I originally planned to hold off on this posting 'til after the first flight, but... As you can see... I didn't.

I designed a 'very-near-perfect' scale Starship over the summer, based on a somewhat distorted 3-view I found (I have of course rectified the distortion...) and the framework is now nearly finished. It has/will have Fowler Flaps, mechanically sequenced nose gear doors, and scale var. geometry canard. To avoid tissue sagging issues, I plan to sheet most of the aircraft in 1/32" balsa, thus the light framework on the fuse.

Specs are as follows:

Wingspan: 37" +/- .5"
Wing Area: 160-190"^2 including canard, 240-280" with flaps extended, and canards in forward sweep. (Very approx. figures, the wing is a nasty thing to try calculating area on...)

Est. weight: 11-13 oz, RTF (The 13 oz figure is as bad as it could get, according to my calculations.)
Motors: 2x GWS Direct Drive, on 3"/2" props. (6-7 oz thrust, total)

Functions: Elevator, Ailerons, Throttle, Flaps/Canard sweep, Retracts (GWS).

Below is a picture of the craft as it is right now...
Please excuse the rotten image quality...

Luke
My Home Page




More pictures to come...

Temporary double-wheel in the nose position... Testing the fit of the retract unit... This will be replaced shortly with the correct single-wheel unit. Note also the canard pivot, mounted with two ply plates and stablized with balsa uprights (the large objects up in the nose, visible in the other pictures).

A shot before I started the canards.

Picture of one of the Fowler (sp?) flap guide rails.


Close-up of canard, looking towards tip. The small foil coming off the elevator is a (non-functional) trim-tab.

Last one for now... Top view.

Well...
Just weighed the airframe, and recalculated AUW, and it looks like I could just manage 10.5 oz, if I am very careful. We shall see...

IAD,
The Starship is truly a beautiful plane, and you've done a great job here!

I do have a concern though. The wing is quite long and thin (chord wise) towards the tip, and at the spot I've indicated, I believe that the wing will twist in flight. If the leading edge tries to lift or drop (as it WILL do) then there is only a single strip of wood to prevent this.

Dennis-

Actually, I have built wings similar to this, (not this complex, but high aspect ratio) and 1/32" sheeting has always served me well... Also, the LE will be quite a bit thicker when I finish... The installation now is actually a sub-LE, to allow for sheeting... I plan 4-5 laminations of 1/16" for the true LE.

I live north of the Raytheon (Beechcraft) factory and saw the Starship in flight many times. Great subject for a model!
I think they couldn't sell enough to go into full production.

FWIW, it had a distinctive sound in the air, almost like the sound of a diesel truck on the highway as heard from a mile away.

Don't forget the five bladed props!!!

Haha, I wish..! Could use the GWS EDF 5 blade, unducted, I suppose... Too small, to be scale, though...

Splendid news... After much effort, I have finally rigged the main-gear retracts in such a way as it doesn't torque the frame apart when I extend the gear... (i.e. low friction linkage.) I had read some horror stories about the GWS retracts, but it seems that it will work well here. I do get the geometric lock at full extension, and retraction is complete.

Now to skin the wing...


Oh, the servo mounting/wheel is not the final version..!

Front view. I have checked, and the linkage does not deflect under load... At least in the 'lab' so to speak... In the field... Might be another story.

Hi Luke, This has got to be the project of the year! I sure wish you the best. I saw one of these things overhead once, and I always wanted to model one, but I never thought that I could make it work. You will have to give us a lecture sometime about how to locate the CG on a canard, I have never been able to figure it out. Best wishes! Gus Morfis

You guys realize that if he gets this bird flying right, it'll be virtually stall-proof, right? Aicraft with such aggressive canards enjoy this benefit, and I think that the folks at Beech/Raytheon were banking on selling that decreased risk to reduce corporate insurance, and that would be one of the many motivators for corporations to purchase the 1:1 model.

I've seen that bird in flight numerous times - completely unique and futuristic. Hope all the best luck in the world to the builder!