I AM HAVING so much fun and am so
excited about this new 3-D foamie that
not to share it with you would almost be
a sin. The new foam 3-D airplanes have
been life-altering for me and they may be
for you. At the very least they will
improve your flying skills and be a great
deal of fun.
Can a model-airplane experience
really change your life? You bet!
Following are instances when it has
happened to me.
1) In 1945 a single loop could win
any CL contest in the state of Illinois. I
learned to fly consecutive loops and
inverted at roughly the same time, and I
was so elated that I became a modeler
for life.
2) I attended the 1947 Nationals and
was so impressed with J.C. Yates flying
his Orwick-powered Madman that he
became my lifelong hero and inspired me
to later write the book Pioneers of
Control Line Flying (available from
AMA). That year I had to become a
model-airplane designer.
3) My wife Phyllis and I attended the
1999 Tournament of Champions (TOC)
in Las Vegas, Nevada. We were
overwhelmed with emotion when we saw
Christophe Paysant-Le Roux of France
fly his Freestyle segment. It was
perfectly timed to beautiful music, and
the flying was slow and graceful. The
airplane seemed to defy the laws of
aerodynamics and gravity.
We didn’t care if anyone saw the
tears run down our cheeks. My life was
changed when I saw 3-D flying.
I am often asked, “What is 3-D
flying?” My response is that it is “flying
on the prop” with the wing and tail in a
stalled condition. This requires the static
thrust to be approximately twice the
weight of the airplane. Experienced
pilots maintain control with the airflow
from the propeller over the control
surfaces.
However, there’s a problem! TOCtype
airplanes cost thousands—not
hundreds—of dollars. They require
special transportation, assembly and
disassembly, a flying site with liberal
regulations, and potential liability
considerations.
The learning curve certainly requires
the expense of a few airplanes. Smaller
cu. in.-displacement 3-D airplanes
alleviate the problem, but they don’t
come close to solving it. You can’t pull
one of these models out of your vehicle
to fly a demonstration for your friends
during your lunch hour. What do you do?
Help is here, and it comes in the form
of brushless outrunner motors, Li-Poly
batteries, foam, and carbon fiber. These
items make 3-D flying available to
everyone.
You may have seen a 3-D aircraft,
and now I want you to try one. It can
change your life. If you don’t like to
build from scratch, you can find manyMake paper patterns of all the airplane’s Depron parts and transfer them to the foam.
Cut the parts to shape using a #11 knife blade.
Paint all parts with acrylic paints (available at craft stores) before
final assembly. Thin the paint with water and apply with a soft
watercolor brush.
Use epoxy or foam-safe cyanoacrylate to attach 1mm x 3mm
carbon-fiber strips to both wings’ LE and TE. Hold the carbon
fiber in place with masking tape until the glue dries.
modelers see it fly; after they see it fly
their requests change to near demands.
I do all my flying outdoors, so you
don’t have to worry about a little wind
with this model. The wind must be
considered when the airplane is on the
ground. Use your high power-to-weight
ratio to keep the nose into the wind on
takeoff and landing. Don’t try to taxi with
a side wind!
shown on the plans, and then seal the
bottom side of the wing hinge joint with
clear packing tape or colored trim tape.
Glue the elevator sides to the carbon-fiber
tube (or you may substitute a wooden
dowel).
Attach the nylon pin hinges to the
elevator and rudder. Put a drop of 3-in-One
oil inside the pin-hinge area, cover the
outside with a thin coat of Vaseline, and
epoxy in place.
It is much easier to paint all the parts
before final assembly. I use 4-ounce bottles
of acrylic paint from Wal-Mart. I thin the
paint with water and apply it with a soft
watercolor brush. Experiment with paint
mix on a scrap piece of Depron. Keep the
finish as thin as possible to maintain the
brightness of the white foam.
Do you want a 3-D paint job for your
3-D airplane? It is not necessary, but it is
fun. A 3-D paint job makes a flat surface
look like it has depth; it is achieved by
lightening the surfaces exposed to light and
darkening the bottom that receives less
light.
Paint the entire fuselage with thinned
blue acrylic paint and allow it to dry.
Lighten the top edges with white acrylic
and fade it toward the bottom edge. The
entire fade-in section should be no wider
than 1/2 inch. You can blend it in with a
brush or use your finger to rub the wet
paint down. Practicing on a scrap piece of
Depron will be a big help.
Paint the bottom edge black
approximately one-quarter of the way up
toward the top. You can fade it in with
CONSTRUCTION
Make paper patterns of all the Depron
parts and transfer them to the foam. Cut
the parts to shape using a #11 knife blade.
Use epoxy or foam-safe cyanoacrylate
glue to attach the 1mm x 3mm carbonfiber
strips to the LE and TE of both
wings. Hold the carbon fiber in place with
masking tape until the glue dries.
Hinge the flap/ailerons to the wings as
Photos courtesy the author
16 MODEL AVIATION
Begin the bipe’s assembly by gluing the lower wing to the fuselage and carefully checking
the alignment with a square. Notice the fuselage supports.
The text outlines a method of applying paint and details that give your model a threedimensional
appearance without adding much weight.
your finger, or sometimes a wet brush will
help. When the paint is dry, you can add
the seam lines and rivets with a gel-type
ballpoint pen—the kind that is
recommended for writing checks.
To get a 3-D paint job on the wings,
stabilizer, and elevator, start by lightly
drawing the rib lines with a pencil. Don’t
use a gel pen; it will smear. Paint the top
surface of both wings with thinned yellow
acrylic and allow the paint to dry. You
should be able to see the pencil lines
through the paint.
Mix a bit of white with the base color,
yellow in this case, and paint a line
roughly 3/8 inch wide on the right side of
the pencil line. While the paint is still wet,
blend it in to the right with your finger.
Do this to all the rib lines and allow the
paint to dry.
Mix a tiny amount of black to a batch
of yellow, and paint a line 3/8 inch wide on
the left side of the rib line; blend it in to
the left. Repeat on all the rib lines until
you are finished.
Don’t be surprised if someone touches
the rib line to see if the depth is there. I’ve
had it happen with Pvt. Kool’s Bipe.
Final Assembly: I normally use epoxy,
but I have had good results with Gorilla
Glue, white glue, and foam-safe
cyanoacrylate. You will need a flat work
surface for assembly.
Glue the fuselage to the wing. Check
the alignment with a square and allow the
glue to dry.
To position the top wing correctly you
will need two cardboard spacers—cut to
the same height as the fuselage at the
wing joint approximately 11 inches long.
Place the spacers on the bottom wing 6
inches from the tips. Glue the top wing to
the fuselage, add weights to the top wing,
check alignment with a square, and allow
the glue to dry. Hang the wing LE slightly
over the flat surface and add the carbonfiber
braces to the wing LE. Bind the
landing gear in place with soft wire or
thread. Do the same on all carbon-fiber
rods, epoxy, and allow the glue to dry.
Turn the airplane upside down, hang the
pilot over the edge of the flat surface,
replace your braces, check alignment, and
add the carbon-fiber rods to the wing TE.
Complete the assembly by adding
wheel pants and the tail section. The
receiver, battery, and controller are held
in place with Velcro.
The CG shown on the plans and the
following control settings will give you
enough control to turn the airplane in its
own length or fly large Aerobatics-type
maneuvers. Wait for a calm day or test-fly
indoors.
Controls: Control horns are made from
large plastic tie wraps or 1/16 plywood.
The .032-inch-diameter pushrod for the
elevator and rudder require bracing to get
the full push effect. Remember to keep the
hole in the control horns directly over the
hinge pivot point.
My control settings are: elevator high
rates, + and -50° with 75% expediential;
elevator low rates, + and -22° with 50%
expediential; aileron high rates, + and -
32° with 75% expediential; aileron low
rates, + and -25° with 50% expediential;
and rudder, + and -40° with 50%
expediential.
I use flaperons with high-rate
elevators set at + and -38°. On low rate
elevator flaperons are set at + and -25°.
The extreme right aileron is coupled to
10° right rudder. The same is true of the
left aileron setting.
This is to help the airplane fly
normally, even with extreme amounts of
side area. If you don’t have coupling on
your radio, be prepared to turn using the
rudder.
Motors: The first power plant I tested
was a PJS 550R with a 3S1P, 1500 mAh
March 2006 17
To correctly position the top wing, you need two cardboard spacers cut to the same
height as the fuselage at the wing joint. Place the spacers on the bottom wing 6 inches
from the tips.
The semielliptical wing shape and the rounded tail planform can easily be seen.
Li-Poly pack, and it worked fine. To test the
lower end on power I tried an AXI 2208/34
motor with a 3S1P, 820 mAh Li-Poly
battery and was surprised to see it hover
well with this smaller power plant.
The next motor I tested was a PJS 1000
with a 3S1P, 1500 mAh battery pack. It did
fine. However, you must remember not to
use full throttle and stick with a smaller
propeller, such as a 10 x 4.7 APC Slow
Flyer. The AXI 2212/34 or the Hacker A20-
20L is perfect for this airplane.
Caution to Experimenters (My Kind of
People): The new buzzword in 3-D flying is
Side Force Generators, or SFG. My first
experiments with SFG were in 1954 on a
1/2A CL Precision Aerobatics model. I
wanted to keep the control lines tight on
overhead maneuvers. It worked great, and I
still have the photos.
Before the new trend of SFG started and
even before the first Electric TOC, I had
been experimenting with a 600-square-inch
foam biplane that had a total side area of
slightly more than 400 square inches. I
almost lost it on a test flight. It would not
turn with the ailerons and elevator the way
you normally turn a model, but would flip
on its side and ignore my control inputs. The
only way to turn the airplane was with the
rudder.
I began looking for the perfect amount
of SFG and believed I had found it with a
40-inch-wingspan Scale profile Grumman
Wildcat. I was elated with the newfound
ability to perform knife-edge loops.
Then I discovered that all my airplanes
would do knife-edge loops. I just needed
more confidence and stick time. Be prepared
to use the rudder if you experiment with
SFG, or your airplane could be in the ground
before you know what happened.
When I was young I could not have
imagined shopping for an airplane and
watching a flight demonstration on a
computer screen. No way could I have
dreamed of learning to fly on a computer.
That tells me young people today are in for
even greater things than they can imagine.
What a wonderful time to be alive. Enjoy!
Following are outstanding sources I have
found to be extremely customer friendly.
Charger RC
Box 460144
Escondido CA 92046
(760) 749-0552
www.chargerrc.com
Depron USA
(206) 789-4800
www.depronusa.com
Hobby Lobby International, Inc.
5614 Franklin Pike Cir.
Brentwood TN 37027
(615) 373-1444
www.hobby-lobby.com MA
Charles Mackey
[email protected]
18 MODEL AVIATION
03sig1.QXD 1/24/06 1:10 PM Page 18
Edition: Model Aviation - 2006/03
Page Numbers: 15,16,17,18,19,22
Edition: Model Aviation - 2006/03
Page Numbers: 15,16,17,18,19,22
I AM HAVING so much fun and am so
excited about this new 3-D foamie that
not to share it with you would almost be
a sin. The new foam 3-D airplanes have
been life-altering for me and they may be
for you. At the very least they will
improve your flying skills and be a great
deal of fun.
Can a model-airplane experience
really change your life? You bet!
Following are instances when it has
happened to me.
1) In 1945 a single loop could win
any CL contest in the state of Illinois. I
learned to fly consecutive loops and
inverted at roughly the same time, and I
was so elated that I became a modeler
for life.
2) I attended the 1947 Nationals and
was so impressed with J.C. Yates flying
his Orwick-powered Madman that he
became my lifelong hero and inspired me
to later write the book Pioneers of
Control Line Flying (available from
AMA). That year I had to become a
model-airplane designer.
3) My wife Phyllis and I attended the
1999 Tournament of Champions (TOC)
in Las Vegas, Nevada. We were
overwhelmed with emotion when we saw
Christophe Paysant-Le Roux of France
fly his Freestyle segment. It was
perfectly timed to beautiful music, and
the flying was slow and graceful. The
airplane seemed to defy the laws of
aerodynamics and gravity.
We didn’t care if anyone saw the
tears run down our cheeks. My life was
changed when I saw 3-D flying.
I am often asked, “What is 3-D
flying?” My response is that it is “flying
on the prop” with the wing and tail in a
stalled condition. This requires the static
thrust to be approximately twice the
weight of the airplane. Experienced
pilots maintain control with the airflow
from the propeller over the control
surfaces.
However, there’s a problem! TOCtype
airplanes cost thousands—not
hundreds—of dollars. They require
special transportation, assembly and
disassembly, a flying site with liberal
regulations, and potential liability
considerations.
The learning curve certainly requires
the expense of a few airplanes. Smaller
cu. in.-displacement 3-D airplanes
alleviate the problem, but they don’t
come close to solving it. You can’t pull
one of these models out of your vehicle
to fly a demonstration for your friends
during your lunch hour. What do you do?
Help is here, and it comes in the form
of brushless outrunner motors, Li-Poly
batteries, foam, and carbon fiber. These
items make 3-D flying available to
everyone.
You may have seen a 3-D aircraft,
and now I want you to try one. It can
change your life. If you don’t like to
build from scratch, you can find manyMake paper patterns of all the airplane’s Depron parts and transfer them to the foam.
Cut the parts to shape using a #11 knife blade.
Paint all parts with acrylic paints (available at craft stores) before
final assembly. Thin the paint with water and apply with a soft
watercolor brush.
Use epoxy or foam-safe cyanoacrylate to attach 1mm x 3mm
carbon-fiber strips to both wings’ LE and TE. Hold the carbon
fiber in place with masking tape until the glue dries.
modelers see it fly; after they see it fly
their requests change to near demands.
I do all my flying outdoors, so you
don’t have to worry about a little wind
with this model. The wind must be
considered when the airplane is on the
ground. Use your high power-to-weight
ratio to keep the nose into the wind on
takeoff and landing. Don’t try to taxi with
a side wind!
shown on the plans, and then seal the
bottom side of the wing hinge joint with
clear packing tape or colored trim tape.
Glue the elevator sides to the carbon-fiber
tube (or you may substitute a wooden
dowel).
Attach the nylon pin hinges to the
elevator and rudder. Put a drop of 3-in-One
oil inside the pin-hinge area, cover the
outside with a thin coat of Vaseline, and
epoxy in place.
It is much easier to paint all the parts
before final assembly. I use 4-ounce bottles
of acrylic paint from Wal-Mart. I thin the
paint with water and apply it with a soft
watercolor brush. Experiment with paint
mix on a scrap piece of Depron. Keep the
finish as thin as possible to maintain the
brightness of the white foam.
Do you want a 3-D paint job for your
3-D airplane? It is not necessary, but it is
fun. A 3-D paint job makes a flat surface
look like it has depth; it is achieved by
lightening the surfaces exposed to light and
darkening the bottom that receives less
light.
Paint the entire fuselage with thinned
blue acrylic paint and allow it to dry.
Lighten the top edges with white acrylic
and fade it toward the bottom edge. The
entire fade-in section should be no wider
than 1/2 inch. You can blend it in with a
brush or use your finger to rub the wet
paint down. Practicing on a scrap piece of
Depron will be a big help.
Paint the bottom edge black
approximately one-quarter of the way up
toward the top. You can fade it in with
CONSTRUCTION
Make paper patterns of all the Depron
parts and transfer them to the foam. Cut
the parts to shape using a #11 knife blade.
Use epoxy or foam-safe cyanoacrylate
glue to attach the 1mm x 3mm carbonfiber
strips to the LE and TE of both
wings. Hold the carbon fiber in place with
masking tape until the glue dries.
Hinge the flap/ailerons to the wings as
Photos courtesy the author
16 MODEL AVIATION
Begin the bipe’s assembly by gluing the lower wing to the fuselage and carefully checking
the alignment with a square. Notice the fuselage supports.
The text outlines a method of applying paint and details that give your model a threedimensional
appearance without adding much weight.
your finger, or sometimes a wet brush will
help. When the paint is dry, you can add
the seam lines and rivets with a gel-type
ballpoint pen—the kind that is
recommended for writing checks.
To get a 3-D paint job on the wings,
stabilizer, and elevator, start by lightly
drawing the rib lines with a pencil. Don’t
use a gel pen; it will smear. Paint the top
surface of both wings with thinned yellow
acrylic and allow the paint to dry. You
should be able to see the pencil lines
through the paint.
Mix a bit of white with the base color,
yellow in this case, and paint a line
roughly 3/8 inch wide on the right side of
the pencil line. While the paint is still wet,
blend it in to the right with your finger.
Do this to all the rib lines and allow the
paint to dry.
Mix a tiny amount of black to a batch
of yellow, and paint a line 3/8 inch wide on
the left side of the rib line; blend it in to
the left. Repeat on all the rib lines until
you are finished.
Don’t be surprised if someone touches
the rib line to see if the depth is there. I’ve
had it happen with Pvt. Kool’s Bipe.
Final Assembly: I normally use epoxy,
but I have had good results with Gorilla
Glue, white glue, and foam-safe
cyanoacrylate. You will need a flat work
surface for assembly.
Glue the fuselage to the wing. Check
the alignment with a square and allow the
glue to dry.
To position the top wing correctly you
will need two cardboard spacers—cut to
the same height as the fuselage at the
wing joint approximately 11 inches long.
Place the spacers on the bottom wing 6
inches from the tips. Glue the top wing to
the fuselage, add weights to the top wing,
check alignment with a square, and allow
the glue to dry. Hang the wing LE slightly
over the flat surface and add the carbonfiber
braces to the wing LE. Bind the
landing gear in place with soft wire or
thread. Do the same on all carbon-fiber
rods, epoxy, and allow the glue to dry.
Turn the airplane upside down, hang the
pilot over the edge of the flat surface,
replace your braces, check alignment, and
add the carbon-fiber rods to the wing TE.
Complete the assembly by adding
wheel pants and the tail section. The
receiver, battery, and controller are held
in place with Velcro.
The CG shown on the plans and the
following control settings will give you
enough control to turn the airplane in its
own length or fly large Aerobatics-type
maneuvers. Wait for a calm day or test-fly
indoors.
Controls: Control horns are made from
large plastic tie wraps or 1/16 plywood.
The .032-inch-diameter pushrod for the
elevator and rudder require bracing to get
the full push effect. Remember to keep the
hole in the control horns directly over the
hinge pivot point.
My control settings are: elevator high
rates, + and -50° with 75% expediential;
elevator low rates, + and -22° with 50%
expediential; aileron high rates, + and -
32° with 75% expediential; aileron low
rates, + and -25° with 50% expediential;
and rudder, + and -40° with 50%
expediential.
I use flaperons with high-rate
elevators set at + and -38°. On low rate
elevator flaperons are set at + and -25°.
The extreme right aileron is coupled to
10° right rudder. The same is true of the
left aileron setting.
This is to help the airplane fly
normally, even with extreme amounts of
side area. If you don’t have coupling on
your radio, be prepared to turn using the
rudder.
Motors: The first power plant I tested
was a PJS 550R with a 3S1P, 1500 mAh
March 2006 17
To correctly position the top wing, you need two cardboard spacers cut to the same
height as the fuselage at the wing joint. Place the spacers on the bottom wing 6 inches
from the tips.
The semielliptical wing shape and the rounded tail planform can easily be seen.
Li-Poly pack, and it worked fine. To test the
lower end on power I tried an AXI 2208/34
motor with a 3S1P, 820 mAh Li-Poly
battery and was surprised to see it hover
well with this smaller power plant.
The next motor I tested was a PJS 1000
with a 3S1P, 1500 mAh battery pack. It did
fine. However, you must remember not to
use full throttle and stick with a smaller
propeller, such as a 10 x 4.7 APC Slow
Flyer. The AXI 2212/34 or the Hacker A20-
20L is perfect for this airplane.
Caution to Experimenters (My Kind of
People): The new buzzword in 3-D flying is
Side Force Generators, or SFG. My first
experiments with SFG were in 1954 on a
1/2A CL Precision Aerobatics model. I
wanted to keep the control lines tight on
overhead maneuvers. It worked great, and I
still have the photos.
Before the new trend of SFG started and
even before the first Electric TOC, I had
been experimenting with a 600-square-inch
foam biplane that had a total side area of
slightly more than 400 square inches. I
almost lost it on a test flight. It would not
turn with the ailerons and elevator the way
you normally turn a model, but would flip
on its side and ignore my control inputs. The
only way to turn the airplane was with the
rudder.
I began looking for the perfect amount
of SFG and believed I had found it with a
40-inch-wingspan Scale profile Grumman
Wildcat. I was elated with the newfound
ability to perform knife-edge loops.
Then I discovered that all my airplanes
would do knife-edge loops. I just needed
more confidence and stick time. Be prepared
to use the rudder if you experiment with
SFG, or your airplane could be in the ground
before you know what happened.
When I was young I could not have
imagined shopping for an airplane and
watching a flight demonstration on a
computer screen. No way could I have
dreamed of learning to fly on a computer.
That tells me young people today are in for
even greater things than they can imagine.
What a wonderful time to be alive. Enjoy!
Following are outstanding sources I have
found to be extremely customer friendly.
Charger RC
Box 460144
Escondido CA 92046
(760) 749-0552
www.chargerrc.com
Depron USA
(206) 789-4800
www.depronusa.com
Hobby Lobby International, Inc.
5614 Franklin Pike Cir.
Brentwood TN 37027
(615) 373-1444
www.hobby-lobby.com MA
Charles Mackey
[email protected]
18 MODEL AVIATION
03sig1.QXD 1/24/06 1:10 PM Page 18
Edition: Model Aviation - 2006/03
Page Numbers: 15,16,17,18,19,22
I AM HAVING so much fun and am so
excited about this new 3-D foamie that
not to share it with you would almost be
a sin. The new foam 3-D airplanes have
been life-altering for me and they may be
for you. At the very least they will
improve your flying skills and be a great
deal of fun.
Can a model-airplane experience
really change your life? You bet!
Following are instances when it has
happened to me.
1) In 1945 a single loop could win
any CL contest in the state of Illinois. I
learned to fly consecutive loops and
inverted at roughly the same time, and I
was so elated that I became a modeler
for life.
2) I attended the 1947 Nationals and
was so impressed with J.C. Yates flying
his Orwick-powered Madman that he
became my lifelong hero and inspired me
to later write the book Pioneers of
Control Line Flying (available from
AMA). That year I had to become a
model-airplane designer.
3) My wife Phyllis and I attended the
1999 Tournament of Champions (TOC)
in Las Vegas, Nevada. We were
overwhelmed with emotion when we saw
Christophe Paysant-Le Roux of France
fly his Freestyle segment. It was
perfectly timed to beautiful music, and
the flying was slow and graceful. The
airplane seemed to defy the laws of
aerodynamics and gravity.
We didn’t care if anyone saw the
tears run down our cheeks. My life was
changed when I saw 3-D flying.
I am often asked, “What is 3-D
flying?” My response is that it is “flying
on the prop” with the wing and tail in a
stalled condition. This requires the static
thrust to be approximately twice the
weight of the airplane. Experienced
pilots maintain control with the airflow
from the propeller over the control
surfaces.
However, there’s a problem! TOCtype
airplanes cost thousands—not
hundreds—of dollars. They require
special transportation, assembly and
disassembly, a flying site with liberal
regulations, and potential liability
considerations.
The learning curve certainly requires
the expense of a few airplanes. Smaller
cu. in.-displacement 3-D airplanes
alleviate the problem, but they don’t
come close to solving it. You can’t pull
one of these models out of your vehicle
to fly a demonstration for your friends
during your lunch hour. What do you do?
Help is here, and it comes in the form
of brushless outrunner motors, Li-Poly
batteries, foam, and carbon fiber. These
items make 3-D flying available to
everyone.
You may have seen a 3-D aircraft,
and now I want you to try one. It can
change your life. If you don’t like to
build from scratch, you can find manyMake paper patterns of all the airplane’s Depron parts and transfer them to the foam.
Cut the parts to shape using a #11 knife blade.
Paint all parts with acrylic paints (available at craft stores) before
final assembly. Thin the paint with water and apply with a soft
watercolor brush.
Use epoxy or foam-safe cyanoacrylate to attach 1mm x 3mm
carbon-fiber strips to both wings’ LE and TE. Hold the carbon
fiber in place with masking tape until the glue dries.
modelers see it fly; after they see it fly
their requests change to near demands.
I do all my flying outdoors, so you
don’t have to worry about a little wind
with this model. The wind must be
considered when the airplane is on the
ground. Use your high power-to-weight
ratio to keep the nose into the wind on
takeoff and landing. Don’t try to taxi with
a side wind!
shown on the plans, and then seal the
bottom side of the wing hinge joint with
clear packing tape or colored trim tape.
Glue the elevator sides to the carbon-fiber
tube (or you may substitute a wooden
dowel).
Attach the nylon pin hinges to the
elevator and rudder. Put a drop of 3-in-One
oil inside the pin-hinge area, cover the
outside with a thin coat of Vaseline, and
epoxy in place.
It is much easier to paint all the parts
before final assembly. I use 4-ounce bottles
of acrylic paint from Wal-Mart. I thin the
paint with water and apply it with a soft
watercolor brush. Experiment with paint
mix on a scrap piece of Depron. Keep the
finish as thin as possible to maintain the
brightness of the white foam.
Do you want a 3-D paint job for your
3-D airplane? It is not necessary, but it is
fun. A 3-D paint job makes a flat surface
look like it has depth; it is achieved by
lightening the surfaces exposed to light and
darkening the bottom that receives less
light.
Paint the entire fuselage with thinned
blue acrylic paint and allow it to dry.
Lighten the top edges with white acrylic
and fade it toward the bottom edge. The
entire fade-in section should be no wider
than 1/2 inch. You can blend it in with a
brush or use your finger to rub the wet
paint down. Practicing on a scrap piece of
Depron will be a big help.
Paint the bottom edge black
approximately one-quarter of the way up
toward the top. You can fade it in with
CONSTRUCTION
Make paper patterns of all the Depron
parts and transfer them to the foam. Cut
the parts to shape using a #11 knife blade.
Use epoxy or foam-safe cyanoacrylate
glue to attach the 1mm x 3mm carbonfiber
strips to the LE and TE of both
wings. Hold the carbon fiber in place with
masking tape until the glue dries.
Hinge the flap/ailerons to the wings as
Photos courtesy the author
16 MODEL AVIATION
Begin the bipe’s assembly by gluing the lower wing to the fuselage and carefully checking
the alignment with a square. Notice the fuselage supports.
The text outlines a method of applying paint and details that give your model a threedimensional
appearance without adding much weight.
your finger, or sometimes a wet brush will
help. When the paint is dry, you can add
the seam lines and rivets with a gel-type
ballpoint pen—the kind that is
recommended for writing checks.
To get a 3-D paint job on the wings,
stabilizer, and elevator, start by lightly
drawing the rib lines with a pencil. Don’t
use a gel pen; it will smear. Paint the top
surface of both wings with thinned yellow
acrylic and allow the paint to dry. You
should be able to see the pencil lines
through the paint.
Mix a bit of white with the base color,
yellow in this case, and paint a line
roughly 3/8 inch wide on the right side of
the pencil line. While the paint is still wet,
blend it in to the right with your finger.
Do this to all the rib lines and allow the
paint to dry.
Mix a tiny amount of black to a batch
of yellow, and paint a line 3/8 inch wide on
the left side of the rib line; blend it in to
the left. Repeat on all the rib lines until
you are finished.
Don’t be surprised if someone touches
the rib line to see if the depth is there. I’ve
had it happen with Pvt. Kool’s Bipe.
Final Assembly: I normally use epoxy,
but I have had good results with Gorilla
Glue, white glue, and foam-safe
cyanoacrylate. You will need a flat work
surface for assembly.
Glue the fuselage to the wing. Check
the alignment with a square and allow the
glue to dry.
To position the top wing correctly you
will need two cardboard spacers—cut to
the same height as the fuselage at the
wing joint approximately 11 inches long.
Place the spacers on the bottom wing 6
inches from the tips. Glue the top wing to
the fuselage, add weights to the top wing,
check alignment with a square, and allow
the glue to dry. Hang the wing LE slightly
over the flat surface and add the carbonfiber
braces to the wing LE. Bind the
landing gear in place with soft wire or
thread. Do the same on all carbon-fiber
rods, epoxy, and allow the glue to dry.
Turn the airplane upside down, hang the
pilot over the edge of the flat surface,
replace your braces, check alignment, and
add the carbon-fiber rods to the wing TE.
Complete the assembly by adding
wheel pants and the tail section. The
receiver, battery, and controller are held
in place with Velcro.
The CG shown on the plans and the
following control settings will give you
enough control to turn the airplane in its
own length or fly large Aerobatics-type
maneuvers. Wait for a calm day or test-fly
indoors.
Controls: Control horns are made from
large plastic tie wraps or 1/16 plywood.
The .032-inch-diameter pushrod for the
elevator and rudder require bracing to get
the full push effect. Remember to keep the
hole in the control horns directly over the
hinge pivot point.
My control settings are: elevator high
rates, + and -50° with 75% expediential;
elevator low rates, + and -22° with 50%
expediential; aileron high rates, + and -
32° with 75% expediential; aileron low
rates, + and -25° with 50% expediential;
and rudder, + and -40° with 50%
expediential.
I use flaperons with high-rate
elevators set at + and -38°. On low rate
elevator flaperons are set at + and -25°.
The extreme right aileron is coupled to
10° right rudder. The same is true of the
left aileron setting.
This is to help the airplane fly
normally, even with extreme amounts of
side area. If you don’t have coupling on
your radio, be prepared to turn using the
rudder.
Motors: The first power plant I tested
was a PJS 550R with a 3S1P, 1500 mAh
March 2006 17
To correctly position the top wing, you need two cardboard spacers cut to the same
height as the fuselage at the wing joint. Place the spacers on the bottom wing 6 inches
from the tips.
The semielliptical wing shape and the rounded tail planform can easily be seen.
Li-Poly pack, and it worked fine. To test the
lower end on power I tried an AXI 2208/34
motor with a 3S1P, 820 mAh Li-Poly
battery and was surprised to see it hover
well with this smaller power plant.
The next motor I tested was a PJS 1000
with a 3S1P, 1500 mAh battery pack. It did
fine. However, you must remember not to
use full throttle and stick with a smaller
propeller, such as a 10 x 4.7 APC Slow
Flyer. The AXI 2212/34 or the Hacker A20-
20L is perfect for this airplane.
Caution to Experimenters (My Kind of
People): The new buzzword in 3-D flying is
Side Force Generators, or SFG. My first
experiments with SFG were in 1954 on a
1/2A CL Precision Aerobatics model. I
wanted to keep the control lines tight on
overhead maneuvers. It worked great, and I
still have the photos.
Before the new trend of SFG started and
even before the first Electric TOC, I had
been experimenting with a 600-square-inch
foam biplane that had a total side area of
slightly more than 400 square inches. I
almost lost it on a test flight. It would not
turn with the ailerons and elevator the way
you normally turn a model, but would flip
on its side and ignore my control inputs. The
only way to turn the airplane was with the
rudder.
I began looking for the perfect amount
of SFG and believed I had found it with a
40-inch-wingspan Scale profile Grumman
Wildcat. I was elated with the newfound
ability to perform knife-edge loops.
Then I discovered that all my airplanes
would do knife-edge loops. I just needed
more confidence and stick time. Be prepared
to use the rudder if you experiment with
SFG, or your airplane could be in the ground
before you know what happened.
When I was young I could not have
imagined shopping for an airplane and
watching a flight demonstration on a
computer screen. No way could I have
dreamed of learning to fly on a computer.
That tells me young people today are in for
even greater things than they can imagine.
What a wonderful time to be alive. Enjoy!
Following are outstanding sources I have
found to be extremely customer friendly.
Charger RC
Box 460144
Escondido CA 92046
(760) 749-0552
www.chargerrc.com
Depron USA
(206) 789-4800
www.depronusa.com
Hobby Lobby International, Inc.
5614 Franklin Pike Cir.
Brentwood TN 37027
(615) 373-1444
www.hobby-lobby.com MA
Charles Mackey
[email protected]
18 MODEL AVIATION
03sig1.QXD 1/24/06 1:10 PM Page 18
Edition: Model Aviation - 2006/03
Page Numbers: 15,16,17,18,19,22
I AM HAVING so much fun and am so
excited about this new 3-D foamie that
not to share it with you would almost be
a sin. The new foam 3-D airplanes have
been life-altering for me and they may be
for you. At the very least they will
improve your flying skills and be a great
deal of fun.
Can a model-airplane experience
really change your life? You bet!
Following are instances when it has
happened to me.
1) In 1945 a single loop could win
any CL contest in the state of Illinois. I
learned to fly consecutive loops and
inverted at roughly the same time, and I
was so elated that I became a modeler
for life.
2) I attended the 1947 Nationals and
was so impressed with J.C. Yates flying
his Orwick-powered Madman that he
became my lifelong hero and inspired me
to later write the book Pioneers of
Control Line Flying (available from
AMA). That year I had to become a
model-airplane designer.
3) My wife Phyllis and I attended the
1999 Tournament of Champions (TOC)
in Las Vegas, Nevada. We were
overwhelmed with emotion when we saw
Christophe Paysant-Le Roux of France
fly his Freestyle segment. It was
perfectly timed to beautiful music, and
the flying was slow and graceful. The
airplane seemed to defy the laws of
aerodynamics and gravity.
We didn’t care if anyone saw the
tears run down our cheeks. My life was
changed when I saw 3-D flying.
I am often asked, “What is 3-D
flying?” My response is that it is “flying
on the prop” with the wing and tail in a
stalled condition. This requires the static
thrust to be approximately twice the
weight of the airplane. Experienced
pilots maintain control with the airflow
from the propeller over the control
surfaces.
However, there’s a problem! TOCtype
airplanes cost thousands—not
hundreds—of dollars. They require
special transportation, assembly and
disassembly, a flying site with liberal
regulations, and potential liability
considerations.
The learning curve certainly requires
the expense of a few airplanes. Smaller
cu. in.-displacement 3-D airplanes
alleviate the problem, but they don’t
come close to solving it. You can’t pull
one of these models out of your vehicle
to fly a demonstration for your friends
during your lunch hour. What do you do?
Help is here, and it comes in the form
of brushless outrunner motors, Li-Poly
batteries, foam, and carbon fiber. These
items make 3-D flying available to
everyone.
You may have seen a 3-D aircraft,
and now I want you to try one. It can
change your life. If you don’t like to
build from scratch, you can find manyMake paper patterns of all the airplane’s Depron parts and transfer them to the foam.
Cut the parts to shape using a #11 knife blade.
Paint all parts with acrylic paints (available at craft stores) before
final assembly. Thin the paint with water and apply with a soft
watercolor brush.
Use epoxy or foam-safe cyanoacrylate to attach 1mm x 3mm
carbon-fiber strips to both wings’ LE and TE. Hold the carbon
fiber in place with masking tape until the glue dries.
modelers see it fly; after they see it fly
their requests change to near demands.
I do all my flying outdoors, so you
don’t have to worry about a little wind
with this model. The wind must be
considered when the airplane is on the
ground. Use your high power-to-weight
ratio to keep the nose into the wind on
takeoff and landing. Don’t try to taxi with
a side wind!
shown on the plans, and then seal the
bottom side of the wing hinge joint with
clear packing tape or colored trim tape.
Glue the elevator sides to the carbon-fiber
tube (or you may substitute a wooden
dowel).
Attach the nylon pin hinges to the
elevator and rudder. Put a drop of 3-in-One
oil inside the pin-hinge area, cover the
outside with a thin coat of Vaseline, and
epoxy in place.
It is much easier to paint all the parts
before final assembly. I use 4-ounce bottles
of acrylic paint from Wal-Mart. I thin the
paint with water and apply it with a soft
watercolor brush. Experiment with paint
mix on a scrap piece of Depron. Keep the
finish as thin as possible to maintain the
brightness of the white foam.
Do you want a 3-D paint job for your
3-D airplane? It is not necessary, but it is
fun. A 3-D paint job makes a flat surface
look like it has depth; it is achieved by
lightening the surfaces exposed to light and
darkening the bottom that receives less
light.
Paint the entire fuselage with thinned
blue acrylic paint and allow it to dry.
Lighten the top edges with white acrylic
and fade it toward the bottom edge. The
entire fade-in section should be no wider
than 1/2 inch. You can blend it in with a
brush or use your finger to rub the wet
paint down. Practicing on a scrap piece of
Depron will be a big help.
Paint the bottom edge black
approximately one-quarter of the way up
toward the top. You can fade it in with
CONSTRUCTION
Make paper patterns of all the Depron
parts and transfer them to the foam. Cut
the parts to shape using a #11 knife blade.
Use epoxy or foam-safe cyanoacrylate
glue to attach the 1mm x 3mm carbonfiber
strips to the LE and TE of both
wings. Hold the carbon fiber in place with
masking tape until the glue dries.
Hinge the flap/ailerons to the wings as
Photos courtesy the author
16 MODEL AVIATION
Begin the bipe’s assembly by gluing the lower wing to the fuselage and carefully checking
the alignment with a square. Notice the fuselage supports.
The text outlines a method of applying paint and details that give your model a threedimensional
appearance without adding much weight.
your finger, or sometimes a wet brush will
help. When the paint is dry, you can add
the seam lines and rivets with a gel-type
ballpoint pen—the kind that is
recommended for writing checks.
To get a 3-D paint job on the wings,
stabilizer, and elevator, start by lightly
drawing the rib lines with a pencil. Don’t
use a gel pen; it will smear. Paint the top
surface of both wings with thinned yellow
acrylic and allow the paint to dry. You
should be able to see the pencil lines
through the paint.
Mix a bit of white with the base color,
yellow in this case, and paint a line
roughly 3/8 inch wide on the right side of
the pencil line. While the paint is still wet,
blend it in to the right with your finger.
Do this to all the rib lines and allow the
paint to dry.
Mix a tiny amount of black to a batch
of yellow, and paint a line 3/8 inch wide on
the left side of the rib line; blend it in to
the left. Repeat on all the rib lines until
you are finished.
Don’t be surprised if someone touches
the rib line to see if the depth is there. I’ve
had it happen with Pvt. Kool’s Bipe.
Final Assembly: I normally use epoxy,
but I have had good results with Gorilla
Glue, white glue, and foam-safe
cyanoacrylate. You will need a flat work
surface for assembly.
Glue the fuselage to the wing. Check
the alignment with a square and allow the
glue to dry.
To position the top wing correctly you
will need two cardboard spacers—cut to
the same height as the fuselage at the
wing joint approximately 11 inches long.
Place the spacers on the bottom wing 6
inches from the tips. Glue the top wing to
the fuselage, add weights to the top wing,
check alignment with a square, and allow
the glue to dry. Hang the wing LE slightly
over the flat surface and add the carbonfiber
braces to the wing LE. Bind the
landing gear in place with soft wire or
thread. Do the same on all carbon-fiber
rods, epoxy, and allow the glue to dry.
Turn the airplane upside down, hang the
pilot over the edge of the flat surface,
replace your braces, check alignment, and
add the carbon-fiber rods to the wing TE.
Complete the assembly by adding
wheel pants and the tail section. The
receiver, battery, and controller are held
in place with Velcro.
The CG shown on the plans and the
following control settings will give you
enough control to turn the airplane in its
own length or fly large Aerobatics-type
maneuvers. Wait for a calm day or test-fly
indoors.
Controls: Control horns are made from
large plastic tie wraps or 1/16 plywood.
The .032-inch-diameter pushrod for the
elevator and rudder require bracing to get
the full push effect. Remember to keep the
hole in the control horns directly over the
hinge pivot point.
My control settings are: elevator high
rates, + and -50° with 75% expediential;
elevator low rates, + and -22° with 50%
expediential; aileron high rates, + and -
32° with 75% expediential; aileron low
rates, + and -25° with 50% expediential;
and rudder, + and -40° with 50%
expediential.
I use flaperons with high-rate
elevators set at + and -38°. On low rate
elevator flaperons are set at + and -25°.
The extreme right aileron is coupled to
10° right rudder. The same is true of the
left aileron setting.
This is to help the airplane fly
normally, even with extreme amounts of
side area. If you don’t have coupling on
your radio, be prepared to turn using the
rudder.
Motors: The first power plant I tested
was a PJS 550R with a 3S1P, 1500 mAh
March 2006 17
To correctly position the top wing, you need two cardboard spacers cut to the same
height as the fuselage at the wing joint. Place the spacers on the bottom wing 6 inches
from the tips.
The semielliptical wing shape and the rounded tail planform can easily be seen.
Li-Poly pack, and it worked fine. To test the
lower end on power I tried an AXI 2208/34
motor with a 3S1P, 820 mAh Li-Poly
battery and was surprised to see it hover
well with this smaller power plant.
The next motor I tested was a PJS 1000
with a 3S1P, 1500 mAh battery pack. It did
fine. However, you must remember not to
use full throttle and stick with a smaller
propeller, such as a 10 x 4.7 APC Slow
Flyer. The AXI 2212/34 or the Hacker A20-
20L is perfect for this airplane.
Caution to Experimenters (My Kind of
People): The new buzzword in 3-D flying is
Side Force Generators, or SFG. My first
experiments with SFG were in 1954 on a
1/2A CL Precision Aerobatics model. I
wanted to keep the control lines tight on
overhead maneuvers. It worked great, and I
still have the photos.
Before the new trend of SFG started and
even before the first Electric TOC, I had
been experimenting with a 600-square-inch
foam biplane that had a total side area of
slightly more than 400 square inches. I
almost lost it on a test flight. It would not
turn with the ailerons and elevator the way
you normally turn a model, but would flip
on its side and ignore my control inputs. The
only way to turn the airplane was with the
rudder.
I began looking for the perfect amount
of SFG and believed I had found it with a
40-inch-wingspan Scale profile Grumman
Wildcat. I was elated with the newfound
ability to perform knife-edge loops.
Then I discovered that all my airplanes
would do knife-edge loops. I just needed
more confidence and stick time. Be prepared
to use the rudder if you experiment with
SFG, or your airplane could be in the ground
before you know what happened.
When I was young I could not have
imagined shopping for an airplane and
watching a flight demonstration on a
computer screen. No way could I have
dreamed of learning to fly on a computer.
That tells me young people today are in for
even greater things than they can imagine.
What a wonderful time to be alive. Enjoy!
Following are outstanding sources I have
found to be extremely customer friendly.
Charger RC
Box 460144
Escondido CA 92046
(760) 749-0552
www.chargerrc.com
Depron USA
(206) 789-4800
www.depronusa.com
Hobby Lobby International, Inc.
5614 Franklin Pike Cir.
Brentwood TN 37027
(615) 373-1444
www.hobby-lobby.com MA
Charles Mackey
[email protected]
18 MODEL AVIATION
03sig1.QXD 1/24/06 1:10 PM Page 18
Edition: Model Aviation - 2006/03
Page Numbers: 15,16,17,18,19,22
I AM HAVING so much fun and am so
excited about this new 3-D foamie that
not to share it with you would almost be
a sin. The new foam 3-D airplanes have
been life-altering for me and they may be
for you. At the very least they will
improve your flying skills and be a great
deal of fun.
Can a model-airplane experience
really change your life? You bet!
Following are instances when it has
happened to me.
1) In 1945 a single loop could win
any CL contest in the state of Illinois. I
learned to fly consecutive loops and
inverted at roughly the same time, and I
was so elated that I became a modeler
for life.
2) I attended the 1947 Nationals and
was so impressed with J.C. Yates flying
his Orwick-powered Madman that he
became my lifelong hero and inspired me
to later write the book Pioneers of
Control Line Flying (available from
AMA). That year I had to become a
model-airplane designer.
3) My wife Phyllis and I attended the
1999 Tournament of Champions (TOC)
in Las Vegas, Nevada. We were
overwhelmed with emotion when we saw
Christophe Paysant-Le Roux of France
fly his Freestyle segment. It was
perfectly timed to beautiful music, and
the flying was slow and graceful. The
airplane seemed to defy the laws of
aerodynamics and gravity.
We didn’t care if anyone saw the
tears run down our cheeks. My life was
changed when I saw 3-D flying.
I am often asked, “What is 3-D
flying?” My response is that it is “flying
on the prop” with the wing and tail in a
stalled condition. This requires the static
thrust to be approximately twice the
weight of the airplane. Experienced
pilots maintain control with the airflow
from the propeller over the control
surfaces.
However, there’s a problem! TOCtype
airplanes cost thousands—not
hundreds—of dollars. They require
special transportation, assembly and
disassembly, a flying site with liberal
regulations, and potential liability
considerations.
The learning curve certainly requires
the expense of a few airplanes. Smaller
cu. in.-displacement 3-D airplanes
alleviate the problem, but they don’t
come close to solving it. You can’t pull
one of these models out of your vehicle
to fly a demonstration for your friends
during your lunch hour. What do you do?
Help is here, and it comes in the form
of brushless outrunner motors, Li-Poly
batteries, foam, and carbon fiber. These
items make 3-D flying available to
everyone.
You may have seen a 3-D aircraft,
and now I want you to try one. It can
change your life. If you don’t like to
build from scratch, you can find manyMake paper patterns of all the airplane’s Depron parts and transfer them to the foam.
Cut the parts to shape using a #11 knife blade.
Paint all parts with acrylic paints (available at craft stores) before
final assembly. Thin the paint with water and apply with a soft
watercolor brush.
Use epoxy or foam-safe cyanoacrylate to attach 1mm x 3mm
carbon-fiber strips to both wings’ LE and TE. Hold the carbon
fiber in place with masking tape until the glue dries.
modelers see it fly; after they see it fly
their requests change to near demands.
I do all my flying outdoors, so you
don’t have to worry about a little wind
with this model. The wind must be
considered when the airplane is on the
ground. Use your high power-to-weight
ratio to keep the nose into the wind on
takeoff and landing. Don’t try to taxi with
a side wind!
shown on the plans, and then seal the
bottom side of the wing hinge joint with
clear packing tape or colored trim tape.
Glue the elevator sides to the carbon-fiber
tube (or you may substitute a wooden
dowel).
Attach the nylon pin hinges to the
elevator and rudder. Put a drop of 3-in-One
oil inside the pin-hinge area, cover the
outside with a thin coat of Vaseline, and
epoxy in place.
It is much easier to paint all the parts
before final assembly. I use 4-ounce bottles
of acrylic paint from Wal-Mart. I thin the
paint with water and apply it with a soft
watercolor brush. Experiment with paint
mix on a scrap piece of Depron. Keep the
finish as thin as possible to maintain the
brightness of the white foam.
Do you want a 3-D paint job for your
3-D airplane? It is not necessary, but it is
fun. A 3-D paint job makes a flat surface
look like it has depth; it is achieved by
lightening the surfaces exposed to light and
darkening the bottom that receives less
light.
Paint the entire fuselage with thinned
blue acrylic paint and allow it to dry.
Lighten the top edges with white acrylic
and fade it toward the bottom edge. The
entire fade-in section should be no wider
than 1/2 inch. You can blend it in with a
brush or use your finger to rub the wet
paint down. Practicing on a scrap piece of
Depron will be a big help.
Paint the bottom edge black
approximately one-quarter of the way up
toward the top. You can fade it in with
CONSTRUCTION
Make paper patterns of all the Depron
parts and transfer them to the foam. Cut
the parts to shape using a #11 knife blade.
Use epoxy or foam-safe cyanoacrylate
glue to attach the 1mm x 3mm carbonfiber
strips to the LE and TE of both
wings. Hold the carbon fiber in place with
masking tape until the glue dries.
Hinge the flap/ailerons to the wings as
Photos courtesy the author
16 MODEL AVIATION
Begin the bipe’s assembly by gluing the lower wing to the fuselage and carefully checking
the alignment with a square. Notice the fuselage supports.
The text outlines a method of applying paint and details that give your model a threedimensional
appearance without adding much weight.
your finger, or sometimes a wet brush will
help. When the paint is dry, you can add
the seam lines and rivets with a gel-type
ballpoint pen—the kind that is
recommended for writing checks.
To get a 3-D paint job on the wings,
stabilizer, and elevator, start by lightly
drawing the rib lines with a pencil. Don’t
use a gel pen; it will smear. Paint the top
surface of both wings with thinned yellow
acrylic and allow the paint to dry. You
should be able to see the pencil lines
through the paint.
Mix a bit of white with the base color,
yellow in this case, and paint a line
roughly 3/8 inch wide on the right side of
the pencil line. While the paint is still wet,
blend it in to the right with your finger.
Do this to all the rib lines and allow the
paint to dry.
Mix a tiny amount of black to a batch
of yellow, and paint a line 3/8 inch wide on
the left side of the rib line; blend it in to
the left. Repeat on all the rib lines until
you are finished.
Don’t be surprised if someone touches
the rib line to see if the depth is there. I’ve
had it happen with Pvt. Kool’s Bipe.
Final Assembly: I normally use epoxy,
but I have had good results with Gorilla
Glue, white glue, and foam-safe
cyanoacrylate. You will need a flat work
surface for assembly.
Glue the fuselage to the wing. Check
the alignment with a square and allow the
glue to dry.
To position the top wing correctly you
will need two cardboard spacers—cut to
the same height as the fuselage at the
wing joint approximately 11 inches long.
Place the spacers on the bottom wing 6
inches from the tips. Glue the top wing to
the fuselage, add weights to the top wing,
check alignment with a square, and allow
the glue to dry. Hang the wing LE slightly
over the flat surface and add the carbonfiber
braces to the wing LE. Bind the
landing gear in place with soft wire or
thread. Do the same on all carbon-fiber
rods, epoxy, and allow the glue to dry.
Turn the airplane upside down, hang the
pilot over the edge of the flat surface,
replace your braces, check alignment, and
add the carbon-fiber rods to the wing TE.
Complete the assembly by adding
wheel pants and the tail section. The
receiver, battery, and controller are held
in place with Velcro.
The CG shown on the plans and the
following control settings will give you
enough control to turn the airplane in its
own length or fly large Aerobatics-type
maneuvers. Wait for a calm day or test-fly
indoors.
Controls: Control horns are made from
large plastic tie wraps or 1/16 plywood.
The .032-inch-diameter pushrod for the
elevator and rudder require bracing to get
the full push effect. Remember to keep the
hole in the control horns directly over the
hinge pivot point.
My control settings are: elevator high
rates, + and -50° with 75% expediential;
elevator low rates, + and -22° with 50%
expediential; aileron high rates, + and -
32° with 75% expediential; aileron low
rates, + and -25° with 50% expediential;
and rudder, + and -40° with 50%
expediential.
I use flaperons with high-rate
elevators set at + and -38°. On low rate
elevator flaperons are set at + and -25°.
The extreme right aileron is coupled to
10° right rudder. The same is true of the
left aileron setting.
This is to help the airplane fly
normally, even with extreme amounts of
side area. If you don’t have coupling on
your radio, be prepared to turn using the
rudder.
Motors: The first power plant I tested
was a PJS 550R with a 3S1P, 1500 mAh
March 2006 17
To correctly position the top wing, you need two cardboard spacers cut to the same
height as the fuselage at the wing joint. Place the spacers on the bottom wing 6 inches
from the tips.
The semielliptical wing shape and the rounded tail planform can easily be seen.
Li-Poly pack, and it worked fine. To test the
lower end on power I tried an AXI 2208/34
motor with a 3S1P, 820 mAh Li-Poly
battery and was surprised to see it hover
well with this smaller power plant.
The next motor I tested was a PJS 1000
with a 3S1P, 1500 mAh battery pack. It did
fine. However, you must remember not to
use full throttle and stick with a smaller
propeller, such as a 10 x 4.7 APC Slow
Flyer. The AXI 2212/34 or the Hacker A20-
20L is perfect for this airplane.
Caution to Experimenters (My Kind of
People): The new buzzword in 3-D flying is
Side Force Generators, or SFG. My first
experiments with SFG were in 1954 on a
1/2A CL Precision Aerobatics model. I
wanted to keep the control lines tight on
overhead maneuvers. It worked great, and I
still have the photos.
Before the new trend of SFG started and
even before the first Electric TOC, I had
been experimenting with a 600-square-inch
foam biplane that had a total side area of
slightly more than 400 square inches. I
almost lost it on a test flight. It would not
turn with the ailerons and elevator the way
you normally turn a model, but would flip
on its side and ignore my control inputs. The
only way to turn the airplane was with the
rudder.
I began looking for the perfect amount
of SFG and believed I had found it with a
40-inch-wingspan Scale profile Grumman
Wildcat. I was elated with the newfound
ability to perform knife-edge loops.
Then I discovered that all my airplanes
would do knife-edge loops. I just needed
more confidence and stick time. Be prepared
to use the rudder if you experiment with
SFG, or your airplane could be in the ground
before you know what happened.
When I was young I could not have
imagined shopping for an airplane and
watching a flight demonstration on a
computer screen. No way could I have
dreamed of learning to fly on a computer.
That tells me young people today are in for
even greater things than they can imagine.
What a wonderful time to be alive. Enjoy!
Following are outstanding sources I have
found to be extremely customer friendly.
Charger RC
Box 460144
Escondido CA 92046
(760) 749-0552
www.chargerrc.com
Depron USA
(206) 789-4800
www.depronusa.com
Hobby Lobby International, Inc.
5614 Franklin Pike Cir.
Brentwood TN 37027
(615) 373-1444
www.hobby-lobby.com MA
Charles Mackey
[email protected]
18 MODEL AVIATION
03sig1.QXD 1/24/06 1:10 PM Page 18
Edition: Model Aviation - 2006/03
Page Numbers: 15,16,17,18,19,22
I AM HAVING so much fun and am so
excited about this new 3-D foamie that
not to share it with you would almost be
a sin. The new foam 3-D airplanes have
been life-altering for me and they may be
for you. At the very least they will
improve your flying skills and be a great
deal of fun.
Can a model-airplane experience
really change your life? You bet!
Following are instances when it has
happened to me.
1) In 1945 a single loop could win
any CL contest in the state of Illinois. I
learned to fly consecutive loops and
inverted at roughly the same time, and I
was so elated that I became a modeler
for life.
2) I attended the 1947 Nationals and
was so impressed with J.C. Yates flying
his Orwick-powered Madman that he
became my lifelong hero and inspired me
to later write the book Pioneers of
Control Line Flying (available from
AMA). That year I had to become a
model-airplane designer.
3) My wife Phyllis and I attended the
1999 Tournament of Champions (TOC)
in Las Vegas, Nevada. We were
overwhelmed with emotion when we saw
Christophe Paysant-Le Roux of France
fly his Freestyle segment. It was
perfectly timed to beautiful music, and
the flying was slow and graceful. The
airplane seemed to defy the laws of
aerodynamics and gravity.
We didn’t care if anyone saw the
tears run down our cheeks. My life was
changed when I saw 3-D flying.
I am often asked, “What is 3-D
flying?” My response is that it is “flying
on the prop” with the wing and tail in a
stalled condition. This requires the static
thrust to be approximately twice the
weight of the airplane. Experienced
pilots maintain control with the airflow
from the propeller over the control
surfaces.
However, there’s a problem! TOCtype
airplanes cost thousands—not
hundreds—of dollars. They require
special transportation, assembly and
disassembly, a flying site with liberal
regulations, and potential liability
considerations.
The learning curve certainly requires
the expense of a few airplanes. Smaller
cu. in.-displacement 3-D airplanes
alleviate the problem, but they don’t
come close to solving it. You can’t pull
one of these models out of your vehicle
to fly a demonstration for your friends
during your lunch hour. What do you do?
Help is here, and it comes in the form
of brushless outrunner motors, Li-Poly
batteries, foam, and carbon fiber. These
items make 3-D flying available to
everyone.
You may have seen a 3-D aircraft,
and now I want you to try one. It can
change your life. If you don’t like to
build from scratch, you can find manyMake paper patterns of all the airplane’s Depron parts and transfer them to the foam.
Cut the parts to shape using a #11 knife blade.
Paint all parts with acrylic paints (available at craft stores) before
final assembly. Thin the paint with water and apply with a soft
watercolor brush.
Use epoxy or foam-safe cyanoacrylate to attach 1mm x 3mm
carbon-fiber strips to both wings’ LE and TE. Hold the carbon
fiber in place with masking tape until the glue dries.
modelers see it fly; after they see it fly
their requests change to near demands.
I do all my flying outdoors, so you
don’t have to worry about a little wind
with this model. The wind must be
considered when the airplane is on the
ground. Use your high power-to-weight
ratio to keep the nose into the wind on
takeoff and landing. Don’t try to taxi with
a side wind!
shown on the plans, and then seal the
bottom side of the wing hinge joint with
clear packing tape or colored trim tape.
Glue the elevator sides to the carbon-fiber
tube (or you may substitute a wooden
dowel).
Attach the nylon pin hinges to the
elevator and rudder. Put a drop of 3-in-One
oil inside the pin-hinge area, cover the
outside with a thin coat of Vaseline, and
epoxy in place.
It is much easier to paint all the parts
before final assembly. I use 4-ounce bottles
of acrylic paint from Wal-Mart. I thin the
paint with water and apply it with a soft
watercolor brush. Experiment with paint
mix on a scrap piece of Depron. Keep the
finish as thin as possible to maintain the
brightness of the white foam.
Do you want a 3-D paint job for your
3-D airplane? It is not necessary, but it is
fun. A 3-D paint job makes a flat surface
look like it has depth; it is achieved by
lightening the surfaces exposed to light and
darkening the bottom that receives less
light.
Paint the entire fuselage with thinned
blue acrylic paint and allow it to dry.
Lighten the top edges with white acrylic
and fade it toward the bottom edge. The
entire fade-in section should be no wider
than 1/2 inch. You can blend it in with a
brush or use your finger to rub the wet
paint down. Practicing on a scrap piece of
Depron will be a big help.
Paint the bottom edge black
approximately one-quarter of the way up
toward the top. You can fade it in with
CONSTRUCTION
Make paper patterns of all the Depron
parts and transfer them to the foam. Cut
the parts to shape using a #11 knife blade.
Use epoxy or foam-safe cyanoacrylate
glue to attach the 1mm x 3mm carbonfiber
strips to the LE and TE of both
wings. Hold the carbon fiber in place with
masking tape until the glue dries.
Hinge the flap/ailerons to the wings as
Photos courtesy the author
16 MODEL AVIATION
Begin the bipe’s assembly by gluing the lower wing to the fuselage and carefully checking
the alignment with a square. Notice the fuselage supports.
The text outlines a method of applying paint and details that give your model a threedimensional
appearance without adding much weight.
your finger, or sometimes a wet brush will
help. When the paint is dry, you can add
the seam lines and rivets with a gel-type
ballpoint pen—the kind that is
recommended for writing checks.
To get a 3-D paint job on the wings,
stabilizer, and elevator, start by lightly
drawing the rib lines with a pencil. Don’t
use a gel pen; it will smear. Paint the top
surface of both wings with thinned yellow
acrylic and allow the paint to dry. You
should be able to see the pencil lines
through the paint.
Mix a bit of white with the base color,
yellow in this case, and paint a line
roughly 3/8 inch wide on the right side of
the pencil line. While the paint is still wet,
blend it in to the right with your finger.
Do this to all the rib lines and allow the
paint to dry.
Mix a tiny amount of black to a batch
of yellow, and paint a line 3/8 inch wide on
the left side of the rib line; blend it in to
the left. Repeat on all the rib lines until
you are finished.
Don’t be surprised if someone touches
the rib line to see if the depth is there. I’ve
had it happen with Pvt. Kool’s Bipe.
Final Assembly: I normally use epoxy,
but I have had good results with Gorilla
Glue, white glue, and foam-safe
cyanoacrylate. You will need a flat work
surface for assembly.
Glue the fuselage to the wing. Check
the alignment with a square and allow the
glue to dry.
To position the top wing correctly you
will need two cardboard spacers—cut to
the same height as the fuselage at the
wing joint approximately 11 inches long.
Place the spacers on the bottom wing 6
inches from the tips. Glue the top wing to
the fuselage, add weights to the top wing,
check alignment with a square, and allow
the glue to dry. Hang the wing LE slightly
over the flat surface and add the carbonfiber
braces to the wing LE. Bind the
landing gear in place with soft wire or
thread. Do the same on all carbon-fiber
rods, epoxy, and allow the glue to dry.
Turn the airplane upside down, hang the
pilot over the edge of the flat surface,
replace your braces, check alignment, and
add the carbon-fiber rods to the wing TE.
Complete the assembly by adding
wheel pants and the tail section. The
receiver, battery, and controller are held
in place with Velcro.
The CG shown on the plans and the
following control settings will give you
enough control to turn the airplane in its
own length or fly large Aerobatics-type
maneuvers. Wait for a calm day or test-fly
indoors.
Controls: Control horns are made from
large plastic tie wraps or 1/16 plywood.
The .032-inch-diameter pushrod for the
elevator and rudder require bracing to get
the full push effect. Remember to keep the
hole in the control horns directly over the
hinge pivot point.
My control settings are: elevator high
rates, + and -50° with 75% expediential;
elevator low rates, + and -22° with 50%
expediential; aileron high rates, + and -
32° with 75% expediential; aileron low
rates, + and -25° with 50% expediential;
and rudder, + and -40° with 50%
expediential.
I use flaperons with high-rate
elevators set at + and -38°. On low rate
elevator flaperons are set at + and -25°.
The extreme right aileron is coupled to
10° right rudder. The same is true of the
left aileron setting.
This is to help the airplane fly
normally, even with extreme amounts of
side area. If you don’t have coupling on
your radio, be prepared to turn using the
rudder.
Motors: The first power plant I tested
was a PJS 550R with a 3S1P, 1500 mAh
March 2006 17
To correctly position the top wing, you need two cardboard spacers cut to the same
height as the fuselage at the wing joint. Place the spacers on the bottom wing 6 inches
from the tips.
The semielliptical wing shape and the rounded tail planform can easily be seen.
Li-Poly pack, and it worked fine. To test the
lower end on power I tried an AXI 2208/34
motor with a 3S1P, 820 mAh Li-Poly
battery and was surprised to see it hover
well with this smaller power plant.
The next motor I tested was a PJS 1000
with a 3S1P, 1500 mAh battery pack. It did
fine. However, you must remember not to
use full throttle and stick with a smaller
propeller, such as a 10 x 4.7 APC Slow
Flyer. The AXI 2212/34 or the Hacker A20-
20L is perfect for this airplane.
Caution to Experimenters (My Kind of
People): The new buzzword in 3-D flying is
Side Force Generators, or SFG. My first
experiments with SFG were in 1954 on a
1/2A CL Precision Aerobatics model. I
wanted to keep the control lines tight on
overhead maneuvers. It worked great, and I
still have the photos.
Before the new trend of SFG started and
even before the first Electric TOC, I had
been experimenting with a 600-square-inch
foam biplane that had a total side area of
slightly more than 400 square inches. I
almost lost it on a test flight. It would not
turn with the ailerons and elevator the way
you normally turn a model, but would flip
on its side and ignore my control inputs. The
only way to turn the airplane was with the
rudder.
I began looking for the perfect amount
of SFG and believed I had found it with a
40-inch-wingspan Scale profile Grumman
Wildcat. I was elated with the newfound
ability to perform knife-edge loops.
Then I discovered that all my airplanes
would do knife-edge loops. I just needed
more confidence and stick time. Be prepared
to use the rudder if you experiment with
SFG, or your airplane could be in the ground
before you know what happened.
When I was young I could not have
imagined shopping for an airplane and
watching a flight demonstration on a
computer screen. No way could I have
dreamed of learning to fly on a computer.
That tells me young people today are in for
even greater things than they can imagine.
What a wonderful time to be alive. Enjoy!
Following are outstanding sources I have
found to be extremely customer friendly.
Charger RC
Box 460144
Escondido CA 92046
(760) 749-0552
www.chargerrc.com
Depron USA
(206) 789-4800
www.depronusa.com
Hobby Lobby International, Inc.
5614 Franklin Pike Cir.
Brentwood TN 37027
(615) 373-1444
www.hobby-lobby.com MA
Charles Mackey
[email protected]
18 MODEL AVIATION
03sig1.QXD 1/24/06 1:10 PM Page 18