RC Sport Flyer July 2014 (Vol 19-07)

RC Airplanes | Gliders | Helicopters

MZ-18

Performance Tests, pg 76

JULY 2014

SI U L C X E

VE

N T E M E L P P U E D S D U L C N I SPECIAL REPORT

How a Paralyzed Pilot Uses FPV

BUILDING TIPS

PLUS

• • • •

• ASW-28 3-View • Van’s RV-4 Plan

Build Dynaflite™ Decathlon Wings Detail scale FMS Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Fabricate a retractable scale tailwheel Weather Your Foam Airplanes AND

• top Gun 2014

USA & CANADA $6.49

RC-SF.COM

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

®

When Graupner’s engineers were tasked to design the next generation radio they knew telemetry must be an integral part of the system. They named it HoTT, which stands for Hoping Telemetry Transmission.

Graupner HoTT radios and products have been providing users with a streamlined experience where ease of use is guaranteed due to tight integration specifications for the radio’s protocol, as is the case in all of Graupner products. For example, Graupner receivers provide standard telemetry functions such as temperature, voltage and signal strength — all without the need to add expensive components to the system.

With over HoTT’s 50 enabled products — airplane, helicopter, car and boat ESCs, motor and engine modules, variometers, and GPS sensors — we provide users with almost unlimited possibilities to connect with their models. Then too, HoTT receivers now provide three-axes flight stabilization and flybarless control, and they do it in one and smart HoTT package.

THE FUTURE IS NOW, THE FUTURE IS !

GRAUPNER MZ 9 OR 12 CHANNEL MZ-18 $389 MZ-24 $400

visit us online at: Visit us at facebook.com/openhobby

©2013 Graupner/SJUSA-OPENHOBBYLLC. The HoTT trademark is used with permission of Graupner Co, Ltd4386066

TABLE OF CONTENTS DEPARTMENTS

LEARN HOW TO WEATHER A FOAM AIRPLANE.

10 LEADING EDGE 102 AD INDEX 103 MYSTERY PLANE

EVENT

HOW TO

14

30

2014 TOP GUN COMPETITION 13 PAGES OF PHOTOS AND DETAILS ON THIS COMPETITION

By Peter George

MAKING A TAILWHEEL GET THE STEP-BYSTEP PROCESS FOR MAKING A SCALE TAILWHEEL GEAR.

By Tom Wolf

36

SERVO WELL COVERS LEARN THESE SIMPLE TRICKS TO FASTENING SERVO COVERS IN PLACE.

By Wil Byers

PG 40

40 WEATHERING TRICKS SEE HOW EASY IT IS TO ADD WEATHERING TO YOUR MODEL.

By Derik Rinehart

GET AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE BEST SCALE AIRPLANES FLOWN AT TOP GUN 2014.

PG 14

PG 44

3-VIEW

44 6

ASW-28 18 DRAWINGS SCHLEICHER’S 18-METER CLASS SAILPLANE

By Hans-Jürgen Fischer RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

JULY 2014

BUILD

48

FMS FOCKEWULF FW-190 GET TIPS FROM AN EXPERT ON HOW TO MAKE IT SPOTON SCALE.

By Rob Caso

COLUMN

54

DECATHLON WINGS

64

JEFF EXPLAINS HOW TO BUILD STRAIGHT WINGS EVERY TIME.

By Jeff Troy

HELICOPTERS 101

72

DAVID EXPLAINS THE AIRFLOW PRINCIPLES INVOLVED IN FORWARD FLIGHT.

By David Phelps

A PARALYZED RC PILOT PATRICK TELLS US WHY FPV TECHNOLOGY KNOWS NO BOUNDS.

By Lucidity

REVIEWS

76

WE DETAIL WHY THIS NEW RC TRANSMITTER IS ONE OF THE EASIEST TO USE.

By Wil Byers

PG 48 PLAN

60

90 E-FLITE 96 MYSTIQUE 2.9M

96-IN. VAN’S RV-4 DESIGN

CHECK OUT THIS LMR GLIDER TO SEE HOW IT DELIVERS SUPERB ALL-DAY SOARING FUN.

By Wil Byers

USE WENDELL’S PLAN TO BUILD A MODEL OF THIS FULL-SCALE PLANE.

By Wendell Hosteller

PG 90

OUR BUILDER SHOWS YOU HOW TO MAKE STRAIGHT WINGS. facebook.com/rcsportflyer

84

GRAUPNER HoTT mz-18

T-REX 700E PRO DFC A HELI THAT DELIVERS SUPER PERFORMANCE USING THE NEW 3GX GYRO.

By James VanWinkle

PARKZONE MOSQUITO FLY THIS LITTLE PARK FLYER WWII WARBIRD TO DO HIGH-SPEED STRAFING RUNS.

By Christian Belleau

SEE WHY THIS GLIDER IS MADE FOR LONG SOARING FLIGHTS.

PG 54 RC-SF.COM

7

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

GET IT ON iTUNES NOW!

EDITOR IN CHIEF Wil Byers wil@rc-sf.com ASSISTANT EDITORS James T Baker Louie Scribner Bethany Davis 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/ Brian Barrett CIRCULATION support@kionapublishing.com OFFICE ASSISTANT Bethany Davis CIRCULATION Christian Wells MARKETING Wil Byers 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

Ask for RC Sport Flyer at your local hobby shop!

DISTRIBUTED BY

Hobby Shop Orders (800) 558-1544 ext. 818 www.retailers.kalmbach.com

HOBBY SHOP DISTRIBUTION BY

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

or

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.

Copyright ©2014 All rights reserved.

Printed in the USA

8

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

The Best Adhesive Selection for All Foams.

With the addition of Foam-Cure, BSI gives you the most choices when building your foam aircraft. With over 60 items, BSI has the largest selection of CA and epoxy adhesives available for modelers. Consistent high performance and freshness is what BSI provides in the adhesives that are always available at 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 Find us on Facebook at Bob Smith Industries

LEADING EDGE

WIL BYERS

F

inally, the RC Sport Flyer iPad editions are available through our app in the Apple App Store and on iTunes.

We apologize for the wait in getting it finalized and published. Our only excuse is that Kiona Publishing, Inc. is a small company, so our resources are limited to a small staff and the consultants we employ. We do, however, think you are going to enjoy what the RC Sport Flyer app and digital editions will offer you in terms of a reading an interactive experience.

Going forward, I would ask you, the readers, to provide me with feedback about your experiences in using and getting information from it. We’ll use that information to enhance the issues to give you more and better content in every edition. Please know that the digital editions will always include some bonus content that you will not find in the hardcopy editions. That’s because when we publish for the digital editions, we can save on the cost of prepress, paper, postage, shipping, distribution, etc. It is pretty basic, coming down to dollars and cents. Moreover, digital publishing for tablet editions is the future of the publishing business.

CONTENT PROVIDERS Editing this month’s issue really drove home how the people that contribute to these pages are great friends as well as dedicated modelers. They obviously have very unique families and lifestyles. However, our common bond is the love of this hobby. If you’ve noticed, RC-SF’s contributors have quite a bit of experience; some of them have a lifetime of building and flying. Believe me when I say none of the contributors to these pages are doing so solely for the money. Rather, they’re doing it because they love the hobby/sport and want to share it with you.

Having been a contributing editor to model aviation magazines since 1981, I have the utmost respect for those that contribute to these pages, as well as to all the other model aviation magazines.

So, if you are serious about your hobby, and want to contribute to the RC community, I would emphasize this magazine is always looking for content to publish in its pages. This is especially so now that we have our digital editions available to a worldwide audience. We are, therefore, going to want both hardcopy, digital, and video content. We are especially interested in how-to articles that will benefit our readership by detailing all facets of the hobby. We’re also interested in event reports, plans, building tips, radio programming, aircraft setup tips, and the list goes on. If you are interested, please contact me at wil@rc-sf.com.

SEFF SUPPLEMENT This month’s issue includes our annual SEFF Supplement, which is made possible by the generous people at Horizon Hobby. They sponsor the Supplement because they want you to see what happens at SEFF. So, we send our thanks to them and we hope you enjoy!

As I worked on the supplement, I had some favorites from the event. By priority, they are: 1. Little Guy with HUGE grin on his face 2. Hangar 9 P-47D Thunderbolt 60 ARF 3. Hangar 9 Beaver 4. Atlanta Hobby’s DJI S-1000 5. Hangar 9 Spitfire Mk IXc 30cc ARF 6. FMS P-51 Mustang w/4-blade propeller 7. AJ Aircraft Laser 230z 8. Great Planes U-Can-Do 9. Steve Rojecki’s Me 309 10. Alex Zvada’s quad with FPV There were many more, but these stood out in my mind as head-turners.

Finally, you’ll be interested to know that when the office phone rings and I get the opportunity to answer it, I’m pleased to hear from our customers, even when they have a complaint. To a person, I rarely hear a critical word. That is true even when we’ve messed up a photo caption, misspelled a word, or inadvertently changed the spelling of an address such that their magazine does not arrive as intended. Please know we are working hard to get your magazine to you, and we want you to get the most knowledge and enjoyment from every issue.

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

10

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

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

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

TEN BUCKS SAYS YOU’LL LOVE SPEKTRUM SERVOS

RC fans everywhere are discovering that, when it comes to delivering precision and reliability at a great price, Spektrum servos are tough to beat.

In fact, we’re so confident that you too will love Spektrum servos, we’ll give you cash back to prove it.

From April 1 through May 31, 2014 you can get a rebate of up to $75 when you buy Spektrum servos

GET UP TO $75 BACK with the Spektrum Servo Rebate program now through May 31st

Buy $100 - $249, Get $10 Back Buy $250 - $499, Get $30 Back Buy $500 or More, Get $75 Back

For complete details, terms and conditions, visit www.spektrumrc.com/rebate.

VISIT

CLICK

CALL

Your Local Retailer

horizonhobby.com

1.800.338.4639

©2014 Horizon Hobby, LLC. DSMX, Serious Fun and the Horizon Hobby logo are registered trademarks of Horizon Hobby, LLC. The Spektrum trademark is used with permission of Bachmann Industries, Inc. 44120

SERIOUS FUN.®

Maxx Products is your complete source for Electric Airplane Accessories

Mounts - Heatsink or plain mounts for beam mount Fit 20, 28, and 36 mm motors.

Heatsinks - Extruded aluminum heatsinks Fit 12, 20, 28, and 36mm motors.

Prop Adapters - Over 20 types and counting, Collet and set screw type prop adapters and prop savers Fit 2mm, 2.3mm, 3mm, 1/8”, 4mm, 5/32”, 5mm, 6mm, & 8mm motor shafts.

Spinners - 29, 38, 44 and 50mm lightweight polished aluminum spinners - Fit 2 to 5mm motor shafts.

Gearboxes - Assorted planetary and offset gearboxes to fit a variety of motors.

Tools - Universal Pinion Puller. Universal Extracting Tool

1570 Switch - This simple switch temporarily disconnects BEC power to the radio system between flights.

• Micro wire (32AWG) extensions, Y-harness, switch harness for small electric airplanes, • Full line of Himax Brushless motors and gear motors, • Full line of ferrite motors and high performance cobalt & neodymium motors, Micro servos, micro receivers, and battery packs.

Visit Our Website to See the Complete Line!

Get The Most For Your Hobby Dollar, Visit Your Local Hobby Shop!

Wheels - Light weight wheels with strong hubs Sizes: 1.25”, 1.5”, 2”, 2.5”, and 3.00”

Exclusive Distributor

MAXX Products International, Inc. 815 Oakwood Rd., Unit D, Lake Zurich, IL 60047, USA Ph: 847-438-2233 Fax: 847-438-2898

www.maxxprod.com

Wingspan: 49.2 in.

Weight: 38.8 oz.

Length: 36.6 in.

The Pilatus PC-6 Turbo Porter makes every flight a unique and unforgettable experience, whether you are winging your way across the frozen tundra, making a daring landing at a remote airstrip, or performing a deep-jungle rescue mission.

With pre-installed servos, high performance brushless motor and speed control, this workhorse delivers sky-high excitement at every turn yet is agile enough to enjoy leisurely weekend flying at your local field.

* Alternate Blue Color Scheme and Optional Float Set Available

Hitec RCD USA, Inc. | 12115 Paine Street | Poway • CA 92064 | (858) 748-6948 | www.hitecrcd.com

EVENT

TOP GUN 2014

WHERE THE WORLD’S BEST SCALE BUILDERS & PILOTS GO MODEL TO MODEL

BY PETER GEORGE

F

rank Tiano’s Top Gun event just finished its 26th year. The event, which was first hosted in 1989, has become the premiere RC scale aircraft competition for pilots from around the world. It is quite simply the quintessential meet for worldclass RC scale modelers, especially in light of the fact that builders/pilots

compete for $25,000 in cash and prizes.

Top Gun 2014 was held at Paradise Field from April 30th to May 4th. One hundred and thirty-six pilots entered. Even with the poor weather conditions that inundated the Lakeland Linder Regional Airport flying site for a couple of days, the

competition was noteworthy and challenging. As you’ll see in this photo spread, the caliber and quality of the aircraft entered in Top Gun 2014 were above and beyond those of previous years. Moreover, the exceptional piloting skills required to fly in the challenging weather and wind conditions were much more evident Dave Ribbe finished in first place, taking the Top Gun Trophy. He flew his 1/4.5-scale sized MiG15 jet. The Alclad covered model is controlled by a Spektrum DX18 radio and is powered by a JetCat 140 turbine.

14

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

Dave Wigley flew to a second place finish with his enormous, torpedo-dropping Bristol Beaufighter. The 1/5-scale, 138-in. wingspan model is powered by a pair of BME 102-cc engines that swing 24-in. 3-blade, counter rotating propellers.The model weighs in at 82 lb. Due to the standing water at Top Gun’s site, he managed to drop its torpedo in the water!

Bob Violet streaked into third place flying his beautiful 1/7-scale Lockheed F-80.

The model is flown with control coming from a JR 12X radio system. The model is impressively powered by one of Bob’s BVM electric ducted fan units.

Rich Feroldi captured the fourth place trophy at Top Gun, flying his colorful, 1/3-scale WWI Albatross. A Futaba radio system guides the Quadra-100-powered model. facebook.com/rcsportflyer

RC-SF.COM

15

EVENT

TOP GUN 2014

John Boyko landed in fifth place with his unique, twinengined-powered Cessna Skymaster. At 26%-scale, the 120-in. wingspan model is powered with a pair of Moki 50-cc 4-stroke engines. Guidance comes from a Futaba 14MZ radio system.

Jack Diaz won the first place trophy flying his 1/4.5-scale Fouga Magister.

The 100-in.-wingspan model was built from an Avonds kit. The model is controlled by a Spektrum DX18 radio and is powered by a KingTech 100 turbine.

Scott Harris flew his 1/6-scale BVM F-86 to second place finish. The 36-lb model is powered with a Cheetah turbine engine. Scott used a JR 12X radio transmitter and receiver for control of his F-86 jet.

16

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

Peter Goldsmith captured the third place trophy, flying his 1/5-scale F-104. The 133-in. long model was built from the Skymaster kit.

The model was guided with a SpektrumÂŽ DX18 transmitter, and is powered by a King Tech 180 turbine.

Scott Miller landed in forth place showing and flying his 1/6-scale BVM MIG-15 BIS. A JetCat 120 powers the 68-in. wingspan model. The model was flown using a JR 11X transmitter and radio gear.

Rod Snyder won fifth place honors flying his 1/7-scale BVM F-100D. The 38-lb model is powered by a JetCat P160 turbine. Rod chose a Spektrum DX18 transmitter to control his beautiful F-100D. facebook.com/rcsportflyer

RC-SF.COM

17

EVENT

TOP GUN 2014

Ali Machinchy captured the first place position with his Airworld 1/5-scale F9F Cougar.

Ali uses a Spektrun DX18 transmitter and Spektrum radio gear in his JetCat P180 turbine-powered Cougar.

David Hayes flew his 1/5-scale Rockwell Thrush Crop Duster to a second place position. The model is controlled with a JR 12X transmitter. David powers his model with a Saito 180 engine. He used it to release baby powder from its scale crop dusting spray bar system.

Rod Snyder’s 1/6-scale F-100D took third place in Unlimited. He uses a JR 12X transmitter and gear for control of his model. The 65-in. wingspan jet is powered by a JetCat P160 turbine engine.

18

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

Curtis Switzer took the fourth place position with his 1/3.5-scale , DA-150powered Extra 300 SF. The model flew with a Futaba 14MZ radio system for its control.

Jason Bauer flew into a fifth place position with his F-15C jet fighter. His model is powered by a King Tech turbine. It was built from an Avonds kit and uses a Spektrum DX18 transmitter and radio gear.

Builder Graeme Mears and pilot Ali Machinchy teamed up to take the first place trophy. Ali flew a 1/4.5-scale T-33. It was built from the Scale Jets kit. The 43-lb model is powered by a King Tech turbine and controlled by a Spektrum DX18 radio system. facebook.com/rcsportflyer

RC-SF.COM

19

EVENT

TOP GUN 2014

Builder Phil Noel and pilot Rei Gonzalez captured the 2nd place trophy flying a 1/5 scale F-84F. The seldommodeled aircraft was in Belgian Air Force colors. Built from the Michael Knol kit, a Rhino turbine powered the 40-pound model. A JR 12X was used for control.

Builder Mike Grady and pilot Dustin Buescher flew into third place with a 1/6-scale BVM MiG-15 BIS. The 68-in. wingspan model was powered with a Bob Violett Models electric ducted fan unit and was controlled by a Spektrum DX18 radio system.

Builder Robert Rullie and pilot Mitch Buckley landed in fourth place, flying a 1/5-scale Me-262. The twin-enginepowered 40-lb model was built from a Grumania kit. It is powered by two JetCat P60 turbines. A JR 12X radio system controls the model.

20

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

Builder David Asman and pilot Dave Pinegar hooked the fifth place trophy flying a 1/5.5-scale Dauntless SBD-5. Built from Jerry Bates plans, the 85-in. wingspan model is powered by a Saito 300 and is controlled by a Futaba transmitter married to its S-Bus system.

Mike Barbee took the first place trophy with his 144-in. wingspan, AMR, J-3 Cub. The model was flown with a Futaba 18MZ for control. It is powered with a ZDZ 50 gas-powered engine.

Dino Digiorgio garnered second place flying a CARF, F4U Corsair. It is controlled by a JR 12X system. The model has a 110-in. wingspan and is pulled by a Moki 250 radial engine. The model features machine guns with LEDs that light up in synch with the gun sound effect generator. facebook.com/rcsportflyer

RC-SF.COM

21

EVENT

TOP GUN 2014

Eduardo Esteves took home the third place trophy flying his PT-19. The model was flown with a Spektrum DX18 radio system and is powered by a ZDZ 60 enigne. The 118in. wingspan model had a miniature replica of Mr. Top Gun himself, Frank Tiano, in the front cockpit.

P.J. Ash scored the fourth place award flying a Meister Scale Mistsubishi Zero. His Zero is a Quadra100-powered, 118-in. wingspan model. It is controlled by a JR 12X radio system.

Sean Curry’s P-51 was built from a Top Flite kit.

Note that it landed in fifth place. Sean’s model is powered by a Fuji 50 engine. It is controlled with a Futaba 14MZ radio system.

22

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

Jack Diaz took the first place trophy by flying his F9F Cougar. A JetCat 180 turbine powers the 90-in. wingspan model. The model was built from the SkyMaster kit. Jack controls the F9F with a JR 12X.

Franco DiMauro took the second place trophy with his T-33. The turbine-powered model weighs 52 pounds and uses a Spektrum DX18 system for control. It was built from a Feibau kit and sports a 108-in. wingspan.

Peter Goldsmith landed in third place flying his 1/5-scale SkyMaster F9F Cougar. The model is controlled by a Spektrum DX18 radio system and is powered by a JetCat 140 turbine engine. facebook.com/rcsportflyer

RC-SF.COM

23

EVENT

TOP GUN 2014

Gerardo Diaz flew his model into fourth place flying a 1/6-scale BVM F-100 jet. It is powered by a JetCat turbine engine and is control by a Spektrum DX18 radio system.

Dustin Buescher brought home the fifth place trophy flying his 1/5-scale SkyMaster F-104. His model uses a JR 12X radio system for guidance.

The model uses a King Tech Turbine for power.

Masakazu Oiwa came all the way from Japan to capture first place with his 137-in. wingspan 1/3-scale Japanese Zero Type 21. The 55 -lb model was controlled by a JR radio system.

Masakazu’s Zero is powered by a Moki 250 radial engine.

24

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

Pedro Sanchez flew his CARF P-47 to second place. A Spektrum DX18 radio system is used for control. The model flies on a 110-in. wingspan. It was powered by a great-sounding Moki 250 radial engine.

Boli Muentes was flying a Composite ARF kit. His nicely done Tucano T-27A took him to a third place finish. The model is using a JR 12X radio system for control, and it features a turbo propeller system that is made by JetCat.

facebook.com/rcsportflyer

RC-SF.COM

25

EVENT

TOP GUN 2014

Jason Bauer landed in fourth place with his 1/6-scale F-16. It was built from a BVM kit and uses a Spektrum DX18 system for control. The model is powered by a King Tech turbine engine.

RJ Gonzalez took fifth place with a MiG-15 jet that he built from BVM kit. The model flies with a Spektrum control system that communicates with a DX18 transmitter. It is powered by a BVM electric ducted fan unit.

26

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

competitors that attend from other countries. And so it goes…

Note that over the past 26 years Top Gun has drawn pilots to compete from the USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, England, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, S. Africa, Ireland, Norway, and the Netherlands.

This pretty much underscores how prestigious Top Gun has become over the years for those builders and pilots that take RC scale modeling competition seriously.

For builders/pilots, Top Gun is about earning recognition in the RC scale community. As such, Top Gun has numerous awards for excellence in different categories. This year, the first place winner in the Master Class, or the Top Gun pilot, was Dave Ribbe.

He had built a turbine-powered Mig15 jet, which he flew superbly even in

the extremely challenging conditions.

As Dave told me, he felt the judges did an excellent job of scoring the aircraft and the flights based on capability.

He also underscored that some of the airplanes may have been handicapped by the windy and rainy weather.

Check out this 13-page photo spread to see all the gorgeous airplanes entered and flown. Finally, think about attending Top Gun 2015.

I guarantee you will be impressed by the airplanes and the piloting. For more information, visit franktiano. com/TopGunFrameset.htm.

SPONSORS

than in years past.

The thing that makes Top Gun the best scale competition in the world is the amount of time and money that goes into it, plus its overall execution. Frank Tiano told me that Top Gun costs roughly $100K to host each year. Frank and his crew spend an entire year planning, promoting, and executing Top Gun. They groom the Lakeland Lindner site constantly throughout the year — the site adjoins the regional airport.

They raise money to host the event by soliciting the many generous sponsors that contribute to Top Gun year after year. Also, Frank’s team must coordinate with the local airport authority, get vendor tents, arrange for event workers, get food and facilities, arrange for trophies, and the list goes on and on. Frank even makes arrangements for models to be shipped to his business for those

ZAP Model Airplane News FTE Horizon Hobby Spektrum Red Bull MiBo Jets Bold Propellers twitter.com/rcsportflyer

The simplest way to add chasing, blinking, fading LED effects!

Use coupon: RCSF and save 20%

LEDs - ARDUINOS - ELECTRONICS FOR THE RC SPORT FLYER. Why pay for LEDs by the meter when you can have the whole roll!

GET IT ON iTUNES NOW!

Save $$ Now. Ships from USA

http://SolderingSunday.com/RCSF

28

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

The fascinating world of FPV and Multi Rotor Helicopters is here.

If you are a weekend hobbyist, a municipality or know us from military contracts, AtlantaHobby.com is the one stop source for the equipment and expertise you need. Fully autonomous GPS controlled systems with video downlinks, or a simple entry level system for fun and photography, we have it all.

S-1000 Premium Octo Copter

Buy with confidence from the largest multirotor and MFG direct DJI dealer in the USA. Check our references. We can build your system, teach you how to fly it and have the best technical support personal to back up what we sell.

s t r e p x E y h p a r g o t o h Aerial P

� e h t “ e r We a ble d Fully assem

s y s te m

ll the a e v a h e W . urself s or do it yo

gear.

Vision+ The Best Auto Pilots and Flight Controllers Full Video Downlink Systems and First Person Viewers (FPV)

High Definition Video Cameras

RC Vision Systems

Fly Responsibly. Support USA Based Hobby Shops that are fighting for your right to fly.

New Blade 350 QX

WHY BUY FROM US?

WWW.ATLANTAHOBBY.COM | (678) 513-4450 STOCKING ALL THE BEST BRANDS

S A M E D AY S H I P P I N G | Q U A L I T Y T E C H S U P P O R T

- We have been in the business since 1978.

- We have a dedicated technical support staff.

- We have custom combos and build to your specifications.

- We have a dedicated repair and upgrade staff.

- We know photography and videography.

- We answer your emails and phone calls.

- We know flight products.

HOW TO

MAKING A TAILWHEEL A LIGHTWEIGHT, SCALE, RETRACTABLE ASSEMBLY YOU CAN BUILD

BY TOM WOLF

30

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

O

ne of the problems I faced when I built my 1/5-scale DeHavilland Mosquito was finding a scale, retractable tailwheel assembly that was also lightweight. The Mosquito has a very long tail moment and a very short nose moment, which means every additional ounce of weight in the tail is a big problem when it comes to achieving the correct center of gravity. After a long search of the marketplace, I could not find any that met my needs. As a result, I designed a unit specifically for my airplane. The approach I took was unconventional and resulted in a unit that weighs significantly less than any other

tailwheel unit I could find.

The full-size Mosquito tailwheel has a rather beefy aluminum fork assembly that is cantilevered off of a shock absorbing strut arrangement.

The usual approach taken to replicate this appearance involves either machining an aluminum fork or using a piano wire landing gear and covering it with wood elements to achieve the appearance of the cast fork. Either of these approaches results in unnecessary weight.

Upon considering this problem, I thought that perhaps I could make a structurally adequate fork fabricated completely with wood. As it turned out, this approach was 100 percent

successful. I now have close to 50 flights on my 55-pound Mosquito and I am completely satisfied with the tail gear assembly.

This article will provide an overview of the design for the retractable tail gear assembly on the Mosquito, including the retract mechanism and the wood fork assembly. In every step along the way, I was looking for weight reduction.

To that end, I worked to minimize the amount of metal used in my model’s unit. While the design discussed in this article is specific to the Mosquito, the principles can be adapted to any airplane where a lightweight, scale tailwheel assembly is desired.

The full-size Mosquito sports a tall retractable tailwheel, mounted to a steerable cast aluminum fork.

A 3D CAD model was generated in Pro-Engineer to establish retract mechanism geometry and part arrangement to achieve proper operation and fit. Fabrication drawings were then generated. facebook.com/rcsportflyer

RC-SF.COM

31

HOW TO

MAKING A TAILWHEEL

The retract mechanism employs a conventional over-center link for the down-lock. The mounting brackets are only .030 thick aluminum to minimize weight.

RETRACT UNIT DESIGN The first step in the design process was to generate a 3D CAD model of the retract unit. This was done so I could work out the geometry and arrangement of the various components in order to achieve the correct retraction angle and to ensure the finished unit would fit in the space available. After a bit of trial and error, I settled on a retract mechanism design with only three moving parts and five parts total, not including fasteners and spacers.

The design employs an over-center link to create a down-lock. There is no up-lock in the mechanism since I planned to use a 180-degree retract servo to operate the tail gear, and thus the servo would provide an adequate up-lock. Once the 3D geometry was finalized, I generated fabrication drawings for the mounting brackets (left and right), pivot block, over-

Steering is accomplished with a pull-pull cable system. The cables go slack when the wheel retracts.

The tiller post and the 5/32 axle are the only metal parts in the lower part of the tailwheel assembly.

The mounting plate at the bottom of the tiller post is the structural attachment to the fork assembly.

32

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

center link, and the actuator arm.

The two mounting brackets are fabricated with .030-thick 5052-H32 aluminum alloy sheet. The pivot block, over-center link, and the actuation arm are all fabricated with nylon to keep the weight down and to provide good bearing surfaces for the moving parts. Aluminum tubular spacers that are .25-in. diameter and .50-in. long are placed between the two mounting brackets and fastened with 4-40 hardware that passes through the assembly. Two of these spacers serve as pivot points for the pivot block and the actuator arm.

A third spacer provides a positive stop for the over-center link. The photo shows the finished unit in the extended and retracted positions.

TAILWHEEL STEERING Steering is accomplished by a pull-pull cable system that attaches to a brass steering tiller which is fixed atop the tiller post. The design is such that the cables go slack when the tailwheel is retracted. The tiller arm is fabricated from .062-in. thick by .25-in. wide brass stock, which is silver soldered to a 1/8-in. wheel collar. The tiller post is 1/8-in. diameter music wire and has flats filed on it at both ends to provide a good surface for the tiller arm set screw to tighten against, and for attaching the mounting plate at the lower end. The mounting plate for the fork assembly is made from .030-in. brass sheet and is brazed to the lower end of the tiller post.

This plate is the structural interface twitter.com/rcsportflyer

Five layers of 1/64-in. plywood got laminated together using a forming tool to form the basic portion of the landing gear fork.

The five layers of plywood are bonded together using white glue and clamped in tight together until thoroughly dry.

between the metal part of this design and the wood fork.

FORK ASSEMBLY The fork assembly is where this design deviates from normal practice.

This portion of the tail gear assembly is made completely with wood.

The following procedure will walk you through how I fabricated this lightweight and strong unit.

The first step in the fabrication process is to laminate five layers of 1/64-in. plywood together using a forming tool. Wet the plywood strips and then remove any excess water on the surface of the wood. Apply a thin coat of white glue between layers and stack all five pieces of plywood on top of each other. Then, form the stack around the forming block and clamp the stack in place. Allow the part to dry for 24 hours before removing it from the form. After trimming the part edges to true them, mark a horizontal centerline along the length of the part and a vertical centerline at the front of the fork, and then draw the trim lines for the fork profile.

The next step is to fabricate the mounting pads to accept the tiller post mounting plate. These are made of 1/8-in. plywood strips that are 3/8in. wide. The back side of each strip is beveled as required to mate with the inside surface of the fork and provide a flat front-side mounting surface for the tiller post mounting plate. Glue the mounting plates in place with medium CA adhesive, maintaining a 1/8-in. gap at the center of the fork to facebook.com/rcsportflyer

The fork web is shown here after removal from the form and with the finished profile marked on the outside surface.

The tiller post mounting plates are fabricated from 1/8-in. plywood and are glued to the inside surface of the fork with a 1/8-in. gap in between.

RC-SF.COM

33

HOW TO

MAKING A TAILWHEEL

The forward portion of the fork is fabricated from basswood.

Rough-cut pieces are shown glued in place.

accept the tiller post.

Rough cut the forward pieces of the fork from 1/8-in. and 1/4-in. thick basswood or spruce and glue them in place — use medium CA adhesive.

At this point, the fork is sanded using a belt or disc sander to achieve the correct profile shape. Glue 1/16in. plywood axle doublers to each outside surface at the rear of the fork.

Test fit the tiller post, and when it fits properly, mark the mounting hole locations and drill 1/16-in. diameter pilot holes for the #2 sheet metal screws that will be used to attach the fork assembly to the tiller post.

The upper and lower flanges of the fork are fabricated from 1/16-in. thick plywood and glued in place using medium CA adhesive. Scale detailing is added as required, using wood doweling and basswood strips to fabricate the various components.

The axle hole is drilled for a tight fit with the 5/32-in. diameter axle, and the axle is retained in the fork assembly with wheel collars that are installed between the inside of the fork and the wheel hub.

To complete the assembly, additional scale detailing is added, and a three-inch Sullivan SkyLite wheel is modified to reflect the grooved appearance of the wheels used on the full-size Mosquito. To modify the wheel, I chucked it in a lathe and used an angled sanding block to flatten the outside diameter slightly, and to add a groove at the tire’s center. Also, a plywood hub cover was fabricated to cover the spokes of the stock Sullivan wheel.

34

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

This photo shows the fork assembly after the profile has been shaped, and the axle doublers have been glued in place.

The tiller post mounting hole locations are marked, and then pilot holes are drilled in the wood.

The top and bottom flanges for the fork are fabricated with 1/16-in. thick plywood sheeting material.

Some of the scale detailing has been added to the fork assembly and the axle holes have been drilled. twitter.com/rcsportflyer

The tiller post is attached to the fork assembly with four #2 sheet metal screws. Note how little metal is used in this assembly, and yet it’s strong enough to stand up to the punishments of my 55-lb Mosquito.

Weight Summary (oz) Retract mechanism assy 2.9 Tiller post 0.6 Axle and wheel collars 0.4 Fork assy 0.6 Sullivan SkyLite wheel 3-in. 1.5 Total 6.0

SUPPLIER

SUMMARY Designing and building my own retractable tail gear assembly was quite rewarding. The design proved to be quite reliable and surprisingly rugged. It also is quite lightweight for its size and intended usage. The fabrication techniques described in this article can be used to fabricate scale tailwheel assemblies for other aircraft by simply adapting the design to reflect the particular design parameters required. I have a complete drawing set for the machined and sheet metal parts that comprise the retract mechanism (mounting brackets, pivot block, overcenter link, and actuator arm), and I can make them available if desired. tomdebwolf@cox.net

These photos show the finished retractable tailwheel assembly, ready for installation in the Mosquito. The wheel is a modified 3-in. Sullivan brand SkyLite wheel.

Sullivan Products, Inc 1 North Have St Baltimore, MD 21224 Phone: 410-732-3500 Sullivanproducts.com

The lightweight tailwheel assembly is shown installed in the Mosquito, with the wheel extended and retracted.

facebook.com/rcsportflyer

RC-SF.COM

35

HOW TO

COVER THEM CUTTING DRAG — DONE NEATLY AND EASILY

BY WIL BYERS

I

’m a neat freak, I admit it! I can’t stand a messy house, a dirty car, a cluttered workshop, or an airplane that is thrown together as if nothing matters in terms of performance.

I think this may be why I have a love of sailplanes and gliders. Their performance depends every bit on them being aerodynamically clean in design and well built.

One of the areas I see overlooked

Scotch brand Satin™ Tape works wonders for holding the servo covers in place on most any model airplane, especially gliders and sailplanes.

36

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

all too often on gliders and sailplanes is the way the servo covers are attached to the wing once the servos are installed. It leaves me grinding my teeth in frustration because of how little effort it takes to attach them properly. Heck, doing so will increase the model’s performance at no cost to the builder. Those of us that care call the increase lift-over-drag performance. In the soaring world, better lift-over-drag means getting to the rising air before the model glides to the ground. A poorly done servo cover adds drag, which reduces liftover-drag performance.

HOW TO The fix is easy! Here is how I do it.

There may be a better way, but this is how I’ve learned to do it for the models that I build and fly.

Start by buying a roll of Scotch® brand satin tape. You can use it right off the roll, but it will leave a big, wide tape area on the bottom of the wing.

So what I do is cut the roll of tape in half. That is much easier than it sounds. All you need to do is score on a sanding drum from a hardware store such as The Home Depot. Take the roll of tape with you and pick one that just fits in the interior diameter of the tape’s roll. Once you’ve made your purchase and are back home, you’ll want to fit the roll of tape to the drum and tighten the drum so that the tape is fastened tightly to the drum. Then twitter.com/rcsportflyer

Cutting the roll into two halves is easy. You just apply light pressure to the blade while the roll is spinning in the drill press.

You’ll want to buy a sanding drum.

Then you’ll secure a roll of tape in the drum and chuck the drum’s spindle up in a drill press.

You’ll use a hobby knife with a #11 blade in it to cut the tape. You MUST use the blade such that tape’s roll is spinning away from the blade!

you chuck the drum’s spindle up in either a drill press or a drill. Once you have it fastened securely in the drill press, you’ll need a new #11 blade in your hobby knife. Then turn on the drill, its rotation rpm set to a medium setting. Using the knife, you’ll apply its blade to the tape such that the roll’s surface is spinning away from the blade, definitely not into the blade!

Pay close attention to the photos.

This can be a dangerous step if done wrong. So be very, very careful — I’m not kidding here. Now just apply a light pressure to the blade. It will cut the tape roll in half in short order. The result will be strips that are about 3/8in. wide rather than the typical 3/4-in. width.

This next step is quite important in that many servo covers do not fit the wings’ recesses properly. This means the covers often protrude above the surface of the wing, which facebook.com/rcsportflyer

adds drag. (This could even trip the airflow over the wing into turbulent flow, depending on the covers’ locations relative to the bottom of the wing). What I do is use the belt sander on my workshop’s belt and disc sander to sand the cover until it fits the recess in the wing.

Alternatively, if the recesses are not deep enough, you may want to use a router bit in your Dremel tool to carefully cut the recesses deeper.

Either method will work. Note that when you are sanding the covers’ thickness you must be careful not to sand too much material away. So do the sanding in steps, checking and double-checking their fit in the wing.

Once you are satisfied with the fit of the covers, you’ll tape them into position as the next step. There is absolutely nothing difficult about taping them in position, with the exception that both the cover and

the bottom of the wing must be clean, and you do not want to get the tape dirtied with finger prints and such either. Use denatured alcohol to clean the wings’ and covers’ surfaces — do NOT drink the alcohol. Doing so will not make the job better.

Next, position the cover in its respective recess. The trick to applying the tape is to use too much.

Let me explain. What you’ll do is apply the tape well beyond the covers’ recesses. Then you will apply the tape the full length of the part line between the cover and the recess.

You’ll then rub it down to get a good bond between the cover and wing’s surface. Once you’re satisfied with the bond, you will use a single-edge razor blade to trim the tape such that its end extends 3/16 of an inch onto the wing’s surface. You’ll repeat this process for all four corners.

Once you’ve taped the covers RC-SF.COM

37

HOW TO

COVER THEM

The tape will be about 3/8 in. wide. You’ll apply so it is centered on the part line between the wing and the servo cover.

Use a single-edge razor blade, applied at the cutline, to cut the tape once you have it in the proper position.

SUPPLIER

in place, you’ll see that this method of fastening the covers to the wing provides the best possible result with the lowest possible drag. Also, this makes a strong bond for the cover, but one that is nearly invisible on the model. This method lets you remove the cover easily too, if you should need access to the servo at a later date. If you’re new to the hobby, you’ll be glad to know it is very easy to do as well. editor@rc-sf.com Staples Staples.com The Home Depot

This is what your model’s servo cover will look like once you’ve taped it into position. You can barely see the tape holding it in place.

Homedepot.com

RC SERVO WIRE COLOR CODE Servo

Positive(+)

Signal(S)

Negative(-)

Futaba

Red

White

Black

JR

Red

Orange

Brown

Hitec

Red

Yellow

Black

Red

Blue

Black

Red

White

Black

Red

Black

Black

Spektrum

Red

Orange

Black

Graupner

Red

Orange

Black

Jeti

Red

Orange

Black

Airtronics

38

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

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

You’ll want to pick a full-scale airplane to pattern your model’s color scheme after. You can often find a number of example aircraft on the internet.

FINISH IT

EASY WEATHERING TRICKS YOU CAN DO

BY DERIK RINEHART

L

The materials you’ll need include a hobby knife, charcoal sticks, a small tray or cup for charcoal powder, paint brush, aluminum silver colored paint (acrylic or enamel), and acrylic sealer.

40

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

et’s face it, nothing makes a warbird look better than having that “just got back from a rough mission” weathering finish. For us scale nuts, there’s a point of pride in making our airplane look like you ran the full-scale through your dryer, and it worked! Dirt, mud, soot, oil, exhaust, and paint chipping are just a few of the many things that add to the realism of any scale RC model.

For some RC modelers it can be an intimidating undertaking. After all, not every modeler grew up building plastic models and spending countless hours on minor detailing — those of us that have use a variety of techniques from hand brushes to airbrushes. We will also add other twitter.com/rcsportflyer

Soften the charcoal stick against a hard surface before applying directly to the airplane’s surface. Then trace the panel lines onto the painted foam surfaces.

Smear the charcoal with either a dry brush, cotton ball, rag, or your finger, as I’m showing you here. It isn’t difficult and it’s actually fun to do to get the look you want.

The finished look should be noticeable, but not overly intrusive to the overall appearance the airplane. What you are after is getting the look of a weathered full-scale airplane.

scale features, such as detailed cockpits and gunsights that are built from scratch.

For this discussion we’ll be talking only about weathering, and how to do it in less than an hour. My technique will cost you less than twenty dollars.

HOW TO I was approached recently at a major RC event by someone asking how I did the weathering on my FMS Model’s 1400-mm wingspan P-51D Mustang. Here is what I told them.

First, the P-51D’s size lends itself to adding extra detailing much more easily than the small plastic models I used to build as a kid. However, the techniques I used then and now are very simple and inexpensive. Even the most novice modeler can use my techniques to detail a scale model, even one done in foam.

For starters, this model comes out of the kit box loaded with fantastic details. The FMS 1400-mm P-51D Mustang I detailed was named the This is the Petie 2nd, which is flown by 487th FS CO, Lt. Col. John C. Meyer of the 352nd Fighter Group. You’ll find many P-51 color schemes online that you can use for documentation. facebook.com/rcsportflyer

RC-SF.COM

41

HOW TO

FINISH IT

Exhaust streaks are a good example of where to use the dry brush technique on your model.

Don’t risk gouging the flat surfaces with the charcoal stick!

Petie 2nd. It was part of the 352nd Fighter Group, which was nicknamed the “The Blue Nosed Bastards of Bodney.” I did a complete repaint of my model to make it one of my all time favorite Mustangs, Moonbeam McSwine, of the same squadron and fighter group. As a member of the 352nd Fighter Group Association, I’ve been fortunate to attend several reunions of the Group. I’ve had the opportunity to get a ride in the restored Moonbeam McSwine — that is before it was sold to someone in France. Note that most of FMS Model’s P-51Ds are painted in the color schemes of the restored versions, with some even having the N# under the horizontal tail. I prefer a WWII representation, with all the scars and wear of a combat-worn airplane.

So accurate weathering for me was a must on my model.

To add the appearances of exhaust streaks, gun blasts, and panel wear, I only used two materials. The first is compressed charcoal sticks, used to do gun blasts, exhaust, and panel wear streaks. For wear on the propeller’s leading edges, I used Tamiya acrylic aluminum silver paint.

For the panel wear and gun blast

42

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

In combat, being clean isn’t a priority, so inspection panels almost always have streaks of grime shown on them, which were the result of routine maintenance.

streaks, I carefully draw a line with the charcoal sticks. Then the line is smeared with my finger. You can use a rag or Q-tip® as well. It is very important to soften the charcoal stick by running its end across a hard wood surface several times. This will prevent any damage to the foam surface of the airplane during application.

For the exhaust streaks I used a hobby knife and cut shavings from the stick, putting them into a small cup. The shavings should look like gun powder once you have enough of them to use. Next, take a dry paint brush and dip it into the powder. Then you’ll brush the powder onto the areas you want to weather — do it just like you’re painting. Then, gently blow the excess powder off the surface, being very careful not to touch the brushed areas. Touching the areas will get the powder on your hands, which will spoil the areas you’ve brushed to perfection.

Once you’ve finished the weathering, you must spray a light coat of flat matte acrylic sealer over weathered areas. Note that when you are painting the areas, you must keep the can’s nozzle at least six to eight inches away from the surfaces.

These gun ports are plastic. So direct application of color with the charcoal stick is fine. Pay attention to detail and don’t forget the shell ejection ports.

You also want to avoid applying an excess amount of paint because it can damage the surface of the foam.

Once the seal coat has dried, carefully

To keep the weathering from coming off the model when handling it, hit the weathered areas with sealer. Keep the can about a foot away from the surface when spraying. twitter.com/rcsportflyer

and spectators. It will turn it into a conversation piece for certain. derik352@gmail.com

DISTRIBUTOR

Take a step back and look at the overall appearance of your model. Compare it to wartime photos of the same type aircraft to see how it stacks up.

Diamond Hobby 553 Capital Circle SW, Unit 4 Tallahassee, FL 32304 Phone: 850-765-1132 Diamondhobby.com

touch the weathered area to ensure the weathering doesn’t come off. You may need to apply more sealer to those areas that need it.

Here is my tip for making the propeller blades look weathered.

Start by dipping a small paint brush in aluminum silver paint (acrylic or enamel will work). Then you simply brush the excess paint off the brush’s whiskers onto a paper towel (I use the surface of my work table). You will only need a little bit of paint in the brush to weather the blades. Once you have the brush cleaned of excess paint, you just tap/dab the brush along the leading edge of each blade.

SUMMARY The weathering I did to my Mustang took less than an hour.

Moreover, it cost me less than twenty dollars. The important thing to know is that even a bit of minor weathering will add much to the look of your model in the airfield’s pit area and on the ramp. Your model will then get a lot of attention from the pilots facebook.com/rcsportflyer

Propeller blade leading edges always have wear on them. Use a very thin amount of aluminum paint on a brush and dab the bristles on the propeller’s edges.

For all the weathering you’ll do on your model, make sure the streaks, smears, and dabs follow the direction of the airflow of their respective surfaces.

RC-SF.COM

43

3-VIEW

44

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

ASW-28

IT GETS YOU TO THE NEXT THERMAL WITH ALTITUDE TO SPARE

BY HANS-JÜRGEN FISCHER

S

chleicher’s ASW 28-18E is an 18-meter sailplane that sports a 48-to-1 lift-over-drag ratio. It is a composite sailplane that’s built to the highest standards in Alexander Schleicher’s factory, which is located in Poppenhausen, Germany — very near the famous Wasserkuppe mountain in the state of Hessen.

In its 18-meter version, the sailplane performs like one of Schleicher’s older version Open

Class machines. It does so because it uses state-of-the-art technology in airfoil design as well as blowhole technology to control the airfoil’s boundary layer. The ASW 28-18E has a maximum all-up weight of 575 kg (1268 lb), which makes for a wing loading of up to 48 kg/m² (9.8 lb/ft²).

This wing loading lets the pilot take advantage of the best lift-over-drag ratio airspeed of 90 km/h (56 m/h).

The 28-18E is designed to have docile

flight characteristics, all the way down to its stall and beyond. Assembly is quick and easy because the sailplane utilizes automatic control connections and an automatic hook up for ailerons on the outer wing panels. Additionally, the wings of the ASW 28-18 have their break at just over half span for reduced weight and rigging ease.

The ASW 28-18E uses a SOLO 2350 engine. It is an 18 hp twocylinder sustainer engine that turns a

ASW 28

Alexander Schleicher Segelflugzeugbau

ASW 28-18 ER

facebook.com/rcsportflyer

RC-SF.COM

45

ASW-28

1.2-m composite propeller in direct drive. The motor mounts to a mast that extends from the fuselage by way of a spindle-drive mechanism. The motor incorporates a compression release for in-air starts, which removes the need for a starter motor, choke, or throttle — the airflow does the work of spinning the propeller. The motor provides a climb rate for the ASW 28-18E of approximately 200 feet per minute. What the motor affords the 0

50

75

100

125

pilot is the ability to attempt cross country flight, but without the fear of being forced to land the sailplane off airfield, or worse.

RC-SF is wondering when we’ll see this sailplane as a 1/3-scale version, with power pod.

150

175

200

km/h

SPECIFICATIONS

3-VIEW

Wingspan : 18m Wing area : 11.88 m

59 ft 128 ft2

2

Aspect ratio : 27.27 Winglet height : 0.5 m

1.64 ft

Tailplane span : 2.85 m

9.35 ft

Fuselage length : 6.585 m

21.6 ft

Weight empty : 280 Kg

617 lb

Takeoff weight : 575 Kg

1

E=48

2

Wing loading max : 48.4 Kg/m

1267 lb 9.91 lb/ft2

2

Wing loading min. : 29 Kg/m2

5.93 lb/ft2

Vne : 270 km/h

145 knots

Speed min : 71 km/h 3 m/s

46

94 ft/min

Best L/D : 48 @ 90 km/h

Speed polar

ASW 28-18E

Engine : Solo 2350 G/S=28 kg/m2 G/S=48 kg/m2

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

Climb rate : 1 m/s

200 ft/min

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

BUILD

FMS FOCKEWULF FW-190 A REFINISH TO MAKE IT SPOT ON

BY ROBERT J. CASO

The FMS model comes with the markings and much of the service nomenclature already applied.

B

y now I think everyone knows, or should know, that I am a sucker for Focke-Wulf 190’s.

Mainly the “A” models, but just about any version of Kurt Tank’s diminutive fighter will do. If you have ever seen one of these things in person, it is surprising how small it is compared to a Mustang. It’s even more surprising what the Germans were able to hang on it for its many roles. But it’s the aircraft’s sinister outlines and the multiplicity of varied and interesting camouflages that always get me.

This interest in FW-190’s, however, is somewhat of a double-edged

48

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

sword, as I can spot an out of spec 190 model or one with a suspect camouflage from about three miles away.

In their haste to market a new and exciting model, oftentimes ARF manufacturers get the canopy size and location on their 190’s a tiny bit wrong. Combine this with wheels that are too small or a nose that doesn’t quite have the correct shape, and it’s “game over” for me.

Enter the FMS 190. It’s a decentlysized model with about 55 inches of wing, and I am happy to report that its outlines are pretty much spot on.

Ok, you can still see the foam texture if you’re really up close to the model, but from normal viewing distance this disappears. As an extra special bonus, the model comes equipped with a scale, spinning cooling fan mounted to the prop spinner, thereby hiding the foam innards of the cowl. As we have come to expect with an ARF, just about everything is preinstalled — retracts, servos, motor — and overall it is a wonderfully executed model.

So much so, that I chided my buddy Vince Nigrelli into finally buying one at the 2014 WRAM show this year.

The other side of the deal was that he twitter.com/rcsportflyer

We were careful not to get too much paint on the markings, but any that did migrate added to the effect we were wanting.

would come directly over to my place for a few days for us to do my typical ARF “fluff up”. Perfect — I love painting FW’s.

REDO As the model comes out of the box, it is very convincing — the camouflage job is decent, and the colors are reasonably correct. Many will be happy with just slapping in a battery and taking it off. For us, we wanted somewhat more, and it’s a great modeling experience having two good friends work on a model together, although sometimes it seemed more like outtakes from The Bickersons.

PREPARING THE CANVAS As good as it is, this and many other ARFs have to make concessions for manufacturing efficiencies and therefore unit cost. FMS uses colored appliqué’s to hide the wing’s servo runs, and there

were what appeared to be mold release indentations all over the undersides of the wings. Additionally, the plastic injection molded landing gear doors, along with a number of other added-on details, were presented in a slightly different color than the rest of the undersides. Fixing this facebook.com/rcsportflyer

Filler was applied not only to the molding indentations, but also to installations that resulted in a non-scale panel line.

The molded parts under the wings were a different color than the rest, so the entire undersides were repainted.

The control surfaces were carefully routed for bases of the control horns, which were later painted along with the undersides.

A look at the finished undersides of the model. Subtle weathering is always more convincing than too much.

RC-SF.COM

49

BUILD

FMS FOCKE-WULF FW-190

A rear, quarter shot showing the mottled paint scheme, the addition of the scale swastika, the panel lines, and the weathering.

The soldering iron left a melted burr around each of the rivets, so these had to be taken down with wet and dry sandpaper.

A close up of the frisket mask — apply all other masks only to the those already on the model to minimize the risk of pulling off paint.

Aluminum foil masks were also used to mask the black painted exhaust area, a feature found on many FW’s.

stuff was rather easy, however. We filled the indentations and other non-scale panel lines with a mixture of vinyl Spackle® and Flat Minwax® Polycrylic. The Spackle provides the filler and the Polycrylic makes it stick to the foam. Both are water based, so there is no possibility of turning the model into a steaming blob of melted foam. A double application is usually necessary, as the Spackle does shrink. A light sanding, a sealer coat of Polycrylic, and you’re done with this step — I will get to the painting part later.

Being a larger model, there are some prominent areas that could use a bit more detail to break up the monotony and to set the model apart from all the others. One of these is the molded plastic panel just forward of the fuselage machine gun troughs on the top of the cowl. The 190 had miles of flush riveting, and I felt it would be a nice touch to duplicate some of that in a highly viewed area.

To do this, I found a screw with threads that my soldering iron would accept, cut its head off, and drilled a 3/32 hole in one end. Then I tapered it on the lathe, using a file to sharpen up the business end. It was a simple matter from there to melt simulated flush rivets into the plastic cowl, although an iron with a controllable heat setting would have been nice. I did all the rivets by eye, starting with one at each end, then the center, and then filling in the blanks. After some light sanding, Vince and I felt the effect was pretty good, and this was very easy to do.

Another relatively easy job was flush mounting the control horn bases. The instructions say to simply screw together the tops and bottoms with the control surface in the middle, but this leaves a somewhat thick base proud of the surface. We carefully routed out the control surfaces using a Dremel® tool, after first outlining where the control horn would go.

Again, another easy step that adds a lot scale detail.

PAINTING I used Testor’s® Model Master enamel, which is solvent based, so you must be careful as this paint will soften that already on the model.

50

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

Vince hard at work on the FW. We still argue about the light green!

Further complicating the process is that any overly aggressive masks applied to the model will pull up the base coat, since the bare foam found on ARFs is rarely prepared well enough to withstand masking. We tiptoed around this by using Badger frisket masks, which have a very low tack. The downside is there was more of a risk of bleed or under-spray.

Nevertheless, low airbrush pressure and properly mixed paint greatly reduces this problem. Due to the base coat issues, we kept masking to a minimum, electing only to apply a painted swastika on the tail. Usually a mask is required for each color, and this minor job was no exception. I cut all four masks (two for each side) on my laser and first airbrushed white through the larger mask and then black — having a couple of drops of white mixed in — through the smaller.

Note that each of the masks was removed immediately after spraying, and each color was allowed to cure overnight.

The nomenclature on FMS’s 190 is representative of pilot Willie Maximowitz’s mount, although a quick rifle through Squadron Signal’s #170 Focke-Wulf 190 in Action reveals that the airplane had a black “8,” not red as presented. Not wanting to complicate things, we left this inaccuracy alone. Modeling a specific aircraft, however, lead to some rather heated, but friendly, arguments. Vince contends that Maximowitz’s featured some lighter green camouflage on facebook.com/rcsportflyer

The exhaust staining was done in stages with a darker gray first, and then progressively lighter shades of gray and brown.

The application of panel lines, here done with a block of artist’s chalk. This was later sealed in with a spray of flat clear.

the upper surfaces of the fuselage, whereas my sources showed none of this. He finally won the argument by stating that it was his model. OK, you got me.

We then proceeded to airbrush part of the cowl and fin with the lighter mix. I later admitted I liked the effect, which can be seen in the accompanying photos.

For the balance of the fuselage, we took some matching green and replicated the famous factory applied “mottling” down the sides of the fuselage and fin, being careful to avoid the markings. This really brought the model into “190 land” and it was quite an enhancement from the kit’s box art. A double-action airbrush (Badger Velocity) at about 15 pounds of pressure was used for this technique. If you have never applied a mottled camouflage job, it takes a little practice. Add a lot of clear flat to

the paint to keep it from getting too thin when you add reducer, and to keep the color from being too intense.

Build up the effect slowly, using spots of color, and then either streak them up into the base camouflage or leave them as is. Practice on some white cardstock first before zapping the model.

For the undersides and avoiding the markings, we applied quite a bit of RLM 76, the standard late WWII bluish-green color the Luftwaffe prescribed. Note, however, many aircraft during this period were almost a light gray in these areas because the factories gradually ran out of the correct paint! Adding the color is an easy step. This blended in all the filled and off color areas very nicely.

Once all the paint adjustments were made, we panel lined the model with a combination of lead pencil, artist’s chalk, and markers. A RC-SF.COM

51

BUILD

FMS FOCKE-WULF FW-190

The clear flat spray nicely blended in all the various shades of color on the model and dulled down the markings.

A close up of the business end of the 190 showing the subtle chipping and staining so common on a late war aircraft.

SPECIFICATIONS

Wingspan : 55 in.

Wing area : 523 in.2 All up weight : 88 oz

spritz of flat clear coat from a spray can (KrylonÂŽ as I remember) sealed everything in. Then it was onto weathering, using my standard mix of burnt umber and dark gray with a lot of clear. This was applied lightly first to the panel lines, and then to simulate the powder stains from the machine guns. The exhaust staining was done with lighter shades of brown, gradually fading into dark brown and gray. Exhaust stains are rarely a single color.

After taking the model home, Vince then applied some chipping and scuffing with a silvery-grayish mix, subtly enhancing the war-weary look. Note this can be a somewhat risky procedure, as using straight silver often looks too bright and out of place on a warbird, since the chips got dirty too, and the bare aluminum oxidized quickly. But Vince appears to have hit the mark on his model.

Vince is still setting up the model and will soon be getting around to flying it, so I currently have no flight reports or photos. Internet posts indicate that the model is a good flyer on 4S 3300-mAh LiPo power, so I am anxious to see it in the air. The various adjustments we made to the model only took a few nights. So you might want to try some of this on your next warbird ARF. Just make sure the outlines are right!

Rcaso916@aol.com

Seen here are the beautifully executed functional spinner fan and the chipping applied to the underside of the nose.

Wing loading : 25 oz/ft2 Motor : 4250 Kv 580 Propeller : 13x9 3-blade Battery : 4S 3300-mAh LiPo ESC : 65 amp Radio : 6 channel Control functions : Aileron, elevator, rudder, throttle

DISTRIBUTOR

Features : Retracts, flaps

52

Diamond Hobby 553 Capital Circle SW Unit 4 Tallahassee, FL 32304 Phone: 850-765-1132 Diamondhobby.com

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

BUILD

DYNAFLITE DECATHLON WINGS ®

STRAIGHT FRAMES ARE EASY — SEE HOW!

BY JEFF TROY

Here are the completed upper surfaces of the Dynaflite Super Decathlon wing panels. The present installment will walk you through a collection of helpful building tips for this and future projects.

54

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

1

When working with cyanoacrylate (CA) adhesives, use parchment paper to protect plans from spilled glue. For most other adhesives, Great Planes Plans Protector, wax paper, and backing sheets from iron-on coverings are excellent choices.

2

To help prevent the cracking and splitting of parts, make pop-out easier, and reduce weight, try sanding the backs of die-cut parts sheets with coarse sandpaper on a bar sander. This will remove any burrs that could capture the part.

3

The Super Decathlon’s wing spars and caps are joined with BSI Insta-Cure + medium CA. Use coarse sandpaper on a bar sander to smooth the seams and remove excess adhesive.

4

Want a quick trick for fitting spars into rib notches and stringers into bulkheads? Simply sand a slight radius onto the edges of the notch-facing wood. Nothing could be easier.

F

our sets of wings have already been built for this series. I’ve explained different techniques with each set, starting with basic construction and strip ailerons on the Great Planes® Super Sportster 60, inset ailerons and dual aileron servo bays on the Sig Spacewalker II, building and covering an undercamber wing on the Shive Dallaire Sportster, and a multiple wing setup on the Ziroli Fokker Dr.1 triplane.

The fifth set of wings is for the Dynaflite Super Decathlon, and what I’ll be demonstrating here are wing strut mounting areas, an aluminumtube joining system, carved wooden wingtips, and generous areas of balsa sheeting. Basic framing of the Decathlon wings begins now.

FRAMING I used Bob Smith Industries (BSI) Insta-Cure + medium cyanoacrylate facebook.com/rcsportflyer

(CA) glue for most of the Decathlon’s wing construction, switching to Insta-Cure thin CA and Quik-Set fiveminute epoxy for a couple of special procedures. Plans should always be covered with a protective barrier to prevent the parts from sticking to them. When working with traditional adhesives such as white and yellow glues (aliphatic resin) or epoxy and cellulose adhesives (Ambroid, Duco Cement, Sig-Ment), Great Planes Plans Protector, common wax paper, or even a MonoKote backing sheet work well as a protective barrier. However, when using CA as the primary adhesive, I prefer parchment paper, which is found in the baking aisle of nearly every grocery store.

Lay out the plans and protective covering and prepare the ribs and plywood doubling parts as explained in the Dynaflite manual, taking a few minutes to sand the back of each

sheet of die-cut parts with coarse sandpaper on a Great Planes EasyTouch bar sander or an ADC Tee-Bar. This simple pre-assembly procedure helps the parts separate from the sheets more easily, and cuts down on the number of cracked, split, or broken parts from sheets that are not as cleanly cut as we want. I must mention the Decathlon parts were very nicely cut, so they separated with hardly any effort required.

The upper and lower main spars are strengthened by laminating a 1/8 x 3/8 x 24-in. spruce cap over each of the four 1/4 x 3/8 x 42-in. spruce spars. I used a disk/belt sander to make quick work of the suggested 2-in. bevel on the spruce caps, then secured them to the spars with medium CA. The easiest way of getting the caps aligned correctly is to turn the spars and caps on their sides, then press them together alongside a RC-SF.COM

55

BUILD

DYNAFLITE DECATHLON WINGS

5

Bob Holman Plans offers a selection of helpful building jigs, including these rib-installing uprights. These parts are laser cut and come with 1/8-in. and 3/32-in. slots to hold the ribs.

6

The edges of the cardboard carrier tubes should be hardened with thin CA, and sanded with a round Perma-Grit tool so the aluminum joiner can be freely inserted and removed.

7

The die-cut plywood plug should be glued approximately 1/8 in. inside the edge of the cardboard carrier tubes. A generous bead of medium CA all around can prevent pop-out.

8

I used three thin beads of medium and thick CA with accelerator to secure the cardboard carrier tubes to the wing ribs, and to the plywood and balsa sheer webs.

metal straightedge until the CA cures.

After the spars and caps are cured, sand the joints with coarse sandpaper on the bar sander to clean up any areas of overlapping wood or exposed, hardened CA. The next step is one of my favorites for easing the fit of rib or bulkhead notches over spars or longerons. Use the bar sander to sand a slight radius along the entire length of the spars’ two edges that face the rib notches. Doing this will speed the wing’s assembly by preventing the rib notches from being damaged when the spars are inserted.

Bob Holman, known to many of us as the owner of Bob Holman Plans, is now offering a truly slick collection of helpful assembly jigs. Laser cut from 1/8-in. plywood, Bob’s catalog offers rib uprights with slots for 1/8-in. and 3/32-in. ribs, large triangles, small triangles, and three sets of square hold-downs from 3/32-, 1/8-, and 1/4-in. sticks. I used the uprights

56

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

when installing the Decathlon’s ribs, ensuring that each one would stand at the correct 90 degrees to the work surface.

The ribs are glued over the spars and pinned to a balsa strip near the rear spar. This strip is pinned to the work surface before assembly begins, and ensures the correct degree of washout will be built into the wing. The upper spar follows the rib installation, and I used one of Holman’s triangles to ensure the spars were even at the root. The balsa sheer webs are next, followed by the lower and upper rear spars, and then the plywood sheer webs on both sides of the spars at the wing root.

The Dynaflite Decathlon uses a sturdy aluminum joiner inside of two cardboard carrier tubes to join the wing panels. The cardboard tube must be cut in half to make two pieces, one for each wing panel. Do not, under any circumstances, cut the aluminum

joiner. A 1/8-in. plywood plug at the end of each carrier tube centers the joiner, and prevents it from sliding past the ends of the tubes.

I used my ZONA saw to cut the cardboard tube in half, then I applied drops of thin CA along the cuts to harden the edges of the tubes. To allow the aluminum joiner tube to slide in and out more easily, I sanded the outside edges of the tubes with the bar sander, and sanded the inside edges with a round Perma-Grit tool.

Instead of gluing the plugs in at the very end of the cardboard tubes, I inserted the aluminum joiner and used it to support the plugs at approximately 1/8 in. inside the tube.

Use only one or two drops of medium CA to tack-glue the plugs, then slide out the aluminum joiner and apply a generous bead of medium CA all around the plugs. By slightly recessing the plugs in this manner, you allow the CA to create a beveled lip that will twitter.com/rcsportflyer

9

The 1/4 x 1-in. balsa trailing edge fits inside the aileron bay, and is shaped to conform to the airfoil. Use a razor plane to shave down the excess balsa.

10

After shaping with the razor plane, final-sand the trailing edge piece and the 1/8 x 1-in. sub-leading edge with a flat Perma-Grit tool or coarse sandpaper on a bar sander.

11

Cut and fit the sheet-balsa trailing-edge and leading-edge pieces, then glue them together, upside-down, over parchment paper on the workbench. Sand them thoroughly before installing on the wings.

12

I used Bob Holman upright triangles, pinned to the workbench, to locate the tail end of the trailing-edge sheeting. Use thick CA or white glue to attach the sheeting.

trap the plugs and prevent them from being poked out by any too-hard push of the aluminum joiner.

One cardboard tube is inserted into each wing panel — plugged end first — and held fast by medium CA where it meets the ribs and the plywood sheer web. Instead of one heavy bead, use two or three light applications of CA along the tubeto-web joint, each one followed by a quick spray of accelerator.

I used thin CA to secure the subleading-edge to the noses of the wing ribs, and medium CA to install the 1/4-in. thick balsa trailing-edge in the aileron bay. These pieces must be shaped to follow the flow of the airfoil, so I rough-cut them with a razor plane, then did the final shaping with a coarse, flat Perma-Grit tool I mounted on an ADC Tee-Bar. If you remember my sheeting suggestions from the Nick Ziroli Fokker Dr.1 wing articles, you know facebook.com/rcsportflyer

balsa sheeting should be cut, fitted, glued together, and finesanded before it is installed over the underlying structure. Doing this prevents unwanted high and low spots in the surface of the sheeting caused by unsupported areas between the ribs and spars. Cut and join the trailing-edge and leadingedge sheeting pieces as instructed in the manual, and glue the parts together with thin CA, upside-down, over parchment paper. Press down on the parts along the joint as you apply the CA in 2 – 6-in. sections to ensure the sheet is flat on the facedown side. As each of the sheets is completed, flip it over and sand it carefully with coarse sandpaper, then medium, then fine, all on a bar sander.

Pin down two or three Holman or any other upright triangles over the plans along the trailing-edge of the wing. Note the instruction manual calls for the trailing-edge of the wing,

not the trailing-edges of the ribs.

Check the fit of the trailing-edge sheet over the wing with its rear edge nudged against the triangles, and shifted side-to-side to cover any and all open areas of the structure. When you have it right, lift the sheeting and apply adhesive. If you are skilled at working quickly, medium or thick CA is an acceptable choice. If you are not so confident, use an aliphatic resin such as Titebond, Great Planes Wood Glue, or Elmer’s.

If you’re using CA, use your palms to rub and press down along the sheets while the adhesive cures. If you’re using white glue, you can hold the sheets down with old magazines to ensure the sheeting is flat against the underlying structure while the glue dries. Install the leading-edge sheeting in the same manner.

The sheeting between the leadingand trailing-edge sheeting is cut from 3/32 x 3 x 30-in. balsa. I used RC-SF.COM

57

BUILD

13

DYNAFLITE DECATHLON WINGS

Perfect curves can be easily cut into balsa sheets using common household items as guides. My Decathlon’s center sheeting radius was guided by this metal lid from a glass jar.

The next installment will complete the Decathlon’s wing panels and ailerons. The fuselage and final construction details will follow in subsequent articles. I hope you can be here with me.

sander to adjust if necessary, and glue the center sheeting into place.

Add the cap strips, cutting each one approximately 1/8 in. oversize, and sanding it to a perfect fit between the leading-edge and trailing-edge sheets. Allow the wing panel to dry for at least two hours — overnight if you build with white glues — before

SOURCES

the metal lid from glass jar to cut the radius at the forward edge of the sheeting, then after widening the part with a second sheet, I sanded the sheets flush behind the radius cut. Lay the center sheeting down against the leading-edge sheeting, then trim the rear edge to fit against the trailingedge sheeting. Check the fit, use the

14

removing it from the plans. Now you can replace the wing plan with that for the opposite panel, cover it with parchment paper, and build the second wing panel.

In my next installments, I’ll add the internal pieces in the wing panels, sheet the bottoms, carve the wingtips, construct the ailerons, and begin construction of the fuselage. Coverite® 21st Century Fabric will be used to dress my Decathlon, and the Super Sportster 60 will Bob Holman Plans be covered in Top Flite® MonoKote®.

PO Box 741 San Bernardino, CA If you are enjoying 92402 the series, and find Phone: 909-885-9307 your building skills Bhplans.com improving from the Bob Smith Industries information presented 8060 Morro Rd. here, please consider Atascadero, CA 93422 having back issues on 805-466-1717 hand for reference. Back Bsi-inc.com issues can be ordered Coverite from the publisher, and Dynaflite subscriptions to the Great Planes Model magazine are available at Mfg. Co. P.O. Box 9021 $29.95 for 12 issues.

Champaign, IL 61821 jefftroy@aol.com Phone: 800-637-7660 Bestrc.com

Perma-Grit Traplet Distribution USA 816 N. Country Fair Dr. Champaign, IL 61821 Phone: 217-355-2970 Us.trapletshop.com Zona Tool Co. 16 Stony Hill Rd. Bethel, CT 06801 Phone: 203-796-7861 Zonatool.net

58

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

100cc Carbon Cub 168” WINGSPAN

VISIT US ON FACEBOOK

NEW ARF

Bravata

Sport Cub S2

112” WINGSPAN 30cc Gas Float Ready!

LIGHT SERIES

110” WINGSPAN 50cc Gas

Freestyle 260 52” WINGSPAN Electric

35cc Extra 300

Cessna LC-126

Wing Span: 78”

79” WINGSPAN 30cc Gas

Weight: 13-15 lbs Engine: 35cc-45cc Gas

90” WINGSPAN 30cc Gas & 1.80 Glow Float Ready!

Engine: 1.60-2.20 Glow

Cessna 195

50cc Pitts Python ARF

YAK 54 .90-1.20

90” WINGSPAN 1.80 Glow to 30cc Gas

70” WINGSPAN 1725 SQ. IN. WING AREA

72” WINGSPAN

50cc ,100cc, 150cc Extra 300

P-51D & P-51B Mustang 86” WINGSPAN 50cc Gas

.46-.61 EDGE 540T ARF

Edge 540 30cc, 50cc & 100cc

60” WINGSPAN

Extra 260 35cc 50cc 75cc 100cc 150cc

30cc Extra 300 & Edge 540

Ultimate 20-300

74” WINGSPAN 30cc Gas 1.60-1.80 Glow

30cc 50cc 100cc 150cc

YAK 54

50cc, 85cc, 100cc, 150cc

.46 & .61 Profile Extra 260 48” & 56” WINGSPAN

.60-.90 Extra 260, 300 & Yak 54

100cc Yak 55M 108” WINGSPAN

NEW PRODUCTS! 30cc Laser 200 76” WINGSPAN 30cc Gas

Mustang P-51C “Kitten”

Gas, Glow & Electric Ready!

30cc Ultimate 20-300

86” WINGSPAN 50cc Gas

60” WINGSPAN 30cc Gas

VISIT OUR ONLINE STORE

Be sure to visit our website for all your shopping needs.

www.aero-works.net

50cc Yak 55M 86” WINGSPAN 50cc Gas

CheckMate 70” WINGSPAN 50cc Gas

303-371- 4222

Email: info@aero-works.net 4903 Nome Street • Denver, CO 80239 Advertised information subject to change without notice. Not responsible for typographical or misprint errors.

PLAN

VAN’S RV-4 A WILDLY SUCCESSFUL TWO-PLACE SPORT AIRPLANE CAN BE YOURS

BY WENDELL HOSTETLER

T

he Van’s company designed and built the original RV-4 airplane about 27 years ago. It is one of the most popular kit aircraft in the world. Thousands have been built and flown.

After Van’s introduced the RV-3, they realized pilots wanted a twoseater version of their airplane kit.

The RV-4 was therefore created as a new design from the ground up.

Van’s tells us that a poll of prospective customers was taken in the early 1970s. It showed a strong preference for a tandem seating configuration in a new design. This type of design puts the pilot (weight) on the aircraft’s centerline and keeps frontal area low, reducing drag.

The first RV-4 subsequently flew in August 1979. It had a top speed of about 180 mph, and the handling qualities were almost identical to the RV-3, so it became pretty much an instant success with homebuilders.

The RV-4 holds two people and a moderate amount of baggage. The seating is compact. It is flown from the front seat only. The kit includes a stick for the rear-seater though, so the builder has the option of providing control for them. RV-4s are designed for 150- to 160-horsepower engines, although some builders have installed

60

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

engines as large as 180 hp.

RV-4s are good for sport flying, while some are even used for backcountry adventures. The RV-4 is also an excellent crosscountry machine because of its 725 mile range and good cruise speed. The RV-4 lets pilots fly it into small and large airports, so it is used by many as a way to get between destinations without the expense of a commercially available airplane. As Van tells it, the RV-4 is capable of crossing half of North America in a day when it is flying at cruise speed and at altitude.

It is not only a great looking and flying full-scale airplane, but it is now also able to be built as a 35%-scale model thanks to Wendell Hostetler’s plans, which

facebook.com/rcsportflyer

RC-SF.COM

61

PLAN

VAN’S RV-4

SPECIFICATIONS

come as a two-sheet set. Have a look at Wendell’s design to see for yourself how this plan may be pefect for your next scale subject. Point your browser at Hostetlersplans.com to order.

Capacity : 2 passengers Wingspan : 23 ft 0 in.

Length : 20 ft 4 in.

Height : 5 ft 4 in.

Wing area : 110 ft2 Wing area : 913 lb Gross weight : 1500 lb Fuel capacity : 32 US gallons Powerplant : 150 – 180 hp Propellers : Fixed or C/S Max speed : 200 mph Rate of climb : 2450 ft/min Range : 725 mile Service ceiling : 23,000 ft

Model Specifications Scale : 35%.

Wingspan : 96.6 in.

Length : 85.4 in.

Wing area : 1940 in.2 Weight : 22 –26 lb

SUPPLIERS

PLAN

Power : 38 to 62 cc Wendell Hostetler’s Plans 545 Jerome Drive Orrville, OH 44667 Phone: 330-682-8896 e-mail: whplans@aol. com Hostetlersplans.com

Fiberglass Specialties 15715 Ashmore Dr. Garfield, Arkansas 72732 Phone: 479-359-2429 Fiberglassspecialtiesinc. com Kirby’s Kustom Vinyl Graphics 903 Settemire Rd. Lebanon, OH 40536 Kirbysgraphics.com TNT Landing Gear Products 10530 Airport Highway Swanton, OH 43558 Phone: 419-868-5408 Tntlandinggear.com

62

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

Why Pay a Dollar for just 4 Screws?

We have the hardware you need at a fraction of retail!

Order today at:

www.rtlfasteners.com or call 800-239-6010

708 Battlefield Blvd South #107 Chesapeake, VA 23322

facebook.com/rcsportflyer

RC-SF.COM

63

COLUMN

HELICOPTERS 101 MOVING FORWARD INTO FORWARD FLIGHT

BY DAVID PHELPS

T

akeoffs are optional, landings are mandatory. I’ve come to learn this isn’t just an old saw concerning aircraft safety; it’s a metaphor for life.

I would like to start this installment by apologizing to the readers and staff of RC Sport Flyer for my absence over the last few weeks. As most everyone that has been at this model aircraft thing for more than a few years knows, life can sometimes interfere with our favorite pursuit. A couple of My dad, Bill Phelps, with his 85%-completed T-Bird built from RCM plans. My brother and I each built one of these in 1995, and mine is still one of my all-time favorite airplanes.

It’s a real fun-fly hot rod that refuses to stall or snap. Equipped with wing-mounted air brakes, its speed range is unbelievable.

The “kit” is all cut out and assembly is ready to begin. I like using a big walk-around table whenever possible for the initial layout, planning, and pre-glue mock-up. It’s possible to see and correct things you might otherwise miss when you can view it from any angle without having to move anything prior to gluing.

64

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

This is the business end of the electric conversion firewall and battery mount. It will accept a 4S 3600-mAh battery. At 3.5 pounds and somewhere around 650 watts, this airplane should be a real rocket. Mine sure is with a hot two-stroke .45 on it.

It’s framed up, half sheeted, and ready for the radio installation. Building over a set of plans is just plain fun. I recommend you protect the plan sheets from glue and such with a clear barrier such as plastic, or even Saran Wrap will work just fine.

The radio is installed and everything looks like it’s going to line up just fine. Time to sheet the wing’s bottom.

This shows the bottom with radio hatch in place, all sanded and ready to cover except for the wing tips.

life’s curveballs were thrown at me in the last several weeks. They made me take stock of what really is important. I learned that building and flying model aircraft and the relationships that develop as a result are some of the things at the very top of my list. Please bear with me as I blow off Wil’s word count limitation and try to explain why. I know a lot of you old-school guys will relate; your experiences are probably not all that different from mine.

I got my first model in the summer of 1966 as a “reward” for selling three cases of greeting cards to my neighbors. It was a bright yellow control-line Cox T-28 Trainer, and I’m sure that more than one of our neighbors later questioned the wisdom of buying Christmas cards in July in exchange for helping the neighbor’s kid get something that makes so darned much noise. facebook.com/rcsportflyer

That combined experience would guide (haunt?) me for the rest of my life, from both an entrepreneurial standpoint as well as in sowing the seed of flying. I’ve not been happy unless I was doing both ever since, even if at times they seem to be priorities that are completely at odds.

My Dad helped me get the T-28 set up, started, and tweaked. He explained to me how to use my whole arm to control the airplane, rather than using my wrist and elbow.

Darned if it didn’t work. I got pretty good at flying it in just a few tanks of fuel. Well, I got so that I could make landings with a roll-out anyway.

I had no idea about such things at the time, but it turned out that Dad had been in one of those life-induced model airplane comas for some time.

Shortly after I got my T-28, he came home with a Midwest Magician 15 kit — a control line stunt airplane. Then

he disappeared into his closet for a few minutes and emerged holding what looked like a wadded up rag.

When he unfolded it, he was holding a Fox .15 engine and a Jim Walker U-Reely handle (how did I miss finding that last Christmas?). He told me that he had been waiting for the right time, and it seemed like now was as good a time as any.

We spent the next couple of weeks building and covering the Magician.

Dad showed me how to keep everything straight and how to use dope and silkspan for covering. Then we (he) put a really sharp paint job on it. He also made his own fuel tank and bellcrank from sheet brass and steel.

He taught me skills I use to this day, some of which I hope to share with you in these pages. Mostly he taught me about the joys and the feeling of accomplishment that come from building an airplane from a pile of RC-SF.COM

65

COLUMN

HELICOPTERS 101

wood and then controlling it in flight.

Finally the big day came. Dad got the engine running, then screaming (I thought my Cox .049 was loud) and jogged into the center of the circle.

He gave the nod and I let go. He made three or four circuits and started doing loops. Then he was doing horizontal and vertical figure eights, square loops, and even inverted flight inches above the grass, followed by a really greasy three-point landing when the engine finally quit. I was blown away.

“Geez, Dad! That was groovy!

Where’d you learn to fly like that?” I asked.

“I started when I was about your age I guess, but I had to set it down when you were born. Glad you’re old enough now. Sure is a lot of fun, isn’t it?”

He knelt down, squeezed another bulb of fuel into the tank, and hooked up the dry cell to the glow plug. “Your turn!” he said as he put his thumb over the carb and walked the prop through

66

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

This is Jerry Pearce, a friend from my local RC club, the Flying Tigers of Jordan Lake. He is putting his T-Rex 600 through its paces.

Jerry’s T-Rex is an electric conversion of a Nitro 600. He made the pieces and used 600E Pro components to replace the OS .50 engine. It flies very nicely, and Jerry tells me that the conversion was well worth doing.

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

A close-up of the electric conversion parts that Jerry made. Notice where the battery is parked and how he secured the servo plugs with yellow heat-shrink tubing.

It is a very clean installation, Jerry! Clean means that the aircraft is built right and that the chances of parts or pieces coming loose in flight are reduce to the maximum extent. This is good practice!

AIRFLOW DURING AN OUT-OF-GROUND-EFFECT HOVER

This illustration shows the airflow during an out-of-ground-effect (OGE) hover. The rotor tip vortices are continually being recirculated, affecting the lift produced in the outer part of the rotor disk, while the air moving vertically in the central portion of the disk reduces the angle of attack of the blades. The vertical movement of the air is called induced flow.

until it popped.

“Got butterflies in your stomach, huh? Don’t worry; they’ll go away as soon as it’s off the ground.”

He flipped the propeller and the Fox went straight to its unbridled scream. It seemed even louder now.

Over the noise he hollered out, “Remember to keep your arm straight.

Nod when you’re ready.”

I ran to the handle and with trembling hands, picked it up, and buckled on the safety strap. Before facebook.com/rcsportflyer

I could think about it, I pulled the lines taut, nodded and he let go. The Magician leapt forward and gently rose off the ground. It pulled a lot harder than the T-28, but it also felt a lot more solid. After about ten circuits, I was feeling pretty good about the whole thing. I decided it was time for a loop. I raised my arm and up it went. As it went over the top, I forgot everything I had learned and flexed my wrist. The result was the most gorgeous figure nine I’ve ever seen.

There is no sound in the human experience more deafening than the silence immediately following the sound of a screaming, unmuffled control line engine suddenly stopped by a nearly vertical impact with the ground. Except maybe the silence following the echo.

I ran to the wreckage, handle still strapped to my wrist. The butterflies in my stomach turned to a lump in my throat as I looked at the sixfoot diameter circle of splinters and shredded, beautifully doped silkspan.

Nothing forward of the back of the fuel tank was visible, as the nose was buried to where the leading-edge of the wing had been. I felt my eyes welling up, seeing all of Dad’s work instantly and totally destroyed by a split second of my indecision.

Before I could say anything, Dad squeezed my neck, laughed, and said “At least you totaled it so we don’t have to try to fix it. Building’s more fun than flying anyway.” We stopped at the hobby shop on the way home, got another couple kits, and so the cycle started.

Fast forward forty-eight years and no telling how many airplanes later.

Dad is well into his eighth decade. He had a mild stroke recently that left his right hand a little uncontrollable. He’s left handed and can still use it, so it doesn’t really stop him from building, but he can’t tell how hard he’s squeezing. Holding a straight edge and guiding a razor blade or holding an airplane and a sanding block are a bit of a challenge. The thought of him RC-SF.COM

67

COLUMN

HELICOPTERS 101

OUT-OF-GROUND EFFECT HOVER

This diagram shows how induced flow during an out-of-ground hover reduces the angle of attack of the rotor blades.

GROUND HOVERING IN GROUND EFFECT

When the helicopter is near the ground hovering in ground effect (IGE), the induced flow component of the airflow is slowed and directed outward, causing the tip vortices to be broken up and blown outward, resulting in a more efficient flow of air through the rotor system.

using his band saw makes me cringe.

I went out to Texas recently to help him and his wife of five years when she was released from the hospital.

He had started scratch building a flying wing called the “T-Bird” from plans drawn by Peter Peverly and published in the May 1995 issue of RC

68

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

Modeler magazine. Dad’s was to be an electric conversion of the airplane, which was designed for a hot .45 two-stroke glow-powered engine.

It was almost completely framed up when I got there. It was reasonably straight, but there were several things that weren’t quite right, as you might

imagine, having only about half-use of a right hand and failing vision. In addition to some little misalignment issues, there were about a half-dozen thumb-sized holes punched in the sheeting, decently patched, but still there. The real deal breaker though was he hadn’t thought to move the beam style motor mount designed for the side-mounted, two-stroke engine to the center for electric power. It was offset to the left, just as drawn. He never would have missed that little detail a couple of years ago. But then again, he never would have punched his thumb through the sheeting either.

As we looked it over, I sensed his frustration and embarrassment. I reached over and squeezed his neck like he had done to me so very long ago and said “At least you screwed it up badly enough that we don’t have to try to fix it, Pop.” After a good laugh, we started poking through his rather extensive hoard of balsa wood, rolled out and redrew the plans, and started cutting.

The T-Bird Mark II isn’t quite finished yet; we still have to bend the gear, finish the tips, and cover it. But one more trip to Dad’s shop and we’ll have it test flown before the Texas summer wind dies.

We’re not sure how the flying part is going to work. I’m just glad he likes building more than flying. I got him an Alien Aircraft Cessna 310 kit to keep him busy until then. He’s already redrawn the plans to make it a G model. Except for the T-Bird engine mount beams, I don’t think he’s ever built anything exactly how it was designed. That’s a gene I’m glad to have inherited.

I’ll tell you one thing I’ve learned from this experience. Building an airplane for the master builder that first showed you how to do it nearly half a century ago really puts the pressure on.

AIRFLOW IN FORWARD FLIGHT In past installments I have discussed basic aerodynamics as they apply to pretty much anything that flies using an airfoil, and then focused primarily on what is happening while a helicopter is hovering. Now we’re ready to transition into forward flight.

You may remember the terms twitter.com/rcsportflyer

HOVERING IN GROUND EFFECT

This diagram demonstrates how a reduction in the vertical velocity of the airflow increases the angle of attack, consequently increasing the efficiency of the rotor system. The reduction in angle of attack and the consequential increased efficiency can be the result of hovering in ground effect or caused by translational lift. Though the causes are quite different, the result is the same: an overall increase in rotor system efficiency.

“rotor tip vortices” and “induced flow” from previous installments. A hovering rotor system that isn’t moving relative to the air around it creates donutshaped vortices around the outer portion of the rotor disk that interfere with the efficiency of that part of the

disk. At the same time, the air moving through the center portion of the disk is accelerated so that the direction of the relative wind changes, and the resulting angle of attack of the rotor blade is reduced, further interfering with the rotor system’s efficiency.

TRANSLATIONAL LIFT AT 1 TO 5 KNOTS

facebook.com/rcsportflyer

You may also remember that the severity of both of these phenomena is reduced the closer to the ground the helicopter is hovering, making the rotor system more efficient. This is usually referred to as “ground effect.”

As we begin to move from a stationary hover, or the wind starts blowing, rotor system efficiency is increasingly improved with each knot of incoming relative wind. As air starts moving into the rotor system laterally, turbulence and vortices are left behind and the airflow becomes more horizontal. The result of this horizontal flow is that efficiency of the rotor system and overall aircraft performance both increase.

Improved rotor efficiency due to directional flight is called “translational lift.” At an airspeed of between one and five knots, the downwind portion of the vortex ring is beginning to dissipate and is no longer continually accelerated back into the rotor system. The horizontal airflow also starts to push the induced flow pattern into a more horizontal direction, which reduces its effect on

Translational lift as it is initially forming.

Even though the rotor system is still flying in dirty (turbulent) air, some of the vortices are dissipating, and the vertical component of the induced flow is reduced, both the result of a horizontal component being added to the airflow pattern.

RC-SF.COM

69

COLUMN

HELICOPTERS 101

TRANSLATIONAL LIFT AT 10 TO 50 KNOTS

the angle of attack of the blades in the central portion of the disk.

As the speed increases towards ten knots, the airflow becomes much more horizontal than at a hover.

The leading-edge of the downwash pattern starts to be overrun and is well behind the nose of the helicopter.

At around ten to fifteen knots or so (depending on the helicopter size, blade area, and rpm of the rotor system — 16 to 24 knots for most full scale helicopters), the rotor completely outruns the recirculation of the old vortices and begins working in clean air. The air is no longer being pumped in a vertical direction, forming a circular pattern, and airflow through the system becomes nearly horizontal. The point at which the rotor outruns the disturbed air is called “effective translational lift” or “ETL”.

If you were able to ride in your helicopter as it moves through ETL, you would feel a slight shudder at the moment the leading-edge of the downwash moves past the trailing edge of the rotor disk. It feels very similar to the buffeting the pilot of a fixed wing airplane feels at the onset of a stall. You would also feel a noticeable jump in rotor efficiency as the machine begins to climb

70

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

with no additional power added.

Another thing you would notice is the nose swinging wildly as the tail rotor picks up efficiency just like the main rotor system, and the tail of the aircraft starts adding a weathervane effect, meaning you have to reduce the pitch in the tail rotor blades to keep everything in balance, pretty substantially too. The reduction in tail rotor pitch also reduces the demand for power from the powerplant, so everything starts working better.

Accelerating through ETL is fun and pretty easy. The pedal position changes dramatically, the cyclic goes through an “S” shaped pattern as it is moved forward (correcting for translating tendency and a few other things we’ll get to later), and you start climbing, all without touching the collective.

It’s slowing down through ETL that’ll grab you and shake you like a dog toy. The whole world starts coming apart. The last 100 feet or so of a normal approach, transitioning from forward flight above ETL to a hover, is probably the hardest single thing to master while learning to fly full-scale helicopters.

It is a difficult to master this phase of flight with RC helicopters too, except now we have three axis gyros

At an airspeed just below effective translational lift (ETL), the rearmost portion of the rotor disk is still operating in turbulent air. If the pilot was strapped in, he/she would feel a 2:1 vertical vibration in the helicopter (assuming a two-blade system), followed by a noticeable increase in rotor system efficiency as acceleration continues and the rotor outruns the hovering airflow pattern at ETL.

handling almost all of it. All we have to do is keep it relatively level or slightly nose up while the gyros are working their you-know-what off. But you still have to add power to overcome the loss of rotor system efficiency (both main and tail) or the ground shall rise up and smite thee. You don’t expect the gyros to do everything for you, do you? If they did, why would your helicopter need you at all except to add fuel or a fresh battery?

In the next installment, I’ll try to stick with the subject at hand a little more. Between now and then, take a kid flying. Or buy a box of cards from the neighborhood kid with all the Band-Aids on his fingers and then go find your earplugs. You never know what you might be turning loose over the next fifty years. david.phelps7@frontier.com

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

COLUMN

THE PARALYZED PILOT FPV TECHNOLOGY KNOWS NO BOUNDS

BY LUCIDITY, ROSWELL FLIGHT TEST CREW

1

Henry Evans, who woke up one morning to find himself trapped inside his own body by an extremely rare and undiagnosed birth defect, learns to fly using First-Person View (FPV) technology to exceed the limitations of his physical self — just like the rest of us.

2

Henry Evans sits in the foreground wearing a pair of Oculus Rift video goggles, which also serve as his primary control system for his aircraft.

In the background, this Parrot AR Drone lifts off and heads out for another adventure. Photo courtesy of Henry Evans.

3

Here, Henry Evans sports another of his innovations attached to the side of his hat: the Laser Finger. Henry wanted to find a way for a quadriplegic to be able to turn lights on and off without help, so he teamed up with the Palo Alto High School Robotics Team, mentored by Chris Tacklind. The project was funded

by MIT/Lemelson in 2007. Photo courtesy of Henry Evans.

3

2 1

72

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

Like all new RC pilots, Henry Evans crashed when he was just getting started. Here, his Parrot AR Drone came to rest at the base of a rock that proved to be beyond the range of his video transmitter. Photo courtesy of Henry Evans

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

4

Henry shaves himself for the first time in 10 years with help from the PR2 robot, which he uses as a body surrogate. Photo courtesy Henry Evans.

4 5

5

N

one of us can fly — not like a bird, not like Superman. We cannot through willpower or physical exertion claw our way into the sky. If we want to experience flight — or avail ourselves of its many advantages, such as high-speed travel or an aerial perspective — we must rely on technology, whether it’s a Boeing 747, a wingsuit, or an FPV multirotor.

So, in that regard, Henry Evans is pretty much like the rest of us.

However, he is different from most of us in that he is paralyzed below the neck and unable to speak, but he didn’t let that stop him from learning how to fly.

Henry’s restless spirit of adventure and his dedication to showing how the emerging fields of low-cost robotics and personal drone aircraft can improve all of our lives is perfectly embodied in a quote that he sends out at the bottom of all of his e-mails: “If you want something, you look for options. If you don’t want it, you look for excuses.”

facebook.com/rcsportflyer

THE AMERICAN DREAM Up until the fateful morning of August 29, 2002, when he woke to discover that he could neither speak nor move, Henry lived a life that could fairly be described as the American Dream: he attended Notre Dame University, where he graduated with bachelors’ degrees in Accounting and German, then went on to Stanford and earned his Masters in Business Administration (MBA).

After college, he married his beautiful high school sweetheart, Jane, and the couple had four happy, healthy children. Henry went to work in Silicon Valley and climbed the career ladder — eventually becoming the Corporate Financial Officer (CFO) for a high-tech firm.

On December 13, 2001, Henry and his family purchased their first home in Los Altos Hills, on an acreage only about three miles south of Palo Alto.

The house was a bit of a fixer-upper, but the family was looking forward to working on it together.

Less than a year later, Henry stood on his own two feet for the last time.

Bryan Galusha selected the inexpensive Parrot AR Drone to serve as Henry Evans’s aerial avatar, owing to its extremely stable flight characteristics, hands-free hover capability, and the ease of adapting its control inputs to work with the Oculus Rift video goggles.

He felt fine when he went to bed on the evening of August 28, having just seen his doctor for his annual physical and received a clean bill of health.

Henry was brought down by a stroke-like condition called basilar artery dissection — a birth defect that had gone unnoticed throughout his entire life, and is as rare as it is devastating.

While I was exchanging e-mails with Henry in preparation for writing this story, I asked him if he would like me to include some information about a charity doing research or looking at treatment for the condition.

“It’s too rare to have its own foundation,” he told me.

In 2013, Henry gave a TED talk about his story and his use of robotics to exceed the limitations of his own body. He delivered that speech from his home via a telepresence system, using a voice synthesizer that rendered his words in the style of famed quadriplegic physicist Stephen Hawking.

During that talk, he recalled the aftermath of that life-altering night.

RC-SF.COM

73

COLUMN

THE PARALYZED PILOT

“I was piloting camera drones with my limited head movements a few weeks later,” he wrote.

When it is released, Henry Evans’st engineering team is planning to upgrade him to the Parrot Bebop, which will provide a much more powerful on-board processor and a 1080p high-definition video camera.

“It took me several years, but with the help of an incredibly supportive family, I decided that life was still worth living,” he told a rapt audience.

“I became fascinated with using technology to help the severely disabled.”

ROBOTS FOR HUMANITY To get himself back in touch with the world, Henry first deployed a head tracker. Capable of detecting the small movements he was still able to make with his head and neck, the device allowed him to interface with a computer to write, send e-mail, and surf the web.

“One day I was lying in bed watching CNN when I was amazed by Professor Charlie Kemp of the Healthcare Robotics Lab at Georgia Tech, demonstrating a PR2 robot. I e-mailed Charlie and my friend Steve Cousins of Willow Garage, and we formed the ‘Robots for Humanity Project,’” Henry told the TED audience. “For about two years, Robots for Humanity developed ways for me to use the PR2 as my body surrogate.”

Using the PR2 as his arms, legs, hands, and feet, he was able to accomplish many of the daily tasks that most of us take for granted, like opening the refrigerator, shaving, tidying up the house, and handing out Halloween candy to trick-or-treaters.

“I saw new and previously

74

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

unthinkable possibilities to live, and contribute — both for myself and others in my circumstance,” Henry said.

He then explained that all of us share his circumstances: we’re all limited to the physical capabilities of our own bodies. He may be slightly more limited than most of us, but all of us need technological assistance to accomplish many of the tasks we take for granted each day.

“All of us have disabilities in one form or another,” he said. “For example, if either of us wants to go 60 miles an hour, both of us will need an assistive device called a ‘car.’ Your disability does not make you any less of a person, and neither does mine.”

The next challenge Henry set for himself was achieving humanity’s oldest and most powerful dream: the dream of flight.

“I was lying in bed one day, wishing I could go outside, when it occurred to me that all I needed to bring were my retinas — not my whole motionless body,” he told me in an e-mail. “So I decided I would use a camera drone.”

He continued: “There were enormous technological hurdles; especially because I am paralyzed, and not even an engineer.”

Wanting to accomplish something he wasn’t even sure was possible, Henry did what the rest of us do: he went online and started asking questions.

UP, UP AND AWAY! Bryan Galusha of Fighting Walrus Radio, who lives in the Bay Area, was one of the individuals that Henry got in touch with online.

“I’m on the San Francisco Drone Meetup Group,” Bryan said. “Henry posted to the comments section that he was a mute quadriplegic and he wanted someone to help him fly. So I got together with my team and we put together a prototype.

“I knew it was definitely going to be a challenge, but we had already been looking at the Oculus Rift and we had one on order. We thought that might work, basically, by sensing Henry’s head movements he could control the drone.”

Bryan settled on the ubiquitous Parrot AR Drone as his aerial platform.

“The Parrot was the easiest to integrate with the Oculus Rift for video and the easiest to control,” he explained. “It has a great hands-free hover capability — it will hold altitude and position if you don’t give it any inputs, and I knew that would be key for this type of interface.”

The preliminary control system only allowed Henry to control yaw, pitch and roll, according to Bryan. He could not launch or land the aircraft, nor could he increase or decrease the throttle in order to change altitude.

“It was very simple,” said Bryan. “If he twisted his head, that gave the aircraft yaw input. If he tipped his head side-toside, that controlled roll, and backwards and forwards determined pitch.”

Eventually, Bryan handed off the project to Will Hendry, who recently graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a background in biomedical engineering and a professional focus on computational neuroscience.

Will transitioned the control interface away from the iPad Bryan and his team had been using to a laptop computer and added a mouse.

Although Henry was incapable of moving the mouse, he could click on one of its buttons with a single thumb that he retained the ability to use.

By pressing and holding the twitter.com/rcsportflyer

mouse button, Henry is able to use his front-to-back head tilt to temporarily control the throttle, rather than aircraft pitch. Double-clicking on the mouse allows him to launch and land the aircraft.

By all accounts, Henry has become quite a capable pilot. He recalled a game that he played with Bryan and Will, along with several other friends.

“We wanted to test our dexterity as pilots,” Henry wrote. “No one else who was playing was handicapped. The goal was to take off in a sheltered area, fly about 100 feet across an open, but quite windy, field, then hit a 4x4 post.

“I made it into the final, but ultimately lost to Bryan Galusha. I had to take solace in the fact that, one, I convincingly beat three able-bodied people and, two, I only missed the pole by a foot — but hats off to Bryan!”

DREAMING A NEW DREAM The ultimate result of Henry’s terrible personal loss may be to benefit all of humanity, for through that experience, he came to understand that all of us face limitations which are crucial

impediments to achieving our full potential. All on our own, none of us can travel through the air at 500 miles per hour, instantaneously transmit words and images around the globe, peer into the microscopic world, or venture beneath the surface of the ocean for longer than we can hold a single breath.

In that way, Henry is a pioneer — moving out ahead of the rest of us, finding the narrow paths that will one day grow to become trails, roads, and highways. I asked him what he thinks the future will look like.

“Some single-purpose robots will be released commercially in the next few years to perform routine and/ or dangerous jobs currently done by minimum wage workers,” he wrote.

“In general, though, the trend will be towards the development of co-robots which assist, but do not completely replace, humans.”

It’s a vision that Will shares: “Robots will be absolutely everywhere. As they become cheaper, they will become more prevalent in everyday life. For people like Henry, it will mean a more independent lifestyle, because many

tasks that would require a caretaker could be performed by the robots.

“As for the larger community, there will be large changes in both the everyday way that we make and do things. Think about the Industrial Revolution, but on an individual scale.

We’re still a long way off, but these changes are coming: look at the ideas to deliver packages with drones or selfdriving cars.”

Until that future arrives, Henry asked me to carry forth a message to everyone out there who is doing FPV and participating in the home-built drone revolution.

This was his request: “Figure out a way to use this technology to improve the plight of the bedridden, the elderly and the economically underprivileged through tele-tourism.”

FPV flying can be a wonderful hobby, but it can also be so much more. Those of us who have the privilege of being active in this pursuit today are literally holding the future in our hands — let’s get out there and make sure it’s a good one!

FIGHTING WALRUS RADIO

Bryan Galusha launched Fighting Walrus Radio as a crowdfunding project on Indiegogo in March 2013. His campaign raised more than $23,000, allowing him to move forward with his plan to develop an attachment for iOS devices capable of sending and receiving signals to Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS) using the MAVLink protocol.

Employing this standard allows the system to work with the Parrott AR Drone, as well as with unmanned platforms using the Ardupilot flight control system.

Transmitting on either 915 MHz or 433 MHz, to comply with radio spectrum restrictions in different countries, the Fighting Walrus Radio allows the user to view aircraft telemetry on an iPad or iPhone, as well as logging flight data and updating waypoints in real time using a simple touchscreen interface.

For more information, visit: www. fightingwalrus.com.

facebook.com/rcsportflyer

The Fighting Walrus Radio transceiver attaches to the charge port on an iPad or iPhone, providing realtime telemetry and waypoint control up to a range of one mile.

This screen capture of the Fighting Walrus Radio user interface on the iPad reveals the system’s core functionality: a waypoint navigation system overlaid with Google Earth imagery, as well as real-time aircraft telemetry — including an artificial horizon.

RC-SF.COM

75

REVIEW

mz-18

A NEW 2.4-GHZ RADIO SYSTEM THAT REALLY IS HOT!

BY WIL BYERS

The mz-18 has a very ergonomic case, with switches, knobs, and sliders that are well placed, plus high-quality gimbals and a TFT LCD display.

76

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

ANTENNA DV2 DV1 S5 SWITCH

S3 SWITCH

S2 SWITCH S1 SWITCH

S4 SWITCH

The mz-18’s control sticks, switches, trimmers, knobs, and sliders are well placed on the transmitter for easy access and use.

POWER SWITCH NECKSTRAP LUG THRO/AILE STICK

ELEV/RUDD STICK

THRO TRIM

ELEV TRIM POWER SWITCH RUDD TRIM

AILE TRIM

DIRECTION BUTTON

DIRECTION BUTTON

ENT BUTTON

ENT BUTTON

G

raupner is not yet a wellrecognized name in the RC community in the USA. Graupner is, however, one of the companies that pioneered RC. Graupner was formerly a German company. They were known for producing some of the best radio systems money could buy — even pioneering in the early days of computerized transmitter systems with their MC-24, which had an open programming architecture that was easy to use.

The Graupner company was sold a couple of years ago. Its products are now distributed in the U.S. by OpenHobby.com. OpenHobby introduced the Graupner mz-18 HoTT (Hopping Telemetry Transmission) in early 2014 as an alternative to the brand name transmitters commonly used by RCers in the U.S. The Graupner mz-18 offers RC pilots some functions and features that are typically found on more expensive radio systems, plus the mz-18 includes an easy-to-use user interface via a 3.5-in. thin-film-transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display (LCD).

The mz-18 HoTT 2.4-GHz 9-channel transmitter implements facebook.com/rcsportflyer

The engineers created a transmitter such that you will not be searching for a switch, trimmer, lever, etc. It is lightweight too.

USB SD CARD EARPHONE

TX Handel

TELEMETRY

RS LS

DSC

Graupner’s telemetry, which provides for bi-directional communications between transmitter and receiver.

That means the user now gets realtime sensor data from their aircraft via the transmitter’s LCD display.

It can provide telemetry data for

Charge Socket

rpm, voltage, current, temperature, altitude, etc. The mz-18 also utilizes 75 channels in the 2.4-GHz band for its spread spectrum protocol, which ensures the signal is unique to the transmitter and immune to radio interference. Plus, the mz-18 provides RC-SF.COM

77

REVIEW

GRAUPNER HOTT MZ18

On its upper left, you see there is one two-position swith and one three-position switch, with a slider located on the back’s top.

The 2000-mAh NiMH battery pack is located on the back, just under the cover. The charge port is located below and to the right.

On the top right are a three-position toggle that incorporates a momentary switch, plus a three-position toggle switch.

programmable functions for airplanes, helicopters, and sailplanes, with internal memory for up 30 models.

WHAT YOU GET • mz-18 transmitter, with plastic touch stylus • USB PC interface set • USB interface adaptor wire

78

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

• • • • • • • • •

2000-mAh NiMH battery Transmitter charger GR-24L receiver GR-12L receiver USB cable USB adapter wire Neck strap Hardcopy manual Online PDF manual

FEATURES • 3 model types: airplane, helicopter, glider • 30 model memories • 6 Q.link (flight modes) • HoTT bi-directional 2.4-GHz technology • 75 frequency-hopping channels • 3.5-in. color TFT LCD touch interface • Voice announcement system (speaker and earphone) • Real-time data analysis, with optional sensors (GPS, fuel status, temperature, voltage, current, variometer) and sensor board (general air and engine module) • Real-time telemetry analysis for optional brushless control telemetry ESC: rpm, current draw, voltage, temperature, warning • Advanced HoTT wired/wireless trainer system • SUMD, SUMO functions for gyro twitter.com/rcsportflyer

and control board • Selectable 10-ms, 20-ms signal repetition time for analog or digital servos • Multi-binding system so two receivers can be connected in paralleled for expanded channels • High-precision quad ball bearing gimbals (8 ea) • Micro SD memory card port • Model copy function • Graupner firmware update thru GR STUDIO PC Software

The handle incorporates a programming stylus that snaps on. Notice how well the right slider is integrated into the case’s grip.

FUNCTIONS HELICOPTER • 6 Q.links (flight modes) • 6 swash plate types (1 servo, 2 servo 180, 3 servo 120, 3 servo 140, 3 servo (elevator), 4 servo 90) • Pitch curves (7-point) • Throttle curves (7-point) • 6 pitch, throttle trims • Swash limit function • Swash mix function • Program mixing x 8 (linear program mixing x 5, curve mixing x 3) • Throttle mixing function (AILE > THRO, ELEV > THRO, RUDD > THRO) AIRPLANE • 6 Q.links (flight modes) • 8 wing types (delta wing included) • 3 tail types • Wing mixing (RUDD > AILE, AILE > RUDD, RUDD > ELEV) • Throttle-curve function

This is the business end of the transmitter. The unit has an easy-to-read color LCD display, with clear, consice icons that are easy to understand. facebook.com/rcsportflyer

Slider SL2 is positioned on the left side of the case. The transmitter’s grips are made of a rubberized material for a good grasp.

Hidden under a easy-opening plastic cover are the USB, SD card socket, telemetry, and ear phone ports.

RC-SF.COM

79

REVIEW

GRAUPNER HOTT MZ18

This is how your mz-18 will come packed.

You’ll get two receivers, a charger, a USB cord, a neck strap, and a wall type battery charger.

This is what came with my transmitter. The instruction manual is 104 pages. It details step-by-step how to program the transmitter for any model.

• Program mixing x 8 (linear program mixing x 5, curve mixing x 3) • Snap roll function • Aileron differential function • Flap setting function • Airbrake function • Idle-low function GLIDER • 6 Q.links (flight modes) • 8 wing types (delta wing included) • 3 tail types • Wing mixing (RUDD > AILE, AILE > RUDD, RUDD > ELEV) • Program mixing x 8 (linear program mixing x 5, curve mixing x 3) • Aileron Diff function • Flap mix function (FLAP, AILE > FLAP, ELEV > FLAP, FLAP > ELEV) • Flap setting function • Butterfly HOW IT WORKS The first thing you’ll want to do when you turn on the radio is select a new model or pick an existing one.

It’s easy; once you’ve powered the transmitter, go to the BASE setup screen. There, you’ll pick a model or create a new one. The process is intuitive, as is naming the model. If you’re setting up a new model, you

80

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

will select a new memory location and tap SEL, then press the NEW icon, and select whether you want to set up the model by MAN, WIZ, or NO. It is very understandable logic.

As with any 2.4-GHz radio, you must bind the transmitter to the receiver. In the case of the mz-18, the bidirectional communication

then starts. We found the mz-18 exceedingly easy to bind. You only need turn on the transmitter, with or without the receiver powered.

Once the unit boots up it will give you a message that reads, “BIND is not setup.” Just below this message is the SET button. You’ll need to tap it. The transmitter will advance to twitter.com/rcsportflyer

This is the screen you will see when you turn the Tx on. At a glance you can see trims, timers, model name, knob positions, etc.

Tap the gear icon on the bottom right of the LCD to open this programming page. As you can see, you can pick from 13 options.

When you pick the Model Sel icon, the Tx will open this page. Here you can select any of 30 models that are stored in memory.

Once you have selected the model number you want to program and press NEW, you will be taken to this screen to select the type.

The next screen lets you pick the wing type and the controls’ configurations — including being able to pick up to 4 ailerons and 4 flaps.

Here you get to pick the tail type. As you can see, you get to pick from three types which you can program as you wish.

The next screen will ask you what kind of power your model is equipped to use. The choices are obvious!

This screen is simply asking you to confirm the choices that you’ve made. You can modify your pick before hitting ENT.

Helicopter swash plate programming is done here. You have six configurations to pick from, including the four-servo option.

the bind screen. The bind process requires about five steps. You’ll power the receiver, press the SET button on the LCD screen, tap the BIND ON/ OFF icon, and then immediately press the TX OUT SET, SET icon on the LCD screen. The transmitter will then immediately advance to the telemetry screen. It will display TX VOLT, STRENGH, ESC CUR., RX VOLT, and ESC POW. It is a slick, easy process that provides instant feedback.

Once you’ve bound the Tx to the Rx, you can begin to program the transmitter for your model. The transmitter practically steps you through the process. At the BASE screen you can select from Model Sel, Model Type, E.P.A., Reverse, Sub-Trim, facebook.com/rcsportflyer

THR. CUT, TX ctl, Timer, Fail Safe, Trim Step, Servo, CH Set, and Out Swap. I will not go into detail on how to set every programmable function — the manual does an excellent job. Even without referencing the manual, I was able to understand each and every function quickly and easily.

At first glance I thought programming the Q.Link (Quick Link) or flight modes would be difficult.

Not! It is one of the easiest systems to program for flight modes I’ve used.

You simply navigate to the FUNCTION screen. Then you tap the Q.Link icon.

In the Q.Link screen you’ll be able to pick from six Q.Link modes. You can name them, set the time delay, and set the switch you’ll use to activate

Q.Link. Once you’ve established the Q.Links you want to use, then you’ll be able to use them in the functions for D/R, EXP, Wing Mix, THR. CRV, Prog. MIX, Snap Roll, Aile diff, Flap MIX, Flap sett, and Airbrake. I’d underscore here not to make setting the Q.Link difficult for yourself. Just set them in the Q.Link function, then toggle the switch to the position you’ve set for Q.Link to be on, and then program the function as needed for that Q.Link mode.

This transmitter is somewhat different from others in that Graupner establishes a system function that really is such. In the case of the mz-18, Graupner has five SYSTEM functions: ST mode, Warning, Etc. RC-SF.COM

81

REVIEW

GRAUPNER HOTT MZ18

Setting your transmitter’s dual-rate settings is as easy as navigating to this screen and then incrementing or decrementing the values.

The pitch curve for a helicopter is set here. You get five set points between the low and high settings on the throttle stick.

The throttle hold value is set in this screen. It is super easy to do. You’ll activate it and then pick the switch and set the value.

It is easy to save a setup to the SD card. You simply pick the source and the target, and then use the import or export function.

You’ll like that you can set the servos’ travel values and limits all on one screen. The graphic makes it obvious what to do.

Timers are super simple to program in this transmitter. You pick the timer, the switch, and the value. It is that easy.

You’ll set the date and time by tapping the timer on the LCD display. As you can see, the settings are intuitive to make.

When you bind the transmitter to the receiver you’ll be able to set the failsafe values. You’ll access failsafe through the base page.

You can set the trim step values for T1 thru T4 and Trim 1 and 2 at this screen. The values range between 01 and 10.

Set, Display, and Stick Cali. These are all very easy to navigate into and to program. I really like that you have the option to calibrate the stick travels, although if not done right it could be problematic. Also, you can quickly choose between stick modes: one, two, three, and four. Setting the display is quick and easy, as are the warnings.

If you want to use telemetry in your model airplane, the mz-18 makes it easier than practically any system available today. In fact, once you bind a Graupner receiver to the mz-18, you get telemetry immediately; the transmitter provides for basics of Tx voltage, Rx voltage, signal strength

and ESC current, and ESC power, if you have selected an airplane type with an electric motor.

Where the mz-18’s telemetry really shines though is when you add the sensors for getting data like rpm.

Glider pilots will like that this radio offers a variometer, which will provide altitude and rate of climb.

Add in the voice capability of this new transmitter and you’ll recognize what a powerful tool it is. When using the mz-18, you will not need to look down to see battery voltage, time, altitude, etc. The transmitter’s voice will tell you when there is a warning, and when your model has reached a pre-programmed altitude,

82

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

rpm, voltage, current, etc. It is truly amazing how easy it is to get real, usable data annuciated to you from this transmitter.

Finally, I found it extremely comfortable to hold in my hands.

I like the rubberized grips and the positioning of the switches and knobs.

The levers are well placed on the sides; however, I did find them a bit tricky to pull up from their bottom position because they are recessed into the grip area, although when I used the ends of my fingers I had no problem. I also like that I can use a micro SD card for off-loading the stored data for any model that is programmed into the transmitter. twitter.com/rcsportflyer

You can see a graphic of your trim step values after you have set them. Note that the trim amout has a range of +/-30 percent.

Depending on the configuration of your aircraft, this screen shows you which receiver channel is controlling which funcion.

The telemetry on the mz-18 is very good. It includes power, current, battery capacity, rate of climb, and altitude on this screen.

You’ll be able to see the battery voltage and temperature, plus you can see the voltage of the individual cells within a pack!

On this screen you’ll get the current voltage, temperature, rpm, and amps, plus the graphic on the side shows battery capacity.

This screen displays rpm, milliamp hours, battery voltage, and the current. You also get altitude in meters.

Power-airplnae flyers will like this screen.

It gives you the receiver voltage, engine temperature, and fuel level.

There is a port on the back of the transmitter for ear phones, so you can play music to practice your competition routine.

The transmitter provides telemetry based on the sensors that are connected to the receiver.

This the basic screen.

SYNOPSIS If you consider that Q.Link is probably the most difficult part of programming this transmitter, and then recognize it is actually quite easy, you will understand how welldesigned the mz-18 programming interface is to use.

I like that you can use two receivers with this radio as a way to easily add extra channels. I also like how easy it is to navigate between functions and even between programming interfaces: base, function, system, and telemetry.

Finally, I like that you can navigate from screen to screen in this radio by way of either the touch screen

or the six navigation buttons on the transmitter’s front — by the way, the stylus works great.

When you consider this transmitter and two-receiver system is selling for only $389.00 at openhobby.com, I’d have to say it is an excellent value for the money you’ll need to spend.

facebook.com/rcsportflyer

$389.00 (S1005.1)

DISTRIBUTOR

Price

Here is the screen you’ll get when you have picked the vario module on the sensor select page under telemetry.

OpenHobby 3245 University Ave, Suite 1520 San Diego, CA 92104 Phone: 855-5RCisHoTT Openhobby.com RC-SF.COM

83

REVIEW

T-REX 700E PRO DFC IT DELIVERS 3GX PERFORMANCE AND SO MUCH MORE

BY JAMES VANWINKLE

R

ecently, I was able to pick up an Align® T-REX 700e. I like this new machine beyond words, so I want to share my experiences with such an amazing piece of machinery.

This is not my first Align® helicopter, nor even my second, but it is by far the best I’ve seen. From the design, to the engineering of the components, and to the quality of the hardware, the T-REX 700e offers as much mindblowing performance as any pilot could ever want. This helicopter offers plenty of stability so even a beginner helicopter pilot can enjoy it. In the hands of the most demanding pilots it delivers unlimited capability, which can put you in the winner’s circle.

84

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

Servos, motor, ESC, and gyro are all included in the kit. These components are top-ofthe-line, making the 700e a cut above many other RC helicopters on the market. twitter.com/rcsportflyer

With the model parked, it exhibits incredible stability in hover. The tail rotor provided locked-in flight, even from the first flight. It required no additional adjustments no matter how I flew it.

The 3GX is the “brains� of the system. Helicopter setup is done via this unit, and although it can be programmed with a PC and software, all settings can be made in the 3GX without special hardware. facebook.com/rcsportflyer

Looking towards the back of the frame reveals the rudder servo, which has direct linkage to the tail group via a straight carbon fiber rod. It replaces the typical flimsy piano wire linkage.

RC-SF.COM

85

REVIEW

ALIGN® T-REX 700E PRO DFC

Placing the motor directly under the head allows for extra cooling air. The motor is still hot after each flight, which is the result the power demands. Notice the servos use short links to the swash plate.

A lot of engineering went into this design to ensure the servos’ torque moves the swash plate precisely.

The battery tray holds two 6-cell LiPo packs to power this machine. The battery slides into a housing and then snaps securely into position, which utilizes a unique pushbutton latching mechanism.

The open bay on the bottom of the frame is for the battery rack, which slides along a rail. It is a tight fit, so everything must be secured in its place before you can push the battery tray into its position. It is not hard to do though, so don’t worry about it being problematic.

86

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

IN THE AIR The T-REX 700e was made to perform, and it does so in spades!

Thanks to the ultra-slim canopy and low rotor head design, the 700e is amazingly nimble and capable of very fast flight. Keeping the rotor head low lessens wind resistance, and it also keeps the control moment shorter for lightning fast, unparalleled response to the pilot’s commands.

Normal flight of the 700e is very smooth thanks to the 3GX gyro system, which is designed to take the pilot’s input and deliver perfectly precise control, keeping the T-REX pointed exactly where it is commanded. Hover, or normal flight mode, is steady, and once idle up is initiated, it is game time.

The 700e will go anyplace with a

Locked in place, the pack is secure and ready for connection. There is no wasted space in the frame. The ESC fits in the nose or on the back of the heli — the best fit was in the nose. I monitored temperatures and my system has stayed well within acceptable limits. twitter.com/rcsportflyer

Helical gears are used to increase contact area between the motor and the rotor gears. These are more expensive to manufacture, but no shortcuts were taken when it came to transferring as much power as possible to the T-Rex 700e’s rotor blades.

flick of the sticks. Takeoff to hover is nice, but blasting the throttle shoots the helicopter up like a rocket until it is nearly out of sight. With capabilities like this, the gyro must work overtime, but the 3GX is made exactly for this type of stress, so it always performs like it’s at optimum!

Inverted flight is super steady, and tail slides are rock solid. If I could do half the 3D maneuvers I have seen this helicopter perform on YouTube, I would comment on how the 700e handled them with ease as well.

With its stock setup, you’ll have no issues keeping the 700e helicopter placed exactly where you instruct it by way of the transmitter’s sticks. It

Inverted hovering is pure child’s play because of Align’s 3GX gyro that just locks it into the piloted flight attitude.

It makes for a smooth pitch curve and definitely increases pilot confidence, especially for 3D action. facebook.com/rcsportflyer

simply responds beautifully to control, with fast, precise, and efficient flight attitudes.

Flights are smooth, as are the landings, which you’ll need to make after about six minutes of flight. I do not recommend pushing the 700e’s flight times until you know exactly how much battery capacity was used during the flight — flight times will be based on the type of flying you do, of course. Landing the helicopter is smooth and predictable when you use the programming setups for standard pitch and throttle curves, which are provided in the user’s manual. You can adjust the settings to suit your piloting style later if desired.

The tail rotor is driven through a shaft that runs from the helical gears connected to the motor. Most parts of the 700e are made of aluminum for precision, strength, and durability.

This helicopter has full-on monster power when the sticks are pushed all the way up.

Note that this machine can get away from the pilot if you do not respect it. Even so, it is an absolute blast to push around the sky.

RC-SF.COM

87

REVIEW

ALIGN® T-REX 700E PRO DFC

So, once you’ve got the 700e back on the ground, swap out the batteries for a fresh set, and the let the fun begin again and again.

Looking at it nose in, you can see how low the head sits on the helicopter, which cuts wind resistance and avoids the slop of extra linkages. It is amazingly fast when its nose is lowered at high power settings.

CONCLUSION Align® has a long and distinguished record of making high performance helicopters. Their new T-REX 700e model is no exception. Watching the videos of the pros flying this machine has inspired me to push my piloting limits. There is no doubt in my mind that the T-REX 700e will be my tool of choice for advancing my skills now and into the future. If you haven’t noticed by now, obviously I love my 700e. I’m recommending you give one a try. I think you’ll be happy you did.

You’ll find that the 3GX gyro provides exceptional rate control; collective, cyclic dampening; and heading hold. It is also very easy to set up, especially if you follow Ron Lund’s advice.

The canopy for the Align 700e has a high-end custom look and finsih to it. The bright color scheme will also help you stay visually oriented with the machine in almost any flight attitude.

Another thing you find with the 700e is that it is quite fast in forward flight. Even at high speeds I found it to be quite stable, which I attribute to the heli’s design and its new 3GX gyro.

Align’s RCM-BL800MX 520 Kv motor is awesome. I have it married to a Castle Phoenix Edge HV 120-amp ESC and a Turnigy 6S 5000-mAh LiPo pack.

88

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

ASSEMBLY AND SET UP

is only one way to assemble this model, and every step is covered in the manual.

As such, it only took me an afternoon to get it in the air — thanks to a couple of dedicated friends and us working as a team. While one was tightening screws in the frame, the other two assemblers were soldering wires for the ESC or making battery connections. The T-REX 700e is not difficult at all. However, if you should have any problems, the internet has a slew of videos showing how to assemble the model.

The heart of any helicopter is definitely the gyro! Align® has a new version of the 3GX available. It is version 4.0. This gyro connects to a Futaba® receiver using a single connection for S-bus capable receivers. For Spektrum® users, the gyro acts as a processor, even including connections for satellite receivers.

Although I have not previously used the 3GX system, it was simple to set up. Moreover, it has been rock solid since the 700e’s first flight. I heard that some of the early versions were not as “locked-in,” but I can tell you firsthand this version is absolutely perfect. The

SPECIFICATIONS

Assembly requires only a few tools, which are metric drivers and ball-link pliers. Also required, and provided, is thread-locker, which is imperative when it comes to the assembly of any helicopter.

The frame goes together quickly, and the electronics fit perfectly in their respective positions. Building this (and any helicopter) is very different, and in most aspects, much easier than building an airplane. Helicopters don’t require any cutting, sanding, or covering, like even the easiest of quick-build type ARF airplanes. Helicopters can appear daunting because there are so many parts, but kits like the T-REX separate the parts into small bags labeled with letters that correspond logically to the assembly steps.

The manual for this helicopter, like so many others, can be a bit daunting because it has so many exploded views. In some cases, the steps appear to be out of order, or the English translation is not perfect. Consequently, it is important to study the manual throughly before beginning the assembly. The good news is that there

3GX’s setup is accomplished via buttons that flash. No PC connection is required, though if desired, most of the setup can be made via a computer — the software comes with the gyro. The 3GX’s setup is used to set throw rates for the servos, directions, collective, cyclic, dampening, and many other parameters. It is allencompassing. It must be stressed that trimming in the radio is not needed, nor suggested! The manual dedicates 14 pages to just the 3GX setup. Note the setup is not difficult; however, I watched a few videos online to learn the process.

Ron Lund, a long-time helicopter guru, has a series of videos that will definitely help you set up the Align® 3GX system. After much research, I followed his suggestions to the letter and my 3GX worked without any adjustment.

His videos cover every aspect of setting up the system, and also help set up other helicopters properly. He has over 20 years of experience aiding helicopter pilots with parts and setup.

Ron’s website is ronlund.com. His 3GX setup videos are at youtube.com/ watch?v=s9getw23KpM.

Length : 1350 mm Width : 208 mm Height : 360 mm Rotor diameter : 700mm Tail rotor : 281 mm diameter Weight : 3310 g Transmitter : Futaba® 12FGH 2.4-GHz Receiver : Futaba® R6208 8-channel FASST Receiver battery : Fromeco® 2-cell 2600-mAh LiFe Servos : (3) BL700H HV (1) BL750H HV

DISTRIBUTOR

Motor : 800MX brushless, 520 Kv

facebook.com/rcsportflyer

A MAIN HOBBIES 424 Otterson Drive Chico, CA 95928 Phone: 800-705-2215 Amainhobbies.com

ESC : Castle Phoenix Edge HV 120 amp Flight battery :Turnigy 6S 5000-mAh LiPo (2 ea) Gyro : Align® 3GX Price : $ 1,899.99 (combo)

RC-SF.COM

89

REVIEW

MYSTIQUE RES 2.9M

â„¢

THIS GLIDER LETS YOU POWER UP FOR ALL-DAY SOARING

90

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

BY WIL BYERS

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

You’ll like the way this glider handles. It is a RES machine, but it responds well to rudder control so you can stand it on a wingtip.

E

-flite as been turning out electric-powered airplanes for umpteen years. Their motors, speed controllers, and battery packs are second to none.

They’ve also produced some very good sailplanes. Lately, E-flite has brought some limited-motor-run (LMR) gliders to the market. They are well engineered and designed, have good hardware, climb exceedingly well, and are affordable.

When the Mystique rudder, elevator, and spoiler (RES) machine arrived at the office, I was on it like a bird on a worm. I wanted to see how

this model would fly as compared to their previous offerings. Also, it was nice to see it designed as an RES machine because it would be good for so many different pilot levels.

The Power 25 motor promised to give it excellent rate of climb, which meant multiple motor runs to soaring altitude. Furthermore, because it was a LMR RES glider, pilots would be able to fly it with an inexpensive transmitter.

All around, this model looked to be an excellent pick for beginner to advanced pilots whenever they want to experience relaxed soaring.

NEEDED TO COMPLETE • Receiver Spektrum® AR 7610 2.4-GHz 7-channel DSMX • Servos (2) Spektrum® A4030 (2) A7020 Digital • Motor E-flite® Power 25E 1000 Kv outrunner • Speed Controller E-flite® 60-Amp Pro SwichMode BEC • Battery E-flite® 3S 11.1-volt 3200-mAh 30C LiPo pack

An easy straightforward throw will have this glider flying right out of your hand. Hit the throttle and it’s headed for the sky! facebook.com/rcsportflyer

RC-SF.COM

91

REVIEW

MYSTIQUE™ RES 2.9M

1

2

1

Spektrum® and E-flite® provided high quality components throughout for the Mystique, so you’ll get good performance.

2

Once it was removed from the shipping box, the quality of the model is evident. Even the spinner is included in this kit.

3

The E-flite Mystique’s manual provides easyto-follow instructions, with check off boxes for each step so you don’t miss any.

4

The elevator’s control pushrod is retained, after its 90-degree bend passes through the horn, by a plastic keeper.

3

4

• Propeller E-flite® 14x8 folding propeller • Spinner 40-mm aluminum • Servo Extensions (4) Spektrum® 9-in.

(1) Standard Y-harness • Receiver AR7610-X • Marking Tape Scotch 35 White

92

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

SOARING From the minute this model leaves your hand, you are going to enjoy flying it!

The fun begins with an easy launch, then when you hit the power, the model will literally jump into the sky, with 10-second climbs getting it to a 600-foot soaring altitude or more. I timed the climbs a few times, and both limited motor runs had it at

soaring altitude, and that was without any environmental lift from a thermal or a slope.

Once it was at soaring altitude, I found the model to be responsive to elevator and rudder control, with a bit of the typical Dutch roll tendency that you get with a polyhedral machine.

The Dutch roll is definitely not excessive though. You’ll find you can stand the model up a wingtip and fly it in tight thermal circles without it tip stalling or tightening up in the circle, which means you’ll be able to core thermals nicely with this model.

As I found, once you’ve got it in a thermal it climbs well. Consequently, I was able to get the Mystique high in a thermal easily. Even when I pulled quite a bit of up elevator control, the model was not prone to stalling.

Rather, it seemed to settle into a good minimum sinking speed that let me fly the thermals quite easily, with the model signalling it was in lift.

Penetration is good, but this is not a F3B machine, so I would advise you do not fly it downwind too far when the wind is blowing much more than about 10 mph. When you do take it twitter.com/rcsportflyer

5 6

8 7 9 5

The rudder pushrod is retained with a plastic keeper. It fits over a 90-degree bend in the wire pushrod that drives the rudder. Note the rudder hinge pivot points are on the center of the leading-edge radius.

8

The spoiler servo is glued to its cover with epoxy, with just a little overflow around the edges. Note the pushrod has limited threads, so you must fit the servo’s position for proper spoiler operation.

6

There is ample room for a clean install of the radio gear in the Mystique. You’ll like the servo tray and how the parts fit in it.

9

With the servo positioned as per the manual, the linkage is too long to attach to the spoiler’s control horn.

7

Because of the model’s pre-installed motor mount, it was easy to install the Power 25E and locate the ESC. Notice the wire tie that holds the wires out of the way of the motor.

10

As shown in this photo, I made new pushrods with the proper lengths from bolts, nuts and 2-56 clevises. I purchased the items from a hobby shop near my home.

downwind, you’ll want to penetrate upwind with the nose down at about a 10 degree angle or so. Honestly, I did not evaluate the pitch angle, but I know if you put the model’s nose down too much the lift-over-drag suffers, impacting the penetration.

The model’s spoilers work well! At one point in the flight I had the model literally dotted out in the sky. When I opened the spoilers to dethermal the facebook.com/rcsportflyer

glider, I was able to fly the Mystique down from altitude in very tight circles without it building up any excess airspeed.

Landings are a breeze with the Mystique. You’ll want to set it up with 50 feet or so of altitude, and then just modulate the spoilers for glide path control. This model will come in for a landing about as nicely as you could possibly want.

10

RC-SF.COM

93

REVIEW

MYSTIQUE™ RES 2.9M

Hit the power and this glider is going to take off for the sky. My motor run tests found it gets to about 600 feet in around 10 seconds.

Whether you are a beginner or an expert pilot, the Mystique RES 2.9M is a good choice for relaxed, fun, all-day soaring adventures anywhere, any time.

I used my Spektrum DX18 for control. It was overkill! A Spektrum DX6 will provide more than enough control for this glider.

The folding propeller works very well. You must set the ESC for medium braking to stop it from spinning when not powered though.

The model’s polyhedral wing provides good roll control and the rudder is quite effective. So you can keep it cored in thermals quite easily.

IN THE HANGAR If I your are in want of a good LMR glider that is affordable and fun to fly, I’m recommending the Mystique RES 2.9M. It is an all-around good choice for the glider enthusiast who is searching for a machine that delivers good climb, good soaring, and easy landing. Additionally, this is an almost-ready-to-fly glider that will go together in about four hours.

Considering that you’ll likely get a few good soaring seasons out of this glider, it is an exceptional value.

I would recommend this model to anyone who wants a glider that is a joy to fly.

94

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

BUILD The Mystique™ RES is solidly built. It implements cross bracing in wings that provides torsional rigidity, and it looks great in the air as the sun shines through the wing panels. The canopy fits the molded fiberglass fuselage well.

The model’s assembly was very straightforward. You’ll find the Mystique RES 2.9 will go together in about four hours. The model built as per the manual’s easy-to-read instructions.

My model’s assembly/build started with removing a few wrinkles in the covering of the wings, rudder, and stabilizers. I used a covering iron with its temperature set to low — about 250 degrees. For the wings I used a heat gun.

Note that the control horns for the spoilers and rudder look exactly alike, except the rudder’s horn has a slightly smaller hole in it that mates with the pushrod wire. The spoiler’s control horns use clevises, which have a slightly larger

diameter at the connection pin.

There were two assembly steps that slowed my model’s build. First, the elevator’s control horn arm required the drive hole be reamed out with a #32 (0.116 ) drill bit to allow the carbon joiner rod to pass through the bellcrank.

Second, and a bit more complicated than the bellcrank problem, was that the spoilers’ linkages were too long to let the spoilers close properly. Scratching my head vigorously, I decided to shorten the threaded pushrods that run between the two clevises. In so doing, the shortened length let the servo pull the spoilers closed completely and yet open them to their maximum height. I made the new pushrods from 2-56 Allen head cap screws’ threads that I cut to the proper length. I used these because the hobby shop was out of 2-56 all thread, which would have made the job quicker and easier. Also, I substituted a set of Dubro 2-56 clevises for the hardware that came

in my kit. This modification reduced the overall length of the linkages to 2.25 inches, rather than the 2-11/32 inches as per the kit’s hardware. I considered using the rod that was supplied in the kit, but there was not enough thread on it to fasten to the two supplied clevises securely.

Other than these two issues, the Mystique RES 2.9 went together as per the manual. The pre-installed motor mount made the motor install a snap.

You’ll need to secure the ESC’s wires to the servo tray with a wire tie as a way to keep them away from the motor’s case when it is running, but that is a one-minute job.

The model balanced at the recommended 4-9/16 in. back from the wing’s leading-edge, but with the battery moved forward just a bit. Finally, the 60-amp ESC was programed for a three-cell LiPo and with medium braking for the propeller.

CONTROL THROWS 29/32 in. (23 mm) 25/32 (20 mm) +/- 1-15/16 in. (50 mm) 7/8 in. (22 mm)

SPECIFICATIONS

ELEVATOR (UP / DOWN) RUDDER SPOILERS

Wingspan : 114 in. (2.90 m) Length : 58.5 in. (1.48 m) Wing area : 1030 in.2 (66.5 dm2) Weight : 4.85 – 5.00 lb (2.20 – 2.25 kg) Wing loading : 10.9 oz/ft2 Motor : Power 25 ESC : 60-amp brushless Battery : 3S 11.1-volt 3200-mAh 30C LiPo Propeller : 14 x 8 folding

You’ll discover the Mystique is very easy to land because the spoilers are effective at controlling its rate of descent. facebook.com/rcsportflyer

DISTRIBUTOR

Spinner : 40-mm w/folding hub Horizon Hobby 4105 Fieldstone Road Champaign, IL 61822 Phone: 217-352-1913 Horizonhobby.com

Transmitter : 6-channel min.

Receiver : AR7610-X Servos : (2) micro, (2) thin-wing Price : $349.99 (EFL4915) RC-SF.COM

95

REVIEW

PARKZONE DH 98 MOSQUITO MK VI A WARBIRD PARK FLYER THAT COMES READY TO FLY SORTIES

T

he de Havilland Mosquito was a formidable combat aircraft during World War II. It was known as the Mossie by its crews. The Mk VI airplane sported two Mk 23s or Mk 25s egnines that turned threebladed propellers. Flying on its 54-ft

2-in. wingspan, the Mk VI was capable of dropping up to 2,000 pounds of bombs; it was also fitted with four Browning .303 machine guns and four 20-mm Hispano cannons.

Interestingly, the airplane was built nearly entirely of wood, so it was

This twin-motor-powered park flyer has plenty of power for steep climbs and fast passes down the runway.

96

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

BY CHRISTIAN BELLEAU

nicknamed “The Wooden Wonder.”

The Parkzone model flies on a 49-in. wingspan and is powered by 370-size motors that get power from a 3S LiPo battery. It is designed and built as an affordable, easy-toassemble warbird. The model comes

You can buy the optional electric-powered landing gear for the Mosquito, which cleans up the airplane for those high-speed strafing runs. twitter.com/rcsportflyer

painted and nearly ready to fly, minus a 4-channel Spektrum receiver, a battery, two servos for its flaps, and the electric-powered retracts.

What attracted me to this model was its price of only $249.99, and that it was a park-flyer-sized warbird that had retracts. Also, because it was a four-channel control airplane, I could use my Spektrum DX6i six-channel transmitter, which meant I’d save money there as well. I liked that it was a twin-motor-powered WWII combat aircraft with a significant history, had Royal Australian Airforce 464 Squadron colors, and flaps for landing.

Additionally, with the 3S LiPo battery packs costing only $35, I could own three — extra battery packs would mean at least three flights before a charge would be needed. With a charger in my flight box, I could have all-day flying sessions.

All around, this model was what I’d been looking for in terms of a little WWII warbird. facebook.com/rcsportflyer

Even though the Mosquito flies on just a 49in. wingspan, it has big airplane presence in the air. You’ll like that this model handles well in pretty much all respects.

With its gear down and locked, you’ll want to drop the flaps to about 30 degrees to slow the model for its landing approach. It will settle nicely, landing with ease.

RC-SF.COM

97

REVIEW

PARKZONE DH 98 MOSQUITO MK VI

1

Parts are nicely detailed, and come ready for assembly. You’ll only need a #1 Phillips head screwdriver.

2

The Mosquito can use the fixed gear strut parts that come in the kit or the electric-powered E-flite EFLG100 10- to 15-size retractable gear assembly system.

3

A Parkzone PKZ1029 2200-mAh 11.1-volt 3S 25C battery is recommended because the weight and size of the battery are perfectly sized to get the Mosquito’s CG set properly.

1

3

2

4

4

NEEDED TO COMPLETE • 4-channel+ Spektrum DSM2/ DSMX transmitter • 3S 2200-mAh 25C LiPo battery • Two servos for flaps (as built) • Electric retracts (as built) • 3-cell LiPo balancing battery charger KEY FEATURES • Spektrum™ AR610 DSM2/DMSX receiver, installed • 4-channel control (ailerons,

98

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

You’ll remove landing gear covers and the fixed landing struts’ mounts to prepare the airplane for the installation of the E-flite electric retract system.

elevator, rudder, motor) • Ailerons, elevator and rudder servos installed • Optional flaps’ servos ready • Twin 370-size, 1300 Kv BL motors installed • Twin 18-amp brushless ESCs installed • Accepts E-flite® 10- to 15-size electric retracts • Durable Z-Foam™ construction • Panel line, pilot, gun, and cockpit details

5

5

The 10- to 15-size landing gear strut was replaced with the pre-assembled Mosquito strut assembly before the landing gear system was mounted in the nacelle.

• Functional wing vents to cool the electronic speed controllers • Authentic Royal Australian Air Force 464 Squadron trim scheme • Easy-access battery and electronics hatches SORTIES With the 3S LiPo battery charged, the Mosquito’s motors bring this model to life! You’ll simply push the throttle up and the airplane will accelerate smartly to flying speed. twitter.com/rcsportflyer

6

7

8

9

10

6

The electric-powered retract unit bolts in the place of the fixed gear mount. The servo lead is routed to the root of the wing where it plugs into a Y harness.

Once the airplane’s tail is up, the rudder becomes very effective at yawing the airplane to keep it going straight down the runway. At flying airspeed, just easing back slightly on the up-elevator control will get the airplane flying. Then, just retract the gear to reduce drag. From there it is all up, up and away!

The little Mosquito gets plenty of power from its two 370-size motors to give it near vertical performance.

The ailerons provide very good roll control, with the rate being facebook.com/rcsportflyer

7

The wings are shown here with the gear in both up and down configurations. The flap servos have yet to be glued in place at this point in assembly.

appropriate to a scale warbird. In the air, the rudder is extremely effective at yawing the airplane, so you’ll not need much input to keep the turns coordinated. Also, the elevator delivers enough authority for loops and inverted flight.

What I found most fun to do with this model was strafing runs down the runway. It was a hoot to climb the model to altitude, do a big Split-S turn, and then dive the model at the centerline of the runway, pulling the model to level flight at about five feet

11

8

With the flap servo securely glued in place, the short control linkage was attached to its control horn. You’ll cut the flap’s foam bridge free from the wing using a sharp #11 blade.

9

A carbon joiner rod supports the horizontal stabilizer. The elevator’s drive mechanism is a rectangular socket assembly as shown. It provides positive, slop-free link between the two horizontal stabilizer halves.

10

The rudder pushrod is also connected to the tail wheel. I found that the little foam tailwheel provides excellent ground handling during taxing.

11

The horizontal stabilizers are held secure to the fuselage with a small strip of clear tape. The tape is barely visible but provides plenty of strength to keep the stabilizers attached to the fuselage even during high speed flight.

RC-SF.COM

99

REVIEW

PARKZONE DH 98 MOSQUITO MK VI

off the runway. At the end, it was great to have the power to pull the airplane up into a big banking turn away from the runway.

Dropping the gear and dropping the flaps to about 30 degrees sets the model up for a nice approach to landing. You’ll find that it slows down, but I recommend you carry some airspeed until the model settles onto the runway. You’ll grease the landings if you do.

I chose to install the optional flap servos so that my model would have working flaps. The flaps definitely help slow the model down for landings.

The Mosquito comes with the RAAF 464 Squadron color scheme already done. The model even has a pilot installed in the fuselage, which adds realism in flight.

The design lines of the Parkzone DH 98 Mosquito Mk VI are such that is quite true to scale, especially considering that it’s a foam park flyer.

Unlike the full-scale airplane, the Parkzone Mosquito uses counter-rotating propellers, virtually eliminating the P-factor you would normally get during takeoffs.

The electric-powered retractable landing gear is very easy to install. I’d estimate it took less than 30 minutes to remove the fixed gear and install the new gear system.

100

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

With the gear retracted and the motors throttled up, you will be pleasantly surprised at how fast this little park flyer flies.

Landings are easy! You simply set the flaps to about 30 degrees, pull the throttle back, and then fly it onto the runway.

ASSEMBLY landing gear system, you’ll need to reconfigure the gear with the main gears’ struts. The manual details this procedure well. You’ll want to use the pre-assembled Retract Landing Gear Strut Set (PKZ6323) for the Mosquito.

Then you’ll use a #1 Phillips screwdriver to remove the fixed gears’ covers so you can install the E-flite electric-powered retracts. The gear is designed for 10- to 15-size aircraft. Once you’ve removed the covers, you will screw the retractable gear into the wheel well. There is a mount installed in the airplane. Once the gears are in place, and the servos’ leads run, you will attach the covers back to the bottom of their respective nacelles.

The servo leads get routed to the wing root where they plug into a Y-harness, which is then connected to the receiver’s gear channel.

To install the flaps’ servos you’ll remove the covers from the wings. The

CONTROL THROWS AILERONS ELEVATOR RUDDER FLAPS

High (up/dn) mm 15 / 12 10 / 10 25 / 25 15 half

DISTRIBUTOR

CONTROL THROWS Low (up/dn) mm 12 / 8 8/8 18 / 18 30 full

Horizon Hobby 4105 Fieldstone Road Champaign, IL 61822 Phone: 217-352-1913 Horizonhobby.com

flaps’s hinges are factory installed; however, you must remove the foam bridge that ties the flaps to the wing.

There is one on each side of the nacelle.

You can simply cut the bridges free.

The flap-to-wing spacing is preset, so using a sharp #11 blade lets you cut the bridge away while getting the right spacing. You’ll want to buy the Parkzone (PKZ1081) flap servos. The flaps’ servos connect to a Y-harness and then connect to an Aux 1 channel on the receiver. You’ll use a short pushrod between the servos’ arms and the flaps’ control horns. The control horns’ locations on the flaps have been pre-drilled, so mounting the horns is easy and quick.

This airplane is absolutely a quick assembly, even with flaps and retracts as an option. My only other advice to you would be to buy some additional battery packs because you are going to like flying this model.

SPECIFICATIONS

The Mosquito’s airframe comes well-packaged, taped in its foam carrier box. Unfortunately for me, the top of left nacelle was secured to the box with the clear tape. It was such that when I tried to remove the tape, the paint was also removed from the nacelle, so I stopped. This situation was corrected by me carefully cutting around the tape where it came in contact with the nacelle’s painted areas.

The small bit of tape with paint on it was then reapplied to the top of the nacelle.

The assembly of the airframe is so easy it requires little more than a #1 Phillips head screwdriver. You’ll also need to plug in the servo leads, as well as bind the receiver to a transmitter.

Truly, that’s about all you’ll need to do if you don’t buy the optional retracts and install the flaps’ servos.

If you opt to install the retractable

Wingspan : 49.0 in. (1244 mm) Length : 37.6 in. (955 mm) Weight : 42.3 oz (1200 g) 44.4 oz (1260 g) w/ retracts n flap servos Motors : (2) 370 outrunners, 1300 Kv ESC : (2) 18-amp brushless

FLAP-TO-ELEVATOR COMPENSATION

CENTER OF GRAVITY

Up 0% Half -10%

2.90 – 3.30 in. back of the wing’s leading edge at the fuselage

Full -20% Offset -20%

TRANSMITTER SETTINGS DX8 3-POSITION SWITCH AILERON ELEVATOR RUDDER

High Expo 100% (30%) 100% (30%) 100% (0%)

Med Expo 70% (30%) 70% (30%) 100% (0%)

Low Expo 50% (30 %) 50% (30 %) 100% (0%)

Battery : 3S 2200-mAh 25C LiPo battery Propeller : Left 8.25 × 5.5 Right 8.25 × 5.5R Receiver : Spektrum™ AR610 6-channel DSXM Servos : Ailerons, rudder, elevator, flaps Retracts : E-flite 10- to 15-size mains Price : $249.99 (PKZ6350)

facebook.com/rcsportflyer

RC-SF.COM

101

AD INDEX AeroWorks

aero-works.net

59

Micro Fasteners

microfasteners.com

Airborne Models

airborne-models.com

71

Multiplex

hitecrcd.com

APC Propellers

apcprops.comt

10

Parkzone

horizonhobby.com

Atlanta Hobby

atlantahobby.com

29

PowerBox Systems

powerbox-systems.com

53

Bob Smith Industries

bsi-inc.com

9

RTL Fasteners

rtlfasteners.com

63

Castle Creations

castlecreations.com

4

Soaring USA

soaringusa.com

47

Desert Aircraft

desertaircraft.com

Soldering Sunday

solderingsunday.com

28

Eagle Tree Systems

eagletreesystems.com

Spektrum

spektrumrc.com

11

E-flite

horizonhobby.com

ThunderPower

thunderpowerrc.com

106

Graupner

openhobby.com

5

TruTurn

tru-turn.com

103

JR

jramericas.com

17

Zap

zapglue.com

28

Maxx Products

maxxprod.com

12

39 8 2, 3

38 13, 104 105

Advertise in RC SPORT FLYER to get more return on investment for your marketing.

Call 509-947-0675 to learn about RC-SF’s excellent ad rates!

Responsibility for content and suitability of advertisements in RC Sport Flyer rests with the advertiser. Advertisers are responsible for product quality and delivery timeliness.

RC Sport Flyer retains the right to reject unsuitable advertising and does not necessarily endorse products advertised.

Get RC Sport Flyer Magazine for your iPad at iTunes — only $0.99 an issue.

SAVE $ 53

off the cover price

Subscribe online @ RC-SF.com or call

1-866-967-0831 q 1-year hardcopy & digital (12 issues) $29.95 q 2-year (24 issues) $53.95 International rates: 1 year - $49.95 • 2 year - $89.95

102

RC SPORT FLYER . JULY 2014

RC Sport Flyer Magazine is a publication of Kiona Publishing, Inc. $6.49 by single copy.

WA res. add 8.3% sales tax.

Credit cards processed by Kiona Publishing, Inc. P.O. Box 4250 • West Richland, WA 99353 • 1-866-967-0831

twitter.com/rcsportflyer

THE Mystery SAILPLANE

Last month’s

WiN

ANSWER

was the TK-1 Carat. We hope you enter to be a winner in this month’s Mystery Airplane contest.

SUBMISSION INFORMATION Please e-mail your response to

A FREE SPORT FLYER HAT

support@rc-sf.com or mail a letter to Kiona Publishing ATTN: RC-SF 19-07 Contest

Give us the name of this airplane to

P.O. Box 4250 W Richland, WA 99353

win!

Submissions must be received by

09/30/2014

SIGN UP today

for the RC Sport Flyer magazine newsletter.

You’ll get all the inside scoop on what’s happening in the RC world, as well as in the industry.

The newsletter is absolutely FREE! So, tell all your RC buddies to sign up, even if they live on the other side of the world. We’ll make certain they get their newsletter every other week.

To sign up

1

Point your browser at: rc-sf.com.

facebook.com/rcsportflyer

2

Then click on the news tab.

It is easy and FREE!

RC-SF.COM

103

Just when you thought you had a favorite plane! Our cleverly designed Shark with optional landing gear and float sets emerges to make your flying experience the most fun EVER! Its tough Elapor® foam make it a resilient flying machine perfect for beginners

SPECS: Wingspan: 42in.

Weight: 18oz.

Length: 34.25in.

just dipping into the radio control pool as well as experts eager to make a splash at their local club.

The Shark is ready for action in minutes with preinstalled servos, a high performance brushless motor and an efficient speed control!

Your summer just got FIERCE!

FLOAT SET Stock# M224328 LANDING GEAR Stock# M224327

Phone: (858) 748 - 8440 E-Mail: service@hitecrcd.com Web: www.hitecrcd.com

The World is Your Runway

NEW ParkZone® Sport Cub Park Flyer You love the freedom park flyers afford. But now and then that freedom is limited by rough terrain or, in the case of lakes and ponds, a lack of terrain altogether. Enter the ParkZone Sport Cub park flyer.

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

51.0 in (1300mm) 34.0 in (865mm) 33.3 oz (945 g) 480-Size, 960Kv BL Outrunner (installed) 18A brushless (installed) 4+ Channel (5+ channel with flaps) (sold separately) Spektrum AR636 6-Channel AS3X Sport (BNF only) 1300–2200mAh Li-Po (1300mAh Li-Po included with BNF)

Constructed of tough Z-Foam™ material, it includes sturdy wire landing gear with tundra-style wheels for flying off grass, gravel and other rough surfaces. Light wing loading, a powerful brushless motor and leading-edge vortex generators give it phenomenal short-field capabilities.

You even have the option of adding floats and functional flaps.

The Bind-N-Fly® version comes equipped with a Spektrum™ AS3X® AR636 receiver that works behind the scenes to smooth out the effects of wind and turbulence so you can fly low and slow or nail spot landings with even greater precision. A Plug-N-Play® version without the receiver, battery or charger is also available.

Optional Flap Servo and Float Set Available Separately

It’s a big world out there. Fly more of it. Go to parkzone.com right now to see the Super Cub in action and to find the ParkZone retailer near you.

VISIT

Your Local Retailer

CLICK

horizonhobby.com

CALL

1.800.338.4639

SERIOUS FUN.®

© 2014 Horizon Hobby, LLC. ParkZone,, Bind-N-Fly, just fly., Serious Fun 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. 43554

WHAT YOU WANT...

RELIABLE POWER, PERFORMANCE, CYCLE LIFE & WARRANTY

GET WHAT YOU WANT, NOT JUST WHAT YOU NEED. Don’t buy just any battery, buy what you want and need! All-new G8 chemistry offers increased power and performance in an overall smaller size and lighter weight! G8 prices are up to 15% lower than the previous generation. Looking for reliablity in your investment?

Our Pro Pilots put our batteries through the ultimate test, stacking up cycle after cycle. The end result is our batteries keep performing for years of use, unlike other batteries in the market today. That’s why our batteries are backed with a 2 year warranty and damage protection program. Experience the Thunder Power RC difference and buy with confidence, still assembled and supported in the USA. www.

Thunder Power RC® ©2014 Thunder Power RC

.com thunderpowerrc

Let them see how RC Sport Flyer is

“The the RC Pilots’ and Builders’ Magazine.”

Single page layout

Tell them to

Two-page layout

Flipbook

SUBSCRIBE

To get the RC pilots’ and builders’ magazine.

1-YEAR RENEWAL ONLY

A one-year hardcopy & digital subscription is only $29.95 a year for 12 issues. SAVE and get a 4-year subscription (48 issues) for only $101.95—just $2.12 an issue.

3 WAYS TO RENEW:

29.95

$

Online at kionasubscribe.com

RC Sport Flyer Magazine Subscriber Services P.O. Box 4250 West Richland, WA 99353 509.967.0831 rc-sf.com

Call 1-866-967-0831 Mail this form with payment

Please detach and mail today!

SUBSCRIBE TODAY

TO START GETTING THE RC PILOTS’ AND BUILDERS’ MAGAZINE TOMORROW.

Name Address

(12 issues) for only $29.95

City State

Zip Code

Country

(24 issues) for only $53.95 Payment Enclosed

Bill me later

Phone

Charge my:

E-mail

Card # Expires

By providing your e-mail, you agree that we may contact you with special offers, promotions, or information on our products.

Visa

MC

WA residents add 8.3% sales tax.

Send to: RC Sport Flyer, P.O. Box 4250, W Richland, WA 99353

Amex

Disc