New Addition: Aardvark RC model airplane

How much weight can a model airplane, powered by an OS .40 FP engine, lift, carry, and land with – all without crashing?  That’s what the Skagit RC Club in Washington State wanted to find out.

In the late 1990s they created a contest challenging their fellow modelers to design, build, and fly a model to carry a heavy payload.  Four members of the Whidbey Island Radio Control Society (WIRCS) decided to give it a try.

Four men pose with an awkward-looking large model airplane. In front of the model is a radio transmitter and a scale with the weight bar.
Team WIRCS, Dan Simenson, Chuck Bower, Mike Mosbrooker, and Chris Barker pose with the Aardvark. Note the weight bar on the scale.

They designed the Aardvark, which with its 105″ fuselage and 16′ wingspan weighs in at 13 pounds.  It won the weightlifter contest in 1999.  And, by the way, the answer to how much weight a model airplane can carry?  26 pounds 3 ounces.

The Aardvark RC model airplane coming in for a landing on a grassy field.
The Aardvark coming in for a landing during a test flight.

The Aardvark was recently donated to the museum In Memory of Chris Barker. Thank you Team WIRCS for helping to grow the museum’s collection!

—————————————————————————
For more information on the National Model Aviation Museum, including our location, hours and admission fees visit: www.modelaircraft.org/museum

Tags