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Ch C 2 F , s c i n o Avi BEGINNERS GUIDE HOW TO:

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REVIEW: SCALE PARTS

COMBAT

REDFIN 049RV

9 770001 923004

3D CAD

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FREE FLIGHT ● CONTROL LINE ● RADIO-ASSISTED

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experTEC The Expert Forum for Active Scale Model Pilots

April 17 - 19, 2015 co-located with INTERMODELLBAU

www.messe-expertec.com

CONTENTS

AEROMODELLER 934 March 2015 – Next issue published on 19th March 2015 22

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Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Bedfordshire LU6 1QX, England

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Heard at the Hangar Doors Editorial, News and Views.

Up and Coming Calendar of Events for the next months.

Off the Shelf A look at new and innovative products.

3D CAD for Aeromodellers Laurence Marks on computer based 3D drawing of scale parts.

Team Racing Rule Changes Potential changes in F2C are examined by Malcolm Ross.

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How High Did That Go? Mike Evatt on how to use altimeters in FF models. Rubber Motor Storage System Dave Hipperson explains his tube storage system.

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Gran Canaria CL International European combateers grab some winter sun and competitive flying. Pendulum Ailerons Steve Glass shares his experience with mechanical and avionics based pendulum control.

Issue 934. March 2015 (ADH 016) How to contact us: Tel: Fax: Email:

01525 222573 01525 222574 [email protected]

Editorial:

Editor: Andrew Boddington Email: [email protected] Publisher: Alan Harman Group Editor: Ken Sheppard Administration Manager: Hannah McLaurie Office Manager: Paula Gray Advertisement Manager: Gareth Liddiatt Advertisement Assistant: Joe Brown Editorial Design: Peter Hutchinson, Alex Hall & Colin Trundle

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Advertisement and circulation:

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Tel: 01525 222573 Fax: 01525 222574 E-mail: [email protected]

From the Armchair... A relaxed look at aerodynamics through the ages by Supercool.

ADH Publishing, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Bedfordshire LU6 1QX, England

Better… Rules John O’Donnell considers the development of FF Duration rules to meet present needs.

Distribution:

Seymour Distribution, 2 East Poultry Avenue, London, EC1A 9PT Tel: 020 7429 4000

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How to get started in Combat Mick Lewis leads you through the steps towards flying CL competitively.

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FREE PLAN – Spitfire Mk22 Rob Smith’s delightful FF model inspired by the FROG Senior Series.

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Coupe de Birmingham Report by Martin Dilly on this late season F1G and Vintage duration contest.

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Scale Rubber Andrew Hewitt on choosing the right subject for rubber powered outdoor scale. Power Trip – Redfin 049RV Maris Dislers reviews this new reed valve diesel engine.

Tail End Charlie The thoughts of Chris Ottewell.

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ADH Publishing, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX. Tel: 01525 222573 Fax: 01525 222574 Subscribe from £55 for 12 issues.

Website: www.aeromodeller.com AeroModeller is published monthly by ADH Publishing Ltd, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX. Entire Contents © 2015 ADH Publishing Ltd. Reproduction in part or whole of any text, photograph or illustration without written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. While due care is taken to ensure the content of AeroModeller is accurate, the publishers and printers cannot accept liability for errors and omissions. Advertisements are accepted for publication in AeroModeller only upon ADH Publishing’s standard terms of acceptance of advertising, copies of which are available from the advertising sales department of AeroModeller. blish ta

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Aero Post Readers’ letters by post and email.

Subscriptions:

www.aeromodeller.com March 2015 No. 934. £5.00

The Supermarine Spitfire Mk22 Free Plan model by Rob Smith.

SOLENT SKY MUSEUM


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FREE PLAN - 18” SPITFIRE Mk22

1935

TECHIAL EC SP FF Aileron es FF Altimeters, Avionics, F2C

Chang

3D CAD

BEGINNERS GUIDE HOW TO:

REED VALVE

SCALE PARTS

COMBAT

REDFIN 049RV

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Solent Sky Museum This Southampton aviation museum has plenty to interest aeromodellers.

Melbourne CL Grand Prix The absence of the Aus Nats after Christmas resulted in this multi disciplined CL event.

REVIEW:

9 770001 923004

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Inside Indoor The skills and science of indoor duration flying by Clive King.

Select Publisher Services, 3 East Avenue, Bournemouth, BH3 7BW Tel: 01202 586848 E-mail: [email protected]


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Newstrade:

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News, Views and Editorial

THE T A D R HEA

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Diminishing Flying Sites

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any of the readers of AeroModeller take part in our hobby/sport with models that require large open spaces and/or have a high revving two stroke engine. Up until the 1960s flying sites meeting these requirements seemed to have been easily found, with government, land-owners and members of the public seeing our activities at best as a positive expression of ‘airmindedness’ and development of practical skills, and at worst as a harmless pastime. Today we find ourselves struggling with a handful of suitable sites for us to competitively fly FF duration or some of the F2 events. When ‘Northern’ events have to be held in the middle of England, we know we have a problem. Unfortunately things have got worse with the suspension of Middle Wallop as a site for model aircraft events. Roger Newman of SAM 1066 informs me that the Airfield Manager at Middle Wallop has suspended the licence for events in 2015 until further notice, with a possible review in March. To quote: “As a result of the increased security that has been ordered on all MOD establishments within the UK, all non-resident applications for licences to use the Middle Wallop airfield are being held in suspension until

further notice. Therefore we are unable to issue any licences for airfield use for the foreseeable future, as the situation unfolds this decision will be reviewed. I much regret any inconvenience caused by this decision.” I hope all is not lost at Middle Wallop for 2015, and that a way can be found to let aeromodellers meet the MOD’s security requirements, perhaps by pre-registering? To track the latest go to www.sam1066.org There is no single fix that will improve our lot as traditional model flyers. In this issue you will find Malcolm Ross discussing moves to reduce the noise in F2C, and John O’Donnell on the changes required to keep FF duration competitive and affordable given the spaces we fly in. If the BMFA National Centre study can deliver us a suitable multi-discipline flying site that would be a step in the right direction. However, we need other suitable sites across the length of Great Britain - we will all need to work together to make our voices heard before it is too late. Regards, Andrew Boddington [email protected]

Battle of Britain Chapel saved from closure

Thanks to Charlie Newman for highlighting the story that the Ministry of Defence had announced that it would stop funding the ‘Battle of Britain’ chapel as it was not an appropriate use of its funds. The chapel is the last surviving link with RAF Biggin Hill which managed to remain operational during the events of summer 1940 despite it being the most heavily attacked airfield. Winston Churchill said that St George’s Chapel of Remembrance on the site of the former RAF station should be a permanent shrine to ‘the few’ who gave their lives during the Battle of Britain, so it was sad to think that the chapel would close on the 50th anniversary of Churchill’s death. Thanks are therefore due to a commercial organisation, Biggin Hill Airport, which has stepped in to make up the shortfall of £50,000 a year to keep it open. The chapel is easily recognised by the ‘Gate Guardian’ Spitfire in its grounds, so why not give it a visit? 4 AeroModeller - March 2015

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Running up Barton B racers in the pit area before the only B race of the day – getting short of light this year. Next time we will run the B racing first!

Barton Cold Turkey

While many of us were in a post-Christmas torpor, the hearty members of the Barton Club near Manchester were out flying Control Line on 28th December. Report from Malcolm Ross and David Measures provides the photographs. A beautiful winter’s day at Barton - zero degrees but sunny and no wind at all. Bit of ice on the pilot’s circle and pit segments but this was soon sorted out with a dose of salt. Ray Lloyd’s Corn Beef Hash at lunch, and Sue Needham’s BBQ cooking all through the day kept the hunger pangs and thoughts of “real turkey” at bay. Winter flying is always a fun task, although mechanics keep complaining about freezing fingers and no feeling! Thanks to all who ventured forth and made the event a super day and great success. British Goodyear flown first with 8 entries Heaton/Hart 4.38.2 7.35.0 Eifflaender/Eifflaender 4.55.8 4.43.2 Daglish/Eifflaender 5.33.3 4.45.4 Ross/Court 4.45.6 5.04.6 Pinkerton/Lipowski 5.23.4 5.37.7 Pinkerton/Bellamy 5.38.1 5.27.6 Fry/Winstanley 7.53.5 Hill/Ridley 34Laps 49Laps Final Heaton/Hart Eifflaender/Eifflaender Ross/Court

9.50.3 10.01.7 10.07.7

Great final - Best of the day.

ERE Diesel Details

Tony Davies has contacted me about his obscure diesel engine made by ERE; I certainly don’t recognise it and it doesn’t appear in Mike Clanford’s Pictorial A to Z reference.

Right: A cold, icy, super calm and clear day greeted all the competitors. Here “old timers” (from left) Barry Pickles, Mike Fitzgerald, Andrew Watson and Oliver-re maker Tom Ridley, look about ready for racing at 10.00am.

Mini Goodyear Heaton/Hart Pinkerton/Lipowski Pinkerton/Bellamy Ross/Court Fry/Winstanley Nevis/Nevis Final Heaton/Hart Ross/Bellamy Pinkerton/Lipowski

4.34.7 4.58.5 6.45.9 7.21.7 7.59.6 9.47.9 9.29.0 12.10.2 111L

Even combat flier Mike Whillance was tempted out on the day to test a few models among the long shadows.

Mylar Temperatures

It is good to know that people are reading what I write! Mike Woodhouse of Free Flight Supplies contacted me after seeing the piece on Tissue over Mylar. He uses Mylar a lot and even with the iron at full chat has never blown a hole. I think the small hole that occurred while I was covering was on a ‘nib of glue’ on a rib, rather than a hole melt – so make sure you first sand the airframe smooth before covering. Mike goes on to say that Mylar should not melt at the temperatures we work at, but there are some plastic films out there masquerading as Mylar which aren’t - these melt!

Compressor for the TRN2 Airbrush

The original spray bar & needle valve are missing, and he would like to make replacements to look as close as possible to the original. Can anyone help him with photos and dimensions? We would also be interested to hear of any background on ERE as a manufacturer. The engine is 0.500 inches diameter and stroke is 0.562 inches.


Following last issue’s review of the Neo Iwata TRN2 Airbrush from The Airbrush Company, a reader wanted to know whether a small studio type air brush compressor delivering about 1.5 cfm free air, would have enough “puff ” for the TRN2. This is reviewer Richard Crossley’s reply; “I have used the TRN2 airbrush a number of times since the article, and I still love it - the roundels I sprayed on a little Sopwith Strutter are the best I have ever done. I have an old SimAir studio type compressor. It has a small tank and a fairly quiet motor. I found that it coped with the TRN2 perfectly. I have noted some statistics from the manufacturer’s plate fixed to it: • HP 1/6th • Working pressure 0-80psi (max 100psi) • 1.14cfm (32 litres/minute) Looking at these figures I am pretty sure your compressor will be fine. It does rather depend on what size of models you are spraying the airbrush can be made to spray at a surprisingly low pressure, so that helps save air.” 5

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News, Views and Editorial INTERMODELLBAU 15 to 19 April 2015, Dortmund, Germany

INTERMODELLBAU, the leading modelmaker’s exhibition in Germany, will take place at the ‘Messe Westfalenhallen Dortmund’ Exhibition Centre from 15 to 19 April 2015 and show model aircraft, railways, ships, vehicles and figures – a wide spectrum of modelling in eight exhibition halls. The focus of the exhibition is very much on

‘scratchbuilding’ with some impressive flying models including a 60kg Dornier DO X. The twelve-engined DO X flying boat with 159 seats was the world’s largest passenger aircraft in the 1930’s. The classic aircraft has long since secured its place in aviation history, especially

because only three DO X aircrafts were built. With a wingspan of 4.8 metres, a length of 4 metres the model is powered by twelve fourstroke engines. Admission for adults is 12 euros in advance. The admission ticket for the

BMFA National Model Flying Centre Study

Thanks to Manny Williamson, BMFA Development Officer, for answering AeroModeller’s request for an update on the study that we first covered in AM 928. The National Centre feasibility study is gradually gaining momentum, and we are currently evaluating potential locations. It is pleasing that there is broad support for the establishing of a National facility, and members appear to appreciate the potential benefits of an enduring location which provides a sustainable “national identity” for the sport of model flying. The aim of the study is to investigate the various aspects of establishing a facility, and to provide a structured summary of findings, perhaps the two primary areas of concern for the average BMFA member are location and cost. In terms of location we are focussing predominantly on the middle of the country for fairly obvious reasons, it is of course clear that wherever a centre was established it would be closer to some people than others. The significant point is the establishing of such a centre has wider benefits to the future of model flying, and support for such a study shouldn’t be considered on a “will I visit it?” basis. The Academy of Model Aeronautics (the American equivalent to the BMFA) established a national facility with a flying site, museum, archive and offices a number of years ago which has been very successful, as well as regular flying activity and training they also host national and international events each year, other countries have also established significant centres for model flying. The brief has always been that any facility should be considered on a no direct cost to member’s basis; however it is clear that for such a major project to succeed it will require significant financial resources. We are currently exploring various funding options available

INTERMODELLBAU exhibition also covers admission to the experTEC exhibition focused on products for all types of aeromodelling, which takes place at the same time on three days (17 – 19 April). Info and Tickets: www.intermodellbau.de

Meaningful proposition? Idle dream?

B.M.F.A. NATIONAL CENTRE

through schemes such as National Lottery which need to be explored further; however all of the schemes have the requirement for matched funding as a primary requirement. Clearly if we are to develop such a project then it could only move forward with input from members and clubs, one of the difficulties is establishing the level of likely support, both financial and in general terms, there is no doubt that what we are considering is very much a “long term strategy”, if a decision is taken to proceed with this project then a significant area of activity will be raising the required funds in order to move forward. I am keen to hear ideas and views on this subject and also keen to hear from anyone who feels they can help or have experience that would be of value to such a project and a willingness to get involved. For further information see www.bmfa.org

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03/02/2015 11:04

Events

UP & COMING AeroModeller Calendar of Events Please note that the events listed are compiled weeks in advance of publication, and you should check before travelling in case of change. For future inclusion of your events, please send an email with date and details of the event in a format similar to those shown below to [email protected] FEBRUARY 21 February BMFA North West Area Indoor FF Gala, Manchester Velodrome M11 4DQ. 9am to 6pm. Indoor Duration F1D, F1L, F1M, Limited Penny Plane, No-Cal, Bostonian and Legal Eagle. Open Scale Flying Only (Rubber, CO2/ Electric and Kit Scale), Pistachio & Peanut. Cost £20 for any number of classes. Contact David Whitehouse for Duration 01942 897816, [email protected] and John Minchell for Scale 07989 744251, [email protected] 22 February Peterborough MFC Indoor Flying, Bushfield Sports Centre, PE2 5RQ. 10:00 to 13:00 www.peterboroughmfc.org

Rochester, Kent ME1 3QJ. 18:30 to 22:00. FF & light RC timed slots. Contact Steve 0208 942 5000 or Eric 01622 737814. 28 February Richmond Upper School Indoor Flying, Darlington Rd, Richmond, N Yorks, DL10 7BQ. 12:00 to 15:00. Separate slots for slow, aero, scale, FF & small Heli. Cost £5 per pilot. Mark Parsonage 07835895453 [email protected] MARCH 1 March Beverley and District MAC Spring Swapmeet, Tickton Village Hall, near Beverley, HU17 9RZ. 9.00am till 12 noon. Entry £1.00, Tables £5.00. Brian Jenkins [email protected], 07970 959875, www.badmac.btck.co.uk 1 March BMFA FF 2nd Area Centrallised at Area Venues. F1H, P30, F1J, BMFA 1/2A, C/E, HLG-CLG. Contact 0116 2440028, [email protected] 2 March Westland & Yeovil Indoor Flying, Crewkerne Sport Centre TA18 7NT. Indoor flying in a large (4 court) sports hall, regular event twice a month. FF, RC Fixed & Heli. Jack Mitchell [email protected]

22 February OFMAC Indoor Flying, Abbey Sports Centre, Berinsfield OX10 7NR. 08:30 to 16:00. Free flight Rubber, CO2, electric. Contact Dave Dobson 01491 837789, [email protected] 24 February Bournemouth MAS Indoor Flying at the Allendale Centre, Hanham Rd, Wimborne, BH21 1AS, 19.00 to 22.00. FF only. Gyminnie Cricket League. Flitehook normally in attendance. Free parking Allendale Rd. Contacts John Taylor 01202 232206 & Roy Tiller [email protected] 28 February Tonbridge Gassers and Rubber Fanciers Indoor Flying, King’s Sports Centre, 601 Maidstone Rd,

7 March Furzefield Indoor, Sports Centre, Mutton Lane, Potters Bar EN6 3BW. FF, RC Small planes & helicopters only. Flyers £8.00 Spectators £2.00 Mike Quille 020 8500 3549 [email protected] 8 March Flitehook Indoor FF Meeting, Totton Community Centre, Hazelfarm Rd, Southampton, SO40 8WU. 10.00 to 16.00 Contact Flitehook 02380 861541

8 March 40th Crawley Indoor Meeting, BMFA South Eastern Area, K2 Leisure Centre, Pease Pottage, Crawley, RH11 9BQ, 11:00 to 18:00. Competitions : HLG/ CLG, Peanut & Open Scale, EZB & Living Room Stick, Gyminie Cricket, Hangar Rat & Butter Fly Mass Launch and Legal Eagle Class. Regret no RC, plenty of FF Fun Flying time. John Dart 01293 420830, [email protected] or cadmac.org.uk 8 March BMFA South West Area Indoor Flying. Saints Fitness Centre, Tregorrick Park, St Austell, PL26 7AG. 12:00 to 16:00 FF and Micro RC. David Powis, 01579 362951, [email protected] 8 March Redruth & District MFC model swop/bring and buy, Threemile Stone community Centre. 10:00hrs to 16:00, £6 Tables pre booked, attendees £2. Steve Polkinghorne 01209 313263, [email protected], www.rdmfc.co.uk 8 March Shawbury Indoor Flying, Shropshire. 13.00 to 16.00, flying £10. Two separate areas FF/Slow RC and 3D Foam/ Helis with slots. Contact John Minchell [email protected] 14 March Delyn MFC Swapmeet, St. Winefride’s RC Primary School, Holywell CH8 7NJ. 09.00 to 13.00. Mike Parry 01352 710167 15 March Impington VCMAC Indoor Meeting, Impington Village College, Near Cambridge, CB24 9LX. 9.00am to 5.00pm. £6.00 to fly indoors all day. Main hall FF, other hall RTP, small helicopter and RC. Comps for Ray Malmstrom’s Canard-Air & Bostonians, rubber powered

Full details of BMFA events can be found at:

car race and Talk on Kit scale competitions and building. Chris Strachan 01223 860498, [email protected] 21 March Peterborough MFC Indoor Flying, Bushfield Sports Centre, PE2 5RQ. 10:00 to 13:00 www.peterboroughmfc.org 24 March Bournemouth MAS Indoor Flying at the Allendale Centre, Hanham Rd, Wimborne, BH21 1AS, 19.00 to 22.00. FF only. Gyminnie Cricket League. Flitehook normally in attendance. Free parking Allendale Rd. Contacts John Taylor 01202 232206 & Roy Tiller [email protected] 28 March Scale Indoor Flying and Trimming session before Scale Nats, Bushfield Sports Centre, PE2 5RQ. 10:00 to 18:00, Flyers £15. Free flying but priority given to Nats entries. Organised by Andy Sephton [email protected] 07872 625279 www.peterboroughmfc.org APRIL 3 April BMFA FF Northern Gala, Good Friday at North Luffenham. Comb’Glider, Comb’ Rubber, BMFA Power, C/E, SLOP, F1H, P30, BMFA 1/2A, Mini Vintage, HLGCLG. G.Warburton 0113 2852947, www.bmfa.org 15-19 April INTERMODELLBAU at Westfalenhallen Dortmund Exhibition Centre in Germany. Model aircraft, railways, ships, vehicles and figures in eight exhibition halls. Includes experTEC show on 15-19 April. www.intermodellbau.de

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Off The Shelf PAL ‘LOLA’ 0.020ci Diesel Engine Not since the 1990s and the small diesel engines supplied by the likes of Arne Hende, David Banks and Ian Russell has it been possible to obtain production run diesels of less than 0.5cc. I’m pleased to say that with the release of the PAL ‘LOLA’, small IC powered model enthusiasts again have access to a jewel of a power plant. Well known American modeller Bob Langelius is the man behind ‘PAL Model Products’ and the introduction of the 0.020ci (0.3cc) ‘LOLA’ diesel engine after some 4 years of development. The engine is manufactured in Europe, and to my eyes has some of the looks of the early Arden engines – LOLA is truly a cosmopolitan! The engine has been thoroughly tested and flown, and has demonstrated substantial power. The timing was developed for easy starting and throttle response. The under-slung fuel tank can be removed and a remote tank used. The engine can be run with the fixed carburettor, or attach the included RC throttle. We will be featuring a full test in a future issue of AeroModeller. The engine is professionally boxed, complete with RC throttle, micro primer, propeller, serial numbered, with an attached clear “see-through” tank, and unique compression lock.

The price is $192.00 US Dollars plus postage and packing. [email protected] 32 Clinton Street, White Plains, NY 10603, USA www.palmodelproducts.com

Deluxe Materials Strip Magic Stripping paint from plastic surfaces of a model can be a tricky process, specially if the model is precious or has fine detail etc. Traditional stripper can also sometimes be hazardous to work with - enter Strip Magic from Deluxe Materials. Strip Magic is a fast acting, spreadable, & controllable paint stripper that will soften and remove paints and primers, typically 5-15mins according to paint type. It works on plastic, resin and metal, is safe to handle and has little or no odour. It stays where it is applied, and is non-corrosive & non-flammable. The 125ml bottle of Strip Magic (part number AC22) is priced at around £8.90. All Deluxe Materials products are available from good model shops. www.deluxematerials.co.uk

BEFORE

AFTER

Strip Magic will also clean-up old engines.

Deluxe Materials Strip Magic has been developed to remove paint from plastic models.


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A round up of new and innovative products for the discerning aeromodeller. Send your product information along with high-resolution images to: [email protected]

ACE Electric CL Trainer from Dens Model Supplies The ACE ECL (Electric Control Line) Trainer package consists of a laser cut balsa kit and hardware plus a pre-wired plug and play electrical system - it is easy to build and fly, clean, quiet and great fun. Only simple hand tools, finishing products and a battery are required to complete the model. Motor speed and flight duration are adjustable with programmable flight times as low as 10 seconds for those all-important first flights. A start delay feature allows solo operation. Video showing the model flying can be seen at youtu.be/9rK8JDQhftQ Package contains:• Laser cut balsa and ply parts • Complete hardware package • Electric Motor with prop and prop saver • Electronic Speed Controller • E Zee Control Line Timer • All Electrical items fitted with connectors • Control Line handle and lines • Illustrated building instructions & timer manual Wing span 19 inches for flying on a line length of 25 feet - perfect for the local park or garden. Price is £85.00 + P&P from Dens Model Supplies (DMS), 01983 294182. www.densmodelsupplies.co.uk

Parra Cut-Away Display Engine

Deluxe Materials Aerokote ‘Make it Matt’ A simple matting agent that blends readily with Aerokote gloss to give it a satin or matt finish. Just measure & add ‘Make it Matt’ to Aerokote Gloss in the prescribed quantity depending on wthere you want Satin, Matt or a Dead Matt finish, and then add standard Aerokote catalyst to the mix in ratio 10:1 as usual, and mix well The 50ml bottle of Aerokote Make it Matt is priced at around £4.50.

Alberto Parra informs me that he has a limited supply of these intriguing cut-away display versions of his Parra 2.5cc diesel. Ideal for teachers, clubs, to decorate a workshop or office, or as a present for an aeromodelling friend (or to yourself!) The engine comes on an aluminium stand, and it is possible to turn-over the shaft to see how this diesel engine works. For further details contact Alberto at [email protected] www.clubtamaran.com

All Deluxe Materials products are available from good model shops. www.deluxematerials.co.uk 9

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Model Technology

3D CAD for Aeromodellers

Laurence’s approach to the 2D CAD airframe plans of a balsa flying model of the Spirit of Saint Louis were described in a previous AeroModeller.

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Laurence Marks on computer based 3D drawing, the precursor to 3D printing of original objects.

I

n my last article in AeroModeller 928, I looked at the art and science of 2D CAD (Computer Aided Drafting). This time I’m looking at the altogether more complicated subject of working in 3 Dimensions. Whereas the average aeromodeller can get into 2D CAD with minimal outlay and effort, the same cannot be said of 3D. So we could simply leave it to Airbus, Boeing and the others. Well no, because nobody can have missed the incessant, much hyped, growth of 3D printing. Without 3D CAD there can by definition be no rapid 3D manufacturing. To quote Oxford Model Flying Club’s oldest member – “I understand the 3D printing process but what I don’t get is how the shapes got into the computer in the first place.” And that essentially is what this article is about. So the difference between 2D CAD and 3D CAD is more than depth. 2D CAD

is essentially about neater, faster, better drawings. Computers making an existing job easier. 3D CAD, or more generally CAE, which stands for Computer Aided Engineering, allows us to visualize what a finished design will look like, try out different ways of making it, and most amazingly, try it out in a virtual world. We can see how strong it is and how it will fail when we push it too far; we can fly it and see how the air flows around it; we can even see how well it would fare if it ditched in the water. Well, we can if we can describe the physics adequately, and that in many cases is far from a done deal. (One of the author’s other obsessions is modelling the Barnes Wallis bouncing bomb in the virtual world of multi-physics...) But back to the more basic world of geometry. The last technical step forward as regards price/performance drove the

price of the cheapest professional 3D solid modelling systems and software down to several thousands of pounds. Which kind of rules it out as an accessible technology for aeromodellers, unless of course you work in engineering, technical education, or have a friend who does. (You may be able to achieve something with Google SketchUp, which has a free basic download; the concepts are the same, however the author didn’t really have time to get to grips with it, so the examples shown here were created using the professional system SolidWorks. There are limited time evaluations of some 3D systems available for download, however the disadvantage of these is that you only get to use the system for a short time. Do contact [email protected] if you are using a cost effective/cheap 3D system that works for designing aeromodelling related items.)


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A 3D CAD model used to find out what an aircraft actually looked like – there are no photos in existence of this glider (the Hill Pterodactly 1)

This ABC Robin featured a 3D printed dummy motor. It didn’t survive the impact after an optimistic attempt to fly it in the usual gale at Barkston Heath.

The example I’m using here is the Wright Whirlwind for the Spirit of Saint Louis which looms large in my building plans. So the aim of this project is to generate some geometry for 3D printing, and to use 3D CAD to visualize an appropriate level of detail to include. And an additional benefit may be to work out what shape the aluminium cowling needs to be. I’ve used the old AeroModeller 3view and some of the many pictures on the internet as my source material.

How it Works

3D models are created using basic forms combined and filleted, and then arranged into patterns called assemblies.

Visualising before Making

So if you can beg access to a 3D modelling system, or can get a friend to do some modelling for you after hours, you’ll at least need to know the basic concepts. Just like the last article this isn’t meant to be a step by step tutorial – the internet is awash with those. Before as much as firing up the computer, a CAE project needs a well defined objective. This might simply be to prepare a file for 3D printing, but even in that case we need to have worked out how much detail we need to include. Put simply, “will a simple dummy motor look good enough in front of the judges?” Another reason to make a 3D model is to work out what shape something actually is. This might sound crazy, but it is often difficult to work out what shape something actually is. Before 3D CAD it was arguable that in many cases, the

person who defined the shape of something was the one who actually made the casting pattern, sank the die or whatever. Until 3D CAD we couldn’t define every point of the part, and until we could do that we couldn’t say what it was exactly. I’ve built 3D CAD models of sections of models, and in fact whole aircraft, to see what shape they were and how each part related to the others. And before anyone else points this out I’ll do it - People built aircraft before they built computers. But a feature of the prototyping process was almost always to build a mock-up, generally from wood. And that was the process used to explore form, fit and to a very limited degree, function. 3D CAD has replaced and enhanced that process, and combined with 3D printing, can even generate objects we can hold and critically assess. Or use to detail scale models.

3D CAD works by creating and combining basic geometric forms, then adding features such as holes, fillets and the like. More complex shapes can be created by dragging profiles along curves, and by generating almost free form complex surfaces, to make the sort of smooth aerodynamic forms we see in cars and aeroplanes. Single parts so created can be arranged in patterns, essential for designs which feature many repeated instances of identical parts, like a radial engine. (In this project, however, the parts only use the most basic of shape definitions.) Because 3D printers take CAD models as an input, once I’m happy with it I can then have it made, as the name implies, in pretty short order. A previous Marks project of this type was to create the dummy motor for the ABC Robin I flew (and wrecked) at the Barkston Nationals some years ago. I’d like to think that this was the first time anyone competed with 3D printed detail parts on a free flight scale model – I’m sure I’ll be put right on that one. But the point of mentioning it was that I tried to include too much detail, and the results weren’t as neat as I’d have liked. So in this model I have deliberately kept things simple. And as the model will be small – the completed motor will only be 60mm across – this shouldn’t be too much of a problem. 3D printed parts often have a rough, layered, finish - this could possibly be used to give the impression of fins. We’ll see how that one pans out.

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Model Technology Not a Quick Fix to Scale Success

The model engine shown uses a central balsa structure to support the cylinders, however it has also been designed to provide accurate location. When I built Bill Dennis’s Bristol M1D getting the 3 cylinders aligned was one hell of a job, and one which I never really achieved to any satisfaction. With this approach the alignment is all but guaranteed. Once the central core was completed the single cylinder was drawn using a series of extruded simple sections. Getting this anywhere near right was a reasonably big job – anyone who thinks that the scale modelling game is over and has been reduced to downloading models from the internet should give this a try. Turns out its just like any other aspect of scale modelling, requiring an understand of the shapes involved, measurement and repeated attempts at creating a representation of what is almost certainly a loosely defined shape anyway.

The central balsa core, used to self align the motor, and a single cylinder, both created using basic geometric forms.

A single cylinder assembled on the core, with the associated push rods and inlet and exhaust pipes. The parts are then copied 9 times to create the complete engine.

The CAD program can be used to determine the flat pattern to make the cowling.

Once the cylinder and central core were created multiple cylinders were copied around the central axis creating the complete motor. And simple representations of the push rods, exhausts and inlet tubes were added. 3D CAD is also really useful for determining what shape sections need to be before they are formed to shape. So a cowling has been added to provide the data necessary to create the complex pattern, allowing all the parts to be cleared neatly. So the finished CAD model has done what it should. It has answered the question “will a dummy motor made from simple forms look OK?” Yes - not a show stopper, but it should look OK. And the approach of using a balsa core, 3D printed cylinders and perhaps carbon rod looks promising. But even in the age of 3D modelling we can only tell for sure when we get on and make it… Laurence Marks will update us in a future issue of AeroModeller on the 3D printed fruits of his labours. ●

The finished CAD model of the Wright Whirlwind. Ready for production…

The engine in the system that was used to create it - SolidWorks from Dassault Systemes.



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remaining sodium bicarbonate. Dry and oil the cleaned parts. Stuck contra pistons must be removed and cleaned to restore proper function. Remove

can also be used. Use the same thickness as the original. For back plates, this is not very critical providing the gasket is thick enough to ensure the crankshaft (when pushed all the

thin layer of RTV silicone when assembling, to ensure a good seal. ●

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27/01/2015 09:35

CL Team Racing Is this how we want our engines to look if silencers return to F2C racing in 2018? A brief flirtation with them in 1965 for the SMAE caused half of the racing teams to give up the class. We cannot afford for this to happen now.

Noise or Speed - or Both?

Potential Rule Changes for International F2C Team Racing are examined by Malcolm Ross.

I I

t is a time for taking stock, in the international arena for the event of F2C Team Racing (formally F.A.I. Team Race). The winds of change have been building for some years, and during 2014 they have uprooted several trees in the process! What has been the catalyst for this revolution and why has it had such a dramatic effect on the world scene? The rules the event is flown to have been in place since 1959, with no major changes since that date; only a small reduction in fuel tank capacity in 1968, and an increase in flying wire thickness during 2012. One could say “very well tried and tested for the competitors”.

The important change actually stems from a little noted document at the time (1984), from a CIAM Plenary meeting, when it was stated that all air activities (including model aircraft) should make every effort to reduce the noise of their disciplines significantly to a figure of no more 96 decibels (dB). At present, our little 2.5cc compression ignition motors turn out around 104-8 decibels. They run on 152.00 mm diameter carbon fibre propellers, at around 26,000 rpm on engines with 4.50 - 5.00 mm diameter carburettor venturis. Why it was not acted upon then, was because our engines were below that limit, but have since climbed dramatically in noise and power and therefore,

speed. Now the time for 10 laps rotation is down to 16.3 seconds for ten laps (the way we measure our speed), or about 140+ mph. These airspeeds mean that three pilots in a race have to be pretty nimble to compete the distance unscathed. Something had to be done.

First Changes Already Implemented

From January 2015, engines in the F2C category will have to run on a fixed carburettor of 3.00 mm diameter (as an interim measure), for all competitions. How the rules were defined is the subject of long and protracted dialogue between competitors, engine


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What the fuss is about - F2C models plus sound meter.

Sergie Andreev’s (Russia) winning model at the 2014 World Championships in Poland shows the silencer deflector system in use at present. Is anything else needed or required? The new chair of the racing subcommittee is Rob Fitzgerald (on the left) from Australia, seen here with Mark Ellins his pitman teammate for many years.

manufacturers, and FAI committee members. The main work on these proposals began in 2010 when Rob Metkemeyer from the Netherlands produced a paper on noise and speed control of the class. This was followed by a conference in England during February 2011 at which Rob presented his findings, and a lively debate ensued. At the end of International contests, groups held open forums, primarily at the World and European championships, to gauge feelings on the areas of:1) silencers. 2) restrictions on specifications. 3) standard fuel. 4) easier participation. Silencers on the engines was given a thumbs down by the majority of competitors. Standard fuel raised many eyebrows, suspicions and arguments. Easier participation in the class was welcomed, and restrictions on specifications a luke warm reception. Many will correctly say this seems to be a tortuous job for such a small issue, and that is where the main problem occurs. This is, however, the only class of competition model flying that has a fuel tank size restriction, governing the output of the engine and results - therefore any changes to specification has a massive effect on everything! All present were given a chance to have their say, and a synthesis of the conclusions from July 2014, was to ask Rob Fitzgerald from Australia to head up a further subcommittee, to look specifically at the requirements for the class, to give a final, definitive, presentation to CIAM in 2018. The make- up of the subcommittee group is as follows: Rob Fitzgerald, Chairman - Australia. Vova Macharenko - Ukraine Derek Heaton - United Kingdom

Jean-Paul Perret - France Bill Lee - United States of America Nerijus Zukauskas - Ukraine Bent-Olof Sameulsson - Sweden Peter Halman (ex-officio) - United Kingdom. So any one of them can be canvassed with your views – or talk with me and I will pass them on.

F2C Model showing Old Diameter carburettor placed on the wing, and the present aluminium silencer “Shroud” over the exhaust exit from the fuselage.

Time Line 2014 –19 for Noise Reduction

The following time line lays out the dates for implementation of the new formula for F2C: 2015 3.00mm venturi 2014 & 2015 Initial experimentation to reduce noise, with noise tests at world events. September 2015 Review noise limit with a view to setting appropriate level for F2C. 2016 CIAM Plenary meeting Present review results. Possible consideration by Plenary of proposal regarding the appropriate level of noise for F2C 2016- June 2017 Continuing experimentation followed by review of results of the testing programs. 2017 Plenary Meeting Possible consideration by Plenary of proposal regarding the appropriate level of noise for F2C (if not submitted at 2016 plenary) Plenary 2018 Plenary consideration of noise reduction rule or imposition of a Silencer rule. Looking at this it first appears to give plenty of time to get things formulated, but as you will imagine there is a lot of work to do to get

F2C Model. You can just see the new 3.00 mm carburettor attached to the engine, with the old 4.50mm to the right of the motor. A large % change in area makes the set up fly slower . Also shown is the present 7.00cc tank allowed in the rules.

a true consensus of opinion over matters! The first major issue, that of speed, has been initially addressed in that a 3.00mm choke does slow things down. It also reduces noise by up to 4 dB, because of the decrease in engine RPM. Look at the photos of the carburettors - there is a huge change in area. This small choke also means an increase in range of the racer - up to 50 + laps is available now, if you could set the motor for that. This you may say is fine, going in the right direction. True it will make some even say “What is all the fuss about having to fit a silencer to your engine”. Both of these views have credence in this situation, but only those who compete in the class know the real problems faced in engineering terms to make things work. Where do we go from here will be the subject of a further article. ●

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03/02/2015 11:05

Aerodynamics From the

Armchair... Part 1

by Stuart ‘Supercool’ Sherlock

O O

ne of the nice things about being fully matured (read old and decrepit) is that people are slower to criticise when one collapses into an armchair to read a book. However, the kind of books I read are scarcely relaxing. Indeed, I am reminded on attending my local bookshop to pick up “Aerodynamics”, circa 1943, by Professor L.M.Milne Thomson, that the lady at the desk could not put her hand on the book. Looking at the mess her desk was in, I politely suggested that perhaps a thief had carried the book off. Without a pause and in icy tones, she replied “NOBODY WOULD STEAL THAT BOOK”. I was not quite sure how to take that, but apparently she had taken the time to leaf through the tome, and the contents really don’t leap out of the page at one. Take heart, dear reader, for there are many other books that an aeromodeller can enjoy. I find books published before 1940 are an easy read: the further back in time one travels, the more fun the books are to peruse. So the purpose and challenge of “From the Armchair”, is to enter the TARDIS, where my library goes back to 1890, and recommend some titles worth reading, and even better, still available. In this episode, the magic names of Chanute and Maxim

Advertisement for Chauviere propeller (Helice in French). The was placed in a 1909 work of S. Drzewiecki, “Des Helices Aeriennes”. Regretably, Drzewiecki’s works were in the French language, which made them rather inaccessible. By the way, Drzewiecki is pronounced Jay-vee-yet-ski.

This is Hiram Maxim’s own model of his test rig aircraft which was to have had two pilots! This is also to be seen at the Science Museum in London - it is well worth a visit www.sciencemuseum.org.uk

are introduced to the unwary. Yet I cannot escape from the fascination of propeller design, so you will find my reviews biased in that direction. The design of propellers requires just 2 aerodynamic parameters. These are the lift and drag of an aerofoil section. The lift and drag arise as the propeller aerofoil rotates under the influence of engine torque. Indeed, a propeller is just a “torque converter”, changing the engine torque into thrust and drag. The thrust force is directed perpendicular to the direction of motion, and the drag is directed directly against the motion. We know this now as being pretty obvious, but in the early days of aerodynamics, particularly in the 19th century, these concepts were not at all clearly understood.

Finding Old Books on Aviation

Quite surprisingly, the literature of the early days of aviation is still available. One can trace the development of aerodynamics in these old texts. One source of these texts is “Kessinger Publishing’s Rare Reprints”, where the original text has been effectively photocopied and bound into a new volume. Also you can prompt the local librarian to hunt down old books by volume title, date and author. By these means, I was able to obtain an original 1894 volume of Octave Chanute’s splendid revue of aerodynamic knowledge up to that date, entitled “Progress in Flying Machines”. Also Hiram Maxims 1908 text entitled “Artificial And Natural Flight”, which covered his researches up to that date. Recalling that the Wright Brothers first had a powered flight in 1903, the era is clearly of inherent interest to the Armchair Aerodynamicist. Chanute’s book is a paradise for model builders who want something different. There are 85 illustrations, many of which can be reproduced as rubber-powered flying models.


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Phillips is best known for his ‘Multiplane’ designs looking like a flying window blind. This model at the Science Museum is of the 1893 coal fired steam-engine powered early experimental aircraft.

Penaud’s “artificial bird” is well illustrated, as well as a number of other ornithopters, including those by Jobert and Villeneuve. Kites are well represented by Hargraves designs, as well as by Jobert and Maillot. A surprising number of man-powered designs, which were never to leave the ground, were actually patented! Rather more seriously, the curved aerofoils of Horatio Phillips, whose name is forever associated with the “Phillips entry” (leading edge shape) were also patented in 1884 and 1891. This patent seems to me, with hindsight, to be rather obnoxious, in terms of trying to capture the whole field of curved-surface lifting foils. Mind you, no more obnoxious than the designer of the man powered aircraft “Gossamer Condor”, who had the temerity, in the modern era, to patent the use of the tilted tailplane for turning purposes. This was known and used by modellers long before that designer came across the idea, hardly an original notion.

Maxim the Experimentalist

Moving on to Maxim’s book, this is a wholly different story to the work of Chanute. The latter work was essentially a collection of the work of others. Maxim, on the other hand, was a first class experimentalist, whose wealth allowed him to build aerodynamic test apparatus on a massive scale. His whirlingarm test rig served the same purpose as a wind tunnel. The arm, 31.8’ long, could carry propellers, as well as aerofoils, for test. When last I looked, one of Maxim’s giant propellers was mounted above a door in the London Science Museum. Like many before and since, Maxim studied the flight of birds. His observations led him to discover the air movements we know as thermals, mainly as a means of explaining the strange patterns he saw on the surface of sea. He also tried to draw the streamlines around various shaped aerofoils, without the benefit of the mathematical theory of fluid dynamics. In fact, the potential field around an aerofoil can be obtained by guesswork (trial and error), but it helps to know the answer before you start! In fact, Maxim scorned the mathematical approach, preferring to make measurements in the real world. It was to be Lanchester who really understood fluid dynamics, being among the first to identify the concept of “circulation” as the source of the lift force. Not to be outdone by Chanute, there are

No sign of Maxim’s giant propeller at the Science Museum, but you can see this Phillips propeller used on the second of his petrol engine powered ‘Multiplane’ aircraft in 1907.

95 illustrations and photographs. There are chapters on air currents and the flight of birds, kite flying, screw propellers, test equipment, gyroscopic stability and the efficiency of aircraft designs. Maxim, by contrast with Lanchester, is perhaps better remembered as the inventor of the machine gun and the smokeless cartridge. I have been unable to track down the English translation of Otto Lilienthal’s work “Bird Flight as the Basis of Human Flight”. However, Chanute included, in an appendix, Lilienthal’s work “The carrying capacity of arched surfaces in sailing flight”. This alone makes obtaining Chanute’s book worthwhile. Now I started this soliloquy with reference to the aerodynamic properties of lift and drag. You will note we got nowhere with them. So next month we will move on to Lanchester and a very early (1911) textbook on aerodynamics by Hubbard, Ledeboer and Turner. This latter has an illustration on the front cover of the very latest monoplane, the Antionette. I should mention that some of these old works are starting to show their age. Drzewiecki’s work mentioned above came to me in perfect condition. Indeed I had to cut the pages myself to permit opening the treatise. However, the spine was brittle and the pages yellowing, possibly because acidfree paper was not then in use. As I work on the translation, the booklet is crumbling before my eyes: very sad, but what a joy to have handled this historical document. Kessinger Publishing’s Rare Reprints to locate rare, scarce, and out-of-print books, in affordable reprint editions. Go to www.kessinger.net ●

Below: Whirlingarm – Maxim’s whirling-arm test bed produced useful real life results from propellers and aerofoils.

Model by designed Lawrence Hargrave - piece of cake for an aeromodeller.

Aerofoil sections patented by Horatio Phillips.

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28/01/2015 12:50

Model Science

BETTER… RULES?Part 10 John O’Donnell considers what should be the guiding principles for FF Duration Rules.

W W

e live in a changing world - whether we like it or not. Nearly everything we do is affected in some way or another, and this includes model aviation. The phenomenon is not new in itself, but the rate of change seems to be increasing. Just to recap briefly - the model aeroplane started out as a subject for the inventor or experimenter before it became a more widespread hobby. Then WWII came along complete with a deliberately cultivated (by the Government) interest in aviation. The end of hostilities saw a boom in aeromodelling with the emphasis shifting from ‘solids’ to flying models. Rubber models and gliders were soon augmented by the unexpected but welcome appearance of the small ‘diesel’ from Europe. This made for practical i.c. powered models not only for Free-flight but within 2 or 3 years for American influenced Control-Line models as well. Meanwhile the next development was about to become a commercial proposition this was Radio Control. Once it advanced to the Black Box (plug and forget) stage it dominated the hobby. Nowadays RC is common at the Toy level - not just RTF aircraft and helicopters but also cars and boats. More advanced technically, and with ’interesting’ implications, is the latest camera carrying multicopter- or in media terms the ‘Drone’. Public reaction to such devices

Simple hand-held (balsa) beam with equal sides used to compare and check half-motor and ballast.

JOD with ‘Eager Beaver’ tossing grass to check wind direction prior to launch. Photo by (the late) Rod Kenward.

could certainly affect all our activities. Meanwhile the Model Aviation enthusiast has had lots of choice, whether his interest lies in FF, CL or RC. All have fragmented into a multiplicity of sub-classes, usually with size, weight or power limitations. Just how much diversity exists is shown by there being over 30 separate Official events at the FF Nationals, plus those staged by the Vintage and Space groups. Consideration also needs to be given as to whether a person is competitive, nostalgic, or just a ‘fun’ flier. Moreover is he or she a modeller who likes construction for its own sake, one who builds so they can fly, or an ARTF fan who merely buys and flies? Performance Improvements Drive Changes Since this article will appear early in 2015 about the time contests are starting it is appropriate to mention recent developments. As these concern ideas that might bring about real changes to models, the suggestions deserve a wide audience. All these have arisen because of the eventual realisation that models (especially FF) and their

flying techniques have become ‘too good for their own good’. In essence they have too much performance and have become impractical from many considerations. Some of these difficulties have been apparent at recent FF Championships. In consequence there have been suggestions put forward for discussion at and by CIAM. This is the part of the FAI that deals with Model Aviation - and hence determines how Model Flying operates at the International level. Almost all the suggestions are intended to reduce the performance of the FAI Championship FF classes (i.e. F1A, B, and C). Some ideas could be implemented immediately, whilst others are intended to form a gradual process extending over a few years. The details of these ideas are unlikely to interest most ‘AeroModeller’ readers so will not be spelt out here. They are available, in part at least, online. This whole scenario has not been well received by past and present participants in International Contests. There was disapproval expressed at our recent Free Flight Forum concerning the way our FFTC had submitted


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Past experiments with limiting performance. Mini Vintage ‘Eager Beaver’ disassembled with half-motor and weighted spacer shown alongside normal motor. Alternative ballast is the rectangle of fibreglass board at right.

their own ideas - without input from regular contestants. This was nothing compared with the online comments that are currently on the American SCAT web site and apparently also on FaceBook. Much of this criticism was directed at their being possible rule changes that would render models and motors obsolete, and hence potentially reduce the numbers participating. It was commonly considered that the flyers should have been consulted early and their opinions sought. At this point I would point out that people fly a class of model because they like it just as it is - and hence will oppose any change, especially those that will affect their models or devalue their expertise. It can be argued that a World Championship event should be contested using the world’s best

The Bowden competition at the 2014 Nats was popular with both flyers and spectators – but is it right to amend the rules on the day?


Dave Hambley with A/2 (F1A) at Newbigging, near Lanark in Scotland. This is a huge stretch of moorland - now with restricted access from some sides.

equipment and having the highest performance. There is certainly merit in this viewpoint - but trouble comes from trying to operate this equipment elsewhere and under different conditions. It is really too much to expect that one set of rules and requirements will suit all (or even most) situations.

What are Contests For?

Perhaps we should look at the situation from the other end. I learnt a long time ago that you should consider the problem first, and possible solutions afterwards. Adopting this approach is recommended - and should be used wherever possible. So, let’s start by asking what are contests supposed to determine? Is it the model with most performance, reliability and practicality or the person with the most skill - or whatever?

Are there any other desirable considerations? We also need to determine what constraints and restrictions apply. Are they real, or can they be overcome? Are costs or legality involved?

International Contests…

Looking at the present International contest scene from these angles would indicate that it has been allowed to grow unchecked. It is almost certainly far too late for major changes, and very likely that minor ones would accomplish little. Personally I very much doubt that anything drastic will happen in the way of simplifying the specifications and hence necessitating new or altered models. Following the dropping of the BoM (Builder of the Model) requirement there is far too much Vested Interest, both from the Cottage Industry suppliers and from their

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Model Science customers, for any major change to be approved. In short the International contests can be expected to continue in much the same way as at present.

… and National Contests

Nevertheless in this country we still have an extensive National programme run to our own domestic rules. Currently there are difficulties in continuing to operate as we would like. We have models with far too much performance combined with a shortage of suitable contest sites, unsettled and often ‘unsuitable’ weather and a clientele that is mostly old and tired. We have also become a Nation of spectators rather than of participants. In these circumstances it should have been unrealistic to expect our traditional Contest Calendar to continue unaltered for yet another year. Nevertheless this is what our FFTC (BMFA Free Flight Technical Committee) has published for 2015 - including eight Area Semi Centralised (ASC) meetings to be run by the Areas as and where they can. With the loss of Church Fenton and Barkston (apart from the Nationals) there is no longer any access to an airfield North of the Midlands. Of course the ASC meetings do not have to be flown on an aerodrome, merely on a venue approved by the Area. This includes moors, farmland or other open spaces - but gaining permission (as and if required) and retrieval can be hard work. Scrapping the ASC concept and reverting to the once common Decentralised alternative is worth considering. This would allow entrants to fly on small local sites (often unavailable for more than a few club member) as and when the weather permitted. They might consider it risky but preferable to travelling across the country. When contests were decentralised many years ago it was thought that entrants might cheat or, even worse, decline to submit (and pay for) poor scores. Supervision by their Area was introduced to prevent such malpractice. In recent years and in several Areas such control is purely nominal the organisation is very much DIY. The hopefully more organised end of the spectrum is to be found in the various Centralised Meetings run by, or on behalf

of, the FFTC. As well as the Nationals these comprise half a dozen or so meetings (plus some specialised F1E magnet events) spread throughout the year. There are also Two Open International contests, plus two Trials (sorry, Team Selection Meetings) intended to decide the British F1A, B, and C Teams for the following year’s Championships. For reasons that defy my logic, the first Trials is again scheduled before this

Chris Chapman with open rubber model - at Woodbury Common, near Exmouth. Plenty of space, but arduous retrieving. Apparently still available.

Eliot Horwich shows Denise Evans how to hold his Keil Kraft Falcon for the camera. The Falcon showed much American early FF influence but was kitted as being ideal for RC - which it was.

year’s Championships have been held. This arrangement neglects the obvious opportunity for obtaining useful feedback - and hence learning from experience and avoid repeating mistakes. Why are we doing this? Furthermore it would appear ‘overkill’ to spend two weekends picking three- man Teams from the very small present-day entry. I have said before (albeit somewhat facetiously) that it would be easier to ask for volunteers, then run a Means test and a Health check, ascertain whose models are going well, before finally agreeing on whose turn it is!!

This provides the opportunity for lobbying directly or otherwise. My advice for next time is to arrive early!! I feel making decisions on the day are dangerous - and should not be accepted as the norm. This casual attitude to change and improvisation is spreading. It started at FAI level with a wind speed limit of about 18 mph, and was introduced at our Trials at the lower value of 15 mph. Now it seems that our FFTC will accept a predicted forecast as sufficient grounds for postponement of a Trials. It does seem overcautious. I can remember a contest at Barkston some years ago when Russell Peers and I were doing maxs with comparatively fragile open rubber models whilst the FAI events were held up as being too windy.

Changing Rules on the Day

On a wider front it has been noticeable that the past two or three years have seen a disturbing rise in instances of the contest organiser deviating from the rules and procedures that an entrant would normally expect. Fixing the max ‘on the day’ is understandable and often acceptable, but requiring ‘landing in the field’ and the imposition of some form of DT Flyoff can be too much. At very least such ideas (and others) need advance warning. Without this, the rule-book becomes meaningless. Those attending the 2014 FF Nationals may have witnessed the furore that arose when a DT Flyoff was announced for Sunday’s events. This, and the fact that it didn’t happen, was reported in ‘AeroModeller’ and nowhere else. Less obvious on the same day was the way that the ‘Bowden’ contest organisers simply ignored the Rulebook together with its judging and scoring system - and ran just a precision (target time) event. This was justified on pragmatic grounds and the risk to models being damaged when trying to R.O.G. (Rise Off Ground). in turbulent conditions. It was claimed that the flyers were happy with this. I do wonder what the Colonel would have thought! What I find worrying is the way the FFTC have responded to this situation. In effect they have legalised what happened - as in their 2015 rule changes they have given the CD the power to ‘ad lib’ the requirements on the day.

Possible UK Rule Changes

All the attention given to FAI matters rather obscures the state of our domestic scene. We need to acknowledge the problems and limitations that apply to FF and consider what options are available, and acceptable. This is surely a matter for the FFTC to address. After all, they are writing the programme! If airfield or farmer restrictions mean models must not fly out of the site then we will have to rethink what we do. ‘Landing in the field’ needs careful definition, as not all venues have a clearcut perimeter. Airfields usually have an obvious boundary. Rules to limit performance are an obvious approach - and far from a new idea. Back in the 1950’s the North West Area held experimental events with rubber models having to carry ballast equal to rubber weight or variations on this theme. It worked, but the flyers complained about having fragile models ‘full of lead’. There was a cry of “Can’t we just put the weight into the structure and have a nice strong model”. Well, that is how we got F1B. Occasionally there have been contests run to rules that specified restrictions such as half rubber motors, glider towlines and power engine



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Hugh O’D with 12 foot glider at local rally on farmland. Large-size gliders like this were rendered obsolete in the early 1950’s when towlines changed from 100 to 50 metres, and maxs from 5 to 3 minutes. This meant that the large models lost their visibility advantage. Many subsequently changed hands with their new owners fitting early (large and heavy) RC equipment.

runs. Indeed years ago the Northern Area ran several meetings like this at Linton - when foot-and-mouth problems meant we could not go into the surrounding farmland. Very recently the FFTC ran an ‘experimental’ meeting at Luffenham with similar ideas - except for rubber where C’dH and P30 performances were considered appropriate for a two-minute max. Unfortunately this approach only provides a partial solution - and none at all for any flyoffs that might be needed. Once in lift almost any model can go a long way. There are signs that ‘staying in the field’ is becoming ever more important in our security-conscious times. Much of our flying is on military property and subject to various restrictions particularly as regards entering and leaving the site. Indeed it is not that long ago that we were merely told “Don’t climb over the security fence” - an oxymoron if there ever was one. If we really have to control how far our free-flight models travel, whilst at the same time wanting long duration flights, we have a difficult problem to solve. Merely telling competitors that flights must land in a defined area (for scores to count) is insufficient. Aiming at the boundary will certainly result in some overshooting it. Technology to the Rescue? I have always worked on the belief that for any problem there is always an answer - even if it is one that you don’t like. If it would solve the problem what do you do? Making the best of it regardless is good advice.

Applying this philosophy to our FF problems soon leads to considering the use of, dare I say it, Radio Control in some form. The very notion is anathema to some purists who reject it out of hand. But it might be what we have to have! Radio DT (RDT) has appeared in a commercially available and practical form - but is hardly a complete answer. It is difficult to judge from the launch point just how far a model has flown, and hence when the RDT should be activated. A retriever is better placed but really needs to be underneath the model for accuracy. Despite claims that RDT is not ‘the thin edge of the wedge’ it can hardly be otherwise. The technology is available for not just RDT but for real RC. If it is acceptable to the FF purist to use RDT why not allow the model to be steered back towards base? It would be even better if its flying speed was enough to progress back upwind. Surprisingly and ironically it is the SAM Vintage flyers who have tried out events that indicate the way we all may have to go. They have run a number of ‘Tomboy’ contests that are RC duration combined with a spot-landing requirement. There is also the example of S8E Rocket Glider flown for duration with RC to a max and a spot landing. These examples however use RC throughout their flights - which eliminates any FF component or contribution. To retain the ‘essence of FF’ it would only seem necessary to restrict the use of the Radio to the beginning and/or the end of timed flight. What comes in between has the

model in free-flight. This is not complicated to organise or monitor. After (or before) launch the flyer gives the Tx (Transmitter) to his timekeeper, whence timing can commence and continue until the flyer takes back the Tx. Landing back in a specified area near launch will then validate the score. Putting anything like this approach into practice will require careful planning and rule making by the FFTC. The actual wording of the required rules needs care in compilation and more again in ‘debugging’. There are ways of accomplishing this - but explaining the process (as distinct from writing the first draft) will have to wait till my next article. Such a big step should be done properly meaning ‘once not twice’. Readers who know me might well be surprised at my making these suggestions. I must admit that I have NO experience or interest in Radio Control, but this does not leave me blind as to its possible applications and advantages. With no axe to grind I can at least claim to be impartial. The suggested use of RC is really only appropriate for Contest FF as distinct from Sport or Fun flying. Not only do these other activities usually only involve short and low-level flights - but also are confined to calm and pleasant weather. Flying too far should not then be a problem. If it is, then the solution should be quite obvious!! ●

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28/01/2015 12:15

CL Combat

T E G O HOW T IN

D E T R STA

T A B COM Part 1

If you are a beginner or a returnee to Combat CL flying, Mick Lewis leads you through the steps towards flying competitively.

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here are presently five classes of combat flown in this country but two of these (F2E and 1/2A) are only flown at the Nationals. The International class F2D usually has six competitions held over a season, Vintage has eight and Oliver Tiger Combat has just three.

Which Class to Choose?

It would certainly be possible to go directly into F2D as all the equipment is readily available to buy from various sources, mainly from countries in Eastern Europe. However these models fly seriously quickly approaching 20 seconds for 10 laps. They are also unbelievably manoeuvrable and turn ‘on a sixpence’. Needless to say that in inexperienced hands carnage rates are very high and new stocks of models must be purchased regularly. It is not unusual for the top flyers to take twenty models to a major competition and as two models are allowed in each bout most of these could end up ‘written off ’ or at least badly damaged. Of course anyone who has flown F2D in the past would be welcomed back with open arms, as numbers are only just beginning to recover after a very lean few years. Anyone interested should contact John James who runs F2D on behalf of the BMFA Control Line Technical Committee. Rather than include reference information within the text I have decided to include it all together at the end of the article, so please be patient. Both Oliver Tiger combat and Vintage combat are speed limit classes, the aim of which is to create a ‘level playing field’ as far as engine performance is concerned - this rule alone is usually quoted by newcomers as a major reason for them flying in either one or both of these classes. Returners usually remember the bad old days when the more you spent the quicker you went. It was also useful if you were a ‘mate’ of the well known engine tuners of the time. Certainly in Vintage combat engine tuning is a thing of the past as all the available

One of those days! If you are not prepared for this to happen from time to time perhaps combat isn’t for you? A PAW 19 plain bearing much modified by Dave Harrison which was the top motor for many years.


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The Rothwell 320 from Australia. Limited production is to begin again soon.

motors come fully tuned. Having said that, some experimentation with venturi size and tank design may still be required to get the best performance and reliability out of your chosen power plant. The speed limit in Oliver Tiger combat is a sedate 30 seconds for 10 laps without a streamer and most allowed motors will approach that speed although some may need a little ‘tweaking’. This is an ideal speed at which to learn to fly combat however there are two major drawbacks to entering combat via this class. Firstly there are only three contests each season as mentioned earlier, and secondly the models are easily affected by the strong winds we are prone to in this country. Although Vintage combat models are a little quicker at 26 seconds for 10 laps they will fly properly in all but a raging gale. Hardly any of the competitors have models which reach the maximum allowed speed but virtually all flyers are within two or three seconds of this. Both the Vintage and Oliver classes have seen significant increases in participation over the last few years with no less than forty entries in Vintage at the Nationals in 2014, and fifty five pilots have flown in at least one competition during last season. Many of these flyers are now gearing up to also fly Oliver in 2015 as it makes sense to have a second string to their bow. So from what has been said so far, I think it is clear that the class to fly must be Vintage as it has many advantages.

Preparation and Practice

If you have never flown ‘two up’ before the place to begin would ideally be at your local flying field with a mate. If your ‘opponent’ has some combat experience so much the better but if not it does not really matter. Any old gear can be used and it is not necessary or desirable to have full blooded Vintage equipment at this stage. You will of course need an extra buddy to get you both

Tom Ridley’s JSO 19 is clearly based on the Oliver Mk4 crankcase.

before joining. There are Vintage combat into the air. On safety grounds both pilots flyers all over the country who will be and pit crew must wear crash helmets as only too happy to help you out, but it may this is included in all BMFA combat rules. mean you having to travel some distance When flying it is vital to talk to each depending on where you live. You could other; do not make any sudden changes of also come along to a Vintage combat event direction which could catch out the other as a spectator and talk to the people there – pilot. Begin by both flying level and taking some of our events are held in parallel with it in terns approach each other’s rears (the models I mean!) and follow each other for a few laps at a time. Once you have mastered this, one of the pilots can announce ‘looping’ while the other continues in level flight. Following on from this try to follow through the loop but remember you will tangle the lines unless the following pilot also moves his body around the other pilot’s body. Continue this strategy until you can successfully follow each other through eights. I know this all sounds laborious but the alternative is just to get in the air and do your own The Parra T4 has outward similarities to the Rothwell but is manufactured thing. I believe this is in the Ukraine. the reason that some experienced pilots are other aeromodelling at Old Warden and the totally unpredictable whereas if you watch Nationals. the top guys you will see the discipline I’m referring to above. If you do not have a mate to fly with Which Engine? down your local field, the way ahead would Now let us assume you are ready willing be to look for your nearest control line club. and eager to gear up to fly Vintage combat Be aware that many RC clubs actually have but have no idea on how to proceed. What a ‘no control line’ rule so check this out will you need? I would suggest a minimum

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CL Combat

Above: I believe the Ironmonger 69 is the best model for the Vintage combat novice.

Left: You need to be well equipped to fly F2D these days. Note that the bearers and elevators just ‘bolt on’.

of two motors and six models which will of course require repairing if they are to see you through the season. Along with these you will need lines, handles, fuel etc. The motors regularly used are the Australian Rothwell 320, the Parra T4, the JSO 19 and the PAW 19 (twin ball race). Some clever people also use the PAW 19 plain bearing motor but these require a lot of modification to make them competitive. At the moment the Rothwell motor is not readily available, but having said that odd ones have arrived on doorsteps after being on order for a very long time. Steve is certainly going to build more, so if you are not in a rush add your name to his waiting list. Happily the other three mentioned are available to purchase. The Parra T4 is manufactured in eastern Ukraine which is seeing much unrest at the present time, however supplies have not been interrupted as yet. Manufactured for Alberto Parra of Grand Canaria, these motors can be ordered directly from Alberto with, I’m told, delivery time of a couple of weeks. Delivery of the JSO 19 from Tom Ridley (who took over the Oliver business) is still ‘several weeks’ so anyone interested should give Tom a call and make their order without delay. The PAW 19TBR is advertised as ‘available’ from Tony Eifflaender of Progress Aero Works.

Which Model?

Having decided on your chosen power plant your next decision must surely be on choice of model. Own design models are not allowed so it will be necessary to consult the official rules which can be downloaded from the BMFA website. There you will find a very long list of eligible models most of which are not in the least competitive in the twenty first century. Also have a read through all of the rules particularly about model construction and covering. Help in your choice of suitable ‘weapons’ is readily available from the Combat Flyers Association (CFA) which oversees all non FAI combat in the UK. A comprehensive plans bank is ably run by web master Simon Miller. If you are inexperienced go for a reliable model rather than one considered to be a ‘top dog’ as this would be a mistake. I’ve seen many newcomers go down this route with the result that the model is flying them rather than the other way round! By that I mean that they are not really in control and cannot fly different size

Stu Holland’s Nationals winning design from 1964 would be useless against to-days top models.

manoeuvres as is vital for proper following and cut taking. The good old Ironmonger designed by my club mate Richard Evans is often overlooked as a starting model. The Ironmonger 69 is the slightly enlarged version of the original and the one I would recommend for the novice. Now time is money, as they say, so your next decision is whether to build from scratch with all the work that this involves, or to go for some of the laser cut part kits that are available to buy. Obviously buying laser cut parts will be more expensive than building

What you get in a laser cut (part) kit. This one is a Supermonger.



28/01/2015 12:21

from a plan, but the speed of getting your ‘squadron’ together will be considerably reduced. If you are going to build from scratch you must select quality balsa, as weight is still important despite the increased horse power of to-day’s motors. These days with so few model shops around and even fewer selling decent balsa, it is necessary for the vast majority of us to purchase our wood by mail order. I thoroughly recommend Balsa Cabin who in my experience can be relied upon to supply the wood as stipulated for weight/grain etc at a very fair price.

Accessories and Finishing

The majority of flyers these days use fibre glass fuel tanks. Long gone are the days of mustard tin tanks feeding Oliver Tigers as was always the case in the early seventies. At least 70cc is required and if you fancy making some tanks in fibre glass there are easy to follow illustrated instructions on the CFA web site. A much quicker solution to this problem is to use snuff tins which are round but work perfectly well if the feed and vent pipes are positioned correctly. I’ve seen these tins for sale recently on eBay. Vintage is now the only class which does not allow film covered models although the

Steve Jones won the 1971 Nationals with his Orchrist design and odd ones are still seen at competitions even to-day.

Contacts

Now for the contacts list as promised earlier. F2D Combat: [email protected] www.f2dcombat.co.uk Alberto Parra: [email protected] or [email protected] Tom Ridley (Oliver Engines): [email protected] 07860 470811 PAW, Tony Eifflaender: [email protected] 01625 423891 PS Aeroproducts (lines,props etc): [email protected] 02089 586731

One of the advantages of the fibre glass tanks is their light weight.

vote to allow this was only narrowly defeated at the CFA AGM last August. (More about how the CFA works in a later article.) Doped on nylon is still very popular as it is the strongest covering by far although dope fumes are not for everyone. Because of the health issues surrounding the use of cellulose dope other coverings are also allowed. Solartex and similar fabric type heat shrink coverings are OK, as is ripstop kite material although this needs to go over mylar as on its own it cannot be tightened sufficiently. Airspan/Litespan synthetic tissue over mylar is also allowed. Well that’s about all for now. In the next issue I will be covering, amongst other things, the role of the CFA and interestingly the experiences of a flyer who only joined us very recently. I for one can’t wait to hear from him. ●

Steve Rothwell: [email protected] Price of the 320 is now A$ 470 (about £245) inc p&p Balsa Cabin: [email protected] 01621 859711 Combat Flyers Association: [email protected] www.combatflyers.co.uk

Combat legend Vernon Hunt with the remains of a team mate’s Shogun.

Mike Waller Laser cut Liquidator XL kits @ £20, pods for T4 or JSO 19 @ £10, all plus p&p [email protected] Mick Lewis Various laser cut kits from £10 to £14, leading edges £4, Lines 1000ft for £40, all plus p&p. [email protected] 01453542367 25


28/01/2015 12:21

Indoor FF Duration

INSIDE INDOOR

Part 1 Diverse in design yet similar in principal.

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New columnist Clive King introduces us to the skills and science of indoor duration flying.

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ifty years ago it was a Keil Kraft kit that triggered my lifelong passion for aeromodelling. It required a repair after each flight attempt but after achieving thirty seconds in the air I was hooked! Various kits together with the old AeroModeller plans service offered many opportunities to build new models. With the bonus of a local model shop for materials and a nearby club and airfield, I was able to progress quickly into free flight competitions. It was in 1995 when walking back from a long retrieve, I met the late Laurie Barr on a similar mission. He invited me to an indoor duration meeting at Cardington Balloon Shed. It was an awesome sight to see models flying so slowly and for so long! Without hesitation I built my first indoor duration model from my stock of balsa and ultra film and made the propeller blades by forming

on a cylinder. Upon taking it to the shed I wasn’t aware of the steep learning curve ahead just to be airborne! With support from a community of expert flyers I progressed through the indoor classes and into the nine classes which make up the British Indoor Duration Championships. In 2014 I won the title of British Indoor National Champion for the eighth time coupled with many international successes.

Sports hall flying

The opportunity to fly in large venues is diminishing, so clubs are rapidly relocating to sports halls and schools with their indoor free flight models. I belong to Impington MAC in Cambridge. It provides modellers of all ages and levels of experience with the chance to fly for fun, network with fellow flyers and compete in simple format competitions. A welcome contrast to the intense competitiveness of the national scene!

The changing landscape of indoor aeromodelling has initiated this new column. It will focus on the modelling community flying within the club and sports hall scene. It will initially explore best practise in building and flying motor stick models and we’ll take a deeper dive into other classes, Bostonians, No Cal etc in future features.

Flying rubber powered models Outdoors vs Indoors

What’s the difference? A question I’m asked a lot! When flying outdoors the motor is wound to maximum turns propelling the model high into the air. When the turns run out the model will glide down often with its flight pattern being aided by onboard devices, such as auto rudder and elevation changes. When flying indoors your model is confined to a box. From launch the motor


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Clive King has 20 years experience as an indoor flyer, and has won various British National Championships. Left: The Butterfly range provides an excellent plastic propeller. Many flyers use them on their own designs and other models; alas a heavy impact can lead to damage at the blade root. Reinforcement patches on the underside fixed with plastic adhesive negates this problem.

On arrival at the flying hall models very often are simply laid on tables or their transport boxes and thus very vulnerable to being damaged. To protect your model, especially the covering as well as preparing it for loading the wound motor, simple wooden parking stands which each have a slotted foam block to grip the motor stick, work well.

Another modification is to replace the propeller shaft and the rear hook. The reverse S hook on the propeller shaft and new rear hook prevents bunching which can lead to the motor winding off during the let down. Note the addition of thrust bearing.

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Indoor FF Duration

Left: Making up a motor with rings enables easy transfer of the wound motor from winder onto the model without losing turns or torque. The plastic rings are cut from hard plastic tubing of different sizes to accommodate your hook and rubber sizes.

Right: When loading the wound motor onto the model, lift the motor to the front hook first.

Left: The winding station consists of the winder with digital display and a torque meter graduated in gms/cms or ounces/inches. They are fixed to a base which can be mounted onto your table or a tripod. Numerous publications have produced drawings for homje construction. Commercial units are also available. The winder is lifted off the base to stretch wind the motor. When back into base the motor length should match that of your model.

controls the rate of climb, cruise and final let down to the floor. If the motor runs out of turns in the air a quick descent follows simply because these models do not glide. This applies to all indoor designs from RTF’s to international class F1D’s.

Getting started

Complete loading by hooking up motor to rear hook. Note that the model is held at prop hub and front bearing throughout loading.

Being confident with the basics of handling, winding, trimming and launching your model is key. In terms of flight, aim for the model to climb in left hand circles to just below ceiling height and land safely with a few turns left on. The following topics and tips may be taken up in your own time, but I urge you to consider them as I can assure you it will soon become routine, not only improving the performance of your model but your own enjoyment! In my next columns I will provide more details to help you succeed at indoor flying: More about stretch winding Using data from winder display and torque meter to select motor sizes to get the best out of your model in any particular venue How to form your own balsa propeller blades in preparation for a plan feature of an indoor duration model designed specifically for sports hall flying ●



29/01/2015 11:27

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26/11/2014 14:41

Aviation Museum

THE SOLENT SKY MUSEUM, SOUTHAMPTON

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Your editor visits this packed museum which should be high on your list of places to visit.

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or too long I have been meaning to visit the Solent Sky Museum, and having made the journey I wish I’d done so sooner! The transport history associated with the Southampton and Isle of Wight area goes back many hundreds of years with boats and ship building, but that nucleus of skilled craftsman and designers was exactly what was needed at the start of the 20th Century as man carrying flight developed. The museum does an excellent job highlighting the role of different individuals and companies based in the area during the last century. Supermarine, the development of the Schneider Trophy winning

racers, followed by the Spitfire are very well represented, but so too are other lesser known companies such as Saunders-Roe (Saro), Folland, and Britten Norman, through to the most obscure such as J. S. White & Co. of Cowes. The Museum building is large and packs in an astonishing number of historic full-size aircraft, with a higher percentage of floatplanes than you will probably find anywhere else. The largest aircraft is undoubtedly the Short Sandringham flying boat – the aircraft on show was originally built during WWII as a Sunderland, and earmarked to transport Chariot midget submarines and their crews for use against the Tirpitz German pocket battleship. This mission didn’t take place, and eventually after the war the flying boat was converted

in to the civilian Sandringham with seating for 30 passengers – access to the interior gives one a feel for what early air transport for the masses was like in the 1950s. Saunders-Roe is well represented with a couple of early helicopters, the Skeeter, from original development work by Cierva (again locally based in Eastleigh). Perhaps most impressive is the sole surviving SRA1 of the three made – not only the first jet-powered flying boat, but a fighter as well! The SRA1 was capable of speeds of over 500 mph, but was developed for fighting from island to island in the Pacific war which had finished by the time it flew.


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Almost worth the price of entry on its own is the display of aeromodelling ephemera from the past. What do you recognise?

Your chance to get close to the S6A and really understand what it would be like to fly – the visibility would be very restricted and the cockpit cramped and noisy. (N.B. Scale modellers beware - the flash has artificially enhanced the green colour of the internal paint.)

The Supermarine Spitfire Mk24 can be seen side by side with the Supermarine S6A Schneider Trophy racer

This reproduction of a Quadraplane from 1916 by J. S. White & Co. of Cowes would make an interesting scale model - a change from the usual Sopwiths and Avros but with that much drag it would present a challenge.

The Mk24 Spitfire is very similar to the Mk22, and would make an ideal basis for this month’s Free Plan.

A Magnet to Modellers!

Scale modellers and aviation buffs will obviously be interested in the contents of the Solent Sky Museum, but there is something else that sets it apart for any aeromodeller. To take a step back, many modellers have bemoaned the lack of a museum of the history of aeromodelling and are eagerly awaiting the outcome of the BMFA’s feasibility study for a National Centre. Whatever the outcome of that study, the Solent Sky Museum already has a new exhibit space just beyond the entrance which represents the shelves of a traditional Model Shop. This wonderful display of aeromodelling items, mostly from the 1940s to the 1960s, was

the brainchild of the museum’s director, Alan Jones. Over the years, the museum had been left various collections of kits and models by deceased modellers. They have curated this in to an exhibit which will take many an older aeromodeller back to their youth with cries of ‘I used to have one of those!’ The Solent Sky Museum is an independent museum and a registered charity - it does not receive any automatic funding and relies on visitors to fund much of its activities. Around ¾ of the staffing is by a dedicated band of volunteers. The museum is typically open from Tuesday to Sunday. Full opening hours and entry charges can be found on the website or by

phone on +44(0)2380 635 830. The website has lots of useful information including a list of the full-size exhibits, but the best way to find out is to visit and support this worthwhile keeper of our aviation heritage. www.solentskymuseum.org Solent Sky Museum Albert Road South Southampton Hampshire SO14 3FR United Kingdom ●

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Free Plan Rob Smith designed and built this Mk22 Spitfire in the style of the of FROG Senior Series models.

ʻFROG SENIORʼ INSPIRED SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE MK22 Like many, Rob Smith was a fan of the classic range of rubber powered model kits produced by FROG in the 1950s and 60s. He has retained the simplicity of the Senior Series design in his version of this late mark Spitfire.

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any years ago, when I was a lad, there was a newsagents shop in our village run by an irascible old gent who would stomp behind the counter and shout at us kids! I don’t know if this was to stop us stealing sweets, just for the hell of it, or to keep us in our place! It was the 1950s. The attraction of this emporium was that it sold model aircraft kits; not Airfix plastic ones (they were

in the haberdashery shop next door) but real build it yourself balsa kits that, as the box said, “Flew Right Of the Ground” FROG! For some reason he only ever had FROG kits; they always had reasonable wood and if built carefully would actually fly in a fashion. I started of with the FROG Junior Series and as my pocket money increased (subsidised by taking beer bottles back to

the pub!), I progressed to the Senior Series. These were the first models I built that would actually fly well and still do - you see them all the time at Old Warden, built and flown by nostalgic old men like me. This got me thinking that if I used the same dimensions and construction techniques, it might be fun to build versions of some of my favourite full-size aeroplanes. The basic design of the FROG Senior Series had sheet fuselage sides, block at the

32 AeroModeller -March 2015

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Geoff Woodward is one of those enthusiastic flyers of FROG Senior series models at Old Warden. As well as the original sized rubber powered versions, he has several twice sized models adapted for diesel power.

Rob has produced quite a selection of different semi-scale designs based on the straightforward Senior Series construction methods.

Build your Spitfire

Cutting out a set of parts first will make the build quicker later on. The fin and tailplane have yet to have the cut-outs made for the antiwarp inset strips.

The fuselage sides have thin ply reinforcing on the inside where the rubber motor retaining dowel will fit. Work has started on the formers - the nose formers have been laminated and the remaining F3 to F6 have had strengthening cross strips added.

The build is relatively straightforward, particularly if you have already built an original FROG Senior Series model, so I won’t go in to lots of detail. I know a Spitfire is ‘catnip’ to many a beginner, but I would recommend cutting both your building and flying teeth on a simpler high wing model before attempting this Spitfire. I suggest you may want to photocopy the plan to save your copy of AeroModeller. If you make a couple of copies you can cut parts out and glue as you go along, or you can do like I did and cut out a kit of parts first.

Wings then Fuselage

The wing panels are built over the plan – do use thin clear plastic or rub wax where the joins are to prevent the wing being glued to the plan. strips.

nose, sheet tail surfaces and a built up wing. The first type I built to my own design was a Hurricane; this was a tad smaller than it should have been. I then went a bit mad and built a KYUSHU J7W1 SHINDEN canard! This was a bit off the wall, so I then

moved on to the classic mark 22 Spitfire. “ONNAS”. [Oh No! Not Another Spitfire.] Yes, but this is a late mark version, by far the best looking to my eyes.

Construction starts by building the left and right wing and centre section, leaving the wing spars long at the centre so they can be joined at the centre section. Chose a good medium/hard straight grained piece of 1.5 x 1.5mm balsa strip for the main spar. The leading edge should also be medium/hard, but the trailing edge can be a bit softer as it will be sanded down with wash-out towards the tip. Pack the wing panels up [30mm each tip] and join at the centre section with appropriate strengthening. These wings are really strong but easy to construct. Another thing I do is thin the trailing edge at the tip from the bottom to build in washout, with 2.5mm balsa you have quite a lot of wood to work with. I used 1.2mm balsa [from SAMS Models] for the tail surfaces, but you could use 1.5mm balsa if you sand it down nice and thin to save weight. But don’t forget the anti-warp insert strips. Fuselage sides, formers and ribs are all from 1.5mm balsa. The formers must have cross bracing so they will not split when you put the two sides together. Top and bottom nose blocks are 6mm balsa, you can hollow these out if you want but you will need weight at the front for balance so it’s not really important. Most of the Senior Series used card to 33


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PLAN No. 502

AeroModeller 934 March 2015


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Free Plan

The wing panels are joined to the centre section. An inset piece of 1.5mm balsa to the full height of the centre ribs acts as a joiner and brace. Ensure you have the two main spars aligned by using a ruler edge. When everything is aligned and glued, add the triangular fillets.

finish the top of the fuselage at the nose, but I chose to use 0.8mm balsa. This is pre shaped by wetting it with water and strapping it around a suitable sized former [a broom handle] with elastic bands until it dries with the curve formed ready for gluing. The rear fuselage is formed with 1.5mm stringers. You will notice on the plan that I have only shown a cut-out position for the top and bottom centre stringers. This is because I mark the stringer positions with a ruler and etch the slots out with a Dremel tool when the fuselage is built up. This is a far better and simpler way of doing this and is more accurate. Use card to cover the centre section and also the rear part of the lower wing so that you can mount the very distinctive radiators.

Finishing

All my Senior Series type models are tissue covered and finished with EZE-DOPE this must be thinned down to about 75% water, 25% EZE-DOPE. I usually use about 3 coats to get a really nice finish then spray with a car paint aerosol. Markings were

Once the glue is set your wing should look like this and be ready for shaping the trailing edge (ideally use a razor plane initially, and don’t forget the wash-out towards the tip i.e. the trailing edge is shaped down towards the centre, and up towards the tip.) Finally everything is finished by sanding.

created on the computer, printed, cut-out and stuck on – you can find them for the aircraft I modelled at www.aeromodeller.com in the issue 934 bonus content. You can make a mould for the canopy or buy one - SAMS Models do one for small jets which will do fine. The model should balance just behind the main spar. You will probably have to add some ballast to achieve this, so it’s a good idea to make some provision for adding weight at the nose. I made the spinner from balsa to help with this. I used an IKARA plastic prop available from FLIGHT HOOK. Please note the built in down thrust, and you will need about 2 degrees right side thrust, maybe a little more, for trimming. This is very important. As ever, get the glide right over long grass, before putting a few turns on the rubber to try low powered trimming flights. Good flying! ● Right: Rob has used his CAD capabilities to produce a PDF file of the markings of his Spitfire. We will make this available at www.aeromodeller.com in the bonus content for this issue.

The underneath of the Spitfire. If you look carefully at the wing trailing edge towards each wing tip, you will see the washout had been sanded in to help prevent tipstalling at low speed.

   

    

Everyone loves a Spitfire, so why not have a go? There are plenty of different colour schemes, and the mk22 is very similar to the mk24 that is featured at the Solent Sky Museum elsewhere in this issue.



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FF Event

Kriss Best the CD – sits it out patiently at control with everything she needs including the most essential commodity of all – a sense of humour! Photo by Sue Hipperson.

La Grande Coupe de Birmingham Martin Dilly reports on this late season duration event with a touch of pre-Christmas bonhomme.

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With additional contributions by Dave and Sue Hipperson.

I

n the absence of Middle Wallop for the traditional early December date for the Coupe Europa, the Croydon Club who usually run the event were grateful when Gavin Manion of the Birmingham Club offered to organise it at North Luffenham on December 7th. The forecast was for 12 kts, gusting to 30 and that’s pretty much what the competitors found, with some rain in the morning to ensure that dust wasn’t a problem, but this kept the entries lower than usual. The max was set at 1:30 and a line of trees a few hundred yards upwind made turbulence a difficulty, with several flights that looked promising for the first few seconds of the climb soon succumbing to its effects. The events were F1G for the AeroModeller Trophy and Vintage Coupe d‘Hiver for the

Bernard Boutillier Cup. The latter saw the ever-popular Etienvre predominate, with a Fuit or two in the mix, but F1G attracted the most entries with many deciding that a blustery day in Rutland was preferable to a nice snug day at home, building next year’s winning model. The central venue allowed more from the North to attend and apart from a couple of notable exceptions such as Peter Hall (5 times winner), most of the usual protagonists were on hand to do battle. F1G also saw a welcome French entrant, Didier Chevenard, who looked in a strong position till the penultimate round, when an energetic launch removed the outer panel of his six-panel wing. He had used some Gorban parts, including the motor tube, but when building the wing he had used a 1mm fibreglass dihedral brace

Phil Ball with his F1G winning model. When the class was new in the UK most models were not much bigger than the tail plane on Phil’s model! Photo by Sue Hipperson.

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FF Event Right: Pete Brown was flying this very modern model. Note spectacular carbon blades - the fine bent wire is the tracker aerial. Carbon boom fitted to motor tube by very neat aluminium turning.

Far right: Later in the day Pete Brown was brave enough to expose his knees as the weather improved slightly. Conjecture was that they were thermal detecting aids! Photo by Dave Hipperson.

Dennis Davitt flew his Jump in Vintage, and made sure it was well protected from the weather with his ‘stooge’ set up in the back of the car.

which couldn’t take the strain. His winding technique was interesting - he used a fitting that located on the tailgate latch, with a pin to hold the tubular rear motor peg to it; he then wound the motor ‘in mid air’, before locating it in a Stefanchuk-type half tube and loading it into the model, via the bayonet rear fixing. F1G winner Phil Ball did well to score four maxes in the tricky conditions, after dropping his first flight; he used a Mylar-covered carbon structure model of his own design,

made more visible by a light dusting of orange Dayglo. In third place was Peter Brown, flying a model with extensive Textreme spreadtow carbon in the structure and on the prop blades. For once Peter’s trademark knees were covered, at least for the first part of the day, but later appeared as normal, maybe as a thermal detection aid? In the Vintage event for the Boutillier Cup, Michel Etienvre’s design was a popular choice, Don Thomson, Ray Elliott and

Didier Chevenard made the trip to North Luffenham from France.

Gordon Warburton making good flights with it. Dennis Davitt used a Jump which due to its nice tight spiral climb handled the very tricky turbulence near the launch ploint very well up until his last flight. On that occasion it appeared the tail was up on a key and the model was ever tighter and more over elevated than it could handle and despite being in reasonable air failed to max by quite a margin. Gerry Ferer with a Bagatelle plugged away very consistently, just losing a



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Michael Marshall has a fine model but was not picking the right air on the day.

Scale columnist Bill Dennis had a good day in F1G and narrowly missed the top 3 placings.

Pete Brown was cheerful whether winning or losing!

Phil Ball receives the AeroModeller Trophy from your editor Andrew Boddington.

Gerry Ferer flew his Bagatelle to the top spot in Vintage Coupe d’Hiver.

David Hipperson presented the Boutillier Cup to Gerry Ferer.

little time on his second flight. The Boutillier Cup which had lain dormant for some years was originally being awarded to the winner of the 100 gram ROG class (now defunct) and more recently was awarded for Vintage. As it all turned out, Gerry’s efforts were rewarded by being able to take the trophy back home with him as his total including two maxes comfortably topped the Vintage list. It should be pointed out that throughout the day a strong contingent of the Birmingham Club were on standby to assist CD Kriss Best and generally disseminate information and often amusement – midafternoon there was plenty of amiable joshing around the rules, trying to find something to protest over just for the hell of it but failing! The day was made more worthwhile by the excellently organised prize presentation in the club house where the two main trophies were awarded – the editor himself being on hand to give away the famous Perspex one. There were a number of other small touches like the bottle of Champagne given to the contestant with the highest aggregate score from both

Vintage and 80gram - in this case Pete Tolhurst. All very much in the spirit of those early days of this contest – Ron Moulton would have very much approved. Next year is its 40th anniversary and we were pleased to learn that the Birmingham Club have volunteered to do the same again and keep the tradition of this December date alive. We will look forward to it. (If you fancy a go at Vintage Coupe d’Hiver, Michel Etienvre’s design will be a free plan in a future issue of AeroModeller – Editor) ●

Results F1G for AeroModeller Trophy

1st Phil Ball 1.14, 1.30, 1.30, 1.30, 1.30. 7.14 2nd Ian Davitt 1.30, 1.30, 0.51, 1.30, 1.30. 6.51 3rd Pete Brown 1.25, 1.30, 0.57, 1.27, 1.30. 6.49

Vintage Coupe d’Hiver for The Boutillier Trophy

1st Gerry Ferer 1.30, 1.10, 1.30. 4.10 2nd Don Thomson 1.11, 1.07, 1.30. 3.48 3rd Pete Tolhurst 0.59, 1.30, 1.01. 3.30

39


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FF Scale

Flying my ABC Robin at the May 2014 FF Nats. Plenty of knock-off components ensure ‘crash-resistance’.

SCALE RUBBER POWERED FLYING MODELS PART 2 Drawing and designing your subject.

Andrew Hewitt describes his approach to the ‘cleanest part’ of aeromodelling.


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The enlarged Fokker D VIII is further enhanced by the choice of a vivid colour scheme.

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am lucky; I have a big drawing board at home on which to dream. I enjoy drawing designs and plans. I obtained it from work when they were being thrown away in favour of Computer Systems. It was free apart from the white knuckle ride home in a car with a huge drawing drawing board strapped to the roof! I would guess guess that many readers now would use the the computer rather than the pencil, but I prefer the old method. In all reality you need neither; I have had several designs drawn by hand on graph paper, just as good. If you are not confident in your drawing plans from scratch, then the simplest way to produce a design is to modify and improve an existing plan or by enlarging or reducing a design that you fancy. This can be quickly achieved using a photocopier and lots of sticky tape to assemble the sheets. Before you commence on your journey, decide what you intend using your model for, competitions and /or sport flying. We have a good selection of Scale competitions in the United Kingdom, to a variety of different rules; so if you intend having a go then please read the rules to your intended event. For example there are flying only events (so not much detail required for these or the justification for it i.e. little or no documentation). We also now have the new kit scale event, which is suited to the beginner, all you have to do is build a design from a kit (to any size),then fly it trying to hit the set target time, which will usually be 30 seconds, more or less flight time and you will be penalised. No scale points are awarded, but

My pieced together enlarged photocopy plans, and the final model. You don’t need larger than an A4 copy/enlarger as long as you take the time and care to assemble the separate sheets.

embellishments are what we are about and there would be enormous street credibility for winning with a twice size Veron Swordfish or the like – the dafter the better! Finally we have the full blown BMFA Scale outdoor rubber powered class, which is very searching of your abilities, being statically judged (to the same degree as the Radio Scale classes)and also having the flights judged. All very nerve racking, but rewarding if you like a challenge. Of course you could build from a good kit,

make a good job of it, get it flying then enter it in all competitions. I keep banging on about competitions, because they are the best place to break your model, surrounded by likeminded sufferers trying to build and fly the impossible. At competitions there are the most experienced flyers to welcome and help you, the feelings of surviving a competition and tacking part are what it is all about for me.

Enlargement of the Veron Fokker D VIII plan you can just see the modifications that I made to the outline and wing section.

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FF Scale

Underside view of the Fokker D VII, showing where the rear undercart legs disappear into the fuselage on heavy landing, and the removable wing panel with retaining rubber band.

Detail sketch of my typical wheel construction

Get your documentation first or wish you had?

So having decided on a subject and what you want to achieve with it, you will now need to do some research, especially if you intend to fly it in BMFA scale competitions. Finding information and pictures on your chosen subject is now only a Google click away. You only need a minimum of three good pictures showing good all round views, something saying what the colour is (if you

Example of how to set out your documentation for BMFA scale competitions.

do not have colour pictures) and a three view to enter competitions. Obviously the more detail information you can find, will allow a finer model to be built, but at the expense of weight and time and will power. Please, please, please, do not get hung up on the accuracy or not of the scale drawing, they are all incorrect in some way anyway. Your job and the best part of Scale modelling is to make your design look as similar as you can to your photographs. Even in International Scale RC events, the judges use the photographs as the primary method of comparing the victim to the evidence, the scale drawing not being used much at all, just for reference. To be a good high scoring model, you need to try and capture the character of the full size, the way it sits, the way it looks, the finesse, the dirt and the grime. I have seen many well-built models score poor marks since they were just like the scale drawings, but not like the photographs of the real thing. As a little hint to those entering a competition; do not turn up with folders of information and books with notes in and copious drawings. Judges get ten minutes to score a model (if they are lucky) and will be unable to reward your efforts if they tire of looking for the evidence. Put your information stuck on a piece of card (photo copies will do), the drawing and some photos plus some fine details (engine information etc.). Do not include information that you have not included on the model, (a criminal does not go to court offering information that will convict him!) make sure that your evidence portrays your model in the best possible light; remembering always that judges are looking for faults!

Back to your plan

If you are looking for a kit scale or flying only entry, then ignore all that advice and just have a look around for an attractive colour scheme to wet your appetite. However the drawing of the subject still remains a problem. So if you have a desire to build a subject, the simplest route to get a plan is to hunt down an existing design, it does not matter how big it is, you just want the outline and basic structure. You may enlarge a P-nut by 300% to get a good sized model. (One of the Andrew Moorhouse P-nut designs, Comper Swift or Luton Minor would be ideal and at that size even I could read the hand writing!). Alternately you could reduce an RC Scale design to the span you require. We are almost overwhelmed by the number of plans available on the internet, from copyright holders such as Colin Smith with the old Veron plans ([email protected]) or www.myhobbystore.co.uk and others from “The Outer Zone” - spend the rest of the week searching for whatever you want, if you can’t find something this way then perhaps you may need a different hobby!

Veron Fokker D VIII Enlarged

With the first running of the Kit Scale event at the 2014 FF Nationals, I elected to build a twice size Veron Tru-Flight Fokker DVIII. I had already built a normal size one for fun, which flew well without fuss. I thought a big one would be suitably outrageous, especially if full of lozenges. The rules permit enlargement of any kit designs and any modifications to make it more scale and detailed (I.e. not as flyable, but we like a challenge anyway). I cut up the plan into



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cross-grain assembly of two 1/8th sheet discs, with 1/64th ply reinforcement at the hub and rim. The ply at the rim overlaps the edge by 1mm to retain the tyre. A card cone embossed with detail covers it all up. The tyre is formed from a neoprene sponge rubber chord super glued together to form a tight fit around the rim. I obtain the tyre material from my local rubber stockist, look one up near you. The central hub is drilled for a brass tube bearing. All this design work was sketched out on the enlarged plan and took no more than a couple of hours to work out, the same principles can be applied to any plan for any model, use your photographs to correct outlines and off you go. There are hundreds of suitable plans and kits that this method could be applied to, enlarging one of the Keil Kraft or Veron scale series makes a good introduction to Scale Rubber, even the structures remain proportionally workable minimising your modifications to outline only (not forgetting the wheels).

There were plenty of rubber powered FF Scale models entered at the August 2014 Nats. Here Pete Fardell prepares his unusual inline engine version of the Bristol Monoplane – the extra nose length helps with the balance.

manageable sections, such as wing tail body, components etc. and enlarged them on a photocopier at 200% linear (or A4 to A3 twice). The sections were taped carefully together to look like a Fokker. My next job was to compare the outline with my scale information on the full sized aircraft. I did not have to do this, since the accuracy is not judged in this class, but I wanted a Fokker and I was going to have a Fokker, a scale one at that. The wing tip shapes were corrected, bigger wheels, smaller tail outlines and get rid of the dihedral…. Not frightened of that. These things can be done in minutes, simple to do, you only need a pencil and calculator to enlarge sizes from scale drawings and compare them to the photographs. The only tricky bit I elected to do was to have a scale wing section, a Fokker wing. The sections were sketched out by hand and since I was not adding more ribs it was quickly done. Putting the thick wing on this design transformed its appearance into something much more scale and to my liking. I also included more wing spars, since one would never be enough for an English summer! Being now much bigger the wing was built in 3 sections, the tips being removable on 1.5mm carbon dowels located in aluminium tubes (my only concession to modernity). The centre section was permanently fixed to the body via 16 SWG cabane wires. These were assembled on a card jig to control the wing incidence, after all if the wing moves you are stuffed! The fuselage was good enough for me, just requiring extra bracing, I added diagonal bracing between each bay. The original kit was 1/16th square balsa which enlarged to 1/8th square and looked OK. The rubber anchorage position was under the tail so I

moved this two bays forward to give better access and also a huge saving in nose weight, since Fokkers are short nosed. The cowl area was sheeted (added some useful weight here and improved the appearance) and room made for a lower bank of dummy cylinders from the hardest dowel that I could find, no point saving any weight at the front, pile it on. The front undercart legs were made very strong from 14 SWG wire, the rear legs for show disappearing into plywood holes in the fuselage underside. The nose block was made to fit within the cowl front flat face, with lots of laminated balsa and mm plywood to make it as near bomb proof as possible.

Fabricating Wheels

Wheels can be a problem on large rubber models, since they are potentially a weight penalty, but being low down and forward on the Fokker, they would help the blighter stay the right way up. Each wheel is designed as a

Be Realistic (in both senses!)

If you are starting from scratch and want to draw your own design (well done from me), then the correct way of doing this is to first try your hardest to correct your scale drawings to look like your photographs, then enlarge them to your desired size. I do this with a pencil and ruler which gives me an intimate look at the design and photographs, down to the nuts and bolts level. I f you enlarge stuff with computers via scanners or photocopiers you can miss obvious errors. When applying your structure to the outline, you could refer to similar designs for wood sections and former spacing etc. If you intend it for the BMFA Scale rubber class then you will need all the ribs and stringers if you want the points, but they are pointless if you cannot make it fly. So build to your abilities and make it fly. More details on the structures, materials and methods that I use will be included in the next article on building the beast. ●

My Avro Type G, 51” rubber model which suffered from twisting wings under flight loads - Ironic since the full size was a wing warper! Make sure you put strong spars in your wings!

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Power Trip

A Close Look Into

Redfin Retro Engines 049RV diesel

Maris Dislers tests Redfin’s alternative to their side-port engine

R R

height of the piston. Exhaust duration is 160 degrees. The RV engine has a bore of 8.79mm (0.346in)and 12.64mm (0.498in) stroke, giving swept volume of 0.767cc (0.047cuin). The RV weighs 68g (2.4oz) which is 5g more than the SP model.

egular readers will recall our earlier report on the Redfin 049 and 030 side-port (SP) engines in AeroModeller No. 923. Recapping briefly, the Redfin engines are designed and marketed by Alex (Red) Phin, with current production by the CS Company. Intended for sport flying of free flight or RC assist models, they follow a design pattern of long bore to stroke ratio and piston-port induction that would not have looked out of place on a model shop shelf in the late 1940’s. We found the Redfins to be easy starters, with good “lugging” ability and moderate power output. Since that time, the promised larger SP 061 (1cc) and 09 (1.5cc) Redfins have joined the range, following the same design formula. However, having scaled the basic concept within reasonable bounds, it was time to diversify. The latest offering is a rear valve version of the 049 engine, the subject of this test report.

On the test bench

We gave the Redfin our usual running in procedure for engines with a cast iron piston. It settled down quite quickly and feels little different after all our tests than it did after the first 15 minutes’ running. Hand starting was straightforward both hot and cold, providing the compression screw was set close to the full power position. It is less prone to flooding than the SP engines. For starting, wetting the reed by finger choking (to help the seal) and a deliberate flicking action effectively pumps mixture into the combustion chamber. Particularly for cold starts,

Construction

As this new engine it is basically similar to the earlier SP (side-port) engine, readers should also refer to our earlier report on that engine. The Redfin 049RV uses a reed valve induction system with an X-shaped copper shim reed retained by a G-shaped wire circlip in the back plate, along the lines of the well known Cox engines. In fact, reeds for Cox engines will fit this engine, if you don’t happen to have a genuine Redfin replacement at hand. The “hang-tank” carburettor assembly screws into the back plate and can be positioned for upright or inverted cylinder positions. It is not practical to mount the RV engine with side facing cylinder, because the needle/tank would clash with the mounting bearers. However, you could remove the tank bowl and with the needle

Bearing a clear family resemblance to the other Redfin engines, the 049RV offers extra power – the RV engines could be interesting alternatives for Scale Modellers to consider.

set at an angle, use an external tank. The other significant difference is the cylinder, which of course does not have the SP’s intake port and carburettor mounting stub. In their place are additional transfer flutes, located at the back of the cylinder in addition to the forward placed transfers. Interestingly, the RV retains the original piston design with its baffle notch aligned with the front transfers. This arrangement leads to the asymmetric transfer duration of 120 degrees for the front transfer ports, but a shorter 80 degrees for the rear transfers, which are governed by the full

exhaust priming (with piston closing the exhaust port) gave a strident burst that usually got things going smartly. Unless restarting immediately after refilling the fuel tank, it was necessary to open the needle by half a turn, to ensure the engine “caught on”. The needle could then be quickly returned to its normal position. Initially, we had to open the needle so that it was almost lifted out of the carburettor jet hole for the engine to run. Adjustment was then very critical and inconsistent. On examination, the fault lay in how the needle tapered. Actually,


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of adjustment to suit a given application. This engine has a tendency to sag if compression adjustment is pushed over a reasonable limit, with fuels containing ignition improver. That’s no problem if the setting is comfortably backed-off, but adequate time should be allowed after adjustment, for the Redfin to reach stable operating temperature before trying for a bit more. Greedy or impatient “screwing down” will likely lead to an over compressed engine that could grind to a halt. It’s best to keep a slight safety margin with a hint of misfire when settling on the compression setting.

With rear induction and onboard tank, the 049RV is reminiscent of American engine design trends of the late 1940’s. Traditional compression screw with tommy bar also comes with the engine, if that is preferred to the Allen key type.

Best Fuel Mix

When it comes to fuel mix, this engine is not particularly bothered by differing oil or ether contents, but is like Goldilocks as regards ignition improver, such as IPN or EHN. It runs fine on a straight fuel

it hardly tapered at all for the last few millimetres, where it really matters. This production fault was quite easily put right. A piece of 600 wet/dry paper was wrapped over a steel ruler. Then with thumb pressure on the needle and a twisting motion, the intended taper was made all the way to

the tip of the needle. The aim was getting the taper right, not so much keeping the needle’s cross-section exactly round. After that modification, needle response was predictable, with around ¼ turn between clearly rich and misfiring lean settings. The Redfin balks at rich mixtures, so needle adjustment should be towards the optimum setting, leaving compression adjustments to determine running speed. The Redfin 049RV is not one to run at tick-over with compression backed well off. It will stop if backed off very far below peak, but allows for a reasonable amount

Close-up of back plate showing o-ring gasket. This allows for easy cleaning with alcohol after a day’s flying, to remove oil residue that could stick the reed against its sealing surface (the raised ring of metal around the central intake tube. This simple maintenance procedure ensures trouble free operation.

Crankcase and other “bottom end” components. Reed valve system is very similar to Cox engines. Cox reeds will fit if original part is not available.

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Power Trip

Measurements; height 46.5mm (lug mounting face to cylinder top), length 40mm (prop driver face to back plate) or 65mm (to rear of carburettor), width 32.7mm (across lugs), bearer spacing 20.2mm.

Milled transfers can be clearly seen in this view. RV engine has two pairs of transfers, while the SP engine has one pair. Although piston design limits the duration of the extra pair of transfers, this arrangement boosts power output.

Redfin 049RV on different Propellers. Propeller APC 10x4 Graupner 9x5 APC 9x4 Graupner 8x5 APC 8x4 APC 7x6 APC 7x5 APC 7x4 APC 7x4 trimmed APC 7x3 APC 7x3 trimmed Cox 6x3

RPM 4,600 5,100 6,200 6,600 7,600 7,600 7,800 9,400 10,100 10,700 11,600 11,900

mix, but with some loss of RPM potential, especially at higher speeds. Our regular 1.5% test fuel was OK for performance tests, but not the best for fuel economy work, where compression setting gradually crept up throughout the full tank run. With 2% fuel, it was difficult to find a stable peak setting that would not “go over”. These trials led us to a mix containing 1% ignition improver, being just right for this engine. It gave full power potential, but

without bother when setting compression. This might seem like a lot of work, but arriving at the correct ignition improver level for each engine and its intended purpose is time well spent -particularly for Tomboy duration, where consistency is crucial. It’s not difficult to run some tests. Cut back a commercial diesel fuel (if that makes the engine “boil over”) with varying proportions of a straight fuel mix until you get the optimum. Thereafter, you’ll probably find “your mix” in your engine will work well over a wide range of weather conditions.

Analysis and conclusions

Even with the larger test propellers, the Redfin 049RV was turning them faster than its SP cousin. This became more apparent at higher running speeds. While it was fine at lower speeds, the RV sounded positively chirpy when given a freer run. Starts remained easy with small propellers, with no tendency to bite. The resulting power curve has a broad peak exceeding 0.05BHP between 8,500 and 11,000 RPM. Peak power of 0.053BHP at 10,000 RPM is 25% higher than the Redfin 049SP. Interestingly, the RV has a 2.5mm carburettor choke diameter, versus the SP’s 3mm. After allowing for the mixture needle, effective choke area is reduced by a third to 2 square mm. Alex tells us this significantly improves general handling characteristics, but with little or no effect on power output. We checked that by trying the SP’s larger venturi and recorded only 100-200 RPM increase at peak power RPM, nothing more at lower speeds. Alex Phin, the man behind Redfin engines, seen with his range of production diesels and development models at the 2014 Power Nationals.



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For comparison, this is the standard Redfin 049SP Side Port induction engine, reviewed in AeroModeller 923. Externally almost identical to the RV except for the carburettor position.

10.0

0.06

9.0

0.05

8.0

0.04

7.0

0.03

6.0

BHP

Torque oz-in

Red Fin 049 RV

0.02

5.0 4.0

0.01

3.0 5000

0 7000

9000

11000

RPM As expected, the RV’s cylinder porting increases fuel consumption when compared with the 049SP. For a full tank of fuel, we got 3:45 – 4:05 minutes with 9x4 propeller at about 6,000 RPM and 2:35 – 2:50 minutes with 8x4 propeller at 7,000-7,400 RPM. For duration events, I’d say a slightly

trimmed 9x4 propeller would allow the RV engine to give that bit more power than the SP engine, for an acceptable run time on the allotted fuel. Our tests indicate that a 7x4 propeller is about the optimum size for maximum performance in flight, while an 8x4 would be

fine for general sport FF or RC assisted flying. Alex Phin has given us a racier alternative to the side-port Redfin 049 engine. The 049RV is significantly more powerful, but not quite as flexible or economical. The Redfin Retro Engines 049RV costs £85 (including a really neat multi-tool that fits all current Redfin engine nuts and back plates). The first batch of 100 engines is selling now. Alex tells us that an RV version of the 061 engine is also in the works and should be available shortly. The Redfin engine range is available direct from www.redfinengines.com or contact Mr. Alex (Red) Phin The Management Suite Dinnington Business Centre Outgang Lane Dinnington South Yorkshire S25 3QX Tel: 07859 275942 Fax: 01909 518100 e-mail: [email protected] Australian customers can contact Ian Dixon Perth Art Glass 311 Stock Road O’Connor West Australia 6163 e-mail: [email protected] ●

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28/01/2015 12:41

Model Technology

How High Did That Go? Well now you don’t need to guess!

Mike Evatt explores the use of altimeters as an aid to trimming Free Flight duration models.

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was struck by a statement attributed to Alex Andruikov that he had stayed ahead of the opposition by using information from an on-board altimeter to optimise his climb and glide. (Alex has won numerous World and European Championships and is the newly crowned World Cup F1B Champion.) This started me on the route of better performance monitoring. Although electronic altimeters have been around for some years and found uses in model rocketry and some RC classes, the Free Flight fraternity have been relatively late adopters. It was not until F1A glider flyers became rather obsessive with regards to their bunt launch height that their use

became more widespread. This became more relevant with the investigation of LDA wings (Low Drag Airfoil) where although the bunt launch height was improved the glide sinking speed was compromised. Altimeters played a key role in improving the overall performance. One of the other problems associated with the trim optimisation of the FAI senior class models, is that the performance is now so high that it is difficult to let models fly to the ground to obtain a measure of overall performance. It is also difficult to optimise the launch/climb phases, as the model’s height and attitude make it almost impossible to fully understand the flight profile from the ground. The use an altimeter not only allows the flyer to more accurately assess the flight profile in order to fine tune the trim, but also to gauge whether the model is flying in helpful air.

How high did that go?


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How do altimeters work?

Essentially they consist of a pressure sensitive transducer linked to some electronics which performs a data logging function and stores this data in on-board memory for subsequent interrogation. Some have an LCD display for instant readout of maximum height achieved but this adds to the weight. For our purposes we need a unit which can record the altitude profile of a model, be used as a stand-alone device, and be relatively easily interrogated.

flight data data is downloaded. This is manipulated by software to produce an Altitude/Temperature/time graph for each flight. HobbyKing also sell an Altimeter Bluetooth Adapter for Wireless Android devices to facilitate data viewing on Smartphones and Tablets on the flying field. The necessary software is available from the HobbyKing and Fly Dream websites. In spite of what has been stated on some blogs the device and software does work with Windows 7/8.

The altimeter module as it arrives.

What is available?

Currently there are several altimeters on the market which could be used for our purpose but many are rather heavy and quite expensive. Some will only record or display maximum altitude. With the advent of electronic timers the way is clear to have an altimeter added with no extra battery payload. This is typified by Alex Andruikov’s ‘Simplicity’ timer. However many still have mechanical timers in their models and so there is a need for a lightweight stand-alone solution. The Altimax timer designed and produced by American Ken Bauer was a useful device, used by many, but sadly is now out of production. Then along came the HobbyKing version. This is small, lightweight and relatively cheap and retails at under £20 in the UK. It is manufactured by Xuzhou FlyDream Electronic & Technology Co., Ltd and is sold by HobbyKing.

Altimeter and Supporting Components

This Altimeter is a stand-alone, small, light and convenient unit for recording altitude and temperature changes throughout the model’s flight. Once the flight is over, the device is connected to a computer via the supplied USB interface and all the recorded

power the altimeter all day. The original lead was cut down and was soldered to the new socket lead which also had been shortened. Lengths of heat-shrink sleeving were located on the wires and subsequently shrunk over the soldered joints. Don’t be tempted to cut the white coloured wire loop off completely or the device won’t work. Just cut it short, solder the ends together and insulate with shrink sleeving. My finished connector weighed in at 0.4gm. making the total weight just 3.2gm.

The altimeter USB interface.

Specification (Basic Device without leads or battery) Dimensions: Weight: Connector: Operating Voltage: Working Current: Sampling Frequency: Upload Interface: Storage Capacity: Height Range: Height Precision: Temperature Range: Temperature Precision:

Preparing for use

21×13×5mm 1.3g 1.25mm pin x 4 3.7V~8.4V <7 mA 1Hz/2Hz/4Hz/8Hz USB >63h(1Hz) -500m~9000m 0.3m -20oC~65oC 1oC

The altimeter is designed to be powered by connecting to a spare servo socket on an RC receiver, however for a stand-alone application the connecting lead must be modified to provide a socket to accept the chosen LiPo cell plug and also to be shortened to save a little weight. After a bit of web searching I decided that the most suitable battery for my purposes was a 30mAh 3.7volt single cell, configured for use with an E-Flite Nanostick model. These cells weigh 1.4gm and I obtained mine from BRC Hobbies but there are many suppliers. This battery requires a two pin JST-SH (1.25mm spacing) socket, again obtained from BRC Hobbies. I found that one 30mAh cell will

The assembled device is ready to go when the charged battery is connected and may be taped to the model close to the CG or concealed within the structure. It is important to mount the device out of the airflow as pressure fluctuations will cause false readings. This is of particular importance with fast climbing power models and ballisticly launched gliders.

Using the device

I found it best to connect the altimeter to the PC via the provided USB interface and change the sampling rate before doing a flight test. When the software runs, the start-up screen offers two choices, either FD-A to PC or Curve. The FD-A to PC button accesses the screen where data is downloaded and saved and settings are changed. The Curve button allows access to saved data files and flight profile plotting. The sampling rate may be set at 1,2,4 or 8 samples per second. The higher the rate the fewer flights that are able to be recorded. I found that a rate of 2 or 4 samples per second was fine with my F1Bs. You will of course need to load the software on your computer before attempting this. When trying to access your device from the software you will need to make sure that the software is addressing the correct COM

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28/01/2015 12:46

Model Technology port. It is a matter of trying the options from the drop-down menu until you find the one that works. On switch-on the altimeter’s LED will light up and after about 20 seconds will start to flash to indicate that recording has started. When the on-board memory is 75% full the LED flashes red and 95% it will just glow red. With the altimeter/battery assembly installed in the model you are ready to go. After a flight, or series of flights, remove the device, plug it into the USB adaptor and insert that into a spare socket in your

Now switch to the ‘Curve’ screen by pressing ‘back’. There are fifteen icons at the top of the screen which perform the following functions: Open, Mark, Screen-Shot, Peak Search, Four buttons to scroll plot, Four buttons to zoom plot and finally three buttons to Set Zero, and annotate start and finish time of the flight. All these are fairly intuitive to use, so use ‘Open’ to load the saved data file, left click the requisite file on the flight record list and have a play. The initial plot will show absolute altitude

the climb of my F1Bs. It has also meant an improved appreciation of the vagaries of the air in which we fly. I now tend to use an altimeter for completion flights and it is surprising how variable a model’s sinking speed can be even in what appears to be quite benign conditions. I don’t just mean slightly worse! I mean a doubling of sinking speed! It is then when an excess of performance over and above the maximum can save the day! The typical flight profile of an F1B shows the model climbing to a height of 104 metres, experiencing 90 seconds of

The final components –Battery, modified lead and altimeter.

The USB interface connected to a computer.

The FD-A download screen.

A typical flight profile of an F1B on the FD-A Curve screen.

laptop to check your data on the field. If you have a PC then you will have to curb your enthusiasm until you get home. I have found that this is not really a hardship as some plots may require careful analysis.

Using the software

Start the software, press the FD-A to PC button. The screen now shows the download window and the top left icon should show a green area indicating the percentage of the device memory used. Press the download button to start the download. When complete a dialogue box will open prompting a filename and allowing it to be saved.

so it is important to set the launch point height to zero before doing anything else. If you want to save the annotated plot then use the screen-shot button as the programme will not save the changes on shut down. For those of you who would like to import the data into a spreadsheet like Excel, that is also possible. Right click the requisite file on the flight record list and it will be possible to save it as a .csv file.

Advantages to using an Altimeter

I have been surprised at just how useful the altimeter has been. It has certainly enabled me to better understand and fine tune

buoyant air before entering sink at 0.7 m/s for 60 seconds before dethermalising at 195seconds. The typical sinking speed on the glide is circa 0.3m/s!!! The use of altimeters gives the opportunity to put actual numbers on some parameters of our model’s flight. This can feed in to the design process and help improve the breed. I hope that many more flyers will use these devices and share their findings.

Useful Websites

Hobby King www.hobbyking.com Alex Andruikov www.andriukov.com BCR Hobbies www.brchobbies.co.uk Fly Dream www.fd-rc.com ●



28/01/2015 12:46

Model Science

The box open. In front a Cd’H loading stick (more in the lid) a Kevlar cartridge/ winding tube for F1B, the rod necessary to remove the tube (something eliminated in a great many modern systems that use a U section loading tube but that’s another article). The plug for 12volt power is seen on the right (standard car cigarette lighter unit).

RUBBER MOTOR WINDING TUBE & STORAGE SYSTEM Further to John O’Donnell’s earlier articles on rubber motors and storage, Dave Hipperson explains the cartridge system he developed when flying competitively.

I I

realised back in the 70s when flying FAI rubber (F1B now), in the event of motors blowing the discipline of rounds often meant time becoming very tight to get a flight in. Of course we all used winding tube protection even back then (an R J North invention from the 50s). However the fiddling about with a blown motor and re-loading a new one took time - sometimes too much time. (Alex Andrukov lost what might have been his first win in the 1985 World Champs at Livno for this very reason. Lothar Doring and Hofsass (1st and 2nd) had a system like mine by then. I think they may have been influenced by mine – not sure.) However in those early days I carried no less than a dozen, numbered and pre-loaded plastic winding tubes in a great big white box. (I am told pictures of it exist in the June 1979 AeroModeller!) This way I was always ready and in fact my hands rarely touched rubber or the lube through an entire seven flight contest. Each motor, when used, found its way naturally back into its tube and the next one in line taken out.

Be Prepared!

Rather slick but it had another clever feature. One of the cartridges had a motor already fully wound! This was in case time really got short. It would of course have suffered slightly being

wound all day (not as much as we thought at the time though), but it would at least give me a flight where the alternative was a zero. It was used a couple of times, if I remember correctly, and the slightly tired motor was quite sufficient as long as the air picking was as well! Of course this is not allowed anymore, at least not in international F1B, as the motor has to be wound during the round and observed being wound by the timekeeper, although that part of the rule is rarely enforced. With the advent of the slimmed modern models of the 80’s the system was modified to what you see here. However, the box was built in the period when we were allowed to use heated jackets around the models, so the box here has some unusual features. It has a very powerful electric blanket (nicrome wire stitched into blanket material) run from the same 12 volt system that powered the heater jackets. In this way the motors could be warm already – easier to wind. You will see that I have reduced the number of tubes from a dozen; this was as much due to the complexity of making them as anything else. I reckoned that the old plastic tube was cumbersome and heavy, so I made some winding tube/cartidges from Kevlar, just like we were using for fuselages in the models but with a bit more resin as weight was not such an issue. The beautiful aluminium end pieces were

End view of the storage box. Note small cut-out window through which a digital thermometer showed internal temp. The tubes have been pulled out a little along with the heated blanket.

turned for me by Trevor Grey; they are crucial to the integrity of the design as the ends take a lot of punishment. The lid was used to house the jacket for the model and when they were outlawed (shame, it was such fun!) I used the box when flying Cd’H. Those wooden things are loading sticks. Each one would have a motor on it and they all could be kept warm in the box until needed. The Cd’H system used a single plastic winding tube protector but the loading sticks were again a great boon to rapid replacement of blown motors when time was tight.

Other Use for Heater

The heater box had a further trick it could play. When I was building F1B fuselages from Kevlar/Epoxy resin, cure temperatures and times were quite critical to get the best stiffness. So all the winding apparatus was removed from the box, and the fuselage on its single mould protected by polythene, was slipped into the blanket and the whole device left on over night. Temperature stabilised out as something which would have equated to a low setting on your oven! Twenty four hours at that level cured the resin beautifully. Needless to say the 12 volt car battery supply was trickle charged during this time. ●

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International CL

EURO COMBAT

INTERNATIONAL 12-14 December 2014 LAS PALMAS GRAN CANARIA For the 14th consecutive year, the Canary Federation of Air Sports (FECDA) and Club Tamaran organised this event offering Combat and Stunt pilots from all over Europe a taste of winter sun and the chance to fly CL. Text by Vernon Hunt, photos by Alberto Parra.

I I

n the last couple of years there has been discussion in the UK concerning slow combat as flown in Europe; 35 seconds for 10 laps model including the streamer, flown in level flight. This could be an F2E or F2D model or even an own design, but with a large wing area. These models perform well in manoeuvres making it a very competitive event.

The Basic Rules

Any 2.5cc engine, diesel or glow, to include silencer (limited to around 85dB) One model per match Suction or pressure fuel feed Model speed checked before every flight Scoring can be Vintage or F2D (in Gran Canaria they used Vintage scoring, but with the F2D ‘2 life system’. This is a fairer system than 1st Round and 1st Round losers, but with Vintage Combat numbers as high as they are, it would be very hard to complete the event in one day.) Prior to flights, models are pull tested and line lengths checked and they go into a model rack stacking system. This means, as one match finishes the next is ready to go.

Club Tamaran Flying Facilities

The site is owned by the City Council and is shared with a football club. It is purpose built with a concrete centre circle and perimeter, which will accommodate both combat and stunt and is surrounded by a 2 metre safety fence. Under the main football stand there

are two rooms for the exclusive use of the Tamaran Club, one for storing models and fuel and the other is a fully equipped building room for the fliers. Two modified porta-cabins provide an admin block and catering facilities, operated by partners. This is a family orientated club and juniors are strongly encouraged.

The UK Team

Martin Kiszel had gone out on Tuesday 9th for a week’s holiday with his wife, and the rest of us arrived on Thursday 11th, within one hour of each other, for this four day experience. Alberto Parra provided us with a mini bus, and accommodation was a choice of a converted Convent at 5 Euros a night, or the central Parque Hotel, with B & B at 25 Euros. On Thursday we had a social afternoon at a Seafood Restaurant in Las Palmas and the evening was spent in the Old Town. Martin and Richard Herbert had taken their own F2E equipment, with Simon Miller using equipment from Sion Burns who is based in Menorca. John Leggot, Bruce Dobson and myself each acquired from Alberto, 2 Parra AAC diesels on 8 x 4 Taipan Props. Friday morning was practice time; Simon used a Parra diesel 2.5 with steel liner, Richard elected to use a Star diesel over a Nelson, whilst Sion chose a Device by Steve Malone with a MK3 Oliver Tiger. Combat practice finished around 3pm, with the Stunt competition being run over the rest of the afternoon and into Saturday morning.

Round One

There were 21 entries including 6 from the UK, keeping nationalities separate was not difficult for at least 4 rounds. John lost his first match to Nicholas Antunez Senior through a bad motor run; Martin had a strange match against Alberto, with the score at one each and ground time against Martin. However, Alberto was penalised for stepping on and breaking his own streamer and not landing and replacing a new one. Martin went through. Simon had a good match with Francisco Mons, the tactic of following in vintage proving to be a match winner at 2 - 1. Bruce flew Kevin Lopez, winning by 1 - 0 and ground time after a reflight was given when the streamer string in the first match had broken for no reason. Sion lost his first round match to Manuel Mateo and yours truly lost to Paco Jimenez, flying most of the match with half a model! Richard completed the round with a 2 - 1 win against Javier Aguiar.

Round Two

In the second round Simon beat one of the Spanish juniors, Lorenzo Pinna, meanwhile John lost his second match to Javier Aguiar. I beat Nicholas Antunez Senior, who had motor problems. Bruce beat Pepe Lopez from the Madrid club, Sion lost his second match to Paco Jimenez, whilst Richard lost to Nico Antunez Junior, losing the biggest part of his elevator early on, with the model losing all manoeuvrability. Martin was the last to fly against Javier Aragunde, with Javier’s model


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The fight between Javier Aguiar and Bruce Dobson. This photo sums up what a great sport combat is.

Richard Herbert launches a broken model, post-crash.

Nico (Nico Jr’s Dad.) against Jose Luis López who was 3rd in F2D at World Champs 2010.

Nico Jr. (11 yr old) fights hard with Manuel Mateo several times Spanish F2D Champ.

Far Left: As well as Combat, there was an OTS (Old Time Stunt) competition. Here Nicolas Antunez prepares to monitor the flight of a junior. Left: Old Time Stunt podium; 1st. Alberto Parra, 2nd Javier and 3rd Francisco Jimenez. The young girl at the left is the granddaugther of Alberto Parra who is of course learning to fly CL!

being cut off the lines during the match and hitting the car park wall. Needless to say he had a very broken model!

Round Three

The first match was myself flying 9 year old junior Raul Hernandez in his first competition; thank goodness for no embarrassment! Simon put out Javier Aguiar, but the best match of the round was between Alberto and Richard, Richard winning 2 - 1 with plenty of following. Martin beat one of the Spanish juniors, Lorenzo Pinna. There was an odd number in the round, so Bruce got the Bye.

messy bout - half a model to fly and a take off with a loop, lead to a disqualification.

Round Five

Bruce finally lost a life to Richard, Martin beat Manuel, destroying his model inside a minute! and Simon beat the last Spanish flyer, Paco Jimenez.

Round Six

Only 4 flyers remained. At this point it’s all about wins and losses, with Bruce effectively a round behind. So we had a match between Simon and Bruce, Simon the winner with Bruce on ‘catch up’, then flying Martin who won yet

Paco Mons and Manuel Mateo travelled from Barcelona

Raul, Nico Jr. and Lorenzo were on the podium for the Junior clasification Combat. Javier Aguiar (glasses) was the coach and is an excellent F2D pilot.

Round Four

Bruce was first to fly Javier Aguiar, winning by a single cut and ground time. Simon eliminated the highest placed junior, Nicolas Antunez Junior, who at 11 years old has the potential to become a future Spanish F2D team member. This kid can fly!! Best match of the round was Richard beating Paco Jimenez 5 - 2 and Martin winning over Jose Luis Lopez, with lots of carnage..... I flew Manuel Mateo - a very

This year an all British podium; 1st Martin Kiszel, 2nd Richard Herbert, 3rd Simon Miller.

again, the only pilot with no losses. Simon lost to his club mate Richard, meaning that there was a final between Martin and Richard. The ‘fly off ’ for 3rd place was between Bruce, Simon and Manuel. Two flights later it was - Simon 3rd, Bruce 4th and Manuel 5th. So we had a final. Richard had to beat Martin twice. At the end of the first match we believed that Richard had won. But wait a minute! Close inspection with a camera shows Simon pitting inside the circle whilst there

are uncleared lines in a tangle. A disqualification for Richard left Martin the winner! All was done with good spirit and the correct application of the rules by the Spanish organisers. I think it is fair to say that this was the first time some of our pilots have flown abroad and certainly, besides myself, in this Euro event. At the Airport heading for home, the overwhelming opinion was that it was a great success. Whilst out on the final evening with Alberto and friends we came across a Finnish Karaoke Club closing its doors, which was actually a blessing, as Bruce was in the mood to give us all a rendition of Lola by Barry Manilow!! Finally, a huge ‘Thank You’ to Alberto and all the Spanish organisers for a wonderful weekend of sporting and social activities. For news of future events and Alberto Parra’s engines go to www.clubtamaran.com ●

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Model Technology Steve Glass with his FF Hurricane at the Nationals. Photo by Laurence Marks.

Pendulum Ailerons Y

Y

Steve Glass shares his experiences with both mechanical and electronic pendulums on FF models.

our editor Andrew, asked me to write a piece about my experiences using pendulum ailerons as a cure to spiral instability. The story is incomplete and I can’t prove one way or another whether they actually work or not, but here goes anyway. I’m not a full-size pilot or an aerodynamics expert, also some of the assertions made here are based on insufficient data or maybe are just plain wrong? So if you disagree with anything or maybe you have something to add, please share your thoughts with me or the editor.

Building on the Work of Others

We had the privilege of meeting US modeller Fernando Ramos at the 2003 (I think) August Nationals; Fernando had made the trip across the pond to compete in FF scale. He described, to all who were interested, his experiments with

a pendulum system to help FF models with marginal spiral stability. Namely, the pendulum is connected to the ailerons and, unusually, it is set 10 to 15 degrees down from the horizontal. Now let’s hope I’ve got this right? It seems that a test rig was taken up in a fullsized aeroplane and subjected to various manoeuvres to show that a pendulum, set at 10 degrees down from the horizontal was the most effective for our purposes. At the time I was flying scale FF EDF jets and thought that some additional spiral stability might make these models a little more forgiving to fly?

Fury FJ-4 with Mechanical Pendulum

My own personal experience with pendulum ailerons started with a scale jet, namely, a North American FJ-4 Fury. The Fury was finished (just) in time to

enter the 2006 Nationals and, true-toform, the model was taken to Barkston completely untested apart from a few testglides and a powered-glide. Nevertheless, this little testing showed immense promise and the maiden was indeed a scoring competition flight! Check out the BMFA website for the 2006 Nats results, it is interesting to note that the Fury had three good flights on the Saturday night. More importantly, the Fury was the only model to post a scoring flight on the Sunday in CO2/ Electric, when conditions grew quite bad (read normal for Barkston!) However, it shouldn’t be too difficult to make a free-flight FJ-4 fly well without the complication and extra weight of a pendulum system. Nevertheless, I firmly believe that the pendulum control made the model exceptionally easy to fly and combined with being overpowered helped the model cope with both windy conditions


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Pendulum set at 10 degrees down from horizontal.

Fury pendulum from the top.

Fury pendulum from the bottom.

and ham-fisted launches. Unfortunately, the Fury was lost next year during the 2007 nationals in a flyaway. Here’s a link to some video of the Fury in flight (courtesy of Russ Lister) https://vimeo.com/24019743

of the stabilising system to do anything worthwhile (more on balanced turns later). The Fury wing was a one-piece bandedon item, the mechanical system was quite easy to install. A one-piece wing is fine on an EDF jet, however, it does not work so well on a prop driven model as the wing will certainly skew on landing, resulting in damage to the LE as it strikes the prop. Therefore on a prop driven model it is best to have two separate wing panels and that unfortunately makes a mechanical pendulum system much harder to implement.

far? It did show promise and it did indeed manage to grab 4th place at the 2012 Nats, flown in challenging conditions. However, flying was hit-and-miss with the model sometimes settling into a balanced turn that resulted in no aileron correction. Here’s some video that shows just what I mean. The flight starts out ok with noticeable aileron corrections and then they just stop happening? https://vimeo.com/69974661 The Hurricane had an electronic pendulum system to ease the problem of implementing separate detachable wing panels. On this electronic version, the pendulum bob-weight was a magnet and at either end of the throw was a hall-effect sensor. The hall-effect sensor is sensitive to magnetism with a voltage output dependent on the proximity of the magnet. This voltage is read by an Analogue to Digital (AtoD) convertor and appropriate signals generated and sent to a pair of RC servos, one on each aileron. All the processing was done on a tiny micro-controller that kept the size and weight to within reason. At each wing joint was simple electrical connector, namely, a Futaba type servo-

FF Hurricane with Avionics

The next pendulum model was a 1:11 scale Hurricane for diesel power - A Hurricane was perhaps a bridge too

ry.

ican FJ-4 Fu

North Amer

The wing cutout on the EDF Fury.

Fury mechanical pendulum arrangement.

The Fury had a fully mechanical pendulum system set at the suggested 10 degrees from the horizontal. The pendulum used a 7g (1/4oz) bob-weight driving four bell-cranks, two bell-cranks per aileron. Each bell-crank decreased the travel and increased the mechanical advantage of the pendulum. It was attempted to achieve some sort of aileron differential (i.e. more up than down), however, my befuddled brain got things wrong and the end result was more down than up! With hindsight (and future failures in mind) I suspect that this was a blessing as aileron differential might well have caused the model to settle into a balanced turn with subsequent failure

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Model Technology

Hurricane pendulum position.

connector, that parted easily when a wing was knocked off. The avionics suite consisted of a battery, a small 2s Lipo encased in a fuel-proofed box as it lived next to the diesel engine. The pendulum has a magnet for its bob-weight which excites the hall sensors situated at each end of the circuit board and a 5Volt regulator is needed the drop the battery voltage. The microcontroller (PIC12F683) is very powerful for its size; indeed, it has about the same processing power as an early PC. It reads the voltages from the hall sensors and drives the aileron servos.

Co-ordinated Turns

Pilots of full-sized aircraft are taught to fly co-ordinated or balanced turns; this is for their own comfort and that of their passengers. In a balanced turn the occupants feel their weight to be acting straight downwards into their seat, the same must be true for a pendulum bob in a model? For this type of horizontal pendulum used

Avionics used in the FF Hurricane.

Knock-off wing arrangement

here to be effective perhaps the model should be encouraged fly in uncoordinated slipping turns. In slipping turns the pendulum bob will always fall in the direction of the turn/ bank and hopefully correct spiral instability. Perhaps if a modeller was experimenting with pendulum ailerons, it could be as well to encourage adverse yaw and uncoordinated turns by not using aileron differential or Frise type ailerons?

Did it work?

Diesel pow

ered FF Hur

The pendulum aileron system on the Fury worked like a charm and it made the model the easiest and best flying scale model I have known. The Fury would make a reasonably stable FF model without this extra spiral stability. However, similar models I’ve flown, without a pendulum,

ricane to 1:

11 scale

would always spiral-in if the turn was too tight or if the launch was not spot-on; the Fury never did! The one-piece wing with a mechanical pendulum system worked very well indeed.

Circuit board top and bottom.



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The Hurricane, on the other hand, could be described as a near miss. Sometimes there was adequate stability throughout the whole flight, however, during most flights the ailerons stopped correcting after a period of time? Now, the Hurricane had a lot of aileron differential implemented at the programming stage, there was about twice as much up aileron compared to down. Maybe, this amount of aileron differential was a mistake and it encouraged the Hurricane to settle into a balanced turn and the stabilisation stopped? Remember, as previously mentioned, the Fury had more down than up! The electronic pendulum seemed to work OK, as did the knock-off wings. The Hurricane was always going to be tricky to handle as the real aeroplane was so unstable. Whether or not taking away the aileron differential would have made any difference to the flying performance we shall never know, as it was struck off charge after a bad crash at the 2012 Nats. Contact Steve Glass, [email protected] ●

ELECTRONIC PENDULUM CIRCUIT DETAILS

Due to the power and versatility of the microcontroller the component count of the electronic pendulum circuit is very low and anyone with electronics experience should be able to knock one up in short order for under £10. I’m afraid that I no longer have the means to make printed circuit boards; the PCB artwork has not survived. Nevertheless, if you have the wherewithal to program the PIC, I can share the .HEX file by email (free of charge), or if not I can supply a pre-programmed item for say £2.50 inc. P&P. The components are readily available from many sources. At the time of writing several suppliers were selling on ebay, also Farnell Electronics http://uk.farnell.com/ had stock. ELECTRONIC PENDULUM CIRCUIT DETAILS

Steve Glass prepares and successfully ROGs (Rise Off Ground) the Hurricane at Barkston Heath. Photos by Laurence Marks.

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CL Event Australia Peter Koch flew his “Larakin MK 3” replica in Classic Aerobatics. Brian Horrocks flew the original “Larakin” which won the British Gold Trophy in 1961.

CONTROL LINE GRAND PRIX IN MELBOURNE

A M

AUS 30210 reports from ‘Down Under’ on this multi-discipline Control Line competition.

A

t this time of the year it is common practice for the MAAA to hold the Australian Nationals Championships and many modellers use the occasion to coincide with their annual holidays. However, his year’s Nationals are to be flown in Queensland in April and this meant that there was not an event during the holiday period. The Control Line Aircraft Modellers Club in Melbourne decided to organise a competition to fill the gap and proceeded to prepare for a competition to take place at Albury NSW between January 2nd and January 5th. Everything was set for the event but the Australian weather predictions for the planned dates threw up some challenges that would have made flying impossible. The forecast of hot weather and strong winds made it likely that there could be a total fire ban imposed by the Country Fire Authority and in this situation the host club (Twin Cities) would not permit flying at their site. Under those circumstances it was decided to switch the venue to the CLAMF home field

in Melbourne. With Aerobatics, Speed, Combat and Team Racing on the four day schedule, competitors and spectators had plenty of events to choose from.

Day 1 Saturday

As things turned out the weather on the first day of competition in Melbourne was horrendous. With temperatures approaching 40 degrees Celsius and winds up to 50 km/h any flying at all was impossible and the day was spent talking in the club barn and exchanging points of view, which is something modellers can do very well.

Day 2 Sunday

F2C Team Race. A cool change had happened over night and the weather looked to be more settled for the next three days. First event on the concrete circle was F2C Team Race, round 1 & 2. Most teams were complying with the new F2C rules using a 3mm venturi and the fuels used were without

the addition of Tetra Ethyl Lead (TEL). It came as no surprise that the ex-World Champions team of Rob Fitzgerald and Mark Ellins posted the day’s fastest times of 3:20.22 and 3:23.78. Murray Wilson and Andrew Nugent were not far behind and recorded two times of 3:30.75 and 3:31.78

F2A Speed

The pylon was placed in the centre of the circle and a couple of F2A Speed flyers flew four rounds of speed. F2A best times were:Murray Wilson 12.87secs - 279.72 kph. Richard Justic 13.51secs - 266.46 kph.

Classic Aerobatics.

Whilst the above events were taking place, Classic Aerobatics were being flown on the grass surface. Some of the models were made from Brodak War Birds kits and although not from the Classic era they flew the same Classic stunt pattern. Mark Ellins was the contest winner. His model was a P40 profile model powered by a ST46.


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The F2C final teams. Left to Right: R. Lacey/C. Ray (3rd), A. Nugent/M. Wilson (1st), M. Ellins/R. Fitzgerald (2nd).

Classic Aerobatics results

Rd 1 Rd 2 Best Model/Engine 1 Mark Ellins 986 1019 1019 P40 Warbird /ST46 2 Paul Stein 964 922 964 Nobler/ Brodak40 3 Peter Koch 871 911 911 Larakin /Enya 61 4 Andrew Nugent 859 744 859 Nobler/ OS46LA 5 Gavan Opperman 679 679 Oriental /Veco 35 6 John Hallowell 483 483 Thunderbird /ST46

three seconds short of the next fastest time. In the final the Justic/Stein “Dimpled Dumpling” and Hallowell/Justic “Pluto” had very little airspeed difference but the Bailey/ Roberts “Dimpled Dumpling” was slightly off the pace and marginally short on range meaning an extra pit stop was needed. Final times were:Justic/Stein 6:43.90 Ha llowell/Nugent 6:56.57 Bailey/Roberts 7:34.13

and recorded 3:32.06 and 3:37.81. The newly formed team of Colin Ray and Ron Lacey showed their potential with a creditable time of 3:34.05. Leknys/Reichardt best time for the event was 3:35.93 and Justic/Stein not far behind with 3:42.72. The remaining team of Bailey/Hunting did not record a time. The final was a close result. The Ray/Lacey team only managed to complete 36 laps but from then on it was touch and go between Wilson/Nugent and Fitzgerald/Ellins as to who would be first to make the 200 laps. The victors were Wilson/Nugent. Their

During the lunch-break, the helpers in the canteen provided refreshments of hot dogs, Dim Sims and plenty of cold drinks and ice creams were on hand to combat any rise in the temperatures.

Half A Combat

Talking of combat, the Half A variety was the next event. With a mixture of Ukrainian made state of the art models with Cyclon JAK or Fora 1.5cc engines and homemade models built from an old AeroModeller “Half A Russian” plan and powered by vintage Taipan engines, it made for some cat and mouse tactics. In the final bout Tony Casselli beat Murray Wilson by 3 cuts to 1. It was JAK against Taipan and the JAK conquered.

Vintage A Team Race.

Last event of the day was Vintage A Team Race. Due partly to the venue change entry numbers were smaller than might have been expected but the four entrants had fun with some close racing. Models used were two Dimpled Dumplings, a Pluto and a Voodoo. All engines used were the Australian made R250 Oliver Tiger replica. Wilson/Lacey were the team that missed out on the final as their 3:40.31 time was

F2A Speed flyers. Left to Right. Murray Wilson, Richard Justic.

Day 3 Monday

F2C Team Race. Rounds 3 and 4 of F2C were the first event of the day. Fitzgerald/Ellins improved their times to 3:14.06 and 3:13.78. Wilson/Nugent continued with their consistent performance

Tony Casselli warms up his engine ready for Half A Combat.

time of 7:00.72 being a close call in front of Fitzgerald/Ellins 7:01.74. The top three teams all used Lerner engines.

Combined Speed

At the conclusion of team racing it was the turn of the speed flyers to occupy

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CL Event Australia

Ric Justic takes a catch during the 27 Goodyear race.

the concrete. The event here is known as Combined Speed but it might be better recognised elsewhere as Percentage Speed. There are multiple classes which can be entered and each has an Australian record which entrants try to beat or get as close as they can. The biggest model flown on the day was the Class 3 monoline model powered by a Rossi .61 by Richard Justic at 279.89 kph. Richard won the competition with the flight of his Nelson .29 powered “Pink Lady”. The recorded speed of 292.9 kph was 100.10%. Local speed man Robin Hiern claimed second and third place with Class 1 and Class 5 models, both of which were slightly greater than 97% of the record.

Maier and Murray Wilson. Both of them were using ST G20/15 diesel engines. Murray was the eventual winner with two cuts and Ken had no cuts and less air time.

Classic FAI Team Race

Last event of the day was another team race. “The aim of Australian Classic FAI team race is to re-create FAI team racing as it was before 1970, when in the eyes of many people, models were more beautiful, less expensive, and flew over grass at speeds most people can cope with”. The engines used must be one that is included in an approved engine list. The Barton club in Manchester has a similar event but they are more restrictive regarding which modern engines can be used.

A view underneath the cowl of a modern F2C racer with a Lerner engine.

Vintage Combat

Over on the grass circle Vintage Combat took place. The Australian rules vary slightly from the British version. The main differences being that our maximum engine capacity is 2.5cc and we allow modern covering materials and have a list of approved engines that include some that are in current production and readily available. It was a well-run contest that moved along at a brisk pace. The fly off for first place was between Ken

Murray Wilson has flown at C/L World Championships in F2A, F2C, F2D, and he has now started flying F2B. Maybe he will one day claim a place in the Australian F2B World Championships team. He is seen here holding his Vintage Combat “Anduril” after defeating Ken Maier in the final bout.

built racing engines but with a small amount of fettling they can be made to suit our purpose. It is worthwhile to note that whilst most of the models are reproductions of the originals of the period, some of our race times are equal to those

Robin Hiern and Richard Justic placed second and first in Combined Speed.

There were probably as many as twelve models in the pitting area but as there were only six teams present not all of those were flown. Most models have been built in recent years but Ron Lacey was using an original model that he raced back in the seventies. The engines that are most commonly used are the Parra 2.5 or the Fora 2.5. Both engines can give similar performance. The Parra is a little bit more expensive but appears to have better quality control in the manufacturing process. These two engines are not purpose

of the 60’s when specialist racing engines such as the Bugl were in use. All teams managed to record a time during the two heats of racing. Fastest qualifiers were:Leknys/Lacey 4:12.68 Nugent/Ellins 4:16.00 Bailey/Roberts 4:23.03 In the 200 lap final race all models were away quickly and pilots were on their best



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behaviour. Most pit-stops were slick affairs and racing was very close. On lap 189 the “Klotznoruski” model flown by Bailey/ Roberts came in for a pit stop that the pilot was expecting to be caught but the pitman was expecting another glided lap and the model ran into the circle ending their race. Andrew Nugent pressed on with his “Orion” and world class pitman Mark Ellins made no mistakes for them to record a final time of 8:43.34. The Leknys/Lacey team completed the race in a time of 8:57.5.

Day 4 Tuesday

Two more team race events today. 27 Goodyear is a speed limited racing event that is popular in Australia. The class caters for the use of Goodyear models with any diesel engines up to 2.5cc. The main racing restriction is that the model must not travel faster than 27 seconds for ten laps. “That’s not racing” I hear you cry. Well maybe not for the purist but as far as being an event that can be entered by both novice and experienced flyers, it has many

Classic FAI racing is increasing in popularity in Australia. Here are the top three teams from the final race.

The winning team with their “Dimpled Dumpling” Vintage A team race model.

challenges to get it right but can still be a bundle of fun. There is no advantage to use a top of the range expensive racing engine because of the speed limit. A sports engine that has good re-starting qualities can be just as effective. Settings and team work are the hard part. In the event of exceeding the speed limit the ‘speed police’ will make you have a penalty pit stop every time the offence occurs. 27 seconds + = OK 26.9 seconds - = Penalty stop A selection of engines including Nelson, MVVS, Oliver Tiger, Goodyear tuned PAW and Super Tigers were used. After getting a good engine setting, constant monitoring of speed is needed by the pitman and messages of pull your arm in or stick your arm out were often relayed to the pilots in an effort to keep their speeds as close to the limit as possible. Pitman Andrew Nugent and pilot Murray Wilson did this to good effect to record a 100 lap heat time of 5:05.78.

The Classic B finalists. Left to Right. Lacy/Hunting, Wilson/Stein, Bailey/Roberts.

The final times were:Wilson/Nugent 10:10.53 Stein/Justic 10.52.69 Lacey/Hunting 13:54.47

Classic B Team Race.

The last remaining event in the schedule was Classic B Team Race for models using engines on an approved list up to 5cc. With only three teams remaining at the field we went straight in to a 160 lap final. Three different engine types were used, Irvine25, OSFX25 and a GMS 25. It was the OSFX25 that had the speed edge by a large margin and

Paul Stein flew his grey racer to a victory with a ballistic time of 5:48.03.

Success

That brought to an end a very enjoyable four days of control line activity. Mixed in with the flying we also managed to have a swap meet where quite a few bargains changed hands and the evenings featured some enjoyable times at various eating venues so that our interstate visitors never went hungry. Our thanks go to all the officials, timekeepers, judges and background people, without whom the event would not have been possible. ●

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Readers Letters

AeroPost Mylar Covering and Mercury Kits

Hi Andrew. Just read the latest offering from AeroModeller (933) and am very pleased. Lots to interest me. In response to your article on Mylar covering and the one on Mercury models I thought I’d send you these pictures. All built some time ago, but all still flying they are: * OD Jasco Trojan XL published in Model Flyer a few years a ago with PAW 06 * KK Skystreak 26 with PAW 1.0cc *Mercury Wasp with PAW 0.5cc They are covered with 1/A combat Mylar followed by, like you, tissue in stock -a bit like Modelspan. I use thinned Evo-Stick (can you still get it?) as adhesive and just normal nitrate dope to fix the DRY tissue in place, overlapping on all edges. Water shrinking afterwards seems to do the job before several coats of dope. No apparent problems with wrinkles but the models are not very demanding. All the models have the balsa parts covered in very thin fibre glass cloth before tissue again stuck on with dope. They are pretty bombproof. The small amount of painted

Every issue will contain a selection of readers’ letters. We’re happy to receive post to the ADH office address, or emails to [email protected]. Letters may be edited to fit the space we have available. Regards, Andrew Boddington

decoration is in Humbrol enamel. The models are light and with those motors certainly not short of power. The Wasp is in fact quite ridiculously quick. Thanks, Richard Evans Hi Richard, Glad to hear you are enjoying AM. The longevity of your models certainly supports the idea that tissue on Mylar is very durable. Your models look very smart and the tissue covering with tissue trim is a classic finish. And yes, you can still get EvoStick Impact, contact adhesive. Regards, Andrew

Resurrection!!

National Treasure Status!

Hello Andrew, I recently visited my daughter Jill and son-in-law Peter in Calgary, Alberta. Whilst searching through Peter’s magazines I found a copy of a recent ‘AeroModeller’. The format and subject matter appealed to me instantly, what a refreshing change from the current vogue of filling pages with endless over-lengthy reports of events, exhibitions and banal editorials leaving no space for articles and projects - I believe that you have got a very good format, please stick with it. I have subsequently taken out a subscription and started un-earthing my well preserved old aeromodelling assets. The oldest is a Mercury Picador with AM15, and a Mercury Toreador with McCoy 19. The youngest is a Graupner Mosquito with folding prop and OS Cougar radio. The November 2014 issue of Aeromodeller is the first of my subscription - is it pure coincidence that this issue has an article dealing with battery upgrade for ‘retro-radio’ sets? On page 42 of the December issue is a photograph of guess what? an OS Cougar 4ch radio. This is beginning to have the appearance of a conspiracy! I have purchased new Solarfilm and started to cover the skeletal frame of the Graupner Mosquito completed 18 to 20 odd years ago. On the control line front, the AM15 following a strip down and clean, started easily after being laid up properly for 40 odd years, I hope to run a few laps again. Oh by the way, I will be 70 years young in March 2015! Regards, Tony Davies.

Dear Mr Editor, I must say first that John O’Donnell is a national treasure. I have on my desk a 1966 AeroModeller, and in it an article written by John on the North Western Area Woodford Rally (sadly now a housing development). Yet in the new AeroModeller series which I have been so delighted to see you begin, John is still writing. This is a career of almost 50 years. In fact, I believe John has been writing even longer, because I am sure I have secreted a 1956 AeroModeller somewhere (away from the wife who simply does not understand) in which he appears. Please ask him. Just as important, can we have more on trimming from John? Since he is so good, and the subject is so large, a way to start would be to give the secrets of his Coupe d’Hiver’s trim. I know that letting out all these techniques will be agony, since it will help the opposition, but John says he has given up competitive flying. As it is, John’s current article on whether to trim left or right only whets the appetite. For example, he mentions “wing warp”. We know that wing warp is important, but why and which wing? We also know about asymmetrical wings - for example, the wing is sometimes set at an angle to the fuselage so that the leading wing provides more lift, but why and how does this compare with the wing warp method? Then tailplanes are angled so as to provide turn - what are the advantages? John’s detailed discussions of these and related issues are needed. Aeromodeller is a joy. Best wishes, Stan Siebert ,Birmingham

Hi Tony, I’m pleased to hear that you like the format of AeroModeller and that you have taken out a subscription - there appears to be a growing number of modellers who have been spurred out of inaction by reading AeroModeller. I’ll certainly try to keep the format diverse to appeal as many builders and flyers as I can. Good luck with your resurrection of various models. Regards, Andrew

Hi Stan, Yours is one of several emails I’ve received praising JOD and his ‘Better…’ series of articles. All get passed on to John, and I’m sure he will consider incorporating answers in future columns. To my knowledge John has been appearing in AeroModeller for well over 60 years; according to Colin Usher’s AeroModeller index his first article was on a Giro Glider in June 1952. Regards, Andrew


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30/05/2013 13:14 10:04 28/01/2015

Tail End Charlie The Mysterious “Mr Sheppard “

A

fter I wrote about the influence that “Mr Sheppard” had on me as a very young aeromodeller, readers supplied loads of eminent candidates! Even with an obvious clue in the “Horfield Boys” roll of honour no one identified the right one. No, it wasn’t Ken Sheppard, the recently retired Editor of RC Model Flyer (he is several weeks younger than I am anyway) it was his Dad!

A

Wandering home from infants or junior school with Ken, calling in at the Sheppard’s and being allowed to look in their front room was always a treat for me. Here were kept a couple of “enormous” gliders (in hindsight I would be surprised if they were as big as 48 inch wingspan) stored with their noses down, each in the top of a vase on the mantelpiece with their tails upwards. The models impressed me, as did the fact that they were obviously considered so special that they were allowed into the finest room in the house (you have to understand the notion of “the front room” in the early 1950s to appreciate why this was so). You would also have to understand that same culture to understand why I’ve only just found out that his name was “Bill”! The fact that Mr Sheppard would enquire about my model building was a great encouragement in itself, but he also passed on little tips on building and flying, such as advising me not to pin though strip wood whilst building from a Keil-Kraft kit as that would weaken the model, and to always make sure I had a flat building board. He also told me just to glue the joint – “fillets of glue add only weight not strength” he said.

Sideshow Bob

Has written to me a few times and recently asked – “When are us 4-Channel designers, builders and flyers going to get our own magazine. One untainted by ARTFs we don’t want to read about.”? Well, I think this is something that AeroModeller should be embracing don’t you? It’s where the magazine has excelled in the past and perhaps an area we should quietly reoccupy whilst the other magazines continue to ignore it. In addition it’s a logical extension of his earlier questions about Old Timer RC assist models with ailerons and even gyros! What do you think? Please let me know so I have some evidence one way or the other.

Mini Goodyear

From Peterborough Model Flying Club, Bryan Lea wrote to tell me of his first entry into Mini Goodyear racing at the 2014 Nats with his friend Steve Turner. Here’s an extract: “Eventually it was our turn to get in the circle with another team. Steve got the engine going and we did 3 laps before the engine sagged and died. No amount of flicking would bring it back to life and that was that - our first race was over. …. My Nats was over but I hadn’t reckoned on Bernie Nicholls delving into his toolbox and saying “take your pick from these 3 PAWs“. Aren’t PMFC members wonderful? We were back in business. Next day, Sunday …. Back at the Mini Goodyear circle we were down to fly against none other than Messrs Lever and Waterland. Well at least there would be no need for me to do any overtaking, just fly low and keep out of the way which is what I did. When my own engine had been running it had done 45 laps per tankful, you need 2 pit stops per 100 lap race in

Mini Goodyear. Bernie’s was more thirsty only doing about 23-24 laps, so we had more stops, probably about 7 in the end but we finished the 100 laps. Many thanks to Steve who did a great job on the pit stops and I even began to get the hang of whipping the model to him after the engine cut. I didn’t crash and more importantly didn’t cause BML/BVW to crash either. When it was all over there was much laughter and congratulatory handshakes all round. A brilliant day.” I thought that really captured the essence of control line competition – I might even accept a long standing invitation to have a go at Mini Goodyear myself in 2015. As it happens I have my own PAW 1.49 in a borrowed model somewhere in the darkest corner of my shed just awaiting the wakeup call…

The mysterious ‘Mr Sheppard’ is revealed as Ken’s father Bill.

Old Warden 2015

Even though I’m writing on the last day of 2014, by the time you read this you should have your 2015 Ebenezer build well underway to take to the Mayfly meeting on 16-17 May at Old Warden. There will be loads of low key competitions there as well as general sport flying of all types. For more information keep reading AeroModeller and check out the new Modelair web-site www. modelair.info Well that’s it for this month, but don’t forget to send all your comments, pictures and suggestions to me at [email protected] and I look forward to seeing everyone at Old Warden in May and then throughout 2015. ●

Bryan Lea with his Mini Goodyear model.

Many modellers of a certain age will have cut their building teeth on a Keil-Kraft model like this.

Left: Senior Mini Goodyear finalists at the Nats 2014. Mini Goodyear is a great entry level class for flying Team Race, and includes a Juniors only event. (Photo Tim Andrews)


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