THE MAN BEHIND THE MACHINE

 

Mike McConville shows off the prototype 46% TOC Ultimate 10-300.

The Hangar 9 TOC 46% Ultimate biplane is a standoff-scale version of the "10 dash 300" Ultimate biplane. It started as Mike McConville's own design for his use in the 1993 Tournament of Champions (TOC) competition. Developed entirely with AutoCAD, Mike designed his airplane to take advantage of the extra bonus points TOC awarded for flying a really big airplane and a biplane! The original model used thin wings and was fully rigged with flying and landing wires between the wings. Further design study, however, showed that the model would produce less drag if a thicker airfoil was used without the rigging wires. The thicker wing would house the internal wing tubes, and without the many wire attachments, the model's field setup was greatly simplified. The Hangar 9 production model uses the thicker airfoil design.

The Ultimate uses tried-and-true lite-ply, plywood and balsa-covered foam for most of its construction, and its wings are completely built up of balsa lite-ply and plywood. The removable tail surfaces are made with balsa-covered foam and have external wire bracing. Mike chose a NACA 0012, 12-percent-thickness airfoil and stretched the fuselage length a little. He enlarged the stabilizer 10 percent and lowered the top wing 10 percent as well.

Although most biplanes are viewed as having a disadvantage in aerobatic competition, Mike thinks that the Ultimate's "wow" factor and its really big, strong rudder make it worth considering! Mike tells us that in competition, you have to fly to its advantages and avoid performing the maneuvers it doesn't do as well as the monoplanes do. Although it doesn't turn as effortlessly as a monoplane, it does do incredible 3D high-angle-of-attack maneuvers. In knife-edge flight, the Ultimate needs almost no top rudder, and with its "positive" engine thrust line, it does wonderfully straight up-lines! When you neutralize the elevator stick, the model just keeps on going straight up; it doesn't try to level off or fly out of the up-line! Pitch coupling is almost nonexistent, and roll coupling is only very slight and requires less than 10-percent mix to dial out. It's just a very easy airplane to set up and fly. That's why it is Hangar 9's main showpiece!