Worth a Closer Look - 2003/10

Worth a Closer Look
14 MODEL AVIATION
Super Fil
If you are
looking for a
lightweight,
sandable, epoxy
base filler, Super
Fil is excellent and
will not shrink
after application. It
is a two-part mix
with a ratio of two
parts A component
to one part B
component by
weight or volume.
Super Fil
weighs only 3.68 pounds per gallon mixed, so the paltry amounts
usually required for any one model will not show up significantly
on the old beam balance scale.
The cure time for Super Fil is eight hours at 77 degrees
Fahrenheit, and the cure-to-sand time is 12 hours. The mixed
material’s pot life is one hour, so you don’t have to rush your
work. The shelf life for unopened Super-Fil is two years.
Super Fil adheres to most clean surfaces, including aluminum,
steel, composites, and bare or varnished wood. It’s best to clean up
unwanted Super Fil with MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone) before it
cures.
We have tried Super Fil on fillets and other routine areas where
filler is required, and it is easy to apply, form, and sand. It accepts
butyrate dope, F&M’s Polytone finishing system, and other
modeling finishing materials very well.
Super Fil is $16.45 plus shipping for two tubs that make one
quart of mixed material.
Super Fil: F&M Enterprises, 9910 Airpark Dr., Granbury TX
76049; Tel.: (817) 279-8045
GWS Me 109 and Spitfire
GWS has added the new Spitfire and
Me 109 ARF (Almost Ready-to-Fly)
electric kits
to its evergrowing
lineup of
park flyers. Both
are built using the
same tried-and-true
techniques found in all
GWS kits: molded foam
fuselage halves with molded foam wings and
stabilizers.
Power comes
from a geared
EPS300C
motor drive
system
(included) driven by
a 7.2- to 8.4-volt
270-600 mAh Ni-Cd
battery pack. Both kits
come complete with
propeller, spinner, landing gear, wheels, and
control-linkage hardware. As in other GWS kits, a tube of glue is
included.
The adhesive is the GWS line’s only downside. Although it can
hold well, it does take a long time to cure. Offsetting the glue is
the fact that both models come prepainted in the color schemes
shown, drastically reducing the time needed to get a great-looking
model into the air.
The models have 35.4-inch wingspans, making them ideal for
most small fields. Each airplane has a street price of $59.99
(painted) or $49.99 (unpainted).
Horizon Hobby Distributors: 4105 Fieldstone Rd., Champaign
IL 61822; Tel.: (800) 338-4639; Web site: www.horizonhobby.com
Channel Xpander
Do you need an extra
channel but not a new
radio? The new JR
Channel Xpander
lets modelers
control as many as
four servos from a
single channel.
Scale modelers
can use it to
activate lights and
wheel brakes or open
canopies. Sport and Aerobatics
modelers will find it useful for
activating smoke systems and deploying flaps. While it is
nonproportional, the Channel Xpander allows modelers to adjust
the activation and endpoints of each servo individually, as well as
reverse direction.
The unit is powered through the regular receiver pack, but it can
be powered separately with its own battery pack to keep current
drain on the receiver pack to a minimum.
The Xpander is small (1.54 x 0.75 x 1.50 inches) and weighs .32
ounces. It has a current draw of 8 mAh and requires a voltage of
4.8-6.0 volts.
Horizon Hobby Distributors: 4105 Fieldstone Rd., Champaign
IL 61822; Tel.: (800) 338-4639; Web site: www.horizonhobby.com
“Inside R/C”
Just as this edition of “Worth a
Closer Look” was being finished,
Du-Bro Products sent word that
The Outdoor Channel television
network executive vice president
Wade Sherman has committed to
bringing the “Inside R/C” program
up to a year-round schedule. It will
be on the air three times every week. This is great exposure for the
modeling industry.
The Outdoor Channel has been experiencing one of the largest
growth-rate patterns in the cable/satellite industry; more than 23
million homes receive the channel, and thousands of households
are added on a regular basis. “Inside R/C” has received an amazing
response from newcomers and viewers who are already in the
hobby.
“With ‘Inside R/C’ we are reaching the existing modeler, but
what is even more exciting is the response we continue to receive
from people new to the hobby,” said Jim Broberg, who is president
of Du-Bro Products and the premiere sponsor of “Inside R/C.”
With the second season beginning in October, the production
team is hard at work preparing the new episodes, and things are
coming together nicely.
“Inside R/C”: Aired on The Outdoor Channel (DirecTV
channel 608): www.insiderc.com
October 2003 15
In each installment of “Worth a Closer Look” we do our best
to bring you new and exciting products from our industry. These
write-ups are not press releases, but are actually minireviews
written by the Model Aviation staff. In each instance the product
or service is actually built, tested, flown, used, etc. to give you a
firsthand account of how it performs.
We have found some of these items on our own, but many
have been brought to our attention from outside sources. If you
have a product or service that you feel might be “worth a closer
look,” contact Model Aviation Aeromodeling Editor Bob Hunt at
(610) 614-1747, or send an E-mail to
[email protected].
Drill Machine TBM 115
No shop is
complete without a
drill press. It makes
life easier for drilling
straight, accurate
holes for engine
mounts, retracts, etc.
When you think
of drill presses, what
might come to mind
are large floor
models which take
up floor space.
However, this
version from
Proxxon is made to
fit in even the
smallest shop.
The TBM 115
features a machined
821⁄32 x 423⁄32-inch
worktable made from
ribbed die-cast
aluminum. Extending
from the base is a
solid, hard-chromed
steel column that is 11
inches high and 3⁄4 inch in
diameter. This shaft
supports the die-cast head,
which incorporates a quietrunning
110- to 120-
volt/85-watt motor.
Removing the top of the
head reveals a power
transmission using a belt
drive between two three-step aluminum pulleys. This system allows
for adjustable speeds (1,800, 4,700, and 8,500 rpm) by moving the
belt.
The TBM 115 comes with six triple-slit Micromot precision
steel collets for shaft sizes of 1⁄32, 1⁄16, 5⁄64, 3⁄32, 7⁄64, and 1⁄8 inch (1.0,
1.5, 2.0, 2.4, 3.0, and 3.2 millimeters).
Optional accessories are available, such
as the MS4 machine vise (shown on
the worktable) and a Roehm chuck for
drill bits up to 15⁄64 inch.
The Drill Machine TBM 115’s street
price is approximately $170.
Proxxon: 2555 Tate Blvd. S.E.,
Hickory NC 28603; Tel.: (828) 326-0326; Fax: (828) 326-0325;
Web site: www.proxxon.com/us/ MA
Profile P-38 Lightning
When you think of profile models, Control Line probably comes
to mind. However, Great Planes has a new Radio Control profile
version of the popular P-38 World War II fighter.
This ready-to-assemble kit is built
from balsa and plywood CAD
(computer-aided-design)-drawn parts
which interlock for quick and accurate
construction. The model is powered by
two engines and has tricycle landing
gear with a steerable nose gear driven
by its own servo in the center pod.
Each engine has its own fuel tank
and fuel lines, which makes
maintenance easy. However, both
throttle linkages work off of one
standard servo (the same with the rudder).
The Profile P-38 spans 50 inches, has a wing area of 416 square
inches, and weighs 41⁄2 pounds (ready to fly). It requires two-stroke
.15- to .25-cubic-inch-displacement (2.5- to 4.0-cubic-centimeter)
engines, a four-channel radio with six standard servos, and has a
street price of $99.99.
Great Planes Model Distributors: Box 9021, Champaign IL
61826; Tel.: (800) 682-8948; Web site: www.hobbico.com
PVC Build-Its
Think of Eureka
Hobbies’ Build-Its as
Tinkertoys for your
workshop. Using these
10.75 x 1.50 x 1.25-inch
building blocks, you can
create a wide variety of
racks to hold almost
any model you own.
Each block is molded
from tough, structural
foam. Five holes are
evenly spaced (2 inches
apart) along its length,
sized to accept 1⁄2-inch
polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe.
These blocks mount to walls or the ceiling
with Sheetrock screws, then the PVC pipe
is cut to length and pounded into the holes.
Probably the most common use for
Build-Its is as a wing rack. However,
modelers have come up with a wide range
of uses you can see in the literature or by
visiting Eureka Hobbies’ Web site.
Single PVC Build-Its sell for $3 and a
pack of 12 is $35.
Eureka Hobbies, Inc.: 501 S.W. 9th St.
Suite E, Oklahoma City OK 73109; Tel.: (405) 239-2688; Web site:
www.eurekahobby.com