Author: Gene Smith
Edition: Model Aviation - 2012/11
Page Numbers: 119,120,121,122
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The One-Design Satellite

by Gene Smith [email protected]

Next year’s One-Design gas model, the Satellite, should be popular. The Satellite is one of the most recognizable and attractive Duration models ever designed. Although first introduced in the 1950s, it is still competitive in the AMA Classic Gas events today.

Choose any of the 1/2A sizes with a wing area between 225 and 330 square inches. The power can be any Nostalgia-legal 1/2A or a Tee Dee .049 or .051.

BMJR has a 320-square-inch area model as a full kit. Klarich offers the 225 and, I think, the 320 as short kits. See the National Free Flight Society (NFFS) website for plans of the 225 and the 320. The NFFS website also has the One-Design rules and eligible models listed under the flying section.

I want to thank Bill Vanderbeek for initiating and sponsoring the One-Design event for the last decade. This event also spawned the popular One-Design Combo, an event for any of the past One-Design 1/2A models.

Flying Aces Club

The Flying Aces Club (FAC) is the place to be whether you fly FF Scale models or simple Duration models. Some of us enjoy the competition and others just build and fly for fun. With the help of many volunteers, this year’s Nationals contest in Geneseo, New York, was a great success, boasting more than 140 contestants.

The DC Maxecuters club played a primary role in the event’s smooth operation. Many helped, but Stu Meyers and Dave Mitchell deserve special thanks for their efforts.

FAC had a change in administration with the passing of longtime leader Lin Reichel. Now Ross Mayo heads a seven-member board of directors and has additional input from a 14-member advisory council. Rich Weber edits the FAC News, a bimonthly newsletter that makes FAC members proud. Come join the fun.

Howard DGA

George White’s Howard DGA was built for the FAC Golden Age Civil event. The Howard replaced George’s Fairchild 24, which took a dirt nap the previous year at a contest in Denver.

Built from a RockyTop kit, George described the model as a delight to build. Weighing 65 grams empty, it’s no lightweight, but it flies nicely on two 35-inch loops of Super Sport rubber. I can attest to that: I timed this model at this year’s FAC Nats and witnessed a beautiful max flight.

While you are on the RockyTop website, check out the company’s Miles Magister. It is a popular choice for the Low-Wing Trainer event. Take a look at the fuselage jig — I have used one of these and they are great for building half-shell fuselages.

Build one side of the fuselage on the plans, then tack-glue several supports to the upper and lower fuselage longerons. Remove the fuselage from the plans and place it in the jig, with the completed half down. Add the other side of the formers and the stringers and you will have a perfectly straight fuselage framework.

Dime Scale

Rick Carnrick did an excellent job on his Comet Dime Scale P-26. Dime Scale is an event created by the FAC founders. The name Dime Scale refers to the fact that most of the kits for these models sold for a dime. Eligible models initially included simple scale models of 15- to 16-inch wingspan built from plans released in the 1930s and 1940s.

A few years ago the event was expanded to include new plans, provided they continue the tradition of simple construction. Complete rules are available on the FAC website.

The finish on Rick’s model is a combination of chalked tissue and computer-generated markings. He printed the red, white, and blue for the rudder on the shiny side of Esaki white tissue, then rubbed white chalk on the dull side of the tissue.

The olive drab for the fuselage was created by rubbing yellow chalk on the back of green Esaki tissue. Graphics such as the arrows and the Sioux Coup Escadrille were printed on Papilio water-slide decal paper. The reference for the markings was found on the Wings Palette website, a magnificent aircraft-marking resource. The images were created using GIMP, which Rick characterized as "a poor man's Photoshop." Rick was pleased with the completed model.

Chalking Tissue

Justin Shuck likes chalking tissue as well. He uses bright yellow and red to enhance yellow and red tissue. However, he discovered that using indigo-blue chalk on blue Esaki results in the navy-blue color used on later F6Fs, Tigercats, Bearcats, and Korean War–era jets.

Sablatnig SF-4 Triplane

John Majane took on an interesting project: a Sablatnig SF-4 triplane on floats. The original aircraft was built for the navy of Germany in World War I, but only one of this type was produced. The model was John's first triplane and his first model with an airbrushed finish.

The base tissue is blue. The green was an acrylic paint thinned 50% and applied freehand with the airbrush. John described the model as "a bear to build," but he got it done. The entire model was built with Titebond woodworking glue, except attaching the float struts to the fuselage and anchoring the rigging, which he did with CA. The tissue was sealed with nitrate dope thinned 50%.

The 18.8-inch wingspan model weighs 37 grams without the motor. The SF-4 was built from an Ikarus kit, now out of production. Fortunately the wing ribs were laser cut. The rest of the model was framed from 1/16-inch square sticks and printwood. The floats were fabricated from sheet wood. John builds a few models a year and is happy to report that they fly well; as an adult he has finally figured out how to adjust them for flight!

Small LiPo Batteries

Craig Limber has been having fun with a Strato Streak scaled down to be compatible with one of the small brushless motors sold by Hobby King. Important to this setup is the availability of cheap, small, single-cell LiPo batteries.

One thing Craig loves about electrics is the rapid turnaround. One calm morning he was able to get in a flight roughly every four minutes using a Turnigy 160 mAh LiPo. The batteries were so cheap Craig bought 20 and swaps them out at the field so he doesn't need to take a charger.

To control the motor and DT, he made a new version of his electronic DT that has been adapted to run a brushless ESC and servo instead of an actuator. A 30-second motor run gives the Strato Streak a 90-second flight in calm air.

For more information about using these small motors on your FF model, check out the discussion on the Hip Pocket Aeronautics website.

Bostard

Ross Summers needed a 14-gram Bostonian to fly in the National Building Museum, so he designed and built his own. Because it's an amalgam of several designs, he calls it the Bostard. Ross has had good luck with the model, which he powers with a 3/32-inch Tan II for the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.

The Bostonian category rules restrict the propeller diameter to 6 inches, the projected wingspan to 16 inches, the wing chord to 3 inches, the weight to a minimum of 14 grams, and have specific fuselage cross-section minimums. Some indoor venues allow a 7-gram minimum weight.

These parameters result in a nice-size model that is generally easy to build, fly, and store. Complete rules can be found in the Outdoor FF section of the rules on the AMA website.

Shorty's Basement

Bad news, good news: Shorty's Basement, one of our sources for FF kits and accessories, closed earlier this year. Happily, the business has been purchased and reopened by George and Pat Bredehoft. The company's website and email contact information are unchanged.

SOURCES

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.