The Ply Moth Story Part II,

The twin conversion.

 

The wing of the Ply Moth was sheeted and very sturdy, so engine bearers in the wing was no problem. Here´s an engine mount ready to glue into a slot cut in the wing.

Björn's © 2002

 

The engine mounts glued to the wing. They are long to aid balance, and high to get enough ground clearance. The throttle servos are connected with a Y-cable.

The long engine bearers vibrated almost violently, and it was decided that reinforcing triangles had to be made. This is what the right hand side triangles look like, the left hand ones are bigger. These small pieces of 5 mm plywood really made a difference!

Rear view of the Twin Moth.

 

So, why do I use past tense writing about this nice model? Here´s the answer:   After a couple of tanks of fuel the engines runned happily, and flight was the next thing that came to mind... Nervous? YES! After fuelling and testing engines again for happy running, the model was released for it´s first flight. The accelleration was something to behold! Two 11" x 7" props give a lot of thrust! The Moth left earth after a few meters, and climbed fast. I started trimming as it was a little out, when I suddenly realized that I had no control! I hadn´t extended the transmitter antenna! I pulled it out as fast as I could, but too late! Stupid, stupid, stupid!!! Luckily nobody got hurt. The model? Well, the engines, along with the servos, and receiver battery survived...