Northeast Sailplane products Lil Luscomb

Model Airplane News, Dec 2001 by Buntze, Vic

Quick-build Sunday flyer

You have to admire a model design that does so many things as well as the Northeast Sailplane Lil Luscomb. It is attractive to look at, simple to build and a pleasure to fly. It is a relaxing, 41-inch-span slow flyer that can cruise around your local ball field or climb up and sniff out thermals. Its light wing loading produces excellent handling; it's capable of mild aerobatics and is stable enough for light winds-up to 10mph or so. With an AstroFlight 010 brushless motor in place of the included Speed 280, the potential of the design comes out and it is transformed into a real hot-rod! All the gentle handling is still there if you want it, but the added efficiency and thrust of the Astro motor dramatically increases both performance and run time. It transforms a good airplane into a truly exceptional one.

THE KIT

The Lil Luscomb was designed to be light, portable and simple to build. The fuselage is fiberglass, and the wing and tail surfaces are built up and expertly covered with transparent film. The Speed 280 motor and 4:1 gear drive are included, as are a prop, landing gear and wheels. The wing and horizontal stabilizer bolt on, and a special fitting allows the fin to be removable if you want. The gear is also easy to remove, and when it's disassembled, the Lil Luscomb fits into its original 40x7x8-inch box for easy transportation.

ASSEMBLY

With the fuselage and wing completed and the tail feathers covered and hinged, there is little construction to be done, and that makes this model quick and easy to complete. I chose to glue the vertical stabilizer into its faired slot on the top rear of the fuselage. I mounted the wing using an 1-- inch-diameter brass key at the leading edge and a single hold-down bolt at the trailing edge. The bolt is connected to a nut that's cemented to a hold-down plate on the fuselage under the wing's trailing edge. This makes the wing easy to remove for battery access and gives a clean, pleasing appearance. The landing-gear wire has an innovative mounting: the wire follows the fuselage's inside contour at the wing leading edge, loops over the brass wing key and goes back down to exit at each side of the fuselage bottom. It is easy to install, and once in place, it is sturdy and functional.

The provided Speed 280 geared motor is mounted on the fuselage nose ring with two bolts and is simple to install and remove. This last feature proved useful; I did remove it later to replace it with a brushless AstroFlight 010 motor.

The 1/16-inch plywood control horns are inserted into slots in the rudder and the elevator. Z-bends are used at the rudder and elevator, and I used a small servo quick link at the servo end to finely adjust the length of the control wires. It is important to remember to insert the pushrod Z-bends into the horns before you cement them to the control surfaces. The wires are guided through thin plastic tubing that is routed through exit slots just in front of the elevator and the rudder. I cleaned the inside of the fuselage with acetone and then used regular, double-sided servo-mounting tape to attach the servos to the fuselage sides. I attached the battery pack and receiver to the fuselage floor using a pair of hook-and-- loop strips so I'd be able to shift them fore and aft to obtain the desired balance. For the initial flights, I started at 25 percent back from the leading edge.

I was really pleased with how soon this plane was ready for flight and with its elegant appearance. The old adage says, "If it looks good, it'll fly good," and I was eager to find out.

CONCLUSION

The Lil Luscomb is versatile; it can give enjoyment as a thermal-seeker, a relaxing cruiser, or as a low-to-the-ground, rudder-- and-elevator aerobatic machine that does loops and stall turns. It can easily be flown in a baseball diamond or at the field at the end of the day for relaxation after you've flown your heavy-metal planes; it circles lazily in the late afternoon rising air. When I go to the field with my larger birds, I take the Luscomb along just for this purpose. It is not limited to calm flying conditions, but I leave it on the ground if the wind exceeds 10mph; that speed breaks up the thermals, and gusts will knock the Luscomb around.

It is very easy to complete, looks excellent and displays an outstanding quality of workmanship. I like this plane a lot, but an even better endorsement might be the all the questions I get about it from my fellow club members. They see how much I enjoy it and want one for themselves.

Airtronics; 1185 Stanford Ct., Anaheim, CA 92805; (714) 978-1895; fax (714) 978-1540; www.airtronics.net.

APC Props; distributed by Landing Products, 1222 Harter Ave., Woodland, CA 95776; (530) 661-0399; fax (530) 666-6661; www.apcprop.com.

AstroFlight Inc., 13311 Beach Ave., Marina del Rey, CA 90292; (310) 821-6242; fax (310) 822-6637, www.astroflight.com.

JR; Distributed by Horizon Hobby Inc., 4105 Fieldstone Rd., Champaign, IL 61822; (217) 355-9511; www.horizonhobby.com.