jwrich

My Feedback: (17)

Seeking information about the Nosen kit Mister Mulligan. I recently bought one that has been built and completely finished, less engine and servos. The builder said the model was set up for DA 56. The work appears to be first rate, I am very pleased with what I see. What I would to know is about flying characteristic, power requirements, servo requirements and any experiences with this airplane.

Thanks for your replies
Rich

Cliffc

Rich, Have you found this thread? You know this kit was designed in the 1960s-80s for 0.60 cu inch engines! I have an unbuilt kit and I'll look at the plans/instructions for some info but I don't think it will relate well to the realities of 2013.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_11350741/tm.htm

This thread which I am watching with interest is a laser cut short kit of the Bud Nosen design. Note that the builder is going to use a 50cc twin which is a pretty nice engine although pretty far from a 0.60 freference engine (actually ~3.05 cu in). I've got an actual Bud Nosen kit, not one of the AA Industries kits which sadly has a bad reputation for the quality of the die cutting. Folks that have persevered and actually built these kits have not said bad things about their flying characteristics. There are other Mr. Mulligan bulids out there if you search for the threads. I think that it's likely that any servo designed for giant scale planes will be adequate. This isn't going to be a pattern flyer or 3-D plane so the largest strongest servos won't be required althought if the rudder is set up for pull pull operation you might take that into consideration. As a suggestion you might look at the insturction manuals for the Sig J-3 in quarter scale and the Dynaflight Super Decathlon. These are available online and include recommendations for servos.

I've been advised that a glow engine strong enough to fly this thing (Super Tigre 3000 and 3250s) may go through a lot of fuel and presently builders of planes in this size seem to install gas engines like the DA 56 you mentioned. This is probably a very powerful engine for such a plane and I am planning on using a smaller Fuji BT-32 as I don't believe that the bigger engine is necessary to fly the plane within its normal performance envelop. That said the Mulligan is a short nosed airplane originally built with a radial engine with a center of gravity very close to the centerline of the cylinders. Many builders have found that the gas engines in the 30-60cc engine sizes are heavy enough to perserve the short nose cowl and maintain the required balance without the need for a lot of lead and that the extra power is just a plus. The bigger engines allow for a propeller that extends past the big cowl on this thing. I am astounded at how big my cowl is. Gas engines in these sizes because of their ignition systems provide a good low speed idle, fuel economy and because they generally include a pumper carb are not fussy about the placement of the gas tank and have a good transition to higher speeds. They are not cheap but...

You might look at builds for Monocoupes. 90s 110 and D145s these planes have a similar weight, wing span, drag coefficient and flight envelop to the Mulligan and should give you a good guide to what folks feel works. I hope that these suggestions are helpful. Best Regards, Cliffc

jwrich

My Feedback: (17)

Thanks for your response, I have a good idea how this planes will fly. I have heard that the landing speed is rather hot because of the type of airfoil. I find that a little hard to believe, with the large flaps. I am accustom to flying slower large scale WW I airplanes and a 1/4 scale Piper Cub. I sold all my fast movers because they seemed to be ahead of me and not enjoyable to fly, that happens when you get older I guess. I was mainly trying get some insight on the maiden flight.
Thanks Cliff


Rich

Cliffc

I understand, the fast movers are not my first choice of a relaxing hobby.  I've been suffering from a lower back strain which is G**''s way of telling me I've got too big a gut and I am out of shape.  Because of the enforced time off of my feet I decided to cut some parts out and picked the Dynaflight Super Decathlon and the Nosen Mulligan for my cutting parts out.  The good news is the Decathlon kit is state of the art for a kit that's not laser cut.  The parts didn't fall out of the sheets but came out cleanly with little effort and the overall design and kit quality is really excellent - I am not a fanatical fine scale guy but I like a plane that looks like a real plane.  

The allegedly Nosen manufactured Mulligan is not so pristine.  The plywood isn't aircraft ply, the balsa for the wing ribs is pretty awful in the die crushed sense.  The instructions are really spare with little in the area of recommendations.  I've not looked over the plans in detail.  The plywood die cutting is bad enough that I'll have to resort to the band saw to have a chance of getting these out cleanly - a modeling knife isn't going to cut it.   While this stuff is a bit discouraging, I really like the plane and plan on persevering.  I need to bring up the engine and lay it on the plans and see how bad that is going to be.  There is little doubt in my mind that the materials supplied will result in a rugged enough if heavy airframe to make a reliable plane and hey it's a classic plane.  I am not going to spring for the laser cut short kit (or at least I don't plan on discussing it with my wife) but I am going to build this plane. 

jwrich

My Feedback: (17)

I had the Nosen Mulligan kit about 10 years ago, built it to the framed up stage. Then lost interest (other airplanes to build & fly) , it hung in the garage until about 3 years ago, I sold it . I remember what a sorry kit it was, bad wood, parts that were die-crushed and terrible instruction. Much of the wood was replaced and many of the parts had to be re-cut. But I alway admired the aircraft when one would show up at a flying event.
I always check the classified in RCU and I found one for sell that was completely built, covered and set up for the engine and radio gear. The price was right and was within driving distance. After speaking with the builder I bought the plane. As it turned out he recently has had serious health issues and had to sell all his RC related stuff. The Mister Mulligan was the last airplane to be sold. I did not realize what a remarkable find that I bought. Once I got it home and began removing the bubble wrap I discovered a beautiful airplane. This man is a master builder. I will post some pictures of the airplane once I get it all together. I hope when I get it flying, he can come to one of the local events and I 'll put him on the controls.

Take Care, enjoy Life while we can
Rich

Cliffc

Rich,  I am glad to hear that you've got your hands on a good plane and I hope you're able to get it to the next level.    I've been following this thread.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1806149

The author is a guy who's got a lot of builds going on and is all over a couple of these groups - evidently this is not his first rodeo.   In this thread he's dealing with another Bud Nosen kit a Champion Citibria and I guess a Decathlon.  A couple of the guys that are contributing are also pretty knowledgeable contributors.   Epoxyearl isn't running a tutorial exactly but he's given a lot of tips on salvaging some of these classic old kits.   Truth be told there is more stuff available today to make these planes practical than at the time they were designed and kited.  I suspect that if the Nosen planes weren't kind of heroic at the time that they'd have done well enough to survive and be kind of famous.  I know I've got an Ikon N'West Monocoupe D-145 kit and it's almost as rough and these kits have a kind of legendary status.  I don't particularly like to use epoxy and use it only where it is called for on fire walls and maybe wing joints but it is much better than CA or Aliphatic Resin (Titebond) glue for filling a ragged joint (albeit heavy).  Sunny Days, Light Winds and Good Flying Cliffc

capnduane

I had one that I flew quite a bit, many years ago. It was a partially constructed Bud Nosen kit when I bought it. I beefed up the wings and the cabin area and connected the wings with all thread and turnbuckles attached to the spars. I used a Kioritz 2.4 gas engine, which weighed 6.5lbs and required lead in the tail to CG out correctly. The Nosen kit was set up for a 60 glow engine, and has a longer than scale nose. The wingspan is 9', scale would be 8'. It flew like a dream. The long nose and wing always bugged me, and one day a guy made me a offer I couldn't refuse, and it went home with him. I flew the Mulligan for him at several giant scale meets after that. I have aquired a AA kit which I am going to build, but try to scale up the outline somewhat. I will probably use a 53cc twin that I have.

jwrich

My Feedback: (17)

Thanks for information, I have ordered the servos and a DLE 55 for it. I hope to have it flying when the weather gets a little warmer. The builder did a wonderful job on this airplane. I will post some pictures soon.

Thanks again
Rich

Cliffc

Rich, I don't think you can go too far wrong with the DLE 55 look forward to seeing the photos  Cliffc

cymaz

Any news....just about to maiden mine.Its 1/3 scale 19kg and has an EME120cc

Bill Diedrich

Is it an enlarged Bud Nosen Mr. Mulligan?

cymaz

Yes..but it wasn't me
I bought it from fleabay. I knew the wings were longer than scale but I really can't be bothered at the moment to rescale them...may be later.

capnduane

Well, how time flies! I never got around to starting the Bud Nosen kit. But I did find a built up Mulligan at a swap meet, never flown, for a song. Cut the wings down to a more scale length, and was able to slide the cowl back due to the short length of the XYZ 53 twin, and have one flight on it so far. it was a real handful, needs lots of rudder in the turns. Engine ran great. The pic that Ken took of me and Mr Mulligan was on one of the test taxi and runup days at our field, and I had not redone the markings, they are not in the correct locations. Cutting down the wings and refitting the wing struts was a big job, and my good friend Mel Santmyers was very helpful with that chore!

cymaz

I've had one flight...the cg was spot on. For such a big heavy plane it flew well. The engine went rich in flight( I had carb diaphragm issues do to air pressure in the cowl). The surface throws were ok. Boy, does it up the sky!