Back in 1976/1977, I built 2 Vertigo II's. I was 14 when I built the first one. It met an untimely demise due to a (then) cheapo Futaba receiver failure. I built the second one in 1977. It went through several iterations, experimenting with anhedral in the stabilizer, etc as well as three different paint jobs. The Futaba radio was pitched in favor of a Kraft Signature Series 7 channel radio. I wish that I still had that. Power in both instances was a Lee Custom (K&B) .61 with the Perry pump, Perry large bore carburator, and PDP. Exhaust was an OPS pipe. Not huge power, but I didn't have much choice back then. It was so cool to have all that free time to work on stuff that I wanted. My time is much more limited nowadays, so this will be a slow process.
I scrounged around and acquired two kits. One fuselage is not so swift, and that is the one that I will be building here. The other fuselage is is much better condition, and I will be using it in the future as a plug to make a mold. My previous Vertigos were heavy, coming in at about 9lbs or so. The goal this time is to lighten it up considerably. That means foamy wheels in place of the nice but heavy Kraft wheels, (maybe) taildragger vs. tricycle gear, balsa skins instead of 1/64th ply, Moneykote in place of paint on the wood surfaces, etc. I really enjoy flying my Venus II, in no small part due to it's light wing loading, so I believe that relieving this airplane of as much pork as possible can do nothing but enhance it's performance. The engine is currently slated as an O.S. .55AX with a pipe. This thing puts out about the equivalent power of the old school .61 I used in my old V-IIs, it is lightweight conpared to a full case .61, and it's paid for. Subsequent builds of this airplane will sport a much more formidable power plant.
You can't go back to the past, but sometimes you can reach back and pull it forward to today. So, buckle up, and let's go for a ride.....

Quote: "You can't go back to the past, but sometimes you can reach back and pull it forward to today."
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You said it. My all time best pattern plane was a Vertigo II. I didn't build it. Bought it complete with Kraft retracts from Joe, a KC-135 Air Force Pilot who was stationed at Carswell AFB in Ft. Worth at the time. The plane weighed nearly 10 pounds. With a Webra Speed .61 pulling it, the performance was OK but not great. Steve Helms told me to get a Rossi with a pipe and I did. That engine made a huge difference for the better. It was just a different airplane with the Rossi and a Zinger 11X7 1/2 prop. We clocked it on Highway Patrol radar at 135. The Vertigo excelled at aileron rolls, slow rolls, and point rolls. If I had a Vertigo today, I would putt a Jett 90L and Jett muffler on it. With that power, verticals would be spectacular. Here's hoping your Vertigos give you many great hours of enjoyment.
Best Regards
JC

PS- I flew more than 100 gallons thru that great old airplane.

I have always liked the lines of the Vertigo II. I look forward to the build thread, no matter how long it takes. I hope this one has a long life like JC's

turbo

Klxmaster - Vertigo II. I have one, Skyglas, excellent condition, fuselage perfect. Fuse set up almost like the P-6, except the little scoop under the nose, and the short fin, diamond stab.
If you are going to lay up some fuselage's, let me know.
Crankpin

Looking foward to following along with the build thread!![8D]

Me too ! Which retracts planned ? Kraft wheels, heavy, but I like them. I have bought up every 2" - 2.25" - 2.50" treaded that I can find on e-bay and other sites.

Crank

Thank you all for the positive feedback.
Crankpin- I am looking at Spring-Air retracts. The fuselages will come in the next phase of development. This aircraft will be as a proof of concept prototype, I want to make any or all changes to this one prior to "casting them in stone", or fiberglass in this case. There will be some corrections made, as there are a few errors in the original.
I believe that the Vertigo II was based heavily on the P-6. The wing and tail planform are quite similar, as well as the detail that you noted in the fuselage. Both airplanes are outstanding performers in my opinion. I am looking forward to seeing your P-6 completed.

Looking forward to following along also.

Let's get this party started. I will begin with something small, like the stabilizer. The Vertigo II has a thick, diamond shaped stabilizer airfoil. The purpose is to soften the elevator feel around neutral, for smooth pitch response. It works, and does so by creating some almost dirty airflow behind the airfoil highpoint, the opposite of a laminar flow section. When Kraft Systems offered something new called "exponential" as an upgrade to their Signature Series radio, I set mine in and got it. I found that exponential in combination with the diamond shaped airfoil was too mushy. In the photos, the dark line is the grain line. It is important to align that with the high point of the airfoil so the balsa skins will fold evenly over it. Having the grain cross the high point at an angle would yield some funky results. The rest is straightforward skinning, I will not go into detail here. BSI 20 minute epoxy is used.

Hey Klix - You came out of the chute fast ! Thanks for the info on the diamond stab. When I looked at the Vertigo I have, knew there had to be a reason for this.

Crank

I like that..Very Kewl!!

Look forward to your build!!

Thanks..

Finally, some building time. The skins have been trimmed back flush with the cores in preparation for the leading edge, trailing edge/elevators, and the tip blocks. The sanding was done with the sheeted coes in the foam blanks from which the cores were cut. This helps prevent damage to the sheeted surfaces, and helps to keep everything square. The first pic shows the leading edges being glued in place. Regular Titebong glue is used here, it will leave a glue line that is easy to sand.
The original design calls for the stabilizer and elevator to be cut from one core, then the elevator cut free after sheeting, then balsa caps are added. This works well, and makes for elevators that are light, and that match the stabilizer perfectly, airfoil-wise. I have two sets of cores, one cut as previously described, and a second set that only comprises the stabilizer section, the elevator to be made from balsa sheet, and shaped to match the core. The one piece core airfoil did not match the plan very well, but the stab-only core did. So I decided to use the second set, even though it will entail more work. The elevators are flat due to the diamond shaped airfoil, so matching them up evenly to the stabilizer will not be that big of a deal. I needed 3/4" thick balsa for the elevators and tips, so I laminated them from two pieces of 3/8" soft sheet. The glue line will act as a centerline helping to keep everything straight when shaping the parts later. When shaping is complete, the elevators will be cut free down the hinge line, leaving the stab trailing edge in place. The second pick shows the laminated parts, lined up as they will be attached to the sheeted cores.

I had forgotten how much fun it is to shape balsa!

Beautiful work. Yep, nothing like running your own balsa dust factory.

David

Stab tips blocks glued on, then shaped. Elevators marked, then cut out using bandsaw. Elevator rudder deflection cut made, then capped with a piece of 1/8 balsa on horn end.

I acquired a Mac's 8.5 muffled pipe and extra long header for my O.S. .55 AX, the chosen power plant for the Vertigo II. I dialed in the pipe on the ground, and was able to achieve 14,040 RPM with an 11-7 APC prop, burning 12% Cool Power/Omega mix fuel. I am impressed with the output of this engine, and I am happy with the effectiveness of the pipe which netted a gain of about 1500 RPM. I set off to the airfield with it mounted in my test airplane (Graupner Skylark/57" span/6lb empty). With this fairly light airplane, it had vertical performance more akin to a Quickee 500 than a pattern plane. Quite the ballistic performance. I am confident that if I am diligent with weight control on the Vertigo, It will yield reasonably good performance, at least for the prototype.

KLX - Is that OS55 going to haul the mail ? Looking at the Vertigo fuselage's I have here, they seem to have more bulk in the design then the Phoenix 6's. My plan was to put the new G60 ABC's I just acquired in these Vertigo's. Now I have comments from some flyer's, these Bluehead's are not going to do it.

I got a new in box OS61 SF today, and looking for another. and unload all this old stuff. I am not a collector, and no desire to look at engines sitting on a shelf looking back at me. The OS Blackhead, the same thing, out the door.

What weight are you looking at for the finished Vertigo ? If the 55 is going to do it, great news.

Vince

Crank,
My old V-IIs were both powered by Lee Custom (PDP) K&B .61 with the Perry pump and accompanying large bore carb, and a pipe. Definitely not a speed demon, it would turn an 11-7 at about 13,500. It was once clocked with a police radar gun @ 115MPH. Definitely not Rossi speed. Now the .55 is giving me a solid 14,000+, so I am a good 500 RPM ahead of the game from the old school days.
I am aiming at about 7-1/2 pounds dry for this one. Gone will be the kraft wheels, plywood skins, glass & paint, and any other dead weight I can drop. Judging from the totally stupid excessive power the .55 is giving the test bed airplane, figuring in another pound or so for the V-II in my estimation will give it a pretty lively performance. The .55 is up to a 1/4 pound lighter than some .60s, as it is based on a .45 size case. I will be trading off a little HP for a weight savings. That evens it up some I figure. At any rate, I have noticed several postings on the engine forum as to the suitability of the .55 for old school pattern use. Maybe we will get an answer to that question.

Unfortunately, the last several months have seen the dissolution of an 8 year relationship, and when she went out the door, so did a good chunk of household income. Toy money is hard by these days, so that brings me to the other point in the .55's favor..... It's paid for!!!

Future iterations of this airplane will sport more HP in the nose. The .55 will have to do for now. Stay tuned....

-Robert

some of us may think congratulations, now you have lots of toy time!! but not knowing i won't say it.

david

Just a bump in the road.

it can be the best thing in recent memory to happen to you or the opposite. i've experienced both. good luck. back to the build.

david

Nothing says old school like anhedral! I like anhedral. The original design called for a flat stabilizer, but as the anhedral craze of the 70's caught on, I went through a couple of modifications to my V-II increasing the anhedral until I liked it. The set of plans that I have shows (clearly inked on sometime after the original drawing was made) 1" of anhedral for a total of two inches. So I guess that makes it an "authentic" modification. I can't remember how much I settled on, but 2" didn't look like enough, so I went with 2-1/2". The stabilizer halves are glued together using 5-minute epoxy. Now time to add the fiberglass center section reinforcement. I want the glass to extend 1/2" past the fuselage sides, giving me something solid to blend the fillets into later after mounting the stabilizer to the fuselage. I marked the stabilizer with pencil lines corresponding to the dimensions on my sketch. Masking tape is placed 1/4" to 3/8" beyond the pencil lines. This will leave a thin hard epoxy skin to blend the edge of the glass into, reducing the chances of digging into thre balsa skins, weakening them. I cut a paper template for cutting the fiberglass. After the glass was cut and fit-checked, I mixed up some BSI 20 minute epoxy, and spread it (I hate this word) liberally onto the stabilizer in between the masking tape. The glass is laid down between the lines, and patted with the brush to absorb the epoxy. Then, a paper towel is places over the fiberglassed area, and patted down with a dry brush to absorb the excess epoxy. The epoxy is what weighs, and removing the excess assures a lightweight product. This same principle applies to 3/4 oz. glass used to glass wings, etc for painting. The tape is removed and the assembly set aside to cure. Trim after the epoxy is cured, and repeat on the other side.

I have two set's of Vertigo plans here. Is the anhedral shown on any plans of the Vertigo's, or you the only one that did that ?

I now have a couple of OS 61SF's for the Vertigo's. I was told the Super Tigre G60 ABC's were not going to haul the mail. What do you expect finished weight ?

Crank

Crank,

Here is a pic of the anhedral detail on my plans. I bought two kits before starting this project. One kit did not have plans. It had the white gel-coated fuselage. The other kit (that came with plans) has a non gel-coated fuselage. That is the one that I am building up to fly. It also came with the odd-ball cores. The stab cores were stab only (no elevators) and the wing core is much thicker at the trailing edge. I can only speculate that the purpose of this is to compensate for the error in the wing saddle. Making the wing section thicker would bring the rear of the chord line down, compensating for the negative incidence in the wing saddle. That would be cheaper and easier than fixing the plug and making new molds. It is also as Mickey Mouse as heck.
I believe that the second kit is a much later production. These things would make sense on a kit that was ending the end of it's production life. I'm sure skyglas did not want to spend a bunch of time and money fixing stuff that they may not get a sufficient return on. That's my guess anyway.
Expected weight- 7-1/2 to 8 pounds dry. That may seem like an aggressive goal, but I think it can be done if I play it right. My first one was around 7-1/2 if fuzzy memory serves right. Ha Ha!!

Elevator hinging is complete. I found a treasure trove of old school Klett and Dubro hinges in my stash. I am using the Dubro hinges here. No particular reason. That will complete the vertical stabilizer assembly for now. I will fit the control horns after the stabilizer is mounted to the fuselage and the pushrods are being fabricated. I may use the Rocket City style, as they are called out on the plans, and I did in fact use them on my original V-IIs. See Crankpin's Finishing the Phoenix thread for some excellent details regarding the Rocket City style horn installation.
Now on to the next assembly. I think that while I am contemplating the wing, I will knock out the rudder. The plans (see pic) calls for carving down a piece of sheet balsa, or built up with sheeting. I did built up with sheeting on my original, but this time, since light weight is a prime consideration, I will build it up with ribs and an open structure. On my originals, I used the optional fixed tab shown on the plans, but this time I will make the rudder full size top to bottom. I have been spoiled by the tremendous rudder authority of more modern designs like the Venus II. More rudder authority with less deflection (due to the increased area) equals less induced drag, and higher performance. At least that is my theory, and I'm sticking to it.....