Larry Marshall <  > sent:

AeroDyne has a great new web site. They don't have all of their catalog online yet, but much of it is available from: < http://www.freeflightmodels.com/ >.

Cheers --- Larry

Charlie Fries <  > inquires:

We are told to give nicad batteries a FULL Charge before re-cycling. But, what is the preferred time to wait after the charging before the start of cycling? It would seem that some period of time should elapse for excess charge to dissipate. Otherwise, a poor cell would be unlikely to show its effect on the total pack.

Any suggestions? Charlie Fries

Leroy Bidgood <  > wonders:

Has anybody done a Demoiselle as a park flyer? How about a Fokker 'Spinne'? LeRoy

Ron Fikes <  > submitted:

I've found some lightweight wheel retainers for 1/16" LG wire - use Goldberg "Snap Nuts", # GBG362. These are nylon and fit tightly to the wire - heat the retainers with a heatgun, then push wire through. They hold well, and are light and streamlined...

Ron Fikes Palo Alto, California

<  > wrote:

I'm somewhat new to this newsletter but really enjoy it. I've been flying small R/C for about 25 years. Am thinking about buying either the Zagi or the FMA Razor. Anybody out there had any experience with these planes? Thanks for any help.

Phillip <  > pleads:

Once again I am searching for Guillow's 45-inch Cessna 170. The deal on the one I had located fell through. I really will settle at this point for any Cessna in the 170 tail-dragger series with a 40- to 50-inch wingspan.

I'm sorry, but those who want information on my Cox 051 throttle hookup will have to send me their fax number or mailing address. I am new to this computer game, and have not learned how to send pictures yet. Phillip

Perry Holcomb <  > informs us:

I really enjoy reading these postings. I do some electric F/F with gliders and other small craft, like the park flyers. One of the most thrilling moments of that pursuit is to see a glider get caught in a thermal and proceed right up into a cumulus cloud. DOWN ELEVATOR!! DOWN ELEVATOR!!

Have had several flights of greater than 30 minutes with only a 5-7 minute engine run to get to elevation.

Another thrill is to see a youngster's face react to the aerial antics of a park flyer. You can almost see the model airplane "bug" catch him!! I remember those moments well when I first saw U/C and, especially, F/F.

Thanks a lot. Perry Holcomb North Augusta, South Carolina

Francis S. Person <  > seeks education:

I need help. I am working on building Dereck Woodward's "JACO" from plans. I am very tempted to dope tissue onto the fuselage and tail. That looks so nice on my Yard Bee.

For the wing I will either use MicaFilm, or try my hand at silk. My questions are:

1. Can I use RIT dye to color the silk before it is applied?
   

2. Other than "Very carefully" how do I get tissue to cover the leading and trailing edges?
   

3. As above; how do I make the tissue go around the 90-degree fuselage corners so it looks good?
   

4. What RIT dye color most closely matches Peck orange tissue?
   

5. Are there other brands of tissue that would work better for this process?
   

6. I may come to my senses and just use orange MicaFilm. If so, then whose tissue would be the closest color match?
   

Thank You for all the advice that I have received concerning the ancient modeling arts.

Have an oily day, Francis S. Person

1. You can certainly dye silk with Rit -- but if you try that you'll be unhappy. Not with the color; it's just that the sopping wet silk will stick together as if it had been dipped in thin glue. Getting the material unstuck and smoothed out is about as much fun as a toothache.

2. Covering edges with tissue is not difficult. First apply three good WET coats of plain nitrate dope (NOT low-shrink; NOT buty- rate) over every piece of wood that the tissue will touch. (Sand lightly between coats.)

   Lay pre-cut, oversize, smooth tissue panels over the area you want to cover; then using plain "retarder" (or a 50-50 mixture of retarder and plain nitrate dope), brush through the tissue all around the PERIMETER. Squidge the tissue against the wood with your fingers; then coax it around the edges and corners with a fingertip wet with water. (Water and wet dope mix.)

   The idea is that the moisture will soften the tissue and make it more "conformable", while the retarder keeps the underlying dope tacky.

   Trim with 400-grit Wet-or-Dry "sandpaper". This produces a neat "feather edge" that will be invisible when the next piece of tissue overlaps it -- that edge being "sandpaper-trimmed" too.

   PRACTICE this technique on a mockup, so you can painlessly learn the knack of holding the surplus tissue edge just SO, as you very lightly -- but firmly -- sand JUST past the line where you want the "trim cut" to occur.

3. Included in # 2. By the way, this works as well for silk as it does for tissue. Same with Silkspan --- but BE WARNED !!! Several of us old-time Silkspan users have recently determined that modern "Silkspan" is NOT the same as the original! The new stuff soon gets exceedingly BRITTLE !!!

   We are not sure what the problem is. It could be the "sizing" that holds the fibers together; or it might be some preservative that reacts to ultraviolet light. Whatever: we've quit using Silkspan unless we're sure that it's the ORIGINAL material made (and patented) by Whitfield Paper.

4. etc. -- Color is in the eye of the beholder. Nobody can do satisfactory "color matching" for another person. What the heck, Francis: buy some and try some. It's not that expensive.

Patrick LeRay <  > asserts:

I recently scaled down a set of plans for an Aeronca Champion to a 36" span, for use with one of my PeeWee .020's. Used a Selig 3021 airfoil (teeny bit of undercamber), and it came in at 10.25 ounces with CS-20 servos and a HiTec SS3 radio, for a rather chunky loading of 8.5 ounces/square foot.

The .020 does just fine, thank you. In fact, as I had it set up for the first few flights, the word "handful" is an understatement. Lordy! Under power, it was all over the sky, but after the engine died, it glided beautifully, soft and floating (2 minute engine run + 4 minute glide in dead air; love dat 3021).

I reduced the control throws and it's borderline manageable now. That comes from not watching the stabilizer/wing proportions when I scaled it. I'm embarrassed to say how little that calculated out to be when I took a second look (12.5%). Next time, more stabilizer; less elevator. Maybe reduce the chord a bit, for a hair longer tail moment.

BTW, the 1-ounce PeeWee put enough weight in the nose that I had to mount the Receiver, battery, and servos under the spar! I'm flying it with two CR2 Lithium dry cells in a home-grown holder (weighs one ounce). The Norvel .061 weighs in at about 2 ounces plus fuel tank, so watch your balance.

Patrick LeRay in Louisiana

Carlo Godel <  > insists:

Pete Havriluk said he used an 09 to power his 54" Comet Aeronca Chief in FF. Models like this are overpowered with an 049, and many are flown with .03 diesels. The flight characteristics with the smaller engines are fantastic. I flew one on a bet on a Telco CO2 motor, 6" prop and 20cc Tank -- I worked a little on the motor.

Diesels are available today in a wide variety of sizes from .006 on up. They are small and powerful and crank big props at amazing turns. My Mills .75cc turns an 8x4 at 5,600 rpm, needs no muffler, and runs for over 30 seconds on the tiny little 1/4 ounce tank attached. The Irvine Mills does the same, but I can't say the same for the K-D Mills (Indian), where one out of three is super.

My Diesel collection runs over 100 pieces, and they all run. For a larger diesel, the PAW .15 and .19 are probably the best for our SMALL use. They can be had with throttles; and the MP Jet .061 is also available with a throttle. They are all good engines, and very capable of pulling your airplane around without the screaming mimis. Large props and low RPM is where it's at.

The biggest problem with diesels is the general lack of fuel -- fresh fuel. Its ether will evaporate very quickly. Good fuels are available from Aerodyne and a few others.

For Mike Repko: On programs to make decals with your computer, I've found Corel to be superior to any of the other 'name' programs for graphics. It uses vector computing, and lacks the bitmap look of Adobe Photoshop (straight diagonal lines instead of steps). Some of the older versions are available on e-Bay for cheap.

Carlo Godel

Alan Porter <  > adds:

Mike Repko wondered how to make decals with a computer. There is a great article on just that subject in Fine Scale Modeler for November 1999. Alan

John Hlebcar <  > amplifies:

I picked up the first copy of Model Railroader (March 2000) I've looked at in years, just to see what was in there - I gave the hobby up long ago. It features an article by Rick Johnson (page 78) on how to prepare decal artwork, and using the Alps printer. In it he states, "One of the most endearing qualities of the Alps printer is its ability to print in opaque white".

The article goes on to cover software needs, creating the artwork, and decal paper sources. Included are some excellent photos by Jim Forbes showing the decals applied to the models - the blacks are black and the whites are white!

Looking forward to hearing more from Mike about his progress in these postings. Perhaps I will have to invest in an Alps also...

Keep 'em Flying - John Hlebcar

Glenn Bolick <  > requests:

If you subscribe to R/C REPORT magazine and you want the columns on SMALL and electric flight to continue, be sure to so mark your March survey form and return it. Seems that the Editor places a great emphasis on the returned survey forms -- so vote for their continuance. Thanks!

Glenn Bolick

Mike Russell <  > wrote:

Cox has brought out a small electric-powered plane, available at Wal Mart and similar stores. It looks like a nice deal. The plane is powered with a direct drive electric motor with two props. There's a field charger (powered by four alkaline batteries), two nicads, a charge jack and switch.

The plane is modeled after a Cessna, and it's all foam. Looks like it would be nice to experiment with. I bought two at $15 each.

The power system can easily be put into something in free flight other than the Cox plane. Mike Russell

(P.S. As usual, I really like this newsletter.....)

Dave Segal <  > submitted:

B & W 1/2A Models Ltd.
11206 Trentman Road
Fort Wayne, Indiana 46816
(219) 639-6510

Other products he has are neat denim beanbags to keep small planes from blowing over, and fine 1/2A semikits for Old Timers. A photo of the Dallaire Sportster I built is in Flying Models, April 1999.