Aeromodeller.truePDF June.2017

FREE PLAN: EDF ‘WHAT-IF-SCALE’ FW190T

www.aeromodeller.com June 2017. No. 961. £5.00

FOCKE-WULF FANTASY BEGINNER’S FF SMALL DUCTED FAN BARTON CLUB

WEE DEVIL

FF TRACKING REVIE

W 6 0

4 0 0 3 2 9 1 0 0 0 7 7 9

START CL SPEED

LASER KIT

BETTER… RETRIEVAL

● RIP JOHN O’DONNELL ● CONVERT 4 STROKE GLOW TO DIESEL

● VIABON FF DURATION…

CONTENTS AEROMODELLER 961 June 2017 – Next issue published on 15 June 2017

04

HEARD AT THE HANGAR DOORS

30

EDITORIAL, NEWS AND VIEWS.

FREE PLAN – FW190T ‘TRUDI’

A ‘WHAT-IF-SCALE’ MODEL BY ROB SMITH FOR THE SMALL 18MM

07

UP AND COMING

KPAERO EDF UNIT.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR THE NEXT MONTHS.

40

GIVE CAD A CHANCE

PART 3. BOB ‘SIDESHOW’ DAVIS

WEE DEVIL REVIEW

SHARES HIS DEVELOPMENT OF A

08

A CLASSIC-LINES PYLON MODEL KIT IS ASSESSED BY MIKE WATERS

PLAN FOR AN UNORTHODOX

12

JOHN O’DONNELL RIP

JOHN’S AEROMODELLING OBITUARY

BOWDEN MODEL.

46

FROM HIS FRIEND DAVE HIPPERSON.

18

JO’D REMEMBERED

MANY OF JOHN’S FELLOW FLYERS

50

SHARE THEIR MEMORIES OF JOHN.

BETTER… RETRIEVAL

DAVE HIPPERSON ON TRACKING AND

BILL DENNIS ON SCALE

BARTON CLUB SPEED

Editorial:

THE 2ND OF THESE EVENTS TO

Editor:Andrew Boddington Email: [email protected] Publisher:Alan Harman Administration Manager: Hannah McLaurie Office Manager:Paula Gray Advertisement Manager: Sean Leslie Editorial Design:Peter Hutchinson & Alex Hall

ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION IN CL

54

HOLIDAY FF NATIONALS.

26

How to contact us: Tel: 01525 222573 01525 222574 Fax: Email: [email protected]

SCALE MATTERS

PREPARATIONS FOR THE MAY BANK

Issue 961. June 2017 (Issue 043 since relaunch)

RETRIEVING MODELS.

SPEED IS REPORTED BY DICK HART.

20

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

FROM THE ARMCHAIR

STUART ‘SUPERCOOL’ SHERLOCK ON DEVELOPMENT OF HIS CONTRA-

Advertisement and circulation:

ROTATING PROP ELECTRIC SYSTEM.

Aeromodeller, D oolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Bedfordshire LU6 1QX, England

ENGINES AND OIL

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

PART 3. BRIAN WINCH ON CONVERTING FOUR STROKES AND

Newstrade:

VIABON RUBBER DAYS

MICHAEL WOODHOUSE REPORTS FROM THIS POPULAR LATE WINTER FF EVENT IN FRANCE.

58 66

LATHE SKILLS.

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

TAIL END CHARLIE

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THE THOUGHTS OF CHRIS OTTEWELL.

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AeroModeller is published monthly by Doolittle Media, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, 1QX. EntireinContents © 2017 Doolittle MediaLU6 Reproduction 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 Doolittle Media’s standard terms of acceptance of advertising, copies of which are available from the advertising sales department of AeroModeller.

This month’s free plan, the FW190T EDF model by Rob Smith. 3

News, Views and Editorial

RS O O D R A G N A

E AT TH D R A E H

H

John O’Donnell RIP – The Ultimate Competitor

I

t is with great sadness that I announce the death of John O’Donnell following a fall at his home on 18th April 2017. Although we were already ¾ of the way through preparing this issue of AeroModeller it is only right that we have rearranged things to ensure a fitting tribute. I thank many of his friends for help doing this, but in particular Dave Hipperson. John’s connection with AeroModeller (and also Model Aircraft which was incorporated in to AM in the 1960’s) goes back nearly 70 years. I of course always knew of JO’D having grown up reading AM, but it was only in the last 3 years as editor that I got to know him. By then he had finished competitive flying, but he brought the same meticulous preparation skills to writing his articles for AeroModeller that he had used to win competitions. I know that his wife June and granddaughter Mary were also instrumental in helping John produce such informative articles, befitting for this family man. I like to feel that I gained his respect and friendship over this time by taking care to present his work in a clear and understandable way. Like the other people whose memories you will read in this issue, I will treasure the phone calls we had that ranged far and wide on aeromodelling issues, although we did not always agree on everything. John had a strong moral compass and this sometimes caused friction with others if they were relaxed about the interpretation of rules, but I think all would acknowledge his dedication to improving the discipline of free flight duration. I do not think we will see his like again, and the world is a poorer place for his passing. My thoughts are with June and his family at this time. Regards, Andrew Boddington [email protected]

The latest Gildings aero-engine on 20th May sale includes a OS Sirius 5-cylinder. (Library Photo)

Although retired from FF duration competition, John O’Donnell still closely followed what was happening and had a ‘senior statesman’ role. See here about to present prizes at the FF Nationals in 2014.

GILDINGS AERO ENGINE SALE The Spring Engine sale will take place at Gildings Auctioneers, Market Harborough on Saturday 20th May, with viewing on the previous day. There are various multi-cylinder engines in the sale, including Technopower 2 radials from 5 to 9 cylinders, OS FR5-300 Sirius 5-cylinder, OS FT 120 Gemini twincylinder, and a Kavan Continental FK50 MKI FlatTwin. In total theretools, are some on offer: kits, engines, machine hand 400 toolslots & measuring equipment. As well as the more expensive and collectable engines, there is the normal selection of PAW, Frog, Elfin, ETA etc., as well as kits but not as many as in some previous sales. Also, for those that have a little extra time on their hands and a large shed not already filled with their engines and models there is some super engineering equipment, including a Myford Super 7 lathe, vertical milling machine, and a Colchester Bantham lathe. www.gildings.co.uk 01858 410414

4 AeroModeller-

June 2017

SAM35 MIDDLE WALLOP RC & CL At present the flying of free flight models at the MOD Middle Wallop airfield is not permitted, but thanks to SAM35 there are two events for vintage control line and radio control models this year on 11th June and 8th October 2017. All vintage types are encouraged including Tomboy, Radio Assist and Single Channel. Control Line activities will include the ‘Bee Bug Bash’ and other classes to be confirmed. For full details visit the SAM35 site www.sam35.org/events, or contact David Lovegrove telephone 01491 200558 or email david.lovegrove11@ btinternet.com

Why not take the opportunity to fly one of Belair Kits classic vintage designs with CL or RC at Middle Wallop?

INDOOR RC SCALE NATIONALS Thanks to John Minchell for his help preparing this report. Given that October’s date for the Indoor RC Scale Nationals was cancelled due to lack of entries, it is great to report that the rescheduled event on 26th March 2017 at RAF Shawbury went ahead with a healthy turnout. There was an entry list of 13 for the flying only class and 6 for the scale class, although there were a couple of last minute cancellations. The extra publicity even attracted 20 spectators as well, with one modeller travelling all the way down from north of Edinburgh

just to watch and learn. The event covered its costs financially which is an important milestone. The holding of this national event towards the end of the indoor flying season seems to be one reason why this date was more successful; flyers have the opportunity to test their models and hone their RC flying skills which are different to those required outdoors. The continuation of this event in the future now looks more certain, particularly as a number of the spectators said they would be back at the next Nationals to compete.

The hangar at RAF Shawbury should be the scene of many more Indoor RC Scale Nats after the success of this event. (Photo by Grayson Hartley)

5

News, Views and Editorial Amongst the scratchbuilt scale class entries was John Bowerman’s Sopwith 1½ Strutter built from the Richard Crossley designed AeroModeller Free Plan in the January 2016 issue. John had converted the free flight design to RC and had made a superb job of the build and finish. After static and flying scores

were totalled he made 2nd place to Danny Fenton with his Piper cub. It was good to see some juniors competing in the flying only scale class. Nathan and Liam Strefford flew ARTF Spacewalkers (the most popular model in this class), assisted and encouraged by their grandfather Eric Strefford.

Nathan and Liam were christened “the horizontal brothers” as they were so laid back during their competition flights and not fazed at all by the pressure! The coverage of the FF Indoor Scale Nationals at Walsall will be in the next issue.

Graham Smith competed with his impressively large but light Short Scion in flying only. (Photos by Grayson Hartley)

FLYING ONLY

Name Ian Pallister Andy Bowman Chris Hodges

Model Tiger Moth Spacewalker Aeronca Champ

Total 3245 3172 2832

Position 1 2 3

Model Piper Cub PA18 Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter Sopwith Triplane

Total 2247 2179 2000

Position 1 2 3

SCALE

Name Danny Fenton John Bowerman Paul Hoey

FREE F LIGHT FORUM REPORT Another year rolls by and it is time for the 33rd Free Flight Forum Report assembled from the papers given at the FF Forum in Hinckley on 20th November 2016. It is as ever packed with information of interest to free flight duration flyers across all classes, whether they build or buy their models. Other aeromodellers will also find plenty of interest as scale FF is included and many of the articles examine the use of innovative materials which could be applied in sport, CL and RC applications. The report is available for £12 including UK postage (£15 Europe, £17 World) from Martin Dilly, 20 Links Road, West Wickham, BR4 0QW or by phone +44 (0)20 8777 5533. Cheques should be made payable to ‘BMFA F/F Team Support Fund’ in pounds sterling on a UK bank, or you can pay by credit card. The proceeds of the sales of the Forum Report go towards the expenses of the teams representing Great Britain at World and European FF Championships.

The 2017 Free Flight Forum report is now available from Martin Dilly.

6 AeroModeller-

June 2017

Events

UP & COMING MAY 20 May Gildings Aero Engines Auction, The Mill, Great Bowden Road, Market Harborough LE16 7DE. 10:00. www.gildings.co.uk 20 May BRUMFLY 2017, N Luffenham. 09.00 start. Duration (Stuart Darmon [email protected] 01858882057), Scale (Bill Dennis [email protected]), SAM35 (John Ashmole johnashmole@ yahoo.co.uk) & Sports FF. Incl E36, Mini Vintage, F1H(A1), Comb HLG/CLG, F1J/BMFA 1/2A & Comb A2. 20 May Tonbridge Gassers & Rubber Fanciers Indoor, Sports Centre, 601 Maidstone Road, Rochester ME1 3QJ. 18:30 to 22:00. FF & LW RC. Eric 01622 737814 [email protected] or Steve 0208 942 5000 20-21 May Barton Bash CL Extravaganza, Barton, Manchester. Malcolm Ross 01925 766610 www.controlline.org.uk

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 [email protected]

Rubber, Biplane precision on Mon. Also CL Vintage Speed. www.sam35.org 28 May CL Speed incl Team Selection, Three Kings MFC site, Croydon. Paul Eisner 07770 703008

[email protected] JUNE 3 June Indoor Fun-Fly, Furzefield Sports Centre, Mutton Lane, Potters Bar EN6 3BW. 17:00 to 21:00. Rubber, small electric <20” FF & RC. Mike Quille 0208 5003549 [email protected] 3-4 June Barton Club Speed Weekend, Barton, Manchester. All Open Classes, F2A, Barton Club Speed, ‘Have a Go’. Dick Hart 01387 820335 www.controlline.org.uk 4 June ‘Ray Malmstrom Cup’ F2B Control Line Stunt Competition, Girton, Cambridge.

Steve Mynott 07757 407309 www.clapa.org

21 May PANDAS Single Channel & Retro RC Fly-in, Pontefract Racecourse. Single Channel, Galloping Ghost, and simple RC. Also CL. www.pandasaero.co.uk or www.singlechannel.co.uk

4 June NMAS F2B CL Stunt & Warbirds Competition, Dave Campbell Field, Fenn Lane, Dadlington CV10 7JD. Roy Parker 07970 552438 parc257@virginmedia. com or John Bonnar 0794 3718662

21 May Shawbury Indoor, RAF Shawbury, Dawsons Rough. Electric RC & FF. John Minchell [email protected]

6 June Waltham Chase Indoor FF, Community Centre, Mill Lane, Wickham, PO17 5AL. 19:00 to 22:00. FF only of all sorts. www.wcaero.co.uk Alan Wallington 01489 895157 alan@ wcaero.co.uk

27-28 May Manchester Vintage Combat International, Darley Moor MFC, hosted by Ashton-on-Mersey RUFC, Banky, Sale, M33 5SL. Camping, club house, bar.

Tony Cookson [email protected] 07801 947531 27-29 May BMFA Free Flight Nationals sponsored by AeroModeller, Barkston Heath. www.bmfa.org 28-29 May SAM35 at FF Nationals. FF Wakefield 4/8oz on Sun, 36” HiStart Glider, <25” Vintage

10-11 June Oxford MFC FF Rally, Port Meadow, Wolvercote, Oxford.

Sat 18:30F1G, t 21:00, Fly-offs F1H,Champagne HLG/Cat. Sun 10:00 to 18:00, F1G, F1H, P30/ CO2(comb), E36, M/V Rubber, Vintage/Classic Glider (comb), Tail-less R+G (comb), HLG/Cata (comb). All towlines 50m, no IC. Andrew Crisp 01865 553800 [email protected] 11 June BMFA Centralised F2C & F2CN. Chris Barker 0789 0391537

[email protected] www.controlline.org.uk 11 June SAM35 Vintage RC & CL at Middle Wallop, SO20 8DY. All vintage types, Tomboy, Radio Assist and Single Channel.

Control ‘Bee Bug Bash’ etc. Sorry noLine FF. David Lovegrove 01491 200558 david.lovegrove11@btinternet. com www.sam35.org/events 11 June CL Speed incl Team Selection, RAF Wittering, Peterborough PE8 6HB. Regiser by 2 June. Jo Halman 07761 465835 [email protected] 17 June Tonbridge Gassers & Rubber Fanciers Indoor, Sports Centre, 601 Maidstone Road, Rochester ME1 3QJ. 18:30 to 22:00. FF & LW RC. Eric 01622 737814 [email protected] or Steve 0208 942 5000

25 June ‘Summerglide’ SAM35 Area Postal <50î Classic & Vintage Glider at Area Venues. Pre-entry essential £3 (juniors free). John Ashmole [email protected] www.sam35.org 25 June Goodyear Day, Barton, Manchester. British, Open & Mini Goodyear. Ed Needham 01614 855193 www.controlline.org.uk 25 June CL Speed incl Team Selection, RAF Wittering, Peterborough PE8 6HB. Regiser by 16 June. Jo Halman 07761 465835 [email protected] 25 June 5th Area FF Competition, various venues. F1H, F1G, F1J, BMFA 1/2A, E36, CO2. freeflight.bmfa. org JULY

18 June South Bristol Control Line Gala, Hamfields Leisure Centre, Berkeley, Glos GL13 9TN. 10:00. Vintage Combat (Mick Lewis 01453 542367). Speed - Nostalgia, Vint, Classic, Weatherman & Phantom (CD Tony Goodger 01689 822683). Team Racing - Vint 1/2A, Vint A, Vint B, Barton B, Mini-Goodyear (John Mealing 0117 9478753 [email protected]) 18 June SAM1066 FF, Area 8, Salisbury Plain. 10:00 to 18:00. E36, Comb V/C Glider <50”, Comb 4/8oz Wake, Vintage Rubber, Classic Power, Jimmy Allen and Sports FF Meeting. Use of DT recommended but not mandatory. 02392 550809 www. sam1066.org 18 June CL Floatplanes at Leceister MAC.

1 July Delyn MFC Fun Fly, The Kettle

Field, jn31 off A55. CL, FF & RC. Mike Parry 01352 710167 [email protected] 1 July Indoor Fun-Fly, Furzefield Sports Centre, Mutton Lane, Potters Bar EN6 3BW. 17:00 to 21:00. Rubber, small electric <20” FF & RC. Mike Quille 0208 5003549 [email protected] 2 July Vintage Combat, BMFA Centre, Buckminster Lodge, Sewstern, Grantham, NG33 5RW. Mick Lewis 01453 542367 combatfl[email protected] 2 July BMFA Centralised F2C & F2CN. Chris Barker 0789 0391537 [email protected]

Andy Green [email protected] www.leicestermodelaeroclub. org.uk

www.controlline.org.uk 22-23 July Scale Weekend at the Shuttleworth Collection, Old Warden SG18 9EP. FF, CL & 18 June Free Flight Slope Soaring incl. 3rd RC scale. Including Voetsak CL Racing on Sat, Earl Stahl & F1E team selection, Venue TBC. Masefield Trophy for rubber FF Ian Kaynes 07941 852144, scale on Sun. SAM35 CL speed, 01252 512538 scale & autogyros. [email protected] www.modelair.info www.sam35.org

Full details of BMFA events can be found at:

www.bmfa.org 7

Kit Review

WEE DEVIL FROM RETRO RC Mike Watters reviews this mini version of a classic-lines pylon design for FF or RC.

O

ver the last few years Retro RC have become well established in the model kit market, run by expat-Brit Mark Freeland and located

8 AeroModeller-

June 2017

within the United States. Their aim is to design and manufacture models to a high standard, utilising CNC laser cutting technology. A good range of models are on offer, catering for both vintage and

scale enthusiasts alike, and despite their name they produce FF as well as RC kits. The model reviewed here is a 29” span retro-looking model designed by Mike Freeland, for free flight, powered

The wing joiners proved to work well.

The pre-printed tissue for the wing is a nice finishing touch.

Careful planning allowed RC gear to be used on this small model.

First impressions Unlike most traditional model kits contained within a card board box, the Wee Devil kit is presented in a clear sealed plastic bag. Closer inspection of the kit contents reveals good quality CNC laser cut balsa & plywood, piano

was beneficial to mark next to each part with a fine pen, only removing a part when each building step required. The basic assembly of the model is fairly simple, the fuselage consisting of a built-up sheet balsawood structure. The accuracy of the CNC parts is exceptionally good. The design of each part cleverly interlocks, with a nice fit, only requiring a spot of cyanoacrylate adhesive to hold the assembly in place. The instructions are easy to follow, documenting a picture of each stage of the build. The lack of a full-size plan is

to two thin Bowden cables for the rudder and elevator controls. The receiver and battery are positioned forward from the servos. On reflection, it would have been easier to install the servos slightly protruding out of the fuselage, as the installation was fairly tight. The only downside to my radio installation is there is no access to the radio equipment once the fuselage is complete, other than a hatch for the receiver/battery. Therefore its paramount the servos are set up in a neutral position and working in the

wire, tissue even a DT De-thermaliser fuse and associated bits. The plan is a reduced CAD drawing, clear and easy to read, accompanied with a well presented colour picture with step by step instructions. Initially, I did have some scepticism as to how well a model could be assembled without a full-size plan to build over. The only proof was to press ahead with the build. Each part is easily identifiable with the aid of a printed drawing. I found it

not a problem. Although this is predominantly designed as a free flight model, unfortunately there are few places suitable where I live to fly free flight. Therefore, without steering too much wayward from a kit review, I adopted to fit two channel mini radio control. This was slightly challenging, due to fuselage being quiet narrow. However with careful planning, two 3g servos were installed behind the rear fuselage pylon, coupled

correct direction before the fuselage is completed. A look at the web site shows that Retro RC can supply the Wee Devil in a purpose cut RC version as well as FF, so there is no need to make your own conversion to RC. The kit supplies a 1/16” plywood firewall to mount either a small brushless out runner motor or Cox 020 PeeWee engine. I had neither of these power plants, I opted for a small 0.3cc diesel engine. A slight modification to the nose

with either electric or a small IC engine. The srcinal design of this model was inspired by the ‘Little Deer’ published in AeroModeller February 1971. Retro RC also have an E36 size version of the kit available.

9

Kit Review

The front end was adapted for the beam mount ‘Mini’ Mills 0.3cc diesel.

was in order for a beam mount. This was constructed by laminating two 3mm ply beams let into the fuselage. Two nose cheeks were made from scrap, which offer no strength other than making the

beam mount more aesthetically pleasing. Tail and fin assemblies are easy and straight forward; sheet fin and a built-up

quiet rigid once in place. The tissue supplied for covering was a couple of sheets of light weight Esaki, which I’d used in the past with good results. Interestingly, one piece of tissue has a neat pre-printed logo of the ‘ Wee Devil. Covering was straight forward, finally all the parts where lightly doped

tail assemble very quickly. Another slight

using a thin mixture of dope and fuel

modification required was to incorporate

proofer to finish.

a working rudder and elevator. This is

quiet straight forward using stiff scrap

Flying

balsa to form a rudder/elevator hinge lines. The wings use a classic Clark Y wing section, with a simple top and bottom spars producing a relatively strong wing structure. The wings are held onto the fuselage pylon with two piano wires located in aluminium tubes.

Despite my best efforts to place the

radio gear around the centre of gravity, the model still required 10grams of lead under the engine to achieve the correct balance. A short flat test glide indicated

may have a tendency to pull apart in

no additional nose weight would be required. Flight performance is superb. With my conversion to diesel power, the model is quiet sedate under radio

flight, but I need not to worry, as they are

guidance, easy to fly, without being over

At first I had reservations that the wings

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June 2017

responsive. After a short motor run, long glide times can be achieved. All in all the Wee Devil is a very nice, well thought out design. Well done Retro RC. ●

Specifications: Likes - Wood choice, CNC cutting, Instructions, tissue. Dislikes - Nothing. Radio Control Installed FrSky VD5M 2.4Ghz 5CH Micro Receiver Blue Arrow 3g High Speed Digital MG Servos Blue Arrow Ultra Micro Automatic Voltage Regulator 5V/1A Output Turnigy Nano-Tech 300Mah 2s Lipo battery Supplier Wee Devil FF, USD $46.99 Wee Devil RC, USD $50.98 Tel: USA (248) 212-9666, email: RetroRC@ live.com www.retrorc.us.com Retro RC, PO Box 193, Keego Harbor, MI 48320

REVISED EDITION HOW TO BUILD... The Steel Wheeled Tiger I

HOW TO BUILD... Tamiya’s 1:32 Mosquito FB.IV

by Angus Creighton

by Brett Green

V s t www.doolittlemedia.com

Obituary

RIP JOHN I

t would be no exaggeration to say that John O’Donnell and his family were, in the UK at least, responsible for pretty much inventing what we know now as competitive free flight duration. Back in the early post war years he along with Hugh and Mike his brothers,

O’DONNELL - The Ultimate Competitor

Dave Hipperson remembers his friend JO’D.

John as reporter for AeroModeller. Here he is at the 2015 Nationals three years after he had stopped flying. (Photo Dave Hipperson.)

12 AeroModeller-

June 2017

realised that to win competitions a strategy had to be employed. In John’s case he could see that it was very likely that the glider would fly longer if it was released from the top of a towline

(300 feet) rather than part way up. The O’Donnells went about working out a way that this could be done regularly and because they did they won a lot of competitions, first in their home club of Whitefield then very quickly at National level. Indeed John had his name in AeroModeller by the time he was 14. John was born in 1932 and started

brother Mike didn’t take it up seriously at all as he went on to become very proficient as, amongst other things, a magician. Can you image those three loose on a competition flying field. No chance for anyone else - I mean magicians can do anti-gravity! By the early 50’s John had managed to win the SMAE Senior Championships,

as an unpredictable and unfortunate result of doping.” This has in subsequent years been seen as in advance of its time. However it wasn’t. It was just that John had seen and read what Orville and Wilbur had discovered (only) 55 years previously. John constantly watched and learned from other people. That was one of the

aeromodelling in the early 40’s. He was bright of course. He obtained a degree in Math & Physics and started his working life in the aircraft industry some of it alongside the great Tom Smith for whom he always had the greatest respect. Industry frustrated him greatly and he moved to teaching mathematics in higher education. I have always thought of that as the nightmare scenario – John O’Donnell as your maths master. Imagine forgetting to do your homework! When I suggested this to him he simply responded that he had a very high success rate at getting his students through exams. I bet he did! Those early post war days were many say – especially those that were there

an award given to the most successful competitor of the year in the governing body’s annual competitions of which there was a very great many at this time. He was to go on to win this title nineteen more times between then and 1999 including the ten consecutive years of ’54 to ’63. However, possibly more notable than that was his being also presented with the Arthur Mullett in 1958. John had already been awarded six other major SMAE trophies but protested that the scores were slightly wrong and the Senior Champs should have gone to someone else. The SMAE disagreed and still insisted that he was Senior Champion and for his sportsmanship in pointing out a possible error awarded

reasons he also became such a good reporter of events. John was flying a Coupe d’Hiver model in the early 70’s with DPR after having seen Reine Hoffsass’s prototype. Indeed he nearly killed off the class in the UK as he was pretty much unbeatable for a time with this aeroplane. The FAI coming to our rescue eventually by reducing the weight to 80 grams so we could at least catch up in the glide what JOD made on the climb! His coverage of all disciplines reduced in the mid seventies when he ceased flying power and glider not long afterwards – there were, after all, increasingly more and more rubber classes by then. In 1964 he had made another very sensible move and married

– the hay day of competition free flight aeromodelling with neither radio control not even control line to cloud the picture. Aeromodelling was free flight. The O’Donnells took it seriously quite early on while most others were still playing. Of course, other pioneers came thick and fast, so soon the O’Donnells were hardly on their own. The likes of Ray Monks, Jack North, Ed Bennett, George Fuller, Ron Draper, Dave Posner, Mike Gaster, Pete Buskell etc., were all there to give them more than a run for their money. The family’s first real brush with international success was the sign of things to come. In 1953 John and his brother Hugh were both in the Wakefield Team. The sensible money of course

him an extra trophy – the Arthur Mullet! That pushed his haul for the year to a staggering eight trophies, a record that both myself and Phil Ball have strived hard to beat ever since but never have quite achieved. It remains the greatest SMAE single year performance ever. These were the halcyon days when the BMFA were the Society of Model Aeronautical Engineers and run from an address in Park Lane (which is now the Hilton Hotel). By the early 60’s he had become the person to beat and he was covering a great many classes, across all three free flight disciplines. The Borderline (Published AeroModeller May’53) then the Maxine were dominant in Open

June who proved to be both his equal as a photographer but also for many years an essential part of the winning O’Donnell team, as well as producing two children Robert and Jenny. John and June visited the USA in 1967 and he flew in their Nationals. From what I have read the Americans were mightily impressed. He represented the UK eleven times in World Championships from 1952 the best results being 3rd in Wakefield in 1956 and 2nd in A2 at Kalhava Finland in 1965. In 1972 after a serious disagreement with the SMAE over the authority of team managers abroad he took no further part in any international events. However once again his stand - which was against

being on people like Ted Evans and Bob Copland but Hugh and John had different ideas. John had dropped a little time on his second flight, he did 3:47 but Hugh maxed out (3 x 5 minutes) then flew off and came second. I think Hugh, or Hughie as John always called him, was 14 years old. John always claimed that Hughie was the better of the pair. Perhaps it was lucky then that he stopped after a few more successful years and even luckier that his other

Rubber, the Pendleton Fault in Open Power and a smaller version in 1/2A. His A2 gliders seemed to have a mind of their own when it came to finding a thermal. Of course just an illusion as John had realised all the aerodynamic advantages of light extremities and close to the stall bouncy glides controlled by turn. If you look up the 1957/58 Frank Zaic yearbook you will find a quote by John thus. “I feel that warps should be regarded as a trimming device and not

team members being made to sign a declaration that they would obey their manager in all things - quickly lead to the foolish clause being cut out never to return, so all subsequent team members have that to thank him for as well. In the same way as all free flight contestants today can rest assured that had it not been for John’s dogged attention to the SMAE’s rule book when competition organisers were getting very sloppy in the early 70s, you would very likely

13

Obituary

John seated behind his fabulous haul of awards at the 1958 SMAE prizegiving. A few years before he and his brother Hughie, still a junior, had between them won fourteen such prizes including the junior and senior championships! (Photo by AeroModeller staff)

now not have a contest calendar at all. It was around this time that I began to appreciate the importance of John in the entire scheme of things. This guy was the ‘right stuff’. In the early 60s when I (16 years old) was starting out flying, it felt like every

John O’Donnell receiving the Jetex ICI Challenge Trophy from Miss Almquist in the early 1950’s. (Wilmot Mansour Archive)

weekend I was at a big competition on Chobham Common; John was coincidentally living and working in London so he also attended. My Croydon Club mates were great fun and senior to me by ten years or so they were therefore a huge influence

on my thinking. On reflection they quite obviously realised John’s superiority and as a defence tended to make fun of it. I was in some ways swept up into this mind set. After all it was all a bit of fun really wasn’t it? Actually no it wasn’t. Deep down I had realised that

Group of duration entrants at a Manchester Corn Exchange Indoor Nationals - John O’Donnell is on extreme left, Ray Monks on extreme right with Phil Reed. (Photo via John O’Donnell).

14 AeroModeller-

June 2017

I had just stuck my toe into something rather wonderful. I had little experience of free flight competition outside the London Area even though it was a very influential and numerically powerful section of the SMAE system. A lot also went on in the North. I believe the first ever time I flew

was always willing to risk his models – he had made them as tools with which to win competitions – nothing else. If there was an obstruction downwind he would place himself intelligently up wind in a position to launch which would avoid it. Or even cleverer would DT long to fly over it. I

anywhere else was at Church Fenton at the Northern Gala in ’63 although I had visited it in ’62. This idea that John was aeromodelling’s equivalent of Mary Whitehouse (my line) existed with his constant attention to detail over the rules especially those governing how competitions were run. I have to admit that at this time I went along with it a bit. The inexperience of youth. Later in the early 70s there was a ‘Road to Damascus’ moment when I realised that John was right. Not fairly right but completely right. Not sometimes right

remember him demonstrating this at Hullavington at a Nationals in the 60s when faced with the dreadful wood that ran alongside the ‘drome simply flew over it with his mighty performing rubber model and landed safely the other side – a long way downwind and this was before the days of trackers. Furthermore it was never too wet or cold or windy for John to fly. If fact we used to joke that in those conditions when most of us were having trouble standing up he would shrug his shoulder and mutter about it being a “ bit breezy.”

but always right. The editor of AeroModeller at the time even printed something to this effect when during a heated exchange of readers views he halted proceedings by simply stating something to the effect that -‘When in doubt JOD is always right – end of discussion.’ So why actually did he win so much? Well of course he had well built models and had given thought to what was required of them and him. He instinctively knew what to fly and when to fly it and that was one of the reasons why he was always

This positive approach also rubbed off not just on me but Russell Peers who for quite a few years would accompany him on the long drive from the North to London competitions. It tested our mettle when those two turned up at Chobham. I watched how John did things, and did them the same or as close as I could, and tried as hard as possible to develop a similar mind set. Coincidentally my competition performances took a huge leap forward. I wonder why? Through his highly logical thinking John had revealed to

slightly uncomfortable in the FAI ‘rounds’ environment. There he was, in effect, being told when to fly and the very idea of a manager being able to tell him exactly when – perish the thought! After all he was always amongst the best at picking a thermal. He was a great believer in the old saying ‘ If you don’t fly you cant win’ in fact I believe it was he who coined it. He

me how easily the result of a competition could be affected by poor organisation or institutionalised cheating if you like. I suddenly saw this and from that day I was on board with him and together we both continued to get increasingly unpopular with organisers when we pointed out their transgressions. Everyone that currently flies competition free flight in the UK has John to

Up to the end of the 60’s John was effective in both Open and FAI power. This is him launching the famous Pendleton Fault during a contest in the 1958 season – doubtless a Veco 19 for power. (Photo by AeroModeller staff)

The marriage of John and June was reported in March 1965 AeroModeller.

At the Ripmax C d’H in 1999. The big trophy is the BMFA Senior Champs, the perspex one the AeroModeller CDH 80 gram win and the tall one, the AeroModeller Annual overall league award. John was 67 at this time. (Photo Dave Hipperson.)

15

Obituary thank for it not having gone off the rails years ago. I mentioned his ability to absorb what was going on around him and thus his indispensability as a reporter. One of the highlights of this talent included the excellent job he made of reporting the 1972 World Champs held in Sweden for AeroModeller. He was no mean photographer either and for

AeroModeller (Ian Dowsett designed and built) Perspex trophy. A few weeks before I had persuaded John French of the BMFA to allowed me to borrow the Senior Championship Trophy, which he had also won that year (and as it turned out for the final time.) I was therefore able to recreate some of the magic of that srcinal shot take at the 1958 SMAE annual prize giving in the restaurant at

clubs apart from Birmingham had given up trying. Towards the end of John’s career of winning free flight events we often talked of how he might stop one day and the ways he might do it. An exit strategy. He realised that his mobility was not what it had been and the last thing he wanted to do was to blunder on when he might not be able to compete effectively. “If

a time augmented his income doing professional work in this area. However his columns in Model Aircraft, for a few years in the mid sixties, and then from ’66 to ’77 in AeroModeller are most remembered by us as being simply what were those times. The beauty of hard copy archiving. Thank heaven he was on hand to do it. Once again an inspiration to me to continue after ’77 and happily cooperate with him on and off ever since. From simply hundreds of great times with John on and off the flying field the favourite for me must be the occasion when I was able to award him AeroModeller’s Overall League Trophy at the prize giving of the annual Ripmax Coupe d’Hiver event in 1999; I had been

Middle Wallop. He did me the honour of sitting still for long enough - the photograph says it all. Recently some have suggested that he should, as a serial complainer, have got more involved in organisation however what they forget – probably because they were not aeromodellers at the time - was that John has had a long association with organisation at all levels. He was treasurer for the North West Area for eight years and partially responsible for the enormously successful Woodford Rallies of the time. For a while he served on the CIAM FF Technical Committee. Furthermore he did an enormous amount of good in encouraging and organising many years of competitive indoor flying

I can’t do it properly I wont do it.” My suggestion was the dramatic approach as ever. Wait for a big BMFA win or a couple of consecutive victories or even a very successful day at a Club Gala and take the trophies turn around and say goodbye at the prize giving. Although I was sad that it had to ever happen, and even sadder that I wasn’t there at the Nationals when it did, I was delighted he took my advice after 50 years of me taking so much of his. He won the Gamage in the Spring of 2012 and then the Model Aircraft Trophy (Open Rubber) at the Nationals, and then broke the news beautifully at that closing ceremony. That my friends is how you do it. Get

organising it for the previous ten years and was now doing so for the last time. Coincidentally on that day he had also won the 80 gram event so received the

in the Manchester area. More recently he was instrumental in ensuring his current club Timperley put on first class competitions once a year when most

out while you are winning and that’s just what he has done again. He was always and will always be ahead of us. ●

John visited and flew in the 1967 US Nationals. This is a rare chance to see John was always thinking of the future and set up this photo for February him flying his 1/2A power design of the time and to the VTO rules! Probably a 2016 AeroModeller as he wondered what to do with a lifetime’s model 15 sec. engine run!! There is no record of how high it would have got on this ephemera. long a run. (Photo thanks to Jim Wright)

AeroModeller on behalf of the author would like to thank and credit the following persons and sources for their co-operation in compiling this material. John Lorbiecki of The NFFS, Sergio Montes FFQ, Chris Edge, Mike Fantham, Mike Warren, Martin Dilly, Jim Arnott, and Jim Wright.

16 AeroModeller-

June 2017

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Modellers’ Memories S age wo rd s to Jo hn C arte r at t he 2016 Free Flight Natio nals. ( Photo by A nd rew Bodd ington)

JOHN O’DONNELL - Remembered On the unexpected death of John O’Donnell a call was put out by AeroModeller for memories of John, and this is some of what we received. My thanks to all of you who replied. Andrew Boddington.

N

obody, in my opinion, deserves more the title of 'Serial Free Flight competitor extraordinaire' than John O'Donnell who achieved so many contest wins and contributed so much for well over 60 years.

to fly and retrieve multiple free flight classes on the same day and win comps even after damaging a model and then undertaking major repairs before going on the win a fly-off. His models were always simple, well-built and sometimes looked a little shabby, but always very

rules. On one occasion at the Nationals I was indebted to him for his not finding anything against me flying my F1G model inside the hanger when the wind outside was too strong for it! Yours sincerely, John White.

My first recollection of John was when as a young boy I went to the Stockport Advertiser Rally in about 1957 held at AVROs Woodford airfield near Manchester. We travelled by coach from the Derby MAC (as you did in those days) and I saw John flying open rubber in less than good conditions. I was so impressed and inspired by John that I wanted to build an O'Donnell design and choose the Borderline (simple Wakefield) published as a plan in AeroModeller in May 1953. This was one of the few designs he ever published. Over the coming years I got to know John better at comps from Yorkshire to Chobham Common. In about 1967 we both proxy flew Coupe d’Hiver models

well trimmed and flown. The results proved this. His many published articles over the years no doubt helped free flight enthusiasts worldwide. Just last year John donated much of his extensive modelling library to the BMFA library and archives and he also sent several pallet loads of magazines and books to Australia for their new free flight centre, so his name will long be remembered on the other side of the world. In recent months we had several long phone calls about the establishment of the new BMFA National Centre and the eventual incorporation of a library and archive. His encyclopaedic knowledge of free

I only got to know John in a meaningful sense over the last ten years, although of course I had been aware of him long before that. His review of the Kauhava World Champs in 1965 (my first year of taking AeroModeller) has always been a benchmark for what a good report should be. My first real encounter was about ten years ago when I chanced upon John with June, having just launched his model at the Nationals. His legs were giving him trouble so I offered to retrieve for him and took the opportunity on the way back to study his model, which was very much used but also totally airworthy - and light. This led to three enjoyable Nats spent helping John and fetching

for an American father and son, Frank and Dick Monts, on an AeroModeller organised trip to Paris. Oh, happy days. In 1967, John and his wife June travelled to the USA and drove with the Monts family from Wichita, Kansas to California for the US Nationals. When I asked John about this long drive I remember he described it as “about 1400 miles of mostly flyable countryside”. I have so many memories of his ability

flight aeromodelling was very useful and his memory still clear, so I shall miss his input. Best Regards, Jim Wright

for him, including some long drives in his car, wielding his tracker aerial and picking up duration knowledge. I had to act as his human stooge, eyes tight shut as the turns went on. The best memory was his last competitive Nats where he won the Model Aircraft trophy yet again, and promptly retired. The lengthy retrieval the next day culminated in me clumsily folding the damp wing in the wind, a mishap at which he manfully concealed any irritation!

18 AeroModeller-

June 2017

It was with great sadness that I learned of the death of John O'Donnell. He was one of our greatest competitive free flighters, always ready to share his expertise with everyone else. He was also famous for his encyclopaedic knowledge of the current free flight

Following his retirement we had many long phone conversations. He never regretted retiring from model flying but I do think he missed being involved. I also like to think he moved an inch or two in understanding the motivation of scale modellers! Uncompromising and forthright always; I shall miss him. Bill Dennis

I regarded John as a friend and one of the aeromodelling greats. I was privileged, not only was my local model shop proprietor the legendary Ted Evans but as soon as I started in competition I met John. The two were very different. Ted was the ultimate designer, craftsman and perfectionist who was surprised if he was beaten. John was similar in many respects but he was a pragmatist and his aim was to win. His models reflected this approach. The sobriquet ‘John O’Winnall’ stuck. Over the years I learnt a lot from John whether it was about designing and building lightweight structures, covering flying surfaces or competition preparation. I relished our discussions about climb

heights versus glide sinking speed. He reckoned that mine would glide better but he always beat me on the climb. The consummate aeromodeller who always knew the contest rules better than the organisers. John leaves an enormous hole in our hobby and a significant body of work and knowledge. I hope it can be maintained. I will miss our conversations.

My first direct contact with John was in 1961 at Abbotsinch Airfield. I was fifteen and flying in one of my first Rubber contests. My model hit a thermal and with an excessively long DT fuse, I had abandoned the chase after it. I returned to base and was sitting there in a deep sulk, when a voice behind me said “are you Jim Arnott ?” I looked up and there was John O’Donnell. I was awestruck

Very Best Regards, Mike Evatt but must have squeaked something as he then said he had my model in his car if I wanted to come and get it. I felt like the Headmaster had just called me to his office as I followed him. My model had DT’d down beside him as he was picking up his own, a few fields off the drome. John did not say that there was anything wrong with my model, but in I must have met John first at some the space of a few minutes he did point point in the early 1950’s at one of the out several areas where “there is a better UK Challenge Matches on the SMAE way of doing it”. It was a personal Calendar. I found that John was always masterclass and I felt very privileged. I highly principled in all his activities, left with gifts of two sheets of Jap tissue strictly interpreting every aeromodelling and a jar of soft soap rubber lubricant, rule and holding all others to the but far more valuable was the gift of same standards. Later, when I lived in inspiration to do much better. Manchester and flew with the NW Area For all John’s abrupt and sometimes it was a great compliment to me that

He took one look at my Teachers Pet P30 flying and proclaimed "Came out too heavy; make another one, make it lighter......" Robin Willes

John should phone and ask if he could bring his Wakefields across town to have me check the areas of their flying surface areas prior to going to a World Championships. I am sure that John had done the job for himself and knew that all was well, but double checking was characteristic of his meticulous preparations. I counted it as a compliment to me

abrasive manner, he had a heart of gold. Jim Arnott I last met John about a month ago at the Timperley monthly meeting. He was always full of ideas for the future of free flight and proud of all his efforts in the past. I will personally miss him as he would always give me advice and constructive criticism which I valued very much. How he picked lift was amazing, he was the ultimate competitor and the man to beat (in my case I never did!) Over the years I got to know him very well. What a privilege! He was my hero, along with Stirling Moss! The fact that he retired at the top,

that he should trust shows how good he was! My thoughts are with his family at this very difficult my measurements time. and validation of his Derek May own calculations. Urlan Wannop

John O’Donnell travelled to the US Nationals in 1967 with his wife June. (Photo by Jim Wright)

19

Free Flight Scale

Scale Matters Bill Dennis prepares for the FF Nationals at the end of May. Hawk Moth

The Nationals are approaching so it is time to finish this one. When I left it last, the engine was the only major task remaining.

My dummy engines follow a middle path in quality; somewhere between the full tappets with valve springs, and string wrapped around dowels. It doesn’t need vast amounts of detail to make an

The front end of the Hawk Moth, showing the basic engine with the cooling shrouds and exhausts.

20 AeroModeller-

June 2017

engine look good but some basics have to be covered to get it right. Hitherto, my efforts have mostly been applied to diesel models, where the dummy engine usually needs to be removed.

Pete Fardell’s remarkable Caudron is now undergoing flight tests. Early days but it shows promise.

Now I am building more rubber models, which pose different problems, namely maintaining internal clearance for the

of the motor. I had a good selection of photos which helped me line everything up. In particular, with any ‘V’ engine it is

Seagull, which was somewhere near flyable last time out. Six strands of 3/32” was a little underpowered but it was

motor. The De Havilland Ghost in the DH75 was a big V8. I have a goodly collection of Williams cylinders and these I used as a basis for my replica. The first important task is to arrange each bank of cylinders neatly relative to each other. This is best achieved by mounting them on a separate base, rather than just sticking them on the airframe in wonky fashion. Here I used a rectangle of hard 1/8” sheet as a sort of crankcase and made four accurately-spaced holes with a tube cutter. When the cylinders were perfectly aligned, cyano fixed them in place. It is also vital to check the height; I left my cylinders too long and had to repeat the exercise. Incidentally, not having any

vital to get the included angle – in this case 90 degrees - right, and to make sure the cylinders line up with where the crankshaft would be. The BE types often suffer most when modelled, with the cylinder banks sometimes just stuck on nearer to the vertical, probably to miss the engine bolts! From here it was plain sailing. The shrouds were bent from thin litho plate and the fairings plunge moulded in plastic card. The exhaust is bendy drinking straws; you can join these by slitting half an inch of one and pushing it inside the other. A mix of dark grey and bronze enamel looks about right. A few more minor details remain before we are ready for test flying. I have not weighed it

going well until the last few seconds, when I assume it was gliding and it wound in to the right. A small rudder tab cured it. Then I needed to choose between the BE2e and Avro 504K for a possible entry in the Nationals AeroModeller/Model Aircraft event. I had recently refurbished the BE, lightening it somewhat via a new tail. It turned out that now, a Mills 75 was just a little too powerful, and a Dart would probably suffice. It was going nicely but I did learn a couple of things. First, if you launch with the engine running backwards, it will crash in an unusual manner. Secondly, if subsequently you do not check properly for damage and the fin/rudder falls off at

good drawings here, everything was done by eye from the photos. Next step was to adorn the cylinders with as little detail as I could get away with. Happily, the engine on the Hawk Moth was largely hidden under metal shrouds so I needed exhaust stubs, square cylinder heads, head bolts (pins) and one piece of rocker gear at the front! Now it was time to fit the engine to the model and I did this with a winding tube in place, to be on the safe side. I did not want to inadvertently block the route

recently and do not intend to do so!

50 feet, it will crash again. Luckily very little damage ensued. Then I turned to my Hannover, which has been hanging around for three years without ever showing its true potential and forcing me to keep entering the RE8. Trimming a diesel model of reasonable proportions should be a simple matter; trim out the glide then do the same for the power phase. One will affect the other so they must be separated. The problem here was that the CG (Centre of Gravity) was too far forward to allow the

Flying Session I took quite a few models to North Luffenham recently as I had a lot of trimming to do. (The FF duration event organisers encourage FF sports and scale flyers to make the most of the site when they are there.) The grass was long, the sun shining and the breeze a mere whisper. It was a perfect flying day and that, after all, is what it is all about. First up was the Earl Stahl Curtiss

21

Free Flight Scale

Your columnist pondering over which model to enter the Nationals Aeromodeller/Model Aircraft event.

Following the previous paragraph, a few words on trimming a power model (so much easier than rubber) might be

models being flown apparently for the first time with the owners struggling somewhat. I will assume that you have built something relatively straightforward, with some dihedral, high wing or biplane and with reasonable tail areas and wing loading. The latter will affect the flight only in the speed with which it hits the ground. The longitudinal dihedral, i.e. the difference in incidence between wing and tail as measured along the bottom of the wing section should be between 2 degrees (flat-bottom) and 3 degrees

useful. Last year I saw a couple of new

(thinner, undercambered biplane section). only. Some designs favour higher

model to take off (the axle is rearward on the Hannover), and while it flew well under power, the glide was steep, so I started all over again. I shifted the cg back half an inch which corrected the glide but of course it now stalled all over the sky. I got away with it so a last throw of the dice will be yet more downthrust. If that fails, it will have to go.

Trimming a FF Diesel Model

The basic structure of yourcolumnist’s Fw47 for indoor electric. Thus far it weighs 17g on its way to a target of 60g.

22 AeroModeller-

June 2017

This, of course is fixed at the building stage. There should be no warps in the tail. Any warps in the wings – preferably washout – must be equal. I have never used ailerons for trim. The balance point should be as on the plan, or between 25 and 30% chord. If it is a biplane, go back to the plan and mark the balance point on each wing, join with a straight line and the halfway point on this line is where the model should balance. Adjust up this line if the top wing is much bigger. All this applies to wings with equal incidence

This reduced Fw47 from the Jack Headley plan is by Rob Wells and understandably had astonishing performance.

incidence on the upper or lower wing, each predicted to improve stall recovery for different reasons, at the price of losing efficiency. I have never done this, and don’t miss it. If all this sounds a bit rough and ready, it does work with stable models. CG position can be calculated, using things like ‘tail volume’, which I have never understood, preferring to rely on practical experience rather than

struck by its unusual and seeminglyideal proportions. It reminds me of a Lanzo Stick with wheels. Jack’s model was, I believe, about 50” span and my immediate thoughts were for a similarlysized diesel model, although I soon discovered that squeezing an engine in would be problematic. There are drawings and photos on the internet, and correspondence with

were in the region of 55-65g per sq dm. Applying this to my high aspect-ratio wing gave me an alarming target weight of 55g! This meant I would really have to up my game in terms of weight-saving. Which brings me back to that plywood-covered wing, which I felt I had to have a stab at for the sake of authenticity. I used my lightest wood throughout, including some diaphanous

sitting in an armchair doing sums. On to test gliding, over soft grass with no hidden (or blatant for that matter) obstacles, and preferably a slope. Despite what some say, this will show up a severe diving, stalling or turning problem. The rudder and elevators will hopefully be straight – don’t worry about glide turn. If the model stalls, add noseweight to bring the CG forward; keep the elevators straight. On to power trimming, and you did of course get familiar with your enginerunning back at home. The motor will start easily, run consistently and for a fixed period of time. It will not ‘peak out’ as the fuel runs out. With the prop on backwards and compression backed

a helpful chap named Rob Wells in the USA yielded more pictures, including useful details. The aircraft was developed in 1931 for meteorological studies and some examples were festooned with all kinds of measuring equipment, including an array of aerials and what looks like a Stephenson Screen hanging under a

quarter-grain 1/64” from J O’D which I installed on the upper surface back to the point of maximum camber. I felt it was 2g well-spent. The various outlines were two laminations of ammoniasoaked basswood In days past, I would have carefully plotted all those ribs but here, I just stuck

off, launch into wind and watch it sail off straight ahead and into the grass. Gradually increase the power and watch what happens. Hopefully, as power increases, the model will settle into a wide left turn and you are in luck. Use rudder very sparingly to correct a right turn because this will eventually ruin the glide. Ultimately there is only one remedy for a tight power turn and that is a new engine plate with different sidethrust. (Mounting the engine on a Paxolin or similar plate is preferable to direct bearer mounting as it allows easier sidethrust adjustment and can be a sacrificial breaker in the event of a crash, saving your engine lugs.) Similarly, a power stall is cured by more downthrust, and that is the most-likely trimming you will have to do. Once the trim is safe, you can make minor adjustments to get the best performance, and this is always much easier if the model is light. All that is left now is to go and fly the thing. Focke Wulf Fw47D

Until a few months ago, I knew nothing about this aircraft. Then by accident I came across a picture of a rubber model by the late Jack Headley and was

Derek Knight’s twin electric Canberra moves on apace.

wing! The wing is of very high aspect ratio and thus will not provide a lot of area, necessitating a light model to produce the appropriately slow flight. The full-size appears to have been

in big pieces and sanded them down with long, narrow sanding blocks until they were the right shape. Colouring the ribs with pink highlighter shows where wood needs to be removed.

plywood-covered and features a variety of tapers and curves which make it quite tricky. I eventually decided to build one for indoor, specifically Nijmegen in November. Rubber would have been preferable but there was such small ground clearance, I had to go with electric. Before starting, I consulted with expert Richard Crossley about target loadings. He sent me data on some of his successful models, all of which

The fuselage could hardly be simpler, apart from the forest of struts. I temporarily postponed this problem by installing aluminium tubes, enabling me to kick the wire-bending down the road until after covering. The tailplane has a peculiar feature which looks like a large rectangle of plywood nailed on top. It may have been a modification for strength but I don’t know. In the end I decided to make the model one-piece, despite my misgivings. Other

23

Free Flight Scale is the small servo in the rear fuselage which will operate VIT from the KP timer. Why? Experience with his previous Meteor showed that downthrust was needed. The only way to introduce this in such a model is by vanes in the rear outlets but in practice it proved impossible to

to glueing it all together with dabs of RC Modellers’ Glue, which retains some flexibility. The rigging I used was Beadalon 0.010 7-stranded wire, which Paul Briggs put me on to. This is multi-strand, very fine wire encased in plastic and it looks pretty good. Although I have

achieve this equally on both sides, resulting in a roll. Derek plans for the elevators to rise as the power runs down, and it should be spectacular.

This model, from the Avetek kit (www.aveteknz.com), is now almost finished and ready for testing. The wings are mounted on short wire dowels which fit inside the carbon spars. My initial plan was to just hold everything together with the rigging but this proved impractical, because the rigging points

done better covering jobs, everything remained perfectly straight and warp-free and the weight finished up at 150g. I had no idea where to start with a motor, so I weighed out 18g of 1/8” rubber and made it up into 8 strands. Remarkably it needed only a small piece of Plasticene to put the balance point where I wanted it. A test glide needed a slight droop on the elevators, but that was it. Five hundred turns sent it climbing away for an undramatic, if brief flight. I suspect it will need more power; I just hope

for the top wings are on the wings themselves, not the centre rib, tensioning the wires just pulled the wings off the dowels. I then resorted

that ten strands will fit through the nose. I will also need to make a custom winding tube. This isn’t the kind of kit that you would buy to throw together and fly in the local park. It will appeal to the builder who likes to take his

Sopwith 1 ½ Strutter

The Avetek Strutter ready for initial tests, which proved undramatic.

people hit walls with their models and return with them unscathed. I return with bits. However I couldn’t come up with an elegant solution so I just bent the strut ends over at 90 degrees and

which he reduced to 36” for an all-up weight of 28g! With all the draggy bits left off, this was understandably a floater and did indeed fly away.

clipped them into fishing bait bayonets in the wing. While all this was going on, Rob Wells sent me some photos of his own Headley designed Fw47

Derek Knight’s Canberra has reached the covering stage. What we cannot see

Canberra

The Strutter looks at home on the Luffenham runway (or what’s left of it!) and in the sky.

24 AeroModeller-

June 2017

No matter what size you build a free flight Sopwith, one of these fin decals from Mick Reeves Models will suit, along with the strut logos.

time and do a good job, adding detail to produce a truly accurate replica. It may seem expensive in real terms but will easily provide entertainment over a whole winter. In relative terms the picture is different. I can go down to my local model shop and easily spend £30 on a kit where I have to cut parts out of three sheets of wood of dubious quality. Until you see it, you can’t really appreciate the sophistication and quality of this kit. I still think electric is a good alternative and micro RC would give this model the time in the air that it deserves.

Sopwith Decals Whenever I build a Sopwith, I always seem to end up choosing a scheme with the unpainted fin and the well-known Sopwith logo. This usually goes with an unpainted cowling and gives some relief from what are often drab colourings. A few years ago I painstakingly reproduced the logo on the computer for my Triplane but the file disappeared and I cannot remember how I did the sloping ‘The’, or

the ‘Ltd’. Then I had a brainwave and contacted Mick Reeves, multiple RC Scale World Champion and producer of numerous fine kits and accessories, including transfers for the Sopwith logo at large scale. Mick has now produced a transfer sheet at FF sizes for us, which should be very popular. It includes pairs of markings at 1/6, 1/8, 1/10, 1/12, 1/14, 1/16, 1/18 and 1/20 (with duplicates of

the smallest ones), along with the round Sopwith transfers for the struts. This should cover just about anything you might need, including the KK and Veron, VMC and the Avetek Strutter. I suggest you invest in a sheet so that it is there when you need it. Price is £5 plus £1 UK P&P from Mick Reeves Models, 10 The Avenue, March, Cambridgeshire, PE15 9PR. www.mickreevesmodels.co.uk●

From over 10 years ago, Bill Dennis readies his Sopwith Triplane with srcinal decals. (Photo by David Boddington)

25

FF Duration Event

RUBBER DAYS AT VIABON 2017 MICHAEL WOODHOUSE WAS PART OF A SMALL UK CONTINGENT IN FRANCE.

F

lying a competition in the northern hemisphere in February is always risky when it comes to the weather, and 2017 was to be no exception. Ten years ago, we went to Viabon but did not fly when a storm hit the west coast of France; only this year have the structural repairs needed after that storm been

completed. In the days before this year’s event the forecast winds at Viabon were well over 20mph and the day before we made the trip across the Channel storm Doris was raging across the UK. In the end, considering the time of the year, the weather was more than reasonable. It was dry and not overly cold, and for once the farmland over which the event

is flown was fairly dry; so not too much mud to contend with. Having mentioned the field a bit more detail would be in order. The location is some 20 miles South West of Chartres and is a very flat open piece of farm land, the headquarters of the event is at a small full-size private light plane field. The contest is flown across the

Michael Woodhouse awaits with his low wing Aile Basse, ready to spring to the launch position.

26 AeroModeller-

June 2017

Annie Besnard placed first in F1G on the Sunday.

Mikael Rigault won F1B on the Saturday when he found a little lift.

Chris Strachan entered F1G with his vintage Jump Bis.

ploughed farm land and there is more than sufficient space for flying. I’ve flown there many times and never had retrieval issues, just a long walk on some occasions! Daylong refreshments and

LePage. The F1B contest was a 5-flight event and a fly off between 4 of the entrants was required. There was good air all day and the maxes rolled in. There could have been a larger number in the

rather clunky. Another event on the first day was for P30 in which Chris finished 3rd. It is worthy of mention how these classes are flown: One can enter 2 models but no reserves are allowed, 2

buffet lunch is provided in the airfield reception area by the organisers; in all a very civilised event. This year only Chris Strachan and myself were there to represent the UK. Gavin Manion and Steve Philpott were due to fly but returned home before the start of the contest when Steve was taken ill. Thankfully Steve is now fully recovered. The Saturday was given over to F1B and sundry other rubber classes, F1B being the 14th Criterium Philippe

fly off but a couple of others dropped their last flight. A single fly off was required and Mikael Rigault came home the winner with an excellent flight in a gentle piece of lift into which he launched near to the close of the fly off period. Of the other contests, a rubber scale event is flown as is a Vintage Wakefield event, these proving easy wins for Chris Strachan and myself. Chris flew his Keil Kraft Ercoupe in Scale and it flew beautifully. I flew one of my Yankee IVs in Vintage, it climbs fast but the glide is

flights before lunch to a 2-minute max are required, whilst the 3rd is flown to a 3-minute max after lunch. The same rule is applied to the Coupe contest on the Sunday. One can lose out with 3 x 2 minute flights to somebody with less than perfect initial flight but a final 3-minute max and that is what happened this year. However, one knows the rules when one enters the contest. Sunday is what is considered to be the main event of the weekend which is the Coupe d’Hiver Maurice Bayet. The 27

FF Duration Event

Plenty of local participants at Viabon, from left Emile Thizon, Daniel Norget and Jean-Luc Drapeau.

weather on Sunday was a little windier but still very flyable. Chris and myself are not Coupe (F1G) flyers but we enjoy talking part: Chris with a vintage model (Jump Bis 1952), while I had low wing model (Aile Basse). Chris had initial problems with a swoop on launch that killed the burst and thus reduced the climb altitude. My low winger went well and has an excellent glide. Unfortunately for me, I caught the tail on the launch

in good air but the tail misalignment spoilt the glide and cost me a possible second place in the overall contest, I had dropped a single second on the previous flight. Launching a low wing model is problem as is winding the motor. The launch must be with the hand over the wing and winding is done with the model upside down in the stooge. One final point is that for many years we’ve used the Dover-to-Calais P&O

had slipped. In the past the drill, after a 3-hour drive, was to head for the brasserie for an excellent repast. This time there was no brasserie facility the alternative was a down-market selfservice meal. Yes, I have made an official complaint but I won’t hold my breath… Maybe next time it will be the channel tunnel and sandwiches? I look forward to the 2018 event and a few more Brits attending this sociable

on the final flight and knocked it out of position. The model climbed high

ferry for trips to the continent. This time around we found the P&O standards

early-year contest. ●

RESULTS

Event FIB P30 Vintage Wakefield Vintage Coupe Scale F1G Low Wing

28 AeroModeller-

Winner Name Mikael Rigault Gerard Ambroso Mike Woodhouse Lucien Adjadj Chris Strachan Annie Besnard Mike Woodhouse

June 2017

Readers Letters

Do let us know your thoughts on AeroModeller and aeromodelling in general. We’re happy to receive post to the Doolittle Media office address, or emails to editor@ aeromodeller.com – all are read although you may not get a reply. Featured letters may be edited. Regards, Andrew Boddington

AeroPost WORLDWIDE CONVERSIONS Greetings Andrew,

I greatlydo enjoyed Winch’s initial article on diesel engine conversions (Issue 959). I look forward to the follow-up parts.and hope to do some Please conveyBrian to Brian to include specifications and drawings if at all possible. I have recently obtained a quality lathe conversions of my own. So, details would help me on the way. Additionally, I am keenly interested in the Saito .91 4C conversion that Brian mentioned at the end of the first article. Details on this would be most appreciated. I have a Saito .56-4C and hope to use Brian’s experience on the .91 as a guide for my own efforts. I avidly read my issues of AeroModeller. I am a control line flyer, and I do like everything you print on the topic. The recent combat series was helpful. Also of great value are the ongoing engine reviews from Maris Disler - every one of them is of interest. I do use and enjoy diesel engines; so your magazine is the best and only source on these powerplants. Please do keep-up the current format and content. Very best regards, David Zwolak, USA Hi David, Good to hear you a re enjoying Brian Winch’s series and the rest of AeroModeller. There is plenty to get your teeth in to from the articles and I look forward to seeing the fruits of your conversion. Regards, Andrew

BOXER OR NOT? Hello Andrew, In the April is sue of AeroModeller you mention some dis cussion on whether an opposed twin-cylinder engine, i.e. the Redfin Twinfin, can properly be called a Boxer engine or if this name should be applied only to ‘flat’ engines of four cylinders or more. My interest in model aircraft and motor cars etc. goes back to ten years of age, so now covering 65 years. In all that time I’ve never ever heard of any ‘Four Cylinders’ provision for the Boxer name until now in your pages. Besides that, technically the flat twin, four or six engines are not properly ‘Boxer’ engines at all. A Boxer engine has two opposed pistons working in a common cylinder, combustion taking place between the two piston crowns. The pistons approach each other like a pair of fists, thus the Boxer name fits well. These are necessarily two-stroke engines and must be supplied with boost pressure air to operate but they put out a lot of power from a very compact engine. The Rootes Group Commer truck or lorry of the late 1950’s is the best known example - it was known as the Commer ‘Knocker’, both for its engine design and the unique sound it made. Best Regards, Peter Somers, West. Aust. 6016 Hi Peter, Certainly what you describe makes sense at being called a ‘Boxer’ but it seems that the likes of Subaru and Porsche use the Boxer description for flat four engines where the Pistons are ‘outside’. It may be that time has corrupted the initial concept? Regards, Andrew

Hi Andrew, Thank you for your reply to mine, on the ‘Boxer’ engines. I must recognise that usage and the passage of time have corrupted the true meaning of the term; plus one wonders if the Subaru designers ever even knew of the srcinal Boxer concept. I believe they are either (a) too young to know, or (b) knew the distinction but took advantage of an opportunity to use a catchy phrase. We note also that nobody ever termed the Volkswagen flat four as a Boxer, and certainly the ever-reliable Continental and Lycoming flat four and six cylinder aircraft engines have never been known as Boxers. Likewise the BMW motorcycle engines and many similar examples in the U.K. such as Douglas (in fore-and aft OR cross-the-frame alignment) were never called Boxers. Best Regards, Peter Somers, West. Aust. 6016 Hi Peter, It may be that over time the engineering, marketing and usage definitions of flat-twins, Boxers, and opposed twin engines (e.g. the Commer ‘Knocker’) have become blurred. What isn’t in doubt is the marvellous job that Alex Phin has done to produce the Twinfin diesel. Regards, Andrew You can find an article on Pinnacle Engines development of a new opposed piston engine at www.caradvice.com.au

The Redfin Twinfin diesel was reviewed in 959 April 2017 AeroModeller.

Free Plan

Fw 190T ‘TRUDI’ for FF EDF Rob Smith has come up with this FROG Senior inspired ‘skunk works’ sort-of-scale WWII jet model. Fun FF model, 43cm span for the 18mm KP Aero electric ducted fan unit.

30 AeroModeller-

June 2017

T

his kind of model is usually called a “what if”, well it’s not even that as it exists only in my imagination! After seeing a model of the YAK15 it occurred to me that if the Focke-Wulf design team had come up with the same configuration and mounted a JUMO 0400 turbine in to a Fw190D they would have a very interesting interceptor fighter. I had also seen reviews of a plastic kit of a piston powered FW190D with an unusual swept back wing - investigations on the internet and in various books revealed that this wing format came from a Focke-Wulf company drawing. But I think that that was all it ever was, but it looks really good on this model, and it also works well as the model is a very good flyer. I called it a Fw 190T ‘Trudi’ - T for Turbine power, but you won’t find it in any history book! The model is powered by one of Derek Knight’s KP Aero 18mm diameter EDF (Electric Ducted Fan) units that he designed to replace the

Jetex 50 and Rapier in older designs

31

Free Plan

The EDF Fw 190T ‘Trudi’ is the latest in a long line of FROG Senior inspired designs by Rob Smith.

The best way to check the aerodynamics and balance point of a slightly different design is to first make a small all sheet glider test model.

32 AeroModeller-

June 2017

What appears to be an extract from a 1945 Top Secret File seems to show the layout of the Fw190T Trudi… or is it another of Rob’s creations?!

Top wing structure is as shown on plan, lower wing was a stronger/lighter version with ‘cracked strip’ ribs but gave no real advantage.

(see www.kpaero.com or SAMS Models). The Fw Trudi is an ideal introduction to using one of the smallest EDF units commercially available, before moving on to convert one of the classic stick and tissue Jetex models from Keil Kraft or Wilmot Mansour. The power-train of the EDF unit is via a 6amp ESC (Electric Speed Controller), a KP Aero Timer and 120MAH 7.4V cells. On/Off is with a nice little switch I found at Maplins. KP Aero now do a combined ESC/Timer for this EDF unit which I shall be using in my next model.

trailing edge allows you to sand in some washout at the tips (i.e. trailing edge at tips ‘up’.) Note the root rib is W1A and each wing panel is built flat to W5. The wing centre section is built with rib W1 and the left and right wing panels are joined to the centre section with 25mm dihedral under each tip. Use 0.8mm balsa sheet over the centre section to strengthen and protect as the wing is held on to the fuselage with rubber bands. Note there is a small former F4A which sits under the centre section trailing edge, which along with some scrap sheet fairs the wing to the

Building

fuselage. Tail surfaces are from lightweight 1.5mm balsa sanded down to about 1mm. As they are going to be covered with preprinted paper they will be quite strong enough. I am presently working on making tail surfaces from 1.5mm Depron, again covered with pre-printed paper, as this works out really light and strong. I shall also try this out on

Construction follows the same methods as a FROG Senior kit, so anyone who has built one of those will have no problems building this model. As an experiment I built two wings, one with conventional ribs as shown on the plan, and one with the ‘cracked ribs’ from strip system. Either worked out OK. Using 2.5mm balsa for the

Previous Rob Smith Free Plans include the rubber powered Mk22 Spitfire in #934 March 2015 AeroModeller and the electric prop Fw190 Dora in #946 March 2016.

33

FREE PLAN - FW190T ‘TRUDI’ FANTASY SCALE EDF PLAN 632 IN AEROMODELLER 961 JUNE 2017

Free Plan

The items you’ll need to power your model. KP Aero 18mm EDF unit, a 6amp All the power train items connected up for testing, prior to installation. ESC, a KP Aero timer, 120MAH 7.4V cells, and small switch from Maplins.

a wing with thicker Depron. After cutting out the fuselage formers, don’t forget to glue strengthening cross

round the outside of the EDF fan unit at the back. It’s a good idea to make the duct longer at the front, fit it and then cut

see that the front intake is not perfectly circular but attempts to maximise the intake area.

braces on the formers as they will help when constructing the fuselage. You can always cut them out later if they are in the way of the power-train electrics. Note the larger F4A fits on top of the fuselage to support the back of the canopy and the rear stringers. The most complicated part of the build is the front fuselage duct. Mine is made from pre-rolled 0.8mm balsa formed around the circular duct formers separated by a piece of dowel. If you have problems with the balsa tube splitting, try wrapping with tissue. Note that the duct is larger at the front and smaller at the rear to give a snug fit

it back nice and straight at the nose. If at first it doesn’t fit, do try again with a newly constructed balsa tube adjusted appropriately. Cut the holes in formers F1A and F2 to fit the fan unit. The front former N1 is laminated from 2 pieces of 2.5mm balsa cross grained. Fit it at first without the hole for the duct. Then when the fuselage is built with the top blocks etc. fitted and sanded to shape you have a nice solid object to work with. (Leave the bottom sheeting off so you can fit the duct and fan unit.) Then you can deploy your Dremel or similar and ream out a suitable opening to fettle and fit the duct; you’ll

It’s a good idea to fit all the electric bits inside the wing mount opening of the fuselage so you can get at them when required. Do place all the power-train items (particularly the battery cells) as far forward as possible to help get the centre of gravity in the right place.

The 0.8mm balsa duct is formed on the circular temporary formers. Note the diameter is wider at the front/intake and the rear should fit the EDF unit. Trim to length after fitting to fuselage.

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June 2017

Covering The model was finished using my lightweight pre-printed paper system. The paper used on this model is from a ‘Daler Rowney’ layout pad which is 45gsm. Previously I’ve also used ‘Goldline’ Layout Pad paper with a weight of 50gsm (it is similar to what is

Cut away nose block N1 to suit the rolled tube ducting

Rob has produced some PDF markings for the Trudi which will be available to download from www.aeromodeller.com

Free Plan

You may be able to source a small jet bubble canopy as used by KK or Veron What next? Rob has also produced a ‘what-if’ scale jet turbine Spitfire flying scale kits, otherwise you’ll need to carve your own mould. Mk30(!) as an adaption of his rubber powered Mk 22.

The Fw190T Trudi has pleasing lines and you have the choice of using Rob’s prepared covering markings or coming up with your own fantasy scheme.

known as ‘Bank’ paper). You will need an inkjet printer set to ‘speciality’ or ‘thin/ light’ paper, and each sheet should be hand fed through separately. Try some test sheets for size and print quality before printing the finished items. All the

method of printing and covering can be found in the August 2015 AeroModeller 939 as it was used on my ‘Fancy Buffalo’ design. This pre-printed paper system is stronger than tissue but not too heavy, and when used to cover sheet balsa or

moulding block are on the plan.

camouflage, panel lines, insignia etc. have been created on a CAD program. The PDF files for this model are available on the AeroModeller website www. aeromodeller.com Attach the paper panels using Pritt Stick type adhesive, remember you must NOT water shrink the printed paper if it is created on an inkjet printer as the colours will run. You can however dope the covering, I use 60/40 dope and thinners which works well. More details on this

Depron is well-nigh indestructible. You may be able to find a commercial canopy but I made mine by the plunge moulding method; please have a go at this as it’s nowhere near as difficult as you might think. Materials for doing this can be sourced from almost any clear plastic blister wrap. The time-consuming operation is making the mould. After that it’s just a matter of plunging away until you get a canopy that you are happy with. Side and top views to make the

you launch it. Find some Kiel Kraft long grass, do some test glides to fine tune the CofG and trim before you power up the EDF unit. Start with the power down, launch it with a good push and a slightly right turn. Keep increasing the power until you achieve the flight envelope you like. Persevere with it and you will get some really spectacular flights like we did at Old Warden in 2016.●

38 AeroModeller-

June 2017

Flying Once finished, check the alignments and the CofG of the model and you are ready to go. The model is very sensitive to how

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How To

Give CAD a Chance PART 3: Bob

‘Sideshow’ Davis on using CAD to Design a Model Aeroplane

W

hile repeating that this is not going to be a treatise on model design but on drafting, I’d better say where I usually go; 4-channel hot-rods – usually biplanes – and 4-channel fake vintage are my main interests. However there is a contest called “The Bowden” –

anyone heard of it? – and I thought I’d try and get as far as at least competing. Apparently, it’s for Free Flight – you just let the model go and after a short engine run you hope it ‘arrives’ 45 seconds later. All to do with something called “trimming” I believe. Sounds crazy and if I tried to develop a true Free Flight model to fly off my normal site 1000’ above

sea level in North Wales I would be too. So we’re going to make it Radio-Assist with rudder and elevator servos in an accessible position, where the pushrods can be clamped and disconnected (in that order) for “The Bowden”. I want the whole plane to fit on an A0 sheet – no need to deconstruct it to get the parts on a printable drawing – say

A ‘Modern’ RC version of the Elf vintage model produced by ‘Sideshow’ Bob with the help of CAD.

40 AeroModeller-

June 2017

FI G UR 1E

FIG UR 2E

FI G UR 3E

FIG UR 3E A

30” span. Armed with no more than that as a destination I purchased an unused Enya 06 on eBay from a guy in Germany. A glow motor – I’ve enough on my plate without pain-in-the-butt diesels. (Each to their own! The Editor.) Three other design features I have in mind: as a designer I’m always looking for inspiration and the full size ‘home-built’ scene is awash with it – mostly in the US. I’m very taken by these ‘skeletal’ or ‘space frame’ designs which are starting to appear, the Savage Bobber being an example (an early Avro another). Somewhere down the line I see

right stick before progressing to mode 2 aileron and elevator on the right stick (dihedral then non-dihedral models). Rudder and elevator on the right stick is actually mode 4. Since I’ve already taught myself to fly I need a guinea pig who has yet to learn. Step forward daughters.

Here we go then. Draw that A0 drawing border – refer to previous article. Horizontal line (setting in ‘Ortho’) from mid-point left hand side away to the

As you will do if you get to grips with CAD, I’ve built up quite a library of commonly used parts. I’ve made an outline – actually 3 outlines: side, plan, front – of my little Enya 06 and I’m going to import it as a ‘Block’. Any drawing can be inserted as a Block. Command is Insert, Block and you’ll probably have to click Browse to start the hunt

myself designing a space-frame model made from glued-together carbon tubes. This is to be a toe-in-the-water. (Carbon tubes in a Bowden model, oh surely not. The man’s a bounder...) Secondly I notice 2015’s Bowden winner used a tricycle undercarriage – a nose wheel. Seems like it ought to give a more controlled crash. I’ll use that too. Finally I’ve got this daft theory that it would be easier to learn to fly by starting with 3-channel and progressing to 4. But 3-channel with a difference: rudder and elevator on the

right. This is a plan view and that line is the fuselage centreline. Draw a vertical line across the horizontal line. This is the wing leading edge. You might care to Move the vertical line from its centre to the intersection with the centreline – but it’s not essential. 30” span, 15” semi-span, what’s 15” in metric, call it 390mm so with a 10mm tip rib it will be 400 semi-span, 800 span. (mm presumed from here on). Offset the centreline 390 and then offset that line 10. Figure 1 is where we’ve got to. What

for where you put the drawing of the engine/servo/fuel tank/wheel/battery/ whatever. (Make separate directories.) Don’t Insert ‘External Reference’ – it will look the same but if you transfer the drawing to any other computer (Laser Cutter for instance) it will disappear and a line of unwanted text will appear in its place. The beauty of a Block is that it can be moved around as one item but it can be Explode(d) into its constituent lines at any time. For now don’t worry about where to put the engine – just

Back to the Drawing Board/Screen

chord? 125 will give a 6.4 aspect ratio which seems a bit high but I fear a poor glide so try it.

Block Command

41

How To

FI G U 4 RE

FIG U 4 R A E

dump it in the drawing where you can see it. Despite good advice in a recent AeroModeller on Bowden models, this engine is going to be inverted so it’s a looking down on (or up on – it hardly matters) view of the Enya I’m going to dump near the plan view I’m developing.

Where’s the tail. Rule of thumb again: two cords behind the wing trailing edge – for this or a 4-channel Sport model, more like one chord for a sprightly 4-channel. Offset the wing trailing edge line 250 to the right. What tail chord? I don’t know, try 75

On we go. Best to Erase the just mirrored wing and tail halves. You can’t Undo past a Save – but an Undo can go wrong. The similar Undo Back command is the most dangerous command in CAD. It will delete everything back to the previous Save – and that can be a

Where to put the engine? Well this isn’t going to be an asymmetric German WW2 plane that looks like it was made from left-over parts so it’s obviously on centreline. But where to put it to avoid the dreaded ballast. Well my 4-channel Hot-Rod rule-of-thumb is the prop-driver face one chord in front of the leading edge and you’ll get the desired 30% back cg without too much trouble. What I know about free-flight models could be written on a pin head with a pneumatic drill – but I’ll stick with the one chord thing. Offset the leading edge line 125 forwards and Move the engine Block locating on the centre of the prop driver to the intersection just created.

and see what it looks like. Offset the line just created another 75. What span tail span? Try 300. Offset the centre-line 150 and Trim or Fillet set at zero radius to create half a tail. At this point, having only drawn half a wing and half a tail, we had better Mirror to create the whole outline and see if the proportions look OK. (I’ll be adding a small elevator to the back of the tail.) So we have Figure 2. It does look OK. Now Save – you’ll have to think of a name. Mine is A-Sport 30. You can’t Save too often – and until you’ve learnt a few hard lessons you WILL be caught out (work lost) by saving too infrequently. Try to prove me wrong!

lot. Better get the outline of the fuselage before we move on to the side elevation. The carbon fuselage tubes are going to be 5x3 (5 o/d by 3 i/d) for no other reason than I use this for rudder and elevator pushrods on biggish Hot-Rods and a 1m length leaves quite an offcut. (Glue a piece of M3 studding into each end and it’s the strongest, lightest, stiffest RC pushrod you can imagine. Smaller Hot-Rods use 4x2 carbon tube with M2 studding.) The tail is going to sit on – be epoxied to – the top of the fuselage tubes so I’m going to make the fuselage width 10 at the back – two 5mm tubes just touching. As the tubes splay out going forwards this will generate a flat area for the tail to sit on and avoid the unpleasant business of grinding a chamfer on carbon tubes. Offset the centreline 5 upwards. How much to splay the tube out? Rotate the line just produced about its rear end minus 2 degrees. For some daft reason clockwise rotations are negative in CAD, anticlockwise rotations positive. (Ahh, good old school Trig! – The Editor.) The 2 degrees doesn’t look enough, Undo and then Rotate minus 3 degrees. Looks good. So that’s the outside edge ofthe

FIGURE 5

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June 2017

5mm fuselage tube. Offset it 5 inwards and you have the inside edge. I want this straight taper to end at the front of the main wing so Trim both inner and outer tube lines at the front of the wing. Now to the front – so as to complete the plan outline. In my experience the fuselage cowling needs to start 2mm back from the prop driver and needs 2mm radial clearance. So draw horizontal and vertical lines from the top front corner of the prop driver and Offset them 2 upwards and backwards respectively. Trim these two new lines to form the sharp inner front corner of what will be a thin annular birch ply front for the cowling. Erase the srcinal lines from the corner of the prop driver. I find ply thinner than 3mm hard to jigsaw into fine profiles so Offset that vertical line 3mm back and Trim the horizontal line. Again, to prevent this front annular ring becoming too flimsy to make it needs a reasonable annular width. Offset that now very short horizontal line (you will have to middlemouse zoom-in to pick it) 3 upwards and use it to Trim the front vertical line before erasing the construction line you generated just for the Trim. We have the still incomplete plan: Figure 3. I’ve windowed in to the prop driver area and thrown a few dimensions on to confirm what’s said in words above:Figure 3A. Radii Curves

By now you must be getting the idea so I’m going to let the article ‘degenerate’ into a series of images showing the evolving model with a few notes for each image. However, before I do that, there’s

FI GUR 6E

The materials plus a bit of balsa and ply, then we’re ready to build!

one important geometric construction I want to go through – because it occurs a lot. With paper and pencil it’s completely straightforward to any competent draftsman but in CAD you need to know how to go about it. The front outer corner of the cowl is point A. The point where the side terminates at the front of the wing is B. We want a radius that goes through A and B but is also tangential to

vaguely near where the arc centre will be “perpendicular to” AB. Move that line, selecting its end point on AB as the reference, to the centre of AB. Call this line CD. The centre of the arc must lie somewhere on CD or an extension of it. Draw another line from somewhere near the suspected arc centre “perpendicular to” the tapered side. Again, selecting the end point of that line where it touches

the side at B – thereby avoiding a sharp change in direction – this is supposed to be aerodynamics after all. Sometimes, but only sometimes, AutoCAD will draw the required circle (which you can Trim to get the bit of radius required) by drawing a “three point circle”. The points are A, B and the third point is “tangent to” the side. Frustratingly often it will respond “no such circle exists” – although it clearly does. Better to keep you blood pressure down and do it this way from the outset. Draw a Line between A and B. Draw a Line from some point

the side as the reference, Move it to point B. Call this line BE. The centre of the required arc (circle initially) must lie on the intersection of CD and BE so Fillet zero (Fillet with the radius set to zero) CD and BE. Bingo, there’s the centre of the arc/circle. Draw the Circle, centre at intersection just generated to either A or B. Trim the circle to the short vertical line at the front of the cowl (the line that ends at A) and the side (or the front of the wing). Sounds a lot but with just a little practice takes about 15 seconds. Figures 4A and 4B.

FIG UR 7E

43

How To

When it’s “finished” I’ll Move everything inside the border. The truth is the design isn’t as detailed as it might be. Either I can wing it from here or I can come back and add bits of detail to the design as necessary. Here are some notes about the evolution of the design as opposed to the CAD drawing:

FIGURE 8

Design Development The rest of the article is just a series of images, Figures 5 to 9, showing the build-up of the design. The side elevation

FIGURE 9

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June 2017

is projected from the plan in the normal way. It doesn’t use any of the CAD commands we haven’t used already. Note that it’s off the A0 drawing border.

• As can be seen if we focus on the side elevation (Figure 8), the inverted Enya with its centreline rear induction determines where the tank, and in turn the fuselage floor, has to be and prevents my preferred low wing design. Mid wing will have to do. At least it’s not a samey, samey cabin model. Truth is I started with a high wing design but it soon became clear that, what with the dihedral

and all, it was going to need heaps of down-thrust and I’m not into that. If you look at the very last image you can see the design evolution – and the biggest single advantage of CAD design. If you don’t like how it’s going Copy the elevation down and start hacking the copy around without destroying the srcinal – which you may well want to

like an aerofoil – no intruding spar lines interrupting a smooth curve. • The spar is a 10x8 ‘wrapped’ carbon tube. Ridiculously over strength in bending but I need a decent diameter for the 2.5mm balsa ribs (no capping strips) to ‘get hold of’. Wrapped tube is woven carbon mat formed into a tube and has decent torsional strength – which

a thick ply centre rib with some ad-hoc reinforcement. • The leading edge is 6x4 pultruded carbon tube. It will take a big knock to damage that. • The rather unusual web between the two tubes is to give the wing some lateral strength and so guard against the highly likely blow to a wing tip. Made

revert to. Limitless space available on a CAD drawing. Figure 10. • The aerofoil is a quarter ellipse followed by a piece of circular arc and a straight line to the trailing edge. Figure 5. Of course the only place the aerofoil will actually look like this is immediately adjacent to the ribs. Between the ribs the covering will shrink and the aerofoil will lose some of its depth. But it will still look

the wing needs. All the other tubes are just normal pultruded carbon – straight longitudinal fibres in an epoxy matrix. Pultruded carbon tubes are great for push or pull loads and not too bad in bending but twist them and they split easily because all you have is epoxy in shear. • Suspect I’ll make the dihedral joint in the two spar halves by epoxying them in

from 1.6mm (1/16”) balsa half-and-half notched into the ribs. Since this is going to be ‘marked out’ a wise designer would make the rib spacing a nice round number. How do we draw that web? Draw a Line from tube centre to tube centre. Trim it to the tube o/d’s. Offset it 0.8mm each way. Erase the srcinal line. • The wing is going to be epoxied in to the fuselage – I’m quite OK with that on such a small model. ¼” balsa fuselage sides above and below. • The battery and tank are probably buried for ever. If you’re careful not to overcharge batteries they last longer than models. The 1oz tank is a bit of a worry but it has a really good screw on cap. • Battery, receiver (where I can get at it), side view of Enya, servos, switch tank are all Inserted Blocks drawn separately and stored in appropriate directories. • As previously noted, if you try to develop a free flight model around here you won’t have it for long. Small rudder and elevator servos live under a removable headrest. I’m going to have to find a way of clamping the pushrods before switching off and disconnecting them. • Wings generate downwash behind them (or they wouldn’t generate lift). Therefore the tail sits in a mild downwash region which its lifting section should help balance. • Probably going to have quite high wing loading. Apparently “The Bowden” is only held on really windy days so this should not be a disadvantage. • Even if I can find a suitably sized ‘Sideshow’ Bob head and shoulders on eBay to put in the cockpit, the model isn’t going to score very high aesthetic marks. “The Bowden” rules seem only slightly more opaque than those of Mornington Crescent – but do include an aesthetic element. ●

FIGURE 10

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Model Science

Part 32

BETTER… RETRIEVAL Dave Hipperson considers whether the finding is more rewarding than the flying, continuing the ‘Better..’ series with input from other modellers on retrieval.

Y

ou will have met them, there are plenty out there. The people that have come back to Free Flight Contest Duration not just from raising families, running businesses, golf or bridge, all of which are totally understandable pastimes; but even from full size flying. Mostly gliding but sometimes powered light aircraft. The interesting thing is that they always come back. It might

The author with one of his favourite Slow Open Power models on Woodbury Common where so much was learnt by so many about retrieving. (Photo by Sue Hipperson)

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once have been that model aircraft was seen as a one-way route, a stepping stone to full size activity; possibly in the RAF or civil piloting. More recently the obvious next stage might have been full size competition gliding or hang gliding; indeed quite a few well known aeromodellers have trodden this route and done well. Nearly all of them have come back to a lesser or greater extent. Why? Well it’s simply because of the inherent

and instinctive need for intelligent people like us to engage not only in a sport, but also in some form, some level of creation. You can fly yourself around the sky forever, it’s great fun, but at the end of the day you have little to show for it apart from more hours on the log book and hopefully the fact that you are still alive! Full size flying can have the competitive element too of course but only Free Flight Aeromodelling has creativity as well. Full size is great but it

They are beautiful things and worth getting back. This is the author’s Firecracker. Note hatch concealing bug box.

This is the Ordnance Survey Land Ranger map of the Woodbury area, with all the places the author listened out for his Open Rubber model – without success.

will never beat the real thing – Free Flight Duration Competition aeromodelling! Neither am I trying to suggest by the back door that because we are now allowed to buy our competition airframes all this creativity has been taken away.

else will dare. This holds good for all sports but unlike many, we free flight aeromodellers stand to lose more than just the competition and our pride. Every time we commit we take the risk of losing material. Losing what we use as

like me was not really looking forward to the time, quite soon, when full GPS systems will be light and cheap enough to carry in all f ree flight models, so when it lands it phones you with its positional co-ordinates and tells you how high up

My enthusiasm for the builder of the model rule is well known, however even I accept that there is still quite a lot to do to take an ARTF to competition winning standard. In so doing it cements a bit of a bond. In the same way, one gets an attachment to IC engines, yet few of us make them. They all have their various idiosyncrasies. In perfecting the tool it becomes unique and important to the contestant builder/owner. Less so than it used to, but still important. Then the crucial bit. The decision as to how far you are prepared to go and what you are prepared to risk both mentally and physically. Before you can win anything you have to accept the possibility of losing. You have to risk loss

the tools, losing our aeroplanes. Few, if any, other sports are like this. Free Flight is more akin to motor racing or even a strategic battle, apart from the fact that our lives are not usually endangered! The fact is this is a large part of the essence of the appeal, even if you hadn’t realised it. Particularly if you have designed and built the machine yourself - it has a connection. Its existence matters and not just because it may be needed for further flights on the day. It matters because it’s yours and you created it. The model has a character and parts of that character is your character.

Recovery is its own Reward Following on from Martin Dilly’s

the tree it is. We thought that this might take much of the excitement out of the process of recovery apart, of course, from the tree climbing. Understandably the ambition is to recover the model quickly and safely. In my experience, and the experience of numerous of my colleagues in this, the process sometimes becomes a sport in itself. Ray Alban has gone as far as to say that the retrieval part of contest free flight was for him the best part. We will be hearing of one of his exploits later. In America and possibly elsewhere too, there is a sport where there is no model flying element at all - the ‘bug’ is laid by someone and then competing teams try to locate it. Plenty of tricks are employed

and failure both of your spirits and your models. Without facing this downside you can’t get anywhere and there is no elation in victory. Andrew Hewitt the highly-respected scale competitor made this point in AeroModeller a few years ago when he emphasised how he positively enjoyed the risk of chancing his beautiful scale creations in competition. He actually got a buzz from the risk. To win you often have to sail closer to the edge than anyone

introduction to model tracking and recovery in AeroModeller a few years ago I would like to flesh it out a bit and explain the positive fun that can be had as a by product of something which might initially appear a bit of a chore. I say fun as since the introduction of tracker bugs and GPS, RCDT etc., new dimensions have been added and the chase itself can be most exciting. Indeed, I was discussing this aspect with someone at the Nats recently who

to confuse the contestants and distances can be considerable. In our case of course the problem is totally out side human control and exquisitely random. Indeed it is that randomness (and I don’t want to get too cerebral and hippy about this) that provides the conduit to this other world. The magical ingredient is being drawn across a course which you might never have trod had it not been for the recovery of your precious property, often against the clock or at the very

47

Model Science

A sheet of transparent self-adhesive name and address labels the author had produced by Lesley Sharp. Very neat, particularly on Mylar covered surfaces of lightweight models. On heavier airframes and power models small paper ones were doped on.

John White almost always puts his name and address on every component. Very useful especially if the model breaks up on landing or parts blow downwind.

least against the fading of the daylight. Then on top of that think of all the different people that you might meet or have to run away from in the process. It becomes a form of random orienteering.

simply hundreds of fly-offs during which time I never set a DT. (This last fact has been queried by a contributor to this article so further investigation and admissions on this later.) Two of them

preference is to follow the model as quickly and directly as possible. The nearer you are to it the more accurately you will see it down. The less time it is out of your hands and on the ground

You get dragged into and through places you might never have gone – and for a purpose. Think of how much more exciting this is than ‘going for a walk.’ Spare us from aimless walks! Be very clear we all must be very careful and polite to the people we meet. These article not only set out to suggest some techniques to improve your successes in this department but also celebrates the fun to be had, and just as important, the positive effect our interaction with members of public we meet on these sorties can have on our image – certainly since we stopped blindly blundering about which, with modern equipment, is largely no longer necessary.

were in massive thermals from Merryfield and Middle Wallop and went out to sea and the only other one was presumed stolen – off Woodbury Common to the North on a very windy day when a 12 minute fly-off went quite a distance but into an area too well serviced by roads. (There is a map here to illustrate this fateful occasion with all the places I listened out for it.) Easy for tracking but equally easy for public involvement. Before tracker devices I lost quite a few but during that time developed a technique that still helped retrieve many. There are plenty of non-technical things to do before you turn on a tracker radio and set off by car for an exciting twenty-mile drive. Every flight has to

somewhere, the safer it will be. Every second you haven’t got it, it can be pinched or damaged. Get after it. Nine times out of ten you will see it down and simply walk over and recover it and come back – particularly the calm days. I do not hold with hanging around the timekeeper. There are a number of reasons you shouldn’t. You have better things to do than breath down their neck and it can also look like you might be ‘encouraging’ them or even ‘coaching’ them as in one case I witnessed at last year’s Nats. when someone was actually doing the timekeeping for them and telling them when to clock-off! ie. cheating. (The receipt by me of an assortment of used banknotes totalling

be recovered. When you launch you don’t know whether its going to be this one that takes you all day or only a few minutes. When you fly be prepared for a flyaway at all times. Have the bike ready, have the binoculars where you can find them – just always remember the chances of a DT failure and fly away. Be prepared.

the value of £500 will assuage my temptation to reveal the name of this person at the end of this series. No rush hopefully you have a few months to save up...) I appreciate your timekeeper might not be a person you know too well and are worried they might just get bored and stop or walk off with your flight card, but really, bearing in mind our continually reducing numbers it’s unlikely that there isn’t a person on the field that hasn’t got some timekeeping experience. Let

Track(ing) Record It might be the moment to explain my track record on this subject. Apart from the numerous occasions when I have assisted in finding other peoples models – usually successfully and definitely the most fun of all – since I installed tracker bugs in my models I have lost only three and never on competition or trimming flights, only in huge fly-offs. That would be over a period of nearly 20 years and

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Simple Steps Ordinary observation comes first. My

them get on with it on their own. Watch the model down from wherever you get to before it finally settles. Be careful with very short flights. I knew of a fellow who spent all day recently trying to find a dropped flight that he had angrily lost interest in. It was only a few hundred yards away on the field but he didn’t really know in what direction as it had been one of those very calm days where

flight went outside the perimeter fence a bit and Phil, although never a man to hang about (please take note) got around to the outside and back on line slightly slower than might usually be the case and could not see or hear any evidence of the model. The contest was being run in rounds so sensibly he returned and continued for the remainder of the day with a reserve. (Please also note he

stopped and the signal could be heard again. They traced the model to a small terraced house and immediately knocked on the door.

models go everywhere. Watch it down – take notice of some landmarks, take some compass bearings if you really have to but mostly use your eyes. Most retrieves will be simple. It might not be superfluous to remind you of what Martin said about having your name and address on your models. Neatly – legibly. Perhaps on every component to be safe. (I had some labels printed.)

didn’t negate his entire day by worrying about a mislaid model but got on with a reserve and plan B.) He returned in the late afternoon to continue searching. Mysteriously still not a peep and this was from a flight that couldn’t have cleared the fence by very much. Then after a little while he did hear it. Seemed a long way off line to the right and wait a minute, it was GETTING LOUDER! Furthermore it was getting louder quickly. Phil released that it was indeed getting louder at about the same speed as that of an approaching car. As the car passed the signal peaked and then clearly went off in the opposite direction and began to fade. Phil and son Anthony fortunately had their car nearby and leapt in and

down on the road right in front of him. He didn’t know where it had come from and intelligently took off the wings and popped it all carefully into the boot of his car and continued his journey to Kings Lynn planning to inspect the model later. Many hours later he returned home and by complete coincidence his drive past the edge of Sculthorpe coincided with the period Phil was back out searching again. Then immediately this gentleman got home and saw the telephone number on the model he phoned it and left a message and his address. So you can imagine his astonishment that when only seconds after replacing the receiver (old days – proper phones) – the owner Phil Ball – knocked on his door in shall we say

gave chase as clearly the model was in that car! If you have ever tried this chase business you will know that it isn’t as easy as it looks in the detective serials on the tele! However Phil and Anthony managed to keep in touch just about but finally lost him in the maze of small streets in Fakenham. Fortunately he had

a positive and enthusiastic way! The truth dawned on both of them very quickly and happily the model was re-united with it’s owner.

John White, not, it has to be said, famous for his meticulous preparation, (he who drove out of his garage once forgetting that the model box he had so carefully strapped to his car roof rack would not clear the door and everyone knows about the Ravioli incident, he even had a T Shirt printed about that) to his credit puts his name and address on every component even his props. One afternoon he had a prop assembly fall out of his model whilst still over the aerodrome and someone saw it on the grass and was able to return it to him straight away. Sensible.

What they did not realise and could never have guessed, was that the person in the car had been driving past Sculthorpe that morning on his way to Kings Lynn and Phil’s model had DT’d

More hints and retrieval stories in the next part. ●

I include a bit of instruction about leaving the model where it is for an hour or so – sometimes they read it. Nowadays your mobile phone number as well, as long as you have it with you and it’s turned on. John O’Donnell goes as far as adding a label explaining where the model is being flown from that day. This has often been successful with the member of public actually returning the model to the field and certainly never driving away with it. Remember when they find it they don’t know where it might have come from unless you tell them. Phil Ball was flying F1C on Sculthorpe some years ago, actually when the Bio Track system was pretty new – not many of us had trackers. An early morning

How could he ever lose anything this big? Trevor This is Phil Ball with his F1C model of Payne poses with one of his largest 40 power approximately the same vintage as the one that models. Trevor has some astonishing recovery was nearly lost outside Sculthorpe and required stories to tell us in later issues. him chasing a car.

49

CL Event Report The Ned Morris 60 monoline trainer is good for speeds of around 140mph.

NEED FOR SPEED! THE 2ND BARTON CLUB WEEKEND - DICK HART REPORTS FROM THE SECOND WEEKEND AIMED AT ENCOURAGING BEGINNERS TO TRY DIFFERENT CLASSES OF CLSPEED.

T

he Barton Club near Manchester hosted the second Club Speed weekend over the weekend of 8-9 April 2017. We had super sunny weather on the Saturday with the temperature reaching 20C, it was also warm and sunny on Sunday morning but got colder and cloudier in the afternoon. We ran the club speed event on both

days with most of the entrants flying on the Saturday. Once again Mike Crossman and Andrew Watson stepped up to the plate to do the timing and it was good to see the competitors helping each other out in the spirit of good sportsmanship.

Improved Speeds Many of the entrants also competed in the first event in March, so I was

able to put a placing together based upon improvement over personal best. First was Ken Morrissey who managed 112.35% of his previous personal best, second was Len Morrall with 107.67%, he put his improvement down to making fresh fuel - I think the fuel he used last time was made in 2008! Third was Chris Martindale with 106.65%, Chris also made the fastest flight of the competition

The Club Speed pits on Saturday as models queue to fly.

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Starting Chris Martindale’s sport jet using the air from a standalone compressor. Mike Crossman and Andrew Watson manually timing the club speed.

at 95.43 mph. His lovely elliptical model has a Cox Tee Dee 09 running 20% nitro on a Graupner 6x5 prop. Fourth was Andrew Watson at 105.47%. I don’t know where Ken got his improvement from, I was going to say that ‘old age and treachery overcomes youth and enthusiasm every time’ but when I reflected on it we were all pretty much of

an OS 60 rear induction side exhaust. It swings a 9x12 APC on 10% fuel using pressure, with authority. It probably runs in the 140 mph range and gives the pilot a good workout! I flew it first and Richard Grindley, presumably bolstered by watching an old-git tame the beast, also had a go. Afterwards Richard confessed that this was the first time

at least got it started but then I could not give him the launch he deserved twice and the model spun in both times. Separately Ken had been cajoling Alan Hill into trying his hand in the pylon and he had a couple of training flights with a Texas Quickie Rat and took to it like a duck to water. I set him up with a sport jet model but sadly by this time

an age so it couldn’t have been that. It is going to be interesting to see who can break the magic 100mph barrier first and how long it will take to improve to that degree. Meanwhile over in the main circle on the Saturday, the usual suspects; Richard Grindley, Chris Martindale and myself amused ourselves by getting in some monoline practice using the very first monoline jet model I built in 2003 but with a suction feed sport jet motor fitted. This is a great way to warm up after a long winter lay off. I think we were doing around 155 mph and we all made successful flights in the pylon. Then we turned our attention to sport jet and both Richard and Chris made good flights in

he had ever taken-off a monoline model out of the pylon. Having done that he finished off his day with a great 200mph plus run with his fast jet on ‘hot sauce’ or 60%nitro / 40%propylene oxide.

the weather had changed markedly and I just could not get a peep out of the engine. We checked everything but could not isolate the problem, save to say that the fuel and starting air was cooling the jet down so fast through evaporation; it only took a few puffs of air to chill the head and the pipe that the fuel would no longer evaporate but just ran down the pipe and onto the ground. I tried Easy Start and a prime of ‘hot sauce’ but just could not get the engine to fire so we gave up for the day and Alan has still to get his promised sport jet flight. So there you have it, the second Barton club speed weekend. Good weather (for the most part) plenty of flying and great camaraderie. We shared

the pylon, probably around 140 mph. One of the things that we really need to practice is being able to take-off a monoline model out of the central pylon. Most of the time we take-off the fast jets in the pylon, to avoid the pull. However, it is always preferable to be able to step back should the line go slack and this cannot be done starting in the pylon. So, I got out my 60 monoline trainer. This model was built by the late Ned Morris and was given to me by Joey Mathison of Las Vegas. It is a profile model with

running around 95mph and had Ian zipping around the pylon in style. Alex had a profile Weatherman with an Irvine 25 which he also used to good effect for pylon practice, he was doing around 90 mph. Ken, Richard, Chris and myself all had a go at sport jet, the fastest time recorded being just over 149mph. Sadly we could not get Alex into the air with his sport jet this time. He fitted a new reed and modified the Hobby King engine to take a Jet Bill 12 hole flowjector which

Sunday Service On the Sunday, we were joined by Ian Russell and Alex Phin. I also press ganged Jim Hatch into running the Transitrace for us. Although he had never seen this electronic timing system before, he was able to get to grips with it very quickly which is a testament to the know-how of the inventor Goran Olson. Ian had a Weatherman powered by a rear exhaust K&B 4.9 which he used to get a bit of pylon practice, it was

the venue with the Vintage Team Race chaps on the Sunday and the whole place was buzzing in every sense of the word. Both circles were busy all day long and everyone had a great time. There are other chances to ‘Have a Go' at Club Speed at Barton on 3-4 June and 15-16 July 2017. Contact Dick Hart 01387 820335 or see www.controlline.org.uk ●

51

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Aerodynamics, Books & More!

From the Armchair… PART 20: Stuart

‘Supercool’ Sherlock repurposes a crashed RTF quad-copter for some proper aeromodelling.

E

verything in life these days seems to be inverted. My Rosie and I joined the dance floor for the Barn Dance at the Guildford traditional open air festival. No sooner had we commenced to promenade when the other couples reversed direction. By the time we reversed, they were back the other way again! If Rosie had not had her walking stick with her, we would have been trampled! What

is dancing anyway if it is not a controlled stumble? Then a young woman came over and tied my shoelace for me! Just what is going on? It has been suggested that my approach to aeromodelling methods might not be scientific. Surely by now folks have realised that the so-called “Scientific Method” is a swindle? Why study anything if you already know the answers? Life is not to be lived in Wikipedia.

Cover of “The Spitfire Smiths: A unique story of brothers in arms.”

The enlarged FROG Goblin has already flown successfully with Supercap power.

54 AeroModeller-

June 2017

Components of the co-axial contra-rotating propeller drive mechanism. Full component assembly making use of the motor mounts from the dead Shafting, off-the-shelf prop drivers, large drive gear and miniature ball-race. quad-copter.

Power train mounted in the nose of the MB5. The spinners are from 3” and 2.5” commercial spinners, suitably truncated to match. Shows how small the motors are.

Quad-copter core-less motor cut open to reveal the structure. The outer shells support the brushes end plate at one end, the pinion gear at the other end. The field windings (copper) surround the two-pole magnet which latter is free to rotate on the drive shaft. How all this works I don’t have a clue, wish Tesla was here.

If I have learnt anything in my life, it is “trust your own judgement” and “make your own mistakes”. And while I'm at it, life has two immutable characteristics: change and risk. So there is madness in my method. That is better than method in my madness. Now take books on fighter pilots. With such books, I want to read about pilots fighting. Not who their antecedents were. Dads are fine, but Great Uncles? From 1860? And a page

having blunt leading edges: particularly the poor old Hurricane. Now this may seem counter-intuitive, but the lift vectors from those blunt leading edges point forward in the direction of flight: they behave as thrust. Ever wondered why the Boeing 747, designed as a Mach 0.9 airliner, could have had that huge round nose? Or modern ships have that monstrous bulb under the bow? Or even the Space Shuttle? Well in the latter case, the

requires taking a lead, when it seems to me that the EA is obscured by the nose?

or two on training is fine, but a whole chapter?

situation is even more interesting. At high Mach numbers (and I do mean high) a detached shock wave sits in front of that nose, with the airflow between the shock and the nose surface BEING SUBSONIC! Secondly, Smith was of the view that the cockpit on the Hurricane was raised to give the pilot a clear view ahead. Now this puzzles me. How could the pilot of a Spitfire, with its long, vision-impairing nose, get an Enemy Aircraft in his sights for deflection shooting? This latter

of the 109, almost always made from above and behind, as long as the pilot of the Spitfire could see the 109 coming. This was not easy because the fuselage of the Spitfire ...was constructed … that it occupied the space behind the pilot's head”. Evidently the rear-view mirror was of little use. But most interestingly: “We rarely had the pleasure of seeing the 109s below us. They dreaded being there. By diving on them from well above

Not So Crisp Smiths… So when I bought “The Spitfire Smiths”, 2008, ISBN 13: 978-1-906502-11-9 and found I had to skip quickly through the first SIX chapters to get to the action, I was somewhat hot under the collar. But then I found some gems which my readers may appreciate. Firstly, Smith seemed to have a problem with wings

WWII Air Combat Now for the gems in Chapter 9, “Malta”. “ The Spitfire V was the only Spitfire which was outclassed bythe enemy. “ “... (109F) was faster and better at height than the Spitfire V...but had a small wing ...could not turn as tightly” “The Spitfires tighter turn usually enabled it to evade the lunging attacks

55

Aerodynamics, Books & More! we could build up enough speed to catch them yet still be able to turn inside them if they tried to turn out of our way” These extracts are the best and clearest I have seen re Spitfire versus Me109 combat. There is plenty more, so the book is well worth the effort of tracking it down. Now for some more electric motor madness.

Quad-Copters My first effort into co-axial contrarotating propellers (CaCr) propellers powered by capacitors was based on those little electric helicopters toys with CaCr rotors. The rotor system on a flying killer robot turned out to be most suitable, utilising one motor per rotor, to give good power from two 100 Farad Supercaps. Employed on a 50% increased FROG Goblin, a comfortable flight time of over 50 seconds was felt to be a success. However, the shafts ran on plain bearings which were quite rickety when laid horizontal. A drop of oil helped the squeaking, but it was clear that this was not a wellengineered mechanism

Trials and Tribulations Now the photos tell the story, but I must add a little. I replaced the central shaft with a length of 2mm spring-steel wire. The outer propeller shaft was a piece of cut-to-length 3mm brass tube. Now everything, the races especially, were stock metric sizes. Even the prop drivers with their clamping mechanism were hanging on the Hobby Shop wall! The only problem I had was the sleeve for supporting the outer shaft ball-races. These latter races were 6mm OD while the nearest brass tube was 5.9 ID. With a little annealing and broaching, the ends were opened to 6mm ID. Now here is the incredible thing. Apart from the latter operation, all I had

The centre piece in the photo is the 5 pole commutator, which delivers current to the 5 field windings. The two brushes rub against this commutator, requiring correct rotation direction.

actually happened in these tiny motors. They are a work of art. The photos tell all. The brushes were gone. I mean, not there any-more. It seems that these quad-copter units run one pair of rotors clockwise (CW), and one pair counter-

for a regular type model. So it was off to the local hobby shop on the off-chance that they stocked miniature ball races. Well, I was shocked.

With a 7.4 Volt LiPo feeding the CaCr motors via a servo tester and 10 Amp ESC, I fired up the system. Pure magic! Heaps of revs, smooth running, controlled power, all my dreams come

clockwise (CCW). In normal use, the brush trails the commutator. Reversed, the commutator bangs into the brushes, wearing out the brushes rapidly. The reason for this pairing of motors is interesting. For an object to not spin, the sum of the turning moments needs to be zero. This is a very novel idea, but I must save the physics for another day. Sufficient to say that the arrangement in the quad copter makes sense! So with the motors replaced with correct rotation units, peace and harmony were restored. This left me with the chance to test other power units. Replacing the 7.4 Volt LiPo with a 3.7 Volt unit, I got good RPM, but only after deleting the ESC from the circuit.

Instead of offering me a ball race, the proprietor handed me a crashed quad-copter. The engineering on this was every-bit as amazing as the little helicopters. There were 4 motors each driving a short shaft and a rotor, with everything ball-raced! All I needed to do was strip it down, re-arrange the bits and I would have a fully engineered CaCr unit!

true! Martin-Baker MB5, here I come! Then the motors stopped. No apparent reason, but the ESC seemed rather hot. Maybe it was cooked, although my multimeter only showed 8 amps. No worries, I pulled out a brand new15 Amp ESC. The socket on this unit seemed to have the polarity to the battery reversed, but the QC sticker was there so what to worry.

Then I switched to three 100 Farad Supercaps in series. These gave good power for about 20 seconds, the RPM then dropping to “cruise”. Again the ESC had to be deleted, but this time because the ESC shut down when the voltage dropped below 4.9 Volt. Frustrating, especially when I could not find a brushed ESC which would work off a 3.7 Volt LiPo.

The tiny pair of brushes set for clockwise rotation of the drive shaft. The diameter of the end-plate supporting the brushes is just 8mm, the whole motor length being just 20mm…

56 AeroModeller-

June 2017

to do was some cutting-tolength with my Dremel and I had all the components for the well-engineered CaCr ready to assemble! What could go wrong?

Well plugging the battery into the new ESC performed in my favourite way. Bang, flash and smoke, the lesson in life I always remember. Well maybe my 10 Amp ESC was still OK, so it must have been a problem in the motors. Only one way to find out, so I opened the motor with hammer and chisel to see what

Power Sources

Now enough is never enough for Supercool. Twenty seconds motor run gave way to over 50 seconds when I doubled up the Supercaps to 600 Farads. Just splendid. Next step is to fly my Martin-Baker MB5!

Postscript I have burnt out all my quad-copter

motors. Running the 3.7 Volt rated motors at 7.4 Volts shortened the brush life and damaged the armature windings. I have ordered similar motors designed to run at 7.4 Volts. Hopefully I will still get plenty of power for flight of my MB5. The new motors have an advertised life of 5 6 hours, so here's hoping. ●

Test stand with six 100 Farad Supercaps, connected as pairs in series to yield 600 Farads. Just love this technology, where does it all lead?

Full bird-cage wing construction, as heavily used by “Fast Richard”, aka Dick Mathis. Otherwise the construction is similar that of the MB5 plan from Flying Models, as designed by Tom Arnold. Double size of the srcinal plan makes the scale close to 1” to the foot.

57

Engines and Oils

“The time has come,” the Wizard said, “To talk of many things: Of engines, ether and gas-seals, Of diesels and Dykes rings… (apologies to Lewis Carroll)

PART 3. Four Stroke Diesels and Lathe Craft Brian Winch gives an account of his love of diesels and how to convert various glow engines to compression ignition.

y first experiment with a four stoke was a Saito 91 and this was a very simple modification. Saito engines are generally of high compression so one of these was the ideal choice for some experimenting. First calculation was the movement of the valves - how far they moved out from the inside of the head when fully opened. I machined up a brass plug from hexagon material with the 14/” x 32 TPI (plug) thread and kept the thread

M

rather tight. Its threaded length was the limitation of entry (how far it would go into the head) and it was long enough for easy adjustment with a simple socket spanner. On test the engine fired

Cutaway Saito four stroke on an intake stroke. The piston is not right up to TDC but, when it does, the valve will fit into the

recess in the piston. Very close fits.

58 AeroModeller-

June 2017

The ENYA 36-4C is a recent four stroke diesel from Enya, and was reviewed in issue 926 March 2014 AeroModeller.

up quite readily and it ran extremely well - just a little under the maximum RPM it recorded on glow using a large propeller (one size up from the maximum recommended). It was chortling away very nicely and I was a little pleased with myself then a thought struck me - what if I altered the depth of the plug into the head? Not in further as it was at maximum safe distance so as to not contact the valves - I was considering winding it out a little. Well, it worked just like a… diesel engine! The RPM dropped and it developed the hop, skip, jump of an under compressed engine. Very nice and I considered this a great success.

Theory and Practice of High Compression If you are a real fiddler - enjoy experimenting and complicated jobs you could try other methods of reducing the combustion chamber volume in a four stroke for the purpose of diesel conversion. Way, way back when I was an apprentice I was involved with some competition motor cycle forays. I rode in some competitions and participated in experimental development of engines for performance changes. A lot of this was done in the company of two brothers who were then Australia’s motorcycle champions; we worked together and did

plug was removed, the Plasticine formed on the piston crown and the engine shaft rotated. On examination it could be seen that a little more clearance was required (for safety) and, as no Plasticine oozed out the plug hole, it was deemed to be worthy of a real trial. An investment process was set up and the foundry section of the factory cast a new high dome piston which was then machined and heat treated - to relax the aluminium alloy - ready to be fitted to the engine. Well, that engine went like a rocket the RPM was so much higher but there was one problem - the vibration; it shook the motor bike like a terrier shaking a rat

There is no reason why this will not work with any four stroke but …do take a care with the valve clearance - they come down a lot closer to the piston than you might think and you can see this if you refer to my photograph of the inside of a cutaway Saito engine. Even a first-hand look (at the actual item) by visiting modellers gives the impression to many that the valves touch the piston. Obviously they don’t but they don’t leave any dancing room underneath them when they are open.

a lot of testing together. At one stage, one of the brothers decided to try a very high compression modification to a four stroke engine and this took a fair bit of head scratching. The only way we could see to do it was to extend the piston crown height to fill in more of the combustion chamber without interfering with the valves. A fair bit of calculation was carried out as well as conjecture, but we decided to try to pile a mound of Plasticine on top of the piston and scoop circular flats out to accommodate the valves. The spark

and things started falling off. When you ‘revved it up’ by twisting the throttle grip on the handlebars, the vibration was such that the handlebars increased in diameter to be too large to grip. Well, can that experiment. At the time nobody considered that it might be a good diesel engine albeit it a shaking one. So, what came of that? Nothing much at all - just a memory now but the principle, to some extent, could be applied to a model four stroke if you like the challenge. It really wouldn’t be 59

Engines and Oils

Enya 41 diesel head and the cast iron piston. Note the recesses in the piston to allow for valve clearance.

Almost to the bone - the head has been shaved to absolute minimum to increase the compression ratio and, as such, recesses have to be machined in the piston crown for valve clearance.

such a big undertaking to machine or file up a shaped section in aluminium that would take up a considerable space in the combustion chamber and not interfere with the valves. It could be attached with a couple if screws coming up through the crown of the piston and a drop of high temperature thread lock.

compression. As luck would have it, the head shim from an OS 40 two stroke was the exact size and this tamed the Enya nicely to be a very nice glow engine. I relayed the information to Mr Enya - he agreed with my findings and after that, ALL the Enya four stroke engines (all capacities) were supplied with an extra

- and I mean very close. Should you have or obtain one of these engines and disassemble it, be extremely careful when you re-time the valve timing gears as one tooth out would mean a piston marrying a valve and that’s a union we do not want. For some reason, Ken Enya (man behind Enya engines) fitted a cast iron

I would weigh the piece and the screws then add that much weight to the base of the counterweight by drilling a few holes, tapping for grubscrews, filling the holes with ‘Liquid Gravity’ (from Deluxe Materials), wind in a grubscrew (with permanent thread lock) then lightly peen or scotch rivet the grubscrew in permanently. Note well, this is reasonably solid theory - an experiment of unknown result but I have considered it as something to try… some day. Or if YOU try this, let me and AeroModeller know the outcome.

In case you are thinking the conversion of a four stroke is not such a feasible idea,

head gasket. Now Ken Enya (son) is the man behind the name and he has interests in producing popular engines in the range and concept engines such as the 41 diesel - the first production four stroke diesel. Other than a modification to the head, a larger crankpin and a cast iron piston, it is a standard Enya 41 - 4C, a 6.64cc four stroke. Being of a low swept volume (capacity) and a four stroke, as a glow/methanol engine the fuel consumption is quite low - a little drop goes a long way. If an engine does not require great gulps of fuel there is no need to design it for lots of fuel so, in this case, the valves do not need to be opened (inside the head) to a great gap to let in

piston to this engine. The liner has a very fine taper (tighter at the top) and the gudgeon pin is fitted with bronze rub pads on the end. I’m not sure why he chose to use the cast iron (non-ringed) piston unless he considered it would hold the piston/liner seal better or it would take the punishment of the slightly higher compression as a diesel engine. As dimensions are the same as the methanol/glow .41, I fitted the methanol engine piston - aluminium and ringed - to the engine and it ran virtually identically. Whether problems would crop up after prolonged running I cannot say but I did run the engine with this change of configuration for at least 2 hours overall. One other change is in the carburettor

well, it can be done and they are very successful. I give as example, the Enya 41 - 4c Diesel and here a little trip back in time before we look at this particular engine. When Mr Enya (senior - now departed) produced the first Enya four stroke 40, it had incredible compression and a bit of a bitch to start. As an experiment I fuelled it up with some diesel mix and the engine ran perfectly. At the time the interest in a four stroke diesel was not very strong so I reduced the

the required amount of fuel and, again, being a four stroke, the exhaust volume is reasonably low so the exhaust valve, similarly, does not need to open anymore than the inlet. This is a great boon for converting the engine to diesel and valve to piston clearance is not a large gap. So, the head can be shaved to change the compression ratio to a higher value and the addition of two small cut outs in the piston crown adds the safety factor when all is very close inside the chamber

- it has a thick walled brass (split) sleeve fitted reducing the normal 6.5mm bore to 4.0mm which is understandable for diesel operation.

Commercial Four Stroke Diesels

60 AeroModeller-

June 2017

Material Selection – Avoiding ‘Galling’ In the next article we will look at larger two stroke glow engines (above the Cox type, in the range from around 1.5cc to 6cc or further as the principles are the same for the conversions). I really do enjoy

experimenting with new and different

one consultationwith Mr Garafoli - the

ideas and, many of them are quite

designer and manufacturer of ST engines, the shaft.

successful, but first some background

he recommend and used a maximum of

before machining up heads and contra pistons. Obviously, for a job with the precision required by a contra piston and cylinder head, a lathe is a necessity and a pedestal drill is also handy but, not absolutely necessary. (You will also need

11% oil in the fuel. Being a large capacity

way to talk about the problem but I felt

engine with a very high fuel demand, the carburettor could not pass enough high

it would give a good understanding of just how severe it can be. The process

viscosity fuel (20% castor) for the engine

is commonly known as ‘galling’ or just

to run correctly let alone a rich mix. What had happened was that the engine was really running very lean even though the

plain seizure and, believe me, it is often many times a stronger joint than could be obtained from brazing or even welding.

a refrigerator and a cup of hot water - or if you are so inclined, you can use your

main needle was wound far out and the heat built up inside. The rings and pistons would tolerate this for a while but the

Back to the crankshaft for a moment as I am sure some readers would like to know the aftermath. The aluminium was welded in great lumps onto the crankshaft and the lump section flared right down to almost a film on the edge - a really great job of fusing two metals together. I could have set the crankshaft up in the lathe and machined the aluminium off but there

cup of tea/coffee but, I must warn you, the taste might be compromised! More on this next month.) At this point we come to the warning

really close fit in the engine was the plain

about mating metals I mentioned briefly in an earlier article. The first and most

a seal area to prevent loss of crankcase

aggressive is aluminium to aluminium

bearing section between the main and front bearing which had to double up as pressure from the front cylinder. The front housing of the engine is a separate item

fusion welded onto the middle section of Maybe this has been a convoluted

and, as such, removable, so I took this off first and then I found the problem - a ‘rock solid’ seizure of the crankshaft in the front housing - I could not move it even with a generous dose of heat. I contacted

were certain cautions to be considered

other combination of metals. It is generally confined to softer metals or similar metals but you never know when it will occur. As an example, a while back I had a Super

the owner again and told him the problem and that a new front housing - at the least - would be required as well as the main

a mere youth I tried cleaning a gummed

ball bearing. With luck I could salvage

I learnt that day that sodium hydroxide

Tigre 60cc twin inline engine sent to me for a warranty claim - it had seized during

the rest of the engine. With his go ahead

(aka caustic soda) and aluminium are

with a close fit and this includes metal threads. Brass to brass is subject to this as is brass and aluminium but this is not

the only material problems as it affects stainless steel, titanium and,really, any

I ‘operated’ on the front housing and with the run in process. The engine was locked a lot of heat and a high pressure press I tight - I could not move the crankshaft but eventually pushed the crankshaft out of strangely, the pistons and rings appeared

to be free. I contacted the owner and asked him about the oil he had used in the fuel. He jumped right off the edge at

the housing - with the rear bearing still on the shaft. The reason the bearing came out was due, partly to the heat, but mainly due to the great amount of aluminium

and, if I damaged the shaft I would have had to replace it. Having good experience

at the process I used from my very earliest days of engine cleaning when, as up Frog 500 in a stove degreaser my mother used on the gas frets of the stove.

not good bedfellows - the chemical eats

aluminium for breakfast. The good part is that sodium hydroxide does not harm steel so… a nice strong solution, carefully

place the shaft in (splashes on flesh are not good) and, in a very short time, the aluminium had been removed (corroded/

me about my preference for synthetic

lubricant over the use of castor oil. “I know you are always pushing synthetic oil,” he said, ”but I have been running all my Super Tigre engines on 20% castor oil for years and have never had a problem”.

“Well”, I said, “you have a problem now as you just lost your warranty claim.” When

the following tirade slowed down and I could get a word in, I said, “you just told me you used 20% castor oil in the fuel is that correct?” “You heard *^$#@*^% right” he said. My reply was that he should refer to the instruction manual that came with the engine and he told me he

had it right beside the phone. “Okay”, I said, “turn to page XX and read what is written about the fuel mix.” Another burst the…”yes, here it is, castor oil at…..” a bit

quieter now…”maximum 12%”. All the large Super Tigre engines are to be run on a lower oil content and in

You will need pen and paper, calculator and several cups of coffee when you get going. I… err…’borrowed’ this coffee mug as it is quite large.

61

Engines and Oils books, but for this article the topic is the cutting tools used for lathe turning. I have included a chart that lists the various tool angles and those I want you to study well are the various back rake (AKA top rake) angles for different metals. Apart from a sharp tool,

within a whisker of the correct size - just a tiny scrape to go, wind the tool post in a fraction of a single division (divided reference wheel on the cross slide), make the cut and… the bloody job is undersized… damn and bugger and all that. Winding the cross slide in by just 0.0005” or 0.0127mm is a bit of a guess and by gosh movement due to parallax error when you look at the dial. That little

the most important part of setting up for machining various metals is the back rake. For aluminium a very sharp tool overall is required and, as you can see from the chart, the top rake is ideally 35º with a 16º side rake. This will give a nice peel off curl from the aluminium being machined and help provide the superfine surface finish. Looking now at brass we can see that there is no top rake and a maximum of 5º side rake or even a 4º negative rake - the top of the tool piece is dead

bit of an error that creeps in could be the difference between a spot-on job or a ‘dammit’ job. When I machine piston rings - always at least six as this is just as easy as it is to make one - I have the cast iron tube machined up with the bore finished and then I set about taking the last little skim off the outside diameter for the size I want. If I have just carried out the boring operation I let the metal cool as the final sizing is a very precise need and the slight expansion of metal could just convert it into a really upsetting ‘dammit’ job. Using the liner of the engine I do a trial fit to see it the tube will just start into the liner skirt. My previous machining of the of the tube would have been to an electronic vernier or micrometer so it would be very close to

straight horizontally with a slight angle off to the side or a negative angle and this will depend on the type of brass you are machining soft or hard so do a small test cut and examine the finish before undertaking a machining project. From my experience of making piston rings and pistons, for a good finish and easy A guide to grinding turning tools for a lathe. Sharp tools at correct angles cut metal nicely. (From Steve’s Workshop cutting of cast iron (soft grey www.steves-workshop.co.uk - a veritable treasure trove of iron) the back rake is 5º and information.) the side rake is 12º which is important to easy and fine consumed/oxidised/alkalised) off the shaft finishing. You might have picked up that cast iron needs a negative rake but the and it was all nice and clean.

size but…always a fly’s whisker oversize for the finishing cut. So, as an example I consider I need a 0.00025” (quarter thous) off for the snug fit in the liner I always aim for. My lathe is in Imperial measurements, but the same principle applies for fractions of mm in Metric. So, how do I skim a quarter of a thous off the diameter accurately? Well, could say with the help of trigonometry but I know this would turn a lot of readers off and it would certainly do the same for me as it is many years since I had recourse to any of those mathematical geometric calculations or, from memory, Cartesian Coordinates. So, let’s employ the KIS (Keep It Simple) principle and go for a bit of luck on the side.

Okay, we now understand metal galling and the worst offenders for our purposes are aluminium to aluminium, brass to brass and aluminium to brass.

The cross slide hand wheel on the lathe moves the cutting tool on the X axis - in towards the spindle of the lathe and the reference of the movement is the calibration on the vernier wheel that is a slip fit on the cross slide spindle. The calibration on my lathe is in 1 thous increments and, if I wanted a quarter thous skim I would have to visually divide the vernier increment by eye and not let parallax error creepin. A big ask so let’s look at a different approach and for

On a lathe - these are the axis directions indicating the direction of movement of the saddle and cross slide. (from Wikipedia)

Lathe Tips In the main, the three metals we will be considering for the conversions will be aluminium, brass and cast iron. For tyro engineers carrying out lathe work there are many considerations - all of which can be accessed in home workshop type

62 AeroModeller-

June 2017

metal is hard to cut and the finish is like a dog’s breakfast. Right then, we have the cutting tools sorted now for the accuracy bit and this is a real winner. Machining up a contra piston or boring a cylinder head needs accuracy in the process as we are talking interference fits here - the contra piston is a really tight fit in the cylinder head or the liner. I know the deal and I’ll bet a lot of home machinists are well aware of it as well. You have the job machinedto

this we use the Compound Slide on the lathe. If your lathe is not fitted with this attachment then I advise you to save your hobby money and buy one. They can be had for extremely reasonable prices these days so look up eBay or similar or try the nearest machine tool outlet. In the straight position - Zero degrees - the compound slide moves in the Z direction… to and from the head stock

0.0005” (or 0.0127mm) skim? First off we set the compound slide over at 45º then use the cross slide to bring the tool over to touch the job. Now, if you are considering this to be the final light skim, mark the surface of the job with a black felt pen then wind the tool in very slowly until it just scratches the black surface but does not mark the metal. For this operation I prefer to leave the

angle to the axis of the job, it moves INWARDS 0.0005” - my half a thous cut. Well, we are getting all merry and jolly now and the world is our oyster – taking it further we can now see that setting the angle of the compound slide at 22.5º the cut is going to be 0.00025” - a quarter of a thous and there is no limit as to the angle set and the depth of the skim cut. If you are that way inclined you can work

but it can be rotated 90º to select any angle in between which, for one thing, is handy for machining tapers (within the length movement of the slide), but there is another very handy setting range that is an asset for extremely fine machining - a method for setting our fractions of a thous (or millimetres which are microns in metric) for the super fine skim to bring the job to exact size, a no ‘dammits’. How about we start off with a precise

job a few thous oversize so I can make a penultimate (second to final) cut ready for the final skim and then I lock the cross slide in that position. Wind the carriage back on the Z axis (to the right) and position the tool ready to start a cut but do not touch the cross slide or compound slide wheel. Now (in my case) wind the COMPOUND slide wheel or handle one gradation on the vernier - 1 thous. As the compound slide is travelling at a 45º

out the X travel with trigonometry or, using the KIS method, use the 45º as the reference for half the vernier indication and do a simple calculation from that which will be more than adequate unless you want to get down to the singular micron measurements and - if so - you are on your own as it is not needed for our enjoyable experiments.●

For variable positions, this is the degree quadrant on my compound tool post attachment.

A good example of what to look for if you are purchasing one second hand off the Internet.

The screws and nuts along the side are for adjusting the parallel gib that takes up slack from wear.

Sharpen your lathe tools correctly and look forward to a finish like this in high tensile aluminium alloy. This is a head blank ready for shaping.

63

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Tail End Charlie New Light through Old Airframes ‘Red Face’book Time me from Brazil to let “Rodrigo Londrina” contacted

A Rea l Pilot Many years ago I had the privilege of meeting Brian

me know that I had misunderstood his Facebook post about the beautifully constructed Sokol airframe reported inthe April edition. It was a “works” airframe and not built by him. Fabulous work all the same. Sorry for any embarrassment but luckily I didn’t publish his real name! You can find out more about it and see a short video here www.rckozmodrom.com/RCModely/ Sokol.htm

Lecomber a very talented and amusing full sized aerobatic pilot and novelist. I’ve only just found out that he died on 24th September 2015 aged just 70. He told us a few things which seem obvious now but didn’t before. For example, “The Team Leader always gets the worst aeroplane”. This is because all other pilots have to formate on him so might need to turn a little tighter or fly a little faster than the leader from time to time. When asked if he was ever scared flying Rag Time aerobatics he said“No, the scariest thing for me Someone else pointed me towards a video from is when an RC pilot hands me his transmitter midDavid Herbert in the USA who reminded us of the flight and says “show me what you can do with this cheapest and quickest to build “flying objects” from then.” His aviation novels; “Dead Weight” and “Talk his youth. Essentially, a traditional “oily rag” from the workshop attached to the backplate of a Cox Down” are well worth reading if you can find copies. glow motor and launched vertically – Much vertical In short he was a: fun was apparently had by all. Take a look at ‘engine powered rags’ on YouTube. ●Bestselling novelist and journalist Mind you, I am not sure what the BMFA or ●Award-winning Aerobatic Display Pilot ●British Freestyle Aerobatic Champion your club safety officer would have to say about this sort of thing and I am certainly not going to ●Liveryman and Freeman of the City of London recommend you tryit! Having said that, is it any ●Guild of Air Pilots and Navigators Sword of more dangerous than any other powered free fright Honour holder model? What do you think? ●Henry Seagrave Trophy 2004 winner

Cutting Edge Sharp knives are always an issue in our house with my wife saying “they are dangerous” whenever I sharpen the kitchen knives whereas I contend that BLUNT knives are dangerous as with a sharp knife you can concentrate on cutting accurately rather than using excess force which might result in you cutting something you didn’t intend to (like yourself!) if the knife slips. Sometimes well-meaning friends or relatives have bought me those cheap modelling knife sets from certain high street German Supermarkets on the basis that “I know you build models and this was a bargain”. Now they are cheap and useful, but I was amazed the other day when I was using a new one and changed to It a Swann scalpel part waythen through the job. was so Morton much sharper I could hardly believe it. It made the job so much quicker and more accurate. The other issue I have had with these cheap sets is the blade clamps are inevitably plastic unlike Swann Morton and other good brands thatuse metal. This means the blade is likely to slip in use and you are likely to be injured, not least because it isn’t as sharp and you will be pressing harder! However, my preferred knife is the Swann Morton Scalpel which theblade simply slotsinto. No tightening, no worries, it just stays put until the time comes to change it.

66 AeroModeller-

June 2017

The musician and aviator Gary Numan wrote of him, “a brilliant aerobatic pilot, and he said the day you start to hope you get around a manoeuvre, rather than know, get out. I remembered that, and I think it was brilliant advice. I remember diving in for a manoeuvre, the ground was coming up, and looking at all the dials and thinking, have I got that right? So I needed to take a break. I still miss it. The sound of it, the smell, the people” Whilst show commentator Tim Calloway’s view was, “He could be the grumpiest and rudest man I ever met, but was always forgiving and generous with his knowledge. He was essentially human with all the flaws that that presupposes, but with a spark

All you need to go flying: engine, prop and rag?

From the top - blade Cheapclamp, supermarket with fragile plastic Swannknife Morton equivalent with metal clamp, Swann Morton Scalpel.

Brian Lecomber in his prime.

of divine fire that set the sky alight wherever he displayed.” So, farewell to a very talented man who died too young. Finally, please let me have your comments complaints, observations and reminiscences either direct to [email protected] or via the editorial offices. ●

By Chris Ottewel

“Dead Weight” my paperback of an excellent Brian Lecomber aviation novel.

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