WORTH A CLOSER LOOK
Tom Sullivan; E-mail: [email protected]
Glo Caddy
Just when you thought you've seen everything there is in glow ignitors, the innovative people at Du-Bro come up with something new.
Du-Bro's Glo Caddy is a two-piece accessory for holding and storing your Glo-Plug Ignitor. The main piece is the caddy itself.
What makes it stand out is the molded-in clip on the back, which allows you to clamp it on your belt or pocket and keep your ignitor with you. There's no more running back to the pits if your engine quits!
It has a large opening to accommodate sub-C and even most C-size Glo-Plug Ignitors.
The Glo Caddy can be mounted to your field box with the mounting bracket and included mounting screws.
This is one of those items that, after you use it, you'll wonder how you ever got along without!
Du-Bro; Box 815, Wauconda IL 60084; Tel.: (800) 848-9411; Fax: (847) 526-1604; Web site: www.dubro.com
Fill It Fueling System
This is another new item from Du-Bro. It consists of four plugs for different-size tubing (1/16 inch, 3/32 inch, 1/8 inch, and 5/32 inch inside diameter), a fitting that mounts on the surface of your model, an O-ring that fits on the plug of your choice to hold it in place, and a brass tube with clunk to outfit your tank with a separate filler line.
This system is very simple to install and use. By drilling a 7/64-inch-diameter hole, the housing can be glued in place. In a matter of minutes, we had a clean, simple way to fill or drain the fuel from the test model.
The Fill It seems ideal for any model, especially those with cowled engines. It can be mounted in a small, hidden place on your model.
Oh, and one other thing: the Fill It Fueling System can be used with glow, gas, or diesel fuels.
Ultimate Wheel Chocks
This is an interesting item from Maiden Model Products. At first glance, it appears to be a food dish for your pet, but it is a unique, patented set of wheel chocks for your model.
The Ultimate Wheel Chocks come in sets of two. Constructed from anodized aluminum, they are resistant to corrosion from fuel and rain. The center of each chock is hollow to allow it to be staked into the ground.
The chocks will hold tires as large as five inches in diameter with no problems.
During testing, models were rolled easily up the inclined side of the chocks, then dropped securely into the center.
These chocks do a good job of keeping your model from moving around because of blowing winds or propeller blasts from a nearby model.
Although quite useful while starting and running engines, I would not recommend using these instead of a helper to hold a model. With today's powerful engines, it wouldn't be out of the question for a model to pull itself out of the chocks and do some damage.
Maiden Model Products; 37801 Northern Ave., Wayzata MN 55391; Tel.: (612) 730-7151; Fax: (952) 471-7383; E-mail: [email protected]
F-16C and F/A-18 Twin Upgrades
Yellow Aircraft has always been known for high-quality propeller and jet-powered models. The company's models continue to win Scale contests across the country.
Charles Tse, the company's owner, shared some information with me about improvements coming up in two models: the F-16C and F/A-18 Twin.
The construction of these models has consisted of fiberglass fuselages and balsa-sheeted foam flying surfaces. Improvements are in the introduction of carbon fiber reinforcing the fuselage, stabilizer, and fins.
This new construction has allowed Yellow Aircraft to significantly lighten the total airframe while making it stronger than ever.
The fuselage also contains an impressive amount of detail (rivets, panel lines, hatches, exhaust cones, etc.) molded in.
Look for these improved kits soon, starting with the F-16C.
Yellow Aircraft International; 203 Massachusetts Ave., Lexington MA 02420; Tel.: (781) 674-4988; Fax: (781) 674-2288; Web site: www.yellowaircraft.com
Fokker Dr.I
The Fokker Dr.I is probably the most recognized fighter from World War I. Germany's legendary ace Manfred von Richthofen was quoted as saying it "climbed like a monkey and maneuvered like the devil."
Arizona Model Aircraftrafters has added a miniature replica of the Dr.I to its line of precision Scale WW I models.
The kit features laser-cut parts, a complete interior, formers, tailpieces, wire trailing-edge reinforcements, spoked wire wheels, scale machine guns, a spun-aluminum cowl, working cable controls, a dummy replica engine, and a two-piece cowl with nameplate.
Complete scale documentation and a fully illustrated instruction manual are included.
Plans sets are available, and they come with applicable photos, scale documentation, three-views, and other historical documentation.
This airplane is recommended for experienced modelers only.
Arizona Model Aircraftrafters; Airpark Plaza, 14795 N. 78th Way Unit 800, Scottsdale AZ 85260; Tel.: (480) 348-3733; Fax: (480) 348-3773; Web site: www.arizonamodels.com
MicroPanel Plus™ Power Panel
If you were to think about miniaturization, probably the last thing you would think about is a power panel. One size fits all, right? Hobbico has introduced a power panel that is unique in size. The MicroPanel Plus™ is 3.3 x 1.8 x 0.75 inches and weighs just 2.3 ounces.
Even with its small size, this miniature power panel is packed with more features than many "full-size" panels that are available.
The panel has predrilled holes in its aluminum faceplate to allow it to be mounted to your field box, or you can cover the components with the included rear cover for stand-alone use.
An 18-inch power lead with alligator clips connects directly to a 12-volt battery. Reverse polarity protection circuitry is built in—just in case!
The MicroPanel Plus™ includes an onboard 300-400 mAh charger specifically for rechargeable glow starters.
There's a set of DC banana jacks for a 12-volt glow-plug clip, with a heat-adjustment dial and red "plug heat" LED (light-emitting diode). The unit's other set of banana jacks supplies 12-volt DC power to an electric starter or fuel pump.
Great Planes Model Distributors; Box 9021, Champaign IL 61826-9021; Tel.: (800) 682-8948; Web site: www.hobbico.com
CoverLite™
If you are looking for a lightweight covering alternative for your park flyers or small models, where weight is crucial, Coverite™ has introduced CoverLite™.
A square yard of CoverLite™ weighs less than one ounce—0.89 ounces to be exact.
This is a synthetic tissue that is meant to replace traditional tissue and dope covering methods. It comes pre-doped with what is described as "a totally fuelproof resin."
Although nothing is totally fuelproof, CoverLite™ did prove to be fuel-resistant in our tests.
CoverLite™ is ironed on using Balsarite: Coverite™'s adhesive for fabric films. Once adhered, it is quite strong and puncture-resistant—much more than doped tissue would be.
CoverLite™ comes in 19½ x 39½-inch sheets and is available in White, Yellow, Orange, Red, Blue, Cream, Black, Dark Green, and Silver.
Vortech "Ultimate" Spinners
Dave Brown Products has added a new series of spinners to its popular Vortech line. These spinners are shaped like the Ultimate style spinner, which is popular on many of today's aerobatic models.
Vortech spinners are created on CNC (Computer Numerically Controlled) equipment using spun-aluminum techniques. This is similar to how spinners and cowlings for full-scale aircraft are manufactured.
One apparent benefit is the weight. These spinners are quite light—even in a 6-inch diameter, which is 7½ inches long.
Each spinner requires an adapter nut (sold separately), which threads onto the end of your engine's crankshaft. The spinner is attached to the adapter nut via a supplied hex-head bolt.
The Vortech Ultimate-style spinners are available in sizes from 3½ to 6 inches.
Dave Brown Products; 4560 Lavington Rd., Hamilton OH 45013; Tel.: (513) 738-1576; Fax: (513) 738-0152; Web site: www.dbproducts.com
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
