Author: Stan Alexander
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/11
Page Numbers: 116,117,118
,
,

Radio Control Scale

Stan Alexander [email protected]

Painting the PA-11 with Nelson

I've hit a wall with my flying this year. Not long ago I went to the field and realized, after ditching two airplanes, that I was so out of practice from working so much (you know, that thing you have to do so you can fly) that I had lost some depth perception.

Now it's back to making sure I go to the field at least three times a week and get myself back together. It seems like most of us are either working more than we want or having a devil of a time finding a job, much less a career.

I've been working on the Piper PA-11 wing. I added scale details with rib tapes and worked on the paint. Before you paint, make sure you have all of the holes drilled for the struts and all of the other little items you'll need later when attaching the wing to the fuselage.

I started with Nelson primer paint on the bottom of the wing, as I did on the fuselage. After making sure there was a good, thin coat on the surface, I went back and sanded it lightly with 220-grit paper. This is all that was required. You could use 400-grit for this operation, but make sure you don't sand down past the primer. Using an air compressor or a duster to clean off all surfaces before painting is almost a must.

Make sure you use the catalyst in the proper amount to suit the nitro blend in your fuel. You don't want the paint melting away after a few flights. I've never seen this happen with Nelson's paint, though.

Carefully work the paint into all edges of the pinked tapes on the wing and the inspection disks on the bottom of the wing. The PA-11's fuel tank is mounted in the upper port wing panel. You can designate that with a piece of aluminum tape, such as Flite-Metal, which will stick to the surface. Roughen it slightly and paint over it. There are many uses for this tape on scale models, from making hatch covers to covering the entire airframe.

Scale National Championships — Dennis Crooks' P-38

This year's RC Scale National Champion was determined at the Scale National Championships, held in Muncie, Indiana. He is no stranger to the winner's circle and has won at the Nationals several times in whichever class he competes.

Dennis Crooks received the Champion's plaque from Paul Cain this summer after flying his Lockheed P-38 to a first-place finish in Expert class. To determine the RC Scale National Champion, the officials add each contestant's four flight scores to the static score. The pilot with the highest total wins. Congratulations to Dennis and his wife and caller, Linda.

The P-38 Lightning, which Dennis calls the "California Cutie," flew well. It even had its own 20 x 20-foot tent at the Nationals! The model started life as a Yellow Aircraft kit, to which Dennis added many scale details and an accurate color scheme. His documentation included photos, three-views, etc.

The airplane has a wingspan of 114 inches and is powered by two Husky Challenger 3.3 cu. in. gas engines, which counter-rotate. The big "Forked Tail Devil," which the full-scale aircraft was called, swings 22 x 10 Zinger propellers and has wheel brakes and drop tanks. Dennis finished the P-38 with fiberglass resin and cloth, and then he painted it with Klass Kote military colors.

He has been flying with Futaba radios for several years, and this time he used the older 9ZAP transmitter on 72 MHz.

Callers and flightline assistance

You will usually see Dennis with Linda. She acts as his caller at the flightline and, if you're listening in, you will probably get the feeling that she knows the airplanes almost as well as Dennis does.

With the twin engines, retracts, flaps, tank drop, etc., it's good to have someone to help keep up with all of the P-38's systems while it is in flight with several other aircraft. This also helps to keep Dennis, Linda, and everyone else safe.

A caller tells the pilot what the next maneuver is, where the model is in relation to the pits, and where the zero line is (behind which whatever you do will score a zero because of safety concerns). A caller also instructs the pilot, "Gear up," "Flaps up," "Drop tanks now," and many other things that can increase a score.

Some callers use a call sheet to help not only themselves but also the pilot remember where they are. Other callers do nothing but watch out for other airplanes near their partners' models, again in the interest of safety.

After the Nationals, I wanted to talk to Dennis about what special systems his Lightning had and what tricks he performed to make it so reliable. I've never seen a P-38 (and I've seen many fly) last more than a season. They usually vibrate apart or a system fails and they go down—but not this one.

Maintenance and fuel

Dennis told me he does regular maintenance on the airplane, checking the nuts and bolts for tightness throughout the airframe and performing other routine tasks. All of the batteries are what he calls "old school." He uses a 1900 mAh Ni-Cd for the receiver and two 1400 mAh packs for the ignition systems.

I asked Dennis if he employed a special type of charger for the battery systems. He said that he uses a Hobbico Triton for all of his batteries.

Dennis couldn't think of anything special he does to the P-38, other than with the fuel. The Husky Challenger 3.3 engine runs on gas at a mix of 50-to-1. Dennis uses Klotz oil in the engines, and he mixes 1/4 ounce of fuel stabilizer per gallon.

He said: "This is the same fuel stabilizer that is used in engines that you would set up for the winter or a long time. It definitely helps the engines and reliability, I'm sure of it. I think it counteracts the alcohol in the gas now."

I hope to have similar interviews with AMA RC Scale National Champions in the future, but they have to beat Dennis first!

Bookshelf

Curtiss P-40D/E Kittyhawk Mk I/IA, by Leszek A. Wieliczko and Tom Zmuda, is produced by Kagero Publishing and available from Squadron. The 63-page book costs $26.99.

The P-40 Warhawk has a checkered reputation in some circles of WWII aviation fans. It wasn't as fast as the P-51 Mustang or many other fighters in the late days of the war, but it was there at the beginning. This 1930s design, as did many other early WWII fighters, became a multipurpose aircraft.

Major General Claire Chennault and his AVG (American Volunteer Group) pilots used P-40s in China before the US declared war on Japan after December 7, 1941. The aircraft served in the Pacific, as well as in China and Africa and many other theaters.

Powered by a non-turbocharged Allison V-12 engine, the Warhawk had a top speed of approximately 360 mph. It had six .50-caliber machine guns mounted in the wings and retractable landing gear—both main and tail wheel.

Retractable gear and flaps were new for many designs during the 1930s. The P-40 also had self-sealing fuel tanks and armor for the pilot, which the Japanese counterparts didn't have even as standard features.

This book features a beautiful color-photo presentation of a P-40E painted in Col. Robert Lee Scott Jr.'s color scheme, with the shark mouth. It also features early WWII US Army Air Corps round-star national markings with red, white, and blue. Included are many scale drawings and four pages showing color side views of various schemes to help spur you on to model the Warhawk.

Upcoming Events

The One Eighth Air Force Scale Fly-In will be October 24–25 at Superstition Air Park in Mesa, Arizona, just east of Phoenix. Members of this group show attendees a good time. They start the flying/social event Friday evening with pizza, wings, and assorted beverages. Flying starts as early as possible on Saturday and lasts throughout the day.

All types of scale aircraft are welcome, but 3-D flying isn't allowed. Your AMA license is required to participate.

For more information, contact:

Go to the AMA website to find the NatsNews publication. It provides day-by-day coverage of the Scale National Championships, held this summer in Muncie, Indiana. On the AMA's home page, click "Competition/Events," then "Nationals," and then scroll down the left side of the page to "NatsNews."

The European Championship for FAI Scale was held in Norway this year. There was a good turnout in both F4C (RC Scale) and the new F4H class for Stand-off Scale. The event website contains photos of the parties, competition, models, and full-scale aircraft, including a PT-19 in Norwegian colors and a de Havilland Tiger Moth.

Fair skies and tailwinds! MA

Sources

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.