Airplanes!

My first plane was a rubber-band powered Sparky--a Comet kit. I flew that sucker, crashed it and repaired it until it got so heavy that it wouldn't fly worth a damn anymore. It is currently hanging from the ceiling in the basement up north. If you even think you want to get into radio-controlled planes and stuff, this is the way to start. You can learn plenty about building technique, patience, balance, building light, etc. If you think that building the rubber-band plane sucked, the bigger ones won't be much more fun.

My first powered plane was the Goldberg Eaglet 50. Built it when I was 15. Flew, crashed, flew, crashed. I think I took 3 months to build this plane. It was red and yellow. I remember my first crash. There was this numb feeling, and then the 1/4 mile hike with all of the club members to search in the soybean field for the plane. I fixed it. I think it flew better after that due to the extra weight from the epoxy and I wasn't so afraid of smucking it in anymore. Hell, I'd gotten the first one out of the way. The 2nd crash put this this plane beyond reasonable repair. This plane also suffered from hangar rash--the tail being bitten by the house screen door MANY times. WHY did Goldberg design such a weak tail???

My second aircraft was a Great Planes Super Sportster 20. Built two, one survives. The first was all dark blue with yellow wingtips and tail tips, red bottom. Silver tape under the wings helped with orientation. This plane was incredibly tailheavy, and I don't know why. A huge hunk of lead balanced the plane. If you're not familiar with this plane, it has a fully-symmetrical airfoil, 48" wingspan, and an OS .25 engine. I built the taildragger version. Anyway, I crashed this thing a couple of times. One of the crashes was a nose-in about 20 feet in front of me. I felt the impact. Second crash was a more comfortable distance away; the hole in the ground was deep enough to fit my fingers down into. The lead in the nose sure didn't help.

My third aircraft was yet another Great Planes Super Sportster 20. Red and white. Lighter than the other. Still survives, but haven't flown it for 4+ years.

Then I went off to school at UW-Madison, one thing lead to another (which is short for this is a long story and I don't have time now) and I build a Great Planes 78-inch Spirit glider. Transparent blue and yellow. Gasbag. (note my old-man hat in this picture--it's cool!) 14 day construction time. I spent the summer of 1994 flying this thing. Spent some time fixing it as well. This plane still survives. I was going to teach Carrie how to fly with this plane, but I forgot my wing joiners when it came time. Taught her how to fly with the Jouster instead. I think that says quite a bit for the plane.

Then Dean got me involved in another construction project...

2-meter Jouster

The plane is in the 2M class, with a 78-inch wingspan. Flying weight is 46oz (2.75 lbs), wing loading is 9.5 oz/ft2, airfoil is supposedly a SD7032. Supposedly because it's a built-up wing, and I'm not sure how accurately I cut out all of those wing ribs.

I finished a 2nd jouster this summer. Undoubtedly, this one is a bit lighter. The radio install is a 4-channel configuration, mixing is 100% in my head. The wing is built-up, sheeted with balsa, finish is clear polyurethane. Only the tail surfaces have monokote. I used adhesive tape hinges throughout. On my first Jouster, I used the DADs (Direct Aileron Drive) setup. They aren't as cool as I thought they'd be, but it could be my building technique. The second Jouser uses standard brass nyrods and control horns.

I've been flying this plane over the summer of 1995. Even managed to bolt a camera to the side and take some pictures. Only one really came out. With only a 4-channel radio and a cheapie camera (let's just say the roll of film is worth more than the camera), I'm limited to firing the shutter by full-down flaps. It seems that the best attitude for an aerial shot is the stopped apex of a hammerhead or wingover. Needless to say, this combined with full down flaps isn't the best way for a plane to fly, but it does OK. This picture is the best one so far. I'm one of the blobs in the bottom right.

• While you're here, go look at Dean's high-performance sailplane page for some info on the planes we're building. The jouster I'll be finishing this summer is the one that Dean started at the same time--He's been busy with programming, muskie fishing, photography, astronomy and everything else--so I get to finish his jouster with the provision that he gets to fly it a few times when I'm done. I've for all practical purposes, finished the plane. I have to balance it yet, but that'll take an hour when I have one. Finish is clear polyurethane, bright red krylon wingtips, red taileathers and white fuselage. Of course, there's the test flying!

Normally, people fly in the summer and build in the winter. It is just short of impossible to build in the winter when I have to go to class. I guess building in the summer isn't so bad--when I get more time to do that sort of thing, I'll have three planes--(two Jousters and an SS20) which can kick some serious ass--all ready to go.

(Wow, I can't believe you're still reading this!) I finished my second 2M jouster last year, flew it for the first time this year, 1997. I started flying with a great bunch of sailplane pilots here in Madison, and have a bit of time on the Jouster airframe. It flies well, but it's heavy. The lift after 6 p.m. just doesn't give more than 4 minute flights. Put servos and a radio back in the Spirit 2M--which is quite a bit different from the Jouster. I never realized how much you have to actively fly the jouster. I actually like that.

I want to build another plane; maybe a hand launch glider. Maybe a very light 110+ plane, but not another 2M. I have enough of those for the time being. Finger timc

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This page last modified: Tue Jul 1 00:40:53 CDT 1997 by timc!