Titewad (oz9520)

About this Plan

Titewad. Radio control sport serobatic model for .15 to .25 power.

Quote: "The airplanes we build and fly tend be products of our personal philosophy, in my case, I like airplanes that are easy build, of simple construction, and have relatively small engines - all leading to low cost. I have never been called a spendthrift! Titewad is a design that makes the most of the above parameters: it is easy to build and fly, uses simple construction techniques, and is a miser on fuel.

The predecessor of Titewad was a forty-powered bird with similar force arrangements and its performance was nothing short of excellent, but it had one flaw. It drank fuel. Even at one-third throttle, where it did most of its flying, it used more go juice than engines in the .19 to .25 range. Titewad corrects this flaw. Although there is no way a smaller airplane can duplicate the performance of a larger one (unless someone knows how to shrink air molecules), Titewad comes as close as possible to performing like a larger bird.

When flown at full bore this airplane will do all of any pattern, AMA or FAI, not as well as a full-blown pattern ship but well enough for a practice plane; and when the throttle is brought back to one-third or less, Titewad is still a solid machine.

Low-power rolls are clean and do not wallow, and loops from level flight are loops and not buttonhooks. Landings are gentle, with no tendency to snap, and are just a little faster than walking speed. The airplane will snap both inside and outside, but it to clear takes the proper amount of elevator and rudder to make it do so. Slips and knife-edge are the best I have ever seen for an airplane of this power class.

The performance comes from the power-to-weight ratio, so the model must be built light. Buildings and bobsleds profit from weight, airplanes do not. This is an airplane - build it like one and you will have one of the best flying birds at the field, any field.

CONSTRUCTION: The wing is the largest single piece of structure, so it's a good starting point. First cut all plywood parts, landing gear braces and mounts, and dihedral braces. Lay them aside. Make a template of the rib and trace the outlines on 1/16 medium sheet balsa. If care is taken as to placement, all ribs can be cut from two sheets 3 in wide by 36 in long with enough left over for the center section sheeting. When all ribs are cut out, stack and pin them together to form a block that can be sanded so that all ribs assume the same shape. While they are still pinned together, indicate the top of each rib by making a mark across one side of the block; although the ribs are symmetrical, there are slight differences that creep in and marking them eliminates this chance.

If you cover the airplane with one of the plastic films, which I recommend doing, this is a good time to drill some holes in the ribs to allow the covering to breathe when it is shrunk with iron or heat gun. Select four ribs from the stack and trim 1/16 from the top and bottom of each; these will be the center section ribs. Select four more and glue the landing gear mount braces in place on them as shown on the plans, two on the left side and two on the right side, then trim a notch in each rib to correspond with the notch in the brace.

The spars can be purchased from your local dealer or they can be stripped from a sheet of firm 3/16 sheet. The 1/4 sq leading edges and the 1/8 sq trailing edges can also be either purchased or stripped. The trail-ing edge sheeting is stripped from medium 1/16 sheet. Cut the spar webs from 1/16 sheet and note that the grain is vertical to the longest side.

I have found that the easiest way to build a symmetrical wing is to block up the trailing edge and build it as if it had a flat bottom. Do this by attaching a strip of soft wood, pine or balsa, 1 x 1/2 x 24 in to the building board, then lay the plan on the board with the trailing edge sheeting covering this strip exactly. Pin the trailing edge sheeting in place over the plan with a strip of 1/16 sq balsa shimming the back edge to match the contour of the rib. Pin the bottom main spar in place and build the wing right over the plan. I suggest starting with the center section ribs, then adding ribs and webs out to the tip. The webs assure proper rib spacing and hold the ribs vertical to the building board..."

Titewad, MAN, October 1980.

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Supplementary file notes

Article pages, thanks to RFJ.

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