MASTER MODELER Bob Schlosberg shared a photo of his
beautiful rubber-powered Pitcairn Mailwing. He is using a 9 x 11
propeller finished from a Superior Props blank. Bob’s other biplane is
based on the Negabipe—a Bostonian designed by John Tudor and
published in the March 1983 Flying Models. Bob enlarged the
Negabipe to 31 inches in span and made some changes to the wing
planform.
The model uses a 10 x 12 Superior propeller. According to Bob, it is
flying great with two loops of 1⁄8-inch rubber and two loops of 3⁄16-inch
rubber, 34 inches long. The N number is in memory of the Schlosbergs’
late daughter Carol’s birthday.
The Fokker D.VII and Nieuport XVIIC are the work of Norman
Becker. The Nieuport is a change of pace from the class C Witch
Doctor he used to fly in contests in the Midwest. The Nieuport uses an
8-inch Peck-Polymers propeller and two loops of 3⁄16-inch rubber that is
18 inches long.
The center of gravity is the center of the top wing. The model
weighs 50 grams and puts up consistent 40-second flights. Norman
built the Nieuport from Megow plans, which are available from Allen
Hunt plans, Box 726, Dunbar WV 25064. The 2800 plans catalog is
$10, refundable with the first order, or order online at
www.modelairplaneplans.net.
I have read several opinions on the best way to set up the incidence
between a Scale model biplane’s upper and lower wings. The
consensus is that if the wings are in the usual configuration, with the
leading edge of the lower wing slightly behind the leading edge of the
upper wing, the lower wing should have approximately 1° more
positive incidence than the upper wing.
The rationale is that the lower wing is operating in the downwash of
the upper wing and needs a bit more incidence to develop lift. I plan to
build a biplane soon and see how that configuration works.
Why Doesn’t the Darn Thing Fly? The Peanut Scale Goodyear racer
mass-launch is one of the Flying Aces’ newer events. I have always
liked the Boo Ray; its appeal is a combination of streamlined design
and the white-and-red finish. It is a modified version of the classic
Cassutt Goodyear racer.
I had Dick Howard plans for a Cassutt II and used them as the basis
for a Peanut Scale model of the Boo Ray. I modified the outlines using
three-views of the Boo Ray from the book The Air Racer by Charles
Gene Smith, 1401 N. Husband St., Stillwater OK 74075; E-mail: [email protected]
FREE FLIGHT SPORT
You have to love Bob Schlosberg’s Pitcairn Fleetwing’s classic
lines. The Pitcairn Mailwing was the radial-engine version.
Scaled up from Bostonian plans, this Staggerbipe is resplendent
in white with red-and-blue trim.
This is the Peanut Scale model of the Boo Ray Goodyear racer.
The author built it for the FAC mass-launch event.
Norman Becker launches a Fokker D.VII built from a Golden Age
kit. He says it is a consistent flier.
April 2004 151
152 MODEL AVIATION
Mendenhall. Despite my best efforts it came out overweight, at a
portly 16 grams. I thought the relatively large wing area would help,
but the model didn’t want to fly.
I knew from experience that there was plenty of dihedral, but the
model was directionally unstable. After small adjustments it would
either make a sharp right turn or a sharp left turn. I thought the large
fuselage area behind the wing would make an adequate “fin,” but I
was mistaken. I added a quarter inch to the height of the fin, and then
the model tracked well.
In retrospect, Dick’s plans for the Cassutt II had round fins on the
tips of each stabilizer, and I did not account for that lost fin area when
I modified the plans for the Boo Ray tailplane. After the modification
the Boo Ray tracked well for 10 or 15 feet, after which it either dived
or stalled. Longitudinal stability was the remaining problem.
I added clay to the nose until it looked like the little racer was
sporting a radome. Even with the center of gravity at 20% and
negative incidence added to the stabilizer (the rear of the stabilizer was
raised), the airplane was unstable. A check of the stabilizer area
showed it to be 19% of the wing area. That just wasn’t enough on such
a short coupled model.
A quick run of the stabilizer plans through the copier brought its
area up to 25%. The new stabilizer completely changed the model. It
flew well, considering that the wing loading was roughly equivalent to
that of an anvil with wings. Now the Boo Ray is a respectable sport
Bob Hanford is rightly pleased with his rubber-powered NRG. He
designed and flew the design more than 50 years ago.
It does need additional ballast because of the short nose, but
Norman’s Nieuport has even better duration than the Fokker.
flier—not competitive, but fun to fly.
Adventures in Trimming a Maverick: One
of the best 1⁄2A Gas Free Flight model
designs of the 1980s was the Maverick. The
design is still competitive in AMA Gas
events, and sometimes it gives modern F1Js a
run for their money.
During an F1J flyoff at the Muncie
Nationals last year there was a Maverick in
the midst of a gaggle of high-aspect-ratio,
multifunction F1Js. The Maverick wasn’t the
last model down, but it wasn’t the first.
Campbell’s Models has an excellent kit of
the design. The only change I made from the
plans was to cap the bottom of the diagonal
wing ribs with carbon-fiber strips. I used my
current covering of choice for 1⁄2A Gas
models: UltraCote Lite. It is extremely easy
to apply but, as with all plastic coverings,
doesn’t add much rigidity to the wing.
On the fuselage plans, no support is
shown for the rear of the stabilizer. Be sure to
put at least a 1⁄8-inch platform under the rear
of the stabilizer. I installed a 2-56 screw in
that platform so I can adjust the stabilizer
incidence with the screw. Epoxy a small
piece of razor blade to the underside of the
trailing edge of the stabilizer where it meets
the adjustment screw so that the screw
doesn’t eat into the stabilizer. The screw is
contained in a 1⁄2-inch length of yellow
Nyrod.
My trimming problems began with a bit
of inadvertent left thrust. I knew it was there,
but I have several Pylon models that need a
bit of left thrust so I did not correct it. For all
test flights the model was launched to the
right of the wind with the wing in a slight
bank to the right.
Immediately after launch the model
would level its wing and climb straight ahead
with a slight roll to the left. Since the model
does not have auto surfaces, it has to turn to
properly transition from the power phase into
the glide. Without the turn the model will
stall and lose considerable altitude when the
engine quits.
I tried several things to establish a right
turn. I added shims to the fin and removed
washin from the right wing. The power
pattern remained the same.
Finally I removed the small amount of
inadvertent left thrust and removed some of
the right turn shim from the fin. With the
engine straight ahead except for the specified
3° of downthrust, the power pattern improved
considerably. The Maverick had a nice right
turn.
When the motor run extended beyond
three seconds, a new problem developed. As
the model gained speed in the climb, it would
suddenly level out. I had seen this with my
first Maverick, and it was caused by the
leading edge of the stabilizer lifting off of the
stabilizer platform.
I cured that problem by notching the stop
on the front of the stabilizer platform so that
the rubber bands could pull down against the
front of the stabilizer. I tried the fix on the
new Maverick, but it didn’t help.
The only other thing I could think of was
that the wing might be flexing at high speed
despite the carbon fiber on the bottom of the
diagonal ribs. I raised the covering on the
main panels, added a carbon-fiber strip to the
top of each diagonal rib, and replaced the
covering. That turned out to be the fix the
model needed. I was able to extend the motor
run and the model had a consistent right-hand
pattern with a nice transition into the glide.
Bob Hanford designed and built the neat
NRG (say the letters rapidly out loud) in the
late 1940s. He flew two versions: the stick
model shown and a Wakefield version with a
pod over the wing and a retractable landinggear
fixture.
Both versions are contest winners. The
Wakefield qualified for the 1949 Wakefield
team but was lost on its last qualifying flight.
Bob had to use a backup model at the World
Championships. These models are eligible for
the new National Free Flight Society old-time
Rubber events: Nostalgia Rubber and
Nostalgia Wakefield.
Bob was a draftsman for Chance Vought
and has produced an excellent set of plans
featuring both versions of the NRG. The
plans are full of good details, which will help
you reproduce the model and its folding oneblade
propeller.
You still have time to build one version or
both for this contest season. Each has a
distinct fuselage, but they share a common
wing and stabilizer. Send $8 to Bob Hanford,
6566 E. 21st Pl. Apt. 163, Tulsa OK 74129,
to get your plans postpaid. MA
April 2004 153
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/04
Page Numbers: 151,152,153
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/04
Page Numbers: 151,152,153
MASTER MODELER Bob Schlosberg shared a photo of his
beautiful rubber-powered Pitcairn Mailwing. He is using a 9 x 11
propeller finished from a Superior Props blank. Bob’s other biplane is
based on the Negabipe—a Bostonian designed by John Tudor and
published in the March 1983 Flying Models. Bob enlarged the
Negabipe to 31 inches in span and made some changes to the wing
planform.
The model uses a 10 x 12 Superior propeller. According to Bob, it is
flying great with two loops of 1⁄8-inch rubber and two loops of 3⁄16-inch
rubber, 34 inches long. The N number is in memory of the Schlosbergs’
late daughter Carol’s birthday.
The Fokker D.VII and Nieuport XVIIC are the work of Norman
Becker. The Nieuport is a change of pace from the class C Witch
Doctor he used to fly in contests in the Midwest. The Nieuport uses an
8-inch Peck-Polymers propeller and two loops of 3⁄16-inch rubber that is
18 inches long.
The center of gravity is the center of the top wing. The model
weighs 50 grams and puts up consistent 40-second flights. Norman
built the Nieuport from Megow plans, which are available from Allen
Hunt plans, Box 726, Dunbar WV 25064. The 2800 plans catalog is
$10, refundable with the first order, or order online at
www.modelairplaneplans.net.
I have read several opinions on the best way to set up the incidence
between a Scale model biplane’s upper and lower wings. The
consensus is that if the wings are in the usual configuration, with the
leading edge of the lower wing slightly behind the leading edge of the
upper wing, the lower wing should have approximately 1° more
positive incidence than the upper wing.
The rationale is that the lower wing is operating in the downwash of
the upper wing and needs a bit more incidence to develop lift. I plan to
build a biplane soon and see how that configuration works.
Why Doesn’t the Darn Thing Fly? The Peanut Scale Goodyear racer
mass-launch is one of the Flying Aces’ newer events. I have always
liked the Boo Ray; its appeal is a combination of streamlined design
and the white-and-red finish. It is a modified version of the classic
Cassutt Goodyear racer.
I had Dick Howard plans for a Cassutt II and used them as the basis
for a Peanut Scale model of the Boo Ray. I modified the outlines using
three-views of the Boo Ray from the book The Air Racer by Charles
Gene Smith, 1401 N. Husband St., Stillwater OK 74075; E-mail: [email protected]
FREE FLIGHT SPORT
You have to love Bob Schlosberg’s Pitcairn Fleetwing’s classic
lines. The Pitcairn Mailwing was the radial-engine version.
Scaled up from Bostonian plans, this Staggerbipe is resplendent
in white with red-and-blue trim.
This is the Peanut Scale model of the Boo Ray Goodyear racer.
The author built it for the FAC mass-launch event.
Norman Becker launches a Fokker D.VII built from a Golden Age
kit. He says it is a consistent flier.
April 2004 151
152 MODEL AVIATION
Mendenhall. Despite my best efforts it came out overweight, at a
portly 16 grams. I thought the relatively large wing area would help,
but the model didn’t want to fly.
I knew from experience that there was plenty of dihedral, but the
model was directionally unstable. After small adjustments it would
either make a sharp right turn or a sharp left turn. I thought the large
fuselage area behind the wing would make an adequate “fin,” but I
was mistaken. I added a quarter inch to the height of the fin, and then
the model tracked well.
In retrospect, Dick’s plans for the Cassutt II had round fins on the
tips of each stabilizer, and I did not account for that lost fin area when
I modified the plans for the Boo Ray tailplane. After the modification
the Boo Ray tracked well for 10 or 15 feet, after which it either dived
or stalled. Longitudinal stability was the remaining problem.
I added clay to the nose until it looked like the little racer was
sporting a radome. Even with the center of gravity at 20% and
negative incidence added to the stabilizer (the rear of the stabilizer was
raised), the airplane was unstable. A check of the stabilizer area
showed it to be 19% of the wing area. That just wasn’t enough on such
a short coupled model.
A quick run of the stabilizer plans through the copier brought its
area up to 25%. The new stabilizer completely changed the model. It
flew well, considering that the wing loading was roughly equivalent to
that of an anvil with wings. Now the Boo Ray is a respectable sport
Bob Hanford is rightly pleased with his rubber-powered NRG. He
designed and flew the design more than 50 years ago.
It does need additional ballast because of the short nose, but
Norman’s Nieuport has even better duration than the Fokker.
flier—not competitive, but fun to fly.
Adventures in Trimming a Maverick: One
of the best 1⁄2A Gas Free Flight model
designs of the 1980s was the Maverick. The
design is still competitive in AMA Gas
events, and sometimes it gives modern F1Js a
run for their money.
During an F1J flyoff at the Muncie
Nationals last year there was a Maverick in
the midst of a gaggle of high-aspect-ratio,
multifunction F1Js. The Maverick wasn’t the
last model down, but it wasn’t the first.
Campbell’s Models has an excellent kit of
the design. The only change I made from the
plans was to cap the bottom of the diagonal
wing ribs with carbon-fiber strips. I used my
current covering of choice for 1⁄2A Gas
models: UltraCote Lite. It is extremely easy
to apply but, as with all plastic coverings,
doesn’t add much rigidity to the wing.
On the fuselage plans, no support is
shown for the rear of the stabilizer. Be sure to
put at least a 1⁄8-inch platform under the rear
of the stabilizer. I installed a 2-56 screw in
that platform so I can adjust the stabilizer
incidence with the screw. Epoxy a small
piece of razor blade to the underside of the
trailing edge of the stabilizer where it meets
the adjustment screw so that the screw
doesn’t eat into the stabilizer. The screw is
contained in a 1⁄2-inch length of yellow
Nyrod.
My trimming problems began with a bit
of inadvertent left thrust. I knew it was there,
but I have several Pylon models that need a
bit of left thrust so I did not correct it. For all
test flights the model was launched to the
right of the wind with the wing in a slight
bank to the right.
Immediately after launch the model
would level its wing and climb straight ahead
with a slight roll to the left. Since the model
does not have auto surfaces, it has to turn to
properly transition from the power phase into
the glide. Without the turn the model will
stall and lose considerable altitude when the
engine quits.
I tried several things to establish a right
turn. I added shims to the fin and removed
washin from the right wing. The power
pattern remained the same.
Finally I removed the small amount of
inadvertent left thrust and removed some of
the right turn shim from the fin. With the
engine straight ahead except for the specified
3° of downthrust, the power pattern improved
considerably. The Maverick had a nice right
turn.
When the motor run extended beyond
three seconds, a new problem developed. As
the model gained speed in the climb, it would
suddenly level out. I had seen this with my
first Maverick, and it was caused by the
leading edge of the stabilizer lifting off of the
stabilizer platform.
I cured that problem by notching the stop
on the front of the stabilizer platform so that
the rubber bands could pull down against the
front of the stabilizer. I tried the fix on the
new Maverick, but it didn’t help.
The only other thing I could think of was
that the wing might be flexing at high speed
despite the carbon fiber on the bottom of the
diagonal ribs. I raised the covering on the
main panels, added a carbon-fiber strip to the
top of each diagonal rib, and replaced the
covering. That turned out to be the fix the
model needed. I was able to extend the motor
run and the model had a consistent right-hand
pattern with a nice transition into the glide.
Bob Hanford designed and built the neat
NRG (say the letters rapidly out loud) in the
late 1940s. He flew two versions: the stick
model shown and a Wakefield version with a
pod over the wing and a retractable landinggear
fixture.
Both versions are contest winners. The
Wakefield qualified for the 1949 Wakefield
team but was lost on its last qualifying flight.
Bob had to use a backup model at the World
Championships. These models are eligible for
the new National Free Flight Society old-time
Rubber events: Nostalgia Rubber and
Nostalgia Wakefield.
Bob was a draftsman for Chance Vought
and has produced an excellent set of plans
featuring both versions of the NRG. The
plans are full of good details, which will help
you reproduce the model and its folding oneblade
propeller.
You still have time to build one version or
both for this contest season. Each has a
distinct fuselage, but they share a common
wing and stabilizer. Send $8 to Bob Hanford,
6566 E. 21st Pl. Apt. 163, Tulsa OK 74129,
to get your plans postpaid. MA
April 2004 153
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/04
Page Numbers: 151,152,153
MASTER MODELER Bob Schlosberg shared a photo of his
beautiful rubber-powered Pitcairn Mailwing. He is using a 9 x 11
propeller finished from a Superior Props blank. Bob’s other biplane is
based on the Negabipe—a Bostonian designed by John Tudor and
published in the March 1983 Flying Models. Bob enlarged the
Negabipe to 31 inches in span and made some changes to the wing
planform.
The model uses a 10 x 12 Superior propeller. According to Bob, it is
flying great with two loops of 1⁄8-inch rubber and two loops of 3⁄16-inch
rubber, 34 inches long. The N number is in memory of the Schlosbergs’
late daughter Carol’s birthday.
The Fokker D.VII and Nieuport XVIIC are the work of Norman
Becker. The Nieuport is a change of pace from the class C Witch
Doctor he used to fly in contests in the Midwest. The Nieuport uses an
8-inch Peck-Polymers propeller and two loops of 3⁄16-inch rubber that is
18 inches long.
The center of gravity is the center of the top wing. The model
weighs 50 grams and puts up consistent 40-second flights. Norman
built the Nieuport from Megow plans, which are available from Allen
Hunt plans, Box 726, Dunbar WV 25064. The 2800 plans catalog is
$10, refundable with the first order, or order online at
www.modelairplaneplans.net.
I have read several opinions on the best way to set up the incidence
between a Scale model biplane’s upper and lower wings. The
consensus is that if the wings are in the usual configuration, with the
leading edge of the lower wing slightly behind the leading edge of the
upper wing, the lower wing should have approximately 1° more
positive incidence than the upper wing.
The rationale is that the lower wing is operating in the downwash of
the upper wing and needs a bit more incidence to develop lift. I plan to
build a biplane soon and see how that configuration works.
Why Doesn’t the Darn Thing Fly? The Peanut Scale Goodyear racer
mass-launch is one of the Flying Aces’ newer events. I have always
liked the Boo Ray; its appeal is a combination of streamlined design
and the white-and-red finish. It is a modified version of the classic
Cassutt Goodyear racer.
I had Dick Howard plans for a Cassutt II and used them as the basis
for a Peanut Scale model of the Boo Ray. I modified the outlines using
three-views of the Boo Ray from the book The Air Racer by Charles
Gene Smith, 1401 N. Husband St., Stillwater OK 74075; E-mail: [email protected]
FREE FLIGHT SPORT
You have to love Bob Schlosberg’s Pitcairn Fleetwing’s classic
lines. The Pitcairn Mailwing was the radial-engine version.
Scaled up from Bostonian plans, this Staggerbipe is resplendent
in white with red-and-blue trim.
This is the Peanut Scale model of the Boo Ray Goodyear racer.
The author built it for the FAC mass-launch event.
Norman Becker launches a Fokker D.VII built from a Golden Age
kit. He says it is a consistent flier.
April 2004 151
152 MODEL AVIATION
Mendenhall. Despite my best efforts it came out overweight, at a
portly 16 grams. I thought the relatively large wing area would help,
but the model didn’t want to fly.
I knew from experience that there was plenty of dihedral, but the
model was directionally unstable. After small adjustments it would
either make a sharp right turn or a sharp left turn. I thought the large
fuselage area behind the wing would make an adequate “fin,” but I
was mistaken. I added a quarter inch to the height of the fin, and then
the model tracked well.
In retrospect, Dick’s plans for the Cassutt II had round fins on the
tips of each stabilizer, and I did not account for that lost fin area when
I modified the plans for the Boo Ray tailplane. After the modification
the Boo Ray tracked well for 10 or 15 feet, after which it either dived
or stalled. Longitudinal stability was the remaining problem.
I added clay to the nose until it looked like the little racer was
sporting a radome. Even with the center of gravity at 20% and
negative incidence added to the stabilizer (the rear of the stabilizer was
raised), the airplane was unstable. A check of the stabilizer area
showed it to be 19% of the wing area. That just wasn’t enough on such
a short coupled model.
A quick run of the stabilizer plans through the copier brought its
area up to 25%. The new stabilizer completely changed the model. It
flew well, considering that the wing loading was roughly equivalent to
that of an anvil with wings. Now the Boo Ray is a respectable sport
Bob Hanford is rightly pleased with his rubber-powered NRG. He
designed and flew the design more than 50 years ago.
It does need additional ballast because of the short nose, but
Norman’s Nieuport has even better duration than the Fokker.
flier—not competitive, but fun to fly.
Adventures in Trimming a Maverick: One
of the best 1⁄2A Gas Free Flight model
designs of the 1980s was the Maverick. The
design is still competitive in AMA Gas
events, and sometimes it gives modern F1Js a
run for their money.
During an F1J flyoff at the Muncie
Nationals last year there was a Maverick in
the midst of a gaggle of high-aspect-ratio,
multifunction F1Js. The Maverick wasn’t the
last model down, but it wasn’t the first.
Campbell’s Models has an excellent kit of
the design. The only change I made from the
plans was to cap the bottom of the diagonal
wing ribs with carbon-fiber strips. I used my
current covering of choice for 1⁄2A Gas
models: UltraCote Lite. It is extremely easy
to apply but, as with all plastic coverings,
doesn’t add much rigidity to the wing.
On the fuselage plans, no support is
shown for the rear of the stabilizer. Be sure to
put at least a 1⁄8-inch platform under the rear
of the stabilizer. I installed a 2-56 screw in
that platform so I can adjust the stabilizer
incidence with the screw. Epoxy a small
piece of razor blade to the underside of the
trailing edge of the stabilizer where it meets
the adjustment screw so that the screw
doesn’t eat into the stabilizer. The screw is
contained in a 1⁄2-inch length of yellow
Nyrod.
My trimming problems began with a bit
of inadvertent left thrust. I knew it was there,
but I have several Pylon models that need a
bit of left thrust so I did not correct it. For all
test flights the model was launched to the
right of the wind with the wing in a slight
bank to the right.
Immediately after launch the model
would level its wing and climb straight ahead
with a slight roll to the left. Since the model
does not have auto surfaces, it has to turn to
properly transition from the power phase into
the glide. Without the turn the model will
stall and lose considerable altitude when the
engine quits.
I tried several things to establish a right
turn. I added shims to the fin and removed
washin from the right wing. The power
pattern remained the same.
Finally I removed the small amount of
inadvertent left thrust and removed some of
the right turn shim from the fin. With the
engine straight ahead except for the specified
3° of downthrust, the power pattern improved
considerably. The Maverick had a nice right
turn.
When the motor run extended beyond
three seconds, a new problem developed. As
the model gained speed in the climb, it would
suddenly level out. I had seen this with my
first Maverick, and it was caused by the
leading edge of the stabilizer lifting off of the
stabilizer platform.
I cured that problem by notching the stop
on the front of the stabilizer platform so that
the rubber bands could pull down against the
front of the stabilizer. I tried the fix on the
new Maverick, but it didn’t help.
The only other thing I could think of was
that the wing might be flexing at high speed
despite the carbon fiber on the bottom of the
diagonal ribs. I raised the covering on the
main panels, added a carbon-fiber strip to the
top of each diagonal rib, and replaced the
covering. That turned out to be the fix the
model needed. I was able to extend the motor
run and the model had a consistent right-hand
pattern with a nice transition into the glide.
Bob Hanford designed and built the neat
NRG (say the letters rapidly out loud) in the
late 1940s. He flew two versions: the stick
model shown and a Wakefield version with a
pod over the wing and a retractable landinggear
fixture.
Both versions are contest winners. The
Wakefield qualified for the 1949 Wakefield
team but was lost on its last qualifying flight.
Bob had to use a backup model at the World
Championships. These models are eligible for
the new National Free Flight Society old-time
Rubber events: Nostalgia Rubber and
Nostalgia Wakefield.
Bob was a draftsman for Chance Vought
and has produced an excellent set of plans
featuring both versions of the NRG. The
plans are full of good details, which will help
you reproduce the model and its folding oneblade
propeller.
You still have time to build one version or
both for this contest season. Each has a
distinct fuselage, but they share a common
wing and stabilizer. Send $8 to Bob Hanford,
6566 E. 21st Pl. Apt. 163, Tulsa OK 74129,
to get your plans postpaid. MA
April 2004 153
