SMALLnet post395

...This Posting is coming to you from beautiful Chula Vista, California, by way of a completely new (to me) type of server. It's taken me a while to get the hang of it, so I'm grateful that the input here hasn't been excessive since the previous Posting.

George Aldrich died on July 5. He had been in failing health for quite a long time. John Pond died June 11, after years of ill health. His son has been running the Old Time Plans Service for several years now, and will continue doing so. [JW]

I would like plans or dimensions for a small R/C flying disc. I understand they were flown at Maumelle.

I have two deltas made from a flat sheet of Coroplast. One is powered by an O.S. .15; the other by a Norvel .061. They fly great fast or slow; roll real fast, and are just about indestructible.

The .061 is my favorite. It took three hours to build; weighs 10 ounces, and the material cost about $1. I like to fly small models and I like to hot dog.

Any new ideas would be appreciated. I have tried electric and I am not very impressed. Gene Nightengale

Mike Blott < > reports on 20" span e-powered model airplanes, as mentioned in the previous Posting:

The Hobbico P-40 is a 20" freeflight kit that converts to R/C easily. RCMICROFLIGHT recently ran an article on the conversion. I have pictures and video on my site.

Joe Wagner said, "Model airplanes in sub-20-inch size have at most 50 square inches of wing. (The 'Lightning' has about 30 square inches.)"

Not really. A Keith Rider R-6 (elliptical wing), scaled to 20" span has 100 square inches. I won't tell you how I know that, but it'll be powered by an Astro 010 brushless motor :-)

...Quite right, Larry. And a Douglas Skyray at 20" span would come to even more wing area than your R-6. But the topic under discussion was e-powered model KITS under 20" span. [JW]

Many thanks to Dave Fritzke for making the "Twin Lizzie" plan available. I have a deep longing to build one. Possibly as a scaled-down electric slow flyer or scaled up for a 4 cycle .26.

The "Lizzie" was one of the first magazine construction articles I really flipped for way back when I was in the 7th grade. The school had several model mags in the library and since I had an OK Cub .049, I had dreams of building a Lizzie. I think it was that pleasingly plump fuselage and the twin fins that tripped my trigger. Of course, Keith's reverent description (if my memory is correct) of flying it in a ballpark, spiralling lazily upwards under power and gliding gracefully down to a landing at almost the same spot it took off from didn't hurt either!

I'm not sure but I think it was here that I read that Keith Laumer was a science fiction writer by trade and I was jolted awake the other night during the credits of a movie ("On The Edge") I had watched on cable. There was one segment called "Happy Birthday" that was based on the short story, "Placement Test", by Keith Laumer! It was a very clever story. Anyway, isn't it funny how things sort of fall into place sometimes? I gotta build one now!

...Milton, there were TWO Keith Laumers who wrote science fiction. One was an American. He's the man who also designed a whole slew of attractive small free flight and R/C models that were published in model magazines quite a few years ago.

He had been a Captain in the USAF, then joined the diplomatic corps; later became a sci-fi writer. He retired to Florida and died there several years ago. The other Keith Laumer who wrote science fiction is British, and I believe is still living. [JW]

I have a bunch of new Sanyo 50 mAh cells for sale. They are the same cells mentioned by Roy Clough in the last Posting. $1.50 per cell; minimum order 12 cells. I pay postage in USA. I can take Paypal, check, money order, or cash. Order directly from me. Don M.

I have been trying and flying electric since before it became popular. I have suddenly become fascinated with the new crop of little ones. Now I see that GWS has come out with a biplane, a Tiger Moth. Do any of your long list of SMALLsters have any experience with this one, good, bad or indifferent?

Before I go and do something dumb, is the combination of Diesel exhaust and Ultracote/Oracover safe? I have a dim notion in the back of my head that not all iron-on coverings are safe around Diesel exhaust. Does anyone know whether this particular combination is safe? If not, I'll re-power the airplane with a glow engine before I expose it to exhaust. Folks can either reply through SMALLnet or e-mail me directly at < >. Many thanks.

...Peter, it's always a good idea to seal the edges of iron-on coverings, with a brushed-on narrow band of polyurethane or acrylic lacquer. Both ether and alcohol can dissolve the adhesive coating of most iron-on model coverings, at least enough to let a little oil seep into the juncture. And it's mostly the oil that causes separation problems.

As for the surface of Ultracote/Oracover, it's impervious to model diesel fuel. [JW]

I am interested in obtaining a particularly small diesel engine for a free flight application. Darrel Peugh imported and sold them in the past; however, he is out of stock. The engine that I am after is called a BLITZ diesel from Germany. If you have a line on one that may be for sale I would be interested and thankful for the lead.

Gary Gullikson < > reports on the first flight of his Electric Comet Aeronca Chief:

This model has a geared Speed 400, 7.2V; 2.3:1 Mini-Olympus gearbox, 9X5 Graupner slim prop, 8-cell 500AR nicad pack; rudder, elevator, and ESC throttle.

Mini-size servos, Hitec 555 receiver, Pegas 35 ESC. Wings plug into fuselage with rubber bands and hooks; functional wing struts with metal clevises attach to cut-down nylon control horns, give adjustable dihedral and washout. Gear strut cover and wheel pants attach to wire with Velcro, knock-off in grass landings if needed. Steerable tailskid attached to rudder.

Doors hinged with spring latches for battery, etc. access. Fuselage inlaid with 1/2" balsa to trailing edge of wing. Beefed up cabin in windshield area. LW Airspan covering (Balsa Products) with metallic blue dope trim. Added stringers for scale look and scale tail construction.

Access for easy gearbox/motor removal through hatch on top of cowl and removable nose bowl. Total weight 27 ounces, balances 1/4" in front of main spar. Model flew slow and scale-like for 5 minutes at 1/2 throttle; good control without ailerons, landed smoothly on grass without flip-over. A smidgen nose-heavy; needed a click of up elevator trim and one of right rudder.

Most of the above should work well with old Comet 54" T-Craft too! Will probably go to 1200 mAh NiMH battery pack for 10-15 minute duration. These old $1 rubber Comet kits go for $20-40 on Ebay.

Many SMALLsters have complained about not being able to contact 5 Star Products / FMK models and StarSpan.

We have new contact numbers and e-mail addresses, but it is important to note that we are only open for retail sales via the telephone from 10 AM to 5 PM Tuesday and Thursday. At all other times an answerphone will be in use. (If we are able to, we will answer. If not, PLEASE LEAVE A MESSAGE. If no message is left, we cannot answer your call.)

Attached is a list of some website addresses that may be of interest to SMALLsters.

Does anyone know where I can obtain a copy of the plans and/or article to build the Nomad? I taught myself to fly R/C on one using an Ace single-channel system in the 70's. Seeing a picture of one in this month's Flying Models has made me feel like I have to have one again. Maybe it's a mid-life thing!

I would like to know if anyone has converted a Junior Falcon to electric power. If so, what size motor, prop & number of cells were used.

I am new to electric power. My first model is a Breezy Junior with an MG-1 motor & 4 cells. If anyone is thinking about building the Breezy, it flies very well.

When built according to the plans, the tail section will twist because the fuselage is very flimsy. After flying mine the first time, I built a new box fuselage. Now the tail does not twist, plus I was able to do away with the fuselage bracing.

I have just completed a CAP 21 of the Fred Reese design (originally for an .049). Knowing that my .074 Norvel-powered one is truly superb, I decided to build another one; this time with an OS .10 for power, 5-channel (5th for o/d air brake).

It weighs 24 ounces; 34" span. Lovely! Could have unlimited aerobatic performance? Has anyone done anything similar? When the weather clears up in "Blighty" I will fly.

I did not get to read all the past SMALLnet postings, so I guess I missed a big one. I saw in one of the magazines that Norvel is now being represented by SIG. What ever happened to Ed Stevens?

I found Ed to be a very accommodating guy the few times I spoke to him on the phone. I am sure that a big company like SIG cannot do the same. How do you think this will affect Norvel products?

I corresponded with Ed Stevens, and SIG will only look after distribution in the USA, sort of a wholesale house to the trade. I assume that SIG has the sales force to cover the hobby trade better that Norvel could, unless they went to a lot of additional expense. Randy

I have built/flown/crashed many of the Ace Whizards. I under- stand that kit is no longer marketed. Having been away from the things for a spell, I wanted a familiar and friendly test bed/victim to get my feet wet.

The Herr Star Cruiser seems very similar (except no foam wing). I plan to run a two-channel setup with a Tee Dee .051. I know this was fine for the old Whizard even with full-size radio gear.

I would be interested in any observations any readers can offer. Also.... the onset of electrics has been unavoidable. I lost one of my long-time flying buddies to the "E-side" not long before moving from the old home town. Reading the SMALLnet Postings has provided lots of information, certainly, but I have still avoided that infection myself.

I was in a local shop (buying my Star Cruiser) and saw a GWS setup in the display case. Basically, for $90, the pack included every- thing but the motor itself. Two servos and an ESC. I believe the battery was a 7.2V 250 mAh unit (feel free to set me straight).

Would this setup be suitable to use with a Speed 400 (I kind of know what that means) or would it go on something more in the way of a Park Flyer? Is there an intermediate range I am skipping?

And... what size plane would this set up be appropriate for? I could enjoy powering up the Guillow or Sterling line of stick and tissue warbirds. (Sorry, zero fascination for Cubs, Taylor- crafts, etc. A DeHavilland Beaver would be my most likely choice for a high wing model).

If I were stuck with low speed, high wing configurations, I'd most likely opt for some non-scale design that doesn't pretend to be anything but a toy. P.S. What about WWI biplane designs for this little GWS flight pack? They should make good slow heavy fliers....how much more scale-like could they be? David

...David, "slow" and "heavy" are incompatible when it comes to model airplanes. [JW]

My interest has been piqued by a plan of the 1940 Ace Whitman "Falcon", which I've never come across before, offered on Ebay today (July 8th) -- a 36" stick design, diamond fuselage, with wire parasol wing mounts. It looks very sensible.

The plan is a true blueprint, but the bidding is now up past $31, which is a little too rich for me just for a plan...

...Jim, I built and flew one of those Falcons in 1940, and still remember a few things about it. First, the plan is not a true blueprint, but a lithograph that looks like a blueprint -- i.e. white lines on blue paper. The other side of the plan sheet was printed in black ink on white paper, and described how to build and fly the model.

Second, I well remember the problems that wire wing mount gave me! When test flying in tall grass, everything went fine. But every time the model flew into anything relatively solid, the wire mount would produce a hole or tear somewhere in the covering.

Ace Whitman didn't keep that kit on the market very long. In 1941 (as I recall) they replaced it with a pair of slightly smaller all sheet balsa designs called (I think) the Wasp and Hornet. One was a low winger and the other a shoulder-wing design.

Cleveland issued a somewhat similar rubber-power free flight model about the same time, called the Thermalier. That was also a 36" "stick" model with a wire frame parasol wing mounting. However, it has a conventional "box" type built-up fuselage. I built and flew one, and would say that it outperformed the Whitman "Falcon" by a wide margin. And it was more rugged as well. [JW]

I have a dope-finished airplane that I want to put stripes on, using colored dope. I tried masking the stripes, but when I paint the dope on it bleeds under the tape. Does anyone have information on painting dope stripes on a plane? It's a small plane (48") and is covered with medium-weight Silkspan. Roger

...Roger, I've been using doped finishes on my models since the 1930's, and can tell you how to mask perfect stripes.

First, before doing the masking, wash off your model with detergent and water, and rinse well. This is to remove all skin oil from the surface. From now on, try not to touch any area that will be masked over or doped.

Let the model dry a day or more after washing it. That's because dope will absorb water, and that affects adhesion of added coats.

Masking tape is not the best masking material. I prefer vinyl electrical tape. Also, ANY kind of adhesive tape tends to pick up dust and hairs etc. on the edges of the roll. That can give trouble; so I always stick down my masking tape (vinyl tape really) on a CLEAN sheet of glass or metal; then with a SHARP X-Acto blade and a straightedge, I cut a clean, straight edge in the tape. This edge is the one that will be painted against.

I lay the cut tape in place, then burnish it down with a round-end tool that I've used for similar purposes for 50+ years. Mine was designed for Ben Day halftone application; a similar tool could be made from a 3/8" hardwood dowel. The rounded end must be as smooth as possible!

Now with a small watercolor brush, apply a thinned coat of CLEAR dope along all the masked edges of your stripes. This will seal the edges against any seepage. Let that dry -- THEN paint your stripes.

When the dope has dried an hour or so, peel off the tape backwards against itself. That will minimize any tendency for the stripe to "lift".

All these precautions may seem excessive. However, keep in mind that the adhesion ability of butyrate dope isn't great. (Except for AeroGloss, which is really an acrylic lacquer, all colored dope is butyrate.) It needs all the help it can get. You provide that with cleanliness, absence of trapped moisture, and professionally-applied masking. [JW]

SMALLnet Posting post395