The author purchased these batteries on
Black Friday for $43 each with free
shipping.
The second Dualsky 6355DA-12T installation. Oops! The
manufacturer’s mount provides rear shaft bearing support.
[[email protected]]
Radio Control Aerobatics Mike Riggs
Also included in this column:
• Sportsman of the Month
• Treasure Valley Pattern
Contest
• Next month ...
Pattern economics
Adding the belly made the author’s Black Magic a huge model.
In round numbers, you can expect to pay $75 each for a carbon
wing tube and landing gear. Keep your eyes open; salvage is an option.
Wheel pants are optional; however, I truly believe that judges
prefer contestants to fly with pants on their models. ABS is an
inexpensive option. ARF pants are reasonably priced, fiberglass
is common, or build your own with balsa and plywood. I repaired
and painted some beat-up fiberglass pants for my Insight.
One of the benefits of electric airplanes is lack of vibration, so
servos can last seemingly forever. Digital servos aren’t cheap,
especially when they’re the newest and best kind. And buying
used servos can be risky.
TWO-METER RC Aerobatics (Pattern) airplanes cost a lot of
money. Naturally, some cost more than others.
With a growing family and a middle-class income, the
economics of flying 2-meter models is very real to me. How do
I keep costs at a reasonable level without sacrificing
performance?
It is often said that the best way to keep costs down is to buy
used. This is good advice for many; for me, a large part of the
hobby is missed by buying somebody else’s aircraft or an ARF.
For most of my first season I flew a 2-meter Sword ARF.
The idea was to have a disposable airplane in case something
bad happened while I was climbing the learning curve. Well,
something bad did happen and that model is no more.
The Sword is currently available as the Fortana from Texas
RC Planes. Because of weight issues I do not recommend
electrifying it, as I did. But for $350 it is a low-cost 2-meter
Pattern option.
What about a budget-minded guy such as myself, who
occasionally wants to walk out to the flightline with a brandspanking-
new 2-meter airplane? I like new models, especially
those I have built. I’m an okay builder—not great.
The best way I have found to keep airframe costs down is to
build them myself. Time in the workshop has a direct
correlation to dollars in the pocket.
Last winter I built a Mark Hunt Insight from a short kit.
After buying the kit, landing gear, wing tube, finishing
materials, and lots of balsa, my ready-to-fly airframe cost was
less than $500. The reward has been a great-performing—
weight-legal—aircraft I hope to fly for a long time.
What about hardware costs? I have no solution to keeping
expenses down on a couple of items. Ideas, anybody?
We definitely don’t want to skimp on the wing tubes. They
are costly, but breaking one in flight is even costlier.
The same goes for landing gear. I fly with electric power,
and anything other than tall, lightweight carbon gear is not an
option.
May 2011 97
05sig4.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 3/23/11 10:12 AM Page 97
With new brushless digitals out of my
price range, for my current project I bought
new servos of the last—brushed digital—
generation. The latest and greatest of
yesterday are almost always cheaper than
comparable units of today. And they fit the
requirements of an intermediate pilot such as
myself. For now my servo approach is to buy
new what the top pilots where using, say,
five years ago.
Next we need an inexpensive power
plant. When my Pattern adventure began two
years ago, my decision came down to either
learning how to run a big glow engine or
learning to run motors.
Not knowing much about either, I chose
electric for consistency and bought the most
bulletproof setup I knew of: an AXI
5330/FAI motor and a Castle Creations
Phoenix HV-85 controller.
After my accident with the Sword I found
that Castle Creations has an excellent crashreplacement
program. AXi was another story.
Many people told me that there is no
stateside service center for AXi, so Chris
Moon of F3A Unlimited put me in contact
with a guy at the factory in the Czech
Republic. After e-mail correspondence, it
was determined that my motor had been
ruined in the crash.
The good thing about motors is that they
have few moving parts. The bad thing about
motors is that if you bend the moving parts,
it’s cheaper to buy a new unit than to repair
it. Big AXis sell for roughly $275.
For my next airplane I have chosen to run
a $160 Dualsky 6355DA-12T. My rationale
is that if I’m going to be throwing away
motors after crashes, they need to be less
expensive.
It’s winter as I write this, so building is
certainly timely. I’m currently building a
Black Magic Version 3 electric, aka BMv3e.
Buying a second-hand (new in the box) kit
helped to keep the cost down.
After building my last few airplanes from
plans or short kits, gluing together precision
(laser)-cut parts is a treat. Paying full retail
price for a laser-cut kit can be costly—
especially if it has cool carbon parts, as the
BMv3e does.
I was patient and waited for a preowned
BMv3e to become available. Black Magic
kits haven’t been in production for a while,
but they come up for sale on occasion.
There are other wood Pattern kits
available; it just takes some legwork to find
them. InsightRC and Bridi both produce 2-
meter kits.
What about the sport flier with a cabinet
full of engines and radios who wants to try
Pattern without buying a bunch of new stuff?
The advice I give anybody who is willing to
listen is to fly Pattern with whatever you
have.
A year or two before I entered a contest,
goofing around, I was flying the Sportsman
pattern with a flat-bottom-wing trainer.
Precision it was not, but it allowed me to get
used to the idea of flying a sequence of
maneuvers in the box.
Many Pattern contests do not charge an
entrance fee to fly in the Sportsman class. A
fellow member flew a SPAD in our club’s
Sportsman contest, and he had as much or
more fun than anybody else. Box exits in that
class give the pilot and model time to
regroup.
Last year a good friend earned a couple of
first-place Sportsman finishes flying a Bridi
Killer Chaos. The judges told him to slow
down several times, but he took home the
wood nonetheless.
For those with an extra .46-size engine,
the Tower Hobbies Kaos 40 is a great value.
Sport Aviator, MA’s online magazine,
contains a great (free) review of the Kaos 40
ARF.
The biggest cost-savings tip I have is to
join the National Society of Radio Controlled
Aerobatics (NSRCA) mailing list. It’s free,
informative, and occasionally features good
deals.
Additionally, the passion with which rules
are discussed is informative and often
entertaining. If you’re hooked on Pattern as I
am, join NSRCA and receive the excellent KFactor
magazine.
The “Sportsman of the Month” is Tom
Mitchell of Georgetown, Texas. He contacted
MA to get information about and assistance
with selecting a model with which to get
started in Pattern.
Ultimately, his wife gave him a Phoenix
Model Sea Bee for Christmas. If you happen
to see or meet Tom, give him a warm Pattern
welcome.
98 MODEL AVIATION
If you or somebody you know is relatively
new to Pattern, please tell me about the
experience by e-mail or send a picture with a
brief description so I can use it for Sportsman
of the Month. Sharing our experiences lets
others know about the obstacles we overcome
in our quest to fly Pattern.
Shameless Self-Promotion: The Treasure
Valley Pattern Contest will be held May 14-
15 at the Boise Area Radio Kontrol Society
field, southeast of Boise, Idaho.
Besides being the first contest on the
NSRCA District 8 2011 schedule, it will be
my first contest as CD. I’d like to see you
there.
By the time you read this, I hope I’m flying
the pants off of my Insight and BMv3e in
practice and at contests. I hope you’re
flying too.
In the next column, spring weather
permitting, I’ll be telling tales about
learning the Intermediate schedule and
springtime practice.
Flight complete. MA
Sources:
Texas RC Planes
(936) 829-2477
www.texasrcplanes.com
Castle Creations
(913) 390-6939
www.castlecreations.com
AXi Model Motors
www.modelmotors.cz
F3A Unlimited
(224) 805-3553
www.f3aunlimited.com
Dualsky Advanced Power Systems
021-50322162
www.dualsky.com
InsightRC
www.insightrc.com
Bridi by Bluejay Airplane kits
(308) 276-2322
www.bridiairplanes.com
Tower Hobbies
(800) 637-6050
www.towerhobbies.com
Sport Aviator
http://masportaviator.com
National Society of Radio Controlled
Aerobatics
http://nsrca.us
Phoenix Model
www.phoenixmodel.com.vn/
Treasure Valley Pattern Contest
http://bit.ly/fUgeM0
05sig4.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 3/23/11 10:13 AM Page 98
Edition: Model Aviation - 2011/05
Page Numbers: 97,98
Edition: Model Aviation - 2011/05
Page Numbers: 97,98
The author purchased these batteries on
Black Friday for $43 each with free
shipping.
The second Dualsky 6355DA-12T installation. Oops! The
manufacturer’s mount provides rear shaft bearing support.
[[email protected]]
Radio Control Aerobatics Mike Riggs
Also included in this column:
• Sportsman of the Month
• Treasure Valley Pattern
Contest
• Next month ...
Pattern economics
Adding the belly made the author’s Black Magic a huge model.
In round numbers, you can expect to pay $75 each for a carbon
wing tube and landing gear. Keep your eyes open; salvage is an option.
Wheel pants are optional; however, I truly believe that judges
prefer contestants to fly with pants on their models. ABS is an
inexpensive option. ARF pants are reasonably priced, fiberglass
is common, or build your own with balsa and plywood. I repaired
and painted some beat-up fiberglass pants for my Insight.
One of the benefits of electric airplanes is lack of vibration, so
servos can last seemingly forever. Digital servos aren’t cheap,
especially when they’re the newest and best kind. And buying
used servos can be risky.
TWO-METER RC Aerobatics (Pattern) airplanes cost a lot of
money. Naturally, some cost more than others.
With a growing family and a middle-class income, the
economics of flying 2-meter models is very real to me. How do
I keep costs at a reasonable level without sacrificing
performance?
It is often said that the best way to keep costs down is to buy
used. This is good advice for many; for me, a large part of the
hobby is missed by buying somebody else’s aircraft or an ARF.
For most of my first season I flew a 2-meter Sword ARF.
The idea was to have a disposable airplane in case something
bad happened while I was climbing the learning curve. Well,
something bad did happen and that model is no more.
The Sword is currently available as the Fortana from Texas
RC Planes. Because of weight issues I do not recommend
electrifying it, as I did. But for $350 it is a low-cost 2-meter
Pattern option.
What about a budget-minded guy such as myself, who
occasionally wants to walk out to the flightline with a brandspanking-
new 2-meter airplane? I like new models, especially
those I have built. I’m an okay builder—not great.
The best way I have found to keep airframe costs down is to
build them myself. Time in the workshop has a direct
correlation to dollars in the pocket.
Last winter I built a Mark Hunt Insight from a short kit.
After buying the kit, landing gear, wing tube, finishing
materials, and lots of balsa, my ready-to-fly airframe cost was
less than $500. The reward has been a great-performing—
weight-legal—aircraft I hope to fly for a long time.
What about hardware costs? I have no solution to keeping
expenses down on a couple of items. Ideas, anybody?
We definitely don’t want to skimp on the wing tubes. They
are costly, but breaking one in flight is even costlier.
The same goes for landing gear. I fly with electric power,
and anything other than tall, lightweight carbon gear is not an
option.
May 2011 97
05sig4.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 3/23/11 10:12 AM Page 97
With new brushless digitals out of my
price range, for my current project I bought
new servos of the last—brushed digital—
generation. The latest and greatest of
yesterday are almost always cheaper than
comparable units of today. And they fit the
requirements of an intermediate pilot such as
myself. For now my servo approach is to buy
new what the top pilots where using, say,
five years ago.
Next we need an inexpensive power
plant. When my Pattern adventure began two
years ago, my decision came down to either
learning how to run a big glow engine or
learning to run motors.
Not knowing much about either, I chose
electric for consistency and bought the most
bulletproof setup I knew of: an AXI
5330/FAI motor and a Castle Creations
Phoenix HV-85 controller.
After my accident with the Sword I found
that Castle Creations has an excellent crashreplacement
program. AXi was another story.
Many people told me that there is no
stateside service center for AXi, so Chris
Moon of F3A Unlimited put me in contact
with a guy at the factory in the Czech
Republic. After e-mail correspondence, it
was determined that my motor had been
ruined in the crash.
The good thing about motors is that they
have few moving parts. The bad thing about
motors is that if you bend the moving parts,
it’s cheaper to buy a new unit than to repair
it. Big AXis sell for roughly $275.
For my next airplane I have chosen to run
a $160 Dualsky 6355DA-12T. My rationale
is that if I’m going to be throwing away
motors after crashes, they need to be less
expensive.
It’s winter as I write this, so building is
certainly timely. I’m currently building a
Black Magic Version 3 electric, aka BMv3e.
Buying a second-hand (new in the box) kit
helped to keep the cost down.
After building my last few airplanes from
plans or short kits, gluing together precision
(laser)-cut parts is a treat. Paying full retail
price for a laser-cut kit can be costly—
especially if it has cool carbon parts, as the
BMv3e does.
I was patient and waited for a preowned
BMv3e to become available. Black Magic
kits haven’t been in production for a while,
but they come up for sale on occasion.
There are other wood Pattern kits
available; it just takes some legwork to find
them. InsightRC and Bridi both produce 2-
meter kits.
What about the sport flier with a cabinet
full of engines and radios who wants to try
Pattern without buying a bunch of new stuff?
The advice I give anybody who is willing to
listen is to fly Pattern with whatever you
have.
A year or two before I entered a contest,
goofing around, I was flying the Sportsman
pattern with a flat-bottom-wing trainer.
Precision it was not, but it allowed me to get
used to the idea of flying a sequence of
maneuvers in the box.
Many Pattern contests do not charge an
entrance fee to fly in the Sportsman class. A
fellow member flew a SPAD in our club’s
Sportsman contest, and he had as much or
more fun than anybody else. Box exits in that
class give the pilot and model time to
regroup.
Last year a good friend earned a couple of
first-place Sportsman finishes flying a Bridi
Killer Chaos. The judges told him to slow
down several times, but he took home the
wood nonetheless.
For those with an extra .46-size engine,
the Tower Hobbies Kaos 40 is a great value.
Sport Aviator, MA’s online magazine,
contains a great (free) review of the Kaos 40
ARF.
The biggest cost-savings tip I have is to
join the National Society of Radio Controlled
Aerobatics (NSRCA) mailing list. It’s free,
informative, and occasionally features good
deals.
Additionally, the passion with which rules
are discussed is informative and often
entertaining. If you’re hooked on Pattern as I
am, join NSRCA and receive the excellent KFactor
magazine.
The “Sportsman of the Month” is Tom
Mitchell of Georgetown, Texas. He contacted
MA to get information about and assistance
with selecting a model with which to get
started in Pattern.
Ultimately, his wife gave him a Phoenix
Model Sea Bee for Christmas. If you happen
to see or meet Tom, give him a warm Pattern
welcome.
98 MODEL AVIATION
If you or somebody you know is relatively
new to Pattern, please tell me about the
experience by e-mail or send a picture with a
brief description so I can use it for Sportsman
of the Month. Sharing our experiences lets
others know about the obstacles we overcome
in our quest to fly Pattern.
Shameless Self-Promotion: The Treasure
Valley Pattern Contest will be held May 14-
15 at the Boise Area Radio Kontrol Society
field, southeast of Boise, Idaho.
Besides being the first contest on the
NSRCA District 8 2011 schedule, it will be
my first contest as CD. I’d like to see you
there.
By the time you read this, I hope I’m flying
the pants off of my Insight and BMv3e in
practice and at contests. I hope you’re
flying too.
In the next column, spring weather
permitting, I’ll be telling tales about
learning the Intermediate schedule and
springtime practice.
Flight complete. MA
Sources:
Texas RC Planes
(936) 829-2477
www.texasrcplanes.com
Castle Creations
(913) 390-6939
www.castlecreations.com
AXi Model Motors
www.modelmotors.cz
F3A Unlimited
(224) 805-3553
www.f3aunlimited.com
Dualsky Advanced Power Systems
021-50322162
www.dualsky.com
InsightRC
www.insightrc.com
Bridi by Bluejay Airplane kits
(308) 276-2322
www.bridiairplanes.com
Tower Hobbies
(800) 637-6050
www.towerhobbies.com
Sport Aviator
http://masportaviator.com
National Society of Radio Controlled
Aerobatics
http://nsrca.us
Phoenix Model
www.phoenixmodel.com.vn/
Treasure Valley Pattern Contest
http://bit.ly/fUgeM0
05sig4.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 3/23/11 10:13 AM Page 98
