Author Topic: Good place for carrier plans? (Read 3339 times)

Ken Deboy · « **on:** January 20, 2007, 03:10:24 PM »

After reading this forum for awhile, I've decided that I'd really like to build a carrier plane. Where can I find a good selection of plans? I think I'd like to build an A6M Zero to put a Fox .40 on (I know it's not legal for competition). Anyone know where I can buy a set of plans?

Thanks,
Ken Deboy

skyshark58 · « **Reply #1 on:** January 20, 2007, 06:25:51 PM »

I think your best option might be just to buy a Brodak Zero kit. Or Brodak sells plans for all their kits so you could build one that way. Building and flying a model with a throttle is a bit of a challenge so I recommend getting with someone that has some experience. It keeps you from reinventing the wheel and keeps the frustration level under control.

Ken Deboy · « **Reply #2 on:** January 20, 2007, 07:44:28 PM »

Hi Mike,
I have the Brodak Zero kit, but it's designed for stunt. I'm not sure if it would be strong enough to survive many attempts at carrier landings, especially while I'm learning.

cheers,
Ken

skyshark58 · « **Reply #3 on:** January 20, 2007, 09:08:40 PM »

It is not constructed any different than most carrier planes. It would need larger wire for the landing gear. Maybe some gussets on the wing ribs, but not much more. The wing is much larger than is normally used but that just means it will land slower. If you wanted a smaller version you could reduce the plans to get about 350 sq in.
Just as an experiment awhile back I left the stunt style flaps on ( elv up flaps down,elv down flaps up) to see how it would work with the throttle on low speed. It worked very well! With the plane level just start slowing down while giving up elv until your airspeed is as slow as you want.
If you did this you could have a duel purpose airplane. Lock the throttle open and fly stunt with normal two lines and stunt handle. I wouldn't try stunting with a three line handle.

steve dinerman · « **Reply #4 on:** January 21, 2007, 08:31:27 AM »

brodak is coming out with the old sterling yak 9 kit.you can kit bash it to look like a zero.get picks or 3 vie drawings.brodak plans are usually full size and i would sketch a fuse that looks like a zero using the same moment arms.(if you are using a 40 move the e
engine back about 1/2to 3/4 of a inch to get the correct balance)use a1/2 inch trippler to strengthen the nose.the shape of wing is correct. the landing gear can be put in the wing but i would put it in the fuse. the wing is about the right shape.glue the flaps in place.you can mount the Bulgarian inside the wing if you don't want to use a line slider or outside if you do.the root of the stab can increased .change the shape of the rudder and you have a zero.
Gary hull is supposed to have a article about tail hooks and line sliders in the next control line world so i wont go into that here.
stephen dinerman

eric conley · « **Reply #5 on:** January 21, 2007, 12:26:36 PM »

Hi Ken, this is eric. Sorry I didnt get back to you sooner. I asked around and was still waiting on one more fellow to call me and he didnt and I forgot. Its kinda hard to believe but there were no profile A6M planes flown in profile carrier as far as I can reseach. With a little scrunching it would make a great profile plane for carrier and dont know why someone didnt build one. Michael Pugh built one for 15 carrier back in 1992 that was nice looking but I'm pretty sure he didnt draw up any plans for it. There is a current Squadron/Signal Publication #1059 that you can get from your local Hobby Shop that would help you build one. As Steve pointed out you can look around at current planes and mix and match to come up with a plane that will look just like a A6M. Gary Hull has a good looking Nakajima B5N2 carrier attack bomber that he built for profile carrier but I dont know if he has plans for it or not. Course its not a A6M by any stretch. This is one of the major problems with carrier right now. There are not very many plans on the market and only a couple of kits available through Brodak, none of which are A6Ms. AMA Profile Carrier is a scratch builders paradice but there is not too many people around that like to scratch build anymore. I hope more people will jump on here and give you some more options or information to go on. eric

Ken Deboy · « **Reply #6 on:** January 21, 2007, 07:31:58 PM »

How much wing area should I be shooting for? I think I'm going to take the Brodak A6M plans to Kinko's and have them reduced. Also, would a Thunder Tiger 36 be a good engine to learn with?

Thanks,
Ken

bfrog · « **Reply #7 on:** January 22, 2007, 12:40:55 AM »

Ken,h
Can't help much with the plans for now but I can give you some info on the TT 36. One of the guys at my local field just started carrier this year and is using a TT 36 and has very good performance with it. He has it on a Bearcat, I think and has turned around 22 seconds for high speed, which is pretty good. The nice thing about this motor is that is starts well and throttles well. Its smooth up through the power range which is very important during low speed. I just bought one at a swap meet and am planning to use it on a nostalgia profile.

In short I think it would make a great engine for starting out in carrier.

Bob

eric conley · « **Reply #8 on:** January 22, 2007, 10:34:33 AM »

One thing to remimber when purchasing the Thunder Tiger is to get the ''Thunder Tiger Pro 36''. As Bob said they are easy to use and many carrier fliers feel they are the fastest inexpensive (around 75 dollars) AMA Profile Carrier engine on the market. The TT Pro 36 has shown some promise for the engine builders in thier efforts to improve its performance. As far as wing area is concerned I would shoot for something from 320 to 350 square inches. The larger the wing area the more trouble you will have in the Low Speed portion of the event when the wind starts to pick up. eric

Ken Deboy · « **Reply #9 on:** February 03, 2007, 07:38:00 PM »

Got my TT 36 today. It is a ringed engine... is that the right one? Box is labeled No. 9130, PRO-36, ABC-R/C. Was kind of surprised to see a ring on the piston...

cheers,
Ken

Bill Little · « **Reply #10 on:** February 03, 2007, 07:54:44 PM »

Quote from: Ken Deboy on February 03, 2007, 07:38:00 PM

Got my TT 36 today. It is a ringed engine... is that the right one? Box is labeled No. 9130, PRO-36, ABC-R/C. Was kind of surprised to see a ring on the piston...

cheers,
Ken

Not to be funny, but check to make sure that is a "ring" you are seeing. I haven't seen any of the Thunder Tiger 36 with a ring. (

)

skyshark58 · « **Reply #11 on:** February 03, 2007, 08:27:38 PM »

Not a "ring" but a machined oil grove near the top of the piston. I've seen it used on a few other engines but I can't recall which ones. I guess they work OK ,those little TT 36s sure run nice.

john e. holliday · « **Reply #12 on:** February 12, 2007, 04:41:04 PM »

"Model Airplane News" still have their carrier plans listed on their site. DOC Holliday

Bill Gruby · « **Reply #13 on:** February 20, 2007, 08:06:07 PM »

Doc; went to site:

http://www.modelairplanenews.com

Clicked on site features and found plans slim pickins though. Good luck

"Billy G"

john e. holliday · « **Reply #14 on:** February 20, 2007, 08:59:18 PM »

Don't forget that "Model Airplane News" dropped control line quite a few years ago. I was surprised thay still carried the plans. DOC Holliday

skyshark58 · « **Reply #15 on:** February 20, 2007, 09:57:21 PM »

http://www.cpinternet.com/~tawilk36/ Has them all on a CD for $10.00

Bill Little · « **Reply #16 on:** February 21, 2007, 07:40:16 AM »

Quote from: skyshark58 on January 20, 2007, 06:25:51 PM

I think your best option might be just to buy a Brodak Zero kit. Or Brodak sells plans for all their kits so you could build one that way. Building and flying a model with a throttle is a bit of a challenge so I recommend getting with someone that has some experience. It keeps you from reinventing the wheel and keeps the frustration level under control.

HI Mike,

Some late thoughts here. How about getting the plans reduced to the 350 sq. in. wing size, cutting the full length flaps down to about 1/2 span and using them just as "flaps" (not "Stunt"coupled with the elevator)? Doing the beef up in the wing would not be much problem for the LG. Full down releases the hook and "flaps"?

I have the three line handle and a few BCs, plus the drawings from Big Country Joe for a home made 3 line BC. No slider knowledge as of yet.

Sounds like an idea I would like to toy around with, but I have no real knowledge of carrier.

Bill <><

skyshark58 · « **Reply #17 on:** February 21, 2007, 05:27:20 PM »

It would work fine but I wouldn't try a slider quite yet. Sliders are a bit tricky to learn and you will use up a couple of planes trying, believe me! Your plan sounds like a fun way to get started in carrier event. Remember to make your control system very smooth and bind free. This is very important to success at low speed. Mike

Bob Heywood · « **Reply #18 on:** February 21, 2007, 07:36:59 PM »

It's been covered in some other threads but bears worth repeating. The AMA Plans Service has everything published in Model Aviation and also the John Pond Collection. Basically, if it was published they pretty much have a copy. Almost all are scanned so you can buy not only the original full size version but also factored copies.

Bob Heywood
Dayton, OH

Balsa Butcher · « **Reply #19 on:** May 25, 2007, 10:51:20 AM »

Regarding the Brodak Zero: My suggestion - reduce to 320-350 Sq:. Mount Gear Fuselage (legal). Consider external controls,IE bellcrank on top of the wing w/ a cut out on the fuselage for clearance, external leadouts. Another plane this would work with is the Brodak p-51. I just finished one for stunt, slimmed it down, modified as a "D" model. To be legal this would have to be done to a carrier version.

Kit bashing carrier have a long tradition going back to Howard Motin's "Starjet" which was a jet styled carrier based on a Ringmaster wing. I have done two - a Goldberg/CLC classic "Buster" modified into an F6-F, internal controls similar to the "Spearfish, and a Devastator, out of a Shoestring Stunter(Thanks John Brownlee for that mod). That being said, if you are just getting started in carrier, by the CD, every carrier design is a lesson in how someone else met the challenge and is an education in itself. Also - the Brodak Guardian is one of the best designs out there. The instruction book in itself will give you some valuable info and techniques and is a great starting point and will prove to be VERY competitive, with or without line sliders (not recommended for a first time builder plane). John deserves much more credit than he gets for keeping 3 line bellcranks and handles available. Without these products, it would be very difficult to get started in carrier, but that is another topic.

And oh, the Yak 9 makes a great Airabonita. I drew it up once then traded away the kit before building. Wings, tail even fuselage very similar If Brodak reintroduces it I will probably build one. Thanks John. Last bit of advice: don't get too hung up on the latest greatest gadget, engine etc. Practice and consistency (and a 100 pt landing) will often land you in the top three when the faster/slower guys are treading water or never get out of the maintenance bay. My "Buster-Cat" has a wall of ribbons to prove it.

Paul Smith · « **Reply #20 on:** May 26, 2007, 07:33:17 AM »

MAN had a nice set of factory drawings for the Bearcat.

It's raining and the LHS is shut for the weekend. Might be able to throw something together in time for the Big B.