Designed by Larry Towner. Free plans from the Spring 2010 Park Pilot.
The Blue Wonder is a fantastic-flying, mid-mounted-motor, delta wing. It’s extremely versatile, and you’ll build several just for fun. The model can fly as slowly as 10 MPH or as fast as 60 and still hold together. It can be aerobatically docile or awesome, depending upon your setup, and it’s perfect for the parking lot, park or flying field. You’ll love it. The Complete Destruction Foam Combat event at the 2009 SEFF event was great fun, so I suggested running a similar event for my home club on family day. When the Georgia Model Aviators gave me the green light, I tried to round up participants, but “I don’t have a plane” was the cry from the buddies I counted on. It seemed like the right time to develop a low-cost, easy-to-build foamy. The first generation Blue Wonder was the result, and I built 12 of them in the first week. I’m now into the fifth generation and they keep getting better. My initial design goal was a highly maneuverable airplane for less than $100 ready to fly with a 2.4GHz receiver. This goal was achieved. Read the entire build article in the Spring 2010 issue of Park Pilot.
When laying out the patterns, use a metal yardstick or straightedge and a square to ensure straight and perpendicular angles in each of your Blue Wonder’s blue foam parts.
It won’t take long before those big, blue foam sheets begin to look more like model airplane parts than raw foam board. The Blue Wonder’s parts count is very low.
There are no style limits when it comes to decorating a Blue Wonder. Paint is lighter but plastic tape adds strength to the airframe. Apply your finish before hinging the elevons.
The Blue Wonder in flight.
Larry Towner with his collection of Blue Wonders.
The Blue Wonder is a joy to fly. The model has good tolerance for wind and can penetrate 15-MPH-or-higher winds. A docile slow flyer or a speedy bullet in the same model, try building two. Give one to a friend, and try some Blue Wonder combat. This one’s guaranteed to bring smiles. Slow it down with a slight turn to the right, then have it descend, touch a wing tip and pull out. It will slowly spiral to the ground and launch itself back into the air. Place the Blue Wonder on its tail with full-down elevator, then hit the throttle for an exciting vertical launch. Fly the model inverted into the wind and go into a Harrier. Fly low and slow at less than a foot of altitude, and practice catching the Blue Wonder instead of landing it. Have fun, ’cause that’s what the Blue Wonder is all about.
Click here to download the tiled files
Article:
