Jim Moseley's Mini-Hobbies Special

At the 2003 Flying Aces meet, held as usual at Geneseo, several of us noticed a small and
attractive little cabin model which was being flown by Jim Moseley. What took our eye particularly was
the remarkable stability and consistency of its' performance. Jim would just crank on the turns, and off it
went, handling the power burst very well, with a very rapid climb and a smooth transition to a flat but
quite fast glide back to ground. Jim is no slouch when it comes to trimming and setting up little rubber
models but even considering that, it was apparent that the little airplane was something out of the
ordinary.

Also noteworthy was the simplicity of construction. The two panel wing with no center section
or curved tips made construction and covering a breeze. The most complicated job looked to be the
soldered joint in the landing gear, but for all practical purposes binding the joint with thread and gluing
would be adequate for a reproduction..

The design was new to everybody, and as usual on such occasions, we confronted the builder
and asked him for details, where the plan might be available, and all the rest of the stuff.

Jim told us that the model was actually a scaled down version from a plan of a float plane that
appeared in the British "Hobbies magazine in the 1949/1950 period.. A small size facsimile of the
drawing appeared in SAM35 Speaks with the annotation, incorrect as it turns out, that the full sized
wing span was 24".

It was the drawing in SAM Speaks that took Jim's eye, and he made some pencil sketch
enlargements for a 24" span model, dropping the floats in favor of a wheeled undercarriage. There were
a few inconsistent details which surfaced during the process, amongst which were wood sizes larger
than usual, what appeared to be excessive dihedral (one of the only dimensions given) and a prop that
was pretty generous by contemporary standards for a small duration model like this. Jim reduced the
dihedral to a more normal figure, but retained the 9" prop as these days that diameter is by no means
unusual on an airplane of this size.

Well, the model was built and flown, and it was only after this that a correction appeared in
SAM35 Speaks to the effect that the actual wing span should have been noted as 31-1/2". This, of
course, explained the hefty dimensions of the lumber and the large amount of dihedral!
 Whatever the size of the original, the reduced size model is one of those happy creations which
surface from time to time, and which combine ease of construction with excellent flying properties. It
seemed well worth while to draw up the model, using a CAD program to overlay and scale the SAM35
copy to a 24" wingspan model, making adjustments to balsa sizes as seemed reasonable, and retaining
the 9" prop. Great care was taken to keep the outlines as accurate as possible. The floats were, of course,
replaced by conventional landing gear.

The prop proportions, not shown on the Hobbies drawing, are scaled down from one used by
Bob Copland on his 1937 Northern Star. The P/D ratio averages 1.5 and there is a little, about 10%,
washout towards the tips. Jim likes the NS prop and uses scaled versions on many of his rubber models.

Every plan drafter likes to tweak things a bit, and the writer is no exception. In this case,
however, the contribution has been to show a few additional and optional diagonal braces at the front of
the fuselage. This results from the experiences of a couple of nose in crashes recently. The suggested
members also help to resist the compressive forces from the wound motor.

A freewheel is required but since so many have their own preference for this it has been left to
the choice of the builder. Suggested prop shaft diameter is 3/64". A Gizmo 8" prop and front end
assembly would also be very well suited.

The model has been flown with 5 grams of 4 strands of 3/16" rubber which give a motor a tad
over 14" long after prestretching. 6 grams of 1/8" rubber made up into 6 strands has also been used. In
both cases a small Crockett hook was employed.

Present airframe weight is 27 grams without hook or rubber, and CG is at 75% of chord (with
motor) give or take a fraction.

Current trim on Jim's version includes 2mm extra incidence on wing mount, 0.5mm right thrust,
and an extra 1mm negative (shim on top of leading edge) on the stab. This may not be applicable to
others as as it depends on how truly the stabiliser and other components have been installed.

For convenience in downloading and printing, the drawings have been made as a series of sheets
which will print on legal size paper. The drawing frames are a constant 7-1/2" by 13", and this should
help prospective builders to get a correctly sized plan.

Pete Money
Parsippany, NJ.
 Leading Edge 3/16" x 3/16"
Dihedral Braces
Wing Rib. Spar 1/4" x 1/16" Hard Balsa
22 Required 1/32" Thick
1 Center Rib Required 1/16" thick
Center Rib
Stabiliser Rib
Wing Ribs 1/32" Sheet, Center Rib Only 1/16" Sheet Trailing Edge 5/16" x 3/32" 1/16" Sheet Tips
12 Required 1/32" Thick
Wing
2-1/4"
1" 7/8"
Wing Dihedral
7/8" 3/16"
5/16"
Wing Dihedral Brace
1"

Fin Outline
Except as noted: 1/4" x 1/16"
3 Required Hard 1/16" Sheet
Longerons 3/32" Sq. Balsa
2"

Sand Brace at LE to Blend Rib Spar Cross Members Ahead of Wing TE 3/32" Sq.
Crossmembers Behind Wing TE 1/16" Sq.
Diagonals shown dashed were

Match Line
1"

Diagonals 3/32" x 1/16"

not on original design but are Clear Acetate or Mylar
Sheet Tip recommended to improve
strength of nose. 3/32" Sq. Wing Runners
Wing Tip Construction 1/16" Square
7/8"
9" Diameter

3/32" Hard Sheet

3/32" Sq.
3/32" Sheet
1/16" dia. Dowels
5/8"

1-5/8"
1/4" 1/2" Tip Fins
3/32" Hard Sheet for 1/32" Sheet
3/16" dia. Rear Motor
3/32" OD Alm. Tubes for Landing Gear Anchor
Dimensions of Prop Blank
Retain with rubber band.
U/C from 1/32" wire. Leading Edge 3/32" square 1/32" Sheet, Top Only
Legs plug into Alm tubes
in fuselage.
Wheels 1" -1-1/4" Dia.
Bind with thin
Wire and Solder
Spar 3/16" x 1/16"
Bottom of Stab.
Stabiliser Tip Fin 6" Track Tip Fin Trailing Edge 3/16" x 16"
2 Required 1/32" Sheet Stabiliser
Jim Moseley's "Mini-Hobbies

Diagonals shown dashed were
not on original design but are
recommended to improve
strength of nose.
3/32" Hard Sheet
3/32" Sq.
3/32" OD Alm. Tubes for Landing Gear
Frame size 7-1/2" x 13"
Except as noted:
Longerons 3/32" Sq. Balsa
Cross Members Ahead of Wing TE 3/32" Sq.
Crossmembers Behind Wing TE 1/16" Sq.
Match Line
Diagonals 3/32" x 1/16"
Clear Acetate or Mylar
3/32" Sq. Wing Runners
1/16" dia. Dowels
Mini-Hobbies. Sheet 1 of 5
 Frame size 7-1/2" x 13"
1" 7/8"
7/8" 3/16"
5/16"
Fin Outline
1"

1/4" x 1/16"
2"

Match Line
1"

1/16" Square

7/8"
9" Diameter

5/8" 3/32" Sheet

1-5/8"
Tip Fins
1/4" 1/2" 3/32" Hard Sheet for 1/32" Sheet
3/16" dia. Rear Motor
Anchor
Dimensions of Prop Blank Rear of Fuselage
Mini-Hobbies. Sheet 2 of 5
 Frame size 7-1/2" x 13"
Leading Edge 3/16" x 3/16"
Spar 1/4" x 1/16" Hard Balsa
Wing Ribs 1/32" Sheet, Center Rib Only 1/16" Sheet Trailing Edge 5/16" x 3/32" 1/16" Sheet Tips
Dihedral Braces
Center Rib
Mini-Hobbies. Sheet 3 of 5
 Frame size 7-1/2" x 13"
Leading Edge 3/32" square 1/32" Sheet, Top Only
Spar 3/16" x 1/16"
Tip Fin Trailing Edge 3/16" x 16"
Rib Spar
Bottom of Stab.
Sheet Tip
Stabiliser Rib Wing Dihedral Brace
12 Required 1/32" Thick Wing Tip Construction
3 Required Hard 1/16" Sheet
Sand Brace at LE to Blend
Stabiliser Tip Fin
2 Required 1/32" Sheet
2-1/4"
Wing Rib.
22 Required 1/32" Thick
1 Center Rib Required 1/16" thick Wing Dihedral
Mini-Hobbies. Sheet 4 of 5
 Frame size 7-1/2" x 13"
U/C from 1/32" wire. Retain with rubber band.
Legs plug into Alm tubes
in fuselage.
Wheels 1" -1-1/4" Dia.
Bind with thin
Wire and Solder
6" Track
Mini-Hobbies. Sheet 5 of 5