Plane................................. Pogo 
	Designer.............................. Joe Farris 
	Aircraft Type, Full Scale ............ Formula I Pylon Racer 
	Aircraft Type, Model.................. Sport 
	Scale................................. 4/10 
	Engine Size .......................... 2-3 cu. in. 
	Span ................................. 78 in. 
	Weight................................ 18 Ibs. 
	Ratings: 
	Plans.................................. Good 
	Instructions .......................... Good 
	Fly-ability ........................... Excellent 
	Ease of Construction .................. Medium 
	Appeal..................................Wide 
	The Bottom Line........................ The Pogo looks good 
                                                and flies great on a 
                                                standard Quadra 

Many of you may have been considering a giant scale plane, but haven't decided on which one. Maybe you are a beginner and don't want to build a plane that is too hard to fly. If that is the case, the Pogo, designed by Joe Farris may be your plane. It's a 40% scale model of the George Owl designed full scale pylon racer that is a pussy cat to fly. The span is 78 inches and the length is 99".

Most of the time a reviewer will study a set of plans and form an educated opinion about the construction and how the plane will fly. This time I have first hand knowledge of the Pogo, having seen Joe fly his creation at the WORKS club field in the Dayton, Ohio area. Joe goes to many of the Fly-Ins in the midwest, so you can find pictures of the Pogo in past issues of HIGH-FLIGHT.

The Pogo will make passes like the real pylon racer, do most acrobatics, and virtually hover, both upright and inverted. That's right, hover. Joe, an engineer at Wright- Patterson AFB, uses a thin, flat bottom airfoil on the low aspect ratio wing. The result is a wing that literally will not stall with normal control movements. I watched him fly at both full up and full down elevator, controlling the descent with power. On a windy day, the plane can be stopped or hovered. It's a crowd pleaser.

Let me expand on the statement that it will do most acrobatics. Naturally, you can't spin or snap roll if you can't stall. The plane, due to its small (scale) rudder also has a hard time doing a stall turn. Maybe you don't want to do a lot of acro, but if you do, you could change the size of the rudder by moving the hinge line to give less vertical fin area, but more rudder area while keeping the scale outline. The rolling and looping type maneuvers were fine.

Now to the plans. They are in 2 sheets, one (36 x 90) for the fuselage and bulkheads and the other (36 x 42) for the wing and horizontal tail. A moderately detailed instruction pamphlet is included.

I'd rate the Pogo a "medium" on the building scale, not too difficult, but not a rank beginner's plane either. The fuselage sides are truss type that are built from pine or fir stringers that you get from a lumber yard and plane to a taper. If you don't have a hand plane, this might put you off. After two sides are completed, you construct the basic fuselage using these sides and the plywood bulkheads. The forward portion of the fuselage is sheeted and the rest is open stringers -- pretty normal construction.

The one-piece wing is built up from a pine spar with 1/8" balsa ribs and 1/8" balsa sheeting. The horizontal tail is constructed in a similar manner. The ailerons are of the "barn door" type. The hinging method shown is a bit different, the leading edge of the control surfaces are radiused into the trailing edge of the wing or tail with offset hinge points. It is gapless and strong. You may have to read the instructions a couple of times, but is really not hard. It's easier to understand it when you see the plans than it is to explain. You can always opt for the regular old hinging method. The wing attachment is very strong, using 1/4" bolts through 1/4 plywood in the sides to a steel angle that is bolted to the main pine wing spar. You will not pull the wing off!

Plans, cowl, wheel pants and canopy are available from: A Hobby Shop, 17 N. Main Street, Suite 17, Centerville, Ohio 45459, (513) 433-7127.