egaDs! Here we are, starting another new year. What happened to
2000? I don’t know about you, but last year was nothing more than
a blur for me.
Even though you will be reading this knee-deep in 2001, I wish
you all a very happy new year. I hope 2001 brings you the time you
need to build all those models that have been waiting in the “wings.”
i received an E-mail from Dave Smith, the top stalwart of the FAC
(Flying Aces Club) Cactus Squadron, regarding what he has done
to bring new members into the club.
It is clever enough that other clubs might consider a similar
approach. It is a good way to bring Juniors into our declining hobby.
Dave designed a flyer about their model club, which points out
the joy and challenge of building and flying Rubber Scale models.
The handbill also points out that a free copy of the club’s newsletter
is available, and it offers help on trimming and flying a new model.
Dave distributes these flyers at hobby shops, and the best part is
that he gets permission from the shop owners to fold and rubberband
flyers onto rubber-powered model kits.
I think this is a terrific idea, and one that will bring
modelers, young and old, into the fold. Dave is fortunate to
have several hobby shops in his proximity to help pursue his
idea. I hope you do too!
You might be wondering why only rubber-powered models
are given this treatment. The Cactus Squadron flies on
American Indian-owned land, and the Indians are not
receptive, in general, to having their land used for power
models other than Electric and CO2.
one area in Scale modeling that is too often neglected is the
wheels. It seems that to many they are just something to hang on
after everything else has been completed.
I realize it is impossible for us to go to a model shop and
ask for wheels for the specific model we are building, let alone
for a given size.
I have some ideas that will make your model look a bit more
realistic by taking more care with the wheels.
The Radio Control (RC) fraternity (not RC Scale) has no regard
Fernando Ramos, 19361 Mesa Dr., Villa Park CA 92861; E-mail: [email protected]
FREE FLIGHT SPORT and SCALE
The author claims that the Roper Whitney punch is one of the
best hand tools he owns. (Missing die in set is in the tool.)
A Trexler wheel showing washer/cotter-pin attachment.
This is the same type of attachment as the Trexler’s, but it makes
a neat, sanitary way to attach vintage wheels.
Du-Bro wheel with vacuum-formed disk, as mentioned in column.
122 M ODEL AVIATION
for wheels and their attachment. There is nothing less appealing
than using a wheel collar for attaching a wheel to an axle. It is
quick and simple, but awful in appearance.
Soldering can look okay if done properly, but it is too much
work for many, and (surprisingly) many don’t know how to solder.
The following is a method I use for Scale and Old-Time Free
Flight (FF) models.
I use Trexler wheels for most of my Old-Time models. I like the
way they look on that kind of airplane, and the Trexlers absorb a
great deal of the inertia from the near-free-fall when one of these
“oldies” dethermalizes.
Because these tires are made from rubber, they won’t last as
long as we would like if they are not treated with some type of
protection. To replace them if they are not treated is simplicity
itself.
After the landing gear has been bent, I place the wheel on the
piano-wire axle and mark the axle even with the hub of the wheel.
With a cutoff wheel on my Dremel®, I cut the wire a bit less
than the mark I made. I file the end of the wire, to allow a piece of
brass to slip easily over the wire.
Slide the wheel over the now-brass axle. Slide a washer
onto the brass axle and make a mark just beyond the washer;
drill a 1⁄32-inch-diameter hole on this mark. Install a cotter pin
to lock the wheel on.
Some may ask where cotter pins this small can be obtained.
Just make them.
I have several spools of soft wire I use for wrapping wire before
soldering. Using a pair of small round-nose pliers, or even a piece
of piano wire, just wind the wire around the wire to get the loop
characteristic of cotter pins.
Cut the ends equal and push the wire through the hole in the
brass axle, bend the ends back, and trim. That’s all there is to it.
I use that method on my Scale models—particularly the World
War I or Golden Age aircraft that have the large, narrow wheel.
After all, full-scale aircraft use a similar approach.
I use medium cyanoacrylate glue (CyA) to attach the brass
tubing onto the piano wire.
From a practical standpoint, the smallest-diameter piano wire I
recommend for this method of wheel attachment is 1⁄16. This is the
size I use most for my Power Scale gas models.
Since many Rubber Scale models use 1⁄32-inch-diameter wire for
the gear, I solder a small washer onto the axle. An alternative is to
use a very small piece of wire insulation; this makes a simple, neat
installation. A carefully applied drop of CyA will lock it in place.
I recommend putting a drop or two of oil on the axle, so
there is no possibility that the CyA will permanently bond the
wheel to the axle!
Most commercial wheels do not have a hub that resembles any
of the modern civilian aircraft. Wheels we can buy for our size of
models are usually tail wheels. They have spokelike hubs to keep
weight down, but they don’t look very good on a Scale model.
My approach is to carefully drill one side of the hub slightly, to
accommodate a flush soldered washer. I made a concave disk from
balsa that I used to vacuum-form a “hubcap” that is trimmed and
glued onto the wheel hub. It dresses the wheel nicely.
On the backside of the wheel hub, I cut a flat disk from plastic
and glue it onto the hub.
One of the more important tools I have is a Roper Whitney
punch. As the name implies, it is used to punch holes in thin metals,
plastics, etc. However, I also use it to make washers as small as 1⁄16
inch in diameter with a center hole as small as .080 inch.
On Old-Time Rubber models, my favorite size of washer is 1⁄8-
inch-diameter with a 1⁄16-inch hole used to solder on a wheel. The
technique is simple.
I drill several 1⁄16-inch holes in a brass sheet. With the 1⁄8-inch
die inserted into the punch (each die has a small protrusion on its
surface), the protrusion is aligned with the drilled hole in the brass
and the punch handle is squeezed.
The washer comes out cupped, but can easily be flattened with
needle-nose pliers.
I make washers to use on all kinds of models, for as many
reasons as you can conjure. You can’t beat this punch if you need
a series of holes; after all, that is the purpose for which it was
really designed.
The punch has an adjustable stop, so a series of holes can be
made equidistant from an edge. Changing from one size of die to
another takes just a few seconds.
I bought my punch from Aircraft Spruce when I built my
biplane more than 22 years ago. If you are interested, the part
number is 12-01600 and the cost is $59.95 from Aircraft Spruce,
225 Airport Cir., Corona CA 92880. The toll-free telephone
May 2001 123
Derek Knight’s magnificent Bristol M.1C has three KP-00 motors
geared together. The motors’ torque controls rudder and pitch.
Steve Glass’s all-foam Gloster Javelin with electric ducted fan.
Steve is probably number one in ducted-fan FFs.
number is (877) 477-7823. Don’t forget
to request a catalog.
i thought I had found each mistake often
made on the plans from which we work. I
found one more, which has never cropped
up in my many years of modeling.
I had just finished building a Swiss
Compte from a British drawing, and I was
getting ready to make the wing struts.
I cut a scrap piece of balsa the length
shown on the drawing for the struts. I put the
strut up against the model to see how much
change I would have to make, and it was way
too short! The distance from the fuselage to the
strut fittings on the wings didn’t jive.
I checked the three-view I had, to see
whether the struts or attach fitting were in
error. The plan showed the wing-strut
attachment one bay too far toward the
wingtip. Since I had never encountered
this situation, I installed them as shown.
I can make a change fairly easily, but
it is aggravating.
Don’t leave anything to chance;
study the drawings, and use the errors
previously mentioned to check before
you start cutting wood.
The czech Republic has been making great
strides in all areas of aeromodeling, one of
which is partially made Scale FF kits. I
mention this not to get you to quit building,
but to pass on a hint I saw incorporated in
one of these quick-build kits.
The model was a World War I
biplane, and the way the flying and
landing wire attachment was done was
simple and functional.
Instead of using fishhook eyes or an
equivalent, fine strips of Mylar™ were
incorporated. I read an article that
evaluated this particular kit, and that’s
where I saw this hint.
The builder did not trim the Mylar™,
but left each piece rectangular in shape. A
small piece of 1⁄32 or 1⁄16 plywood, cut to a
nice shape, was used as a template to cut
out all the Mylar™ pieces.
This is done to ensure that all the
pieces look alike. It isn’t very scale, but it
will definitely speed up the rigging
process and it looks pretty good.
i want to thank all of you who have taken
time to E-mail me regarding this column.
And thanks to those hardworking
newsletter editors who send me their fine
publications, letting me know what is
going on in different parts of this country.
I live in the largest state in the
continental US, and there is absolutely no
Scale FF activity worth mentioning.
Yes, the Blacksheep Squadron holds a
Scale event and some of the Old-Timer
clubs include Scale, but it is usually an
Endurance event. I don’t know if there is
any Scale activity in the Bay area, so most
activity seems to be on the East Coast.
If I am wrong, let me know so I can
pass this info on to readers. My E-mail
address is at the top of the column. MA
May 2001 125
