Wings

I always had and still have a lot of interest in flying machines. I really do not know why but I can exemplify this interest with me possibly having spent months in front of the Flight Simulator by Microsoft while my counterparts were actually going on with the good old Counter‑Strike. Still on this day, that interest persists, and I am still looking for opportunities to jump on where I could work with anything that flies.

In this interest, I have first started making flying model planes during my middle school years. I used to buy kits of rubber band powered planes or gliders from an office of Turkish Aeronautical Association (TAA) in my hometown. When I say kits, please do not confuse it with kits which come with all pre‑cut parts with which all you do is to glue everything to each other. These were actually quite “hardcore” kits which basically offered plans, basswood in sticks and sheets, and rest was up to the maker: The way I liked it! The problem with these free‑flight models is that they fly so freely. Moreover, they were not very capable of smooth landings or obstacle avoiding maneuvers…  Probably in around a week upon completion, they usually ended up breaking apart beyond recognition in a collision with a tree or the ground. Bummer. After taking some break in the hobby, I decided to put an end to this misfortune. Upon receiving my first ever salary during my bachelor’s years, I went back to the TAA office (in another city this time) and bought myself a radio controller, and I was back on! But this time my planes were not going to crash! They still did though… This time I blamed not the free‑flight but either the weather or the gravity whichever excuse was applicable; never my pilotage though.

For this project, I have drawn the plans myself based on a rough plan/sketch of a scaled static model of the Canuck. It is a 4-channel model with roll/pitch/yaw and the throttle. During the construction, 3 different types of wood were used on different parts of the plane taking the weight-strength balance into account: Balsawood, plywood, and pinewood. Additionally some plastic parts were used especially in the landing gear and also the ailerons were hinged using cut-in-shape plastic bottle caps.

 

The covering of the plane and the handmade custom decals of the plane are made using heat-shrink covering material. The landing gear is made using steel wires of different thicknesses, and are supported by the design not to damage the fuselage or the rudder during the landings.

A proud comeback!