Radio Control: Scale
DETAIL ANALYSIS: On the pretext that the model is to be Stand-off Scale, the external detail is kept to as little as will be accepted by fellow modelers. If the airplane being modeled is a later, jet type (a Boeing B-47 for example), external detail presents no burdensome task for the modeler because it's relatively clean on the outside. A Douglas DC-3 has a pair of magnificent wing-root fillets, non-existent on a B-47, and a model without the fillets wouldn't be a DC-3. In addition, the Douglas has several hundred thousand button-head rivets cluttering every surface. Duplicating the large quantity of rivet detail constitutes a major commitment in time and energy. Opinions on the amount of detail to be applied vary, depending upon the builder's purpose and aspirations.
Radio Control: Scale
FIBERGLASS over foam: An engine cowl, with its compound curves and continuously changing shape, is the airplane part that lends itself to fiberglass-over-foam construction methods. Blue styrene insulation foam is used because it is easily cut and formed. It has a more rigid cell structure than the white foam ordinarily used for wing cores. It can be sawed to rough shape with a hand, band, or circular saw. (The circular saw can be somewhat hazardous, because the fast-moving blade can melt the foam, which causes it to seize the blade violently. The sudden action can pull the operator's hand into the blade.) The least troublesome method of cutting foam is with the electrically-heated nichrome wire. Look for Styrofoam under "Insulation Materials" in the Yellow Pages, to find a local supplier.
Radio Control: Scale
TOLEDO AIRPLANES: This was a bountiful year for high-quality airplanes at the Toledo show. Judges selections of winners in all Scale classes would be based upon a concerted search for minor imperfections and slight variations in quality between the top airplanes. All were fine examples of Scale modeling at its best. Winner of first place, as well as the Best-of-Show award, was Steve Sauger's familiar Stinson A Trimotor. A commonly-heard remark from viewers around the table for Precision Scale models was that they are pretty, but never flown. This expressed opinion was securely put to rest at Toledo. Steve's Stinson has not only been flown, it has placed him on the FAI Scale team. We have watched while Steve made a landing with two dead engines. Only the right outboard continued to run, and there was no apparent loss of stability.
Radio Control: Scale
MEASUREMENTS: A letter from a reader in Finland asks for elaboration on methods of taking measurements of full-scale airplanes. We have, in past columns, expounded the virtues of having the prototype available for examination, photos and dimensional data, but then neglected to explain procedures. We made the incorrect assumption that everyone knew the necessary steps. Juhani Sederholm asks specifically for the method of determining exactly the shape of an unknown airfoil, without damaging the surface of an airplane, after permission is granted to make dimensional checks. When the airfoil designation is known, its outlines can be copied from a standard reference source such as our Handbook for Airfoil Sections by M.S. Rice.
Radio Control: Scale
SCALE DOCUMENTATION: Requests for information regarding documentation material continue to arrive in our mailbox. Doubts usually arise in their hearts when competition Sport and Giant Scale modelers are faced with having to supply photos of obscure aircraft, or those that have been neglected in historical information. If a three-view drawing is available, and the drawing shows color data, photos aren't required. When a three-view drawing alone is the complete documentation, it becomes a one-sheet presentation. To supplement this drawing, some modelers will include several additional sheets of printed data about the prototype, not realizing that judges have very little time to do extensive reading.
