Introduction


Weight:	2857.6 g (100.8 oz)
Wingspan:	109.2 cm (43 in)
Wing Area:	45.9 dm2 (713 sq. in.)
Wing Loading:	63 g/dm2 (20.7 oz/sq. ft.)
Fan:	(4x) Wemotec Micro Fan
Motor:	(4x) Razor-2500
Battery:	(2x) Tanic 5S1P 2500 mah

The plane is a 1/24 stand off scale model of the Convair YB/RB-58A/55-669/10 Hustler. In 1955 I was part of the team who developed the radar counter measures equipment in the third station (DSO). 55-669 was our test vehicle. No photographs of 55-669 exist. It was destroyed October 27, 1959

Construction

The design concept had all systems integral with the wing. The fuselage is not used to provide structural support. Flight control would be exclusively via the Elevons. The color scheme used on the model is from the next aircraft 55-670.

The plane was started 27 July 2004 and completed 23 January 2005. Modifications and flight tests continued until 29 April 2006.

Wing

Wing - The wing is a classic balsa built up. The two root ribs are 28.25 inches in length, constructed of 1/8" plywood. Two 3/8" carbon fiber rods transit thru the root ribs.

This arrangement serves a dual function; as a building jig and structural support for the ducted fans. The airfoil is HT23 that has a maximum thickness 6.51% of the cord at 20.8% of the cord, maximum camber 1.08% at 22.6 percent of the cord. The ribs were generated by Profili 2 http://www.profili2.com/. The leading edge was modified to add droop by adding a half round balsa stick and sanding. The full-scale aircraft has a 60° delta wing and a 10° negative trailing edge. I reduced the wing loading by increasing the delta to 50° and adjusted the trailing edge accordingly. The wing was fully sheeted with 1/32 balsa then covered with 0.75 oz fiberglass.

Launch Dolly

A "smart" steerable dolly with a servo controlled hold down system, receiver and battery would be used for take-off. Landing would be on two wire struts.

Revel plastic model

Fuselage - I used cross sections taken from a Revel plastic model to shape fuselage in Styrofoam. I used a 2" fiberglass sleeve available from Aerosleeves http://aerosleeves.com/ to cover the form. This made for a very nice seam-less cover and it was easy to epoxy. I sanded, filled and finished the fuselage before pulling out the foam. The fuselage was cut to contour the root ribs. The foam was pulled out; the difficult part was removed using Acetone to melt the foam.

Nacelles - The nacelles are made from plastic mailing tubes available from JC Damczk http://www.jcdanczak.com/ They are a wholesaler but I noted they would send 3 samples. So I called a begged for a fourth. They wanted to know what I wanted them for and I told them I was building a B-58 the reply was, "Is that some kind of vitamin?" They sent four.

Electronics -Four Wemotec http://www.wemotec.com/ micro fans with Razor RZ-2500 brushless motors http://www.razormotors.com/ provide thrust. TwoTanic http://www.tanicpacks.com/ LP-2500. A one pack powers the outboard fans the second powers the inboard fans. The micro fans were press fit into the plastic mailing tubes. The tubes are mounted to wing ribs 3 & 5. The ribs and the fan mounting pylons are integral. They are a composite of 1/64" plywood laminated to a 1/4 " balsa core. Rib #3 provides room for the Castle Creations Phoenix 25 controller http://www.castlecreations.com to be mounted in the pylon.

Pylon/Nacelle

The outboard controllers are in the wing next to the pylons. Twisted 12-gauge wire connects the controllers to the batteries. 20 gauge twisted pair was used to extend the control wires. Castle has fantastic support and recommended changes for this multiple-fan application. The receiver is an 8 channel Futaba FP-R-148 DF. A Futaba 9C transmitter provides the Elevon function

Flying

The first attempt at a maiden flight failed. The aircraft was unable to accelerate the launch dolly and itself adequately to rotate. Performance of the power system with a 4S battery was inadequate. I had avoided using the recommended 5S system due to the lack of a heatsink for the Razors. Late in March 2005 Maxx Products http://www.maxxprod.com/ released a 20mm heatsink that would fit the Razor in a Wemotec fan! RCToys/Tanic modified my 4S packs to 5S. The landing skids added to protect the nacelles were removed. The dolly was discarded and replaced with conventional landing gear. The wing was modified to provide for the nose wheel and steering servo.

Liftoff

A second flight test was run on April 10th 2005 and 5669 sped down the runway and climbed out like a winner. Thirty seconds later my pilot Anthony announced we had lost an engine and executed a landing in the rough. Anthony told me he had no problem in control and the plane was stable. Subsequent static tests revealed that the starboard inboard motor shut down after 30-45 seconds of full power. Shortly thereafter the Port inboard engine also quit. The outboard motors continued to operate without fault. Castle Creations was helpful and concluded the problem could be overheating. The inboard ESCs are mounted in the pylons supporting the nacelles to minimize lead length. I drilled a series of ventilation holes on the inboard side of both inboard pylons. Subsequent static tests confirmed the problem was solved.

Airborne

The third flight test on April 29, 2005 was a success! Convair YB/RB-58A/55-669/10 took off on a dawn patrol, climbed to pattern altitude

Flying the pattern

circled the field, touched down on the runway and came to a stop in the grass. My pilot reported that control was smooth and easy. No acrobatics were attempted.

Conclusion

This is my first attempt at true scratch building. The B-58 Hustler could not have been built without RC Groups and the members. Pilots from 14 States and 4 countries helped with technical knowledge and moral support. A special thank you goes to my patient, resourceful and dedicated pilot Anthony Greco - Team JR, my still photographer & technical advisor Dr. Robert Lade and Col Roland Larsen (ret) my video crew.