150 MODEL AVIATION
Constructive answers to the fuel-shutoff-device requirement
Also included in this column:
• ViKo Models
• Fora engines
• Nelson glow plugs
• Red Flag F2D contest
• Pro pit-box ideas
• Surveyors’ flagging tape for streamers
• Maintenance time!
[[email protected]]
Control Line Combat Rich Lopez
Pilots at the Red Flag contest, including US F2D team members (front and center, L-R) Andy Mears, Richard Stubblefield, Mike
Willcox, Greg Hill.
THERE WAS A tremendous amount of
chatter on the Yahoo! Groups forum in
November and December that dealt primarily
with fuel-shutoff devices for F2D Combat.
The FAI will require such equipment on
Combat models beginning January 1, 2009.
The discussions were sometimes
constructive and downright hostile and
negative at other times. Human beings
seldom like being told what to do and how to
do it, even if it is for their own good or for
the good of their fellow human beings.
The ideas presented were sometimes
theoretical and technically difficult and
costly to implement. Some individuals
proposed electronic devices controlled by the
judges or devices that were self-actuated
once the lines were severed or broken.
Others proposed the use of mechanical
shutoffs. Still others disliked that whole idea
of a mechanism that would be required.
Hostile barbs were traded because some
individuals felt that those proposing the rules
were not active F2D participants.
Jeff Rein in the Pacific Northwest and
Bobby Mears of Lubbock, Texas, actually
offered workable, viable devices. If you visit
Jeff Rein’s Web site, you can view the H&R
bellcrank shutoff that the fliers in his region
have been using successfully for many years.
Henning Forbeck of Denmark had done quite
a bit of testing with some devices and was
frustrated by some of the problems he
encountered.
No one who loves Combat is going to
give up and quit flying because of a new
rule. Modelers are a resilient bunch who will
find answers when motivated to do so.
I have included a picture of the device
Bobby Mears developed. He had a model
with one of these creations at the Red Flag
Combat contest in Phoenix, Arizona, in
November.
I lost the address for the Web site on
which you can view this shutoff in action,
but I am sure Bobby will E-mail the address
to you if you contact him. His device is
simple and costs next to nothing in terms of
materials. You need only be proficient at
using needle- and round-nose pliers to bend
music wire.
Whichever side of the argument you find
yourself on, fuel-shutoff devices will be a
reality in less than a year. All the energy
spent fighting the impending rule would be
put to better use trying to invent that better
mousetrap.
Model equipment is easy to obtain if you
know where to get it. In past columns I have
provided E-mail addresses for reliable
suppliers. I have been successfully doing
business with Igor Kolosov of ViKo Models
in Ukraine for several years, and I have
been happy with the service and quality of
the RTF models he sells.
ViKo offers roughly six different F2D
model configurations. They range in price
from $33 to $42, depending on how you like
your favorite design.
Igor’s standard model is nice, is superbly
built, and is a good buy at $33. It features
standard construction with a wooden TE and
no reinforcement for the ribs. You can
purchase the same design with a carbonfiber
TE and with or without Kevlar
wrapping around the wing ribs. Or if you
prefer, you can get a copy of two-time
World Champion Igor Trifanov’s model
delivered to your door for $42 plus
shipping.
The cost for shipping at the time I wrote
this was $80 for a 10-pack box of models or
03sig5.QXD 1/24/08 3:16 PM Page 150This efficient pit box is the result of
Bobby Mears’ version of a fuel shutoff. Such devices will become mandatory in 2009. Norman “Lester” Haury’s handiwork.
March 2008 151
$120 for a 20-pack box of models. A box of
10 standard models will cost you $330 plus
$80 shipping and the cost of a bank money
transfer, which is approximately $35, for a
grand total of $445, or $44.50 per model. A
box of 20 models will cost you a total of
$815, or $40.75 per model.
Igor Kolosov posted a message on the
Combat group site indicating that he is
accepting VISA credit cards, which means
you could save yourself the cost of a bank
money transfer. I guess the world is
shrinking and is as close as your computer
keyboard.
ViKo also has bladders, propellers,
engine mounts, lines, handles, venturi/
muffler plugs, and streamer/muffler hooks.
Talk some of your sport-flying friends into
going in with you on a box of models. F2D
aircraft are fun to fly just for sport.
Tom Siegler had Fora engines for sale at the
2007 USA F2D Team Trials. I don’t know
the price, so drop him a note if you are in the
market for one. I have older Foras, and all
have proven to be reliable and fast. They
start easily and run where they are set.
All the modern F2D engines are kept lit
by the use of Nelson glow plugs. Contact
Henry Nelson for a price. Adriano Molteni of
Italy posted a notice that he has a similar
glow plug for sale. Contact him for the
particulars.
There is no reason for you not to fly
Combat models and have top-of-the-line
equipment.
The annual Red Flag F2D contest was held
the weekend of November 3-4, 2007, in
Phoenix, Arizona. It drew all three 2008 US
F2D team members: Richard Stubblefield,
Andy Mears, Mike Willcox, and first
alternate Greg Hill. The quality of flying was
great, with numerous “barn burner”-type
matches.
In the end, Lester Haury was able to
defend the champion title he earned at the
2006 contest. Bobby Mears was second, and
Chuck Rudner finished third. This shows that
there are many quality pilots in the US who
are capable of winning on any given
weekend.
The weather was great both days. And
Phoenix, being a college town (the home of
Arizona State University), has plenty of good
eateries that offer good food at reasonable
prices.
I did a bit of spying to see what some of
the top competitors were using as pit boxes. I
was impressed by the layout of Lester
Haury’s pit box and how efficient and easily
accessible all pitting items were.
Many of us thought we were clever when
we mounted glow-plug caddies on our boxes,
but Lester went one better by mounting
powerful magnets on his box to keep his
spare glow plugs handy. A screw-in glowplug
caddie is handy, but it takes a few extra
seconds to unscrew the plug before it is in
your hands.
All of Lester’s tools have a specific place
and are easy to find. He keeps spare
propellers and bladders handy with rubber
bands stretched across the inside cover of the
pit box.
Take a close look at the picture I have
included with this column. I spent some time
thinking about how your pit box’s layout can
make a difference between winning and
losing a match.
An item that may be of interest to F2D
contest organizers is the type of streamer
material Steve Stewart was using. The
Arizona fliers have found a biodegradable
surveyor flagging tape from Ben Meadows
Company that works well and does not shred
or flake off. Visit the Web site to see the
various colors and prices for this material.
This is the time of year when you should be
checking all your equipment for the
upcoming flying season. We often neglect
starting batteries and forget to check on how
well they hold a charge.
A couple months ago I ran into some
extraordinarily dirty terminals on my
battery clip that gave me problems while
trying to start an engine. A quick stripping
of the wire ends and a good cleaning of the
clip gave me that bright glow I have come
to expect.
This is also the time to check your
engines to see if the bearing needs to be
replaced. I like to turn the crankshaft back
and forth to feel for any rough spots or
slight bumps that should not be there. If
there are any “ticks,” I replace the bearing.
If you suspect that dirt is causing the
“tick,” try cleaning the bearing.
Under magnification I have been able
to see where the balls in the bearing have
broken and are missing chunks. It is better
to take care of this now, before serious
problems occur. MA
Sources:
Adriano Molteni
[email protected]
Bobby Mears
[email protected]
Henry Nelson
[email protected]
Jeff Rein
http://clcombat.info/huber.html
Tom Siegler
[email protected]
ViKo Models
www.shop.viko-shop.com
Yahoo! Groups forum
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/combat-l/
Ben Meadows Company’s Biodegradable
Flagging Tapes
http://benmeadows.com/store/item/52273B/
03sig5.QXD 1/24/08 3:16 PM Page 151
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/03
Page Numbers: 150.151
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/03
Page Numbers: 150.151
150 MODEL AVIATION
Constructive answers to the fuel-shutoff-device requirement
Also included in this column:
• ViKo Models
• Fora engines
• Nelson glow plugs
• Red Flag F2D contest
• Pro pit-box ideas
• Surveyors’ flagging tape for streamers
• Maintenance time!
[[email protected]]
Control Line Combat Rich Lopez
Pilots at the Red Flag contest, including US F2D team members (front and center, L-R) Andy Mears, Richard Stubblefield, Mike
Willcox, Greg Hill.
THERE WAS A tremendous amount of
chatter on the Yahoo! Groups forum in
November and December that dealt primarily
with fuel-shutoff devices for F2D Combat.
The FAI will require such equipment on
Combat models beginning January 1, 2009.
The discussions were sometimes
constructive and downright hostile and
negative at other times. Human beings
seldom like being told what to do and how to
do it, even if it is for their own good or for
the good of their fellow human beings.
The ideas presented were sometimes
theoretical and technically difficult and
costly to implement. Some individuals
proposed electronic devices controlled by the
judges or devices that were self-actuated
once the lines were severed or broken.
Others proposed the use of mechanical
shutoffs. Still others disliked that whole idea
of a mechanism that would be required.
Hostile barbs were traded because some
individuals felt that those proposing the rules
were not active F2D participants.
Jeff Rein in the Pacific Northwest and
Bobby Mears of Lubbock, Texas, actually
offered workable, viable devices. If you visit
Jeff Rein’s Web site, you can view the H&R
bellcrank shutoff that the fliers in his region
have been using successfully for many years.
Henning Forbeck of Denmark had done quite
a bit of testing with some devices and was
frustrated by some of the problems he
encountered.
No one who loves Combat is going to
give up and quit flying because of a new
rule. Modelers are a resilient bunch who will
find answers when motivated to do so.
I have included a picture of the device
Bobby Mears developed. He had a model
with one of these creations at the Red Flag
Combat contest in Phoenix, Arizona, in
November.
I lost the address for the Web site on
which you can view this shutoff in action,
but I am sure Bobby will E-mail the address
to you if you contact him. His device is
simple and costs next to nothing in terms of
materials. You need only be proficient at
using needle- and round-nose pliers to bend
music wire.
Whichever side of the argument you find
yourself on, fuel-shutoff devices will be a
reality in less than a year. All the energy
spent fighting the impending rule would be
put to better use trying to invent that better
mousetrap.
Model equipment is easy to obtain if you
know where to get it. In past columns I have
provided E-mail addresses for reliable
suppliers. I have been successfully doing
business with Igor Kolosov of ViKo Models
in Ukraine for several years, and I have
been happy with the service and quality of
the RTF models he sells.
ViKo offers roughly six different F2D
model configurations. They range in price
from $33 to $42, depending on how you like
your favorite design.
Igor’s standard model is nice, is superbly
built, and is a good buy at $33. It features
standard construction with a wooden TE and
no reinforcement for the ribs. You can
purchase the same design with a carbonfiber
TE and with or without Kevlar
wrapping around the wing ribs. Or if you
prefer, you can get a copy of two-time
World Champion Igor Trifanov’s model
delivered to your door for $42 plus
shipping.
The cost for shipping at the time I wrote
this was $80 for a 10-pack box of models or
03sig5.QXD 1/24/08 3:16 PM Page 150This efficient pit box is the result of
Bobby Mears’ version of a fuel shutoff. Such devices will become mandatory in 2009. Norman “Lester” Haury’s handiwork.
March 2008 151
$120 for a 20-pack box of models. A box of
10 standard models will cost you $330 plus
$80 shipping and the cost of a bank money
transfer, which is approximately $35, for a
grand total of $445, or $44.50 per model. A
box of 20 models will cost you a total of
$815, or $40.75 per model.
Igor Kolosov posted a message on the
Combat group site indicating that he is
accepting VISA credit cards, which means
you could save yourself the cost of a bank
money transfer. I guess the world is
shrinking and is as close as your computer
keyboard.
ViKo also has bladders, propellers,
engine mounts, lines, handles, venturi/
muffler plugs, and streamer/muffler hooks.
Talk some of your sport-flying friends into
going in with you on a box of models. F2D
aircraft are fun to fly just for sport.
Tom Siegler had Fora engines for sale at the
2007 USA F2D Team Trials. I don’t know
the price, so drop him a note if you are in the
market for one. I have older Foras, and all
have proven to be reliable and fast. They
start easily and run where they are set.
All the modern F2D engines are kept lit
by the use of Nelson glow plugs. Contact
Henry Nelson for a price. Adriano Molteni of
Italy posted a notice that he has a similar
glow plug for sale. Contact him for the
particulars.
There is no reason for you not to fly
Combat models and have top-of-the-line
equipment.
The annual Red Flag F2D contest was held
the weekend of November 3-4, 2007, in
Phoenix, Arizona. It drew all three 2008 US
F2D team members: Richard Stubblefield,
Andy Mears, Mike Willcox, and first
alternate Greg Hill. The quality of flying was
great, with numerous “barn burner”-type
matches.
In the end, Lester Haury was able to
defend the champion title he earned at the
2006 contest. Bobby Mears was second, and
Chuck Rudner finished third. This shows that
there are many quality pilots in the US who
are capable of winning on any given
weekend.
The weather was great both days. And
Phoenix, being a college town (the home of
Arizona State University), has plenty of good
eateries that offer good food at reasonable
prices.
I did a bit of spying to see what some of
the top competitors were using as pit boxes. I
was impressed by the layout of Lester
Haury’s pit box and how efficient and easily
accessible all pitting items were.
Many of us thought we were clever when
we mounted glow-plug caddies on our boxes,
but Lester went one better by mounting
powerful magnets on his box to keep his
spare glow plugs handy. A screw-in glowplug
caddie is handy, but it takes a few extra
seconds to unscrew the plug before it is in
your hands.
All of Lester’s tools have a specific place
and are easy to find. He keeps spare
propellers and bladders handy with rubber
bands stretched across the inside cover of the
pit box.
Take a close look at the picture I have
included with this column. I spent some time
thinking about how your pit box’s layout can
make a difference between winning and
losing a match.
An item that may be of interest to F2D
contest organizers is the type of streamer
material Steve Stewart was using. The
Arizona fliers have found a biodegradable
surveyor flagging tape from Ben Meadows
Company that works well and does not shred
or flake off. Visit the Web site to see the
various colors and prices for this material.
This is the time of year when you should be
checking all your equipment for the
upcoming flying season. We often neglect
starting batteries and forget to check on how
well they hold a charge.
A couple months ago I ran into some
extraordinarily dirty terminals on my
battery clip that gave me problems while
trying to start an engine. A quick stripping
of the wire ends and a good cleaning of the
clip gave me that bright glow I have come
to expect.
This is also the time to check your
engines to see if the bearing needs to be
replaced. I like to turn the crankshaft back
and forth to feel for any rough spots or
slight bumps that should not be there. If
there are any “ticks,” I replace the bearing.
If you suspect that dirt is causing the
“tick,” try cleaning the bearing.
Under magnification I have been able
to see where the balls in the bearing have
broken and are missing chunks. It is better
to take care of this now, before serious
problems occur. MA
Sources:
Adriano Molteni
[email protected]
Bobby Mears
[email protected]
Henry Nelson
[email protected]
Jeff Rein
http://clcombat.info/huber.html
Tom Siegler
[email protected]
ViKo Models
www.shop.viko-shop.com
Yahoo! Groups forum
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/combat-l/
Ben Meadows Company’s Biodegradable
Flagging Tapes
http://benmeadows.com/store/item/52273B/
03sig5.QXD 1/24/08 3:16 PM Page 151
