Buttons (oz829)

About this Plan

Buttons. Free flight model by Keith Laumer. Twin fins. For Cox .020 Pee Wee power.

Quote: "Simplicity and ruggedness may be the key-words for this little gem, but take it from us Pop had his own interests at heart when he undertook this design for the young'un.

With the Cox .020 turning a Torpedo nylon 5/3 prop, Buttons rolls slowly across the pavement on her tricycle landing gear, rocks and bounces a bit and then rises in a long graceful arc, to buzz around lazily overhead. After a while she floats down, and we do it again.

When Virginia, aged 9, wanted to build a model of her own, I set to work to design a ship that would be easy to build, neat in appearance, extremely rugged and simple to adjust and fly. The results were so successful that not only did Virginia build one, but also her old man and several of his friends, who found that with an .049 engine installed, Buttons flies fast and high.

You can build Buttons in two or three evenings - and you'll find that those junior modelers (with a little help from Pop) can build this one, too.

Fuselage. Cut out the two side pieces from medium balsa, sand them together to get an identical contour, then cut out plywood bulkheads 1, 2 & 4 and balsa bulkheads 5 & 6. The landing gears should be bent following the patterns on the plan and attached to bulkheads 2 & 4. The nose wheel can be made shock-absorbing, as shown on the plan, or laced to the bulkhead as a fixed gear. If you are using beam mounts, notches to fit the beams should be cut in bulkheads 1 & 2; for radial mounting, drill the holes now, attach the motor, then glue down a strip of hard balsa over the nuts to hold them in place. When thoroughly dry, remove the mounting bolts.

Now the sides can be joined on bulkheads 2 & 4; before the glue sets hard, be sure the frame is square and true. Note the 1/8 x 1/4 strips glued to inside of sides to help hold bulkheads 2 & 4 in position. Now add firewall (No.1) and bulkheads 5 & 6. Bevel the rear ends of the fuselage sides and glue them. together as shown on top view. Now cut and add bulkheads 7, 8 and 10. Place a strip of 1/8 x 1/4 where tail wheel strut comes through bottom of fuselage, as shown on plan.

Bend the front elevator hold-down wire and cement it under No.6, then plank the bottom of fuselage with 1/16 medium balsa sheet with the grain running crossways. Cut holes in the planking where necessary to slip over LG. Bend the tail wheel wire and glue it in position, slipping it through hole in bottom planking. Cut elevator platform from 1/16 plywood and glue in place, inserting the 1/32 rear hold-down wire under it.

Cut and attach the 1/8 x 1/4 posts at station No.3. Note that these posts extend from top of cabin roof to bottom of fuselage sides and are notched to fit over sides. Next, place the 1/8 x 1/4 spacer between bottoms of posts. Add posts at stations 4, and 2. Cut cabin roof from 3/16 soft balsa, notch along center line of top and glue at angle shown on front view. Add the 1/16 piano wire rod to the underside and then glue cabin roof in position. Cut three spacers from 1/8 x 1/4 balsa as shown on front view and place under cabin roof between posts..."

Update 17/09/2012: Replaced this plan with a clearer full-size version, courtesy of theshadow.

Update 05/07/2016: complete article added, thanks to RFJ.

Supplementary file notes

Article.

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