The Inside Loop - 2010/10

… a green way to make a
good thing even better.
Editor Michael Ramsey
[email protected]
6 MODEL AVIATION
hat’s funny; it doesn’t look like a
peanut. But what Gene Smith did
capture for us this month as an FF
construction project is a charming aircraft
with a humble history.
I’ll bet that more than half the time,
we modelers get into a project because of
the storyline behind the aircraft rather
than the lines on the three-view. If you
don’t like Peanut Scale, the history of
Scale categories that the National Free
Flight Society developed might be of
interest.
There are other nuts from which to
choose, but none is as eclectic as the 13-
inch-wingspan rubber knotting models of
the Peanut class. The construction ease of
that size model dictates that it go together
quickly, thus allowing the modeler to
build even more.
The Skandinavisk isn’t a Cub, but we
find it reminiscent of one because, well,
it’s yellow. And the high wing and taildragging
undercarriage are evident to us
that this airplane is paced to please us.
Gene is green with this project; check
out what he uses for muffer pipes. Many
of us modelers are frugal by nature. I’ve
said before that there’s a thrill in making
something from nothing.
You know that spare-parts box in your
workshop (or under the bed)? That also
makes you a green modeler. I reuse
everything but glue, but none is wasted; a
bunch of it is wiped onto the surface of
benches and desktops, serving to preserve
the integrity of those platforms.
I have boxes of MonoKote scraps,
fiberglass, music wire, Velcro—you name
it. A trip to the hardware store always
includes a visit to the storage isle, to see
if plastic shoe containers are on sale.
They are made in loads of colors (some
even in green like pool noodles), plus the
good ones lock together for easy stacking.
We’ve wrapped up Don Apostolico’s
series on “how not to crash” this month.
We hope you picked up on the theme,
even though we didn’t call the
installments part 1, 2, or 3.
Instead we divided Don’s work to
brand his excellent thoughts and remind
us that it is totally within our power to
control our creations. All it takes is effort,
which is something our aviation passion
has in abundant supply. Don has been
“tipping” us for years in his hobby shop
ads. We hope you’ve seen them.
Jerry Smith (no, the other Jerry Smith)
has also been tipping modelers for years.
His “For What It’s Worth” column in
Radio Control Modeler magazine was
almost the best reason to subscribe to that
publication in the first place.
Today we meet Jerry at events across
the country. He is armed with the latest
and greatest Nikon, from which he
delivers what is nearly the best imagery
The Inside Loop
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Account Executive Yolanda Jones
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Editor Michael Ramsey
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Stan Alexander
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an editor could crave. He’s out there
having fun and telling us how good we
are at it.
Jerry came up with a neat way to work
with one of the most popular connectors
in electric aeromodeling. Those short
soldering stubs on the W.S. Deans Ultra
plugs are awkward for some to work
with, and Jerry found a green way to
make a good thing even better.
Check out his idea about what to do
with scrap brass tubing. Even better for
forehead smacking are his ideas about
getting a grip on those little red doodads.
Everyone knows that competition is
no fun, right? [Listening for screams.]
Wrong!
Competition is all about fun; it just
has a lot of rules. As I write this, the
AMA Nats is on its final leg: RC
Helicopters. After tomorrow the best of
the best will have been crowned, and
we’re going to celebrate by joining the
party. I mean the event known as the
IRCHA Jamboree.
We opened the Nats flying season
with a little “party” too: the National
Electric Fly-In. My right-hand man, Jay
Smith, took control of the 3-year-old
gathering and made it into something
even more special and beneficial to the
community.
More important, we had fun flying
electric-powered models of all shapes and
sizes, teaching kids the thrill of RC, and
welcoming heroes such as Robert “Hoot”
Gibson to play model airplanes and tell
us about how they ended the Cold War.
Who knows what fun and stories we’ll
have to tell next time? MA
Executive Director Jim Cherry
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