Make it with Paper
COWLS made from paper? That's right. Here's an easy and inexpensive way to make high strength-to-weight cowls, fairings, wheel pants, and the like. The construction technique is ancient, but the raw materials are somewhat more contemporary. Papier-mache is simply a construction technique using paper strips or pulp mixed with a glue; the paper/glue mix is then molded over a form, mold, or plug. In our case, glue-soaked paper strips are used and cross-laid over a mold, resulting in a material having the characteristics of molded plywood. It can be sawed, sanded, glued, and painted. Applications range from lightweight Electric models to quarter-scale engine-powered models.
How to Build a Realistic Cockpit
A simple, well-constructed cockpit with a pilot figure can add a lot to your Sport Scale model. I'm not talking about an elaborate cockpit that duplicates all of the interior, complete with instrument panel and full-figure pilot; here are some practical ideas that can enhance your model without breaking your budget.
Waco UPF-7: A Biplane from the Golden Age
I have always admired WACO biplanes, both open-cockpit and cabin models. So it was a special pleasure a couple of years ago to attend the WACO Reunion in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. for a biplane lover, this was close to heaven.
How to Build a Wing/Fuselage Fillet
By 1930, airplane designers using wind tunnels had determined that the sharp intersection of the fuselage side and the wing surface caused considerable drag. Thereafter, many airplanes, particularly high-performance ones, incorporated some sort of fillet along the wing/fuselage junction. My last two Scale projects, a WACO UPF-7 and a Spitfire, had fillets. In fact, the Spitfire has such large and long fillets that they've become somewhat of a standard for describing aircraft design; writers will often refer to "Spitfire-type" fillets. Model aircraft fillets can be built-up or made from some type of filler material. For small fillets, use a filler like Model Magic, or a mixture of microballons and epoxy. Shape the fillet with a plastic spoon, a wooden dowel, or even your finger (make sure it's protected with gloves). For a large fillet, built-up construction will be much lighter. The photos illustrate how to make a built-up fillet.
Lightweight Tail Surfaces
"Build the tail structure as light as possible." This is necessary to prevent a tailheavy airplane that may be unstable, or at least difficult to control. There are several methods to build tails: flat sheet, stick construction, laminated edges for curved outlines, foam core sheeted, and complete built-up with ribs and spars. Another method that I have used is strong and light, and is adaptable to models of varying sizes. It uses thin balsa sheet as a core, on which false ribs and doublers are glued. It can be used for any tail shape, and is fast to build. This example is for a .25-size model, and used 1/16 sheet balsa core and doublers. Edge-glue sheet balsa large enough to make the stab/elevator as a unit. Do the same for the fin-rudder combination. Use SeeTemp(r) template material to outline the tail surfaces on the balsa sheet core. Note that there are no limitations on the outline shape of the tail surfaces. Curved outlines can be made just as easily as straight.
