Radio Control Slope Soaring - 2011/04

[[email protected]]
Radio Control Slope Soaring Dave Garwood
F3F Slope Racing on Google Earth
Also included in this column:
• 2011 Slope Soaring events
• Scale finishing techniques by
PSS craftsmen
• A Dynamic Soaring record!
Jan Carstangen’s finishing scheme
on his Marty Hill P-40 Warhawk
reflects P-40s that were delivered to
Russia in olive-drab paint and
painted a white “winter scheme” in
the field. Sometimes the green was
not completely covered, as
documented in photos. Carstangen
photo.
A Mantis Unlimited-class sailplane cruises over the main field at a Cumberland Soar for
Fun. This year will be the 45th running of the event—a venue for LSF achievement
program eight-hour slope flights. Bert Magin photo.
Dave Garwood’s Marty Hill P-40 Warhawk over Lake Ontario. Part of a group build
project, this model shows standard panel lining and airbrush weathering work described
in the October 2010 column.
Wayne Rigby’s Marty Hill P-40 Warhawk. He has
accomplished subtle coloring on this model, for a great scale
appearance. All markings were painted, using Callie
Graphics custom vinyl stencils. Wayne built the exhaust
stacks from scratch. Rigby photo.
SATELLITE CAMERAS used by the
Google Earth Web site caught a British
Model Flying Association (BMFA) F3F
race. Mike Shellim, a BMFA luminary,
wrote the following on his Web site.
“An isolated slope in South Wales may
be safe from the gaze of urban CCTV
cameras, but not, it seems, from the all
seeing eye of Google Earth.
“Fellow F3F pilot Mark Abbotts was
idly looking at Google Earth one day when
he spotted what looked like a bunch of cars
in the car park at the Bwlch. Further
scrolling around revealed what looked like a
bunch of models, and the shadows of their
pilots.
“After reading Mark’s post on the F3F
list, a detailed look through my photo
archive revealed some highly promising
matches—the photos appear to have been
taken during the BMFA League 4 F3F
April 2011 105
Rich Loud’s Marty Hi l l P-40
Warhawk. His take on white
paint “daubed” over green led
him to adopt a different process,
explained in the text. The cutvinyl
numerals, stars, and engine
exhaust markings are from Callie
Graphics. Rich Loud photo.
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106 MODEL AVIATION
Carl Lorber (L) and Jay Stargel at the 2010 Cumberland Soar for Fun. Carl flew at the
inaugural event in 1967, and Jay began attending in 1969. Grace Stargel photo.
competition on 11th July 2005! The date
has been confirmed by others who have
managed to identify their cars by their
location and colour.
“These Google Earth screen captures
tell the whole rather strange story here:
www.rc-soar.com/events/gearth/earth.htm.”
Mike presents an excellent modelsailplane
digital-photography tutorial on his
site. The address is in the “Sources” listing.
I am interested to know if other Soaring
events can be found on Google Earth.
In the October 2010 issue I mentioned a
group-build project, where five Slope
Soaring pilots built Marty Hill P-40
Warhawks from short kits. The column
shows photos of my model with and
without panel lines and weathering.
This month I’m presenting the fine
work of three of my co-builders: Jan
Carstangen, Rich Loud, and Wayne Rigby.
Each contributed information about his
finishing techniques.
The following is from Jan.
“Camouflage applications in the field
were often applied under adverse
conditions, and in the case of the
whitewash, with a brush. After a period of
time operating from unimproved fields this
daubed on white often flaked off or wore
through.
“To replicate this I first painted the P-40
in its original coloring of dark green top
and gray bottom. A liquid masking film
(Hobbico Master Mask) was applied to the
areas which were to remain solid green or
gray. A light spray application of white
allowed a hint of the undersurface color to
show through.
“Although not necessary a light spray
of water was used to assist in the removal
of the liquid masking material from
around the cockpit and leading edges.
Light wet sanding with 300 and 600
sandpaper enhanced other areas of wear.”
Rich wrote:
“As modelers we have many tricks to
get just the right look on a paint job, often
looking past the real reason for a color
scheme or the way it was really applied.
“The Russian P-40 in the winter scheme
was applied by daubing white paint over
top of the typical dark green camouflage.
The result was a grayish white appearance
that was really a combination of white and
olive green. I wanted to see if I could use a
similar technique to get the same effect on
my model.
“Working with the wings and fuselage
separately, the entire airframe was first
coated with Valspar Grey Primer (65055).
Since the underside was going to be neutral
gray anyway, choosing light grey primer
allowed me to save a little bit of weight by
leaving the bottom primed and unpainted.
“Krylon Satin Italian Olive (53522) was
then sprayed over the top and sides
allowing it to feather into the grey primer
on the bottom. It took only two light coats
and the P-40 was dressed in a smooth green
camouflage.
“The rear windows were masked before
applying the white coat to allow the green
fuselage to ‘show through the rear
windows.’ Krylon Flat White (51502) was
then lightly sprayed over the green from a
distance of about two feet rather than the
typical six to eight inches.
“The wider dispersion at two feet results
in a very light and almost cloudy
appearance. This works out well since the
idea is to apply just enough white to make it
look ‘not green’ but not enough to make it
look white.
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April 2011 107
If your Slope Soaring organization is
scheduling an event for 2012—one that is
expected to appeal to a wide audience—let
me know about it in December 2011; I’ll
plan to mention it in next April’s column.
1. Los Banos Scale sailplane event, April
16-17, Los Banos, California: This
gathering, hosted by the South Bay Soaring
Society, combines aerotowing with slope
flying for Scale RC gliders at Los Banos in
Central California. It has taken place for
nearly 20 years.
The steep, grassy slopes of the Los
Banos Creek Reservoir provide lift in
several wind directions. This is a major
gathering of large-scale sailplanes of both
modern and vintage design.
2. Midwest Slope Challenge, May 12-15,
Lucas, Kansas: This relaxed flying and
vacation experience features four
competition classes: Foam Combat, Foam
Warbird race, One Design Race (ODR), and
Unlimited Class race.
Travelers can usually count on plenty of
sport-flying opportunities, because hills
around Wilson Lake allow flying in several
wind directions.
3. Southern California PSS Festival,
May 28-29, Cajon Summit, California: This
is the largest gathering of Power Scale
Soaring (PSS) gliders in the country, and it
alternates years with Soar Utah.
The Inland Slope Rebels club has run
the PSS Festival for 13 years, turning Cajon
Summit into a PSS mecca. The flying site is
a mile-long ridge that is 1,800 feet above
the Cajon Pass in the San Bernardino
“Multiple light coats of white were
applied until the desired look was achieved.
Slight variations were achieved by varying
the sweep speed while spraying the white.
After the final coat had completely dried, the
canopy was masked and painted with
Valspar Gloss Royal Blue (65031).”
Following is Wayne Rigby’s description
of his approach.
“To mimic canopy glass, I airbrushed a
light mist of Testors Gloss Silver enamel
over a base coat of Flat Blue enamel. Several
light coats of Krylon Gloss Clear acrylic
were sprayed over this. The first coat
dissolved the grain in the silver mist layer
giving a lovely sheen over the blue; the
remaining coats added gloss. (Spray lightly
and let each coat dry thoroughly, or the
acrylic will dissolve the blue base coat.)
“I masked the glass canopy panels with
frisket film, then sprayed olive drab green
over the entire top of the aircraft. After
painting the fuselage numbers, I covered the
green with a solid coat of white except
around the canopy and the fuselage numbers.
“The red insignia stars were masked and
painted, then panel lines drawn using the
techniques Dave has described in earlier
articles. The exhaust stacks are styrene tube
shaped using a heat gun, then painted.
“Now for the fun part. I sanded the entire
airframe to reveal some of the green
undercoat under the white paint layer,
especially in high wear areas like wing
walks, leading edges, and panel boundaries.
Remember the winter camouflage was
applied in the field and not intended to last
past the terrible Russian winter.
“A final tip: Ask Callie Graphics about
cutting vinyl stencils for you. If you discard
the decal part of a vinyl sheet, you’re left
with a stencil. Callie Graphics can supply a
thicker, low tack adhesive vinyl, and leave
more border around the decal pattern. This
eliminates lots of time cutting masks in
frisket!”
Seven Slope Soaring events for 2011 have
been announced at the time of this writing in
early January. Sorry if there are events that I
did not mention.
04sig4z_00MSTRPG.QXD 2/22/11 11:48 AM Page 107
National Forest. Pilots may enter their models
in a judged contest and compete for awards in
four groups: best jet, best propeller airplane,
best civilian airplane, and best foam airplane.
4. Cape Blanco Slope Fest, August 6-10,
Port Orford, Oregon: The Southern Oregon
Slopiens hosts this event. Following is a
description from the club Web site:
“This is an informal five-day event, held
near the campground of the Cape Blanco
State Park. It includes hours of noncompetitive
flying, a barbeque, and
camaraderie among like-minded pilots. The
ridge is flyable in both north and south winds,
and its shape presents an opportunity for
dynamic soaring.”
5. Alpine Soaring Adventure, June 30-July
3, Joseph, Oregon: “The event focuses on
Alpine soaring, and includes aero-tow, and
electric-power flying in an alpine setting with
spectacular scenery.”
What is “Alpine soaring”? The best
answer I have gotten to that question is from
old flying buddy Jim Porter.
He and I have competed in thermals at the
AMA Nats in Muncie, Indiana, and competed
in slope lift at the Midwest Slope Challenge.
After Jim returned from a three-year
residence in Germany, he explained to me
that:
“Alpine soaring is driving up a
mountain and throwing your sailplane off
into the top of the thermal (you hope),
rather than
launching from the flatland into the bottom
of it.”
Slope pilots I’ve spoken to said that they
had a great time at the Wallowa Lake event.
6. Leading Edge Gliders Fun Fly, Labor
Day weekend, Lucas, Kansas: Jack Cooper,
chief honcho at Leading Edge Gliders,
throws a party to remember, on alternate
years from Soar Utah, that is designed to
gather slope pilots from across the country
for some late-summer flying at Wilson Lake
and surrounding inland hills.
There are no scheduled events at this
event; fly what you bring. Electric-power
flying and winch launching are at the ready,
in case of wind failure.
7. Cumberland Soar for Fun, November
5-6, Cumberland, Maryland: Fly from a
mountaintop in slope lift generated by the
Appalachian Mountains. Some long-standing
full-scale soaring distance records have been
set on the west side of the Appalachian
range, and when the lift there is good, it
tends to be great.
This will be the 45th annual Soar for Fun.
I do not know of a longer-running Soaring
event. Host members of the Capital Area
Soaring Association must be doing
something right.
Dynamic Soaring Record: On February 2,
2011, at Norco, California, Spencer
Lisenby flew his own-design model to a
world record. An RCGroups thread
chronicles his achievement; the Web site
address is in the “Sources” listing. MA
Sources:
Google Earth F3F photos:
http://bit.ly/e3T4qP
Mike Shellim’s “Photographing R/C
Models”
http://bit.ly/gBW5rU
Callie Graphics
(505) 281-9310
www.callie-graphics.com
South Bay Soaring Society
www.sbss.org
Midwest Slope Challenge
www.midwestslopechallenge.com
Inland Slope Rebels
www.inlandsloperebels.com
Southern Oregon Slopiens
www.clubsos.itgo.com
Alpine Soaring Adventure
www.alpinesoaring.com
Leading Edge Gliders
www.leadingedgegliders.com
Capital Area Soaring Association
www.soarcasa.org
League of Silent Flight
www.silentflight.org
RCGroups Dynamic Soaring record thread:
http://bit.ly/gQ21ay
108 MODEL AVIATION
Requirements for this position are simple:
• Must possess a love of all aspects of model aviation
• Must own an RV suitable for 30-day stays
• Must have outstanding people skills and a willingness
to represent AMA in a positive manner to fellow
members and guests
• Must be willing to live on-site for one month during
the season—April-September
• Must follow all flying-site rules and guidelines
• Must have a familiarity with model-aviation flying sites
(norms and customs a plus)
• Individuals who provide a service (such as a vendor)
will not be allowed to participate in the program
• Only couples may apply
AMA will provide these volunteers with the following:
• A camping site with full hookups
• Transportation for use on-site
• Caps and golf shirts with an “AMA host” designation
Duties will include:
• Helping members and guests visiting the flying site
• Helping ensure that the AMA Safety Code is
observed on the flightlines
• Helping check in members and visitors at the
camping sites
• Communicating with AMA staff concerning
conditions of the flying site
Volunteer Host/
Hostess Program
We are seeking couples for each month of the flying season. If you would like to apply to become an AMA host and hostess,
contact Wendy Cummins at [email protected] or (765) 287-1256, extension 210.
www.modelaircraf t .org/news / seekinghos t .aspx
Keeping watch over the 1,100-acre National Flying Site in Muncie,
Indiana, is a formidable task. Borrowing a page from the National Park
Service and many successful state park programs, the Academy is
seeking retired volunteers to become flying-site hosts.
C o m e J o i n U s
at the Inte r n a t io nal
Ae romode ling Ce n te r !
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