70 MODEL AVIATION
R.A. BENJAMIN
Park View: Hobby Lobby Pilot-1 Aeronca Champ ARF
+•
Classic scale appearance.
• Flight performance replicates demands of the fullscale
airplane, providing excellent advanced
training.
-•
Champ was tail-heavy when balanced as specified
and too fast with the recommended propeller.
• No cooling-air exit was provided, which could be a
problem in hot weather.
Pluses and Minuses
That’s a Champ; there’s no mistaking that characteristic outline
and the classic yellow-and-orange paint job.
A smaller semiscale model
of the big-hearted trainer
Even as a small electric-powered model, this Champ from Pilot-1 is a
sweetheart. Aileron differential programming helps tremendously.
ISN’T THAT a Cub? What’s a Champ? Aeronca airplanes have a
special place in my memories, and I don’t mind explaining how the
Piper and Aeronca products of the 1940s competed with and
complemented each other at once.
Champs and Cubs were two-seaters, used several of the same
engines (Lycoming, Continental, etc.), and were predominantly
yellow as they rolled out the factory door. But which do I prefer?
I’m a licensed full-scale aircraft pilot, with many hours logged in
classic tail-wheel airplanes. On aesthetics alone, the Aeronca
Champion is like a lady I can’t get out of my mind. However, my
first checkout in a tail-wheel airplane was in a J-3 Cub, because
that’s what I had access to at the time.
My thing is electric-powered RC Scale, and most of my models
are of good, ol’ Golden Age classics. I have done some heavy-duty
competition flying and love to build—even the models I fly strictly
for fun.
So what am I doing with an ARF from Pilot-1 and Hobby
Lobby? The secret word is “fun.”
I wanted to see how it was to share the excitement of seeing an
ad for a model that turned my key and then taking advantage of
today’s advanced ARF technology, to bring one home and have it in
the air soon thereafter. That part of aeromodeling connects with the
little kid in us.
This model’s cute factor is off the chart, and it would not
surprise me to see Pilot-1 Champs showing up in serious numbers at
flying fields everywhere. If you have even a slight interest in classic
private aircraft and experience flying aileron-equipped RC airplanes
10sig3.QXD 8/21/09 2:15 PM Page 70
Left: It’s no big deal to add scale detail to this ARF. The door
outline and cowl parting lines are 1/64-inch black striping tape. The
top and center air-intake holes have been cut to match the scale
shape.
Aileron servos are mounted to plywood plates, inside the wing,
where they belong on a scale model. The outer ends of the lift struts
attach to plywood plates already in place under the covering.
Those tail-brace wires are included. The characteristic
Aeronca vertical tail fabric fillet is not reproduced, but an
experienced model builder could retrofit it.
The Champ required 13/4 ounces of nose weight to balance
at the recommended location, but it flew better for the
author at 13/4 inches behind the LE.
72 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Use guide marks on
temporary strips of masking
tape to locate holes for
cowl mounting screws. The
AXI 2217/16 mounts to
holes already drilled in the
motor-mount box.
Right: Airtronics’ 92874 2.4
GHz FHSS receiver rests on
a strip of Velcro between
rudder and elevator servos.
The Jeti JA-18-P ESC and
aileron servo extensions are
neatly located.
Above: The author added a
windshield coaming of 1/16-inch split
rubber strip, attached with flexible
canopy glue and taped in place to
dry, before screwing the formed
windshield into place.
Below: Little magnets hold the
battery-hatch cover in place. The
author rounded the inner front
edge of the plywood baseplate, to
avoid having to force the hatch
closed.
with tail wheels, one of these models could be great for you.
The Pilot-1 Champ is reasonably close to scale accuracy in
outline and cross-section. In addition, the classic yellow-and-orange
paint job is reproduced well enough in lightweight film covering to
give you a convincing dose of realism in flight.
But just because this is a high-wing model doesn’t mean it’s an
RC trainer. It reproduces the full-scale aircraft’s demanding
response to aileron and rudder control inputs, which makes it a
pleasant challenge to fly well—similar to the full-scale version but a
challenge nonetheless.
The demand to coordinate rudder and
ailerons all the time made the full-scale
Champ a good trainer by 1940s standards,
but it makes this model more ornery than
many of us have come to expect an RC
trainer to be. If you have enough experience
to appreciate what I mean, you have enough
experience to appreciate this model.
Construction: The Pilot-1 Champ is built in
the traditional sense, with plastic film
covering, a structure of balsa, and many
intricately laser-cut light-plywood parts. For
the sake of both appearance and durability,
there is sheet balsa wherever the full-scale
airplane had sheet aluminum.
Everything is provided in an attractive,
substantial box in the usual Hobby Lobby
manner, and all major components and sets
of related small parts are individually bagged
in plastic. Since no comprehensive partsidentification
sheet is included, pay attention
to what comes out of which bag.
I added several custom scale details to
this model, but I began work by assembling
everything according to the instruction
manual. Aside from the extreme cuteness
Exhaust pipes of 1/4-inch-diameter aluminum tubing have airbrushed smoke stains behind
them. The carburetor air-filter box is a block of balsa shaped to fit and covered with
adhesive-backed aluminum sheet. Those custom wheel disks are made from the bottoms
of soda cans.
10sig3.QXD 8/21/09 12:46 PM Page 72
Champ.
The wing consists of two outer panels
and a center-section, which are assembled
on a wing-joiner tube, and plywood tabs that
accept one retaining screw per panel. You
will need two aileron servos (one per wing
panel, mounted outboard ahead of the
aileron). Both Hobby Lobby and I
recommend that you devote two channels to
the aileron function, to take advantage of the
aileron differential that is common to most
midlevel radio systems.
The servos are assembled to mounting
plates, each of which is held in place by four
sheet-metal screws. Every extended servo
lead is fed through the wing by preinstalled
pull-through strings.
The ailerons are attached using furnished
CA hinges and connected by typical
pushrod-and-clevis hardware. The outer
panels are intended to be detached from the
center-section by removing those two
retaining screws.
However, if the size of your airplane
transporter (vehicle) permits, there is no
reason not to permanently glue them in
place. It’s your call.
The tail surfaces are straightforward
film-covered sheet balsa glued into precut
slots. Instructions recommend using fiveminute
epoxy for the job. I used my old
favorite—Titebond wood glue—to provide
plenty of working time to get the alignment
right, as well as for superior strength.
Rudder and elevator servos are mounted
on a preinstalled plywood deck in the
middle of the cabin area with the receiver
between them, attached with Velcro strips.
Another plywood plate, with ample laser-cut
lightening holes, splits the nose into upper
and lower spaces.
The ESC is attached with Velcro into the
top space. The 3S Li-Poly goes underneath,
with access through a neat belly hatch that is
held in place by a dowel pin and a pair of
little magnets, which are already installed.
With the wing in place, the lower ends of
the wing struts and the main landing gear
assembly are held in with screws, and a
tight-fitting balsa fairing block conceals all
of the attachment points.
The recommended AXI 2217/16
outrunner (which I used) mounts directly to
the face of a built-up, laser-cut-plywood
motor box. A well-made epoxy/fiberglass
cowl, which is supplied prefinished to match
the covering, slips into place over the
firewall/nose former and is attached with
sheet-metal screws to four preinstalled
hardwood mounting blocks.
Final assembly by the book is
straightforward, but my modifications show
up at this point in the construction sequence.
Several of them are scale details, for
appearance only.
Using a three-view of the full-scale
Aeronca 7AC from the Internet as a
reference, I opened the cowl’s cooling-air
intakes to a more accurate shape. As
manufactured, the model lacks a cooling-air
exit. This has not been a problem for me yet,
but summertime flying might require
alteration.
The bottom center opening, that is more
or less a rectangular hole on the ARF cowl,
is the location of the carburetor air-filter
assembly. Look a the photos to see what I
added there.
I included simulated cowl parting lines
and a door outline (on the right side only),
using the narrowest black striping tape I
could find. Then I trimmed the preformed
windshield for a close fit and added a lower
front edge cover strip of 1/16-inch-diameter
black neoprene cockpit coaming that I had
in the shop.
I trimmed the main gear axles short and
retained the wheels by soldering on thin
washers in place of the furnished setscrew
collars, so that custom wheel covers I cut
from the bottom of soft-drink cans would fit
over the wheels. Flexible canopy glue is the
best way I have found to attach these
hubcaps to the wheel rims on small models
such as the Champ.
I set the windshield aside and sprayed the
entire airplane with a light double coat of
Krylon Clear Matte, to get rid of that shiny
plastic look.
With everything assembled, I discovered
that 1.75 ounces of weight (lead) needed to
be attached to the front of the motor-mount
box, to bring the balance point (CG) in line
with the recommended position: 2 inches
behind the wing LE. Your model might or
might not need that weight; it depends on
your choice of battery pack.
Flying: An Aeronca Champion radiates
character, sitting there bright yellow-andorange
at the edge of a grassy field, as if it
were daring us to try to ignore all those light
airplanes of the 1930s and ’40s. If you’re
reading this, it’s a safe bet that you would
never do such a thing.
And you might understand that just as it
can be easy to be captivated by the
appearance of those aircraft, they could be
demanding to fly. You had to earn the
privilege of looking as though you knew
what you were doing around them. The
Pilot-1 Aeronca Champ ARF is at home in
this company.
Getting the model into the air and back
down is no big deal, but to get it right, to
replicate that sedate and graceful classic
performance, you need to learn about oldtime
stick-and-rudder flying with tail-wheel
airplanes. This Champ provides an excellent
way for you to do that.
It comes down to learning to do
coordinated turns (skillfully mixing rudder
movement with aileron) to control adverse
yaw, which is the nose’s tendency to swing
away from the direction in which you
thought you directed the airplane to turn. A
big part of this challenge is making the
necessary effort to set up the model to help
you get it right.
The instructions call for 1/2 inch of up
aileron movement and 3/16 inch down. This
works out to a differential ratio of 2.66:1. I
used a ratio of nearly 5:1, to get the model
adjusted so that it felt comfortable to fly. This
worked out to setting my Airtronics RDS8000
transmitter’s aileron differential function so
that I got the 1/2 inch of up aileron and just a
hint of down (roughly 1/16 inch).
I activated the aileron-to-rudder mix and
set it up for 50% (half as much rudder throw
as aileron), so that every aileron input makes
the rudder move too. That works okay for a
start, but, as is the case with most classic
airplanes, one setting is not always right.
You will need to learn to fly the rudder
stick all the time, even with the mixing
turned on. A classic case is a climbing turn
to the right at high power with the airplane
flying slowly; you might feel that you are
leading the model into the turn with the
rudder, and using a lot of it.
I encountered a problem with my model’s
fore-and-aft balance. With the CG set at the
recommended 2 inches behind the wing LE,
the Champ felt twitchy and difficult to fly
smoothly, even with considerable
exponential on both the aileron and elevator
functions.
Rather than add even more weight, by
cutting away a bit of the firewall former, I
moved the Li-Poly pack approximately an
inch forward. That moved the balance point
to 1.75 inches behind the LE. At the expense
of some protection for the battery in the
event of a hard enough impact to crush the
cowl, that made the problem go away.
This Champ is too fast with the
recommended APC 9 x 6E propeller. If you
let it zip around the field at fighter speed,
this neat little scale airplane becomes just
another high-wing sport ARF.
I am flying my model with an APC 10 x
5E propeller. It gives me improved climb
performance at low speed and makes half
throttle work out almost perfect for a
credible impression of scale speed.
On the topic of scale, I overlooked a
couple of details. One is that there is no
simulated instrument panel inside the
cockpit.
The Champ should have two side
windows—front and rear—but the necessary
fuselage former at the wing TE station
shows up through the rear window and
effectively turns it into two smaller
windows. Changing this would require
serious structural redesign that might not be
worth the added complexity for what is
intended to be a sport-scale model.
The faired fabric fillet—the place where
covering blends the front of the vertical tail
and the rear of the fuselage top into a single
curved surface—is an Aeronca’s classic
signature. As would eliminating the extra
window post, including this feature would
require structural changes to work.
None of these details would be difficult
for an experienced model builder to correct.
Had the manufacturer addressed them, it
would almost certainly have been at the
expense of a higher retail price.
The fillet, especially, has been the
subject of some discussion online. If you’d
like to share an opinion, I suspect that the
manufacturer would like to hear from you
via MA.
Trust me; I have flown classic high-wing
light airplanes in heavy-duty Scale
competition. If you are interested in flying
accurate models of those old-time aircraft,
and doing it well, the Pilot-1 Aeronca
Champ is as good an advanced trainer as
you’re likely to find for mastering the skills
you’ll need while having fun. MA
R.A. Benjamin
[email protected]
Manufacturer/Distributor:
Hobby Lobby International
5614 Franklin Pike Cir.
Brentwood TN 32027
(866) 933-5972
www.hobby-lobby.com
Sources:
Airtronics
(714) 963-0329
www.airtronics.net
Other Published Reviews:
Model Airplane News: January 2009
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/10
Page Numbers: 70,71,72,74,76
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/10
Page Numbers: 70,71,72,74,76
70 MODEL AVIATION
R.A. BENJAMIN
Park View: Hobby Lobby Pilot-1 Aeronca Champ ARF
+•
Classic scale appearance.
• Flight performance replicates demands of the fullscale
airplane, providing excellent advanced
training.
-•
Champ was tail-heavy when balanced as specified
and too fast with the recommended propeller.
• No cooling-air exit was provided, which could be a
problem in hot weather.
Pluses and Minuses
That’s a Champ; there’s no mistaking that characteristic outline
and the classic yellow-and-orange paint job.
A smaller semiscale model
of the big-hearted trainer
Even as a small electric-powered model, this Champ from Pilot-1 is a
sweetheart. Aileron differential programming helps tremendously.
ISN’T THAT a Cub? What’s a Champ? Aeronca airplanes have a
special place in my memories, and I don’t mind explaining how the
Piper and Aeronca products of the 1940s competed with and
complemented each other at once.
Champs and Cubs were two-seaters, used several of the same
engines (Lycoming, Continental, etc.), and were predominantly
yellow as they rolled out the factory door. But which do I prefer?
I’m a licensed full-scale aircraft pilot, with many hours logged in
classic tail-wheel airplanes. On aesthetics alone, the Aeronca
Champion is like a lady I can’t get out of my mind. However, my
first checkout in a tail-wheel airplane was in a J-3 Cub, because
that’s what I had access to at the time.
My thing is electric-powered RC Scale, and most of my models
are of good, ol’ Golden Age classics. I have done some heavy-duty
competition flying and love to build—even the models I fly strictly
for fun.
So what am I doing with an ARF from Pilot-1 and Hobby
Lobby? The secret word is “fun.”
I wanted to see how it was to share the excitement of seeing an
ad for a model that turned my key and then taking advantage of
today’s advanced ARF technology, to bring one home and have it in
the air soon thereafter. That part of aeromodeling connects with the
little kid in us.
This model’s cute factor is off the chart, and it would not
surprise me to see Pilot-1 Champs showing up in serious numbers at
flying fields everywhere. If you have even a slight interest in classic
private aircraft and experience flying aileron-equipped RC airplanes
10sig3.QXD 8/21/09 2:15 PM Page 70
Left: It’s no big deal to add scale detail to this ARF. The door
outline and cowl parting lines are 1/64-inch black striping tape. The
top and center air-intake holes have been cut to match the scale
shape.
Aileron servos are mounted to plywood plates, inside the wing,
where they belong on a scale model. The outer ends of the lift struts
attach to plywood plates already in place under the covering.
Those tail-brace wires are included. The characteristic
Aeronca vertical tail fabric fillet is not reproduced, but an
experienced model builder could retrofit it.
The Champ required 13/4 ounces of nose weight to balance
at the recommended location, but it flew better for the
author at 13/4 inches behind the LE.
72 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Use guide marks on
temporary strips of masking
tape to locate holes for
cowl mounting screws. The
AXI 2217/16 mounts to
holes already drilled in the
motor-mount box.
Right: Airtronics’ 92874 2.4
GHz FHSS receiver rests on
a strip of Velcro between
rudder and elevator servos.
The Jeti JA-18-P ESC and
aileron servo extensions are
neatly located.
Above: The author added a
windshield coaming of 1/16-inch split
rubber strip, attached with flexible
canopy glue and taped in place to
dry, before screwing the formed
windshield into place.
Below: Little magnets hold the
battery-hatch cover in place. The
author rounded the inner front
edge of the plywood baseplate, to
avoid having to force the hatch
closed.
with tail wheels, one of these models could be great for you.
The Pilot-1 Champ is reasonably close to scale accuracy in
outline and cross-section. In addition, the classic yellow-and-orange
paint job is reproduced well enough in lightweight film covering to
give you a convincing dose of realism in flight.
But just because this is a high-wing model doesn’t mean it’s an
RC trainer. It reproduces the full-scale aircraft’s demanding
response to aileron and rudder control inputs, which makes it a
pleasant challenge to fly well—similar to the full-scale version but a
challenge nonetheless.
The demand to coordinate rudder and
ailerons all the time made the full-scale
Champ a good trainer by 1940s standards,
but it makes this model more ornery than
many of us have come to expect an RC
trainer to be. If you have enough experience
to appreciate what I mean, you have enough
experience to appreciate this model.
Construction: The Pilot-1 Champ is built in
the traditional sense, with plastic film
covering, a structure of balsa, and many
intricately laser-cut light-plywood parts. For
the sake of both appearance and durability,
there is sheet balsa wherever the full-scale
airplane had sheet aluminum.
Everything is provided in an attractive,
substantial box in the usual Hobby Lobby
manner, and all major components and sets
of related small parts are individually bagged
in plastic. Since no comprehensive partsidentification
sheet is included, pay attention
to what comes out of which bag.
I added several custom scale details to
this model, but I began work by assembling
everything according to the instruction
manual. Aside from the extreme cuteness
Exhaust pipes of 1/4-inch-diameter aluminum tubing have airbrushed smoke stains behind
them. The carburetor air-filter box is a block of balsa shaped to fit and covered with
adhesive-backed aluminum sheet. Those custom wheel disks are made from the bottoms
of soda cans.
10sig3.QXD 8/21/09 12:46 PM Page 72
Champ.
The wing consists of two outer panels
and a center-section, which are assembled
on a wing-joiner tube, and plywood tabs that
accept one retaining screw per panel. You
will need two aileron servos (one per wing
panel, mounted outboard ahead of the
aileron). Both Hobby Lobby and I
recommend that you devote two channels to
the aileron function, to take advantage of the
aileron differential that is common to most
midlevel radio systems.
The servos are assembled to mounting
plates, each of which is held in place by four
sheet-metal screws. Every extended servo
lead is fed through the wing by preinstalled
pull-through strings.
The ailerons are attached using furnished
CA hinges and connected by typical
pushrod-and-clevis hardware. The outer
panels are intended to be detached from the
center-section by removing those two
retaining screws.
However, if the size of your airplane
transporter (vehicle) permits, there is no
reason not to permanently glue them in
place. It’s your call.
The tail surfaces are straightforward
film-covered sheet balsa glued into precut
slots. Instructions recommend using fiveminute
epoxy for the job. I used my old
favorite—Titebond wood glue—to provide
plenty of working time to get the alignment
right, as well as for superior strength.
Rudder and elevator servos are mounted
on a preinstalled plywood deck in the
middle of the cabin area with the receiver
between them, attached with Velcro strips.
Another plywood plate, with ample laser-cut
lightening holes, splits the nose into upper
and lower spaces.
The ESC is attached with Velcro into the
top space. The 3S Li-Poly goes underneath,
with access through a neat belly hatch that is
held in place by a dowel pin and a pair of
little magnets, which are already installed.
With the wing in place, the lower ends of
the wing struts and the main landing gear
assembly are held in with screws, and a
tight-fitting balsa fairing block conceals all
of the attachment points.
The recommended AXI 2217/16
outrunner (which I used) mounts directly to
the face of a built-up, laser-cut-plywood
motor box. A well-made epoxy/fiberglass
cowl, which is supplied prefinished to match
the covering, slips into place over the
firewall/nose former and is attached with
sheet-metal screws to four preinstalled
hardwood mounting blocks.
Final assembly by the book is
straightforward, but my modifications show
up at this point in the construction sequence.
Several of them are scale details, for
appearance only.
Using a three-view of the full-scale
Aeronca 7AC from the Internet as a
reference, I opened the cowl’s cooling-air
intakes to a more accurate shape. As
manufactured, the model lacks a cooling-air
exit. This has not been a problem for me yet,
but summertime flying might require
alteration.
The bottom center opening, that is more
or less a rectangular hole on the ARF cowl,
is the location of the carburetor air-filter
assembly. Look a the photos to see what I
added there.
I included simulated cowl parting lines
and a door outline (on the right side only),
using the narrowest black striping tape I
could find. Then I trimmed the preformed
windshield for a close fit and added a lower
front edge cover strip of 1/16-inch-diameter
black neoprene cockpit coaming that I had
in the shop.
I trimmed the main gear axles short and
retained the wheels by soldering on thin
washers in place of the furnished setscrew
collars, so that custom wheel covers I cut
from the bottom of soft-drink cans would fit
over the wheels. Flexible canopy glue is the
best way I have found to attach these
hubcaps to the wheel rims on small models
such as the Champ.
I set the windshield aside and sprayed the
entire airplane with a light double coat of
Krylon Clear Matte, to get rid of that shiny
plastic look.
With everything assembled, I discovered
that 1.75 ounces of weight (lead) needed to
be attached to the front of the motor-mount
box, to bring the balance point (CG) in line
with the recommended position: 2 inches
behind the wing LE. Your model might or
might not need that weight; it depends on
your choice of battery pack.
Flying: An Aeronca Champion radiates
character, sitting there bright yellow-andorange
at the edge of a grassy field, as if it
were daring us to try to ignore all those light
airplanes of the 1930s and ’40s. If you’re
reading this, it’s a safe bet that you would
never do such a thing.
And you might understand that just as it
can be easy to be captivated by the
appearance of those aircraft, they could be
demanding to fly. You had to earn the
privilege of looking as though you knew
what you were doing around them. The
Pilot-1 Aeronca Champ ARF is at home in
this company.
Getting the model into the air and back
down is no big deal, but to get it right, to
replicate that sedate and graceful classic
performance, you need to learn about oldtime
stick-and-rudder flying with tail-wheel
airplanes. This Champ provides an excellent
way for you to do that.
It comes down to learning to do
coordinated turns (skillfully mixing rudder
movement with aileron) to control adverse
yaw, which is the nose’s tendency to swing
away from the direction in which you
thought you directed the airplane to turn. A
big part of this challenge is making the
necessary effort to set up the model to help
you get it right.
The instructions call for 1/2 inch of up
aileron movement and 3/16 inch down. This
works out to a differential ratio of 2.66:1. I
used a ratio of nearly 5:1, to get the model
adjusted so that it felt comfortable to fly. This
worked out to setting my Airtronics RDS8000
transmitter’s aileron differential function so
that I got the 1/2 inch of up aileron and just a
hint of down (roughly 1/16 inch).
I activated the aileron-to-rudder mix and
set it up for 50% (half as much rudder throw
as aileron), so that every aileron input makes
the rudder move too. That works okay for a
start, but, as is the case with most classic
airplanes, one setting is not always right.
You will need to learn to fly the rudder
stick all the time, even with the mixing
turned on. A classic case is a climbing turn
to the right at high power with the airplane
flying slowly; you might feel that you are
leading the model into the turn with the
rudder, and using a lot of it.
I encountered a problem with my model’s
fore-and-aft balance. With the CG set at the
recommended 2 inches behind the wing LE,
the Champ felt twitchy and difficult to fly
smoothly, even with considerable
exponential on both the aileron and elevator
functions.
Rather than add even more weight, by
cutting away a bit of the firewall former, I
moved the Li-Poly pack approximately an
inch forward. That moved the balance point
to 1.75 inches behind the LE. At the expense
of some protection for the battery in the
event of a hard enough impact to crush the
cowl, that made the problem go away.
This Champ is too fast with the
recommended APC 9 x 6E propeller. If you
let it zip around the field at fighter speed,
this neat little scale airplane becomes just
another high-wing sport ARF.
I am flying my model with an APC 10 x
5E propeller. It gives me improved climb
performance at low speed and makes half
throttle work out almost perfect for a
credible impression of scale speed.
On the topic of scale, I overlooked a
couple of details. One is that there is no
simulated instrument panel inside the
cockpit.
The Champ should have two side
windows—front and rear—but the necessary
fuselage former at the wing TE station
shows up through the rear window and
effectively turns it into two smaller
windows. Changing this would require
serious structural redesign that might not be
worth the added complexity for what is
intended to be a sport-scale model.
The faired fabric fillet—the place where
covering blends the front of the vertical tail
and the rear of the fuselage top into a single
curved surface—is an Aeronca’s classic
signature. As would eliminating the extra
window post, including this feature would
require structural changes to work.
None of these details would be difficult
for an experienced model builder to correct.
Had the manufacturer addressed them, it
would almost certainly have been at the
expense of a higher retail price.
The fillet, especially, has been the
subject of some discussion online. If you’d
like to share an opinion, I suspect that the
manufacturer would like to hear from you
via MA.
Trust me; I have flown classic high-wing
light airplanes in heavy-duty Scale
competition. If you are interested in flying
accurate models of those old-time aircraft,
and doing it well, the Pilot-1 Aeronca
Champ is as good an advanced trainer as
you’re likely to find for mastering the skills
you’ll need while having fun. MA
R.A. Benjamin
[email protected]
Manufacturer/Distributor:
Hobby Lobby International
5614 Franklin Pike Cir.
Brentwood TN 32027
(866) 933-5972
www.hobby-lobby.com
Sources:
Airtronics
(714) 963-0329
www.airtronics.net
Other Published Reviews:
Model Airplane News: January 2009
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/10
Page Numbers: 70,71,72,74,76
70 MODEL AVIATION
R.A. BENJAMIN
Park View: Hobby Lobby Pilot-1 Aeronca Champ ARF
+•
Classic scale appearance.
• Flight performance replicates demands of the fullscale
airplane, providing excellent advanced
training.
-•
Champ was tail-heavy when balanced as specified
and too fast with the recommended propeller.
• No cooling-air exit was provided, which could be a
problem in hot weather.
Pluses and Minuses
That’s a Champ; there’s no mistaking that characteristic outline
and the classic yellow-and-orange paint job.
A smaller semiscale model
of the big-hearted trainer
Even as a small electric-powered model, this Champ from Pilot-1 is a
sweetheart. Aileron differential programming helps tremendously.
ISN’T THAT a Cub? What’s a Champ? Aeronca airplanes have a
special place in my memories, and I don’t mind explaining how the
Piper and Aeronca products of the 1940s competed with and
complemented each other at once.
Champs and Cubs were two-seaters, used several of the same
engines (Lycoming, Continental, etc.), and were predominantly
yellow as they rolled out the factory door. But which do I prefer?
I’m a licensed full-scale aircraft pilot, with many hours logged in
classic tail-wheel airplanes. On aesthetics alone, the Aeronca
Champion is like a lady I can’t get out of my mind. However, my
first checkout in a tail-wheel airplane was in a J-3 Cub, because
that’s what I had access to at the time.
My thing is electric-powered RC Scale, and most of my models
are of good, ol’ Golden Age classics. I have done some heavy-duty
competition flying and love to build—even the models I fly strictly
for fun.
So what am I doing with an ARF from Pilot-1 and Hobby
Lobby? The secret word is “fun.”
I wanted to see how it was to share the excitement of seeing an
ad for a model that turned my key and then taking advantage of
today’s advanced ARF technology, to bring one home and have it in
the air soon thereafter. That part of aeromodeling connects with the
little kid in us.
This model’s cute factor is off the chart, and it would not
surprise me to see Pilot-1 Champs showing up in serious numbers at
flying fields everywhere. If you have even a slight interest in classic
private aircraft and experience flying aileron-equipped RC airplanes
10sig3.QXD 8/21/09 2:15 PM Page 70
Left: It’s no big deal to add scale detail to this ARF. The door
outline and cowl parting lines are 1/64-inch black striping tape. The
top and center air-intake holes have been cut to match the scale
shape.
Aileron servos are mounted to plywood plates, inside the wing,
where they belong on a scale model. The outer ends of the lift struts
attach to plywood plates already in place under the covering.
Those tail-brace wires are included. The characteristic
Aeronca vertical tail fabric fillet is not reproduced, but an
experienced model builder could retrofit it.
The Champ required 13/4 ounces of nose weight to balance
at the recommended location, but it flew better for the
author at 13/4 inches behind the LE.
72 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Use guide marks on
temporary strips of masking
tape to locate holes for
cowl mounting screws. The
AXI 2217/16 mounts to
holes already drilled in the
motor-mount box.
Right: Airtronics’ 92874 2.4
GHz FHSS receiver rests on
a strip of Velcro between
rudder and elevator servos.
The Jeti JA-18-P ESC and
aileron servo extensions are
neatly located.
Above: The author added a
windshield coaming of 1/16-inch split
rubber strip, attached with flexible
canopy glue and taped in place to
dry, before screwing the formed
windshield into place.
Below: Little magnets hold the
battery-hatch cover in place. The
author rounded the inner front
edge of the plywood baseplate, to
avoid having to force the hatch
closed.
with tail wheels, one of these models could be great for you.
The Pilot-1 Champ is reasonably close to scale accuracy in
outline and cross-section. In addition, the classic yellow-and-orange
paint job is reproduced well enough in lightweight film covering to
give you a convincing dose of realism in flight.
But just because this is a high-wing model doesn’t mean it’s an
RC trainer. It reproduces the full-scale aircraft’s demanding
response to aileron and rudder control inputs, which makes it a
pleasant challenge to fly well—similar to the full-scale version but a
challenge nonetheless.
The demand to coordinate rudder and
ailerons all the time made the full-scale
Champ a good trainer by 1940s standards,
but it makes this model more ornery than
many of us have come to expect an RC
trainer to be. If you have enough experience
to appreciate what I mean, you have enough
experience to appreciate this model.
Construction: The Pilot-1 Champ is built in
the traditional sense, with plastic film
covering, a structure of balsa, and many
intricately laser-cut light-plywood parts. For
the sake of both appearance and durability,
there is sheet balsa wherever the full-scale
airplane had sheet aluminum.
Everything is provided in an attractive,
substantial box in the usual Hobby Lobby
manner, and all major components and sets
of related small parts are individually bagged
in plastic. Since no comprehensive partsidentification
sheet is included, pay attention
to what comes out of which bag.
I added several custom scale details to
this model, but I began work by assembling
everything according to the instruction
manual. Aside from the extreme cuteness
Exhaust pipes of 1/4-inch-diameter aluminum tubing have airbrushed smoke stains behind
them. The carburetor air-filter box is a block of balsa shaped to fit and covered with
adhesive-backed aluminum sheet. Those custom wheel disks are made from the bottoms
of soda cans.
10sig3.QXD 8/21/09 12:46 PM Page 72
Champ.
The wing consists of two outer panels
and a center-section, which are assembled
on a wing-joiner tube, and plywood tabs that
accept one retaining screw per panel. You
will need two aileron servos (one per wing
panel, mounted outboard ahead of the
aileron). Both Hobby Lobby and I
recommend that you devote two channels to
the aileron function, to take advantage of the
aileron differential that is common to most
midlevel radio systems.
The servos are assembled to mounting
plates, each of which is held in place by four
sheet-metal screws. Every extended servo
lead is fed through the wing by preinstalled
pull-through strings.
The ailerons are attached using furnished
CA hinges and connected by typical
pushrod-and-clevis hardware. The outer
panels are intended to be detached from the
center-section by removing those two
retaining screws.
However, if the size of your airplane
transporter (vehicle) permits, there is no
reason not to permanently glue them in
place. It’s your call.
The tail surfaces are straightforward
film-covered sheet balsa glued into precut
slots. Instructions recommend using fiveminute
epoxy for the job. I used my old
favorite—Titebond wood glue—to provide
plenty of working time to get the alignment
right, as well as for superior strength.
Rudder and elevator servos are mounted
on a preinstalled plywood deck in the
middle of the cabin area with the receiver
between them, attached with Velcro strips.
Another plywood plate, with ample laser-cut
lightening holes, splits the nose into upper
and lower spaces.
The ESC is attached with Velcro into the
top space. The 3S Li-Poly goes underneath,
with access through a neat belly hatch that is
held in place by a dowel pin and a pair of
little magnets, which are already installed.
With the wing in place, the lower ends of
the wing struts and the main landing gear
assembly are held in with screws, and a
tight-fitting balsa fairing block conceals all
of the attachment points.
The recommended AXI 2217/16
outrunner (which I used) mounts directly to
the face of a built-up, laser-cut-plywood
motor box. A well-made epoxy/fiberglass
cowl, which is supplied prefinished to match
the covering, slips into place over the
firewall/nose former and is attached with
sheet-metal screws to four preinstalled
hardwood mounting blocks.
Final assembly by the book is
straightforward, but my modifications show
up at this point in the construction sequence.
Several of them are scale details, for
appearance only.
Using a three-view of the full-scale
Aeronca 7AC from the Internet as a
reference, I opened the cowl’s cooling-air
intakes to a more accurate shape. As
manufactured, the model lacks a cooling-air
exit. This has not been a problem for me yet,
but summertime flying might require
alteration.
The bottom center opening, that is more
or less a rectangular hole on the ARF cowl,
is the location of the carburetor air-filter
assembly. Look a the photos to see what I
added there.
I included simulated cowl parting lines
and a door outline (on the right side only),
using the narrowest black striping tape I
could find. Then I trimmed the preformed
windshield for a close fit and added a lower
front edge cover strip of 1/16-inch-diameter
black neoprene cockpit coaming that I had
in the shop.
I trimmed the main gear axles short and
retained the wheels by soldering on thin
washers in place of the furnished setscrew
collars, so that custom wheel covers I cut
from the bottom of soft-drink cans would fit
over the wheels. Flexible canopy glue is the
best way I have found to attach these
hubcaps to the wheel rims on small models
such as the Champ.
I set the windshield aside and sprayed the
entire airplane with a light double coat of
Krylon Clear Matte, to get rid of that shiny
plastic look.
With everything assembled, I discovered
that 1.75 ounces of weight (lead) needed to
be attached to the front of the motor-mount
box, to bring the balance point (CG) in line
with the recommended position: 2 inches
behind the wing LE. Your model might or
might not need that weight; it depends on
your choice of battery pack.
Flying: An Aeronca Champion radiates
character, sitting there bright yellow-andorange
at the edge of a grassy field, as if it
were daring us to try to ignore all those light
airplanes of the 1930s and ’40s. If you’re
reading this, it’s a safe bet that you would
never do such a thing.
And you might understand that just as it
can be easy to be captivated by the
appearance of those aircraft, they could be
demanding to fly. You had to earn the
privilege of looking as though you knew
what you were doing around them. The
Pilot-1 Aeronca Champ ARF is at home in
this company.
Getting the model into the air and back
down is no big deal, but to get it right, to
replicate that sedate and graceful classic
performance, you need to learn about oldtime
stick-and-rudder flying with tail-wheel
airplanes. This Champ provides an excellent
way for you to do that.
It comes down to learning to do
coordinated turns (skillfully mixing rudder
movement with aileron) to control adverse
yaw, which is the nose’s tendency to swing
away from the direction in which you
thought you directed the airplane to turn. A
big part of this challenge is making the
necessary effort to set up the model to help
you get it right.
The instructions call for 1/2 inch of up
aileron movement and 3/16 inch down. This
works out to a differential ratio of 2.66:1. I
used a ratio of nearly 5:1, to get the model
adjusted so that it felt comfortable to fly. This
worked out to setting my Airtronics RDS8000
transmitter’s aileron differential function so
that I got the 1/2 inch of up aileron and just a
hint of down (roughly 1/16 inch).
I activated the aileron-to-rudder mix and
set it up for 50% (half as much rudder throw
as aileron), so that every aileron input makes
the rudder move too. That works okay for a
start, but, as is the case with most classic
airplanes, one setting is not always right.
You will need to learn to fly the rudder
stick all the time, even with the mixing
turned on. A classic case is a climbing turn
to the right at high power with the airplane
flying slowly; you might feel that you are
leading the model into the turn with the
rudder, and using a lot of it.
I encountered a problem with my model’s
fore-and-aft balance. With the CG set at the
recommended 2 inches behind the wing LE,
the Champ felt twitchy and difficult to fly
smoothly, even with considerable
exponential on both the aileron and elevator
functions.
Rather than add even more weight, by
cutting away a bit of the firewall former, I
moved the Li-Poly pack approximately an
inch forward. That moved the balance point
to 1.75 inches behind the LE. At the expense
of some protection for the battery in the
event of a hard enough impact to crush the
cowl, that made the problem go away.
This Champ is too fast with the
recommended APC 9 x 6E propeller. If you
let it zip around the field at fighter speed,
this neat little scale airplane becomes just
another high-wing sport ARF.
I am flying my model with an APC 10 x
5E propeller. It gives me improved climb
performance at low speed and makes half
throttle work out almost perfect for a
credible impression of scale speed.
On the topic of scale, I overlooked a
couple of details. One is that there is no
simulated instrument panel inside the
cockpit.
The Champ should have two side
windows—front and rear—but the necessary
fuselage former at the wing TE station
shows up through the rear window and
effectively turns it into two smaller
windows. Changing this would require
serious structural redesign that might not be
worth the added complexity for what is
intended to be a sport-scale model.
The faired fabric fillet—the place where
covering blends the front of the vertical tail
and the rear of the fuselage top into a single
curved surface—is an Aeronca’s classic
signature. As would eliminating the extra
window post, including this feature would
require structural changes to work.
None of these details would be difficult
for an experienced model builder to correct.
Had the manufacturer addressed them, it
would almost certainly have been at the
expense of a higher retail price.
The fillet, especially, has been the
subject of some discussion online. If you’d
like to share an opinion, I suspect that the
manufacturer would like to hear from you
via MA.
Trust me; I have flown classic high-wing
light airplanes in heavy-duty Scale
competition. If you are interested in flying
accurate models of those old-time aircraft,
and doing it well, the Pilot-1 Aeronca
Champ is as good an advanced trainer as
you’re likely to find for mastering the skills
you’ll need while having fun. MA
R.A. Benjamin
[email protected]
Manufacturer/Distributor:
Hobby Lobby International
5614 Franklin Pike Cir.
Brentwood TN 32027
(866) 933-5972
www.hobby-lobby.com
Sources:
Airtronics
(714) 963-0329
www.airtronics.net
Other Published Reviews:
Model Airplane News: January 2009
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/10
Page Numbers: 70,71,72,74,76
70 MODEL AVIATION
R.A. BENJAMIN
Park View: Hobby Lobby Pilot-1 Aeronca Champ ARF
+•
Classic scale appearance.
• Flight performance replicates demands of the fullscale
airplane, providing excellent advanced
training.
-•
Champ was tail-heavy when balanced as specified
and too fast with the recommended propeller.
• No cooling-air exit was provided, which could be a
problem in hot weather.
Pluses and Minuses
That’s a Champ; there’s no mistaking that characteristic outline
and the classic yellow-and-orange paint job.
A smaller semiscale model
of the big-hearted trainer
Even as a small electric-powered model, this Champ from Pilot-1 is a
sweetheart. Aileron differential programming helps tremendously.
ISN’T THAT a Cub? What’s a Champ? Aeronca airplanes have a
special place in my memories, and I don’t mind explaining how the
Piper and Aeronca products of the 1940s competed with and
complemented each other at once.
Champs and Cubs were two-seaters, used several of the same
engines (Lycoming, Continental, etc.), and were predominantly
yellow as they rolled out the factory door. But which do I prefer?
I’m a licensed full-scale aircraft pilot, with many hours logged in
classic tail-wheel airplanes. On aesthetics alone, the Aeronca
Champion is like a lady I can’t get out of my mind. However, my
first checkout in a tail-wheel airplane was in a J-3 Cub, because
that’s what I had access to at the time.
My thing is electric-powered RC Scale, and most of my models
are of good, ol’ Golden Age classics. I have done some heavy-duty
competition flying and love to build—even the models I fly strictly
for fun.
So what am I doing with an ARF from Pilot-1 and Hobby
Lobby? The secret word is “fun.”
I wanted to see how it was to share the excitement of seeing an
ad for a model that turned my key and then taking advantage of
today’s advanced ARF technology, to bring one home and have it in
the air soon thereafter. That part of aeromodeling connects with the
little kid in us.
This model’s cute factor is off the chart, and it would not
surprise me to see Pilot-1 Champs showing up in serious numbers at
flying fields everywhere. If you have even a slight interest in classic
private aircraft and experience flying aileron-equipped RC airplanes
10sig3.QXD 8/21/09 2:15 PM Page 70
Left: It’s no big deal to add scale detail to this ARF. The door
outline and cowl parting lines are 1/64-inch black striping tape. The
top and center air-intake holes have been cut to match the scale
shape.
Aileron servos are mounted to plywood plates, inside the wing,
where they belong on a scale model. The outer ends of the lift struts
attach to plywood plates already in place under the covering.
Those tail-brace wires are included. The characteristic
Aeronca vertical tail fabric fillet is not reproduced, but an
experienced model builder could retrofit it.
The Champ required 13/4 ounces of nose weight to balance
at the recommended location, but it flew better for the
author at 13/4 inches behind the LE.
72 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Use guide marks on
temporary strips of masking
tape to locate holes for
cowl mounting screws. The
AXI 2217/16 mounts to
holes already drilled in the
motor-mount box.
Right: Airtronics’ 92874 2.4
GHz FHSS receiver rests on
a strip of Velcro between
rudder and elevator servos.
The Jeti JA-18-P ESC and
aileron servo extensions are
neatly located.
Above: The author added a
windshield coaming of 1/16-inch split
rubber strip, attached with flexible
canopy glue and taped in place to
dry, before screwing the formed
windshield into place.
Below: Little magnets hold the
battery-hatch cover in place. The
author rounded the inner front
edge of the plywood baseplate, to
avoid having to force the hatch
closed.
with tail wheels, one of these models could be great for you.
The Pilot-1 Champ is reasonably close to scale accuracy in
outline and cross-section. In addition, the classic yellow-and-orange
paint job is reproduced well enough in lightweight film covering to
give you a convincing dose of realism in flight.
But just because this is a high-wing model doesn’t mean it’s an
RC trainer. It reproduces the full-scale aircraft’s demanding
response to aileron and rudder control inputs, which makes it a
pleasant challenge to fly well—similar to the full-scale version but a
challenge nonetheless.
The demand to coordinate rudder and
ailerons all the time made the full-scale
Champ a good trainer by 1940s standards,
but it makes this model more ornery than
many of us have come to expect an RC
trainer to be. If you have enough experience
to appreciate what I mean, you have enough
experience to appreciate this model.
Construction: The Pilot-1 Champ is built in
the traditional sense, with plastic film
covering, a structure of balsa, and many
intricately laser-cut light-plywood parts. For
the sake of both appearance and durability,
there is sheet balsa wherever the full-scale
airplane had sheet aluminum.
Everything is provided in an attractive,
substantial box in the usual Hobby Lobby
manner, and all major components and sets
of related small parts are individually bagged
in plastic. Since no comprehensive partsidentification
sheet is included, pay attention
to what comes out of which bag.
I added several custom scale details to
this model, but I began work by assembling
everything according to the instruction
manual. Aside from the extreme cuteness
Exhaust pipes of 1/4-inch-diameter aluminum tubing have airbrushed smoke stains behind
them. The carburetor air-filter box is a block of balsa shaped to fit and covered with
adhesive-backed aluminum sheet. Those custom wheel disks are made from the bottoms
of soda cans.
10sig3.QXD 8/21/09 12:46 PM Page 72
Champ.
The wing consists of two outer panels
and a center-section, which are assembled
on a wing-joiner tube, and plywood tabs that
accept one retaining screw per panel. You
will need two aileron servos (one per wing
panel, mounted outboard ahead of the
aileron). Both Hobby Lobby and I
recommend that you devote two channels to
the aileron function, to take advantage of the
aileron differential that is common to most
midlevel radio systems.
The servos are assembled to mounting
plates, each of which is held in place by four
sheet-metal screws. Every extended servo
lead is fed through the wing by preinstalled
pull-through strings.
The ailerons are attached using furnished
CA hinges and connected by typical
pushrod-and-clevis hardware. The outer
panels are intended to be detached from the
center-section by removing those two
retaining screws.
However, if the size of your airplane
transporter (vehicle) permits, there is no
reason not to permanently glue them in
place. It’s your call.
The tail surfaces are straightforward
film-covered sheet balsa glued into precut
slots. Instructions recommend using fiveminute
epoxy for the job. I used my old
favorite—Titebond wood glue—to provide
plenty of working time to get the alignment
right, as well as for superior strength.
Rudder and elevator servos are mounted
on a preinstalled plywood deck in the
middle of the cabin area with the receiver
between them, attached with Velcro strips.
Another plywood plate, with ample laser-cut
lightening holes, splits the nose into upper
and lower spaces.
The ESC is attached with Velcro into the
top space. The 3S Li-Poly goes underneath,
with access through a neat belly hatch that is
held in place by a dowel pin and a pair of
little magnets, which are already installed.
With the wing in place, the lower ends of
the wing struts and the main landing gear
assembly are held in with screws, and a
tight-fitting balsa fairing block conceals all
of the attachment points.
The recommended AXI 2217/16
outrunner (which I used) mounts directly to
the face of a built-up, laser-cut-plywood
motor box. A well-made epoxy/fiberglass
cowl, which is supplied prefinished to match
the covering, slips into place over the
firewall/nose former and is attached with
sheet-metal screws to four preinstalled
hardwood mounting blocks.
Final assembly by the book is
straightforward, but my modifications show
up at this point in the construction sequence.
Several of them are scale details, for
appearance only.
Using a three-view of the full-scale
Aeronca 7AC from the Internet as a
reference, I opened the cowl’s cooling-air
intakes to a more accurate shape. As
manufactured, the model lacks a cooling-air
exit. This has not been a problem for me yet,
but summertime flying might require
alteration.
The bottom center opening, that is more
or less a rectangular hole on the ARF cowl,
is the location of the carburetor air-filter
assembly. Look a the photos to see what I
added there.
I included simulated cowl parting lines
and a door outline (on the right side only),
using the narrowest black striping tape I
could find. Then I trimmed the preformed
windshield for a close fit and added a lower
front edge cover strip of 1/16-inch-diameter
black neoprene cockpit coaming that I had
in the shop.
I trimmed the main gear axles short and
retained the wheels by soldering on thin
washers in place of the furnished setscrew
collars, so that custom wheel covers I cut
from the bottom of soft-drink cans would fit
over the wheels. Flexible canopy glue is the
best way I have found to attach these
hubcaps to the wheel rims on small models
such as the Champ.
I set the windshield aside and sprayed the
entire airplane with a light double coat of
Krylon Clear Matte, to get rid of that shiny
plastic look.
With everything assembled, I discovered
that 1.75 ounces of weight (lead) needed to
be attached to the front of the motor-mount
box, to bring the balance point (CG) in line
with the recommended position: 2 inches
behind the wing LE. Your model might or
might not need that weight; it depends on
your choice of battery pack.
Flying: An Aeronca Champion radiates
character, sitting there bright yellow-andorange
at the edge of a grassy field, as if it
were daring us to try to ignore all those light
airplanes of the 1930s and ’40s. If you’re
reading this, it’s a safe bet that you would
never do such a thing.
And you might understand that just as it
can be easy to be captivated by the
appearance of those aircraft, they could be
demanding to fly. You had to earn the
privilege of looking as though you knew
what you were doing around them. The
Pilot-1 Aeronca Champ ARF is at home in
this company.
Getting the model into the air and back
down is no big deal, but to get it right, to
replicate that sedate and graceful classic
performance, you need to learn about oldtime
stick-and-rudder flying with tail-wheel
airplanes. This Champ provides an excellent
way for you to do that.
It comes down to learning to do
coordinated turns (skillfully mixing rudder
movement with aileron) to control adverse
yaw, which is the nose’s tendency to swing
away from the direction in which you
thought you directed the airplane to turn. A
big part of this challenge is making the
necessary effort to set up the model to help
you get it right.
The instructions call for 1/2 inch of up
aileron movement and 3/16 inch down. This
works out to a differential ratio of 2.66:1. I
used a ratio of nearly 5:1, to get the model
adjusted so that it felt comfortable to fly. This
worked out to setting my Airtronics RDS8000
transmitter’s aileron differential function so
that I got the 1/2 inch of up aileron and just a
hint of down (roughly 1/16 inch).
I activated the aileron-to-rudder mix and
set it up for 50% (half as much rudder throw
as aileron), so that every aileron input makes
the rudder move too. That works okay for a
start, but, as is the case with most classic
airplanes, one setting is not always right.
You will need to learn to fly the rudder
stick all the time, even with the mixing
turned on. A classic case is a climbing turn
to the right at high power with the airplane
flying slowly; you might feel that you are
leading the model into the turn with the
rudder, and using a lot of it.
I encountered a problem with my model’s
fore-and-aft balance. With the CG set at the
recommended 2 inches behind the wing LE,
the Champ felt twitchy and difficult to fly
smoothly, even with considerable
exponential on both the aileron and elevator
functions.
Rather than add even more weight, by
cutting away a bit of the firewall former, I
moved the Li-Poly pack approximately an
inch forward. That moved the balance point
to 1.75 inches behind the LE. At the expense
of some protection for the battery in the
event of a hard enough impact to crush the
cowl, that made the problem go away.
This Champ is too fast with the
recommended APC 9 x 6E propeller. If you
let it zip around the field at fighter speed,
this neat little scale airplane becomes just
another high-wing sport ARF.
I am flying my model with an APC 10 x
5E propeller. It gives me improved climb
performance at low speed and makes half
throttle work out almost perfect for a
credible impression of scale speed.
On the topic of scale, I overlooked a
couple of details. One is that there is no
simulated instrument panel inside the
cockpit.
The Champ should have two side
windows—front and rear—but the necessary
fuselage former at the wing TE station
shows up through the rear window and
effectively turns it into two smaller
windows. Changing this would require
serious structural redesign that might not be
worth the added complexity for what is
intended to be a sport-scale model.
The faired fabric fillet—the place where
covering blends the front of the vertical tail
and the rear of the fuselage top into a single
curved surface—is an Aeronca’s classic
signature. As would eliminating the extra
window post, including this feature would
require structural changes to work.
None of these details would be difficult
for an experienced model builder to correct.
Had the manufacturer addressed them, it
would almost certainly have been at the
expense of a higher retail price.
The fillet, especially, has been the
subject of some discussion online. If you’d
like to share an opinion, I suspect that the
manufacturer would like to hear from you
via MA.
Trust me; I have flown classic high-wing
light airplanes in heavy-duty Scale
competition. If you are interested in flying
accurate models of those old-time aircraft,
and doing it well, the Pilot-1 Aeronca
Champ is as good an advanced trainer as
you’re likely to find for mastering the skills
you’ll need while having fun. MA
R.A. Benjamin
[email protected]
Manufacturer/Distributor:
Hobby Lobby International
5614 Franklin Pike Cir.
Brentwood TN 32027
(866) 933-5972
www.hobby-lobby.com
Sources:
Airtronics
(714) 963-0329
www.airtronics.net
Other Published Reviews:
Model Airplane News: January 2009
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/10
Page Numbers: 70,71,72,74,76
70 MODEL AVIATION
R.A. BENJAMIN
Park View: Hobby Lobby Pilot-1 Aeronca Champ ARF
+•
Classic scale appearance.
• Flight performance replicates demands of the fullscale
airplane, providing excellent advanced
training.
-•
Champ was tail-heavy when balanced as specified
and too fast with the recommended propeller.
• No cooling-air exit was provided, which could be a
problem in hot weather.
Pluses and Minuses
That’s a Champ; there’s no mistaking that characteristic outline
and the classic yellow-and-orange paint job.
A smaller semiscale model
of the big-hearted trainer
Even as a small electric-powered model, this Champ from Pilot-1 is a
sweetheart. Aileron differential programming helps tremendously.
ISN’T THAT a Cub? What’s a Champ? Aeronca airplanes have a
special place in my memories, and I don’t mind explaining how the
Piper and Aeronca products of the 1940s competed with and
complemented each other at once.
Champs and Cubs were two-seaters, used several of the same
engines (Lycoming, Continental, etc.), and were predominantly
yellow as they rolled out the factory door. But which do I prefer?
I’m a licensed full-scale aircraft pilot, with many hours logged in
classic tail-wheel airplanes. On aesthetics alone, the Aeronca
Champion is like a lady I can’t get out of my mind. However, my
first checkout in a tail-wheel airplane was in a J-3 Cub, because
that’s what I had access to at the time.
My thing is electric-powered RC Scale, and most of my models
are of good, ol’ Golden Age classics. I have done some heavy-duty
competition flying and love to build—even the models I fly strictly
for fun.
So what am I doing with an ARF from Pilot-1 and Hobby
Lobby? The secret word is “fun.”
I wanted to see how it was to share the excitement of seeing an
ad for a model that turned my key and then taking advantage of
today’s advanced ARF technology, to bring one home and have it in
the air soon thereafter. That part of aeromodeling connects with the
little kid in us.
This model’s cute factor is off the chart, and it would not
surprise me to see Pilot-1 Champs showing up in serious numbers at
flying fields everywhere. If you have even a slight interest in classic
private aircraft and experience flying aileron-equipped RC airplanes
10sig3.QXD 8/21/09 2:15 PM Page 70
Left: It’s no big deal to add scale detail to this ARF. The door
outline and cowl parting lines are 1/64-inch black striping tape. The
top and center air-intake holes have been cut to match the scale
shape.
Aileron servos are mounted to plywood plates, inside the wing,
where they belong on a scale model. The outer ends of the lift struts
attach to plywood plates already in place under the covering.
Those tail-brace wires are included. The characteristic
Aeronca vertical tail fabric fillet is not reproduced, but an
experienced model builder could retrofit it.
The Champ required 13/4 ounces of nose weight to balance
at the recommended location, but it flew better for the
author at 13/4 inches behind the LE.
72 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Use guide marks on
temporary strips of masking
tape to locate holes for
cowl mounting screws. The
AXI 2217/16 mounts to
holes already drilled in the
motor-mount box.
Right: Airtronics’ 92874 2.4
GHz FHSS receiver rests on
a strip of Velcro between
rudder and elevator servos.
The Jeti JA-18-P ESC and
aileron servo extensions are
neatly located.
Above: The author added a
windshield coaming of 1/16-inch split
rubber strip, attached with flexible
canopy glue and taped in place to
dry, before screwing the formed
windshield into place.
Below: Little magnets hold the
battery-hatch cover in place. The
author rounded the inner front
edge of the plywood baseplate, to
avoid having to force the hatch
closed.
with tail wheels, one of these models could be great for you.
The Pilot-1 Champ is reasonably close to scale accuracy in
outline and cross-section. In addition, the classic yellow-and-orange
paint job is reproduced well enough in lightweight film covering to
give you a convincing dose of realism in flight.
But just because this is a high-wing model doesn’t mean it’s an
RC trainer. It reproduces the full-scale aircraft’s demanding
response to aileron and rudder control inputs, which makes it a
pleasant challenge to fly well—similar to the full-scale version but a
challenge nonetheless.
The demand to coordinate rudder and
ailerons all the time made the full-scale
Champ a good trainer by 1940s standards,
but it makes this model more ornery than
many of us have come to expect an RC
trainer to be. If you have enough experience
to appreciate what I mean, you have enough
experience to appreciate this model.
Construction: The Pilot-1 Champ is built in
the traditional sense, with plastic film
covering, a structure of balsa, and many
intricately laser-cut light-plywood parts. For
the sake of both appearance and durability,
there is sheet balsa wherever the full-scale
airplane had sheet aluminum.
Everything is provided in an attractive,
substantial box in the usual Hobby Lobby
manner, and all major components and sets
of related small parts are individually bagged
in plastic. Since no comprehensive partsidentification
sheet is included, pay attention
to what comes out of which bag.
I added several custom scale details to
this model, but I began work by assembling
everything according to the instruction
manual. Aside from the extreme cuteness
Exhaust pipes of 1/4-inch-diameter aluminum tubing have airbrushed smoke stains behind
them. The carburetor air-filter box is a block of balsa shaped to fit and covered with
adhesive-backed aluminum sheet. Those custom wheel disks are made from the bottoms
of soda cans.
10sig3.QXD 8/21/09 12:46 PM Page 72
Champ.
The wing consists of two outer panels
and a center-section, which are assembled
on a wing-joiner tube, and plywood tabs that
accept one retaining screw per panel. You
will need two aileron servos (one per wing
panel, mounted outboard ahead of the
aileron). Both Hobby Lobby and I
recommend that you devote two channels to
the aileron function, to take advantage of the
aileron differential that is common to most
midlevel radio systems.
The servos are assembled to mounting
plates, each of which is held in place by four
sheet-metal screws. Every extended servo
lead is fed through the wing by preinstalled
pull-through strings.
The ailerons are attached using furnished
CA hinges and connected by typical
pushrod-and-clevis hardware. The outer
panels are intended to be detached from the
center-section by removing those two
retaining screws.
However, if the size of your airplane
transporter (vehicle) permits, there is no
reason not to permanently glue them in
place. It’s your call.
The tail surfaces are straightforward
film-covered sheet balsa glued into precut
slots. Instructions recommend using fiveminute
epoxy for the job. I used my old
favorite—Titebond wood glue—to provide
plenty of working time to get the alignment
right, as well as for superior strength.
Rudder and elevator servos are mounted
on a preinstalled plywood deck in the
middle of the cabin area with the receiver
between them, attached with Velcro strips.
Another plywood plate, with ample laser-cut
lightening holes, splits the nose into upper
and lower spaces.
The ESC is attached with Velcro into the
top space. The 3S Li-Poly goes underneath,
with access through a neat belly hatch that is
held in place by a dowel pin and a pair of
little magnets, which are already installed.
With the wing in place, the lower ends of
the wing struts and the main landing gear
assembly are held in with screws, and a
tight-fitting balsa fairing block conceals all
of the attachment points.
The recommended AXI 2217/16
outrunner (which I used) mounts directly to
the face of a built-up, laser-cut-plywood
motor box. A well-made epoxy/fiberglass
cowl, which is supplied prefinished to match
the covering, slips into place over the
firewall/nose former and is attached with
sheet-metal screws to four preinstalled
hardwood mounting blocks.
Final assembly by the book is
straightforward, but my modifications show
up at this point in the construction sequence.
Several of them are scale details, for
appearance only.
Using a three-view of the full-scale
Aeronca 7AC from the Internet as a
reference, I opened the cowl’s cooling-air
intakes to a more accurate shape. As
manufactured, the model lacks a cooling-air
exit. This has not been a problem for me yet,
but summertime flying might require
alteration.
The bottom center opening, that is more
or less a rectangular hole on the ARF cowl,
is the location of the carburetor air-filter
assembly. Look a the photos to see what I
added there.
I included simulated cowl parting lines
and a door outline (on the right side only),
using the narrowest black striping tape I
could find. Then I trimmed the preformed
windshield for a close fit and added a lower
front edge cover strip of 1/16-inch-diameter
black neoprene cockpit coaming that I had
in the shop.
I trimmed the main gear axles short and
retained the wheels by soldering on thin
washers in place of the furnished setscrew
collars, so that custom wheel covers I cut
from the bottom of soft-drink cans would fit
over the wheels. Flexible canopy glue is the
best way I have found to attach these
hubcaps to the wheel rims on small models
such as the Champ.
I set the windshield aside and sprayed the
entire airplane with a light double coat of
Krylon Clear Matte, to get rid of that shiny
plastic look.
With everything assembled, I discovered
that 1.75 ounces of weight (lead) needed to
be attached to the front of the motor-mount
box, to bring the balance point (CG) in line
with the recommended position: 2 inches
behind the wing LE. Your model might or
might not need that weight; it depends on
your choice of battery pack.
Flying: An Aeronca Champion radiates
character, sitting there bright yellow-andorange
at the edge of a grassy field, as if it
were daring us to try to ignore all those light
airplanes of the 1930s and ’40s. If you’re
reading this, it’s a safe bet that you would
never do such a thing.
And you might understand that just as it
can be easy to be captivated by the
appearance of those aircraft, they could be
demanding to fly. You had to earn the
privilege of looking as though you knew
what you were doing around them. The
Pilot-1 Aeronca Champ ARF is at home in
this company.
Getting the model into the air and back
down is no big deal, but to get it right, to
replicate that sedate and graceful classic
performance, you need to learn about oldtime
stick-and-rudder flying with tail-wheel
airplanes. This Champ provides an excellent
way for you to do that.
It comes down to learning to do
coordinated turns (skillfully mixing rudder
movement with aileron) to control adverse
yaw, which is the nose’s tendency to swing
away from the direction in which you
thought you directed the airplane to turn. A
big part of this challenge is making the
necessary effort to set up the model to help
you get it right.
The instructions call for 1/2 inch of up
aileron movement and 3/16 inch down. This
works out to a differential ratio of 2.66:1. I
used a ratio of nearly 5:1, to get the model
adjusted so that it felt comfortable to fly. This
worked out to setting my Airtronics RDS8000
transmitter’s aileron differential function so
that I got the 1/2 inch of up aileron and just a
hint of down (roughly 1/16 inch).
I activated the aileron-to-rudder mix and
set it up for 50% (half as much rudder throw
as aileron), so that every aileron input makes
the rudder move too. That works okay for a
start, but, as is the case with most classic
airplanes, one setting is not always right.
You will need to learn to fly the rudder
stick all the time, even with the mixing
turned on. A classic case is a climbing turn
to the right at high power with the airplane
flying slowly; you might feel that you are
leading the model into the turn with the
rudder, and using a lot of it.
I encountered a problem with my model’s
fore-and-aft balance. With the CG set at the
recommended 2 inches behind the wing LE,
the Champ felt twitchy and difficult to fly
smoothly, even with considerable
exponential on both the aileron and elevator
functions.
Rather than add even more weight, by
cutting away a bit of the firewall former, I
moved the Li-Poly pack approximately an
inch forward. That moved the balance point
to 1.75 inches behind the LE. At the expense
of some protection for the battery in the
event of a hard enough impact to crush the
cowl, that made the problem go away.
This Champ is too fast with the
recommended APC 9 x 6E propeller. If you
let it zip around the field at fighter speed,
this neat little scale airplane becomes just
another high-wing sport ARF.
I am flying my model with an APC 10 x
5E propeller. It gives me improved climb
performance at low speed and makes half
throttle work out almost perfect for a
credible impression of scale speed.
On the topic of scale, I overlooked a
couple of details. One is that there is no
simulated instrument panel inside the
cockpit.
The Champ should have two side
windows—front and rear—but the necessary
fuselage former at the wing TE station
shows up through the rear window and
effectively turns it into two smaller
windows. Changing this would require
serious structural redesign that might not be
worth the added complexity for what is
intended to be a sport-scale model.
The faired fabric fillet—the place where
covering blends the front of the vertical tail
and the rear of the fuselage top into a single
curved surface—is an Aeronca’s classic
signature. As would eliminating the extra
window post, including this feature would
require structural changes to work.
None of these details would be difficult
for an experienced model builder to correct.
Had the manufacturer addressed them, it
would almost certainly have been at the
expense of a higher retail price.
The fillet, especially, has been the
subject of some discussion online. If you’d
like to share an opinion, I suspect that the
manufacturer would like to hear from you
via MA.
Trust me; I have flown classic high-wing
light airplanes in heavy-duty Scale
competition. If you are interested in flying
accurate models of those old-time aircraft,
and doing it well, the Pilot-1 Aeronca
Champ is as good an advanced trainer as
you’re likely to find for mastering the skills
you’ll need while having fun. MA
R.A. Benjamin
[email protected]
Manufacturer/Distributor:
Hobby Lobby International
5614 Franklin Pike Cir.
Brentwood TN 32027
(866) 933-5972
www.hobby-lobby.com
Sources:
Airtronics
(714) 963-0329
www.airtronics.net
Other Published Reviews:
Model Airplane News: January 2009