CONTROL LINE AEROBATICS
Curt Contrata, 6783 Nightwind Cir., Orlando FL 32818; E-mail: [email protected]
SHORTLY AFTER celebrating an 87th birthday with a group of
friends and telling stories about his experiences while working at
Lockheed, including the Skunkworks, and his career in model aviation,
Bob Palmer passed away February 2, 2005. Perhaps best known for his
Thunderbird design, he played an important role in the development of
our event and the equipment we use today.
Bob had been inducted into the Model Aviation Hall of Fame and
the PAMPA [Precision Aerobatics Model Pilots Association] Hall of
Fame. He won the US Nats and Walker Cup in 1955, was an FAI team
member, and toured the world demonstrating CL flying. Among his
designs were the Pow-Wow, Smoothie, Mars, Venus, Hi-Boy,
Thunderbird, and Chief, which was the first CL Stunt kit with full-span
flaps.
If you did a quick search at www.google.com for “Bob Palmer,”
May 2005 139
Bob Palmer and Thunderbird along with 1955 Open Stunt Nats
trophy and Walker Cup. Photo from Wynn Paul collection.
The author’s Super Staris (ex-Katana) in its sanded filler coat.
Getting to this stage only took a year!
Multievent CL flier Wayne Trivin was born December 30, 1955,
and passed away January 20, 2005. Trivin photo.
you would find many articles from around the world containing
people’s stories of their wonderful experiences with Bob and of how he
influenced so many modelers throughout the years.
If you like to poke around on the Internet, a site well worth visiting
is www.nclra.org/WayneTrivin/Actualindex.html. Wayne Trivin is
another talented modeler who passed away early this year. The National
Control Line Racing Association has captured Wayne’s Web page and
made it forever available on its site.
Those in our event who knew Wayne would often be heard telling
stories of seeing his Heinkel He III Stunt model fly. With two loud
Magnum .28 engines for power, everybody at the field would stop to
watch as it flew.
Wayne also had a beautiful SV-12 with many homemade carbon
accessories. He was building carbon tanks in the early 1990s, along
with some fairly exotic carbon propellers.
However, Wayne did not fly just Stunt. He was mostly known in the
Racing circles, where he holds, and has held, many national records in
Racing and Speed.
One year in Muncie, Indiana, during Nats week, Wayne’s room was
next to ours. At some point each day, we would compare notes on what
was going on at the field in our events. One morning, he opened his
door and I saw an oil trail from his metal lathe running up the wall. I
had known that he built his own 1⁄2A engines, but I never expected him
to be doing it in his room!
Wayne was a pleasure to be around and to
fly with. He will be missed.
It has been awhile since I have given an
update on the refinishing project I started last
year. When the project began, I was working
in an unfinished shop, with tools still in
unmarked boxes. It quickly became frustrating
because I was spending more time looking for
things than building. Then family stuff got in
the way and 10 months quickly went by.
I am proud to let you know that the 20 x
30-foot workshop is finally complete. It has
more than 40 linear feet of benches, a closet
for the compressor, a clean room in which to
store airplanes, cushioned floor mats for my
feet and when I drop things, central airconditioning/
heat, and a satellite radio with
killer speakers.
It is much easier to spend quality time out
there now. With all the work done in the shop,
the model refinishing is back underway and
progressing nicely.
After I wiped off the old finish with cheap
lacquer thinner and Bounty Select-a-Size
paper towels, I let it gas off for a while (this
turned out to be 10 months). The next step was
to make all of the woodworking changes
required to transform the Katana into the
Super Staris.
Once I made those changes, I block-sanded
the entire model with 400-grit sandpaper and
gave it one coat of clear dope. I had stripped
the paint off, but I left all of the silkspan and
carbon veil on the model. At that time I
realized what a terrific job the stripping did by
not damaging too much of the old substrate.
After one coat of thinned clear, the entire
wing was smooth and without blemishes. The
capstrips were still covered, with the bays cut
out and the edges sanded smooth. When I recovered
the wing, it could not have been
easier. The silkspan laid down nicely and
seems to have filled quicker than it would
have over bare wood.
The areas that did not react as well to the
stripping process were those covered in carbon
veil. The parts had spots of nearly bare wood
that were adjacent to filled veil areas. On this
particular model, I had covered the flaps,
elevators, and stabilizer in carbon veil. After
the coat of clear, I decided to lightly sand and
then cover those surfaces in silkspan, directly
over the veil.
I am still amazed at how well the silkspan
went on over the old veil. Throughout the rest
of the project, those surfaces remained stiff,
flat, and true, making block-sanding easy. The
silkspan filled quicker and sanded out easier
than it would have over bare wood.
After three coats of clear, I block-sanded
the model and gave it a healthy brushed filler
coat of clear dope—Aero-1 Filler—and a bit
of Polar Gray for color. The Polar Gray gives
the filler coat just enough color to make it
easier to see the high spots so you don’t
oversand. That leaves fuzzy spots in the
silkspan or, worse yet, bare wood, both of
which need to be filled all over again.
After leaving the model to dry for two
days, I block-sanded it with 400-grit
sandpaper, leaving a minimal amount of filler
on the airplane. I wiped down everything
three times before I sprayed it with one thin
coat of clear, followed by a light coat of Polar
Gray the next day.
Realizing that the model will be picking up
a little weight during the project, I am paying
extra attention to the amount of paint that is
going back on. At this stage the color scheme
should be well worked out, and it should be
known which areas will be important to cover
and fill. Places that receive base color and trim
do not need much gray on them since they are
to get two more layers of color.
As a rule, if you are not leaving the model
gray, this coat does not have to be pretty. The
blocking coat just needs to show blemishes
and hide major color changes in the substrate.
With the proper lighting the blemishes will
show up easily, even if the model is not in
perfect gray.
As for major color changes, you need to
block out the black carbon and the red glazing
putty with the gray blocking coat, and blend
those areas. For the rest of the model, a light,
almost transparent, gray seems to work fine
under a white base coat.
Spray-painting a model has the biggest
potential for putting on weight than any other
step. It is easy to get trigger happy, especially
when shooting base colors. The best thing to
do is spray one coat and let it dry for a day.
After it is completely dry, take the airplane
outside and look at the areas that are to remain
the base color. If they look as if they need to
be sprayed again, do so and leave the rest of
the model alone.
Remember that many colors are
translucent when wet and will turn opaque
only when dry. Have you ever used Liquid
Paper to correct a mistake when writing a
letter? What works better, two thin coats or
one heavy one? Heavy coats just don’t cover
as well.
With any project like this, you would
expect something to be less than fun. For me,
the worst part has been dealing with the flap
and elevator hinge lines. Not just stripping
paint, but getting it clean and keeping it that
way has been the only real challenge so far.
If I were to do this again, I would remove
the flaps and elevators and finish them
separately. I typically finish my models
unassembled, and now I know that I will
continue to do it that way in the future.
How about a trip to Las Vegas for a contest?
It has been announced that the Society of
Antique Modelers (SAM) will be adding two
CL events to its SAM Champs this year in Las
Vegas, Nevada. Old Time and Classic Stunt
will be flown for the first time at this contest,
with entrants limited to the amount of
contestants that can fly in two days.
The SAM Champs will take place October
9-14, with Eric Rule acting as CD. You can
contact him at [email protected] or
call (951) 678-1406 for more details.
Your contributions to this column are always
welcome. So if you would like to see a photo
of your model published, or perhaps you
would like to share some techniques with
other modelers, please don’t hesitate to send
them in. MA
Edition: Model Aviation - 2005/05
Page Numbers: 139,140
Edition: Model Aviation - 2005/05
Page Numbers: 139,140
CONTROL LINE AEROBATICS
Curt Contrata, 6783 Nightwind Cir., Orlando FL 32818; E-mail: [email protected]
SHORTLY AFTER celebrating an 87th birthday with a group of
friends and telling stories about his experiences while working at
Lockheed, including the Skunkworks, and his career in model aviation,
Bob Palmer passed away February 2, 2005. Perhaps best known for his
Thunderbird design, he played an important role in the development of
our event and the equipment we use today.
Bob had been inducted into the Model Aviation Hall of Fame and
the PAMPA [Precision Aerobatics Model Pilots Association] Hall of
Fame. He won the US Nats and Walker Cup in 1955, was an FAI team
member, and toured the world demonstrating CL flying. Among his
designs were the Pow-Wow, Smoothie, Mars, Venus, Hi-Boy,
Thunderbird, and Chief, which was the first CL Stunt kit with full-span
flaps.
If you did a quick search at www.google.com for “Bob Palmer,”
May 2005 139
Bob Palmer and Thunderbird along with 1955 Open Stunt Nats
trophy and Walker Cup. Photo from Wynn Paul collection.
The author’s Super Staris (ex-Katana) in its sanded filler coat.
Getting to this stage only took a year!
Multievent CL flier Wayne Trivin was born December 30, 1955,
and passed away January 20, 2005. Trivin photo.
you would find many articles from around the world containing
people’s stories of their wonderful experiences with Bob and of how he
influenced so many modelers throughout the years.
If you like to poke around on the Internet, a site well worth visiting
is www.nclra.org/WayneTrivin/Actualindex.html. Wayne Trivin is
another talented modeler who passed away early this year. The National
Control Line Racing Association has captured Wayne’s Web page and
made it forever available on its site.
Those in our event who knew Wayne would often be heard telling
stories of seeing his Heinkel He III Stunt model fly. With two loud
Magnum .28 engines for power, everybody at the field would stop to
watch as it flew.
Wayne also had a beautiful SV-12 with many homemade carbon
accessories. He was building carbon tanks in the early 1990s, along
with some fairly exotic carbon propellers.
However, Wayne did not fly just Stunt. He was mostly known in the
Racing circles, where he holds, and has held, many national records in
Racing and Speed.
One year in Muncie, Indiana, during Nats week, Wayne’s room was
next to ours. At some point each day, we would compare notes on what
was going on at the field in our events. One morning, he opened his
door and I saw an oil trail from his metal lathe running up the wall. I
had known that he built his own 1⁄2A engines, but I never expected him
to be doing it in his room!
Wayne was a pleasure to be around and to
fly with. He will be missed.
It has been awhile since I have given an
update on the refinishing project I started last
year. When the project began, I was working
in an unfinished shop, with tools still in
unmarked boxes. It quickly became frustrating
because I was spending more time looking for
things than building. Then family stuff got in
the way and 10 months quickly went by.
I am proud to let you know that the 20 x
30-foot workshop is finally complete. It has
more than 40 linear feet of benches, a closet
for the compressor, a clean room in which to
store airplanes, cushioned floor mats for my
feet and when I drop things, central airconditioning/
heat, and a satellite radio with
killer speakers.
It is much easier to spend quality time out
there now. With all the work done in the shop,
the model refinishing is back underway and
progressing nicely.
After I wiped off the old finish with cheap
lacquer thinner and Bounty Select-a-Size
paper towels, I let it gas off for a while (this
turned out to be 10 months). The next step was
to make all of the woodworking changes
required to transform the Katana into the
Super Staris.
Once I made those changes, I block-sanded
the entire model with 400-grit sandpaper and
gave it one coat of clear dope. I had stripped
the paint off, but I left all of the silkspan and
carbon veil on the model. At that time I
realized what a terrific job the stripping did by
not damaging too much of the old substrate.
After one coat of thinned clear, the entire
wing was smooth and without blemishes. The
capstrips were still covered, with the bays cut
out and the edges sanded smooth. When I recovered
the wing, it could not have been
easier. The silkspan laid down nicely and
seems to have filled quicker than it would
have over bare wood.
The areas that did not react as well to the
stripping process were those covered in carbon
veil. The parts had spots of nearly bare wood
that were adjacent to filled veil areas. On this
particular model, I had covered the flaps,
elevators, and stabilizer in carbon veil. After
the coat of clear, I decided to lightly sand and
then cover those surfaces in silkspan, directly
over the veil.
I am still amazed at how well the silkspan
went on over the old veil. Throughout the rest
of the project, those surfaces remained stiff,
flat, and true, making block-sanding easy. The
silkspan filled quicker and sanded out easier
than it would have over bare wood.
After three coats of clear, I block-sanded
the model and gave it a healthy brushed filler
coat of clear dope—Aero-1 Filler—and a bit
of Polar Gray for color. The Polar Gray gives
the filler coat just enough color to make it
easier to see the high spots so you don’t
oversand. That leaves fuzzy spots in the
silkspan or, worse yet, bare wood, both of
which need to be filled all over again.
After leaving the model to dry for two
days, I block-sanded it with 400-grit
sandpaper, leaving a minimal amount of filler
on the airplane. I wiped down everything
three times before I sprayed it with one thin
coat of clear, followed by a light coat of Polar
Gray the next day.
Realizing that the model will be picking up
a little weight during the project, I am paying
extra attention to the amount of paint that is
going back on. At this stage the color scheme
should be well worked out, and it should be
known which areas will be important to cover
and fill. Places that receive base color and trim
do not need much gray on them since they are
to get two more layers of color.
As a rule, if you are not leaving the model
gray, this coat does not have to be pretty. The
blocking coat just needs to show blemishes
and hide major color changes in the substrate.
With the proper lighting the blemishes will
show up easily, even if the model is not in
perfect gray.
As for major color changes, you need to
block out the black carbon and the red glazing
putty with the gray blocking coat, and blend
those areas. For the rest of the model, a light,
almost transparent, gray seems to work fine
under a white base coat.
Spray-painting a model has the biggest
potential for putting on weight than any other
step. It is easy to get trigger happy, especially
when shooting base colors. The best thing to
do is spray one coat and let it dry for a day.
After it is completely dry, take the airplane
outside and look at the areas that are to remain
the base color. If they look as if they need to
be sprayed again, do so and leave the rest of
the model alone.
Remember that many colors are
translucent when wet and will turn opaque
only when dry. Have you ever used Liquid
Paper to correct a mistake when writing a
letter? What works better, two thin coats or
one heavy one? Heavy coats just don’t cover
as well.
With any project like this, you would
expect something to be less than fun. For me,
the worst part has been dealing with the flap
and elevator hinge lines. Not just stripping
paint, but getting it clean and keeping it that
way has been the only real challenge so far.
If I were to do this again, I would remove
the flaps and elevators and finish them
separately. I typically finish my models
unassembled, and now I know that I will
continue to do it that way in the future.
How about a trip to Las Vegas for a contest?
It has been announced that the Society of
Antique Modelers (SAM) will be adding two
CL events to its SAM Champs this year in Las
Vegas, Nevada. Old Time and Classic Stunt
will be flown for the first time at this contest,
with entrants limited to the amount of
contestants that can fly in two days.
The SAM Champs will take place October
9-14, with Eric Rule acting as CD. You can
contact him at [email protected] or
call (951) 678-1406 for more details.
Your contributions to this column are always
welcome. So if you would like to see a photo
of your model published, or perhaps you
would like to share some techniques with
other modelers, please don’t hesitate to send
them in. MA
