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Showing results for tags 'sterling'.
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I've been working on a replica of the Sterling Schweizer 1-34 kit from the 70's. I built one their 1-26s from the same era. It wasn't easy to build with all of the stringers and curved sheeting. And I don't recall it flying very well. This was back in the 70's when these kits were "new". I got interested in the 1-34 and found the Outerzone plans online. After some study I decided it wouldn't be too hard to build if I made a bunch of modifications based on building sailplane models for many years. It's kind of a standoff scale approach. All shapes and outlines are the same as the Sterling kit (mostly, there are a few variations). I also wanted to build it light, so, most design decisions are in the direction of reducing the weight as much as possible.
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A recent thread invited memories of first RC models. In the course of checking my facts, I looked up the Sterling Models Cessna 180 that introduced me to the joys and pitfalls of radio modelling over 45 years ago and discovered that Outerzone has downloadable plans and even cutting templates for the ribs and formers. Cessna_180_45in_oz4984.pdf1.69 MB · 5 downloads (Lower resolution that the actual download) Tucked away in my loft, I still had the pressed steel nose cowling that I never got around to fitting. I have unfinished business with that Cessna - to cut a long story short (see the "memories" thread if you want the gory details!) the total flight time was in the order of 2 seconds - so in the spirit of many a full sized Spitfire "restoration", my plan is to rebuild my first radio model from the cowl piece backwards! To drag the model into the 21st Century - and give it half a chance of outlasting the original's (sorry, rebuilt model's previous) total flight time, my plan is create an additional single channel/blip throttle flight mode to give me the best of both worlds with modern radio on 3 channels. This will enable trimming flights with the ability to simulate the handling with the MacGregor single channel equipment fitted for the ill-fated maiden flight. An option might be to build a reduced dihedral wing with ailerons but at this point I'm preferring to stick with the spirit of the original design. I've never published a build blog before - finished project photos hide a multitude of sins - but I'll bite the bullet and risk exposing my workmanship to ridicule as a spur to get on with the job.