RK,

I can't say I've built one--but I have studied the plans and dreamed of building one....  As far as I'm concerned, it is one of the prettiest shaped models, ever.

You say you are considering installing the engine upright but leaving it overtop of the wing? Did I understand your post correctly?  If not, you are going to have to redo the moments on the fuselage to get it to balance, or, just build it the way you like as a non-flying "sculpture."  Your hobby, so do it your way!  (I have flown planes for guys who still build, but can't really fly anymore. They always got a kick out of seeing their work in the air, so you might consider that a possibility. I think the Knights have a hollow log race where you can enter and use a borrowed pilot. Pretty typical of speed guys, except I think with their rules you would have to start it or launch it. I think the 1/2A scale contest in Tucson will proxy fly your plane. All you have to do is pack it up and mail it to them.)

If you are going to bury the cylinder in the "cockpit" you might consider a vertical cooling slit directly in front of the cylinder, and two side slits for the exhaust. I'm trying to remember a plan that shows this. I know I've seen it on very old Mouse II "full house" planes. Maybe you can get Les Akre over in the racing forum to send you a picture of one. I know he had one build by Lenard Ascher way back when. It might be like that on the old Eagle 1/2A speed plane by Jimmy Wade? Those should be AMA plans you can go into the archive and look up.

I was intrigued by the shaft drive system on the Stiletto and I collected some of the needed parts. Got some precision ground shafting and ball bearings. Never did find a boat universal that looked like the right size/strength. There might have been one I was on-line but without seeing it and holding it in my hand....*

I designed a 1/2A Profile Proto speed plane/Mouse racer that has a semi-elliptical wing. A little higher aspect ratio than the Stiletto. I made the wing with a semi-symmetrical airfoil, and found out it would have flown better with a flat bottom. I also used a spruce stub spar, drilled for plug in landing gear, which would have made the geometry very similar to the Stiletto.

Hope you have good luck with this project and any mods you decide to do.

Divot McSlow

PS--In my mind's eye, I always saw this plane in silver and black.....

*PPS--Just a crazy idea:  we should talk Juan into machining 3 sets of drive parts. Then we build 3 Stilettos.... Mebbe we find out what stuff he can't get in Puerto Rico, stuff that we could ship ok, and just try to bribe him outright?

Ok, here's a link to the Eagle 1, by Kirn protégé and many time winner, Jimmy Wade. It has workable cooling inlet and exhaust outlets for a Cox engine. It might provide some ideas, and you could conceivably disguise it as a canopy by altering the outside surface shapes.

Note that this was a Proto speed plane, so probably only had to do 10 laps plus some fuel margin, so overheating from running out a big tank wasn't an issue. Most of the cooling is coming just from the fins on the head. The inlet at the front is for the venturi.

While I was dreaming about building a Stiletto, I was wondering if I should try altering a Cox magnesium pan. It might be easier and more stable than what is essentially a hollow log in Leconte's design. But the mag pan did not match the gorgeous shape that Leconte drew....

An easy alternative, that would improve things a bit would be to get some of that Midwest "hardwood" sheet, maybe 1/16" or 1/8" thick. (Basswood, walnut, mahogany,....)  Laminate it to the balsa fuse blocks. These would act like a crutch and make the seam much more durable and the joint less obvious. Just glue up the blank and then carve same as if it was just one piece of balsa. I was thinking of making a plug and making the side with the driveshaft out of epoxy and glass. More work, maybe stiffer, worried about weight.

Before I left off thinking about this project a couple years ago I wanted to scale the thing up to .15 size....

Divot McSlow

Model Aviation, May 1976, Jim Wade

http://library.modelaviation.com/ma/1976/5/eagle-1

The Stiletto from Dec 70 issue of American Aircraft Modeler.  I am trying to down load the text.

Keith

  I've done a little building,But I've had nothing but problems trying to post pictures 
I can send  some by E mail if you are really interested, I'll try again to post pictures!

Thanks, R.K.

Let's see if I got this right. Paul is saying that he doesn't like the design?

Divot

PS--I don't think anyone here is thinking of building a winning race or proto-speed plane. The design after all, was old when Paul built his as a junior a couple of years back. And since we are talking about performance, no one is using a Cox .049 for speed or racing unless the rules demand it. In this case, RK is contemplating this plane as perhaps even a non-flying build. In other words, sculpture. Don't know about you guys, but I think some of the best sculptures are made out of marble. That is pretty heavy stuff too....  It's your hobby, so enjoy it!

Paul, Motorman, Dave & Tim, thanks for the reply's & info!  I agree with the Motorman it just looks fast! 

I did make some changes at the start. First was the engine I mounted it upright a will put the cockpit in front of it, then I added 2"to the wing making it 16" instead of 14". I am also using a standard type wing with ribs so I can hide the controls & use a single bell crank instead of the secondary that's shown. It will about 1/2" high at the root tapering to 1/8" at the tip. Next I added 1" to the fuse behind the wing going to the tail, I can still add a little more there if you think it would help! The plans show the fuse is 13.3 but that is measured to the nose cone making it only 12 1/4". I think wheel pants look great so I threw those in the mix, they should help with the landing gear. I doubt it will ever fly, I know I won't but it's still a lot of FUN!

I really appreciate the comments.    R.K.

P.S. Dave, It's not Marble.....To hard to carve....Balsa fly's better 

There are probably a lot of us that as kids, tried to build what we thought was going to be a "world beater," only to find out that kit manufacturer's were prone to hyperbole. (Ok, as kids we just said they lied to us.) Magazines did too. (See my recent request for flying characteristics of the Nutnik.) Perhaps Mr. Leconte and his Stiletto was the point in Paul's life when he found out that adults lied....?

But it is a really cool looking airplane....   Maybe we should think of it as a concept car. They look waaaay cooler than anything you can buy at a dealer. But they may not actually be able to run down the road....*


The Divot

The Stiletto is a fantastic model, great design, and an amazing use of off the shelf stuff from slot cars to use on a model airplane. I was too confused by the metal parts to build one as a kid, I applaud Paul for executing one. I agree, the speed wasn't so fast in the article, but then neither was the Tee Dee so hot nor the specs of most 1/2A Proto models of the time. In '70 Jimmy Wade was going 100 mph with single bladed prop Dale Kirn motors, he was tops. I was going 72 mph in Profile Proto with Keith Trostle motors, with mine equipped with Kirn accessories it was 68. So, it was ballpark for also rans!

Neat model, neat idea, 1/2A Proto was fantastic. Dale Kirn came up with it and was instrumental in promoting it and responsible for the Cox magnesium pan and he published designs and provided a fiberglass fuselage top for the Cox pan. He started Kirn Kraft, later run as Custom Kraftsmanship as an accessory provider for the Cox engines speed needs for decades. Me, my brother, my eldest son used these companies accessories from the '60's to the '90's.

The designs were great too, Keith Trostle had two 1/2A Proto Scale models a late model Mk 24 Spitfire and late model TA-152 Focke Wulf (in which he let me fly when I was about 9 years old) and they were super flyers and pretty fast too. I liked Harry Latshaw's miniaturized Hustler B Proto, the 1/2A Hustler. I use it's beautiful elliptical wing and tail on all of my 1/2A Speed and Mouse models. Dale's designs were the genesis, and one could find a couple of dozen 60's and 70's 1/2A Proto designs published I think.

Chris...