I was talking to my friend Bill Khul and we were agreeing that the cost of balsa really adds up when you’re making a lot of airplanes. We discussed some alternate materials but right after the conversation I made this alternate motor stick for the Squirrel that uses less balsa.

You can make a motorstick out of 1/16 x 3/8 inch balsa rather than 1/8 x 3/8 inch. That’s pretty thin but if you put a doubler for the first inch and a half or so, then it fits the standard propeller mount. If you then add a wing mount on top of it all the way back to the fin, then it stiffens the motor stick. The idea is to run it back to the rear motor hangar (toothpick). I added a doubler to the motor stick at the rear of the wing mount as well, just ahead of the toothpick. I then glued the toothpick and fin (don’t forget to add the tissue to the fin before attaching it to the motor stick). So the rear doubler and fin stick brace the toothpick fairly well. In this case I didn’t underhang the toothpick under the motor stick. Instead, it is flush and that is the location to glue to the horizontal stabilizer. After the Stabilizer is in place, you can glue a small block behind the toothpick to help get the elastic motor far enough from the motor stick if necessary.

I think there might be a weak point just behind the front doubler. Also, the toothpick is a bit flexible because it is not secured by sewing thread.

Interestingly, the motor stick is stiffer than a plain one but it’s more twisty. I wonder if this twistyness will provide some Stabilizer Tilt that will counteract torque? Food for thought!