Does anyone still make the 1/2A SST?
 

Found one I flew many years ago in the attic. Had on OS 15 on it and it was a little rocket & a blast to fly. Looking for a kit hopefully.

I'll bet it was a rocket.

I don't think anyone is kitting it any longer. With the slow down in the small glow market, it's just not feasible for many manufacturers to kit the 1/2A planes. Here's a .pdf if you're inclined to scratch one out.

Hey thanks for the plans Andrew. It is a pretty easy build, but don't know about the foam core wings. That little plane flew great, I put hundreds of flights on it.

Someone is still making the Ace foam wings. Probably would be similar.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1930451

A .15 has plenty of room if the firewall is moved back enough to keep the spinner backplate in it's same relative position.
Building a wing from scratch for it is not a big deal. People tend to think that these planes have "magical" airfoils that had Divine inspiration. Just anything that is close will do. The ribs themselves do not need to be knifed out all that perfectly, either. Mine always look like a drunk did them once I stack them together for a "group sanding"
I think it is just a matter of desire to build a little plane like this.....It's just a few steps up from building a napkin holder.

Select Hobbies -- Kits and ARFs

Both straight and tapered cores are available from Select Hobbies --- down near the bottom of the page.

Great-I will call & see what size these wings are. Been out of the hobby for a number of years. Have a 90" span Super Decathlon on the building table now & will add this little tyke next to it.
It was a blast to fly!

I think that if I drew those plans and stood back looking at the size of the TD relative to the nose and fuselage bulk, the first reaction would be to erase it and draw in a .10 or a .15. My early overpowering venture was a Sterling Mini Fledgling with an OS Max .15... ooh the power :rolleyes:. No carb, so it was start and toss. Eventually the elevator ripped off with predictable results.

Now, now ..... not everyone is an adrenalin junkie.:eek: But, I think I've got a .15 or two around here somewhere.

I think a lot of the older .049 stuff was underpowered, mostly because the Cox stuff had no throttle, and the designers didn't want things to be too fast for the masses. Most of them now can use an 06 or .10 or so with a throttle and be just about right. OK a .15 too if you strengthen the wing - and stab.

Yeah - strengthen the wing. I recall after I got used to flying the overpowered little monster I started getting brave. Adjusted control surfaces to maximum throw. After one particularly crazy high speed maneuver the wing snapped right at the center line. Foam core made for easy repair. Had an incredible roll rate, probably 2 or 3 rolls per second.

Are the new "ACE" foam cores hot wire cut regular foam? The original ACE wings were molded from fairly dense foam, and could take a reasonable amount of gee loading stock. I still ended up laying in 1/4" carbon unidirectional CF laminate top and bottom over the high point (by sanding in a shallow depression) on recent projects, and light glass over the center on my Simple 400 as well. On that model I could pull full deflection maneuvers at >100mph without issue.

Part of the underpower problem was the state of radio gear at the time as well. You needed a large enough airframe to hold it, enough wing area to support it at reasonable speed, and had an .049 to pull it along. Also on some designs the habit of laminating the front of the fuselage with slabs of heavy balsa a la larger models didn't help matters.

I folded up a wing recently, and think it may have been ok with just smaller servos and receiver. It only had a .10 on the front. There was a lot of extra weight stressing the wing. I think the new wings are cut with a hot wire and would need strengthening. It says original Ace wings coming soon though. I finally flew my Simple 400 with the Norvel .06. Not bad, was a slower rich run, but not too hard to fly. Almost lost it when it got a bit far away, it is pretty small on the side view.

Not only are the foam wing airfoils not "magical", we frequently sanded the daylights out of them to make them more symmetrical. I always liked the 1/2A Pacer and my buddy always had the 1/2A SST.

Dave

The thickness was not always consistent, but they match up very closely to a plotted NACA 2415 or 2416 (with the trailing edge truncated). No surprise there, pretty typical and risk-free choice as a good all-round airfoil for sport aerobatic models.

Funnotcrasy, I have Ace R/C wing kits for the Pacer and GHLII. The plans have been attacked by silver fish but the foam cores and wood seems to be OK. If you have a use for them then they are yours. I would like reimbursement for packing and shipping. George in Texas

I have a SST .40 with a OS .61 four-stroke on it. I have had lots of fun with it but I'm ready to sell it now.
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1930682

The box says 17%. I don't think the ACE core can be used on the SST --- given the specs on the SST plans, 242 sq.in. and 33" span, the chord works out to about 7 3/8". The ACE cores are 5 1/2" max.

I agree with Mike on the foil, although I probably would use either a built-up 2413 or a 2412 and put the SST on a diet.

Could easily be 17% I measured - it has been 4-5 years since I checked it out I think. I didn't have a box so didn't know what the nominal thickness was, and I recall plotting it in AutoCAD to get the cutout right on a fuselage side for something or other - likely the Squirt. I plotted a few samples in Compufoil to the right chord length, and whichever thickness 241x matched the thickness of the samples I had, it followed the profile pretty much perfectly so I was convinced that was the basis.

The reason for the thickness is clear I think - enough cross section to use in stock form as cantilevered foam wing panels. So really no reason for all that thickness in a built up or otherwise reinforced structure, especially with the lightweight radio gear we have available (and knowing how not to build 12 ounce 1/2A fuselages).

MJD... Do you still have the CAD file for the Ace wings?

Andrew.. I think you get the 7 3/8". with the added T/E and Aileron stock

My tapered Ace wing is 34 1/2" span, 5 1/4" root, and 3 7/8" tip. Add 1" for the ailerons. I don't know if things were trimmed, I picked it up at a swap meet in Perry Ga. prebuilt and receiver ready.

Yes, once I get my home PC to the geek squad - big blue error screen on boot up, I'm told it is not terminal and just needs some TLC, related to a full hard drive I think. So realistically I could get them to you within a week, if that works Skaliwag?

Curiosity got the better of me.. Had to brave the elements in my attic and drag out the SST kit.
The foam wings are certainly not Ace. Cores are 5.7/8" X 15.3/4 X 7/8. Plan says 1/8" T/E, 1/4" L/E. Aileron stock is 5/8". 242 Sq.in is an untruth. Must be including the Mahogany Horizontal Stab.

MJD... Works for me waiting for a week.

I agree --- a lot of the wings were flown without covering and with only a strip of strapping tape as external reinforcement. I've also done an overlay of one of the 241x foils and found the match to be very close. IIRC, I had guessed the thickness at about 15%, so the box top information was a bit different.

Either way, as you noted, with a built-up wing, modern gear and some weight watching, this little plane does have some potential. Shaving a little depth off the fuselage wouldn't hurt either.

skaliwag --

The 7 3/8" was the full chord including T/E and was based on the area/span calculation and on a measurement pulled from the plan. I don't think the ACE core has enough chord, even with a T/E added.

Here's a PDF of a similar design, albeit smaller and a mid-wing.

Hey skaliwag - would you be interested in selling that kit?