Radio Control Scale - 2007/06
Stan Alexander [[email protected]]
What makes a great Scale model?
What makes a great Scale model for one person doesn't necessarily make a great Scale model for another. Some people have sentimental attachments to a certain aircraft because of a past experience or family tie-in. Maybe someone's grandfather flew in a B-17 in World War II or his or her father flew in an A-4 Skyhawk in Vietnam.
Other modelers like certain eras of aircraft, such as World War I, the Golden Age of Aviation, or the Jet Age. It may be the aircraft they grew up seeing every day at the local airport when they came home from school. This might send them off to build a Lockheed Super Constellation in TWA colors or the aircraft in which they made their first flight.
Other modelers are more competition-driven and want to build models that have a chance to win in Scale competition. Some have an idea that turbine-powered jets are the best chance to win. However, that's a myth as evidenced by past Top Gun, Scale Nats, and Scale Masters Championships winners. Then there are scratch builders or plans builders who have out-of-the-box taste and want to build something nobody has seen at the local field. Some modelers can find kits of this type, such as a straight-wing Stinson civil aircraft or a Stinson trimotor. Or they might find the plans, but nobody has kits for sale.
Other reasons for selecting a certain Scale model are its handling characteristics on the ground or in the air. Some aircraft aren't made to taxi on the ground, much less land with two- or three-point landings, such as the Fokker Dr.I triplane. If you can get it back down without flipping it onto its back, you've done a good job. If you manage to land it on pavement, you should probably receive a medal.
Ground handling is difficult for some aircraft because of their physical layouts. Several of these airplanes have a narrow-track landing gear such as:
- Supermarine Spitfire
- Messerschmitt Me 109
- Many biplanes including the Stearman
- Many 1930s-era aircraft
Keep extra paint handy that is the color of the lower wingtips; you'll need it. Ground looping this type of aircraft is common, but the larger the model, the better chance you'll have with narrow-track landing gear.
If you go to a Scale contest, a fly-in, or the local field, there is usually a crosswind. I've seen few fields that didn't have one all the time or part of the time.
Bookshelf
F6F Hellcat in Action by Jim Sullivan and illustrated by Don Greer, ISBN 0-89747-088-5, is available from many sources and hobby shops. The "In Action" series gives you a brief history of the airplane's development, three-views, scale drawings, and a color side-view page of different aircraft, or in this case 10 different color schemes.
Operational photos from aircraft carriers give you an idea of what the pilots had to do to get their aircraft into the air and, more important, back onto the carrier deck. Some made it and some didn't, which is obvious from the photos. More Hellcats were produced in one plant than any other aircraft type in history. Grumman built a new aircraft in a short period of time. Many thought the Hellcat was an improved version of the Wildcat, but if you see the two parked side by side you will see how much larger the Hellcat is.
For the Scale modeler this aircraft provides retracts, flaps, usually a centerline drop tank, and, if you really want to be creative, folding wings. Color schemes differ if you don't want the dark blue, which is hard to see in the air. Why not give the Hellcat a second look?
Around Scale — Stearman Biplanes Across the Country
Tom Pastore of East Aurora, New York, built the 1/4-scale model shown from Tom Dietrich's plans of Guelph, Ontario. Tom Dietrich is an authority on full-scale de Havilland Tiger Moths.
The 35.75-pound model's upper wing spans 96.5 inches, the lower wing spans 93.5 inches, and the length is 75 inches. It is powered by a Sachs-Dolmar gas engine.
Tom Pastore used a number of three-views and the book Stearman by Jim Avis and Martin Bowman for documentation. He also had a stash of photos of the aircraft that were taken at the 1941 Historical Aircraft Group Air Show in Geneseo, New York.
He covered the model with Ceconite and then doped the airframe. It has functional oleo struts, an LE stab strip on the lower wing, and 1/2° negative incidence on the upper to lower wing, as on the original, to improve landings.
Web Sites
This month I'll feature two web sites for Scale clubs in the West, the first of which is from Randy Wilbur with the Scale Squadron of Southern California. This club has been around for many years and was the founding club of the U.S. Scale Masters Championships.
The Scale Squadron of Southern California is extremely active in Southern California and in Arizona. For more information about it and its events, go to:
A Scale group that has a great time with its annual Scale fly-ins, Scale Masters qualifiers, and other Scale events is the One Eighth Air Force based in Southern Arizona. It took the name of the 1/8th Air Force to honor the men who flew the missions in World War II, but the club's name looks different.
Southern Arizona is home to a couple fields that are some of my favorite places to visit. If you want to fly Scale models and have a great time, the One Eighth Air Force members are great to be around. I do still miss the F Troop, though. Visit the club at:
Scale Documentation
Another documentation source for the P-51B model of the North American Mustang is now available. The P-51B and C models aren't as widely covered as the D model with the bubble canopy.
This CD contains photos taken at the Fantasy of Flight Museum in Florida. The P-51 is painted to match one of the "Red Tail" aircraft of the famous Tuskegee Airmen. The 332nd Fighter Group never lost a bomber its members escorted. The armor plate behind the pilot's seat is signed by Ace Lieutenant Lee "Buddy" Archer, with a big thank you to Kermit.
This P-51B is highly polished and probably in better shape than it was when it was new. Come to think of it, Top Flite had a 1/5-scale kit of the P-51B model several years ago as a YB1 (you build it) kit.
There is a complete walk-around of the aircraft and cockpit photos showing all the instruments, etc. Even the rivets look new inside the cockpit!
There are also pictures of the aircraft when it has been restored or rebuilt. This allows you to see a unique perspective of the unfinished aircraft and the thousands of details that must be restored, finished, and assembled to complete the work on a project this extensive.
There is one marking on the port side of the fuselage that isn't documented well in this set of photos. I'm not sure if it's a personal marking or for the squadron, but the painting depicts an African-American in a suit. The nose markings on the aircraft have the name "Macon Belle."
The photos with the airplane taken apart and then put together are a great study in hinges, flaps, ailerons, and rudder assemblies of a typical World War II fighter. This is a beautiful set of photos; they are great for documentation.
Contact Model Activity Press Ltd., 63-65 Woodside Rd., Amersham, Bucks, HP6 6AA, United Kingdom. Great Britain is roughly eight hours ahead of us, depending on the time zone you are in. Call 011-1494-433453 or visit the web site at:
Fair skies and tailwinds.
MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
