106 M ODEL AVIATION
some inspiRaTion for this column
came from the last trip to the local grocery
store. My wife said we were going for a
gallon of milk and a loaf of bread. You figure
we’ll spend five bucks at the most, right?
After going through the checkout and
having the piecrusts crushed, we spent a
total of $61.93.
I think some of us are that way when we
go to the hobby shop for that spare propeller
or gallon of fuel; we spend more than we
had planned. The hobby manufacturers
know that flashy box covers and shiny
photos of the finished models sell kits and
Almost Ready to Flys (ARFs).
My job is in the retail grocery business.
We know those candy bars are at the
checkout counter for a reason. At roughly
three feet off the floor, they are in reach of
most kids; if the kids pick the candy up,
mom will buy it.
The same logic holds true for us
modelers. If the hobby shop has shiny new
engines (on sale, of course), glue, and
magazines out at the checkout counter,
chances are we’ll buy them.
Many modelers are what our wives or
husbands commonly call “pack rats”—I’m one.
This point was brought home last weekend
during a conversation with Jim Rediske.
Jim is rebuilding his shop and is using
some pieces he found locally. A hollow-core
door with one side slightly damaged makes a
good workbench. Flip it over and use 2 x 4s
or 2 x 2s for a frame. Stores such as Lowe’s
or Home Depot let these doors go very cheap.
You could add a sheet of Masonite® to the
top or use the door itself, as I do.
We tend to keep parts and pieces of old
models, field boxes we no longer use, and
other stuff we “just know we can use” in
the future. I’ve got a drawer and a couple
of boxes for material labeled “future
use”—sounds better than junk.
My wife almost dreads it when say, “I’ve
brought something really neat home from
work” or “let’s go for a ride this afternoon.”
These statements mean there is the
likelihood of coming home with more junk.
A display piece on wheels makes a
great roll-around stand for airframes in the
shop. Another one might make a tool
caddy. If you’re lucky, you might find a
discarded stand with shelves that you
could use as a magazine organizer, which
sounds much better than “magazine
storage” or “dust collector.”
Although I don’t have a dust collector
around the power tools, I do try to keep
the dirt picked up. Around here I make it
a point to dust the shop after I complete
a new model or once a year—whichever
Stan Alexander, 3709 Valley Ridge Dr., Nashville TN 37211; E-mail: [email protected]
RADIO CONTROL SCALE
Cliff Tacie (Baltimore MD) built his 1⁄4-scale Aeronca L-16 Champion from modified
Nosen plans. The model weighs 14 pounds and spans 105 inches.
The light, inexpensive 1⁄4-scale pilot sits in the L-16’s cockpit. The figure actually looks
like Cliff! It’s from Roy Vaillancourt’s company, Vailly Aviation!
The cockpit of Cliff’s L-16. The pilot is
held in with Velcro™.
comes first. That sounds like a warranty,
doesn’t it?
in the past I’ve written about flight
routines. The accompanying table lists
examples of schedules that could be used
in Sport Scale competition. This chart was
originally drawn up by master modeler
Cliff Tacie.
Cliff ran the AMA Scale Nationals for
several years. At the pilots’ meeting he
handed these lists out to modelers who were
participating in the Nationals for the first
time. It really helped them out, and its
continued use proves its worth.
at the local flying field you may see
modelers not using the rudder. Flight
judges see this at every contest. Scale
modelers who use their thumbs to fly
instead of their thumbs and fingers seem
especially prone to this.
Using the rudder on takeoff is almost
mandatory on most Scale models. The use
of the rudder isn’t as important with many
trainers—especially those with a tricycle
landing gear configuration.
Many of us get into the bad habit of
using only the ailerons for turns.
However, with Scale models the use of
coordinated ailerons and rudder is
necessary for the proper “turn and bank,”
as well as takeoffs and landings. This is
especially true with lightly loaded civil
aircraft, such as a J-3 Cub or a biplane
type with a skid.
Why use thumbs and fingers?
It’s very simple, as Dave Brown
explained it to me: “Have you ever tried
to write using a pencil just using your
thumb? Go ahead and try it. Doesn’t work
so well. Okay, now take that same pencil
and use your thumb and finger. You have
much more control over the pencil
because you are doubling your surface
area on the pencil.”
The sticks on your transmitter are the
same as the pencil. If you don’t believe
me, try it with a sport model or an
“engine hack”—a model you use to test
equipment.
Start by attempting simple maneuvers,
and work your way up to landing. After a
few tries you will be surprised by the
improvement in your total flights, and
especially in those hard-to-do maneuvers.
It will take several flights with an
open mind and determination to
accomplish this progress. This concept
has improved my flying skills better than
anything else I’ve tried.
You will need a neck strap or a
transmitter tray. The tray will also free you
from worrying about where the transmitter
is or where it might go if you take both
hands off of it.
You say you don’t have the money or,
better yet, don’t want to spend your hobby
dollars for a $60-$80 transmitter tray? Make
a tray like the one shown, by veteran Scale
modeler Steve Sauger.
Steve constructed his tray from PVC
(polyvinyl chloride) pipe, a few nuts and
bolts, and he used Velcro™ tape to hold the
transmitter to the surface.
He used pipe insulation for the pads on
the shoulder supports. Steve used heat to
bend the PVC pipe around a form he made.
He adjusted the shape as he assembled it to
fit his shoulders and torso.
pT-19 update: With all the modifications
I’ve made to the wing structure, I finally
decided to use two servos for the ailerons
and two for the flaps.
I originally thought I could use one
high-torque servo for the flaps, but I
May 2001 107
Veteran Scale modeler Steve Sauger’s
homemade transmitter tray, constructed
from PVC pipe, was adjusted to fit him.
changed my mind when I was measuring
the total surface area of the flaps.
When you install any servos connected
to any control surface, try to eliminate
angles that would cause binding or twisting
between the servo and the control surface;
this binding can cause flutter. With the
trailing edge of the PT-19’s wing tapering
slightly toward the wingtip, repositioning
the servos versus the plans might be in
order to eliminate any chance of twisting.
The same goes for the tail surfaces on
this or on any model; try to construct a
straight line between the servo and the
control surface.
looking for a pilot that meets the criteria
of being light, scalelike, and inexpensive
perplexes many of us when we’re building
a Scale model.
The figure shown in Cliff Tacie’s
Aeronca L-16 Champion is from Roy
Vaillancourt. The 1⁄4-scale pilot, who looks
surprisingly like his owner, is held in place
with Velcro™ and is removable, to allow
access to the receiver and servos.
Cliff built this model from a set of highly
modified Nosen plans for the 1⁄4-scale Champ
kit. This makes a large, stable, slow-flying
aircraft that is just plain fun to fly.
Cliff’s skill of bringing out details can
be gleaned from these photos. His L-16 is
powered by an O.S. 1.60 twin and spans
105 inches. The big yellow model weighs
in at 141⁄2 pounds and is controlled by an
Airtronics radio system.
Many of the details are added with pride
in the construction of the model, even though
they will never be judged in competition.
scale modeling has a large cottage
industry, as do many other modeling
disciplines. Plans sources, parts, bits, and
pieces that help build Scale models are
available through these small businesses.
Vailly Aviation is one of those
companies with plans, parts, wheels, pilots,
and accessories for Scale modelers. Roy
Vaillancourt has assembled several plans
that Scale modelers have drawn for him.
Although most aircraft are fighters,
such as the 92-inch-span Hawker
Hurricane, the 96-inch-span Hawker
Tempest Mk V, the 92-inch-span P-47,
and the 90-inch-span Focke Wulf Fw
190A-5, Roy has others, such as the 102-
inch-span Stinson L-5 Sentinel and the
108-inch-span Cessna L-19 Bird Dog.
Kits from this line are available from the
major kit-cutters, and are listed in Roy’s
catalog.
The Bird Dog and the L-5 can be built
on a smaller budget than many of the
fighters that require larger engines and
heavy-duty servos.
For more information about this
assortment of Scale stuff, contact Vailly
Aviation, 18 Oakdale Ave., Farmingville NY
11738-2828; Tel.: (631) 732-4715, or check
out the Web site at VaillyAviation.com.
Till next time, fair skies and tail winds. MA
May 2001 109
