Progress on the Pietenpol
By
Stan Alexander — [email protected]
I’ve been working on my Pietenpol Air Camper and have finished the wing panels with the sheeting of the center section, as well as the first two rib sections of the outer panels. With the wingtips finished and sanded, the panels are ready to cover.
This is a good time for me to install the radio gear, center the servos, and finish all of the interior plumbing, as well as add the fuel tank and other parts. I made a hatch under the aft cockpit for radio gear access. This is out of the way of the wing and struts. Easy servicing is always a plus for any model—especially a scale model—and for those of us with big hands.
I plan to add many details, including the hatches, cockpit covers, and two windshields cut from clear plastic from a hobby shop. It’s coming together and I hope to have it ready for the Mint Julep contest in June.
Giants at the Nats
Bob Patton’s huge, scratch-built Beechcraft T-34B is finished in a U.S. Navy color scheme. Bob and his wife Tina are regulars at the Nats each year and this has to be Bob’s most impressive aircraft yet. This is a huge airplane, with a 145-inch wingspan. That’s right—145 inches. It’s powered by a 3W-220 four-cylinder engine swinging a 34 x 12 Menz two-blade propeller. When Bob runs up the model in the pits, it’s not a good idea to stand behind it. You could be blown over! It is all Tina can do to hang on to the giant-scale model.
Bob drew his own plans, built the molds from 1/4-inch plywood and solid wood, and fleshed it out with Bondo. Bob detailed the model pilot after the pilot in “An Officer and a Gentleman.” Bob scratch-built the retracts—an electric, 12-volt system with linear actuating mechanisms. The tires are from an electric wheelchair or “mart cart.” The model has retracts, flaps, a sliding canopy, full lighting, and brakes. The paint is PPG Automotive Coatings basecoat and clearcoat. The radio system is a Futaba 12Z with 15 servos. The parts for the functional cowl latches were designed and cut with a water-jet cutting tool. Bob built a tool to create a bend in the latches so they would work on the model. Steve Norcross taught Bob to build his own fiberglass molds roughly 20–25 years ago. Bob must have had a great teacher, and Steve had a great student!
Contact Bob at the email address in “Sources” for information about parts and plans.
Also on display was a P-47 equipped with a Down and Locked LLC remote kill-switch regulator for ignition, and more. This P-47 is a Nick Ziroli–designed premium build throughout, engineered by Dennis Crooks and built by Dick Petit. Check it out either on the Robart Manufacturing website or on NASA’s website. This warbird is tricked out all the way through. Raffle tickets are $5 each.
Online
The 2014 FAI F4 Scale rules and regulations are posted on the NASA website, as well as on the FAI website. These include all rules for F4B (CL), F4C (RC), and the new F4H (Sport Scale) classes. One of the best sets of flight maneuver diagrams I’ve ever seen is also included. Although the heights and distances are given in meters, most are similar to what we fly in the U.S. It’s interesting, and you might learn something.
Minnesota Scale and Giant Scale RC Site
The Minnesota Scale and Giant Scale RC website is another great source of information available for scale modelers. David Andersen designs are listed, as well as several articles about scale modeling that anyone can enjoy and learn from.
Several of David’s designs are also available, including a Focke‑Wulf Ta 152H, 1/4-scale Lavochkin La‑7, the Grumman Lynx, the 1/3-scale Howard DGA Pete air racer, and his Arado Ar.96B trainer.
Meister Scale
Meister Scale has been in business for more than 31 years, offering a limited number of the most popular warbirds from around the world. Dino DiGiorgio and his company’s models aren’t your 60-size scale models, and many have wingspans of more than 90 inches.
The company's lineup includes the North American P-51D Mustang, Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, Mitsubishi A6M Zero, Vought F4U Corsair, Focke‑Wulf Fw 190, Messerschmitt Bf 109, Focke‑Wulf Fw 190D‑9, and the Supermarine Spitfire. Offered are all of the additional detail parts and, in some cases, fiberglass fuselages to complete the models.
Fair skies and tailwinds.
SOURCES
- NASA
- Minnesota Scale and Giant Scale R/C
- Robart Manufacturing
(630) 584-7616 www.robart.com
- Meister Scale
(722) 812-2391 www.meister-scale.com
- Bob Patton
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
