I built this plane for the FFML postal contest. While I finished the plane in time, I failed to get any flights out of it until 3 days after the contest was over. The original design was done by Walt Mooney and published many moons ago in Model Builder magazine.
Though the Andreason was not my first choice for a peanut scale plane to build, it was the design chosen for the postal contest. It was more of a fun contest, to allow master builders to demonstrate excellence and to allow a leg up for some of the less experienced builders. I fit more closely at the aft end of that sentance.
My plane was built very close to stock and I used the wood that came with the kit. Minor changes are as follows: I used Peck japanese tissue and I decided to hinge the elevator halves relatively close to the scale outline (without counterweights). I used a small scrap of polyester drafting film instead of bond paper for the upper cowling, and I used 1/8" square stock for the diagonal struts. I scraped the peck prop down to just over 1 gram and saved another 0.3 grams by snipping the prop hook as short as possible and omitting a winder loop.
I got it to glide in the living room and took the first possible opportunity to fly it outdoors. Weight excluding rubber and ballast finally edged up to 11.9 grams. My test sequence left a little to be desired, but I quickly had it flying with a dime for a nose weight and a scrap of 1/8" stick for a down thrust shim. I'll be reducing at least the down thrust on the next flying session, and I'll see if I can reduce some of the nose weight.
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