Author: Dick Perry
Edition: Model Aviation - 2012/04
Page Numbers: 140,141
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Carrier in the Northwest

By Dick Perry

[email protected]

I've received correspondence from John Lickley (Oregon), who is new to Carrier flying and is enjoying the contest activities in the Pacific Northwest. Two of the photographs this month are of his aircraft.

The MO-1 Profile is near and dear to my heart. It was built from the Golden State kit which I designed. John chose a Thunder Tiger .36 for power.

John's Nakajima C6N1 Myrt is a Roland Baltes design and one of the classics of our event. It was originally published in the May 1976 issue of Model Aviation as a Class II model. With a K&B 8011 front-intake .40 engine, it is ideally suited to the Nostalgia event, as well as serving as John's introduction to AMA Class I Navy Carrier.

When he started flying Carrier, John noticed the weight and size of most traditional carrier decks used in our events. He has undertaken a significant weight-reduction project. He plans to use thin plywood sandwiched around a foam core as the primary construction material for a new deck he is building. He's promised to keep us up-to-date on progress as the deck takes shape.

He has his sights set on establishing a Carrier contest at the Tillamook Air Museum in Tillamook on the Oregon coast west of Portland. The museum has a number of U.S. Navy carrier aircraft on display, including one of the relatively few remaining AM-1 Martin Maulers.

The museum is housed in a former Navy blimp hangar. Constructed from wood and covering seven acres of floor space with a height of 192 feet, the hangar itself is something to see, even without the aircraft!

The 2013 Rules Proposals

The 2013 rules cycle includes proposals to allow the use of radio signals (2.4 GHz spread spectrum) for controlling functions other than elevation on CL models. By the time you read this, there may be other variations.

As I write this, I don't know what specific form the final proposals will take. If you are interested in these rules or others proposed in this cycle, now is the time to comment to your Contest Board members. The AMA website contains information about proposals, schedules, and how to contact your Contest Board representatives for the various events.

Using a radio for controlling throttle and other auxiliary functions (not the elevator) makes possible some changes in the basic concept of our CL Navy Carrier models. It certainly simplifies control installations by eliminating the need for our traditional three-line control systems.

We’ve always had the option of using two-line and even monoline control systems in our Carrier models, but they haven’t been practical in the past because of the requirement that all control functions be accomplished through the lines.

Mechanical controls using line tension (the current method) require one more line than the number of functions to be controlled. That pretty much rules out mechanical controls other than three-line systems, but there have been some good developments in electronic controls with the signals passing through the lines. The use of radio signals eliminates the need for insulated lines.

The current rules specify two-line and monoline diameters that are larger than required to meet the AMA safety guidelines for line strength. That was done to further discourage the use of such systems by removing some of the advantage of reduced line drag. Even with the larger line diameters, there is still an advantage in drag, and line drag is a relatively large proportion of total drag on our Carrier models.

It will be up to the Navy Carrier Contest Board to determine how to proceed in our events—with your guidance. If this issue is important to you, contact your board member to voice your opinion.

.15 Carrier

.15 Carrier has seen some interesting developments in the last year. John Vlna introduced an electric-powered Supermarine Seafire Mk 46/47 at the 2011 Nats. It has an interesting stepped airfoil, designed specifically for foam construction.

The model is constructed from 3/8-inch thick pink insulation foam with some carbon-fiber reinforcing tubes in the fuselage and wing. The model was in raw foam last summer, and was definitely striking in its pink color scheme! It has since been painted and it looks nice.

The model is electric powered, using a Turnigy 3530-1400 motor with a four-cell 2200 mAh battery pack. It weighs 26 ounces and John lists the wing area at 260 square inches, making it slightly larger than most .15 Carrier models. It flies on two lines with the speed control function transmitted through the lines from a controller in the handle to the model’s ESC.

Especially for electric-power applications, foam construction may offer a lightweight alternative to more conventional construction materials and methods. With reduced vibration and no fuel to soak things, foam could offer some advantages.

Eric Conley has been scoring quite well in .15 Carrier with his electric-powered model. I don’t have many details of the model as I write this, but I hope to be able to get some photos and other information at the Southwest Regionals in Tucson to share with you.

One characteristic that I have been able to confirm from descriptions I’ve received is that it is big. Traditional .15 Carrier models usually have between 220 and 250 square inches of wing area. With a larger wing area, and lightweight construction, the wing loading on Eric’s model is lower than usual for such models.

Lower wing loading translates directly into better low-speed capability. Eric has been achieving low speeds close to five minutes, which is quite good compared to more traditional .15 Carrier models. With the success Eric is having with his larger model, he could be starting a trend.

Sources

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.