120 MODEL AVIATION
Gene Smith, 1401 N. Husband St., Stillwater OK 74075; E-mail: [email protected]
FREE FLIGHT SPORT
TERRY RIMERT’S Three Fixed Laws of FF:
1) Watch the weight.
2) Keep it light.
3) It shouldn’t weigh much.
Down With Torque: Regal Solutions sponsored an event at last
year’s Flying Aces Club (FAC) Nats for Scale models using
Bob McClellan poses proudly with his contrarotating-propellerequipped
Boeing XF8B, which spans 24 inches.
Andrew Ricci’s Me 109 flies in formation with the Me 109 on his
T-shirt at the FAC Nats in Geneseo last summer.
Michael Heinrich’s bright-red Udet racer is approved for Dime
Scale. Plans were in September 2004 Flying Aces newsletter.
The author’s Dime Scale Supermarine Spitfire. In the text he
discusses trimming the aircraft.
contrarotating propellers. The company manufactures and sells a
contrarotating gearbox which weighs 6 grams and measures 3⁄4-inch
square by 3⁄8-inch wide. You build the propellers and spinners.
Bob McClellan built a beautiful model of the Boeing XF8B for the
event. His model has a 24-inch span and weighs 55 grams with three
loops of 1⁄8-inch Tan II that are 24 inches long. Jack McGillivray won
the event with a model of the Koolhoven F.K.55.
There are more than 30 possible subjects that used contrarotating
propellers, including the Martin-Baker MB.5 and the Northrop XP-56
Black Bullet. If you like to build unique models, check out the Regal
Solutions unit which is designed for 18- to 24-inch models and sells for
$23.50 plus shipping and handling. A larger unit for rubber is available,
as is a version for a Speed 300 electric motor.
Build a model for this year’s FAC Non-Nats or just for fun. Contact
John Regalbuto at (978) 352-4834 or E-mail [email protected].
The Death Trap Squadron FAC: Michael Heinrich and Rocky
Russo collaborated on new pseudo Dime Scale plans that were
published in the September/October 2004 issue of the Flying Aces
newsletter.
The airplane—an early version of the Bf 109—was to be flown
by Ernst Udet in the Circuit of the Alps race at Zurich, Switzerland,
in July 1937, but it was wrecked after engine trouble. You can just
make out Ernst, looking as though he had a rough night, sitting
uneasily in the cockpit.
The model came in at 17 grams, including 4 grams of propeller.
Dick Lape’s Meyers OTW claws for altitude at the 2004 FAC Nats.
Mooney-designed Peanut uses monocoque balsa fuselage.
Don Deloach launches his Pearl Grande 1400 at the Mighty
Mountain Men site, which is east of Denver, Colorado.
Michael wanted to try a three-blade
propeller for better scale effect. The original
propeller (three plywood blades, 5.5 inches,
and 7.8 inches in pitch) provided marginal
performance.
I remembered reading somewhere that,
as a guideline, a three-blade propeller should
be roughly 80% of the diameter of the twoblade
propeller you would otherwise use.
Michael cut the propeller down to just less
than 5 inches in diameter, narrowed the
blades a bit, and lowered the pitch. The
model’s performance improved
dramatically.
The Bf 109 is covered with preshrunk
tissue, borrowing from Chris Parent’s
superb work. Michael blended inks to get
something close to RLM 28 (Weinrot, or
maroon), sprayed onto red Esaki tissue hung
loose. The resultant crinkly tissue was
ironed and tacked down to carrier sheets
with restickable glue stick, and all markings
and the few panel lines were applied.
Contrasting fields such as the white areas
and the RLM 23 (Rot, or red) fin stripe were
glued in. White lettering was done with gel
pens and Wite-Out—a technique that
Michael found unsatisfactory. He advises
cutting out opaque tissue and pasting it on.
The finished panels were adhered to the
model using glue stick. The shrunk tissue
has a kind of fine matte texture to it—sort of
a soft, plush feel. It can be stretched a bit, so
you can tack it to one spot and gently pull to
stick it smoothly over the whole area. Small
glitches can be picked up and repositioned
with tweezers.
Once everything is in place, a wipe
with a hot trim iron sets it all down. If it’s
done right, you get a smooth, rounded
appearance to the airplane. The tissue was
sealed with Krylon Crystal Clear (number
1301).
Using preshrunk tissue on the flying
surfaces means that you can’t count on the
skin tension to induce warps in trimming.
Where you would normally twist a wing
by wetting it and holding it over a heat
source until it’s set, now you must twist
the wing by heating the balsa framework
and glue joints and persuading it to stay.
This technique is doable, but after doing it
this way, Michael realized that he likes
shrinking the tissue on the model better.
You’ve Got Mail: Chris Dante sent me a
nice note about his experiences with the
Guillow’s 905 series. These models are
just the right size to fly in the limited area
of his dead-end street.
He also enclosed Aerographics plans of
the 16-inch-span Speck which he obtained
from Peck-Polymers. The plans show sheet
tail feathers, but Chris built them up from
1⁄16 square stock. He flies his model almost
every day and notes that it’s a “sweet”
flier. He thinks the Speck would fly great
with a small electric motor, and he is right.
Check with Peck-Polymers for the
plans, and build your own version.
Right on the Nose: Joe Wagner uses the
small rare earth magnets that RadioShack
sells (item 64-1895) to retain nose blocks.
He says they will even work when separated
by a couple layers of card-stock shim.
Modelers have also used these magnets
to hold the wings on small rubber-powered
models; I use them on my MiG-9. Each
wing has a length of 3⁄32-inch aluminum
tubing at the wing spars (two pairs of spars
per wing) that slides onto 1⁄16-inch aluminum
tubing in the fuselage wing-mount area. One
magnet is in the root rib of the wing, and the
other is in the fuselage.
Trimming the Dime Scale Spitfire: I should
have moved the motor peg forward in mine,
thought about it, but didn’t. I will really pay
a weight penalty in ballast if I try to add
more rubber. My Spitfire weighed 10 grams
“dry.” A 13-inch loop of 1⁄8 added three
grams and required an additional 3 grams of
lead in the nose to balance on the spar.
Both wings have washout, nearly equal,
that is right maybe a bit more than left. The
right wing has a trace of positive near the
root compared to the left wing. This is a
good thing for me because I like to fly rightright.
Everything else is currently straight
except for 3° of right thrust and downthrust.
The initial test glide resulted in a dive. (I
like to put in roughly 150 turns, let the
propeller go, and launch as the propeller
starts to slow.) I repeated the experiment
with the same result. Einstein defined stupidity as repeating an experiment and
expecting different results; at least I didn’t
try it a third time!
I took the model inside and checked the
decalage—something I should have done
before I flew the model. The stabilizer and
wing were at the same angle. I opened up
the rear of the stabilizer slot a bit and was
able to raise the stabilizer 1⁄20 inch at the
stabilizer spar. I tack-glue the stabilizer at
the front and rear in case I have to make an
adjustment.
In the back yard again, I let it go with
150 turns, and it had a gentle climb with a
slight right turn and a mild stalling
tendency. A bit more (.4 gram) nose weight
took care of the stall.
Get the Lead Out: When putting stringers
on a half-shell fuselage, it is considered
good technique to anchor the stringer at the
front of the fuselage, place it in position
along the formers, and mark each former
where the stringer notch should be. If you
cut the notches before assembling the
fuselage, the stringer may “snake” down the
fuselage instead of taking a more or less
straight course. The problem is how to
make that mark.
A regular lead pencil needs a certain
amount of pressure to make a mark on each
side of the stringer. You might break the
former. A Sharpie pen doesn’t need much
pressure but leaves a blob of ink that may
show through the covering. Drafting pencils
come in “H” for hard and “B” for, er uh,
soft. Go to an art store or drafting-supply
shop and purchase a 6B pencil—the softest.
It will leave a nice mark on the former with
little pressure.
I Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Notches: If you
would rather not notch formers, decrease
the size of the former by the width of the
stringer and just glue the stringer flush to
the former. With this technique, you only
need notches on the front former of the
fuselage.
Mother of All Flying Sites: In August I
attended a contest at the Mighty Mountain
Men’s flying field in Denver, Colorado.
The site is approximately 5 x 7 miles in
size. That provides plenty of elbowroom.
The launch area is on a hilltop. On a clear
day, you can see downtown Denver to the
west and Pikes Peak to the southwest.
I had been told that it would be
necessary to retrim my models for the
altitude, but they seemed to fly fine with
little or no tweaking. The needle-valve
settings needed no more change than they
might take with a weather change at
home.
The field does have a few ravines, but
they don’t often come into play. Picking air
is roughly the same as at any other site. I
had a great time and enjoyed the Mighty
Mountain Men’s hospitality. If you have an
opportunity to attend one of their contests,
give it a go.
Many years ago, in a universe far, far
away, there was a publication called Model
Builder Magazine. A Jedi Knight named
Bill Warner had a series of articles
published titled “Hey, Kid! Ya Wanna
Build a Model Airplane?” The content is
great for beginners, and even the
experienced modeler can find useful
information there.
Model Builder Magazine has since
passed to the dark side, but the articles still
exist in cyberspace. You can find them at
http://216.89.218.128/heykid.asp. The files
are large and require Adobe Acrobat to
read, but they are worth the effort to print
out if you don’t have them. MA
Edition: Model Aviation - 2005/03
Page Numbers: 120,122,124,128
Edition: Model Aviation - 2005/03
Page Numbers: 120,122,124,128
120 MODEL AVIATION
Gene Smith, 1401 N. Husband St., Stillwater OK 74075; E-mail: [email protected]
FREE FLIGHT SPORT
TERRY RIMERT’S Three Fixed Laws of FF:
1) Watch the weight.
2) Keep it light.
3) It shouldn’t weigh much.
Down With Torque: Regal Solutions sponsored an event at last
year’s Flying Aces Club (FAC) Nats for Scale models using
Bob McClellan poses proudly with his contrarotating-propellerequipped
Boeing XF8B, which spans 24 inches.
Andrew Ricci’s Me 109 flies in formation with the Me 109 on his
T-shirt at the FAC Nats in Geneseo last summer.
Michael Heinrich’s bright-red Udet racer is approved for Dime
Scale. Plans were in September 2004 Flying Aces newsletter.
The author’s Dime Scale Supermarine Spitfire. In the text he
discusses trimming the aircraft.
contrarotating propellers. The company manufactures and sells a
contrarotating gearbox which weighs 6 grams and measures 3⁄4-inch
square by 3⁄8-inch wide. You build the propellers and spinners.
Bob McClellan built a beautiful model of the Boeing XF8B for the
event. His model has a 24-inch span and weighs 55 grams with three
loops of 1⁄8-inch Tan II that are 24 inches long. Jack McGillivray won
the event with a model of the Koolhoven F.K.55.
There are more than 30 possible subjects that used contrarotating
propellers, including the Martin-Baker MB.5 and the Northrop XP-56
Black Bullet. If you like to build unique models, check out the Regal
Solutions unit which is designed for 18- to 24-inch models and sells for
$23.50 plus shipping and handling. A larger unit for rubber is available,
as is a version for a Speed 300 electric motor.
Build a model for this year’s FAC Non-Nats or just for fun. Contact
John Regalbuto at (978) 352-4834 or E-mail [email protected].
The Death Trap Squadron FAC: Michael Heinrich and Rocky
Russo collaborated on new pseudo Dime Scale plans that were
published in the September/October 2004 issue of the Flying Aces
newsletter.
The airplane—an early version of the Bf 109—was to be flown
by Ernst Udet in the Circuit of the Alps race at Zurich, Switzerland,
in July 1937, but it was wrecked after engine trouble. You can just
make out Ernst, looking as though he had a rough night, sitting
uneasily in the cockpit.
The model came in at 17 grams, including 4 grams of propeller.
Dick Lape’s Meyers OTW claws for altitude at the 2004 FAC Nats.
Mooney-designed Peanut uses monocoque balsa fuselage.
Don Deloach launches his Pearl Grande 1400 at the Mighty
Mountain Men site, which is east of Denver, Colorado.
Michael wanted to try a three-blade
propeller for better scale effect. The original
propeller (three plywood blades, 5.5 inches,
and 7.8 inches in pitch) provided marginal
performance.
I remembered reading somewhere that,
as a guideline, a three-blade propeller should
be roughly 80% of the diameter of the twoblade
propeller you would otherwise use.
Michael cut the propeller down to just less
than 5 inches in diameter, narrowed the
blades a bit, and lowered the pitch. The
model’s performance improved
dramatically.
The Bf 109 is covered with preshrunk
tissue, borrowing from Chris Parent’s
superb work. Michael blended inks to get
something close to RLM 28 (Weinrot, or
maroon), sprayed onto red Esaki tissue hung
loose. The resultant crinkly tissue was
ironed and tacked down to carrier sheets
with restickable glue stick, and all markings
and the few panel lines were applied.
Contrasting fields such as the white areas
and the RLM 23 (Rot, or red) fin stripe were
glued in. White lettering was done with gel
pens and Wite-Out—a technique that
Michael found unsatisfactory. He advises
cutting out opaque tissue and pasting it on.
The finished panels were adhered to the
model using glue stick. The shrunk tissue
has a kind of fine matte texture to it—sort of
a soft, plush feel. It can be stretched a bit, so
you can tack it to one spot and gently pull to
stick it smoothly over the whole area. Small
glitches can be picked up and repositioned
with tweezers.
Once everything is in place, a wipe
with a hot trim iron sets it all down. If it’s
done right, you get a smooth, rounded
appearance to the airplane. The tissue was
sealed with Krylon Crystal Clear (number
1301).
Using preshrunk tissue on the flying
surfaces means that you can’t count on the
skin tension to induce warps in trimming.
Where you would normally twist a wing
by wetting it and holding it over a heat
source until it’s set, now you must twist
the wing by heating the balsa framework
and glue joints and persuading it to stay.
This technique is doable, but after doing it
this way, Michael realized that he likes
shrinking the tissue on the model better.
You’ve Got Mail: Chris Dante sent me a
nice note about his experiences with the
Guillow’s 905 series. These models are
just the right size to fly in the limited area
of his dead-end street.
He also enclosed Aerographics plans of
the 16-inch-span Speck which he obtained
from Peck-Polymers. The plans show sheet
tail feathers, but Chris built them up from
1⁄16 square stock. He flies his model almost
every day and notes that it’s a “sweet”
flier. He thinks the Speck would fly great
with a small electric motor, and he is right.
Check with Peck-Polymers for the
plans, and build your own version.
Right on the Nose: Joe Wagner uses the
small rare earth magnets that RadioShack
sells (item 64-1895) to retain nose blocks.
He says they will even work when separated
by a couple layers of card-stock shim.
Modelers have also used these magnets
to hold the wings on small rubber-powered
models; I use them on my MiG-9. Each
wing has a length of 3⁄32-inch aluminum
tubing at the wing spars (two pairs of spars
per wing) that slides onto 1⁄16-inch aluminum
tubing in the fuselage wing-mount area. One
magnet is in the root rib of the wing, and the
other is in the fuselage.
Trimming the Dime Scale Spitfire: I should
have moved the motor peg forward in mine,
thought about it, but didn’t. I will really pay
a weight penalty in ballast if I try to add
more rubber. My Spitfire weighed 10 grams
“dry.” A 13-inch loop of 1⁄8 added three
grams and required an additional 3 grams of
lead in the nose to balance on the spar.
Both wings have washout, nearly equal,
that is right maybe a bit more than left. The
right wing has a trace of positive near the
root compared to the left wing. This is a
good thing for me because I like to fly rightright.
Everything else is currently straight
except for 3° of right thrust and downthrust.
The initial test glide resulted in a dive. (I
like to put in roughly 150 turns, let the
propeller go, and launch as the propeller
starts to slow.) I repeated the experiment
with the same result. Einstein defined stupidity as repeating an experiment and
expecting different results; at least I didn’t
try it a third time!
I took the model inside and checked the
decalage—something I should have done
before I flew the model. The stabilizer and
wing were at the same angle. I opened up
the rear of the stabilizer slot a bit and was
able to raise the stabilizer 1⁄20 inch at the
stabilizer spar. I tack-glue the stabilizer at
the front and rear in case I have to make an
adjustment.
In the back yard again, I let it go with
150 turns, and it had a gentle climb with a
slight right turn and a mild stalling
tendency. A bit more (.4 gram) nose weight
took care of the stall.
Get the Lead Out: When putting stringers
on a half-shell fuselage, it is considered
good technique to anchor the stringer at the
front of the fuselage, place it in position
along the formers, and mark each former
where the stringer notch should be. If you
cut the notches before assembling the
fuselage, the stringer may “snake” down the
fuselage instead of taking a more or less
straight course. The problem is how to
make that mark.
A regular lead pencil needs a certain
amount of pressure to make a mark on each
side of the stringer. You might break the
former. A Sharpie pen doesn’t need much
pressure but leaves a blob of ink that may
show through the covering. Drafting pencils
come in “H” for hard and “B” for, er uh,
soft. Go to an art store or drafting-supply
shop and purchase a 6B pencil—the softest.
It will leave a nice mark on the former with
little pressure.
I Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Notches: If you
would rather not notch formers, decrease
the size of the former by the width of the
stringer and just glue the stringer flush to
the former. With this technique, you only
need notches on the front former of the
fuselage.
Mother of All Flying Sites: In August I
attended a contest at the Mighty Mountain
Men’s flying field in Denver, Colorado.
The site is approximately 5 x 7 miles in
size. That provides plenty of elbowroom.
The launch area is on a hilltop. On a clear
day, you can see downtown Denver to the
west and Pikes Peak to the southwest.
I had been told that it would be
necessary to retrim my models for the
altitude, but they seemed to fly fine with
little or no tweaking. The needle-valve
settings needed no more change than they
might take with a weather change at
home.
The field does have a few ravines, but
they don’t often come into play. Picking air
is roughly the same as at any other site. I
had a great time and enjoyed the Mighty
Mountain Men’s hospitality. If you have an
opportunity to attend one of their contests,
give it a go.
Many years ago, in a universe far, far
away, there was a publication called Model
Builder Magazine. A Jedi Knight named
Bill Warner had a series of articles
published titled “Hey, Kid! Ya Wanna
Build a Model Airplane?” The content is
great for beginners, and even the
experienced modeler can find useful
information there.
Model Builder Magazine has since
passed to the dark side, but the articles still
exist in cyberspace. You can find them at
http://216.89.218.128/heykid.asp. The files
are large and require Adobe Acrobat to
read, but they are worth the effort to print
out if you don’t have them. MA
Edition: Model Aviation - 2005/03
Page Numbers: 120,122,124,128
120 MODEL AVIATION
Gene Smith, 1401 N. Husband St., Stillwater OK 74075; E-mail: [email protected]
FREE FLIGHT SPORT
TERRY RIMERT’S Three Fixed Laws of FF:
1) Watch the weight.
2) Keep it light.
3) It shouldn’t weigh much.
Down With Torque: Regal Solutions sponsored an event at last
year’s Flying Aces Club (FAC) Nats for Scale models using
Bob McClellan poses proudly with his contrarotating-propellerequipped
Boeing XF8B, which spans 24 inches.
Andrew Ricci’s Me 109 flies in formation with the Me 109 on his
T-shirt at the FAC Nats in Geneseo last summer.
Michael Heinrich’s bright-red Udet racer is approved for Dime
Scale. Plans were in September 2004 Flying Aces newsletter.
The author’s Dime Scale Supermarine Spitfire. In the text he
discusses trimming the aircraft.
contrarotating propellers. The company manufactures and sells a
contrarotating gearbox which weighs 6 grams and measures 3⁄4-inch
square by 3⁄8-inch wide. You build the propellers and spinners.
Bob McClellan built a beautiful model of the Boeing XF8B for the
event. His model has a 24-inch span and weighs 55 grams with three
loops of 1⁄8-inch Tan II that are 24 inches long. Jack McGillivray won
the event with a model of the Koolhoven F.K.55.
There are more than 30 possible subjects that used contrarotating
propellers, including the Martin-Baker MB.5 and the Northrop XP-56
Black Bullet. If you like to build unique models, check out the Regal
Solutions unit which is designed for 18- to 24-inch models and sells for
$23.50 plus shipping and handling. A larger unit for rubber is available,
as is a version for a Speed 300 electric motor.
Build a model for this year’s FAC Non-Nats or just for fun. Contact
John Regalbuto at (978) 352-4834 or E-mail [email protected].
The Death Trap Squadron FAC: Michael Heinrich and Rocky
Russo collaborated on new pseudo Dime Scale plans that were
published in the September/October 2004 issue of the Flying Aces
newsletter.
The airplane—an early version of the Bf 109—was to be flown
by Ernst Udet in the Circuit of the Alps race at Zurich, Switzerland,
in July 1937, but it was wrecked after engine trouble. You can just
make out Ernst, looking as though he had a rough night, sitting
uneasily in the cockpit.
The model came in at 17 grams, including 4 grams of propeller.
Dick Lape’s Meyers OTW claws for altitude at the 2004 FAC Nats.
Mooney-designed Peanut uses monocoque balsa fuselage.
Don Deloach launches his Pearl Grande 1400 at the Mighty
Mountain Men site, which is east of Denver, Colorado.
Michael wanted to try a three-blade
propeller for better scale effect. The original
propeller (three plywood blades, 5.5 inches,
and 7.8 inches in pitch) provided marginal
performance.
I remembered reading somewhere that,
as a guideline, a three-blade propeller should
be roughly 80% of the diameter of the twoblade
propeller you would otherwise use.
Michael cut the propeller down to just less
than 5 inches in diameter, narrowed the
blades a bit, and lowered the pitch. The
model’s performance improved
dramatically.
The Bf 109 is covered with preshrunk
tissue, borrowing from Chris Parent’s
superb work. Michael blended inks to get
something close to RLM 28 (Weinrot, or
maroon), sprayed onto red Esaki tissue hung
loose. The resultant crinkly tissue was
ironed and tacked down to carrier sheets
with restickable glue stick, and all markings
and the few panel lines were applied.
Contrasting fields such as the white areas
and the RLM 23 (Rot, or red) fin stripe were
glued in. White lettering was done with gel
pens and Wite-Out—a technique that
Michael found unsatisfactory. He advises
cutting out opaque tissue and pasting it on.
The finished panels were adhered to the
model using glue stick. The shrunk tissue
has a kind of fine matte texture to it—sort of
a soft, plush feel. It can be stretched a bit, so
you can tack it to one spot and gently pull to
stick it smoothly over the whole area. Small
glitches can be picked up and repositioned
with tweezers.
Once everything is in place, a wipe
with a hot trim iron sets it all down. If it’s
done right, you get a smooth, rounded
appearance to the airplane. The tissue was
sealed with Krylon Crystal Clear (number
1301).
Using preshrunk tissue on the flying
surfaces means that you can’t count on the
skin tension to induce warps in trimming.
Where you would normally twist a wing
by wetting it and holding it over a heat
source until it’s set, now you must twist
the wing by heating the balsa framework
and glue joints and persuading it to stay.
This technique is doable, but after doing it
this way, Michael realized that he likes
shrinking the tissue on the model better.
You’ve Got Mail: Chris Dante sent me a
nice note about his experiences with the
Guillow’s 905 series. These models are
just the right size to fly in the limited area
of his dead-end street.
He also enclosed Aerographics plans of
the 16-inch-span Speck which he obtained
from Peck-Polymers. The plans show sheet
tail feathers, but Chris built them up from
1⁄16 square stock. He flies his model almost
every day and notes that it’s a “sweet”
flier. He thinks the Speck would fly great
with a small electric motor, and he is right.
Check with Peck-Polymers for the
plans, and build your own version.
Right on the Nose: Joe Wagner uses the
small rare earth magnets that RadioShack
sells (item 64-1895) to retain nose blocks.
He says they will even work when separated
by a couple layers of card-stock shim.
Modelers have also used these magnets
to hold the wings on small rubber-powered
models; I use them on my MiG-9. Each
wing has a length of 3⁄32-inch aluminum
tubing at the wing spars (two pairs of spars
per wing) that slides onto 1⁄16-inch aluminum
tubing in the fuselage wing-mount area. One
magnet is in the root rib of the wing, and the
other is in the fuselage.
Trimming the Dime Scale Spitfire: I should
have moved the motor peg forward in mine,
thought about it, but didn’t. I will really pay
a weight penalty in ballast if I try to add
more rubber. My Spitfire weighed 10 grams
“dry.” A 13-inch loop of 1⁄8 added three
grams and required an additional 3 grams of
lead in the nose to balance on the spar.
Both wings have washout, nearly equal,
that is right maybe a bit more than left. The
right wing has a trace of positive near the
root compared to the left wing. This is a
good thing for me because I like to fly rightright.
Everything else is currently straight
except for 3° of right thrust and downthrust.
The initial test glide resulted in a dive. (I
like to put in roughly 150 turns, let the
propeller go, and launch as the propeller
starts to slow.) I repeated the experiment
with the same result. Einstein defined stupidity as repeating an experiment and
expecting different results; at least I didn’t
try it a third time!
I took the model inside and checked the
decalage—something I should have done
before I flew the model. The stabilizer and
wing were at the same angle. I opened up
the rear of the stabilizer slot a bit and was
able to raise the stabilizer 1⁄20 inch at the
stabilizer spar. I tack-glue the stabilizer at
the front and rear in case I have to make an
adjustment.
In the back yard again, I let it go with
150 turns, and it had a gentle climb with a
slight right turn and a mild stalling
tendency. A bit more (.4 gram) nose weight
took care of the stall.
Get the Lead Out: When putting stringers
on a half-shell fuselage, it is considered
good technique to anchor the stringer at the
front of the fuselage, place it in position
along the formers, and mark each former
where the stringer notch should be. If you
cut the notches before assembling the
fuselage, the stringer may “snake” down the
fuselage instead of taking a more or less
straight course. The problem is how to
make that mark.
A regular lead pencil needs a certain
amount of pressure to make a mark on each
side of the stringer. You might break the
former. A Sharpie pen doesn’t need much
pressure but leaves a blob of ink that may
show through the covering. Drafting pencils
come in “H” for hard and “B” for, er uh,
soft. Go to an art store or drafting-supply
shop and purchase a 6B pencil—the softest.
It will leave a nice mark on the former with
little pressure.
I Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Notches: If you
would rather not notch formers, decrease
the size of the former by the width of the
stringer and just glue the stringer flush to
the former. With this technique, you only
need notches on the front former of the
fuselage.
Mother of All Flying Sites: In August I
attended a contest at the Mighty Mountain
Men’s flying field in Denver, Colorado.
The site is approximately 5 x 7 miles in
size. That provides plenty of elbowroom.
The launch area is on a hilltop. On a clear
day, you can see downtown Denver to the
west and Pikes Peak to the southwest.
I had been told that it would be
necessary to retrim my models for the
altitude, but they seemed to fly fine with
little or no tweaking. The needle-valve
settings needed no more change than they
might take with a weather change at
home.
The field does have a few ravines, but
they don’t often come into play. Picking air
is roughly the same as at any other site. I
had a great time and enjoyed the Mighty
Mountain Men’s hospitality. If you have an
opportunity to attend one of their contests,
give it a go.
Many years ago, in a universe far, far
away, there was a publication called Model
Builder Magazine. A Jedi Knight named
Bill Warner had a series of articles
published titled “Hey, Kid! Ya Wanna
Build a Model Airplane?” The content is
great for beginners, and even the
experienced modeler can find useful
information there.
Model Builder Magazine has since
passed to the dark side, but the articles still
exist in cyberspace. You can find them at
http://216.89.218.128/heykid.asp. The files
are large and require Adobe Acrobat to
read, but they are worth the effort to print
out if you don’t have them. MA
Edition: Model Aviation - 2005/03
Page Numbers: 120,122,124,128
120 MODEL AVIATION
Gene Smith, 1401 N. Husband St., Stillwater OK 74075; E-mail: [email protected]
FREE FLIGHT SPORT
TERRY RIMERT’S Three Fixed Laws of FF:
1) Watch the weight.
2) Keep it light.
3) It shouldn’t weigh much.
Down With Torque: Regal Solutions sponsored an event at last
year’s Flying Aces Club (FAC) Nats for Scale models using
Bob McClellan poses proudly with his contrarotating-propellerequipped
Boeing XF8B, which spans 24 inches.
Andrew Ricci’s Me 109 flies in formation with the Me 109 on his
T-shirt at the FAC Nats in Geneseo last summer.
Michael Heinrich’s bright-red Udet racer is approved for Dime
Scale. Plans were in September 2004 Flying Aces newsletter.
The author’s Dime Scale Supermarine Spitfire. In the text he
discusses trimming the aircraft.
contrarotating propellers. The company manufactures and sells a
contrarotating gearbox which weighs 6 grams and measures 3⁄4-inch
square by 3⁄8-inch wide. You build the propellers and spinners.
Bob McClellan built a beautiful model of the Boeing XF8B for the
event. His model has a 24-inch span and weighs 55 grams with three
loops of 1⁄8-inch Tan II that are 24 inches long. Jack McGillivray won
the event with a model of the Koolhoven F.K.55.
There are more than 30 possible subjects that used contrarotating
propellers, including the Martin-Baker MB.5 and the Northrop XP-56
Black Bullet. If you like to build unique models, check out the Regal
Solutions unit which is designed for 18- to 24-inch models and sells for
$23.50 plus shipping and handling. A larger unit for rubber is available,
as is a version for a Speed 300 electric motor.
Build a model for this year’s FAC Non-Nats or just for fun. Contact
John Regalbuto at (978) 352-4834 or E-mail [email protected].
The Death Trap Squadron FAC: Michael Heinrich and Rocky
Russo collaborated on new pseudo Dime Scale plans that were
published in the September/October 2004 issue of the Flying Aces
newsletter.
The airplane—an early version of the Bf 109—was to be flown
by Ernst Udet in the Circuit of the Alps race at Zurich, Switzerland,
in July 1937, but it was wrecked after engine trouble. You can just
make out Ernst, looking as though he had a rough night, sitting
uneasily in the cockpit.
The model came in at 17 grams, including 4 grams of propeller.
Dick Lape’s Meyers OTW claws for altitude at the 2004 FAC Nats.
Mooney-designed Peanut uses monocoque balsa fuselage.
Don Deloach launches his Pearl Grande 1400 at the Mighty
Mountain Men site, which is east of Denver, Colorado.
Michael wanted to try a three-blade
propeller for better scale effect. The original
propeller (three plywood blades, 5.5 inches,
and 7.8 inches in pitch) provided marginal
performance.
I remembered reading somewhere that,
as a guideline, a three-blade propeller should
be roughly 80% of the diameter of the twoblade
propeller you would otherwise use.
Michael cut the propeller down to just less
than 5 inches in diameter, narrowed the
blades a bit, and lowered the pitch. The
model’s performance improved
dramatically.
The Bf 109 is covered with preshrunk
tissue, borrowing from Chris Parent’s
superb work. Michael blended inks to get
something close to RLM 28 (Weinrot, or
maroon), sprayed onto red Esaki tissue hung
loose. The resultant crinkly tissue was
ironed and tacked down to carrier sheets
with restickable glue stick, and all markings
and the few panel lines were applied.
Contrasting fields such as the white areas
and the RLM 23 (Rot, or red) fin stripe were
glued in. White lettering was done with gel
pens and Wite-Out—a technique that
Michael found unsatisfactory. He advises
cutting out opaque tissue and pasting it on.
The finished panels were adhered to the
model using glue stick. The shrunk tissue
has a kind of fine matte texture to it—sort of
a soft, plush feel. It can be stretched a bit, so
you can tack it to one spot and gently pull to
stick it smoothly over the whole area. Small
glitches can be picked up and repositioned
with tweezers.
Once everything is in place, a wipe
with a hot trim iron sets it all down. If it’s
done right, you get a smooth, rounded
appearance to the airplane. The tissue was
sealed with Krylon Crystal Clear (number
1301).
Using preshrunk tissue on the flying
surfaces means that you can’t count on the
skin tension to induce warps in trimming.
Where you would normally twist a wing
by wetting it and holding it over a heat
source until it’s set, now you must twist
the wing by heating the balsa framework
and glue joints and persuading it to stay.
This technique is doable, but after doing it
this way, Michael realized that he likes
shrinking the tissue on the model better.
You’ve Got Mail: Chris Dante sent me a
nice note about his experiences with the
Guillow’s 905 series. These models are
just the right size to fly in the limited area
of his dead-end street.
He also enclosed Aerographics plans of
the 16-inch-span Speck which he obtained
from Peck-Polymers. The plans show sheet
tail feathers, but Chris built them up from
1⁄16 square stock. He flies his model almost
every day and notes that it’s a “sweet”
flier. He thinks the Speck would fly great
with a small electric motor, and he is right.
Check with Peck-Polymers for the
plans, and build your own version.
Right on the Nose: Joe Wagner uses the
small rare earth magnets that RadioShack
sells (item 64-1895) to retain nose blocks.
He says they will even work when separated
by a couple layers of card-stock shim.
Modelers have also used these magnets
to hold the wings on small rubber-powered
models; I use them on my MiG-9. Each
wing has a length of 3⁄32-inch aluminum
tubing at the wing spars (two pairs of spars
per wing) that slides onto 1⁄16-inch aluminum
tubing in the fuselage wing-mount area. One
magnet is in the root rib of the wing, and the
other is in the fuselage.
Trimming the Dime Scale Spitfire: I should
have moved the motor peg forward in mine,
thought about it, but didn’t. I will really pay
a weight penalty in ballast if I try to add
more rubber. My Spitfire weighed 10 grams
“dry.” A 13-inch loop of 1⁄8 added three
grams and required an additional 3 grams of
lead in the nose to balance on the spar.
Both wings have washout, nearly equal,
that is right maybe a bit more than left. The
right wing has a trace of positive near the
root compared to the left wing. This is a
good thing for me because I like to fly rightright.
Everything else is currently straight
except for 3° of right thrust and downthrust.
The initial test glide resulted in a dive. (I
like to put in roughly 150 turns, let the
propeller go, and launch as the propeller
starts to slow.) I repeated the experiment
with the same result. Einstein defined stupidity as repeating an experiment and
expecting different results; at least I didn’t
try it a third time!
I took the model inside and checked the
decalage—something I should have done
before I flew the model. The stabilizer and
wing were at the same angle. I opened up
the rear of the stabilizer slot a bit and was
able to raise the stabilizer 1⁄20 inch at the
stabilizer spar. I tack-glue the stabilizer at
the front and rear in case I have to make an
adjustment.
In the back yard again, I let it go with
150 turns, and it had a gentle climb with a
slight right turn and a mild stalling
tendency. A bit more (.4 gram) nose weight
took care of the stall.
Get the Lead Out: When putting stringers
on a half-shell fuselage, it is considered
good technique to anchor the stringer at the
front of the fuselage, place it in position
along the formers, and mark each former
where the stringer notch should be. If you
cut the notches before assembling the
fuselage, the stringer may “snake” down the
fuselage instead of taking a more or less
straight course. The problem is how to
make that mark.
A regular lead pencil needs a certain
amount of pressure to make a mark on each
side of the stringer. You might break the
former. A Sharpie pen doesn’t need much
pressure but leaves a blob of ink that may
show through the covering. Drafting pencils
come in “H” for hard and “B” for, er uh,
soft. Go to an art store or drafting-supply
shop and purchase a 6B pencil—the softest.
It will leave a nice mark on the former with
little pressure.
I Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Notches: If you
would rather not notch formers, decrease
the size of the former by the width of the
stringer and just glue the stringer flush to
the former. With this technique, you only
need notches on the front former of the
fuselage.
Mother of All Flying Sites: In August I
attended a contest at the Mighty Mountain
Men’s flying field in Denver, Colorado.
The site is approximately 5 x 7 miles in
size. That provides plenty of elbowroom.
The launch area is on a hilltop. On a clear
day, you can see downtown Denver to the
west and Pikes Peak to the southwest.
I had been told that it would be
necessary to retrim my models for the
altitude, but they seemed to fly fine with
little or no tweaking. The needle-valve
settings needed no more change than they
might take with a weather change at
home.
The field does have a few ravines, but
they don’t often come into play. Picking air
is roughly the same as at any other site. I
had a great time and enjoyed the Mighty
Mountain Men’s hospitality. If you have an
opportunity to attend one of their contests,
give it a go.
Many years ago, in a universe far, far
away, there was a publication called Model
Builder Magazine. A Jedi Knight named
Bill Warner had a series of articles
published titled “Hey, Kid! Ya Wanna
Build a Model Airplane?” The content is
great for beginners, and even the
experienced modeler can find useful
information there.
Model Builder Magazine has since
passed to the dark side, but the articles still
exist in cyberspace. You can find them at
http://216.89.218.128/heykid.asp. The files
are large and require Adobe Acrobat to
read, but they are worth the effort to print
out if you don’t have them. MA