Circus Prince

Stuka Stunt Main Forum · 7 of 7 known posts recovered

Circlepilot · Dec 09, 2004 11:32 PM

Four years ago, while the club (R/C) I belong to was showing models at a craft show...I was showing C/L ships...An "eighty-two year old Kid" came up to the display and GAVE! me a C/L model with a McCoy .35. He said he built the model in the early fifties, flew it a couple of times, got married and hung it up and never flew it again. The airframe is in excellent condition and the engine shows no sign of being run. The silk span was shot and the fuel tank unusable (rust). There was a decal on the right wing which was in bad shape, but I could plainly read "Circus Prince." It also had a human figure with something on its head. I belive the letters PDQ were on the decal also. Question...Was there a Circus Prince in the group of PDQs? The model has a resembalance to a Flying Clown, but bigger, with a swept vertical fin and swept tip stab. Does anyone have a copy of the Logo? Drawings? I'm planning to restore it.

Circlepilot

elmores · Dec 10, 2004 08:16 AM

#1 source

http://www.clstunt.com/htdocs/dcforum/DCForumID1/11656.html

http://www.clstunt.com/htdocs/dcforum/DCForumID1/11469.html

http://www.clstunt.com/htdocs/dcforum/DCForumID1/10812.html

http://www.the.elmores.btinternet.co.uk/telmore.html

Bill Little · Dec 10, 2004 08:44 AM

#2 source

>Four years ago, while the club (R/C) I belong to was showing
>models at a craft show...I was showing C/L ships...An
>"eighty-two year old Kid" came up to the display and GAVE!
>me a C/L model with a McCoy .35. He said he built the model
>in the early fifties, flew it a couple of times, got married
>and hung it up and never flew it again. The airframe is in
>excellent condition and the engine shows no sign of being
>run. The silk span was shot and the fuel tank unusable
>(rust). There was a decal on the right wing which was in bad
>shape, but I could plainly read "Circus Prince." It also had
>a human figure with something on its head. I belive the
>letters PDQ were on the decal also. Question...Was there a
>Circus Prince in the group of PDQs? The model has a
>resembalance to a Flying Clown, but bigger, with a swept
>vertical fin and swept tip stab. Does anyone have a copy of
>the Logo? Drawings? I'm planning to restore it.
>

Hi Norman,
PDQ did make a Circus Prince. I have an original from 1963.

However it sounds like your plane, but it also sounds like it *might* be the Cicus King, especially since it has a McCoy 35.

The Circus Prince shared the Flying Clown wing, 27" if I remember correctly (the span that is, the planes does have the same wing).

The Circus KING, however, was a PDQ "answer to the Ringmaster (very similar wing), with a 40" WS and would be suitable for 19-35 size engines.

In short, the C. Prince was a 15 size plane, the C. King was it's "daddy". The guy might have just switched decals.

BTW: The Brodak website has a picture of the Circus Prince since they now produce it. Their's is identical in measurements to my original, I have both.

Bill <><

When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends.
Japanese Proverb

Tony G · Dec 10, 2004 01:35 PM

#3 source

Does anyone have a copy of
the Logo? Drawings? I'm planning to restore it.

Hi Circle, Barry has full sized CAD plans for the Circus Prince,
Circus King and other PDQ designs... http://www.controllineplans.com/frameset2.htm

Have a great time restoring/ building;
Tony

Bill Little · Dec 10, 2004 02:59 PM

#4 source

(snip)
> Does anyone have a copy of
>the Logo? Drawings? I'm planning to restore it.
>

Hi Norman,
I missed that part on the original post. However, my PDQ Circus Prince kit was missing the decal when I bought it new.

Barry Baxter has a great set of CAD plans for the Circus King that I do have. The more I think about it the more it sounds like a Circus King. A Circus Prince would be VERY difficult to fly with a 35. I know, I put a 36X in mine w/ Missle Mist and a 9-8 prop. Glad the tank was so small! LOL!!
Bill <><

When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends.
Japanese Proverb

Circlepilot · Dec 12, 2004 06:14 PM

#5 source

Check these pics: This is the subject plane. Put a tape on it...39.0" wing span. I removed all of the silk span and removed the bell-crank and lead-outs. Still haven't decided on what process I'll use to clean the "darn near" 0-time engine. Still haven't decided to fly it or display it...Well? is it a King or a Prince???

Circlepilot

Bill Little · Dec 12, 2004 06:45 PM

#6 source

Definitely, it is the Circus King.

Much bigger than the Circus Prince which was a 27" wingspan/constant chord wing (same as the Flying Clown wing).

Clean the McCoy 35, get a can of Duplicolor Ford Red engine paint to repaint the head after cleaning, (take the engine apart, clean everything off again and oil all the internal parts, especially the piston pin, it should move freely) and have fun!

From what I remember it will fly very much like a Ringmaster, maybe a *little* better.

Bill <><

"It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"
Abraham Lincoln