Here is some info on my new Profile Zero. It's not really new since I started on it over three years ago, but I just recently finished it. This is the same airplane in David Russum's photos from the recent Dallas contest.
The airplane uses a 41" foam wing with about 340 sq. in. The wing is covered with silkspan , and topped with low temp iron on film. The green is Solarfilm, and the gray is Sig Aerokote. The fuse and tail feathers are standard wood construction, finished in dope over bare balsa. The insignias are the 1/12 scale Japanese WWII set from Major Decals, and the canopy is cut vinyl from a file we created. The weight is 42 oz, including 3 1/2 oz tip weight. The engine is a reverse Wiley 36.
The features that make this airplane a bit different are the wing mounted landing gear, and the line slider design. The landing gear are mounted in 1/2" basswood blocks, which are keyed to the fuselage. If I've done it right, there will be accompanying photos which will explain things better than words. The slider was designed to be less draggy, less complicated, and less ugly than previous designs. Note that this slider doesn't really have a "slider". It is simply a slot for the lines to move in. The little aluminum bar holds the lines forward for high speed. When the hook is dropped (by full up elevator), a cable is pulled, and the aluminum bar falls back out of the way. The lines then slide back to the aft position where they are retained by a small wire catch. The lines are kept grouped together with a brass line eyelet. I cut a slot across the eyelet with a razor saw (like turning a letter "o" into a letter "c"). The eyelet is placed around the lines between the bellcrank and the slider, and gently squeezed shut with pliers. At the end of the day, the eyelet is spread open and removed. If you zoom in on David's flight photos, you can easily see the eyelet.
At the risk of repeating what I've already posted, the airplane has only six flights, but has performed extremely well so far. The first timed low speed was 4:49. It was windy at the contest the next weekend, and I still managed a 3:49. The airplane was more stable and predictable in the wind than the MO-1, which sometimes pitches nose down when crossing directly downwind. The best high speed has been 21.1 sec, which for 10% and open exhaust is quite acceptable. There is probably a bit left in the high speed needle setting as well.
I am working on a CAD built up wing, and ultimately I plan to have plans and maybe a wing short kit available. If anyone is desperate to build one right away, I can provide some outlines and sketches. Of course, questions are invited.
Bill Bischoff