The Velie Monocoupe

After a several months of building a kit (SIG Four Star) or balsa ARFs (Yard Stick and a Clancy Aviation 40" Lazy Bee) I decided it was time for another scratch build. Once again I turned to my favorite plans collection on Outerzone and after some browsing and search filtering I decided to build this classic scale model. There are several Monocoupe models on Outerzone, capturing several models of this plane from different eras. My deciding factors were overall look, building complexity, size, and adaptability to electric flight.

I will be building the Velie Monocoupe (oz12114); a 42" wing span plane designed by Peter Miller and published in 1995. The wing span and target AUW suite my preferences for weekend leisure-flying at my club, as well as provide a nice building challenge with balsa lamination techniques and other ideas I want to try for the first time with this build.

For more information on the Velie Monocoupe from other sources check out Fiddlers Green that has a nice "Three View" of the plane or Wikipedia.

I started out by printing the plans at my local office supply store and familiarizing myself with the details, reviewing the Outerzone article, and taking notes of the areas I need to pay attention to.

Specific areas that might pose challenges are balancing the plane with such a short fuselage section in front of the CG, positioning the LiPo battery and hatch, and wing attachment, to name a few. I'l tackle these as the build progresses.

That's it for this post. I am waiting for my balsa order to arrive by mail and will post shortly with pictures and progress.

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