Small-Field Flying - 2009/12

92 MODEL AVIATION
If you have seen many movies released in recent years, you
have seen the handiwork of some amazing model makers. I
would imagine that those whose business it is to fabricate
miniature replicas for the movie industry would be so tired of
doing it all day that they would have little interest in
aeromodeling.
However, that is not the case with Richard Jarel of Jarel
Design. His professional skills are evident in all of his model
airplanes. One that is perfect for flying with style in the smaller
venues is his Icon, which is shown.
It sports a 35.5-inch wingspan and a wing area of 237.6 square
inches. The power setup is an inexpensive brushless outrunner
motor, such as the
Suppo B2208/14,
turning a 7 x 6
propeller with a
two-cell, 800 mAh
Li-Poly battery
pack.
Paul Bradley | bradleyp@Small-Field Flying ix.netcom.com
A model-making icon
Richard Jarel—a professional model maker—designed the Icon,
which is a stylish small-field flyer.
Bob Aberle’s fleet of Old-Timers that have wing areas of 200
square inches. Is an event for these in our future?
Pat Tritle has introduced a line of catapult-launched FF jet gliders.
The Icon’s all-up flying weight is 11.5 ounces with the
preceding power system. Suppo motors are available from
LightFlight RC and RC Hot Deals.
Richard sells kits for the Icon, along with equally innovative
designs, through his Web site, which you can find in the source
Also included in this column:
• Is 200 square inches the magic
number?
• Pat Tritle’s latest offerings
• Computer-based 3-D
modeling
Another addition to the Pat Tritle line is this Howard Ike.
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5 x 3 propeller and a two-cell, 250 mAh
Li-Poly battery pack. Bob’s airplanes are
intended for power systems ranging from
12 to 18 watts.
The models are suitable for either
indoor or outdoor flying. Bob thinks it
might be fun to develop an organized,
relaxed competition for Old-Timers built to
this size, such as a simple climb-and-glide
event in which a specified motor run is
followed by a power-off glide. It would be
identical to the original FF purpose of
these aircraft.
The Society of Antique Modelers
(SAM) has set December 1942 as the
cutoff for an Old-Timer; any design
published or kitted before that date
qualifies. It would be fun to create a 200-
square-inch Old-Timer category for models
similar to Bob’s. Their size would allow
some friendly competition events in your
favorite small-field venue.
Thanks for giving us some great examples, Bob. If you would
like to build any of his aircraft shown, visit the RC Micro World
Online Magazine for downloadable plans. The Web address is in
the source listing.
In the form of Catapult Gliders, a racer, and a classic generalaviation
subject, Pat Tritle gives us more model airplane joy.
Every now and then, I like a diversion from my small-fieldflying
activities. It’s fun to occasionally throw a glider into the
air or wind a rubber-powered airplane and let it take wing. There
is something relaxing about flying a limited-performance FF
aircraft at my small-field site. Limited performance is the key to
doing that if I want to keep the models for another day.
Pat Tritle must have similar interests, because he has released
a series of FF catapult-glider jets. A photo of his F9F Panther is
provided for you. These airplanes are easy to build, and they
provide a nice canvas for adding the color-and-markings of your
choosing.
Pat’s gliders are launched with a loop of rubber attached to a
short dowel handle. Because these models are of jets and
depending on the weight of their finish, they don’t perform
nearly as well as competition Catapult Gliders. That makes them
perfect for relaxed flying fun at your small-field venue.
December 2009 93
Pat Tritle added ailerons to his 40-inch-span J-3 Cub. They have proven to be effective;
flat turns and sideslips are simple to coordinate.
Left: Paul explored the merits of computer 3-D modeling with his
micro P-51 pylon racer.
Above: This P-51 is the result of the author’s 3-D CAD work.
listing at the end of this column. The kits include some nice
vacuum-formed plastic parts to complement the foam airframe
components.
Two-Hundred Square Inches: The Magic Number? I have had
the opportunity and the pleasure to share with you some of Bob
Aberle’s reduced-size versions of several older classic Power FF
designs, such as the Playboy Cabin I featured in the October
2009 column. His latest addition is a Kerswap.
Bob provided a nice photo of his reduced-scale Old-Timer
fleet. The Playboy Cabin is at the top, a Lanzo Bomber is in the
middle, and the Kerswap is at the bottom. Each has a wing area
of 200 square inches and a flying weight of 5-6 ounces.
Power for these models comes from smaller brushless
outrunners, such as the LCD 5-gram motor, coupled with a GWS
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If this type of aircraft appeals to you,
Pat is offering nice laser-cut kits. His
contact information is in the source
listing.
When Pat is not shooting catapult jets
into the sky, he has been known to dabble
in small-field models of Golden Age
racers. He has designed several that fly
great and have lots of eye appeal. I’m
happy to report that Pat has added another
Golden Age racer to his stable: the wellknown
Howard Ike.
It has a wingspan of 30 inches, with a
flying weight of 10 ounces. Power comes
from an Avionics Breeze brushless
outrunner motor turning a GWS 8 x 6
propeller, fueled by a two-cell, 740
mAh Li-Poly battery. Controls include
rudder, elevator, ailerons, and throttle.
As is the case with Pat’s other smallfield
Golden Age aircraft, the Howard Ike
has nice handling qualities. Although it is
a model of a racer, it is not a fast flier. It’s
quick enough to be fun, yet easy to handle
in small venues. Pat is offering kits of the
new design via his Web site.
In the August 2009 column, I shared
with you Pat’s new, smaller Piper J-3.
Since then, he has been busy further
refining that nice model.
As presented in August, the J-3 did not
have functional ailerons. Pat found that
his larger renditions of the Piper liked
having functional ailerons, and he decided
that the littler 40-inch version would also
benefit from them.
Pat reports that the aileron version flies
every bit as well as the original, and much
better in many ways. The ailerons are
extremely effective, and the rudder/aileron
balance is so good that flat turns and
sideslips are incredibly easy to coordinate.
The 7.8-ounce Cub is powered by a
GWS 4:1 IPS drive with a 430 mAh, twocell
Li-Poly battery and a GWS 8 x 6
propeller. Since the wings plug in, the
model can easily be converted from three
to four channels and back again, to best
suit the site from which it will be flown.
That seems good to me.
A construction article for Pat’s fourchannel,
40-inch Piper J-3 is coming to
the pages of MA. Kits for the threechannel
version are available from Pat via
his Web site.
As I am writing this, it is still prime
outdoor flying time. I am in the process of
building several models for the second
Keystone Indoor Electric Festival (KIEF).
Held in mid-October, this event will
have come and gone by the time you read
this. Preparing for it has given me some
insight into one more modern tool for the
model airplane designer.
My project has involved designing an
airplane for the KIEF micro pylon races.
The parameters are simple; models must
be of a full-scale racer, with a minimum
wingspan of 13 inches and use of a stock
Gary Jones 4:1 gear drive. The rest is up
to the builder. I decided to model the
Reno racer P-51 known as “VooDoo.”
Although the tool I referred to is far
from new to the model airplane
community, computer-based 3-D
modeling is fairly new to me. It literally
lets you build an aircraft in three
dimensions on your computer. This is a
wonderful way to evaluate design
approaches and overall parts fit.
For my project, I wanted to use a
built-up wing with a 13.5-inch span that
used coupled rudder and ailerons for
turning. The electronics were the
ParkZone Vapor brick receiver/servo/ESC
package. I wanted to evaluate my layout
before committing to the construction.
I admit that learning to use 3-D
modeling software on my computer took
some time, but I am finding the results of
that process to be well worth the effort. It
allows me to eliminate a number of
conceptual mistakes long before I discover
them in the build.
For grins, I have included an image
generated from the 3-D computer model. I
am also showing you a photo of the
airplane I built from the plans derived
from the 3-D computer work. The
computer model made it easy to evaluate
control linkages and the components’ final
overall arrangement.
If you like to design your own models
and are willing to invest some time in
learning 3-D computer-aided design
software, you can add a powerful tool to
your trick bag.
This brings us to the close of this column.
As always, let me know what you are up to
so I can share your work with the rest of
the small-field-flying community. I hope
you and your families have a wonderful
holiday season. MA
Sources:
Jarel Design
(541) 772-4207
www.jareldesign.com
LightFlight RC
973 Pizarro Ln.
Foster City CA 94404
www.lightflightrc.com
RC Hot Deals
(505) 206-1569
www.rchotdeals.com
RC Micro World
www.cloud9rc.com
Pat’s Custom Models
(505) 296-4511
www.patscustom-models.com
Paul Bradley
10201 Scarletoak Dr.
Independence KY 41051
www.parmodels.com