I build Rene's wacky Cox tri-motor pontooned tether car/airplane among other things

 You should install three .049 in my opinion this thing will take off  I would like to see it turn

What a great build!!! :-) Im with David on this one. 3 049 engines and fly it!! I would love to see it fly. Be like the footage of the spruce goose!! Its excellent how flying, tethering, RC, Cars, etc. modelling, building etc. brings so much pleasure to people. All the different parts of the hobby offer so much to so many, and it lets you keep your mind free and think of what might be possible and give it a go, just like a younger person would, and Im sure we all were once. Seeing your post takes my mind back to simpler times. :-) Thanks.

Yabby

Thanks all.  

Nah, it won't fly, way to heavy.  But, it should go round and round.  Maybe lift off the driveway an inch.  But, it is undergoing a weight reduction program so we will see, so I will give it a chance.  Find the sweet spot for the tether line right at the CG and let it go.  Going to take a week or so to finish it.  

Found some wheels, and three matching Babe Bees and some propellers.  Light rain when I went out to the garage, then a down pour.  Got caught there.

That's just awesome! Can't wait to see the finished build, although I already know it will be of very high quality.

Bob,
I'd be impressed to see it skipping around a nail on the ground!

Good job, keep up the pace.

30D41_Jim

rsv1cox wrote:Two rainy days and time to build this thing that I promised to build some time ago.  For some reason I'm attracted to it and Rene sent me the specs. so I have no excuse.

In keeping with it's appearance I found a couple of old 1X4's that once edged my lawn, that and some luan constitutes the major parts.

Got it all roughed out ready for final sanding then sealer and finish.  Thinking Corsair blue.  I'm just debating whether or not to airfoil the wings.  I fully intend to crank up three Cox Babe Bees tether it and round and round on the driveway and see what happens.  I think Rene's original has a babe bee and two .020's.  

Looking Good so far Bob!  Just to clairify, the Green Monster did come with three 020 PeeWee engines. Yours being made of recycled Lawn edging will probably need the 049's for the extra weight!  Can't wait to see it running. Kinda like Howard Hughs and the Spruce Goose.

Thanks Rene, that lead engine sure looks like a Babe Bee, I only have (I think) two .020's so I'm not familiar with them.  Is the original all balsa?

I got out early this morning.  Heavy rain last night washed everything clean. A cool forty F and a full silver moon hanging over the western ridge.



Set the arbor on the table saw to 4 degrees and cut a sacrificial piece to be sure I got the angle right and cut an airfoil on each wing. I think I left enough wood to mimic the original.  





Started on one pontoon, when it looks right I will use it as an example for the other.  This is a lot more fun than I thought it would be.  

Ok, this is going to cost me money!!!!! Hadn't planned on that with a hundred or so Cox .049's on the shelf.

After getting this ground hugging tether plane fleshed out I'm beginning to realize that three Cox Babe Bees will overwhelm it and it actually might get airborne.  Besides, the .049's sit to large between the wings.  







Checked what I have and yes, I only have 2 Pee Wees.  So, off to ebay where I bought the cheapest Pee Wee that I could find $36.99 at Red Baroness.  They sell cheap engines with no guarentees, but I have bought many engines from them and haven't found one that I couldn't get running.  

BTW, you guys are sure proud of these Pee Wees as common ones reach into the $60's/$90's and some into the mid two hundreds.  I never liked them, too fragile and won't fly the kind of models that I like to build.  

$36.99



This one with the anodized fuel tank will match up with Rene's plane.  I am thinking seriously about increasing the dimensions of Rene's plane by 20% and building another for the Babe Bees......wouldn't cost me anything.  

There is another option.  Drill the engine mounts for both .020 and .049 fuel tanks.  Start with the .020's then the .049's and let 'er rip.    

I'm thinking silver vice green/blue.

Rene..........is your's all balsa?

Interesting project…. It could easily fit in Ken Willard’s 8 Easy Projects for 1/A Engines!….. Would love to see a video of it barreling around in a tethered circle…. You’ll have to practice up on getting those engines running together….. Fun

My mom got me one of the last rtf Cox airplanes when I was in my early 20’s…. I think it was the Mantis…. Cheap little thing but I had fun with it …. I had just finished a 20 x 40 metal building and the concrete floor was still open….. I put together a pylon and flew it as a tether plane several times before the shop got cluttered up….. Took a few tries to get the elevator set right but once I did was quite entertaining on that short line….

You could use shorter propellers Is that the .049 tanks are too big? It looks like a plane already
I wouldn't be surprised to see it take off its posible It's a plane after all

I bet it’ll lift off with all three running!…. At least in ground effect….

My idea for a three position elevator control:



Drill three holes in the fuselage, center hole - neutral, front hole - down, rear hole - up.  Eyelet center/forward provides spring tension for the control rod keeping it in place.

Even have my handy dandy hinge slot cutter in place to cut slots for the hinges.  ......................Once I get this thing figured.



Could put the two .020's on the wings and the .049 on the nose.  Decisions. Yes David, I could use Cox three bladed props on the wings engines.

Does anyone have a link for Red Baroness ebay mentioned above for cheap non guarantee engines. I have never used ebay and have no idea howto. need to work it out I think.

Sorry this is really thread off topic. But a link would be great.

Thanks.

Yabby

Yabby wrote:Does anyone have a link for Red Baroness ebay mentioned above for cheap non guarantee engines. I have never used ebay and have no idea howto. need to work it out I think.

Sorry this is really thread off topic. But a link would be great.

Thanks.

Yabby

This will get you there, and yes, they do ship over-seas. Lot's of Cox engines there for less than $20 USD

https://www.ebay.com/sch/red-baroness2/m.html?item=353644211406&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

Thanks heaps!!

Yabby

Probably will be surprisingly fast on a fairly short line…. Which just adds to its character…. It looks fairly safe for the engines as well…. I know Cox engines have powered some pretty unorthodox contraptions over their history …. This is spot on…. What would be fun would be to show it to a “ non - model airplane engine” person”….”Oh, What a cute toy airplane “….. Crank it up and turn it loose…. Then would be “OMG”!!!!

Yabby wrote:Thanks heaps!!

Yabby

Whoops, while the ad says Ships to:
United States and many other countries | See details

On some engines they ship to USA only.

This is a lot more fun than I thought it would be. wrote:

That's different building with pine , somewhat easier sep for the sanding i would think . Looks/sounds like going to bee some fun for sure !

Yes, pine. Makes a mess cutting and sanding. Moved operations outside.

Roughed out an .049 version this morning by increasing all Rene's dimentions by an arbitrary 20%. I might have it finished before the Cox Pee Wee arrives. Went quicker than the .020 version, learned from my mistakes.

rsv1cox wrote:

Yabby wrote:Thanks heaps!!

Yabby

Whoops, while the ad says Ships to:
United States and many other countries | See details

On some engines they ship to USA only.

Word of CAUTION IF the seller uses EBay Global shipping...you won’t get your engine. Check before bidding.

getback wrote:   That's different building with pine , somewhat easier sep for the sanding i would think . Looks/sounds like going to bee some fun for sure !

What do ya think of that gorgeous lady-like white lattice under the shed Eric.  Beautiful ain't it.  

I'm sorry if I'm playing a broken record here guys, but I have never tackled one of these before and I'm enjoying it. It's not as if I'm screwing up a five dollar piece of balsa with these distressed 1X4's.

Lot's of table and band sawing today and I still have all my fingers, remarkable as a lot of these cuts are close-quarter stuff. I learned a lesson from my father many years ago when I came home from school and found blood in the kitchen sink and a trail of blood down the stairs to his workshop in the basement. He had cut off the tip of his thumb on the table saw and he and Mom were at the doctors getting it stitched up.

He didn't realize it, but he had taught me a lifes lesson. Served me well as I have spent most of my life around things that can either kill you right now or at least hurt you badly. Be careful out there.

Hard work done on the .049 version.

At least the tether airplanes are coming along.

.020 and big brother .049.  .020 has had sanding sealer applied, .049 has not.




Better idea for elevator control rod.  More choices in case one of these actually gets off the ground.