Glossary (What is what in Modelling)

In this chapter you will find basic information on model building materials as well as on different configurations of aircraft. Many different looking planes and flying vehicles from all over the world will be mentioned, some probably hitherto unknown to you. Furthermore your attention will be focused on names of inventors, manufacturers, designers from all continents.

A lot of material worth to be listed here is still missing. Many essential headings are not yet to be found. Best will be when you consider ‘What -is-what’ as a work in progress. So seek for regular supplements.

Aerobatic aircraft: A type of aircraft used in competitions or at flight exhibitions. Aerobatic aircraft can fly thanks to their powerful engines upside down, fly in abnormal positions, stand still in the air for a while, paint smoke patterns in the air and run through a bunch of flight maneuvers other planes cannot do.
Famous aerobatic aircraft are Zlín Z-50, Aermacchi MB339, Sukhoi Su-29, Cap 10, Pitts S-2C, Extra 330SC.
Aerobatic gliders:
Aerobatic gliders have shorter wingspan than their ‘normal’ brethren and are built strong to withstand even abrupt maneuvers. Their glide ratio is lower than that of gliders designed for distance or thermic flight. Famous aerobatic gliders are DFS Habicht, Lo 100 ‘Zwergreiher’, Letov LF-107 Luňák, Pilatus B4 PC 11 AF, SZD 59-1 ‘Acro’, Margański & Myslowski MDM-1 Fox, Margański Swift S-1.

Aileron: Mostly a somewhat curved surface structure encountered on (bird and) aircraft wings, on horizontal stabilizers and on fins. The shape of these structures is usually designed for best possible ratio of lift to drag in flight. Many beginner airplane models, as those you will find in beginner.zones’s Series 1000, 2000 and 3000 use sheet wings without any recognizable airfoil.

Airscrew: See: Propeller

Amphibious plane: Also called amphibian — can take off and land on water just as on solid soil. Examples are the Consolidated Catalina, Grumman Duck, WNF Wn 11, Republic Seabee, Nardi FN. 333 Riviera, Piaggio P.136, Bombardier 415, Shin Meiva US-2, Harbin SH-5, AVIC AG600 Kunlong, Beriev Be-12 and Be 200.

Anhedral: See: Dihedral.

ARF (Almost ready to fly): A model category surely not represented on this website.

Assymetrical layout: Most aircraft are symmetrical just like birds but there are purposes for which an asymmetrical layout promises to be more advantageous. Airplane designers have therefore at a very early stage in the history of human flight built also asymmetric flying machines. Besides this fact many other aircraft are to a lesser degree asymmetrical as well. The reason is that the torque from the airscrew creates asymmetrical forces which have to be counteracted if straight flight shall be achieved. Therefore the airfoil of a fin can be made asymmetrical or the engine axle can be positioned some degrees away from the centerline or one wing half can be made longer or shorter than the other. These asymmetries are not recognizable at a first look. Real asymmetrical aircraft however stand out immediately. Some of the latter are: Gotha G.VI, Blohm & Voss BV 141, Savoia Marchetti S.M.92, NASA AD-1, Rutan Boomerang, Scaled Composites ARES.
Models: O.F.W. Fisher’s ‘X-AC-5’, Henry Cole’s ‘Asymmetrical Pusher’.

Autogiro / Autogyro: An aircraft very much looking like a helicopter, but with freely rotating rotor blades. Propulsion is provided by an engine which drives an airscrew just as on a conventional plane. The slipstream sets or keeps the rotor blades in motion which act thus just as wings would do. Autogyros cannot take off or land on a spot just like helicopters can.
The inventor of the autogyro or autogiro was Juan de la Cierva (1895-1936).
Examples for model autogyros are: Henry Struck’s ‘Cierva Autogiro’, Roy Clough’s ‘Sure Fire Autogiro’, Lou Garami’s ‘Garami Giro’, Hal DeBolt’s ‘Autogiro’ and ‘Giro V’, Ed Mazan’s ‘Autogiro’, Walt Musciano’s ‘Kellett Autogiro’, Emilio Cabezas’ ‘DC Gyro’, Fred Weitzel’s ‘Gyrette’, Ole Dan Nielson’s ‘Autogyro’, Jack Knoble’s ‘Pitcairn PCA-2 Autogyro’, John Stroud’s ‘RO49 Autogyro’, Bob Brown’s ‘Twin Gyro’, Georges Chaulet’s ‘Synchrogyro’, Jesus Ortega’s ‘Kellett KD-1A Autogyro’.

Balsa: Wood from a fast-growing tropical tree which is lighter than most other types of wood and is at the same time stiff or soft and relatively strong. Best suited for model building.

Balsa profile fuselage: A glider model fuselage or rubber powered model fuselage made of balsa sheet. Looks convincing seen from the side but less ‘real’ when you face it or look at it from above or below. More sophisticated models have 3D fuselages just like the real thing but accordingly require more effort and time to build.

Balsa putty: A filler material that covers and fills gaps, holes and irregularities on balsa parts. The putty is relatively light and when dry can be sanded smooth. Puttied areas can also be covered with Japan tissue.

Balsa sheet: Commercially available pieces of balsa wood, in the English-speaking countries usually sold at a size of 915 mm length and 75 mm width while in the metric world sold at 1000 mm length and 100 mm width with various thicknesses respectively.

Balsa sheet wing: A wing made of balsa sheet usually without any airfoil. This type of wing is the most primitive of all sorts of wings but easy to build and sufficiently effective for small models up to a wingspan of approximately 800 mm.

Bamboo: A grass variant which is a considerably versatile and very useful material for modelling purposes. Bamboo has high strength, low weight and is sufficiently hard. It is best apt for structural or stable parts on models as for example dowels or tailskids.

Batwing: Airplanes and models which resemble in their wing and fuselage layout the biological order ‘Chiroptera’ or more colloquial the bat.
Examples: Stout Batwing Limousine, McDonnell XP-67 Moonbat.
Models: Geoff Andriessen’s ‘Big Batrick’, Earl Clayton’s ‘Com-Bat’, J.W. Pickford’s ‘Dingbat’, L. Ellis’ ‘Komm-Batt’, Ken Kruchek’s ‘Original Flying Bat’.

Biplane: A plane with two pairs of wings – one pair above the other. This type of aircraft is usually associated with the era from the begin of motor flight to the years between the World Wars. Take for example the Wright Flyer, Santos Dumont 14-bis, John Duigan biplane, Ansaldo A.1 Balilla, Oeffag C.II, Anatra Anasal, TNCA Series C Microplano Veloz, Vejayanrangsrit Boripatra, Muniz M-9 or Nuri Demirag Nu.D.36, Hopfner/Hirtenberg HM.13/34. Biplanes that still fly around today are De Havilland Tiger Moth, Stampe & Vertongen SV-4, Polikarpov Po-2, Boeing Stearman, Christen Eagle, Ultimate Aircraft 10 Dash and Antonov An-2.

Biplane gliders: Have been a common sight in the early years of aviation but are a rare sight now except for hang gliders. Even model builders did not put in much effort in developing further this configuration.
Examples: Chanute biplane glider, George A. Taylor’s biplane glider, Otto Lilienthal’s biplane glider, Wright Brothers biplane glider, Corcoran 65-1, ‘Easy Riser’, ‘Sandlin Bug’.
Model examples: Jacques Bluzat’s ‘La Libellule’, Austin Rinaldi’s ‘Double-Decker’ and ‘Dreamer’, ‘Bi-Baby’ in Flying Models September 1956 issue.

Birdwing: An airplane or model wing that comes in its shape close to the silhouette of a bird’s wing. Aircraft with such wings were the most common in the skies above central Europe prior to World War I. They were all called ‘Taube’ which is the German word for dove. Examples: Etrich Taube, Rumpler Taube, Jeannin Stahltaube, Gotha Taube.
Taube models: Nick Ziroli’s ‚Taube‘, Ideal’s ‘Taube Monoplane‘, Richard Wegener’s ‘Taube‘.
Other bird wing model designs: Charles H. Grant’s ‘Bird Glider’, Paul del Gatto’s ‘Blackbird’, Jack Edwards’ ‘Bluebird and Hawk’, Pres Bruning’s ‘Gone Goose’, Bob Harold’s ‘Electric Seagull’, F. Klement’s ‘Emma’, G. Lang’s ‘Roter Milan‘, Nick Cook’s ‘Golden Eagle’.
For models with flapping wings see: Ornithopter models.

Blended body/Blended wing body: A type of plane on which it is difficult to distinguish between wing and body (fuselage). Both, fuselage and wings, seem to be one unit. Everything is smoothly blended together. Blended wing designs may be tailless or not tailless. Drag on this type of plane is reduced to a minimum, as each section is designed to give maximum lift.
Examples for this concept are the Westland Dreadnought, Miles M.30, McDonnell XP-67, Burnelli CBY-3 Loadmaster, Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, Rockwell B-1 Lancer, Tupolev Tu 160, Northrop Grumman Bat, Boeing X-45 and X-48, NASA N3-X.

Boxwing: See: Closed wing

Butterfly models: An early attempt to build a helicopter model by S. Dandrieux in 1879. Has a rubber motor with airscrew sitting on a small fuselage that integrates a butterfly-type wing. See also: Helicopter models.
Example: Walt Mooney’s ‘Dandrieux Butterfly’.

Canard: An aircraft type that has the empennage in its front and the main wing in the rear. This configuration has some aerodynamical advantages compared to planes we look upon as normal. Canard was the concept the fathers of human flight, Wilbur and Orville Wright, as well as aviation pioneers Santos Dumont and Louis Blériot successfully introduced.
More modern designs are Ambrosini SS.4, Curtiss-Wright XP-55 ‘Ascender’, Kyushu J7W1 ‘Shinden’, Lockheed L-133, MiG-8 ‘Utka’, Aviafiber Canard 2FL, Grumman X-29, Gossamer Albatross, Beech Starship, Rutan Vari-Viggen and Long-EZ, IAI ‘Lavi’, Shenyang J-15, Sukhoi Su-37, Saab JAS 39 Gripen, Dassault ‘Rafale’, Velocity XL, Oaxaca Aerospace Pegasus PE-210 A.
Models: Lawrence Shaw’s ‘Junior Birdmen No4 Twin Pusher’, Grant Logan’s ‘Outdoor Pusher Glider’, Bill Tyler’s ‘Back Porch Pusher’, Alan Orthof’s ‘Just Pusher’, ‘Indoor Pusher’ in Flying Aces September 1943 issue, A. Watteyne’s ‘Velivole Canard’, HA Thomas’ ‘Canny Canard’, Paul Del Gatto’s ‘Canard Cutie’, ‘Parlor Pusher’ and ‘Cub Canard’, Bill Hannan’s ‘Blériot Canard No 25’, Israel Baran’s ‘Canard Drop-Off’, Benno Sabel’s ‘Canard 1912’, Giulio Dorio’s DG 146B Canard’, Jean-Marie Piednoir’s ‘Petit Canard’, Avinash Panchal’s ‘Canard RM-12’.
Canard designs in beginner.zones’s program are:
# 1018 Cauquén Magallanico glider >>>
# 1019 Barvaz glider >>>

Catapult glider model: Mostly light, small and simple models that are very well adjusted for extreme acceleration and gentle gliding as they are shot up in the air by a slingshot and thereafter glide back to earth. Catapult gliders have a hook for the rubber of the slingshot which can be incorporated in the fuselage (same material) or be made of piano or steel wire.Models of this type are well suited for beginners.Examples: Jack Arnould’s ‘Boeing B-47’ John Blankenship’s ‘A-4 Skyhawk’Roy Clough’s ‘F-111’Contest Kits’ ‘XC 4’ Ernest Copeland’s ‘Whisper’ Bill Dean’s ‘Sabre’ and ‘Space Scooter’Paul Del Gatto’s ‘Canard Cutie’ and ‘Cata Baby’ Charles H. Grant’s ‘Bird Glider’Bill Hannan’s ‘Akrobat’J.E. Hart’s ‘High Speed Delta’ Dave Higgins’ ‘ Beamsbox’Jetco’s ‘Thermic Trio’Keil Kraft’s ‘Comet’Larry Kruse’s ‘Space Shuttle Columbia’ Bob Linn’s ‘Super Sabre’Ray Malmstrom’s ‘Moon Rocket’ and ‘Concorde’ B.A. Manners’ ‘General Dynamics F-16’ Chuck Markos’ ‘Mini Catapult Glider’ Bruce Matthews’ ‘Lawn Dart Mk III’Dennis Norman’s ‘Slingshot Thunderbird’ H.A. Thomas’ ‘ Whizzie Cat’Dave Thornburg’s ‘A-J Interceptor 404’ Frank Zaic’s ‘Thermic 20 Early’‘Arbalete’ in Aeromodeller July 1963‘Flying Wing’ in Young Men February 1956 ‘Swinger’ in Meccano Magazine February 1968

Center of gravity (CG): An essential item in model design. The correct determination of the center of gravity on a model decides whether it will fly or flop. There is an approxi-rule that the proper CG on a model lies at a point in the vicinity of one third of wing depth. But experimenting is indispensable.

Channel wing: This principle was developed relatively early in the history of human flight by Willard Ray Custer. Depending on having one or two engines the center section of the wing consists of one or two half tubes which house at the rear end engine and airscrew. Wing outer sections of channel wing planes wings usually resemble very much the respective parts on traditional airplanes. They have ‘normal’ airfoils and ailerons.
Examples for this principle are: Custer Channel Wing CCW-1 and CCW-5, Rhein Flugzeugbau RF-1, Antonov Izdeliye 181 Experimental.
Models: Experimental Channel Wing (Air Trails, October 1951 issue), Roy Clough’s ‘Channel Winger’, Tom Stanton’s ‘Channel Wing Plane’.

Chuck glider: A rather simple form of a glider, most often made from balsa sheet material. Other than catapult gliders these models are thrown with a certain momentum by hand into the air.
Chuck gliders are well suited for beginners.
Examples (wingspan 30 in or less):
Will G. Aaneby’s ‘Knotten’ and ‘Lyn’
Australian Balsa’s ‘Whistler’
John Barker’s ‘Misguided Missile’
Salem Barrack’s ‘Jakie II’
George Bechtel’s ‘Primary Glider’
Mark Bee’s ‘Swarm of Bees’
D. Bewer’s ‘Pterodactyl Glider’
Rodrigo Burgo’s ‘Leprechaun HLG’
John Buskell’s ‘Proteus and Orpheus’
Peter Casson’s ‘Bicep Builder’
Mike Chapman’s ‘Thermal Scout’
Peter Chinn’s ‘5 Giant Steps, Project 1’
Roy Clark’s ‘Monster’
Earl Clayton’s ‘Slinger’
Alfred Cleave’s ‘Doonie Glider’
Vern Clement’s ‘Sailaway’
A.M. Colbridge’s ‘Hamilcar’ and ‘Slingsby Falcon III’
Comet’s ‘AYA-1 Glider’
Martin Cowley’s ‘Gold Rush’
Bill Dean’s ‘Spook’, ‘Vega’, ‘Sabre’, ‘Space Scooter’
Paul Del Gatto’s ‘Blackbird’, ‘Tiny Tandem’, ‘Winsome Wing’
Bill Dixon’s ‘Spanish Fly’
John H. Dixon’s ‘Indora’
Bob Duffield’s ‘ITCCC Formula Glider’
Frank Ehling’s ‘Thermic Dart‘, ‘Tiny Tailless Glider’, ‘Whatsit’
J.T. Ellison’s ‘Vi et arme’
Eric Ericson’s ‘Defender Glider’
Frog’s ‘Wasp‘
Charles H. Grant’s ‘Bird Glider’
Bob Greaves’ ‘School Chucky Phantom’
Bill Hannan’s ‘Mini Hang Glider’
Ian H.V. Hayes’ ‘HY-5’
Jack Headley’s ‚F-18 Hornet‘
Joe Hervat’s ‘Outdoor Glider’
Humbrol’s ‘Ladybird’
Lloyd Hunt’s ‘Me 163’
Jetco’s ‘Thermic Trio‘, Thermic 18‘, ‚Thermic B’
E. Walter Junker’s ‘Whirly’
Jiri Kalina’s ‘Czech Glider’
Jorgen Korsgaard’s ‘Polly 2‘
Keil Kraft’s ‘Polaris’
Andy Kunz’ ‘Corona Hawk’
Paul Lagan’s ‘Papanui Tavern’
Bob Larsh’s ‘A IHLG’
Keith Laumer’s ‘Whizler’
Grant Logan’s ‘Outdoor Pusher Glider’
Megow’s ‘Sailplane’
K.J. Miller’s ‘Iambus II’
Richard Miller’s ‘Omega 2’
Don Monson’s ‘Convair F-102 Delta Dart’
S. Nadelbach’s ‘Whirlaway’
Hugh O’Donnell’s ‘Indoor HL Glider’ and ‘Platero’
John O’Sullivan’s ‘Sparrow’
Walt Olsen’s ‘Screamin Demon’
Kim Orr’s ‘Dynaic Trio’
Giorgio Peressini’s ‘Grumman Wildcat’
George Perryman’s ‘Whistler’
Bob Pione’s ‘Mrs Beasley’
PKE’s ’Jimmy‘
Larry Renger’s ‘Boxy’
Austin Rinaldi’s ‘Dreamer’
C.A. Rippon’s ‘TTFN’
Frank Scott’s ‘Saab Viggen’
John Sheppard’s ‘Chuckaway’
Tony Slater’s ‘Slarmi’
Vic Smeed’s ‘Asteroid’
E. Soehren’s ‘Skyscraper’
John Stockbridge’s ‘Sailor Boy’
John Stockwell’s ‘Zoom-Aire’
Curtis Taylor’s ‘Skeeter Hawk’
Werner Thies’ and Willi Rolf’s ‘Ente’
M. Turner’s ‘Bomark’
W.F. Tyler’s ‘Air Youth Glider No. 1’
Randy Wallingford’s ‘Back Pocket Plane’
Ron Warring’s ‘Model 1’, ‘Model 2’, ‘Model 3’, ‘Model 4’
Alan J. Webber’s ‚Yellow Bird’ and ‘Yellow Bird 13’
Lothar Wonneberger’s ‘Wurfgleiter’
George Woolls’ ‘Kinetic Energy Chuck Glider’
John Zaic’s ‘5 Gliders HLG’
‘Bi-Baby’ in Flying Models September 1956
‘Chick and Czeck’ in Aeromodeller May 1966
Most of beginner.zone’s Series 1000 plans >>> are for chuck gliders.

Circular wing: A wing shaped like a disc or a circle. Some circular wing aircraft as the Nemeth Circle Plane, Sack AS-6, Sukhanov Discoplan 1 and 2, Roy Clough’s ‘Parasol Plane’, Alan Wooster’s ‘Peanutball’ have fuselages, others have not and look more like saucers as the Avro Canada Avrocar/VZ-9Av or the Moller M200G Volantor while the planform of a third kind resembles more a flying kidney than a disc as seen on the Vought V-173, Vought XF5U Flying Flapjack, F. G. Birden’s ‘Floating Kidney’. A fourth kind are spinning circular wings – see: Disc wing. or Flying saucer

Closed wing / Boxwing / Jointwing: Aircraft of this type have two wings, which are connected one to the other at their tips. Some Box- or Jointwingers resemble biplanes while others have wing and horizontal stabilizer form a flat (horizontal) ring or a geometric rhombus. As wing tips are an important source of drag this design intends to reduce this drag. Closed wing aircraft can have box wings, rhomboidal wings, ring wings, cylindrical wings, flat annular wings or have concentric wing and fuselage.
Examples are: Blériot III and IV, George Tilghman Richards annular monoplane, Sukhanov ‘Koltseplan’, Heinkel ‘Lerche’, SNECMA Coléoptère, Ligeti Stratos, FlyNano Nano, Narushevich OW-1 annular wing aircraft, AOK Spacejet, Lockheed Concept Ring Wing Airplane, VTOL Aerospace Converticopter, NASA Box Wing, IDINTOS.
Models: David Boddington’s ‘Lee Richards Annular Monoplane’, Richard Halfpenny’s ‘Lee-Richards Annular Monoplane’, Bill Warner’s ‘Lee Richards No3’, George Woolls’ ‘Ace of Diamonds’, Ken Willard’s ‘Flying Diamond’, John Reid’s ‘Jack O Diamonds’, E. Vollmer’s ‘Betty’, Roy Clough’s ‘Hoopskirt’ and ‘Ringer’.

Control line flying (C/L): A simple way to control a model is by a handle and a pair of lines which connect the model with its operator. The handle incorporates a mechanism that allows control of the model’s elevator and on more sophisticated models the control of even more functions.
The model accelerates, takes off and flies around its pilot who closely observes its reactions. As the fin of the model is bent outward the model flies steadily with a tendency away from its path determined by the length of the lines. Control line models can fly aerobatics as well.
Another name for control line flight is U-control flight.
A form of not controlled line flying is Round-the-pole flying (RTP). See there.

Cruciform rotor wing: Also called X-wing rotorcraft. See there.

Cruciform tail: Horizontal stabilizer and vertical stabilizer form a cross when seen from behind.
Examples: Consolidated Catalina, Dornier Do 335, Gloster Meteor, Northrop YC-125 Raider, MiG-15 and 17, Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck, Hawker Hunter, Sud Aviation Caravelle, de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter, Canadair Cl-215, PZL Bielsko SZD-50 Puchacz, Dassault Falcon 20, British Aerospace Jetstream 31, Solar Impulse 2, Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner, Rockwell B-1 Lancer.

Cruciform wing: An arrangement of four individual and identical wings which seem to form a cross when faced or looked at from behind. Many rockets or missiles use this principle to stabilize their flight. Some even bear the designation ‘Cruciform wing weapon’ (CWW). There are other missile types which incorporate not only cruciform wings but additionally a canard foreplane.

Cylindrical wing: See: Closed wing.

Delta wing: A triangle shaped wing. As the Greek letter delta resembles a triangle it was chosen to name this type of aircraft. Smaller models with delta wing fly more stable when the wing profile seen from the side looks like a flat lying letter S. Better known delta wing designs are Vickers Vulcan, Saab Draken, Convair F-102 Delta Dagger, Dassault Mirage, IAI Kfir, Concorde and the Rogallo wing hang gliders. See also: Rogallo wing.
Delta wing design in beginner.zone’s program:
1007 Shahed 136 glider >>>
1010 MiG-21 glider >>>

Diamond wing: See: Closed wing.

Dihedral: The upward angle of the wings seen from a horizontal axis. The wings form a slight V seen from behind or facing. V-shaped wings make real airplanes just like model planes more stable in the air.
Aerobatic aircraft have only a little or no dihedral at all.
Anhedral which is when the wing tips point downwards is the opposite to dihedral but has the same function. Anhedral wings can be found on large transport planes, bombers and reconnaissance aircraft.

Disc wing: A circular wing that spins around a central axle.
Model examples: Roy Clough’s ‘Spinning Disc Saucer’, Ernst Skirde’s ‘German Saucer’.

Double X-wing: Principle especially used on loitering munition or on suicide drones. Craft has eight wing halves in the shape of the letter X, either one X behind the other or one X-wing with a cruciform empennage. Examples: ZALA ‘Lancet’, ZALA Aero Izdeliye-55, IAI Point Blanc (‘Roc-X’).
Double X-wing designs in beginner.zone’s program are:
1026 Eightwinger Double-Xer glider >>>
2009 Eightwinger Double-Xer rubber >>>
3026 Eightwinger RPU >>>

Drag: A retarding force the surrounding air exerts towards bikers, cars, boats, airplanes or everything else set in motion. Drag is weak when you move slowly but it increases when you accelerate.

Ducted Fan: An airscrew mounted within a cylindrical tube or barrellike body. Ducted fans can be used on airplanes for propulsion or on VTOL craft and drones for ascending and flying. Efficiency of a ducted fan is higher than that of an unducted propeller. Ducted airscrews on models can be powered by ignition engines, electric motors and even by rubber bands.
Examples: Bertrand ‘Unic No 1 RB’, L.A. Brissart Aéroplane, Parisano Paraplane, Fernando Gallego (Patente 125936 OEMP), Stipa-Caproni, Doak VZ-4, Lippisch-Collins Radio Company Aerodyne, Nord Aviation N 500 Cadet, Bell X-22, Piasecki X-49, Dornier Aerodyne, Rhein-Flugzeugbau Fantrainer, Miller JM-2, Rutan Long-EZ-‘Duckt’, Edgley EA7 Optica, Dowty Rotol-Britten-Norman Ducted Propulsor, Oaxaca Aerospace Pegasus PE-210 A.

Elevator: A hinged surface on the trailing edge of the horizontal stabilizer of an airplane which makes the aircraft nose go up or down.

Elevon: A hinged surface on the trailing edge of the wing of a tailless design or an airplane with delta wing. It combines the functions of elevator and ailerons.

Elliptical wing: Wings with elliptical planform. Semi-elliptical wings incorporate a straight leading edge and an elliptical trailing edge.
Examples: Pegna ‘Rondine’, Bäumer Sausewind, Heinkel He 70, Aichi D3A, Weiss Manfréd WM-23 Ezüst Nyíl, Hawker Tempest and Fury, Supermarine Spitfire, Swift Aircraft Swift, SULSA UAV.
Models: Matt Keveney’s ‘Old School’, F. Reiss’ ‘Adler’, Jack Leadbetter’s ‘Veronite No 1’.

Elytroplan: An aircraft type which looks like a flying wing with a spread vertical surface on a mast. Other elytroplans have a smaller second wing with a steep angle of attack on a short pylon ahead of the main wing. Charles de Rougé (1892-1983) is considered the inventor of this configuration and has from the 1930’s on developed and built some different types of elytroplans.
Models: Jacques Bluzat’s ‘Elytroplan’, Charles de Rougé’s ‘Elytroplan’ (model).

Empennage: The stabilizing surfaces usually in the tail section of an airplane. Canards however have their empennage in the nose section. On a tandem wing plane there is no ‘classic’ empennage as the rear or front wing acts as an empennage.

Fin: In colloquial American English a five-dollar note and in the world of flight the non-moving part of the vertical tail surface of an airplane. The fin provides directional stability and can counteract the forces created by the propeller. Canards have their fins either on their wings or on the empennage or on the fuselage.

Fixed wing aircraft: What is generally understood as aircraft has fixed wings. The opposite to fixed wing craft are rotorcraft as for example helicopters or autogyros.

Flaps: Hinged surfaces on the trailing edge of the wing which divert the air downward. Extended flaps can increase lift on takeoff or increase drag on landing.

Flex wing: See: Rogallo wing
Model examples: ‘Flex Wing’ in Meccano Magazine April 1968 issue, S. Salmon’s ‘Flexi Foil’.

Floatplane: Planes that take off from and land on water are either floatplanes or flying boats. Main difference between both categories lies in the form of their fuselages. The hull of a flying boat is shaped like a and functions as a boat, while floatplanes rest on two or three floats that come in contact with the water. Many landplanes as for example the DHC-2 Beaver can be modified into floatplanes by installing suitable floats underneath their fuselages.
Other remarkable Floatplanes are the Macchi M.C. 72, Cant Z.506 Airone, Cant Z.511, Loire 130 and 210, Dewoitine HD.780, Supermarine Spitfire Vb Floatplane, Mitsubishi F1M ‘Pete’ and Nakajima A6M2-N ‘Rufe’, Douglas DC-3 Floatplane, Beech 18 Floatplane, DHC-6 Twin Otter Floatplane.

Flying boat: See above: Floatplane.
A famous flying boat and amphibious plane as well is the Canadair CL-415/Bombardier 415/De Havilland Canada DHC-515.

Flying saucer: Model examples: Roy Clough’s ‘Flying Saucer’, ‘Minislot’, ‘Spinning Disc Saucer’, ‘Venusian Scout’ and ‘Zoomslot’, George Harris’ ‘Sassy Saucer’, Ernst Hiller’s ‘UFO’, Paul Del Gatto’s ‘Satellite Saucer’, Ray Malmstrom’s ‘Saucerer’, Leche Model Engineering’s ‘Flying Saucer’, Ray Millard’s ‘Spinneroo’.

Flying wing: A category sometimes also called tailless. An Aircraft without ‘typical’ fuselage and with no tail section. All what is needed for take off, flight and landing is incorporated in the wing structure itself as a special airfoil lends the necessary stability. Some flying wings have vertical stabilizers some have not.
Flying wings were studied and built in many countries. Well known are design bureau names as Northrop, Cheranovsky (BICh), Kalinin, Horten, Lippisch, Vought, Fauvel, Sukhoi (Okhotnik). Lesser known but no less interesting are the flying wing designs Turk Hava Kurumu THK-13 and I.Ae. 34, I.Ae. 38, I.Ae. 41.
See: Tailless

Forward swept wing: Most aircraft have straight (unswept) wings or swept back wings but a few have their wings swept forward.
Examples: PWS Z-17 ‘Sęp I’, Belyayev BP-2, Belyayev DB-LK, Cornelius XFG-1, Tsybin LL-3, Convair XB-53, Let L-13 Blaník, Schleicher ASK 13, HFB-320 Hansa Jet, ARV Super2, Sukhoj Su-47.
Models: Frank Ehling’s ‘Little Swoosh’, Brent Reusch’s ‘Goose’ and ‘Super Goose’.
Forward swept wing design in beginner.zone’s program:
1020 Forwardswepter glider >>>

Free flight (F/F): Free flight models can be gliders or can be powered by rubber or electric motors or combustion engines or even by rocket motors. Free flight models fly un-controlled by mechanical or electro-magnetic means. Their flying path is only influenced by phenomena of the weather, as for example strength of the wind and thermals.
See also: Catapult glider models, Chuck gliders, Hand launched gliders, Towline gliders.
All beginner.zone designs of the series 1000, 2000 and 3000 are free flight models.

Fuselage: Usually the hollow tube-like central structure or main body of an airplane housing pilots, passengers, freight or weapons. Attached to the fuselage are wings, empennage, powerplants.

Glider: Mostly motorless airplanes that use currents of rising air (thermals) and other weather phenomena to stay aloft. Endurance of gliders or sailplanes can last hours while at the same time they can cover great distances. There are different types of gliders. Some are made for leisure, sport, competition and others for military purposes.
Motor gliders incorporate smaller engines which allow them either takeoff and cross country flight or the engines act only as an assistance to obtain some hundred feet more altitude.
Glider pioneers came from many parts of the world. Best known are Abbas ibn Firnas (9th cent.), Eilmer of Malmesbury (11th cent.), Leonardo da Vinci (15th cent.), Hezârfen Ahmed Çelebi (17th cent.), Sir George Cayley (19th cent.), Jean Marie Le Bris (19th cent.), Octave Chanute (19th cent.), Otto Lilienthal (19th cent.), Wilbur and Orville Wright (19th/20th cent.), Czesław Tański (20th cent.).
Gliders in beginner.zone’s program are listed in Series 1000 >>>

Gull wing: Also known as Polish wing or Puławski wing. A wing configuration which is characterized by being similar to that of the wing of the seabird. The inner section resembles a wide open V while the outer sections are horizontal or even point downward. This arrangement gives the wing that characteristic bent shape and makes an aircraft fly very stable. Gull wing aircraft are among others the PZL P.11, PZL P.24, Martin Mariner, Dornier Do 26 and Beriev Be 12.
Wings can be designed as inverted gull wings too. Aircraft that flew or fly with an inverted gull wing are Aichi B7A Ryusei (‘Grace’), Breda Ba.201, Fairey Gannet, Junkers Ju-87, Loire-Nieuport LN.401, Vought F4U Corsair, Yermolayev Yer-2.

Hand launch gliders (HLGs): As the designation already suggests gliders of this type are to be hand launched. Some HLGs are designed for lowest drag and best glide ratio for participating in competitions. A special kind of hand launch gliders are the discus launch gliders. These must be launched just like discs in the field sport discus throw.
Simpler hand launched glider designs differ little from chuck gliders and are as these well suited for beginners.
Examples (wingspan 30 in and less):
Ray Acord’s ‘Monster’
Michael Arak’s ‘Easy Rider’
Kit Bay’s ‘Down Draft Dodger’
Dan Belief’s ‘Fluf Duf’
Ed Berray’s ‘Jupiter Moon’
Bill Blanchard’s ‘Slick Stick’
Phil Boretto’s ‘Drifter’
Bob Brawner’s ‘Phoenix Flyer’
Bob Buraga’s ‘Hunter’
Rodrigo Burgo’s ‘Bird of Time HLG’
Don Chancey’s ‘Hi-Ball’
Stan Chilton’s ‘Semi-Pro’
Earl Clayton’s ‘Balsaurus’
Vern Clement’s ‘Fly-Hi’
Herb Clukey’s ‘Jrs Pride’
A.M. Colbridge’s ‘Waco CG-13 Cargo Glider’
Pete Demos’ ‘Polly Glider’
Howard G. Evanson’s ‘Sixty’
Rick Foch’s ‘Schweizer SGU 1-19’
J. Gregoire’s ‘Colibri’
Phillip Hainer’s ‘Boomerang‘
Bill Hannan’s ‘Handley Page 115’
William Harding’s ‘Sophisticated Lady’
J. Van Hattum’s ‘Piccolo’
J.T. Holmes’ ‘Arrowhead’
Ted Horsly’s ‘Turbo Kid’
Tom Hutchinson’s ‘Un-Polly’
M. Kahn’s ‘High-Time‘
Frank Koditek’s and Bill Fletcher’s ‘Spinner’
Keil Kraft’s ‚Comet‘
Larry Kruse’s ‘20/20’
William Langenberg’s ‘Bulldog’
Keith Laumer’s ’Pipsqueak’
Juan José Maluquer Whal’s ‘Juma 102’, ‘Juma 103/203’, ‘Juma 104 Nervio’
J.H. Maxwell’s ‘Chuck Glider’
Richard Miller’s ‘Whipper’
Walt Mooney’s ‘Bolkow Phoebus’
John Oldenkamp’s ‘Lunchbox’ and ‘Zweibox’
Mick Page’s ‘Butterfly 2’
Austin Rinaldi’s ‘Double Decker’
Santiago Rodriguez’ ‘Che’
Clark Ross’ ‘Pigeon’
Larry Sargent’s ‘Blackjack’
Edward Shane’s ‘Outdoor Pusher Glider’
Wally Simmer’s ‘Worlds Record Glider’
Bob Stalick’s ‘Bush Hopper’
Bob Stalick’s and Warren Kurth’s ‘Hedgehopper Too’
Curt Stevens’ ‘IDHLG’
Stan Stoy’s ‘Coot Mk 4’
James Tangney’s ‘Tangney Class C’
H.A. Thomas’ ‘PT-I Glider’
John Thornhill’s ‘Patty Jo’
Bill Warner’s ‘Fred’
Chuck Wenlock’s ‘G-15 HL Glider’
Richard Weston’s ‘Hang-Over’
Ron Wittman’s ‘Supersweep’
John Zaic’s ‘Mini-X’
Helmut Ziegler’s ‘HLG’
Hand launched gliders in beginner.zones’s program:
1033 Bunch of simple HLGs >>>
1035 Still life in purple HLG >>>

Helicopter models: Helicopters are flying machines or models that can take off and land vertically from the spot. The rotor heads of real thing helicopters are movable and controllable – allow thus flight in all directions. As a movement around an axle generates torque helicopters need either a second rotor spinning in the opposite direction or a device, mostly a propeller in the tail, which provides for counter-torque.
Some helicopter designs are rubber powered and of rather simple construction, they are thus well suited for intermediate beginners.
See also: Butterfly models.
Examples for model helicopters: Paul Del Gatto’s ‘Whirlaway’, Roy Clough’s ‘Hoverbug’ and ‘Whirligig’, Bill Hannan’s ‘Monocopter’, ‘Unicopter’ and ‘Up-Shot’, John Burkham’s ‘Penni Helicopter’, Frank Evans’ ‘Gyrator’, Earl Thompson’s ‘Boomerang Heli’, Gene Rock’s ‘SSP Helicopter’.

High wing monoplane: An airplane that has its wing on top of the fuselage. Visibility downward on this type of aircraft is excellent while upward visibility is poor. As the fuselage is closer to the ground passenger access and cargo loading are easier. Examples for high wing monoplanes are Praga E.114, Potez 58, Piper Cub, Hopfner HS-1032, RWD-13, Bücker Bü 134, Neiva CAP-4 Paulistinha, Cessna 195, Aermacchi MB 308, I.S.T XL-14 Maya, FMA 20 El Boyero, PZL-104 Wilga, Yakovlev Yak-12, GAF Nomad, LMS-901 Baikal, Aeroprakt A-22, Antonov An-132, Skyeton K-10 Swift, Brumby 600 LSA.
High wing monoplanes in beginner.zone’s program are:
1009 DESAER ATL-100 >>>
2002 Borboleta menor rubber >>>
2003 Borboleta maior rubber >>>
2008 Cuesta menos de lo que crees rubber >>>
3002 Borboleta menor RPU >>>
3003 Borboleta maior RPU >>>
3006 Cuesta menos de lo que crees RPU >>>
3011 Buvaj RPU >>>

HLG: See: Hand launch gliders

Horizontal stabilizer: On conventional aircraft and on canards the horizontal stab provides for the necessary flight stability. It works as a counterbalance to the forces generated by the main wing.

Indoor models: Light built microfilm or ultra-light paper covered gliders or rubber powered models for experienced model enthusiasts to be flown in gym halls, arenas and other sheltered places.
Examples: Bud Tenny’s ‘Traveler’ and ‘What-Zit’, Abram Van Dover’s ‘Brainbuster A-6’, Ron Warring’s ‘RTP Streamliner’, Bob Bienenstein’s ‘Low Down’, Merrill Hamburg’s ‘Indoor Endurance Tractor’, Lawrence N. Smith’ ‘Double Surface Indoor Tractor’, ‘Indoor Pusher’ in Flying Aces September 1943 issue, Merrick Andrews’ ‘Indoor Champion’, René Jossien’s Saint Formula indoor plans, Lew Gitlow’s ‘Slowpoke’.

Inverted gullwing: See: Gullwing.

Jet aircraft: Jet aircraft use jet engines for propulsion (see there). First jet aircraft flew at the end of the 1930s. Today most aircraft carrying passengers and military aircraft are jet aircraft.
Jets from around the world are Caproni Campini N.1, Heinkel He 178, Gloster E.28/39 Whittle, Bell XP-59, Nakajima Kikka, MiG I-300, Sud-Ouest SO.6000 Triton, Saab 21 R, FMA I.Ae. 27 Pulqui, Avro Canada C-102 Jetliner, GAF Pika, Fokker S.14 Machtrainer, EFW N-20.02 Arbalète, Ikarus 452, Hispano HA-200, Shenyang JJ-1, Aero L-29 Delfin, PZL TS-11 Iskra, HAL HF-24 Marut, Helwan HA-300, AIDC AT-3 Tzu Chung, IAI ‘Lavi’, Embraer ERJ145, KAI T-50, Antonov An-225.

Jet engines: These are power plants which consist of some rows of turbines all sitting on one axle. The first rows suck in air, further rows compress air and transport it to the combustion chamber. Here the mix of compressed air and fuel gets ignited and the heated exhaust gas discharges to the last rows of the turbines of the jet engine. This generates thrust.

Jetex: A form of model propulsion for models with a wingspan of mostly less than 30 in based on small solid-fuel rocket motors. Jetex power units were developed at the end of the 1940s by Wilmot, Mansour & Co Ltd of Southampton and soon to be found in model shops around the (western) world. Later similar motors (Velojet) were produced in New Zealand and by Powermax of UK. Nowadays there seem to be no comparable motors available.
Many of the old and easy accessible plans for Jetex models are well suited for beginners.

Joint wing: See: Closed wing.

Linen band: Very useful material made of cotton and sold as bands or tapes of various widths. Linen band can be used to strengthen leading edges of wings made from very light and soft balsa as well as it can reinforce the joining areas of two wing halves. Most of my models were made using linen band.

Low wing monoplane: This kind of airplane has its wing on or near the bottom of the fuselage. This configuration allows excellent visibility upwards but poor visibility downward. Low wing monoplanes are more manoeuvrable than their high wing counterparts but need more dihedral as the latter to fly stably. Examples for low wing monoplanes are Samolot JD-2 (SL-6), Avia BH-3, Udet U 10, De Schelde S 12, Mauboussin M.120 Corsaire, González Gil-Pazó GP-1, Turk Hava Kurumu THK-2, Hopfner/Hirtenberg HV 15, A.V.I.A. FL 3, FMA Ae.M.B.1/2 ‘Bombi’, Fokker D.XXI, IAR 80, FFVS J-22 A, PZL.50 Jastrząb, Dewoitine D.551, Fiat G.59 Centauro, Hispano Aviación HA-1112 Buchon, Martin-Baker MB 5, VL Pyörremyrsky, CAC-15 Kangaroo, Avia S-199, Yakovlev Yak-18T, LIPNUR Sikumbang NU-200, PAF XT-001 Marko 1, TAI Hürkuş, Embraer EMB 202 Ipanema, Fletcher FU-24, Brumby 610 Evolution, ANG Patriot LA50, Aeroprakt A-28 Victor, OdesAviaRemServis S-9 Delfin.
Low wing monoplanes in beginner.zone’s program are:
1005 LearAvia Lear Fan glider >>>
1013 DINFIA IA-50 Guaraní glider >>>
1016 Arado Ar-79 glider >>>
2001 Dewoitine D.520 rubber >>>
2005 ¿Cómo va el juego? rubber >>>
2006 Parosh rubber >>>
2007 Las aparencias enganan rubber >>>
2012 Arado Ar-79 rubber >>>
2013 Pack of Pink-purple-violeters rubber >>>
2014 Hargol rubber >>>
2016 Nord 1000 Pingouin rubber >>>
2017 Falan Filan rubber >>>
3001 Dewoitine D.520 RPU >>>
3005 Las aparencias enganan RPU >>>
3012 Arado Ar 79 RPU >>>

Monoplane: Monoplanes generally have one pair of wings. Biplanes have two, triplanes three, quadruplanes…

Monowheel landing gear: Especially lightplanes don’t need complicated landing gear. Often a single (mono) wheel near the center of gravity and a tail skid are sufficient.

Motor glider: Motor gliders rely on small piston- or jet-engines which allow them to start, gain height and fly on motor power or glide as glider planes. Real thing motor gliders are well suited as examples for beginner modelers who want a semi scale model or a model that resembles the real plane. See also: Gliders.
Examples: Bagalini Bagaliante, Radap Windex (Saab MERA 1), EuroSport Crossover, Fournier RF-4D, VL3 Canada Phoenix, AEROMOT AMT-300 Turbo Ximango Shark, MIP Smyk, HWL Pegaz, Kocjan Bąk, Nihon N-70 Cygnus, Archaeopteryx Electric ‘Electeryx’, EFF Prometheus 1, Pilatus B-4 (Lynch B4M1), Nippi NP-100, Sportinė Aviacija LAK-20, ICA IS-28 M1 (IAR-34), Lucas L-6A, SF-25 Motorfalke, LET L13 J Blanik, Caproni Vizzola Calif, Eiri-Avion PIK-20, Shenyang HU-1 Seagull, Barel Graal, Schweizer SGM 2-37, Aerola Alatus-M.

Multiplane: An aircraft with more main supporting surfaces (wing pairs) than conventional aircraft have. An example for a multiplane is the Caproni Ca.60 flying boat which had nine pairs of wings.
See also: Biplane, Triplane, Quadruplane, Tandem wing.
Model example: Robin James’ ‘Whoopee’.

Ornithopter model: Only very few real life ornithopters, airplanes flying by flapping their wings, have been built and successfully flown. Models with flapping wings, mainly using drilled rubber or electric motors for propulsion whereas have been developed to a remarkable stage of operating. The electric motor or rubber turns an axle which is in many ways comparable to a camshaft. Levers transfer power from this axle to the wings. By flapping its wings ornithopters generate thrust and lift just as birds do.
Real planes: Riout 102T Alérion, Schmidt Ornithopter, UTIAS Snowbird.
Models: Emmanuel Fillon’s ‘Ratenpenate’, Alexander Lippisch’s ‘Libelle’ and ‘Schwingenflugmodell’, Paul Del Gatto’s ‘Flapper’, Art Horak’s ‘Flapper’, Hal Cover’s ‘Lil Flapper’

Polyplane: Called Poliplano by its designer Zolio H. Garcia this 1912 aircraft had several horizontal and vertical flying surfaces. This configuration should not be mistaken for a multiplane as see there.

Propeller: The propeller converts the rotary motion generated by an engine or a rubber strand into energy which can be used for propulsion of an airplane or a model. Propellers or airscrews can push (pusher configuration) or pull (tractor configuration) an aircraft or model forward. Counter-rotating propellers can on twin-engined planes be used to delete unwanted torque-forces.

Pteranodon: The largest and best known flying reptile with a wingspan of more than 6 m / 20 ft. Pteranodons lived millions of years ago. Remains have been found in Kansas, Nebraska, Alabama, South Dakota and Wyoming. As science has very good knowledge about how exactly these reptiles looked like, it was only a matter of time until first model builders tried to make them into models. Some models are gliders other use electric motors with airscrews installed in the leading edges of the Pteranodons wings for propulsion.
Examples: S. Winkworth’ ‘Pteranodon IV’, Uwe Asmus’ ‘Pteranodon’ and other models of flying reptiles as Robert Bardou’s ‘Balsaurus’.

Pterodactylus: A much smaller sort of flying reptile also extinct for a while. Remains have been found in the soil of the UK, Bavaria and Tansania. The Pterodactylus’ span measured 30 in / three quarter meter and less.
Example: Marston PteroWorks’ ‘Pterodactylus’.

Pusher configuration: There are at least four different types of single-engined pusher planes. One is the classical pusher design (1) that has its powerplant either near the center of the fuselage or in the tail section, where the airscrew is positioned. Power transmission from engine to propeller is mostly carried out via an extended drive shaft. This sub-configuration can look like a conventional monoplane, a biplane or a tailless design. A second sub-configuration are the canards with pusher props (2). A third variant are the mid-fuselage pushers (3) as I use to call them. They have their powerplants and propellers near the trailing edge of the wing. The fourth subtype are twinboom layouts with engine and propeller at the rear end of the central gondola (4).
Twin or four or six engine pushers (5) usually have their engine nacelles reversed, engine in front and airscrew in the rear.
‘Twin Pusher’ is a vintage model-only designation. See there.
Classic pusher model design examples (1):
Pavel Bosak’s ‘Jet Trainer’, Fred Reese’s ‘Bede BD-5’, Nick De Carlis’ ‘Bede BD-5A’, EFI’s ‘Inverted Comma’, Jaromír Bílý’s ‘Dolphin II’, Veron’s ‘Fantail’, Jerry Stoloff’s ‘Doodle Bug’, Ray Malmstrom’s ‘Goldwinga’.
Canard pusher models (2):
Alan Orthof’s ‘Just Pusher’, Bill Tyler’s ‘Back Porch Pusher’, Dave Philpotts’ ‘Narrow Arrow 35’, Randy Wrisley’s ‘Trident’, Gray’s ‘Candice’, P. Cannell’s ‘Cannelard’.
Mid-fuselage pusher models (3):
Ken Willard’s ‘Warpy’, Dave Greenfield’s ‘Pushover’, Jiří Černý’s ‘Polo’, Bernard Munoz’ ‘Empirix 1 and 2’, Emmanuel Fillon’s ‘Dart Pub’, R.A. Tessier’s ‘Bumblebee’, Bryan Miller’s ‘Shoestring’.
Twinboom pusher models (4):
Henry Struck’s ‘Curtiss Pusher’, Art Reiners’ ‘Curtiss A Pusher’, Ian Warner’s ‘Skycam’, Bill Dean’s ‘Vampire’, Anthony D’Alessandro’s ‘Twin-Fin Terror’.
Six engine pusher models (5):
Jack Lynn Bale’s ‘Convair B-36 Peacemaker’, Kyosho’s ‘Convair B-36’.
Twinboom pusher design in beginner.zone’s program:
2010 Akrav rubber >>>

Quadruplane: An airplane with four main supporting surfaces (pairs of wings) one above the other.
Examples: Sellers’ Quadriplane, Wight Quadruplane, Armstrong Whitworth FK 10 Quadruplane, Euler Vierdecker, Supermarine Pemberton-Billing P.B. 31E ‘Nighthawk’, Besson H-5.
Models: Normand Charlebois’ ‘Quadruplane’, ‘McQuire Quadruplane’.

Radial wing: Radial wing designs have three wings each at a distance of 120° to the other. When being looked at from the front they resemble a three bladed airscrew. Models of this configuration are known for very stable flights but are as well poor gliders.
Examples: Roy Clough’s ‘Triad’.

Ring wing: See: Closed wing

Round-the-pole flying (RTP): The mostly electrically driven model is attached to a pylon with a free wheeling device by a line or a wire. After the engine is started the operator releases the model which accelerates, takes off and flies around the pylon. Other than on control flight (C/L) there is usually no way to influence the flight path of the model. The lines can be used as power suppliers for the model’s electric motor.
Some RTP models are well suited for advanced beginners.
Model examples:
Paul Del Gatto’s ‘Blue Streak’, Bob Tennenbaum’s ‘Circle Whirly’, Pat March’s ‘Manta Ray’, R.L.S. Taylor’s ‘PDQ’, Walt Mooney’s ‘RTP Jetster’, Ray Mamstrom’s ‘Saab J29F’, J. Evans’ ‘Vickers Viking’, Vic Smeed’s ‘Wattsname’, Eric Clutton’s ‘RTP Spitfire’, P.J. Bullivant’s ‘DH 88 Comet’.

RPU: RPU stands for rubber power unit.
This is a device I designed for the model builder who likes to fly many models with one only power unit. Main material of the RPU comes from the grocery store around the corner: four barbecue skewer chopsticks. Add to them small pieces of scratch balsa and scratch plywood, a hook made from piano wire, some black rubber and a commercial plastic airscrew. That’s all.
The unit is attachable through two pieces of Velcro tape and can thus be used for example first on a little Hawker Hurricane five minutes later (and with reversed prop!) on a Kyushu Shinden or on a Caproni Tuffo of the same configuration. You build only one RPU and use it on as many model planes as you wish.
Models with RPU use the same asymmetrical principle as is known from No-cal models. From the one side they look handsome as from the other the power unit disturbs the harmonic view considerably.
Generally there is no great difference between the flight performances of a balsa sheet profile model with built-in rubber motor and a model flying on a RPU.
Why not try both principles? Among the plans range of beginner.zone you will find models of both categories. Sit down, build, fly, compare!
I tested three different types of RPUs (a fourth coming soon).
The one for small models of 30 cm / 11.8 in to 40 cm / 15.75 in wingspan is the RPU 20 (lenghth 20 cm / 7.9 in).
The one for medium sized models with a span of 40 cm / 15.75 in to 60 cm / 23.6 in is the RPU 30 (length 30 cm / 11.8 in).
The one for larger models of up to 80 cm / 31.5 in wingspan is the RPU 40 (length 40 cm / 15.75 in).
The RPU 40 is made from slightly different material. Instead of the skewer chopsticks it uses two strips of bamboo wooden sticks (400 x 9 x 3 mm). The rest is identical.
The plan for the RPU in beginner.zone’s program is:
3000 RPU 20, 30, 40 >>>
RPU models in our beginner.zone’s program are listed in
Series 3000 >>>

RTF (Ready to fly): RTF models belong to a category not to be found on this website.

Rubber power: Rubber power uses the stretch and twist of a rubber band to store energy, which is released as the band untwists. This principle was first applied to flying models around 1870 by Alphonse Pénaud. Various methods can adjust the motor’s speed and duration. See also: Tandem rubber motor. See also: Tandem rubber motor.
Rubber powered models in beginner.zone’s program are listed in
Series 2000 >>>
Series 3000 >>>

Seaplanes: Planes that can take off and land on water. Amphibians are as well considered as seaplanes. Two categories of seaplanes exist: floatplanes and flying boats. See there.

Shoulder wing monoplane: Mostly single seat monoplanes with wings on top of the fuselage but not above the position of the pilot. A configuration frequently found on airplanes of the era between the World Wars.
Shoulder wing monoplane designs in beginner.zone’s program:
3018 No hay más cerveza en la nevera RPU 20 >>>
3019 No hay más cerveza en la nevera RPU 30/40 >>>

Sky lanterns: Small hot-air balloons carrying their fuel, inflammable liquids, in saucer-shaped containers beneath. The burning fuel is reflected by the mostly light coloured balloon material and gives the impression of a lantern in the sky.

Split wing: This designation seems not yet generally institutionalized as some call wings with split winglets split wings while other use this designation for a rarely seen wing-fuselage combination. The latter, split wing aircraft designs can probably best be described this way. Take a tandem wing plane with four identical wings as for example the Yabhon United 40. Now remove the right front and the left rear wing. The result is an asymmetric design which will cause doubts about its fly-ability with people that are used to think conservatively. For split winglets, see there.

Split winglets: A more sophisticated type of a winglet which intends to copy mother nature. As it is known birds have a number of feathers on their wing tips which can be spread to influence flight characteristics. Split winglets on a plane cause less drag than ‘normal’ winglets or wings without winglets at all would. For further information see: Winglet.

Staggerwing: Biplanes or triplanes with somewhat offset arranged wings.
Examples: Nieuport 17 Triplane, Airco DH. 5, Beechcraft 17, Lemberger LD20b, Millet Lagarde ML-10, Starck AS-37.

Styrofoam: A material very light and easy to work with. Useful for filling gaps with rounded structure. Can also be used to carve lightest possible model pilot figures.

T-Tail: When an airplane’s horizontal stab stands on the vertical stab the empennage looks like the letter T when seen from behind.
T-tail designs in beginner.zone’s program are:
1009 DESAER ATL-100 glider >>>

Tailless design: Tailless planes are similar to flying wings (see there) and can have some sort of a fuselage and one or more fins but have no classical empennage.
Tailless designs in beginner.zone’s program are:
1007 Shahed 136 glider >>>
1017 El Hornero glider >>>
1020 Forwardswepter glider >>>

Tandem rubber power: Rubber powered models can also be designed as models with push-and-pull propulsion with working airscrews on both ends. For this purpose they have either one common rubber strand or two separate strands (one for the pusher prop and the other for the tractor). Models of this configuration can attain high speeds and they look indeed quite impressive.
Examples: Bill Tyler’s ‘Flying Pie Plate’, Ray Malmstrom’s ‘CoaxAir’, Bernard Schoenfeld’s ‘Push-Pull’, N. Schaller’s ‘1938 Push-Pull’.

Tandem wing: Tandem wing aircraft have either two pairs of identical wings or a larger front pair and a smaller rear pair of wings.
Model examples: Herbert K. Weiss’ ‘Mauboussin Tandem’, Emmanuel Fillon’s ‘Le Pou du Ciel HM.21’, ‘Mauboussin Hemiptere Type 40’ and ‘Peyret Taupin’, Jim Fullarton’s ‘Ebenezer Flea’, Roy Clough’s ‘Yankee Flea’, Frank Ehling’s ‘Whatsit’, Paul Del Gatto’s ‘Tiny Tandem’, Doug McHard’s ‘Miles M.35 Libellula’, Henry Cole’s ‘Tandem Twister’, Florent Baecke’s ‘Mauboussin Hemiptere Type 40’, Gordon Rae’s ‘Miles M35 Libellula’, Paul Palanek’s ‘Twin Fin Pusher’, Pres Bruning’s ‘Arsenal Delanne 10’, Nowlen Aero’s ‘Aerodrome A’, John Woodfield’s ‘Tandem Wing Glider’, Giuseppe Ghisleri’s ‘AMSOIL’.
Tandem wing designs in beginner.zone’s program are:
1006 Twin Wing mod. glider >>>
1008 Yabhon United 40 glider >>>
1011 Delanne Dl 190 glider >>>
1021 Duo Mono mod. glider >>>
1022 Mitey Atom mod. glider >>>
1024 Whatsit glider >>>
1025 Duo Mono mod. MINI glider >>>
2015 Schehak Tandemeinsitzer rubber >>>
3010 Schehak Tandemeinsitzer RPU >>>
3017 Whatsit RPU >>>

Third hand: An utterly useful device for model builders which allows them to work on a part or on a model with both hands. The ‘third’ hand consists of a relatively heavy stand and two adjustable clamps which hold the model or model part.

Three-surface: Three-surface designs are airplanes with a tandem wing and additional horizontal stabilizer or canards with an additional horizontal stab in the aft or airplanes with three pairs of wings (or wing groups) one behind the other.
Some examples for three surface aircraft are: Blériot IV, Caproni Ca.60, Albessard Triavion, Piaggio P.180 Avanti.
Models: ‘Tri-Yi’ in Young Men October 1955 issue.
A three surface design in beginner.zone’s program:
1012 Albessard Type Triavion glider >>>

Towline gliders: Towline gliders have on their front bottom areas hooks for rings which sit on one end of a towline. The other end is to be pulled by a motor device or by a running person. The thus achieved motion generates lift and allows the model to ascend as long as it is being towed. When it has reached its peak the ring with the towline falls off and the model starts its glide.
Simpler towline gliders are well suited for beginners.
Examples:
Hans Adenaw’s ‘Pelayo’
Aeroflyte’s ‘Nimbus’, ‘Stratos’
Aero Models’ ‘Stratus Glider’
Air Sport’s ‘Air Sport 01’, ‘Air Sport 02’, ‘Air Sport Type A’, ‘Air Sport Type B’
Gordon Allen’s ‘Minisoarer’
‘Arnhem Glider’ in Aeromodeller, March 1947
Ato Model Craft’s ‘Ato 30’
Aviomodelli’s ‘Cirro’
Salvador Baguena’s ‘Don Quixote’
John Barker’s ‘Lulu Baby’
W.I. Barrett’s ‘Phoebus’
Berkeley’s ‘Sinbad Jr’
M. Bernard’s ‘Ludion’
Orlando Blanchero’s ‘Cortazar 85’
Marcos Borge’s ‘Neguinho’
Jerry Brofman’s ‘Drop Me A Line’, ‘Towline Terror’
Bob Buraga’s ‘Tow Trainer’
Rodrigo Burgo’s ‘Senior Extraviador’
Burka’s ‘Burka II’
Al Cleave’s ‘Wolf’
S.R. Crow’s ‘Crowfly’
Bernard Curtiss’ ‘Nomad’
Bill Dean’s ‘Cadet’
Hank Dillenkofer’s ‘Skua’
DMI’s ‘Gloria’
M. Ducrot’s ‘CEKO 300’
Brian Faulkner’s ‘Baby Buzzard’
Emmanuel Fillon’s ‘Alto Cumulus’
FMT’s ‘Horten XVc’
Frog’s ‘Slingsby Skylark’, ‘Junior Sailplane’, ‘Vespa’, ‘Wren’
Vito M. Garofalo’s ‘Drifty Primary Glider’, ‘Traveler Sailplane’
Paul Gilliam’s and Bob Hunter‘s ‘Nogy’
Graupner’s ‘Sonny’
Lawrence Gray’s ‘Wigan 70 Glider’
Jean Guillemard’s ‘Le Zin Zin‘
Les Plans Guillemard’s ‘Jige Junior 7’
Bill Hannan’s ‘Kirby Cadet’
William Harding’s ‘Ugly Duckling’
Albert E. Hatfull’s ‘Dolphin’
Jay T. Holmes’ ‘Gliding Saucer’
G. Hormand’s ‘Anophele’
G.R. Hosking’s ‘Gemini’
D.R. Hughes’ ‘Binkie’
Jasco’s ‘Thermic C’
V. Jiránek’s ‘Wenzel’
W. Johl’s ‘Cape Towner’
A.J.C.J. de Jong’s ‘Spin’
René Jossien’s ‘Nez-Court’
Keil Kraft’s ‘Katie’, ‘Kirby Prefect’, ‘Conquest’, ‘Wisp’
T.J. Kettle’s ‘Dragonfly’
Brian Lewis’ ‘Pioneer’
Ray Malmstrom’s ‘Airflo Glider’
Megow’s ‘Primary Glider’
H.J. Nicholls’ ‘Magpie’
Vladimir Procházka’s ‘Ero’
Larry Renger’s ‘Mini Nordic’
J. Richard’s ‘Invader’
Jean Robin’s ‘JR01’
R. Roles’ ‘Blondie III’
Reg Roles’ ‘Sunnanvind’
Roland Scott’s ‘Walthew Mk II’
Skyleada’s ‘Jeep’
Vic Smeed’s ‘Peerless’
Phil Smith‘ ’Slingsby Prefect Mk I’, ‘Cirro-Sonic’, ‘Coronette’
Earl Stahl’s ‘Schweizer TG-2’
W.F. Tyler’s ‘Air Youth Glider No. 2’, ‘Air Youth Glider No. 3’
J.R. Vanderbeek’s ‘Fairy’
J. Van Hattum’s ‘Micky’, ‘Nipper‘
A. Vauboin’s ‚No Name‘, ‚Porte Oceane’
Veron’s ‘Wagtail’
Ron Warring’s ’36 inch Towline Glider’, ‘Elito No. 1’
Elbert J. Weather’s ‘Classy Class C Glider’
Yoshida’s ‘C-2 Glider’
Frank Zaic’s ‘Thermic 30’, ‘Trooper’

Tractor configuration: A tractor engine aircraft has its propeller in the nose. It is pulled by the airscrew. Pusher planes which are seen as some sort of an opposite configuration are pushed by an airscrew in the rear. See there.
Most of beginner.zone’s rubber powered models follow the tractor principle.

Tricycle landing gear: Consists of a nose gear and a main gear, the latter positioned in most cases aft of the center of gravity.

Triplane: Triplanes have three pairs of wings one above the other or three staggered wings. Examples for triplanes are: Ellehammer Triplane, Caproni Ca 4, Caproni Ca.60, Caproni Pensuti, Nieuport 10, Nieuport 17, Nieuport 17bis, Sopwith Triplane, Sowith Rhino, Oeffag Type CF, Euler Dreidecker 1 to 5, Fokker V.8, Voisin E.28, Roe III Triplane, Curtiss 18-T, Curtiss Model T, Mitsubishi 1MT1N. Parnall Possum, Levy-Besson ‘Alerte’.
Models: Paul Palanek’s ‘Bouncing Bertie’, Hal Swanson’s ‘Armstrong Whitworth FK 12’, Benno Sabel’s ‘Voisin Guppy’, Mike Conrad’s ‘Troika’, Mike Roach’s ‘Sopwith Triplane’, Ray Malmstrom’s ‘Tom-Tit Triplane’, Martin Tuck’s ‘Avro Triplane’.

Triple fin: Triple fin aircraft have three fins on their empennage.
Examples: Arcangelo Imblema’s ‘Lockheed Super Constellation’, Frank Ehling’s ‘Boomerang’, H.J. Pridmore’s ‘Miles M.48’, Ray Malmstrom’s ‘Miles Messenger’, Donald Garofalow’s ‘Zephyr’.

Twin boom: Twin boom aircraft have a central fuselage gondola for pilot, cargo, ordnance or passengers and two booms which hold the empennage.
Examples: Savoia-Marchetti S.64 and SM.91, WNF WN-16, THK-11, Blohm & Voss Bv-138, Fairchild C-82 ‘Packet’, Nord 2500 ‘Noratlas’, Armstrong Whitworth AW.660 ‘Argosy’, Myasishchev M-55, Project 973 Shenying (Divine Eagle).
Model examples: Frank Ehling’s ‘Super Wing’, R. Deschamps’ ‘Planeur Deschamps 45’, D. Chaize’s ‘Planeur Ceko 45’, Bill Tyler’s ‘Flying Pie Plate’, Lorne A. Williams’ ‘Fire Bird’, Ray Malmstrom’s ‘Miss Starstruck’, Ted Teisler’s ’Mr Funster’, John Walker’s ‘Fast Cat 2’, Gordon Light’s ‘Twin Amphibian’, F. Fellows’ and E.J. Rushton’s ‘Baby Lockheed Lightning’, Anthony D’Allessandro’s ‘Twin-Fin Terror’, Bill Dean’s ‘Vampire’, Dick Struhl’s ‘Jiffy Jet’, Claude McCullough’s ‘Twinster’, Gordon Mackenzie’s ‘Boomerang’, Scientific’s ‘Vance Flying Wing’, Walt Mooney’s Peabody Packet’, Giuseppe Ghisleri’s ‘XP-54 Swoose Goose’.
Twin boom designs in beginner.zone’s program are:
1002 Bayraktar TB-2 glider >>>
1003 Convair model 48 Charger glider >>>
1004 North American Rockwell OV-10A Bronco glider >>>
1015 Akaflieg Stuttgart Fs-26 glider >>>
1035 Still life in purple HLG >>>
2004 Study in purple rubber >>>
2010 Akrav rubber >>>
2011 Akrep rubber >>>
3004 Still life in purple RPU >>>

Twin fin: Twin fin aircraft have a twin vertical stabilizer.
Examples: Caproni Ca-134, De Havilland Flamingo, Aero C-3A, Max Holste MH-1521 Broussard, Beechcraft Model 18, E.K.W. C-3601, Etimesgut Uçak Fabrikası THK-5.
Model examples: JA Fleming’s ‘Miles Student’, Frank Buckland’s ‘Miles Gemini’.
Twin fin designs in beginner.zone’s program are:
1011 Delanne Dl-190 glider >>>
1021 Duo Mono mod. glider >>>
1022 Mitey Atom mod. glider >>>
1025 Duo Mono mod. MINI glider >>>

Twin fuselage: Aircraft of this configuration usually have two nearly identical fuselages connected by the center wing section and by the horizontal stabilizer. These fuselages house pilots, engines, ordnance.
Examples: Savoia Marchetti SM.92, Renard R.42, North American P-82 Twin Mustang.

Twin Pusher: A model-only configuration that is older than a century. Twin pushers are light built model planes, mostly canards, that have a simple balsa stripwood fuselage and two rubber engines with airscrews in the rear.
Examples: Paul Edward Garber’s ‘PEG 54 Twin Pusher’, Carl Carlson’s ‘Carlson Twin Pusher’, Julius Unrath’s ‘Twin Pusher’, Lawrence Shaw’s ‘Junior Birdmen No4 Twin Pusher’, Paul Del Gatto’s ‘Twin Pusher’, Bill Hannan’s ‘Ye Olde Twin Pusher’, Carl Schmaedig’s ‘Class C Twin Pusher’.

UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle): UAVs are unmanned aircraft used for military (reconnaissance, warfare) and civil (environmental or weather monitoring) purpose. UAV’s can be smaller than 20 in or larger than 30 ft. Some UAVs fly radio-controlled others autonomously.
Models of UAVs in beginner.zone’s program are:
1001 Elbit Hermes 900 >>>
1002 Bayraktar TB-2 >>>
1007 Shahed 136 (delta) >>>
1008 Yabhon United 40 (tandem wing) >>>

V-tail: A tail configuration that can be found mostly on gliders. A V-shaped stabilizer acts the same way a cruciform or T-empennage would. V-tails require less parts and are lighter than ‘normal’ empennages.
Some V-tail model designs are: Henry Struck’s ‘Veedoo’, Gordon Rae’s ‘Finger Vee’, Henry Arance’s ‘Bumble Vee’, Veron’s ‘Wagtail’, Bill Hannan’s ‘Tail First Tenderfoot’, Giuseppe Ghisleri’s ‘Fauvette’.
V-tail designs in beginner.zone’s program are:
1001 Elbit Hermes 900 glider >>>
1005 LearAvia Lear Fan glider >>>
1023 Lomir gejn tanzn! glider >>>
2002 Borboleta menor rubber >>>
2003 Borboleta maior rubber >>>
3002 Borboleta menor RPU >>>
3003 Borboleta maior RPU >>>
3007 Lastivka RPU >>>
3008 Snunit RPU >>>
3009 Kırlangıç RPU >>>
3013 La Cimice Verde RPU >>>
3014 Golub RPU >>>
3015 Farschwind! RPU >>>

Whip-control gliders: Also called whip power sport models are similar to control line models but have no engine. A handle with one or two lines connects the glider model with the operator who swings the model with force around him or herself. As on control line models flight characteristics on some models of this configuration can be influenced by the handle. Others fly un-controlled.
Examples: Vern Schroeder’s ‘Starfire’, Dave Thornburg’s ‘Apple Bipe’.

Wing ribs: Parts of the structure of a wing that give the wing its airfoil shape. Wing ribs are attached to the spar(s), to the trailing and to the leading edges of a wing. Wing ribs are part of the skeleton of a wing on a real aircraft just as on more demanding model planes.

X-wing: An aircraft or UAV with four wings that form the letter X either seen from above or below (Type 1) or facing/seen from the rear (Type 2). Type 2 craft mostly have an additional empennage as without this configuration is very difficult to balance.
Examples: Louis Gaston Beuthier’s project of an X-wing biplane (Type 1), Robert Catlow Stroop’s SP-6 and SP-7 ‘Speed Plane’ (Type 2), Star Wars X-wing fighter (Type 2), John Woodfield’s X-wing Glider (Type 2). See also: Double X-wing.
X-wing Type 1 design in beginner.zone’s program:
1022 Mitey Atom mod. glider >>>

X-wing Type 2 designs in beginner.zone’s program:
1026 Double X’er (Eightwinger) glider >>>
2009 Eightwinger Double X’er rubber >>>
3026 Double X’er (Eightwinger) RPU 30 >>>

X-wing fighter: The name for a type of fictional spacecraft built by Incom Corp./Incom-FreiTek Corporation for the Star Wars movies. Model builders have so far successfully made flying models of X-wing fighters. Examples: E.S. Knight’s X Wing Fighter and Ramy RC’s X-Wing.

X-wing rotorcraft: A helicopter like aircraft with X-shaped wings on top, which can rotate and thus actively generate lift or stand still acting as wings on a traditional aircraft.
Example: Sikorsky S-72 / RSRA X-wing.