Does anyone remember the Diablo that was making the rounds in the mid
80's? The one I had was an ARF (so much as the early ARF's met that definition). I don't remember, but I suspect that it was made by Lanier -- at least it had that thin, slick posterboard covering on the foam wings that I associated with Lanier, as well as thin foam board on the fuse sides which acted at least partially structurally, since there wasn't a whole lot of wood in the plane other than the firewall, turtle stringers, and a couple of formers. I think it's span was somewhere around 56 inches, and it called for a .40 to .60 engine. Did I mention that this plane was LIGHT, although not particularly strong -- at least not the fuse. Of course, I put a fairly hot .60 in it, only to discover that even a fast idle was a bit fast. This was pre 3-D, or at least I think it was. The tail surfaces would allow for 3-D maneuvering, but it needed wider strip ailerons (or barn doors) for today's true 3-D.
It even sounded neat. It had a quiet muffler, so you heard about as much prop noise as engine noise. Superimposed on that sound was a medium-pitched whistle, which I assume came from the flying wires on the tail. Made me think of a turboprop.
That plane started my love affair with mid-wings, and indirectly with pattern in general. There's just something about a plane that goes exactly where you point it, and keeps doing so until you tell it differently. Unfortunately, it eventually succumed to a pilot that was relatively lacking in experience at the time, a bit too much power, and a weak fuse.
I would love to have another like it now, but haven't seen a diablo in many years, other than the one in the MAN plans, which isn't the same plane at all. The Edge 540 looks quite a bit the same, other than a different paint scheme.
Is anyone familiiar with the Diablo I speak of, and more importantly, does anyone know of a source, even if it's just plans? It would make a great winter project, IMO.
Bob