Radio Control Giants - 2011/02

102 MODEL AVIATION
[[email protected]]
Radio Control Giants Sal Calvagna
The Thor ignition power expander
Also included in this column:
• CAP C-182 and the
PVRCC
• The FunAero RC Albatros
D.III
• Vibra-TITE products
The Thor ignition power expander from 42 Percent Products regulates voltage to the
ignition module with a 5- or selectable 6-volt setting from the receiver power supply.
Members of the PVRCC in Westfield MA built this Top Flite
Cessna 182. L-R: Dan Sears, Captain Steve Pacitti, Roy Thompson,
Bill Andras, Major Jim Pacitti, and Gene Paulson.
Members of CAP 300 will be proud to display and soon see fly the
Top Flite Cessna 182, which the PVRCC presented to them.
These Cadets are learning to fly on Great Planes PT-40 trainers.
Welcome back.Winter’s here and the
holidays are behind us. After a season of
flying, it’s time for maintenance, repairs, and
new projects. This column will feature a
couple of nicely done RC giants and product
information that applies to our larger aircraft.
42 Percent Products sells some innovative
products for giant-scale models. One of its
latest offerings is the Thor ignition power
expander.
The Thor was designed to be used on all
gasoline-powered ignition engines, to
eliminate the separate ignition battery and
ignition switch. It regulates the voltage to the
ignition module with either a 5-volt or a
selectable 6-volt setting, both of which can
deliver as much as 5 amps, which will operate
any ignition system.
With the Thor installed, you can control
ignition cutoff from your transmitter using
any open channel in the receiver. This unit
has an onboard fail-safe, which cuts the
power to the ignition module upon loss of
radio signal and uses a diode isolation for
glitch-free performance.
The Thor includes an LED power light on
a 12-inch, 20-gauge lead, for easy mounting.
All of the company’s products are covered
by a lifetime warranty. To check out the Thor
or any of the other great offerings, please visit
the 42 Percent Products Web site.
Roy Thompson and a group of aeromodelers
from the Pioneer Valley RC Club (PVRCC)
in Westfield, Massachusetts, stepped up to
assist the local Civil Air Patrol (CAP) group.
Following is a note from Roy.
“About two years ago the CAP contacted
the PVRCC for assistance in building an RC
model with their cadets. They had already
purchased a Top Flite Cessna 182 kit and an
OS .61 engine to power it. It was their intent
to use this model as the cadets’ first time
build project and have them learn to fly on it.
“Fortunately they listened to our
recommendations and instead we helped the
cadets build a pair of Great Planes PT-40
trainer kits. We now have two successful
seasons flying with them. Our trainer build/
fly project with the CAP was highlighted in
the AMA District I news section of the
September 2009 issue of Model Aviation
magazine.
“While the trainer build was underway the
club also agreed to take on the C-182 kit as a
side project. The completed model is
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February 2011 103
This slow pass offers a clear side view of the D.III and its elaborate markings. It took Mike
six months to complete and has plenty of power to take off and make flights that exceed
10 minutes.
Right: Michael Gross’s 65-inchspan
FunAero RC Albatros D.III,
powered by an ElectriFly 120
brushless outrunner motor,
performs an overhead pass.
Vibra-TITE has a product line devoted to
the security of joined materials, which
would be useful to aeromodelers. A typical
nut-and-bolt assembly has as little as 15%
metal-to-metal contact.
equipped with a Spektrum DX-7 radio and an
O.S. .61FX engine, and it has operable flaps
on the 81-inch-span wing.
“Covering is MonoKote with matching
LustreKote paint and emulates the red-whiteblue
color scheme of the CAP’s full size
Viewfinder
Worldwide Wonder
We just returned from two weeks in
the Himalayas. We were attending a
festival at a monastery in Ladakh and
snapped a great shot of some kids
playing with a pull-string helicopter that
they bought at a market.
These kids are flying this chopper at
roughly 14,500 feet. The shot that got
away was of a young Buddhist monk (7
years old) playing with one of these
helicopters.
The Spirit of Flying is everywhere!
I take a lot of photographs of aircraft
of every size and variety. Feel free to
enjoy my Web site: www.thespiritof
flying.com. MA
—Jack Tossman
[email protected]
E-mail your high-resolution
“Viewfinder” photo and a short note
telling the airplane or helicopter story
to [email protected].
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aircraft. Lettering and insignias are derived
from digital photos and printed on self
adhesive vinyl.
“Due to time constraints and complexity
of the kit, construction took place in two
different locations. The fuselage was
assembled by fellow PVRCC members Dan
Sears, Gene Paulson, and Andy Peters at
Dan’s home. Construction of the tail and
wing, radio and engine installation,
covering, painting and final assembly were
accomplished in my shop.
“The model was finished in September
and formally presented to the CAP in
October 2010. The CAP plans to use this
model for display at several of their
upcoming events and we will eventually fly
it with them.”
One of the accompanying photos was
taken during the presentation to CAP
officers, and the other shows all of the
Cadets. Not shown is build member Andy
Peters, who was away on military duty at the
time.
What a great success story for the CAP
Cadets, the PVRCC, and model aviation!
Thanks to this dedicated group of AMA
members, aeromodeling is now part of these
Cadets’ lives. Maybe—just maybe—we will
have a new crop of modelers to preserve our
hobby.
Thank you, gentlemen.
Two photos this month feature Michael
104 MODEL AVIATION
Gross’s 65-inch-wingspan Albatros D.III
from FunAero RC. The wings are
covered with Solartex material, and the
fuselage planked with 1/16 balsa. The allup
weight is close to 10 pounds.
Originally designed for a .60-.90 twostroke
glow engine, Mike converted the
model to electric. The power system
includes an ElectriFly 120 brushless
outrunner motor, Castle Creations
Phoenix Ice BEC, 100-amp controller,
and two three-cell, 3700 mAh Polyquest
battery packs run in series.
Since there would be no fuel residue
on the Albatros, Michael painted it with
Tamiya sprays and stained the fuselage
using Minwax and a clear polyurethane
finish.
It took him six months to complete the
D.III. It has plenty of power to jump off
of the ground and makes flights
exceeding 10 minutes. Mike reports that
the airplane is very easy to control and
has no bad habits.
For more information about this
FunAero RC kit, please visit the
company’s Web site.
German pilots such as Manfred Von
Richtofen and Ernst Udet made the fullscale
D.III famous. Although Von
Richtofen—the Red Baron—was killed
while flying a Fokker Dr.I triplane, he
made most of his kills in an Albatros.
The D.III sported the same
monocoque, plywood-skinned fuselage as
its predecessors—the D.I and the D.II.
However, the D.III featured the sesquiplane
wing configuration similar to the Nieuport
11 and 17, meaning that the lower wing was
less than half the area of the upper wing.
Unlike on the D.II, the D.III upper wing was
lengthened and the lower had a reduced
chord and a single main spar.
However, identical to the Nieuport, the
D.III’s lower wing suffered from twisting
under aerodynamic loads, because the main
spar on the lower wing was too far back.
Pilots were told not to perform steep dives at
high speeds in the aircraft.
Although that plagued the D.III, and the
later D.V, it was still pleasant to fly and
offered superior climb, maneuverability, and
downward visibility compared with its
predecessors.
Many of our large models operate in highvibration
environments, because most of
them are powered by big single-cylinder gas
engines. Although we take the appropriate
measures and use products to counter
vibration problems, one company has
several products that can assist us with
successful operation of our aircraft.
Vibra-TITE is one of the world’s market
leaders in anaerobics, cyanoacrylates,
epoxies, and ultraviolet technologies. Its
products include threadlockers, thread
sealants, retaining compounds, liquid
gasketing, anitseize lubricants, accelerators,
activators, and more.
We can use many of the company’s
products in our day-to-day modeling. I
found some technical information on the
wonderful World Wide Web that you might
find interesting.
Anaerobic adhesives, by definition,
remain liquid until they are isolated from
oxygen in the presence of metal ions, such
as iron or copper. When an anaerobic
adhesive is sealed between a nut and a bolt
on a threaded assembly, it rapidly cures to
form a tough crosslinked plastic with
tenacious adhesion to many metals.
Although anaerobic applications vary
widely, the adhesive usually provides high
shear strength. When used to lock threaded
assemblies together, anaerobic adhesives
prevent the fastener from loosening and
corroding, maintain proper clamping force,
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February 2011 107
and offer controlled torque for removing the
assembly. Anaerobic adhesives harden in
minutes at room temperature and fully cure
within 24 hours.
A typical nut-and-bolt assembly has as
little as 15% metal-to-metal contact. A few
drops of liquid threadlocker fills the
remaining air voids between the thread roots
and cures to a thermoset plastic, which
provides a 100% unitized assembly until you
want it to come apart.
These adhesives offer high torque
strength, good temperature resistance, rapid
curing, easy dispensing, and good vibration
resistance.
Threadlockers are available in low-,
medium-, and high-strength formulations, and
most are color-coded for strength; purple and
blue represent low- and medium-strength
grades, and green and red represent highstrength
grades.
However, no threadlockers are permanent.
Low- and medium-strength varieties can be
disassembled with common hand tools at
room temperature, and the high-strength types
can be removed following direct exposure to
temperatures of 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
When applying threadlocking adhesives,
you must wet the total length of the thread
engagement area. For through-hole nut-andbolt
assemblies, apply threadlocker only
where the nut and bolt will meet when the
assembly is fully tightened; only adhesive
between the threads will cure.
For blind-hole assemblies such as
capscrews, apply threadlockers to the bolt and
into the bottom of the hole. If you apply
adhesive only to the bolt, air pressure will
force the liquid threadlocker to escape as the
bolt is torqued down, resulting in an
insufficient amount of threadlocker and
possible assembly failure.
For information about where to purchase
these supplies, call Vibra-TITE or visit the
Web site. It features complete technical
information, including material safety data
sheets and technical data sheets for all of its
products.
That’s all for this installment. If the
winter months have you grounded, why
not start a new modeling project? It’s the
perfect time! MA
Sources:
42 Percent Products
(916) 821-2635
www.42-percent-products.com
FunAero RC
(803) 499-5487
www.funaero.com
Vibra-TITE
(800) 521-2663
www.vibra-tite.com
International Miniature Aircraft Association
www.fly-imaa.org
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