buzzard bait

This is a plane I've wanted to build since I saw the article as a boy in MAN 3/66. I just loved the look, Bill Northrup did a very appealing construction article for his buddy Ralph Fidance who designed it, and the Enya .09 was probably the smallest engine at the time with a good throttle. Thirty-five years later I finally got around to working on it.

I mentioned this plane in a reply to a post about what to build for an Enya .09 and got a private email from a guy who just could not believe anyone else knew the plane. Turned out he was in the process of building one and we exchanged pics. We're both ready to cover now. He's using a PAW .09, I'm using a vintage Enya .09 from the same period as the original.

This post is an experiment with uploading pictures. I was having trouble before, but I think it worked this time. If so, I'll have more on the project. Here, hopefully, is part of the first page of the article.

Jim

Wagon1

Looks great! Please post pics. I'd love to see them. She looks a bit like an Eaglet that Spirit of Yesteryear kits.

http://www.soy.on.ca/americaneaglet.html

buzzard bait

Yes! I just had an outdated browser (Netscape 6.0). Here is another page of the article and some shots of the fuse construction.

Plans are still available from MAN. Quite a bit of balsa block and wood-bending and the plans leave a lot to the imagination, but I'm learning a lot and it's a very satisfying project.

Jim

buzzard bait

On either side of the radio area are double formers and a floor that sits on top of the fuse without being glued (except to a doubled former on each end). You saw between the formers with a razor saw to make the removable hatch.

I ran brass tubing across the width of the fuse to hold the cabane struts, a method I got from a Fernando Ramos column. It allows you to cover and finish the fuse without the struts in the way. Then you epoxy the struts into the tubes at the end.

Jim

BMatthews

You're making my mouth water BB. The Petit Parsol was in one of my very first model magazines I ever bought and like you I was captivated by it's simple and clean looks. I'd totally forgotten about it until I saw your thread just now but a few years back I got the full size plans at a swap meet. I may just have to follow in your footsteps and make one. It's a SMALL model though. I've got a Max .10 that I'd probably use but I can't help thinking that with a bit of thinning of the wood sizes in the fuselage and/or careful wood selection the weight could be held down to work with the new and strong 1/2A engines. Do you know what the weight of your airframe is so far?

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

Betcha no one else at the field has one! Looks really nice. Very detailed. I see an altimeter, but can't tell what the two smaller ones are.

buzzard bait

Yeah, PT, that's a good bet, but wouldn't it be great to see two of them in the air? Glad you like it. I guess I did a turn-and-bank and something else. To tell the truth, I just copied three instruments from somewhere and didn't worry about what they were. I used a thick paper that is black on top and white underneath when you scratch it. Then I added thin acetate and 1/64 ply with Danish oil.

Bruce, I'm delighted to hear from someone else who was attracted to that design. It's the only magazine I saved when I left home.

I originally had a similar idea as yours--I planned to put a PAW .06 in it. I started out with very light construction. But with all the balsa block required to make those nice curves I found it impossible to keep it light enough, even using contest wood. I also discovered my PAW .06 was not as powerful as I'd hoped--I don't like to go very much over 20 oz. with it. So I picked up the old Enya on ebay and tested it out. Even being an early model it is much more powerful than the PAW. I ran it with the original exhaust baffle, no muffler, and an 8x4 prop. If you have a similar vintage OS .10, the non-schneurle type, it will be perfect (and an ounce lighter). I also think an 8 inch prop looks really good on that plane (and of course the smaller modern engines are happier on smaller props). A vintage OS 10 will run well on an 8x4 too, and these engines are not terribly noisy on that prop without a muffler.

I estimate a final weight of around 28 - 29 oz., allowing for a nice dope finish. Fidance's original was 33 oz. The wing area is two square feet.

Wagon1--Yes, it is similar to a lot of parasol types of the 1930s. The article mentions the Heath Parasol, Pientenpol, etc., commenting that "the designer was building models when these ships were the backbone of the pasture flying field era." Jim

BMatthews

My engine is the FP OS .10 and I figured the engine would not really fit the intent of the model.

But I have a plan that will make you drool. Blow up the design +25% and power it with my OS .20 four stroke that's never seen fuel so far.

buzzard bait

I think the OS 10 FP would be alright if you were gentle with the throttle. It is about an ounce and a half heavier than the unmuffled Enya--I think you could balance it out with radio placement. I have one that runs well on an 8x4, and it's not a screamer that way.

As for scaling up, I really like the PP just as it is and I love the little two strokes on largish props, but go for your dream!

Jim

XJet

That looks just like the parasole model I'm currently flying with an HP VT21 in the nose.

My Norvel 061 has more power but the 4-stroke sounds so sweet.

Last weekend I was in the air alongside an electric Zaggi and the parasole/4-stroke combo was much quieter than the noisy prop of the electric bird.

This is summer-evening flying at its best. Lazy touch-and-gos at a sloth-like speed -- running down the runway on one wheel just for fun, flying for 30 minutes on a single tiny tank of fuel.

Maybe an HP 21 isn't 1/2A but it's quieter and about the same power so I figure it counts :-)

buzzard bait

After long procrastination I finally did my first soldering job on music wire. Afterward a friend told me I had all the wrong stuff--the flux, silver solder and iron were not the right types, but I got it done, and the wing alignment came out right on the button.

The pictures show a method that I got from an old Fernando Ramos column in Model Builder. You glue in brass tubing going across the width of the fuse. Then the cabanes plug into the holes in the end of the tubing, which are barely visible on the side of the fuse. That way you can finish the whole fuse and the very last step is to glue the cabanes into the holes. The whole thing actually feels very secure just fitted together.

Jim

buzzard bait

Here it is, covered with Polyspan and clear dope and temporarily assembled. Note the wing attachment--there are four holes in the wing and the rubber bands go through them, instead of having wires sticking out from the wing. Getting excited!

Jim

Tom @ Buzzard Bluff

Looks really good b b. I think you'll love it.
IIRC the Enya is of .099 Disp. So it's a .10 in fact. The MAS seems to be the majic prop for that size engine. Try one, you will be delighted I think. Tom

buzzard bait

Thanks, Tom. I'm using an MA Scimitar prop--is that what you mean by MAS? I chose 8x4, which I'm sure is too big for max power, but it keeps the noise down on the unmuffled engine (butterfly baffle on the exhaust), and I won't be needing a lot of power anyway. Only problem is throttle changes are a little sluggish, probably due to the mass of the fiberglass prop. Might try a wood prop. Curious to know what you've found to be the "magic" prop. I'm sure a modern .10 would be fine too.

Right now, with servos, covering and sealing coats (but without Rx, battery or color dope) it weighs 22 1/2 ozs. I don't see how it could go much over 26 oz ready to fly. The original in the magazine construction article weighed 33 oz. I've been really careful to use very light wood wherever I thought I could get away with it.

Jim

Tom @ Buzzard Bluff

[quote]ORIGINAL: buzzard bait

< I'm using an MA Scimitar prop--is that what you mean by MAS?>

Duh---meant to say Master Airscrew 8x3. It allows the engine to operate at good efficiency. 8x4 loads it too much and 7x4 doesn't have enough disc area.

buzzard bait

Final weight was 27 ounces ready to fly. It climbs out amazingly fast with an 8x3 prop. Throttle response on the 40 year old Enya .09 is pretty sluggish--a long lag, very non-linear. But the little plane does beautiful touch and goes, and I really like just chugging around on low throttle. Some photos...

buzzard bait

I attached the leather cockpit coaming and head rest by smearing a leather strip with Weldbond, letting it dry, and then ironing it on with a trim iron. It worked very well and easily. Shoe polish on the leather. More photos...

lildiesel

I remember admiring the Petite Parasol in the late 60s when I had a six year stack of M.A.N. that the local HS librarian gave to me since they were just taking up shelf space in storage.

The plan is listed here:

www.modelairplane.org/plans/pdfs/p-plans.pdf

42" wingspan AMA #26638 $8.00 from the plans service.

BMatthews

That's delightful. A lovely finish for an older thread. Thanks for remembering us....

Tee Bee

Very nice. Beautiful airplane. I like parasols and hope to build one some day myself.

buzzard bait

Thanks Bruce, and the others. Nice to be appreciated!

Diesel - Yes, I'm glad to see they've continued to carry it. So many others have disappeared from the listings. Someone at MAN must have a soft spot for it, just as I do. I wish they still printed the "Oscillator", from about the same period. I'll have to scale that one up from my magazine.

TB - I completely agree about parasols. This won't be my last. In fact, if I ever build a full scale plane (foolish fantasy!) it will be a parasol for sure - can't beat the view, and the charm of it.

Jim