www.ModelAviation.com May 2012 Model Aviation 119
ff SPORT
on top of 1/4 mil Mylar and the trim is
black Japanese tissue. Karl has mounted
an Elfin .050 diesel on his latest version
of the Twin Lizzie.
I have always liked Keith Laumer’s
designs and several of them, including
the Twin Lizzie, have been on my list,
but have not yet made their way to the
top. I will have to remedy that.
Paache Airbrushes
Several years ago, I was glad when
Bob Schlosberg told me about the
H-series Paasche airbrushes. These are
single-action airbrushes. The trigger has
one action: it turns the spray on and off.
Double-action brushes enable you to
control the force of the spray and the
amount of paint.
For most of the painting that I do
on my Scale models, the single-action
airbrush does what I need and is much
easier to clean than the double-action
one.
Bob sometimes has five or six colors
H ow is this for a memory? Karl Gies recalled that in 1959 he was at the
Camp Smedley D. Butler library in Okinawa reading Model Airplane News
(MAN) when he spotted an article and plans for Keith Laumer’s Twin
Lizzie. Karl was getting out of the Marine Corps in March 1960, and had severe
withdrawal from not building a model airplane in nearly three years.
He sent MAN the money for the Twin Lizzie plans (probably 50 or 75 cents),
and had it sent to his home address in Lewistown, Montana. He had been home
for roughly a week when his mom gave him some mail and there were the plans!
He immediately started building.
The model’s first engine was a K&B .020 Infant.
This engine would only get the model between 25
and 50 feet off the ground, so he installed a more
potent engine. Karl thinks it was a Cox Pee Wee
.020. He lost the model once, but it was found a day
later and returned.
A few years ago, he sent the plans to Brian Malin at
BMJR Model Products, suggesting he kit the model.
Several months later, Karl got a package and thankyou
note from BMJR. In the package was a kit for
the Twin Lizzie. Brian had always admired the model
himself; Karl attests that it’s an excellent kit.
The model in the picture was built entirely from
the kit materials. It’s covered with Japanese tissue
Karl Gies’ Twin Lizzie
by Gene Smith
[email protected]
PLUS:
> Bob Schlosberg’s
Future floor polish tips
> Wally Farrell’s Vega
> Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9
No-Cal
> Easy Built Kharkov R-10
> Stick-and-tissue Arado
Ar.196 A-3 kit
Wally Farrell’s Vega is on
its way to another great
flight. Pat Daily photo.
Below: Karl Gies’ fond memory of the Twin Lizzie
led to production of the BMJR kit. Gies photo.
John Majane’s Kharkov
R-10 awaits warmer weather
for test flights. Majane photo.
120 Model Aviation May 2012 www.ModelAviation.com
going at once. When he had only a
couple of brushes, it seemed that all
he was doing was cleaning brushes
to do small touch-ups. He got tired
of that, so he bought several of the
inexpensive single-action airbrushes.
He could load them up with
the colors he needed as the build
progressed, then covered the cup with
tape so the paint wouldn’t dry. The
paint stayed usable until the model
was finished, usually three to five days.
Bob said that some FF modelers
had begun using Future floor polish
to finish their stick-and-tissue models
instead of using dope. After becoming
involved with plastic modeling,
he discovered that Future is used
extensively in that hobby. It provides
a gloss coat to the painted surfaces so
that decals will more easily slide into
place. Some claim that it will stop the
decals from silvering.
He bought some Future floor polish
and now he can’t get along without
it. Bob cautioned that it needs to be
cleaned out of the airbrush soon after
you use it or it can really gum up.
He read that ammonia does the best
job of cleaning out the floor polish;
however, he found that if you let the
tip parts soak too long, the ammonia
attacks the chrome and discolors it.
Bob found that a cleaning grade of
acrylic lacquer thinner cleans as well
without spoiling the finish of the parts.
The Lockheed Vega
The Lockheed Vega was never a
ff SPORT
favorite of mine, at least not until
I saw Dave Rees’ beautiful model.
There was something about the way it
looked in the air that was incredibly
appealing.
I have seen a couple of others built
from Dave’s plans and they both
had that great look. Dave Mitchell’s
version didn’t last long and was lost to
a DT failure, but when I saw a picture
of Wally Farrell launching his model,
I wanted to get some information on
his Vega.
The Vega is one of Wally’s favorites.
His latest model is his third Vega! As
with the others, they are of course
built from Dave’s plans.
The model spans roughly 30 inches
and weighs 73 grams without the
rubber. Wally claims Dave’s was lighter.
One of the Vega’s advantages
is that you can use a big motor in
that large fuselage. Wally thinks the
fuselage’s tapered conical shape gives
it tremendous strength and less drag.
The lack of wing struts and the wheel
pants also reduces drag.
Wally thinks some weight can be
saved on the nose section. He believes
he may have made this section too
sturdy, because the nose section
weighs roughly twice the weight of
the entire fuselage. He also believes
some weight can be saved on the
John’s Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9 prowls the
skies of the National Building Museum in
Washington, D.C. Glenn Simpers photo.
John Appling
developed this unique
thrust bearing with
a removable Teflon
rear-bearing support
to allow easy exchange
of propellers. Appling
photo.
Rob Kone has a limited number
of kits for this Arado Ar.196 A-3
floatplane. The full-scale aircraft
flew from German battleships
during World War II. Kone photo.
wheel pants and wheels. He used full
balsa wheels and pants; foam wheel
pants and fake half wheels would be
lighter.
Currently he is using a Peck-
Polymers 9.5-inch propeller, which
is slightly small for the model’s
wingspan. Wally plans to use a slightly
larger propeller on it this year.
Because he used a bail-type
freewheeler on the front end,
switching out propellers isn’t a big
issue. However, changing propellers
will require retrimming the model,
because the propeller size affects
the power pattern and the glide.
It currently flies on two loops of
roughly .25 x 40 inches. The motor
weighs approximately 25 grams.
The Vega flies well with the current
setup but Wally didn’t fly it much last
year because of DT problems (which
have since been resolved). It has a
swiveling stabilizer DT that uses a
carbon-fiber rod as the shaft between
the two stabilizer halves.
Wally discovered he made the
landing gear too flexible. In a hard
landing, the wheel pants would
spring backward, sticking up into the
fuselage tissue. He continues to try
to strike a balance between making
the landing gear strong enough for
the average landing shock, but not so
strong that the fuselage behind the
gear mount breaks.
Sadly, Dave Rees passed away this
past January. You could not have
found a more pleasant person or
skilled craftsman.
No-Cal Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9
John Appling did a great job
building and finishing his No-Cal
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9 from Mike
Morrow plans. He used the motor
tube specified for a lifting stabilizer.
The model weighs 4.92 grams
without rubber. John flies it with
several rubber combinations, from
.070 x 20 inches to .095 x 18 inches,
depending on the propeller used and
ceiling height.
After breaking the tips of balsa
propeller blades, John decided to
mold the carbon-fiber blades you
see in the photos. Although the
carbon-fiber blades are heavier than
a formed-balsa propeller, the added
weight was identical to the ballast he
had added with the balsa propeller.
John uses a unique nose bearing
made from .030-inch-thick brass.
The rear of the bearing has a slot for
the propeller shaft instead of a hole.
The shaft is locked in place with a
piece of Teflon. A #0-80 socket-head
cap screw secures the Teflon, which
captures the propeller shaft. This
setup allows John to experiment with
different propellers.
He created the panel lines and
control surface markings using
AutoCAD. Friend and fellow modeler,
Bob Turner, took the DWG file and
worked his magic using Photoshop.
He referenced images from Flying
Colors and other sources to add the
great camouflage and lettering.
The carbon-fiber propeller proved
its worth in the first round of a
contest. The Fw 190 D-9 flew well
with the carbon propeller, colliding
with one of the massive columns in
the flying site—the National Building
Museum in Washington, D.C. The
propeller was unharmed.
If you would like to watch or take
part in the indoor flying activity there,
contact the Maxecuters through the
club’s website, listed in “Sources.”
I have built some No-Cals from
Michael Morrow’s plans. He has a
number of high-performance designs
on his Aero Aces website (listed
in “Sources”). My favorite was the
Miss RJ. It had great looks and good
performance—until it had a midair
with a heavier model.
Michael’s nose-bearing assemblies
are an easy way to get a great nose
bearing with minimal effort. You
don’t have to fabricate it yourself.
Take a look at the great selection of
plans and No-Cal building tips on his
website.
The Kharkov R-10
John Majane is pleased with his
Kharkov R-10 from the Easy Built kit.
With an empty weight of 37 grams,
John’s model has not yet flown, but
the design has a reputation as a good
flier.
A Stick-and-Tissue Arado
The Arado Ar.196 A-3 was used for
reconnaissance during World War II. It
was flown off the battleships Bismarck
and Tirpitz. To my knowledge, there
is only one stick-and-tissue kit of this
airplane.
From what I have seen in pictures,
the kit is complete and well done. The
model spans 17.58 inches. Although
it appears to be built for display, it
should be flyable with an electric
motor. Contact robberoo1031@
hotmail.com for more information.
Sources :
BMJR Model Products
(321) 537-1159
www.bmjrmodels.com
DC Maxecuters Model Airplane Club
http://dcmaxecuter.org
Aero Aces
[email protected]
www.aeroaces.com
National Free Flight Society
www.freeflight.org
Edition: Model Aviation - 2012/05
Page Numbers: 119,120,122
Edition: Model Aviation - 2012/05
Page Numbers: 119,120,122
www.ModelAviation.com May 2012 Model Aviation 119
ff SPORT
on top of 1/4 mil Mylar and the trim is
black Japanese tissue. Karl has mounted
an Elfin .050 diesel on his latest version
of the Twin Lizzie.
I have always liked Keith Laumer’s
designs and several of them, including
the Twin Lizzie, have been on my list,
but have not yet made their way to the
top. I will have to remedy that.
Paache Airbrushes
Several years ago, I was glad when
Bob Schlosberg told me about the
H-series Paasche airbrushes. These are
single-action airbrushes. The trigger has
one action: it turns the spray on and off.
Double-action brushes enable you to
control the force of the spray and the
amount of paint.
For most of the painting that I do
on my Scale models, the single-action
airbrush does what I need and is much
easier to clean than the double-action
one.
Bob sometimes has five or six colors
H ow is this for a memory? Karl Gies recalled that in 1959 he was at the
Camp Smedley D. Butler library in Okinawa reading Model Airplane News
(MAN) when he spotted an article and plans for Keith Laumer’s Twin
Lizzie. Karl was getting out of the Marine Corps in March 1960, and had severe
withdrawal from not building a model airplane in nearly three years.
He sent MAN the money for the Twin Lizzie plans (probably 50 or 75 cents),
and had it sent to his home address in Lewistown, Montana. He had been home
for roughly a week when his mom gave him some mail and there were the plans!
He immediately started building.
The model’s first engine was a K&B .020 Infant.
This engine would only get the model between 25
and 50 feet off the ground, so he installed a more
potent engine. Karl thinks it was a Cox Pee Wee
.020. He lost the model once, but it was found a day
later and returned.
A few years ago, he sent the plans to Brian Malin at
BMJR Model Products, suggesting he kit the model.
Several months later, Karl got a package and thankyou
note from BMJR. In the package was a kit for
the Twin Lizzie. Brian had always admired the model
himself; Karl attests that it’s an excellent kit.
The model in the picture was built entirely from
the kit materials. It’s covered with Japanese tissue
Karl Gies’ Twin Lizzie
by Gene Smith
[email protected]
PLUS:
> Bob Schlosberg’s
Future floor polish tips
> Wally Farrell’s Vega
> Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9
No-Cal
> Easy Built Kharkov R-10
> Stick-and-tissue Arado
Ar.196 A-3 kit
Wally Farrell’s Vega is on
its way to another great
flight. Pat Daily photo.
Below: Karl Gies’ fond memory of the Twin Lizzie
led to production of the BMJR kit. Gies photo.
John Majane’s Kharkov
R-10 awaits warmer weather
for test flights. Majane photo.
120 Model Aviation May 2012 www.ModelAviation.com
going at once. When he had only a
couple of brushes, it seemed that all
he was doing was cleaning brushes
to do small touch-ups. He got tired
of that, so he bought several of the
inexpensive single-action airbrushes.
He could load them up with
the colors he needed as the build
progressed, then covered the cup with
tape so the paint wouldn’t dry. The
paint stayed usable until the model
was finished, usually three to five days.
Bob said that some FF modelers
had begun using Future floor polish
to finish their stick-and-tissue models
instead of using dope. After becoming
involved with plastic modeling,
he discovered that Future is used
extensively in that hobby. It provides
a gloss coat to the painted surfaces so
that decals will more easily slide into
place. Some claim that it will stop the
decals from silvering.
He bought some Future floor polish
and now he can’t get along without
it. Bob cautioned that it needs to be
cleaned out of the airbrush soon after
you use it or it can really gum up.
He read that ammonia does the best
job of cleaning out the floor polish;
however, he found that if you let the
tip parts soak too long, the ammonia
attacks the chrome and discolors it.
Bob found that a cleaning grade of
acrylic lacquer thinner cleans as well
without spoiling the finish of the parts.
The Lockheed Vega
The Lockheed Vega was never a
ff SPORT
favorite of mine, at least not until
I saw Dave Rees’ beautiful model.
There was something about the way it
looked in the air that was incredibly
appealing.
I have seen a couple of others built
from Dave’s plans and they both
had that great look. Dave Mitchell’s
version didn’t last long and was lost to
a DT failure, but when I saw a picture
of Wally Farrell launching his model,
I wanted to get some information on
his Vega.
The Vega is one of Wally’s favorites.
His latest model is his third Vega! As
with the others, they are of course
built from Dave’s plans.
The model spans roughly 30 inches
and weighs 73 grams without the
rubber. Wally claims Dave’s was lighter.
One of the Vega’s advantages
is that you can use a big motor in
that large fuselage. Wally thinks the
fuselage’s tapered conical shape gives
it tremendous strength and less drag.
The lack of wing struts and the wheel
pants also reduces drag.
Wally thinks some weight can be
saved on the nose section. He believes
he may have made this section too
sturdy, because the nose section
weighs roughly twice the weight of
the entire fuselage. He also believes
some weight can be saved on the
John’s Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9 prowls the
skies of the National Building Museum in
Washington, D.C. Glenn Simpers photo.
John Appling
developed this unique
thrust bearing with
a removable Teflon
rear-bearing support
to allow easy exchange
of propellers. Appling
photo.
Rob Kone has a limited number
of kits for this Arado Ar.196 A-3
floatplane. The full-scale aircraft
flew from German battleships
during World War II. Kone photo.
wheel pants and wheels. He used full
balsa wheels and pants; foam wheel
pants and fake half wheels would be
lighter.
Currently he is using a Peck-
Polymers 9.5-inch propeller, which
is slightly small for the model’s
wingspan. Wally plans to use a slightly
larger propeller on it this year.
Because he used a bail-type
freewheeler on the front end,
switching out propellers isn’t a big
issue. However, changing propellers
will require retrimming the model,
because the propeller size affects
the power pattern and the glide.
It currently flies on two loops of
roughly .25 x 40 inches. The motor
weighs approximately 25 grams.
The Vega flies well with the current
setup but Wally didn’t fly it much last
year because of DT problems (which
have since been resolved). It has a
swiveling stabilizer DT that uses a
carbon-fiber rod as the shaft between
the two stabilizer halves.
Wally discovered he made the
landing gear too flexible. In a hard
landing, the wheel pants would
spring backward, sticking up into the
fuselage tissue. He continues to try
to strike a balance between making
the landing gear strong enough for
the average landing shock, but not so
strong that the fuselage behind the
gear mount breaks.
Sadly, Dave Rees passed away this
past January. You could not have
found a more pleasant person or
skilled craftsman.
No-Cal Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9
John Appling did a great job
building and finishing his No-Cal
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9 from Mike
Morrow plans. He used the motor
tube specified for a lifting stabilizer.
The model weighs 4.92 grams
without rubber. John flies it with
several rubber combinations, from
.070 x 20 inches to .095 x 18 inches,
depending on the propeller used and
ceiling height.
After breaking the tips of balsa
propeller blades, John decided to
mold the carbon-fiber blades you
see in the photos. Although the
carbon-fiber blades are heavier than
a formed-balsa propeller, the added
weight was identical to the ballast he
had added with the balsa propeller.
John uses a unique nose bearing
made from .030-inch-thick brass.
The rear of the bearing has a slot for
the propeller shaft instead of a hole.
The shaft is locked in place with a
piece of Teflon. A #0-80 socket-head
cap screw secures the Teflon, which
captures the propeller shaft. This
setup allows John to experiment with
different propellers.
He created the panel lines and
control surface markings using
AutoCAD. Friend and fellow modeler,
Bob Turner, took the DWG file and
worked his magic using Photoshop.
He referenced images from Flying
Colors and other sources to add the
great camouflage and lettering.
The carbon-fiber propeller proved
its worth in the first round of a
contest. The Fw 190 D-9 flew well
with the carbon propeller, colliding
with one of the massive columns in
the flying site—the National Building
Museum in Washington, D.C. The
propeller was unharmed.
If you would like to watch or take
part in the indoor flying activity there,
contact the Maxecuters through the
club’s website, listed in “Sources.”
I have built some No-Cals from
Michael Morrow’s plans. He has a
number of high-performance designs
on his Aero Aces website (listed
in “Sources”). My favorite was the
Miss RJ. It had great looks and good
performance—until it had a midair
with a heavier model.
Michael’s nose-bearing assemblies
are an easy way to get a great nose
bearing with minimal effort. You
don’t have to fabricate it yourself.
Take a look at the great selection of
plans and No-Cal building tips on his
website.
The Kharkov R-10
John Majane is pleased with his
Kharkov R-10 from the Easy Built kit.
With an empty weight of 37 grams,
John’s model has not yet flown, but
the design has a reputation as a good
flier.
A Stick-and-Tissue Arado
The Arado Ar.196 A-3 was used for
reconnaissance during World War II. It
was flown off the battleships Bismarck
and Tirpitz. To my knowledge, there
is only one stick-and-tissue kit of this
airplane.
From what I have seen in pictures,
the kit is complete and well done. The
model spans 17.58 inches. Although
it appears to be built for display, it
should be flyable with an electric
motor. Contact robberoo1031@
hotmail.com for more information.
Sources :
BMJR Model Products
(321) 537-1159
www.bmjrmodels.com
DC Maxecuters Model Airplane Club
http://dcmaxecuter.org
Aero Aces
[email protected]
www.aeroaces.com
National Free Flight Society
www.freeflight.org
Edition: Model Aviation - 2012/05
Page Numbers: 119,120,122
www.ModelAviation.com May 2012 Model Aviation 119
ff SPORT
on top of 1/4 mil Mylar and the trim is
black Japanese tissue. Karl has mounted
an Elfin .050 diesel on his latest version
of the Twin Lizzie.
I have always liked Keith Laumer’s
designs and several of them, including
the Twin Lizzie, have been on my list,
but have not yet made their way to the
top. I will have to remedy that.
Paache Airbrushes
Several years ago, I was glad when
Bob Schlosberg told me about the
H-series Paasche airbrushes. These are
single-action airbrushes. The trigger has
one action: it turns the spray on and off.
Double-action brushes enable you to
control the force of the spray and the
amount of paint.
For most of the painting that I do
on my Scale models, the single-action
airbrush does what I need and is much
easier to clean than the double-action
one.
Bob sometimes has five or six colors
H ow is this for a memory? Karl Gies recalled that in 1959 he was at the
Camp Smedley D. Butler library in Okinawa reading Model Airplane News
(MAN) when he spotted an article and plans for Keith Laumer’s Twin
Lizzie. Karl was getting out of the Marine Corps in March 1960, and had severe
withdrawal from not building a model airplane in nearly three years.
He sent MAN the money for the Twin Lizzie plans (probably 50 or 75 cents),
and had it sent to his home address in Lewistown, Montana. He had been home
for roughly a week when his mom gave him some mail and there were the plans!
He immediately started building.
The model’s first engine was a K&B .020 Infant.
This engine would only get the model between 25
and 50 feet off the ground, so he installed a more
potent engine. Karl thinks it was a Cox Pee Wee
.020. He lost the model once, but it was found a day
later and returned.
A few years ago, he sent the plans to Brian Malin at
BMJR Model Products, suggesting he kit the model.
Several months later, Karl got a package and thankyou
note from BMJR. In the package was a kit for
the Twin Lizzie. Brian had always admired the model
himself; Karl attests that it’s an excellent kit.
The model in the picture was built entirely from
the kit materials. It’s covered with Japanese tissue
Karl Gies’ Twin Lizzie
by Gene Smith
[email protected]
PLUS:
> Bob Schlosberg’s
Future floor polish tips
> Wally Farrell’s Vega
> Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9
No-Cal
> Easy Built Kharkov R-10
> Stick-and-tissue Arado
Ar.196 A-3 kit
Wally Farrell’s Vega is on
its way to another great
flight. Pat Daily photo.
Below: Karl Gies’ fond memory of the Twin Lizzie
led to production of the BMJR kit. Gies photo.
John Majane’s Kharkov
R-10 awaits warmer weather
for test flights. Majane photo.
120 Model Aviation May 2012 www.ModelAviation.com
going at once. When he had only a
couple of brushes, it seemed that all
he was doing was cleaning brushes
to do small touch-ups. He got tired
of that, so he bought several of the
inexpensive single-action airbrushes.
He could load them up with
the colors he needed as the build
progressed, then covered the cup with
tape so the paint wouldn’t dry. The
paint stayed usable until the model
was finished, usually three to five days.
Bob said that some FF modelers
had begun using Future floor polish
to finish their stick-and-tissue models
instead of using dope. After becoming
involved with plastic modeling,
he discovered that Future is used
extensively in that hobby. It provides
a gloss coat to the painted surfaces so
that decals will more easily slide into
place. Some claim that it will stop the
decals from silvering.
He bought some Future floor polish
and now he can’t get along without
it. Bob cautioned that it needs to be
cleaned out of the airbrush soon after
you use it or it can really gum up.
He read that ammonia does the best
job of cleaning out the floor polish;
however, he found that if you let the
tip parts soak too long, the ammonia
attacks the chrome and discolors it.
Bob found that a cleaning grade of
acrylic lacquer thinner cleans as well
without spoiling the finish of the parts.
The Lockheed Vega
The Lockheed Vega was never a
ff SPORT
favorite of mine, at least not until
I saw Dave Rees’ beautiful model.
There was something about the way it
looked in the air that was incredibly
appealing.
I have seen a couple of others built
from Dave’s plans and they both
had that great look. Dave Mitchell’s
version didn’t last long and was lost to
a DT failure, but when I saw a picture
of Wally Farrell launching his model,
I wanted to get some information on
his Vega.
The Vega is one of Wally’s favorites.
His latest model is his third Vega! As
with the others, they are of course
built from Dave’s plans.
The model spans roughly 30 inches
and weighs 73 grams without the
rubber. Wally claims Dave’s was lighter.
One of the Vega’s advantages
is that you can use a big motor in
that large fuselage. Wally thinks the
fuselage’s tapered conical shape gives
it tremendous strength and less drag.
The lack of wing struts and the wheel
pants also reduces drag.
Wally thinks some weight can be
saved on the nose section. He believes
he may have made this section too
sturdy, because the nose section
weighs roughly twice the weight of
the entire fuselage. He also believes
some weight can be saved on the
John’s Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9 prowls the
skies of the National Building Museum in
Washington, D.C. Glenn Simpers photo.
John Appling
developed this unique
thrust bearing with
a removable Teflon
rear-bearing support
to allow easy exchange
of propellers. Appling
photo.
Rob Kone has a limited number
of kits for this Arado Ar.196 A-3
floatplane. The full-scale aircraft
flew from German battleships
during World War II. Kone photo.
wheel pants and wheels. He used full
balsa wheels and pants; foam wheel
pants and fake half wheels would be
lighter.
Currently he is using a Peck-
Polymers 9.5-inch propeller, which
is slightly small for the model’s
wingspan. Wally plans to use a slightly
larger propeller on it this year.
Because he used a bail-type
freewheeler on the front end,
switching out propellers isn’t a big
issue. However, changing propellers
will require retrimming the model,
because the propeller size affects
the power pattern and the glide.
It currently flies on two loops of
roughly .25 x 40 inches. The motor
weighs approximately 25 grams.
The Vega flies well with the current
setup but Wally didn’t fly it much last
year because of DT problems (which
have since been resolved). It has a
swiveling stabilizer DT that uses a
carbon-fiber rod as the shaft between
the two stabilizer halves.
Wally discovered he made the
landing gear too flexible. In a hard
landing, the wheel pants would
spring backward, sticking up into the
fuselage tissue. He continues to try
to strike a balance between making
the landing gear strong enough for
the average landing shock, but not so
strong that the fuselage behind the
gear mount breaks.
Sadly, Dave Rees passed away this
past January. You could not have
found a more pleasant person or
skilled craftsman.
No-Cal Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9
John Appling did a great job
building and finishing his No-Cal
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9 from Mike
Morrow plans. He used the motor
tube specified for a lifting stabilizer.
The model weighs 4.92 grams
without rubber. John flies it with
several rubber combinations, from
.070 x 20 inches to .095 x 18 inches,
depending on the propeller used and
ceiling height.
After breaking the tips of balsa
propeller blades, John decided to
mold the carbon-fiber blades you
see in the photos. Although the
carbon-fiber blades are heavier than
a formed-balsa propeller, the added
weight was identical to the ballast he
had added with the balsa propeller.
John uses a unique nose bearing
made from .030-inch-thick brass.
The rear of the bearing has a slot for
the propeller shaft instead of a hole.
The shaft is locked in place with a
piece of Teflon. A #0-80 socket-head
cap screw secures the Teflon, which
captures the propeller shaft. This
setup allows John to experiment with
different propellers.
He created the panel lines and
control surface markings using
AutoCAD. Friend and fellow modeler,
Bob Turner, took the DWG file and
worked his magic using Photoshop.
He referenced images from Flying
Colors and other sources to add the
great camouflage and lettering.
The carbon-fiber propeller proved
its worth in the first round of a
contest. The Fw 190 D-9 flew well
with the carbon propeller, colliding
with one of the massive columns in
the flying site—the National Building
Museum in Washington, D.C. The
propeller was unharmed.
If you would like to watch or take
part in the indoor flying activity there,
contact the Maxecuters through the
club’s website, listed in “Sources.”
I have built some No-Cals from
Michael Morrow’s plans. He has a
number of high-performance designs
on his Aero Aces website (listed
in “Sources”). My favorite was the
Miss RJ. It had great looks and good
performance—until it had a midair
with a heavier model.
Michael’s nose-bearing assemblies
are an easy way to get a great nose
bearing with minimal effort. You
don’t have to fabricate it yourself.
Take a look at the great selection of
plans and No-Cal building tips on his
website.
The Kharkov R-10
John Majane is pleased with his
Kharkov R-10 from the Easy Built kit.
With an empty weight of 37 grams,
John’s model has not yet flown, but
the design has a reputation as a good
flier.
A Stick-and-Tissue Arado
The Arado Ar.196 A-3 was used for
reconnaissance during World War II. It
was flown off the battleships Bismarck
and Tirpitz. To my knowledge, there
is only one stick-and-tissue kit of this
airplane.
From what I have seen in pictures,
the kit is complete and well done. The
model spans 17.58 inches. Although
it appears to be built for display, it
should be flyable with an electric
motor. Contact robberoo1031@
hotmail.com for more information.
Sources :
BMJR Model Products
(321) 537-1159
www.bmjrmodels.com
DC Maxecuters Model Airplane Club
http://dcmaxecuter.org
Aero Aces
[email protected]
www.aeroaces.com
National Free Flight Society
www.freeflight.org
