Mr. Hanson, I recently came across one of your kits called a Run About. Can you tell me about this ship? It looks very similar to a Tipo. Any info. you have would greatly be appreciated. Thanks and have a great day.

In case DIck is not on here today, I've had two Runarounds. Currently he makes two versions The Runaround with a straight trailing edge and a runarway with double taper wing. Both use the same body and both come in small and large wing versions, 750 sq inch for the os or saito 91 and 800 for the ys91.

The box dated Sept. 1990 said Runabout. I'm pretty sure of that. Anyway, I went ahead and bought it. I just couldn't pass it up considering what I paid for it. This ship's fuse is 52" long not including the rudder. It does has double tapered wings with a span of about 60". It looks very similar to a Tipo. Is this the same ship you are talking about? Thanks for your insight.

No, mine is 59" without rudder or spinner, 66" with. Must be something different.

PS, If you want to see one, my first Runaround was on the cover of the August 1998 cover of RC Report (with my oldest daughter holding it). Dick also has a web page with photo's of his current production planes (elan, elite, excess, runaround, etc)

Joel,
Does Runabout's plan show anhidral (spell) stab?
If so, that is definitely something else!!
I only saw Runaround, Runaway for OS91 and YS91, and both have straight stabs.

Are you building this also?

Hopefully Dick will clarify this, but I think the Runabout is the predecessor to the Runaround. I'm betting it has a wood fuselage, too. The original Runaround was published in Model Builder (if memory serves.. ) and looked like a Zlinn 526 relative.
I think it is safe to say that if Dick designed it, the plane will fly well. I LOVED my Runarounds.
Can you post a photo of the kit? Is there a picture of the completed model in the instructions?
-Will B.

Well, I would post a pic, but don't have a digi camera. The "kit" didn't come with instructions, another . I'm positive the box said Runabout and it was dated Sept. 1990. The fuse is glass and the wing, stab and rudder are foam. It appears the ailerons would be cut out of the wing (barn door style). It just looks soooo similar to a Tipo, but I think the fuse was longer and the wings were larger. Mr. Hanson can you help? I'm not worried about the instructions, but some info like flying wt. , engine size, etc. would really help. Anyways, thanks guys for your input. Please keep it coming. Flywilly, the box doesn't have a picture of the completed kit. Patternflier, the fuse has two marks on each side to the fuse at the location of the stab. One of the marks is a (+) and then several inch in front is a (-). The other set of marks are about 1.5 inches below these. I'm not sure if I'll build it, but I would like to find out as much info. as possible. What do you guys think? Thanks and have a great day.

never made a Run About - Runaround and Runaway -
fuselage has canopy molded in the glass - just over the wing.
The reason they looked like a Zlin - a bit - is that the Zlin 526 series was and I think- is still a excellent layout .
most were 7-8 lbs - .91 -1.2 four stroke engines .
wing areas were 750 -825- depending on desired engine .
My EMC2 was a big Runaround -
I lost most interest in pattern -when all the sponsered guys started using very high priced stuff and the "winning " setups became quite expensive.
Not really any improvements - in my book - but lotsa money!
I thought the idea was to have fun--

Mr. Hanson, thanks for your input. I'm wondering if the fuse is that of a Tipo and and box is not the original. I'll see if I can find a digi camera and post a few pics of the fuse and wings. Dick, was the Runaway similar to a Tipo? The fuse on this ship has the canopy mold near the front, but not over the wing. I culculated the approx wing area and it came out to 670sq." Does this sound like a Tipo? Thanks for your input. Take care and hope you have a great work week.

sounds like a Tipo - or a Curare -or one of the various copies made during the 70-80 period.

Tiporare picture.
This is a picture of Steve Sterling (NSRCA D8, NSRCA Webteam).
The plane has OS 91FX with standard muffler.
This plane flew very well with throttle control.

The one I have looks very similar. The only difference is mine has a nose slightly longer. I would say maybe 4 inches longer, but no more. Everything else is the same. Boy! this is getting very interesting. Thanks for all the input guys.

Sounds very much like a Tipo +.

The canopy was moved back a little, the wing was straight trailing edge, but you could order the standard double taper wing, the stab was thinner, flat and slightly lower (3/4"?), or you could order the standard thick anhedral stab.

I personally flew the Tipo+ with the original wing, but new stab. I bought and built these in the 87-88 seasons.

John

JWN, was the Tipo Plus's wing thick? This one has a wing thickness of 2 1/8 inches and the stab is rather thin. The fuse has 2 sets of marks (+) and (-) where the stab would be. I think its for anahedral and for straight stabs. I'm just wondering which set of marks goes with the anahedral and straight stab The wing is double tapered and has a wing span of about 60-62 inches I guess depending on whether you put wing tips or not. Keep the info. flowing guys. Glad to hear from all of you. Thanks and have a wonderful work week.

Yes, the Tipo + wing was fairly thick. It was the same wing as the standard Tipo, but the sweep was different between the two. The Tipo + had a straight trailing edge which moved the CG back slightly in relation to the fuse and was better suited for tail dragger setups. The double taper wing was better for trike setups. I was a wuss and opted for trike as was the norm in pattern at that time.

The upper marks on the rear of the stab were for the anhedral stab while the lower are for the flat. If your stab is thin, I'm remembering it to be less than 3/4", possibly about 5/8's", then you have the one that should be joined flat and use the lower marks.

Again, pulling from memory, there was an option in the kit to use 1/8" balsa caps for the tips, or standard hollow balsa blocks of about 1".

Dick was able to build his Tipo's in the mid to high 7lb. range, but as I was heavy with wood, glue and hardware, my first was 8.5 and the second was over 9 due to my very heavy glass and paint job. Even at 9lbs. this model flew quite well. Obviously, they will do much better if you can build it light.

John

JWN, I think you've solved the mystery!!!!!! I believe what I have is indeed a Tipo Plus. Great job JWN I haven't decided what to do with it. I'll look at it some more and decide later. Again, thanks and hope you have a great day.

If you like, I will try to remember to scan a picture or two of my Tipo +'s and post them this evening.

If you decide you want to sell the kit, let me know. I may be interested. I still have a YS .60 side exhaust with header and pipe as well as my original Spring Air retracts that would love to find a home in a new/old model

John

Thanks JWN, I'll let you know if I decide to sell the kit. I'd love to see your pics of the ship and see what it looks like finished. Thanks and take care. By the way, where is Florence? I'm in Lake Mcqueeney just northeast of San Antonio.

OK, I'll post them later tonight if I can remember. Keep in mind that I was 17-18 years old when I built these and my idea of attractive color schemes left a little to be desired

Florence is between Georgetown and Killeen. Georgetown is about 20 miles north of Austin.

John

Here is my first Tipo + with the standard Tipo wing, but the + stab. Sorry about the shadow, but this is the only profile shot I have of this plane. Please ignore the very ugly paint scheme. I have no imagination for color schemes and this was probably the worst I ever did

John

Bingo!!!! We have us a winner!!!! Mine looks identical to yours LWN. Thanks for solving the mystery. I might sell it to fund my current pattern project. I'll wait until later this week to decide. Again, thanks for all your help.

There you go Joel. No promises that I'll be able to afford your kit if you decide to sell it, but I sure would like first shot if you decide to let it go.

John

Hi Mr Hanson, I have a .60 size Tippo under construction, I was wondering would it pose a problem to have a servo in each wing for aileron control, also what is the best size engine for the plane? I have a new OS >61SF w/ pump.....Thanks Louis

Lrw929, your 61 would be a great engine for the Tipo. Most pattern ships of that era had one aileron servo per side. Make sure you build it as light as possible. If you decide to go with retracts, I'd make it a tail dragger and monokote the wings. Remember, keep it light. Hope I've helped some. Take care and have a wonderful week.

In Christ,

Joel Chavez