Small-Field Flying - 2010/06

88 MODEL AVIATION
AH, SUMMER. We are nearly midway through the year already. I
hope you have been doing a lot of flying—or in our case, flying in
lots.
The Small Model Aircraft Lovers’ League (SMALL) annual fly-in
is approaching; it is scheduled for June 3-6. This will be the 20th
anniversary of the event, which is held in the Little Rock, Arkansas,
area.
Steve Staples, event coordinator for this year’s SMALL
gathering, sent me a photo of his Joe Wagner-designed Sioux. Veco
originally kitted the model for FF, but Steve converted the 36-inchspan
aircraft to RC using a vintage single-channel ACE pulse radio
system.
A DC Dart .03 diesel engine powers the Sioux. Diesels are great
to use in small-field flyers, because they are quiet and provide
excellent power for their size.
I am looking forward to spending time at the 2010 SMALL flyin.
It is a wonderful event, and I hope to see some of you there. If
Paul Bradley | bradleyp@Small-Field Flying ix.netcom.com
Also included in this column:
• Utilizing RC toy components
• The Solar Challenger in 1/24
scale
• A multifunction kit from Bob
Wilder
• A fan-fold-foam “paper glider”
• A vintage small-field flyer
• New offerings from Rough and
Ready Aviation
Summer flying and a SMALL gathering
Bob Wilder developed a neat kit that can be flown as a rubber- or
electric-powered FF model or as an electric-powered RC airplane.
John Krouse built this 22-inch-span version of the Solar Challenger
for indoor flying.
Carl Hock’s F-4F Wildcat uses equipment from RTF RC toys that
he purchased during closeout sales.
Steve Staples, the 2010 SMALL fly-in event coordinator, converted this diesel-powered,
Joe Wagner-designed Sioux to RC using a vintage ACE pulse single-channel radio.
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June 2010 89
Jack Pignolo’s Origami E2 small-field flyer is made from fan-fold
foam and based on the geometry of a paper glider.
Bob Aberle applied his zap gun to the deBolt Live Wire Kitten, to
come up with this 100-square-inch version.
This Travel Air Mystery Ship is only one of the new foam kits
available from Rough and Ready Aviation.
you would like information about this get-together, see the source
listing for contact information.
RTF Toys and the Innovative Small-Field Flier: In past editions of
this column, I have shared some of the things people are doing with
RTF RC “toys.” I never cease to be amazed by the creativity of
model airplane builders.
Carl Hock, who lives in the Houston, Texas, area, had noticed
that RC flying toys often go on clearance in stores for fractions of
their original prices. He decided to buy a few to see if their internals
could be put to good use in an airframe that a modeler built.
After head-scratching, experimenting, and plans-drafting, Carl
came up with some outstanding, inexpensive small-field flyers. One
is his nicely turned-out profile foam F-4F Wildcat.
The power system, radio, and control-surface actuators are from
a discounted RTF toy. Among the tricks Carl came up with are
melting plastic housings away from the actuators using acetone.
His message is to be on the lookout for these RTF items on sale
and then let your imagination go. You won’t have a great deal of
money invested, and you can probably devise a model that will
reward you with plenty of flying fun.
Oh yeah, Carl is planning to attend the upcoming SMALL fly-in.
If you can make it, you might be able to see his handiwork in
person.
Faux Solar-Powered Model: John Krouse of Rockville, Maryland, a
friend and regular contributor, has produced another interesting
model. He decided that rendering a scale version of the Dr. Paul
McCready-designed Solar Challenger would be fun.
John built the 1/24-scale aircraft from sheet balsa. The main issue
he faced in reproducing the solar-powered aircraft was making a
scale model for indoor flying. Using the current solar-cell
technology, it’s hard to get solar power to work for any size of
indoor model.
John’s solution was to simulate the solar panels with black tissue
and supply power to the motor with a 130 mAh Li-Poly battery. It
looks convincing and allows the craft to fly with adequate power.
To keep things interesting, John’s rendition of the Solar
Challenger has only motor control. He sets the turn circle and then
controls the model with throttle. Power is from a brushed Mabuchi
N-20 motor turning a 3-inch U-80 propeller.
Throttle control is handled with a Plantraco Micro 9 900 MHz
receiver. The Solar Challenger’s all-up flying weight is 30 grams.
According to John, the 22-inch model is distinctive-looking in the
air.
Nice work as usual, John.
Triple Treat: Bob Wilder is a longtime modeler from the greater
Dallas, Texas, area. Many aeromodeling accomplishments are
associated with his name.
In recent years, Bob has been instrumental in advancing indoor
electric-powered CL flying. He has also been helping with the
development of micro RC aircraft. And long before the world of RC
and electric power existed, Bob was established in the world of
competitive Duration FF.
When a person with his background gets an idea for a kit, it is
normally interesting. That is especially so when this person owns a
laser cutter. I received word from Bob that he is offering a neat sport
model that uses 3mm Depron foam as the construction material.
What makes this kit unique is that it can be built as a rubberpowered
FF, electric-powered FF, or electric-powered RC model,
using the ParkZone brick. Bob is offering two sizes; one has an 18-
inch wingspan and the other spans 22.5 inches. A photo shows all
three versions built from the 18-inch-span kit.
Bob says he gets 50-second flights indoors from the rubberpowered
model. That is respectable for an airplane this size.
These multifunction kits are available from Bob Selman at BSD
Micro RC. Please see the source listing for contact information.
It’s a paper glider! No, it’s a powered model! No, it’s a …
Jack Pignolo, who lives in the greater Houston, Texas, area, sent
me down the Starship Enterprise slippery slope.
He has since sent me a picture of one of his latest creations,
which he calls the “Origami E2.” It is made from folded blue fanfold
foam and is based on the geometry of a folded-paper glider.
Jack’s 38-inch-span blue fan-fold-foam “paper glider” is a
perfect small-field flyer. The wing has a total area of 825 square
inches.
The Origami E2 weighs only 15 ounces with a three-cell, 1320
mAh Li-Poly battery pack, so it is a real floater. It’s the right recipe
for a comfortable-flying small-field model.
For power, Jack is using a low-cost brushless motor from Hobby
City. The “Sources” list has contact information. The motor turns an
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8 x 4.5 electric propeller. Controls include
throttle, rudder, and elevator.
According to Jack, the Origami E2 is
quick to build. With his permission, I have
developed a plans package for the model
that is available for free download from my
Web site; the address is in the “Sources”
listing. Go to the downloadable plans
section.
I set up the drawing package as I did for
the Starship Enterprise. If you don’t have
access to fan-fold foam, 6mm sheet foam
will work well.
Vintage designs work well in all sizes.
With model aviation having a few years
under its belt by now, we have access to an
extensive set of aircraft designs. Some are
best left to memories and old publications
archives, but many others make great
subjects of which to develop modern-day
small-field flyers.
When you look through the list of
vintage models, a few designers’ names are
mentioned more often than others; one of
these is Hal deBolt. He had a kit business for
many years and produced some
extraordinarily nice kits, one of which was
the Live Wire Kitten.
The Kitten had a wingspan of 34 inches
and was intended for flying in little fields.
Yep, the models we like were being
developed even in the early 1960s.
As you might know from my recent
column, MA’s Bob Aberle is quick to
recognize a good vintage design and put it
in a shrinking machine. The Live Wire
Kitten was already a perfect size for many
tiny fields, but Bob recently reduced it
from 220 square inches of wing area to
100.
At that size, the Kitten is perfect for
indoor and outdoor flying. The picture that
Bob provided shows you the nice lines of
this great vintage design.
You already have access to free plans
for Bob’s reduced-size Live Wire Kitten if
you subscribe to the RC Micro World
online magazine. If you don’t, sign up
now; the plans are in the April 2010 issue.
See the source list for the RC Micro World
Web site address.
New From Rough and Ready Aviation: It
has been awhile since I mentioned this
company, which sells several nice World
War I profile foam-based kits that are well
suited to small-field flying. The kits are
machine-cut from 6mm Depron.
The WW I lineup has been expanded to
include aircraft from the Golden Age of
Air Racing. With wingspans of roughly 24
inches, you will find the Travel Air
Mystery Ship, a Wedell-Williams, a Mister
Mulligan, a Monocoupe D-145, and a
Turner Special.
These models use 10-gram brushless
outrunner motors and are set up for rudder,
elevator, and throttle control. See the source
listing for contact information.
Here we are again, at the end. I am looking
forward to hearing from you and sharing
your latest projects. MA
Sources:
SMALL 2010:
Steve Staples
[email protected]
BSD Micro
(417) 358-9521
www.bsdmicrorc.com
Hobby City
(800) 607-5803
www.hobbycity.com
Paul and Ralph Bradley’s Model Airplane
Page
www.parmodels.com
RC Micro World
www.cloud9rc.com
Rough and Ready Aviation
(530) 432-7962
www.roughandreadyaviation.com