Small-Field Flying
Paul Bradley | [email protected]
A model-making icon
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.
Also included in this column:
- Is 200 square inches the magic number?
- Pat Tritle’s latest offerings
- Computer-based 3-D modeling
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 website (see source listing). 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 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 (see source listing).
Pat Tritle’s catapult gliders
In the form of catapult gliders, a racer, and a classic general-aviation subject, Pat Tritle gives us more model airplane joy.
Every now and then I like a diversion from my small-field-flying 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. If this type of aircraft appeals to you, Pat is offering nice laser-cut kits (contact info in sources).
Golden Age racer — Howard Ike
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 well-known 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 small-field 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 website.
Piper J-3 refinement
In the August 2009 column, I shared 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, two-cell 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.
A construction article for Pat's four-channel, 40-inch Piper J-3 is coming to the pages of MA. Kits for the three-channel version are available from Pat via his website.
Computer-based 3-D modeling
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 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 and a photo of the airplane I built from the plans derived from the 3-D work. The computer model made it easy to evaluate control linkages and the final overall arrangement of components.
If you like to design your own models and are willing to invest some time in learning 3-D CAD 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.
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
- Pat's Custom Models
(505) 296-4511 www.patscustom-models.com
- Paul Bradley
10201 Scarletoak Dr. Independence, KY 41051 www.parmodels.com
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
