BY WOLFGANG MATT; TEXT BY RON CHIDGEY . . . continuing M.A.N.’s long-established tradition of publishing the World Champion aircraft; herewith we present the 1975 Pattern Champion plane.
The Atlas is not an airplane that just reaches out and grabs you at first glance. Rather, it’s one of those very functional design that grow on you over a period of time.
I believe it’s destined to be a classic like the Taurus, Citron and KWIK-FLI. If you are a competitor, you grow to admire the Atlas fairly quickly as you watch it per form, probably in the process of beating the socks off your own airplane. 1 personally developed a deep respect for it at the 1974 Las Vegas meet where Wolfgang placed 2nd, just missing 1st by a Slip of the tongue.
I’m sure most of the competitors at the 1975 World Championships in Bern share my feelings, after Wolfgang’s convincing win there. The more you study the Atlas, the more really outstanding Features you discover. In order to give you the straight scoop concerning these advanced design concepts 1 asked Wolfgang some pointed questions.
Here are the questions along with Wolfgang’s answers:
Question: The Super Star design that you flew last year was a good airplane for you. What characteristics of the Super Star did you hope to improve when you started the Atlas design? 570 To get a more even, smoother flying style. Also, bester performance in the roll figures due to the new FAI Pattern program which contains more roll maneuvers.
Question: Flow many design variations did you go through in the Atlas development?
Answer: The third prototype of this design proved to be what 1 expected. This prototype was used as my “A” model in the World Championships.
Question: 1s the Atlas everything you hoped it would be? Are there any particular characteristics you would like to improve?
Answer: I am satisfied with it, and at the moment no additional improvements are necessary.
Question: Is the airfoil of your design? If not, where did it originate?
Answer: lt is my own design.
Question: You obviously like strip ailerons. Do you feel that they are easier to build?
Answer: The mechanical part (linkage) of the conventional ailerons is more difficult to build in order to get precise movements. In addition, in my experience the strip ailerons do not have any aerodynamic disadvantages.
Question: Swept wings are becoming more popular in the U.S. You seem to prefer a straight taper configuration. Any reason for this:
Answer: I tried swept wings, but this design needs more speed which requires a faster flying style. 1 do not like a fast flying style that much.
Question: The elevators on the Atlas seem to be a little larger than most. Any particular reason for this?
Answer: Yes, 1 wanted to get softer reactions.
Question: Any advantage to the side mounted engine other than to clean up the profile?
Answer: You get a better distribution of the motor vibrations with a side mounted engine. The side mounting brings the vibration more directly through the wing and fuselage, thus dampening vibrations to the receiver and servos.
The Atlas has already established quite a record on the world contest circuit including of course a 2nd place at the 1974 Las Vegas Tournament of Champions and a 1st place in the 1975 World Championships. The entire Liechtenstein team flew the Atlas in Bern and finished 2nd in team placing. This is an outstanding accomplishment when you consider that the population of that little, magic kingdom is only 35,000. 1’m sure the superior performance of the Atlas helped the team immeasurably.
Specifications:
Wingspan: 1,65 Meter
Lenght: 1,33 Meter
Weight: 3,5 kg
Engine: Webra 61 Speed
Text: Model Airplane News (march 1976)
Images: Erich Gilik, Bert von Boetticher, Guenter Hoppe, MAN
