Radio Control Scale - 2011/06

Also included in this column:
• Scott Miller’s 109
• Scale events in 2011
• The Spektrum DX8
the cylinder parts and then gluing the parts
together. If you get one drop of CA on the
tube, it’s there permanently.
And when constructing the exhaust
manifolds, be sure to reverse the pattern on
one side; otherwise you’ll have the exhaust
exiting the wrong way. It’s easy to do.
I’m using mostly hand tools on this
model, in addition to a Dremel and a tabletop
band saw. I’ll use the band saw to cut the
wing ribs and the formers for the turtledeck
behind the cockpits.
When cutting sticks, make sure that you
measure twice and cut once; that makes it
much simpler. And have your sanding gear
handy, to smooth the rough edges of the
sticks before applying glue. You get a better
joint that way.
Around Scale: In the past few columns I’ve
shown you a variety of models. Knowing that
warbirds are some of the most popular, I have
one for you this month.
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 was one of
the most produced aircraft in World War II,
in all variants. At last year’s Scale
Nationals, Scott Miller of Brockport, New
York, competed in Fun Scale Open with his
beautifully finished Bf 109G-6 model.
He built the aircraft from a Dave Platt kit,
and it spanned 79 inches with a wing area of
98 MODEL AVIATION
Building the Pietenpol
[[email protected]]
Radio Control Scale Stan Alexander
SPRING HAS FINALLY sprung here and
there is lots to do in the shop, including building
a new model (or a few) as well as checking all
of my equipment in preparation for practice and
contests. I need to decide what maneuvers to fly
with which airplane and make sure that all of
the equipment for the flying field, either the
park or the local school, goes in the correct
place.
I’ve been working on the Pietenpol, and the
fuselage is coming along. I like the spruce
longerons in the fuselage construction; they are
strong but can be bent to shape. The tail
surfaces are built up and ready for installation.
I’ll add a hatch behind the main gear in the
bottom of the model, for access to the servos
and battery. I’ve also decided to add two lowprofile
JR servos for the ailerons instead of the
bellcranks, as shown.
Keep in mind that the plans I am using for
this aircraft are more than 30 years old now.
Gee, it doesn’t seem that old.
On the fuselage sides, 1/4 spruce is used for
the main longerons that make up the top and
bottom pieces that run from the firewall to the
rudder. I also added 1/4 spruce to the forward
portion of the model and used 1/4 balsa behind
the wing.
The dummy engine has been a delight to
build. All of the parts were numbered and
literally fell out of their forms. Each stack of
cylinder fins simply glued to the next; parts 1, 2,
3, 4, 5, etc. went on to the next number in line.
Be careful when adding aluminum tubes to
Right: Scott Miller starts the
engine in his Messerschmitt Bf
109G-6 at the Scale Nationals,
while his wife holds it. He built the
model from a Dave Platt kit.
1,009 square inches. It was finished in the
colors of Luftwaffe Experten Gerhard
Barkhorn in November 1943 on the Russian
front. The airbrushed paint scheme is
WarbirdColors paints over fiberglass, balsa,
and plywood.
The Bf 109 was powered by an O.S.
120AX two-stroke engine swinging a 15 x 8
APC propeller. A JR X9303 2.4 GHz radio
system provided control.
Scott equipped his model with Platt retract
mechanisms and Flite Lite struts for the main
gear. By the time the full-scale Me 109G-6
came out, almost all 109s had their tail wheels
locked in place instead of being retractable, as
they were on earlier F versions.
Scott has been a warbird fan for a long
time, and this is the second paint scheme with
which his Messerschmitt has flown. He is
finishing a Bob Violett Models MiG-15 for
this year’s National Championships. I look
forward to seeing it!
Upcoming Events: By the time you read this,
Bulletin 1 should be out for the 2012 Scale
World Championships, which will be held in
August in Spain. This is the earliest in the year
that such a bulletin has come out, and, in my
Scott’s 79- inch-wingspan Bf 109G-6 is
airbrushed in a Russian-front color scheme and
features an O.S. 120AX two-stroke engine.
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June 2011 99
humble view, it is as it should be for a World
Championships.
The only RC class next year will be F4C for
team participation. The US Team Selection
will be held at our Scale National
Championships this July 1-3.
Check the National Association of Scale
Aeromodelers website for all the latest
information. If you can’t find it there, send me
an email.
The Texas Scale Championships will be
held June 18-19 at the Greater Southwest Aero
Modelers Field in Fort Worth. The contest flyer
contains the schedule, the classes that will be
held, etc., and does publicizing one better than
most events; it lists the past winners.
Lee Rice was the 2010 Texas Scale
Champion. Who will win this year? Be there to
find out.
The Fresno Radio Modelers club is hosting
the 2011 U.S. Scale Masters Championships,
which will take place in Fresno, California,
October 6-9. For more information about this
event, check out the website.
Now is a great time to visit the Scale
Masters website and see if there will be any
Scale competitions in your area this year. There
will probably be at least a couple within
driving distance. You can also look in the
“Contest Calendar” near the back of this
magazine.
A few events are still held in various
locations throughout the country each year, and
the Scale Masters Championships is one of
them. It has been in existence for many years—
probably longer than most of us have been into
aeromodeling. Regional qualifiers are held
across the country each year; those who finish
high are invited to the Championships held in
the fall.
On the Web: The National Museum of the
United States Air Force has released
information on the website about its new
Virtual Tour, for those of us who can’t get
there as often as we would like.
The site also features an Aircraft of the
Week, which has highlighted subjects such as
the Boeing P-26 Peashooter and the B-52D
Stratofortress. Included each month are the
airplane’s fact sheet and photos. Check it out!
Scale Tech: For Christmas I received a new
Spektrum DX8 radio system. Although I still
think it’s one of the most advanced radios I’ve
gotten my greedy little fingers on, in roughly
January I questioned the purchase because
Horizon Hobby, the distributor, changed from
DSM2 to DSMX technology.
When I registered the new radio, I learned
that DSMX technology was already included.
The SD card in the side of the transmitter plugs
into the computer and downloads updates for
the transmitter. Great! If you have an older
Spektrum radio—the DX6i or the DX7,
according to what I saw on the website—you
can send it in for the upgrade to DSMX.
But what’s the difference between DSM2
and DSMX? The latter selects several signals
to keep your transmitter and receiver working
together. This prevents glitches or interference
at large contests, where as many as 40 pilots
could be flying with their transmitters turned
on at the same time.
With my luck, it wouldn’t be the six models
Valve covers for the dummy Continental
receive a coat of microballoons and epoxy to
strengthen the plastic.
Left: The fuselage for
Stan’s Pietenpol is
almost ready to be
joined, and the tail
surfaces are built and
ready for installation.
The side covering
will go on after radio
installation.
Above: The finished
Continental 65 form
(shown with spark
plugs that still need
wiring) splits in the middle for
installation. Stan is going to install this
dummy engine in his Pietenpol.
in the air that would get me; it would be the
56 models on the ground whose pilots had
their transmitters turned on while working on
them.
I understand that there is a fee to update
your DX7 or DX6i, and you have to purchase
the newer X receiver. The new transmitters on
the DSMX system will also operate the older
DSM2 receivers, but only on DSM2—not
DSMX.
The only thing I really don’t like about the
new Spektrum DX8 is where the flap knob, or
“Aux 3” knob, is located. It’s above the
aileron/elevator stick on top of the transmitter
in Mode 2. Most of us fly in Mode 2.
For flap operation, I would think that the
knob would be on the left side of the
transmitter, close to the rudder stick—and I
do mean close. Other than that, I love the
programming and ease of operation of the
DX8, as well as the high throttle and battery
alarms.
I’ll have more about this system in the
future.
Fair skies and tailwinds. MA
Sources:
National Association of Scale
Aeromodelers
www.nasascale.org
Greater Southwest Aero Modelers
www.flygsw.org
U.S. Scale Masters Championships
www.scalemasters.org
Call Toll Free:
888-829-4060
7414 Burton Drive, Liberty Twp, OH 45044
All Aero-Pac’s are $15.95 + $5.50 s&h for the fi rst, $1.50 each additional.
• Each Aero-Pac is devoted to a single airframe.
• The documentation comes on a cd-rom and is
viewable in any modern Mac/Win web browser.
• Includes 8-point walk-around, exterior & interior
details, enhanced close-ups, and a 3-view!
• All wording (n-numbers, nomenclature, etc.) are
shot close-up and head-on for easier duplication.
See samples of all of our Aero-Pacs
online at airbornemedia.com
Scale Documentation
for the Digital Age.
Beechcraft Bonanza
SCAN THIS WITH YOUR
SMARTPHONE FOR MORE!
National Museum of the United States Air
Force
(937) 255-3286
www.nationalmuseum.af.mil
Spektrum
(800) 338-4639
www.spektrumrc.com
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