Wind up plane videos by Bill Kuhl of Winona, Minnesota!
These videos came from Bill's excellent Bill Kuhl's Dart Page. There are lots of good links and information there!
250 Squirrels per year, Slater Harrison (Jan 2006)
I teach in the Jersey Shore Area School District, a technology teacher at the middle school. Jersey Shore is landlocked in central Pennsylvania, a hundred miles away from New Jersey and even farther from the Jersey Shore, but otherwise well named.
Over 250 6th grade students make the plane each year.
Columbia City, Indiana, Springs Middle School, (Nov 2005), Teacher James Hill and students
Ottawa Indoor Flying Club (Nov 2005)
This fine specimen showed up at the ORCC indoor flyers group in November 2005. It is owned by Peter Kramer. Apparently it flew very well.
Slater Harrison, Pennsylvania, October 2006
The following quote is from his Web site:
"Note: I am not a very humble person, but I have come across a really great beginners airplane design by Mr. Darcy Whyte that is better than what I have been making. It's called the Squirrel. I will still write out step-by-step instructions here eventually because his two pages of instructions might be a little hard for beginners to follow. He uses them mostly during the classes he teaches (if you are lucky enough to live near Toronto you can sign up for them)."
"For now, go to Darcy's web site and download the PDF instructions here rubber-power.com for the squirrel. Note that he has an instructional video there, too. You might be able to stream it with a fast connection, or right-click and 'save target as.' "
ffml@smartgroups.com FREE FLIGHT mailing list
Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2006 2:02 AMSubject: [ffml] OOS Squirrel
Hi List,
Our son visited us in Wiesbaden last spring. I had no models ready for fun so we went on the Internet, downloaded the SQUIRREL (Darcy White design), and with a slight modification, built and took it up to the brow of the hill, a big walkers and pet exercise area. There is a Roman watch tower there so we think it is the highest point in Wiesbaden.
We cranked in a few turns and while we were trimming and testing with short flights, we noticed a gentleman reading the newspaper. He was watching over his glasses. We sent up a few mid-power flights and decided too crank in some turns. We got it up to 80-90 percent and gave it a toss.
It was a sunny, cool day with the slightest breeze from the SSE. The model spiraled almost straight up and then began a more gentle circle to the left as the power came off. After a few circles we realized it was in rising air and we watched it get smaller and smaller as it tracked North. Just before it specked out as it flew over the city, the gentleman reading the paper put it down and asked in perfect English, 'is your name on the airplane?' I said,' yes- also my address and telephone number.' He said something like this. If that comes down in town and causes a car accident, they'll know who to call for the suit! We laughed but later I wondered if he was kidding or was voicing a real concern. Regardless, the telephone never rang about the model and Hung is the only one who knows where it is.
The modification I made to the power system was to slant the toothpick that holds the rubber for the rear hook. I re-read the instructions later and found the reason the toothpick is pointed straight down is so when turns are depleted the rubber slips off which changes the CG and brings the model back down- a built in DT! Bill Kuhl has Squirrel video on his website.
Squirrel Review by Ondrej "Andy" Mitas
The Squirrel was designed by Darcy Whyte to introduce young people to the delights of free flight model aviation. It does a great job. Takes less than 1/2 hr to build and typically flies quite well. Mine is a light indoor version; 1/16" sq construction, 3/32 x 3/16" motorstick, and Ikara 6" prop.
Squirrel Spotted at the Science Olympiad in 2005.
This picture was sent in by Fred Tellier. I took this picture of an enlarged squirrel used as a Wright Stuff model at the Michigan State Science Olympiad.
Scott Hill, January 2006
We are having major success with the Squirrel. Each 9 weeks I get a new group. I have just started my third group, but only my second group to build the squirrel. It is also an integral component of my Young Astronauts program. Our best time for the kids is 40 seconds. I only have those Midwest Delta Dart props at this time and plan on using the gray props next year. We really enjoy this plane. I have allowed kids to built several each during the nine weeks. Students shoot for the record each Friday with two launches each. Great fun!!!
Steve Bachanek and Tom Skoropad, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, February 1, 2005
So we were impressed by the simplicity of the model in building and its solid flight characteristics. Obviously an excellent first model for a building class, and you are to be congratulated on this contribution to the hobby.
April 2005, Rolf Christophersen,Wiesbaden, Germany
Hi Darcy,
I saw your Squirrel on Bill Kuhl's site and liked the video. I downloaded the instructions and built one with a few little mods. I used two orthodontic rubber bands to hook the wing to the stick body; as you can see, the top of the wing has a center guide. I got this idea from the Denny Dart II which I've built several of. I took it up the hill and tried 3/32s rubber but it was sluggish. I changed to 1/8 (it weighed 6g without rubber) and after a few trimming flights, I cranked in 700 turns and gave it a toss. It specked out after six minutes. I live in Wiesbaden, Germany, and hope someone will call me to say where it came down. Our son was visiting when I gave it a toss. He ran under it for a while but it slipped into a thermal and kept going up. The flight was so stable, a gentle left turn after the initial torque ran down; then it would seek the breeze and head-up into it until it made the next circle. This picture is of the second one. I'm going to introduce it to my Model Airplane Club next week. We are learning about model aviation Why is it so stable? Those winglets look like something from Hollywood instead of dihedral.
Rolf Christophersen
Art Lane's First Squirrel, London, Ontario, February 2005
Ondrej "Andy" Mitas from United States, September 2005
Darcy, I just ran across your website, pointed there by a friend from Small
Flying Arts. A year or two ago I tried to design a highly simplified beginners
model, similar to a Peck ROG but more durable.. the plan is still on my
website....but your Squirrel outdoes it by leaps and bounds. You have solved a
number of the usual beginner problems with FF models by brash ingenuity, and the
resulting model flies great and *actually looks good too,* a rarity for beginner
models. Pretty incredible. I definitely salute your talent and insight. Please
keep the free plan on the site, so my flying buddies and I can use it to seduce
others into the hobby!
:)
all the best
Andy
-----------------------------
Ondrej "Andy" Mitas
art, music, airplanes - http://ondro.net
From: George and Donna Clarke [sealyham@shaw.ca]
Sent: Sunday, January 07, 2007 1:33 PM
To: darcy@Siteware.com
Subject: Small Squirrel Biplanes
Darcy:
Here's a couple biplanes. Differing in design, they are both very good fliers. The first has a 9 in. span and a 2 in. chord. It weighs 8 grams including rubber. The second has a 6 3/4 in. span and a 2 3/4 in. chord. It weighs 9 grams including rubber. Both are powered by shaved-down 5 in. props. Each plane took about 3 hrs. to build. The fun continues.
Cheers
George
From: George and Donna Clarke [sealyham@shaw.ca]
Sent: Friday, January 05, 2007 1:20 PM
To: darcy@Siteware.com
Subject: One more Squirrel
Here's my latest, the Little Squirrel, and it's a beauty. Wingspan - 10 in. Chord - 3.5 in. Total weight - 8.5 grams. The prop is 5 in., shaved down to save weight. Excellent wing loading of .24 g/ sq. in. Anything below .5 g/sq. in. will fly, but the lighter the better. I cut the wing from a single sheet of 3/32 contest balsa in order to save the added weight of glued joints, and gave it an airfoil shape. Test flights with a single short loop of 1/8 rubber prove that this little plane will disappear in a hurry unless care is taken to give it a large enough field to fly in.
Cheers
George
From: George and Donna Clarke [sealyham@shaw.ca]
Sent: Tuesday, January 02, 2007 9:12 PM
To: darcyl@Siteware.com
Subject: Giant Squirrel
Darcy:
The first has a 4 in. chord and an 18 in. span. The prop is undersized -
6 in., and will be replaced with a 7.5 in. prop. Total weight 14 grams, for an excellent wing loading of .19 grams/sq. in. With two loops of 1/8 rubber it goes like a scalded cat, nearly vertically,
the too-small prop churning furiously. The second plane, the Giant
Squirrel, has a 36 in. span with a 4 in. chord. Total weight - 36 grams, for a very good .25 grams/sq. in. wing loading. It flies fairly well with a 9.5 in. prop, but I am going to substitute an 11 in. prop for better performance. This one is definitely for calm air flying as the wing is prone to flexing in windy conditions.
Cheers
George Clarke
From: George and Donna Clarke [sealyham@shaw.ca]
Sent: Sunday, December 10, 2006 6:00 PM
To: darcy@Siteware.com
Subject: Hyper Squirrel
Hi:
I thought you might be interested in this version of your design.
Wingspan - 36 in. Chord - 3 in. Length - 34 in. Weight - 36 grams. Not too bad with respect to wing loading - approximately .3 g/ sq. in. With 2 loops of 1/8 rubber powering a 15 in. carved balsa prop, it just pokes along with the prop turning fairly slowly. It will probably require a third and possibly a fourth loop of rubber to really make it go. I put a slight vee dihedral in the wing.
Cheers
George
