File: 08bradley.ht1.doc
[Headline: A trip back in time via digitized magazines]
[Callout: Access the MA Digital Library at https://library.modelaviation.com.]
In the June 2014 edition of this column, I mentioned the availability of a digital version of the Air Trails/American Aircraft Modeler magazine library for the years 1937 through March 1975. This digital library is being offered by Roland Friestad.
In 1966, American Aircraft Modeler (AAM) magazine included what was then the newsletter of the AMA, Model Aviation. AAM ceased publication with the March 1975 issue. Three months later, Model Aviation was born as a full magazine.
I have had the opportunity to look through all of the old Air Trails [AT] and AAM issues that are being offered by Roland. What a great trip through the history of the model airplane hobby.
When we consider the ready availability of RC models that you can simply remove from a box, charge, and fly, it is interesting to read the article by Chet Lanzo in the December 1937 issue of AT. He covers building one of the first RC models. That article also presents the information necessary to build the radio.
Times have changed and we no longer have to build our radio systems. We can still enjoy building the model if we want, but the world of RTF aircraft has eliminated that requirement as well.
If you would like to look at the history of our great hobby, I highly recommend the digital set of AT/AAM magazines being sold by Roland. These digitized magazines come on a computer USB card (also known as flash or thumb drive) that fits in your shirt pocket, which is a wonderful way to store a large volume of old magazines.
This is another measure of the impact of technology on the hobby. No more need for a large storage space to hold old magazines. In addition to purchasing the AT/AAM digital library for yourself, it would also be a great club purchase. See the “Sources” for contact information.
I should also note that digital magazine viewing of the history of model airplanes continues nicely via the MA Digital Library. This is a great AMA membership benefit that allows you to view and read all of the published magazine issues of MA beginning with the first issue (July 1975).
If you have an interest in doing a little time travel in the model airplane world, take a look at these two great digital magazine resources.
Float Solution
For me, there are some airplanes that need a set of floats hanging below the model. It’s hard to put into words, but a set of floats can really be attractive.
What if you want to build a model with floats, but you don’t have any place to fly off water? Jack Pignolo, from the Houston area, has a nice solution. Make the floats from vertical laminations of foam sheet and include a pocket for a wheel. The wheels then allow for ground operations.
If you find that you are able to fly the model off water, remove the wheels and put foam plugs in their place. Bingo! You have a simple and quick way to switch between hard surface and water runways. Take a look at Jack’s photos.
Split Wing Panels
It is common for larger models to have the wing split in the middle to help reduce the space needed for transporting the model to the flying site. Model volume can also be an issue when packing and transporting smaller models. Contributor John Krouse has come up with a neat trick for mounting split wing panels to a small model. John provided several photos of his 18-inch-wingspan model as an example.
The heart of John’s wing mounting system is a modeling T-pin. Piano wire arms are soldered to each side of the T-pin head. The dihedral angle can be created by bending the T-pin head. Two T-pin assemblies are made for each model.
The model has carbon-fiber tubes glued vertically to the side of the fuselage. A T-pin assembly is then slid into each carbon tube. The height of the fore and aft T-pins is adjusted to create the desired wing incidence.
Carbon-fiber tubes are glued to the bottom face of each wing panel root at a spacing that matches the T-pin spacing on the fuselage. The wing panels are then simply slid onto the piano wire arms that are soldered to the T-pins.
This is a clean and simple way to mount split wing panels on small models. Thanks for sharing this with us, John.
That’s all for this installment. Please let me know what you are up to in the world of small-field flying. My contact information is listed below.[dingbat]
SOURCES:
Roland Friestad
[email protected]
www.fullsizeplans.com
Paul Bradley
10201 Scarletoak Dr.
Independence KY 41051
[email protected]
www.parmodels.com
MA Digital Library
https://library.modelaviation.com
