Small - Field flying 2003/09

92 MODEL AVIATION
WE’VE ENJOYED 50 years of smallfield
flying and it’s still going strong—not
this column, but the activity.
A quote in the pages of the October
1953 Model Airplane News reads: “While
the vanishing flying site has been a
problem since well before the war, and is
now acute, the only ‘solution’ found so far
is to travel to a flying site still further
from town.”
Bill Winter wrote these words in an
article titled “Small Field Models.” The
war he referenced was World War II. Even
50 years ago, the loss of flying sites was a
problem. At that time it involved Free
Flight (FF) models, but nonetheless, the
issues of small-field flying were being
discussed. The old adage “the more things
change, the more they stay the same”
seems most appropriate.
You may ask, “What triggered this bit
of model aviation history and reflection on
the long-standing need for small-field
models?” I received a wonderful package
from Joe Wagner. Joe has been part of this
hobby for many years and is one of the
individuals who helped shape the
modeling world as we know it.
You may recognize the name from his
many contributions to Model Aviation and
other modeling publications. You may not
know that Joe designed one of the first
small-field models in 1949 for the Henry
Engineering Company, more commonly
known as Veco Products.
The model he designed was the
Paul Bradley
S m a l l - F i e l d F l y i n g
32238 Spinnaker Run, Magnolia TX 77354; E-mail: [email protected]
Small-field flying started with Joe Wagner’s Veco Dakota.
This is another view of Joe Wagner’s timeles Dakota design. The aircraft’s 24-inch
wingspan is perfect for small-field flying.
Dakota. It enjoyed a long production run
while Veco was still in operation. My
basis for giving Joe credit for being one of
the first—if not the first—small-field-flyer
designers is that 1953 article by Bill
Winter. The Dakota is indicated as a
reference point for other designers to
emulate. Included with the material Joe
sent were two photos of his Dakota, shown
for your viewing pleasure.
The Dakota was such a landmark
model that I thought it would be
interesting to explore some of the
innovative features Joe incorporated into
the design. With a 24-inch wingspan, it is
a perfect size for small-field flying. That
goes for its original FF format and as a
Radio Control (RC) model using the
current crop of small, lightweight
electronics.
As an FF aircraft, Joe did several
things that really worked to keep the
model flying in a confined space. He used
a unique combination of left thrust to turn
the model while under power, and right
rudder to control the left turn.
The right rudder also provided a nice
right-hand turning glide after the motor
quit. You could fly this model repeatedly
using a long motor run with little worry
about it being carried away to the great
thermal god, Hung. The Dakota was not
likely to be grabbed by a passing thermal
because of the unique airfoil used for the
model.
If you look at the drawing of the airfoil
cross-section, you will see a stepped
diamond shape. Joe used this arrangement
to reduce the gliding efficiency of the
wing. It worked because you had to have a
major trash mover to get a stock FF
Dakota to fly away.
Remembering that Joe Wagner
designed the Dakota in 1949, I would like
to explore the airfoil a bit further. In the
early 1970s, Richard Kline and Floyd
Fogleman developed a paper airplane that
was eventually patented. The key to this
paper glider and the patent was the airfoil.
94 MODEL AVIATION
I have provided a drawing of the Kline-
Fogleman airfoil for comparison to the one
Joe Wagner used on the Dakota. Do you
notice any similarity? This is another
example of something modern not being so
new after all.
Richard and Floyd touted the airfoil as
offering new levels of efficiency. Joe used
the stepped airfoil to lower gliding
efficiency and Kline-Fogleman used it to
increase gliding performance.
The Kline-Fogleman paper glider does
offer some amazing straight-line stability.
That is its real claim to fame. The airfoil
offers considerable stall resistance and
stability. I think I see some common
ground between the Dakota and the Kline-
Fogleman paper glider. Both are stable and
that is good for a small-field model.
While Kline-Fogleman had great hopes
that their airfoil would propel the world of
full-scale aviation to new heights (pun
intended), that did not happen. Apparently
tests performed on various versions of the
airfoil did not produce compelling reasons
to develop aircraft around the patented
wing section.
The FF Dakota had to rely on built-in
aerodynamic features to keep it within the
bounds of the flying field. The
combination of engine-thrust angle, rudder
setting, and the airfoil worked together to
deliver a hallmark model.
Now that we have the ability to add
some lightweight electronics to the
Dakota, it offers an equally appealing
platform for small-field RC flying. It’s
certainly not surprising that this fact has
not been lost on modelers who have loved
the Dakota as a classic design.
The stepped diamond shape of the original Dakota airfoil
reduced the gliding efficiency.
The Kline-Fogleman airfoil used the same stepped airfoil to
increase gliding performance.
Guillow’s kit plans provide basis for small-field models such as Ben Beerbower’s.
If you have access to old issues of
Model Aviation, look at the December
1978 and November 1981 issues. If you
don’t have the old magazines, you can look
up these issues in the Model Aviation
Digital Archives (http://modelaircraft.org).
This is a wonderful resource for AMA
members.
In the December 1978 issue Clarence
Haught offered a slightly enlarged Dakota
for more modern 1⁄2A engines. That
version was still intended for FF, but it
would certainly make a great RC model.
The November 1981 offering was from
Randy Wrisley. This version of the Dakota
was larger still and intended for RC. The
RC version not only changed the size of
the model, but also removed the left thrust
and replaced the stepped airfoil with a
more conventional section. With the ability
to control the model from the ground, it
was no longer necessary or desirable to use
the less efficient stepped airfoil.
In addition to the Dakota plans offered
by Model Aviation, there are several other
sources for modern versions of this classy
design. Pat Tritle offers plans for a 60-inch
RC version. Tom Hunt of ModelAir-Tech
offers plans for the Stickoda: a version for
electric power that uses 1⁄8 x 1⁄4 strip stock
for all of the construction.
You can also get nice Dakota plans
from the designer himself, Joe Wagner.
The offering from Joe not only includes
the plans, but some nice notes about
converting to electric power and adding
radio control. He even includes a copy of
the original Veco kit-assembly drawing.
I have saved the best news about the
Dakota for last. Brian Malin of BMJR
Model Products, working in conjunction
with Joe Wagner, has introduced a new
laser-cut kit for this timeless model. Not
only do you have several plans sources for
the Dakota in varying sizes and features,
you can experience a modern Dakota kit.
Life does not get much better than that in
the world of small-field flying.
Contact information for the plans and
kit is listed at the end of the column.
While discussing the classic Dakota
September 2003 97
design, I want to look at another classic
design source. Don’t choke when I
mention Guillow’s.
I dare say that almost everyone who
has built a model airplane from a kit has
at one time or another built a model from
Guillow’s. The box art and the wide
variety of subjects seem to draw in many
of us at some time. That time is typically
early in our modeling experience when
the allure of models that look like the
real thing is compelling.
Unfortunately, limited building and
flying experience often results in
disappointing results. For some that
means they leave the hobby. For those of
us truly bitten by the model aviation bug,
we somehow overcome the early
Guillow’s building experience and go on
to more successful projects.
Guillow’s has the reputation for
delivering models that are nice to display
but often fall short in the flying
department. The reason for the latter is
the heavy wood normally found in its kits
and poor die cutting. However, if you
look a little deeper in a Guillow’s kit as
many have done, you will find the basis
of a nice small-field flyer.
The well-done plans represent designs
that make nice RC conversions. This is
especially true using current micro radio
gear and replacement of the kit wood.
One builder who has taken this step is
Ben Beerbower from the greater
Houston, Texas, area. Ben used the plans
from the 24-inch Guillow’s S.E.5 to build
a beautiful, electric-powered small-field
flyer. You can see this model in the
photos.
The power is provided by a Puma
motor geared 4:1 and eight 120 mAh Ni-
Cd cells. The model has an 8-inch Peck-
Polymers rubber-powered propeller. The
total flying weight is 5 ounces. The result
is a nice-flying Scale World War I
model.
The World War I models in the
Guillow’s line are great RC-conversion
candidates, but so are many others in the
company’s kit line. Perhaps you are one
of the growing number of modelers who
are doing Guillow’s kit conversions. If
so, share a photo or two along with a
description of your conversion with the
readers of “Small-Field Flying.” It would
be great to see which models are being
converted and to learn about the steps
taken to create your Guillow’s smallfield
flyer.
If you fall into the category of having
built a Guillow’s kit early in your
modeling experience, perhaps you still
have a set of plans or two stashed away.
Why not dig them out and consider using
Guillow’s plans as the source for your
next small-field flyer?
That does it for this installment. With all
the flying you have done this summer,
please be sure to send in some photos so
we can admire your achievements. MA
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SEPTEMBER 16, 2003
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Sources:
Dakota kit:
BMJR Model Products
Box 1210
Sharpes FL 32959
(321) 537-1159
www.bmjrmodels.com
Dakota plans package—Joe Wagner:
212 S. Pine Ave.
Ozark AL 36360
[email protected]
Dakota plans package—Pat Tritle:
Pat’s Custom Models
Albuquerque NM
(505) 296-4511
www.thuntek.net/pcmodels
Stickoda plans package—Tom Hunt:
Modelair-Tech
Box 1467
Lake Grove NY 11755
Tel. and Fax: (631) 981-0372
www.modelairtech.com
• Chester Special CL construction article
• Moffett Redux FF construction article
• Vintage Radio Control Society Fly-In
• From the Ground Up: Battery Basics
• Dump’r versatile battery discharger
• Product Review: Great Planes’ RV-4
• Product Review: GWS’s ARF Zero
Fighter
Coming next
month in MA: