Beau Coupe (oz8790)

About this Plan

Beau Coupe. Competition rubber model.

Quote: "Now that many of our Free-Flight flying sites are shrinking or about non-existent, in order to compete in competitions we must learn to fly on smaller fields. Tree climbing and corn stomping or model hunting is not my bag. The highly restricted Coupe is a possible answer for the Free-Flight contest when no large field is available.

The Coupe, with a gross weight of 100 grams is not the greatest performer and was quite a disappointment to me when the rules were changed. I still like the event though, and fly it whenever I can at contests. It is easy to retrieve and it doesn't use much rubber; in fact, I use old Wakefield motors after they are too weak for anything else.

The model presented here is definitely designed to cope with the 100 gram weight rule and has a still air time of about 90 to 100 seconds. Its glide is good and the climb is fair. Picking air for the Coupe is about the same as for Handlaunch Gliders; either pick a thermal or you don't max. I generally use a winding tube and remove the prop for winding. The winding hook as shown on the plan is quite satisfactory and it can be purchased from Jim Crocket Replicas, 1442 North Fruit Ave., Fresno, California 93728 for $1.00.

The Fuselage: Construction is not the simplest, but is worthwhile in the long run. The body is made of straight grained wood of average weight, wrapped around a 1-1/4 dia pole and the tail boom is formed on a pool cue and joined with an inner ring of 1/16 balsa. The front also has a 1/16 doubler for strength. The entire body is covered with tissue and given several coats of nitrate dope. I put in a little red automotive lac-quer pigment for color.

Flying Surfaces: The wing is a challenge as it is very light for a Union Jack structure and is quite thin. Use hard quarter-grain for all ribs, a little lighter at the tips, but not too light. The stability of the structure is more important than the weight. The wing tips are made by cutting out a form of 1/4 thick balsa sheet which is then covered with Saran Wrap. Form the actual wing tip over this. Use C-grain wood soaked in hot water and glued with Titebond..."

Beau Coupe, Flying Models, January 1974.

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Supplementary file notes

Article pages, thanks to RFJ.

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