model’s flight characteristics beyond the basic flying-withoutcrashing
level. This is where speed becomes an important factor.
For instance, a Rubber model at low power will cruise under
power at a speed that is close to its glide speed. Things are fairly
safe, and a model that is adjusted for a safe glide will usually have
a safe cruise pattern.
Wind the motor all the way, and things get interesting. For the
first few seconds of the flight the model is traveling faster than
glide speed. This means that the wing is generating more lift,
causing the model to try to loop. With careful design and
adjustment you can turn that extra lift into a productive climb
rather than a loop. The trick is to do it without affecting the cruise
and glide.
Luckily, most of the adjustments we can make to a model are
speed sensitive. Downthrust and side thrust, center-of-gravity
location, and stabilizer tilt are more effective at low speeds, and
rudder, elevator, and wing warps (washin and washout) are more
effective at high speeds. This allows us to
balance a high-speed adjustment with a
low-speed adjustment, creating selfcorrecting
flight.
The combination of right thrust and left
rudder is perhaps the easiest to understand.
At high speeds a slight amount of right
rudder will become effective and
straighten out the right climb pattern,
preventing a right spiral dive. The
straighter pattern tends to cause the
model’s nose to go up and the model to
climb. If the nose gets too far up, the
PERHAPS THE MOST frequently asked question I hear from
Radio Control modelers and the general public is, How do you
control a model without a radio? The answer is simple and
complex.
The short answer is that the model is designed to be inherently
stable so that it can fly without the constant need for the
corrective control adjustments required with most full-scale
aircraft or radio-controlled models.
The long answer requires an explanation of dihedral, the
relationship of vertical fin area to the amount of dihedral, the
location of the center of gravity to the center of pressure, decalage,
and so on. Those are design factors that most Free Flighters have
learned through the years, often the hard way. If you start with a
good kit or magazine plans and follow the instructions for
balancing the model properly, there shouldn’t be any major
problems. At the very least, you’ll have a model that should fly.
Things get interesting when you start trying to improve the
Louis Joyner, 6 Saturday Rd., Mt. Pleasant SC 29464
FREE FLIGHT DURATION
The late Keith Hoover was a longtime proponent of nonautomated Power models such
as his Millennium series, shown in drawings from Free Flight news.
Bob Mattes’ Classic Gas design uses
inverted engine, low-mounted wing. Rules
for new event prohibit auto surfaces.
January 2004 133
01sig5.QXD 10/27/03 8:43 am Page 133
134 MODEL AVIATION
model will slow down. Then the right thrust becomes more
effective and the model starts to yaw right rather than stall.
All of this requires a careful balance in the amount of thrust
offset relative to the amount of rudder deflection and in the
overall amounts; i.e., a lot of both or a little of both. Excessive
thrust and rudder offsets can work, but they usually cause reduced
performance. The trick is finding how little of each you need and,
perhaps more important, settings that control the high-speed climb
without adversely affecting the glide.
There is another way. By using a timer to activate an AR (auto
rudder), VIT (Variable Incidence Tailplane), or other controls we
can isolate the different segments of the flight and adjust each
independently. Most of the high-performance Free Flight events,
Rubber and Power, use auto surfaces. Although there is the added
complication of a timer, movable surfaces, and lines to hook up,
adjusting the model is easier than with a nonautomated, locked-up
model.
However, there has been a backlash against the complexity of
the automated models. A nonautomated AMA Power event—
Classic Gas—has recently been added to the schedule. This event
places no restrictions on model design, construction, or the engine
used, but it forbids the use of auto surfaces.
One advantage of Classic Gas compared to the similar but
more restrictive Nostalgia Gas is that it allows innovation in
model design and construction; Nostalgia Gas limits the designs
to those published before 1956.
The late Keith Hoover was a longtime proponent of
nonautomated Power models. His designs ranged from highthrustline
models in the 1950s to his last Millennium series. These
models dispense with the traditional pylon or high-thrust
arrangements and use a wing set close to the thrustline and a
fuselage that angles downward toward the rear to locate the
stabilizer slightly below the wing.
Keith also used what he called an “active tail control,” which
was a simple aluminum tab attached to the top of the stabilizer. At
glide speed the tab had little effect. At high speeds the tab became
effective and caused a nose-down force to counteract the
increased lift of the wing and prevent looping. The tab extended
only three inches on either side of the stabilizer centerline.
(Thanks to Ian Kaynes of Free Flight news [FFn] for the
drawing. For information about subscribing to FFn, contact editor
Ian Kaynes at 7 Ashley Rd., Farnborough, Hants, England GU14
7EZ, or E-mail [email protected]. The Web site is
www.btinternet.com/~kaynes/ffnbuy.htm.)
Several other modelers, notably Bob Mattes and Gil Morris,
are working along similar lines to develop high-performance,
locked-up models. Hopefully the new Classic Gas event will help
encourage even more experimentation.
For additional information on Power models of all types, look
at the 1992 NFFS Book on Power Models edited by Keith Hoover.
Gil Morris’s nonautomated Power model uses downthrust and
wing set at negative angle to fuselage to control power.
Norm Furutani and Tom Laird developed this compact battery
box for starting 1⁄2A engines. The column has details.
The battery box’s 1⁄8 birch plywood back is held in place with four
screws. Two D-cell batteries provide the power.
You can order a copy from National Free Flight Society (NFFS)
Publications, c/o Jim Zolbe, 4801 Bradock Ct., Lincoln NE
68516, E-mail Jim at [email protected] for price and postage
information, or check out the National Free Flight Society Web
site at www.freeflight.org.
NFFS News: After a long stint as membership chairman, Hank
Nystrom is taking a well-deserved rest. J.P. Kish is the new
membership officer. Please send membership applications to him
at the NFFS Membership Office, 22 Pine St., Homosassa FL
34446. Effective January 1, 2004, the dues are $25 per year and
$48 for two years. For more information contact J.P. at
01sig5.QXD 10/27/03 8:44 am Page 134
January 2004 135
[email protected].
Starting Simply: Back in the old days,
before electric starters, cranking an
engine only required a battery, a finger,
and a bit of patience. Usually the battery
was one of those tall, cylindrical, 11⁄2-
volt dry-cell jobs with two screw
terminals on top. Hook on a 3-foot set of
leads with alligator clips, and you were
in business.
For longer battery life, some would
tape two of the dry cells together and add
short jumper wires to make a battery. It
would still put out only 11⁄2 volts but had
double the life. (Technically a battery is
a collection of two or more cells, but
almost everybody refers to a single dry
cell of whatever size as a battery.)
Since the advent of electric starters,
power panels, gel cells, and all of the
other modern conveniences, many people
seem to have forgotten how little
equipment you really need to start an
engine—especially a small 1⁄2A.
At the 2003 Nationals (Nats) I spotted
two California fliers who were keeping
things simple. Norm Furutani and Tom
Laird were enjoying their first Muncie
Nats. Since they flew via commercial
airlines to and from Indiana, they wanted
to keep the weight and size of their
ground-support equipment to a
minimum.
One of the items they developed for
the trip east was a neat, compact battery
box. It contained two D cells, jacks, and
an on-off rocker switch, all in an elegant
plywood-and-walnut package.
Norm and Tom sized the box to fit
around a RadioShack battery holder that
accepts two D cells. The sides of the box
are 1⁄2-inch-thick walnut, but any
hardwood would do. The face and back
are 1⁄8-inch Baltic birch plywood from
Beep
Beep
Beep
Beep
Beep
Beep
Beep
Beep
WALSTON RETRIEVAL SYSTEMS
725 Cooper Lake Rd., S.E., Smyrna, GA 30082
770-434-4905 800-657-4672 Fax 770-431-0119
Visa • MC • AmEx • Disc
e-mail [email protected]
Call Now.
• Economical
• Powerful
• Swings 15x8, 16x8, 18x8, & 20x6 props
• For 1/4 scale up to 24 lbs.
• Precision Made in the U.S.A.
To order or for more information
call us at: 281-998-2529
PO Box 7967
Pasadena, TX 77508
www.gcbmrc.com • Send SASE for information
Direct Sales Only.
$21000
+1250 S&H! 25CC GAS
ENGINES
ESTATE LIQUIDATION SERVICES
For information, call 281-998-2529, or send SASE to:
GCBM R/C Models Inc.
PO Box 7967, Pasadena, TX 77505
website: gcbmrc.com
(No RTF airplanes, cars, boats, or related equipment please.)
• We buy: R/C Airplane Kits, ARF’s, Engines, Radios, Field Equipment,
Building Accessories
• 1 or 2 items to an Entire Estate
• Vintage and Antique Collections
• Hobby Shop Inventories
• New or Used
• Pick-up Service Available
the hobby shop. The front face is glued
on; the back is held in place with four
oval-head sheet-metal screws. Screw
cups eliminate the need for
countersinking the screw heads, which
would weaken the plywood.
Wiring is simple. One wire goes from
one of the battery-box connections to a
jack. Another wire goes from the other
battery-box connection to the rocker
switch. From there, a third wire connects
the switch to the second jack. Tom and
Norm suggest that the switch could be
eliminated since there is little danger of a
glow clip shorting out.
(In the old days of alligator clips, the
two clips would often touch accidentally,
shorting out the battery. The common
cure was to shorten one wire slightly so
that the alligator clips were staggered
several inches.)
Hand cranking an engine offers
another advantage: it is much easier on
the engine. Many of the old 1⁄2A engines
that are popular in the Nostalgia events
were never designed for use with an
electric starter. If the engine floods, the
starter can keep trying to turn the engine
even though the piston can’t go all the
way through Top Dead Center. The
result can be a bent connecting rod or,
much worse, a broken crankshaft. The
latter is a common problem with
Holland Hornets. MA
01sig5.QXD 10/27/03 8:44 am Page 135
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/01
Page Numbers: 133,134,135
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/01
Page Numbers: 133,134,135
model’s flight characteristics beyond the basic flying-withoutcrashing
level. This is where speed becomes an important factor.
For instance, a Rubber model at low power will cruise under
power at a speed that is close to its glide speed. Things are fairly
safe, and a model that is adjusted for a safe glide will usually have
a safe cruise pattern.
Wind the motor all the way, and things get interesting. For the
first few seconds of the flight the model is traveling faster than
glide speed. This means that the wing is generating more lift,
causing the model to try to loop. With careful design and
adjustment you can turn that extra lift into a productive climb
rather than a loop. The trick is to do it without affecting the cruise
and glide.
Luckily, most of the adjustments we can make to a model are
speed sensitive. Downthrust and side thrust, center-of-gravity
location, and stabilizer tilt are more effective at low speeds, and
rudder, elevator, and wing warps (washin and washout) are more
effective at high speeds. This allows us to
balance a high-speed adjustment with a
low-speed adjustment, creating selfcorrecting
flight.
The combination of right thrust and left
rudder is perhaps the easiest to understand.
At high speeds a slight amount of right
rudder will become effective and
straighten out the right climb pattern,
preventing a right spiral dive. The
straighter pattern tends to cause the
model’s nose to go up and the model to
climb. If the nose gets too far up, the
PERHAPS THE MOST frequently asked question I hear from
Radio Control modelers and the general public is, How do you
control a model without a radio? The answer is simple and
complex.
The short answer is that the model is designed to be inherently
stable so that it can fly without the constant need for the
corrective control adjustments required with most full-scale
aircraft or radio-controlled models.
The long answer requires an explanation of dihedral, the
relationship of vertical fin area to the amount of dihedral, the
location of the center of gravity to the center of pressure, decalage,
and so on. Those are design factors that most Free Flighters have
learned through the years, often the hard way. If you start with a
good kit or magazine plans and follow the instructions for
balancing the model properly, there shouldn’t be any major
problems. At the very least, you’ll have a model that should fly.
Things get interesting when you start trying to improve the
Louis Joyner, 6 Saturday Rd., Mt. Pleasant SC 29464
FREE FLIGHT DURATION
The late Keith Hoover was a longtime proponent of nonautomated Power models such
as his Millennium series, shown in drawings from Free Flight news.
Bob Mattes’ Classic Gas design uses
inverted engine, low-mounted wing. Rules
for new event prohibit auto surfaces.
January 2004 133
01sig5.QXD 10/27/03 8:43 am Page 133
134 MODEL AVIATION
model will slow down. Then the right thrust becomes more
effective and the model starts to yaw right rather than stall.
All of this requires a careful balance in the amount of thrust
offset relative to the amount of rudder deflection and in the
overall amounts; i.e., a lot of both or a little of both. Excessive
thrust and rudder offsets can work, but they usually cause reduced
performance. The trick is finding how little of each you need and,
perhaps more important, settings that control the high-speed climb
without adversely affecting the glide.
There is another way. By using a timer to activate an AR (auto
rudder), VIT (Variable Incidence Tailplane), or other controls we
can isolate the different segments of the flight and adjust each
independently. Most of the high-performance Free Flight events,
Rubber and Power, use auto surfaces. Although there is the added
complication of a timer, movable surfaces, and lines to hook up,
adjusting the model is easier than with a nonautomated, locked-up
model.
However, there has been a backlash against the complexity of
the automated models. A nonautomated AMA Power event—
Classic Gas—has recently been added to the schedule. This event
places no restrictions on model design, construction, or the engine
used, but it forbids the use of auto surfaces.
One advantage of Classic Gas compared to the similar but
more restrictive Nostalgia Gas is that it allows innovation in
model design and construction; Nostalgia Gas limits the designs
to those published before 1956.
The late Keith Hoover was a longtime proponent of
nonautomated Power models. His designs ranged from highthrustline
models in the 1950s to his last Millennium series. These
models dispense with the traditional pylon or high-thrust
arrangements and use a wing set close to the thrustline and a
fuselage that angles downward toward the rear to locate the
stabilizer slightly below the wing.
Keith also used what he called an “active tail control,” which
was a simple aluminum tab attached to the top of the stabilizer. At
glide speed the tab had little effect. At high speeds the tab became
effective and caused a nose-down force to counteract the
increased lift of the wing and prevent looping. The tab extended
only three inches on either side of the stabilizer centerline.
(Thanks to Ian Kaynes of Free Flight news [FFn] for the
drawing. For information about subscribing to FFn, contact editor
Ian Kaynes at 7 Ashley Rd., Farnborough, Hants, England GU14
7EZ, or E-mail [email protected]. The Web site is
www.btinternet.com/~kaynes/ffnbuy.htm.)
Several other modelers, notably Bob Mattes and Gil Morris,
are working along similar lines to develop high-performance,
locked-up models. Hopefully the new Classic Gas event will help
encourage even more experimentation.
For additional information on Power models of all types, look
at the 1992 NFFS Book on Power Models edited by Keith Hoover.
Gil Morris’s nonautomated Power model uses downthrust and
wing set at negative angle to fuselage to control power.
Norm Furutani and Tom Laird developed this compact battery
box for starting 1⁄2A engines. The column has details.
The battery box’s 1⁄8 birch plywood back is held in place with four
screws. Two D-cell batteries provide the power.
You can order a copy from National Free Flight Society (NFFS)
Publications, c/o Jim Zolbe, 4801 Bradock Ct., Lincoln NE
68516, E-mail Jim at [email protected] for price and postage
information, or check out the National Free Flight Society Web
site at www.freeflight.org.
NFFS News: After a long stint as membership chairman, Hank
Nystrom is taking a well-deserved rest. J.P. Kish is the new
membership officer. Please send membership applications to him
at the NFFS Membership Office, 22 Pine St., Homosassa FL
34446. Effective January 1, 2004, the dues are $25 per year and
$48 for two years. For more information contact J.P. at
01sig5.QXD 10/27/03 8:44 am Page 134
January 2004 135
[email protected].
Starting Simply: Back in the old days,
before electric starters, cranking an
engine only required a battery, a finger,
and a bit of patience. Usually the battery
was one of those tall, cylindrical, 11⁄2-
volt dry-cell jobs with two screw
terminals on top. Hook on a 3-foot set of
leads with alligator clips, and you were
in business.
For longer battery life, some would
tape two of the dry cells together and add
short jumper wires to make a battery. It
would still put out only 11⁄2 volts but had
double the life. (Technically a battery is
a collection of two or more cells, but
almost everybody refers to a single dry
cell of whatever size as a battery.)
Since the advent of electric starters,
power panels, gel cells, and all of the
other modern conveniences, many people
seem to have forgotten how little
equipment you really need to start an
engine—especially a small 1⁄2A.
At the 2003 Nationals (Nats) I spotted
two California fliers who were keeping
things simple. Norm Furutani and Tom
Laird were enjoying their first Muncie
Nats. Since they flew via commercial
airlines to and from Indiana, they wanted
to keep the weight and size of their
ground-support equipment to a
minimum.
One of the items they developed for
the trip east was a neat, compact battery
box. It contained two D cells, jacks, and
an on-off rocker switch, all in an elegant
plywood-and-walnut package.
Norm and Tom sized the box to fit
around a RadioShack battery holder that
accepts two D cells. The sides of the box
are 1⁄2-inch-thick walnut, but any
hardwood would do. The face and back
are 1⁄8-inch Baltic birch plywood from
Beep
Beep
Beep
Beep
Beep
Beep
Beep
Beep
WALSTON RETRIEVAL SYSTEMS
725 Cooper Lake Rd., S.E., Smyrna, GA 30082
770-434-4905 800-657-4672 Fax 770-431-0119
Visa • MC • AmEx • Disc
e-mail [email protected]
Call Now.
• Economical
• Powerful
• Swings 15x8, 16x8, 18x8, & 20x6 props
• For 1/4 scale up to 24 lbs.
• Precision Made in the U.S.A.
To order or for more information
call us at: 281-998-2529
PO Box 7967
Pasadena, TX 77508
www.gcbmrc.com • Send SASE for information
Direct Sales Only.
$21000
+1250 S&H! 25CC GAS
ENGINES
ESTATE LIQUIDATION SERVICES
For information, call 281-998-2529, or send SASE to:
GCBM R/C Models Inc.
PO Box 7967, Pasadena, TX 77505
website: gcbmrc.com
(No RTF airplanes, cars, boats, or related equipment please.)
• We buy: R/C Airplane Kits, ARF’s, Engines, Radios, Field Equipment,
Building Accessories
• 1 or 2 items to an Entire Estate
• Vintage and Antique Collections
• Hobby Shop Inventories
• New or Used
• Pick-up Service Available
the hobby shop. The front face is glued
on; the back is held in place with four
oval-head sheet-metal screws. Screw
cups eliminate the need for
countersinking the screw heads, which
would weaken the plywood.
Wiring is simple. One wire goes from
one of the battery-box connections to a
jack. Another wire goes from the other
battery-box connection to the rocker
switch. From there, a third wire connects
the switch to the second jack. Tom and
Norm suggest that the switch could be
eliminated since there is little danger of a
glow clip shorting out.
(In the old days of alligator clips, the
two clips would often touch accidentally,
shorting out the battery. The common
cure was to shorten one wire slightly so
that the alligator clips were staggered
several inches.)
Hand cranking an engine offers
another advantage: it is much easier on
the engine. Many of the old 1⁄2A engines
that are popular in the Nostalgia events
were never designed for use with an
electric starter. If the engine floods, the
starter can keep trying to turn the engine
even though the piston can’t go all the
way through Top Dead Center. The
result can be a bent connecting rod or,
much worse, a broken crankshaft. The
latter is a common problem with
Holland Hornets. MA
01sig5.QXD 10/27/03 8:44 am Page 135
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/01
Page Numbers: 133,134,135
model’s flight characteristics beyond the basic flying-withoutcrashing
level. This is where speed becomes an important factor.
For instance, a Rubber model at low power will cruise under
power at a speed that is close to its glide speed. Things are fairly
safe, and a model that is adjusted for a safe glide will usually have
a safe cruise pattern.
Wind the motor all the way, and things get interesting. For the
first few seconds of the flight the model is traveling faster than
glide speed. This means that the wing is generating more lift,
causing the model to try to loop. With careful design and
adjustment you can turn that extra lift into a productive climb
rather than a loop. The trick is to do it without affecting the cruise
and glide.
Luckily, most of the adjustments we can make to a model are
speed sensitive. Downthrust and side thrust, center-of-gravity
location, and stabilizer tilt are more effective at low speeds, and
rudder, elevator, and wing warps (washin and washout) are more
effective at high speeds. This allows us to
balance a high-speed adjustment with a
low-speed adjustment, creating selfcorrecting
flight.
The combination of right thrust and left
rudder is perhaps the easiest to understand.
At high speeds a slight amount of right
rudder will become effective and
straighten out the right climb pattern,
preventing a right spiral dive. The
straighter pattern tends to cause the
model’s nose to go up and the model to
climb. If the nose gets too far up, the
PERHAPS THE MOST frequently asked question I hear from
Radio Control modelers and the general public is, How do you
control a model without a radio? The answer is simple and
complex.
The short answer is that the model is designed to be inherently
stable so that it can fly without the constant need for the
corrective control adjustments required with most full-scale
aircraft or radio-controlled models.
The long answer requires an explanation of dihedral, the
relationship of vertical fin area to the amount of dihedral, the
location of the center of gravity to the center of pressure, decalage,
and so on. Those are design factors that most Free Flighters have
learned through the years, often the hard way. If you start with a
good kit or magazine plans and follow the instructions for
balancing the model properly, there shouldn’t be any major
problems. At the very least, you’ll have a model that should fly.
Things get interesting when you start trying to improve the
Louis Joyner, 6 Saturday Rd., Mt. Pleasant SC 29464
FREE FLIGHT DURATION
The late Keith Hoover was a longtime proponent of nonautomated Power models such
as his Millennium series, shown in drawings from Free Flight news.
Bob Mattes’ Classic Gas design uses
inverted engine, low-mounted wing. Rules
for new event prohibit auto surfaces.
January 2004 133
01sig5.QXD 10/27/03 8:43 am Page 133
134 MODEL AVIATION
model will slow down. Then the right thrust becomes more
effective and the model starts to yaw right rather than stall.
All of this requires a careful balance in the amount of thrust
offset relative to the amount of rudder deflection and in the
overall amounts; i.e., a lot of both or a little of both. Excessive
thrust and rudder offsets can work, but they usually cause reduced
performance. The trick is finding how little of each you need and,
perhaps more important, settings that control the high-speed climb
without adversely affecting the glide.
There is another way. By using a timer to activate an AR (auto
rudder), VIT (Variable Incidence Tailplane), or other controls we
can isolate the different segments of the flight and adjust each
independently. Most of the high-performance Free Flight events,
Rubber and Power, use auto surfaces. Although there is the added
complication of a timer, movable surfaces, and lines to hook up,
adjusting the model is easier than with a nonautomated, locked-up
model.
However, there has been a backlash against the complexity of
the automated models. A nonautomated AMA Power event—
Classic Gas—has recently been added to the schedule. This event
places no restrictions on model design, construction, or the engine
used, but it forbids the use of auto surfaces.
One advantage of Classic Gas compared to the similar but
more restrictive Nostalgia Gas is that it allows innovation in
model design and construction; Nostalgia Gas limits the designs
to those published before 1956.
The late Keith Hoover was a longtime proponent of
nonautomated Power models. His designs ranged from highthrustline
models in the 1950s to his last Millennium series. These
models dispense with the traditional pylon or high-thrust
arrangements and use a wing set close to the thrustline and a
fuselage that angles downward toward the rear to locate the
stabilizer slightly below the wing.
Keith also used what he called an “active tail control,” which
was a simple aluminum tab attached to the top of the stabilizer. At
glide speed the tab had little effect. At high speeds the tab became
effective and caused a nose-down force to counteract the
increased lift of the wing and prevent looping. The tab extended
only three inches on either side of the stabilizer centerline.
(Thanks to Ian Kaynes of Free Flight news [FFn] for the
drawing. For information about subscribing to FFn, contact editor
Ian Kaynes at 7 Ashley Rd., Farnborough, Hants, England GU14
7EZ, or E-mail [email protected]. The Web site is
www.btinternet.com/~kaynes/ffnbuy.htm.)
Several other modelers, notably Bob Mattes and Gil Morris,
are working along similar lines to develop high-performance,
locked-up models. Hopefully the new Classic Gas event will help
encourage even more experimentation.
For additional information on Power models of all types, look
at the 1992 NFFS Book on Power Models edited by Keith Hoover.
Gil Morris’s nonautomated Power model uses downthrust and
wing set at negative angle to fuselage to control power.
Norm Furutani and Tom Laird developed this compact battery
box for starting 1⁄2A engines. The column has details.
The battery box’s 1⁄8 birch plywood back is held in place with four
screws. Two D-cell batteries provide the power.
You can order a copy from National Free Flight Society (NFFS)
Publications, c/o Jim Zolbe, 4801 Bradock Ct., Lincoln NE
68516, E-mail Jim at [email protected] for price and postage
information, or check out the National Free Flight Society Web
site at www.freeflight.org.
NFFS News: After a long stint as membership chairman, Hank
Nystrom is taking a well-deserved rest. J.P. Kish is the new
membership officer. Please send membership applications to him
at the NFFS Membership Office, 22 Pine St., Homosassa FL
34446. Effective January 1, 2004, the dues are $25 per year and
$48 for two years. For more information contact J.P. at
01sig5.QXD 10/27/03 8:44 am Page 134
January 2004 135
[email protected].
Starting Simply: Back in the old days,
before electric starters, cranking an
engine only required a battery, a finger,
and a bit of patience. Usually the battery
was one of those tall, cylindrical, 11⁄2-
volt dry-cell jobs with two screw
terminals on top. Hook on a 3-foot set of
leads with alligator clips, and you were
in business.
For longer battery life, some would
tape two of the dry cells together and add
short jumper wires to make a battery. It
would still put out only 11⁄2 volts but had
double the life. (Technically a battery is
a collection of two or more cells, but
almost everybody refers to a single dry
cell of whatever size as a battery.)
Since the advent of electric starters,
power panels, gel cells, and all of the
other modern conveniences, many people
seem to have forgotten how little
equipment you really need to start an
engine—especially a small 1⁄2A.
At the 2003 Nationals (Nats) I spotted
two California fliers who were keeping
things simple. Norm Furutani and Tom
Laird were enjoying their first Muncie
Nats. Since they flew via commercial
airlines to and from Indiana, they wanted
to keep the weight and size of their
ground-support equipment to a
minimum.
One of the items they developed for
the trip east was a neat, compact battery
box. It contained two D cells, jacks, and
an on-off rocker switch, all in an elegant
plywood-and-walnut package.
Norm and Tom sized the box to fit
around a RadioShack battery holder that
accepts two D cells. The sides of the box
are 1⁄2-inch-thick walnut, but any
hardwood would do. The face and back
are 1⁄8-inch Baltic birch plywood from
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call us at: 281-998-2529
PO Box 7967
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For information, call 281-998-2529, or send SASE to:
GCBM R/C Models Inc.
PO Box 7967, Pasadena, TX 77505
website: gcbmrc.com
(No RTF airplanes, cars, boats, or related equipment please.)
• We buy: R/C Airplane Kits, ARF’s, Engines, Radios, Field Equipment,
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the hobby shop. The front face is glued
on; the back is held in place with four
oval-head sheet-metal screws. Screw
cups eliminate the need for
countersinking the screw heads, which
would weaken the plywood.
Wiring is simple. One wire goes from
one of the battery-box connections to a
jack. Another wire goes from the other
battery-box connection to the rocker
switch. From there, a third wire connects
the switch to the second jack. Tom and
Norm suggest that the switch could be
eliminated since there is little danger of a
glow clip shorting out.
(In the old days of alligator clips, the
two clips would often touch accidentally,
shorting out the battery. The common
cure was to shorten one wire slightly so
that the alligator clips were staggered
several inches.)
Hand cranking an engine offers
another advantage: it is much easier on
the engine. Many of the old 1⁄2A engines
that are popular in the Nostalgia events
were never designed for use with an
electric starter. If the engine floods, the
starter can keep trying to turn the engine
even though the piston can’t go all the
way through Top Dead Center. The
result can be a bent connecting rod or,
much worse, a broken crankshaft. The
latter is a common problem with
Holland Hornets. MA
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