WHAT DO RC
Aerobatics
(Pattern) pilots do
in the winter?
There are real
winters and then
there are what
they call winters
on the West Coast
and in the desert.
Where it gets really cold there is a band of Pattern pilots who
keep their spirits up while the Great Lakes are frozen over.
These hardy individuals are regular attendees at the AMA
Nats with what they build during their “ice age.” They valiantly
gather all through the winter to get their equipment ready for
the summer season. This band of merry men, affectionately
referred to as the Chicago Pattern Mafia, is led by Bobby
“Godfather” Satalino (a transplant from Queens, New York).
The winter for them is the “building season.” Mickey
Losardo is their chief design and airframe artist/architect.
This past winter they decided to
improve upon the Genesis ARF. This is
an endemic condition that affects all
Pattern builders; almost all believe they
can make a model lighter, tighter,
stronger, straighter, or just plain prettier!
In the fall the Chicago contingent
bought a bunch of Genesis fuselages.
Then they made their own wings and
flying surfaces. Their goal was to make
wings that were stiffer and lighter than
the original ARF’s. They also did things
such as fitting a carbon-fiber firewall to
save weight and make for a stronger
engine installation.
Existing fuselage floors were
unsatisfactory to these builders, so they
removed them to put in better
foam/fiberglass floors. All the hangar
rash and hash marks were removed and
One club’s winter-building-season Pattern project
[[email protected]]
Radio Control Aerobatics Eric Henderson
Also included in this column:
• Oxai Models’ Pinnacle goes
electric
• Ultra-RC Giles 202 reviewed
The Chicago Pattern Mafia (L-R): Mike Mueller, John Snow, Jules
Kopielski, Mickey Losardo, Dave Snow, Billy Gregg, Bobby
“Godfather” Satalino, Frank DelGuidice, Bill Brittain. The Genesis ARF in early stages of remodeling.
Bobby Satalino’s artwork on his finished Genesis.
Troy Newman’s 2006 Oxai Models’ Pinnacles. The electric-powered version is on the
right. Notice the design change in the chin cowl.
September 2006 129
09sig5.QXD 7/26/06 8:45 AM Page 129130 MODEL AVIATION
The author’s Ultra-RC Giles 202 with the many unseen
modifications that make it into a Pattern airplane.
The Giles comes with a pipe tunnel that can be seen. A Karl
Mueller header makes the connection to the carbon-fiber pipe.
filled with car-body paint filler. Canopy flanges were
reinforced with carbon-fiber strips. The list of changes is long
and extensive.
A great deal of extra work was put in to get a Pattern
airplane the way the group wanted it. Now it has only eight
more to complete before the July 2006 Pattern Nats.
In another part of America—Phoenix, Arizona—Troy
Newman and Oxai Models have been taking the Pinnacle
design into the expanding world of electric motors. Their idea
of winter is much more like time to practice flying before the
real flying season starts. But it does present the problem of
getting time to build.
A Pinnacle ARF’s completeness and finish will
comfortably aid in that dilemma. A glow-powered Pinnacle
takes 20-25 hours of workshop time to outfit with the
equipment of your choice.
Enter the new Oxai electric-powered Pinnacle. It was
purpose-built to be lighter specifically for motors and
redesigned to take advantage of electric power and still use the
proven Pinnacle framework. It is not a converted glow model.
Nearly all the usual hard work is done for you at the
factory. Preinstalled baffles direct the cooling and keep it out
of the canopy area. It is diverted directly from the bottom of
the model. The obvious external changes are the aerodynamics
of the nose and the function following form of the electric
version of this aircraft.
Finishing an electric-powered Pinnacle can be described as
very easy. When you come to installing the control horns, you
will find that hard points on the surfaces are already built in.
Servo mounting plates are preinstalled. The rudder-cable exits
are already accurately installed.
The elevator control system is a matter of preference; this
model can accommodate many choices such as MK, dual
servos, cables, etc. Troy used his favorite DEPS—dual
elevator pushrod system—from Central Hobbies.
The motor is an item of personal taste. Oxai doesn’t try to
assume what you will hang on the front. Troy’s model had a 1/8
plywood ring mounted to the spinner ring to accommodate a
Hacker C50 F3A motor. It was mounted to the “ring” with a
“false” firewall as a rear ring support. (For outrunner motors
the rear support may be unnecessary.)
This work probably takes the most time to complete. There
isn’t anything in the model to remove before doing it your
way.
With different motors come slightly different cooling
choices. Outrunners need different cooling up front than
running the Hacker C50. The cooling holes and options are left
up to the pilot/assembly technician for what works best for you.
Once all the electronic gear and motor are in, the landing
gear and tail wheel finish the assembly. The landing-gear plate
and hard points are installed, and you can choose the gear you
like best. Just program the radio and off you go to the field.
All incidences are already set at the factory and have proven
to be close right off the board. The new electric Pinnacle and
all the pieces I have mentioned are available from Central
Hobbies at www.centralhobbies.com.
One additional suggestion is to use a separate battery for the
radio system; do not use the motor battery to also provide
electricity for the radio system. A 900 mAh receiver pack
weighs only 1.3 ounces and will save your airplane in the event
of a motor or motor-battery malfunction.
This past winter in New Jersey, where we also have real
winters, an Ultra-RC Giles 202 “landed” on my workbench for
an RC Universe review. This ARF is well known as a 3-
D/International Miniature Aerobatic Club (IMAC) competition
model. It will also meet the F3A size and weight requirements.
An O.S. 1.60, a YS 1.60DZ, or one of the current crop of gas
engines would do the job up front.
How could I resist this temptation? It was not long before I
was looking at the specifications and what it would take to
make the Giles usable in F3A Pattern. It would need a good
silencer to meet AMA and F3A competition sound
requirements. It’s worthy to note that the airplane came with a
convenient pre-existing pipe tunnel.
The wings are “plug-on” and come with a carbon-fiber wing
tube. There is a slot for the wing tube in the fuselage that
allows you to vary the wing’s fore and aft position
approximately 2 inches. The stabilizer is also a plug-on design
and is held on by external screws.
09sig5.QXD 7/26/06 8:46 AM Page 130A new “C”-type Hyde Mount was used to keep the sound
and vibration under control. Positioning the wing in the most
forward position lets you achieve the longer, Pattern-style
fuselage moment arm. This helps to obtain the smoothest
aerobatic maneuvers.
The airplane needs six servos: one for each aileron, one each
for the elevator, and one each for the rudder and throttle. The
review model was flown with a Li-Poly two-cell, 900 mAh
receiver battery and later switched, for balance purposes, to a
heavier 2500 mAh Li-Ion pack for more nose weight when a
tuned pipe was fitted.
The review model came in at 10 pounds, 8 ounces, with a
carbon-fiber tuned pipe and a Karl Mueller header. The ground
clearance was exceptional with the fixed landing gear. An 18 x
12 Mejzlik propeller had plenty of room for its tips to clear the
grass during takeoff and landing!
Wing adjusters were fitted to make the Giles 202 more like a
Pattern model. The existing wing-retention system was changed
to use the “4-40 bolt in the wing tube method.”
It was easy to convert the wings. A small block of hardwood
can be glued between the built-up wing skin and the top of the
wing-tube sleeves. Then with the wings in place, the tube can be
drilled and tapped for 4-40 bolts through the hardwood block.
Test-flying showed that the original wing incidences were close,
but a bit of positive incidence removed any push to the belly in
the knife edge.
The Giles 202 could be a multipurpose model. It is a 29%
rendition of the full-scale airplane, and if you add a pilot and an
instrument panel it becomes fully IMAC-points compliant. The
instructions come with a complete section, including picture,
about an electric version. They show the electric enginemounting
system and the battery-pack installation.
Servo-arm lengths and control throws are different for 3-D
work. Large 3-D throws do not lend themselves to the smaller
throws used in Pattern flying. A 45° elevator setup does not
work well when asked to provide only 15° of throw. The
mechanical connection of a long servo arm does not give very
good resolution when only moving the elevator a few degrees.
Because this is an ARF you can explore several options. You
could, of course, just have a spare set of servo arms that could
be fitted as and when required.
Another option would be to have a second set of stabilizers
prefitted and set up with their own dedicated set of servos, servo
arms, and throws. This would allow rapid field conversion of the
elevator movements. Similarly, you could do the same with the
ailerons.
There are only four screws holding on the stabilizers. Simply
unplugging the servos from the fuselage extension leads would
allow a radically different set of stabilizers to be fitted in two or
three minutes. Of course, you would probably use another, more
extreme version of the model in your computer radio!
The Ultra RC Giles 202 in Pattern configuration can fly all
the AMA classes from 401 through 404. Some FAI P-07
maneuvers were successfully attempted—but only the bits that
could be remembered on the test day. It rolls easily and stops
quickly when snapped. It does the spin maneuvers on elevator
and rudder only.
This is a complete ARF that could be a terrific first or second
Pattern experience in any category.
If you are a Pattern supplier and do not see your airplane in this
column or you are a builder who has a Pattern project, please let
me know what you have cooking! If I don’t have your
information and some good pictures, it is impossible for me to
include your news or write about it.
This column is not an endorsement of any particular
products, but it does strive to bring news to the Pattern community and beyond. You can help! MA
Edition: Model Aviation - 2006/09
Page Numbers: 129,130,131
Edition: Model Aviation - 2006/09
Page Numbers: 129,130,131
WHAT DO RC
Aerobatics
(Pattern) pilots do
in the winter?
There are real
winters and then
there are what
they call winters
on the West Coast
and in the desert.
Where it gets really cold there is a band of Pattern pilots who
keep their spirits up while the Great Lakes are frozen over.
These hardy individuals are regular attendees at the AMA
Nats with what they build during their “ice age.” They valiantly
gather all through the winter to get their equipment ready for
the summer season. This band of merry men, affectionately
referred to as the Chicago Pattern Mafia, is led by Bobby
“Godfather” Satalino (a transplant from Queens, New York).
The winter for them is the “building season.” Mickey
Losardo is their chief design and airframe artist/architect.
This past winter they decided to
improve upon the Genesis ARF. This is
an endemic condition that affects all
Pattern builders; almost all believe they
can make a model lighter, tighter,
stronger, straighter, or just plain prettier!
In the fall the Chicago contingent
bought a bunch of Genesis fuselages.
Then they made their own wings and
flying surfaces. Their goal was to make
wings that were stiffer and lighter than
the original ARF’s. They also did things
such as fitting a carbon-fiber firewall to
save weight and make for a stronger
engine installation.
Existing fuselage floors were
unsatisfactory to these builders, so they
removed them to put in better
foam/fiberglass floors. All the hangar
rash and hash marks were removed and
One club’s winter-building-season Pattern project
[[email protected]]
Radio Control Aerobatics Eric Henderson
Also included in this column:
• Oxai Models’ Pinnacle goes
electric
• Ultra-RC Giles 202 reviewed
The Chicago Pattern Mafia (L-R): Mike Mueller, John Snow, Jules
Kopielski, Mickey Losardo, Dave Snow, Billy Gregg, Bobby
“Godfather” Satalino, Frank DelGuidice, Bill Brittain. The Genesis ARF in early stages of remodeling.
Bobby Satalino’s artwork on his finished Genesis.
Troy Newman’s 2006 Oxai Models’ Pinnacles. The electric-powered version is on the
right. Notice the design change in the chin cowl.
September 2006 129
09sig5.QXD 7/26/06 8:45 AM Page 129130 MODEL AVIATION
The author’s Ultra-RC Giles 202 with the many unseen
modifications that make it into a Pattern airplane.
The Giles comes with a pipe tunnel that can be seen. A Karl
Mueller header makes the connection to the carbon-fiber pipe.
filled with car-body paint filler. Canopy flanges were
reinforced with carbon-fiber strips. The list of changes is long
and extensive.
A great deal of extra work was put in to get a Pattern
airplane the way the group wanted it. Now it has only eight
more to complete before the July 2006 Pattern Nats.
In another part of America—Phoenix, Arizona—Troy
Newman and Oxai Models have been taking the Pinnacle
design into the expanding world of electric motors. Their idea
of winter is much more like time to practice flying before the
real flying season starts. But it does present the problem of
getting time to build.
A Pinnacle ARF’s completeness and finish will
comfortably aid in that dilemma. A glow-powered Pinnacle
takes 20-25 hours of workshop time to outfit with the
equipment of your choice.
Enter the new Oxai electric-powered Pinnacle. It was
purpose-built to be lighter specifically for motors and
redesigned to take advantage of electric power and still use the
proven Pinnacle framework. It is not a converted glow model.
Nearly all the usual hard work is done for you at the
factory. Preinstalled baffles direct the cooling and keep it out
of the canopy area. It is diverted directly from the bottom of
the model. The obvious external changes are the aerodynamics
of the nose and the function following form of the electric
version of this aircraft.
Finishing an electric-powered Pinnacle can be described as
very easy. When you come to installing the control horns, you
will find that hard points on the surfaces are already built in.
Servo mounting plates are preinstalled. The rudder-cable exits
are already accurately installed.
The elevator control system is a matter of preference; this
model can accommodate many choices such as MK, dual
servos, cables, etc. Troy used his favorite DEPS—dual
elevator pushrod system—from Central Hobbies.
The motor is an item of personal taste. Oxai doesn’t try to
assume what you will hang on the front. Troy’s model had a 1/8
plywood ring mounted to the spinner ring to accommodate a
Hacker C50 F3A motor. It was mounted to the “ring” with a
“false” firewall as a rear ring support. (For outrunner motors
the rear support may be unnecessary.)
This work probably takes the most time to complete. There
isn’t anything in the model to remove before doing it your
way.
With different motors come slightly different cooling
choices. Outrunners need different cooling up front than
running the Hacker C50. The cooling holes and options are left
up to the pilot/assembly technician for what works best for you.
Once all the electronic gear and motor are in, the landing
gear and tail wheel finish the assembly. The landing-gear plate
and hard points are installed, and you can choose the gear you
like best. Just program the radio and off you go to the field.
All incidences are already set at the factory and have proven
to be close right off the board. The new electric Pinnacle and
all the pieces I have mentioned are available from Central
Hobbies at www.centralhobbies.com.
One additional suggestion is to use a separate battery for the
radio system; do not use the motor battery to also provide
electricity for the radio system. A 900 mAh receiver pack
weighs only 1.3 ounces and will save your airplane in the event
of a motor or motor-battery malfunction.
This past winter in New Jersey, where we also have real
winters, an Ultra-RC Giles 202 “landed” on my workbench for
an RC Universe review. This ARF is well known as a 3-
D/International Miniature Aerobatic Club (IMAC) competition
model. It will also meet the F3A size and weight requirements.
An O.S. 1.60, a YS 1.60DZ, or one of the current crop of gas
engines would do the job up front.
How could I resist this temptation? It was not long before I
was looking at the specifications and what it would take to
make the Giles usable in F3A Pattern. It would need a good
silencer to meet AMA and F3A competition sound
requirements. It’s worthy to note that the airplane came with a
convenient pre-existing pipe tunnel.
The wings are “plug-on” and come with a carbon-fiber wing
tube. There is a slot for the wing tube in the fuselage that
allows you to vary the wing’s fore and aft position
approximately 2 inches. The stabilizer is also a plug-on design
and is held on by external screws.
09sig5.QXD 7/26/06 8:46 AM Page 130A new “C”-type Hyde Mount was used to keep the sound
and vibration under control. Positioning the wing in the most
forward position lets you achieve the longer, Pattern-style
fuselage moment arm. This helps to obtain the smoothest
aerobatic maneuvers.
The airplane needs six servos: one for each aileron, one each
for the elevator, and one each for the rudder and throttle. The
review model was flown with a Li-Poly two-cell, 900 mAh
receiver battery and later switched, for balance purposes, to a
heavier 2500 mAh Li-Ion pack for more nose weight when a
tuned pipe was fitted.
The review model came in at 10 pounds, 8 ounces, with a
carbon-fiber tuned pipe and a Karl Mueller header. The ground
clearance was exceptional with the fixed landing gear. An 18 x
12 Mejzlik propeller had plenty of room for its tips to clear the
grass during takeoff and landing!
Wing adjusters were fitted to make the Giles 202 more like a
Pattern model. The existing wing-retention system was changed
to use the “4-40 bolt in the wing tube method.”
It was easy to convert the wings. A small block of hardwood
can be glued between the built-up wing skin and the top of the
wing-tube sleeves. Then with the wings in place, the tube can be
drilled and tapped for 4-40 bolts through the hardwood block.
Test-flying showed that the original wing incidences were close,
but a bit of positive incidence removed any push to the belly in
the knife edge.
The Giles 202 could be a multipurpose model. It is a 29%
rendition of the full-scale airplane, and if you add a pilot and an
instrument panel it becomes fully IMAC-points compliant. The
instructions come with a complete section, including picture,
about an electric version. They show the electric enginemounting
system and the battery-pack installation.
Servo-arm lengths and control throws are different for 3-D
work. Large 3-D throws do not lend themselves to the smaller
throws used in Pattern flying. A 45° elevator setup does not
work well when asked to provide only 15° of throw. The
mechanical connection of a long servo arm does not give very
good resolution when only moving the elevator a few degrees.
Because this is an ARF you can explore several options. You
could, of course, just have a spare set of servo arms that could
be fitted as and when required.
Another option would be to have a second set of stabilizers
prefitted and set up with their own dedicated set of servos, servo
arms, and throws. This would allow rapid field conversion of the
elevator movements. Similarly, you could do the same with the
ailerons.
There are only four screws holding on the stabilizers. Simply
unplugging the servos from the fuselage extension leads would
allow a radically different set of stabilizers to be fitted in two or
three minutes. Of course, you would probably use another, more
extreme version of the model in your computer radio!
The Ultra RC Giles 202 in Pattern configuration can fly all
the AMA classes from 401 through 404. Some FAI P-07
maneuvers were successfully attempted—but only the bits that
could be remembered on the test day. It rolls easily and stops
quickly when snapped. It does the spin maneuvers on elevator
and rudder only.
This is a complete ARF that could be a terrific first or second
Pattern experience in any category.
If you are a Pattern supplier and do not see your airplane in this
column or you are a builder who has a Pattern project, please let
me know what you have cooking! If I don’t have your
information and some good pictures, it is impossible for me to
include your news or write about it.
This column is not an endorsement of any particular
products, but it does strive to bring news to the Pattern community and beyond. You can help! MA
Edition: Model Aviation - 2006/09
Page Numbers: 129,130,131
WHAT DO RC
Aerobatics
(Pattern) pilots do
in the winter?
There are real
winters and then
there are what
they call winters
on the West Coast
and in the desert.
Where it gets really cold there is a band of Pattern pilots who
keep their spirits up while the Great Lakes are frozen over.
These hardy individuals are regular attendees at the AMA
Nats with what they build during their “ice age.” They valiantly
gather all through the winter to get their equipment ready for
the summer season. This band of merry men, affectionately
referred to as the Chicago Pattern Mafia, is led by Bobby
“Godfather” Satalino (a transplant from Queens, New York).
The winter for them is the “building season.” Mickey
Losardo is their chief design and airframe artist/architect.
This past winter they decided to
improve upon the Genesis ARF. This is
an endemic condition that affects all
Pattern builders; almost all believe they
can make a model lighter, tighter,
stronger, straighter, or just plain prettier!
In the fall the Chicago contingent
bought a bunch of Genesis fuselages.
Then they made their own wings and
flying surfaces. Their goal was to make
wings that were stiffer and lighter than
the original ARF’s. They also did things
such as fitting a carbon-fiber firewall to
save weight and make for a stronger
engine installation.
Existing fuselage floors were
unsatisfactory to these builders, so they
removed them to put in better
foam/fiberglass floors. All the hangar
rash and hash marks were removed and
One club’s winter-building-season Pattern project
[[email protected]]
Radio Control Aerobatics Eric Henderson
Also included in this column:
• Oxai Models’ Pinnacle goes
electric
• Ultra-RC Giles 202 reviewed
The Chicago Pattern Mafia (L-R): Mike Mueller, John Snow, Jules
Kopielski, Mickey Losardo, Dave Snow, Billy Gregg, Bobby
“Godfather” Satalino, Frank DelGuidice, Bill Brittain. The Genesis ARF in early stages of remodeling.
Bobby Satalino’s artwork on his finished Genesis.
Troy Newman’s 2006 Oxai Models’ Pinnacles. The electric-powered version is on the
right. Notice the design change in the chin cowl.
September 2006 129
09sig5.QXD 7/26/06 8:45 AM Page 129130 MODEL AVIATION
The author’s Ultra-RC Giles 202 with the many unseen
modifications that make it into a Pattern airplane.
The Giles comes with a pipe tunnel that can be seen. A Karl
Mueller header makes the connection to the carbon-fiber pipe.
filled with car-body paint filler. Canopy flanges were
reinforced with carbon-fiber strips. The list of changes is long
and extensive.
A great deal of extra work was put in to get a Pattern
airplane the way the group wanted it. Now it has only eight
more to complete before the July 2006 Pattern Nats.
In another part of America—Phoenix, Arizona—Troy
Newman and Oxai Models have been taking the Pinnacle
design into the expanding world of electric motors. Their idea
of winter is much more like time to practice flying before the
real flying season starts. But it does present the problem of
getting time to build.
A Pinnacle ARF’s completeness and finish will
comfortably aid in that dilemma. A glow-powered Pinnacle
takes 20-25 hours of workshop time to outfit with the
equipment of your choice.
Enter the new Oxai electric-powered Pinnacle. It was
purpose-built to be lighter specifically for motors and
redesigned to take advantage of electric power and still use the
proven Pinnacle framework. It is not a converted glow model.
Nearly all the usual hard work is done for you at the
factory. Preinstalled baffles direct the cooling and keep it out
of the canopy area. It is diverted directly from the bottom of
the model. The obvious external changes are the aerodynamics
of the nose and the function following form of the electric
version of this aircraft.
Finishing an electric-powered Pinnacle can be described as
very easy. When you come to installing the control horns, you
will find that hard points on the surfaces are already built in.
Servo mounting plates are preinstalled. The rudder-cable exits
are already accurately installed.
The elevator control system is a matter of preference; this
model can accommodate many choices such as MK, dual
servos, cables, etc. Troy used his favorite DEPS—dual
elevator pushrod system—from Central Hobbies.
The motor is an item of personal taste. Oxai doesn’t try to
assume what you will hang on the front. Troy’s model had a 1/8
plywood ring mounted to the spinner ring to accommodate a
Hacker C50 F3A motor. It was mounted to the “ring” with a
“false” firewall as a rear ring support. (For outrunner motors
the rear support may be unnecessary.)
This work probably takes the most time to complete. There
isn’t anything in the model to remove before doing it your
way.
With different motors come slightly different cooling
choices. Outrunners need different cooling up front than
running the Hacker C50. The cooling holes and options are left
up to the pilot/assembly technician for what works best for you.
Once all the electronic gear and motor are in, the landing
gear and tail wheel finish the assembly. The landing-gear plate
and hard points are installed, and you can choose the gear you
like best. Just program the radio and off you go to the field.
All incidences are already set at the factory and have proven
to be close right off the board. The new electric Pinnacle and
all the pieces I have mentioned are available from Central
Hobbies at www.centralhobbies.com.
One additional suggestion is to use a separate battery for the
radio system; do not use the motor battery to also provide
electricity for the radio system. A 900 mAh receiver pack
weighs only 1.3 ounces and will save your airplane in the event
of a motor or motor-battery malfunction.
This past winter in New Jersey, where we also have real
winters, an Ultra-RC Giles 202 “landed” on my workbench for
an RC Universe review. This ARF is well known as a 3-
D/International Miniature Aerobatic Club (IMAC) competition
model. It will also meet the F3A size and weight requirements.
An O.S. 1.60, a YS 1.60DZ, or one of the current crop of gas
engines would do the job up front.
How could I resist this temptation? It was not long before I
was looking at the specifications and what it would take to
make the Giles usable in F3A Pattern. It would need a good
silencer to meet AMA and F3A competition sound
requirements. It’s worthy to note that the airplane came with a
convenient pre-existing pipe tunnel.
The wings are “plug-on” and come with a carbon-fiber wing
tube. There is a slot for the wing tube in the fuselage that
allows you to vary the wing’s fore and aft position
approximately 2 inches. The stabilizer is also a plug-on design
and is held on by external screws.
09sig5.QXD 7/26/06 8:46 AM Page 130A new “C”-type Hyde Mount was used to keep the sound
and vibration under control. Positioning the wing in the most
forward position lets you achieve the longer, Pattern-style
fuselage moment arm. This helps to obtain the smoothest
aerobatic maneuvers.
The airplane needs six servos: one for each aileron, one each
for the elevator, and one each for the rudder and throttle. The
review model was flown with a Li-Poly two-cell, 900 mAh
receiver battery and later switched, for balance purposes, to a
heavier 2500 mAh Li-Ion pack for more nose weight when a
tuned pipe was fitted.
The review model came in at 10 pounds, 8 ounces, with a
carbon-fiber tuned pipe and a Karl Mueller header. The ground
clearance was exceptional with the fixed landing gear. An 18 x
12 Mejzlik propeller had plenty of room for its tips to clear the
grass during takeoff and landing!
Wing adjusters were fitted to make the Giles 202 more like a
Pattern model. The existing wing-retention system was changed
to use the “4-40 bolt in the wing tube method.”
It was easy to convert the wings. A small block of hardwood
can be glued between the built-up wing skin and the top of the
wing-tube sleeves. Then with the wings in place, the tube can be
drilled and tapped for 4-40 bolts through the hardwood block.
Test-flying showed that the original wing incidences were close,
but a bit of positive incidence removed any push to the belly in
the knife edge.
The Giles 202 could be a multipurpose model. It is a 29%
rendition of the full-scale airplane, and if you add a pilot and an
instrument panel it becomes fully IMAC-points compliant. The
instructions come with a complete section, including picture,
about an electric version. They show the electric enginemounting
system and the battery-pack installation.
Servo-arm lengths and control throws are different for 3-D
work. Large 3-D throws do not lend themselves to the smaller
throws used in Pattern flying. A 45° elevator setup does not
work well when asked to provide only 15° of throw. The
mechanical connection of a long servo arm does not give very
good resolution when only moving the elevator a few degrees.
Because this is an ARF you can explore several options. You
could, of course, just have a spare set of servo arms that could
be fitted as and when required.
Another option would be to have a second set of stabilizers
prefitted and set up with their own dedicated set of servos, servo
arms, and throws. This would allow rapid field conversion of the
elevator movements. Similarly, you could do the same with the
ailerons.
There are only four screws holding on the stabilizers. Simply
unplugging the servos from the fuselage extension leads would
allow a radically different set of stabilizers to be fitted in two or
three minutes. Of course, you would probably use another, more
extreme version of the model in your computer radio!
The Ultra RC Giles 202 in Pattern configuration can fly all
the AMA classes from 401 through 404. Some FAI P-07
maneuvers were successfully attempted—but only the bits that
could be remembered on the test day. It rolls easily and stops
quickly when snapped. It does the spin maneuvers on elevator
and rudder only.
This is a complete ARF that could be a terrific first or second
Pattern experience in any category.
If you are a Pattern supplier and do not see your airplane in this
column or you are a builder who has a Pattern project, please let
me know what you have cooking! If I don’t have your
information and some good pictures, it is impossible for me to
include your news or write about it.
This column is not an endorsement of any particular
products, but it does strive to bring news to the Pattern community and beyond. You can help! MA