An Easy Balsa Stripper
SEARCHING FOR good strip wood in many hobby shops can be a very frustrating experience. Smaller strips in the dealer's stock bin suffer quite a lot from handling and are often broken. What can quickly turn off a model project is looking through the stock for a half dozen sizes of strip wood and finding that three of the sizes are out of stock, one comes only as warped strips that look like long, skinny props, and the remaining sizes are either broken or are suitable only for models of boat anchors! Perhaps I'm being overly hard on the hobby shops. Of course, many shops keep good track of their stock and try hard to satisfy their customers' needs. But, the point I'm trying to make is that the lack of ready-made strip wood need not discourage a modeler.
Davis D1K
FROM THE GOLDEN AGE of aviation, the Davis D1K is a prime example of an open cockpit sport parasol monoplane. About 60 Davis D1's were built, powered with Kinner, LeBlond or Warner engines (thus D1K, D1L and D1W). According to pilots, the Davis had the performance of a pursuit plane; yet it was forgiving of heavy-handed fliers. Our model, designed for the Telco CO-2 motor, is a great sport model for fun flying in small fields. Enough scale data is available to produce a respectable AMA Scale model if desired. With the built-in throttle of the Telco, it is possible to adjust power output to match a light, minimal airplane or a heavier, well detailed model.
Simple Lathe Turning
WHEELS sold with small Scale kits have traditionally been rather inadequate. They are usually made of hardwood, plastic, or rubber, and never look quite like what they are supposed to represent. The logical move away from kit-supplied wheels is to commercially available wheels. Here, we see some real concern for trying to make wheels that look right. Some of the suppliers have come up with types and sizes of wheels suitable for many Scale models. However, even these efforts cannot always be utilized in the quest for good looking, and good flying models because of the weight involved, or the need for a special size.
Make Your Own Timer. . .for electric or ignition models
COMPETITION flying (or even practical sport flying) of ignition engine old-timers or electric free-flight models requires a timer capable of shutting off the current at 25 seconds. For those who prefer the consistency of mechanical, Tick-off type timers the options are few. One commercial ready-made switch-equipped timer of this type is available (from 77 Products) at a cost of about $16.00. However, with about two hours of your time, you can produce an excellent timer for about $7.00, using a K Mart or similar camera timer. If you have a spare Tick-off in your collection, the switch-converted timer can be built for little more than the cost of a switch. I've made three of these timers and have been pleased with their operation.
You Need a Stooge
Winding rubber-powered models has always been a bothersome chore, mostly because of the need for a helper to hold the model. Many fliers who would like to do some test flying can't conveniently find a helper, so the device known as a stooge was born. With a stooge, the model is held securely while the flier winds the motor using a modified hand-drill. No helpers are necessary. The stooge shown in the photos is hardly an original idea, but rather brings together ideas from a couple of my own variations, plus observations of stooges used by other modelers. Initially, I used a U-shaped piece of steel strap clamped to the rear bumper of my car, later the same piece was (temporarily) attached to the tail gate of a pickup with sheet-metal screws. Both of these methods worked fine, but both interfered with access to the vehicles. The stooge presented here, with its independent supporting method, allows the flier to operate away from the cars for safer flying. It has been in use for the past year or so by myself and a half dozen local fliers. While the stooge was primarily intended for large unlimited (now called Mulvihill) rubber models, my 7-year-old son Chris quickly mastered the use of the stooge so that he could wind up his Peck One Nite 28 (P-30 model) and fly it by himself.
