Coming soon! Updated and laser cut Berkeley Lancer from 1958. .15 to .35 sport or vintage combat. [email protected]

Are you going to be reproducing them for sale. if so another kit maker contacted Ron Powlowski's family for permission a few years ago to kit it and it was a no go.
It is a neat model and I had one or two back in 59 when Berkley kitted them. The kits were crap but the model was fun to fly. Fuselage was only 3//8 wood and I used a K&B 35 GH as the Fox 35 vibrated too much. A good OS20/25FP would do as good today. The cutout for the battery on the electric version looks a little weak to me. On short nosed models it is easier to use 2 batteries of smaller capacity on each side of the fuselage joined with a parallel connector with about the same weight as one large cell and avoid structural or re engineering problems. Try 2 Admiral 4 cell 1600 MAH cells. You might even get more duration with this set up
I also have a nice laser cut kit with contest wood in my pile. You will enjoy flying the Lancer.

Sig bought the rights for this airplane when he bought Berkeley from Duke Fox in the early 60's. I am using the original Berkeley plans with an updated instruction sheet to cover the updated construction. The fuselage has been beefed up with doublers, maple motor mounts, basswood caps and by eliminating that big hole for the wing to pass through with just a hole for the spar to pass through. It also uses the fuselage and the tip ribs to make a jig for building a straight wing. It actually builds a lot faster than I expected an I beam wing could be done.

As a side note Sig has had a modernized and laser cut version of the Berkeley Mini Zilch in production. I also have a laser cut Orbit Ace that could be activated if there is any demand. I'm working up a version of the Wee Duper Zilch off of the Berkeley plans in my spare time.

Your correct in not having a hole for the wing to go through. No I beam that I've ever built did that and of course the tips are drawn on a square piece of wood to allow you to build the wing true. If my memory is correct both Duke and Glen Sig bought parts of Berkley Models. Duke Fox found out quickly that he did not want to be in the kit business. Glen Sig kitted a few of the smaller models for years especially the free flight and 1 inch scale models. The carved fuselage models and old stuff disappeared immediately
I beams do build fast as you only have to keep stripping ribs from a sheet with the pattern you have made. You can do it while watching your favorite show on the tube. Zilches are in my opinion only, highly over rated and my Super Duper Zilch kit is lamenting in kit the pile for years. They have to fly fast to do anything and really they are butt ugly to boot. Again my opinion only.
Incidentally you can use 1/16 ply for doublers and not much in the way of motor mounts for the
electric, your not fighting a thumping 2 cycle engine.
Don't want to hack the thread but here is a picture of a kit by Walt Umland. It is Jack Sheeks La Donna. Another example of an I beam model