90 MODEL AVIATION
Small-Field Flying Paul Bradley | [email protected]
Also included in this column:
• Another walk down memory
lane with Bob Aberle
• An invitation to your friend’s
workshop
• One neat model leads to
another
• Making removable wings on
small models
Angelo Mantas transformed
this thrust-vector-control-only
Powerfly B-17 RTF into an excellent
performer.
Bob Aberle’s new 200-square-inch Playboy Cabin is the perfect
platform for a 5-gram outrunner motor from Lazertoyz.
Carlos Reyes’s latest book gives a nice look
at the process of designing a model and
includes plans for a sport airplane that you
can build for $5.
Jack Pingnolo constructed his rendition of Bernard Gross’s 1941
Gross Wing design from plans by Eut Tileston.
AS I HAVE
noted in this
column, I
love to see the innovation
that model airplane builders
display. Angelo Mantas is one
such innovator.
He purchased an EPP-foam Powerfly B-
17 RTF from Electric Power Your Airplane.
See the “Sources” listing for the company’s
contact information.
The model had a 28-inch wingspan and
used differential thrust for yaw control.
Angelo noted that the airplane’s out-of-thebox
performance was not at the level he
wanted. He modified the B-17 by adding
movable control surfaces for rudder and
elevator, to go along with throttle control.
He installed 3-gram servos with a
microreceiver; a two-cell, 730 mAh Li-Poly
battery pack; and a Castle Creations Pixie-7
ESC. Angelo did retain the original propellers
and four geared brushed motors hooked up in
parallel. The left- and right-side three-blade
propellers are counter-rotating, so there is no
P factor with which to contend. The all-up
flying weight came in at 7.8 ounces.
Angelo reports that the B-17 flies great
now and that it’s one of his favorite models. It
has plenty of power and will loop from level
flight. That must look kind of strange for a B-
17.
Angelo also revised the markings to those
of the EAA’s (Experimental Aircraft
Association’s) “Aluminum Overcast” B-17.
Nice work, Angelo.
If you have been on the model aviation front
for any length of time, you might have seen
one of the reduced-scale vintage models
developed by Bob Aberle (MA’s technical
editor and columnist). He does a nice job of
delivering the classics of the vintage era in a
size that is perfect for the small-field flier.
One of Bob’s latest offerings is the wellknown
Playboy Cabin. That design is from
the era in which ignition engines were king
and nice, large fields were available for FF
flying. Times have changed, but the appeal of
those classic designs has not.
Bob has created a 200-square-inch version
of the Playboy Cabin. Powered with a modern
5-gram brushless motor from Lazertoyz and
When okay is just not good enough
10sig3.QXD 8/21/09 12:23 PM Page 90
October 2009 91
Left: Another unusual model from Jack
Pingnolo is this Star Trek Starship
Enterprise built from Michael Blott plans.
Below: The author’s version of Michael
Blott’s Enterprise has printed-tissue
covering. Plans will be available from Paul
as a free Internet download.
John Krouse, a regular contributor, has a simple solution to making a small model’s wing
removable, which makes it more likely to survive impacts.
controlled with a 2.4 GHz radio, it is perfect
for little venues.
Control functions include rudder, elevator,
and throttle. Energy comes from a Full River
two-cell, 200 mAh Li-Poly pack. The model’s
all-up weight is 4.7 ounces.
If you would like plans for Bob’s nice
Playboy Cabin, refer to the July 2009 RC
Micro World online magazine. If you are not
a subscriber, the contact information is
included in the “Sources” listing at the end of
this column.
Say your phone rings and you find yourself
receiving an invitation to your friend’s
workshop, to see his latest model. He
mentions that he designed it and wants to
share his experience with you.
Great! Any excuse to discuss model
airplanes, you think. Well, something akin to
that visit to your friend’s workshop has
recently hit the market.
In the June column, I mentioned a book
that Carlos Reyes wrote titled Model Airplane
Design Made Easy. He has followed that with
a new offering: ModiFly. It reads like a casual
conversation between you and your friend
about all of the ins and outs of his latest
design, such as what worked and did not, the
pitfalls, and the solutions.
Using a real model as an example, Carlos
does a marvelous job of taking you through
the many factors and tradeoffs that went into
the design. When you’re finished with the
book, you end up with a nice-flying sport
model that can be built for $5 worth of
material.
Being able to buy a book that includes
plans and all the information that went into a
model is a neat deal. Mix in the
conversational style of Carlos’s writing, and
you end up with a great package.
Even experienced designers and builders
are likely to learn something from this book; I
did. Model Airplane Design Made Easy and
ModiFly are available from RCadvisor.com.
See the “Sources” listing for contact
information.
In the June 2009 column, I presented a nice
XB-70 from Al Clark’s talented hands. The
pictures of his aircraft inspired Jack Pingnolo
to contact me regarding some of Al’s designs.
Jack is a retired airline pilot and has an eye
for unusual models; look at the photos he sent
of his Gross Wing and Star Trek Starship
Enterprise.
The former is a Bernard Gross design
from 1941, and its lines appeal to me. Jack
built this airplane from plans drawn by Eut
Tileston, who is a Society of Antique
Modelers (SAM) Hall of Fame member.
According to Jack, it flies great. It looks
perfect for small fields.
If you are interested in getting a copy of
Eut’s plans, they have been added to the
excellent offerings from Bob Holman’s plans
service. See the “Sources” listing for contact
info.
Jack built his interesting rendition of the
10sig3.QXD 8/21/09 12:53 PM Page 91
Blott developed that were published in the
December 2001 RC MicroFlight. In case
Michael’s name is unfamiliar to you, look at
the June 2000 MA. His Frankenfoamy was
featured as a construction article.
Michael has a talent for design and came
up with clever ways to address issues
associated with building an Earth-atmosphereflyable
version of the Enterprise. The first was
overcoming the structural problem of making
the warp engines stay attached to a model that
would, in all likelihood, have a few rough
landings.
To resolve that issue, Michael attached the
nose of each warp engine to the disk. That
way, you still get the unmistakable look of the
Enterprise but don’t have parts flying off all
the time.
The second dilemma was creating the
Enterprise’s flying surfaces. The disk is
obvious. I like effectively laying the warp
engines on their sides, hanging elevons at the
rear, and then masking that with vertical
surfaces of the correct profile. The entire
combination results in a flyable rendition of
the aircraft.
Jack’s version of Michael’s Enterprise has
some nice touches in the form of threedimensional
components. The overall effect is
a model that will be sure to get some attention
at your flying field.
If you want build a Michael Blottdesigned
Enterprise, I have some bad news
and some good news. The bad news is that
AirAge ceased publication of RC
MicroFlight. Some of the plans from that
publication are still being sold, but the
Enterprise’s set is not one of them.
The good news, at least I hope it is good
news, is that Michael has given me
permission to redraw his plans to offer as a
free download from my Web site.
The original plans called for the use of 3/4-
inch construction foam as the main building
material. Being an engineer type, I had to
make things a bit more complicated; I elected
to use 3mm foam sheets to build the
components.
My plans set has also been set up for
modern, inexpensive outrunner motors and
a three-cell Li-Poly battery pack. To give
the Enterprise some eye appeal, I used
computer ink-jet-printed tissue over the
foam. That adds less than an ounce to the
flying weight and dresses up the aircraft.
If you would like a copy of the plans
package that includes an illustrated
assembly guide, full-size part templates,
and the graphics for printing on tissue, go to
the downloadable plans section of my Web
site.
When working with smaller models, we
seldom worry about making wings
removable for transportation. However,
there are many reasons why being able to
remove the wing makes a great deal of
sense. Foremost is a greatly enhanced
ability to get the airplane from home to the
flying site with no damage.
There is a variety of methods for making
a small wing easy to remove; the two most
common are rubber bands and rare earth
magnets. John Krouse, who is a regular
contributor to this column and a certified
innovator, has come up with an approach
that is seldom used.
John submitted a photo of his latest
airplane, which sports a 14.5-inch
wingspan. Unlike most models being built
that are roughly that size, his uses a builtup,
tissue-covered wing. He wanted to make
the wing easy to remove and wanted to
make it less susceptible to damage if a
wingtip encountered an object in flight.
John’s elegant approach was to simply
drill a hole through the center rib and then
tap a hole in the fuselage for a 2-56 x 3/4
bolt. This technique has a bonus of letting
the wing pivot if its tip hits an object while
the model is moving. That greatly reduces
the chance of damage. Cool idea, John.
His model is powered by a D.C.
Enterprises 1.5-gram brushless motor that
turns a U-80 propeller, both of which are
available from Bob Selman Designs.
Control is provided by a MicroInvent 72
MHz Minor receiver that you can obtain
from Air Midi Micros. See the “Sources”
listing for those manufacturers’ contact
information.
The model’s energy comes from a
single-cell, 90 mAh Li-Poly battery, and its
total flying weight is 23 grams.
As always, I encourage you to let me know
about your projects. My contact information
is in the source listing. MA
Sources:
Paul Bradley
10201 Scarletoak Dr.
Independence KY 41051
www.parmodels.com
Electric Power Your Airplane
(626) 570-8088
www.epyaya.com
Lazertoyz
(440) 840-9625
http://lazertoyz.ncweb.net
RC Micro World
www.cloud9rc.com
RCadvisor.com
(505) 206-1569
www.rcadvisor.com
Bob Holman Plans
(909) 885-3959
www.bhplans.com
Bob Selman Designs
(417) 358-9521
www.bsdmicrorc.com
Air Midi Micros
(775) 783-8545
www.airmidimicros.com
Small Model Airplane Lovers’ League
www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Cockpit/4
521
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/10
Page Numbers: 90,91,92
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/10
Page Numbers: 90,91,92
90 MODEL AVIATION
Small-Field Flying Paul Bradley | [email protected]
Also included in this column:
• Another walk down memory
lane with Bob Aberle
• An invitation to your friend’s
workshop
• One neat model leads to
another
• Making removable wings on
small models
Angelo Mantas transformed
this thrust-vector-control-only
Powerfly B-17 RTF into an excellent
performer.
Bob Aberle’s new 200-square-inch Playboy Cabin is the perfect
platform for a 5-gram outrunner motor from Lazertoyz.
Carlos Reyes’s latest book gives a nice look
at the process of designing a model and
includes plans for a sport airplane that you
can build for $5.
Jack Pingnolo constructed his rendition of Bernard Gross’s 1941
Gross Wing design from plans by Eut Tileston.
AS I HAVE
noted in this
column, I
love to see the innovation
that model airplane builders
display. Angelo Mantas is one
such innovator.
He purchased an EPP-foam Powerfly B-
17 RTF from Electric Power Your Airplane.
See the “Sources” listing for the company’s
contact information.
The model had a 28-inch wingspan and
used differential thrust for yaw control.
Angelo noted that the airplane’s out-of-thebox
performance was not at the level he
wanted. He modified the B-17 by adding
movable control surfaces for rudder and
elevator, to go along with throttle control.
He installed 3-gram servos with a
microreceiver; a two-cell, 730 mAh Li-Poly
battery pack; and a Castle Creations Pixie-7
ESC. Angelo did retain the original propellers
and four geared brushed motors hooked up in
parallel. The left- and right-side three-blade
propellers are counter-rotating, so there is no
P factor with which to contend. The all-up
flying weight came in at 7.8 ounces.
Angelo reports that the B-17 flies great
now and that it’s one of his favorite models. It
has plenty of power and will loop from level
flight. That must look kind of strange for a B-
17.
Angelo also revised the markings to those
of the EAA’s (Experimental Aircraft
Association’s) “Aluminum Overcast” B-17.
Nice work, Angelo.
If you have been on the model aviation front
for any length of time, you might have seen
one of the reduced-scale vintage models
developed by Bob Aberle (MA’s technical
editor and columnist). He does a nice job of
delivering the classics of the vintage era in a
size that is perfect for the small-field flier.
One of Bob’s latest offerings is the wellknown
Playboy Cabin. That design is from
the era in which ignition engines were king
and nice, large fields were available for FF
flying. Times have changed, but the appeal of
those classic designs has not.
Bob has created a 200-square-inch version
of the Playboy Cabin. Powered with a modern
5-gram brushless motor from Lazertoyz and
When okay is just not good enough
10sig3.QXD 8/21/09 12:23 PM Page 90
October 2009 91
Left: Another unusual model from Jack
Pingnolo is this Star Trek Starship
Enterprise built from Michael Blott plans.
Below: The author’s version of Michael
Blott’s Enterprise has printed-tissue
covering. Plans will be available from Paul
as a free Internet download.
John Krouse, a regular contributor, has a simple solution to making a small model’s wing
removable, which makes it more likely to survive impacts.
controlled with a 2.4 GHz radio, it is perfect
for little venues.
Control functions include rudder, elevator,
and throttle. Energy comes from a Full River
two-cell, 200 mAh Li-Poly pack. The model’s
all-up weight is 4.7 ounces.
If you would like plans for Bob’s nice
Playboy Cabin, refer to the July 2009 RC
Micro World online magazine. If you are not
a subscriber, the contact information is
included in the “Sources” listing at the end of
this column.
Say your phone rings and you find yourself
receiving an invitation to your friend’s
workshop, to see his latest model. He
mentions that he designed it and wants to
share his experience with you.
Great! Any excuse to discuss model
airplanes, you think. Well, something akin to
that visit to your friend’s workshop has
recently hit the market.
In the June column, I mentioned a book
that Carlos Reyes wrote titled Model Airplane
Design Made Easy. He has followed that with
a new offering: ModiFly. It reads like a casual
conversation between you and your friend
about all of the ins and outs of his latest
design, such as what worked and did not, the
pitfalls, and the solutions.
Using a real model as an example, Carlos
does a marvelous job of taking you through
the many factors and tradeoffs that went into
the design. When you’re finished with the
book, you end up with a nice-flying sport
model that can be built for $5 worth of
material.
Being able to buy a book that includes
plans and all the information that went into a
model is a neat deal. Mix in the
conversational style of Carlos’s writing, and
you end up with a great package.
Even experienced designers and builders
are likely to learn something from this book; I
did. Model Airplane Design Made Easy and
ModiFly are available from RCadvisor.com.
See the “Sources” listing for contact
information.
In the June 2009 column, I presented a nice
XB-70 from Al Clark’s talented hands. The
pictures of his aircraft inspired Jack Pingnolo
to contact me regarding some of Al’s designs.
Jack is a retired airline pilot and has an eye
for unusual models; look at the photos he sent
of his Gross Wing and Star Trek Starship
Enterprise.
The former is a Bernard Gross design
from 1941, and its lines appeal to me. Jack
built this airplane from plans drawn by Eut
Tileston, who is a Society of Antique
Modelers (SAM) Hall of Fame member.
According to Jack, it flies great. It looks
perfect for small fields.
If you are interested in getting a copy of
Eut’s plans, they have been added to the
excellent offerings from Bob Holman’s plans
service. See the “Sources” listing for contact
info.
Jack built his interesting rendition of the
10sig3.QXD 8/21/09 12:53 PM Page 91
Blott developed that were published in the
December 2001 RC MicroFlight. In case
Michael’s name is unfamiliar to you, look at
the June 2000 MA. His Frankenfoamy was
featured as a construction article.
Michael has a talent for design and came
up with clever ways to address issues
associated with building an Earth-atmosphereflyable
version of the Enterprise. The first was
overcoming the structural problem of making
the warp engines stay attached to a model that
would, in all likelihood, have a few rough
landings.
To resolve that issue, Michael attached the
nose of each warp engine to the disk. That
way, you still get the unmistakable look of the
Enterprise but don’t have parts flying off all
the time.
The second dilemma was creating the
Enterprise’s flying surfaces. The disk is
obvious. I like effectively laying the warp
engines on their sides, hanging elevons at the
rear, and then masking that with vertical
surfaces of the correct profile. The entire
combination results in a flyable rendition of
the aircraft.
Jack’s version of Michael’s Enterprise has
some nice touches in the form of threedimensional
components. The overall effect is
a model that will be sure to get some attention
at your flying field.
If you want build a Michael Blottdesigned
Enterprise, I have some bad news
and some good news. The bad news is that
AirAge ceased publication of RC
MicroFlight. Some of the plans from that
publication are still being sold, but the
Enterprise’s set is not one of them.
The good news, at least I hope it is good
news, is that Michael has given me
permission to redraw his plans to offer as a
free download from my Web site.
The original plans called for the use of 3/4-
inch construction foam as the main building
material. Being an engineer type, I had to
make things a bit more complicated; I elected
to use 3mm foam sheets to build the
components.
My plans set has also been set up for
modern, inexpensive outrunner motors and
a three-cell Li-Poly battery pack. To give
the Enterprise some eye appeal, I used
computer ink-jet-printed tissue over the
foam. That adds less than an ounce to the
flying weight and dresses up the aircraft.
If you would like a copy of the plans
package that includes an illustrated
assembly guide, full-size part templates,
and the graphics for printing on tissue, go to
the downloadable plans section of my Web
site.
When working with smaller models, we
seldom worry about making wings
removable for transportation. However,
there are many reasons why being able to
remove the wing makes a great deal of
sense. Foremost is a greatly enhanced
ability to get the airplane from home to the
flying site with no damage.
There is a variety of methods for making
a small wing easy to remove; the two most
common are rubber bands and rare earth
magnets. John Krouse, who is a regular
contributor to this column and a certified
innovator, has come up with an approach
that is seldom used.
John submitted a photo of his latest
airplane, which sports a 14.5-inch
wingspan. Unlike most models being built
that are roughly that size, his uses a builtup,
tissue-covered wing. He wanted to make
the wing easy to remove and wanted to
make it less susceptible to damage if a
wingtip encountered an object in flight.
John’s elegant approach was to simply
drill a hole through the center rib and then
tap a hole in the fuselage for a 2-56 x 3/4
bolt. This technique has a bonus of letting
the wing pivot if its tip hits an object while
the model is moving. That greatly reduces
the chance of damage. Cool idea, John.
His model is powered by a D.C.
Enterprises 1.5-gram brushless motor that
turns a U-80 propeller, both of which are
available from Bob Selman Designs.
Control is provided by a MicroInvent 72
MHz Minor receiver that you can obtain
from Air Midi Micros. See the “Sources”
listing for those manufacturers’ contact
information.
The model’s energy comes from a
single-cell, 90 mAh Li-Poly battery, and its
total flying weight is 23 grams.
As always, I encourage you to let me know
about your projects. My contact information
is in the source listing. MA
Sources:
Paul Bradley
10201 Scarletoak Dr.
Independence KY 41051
www.parmodels.com
Electric Power Your Airplane
(626) 570-8088
www.epyaya.com
Lazertoyz
(440) 840-9625
http://lazertoyz.ncweb.net
RC Micro World
www.cloud9rc.com
RCadvisor.com
(505) 206-1569
www.rcadvisor.com
Bob Holman Plans
(909) 885-3959
www.bhplans.com
Bob Selman Designs
(417) 358-9521
www.bsdmicrorc.com
Air Midi Micros
(775) 783-8545
www.airmidimicros.com
Small Model Airplane Lovers’ League
www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Cockpit/4
521
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/10
Page Numbers: 90,91,92
90 MODEL AVIATION
Small-Field Flying Paul Bradley | [email protected]
Also included in this column:
• Another walk down memory
lane with Bob Aberle
• An invitation to your friend’s
workshop
• One neat model leads to
another
• Making removable wings on
small models
Angelo Mantas transformed
this thrust-vector-control-only
Powerfly B-17 RTF into an excellent
performer.
Bob Aberle’s new 200-square-inch Playboy Cabin is the perfect
platform for a 5-gram outrunner motor from Lazertoyz.
Carlos Reyes’s latest book gives a nice look
at the process of designing a model and
includes plans for a sport airplane that you
can build for $5.
Jack Pingnolo constructed his rendition of Bernard Gross’s 1941
Gross Wing design from plans by Eut Tileston.
AS I HAVE
noted in this
column, I
love to see the innovation
that model airplane builders
display. Angelo Mantas is one
such innovator.
He purchased an EPP-foam Powerfly B-
17 RTF from Electric Power Your Airplane.
See the “Sources” listing for the company’s
contact information.
The model had a 28-inch wingspan and
used differential thrust for yaw control.
Angelo noted that the airplane’s out-of-thebox
performance was not at the level he
wanted. He modified the B-17 by adding
movable control surfaces for rudder and
elevator, to go along with throttle control.
He installed 3-gram servos with a
microreceiver; a two-cell, 730 mAh Li-Poly
battery pack; and a Castle Creations Pixie-7
ESC. Angelo did retain the original propellers
and four geared brushed motors hooked up in
parallel. The left- and right-side three-blade
propellers are counter-rotating, so there is no
P factor with which to contend. The all-up
flying weight came in at 7.8 ounces.
Angelo reports that the B-17 flies great
now and that it’s one of his favorite models. It
has plenty of power and will loop from level
flight. That must look kind of strange for a B-
17.
Angelo also revised the markings to those
of the EAA’s (Experimental Aircraft
Association’s) “Aluminum Overcast” B-17.
Nice work, Angelo.
If you have been on the model aviation front
for any length of time, you might have seen
one of the reduced-scale vintage models
developed by Bob Aberle (MA’s technical
editor and columnist). He does a nice job of
delivering the classics of the vintage era in a
size that is perfect for the small-field flier.
One of Bob’s latest offerings is the wellknown
Playboy Cabin. That design is from
the era in which ignition engines were king
and nice, large fields were available for FF
flying. Times have changed, but the appeal of
those classic designs has not.
Bob has created a 200-square-inch version
of the Playboy Cabin. Powered with a modern
5-gram brushless motor from Lazertoyz and
When okay is just not good enough
10sig3.QXD 8/21/09 12:23 PM Page 90
October 2009 91
Left: Another unusual model from Jack
Pingnolo is this Star Trek Starship
Enterprise built from Michael Blott plans.
Below: The author’s version of Michael
Blott’s Enterprise has printed-tissue
covering. Plans will be available from Paul
as a free Internet download.
John Krouse, a regular contributor, has a simple solution to making a small model’s wing
removable, which makes it more likely to survive impacts.
controlled with a 2.4 GHz radio, it is perfect
for little venues.
Control functions include rudder, elevator,
and throttle. Energy comes from a Full River
two-cell, 200 mAh Li-Poly pack. The model’s
all-up weight is 4.7 ounces.
If you would like plans for Bob’s nice
Playboy Cabin, refer to the July 2009 RC
Micro World online magazine. If you are not
a subscriber, the contact information is
included in the “Sources” listing at the end of
this column.
Say your phone rings and you find yourself
receiving an invitation to your friend’s
workshop, to see his latest model. He
mentions that he designed it and wants to
share his experience with you.
Great! Any excuse to discuss model
airplanes, you think. Well, something akin to
that visit to your friend’s workshop has
recently hit the market.
In the June column, I mentioned a book
that Carlos Reyes wrote titled Model Airplane
Design Made Easy. He has followed that with
a new offering: ModiFly. It reads like a casual
conversation between you and your friend
about all of the ins and outs of his latest
design, such as what worked and did not, the
pitfalls, and the solutions.
Using a real model as an example, Carlos
does a marvelous job of taking you through
the many factors and tradeoffs that went into
the design. When you’re finished with the
book, you end up with a nice-flying sport
model that can be built for $5 worth of
material.
Being able to buy a book that includes
plans and all the information that went into a
model is a neat deal. Mix in the
conversational style of Carlos’s writing, and
you end up with a great package.
Even experienced designers and builders
are likely to learn something from this book; I
did. Model Airplane Design Made Easy and
ModiFly are available from RCadvisor.com.
See the “Sources” listing for contact
information.
In the June 2009 column, I presented a nice
XB-70 from Al Clark’s talented hands. The
pictures of his aircraft inspired Jack Pingnolo
to contact me regarding some of Al’s designs.
Jack is a retired airline pilot and has an eye
for unusual models; look at the photos he sent
of his Gross Wing and Star Trek Starship
Enterprise.
The former is a Bernard Gross design
from 1941, and its lines appeal to me. Jack
built this airplane from plans drawn by Eut
Tileston, who is a Society of Antique
Modelers (SAM) Hall of Fame member.
According to Jack, it flies great. It looks
perfect for small fields.
If you are interested in getting a copy of
Eut’s plans, they have been added to the
excellent offerings from Bob Holman’s plans
service. See the “Sources” listing for contact
info.
Jack built his interesting rendition of the
10sig3.QXD 8/21/09 12:53 PM Page 91
Blott developed that were published in the
December 2001 RC MicroFlight. In case
Michael’s name is unfamiliar to you, look at
the June 2000 MA. His Frankenfoamy was
featured as a construction article.
Michael has a talent for design and came
up with clever ways to address issues
associated with building an Earth-atmosphereflyable
version of the Enterprise. The first was
overcoming the structural problem of making
the warp engines stay attached to a model that
would, in all likelihood, have a few rough
landings.
To resolve that issue, Michael attached the
nose of each warp engine to the disk. That
way, you still get the unmistakable look of the
Enterprise but don’t have parts flying off all
the time.
The second dilemma was creating the
Enterprise’s flying surfaces. The disk is
obvious. I like effectively laying the warp
engines on their sides, hanging elevons at the
rear, and then masking that with vertical
surfaces of the correct profile. The entire
combination results in a flyable rendition of
the aircraft.
Jack’s version of Michael’s Enterprise has
some nice touches in the form of threedimensional
components. The overall effect is
a model that will be sure to get some attention
at your flying field.
If you want build a Michael Blottdesigned
Enterprise, I have some bad news
and some good news. The bad news is that
AirAge ceased publication of RC
MicroFlight. Some of the plans from that
publication are still being sold, but the
Enterprise’s set is not one of them.
The good news, at least I hope it is good
news, is that Michael has given me
permission to redraw his plans to offer as a
free download from my Web site.
The original plans called for the use of 3/4-
inch construction foam as the main building
material. Being an engineer type, I had to
make things a bit more complicated; I elected
to use 3mm foam sheets to build the
components.
My plans set has also been set up for
modern, inexpensive outrunner motors and
a three-cell Li-Poly battery pack. To give
the Enterprise some eye appeal, I used
computer ink-jet-printed tissue over the
foam. That adds less than an ounce to the
flying weight and dresses up the aircraft.
If you would like a copy of the plans
package that includes an illustrated
assembly guide, full-size part templates,
and the graphics for printing on tissue, go to
the downloadable plans section of my Web
site.
When working with smaller models, we
seldom worry about making wings
removable for transportation. However,
there are many reasons why being able to
remove the wing makes a great deal of
sense. Foremost is a greatly enhanced
ability to get the airplane from home to the
flying site with no damage.
There is a variety of methods for making
a small wing easy to remove; the two most
common are rubber bands and rare earth
magnets. John Krouse, who is a regular
contributor to this column and a certified
innovator, has come up with an approach
that is seldom used.
John submitted a photo of his latest
airplane, which sports a 14.5-inch
wingspan. Unlike most models being built
that are roughly that size, his uses a builtup,
tissue-covered wing. He wanted to make
the wing easy to remove and wanted to
make it less susceptible to damage if a
wingtip encountered an object in flight.
John’s elegant approach was to simply
drill a hole through the center rib and then
tap a hole in the fuselage for a 2-56 x 3/4
bolt. This technique has a bonus of letting
the wing pivot if its tip hits an object while
the model is moving. That greatly reduces
the chance of damage. Cool idea, John.
His model is powered by a D.C.
Enterprises 1.5-gram brushless motor that
turns a U-80 propeller, both of which are
available from Bob Selman Designs.
Control is provided by a MicroInvent 72
MHz Minor receiver that you can obtain
from Air Midi Micros. See the “Sources”
listing for those manufacturers’ contact
information.
The model’s energy comes from a
single-cell, 90 mAh Li-Poly battery, and its
total flying weight is 23 grams.
As always, I encourage you to let me know
about your projects. My contact information
is in the source listing. MA
Sources:
Paul Bradley
10201 Scarletoak Dr.
Independence KY 41051
www.parmodels.com
Electric Power Your Airplane
(626) 570-8088
www.epyaya.com
Lazertoyz
(440) 840-9625
http://lazertoyz.ncweb.net
RC Micro World
www.cloud9rc.com
RCadvisor.com
(505) 206-1569
www.rcadvisor.com
Bob Holman Plans
(909) 885-3959
www.bhplans.com
Bob Selman Designs
(417) 358-9521
www.bsdmicrorc.com
Air Midi Micros
(775) 783-8545
www.airmidimicros.com
Small Model Airplane Lovers’ League
www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Cockpit/4
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