Beechcraft 17R Staggerwing RC biplane

Homemade RC airplane model

Materials: XPS foam 5mm (or Depron 3mm, 6mm) + balsa 2.5mm, aircraft plywood 2mm, Bamboo Skewers 3mm, UHU Por glue
Wingspan: 1180mm (46.5")
Flying Weight: 452g (16 oz)
Motor: MF2405-1300KV (28g)
Propeller: GWS EP 1047 (Slow Fly)
Receiver: FlySky FS-iA6 (7g)
Transmitter: FlySky FS-i6X ($45)
ESC: VGood 20A (17g)
Servos: EMAX ES9051 (5g)x2 and EMAX ES08D II (9g)x2
LiHV battery: 1100mah 2S 7.6V
Wheels 2,75"
Carbon Strips: 0.6mm x 5mm
Carbon Fiber Hollow Tube: 400x1.8x1mm
Nylon Control Horn with Clevis (0,52+0,34g):
Control Horn (0,5g)
for Beginner RC Pilots: 3 Axis Gyro Flight Stabilizer

Plans (templates)

Print in actual size (100%) A4 210×297mm or A3 297×420 mm 250g/m² paper Download PDF A1, A3 and A4 (€4) в pубляx

 

The American company Beechcraft is known to almost every aviation fan thanks to its successful V-35 Bonanza model with butterfly tail surfaces, of which over 11,000 units were produced.

However, the origins of the company date back to 1932, when Walter H. Beech opened an aircraft factory in Wichita, USA. That same year, on November 4, the prototype Beechcraft model 17 took off, which was later called the Staggerwing. The concept was a cabin biplane, a type very popular in the USA at the time. The first Staggerwings were equipped with a fixed chassis, the retractable ones were only given to later machines, whose serial production began in 1934. In civil service, Staggerwings were mainly used as travel and light transport machines. The airplane cabins were very luxuriously equipped. That is why the price of the plane was appropriate. In 1938, the Staggerwing cost $17,790.

Beechcrafts model 17 intervened in the battles of the Second World War, when they served with the US Air Force under the designation YC-43 and UC-43 for the transport of important personalities and as courier machines. Staggerwings also served in the British Royal Navy under the designation GB-1 and GB-2. Production for military purposes ended in 1944 after the production of 425 units. These were mostly D-17S versions.

A total of 7 versions of the 17 model were produced, which differed mainly in terms of the engines used, respectively their performance. Serial production of airplanes for civil use continued until 1946. Unfortunately, the number of all produced Staggerwings is unknown, but even today we can meet this type at many American airports.

Technical description

The Beechcraft D-17 was a four-seat, single-engine, mixed design biplane with negative sweep wings and two-wheel retractable spur landing gear.

The hull was a lattice structure welded from steel tubes. In the front part up to behind the cabin, it was covered with duralumin sheets, partly removable. The rest of the hull was covered with canvas. Access to the cabin was through an automotive-type door on the left side of the fuselage, behind which was a hinged luggage compartment cover.

The wings were all-wood double-beam construction. Fuel tanks were located at the roots of both wings, and undercarriage shafts were also located in the lower one. The wings were covered with canvas, only in the places of the fuel tanks with duralumin sheet. Ailerons were placed on the upper wing, electrically controlled flaps on the lower. The wings were connected by a simple profiled brace and reinforced with double steel cables. The angle of attack of both wings was +3°, the upper wing had no uplift, the lower one had uplift of 1°.

The tail surfaces had a symmetrical profile. Stabilizer and keel were classic all-wood structures covered with canvas. The rudders were welded from steel tubes and covered with canvas. It was equipped with balancing plates. The elevator was statically balanced.

Power unit. The D-17S version was powered by a 333 kW (450 hp) Prat & Whitney SB Wasp Junior R-985 nine-cylinder air-cooled radial engine with a metal two-bladed propeller. Some machines had the propeller hub covered by a cone. Other versions were powered by seven to nine cylinder radial engines with outputs of 166.5 kW to 333 kW (225 to 450 hp).

The landing gear was two-wheeled, electrically retractable, including a spur. The wheels retracted towards the hull. The undercarriage legs were equipped with oil-pneumatic shock absorbers and hydraulic brakes.

Coloring. From the manufacturer, the airplanes mostly came in a basic color scheme, differing only in the shades of colors used. The scheme consisted of painting the entire aircraft in one shade, complete with decorative stripes on the sides of the fuselage and the engine cover. The D-17S machine in the pictures on I. and III. the cover page of this notebook was all creamy yellow. The decorative stripes were golden brown, bordered by a thin red line. The license plate NC 67550 in golden brown was placed on the rudder. Staggerwings in service with the US Air Force flew mostly in classic livery. Upper surfaces olive green, lower light gray. The red-lined insignia were in the usual places on the sides of the fuselage, on the left half of the upper wing above and on the right half of the lower wing below. The yellow serial number was 9139 on the SOP.

Technical data (for the D-17S version): Wingspan 9.75 m; total length 8.33 m; height 3.43 m; bearing area 27.58 m2; empty aircraft weight 1167 kg; maximum take-off weight 1930 kg; maximum speed 325 km/h; range 1852 km; access 7930 m