RC Sport Flyer Aug 2013 (Vol 18-08) by RC Flyer News

TTX650 Review pg 76 World’s Most In-Depth RC Aircraft Magazine

Carbon Cub Flight Report Exclusive

Top Gun Winning Beaufighter Build Part 1 USA & Canada $6.49

Discover How

the New L-13 Blanik 4.2-meter ARF Takes

You to Soaring Heights

Plus

• Aerobatics Part 5 • How to Fiberglass • International Slope Races • Crazyflie Nano Quad Copter

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august 2013

Fearless First Flight

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DEPARTMENTS

Event

10 96 97

leading edge advertiser index Mystery airplane

feature

International Slope Races This is man-on-man racing like youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never seen before. Check it out! By Aric Wilmunder

pg 12

CrazyFlie Nano Quadcopter Discover how much programming and control power is in this little package. By Paul Gentile

BUILD

Bristol Beaufighter #1 Learn from the best in Top Gun how to build a winning airplane. By David Wigley Build an ASK-18 Part 4 Part 4 of this series details what it takes to finish a 1/3-scale, scratch-built glider. By Gene Cope Nick Ziroli, Fokker DR.1 Fuselage, Part 1 Jump into this article to see how you would build this classic all-wood airplane. By Jeff Troy competitors Part 1 Rob interviews a Top Gun professional to reveal his secrets to success. By Robert J Caso

pg 78

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RC SPORT FLYER â&#x20AC;&#x201D; august 2013

Photo

Yakima AeroTow Take a look at this photo spread to see what you may be missing in RC soaring. By Staff

report

aeroWorks Carbon Cub SS If you like Cubs you need to read this article to see if the AeroWorks Carbon Cub is not your next large-scale airplane purchase. By Wil Byers

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august 2013

review

Aerobatics Part 5 This pro pilot explains why it is important to learn to fly your model in a â&#x20AC;&#x153;box.â&#x20AC;? By Daniel Holman

tactic TTX650 Discover just how much programming power is built into this 6-channel transmitter. By RC-SF Staff L-13 Blanik 4.2 m ARF If you are a scale glider enthusiast, here is a new offfering that is a must for your hangar. By Gene Cope

Learn our simple and easy secrets to fiberglassing airframes.

pg 68

How to Fiberglass This article takes you step by step through the process of fiberglassing an airframe. By Richard Kuns

pg 86

The new E-flite L-13 Blanik 4.2 m ARF glider may just be your perfect pick for aerotowing and soaring. Follow us on twitter @rcsportflyer

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Contributing Editors: Don Bailey, Rob Caso, Gene Cope, Daniel Holman, Mike Hoffmeister, Richard Kuns, Bob McGowan, Joe Nave, Vincenzo Pedrelli, Steve Rojecki, Gary Ritchie, Mike Shellim, Jerry Smith, Jeff Troy, James VanWinkle RC Sport Flyer (ISSN: 1941-3467) is published monthly for $24.95 per year by Kiona Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 4250, W. Richland, WA 99353-4004. Periodicals postage paid at Richland, WA and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to RC Sport Flyer, P.O. Box 4250, W. Richland, WA 99353-4004. Office: (509) 967-0831 Hours: M–Th 8-4, Closed Fri, Sat & Sun. Subscriptions: kionasubscribe.com Toll Free (Orders Only) (866) 967-0831 Editor/Ads/Design: (509) 967-0832 E-mail: subscriptions@kionapublishing.com Fax Number: (509) 967-2400 Ask for RC Sport Flyer at your local hobby shop!

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RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

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Printed in the USA

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WIL BYERS

alk about a fun issue to pull together, this August 2013 one was from start to finish. As editor-in-chief, I typically start the issue’s assembly with the columns, then the builds, features, event reports, plans (if we have one), and the reviews or flight reports. Each article, and its accompaniments, teaches me something new, educational, different or just plain entertaining, and has been doing so now for the eighteen plus years that I’ve sat in this editor-in-chief’s chair. What made this issue so much fun to build was that I attended the Yakima Aerotow event—the lift conditions were absolutely outstanding, as was the weather. We feature some of the gliders and sailplanes in a large photo spread, which starts on page 56. Next, I finally had the weather conditions that gave me the opportunity to fly my 40-percent-scale, Carbon Cub SS, which is a fantastic flyer—you’ll read about it starting on page 72. Then too, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to log a couple of hours of airtime on the new E-flite® L-13 Blanik 4.2 m ARF glider—if you’ve been reading this column for any time at all, you know I love flying gliders and sailplanes, and this one is a phenomenal, onequarter-scale glider. One of the articles that I’m completely delighted to publish is Dave Wigley’s new series on how he built his Top Gun-winning Bristol Beaufighter. For those who do not know Dave, he is the quintessential scale builder, having won multiple Top Gun championships. His new Bristol Beaufighter is the scale model to stop you dead in your tracks. It is twin-engine-powered, has retracts that took Dave a year to build, has a cockpit done by our contributing editor, Robert Caso, and has a weathered paint job that just leaves you saying to yourself, how did he do that! So, for RC Sport Flyer magazine to have him contributing to our pages is very good news for all of us. Then too, Paul Gentile gives you the details of a very, very small quadcopter that is being offered by three guys who basically designed and built it in their offices. Their quadcopter is a collaborative effort that will benefit you when reading Paul’s article, and when dialing your browsers in on their website. I don’t know about you, but I can see lots of fun applications of their technology and the flying of their nano-sized quadcopter. Also, if you wonder what motivates Top Gun competitors, you’ll want to read Rob Caso’s column. In it he interviews Mark Frankel. Mark has been a Top Gun competitor for many years. He builds some of the best scale airplanes you will see at any RC airfield, typically much, much better. So, Rob’s interview with Mark provides insights into what it takes to build aircraft that will put you, too, into the winner’s circle at your next scale airplane event. Give it a read! Like I said, this has been a very fun, educational and insightful issue to pull together. Yeah, I know it’s a job, but somebody has to do it, right? It is a tough gig! Let me end this month’s column by thanking our subscribers who buy this magazine each month, and by underscoring that our advertisers help make this magazine possible by marketing their products in our pages. I cannot emphasize this enough. I’m telling you this because RC Sport Flyer is unlike most other hardcopy RC magazines you’ll find. As such, RC-SF’s pages are filled with content and photos—as much and as many as money will allow. So, the next time you think about buying an RC, remember the ads you read in this magazine help make it possible. In closing, don’t forget that you can now sign up for a digital edition. Just go to rc-sf.com and click on the subscribe button. There you will be given the option to either sign up for the hardcopy edition or the digital one. See you next month, and don’t forget to send us your feedback about what you want from this magazine, our digital editions and our new digital newsletter.

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BY Aric Wilmunder

International Slope Races

It’s Man-on-Man Racing at Davenport 12

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

International Slope Races

s my car pulls up at the Davenport International Slope Races, my first impression is of the stunning ocean view from the top of the cliffs. The race site is just north of Santa Cruz, California. Across the small bay I can see a white sandy beach with dozens of kite-boarders hopping waves in the surf. A moment later, over the sound of the wind, I hear an ominous whistling that catches my attention. As I look towards the cliff ’s edge, I see the blur of three slope racers, each jockeying for a lead position, in a race that can quickly sandwich a pilot’s glider between the walls of the cliff and the inhospitable waves below.

Site

The flying site is a private airstrip on the top of a cliff overlooking the ocean. There is even a hangar for equipment storage. If asked, the

Darrell Zaballos shows perfect piloting form on his way to the overall ISR win, and a new course record flying his Freestyler 4T.

owner is happy to tell of some of the more harrowing takeoffs and landings he and other pilots have made from this small strip of land that often has dangerous crosswinds. These same winds can play havoc with the racing machines—just to the right of the launch area is a small hillock that can generate rotors, which can roll a glider upside-down before it has enough airspeed to fly away from the cliff. Landings are equally challenging, but are softened by a thick pad of ice plant that can absorb a model’s energy when it comes in too fast. Every precaution is taken to protect the pilots, spectators and racers. However, unlike auto racing where losing paint is part of the sport, having your glider clipped by another that is running at more than 100 mph can easily lead to a trip down to the beach to gather up the pieces. The Brits often refer to the royal children as “the heir

and the spare.” When you fly at Davenport, nearly every pilot brings at least one spare glider and some bring more. For some reason 2012 was a particularly tough year, with the airplane pits looking more like a M*A*S*H triage center, but scattered with broken gliders. The competition this year was just as fierce. Fortunately, after two days and with 16 rounds of racing, only two sailplanes required significant repairs.

Weather

One pilot described the flying conditions on the first day as “the perfect Davenport day.” The winds were coming in at both the right speed and the right direction. The temperatures were ideal, even in the 35-mph winds. Visibility was good too, with just a light sea mist over the basin. In contrast to the first day, when we arrived the next morning we

RC-SF.COM

found almost no wind. One of the pilots subscribes to the surf reports and told us that just north of us, winds on a buoy off the coast of Half Moon Bay were blowing at 30 mph, but winds on land were light, just as they were in Davenport. We could see a weather line about four miles out in the ocean, with dark waters and white caps. So for nearly an hour we waited and watched the line move slowly inland. Then the winds started to blow. A few minutes later the first gliders were launched. Pilots raced 3-meter gliders at this year’s ISR, with the beautiful Pacific Ocean as a backdrop. The fences are for pilot, spectator and worker safety.

Format

So what does it take to get started in slope racing? The answer is practice, practice and more practice. The ISR is only one of two man-onman slope races in the country. Most slope race formats are such that a pilot flies his model on the course alone. The pilot score is based on the time to complete a set number of laps of the course. He is then ranked against other pilots based on the time. The International Slope Race is different in that as many as three gliders may be raced together on the course. So, when two or three expensive gliders are at risk, it is best to be among the best solo slope racing pilots, which will earn you a reputation as a competent and skilled racer.

Race Hardware Dave Olson launches Mo Culverwell’s 11-pound Skorpion—keeping wings level! Dom Bayani gets ready to launch Tim Copp’s NYX into 30-mph winds.

Dom Bayani shows a perfect launch technique: wings level, strong grasp on forward fuse, left hand on leading edge, a running start and a straight-ahead throw.

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

You must have proven equipment too. Most pilots get their start in racing by slope flying with planes ranging from Zagi’s to built-up balsa. It is pretty natural for pilots to want to see how well their gliders fly against others—a test of speed is desirable. As the pilots improve, so does their equipment. So pretty soon a group of talented pilots will want to set up a racecourse. Most of the gliders flown in the ISR are F3F slopers such as Typhoons, Freestylers, Cyrils and Pike Precisions. The new Freestyler 4 has a great reputation, and combining it with a great pilot can make for a win. Even with a great flying glider, to be competitive at the ISR you generally must load your glider to carry as much weight as the rules

International Slope Races allow. These race machines can carry blocks of weights in their wings, and most feature a tube in the fuselage you can load shotgunlike slugs into—even the wing joiner can be filled with ballast. Therefore, race pilots have collections of lead or brass ballast—some even use tungsten pieces because their density is so high. When the winds allow, the pilots load their gliders to weigh five kilograms, or to the11-pound limit, which results in the maximum wing loading allowed of 24.5 ounces per square foot. One pilot compared an 11-pound glider taking a 10-G turn to that of a 100-lb person standing on the aircraft’s wing. The forces these models endure are staggering. Race gliders must be robustly built because just the wear and tear of rough landings will take their toll. Also, most of the competitive gliders are designed with a V-tail rather than an X-tail, which helps to reduce airframe drag. To host a race the organizers need a timing system and a set of signal lights. The lights are used to signal the pilots when their racer has reached a turn point. Because the pilot is busy flying the glider, each pilot must have a spotter/caller who is responsible for launching the glider. Once the glider is airborne, the spotter joins the pilot on a set of raised steps at the ”A” turn point. The steps provide the spotters with a good viewpoint of their racers while they are on the course. The spotter’s primary job is to watch the lights on the “B” turn point to let the pilot know when the model has passed the turn point. Spotters tap the pilot’s shoulder to signal that the respective glider has passed the turn point. Spotters often tell pilots their racing position relative to the other gliders racing the course. They might also tell the pilot when to bank the glider in preparation for the turn. They may provide recommendations for what flight path to follow, including whether to hug the hill tight or move further out.

Scott Woodward is out in front of Bill DelHagen rounding the Base A turn. Both pilots are flying Freestyler 3’s. The wind is blowing at around 30 mph. L to R: Darrell Zaballos - 1st, Ron Vann - 3rd, Ken Gregory - 2nd.

Gliders (max ballast) stay in the lift caused by the cliff face.

L to R: Darrell Zaballos - 1st, Ron Vann - 3rd, Ken Gregory - 2nd.

Dave Olson retrieves his FS3, helped by Mo Culverwell. It will race again.

On Course

The start of the race is a complex process; first the race director Follow us on twitter @rcsportflyer

Darrell Zaballos is shown flying his Freestyler 4 ahead of Ron Vann’s SP-1 that Darrell built. Ron and Darrell had some exciting close races over the two-day event. RC-SF.COM

Dave Olson and Bill DelHagen (yellow) had some of the most exciting and close races of the two-day event—Freestyler 3’s are less than five feet apart.

Dave Olson flies his Freetyler 3 around Base A to pick out a good line through the turn—nose down. The white caps indicate the wind is blowing at over 30 mph.

insures that the airspace is clear and that all other gliders from the previous round have landed. The gliders, with their launchers, then wait in flight order, just like the start of an Indy race. One at a time, the gliders are allowed to launch. The gliders then fly to turn point B where the timing crew identifies each aircraft. Once all of the gliders have been identified, a recording begins with a 60-second countdown. The gliders then climb to gain as much altitude as possible. When there are about 12 seconds left in the countdown, each glider begins to turn and descend, gaining speed towards the start/finish line. As the countdown approaches zero each glider converts its altitude into speed by making a 180-degree turn to fly across the start/finish line. At the end of the countdown the race starts. If it is a “clean” start, the race director will announce it. If a pilot’s aircraft jumps the start, it can either be flown through a large loop and re-enter the course without a penalty, or it can continue on course, one lap added as penalty. Either way, the race clock will have started. The gliders fly in a complex figureeight pattern on the course. Typically, flying towards the B turn point they keep their gliders low and close to the cliff side. At the far turn, they pull out and up so the glider’s return trip is higher. At the near turn point they bank down and low onto the outbound path. The gliders are always turned away from the slope and into the wind. This aerial ballet continues throughout the race until the end of the tenth and final lap, which ends with a long, straight descent past the start/finish line.

Race Finale

Bill DelHagen was behind Dave Olson coming into the Base A turn and hit Dave’s FS3 from behind, making contact with its stab, which sheared the retaining pins.

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

By midday on Sunday, most of the pilots had gotten to know the course. Consequently, aircraft speeds gradually increased while lap times began to drop. Towards the end of the day a cheer went up as a pilot broke Davenport’s old course record of 1:46. The new record time was 1:45—the old record stood for 15 years. Shortly after the record-setting run, we had our only lost plane of

International Slope Races the race. Two well-matched aircraft crossed the start line wingtip to wingtip. Each lap was like watching a complex dance as their aircraft maneuvered trying to gain any tactical advantage. As their heat approached its final lap a crack was heard as the two planes collided. Both gliders pulled up and out. Sadly, the second glider pulled around the back of the hill and into the wind. Then, almost mysteriously, it pointed steeply towards the ground and dove into the hill. After a retrieve, a quick examination made clear what had happened. The first glider had clipped the other model’s tail surface, which snapped the pins that lock the surface into position on the fuselage. Once the glider leveled, the control surface must have rotated, causing the glider to dive. A pilot in the pits The steps are used to give pilots and callers the best visibility.

Ken Gregory is shown here flying his Typhoon against Ron Vann’s SP-1. The beach below is a world class spot for kite surfing—this day the winds were at 30 mph plus. Ron Vann launches Ken Gregory’s Typhoon. Ken scratchbuilt his hollow-molded, composite Typhoon.

Turn judges push a signal button when their pilot’s glider crosses the imaginary barrier.

Darrell Zaballos wins a race flying his Pike Precision. Darrell was on fire! Ron Vann beat him once. Darrell won all of his 15 races. James Osborne was race CD. Follow us on twitter @rcsportflyer

RC-SF.COM

International Slope Races said encouragingly, “Mart will have that fixed in no time.” If you are going to race slopers, you’d better either become a master repairman or get to know someone who is one. At the end of the day, each racer’s scores got tallied. Note that when two or more pilots tie, a fly-off is announced to resolve the final rankings. This year the fifth- and sixthplaced finishers were tied, so everyone gathered to watch their final race. With one glider starting ahead of the other, it began to look like it was going to be a blowout. However, after each subsequent lap, the interval between the two gliders kept shrinking. Approaching the finish

Sources davenportisr.com rcgroups.com/slope-97

line the two gliders were side by side, but the pilot’s glider with the early start was able to stay just a few feet ahead. It was a super fun finish to a great weekend of races. After the final scores were tallied, and backs were pounded or hands shaken, everyone gathered to begin the teardown process of the race course. The equipment would go

to storage for next year’s race. The trophies would be placed on shelves. The race pilots would, however, start practicing for next year’s ISR! If you have an interest in racing, start practicing too. Then set your sights on the 2014 ISR at Davenport. You’ll have a blast pushing your glider to the outside of its envelope in manon-man slope races.

Dave Olson looks on as Dom Bayani pulls into the turn at Base A flying his Typhoon. Base A is both the start and finish line for the slope race pilots.

Ken Gregory shows perfect turning technique around the Base A turn flying his Typhoon. The glider’s wings are perfectly vertical and its nose is slightly down.

Photos By Daniel Ohlund, Dave Olson, Aric Wilmunder, Mo Culverwell

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

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Crazyflie Nano Quadcopter Big things await you in this small package

Stable. Fun. Fast. The Crazyflie will surprise even the most experienced quadcopter pilots.

RC SPORT FLYER â&#x20AC;&#x201D; august 2013

Crazyflie Nano Quadcopter

he biggest thing in quadcopters is small, nano size actually. The Crazyflie Nano Quadcopter from Bitcraze weighs in at about 19 grams and is only 90 millimeters from rotor to rotor. Do not be fooled by the The Crazyflie Nano 10-DOF kit includes an extra motor, motor Crazyflieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s diminutive mount and six extra plastic propellers. size as it is packed with features. Within those 90 mm, the Crazyflie 10-DOF has three gyros, three accelerometers, three magnometers (compasses), an altitude sensor, live telemetry, four motor controllers, a built-in battery charger and a 32-bit micro-controller for Before soldering anything to the PCB, attach the A laptop or a desktop PC will work fine as the interface Crazyflie to USB power to ensure it works. to your Crazyflie quadcopter. a brain. The Crazyflie can lift another five to 10 grams of payload, which several people have used to add a video camera for FPV flying. Tobias Antonsson, Marcus Eliasson and Arnaud Taffanel of Switzerland are the creators of the Crazyflie. The Crazyflie story started in 2009 when the three worked for a Swedish consulting company called Epsilon Embedded Systems. In their spare time the three began formulating an idea for an open source quadcopter with a simple premise: get an electronic board to fly. Motivated to fly indoors by the cold Swedish winter months the team decided that small was the way to go. Working on what was then known as the Daedalus Project the team built several prototypes. In 2010 the first working prototype was completed and the team submitted a video of their creation to the popular website Hackaday. The video went viral and demand for the quadcopter exploded. Trying to keep up with demand for their creation, the team left The dining room table makes a large enough flying field for the Crazyflie. Epsilon in 2011 and formed a new Follow us on twitter @rcsportflyer

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company called Bitcraze AB. Bitcraze’s sole purpose is development of the Crazyflie and its components such as the Crazyradio. Over the past several years the team and the open source community have worked together to continuously improve the design of the Crazyflie. While the design has always been public and anyone could build a Crazyflie from components, the need for a kit became evident. In January 2013 Bitcraze offered the first kit version of the Crazyflie. To go to market the team engaged Seeed Studio, an electronics manufacturer and distributor in Shenzhen, China. The result was an immediate sellout. In May of 2013 Seeed Studio again began offering Crazyflie kits and within days they were sold out.

Crazyflie Model Specifications

Bitcraze, through Seeed Studio, offers two versions of the Crazyflie. Both are identical in every way except the number of included onboard sensors. The Crazyflie Nano 6-DOF (Degrees of Freedom) retails for $149.95 and includes three gyros and three accelerometers. The 6-DOF model has a location on the board for you to add additional sensors yourself. The Crazyflie Nano 10-DOF comes with three gyros, three accelerometers, three magnometers, and an altitude sensor. It should be noted that the current firmware for the 10-DOF does not yet support the additional sensors, but you should check in with the project website regularly as this continues to change. For this review I am using the 10DOF.

Crazyflie 10-DOF

CrazyFlie 6-DOF

Price

US$179.00

US$149.00

Multirotor flight mode

Default is plus copter (M1 is front)

Weight

~19 g

Dimensions

90-mm motor to motor

Frame

4-layer low noise PCB

Li-Po battery

170-mAh LiPo

Flight time

~7 minutes

Battery charging

On-board micro-USB ~20 minutes

On-board radio transmitter / receiver

2.4-GHz on-board low-energy radio@1mW based on the nRF24L01+ Nordic Semiconductors chip.

2.4-GHz on-board low-energy radio@1mW based on the nRF24L01+ chip.

Radio range (with Crazyradio USB Dongle)

~ 80 meters @ 250 Kbit mode

Micro controller unit (MCU)

32-bit MCU: STM32F103CB @ 72 MHz (128kb flash, 20kb RAM)

On-board sensors

10 sensors total

6 sensors total

3-axis high-performance MEMs gyros with 3-axis accelerometer: Invensense MPU-6050

3-axis magnetometer HMC5883L (compass)*

Available footprints to manually solder magnetometer HMC5883L/HMC5983 or/and barometer MS5611 (sensors not included)

High precision altimeter MS561101BA03* Expansion / interface

2×10 pins 1.27mm (0.05”) pitch including power, I2C/UART, SPI/ADC. Header also contains ARM Cortex 10pin JTAG (header not included)

2×10 pins 1.27mm (0.05”) pitch including power, I2C/UART, SPI/ADC. Header also contains ARM Cortex 10-pin JTAG (header not included)

* The May 2013 10 DOF version of Crazyflie does not yet have firmware support for these sensors. These sensors add the potential to enable heading and altitude control. Development of these sensors is underway by the Crazyflie community. If you want to develop a new algorithm or if you want to be able to use some advanced algorithm that might be created for these sensors you should definitely consider the 10-DOF version.

Crazyradio USB Dongle The Crazyflie is outfitted with an onboard, 2.4GHz radio chip from Nordic Semiconductors that is used for

The Crazyradio USB Dongle attaches to your PC, operates at 2.4 GHz and has 125 channels to transmit and receive data.

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

You’ll complete your Crazyflie setup with a Xbox or PlayStation controller, which you’ll configure like an RC transmitter.

Crazyflie Nano Quadcopter

If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve wondered how small 90 mm is, this is the Crazyflie compared to a USA quarter and a Heli-MaxÂŽ 1SQ Quadcopter, which is 145-mm.

een scrhot s

The first software to install is the driver for the Crazyradio USB dongle. After you insert the dongle, Windows will not have the correct drivers. You need to go to Computer Manager, then Device Manager and update the driver with the one you downloaded.

een scrhot s

The Crazyflie PC Client all-inone setup runs just like a normal Windows installer. Just follow the prompts to install the software. This is what the icon in Device Manager should look like if the correct driver is installed.

RC-SF.COM

een scrhot s

The Crazyflie has two-way communication between itself and the client software on the PC. That means you can see all the values of the battery, the motor, the sensors, and the gyros. In prep for FPV flying the client software already features a live Artificial Horizon.

Crazyflie creators and Bitcraze Founders Tobias Antonsson (left), Arnaud Taffanel (middle), and Marcus Eliasson (right) take some time from development to discuss the current production run of the Crazyflie and its future. Tobias says that the team is “very eager to see what crazy things the community can come up with. We know there are lots of improvements and innovation to be done and we would like to encourage people to get involved.”

receiving commands and sending telemetry data back to the host computer. The Crazyradio 2.4-GHz USB dongle that is included in the kit connects to your PC and has support for Windows and Linux. Other options such as connecting the radio dongle to an Android phone or a Raspberry-Pi computer are still in the experimental phase. In other words, out of the box, the Crazyflie is not controlled with a traditional RC transmitter. You need a PC and a game controller from either a PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360. Since the Crazyradio is built upon an open software stack the community is always coming up with new features and control alternatives. One project is working on using the Crazyradio 24

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

Crazyflie creators still enjoy flying together even though they don’t get as much time to do so nowadays.

with an Esky RC transmitter and has had some success.

Crazyradio Specifications • • • • • • • • •

2.4-GHz radio communication 0 dBm output power (1mW) 125 radio channels 2 Mbps, 1 Mbps and 250 Kps communication data-rate Sends and receives data packets of up to 32 bytes Automatically handles addresses and packet ACK Hardware support for PPM input (no software support yet) Can be powered with up to 16 V via header Tested up to ~80 m range at 250 Kbps

What You Get in the Kit

• Crazyflie control board • Crazyradio USB dongle (requires PC) • Antenna 2 DBi • 5 x Motor mounts • 5 x Coreless DC motors • 5 x CW propeller • 5 x CCW propeller • 1 x LiPo battery

Needed to Complete

The Crazyflie 6-DOF and 10DOF kits require a few items to get airborne. You will need: • A PC (Windows or Linux) for the flight control software with USB ports • A PS3 or XBOX 360 compatible

Crazyflie Nano Quadcopter

Bee? Hummingbird? No, that is a Crazyflie buzzing around the flowers in the garden.

joystick • A standard micro-USB cable for charging the LiPo battery.

Needed for assembly • • • •

Soldering iron Solder Tweezer Magnifying glass

In the Air

Solid, stable, fun and fast are four words that could not better describe the experience of flying the Crazyflie. I have flown many types of RC aircraft and first flights are always a little nerve wracking. The Crazyflie was amazingly easy to fly. I was initially concerned that its small size and legendary speed would mean my flight would end up with me bouncing it off the walls and ceiling. My fear was for nothing. Small control movements combined with the default software settings made it a fun experience. In fact, although the Crazyflie provides many places to adjust trim, I have not once had to trim the Crazyflie to keep it stable. From the first flight it has been rock solid. However, my fun almost ended before it got started. In my rush to get airborne I powered on the Crazyflie, connected the radio and hit the throttle. About a foot into the air the Link Quality Indicator went to 0 percent and the Crazyflie fell like a brick out of the air. After some troubleshooting I determined it was Follow us on twitter @rcsportflyer

a bad antenna on the Crazyradio USB dongle. I replaced the antenna with one from a USB WiFi dongle that I had and all worked perfectly. I am telling you this because I want you to learn from my lesson—no matter what the size of the aircraft you should always do a radio-range check before you fly it. For a range check of the Crazyflie, connect the radio, wait for the green LED to blink and walk the Crazyflie to the outermost limits of your flying area. If you see the link quality drop then you know you have a problem. After I learned my lesson, I had my son hold the powered-on Crazyflie in his palm and walk to the other side of the house. With the antenna working I was able to get a 100-percent signal anywhere in my house. When it first lifts off there is a bit of a ground effect, but once the Crazyflie is about a foot off the deck it settles in and is ready to go where you want it. With other micro quadcopters that I have flown it can take a lot of throttle to counteract the momentum of a directional change. I did not have that same experience here, perhaps due to the fact that there is so little mass in this quadcopter or that the motors are so powerful for its size. When I changed directions the Crazyflie snapped to where I wanted it, with no lag. Starting slowly I tried some basic patterns around the living room. By my third flight I had the Crazyflie zipping around the room. I still have

not used more than half throttle and the Crazyflie can move. The Crazyflie is in a plus configuration, which means that Motor-1 (M1) is the front. In order to help myself with the orientation I placed a small piece of tape on the M1 motor mount. Unfortunately with my eyes and the speed with which it zipped around, I never saw the tape. Instead I used the blue LED light, which is on the rear right, to help with orientation. Since the Crazyflie is so rock-solid in holding its heading I never had an issue with it yawing out of the expected orientation. As I flew figureeights around the living room it held its heading and orientation concerns disappeared naturally. After a few flights indoors I decided to try some backyard flying. At only nine grams you cannot expect the Crazyflie to handle heavy winds. I was lucky to have a day with very light wind. The Crazyflie did fine in my backyard. The only challenge I had was that if I landed it in the grass I had to be careful where I stepped on the way to retrieve it—it is small enough to be lost in the grass. Flying with an Xbox controller was a little different. I do play video games, which meant it was not so awkward. I set up the Xbox controller the same as an RC transmitter-stick layout and that helped. The major difference is that throttle has to be held at the rate you want. The Xbox controller sticks are spring loaded and if you let go RC-SF.COM

the throttle will snap back to center and zero. I did have a few instances of lamps jumping into the quad’s flight pattern and all I had to do was raise my thumbs off the controls to stop all motors. Flight time was a solid seven minutes. I found myself rushing to put the Crazyflie on charge so I could get it airborne again.

Synopsis

The Crazyflie Nano 10-DOF is currently using only six of its ten sensors and I was completely blown away by it. I cannot imagine what it will be like with all the sensors in use. It is like having a car with 10,000 horsepower and all we have learned to use is the first 100 hp. The ability to add features such as FPV to a nine-gram aircraft sounds like

something out of a science fiction movie. Not anymore! As demand for the Crazyflie continues to grow, so does the diversity of the community surrounding it. Some people, like myself, see the Crazyflie as part of the larger multicopter revolution that will forever impact aviation. Others see the Crazyflie as a platform for research in the world of robotics,

Putting It Together The Crazyflie can go from kit to flight in about an hour. I suggest that you carefully read the Bitcraze wiki documentation and online forums before you start. Since the Crazyflie continues to be developed and is evolving, you will want to be sure that you have the latest information and software. There is client software for Linux and an experimental version for Mac, but for this build I am using Windows 7 for the Crazyflie PC Client and Crazyradio. The physical building of the Crazyflie requires only a few steps and should take less than 20 minutes to complete. In short, you will need to prep the wires, insert the motors in the motor mounts, attach the motor mounts to the frame, solder the motor wires to the board, connect the battery and then attach the propellers. Before you do any of that, you need to connect the Crazyflie via a USB to ensure that it is working, install the PC software and update the firmware. I usually want to go right into building when I get a kit. With the Crazyflie I made sure I read as much as I could beforehand. The day I built my kit, both a firmware update and a PC client update were available. I could have missed those if I hadn’t taken the time to read everything. Before you do anything, make sure the Crazyflie board is operational, because once you start soldering you have little recourse to swap it out. Connect the Crazyflie to a USB port and it will power up. Then the green LED should blink five times. Afterwards the green LED should stay lit, then the red LED should blink. If it does, disconnect the power and move on to the software install. There are three software components you will need for Windows: the Crazyradio drivers, the Crazyflie PC Client installer and the latest Crazyflie firmware. Download all three before you begin and save them in a directory you will remember. If you are adventurous you can download all the Python code from the project and install it from scratch. If you are like me and just want things to work, then I suggest you download the Windows all-in-one executable installer, which is a self-contained package of the Crazyflie PC Client. Start with the Crazyradio and plug the radio into your USB port. Windows will alert you that a new device has been detected and that it does not have the drivers. Point the Windows Hardware Installer to the drivers that you downloaded. When it is done installing you can check if it is successful in the Windows Computer Management 26

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

Device Manager. Do not worry if this seems complicated; the instructions on the wiki walk you step by step through the process. Once the radio is installed you can install the PC Client. The Crazyflie PC client does several things; it handles the radio connection to the Crazyflie, receives and displays the data from the Crazyflie, maps the controls from the controller and can be used for updating the firmware on the Crazyflie. Run the executable from where you saved it and follow the prompts. Again, the Bitcraze wiki has all the step-by-step instructions. Once installed you should have an icon in your Windows Start menu. The net step is to update the firmware on the Crazyflie board. Launch the Crazyflie Client software, and on the menu click on “Crazyflie” and then click on “Bootloader.” Again, read the wiki to make sure you follow the instructions for your version. The important thing to note is that on the bootloader screen you must first click the “Initiate Bootloader cold boot” button and then connect your Crazyflie. Do not connect the Crazyflie first. I won’t mention who did that several times and then wondered what went wrong. Browse to the firmware bin file you downloaded, click “Program” and then click “Restart in firmware mode.” If you get turned around in any of this just go back to the wiki and the Bitcraze Forums. There is plenty of documentation and plenty of helpful Crazyflie folks to answer your questions. Once you have all the software installed you can build the Crazyflie by following the steps as outlined in the wiki. A word of caution: The board and wires are small—very small. If you do not have soldering experience, practice first or ask a friend. Even if you have soldering experience you might want to ask for help. The wires go into the mounting holes from the underside of the board and you have to solder them on the topside. Also be sure to use a soldering iron with a very fine tip; for about ten or twenty dollars you can get a decent iron. A few dollars invested in the right iron will save you destroying your Crazyflie. I not only needed help, I needed a magnifying glass to complete the soldering. My son, Paul Martin, helped me. He pushed the wires through the hole and I soldered them. It made it much easier. When putting the motors in their holders or when soldering, make sure you don’t push down on the motor shafts. You could bend the shaft or push the bearing into the motor. The motors are pretty durable but this would be easy to do if you’re not paying attention. Once everything is connected attach the battery and the propellers. Every time you power on

Crazyflie Nano Quadcopter physics, electronics or software. The open platform allows people to build upon each other’s ideas and take the Crazyflie into directions no one could have imagined. We may have different reasons for rallying around the Crazyflie but all of us agree on one thing: the Crazyflie is CRAZY! If you can, get your hands on one.

References Design Team Bitcraze AB Malmö, Sweden bitcraze.se Wiki: wiki.bitcraze.se Forum: forum.bitcraze.se Contact: contact@bitcraze.se Manufacturer & Distributor Seeed Technology Inc. F5, Bldg 8, Shiling industrial Park, Xinwei, #32 Tongsha Road, XiLi Town, NanShan dist. Shenzhen 518055 China Phone: +86 755 33552591 seeedstudio.com

the Crazyflie it will give one spin to every motor. If a motor does not spin something is wrong and you should double-check your work. Take note that the power switch is tiny and needs only a gentle push with a fingernail. It is almost ready to fly. We just need to connect a controller to our PC and test everything. Since I have kids who have an Xbox this was easy for me. If you need a controller go to your local game store and get a used one for a few dollars. If you are on Windows I suggest going with an Xbox controller since Microsoft makes both and there is no additional driver to install. Once I plugged the controller into the PC, Windows recognized it and when I launched the Crazyflie PC client it was listed under the Input Devices. The default mapping for the Xbox controller buttons is more akin to a video game, with throttle on the right. It’s easy enough to remap the controls following the onscreen instructions. I mapped my controls to what I am accustomed to with an RC transmitter: left stick for throttle and yaw (rudder) and right stick for roll (aileron) and pitch (elevator). You can test your control onscreen before you connect to the radio to fly. Make sure you are comfortable with the setup before taking off. The included Li-Po battery may have some charge out of the box but it is recommended you charge it before your first flight. All you need to do is connect the Crazyflie to a USB port with a micro USB cable. The battery charges while the Crazyflie is connected to USB. When USB is connected the green LED will blink at one Hz to indicate the battery is charging. When the green LED is steady the battery is fully charged. While in flight the green LED indicates radio transmission and the red LED is your battery indicator. While in flight, if the red LED is lit solid it means the battery is low and you should land immediately. Once you are ready to fly, power on the Crazyflie and wait until the red LED starts blinking fast. The fast blinking means the sensors are calibrated and ready. The Crazyflie trims itself out to level during power-up so when you power it on make sure it’s on a level surface. On your PC click the “Connect” button and you will see a dialog with “Connect to Crazyflie”—you have to click on the option in the list that shows “radio.” The other choice is a local loopback to debug the software. If you do not see the Crazyflie, make sure you powered it on and try again. Click the “Connect” button on the dialog and you should see the Link Quality; go to 100 percent, and the artificial horizon and onscreen data should update live. Before you fly it be sure to do a radio-range check.

General Specifications Aircraft type

Quadcopter (plus ‘+’ configuration)

Pilot skill

Intermediate to advanced

Wingspan

90 mm

Weight

9 gram (ready-to-fly)

Controls

throttle, roll, pitch and yaw

Construction

PCB board and plastic

Radio

Crazyradio 2.4-GHz -125 @ 2 Mbps, 1 Mbps or 250 Kps

Receiver

Crazyradio on-board lowenergy radio@1 mW based on the nRF24L01+ chip

Motors

(4) Bitcraze BC-CM-01-A 6x15-mm DC coreless motor, shaft 0.8 mm, 12,000 Kv (rated 4.2 V @ 810 mA current)

Propellers

(2) BC-CWP-01-A and (2) BC-CCWP-01-A (45 mm)

Flight times

~7 minutes

Battery

Bitcraze BC-BL-01-A 170mAh 3.7-V (1-cell LiPo) 25C continuous discharge / 50C Burst, Weight 5 g, connector: JST-ZHR-2P (Pin 1 positive)

Instruction manual

Online wiki and forum at wiki.bitcraze.se

The Crazyflie is rock solid in flight and can easily navigate through spaces in the home.

RC-SF.COM

BY David Wigley

Bristol Beaufighter Concept and Design

Is it full-scale or model? With no ugly cylinders, spark plug boots or control horns visible, this could be Pilot Officer Burrowes on approach for landing.

s modelers, we can be pretty creative. It’s great to dream about our next project even though we may not have finished the one we’re working on. Often I find myself thinking, “Wouldn’t it be neat to…” and then the creative juices start flowing and my imagination starts running wild. Then, in reality, I start designing and creating something that turns out to be more than I bargained for. That’s what happened with my latest project, the Bristol Beaufighter. To be perfectly honest, that’s what happens with every project I tackle! Within this wonderful hobby of model aviation, my real passion is scale warbirds. I enjoy researching the history of how a certain aircraft design was developed and used in service. I then select a specific aircraft to replicate in miniature. After having some success with my Westland Wyvern design, it was time to move on to something new. 28

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

I like to challenge myself with each new project whether it’s a different construction method or a new engineering solution. To me, that’s what is fun about the hobby—the sky literally is the limit. For my latest project I wanted to build a multi-engine subject, along the lines of warbirds—the DeHaviland Mosquito and Bristol Beaufighter came to mind. Again wanting to challenge myself, I took the path less travelled, and settled on the Beaufighter. You just don’t see many Beaufighters being done as RC aircraft. Maybe there’s a good reason why that’s true and I was about to find out. Just looking at the three-view drawing, it was obvious that with no nose on the airframe, and with a fairly long tail moment, you’d need to build the tail as lightweight as possible or you could end up with an airplane that would be so tail heavy that it wouldn’t fly, which means you’d find

yourself with a very BIG paperweight. That way of thinking can sometimes get you into trouble, as I was about to discover. Building models is supposed to be a journey; you are supposed to enjoy the ride, so to speak. You shouldn’t be continually thinking about getting it finished and in the air. That usually leads to disaster. Journeys, by definition, have to end someday. In the case of my Beaufighter, my journey lasted five years. There were numerous challenges along the way, including designing and fabricating the landing gear and its scale exhausts.

Design

So here’s how I set about designing this beast. Over the years I’ve noticed that multi-engine scale models seem to look small if they are built to the same size as single-engine airplanes. I guess it’s part of the illusion we create with a model. So right from the start I knew I wanted

Bristol Beaufighter Four-time, Mr Top Gun winner, Dave Wigley with his latest competition entry, the Bristol Beaufighter, a WWII Royal Air Force coastal strike aircraft.

I pulled out my tape measure—138 in. is 11-1/2 feet, which stretches more than halfway across my shop! This was getting a bit nutty already, but I kept hearing that voice saying, “Build a twin BIG or it will look small.” After I got over the initial shock of the size, I enlarged the three-view to 1/10th the size of the model. This drawing became my master for the entire build because it was easy to check dimensions with an engineering scale in tenths of an to build a big Beaufighter. I always start with a good threeview drawing and a color plate that matches the drawing very closely. This helps tremendously later when it comes to laying out and painting the color and markings. There is less “fudging” to be done to get the markings in the right place. I began doing some rough calculations with various scales and finally settled on 1/5th scale. This yielded a wingspan of 138 in. and a length of 96 in. Then

A good cutaway drawing of the full-sized aircraft is invaluable to get a good handle on the internal structure of the airframe.

Once I’ve settled on a three-view drawing to design from, I enlarge it to 1/10th the size of the model’s dimensions. This makes scaling easier if you use an engineer’s scale.

RC-SF.COM

After enlarging the master threeview drawing, I kept some intermediatesized copies to sketch my ideas for control cable runs and servo locations. These preliminary ideas frequently change as the design and construction progress.

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

inch. Based on the finished weights of my other warbirds, I estimated that the Beaufighter’s final weight would be about 65 pounds. It ended up weighing 85 pounds, so I was only off by 20 pounds, but don’t tell the airplane. It flies like it’s much lighter, but that’s another story. Maybe my scale was wrong… Another reason for building big is to ensure that all the model stuff such as switches, spark plugs, cylinders and control rods will be hidden from sight. I don’t see the point of building a really nice scale model then having the spark plug or cylinder head stick out for all to see. I get a lot of satisfaction out of building a scale model where it’s impossible to tell the difference between the model and the full-scale in pictures and video. Although the model was going to be quite large, the fact that it was a twin meant that the engine nacelles would be relatively small. This limited the choice of engines. I have been using two-stroke, gas-powered engines in my designs for a number of years. They are ideal for my projects. Their reliability can’t be beat, so it was natural that I chose them for the Beaufighter too. I initially selected the Zenoah G-62 engine. It would fit in the cowl if it was canted so the spark plug boot extended into the carburetor air intake scoop at the top. Later in the development I switched to two BME 102 twincylinder engines because I wanted the model to use three-bladed propellers, again to create that illusion of full size, and the larger engines were needed to handle larger, closer-toscale, diameter propellers. Besides the size and type of engine, there were many other things to consider when designing a largescale model from scratch. They are things such as the structure and how the airframe would be assembled, and how it would be broken down for transport. When designing the internal structure, I usually refer to other successful designs for fuselage former and wing rib spacing. I also find it helpful to study cutaway drawings of the full size for the location of spars and support structure. I initially considered using

Bristol Beaufighter

Preliminary design notes, drawn as scrap views, give me a good idea how the twin spar arrangement will mate with the fuselage structure.

plug-in, outboard wing panels, but quickly rejected this idea because the rest of the airframe, with the fuselage, engines and landing gear, would be too heavy to move around. I also considered using aluminum tubes for the spars but I soon realized that I would have to copy the full-scale structure with a front and rear spar in order to accommodate the large wheels in the nacelles. So the final design ended up with short sub-wings on the fuselage, and each wing as a separate unit with a front and rear spar sliding into slots in the fuselage. The spars overlap and bolt together inside the center of the fuselage. As it turned out, the fuselage is the lightest and easiest section to handle. The wings, at 32 pounds each, with their strange weight distribution, are tough to move. We have already discussed the need to keep the tail area as lightweight as possible. So it was essential to place all the servos and batteries far forward too. This was not an easy task given that the Beaufighter has such a short, stubby nose. Consequently, the model would be constructed using a conventional, built-up structure of plywood, light ply and balsa sheeting. One final design consideration, to keep the weight forward, was to avoid using Follow us on twitter @rcsportflyer

All the fuselage formers are lofted onto a separate sheet of drafting vellum before being traced onto the airplaneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s final drawing, with all formers drawn to their full size.

The wing ribs are also lofted then transferred to the final wing rib plan sheet. This is the old fashioned way of drawing plans. There are many CAD programs available these days to loft ribs and formers.

RC-SF.COM

Bristol Beaufighter an internal crutch to frame up the fuselage. This would add useless weight. So I lofted the formers to use an external crutch that was left in place until the fuselage was partially sheeted. Yet another design challenge was to ensure that the aircraft would have enough directional control, especially on takeoff. Note that the full-scale aircraft was notorious for its tendency to swing to the right on takeoff. This was due to the relatively small fin and rudder, which when coupled with a high thrust line and short nose moment did not provide good directional control. On later Marks of the Beaufighter with more powerful engines, a large dorsal fin was added to improve its slow-speed

handling. I expected this to be a problem on the model as well, so I planned to have the engines rotate in opposite directions to cancel out the torque effects. This was fairly easy to achieve with the BME 102 gas engines because they are fitted with electronic ignition. Since the engine is ported, with a reed valve in the straight intake manifold, it will run the same in both directions. It’s simply a matter of adjusting the location of the timing magnet so it passes the hall sensor at 28 degrees before top dead center for its respective rotation. Then there was the problem of reverse rotation propellers. I solved this by using three-blade, groundadjustable units that are sold by Solo

The final fuselage-former drawing is copied and used as templates to cut out all the formers from lite plywood or aircraft plywood as is applicable.

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

Propellers. The hubs are identical and the blades are available in both regular and reverse pitch. Finally, I started my build by drawing a set plan to the scale of my model. I did it the old fashioned way, by putting pencil to drafting vellum, using a T-square and French curve. I enjoy designing this way because it gives me a real feel for the size and dimension of the finished subject. This is basically how the Beaufighter came to be. Next we’ll discuss the actual construction and assembly of the airframe, along with some of the obstacles and hurdles that had to be overcome. This project became quite a journey, and it had only just begun.

The lofted wing ribs are traced onto the plan sheet. A copy of this sheet is made and used to accurately lay out, cut and then sand the individual ribs.

Modern Design, Superior Performance Slip out of the ordinary when you fly the Cirrus SR22! The sleek painted fiberglass fuselage captures the modern style of the full-size SR22. It’s not just about looks though, this model is easy to assemble and a superb flyer. Pre-hinged control surfaces save you time on assembly. And once you’re in the air, the detailed cockpit, elegant fiberglass cowl and polished aluminum spinner will take your breath away.

Easily accepts glow or electric setups

Bright landing and navigation lights add an extra touch of realism to your plane and make it easier to fly at dusk.

Add in your choice of 6-channel radio, servos and glow or brushless electric power system and you will be on your way to hours of fun! ®

Wingspan: 69 in (1753 mm)

Great Planes Model Mfg, a Hobbico company.

BY Gene Cope

ASK-18 Part 4 The Finish (Devil) is in the Details

s I explained in Part 1 of this build series, the Rosenthal fuselage, canopy and wing rod were purchased in about 2001. They then sat in my shop until late 2012. Once I started work on this project I found that the gel-coated, 1/3-scale, ASK-18 fuselage was probably a second. As such, there were many flaws in the gel-coat finish. I repaired the flaws by opening and filling them with a mixture of epoxy and Cab-O-Sil filler. These areas were then sanded and, where necessary, spotfilled with automotive body putty. Next the landing wheelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s location was marked and routed open with a eighth-inch-diameter cutter. A Dremel sanding drum

2 Work on the ASK-18 fuselage started with the marking of the location where the main landing wheel would be installed.

4 This is what the wheel opening looked like before it was smoothed and finished by way of a sanding drum run in my Dremel tool.

Using a 1/8-in.-diameter router bit in a Dremel tool router base, the wheel well opening was cut just inside the line marked on the fuselage.

RC SPORT FLYER â&#x20AC;&#x201D; august 2013

This the wheel opening, looking it at from inside the fuselage. In this photo the axle support and axle plates have been epoxy glued to the fuselage.

ASK-18 Part 4

6 The tailwheel’s leaf springs assembly was fabricated out of a Tamiya® RC truck axle spring set, bass wood and a couple of bolts.

With the tailwheel angle block in place, 4-40 socket caphead screws secured the tailwheel assembly to the fuselage.

8 The 5-in.-diameter Sullivan Lite wheel was used. It is removable by first removing the axle plugs on each side of the fuselage.

was then used to smooth the edges of the opening. I chose to use a 5-in.-diameter Sullivan Lite wheel. It was chosen for its width and aluminum rim plus its durability. The wheel’s axel is a 0.156-in.-diameter stainless steel rod. It is retained in the fuselage, on each side of the wheel, by a 3/16-in.diameter stainless steel tube. There are two, 1/4-in., plywood axel mounts on each side of the wheel opening. The support tube runs through the axel mounts and exits on both sides of the fuselage. In so doing, the axle can be removed if needed. I made a wheel cover. It was made by applying fiberglass cloth and epoxy over a foam plug. The foam was removed after the epoxy cured. After fitting the wheel cover to the fuselage, it was fastened into place using Follow us on twitter @rcsportflyer

The tow release was fabricated out of a bass wood block, brass tubing and a piece of music wire that will run in the brass tubes.

fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin. Next I built a tailwheel assembly. It was fabricated out of a Tamiya® RC truck leaf spring kit. The spring steel segments were cut so that I could utilize the existing holes to mount the tailwheel assembly. The wheel came from an RC aircraft. A bass wood block was cut to provide the correct mounting angle for the leaf spring, and a mating block was glued inside the fuselage. It holds the 4-40 blind nuts. The blocks were epoxied in place before the mount screws were drilled. The location of the tow release’s hole is just back and under the nose of the fuselage. The hole in the fuselage was cut with a Forstner bit because its outside tooth cuts a clean diameter hole in the fiberglass fuselage without burs. The bass wood

release mechanism’s wood block was drilled using a 3/8-in.-diameter wood Forstner bit. Then a cross hole was drilled in the block to accept the brass support tubes for the release pin. When all the pieces were cut to size, petroleum jelly was applied to the release pin to act as a release agent. Then the brass tubing was glued in place with epoxy resin. After the epoxy cured, a check was made to verify that the pin moved freely in the brass tubes. The tow release mechanism was then glued in the fuselage. I used a substitute pin that was coated with petroleum jelly during the installation. The block was coated with epoxy and pressed into place in the fuselage. Note that I checked that the release pin was aligned properly with the hole in the fuselage. After the epoxy RC-SF.COM

10 The completed tow release is shown ready to be glued into the nose of the fuselage—epoxy was used.

12 The joints of the canopy frame were beveled to fit each other. They were then bonded together using epoxy resin as the adhesive.

set, the 3/8-in. rod was removed. Then the release pin linkage and servo were installed. The wing joiner tube was fixed in position in the fuselage by attaching the wings to aid in alignment. Then the tube was spot-glued in place. The wings were then removed. The ends of the tube were sealed against leaks. Then the tube was secured in position by using a mixture of epoxy and flocked cotton. The mixture was built around the tube at the wing roots. I also installed a wing incidence pin tube. It gets support from plywood discs that were glued on each side of the fuselage at the wing roots. Note that at the forward sections of the fuselage’s wing roots they got doubled with 1/8-in. plywood as a way to provide support 36

The 1/4-in.-thick plywood canopy frame was made by scribing and cutting it to match the fuselage’s profile shape.

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

The two hinge blocks were notched into the canopy frame. The notching provides a strong, secure bond between the parts.

for the wing attachment bolts. Also, a five-millimeter, carbon compression rod was installed in the fuselage just behind the wing’s leading edge as a crush strut. This rod also supports the removable sub-structure behind the pilot seat. Next the canopy frame was built. This frame was built of 1/4-in.thick plywood. The four parts of the frame were scribed against the fuselage and cut out using a band saw. After sanding and fitting them to the fuselage, the mating edges were beveled to fit each other. With wax-paper backing the canopy frame against the fuselage, the frame was clamped in position on the fuselage’s ledge. At the joints it was then glued together with epoxy resin. The frame was hinged to the fuselage by notching the canopy frame for two

1/4-in.-plywood hinges. These were scribed against the right, outside edge of the fuselage, and then the fuselage was cut to accept the hinges. Once the canopy frame fit properly, and pivoted open within the hinge slots, the hinge-pin support tubing was glued in place inside the fuselage and under the right canopy flange. I used the hinge pin to keep the tubes straight inside the fuselage while the epoxy cured. Once the epoxy had cured and the hinge pin was removed, any overlapping tubing was removed from the hinge slots so the hinges moved freely. The canopy frame was then re-installed and checked for alignment before the hinge locations were marked on the frame’s hinge blocks. After the frame was removed the hinges’ pivot holes were drilled in the wood using a 12-in.-long drill

ASK-18 Part 4

14 With the canopy frame complete, the hinge block locations were marked on the right side of the fuselage and then cut to match.

The canopy frame is clamped in place while the hinge pin is being positioned and glued inside the fuselage.

16 The canopy frame was opened and closed several times to check for friction-free operation before I proceded.

bit. The long bit was used to keep the holes in alignment. The frame was then installed and the hinge pin inserted to check for a friction-free fit. The frame is held closed by two, 1/4- × 1/8-in., rare-earth magnets. To fit the canopy I used canopy scissors to trim it. It requires a lot of fitting, marking and trimming to get a good fit. It’s important to check and double-check before cutting. Once the canopy fit the frame, the frame was painted on its inside and bottom before the canopy was glued in place. The fuselage’s flanges were coated with a thin film of petroleum jelly as a release agent. Then a bead of Formula ‘560’™ canopy glue was applied to the outside edges of the frame. The canopy was then very carefully taped in place on the fuselage such that it fit the frame perfectly. After the glue Follow us on twitter @rcsportflyer

I tape, marked and cut the plastic canopy to a good fit to the frame and fuselage. Then it was glued to the frame.

had cured, the canopy and frame was removed from the fuselage. Finally, the outside edges of the canopy, where it mates to the frame edge, was painted to match the fuselage. Next I added landing gear supports. I made them from twopound density foam. They intersect with the plywood rudder servo platform. The rear support fits between the main wheel axle and wing jointer tube. The one in front is also a 3/8-in.-thick foam strut that fit between the platform and the rear flange of the canopy. Once fitted, the inside edges were rounded and the strips were glued in place. Then strips of fiberglass cloth were laid on the bias on the foam support struts—epoxy resin being used as the bonding agent for the fiberglass. The outside of the fuselage

required a little detail work before it could be painted. For example, I added rear handholds, which are found on the full-scale sailplane. These were made out of 5/32-in.diameter, ABS plastic tubing and 1/16-in.-diameter wire. They were then formed around a bottle cap. A jig was made as a aid to drilling the 1/16-in.-diameter holes in the fuselage for the handholds. The glue was applied through the rudder post. The inside of the cockpit area was painted next. I used RUST-OLEUM® Painters Touch Gloss spray paint in Apple Red. It matched the covering almost perfectly. When using this paint, the secret to a getting good paint job is to apply several light coats of paint within an hour of each other. I recommend you let the paint cure for at least three days in an RC-SF.COM

Reinforcement ribs were fabricated to fit between the landing gear and wing jointer tube. They were cut from two-pound density foam.

17 The canopy’s finishing touch was to mask and paint the outside edges to match the fuselage’s color.

environment that is dust free and at 70 degrees minimum. The fun part of the build for me is the little stuff. If you’re like me, you’ll want to get a good photo of the fullscale aircraft’s cockpit. Then you can work from it to recreate it in your scale model. In the case of the ASK-18, it required a deck forward of the seat. This deck also serves as a battery tray and control panel mount. My ASK-18’s deck is made of 1/8-in.thick, door skin plywood. After it was shaped to fit the fuselage, a rear mound was constructed from 1/2-in.square balsa, which was glued to the inside of the fuselage. I positioned it so the front the deck rests on top of the tow release block and the rear is in relation to the fuselage’s internal structure that I would be adding. This

deck also covers the tow release servo and its linkage. Next I made a seat out of ABS plastic using tape, cyanoacrylate glue, fiberglass cloth and epoxy. The ABS plastic seat pan was shaped to fit the inside of the fuselage. Then the seat sides was added. It was then covered with two layers of 3.2-oz. fiberglass cloth to reinforce it. A photo of an ASK-18 instrument panel was enlarged and glued to 1/16-in. balsa sheet. When the glue dried, the balsa sheet was trimmed to the outline of the panel and a second sheet cut to the outline but at right angles to the wood grain of the first. These were positioned back to back, with a 1/8-in.-thick spacer between, and then glued in position. Some black paint on the

edges, lower mount pin and a rareearth magnet finished the instrument panel. Switches and a battery backer were added later during the radio installation. The fuselage structure is comprised of ABS plastic tubing. It was made of the tubing, 1/16-in.diameter wire, ABS adhesive and medium CA. The tubing was cut and coped to provide a good fit before it was glued together with the ABS adhesive. When a section was complete, medium CA was used to strengthen the joint and add a welded fillet appearance. The fuselage structure simply snaps into place in “C” sections. The sections are ABS tubing latches that are glued to the sides of the fuselage. The fuselage structure was painted with RUST-

20 The foam reinforcement ribs were rounded and finished with fiberglass cloth and epoxy to make them strong and durable.

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

Hand holds were made of 5/32-in. ABS tubbing and wire. They were bonded to the fuselage for scale detailing of the sailplane.

ASK-18 Part 4

The forward deck was constructed from 1/8-in. door skin. It is shown with its rear mount structure, which was epoxy glued to the bottom of the fuselage.

21 ABS plastic was used to make a false airframe structure and control stick. This adds to the scale appearance of the glider for onlookers.

22 The instrument panel was made of an enlarged photograph that was glued to 1/16in. laminated layers of balsa sheeting.

The front deck covers the tow release block and the release servo, while also providing a bridge for radio wiring to be routed under.

23 OLEUM® white primer. The rear section, behind the pilot, serves as the rear seat and headrest mount. The front of the seat is held in place with two rare-earth magnets. The magnets were mounted in a 1/2-in.square-mount bracket that got glued to the bottom of the fuselage. The magnets mate to a steel rod that was bonded to the bottom of the seat with Goop® adhesive. To be scale, the ASK-18 needed a pilot figure. A full-figure pilot was required. I had two, old, DGA-pilotkit figures: one in 1/4- and another in 1/3-scale. My wife had sewn them for me in the mid-‘90s. They gave me the idea to use a 1/3-scale bust for the top of the pilot, and to fabricate the Follow us on twitter @rcsportflyer

24 body out of an old T-shirt. The problem was how to make hands. The answer came in the form of modeling clay and latex mold compound. A 1/3-scale template of a hand laid flat was cut out of thin cardboard and transferred to a layer of 1/8-in.-thick modeling clay. After the hands were cut, one became a left and the other a right. The right hand holds the control stick so it required a gripping position, while the left hand rests on the pilot’s left leg. The clay hands were then molded using a latex mold compound kit, which I bought at a hobby shop. Once the molds were made, they were cut to release the hand patterns. Then I sealed them so I could fill

them with epoxy. My model’s hands are definitely not museum quality but good enough. The hands were attached to the pilot’s arms with duct tape, but before adding pants and a sweat shirt. To keep the pilot secure in the glider, but removable, I made a seatbelt system. The seatbelt harness is made from 1/2-in.-wide, ironon hem tape. It loops through the buckles and irons back onto itself. The scale waist latch was made from a bread bag’s plastic closure. It is Styrene plastic; so easy to work and cheap. Styrene can be heat-formed, glued with CA and painted too. The latch works to release the pilot at the waist and at the shoulder straps. RC-SF.COM

ASK-18 Part 4

Next Time

Next month I end this series with my flight report. To date I’ve logged about two hours on my model. Without being too biased, I must tell you it flies exceedingly well. More later…

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

26 A 1/3-scale pilot was required to finish the scale detailing of the cockpit. So a pilot bust was modified to provide a full-figured pilot for the ASK-18.

The pilot, complete with molded epoxy hands, is held in place by a harness that is made of 1/2-in.-wide, iron-on hem tape, plus a Styrene plastic catch.

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BY Jeff Troy

Nick Ziroli Fokker Dr.1 Fuselage, Part 1 Building Is Art! Watch Your Skills Develop

part from the Piper Cub, the Fokker Dr.1 triplane may be one of, if not the most, recognizable airplanes in the world. Largely, this must be because of its association with the “Bloody Red” Baron Manfred von Richtofen. My triplane is being built from Nick Ziroli plans and a customcut kit by the late Chuck Gill of The Aeroplane Works. Nick’s plans are still available (ziroliplans.com), and although The Aeroplane Works is no longer producing it, several companies continue to offer hand-cut and laser-cut short kits and full kits of the model. Construction of my Dr.1 began almost two years ago with its tail feathers, then in later installments, advanced to the model’s three wings. After temporarily shelving the project while dealing with components for the four other models in this series, I’ve come back to the Fokker to complete its fuselage. 42

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

If you are a new reader of my “Building Model Airplanes” series, please be aware that its purpose is not to simply follow the instructions and build a collection of airplanes. My intent is to pass along many helpful hints and tips to make building these and any other model airplanes easier, faster, better and more enjoyable. Whenever the opportunities arise during construction, I will use that step to describe some little bit of information that you may find useful when building your own models. Building the Dr.1 fuselage is relatively simple, thanks to Nick Ziroli’s uncanny capacity for intelligent design. This is a sporty, “sorta-scale” model, and Nick didn’t waste a lot of energy in pursuit of true-to-scale construction. Instead, he designed a handsome tribute to the legendary Fokker that builds quickly, finishes easily and flies as well as many typical sport models. Several liberties are taken with the outline,

and the undercamber airfoil has been replaced with a flat-bottom for easier building and covering, and greater forgiveness on the control sticks. The fuselage sides and their two doublers are cut from 1/8-in. LitePly. Two tabs are on each of the doublers to set the distance from the forward edges of the fuselage sides. In retrospect, try not to apply adhesive to these tabs, so that they may be cut away more easily to allow the firewall to fit correctly in front of the doublers and between the sides. Place the doublers carefully, aligning the upper notches and allowing 1/8 in. from the upper edges to accommodate the base of the mid-wing fuselage hatch. I used Bob Smith Industries’ Insta-Cure + (gap filling) CA for the doublers, although slow-setting, Maxi-Cure (thick) CA or Mid-Cure 15-minute epoxy are both viable substitutes, especially if you are not accustomed to working quickly. Cut, fit and add the 1/4-in.-

Nick Ziroli Fokker Dr.1 Fuselage, Part 1

Lite-ply doublers are used to strengthen the fuselage sides from the firewall to the rear of the cockpit area. The doublers can be installed with a variety of adhesives, from gap-filling CA to 15-minute epoxy or thick CA.

I find it easiest to cut the ends of the sticks after they are installed, using the fuselage notches as guides to making perfect cuts.

square sticks along the upper and lower edges of the fuselage sides. Remember past lessons, and always cut the longest sticks first. If you do that, a shorter stick can still be made from the too-short piece. These square sticks can be measured and cut before installation, but I like to cut the excess lengths off of the sticks after they have been installed on the model. Try using the fuselage notches as guides to make perfect cuts, but be careful not to cut down into the sides and thus weaken them. Square sticks of 1/4 in. are also used for the uprights in the rear of the fuselage. Three uprights are needed for each side. Be sure to cut each stick 1/16 to 1/8 in. longer than Follow us on twitter @rcsportflyer

With the doublers installed, add the 1/4-in. square sticks at the upper and lower edges of the sides. Always cut the long sticks first; that way, if you cut one short, it can still be used for a shorter length instead of having to trash it.

Additional 1/4-in. square sticks are used for the uprights in the rear fuselage. Cut each stick slightly oversize, then use the bar sander to adjust each stick for a perfect fit. More 1/4-in. sticks will be used for the crossmembers in the rear of the fuselage, but I will get to them in the next installment.

needed, then sand each stick for a perfect fit with coarse or mediumgrit sandpaper on a bar sander. The edge-of-the-bench technique is always good for accurate trimming, but “close enough” is acceptable for the uprights. Many other sticks and bits will be added to the basic fuselage in the next installment, but for now, don’t be confused by the wing saddle doublers shown on the plans. They are to be installed on the outside of the fuselage, and sanded to conform to the shape of the sheeted side fairings. When the basic construction of both fuselage sides has been completed, align the two assemblies

carefully and tape them together so their positions cannot shift. Now use coarse sandpaper on the Tee-Bar or Easy-Touch Sander to bring the perimeters of both sides to a uniform shape. This is more important than you might think, and truly helps to make alignment of the wings and stabilizer easier in the final stages of construction. Joining the sides to create the box-style fuselage is a quick and easy procedure. The first step is to install the F-2, F-3 and F-4 bulkheads. I found that I had to make small notches in the upper edges of the F-3 to allow the upper sticks to fit. Starting with either the left or the right side, install the bulkheads one at RC-SF.COM

This image shows one rear-fuselage panel completed, and the other panel waiting for the stick work. The Zona Saw is an ideal tool for cutting balsa or hardwood sticks to their approximate lengths.

Use a square or triangle to ensure the 90-degree installation of the Dr.1’s three Lite-Ply bulkheads. Be careful to keep the hardwood cutouts in the bulkheads clear of adhesive.

a time, using a triangle or a square to ensure that each bulkhead dries at a proper 90-degree angle to the side. There are rectangular cutouts in the lower corners of the F-2 and F-3 bulkheads, and you must be careful to keep these cutouts from becoming slopped with adhesive. Landing gear blocks and wing attachment blocks will fit inside these cutouts. It is imperative that these blocks seat solidly against the fuselage sides for maximum strength. There are two acceptable ways to install the opposite fuselage side, and you might even have a third or fourth favorite method of your own. Here’s the first. I laid the fuselage down on the first side, putting the second 44

Align the sides and tape them together, then sand their perimeters to the identical shape. This will ensure correct alignment of the wings and stabilizer when the final assembly steps begin.

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

The opposite fuselage side can be installed now, and it’s best to secure the bulkheads one at a time. Notches in the bulkhead help with their selfalignment, but it’s always wise to double-check the sides with a square, or by joining them upside-down over the top view on the plans.

side over the bulkheads to check the fit. When I was satisfied, I lifted the second side and applied BSI InstaCure + along the edge of bulkhead F-3. Working quickly but neatly, I realigned the side and pressed it down in its proper position over F-3. One at a time, I pulled gently upward on the second side, applied adhesive to F-2 and F-4, then I pressed down on the side until the CA cured. The second common method is to use the same procedure as previously described, but this time with the fuselage positioned upside-down over the top view on the plans. Balsa sticks measuring 1/4 x 3/4 in. are cut and fitted at the tail between the balsa longerons. Cut these slightly

oversize, then sand them to fit with the Tee-Bar or Easy Touch. Joining the sides at the tail, with the tail blocks not sanded, will result in a tailpost that’s close to 3/4-in. thick, so the balsa tail sticks must be sanded to an angle. Pinch the sides together and get a visual on the required angle, then have a go at the inner sides with the bar sander. Sand and fit several times until there is little-to-no gap between the sides, then apply gap-filling CA and pull the sides together one last time, holding them in alignment until the CA cures. The firewall should be installed with epoxy. If you recall my previous segments, it’s always best to draw

Nick Ziroli Fokker Dr.1 Fuselage, Part 1

Two lengths of 1/4 by 3/4-in. balsa are fitted at the tail between the balsa longerons, then sanded to shape so that they fit tightly when the rear sides are pulled together.

This isn’t a construction step, but I wanted you to see the personal note written to me by the late Chuck Gill of The Aeroplane Works. Chuck was a good man, and a friend to many of us old guard model builders. I’m proud to have known him and his son Mace.

two identical lines with the part 1 and part 2 to ensure an accurate mix. Making puddles does not let you measure the amounts as precisely. I like to mix over a plastic coffee can lid, and when the epoxy has thoroughly cured, I can flex the lid and pop the adhesive free so I can reuse the lid. A number of modelers like to use slow-setting epoxy to build airplanes, as if doing that might save their models from damage in a crash. I know, you know, and I’m sure they know, that a full-bore crash dive into the ground is usually somewhat final. That extra measure of strength we sometimes look for does not have to come from glomming on the epoxy. I Follow us on twitter @rcsportflyer

I used gap-filling CA to mate the sides at the tail. Just hold the sides together for a few seconds until the CA grabs.

Installing the firewall is done with epoxy. You’ll get an accurate mix by drawing two identical lines on the mixing palate. Thirty-minute varieties are fine, but not really necessary when using BSI 15-minute Mid-Cure. I will most likely add some triangle stock ahead of and behind the firewall for support.

installed the Dr.1’s plywood firewall with BSI Mid-Cure 15-minute epoxy, and I only applied enough to coat the areas that come into contact with the fuselage sides. If additional strength is called for, I can easily add a few strips of triangle stock ahead of and behind the firewall, and the result will be stronger and lighter weight than a big epoxy mess. Clamps should be used to hold the fuselage sides tightly against the plywood firewall. Be sure that the top of the firewall and the upper edges of the fuselage sides are in alignment, then get the clamps onto the model. A close look at the images will show you that I placed two hardwood blocks between the clamps and the

fuselage sides. The hardwood blocks prevent the sides from bowing outward while the adhesive is curing. When the epoxy has thoroughly cured—two hours for the 15 minute and overnight for the 30-minute variety—remove the clamps and make a thorough inspection of your work. The basic fuselage box of the Zorili Dr.1 is framed, and the next installment will show the crossmembers and upper formers, the landing gear legs, and many of the sheeting details. I hope you’ll be here with me to share the experience. Many of the techniques I describe in this “Building Model Airplanes” series for RC Sport Flyer have RC-SF.COM

Nick Ziroli Fokker Dr.1 Fuselage, Part 1

BSI Mid-Cure epoxy gives you plenty of time to position the firewall accurately and clamp the sides together over the firewall. I used two hardwood blocks under the clamps outside the fuselage sides to prevent the sides from bowing outward. Doing this ensures dead-straight vertical sides in the firewall area.

been demonstrated in previous installments. If you are enjoying the series, and find your building skills improving from the information presented, please consider having back issues on hand for reference—

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

The basic fuselage of the Zorili Dr.1 is framed, and in the next installment I will complete the framing and add many of the details. I hope you’ll be here with me to share the experience.

just in case you want a refresher or may have missed something along the way. Back issues can be ordered from the publisher, and subscriptions to the magazine are available at $24.95 for 12 issues.

Building model airplanes is fun, and there’s no feeling more rewarding than stepping back from an ongoing project, looking at what you’ve accomplished.

BY Robert J. Caso

Competitors – Part 1 10 Scale Questions for a Top Gun Pro

played a lot of baseball when I was a kid. There’s probably a season’s worth of baseballs still floating around in the sewer drains where I grew up—I was always just a tad slower than the ball as it disappeared forever. One thing I consistently did right though was to make sure I played ball with kids who were better players than me. While it was sometimes a humbling experience, the end result was that I became a better player. The same theory holds true in scale modeling. Hang around with the pros, and maybe some of their expertise will rub off. I am truly a lucky guy to have friends the likes of Tom Wolf, Dave Wigley and Mark Frankel. Since I bug them so much with questions, I’m not sure how long this is going to last, so it’s best I write this article now while the iron is hot. I wanted to keep their responses largely intact, so Wil and I decided to make this a two-part article.

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

Mark’s T-34B has been competing for more than a few years, but its accurate outlines and flyability keep its scores high in competitions.

Mark and his self-designed, multi-award-winning T-34B pose on the apron between the Top Gun sorties.

Competitors – Part I

Mark Frankel

Mark and I have known each other since the 1980s and he is the guy primarily responsible for teaching me mold making and composite construction. I also picked up a number of other great tips from him, like using automotive finishing materials on my scale models and molds—something that, inexplicably, had never occurred to me. I am constantly impressed with the surface detail that Mark’s models exhibit, a critical skill that he has mastered to the max. Here’s what he had to say:

Picking a Scale Subject

Most scale modelers and designers are always looking for the “perfect” subject. If you come across a group of scale guys at a trade show, fly-in or contest, you can be sure that they’re having a lively debate about the “perfect” subject. When selecting a subject,

I always focus on configuration as well as determining adequate wing area. Nothing is worse than designing a lead brick that struggles to get airborne, falls out of the sky when power is reduced, or snaps over on its back in a tight turn. Too much wing area can be equally troublesome. Very high aspect ratio wings can present some interesting problems and highly tapered wings have a tendency to tip stall. An airplane with limited horizontal or vertical tail surface areas, or one that is too closely coupled (tail surfaces are very close to the center of lift) can be a handful to fly. I also consider the force arrangements on the aircraft. A thrust line that is far from the wing reference plane can produce serious trim problems when power is applied or reduced. If you have ever flown a seaplane with a pylonmounted engine you will know what I mean. In my view, a good subject (there is no “perfect” subject) is one that provides a model that is stable yet agile, has a good climb rate and handles wind predictably.

Mark maintains that multicolored aircraft seem to consistently outperform their drab competitors and are easier to see in the air.

RC-SF.COM

I also consider the airplane’s aesthetics, which is a highly subjective matter. I can’t see spending the time to design and build a model that is “butt ugly,” although some airplanes that captivate me may repel you. Some modelers love low visibility military schemes, while I am attracted to bright colors (the more day-glo the better). Finally, lack of access to a full-scale example can be a deal breaker. It is very hard to produce an accurate replica without reference to the real thing. I try to pick a subject that I can measure and photograph. Reference to the manufacturer’s technical manuals is also highly desirable. It gives me a better understanding of how the airplane works. I try to hinge flight controls, actuate flaps, and retract landing gear in the same way (or as

close as possible) to the prototype as possible. I should point out that there are some glaring exceptions to my preferences. There are several highly successful models of subjects that I have avoided for lack of wing area— the F-104 and T-38 are two of them. Their wings are so small and thin that they seem to have no visible means of support, but when flown with adequate power they are delightful models. As for aesthetics some people actually gag at the sight of a YAK 130 trainer, but a well-executed example won the last World Jet Masters and it was probably the most beautiful and interesting scale model that I have ever seen. Everything is a compromise!

The T-34 is an airplane that just looks “right” from any angle. I actually got a recruiting ride in one years ago.

Although points are not awarded for cockpit detail, Mark believes that having such is another intangible that improves static scoring.

Mark says that reliable, model-specific support equipment that is properly maintained is a key to reducing competition stress.

The quarter-scale, 42-pound T-34 is finished in auto body acrylic enamel, has a fiberglass fuselage and wood-sheeted foam wings.

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

Competitors – Part I

Serious scale efforts require that different finishes and surfaces have the proper sheen. The correct color is only half the battle.

How long have you been building scale flying models? I started modeling when I was five or six. The state-of-the-art, “back in the day” scale models were of solid pine—plastic kits hadn’t been invented yet. Strombecker was the dominant manufacturer and I drove my father nuts helping me assemble them. When I finally gained some proficiency I started making flying models—first free-flight gliders, then control-line gas models. I was always fascinated by scale subjects and the more detailed and realistic they are, the better. How long did your subject take to design and build? My T-34 is fiberglass, so a significant portion of the project was spent building the molds. It took a year to design and produce the tooling; the first airframe took about nine months to build. I have built four T-34s from my molds, and it takes me almost exactly one year to assemble and detail one. The design of the model took several years working intermittently. The process consisted of gathering the best source material (Beechcraft® production drawings) Follow us on twitter @rcsportflyer

and studying the full-sized airplane. A close friend, a noted T-34 restorer, gave me access to four airframes in various stages of completion. This much information can be both a blessing and a curse because I found myself obsessing over details that were, ultimately, meaningless. Why did you select that particular scale? I like to work in scales like 1/4 or 1/3 rather than oddball scales like 1/4.7—there are more “off the shelf ” accessories such as cockpit details, pilots and tires available. Less time is spent reinventing the wheel— literally. I also subscribe to the “bigger is better” school of design because larger models are noticeably smoother, more controllable, more visible and handle wind better. But too large has its own set of problems: structural issues, transportation and ground handling. I selected 1/4-scale as optimal for what I wanted to accomplish. What was the biggest challenge you faced in modeling your subject? Undoubtedly the nose gear doors! The T-34 has clamshell nose gear doors that are hinged to a curved

surface, which required replicating the geometry of the full-sized hinges. Many failed tries with frequent rethinking was necessary to perfect this trivial feature. Did you incorporate laser-cut, CNC parts or parts made using threedimensional CAD or printing technologies? All of these “new age” technologies are used in my model, although not from the outset. The original model, designed in the late ‘80s, had hand-drawn plans and parts that were hand cut. It would take me several weeks to produce details like the canopy handles, a pitot tube, or cowl latches, and the parts were not interchangeable. The cowl latches from one batch were never exactly the same as another. 3D printing produces perfectly identical parts with a level of detail that I could never equal by hand. The same is true of drafting plans in CAD or using digital files to laser-cut parts. CNC machining is essential for consistently accurate metal parts—all of this technology allows a scale modeler to design, manufacture, and revise components with ease and accuracy that was unthinkable a few years ago. RC-SF.COM

Competitors – Part I A major challenge here was to keep the model externally devoid of virtually all RC equipment, while still maintaining functionality.

Final Print size: 6’ x 3’

Why do you compete in flying scale model competitions? Some of my earliest modeling memories are of the AMA Nationals held at Naval Air Station in Willow Grove once every four years. The Nationals were sponsored by the Navy until the 1970s and it was the largest model aviation competition in the United States—the World Series and Super Bowl in one. I saw a level of engineering, craftsmanship and flying skill that motivated me for life. I began competing in local, then regional and finally national competitions. I found competition to be a great way to measure my efforts against the efforts of others. Also I’ve made some of my most enduring friendships through competition.

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

What recommendations do you have for “wanna be” scale competitors? Acquire and refine your skills intelligently. Learn good building and flying techniques, and constantly learn from others. I have found it helpful to focus on the type of aircraft that interests me the most. It may take several projects before you can identify your type, but the most successful scale modelers develop a reputation for WWI or WWII fighters, multi-engine transports, jets or private airplanes. Stay focused and don’t jump into every project that comes to mind. Above all, be realistic about your limits. Don’t bite off more that you can chew by selecting a B-17 as your first scale project or some such airplane.

Do you feel that kit or plan-built models can be competitive? Many kits and plan-built models are as competitive as self-designed projects. In some larger competitions there is a separate category for selfdesigned projects called Designer Scale, or Master Scale. Many kit and plan projects have been refined from the efforts of numerous builders. I would recommend that a new scale competitor’s project be built from a kit or plans. The lessons learned from those efforts will help with more ambitious, self-designed efforts later.

Gas Up in Style

The Beauty of the Saito™ Engine Lineup is more than Skin Deep When the gas-powered Saito FG-20 was introduced more than five years ago, its true-to-life sound and power-to-weight ratio created a one-of-akind flying experience. And if that wasn’t enough to spoil users, low oil content fuel and a high-efficiency fuel delivery system delivered savvy benefits including cleaner runs from a smaller fuel tank that cost only pennies to fill. Today you can choose from a long line of Saito 4-stroke gas engines such as the smallest FG-14C all the way up to the three-cylinder FG-84R3 for giant-scale airplanes. Besides having cornered the 4-stroke innovation pyramid, Saito made running gas easy with familiar twin-needle pumpedcarb reliability, convenient 2S Li-Po compatible ignition, plus adjustable exhaust systems. The latest FG-40 beauty offers your 40cc class model these same great features—founded on precision craftsmanship standards that continue to make Saito the favorite choice in 4-stroke engines.

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SERIOUS FUN

BY Staff Michael Gore makes a landing approach with his HF Model’s 6-meter wingspan Ventus, after a soaring flight under some huge cumulus clouds.

Yakima Aerotow Glider and Sailplane Pilots Revel in Huge Eastern Washington Lift 56

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

Dave Collis’ 1/3-scale Grunau Baby IIB is from Lanyu model. Dave recovered the model in fabric and refinished it to add extra details.

Yakima Aerotow

very spring a group of enthusiastic RC glider/ sailplane pilots comes together in the Yakima, Washington, valley to fly their motorless aircraft at Glesner’s Airfield. This year was the 15th year of this event, which is hosted and managed by the contest director, Gene Cope. He is ably assisted each year by Greg Neveu. Glesner Field is at the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, on their eastern slope (GPS 46.537898,

-120.776369). It sits at about 1,900 feet above sea level. The site produces some of the best lift you will find anywhere in the United States or Canada. As a result, the Yakima Aerotow event is known to pilots from California, Oregon, Idaho, Washington, Canada and beyond as a place to get lots of airtime on their aircraft, during a relaxing weekend of aerotowing. Not surprisingly, the 2013 event was well attended by northwest

pilots. They came with both vintage and modern gliders in search of rising air, which can and does yield hours of thermal soaring fun and relaxation. Disappointment Field was generating lift like there would be no thermals tomorrow. It was stellar lift! This year’s event had tug pilots Dave Collis, Gene Cope and Michael Gore pulling gliders with their DA100- and DLE-111-powered airplanes. They were getting the gliders/ sailplanes to 1,000 feet above ground level in about two minutes. From that

Gene Cope’s new E-flite 4.2-meter wingspan comes in for a landing after a long soaring flight that took it up to 2,200 feet AGL.

Rob Brown flew his ASH31Mi, which sports an upn-go electric motor power system. The model is from soaringusa.com.

Wil Byers maidens his new 6-meter wingspan ASG-29 at the Yakima Aerotow. It’s running a Jeti radio system. The 29 is from icare-rc.com.

Gene Cope was the CD of the event. He was flying his 33%-scale, scratch-built ASK-18, which is an absolutely super soaring machine.

RC-SF.COM

On tow the new E-flite Blanik is easy to fly. Its large rudder provides excellent yawing and the ailerons give super roll control. For more information go to e-fliterc.com.

Don Bailey spent about a year scratch-buildiing his 1/4-scale Schwiezer 1-26 glider. He had a number of outstanding flights with this beauty.

Dan Rubin’s 1/3-scale Grunau Baby is a good soaring machine. It has a light wing loading, so its sink rate is such that it soars slowly and easily.

Wil’s 6-meter ASG-29 is a pussycat on tow, even though it needs at least a DA-100powered tug to pull it. Its L/D is something to watch!

Wil Byers was also flying his new 1/3-scale Valenta Fox. The model is controlled by a Spektrum DX-18 and a 12-channel receiver.

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

Yakima Aerotow altitude it was pretty easy for the pilots to search out rising air that exceeded the sinking rates of their airplanes. It was not surprising that by the end of the weekend Michael Gore was boasting about taking his

7.5-meter wingspan Fafnir to 3,400 AGL. The E-flite Blanik even took a ride 2,200 feet on its second flight of the day. Other pilots had similar flights as well. Suffice it to say, none of the

pilots left Disappointment Field disappointed. Gene tells us that he is planning a 2014 event. He invites pilots that want to experience Disappointment Field to attend. See you there?

This 2.4-meter Ventus was flown by Doug Aldridge. He comes to Yakima every year from Canada because the soaring conditions are great!

Art Boysen flew this classy ASW-27, which he built from a Rosenthal kit. The wings are wood over foam while the fuselage is fiberglass. Follow us on twitter @rcsportflyer

RC-SF.COM

Dave Collis’s tug is captured here pulling Michael Gore’s 6-meter Ventus. The tug is powered by a DLE-111 engine.

Yakima’s airfield is jokingly nicknamed Disappointment Field because it does not disappoint in terms of lift. This is why pilots come back year after year to fly in the best soaring conditions anywhere.

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

Yakima Aerotow

These are just some of the gliders, sailplanes and tugs that were flown at this year’s Yakima Aerotow at Glestner’s airfield, which is near the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, in Washington State.

Michael Gore’s Pegasus tug aircraft is powered by a “tricked out” DA-100 engine that turns a 27x10 carbon fiber propeller.

Sources Esprit Model 1240 Clearmont St NE, Unit 12 Palm Bay, FL 32905 Phone: 321-729-4287 espritmodel.com Horizon Hobby 4105 Fieldstone Road Champaign, IL 61822 Phone: 217-352-1913 horizonhobby.com Icare/Icarus 890 ch. d’Anjou unit 1 Boucherville, QC J4B-5E4 Canada Phone: 405-449-9094 icare-rc.com Soaring USA 827 N Glendora Ave Covina, CA 91724 Phone: 626-967-6660 soaringusa.com

This shot of Rob Brown’s ASH-31Mi shows you that aspect ratio is a big part of model, high-peformance, sailplane design.

RC-SF.COM

BY Daniel Holman

Aerobatics part 5

Learn How to Fly Precise Maneuvers in a Box

This spring I had a blast flying the Extreme Flight 48-in. Edge 540T EXP through the wildflowers in our back yard. This small aerobat can be flown almost anywhere, but exhibits the flight characteristics of a much larger airplane!

elcome to Aerobatics part 5. So far in this series we have defined the different forms of aerobatics, chosen an airplane to fit your piloting needs, gone through the building and setup processes and test flown the airplane. For those of you who are following this step-by-step series, I hope you have been able to burn some gas (or electrons) through your new aerobat and have really learned the airplane’s personality. In this issue, I will start giving you the first steps that I believe are most beneficial to becoming a proficient aerobatic pilot.

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

Fly The Airplane

This is a phrase you’ve probably seen quite often. However, have you ever stopped to think about its implications? Many full-scale aerobatic pilots have this written on their aresti (aerobatic sequence sheet) as a constant reminder of what should be first and foremost on their minds. Almost all of the modern aerobatic RC airplanes are very stable and forgiving in most aspects of flight, but even the best-designed airplane can end up in a bad situation if not properly flown. Why do I bother saying something so obvious? The answer is that when learning

aerobatics, many guys forget to actually fly the airplane. It is very easy to get so focused on the maneuver being performed that you fail to realize the situation that the airplane is about to enter. These situations range from stalling the airplane, to putting it in a bad orientation, to entering a bad location, etc. Before you enter a maneuver, think about where the airplane will end up, so if you should make a mistake you’ll know how to recover from it. Always have a clear and safe “escape route” planned during every part of the flight. When flying aerobatic maneuvers, you must always think

Aerobatics part 5

ahead of the airplane. This comes naturally with time and practice, but starting out with this mentality will help so much in the long run. When flying, I always think at least one maneuver ahead of the airplane with regard to positioning and timing. This is crucial because when flying “zero mistakes” high you cannot afford any unwelcome surprises.

The Flight Box

Every RC airfield is different, but regardless of where you fly your models, all maneuvers should be performed in a flight box. This is an imaginary box in the sky. The box must be positioned parallel to and just beyond the runway, using your lowest comfortable altitude as the baseline. It should also be sized so that the airplane is easy to see even at the box’s extreme ends, top and outermost wall. Flying maneuvers while keeping your airplane inside this box, and only exiting it to land, is a very important disciplinary measure that will help you improve your aerobatic skills. When learning to fly within this box, avoid flying out of it at all reasonable costs. If you make a mistake on a maneuver that points the airplane outside the box, do not try to fix the maneuver as the airplane flies away. Rather, turn the

airplane back into the box and reenter the maneuver. Flying in a pre-determined flight box will make your flying much safer and more consistent, because you learn to know where the airplane is throughout its flight. The flight box should be set by your initial maneuvers, and all subsequent maneuvers should be performed within this space and on these lines. The whole purpose of this rule is to keep you and others around you safe, and to do the same for your airplane, first and foremost. Remember that we are flying aerobatics and not “scare-obatics.” Under NO circumstances should the airplane ever be out of control. Consequently, you must learn to make the airplane do and go where

This is an example of a good flight box. The baseline should be at a comfortable altitude to perform precision aerobatic maneuvers while the furthest points should be close enough that the airplane is always visible. This box should always be positioned just beyond the runway.

you want. When practicing, you should never attempt to fly beyond your ability, but rather strive to sharpen your skills.

What To Practice

I know firsthand how tempting it is to try as many new maneuvers as possible—throwing the airplane around for the fun of it. However, I’ve learned that doing this will have a negative impact on your piloting. The first thing that I recommend practicing is a continuation of the

The first control-group principle that I gave pilots can be seen clearly in this picture. The rudder is fully deflected, so the only way to control the airplane’s altitude is to increase the throttle. If you want to increase the airspeed, the rudder must be relaxed slightly to decrease the angle of attack. Follow us on twitter @rcsportflyer

RC-SF.COM

Entering a four-point roll, the elevator controls pitch while the rudder controls yaw. Remember that these two controls should be used together and will switch places as the airplane’s bank angle changes.

flight box rule outlined above. Perform basic precision aerobatic maneuvers while maintaining a clearly defined and controlled flight box and pattern. Learning to put the airplane where you want it and position the maneuvers correctly is every bit as important as learning how to perfect the maneuvers. When you start practicing such, you will probably only be able to do a couple of things on each line— allowing plenty of room to keep the lines straight and staying within the flight box. As you progress, you will feel more and more comfortable flying in the box. It won’t be long before you will be able to perform a number of more complex maneuvers on each line before having to change the airplane’s flight path. Here’s an example: The first time you train to fly in a flight box, you might only be able to perform one four-point roll on a single path before having to turn the airplane’s heading to stay in the box. After you get used to the box, you should feel comfortable performing multiple snap rolls, point rolls, etc. on a line. This is not necessarily because you can then perform the maneuvers faster, but because you will learn to maintain the flight path without taking time to make corrections. Practice staying in the flight box first and foremost. Then slowly add maneuvers as you are able to incorporate them.

Grouping Controls

Now that I have covered what I believe to be the most foundational principle of learning aerobatics, let’s look at actual control inputs and how they work together. One thing that you should find encouraging is that there are control groups and control input sequences that hold true for many different maneuvers. The list of aerobatic maneuvers is almost endless. You’ll continue to expand upon them, but the principles for many are the same. The first principle will be a 64

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

familiar one to full-scale pilots. It is that in almost every situation, when landing a full-scale airplane, the elevator is used to control the airspeed, and the throttle to control the altitude—not the other way around. The same principle is often used in RC aerobatics. Before describing this in more detail, I need to clarify that when performing high-speed aerobatics, the elevator controls altitude while the throttle controls airspeed. However, when flying slow-speed aerobatics, the following rule almost always holds true:

After rolling the airplane into a knifeedge flight, the rudder now controls the aircraft’s flight-path-pitch angle, while the elevator controls the flight path’s yaw or heading. Remember, the airplane will be flying on the fuselage in this mode.

When you increase airspeed, the airplane’s angle of attack must be decreased. When wanting to increase the altitude or arrest the airplane’s descent, instead of pulling the nose up, the throttle must be increased while maintaining the initial angle of attack. The inverse holds true as well. Likewise, regardless of the airplane’s attitude, the throttle should control the altitude and the elevator

Aerobatics part 5 Half way through the four point roll, as the airplane is inverted, the elevator once again controls the pitch while the rudder controls the yaw. Just remember that both controls are reversed when inverted.

In the third point of a four-point roll, the rudder again controls pitch while the elevator controls yaw. To complete the four point roll, the airplane is rolled back to level where all the controls are normal once again.

(or rudder in knife-edge flight) the airspeed. Most aerobatic maneuvers can be performed at almost any airspeed. In many cases, the airplane’s attitude does not actually reflect the flight path vector. In a rolling harrier, for instance, the lower the airplane’s angle of attack, the faster the airplane must fly in order to maintain its altitude. If performing a rolling harrier with a very high Follow us on twitter @rcsportflyer

angle of attack, very little airspeed is necessary to hold the flight path and altitude. This principle holds true for almost every maneuver. You must think this through carefully and understand it. The next principle will help you with nearly every maneuver. It is used almost constantly throughout aerobatics. With that in mind, read this next statement carefully: The elevator and rudder can and should be used as one and the same. In saying this, I do not mean that when in level flight, the rudder is capable of altering pitch or that the elevator is capable

of controlling yaw. Rather, throughout any rolling maneuver, both of these controls act as an elevator and/ or rudder. You know that when the airplane’s wings are level, the elevator controls pitch while the rudder controls yaw. When you roll the airplane onto its side and into knifeedge flight, in essence, the rudder is now the elevator, and the elevator is now the rudder. This is because when in a knife-edge flight, the rudder controls pitch (angle of attack), while the elevator controls yaw (heading). Recall the statement that I made earlier: In many cases, the airplane’s attitude does not actually reflect the flight path vector. It’s easier to think of pitch as always being the angle of attack, and yaw as always being the airplane’s heading regardless of its bank angle. When flying in a knife-edge, top rudder is up elevator when inverted, and down elevator is actually up elevator, and so on. This terminology is mine. I hope it makes sense to you. When performing rolls, a slight amount of up elevator—or positive pitch control—is needed to maintain the initial altitude. When performing a left roll from upright, the elevator and rudder controls are: up elevator, right rudder, down elevator, left rudder and back to up elevator. For a right roll the rudder is simply reversed with the new order being: up elevator, left rudder, down elevator, right rudder, up elevator. When performing consecutive rolls, this pattern is done without stopping throughout each roll. This pattern holds true for point rolls, half-rolls, etc. Learning this control group and using the elevator and rudder as one is crucial to success. Trying to separate the two controls in your mind will complicate the matter, so always think of them as one and the same. The next control group is the rudder and throttle. Although the rudder and elevator are grouped and both are used for the same purpose RC-SF.COM

Aerobatics part 5 One of the few instances where the ailerons are coupled with the rudder is in an upright or inverted harrier as seen here.

throughout different maneuvers, the rudder is not nearly as powerful and effective as the elevator. This is because the airplane’s fuselage sidearea does not provide nearly as much lift as the main wing. Consequently, the airplane’s angle of attack must be increased when in knife-edge flight. The higher angle of attack will also increase the airplane’s total drag and slow it down. Because of this, I use throttle control with the rudder. As soon as I roll the airplane into a knife-edge attitude and feed in rudder input, I increase the throttle slightly to compensate for the reduced lift and added drag. If flying Mode 2 control, the easiest way to train yourself to do this instinctively is to move your left thumb in a “V” pattern so that you increase the throttle with the rudder. This “V” pattern should always be used, even during fast harrier rolls, rolling circles, rolling loops, etc. So far we have grouped the elevator and throttle, elevator and rudder, and rudder and throttle. You are probably wondering when I will group the ailerons with a different control surface. The fact is that the ailerons do not really have a pair. Having said that, there are two instances in which they are grouped that I believe are worth mentioning. The first is during straight and level flight through turbulence. When one wing hits an up or down draft, the airplane usually yaws away from the direction of roll. Because of this,

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RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

minute and opposite control inputs from the rudder and ailerons are often used to maintain the correct heading. The second instance is during harrier flight (upright and inverted). When the airplane is in a high-alpha (nose-high) attitude, with a low airspeed, the rudder and ailerons are once again used as a pair. This is because when the nose is high, a rudder input to the right would also produce a slight roll in that direction. To compensate for this, some left aileron is needed. In harrier flight, the rudder and ailerons are always used together and usually in opposite directions.

will probably be put to the test in the most unthinkable situation. So truly knowing what to expect from a powerless airplane could save your model from a crash. Remember when practicing dead-stick you can always shed altitude and airspeed, but once it’s gone, it’s gone! Also, practice side-slipping the airplane when you’ve got it coming in too fast. Never under-estimate the effects of a side-slip. When performed correctly, it can bring an airplane down at a 45-degree angle without gaining airspeed. Just be gentle on the controls when leveling the aircraft out as some airplanes tend to stall the top wing if leveled too abruptly.

Stalls

Overview

In this beginning stage of the aerobatic learning curve, I recommend practicing stalls and dead-stick landings. Learning exactly what the airplane will do during an accelerated stall as well as a standard stall will give you a much better feeling for the airplane throughout maneuvers. At a safe altitude, learn the limitations of the airframe. If you have any of the airplanes that I endorsed a few issues ago, you will be hard pressed to reach their limitations, but they still exist and must be understood well. Practicing dead-stick landings builds a lot of skill and is very advantageous. Getting to know the airplane’s best glide speed and lift-over-drag ratio will tell you where it will land. Knowing these and having the skills to use them

Well there you have it for this month. These are the fundamentals that I believe must be mastered first. Once you fully understand, and they become second nature, everything else will follow VERY easily! As a competition-aerobatic pilot, I am always much more impressed to see a simple flight flown almost perfectly than a crazy flight flown poorly. So discipline yourself to fly precisely, and plan maneuvers ahead of time so that you know what to expect from your model. Also, always stay ahead of the airplane. If you ever get behind it, slow your pace down so that you can keep it in complete control. Once you truly control the airplane, performing all the amazing aerobatic maneuvers will be a cinch!

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DA-200

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

DA-100L

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

DA-50-R

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

DA-170

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BY Richard Kuns

Fiberglass

A Little Work for a Lot of Durability

Dilute Z-Poxy® Finishing Resin 2:1 with denatured alcohol in a cup, apply with a disposable brush and smooth with a squeegee such as this plastic card.

Brush resin on and evenly squeegee it into the cloth. Do not attempt to build extra resin on the surface.

After resin dries, you will cut the cloth away from the hatches and wheel wells and the wing’s leading and trailing edges.

ike many of you, I have built a number of airplanes. They range from sport to pattern to WWI scale models. They’ve always had or used iron-on coverings. My latest project has been a fifth-scale Corsair that seemed to demand a painted finish. This is so because with the exception of ailerons, elevators and the rudder, this model is completely sheeted.

Fiberglass

Fiberglass and paint finishes

3 4

Glass is applied right over plastic oil coolers resulting in a seamless transition that disappears under the final paint. You’ll want to protect the wing mount dowels so they are not coated with resin.

To avoid any possible seam on the top wingtip, the fiberglass is wrapped around the edges so that it overlaps the glass on the bottom.

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

have many advantages over iron-on coverings. First of all, the surfaces are much harder and more durable. Many of the little hangar-rash mishaps that can happen with other airplane coverings do not damage a fiberglass finish. A fiberglass finish will not develop bubbles nor sag in the sun. Textured details like rivets and panel lines are easily accomplished during the painting process. Then too, color matching between the airplane and parts such as cowls and canopy frames is easy since the same paint is used to paint all the parts, which is very difficult when trying to match a paint color to an iron-on covering. There are a few disadvantages to using fiberglass. A couple to consider: It certainly takes more time and effort to finish, and repairs are not

Fiberglass My Corsair is nearly ready for its maiden flight. The vinyl is from Callie Graphics’ VMFT-20 Marines package, with green stripes being painted on.

as simple as ironing on patches of covering to damaged areas.

How To Do

Over the years I have seen many techniques for fiberglassing. The technique described here is one I learned from a modeler friend. It provides excellent results. It uses readily available, low-odor materials and is easy for the newcomer to learn. I recommend you start with the wing, since it is a large, relatively flat surface. Do the bottom first and then the top. This will give you some practice before you tackle the more complex shapes on the fuselage. Prepare the wing’s surface by sanding and filling the most egregious imperfections. You do not need to sand the wood as finely as you would for an iron-on covering, where the imperfections can telegraph through the material. Next, apply the first coat of fiberglass. I use 0.7-oz fiberglass cloth from The Composites Store. Pacer® Finish Resin is used as the resin. You’ll want to mix it by using one part Follow us on twitter @rcsportflyer

resin, one part hardener and one part denatured alcohol. Drape the cloth over the surface and then apply the resin mixture to the cloth with a disposable brush. Smooth the resin into the cloth with a small squeegee—an old credit card will work well. Make sure you apply an even coat so that the fiberglass will adhere to the wood. However, do not let the resin build up on top of the cloth. Unlike an iron-on covering, do not fit the cloth into openings and recesses. Simply cover over them and then cut the cloth away from those areas once the resin has dried. After the first coat of resin dries, cut off most of the excess cloth. Then lightly sand the area with 200-grit wet sandpaper. Sanding the edges of cloth should cleanly remove the excess material from the model. Next continue covering the rest

of the part with cloth and resin, slightly overlapping the fiberglass cloth-to-cloth joints.Then lightly sand the second side, and smooth the overlap joints. Next you will apply a second coat of resin to the entire surface. As you apply this coat, you will also brush resin onto any exposed wood edges around openings such as hatches or wheel wells. This will give a good base for the paint. Let the resin dry and then lightly sand it. To fiberglass the fuselage, first glass the bottoms of the stabilizers. Then glass the fuselage’s bottom starting at its front and working to the tail. The front will typically take large pieces of glass cloth while the rear around the tail feathers may need several small pieces. Just overlap the glass and then smooth the joint during the sanding. On the fuselage’s top, first cover the fin and tops of the RC-SF.COM

9 7

You’ll want to apply a second coat of resin and let it cure. Then lightly sand it to remove ridges, etc. The wing will then be ready for primer.

Here you see that the flaps are getting covered with glass. No glass is applied to the sides, although they are coated with resin during the second coat.

At this point, the Corsair’s fuselage and tail surfaces have been glassed, sanded and are ready for primer.

this point, the fuselage is 10 At ready for putty. Although hard

to see in the photograph, there are many small imperfections in the fiberglass.

Bondo® Glazing and Spot Putty 11 is applied to the entire fuselage.

stabilizers. Then do the fuselage from the front to its rear. You’ll need to lightly sand the surpface and apply a second coat of resin. Next, spray a coat of buildable primer onto the glassed surfaces. It’s not necessary to build the primer to a final smooth finish. The primer simply helps fill small imperfections in the weave of the glass. Then you’ll lightly sand and apply a second coat. Completely coat the surface with a thin coat of automobile body putty like Bondo® Glazing and Spot Putty. Be sure to use the one-part material. Once this dries, sand the surface with 200-grit wet sandpaper until most of the putty is gone and the primer is visible. This should leave a very smooth surface with all the 70

Two coats of buildable primer are applied at this stage. You will want to use good ventilation when spraying this paint.

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

Do small areas at a time and spread it as thinly as possible.

imperfections filled with putty. If you are not satisfied with how smooth the finish is, repeat this step on any problem areas until it is ready for a final coat of primer. Finally, apply another coat of primer. After sanding it smooth, your model is ready for panel lines or finish paint.

Corsair Finishing

To wrap up this how-to article, here is how I finished my Corsair. Panel lines were created by first applying 1/32-in. chart tape, then covering the tape by spraying several coats of primer over the tape. The primer is then sanded until the tape becomes visible again. Removing the

Fiberglass

Using 200-grit wet sandpaper, sand off most of the putty— frequently wet the paper and change the cleaning water. The surfaces should now be very smooth.

13 Close-up of filled imperfections shows putty-filled low spots and the paint sanded from high ones. Be careful not sand into the fiberglass cloth.

this stage, the final priming 14 At is done. The model is then ready

for panel lines to be applied and to get the finish paint.

tape exposes the finished panel lines, which will appear as indents on the surface of the aircraft. Rivets in the finish were created by using a piece of brass tubing that is installed in a small soldering iron. Just pressing it against the skin’s surface will create a rivet indent. The Corsair’s control surfaces were covered with Solartex®. Since the full-scale Corsair had fabriccovered control surfaces, I added simulated rib stitching. It was made from strips of Solartex®, with chart tape simulating the stitches. There are many choices of paint that work well on fiberglass. You must select a paint that will not be damaged by the engine’s fuel. Behr® Exterior Satin Enamel from Home Depot was used to paint my Corsair. It is not affected nor damaged by gasoline. It is also easy to spray, cleans up with water and has a low odor. It dries fast. However, you must know that it does take several weeks for it to cure to a hard surface. In the

lines and simulated rivets 15 Panel were added before the final primer

was applied. A good nomenclature kit provides lettering such as “Step Here” and “Hand Hold.” Nonslip adhesive tape makes nice walkways.

case of my Corsair, we sprayed a light first coat, which was then followed by a heavier final coat. My Corsair’s finish details were made from cut vinyl. I bought them from Callie Graphics, with the nomenclature from ProMARK. Finally, the Corsair is powered by a ZP 62-cc, gaspowered engine from Zenoah, a Xoar propeller and Tru-Turn propeller hub.

In Conclusion

You can see in the photographs how beautiful all of this work turned out. I’m looking forward to the maiden flight of my new, fiberglassed and painted Corsair. You can create your own masterpiece by starting with this simple fiberglassing technique. It is easy, and it’s not very expensive.

simulated rib stitching was 16 The applied to the fabric-covered control surfaces. It adds an additional touch of realism to this WWII fighter.

References The Composites Store, Inc P.O. Box 622 Tehachapi, CA 93581-0622 800-338-1278 cstsales.com Callie Graphics P.O. Box 1541 Magdalena, NM 87825 calie-graphics.com Pro-MARK Graphics 751 Airport Rd. Metropolis, IL. 62960 618-524-2440 pro-mark.com

BY Wil Byers

AeroWorks

Carbon Cub SS

Short Takeoffs and Landings are What this Airplane Does Well

ubCrafters Carbon Cub SS is a modern version of the infamous Super Cub. The Carbon Cub SS is built in Yakima, Washington, which is just up the road from my home. I’ve visited CubCrafters’ factory and seen the full-scale Carbon Cub SS up close and personal. I’ve even been fortunate enough to have had a ride in a CubCrafters Sport Cub. Both the Carbon Cub SS and the Sport Cub employ modern materials and state-

of-the-art engineering and design to make them, arguably, the best backcountry airplanes you can buy. So it was that when I saw the AeroWorks™ Carbon Cub I wanted to have one for my hangar. I wanted one because I’d seen the way it performed in the hands of very capable pilots. I’d seen it doing knife-edge loops, when it was powered by a DA-120 engine. I knew that if it would perform like that for others, then it would certainly be good enough for me. As a result, I purchased my Carbon Cub about a year ago. It kept getting put on the back burner in terms of projects, partly because I just like to fiddle with my airplanes getting them set up and ready to fly. Nevertheless, I finished my Carbon Cub this past April. Unfortunately, at that time the winds and bad weather for flying settled in. I kept watching and waiting. It was either work or weather that kept me from flying it. Finally, a weekend came that offered beautiful blue skies and light winds. I loaded the Carbon Cub in the truck and drove to Glestner’s Airfield in Yakima. I wanted to maiden the airplane at a This fly-by pass shows off the superb looks and build quality of the AeroWorks Carbon Cub—just look at the cowl that sucks air in and across the cylinders!

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

AeroWorks Carbon Cub SS

My AeroWorks Carbon Cub is powered by a DA-120, two-cylinder engine that turns a Falcom carbon propeller. I’m using a Spektrum DX-18 transmitter for control.

I’m a little nervous for the maiden flight of my Carbon Cub, so I’m not smiling. However, the purr of the DA-120 engine will make any redblooded RC pilot pretty happy.

Dropping the flaps on this Cub will let you put its nose down very steeply, but without building any airspeed, which makes landings fun and easy.

dirt strip where the full-scale Carbon Cub sometimes does touch-and-go landings.

Takeoff

As you would expect I did a complete radio-range check, as well as a control check. It was then time to start the engine. I must tell you that you should remember to flip the engine kill switch on your transmitter into the start position. If you don’t you could lose a good friend to a heart attack. Truly, I got a laugh out of the fact that I was so stupid. My friend, Gene Cope, was not quite so amused because he was doing the starting. Once the switch was turned on, the DA-120 engine fired immediately. I let the engine warm and then taxied it for takeoff. The recommended Hitec RCD servos are very powerful, so you feel in total control flying this 168-in.-wingspan airplane. All the servos are high-voltage type.

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This picture shows the Carbon Cub climbing out kind of steep, but believe me that when powered by the DA-120, it will go straight up.

Without any flaps set, I pushed the throttle forward to about 30 percent. About 10 feet down the runway, the airplane picked up its tail. I over-controlled the model a bit with rudder, so the Cub wagged its tail at me once. Then I pushed the throttle up to about 50 percent and added a bit of up elevator. The model leapt off the ground. Let me tell you, this airplane will climb briskly, even with only 50 percent throttle. Full-throttle takeoffs would blow your mind; albeit, you would need to be on the rudder to keep the airplane going straight down the runway. I would underscore that this model is extremely easy to take off. You’ll want to use a little rudder control until it gets up to flying speed, but then it transitions to flight without much pilot effort.

Stall

As I had my Cub set up, it required zero trim on rudder, elevator and ailerons. Frankly, I was surprised at how true the airplane flew. I would add that I did take the time required to make certain the 74

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

wings and elevators were true, and without twists. It must have paid off in flight because my Carbon Cub was “dialed in” and ready for a stall test. So I climbed the Cub to about 500 feet. Next, I pulled the power back and slowly added up elevator control until the airplane stalled. The stall was completely uneventful. The airplane did drop its nose, but without doing so abruptly. To recover from the stall, I let the model build a little airspeed and then gently added up elevator control. Again, the airplane didn’t do anything to surprise me.

Aerobatics

When it comes to powered aircraft, I consider myself an intermediate pilot, while with gliders I think I’m an advanced pilot. So when it comes to aerobatics I can do loops, rolls, etc.—not much more. That said, I know the AeroWorks Carbon Cub will deliver big-time aerobatics. It will loop, roll, knifeedge and even deliver knife-edge loops. You can see Jason Noll put his Carbon Cub through its paces

at: aero-works.net/store/images/ upload/video/100ccCarbonCub_Jason_ JoeNall2010.wmv. You’ll be impressed seeing this Cub fly like a 3D airplane.

Approach

It took me about three takeoffs and landings to get the flap-toelevator compensation set properly in my transmitter’s program for the Cub—testing the compensation each flight at altitude before making an approach. Once set with the value of 20 percent down elevator to full-flap deflection, the Carbon Cub became trainer-like. I will qualify that statement by saying this is a 40-percent-scale airplane, so it will take you a bit of flying to get used to its size, especially on approach. However, this airplane makes approaches to landing easily, especially when the flaps are deflected. Also, the rudder is quite powerful, so you can slip the airplane if needed. Moreover, you can drive it to the runway very easily by coordinating the rudder with the ailerons.

AeroWorks Carbon Cub SS

You need to pull the throttle all the way back to land the Cub because it will fly with only about 10 percent power applied—AMAZING!

What is just a fun is to start an approach high, drop the flaps full, and then point it at the runway numbers, adjusting the airplane’s position relative to the runway with rudder and elevator. The Carbon Cub will reward you with very steep approaches, but one that does not

overspeed the airplane’s airframe. The model will just come down from altitude at about a 70-degree angle as you fly it to the runway, rounding it out for the landing.

Landing

If you land the Carbon Cub with

Wil is heading out in his Carbon Cub for a flight up the Yakima River for a landing on a nice sandbar, because this airplane has the power to get him in and out of backcountry—I’m dreaming! Follow us on twitter @rcsportflyer

full flaps deflected it will come in at a runner’s jog speed. With a bit of a headwind, you can land this model at a walker’s pace. I’m not exaggerating when I say this 40-percent-scale Cub is very easy to land. What I found is that if you fly it at the numbers, correcting its position as needed

You’ll discover this airplane is very forgiving. Here, I’ve rolled it up on a wingtip, added some power and I’m pulling it around for my cameraman to get a good photo of the Cub. RC-SF.COM

Here the Cub is flying with its flaps deployed about 40 percent, and it is flying on about 10 percent power from the DA-120.

with rudder, and then rounding out the landing by flaring the airplane, it will land extremely easily. You can certainly do touch-and-go landings with this model all day long and not tire of them. You should know that it does not take much power to get the Carbon Cub flying though, so you must adjust the engine’s idle so that it idles as slow as possible. If not, the Cub will just keep flying down the runway. Then too, if you push the throttle up to about 10 percent it will start flying again. It is enough to say that the AeroWorks Carbon Cub just wants to fly!

Debrief

It makes me feel a little weird in that I almost can’t say enough good about the AeroWorks Carbon Cub. Let me underscore again that when it comes to powered airplanes I’m You’ll love the power of the Cub’s rudder. It is a very responsive airplane that you can even do 3D with if you set up the controls with lots of throw.

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

AeroWorks Carbon Cub SS pretty much an intermediate pilot. The reason I emphasize this fact is that the Carbon Cub is a giant-scale airplane that I feel most comfortable flying. I believe you would be too. I would, however, advise that you buy an RC simulator and then practice your takeoffs and landings on some giant-scale airplanes before taking this one to the airfield. Also, I think the kit quality, the hardware, the accessories and the instruction manual are all top quality. Certainly, the Desert Aircraft DA-120 is a great match for this airplane. The Hitec servos married to the Power Box Competition SRS

power management system deliver exceptional power and precision, which, when communicating with my Spektrum DX-18 transmitter, gives my Carbon Cub a totally pilot-toairplane connected feel. If I had to rate this airplane on a scale of one to ten, with ten being excellent, I would give it a nine point five. The only thing I would change about the Carbon Cub, to rank it a ten, would be to have it covered in fabric and for it to have a 40-percentscale pilot. Slap me for being so wanting, will you!

Control throws Control Throws

High (up / down in.)

Mid

Low

Ailerons

1-3/8 / 3/4-in.

1 / 5/8

3/4 / 7/16

Elevator

3 / 2â&#x20AC;&#x201C;3/8

2-5/8 / 1-7/8

1-7/8 / 1-1/2

Rudder

Flap

2-1/2 down

1-1/4 down

n/a

Flap to Elev Comp

-20%

Distributor AeroWorks 4903 Nome Street Denver, CO 80239 Phone: 303-371-4222 aero-works.net

Specifications Wingspan

168 in.

Wing area

3864 in.2

Fuselage length w/o spinner

104 in. (rudder to front of cowl)

Fuselage length

110 in. (rudder to front of spinner)

Weight

39 lb as built

Cowl width

13.5 in.

Rudder height

w/ tail wheel 24.75 in.

Engine

Desert Aircraft 120-cc gas

Exhaust

MTW RE3

Spinner size

4.5 in.

Propeller

Falcon 29x10 carbon

Transmitter

6-channel min (Hitec Aurora 9 used)

Receiver

Optima 9

Servos

(7) Hitec 7950TH (1) 5685MH

Power management

PowerBox Champion SRS

Rx power

Fromeco 7.4-V 4500-mAh

Ignition

5-cell 4000-mAh NiMH

Wheels

8.25 in.

Price

$2195

Touch-and-go landings are a ton of fun to do with this big Cub. You will be surprised at how easy this airplane is to fly, even for an intermediate pilot.

RC-SF.COM

BY Staff

TTX650

Powerful, Programmable, Understandable, Affordable...

imes being what they are, $149.97 doesn’t buy you much anymore. That’s not the case, however, when you buy a new TACTIC TTX650 transmitter— not at all! The new transmitter is a powerhouse of features and functionality. It’s almost hard to believe that you can “score” on this radio for so little. What you’ll get in the TTX650 is a transmitter that weighs just one pound, six ounces, with a set of “AA” batteries installed. You’ll also get a unit with digital trims, adjustable control sticks that are precise and frictionfree, a clear and easy-to-read liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, as well the transmitter that just feels good in your hands. The radio is, of course, designed to operate on the 2.4-GHz radio band. It has seven, well-positioned toggle switches; two are threeposition, four are two-position, and one is a snap switch that you’d likely use for snap rolls and such. The unit’s On/Off switch is well-placed on the front of the radio just above the LCD screen, recessed into the radio’s case just enough to keep it out of the way during piloting. Just above the On/ Off switch is the neck-strap clasp and above it is the On/Off indicator light, which provides a bright blue glow when the radio is turned on. On top of the radio is the carry handle, 78

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

which tilts the radio facedown just a bit when it is being carried. The battery tray is on the back and bottom of the case. It holds four “AA” batteries or NiCad or NiMH cells. At the bottom and left side of the transmitter is a firmware port, and below it is a charging jack. Finally, to the left and right of the LCD screen are six programming buttons: Servo, Clear, ESC, +/5, -/6, and the Enter key. All the keys are very easy

The TTX650 is very ergonomic and lightweight, which means it feels good in your hands, so you feel in control of your model at all times.

and intuitive to use. You will like the layout and positioning of the control sticks as well as the switches. TACTIC has a good design in their 650! So, here is what you get in the new TACTIC TTX650 radio:

Tactic TTX650

Your Tactic TTX650 sixchannel radio comes with four “AA” batteries for power. You can change them out for either NiCads or NiMH cells.

Features • • • • • • • • • • •

20 Model memory Easy-to-use programming Intuitive menus Easy-to-read LCD screen w/ adjustable contrast User-selectable switch assignments 4 programmable mixes 8 pre-programmed mixes Airplane and helicopter programming Compatible with SLT receivers and Tx-R aircraft Quad-bearing gimbals Adjustable stick lengths and

tensions • Wireless trainer system with selectable channels • Reversing, sub-trim and travel limits on all channels • Dual rates and exponential (aileron, elevator, rudder) • Digital trims with slow/fast adjustment • One up/down timer, one battery timer • Adjustable, low-voltage alarm • 4 “AA” alkaline batteries included • Charge jack for optional NiCd/ NiMH packs • External antenna that rotates and folds for easy storage

Functions • • • • • • • •

Model Select Model Management Trim Settings CH5 and CH6 Assignment Channel Assignments Trainer Function Warnings Servo Reversing (all channels)

Switches E and F are on the upper-left side of the transmitter’s case. Switch E is a three-position toggle, while F is a two-position, spring-loaded snap switch. Switch H is located on the top right of the transmitter’s case. It is a two-position toggle switch. It is program-assignable to the control function you want. Follow us on twitter @rcsportflyer

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• Sub-Trims (all channels) • Travel Limits (all channels) • Dual Rates (aileron, elevator, rudder) • Exponential (aileron, elevator, rudder)

Airplane

• Wing Type (normal, V-tail, delta, single aileron, dual aileron, aileron + flap, 2 aileron + flap) • Throttle Curve • Throttle Cut • Aileron Differential • Aileron/Flap Adjust • Aileron Mixer • Elevator Mixer • Air Brake Mixer • Flap Mixer

The back of the radio provides hand holds, access to the battery compartment and a very functional carry handle. It has an excellent feel in your hands and is lightweight too.

Helicopter

• Swash Type (1 servo, 2 servos 180°, 3 servos 120°, 3 servos 140°) • Throttle Cut • Throttle Hold • Throttle Curve • Pitch Curve • Gyro Mixing • Swash Mixing • Swash Limiter • Throttle Mixing • Rudder Mixing

Likes

What we like about the TACTIC TTX650 to start with is the user interface. This radio is very easy to

program because its programming logic is very intuitive. You start programming the radio as you would other major brands. You simply hold down the Enter key and then turn on the radio. The System Setup menu lets you enter User Name, Stick Mode, Screen Contrast, Beep Volume and Battery Alarm. The plus and minus keys to the right of the LCD screen let you navigate up and down through the system functions. Note The radio comes with four “AA” alkaline batteries. You can change them to NiCad or NiMH cells if you wish, which will then let you recharge when needed.

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

Tactic TTX650

Carrying Handle Antenna Switch B

Switch F Switch H Switch E Switch C

Switch A

Switch D

LED Power Indicator Neck Strap Eyelet

Power Switch

Trim Levers

LCD

that our TTX650 only let us choose between Mode 1 and Mode 2 control types, but then Mode 3 and Mode 4 are rarely used in this country. Hitting the ESC key takes you right back to the home screen. The system settings are very easy to program or change, our shop dog could have done it! To enter the Function menu you simply turn the radio on then press the Enter key. The functions include Model Select, Model Management, Wing Type, Channel Assignments, Warnings, Trainer and Trim Settings. Model Select lets you pick from any of 20 models. In Model Management you will have the option of naming the model, copying the model, reseting it or erasing it. Follow us on twitter @rcsportflyer

Firmware Upgrade Jack

Charge Jack

RC-SF.COM

This is your welcome screen with the brand name, transmitter and model number. Notice that it also displays the version number, which in this case is 1.010.

This is the main screen that is displayed when you turn the radio on and it has booted up. Boot up is quick too, taking less than two seconds.

The Settings screen is very easy to navigate. You’ll simply push the Enter button and it will display. However, you must select the model you want to program first.

These are the additional programming functions that are available under the Settings menu. You’ll move up and down in the menus using the up and down arrow keys.

Wing Type lets you pick the wings configuration as well as the tail type, which includes normal, V-tail and Delta. What you’re going to like is being able to use the Channel Assignments menu to program the radio for specific channel outputs. For example, you can change Output 1 to be any channel you like or want from the six channels that are available. Also, we like being able to program the Throttle position, cut and hold to have specific warnings. Next, once you have chosen a model aircraft from the Model Select menu the radio gives you the options 82

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

to program Servo Set, Dual/Expo, CH5 and CH6 Set, Throttle Curve, Throttle Cut, Aileron Mixer, Rudder Mixer, Programmable Mixer, RF Output and Timers. The Servo Set menu is where you will set servo reversing, sub trims and travel volumes. Again, the transmitter is very intuitive. To change a setting in the program you just navigate over a function, press Enter and then use the plus or minus keys to change the setting or a funtion. What is nice is that using the ESC key gets the radio out of a specific function and back to the home screen if you want to jump

out of a program setting. Dual/Expo is what it says it is, with the exception that you’ll want to typically enter the exponential as a negative number. CH5 and CH6 Set is used to pick what switch you would like to assign to that control function. In this program function you can also select the offset and travel volumes for the specific function you are programming. The throttle curve setting lets you change both the high and low points, assign a switch to the setting and set the exponential.

Tactic TTX650

As you can see you set the amount of aileron to rudder mixing that you want for your model. You can also select the switch that can turn the mixing on and off.

This mix lets you mix rudder to ailerons or rudder to elevator as percentages. Again, you get to use a control switch to turn the mixes off or on.

The TTX650 has four programmable mixers built in. You can mix any channel with any other channel and you can choose a switch for control of the mix.

The throttle curve lets you control both the low and high points of the throttle. It too is switch-controllable and offers exponential control of throttle.

The Throttle Cut option is super easy to set up. You simply select the switch you want to use for for this option and then navigate to the respective set points.

This function is pretty self-explanatory, but the gist is you set the amount of dual rate or exponential you want, and pick the switch you like to control it.

RC-SF.COM

Tactic TTX650

Since this is a six-channel radio, you’ll need to pick the switch or channel you want to control either channel five or channel six. You’ll have the option for offset and travel too.

The timer gives you 99 minutes and 59 seconds of count time. As you would expect, the timer can be controlled by any switch or control function.

Specifications Channels

Six

Frequencies

2.403–2.480 GHz

Modulation

FHSS spread spectrum SLT

Input power

(4) “AA” alkaline (included) or (4) NiCd or NiMH cells

Price

$149.97 (towerhobbies.com)

Distributor Great Planes P.O. Box 9021 Champaign, IL 61821 Phone: 800-637-7660 Greatplanes.com This versatile transmitter has an RF Output function that lets you turn the radio frequency on and off, as well as perform a radio-range test.

The Throttle Cut menu does just that. In this menu you can assign a switch to cut the throttle. The options allow you to pick the control switch, the trigger and the cut points. The next option in the menu is Differential. While this menu only lets you set differential for aircraft with two ailerons, or with two ailerons and one flap, it still provides you the option to set a switch and have multiple set points. Alternately, you can set differential to be on continously. Additionally, the TTX650 comes with an Aileron Mixer option. This option lets you pick a switch so that 84

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

it provides triple rates on the mix, which in this case is an aileron to rudder. You’ll need to use one of the three-position switches if you want to have triple rates on this mix. The radio also provides for a Rudder Mix option, which lets you mix rudder to ailerons or rudder to elevator. This mix is also switch selectable. Then too the 650 has a Programmable Mixers option that allows for four, free, programmable mixes. In these mixes you can mix any channel with any other. You have the option of setting the rate, offset and picking a control switch.

Another feature of this radio is the ability to turn the radio frequency output off or on. There is also an option for range-testing the radio. Last but not least is the Timer option. You can set the minutes (99) and seconds (59) with your choice of activation switch.

wish list

We’ll end this review by saying that all we would want is rechargeable batteries. However, at its price point the TTX650 is, quite frankly, a bargain no matter how you look at it.

CUBS N’ COUSINS 2013 RC FUN FLY WEAVER FIELD – OTHELLO, WA

AUGUST 23-25 ONLY $15 ADMISSION

If it is a Cub or a Cousin Your In! i.e., Aeronca, Bellanca, Fairchild, Stinson, etc.

rc-cubsncousins.com

Contact: Gary Owen 206-284-5627 Cain Lopez 509-760-0335 CD: Wil Byers

™

Calypso. Soaring made simpler. • Fast, no-glue assembly • Launches with an easy toss in four great • Stable, gentle handling • Available easy-flying versions Wingspan: 73 in (1855 mm)

flyzoneplanes.com/113d

™

BY Gene Cope

L-13 Blanik 4.2 m ARF A Glider to give You RC soaring Energy

RC SPORT FLYER â&#x20AC;&#x201D; august 2013

E-Flite L-13 Blanik 4.2 m ARF

You’ll discover that the 4.2-meterwingspan Blanik is very forgiving on an aerotow. All you’ll need to do is keep its wings level. It will follow the tug.

he full-scale, L-13 Blaník is a two-seater glider that was first produced by Let Kunovice in 1956. It is an aluminum glider, built to be a trainer. It is the most prevalent glider in the world. It has even been used by the United States Air Force Academy under the designation TG-10C. It has also been used extensively as a training glider. The original glider employs NACA laminar flow wing section profiles and components from the Soviet aerospace industry. The Blaník entered production in 1958. It gained popularity with glider pilots because it is inexpensive, rugged and durable. The total production is in excess of 3000, with variants. E-flite’s new 1/4-scale, L-13 Blanik is a copy of the Red Bull version. It comes with many details, including the Red Bull trim scheme, which is factory done. The balsa-sheeted wings include a set of flaps that can be deployed for extra lift during thermal and for steep, slow approaches to landing. The modified HQW airfoil gives the L-13 a good lift-over-drag ratio and superb penetration. The molded fiberglass fuselage is large

and roomy, so it is easy to work in when installing and maintaining the radio control gear. The wings are made such that a set of electric-powered spoilers can be installed to aid in glide path control and for de-thermalling the glider. The model comes with a releasable towhook that installs in the nose, which makes it suitable for aerotowing. Then too, the glider has a landing wheel in the belly of the fuselage, so you can even fly it from paved airstrips.

Kit Contents

• • • • • • • • • •

Fiberglass fuselage Balsa-sheeted, foam-core wings Sealed hinging for ailerons and flaps Balsa-sheeted tail Carbon-fiber joiners Official Red Bull scheme UltraCote® covering Landing flaps Hinged canopy Hardware package

Needed To Complete • • • • • • •

Spektrum DX8 transmitter AR7010 7-channel DSMX receiver Spektrum DX8 used Spektrum AR7017 DSMX (min) Spektrum (6) A6030, (2) A5040 6.0-volt 4500-mAh NiMH battery Electric spoilers (Optional)

RC-SF.COM

The elevator servos fit in the roots of the stabilizers. You simply fasten them in place with four wood screws.

Note that the tow release rod comes factory bent so that there is no binding as the servo runs through its complete travel.

I added a canopy hold string to the canopy’s frame as a way to keep it from putting undue strain on the hinges.

ZAP’s Z-poxy 30-minute epoxy works very well for gluing the fiberglass control horns into place on the elevators.

The linkages for the ailerons, flaps and elevators come factory made, so the assembly process is easy because they’ve done most of the work.

6 3

The Spektrum A6030 servos are designed to work with this model. They fit the servo frames perfectly. Notice I’ve hardened the wood blocks with CA glue.

7 This photo shows you how the flap servos get installed in the wings. The pushrods run internal to the wings, so it makes for a clean installation.

The wingtips get glued to the wings with 30-minute epoxy. They are one of the many nice scale touches that are included in the L-13 Blanik ARF.

9 The wings are held tight to the fuselage by way of a bolt and wing nut. The system makes for a quick and easy assembly at the RC airfield.

10 The pushrod runs are short, straight and tight for all the control surfaces, as you can see in this photo of the elevators. You want to use clevis keepers.

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

E-Flite L-13 Blanik 4.2 m ARF

11 This is how I had the battery positioned for the first flight. It was subsequently moved back in the model to get its CG position to 18 mm aft of the wing’s leading edge.

12 I put shrink tubing around the rudder’s pullpull cable connections to make them neat and clean. I also added fuel tubing clevis keepers to all the clevises.

In Flight

By Wil Byers

n an absolutely gorgeous Friday morning in Yakima, Washingon, and with Michael Gore acting as the tug aircraft pilot, Gene and I readied the L-13 Blanik for a tow. After doing a very thorough radio-range check, as well as a control check, the Blanik was fastened to the tow line. Then Michael pushed the throttle forward on his tug and it began pulling the Blanik down the grass runway. In less than 30 feet the Blanik was in Follow us on twitter @rcsportflyer

the air following the tug nicely. Note that I had to crack the flaps about 10 degrees for this first launch, however, after making a number of tows with the Blanik, I really don’t think this is necessary. On tow, all I had to do was keep the wings of the Blanik level. It followed the tug extremely well, even without rudder input. At about 1000 feet above ground level (AGL), I released the Blanik from the tow line. Then, I checked to see if the model’s center of gravity was set properly by diving it just a bit and then letting off the elevator

control. I found that the model’s center of gravity was a bit forward for my piloting preference, which resulted in it needing three clicks of up trim. Next, I stalled the glider. The L-13 stalls absolutely straight ahead, which means that the wings weigh the same and that there are no twists built into them at the factory. The stall was followed by testing its roll and yaw control. Both were as I would have liked the glider to fly if it were setting it up. I would, however, point out that this model RC-SF.COM

13 There is lots of room in the fuselage for receiver, battery pack, MatchBox®, remotes and wiring. You’ll want to add a pilot to this glider to finish it.

14 This photo shows the lead shot and epoxy mix that I put in the nose of the glider to get it to balance at the manufacturer’s recommended position.

With its flaps deployed, you’ll enjoy putting the model’s nose down and flying it down from altitude. The flaps scrub speed very well as you round out the Blanik for landing.

has a somewhat different control feel to it when it is in the air. This is most likely due the fact that the wings are swept forward by design because the full-scale aircraft, it copied, is a twoplace machine. The designers needed to do this to get its center of gravity set properly when it carried two people. At any rate, I recommend you lead the turns with rudder control. If you do so, you will be rewarded with a wonderfully flying glider. To that fact, once I had the glider trimmed as I like it, I started to cruise the sky searching for rising air that I could exploit. It was not long before I found a thermal. In it, I found that the Blanik thermals well! I also found that if I 90

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

slowed it too much trying to climb the glider as fast as possible I could stall a wingtip. When the Blanik does stall a wingtip, you will discover that if you left off the up elevator control it will recover from the the tip stall in about three quarters of a turn, which will be about 50 feet or less—the distance depends on how quickly you catch the stall and what you do recovering from it. Do NOT hold back on the elevator control. Doing so will exacerbate the stall and the glider will spin around the stalled tip. If, however, you fly this model just above its stall speed and at minimum sinking rate, this glider will climb like a homesick angel. This is one fun

glider to fly. After I had thermal soared it for a while, I opted to bring it in for a landing so Gene and I could adjust its center of gravity. Bringing this model down from altitude is amazing. You will just deploy the flaps full and then circle it, with its nose down at about a 45-degree angle. I must tell you that at first this kind of unnerved me because it is a large glider and I did not want to overspeed the airframe. It was not to be! Rather, I was able to just drive the glider down with ailerons, rudder and with the elevator controlling its speed. On approach, you’ll want to fly the model down to about 20 or 30 feet and then round

E-Flite L-13 Blanik 4.2 m ARF

These are the parts that youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll get in your E-flite L-13 Blanik 4.2 m ARF kit. It is very complete, with the exception of servos, battery and radio receiver. It even comes covered as you see it here. Nice touch!

These are the items I bought from Horizon Hobby to complete my Blanik. The manual comes in the kit. It documents the assembly step by step, so even a beginner could assemble this glider.

RC-SF.COM

out the glider slowly for its approach. This will take some getting used to, but once you have mastered it you will discover that the flaps slow this aircraft quite nicely for landings. Using the flaps only, you will land

this model just as you would the fullscale machine—flying it all the way to the ground but bleeding the speed as you do so. After Gene and I had adjusted the model’s center of gravity I launched it

again. This time I was able to take the three clicks of up elevator control trim out, with the model rewarding me with an excellent glide and sink rate. As such, I commenced searching for a thermal. Again, it was not long before I had the Blanik circling in a thermal and gaining altitude well. Consequently, after about 15 minutes of soaring I had the glider circling in the thermal at 2200 feet AGL according to the Spektrum TM1000 telemetry system’s altimeter. I could go on and on about how much I enjoy flying this glider. The point is that this model is very well coordinated in the air, it has

Specifications

You will discover that the Blanik rudder is extremely effective at yawing the glider when you need to do so on final approach and in coordinating the turns.

Michael Gore gets ready to give the Blanik a tow to altitude, with Wil Byers at the controls. This model aerotows extremely well, so all you need to do is keep its wings level as the model climbs to altitude.

The Blanik is on final after taking a soaring flight above Glestner’s airfield in Yakima, WA, to 2200 feet AGL. Even at 22 pounds plus this glider indicates lift exceedingly well.

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

Scale

25%

Wingspan

165 in. (420 cm)

Length

85.5 in. (220 cm)

Wing Area

2030 in.2 (131 dm2)

RTF Weight

22 lb (10 kg)

Wing Loading

19.2 oz/ft2 (58.6 g/dm2)

Airfoil

HQW modified

Rx Battery

6.0-V 3000-mAh NiMH

Flaps

Yes

Retract

Spoilers

Optional (electric)

Trim Scheme Colors

UltraCote® Silver Red Bull scheme

Pilot

Intermediate

Radio

Spektrum DX8 used

Receiver

Spektrum AR7017 DSMX (min)

Servos

Spektrum (6) A6030 (2) A5040

Price

$999.99

All you need to do land the Blanik is put the flaps down, make a nose-down approach and then manage its speed with elevator as it gets close to the runway. Landings are FUN!

E-Flite L-13 Blanik 4.2 m ARF an excellent glide ratio and a good minimum sink for thermalling—even without any flaps deployed. I like how easy it is to set up for a landing. Additionally, you will discover that the model has superb rudder control, so you can even cross-control it if you want to bring it down in a hurry. Note too that I made this flight assessment after logging about two hours of air time on the Blanik during the two days I had the opportunity to fly it for Gene at the Yakima Aerotow event (see the photo spread in this issue).

Debrief

If you are looking for a glider that will reward you with hours of soaring fun and excitement, the new L-13 Blanik 4.2 m ARF is an

excellent glider. It is a very nice flying machine. It thermals well, has good penetration, will do mild aerobatics and lands like that of the full-scale glider. I would add that the L-13 is a good choice for the pilot who wants to get started in aerotowing or who wants a big, beautiful machine for slope soaring. I would also caution that this is not a glider for the beginner pilot. That said, if you are a competent intermediate pilot you should have no trouble logging hours of soaring time with this E-flite ARF. Finally, if you compare its price to other gliders in this size, level of build quality and completeness, it is a very good buy. Add in the electricpowered spoilers and you’ll have a “full house” machine that delivers performance plus.

Control Travels Up (in.)

Down (in.)

Expo

Ailerons

1-1/4 in.

3/4 in.

35% expo

Elevator

1-1/8

30% expo

Rudder

Flaps

5/8 thermal

25% expo 3-3/8 landing

Center of gravity: .787 in. (20 mm) back of the leading edge at wing root

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

Assembly The new E-flite L-13 Blanik ARF is superbly engineered! What I found is that it is very easy to assemble. There are a couple of things that I would like to tell you about unpacking the glider. You will find the spoiler caps inside the wing wire channel. They are put there to keep them safe from being damaged during shipment. Also, double-check to make sure all the parts are in the kit. I found the landing gear hardware was missing from my model. I contacted Horizon Hobby and they sent it immediately though. You’ll also want to follow the 60-page manual closely. It explains the assembly step by step, so even as a beginner you would likely be able to assemble this model. You’ll want to start by drilling servo mounting blocks for the mount screws. Then you’ll glue them to the wing’s servo hatch covers. They provide a strong servo mount. Next I found that the 48-in. servo extensions for the ailerons’ servos are not long enough to extend to the receiver. So, I used a couple of 12-in. Extensions from the receiver to the wing roots. This makes for a clean and neat routing of the leads from the receiver to the wing within the fuselage. Also, I fitted my model with two 4-40 flat washers (not provided) on each side of the tail wheel as a way to keep it centered within the wheel opening. The servo connections and linkages are the standard type. There is nothing unusual about them and their assembly is detailed in the manual. I did make clevis keepers out of 1/8-in. gas line tubing. They give me that extra peace of mind that the control rod clevises will remain secure. The main landing gear unit is made of aluminum side plates and two upper cross members, plus the wheel axle. In combination they make for a structural frame for the gear. The landing gear frame is designed to lock in position within the fuselage while being held securely in place by four, three-millimeter, socket head Follow us on twitter @rcsportflyer

machine screws. The 3/16-in.-diameter wheel axle provides plenty of support for the Blanik. The designers even took into account that the tow release wire needed to be pre-bent. Also, I added shrink tubing to the rudder pull-pull cable endconnections at the rudder so as to provide clean connections. There was nothing special about the servo installs in the elevator or in the fuselage. It was all very straightforward and well documented in the manual. As a way to accurately balance the model, I drilled 0.074-in. holes in the fuselage’s roots that were 18 mm back from the leading edge of the wing. Then a loop of 80-pound, braided leader line was fed through the holes so that I could hang the assembled model. The specifications call out a center-of-gravity position of 15 and 20 mm back from the wing leading edge of the wing at the root. To set the center of gravity I taped a large paper cup to the model’s nose and started filling it with lead shot until the model’s tail was level with its wings. I had to add four pounds and 14 ounces of Number 9 lead shot to the cup to balance the model. I removed two ounces of lead shot and then poured two ounces of 30-minute epoxy into the shot. The lead shot was then mixed with the epoxy thoroughly so it was coated. The shot mixture was then carefully poured in the nose of the fuselage and tamped down into the nose. The shot was then covered with a piece of fiberglass cloth and epoxy as a way to hold the shot in place permanently. The result was a neat, compact weight in the nose of the Blanik. I downloaded a program template from the Horizon Hobby website. This helped speed the transmitter programming. It also gave me the setups that the team pilots have been using for their Blaniks. I recommend the template. Check out this YouTube video of the full-scale L-13 Blanik at youtube.com/watch?v=fNSQCWPyGVA. RC-SF.COM

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