Stunt Streak flies!

I try not to assemble new airplanes
during the flying season but my son's
Flight Streak ARF is now mostly
saw dust and glue and the writing was
on the wall. Time for a new plane.

[photo not recovered: 29669.jpg]

The Stunt Streak had it's first flight this
morning during light breezes and overcast.
My first impression was "It's a Streak!".
It might just be that familiar profile out
there on the end of the lines but after
several flights, I found that it flies like
Streaks do, hard turning and nimble.
It is just a bit bigger than a regular
Flight Streak (390 sq." - 42" span), having
a 45" span and 430 sq." area. It's 35"
long and weighs 38 oz ready to fuel.
The airfoil is pure 100% Flight Streak.

Because this plane is about the size of
a Twister, I decided to decant my NIB
Enya 5224 .35. This brand new old engine
isn't broken in yet but I think I'll change it out
for a LA .40. The Enya does get astonishing
fuel mileage, doing about seven minutes on
2 oz.!

[photo not recovered: 29670.jpg]


So you ask, "What about the flaps?".
Well, it isn't just the flaps.
With the long moments, big stab and
adjustable leadouts, and flaps, this plane
flys and tracks like a modern profile stunter,
but it sure turns tight!

Is it a Streak? You tell me.

Cheers!

Attachment #1, (jpg file)
Attachment #2, (jpg file)

> I try not to assemble new airplanes
>during the flying season but my son's
>Flight Streak ARF is now mostly
>saw dust and glue and the writing was
>on the wall. Time for a new plane.

This is a major problem in the south, flying season is 10-11 months of the year.

>The Stunt Streak had it's first flight this
>morning during light breezes and overcast.
>My first impression was "It's a Streak!".
>It might just be that familiar profile out
>there on the end of the lines but after
>several flights, I found that it flies like
>Streaks do, hard turning and nimble.

Nose weight and/or slower controls will tame the plane

>It is just a bit bigger than a regular
>Flight Streak (390 sq." - 42" span), having
>a 45" span and 430 sq." area. It's 35"
>long and weighs 38 oz ready to fuel.
>The airfoil is pure 100% Flight Streak.

12.73oz/sq.ft is a little high for this size plane


>Because this plane is about the size of
>a Twister, I decided to decant my NIB
>Enya 5224 .35. This brand new old engine
>isn't broken in yet. The Enya does get astonishing
>fuel mileage, doing about seven minutes on
>2 oz.!

Suprising if doing a 4-2-4 but should improve after 2-3 gallons of fuel. With plenty of oil(22%+) you will be able to swing a big prop with the Enya.

>but it sure turns tight!

See first comment

>Is it a Streak? You tell me.

Sure looks like one to me! I suggest you round off the fuselage edges. Will look better plus save weight. Picky, but this IS a stunt forum.

Nice streak
Carl

Perhaps you are getting a good milage on the engine because the muffler may be too restrictive?

Martin

[photo not recovered: 29745.jpg]

After a few more test sessions, the Stunt Streak is
beginning to look good. I'm including a couple more pictures
to help explain this design. I know that lots of people have and
will play around with the Flight Streak. Possibly someone
will benefit from my streaky experiments.

Martin, your comment regarding an overly restrictive muffler
made sense to me so I changed out the OS muffler to
a tongue muffler that works well on my LA.46. It is well
ventilated and a bit noisy.
The Enya now has about an hour of running and it is
becoming more predictable. The fuel economy is still
amazing! I was resenting the expense of extra castor
fuel but the Enya just keeps going and going on 2 oz.
I started with a 9 - 6 for break in then went to an
11 - 4 ASP and finally to the old standby 10 - 6 MA.
Running in a wet two stroke, with 5% nitro/25% oil
and the 10 - 6 the Enya pulls the Stunt Streak through
the pattern with authority.

Carl, thanks for your post and thoughts. I want to
respond to your comments now that I've flown this
design a bit more.

> Nose weight and/or slower controls will tame the plane


With the longer nose and tail the Stunt Streak is balancing
1-3/8" aft of the leading edge. The consensus here at SSW
is that this is about right for a Streak.
Gosh! The plane doesn't need taming. I'm congratulating
myself on how well it turns between dead straight sides.
Knowing that it's going to hammer the last turn in the hourglass
is a real confidence builder. The Hour Glass is my worst
manoeuvre but my best one so far was with this plane last
Tuesday.

>12.73oz/sq.ft is a little high for this size plane

Possibly. The plane floats around to a landing
and I find that I need to actively steer it down
before it runs out of air speed. This could be due to the
large flaps.

>Sure looks like one to me! I suggest you round off the fuselage edges. Will look better plus save weight. Picky, but this IS a stunt forum.

[photo not recovered: 29746.jpg]

As the photo shows, (I hope) the fuselage isn't solid.
There isn't any material to allow a larger radius.
The top and bottom edge is made of 3/16 and everything
else is 1/16" balsa. The maple mounts run all the way
back to the main spar (D tube). The entire 1" thick fuselage
is then covered with 3oz epoxy glass. I love epoxy glass
on profiles. It makes everything extremely stiff, fuel proof
and, since it only needs a bit of paint, very light.

Thanks again for your interest!
Cheers!