RADIO CONTROL ELECTRICS
Bob Kopski, 25 West End Dr., Lansdale PA 19446
THIS COLUMN will look at some new products, a recent meet, some small-airplane topics, and some common reader questions.
Electric Airshow video
Electric Airshow is the title of a new video produced by Radio Carbon Art (2980 NW Hayes, Corvallis OR 97330; Tel.: [541] 752-9661; Web site: www.radiocarbonart.com; E-mail: [email protected]). This VHS stereo tape was shot at the last San Diego Midwinter Electric Fly-In and is very well done. It's the best-quality tape I've seen from any E-meet, and is very easy to watch. The tape is approximately an hour long and covers all sorts of Electrics and E-flying at that meet.
I strongly encourage both individuals and clubs with E-interest to invest the $19.95 and enjoy the presentation. It really is very well done!
The magnificent P-51D in one of the photos is a direct-drive Speed 400-powered model by Jack Hix, from plans by Gus Morris (4709 Green Meadows Ave., Torrance CA 90505-5507; E-mail: [email protected]). Gus has many WWII plans, ranging from these smaller E-powered versions to some sizeable glow-powered models, plus some Slope Soarers. If WWII is your thing, I urge you to check out this source.
I understand that some other magazines have presented features on several of the available E-designs from Gus—testimony to the plan's quality and to interest in Speed 400 Scale.
Old Time Eagles Electric Fly-In (Hope, NJ)
I attended the fourth Old Time Eagles Electric Fly-In this past May 13 in Hope NJ. This was a very interesting gathering—and a pivotal one for Electric RC.
Two things stood out: the crowd was very "mature," and the dominant aircraft were quite small! I guess the first point is entirely consistent with this being held by the Old Time Eagles, but there's more to this: nearly all of those experienced aeromodelers were brought up on putt-putt power, and here they were, having a great time with Electric! I guess it's never too late to "see the light."
Although there were a few larger craft present, the Speed 400 size and smaller were everywhere. This is entirely consistent with today's trend in E-power.
With the full-range capability that E-power has, this trend does puzzle me. It would be strange indeed if this small stuff should turn out to be the destiny of Electric. But the hobby is for fun, and if this is the destined format for E-fun, so be it.
One thing's for sure: in my opinion, small RC with E-motivation is vastly more pleasant than the piercing "049-ish" scream of small gas models. And easily throttled E-power is more reliable. It could be that for the first time, E-power really makes small RC easy and fun.
It further strikes me that here is a natural format for entry-level interest: small, relatively low cost, easy to build, many dedicated products, minimal flying space requirements, minimal infringement on the public—all the right stuff.
So where's the youth?
I wonder if a meet format that required all seniors to bring at least one junior along would "fly"? Or how about pregame and/or postgame model air shows at all those community Little League and soccer fields?
Modelair-Tech and small Electrics
Speaking of small Electrics, Modelair-Tech (in the person of Tom Hunt) was in attendance at Hope, complete with his enormous line of small Electrics. MA-T got its start just a few years ago with some belt drives (still in the product lineup), but more recently has an expanding line of small-airplane kits. Many of these are quite innovative in design.
As has become the norm, Tom introduced another new design at this meet: the Miss Stik. This is a 40-inch-span, 212 sq. in. docile flier that has an "Old-Timer" appearance. It fit right in with this gathering!
It's described as a seven- to ten-ounce model that is powered by a direct-drive 280. (A 280 is similar to a Speed 400, only smaller.) As with other MA-T designs, Miss Stik is built almost entirely from 1/8 x 1/4 balsa sticks. It is available as plans, kit, kit-combo, or a deluxe kit-combo. Check out www.modelairtech.com or contact Modelair-Tech (Box 1467, Lake Grove NY 11755-0867; Tel: [631] 981-0372; E-mail: [email protected]) to explore this and all of the other products.
My experience with MA-T kits and small models
I was so impressed, I did just that, and here's what happened to me in the few weeks since:
Having witnessed all the small fun going on at this affair and being intrigued by the strange-looking MA-T Elipstick, I decided to go for it. A few days after the meet I ordered the smaller Elipstick combo-kit, and some others as well. The package arrived on a Monday, and my Elipstick was in the air that Saturday. What a thrill to fly! Eye-catching, too.
I flew it for several days, and decided that I was ready for more small fun. Being basically a "home-brew" type and by now a few-day-old "expert" with the 280, I set about to design the E-GO: a 30-inch aileron/elevator/motor model themed after my larger Emotion design.
As I write this I have approximately six flights on it—and it now appears that I, too, may be hooked on the small ones!
My Elipstick 260 (260 being the wing area in square inches) and E-GO are powered by 280s direct drive to 5 x 4 Gunter props on six or seven 350 mAh Ni-Cds. So far I'm experiencing six- to eight-minute flights on each. Each weighs nine ounces with six cells, wherein the battery itself is three ounces. Here's the rule of thumb once again: "A motor pack typically weighs about 1/3 the total."
The covering material is mostly clear film as supplied with some MA-T kits and also sold separately. This stuff handles just great! It's somewhat like MonoKote® but is much lighter. It has its own adhesive, adheres well, handles compound curves nicely, shrinks smoothly, and comes in clear only—but it is paintable.
I was a bit concerned about visibility, so I used some red MonoKote® trim on both of my new models, but overall the "clear airplane" visibility is not as bad as I'd expected.
The airplanes just described are small, and can be flown from a relatively small field.
Common reader questions: books and suppliers
Readers do pose repeat questions during a period of time. There is continuing entry of new folks into Electric, so some fundamental questions continue. Two common questions concern books on Electric and Electric suppliers.
Keep in mind that Electric is rapidly expanding technically, product-wise, and trend-wise, and it's impossible to have any book "up to the minute." However, with the above limitation in mind, I've been recommending Clean and Quiet by Bob Aberle as the most-useful reference text, as far as I know. You can buy this from the above-mentioned Modelair-Tech and several other places.
There are an increasing number of suppliers entering the marketplace, but I often suggest New Creations R/C (Box 496, Willis TX 77378; Tel.: [409] 856-4630). Proprietor Kirk Massey is very knowledgeable about E-power, and is very friendly and helpful. He carries a huge variety of E-products from essentially all major E-manufacturers, and offers very good pricing and service. Kirk also does custom rework and repairs on Astro motors.
Get in touch and request a catalog—it's a good reference item. Kirk does have a challenge in keeping it up-to-date, with the pace of E-power being what it is!
Reader inquiries and article copies
I experienced something new with reader inquiries, by virtue of the Sport Speed Control article in 9/99 and 10/99 MA. In several columns following those issues, I included follow-up discussion on the SSC. In a sense, the SSC article "continued on" some and it's this "lengthened presence" that caught many new readers' attention.
I've been rather amazed at how many new AMA members and E-readers have joined up since those original articles. Many who have seen only the follow-on discussions have inquired about the availability of the original issues, since they missed 'em.
You can get copies of specific articles from HQ for a small fee ($3/article for AMA members; $4 each for nonmembers). Contact Rich LaGrange, AMA Librarian, so please do give 'em a call and get caught up with the SSC or any other article you missed along the way.
But how do you know what you missed, in general?
An annual articles index would be very valuable.
I've always encouraged new E-readers to try to gather past issues of all magazines and review the e-columns and dedicated E-features. There's much more useful info of all kinds in complete magazines. It's regrettable that most magazines "die" once they have been read; what a waste! I think of magazines as more like "incremental textbooks"—and textbooks don't "die" after they have been read.
Late announcement
The Concord Model Engineers and S&E Modeler present the Devil Mountain All Electric R/C Fun Fly on Sunday, October 8. For full details call Chuck Hill at (925) 685-1546 or Ed Buckner at (707) 446-3241.
Closing
Thus ends another column. Please include an SASE with any inquiry for which you'd like a reply.
And please do try to introduce a young person to the hobby. Some stick to it for years; some don't. Introducing a youngster is often the trick—just before the game starts. There's just gotta be some other kids (and parents and grandparents) in the crowd who'd like to try it too. Think of it as "bait and capture!"
MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
