142 MODEL AVIATION
Expanded 2007 Nats Starduster X event
[[email protected]]
Free Flight Sport Gene Smith
Also included in this column:
• Rapiers legal for Jetex event
• B-25 and P-38 models
• Fantasy Flyers winner
• He 100 legal for WW II Mass
Launch
• Tomboy event
• Comet P-51
• Jet Catapult Scale
• Peck-Polymers back in
business
A great shot of Lynn Morton’s B-25 flying
overhead at the fall Wayawanda contest.
Photo by Ron Gosselin.
John Houck’s Joy’s Racer rests next to the Bob Thompson Memorial Award. Bob was one
of the founders of the Flying Aces Club. Photo by Tom Hallman.
Paul Grabski’s rubber-catapult-powered F-
84 is a blur as it takes off for a great flight
on its way to a win at Pensacola.
Larry Kruse designed the Heat Stroke to compete in the Jetex/Rapier event. It’s the size
of a Hand Launched Glider and weighs half as much. Kruse photo.
THE STARDUSTER X event at the 2007
FF Nats will include any prior year’s 1/2A
One Design of the Year model. Engine
requirements will remain the same:
Nostalgia-legal power plants for Nostalgia
models and Tee Dees for others, such as the
Starduster X, last year’s Mini Pearl, and the
Space Rod from 2001.
Don’t forget to build your Bounty
Hunter for this year’s One Design Event.
With the decreasing availability of Jetex
units and fuel, there was a call for
legalization of the Rapier rocket engines in
the Jetex event. That done, Larry Kruse
designed a model for the Rapier.
If initial flights are any indication, his
new Heat Stroke will be a great performer. It
is roughly the size of a Hand Launched
Glider but is as light as a feather. Look for a
05sig5.QXD 3/23/07 9:59 AM Page 142
construction article and plans in the May 2007 Flying Models
magazine.
Something about a rubber-powered Scale twin such as Lynn
Morton’s B-25 turns people’s heads. He built a Comet P-38 in 2005,
and it flew so well he decided to build the B-25. Lynn constructed
his model from downsized Mike Midkiff plans with only minor
changes such as smaller wood sizes and the addition of a few
gussets here and there.
The B-25 spans 30 inches. Power is one loop of 3/16 rubber in
each nacelle turning slightly cut-down 7-inch propellers rotating
counterclockwise.
Covering is Japanese tissue sprayed with Krylon dull olive paint
(item 3522) in the Jimmy Doolittle Raiders scheme. Lynn chose this
scheme because, in an effort to eliminate weight, Doolittle removed
the nose guns on the B-25s used in the raid. A nose gun would be
prone to breakage on a model.
The Krylon is a bit translucent on the B-25, to keep the finish as
light as possible. Lynn heated the spray can in a pan of water and
misted it on the area he wanted green. He covered the bottom of the
model with gray tissue. He covered the wing and tail surfaces on
both sides and then sprayed with the stabilizer pinned down to
prevent warps.
Luck seemed to prevail; the airplane flew off the building board
with no additional weight or trimming. With rubber and propellers
installed, the B-25 weighs 80 grams. Lynn thinks it is slightly
underpowered since the best time at Wayawanda was 46 seconds.
Lynn’s P-38 required an extreme amount of downthrust on both
sides, even after building in more than the plans called for. He found
that the most difficult part of the P-38 was the canopy. He made
laminated hoops for the front and rear canopy frames. Then he was
able to bend flat acetate for most of the canopy, only plungemolding
the top center area.
He finished the P-38 with Krylon dull aluminum (item 1403). Its
wingspan is 4 inches longer than that of the B-25, but the P-38
weighs 5 grams less and flies well with one loop of 3/16 rubber in
each nacelle.
Duke Horn has also had good luck with his P-38 based on the
Comet kit. He lengthened the wing 2 inches, to 36 inches, so it could
fly in Jumbo Scale and built all other components per the plans. His
P-38’s empty weight was 140 grams.
At the Texas Scale Champs in 2005 the P-38 placed second,
behind Mike Midkiff’s Sea Fury. The P-38 consistently flew more
than a minute, with a best flight of 71 seconds. It was powered by
two loops of 3/16-inch Tan 2 that were approximately 30 inches long,
unbraided.
The propellers were three-blades from Superior Props: one lefthand
and one right-hand. Duke used 3° of downthrust with each
propeller. The flight pattern was large left turns in power and glide
with slight washin of the left wingtip.
The P-38 was modeled after the Reno Air racer White Lightning,
which crashed a few years ago, as Duke’s model did last year. The
model’s crash was the result of the Crocket hook climbing up the
propeller shaft and locking the starboard motor when the model was
roughly 200 feet high.
Duke says he will never build a twin again without a Z-hook
shaft. He is currently working on a new P-38.
John Houck’s Joy’s Racer won the Flying Aces Club’s (FAC’s)
first Bob Thompson Memorial Award for Fantasy Flyers, which are
models built from drawings of airplanes in the aviation fiction
magazines of the 1920s and 1930s.
This airplane appeared in the “Smiling Jack” comic strip and
carried the Baby Bullet name on the rudder. However, it was usually
referred to as Joy’s Racer.
The model was enlarged to 19.5 inches of wingspan from the
plans in the March 2004 FAC newsletter. The covering is orange
Japanese tissue with black tissue for the antiglare on the nose, and
the model has a clear Krylon finish.
The spinner is vacuum-formed. The model’s empty weight is 30
grams. The power train is a Peck-Polymers 7-inch plastic propeller
turned by two loops of 1/8-inch Super Sport rubber that is 48 inches
long and weighs roughly 15 grams.
Joy’s Racer is a good 90-second-plus airplane and has had
some two-minute maxes. The flight pattern is a fairly tight left turn
under power that opens into a larger left circle in the glide.
Thanks to Allen Schanzle, the Heinkel He 100—which has long
been banned from FAC WW II Mass Launch competition—has
been added to the list of eligible designs.
Allen was perusing some old magazines when he found a
picture of two He 100s attacking a Manchester bomber. The text
read that the Heinkels were shot down. This written account was
all that was needed to make the model eligible. I suspect we will
see some He 100s in this year’s mass-launch events.
Bob Isaaks’ 30-inch beauty was published in the January 2005
Flying Models; it is plans set CD242. Larry Kruse published a
slick No-Cal version of the He 100 in the November 1986 Flying
Models, which is plans set CF737.
Then there is one of my favorite He 100s: Don Srull’s classic
23-inch version. The plans are available from the AMA Plans
Service; they are number 13328.
Al Lidberg is promoting the Tomboy event, which will be held at
this year’s Society of Antique Modelers (SAM) Championships.
Fuel is limited to 3cc, and the engine displacement is limited to
1cc.
Many are using the Indian Mills diesel, which is available from
Carlson Engine imports in Phoenix, Arizona. Call (602) 863-1684
or check out the Web site: www.carlsonengineimports.net. For
PAW diesels and diesel fuel, check with Eric Clutton at (931) 455-
2256 or at www.cafes.net/doctordiesel/DDengines.htm.
I had not run a diesel engine before, but I took the plunge and
bought an Indian Mills. With my friend Don
Blackburn’s help I got the engine going.
Running the diesel and trimming the
Tomboy has been a blast. It felt weird to
start an engine without a glow-booster
battery.
For a set of Tomboy plans and the
magazine construction article, send $6 to
A.A. Lidberg, 1030 E. Baseline, Suite 105-
1074, Tempe AZ 85283. The Web site is
www.aalmps.com.Alex Leão of Brazil did a beautiful job on his
P-51B built from the Comet plans of the P-
51A. He increased the decalage shown on the
plans by raising the wing LE 7/32 inch. He
used 1.5 inches of dihedral under each wingtip
and increased the stabilizer area to 25% of the
wing area.
Alex also made cosmetic modifications in
the nose and the bottom air intake to more
closely conform to the outlines of a P-51B.
The model was finished with Japanese
tissue, chalked white. After masking the white
areas of the nose and D-Day stripes, Alex
painted the model silver with a light coat of
Krylon. If you hold the P-51 against the light
you can see the structure—just like a raw
tissue.
The red checkered pattern on the nose and
the red stripe on the spinner are permanent
marker. The “Shy Ann” and serial numbers on
the rudder are water-slide decals. The US Air
Force insignia and D7 Z are printed tissue.
The D-Day black stripes were
airbrushed, and the panel lines were
handmade with a fine pen. The canopy
“birdcage” was masked and then airbrushed
silver.
The pilot is foam, and the yellow “Mae
West” on the pilot is yellow tissue. Balsa
exhausts add a great deal of character to
the nose.
The 18-inch-span P-51 is extremely light,
at 20 grams without rubber. The landing gear
plugs in and is removed for flying. Initial
flights with a 7-inch Peck-Polymers propeller
and one 21-inch loop of 1/8-inch rubber were a
bit underpowered but still got the model up
roughly 20 feet.
Another fun FAC event is Jet Catapult Scale.
As the name implies, these are Scale models
of jets launched by handheld rubber catapults.
They are typical Catapult Glider size,
spanning approximately 16 inches.
The models are judged on color-andmarkings,
details, and workmanship. Bonus
points are awarded for canard configuration,
engine pods, and fuel tanks. The best three of
six flights make up the flight score.
Bob Gourdon and Paul Grabski came in a
close first and second in this event at
Pensacola, Florida, last fall with their F-84Gs.
Both models had nice finishes and detailing
plus the tip-tank bonus. The scores were in the
mid-1970s, so the best flights were roughly 20
seconds. The aircraft are certainly small-field
flyers.
Join the FAC and get six newsletters a year
that are packed with information and plans for
rubber-powered Scale. Send $15 US ($20
Canada) to FAC-GHC, 3301 Cindy Ln., Erie
PA 16506.
The Peck-Polymers line of kits and
accessories, except for the blimps, was
purchased by Tim Goldstein, purveyor of fine
Indoor model supplies. He will be upgrading
the kits with laser-cutting and a better grade of
balsa. Look for the release of the upgraded kits
and new kits sold under the Peck-Polymers
brand at www.peck-polymers.com.
Tim has all the Gasparin and G-Mot CO2
items that were in the Peck-Polymers
inventory. There will be easier ordering, with
a full online ordering system that takes credit
cards or PayPal.
Tim just acquired a new 120-watt, top-ofthe-
line laser machine and will be looking for
ways to keep it busy besides using it for kits.
He will also use it for his propeller pitch gauge
and deflection gauge. With the laser, CNC
mill and lathe, injection-mold machine, and
vacuum-form machine, Tim is getting tooled
up to be able to manufacture quite a range of
products.
While you are visiting the Peck/A2Z
site, check out Tim’s extensive selection of
carbon-fiber pultrusion from DPP in the
Netherlands. A new item that has sparked
tremendous interest is the DPP micro
tubes.
The tubes start with the smallest at 0.7mm
outside diameter (OD) and 0.3mm inside
diameter (ID) and go up to the largest at
3.0mm OD and 2.0mm ID. The walls are
thinner than anything similar on the market,
and they definitely go to smaller diameters
than anyone else offers. There is also an
interesting half-round for LEs in addition to
the 1.0mm, 1.5mm, 2.0mm, and 3.0mm