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Old 02-04-2017, 10:47 PM
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BEC BEC is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Auburn, Washington
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Quote:
Originally Posted by al_packer
Let's start with (3), because that's where the design started. I free-handed that shape on the nose cone lathe in Vern's garage, probably a year earlier, just making a shape that I liked. Then when the call for a new beginner's model came down, I picked the nose cone up off my kitchen table, grabbed an 18" length of BT50, and (1) cut it in half (shipping considerations for the final kit limited me to 9"). and stuck the nose cont on one end. The fins (2); well, I wanted the CP back fairly far for max stability, so a swept design was the logical choice. Straight tips meant the fin would be easier for the builder to cut from the balsa sheet, and the taper was for appearance and structural considerations. I drew a shape, then changed it to get the look I wanted and poof--I had something Vern would like.


Interesting about the nose cone. The BNC-50K was already in use on the X-Ray, Farside (not X), Cobra and Drifter....or was that the already-in-stock nose cone that was closest to your free-handed one when you started looking at actually producing it?

I've located the instruction sheet from my first Alpha kit....but of course the SP-25 is long gone.
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