RADIO CONTROL SCALE
Stan Alexander, 3709 Valley Ridge Dr., Nashville TN 37211; E-mail: [email protected]
WOW! It's almost fall already! Time flies when you're enjoying yourself. We've been inundated with water, hail, high winds, and tornadoes in this area of the country. There has been a lot of water—approximately 9 1/2 inches in two weeks. Sometimes that's more than we see in a whole year.
Transmitter Tray and Shoulder Harness
I have received several positive comments about the July column discussing the transmitter tray with shoulder harness and using fingers and thumbs. Several people have asked where they can buy a tray. That's fine, but why not make one?
Steve Sauger used polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe, pipe insulation, PVC joints, and 1/4" plywood to make his transmitter tray. He used heat to gently bend the pipes to fit over his shoulders, then wrapped them with the pipe insulation you can find at Lowe's or The Home Depot. Steve used light plywood to make the tray, and the usual nuts and bolts hold it all together.
Materials Steve used:
- PVC pipe and PVC joints
- Pipe insulation
- 1/4" plywood
- Nuts and bolts
I also found a tray on the Robart Manufacturing website, and it's on sale as I write this. This tray has wide fabric straps for the pilot—not the hard metal type. Check www.robart.com for more information.
Alfonso Calero's 1906 Demoiselle
I just received a photo of Alfonso Calero's 1906 Demoiselle, and it's big. With a wingspan of 86 inches, the aircraft weighs just 10 1/2 pounds. Power is supplied by a Magnum 61 four-stroke engine.
The structure is built up using balsa and plywood. Alfonso used 1/8" balsa sticks and 1/8" balsa sheet for the undercambered wing ribs. He used Solartex for covering and made the spoke wheels, which are 13 inches in diameter.
This is another model that sprang from the 1960s movie Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines. Alfonso said that he has watched the movie many times, and he scratch-built his model after scaling up the Sig indoor electric kit. I can't wait to receive photos of this one in the air.
Corben Baby Ace
When I unwrapped my O.S. FS 120, naturally I had to turn it over to feel the compression from this reliable engine. That just didn't happen; it sort of made a half turn and stopped. I let it sit on the bench for a bit then tried it again. This time it was a little freer, but not like it should have been.
I don't claim to be an engine expert, so I looked around and found a source who could see what the problem was. John Sepe works on O.S. and Saito FS engines and makes repairs. After describing the problem to him on the telephone, he told me it was probably the bearings, which it was. So I sent the engine in, and approximately two weeks later it came back good as new. He adjusted the valves and replaced the front and rear bearings; the price was roughly $66, as I remember.
Speaking of new, I realized after sending this engine in that it had been laying around the shop for 22 years or so, not in use. Have you checked your engines lately? It could save you some money in the long run.
Contact for engine work:
- Seco Enterprises
- 301 Sabal Ridge Cir., Suite A, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418
- Tel.: (561) 625-9671
- Email: [email protected]
One of the hang-ups with the Baby Ace's fuselage has been finding a cowl that would fit it and have the correct look for scale appearance. I really didn't want to have to build up a cowl for this model. I contacted several fiberglass companies and struck out. The last one I called was Stan's Fiber Tech, and I explained my problem to Stan. He said he might have something that would work.
I traced the top and side views of the Baby Ace's cowl on tracing paper and sent them along. After roughly two weeks and another phone call, Stan found a cowl in stock that fit the Baby Ace almost perfectly. The cowl is received with molded-in engine heads and exhaust system. I’m looking forward to getting the engine installed and fitting the cowl onto the fuselage.
Contact for cowls:
- Stan’s Fiber Tech
- 2575 Jackson, Riverside, CA 92503
- Tel.: (909) 352-4758
Scale Sources
Last month I focused on amphibians and Emergency Rescue Squadrons. The book I mentioned includes plenty of nose art on fighters and bombers. Another facet covered is the uniforms of the pilots and crews, ground-support vehicles, and standout assembly aircraft such as the "Spotted Ape." The book also gives you a brief glimpse of what it might have been like to be at a number of the different stations.
For any WWII buff who likes fighters and bombers, this volume would rate high on the list to have in your library. It's available at bookstores or from book catalogs such as Zenith Books and Historic Aviation.
Toledo Show
I can't put all of the photos from this show in one column (or there wouldn't be anything else), but I'm going to sprinkle in some of the standout models that were entered in this year's static contest.
A yellow Cub is a simple airplane with a simple color scheme, but the one shown is well documented with three-views and photos. It belongs to Gary Parenti, and he only brought the model to Toledo at the insistence of his father.
The Cub spans 78½ inches, weighs 7 pounds, and is powered by an Enya .53 FS engine. I didn't get information about whether it was from a kit or plans, but with that wingspan I'm guessing that it's from a set of old TopFlite plans. Charlie Bauer designed the model a few years ago. Gary took first place in the Non-Military Sport Scale Plane category.
Fair skies and tailwinds. MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
