Transatlantic (oz9045)

About this Plan

Transatlantic. Radio control slope soarer.

Quote: "Transatlantic was developed from a similar but smaller design called would you believe Swedish Massage (oz9032) which was published in England during 1986.

I wanted a model that would perform well in conditions from almost flat calm to 20 mph winds and capable of fitting onto the rear parcel shelf of a small UK car (and they are small, believe me). Transatlantic does just that, and will perch quite happily in the back of my wife's little Fiat 950. It can also be squeezed into an average suitcase, together with plenty of protection, for when I am away on business. Airport staff sure get a shock when they lift a case of 'fresh air,' however, be warned if you ever try this.

So much for the similarities, what about the differences? The wings represent the main change. Transatlantic uses a Gottingen 532 section for high lift in light winds, the span has been increased from 48 in to 63 in and chord reduced from 7 in to 6-3/8 in. The net result, of course, is more area and a higher aspect ratio. Polyhedral is also employed for stability and to provide an attractive appearance.

Rudder shape is interesting and is the result of a lot of experimentation by local modelers, myself included. Perhaps we are all discovering old facts again but we have concluded that tall, narrow rudders work best, particularly on rudder/elevator designs.

I guess that just about wraps up the design stage of things, now for the important bit - how does it fly? The answer is, very well indeed. Light lift conditions present no problem at all; Transatlantic will fly on the merest hint of wind and exploit any lift that's available. When the lift increases she performs just like any other model, but efficiently. I have had her formating with a 14 ft cross-county contest ship at some considerable height. The problem was that the big model looked small and I needed binoculars to track Transatlantic. Definitely not a recommended procedure but one that confirmed performance abilities.

In high winds, ballast is needed to provide stability and penetration. I normally just strap a piece of lead onto the top of the fuslage over the CG. Maybe it's crude, but it works..."

Supplementary file notes

Article pages, thanks to hlsat, JHatton.

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