Gastove (oz9089)

About this Plan

Gastove. Free flight power model.

Quote: "What does it take to win the International Gas Event? This is a story of seven years of development - and a plan for building a great gassie.

Toward the end of 1949, I decided to design a model with considerably higher performance than the usual Banshee (oz1192) or Slicker (oz8877). By using a larger wing area and by keeping the weight down to about 16 oz, I estimated that I would not lose anything on the climb, the performance increase resulting from the low thermal catching glide. To improve the glide still further, I decided to use a thin, rather heavily cambered section of the Benedeck family to increase the maximum life coefficient and thus reduce the stalling speed. A thinner version of this same section with less camber was also used on the 33 per cent tailplane which was designed to carry its fair proportion of the load.

The model was built around an ignition Arden .199. The original design was for a fully planked fuselage combined with a partly cowled motor fitted with a spinner. However, on consideration of the weight involved, I used a tissue-covered structure of built-up diamond sections.

Gastove MK-1 came out at 16-1/4 oz complete with ignition coil, battery timer and twin wheels; as can well be imagined, it was very weak and sloppy. The performance was quite promising but the model was unfortunately lost on its first day out because of a faulty timer.

Following MK-1 I built three more models of the same type, all trying to follow the lightweight trend, but all were too weak and .not one reached a contest in a fully trimmed condition. I decided to sacrifice a little performance to gain structural rigidity and thus a more consistent machine. Since the main weakness was in the tissue-covered fuselage, I tried a fully planked model as I had originally intended. The new model was a success; it flew well.

The year 1951 proved a very unlucky one for me for, although I built four fully planked models down to low weights, giving better and more consistent performances than before, I lost three before entering a contest. The remaining ship was my 880 sq in Hornet .60 model which, at 45 oz, was quite a handful to trim out.

After only two years, I had managed to get through 10 models with no success at all. After some very careful thought, I came to the conclusion that, although my models were capable of putting up the times required, they did not hold their trim well enough and thus were still too inconsistent. Therefore, the structural stiffness was increased mainly in the flying surfaces where more ribs and spars were added.

When the FAI rules came through, I decided to try and make one model to these specifications although college work conflicted. The model turned out to be my biggest flop for, although it was strong enough to sustain two seasons of hard flying, its performance was quite hopeless. I tried four motors of various sizes from 1.5 cc to an Elfin 2.49 in an endeavor to produce a reasonable climb. The model was then lost...

This model, Mk-13, was fitted with an ED 2.46 and was my first model to be a consistent winner in contests. Mk-13 is just being patched up for yet another contest season. A Fox .29 installed at the end of 1954, gives a rather faster climb."

Gastove, MAN, June 1956.

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Supplementary file notes

Article pages, thanks to RFJ.

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