"I became interested in the Mozhaiskii machine from reading an article in the April-June 1974 issue of NATIONAL AERONAUTICS, a quarterly publication of the National Aeronautical Association in the USA.

I was hooked and, in wanting to make a model of it, I first decided to try a glider made of card stock to see if I might learn something of what might be expected from this odd design.

Of course, I rather thought the original machine may have had a cambered airfoil, but decided to go with the flat plate, as shown in the article's drawings, as it was more stable (up to about 15 degrees angle of attack) than any cambered surface. To my delight the card stock model proved quite stable even with the tail set at the same incidence angle as the wing.  

In laying out the rubber-powered flying model, I decided to use power on all 3 props and to make them 4-bladed as well. The motor for the nose prop was contained within the fuselage, while the wing props were driven by motors suspended on motors sticks. These sticks were mounted beneath the wing surface and extended from the props forward to the leading edge. Rather short, but it helped to reduce the  ballast that had been added to establish the proper CG.

Glide tests of the model were okay, but not convincing. The turbulence of the three 4-bladed props were taking a toll of the airflow over the wing.

Winding the model took some time and deft handling. Launching the model was not too easy. The right hand was place between the fore and aft masts and their associated rigging. Thumb in the port propeller slot, 2 fingers in the starboard. This manoeuvre also restrained the outboard props after the removal of the winding stops.

The left hand held the propeller. An underhand launch was then effected at a slow trot. Extrication of the right hand without snagging was not always a success, but it was never disastrous. I had nowhere near the trepidation Mozhaiskii's pilot must have had!

The model never flew very high, nor very far, but it was very stable and showed no vices. I cannot recall it ever stalling.  Its flying speed was quite low and it usually landed with power still being delivered to the nose prop. The longest flight I recall was only about 30 seconds.

I tried to fly the model on power to the central propeller alone. The result was a long extended glide. The same held true when only the outboard propellers were powered. Power to all three was truly necessary for good flight, so it was indeed a trimotor.

I still have the model. It's quite crispy and a bit warped, so I doubt its airworthy any longer."