Shark 15

[badbill]

A couple of months ago, I decided I wouldn't be happy without a Shark 15. I had one as a kid with a new Enya .19 that proved to be the best motor ever up till that point. It and the motor met an early demise flying over pavement, when my attempt at joining the pushrod failed. Can't say I remember how I had done it, if it was an early attempt at soldering or if I had done something else. Came apart and the plane went straight in on the back half of a horizontal 8. ( If you build it without flaps, you have to join the pushrod halves ) Anyway, I put an ad in the classifieds on here and eventually ended up with two kits- one markedly nicer than the other, but both good enough   I found a NIB Enya .19 on Ebay , and built the less nice of the 2 kits. All it needs now is a tank.

[Jim Kraft]

Very nice Bill. I too had one back in the 60's. Mine was also powered by an Enya 19IV. It was later powered by the legendary Fox 15 slant plug. It flew fine with both, but a little better with the Fox 15 as it balanced better. Really a pretty nice flying plane

[Dave_Trible]

That looks super!  As a kid I didn't have one but wish I did.  I now have plans and will take it out on my grandkids by building one for each- but I get to fly them!  Will use Enya .15s.

Dave

[Steve_Pollock]

Lookin' good, Bill.

[Allen Eshleman]

Will these planes do the pattern with a good engine and capable pilot?

[Dan McEntee]

Will these planes do the pattern with a good engine and capable pilot?

    Most definitely! That is what it was designed for. I don't know for sure, but I think it was aimed at the youth competition in the early 60's that called for competing two or three events with the same model. John D'Tavio's (hope I spelled that correctly) designed his Topper for the same event. This is a model I lusted after in my youth also. looked just as cool as the Shark .45 in my opinion! The only thing that disappointed me when I finally acquired a kit for my collection was the size. I don't know why, but I thought it would be larger. I haven't built one yet, but DID build what I envisioned it was a kit bashed a SIG Twister into a profile Shark and painted it the same as my signature Jetco Shark.45. Got a LOT of flights on that model and served me very well and still flies great even with box tape over the hanger rash. I need to build it's little brother soon. I even reduced the Shark .15 plans to what I hope is a decent 1/2A size.
   Type at you later,
    Dan McEntee
 

[John Tate]

The Shark 15 looks great. I like it. It should serve you well. If I built a 1/2A version, I would kit bash a 1/2A Flight Streak. All that is needed is to change the outline to match the Shark.

[Jared Hays]

Boy, now I'm gonna have to dig my Shark 15 out...It has an ENYA 19 as well.  Very nice job.

[C.T. Schaefer]

I really enjoyed mine. Late 60's. .15x. Good combo. Wouldn't mind another. Got a nice x waiting for a home!

[john e. holliday]

I built one way back when Ken Wilson still had his hobby shop.   Never got to fly it as I took it to the shop to show Ken.   A gentleman was there that made me an offer I couldn't refuse.   Don't remember what I had for power and don't know if the guy flew it or not.   By the way,  this one looks really great.

[Bill Little]

Hi Bill,
I think your Shark 15 looks awesome!  I hope it flies as well as it looks!  Like many others, I wanted one as a kid but never got one.
Bill

[Larry Renger]

I learned the pattern on an often repaired Shark 15 with a Fox 15. I happened to be out of work at the time, and living in Pasadena, so a daily treck to Whittier narrows followed by an evening repair session became a ritual. 

Built another, better one a couple of years later, but foolishly sold it.   

One of my favorite stunters! 

[wwwarbird]

 Neato! I really like how you gave it the "proper" paint scheme too, looks great. I've always thought the Shark .15 was a neat little design, another one on The List...

[frank mccune]

    Hi:

    Great looking Shark!

    As I type this post, I have three Shark .15 planes hanging in the attic.  Two are ready to fly,.ST .23 powered, and one is waiting to be covered.

    Many years ago I built two Shark 15's and flew them until they fell apart! One was powered by a ST G15 and the other by a Fox.15X.  Both flew very well but the Fox powered one flew better for me as  it was slower but still very responsive.

     I think that somebody makes a .35 size Shark profile kit.  I will place it on my bucket list.  Anybody know who makes this kit?

                                                                                                             Good luck with the Shark 15,

                                                                                                             Frank McCune

[C.T. Schaefer]

A reasonable sort of clone is the Shark 402 by Brodak. I have one with LA .25. Very nice. Very nice kit. 28 oz.

[badbill]

Thanks for the nice comments guys. As with all my planes, it is a ten footer looks wise but I think it will fly well. Added a 2 oz Dubro clunk tank today and it balances perfect to the CG shown on the plans. wwwarbird, funny thing about my "proper" scheme. I couldn't find a picture of an original Shark 15 anywhere, so I went by the black and white drawing on the plan and figured that since Sharks were grey 

[badbill]

Gotta tell ya'll, this baby flies VERY nice. The lil' Enya is perfect for it, balance turned out just right and it flies awesome. Love it! The addition of the flaps made a big difference.
9-4 rev up prop, 2 oz clunk tank.  52' eye  to eye .015 lines. Decided that it may be a while, but I am going to build the other kit also, maybe .15 powered if I can find a nice LA .15.

[badbill]

Couple of pics from the field- GAMA in Fort Valley GA.

[john e. holliday]

That looks nice.