Texas Twister 60 (oz9377)

About this Plan

Texas Twister 60. Radio control sport/pattern model for .60 power.

Note: both the Texas Twister 60 and the Texas Twister 40 (oz9378) appeared in the same article, published in April 1973 RCM.

Quote: "I know you have heard this line many times before, but here is an aircraft that should till the bill for those who want either a large or small model that is capable of doing the full AMA pattern. When I started this model I was after a .40 size ship that would do the pattern without some of the drawbacks of other designs. Tail-wagging - a problem that seems to prevail in quite a few aircraft, was one of the things I was trying to overcome. Also, there was the matter of economy, smaller airplanes take less balsa, gas, and so on, and with the price of model supplies these days - that isn't bad!

After the first prototype was built it was time to see if my ideas would pan out. All went fine and, with a half turn on the aileron clevis, everything was ready for a run through the pattern. With the O.S. Max .40 peaked out I took it through some rolls, loops, spins, and so on. The airplane was very predictable as for instance, in a spin when you neutralize the controls, it stops right now - not a half turn later.

Ed Hurt, one of the local fliers who is a contest buff, saw the airplane fly and wanted to try it. Desirous of another opinion, I let him have at it. He ran it through the pattern including knife-edge flight during which he applied the amount of top rudder he'd been used to using on his conventional pattern ships. The result was that the Texas Twister proceeded to climb in the knife-edge maneuver. After bringing it back in for a landing he was impressed with the way it handled and had only one negative comment - he said it was too small. And that is his opinion since I still like a small ship! Ed stated that a .60 size ship with the same performance would be a winner. I said that I would build one and let him give it a try.

I called Charles Jackson, my chief drawing consultant, and asked if we could run the 40 size up to a .60 version. After a few nights of working, the plans were finished, and construction began. Soon the larger version of the Twister was on her wheels. After installing the equipment we met one morning at the field and, after a couple of trim flights, Ed went through the entire pattern..."

Supplementary file notes

Article pages, thanks to hlsat, JHatton..

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