Radio Control: Giant Scale
MORE MONSTERS from Minnesota. A year ago this month, I showed you some pictures sent in by Howard "Crash" Evanson of Apple Valley, MN. There is a very active group of Giant Scalers in the area (IMAA Chapter 46), and they keep coming up with new and interesting things. Encouraged by seeing his photos in print (or maybe it was the $5.00 Model Aviation pays for each print used). Crash sent some more along, some time back. First are some shots taken in Herb Lindsay's obviously large and well-equipped shop. Herb was one of the first in the area to get into Giant Scale, and he has already built more than a dozen aircraft. Most of them are truly scratch-built, as opposed to building from someone else's plans.
Radio Control: Giant Scale
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to RC Giant Scale! This issue marks the beginning of my fourth year of writing the RC Giant Scale column. Back in 1978 or '79, when I first got involved, the Giant Scale (Quarter Scale, Mammoth Scale, Le Grande Scale, whatever) movement was still in its infancy, but really beginning to pick up steam. Dick Phillips had been doing his "Big is Beautiful" column in RCM for a year or so, and Ron Shettler was writing the short-lived "Mammoth Scale" for Model Builder. The Quadra was firmly entrenched as the standard power source, but more and more new engines were starting to surface. There wasn't much in the way of Giant Scale-sized accessories, so people made their own fittings (hinges, horns, etc.) when it became obvious that most items designed for smaller models just couldn't do the job.
Genesis of the Big Bangers
FOR OVER TWO YEARS the author, along with Kirby Crawford and Dick Roe, has been testing and reporting on some of the many small gasoline engines being made available for use in Giant Scale aircraft. These engines are classed as small by the manufacturers, but to most RC modelers, accustomed to engines of less than one cubic inch displacement, they are Big Bangers with total displacement ranging from about 1.2 cu. in. to over 6 cu. in. Most modelers are aware that many of these engines started out as power plants for chainsaws. In addition, weed whips, backpack blowers, and any device needing a small, portable, self-contained power source can be the starting point for one of this new breed of model engines.
Radio Control: Giant Scale
NEW KRAFT GOODIES. For one reason or another, it has been a long time since I got a new radio right off the shelf. A year or so ago, I built a Silver Seven transmitter, but that's not quite the same thing. Anyway, when I finally got my Tomahawks finished, I wanted to get back to work on my Sparrowhawk, but realized that-thanks to the Tomahawks and the Stinson Voyager that I built in 1981-I was fresh out of suitable radios. To make a long story short, I decided to go with one of the new Kraft systems, and I thought you might be interested in my impressions. What I wound up with was a KP-7C MKIII, with KPS-24 servos and an additional heavy-duty battery. Any new toy is fascinating, but I was particularly struck by the amount and quality of the instructions and other literature that came with the system. A lot of the information was not new to me, but if I were new to RC it sure would be valuable. The last time I bought a new radio the instructions that came with it were minimal, to say the least.
Big Bangers for Big Birds
THOSE OF YOU who have been following this series may recall our original objectives. We felt that both active and potential Giant Scalers lacked useful data about the many large, gasoline-fueled engines that were becoming available. As a result, many of those same modelers have been unable to make logical selections for the aircraft they wished to build. In an effort to provide information to which most modelers could easily relate, we confined our testing to measurements of static thrust and rpm with various propellers-and of fuel consumption with the prop that produced the highest thrust. In addition, physical dimensions, weight, design details, etc., were included. A listing of the engines tested and the relating issue dates is provided near the end of this article.
