🚀 go-pugleaf

The Simitar style airplanes are fairly popular.  They are designed by Evans and
have appeared in RCM from time to time.  The plans are available from RCM.  I
have one of the older original Simitars with a OS 25SFR.  The original plans were
for a 15 so I increased the size 10%.   The wing span is 56 inches.  It looks
huge, but actually it flys fairly fast and floats in for a landing.  These
airplanes fly very well.  It is actually one of the best flying that I have
owned.   It takes a little getting used to visually in that at first it is easy
to lose track of whether it is coming or going.  This is because of the lack of a
tail.  

There are several of these things flying around Austin, especially at the
Georgetown field.  One version there is over 80 inches to qualify it for "Big
Bird" status.  Construction is real easy.  I cut my own foam wing then sheeted
the leading and trailing edges, applied cap strips and then used a Weller
soldering gun to cut out the foam between the cap strips.  The fuse is a box type
construction with a very large vertical stab.  The hardest part of the whole deal
is making the template for cutting the foam wing.  Which is why myself and two
others here in Austin decided to mass produce a bunch of wings and fuse's and
servo trays for a wing that we call "Bird of Prey".   

A couple of issues ago, RCM had an article on the Combat Gremlin.  I have also
built two of these.  See my previous append.  We have actually modified the
design and are making kits of these things in an attempt to get a lot of them in
the air here so that we can get some events going.  They are made of foam wings
and plastic down spout fuse's.  They have a symmetrical wing with no dihedral and
are therefore hotter than the Simitar. But any one that can fly with out
assistance can fly one of these because they fly very well.  They have no landing
gear, so you hand launch them.  I just hold above the wing and give it an
under hand launch at about 15 degrees.  The feeling is that it just sort of flies
out of your hand.   The throttle is set so that if you pull the trim back the
motor quits.  So to land I pull the the trim back before chopping the throttle
and when I'm at about 10 feet close the throttle and belly land.  No go arounds
once you commit! 

I am really excited about these little planes.  They are super inexpensive and
fun to fly.  If you crash one there are no tears.  Just rebuild and in an evening
and go.  I had thought of having a spare wing and carring that around, but
they're so easy to build you might as well just have a whole spare plane.         

Happy New Year
Hope this sloppy weather lets up this weekend so I can fly!

Stan Douglas
stand@austin.ibm.com