RC Sport Flyer May 2014 (Vol 19-05) by RC Flyer News

• GUNSMOKE ACTION It’s A Scale Masters Qualifier

• AUVSI DRONE PRIZE

Show Us What You Can Do!

• ENGINE FUEL TANKS

How to Make Trouble-Free Fuel Systems.

• AEROBATICS XIV

How to Call It Like You’ll Fly It. RC-SF.COM

DOMINATE THE COMPETITION FLYING A BEAUTIFUL LASER 200 MONOPLANE!

DISCOVER RC SOARING IN THIS 1/4-SCALE GLIDER

USA & CANADA $6.49

RC Airplanes | Gliders | Helicopters MAY 2014

Straightforward

Soaring

E-flite Sailplanes Offer a Hassle-Free Gliding Experience E-flite® sailplanes are high-quality ARF designs that make it easy to experience the world of soaring. The Mystique® 2.9 m sailplane gives you full-house control with the choice of building either a pure glider, or an efficient motor-glider for increased versatility. The Mystique RES 2.9 m sailplane offers the same dramatic platform as the original with a simple approach to control respected by sailplane pilots for generations. For an ultimate aero-tow experience, the L-13 Blanik 4.2 m sailplane delivers authenticity in appearance and aerobatic performance that honors the Flying Bulls on a giant scale. The all new Allusive™ 2.2 m airplane takes soaring versatility to a higher level by combining the grace of a glider and the aerobatic thrill of a sport model all in one. To get everything the E-flite world of soaring has to offer now, or to find a dealer near you, go to E-fliteRC.com.

©2014 Horizon Hobby LLC, E-flite, Mystique, Allusive and the Horizon Hobby logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Horizon Hobby, LLC. The Spektrum trademark is used with permission of Bachmann Industries, Inc. The Red Bull name and likeness is used under license of Red Bull GmbH Austria. Actual product may vary slightly from photos shown. 44389

E-flite ® Sailplanes

NEW!

Allusive™ 2.2 m

Mystique® RES 2.9 m

(EFL4925)

(EFL4915)

GIANT-SCALE

Mystique® 2.9 m

L-13 Blanik 4.2 m

(EFL4905)

(EFL4910)

E-FLITE SAILPLANE FEATURES

The Spektrum™ DX9 transmitter offers all the sailplane specific programming you could want and more, plus voice alerts that help you keep your eyes on the sky.

> Genuine UltraCote® film covering > Plug-in wings with fully hinged control surfaces > Streamlined fiberglass fuselage

DX9 SPMR9900

> Large canopy provides easy access to equipment > Heavy-duty carbon fiber wing and stabilizer joiners > Two-piece, plug-in horizontal stabilizers > Complete, high-quality hardware package included

VISIT

Your Local Retailer

CLICK

horizonhobby.com

CALL

1.800.338.4639

SERIOUS FUN.®

QuadPack 25:

• 490 Hz refresh rate • 6S LiPo • 25 amps • 8 amp peak BEC* *This package contains one MultiRotor 25 with a BEC and three with no BEC. The single BEC supplies power for all 4 controllers

QuadPack 35:

• 490 Hz refresh rate • 6S LiPo • 35 amps • 7 amp peak BEC* *This package contains one MultiRotor 35 with a BEC and three with no BEC. The single BEC supplies power for all 4 controllers

TABLE OF CONTENTS DEPARTMENTS

WHEN THE SMOKE SETTLED, IT WAS A SCALE MASTERS’ QUALIFIER EVENT.

PG 24

10 LEADING EDGE 12 HOT PRODUCTS 96 ADS’ INDEX 97 MYSTERY PLANE EVENT

24 30

GUNSMOKE 2014 IT’S THE ARIZONA MODELERS’ SCALE MASTERS’ QUALIFIER. By Tom Wolf

NAB 2014 WE TAKE YOU INSIDE NAB TO SEE MULTIROTORS. By Pete Hickerson

BUILD

HOW TO OR 50 COWL 54 HATCH LATCH SEE HOW TO MAKE YOUR MODELS’ COWLS AND HATCHES SECURE IN FLIGHT. By Tom Wolf

HALL’S SPRINGFIELD BULLDOG

LEARN WHY THE CALLER MUST CALL YOUR ROUTINE WELL, AND LIKE YOU’LL FLY IT. By Daniel Holman

DANIEL EXPLAINS WHY A TRAINED CALLER IS INTEGRAL TO THE SUCCESS OF YOUR COMPETITION FLIGHTS.

PG 54

A 1932 CLEVELAND AIR RACER IS RECREATED. By Rob Caso

AEROBATICS PART 14

SUPER SPORTSTER 60 LEARN HOW TO DO THE WOOD WORK ON THIS CLASSIC, LITTLE SPORTSTER. By Jeff Troy

THIS BUILLDOG HAS ONE UGLY MUG YOU WILL LOVE!

PG 36 6

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

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MAY 2014

3-VIEW

DE HAVILLAND TIGER MOTH TAKE A GOOD, LONG LOOK AT THIS 1930S BIPLANE DRAWING TO SEE WHY IT MAY BE YOUR NEXT DESIGN. By Hans-Jürgen Fischer

COLUMN

ENGINE FUEL TANKS ONE OF THE MASTERS SHOWS YOU HOW TO MAKE FUEL SYSTEMS. By Pete Bergstrom

PG 62

ELETRIC MOTOR POWER 8

SEE HOW SYSTEM CURRENT IS AFFECTED BY MOTOR LOADING. By Andrew Gibbs

AUVSI DRONE PRIZE DISCOVER HOW TO WIN SOME MONEY DESIGNING A USEFUL DRONE . By Lucidity

REVIEWS

80 AIRBORNE’S 88 HALL CHEROKEE WE GIVE YOU AN INSIDE LOOK AT THIS 1/4-SCALE 1930s “WOODY” GLIDER DESIGN. By Gene Cope

AEROWORKS LASER 200 ARF THIS SCALE MONOPLANE IS DESTINED TO PUT YOU AHEAD OF THE COMPETITION. By Wil Byers

WE REVIEW AIRBORNE MODELS’ HALL CHEROKEE II 1/4-SCALE GLIDER TO SEE HOW IT PERFORMS ON THE SLOPE AND FOR AEROTOWING.

PG 80

PG 88

LIZ JACKSON, POSES WITH AEROWORKS’ BEAUTIFUL 1/4-SCALE LASER 200 30cc ARF. facebook.com/rcsportflyer

RC-SF.COM

RC SPORT FLYER MAGAZINE

RC Airplanes | Gliders | Helicopters

P80 1/4-SCALE SUPER CUB GETS E-POWER

CUBS N’ COUSINS 2013 EXCLUSIVE EVENT REPORT H HANGAR 9 1/4-SCALE SUPER CUB H FIRST PERSON VIEW EXPLAINED

THE RC AIRCRAFT PILOTS AND BUILDERS MAGAZINE

Exclusive Event Report Cubs n’ Cousins 2013

Airborne Models’ 1/3-scale Clipped Wing Cub hovers on power from a DA-100 engine

PUTS YOU

IN THE ACTION TESTED

NOVEMBER 2013 VOLUME 18 ISSUE 11

O.S. GF40 4-Stroke Gas Engine NEW JR XG14 Transmitter Moswey Glider

USA & CANADA $6.49

A 26-CC POWERED TAYLORCRAFT

That is Bind-N-Fly Fun!

RC-SF.COM NOVERMBER 2013

SUBSCRIBE@RC-SF.COM for

ONLY 29.95 Digital & Hardcopy Combo $

It’s FREE!

It’s FUN

It’s

’s

EDITOR IN CHIEF Wil Byers wil@rc-sf.com ASSISTANT EDITORS James T Baker Bess Byers Lucy Teng Asa Clinton PRODUCTION Zhe Meng mengzhe@kionapublishing.com PHOTOGRAPHY Wil Byers Bess Byers GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Zhe Meng Bess Byers Shi Yuang graphics@rc-sf.com WEBMASTER CONTACT Chang Liang web@kionapublishing.com OFFICE MANAGER/ Sue Wharton CIRCULATION support@kionapublishing.com OFFICE ASSISTANT Sue Wharton CIRCULATION Christian Wells MARKETING Wil Byers Sue Wharton ads@rc-sf.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Rob Caso, Gene Cope, Andrew Gibbs, Daniel Holman, Mike Hoffmeister, Richard Kuns, Joe Nave, David Phelps, Steve Rojecki, Gary Ritchie, Mike Shellim, Patrick Sherman, Jerry Smith, Jeff Troy, James VanWinkle, Tom Wolfe RC Sport Flyer (ISSN: 1941-3467) is published monthly for $24.95 per year by Kiona Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 4250, W. Richland, WA 99353-4004. Periodicals postage paid at Richland, WA and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER Send address changes to RC Sport Flyer, P.O. Box 4250, W. Richland, WA 99353-4004. OFFICE (509) 967-0831 HOURS M–Th 8-4, Closed Fri, Sat & Sun.

SUBSCRIPTIONS kionasubscribe.com TOLL FREE (ORDERS ONLY) (866) 967-0831 EDITOR/ADS/DESIGN (509) 967-0832 E-MAIL subscriptions@kionapublishing.com FAX NUMBER (509) 967-2400

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HOBBY SHOP DISTRIBUTION BY

Kalmbach Publishing Co. (800) 558-1544 ext. 818

2014 Alpine Quiet Flyer Adventure for Gliders, Sailplanes, & Electrics June 26 – 29 Joseph, Oregon FMI alpinesoaring.com 8

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

Subscriptions: USA and possessions and Canada: $29.95 per year, $49.95 overseas. Washington residents add 8.3% sales tax. Single copies $6.49 plus $4.00 S&H U.S. All payments must be in U.S. funds. Visa, Mastercard, Amex, and Discover accepted. Send to: RC Sport Flyer – Circulation, P.O. Box 4250, W. Richland, WA 99353-4004. Please allow eight weeks for change of address. MEDIA USE:

FOR PRESENTATION PROJECTIONS, FLAT SCREEN MONITORS, CRT MONITORS USE

a. HEXACHROME #09195B or b. R = 9 G = 25 B = 91

FOR PRINT (Lithography, Screen printing), USE

a. PMS 294 Uncoated b. C = 95 M = 65 Y = 17 K=5

CONTRIBUTIONS: Articles and photographs are welcome, but cannot be considered unless guaranteed exclusive. When requested we will endeavor to return all materials in good condition if accompanied by return postage. RC Sport Flyer assumes no responsibility for loss of or damage to editorial contributions received. Any material accepted is subject to possible revision at the discretion of the publisher. Publisher assumes no responsibility for accuracy of content. Opinions of contributing authors do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. RC Sport Flyer will retain author’s rights, title to and interest in the editorial contributions as described above in both print and electronic media unless prior arrangement has been made in writing. Payment for editorial materials will be made at our current rate. Submission of editorial material to RC Sport Flyer expresses a warranty by the author that such material is in no way an infringement upon the rights of others. The contents of this magazine may not be reprinted traditionally or electronically without permission of the publisher.

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Used by industry, but available from your local hobby shop.

“Your Adhesive Company for Over 30 Years.” To find a dealer or ask a question of The Glue Pros, go to: www.bsi-inc.com • info@bsi-inc.com • (805) 466-1717 8060 Morro Road • Atascadero, CA 93422 • USA

Manufacturers, like most modelers, demand the best performance from their adhesives. That is why Boeing, Cessna, Beechcraft, Tesla, SpaceX and many other high tech firms choose BSI. With a larger selection of CA and epoxy adhesives than any other hobby manufacturer, BSI provides modelers with consistent high performance, all available from your local hobby shop. Find us on Facebook at Bob Smith Industries

LEADING EDGE

WIL BYERS

heck it out! We have an exclusive report from the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) that was held recently in Las Vegas, Nevada. The article landed on my FTP space about two weeks ago and I rushed to get it into print for you. NAB 2014 underscored, in a significant way, how multirotors and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are changing the way the world looks at things. I’d say this is especially so when it comes to aerial photography. Now almost anyone can buy a multirotor and take photos from above of their house, yard, camp site, fishing hole, hiking area, etc. However, as you may have seen recently, multirotors are making a good name for themselves in terms of doing duty on station for such things as tornadoes, forest fires, floods and more. Moreover, they are becoming exceedingly valuable tools in the areas of fisheries, marine biology, forestry, crop surveillance, hazard waste site and radiological observation, air quality monitoring, construction site examination, and the list just goes on and on and on! What excites me about NAB 2014 is how multirotors are giving the RC community significant visibility above and beyond that of the model aircraft arena. Multirotors and UAVs are giving the RC community legitimacy beyond anything we could have possibly hoped for just a few short years ago. I like to tell stories, as my friends tell me. So, I’ll share one with you. Prior to 2011 I was working with Pacific Northwest National Laboratories (PNNL) on a project that involved a UAV of sorts. No one at that point in time would have thought that we would lose the World Trade Centers to state-side terrorism. It was unthinkable! And, having helped to build the structural steel of those building during my days in college while working at Pacific Car and Foundry, it hurt deeply to know that they were lost, and took so many innocent lives with them. Consequently, from that time at PNNL, and going forward, I always considered our RC aircraft to be UAVs. I even called them such in a few of my ramblings here. Surprisingly, some of the readers berated me for such. Suffice it to say, I still consider our RC models to be UAVs. Also, I consider the technology that goes into today’s generation of UAVs — and the potential for their positive use in our country — to be one of the most

significant milestones we’ve seen in RC. So, with respect to NAB 2014, thanks for helping put RC in the forefront of photography and videography, as well as surveillance of every kind.

Joe Nall 2014 As I sit here, I’m reminded that the Joe Nall event is but a couple of weeks away. I’ll be attending after missing it for about four years. For those that have not been to the Joe Nall event, it is huge! It has multiple flight areas, a lake, a vintage control tower, a huge hangar, shower houses and lots and lots of parking. It also gets a whole bunch of pilots and vendors to attend. Simply, there is nothing like it anywhere in the world. It is an event that has evolved into a mega happening that now runs for nearly a week, with some pilots staying a full week. We’ll give you some photos and information about Joe Nall in our August issue, so stay tuned. That said, if you’ve not been in the past, you must put it on your “bucket list” for an event not to be missed in the future. Bulldog Rob Caso is sharing his plan for his 1930s vintage Cleveland Racer, the Bulldog, in this issue. I want to point this article out to you because Rob has done an absolutely outstanding job of creating a set of plans for the airplane, which he shares in this issue. You can learn much about scratch building model airplanes by reading his article and studying his plans. This is a very well laid out two-page set, with lots of details that you just don’t find much anymore because of the plethora of alreadyready-to-fly aircraft. We’ll be making Rob’s plans available too, for those souls that have a want to build a model that is scale and unique. Newsletter If you’ve not signed up for the RC Sport Flyer newsletter as yet, please do. You can simply point your browser at our website and then click on the NEWS tab. Also, the website is getting a long overdue facelift and should be ready for you to peruse by mid June. I think you’ll like the new design. Moreover, I know you’ll you like the way it will let you navigate to different kinds of content, which will encompass more than our hardcopy editions do. Till then share your copy of this magazine with a friend, please.

APC Competition propellers for the intermediate and

advanced sport ﬂyer as well as the competition community. Over 400 pitch/diameters available ranging from slow-ﬂyer electric to High performance Giant Scale Racers.

Visit the APC Prop Website for product selection and detailed information on product design and features.

LANDING PRODUCTS All propellers are in stock and overnight delivery is available. Proudly made in the USA

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

1222 Harter Ave., Woodland, CA 95776 (530) 661-0399 est. 1989 by Mr. Fred Burgdorf

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

Sport Fun with a Wild Streak

NEW ParkZone® ArtiZan™ Park Flyer The compact ArtiZan park flyer is a nimble, grab-and-go sport plane that’s perfect for exploring aerobatics. It’s sleek lines, light wing loading and powerful motor provide a superb balance of slow speed stability and high-speed agility. Anyone with experience flying 4-channel park flyers will feel right at home the first time on the sticks.

Rugged Landing Gear for Flying Off Grass

It’s available in a Bind-N-Fly® version with a Spektrum™ AS3X® receiver and a Plug-N-Play® version without. The AS3X (Artificial Stabilization – 3-aXis) receiver in the Bind-N-Fly version works behind the scenes to counter the effects of wind and turbulence so you enjoy a locked-in feel that lets you focus more on flying and less on fighting the wind. There is no delay in control response or limits on your control. You will simply feel like you’re flying an expertly tuned model that goes right where you point it.

Wingspan: Length: Weight: Motor: ESC: Radio: Receiver: Battery:

42.5 in (1080mm) 40.0 in (1015mm) 34.4 oz (975 g) 480-Size, 960Kv BL Outrunner (installed) E-flite® 30A Pro Brushless (installed) 4+ Channel (sold separately) Spektrum 6-Channel AS3X Sport (BNF only) 3S 11.1V 1800mAh 30C Li-Po (BNF only)

BNF (PKZ6980)

Both versions come equipped with a powerful 480-size, 960Kv brushless motor that delivers all the speed and vertical performance you need to push the limits with confidence.

Leading Edge Vortex Generators for Better Roll Control at Slow Speeds

PNP (PKZ6975)

Get to ParkZone.com right now for complete details on this exciting new sport flyer and to find a retailer near you.

VISIT

Your Local Retailer

CLICK

horizonhobby.com

CALL

1.800.338.4639

SERIOUS FUN.™

© 2014 Horizon Hobby, Inc. ParkZone, ArtiZan, Bind-N-Fly, just fly., Serious Fun and the Horizon Hobby logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Horizon Hobby, Inc. The Spektrum trademark is used with permission of Bachmann Industries, Inc. 43504

HOT PRODUCTS BVM CLEVIS PLIERS

ow rigging the metal clevis linkages on your model is made easier with the BVM Clevis Pliers. Their precision pliers are kinder to your fingers and help avoid overstressing metal clevises. They are designed to work well with all 2-56 and 4-40 metal clevises such as those by Sullivan, DuBro and Great Planes manufacturers. These new modeling pliers are made to make rigging control systems easier, faster, less frustrating and to save wear and tear on your fingers. Access into hard-to-reach areas is now much easier and you don’t need a screw driver that can slip and

puncture the adjacent surface. Price $32.95

(PA-SR-0060)

Distributor BVM JETS 3481 State Road 419 WinterSprings, FL 32708 Phone: (407)327-6333 bvmjets.com tel 407-327-6333

COMMON SENSE RC LECTRON PRO 7.4 VOLT LIPO

heck out Common Sense RC’s new LiPo pack, with EC2 connector, that has been designed specifically for the HobbyZone Delta Ray and Firebird Stratos. It has been rated and tested at 33.75 amps continuous discharge, with 67.5-amp bursts. This pack will power your model to the stratos. Price

Specifications Type Length Width Height Weight Voltage Capacity Rating Connector

$18.95 (2S1350-25-L)

LiPo 63.5 mm 34.9 mm 15 mm 73 g 7.4 1350 mAh 25C EC2

Distributor Common Sense RC P.O. Box 3546 Chatsworth, CA 91313 Phone: 866-405-8811 Commonsenserc.com

ESPRIT SERVO WIRE HARNESSES

ow you can build custom servo harnesses using Esprit’s dual threelead servo wire. It is sold with Multiplex six-pin connectors installed. They make for safe and professional servo extension installations. The fuselage’s (male) harness comes with JR® connectors installed and 6- or 10-in. (150- or 250-mm) three-lead servo wire. The wing’s (female) harnesses come in 26/8-, 31.5/8- or 47/20-in. (650/200-, 800/200-, 1200/500-mm) lengths. They

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

are all made of threelead, twisted silicone type wire. These leads are perfect for sailplane wing configurations that are removable. You can connect two aileron servos, or flap and aileron servos in each wing. Price

$12 – $15

Distributor Esprit Model 1240 Clearmont St. NE #12 Palm Bay, FL, 32905, USA Phone: 321-729-4287 espritmodel.com twitter.com/rcsportflyer

GOLDEN SKIES DLA 128-CC QUAD-BOXER ENGINE

olden Skies R/C Aircraft, Inc., the USA distributor and service center for DLA engines, is announcing their new DLA 128cc Quad-Boxer engine. It is an evolution design that comes out of the 32/64-cc cylinders. The DLA 128 is CNC machined from 7075 aircraft grade aluminum. Golden Skie says, “The scale warbird builder will value the “pitch” weight in the engine, not in dead weight. The sound is purely awesome. Producing ~13 hp @ ~8,000 rpm and swinging up to a 29 x 10 prop, it runs so smooth that it barely shakes a glass of water. With a static thrust >61 pounds, a pilot can depend upon its performance.” The engine uses dual Walbro© carburetors and dual ignitions. All the necessary engine components are included in the shipping box. Price

Distributor GOLDEN SKIES R/C AIRCRAFT 30882 Rivera Place Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 Phone: 949-378-5998 goldenskiesrc.com

Specifications Cylinders Carburetors Displacement Static Thrust Weight

$1399

Four Two 128 cc >61 lb ~120 oz

DLE 85-CC SINGLE-SINGLE POWER Distributor Great Planes P.O. Box 9021 Champaign, IL 61821 Phone: 800-637-7660 greatplanes.com

JETI MOMENTARY SWITCH

sprit Model has just announce that the new Jeti momentary pushbutton switch for both the DC and DS transmitters has come into stock. This switch offers even more ways to customize your Jeti transmitter — not to mention it gives you many extra programming options as well. This is a good addition to any of the Jeti DC/DS transmitters.. Price $17.00

Distributor Esprit Model 1240 Clearmont St. NE #12 Palm Bay, FL, 32905, USA Phone: 321-729-4287 espritmodel.com facebook.com/rcsportflyer

ibration is a concern for most largescale, single-cylinder engines, but the DLE’s 85 keeps it in check with a vibrationdampening engine mount. The new 85 includes an extension on the exhaust that lessens the chances of having to modify the cowl, and it will flex or pops off during a hard landing, which helps protect the engine against shock. Giant-scale pilots will appreciate the DLE-85’s impressive power and performance. Features • Engine mount specially designed to dampen vibration • Exhaust extension aids in installation and protects the engine and muffler during a hard landing • Ignition module accepts voltages from 4.8 – 8.4 volts, and is wired for the DLE tachometer (DLEG5525) Price $549.99

(DLEF0085)

Specifications Displacement Bore Stroke Total Weight Output Propellers

84.88 cc (5.18 cu in) 2.047 in. (52 mm) 1.574 in. (40 mm) 5.09 lb (2.31 kg) 8.5 hp @ 7500 rpm 25 x 10, 26 x 9, 27 x 8

RC-SF.COM

HOT PRODUCTS

ESPRIT DISCUS 2A DELUXE

he Discus was the first production sailplane to have a distinctive swept back leading edge. To date, approximately 500 of the full-scale Discus have been produced. Esprit Model’s new Discus 2a Deluxe

employs a fiberglass fuselage in white gelcoat. Its rudder and horizontal stabilizer are hollow molded parts. The fiberglass-framed canopy comes hinged, with a scale-like latch and vent. The cockpit is detailed with instrument dashboard and fiberglass seat pan. Retractable landing gear and tow release are installed. The wings and

fuselage have pre-installed wiring harnesses that include multi-pin connectors for fast, trouble-free setup at the airfield. The wings are beautifully finished and ready for installation of aileron and spoiler servos — just attach the composite winglets, and they are held in place with Topmodel’s retention system. The model is designed even for intermediate pilots. Whether you enjoy aerotowing or like to slope soar, the Discus 2a will give you hours of enjoyment.

Distributor Esprit Model 1240 Clearmont St. NE #12 Palm Bay, FL, 32905, USA Phone: 321-729-4287 espritmodel.com

Price $965

MULTIPLEX STUNTMASTER

ultiplex’s StuntMaster is slightly smaller than their popular ParkMaster 3D, but the amazing StuntMaster is the ideal flyer for the novice pilot that is itching to experience the allure of 3D flight! The StuntMaster is lightweight and agile enough for indoor flight, but yet robust and durable for outdoors. The great looking and flying StuntMaster gives all daredevil pilots the thrills they are seeking! Features • Durable, lightweight, semi-assembled, ELAPOR™ airframe • Less than 45-minute assembly • Carbon fiber reinforcements for extreme torsional rigidity • Powerful preinstalled brushless outrunner motor with 20-amp ESC • Pre-installed 8-gram servos • Removable cowl for easy motor and ESC access • Over 5-minute run times (with recommended battery) Needed • 4-channel radio and receiver • 3S, 11.1-volt, 450 ~ 500-mAh LiPo battery w/ 2-pin T-type connector • Suitable LiPo charger

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

Price $169.99

(M264293)

Distributor Multiplex 12115 Paine St Poway, CA 92064 Phone: 858-748-6948 hitecrcd.com

Specifications Wingspan Length Weight Wing area Wing loading Controls

34.25 in. (870 mm) 36.5 in. (928 mm) 12.3 oz (350 g) 372 in.2 (24 dm2) 4.8 oz/ft2 (14.6 g/dm2) Rudder, elevator, ailerons and motor twitter.com/rcsportflyer

ESPRIT SUPER FUN 1.3E

sprit Model’s new Super Fun 1.3E is designed for soaring and sport flying. Esprit says the model is a stable and predictable flyer, suitable for intermediate as well as advanced pilots. The model is constructed using freeflight techniques. Topmodel uses the latest construction techniques such as CNC milling and laser cutting to give it good performance. The wings, as well as tail, are built-up balsa/plywood. The fuselage is gelcoated fiberglass with carbon fiber tapered tail boom. The model is covered with Ultracote®. All control surfaces are hinged with tape. The sailplane needs only basic assembly and motor/radio installation. The one-piece wing is removable for transport and storage. If you are looking for an introduction to thermal soaring, this may be the glider for you. Price $149

Specifications

Distributor

51.5 in. 41.25 in. 370 in.2 8 – 9 oz/ft2 21 – 23 oz Hpi HB2815-3000 Jeti Advance Thunder Power 2S 1350-mAh LiPo Propeller Aeronaut 7 x 4 folder

Wingspan Length Wing Area Wing Loading Weight Motor ESC Battery

Esprit Model 1240 Clearmont St. NE #12 Palm Bay, FL, 32905, USA Phone: 321-729-4287 espritmodel.com

TACTIC 6-CHANNEL SLT RADIO SYSTEM

he TTX610 is a reliable 6-channel radio that gives you the control you need for large airplanes with retracts, flaps and other additional functions. It’s also SLT, so with just one button you can create an unbreakable link between your transmitter and receiver. Plus, Secure Link Technology (SLT) makes it ideal for use with Tx-R aircraft! Additional features such as dual rates on the ailerons, elevator and rudder increase value and versatility. Dependability, affordability and great features make the TTX610 the pilots’ choice. Watch store shelves for the TTX610, you won’t want to miss it! Features • Switched 5th and 6th channels for landing gear, flaps and other functions facebook.com/rcsportflyer

• Dual rates on aileron, elevator and rudder • Digital trims on aileron, elevator, rudder and throttle • Servo reversing on all channels • V-tail and elevon mixing • Wireless trainer system and 3.5-mm round wired trainer jack • Convenient internal antenna • Ball bearing gimbals • Adjustable stick lengths • Power LED and low-voltage alarm • Charge jack for optional rechargeable batteries • 4-cell “AA” battery holder for receiver, adjustable neck strap, and on/off switch harness with charge lead • Includes the TR625 6-channel, twinantenna SLT receiver (TACL0625) Price TBD

Specifications 6 2.403 – 2.480GHz FHSS spread spectrum (4) “AA” alkaline, NiCd, or NiMH cells (3.8 –8.0-volt; not included) Available Early Summer

Channels Frequencies Modulation Input Power

Distributor Great Planes P.O. Box 9021 Champaign, IL 61821 Phone: 800-637-7660 greatplanes.com

(TACJ2610) RC-SF.COM

HOT PRODUCTS

ESPRIT SWIFT S-1

he Swift S-1 was developed by Polish manufacturer Marganski and Myslowski. The Swift S-1 is a glider, optimized for aerobatic training with ratings of +/-10 G factor. It was flown to a World Glider Aerobatic Championships in France in 1995. Esprit’s Swift S-1 employs a fiberglass fuselage and rudder, finished in white gelcoat. The fiberglass-framed canopy

Distributor Esprit Model 1240 Clearmont St. NE #12 Palm Bay, FL, 32905, USA Phone: 321-729-4287 espritmodel.com

comes factory hinged, with latch. The cockpit is complete, with instrument panel and fiberglass seat pan. It includes an installed retractable landing gear and tow release. The wing and fuselage have pre-installed wiring harnesses that include multi-pin connectors. The wing is ready for aileron and spoiler servo installations.

Because it has a fiberglass fuselage and carbon fiber reinforced, obechi sheeted foam wings, the Swift S-1 is designed to handle full-on aerobatics. Price $1095

Specifications Wingspan Length Wing Area Weight Wing Loading Airfoil

146.5 in. 68.5 in. 1247 in.2 11.25 lb 24 – 26 oz/ft2 HQ 1.5/12

DLE TWIN-CYLINDER 40

he DLE-40 is an engine you may want mounted in your next airplane. At just over three pounds, it puts out nearly five horsepower. And, it is a twin, opposed cylinder design, which reduces vibration, increases efficiency and engine life, and virtually eliminates the airframe shake of a single-cylinder engine. Also, DLE has improved and lightened the 40’s pistons for increased throttle response and more strength and durability. Included extras are a specially-designed airplane-specific carburetor, mufflers, standoffs and electronic ignition. Consider the twin-cylinder DLE-40 for your next model. Features • Efficient, lightweight design for a high power-to-weight ratio • Lightweight piston for fast acceleration, excellent compression and low vibration • CNC-machined parts for high performance and long life • Sealed crankshaft bearings • Customized airplane carburetor • Mufflers included for power Price $469.99

(DLEF0040)

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

Specifications

Distributor Great Planes P.O. Box 9021 Champaign, IL 61821 Phone: 800-637-7660 greatplanes.com

40.0 cc (2.45 cu in) 1.26 in. (32 mm) x 2 0.98 in. (25 mm) x 2 3.3 lb (1496 g) 4.8 hp @ 8,500 rpm unleaded gasoline w/ 2-cycle oil Propellers 19 x 8, 19 x 10 20 x 8, 20 x 10

Displacement Bore Stroke Total Weight Output Fuel

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FLYZONE FW190 AIRCORE SELECT SCALE AIRFRAME

Distributor Specifications Wingspan 22 in. (560 mm) Weight 4.3 oz (122 g) Length 18.5 in. (470 mm)

Great Planes P.O. Box 9021 Champaign, IL 61821 Phone: 800-637-7660 greatplanes.com

ly the feared German fighter with AirCore ease. During World War II the Focke-Wulf Fw190 was one of the most formidable foes the Allies faced. Flyzone has replicated this famous fighter— featuring durable foam construction and impressively painted finish. Being an AirCore model, it’s Power Core Ready: modelers simply slide in the PowerCore — it aligns quickly with magnets — install their choice of battery and start flying combat missions with an SLT radio. They can swap the Power Core into other AirCore airframes, and pilot a fleet of models quickly and affordably — Power Core sold separately. Features • Spinner and propeller safely detach from motor to help prevent crash damage • Lots of scale details and an authentic trim scheme add to the plane’s realistic looks • Assembles in seconds, without tools or glue — just add the Power Core and start flying! Price

(FLZA3905) $44.99

Specifications Wingspan Wing area Length Weight Radio Servos Engine

SEAGULL CESSNA 152 60–91 ARF

he Seagull Models Cessna 152 6091 ARF has been designed with intermediate and advanced sport flyers in mind. Its semi-scale design makes it easy to fly and quick to assemble. It comes in tan eye-catching UltraCote® film trim scheme reminiscent of the Aerobat version of the 152. The lightweight balsa and plywood airframe features balsa sheeting where appropriate to make it stronger than the average ARF. A scale oleo-strut nose landing gear and painted aluminum main landing gear provide outstanding looks and great ground handling. The two-piece wing makes transport and assembly easy. Features • Wood construction with laser cut parts • Painted fiberglass cowl, wheel pants and

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fairings • Two-piece, plug-in wings with bolt-on struts • Stable flight handling with aerobatic capability • Scale cockpit detail with included pilot • Glow, gas/petrol and electric power options • 5-channel with throttle, aileron, elevator, rudder and flap controls • Eye-catching scale color scheme in genuine UltraCote covering • Steerable oleo-nose landing gear strut • Complete hardware package Price $299.99

(SEA174)

Motor ESC Battery Trim Scheme Flaps Experience level

80.0 in. (2.03 m) 917 in.2 (59.2 dm2) 58.5 in. (1490 mm) 9.50 – 10.25 lb (4.3 – 4.6 kg) 5-channel+ 7 (6 with EP) 0.60 2-stroke / 0.90 – 1.25 4-stroke glow / 15-cc 2-stroke gas/petrol Power 60 brushless 80-amp brushless 22.2-volt 6S 4400–5000-mAh LiPo UltraCote white, true red, midnight blue Operational Intermediate to advanced

Distributor HORIZON HOBBY LLC 4105 Fieldstone Rd. Champaign, IL 61822 Phone: 217-352-1913 ParkZone.com HorizonHobby.com

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HOT PRODUCTS

GREAT PLANES KUNAI 1.4M ELECTRIC GLIDER

f you want a glider that is fun to fly and you can have ready to fly in a matter of hours, the Kunai electric-powered glider is an excellent pick for pilots of all skill levels. Great Planes has engineered this glider to not only keep bench build time down, but to also make the Kunai a versatile glider with sport performance. Powered by the 1000-mAh LiPo battery, the Kunai can hook up under a thermal to turn a short flight into a long afternoon of soaring. Then too, the Kunai’s aileron roll control allows this model to roll extremely well, so you can enjoy some relaxing fun aerobatics with this model. It’s available as an Rx-R and as a low-cost ARF. Features • Requires only minor assembly • Molded fiberglass fuselage • Strong, built-up wood wing

• Aileron roll control • Includes a powerful brushless motor and propeller • Rx-R version includes 20-amp brushless ESC and micro servos installed Price

TBA (GPMA1815 / 1816)

Specifications 55 in. (1395 mm) 36 in. (915 mm) 18.4 – 19.7 oz (520-560 g) 4 – 5-channel Tx w/ Rx & 4 high-torque micro servos, 20A ESC 3S 1000-mAh LiPo Rx-R requires 4-5 channel Tx w/ Rx 3S 1000-mAh LiPo Wingspan Length Weight ARF requires

Distributor Great Planes P.O. Box 9021 Champaign, IL 61821 Phone: 800-637-7660 greatplanes.com

THUNDER TIGER RAPTOR E550

oaded with premium features and accessories, the receiver-ready Raptor E550FBL outdoes every comparable helicopter for performance and value. It’s flight-ready fast — 95% of assembly has been done at the factory — and the ESC and flybarless system both arrive pre-programmed.The simplicity makes it a great machine for first-time heli pilots. And if you’re a veteran flier, you’ll find yourself reaching for the Raptor E550 whenever you want high-performance fun. Features • 95% factory-built, with tools included for fast final assembly • 140° eCCPM machined aluminum main rotor head and blade grips • TT 550-mm carbon fiber main blades and 95-mm tail rotor blades • Two-piece lower carbon fiber airframe with options for receiver mounting • ABS canopy with decals already applied • Requires one battery — same size as E700 and E720 Factory-installed components • Pre-programmed Ace R/C GT5.2

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

flybarless system • Pre-programmed Castle Creations Talon 90A ESC • Ace R/C Ripper 1150-Kv brushless motor • Ace R/C DS1510MG digital cyclic servos • Ace R/C DS0606n digital tail rotor servo Price $649.99

(TTRE0032)

Distributor Great Planes P.O. Box 9021 Champaign, IL 61821 Phone: 800-637-7660 greatplanes.com

Specifications Length Width Height Main rotor dia Tail rotor dia Main rotor length Tail rotor length Weight w/o batteries Requires

45.27 in. (1150 mm) 5.51 in. (140 mm) 15.35 in. (390 mm) 49 in. (1245 mm) 9.33 in. (237 mm) 21.65 in. (550 mm) 3.74 in. (95 mm) 5.84 lb (2650 g) 6S 3700–5000-mAh 35C LiPo

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TACTIC 4-CHANNEL SLT MINI RADIO

Distributor Great Planes P.O. Box 9021 Champaign, IL 61821 Phone: 800-637-7660 greatplanes.com

actic’s new TTX403 offers lots of versatility in a small transmitter package. It’s ideal for flying Flyzone® and Great Planes® micro aircraft, and it has the radio signal transmission range to make it a reliable radio for use with larger, faster airplanes too. The TTX403 uses Secure Link Technology to provide an unbreakable link between the transmitter and the companion SLT receiver — a link that virtually eliminates outside interference. You’ll get this and more in a compact transmitter that’s feature packed, and Tactic sells at a very affordable price! Features • Compact, ergonomic case • Digital trim adjustments • Servo reversing, elevon and V-tail mixing • Built-in battery charger for 3.7V LiPo batteries • Compatible with all micro- and minisized Tx-R airplanes • Rudder-only models can be flown on the right stick • Includes 5 “AA” batteries Price $34.99

(TACJ2403)

battery and a charger — 150- to 200-mAh, 20 – 45C recommended. Price: $124.99

EFLU5250

Specifications

E-FLITE UMX™ PITTS® S-1S ULTRA MICRO

ntermediate to advanced pilots can now enjoy flying an aerobatic icon in their back yards, with BNF Pitts. This little replica handles predicable because of its AS3X® system has been custom-tuned to deliver stability when you need it and agility when you want it. The result is a scale, ultra micro experience similar to that of an expertly tuned giant-scale model. You can enjoy it right away because there’s no assembly required. The lightweight foam construction is carbon fiber reinforced with wing bracing that has a scale appearance. Packed under the easyaccess cowl hatch is a brushless BL180, facebook.com/rcsportflyer

3000-Kv motor, with a scale spinner and E-flite 5 x 2.75 propeller. Four linear longthrow servos deliver precise control too. The steerable tail wheel has been stretched for a scale affect and makes ground handling easy. Other scale touches include a clear canopy and pilot figure, a factory applied scale color scheme and rib and stringer details — just as you’d find on the real thing. Bind-N-Fly® Basic All that’s needed to fly the Pitts is your favorite 4-channel+ DSM2®/DSMX® airplane transmitter, an E-flite 2S 7.4-volt LiPo

Wingspan Length Wing area Weight Motor Receiver Servos Battery Charger Radio

17.1 in. (434 mm) 15.5 in. (393 mm) 100 in.2 (645 cm2) 3.2 oz (90 g) E-flite BL180 3000-Kv outrunner (installed) Spektrum™ 6-channel DSMX AS3X/BL ESC (installed) Spektrum 2.3-g linear long throw (4) (installed) E-flite 150–200-mAh 2S 7.4-volt 20–45C LiPo (required) Dynamite® Prophet™ Precept™ 80W LCD AC/DC 4-channel+ DSM2/DSMX (required)

Distributor Horizon Hobby LLC 4105 Fieldstone Rd. Champaign, IL 61822 (217) 352-1913 E-fliteRC.com RC-SF.COM

HOT PRODUCTS

SPEKTRUM™ A6270 HV ULTRA TORQUE SERVO

his new Spektrum high-voltage servo delivers premium power, precision and durability in a standard-size case. In addition to 2S LiPo compatibility it boasts a gear train that’s been engineered to exact specifications for tight mesh, low wear and smooth operation. The Spektrum A6270 uses this foundation to achieve an astounding 582 oz-in. of torque with 2S LiPo power. This makes it the ideal servo for giant-scale aircraft that are pushed to their limits. It contains this phenomenal power in an aluminum case that helps dissipate heat and keep the servo’s motor cool. To remove the A6270 for maintenance or inspection, it can be disconnected form its lead so you don’t have to re-route wires when it is re-installed. Standard length leads are included. Shorter or longer lengths are available separately. Price $149.99

(SPMSA6270)

Specifications Dimensions Weight Torque 60º Transit Speed Bearing Gears Motor Operating Voltage

1.61 x 0.82 x 1.35 in (40.9 x 20.8 x 34.3mm) 2.70 oz (76.5 g) 6.0V/8.4V: 434/582 oz-in. (31.3/41.9 kg-cm) 6.0V/8.4V: 0.18/0.12 sec Dual Metal Coreless 4.8–8.4V

Distributor Horizon Hobby LLC 4105 Fieldstone Rd. Champaign, IL 61822 (217) 352-1913 E-fliteRC.com

RADIO CARBON ART GLIDER BUILDING, PREPARATION AND TECHNICAL SKILLS

aught by RC glider expert Paul Naton, the Glider Tech Lab is a high quality three-hour training program that covers a wide variety of technical subjects and skills that will help you build, prepare, and maintain your RC sailplane like a pro. Subjects taught include current LiPo and NiMH battery technologies and charging techniques, advanced soldering skills, battery pack construction methods, and installations of zero-drag Rotary Drive Systems for flaps and ailerons. You’ll also learn how to track your gliders onboard power usage, how to make custom servo leads, use expanded-scale voltmeters and lithium fuel checkers, install magnetic on/off switches, use no-clean soldering materials, and how to do an in-line splice in a wire harness. While this video is not for the raw beginner, the video’s training program is perfect for any slope, thermal or electric glider pilot wanting to expand their shop skills and learn additional airplane building, preparation and optimizing skills. The techniques taught in the Glider Tech Lab will make building your modern glider

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

easier and make it safer and more reliable in the air. The Glider Tech Lab is available as a high-quality digital download or on a twodisk DVD set. It comes with a money-back guarantee. Chapters Include Battery Basics • Power Use Calculation • Charger Set Up • Form & Cycle NimH • Preventing False Peaks • LiFE Charging • Fuel Gauges/ESVs • Li-On Cautions • Reading Discharge Curves • Power System FAQ • Master Soldering Class • Battery Build Tutorial • RDS Install • Vixen F3J Fuselage

Distributor RADIO CARBON ART PRODUCTIONS Phone: 888-834-2261 radiocarbonart.com

Install • Servo Drivers • Servo Lead Crimpers • Inline Wire Splices • Switch Clinic Preview at: radiocarbonart.com/GTL1DD/ Price: Digital Download $19.95 DVD $26.95 twitter.com/rcsportflyer

SPEKTRUM™ DX6 DSMX® TRANSMITTER

he original Spektrum™ DX6 ignited the 2.4-GHz RC revolution and changed forever how we control our aircraft. Now it’s back as an all-new transmitter that sets a new benchmark. Instead of having to content yourself with limited model memory storage and a handful of settings for a couple of model types, the remarkably affordable DX6 gives you a powerful set of features never before seen in a 6-channel transmitter at its price. Programmable Voice Alerts Voice alerts allow you to keep tabs on important functions without ever taking your eyes off what you’re flying. They can be programmed to call out what flight mode you’ve chosen or report telemetry information on demand. If an alarm annunciates, you won’t have to look at the transmitter display to see what’s happening. The DX6 tells you. Wireless Trainer Link The wireless trainer link gives instructors the option to wirelessly “buddy box”

with another DSM2®/DSMX transmitter. Once bound to another transmitter, ModelMatch™ technology allows the DX6 to re-link without having to go through the bind process again. Airplane, Helicopter and Sailplane Programming The DX6 boasts some of the most impressive programming software ever seen in a 6-channel transmitter that sells for under $250. Its intuitive SimpleScroll™ programming interface makes all of these functions incredibly easy to use. Airplane Software • 7 Wing types: normal, dual aileron, flaperon, 1 aileron with 1 flap, 2 aileron with 1 flap, elevon A, elevon B • 6 Tail types: normal, V-tail A, V-tail B, dual elevator, dual rudder, dual rudder/ elevator • Dual aileron, elevon and V-tail differential • Flap system with elevator compensation • 3 Flight modes • Dual rates and expo • 7-point throttle curve • 3 preset mixes: elevator-to-flap, aileronto-rudder, rudder-to-aileron/elevon • 5 programmable mixes – normal or curve for each

Sailplane Software • 4 Wing types: single aileron, dual aileron, 2 aileron with 1 flap, 2 aileron with 2 flap • 3 Tail types: normal, V-tail A, V-tail B • Camber system • Camber preset • 5 Flight modes • Dual rates and expo • 3 preset mixes: flap-to-elevator curve, aileron-to-flap, aileron-to-rudder • 5 Programmable mixes – normal or curve for each 250-Model Memory The DX6 has enormous on-board memory capacity. The model memory menu is easy to navigate too. Only memory slots with model settings saved to them will appear. Built-In Telemetry The DX6 is equipped with a built-in telemetry feature that gives you real-time information on things like your model’s battery voltage, signal quality, engine or motor temperature, airspeed, altitude and more. Using the voice alert system, you can program the DX6 to tell you when specific telemetry values reach or exceed limits you define. You can also have it call out a sequence of telemetry values on demand with the flip of a switch. If you want to review telemetry after a flight, the DX6 can be set up to record the data to its SD card.

Helicopter Software • Gyro • 7-Point throttle curve • 7-Point pitch curve

Distributor HORIZON HOBBY LLC 4105 Fieldstone Rd. Champaign, IL 61822 Phone: 217-352-1913 ParkZone.com HorizonHobby.com

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• 7-Point tail curve • 7 Swash plate types: normal, 3-servo 120º, 3-servo 135º, 3-servo 140º, 3-servo 90º, 4-servo 90º, 2-servo 180º • 3 flight modes + throttle hold • Dual rates and expo • Cyclic-to-throttle and swashplate timing mixes • 5 Programmable mixes – normal or curve for each

Full-Range AR610 Sport Receiver The AR610 combines the speed and precision of DSMX control with the signal security of an active amplified antenna. This antenna enables the receiver to “see around” reflective materials on a model and avoid polarization blind spots. Because it’s amplified, it can pick out its transmitter’s signal with remarkable clarity in noisy 2.4-GHz environments. The AR610 also includes a data port for use with Spektrum telemetry modules and the Flight Log signal monitor. Price

$229.99 (SPM6700)

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HOT PRODUCTS

PARKZONE® SPORT CUB PARK FLYER

he ParkZone Sport Cub is a compact, recreation of the Cub Crafters Sport Cub. Like the full-scale version, it is designed for flights into the wild, where space is plenty but pavement is scarce. Oversized Wheels and Short Field Capability The model comes with sturdy wire landing gear and large tundra-style wheels that allow it to operate off grass, gravel and other rough surfaces. A Light wing loading and a powerful 480-size, 960-Kv motor get it airborne in remarkably short distances. Vortex generators on the leading edges of the wing improve aileron response at slow speeds and higher angles of attack, so short-field landings are easy.

Specifications 51.0 in. (1300mm) 34.0 in. (865mm) 33.3 oz (945 g) 480-size, 960-Kv brushless, installed ESC 18-amp brushless, installed Battery 3S 1300 – 2200-mAh LiPo (1300-mAh included with BNF version) Radio 4-channel+ (5-channel with flaps)

Wingspan Length Weight Motor

Optional Flaps and Floats The Sport Cub’s short field abilities can be made even better with the addition of flaps. All you need is a single ParkZone DSV130 servo (PKZ1090). The necessary hardware is already installed or included. An adapter kit is included should you want to add a set of optional HobbyZone® Super Cub floats (HBZ7390 – sold separately).

6-channel DSM2®/DSMX® receiver that features AS3X (Artificial Stabilization – 3-axis) technology. The extra stability AS3X technology provides smoothes out the effects of turbulence and makes it much easier to fly low and slow or nail spot landings. It also includes a 3S 1300-mAh LiPo battery and charger. For those who don’t own a DSM2 or DSMX transmitter, there is a Plug-N-Play® version without the receiver or battery. Both versions come with the motor system, servos and an 18A ESC installed.

BNF with AS3X® Receiver or PNP Without The Bind-N-Fly® version comes with a

Price $219.99 $179.99

(PKZ6880) (PKZ6875)

Distributor HORIZON HOBBY LLC 4105 Fieldstone Rd. Champaign, IL 61822 Phone: 217-352-1913 ParkZone.com HorizonHobby.com

MULTIPLEX PILATUS PC-6 TURBO PORTER

ultiplex has just introduced their latest durable, performance-oriented airplanes, their Pilatus PC-6 Turbo Porter. The Porter is designed to emulate the full-scale, single-engine, seven-seat STOL

(Short Take-Off and Landing) aircraft. The radio controlled model version boasts Multiplex’s signature Elapor® foam construction. It comes with six servos, a high performance brushless motor and an efficient speed control, which are all preinstalled. Its realistic design elements include internal control linkages, simulated rivets and panel lines, aerials, glazed

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

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HANGAR 9® P-51D MUSTANG 60CC ARF Specifications Scale Wingspan Wing area Length Weight Transmitter Servos Rs battery

orizon Hobby is offering the new P-51D Mustang 60cc ARF, which they say represents a whole new approach to giant-scale warbird design. It delivers unbelievable scale accuracy without sacrificing smooth, predictable flight behavior. It is modeled after the Mustangs flown by the 357th Fighter Squadron during WWII. Their model is constructed in 1/5-scale size using lightweight balsa and plywood. Full balsa-sheeting on the wings and tail surfaces enhance the scale appearance and add durability. Features • The model comes out of its kit box with numerous scale touches that have been finished for you. These include a removable antenna, an accuratelyshaped painted spinner, gun details and more. The large flaps preserve its scale appearance. The inner gear doors have been fashioned to realistically sequence. The steerable tail wheel features gear doors. A bolt-in retractable tail wheel assembly is available. • A full-depth cockpit is included that’s large enough to add a full-body pilot figure, plus expert-level details to work.

cockpit, a scale sprung undercarriage and attractive painted finish. With detachable wings and tailplane and large control surfaces, the Pilatus PC-6 is easy to assemble and transport and is amazingly agile in the air. This attractive model is capable of performing dazzling aerobatic maneuvers including vertical climbs, knifeedge passes, torque rolls and extremely short takeoffs and landings. It is sure to be a show stopper at your RC airfield. If you add the optional float set, you can extend this airplane’s missions to snow and water! The Pilatus PC-6 also makes an awesome tow plane with your favorite mid-size gliders. Features • Durable Elapor foam replica of the fullfacebook.com/rcsportflyer

Engine

The cockpit is topped with a sliding canopy that features a magnetic closure. • The exterior is finished with genuine UltraCote® covering to provide a realistic painted appearance similar to that of a professionally restored, full-scale P-51D. Plus, you get two sets of marking decals; “Glamorous Glen III” as flown by Captain Chuck Yeager and “Gentleman Jim” as flown by Captain Jim Browning • Developers have made it easy to transport and set up. The removable top hatch provides easy access to battery packs, fuel tank and radio equipment. The three-piece wing consists of plugin outer panels with a center panel that allows the landing gear to remain attached. The horizontal stabilizers can also be removed. Evolution® 62 GXi engine with SureFire™ EFI The Mustang is sized perfectly to fit the new Evolution 62GXi engine that features SureFire electronic fuel injection. The 62GXi gives reliability for which Evolution engines are known, but you’ll never have to mess with fuel mixture needle-valves. The Surefire system makes

scale STOL aircraft • Easy assembly • Ready for flight in less than 30 minutes • Preinstalled servos, high performance brushless motor and ESC RC Controls • Ailerons, Elevator, Rudder, Motor and Flaps Needed to Complete • 6-channel transmitter • 6-channel receiver • 3S 2100- to 2700-mAh LiPo battery Price $209.99 Floats $44.99

Trim Scheme Wheels Spinner Propeller Flaps Retracts Bomb release Experience level

1/5 89.0 in. (2.26 m) 1420 in2 (91.6 dm2) 77.5 in. (1.97 m) 25.0 – 27.0 lb (11.3 – 12.2 kg) 8-channel+ 10 6.6-volt 2200-mAh LiFe (2 required) 50 to 62-cc 2-stroke gas/ petrol UltraCote silver/olive drab/ deep red/cub yellow/black/ white 5-1/4-in. (not included) 5-1/2-in. (included) 22x8 – 24x10 Operational Operational Optional (wing pylons included) Advanced

Distributor HORIZON HOBBY LLC 4105 Fieldstone Rd. Champaign, IL 61822 Phone: 217-352-1913 Hangar-9.com Horizonhobby.com

sure you always have the optimum mixture whatever conditions prevail. Street Price: $849.99

(HAN4770_)

Specifications Wingspan Length Weight Motor Battery

49.2 in. 36.6 in. 38.8 oz Brushless 3S 2100 - 2700-mAh

Distributor MULTIPLEX 12115 Paine St Poway, CA 92064 Phone: 858-748-6948 hitecrcd.com

(M264290 / M264291) (M733060)

RC-SF.COM

EVENT HOW TO

GUNSMOKE 2014

SCALE MASTERS QUALIFIER

he Gunsmoke Scale Masters Qualifier has been the premier scale event for the Southwest region for over 20 years. It attracts contestants from as far away as Texas, Colorado, California and Oregon. This year there was a contestant from Massachusetts, which likely sets a Gunsmoke distance record. Gunsmoke is one of 20 to 25 Scale Masters Qualifiers held each year throughout the United States and Canada. The top finishers at each of the qualifiers are invited to participate in an annual US

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

Scale Masters Championships, which is held in the Fall. Gunsmoke 2014 was held February 28 through March 2 at the Arizona Model Aviators home airfield, Superstition Air Park, in Mesa Arizona. As has been true for the last few years, it was organized and run by the One Eighth Air Force, an AMA sanctioned club specializing in scale modeling that is based in the greater Phoenix area. The One Eighth Air Force was founded in 1976, and currently has 130 members; 70 from Arizona and 60 from throughout the

BY Tom Wolf

rest of the country. Like the US Scale Masters, the One Eighth Air Forceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission is to promote scale modeling and scale competition. In addition to the Gunsmoke event, they also host two scale fly-ins in the Phoenix area, one in the Fall and one in the Spring. The One Eighth Air Force also provides significant support to other scale events throughout the country, including the US Scale Masters Championships. Superstition Air Park is well suited for hosting large events such as this qualifier. It is located approximately twitter.com/rcsportflyer

Kevin Hopwood’s entered this excellent Supermarine Spitfire Mk IX. Kevin teamed up with Mike Hatfield (pilot) to enter in Team Scale. Every detail is present on this Spitfire, creating the illusion of this being a shrunk-down version of the full-size aircraft

The cockpit on Kevin Hopwood’s Supermarine Spitfire is an extremely well done rendition of the full-scale aircraft’s.

25 miles east of downtown Phoenix Arizona with lodging and restaurants nearby. The field features a 700-foot-long by 100-footwide paved runway, a very large permanent sunshade structure in the pit area with ample space for the assembly of aircraft, and spectator bleachers at either end of the pit area. In addition, electrical outlets are located in several places in the pit area, with the power being supplied by the Arizona Model Aviator’s generator. This year’s event was very facebook.com/rcsportflyer

well run, which has been typical of Gunsmoke over the years. The Contest Director was Austin Goodwin, and the Assistant CD was Mike Peck. Austin and Mike assembled an experienced crew of event workers, including static and flight judges, flight line workers, score keeper and runners for getting the score sheets from the judges to the score keeper in a timely manner. The result was a first-class

event that ran smoothly. The only hitch to an otherwise excellent event was the threatening weather. A major storm hit drought-stricken California starting Thursday night and continuing through the weekend. Locally, rain was forecasted for the Phoenix and Mesa area starting Friday evening and running through Saturday night. The threatening weather undoubtedly impacted the turnout for this year’s event, with RC-SF.COM

EVENT

GUNSMOKE 2014

Chad’s Hellcat sits on the ramp, with its pilot ready to take to the sky for his next mission.

Chad Veich, of Phoenix Arizona, poses with his F6F Hellcat. Chad placed second in the Expert class.

Chad’s F6F Hellcat is shown here on its takeoff roll, with it tail up, power on and ready to rotate.

Bill Adams (pilot) and Wayne Fredrick (builder) entered this Fokker DVIII in Team Scale — first place finish and the High Static award with a static score of an almost perfect 99.75.

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

This shows a nicely done Fokker DVIII executing a fly-by pass, again for the judges to critique and score.

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Chris Spangenberg flew this 1/4-scale Balsa USA Nieuport 28 to a third place finish in the Expert Class.

Chris Spangenberg’s Nieuport 28 performing the fly-by maneuver for the judges to critique.

only 18 contestants participating, down from the usual 35-45 entries. Several pre-registered contestants from California stayed home because of the bleak weather forecast, and undoubtedly there were many more competitors that had planned to attend but did not make the trip because of the ominous weather forecasts. As it turned out, the weather was not nearly as bad as forecast and it was possible to successfully complete the competition. Static judging and practice flying was completed on Friday, under partly cloudy skies, very little wind and temperatures approaching 80 degrees. Some excellent scale models were presented for judging, including two by contestants new to scale competition. The first was a very nice Supermarine Spitfire Mk IX built by Kevin Hopwood of Chandler Arizona. This 1/6-scale aircraft is a Mick Reeves design. It weighs 14 pounds and is powered by a Laser 150 4-stroke engine. Construction features a fiberglass fuselage with facebook.com/rcsportflyer

Excellent detail work and weathering is evident on Chris’s Nieuport 28. Power is a Saito 150, with an Aces of Iron Pilot and William Brothers machine guns.

built-up balsa wing and tail. The finish is fiberglass followed by Nelson polyurethane paint. The aircraft modeled was from the 316 Squadron RAF, piloted by A.K. Gabszewicz. The cockpit detailing is outstanding on this airplane, as can be seen in the respective photo. Another first-time competitor was Chad Veich from Phoenix Arizona. While Chad is new to scale competition, he has been involved in RC modeling for about 25 years. Chad’s airplane is a 1/6-scale F6F Hellcat that was built to plans that he drew himself. It has a 64-inch wingspan, weighs 11-3/4 pounds and is powered by an O.S. .91 FX engine. Construction is built-up balsa throughout, and a fiberglass cowl. Finish is butyrate dope for the base red color and Chevron Perfect paint for the markings. It took about two years to complete this masterpiece and he has been flying it for about three years. Competition flying was scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. Saturday morning dawned with light rain falling throughout the Phoenix/Mesa

area. A pilot’s meeting was held by CD Austin Goodwin. Because of the light rain, it was decided to stage and be ready, and to wait for a break in the rain. As luck would have it, the rain broke later in the morning and flying got underway. As it turned out, it was possible to complete two rounds of flying, even with the sometimes-windy conditions. However, given the bleak weather forecast, the contestants were happy to be able to fly. Sunday ushered in much better weather, with two more rounds of flying being completed under partly cloudy skies, little or no wind, and temperatures in the mid to high 60s. Those that braved the bleak weather forecasts and attended the event were rewarded with a very enjoyable weekend of competition and camaraderie. For anyone who is interested in scale competition, the Gunsmoke event draws some of the top modelers and pilots from the Southwest and is definitely worth RC-SF.COM

EVENT

GUNSMOKE 2014

This very nice Stinson SR-6 was the team scale entry of Curtis Kitteringham (pilot) and Ron Peterka (builder). They captured second place in Team.

REFERENCES

Bill Adams flew this large Fokker DVII to first place in the Pro/AM Pro class and won the High Flight award with a combined flight score of 357.51 for four flight rounds. US Scale Masters usscalemasters.org One Eighth Air Force oeaf.org Arizona Model Aviators azmodelaviators.com

Tim Cardin entered this very nice Beech Staggerwing in Expert class. It captured him first place finish.

Static judges (L-R) Roxanne Cottrell (color/marking), Al Culver (craftsmanship) and John Mangino (outline) hard at work.

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

This shows just some of the aircraft that were staged in the pit area early on Friday morning. twitter.com/rcsportflyer

This TopFlite FW-190 was entered in Pro/ AM Sportsman by Frank Migliaccio. It earned him a third place finish.

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One Eighth Air Force are actively working to grow scale modeling and competition, so newcomers are welcomed with open arms. Try it! You’ll likely enjoy the challenge. For more information, please contact me at tomdebwolf@cox.net

EVENT STAFF

SPONSORS

attending. For those who may want to try scale competition, the US Scale Masters format now includes entry level classes so almost anyone may participate. Builder of the model rules do not apply to the Pro/AM Sportsman and Pro/AM Pro classes, so ARFs and aircraft that are purchased complete may be entered. These two classes also do not require static judging, so assembling comprehensive scale documentation is not required. The US Scale Masters and the

ZAP / House of Balsa, Arizona State Cheer Warbirds over the Rockies Team San Diego Lakeside Restaurant & Cantina Ken Justice, Prop Dave Gianakos Dan & Judy Bott Larry Stephens Arizona Model Aviators Jim McEwen Commander One Eighth Air Force US Scale Masters Association

Contest Director Austin Goodwin Assistant CD Mike Peck Static Judges Roxanne Cottrell (color and marking) Al Culver (craftsmanship) John Mangino (outline) Flight Judges Jim Compton John Kling Ken Kear Eric Stevens Lee Young Dave Balch Al Culver Mike Stone Scorekeeper Nancy Kennedy Announcer Paul McDevitt—Arizona Model Aviators President Parking, field setup Paul Goldsmith John Mangino

GUNSMOKE 2014 US SCALE MASTERS QUALIFIER RESULTS 18 ENTRIES Place

Pilot Name

From

Aircraft

EXPERT CLASS 1ST Tim Cardin Garden Grove, CA Beech Staggerwing 2ND Chad Veich Litchfield, AZ F6F Hellcat 3RD Chris Spangenberg Camarillo, CA Nieuport 28 4TH John Geyer Phoenix, AZ Church Midwing TEAM SCALE CLASS 1ST Bill Adams/Wayne Frederick Mesa, AZ Fokker D-VIII 2ND Curtis Kitteringham/Ron Peter Escondido, CA Stinson SR-6 3RD Mike Hatfield/Kevin Hopwood Chandler, AZ Spitfire LF Mk IX ADVANCED CLASS 1ST Michael Peck Phoenix, AZ CA-118 Mustang PRO/AM PRO CLASS: 4 ENTRIES 1ST Bill Adams Mesa, AZ Fokker D-VII 2ND Charles Nelson Berlin, MA Piper J-3 Cub 3RD Jerry Neuberger Santee, CA Piper L-4 4TH Derek Micko Phoenix, AZ P-51 Mustang PRO/AM SPORTSMAN CLASS: 6 ENTRIES 1ST Ken Rhoads Glendale, AZ Pilatus PC-24 2ND Jason Neves Scottsdale, AZ T-34A Mentor 3RD Frank Migliaccio Ladera Ranch, CA Fockewulf FW-190 4TH Rick Marshall Litchfield Park, AZ P-47D Thu8nderbolt 5TH Robert Bayless Peoria, AZ DH-82A Tiger Moth 6TH Dan Bott Carefree, AZ Huskey SPECIAL AWARDS HIGH STATIC Wayne Frederick builder/Bill Adams pilot, team scale Fokker D-VIII, 99.75 points HIGH FLIGHT Bill Adams, Fokker D-VII, four round flight score totaling 357.51 points BEST ARF Robert Bayless, DH-82A Tiger Moth

Static Total

Top Flights Avg

Total Score

98.75 99.00 94.25 98.25

86.883 84.833 86.083 78.583

185.583 183.833 180.333 176.833

99.75 98.00 97.25

90.668 89.585 86.250

190.418 187.585 183.500

95.25

82.833

178.083

30.00 30.00 30.00 30.00

91.584 87.667 83.167 83.000

121.584 117.667 113.167 113.000

25.00 25.00 25.00 25.00 25.00 25.00

87.917 83.333 83.167 82.917 79.583 49.833

112.917 108.333 108.167 107.917 104.583 74.833

RC-SF.COM

EVENT HOW TO

NAB 2014 DRONES TAKE ON THE LAS VEGAS STRIP AT NAB

BY Pete Hickerson

he National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention is an annual event held in mid April in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Las Vegas Convention center. It is literally a technology and information Mecca for many in the broadcast industry. A yearly pilgrimage is considered

essential, just to keep up with changing equipment and software. This year nearly 100,000 attendees visited 1746 exhibitor booths. RC Sport Flyer attended NAB in 2014 because over the last few years exhibitors promoting manned helicopter services for film

production have been overtaken by remote controlled (RC) multirotor helicopters. Filmmakers are turning to RC aircraft in large numbers, and for good reason. The average cost for manned helicopter video ranges from $9,000 to $20,000 or more for a full-day of shooting. Producers

The DJI booth had high volume of traffic with interest in all models. The booth was positioned at a main entryway.

DJIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s S1000 octacopter was getting short workouts as we all lusted after it, with retractable landing gear and 350Ë&#x161; gimbal.

The new Phantom Vision+ has the new 3axis gimbal. It made lasting impressions as people witnessed it up close.

2 3

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

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4 5

Yuneec displayed their new QX2 with in house designed architecture and support — shown with HD viewfinder built into the controller.

This was a drone from Sweden with 20-lb weight capacity and up to one hour flight time depending on payload. It was big!

It seemed like everywhere you looked there were drones and companies embracing this type of quadcopter technology.

have discovered they can purchase a multirotor machine for the same cost as a day of production with a manned helicopter — and they’ll own it for future shoots. DAY 1 The first day of the show, large crowds were gathered around booths like DJI. There, there were two flight areas cordoned off. When their new Phantom 2 Vision+ took to the air, the crowd moved in for a closer look. The Phantom 2 Vision+ has DJI’s camera fitted to it on a three-axis gimbal. The company promises, “It will shoot fully stabilized video from the sky, right out of the box.” For many consumers as well as small production companies, this is an attractive configuration. facebook.com/rcsportflyer

ATI (Aerial Technology International) had one of the most amazing technologies I saw. They were sporting a hexacopter with twelve GoPro™ cameras for recording 360˚ video.

DJI Other DJI models offer promising features for professional broadcasters and larger production companies. Several new Spreading Wings S1000 models were on display, each equipped with a threeaxis gimbal. One model was shown with a Canon 5D Mark III attached, and another with the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema camera. Many of these top of the line models featured exciting improvements. For example a slip-ring gimbal that turns 360 degrees without unruly cables to tangle. It was well received by attendees. Retractable landing gear moves it out of the shooting area. Then too, a new first person view (FPV) system named Lightbridge was shown. This system beams

video back to the RC controller up to two miles away. What makes it special is that both the control signal and the video are transmitted via a common 2.4-GHz signal. The S1000 octocopter also sports folding rotor arms and a spark-proof power cord plug. Willis Chung, a flyer in the DJI booth stated the S1000 was so stable it could loose one rotor and still fly. YUNEEC After the fun at the DJI booth, we made our way around the convention site in search of more UAV companies and there were many. The next one visited was YUNEEC, a Chinese company with offices in Australia, Germany and Ontario, California. They were showing their QX2 quadcopter. The RC-SF.COM

EVENT

NAB 2014

Varavon was showing a way to float a camera over a crowd without getting into hot water with the FAA.

Quadracopter displayed several models. This four armature copter had a total of eight motors for more lift-to-weight ratio.

If you are into cameras and camcorders this is a toy store for grownups. Large companies, like Nikon, come every year to NAB.

A trip to NAB is not be complete without visiting GoProâ&#x201E;˘â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s booth. They gave away a bag of what they make every afternoon.

technology is all in-house, so they handle troubleshooting and support. Their QX2 will carry a payload up to 2.2 lb, doing so for fifteen to thirty minutes depending on the size of the camera. YUNEEC displayed different cameras with individual specially designed gimbals for each. They had a GoPro, a CGO1 by YUNEEC and an NEX7 by Sony. The controller had a built in video display making it one of the nicest all-in-one packages. I wanted to take home this system and start filming that day. I also liked

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

the idea of in-house support for their products. With a price of around $3000 and the payload capacity, this quad should sell well. PMG Multi Rotors In the same area, we found PMG Multi Rotors. They were offering a new octocopter kit that sells for $2900.00. They also offered an addon three-axis gimbal for $1850.00. The kit includes the rotor motors, bare frame and landing gear. They were also selling a bare-bones

quadcopter kit for $1690. Aerial Technology International One of the most intriguing UAVs was shown by the Aerial Technoloy International (ATI) company. ATI offers kits and turnkey systems from the DJI Phantom to octacopters by Aeronavics, as well as single-blade gas-powered Aerial Helicopter. Prices range from $475 to over $20,000. The thing that caught my attention was the hexacopter with twitter.com/rcsportflyer

If you come to NAB you will be amazed at the major companies that come to show off their wares. RC multirotors are a welcomed addition to the fray.

You will see things that truly amaze, like this dune buggy with dual camera ball stabilizers, one in front and one in the rear.

There were several single rotor helicopters from companies, showing large gas-engine-powered models with camera ball stabilizers like this one.

I found a camera company showing a new sport camera with a very small footprint. RC-Play had this little beauty. It has several mounting options.

cameras poking out in all directions. What they have designed is a 3600 viewing system that relies on a collection of twelve GoPro cameras. The cameras are arranged in a spherical pattern around the UAV. The system records twelve video streams. Then custom software stitches the video together. In so doing, you can see an image from all directions. The image is available by viewing it via their website or by using an iPhone or IPad app. The file sizes are, however, huge! We downloaded a 30-second video called Red Rock Las Vegas and the facebook.com/rcsportflyer

file was 1.8 gigabytes. If you have a 16-gig iPad or iPhone the memory will fill up fast. This system is only offered as a service, although they do offer the mounts for outfitting your machine with GoPro cameras. They hope to get a company like Google to work with them so they can fill the spaces where the Google camera cars cannot. Aericam Hollywood A heavy hitter at the show was Aericam Hollywood. They were showing a massive quadcopter. They recently did a successful fund

raising effort on KickStarter for a new handheld or surface-mount camera gimbal. The quadcopter they were showing had a payload capacity of twelve pounds. with a fifteen to twenty minute flight time depending on the configuration. It should be available by August of 2014. The copter and gimbal combo will be around $19,000. Quadrocopter With prices ranging from $450 to $25,000 Quadrocopter, a Montana based company, seems to have a solution for everyone wanting to put a camera in the air. They have a customized Phantom from DJI priced at $2000 to $3000 dollars, and larger multirotors in the $25,000range, which are custom built with camera mount and payload capacity from eighteen to twenty pounds. Several of their models had quad armatures with two blades per armature. RC-SF.COM

EVENT

NAB 2014

We ran into several companies offering drone based camera services to film makers. It seems this business is growing no matter what legal regulations come to pass.

Jason Merkel was telling all passersby about the new QX2 from YUNEEC. It is designed, built and supported in house. What more could a RC lover ask for in a multirotor.

Zero UAV Zero UAV was a small company out of China displaying a quadcopter and gimbal with a Canon 5D Mark III. It had a price point of $5666. The interesting thing about this quadcopter was the can-shaped device on top of the body. It houses a parachute. GoPro A trip to NAB is not be complete without a visit to the GoPro Booth. We talked with Tim Bucklin. He outlined some of the new features in their latest software upgrade. The Hero GoPro 3+ was launched in October of 2013, and at NAB they introduced new software upgrade to capabilities of this little powerhouse. The update adds a number of new options to the Hero3+ Black version. There are new frame rates of 1080p Superview® at 60 and 50 fps with auto low-light settings. There are new auto low-light settings for higher frame rate video modes, including 960p100 fps, 720p120 fps, 720p100 fps and 720p SuperView® 100 fps. New advanced Protune™ controls for Color, ISO Limit, Sharpness and Exposure. These are availablet, without the cost of upgrading to a new model.

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

TRAINING The thing that intrigued us the most about the entire show was not on the exhibit floor but in the training sessions. There was an all-day session given by Unmanned Vehicle University. If any of you hobbyists have dreamt of making your hobby into a career then Dr. Jerry Lemieux is the man to see. He has started a university to train pilots of unmanned drones. The University offers degrees in UAV fundamentals all the way to masters and doctorate degrees. They have outlined over three hundred professional applications for drones, including agriculture, oil spill tracking, entomology, forestry inspection, wildlife inventory, crop inspection, mineral exploration, and the list goes on… Once the FAA gets certification requirements this type of training might be what you need to fly drones professionally. So if you are planning on buying a monster drone or even a smaller quadcopter for use in your business, keep Dr. Jerry Lemieux and UVU in mind. SYNOPSIS The NAB show is much fun to attend! There are always new and exciting things to see. This year was no exception. With a slew of new

multirotors, camera gimbals, 3600 video and a way to plan for future job opportunities as a UAV certified pilot, it was almost overwhelming. Although we came home exhausted, with sore feet, we’re looking forward to going back next year. We often found ourselves standing there enamored by the flashing lights and shiny things in front of us. It was like Christmas morning — only different. If you are anywhere near Las Vegas next year mid April and have a day or two to spend in one of the largest grownups’ toy stores, stop by NAB and take in the sights. You will not regret it. phickers@msn.com

REFERENCES

UVU uxvuniversity.com YUNEEC flyingeyes.com PMG Multi Rotors pmgmultirotors.com ATI aerialtechnology.com Zero Tech zerouav.com/en GoPro gopro.com twitter.com/rcsportflyer

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BUILD

The surprisingly sleek Bulldog is a crowd pleaser both in the air and on the ground. The sprung landing gear was a real design challenge for me.

HALL’S SPRINGFIELD BULLDOG 1932 CLEVELAND AIR RACER LIVES TO RACE AGAIN

f all the comments I receive on my Bulldog model, the two most common are: “I never saw one of those before” and “that thing will never fly.” It’s always quite a risk in terms of time, materials and effort designing models of obscure prototypes. There are usually few, if any, other existing models to glean design ideas from. Then there were probably some

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

very good reasons in the first place why there were only a few or, in this case, a single full-scale example ever built. Plus, it’s hard to find photos and usually there are no diagrams. Sometimes modelairplaneland is a lonely place to be. Nevertheless, it’s kind of nice not to show up at the RC airfield (or at a contest) with the 32nd P-47 of the day and having a oneoff design that flies well has always

BY Robert J. Caso

been a personal modeling challenge for me. The Bulldog certainly meets these requirements, although I assure you there was quite a bit of trepidation during the course of the design and build as to whether this thing would be flyable. I built the model specifically for the Neat Fair Air Racing Society (NFARS) event, which was held in 2013. NFARS entries were required to twitter.com/rcsportflyer

be built within certain size parameters and must have been constructed as an original design or from a kit. The February, 2014 issue of RCSF has my article outlining this event and showcases the models of the very talented group of modelers that my friend, Thayer Syme, recruited.

I look a little tired here in this pre-NEAT Fair shot. It was because of all the late-nights’ working on the Bulldog getting it ready for the Fair.

PROTOTYPE Bob Hall’s gull-winged racer was built under contract for Marion Price Guggenheim of the New York family, well known for their support of all types of aeronautical activities. Mrs Guggenheim would later christen the new airplane the Bulldog, in honor of the famed Yale University mascot. The airplane was powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp Jr engine, which developed 535 horsepower. With a wingspan of 26 feet and a fuselage length of 19 feet, the

The powerful, fan equipped, OS Max motor is perched on the removable firewall. It is of the typical OS Max quality you’d expect.

I could fill a book on how long it took me to modify, build and detail the 1/6-scale Williams Brothers Pratt and Whitney ninecylinder dummy engine.

The dummy engine just slid within the modified Fiberglass Specialties cowling. A half inch was sliced from the cowl and then rejoined.

This is a test fit of a defunct version of the removable firewall— six Allen screws hold it securely to blind nuts on the fuselage ring.

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RC-SF.COM

BUILD

HALL’S SPRINGFIELD BULLDOG

A four-axis, removable, lite plywood crutch was used to locate the concentric ring bulkheads, however, this method has since been redesigned

There are 24 inches of sheeting around the circumference of the fuselage—see my past RCSF article on the subject for more information.

Achieving a good finish on any model takes forever. The fuselage here has been doped, glassed, filled and primed, with an entire spray can of paint.

With the larger model, it was a simple matter to mount the rudder and elevator servos on the rim of the fuselage’s opening.

Bulldog was built specifically for the 1932 Cleveland air races. The aircraft went through a number of design iterations leading up to the race, including significant modifications to the rudder and fin, to correct problems with directional stability and overall handling. The Bulldog was assigned number six for the race in which Hall placed sixth at an average speed of 215.57 mph, well behind Jimmy Dolittle’s winning Gee Bee R-1, which averaged over 252 mph. Disappointed with the airplane’s performance and having no additional funding to improve the design, Hall dismantled the Bulldog and never raced it again. DESIGN Some of you may remember

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

the 34-in. wingspan model of the Bulldog I built some time ago. It served as the basis for the larger model— for better or worse. Amazingly, the original was a great flyer, at a weight of just 18 ounces. I felt a larger version would fly equally as well or better given the additional wing area. I had the original design already in CAD, so it seemed a cinch to just multiply everything by 1.5, right? Not so fast. While doing so certainly yields a proportionally larger outline of the model and all of its internal parts, it plays havoc with interlocking designs since wood thicknesses and slot sizes change also— and almost never to a useable size. Furthermore, wing rib and fuselage bulkhead spacing changes proportionally and the new spacing

may not be consistent with sound design parameters. For example, rib spacing on any reasonably sized model is rarely less than two inches and not oftentimes greater than three and half, and the same goes for bulkheads. If the enlargement factor pushes spacing outside of these loose parameters, it’s time to take a look at the overall design to see if it makes sense. Don’t forget, adding a rib or bulkhead on a tapered structure requires redrawing them all. One last thing to consider is that larger models weigh more, have greater flying and landing loads and so material types and sizes may have to change to accommodate such. If you double a model having a 1/16-in. wing skin, will it make sense to skin the larger version with 1/8-in. wood? Or, will 3/32-in. wood do the job? twitter.com/rcsportflyer

Care had to be taken with the servo mounting locations to ensure a straight run to the rudder and elevator. Note the fuselage stand I used.

The scale carburetor scoop houses a shorted, male Deans plug and its corresponding female receptacle for the power system.

The female plug was boxed out in plywood and then buried in the model. I simply insert the carburetor scoop to energize the airplane’s power system.

The stabilizer halves are simple-to-build laser-cut structures, skinned with 1/16-in. wood and joined upon installation with 1/8in. square spruce.

I work in CAD, but the same issues are present when blowing up paper plans. Another thing I learned is that scale differences become more noticeable as a model gets larger. I had made some concessions on the small model to give me a fighting chance of having something that would fly, including lengthening the nose by three quarters of an inch to avoid the addition of nose weight. Although the net increase of 3/8 inch on the larger model does not seem like much, the total scale difference of 1-1/8 inch is noticeable. It was also quite a guess trying to figure out how much the larger model would weigh when I was attempting to determine powerplant size early on in the design. Again, a 50 percent increase on a 34-in. model may not facebook.com/rcsportflyer

seem like much, but when I started cutting the pieces out on the laser, I was thinking, “Is this thing really that big?” Remember, all three axes increase in size by 50 percent. As an example of what I’m trying to explain is that a one-inch cube increases to 3.375 cubic inches, a 2.375 cubic inch difference in size when it is increased by 50 percent. But this is why larger models can handle more weight— it’s all about wing area. Note that my initial weight estimate of 3.5 pounds was thrown out the window surprising early, with me having to scramble to find an upgraded powerplant that would still fit neatly inside the model’s scale dummy engine. Then the worrying began. I did find, however, a very nice (and very scale) 1/6-scale Bulldog that was featured in the

October, 1979 issue of the now defunct RC Scale Modeler magazine. It flew successfully at over eight pounds. I knew I could bring this model in under that, but by how much was anybody’s guess at that point. If you sit back and look at it, the Bulldog’s fuselage is shaped like half of a football. In my designer’s mind, it was really no more than a series of decreasing diameter concentric circles and this concept was pivotal in the design. Stealing heavily from some of Jim Ryan’s clever designs, I employed a removable internal crutch on which all the ring shaped formers are slid and which are then stringered and sheeted over. Just prior to sheeting, interlocking longerons at the four points of the compass index everything square RC-SF.COM

BUILD

The fixed portions of the empennage have been glassed and primed in this photo. The moveable sections were covered with Sig’s Koverall.

A full mock-up of the in-process model is key to spotting alignment and fitting issues just prior to covering and painting it.

SPECIFICATIONS

HALL’S SPRINGFIELD BULLDOG

Scale : 1/6 Wingspan : 51.0 in. Wing area : 425 in.2 Weight RTF : 5 lb, 2 oz Wing loading : 27.8 oz/ft 2 Motor : OS Max OMA-3825-750 / 650 watts ESC : Castle 50-amp ICE Light Battery : 4S 3300-mAh LiPo Propeller : 12x8 Radio : 4-channel Control functions : Aileron, elevator, rudder, throttle

The canopy plug was first done in balsa and then vacuum-formed over with HIPPS plastic, which was used as a mold for Durham’s Water Putty plaster casting material.

and keep things evenly spaced. Then the crutch, and a lot of weight, is removed, leaving little more than a tapered tube. A byproduct here is complete access to the internals of the model—mainly for the installation of pushrods, servos and the centrally mounted, sprung landing gear mechanism. An additional feature on the Bulldog that I have since incorporated on all my electric models is a removable firewall. The entire nose of the aircraft—firewall, motor, cowl and dummy engine may be removed together as a unit. Large bullet plugs provide a quick disconnect for the electronics. In essence, this feature turned the firewall into a giant hatch, which facilitates field access to all critical components. As such, the only external hatches on the model

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

are under the wings for the aileron servos. With today’s reliable charging equipment and batteries, I also leave the battery in the model, charging it via a long balance lead extension that is hidden in the cowl. Energizing the model for flight is achieved by plugging the scale carburetor scoop, which has a shorted Deans connector buried within. The concentricity of the fuselage formers made them quite easy to design, especially in 2D CAD. Using a scanned in drawing, it was a simple matter of lofting the outline of the fuselage—in either side or top views since they are the same—and dragging a circle up to the outline’s edges at each bulkhead station, using the centerline (here, also the thrust line) as a datum. Although the crutch on my small model consisted

Finish : Klass Kote epoxy over fiberglass/Koverall Other features : Williams Bros radial engine, sprung LG

of a couple of long, interlocking laser cut, light plywood pieces, the larger model’s fuselage is 50 percent longer, so these could no longer be cut on my 24-in. wide laser platform. For the prototype, I assembled the crutch from multiple laser cut pieces, but I have since redesigned the bulkheads to accept a crutch made from a 33-in. long, flat piece of 3/4in. plywood. With fuselage scared, the only other challenging design aspects of the model were the gull, the removable wing and the sprung landing gear. For a little suspense, I will cover these in my next installment. Rcaso916@aol.com

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Wing Tongue 4 Req 2X 1/16 Ply

1/8 Lt Ply

Main Spar

2 Req 1/16 Ply

Tongue Box Upper 2 Req 1/16 Ply

All Ribs 3/32 Balsa Unless Noted 2 Ea Req

Spacer 4 Req

1/8 Lt Ply

Hard 3/16 Triangle Support 2 Req

Hole for Servo Lead

Gull LE Former

Female Deans Connector Epoxy Here Offset to Lf of CL Solder to Positive Lead

Fiberglass Specialties Fiberglass Pant #79 1/32 Ply Pant Support 4-40 Blind Nut Install in Pant

Axle Loc

Dist between Wheels: 15"

3/16x1/8

8 8A Balsa Fill Between Stringers Around Stab LE

Article: Air Classics Volume 49, #10

Fill for Stab Slot

1/32 Ply Base Fairing Fill With Balsa

Plain Stringer

Hard Balsa Fairing

Bulkhead #3

Skin Open Quadrant with 1/16 Balsa

1/64 Ply Strut Fairing Base

Fwd

Elev Joiner Template 1/16 Wire Sheet 1/2

K&S #104 3/16" Alum Tube Lug Balsa Core Outline

1/64 Ply Top and Bottom 1/8 Sheet Balsa Core

Core Grain

Use JB Weld to Affix Lugs and to Joint Struts Bevel CF Tube Strut Ends For Proper Fit in Lug

Hall's Springfield "Bulldog"

Wing Strut 2 Req Wing Strut is Functional Build Struts With Wings Trammelled Build Lf and Rt

Fwd .155" CF Tube

Wingspan: 51" Wing Area: 424 Sq In Flying Weight: 5 Lb 2 Oz

Dimensions in Inches Unless Noted

Wing Loading: 27.8 oz/Sq Ft Scale: 1/6 Power: 650 Watts

Rob Caso Models

1/16 Balsa Strut Fairing Side

DRAWN BY:

Robert J. Caso

Aileron LE 3/16 Balsa 2 Req

Plastic Kit: Williams Bros Kit #32532 1/32 Scale

Skid: 1/16 Wire Ply Core Glassed Balsa Fairing

Offset Skid to Clear Elev Pushrod Build up Fairing to Center

Brass Control Horn

LG Fuselage Slot Cut Template

References: 1/12 Scale Drawing: Vern E. Clements 308 Palo Alto Dr Caldwell, ID 83605

1/16 Ply

1/16 ID CF Tube Through Stab

Here

Dave Brown 3.5" Wheel

Loc: Location Lt: Light Mag: Magnet mm: Millimeters Mnt: Mount OD: Outside Diameter Oz: Ounce Quan: Quantity Req: Required Rt: Right Sq: Square Stab: Stabilizer TE: Trailing Edge TL: Thrust Line V: Volt ("): Inches

Rudder Control Horn

6 5

Abbreviations:

Alum: Aluminum CA: Cyanoacrylate Glue CF: Carbon Fiber CL: Center Line Dia: Diameter Deg: Degrees Ea: Each Elev: Elevator Eng: Engine ESC: Electronic Speed Control Fwd: Forward Ft: Feet ID: Inside Diameter Lam: Lamination LE: Leading Edge LG: Landing Gear Lf: Left 2X: Lamination of 2 Cross Grain Parts

Plug In Carb Intake With Bridged Male Deans Connector Used To Complete Circuit

Balsa Fill Vacuformed Tail Cone

Fabric Covering

Elevator Pushrod Brace Here

Slotted Lower Stringer

Battery Tray Here Offset to Lf of CL

Fiberglass Specialties Fiberglass Cowl 8x4"

Ply Cover Slot for Stab

Plain 1/4x1/8 Stringers Omitted for Clarity

Finish: Klass Kote Epoxy Over White Primer Light Duplicolor Clear Coat Hand Pinstriping

4-40 Blind Nut

LG Fuselage Slot

Trim Tab

Balsa Block

Slotted Side Stringer

Strut Support Plate

Thunder Power 4s 3200 mAh Lipo

1 1A 1B

Fabric Covering 1/8 CF Tube

3/32x5/16 Stringers Sand Flush With Skinning

Fwd LG Mount Doubler

1/8 Sq Vertical Stiffeners to Back of 1A

Lf Side

1/16 Core Skin Fin to Here

Sheeting Line 3/32 Balsa Skin

Skinned Areas Glassed With .75 oz Fiberglass Applied With Minwax Polycrylic Satin

LG Mount Here Assemble in Fuselage

Dummy Engine: 1/6 Scale Williams Bros P&W Wasp Part #30750 (Hobbylinc.com)

Carb Intake 1/16 Ply

3/16x1/8 3/32 Contest Skin

Slotted Upper Stringer

Gull Spar Backing

LG Mount Spacer Here

50 Amp Esc Here

Bridged Male Deans Here

Vacuformed Canopy

Tri-Stock

OS Max 3825-750

1/16 Balsa Skin

1/8x3/16 Stringer Balsa Fill

Hinge Slot

Fin TE 1/8 Balsa

1/16 Skin

Scale Hub

12x8 Prop

Nose Lengthened 3/4" for Flyability

Rudder/Elevator Servos Mounted at 11 and 7 O'Clock Positions, Respectively Viewed From Nose Central Hobbies 1/8" CF Pushrods Elevator Braced

Black/ White Outline

Fabric Covering

1/16 Skin

1/4 LE Fill

Servos: (4) Hitec HS-65HB

1/16 Skin 1/16 Core 2 Req

3/32 Strip

Hole for Servo Lead

Fuselage Servo Mount

Hinge Slot

Fill Corner With Scrap 1/8 Sq

1/16 Ply 2 Req

Hinge Cover 3/32 Balsa

Joiner Slot 3/32 LE 4 Req

Gull Root Outline 1/8 Balsa 1/8 Lt Ply

3/32 LE 2 Req

Fin LE 1/8 Balsa

1/16 Skin

2 1

Nose Fill 3/16 Balsa 20 Req

3/16x1/8

1/8 Balsa

3/16x1/8 Spruce

Great Planes Micro Hinge Points Used Throughout Part No LXK116

Stab and Elev 2 Req

1B 3

2 Req

1/8 Lt Ply

1/16 Skin Entire Stab Top and Bottom

CL TL

3 Req

Slotted Side Stringer

Tongue Box Lower

Upper Stringer

Quack916@aol.com

ROBERT J. CASO 128 GRANDVIEW RD BOYERTOWN, PA 19512

Aileron Bay TE 1/8 Balsa 2 Req

Spring Loc 2 Req

1/64 Ply Outline

4-40 Blind Nut Here

LG Mount Spacer Fwd of Bulkhead #3 2 Req

1/8 Lt Ply After skinning, cut out centers of bulkheads here and remove

1/8 Lt Ply

Aft LG Mount LG Mounts: 2x with 1/64 Ply Front of Fwd and Back of Aft

4-40 Blind Nut Locations

C LG Vertical Mount

LG Vertical Mount Here

1/8 Welding Rod Pivot Pin Tap for 4-40

1/8 Lt Ply

Fwd LG Mount

Firewall Mount 1/8 Lt Ply

1/8 Lt Ply 2 Req

Fuselage Crutch: 32 x 2 x 3/4" Plywood Cut last Inch to 3/4" on Center

Firewall

Top Skin

Build Internal Ply/Balsa Truss On Bottom Skin (Not Shown)

2 Notch for Aft Gull Spar

Bottom Skin

Slot for Upper Stringer

Fair LG Strut Fore and Aft With Balsa, then Glass

Pin and Washer To Secure Wheel

Brass Tube Bearing

Cut here Wing Servo Mount

Tongue Box End Detail

4 Req

3/32 Hard Balsa Doublers CF Sheet Aft Sides

LG Axle 3/32 Wire

Spacer

Glass Corner

1/16 Ply 3/32 Balsa

LE Former

Hatch 2 Req 1/16 Ply

2 Req 8 Req

2 Req

Fill Around Axle With Ply

1/8 x 1/4 Plain Stringer Slot

1/8x3/4 Soft Balsa Laminate

Gull Spar Slot Support 1/16 Balsa 8 Req

Medium Balsa Block

Slot for Slotted Stringer

1/8 Lt Ply

Fill Tip With Balsa

Shave Top of Spars to 3/16 at Rib #10

Servo Tray and Hatch

Main Spar

Strut Plate

4 3/16x1/4 Spars Hard Balsa

Sig Koverall Fabric Covering

1/16 Skin

Install 1/16 Ply Packing Under Screw Location Bottom of Wing

Wing Tongue Box

Sheet Support 1/8 Balsa Front of Bulkhead #6 2 Req

1/8 Gusset

4-40 Blind Nut

1/8 Balsa

1/16 TE Cap

Backing for Hinge

Aileron Horn 1/32 Ply Lam 2x

Scrap Ribs

Scrap Fill

3/16 Balsa Aileron LE

1/16 Skin

All Wing Skinning Top and Bottom

1/16 Capstrip

Strut Plate 4 Req 1/8 Lt Ply

TE 1/4" Washout

Fair LE Then Sheet

1/16 TE Cap Top and Bottom

1/16 Skin Control Horn

1/8 Balsa Stringer Support 6 Req

Hatch Skin

Round Out After Applying Sheeting

1/16 Balsa 2 Req

1/8 Lt Ply Black Letters Red Field

8 1/8 Lt Ply

1/8 Lt Ply

Gull Spar 1/8 Lt Ply 2 Req

Fore

Gull LE Former 3/16 Balsa 2 Req

Fin Base 1/8 Balsa

Wing Tongue Doubler 2 Req 1/8 Lt Ply

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Motor Box Upper and Lower Plates 2 Req

Fwd Side Plate 2 Req 1/8 Lt Ply

4-40 Blind Nut Here

1/8 Lt Ply 2x Lam with 1/64 Ply Motor and Dummy Engine Mount

1/8 Lt Ply

Blind Nut Support 2 Req 1/8 Lt Ply

4-40 Blind Nut Here Optional for Williams Bros Dummy Engine 1/8 Lt Ply

Recess 1/8" Into Back of Engine Crankcase

_ "6" Underside White

Attach Dummy Engine From Rear of Mount

White Striping

Robert J. Caso 1/6 Scale Bulldog, Sheet 2/2

1/8 Lt Ply Motor Mount (No Dummy Eng)

6 HS-65HB

Strut Support 2 Req 1/8 Lt Ply

Aft

Tailcone Mount 1/8 Lt Ply

4-40 Blind Nut And Ply Support

1/16 Skin Entire Underside of Tip 1/4" Dihedral At Tip

4 1/16 Balsa Lam to Back of Bulkhead #8

1/8 Lt Ply

1/16 Skin

LE Former Tip 3/16 Balsa

1/8 Lt Ply

Slot for 1/16x1/8 Strip

Fore Side Aft side Fore Sides

HS-65HB

Notch for Fwd Gull Spar

Fuselage Mnt Bulkhead #4

1/8 ID Alum Bearing Tube Here Fore Side

LG Side 1/16 Ply 2 ea Req Double Internally with 3/32 Hard Balsa

1/16 Ply 2 ea Req Make Rt and Lf LG Strut

Axle Here

1/8 Dowel Here

Brass Safety Tab

Spring: 1/2" Dia x 2" Length Approx 4 Lb Spring Rate

Spring Loc Here

1/32 Ply Doubler

4-40 Screw/Nut Mount Tray Hold Down

B C

1/8 Lt Ply

Battery Box 1/8 Lt Ply

Fwd LG Mount Doubler 2 Req

A 1/8 Lt Ply Slot for Ply Crutch

4 Req

Black Field Red Letters

Differential Aileron Throw used in Protoyype 1/2" Up, 1/4" Down Measured at Root With 40% Expo

NR-2111 Scheme Also on Underside Left Wing Striping Scheme Only Upper Surface Left Wing And Underside Right Wing

RC-SF.COM

BUILD

Basic construction, rough shaping and sanding was completed in previous installments. Here are the primary airframe components of my Great Planes Super Sportster 60.

SUPER SPORTSTER 60 HOW TO DO THE WOOD WORK

his installment has me measuring for the wing installation, mounting the stabilizer and vertical fin, and giving you a few shaping suggestions for the lower wing fairing blocks. The Super Sportster 60’s wing is held to the fuselage with four 1/4-20

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

BY Jeff Troy

nylon bolts. Holes for these bolts must be drilled through the wing and into the plywood hold-down plates in the fuselage. It’s imperative for the wing to be perfectly aligned in the fuselage’s wing saddle. Here’s how I do it: Inside the fuselage, but visible twitter.com/rcsportflyer

Mark the center of the fuselage to help prepare for aligning the wing in its saddle. You’ll want a good steel ruler for this measurement—one that does not bend.

It’s a good idea to mark the estimated positions of the wing bolts so you don’t drill the holes through the balsa triangle strips or miss the plywood mounting plate altogether.

You must center the wing in its saddle. I do it by lining up the pencil mark with the center of the wing-joiner rib as I’m showing in this photo. It is easy and quick to do when you use this timetested method.

Four nylon bolts secure the wing to the fuselage. I drill only one 3/16-in. pilot hole to begin the mounting. Then I remove the bit from the drill, and insert it into the drilled hole, allowing the wing to pivot slightly while I measure. The three remaining holes can be drilled after the wing has been measured for its proper position in the wing saddle.

above the wing’s leading edge, make a pencil mark at the center of the bulkhead in front of the wing. Then make two more reference marks on the fuselage chin, right and left of the center mark and just slightly inboard of the triangle strips on either side of the plywood plates. The first mark will help you find the center of the wing, and the second two marks will show you the left-and-right positions of the wing-mounting holes. The final positions will be in line with those two marks, and approximately 1/2-in. behind the leading edge of the wing. Make similar right-andleft marks on the fuselage bottom behind the trailing edge of the wing. Place the wing in the saddle, and line up the center mark on the facebook.com/rcsportflyer

bulkhead with the center of the wing-joiner rib. You can use the eyeball method to center the trailing edge between the fuselage sides, and when the wing appears to be centered, drill a 3/16-in. hole in one of the two forward locations, down through the wing, into and through the plywood hold-down plate. It’s important only one hole is drilled now. Insert a length of 3/16-in. dowel, music wire, or the drill bit, into the hole, semi-securing the wing while allowing it to pivot slightly in the saddle while you measure for its exact position. There are several methods for measuring, but the one I rely on most is the dial-cord method. Dial cord is a non-stretch cord that was

used in many older, knob-style radios to mechanically move the tuner indicator across the face of the screen. You can find dial cord in better electronics parts houses, and a recent Google search brought it up on eBay, Amazon, and other sources under vintage radio dial cord. Alternately, any other type of line that does not stretch will work. Prepare the measuring line by tying one end around a T-pin, and folding a 1-in. strip of masking tape over the line at the opposite end. Use a thin marker to draw an arrow on both sides of the folded tape. Now stick the pin, dead center, into the bottom of the fuselage at the tail, and pull the taped end gently toward one of the wingtips. Most RC-SF.COM

BUILD

SUPER SPORTSTER 60

I use a length of non-stretch dial cord for measuring. I tie one end of this cord around a large T-pin, and fold a short length of masking tape over the cord near the opposite end. The tape can slide back and forth along the cord for positioning, and I mark an arrow on the tape to aid in measuring accurately.

Center the pin at the tail end of the bottom of the fuselage, and alternately draw the tape end of the string toward both ends of the wing, first to one side, then the other.

When the wing is properly positioned, drill the remaining three pilot holes, then remove the wing from the fuselage. Use a 1/4-20 tap to cut threads into the plywood wing-mounting plates. Drill through the holes in the wing with a 9/32-in. bit, so the 1/4-20 nylon wing bolts pass freely.

This is a countersink bit, which I use to put a slight dip around each bolt hole. The recesses help the bolts to locate the holes more easily after they pass through the wing.

instructions have you measure the wing at the tips, but I disagree. It’s too easy to create a slight variance in the tips with just an extra swipe or two of the sandpaper. I prefer measuring at a more precise location, such as the trailing edge of the wing where it meets the inboard face of the wingtips. Pull the cord toward the wingtip, and slide the tape along the cord until the arrow you drew on the tape aligns with your desired measuring point. Now rotate the cord on the pin and pull the cord toward the same measuring point on the opposite wing. If the wing is true, the arrow on the tape will hit both sides of the wing in the same spot. If not, swivel the wing slightly around

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

the 3/16-in. pin, and measure again. Continue to swivel and measure until the wing is properly positioned, then hold it there with a few T-pins while you drill the remaining three 3/16-in. pilot holes. Remove the wing, and drill through the holes in the wing with a 9/32-in. bit. This will allow the 1/420 bolts to pass freely without much play. Do not drill out the holes in the plywood mounting plates. Instead, cut threads in the mounting plates by running a 1/4-20 tap through the holes. After the holes have been tapped, use a countersink bit to put a slight bevel on the outer rim of each hole. Don’t cut the bevel too deeply—just enough to help the bolts find center after they pass

through the wing. Finish each of the holes with a drop or two of thin cyanoacrylate (CA) glue to harden the threads. If you remember constructing the SS60’s wing, you will recall that a plywood plate was installed behind the leading edge of each wing panel. Balsa filler blocks were glued on top of these plates, and sanded to the shape of the nose ribs. The forward wing sheeting covers the filler blocks. The holes you just drilled for the forward mounting bolts went through all of this, but you will have to remove material from the leading edge sheeting and the filler blocks so the bolt heads can rest solidly on the plywood plates. Going back to my Sizes & Shapes twitter.com/rcsportflyer

Use a drop or two of thin CA in and around each of the finished holes. When the CA is cured, run the tap through the holes again to clean the threads.

Large drills make a mess of balsa wood, so I need a tool that will cut clean holes for the forward wing bolts. Create the tool by using a No. 11 blade to sharpen the inside rim of a length of brass tubing.

Use a rotating motion of the sharpened tube to cut through the wing sheeting and the balsa filler pieces, providing clearance for the wing bolts to pass through, so they can come to rest on the plywood plates beneath the balsa fillers.

This image show the Super Sportster 60 wing mounted to the fuselage, secured by the four nylon bolts. Note the rectangular plywood plate at the rear, which prevents the bolt heads from crushing the trailing edge of the wing.

assortment of bits and pieces from K & S Precision Metals, I picked a piece of brass tubing with a larger inner diameter than the heads of the wing bolts. I used a No. 11 hobby blade in a No.1 knife handle to sharpen the inside edge of the tubing to create a boring tool that lets me remove enough balsa around the holes to clear the bolt heads. Just position the sharpened tube where you want a large recess, then rotate the tubing left and right while applying pressure. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll feel greater resistance when the tubing contacts the plywood plate, and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s when you can withdraw the tube and remove the balsa inside the bore. Do this with a small, flathead screwdriver or needle-nose pliers. facebook.com/rcsportflyer

The trailing edge of the wing has no such issues, although the kit includes a thin piece of plywood to reinforce the balsa trailing edge and provide a solid seat for the bolt heads. Attach the plywood plate to the wing with medium CA or quicksetting epoxy, then drill the mounting holes in the plywood through the top of the wing. Balsa fairing blocks will be installed under the wing. These will visually blend the shape of the fuselage into the wing at the leading and trailing edges, but first, I will mount the horizontal stabilizer. The stabilizer can be measured in much the same way as I did the wing, using the dial-cord method. Mount the wing to the fuselage with the four nylon bolts. Make a small

pencil mark at the center of the stabilizerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trailing edge, then stick a T-pin through the trailing edge at the center mark. Slip the stabilizer into its slot in the fuselage, align the pin with the fuselage tail post, and push the pin farther down to engage the fuselage. The single pin allows the stabilizer to pivot slightly, just as the wing did when it was held by only a single piece of 3/16-in. material. Like the wingtips, stabilizer tips are also prone to slight differences in dimension after sanding, so instead of measuring out at the tips, make two equidistant marks along the trailing edge, each one measured out from center where the pin mark was made. Make the marks just short of the stabilizer tips. Using the cord, RC-SF.COM

BUILD

SUPER SPORTSTER 60

Mark the centerline of the horizontal stabilizer, then slide it into its slot in the fuselage. Insert one T-pin through the trailing edge to secure the stabilizer to the tail end of the fuselage, allowing it to pivot slightly while you adjust its final position. Use the dial cord again to center the stabilizer by measuring the distance between the wing and stabilizer on each side of the model.

When the stabilizer is correctly positioned, lock it in with a few T-pins, and use a soft pencil to mark the outline of the fuselage on the bottom of the stabilizer. Remove the stabilizer, apply 15-minute epoxy between the lines on the stabilizer and the mounting area on the fuselage, then reinsert the stabilizer. Use the lines to ensure the correct position of the stabilizer. Insert three or four T-pins to hold it there while the epoxy cures.

Position the forward wing fairing block over the wing, and use a pencil or Sharpie® pen to mark the angle of the wing onto the block.

I use a No. 5 aluminum knife handle and a round gouge blade from Excel Hobby Blades to remove the bulk of the unwanted material from the underside of the fairing block.

stick the pin end into the stabilizer trailing edge at the mark. Pull the tape end toward the measuring point at the wing’s trailing edge, and slide the tape along the cord so the arrow hits the mark. Repeat the dial cord measurement for the opposite side, pivoting the stabilizer, switching the cord right and left, and measuring as many times as it take to achieve the same stabilizer-to-wing distance on both sides of the airplane. When the numbers match, use a few T-pins to secure the stabilizer to the fuselage, then use a soft pencil to draw the outline of the fuselage on the underside of the stabilizer. Remove the pins and the stabilizer,

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

mix a batch of 15- or 30-minute epoxy, and apply a generous coating of adhesive to the stabilizer saddle in the fuselage and the underside of the stabilizer between the pencil marks. Do not apply any adhesive to the upper side of the stabilizer or to the two fairing blocks above the stabilizer where the vertical fin will be installed. Slide the stabilizer back into its slot, using the pencil marks to ensure that it’s positioned correctly. Secure the stabilizer with T-pins, and set the assembly aside until the epoxy cures. After the stabilizer/fuselage joint has thoroughly cured, remove the T-pins and flip the model on its back

with the wing still attached. You’ll find that a sheet of foam rubber over the work surface will help prevent bumps and dents in the soft balsa, although a better solution is the Styrofoam Super Stand from Robart Manufacturing. With the model inverted, put the forward fairing block in position over the wing, and press it snugly against the forward wing-saddle bulkhead. Use a pencil or thin marker to mark the sides of the block by following the shape of the airfoil. Excel Hobby Blades has an impressive variety of common and specialty blades for hobbyists, and the one you’ll most appreciate here twitter.com/rcsportflyer

Lay a sheet of coarse sandpaper face up over the wing, then slide the fairing block back and forth over the sandpaper to get a good fit for the block.

Use epoxy to attach the fairing block to wing, then bring the block to its final shape with a razor plane, followed by two bar sanders fitted with coarse and fine grits.

Dry-fit the vertical fin into the slot in the tail blocks, then use medium CA to attach the small dorsal to the front edge of the fin. Remove the fin and sand the dorsal — use a round or oval PermaGrit sander. Rough shape the dorsal with the coarse side of the tool, then switch to the fine-grit side to finish the part.

Install the vertical fin with 15- or 30-minute epoxy, and use a triangle to ensure the fin is installed at precisely 90 degrees to the horizontal stabilizer.

is the round gouge blade. This tool is ideal for scooping balsa from concave areas like the forward fairing block. You’ll need a plastic or aluminum No. 5 handle to accommodate the gouge blades, but you’ll find it to be a worthwhile investment. The No. 5 is also the ideal handle for alternate gouge shapes, saw blades, wide knife blades, and many other Excel items. Use the gouge to scoop as much balsa as it takes to get a fairly close fit of the fairing block to the wing, then lay a sheet of coarse sandpaper, face up, over the wing. Slide the block right-and-left over the sandpaper until the fit is right. facebook.com/rcsportflyer

Remove only the two forward wing bolts, then attach the block to the wing with epoxy. You can slip a piece of of 1/32-in. balsa or plywood between the block and the bulkhead to make the necessary clearance for the covering material that will eventually be applied. Don’t glue this wooden spacer to anything; it’s only there to help position the fairing block. After the epoxy cures, drill through the top of the wing to properly locate the bolt holes in the fairing. Follow this with the sharpened brass tubing trick to allow the bolt heads to pass. Use the balsa sheets provided in the kit to create the rear fairing,

and relieve it to clear the plywood plate. Let the rear bolts remain in the wing while you make this fairing, so you can press the balsa down over the bolt heads to locate where the brass tube will be used to cut the clearance holes. When the fairing fits neatly over the wing, attach it with epoxy or medium CA. At this point, the front and rear fairing blocks are on the wing, and all four bolts should be snugly tightened to hold the wing in its final position in the saddle. Use a razor plane to rough-shape the fairing blocks into the flow of the fuselage chin and bottom, followed by coarse sandpaper on a bar sander to blend RC-SF.COM

BUILD

SUPER SPORTSTER 60

This shows the completed airframe of my Great Planes Super Sportster 60 constructed, rough sanded, and ready for radio installation, landing gear, and final cleanup in preparation for covering.

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

coarse surfaces on one half, and medium surfaces on the other. You will find that following the curve of the dorsal is easy with a round or curved sander, and it’s the ideal way to blend the dorsal into the fin. An alternate solution is using curved surfaces and sandpaper. Small cans or bottles, brass or aluminum tubing, dowels, tool handles, etc. will work. Use contact cement to attach a strip of sandpaper to the rounded surface, and you’ll have your new sanding tool. Mix a batch of 15-minute epoxy, and work it under the two fairing blocks over the stabilizer. Also apply it to the inside surfaces of the fairings, the top of the stabilizer between the fairings, and the base of the vertical fin where it fits between the fairings. Install the vertical fin, using a triangle to ensure that it stands at exactly 90 degrees to the stabilizer. Hold it in position with T-pins until the epoxy cures. This completes the basic woodwork for my Great Planes® Super Sportster 60. In my next installment, I’ll install the radio equipment, pass along a few tips for better-looking wire landing gear and touch up any dings and rough spots with Hobbico HobbyLite balsa filler. While I’m finishing the SS60, please remember that I still have a Dynaflite Super Decathlon, a Sig Spacewalker II, and a Nick Ziroli Fokker Dr.1 triplane to complete, as well as a few additional projects to throw

into the mix. How about a 1/4-scale 1912 Blackburn Monoplane, and a 40-percent Bleriot XI-2, both with functional wing warping and a long list of detailing tricks? If you are enjoying the series an annual subscription to the magazine is available at $29.95 for 12 issues.

SOURCES

the sides of the fairings into the fuselage sides and sand the fairings to the precisely match the contours of the fuselage. With the fairings finally mounted and contoured, the only real woodwork left is installing the vertical fin. You can remove the wing now, set it aside and slip the fin into its slot over the stabilizer. You’ll notice the rounded leading edge of the fin doesn’t quite run all the way down to the top of the fuselage, but stops abruptly roughly one inch above it; this is where the small dorsal must be attached. Use the bar sander to shape a scrap of 1/4-in. balsa so it fits tightly against the top fuselage stringer and the front of the fin. Attach it to the front of the fin with medium CA, then remove the fin from the fuselage. Cut the dorsal curve with a No. 11 blade, then sand both sides of the fin and dorsal to blend together. The next trick is getting the same rounded leading edge shape to blend into the dorsal. Sanding concave curves is almost impossible with a flat sanding tool, and even more difficult by hand sanding. I have two solutions; one commercial and the other an easy makeshift. The commercial answer is a round or curved Perma-Grit® sander. PermaGrits are brazed tungsten steel sanders that last close to forever. They are available in a variety of shapes and sizes, and in coarse and medium grits. Many of the tools have

Excel Hobby Blades 481 Getty Ave. Paterson, NJ 07503 Phone: 800-228-4344 excelhobbyblades.com Great Planes P.O. Box 9021 Champaign, IL 61821 Phone: 800-637-7660 Greatplanes.com K & S Precision Metals 6911 W. 59th St. Chicago, IL 60638 Phone: 773-586-8503 KSmetals.com Perma-Grit Tools Ltd. Old Forge, Osbournby Sleaford, Lincolnshire NG34 0DN United Kingdom Permagrit.com Robart Mfg. Inc. 625 N. 12th St. St, Charles, IL 60174 Phone: 630-584-7616 Robart.com twitter.com/rcsportflyer

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HOW TO

COWL OR HATCH FASTEN THEM SECURELY FOR FLIGHT

BY Tom Wolf

ave you been frustrated with engine cowls or access hatches coming loose because of engine-induced vibration? For years I installed cowls on my airplanes with machine screws that were threaded into conventional blind nuts (T-nuts). Often these screws came loose during flight. I tried using thread locking compound on the screws with some success, but I found it to be inconvenient when the cowl had to be removed at the airfield to make an adjustment to the engine. Most thread locking compounds require several hours to cure, which is impractical if one wants to fly immediately after reassembling the hardware.

1 50

An access hatch or an engine cowl can be securely attached by anchoring 2-56 flat head screws into short sections of the inner tube of a nylon pushrod. RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

USE FOR NYLON PUSHRODS What do nylon pushrods have to do with the locking hatches and cowls in place? As it turns out, a short piece of the inner tube of a nylon pushrod is a good vibrationresistant alternative to a blind nut for applications such as cowl or access twitter.com/rcsportflyer

hatch attachments. Somewhere along the way I stumbled onto this idea and I’ve been using it for many years for my models’ cowl and access hatch attachments. Since then, I have had no problems with screws backing out. So instead of throwing those scrap nylon pushrods away, I now save them for this use. Please note: This mounting technique is not suitable for situations where there is a significant tension load being applied to the screw. An example of this type of loading would be the attachment screws holding a landing gear assembly onto the bottom of the aircraft’s fuselage. In those situations, the best approach is to use a blind nut, or a conventional nut and washer for the attachment. The nylon pushrod concept is quite simple. The inner tube of a standard nylon pushrod accepts a 2-56 screw very nicely, and it

To improve adhesion, roughen the outer surface of the nylon tube with sandpaper.

does so with a significant amount of thread locking. Short sections (approximately 0.50-in. long) of nylon tubing are inserted into holes in the aircraft structure and then glued in place with thin cyanoacrylate (CA) adhesive — photo 1. The cowl or hatch attachment screws are then screwed into these nylon inserts. If a 2-56 attachment screw is too small for the application,

use the inner tube from a heavy-duty nylon pushrod (i.e., Sullivan S517), which accepts a 4-40 screw. STEP BY STEP Step 1 Tape the cowl or hatch in place and, at each desired fastener location, match drill through the hatch or cowl, and the support structure, behind with a drill that

You’ll want to mark the location of the holes in the support structure. Then you’ll drill the holes in the wood. Insert the nylon tube into holes drilled into the hatch or cowl support structure.

After the nylon tube is inserted approximately 0.5 inch, thin CA adhesive is wicked into the joint.

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Use a hobby knife to trim the nylon tube flush with the hatch or cowl mating surface. RC-SF.COM

HOW TO

COWL OR HATCH

Done: Completed hatch attachment provisions for a simple servo access hatch.

corresponds to the clearance hole for the attachment screws. For a 2-56 screw, a good choice is a #40 drill (0.098 diameter), and for a 4-40 screw, use a #30 drill (0.120 diameter). Step 2 Remove the cowl or hatch and using a drill that results in a close, tight fit for the nylon tubing, enlarge the holes in the aircraft structure to accept the nylon tubing. For most standard size pushrods, this would correspond to a 0.125-in. diameter hole. Step 3 Roughen up a section of the nylon tubing with 120-grit sandpaper — photo 2 — so the glue will adhere to the nylon tube’s wall well.

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

This access hatch is securely held in position with four 2-56 flat head screws.

Step 4 Insert the nylon tube into the hole in the aircraft structure, to a depth of approximately 0.50 inch. Glue the tubing in place by wicking thin CA adhesive into the joint between the tubing and the structure —photos 3 and 4. Step 5 Trim the tubing off flush with the aircraft structure — photo 5. Step 6 Repeat steps 4 and 5 until all of the attach points have been completed — photo 6. Then you’ll be ready to install the cowl or hatch — photo 7. The hole pattern should match perfectly since the mounting holes were matched-drilled in the first step.

The rudder servo access hatch is barely noticeable. Only the servo lead coming out of the hole in the lower edge of the hatch gives it away.

SUMMARY Using short sections of nylon tubing provides a simple-to-install receptacle for cowl or access hatch attachment screws. Installation is no more difficult than a blind nut, and it provides excellent screw retention, even in high vibration environments. Should one of these attachment points become worn, it is easily replaced by simply drilling out the old tube and gluing in a new one. I’ve been using this method for cowl and access panel attachment for nearly 20 years, and have had no instances of attachment screws coming loose. So, don’t throw those used nylon pushrods away, re-use them for anchoring attachment screws. You can reach me at tomdebwolf@cox.net.

The cowl, canopy and aileron servo access hatches on this Extra 300 are all secured with the mounting scheme described in this article. twitter.com/rcsportflyer

1815 South Research Loop Tucson, Arizona 85710 Phone: (520) 722-0607 E-mail: info@desertaircraft.com Web Site: desertaircraft.com

DA-200

Price $2795

Displacement: 12.20 cin (200 cc) Output: 19 hp Weight: 10.95 lb (4.95 kilos) Length: 9.625 in. (244 mm) Warranty: Two Years

DA-150

Price $1395

Displacement: 9.15 ci (150 cc) Output: 16.5 hp Weight: 7.96 lb (3.61 kilos) Length: 7.67 in. (195 mm) Warranty: Three year

DA-100L

Price $999

Displacement: 6.10 ci (100 cc) Output: 9.8 hp Weight: 5.57 lb (2.53 kilos) Length: 6.5 in. (162.5 mm) Warranty: Three year

DA-50-R

Price $549

Displacement: 3.05 ci (50 cc) Output: 5.0 hp Weight: 2.94 lb (1.33 kilos) Length: 6.7 (170 mm) Warranty: Three year

DA-170

Price $1695

Displacement: 10.48 ci (171.8 cc) Output: 18 hp Weight: 8.05 lb (3.56 kilos) Length: 7.67 in. (195 mm) Warranty: Three year

DA-120

Price $1199

Displacement: 7.4 ci (121 cc) Output: 11 hp Weight: 4.95 lb (2.25 kilos) Length: 6.25 in. (159 mm) Warranty: Three year

DA-85

Price $795

Displacement: 5.24 ci (85.9 cc) Output: 8.5 hp Weight: 4.3 lb (1.95 kilos) Length: 5.9 in. (150 mm) Warranty: Three year

HOW TO

AEROBATICS PART 14 THEY MUST CALL IT LIKE YOU WILL FLY IT BY Daniel Holman This photo shows me performing a high speed, slow-rolling circle at a local event with my Extreme Flight 104-in. wingspan Extra 300.

CALLING

pring is but a few weeks away! That means the competition season for aerobatics is right around the corner. In this issue, I will pick up where we left off in my discussion of how to get involved in International Miniature Aerobatic Club (IMAC) competition. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll continue with the elements of precision aerobatic competition flying. CALLING Formerly, I explained the necessity of having a good caller working with you. Now let me detail how to call precision aerobatic maneuvers. In the following photo, you will see two maneuvers taken from my Unlimited, Known sequence. I encourage you to envision these maneuvers in your mind. Then follow the diagram as I call them. Note that the first maneuver is on the right side, and the second is on the left. REVERSE SHARK-TOOTH From inverted, push to vertical; one and one-quarter negative snaps; opposite quarter roll. Pull five-eights loop to a forty-five down. Two of eight; opposite three quarter snap to inverted. Pull to exit upright; half roll to inverted. HAMMERHEAD From inverted, push to vertical and perform two negative snap rolls on the up-line. Hammer into the

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

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wind — caller should check wind and remind the pilot of the proper hammer-direction. Two consecutive rolls on the downline; push to exit inverted. KNOWNS AND UNKNOWNS The final details of IMAC competition I need to explain deal with the two different types of flights the competitors perform. The two different types of sequences that are flown are called the Known, and the Unknown. As you might have already guessed, the Known flight is provided to the pilots before they compete so they can practice it. Every year, the Known sequences for each class — Basic through Unlimited — are released before the IMAC competition season starts. These Known sequences are used for all IMAC sanctioned contests during that year. Although mixed up and modified, the maneuvers for each class are very similar in difficulty year to year. While I highly recommend competitors memorize the Known sequences, having your caller read the Aresti sequences through the flight is still very important and should avoid lapses in memory.

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Next is the Unknown flight. Before delving into it, I need to make the point that the Basic class does not have an Unknown. In the Sportsman through Unlimited classes the competitors should arrive at the contest with their Known sequences firmly engrained in their minds and perfected. The Unknown sequences on the other hand, will not be seen until the pilot arrives at the contest; and, this is often not until the end of the first day. The Known sequence for each class is made up of maneuvers with similar difficulty levels as those in the Known

Jerry Smith captured pilots at an IMAC competition near Atlanta, Georgia. Competitions such as this bring in lots of pilots, neat airplanes and are a true joy to attend.

Here, I am performing a low inverted flat-turn. If you try this with a tail-heavy airplane, in most cases you will have to add a small amount of up-elevator with the rudder. A slightly nose-heavy CG is best!

RC-SF.COM

HOW TO

AEROBATICS PART 14

I love flying at sunset when we can get photos such as this one! This shot was taken on a crisp and calm evening, over a hayfield that is just a few miles from our home.

able to get away with this, they are liable to miss something from time to time. I do not recommend this approach. Working with your caller and mentally preparing yourself for the flight is time well spent! Alternately, when you’re practicing IMAC with your caller, it is very beneficial to fly outdated Knowns, or old Unknown flights off the cuff, without practicing them ahead of time. It really keeps your mind quickened, and it sharpens your ability to make a sequence look good without practice. The last piece of advice I will provide about Unknowns is that flying a large box really makes things easier. Without going overboard, spreading the maneuvers out a little more, and making them slightly larger and slower than normal will give you a little extra time to think the flight’s sequences through. As soon as you start to rush an Unknown flight, what I’ve found is that it’s all downhill from there! Lastly, Unknowns aren’t anything to be afraid of and are a fun challenge. If you follow these simple practice recommendations, you won’t have much to worry about when you get to the competition.

Aerobatic pilots of full-scale aircraft, typically have their Aresti routine posted on the cockpit’s instrument panel where they can look at during the flight.

round. There is only one Unknown sequence for each class, which levels the competition field for the pilots. Now many of you are thinking, “Wait, are you telling me I must fly completely foreign and un-practiced sequences in competition?” The answer is yes, but remember everyone you’re competing against is in the same situation. Once the competitors are given the sequences, they are allowed to study them overnight. However, they are strictly forbidden to fly them with any aircraft or on a simulator.

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

The best way to learn the Unknown sequences is to work with your caller and a stick type practice airplane. After you and your caller study the sequences, have him or her call the sequences to you while you use the stick airplane to visualize the flight. Try to memorize the sequences, and mentally fly the Unknown before flying it in front of the judges. Funny as it is, I personally know a couple of Unlimitedclass pilots who would rather do anything than mentally practice their unknowns at a contest. Rather, they will fly an Unknown without looking at the sequences ahead of time, relying on their caller to get their flight right. Although they are often

AIRPLANE SETUP Now let’s take a look at your model’s equipment to ensure that everything is setup properly for this type of flying. If you are using an airplane for IMAC and freestyle/3D flying, you will not need to change much mechanically. Even so, there are a few things that make a huge difference in how precisely your airplane flies. The first thing I want to detail is about its center of gravity (CG). This is extremely important regardless of the type of aerobatics being flown. Many of the pilots new to aerobatics have the misconception that a tailheavy airplane is easier to fly 3D. This is absolutely not the case! I’ll underscore that a slightly nose-heavy airplane is superior in every way. twitter.com/rcsportflyer

ARESTI DICTIONARY Roll Elements- Family 9 ROTATION ->

1/4

1/2

3/4

1-1/4

1-1/2

1-3/4

Continuous Roll

2-Point

4-Point

8-Point

Positive Snap Negative Snap Positive Spin Negative Spin Direction of flight is into the curve of rolls and the tick mark direction on snaps and spins. Only 2 of the above roll elements are allowed on any line. Other rules apply as well. Please refer to the FAI Catalog for additional information. Additional rules apply for IMAC Known and Unknown construction.

For those who fly nothing but 3D, a perfectly neutral CG is fine. I went over this in a previous issue, so I’m not going to explain it all again. Even so, trust me! When flying precision and freestyle aerobatics, a slightly nose-heavy airplane will always fly more precisely and naturally. Although there are a few pilots who fly aerobatics with a neutral CG, I don’t recommend it. Every time I roll my airplane inverted, I want to have to hold a slight amount of downelevator to maintain its flight line. When the air is bumpy, I would much rather adjust the amount of down elevator control I’m using to maintain inverted flight than go back and forth between small inputs of both up and down elevator. This sounds like a minor consequence, but it makes a big difference when flying precision aerobatics. Another significant benefit of a slightly nose-heavy CG is that when you are performing a slow rolling circle, you will not need to facebook.com/rcsportflyer

pull much up elevator control when rolling inverted, with lots of rudder control being used. All in all your airplane will fly much more precisely with my recommended CG. Even when flying extreme aerobatics and 3D, my airplane is much more locked in with a slightly nose-heavy CG. The second noteworthy aspect of setting up your airplane for IMAC is the radio and control surfaces throws. These setups are about personal preference, but there are a few things you must consider regardless of your preferences. I always setup three rates on my airplanes. The lowest rate is for IMAC and precision aerobatics. When flying IMAC, I never change the control rates and fly the airplane with the same control throws and exponentials throughout the flight. My transmitter’s mid-rate control is for freestyle aerobatics and is simply a tamed 3D rate, with the right amount of aileron throws

This dictionary from the IMAC club will help you learn how to use the Aresti figures. You and your copilot must know these figures well if you are going to be successful in competitions.

to perform clean snap rolls. The high-rate control has maximum deflections on all surfaces. When I’m piloting my airplanes I don’t like to flip switches. When competing in freestyle competitions, I change the transmitter’s rates a couple times, but only when absolutely necessary. When flying precision aerobatics, I never do. There are top-level precision pilots that are constantly flipping switches throughout the airplane’s flight. I’m not saying this is wrong as it obviously works for them. However, you’ll get to know my airplane’s flight envelope much better if you setup a precision rate and then fly the airplane that way throughout the flight. Flying with only one control rate may be ever so slightly more difficult on the control sticks, however, overall I feel the pilot load is considerably less because you are then not worry about flipping switches while controlling the airplane. Alternately, if you’ve learned RC-SF.COM

HOW TO

AEROBATICS PART 14  

 





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

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   

   



    

    

    

    

  

  

   

   

  

  

   

   

  

  

    

    

   

   

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 









Here is what the IMAC score sheet is going to look like when you enter a competition. Pay attention to the total K value of each manuever in Unlimited Alt routine.











 



 

is slightly different, but this is my recommendation for a start point:



Control Aileron Elevator Rudder

















Deflection 30o 25o 35o

Exponential 30% 25% 25%

Some airplanes require more or less aileron to perform a perfect snap roll, but this initial setting is good for most precision airframes. Give this setup a try, and then fine-tune it to fit your piloting preferences. Remember too much exponential is a bad thing. If the exponential setting is more than 40 percent, you will start to feel that the controls are no longer linear. I feel it is best to get used to a slightly sensitive feel and have a linear control movement throughout the range of travel. I actually fly with slightly less than what I’ve recommended here, but this is a great starting point. 





to fly with a specific technique and have it firmly engrained into your piloting, I don’t recommend changing unless you are up for a little challenge. However, if you’re just starting out, I recommend setting up your airplane with one well-tuned precision rate, and then using it. Ok, now let’s set the airplane’s rates. Another pet-peeve of mine is when pilots setup the airplane’s precision control rates with just enough control throw for the

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

maneuver that they’ll be flying. As I talked about previously in this series, what happens when the transmitter’s control sticks are maxed out in a maneuver, and then the wind catches the airplane and you must correct in the middle of the maneuver? The reality is that you won’t have any control left. Because of this, I always program my transmitter to give the model a little more control throw than it absolutely needs. Every airplane

CONCLUSION I recommend adjusting your airplane’s center of gravity, control throws and exponential settings to those I’ve given here. Then fly your airplane, and tweak the settings slightly to fit your airplane and personal piloting. In the next issue I will discuss mechanical settings dedicated to IMAC airplanes, and how little differences in them can go a long way. Keep practicing and remember that it only gets better. twitter.com/rcsportflyer









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 



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

 



   

   

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

    

    





    

    





  

  

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

   

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  

  

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

   

   

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  

  





    

    





   

   







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

 





 

 



 



 



 

You can learn much by studying this Unlimited Known sequence that will be used in the 2014 competition seasion. You’ll want to note the direction of the wind too. RC-SF.COM

TWO FUN EVENTS! ONE FUN WEEK OF RC FLYING Check Them Out!

Cubs n’ Cousins Othellor, WA August 22 – 24 rc-cubsncousins.com Washington Warbirds Richland, WA August 29 – 31 rc-warbirdflyer.com

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DE HAVILLAND DH.82 TIGER MOTH IT’S A MOTH YOU LOVE TO SEE FLYING

he de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and others as a primary trainer. The Tiger Moth remained in service with the RAF until being replaced by the de Havilland Chipmunk in 1952, when many of the surplus aircraft entered civil operation. Many other nations used the Tiger Moth in both military and civil applications, and it remains in widespread use as a recreational aircraft in many countries. It is still occasionally used as a primary training aircraft, especially for pilots wanting to gain flight experience before moving on to other tailwheel aircraft, even though most Tiger Moths have a tail skid rather than a tail wheel. Many Tiger Moth biplanes are now used by flight operations as a way of offering flight lessons and for sightseeing rides. The Tiger Moths that are privately owned are primarily flown for air shows and for recreation. Note there is a de Havilland Tiger Moth club, which was founded

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

SPECIFICATIONS

BY Hans-Jürgen Fischer Crew : two, student & instructor Length : 23 ft 11 in. (7.34 m) Wingspan : 29 ft 4 in. (8.94 m) Height : 8 ft 9 in. (2.68 m) Wing area : 239 ft² (22.2 m²) Empty weight : 1,115 lb (506 kg) Loaded weight : 1,825 lb (828 kg) Powerplant : de Havilland Gipsy Major, inverted 4-cylinder inline, 130 hp (100 kW) Maximum speed : 109 mph at 1,000 ft (97 kts, 175 km/h at 300 m) Cruise speed : 67 mph (59 kts) Range : 302 miles (250 NM, 486 km) Service ceiling : 13,600 ft (4,145 m) Rate of climb : 673 ft/min (205 m/min)

1975. It is a well organized owners’ association to provide support and information. The de Havilland Moth Club welcomes anyone with an interest in aeroplanes designed and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company at Stag Lane and Hatfield between the wars. FMI: dhmothclub. co.uk.

Role Trainer Manufacturer de Havilland Aircraft Company Designer Geoffrey de Havilland First flight October 26, 1931 Produced 1931–1944 Number built 8,868 Retired 1959 Used By Royal Air Force Royal Canadian Air Force Royal Australian Air Force Royal New Zealand Air Force

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DH. 82A Tiger Moth Zeichnung Â© by H.-J.FISCHER 2012

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ENGINE FUEL TANKS

MAKING TROUBLE-FREE FUEL SYSTEMS

BY Pete Bergstrom

e’ve all endured, or seen the results of, a poor or haphazard fuel tank installation in an RC aircraft. They make for reliability problems or worse. Troubles occur when the engine can’t draw fuel, or it runs fine on the ground but when the airplane gets 20 feet in the air the engine quits—in the worst place and time, which can result in an off-field landing or crash! Often the modeler is quick

to blame the engine design and manufacture for the engine’s poor running. The reality is the engine’s problems are closer to home, with the construction of and installation of the fuel system. So, this month I want to examine a few of the common fuel system problems. Then I’ll talk about ways to solve them. CLEANLINESS Cleanliness is next to

righteousness when it comes to fuel systems. I’ll say so a couple of times in this article because dirt and debris are the number one cause of RC aircraft fuel system problems. Use fuel filters — multiples! They are inexpensive insurance against problems. Use a filter in the bottom of your fuel jug, and again in line between the fuel jug and the fuel tank. For the onboard fuel, I prefer to use a filtered fuel pickup (clunk) in the tank and then no filter between the tank and the carburetor. You can add an inline fuel filter between the tank and the carburetor; however, I’ll explain my objection to doing so later. CONSISTENT What does a tank need to do? In its simplest form the tank needs

There are a couple of different types of stopper material — one for glow fuel and one for gasoline.

You’ll also need to select the proper fuel tubing for the fuel type: silicone, Tygon® and Viton®.

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to deliver a reliable and consistent amount of fuel to the engine at all times, regardless of the aircraft’s flight attitude. Our common solution to the consistent fuel delivery for the engine is to install a flexible fuel line with a weighted pickup, or clunk. The clunk is attached to the line’s end that reaches to the rear of the fuel tank. This in theory allows the fuel’s clunk to be in the same place as the fuel while the aircraft is in flight. Gravity affects the fuel and the clunk equally. So as the airplanes rolls left or right, or pitches up and down, the clunk follows the fuel and is always submerged.

This shows three clunk styles: felt filter (EVOA112), sintered (DUB161) and standard. Also shown are two fuel filters: HAN143 Pro Filter on left and EVOA111 on right.

This is typically how you’ll get a standard tank assembly as it comes out of the package, and with its accessories.

VENT / FILL The tank needs to have some sort of a venting system to allow air in to replace the fuel used by the engine. Also, the tank must be easy to fill. Typically the tank’s vent is a hard line (copper or brass). It is bent so its inside end is at the top of the tank when the airplane is sitting on its wheels. There are a number of ways to get fuel in the tank: 1) Remove the fuel line from the carburetor and pump the fuel into the tank. 2) Use a T-fitting, with a capped third line into the fuel line between the tank and the carburetor. 3) My favorite is to add a third line to the tank that is dedicated to adding or removing fuel. PROBLEMS Fuel system problems can creep into the aircraft’s operation during construction, aircraft maintenance or normal use. Here are some tips for preventing fuel system problems: • During construction, remember cleanliness. Make sure you rinse out the fuel tank with isopropyl alcohol prior to starting construction. Although the typical milky white interior of a new fuel tanks appear to be clean, I can’t tell you how many times manufacturing debris, in the form of small nylon bits the same color as the tank, have been found in my models’ tanks. Make cleaning a normal part of your aircrafts’ facebook.com/rcsportflyer

Here you see how I build a three-line tank setup. The next step will be to install it in the tank and tighten the stopper.

construction routine. • Always use new, clean fuel tubing. Trying to save money by reusing old tubing that may be dirty and/ or split does lead to fuel supply headaches. • An improperly tightened stopper/ cap assembly will either leak fuel or allow air to enter where

and when you don’t want. You should not over-tighten the cap either because you can split the fuel tank. This problem is not as common as it used to be because most companies now provide fuel tank caps that extend completely over the stopper, and secure themselves around the stopper’s RC-SF.COM

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ENGINE FUEL TANKS

This is my method for getting small pieces of fuel tubing over the fuel line to make a secure connection to the hard tubing.

receptacle which reinforces the tank. • You should remove burrs from the ends of any metal tubes you cut during tank assembly. These can cut the fuel tubing, which can cause fuel or air leaks. Also, after cutting a tube be sure to run water through it to remove any bits of debris. Then too, make sure the metal tube fits the tank’s flexible tube, so the attachment is secure and cannot work its way loose during operation. • While maintaining your aircraft you may need to take the tank out to access other equipment in the airplane. When you do this take a moment to plug the ends of each of the fuel lines to prevent any dirt of debris from entering them, and subsequently clogging up fuel passages. You should also use care as you pull the lines through the holes in the firewall

As you can see this shows clearly how a short piece of fuel tubing over the main fuel line works as a fuel line keeper on the filter.

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

so you do not inadvertently split or otherwise damage the lines. • Over the course of normal use fuel lines may swell slightly and loosen their fit on tubing or the carburetor’s nipple connections. If the tubing does swell, simply snip off the swollen fuel tubing and it’ll then have a nice, tight fit at the connections again. • You should always use either a filtered clunk or an inline fuel filter between the fuel tank and the carburetor. My preference is for a filtered clunk, which then

let’s me eliminate any chance for additional air leaks between the tank and the carburetor. Remember that every time you put any kind of a joint (T-fitting, fuel filter) between the tank and the carburetor you have introduced the opportunity for air leaks and subsequent problems. The design of most in-line fuel filters is such that you can clean out the debris they trap; but this feature can also lead to fuel system air leaks, should vibration work the fittings loose. If you use in-line fuel filters check the tightness of the filter’s halves frequently. GLOW VS GAS What’s the difference between a glow fuel tank and a gasoline fuel tank? While tanks are interchangeable between glow fuel and gasoline the stoppers and fuel tubing are not typically. Because of the chemical makeup of glow fuel (Methanol/nitromethane/oil) is different from that of gasoline fuel (gasoline/oil) the tubing and tank stoppers use different materials. Glow fuel tanks use silicone based stoppers and tubing. Gasoline fuel tanks use stoppers typically made of NBR (neoprene rubber) or Viton® (FKM) — silicone tubing is not used. Silicone rubber will swell tremendously within a short time when exposed to gasoline and will eventually turn into a messy gel. For years Tygon®tubing has been used with gas, but you can use neoprene tubing. Tygon tubing is typically transparent, so you can watch the fuel make its way to the carburetor or detect the presence of any unwanted air bubbles. Note, you can use Viton (FKM) tubing in either fuel systems. CONSTRUCTION A tank’s construction is the same for either glow or gas — you simply choose the proper stopper and fuel tubing. In general you should follow the tank manufacturer’s instruction sheet, which usually comes with the tank. You’ll notice the stopper has two open holes, yet the tank twitter.com/rcsportflyer

This is how my model’s fuel tank looks when I’ve finished building it. The next step will be to install in the airplane on the centerline of the carburetor.

INSTALLATION Your airplane’s kit/ARF manufacturer will typically provide a place, or a detail in the instructions, as to where to place the tank in the airframe. For engines that pressurize the tank via the muffler, the tank should always be as close as possible to the rear of the engine and centered as much as possible in line with the facebook.com/rcsportflyer

carburetor. Proper tank alignment will provide for equal running characteristics both in upright and inverted flight. If you bias the tank too high in the fuselage, the engine will run lean when the airplane is inverted; and it could possibly quit. Conversely, if the tank is too low the engine will run rich and lose power. Neither situation is good, so mount the tank on the centerline of the carburetor. Wrap the tank in foam rubber too. Doing so will isolate some of the airframe’s vibrations from the tank. It not, air-filled foam and air bubbles may be created in the fuel, and then passed to the carburetor. This can cause an engine that runs fine on the ground to quit soon after takeoff. Let me explain: When the airframe is on the ground, the wheel’s ground contact dampens airframe vibrations. So the fuel foaming that occurs in the tank is acceptable. When the aircraft takes off (removes the dampening effect) the vibrations in the airframe result in fuel tank foaming, which then introduces air bubbles into the fuel feed supply line.The engine subsequently starves for fuel. You can prevent air from entering the fuel lines by using a felt or sintered clunk. This type of clunk will break up the air bubbles before they enter the fuel feed supply line.

IT’S SIMPLE Follow these simple guidelines and your flights at the RC airfield will be less stressful and more fun. Moreover, remember to keep everything clean: the tank’s build, the maintenance and the fuel that goes into tank. Have fun and if I can help shoot me an e-mail at pete17e@gmail.com.

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cap has three holes. When using a third line you must punch a hole in the stopper, working from its inside end. Note there will be hole in the inside end of the stopper, but not all they way through. Use brass tubing as a punch. Push it through the thin membrane on the front of the stopper. The tubing will go through easy enough. When you add a third line for fueling/defueling the tank you have a choice to make: either add a hard line all the way to a rear lower corner of the tank, or add a second flexible line with another simple clunk attached. Either method works. When attaching the fuel lines to the tubing on the tank I give the fuel line extra grip. What I do is slice off short, little rings of the fuel tubing. You’ll then stretch these rings around the perimeter of the fuel tubing. It adds an extra measure of clamping power for the fuel line to the tubing. I’ve also found if you leave about 5/8 of an inch of the brass tubing extending from the tank and use properly sized fuel line you won’t need fuel barbs on the lines. Some people prefer the extra security of the fuel barb, but I don’t find it necessary.

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The purposeful, pugnacious looks of the A-7 Corsair have always appealed to me. The model has all the character of the full scale.

E-POWER 8

CURRENT REVOLVES AROUND MOTOR LOADING

his month I’m starting my column with a model built by Neil Jarvis. Then I continue my discussion of electric power systems. A-7 CORSAIR

To date, I’ve only shown you propeller-driven aircraft. So, this month I’ll detail an electric-powered ducted fan (EDF) model. The model is a Jet Hangar Hobbies’ kit of the A-7 Corsair. It was built by British

The Corsair’s chin intake provides plenty of intake air for the model’s Stumax ducted fan.

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

BY Andrew Gibbs

modeler expert Neil Jarvis. Neil bought the A-7 as a used airplane. He subsequently reequipped it to power specifications of his choice. With a wingspan of 47 inches, it

The ducting on this high performance model starts at the fan’s intake. This simplifies the installation but reduces thrust. twitter.com/rcsportflyer

This photo shows the flap and aileron torque rods. These have slightly different axis. Note the pink safety keepers on the clevises.

Two of the four wing and flap servos can be seen here. Neil has wired all the wing’s servos to a single multi-pin plug.

The wings of this Corsair support its 14-pound weight easily, especially in view of the surprisingly high wing loading!

is a relatively large and impressive 1/10-scale model. While a 47-inch wingspan may not sound like a large model, the fuselage of the model is 57 inches in length. The bulk of this model may be appreciated by way of the photographs. Further, when I examined it, the model certainly did not feel small! POWER ANALYSIS With propeller driven models, the output power can be adjusted by changing the propeller’s pitch, diameter or both. Consequently, you can make adjustments to the amount of power delivered by a motor system quite easily—within reason of course. As such, you can tune a facebook.com/rcsportflyer

model’s power system to the needs of the model. In contrast, with EDF models, the complete power system must be carefully chosen, since the motor and fan (impeller) cannot easily or cheaply be changed. About the only thing that can be done to increase or decrease the motor’s power is to increase/decrease the number of cells in the battery pack. However, given that most EDF models can use all the power possible, it’s common to install a battery with the maximum cell count for the power system that is running the ducted fan unit. With any jet-powered model, it’s important to make sure the EDF

This view of the fuselage interior shows the position of the 100-amp ESC, which is the finned black object. RC-SF.COM

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E-POWER 8

The Corsair’s nose gear incorporates two small wheels, as per the fullscale airplane. The gear is both steerable and retractable.

The notched leading edge improves the flying characteristics of the full-scale jet. Neil’s model replicates this detailing.

Details like panel lines are incorporated into the moulded fuselage. The manufacturer is Jet Hangar Hobbies, in California.

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

The Corsair’s main landing gear retracts forwards. The geometry is simple, but like many scale jets requires custom-built retracts.

system has enough power such that the model is satisfying and enjoyable to fly. Neil wanted a high-performance model, so he decided to replace the previously installed power system. Accordingly, he stripped out its fan system and installed a new unit. It is now fitted with a 12S LiPo battery, an Australian made 110-mm diameter Stumax SM110-52 ducted fan unit and a Neu Motors 1915-1Y motor. The motor and fan combination are recommended for the Stumax fan. The new power system draws an eye watering 3.7 kilowatts (3700 watts [746 watts = one horsepower). The motor’s current demand at full power is just under 90 amps. The fan (or impeller) is a 12-blade design. The fan produces a lower-

The swept tail surfaces add to the Corsair’s character. Each half of the full-flying tailplane is driven by a dedicated servo. twitter.com/rcsportflyer

This pair of photos shows the range of travel of the Corsair’s flaps. The flaps are essential for a model with a wing loading this high.

pitch sound than most EDF units, resulting in a realistic roar as the model passes, instead of the usual vacuum-cleaner like whine. This fan is configured as a pusher unit, so

unlike most EDFs, the fan blades are behind the motor. I was surprised to find that Neil chose not to fit any ducting between the Corsair’s chin intake and the fan unit. This decision

was made to simplify the installation, but it has undoubtedly cost a significant amount of thrust and thus some performance. However, the model still flies very convincingly. The A-7 weighs 14 lb ready to fly, which results in a power loading of 264 watts per pound. Interestingly the model is considerably lighter than the turbine version of the same model, which can weigh up to 17 lb without fuel. Even so, Neil reports that the wing loading is an alarming ≈60 ounces per square foot. It is the highest loaded model airplane I’ve encountered. I’ve seen it fly well, and it lands at a reasonable speed. This is partly due to the model’s flaps, which Neil says are very effective. For control, the model

It’s simple to estimate motor rpm when we know the Kv and battery voltage. However, complex math is needed to estimate the current.

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E-POWER 8

incorporates nine servos, mostly Futaba S3001s. The model is fitted with three gyros, one on each aileron and one on the rudder, which stabilizes it in roll and yaw. The gyros are solid-state Turnigy items.

They weigh just four grams (<0.2 ounces) each. Neil says the gyros are necessary because without them the model has a tendency to rock from side to side. It took Neil five months to

SPECIFICATIONS

POWER SYSTEMS

complete the model, working around 20 hours a week, for a total of around 400 hours. When I saw the A-7, it had made five flights, and I’ve no doubt it’ll gain plenty more in the coming months.

I’ve received several letters form readers commenting on the formula, or equation that I presented recently. So, this seems like a great opportunity to expand a little on this subject. Charles Morgan wrote saying, “Andrew, you offered the rule of thumb that rpm = Kv x 0.8 x volts. If you know the Kv and the voltage that you wish to use, how do you calculate the current so that you can calculate the watts? The electric motors that I’ve used give the watts they draw, but most nowadays seem to only specify the Kv. Clearly one can check the current with a meter, but to do that you have to buy the motor first! Maybe you will be covering this later of course, anyway jolly good article.” My answer is as follows: Charles, before I answer your question, let’s first recap the subject of motor Kv. Electric motors are designed to rotate at a particular rpm for every volt that is applied to their input. This characteristic is termed the motor’s Kv. If you know the Kv and the voltage applied, you can then make a reasonable estimate of the likely motor rpm. The missing information is the current that a motor will draw. So, let’s have a look at the factors that affect the current. For any battery voltage, the current that a motor will draw depends on the load that motor experiences. For a model, the load is usually created by the propeller — a large one creates a high load. When the motor is in a no-load state in can turn freely. The actual load generated depends mainly on two factors: (a) the physical characteristics of the propeller, such as its diameter and pitch (b) the rpm at which it is to be turned.

the power required to turn a bigger prop such as a 12x8 at the same rpm. So, unless we know the specifics of the propeller and the likely rpm, there is absolutely no way of predicting the power required. Also, no motor is 100% efficient, so the input power to the motor will be more than the output power; i.e., the power that is lost as waste heat in the windings of the motor. If, however, we know the motor’s approximate efficiency, then it is possible to estimate the current the motor may draw. This can be calculated using a complex mathematical formula. If the formula is well designed, the results can be quite useful. All this theory is interesting and relevant, but there’s no substitute for actually testing a power system. This is because theory is rarely in perfect agreement with reality, and because there are other factors that will affect the actual current draw such as the battery’s temperature and charge state, air density and so on. You are correct that some manufacturers state what the motor current will be with a given battery/propeller combination. You can bet their data was determined through testing. However, even if your model’s power system used the same motor/propeller combination, its power numbers may be different. A reputable retailer should be able to tell you the current the power system will safely sustain, provided it’s well cooled. To operate the motor efficiently, it should be propped such that it draws somewhat less than the maximum current. This is a subject we’ll cover in a future column. For the moment, I hope this answer helps.

As you can see, using the equation rpm = Kv x 0.8 x volts we are able to estimate only rpm. Different propellers will place different loads on a motor, and it is the load that determines the current which the motor will draw. A small prop such as a 6x3 will draw a tiny fraction of

Next Month Next, I’ll detail how electric motors generate a voltage as they rotate. As always, I’m interested to learn about your models. So if you can reach me at: andrew@gibbsguides.com

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AUVSI DRONE PRIZE SHOW US WHAT YOU CAN DO!

While the FAA fiddles and a multi-billion dollar industry-inwaiting burns (with anticipation), hobbyists have a unique opportunity to shape the future — and win awesome prizes.

BY Patrick Sherman

DJI’s new S1000 octocopter is designed to carry camera, avionics, GPS system and transmitter receiver for the video downlink. It will fly about 20 minutes.

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

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ike an 11-year-old boy stuck in the back seat on a long road trip after the batteries have gone dead on his Nintendo DS, the domestic drone industry just wants the answer to a single, simple question: “Are we there yet?” The reason is clear: the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) estimates that within three years of their approval, the market for nonmilitary drones in the United States will top $13 billion per year — rising to $80 billion per year by 2025, which translates into about 100,000 good paying jobs. However, like the weary parent behind the wheel, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) keeps giving the same answer: “No.” That answer won’t be changing for at least the next 18 months, and very likely

This is another look at the S1000, but without all the hardware installed. It was recently introduced by DJI as an upgrade to their S800 camera platform.

for a year or two beyond. As a result, it won’t be the titans of the aerospace industry who will prove how Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS, i.e., “drones”) can benefit society, because they are legally prohibited from flying except under the most rarified circumstances. Instead, providence has entrusted that heady responsibility to an elite group of amateurs, enthusiasts and hackers — one of whom, I know for a fact, is reading this month’s issue of RC Sport Flyer at this very moment. ALL ABOARD! The big boys are grounded and, until they are cleared for takeoff, the hobbyists rule the skies. It’s up to you — yes, you — to show what this technology can do, and the field is wide open for all sorts of new

DJI’s Phantom II Vision is an affordable solution to getting great video from a quadcopter. You can equipped it with a three-axis camera gimbal too.

Here is another DJI product, their Flamewheel F550. You can add a landing gear set and a camera to this model as well. The DJI machines are sold by AtlantaHobby.com. facebook.com/rcsportflyer

ideas. Honestly, I don’t think that anyone has even thought up the best applications for these systems yet. If you burst in to an Advanced Research Projects Agency computer science lab in 1975 and demanded to know what ARPANET — known today as “the Internet” — would be used for in 2014, I’m not sure what those early pioneers would have told you. However, I am certain their answer would not have included smart phones, Twitter, Google, Amazon or YouTube. Yet, these unimagined applications are transforming the economic and political landscape of our world in ways that would have been impossible without them. If someone burst in to my office right now and demanded to know what drones will be used for in 2053, the only answer I could offer with

Probably DJI most affordable entry into the multi-rotor market is their Flamewheel F450. When equipped with the NAZA control system it works well as a camera platform too. RC-SF.COM

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AUVSI DRONE PRIZE

even a shred of integrity is: “I have absolutely no idea.” Maybe we can begin to figure it out together and, as long as we’re going to go to all that trouble, enter a contest to win some cool stuff. That’s the goal behind the 2014 Drone Prize, organized by the Cascade Chapter of the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI): to get you — yes, I really do mean you — thinking and building and flying and quite possibly making the world a better place. By way of motivation, several of the contest’s sponsors are putting up some serious hardware as prizes, including a professional, $10,000 heavy-lift multirotor from Aerial Technology International (aerialtechnology.com) and a ReadyTo-Fly (RTF) Y6 from 3D Robotics

(3drobotics.com). Sweet, huh? It’s enough to make me wish we were entering the contest, instead of helping judge it. PARTNER UP Here at the Roswell Flight Test Crew, we’ve discovered building home-made drones is cool and flying home-made drones is cool — but, if you really want to show what they are capable of, you’re going to need get some more people involved. For example, a big part of our mission is demonstrating the potential of this technology to help firefighters and other first responders. Of course, doing this in any meaningful way would required us fly over something that is actually on fire. We figured that there were two

ways we could accomplish this goal: the first one involved us going away for 20 years on an arson rap, the other one involved us reaching out to local fire departments until we found one that was willing to work with us. We ended up choosing the second option. In order to be eligible to win the 2014 Drone Prize, you must partner with an organization in your community and help them do their job better with your unmanned aircraft — and it doesn’t need to have anything to do with public safety. Aerial imaging, to identify just one potential application of drone technology, is a powerful tool that could benefit all sorts of different end users, such as local government agencies and non-profit organizations. Also, it’s extremely expensive, with manned aircraft

Raven is our solution to getting good, reliable aerial video by way of this hexacopter. Raven is also equipped with a first person view system. This is a very reliable machine.

This tricopter was flown at the 2014 SEFF event in Americus, GA. It too can provide FPV and aerial video when fitted with the right hardware. In this case it was doing aerobatics.

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costing hundreds of dollars an hour to operate. Track down a group in your community that could benefit from having “eyes in the sky” and explain what you can provide — for free — and pretty soon you’ll have more opportunities to help out than you have hours in the day. FLY SAFE Another crucial component of the contest is that you do your flying in a safe and responsible manner: in a way that does not endanger persons or property on the ground, or manned aircraft operating in the area. For guidance, look to FAA Advisory Circular 91-57, as well as Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) Documents 550 and 560, which provide safety standards for First-Person View (FPV) flight and

The fellows from Flite Test were flying this tricopter at SEFF 2014. It was sporting a 5.8-Ghz FPV system. The pilot was flying the unit via Fat Shark FPV goggles.

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JUST THE FACTS

The 2014 Drone Prize is being organized by the Cascade Chapter of the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI). The contest is open exclusively to hobbyists and other non-professionals who utilize Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) to demonstrate a socially beneficial application of First-Person View (FPV) systems, remote sensing, autonomous flight, payload delivery mechanics and related technologies. Entries shall consist of a three- to five-minute video, which must be uploaded to the contest website: droneprize.com. All entries are subject to approval by the contest organizers prior to their official acceptance. All entries are due by midnight, Pacific Daylight Time, July 27, 2014. A pilot and spotter from the top three teams, as selected by the contest organizers, will be flown to Portland, Oregon, for a three-day final competition August 22 to 24, which will feature a series of public safety scenarios employing the finalists’ sUAS. The winning team will receive a

professional, heavy-lift multirotor platform valued at $10,000, courtesy of Aerial Technology International (aerialtechnology.com). For complete details, visit the contest website: droneprize.com. The Peoples’ Choice In addition to the three teams of finalists who will travel to Portland, Oregon, to participate in a series of public safety exercises, visitors to the competition’s website will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite entry. The team that receives the most votes will be named the winner of the “Peoples’ Choice Award,” and will receive a 3D Robotics RTF Y6 multirotor in recognition of its accomplishments. The Y6 employs the new, GPSenabled Pixhawk flight control system, along with mission-planning software to permit autonomous flight operations. The design incorporates a folding frame for easy transportation and storage. It arrives Ready To Fly (RTF) right out of the box.

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AUVSI WHO?

In spite of being burdened with one of the most unwieldy acronyms in the English-speaking world, the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) is the largest non-profit organization on Earth focused exclusively on unmanned systems and robotics. It has more than 7,500 members in the United States and abroad, including government agencies, corporations and academic institutions. While unmanned aircraft (i.e., “drones”) represent a major portion of the AUVSI’s portfolio, it is also active in the development of driverless cars, remotely piloted and autonomous

THIS SOUNDS FAMILIAR...

If the whole idea of a competition that involves building a drone to demonstrate the socially beneficial aspects of this technology seems really familiar, that’s because another, very similar contest is also going on right now. The Drone Social Innovation Award, which has been organized by the Drone User Group Network (dugn.org), is going to award a $10,000 cash prize — courtesy NEXA Capital Partners, LLC — to the individual or team who best

maritime vehicles, as well as terrestrial robots with missions that range from carpet cleaning to bomb disposal. Each year, the national organization holds a major conference and trade show in May. This year’s event is being held in Orlando, Florida, May 12-15. Members of AUVSI join regional chapters that provide training and education, advocate on behalf of the industry to state and local governments and organize community events. The Roswell Flight Test Crew is a member of the AUVSI Cascade Chapter, which serves primarily Oregon and Washington — and is hosting the 2014 Drone Prize.

demonstrates the capability of a drone costing less than $3,000 to make the world a better place. Entry requirements include creating a two- to four-minute YouTube video about the project, as well as a one- to two-page write up. All entries are due by June 20, 2014, and the winner will be announced in July. For full details regarding the Drone Social Innovation Award, visit dugn. org/prizes, or see the article in the January 2014 issue of RC Sport Flyer magazine.

semi-autonomous operations. I still expect you to do your homework, but here are a couple of crucial considerations that will determine whether or not your entry will be accepted into the competition. First, maintain your aircraft within visual line of sight at all times. Sure, there are folks who can fly out miles from their launch point with FPV systems — we know some of them ourselves — but the goal of this contest is to show what you can achieve within the existing standards, not to bring down the FAA on our heads. Yes, there are some amazing things that can be accomplished with long-range FPV, and I’m sure it will ultimately become an important part of this discipline — but we’re not there yet. There are technical and regulatory issues that simply haven’t caught up with the capabilities of these systems, and, until they do, this type of flying cannot be a legitimate part of the FPV community. Second, work in a team — just like we do here at the Roswell Flight Test Crew. It takes two people to fly FPV responsibly: a pilot and a spotter. The spotter is crucial to help the pilot maintain situational awareness. There is plenty you can see through the goggles, but even more that you cannot. IT’S SHOWTIME! So, you’ve got your bird, you’ve got your community partner and you’ve got your crew. The next step is to show us what you can do. Each team is required to create a three- to five-minute video about their project and upload it to the contest website: droneprize.com. Entries that meet the qualifications outlined here and on the website will be officially accepted into the competition and posted online for the world to see. Oscar-winning production values aren’t nearly as important as clearly demonstrating what This little QAV 250 quadcopter works well for FPV, but it is also quite fast. At SEFF the pilot was winding “his” way through the woods for fun with the 250...

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

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you’ve accomplished, that you accomplished it safely and through a partnership with a group or organization in your local community. Here’s a tip, which is coming from two of the judges (i.e., me and Techinstein): be sure to get a representative from your partner organization on camera, talking about your contribution and how the project never would have gotten done without you and your drone. The top three teams will be flown to Portland, Oregon — our home base — to hang out with us and participate in a series of public safety drills like you’ve see in our videos. The team that performs the best during those exercises will emerge victorious and take home the $10,000 heavy-lift multirotor provided by Aerial Technology International. Remember: the future of this technology is in your hands. Get out there and show us what you can do with it, and we’ll see you in Portland this summer!

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PATCH IT UP!

The logo of the 2014 Drone Prize depicts a stylized quadcopter, being the type of aircraft most closely associated with the hobby sUAS movement. Its motor nacelles define four fields, each containing an icon that reflects a potentially beneficial application for this technology. The top quadrant depicts a stalk of wheat on a green field, representing the use of drones in agriculture. According to AUVSI, about 80 percent of sUAS deployed over the next decade with be used in precision agriculture, with the potential to increase crop yields by as much as one third. Moving clockwise, the ubiquitous “PLAY” button is superimposed over a yellow field, to represent the use of sUAS in film and television production, as well as journalism. Although still prohibited by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), wildcat operators are already using this technology on major Hollywood features, including

Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street.” The bottom quadrant depicts a fire burning against a red field, reflecting the use of drones in public safety — especially the fire service. As demonstrated by the Roswell Flight Test Crew, sUAS have the potential to help save lives and minimize risks to first responders in scenarios as diverse as hazardous material spills, structural and wildland firefighting, and search and rescue. Finally, the left quadrant features the globe on a blue field, representing the potential application of drones in commerce and humanitarian efforts — everything from Amazon’s fanciful “Prime Air” service to Matternet’s plan to use sUAS to deliver medicine and other vital supplies to remote communities in the developing world. Each team that submits an entry that is accepted into the competition will receive a pair of patches depicting the logo in recognition of their efforts.

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REVIEW

HALL CHER Your model comes packed and shipped in one of the best boxing jobs we’ve seen. The wing bag is the first thing you see when the box is opened. The model’s parts are bagged and taped to make them secure against damage.

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

Once all the parts were removed and laid out, it became evident that the Hall Cherokee almost-ready-to-fly glider is one of the best kits I’ve seen. You get everything you need with the exception of the radio gear. twitter.com/rcsportflyer

Here the Hall Cherokee is captured silhouetted against the laterafternoon sun while slope soaring late in the day at Eagle Butte in Southeast Washington State. The model was flown in a wind that was blowing about 14 mph.

OKEE II ARF

AIRBORNE MODELS GIVES NEW LIFE TO A CLASSIC HOMEBUILT GLIDER BY Gene Cope

irborne Models has just released a new quarter-scale Hall Cherokee II ARF glider. It makes for a very affordable, scale “woody” glider that is perfect for pilots that are into aerotowing and/ or slope soaring. The glider is based on David Smith’s drawings, which he created in CAD from the full-scale Hall Cherokee II plans. This version was modified from that of the fullscale’s construction, but maintains its scale outline and overall appearance. It an appealing glider on the ground and in the air. The Cherokee II was a Stan Hall design. As a full-scale glider it was a homebuilt machine. The Hall facebook.com/rcsportflyer

Cherokee was built from plans, sold by Mr Hall, that originally cost $35. The materials to build a Hall Cherokee in those days cost all of $500. The structure was wood, with metal fittings, and it was covered in fabric. It is interesting in that Stan Hall stopped offering plans for the glider March 15, 1961. As he said when he stopped offering the plans, “The production of parts, kits or complete sailplane is not authorized anywhere in the world, unless carried on in the same spirit in which I developed the design — as a hobby, without profit.” Stan nailed his design for the Hall Cherokee II and for his love of the soaring hobby.

I think Airborne Models has nailed it with their new glider ARF offering. AIRBORNE MODELS ARF The Cherokee arrived in one of the best shipping boxes I’ve seen to date — in double, corrugated cardboard boxes. The thing you see first is the model’s wing bag and wing jointer tube. The model’s parts are individually bagged. The production numbers on the bags and inside the fuselage told me this was number twelve. It was immediately evident, upon removing the parts, that this ARF is of exceptional quality. The Toughlon STL and Lightex SGX coverings used RC-SF.COM

REVIEW

HALL CHEROKEE II ARF

Here you see that the fiberglass scratch guard fits nicely over the bottom front of the Cherokee. It is designed to protect the fuselage against damage when it is being landed in rough terrain or bumpy airfields.

The fiberglass wheel pan in the fuselage is a nice feature that is built into the Cherokee. It keeps debris out of the fuselage that would otherwise be thrown up into the airplane by the wheel during takeoff and landing. Servo leads were fabricated for the runs to the ailerons’ and spoilers’ servos using four-pin Deans type connectors, with the two positive and two negative leads for each share a common pin respectively on the connector. These were 12-in. servo extensions, with twisted servo wiring running to the wing’s servos.

on the Cherokee were excellently applied, with only a few small wriggles at the wing tips. The fuselage incorporates a fiberglass tube for running the servo extensions to its rear. The tail feathers were lightweight and also covered well. The model includes a nice hardware package and a set of decals. Airborne’s manual provides easy to follow, numbered and illustrated instructions. Overall the model looked to be easy to assemble, so I jumped right into the task. KIT CONTENTS • Fuselage - ToughLon covered • Wings -ToughLon covered • Stabilizers - ToughLon covered • Optional fiberglass scratch guard • Canopy • Servo-operated tow hook • Wing bag • Decal set NEEDED TO COMPLETE • ≥ 5-channel transmitter • ≥ 5-channel receiver • 3400-mAh NiMH receiver battery • Switch with charging port • 7 standard size servos

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

• Servo extensions of various lengths • Optional 1/4-scale pilot • Miscellaneous tools and glues SOARING To test fly the Hall Cherokee, Wil Byers and I opted to maiden it at Eagle Butte in slope lift. Doing so would let us get a good 30 minutes or more of flight time on it to really check out such things as the model’s center of gravity, roll control, stall, elevator response, rudder effectiveness and pitch change when the spoilers were deployed. What we found had us leaving the slope very satisfied with the performance of the new Airborne Models Hall Cherokee glider. The wind was blowing about 14 mph the day of the test, with the temperature hovering around 60 degrees. To launch the model, required all of about two slow-paced steps and a push forward, with the model’s nose down at about a 10-dgree angle. It immediately jumped onto “step” and commenced flying away from the slope. Once the model was out about 200 yards from

This glider is very inexpensive to outfit with radio gear. Although the Cherokee is designed to use standard-size servos. I was fortunate in that I had what was needed in my shop stock. I also used a battery I had on hand.

the hill, we backed off the down elevator control and let the glider start to climb. As I had the model set up it required zero elevator, aileron or rudder trim — that is a testament to how well designed and built this model really is. It also climbs well in slope lift, as well as in the thermals twitter.com/rcsportflyer

The Cherokee manual is very well documented and easy to follow. The illustrations are very well done, so you can build the model in a step-by-step fashion. I think even a beginner could pretty much build this glider.

Mounting blocks must be glued to the servos’ hatch covers. The servos are then attached to the covers. This is typical to all the servo mounts for the Cherokee. It makes for a quick installation of the radio gear.

I repositioned the aileron’s control horn inboard on the control surface one hole so the aileron linkage runs straighter to the hinge line. In so doing, there is no binding of the servo arm on its cover.

The spoiler servo and linkage is shown here ready to be placed in position. The mounting holes in the wing’s hatch opening required drilling for their screws. You’ll want to harden the holes in the wood with CA glue.

With the right wing’s spoiler control horn epoxied in position, the spoiler would not close fully due to interference with the inboard hinge block. It was cut back carefully to provide clearance for the spoiler’s arm.

The horizontal stabilizer gets seated over an alignment tab and secured to the fuselage with two metal 3-mm screws and washers. The proper incidence angle is established by the fuselage’s horizontal stabilizer saddle. When the servo’s control rigging is finished the spoiler blade will sit flush with the upper surface of the wing. The spoilers are very effective at killing lift too, which makes precision landings much easier than without them. facebook.com/rcsportflyer

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HALL CHEROKEE II ARF

A 4-mm axle bolt, spacer, set collar and wheel make up the landing gear. The set collar must be adjusted to remove any side-play of the wheel but not so tight it causes braking. It is then tightened against the axle.

The 2-mm tow release bent wire and its keeper is provided in the kit. I used a metal clevis that is cleaner instead. Both attachment methods work equally well in this situation, which makes for a good release mechanism.

The aerotow release mechanism uses a simple design. It works well, but you must connect it to a good, strong servo. Like all releases, a high-load condition on lowtorque servos will cause the mechanism to bind.

To adjust the Cherokee’s center of gravity, a screw was placed on each side of the root rib at 4.57 in. back from the leading edge of the wing. The Cherokee was then hung on a nylon string during the balancing process.

Turning away from the crest of Eagle Butte’s slope, the Cherokee responds to its controls very well. You’ll want to lead the turns with a bit of rudder before you start applying the aileron input.

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

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The canopy of the Cherokee is held in place by four screws that have silicon grommets betweem them and the plastic canopy. A pilot is an essential part of any scale sailplane! This one is from a Hangar 9 kit.

that were drifting through. This is not a particularly fast glider, but then neither was the full-scale. It is, however, easy to fly and thermal because it telegraphs lift conditions to you clearly. We also learned that the model does not have a bad stall break. It will stall, but it only requires about 30 feet of altitude to recover from a mild stall. Also, you’ll definitely want to lead aileron control inputs with rudder control. My Hall Cherokee has its EPA settings at 75% up for 35% down travel. Even so, a bit of rudder will keep the turns coordinated well. The model’s center of gravity is well placed too. As such, when you dive the model and then let off the

Before CA is applied to the hinges you’ll remove the centering string. This can be done with your fingers or pliers. Leaving the string in place is unsightly, and it may interfere with the control surface’s operation.

down elevator control, it will pull out of the dive at a reasonable rate. When we applied the spoilers the model dropped its nose ever so slightly, so I think it needs about 10% up-elevator compensation programmed into the Aurora 9X. That should remedy the glider’s nose-down pitching. Also, the model has good penetration for being a 1/4-scale woody glider. To land it, I simply opened the spoilers and lined it up flying into the wind. It came down at a reasonable rate, which would not be alarming even to a beginner pilot. Just before touchdown I closed the spoilers to about 20% open, and it landed without incident.

The World Models Hall Cherokee II lines are so close to the original that one would be hard pressed to tell the difference between this model and the full-scale glider — if one were to come flying along in front of the slope at Eagle Butte. facebook.com/rcsportflyer

DEBRIEF What an excellent woody glider! It is absolutely a perfect match for the pilot that wants a scale glider for either slope or thermal soaring. It is without question a superb pick for the pilot that wants to take a try at aerotowing, especially in light of the fact that it is quick to build and comes with release mechanism installed. Then too, this model is head and shoulders above any competition when it coms to price — how can you beat a model like this one that is priced at only $499.99. I don’t think you can! So, point your browser at airborne-models.com and have your credit card at the ready.

I found the Hall Cherokee to be very stable in flight. Its stalls are not abrupt, and the glider indicates lift exceptionally well. Overall, I would say this is an exceptional glider for the progressing beginner to intermediate pilots — and perfect for those that like aerotowing. RC-SF.COM

REVIEW

HALL CHEROKEE II ARF

AURORA 9X SETUP 3-POSITION SWITCH AILERON ELEVATOR RUDDER

High / Expo 100% / 30% 100% / 30% 100% / 0%

Medium / Expo 80% / 30% 80% / 30%

SPOILER SETTINGS CLOSED OPEN

Spoiler Travel 100% 110%

Elevator Comp 0% 10% (up)

SERVO SETTINGS SPOILERS AILERON ELEVATOR RUDDER RELEASE (GEAR) AUX 1 (L AILERON) AUX 2 (L SPOILER)

Travel Vol 110% / 100% 75% / 35% 55% / 105 100% / 100% 100% 35%/ 75% 100% / 110%

Differential n/a 100% / 100% n/a n/a n/a 100% / 100% n/a

Rev Nor Nor Nor Nor Rev Nor Nor

Low / Expo 50% / 30% 50% / 30%

Sub Trim -30 +1 -11 0 0 -21 0

SPECIFICATIONS

This 1961 issue of Soaring magazine was graced with the Stan Hall Cherokee II on the cover. What makes this model so special is that it has a distinctive look in the sky and is a super soaring machine.

Scale : 25 percent Wingspan : 130.7 in. (3320mm) Length : 64.5 in. (1637mm) Weight : 8.33 lb (3780 g) Wing area : 1190 in.2 (76.8 dm2)

I’m turning my 1/4-scale Hall Cherokee II onto final, after a 30-minute flight at Eagle Butte slope. At this point I’ve not opened the spoilers and I’m bringing the glider around to point it into the wind for it landing approach.

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

DISTRIBUTOR

Transmitter : Hitec Aurora 9X AirBorne Models 4749-K Bennett Drive Livermore, CA 94551 Phone: 925-371-0922 airborne-models.com

Receiver : Hitec Optima 9 Battery : 3400-mAh NiMH Servos : Hitec RCD -standard (7) Telemetry : alitmeter Price : $499.99 (G336)

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ASSEMBLY The manual recommends the use of epoxy, cyanoacrylate (CA) adhesives, a #1 Phillips screwdriver and some hand tools. The model is easy to assemble, and the instructions take you step by step through the process. I recommend you do a thorough read of the manual before you start this project. In so doing, you’ll know what you’ll need for each step of the build. The Cherokee II ARF is designed for seven-servo control. I outfitted my model with four Hitec HS-225BB servos, two HS-125MG and one HS-645MG servo. The HS-225s were used for rudder, elevator and spoilers, while the HS-125MGs were used for ailerons. The HS-645MG works the tow release. You must either build or buy servo extensions. I built my model’s using four-pin Deans connectors and twisted lead wire. In the fuselage, I used 12-in. JR extensions that run from the wing root to the receiver. The female Deans connector was soldered to the wire at the wing root end of the extension. There are also two 36-in. twisted wire extensions that run to the rudder and elevator servos thru the tube in the fuselage, which was definitely a nice addition to the glider in terms of assembly. In the wings I used twisted servo wire too. These run from the ailerons and spoilers to the wing roots, with the male Deans soldered to them. You’ll want to note a few of the modifications that I made to my Cherokee’s assembly. First I relocated the ailerons’ control horns inboard by one hole length. You’ll want to look at the photos to clarify. By using the manufacturer’s inboard hole for the control horn’s outboard screw, the ailerons’ linkages were then able to align straight with their respective control horns. The second modification was for the right wing’s spoiler arm. It was found to be hitting the inboard hinge block, which prevented the spoiler from closing properly. Carefully cutting away the hinge block’s end corrected the problem. I also noticed not all the spoilers’ hinge screws were fastened properly. A few turns by way of a #1 Phillips screwdriver fixed them. A five-cell 3400-mAh NiMH battery is used for power. There are external switch locations on the left side of the fuselage, just below the canopy. Because the canopy is thin plastic material and secured to the fuselage with four screws, I think it is best to use an external switch and charge port — Maxx Products has some good ones. The switch certainly does not detract from the look of the model. Alternately, you could use one of the new magnetic Hall switches that are being sold by soaringusa.com. They work great and they always fail in the on position, so check them out. I’ve opted not to use the fiberglass nose overlay and the wire wingtip skids because my model will only be flown off smooth grass runways. If, however, you were to launch and land the model on paved strips, the fiberglass nose overlay is easy to attach. It only requires a three-millimeter cap screw. The nose overlay and the tip skids are great for preventing airframe

abrasion. In the case of my model, I used a few layers of clear quarter-inch-wide tape applied to the bottom of the nose section. I also added one-half-inch-wide strips to the bottoms of the wingtips to protect against abrasion. The Cherokee’s wings marry to the fuselage by way of an aluminum wing joiner rod. They just slide on the joiner until they are flush with the fuselage. The wings are then held tight to the fuselage by a piece of 1/2-inch-wide white electrical tape. The tape gets applied at the joint line between the wings and the fuselage, running the length of the joint — its simple and easy to do, and it works. After the Cherokee was built and readied for flight, including a pilot, I checked the model’s center of gravity position. The model was tail heavy, so weight was added to the model’s nose. Its balance position is 4.6 inches back of the wing’s leading edge at the root. To get an accurate measure of balance I used the string method shown in the photos. Because my model is fitted with a five-cell 3400-mAh NiMH battery in its nose, I only had to add a 14-ounce lead ingot to the front of the battery to bring the glider into balance. The total nose weight is 38 ounces. The weight is positioned against the front bulkhead, fastened in place with industrial grade hook-and-loop tape, and then secured with a wire tie. The glider balanced with a slight nosedown attitude for its maiden flight. Flight ready, the Cherokee weighs in at eight pounds four ounces. Build Review Airborne Models Hall Cherokee II is an easy model to assemble and ready for flight. Importantly, this model will not break your model airplane budget. You can easily have this model ready to fly for about $700, including glider, servos, receiver and battery pack. Also, I like the quality of the glider’s construction and covering. I did not have to spend any extra time gluing wood joints, installing a release mechanism or shrinking the Toughlon covering material. If there is anything I’d like to see from Airborne Models in the future, it would be a pilot figure that fits the glider and to have a dedicated servo package that you can buy direct from them for the model. Note that they do give you recommendations for servos, receiver and battery, which you can buy from them. I simply had the radio gear in my shop stock. Finally, what I found is that the model ends up having a wing loading of only 16.1 oz per square foot, which is quite low for a 1/4-scale glider. It also uses a high-lift airfoil. Consequently, this glider is designed to climb on weak lift, so you can fly it for hours on end, especially following a nice aerotow to thermal soaring altitude.

CONTROL THROWS AILERONS ELEVATOR RUDDER

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Up .375 in 1.0 in. 3.15 in.

Down .250 in. 1.0 in. 3.15 in.

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REVIEW

The attractive, scale design lines of the AeroWorks Laser 200 are complimented by our beautiful cover model Liz Jackson. The Laser sports a 76-in. wingspan.

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

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30CC LASER 200 ARF

YOU CAN DOMINATE THE COMPETITION WITH THIS LASER IN YOUR CONTROL!

aser 200 aircraft have a rich heritage! The original may be best known for the fact that Leo Loudenslager won seven United States Aerobatic Championships between 1975 and 1982 in his. He also stood on top of the podium in 1980, winning the World Aerobatic Championships flying his Laser 200. The Laser originated as a Stephens Akro, but was completely modified and redesigned by Loudenslager to have a forward

BY Wil Byers

fusealge, as well as new wings, tail surfaces and cockpit. His Laser 200 was lighter weight, stronger and had a more powerful engine, so he could fly more difficult maneuvers. The Laser was capable of letting Loudenslager fly tumbling and twisting maneuvers, but also more precise aerobatics. His airplane has had a significant influence on today’s generation of aerobatic airplanes, including the Extras. Leo’s Laser 200 now hangs in the

Boeing Aviation Hangar at the Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center as part of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia. AEROWORKS What attracted me to the AeroWorks Laser 200 30cc ARF was its fidelity to scale, quality of build and affordability. If you compare the AeroWorks Laser to the aircraft hanging in the museum, you’ll see AeroWorks’

Your AeroWorks Laser 200 will come with the fuselage, wings and stabilizers covered, and the cowl is painted to match. It uses very high quality wood throughout. We like that the bottom of the wings are done in a contrasting color scheme, which makes for excellent in-air visibility. Notice the carbon wing joiner.

AeroWorks provides a complete hardware package for their Laser 200. It even includes their CG Buddy and a nice set of decals. facebook.com/rcsportflyer

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REVIEW

AEROWORKS 30CC LASER 200 ARF

The aluminum landing gear comes with fiberglass wheel pants, plastic gear cuffs and a set of lightweight wheels — it is a high quality gear set.

The DLE 35 is a good fit for the Laser 200. We had no trouble fitting it to the model, and getting it set up for the carburetor to marry with the throttle servo.

As you can see, the DLE 35 is a rear exhaust design, and with a rear intake carburetor. You will like the fit and finish of this motor and its ease of mounting.

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

We’re powering our Laser 200 with a DLE 35-cc engines, which uses the DLE ignition and muffler set. You can buy the entire package from AeroWorks.

designers have gone to some lengths to do their research and to design a model that is nearly 100 percent accurate to scale. Then too, having built other AeroWorks kits I knew I would be getting a model that was well built, with an exceptional hardware package included. Furthermore, the AeroWorks manuals are some of the best in the industry, which is to say they take you as the modeler through the build in a step-by-step fashion — they even provide a DVD that includes the manual and lots of photos detailing the build. While I think, giant-scale airplanes are outstanding to look at and to fly, I liked the idea of building this 1/4-scale model because it is much more affordable to outfit with engine, radio system and batteries. In the case of my model, I bought the DLE engine and Falcon propeller from AeroWorks. I used Hitec RCD servos, which were purchased from Tower Hobbies. Also, I had the new Hitec RCD Aurora 9X transmitter, with an Optima 9 receiver, so it was enlisted for this project. All in all, this was a very affordable model to buy, outfit and quick to build too. twitter.com/rcsportflyer

The linkages that come with the AeroWorks Laser 200 provide an excellent fit to the airplane. You may want to use longer servo arms if you are into 3D flying.

These are some of the supplies that you’ll want to have on hand for building this model. You’ll want some CA glue as well. You can get all from towerhobbies.com.

The pull-pull control system for the rudder is a straightforward install. Be certain to make sure the cables are taught, without any slack, for best control response.

Notice, how clean the installation is for the ailerons. We especially like the metal control horns and ball links that AeroWorks puts in their kits.

FEATURES • Quick Build ARF • Built and covered wings, stabilizer, elevator and fin • Fiberglass cowl and wheel pants • Finished canopy • Lightweight plywood and balsa construction • Aluminum landing gear and tail wheel strut • Ultracote™ covering with gold and white trim • Complete hardware package • Carbon fiber wing joiner • Motor mount templates included • CG Buddy included • 15-oz fuel tank • Metal control horns • Excellent manual facebook.com/rcsportflyer

NEEDED • DLE-35-cc gaspowered engine • Muffler set • Aluminum spinner, TruTurn • Falcon 18 x 8 wood propeller • Hitec RCD receiver • Six Hitec RCD servos • Two Maxx Products switches • Two Fromeco 7.4-volt 2600-mAh LiIon batteries • Servo extensions • Great Planes glue and accessory items • Fuel Tubing

Looking inside the model, you can see that it is very well designed and built. Importantly, all the glue joints are secure, so we did not need to add extra glue. RC-SF.COM

REVIEW

AEROWORKS 30CC LASER 200 ARF

This is what my final radio install looked like when it was done. Building this model was a ton of fun because all the parts fit well as per the instruction manual...

Here you see how the engine mounts to the firewall by way of the aluminum standoffs. Also, notice how the throttle linkage gets attached to the carburetor.

I ran the choke’s push-pull rod up to the front of the cowl as shown. You can also see how the muffler gets attached to the back of the engine and exhausts out the bottom.

I opted to use Fromeco battery packs in my model because they are high quality and high capacity — 7.4-volt 2600-mAh Lithium Ion cells.

ARF ASSEMBLY Like I said, AeroWorks’ instruction manual steps you through the build exceedingly well... You will not be forced to guess at specific steps in the model’s assembly. If you follow the instructions one step at a time, you’ll be rewarded with an airplane that is fun to assemble and outstanding to fly. There are two areas of my model’s assembly that I want to expound on: the throttle servo install and the alignment of the tail feathers. Let’s start with the throttle servo. While, the throttle servo’s plywood tray is designed to glue to the side of the fuselage just above the plywood gas tank tray, I did not look closely enough at the photos to see that it does not glue to the the tank’s tray, but rather just above it. This generated a bit of problem for the throttle’s linkage. As a result I had to open the hole in the firewall a bit

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

more than is shown in the manual in order to make for a friction-free linkage run between the carburetor and the servo. I recommend you drill the hole in the firewall, align the servo’s control arm with the throttle linkage and then glue the servo’s tray in the appropriate position on the side of the fuselage. The model’s tail feathers are strutted by wire braces. This makes for an exceptionally strong horizontal and vertical stabilizer install, but if it is not done properly, you will end up with warped surfaces. I recommend you enlist another individual to help — even if their job is getting the beer for when you’re done. The reason for the extra warm body is to help with holding, tightening and loosening support wires. You’ll need to continually measure for perpendicular alignment between the horizontal and vertical stabilizer, as well as to make certain

none of the control surfaces get warped or pulled out of shape. Note the support wires utilize both lefthand and righthand threads, so as you turn a support wire it will either tight or loosen, pulling or pushing its respective control surfaces. I found it rather enjoyable to do, because I really get into tweaking things until they are dead on. In the case of the Laser 200, I think it took my friend and I the better part of 90 minutes to get the empennage parts aligned properly. I suggest you sight from the rear of the model often to make certain you are not pulling warprs or twistes into the stabilizers. It is not hard. It is time consuming! Also, I would recommend that you be certain to dial down all the travel volumes in the radio prior to energizing the radio receiver. This will assure that no control surface is overstressed, or that a servo is forced twitter.com/rcsportflyer

My model uses Hitec RCD control gear throughout, including an Optima 9 receiver. The transmitter is the new Aurora 9X, which is very easy to program.

A Falcon 18 x 8 wood propeller provides the thrust for the Laser. It is covered by a TruTurn aluminum spinner that I painted with RustOleum gloss apple red.

Here is how I cut my Laser 200’s cowl to fit the DLE 35 engine and muffler. Notice the plastic exhaust extensions have been attached at this point.

You’ll want to put a pilot in your model. In this airplane, I’m using a Hangar 9® 1/4-scale pilot bust ((HAN9125). It is a perfect fit for the 1/4-scale Laser 200.

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REVIEW

AEROWORKS 30CC LASER 200 ARF

into a stalled position, which could otherwise damage it. About the only other thing that I would say about this build is to be meticulous about making the template for cutting the cowl. In so doing, you will get a cowl that fits the engine well, with enough airflow to keep the engine cool in all flight regimes. Other than these items, I repeat, the assembly of the Laser 200 is a matter of follwing the manufacturer’s instructions pretty much to the letter.

SPECIFICATIONS

DISTRIBUTOR

FLIGHT REPORT The weather here in “The Great Northwest” has not be conducive to model airplane flying, with winds blowing nearly every day for the last couple of months and rain part of the time. FYI, some slope soaring enthusiast pilots came to town two weeks ago. They enjoyed winds from 30 to 62 mph. I’ll give you a complete flight report on the Laser in the RC Sport Flyer newsletter. To sign up just go to rc-sf.com, then click on the news tab. You’ll get many more photos and video too… AeroWorks 4903 Nome Street Denver, CO 80239 Phone: 303-371-4222 aero-works.net

Wingspan : 76 in. Wing area : 1121 in.2 Length : 64 in. rudder to front of cowl Total Length : 67.5 in. rudder to front of spinner Cowl width : 8.75 in. Weight : 11.5 to 12.5 lb Engine : DLE 35-cc-RA Transmitter : Hitec RCD Aurora 9X Receiver : Hitec RCD Optima 9 Servos : Hitec RCD HS-7954SH (5) HS-5495BH (1) Batteries : Fromeco 7.4-volt 2600-mAh LiIon (2) Propeller : Falcon 18 x 8 wood Spinner : TruTurn 3.5-in. aluminum Price : $499.99 (Laser200)

RC SPORT FLYER . MAY 2014

CONTROL THROWS AILERONS ELEVATOR RUDDER

Low Rate (25% expo) +/- 1-1/2 +/- 3/4 +/- 200

Mid Rate (45% expo) +/- 2-1/2 +/- 1-1/4 +/- 300

High Rate (60% expo) 3-1/2 +/- 4.0 +/- 450

Use a control throw meter to measures the surfaces’ deflections.

CENTER OF GRAVITY The recommended CG for Laser 200 is 3 in. back of the wing’s leading edge at the tip.

HITEC AURORA 9X

I chose the Aurora 9X transmitter for controlling my AeroWorks Laser 200 because it has nine channels of control, flight modes, ultra smooth gimbals, five flight switches, three trimmers and two sliders. It is also lightweight and fits my hands very well. I outfitted the airplane with the Optima 9 receiver because it handles all the control functions of the Laser, with a couple of spare channels left over. Airplane Set Up The Aurora 9X is set up to use the airplane programming configuration. The Laser was therefore programmed in the System menu to have two ailerons and a normal tail. I have the ailerons programmed to be on channel one and five, with the elevators on two and six. The throttle is set to be channel three and rudder is four. It is a straightforward set up. Programming You’ll need to reverse channels one and five for the ailerons, with all other controls being normal. The subtrimming required for my Laser 200 was nearly zero. The one elevator required 6 steps while the other needed 37. In the future, I will try to dial this subtrim out completely by doing more mechanical adjusting, however, the servo arms are aligned with each other properly now, so it may not be possible. Alternately, I may use my Hitec RCD servo programmer to adjust elevator number two’s center position. For now I’ll fly it with the 37 sub-trim steps. I’ve programmed the ailerons’ and rudder’s end points to be 125%. The elevator’s EPA is 130%, while the throttle is set to 55% high and 85% low. Note that the dual rates for vthe

ailerons is set to: 65% for low with -25% expo, 100% and -60% for mid, and 110% and -45% for high. The elevator is programmed for: 24% and -25% expo on low, 38% and -45% expo on mid, and 100% and -60% on high. The rudders’ control is set to: 39% and -25% on low, 68% and -45% on mid rate, and 116% and -60% on high rate. We’ll see how these settings work out once I’ve had a chance to fly the model. You’ll need to note that the exponential is a negative value in the Aurora 9X. If you program it as a positive value you are going to have very sensitive control at the sticks’ center positions, so make certain your values are programmed negative. You’ll be able to see a graphic representation of the exponential at the dual-rate/ exponential programming screen. I’m not using any Offset (OST) for this airplane for any of the controls. Note that I have the Throttle Lock set on switch F. Forward is on and back is off. Also, I’ve not set a throttle curve yet, but I suspect that once the airplane has been flown I’ll be setting one using the seven-point curve that is built into the Aurora 9X. At this point I’ve not programmed any flight modes or such into the transmitter either — will do it later. Finally, I set switch H to be the Throttle Cut switch. I recommend you do the same for you model, so that in the event of problem with the airplane you can kill its engine quickly if the need happens. It is a huge safety issue and one you don’t want to overlook. I think you will enjoy controlling your Laser 200 with an Aurora 9X. For more information on this radio system point your browser at hitecrcd.com/ products.

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