Also included in this column:
• Airfoil observations from
John Krouse
• Fine indoor materials
• A cyanoacrylate gluing tip
• East Coast Indoor Electric
Fly-In
MY FIRST ENCOUNTER with the new
Plantraco (www.plantraco.com) Carbon
Butterfly came when I opened a hefty
package that arrived in the mail and found a
handsome piece of aluminum luggage. A
tooled finish, reinforced corners, and locks
added up to quality. When I opened the case
I found a variety of well-organized and
protected items.
The first thing I saw was a paper manual
describing the equipment, the included flight
simulator, the transmitter and model, and
even detailed advice on how to pick up the
model. A CD included the simulator
program and videos on the Carbon Butterfly
and some other Plantraco models. There was
even a duplicate of the instructions in Adobe
PDF format in case I wanted to read them
from my computer.
A cord with connectors that will allow
me to connect the Plantraco transmitter to a
serial port on my computer for the simulator
was the next item I removed. The transmitter
was neatly packed in a foam cavity. As is
customary with Plantraco equipment, it is
much smaller than usual with no external
antenna.
The two control sticks have a nice,
precise feel to them, and they include dust
shields in the openings. This system has
been upgraded to have six discrete channels
on the 900 MHz band. These may be
changed by holding the control stick(s) in a
specific position when the transmitter is
turned on.
There is a feature on the front of the
transmitter that allows charging of the Li-
Poly model battery from the transmitter. The
battery is shielded with a clear plastic cover
during charging.
Following the instructions, I carefully
lifted the airplane out of its protective cavity
of foam. This is a small model with a
wingspan and length of roughly 8 inches.
The basic design is reasonably traditional,
but the execution of the construction and its
details are breathtaking.
As the name implies, the model is made
completely from a variety of sizes of
carbon-fiber rods. It is covered with a thin,
light plastic that has been treated to avoid
airframe warps. The quality of the
construction including the bonding of the
joints, tiny plastic fittings in various places,
and the installation of the equipment are
flawless.
The receiver in the model will pick up
whatever channel the transmitter is
radiating. There is a special code in the
transmission that identifies this transmitter
to the receiver.
Although the model is a light 3.6 grams
complete and can be easily broken with
careless handling, it is amply rugged when it
comes to bouncing off obstacles in flight. I
have run mine into pretty much everything
in the living room with no harm.
When it comes to flying, this little
airplane has more than ample pep. Power for
cruising speed is approximately one-third of
the throttle stick. It is mentioned in the
literature that it can be looped and I don’t
doubt that, but I have not done it yet.
The instructions recommend making the
first flights in a large room such as a
basketball court or classroom. This is
excellent advice! Things happen much more
quickly in the confines of a household room.
Typical flight times on the 30 mAh Li-
Poly cell are roughly 10 minutes, although
there have been reports of 20-minute flights
cruising in a gym. Approximately $300 for
the system is not cheap, but there is ample
value for the price.
I received a package of sample materials
from www.f1d.biz.com. I am going to let
Tim Goldstein have the floor to describe the
company’s product line.
“Enclosed are some samples of items we
offer that are appealing to fliers of the
lighter end of the RC spectrum in addition to
the FF market. Following are some details
on these items.
“DPP Carbon Pultrusion: This material is
made in Europe. It is composed of carbon
fiber and high-temperature-cure epoxy. The
pultrusion process yields material with
extremely high fiber-to-resin content,
The receiver will
pick up whatever
channel the
transmitter is
radiating.
The transmitter connects to a serial port
on your computer for the simulator.
The Plantraco Carbon Butterfly comes in
a handsome aluminum case with a tooled
finish.
perfectly aligned fibers, and a smooth
surface.
“The round samples I have included are
all tubes. The smallest is 0.7mm (.028 inch)
OD x 0.3mm (.012 inch) ID. We carry this
brand of tube in sizes up to 3mm OD. I
have included half round that is perfect for
LE stock as well as rectangular-strip and
capstrip stock that is wonderful at
stiffening a wing by applying it to the top
and bottom of the ribs.
“Tru-Lite Plastic Covering: This is 0.9-
micron polyester (Mylar) film which is
produced in Europe. It is a perfect weight
material for airplanes in the less-than-1-
ounce range. We supply it on 12-inch x 20-
foot rolls for $16.90 per roll and include
instructions covering the application of the
material.
“Tru-Weight Indoor Balsa: This is the
finest and best-graded balsa in the world.
All sheets are cut to thickness on an
industrial computer-controlled machine
with a special high-speed steel saw blade.
Our balsa is never sanded to thickness as
sanding crushes the cells and
decreases the stiffness of the wood.
“All sheets are individually graded for
thickness, weight, and density and these
values are stamped on every sheet. We list
the wood on the Internet as individual sheets
with all the details of the sheet included.
When you select a particular sheet, you are
choosing a piece of wood with exactly the
specifications that you see. Our thicknesses
are measured on scales that read to 1 mg.
“We also grade by grain. When you get
C grain from us, it will be wood that is cut
parallel to the log rays. Anything that is not
true C-grain wood is never sold as such.
“All items can be ordered from our Web
site at www.f1d.biz.com. Tru-Weight Balsa
can only be ordered online due to the listing
of the sheets. All other items can also be
ordered by mail to A2Z, Dept: f1d.biz, 1530
W. Tufts Ave. Unit B, Englewood CO
80110. We accept credit cards, PayPal,
checks, money orders, and cash. For further
details, please visit our Web site.
“If you have any questions, feel free to
contact me at [email protected] or call
(720) 833-9300 evenings.”
Thanks, Tim, for
the information on
your line of goodies.
John Krouse (1124
Pipestem Pl.,
Rockville MD
20854) has sent me
pictures of his
current projects. I
am going to let John
describe what he has
been working with.
“These similar micro-electric indoor
RC models were designed and built
primarily to evaluate a pair of Bob
Selman/Gary Jones EPP-preformed wings
(www.bsdmicrorc.com). Both had an
overall span of 18 inches, with constant
chords of 3.5 inches (pink) and 4 inches
(blue). The tail surfaces consist of 1.0mm
Depron foam covered with 5-micron
Risteen Associates MicroLite attached to a
carbon-fiber fuselage.
“All the electronic components are made
by Micro Invent available through
www.airmidimicros.com. This makes the
Minor receiver, 85 mAh Li-Poly battery, and
the MCS2 (0.75 gram) magnetic actuator
truly ‘plug-and-play.’ Thrust comes from a 6
x 12mm, 4.5-ohm (green) pager motor,
coupled to a Gasparin 4.0:1 reduction
stainless-steel gearbox, spinning an MCF
3222 propeller.
“During our weekly indoor flying
sessions, some of my colleagues have
commented that not only are the colorful
models beautiful to watch, but their
performance is far superior to most singlesurface
cambered wings they have seen. I’m
inclined to agree!”
Thanks for the pictures and information,
John. Maybe I should take up the subject of
airfoils for our micro machines in a future
column.
I have seen several methods of applying a
single drop of cyanoacrylate glue to a small
joint, but none really satisfied me. The
system I have developed is based on
medium cyanoacrylate.
I took a yarn needle and ground the end
off, leaving a pair of ends with a small gap.
For convenience, I inserted this needle into a
dowel handle.
Typically we put a puddle of
cyanoacrylate on a sheet of impervious
material—metal, plastic, etc.—but it would
spread to a thin film too rapidly. Once I
started using the cap from a soft-drink bottle
to hold the glue, I could dip the needle into
the contents and come out with a single drop
each time. Try it sometime; you might like it.
The Keystone Radio Control club has
announced a major indoor electric fly. This
will take place at a 200 x 400-foot heated
sports dome near Scranton, Pennsylvania.
The dates are March 2-3, 2007.
Features include all-night flying Friday,
March 2, along with periods of lights-out
flying. There will be demonstration flights
Saturday along with seminars by wellknown
experts.
Food and drinks will be available, along
with ample parking and vendor tables. Pilot
awards include best micro model, best Scale
model, best night model, best performance,
farthest travel, and more.
For more information contact
Mark at [email protected] or Joe at
[email protected]. I hope to see you
there; it sounds like a great time.
Take care. MA
March 2007 87
John Krouse’s
m i c r o - e l e c t r i c
indoor RC models
were designed and
built to evaluate a
pair of preformed
wings.
The preformed wings span 18 inches,
with constant chords of 3.5 inches (pink)
and 4 inches (blue).
The author’s glue-applicator
system produces one drop
each time.
Materials from www.f1d.biz.com
include carbon-fiber tubes,
covering, and balsa.
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/03
Page Numbers: 86,87
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/03
Page Numbers: 86,87
Also included in this column:
• Airfoil observations from
John Krouse
• Fine indoor materials
• A cyanoacrylate gluing tip
• East Coast Indoor Electric
Fly-In
MY FIRST ENCOUNTER with the new
Plantraco (www.plantraco.com) Carbon
Butterfly came when I opened a hefty
package that arrived in the mail and found a
handsome piece of aluminum luggage. A
tooled finish, reinforced corners, and locks
added up to quality. When I opened the case
I found a variety of well-organized and
protected items.
The first thing I saw was a paper manual
describing the equipment, the included flight
simulator, the transmitter and model, and
even detailed advice on how to pick up the
model. A CD included the simulator
program and videos on the Carbon Butterfly
and some other Plantraco models. There was
even a duplicate of the instructions in Adobe
PDF format in case I wanted to read them
from my computer.
A cord with connectors that will allow
me to connect the Plantraco transmitter to a
serial port on my computer for the simulator
was the next item I removed. The transmitter
was neatly packed in a foam cavity. As is
customary with Plantraco equipment, it is
much smaller than usual with no external
antenna.
The two control sticks have a nice,
precise feel to them, and they include dust
shields in the openings. This system has
been upgraded to have six discrete channels
on the 900 MHz band. These may be
changed by holding the control stick(s) in a
specific position when the transmitter is
turned on.
There is a feature on the front of the
transmitter that allows charging of the Li-
Poly model battery from the transmitter. The
battery is shielded with a clear plastic cover
during charging.
Following the instructions, I carefully
lifted the airplane out of its protective cavity
of foam. This is a small model with a
wingspan and length of roughly 8 inches.
The basic design is reasonably traditional,
but the execution of the construction and its
details are breathtaking.
As the name implies, the model is made
completely from a variety of sizes of
carbon-fiber rods. It is covered with a thin,
light plastic that has been treated to avoid
airframe warps. The quality of the
construction including the bonding of the
joints, tiny plastic fittings in various places,
and the installation of the equipment are
flawless.
The receiver in the model will pick up
whatever channel the transmitter is
radiating. There is a special code in the
transmission that identifies this transmitter
to the receiver.
Although the model is a light 3.6 grams
complete and can be easily broken with
careless handling, it is amply rugged when it
comes to bouncing off obstacles in flight. I
have run mine into pretty much everything
in the living room with no harm.
When it comes to flying, this little
airplane has more than ample pep. Power for
cruising speed is approximately one-third of
the throttle stick. It is mentioned in the
literature that it can be looped and I don’t
doubt that, but I have not done it yet.
The instructions recommend making the
first flights in a large room such as a
basketball court or classroom. This is
excellent advice! Things happen much more
quickly in the confines of a household room.
Typical flight times on the 30 mAh Li-
Poly cell are roughly 10 minutes, although
there have been reports of 20-minute flights
cruising in a gym. Approximately $300 for
the system is not cheap, but there is ample
value for the price.
I received a package of sample materials
from www.f1d.biz.com. I am going to let
Tim Goldstein have the floor to describe the
company’s product line.
“Enclosed are some samples of items we
offer that are appealing to fliers of the
lighter end of the RC spectrum in addition to
the FF market. Following are some details
on these items.
“DPP Carbon Pultrusion: This material is
made in Europe. It is composed of carbon
fiber and high-temperature-cure epoxy. The
pultrusion process yields material with
extremely high fiber-to-resin content,
The receiver will
pick up whatever
channel the
transmitter is
radiating.
The transmitter connects to a serial port
on your computer for the simulator.
The Plantraco Carbon Butterfly comes in
a handsome aluminum case with a tooled
finish.
perfectly aligned fibers, and a smooth
surface.
“The round samples I have included are
all tubes. The smallest is 0.7mm (.028 inch)
OD x 0.3mm (.012 inch) ID. We carry this
brand of tube in sizes up to 3mm OD. I
have included half round that is perfect for
LE stock as well as rectangular-strip and
capstrip stock that is wonderful at
stiffening a wing by applying it to the top
and bottom of the ribs.
“Tru-Lite Plastic Covering: This is 0.9-
micron polyester (Mylar) film which is
produced in Europe. It is a perfect weight
material for airplanes in the less-than-1-
ounce range. We supply it on 12-inch x 20-
foot rolls for $16.90 per roll and include
instructions covering the application of the
material.
“Tru-Weight Indoor Balsa: This is the
finest and best-graded balsa in the world.
All sheets are cut to thickness on an
industrial computer-controlled machine
with a special high-speed steel saw blade.
Our balsa is never sanded to thickness as
sanding crushes the cells and
decreases the stiffness of the wood.
“All sheets are individually graded for
thickness, weight, and density and these
values are stamped on every sheet. We list
the wood on the Internet as individual sheets
with all the details of the sheet included.
When you select a particular sheet, you are
choosing a piece of wood with exactly the
specifications that you see. Our thicknesses
are measured on scales that read to 1 mg.
“We also grade by grain. When you get
C grain from us, it will be wood that is cut
parallel to the log rays. Anything that is not
true C-grain wood is never sold as such.
“All items can be ordered from our Web
site at www.f1d.biz.com. Tru-Weight Balsa
can only be ordered online due to the listing
of the sheets. All other items can also be
ordered by mail to A2Z, Dept: f1d.biz, 1530
W. Tufts Ave. Unit B, Englewood CO
80110. We accept credit cards, PayPal,
checks, money orders, and cash. For further
details, please visit our Web site.
“If you have any questions, feel free to
contact me at [email protected] or call
(720) 833-9300 evenings.”
Thanks, Tim, for
the information on
your line of goodies.
John Krouse (1124
Pipestem Pl.,
Rockville MD
20854) has sent me
pictures of his
current projects. I
am going to let John
describe what he has
been working with.
“These similar micro-electric indoor
RC models were designed and built
primarily to evaluate a pair of Bob
Selman/Gary Jones EPP-preformed wings
(www.bsdmicrorc.com). Both had an
overall span of 18 inches, with constant
chords of 3.5 inches (pink) and 4 inches
(blue). The tail surfaces consist of 1.0mm
Depron foam covered with 5-micron
Risteen Associates MicroLite attached to a
carbon-fiber fuselage.
“All the electronic components are made
by Micro Invent available through
www.airmidimicros.com. This makes the
Minor receiver, 85 mAh Li-Poly battery, and
the MCS2 (0.75 gram) magnetic actuator
truly ‘plug-and-play.’ Thrust comes from a 6
x 12mm, 4.5-ohm (green) pager motor,
coupled to a Gasparin 4.0:1 reduction
stainless-steel gearbox, spinning an MCF
3222 propeller.
“During our weekly indoor flying
sessions, some of my colleagues have
commented that not only are the colorful
models beautiful to watch, but their
performance is far superior to most singlesurface
cambered wings they have seen. I’m
inclined to agree!”
Thanks for the pictures and information,
John. Maybe I should take up the subject of
airfoils for our micro machines in a future
column.
I have seen several methods of applying a
single drop of cyanoacrylate glue to a small
joint, but none really satisfied me. The
system I have developed is based on
medium cyanoacrylate.
I took a yarn needle and ground the end
off, leaving a pair of ends with a small gap.
For convenience, I inserted this needle into a
dowel handle.
Typically we put a puddle of
cyanoacrylate on a sheet of impervious
material—metal, plastic, etc.—but it would
spread to a thin film too rapidly. Once I
started using the cap from a soft-drink bottle
to hold the glue, I could dip the needle into
the contents and come out with a single drop
each time. Try it sometime; you might like it.
The Keystone Radio Control club has
announced a major indoor electric fly. This
will take place at a 200 x 400-foot heated
sports dome near Scranton, Pennsylvania.
The dates are March 2-3, 2007.
Features include all-night flying Friday,
March 2, along with periods of lights-out
flying. There will be demonstration flights
Saturday along with seminars by wellknown
experts.
Food and drinks will be available, along
with ample parking and vendor tables. Pilot
awards include best micro model, best Scale
model, best night model, best performance,
farthest travel, and more.
For more information contact
Mark at [email protected] or Joe at
[email protected]. I hope to see you
there; it sounds like a great time.
Take care. MA
March 2007 87
John Krouse’s
m i c r o - e l e c t r i c
indoor RC models
were designed and
built to evaluate a
pair of preformed
wings.
The preformed wings span 18 inches,
with constant chords of 3.5 inches (pink)
and 4 inches (blue).
The author’s glue-applicator
system produces one drop
each time.
Materials from www.f1d.biz.com
include carbon-fiber tubes,
covering, and balsa.