ME-246 - modified Pica Duellist

After deciding to try a twin engined model, the first step was to do some basic research. Most "scare" stories of twin engined models meeting a violent end after having an engine quit in flight are enough to scare off many "would-be" twin engined pilots, therefore my only caution when sifting through information on the subject of r/c twins, is to check if the authors have qualified their conclusions, or if they are simply making blanket statements. In the latter case, realize that two different twin engined models can have drastically different flight characteristics due to any number of design/building factors, and what might apply to one, might not apply to the other. The situation under which you lose an engine usually has more to do with the outcome than most of the articles indicate. I saw some hope in succeeding with a twin after reading an article by Dan Parsons on the operation of one of his successful and long lived De Haviland Hornets. The clincher came when I saw him fly his Hornet at the IMAA Giant Scale Fly-in at Crows Landing NAS. The model flew flawlessly and he did it with no more "fuss" than any of the other pilots flying single engined planes at that meet.
Click on thumbnail photos below to open larger photos in a new window.
The original plan was to build the Pica Duellist in it's stock configuration, right out of the box (building and flying a twin for the first time is supposed to be hard enough as it is, so why make things complicated right?). Ok, having failed in this original plan, plan B was to builda twin that looked like it might be a scale model of something the British or
Germans might have flown during WWII. To this end, the following changes were made (while preserving the stock decalage and wing incidence angles, and engine thrust lines of the kit)
A plan and profile comparison of the Me-246 and the stock Pica Duellist illustrates the basic differences. In retrospect, I should have increased the tail moment in order to keep the overall proportions the same - by only increasing the wingspan, the Me-246 appears to be a little short coupled. This is only an aesthetics issue as the flight performance is just fine.

While the Pica Duellist was a high quality kit overall, my Duellist had to go on a severe weight reduction program to arrive at 10.75 lbs. Forget about the advertised weight of 9 lbs.! The balsa used for the ribs was as hard as 5-ply birch plywood, and just about as heavy. Any excessivly heavy/dense wood was replaced, lightening holes were cut in most ribs and all large block pieces were generously hollowed out.