CL Scale
Bill Boss, 77-06 269th St., New Hyde Park NY 11040
Cockpit Instrumentation
Do you need special instruments and sizing for your model's instrument panel? Instrument-panel construction can be accomplished in a couple of ways. Some companies that produce model kits also provide cockpit and instrumentation kits, but usually at extra cost.
If you're a scale scratch-builder, you'll not only scratch-build the model, but you'll also build piece-by-piece the cockpit and instrumentation. There are many ways of building cockpit detail, but each scale builder approaches the task of sizing and constructing cockpit detail in his or her own way.
If you have a computer system equipped with a scanner and a fairly good inkjet or laser printer, sizing an instrument panel and its instruments can be a relatively easy task.
Find a good photo or layout drawing of the instrument panel required for your model. Most instrument panels found in technical orders or similar documents are drawn to scale with respect to the panel shape and instrument layout. If you're using a photo, be sure that it shows the panel in a head-on shot so that an undistorted view of the overall panel and its instruments is captured.
Scan the drawing or photo into the computer, using a program such as Hewlett-Packard's (HP) Copy Utility. Make your first scan at 100% and direct the output to the printer.
I used an Epson 740 Color Printer; its program allows me to select the resolution, quality, and contrast of the output. The output can be as high as 1,440 dots per inch (dpi), providing a very fine and high-quality print. The first printout will give you the starting point for the size of the panel and instruments.
Determine the size of the panel that is required for your model. If the panel needed is three inches wide, and the output you scanned first only equaled 2½ inches, the output of subsequent scans should be increased until you reach the required three-inch size. A 20% increase in the output size would give you the required three inches.
When the proper-size output is attained, the printout can be used as a pattern for making the instrument panel. You not only have a pattern for the proper size and outline of the overall panel, you also have properly sized instruments that are in good scale position.
The instruments can then be cut out and used to make the panel for your model. This is a good way of getting faces for those difficult-to-find instruments. You might also use the scanner/computer combination for the upsizing or downsizing of wing ribs, fuselage formers, or other parts of a plan, and print them out at the desired size.
I realize that there are no points awarded for cockpit detail in a Sport Scale model, but a copy of the instrument panel might be used to dress up the cockpit. This idea might also be used by the stunt model builder.
Contest Activity
The Garden State Circle Burners (GSCB) had a very successful All Scale contest in September 1999. This was the GSCB's 22nd annual Control Line Scale Contest (now called the George L. Gaydos Memorial) and was held at the club's field. The meet drew competitors from New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and the home state of New Jersey. Contestants entered 21 aircraft, making a full day of scale flying.
Ralph Robinson (Hastings-on-Hudson, NY) flew a Sopwith Camel and placed first in the Precision event. He also took home the GSCB's Top Gun Award, given for the best flight of the day and for the most complete documentation of an aircraft. Junior competitor Scott LeFevre (Dover, NJ) was presented the George L. Gaydos Junior Competitor Award for his efforts in the Profile Scale and Team Scale events.
Jack Patrolia (Mansfield, MA) took top honors by placing first in the Sport and Profile events; he was also awarded the George L. Gaydos Perpetual Competitor Award. Jack flew a Stephens Arkro and a new profile version of the Laser 200.
Patrolia's Laser 200 is scratch-built, has a wingspan of 53 inches, a length of 41¼ inches, a wing area of 450½ square inches, and weighs 76 ounces. The Laser 200 is powered with an O.S. Max .35 radio-control (RC) engine that is throttle-controlled via a standard three-line Roberts-type system.
The fuselage is built up, taking advantage of the one-inch fuselage and 1½-inch cowling thickness rule for profiles, allowing the elevator control rod to be completely hidden and the engine mounted on the fuselage centerline. Wood and fabric covering of the wings and control surfaces follow that of the prototype.
Patrolia molded his own canopy and wheel fairings; all of the markings are painted on with Sig dopes. The attention given to detail applications makes this a great model. Perhaps the next Laser that Patrolia builds will be a full-bodied version.
Patrolia will be one of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) CL Scale Team members representing the United States at the World Championships in Switzerland in August 2000.
New Kit
John Brodak, one of the largest providers of CL supplies, has a great selection of profile scale model kits. Brodak has introduced his first full-bodied Sport Scale model kit, the PT-21 Recruit. The model has a scale of 1½ inches to the foot, a wingspan of 45¼ inches, and a length of 34 inches. The PT-21 Recruit also has a wing area of 301 square inches and can use engines in the .32 to .40 cubic-inch displacement range.
Frank Beatty, a well-known CL scale modeler, designed and drew the plans for this model. I had the opportunity to review the model plans and found that the three sheets of 36-inch by 52-inch plans are well laid out, contain more-than-adequate construction information, and show full-size construction of all of the model's assemblies.
For further information about kit availability and costs, contact Brodak Manufacturing and Distributing Company, Inc.; 100 Park Ave., Carmichaels PA 15320.
Aircraft Documentation and Resource Guide
Aircraft Documentation and Resource Guide is a publication by Bob Banka, and provides modelers one of the largest collections of aircraft documentation in its catalog. Catalog #17 has listings for 7,800 color Foto Paaks and 35,000 three-view line drawings and information.
In addition to the Foto Paaks and three-views, the 242-page catalog contains information that is important and useful to all scale modelers. There are major articles on subjects such as model-building metals, publishing scale construction articles, covering with glass cloth, painting, scale from scratch, project planning, and the use of the camera for documenting a project.
These articles are written by foremost scale modelers who have extensive experience and backgrounds in the subject matter they have written about. An example would be "Model-Building Metals," by Ray Wainlcourt. Ray has not only competed in Top Gun and Scale Masters competitions, but he also has 30 years of experience in the design and manufacturing fields in the aerospace industry. These articles are most helpful to the beginner and provide the experienced modeler with something new.
Catalog #17 costs $8 in the U.S. ($10 in Canada and $18 in all other countries). Contact Scale Model Research, 3114 Yukon Ave., Costa Mesa CA 92626; tel: (714) 979-8058. The Foto Paaks and three-view listings make this publication a good buy, but the scale modeling articles make it an excellent value and a fine addition to your model aviation library.
Please send ideas, notes of upcoming CL scale events, contest reports, and photos of CL scale activity to me at the address at the top of this column. MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
