1/2A Stuka

I thought I better ask some questions here, I recently have obtained the plans for the Baby Stuka that Leonard and Matt have produced, I have one question on its construction here, looks like they have a floating bellcrank, now I can see how it will work but not shure on this as I have never built anyting with one, if anyone might be able to clue me in on this would appreciate it here, I am not relaly new to the hobby but I certainly have never built anything with one, any advice is appreaciated thanks.

Hi Randy,
If I'm reading right, I'm assuming the bellcrank is mounted on a rod and suspended in the wing. This is the common foam wing set up.
You can solder washers to the rod above and below the bellcrank or use wheel collars with JB Weld if you need to keep away from the heat.
There is a plywood plate, or spar doubler that the rod passes through and holds it in place.
HTH
Bill <><

>I thought I better ask some questions here, I recently have
>obtained the plans for the Baby Stuka that Leonard and Matt
>have produced, I have one question on its construction here,
>looks like they have a floating bellcrank, now I can see how
>it will work but not shure on this as I have never built
>anyting with one, if anyone might be able to clue me in on
>this would appreciate it here, I am not relaly new to the
>hobby but I certainly have never built anything with one,
>any advice is appreaciated thanks.

Basically the belcrank mount is recessed top and bottom and supported by the spars and the center sheeting. The easiest way to mount it is to use a rod the same size as the belcrank pivot and solder a washer above and below it for support. Then center the belcrank between the top and bottom supports (you can glue these in afterwards if you wish) and again solder a washer above and below to center the rod that centers the belcrank.

The belcrank thus "floats" and is not up against a mount in any way that can get in the way of the pushrod or the leadouts.

Hi, Leonard I am in trouble again on this plane, not real shure about the fuse contruction here, can you help, I hate to ask so many questions but it looks like the only bulkeads there are in this plane is the front one and one more, now I am starting to understnad using balsa here between the motor mounts, etc, I really hope you could help me out I am kind of lost on the front end of the baby or 1/2A Stuka here, just can't picture yet what has been done here, the plane is great very nice wings and rib pattern for them but this fuse up front is my problem, also what was the plane powered with I am thinking a Cox .049 TD should work but wanted to make shure on this also. Randy

Well, you are right. The fuselage is narrow and you don't need a lot of bulkheads. You do need clearance for the pushrod and elevator horns. The motor mounts should extend back to the wing and you use cross-grained basla between them from behind the engine back. Glue the motor mounts together in this way as a crutch, and it holds the entire front end together. This also becomes the "floor" for the tank compartment. You can notch the mounts a 1/6 of an inch in that "floor" area and then add a 1/16 sheet all the way across which makes a smooth floor area and also lightens the assembly slightly. We at one time had a complete construction article written up on it. It was supposed to have been a construction article for Flying Models, but in their switching around of things they "lost" it. We shall eventually redo and resubmit, but this has been placed on the back burner.

Essentially prepare the two fuselage sides. Use 1/64 plywood doublers in the front end. Note that they extend well behind the wing and are rounded in back so as to not have a sheer stress area. Build the wing and tail and add the controls. Build the fuselage crutch (motor mount assembly). Attach the crutch to one fuselage side. Then slide each fuselage side over the wing and attach the other side of the fuselage crutch. This makes a solid front end. Make sure the wing is centered approximately and bring the two sides together in the rear. The plans do not show it, but you can make a top crutch of 1/16 balsa and simply glue this between the sides. This will "square" the fuselage and keep everything accurate while you carve the fuselage top. If we were doing it today we would probably mold the top blocks rather than carve them. The fuselage bottom just uses flat sheeting. Note that the bottom is "pinched" more than the top in the bottom tail portion up to the tail wheel mount. This is similar to the way the Still Stuka was made. Everything else should be pretty well straight forward. The tank should be made removeable and to slide in from the front.

The original had a TD .051 in it and won a couple of contests that way. The engine was later changed to a VA, but any of the good 1/2 A engines (TD included) will do a good job.

Yessss, good stuff--I have been wondering about exactly the same things. Thanks