Waco YKS 6 (58.1″) – Laser Cut Wood Pack

Who doesn’t love biplanes, especially those with round engines? Bill Bowne first learned about the Waco YKS series in the 1990s, so he built one back then. With over six square feet of wing area to carry her Astro Flight geared 40 and twenty heavy NiCads, that first Waco was a delightfully steady flyer, capable of mild acrobatics and rock-steady passes. The design has been updated for a brushless system and LiPos. At just over 5.1/4 pounds this Waco is over two pounds lighter than the old one and flies very easily on a Power .32 brushless outrunner and a 4S LiPo pack.

• Model name: Waco YKS
• Model type: Sport scale biplane
• Scale: Approx. 1/6.75
• Designed by: Bill Bowne
• Wingspan: Top: 58.1″ (1476 mm) Bottom 49″ (1245 mm)
• Wing area: 860 sq.in. (15.55 sq.cm)
• Wing loading: 14.2 oz./sq.ft.
• Length: 45″ (1143 mm)
• Weight: 85 oz (2410g)
• Motor: Power .32, kV 770
• Prop: 12 x 6E
• ESC: E-Flite 60A
• Battery: 3S 3300 mAh LiPo (gentle flying) 4S 4000 mAh LiPo (aerobatics)
• Published in RCM&E June 2022 

She isn’t museum scale but is an easily recognisable model, without sacrificing the flying ability for details invisible from 10 feet away. So this is an easy to fly sport scale ship, which is a cruiser, designed for relaxed flying on calm evenings, so we recommend not to overpower yours. This Waco will do rolls, stall turns and loops, but she’ll do them at her own dignified pace. 

Whilst the Waco’s a gentle sweetie in the air, she does take a bit of experience in building. Even if you’re an ace flier, if you haven’t built a complex design before, please take your time! 

Bill Bowne flies the Waco for the first – It took a brief application of full throttle to get the Waco moving but once she started, she rolled easily and was off in under ten feet. After that, it was time to throttle back to around half-power for the climb out. What a pussy cat!

Up the Waco went, for a quick test of her stalling tendencies (a habit from my glow days; I always want to know what to expect from a model should I suddenly find myself with a dead stick. And, yes, electrics can have sudden power failures, too!) The stall proved to be pretty mild – all that washout pays off!