Radio Control Giants - 2010/06

104 MODEL AVIATION
How does that saying go, about “birds of a
feather”? Think about it!
I enjoy using Sullivan Products’ Ball
Connectors to attach pushrods to servo horns.
All of my models use those connectors,
especially on elevator and rudder controls.
Installing and removing them are a snap,
because each connector has a springloaded
sleeve that captures a stainlesssteel
ball attached to the servo horn.
In addition, it’s easy to connect or
disconnect the pushrod from the servo with
only one hand free. But one of my favorite
things about these
connectors is that
they permit off-axis
operation.
“Birds of a feather flock together”
[[email protected]]
Radio Control Giants Sal Calvagna
Also included in this column:
• Sullivan’s new ball link
connector
• Aviation Concepts “switch
hides” kits
• Dick Wiklund’s 1/4-scale
Sopwith Pup
• Mike Laible’s F6F Hellcat
Dick Wiklund in the shop with his newly completed 1/4-scale Balsa USA Sopwith Pup. It
was covered with Worldtex linen and given a clear-coat finish.
Dick followed the fuselage lacing
instructions in the December 2009 RC
Giants column to create the lacing on his
Pup. Great job!
Sullivan Products’ Ball Connectors are now made from machined
aluminum and anodized according to thread size. They’re great
for attaching pushrods to servos.
Aviation Concepts’ Switch Hides kit is available in different sizes
and configurations for your Scale project. Install all those switches,
charge ports, and air valves where they belong: hidden.
WELCOME TO THE RC Giants column.
Now that winter is a distant memory and
aeromodelers are heading back to the flying
fields in droves, why not corral some friends
and plan a trip to an RC event in your area?
Or get a caravan together and take a trip to a
neighboring state for a contest or fly-in.
Model airplane clubs work hard to plan
and host flying events. They appreciate when
out-of-towners show up to join the festivities.
By hosting or participating in a fly-in or
competition, we keep the faith and strengthen
our bond as modelers. We get the opportunity
to meet new people, make friends, and see
great aircraft.
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F6F Hellcat. Mike wrote that he made threeviews
in a CAD program and Jerry drew the
plans. Bob Holman Plans produced the lasercut
parts.
The Hellcat spans 80 inches, weighs 20
pounds, and is powered by a Fuji 50 gas
engine. It features scale Frise-type ailerons,
Century Jet Model retracts, and vinyl decals.
Mike painted the F6F with Glossy Sea
Blue Klass Kote epoxy paint. It is finished as
Captain Roy Marlin “Butch” Voris’s aircraft.
Captain Voris founded the Navy’s Blue
Angels flight-demonstration squadron, and
the Hellcat was the first airplane that the
group used for exhibitions. The first show
was held in Jacksonville, Florida, on June 15,
1946. Shortly afterward, the flight team began
flying the Grumman Bearcat.
In the accompanying photo that was
embellished using Photoshop, Mike’s Hellcat
is about to make a carrier landing. Although
the black-and-white portrayal of the model
looks realistic as it approaches the carrier
deck, I see two glaring faults.
The carrier superstructure is on the wrong
side; it’s always on the right during an
aircraft’s approach. And where’s the tailhook
on the F6F? I guess it ain’t gonna stop
anytime soon.
Nicely done, Mike.
That’s all for this month. Enjoy the summer;
go fly something! MA
Sources:
Sullivan Products
(410) 732-3500
www.sullivanproducts.com
Hangtimes Hobbies
57 Cedar St. Ste. 6
Babylon NY 11702
www.hangtimes.com
International Miniature Aircraft Association
www.fly-imaa.org
June 2010 105
Anything is possible with Photoshop work. Mike’s F6F is on approach toward the deck of
an aircraft carrier. Fun stuff, but what’s wrong with this scenario?
Left: Mike Laible enjoys flying his
Jerry Bates plans-built F6F
Hellcat. It is IMAA-legal, with an
80-inch wingspan.
In layman’s terms, the pushrod does not
have to be in-line with the movement of the
servo horn, as it does when using a clevis.
Since the connector rides on a metal ball, it
allows more freedom in servo placement.
The Sullivan Ball Connector is not new; I
have been using it for many years. However,
the company has improved it by making the
“new” connector and sleeve from machined
aluminum.
Why don’t you try one? For more
information about this and many other fine
products available from Sullivan Products,
please visit the Web site.
In the quest for realism, aeromodelers add
scale details to their creations to more
accurately portray a subject in miniature. One
of the more troublesome aspects of finishing a
Scale project is where to install the receiver
switch or switches, charge receptacle, kill
switch, air valve, etc., while maintaining scale
fidelity.
Aviation Concepts has come up with an
easy solution: the Switch Hides. They are
available in different shapes and sizes to fit
most applications.
These quick-build laser-cut kits come with
precut light-plywood backplates for our
heavy-duty charge port or OEM (original
equipment manufacturer)-sized switches,
universal charge ports for A123s, air or fuel
fills, ignition kills—almost anything. Setup
and build is a snap, because each kit comes
with full-size plans and color photo.
For lots of great information and photos of
the Switch Hides, please visit the Hangtimes
Hobbies Web page.
Check out Dick Wiklund of North Falmouth,
Massachusetts, with his newly completed
Balsa USA 1/4-scale Sopwith Pup. It is
powered by a Zenoah G-26 gas engine and is
covered with linen-colored Worldtex.
Cockpit decking on the Pup is planked
with very thin strips of mahogany that was
left over from a model ship kit. The
instrument panel came from Mick Reeves in
England, and Dick painted the rudder with
spray Krylon.
Of special note is the great-looking
fuselage lacing detail on the Pup. Dick read
the “how to install fuselage lacing” section of
the December 2009 RC Giants column and
decided to try it. I’ll bet that Dick’s
experience as a medical doctor has something
to do with his model’s superb stitching.
He wrote that this was the third RC model
he had built from a kit, and he received good
advice from fellow club members of the Otis
Model Aero Club of Cape Cod,
Massachusetts—especially Bill Lopes and
Roy Clement. Bill is one of the more
experienced modelers in the club, and Roy
and his wife, Sharon, own RC Hobbies in
East Falmouth, Massachusetts.
What a great story! Fellow modelers, a
local hobby store, and MA played a part in the
success of Dick Wiklund’s Sopwith Pup.
Mike Laible of Seabrook, Texas, sent in
photos of his Jerry Bates-designed Grumman
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