Free Flight Scale - 2009/09

magnificent
accommodations for
the competitors’ and
spectators’ comfort.
Standard Class
Catapult Glider and
Unlimited Class
Catapult Glider were
the most popular AMA
events. Jim Buxton and
Bill Gowan won those
categories respectively.
The biggest
competition in FAC
was in No-Cal Profile
Scale and No-Cal WW
II Combat. Top honors
went to Larry Loucka
(flying a Hosler Fury)
and Jim Buxton (with a
P-51A), respectively.
Top winners were
Jim Buxton (with wins
in AMA Hand-
Launched Glider,
AMA Standard Class Catapult Glider, FAC
Peanut Scale, FAC No-Cal WW II Combat,
and FAC WW II Combat) and John Marett
(who won AMA Easy B, AMA Limited
Pennyplane, AMA 7-gram Bostonian, and
FAC Golden Age Scale).
Following are the top finishers in all
categories.
AMA Hand-Launched Glider
1. Jim Buxton
2. Kurt Krempetz
FAC Peanut
1. Jim Buxton (Ms. Ashley)
2. Del Balunek (WACO SRE)
124 MODEL AVIATION
ON APRIL 25, 2009, competitors from
Georgia; Illinois; Indiana; Michigan; New
Jersey; New York; Ohio; Ontario, Canada;
and Pennsylvania met for the Annual Indoor
FF Scale contest. It was held in the huge
Kent State Field House in Kent, Ohio, and
sponsored by the Cleveland Free Flight
Society (CFFS).
The daylong gathering (7 a.m.-6 p.m.)
featured a blend of eight AMA and seven
Flying Aces Club (FAC) events. The
emphasis was on fun, but the competition
did include AMA record trials for serious
competitors.
Co-directors Michael C. Zand and Don
Slusarczyk made those who attended the
event feel welcome. Kent State provided
The 2009 KSU yearly Indoor meet
[[email protected]]
Free Flight Scale Dennis Norman
Also included in this column:
• Crosswinds quarterly of the
CFFS
• The Replica from NASA
• Retro RC wheels
• Lone Star Balsa
• Bringing Modelers Together
Begins With You
• Finishing with chalk
The talented Richard Miller and his colorful Road Runner, which
was runner-up in the 7-gram Bostonian event. Murray photo.
Several of this year’s Annual Indoor competitors prepare their
frail beauties for competition at Kent State. Jeff Hood photo.
Each of Gordon Roberts’ FF Scale treasures waits its turn to
compete at the 2009 CFFS Annual Indoor. Pat Murray photo.
3. Gordon Roberts (Judy)
Standard Class Catapult Glider
1. Jim Buxton
2. Kurt Krempetz
3. John Marett
Golden Age Scale
1. John Marett (Leopard Moth)
2. Gordon Roberts (Taylorcraft)
3. Jim Buxton (Culver Cadet)
Unlimited Catapult Glider
1. Bill Gowan
2. Jim Buxton
3. John Marett
Dime Scale
1. Don Slusarczyk (Mauboussin)
2. Michael Zand (Tiger Moth)
3. Gordon Roberts (Arado)
Easy B
1. John Marett
2. Larry Mzik
No-Cal
1. Larry Loucka (Hosler Fury)
2. Chuck Slusarczyk (Hosler Fury)
3. Jim Buxton (Ohka)
F1L
1. Bill Gowan
2. Tom Sova
3. Larry Mzik
No-Cal WW II Combat
1. Jim Buxton (Ohka)
2. Larry Loucka (Barracuda)
3. Chuck Slusarczyk (Hurricane)
Limited Pennyplane
1. John Marett
2. Tom Sova
WW II Combat
1. Jim Buxton (P-51A)
2. Rich Miller (P-51)
3. Gordon Roberts (Judy)
MiniStick
1. Tom Sova
2. Larry Mzik
Phantom Flash
1. Herb Schubert
2. Alan Cohen
3. Don Slusarczyk
7-Gram Bostonian
1. John Marett (C Tern)
2. Richard Miller (Road Runner)
3. Jack Karn (Boston Pup)
A few pictures from the Kent State event
accompany this column, but Jeff Hood has
an excellent photo record of the contest
online. You can gain access to additional
pictures by contacting Pat Murray and/or
Peter Zbasnik. See the “Sources” list for
their information.
The annual Kent State contest is a classic
and is well worth attending. Plans are being
made for another edition, to be held in the
spring of 2010; details will be announced as
soon as the date is finalized.
The CFFS sponsors the Kent State Indoor
annual and publishes the excellent
Crosswinds quarterly newsletter. Although
Crosswinds was started in 1972 as a local
newsletter, it has, to quote founder Russ
Brown, “worked up to a fat quarterly with
world connections.”
The publication owes its strength and
diversity to its policy of rotating lead
editors, who constantly delight subscribers
with fresh treatments of FF Scale models,
interesting discussions of new and evolving
techniques, and other topics that are relevant
to our group’s interests.
Russ and the CFFS historian, Lundy
Goesling, have completed the first
comprehensive index of Crosswinds.
Covering the period from May 1972 to April
2009, this highly detailed effort gives
readers an inspiring look at the subjects that
the newsletter has covered. Hundreds of
classic and original plans from CFFS
members and others make this a must for
your library.
The index is available free from CFFS
and may be obtained by sending an SASE
to Russ Brown. See the “Sources” list for
his contact information. If you don’t
already subscribe to Crosswinds, a oneyear
subscription is available for $18.
Back issues are available for $5 each.
On the subject of newsletters, I have just
become aware of Replica: the newsletter of
the National Association of Scale
Aeromodelers (NASA). It is published
bimonthly and began, as did Crosswinds,
in the mid-1970s as a simple one- or twopage
effort.
Replica has grown to a multipage
publication, making use of full-color
photos, scale drawings, and modeling
subjects of interest. It not only covers FF
Scale subjects such as Peanut, Dime, FAC,
and Coconut, but it also features CL,
Profile, FAI, and RC subjects.
The January-February 2009 issue of the
newsletter presented construction plans
that Mike Welshans drew in December
2008 for a 157/16-inch-span No-Cal version
of the Piper PA-8 Skycycle. The plans
were accompanied by pictures and scale
drawings of the full-scale aircraft and color
photos of the delightful model. Mike is
well known in FAC circles and is a past
vice president of NASA. That issue also
included a nice scale presentation of the
Grumman F7F Tigercat.
Replica is available with NASA
membership, for $20 per year, and is well
worth the investment. Contact Bonnie
Rediske to join; her information is in the
“Sources” list.
Mark Freeland of Retro RC LLC sent me
samples of his handsome Vintage Wheel
and WW I Peanut Scale Wheel kits. They
are laser cut and easy to build using photoillustrated
instructions. Axle bushings are
included.
The Vintage Wheel kits include three
styles: Vintage, Vintage II, and Vintage
Light. Sizes range from 17/16 to 25/16
inches. Depending on the type you select,
the wheels weigh 1.8-6.6 grams each.
The WW I Peanut wheels are available
in two diameters: 11/16 inches (weighing 1
gram each) and 15/32 inches (weighing 1.2
grams each). The kits feature either O-ring
or surgical-tubing tires. The kits will
initially be available for less than $5 per
pair of wheels.
Lone Star Balsa has proudly announced
that it is back in business. Riley Wooten
started the company in 1979, and it sold
high-quality balsa wood to the modeling
community for more than 30 years.
The Lone Star Balsa building and
everything in it was destroyed by fire the
day before Thanksgiving in 2007.
Everything had to be rebuilt from the
ashes, but now the business is ready to
start taking orders for balsa sheets, sticks,
and a few special shapes.
This company has always prided itself
on offering the best-quality balsa available
in the world at competitive prices. The
staff members do their best to see that
customer service is excellent.
Lone Star Balsa is in daily contact with
suppliers in Ecuador. Balsa is in high
demand and many suppliers have
commitments for their wood, but Lone Star
Balsa is working to get back into its
production schedules and hopes to be of
service to modelers for many years to
come.
The AMA will complete its 2009
membership drive on September 14. This
year’s theme has been “Bringing Modelers
Together Begins With You.”
All of us have stories about joining the
Academy. The organization has provided
us with the framework to maintain,
promote, and preserve our hobby interest.
By renewing our commitment to the AMA,
we can make it even stronger for the
future.
Career model flying has even found its
way into the US military. It is using
sophisticated models as relatively lowcost,
low-risk tools for reconnaissance and
attack.
Even we FF Scale enthusiasts have seen
an amazing growth of materials, tools, and
techniques in the last few years. Soft pastel
chalks have enabled us to obtain opaque
tissue coverings for Scale models at
virtually no cost in weight. We are getting
fantastic results with Esaki tissue, sheets of
glass, several sheets of newspaper, wads of
facial or toilet tissue, and Krylon spray
paint.
Scott Dobberfuhl wrote a classic piece
about chalking in the April 2000 edition of
Society of Antique Modelers (SAM)
Chapter 86’s SAM Speaks newsletter. If
you have access to that issue, read the
article; it will give you excellent insight
into the process. If you do not have access
to that publication, Scott has an excellent
chalking tutorial on the Easy Built Models
Web site.
Sunlight is notorious for turning vibrant
red, green, and blue tissue to drab
variations of gray within a season or two
of outdoor flying. By chalking the tissue,
we extend its look appreciably. We can
also obtain better, longer-lasting contrast
in the colors on our models.
Chris Parent is generally credited for
discovering and perfecting the majority of
the techniques that are used to chalk tissue.
Larry Marshall, Rich Weber, and Scott
have added significantly to the art.
The Esaki company of Japan makes the
tissue with which chalking is most
successful. Ample supplies of this material
in several colors are available from
Shorty’s Basement and other companies, at
a reasonable price.
Typically, you turn soft pastel artist
chalks into powder by rubbing them
against fine sandpaper. When you have
made a nice pile of dust, it is ready to be
applied to the tissue.
Lay the tissue, dull side up, on either a
sheet of glass or on a pad of newsprint.
The dull side is more porous and holds the
dust better. Apply the chalk powder
carefully, using wads of facial tissue, toilet
tissue, or the smooth, circular makeup
pads.
Take care to keep a smooth working
surface for the chalking; grit or other
contaminants will cause the tissue to tear
when you rub chalk over it. Once you
have completed a full sheet of tissue, you
are ready to apply it to your model.
When covering, ensure that the
tissue’s chalked surface is facing in and
the shiny side is facing out. A glue stick
is normally used to attach the material to
the model, but you can wet-cover chalked
tissue. To do this, Scott recommends
placing the piece of tissue (shiny-side up)
on a towel and misting it with rubbing
alcohol.
Once you have covered the model and
eliminated any wrinkles that may have
developed, you are ready to use clear
Krylon to bring out the color, seal the
surface, and lock in the shrinkage. When
you spray Krylon, it is best to mist on
several light coats rather than one heavy
coat.
If sprayed lightly, the Krylon sits on
the tissue’s surface and draws the rich
colors of the pigment through, making the
covering more opaque. If sprayed heavily,
the Krylon saturates the tissue and causes
it to remain more translucent than opaque.
As you read Scott’s tutorial, you will
learn that different colors of chalk may be
rubbed into different colors of tissue to
create a striking range of variations.
Chalking is a method worth exploring as
you seek to improve the look of your
Scale models.
The outstanding biennial WW I Dawn
Patrol Rendezvous will be held September
25-27, 2009, at the National Museum of the
United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson
Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. It is a
spectacular event, and it is free! MA
Sources:
FAC
www.aeroaces.com/flyingaces.htm
Jeff Hood’s photos:
www.indoornews.com
Pat Murray
[email protected]
Peter Zbasnik
[email protected]
Russ Brown
4909 N. Sedgewick
Lyndhurst OH 44124
(216) 382-4821
NASA
www.nasascale.org
Bonnie Rediske
128 Darnley Dr.
Moon Township PA 15108
Retro RC LLC
Box 193
Keego Harbor MI 48320
www.retro-rc.net
Lone Star Balsa
(972) 552-2922
www.lonestar-balsa.com
Easy Built Models
(334) 358-5184
www.easybuiltmodels.com
Shorty’s Basement
(740) 223-7471
www.shortysbasement.com
National Museum of US Air Force
(937) 255-1716
www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/