Dick McCoy and his enginesT he McCoy 60 engine is the dominant competition engine used today by Society of Antique Modelers (SAM) RC fliers in the large spark-ignition classes (Class C LER and Antique). It’s used less by SAM FF fliers, because their preference usually leans toward less-powerful, more docile-handling engines such as Super Cyclones and Ohlssons. For FF, a controlled, steady climb is generally more critical than pure power. The McCoy 60 was born as a racing engine and was the first in a long series of McCoy engines produced in many sizes for many uses. Oddly enough, Dick McCoy never got involved in model aircraft during his lifetime. He built and promptly crashed one FF model before moving on to tether car racing, where his engines dominated until the Dooling engines began to share the awards. Dick was a machinist by trade, which fit into car racing where the emphasis was on machining and hopping up engines. He set a national tether car speed record with an early engine and the McCoy became the engine for car use. The model car engines had short shafts with flywheels. But when CL Speed fliers discovered them, extended shafts with propeller drives were offered. They quickly dominated CL Speed circles. Smaller sizes (.49 and .29) of that basic design appeared and began setting records as well. Production began on .55 and .36 sizes, but because of some rules changes, they became obsolete for CL Speed and were altered into the “sportsman” series. The .49 engine also became obsolete for Speed, and a new .19 size was added for Class A racing. Nearly 100 different McCoy versions in at least 10 different displacements have been described in good detail in the Model Engine Collectors Journal, January 1981 and December 1992 issues.Mike Salvador’s son anchors a diesel-powered bomber as Mike checks the rpm for a Texaco flight at the 2012 SAM Champs. Photo by Rosalia Salvador. The Dooling .61 engines became more dominant in race cars, as well as often running neck and neck with McCoys in CL Speed. Dooling hp peaks at a higher rpm, and works well with race car gearing. Today the McCoys seem to have an edge with the bigger propeller load required by the old FF designs. McCoys were produced in greater numbers and are currently more available and less expensive than Doolings. The Duro-Matic Company, and later Testors, partnered with Dick McCoy for mass production of the McCoy line. But Dick and his two sons have also operated machine shops producing many products, including glow plugs, race cars, and RC car-racing items, as well as parts for various full-scale aircraft companies. I never met Dick McCoy, but I’m sure I’d often and unknowingly watched him run tether cars with his group at Fourth Street Park in Ontario, California, after our CL club had finished flying. Many of us flew with McCoy Stunt engines in the circle next to the car track. To read more of Dick’s biography, check out the Hall of Fame section on AMA’s website listed in “Sources.” The five-page article covers much more 97Model Aviation February 2013www.ModelAviation.comOLD-TIMERSBob [email protected]
about his awards, work, and family life. Dick worked in his shop into his later years and passed away in 2005 at age 98. Tips for OT Fliers For a change of pace, I’ll share some tips aimed at Old-Timer (OT) fliers and anyone else who builds, rather than just assembles, models. Some are my own, but most were extracted from any source that looked useful and wasn’t copyrighted. SAM 26 Newsletter readers should recognize many because they’ve probably all been published there throughout the last 20 years. I’ve condensed them to squeeze in as many as possible. True model builders only need a basic idea and can usually carry it out just fine. Useful Tools and Materials Harbor Freight Tools is one good source of inexpensive tools for many of these tips. 1. A small squeeze-bulb blower (at approximately $2) for cleaning computer keyboards can inflate Trexler wheels, blow dust from your camera lens, etc. 2. A router speed controller makes an excellent soldering iron heat controller. It also controls speed for Dremel tools, drill motors, or any brushed AC motor. 3. A rotary hole punch, used in leather crafting, can punch accurate screw holes when making engine gaskets. 4. High-temperature silicone gasket material squeegeed and roll-pressed into coffee filter paper makes useful gasket material. 5. Dawn Power Dissolver (Walmart cleaning section) is a great cleaner for baked-on engine goo. 6. Acetone or MEK (butanone or methyl ethyl ketone) cleans residue off of cooled covering irons. 7. Bounce dryer sheets clean warm irons better. Pretend you’re ironing the sheet down. (Bounce also repels mosquitoes.) 8. Evapo-Rust is an effective rust treatment. You immerse items in the liquid. Construction Tips 1. Torsional rigidity can be increased by modifying most wing rib construction to add cap strips. 2. Ace Hardware’s lightweight drywall filler makes good filler for dings in balsa and a good sanding sealer. 3. Glue doesn’t stick to the backing material from iron-on film covering. Use it to isolate glued parts from anything else. 4. Use square brass tubing rather than round for wheel axle bearings on rubber and other lightweight models. The wheels don’t get as sticky and debris can be flushed out easier with air pressure or a quick shot of solvent. 5. Remove warps or set wing washout on a covered surface with an old hot-air popcorn popper with the top removed. You may also enlist some help to heat the upper surface with a heat gun while the popper heats the The RC flightline at the 2012 SAM Champs shows the well-separated FF area appearing as white tents in the upper background. Salvador photo.98Model Aviation February 2013www.ModelAviation.comOLD-TIMERS097
bottom for a more even job with less wrinkling. Safety Tips 1. Don’t store diesel fuel in a shop refrigerator. Leaking ether could explode when the light comes on. 2. Save your spark coil. Use the RC throttle stick, not a transmitter kill switch, to stop an ignition engine. The kill switch reenergizes the coil after release. 3. Wooden propellers display the spirit of OT models better and are much safer in the event of a propeller strike. Useful Techniques 1. The spray-on product K2r works well for rescuing oil-soaked wood. Wood can be further strengthened with an application of thin CA, which seems to enjoy bonding with oil-soaked wood. Spread the CA evenly with film cover backing. 2. A better way to end splice multistrand wires after stripping and fluxing is to splay the strands apart just enough to push them straight together end to end. Solder and heat shrink will then leave a smaller bulge and a straight joint. 3. Your cellphone number on a model ID tag might result in an errant model being returned before you head home from a big meet. Engine Operation 1. Using a starter on an old engine unequipped with double ball bearings often causes internal damage. 2. Jamming a running starter against any engine is bad practice. If the starter battery is weak, first turn the propeller backward against compression so the starter can get a run at it. 3. The backward-flip hand-starting technique works only with glow engines, not spark ignition. 4. Seventy-weight motor oil keeps engines free of buildup for years, but castor gums them up. 5. Most frozen engines can be freed up with a covering heat gun, patience, and reasonable pressure against the propeller. When the piston first moves, add the same type of solvent or the fuel last used, and you’re home free. SOURCES: AMA Hall of Famewww.modelaircraft.org/museum/hoflist.aspx Harbor Freight (800) 444-3353www.harborfreight.com Dawn Power Dissolverwww.dawn-dish.com Evapo-Rust(888) 329-9877www.evapo-rust.com Ace Hardware Store(866) 290-5334www.acehardware.com K2r Products(203) 732-4479www.k2rbrands.comJohn Eaton’s 9-foot Westerner, powered by an open-rocker O.S. .60FS, was built more than 30 years ago by Eut Tileston. John recently re-covered the fuselage.99Model Aviation February 2013www.ModelAviation.com097
Edition: Model Aviation - 2013/02
Page Numbers: 97,98,99
Edition: Model Aviation - 2013/02
Page Numbers: 97,98,99
Dick McCoy and his enginesT he McCoy 60 engine is the dominant competition engine used today by Society of Antique Modelers (SAM) RC fliers in the large spark-ignition classes (Class C LER and Antique). It’s used less by SAM FF fliers, because their preference usually leans toward less-powerful, more docile-handling engines such as Super Cyclones and Ohlssons. For FF, a controlled, steady climb is generally more critical than pure power. The McCoy 60 was born as a racing engine and was the first in a long series of McCoy engines produced in many sizes for many uses. Oddly enough, Dick McCoy never got involved in model aircraft during his lifetime. He built and promptly crashed one FF model before moving on to tether car racing, where his engines dominated until the Dooling engines began to share the awards. Dick was a machinist by trade, which fit into car racing where the emphasis was on machining and hopping up engines. He set a national tether car speed record with an early engine and the McCoy became the engine for car use. The model car engines had short shafts with flywheels. But when CL Speed fliers discovered them, extended shafts with propeller drives were offered. They quickly dominated CL Speed circles. Smaller sizes (.49 and .29) of that basic design appeared and began setting records as well. Production began on .55 and .36 sizes, but because of some rules changes, they became obsolete for CL Speed and were altered into the “sportsman” series. The .49 engine also became obsolete for Speed, and a new .19 size was added for Class A racing. Nearly 100 different McCoy versions in at least 10 different displacements have been described in good detail in the Model Engine Collectors Journal, January 1981 and December 1992 issues.Mike Salvador’s son anchors a diesel-powered bomber as Mike checks the rpm for a Texaco flight at the 2012 SAM Champs. Photo by Rosalia Salvador. The Dooling .61 engines became more dominant in race cars, as well as often running neck and neck with McCoys in CL Speed. Dooling hp peaks at a higher rpm, and works well with race car gearing. Today the McCoys seem to have an edge with the bigger propeller load required by the old FF designs. McCoys were produced in greater numbers and are currently more available and less expensive than Doolings. The Duro-Matic Company, and later Testors, partnered with Dick McCoy for mass production of the McCoy line. But Dick and his two sons have also operated machine shops producing many products, including glow plugs, race cars, and RC car-racing items, as well as parts for various full-scale aircraft companies. I never met Dick McCoy, but I’m sure I’d often and unknowingly watched him run tether cars with his group at Fourth Street Park in Ontario, California, after our CL club had finished flying. Many of us flew with McCoy Stunt engines in the circle next to the car track. To read more of Dick’s biography, check out the Hall of Fame section on AMA’s website listed in “Sources.” The five-page article covers much more 97Model Aviation February 2013www.ModelAviation.comOLD-TIMERSBob [email protected]
about his awards, work, and family life. Dick worked in his shop into his later years and passed away in 2005 at age 98. Tips for OT Fliers For a change of pace, I’ll share some tips aimed at Old-Timer (OT) fliers and anyone else who builds, rather than just assembles, models. Some are my own, but most were extracted from any source that looked useful and wasn’t copyrighted. SAM 26 Newsletter readers should recognize many because they’ve probably all been published there throughout the last 20 years. I’ve condensed them to squeeze in as many as possible. True model builders only need a basic idea and can usually carry it out just fine. Useful Tools and Materials Harbor Freight Tools is one good source of inexpensive tools for many of these tips. 1. A small squeeze-bulb blower (at approximately $2) for cleaning computer keyboards can inflate Trexler wheels, blow dust from your camera lens, etc. 2. A router speed controller makes an excellent soldering iron heat controller. It also controls speed for Dremel tools, drill motors, or any brushed AC motor. 3. A rotary hole punch, used in leather crafting, can punch accurate screw holes when making engine gaskets. 4. High-temperature silicone gasket material squeegeed and roll-pressed into coffee filter paper makes useful gasket material. 5. Dawn Power Dissolver (Walmart cleaning section) is a great cleaner for baked-on engine goo. 6. Acetone or MEK (butanone or methyl ethyl ketone) cleans residue off of cooled covering irons. 7. Bounce dryer sheets clean warm irons better. Pretend you’re ironing the sheet down. (Bounce also repels mosquitoes.) 8. Evapo-Rust is an effective rust treatment. You immerse items in the liquid. Construction Tips 1. Torsional rigidity can be increased by modifying most wing rib construction to add cap strips. 2. Ace Hardware’s lightweight drywall filler makes good filler for dings in balsa and a good sanding sealer. 3. Glue doesn’t stick to the backing material from iron-on film covering. Use it to isolate glued parts from anything else. 4. Use square brass tubing rather than round for wheel axle bearings on rubber and other lightweight models. The wheels don’t get as sticky and debris can be flushed out easier with air pressure or a quick shot of solvent. 5. Remove warps or set wing washout on a covered surface with an old hot-air popcorn popper with the top removed. You may also enlist some help to heat the upper surface with a heat gun while the popper heats the The RC flightline at the 2012 SAM Champs shows the well-separated FF area appearing as white tents in the upper background. Salvador photo.98Model Aviation February 2013www.ModelAviation.comOLD-TIMERS097
bottom for a more even job with less wrinkling. Safety Tips 1. Don’t store diesel fuel in a shop refrigerator. Leaking ether could explode when the light comes on. 2. Save your spark coil. Use the RC throttle stick, not a transmitter kill switch, to stop an ignition engine. The kill switch reenergizes the coil after release. 3. Wooden propellers display the spirit of OT models better and are much safer in the event of a propeller strike. Useful Techniques 1. The spray-on product K2r works well for rescuing oil-soaked wood. Wood can be further strengthened with an application of thin CA, which seems to enjoy bonding with oil-soaked wood. Spread the CA evenly with film cover backing. 2. A better way to end splice multistrand wires after stripping and fluxing is to splay the strands apart just enough to push them straight together end to end. Solder and heat shrink will then leave a smaller bulge and a straight joint. 3. Your cellphone number on a model ID tag might result in an errant model being returned before you head home from a big meet. Engine Operation 1. Using a starter on an old engine unequipped with double ball bearings often causes internal damage. 2. Jamming a running starter against any engine is bad practice. If the starter battery is weak, first turn the propeller backward against compression so the starter can get a run at it. 3. The backward-flip hand-starting technique works only with glow engines, not spark ignition. 4. Seventy-weight motor oil keeps engines free of buildup for years, but castor gums them up. 5. Most frozen engines can be freed up with a covering heat gun, patience, and reasonable pressure against the propeller. When the piston first moves, add the same type of solvent or the fuel last used, and you’re home free. SOURCES: AMA Hall of Famewww.modelaircraft.org/museum/hoflist.aspx Harbor Freight (800) 444-3353www.harborfreight.com Dawn Power Dissolverwww.dawn-dish.com Evapo-Rust(888) 329-9877www.evapo-rust.com Ace Hardware Store(866) 290-5334www.acehardware.com K2r Products(203) 732-4479www.k2rbrands.comJohn Eaton’s 9-foot Westerner, powered by an open-rocker O.S. .60FS, was built more than 30 years ago by Eut Tileston. John recently re-covered the fuselage.99Model Aviation February 2013www.ModelAviation.com097
Edition: Model Aviation - 2013/02
Page Numbers: 97,98,99
Dick McCoy and his enginesT he McCoy 60 engine is the dominant competition engine used today by Society of Antique Modelers (SAM) RC fliers in the large spark-ignition classes (Class C LER and Antique). It’s used less by SAM FF fliers, because their preference usually leans toward less-powerful, more docile-handling engines such as Super Cyclones and Ohlssons. For FF, a controlled, steady climb is generally more critical than pure power. The McCoy 60 was born as a racing engine and was the first in a long series of McCoy engines produced in many sizes for many uses. Oddly enough, Dick McCoy never got involved in model aircraft during his lifetime. He built and promptly crashed one FF model before moving on to tether car racing, where his engines dominated until the Dooling engines began to share the awards. Dick was a machinist by trade, which fit into car racing where the emphasis was on machining and hopping up engines. He set a national tether car speed record with an early engine and the McCoy became the engine for car use. The model car engines had short shafts with flywheels. But when CL Speed fliers discovered them, extended shafts with propeller drives were offered. They quickly dominated CL Speed circles. Smaller sizes (.49 and .29) of that basic design appeared and began setting records as well. Production began on .55 and .36 sizes, but because of some rules changes, they became obsolete for CL Speed and were altered into the “sportsman” series. The .49 engine also became obsolete for Speed, and a new .19 size was added for Class A racing. Nearly 100 different McCoy versions in at least 10 different displacements have been described in good detail in the Model Engine Collectors Journal, January 1981 and December 1992 issues.Mike Salvador’s son anchors a diesel-powered bomber as Mike checks the rpm for a Texaco flight at the 2012 SAM Champs. Photo by Rosalia Salvador. The Dooling .61 engines became more dominant in race cars, as well as often running neck and neck with McCoys in CL Speed. Dooling hp peaks at a higher rpm, and works well with race car gearing. Today the McCoys seem to have an edge with the bigger propeller load required by the old FF designs. McCoys were produced in greater numbers and are currently more available and less expensive than Doolings. The Duro-Matic Company, and later Testors, partnered with Dick McCoy for mass production of the McCoy line. But Dick and his two sons have also operated machine shops producing many products, including glow plugs, race cars, and RC car-racing items, as well as parts for various full-scale aircraft companies. I never met Dick McCoy, but I’m sure I’d often and unknowingly watched him run tether cars with his group at Fourth Street Park in Ontario, California, after our CL club had finished flying. Many of us flew with McCoy Stunt engines in the circle next to the car track. To read more of Dick’s biography, check out the Hall of Fame section on AMA’s website listed in “Sources.” The five-page article covers much more 97Model Aviation February 2013www.ModelAviation.comOLD-TIMERSBob [email protected]
about his awards, work, and family life. Dick worked in his shop into his later years and passed away in 2005 at age 98. Tips for OT Fliers For a change of pace, I’ll share some tips aimed at Old-Timer (OT) fliers and anyone else who builds, rather than just assembles, models. Some are my own, but most were extracted from any source that looked useful and wasn’t copyrighted. SAM 26 Newsletter readers should recognize many because they’ve probably all been published there throughout the last 20 years. I’ve condensed them to squeeze in as many as possible. True model builders only need a basic idea and can usually carry it out just fine. Useful Tools and Materials Harbor Freight Tools is one good source of inexpensive tools for many of these tips. 1. A small squeeze-bulb blower (at approximately $2) for cleaning computer keyboards can inflate Trexler wheels, blow dust from your camera lens, etc. 2. A router speed controller makes an excellent soldering iron heat controller. It also controls speed for Dremel tools, drill motors, or any brushed AC motor. 3. A rotary hole punch, used in leather crafting, can punch accurate screw holes when making engine gaskets. 4. High-temperature silicone gasket material squeegeed and roll-pressed into coffee filter paper makes useful gasket material. 5. Dawn Power Dissolver (Walmart cleaning section) is a great cleaner for baked-on engine goo. 6. Acetone or MEK (butanone or methyl ethyl ketone) cleans residue off of cooled covering irons. 7. Bounce dryer sheets clean warm irons better. Pretend you’re ironing the sheet down. (Bounce also repels mosquitoes.) 8. Evapo-Rust is an effective rust treatment. You immerse items in the liquid. Construction Tips 1. Torsional rigidity can be increased by modifying most wing rib construction to add cap strips. 2. Ace Hardware’s lightweight drywall filler makes good filler for dings in balsa and a good sanding sealer. 3. Glue doesn’t stick to the backing material from iron-on film covering. Use it to isolate glued parts from anything else. 4. Use square brass tubing rather than round for wheel axle bearings on rubber and other lightweight models. The wheels don’t get as sticky and debris can be flushed out easier with air pressure or a quick shot of solvent. 5. Remove warps or set wing washout on a covered surface with an old hot-air popcorn popper with the top removed. You may also enlist some help to heat the upper surface with a heat gun while the popper heats the The RC flightline at the 2012 SAM Champs shows the well-separated FF area appearing as white tents in the upper background. Salvador photo.98Model Aviation February 2013www.ModelAviation.comOLD-TIMERS097
bottom for a more even job with less wrinkling. Safety Tips 1. Don’t store diesel fuel in a shop refrigerator. Leaking ether could explode when the light comes on. 2. Save your spark coil. Use the RC throttle stick, not a transmitter kill switch, to stop an ignition engine. The kill switch reenergizes the coil after release. 3. Wooden propellers display the spirit of OT models better and are much safer in the event of a propeller strike. Useful Techniques 1. The spray-on product K2r works well for rescuing oil-soaked wood. Wood can be further strengthened with an application of thin CA, which seems to enjoy bonding with oil-soaked wood. Spread the CA evenly with film cover backing. 2. A better way to end splice multistrand wires after stripping and fluxing is to splay the strands apart just enough to push them straight together end to end. Solder and heat shrink will then leave a smaller bulge and a straight joint. 3. Your cellphone number on a model ID tag might result in an errant model being returned before you head home from a big meet. Engine Operation 1. Using a starter on an old engine unequipped with double ball bearings often causes internal damage. 2. Jamming a running starter against any engine is bad practice. If the starter battery is weak, first turn the propeller backward against compression so the starter can get a run at it. 3. The backward-flip hand-starting technique works only with glow engines, not spark ignition. 4. Seventy-weight motor oil keeps engines free of buildup for years, but castor gums them up. 5. Most frozen engines can be freed up with a covering heat gun, patience, and reasonable pressure against the propeller. When the piston first moves, add the same type of solvent or the fuel last used, and you’re home free. SOURCES: AMA Hall of Famewww.modelaircraft.org/museum/hoflist.aspx Harbor Freight (800) 444-3353www.harborfreight.com Dawn Power Dissolverwww.dawn-dish.com Evapo-Rust(888) 329-9877www.evapo-rust.com Ace Hardware Store(866) 290-5334www.acehardware.com K2r Products(203) 732-4479www.k2rbrands.comJohn Eaton’s 9-foot Westerner, powered by an open-rocker O.S. .60FS, was built more than 30 years ago by Eut Tileston. John recently re-covered the fuselage.99Model Aviation February 2013www.ModelAviation.com097
