Flying Elevator...The "Flying Elevator" comes to us from Al Backstrom; it first appeared in Aircraft Age, April 1944. Thanks, Al, and Louis Bucalo, wherever you are. Author Bucalo heads his article with, "If you've got a tired feeling about the average model try this one on yourself for a refresher. It's a wrong-way job with the usual bugs efficiently sprayed out." We'll take your word for it, Louis! But the model is a canard as well as a pusher, sort of a double whammy. Looking at the plan, the structure is "hell for stout," built extra-heavy by today's standards. Sheet thickness need be no more than 1/16" for this model of only 15" wingspan. Strip balsa need be no more than 1/8"x1/16", except for the leading edge of the canard, which will take the brunt of any mishap. The tubular fuselage is of doubtful value. Once the turns have been put into the model and the prop is released at launch, there is no appreciable twisting motion on the fuselage (someone may very well shoot me down on this...Joe) to justify the tubular cross section but the instruction for making it is below. The power is four strands of 1/8" rubber; a stick fuselage that is 1/4"x1/2" should be able to handle it if you want to avoid the tubular hassle. Another thing to consider is the difficulty of accurately shaping the wire mountings to the necessary round configuration to fit the tubular shape of the fuselage. Putting in right-angle bends is far easier. Your choice. If the stick mentioned seems too weak for the four strands, reinforcements can be added without difficulty. Below are excerpts from the article to aid construction. It is possible that the model will be more comfortable with four strands of 3/32" rubber, especially if the balsa sizes are reduced as suggested. Go to Plan.

PIK-26...Thanks to Flying Aces Down Under and Lloyd Willis for this one, the PIK-26. The airplane is from Finland; it's actually an ultra-light cutie, powered by a 35 hp engine. Cruising at 105 mph, it sips 1.75 gallons of fuel per hour, a green-lover's friend - no? That figures out to 60 miles per gallon. With gasoline priced at $7 per gallon in Finland, hey, this is better than our US hybrids! Designer is Kai Mellen, who retired from Finnair, Finnish airline, after 35 years as a project engineer. In Finland the plane is known as "Mini-Sytky", roughly translated as "Little Buzzer." Stalling speed is less than 40 mph, complies with Finland's law. Construction cost is estimated at $12,000. Go to Plan.

Lloyd Willis' plan yields a model of about 17" wingspan. It lacks detailed information about wood sizes, landing gear construction, prop size, etc., so probably should not be attempted by beginners. Old timers (ye editor, for example), should delight in expressing their own philosophies in making changes. Your editor, for example, would eliminate half of the wing ribs if 1/16" sheet is used, but the greater number of ribs shown could be cut from 1/32" sheet and would make a nicer appearance. The low aspect ratio, though, would justify the three spars shown and 1/8"x1/16" leading and trailing edges. Dihedral of 1¼" is recommended, although the plan seems to suggest only 1".. Th landing gear should be OK with .031" music wire for the strut, faired with card paper. The pants are worthy of a good effort; they add much to the sporty look of the plane. The side pieces could be 1/32" sheet with foam plastic or very light balsa in between. The tail will lend itself to lightening up by using only half of the cross pieces and using 1/16" square balsa. A 6"plastic prop should work OK, powered by perhaps four strands of 3/32" rubber. These are only Windy Sock's suggestions; we welcome input on this subject. Google on "PIK-26" for more info and pictures. Click on "Images" for many photos, very interesting! Go to Plan