Never Say Never – Spitfire NoCal for Indoor

I have never really wanted to build a Spitfire.  I did build a Guillows one back before I knew the first thing about Free Flight, but haven’t felt any need to since – up until now.  To me, their proportions are just not right, then there are those long pointy wings.

Back in early 2016, I made a decision to venture west to the March contest in Colorado Springs.  It was a lot of fun – I still owe Don DeLoach another beer for putting me up for a couple nights.  In preparation for that event, I built a Fairey Barracuda for Indoor WWII NoCal Combat.  Rules require 6.2 grams minimum weight and 7″ maximum prop diameter.  These rules are great equalizers as there is no need to build super-light NoCals – pretty much anyone that flies Indoor can build to 6.2 grams or 7 grams without too much problems if they just do a little smart wood selection.

This event was really the start of my learning and improving my Indoor flying.  I was able to get it trimmed out and (with a stroke of luck) won the Combat event.  Here is a trim flight from that event.

What was the luck?  Well, busy CD Don DeLoach never put in a test flight on his model.  He pulled out his model for the first round, wound it up, launched, and watched as it foundered like a fractured duck.  It was certainly the favorite, but it went down early.  The cause?  A cracked wing.  And the model he pulled out of the box?  It was a large, clipped wing Spitfire.

This was the start of my learning to trim (I also learned the importance of checking and testing your model before and official flight).  My Barracuda peaked out at 2:47 over the years and is still a very strong threat in the local Cloudbusters Indoor WWII NoCal Combat – it has won eight out of 11 Combats in Pontiac since that trip to Colorado.  But, it is never good to rest on your laurels.  People are starting to bring in really competitive models – and the Indoor Nats will be held on my home turf this July.  I’ve got to raise my own bar.

I’ve built an Indoor Racer that has hit 3 minutes and should fly more (if I were to risk re-trimming with a new prop) – “I have the technology” to build a better WWII NoCal.  I have been looking and always return to that Spitfire mk.XVI – its got a clipped wing and converting to NoCal takes it right up to 60 square inches – that is Huge (the Barracuda is under 44 squares).  And the hook-to-peg distance is longer by a couple inches.

I set about drawing it up and it went quickly.  My plan has almost all parts laser cut – only the longerons and strip wood to laminate the tails will have to be supplied by the modeler.  The model build very quickly – you could build the frame in a couple hours, if you laminate the tails the night before.  I built this slowly with lots of downtime while I did other things, and I had the frame done in 24 hours (including laminating time) and the model covered, ready to test in another 24 hours.  Here are the build photos.

5 pound wood on the laser cutter

ready to build

the tail surfaces laminated over supplied templates

body and tail built up

wings built up – using supplied tapered LE and TE and 6% Simplex ribs.

I sanded the sheet tips before detaching them – reducing the 1/16″ sheet to about 1/32″ thick so it could bend to match the tip airfoil.

completed structure at 2.2 grams

printed tissue on carrier sheet – fresh out of the printer

1/4″ square solid motor stick, with nosebearing and tail hook – 1.5g

covered model right at 5g. tissue and adhesive weighed 1.5g

finished model ready for testing

final weight – 6.7g – just over the minimum 6.2g

Now we wait.  We will fly next Thursday.  I am a little anxious because this is a low-wing.  The Barracuda is a nice and stable shoulder-wing.  I will definitely have to watch that torque roll.  I imagine it will take a few flying sessions before I get all the bugs worked out.  As I told my son, Jack, today – I probably jinxed a good thing (the Barracuda) and the new plane – and neither will fly!  We will see!