108 MODEL AVIATION
Andy Marone’s scratch-built Curtiss P-6E
[[email protected]]
Radio Control Giants Sal Calvagna
Also included in this column:
• Gunny Bumburs’ Lockheed
C-130
• AeroFiber Tech cowls and
accessories in fiberglass or
carbon fiber
• AMA member Jim H. Hudson
responds regarding rotary engines
Andy Marone of Wading River,
New York, displays his newly
finished 85-inch-wingspan Curtiss
P-6E Hawk.
Built from three-views using a
fiberglass cowl and wheel pants,
Andy’s P-6E comes in for a
landing.
Andy used this miniature brass piano hinge for opening the hatch
that houses the receiver switches.
Gunny Bumburs of Babylon, New York, powers his American
Eagle C-130 with four O.S. .32 glow engines.
Gunny’s 102-inch-wingspan C-130, painted in the Baltic Air
National Guard colors, makes an overhead pass.
AS I WRITE this column in mid-December, the holidays are upon
us and winter is ready to make its debut. My models are tucked
away for the season, some patiently awaiting repair.
In addition to the repairs and preventive maintenance, I’m eager
to start a new project. Winter seems to be a good time to do that, but
enough about me! There’s no doubt that talent abounds within the
members of AMA and following is proof!
Curtiss P-6E: Andy Marone of Wading River, New York, is an
engineer at the Brookhaven National Laboratories (BNL) in Upton,
New York, and a member of the BNL Model Airplane Club. He
greatly enjoys building larger-scale models, and his latest creation is
an 85-inch-wingspan Curtiss P-6E Hawk.
A RCS 50VT four-stroke gas engine turns the 22 x 8 propeller at
roughly 6,000 rpm. The Hawk is covered with Sig Koverall material
and painted with latex paint and LustreKote clear finish.
Andy built the model from three-views and used a fiberglass
cowl and wheel pants that are available for Wendell Hostetler’s P-
6E. The cabanes are made from steel tube and the struts are
fabricated from streamline aluminum tubing from K&S.
Andy hid the receiver switches under a hatch he made on the
side of the fuselage. He used a miniature brass piano hinge that is
You can visit Nelson Hobby at www.nelsonhobby.com.
I was there for the Hawk’s first flights and am happy to report
that the model flew well. It is gentle, well mannered, and would be
good in the hands of a novice RC Giant pilot. Great job, Andy!
The P-6E was a pursuit aircraft from the early 1930s when the
military budget for the Army Air Corps was practically nonexistent.
During that time, the country was reeling from the Depression and
the Navy and Army were battling for funds of their own. The Army
Air Corps was low on the proverbial totem pole.
Only 46 of these airplanes were built, at a cost of $13,000 each.
The P-6E was in service from 1932 to 1937 and was the last of the
biplane pursuit aircraft ordered in any quantity. Although it never
saw combat, it is remembered as one of the most attractive biplanes
ever built. A P-6E resides in the Wright-Patterson Air Force
Museum in Dayton, Ohio.
The Brookhaven National Laboratory hosts the BNL RC modelflying
club. The site was active from 1917 to 1920 as Camp Upton.
The following information can be found on BNL’s Web site at
www.bnl.gov/world/.
“The area of central Suffolk County presently occupied by
Brookhaven National Laboratory once served the nation in a
different manner. It was the site of the US Army’s Camp Upton,
which was active from 1917 until 1920, and again from 1940 until
1946.
“During World War II, the camp was rebuilt primarily as an
induction center for draftees. The Army later used the site as a
convalescent and rehabilitation hospital for returning wounded.”
In 1946 representatives from nine major eastern universities—
Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, University of
Rochester, and Yale—formed a non-profit corporation to establish a
new nuclear-science facility, and they chose a surplus Army base
“way out on Long Island” as the site. Thus Brookhaven National
Laboratory was born.
On March 21, 1947, the US War Department transferred the site
of Camp Upton on Long Island to the US Atomic Energy
Commission (AEC): the federal agency that oversaw the founding of
Brookhaven National Laboratory and was a predecessor to the
present US Department of Energy (DOE).
Brookhaven Lab was conceived to promote basic research in the
physical, chemical, biological, and engineering aspects of the atomic
sciences. An equally important concept was the establishment of a
national laboratory in the Northeast to design, construct, and operate
large scientific machines that individual institutions could not afford
to develop on their own. The laboratory was also to resemble a
university to the greatest extent possible.
Today Brookhaven Lab is one of 10 national laboratories under
the DOE’s Office of Science, which provides the majority of the
laboratory’s research dollars and direction. Founded in 1977 as the
12th cabinet-level department, the DOE oversees much of the science
research in this country through its Office of Science established in
1947 on Long Island, Upton, New York. Brookhaven is a
multiprogram national laboratory operated by Brookhaven Science
Associates for the DOE.
Six Nobel Prizes have been awarded for discoveries made at the
lab. Brookhaven has a staff of approximately 3,000 scientists,
engineers, technicians, and support staff and more than 4,000 guest
researchers annually.
Gunny’s C-130: For those of us who are engine challenged, having
one engine in the nose of a model can be one too many. I have a
hard enough time keeping one engine running, much less having a
model with four of them, so hats off to Gunny Bumburs of Babylon,
New York, for his latest feat of engineering: a 102-inch-wingspan
Quality Fiberglass Lockheed C-130 Hercules.
The short kit for this Hercules comes with a fiberglass fuselage,
foam cores for the wings, and a horizontal stabilizer. Gunny powers
his C-130 with four O.S. .32 glow engines turning homemade fourblade
9 x 5 wood propellers. He actually combined two 9 x 5 twoblade
wood propellers to make four blades.
This 1/4-scale Fokker Dr.I cowl from AeroFiber Tech can be made
from fiberglass or carbon fiber.
The engines are synchronized using a
Futaba MSA-10 Synchronizer unit. The
MSA-10 can accommodate as many as four
servos. Each engine nacelle houses a 6-
ounce fuel tank. The weight of the C-130
with fuel is 23.5 pounds. The model is
painted in the Baltic Air National Guard
colors. Nice work, Gunny!
The Lockheed C-130 is a turboprop cargo
aircraft serving in more than 60 countries
worldwide with more than 40 models and
variants. It is only the third aircraft following
the English Electric Canberra and B-52
Stratofortress to mark 50 years of continuous
use.
The C-130 was originally used as a troop
and cargo transport aircraft capable of short
takeoffs and landings from unimproved
runways. Throughout the years the C-130
has amassed a range of accomplishments,
but one of the most unusual took place in
October 1963 when a Marine Corps C-130
successfully landed on the deck of an
aircraft carrier. Lockheed still produces the
C-130 today.
Carbon or Fiberglass? Stan’s FiberTech is
under new ownership. Brad Hensley of
Santa Maria, California, has renamed the
company AeroFiber Tech and produces
fiberglass parts for a range of models. The
Web site, www.stansfibertech.com/, has a
list of parts that you can order.
If you don’t see something you need,
give Brad a call. You can have your parts
expertly made from carbon fiber or
fiberglass. Contact AeroFiber Tech at 3125
Liberator St., Santa Maria CA; Tel.: (805)
922-3262.
Rotary Response: In the November MA I
wrote about rotary engines and their lack of
carburetors. I explained that rpm was
controlled by a magneto switch. It seems
that I was only partially correct. Jim H.
Johnson of San Marcos, Texas, wrote the
following:
“When starting to read your column in
the November issue of MA, I was
immediately attracted to the photo of the
beautiful 1/3-scale LeRhône engine. Loss of
vision caused my retirement from modeling
after nearly 70 years but I can still see well
enough to work on the full-scale aircraft of
earlier times.
“I now work as a volunteer for the
Vintage Aviation Foundation and Pioneer
Flight Museum at Kingsbury Aerodrome in
Kingsbury, Texas. We are nearing
completion of a Fokker Dr.I that will be
powered by an 80 hp LeRhône rotary. A
little less power than the original 110 hp
Oberursel but our airplane will be roughly
300 pounds lighter, and this brings me back
to your column.
“You stated, ‘Since the engine lacked a
carburetor and had no throttle, it was
normally operated wide open. To reduce
rpm for landing, the ignition was
intermittently cut via a blip switch.’
“This a common misconception and one
I also had until I joined the foundation
several years ago. Roger Freeman, the
founder, president, and test pilot for the
commercial enterprise Vintage Aviation
Services, taught me that not all rotary
engines were created equal. The Gnome and
its clone, the Oberursel UR.I, do rely on the
blip switch for power management. The
LeRhône and its clone, the Oberursel UR.II,
had a fuel and air valve that worked
together.
“A documentation text on the Dr.I
describes it well for the UR.II and
procedures were the same for the LeRhône.
“‘The throttle lever worked the air slide
with its interconnected fuel needle of the
bloctube carburetor and controlled engine
power as long as the fuel fine adjustment
was in the correct position. Fine adjustment
depended on weather and was set prior to
takeoff with run-up to 1,100 rpm at the
chocks and setting noted. Throttle was then
closed and fuel setting (mixture) adjusted
accordingly. This gave about 800 rpm which
was too fast for taxi on smooth fields so
engine was blipped as necessary.’
“We currently have a restored Thomas-
Morse S-4C Scout with a LeRhône 80 hp
engine and at demonstration flights during
our fly-ins, the only time I ever heard a blip
was on landing approach. According to
Roger, blipping was discouraged on these
engines because excess blipping could cause
damage.
“Having just mounted the LeRhône in
the Dr.I, I can assure you there’s an air valve
on the backside of the engine and a throttlequadrant
and fuel-adjustment control in the
cockpit. Although it wasn’t a full rpm range,
the LeRhône and UR.II did have a throttle
and carburetor of sorts.
“As for reliability, your final statement
on Oberursel failures is pretty much on the
mark and all our references in the extensive
library here attribute it mostly to lubricants.
The Germans just couldn’t get their hands
on enough castor oil.”
Jim, thanks for setting the record straight.
Best to you with all your projects.
So ends another RC Giants column. Until
next month. MA
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/03
Page Numbers: 108,109,110
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/03
Page Numbers: 108,109,110
108 MODEL AVIATION
Andy Marone’s scratch-built Curtiss P-6E
[[email protected]]
Radio Control Giants Sal Calvagna
Also included in this column:
• Gunny Bumburs’ Lockheed
C-130
• AeroFiber Tech cowls and
accessories in fiberglass or
carbon fiber
• AMA member Jim H. Hudson
responds regarding rotary engines
Andy Marone of Wading River,
New York, displays his newly
finished 85-inch-wingspan Curtiss
P-6E Hawk.
Built from three-views using a
fiberglass cowl and wheel pants,
Andy’s P-6E comes in for a
landing.
Andy used this miniature brass piano hinge for opening the hatch
that houses the receiver switches.
Gunny Bumburs of Babylon, New York, powers his American
Eagle C-130 with four O.S. .32 glow engines.
Gunny’s 102-inch-wingspan C-130, painted in the Baltic Air
National Guard colors, makes an overhead pass.
AS I WRITE this column in mid-December, the holidays are upon
us and winter is ready to make its debut. My models are tucked
away for the season, some patiently awaiting repair.
In addition to the repairs and preventive maintenance, I’m eager
to start a new project. Winter seems to be a good time to do that, but
enough about me! There’s no doubt that talent abounds within the
members of AMA and following is proof!
Curtiss P-6E: Andy Marone of Wading River, New York, is an
engineer at the Brookhaven National Laboratories (BNL) in Upton,
New York, and a member of the BNL Model Airplane Club. He
greatly enjoys building larger-scale models, and his latest creation is
an 85-inch-wingspan Curtiss P-6E Hawk.
A RCS 50VT four-stroke gas engine turns the 22 x 8 propeller at
roughly 6,000 rpm. The Hawk is covered with Sig Koverall material
and painted with latex paint and LustreKote clear finish.
Andy built the model from three-views and used a fiberglass
cowl and wheel pants that are available for Wendell Hostetler’s P-
6E. The cabanes are made from steel tube and the struts are
fabricated from streamline aluminum tubing from K&S.
Andy hid the receiver switches under a hatch he made on the
side of the fuselage. He used a miniature brass piano hinge that is
You can visit Nelson Hobby at www.nelsonhobby.com.
I was there for the Hawk’s first flights and am happy to report
that the model flew well. It is gentle, well mannered, and would be
good in the hands of a novice RC Giant pilot. Great job, Andy!
The P-6E was a pursuit aircraft from the early 1930s when the
military budget for the Army Air Corps was practically nonexistent.
During that time, the country was reeling from the Depression and
the Navy and Army were battling for funds of their own. The Army
Air Corps was low on the proverbial totem pole.
Only 46 of these airplanes were built, at a cost of $13,000 each.
The P-6E was in service from 1932 to 1937 and was the last of the
biplane pursuit aircraft ordered in any quantity. Although it never
saw combat, it is remembered as one of the most attractive biplanes
ever built. A P-6E resides in the Wright-Patterson Air Force
Museum in Dayton, Ohio.
The Brookhaven National Laboratory hosts the BNL RC modelflying
club. The site was active from 1917 to 1920 as Camp Upton.
The following information can be found on BNL’s Web site at
www.bnl.gov/world/.
“The area of central Suffolk County presently occupied by
Brookhaven National Laboratory once served the nation in a
different manner. It was the site of the US Army’s Camp Upton,
which was active from 1917 until 1920, and again from 1940 until
1946.
“During World War II, the camp was rebuilt primarily as an
induction center for draftees. The Army later used the site as a
convalescent and rehabilitation hospital for returning wounded.”
In 1946 representatives from nine major eastern universities—
Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, University of
Rochester, and Yale—formed a non-profit corporation to establish a
new nuclear-science facility, and they chose a surplus Army base
“way out on Long Island” as the site. Thus Brookhaven National
Laboratory was born.
On March 21, 1947, the US War Department transferred the site
of Camp Upton on Long Island to the US Atomic Energy
Commission (AEC): the federal agency that oversaw the founding of
Brookhaven National Laboratory and was a predecessor to the
present US Department of Energy (DOE).
Brookhaven Lab was conceived to promote basic research in the
physical, chemical, biological, and engineering aspects of the atomic
sciences. An equally important concept was the establishment of a
national laboratory in the Northeast to design, construct, and operate
large scientific machines that individual institutions could not afford
to develop on their own. The laboratory was also to resemble a
university to the greatest extent possible.
Today Brookhaven Lab is one of 10 national laboratories under
the DOE’s Office of Science, which provides the majority of the
laboratory’s research dollars and direction. Founded in 1977 as the
12th cabinet-level department, the DOE oversees much of the science
research in this country through its Office of Science established in
1947 on Long Island, Upton, New York. Brookhaven is a
multiprogram national laboratory operated by Brookhaven Science
Associates for the DOE.
Six Nobel Prizes have been awarded for discoveries made at the
lab. Brookhaven has a staff of approximately 3,000 scientists,
engineers, technicians, and support staff and more than 4,000 guest
researchers annually.
Gunny’s C-130: For those of us who are engine challenged, having
one engine in the nose of a model can be one too many. I have a
hard enough time keeping one engine running, much less having a
model with four of them, so hats off to Gunny Bumburs of Babylon,
New York, for his latest feat of engineering: a 102-inch-wingspan
Quality Fiberglass Lockheed C-130 Hercules.
The short kit for this Hercules comes with a fiberglass fuselage,
foam cores for the wings, and a horizontal stabilizer. Gunny powers
his C-130 with four O.S. .32 glow engines turning homemade fourblade
9 x 5 wood propellers. He actually combined two 9 x 5 twoblade
wood propellers to make four blades.
This 1/4-scale Fokker Dr.I cowl from AeroFiber Tech can be made
from fiberglass or carbon fiber.
The engines are synchronized using a
Futaba MSA-10 Synchronizer unit. The
MSA-10 can accommodate as many as four
servos. Each engine nacelle houses a 6-
ounce fuel tank. The weight of the C-130
with fuel is 23.5 pounds. The model is
painted in the Baltic Air National Guard
colors. Nice work, Gunny!
The Lockheed C-130 is a turboprop cargo
aircraft serving in more than 60 countries
worldwide with more than 40 models and
variants. It is only the third aircraft following
the English Electric Canberra and B-52
Stratofortress to mark 50 years of continuous
use.
The C-130 was originally used as a troop
and cargo transport aircraft capable of short
takeoffs and landings from unimproved
runways. Throughout the years the C-130
has amassed a range of accomplishments,
but one of the most unusual took place in
October 1963 when a Marine Corps C-130
successfully landed on the deck of an
aircraft carrier. Lockheed still produces the
C-130 today.
Carbon or Fiberglass? Stan’s FiberTech is
under new ownership. Brad Hensley of
Santa Maria, California, has renamed the
company AeroFiber Tech and produces
fiberglass parts for a range of models. The
Web site, www.stansfibertech.com/, has a
list of parts that you can order.
If you don’t see something you need,
give Brad a call. You can have your parts
expertly made from carbon fiber or
fiberglass. Contact AeroFiber Tech at 3125
Liberator St., Santa Maria CA; Tel.: (805)
922-3262.
Rotary Response: In the November MA I
wrote about rotary engines and their lack of
carburetors. I explained that rpm was
controlled by a magneto switch. It seems
that I was only partially correct. Jim H.
Johnson of San Marcos, Texas, wrote the
following:
“When starting to read your column in
the November issue of MA, I was
immediately attracted to the photo of the
beautiful 1/3-scale LeRhône engine. Loss of
vision caused my retirement from modeling
after nearly 70 years but I can still see well
enough to work on the full-scale aircraft of
earlier times.
“I now work as a volunteer for the
Vintage Aviation Foundation and Pioneer
Flight Museum at Kingsbury Aerodrome in
Kingsbury, Texas. We are nearing
completion of a Fokker Dr.I that will be
powered by an 80 hp LeRhône rotary. A
little less power than the original 110 hp
Oberursel but our airplane will be roughly
300 pounds lighter, and this brings me back
to your column.
“You stated, ‘Since the engine lacked a
carburetor and had no throttle, it was
normally operated wide open. To reduce
rpm for landing, the ignition was
intermittently cut via a blip switch.’
“This a common misconception and one
I also had until I joined the foundation
several years ago. Roger Freeman, the
founder, president, and test pilot for the
commercial enterprise Vintage Aviation
Services, taught me that not all rotary
engines were created equal. The Gnome and
its clone, the Oberursel UR.I, do rely on the
blip switch for power management. The
LeRhône and its clone, the Oberursel UR.II,
had a fuel and air valve that worked
together.
“A documentation text on the Dr.I
describes it well for the UR.II and
procedures were the same for the LeRhône.
“‘The throttle lever worked the air slide
with its interconnected fuel needle of the
bloctube carburetor and controlled engine
power as long as the fuel fine adjustment
was in the correct position. Fine adjustment
depended on weather and was set prior to
takeoff with run-up to 1,100 rpm at the
chocks and setting noted. Throttle was then
closed and fuel setting (mixture) adjusted
accordingly. This gave about 800 rpm which
was too fast for taxi on smooth fields so
engine was blipped as necessary.’
“We currently have a restored Thomas-
Morse S-4C Scout with a LeRhône 80 hp
engine and at demonstration flights during
our fly-ins, the only time I ever heard a blip
was on landing approach. According to
Roger, blipping was discouraged on these
engines because excess blipping could cause
damage.
“Having just mounted the LeRhône in
the Dr.I, I can assure you there’s an air valve
on the backside of the engine and a throttlequadrant
and fuel-adjustment control in the
cockpit. Although it wasn’t a full rpm range,
the LeRhône and UR.II did have a throttle
and carburetor of sorts.
“As for reliability, your final statement
on Oberursel failures is pretty much on the
mark and all our references in the extensive
library here attribute it mostly to lubricants.
The Germans just couldn’t get their hands
on enough castor oil.”
Jim, thanks for setting the record straight.
Best to you with all your projects.
So ends another RC Giants column. Until
next month. MA
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/03
Page Numbers: 108,109,110
108 MODEL AVIATION
Andy Marone’s scratch-built Curtiss P-6E
[[email protected]]
Radio Control Giants Sal Calvagna
Also included in this column:
• Gunny Bumburs’ Lockheed
C-130
• AeroFiber Tech cowls and
accessories in fiberglass or
carbon fiber
• AMA member Jim H. Hudson
responds regarding rotary engines
Andy Marone of Wading River,
New York, displays his newly
finished 85-inch-wingspan Curtiss
P-6E Hawk.
Built from three-views using a
fiberglass cowl and wheel pants,
Andy’s P-6E comes in for a
landing.
Andy used this miniature brass piano hinge for opening the hatch
that houses the receiver switches.
Gunny Bumburs of Babylon, New York, powers his American
Eagle C-130 with four O.S. .32 glow engines.
Gunny’s 102-inch-wingspan C-130, painted in the Baltic Air
National Guard colors, makes an overhead pass.
AS I WRITE this column in mid-December, the holidays are upon
us and winter is ready to make its debut. My models are tucked
away for the season, some patiently awaiting repair.
In addition to the repairs and preventive maintenance, I’m eager
to start a new project. Winter seems to be a good time to do that, but
enough about me! There’s no doubt that talent abounds within the
members of AMA and following is proof!
Curtiss P-6E: Andy Marone of Wading River, New York, is an
engineer at the Brookhaven National Laboratories (BNL) in Upton,
New York, and a member of the BNL Model Airplane Club. He
greatly enjoys building larger-scale models, and his latest creation is
an 85-inch-wingspan Curtiss P-6E Hawk.
A RCS 50VT four-stroke gas engine turns the 22 x 8 propeller at
roughly 6,000 rpm. The Hawk is covered with Sig Koverall material
and painted with latex paint and LustreKote clear finish.
Andy built the model from three-views and used a fiberglass
cowl and wheel pants that are available for Wendell Hostetler’s P-
6E. The cabanes are made from steel tube and the struts are
fabricated from streamline aluminum tubing from K&S.
Andy hid the receiver switches under a hatch he made on the
side of the fuselage. He used a miniature brass piano hinge that is
You can visit Nelson Hobby at www.nelsonhobby.com.
I was there for the Hawk’s first flights and am happy to report
that the model flew well. It is gentle, well mannered, and would be
good in the hands of a novice RC Giant pilot. Great job, Andy!
The P-6E was a pursuit aircraft from the early 1930s when the
military budget for the Army Air Corps was practically nonexistent.
During that time, the country was reeling from the Depression and
the Navy and Army were battling for funds of their own. The Army
Air Corps was low on the proverbial totem pole.
Only 46 of these airplanes were built, at a cost of $13,000 each.
The P-6E was in service from 1932 to 1937 and was the last of the
biplane pursuit aircraft ordered in any quantity. Although it never
saw combat, it is remembered as one of the most attractive biplanes
ever built. A P-6E resides in the Wright-Patterson Air Force
Museum in Dayton, Ohio.
The Brookhaven National Laboratory hosts the BNL RC modelflying
club. The site was active from 1917 to 1920 as Camp Upton.
The following information can be found on BNL’s Web site at
www.bnl.gov/world/.
“The area of central Suffolk County presently occupied by
Brookhaven National Laboratory once served the nation in a
different manner. It was the site of the US Army’s Camp Upton,
which was active from 1917 until 1920, and again from 1940 until
1946.
“During World War II, the camp was rebuilt primarily as an
induction center for draftees. The Army later used the site as a
convalescent and rehabilitation hospital for returning wounded.”
In 1946 representatives from nine major eastern universities—
Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, University of
Rochester, and Yale—formed a non-profit corporation to establish a
new nuclear-science facility, and they chose a surplus Army base
“way out on Long Island” as the site. Thus Brookhaven National
Laboratory was born.
On March 21, 1947, the US War Department transferred the site
of Camp Upton on Long Island to the US Atomic Energy
Commission (AEC): the federal agency that oversaw the founding of
Brookhaven National Laboratory and was a predecessor to the
present US Department of Energy (DOE).
Brookhaven Lab was conceived to promote basic research in the
physical, chemical, biological, and engineering aspects of the atomic
sciences. An equally important concept was the establishment of a
national laboratory in the Northeast to design, construct, and operate
large scientific machines that individual institutions could not afford
to develop on their own. The laboratory was also to resemble a
university to the greatest extent possible.
Today Brookhaven Lab is one of 10 national laboratories under
the DOE’s Office of Science, which provides the majority of the
laboratory’s research dollars and direction. Founded in 1977 as the
12th cabinet-level department, the DOE oversees much of the science
research in this country through its Office of Science established in
1947 on Long Island, Upton, New York. Brookhaven is a
multiprogram national laboratory operated by Brookhaven Science
Associates for the DOE.
Six Nobel Prizes have been awarded for discoveries made at the
lab. Brookhaven has a staff of approximately 3,000 scientists,
engineers, technicians, and support staff and more than 4,000 guest
researchers annually.
Gunny’s C-130: For those of us who are engine challenged, having
one engine in the nose of a model can be one too many. I have a
hard enough time keeping one engine running, much less having a
model with four of them, so hats off to Gunny Bumburs of Babylon,
New York, for his latest feat of engineering: a 102-inch-wingspan
Quality Fiberglass Lockheed C-130 Hercules.
The short kit for this Hercules comes with a fiberglass fuselage,
foam cores for the wings, and a horizontal stabilizer. Gunny powers
his C-130 with four O.S. .32 glow engines turning homemade fourblade
9 x 5 wood propellers. He actually combined two 9 x 5 twoblade
wood propellers to make four blades.
This 1/4-scale Fokker Dr.I cowl from AeroFiber Tech can be made
from fiberglass or carbon fiber.
The engines are synchronized using a
Futaba MSA-10 Synchronizer unit. The
MSA-10 can accommodate as many as four
servos. Each engine nacelle houses a 6-
ounce fuel tank. The weight of the C-130
with fuel is 23.5 pounds. The model is
painted in the Baltic Air National Guard
colors. Nice work, Gunny!
The Lockheed C-130 is a turboprop cargo
aircraft serving in more than 60 countries
worldwide with more than 40 models and
variants. It is only the third aircraft following
the English Electric Canberra and B-52
Stratofortress to mark 50 years of continuous
use.
The C-130 was originally used as a troop
and cargo transport aircraft capable of short
takeoffs and landings from unimproved
runways. Throughout the years the C-130
has amassed a range of accomplishments,
but one of the most unusual took place in
October 1963 when a Marine Corps C-130
successfully landed on the deck of an
aircraft carrier. Lockheed still produces the
C-130 today.
Carbon or Fiberglass? Stan’s FiberTech is
under new ownership. Brad Hensley of
Santa Maria, California, has renamed the
company AeroFiber Tech and produces
fiberglass parts for a range of models. The
Web site, www.stansfibertech.com/, has a
list of parts that you can order.
If you don’t see something you need,
give Brad a call. You can have your parts
expertly made from carbon fiber or
fiberglass. Contact AeroFiber Tech at 3125
Liberator St., Santa Maria CA; Tel.: (805)
922-3262.
Rotary Response: In the November MA I
wrote about rotary engines and their lack of
carburetors. I explained that rpm was
controlled by a magneto switch. It seems
that I was only partially correct. Jim H.
Johnson of San Marcos, Texas, wrote the
following:
“When starting to read your column in
the November issue of MA, I was
immediately attracted to the photo of the
beautiful 1/3-scale LeRhône engine. Loss of
vision caused my retirement from modeling
after nearly 70 years but I can still see well
enough to work on the full-scale aircraft of
earlier times.
“I now work as a volunteer for the
Vintage Aviation Foundation and Pioneer
Flight Museum at Kingsbury Aerodrome in
Kingsbury, Texas. We are nearing
completion of a Fokker Dr.I that will be
powered by an 80 hp LeRhône rotary. A
little less power than the original 110 hp
Oberursel but our airplane will be roughly
300 pounds lighter, and this brings me back
to your column.
“You stated, ‘Since the engine lacked a
carburetor and had no throttle, it was
normally operated wide open. To reduce
rpm for landing, the ignition was
intermittently cut via a blip switch.’
“This a common misconception and one
I also had until I joined the foundation
several years ago. Roger Freeman, the
founder, president, and test pilot for the
commercial enterprise Vintage Aviation
Services, taught me that not all rotary
engines were created equal. The Gnome and
its clone, the Oberursel UR.I, do rely on the
blip switch for power management. The
LeRhône and its clone, the Oberursel UR.II,
had a fuel and air valve that worked
together.
“A documentation text on the Dr.I
describes it well for the UR.II and
procedures were the same for the LeRhône.
“‘The throttle lever worked the air slide
with its interconnected fuel needle of the
bloctube carburetor and controlled engine
power as long as the fuel fine adjustment
was in the correct position. Fine adjustment
depended on weather and was set prior to
takeoff with run-up to 1,100 rpm at the
chocks and setting noted. Throttle was then
closed and fuel setting (mixture) adjusted
accordingly. This gave about 800 rpm which
was too fast for taxi on smooth fields so
engine was blipped as necessary.’
“We currently have a restored Thomas-
Morse S-4C Scout with a LeRhône 80 hp
engine and at demonstration flights during
our fly-ins, the only time I ever heard a blip
was on landing approach. According to
Roger, blipping was discouraged on these
engines because excess blipping could cause
damage.
“Having just mounted the LeRhône in
the Dr.I, I can assure you there’s an air valve
on the backside of the engine and a throttlequadrant
and fuel-adjustment control in the
cockpit. Although it wasn’t a full rpm range,
the LeRhône and UR.II did have a throttle
and carburetor of sorts.
“As for reliability, your final statement
on Oberursel failures is pretty much on the
mark and all our references in the extensive
library here attribute it mostly to lubricants.
The Germans just couldn’t get their hands
on enough castor oil.”
Jim, thanks for setting the record straight.
Best to you with all your projects.
So ends another RC Giants column. Until
next month. MA