Control Line Scale
Bill Boss [email protected]
Frank Beatty and his Chilton D.W.1A
CHILTON D.W.1A: This item started with my receiving an envelope from AMA Headquarters that contained a handwritten letter and some photos. The note indicated that I might be interested in the contents of the envelope and was signed "Doug." Some research revealed that the note and photos had come from Doug Dahlke of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, who has provided column material before.
Two D.H. Technical School students, A. Dalrymple and A.R. Ward, designed and built the Chilton D.W.1A as an ultralight aircraft in England in 1939. It was the last of several low-wing monoplanes the two designed and developed, and it was fully aerobatic. Power was provided by a converted 32-horsepower English Ford 10 engine that was cheap to produce. A fourth version of the D.W.1A was produced in 1939 and equipped with a newly developed French 44-horsepower engine. Reduction in the weight of the airplane's airframe and added power allowed it to perform at high rates of speed and with operating efficiencies. In the air races of the late 1930s the Chilton set speed records exceeding 125 mph.
According to Frank Beatty, the Chilton designers' original intent was to produce an airplane that could be bought for approximately 375 English pounds. However, World War II interrupted those plans when the small air-cooled engine that contributed greatly to the airplane's early success was no longer available. The engine's manufacture was never resumed after World War II ended.
Frank, a modeling enthusiast who loves offbeat aircraft and biplanes, chose the Chilton D.W.1A as a CL Scale project because of its configuration, good flight characteristics, and wide landing-gear stance that permits great landings and taxi runs. He built his to a scale of 1.75 inches = 1 foot. That provided a wingspan of 42.75 inches and a fuselage that was 34.5 inches long. The Chilton's overall weight was 53 ounces.
Power was provided by an inverted K&B .35RC engine controlled via a three-line bellcrank system that operated the engine throttle and actuated a three-piece split landing flap. When full down-elevator was applied, a fuel-shutoff system was tripped.
The model's configuration and size allowed for the engine to be completely enclosed and still provide scale air inlets and the outward-flaring sides of the engine cowling for cooling. The color scheme was black with a white lightning bolt, and it was finished with the old AeroGloss dope. The D.W.1A won many contests and was flown at the AMA Nats during the 1960s.
Frank's Chilton was not only a winner on the contest circuit in the 1960s, but it was also the inspiration for another young boy, Tim Pansic. He saw Frank and his Chilton at a local contest and told Frank that he had read about the model in a feature article in an early American Modeler magazine and that he admired Frank and his aircraft. Their paths crossed again sometime later, and they became fast friends because of their love of modeling. The Chilton D.W.1A now resides in a special place in Tim's extensive collection of models and model memorabilia.
Frank recently made a trip to the Glenn H. Curtiss Aviation Museum in Hammondsport, New York, and upon acceptance he donated his Curtiss CR-2 to the museum. Because of Frank's many years of service to modeling, his ability to turn out so many good models, and his continued promotion of CL Scale, he was recently inducted into the Model Aviation Hall of Fame.
Hiding the elevator pushrod
Hiding the elevator pushrod in a profile fuselage has been a subject in a couple of these columns during the past year. In a recent e-mail Joe Eiben of Towson, Maryland, suggested an easy and less complicated way of hiding the pushrod. He noted that he used the method on his Miss Los Angeles that was featured in the June 2007 column.
Joe uses a Dremel tool with a 3/16-inch ball cutter to make a groove in the balsa fuselage. Then he epoxies a Nyrod into the groove, applies filler, sands everything smooth, and covers the structure with MonoKote or paint.
Joe mentioned that you can make a guide for cutting the groove or do it freehand. If you don't have a Dremel tool, any groove-cutting X-Acto blade will do fine for the task.
Regardless of which method you use, make sure the groove is just deep enough to accept the Nyrod. This method is safe and simple, and because of the Nyrod's flexibility you don't have to follow a straight line. Using this technique also improves the profile model's scalelike appearance.
NASA Scale Resource Guide
The true Scale modeler always needs scale documentation. I recently received my copy of the newest NASA Scale Resource Guide, which is filled with listings of places where scale documentation can be obtained. It includes information about three-views, government agencies, libraries, museums, periodicals, journals, photos, Web sites, and scale construction plans.
Gary Parent of Westchester, Illinois, edited and updated this edition of the Resource Guide. Those of you who are members of the National Association of Scale Aeromodelers (NASA) and have received the guide, which is included in the price of membership, will probably agree that Gary did an excellent job.
If you are not a NASA member, consider joining; the NASA Scale Resource Guide alone is worth every penny of membership costs. Membership fees are:
- $15 in the U.S.
- $17 in Canada
- $22 everywhere else
Membership also gets you Replica, the bimonthly NASA newsletter. In addition, you will belong to a great group of modelers that supports Scale activities in the U.S.
If you are interested in joining NASA, send your name, address, modeling area of interest, and check to Bonnie Rediske. You can also apply online at www.nasascale.org.
Tim Pansic's B-17 pull toy
A photo this month is of a World War II B-17 pull toy from Tim Pansic's collection of modeling memorabilia. The B-17, circa the 1940s, is made from pine and red mahogany plywood, and it is in great condition for a toy that is more than 60 years old. The wingspan is approximately 21 inches, the fuselage is solid, and the wing and tail surfaces are made from 3/16-inch plywood.
I asked Tim if he knew who made the toy, and he didn't. Can anyone out there tell us who did?
Thanks and contact
My thanks to Doug Dahlke, Tim Pansic, and Frank Beatty for their efforts and cooperation in providing the material and photos of the Chilton D.W.1A. Thanks also to Joe Eiben for his suggestions for hiding the elevator pushrod.
As always, I am waiting to hear what you are doing to help promote CL Scale. Please send ideas, notices of upcoming CL Scale events, contest reports, and especially photos of CL Scale activity.
Contact information and submission preferences:
- E-mail: [email protected]
- Mail: Bill Boss, 77-06 268th St., New Hyde Park, NY 11040
- Photo submissions: 35mm film photos are okay; digital photos should be submitted on CD.
MA
Sources
- NASA / Bonnie Rediske
128 Darnley Dr. Moon Township, PA 15108 www.nasascale.org
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
