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Trixler
Beam
(Vintage R/C 1950)
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TRIXTER BEAM
A 1950 Vintage R/C reengineered for electric power
The Beam was one of the first popular R/C kits. It was designed by Lou Andrews (designer of the still poplar Aeromaster biplane) and produced by Guillows in 1950. Only single channel rudder control was provided for. Only single channel R/C equipment was available in 1950. Wing span is 50 inches and the model was powered with a McCoy 09.
My reengineered Trixter Beam. All wood construction. Powered with an Astro 02 electric motor. Rudder and elevator flight controls. 50" wingspan. Aluminum landing gear with 2 inch wheels. Estimated weight 40-45 ounces. One should be able to fly my Beam under most common wind conditions. |
The Beam is a project that I can afford to produce. It will be available in plans only. Detailed instructions with many illustrations will be available on-line available in a PDF file format. A short kit with all the laser cut parts will also be available. Initially the plans will be offered for $25 plus shipping. Plans can be purchased on our shopping cart. Plans are individually computer generated in three 24" x 48" drawings.
Will have a short kit with laser cut parts. Do not have an cost of time estimate for the laser cut short kit.
I believe there may be several Vintage R/C enthusiasts that would be interested scratch building my Beam from my plans. The plans will be available soon as they are finished. Any errors or omissions will be corrected as soon as I know of the errors. Either by my finding the errors while I build the prototype of from others who have purchased plans and are building from the plans. By the way, the full size plans will be computer printed on a order by order basis. There will also be a full size drawing with patterns supplied with all the cut out parts (ribs, bulkheads, etc.).
My version of the Beam will be electric powered. Some changes in the structure have been made to incorporate an electric motor system and some updated construction materials. I have an original Beam kit ($7.50 price shown on the box) that I am using to make my CAD drawings. Drawing has a 1950 copyright date. The actual assembly drawings are done. On the shop construction drawings are yet to be finished. There will be a few changes made in the firewall area to allow the use of Outrunner electric motors.
Illustration showing internal structure of the fuselage. Battery (green color) is inserted through an opening in the bottom of the fuselage. It is held in place by the plywood bottom sheeting at the front and with Velcro at the rear of the battery. A removable 3/16" diameter dowel is also placed under the rear part of the battery as an additional method for holding the battery inside the fuselage. Many sizes of 3 cell Li-Po and other batteries can be utilized. Cooling air is provided for the motor and batteries. Another version of the fuselage will be engineered for a MPI Outrunner motor. Shown are micro Airtronics servos and receiver. Plenty of room (fuselage is 4 inches wide) for standard size servos and receivers. |
Shown is a part of the computer generated shop drawing for the Beam fuselage. All parts are identified with a description, a part number, and the quantity required. Included with the construction drawing is a complete bill of materials for the various assemblies. Isometric illustrations are also shown to assist in understanding some of the structural details. In this part of the drawing, details are shown for the various doublers and parts that are glued to the right fuselage side prior to installing the bulkheads. Two reasons for the number of doublers. The Beam was designed with a short nose moment to allow for the somewhat heavy weight of the many dry batteries to operate the radio equipment. The batteries were mounted on the bulkhead located under the leading edge of the wing. The original Beam also used one inch blocks inside each side of the front portion of the fuselage. Approximately a 3/8" radius was sanded on the edge of the fuselage sides for appearance reasons. The doublers allow for the sanding of this large radius. Also since the nose is very short, additional weight is required for our Beam for balance purposes. The doublers provide for additional nose weight and add additional strength as well. |
The construction drawings for the Beam Fuselage, Wing, and Tail Group are finished. The pattern drawings are completed. Plans are available for $25 plus $5 for priority mail postage. Prices subject to change.
Next will be the start of the instructions. The instructions will be posted on-line and down loadable as a PDF file. This will make it easy for the builder to review the instructions and easily pint out the entire set of instructions or just a portion of the instructions. The instructions will have many color computer generated illustrations. Most likely the instructions will be updated frequently as changes or corrections come to my attention or there should be another illustration provided to assist in the construction of the model.
The fuselage and wing instructions are basically done and are available on line as a PDF file. A few minor changes and corrections yet to do. The stab and fin instructions are in the works are about 90% done. Take a look to see what they look like. I think the instructions are going to be one of the best set of instructions ever offered for a R/C airplane .
Click on the link to the PDF file for the fuselage and wing instructions as shown below.
beam fuselage assembly 4-26-09
beam stab-elev-fin assy 4-28-09
My Beam design is not intended to be as light as possible. With today's electric motors, batteries, and radio equipment, allow for a stronger and more durable model. The available thrust from efficient electric motors will easily overcome the slightly higher weight of the model. Estimated weight over the original Beam design will be about 10-12 ounces.
One must remember that the original Beam did not have elevator control. The quality of landings with rudder only control put a lot of stress on the model. The lighter the model, the less chance of landing damage. The addition of elevator control in my heavier Beam design allows the model to be easily controlled in flight and more importantly drastically improves the quality of the landing and less chance of damage when landed.
Most model airplane kits today are designed to have a minimum of parts so as to be cheap as possible. Many desired design features are omitted for cost reasons. I believe that my model designs are designed with an efficient structure that is structurally sound and simple to build as possible and at a minimum of weight. A fewer number of parts does not directly make the model easier to build. Cost is not my primary concern in my designs. When there is an design option to lower the cost of an individual part or structure, then I will take that option. But if the lower cost of that option degrades the engineering standards of the the structure, then I will not use that lower cost option.
Check out this advertisement from a June 1953 Air Trails model magazine. Thanks to Jack Hiner for sending the ad to me.
Thanks for taking the time to look at my kit projects that I have under development. Would appreciate your comments and suggestions for improvements on the projects. Watch our web site for more updates on the status of the kits. As mentioned, the Beam will be the first product offering.
Jerry Nelson