RC Scale - 2012/10

I have been working on the wing and center section of my Pietenpol Air Camper.
I changed the wing structure from a one-piece wing to a three-piece wing with
the center section staying attached. The ribs were cut and then all of the ribs that
needed holes for the center section were stacked together and the main access holes
for the aluminum tube and joiner were added. The aluminum tube will come out
with one wing panel.
After adding the servos to
the wing as well as the fuselage,
covering will be next. I still
haven’t found that illusive silver
paint I’m looking for.
I’ve experimented with
Krylon and it seems to be
fuelproof. I let the paint dry for
a month then poured raw 15%
nitro fuel on it. I let it set for
roughly five minutes and then
wiped it off. The fuel didn’t
seem to have any affect on the
paint or finish. But the silver
paint wasn’t what I wanted.
Around Scale
The 2012 Mint Julep Scale Contest—the 40th and last Mint Julep to be held in
Kentucky—was May 18-20 at the Falls of Rough State Park. Hosted by the Southern
Indiana R/C Modelers (SIRCM), Paul Cain and Dale Arvin again headed up a great
crew.
The club voted to move the event to southern Indiana for economic reasons. Next
year’s event will be held in June and it will still be called the Mint Julep.
The weather was some of the best I’ve seen in all the times I’ve been to the Mint
Julep, or “Mint”
as many call it. It
was sunny with
no rain, rather warm, and there was
little wind. What more could you ask
for? How about a full-scale runway with
landing lights?
The Landing Light award (the one
you don’t want) will be retired after this
year, because the new runway is a model
airplane field. I am sure Dale and crew
will come up with a new award.
Longtime SIRCM member Dale Arvin
received several awards during Saturday
night’s banquet at the hotel restaurant,
including an AMA Service Award. For
once—and only once—the audience
was not pelted with Dale’s mischievous
jokes and awards; we all missed that.
Dale later told me, “For once I was
speechless.” He also received lifetime
memberships in National Association
of Scale Modelers (NASA) and the U.S.
Scale Masters Association.
I entered the most popular class—
RC Fun Scale Open—and managed
to complete my limited goal of not
finishing last in my class. Longtime
friend, Bob Underwood, called my
flights for me and I finished 20th out of
29. It had been higher, but I think after
the third round the judges were hot and
tired. I wish I’d flown that last flight!
It’s good to have someone who knows
how you fly, knows what goes on at a
contest, and knows where to look for
possible problems that can arise while
you are flying, to act as your caller. A
quiet voice in your ear telling you what
the next maneuver is or reminding you
to retract the gear at a certain point, also
helps you to relax.
I flew a Hangar 9 Hellcat, powered
by an O.S. 61FSR powering a 12 x 6
propeller, with a Spektrum radio system.
The only mechanical option was retracts
on this one, but the engine ran smoothly
during all the flights. That’s a plus when
you are in competition.
The O.S. had plenty of power to take
care of any of the Hellcat’s needs. On
straight-and-level flight you need slightly
less than half throttle to have nice speed
and a stable flight.
Now on the market are many
airplanes with a 64- to 70-inch wingspan
requiring a .90 to 1.20-size engine. Are
manufacturers trying to sell the larger,
more expensive engines or are the
airframes that much heavier?
The Hellcat has plenty of room in
the nose for a .61 engine up to a 1.20,
but the more weight you put in a shortnosed
airplane, as are most World War II
fighters, the more weight you will have
to add to the rear of the airframe to
balance it.
I have added some other details to the
Hellcat, which I’ll
go into in another
column, but I like
the way this one
flies now.
Another item
that I’ve decided
to add to my
contest “kit” is a
simple, easy-tocarry
field box. It
will contain the
basics: a battery,
starter, small bottle
of starter fuel, and
an extra glow plug.
It’s built from 1/4-
inch and 3/8-inch
plywood and has
a long handle so I
don’t have to bend
over so far to pick
it up.
The main fuel
bottle will stay in
the pits. I’ve made
it a habit to refuel
after each flight so
I don’t make the
mistake of going
to the flightline with a nearly empty fuel
tank.
A DLE 55 will be my next purchase
for another upcoming project. Electric
and glow engines occupy my shop, and
I’ve had several gas engines. I don’t see
any of
these
engines
going
away and
the glow
engines
will probably still be the primary engines
of choice for Scale modeling, especially
four strokes because of their sound.
Some modelers have sold their glow
and gas engines in favor of electrics. They
all have their pluses and minuses; there
are tradeoffs either way you go.
New Products
Jim Pepino Plans are once again
available. Jim produced and sold a large
variety of plans, all for Scale modelers.
After Jim passed away, his wife, Anne,
carried on. When it was time to
retire, she sold the business to Henry
Budzynski who has a new website up
and running. With nearly 100 Scale
plans available from various designers,
it’s worth a closer look.
Some of the plans include Art
Chester’s Jeep, the Avro Model
D 1911 Biplane, a Curtiss 1912
Headless Pusher, a Chipmunk, a PT-
19, a Grumman Albatross, a Hawker
Hurricane, a Heath Baby Bullet Racer,
a Stinson SR-5, the Travel Air Mystery
Ship, a Waco 10, a YMF-5, and various
versions of a Piper J-3. Prices and sizes
are listed on the website.
Upcoming Events
Warbirds Over the Rockies will
take place September 28-30 in Fort
Collins, Colorado. This is typically
Indian summer in Colorado and the
weather is expected to be perfect. In
the past, more than 5,000 spectators
have attended and the host club, Love-
Air R/C, and organizers have donated
proceeds to Mental Health America of
Colorado.
For a great daily air show, as well as
plenty of Scale flying, check out the
website, videos, and all of the sponsors.
The One Eighth Air Force Scale
Fly-In will be October 20-21 at the
Arizona Model Aviators Club Field
in Mesa, Arizona. This great bunch
of people in sunny southern Arizona
hosts a spring and fall fly-in each year.
You can count on great hospitality
and a good time. The group presents
awards in several categories, including
the famous “crying towels.”
The One Eighth Air Force promotes
Scale modeling of any kind. The
members work to encourage young and/
or future modelers to join in the fun. It’s
always great to attend a fly-in and see a
line of youngsters waiting to experience
their first airplane flight.
For more information, check with
John Geyer or Howard Kennedy.
Scale Tech
If you are having trouble with your
retract servo and the gear working
properly, this might help. Replace the
worn servo arm(s) that came with the
servo with a larger, more robust servo
arm from Du-Bro.
I had a problem with my JR NES791
servo. The landing gear wasn’t retracting
as tightly into the wing as it should.
The servo had shredded the servo arm
teeth in the sprocket below the Phillips
head screw holding the arm in place.
So I added a Du-Bro Super Strength
servo arm, which has thicker and deeper
“teeth.” The retracts showed immediate
improvement in their operation during
the contest and on practice flights. Give
it a try!
Fair skies and tail winds.