Hi all,
here are a couple of pictures of my latest model, the Pussycat, designed by Dick Baxter. Plan is on outerzone: https://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=13226
The build was straight forward, after all it was designed for beginners, so good for me to build. I used a M4 nylon bolt as a nose bearing, trying to find a replacement for the Peck Polymer bearings. It seems to work fine, the only problem is to drill a straight hole ;D
I think it flies quite well and didn't need any additional weight for trimming. Rubber was a 25 cm loop of 3/32".
Here is a short video of the maiden flight:
Cheers
Alex
Some more pictures.
Nice flights, neat build.
It does fly well Alex - an old but very good design. How did you get on with that biplane you were having trim problems with?
Also I like your method of holding the balsa down on your building board - are those drawing pins through the flat sticks?
John
It does fly well in that gym. I wonder if you could get more turns on and a longer duration if you launched it while you were sitting on the floor - that would increase the effective climb space by at least 1 metre!
Thanks guys :)
John, for the biplane, I enlarged the vertical stabilizer but it still does not behave. It looks as if it flies well at only one speed and power stall if it is a bit faster. Next thing I want to try is to reduce the airfoil, which is maybe a bit excessive.
Jeremy, if you look closely at 1:03, I'm on my knees already :D
I was thinking to give a slightly more down thrust to make it climb slower. Could be good for another 5 seconds :D
Cheers
Alex
Quote from: OZPAF on May 09, 2026, 04:02 AMAlso I like your method of holding the balsa down on your building board - are those drawing pins through the flat sticks?
Forgot that, these a small neodym magnets through flat sticks.
Hi Alex,
Do you have a rubber striper?
A slightly thinner and longer rubber will kill the quick climb and provide longer duration.
If you make the weight exactly the same as the existing one you will have no balance or trim problems.
Just less power for a longer time
Make motors in 0,1mm thinner increments if you can and test.
Hi Baud great thinking on the nose bearing.
I bought a dremel drill press for situations like that. Still takes some gentlemanly patience and craftsmanship to perform the straight hole maneuver! Great going I am a Baxter nut myself having built the XP-51.
Hi George,
no wire stripper here, but that gets me thinking. I'm thinking in mm :D
I used 1/16" (1.6mm) and with that it won't climb. Then I used 3/32" (2.38mm) which is maybe a bit too much.
I can try two loops of 1mm of the same length.
Thanks for this idea!
Hi Crabby, yes, the XP-51 is really nice. I already looking at the F-100 :D
So simple and still elegant in my eyes.
Cheers
Alex
Great, try that.
But not same length, try same weight...
And more turns that way for longer duration
The Pussycat is a good flyer. Our club uses them for one design mass launches, without the landing gear. Indoors, you can use very light wood. You may end up having to scrape the prop blades to lighten it, thus moving the cg back.
Looking at the video, it might help the duration under low ceilings to use more than 650 turns and then unwind a bit. Or use a longer motor. If you move the rubber peg so that the middle of the motor is at the cg, you can use motors of different weights without having to change the trim. OTOH, if the prop is unmodified and the bearing is heavy, you may need the weight of the rubber behind the cg to avoid tail weight.
If you don't have a rubber stripper, and the size you're using seems wrong, you can play around with different props, adjust the prop pitch, trim the prop, etc. I think 3/32" is about right, though. A rule of thumb is that, if you wind a motor as tight as you dare, and back off half the turns, the model should fly level. That ought to be close, at least, for indoor flying. If it climbs, make the motor thinner or longer, increase prop pitch, use a larger prop, etc. And vice versa.