ELECTRIC FLIGHT U.K. - British Electric Flight Association

Pampered Jet and the
Need for Speed (and Looks)
Early Dreams
by Bill Jackson
Pampered Jet came into being following my much earlier longing to build a model
jet with ducted fan propulsion. My early attempts at “jets” were designed with
both tractor and pusher propeller driven versions with the i.c. motor exposed.
I was impressed with the speed and handling, but disappointed by their lack of
sleek jet-type aesthetics; though this was hardly noticeable when flying. I found
that a pusher configuration offered a more efficient layout for speed and better
appearance by leaving an uncluttered front end.
At the time, I pondered on building an i.c. ducted fan model but was put off by the
expense, complexity and no suitable flying field available locally.
Later, soon after my introduction to electric RC flying, I started to notice that a
few adventurous (and skilful) souls were flying electric ducted fan (EDF) planes
with home built fan units and cobalt motors. These, according to the magazines’
reports, were quite fast.
Taking the Plunge
Soon after this, commercially produced fan units and rare earth magnet motors
(still expensive) became more widely available. I knew it had to be now or never.
Going by the magazines, a popular set up was a Plettenberg 200-25-4 neodymium
motor in a WeMoTec Mini-fan 480 unit. I counted out my pennies and placed my
order, wincing at the price of £99 for a 480 size motor!
Temptation to build a Lockheed Starfighter was resisted and I decided upon a
more conservative “far-off scale” Pampa Jet in which to mount my investments.
In my eagerness to get the model in the air, I went the short route of leaving the
fan unit and associated wiring exposed, neglecting one of my very early intentions
of building an aesthetically correct jet. However, in all other visual aspects I was
quite pleased.
Pampered Jet
Pampered Jet, as it came to be called affectionately, had good flying characteristics
except for one aspect, it was very slow and consequently could not reach altitude.
As can be seen from the specification as follows, the size of the model is greater
than the average 400/480 motor sized speed machine but it is slippery and has
relatively low wing loading. I believe that one or more of the following factors may
have been responsible for its lack of power:
20 E.F.-U.K.