RARCMC Member Projects Page
This page is dedicated to any projects under construction or completed. The projects to be included are not limited to RC Models. If you are building or have built a special tool, jig or have a how-to idea, please share them with the members. Below is just one example of a non-RC related project but is aviation related.
Submitted by Paul Lamberty:
Something Different and One-of-a-Kind!
For all you avid aviation modelers, you should know that our sport goes beyond the traditional balsa/ply/foam/fiberglass flying models. My interest lies in many areas including toy building. Yes, toy building! I first saw an advertisement in a model magazine concerning a multitude of pedal airplanes—I instantly thought how much a young child would be excited to have a special airplane of their own - to dream and imagine during their play. This would be the perfect project to build for my son.
After sending for literature, my investigation led to purchasing several plans and 1 kit from The Wood Center in Oregon. They offer several kits including the Skyracer, Cloudbuster, P-40, and P-51. Since this was a new experience, I decided to buy the Skyracer-1, due to it’s sporty appearance and building ease.
The kit arrived in a huge box with all parts neatly organized and identified. The instruction book is written for scratch builders as well as kit builders. The kit is not designed for builders with little or no experience.
After looking over the design and construction techniques, the idea "popped" into my mind that several modifications could be easily made to give it a personal touch. I used the kit as the basic structure, but added several details to make it one-of-a-kind.
Well, after much patience and many laborious hours, the final plane was built. (see attached photos) The plane has fabric covered 3-dimensional wings, with walk plate supports to avoid damage with aggressive play. I also incorporated a hand-carved wood prop with modified nose cone and a custom interior.
The plane is covered in a PT-19 scheme using the Stits aircraft process. For those of you that want to consider building a similar plane, the details are:
Skyracer-1 Pedal Airplane
The Wood Center
2085 Sage Road
Medford, OR 97501 USA
Phone: (541) 734-2088
Fax: (541) 734-0599
E-mail: woodcntr@jeffnet.org