SMALLnet post358

Can anyone give me information on painting model airplanes with Rustoleum paint? I have heard of it being used. I have also heard that it is fuel proof. What % nitro does it withstand?

Here is what I have been using to light glow plugs with for about 20 years. Get the used Cyclon 2-volt sealed lead acid 25 AH batteries from < http://www.allelectronics.com/ >. They will cost all of $5.50. Catalog number is LB-225.

You can make a charging circuit for this cell using one of the two or three listed at Iskandar's BBS. Here is what he had to say about the links and the chargers recently.

I didn't start using the 2 Volt charger until this past year. I picked up six of the batteries from a piece of Pacific Bell equipment that used them, and just charged them in series, using a 12-volt car battery charger set on low. I still have most of the original ones and they are going strong after about 20 years.

They even sat in storage for 10 or 12 years with no attention. I don't know why they all didn't go bad. I have read that some commercial alarm systems use these as backup batteries and some folks have obtained the ones pulled under routine maintenance.

I then made two sets of starter leads for these. One for normal plugs on the bigger motors and one for the Cox clip. I use 10 or 12 foot leads to get a voltage drop from the 2 volts. I should measure the voltage drop at the plug but I never did get around to being that precise.

I have read all the latest inputs on firing up C*x glow heads. One solution that I found quite a few years back is made by a company called Hawker Energy. They produce the CYCLON brand of sealed-lead rechargeable batteries.

I use the 2 volt, 25 AH B1 Cell, or BC cell. It is the same size as the old Eveready 1.5 volt "doorbell-type" dry cells that we used to use. As submitted earlier, using good wiring to connect to the standard C*x clip connected with this battery is important, and this combination should last for years.

I have been using mine for many years with no problems. I recharge it maybe two or three times a year. BTW, Thanks for the Airtronics submission! My old Q-Tee plans were too cut up to use anymore!

I have to also stress the importance of the prostate and colon checkups! I had colon surgery just a few months back and would not have known anything until it was too late if a friend had not strongly suggested the checkup.

This is simply to add emphasis to the previous SMALLnet items regarding how important it is for us old timers to prevent getting behind the power curve on medical treatment, so that we can continue to enjoy building and flying models.

Nine years ago I went to my doctor about what appeared to be a hemorrhoid problem. He set up a colonoscopy test, and sure enough I had colon cancer. They cut out about 6" of the colon and stitched the rest back together again. So here I am 9 years later still having fun, an apparent survivor because they caught the problem in time.

Continuing regular colonoscopies (about every 6 months) which are easy -- in and out of the hospital in the same day -- verify that I'm still "clean" inside. Note: a Sigmoid check for cancer won't do the job -- it shows only about 25% of the colon. Only a colonoscopy gives the full picture.

'nuff of that. I'm enjoying SMALLnet and I don't think a little diversion into medical sidelights is too distracting. We've lost too many good guys in the past few years who might otherwise still be with us. John Worth

In response to Norm Dial's request for information on the Crickit. I flew mine today 3 times, and I have mine powered with a very good running OS15 LA. That is what I would recommend for it, nothing less. I think it needs all that power.

It is a strange little beast that flies fast once it is off the ground, but it needs the power to get it up. It will fly slow when throttled back, but it flies heavy and has a fast sink rate. It may look like a clone of the Clancy Lazy Bee, which can use any kind of power -- but it is very different indeed. Charlie

Thanks for the information, but I'm have to wonder if we are talking about the same Crickit, and not the larger Mud Duck.

Casey's information pack sez it will fly on an .049, and suggests the possibility of trying electric. Also he sez to use a .20 and "hang on".

The building instructions don't say anything about the .049, but mention the Norvel .061. With a 33 inch span and 300 square inches, I would think a .20 should be something of a bomb.

I'm not much up to date on R/C. I'm an old, emphasis on OLD, C/L type. Don't get much flying in, as about the only flat fields up here suitable for C/L are in residential areas and noise is a factor.

About all the rest is pretty much trees. (I'm about 35 miles north of Anchorage and have to go 25 further up to get into R/C-ing.

...Norm, the deciding factor is wing loading. I have a 660-square- inch King Condor converted to 2-channel R/C and it's often been flown with C*x .049 power. (Now it has a PAW .06 up front.)

I've used an .049-powered Gentle Lady to train youngsters to fly R/C. That has about 600 square inches of wing (I'm too tired to go confirm that number now)... Both these airplanes weigh around 26 ounces. (They employ old C*x R/C equipment -- I used to get a lot of that sent to me for field testing, and it still works fine today. It was made by Sanwa, the same people who supply Airtronics with their R/C systems.)

Anyway, with the right size prop, a reed-valve .049 can haul a mighty large airplane around the sky. But not if it's heavy and draggy... Another large-winged R/C craft that's an excellent flyer with .049 power is Randy Randolph's famous "Twiliter".

I think you'd get more enjoyment from flying an aerodynamically- designed R/C model than one whose major feature seems to be its "cuteness". [JW]

My diamond sharpening stone came with a small bottle of oil to prevent loading the surface. We sell diamond hones and stones in the retail store I work in, and always have a sample on the counter for customers to try out on their knives. It is always used with water as a lubricant. Dennis Karoleski in New Hampshire

...Dennis, lubricating sharpening stones is generally good practice. It keeps the stone surface from getting clogged with metal particles, which can happen readily when sharpening stainless steel pocket knife blades. Those are extremely common today.

But I was speaking exclusively about sharpening X-Acto knife blades. Those are high-carbon steel, and have never shown any tendency to "load" my diamond stone when used dry. The ground-off metal just lies like a coat of dust on the surface, and can be blown away with an air hose or washed off with water.

I use my diamond stone dry for sharpening X-Acto blades because it's much more convenient that way. Before I got the diamond stone I used a regular oilstone for the same purpose. It worked great -- but was messy and slow. Before I could put the knife back to work I had to clean off the dark oily swarf from both the stone and the blade. Not with the diamond stone!

Four SMALLsters have requested further information on X-Acto blade-sharpening technique, so here it is:

The easiest way I can think of to describe how to sharpen a knife blade of any kind on any sort of whetstone -- oil, water, or my new favorite, the dry "diamond stone" -- is to apply the knife to the stone exactly as if you were trying to peel off a very thin shaving from its top surface.

You don't need any more pressure than it takes to hold the blade in contact. Excessive pressure is counter-productive! Take a stroke or two on one side of the cutting edge; then reverse the action and do another couple of "slicing passes" with the other side of the blade.

If you move the edge straight across the stone, as if you wanted to peel off a continuous layer as wide as the blade edge is long, doing that will abrade the blade edge fast; but will produce a microscopic "sawtooth edge". This isn't always bad -- I like that effect for cross-grain carving.

For a smoother cutting edge (one that will slice cleanly through model covering materials) move the blade edge at an angle across the stone rather than straight across. Use light pressure too.

But any kind of abrasive sharpening of a cutting edge will leave a burr. Imagine putting a cutting edge on an aluminum yardstick, with 40-grit floor-sander abrasive paper. The ragged edges of the abrasive particles not only plow metal particles away (which is what you want) -- they also deform the thin edges they leave behind.

Scale this picture down to #11 X-Acto knife blade size, and you can see the benefits of eliminating burrs from the edge.

"Burnishing surfaces", such as an old-fashioned razor strop, can be used to polish off microscopic burrs and bring the actual cutting edge as close to one molecule thickness as possible. Peck Polymers sells a neat small sharpening tool called, appropriately, a Sharpy. It has a fine abrasive surface on one side; the other is impregnated with jeweler's rouge for burnishing cutting edges.

The Sharpy works well; but somehow I can seldom find mine on my always-cluttered workbench top when I need it. (It always turns up later, though, when I DON'T need it.) Instead I burnish my freshly-diamond-sharpened X-Acto blade edges on whatever's handy. The flat cast-iron top of my table saw works fine for that; so does the grey cardboard backing of a scratch pad.

It really doesn't take much force or pressure to remove (or flatten) microscopic burrs on modeling knife edges. After all, they're only a few microns thick.

How can you tell when you've sharpened your knife enough? Easy: when it cuts whatever you want it to cut, the way you want to cut it. I've come across various suggested tests for knife-edge keenness, such as whether you can SEE the actual edge. (If so, it's still dull.) Another test is to try gently skidding the blade edge sideways when it's set vertically on your thumbnail. (If it skids, it's still dull.)

But to my way of thinking, the ONLY valid test is that of USE. If your blade will slice cleanly through Esaki tissue without tearing, or do whatever other modeling task you want to accomplish, it's SHARP. (If it won't, it's not.) [JW]

Sometime back reliable small engine idling was discussed on this forum. I had a VA 049 that Dave Campbell presented to me, but didn't have a carb for it. I posted to SMALLnet as to what kind to use. Andy Woitowicz e-mailed me, and we discussed this.

I sent my VA to him and got it back about 2 weeks ago with a new carb installed; and to say I am pleased would be an understatement. I got a chance to run it about 3 days ago. The temperature was about 65, and I used 30% Morgan's helicopter fuel with some castor added.

I ran the engine about 3 minutes with it breaking in and out of a 2-4 cycle operation; then leaned it out, as it is an ABC engine. I ran it backed off slightly from peak for about 5 minutes, and this thing has an unbelievable throttle response. It's more like an off-on switch. My Hobbico tachometer wouldn't read the high end, and I don't know why, but it was very overcast that day.

The idle was solid at 5000 and I am sure it will beat this when it gets more time on it. I have never had a small engine that had a throttle response like this. You can let it idle as long as you want, and the transition time to full throttle is instant.

I wanted to post this as Andy is to be commended on his work. I now have a wonderful little engine that I can't wait to get it in a new plane. Thanks, Andy! Mike (happy in Tennessee)

I have found that if I keep my plans rolled up and stored in a sealed tube, they stay almost the same, within small tolerances. But if you let them lie around the closet, or up on that shelf, heat and cold and humidity can cause some changes...

Just the other day, I pulled a set of Cub plans down, and by the time I finished, I had a Taylorcraft!

Unfortunately, in addition to the minor distortions due to the printing process and atmospheric changes, an occasional plan escapes with major errors on it. I had a recent experience where the wing platform was a full inch longer than the root chord.

Not exactly a disaster but it would look pretty tacky if you missed it. And I recall the "Nomad", a power pod glider that was published with the power pylon drawing off scale. A few minutes looking the plan over with a ruler in hand to make a few checks is well spent. The problems are not usually difficult to correct.

Speaking of plans, does anyone know where I might get a plan for the "Chicken Hawk", the little 1/2A biplane of a few years back? I think it was designed by Bill Winter, and was once kitted, but I don't know by whom. LeRoy

...LeRoy, drafting errors and outright fakery have occurred on quite a LOT of model plans over the past 75 years. Some flaws are far from minor, too. Part of the problem has been the constant chant of the model magazine editors (and the model kit company presidents): "I don't want it perfect, I want it Tuesday!" [JW]

I am trying to find a source for plans for the Avro Anson MK V. I am considering building a twin electric Speed 400 and I would also like to build one for display for Errol, a veteran friend of mine in Prince Edward Island, Canada. He told me about his wartime experiences, while I was there this summer at Malpeque Bay. It was too wet and windy to fly, but the oysters from Malpeque Bay and the fresh lobster were superb.

"Thanks for the material on the Anson Mark V. I had 252 training trips in 54 different Mark V Ansons with 62 different pilots in 1944/45. I have a hand-carved wooden Mark V Anson model here that a friend built for me. Also a very large picture of Anson #12417. It is one of two flying in Canada. One in Calgary and another at Mount Hope, Ontario. I have Video footage of the Mark V taken at Mount Hope in 1992 and 1995 as it flew around overhead."

SMALLnet Posting post358