The ORCA is comprised of two components:  a watertight chamber (WTC) which houses the radio and running gear, surrounded by a free-flooding hydrodynamic outer hull which serves as an attachment point for wing, elevator, and rudder control surfaces. 

One noteworthy feature is that the WTC is a self-contained module. It can easily be removed from the ORCA outer hull and installed in a different outer hull. This means if you want to build one of our different designs in the future, you won’t need to build another WTC. Three additional outer hulls are currently under development, with at least one to be released in the coming year.

The ORCA should be considered an intermediate to advanced kit, however any modeler who has used epoxy, drilled holes, and painted should be able to complete the kit.  Previous  R/C experience is not required, but an understanding of the various components used in R/C modeling would be beneficial.

What’s included in the kit:

The outer hull, hatch, and wings are hand laid fiberglass using polyester resin, carefully produced right here in the USA. These parts have a white gelcoat finish, and require some sanding to remove “flashing” from the seam lines in the mold, and to achieve an ideal fit between parts. The wings or rather “wingerons” come with the torque rods already installed.

Sheet styrene is provided for buildup of the tail surfaces   The torque rods are installed between several laminated sheets of styrene.

The WTC is composed of several pieces of schedule 40 PVC pipe commonly used in household plumbing. Our original prototypes used a molded fiberglass WTC, but because of it’s complex shape along with a large rubber gasket and lexan hatch, this component proved difficult and costly to produce. Building the WTC from PVC pipe dramatically reduces the cost of the kit, and makes spare parts relatively commonplace.

Also included:

A detailed photo instruction manual which covers all aspects of construction including,  radio and running gear installation,  painting, and flying tips.

Our ORCA intro DVD which shows many steps of the construction process, along with additional “in flight” footage of ORCAs in action, and helpful hints on proper trimming and flying.  This DVD is also available separately for those who want to get an idea of what to expect before they buy. The cost of the DVD is deductible from the kit price if a kit is purchased at a later time.

Items required for completion not included in the kit (some specifics on our recommended setups page):

A 3 - 4 channel radio with 2 - 3 low profile servos. A micro receiver is also recommended.

A 6 or 7 cell NiCad battery pack and charger.

A Speed 500 or Speed 600 direct or geared drive motor and running hardware.

An electronic speed control.

 

For construction

Epoxy and CA glues.

Silicone sealant.

Solder and soldering iron.

Bru Line pushrod seals (5).

2-56 pushrods (4)

Clevices and control horns.

25 Amp automotive toggle switch (from Radio Shack).

If repairs become necessary you may need polyester resin or fiberglass cloth.  We buy our resin and cloth from TAP Plastics, but it is also available at many automotive and marine supply stores.

You’ll also need standard building tools like drills, screwdrivers, pliers, sandpaper, etc.  I also find that a Dremel moto-tool is very useful, but not a requirement (I would use a dremel to change the batteries in the TV remote if I could).