Modeling Spoken Here - 2004/03

WHENEVER POSSIBLE I like to
combine my two hobby/sport interests.
Aside from being a lifelong modeler, I am
also an avid motorcycle enthusiast. In fact, I
do part-time motorcycle safety instructing
for the Motorcycle Safety Program (MSP)
here in Pennsylvania as a certified
RiderCoach.
I recently sold one of my motorcycles, a
1500cc Honda Goldwing SE, to one of my
MSP students—Tom Segar—who I found
out also happens to be a model-airplane
enthusiast. When I decided to play hooky
on a Friday and attend the 2003 version of
the Northeast Electric Aircraft Technology
(NEAT) Fair, I called Tom and asked him if
he would like to join me on a ride to the
Catskills in New York to see some state-ofthe-
art electric flying.
He accepted the offer and looked
forward to his first long trip on the “wing,”
but he told me that he really had little or no
interest in electric flying. But hey, any
excuse to go riding is a good one!
Our trip up through northeastern
Pennsylvania on a beautiful and sunny fall
morning was delightful. Tom looked really
at ease and happy on his new mount, and
the winding path that PA Route 191 North
takes gave me a chance to run off and do
some serious “knee dragging” on my prized
Suzuki Hayabusa. (It’s sort of like owning
your own personal F-16!)
We arrived at the Fair at approximately
11 a.m., and just in time to watch Jason
Shulman put on an aerobatic demonstration
with his stunning Rhapsody Radio Control
Pattern model. In case you haven’t heard,
Jason placed seventh at the 2003 Fédération
Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) F3A
Pattern World Championships flying an
electric-powered model! He competed
against pilots who were all flying glowpowered,
“wet” models.
Tom and I witnessed what I believe is
the beginning of a new era in modeling, in
which electric and glow/gas models will
soon be perceived by all as equals in
performance.
Jason took off and held the model
roughly three feet off the ground as he
passed the spectator line, which was
approximately one-quarter mile long. The
model was flying fairly slowly at this point,
and as it passed the last of the spectators,
Jason pulled it vertical but didn’t accelerate
on the up-line. Instead he kept a steady speed
and let the model climb almost out of sight.
He followed this impressive takeoff with
a complete and perfect-looking FAI Pattern
sequence of roughly seven minutes in
duration and then came down on the deck
and performed another seven or so minutes
of Freestyle aerobatics that included
sustained knife-edge flight with the low
wingtip approximately two feet from the
ground. He performed low-level rolling
circles, knife-edge loops, and outside snap
rolls that appeared to be started at
approximately 10 feet altitude!
I’ve watched a lot of aerobatic flying and
air-show routines through the years, but
Jason’s performance left me with my jaw on
the ground. I had a lot of company in that
respect. Not only did his Rhapsody have
more than sufficient power but impressive
duration as well.
Tom was completely blown away by
what he saw, not only from Jason but also
from the hundreds of other participants at
the NEAT Fair. He gained a new respect for
how far electric flight has come in a
seemingly short time.
The truth is that electric-powered model
flying has been gaining in popularity and
performance for quite some time now.
Jason’s performance seems to be a
milestone that marks a point where there is
no longer a need to qualify that a model is
powered by fuel or electrons.
Many of the models flown at the NEAT
Fair were electric conversions of popular
glow-kit or Almost Ready-to-Fly offerings.
It’s clear that weight and duration are
becoming less of a concern because of
recent breakthroughs in motor and battery
technology.
Yes, this type of technology has its own
paradigms in cost, safety, and operation, but
as I like to say, “Technology never goes
backward.” Cost and safety concerns will be
addressed, and those who choose to go
deeper into the world of electric flight will
learn the required lessons to enjoy this type
Bob Hunt Aeromodeling Editor
... Jason’s performance
left me with my jaw on
the ground.
Modeling Spoken Here
Continued on page 191
March 2004 7
March 2004 191
of flying on a routine basis. Hey, this is
exciting!
The ride home from the NEAT Fair
with Tom was fun, but at each rest stop
all we could talk about was what we had
seen that day. Tom said he definitely
wants to go again next year—by car or
bike!
In this issue you will find coverage of
the 2003 NEAT Fair by our own Bob
Kopski. In that report Bob gives the
particulars of the power system in Jason’s
model as well as a look at the broad
spectrum of the electric modeling
hobby/sport. The NEAT Fair has become
the mecca for electric enthusiasts from all
over the world, and it will only continue
to grow from here.
This month we are proud to present an
article by Bill Werwage about his
legendary USA-1 Control Line (CL) Stunt
design. This model is extremely
significant because it was the first
American F2B World Champion model
design. With it Bill won the 1970 and
1972 World Championships titles, two
National Championships crowns, and
numerous other awards. It was not the
first of the large CL Stunters to appear,
but it was by far the most successful.
Now a Classic-legal design, the USA-1
is still a force to be reckoned with. Bill
feels that this model, fitted with a more
modern power package, is still
competitive at the highest levels. That’s
amazing, considering that this airplane
debuted 34 years ago at the 1969
Nationals.
I had the opportunity to borrow one of
Bill’s USA-1 models in 1981. I was the
assistant director of the FAI F2B Team
Trials that year, and one of my duties was
to train the judges for the competition. I
didn’t have a Stunt model at that time that
was of the proper caliber to do the job, so
Bill lent me his 1980 USA-1.
That was his least favorite version of
the USA-1, but I loved the way it flew. It
turned easily in very heavy wind
conditions and was extremely easy to
guide through maneuvers. I can only
imagine how Bill’s favorite USA-1 flew!
This is not a classic construction
feature we are presenting but rather a saga
of design development and improvement.
It’s “must” reading for serious students of
the history of Stunt.
You can get in touch with me via E-mail
at [email protected]. My address is
Box 68, Stockertown PA 18083, and my
phone number is (610) 614-1747. MA
Continued from page 7
Aeromodeling Editor
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953 USA-1 ..........................................................................................................$11.25
Multiple-award-winning CL Stunt model by Werwage spans 611/2 inches
954 B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber: ......................................................................$7.50
Electric FF model by Ken Johnson spans 42 inches
955 Electric Flash: ...........................................................................................$11.25
Electric-powered RC park flyer by Stewart spans 28 inches
No. 904 Y2K Racer: Sport Electric FF by Charles Fries spans 18 inches A
No. 905 Buhl Sport Airsedan: RC Scale model by Phillip S. Kent spans 72 inches E
No. 906 Grumman Ag-Cat: Rubber powered FF FAC Giant Scale by Rees spans 36 inches C
No. 907 Bristol Brownie: RC Scale by Robelen for geared six-volt Speed 400 spans 44 inches C
No. 910 3Quarters: RC sport model by Randolph for Norvel .074 spans 45 inches B
No. 911 P-47: RC Scale Electric model by Ryan for Speed 400 spans 31 inches C
No. 912 Simple Simone: CL trainer by Netzeband for glow .15 engine spans 36 inches B
No. 916 Piper Malibu Mirage: Rubber-powered Giant Scale by Fineman spans 431/2 inches C
No. 917 Sir Lancelot: RC sport model by Henry for O.S. .61 spans 72 inches D
No. 918 Skyraider: CL 1/2A Profile by Sarpolus for Norvel BigMig .061 spans 29 inches B
No. 925 Bird-E-Dog: Ernie Heyworth and Ed Lokken’s RC Electric Sport Scale model C
No. 926 JoeCat: RC sport jet by Beshar for Toki .18 DF unit spans 37 inches C
No. 927 Kairos: CL Stunt model by Dixon for .46-.61 engine spans 58 inches C
No. 928 Beta Blue Chip Racer: Rubber-powered FF Scale model designed by Tom Derber B
No. 929 Dewoitine D.338: Multimotor RC Electric Scale by Mikulasko spans 781/2 inches E
No. 930 Westland Lysander: RC Scale model by Baker for .25 spans 56 inches E
No. 931 1959 Ares: Champion RC Aerobatics model by Werwage spans 501/2 inches C
No. 932 Wing400: RC Electric flying wing by Hanley for Speed 400 spans 36 inches B
No. 933 Kepler 450: CL speed-limit Combat model by Edwards for .21-.32 two-stroke A
Plan does not include full-size template shown on page 40 of the August 2002 issue.
No. 934 VariEze: FF Peanut Scale canard by Heckman spans 13 inches A
No. 935 Classic 320: 1/2A Classic Power design by Pailet for Cyclon .049 or equivalent B
No. 936 Prince: RC sport Pattern model by Robelen for O.S. .25 spans 51 inches C
No. 937 Clean Cut: RC sport aerobatic model by Sarpolus spans 90 inches E
No. 938 Diamond Gem: Compressed-air-powered FF sport model by Ken Johnson B
No. 939 Project Extra: RC Scale Aerobatics model by Mike Hurley spans 106 inches **$49.50
No. 940 Cessna No.1: RC Electric Sport Scale by Papic spans 321/2 inches B
No. 941 Mooney and Beechcraft Bonanza CL 1/2A profile sport models by Rick Sarpolus B
No. 942 Zenith CH 801: FF Rubber Scale model by Fineman spans 20 inches A
No. 943 Wildman 60: Old-Time Ignition CL Stunt model by Carter spans 59 1/2 inches C
No. 944 Shoestring: Semiscale RC sport Pattern design by de Bolt spans 60 inches D
No. 945 F-86 Sabre: Semiscale CL Stunt model by Hutchinson spans 56 inches E
No. 946 Electric Zephyr: Electric RC Pylon/sport model by Smith spans 40 inches B
No. 947 Chester Special: O.S. .40-powered CL Scale model by Beatty spans 43 inches **$27.00
No. 948 Moffett Reduxl: High-performance Rubber-powered FF design by Langenberg C
No. 949 Scratch-One: Electric RC sailplane/basic trainer by Aberle spans 45 inches B
No. 950 BareCat 650-C: CL sport Stunt model by Netzeband spans 54 1/4 inches E
No. 951 Douglas O-46A: RC Sport Scale model by Baker spans 54 inches E
No. 952 Lavochkin LaGG-3: Felton’s CL Sport Scale design made from cardboard E
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