Old Radio Controlled Model. Can Anyone Identify It?

[David Davis]

Despite my protestations this model aeroplane was forced on me by my club colleagues as we were reorganising the club's workshop! As you can see it is beautifully built with a fully sheeted, tissue-covered wing and tailplane. The threaded rods sticking out of the wing tipscrew into captive nuts in the centre section. The engine is an OS40 FSR. It is fitted with extremely large Multiplex servos so it probably dates from the late Sixties or early Seventies. I've managed to get the aileron servos working by wiring up the cable to a more modern cable and using my servo tester. Minus a receiver and rx battery it weighs a whopping 10 lbs, or 4.5kgs. I ran a tape measure over it this morning expecting to see metric measurements but to my surprise I found out that the wingspan measured exactly seven feet so I thought that it might be a British or American design. Temporarily, until it's identified  I've named it "Le Truc," French for The Thingy!

 

Has anyone seen one of these before?

[Engine Doctor]

Sorry Dave but thats too ugly to give a name to ! Its obviously fallen out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down 🙂. Le truck or thingy will do . I reckon its a Bitsa

[john davidson 1]

distinctive centre section so somebody must know, not me though

[David Davis]

Update on Le Truc!

 

I have been trying to teach my Belgian friend Frans how to fly an r/c model with limited success. Frans has a son called Timmi who runs a very successful plumbing/central heating business. Timmi occasionally visits his parents and he has bought a radio and foamie trainer which he sometimes flies with me on the buddy box. Last week I was flying my World Models Super Frontier Senior which is a bit of a mouthful and an ARTF copy of the Sig Kadet Senior. In typical ARTF fashion the fuselage is made of plywood and the model weighs 20lbs or 9kgs with the Laser 80 in the nose. I hinted that I was prepared to sell the model for 70€ minus the Laser 80. Timmi decided to buy it and when he was at my house I said that he could have Le Truc, free gratis and for nothing minus the classic OS 40 SR in the nose. Pictures of the Kadet Senior Clone, your humble servant and Timmi below.

 

Timmi wants to convert both models to electric power. I suspect that his father and I will have to do the work but my knowledge of and interest in electric power is notoriously limited. However, I have been told that 100 watts per lb is a good starting point for a sports model. Given that the Kadet Senior Clone weighs 20 lbs when fitted with the Laser, should we be looking at a power train, Lipo, ESC, motor and prop, which will produce 2000 Watts, or given that the model is basically a large trainer do you think that 1500 watts will do? Information on the model is avaialable here: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-e&q=world+models+super+frontier+senior

 

Turning to Le Truc, that weighs about 10 lbs. It has a 7 foot wingspan and a 12" chord. I don't think that the model has ever been flown. I think that it would require at least a 61 two stroke to get it into the air. Again, are we looking at a power train capable of producing 1000 watts or will something less powerful suffice. The model has a reflex wing section and as stated above it is fully sheeted overall and covered in doped on tissue.

 

The views of the cognoscenti are as ever urgently sought.

[Shaun Walsh]

Something like this

https://www.4-max.co.uk/po-5055-595.html

With a 6s battery should give you up to 1200 watts or 800 watts with a 4s battery

[Shaun Walsh]

23 minutes ago, Shaun Walsh said:

Something like this

https://www.4-max.co.uk/po-5055-595.html

With a 6s battery should give you up to 1200 watts or 800 watts with a 4s battery

Or this
https://www.4-max.co.uk/po-6366-230.html

With an 8s battery would potentially give you  2500watts

[David Davis]

Thank you Shaun.

[Shaun Walsh]

11 minutes ago, David Davis said:

Thank you Shaun.

Are you sure about the frontier senior weight? The li k says it weighs 7 lbs rather than 20.

[David Davis]

2 minutes ago, Shaun Walsh said:

Are you sure about the frontier senior weight? The li k says it weighs 7 lbs rather than 20.

 

I bought the model second hand when I was last in England. It had previously been fitted with an OS 52 FS Surpass. With that engine installed there was a massive amount of lead in the cowling  which I removed entirely before fitting the Laser. A Laser 80 weighs 690 grammes or just over 24 ozs. An OS 52 Surpass weighs 402 grammes or about 14ozs  a difference of 288 grammes or just over ten ounces. It was weighed on my analogue kitchen scales which may not be very accurate.