A wet, but fun, SMALL event
Paul Bradley
As we begin the fall season, I like to reflect on the summer flying season. One of my favorite summer events is the annual Small Model Aircraft Lovers League (SMALL) fly-in held in the Little Rock, Arkansas, area each year during the first weekend of June.
The first day of SMALL 2013 had good weather and some great flying. Overnight, after the first day, Mother Nature decided to see if the SMALL attendees could still have fun if she dumped 5 inches of rain on the area. The answer was a resounding yes.
Day two at the field found Lake SMALL had replaced the normal, well-maintained grass field and parking area. Undaunted by the flooded field, the well-equipped and high-spirited fliers broke out their water-capable airplanes and had a nice float-fly. I was able to get a picture of some of the pilots with water-compatible airplanes. The smiles on their faces said it all.
Because of the field’s overall condition, flying was slightly limited for those who did not have suitable airplanes with them, but that did not stop or slow down the fun. The people who attend SMALL know how to have a great time whether flying or talking about model airplanes.
More heavy rain arrived on day three of the event, so all but a few diehards headed home early. The people who stuck it out to the end were rewarded with magnificent flying weather on the last day. They simply had to navigate a wet field.
Because the weather put a few wrinkles in the SMALL 2013 proceedings, I was unable to get photos of many models. One that I did manage to capture is of the Cartoon Scale models Keith Sparks offers under his Park Flyer Plastics banner.
The model in the photo on page 99 is his Cartoon Scale Messerschmitt Bf 109. He has quite a collection of these interesting-looking, great-flying models available as kits. See the "Sources" listing.
Rain or shine, windy or calm, I look forward to SMALL 2014. It is a special event that involves some great modelers.
Pat Tritle’s 44-inch Bücker Jungmeister
Pat Tritle has a new short kit offering in the form of a Bücker Jungmeister.
As is typical of Pat, this lightly built biplane is perfect for our small-field venues.
The 44-inch-span wings have a combined area of 558 square inches and the model’s flying weight is only 26 ounces. Power is a brushless electric motor in the E-flite 450 class turning a 12 x 6 electric propeller with energy coming from a two-cell 2,200 mAh LiPo battery pack.
Pat says the Jungmeister is a terrific, stable park flyer capable of simple
Neil Kaufman's Designs
I received a nice note from Neil Kaufman, who hails from the Sudbury, Massachusetts, area. Neil is a fan of small-field models and also likes to do his own design work. Based on the assortment of photos he sent along, I would say he is a damn good designer.
I have included the photo he sent of his Lockheed Vega. The Vega has a 36-inch wingspan and a flying weight of 20 ounces. On the front is a Super-Tiger 400 electric motor that uses a three-cell, 910 mAh LiPo battery pack. Neil has also designed an F6F-5K Hellcat and a Fairey Swordfish.
Nice work, Neil. Please let us know if you make your plans available for other builders.
Hacker FF Models as Electric RC Conversions
Ben Andrus sent me some nice photos of several small-field RC models that he developed as electric-powered conversions from Hacker FF kits. The Hacker line of FF models is not as well known as some of the other manufacturers.
I have included a photo of Ben’s converted Hacker FF Super Decathlon. The model has a 25-1/2-inch wingspan. The flying weight is 4 ounces and it uses the motor and radio gear from a ParkZone Carbon Cub. All of the controls are functional and the model sports working flaps.
For covering, Ben used a technique that I like to use when I want to create detailed color and markings: inkjet-printed tissue over a white underlayment. Ben used Coverlite for the white underlayment.
The process involves attaching the inkjet-printed tissue to the model with clear dope after it has first been covered with the white underlayment. Coverlite is well suited for the underlayment, because it takes clear dope well. The results can be striking, as shown on Ben’s model.
Ben sells the Hacker FF kits under his RC Baron business’s name.
That’s it for this installment. Please let me know what you are up to in the world of small-field flying.
SOURCES:
Park Flyer Plastics (817) 233-1215 www.parkflyerplastics.com
Pat’s Custom Models (505) 296-4511 www.patscustom-models.com
RC Baron (225) 413-0860 www.rcbaron.com
Paul Bradley 10201 Scarlet Oak Dr. Independence, KY 41051 [email protected] www.parmodels.com
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
