Kanardeze
Is there any red-blooded aviation enthusiast who has not wondered at, then admired what Burt Rutan and his followers have been doing with canard aircraft over the past decade or so? Their success should be enough to entice a serious modeler to give the arrangement some attention. To say I was tempted more than once would be an understatement! If you listen to all the canard hoopla, two major points are always made: 1) A canard is stallproof, which is far more important to full-scale than it is to models. 2) A canard produces more lift and less drag compared to normal configurations. With the foreplane lifting, you can add its lift to that of the wing. With a pusher propeller the airframe flies in cleaner air (no prop slipstream), thus less drag. The latter two factors are
Be A Skywriter!
IF YOU HAVE observed full-scale aerobatic flying, you probably enjoyed the presentation even more when smoke was used to emphasize the maneuvers. Most assuredly, smoke adds class to any aerobatic show! I am certain you will be interested in this article, for it explains how you can add class to your model airplanes with the use of smoke. Typical modeler that I am, reproducing something outstandingly good in full scale for use with models is a challenge and a must! It has been a long-time desire of mine to perfect the use of smoke in my stunt model airplanes. A few past attempts failed, but my most recent endeavor explained in this article really works!
The Solution
I HOPE YOU will not be shocked to see a pattern design offered by Hal deBolt. I have not participated actively in Pattern for some time, having been deeply engrossed in racing. But I have not lost my interest in an event which provided me so many great years. There has not been much change since my last time around, except for the aircraft. Today's pattern aircraft are distinctly different from those of just a few years ago. You normally would say that this is just progress. However, in watching events from a designer's standpoint I have had reasons to wonder. I hear rumblings from the pattern troops that many are not satisfied with what the pattern airplane has developed into. In the minds of many, the speed, weight, initial cost, and operational costs of the latest designs are undesirable. The question has to be, is there another way?
Electronic Pylon Race Controller
IF YOU have been involved in Pylon Racing, you have become aware of the need for positive control of "what is happening." When such control is present, the races run smoothly, problems are eliminated and the time required to run each heat drops drastically. What we will attempt to describe seems to be a first effort to successfully operate a Pylon Race with a rudimentary form of computer. (Some of the large auto races are completely controlled by a computer these days.) While this electronic system does not do that much, it is a step in that direction which could be expanded.
Electric King Condor Trainer
INTERESTED in electric-powered model flight? Before your electrified thoughts get short-circuited, read on. Offered here is perhaps the quickest, simplest, and least expensive way to investigate this intriguing and different method of RC flying. Electric power has been available for model use for over 15 years, and it is now apparent that it offers some exclusive advantages. In the past, when considering this power source, most modelers compared it to glow engines, and then the advantages of Electric flight quickly dimmed. It was tough to give up ample engine power for the restricted performance that electric motors initially offered.
