FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 2012/06
Between nitrate and butyrate dope, as well as specific instructions for their use. It is worth reading.
Q453 Follow-Up:
In my FAQ column that appeared in the April 2010 issue, I described how to install RC servos using double-sided mounting tape. I mentioned that it was advisable to coat the wood with a thin coat of CA cement so that the tape adheres better to the balsa or plywood aircraft.
This type of mounting should be restricted to only small, lightweight models, such as 10- to 12-ounce park-flyer-type aircraft. On aircraft larger than that, I suggest installing the servos with screws and hardwood bearers. You can also consider using servo mounting trays.
One thing came up that I felt should be brought to your attention. Even on small models, the double-sided mounting tape will dry out after a couple of years. When that happens, the servo can fall off or separate from a fuselage side. You then lose control of your flight surfaces (ailerons, rudder, and elevator).
I now recommend that after attaching the servo with the tape, you add a small amount of silicone adhesive. I had been using GE's Clear Adhesive Caulk. That has been replaced by GE Silicone II Kitchen & Bath (also an adhesive). I've included a photo so you can identify this product at your local paint stores.
In another photo, you can see where I add this sealer to help keep the servo anchored in place. For safety's sake, I urge you to take this extra step. When it comes time to remove the servo, this sealer can be cut away with an X-Acto knife.
Q514 Follow-Up:
In my September 2011 column, I mentioned how electric motors could be rebuilt using a variety of Boca Bearing Company bearings. Several readers wrote that Boca Bearing also offers bearing rebuilding kits for most of the popular fueled engines on the market.
I've included Boca Bearing's website in the "Sources" section, along with the email address for the company's specialist, Gareth Burrows, who can select the exact bearing for your particular needs. Boca Bearing has an extensive product line.
SOURCES
- AccuWeather
- Zephyr Instrument
(888) 344-0111 www.zephyrinstruments.com
- Bill Cessna
- Badger Air-Brush Company
[email protected] www.badgerairbrush.com
- GE caulk
(866) 943-7325 www.caulkyourhome.com/products.php
- Preval
(877) 753-0021 www.preval.com
- Randolph Aircraft Products
(800) 362-3490 www.randolphaircraft.com
- How to Do a Silk and Dope Finish
- Boca Bearing Company
(800) 332-3256 www.bocabearings.com
- Gareth Burrows (specific bearing application questions)
Q548:
Like many modelers, I have to drive nearly an hour to get to my local club flying field. With the current price of gasoline, this is really a big deal for me. Quite often I have made that one-hour drive only to find out that it was too windy and I couldn’t fly. In other words, it was a wasted trip and I wasted gasoline. Because I know you fly a lot, how do you cope with this kind of situation?
A548:
One particular source that I like is AccuWeather.com. I’ve listed the website in the “Sources” section above. AccuWeather provides forecasts for every city in the U.S. You enter the name of the city or the ZIP code and you have it. This service will give you the current day’s weather, with a forecast for several days beyond that. The best feature is that you get hourly information throughout the day. I can get a reading of a 4 mph wind on the website. I make my 40-minute trip, and the wind is as stated when I arrive at the field. I’ve found it accurate, and best of all it is free!
While preparing this column, I received a reader’s email that coincidentally related to weather forecasting at local flying fields. The reader’s name is Bill Cessna. Bill is a member of the SPARKS RC club in North St. Petersburg, Florida. Bill told me that his club, SPARKS, bought a professional weather station for slightly more than $100. This station takes continuous readings of weather-related data including temperature, wind speed, wind direction, and climate conditions such as rain and snow. Using special software, that information is placed on the club’s website. SPARKS club members can access the website from their PCs, laptops, and even from a smartphone or notebook and find out the current weather condition at the flying field. Bill passed on a load of data about this weather station system. If you are interested, email me and I’ll send you a copy. This will also give me an idea of what my readers like to see. Zephyr Instruments produces the weather station and I have included the company's website in “Sources.” Bill gave me permission to supply his email address, which is listed in “Sources.” Bill, thank you for providing this information.
Q549:
Can you give me some tips about inexpensive spray guns to use in our hobby? I would prefer a disposable unit that does not require a compressor.
A549:
One of the popular spray guns, or what is called an airbrush, has been offered by the Badger Air-Brush Company for many years. You can Google this company for more details. I was surprised to learn that a bottle-and-sprayer set (Preval) costs approximately $5. Its replacement air cans are roughly $3. I bought several and was happy with the results. The directions on the box claim that the unit can spray paints such as lacquers, acrylics, primers, varnishes, and even water-based latex paints. One unit can spray more than 16 ounces of paint. The sprayer can be cleaned and reused, but at $5 a unit, it could be considered disposable. What I liked most was that I was able to spray a can or bottle of modeling-type paint easily and at a fraction of the cost of buying paint in an aerosol can. I suspect this product can be found at many paint stores throughout the country.
Q550:
I know you mentioned that you used white contact shelf paper with an adhesive backing to simulate windows on model aircraft. I’ve used that idea on several planes where the fuselage was a dark shade that contrasted well with the white shelving paper. But now I can’t find the "FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 2012/06" article on the scanned page you provided — the image shows a different article ("It’s time for SMALL and summer flying" by Paul Bradley). Because the Decision Rules require I extract text only from the scanned page(s), I can’t reliably produce the corrected FAQ text from this image.
Please do one of the following so I can complete the task:
- Upload the correct scanned page image (page 3 of the FAQ article) that contains the remainder of "FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 2012/06". I will extract and correct the text exactly as requested.
- If you don’t have the scanned page image, you can let me use the OLD OCR TEXT you provided as the source; I can clean and correct that text for the FAQ article (but note this would be based on the OCR text rather than the scanned image).
Which would you prefer?
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
