Sonic Cruiser completed!

Hi Guys,

I finally finished the deBolt Sonic Cruiser.

DeBolt had a novel way to turn the tail wheel less than the rudder. Back in 1961 the control system used reeds or escapements to move things. The photos show debolts system for the tail wheel and the rudder. pretty neat.

The model weighed in on the scale my mother used to weigh me over three quarter of a century ago; the model weighs five pounds three ounces. I worked for NACA and NASA for over one quarter of a century and I can vouch for the accuracy of the scale and it is close enough for Space Craft.

The fancy S or Z was taken off the plans of the Sonic Cruiser.

That's It!

Bucky

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1961 DeBolt Sonic Cruiser

Hi Guys,

I built a Sonic Cruiser from a DeBolt Kit back in the early sixties. I flew the Sonic Cruiser with two escapements, one for rudder and a quick blip for motor control. It was powered with a Veco 35 with a flapper plate on the exhaust stack for motor control. I became pretty good at flying. I was able to make touch and goes. Most guys flew a model this size with reeds; two channels per reed servo. Flyers would ask me if I was flying with six channels and I would respond with "only one". By the way the escapements were powered with twisted rubber bands.

I found the plans and the original aluminum landing gear so I decided to build the Sonic Cruiser with full house controls using a Spektrum Radio and a Tower ABC 46 glow engine.

Things to do included fixing the dings from building, a complete sanding, and the biggy; how should I cover and decorated the Cruiser?

Never a dull moment in my workshop.

Enjoy The Photos,

Bucky