Worth a Closer Look
CDR-5000 Battery Charger
Futaba’s new CDR-5000 programmable battery charger is easy to use, accurate, and versatile. It will charge, discharge, and cycle transmitter and receiver packs without having to remove them from the radio.
The charger has an auto cutoff that can be programmed for delta peaking, mAh, and temperature settings. The mAh auto cutoff allows use with popular Li‑Ion and Li‑Poly cells.
The CDR-5000 will charge one to eight transmitter/receiver cells and one to 36 six- and seven-cell battery packs at the same time, with real-time plotting shown on its backlit LCD screen. All information is displayed on the large LCD for virtually touch-free operation after setup.
Charge outlets for transmitter and receiver batteries are on one side; ports for connecting the charger to the Thermo Stand, printer, or personal computer are on the other side.
The CDR-5000 features five built-in fans for maximum cooling and has reverse-polarity and overload protection.
An optional Thermo Stand is available to monitor each cell’s temperature, mAh rating, and voltage level so modelers know precise battery status.
Street price: $469.99 for the CDR-5000; Thermo Stand: $39.99.
Great Planes Model Distributors: Box 9021, Champaign, IL 61826; Tel.: (800) 682-8948; Web site: www.futaba-rc.com
MiG-15 A.F.S.
Following successful Advanced Fabrication System (A.F.S.) upgrades on the F-86, F-80, and T-33 kits, Bob Violett Models (BVM) has applied the same time-saving technology to its MiG-15.
The MiG is a great-flying machine, and its superwide track main gear gives excellent ground handling. Early BVM kits, being the company’s first built-up wing/stabilizer offering, were a bit difficult to build for some modelers. BVM has addressed those issues and made further improvements.
The new A.F.S. wing and stabilizer cut building time in half and produce a stronger, more rugged model. Special attention was given to the landing-gear mounting system, with the addition of carbon-fiber ribs and wingskin reinforcement.
The landing-gear system now includes BVM’s high-flow-rate Air Selector Valve to assure positive retraction even against a rapidly accelerating jet’s air loads. Stronger main-gear springs have been flight tested and help smooth out less-than-perfect landings. Main struts now feature a stronger machined 7075 aluminum upper strut (the original was cast), and the nose-strut tiller is now made from steel.
For more information, visit the Web site or send $6 for a catalog of BVM products.
Bob Violett Models, Inc.: 3481 SR 419, Winter Springs, FL 32708; Tel.: (407) 327-6333; Fax: (407) 327-5020; Web site: www.bvmjets.com
3 3/8-Inch FAI Spinners
Add a custom-fit-spinner look to your 2-meter Pattern model with Tru-Turn’s new 85 mm (3 3/8-inch) spinner, sized to fit the metric fuselage shapes of many European 2-meter Pattern kits such as PL and ZNLine, Chip Hyde’s Double Vision, and others.
These spinners are slotted to fit the propellers you’ll run on engines up to YS 1.40s or Saito 150s. They can be slotted for larger propellers or electric propellers if needed.
Contact Tru-Turn for pricing on spinners and propeller nuts.
Tru-Turn: 100 W. First St., Deer Park, TX 77536; Tel.: (281) [number not provided]
About this column
In each installment of “Worth a Closer Look” we bring you new and interesting products from the hobby industry. These write-ups are not press releases but are mini-reviews written by the Model Aviation staff. In each instance the product or service is actually built, tested, flown, or used to give a firsthand account of how it performs. Some items are found by our staff; many are brought to our attention from outside sources. If you have a product or service that 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].
Tru-Surface Building Board
A flat surface is a must when building model airplanes (note: flat, not level). Without a flat base, it's almost impossible to build a wing or stabilizer without introducing a twist or warp.
Sidewalk Flyers has introduced Tru-Surface: a series of building boards that provide a flat base. Boards are available in sizes from 16 x 24 inches to 48 x 60 inches. The review sample was 16 x 24 inches.
Each board ships as a kit with everything included except tools. Assembly takes roughly 30 minutes. Tru-Surface boards offer:
- An inch of pinnable, replaceable construction surface
- Adjustment screws at all four corners to produce a flat surface
- A built-in surface for holding pins or a vise
The kit box contains roughly a dozen parts. Wooden pieces are CNC-cut from high-quality birch plywood; all slots, dadoes, and grooves are precut and require only light sanding with the included sanding block.
Assembly overview:
- Install T-nuts (blind nuts) and countersink several holes to accept the heads of the supplied Phillips-head screws.
- Begin main-frame assembly by drilling a few holes in the precut dadoes, then dry-fit the main-frame parts.
- When everything fits, securely screw the assembly together.
You can finish the wood (stain or paint) before installing the building surfaces to avoid masking later. Install one end panel, slide in the white base board, then install the other end panel to sandwich the base board. Check that the board is square; thanks to CNC cutting, the sample required no adjustments.
Install adjuster feet on all four corners. These adjusters are long bolts with lock nuts on the top and bottom; by changing each corner’s height you can achieve a flat surface regardless of the supporting surface.
To check for flatness, a quick and effective method is to use a common fluorescent light tube—an inexpensive, very straight reference.
The building surface is made from four parts: the main base board and three pinnable surfaces. The bottom two gray panels are 3/8-inch-thick ultracompressed recycled material; the top surface is 1/4-inch cork and holds pins firmly when used with the gray layers.
The Tru-Surface building board is a great addition to the shop and is portable enough to take to other rooms or to contests.
Minor drawbacks: the instructions are adequate but require careful study of each photo to ensure correct assembly. Several accessories are available, and all mounting holes for them come predrilled. If you're not careful, you could mount accessories in the wrong place. The instructions for the 16 x 24-inch board are the same as those for larger boards, which can make some steps confusing for bigger sizes.
Prices: standard Tru-Surface boards range from $49.95 to $389.95. Oversize boards (up to 48 x 120 inches) are also available. Contact Sidewalk Flyers for details.
Sidewalk Flyers: Box 1510, Jacksonville, OR 97530; Tel.: (541) 734-2088; Fax: (541) 858-4282; Web site: www.sidewalkflyers.com
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
