I have lusted after this airplane since I saw the full size airplane fly at an airshow here back in the late 60's, with Bob Herendeen at the controls if I remember correctly. Then, again when my copy of American Aircraft Modeler came in the mail with the construction article for the C/L stunt/R/C model, November 1974. I wasn't doing much building and flying at that point, my senior year in high school and my second year at a local vocational/technical high school learning the welding trade, and working a full time job at night after school! I had discovered dirt bikes and racing them, but kept my subscription for AAM up until they quit publication. I took to R/C sailplanes after graduation, but still built a flew a Midwest P-40 and a SIG Super Chipmunk. But I never forgot the Akromaster!! The design was my son Sean's favorite also and he built a couple of .40 sized renditions based on the SIG Twister wing and Fancher dimensions when he was flying Junior and Senior at the NATS, and there is a .15 SIG Akromaster hanging in the garage still!
What is probably several years ago by now, I got the bug for it again and started to round up plans and such. I had Mr. Hunt make me up a couple of nice foam wing sets and started to cut parts, and then drifted away from the project with other things that life throws at you. At the time I posted here on Stunthanger about it, and got some emails from Kenny Stevens about it. He was just a teenager then and went to contests with Lew and said a couple were built by others at that time. And like Brett points out, Lew would practice with the airplane right up until contest time, and then fall back to the tried and true Shark .45 . I asked Kenny if maybe power was just a little lacking to get it over the hump and he said possibly, but Lew told him that he was just more comfortable with the Shark, but encouraged me to build the airplane as it did have some potential. I am planning on a ST.51 for mine to help with the power. The projected weight on the plans is 46 tp 50 ounces, and the nose moment isn't too long and the .51 isn't too heavy either. Lew mentioned taking several first places with it around the Midwest that year, so I don't think it is a slug by any measure!!
I have the magazine right here with me and just did a quick skim of the article again, and don't see or remember anything about "extra panels in the wing"?? There are two suggested locations to mount the wing, depending on how you intend to fly it, with one about 1/2" lower that the suggested C/L stunt location, and just add in 1/2" dihedral at each wing tip. I haven't made up my mind just yet on that part, but maybe this thread will be the boot in the butt I need to get back going again on it!!
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee
Topic: Lew’s AkroMaster by Coach Carville (Read 435 times)