I'll bet you've never seenone of these before! Brian Sichi's "Guidato."

[fossil1]

Plenty room in there to fit an Elmic Commander escapement and a loop of 1/4 rubber. 

[David Davis]

Just touching base here.

I regret that there has been no appreciable progress on the construction of the Guidato since I last posted largely because life, or perhaps more specifically, death, has got in the way. Certainly the Grim Reaper has taken a fair toll of my friends and relatives over the last couple of months or so.

On 11th August I heard that my stepson, my ex's son not Miss Blue Eyes' lad, had died suddenly of an aneurysm. He was only fifty-nine.

On 10th September I drove back to England in order to see my sister Sue for the last time. I arrived at lunchtime on 11th and we were able to hold a brief conversation but I don't think she recognised me. Once I had left her bedroom she called out for our dad. He had died in 1982 and I look nothing like him. I expect that the morphine medication produced this effect. Sue had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in October 2021. Soon after I had spoken to her she lapsed into unconsciousness and died on 15th September. I cannot speak too highly of the excellent care she received from the district nurses of the Shropshire NHS Trust and of the Severn Hospice.

On 19th September a French friend of mine was crushed to death when his car fell on top of him while he was replacing the exhaust. His wife was 170 miles away in Rochefort at the time which was probably a good thing. They used to like to go to Rochefort.

On 3rd October my aunt died but she was in her late eighties and had been ill with cancer for some time.

Since coming back to France I have been concentrating on getting the house and garden into a saleable condition and what modelling has taken place has involved completing Miss Blue Eyes' purple and pink DB Sport & Scale "Sky Rider". For those interested there is a build log here in which I have tried to keep an account of the costs of construction: forums.modelflying.co.uk/index.php?/topic/50509-the-cost-of-building-recording-the-financial-cost-of-building-a-db-sport-scale-skyrider-a-surprise-for-miss-blue-eyes/#comments

As far as the Guidato's concerned, I need to build the wing, hinge the elevators and rudder, fit the steerable nose-wheel, fit the radio and cabin glazing and cover the model. That's still quite a lot to do but I hope to have the model completed before the New Year. I have decided to keep the "goofy" structure of the wing visible in my post of 7th July but I have found out that the 1/8" spruce which I was going to use for the lower front spar is mostly balsa wood which has gone brown with age, or was all balsa wood brown in the 1950s?  So I have decided to replace the 1/8" spar with a more conventional 1/4" spar moved back to match the top spar and webbed with 1/16" balsa. I was then left with the choice of whether to use balsa or basswood for the three spars so I weighed three pieces of 1 metre-long balsa taken at random from stock and three pieces of basswood the same length. The balsa weighed 0.4 ozs, the basswood 1.9 ozs. I have decided to go for light weight rather than ultimate strength.  The Keil Kraft Super 60 and the later versions of the Junior 60 feature three balsa wood spars and they are not famous for clapping their wings and the Guidato has a 3/16" hard balsa mainspar as well.  

[David Davis 2]

I started on Guidato's wing construction last night.

I have cut out most of the wing ribs and I've reinforced the main spar with carbon fibre strip.

 

I will fit the lower front spar once the rest of the wing is complete. It needs to be set lower into the wing ribs to allow for the bottom sheeting. As noted above, the 1/8" spruce spar shown on the plan will be replaced by a 1/4" square balsa spar re-positioned to line it up with the top spar.

The ribs shown in the picture have simply been placed into position for the picture. No glue has yet been used.

[David Davis 2]

The starboard wing under construction but still some way to go! Despite what I've said above, I've decided to use basswood for the leading edge. Vintage models often require a little weight in the nose so a little extra weight forward of the CG will not go amiss. I have already rounded off the front edge. Does anybody know why sharp leading edges are to be avoided?  I've heard that a sharp leading edge causes the stall to be more vicious but I don't know whether that's true. If it is true why is this the case?

 

The wingtips are supposed to be 3/8" (9mms) thick. I don't think that's necessary with modern lightweight radios. I have a sheet of hard 3/16" (4.5mm) balsa which you can see in the background. I have no immediate plans for this wood so will probably use it to make the wing tips.

Edited November 15, 2022 by David Davis 2

[David Davis]

The basic construction of the starboard wing is finished. It's a pretty rigid stucture which requires a little trimming and sanding. I need to add the dihedral brace, then the centre section and leading edge sheeting.

Despite dire warnings to the contrary about plans being distorted by the copiers, I went ahead and had a mirror image printed which was accurate to within a millimetre which is good enough for me! I had not counted the number of wing ribs correctly so had to get the plywood templates out again to make a few more. Picture below.

It's cold and rainig here, I can't fly or work in the garden so that's a splendid opportunity to get on with the build!

[David Davis]

Joining the wings together using an idea I pinched from Mark Robinson who is building a Tomboy Senior. http:// https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWIW6jJlVsk

[David Davis]

Just an idle thought gentlemen. The picture of the Guidato shown on the front cover of "The Aeromodeller" of May 1961 shows a number 4 stuck to the fin of the model. Why do you think that the builder stuck the number onto the fin? Perhaps those of you whose r/c flying experience dates back to those days could offer an explanation.

 

I hope to have the basic construction of my own Guidato finished within the next few days. I will post a picture of it then.

 

 

[David Davis]

I always like it when you can remove the last piece from the plan and put it away! There's stil a way to go of course.

[Mike Etheridge 1]

My first Futaba  35MHZ radio system only had electronic facilities to number model planes from 1 to 6 without any naming  . Hence some of my old planes have numbers on the fins.

[David Davis 2]

I am in the process of covering the model. The servos, switch and battery are all installed.

 

I have temporarily fitted a fixed nose leg because the pushrod of the steerable nose wheel fouls the standard servo which I am using to control the throttle. I'll fit a smaller one later but I'm keen to get the model into the air ASAP! 

 

Do you think that a Hitec HS55 is strong enough to act as a throttle servo? It only has to push and pull a little lever. If not which servo would you recommend? I tend to favour Hitec servos but I've recently bought some Savox servos for a Pegasus Models Mystic which I have yet to complete. The engine in the Guidato is an ASP 30 FS.

Edited January 8, 2023 by David Davis 2

[David Davis]

Getting there. As it is it weighs 4lbs 2 ozs of about 1.87kgs.

 

My dog is such a diva that she had to get into the action!

[jeff2wings]

That looks really nice DD has a charm all of its own, I should build something like that for my NIB SC 30f 

[David Davis 2]

Well it makes a change from all of those Super 60s and Junior 60s!

 

Whether it will fly as well as one of those remains open to question, the fin looks a bit small to me!

 

I still have to connect the servos to the control surfaces and carburettor but there's no rush to get it into the air, the weather's awful at the moment.

 

The plan is available from The Outerzone: https://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=7378

 

I have based my colour scheme on that of Alan Whittaker's model though it's not an exact copy. I used Solartex and Mr Whittaker has used paint over silk, nylon or heavyweight tissue.

 

PS. Apparently the reason for the number 4 on the fin is because the Guidato was Mr Whittaker's fourth radio controlled model. I have worked out that I have built twenty r/c models from kits or plans plus a Chris Foss Middle Phase for someone else. This does not include ARTFs, models bought second hand and revivals of other people's basket cases. Maybe I should stick a number 20 on the fin or 21 if you count the Middle Phase!

Edited January 15, 2023 by David Davis 2

[Mike Etheridge 1]

It looks good David, I look forward to a flying report. I don't think i have built twenty RC models but I certainly have repaired other's basket cases and somehow I must have over 30 models in the loft. That includes a Middle Phase 2 that has yet to fly.

[David Davis 2]

This was the one I built.

 

 

[jeff2wings]

Glad you chose something a little less loud for the Guidato !

[David Davis 2]

The owner gave me the covering material!

 

[David Davis]

I'm determined to get the windscreen to stick to the structure!

[David Davis]

The windscreen doesn't look very satisfactory but I plan to maiden it tomorrow morning when light winds and temperatures of a balmy 6C are forecast! I have not run the engine in the model yet but I have on the test stand.

[David Davis 2]

I flew it this afternoon, only briefly and only a single circuit before the engine cut out because I had set it too lean. Then it was somebody's birthday so we had to stop for the traditional tart and cider, then I had a couple of beginners wanting me to take them up on the buddy box with their models. There are still a few things which need attention. The controls were rather sensitive so I'll have to reduce the travel and maybe add a little more lead at the nose. I needn't have increased the rudder size so if anyone else builds this model, keep it standard stupid!

 

More to follow once I have found the time for another test flight.

[David Davis]

Update on Guidato. The real maiden flight. There was no wind at all here yesterday afternoon so I set off all alone to the flying field. For some reason I was as nervous as a tick on a kitten! Thinking about it, most of the models I have built had tried and trusted pedigrees but no-one it seems had built a Guidato for the last sixty years so it was an unknown quantity. I had fitted a 9x6 prop instead of the 10x6 I had previously used because I thought that the larger prop was too much for the ASP 30FS. I had added some lead under the engine to bring the cg forward. I had also reduced the elevator and rudder travel by 33% on the transmitter and had added 25% expo. With no wind, a fully charged LiPo for the starter motor, an OS F plug in the engine and the dog safely secured in the van, what could possibly go wrong? The engine started first whizz of the starter motor and I took it down to our tarmac runway and advanced the throttle and ... the engine cut! The next two hours were spent getting covered in oil trying to get the engine to run reliably. Eventually I fitted a 10x6 prop but I hadn't brought the original APC propeller with me and I was forced to use a bendy yellow plastic thing that must have dated from my youth and must have been about sixty years old! Mind you the airframe looked very colourful in its red white and blue scheme and the yellow prop! The engine seemed to like this propeller so feeling more exasperated than nervous I went down to the runway and advanced the throttle. Guidato trundled along the 85 metre runway slowly gathering speed on its tricycle undercarriage. As it approached the end of the strip I gave it a dab of up elevator and it staggered into the air. Having gained some altitude I adjusted the trims to give it level flight, a little up elevator and some left rudder. To maintain level flight it needed about 3/4 throttle. I flew it about for several minutes. The rudder was still too sensitive but after enjoying a sense of achievement, I flew it down to a perfect landing on the runway! I was chuffed! I opened the club house and made a cup of tea then took the dog for a walk around the field before cleaning the model and returning home for rice and grilled chicken. The dog had dog meat and croquettes! Conclusions. 1. Guidato will make a good primary trainer but as mine weighs about 4 lbs 4 ozs (I.9 kgs) it really needs a more powerful engine. I say "about" because I weighed the model at 4lbs 2 ozs before I added the elevator pushrod and closed loop rudder system. Since then my electronic scales have packed up, as have my mobile phone and my hi-fi remote, so I can't be more precise. I have an unemployed OS 40 Surpass in my workshop so may install that over the next thirty six hours. This will help with the take offs. 2. I had enlarged the rudder on the Guidato because of my experience with flying Junior 60s. The 1946 style Junior 60 has a smaller rudder than the 1955 version. On landing approach with the smaller rudder I've found that the you lose directional control owing to the reduced airflow over the smaller rudder. This is not a problem with the 1955 version. However, my larger rudder on the Guidato produces a very sudden response to control inputs even on reduced throws. In future I will adopt the KISS principle, KEEP IT STANDARD STUPID! 3. The Old Vintage Red Solartex shows up very well against a clear blue sky! 4. I'd like to get the OS installed by Wednesday afternoon because good weather is forecast and one of my French colleagues will be maidening his Radio Queen then and I'd like to fly in formation with his model. Two clubmates are building Radio Queens but that's a subject for another thread. Photos and maybe even video footage to follow but generally speaking, I'm pretty pleased with the Guidato!

[Paul De Tourtoulon]

I have an OS 'window' engine stand for your asp if you want to keep it ?.

[David Davis]

There are no window ledges in my house because the windows all open inwards!