- I could of sworn I had a prop on here somewhere....
- Argosy 1.jpg (141.31 KiB) Viewed 4420 times
Hello from good 'ole Houston Texas!
Here are some details of my new AW Argosy. As a nipper back in the "old country" I lived on the approach path to the Bristol Aeroplane works at Filton. Imagine the aircraft I saw which regularly buzzed my house! Spitfires, DC-3s, Fairy Gannet and don't forget the Bristol Brabazon! I actually saw this fly over my home! Another one I remember was the AW Argosy. I remember seeing this aircraft at many RAF shows. So when I needed to build my next large model, I decided on the Argosy. It has an interesting plan form, and good proportions for an R/C model. And of course it was British!
Wings are foam core, which I cut using a home made bow and a transformer from a welding set! Consisting of two outer panels and a center section, the c/s carries the inboard engines (2x G-62) which are mounted at the front of the tail booms. The outer panels carry the out board engines (2x Thor 45). The nacelles are very long (turbo props) constructed from a wooden box shaped with foam. The nacelles carry fuel tanks, CD ignition, throttle servos. A tubular main spar runs the span of the C/S a secondary spar is mounted behind this. In the outer panels the main tube runs from the root rib out to the engine nacelles and is captured by a A/C ply rib berried in the foam. Wings are sheeted with 3/16th balsa. Outer panels are joined to the C/S with tubes that fit inside the wing tubes. Thus giving a double thickness thru the spars.
Fuse is simple blue foam and F glass. Tail booms are hand shaped from foam blanks and glassed. Tail group is sheeted foam. There are multiple channels made in the foam as required to route wiring etc...
For servos I am using 4 Hightec servos each one with 360 In/oz torq and built in heat sinks. 2 elevator and one each for the ailerons. Rudders use 175 In/oz torq Hightecs. All servos are metal geared. Throttle servos use standard Futabas, nose gear steering uses high torq metal gear servos.
In order the run the throttle servos we used two JR match boxes (or multi box) with independent power supplies.
Radio is 2.4 Ghz. Model used is a spectrum 9100 receiver. This has 4 satellites which give 8 antennas. Two batteries each one 2400 Mah. And a soft switch. This switch cannot fail. You can unplug this switch with the radio on, and it will stay on. I have never had the slightest problem using this radio system in a large heavy model! Be warned that the regular 2.4 spectrum receiver only has one satellite antenna and is NOT SUITABLE for a large model. As there is a line of site problem with the signal.
In the interest of keeping it simple and light the gear is fixed. I constructed it from the same metal tubing as the wing spars. It is fully sprung and as proven to work well.
Dimensions:
Span: 14 Feet
Length: 10'6"
Height: 4'
Weight 81 Lbs or 37 Kgs
Total engine CC is 214ccs (between 4xengs)
6 on board batteries
And so to the maiden flight. The nitty gritty the bottom line the end result anyway to get on with it,
to keep it simple (because I am pretty simple) I have no flaps, no expo, no dual rates dialed in, just strait stick and rudder! (Just yer 4 channels mate!)
Lined up into the wind and up with the throttle the Argosy leapt down the runway; 20 feet I rotate the nose and the Argosy climbs out. Airplane is climbing more like a Spitfire then a transport so back with the throttle and settle into an easy circuit at about 60% throttle. Two clicks of up trim and it's flying hands off. I was a little concerned about the effectiveness of the ailerons. As I had deliberately made them under size to reduce the chance of flutter and to keep the roll rate as gentle as possible. I need not have worried because they proved to be very effective. Coordinated turns are easy to make with the twin rudders in the prop blast. Aeroplane was stable as a rock from the moment of take off. And so to the landing. Standard pattern was flown. Lined up on final, back with the power to a high idle, the Argosy comes in on rails, whilst I bumped the elevator up to make sure it would flare, no problems there! Over the hedge and chop the throttle. The Argosy settles down like a feather, it being easy to hold it off with the elevator. All four engine were still running as she rolled out down the runway. Awesome!
You may watch the flight here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3oOUt8Miis
A second flight followed a week or two lather, which was just as successful. I now must obtain a weight waiver from the AMA as the plane is more then 55lbs in weight. I will then be able to take it around to local shows.
I hope you find this report interesting, I will be more then glad to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you John Norwood
