Plans-built models
by Gene Smith [email protected]
The One Design gas model for next year's Nats is an early Nostalgia design: the Midwest Fortastrop. The National Free Flight Society (NFFS) plans service sells the plans for $7. A kit is available from Campbell's Custom Kits.
Comet Senior Dart
I saw plans for the Comet Senior Dart online several months ago, but hadn't seen a completed model until Bill Schmidt sent pictures of his recently finished aircraft. Bill told me that Bob Reder and Al Horbak drew the plans for the 24-inch wingspan model in 1937 during the heyday of Comet models.
The framework of Bill's model had hung in his shop since 1994! It uses an 8-inch Paulownia wood propeller that Bill found on eBay.
No sooner had Bill sent me the pictures of his model than I saw David Barfield's version online. Bill and David are talented modelers. David's version weighs 37 grams. It might be slightly heavy for a model of that size, but not by much. My Corben Super Ace was a similar size and weight and flew well.
David has been experimenting with propellers, switching between an 8-inch balsa propeller and a 7-inch plastic propeller using six strands of 1/8 x 20-inch rubber for power. For maximum performance on a model of that size I would use a 9 1/2-inch balsa propeller and six strands of 1/8 x 26- to 30-inch rubber.
David mentioned that he designed the decals in Photoshop and printed them on Papilio clear decal material. The decal material can be purchased online.
Caudron
Steve Griebling's Caudron was the subject of the recent Crosswinds newsletter number 145. Steve's original model had a 15-inch span and weighed 17.4 grams without the motor. He used dark-blue Esaki tissue with dark-blue chalk rubbed in on the dull side only. The tissue was water shrunk after application and finished with two light coats of clear Krylon spray. The stripes are 1/16-inch wide red and blue trim strip applied over a 3/16-inch strip of white trim strip. Dark-blue trim strip was used over the vacuum-formed canopy to simulate the structure of the greenhouse.
The white numerals are also trim strip. After the Krylon dried, Steve used a white gel pen to apply the Caudron and Avions names and small numbers on the vertical stabilizer.
Steve scraped a 7-inch Peck propeller, but couldn't get it light enough to get the CG where it needed to be without tail ballast, so he carved a 7-inch balsa propeller for the little Caudron. He used the ratios from Bill Henn's 10-inch propeller, which has roughly a 1.1:1 PD ratio. With the 7-inch balsa propeller and the original .100-inch four-strand motor, the model balanced perfectly!
Steve carved the new propeller from a blank that was 7 inches long, 1 inch wide, .6 inches thick at 2.1 inches from the centerline, and 3/8 inch thick at the tips. The .75-inch-diameter spinner is .75 inches long. Steve uses the Griebling newsletter.
FF Sport
By Gene Smith
Guy free wheeler sold by Shorty's Basement.
Edited by Russ Brown, Crosswinds is an excellent resource for Scale stick-and-tissue modelers. Issue number 145 also has plans and documentation for a slick little Peanut Goodyear racer named the Pellet. I believe that copies of that issue are still available. Three-views, color documentation, and historical information of the subject models are usually included in the newsletter. Send Russ $20 for four issues.
Simplex
Wally Farrell's Simplex was built from Rich Weber's plans. With a 24-inch wingspan and an empty weight of 31.8 grams, the Thompson Race-eligible model should be a great flier. Wally found it to be fun and challenging to build.
Following Rich's instructions, Wally used Crayola Model Magic to create the exhaust pipes. He rolled out cylindrical shapes then gently bent them over a balsa form that had the two needed angles to attach them to the engine and cowl. Model Magic is surprisingly lightweight. It was easily attached with CA and took paint well.
Wally Farrell's Simplex uses Crayola Model Magic for the exhaust pipes. Farrell photo.
David Barfield made the decals for his Comet Senior Dart. Barfield photo.
This is Bob Clemons' great-looking Wanderer.
Wally says the model is not a jewel, but he likes it—even the fonts caught his eye. He is considering starting with a 9-inch propeller and a loop each of 1/8 and 3/16 rubber.
SOURCES:
- NFFS
- Campbell's Custom Kits
(765) 393-3776 www.campbellscustomkits.com
- Hemmi Papilio Supplies LLC
(940) 627-0112 www.papilio.com
- Russ Brown
4909 N. Sedgewick Lyndhurst OH 44124
- Volare Products (Shorty's Basement)
(269) 393-9795 www.volareproducts.com
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
