The first thing in the instruction book is a materials list, which very few plans have. This set of plans consists of four sheets. Sheet Number One shows a sideview of the airplane with engine mounted and the fin and rudder plus landing gear. Oh yes, all plans show updates as Doug has flown his airplanes and found areas that needed improvements. So the plans you get are the very latest. Doug has flown the Turbulent for 121 hours as of January 1984.

Fuselage is built up construction with quarter inch square spruce longerons and balsa uprights and diagonals. The top longeron is 1/4 by 1/2 spruce and the fuselage is sheeted with 3/32 balsa. Control runs with pulley locations shown. Landing gear is of 3/16 music wire with 1/8 drag wire and a very novel and scale shock strut, for which Doug sells the shock springs for $2.50 a pair. You have a choice of a tail skid or a tail wheel. If you opt for the tail wheel, complete drawing of the construction is shown. A complete instrument panel is also shown. Also all engine and cowl details are shown. Incidentally the cowl is available from T & D Fiberglass. Servo location and tank location are indicated.

Sheet Number Two:

This plan sheet shows the fuselage top view plus the elevator and stabilizer and all formers, plus the windshield pattern and even the cradle is shown in half scale, for transportation of the fuselage. Construction photos show the fuselage inverted in the cradle. I told you these plans are complete.

Sheet Number Three:

This plan sheet shows wing construction, with slots out-board near each tip. Wing spars... two... quarter by half spruce on top (front) of each rib with shear webbing from center to tip. The rear spars are the same construction except quarter square spruce is used. Dihedral braces are of plywood and are of substantial length. Ribs are of 1/8 balsa and 1/16 ply, leading edge is sheeted, along the aileron cut out and the leading edge of the aileron itself. Sheeting and cap-stripping is of 3/32 balsa. The wing slots are simple to build and are added after the wing is finished completely, (I think). Ailerons are operated by bellcranks and one heavy duty servo mounted in the center section. Landing gear is recessed into the bottom of the wing with access hatches covering it. Wing is mounted to the fuselage by four locating dowels in the leading edge and four... quarter by twenty bolts on the trailing edge.

Sheet Number Four:

This plan sheet shows only the landing gear detail, and is very complete with full size patterns and full size shock strut construction shown.

Final impression of these plans is, they are very well engineered and very sturdily built and will take a lot of abuse. I can see why Doug MacBrien says this is his favorite. Doug also sends along a sheet of drawings for construction of a set of skis for winter flying, which we do a lot of here in Michigan. But it does cut into our hoped for winter building time.

We have sort of a Polar Bear club. We fly at least once every month of the year and man skis are fun. I even feel sorry for people who don't have the opportunity to fly off snow.