Lucky Lady (oz9792)

About this Plan

Lucky Lady. Control line stunt model, for Elfin 2.49 power.

Quote: "BEGINNING as a conventional stunt model three years ago, Lucky Lady has undergone considerable development during which many structural changes have been embodied and it now emerges as a first class stunt model. In its present form, Lucky Lady incorporates full-span flaps and a detachable wing.

Construction is fairly straightforward, and very robust. The flaps give great sensitivity, and their use is not recommended for the novice; but in the hands of a fairly exper-ienced pilot the model will do the 'book' with ease. In a strong wind it will loop, bunt and figure eight easily with a dead engine.

As flying up wind is very tricky owing to the large flap movement, it is recommended that the flaps are pinned in position for flying under these conditions and also for initial flight tests.

The fuselage is quite easy to build, but very hard balsa should be used for the sides, or alternatively they may be strengthened with 1mm ply from F2 to half an inch beyond F7. A fuel tank is wedged between the bearers and the centre line. Do not fit the tailplane at this stage. Round of the top and bottom sheeting, and fill in the nose with block or 1/4in sheet.

The cockpit can next be fitted, but it is a must to have a pilot and the interior painted, as the large expanse looks very bare without an occupant. The present occupant is a Woolworth’s 6d doll suitably glamorised. Fit the bellcrank, lead outs, and push rod cut and bent to shape, bind the flap actuating rod with fuse wire, but do not solder yet.

Wing: The wing is built by first slotting all the ribs on to the spars in their correct position. Pin each half in turn over the plan and add LE and TE Add ply and spruce strengtheners, undercarriage box, tips, lead weight and line-guide. Next make the small center section extension (see detail). Pin wing and extension to fuselage leaving a 3/8 in gap for flap linkage. Cement on F7A, F3A, two of B, and two of A. Sheet in the bottom of the center section to conform to the fuselage outline.

Flaps: Make the flaps, join them with the 1/8 ply link, and fix the horn into place. Remove the wing, fix flaps into place, hinged with tape. Cement on C over the linkage gap both to strengthen the joint and act as a locating block for the wing in the fuselage. Now adjust the flap push rod, so that the flaps are level when the bellcrank is level, and solder it in position. Fit the tailplane so that all three are level, cement firmly, slot the fin in position, and add the rudder and spline.

Finishing: Cover with heavyweight Modelspan. Fuel proof the wings, tailplane, and inside the fuselage center section. Two or three coats of good cellulose will give a good finish to the fuselage.

The undercarriage may be a dropout or fixed type as desired. The all-up weight without undercarriage should be around 14 oz and on 50 ft lines the speed is around 60 mph.

With a wing loading of 9 oz per sq ft, the model follows the trend of contemporary stunt designs, although the wing area is smaller."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Quote: "Hi Steve and Mary, Here's a couple more plans for the library... Lucky Lady - a 33 inch span control line aerobatic model by K. A. Day; Published in Model Aircraft, July 1955. Cheers, Norm"

Update 12/02/2018: added article, thanks to RFJ.

Supplementary file notes

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