Radio control sport biplane model. Wingspan 39 in, wing area 580 sq in.

Quote: "The agility of a cavorting pipe in the blue is good excercise for your servos, mind and trembling fingers. It's a spirited .40 R/C Sport/Stunt machine. A 'Dreamer' in the Sky, by Don Foster.

Actually the design of this sport biplane was completed many months before my eyeball 'Tiger Moth' that was featured in the November, 1971 issue of Flying Models.

I had been flying the usual run of the mill pattern planes and enjoying it immensely, but all the time feeling that something was missing. After building and flying Nick Ziroli's P-47 Thunderbolt (oz5019) I knew what it was these pattern type planes all flew great and were a credit to their designers, but they lacked the eye appeal of a full scale airplane. Being partial to biplanes and after watching Lou Andrews' gorgeous Aeromaster (oz1971) perform, I started thinking along the lines of a small high performance biplane.

The design of my Dreamer is somewhat a combination of a lot of different planes, a high turtle deck, a swept back upper wing, dihedral only in the lower wing and wheelpants. I wanted it relatively small, yet still able to land fairly slowly. It came out just about right. With a span of 39 in and a Super Tigre .40 it bores along in great shape; does most of the tricks easily and has a nice sink rate for landing.

The ship goes together quite fast and does not gobble up a lot of wood in building, as biplanes generally do. This is mainly because both wings measure exactly 36 in from tip rib to tip rib and there is absolutely no waste.

The Fuselage: I won't go into great detail about the construction, as it is pretty straight forward with a couple of minor exceptions. The fuselage is constructed using full length 3/32 sheet sides, doublers and triplers as indicated. Blocks are glued between the motor mounts and sides in the engine compartment. The plywood nose ring is then put on, top and bottom and then the whole thing is carved to shape.
Make sure you cut the notch in the doubler to accept the cabane strut plywood mount. Epoxy this in well, using the 1/2 in triangle stock after the cabane struts are attached.

Bending the cabane struts themselves is nothing, as there are only four bends to each strut. There is a slight difference in the length of the front and rear strut, so check this carefully. Bind each joint with soft wire and solder securely. Note that the diagonal wire is 1/16" dia. The rest of the body is typical 3/32" sheet formed over the front bulkheads, and stringer construc-tion aft.

At this stage the fuselage may look like a new tangled lobster trap but it starts taking shape as soon as the tail surfaces are added. The dural gear is attached to the 1/4 ply shown on the plans with #12 sheet metal screws and has held very well, The gear itself should have about 16 in between wheels for best tracking on the take-off..."

Hi Steve; Here is a plan and article from Flying Models, June 1972. The Dreamer biplane by Don Foster. I bought the plan and built it back in the early '70s. It was a good flying little plane and looked good in the air. My friend built me another about 10 years ago, and by this time it sure looked like a small airplane! Everything has gotten bigger over the years! I think an enlarged version was kitted at one point. I remember seeing ads for a very similar looking bipe. I think this could be enlarged if anyone wants to build a bigger version. I love the website and am happy to contribute my little bit. Wingspan is 39 in, for .40 size engine. Cheers, MJB

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Supplementary file notes

Article pages, text and pics.

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