146 MODEL AVIATION
An electric-conversion Heath Parasol on floats
[[email protected]]
Free Flight Sport Gene Smith
Also included in this column:
• Bounty Hunter test flights
• Phantom Flash ROW
• Magnet wing-attachment source
• Curtiss BF2C-1 finishing tips
• Beardmore bomber video clip
• Magnet building-board system
• Lee Campbell’s offerings
• Senator Postal Contest
• NFFS Nats swap meet
• Source of good FF tips
• New winder for
FAC-size models Buzz Trabic’s beautiful 37-
inch-wingspan Heath Parasol
on floats has been converted
from rubber power to electric
power. Trabic photo.
Success is at hand as Stefan Prosky launches his Phantom Flash on
floats. Photo by Wally Farrell.
George White’s wing attachment uses four pairs of super magnets. White photo.
BUZZ TRABIC did a great job on his Heath
Parasol on floats. The model spans 37 inches
and weighs 8.5 ounces. Originally built for
rubber power, it didn’t have much duration.
Buzz hopes to solve those short flight times by
converting it to electric.
The model now sports an EPU7 electric
motor and an ElectriFly 10 x 4.5 propeller
from Tower Hobbies. The fight pack is six
250 mA Ni-Cds. As of this writing flight tests
are pending.
The first trimming session with my BMJR
Model Products kit Bounty Hunter (see the
March 2007 column) was short and sweet.
The Texas Timers Micro timer was set for
three seconds and a quick DT. The Tee Dee
.049 was peaked and the model launched a bit
left of the wind. The Bounty Hunter had a nice
turn to the left, kept its nose up, and had a
quick glide transition just before the DT.
For the second flight the timer was set at
just more than six seconds and the quick DT
was set for a 10-second delay. The climb was
a perfect nose-up left spiral. When the engine
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July 2007 147
Doug Beardsworth did a great job of building this Curtiss BF2C-1 from the Dave Diels kit.
The text details his finishing technique. Beardsworth photo.
Bobby Haight with his rubber-powered Beardmore bomber.
Rich Adams’ new 10:1 winder is perfect for FAC-size rubberpowered
models and costs roughly $50. Midkiff photo.
quit the model turned into a smooth left glide
pattern. Perfect!
The wind was blowing approximately 12
mph, so I decided to wait for another day to
fine-tune the glide. The model was set up
with the CG as described in the instructions:
0-0 on the engine, 1/8-inch washin left main
wing panel. Your results may vary.
D.C. Maxecuters President Stefan Prosky
had a lot of fun flying his Phantom Flash on
floats at last year’s rise-off-water (ROW)
meet at Raeford, North Carolina. He called
the model the “Phantom Flush” at first since it
wouldn’t ROW, but by the end of the meet it
was airborne and he was calling it the
“Phantom Splash.”
Stefan’s Phantom went through a number
of design modifications in the quest for
success. First came two carved foam floats,
then a single wide balsa float with sponsons,
and then egg-carton “ski” floats, all to no
avail.
Now Stefan is getting 80% success with
his modifications. He made the model a
biplane for added lift. The second wing is
mounted on two thin carbon-fiber rods that
are directly above the first wing. He covered
the flying surfaces with a waterproof material
such as thin Mylar.
The floats are long and are made from
light 1/32 sheet balsa. Strong struts are used to
mount the floats. The floats are spaced
roughly half the wingspan apart to provide a
stable platform. A water rudder helps keep the
model moving straight on the water.
The Phantom Splash’s longest flight so far
has been 40 seconds using a 5-inch plastic
propeller powered by one 18-inch loop of Tan
Super Sport. Stefan has found rubber ROG
challenging and fun.
Using super magnets to attach wings is
becoming popular with Scale modelers.
George White sent a picture of his magnet
wing attachment on a Mauboussin.
The magnets are Forcefield brand model
0058 (1/16 x 1/4), available from
www.wondermagnets.com. They are super
strong and weigh only .35 gram each. Four
pairs are used on this installation. The wing is
keyed with short lengths of neoprene rubber.
Doug Beardsworth did a beautiful job on the
Curtiss BF2C-1 biplane he built from a Dave
Diels kit. Before this project Doug had not
used glue stick to attach the covering. Now he
likes that method so well that he doesn’t plan
to go back to using dope to adhere the tissue
to the frame.
Doug covered the fuselage wet, with as
large a piece between the stringers as he
thought he could get away with. Once a
section was dry he trimmed the edge to the
nearest stringer with a razor. He then sealed it
with a brushed coat of clear dope over the
width of the stringer only.
Before discovering the need for this step, a
few puckers appeared. The newly applied wet
section was loosening the glue on the
previously dry section. The clear dope
“seal” kept the dry section in place nicely.
Doug found that the combination of the
tissue’s relaxing with water and the glue’s
solubility with water makes this a good
covering system. The glue’s water solubility
allows you to wet the tissue at the cut edges
and then press these edges down with your
fingers or a small brush and make the seams
nearly disappear. Doug found it more difficult
to make inconspicuous seams with dope and
thinner.
The colors on the model are not opaque.
They were applied with an airbrush and are
more of a tinted clear dope. If the panels are
held up to the sun or a light, you can see the
entire framework. It is slightly more opaque
than a colored-tissue finish. Doug added
plasticizer to the dope to prevent too much
shrinkage and warping.
Doug mixed the paint “on the fly,” not
keeping a particular formula. Three ounces of
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clear base were made with 40% nitrate dope,
60% thinner, and four or five drops of Dave
Brown Products’ plasticizer per ounce of
dope. Each color was made using this clear
base.
Floquil model-railroad colors were used in
a ratio of approximately 30% Floquil, 30%
clear base, and then 40% thinner or enough to
spray well. Each surface then received four or
five lightly sprayed coats.
Since you are spraying mostly thinner, you
can carefully build up the color and opacity to
the level you want. Adding more clear dope
and less Floquil will give a slightly glossier
finish. A heavier percentage of Floquil to the
clear base will give a more matte finish.
Doug sprayed the wing and tail surfaces
without predoping the surfaces. He did apply
some thinned nonplasticized clear nitrate to
parts of the fuselage to shrink out a few loose
sections before painting.
The tissue became a bit saggy when it was
sprayed but tightened once it dried. Doug was
careful to have the silver and the chrome
yellow paint ready to spray in the same
evening painting session so he would shoot
the top and bottom within an hour of each
other. Painting both in relatively quick
succession seems to help minimize warping.
Doug believes that using a larger
percentage of thinner allows those larger,
wetter coats to be sprayed without building up
the solids of the dope and pigment (and
weight) too fast. He waits only roughly five
minutes between each of the four to five coats
since it dries so fast.
Doug made a spray booth/table to suck the
fumes away and out of the house. That is
important with the large amount of fumes the
thinner generates.
He noticed that some Floquil colors spray
out much “flatter” in finish than others. The
yellow was quite glossy, while the red and
gray were more of a matte.
Blending Floquil with clear to make the
tinted dope for the initial color spray helped
moderate this difference. However, the best
fix was to apply a final top coat of thinned,
plasticized nitrate dope.
That final coat made all the tones much
more consistent—close to the decals’
semigloss finish. As a result, the decal film
tended to disappear once applied. A bit of
silver was added to this final coat and shot
over the silver fuselage. It gave the colors a
nice overall metallic finish.
Only after that final coat can you add the
decals. Doug applied the kit’s beautiful decals
directly over this painted finish, and they
snuggled down into the surface nicely.
Thanks to him for that detailed explanation of
his finishing technique.
Bobby Haight of the Las Vegas Vultures
Flying Aces Club (FAC) group flew his 50-
inch-span Beardmore bomber at the Cactus
Squadron Annual. The electric-powered
version uses three geared HiLine MINI-6
motors turning 6-inch-diameter propellers and
powered by four 270 mAh batteries. The
rubber-powered version uses a 12-inch flying
propeller and two small scale propellers.
Bobby’s Beardmore was inspired by a
model he saw on a video. He had been
mulling over a three-view of the airplane, but
seeing Eddie Novak’s model inspired him to
build his own.
In another fortuitous coincidence Bobby
discovered that his modeling buddy Chuck
Wenlock had built a Beardmore, and he
offered Bobby a set of plans. Chuck has had
several successful 24-inch-span models
published in the Flying Models “Spin, Crash
& Bern” series.
His company logo is “Miracle Model
Airplane Company.” If it flies, it’s a
miracle.
Bobby has been pleased with his
Beardmore. The rubber-powered version
has a flight of more than three minutes to
its credit. You can see a fascinating 1928
short newsreel clip of the original airplane
at www.hallmanstudio.com/aviation
1928.mov.
If you have ever had an interest in using a
magnet building-board system, or even if you
already have one, you will find useful
information at www.airfieldmodels.com. It’s
also a fun site for those of you who have a cat
in the workshop.
Easy Built Models has a nice-size board
with 20 magnets for $21.95 plus shipping and
handling. Call (334) 358-5184 or log onto
www.easybuiltmodels.com/parts.htm.
You can find Lee Campbell’s lineup of
Scale, sport, and contest FF kits on his
Web site: www.campbellscustomkits.com.
If you are interested in details of the
upcoming 2007/2008 Senator Postal Contest,
which runs until February 28, 2008, contact
Jim Moseley at [email protected]. He
already has almost $300 for the general prize
list and a $50 donation to be awarded to the
top-placing Junior in this event.
David Mills, at davidmillsatl@com
cast.net, is coordinating the National FF
Society (NFFS) swap meet at the FF Nats.
It will be Monday evening, July 30, 5 p.m.
until dark.
To reserve a table (for $5), send a
check made out to NFFS to Don Brown at
477 Safari Cir., Stone Mountain GA
30083. Proceeds benefit the NFFS
scholarship fund.
Check out the New England Wakefield
Group’s Web site at www.newg.info/
index.html. It contains many good tips.
A new winder is available for FAC-size
rubber-powered models. It has a 10:1 ratio, is
5 inches long, and weighs 5.2 ounces. It has
been successfully tested on as many as four
loops of 1/4-inch rubber.
Rich Adams sells the winder for $47.95
plus $5 shipping and handling, USPS
Priority Mail in the continental US.
Contact Rich at [email protected] or
write to him at 1446 Cat Mountain Tr.,
Keller TX 76248. MA
148 MODEL AVIATION
Does Your Club
Have a Flying Site
Success Story?
If so, MA wants to hear about it!
Finding and keeping flying sites
is a paramount issue facing the
Academy and its members. Just as
there are stories about clubs losing
flying sites or being unable to find
flying fields, success stories abound
as well. It is vital that these success
stories be shared so that others may
learn and apply sound methods for
finding and keeping flying sites.
Your club can assist others in
similar situations by submitting an
article to MA that meets the
following guidelines and includes
the following information.
• Text—not to exceed 1,500
words—should include the name
and location of the club, the
chronology of events leading up to
obtaining or retaining the site, the
names of club members who were
responsible for the success story,
and the members’ opinions about
what their most important action
was that ultimately resulted in the
venture’s success. Note which
government agencies were
contacted and the process involved.
Electronic text should be
submitted in Microsoft Word on a
CD or via E-mail.
• Photos and diagrams of the field
should be included. Pictures should
number no more than a dozen and
must complement and illustrate
what is in the text.
Glossy 35mm prints and digital
photos on CD will be accepted. MA
will not accept E-mailed photos or
ink-jet printouts of digital
photographs. Please include
captions on a separate page.
• Send your article to MA
Aeromodeling Editor Bob Hunt at
Box 68, Stockertown PA 18083.
All submissions are subject to
review prior to acceptance. Payment
is made upon acceptance. Article
submissions will only be returned if
an SASE is included.
For more information, contact
Aeromodeling Editor Bob Hunt at
(610) 614-1747 or robinhunt@
rcn.com.
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