RC Giants
John A. de Vries 4610 Moffat Ln., Colorado Springs CO 80915
In the dim days of last century, Royal Products needed to have an instruction manual written for its new Messerschmitt Me 109 kit. The late Jack Aycock, who worked for Royal Products, asked me to "do the honors."
I readily agreed, because it meant a buck or two for the old "rat hole account."
To bolt something together resembling a set of kit instructions, I had to build the model—or rather build half the kit, which consisted of one wing panel, the horizontal stabilizer, and the basic structure of the fuselage. The bits and pieces had to be photographed to illustrate the manual.
Part of the exercise was to design a retractable landing-gear installation, since the model's plans didn't include a fold-up gear.
There was a very good reason why the fellow who drew the model's plans didn't include retracts: it was impossible to make a scale installation, because the wing's main spar ran right through the area where the landing gear had to be mounted.
The gear on the full-scale Me 109 was hinged at the fuselage/wing juncture, and retracted outboard. There wasn't a way to add scale retracts without redesigning the entire kit!
Since Royal was insistent, I cobbled together a retract installation that was similar to that on the P-51! It broke my scale heart to put pencil to paper, and come up with a landing gear that folded inward.
I don't know if my instruction manual was ever printed and included in the Me 109 kit. I can't remember if I was ever paid for the abortive effort, but I wasn't particularly proud of it.
Another instruction-manual war story
Also in the last century, I invested in a Giant Scale ARF (Almost Ready to Fly)—primarily to have a model to fly.
You'd figure that if all the major components of the model were built and covered, the job would be quick and dirty. No way!
The ARF's instruction manual was all of four pages long—one page of which was a treatise on how to fly the model. The instructions were illustrated with roughly five photographs, and it gave the "how-to" the old college try.
As I proceeded to get the model in flyable condition, I noted all the little jobs that it required. The list kept getting longer and longer, and by the time the model was ready to fly, my instruction manual totaled 22 double-spaced pages of construction descriptions!
I feel sorry for a beginning Giant Scale builder who gets stuck with a four-page "instruction sheet."
I sent a copy of the extended "manual" to the kit's manufacturer. I received his thanks and a note that if any modeler asked for it, he'd supply him or her with a copy.
How the modeler would know of its existence was beyond my understanding, since it never was advertised.
I am, and have been, concerned with the quality (and quantity) of instructions that accompany the usual model-airplane kit or set of scratch-building drawings.
Preparing instructions is a compromise because of the various skill levels of the builders. Rank beginners need each step described in detail, and the "old hand" can get away with much less in the way of instructions.
Some magazine construction articles assume that the model will be built by people in the Ziroli, Art Johnson, or Bob Underwood class of scale modelers. The space restrictions don't allow for a complete set of detailed instructions. That's unfortunate, because it limits the average Joe to a project for which his experience hasn't prepared him.
However, the standard kit of today contains a beautiful construction manual, as do the efforts of independent designers.
Jerry Bates includes a book with each set of plans he sells. With a modicum of effort, someone with a couple or four Radio Control (RC) Giant Scale models under his/her belt can come up with a great flier.
The instruction manuals that used to accompany HeathKit electronic kits were the best; they included each step in the construction process, and included a box to check off each effort.
With the least proficiency, a beginner could solder together a complete RC system that rivaled the then-popular Kraft radio. I know—I did it! I wonder where that beautiful blue box went.
The better the instruction manual, the more likely the model will come out fine. Getting a kit or a set of drawings with adequate instructions should go a long way in helping you choose your next Giant Scale project!
M. A. Failand and the Great Lakes Trainer
M. A. Failand of Canoga Park CA is faced with a rather sad situation.
In the April column, I included a photograph of M. A.'s outstanding Great Lakes Trainer. He had done an outstanding job of recreating, in model form, the biplane that Al Ball and his son Brad restored to pristine flying condition.
Having the prototype available went a long way in helping M. A. detail his Giant Scale model.
A while back, M. A. decided to shoot a photograph of the model and the full-scale aircraft together, but it was not to be. During a cross-country flight to Arizona, Al and Brad nosed over the Great Lakes and cartwheeled in their restored beauty!
Neither passenger was hurt, but the airplane was reduced to a basket case.
Brad intends to restore the aircraft, as a project for his A&E (Airframe and Engine) license. I sure hope so, because M. A. made a considerable effort to copy the markings on the original model.
Mea culpa and an autogiro discovery
Better late than never for a big dose of mea culpa.
I was thrashing through my file cabinet, when I found a very interesting letter and enclosures sent to me by one Al Baker of Glendale CA. He enclosed four 35mm slides of a 1/6-scale autogiro which he said he'd scratch-built from one photograph of the full-scale aircraft. He wondered if I could identify it.
The photos showed a very nice model of an autogiro that looked like a Kellett YG-1B. I wrote back to Al and asked for more information, and he sent me the model for inspection. The workmanship was first-rate, and the model flew like a dream.
I decided to put the model in the hands of a friend who is a well-known autogiro buff, to get his opinion. He confirmed that the prototype was indeed a Kellett YG-1B, and added some interesting notes on its construction and operation.
With a great degree of skill and cunning, the Kellett YG-1B autogiro flies exactly like the prototype. The model will hover in a 5 mph headwind! You've probably never seen an RC Giant Scale autogiro.
I hadn't, until I got a thick envelope from the Autogyro Company of Arizona (3307 W. Renee Dr., Phoenix AZ 85027); it included several photographs of a Kellett YG-1B autogiro that could easily pass for full-scale. And it flies!
Is the autogiro Giant Scale?
The nature of the stunning model poses some interesting questions, the most important of which is, "Is the autogiro a true Giant Scale model?"
The scale is 1/5, but the rotor diameter is 74 inches, which provides 4,300 square inches of disk area. The fuselage is 50 inches long, and the model is designed to take a two-stroke .61 or a four-stroke .90. It requires only standard servos, and four channels are adequate. The model weighs 8-1/4 pounds, and is three feet tall. It will hover in a 5 mph wind!
Based on the foregoing numbers, I believe the Autogyro Company's model is Giant Scale.
Although the IMAA (International Miniature Aircraft Association) rules don't consider defining numbers for helicopters or autogiros, the plane definition of Giants should be applied. A helicopter with a disk diameter of 60 inches or larger should be considered Giant Scale.
Steve Tillson of the Autogyro Company plans to kit the Kellett at roughly the time this column is published. That should provide many good RC fliers with a new set of learning tasks.
An autogiro flies similar to a helicopter and similar to an airplane. Knowing when to twiddle the correct transmitter stick to switch from one stage of flight to the other should be fun!
If you're interested in autogiros, give the company's Web page a look at www.autogyro-rc.com. The toll-free number for ordering is (888) 783-0101.
Back with you next month. 'Til then, keep 'em flying!
MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
