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FULL-SIZE BOSTONIAN PLAN INSIDE

www.aeromodeller.com
March/April 2013 No. 920. 5.00

1935

ed

FREE FLIGHT CONTROL LINE RADIO-ASSISTED

NEW CLUBMAN SPORT C/L

MIDGET MUSTANG
COMPRESSED AIR PUDGEY BOSTONIAN F1D WORLD CHAMPS
PART 2 DESIGN FULL-SIZE PLANS BRITAINS 1ST JUNIOR TEAM

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CONTENTS
10 30

AEROMODELLER 920 MAR/APR 2013 - Next issue published on April 18th

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

Features
Midget Mustang 10 The classic 1948 Dave Long design control line for Clubman Sport Stunt.

Technology
Power Trip 16 A close look Into Cox .049 Bee Engines Part 1.

Issue 920. March/April 2013 (ADH 002)

How to contact us:
Tel: Fax: Email: 01525 222573 01525 222574 enquiries@adhpublishing.com

Cox International A Clunk Tank for All Reasons 20 Inside 26 A chat with Bernie Eisele. Putting together a plastic clunk tank that will work in any control line stunt model. Just a Pudgey Bostonian 30 Dominator Revival A pint-sized package of performance 42 Real Vintage Combat that will knock your socks off! The Madness Continues. Compressed Air Motors 36 With Everything Part 2 - Design 43 Chips Including the Ramblings of a Shed The development of modern compressed air motors. Dweller.

Editorial:

Departments

4 & Coming 6 Up Events not to be missed. Competition 9 Win the latest Dremel tool for your workshop.
Heard at the Hangar Doors News from across the Globe. 2013 AMA EXPO 15 A look at the US West Coast show and debut of the new AeroModeller. Scale Matters 24 An introduction to the Free Flight Scale scene. End Charlie 66 Tail Things to do over the winter

Aeromodelling the World Wide Web 48 A Web Walk into cyberspace where F/F and C/L aeromodellers thrive. F1D World Championships 52 Indoor competition on the World stage as seen through the eyes of one of Great Britains rst F1D Junior Team members.

Editor: Steve Higginson Email: editor@aeromodeller.com Publisher: Alan Harman Group Editor: Ken Sheppard Administration Manager: Hannah McLaurie Ofce Manager: Paula Gray Advertisement Managers: Colin Spinner and Paul Bardoe Advertisement Assistant: Joe Brown Editorial Design: Peter Hutchinson, Alex Hall & Colin Trundle

Advertisement and circulation:

ADH Publishing, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Bedfordshire LU6 1QX, England Tel: 01525 222573 Fax: 01525 222574 E-mail: enquiries@adhpublishing.com

60

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

Tru-Flite Top Tips Building tips and tricks that can improve yability and survivability for scale rubber power kit models.

Newstrade:
Select Publisher Services, 3 East Avenue, Bournemouth, BH3 7BW Tel: 01202 586848 E-mail: tim@selectps.com

Vintage & History

For Old Times Sake 56 Don Howies Vintage perspective from Australia

Subscriptions:
ADH Publishing, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX. Tel: 01525 222573 Fax: 01525 222574 Rates: UK 30, Eire and Europe 40, Worldwide Air 45

Website: www.aeromodeller.com
AeroModeller is published bi-monthly by ADH Publishing Ltd, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX. Entire Contents 2013 ADH Publishing Ltd. Reproduction in part or whole of any text, photograph or illustration without written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. While due care is taken to ensure the content of AeroModeller is accurate, the publishers and printers cannot accept liability for errors and omissions. Advertisements are accepted for publication in AeroModeller only upon ADH Publishings standard terms of acceptance of advertising, copies of which are available from the advertising sales department of AeroModeller.

COVER: Ian Peacocks Midget Mustang Club Sport Stunt model. See details on p.10. Ken Sheppard Photo. THIS PAGE: Bill Dennis 2012 Nationals winning RE8. Bill Dennis Photo.

From The Editor

THE T A D R HEA

R A G AN

OORS
a chance to share with fellow modellers. Personally, I am always looking for neat ways to improve my models or modelling skills and I know Im not the only one out there. If you have something that you think other modellers might be able to benet from, email me at editor@aeromodeller. com In this issue we reintroduce you to Ian Peacock to let you in on a new class of control line stunters. We call it Clubman Sport. Ians Midget Mustang is based on the George Aldrich designed Jr. Nobler. For details see the construction article and plan on page 10 For those of you into sport rubber power, youll want to take a look at A Pudgey Bostonian on page 30 The Bostonian class is building in popularity in the UK and this little charmer pulls its weight with the best of them. The full-size pullout plan lets you get started right away. Theres plenty more fore everyone so have a good read. Steve Higginson

From Your New Editor

Im very happy to say that the new AeroModeller is off to a thunderous start and has been received with open arms by thousands of patient aeromodellers around the world. For any Editor, this is a wonderful thing to see. Now that the momentum has started, we will continue to improve and build the magazine that all you readers out there want to see. As we continue on our path, you will notice many additions and changes as we sort out the direction AeroModeller will ultimately take. This Issue 920, for example, begins presenting some new departments in the form of AeroPost where some of our readers letters can be displayed for all to enjoy. I hope this will encourage greater interaction between myself and other A/M readers. I believe that knowing your thoughts and concerns about AeroModeller will help me make it a better magazine. So, please keep the letters coming. Email me at editor@aeromodeller.com

Most of you F/F and C/L modellers know that nding supplies, raw materials, hardware and cool new gadgets to soothe our addiction has become more challenging over the years and the corner hobby shop (it really is on the corner, its just in the next county) doesnt always carry what you need or want. Web Walk is our new column brought to you by Mike Evatt to help you navigate the World Wide Web to nd exactly what you are looking for. Every issue Mike will be searching out resources and interesting websites for you to discover and bring them to you in each issue. If you nd something out there of interest that might be good to share, email Mike at mikeevatt@hotmail.com My favorite new addition is the Tips and Tricks department. This is just what it sounds like. It is a department for all of us builders who love to nd new ways to build the better ying contraption. Contributors for this department will be oating and anyone who submits ideas, which relate to slick building methods or materials, has

Up and Away - nice and easy does it. Dave Clark launches his own Mercury Gnome in the new Peterborough 36 inch Hi-Start Glider event held last year at Ferry Meadows - Mick Page Photo.

In Passing

36 inch Hi-Start Glider

Peterborough Model Flying Club, famous for their legendary Cabbage Patch C/L Nationals and Flying Aces F/F Nationals events, are to be congratulated for inventing yet another new Class, suitable for Small Flying Fields: 36 inch Hi-Start Glider. This concept is much needed by those senior enthusiasts with diminishing sprinting abilities, and indeed is fun for one-and-all at typical Club level prociency. The magic comes from the use of a rather weak Hi-Start, of only 1/8 at rubber, which enables 4 AeroModeller - Mar/Apr 2013

appropriate launch speed and altitude for these small gliders, limited to ANY model design of up to 36 inches span max (scaling up or down of favorite old or new designs permitted) see further details at: www.peterboroughmfc.co.uk The idea has already taken-off (pun intended) with great enthusiasm during 2012, and is now also being adopted by SAM members for Vintage and Classic designs, to be included in several upcoming events throughout the 2013 season. The new Class would also seem to be perfectly suited to some relaxing ying at venues like Old Warden. Or get started at your own Club ying eld and send us your Readers Letters to the Editorial ofce of your activities. See A/M Website and Contest Calendar for full details of the Rules, dates and venues near you - Roll on the Flying Season: www.aeromodeller.com

Once again we are saddened to hear of the passing of some of aeromodelling's great icons. During the last few months, it seems like more than our fair share have paid the debt that all men must pay. With that being said I feel it is an honour to pay homage to our fellow modellers who, through their efforts and contributions to the aeromodelling hobby and industry have made our world a more enjoyable place to live. I would like to take the chance to convey our deepest sympathies from all of us at AeroModeller to the families they have left behind and to let them know they will be missed but their legacies and their marks on aeromodelling history will never be forgotten.

Correction Due for Issue 919

I received a kind letter from a reader who informed me that the ne image of Earl Stahl featured in Heard at the Hangar Doors was indeed his image. In fact, the Apache that Earl was holding was his as well. My apologies to Lindsey Smith, who graciously, if not unwittingly, supplied us with such a great image. Thank you very much Lindsey.

Brian Furutani Photo.

Stafford Screen

Stafford Screen, who died on January 2nd, was the most consistently successful international contest model yer that Britain has ever produced. He started with Mills and Eln powered free ight models just after the War and was a member of the Blackheath & Halesowen club. Meanwhile he was doing an engineering apprenticeship that launched his professional career as a mechanical and industrial design engineer.After National Service in the Royal Air Force and the demands of career and family, Stafford had a break from model ying and later he became technical director of an engineering multi-national and after retirement worked as a design consultant for a Chinese company. In 1974 He joined the Birmingham club, and under the tutelage of Ray Monks, caught up with developments to the extent that he took third place in F1C the following year at the Finningley Nats. He was in 23 consecutive World and European Championships teams from 1977 to 1999 and represented Great Britain a total of 31 times in all. During these years he took three individual silver medals, was on four gold medal-winning teams, one silver and two bronzes. His Silhouette design was made Model of the Year by the US National Free Flight Society and, thanks to his friendship with top Ukrainian yer Evgeny Verbitski; in the 1990s he introduced to the West the Soviet technology of laminating high-tensile dural foil onto balsa to cure the problem of wing utter that had previously limited F1C performance. For several decades he worked ceaselessly on building up good relations with the landowners and farmers surrounding free-ight sites, in particular Barkston Heath. He was honoured with a Fellowship in 1994. He will be very much missed by his many friends on every continent and I will particularly feel his loss. Stafford Screen is survived by his wife Pam, two daughters, four grandchildren and his brother Bruce. -Martin Dilly, FSMA

Dodger, Pacer, Winged Yankee, Spacer, Racer, Starduster, Starbuster, Hydrostar, and the Perris Special. Sal kitted several of his models when he owned and operated Competition Models. He also contributed to the hobby in other ways. He formed a large balsawood supply company called Superior Balsa, based near his home in Lakewood. He designed and manufactured tankmounts for the Cox .020 Tee Dee and .049/.051 Tee Dee which were made by the thousands. He also designed a simple but effective tank-mount for larger engines and made custom mounts for a variety of engines. Sal was such an accomplished yer as evident by his trophy room at his modest Lakewood, California home. The walls were full of records, First place awards, and of course his SAM Grand Championship trophy. He amassed an amazing amount of awards during his 72 years of competition. He was arguably the most famous American modeler of all time, and the free ight community will miss him forever. A small part of Sal will live on as long as a Powerhouse, Brooklyn Dodger, Spacer or Starduster tears into the sky! - Kevin Sherman

George Fuller

Sal Taibi

Sal Taibi passed away in late December of 2012. Sals involvement within the aeromodelling world spanned an incredible, and most likely unduplicated, 72 years. The mark he left on the modeling community is indelible. If he didnt touch your life personally with his kindness and friendship, he most likely did with one of his many successful designs. Short of FAI yers, I think one would be hard-pressed to nd a free ighter out there that has not built one of his designs. Among Sals better-known model designs are the Powerhouse, Brooklyn

Born in London, George had moved to St Albans after WWII and helped restart the Model Club, at the time of the All Britain Model Aircraft Rallies at Handley Pages Radlett aerodrome. After serving in the RAF, George became manager of a Model Shop in Luton and attended the nearby International meetings held at Eaton Bray Model Sportsdrome. His modeling interests began to focus on Power models in the early 1950s and his rst published design was the Stomper, A/M Feb 1953. He was a member of the 1953 GB FAI Power World Championship Team, which he almost won, placing 2nd with his Zoot Suit design. He later worked for A. A. Hales Ltd who produced the Yeoman range of model kits and is most famous for his Dixielander kitted in 1959, recognized by the US National Free Flight Society (NFFS) as Model of the Year in 1972, and celebrated with a One-Model design contest at Middle Wallop on the 50th Anniversary in 2009. George remained a keen modeler throughout his life and will be remembered by all who enjoyed his friendship and great sense of humour.

Events

UP & COMING
MARCH 2, 2013 Indoor Fun Flying Furzeeld Sports Centre, Mutton Lane, Potters Bar, Herts. EN6 3BW. 6pm until 10pm Small electric models and free ight rubber welcome. Flyers 8.00, Spectators 2.00 Contact Mike Quille 0208 500 3549 mp.quille@live.co.uk MARCH 2, 2013 Tonbridge Gassers and Rubber Fanciers Indoor ying at the Angel Centre, Angel Lane (rear of the High Street) Tonbridge Kent. Freeight 6.00 pm until 10.00 pm Lightweight R/C timed ying sessions throughout the evening. 6 for yers and 3 for spectators. Contact Eric on 01622 737814 or Stuart on 07956 066463 before travelling to conrm. MARCH 24, 2013 O.F.M.A.C. Abbey Sports Centre, Green Furlong, Berinseld Ox10 7Nr 9:00am - 4:00pm Fun Fly for All! Free Flight, Rubber, Co2, Electric Filtehook in Attendance Refreshments available. For more information contact: Dave Dobson 01491 837789 Ofmac1@talktalk.net MARCH 28, 2013 Wickham Community Centre, Mill Lane, Wickham, Hants PO17 5AL. Wickham Community Centre Main Halls unobstructed ceiling is particularly suitable for indoor F/F. Tables and chairs are available. Regretfully, NO R/C is allowed. Admission: 4 for adult iers, 1 for junior iers and spectators. Accompanied junior spectators will be admitted free. Fliers must be insured and may be required to show proof of insurance by the organisers. Flitehook, will attend many of the meetings. Drinks machine on site. FMI contact: Ken Brown (Tel: 023 8057 8866) or Alan Wallington (Tel: 01489 895157) MARCH 30, 2013 Croydon Wakeeld Day & SAM 1066 Glider Day at Middle Wallop Army Aireld, Stockbridge, SO20 8DY. Comps start 10.00am. Croydon Wakeeld Day 4oz Wakeeld, 8oz Wakeeld, F1B & Norman Marcus event; SAM 1066 Glider Day Over 50 Vintage Open Gliders, Over 50 Classic Open Gliders, Combined up to 50 Vintage & Classic Gliders; SAM 1066 Classic Power

AeroModeller Calendar of Events

APRIL 6, 2013 Indoor Fun Flying Furzeeld Sports Centre, Mutton Lane, Potters Bar, Herts. EN6 3BW. 6pm until 10pm. Small electric models and free ight rubber welcome Flyers 8.00, Spectators 2.00 Contact Mike Quille 0208 500 3549 mp.quille@live.co.uk APRIL 25, 2013 Wickham Community Centre, Mill Lane, Wickham, Hants PO17 5AL. Wickham Community Centre Main Halls unobstructed ceiling is particularly suitable for indoor F/F. Tables and chairs are available. Regretfully, NO R/C is allowed. Admission: 4 for adult iers, 1 for junior iers and spectators. Accompanied junior spectators will be admitted free. Fliers must be insured and may be required to show proof of insurance by the organisers. Flitehook, will attend many of the meetings. Drinks machine on site. FMI contact: Ken Brown (Tel: 023 8057 8866) or Alan Wallington (Tel: 01489 895157) APRIL 27, 2013 Tonbridge Gassers and Rubber Fanciers Indoor ying at the Angel Centre, Angel Lane (rear of the High Street) Tonbridge Kent. Freeight 6.00 pm until 10.00 pm Lightweight R/C timed ying sessions throughout the evening. 6 for yers and 3 for spectators. Contact Eric on 01622 737814 or Stuart on 07956 066463 before travelling to conrm. MAY 4, 2013 Indoor Fun Flying Furzeeld Sports Centre, Mutton Lane, Potters Bar, Herts. EN6 3BW. 6pm until 10pm. Small electric models and free ight rubber welcome Flyers 8.00, Spectators 2.00 Contact Mike Quille 0208 500 3549 mp.quille@live.co.uk MAY 6, 2013 SAM 1066 Fun Fly & Competitions at Middle Wallop Army Aireld, Stockbridge, SO20 8DY. Competitions: 36 inch Bungee Glider, Rybak A2, Flight Cup (Vintage Wakeeld), Pre-4oz Wakeeld., Combined Open Power, E36 Electric Power. Contact Roger Newman 02392550809 rogerknewman@yahoo.com Jimmie Allen Mass Launch Competition at 2.p.m. for any of the Jimmie Allen Rubber Powered Designs. Plans available contact CD Roy Tiller e-mail roy.tiller@ntlworld. com Tel. No. 01202 511309 MAY 18, 2013 Tonbridge Gassers and Rubber Fanciers Indoor ying at the Angel Centre, Angel Lane (rear of the High Street) Tonbridge Kent. Freeight 6.00 pm until 10.00 pm Lightweight R/C timed ying sessions throughout the evening. 6 for yers and 3 for spectators. Contact Eric on 01622 737814 or Stuart on 07956 066463 before travelling to conrm. MAY 30, 2013 Wickham Community Centre, Mill Lane, Wickham, Hants PO17 5AL. Wickham Community Centre Main Halls unobstructed ceiling is particularly suitable for indoor F/F. Tables and chairs are available. Regretfully, NO R/C is allowed. Admission: 4 for adult iers, 1 for junior iers and spectators. Accompanied junior spectators will be admitted free. Fliers must be insured and may be required to show proof of insurance by the organisers. Flitehook, will attend many of the meetings. Drinks machine on site. FMI contact: Ken Brown (Tel: 023 8057 8866) or Alan Wallington (Tel: 01489 895157) JUNE 1, 2013 Indoor Fun Flying Furzeeld Sports Centre, Mutton Lane, Potters Bar, Herts. EN6 3BW. 6pm until 10pm. Small electric models and free ight rubber welcome Flyers 8.00, Spectators 2.00 Contact Mike Quille 0208 500 3549 mp.quille@live.co.uk JUNE 27, 2013 Wickham Community Centre, Mill Lane, Wickham, Hants PO17 5AL. Wickham Community Centre Main Halls unobstructed ceiling is particularly suitable for indoor F/F. Tables and chairs are available. Regretfully, NO R/C is allowed. Admission: 4 for adult iers, 1 for junior iers and spectators. Accompanied junior spectators will be admitted free. Fliers must be insured and may be required to show proof of insurance by the organisers. Flitehook, will attend many of the meetings. Drinks machine on site. FMI contact: Ken Brown (Tel: 023 8057 8866) or Alan Wallington (Tel: 01489 895157)

duration. Contact Roger Newman 02392550809 or rogerknewman@ yahoo.com MARCH 30, 2013 Tonbridge Gassers and Rubber Fanciers Indoor ying at the Angel Centre, Angel Lane (rear of the High Street) Tonbridge Kent. Freeight 6.00 pm until 10.00 pm Lightweight R/C timed ying sessions throughout the evening. 6 for yers and 3 for spectators. Contact Eric on 01622 737814 or Stuart on 07956 066463 before travelling to conrm. MARCH 31 2013 SAM Combined Gala Free Flight Meeting at Middle Wallop Army Aireld, Stockbridge, SO20 8DY. Free Flight: BMAS Club Classic Rubber, Bungee Glider (Peterboro rules), Tailless (part of Spencer Willis Tailless league), Small Vintage Rubber up to 34 (SAM35/1066 F/F comp rules), Vintage Power Duration (SAM1066/35 F/F comp rules), HLG/CLG (SAM35/1066 F/F comp rules), Jetex / Rapier Duration. C/L: Wessex League Mini Speed, Spitre Scramble, Mercurian Mite + sport ying + Weatherman and Phantom Speed practice. R/C Assist: Tomboy, Vintage Power Duration. Contact Roger Newman 02392550809 rogerknewman@ yahoo.com or John Huntley 01252326362. Jimmie Allen Mass Launch Competition at 2.p.m. for any of the Jimmie Allen Rubber Powered Designs. Plans available contact CD Roy Tiller e-mail roy.tiller@ntlworld.com Tel. No. 01202 511309. APRIL 6, 2013 SAM Combined Gala Free Flight Meeting at Middle Wallop Army Aireld, Stockbridge, SO20 8DY. Free Flight: Under 25 Rubber (SAM 35/1066 F/F comp rules), A-Frame & Spar Tractor Mass Launch Large Rubber (SAM 35/1066 F/F comp rules), Rybak A2 (SAM 35/1066 F/F comp rules), Vintage Coupe (SAM 35/1066 F/F comp rules), Power Precision (i/c or electric, not necessarily vintage but of traditional construction, target 45 with 30 to 60 to qualify,3 ights, errors from each ight added, smallest total error wins). R/C: R/C Assist Bowden. Contact Roger Newman 02392550809 rogerknewman@yahoo.com or John Huntley 01252326362.

See the complete 2013 BMFA calendar of events in the Bonus Content section for Issue 920 at: www.aeromodeller.com
6 Aeromodeller - Mar/Apr 2013

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Available engine sizes .5cc (.033 cu inch) through to 10cc (.60 cu inch) 3 Strand High Tensile steel piano wire in .30mm {0.012} .35mm {0.01378} .385mm {0.015 sizes}

Ballraced and plain bearing engines for the sport or competition modeller
Engines are all developed and manufactured in the uk

Readers Letters

AeroPost
In a State
Dear Sirs, I am very disappointed indeed that you have seen t to employ an American gentleman as editor of the revived Aeromodeller magazine. I sincerely hope that senior management will instruct this person to use British terminology & British spelling & check that he does so. It will be a good idea to present him with a copy of the OED. We have far too much Americanisation thrust upon us on a daily basis. I shall not renew my subscription if you allow US English to permeate the magazine. A great shame that you failed to nd a suitable Englishmen to ll the post. Yours Sincerely, Peter Gain. Right on Buddy Im with you, make that Yank tell it like it is! Yours truly, Boldly Anonymous

Every issue of AeroModeller will contain a selection of letters from our valued readers. As Editor, I can answer for all who are responsible for helping AeroModeller for becoming a reality once again and all appreciate comments both positive and negative, for this is what helps guide us to making a better magazine for all of us. - Steve Higginson, Ed.

Dear Peter and Boldly, Thank you for your concern and very constructive suggestions. Please rest assured that Steve has now been issued with his black umbrella, bowler hat and briefcase (containing a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary) and that he has already learnt to say Aeroplane and never Airplane! We are working on more advanced lessons including tailplane and n. Undercarriage will be in Januarys lesson Aluminium rather than aloominum may never be mastered unfortunately! Sincerely, Alan Harman, Publisher Thats it guys Im signing up for culture re-assignment surgery this afternoon. Anyone have a second hand bowler and umbrella? I have the briefcase. Do you think I should grow and moustache and trade in my prescripts for a pair of black horn rims? Steve Higginson, Editor

Cover to Cover

The New AeroModeller

The content is excellent, but as with many magazines, some pages are difcult to read because of the print on a coloured background. Presuming that most readers are men, 10% will have some degree of colour blindness, which gets worse with age. Page 49 is the worst and pages 48, 54, 55 and 58-63 are not easy to read. It is a relief to have black on white! Pleased to see a return of Compressed Air, but I think the advantages need to be moderated by the fact that even in slightly humid air the expansion causes cooling and hence condensation. So the rst ight of the day is full power and thereafter the tine drops of water in the motor reduce the power. Not a good arrangement for trimming! Also the Z-motors sometimes start backwards

annoying with twins so needing a spring starter as for some A engines. I enclose photos of my Z-motor F/F DeHaviland Flamingo (very semi-scale), which used to y for about min. on a good day. It was described, with plan, in Flying Model Designer and Constructor number 8 (1995) Sincerely, Stanley Hinds Dear Stanley, Thank you very much on the note about condensation with regard to Compressed Air motors and the photos of the DeHaviland Flamingo. This is a very interesting scale subject. As with so many of DeHaviland designs, it is a stunningly beautiful aircraft. Regards, Steve Higginson, Editor Hi Ron. Brilliant minds think alike! This is on the table as we speak. There are so many great designs from our modelling past and so many new technologies that can be adapted to them. I was talking to Ed Hamler and Dave Harding at the AMA EXPO this past weekend about how many new tricks can be taught to the old dogs. I got so fired up I bought an old TYRO Playboy Senior kit from my good friend Tony Nocaratto. I have plans to convert it to electric power and radio assist (rudder only) to run at SAM events. I also couldnt resist a Zipper and a New Ruler to add to my collection. Good to hear from you, Steve Higginson, Editor

Dear Sirs, I have just read my rst edition of the new AeroModeller cover to cover in one sitting. Brilliant! I think you have judged it just right in pitching it at those who actually want to make things and experiment. When I grew up in Coulsdon, the local model shop where most of my pocket money nished up was R. Wills, who went on to become well-known as a manufacturer of model railway locomotive kits and accessories. He marketed the business as R. Wills Scientic Hobbies, which implies the creative and educational value of the activities, such as aeromodelling, which he supported. The present generation of ARTFs are technically amazing, but merely buying these as consumers or operators cannot produce the same satisfaction. One question. In the Don Howie piece For Old Times Sake mention is made of a chap called Gareth Fiddler who makes FROG transfers for the Senior Series of semi-scale rubber models in the UK. Please do you have contact details for this gentleman? And a suggestion. Since the previous incarnation of AeroModeller ceased publication, much has happened in freeight electric, with Don Knight among others producing a little piece of kit that programmes and times the motor run through a standard R/C type speed controller. I have not seen any published articles on this subject, but I have seen models ying with this system at Middle Wallop. Any chance of an article on the subject? Thanks, Keep up the good work! Tony Trent Dear Mr Trent, Thank you for your glowing assessment and background. I like to hear about where our readers have been and stories of what helped shape their aeromodelling interests. I have put out feelers about Gareth Fiddler to Don Howie and others in my circle. This will also be a general call-to-action for anyone out there who has information to help you get in touch. In answer to your question about electric conversions and F/F electric set ups, you are certainly not alone. There is a lot of activity in this discipline and some, but not a lot, of pointed information on all the hows and whys of the subject. Like many others, I will be doing my part in bring instructional content that will help clarify the subject. Regards, Steve Higginson, Editor

From the Past

Steve I was just going back through my old copies of Aeromodeller and came up with an idea that I might share with you. How about an article each issue called One From The Past? It would be a review of one of the designs featured in an old issue of Aeromodeller. The reviewer could possible construct the design and maybe upgrade it to todays technology. The review could consist of a copy of the articles rst page showing the model and possibly the designer and a copy of the construction drawing scaled so it would t on one page. I did a feature similar to this for SAM Speaks here in the US many years ago and it proved to be quite popular. Take care Ron 8 AeroModeller - Mar/Apr 2013

Competition......................

100

Worth

T
T

Coping With the Detail!

he new Dremel Moto-Saw is a compact 2-in-1 scroll and fret saw designed to make detailed cuts in a wide variety of materials up to 18mm for hobby, craft, woodworking and light DIY. It can be used either in stationary mode, when the tool is docked in its base, or in handheld mode as a coping (fret) saw. In its stationary cutting mode, the Dremel Moto-Saw is perfect for creative tasks, such as wood and metal decorations or decorative effects and model building. It also holds its own when asked to cut window or door frames and pieces of laminate. As a hand-held fret saw, it is perfect for cut-offs, model making and sawing through pieces of large crown molding, for example. The Moto-Saw offers a number of benets over traditional scroll saws that make it attractive for small scale creative hands-on projects: it is very compact and easy to store; no wrenches or keys are needed to x and tighten the accessories thanks to its keyless blade change; and it has an automatic blade tensioning mechanism. By attaching a vacuum cleaner to the Moto-Saw, dust can be removed from the line of cut, making it easier for the blade to achieve optimum performance. The Dremel Moto-Saw has a hold-down foot for reduced vibration, guide rails for parallel angles and full variable speed for optimal handling (1,500 - 2,250 RPM). There is no other scroll saw on the market that can be used either as a bench top product or as a handheld fret saw. The tool can be easily removed from its docking station via a quick release button. The docking station can also be xed permanently to a work bench with the use of two regular screws. With three different blade types supplied, it can perform precise straight and curved cuts in different materials including soft wood, composite boards, laminate, acrylic, PVC and soft sheet metal.

Dremel Moto-Saw Features

Detachable Coping Function for handheld use to take the tool to the work piece. Auto Tensioning Quick Change mechanism for easy accessory change and optimal blade tensioning. Variable Speed Control for optimal cutting in a variety of materials. Fast Clamp Base attaches to various tables, benches and surfaces. Dust Port Adapter keeps line of sight clear and work space clean. Two year warranty.

Enter our competition to win a Dremel Moto-Saw, as featured in this mini review.
The Dremel Moto-Saw system consists of a Dremel Moto-Saw, Two general purpose wood cutting blades for precise straight cuts up to 18mm deep with a blade depth of 2.5mm, Two ne wood cutting saw blades, for curved cuts up to 12mm deep with a blade depth of 1.9mm, One metal cutting saw blade for cuts in soft sheet metal up to 3mm deep with a blade depth of 1.9mm, One Parallel Guide, Base and Clamps. Read the mini review and answer the competition question. Put your answer on a POSTCARD, together with your name address and a contact phone number or email address. Send to: AEROMODELLER DREMEL MOTO-SAW Competition ADH Publishing Ltd Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe. Bedfordshire LU6 1QX to arrive no later than 31 March 2013. All correct entries will be entered into a draw and the rst drawn will win a Dremel Moto-Saw. Note only one entry per household permitted and non-postcard entries will be disqualied. Employees of ADH publishing Ltd and Bosch Dremel are not permitted to enter.

WIN WIN WIN WIN

Competition Question

What is the unique feature of the Dermel Moto-Saw that sets it apart from every other scroll saw?

Control Line Stunt

Midget Mustan
Ian Peacock brings the classic 1948 Dave Long design and a breath of fresh air to control line for Clubman Sport Stunt enthusiasts.
In the beginning!
It is often said, that our teenage years, represent the most formative times of our lives. We take on board many such things, that stay with us, forever, into our dotage. From the aeromodelling standpoint, that is certainly true of me. I built, and ew, model aeroplanes from an early age, but it was not until I was in my late teens, at the tail end of the 1950s, that I discovered control line. I was fortunate enough, back then, to y with an enthusiastic group of young guys on the Three Kings Piece, in South London, later to spawn the Three Kings Model Club, which, at the time, was one of the denitive C/L clubs in the country. One of my mentors was H.C. Queck, whose prole scale, WWII, warbird-based, stunters featured as plans in AeroModeller, back then, and whose designs are still valid, today. Oddly, mine always came out looking like Hurricanes, but Quecky left an indelible mark on my thinking, which I have re-visited on several occasions, since, witness my variety of designs, published in AeroModeller, and elsewhere, since. (I wonder where he is, and what he is doing, today? Does anybody know?) Not surprisingly, therefore, when the thought of moving away from the military inspired models, to that of civilian racers, for a change, such famous names as Shoestring, Cosmic Wind, and of course, the Midget Mustang, (or Long Midget, to give it its proper name!), sprang, instantly, to mind. Despite the many so called designs to fall from by drawing board/work bench, over the years, seeming to be new, most of them were actually based on other peoples well proven models. After all, why re-invent the wheel? This one is no different, and the eagle eyed, amongst you will notice that its heritage is the famous George Aldrich design, the Nobler. Figuring that I probably was unlikely to better Georges design, and basing the size around the popular 2.5 to 3.5 c.c. British engines, the Midget Mustang is no more than Junior Nobler in disguise.

Construction

Any aeromodeller worth half his salt, will have no difculty in building the Midget Mustang, but for those of you, where this model may be the rst foray into prole scale stunt, perhaps it is worth going over a few basic facts. Build the wing, rst. Cut all the ribs from medium density 1/16 thick balsa sheet. Use quarter grain wood, if you can get it, as its strength lies in the right direction for wing ribs. You can trace off, and cut out the ribs, individually, or use the well known sandwich method, but either way, make up enough ribs of the right length for both left, and right hand, wing panels. Punch holes in the relevant places of the port wing, (left hand!),

to accommodate the lead out wires. Trim the central ribs down by 1/16, top, and bottom, to allow for the ush tting of the upper, and lower, centre section sheeting. Select some straight grained 1/16 sheet, and cut two 1 wide strips, for the upper, and lower, trailing edges. Pick out a couple of lengths of medium/hard 3/16 square balsa for the top, and bottom, spars, and a length of medium square balsa for the leading edge. (See component layout photo) Start by pinning the plan to your work bench, and covering it with some scrap, transparent, polythene sheet, cut from scrap shopping bags. Glue the wing ribs, to the lower trailing edge, using white glue, and pinning in place, until dry. Check that all ribs are perpendicular, and are in line with the drawing, when viewed from above. You can use the leading edge, spars, or any other scrap strip, to prop up the front of the ribs, while the glue sets, if you so desire. When the glue has dried, t the upper trailing edge, and allow this to dry, too. At this point, you can add the upper wing spar, and the leading edge. Cut the leading edge in two pieces , and chamfer the mating faces, to a good t at their join. Note that the two wing halves are NOT the same length, so cut the leading edge accordingly. (Not in their centre!) When everything is

Basic kit of parts to make the fuselage, and tail. Note that the upper, and lower, sections of the main fuselage are shown, already joined together. 10 AeroModeller - Mar/Apr 2013

ng

The Clubman Sport Control Line Class has been developed to allow C/L enthusiasts to engage in serious stunt competition without the serious stunt expence.

Plan for the Midget Mustang Plan No. 449 is available through the ADH website at: www.aeromodeller.com for 9.95

Control Line Stunt

Best to do a dry run to check the engine and engine bearer t, before committing with the glue! dry, un-pin the wing from the board, turn it over, and add the lower spar. Check the basic structure against the drawing, taking full note of the fact that the right hand wing is shorter than the left hand one. (Its supposed to be like that. Its not a mistake on the drawing!) Then build a small box, at the right hand wing tip, from scrap balsa, to house approximately three quarter, to one ounce, of lead weight. Add the wing tips from 1/8 or 3/16 light sheet, dependant upon what you have to hand, and t the supporting gussets, top and bottom, where shown. Make up the bell crank, and lead outs, using your own preferred method. Mine uses a home made bell crank, (from 1/16 Dural), but commercial cranks are ne, if you have one, and thin, stranded, steel wire, as used on bicycle gear changes. Note the two pronged primary push rod. This is not obligatory, and a single rod, connecting to a wire ap joiner, and horn is quite acceptable. However, using a Y shaped push rod, with twin horns, (standard R/C nylon horns, for convenience!), does allow you to individually ne tune the port, and starboard ap neutrals, should you nd the need for that, when beginning to y with precision. Make up the push rods from standard R/C 2 mm. threaded end, rods, so that the equally standard, steel, quick links can be simply screwed onto their ends, allowing plenty of room for longitudinal adjustment. Cut a bell crank support plate from 1/8 plywood, and while you have the plywood in your hand, cut the two undercarriage support plates, as well. Bolt the bell crank to its mount, and thread the lead outs through the holes in the wing, before cementing the crank mount in place. Make up the wing tip, lead out guides, from thin metal, or plastic tubing, and secure them, with several layers of glue, to the underside of the left hand wing tip, as shown. Ensure that they line up with the lead outs, correctly, and do not cause any unwanted friction. Make up the aps, (they are of different lengths), and sand smooth.

1/16 ply wood doublers tted. Again, check engine t.

Undercarriage

1/16 balsa rear doubler tted. Note grain direction. This helps to fair in the rear of the plywood, into the fuselage side.

Basic kit of parts for the wing construction. Note that on my original, I had a length of pre shaped leading edge, left over from a previous project. The plan calls for square, as this pre shaped stuff is not available, everywhere. 12 AeroModeller - Mar/Apr 2013

For ying off of long grass, this may be omitted, entirely, but in order to capture the image of the post war racers, all of which had streamlined spatted wheels, adding the U/C does markedly improve the appearance of the model. Make up a left, and right, handed, pair of legs from 10swg (1/8 dia.), piano wire. Drill lots of small holes in the mounting plates, and sew the legs to the underside of the plates with stout thread. (I used waxed cobblers thread, but, basically any stout thread will do). Smother the sewing, on both top, and bottom, of the plates with several coats of white wood glue. Glue the nished plates into the front of each wing, with the legs spayed slightly outwards, and the wheel mounting part of each leg, also pointing outwards. Make up the wheel spats from laminations of whatever thickness balsa you have lying around. The central laminations are cut to clear the wheel

diameter, and should build up, in thickness to about 1/8 wider than the wheel width, to give a little clearance. Outer laminations are cut from 1/8 sheet, and can have a 1/8 plywood insert tted, if desired, to strengthen the joint between the spat, and the leg. Carve, and sand, to shape, and drill the axle holes. Face the front, and rear, of the wire U/c legs with scrap sheet, and sand to fair it all in, and produce a streamlined shape. Finally, add the 1/16 centre section sheeting, as shown, taking care to cut slots to give free movement of the push rods.

sheet to taste. Note the off set of the rudder. Round off all square edges of the tail feathers, and the fuselage, aft of the doublers.

Last Part

Fuselage and Tail Plane

The fuselage is in two parts, cut from a single piece of x 3 balsa, and the top, and bottom, are butt joined, to achieve the correct height. Cut the engine bearers to the size, and shape, shown, from square hard wood. Cut the slots for the engine bearers into the front of the fuselage. Note that the bearers are shown spaced for an Oliver Tiger, and this may well need to be reduced, dependent upon our chosen engine. Check the engine width, and cut the slots for the bearers to suit. Glue bearers in place with white glue. Face each side of the front of the fuselage with 1/16 plywood doublers, with 1/16 balsa doublers to their rear. Balsa is much easier to sand off to nothing and allows a nice, smooth, transition from the back of the plywood into the of the fuselage. Again see parts layout. If using an Oliver, or any other engine with a deep crank case, you may have to relieve the left hand plywood doubler, to give some clearance for the bottom of the engine. Drill holes for the motor bolts, and temporarily t the motor, checking for alignment. Use brass bolts, as in a major mishap, they are likely to shear off, and save the motor. (Dont even ask how I know that!) Solder a short length of piano wire across the heads of the bolts, so that they cannot turn, as the heads will inaccessible, once the cheek cowl is in place. Make up the cheek cowl from laminations of whatever scrap balsa you have lying around, carve, and sand, to shape, rebate it to clear the heads of the screws, and glue it to the side of the fuselage. Fin, and rudder, tail plane, and elevators, can be made from soft 3/16 sheet, or harder 1/8

Cover wing in lightweight nylon, for rough, and tumble, ying like mine, or heavy weight tissue, if you y well, and from tarmac. If going down the rough, and tumble, route, try to cover, and dope, the wing in one piece of nylon, from tip to tip, and from trailing edge, round the leading edge, and back to the trailing edge. This adds immense strength to the wing, for those, less than planned, sudden, encounters with Terra Firma! Cover everything else in lightweight tissue, with a couple of coats

of dope, and one of sanding sealer, to provide a good base for your paintwork. Its awkward to paint any detailed trim around the wheel spats, after they are attached to the U/C legs, and you may well choose to add the spats after painting. I didnt, I added them before the primer stage, which did make the painting a little more aggravating. Hinge all the moving surfaces in the manner that suits you best. I used nylon tape, on mine, but I often use sewn hinges. (Its that cobblers thread, again!) Make sure that all control surfaces are free to move to their full extent. To t the wing in place, you need to cut away the bottom of the fuselage, aft of the plywood doublers. (You cant just slide it

Assembled wing, less aps. Note the push rod ends, and the screwed metal, R/C style, quick links.

Underside of port wing tip, showing the nylon tube lead out guides, and their scrap balsa supports. Lead outs from bicycle gear change cable.

Front, left hand, side view, of nose. Note that with deep crankcase engines, such as the Oliver Tiger, it may be necessary to relieve the left hand 1/16 plywood doubler to clear the crankcase. The balsa cheek cowl will cover this. Note that the engine bolts are brass, not steel, and that the piano wire has yet to be soldered across the bolt heads, to prevent them from turning. 13

Control Line Stunt

the under side of the fuselage, at the nose, or tail, as required, and insert heavy gauge lead shot, one pellet at a time, to regain the balance. (Most gun shops will break open a cartridge for you, and sell you the loose shot.)

Flying Time

Basic construction, complete. Note that there is no engine offset, shown here, as it is just a check situation (off set is incorporated, later). Note, also, the rudder off set, and the weight box at the outboard wing tip.

Underside view of wing center section, showing the method of retaining the wire U/C legs (Sewn onto the ply plates with thick thread). Right hand leg shown smothered in white glue (Done to top, and bottom, of ply plate). Old fashioned, maybe, but eminently efcient, nonetheless. including the motor. (Dont forget the side thrust!) Now its paint time. Most of the early post war racers had quite bright colour schemes, (even though the best known Midget Mustang was polished, natural metal), so you can let your imagination run wild. Choose bright colours, and scale like trim. Remember that others will be looking at the nish, as well as the way that you y it. Finally, dont forget the coat of fuel proofer. If youve built this correctly, the balance point should come out within the range shown of the drawing. If it doesnt, drill 1/8 holes in

through the hole as the push rods get in the way!) Replace the lower fuselage, once the wing/fuselage joint is dry. Add the aps, and the tail parts, checking that all surfaces are square, and true. Use another R/C nylon horn for the elevators, and a conventional U wire elevator joiner. Again use 2mm threaded end, R/C style push rods, with steel quick links, which allow a fair amount of leeway in setting up the neutral. Fit a commercial stunt tank to the side of the front fuselage, or make up your own from thin tin plate, and brass, or copper, tube. Fit everything together for a nal check,

What can I say about the ying? Its a Nobler in disguise, and, of course it ies like one. That should be all you need to know. Bit of an anti climax, really! However, if you are unsure, get a competent buddy to go with you, and have him y it rst. It does everything that youd expect a Nobler to do. So! There you have it. A great fun yer, that will do the book in a small, and easily managed, format, (Goes in the boot of a small, family, car), that wont cost you an arm, and a leg, in materials, and does not need a 100+ motor. Whats next? Well Im already half way through a second model, this time a Cosmic Wind, based on another of Georges designs, the classic Peacemaker. And I have it on good authority, that our esteemed editor is going to twist my arm for another follow up, possibly a Shoestring, with electric power, no less! And if you are patient enough, you night even get to read how to paint models, easily and effectively! So! As they say, in all the best advertising Watch this space!

Completed airframe, ready for covering. U/C legs faired in with scarp balsa sheet, and wheel spats temporarily tted, to check that they are straight, and square. Re-t them after covering. 14 AeroModeller - Mar/Apr 2013

Nylon covered, and doped, wing, and tissue covered, and doped, rest of airframe, including U/C legs, and spats, as shown, here. Note plywood-reinforcing insert on inner face of wheel spat.

Airframe, complete, and ready for painting. Flaps, and elevators, added, hinging with wide nylon tape. Note, also, R/C style threaded end, metal push rods, and nylon horns, tted.

The 2013 AMA Expo

The First US Debut for the New AeroModeller was a Grand Success and Fun for All!
three main ballrooms, which drew enormous activity as, sponsored pilots demonstrated products that could safely be enjoyed in the indoor venue. This years guest speaker list included Olympic Champion Bruce Jenner, Chris Anderson who left as editor of Wired magazine to lead a UAV company, Jerry Budd of NASAs Dryden Flight Research Center, aviation historian and author Gary Fogel, and Top RC pilot and US F3A champion Andrew Lesky, all of who are active AMA members. The Black Sheep Squadron and Southern California Rocketry Association helped spearhead the Make and Take areas. Rockets and rubber band-powered models were available for kids to construct. Hundreds of budding builders were eager to put their

ts a good bet that most aeromodellers in the UK know who or what the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) is across the pond in the USA. For those who dont, the AMA is our version of your BMFA. The AMA sanctions thousands of competitions every year here and is the governing body for all things involved in serious, competitive aeromodelling. This year, the west coast AMA EXPO was held January 11-13, in Ontario, California. Over 100 exhibitors, manufacturers and modelling organisations lled the Ontario Convention Center, showcasing their latest products and doing their part to broaden the scope of the aeromodelling industry and hobby. The EXPO ying area was comprised of

creations to the test in the Black Sheep Free Flight area. Many volunteers spent hour upon hour helping kids get their rst taste of balsa wood model building and ying. After a few test ights, the young aviators competed in mass-launch duration contests for prizes. As a note: The AMA EXPO was the new AeroModellers trade debut in the United States. We found we were welcome with open arms and activity in our booth rarely slowed. During the three-day event we shared our booth with many of our US modelling friends and contributors. Jim Sprenger was on hand to talk with enthusiast about the technical aspects of the Zephyr Compressed Air Motors that are being featured in our four-part series of articles by John Morrill. Needless to say our experience was grand.

The AeroModeller booth proved to be a hive of activity during the three-day event. Jim Sprenger and Martyn Cowley keep the curious occupied.

The scene from the AeroModeller booth ebbed and owed, but mostly owed.

The Valley Circle Burners and The Knights of the Round Circle are two of the premier C/L Clubs here in Southern California.

A beautifully built Gypsy stunter on display.

Dave Gee, President of the Black Sheep and Model Aviation Safety Columnist, shapes the mind of an interested young model aviator.

Don Smith mans the tables at the Black Sheep Squadrons ying ballroom. The Black sheep brought dozens of free ight models to display and y as well as assisting junior birdmen build and y rubberpowered models the right way.

You never know what will show up at the EXPO. Carl Rankin pushes the envelope of traditional building by concocting many unusual designs. His medium for creative expression? Soda straws and plastic wrap. Surprisingly, his creations are all very good yers.

This beautifully built Mickey Plane modelled after Mickys plane from an early Disney cartoon, attracted crowds in an unlikely place.

CD Rob Cobb directs one of many youth-lled mass-launch contests held over the weekend. The kids were like bees to honey for these activities.

15

Power Trip

Cox .049 Bee

A Close Look Into

T
T

PART 1: Maris Dislers Takes us on a Tour of the Most Prolically Produced Aeromodelling Engine in History and Tells us How it Began, How it is Now and How the .049 is Fitting Into the 21st Century
his time, instead of concentrating solely on one engine for testing, well look more broadly at the Cox .049 reed valve engines. Made in their millions far more than any other model engine these humble workhorses have a loyal following. Like the Volkswagen Beetle (the Cox engines approximate contemporary), it seems that the inconvenience of no more quantity production will not be too much bother.

A brief history

Ray Arden introduced glow plug ignition

The original Cox Babe Bee from the late 1950s. Note the thin cylinder wall around exhausts and curved crankcase nose prole.

Modern version of the Bebe Bee currently manufactured by Cox International. Photo courtesy Cox International.

16 AeroModeller - Mar/Apr 2013

Engines

The Black Widow. Coxs pur pose made high per forma nce Bee from the mid 1970s. Later Venom and Killer Bee models signican tly upped the power output from the Bee concep t.

unique throttle unit and custom RC Flyer from Cox International has s operator to draw fuel up to the anodized crankcase. Choke tube allow s. start k quic engine in the usual way, for

in 1947, putting his already lightweight .099 and .19 engines even more rmly on top of their market segment of the then smallest practical model aircraft engine sizes. Other manufacturers were very quick to see the potential for even smaller engines, compared with the usual spark ignition types that were burdened with a coil, condenser and batteries that could not be lightened or miniaturized. It is no surprise that early entrants to this new market segment of truly miniature model engines appear to have drawn on Ray Ardens design ideas as a starting point for their own designs. In short order, K&Bs Infant .020 and .035, Anderson Baby Spitre .045, OK Cub .049, Atwood Wasp .049 and others were pounced on with gusto by hobbyists. That prompted the AMA to create a new Half-A competition engine category for engines below 0.05 cubic inch (0.82cc) capacity. However, it was the huge potential toy market for ready to go model aeroplanes, cars and boats, made possible by advances in injection moulded plastics and these miniature engines that really cranked up the ame below the production boilers. The relatively new control line ying method had matured a little and was booming. Leroy Cox already had great sales success with his model tether cars when he went with the popular trend towards model aircraft. That needed a new Half-A engine. The Cox Space Bug .049 (introduced in 1952) and its offshoots, the Thermal Hopper and Strato-Bug, along with a range of Cox ready to go models entered an already competitive market. They quickly gained a reputation for high quality and performance. While these early Cox engines set down the basic Cox design elements, the truly denitive Cox .049s

(in terms of numbers and longevity) were the Bee series. These second generation engines appeared from 1956 with the Babe Bee and RR-1 models. The Golden Bee followed in 1959, along with the Space Hopper aimed at competition yers. All were the brainchild of Cox engineer William (Bill) Selzer, who kept the best of the earlier models elements, and overcame a few shortcomings. The new engines were easier to make, reducing the price of the basic model to a low $3.95. Success led to expansion over the years and the Bill Atwood Designed Cox TD high performance engines became rst choices for competition modellers in a range of sizes from 0.010c.i. (0.16cc) to 0.15c.i. (2.5cc) for many years. However, theres no doubt that the Cox Bees always carried the lions share of production quantity. This was all made possible by their sound design, state of the art production methods and huge production volume, which kept prices down. A proportion, were sold in hobby shops for general use, but the majority went into the ever changing range of ready to go Cox model aircraft, cars, boats and other toys. In response to newer technologies and corporate changes over the years, the last factory interpretation of the Bee concept the Surestart model - appeared in 2000. However, by the mid 2000s, production nally stopped. A large quantity of parts and complete engines was sold to various individuals who have continued to make them available to the public, mainly via the internet. In fact, a combination of original parts, new parts made to original specication, and customized or wholly new components have resulted in engines that were never available from the original manufacturers. While the sometimes 17

Power Trip

Dieselized Surestart engine. It mounts neatly onto a rewall and is good for FF work. Photo courtesy Cox International.

better products from the opposition fade into the past, the Cox .049s have a lasting appeal to many. That might be a big dollop of nostalgia or having to conform to competition rules for 1/2A RC Texaco or CL Mouse Racing. Perhaps it is simply the cheap prices or adaptability to home-built projects like geared twin cylinder format. In any event, engines and parts are (for the moment) cheap and plentiful.

are the differences? And what about the newer innovations like throttle control and conversion to diesel power? Instead of reviewing one specic engine, well take a broader look at the Cox .049 Bees. We cant cover every model or variant. There are so many that it would take an entire book. Theres reference to just such a book at the end of the article.

Lets take a look

Basic specication

Most modellers acquire a Cox .049 or two along the way. Lets face it, theyre common as muck and derided by some as unworthy of any serious attention owing to their associations with the toy market. Is that well founded? Unlike most other engines, there is a wide variety of Cox Bee engine variants for the range of applications to which they were put. What 18 AeroModeller - Mar/Apr 2013

Cox Bees are single cylinder two-stroke engines with nominal 0.406in. (10.31mm) bore and 0.382in. (9.70mm) stroke. This slightly over-square arrangement gives a swept volume of 0.049 c.i. ( 0.81cc). The hardened steel crankshaft has a 0.217in. (5.52mm) main journal diameter and splined front section for the prop driver. The crankshaft is tapped 5-40 UNC for the slotted machine screw or stud and nut. The

crankweb is undercut from the rear, leaving a crescent-shaped counterbalance opposite the 0.109in. (2.76mm) crankpin. The unhardened steel cylinder has integral cooling ns; the uppermost having ats to aid tightening with the Cox spanner. Porting consists of two diametrically opposed exhaust ports and one or two passages milled into the cylinder bore at right angles to the exhausts to form the transfer ports. An approximate exhaust period of 140 degrees, transfer period of 110 degrees and subpiston induction period of 60 degrees are typical across most Bee variants. The turned aluminium head with integral glow element and domed combustion chamber screws into the cylinder. The cylindrical steel piston has a at crown and hardened skirt, but is otherwise left soft. That allows the protruding spigot inside the piston to be swaged around the ball-

shaped top end of the steel conrod, creating a permanent ball-joint assembly. Induction is controlled by a oating reed that opens or closes the intake opening in the back of the engine, in response to variations in crankcase internal pressure during the pistons cyclic travel. Bee engines have two basic rear ends. An integral machined aluminium fuel tank with central intake tube and cast backplate that has the venturi opening, needle valve and four-point mounting lugs. Or a plastic moulding that also has an intake tube and needle valve, plus four mounting holes, or is clamped into one of the ready to go Cox toys. These require an external fuel tank. Bees weigh between 52g. and 65g. (1.8-2.3 oz.) depending on the model.

Variations on the theme

There were many variations as Bee engines were adapted to specic roles. Aside from anodizing to give a particular look, Bees have a range of ancillaries, such as mufers, exhaust throttles, and snap starting springs to match their intended uses. Engines for model cars have pull starters, and a beeer crankshaft with the main journal diameter increased to 0.280in. (7.1mm) and heat sink head. Less obvious are internal variations, to give the desired performance level. Higher power output can come with larger intake size. Babe Bee and Texaco versions have a relatively small venturi diameter of 0.062in. ( 1.57mm) giving effective choke area around 2 square millimetres. Golden Bee, Black Widow and engines with a plastic back door have around 50% more, at 3 square millimetres. The Venom version, which boasted all of the go-fast features perhaps snuck that up to around 3.5 square millimetres, which is the about as far as you can go and keep reasonable running consistency. The original very thin X-shaped copperberyllium alloy reeds were superseded in the early 1980s with mylar or stainless steel reeds with two at sides. This is an important change, as it did much to overcome unwanted reed utter which set in at higher running speeds. Choosing the ideal material remains a personal choice and there are reeds made to this later shape from various materials available. Basic cylinders tted to Babe Bees, early Golden Bees and lower powered product engines have one transfer port. The rest have two. The ports in late production cylinders are made using two distinct cuts, such that the upper edge of the port opening is stepped. The initial part of the port opens around 10 degrees before the rest. In current Cox terminology, this is called a boost port. Cylinders made for general purpose use after about 1980 have two thin exhaust slots one above the other instead of the usual single port opening. This change made the engines less likely to start a re

The RC throttle components. The throttle/choke tube assembly will t most Cox Bees with plastic back ends. and by eliminating sub-piston induction, power losses when a mufer was added were reduced. their custom engines by the type of cylinder, reed valve, glow plug and other components. From the beginning, Cox manufactured all parts to very close tolerance limits. Unlike more traditional methods that selectively tted individual parts to make an engine, this allowed for all Cox engines to be assembled from run of the mill parts. While production specications changed a little over time, it is uncanny how one part from an engine made in 2003 will work in a Bee made in 1960. Naturally, the inevitable variations in ts result in some being better than others. A few can be quite exceptional as our performance tests show. In particular, the Bees cylinder has a parallel cylinder bore. That makes it cheaper to make, but reduces the tolerance for optimum piston t to a very narrow range. People with a number of Cox pistons and cylinders and a bit of time for testing can quite easily mix and match to come up with a better than average performer.

Post-Cox parts

Sellers are usually careful to identify genuine Cox factory made engines and parts as OEM, meaning Original Equipment Manufacturer. Current production parts can be essentially direct (or close) replacements for parts that are no longer available. For example, late-model OEM cylinder exhaust ports are modied to earlier cylinder specication to restore sub-piston induction SPI. Or pistons can be shortened to achieve the same result. Other parts are entirely unique, such as the various alternatives to the original Cox glow head, diesel conversions and throttles.

This goes with that

As the basic design changed little over time, most Bee components can be assembled to make a variety of engines. Aside from ancillaries, owners typically describe

Suppliers
Cox International Bee engines, custom engines, R/C throttles, diesel heads and other parts. www.coxengines.ca Davis Diesel Development Diesel heads, crankshafts custom parts. www.davisdieseldevelopment.com/home.php Model Engine Company of America Diesel & glow heads and other parts. www.mecoa.com/cox/index.htm

19

Inside Cox International

A Chat with Bernie Eisele - By Chris Ottewell
When I rst bought a model engine in around 1959, the choice was simple; small engines were diesels, medium sized ones could be diesel or glow and large ones were glow. That was it
s a schoolboy, I could only afford a small one and chose a Frog 80 diesel, which by chance I still have. Friends bought Mills 0.75s, DC Merlins and the like and they all worked well. A few bought small glow motors like the DC Wasp or Bantam they were all frankly rubbish. So when a US company called Cox started selling their little glow motors in the UK we ignored them; until that is, someone turned up at our ying eld with a couple! The Cox Pee Wee and Babe Bee ranges were a revelation. They were simple but powerful for their size, reliable and high quality. Just as important from our schoolboy

powered control line IA 35 Huanquero, an Argentinian light cargo/transport designed by Kurt Tank who designed the FW 190. The little Coxes were the only engines dependable enough to be used for a control line twin. In that middle years break from aeromodelling, which most of us have, Cox got into difculties and after several changes of ownership nally sank for good or so I thought. A couple of years ago I noticed someone in Canada selling shedloads of Cox parts and even new engines. This turned out to be Cox International, a company formed just to support those lovely little engines of my youth! Intrigued I used the resurrection of AeroModeller as an excuse to interview

originally from Germany but now resident in Canada. Like me he grew up using Cox engines and he bought his on the proceeds of a paper round. He also missed these engines when they disappeared; however, unlike me he also saw a business opportunity! By 2008 he had discovered and bought all the remaining Cox stock from Estes who by then owned the

There is a lot of misconception out there. What modellers are mostly referring to are engines from the 70s compared to today. Back in the old days tolerances were kept very tight, something that was relaxed when Estes took over in 1996
(by e-mail) Bernie Eisele, the proprietor and nd out more about him, his company, their objectives and what they can offer us, the modelling community.

point of view they were also keenly priced! Soon they became the engine of choice for small and simple control line or free ight models and I built many Pee Wee powered Ebenezer Style own designs including a quadra-plane and a Mig 17. I even built an own design semi-scale twin engined Pee Wee

The Man

Bernie (really Bernd) is an aeromodeller

brand. He found he then owned over 35,000 engines and 500,000+ spares items. Well over $1,000,000 worth of stock at retail prices. Naturally there are some parts that he was unable to source from Estes as they had all been sold. As a result they now manufacture about 80 different items. Bernie told me Its too long to list but mainly glow heads, various gaskets, fuel tanks, propellers, needle valves, reeds, spinners wrenches/spanners, head conversions, diesel conversions, eld gear, custom and performance engines (from existing parts) and, of course, our revolutionary rear-mounted throttle for .049 Cox reed valve engines. We also plan to make a small run of Tee Dee .049 engines. As I always put much of the success of the small Cox engines down to the use of a custom glow head rather than a standard glow pug I was concerned to see that Bernie makes and sells conversion heads for many Cox motors. I thought that these must surely be a disappointment? Bernie assured me that this was not the case, saying: With the screw in type (your typical glow plug) RPM decrease in reedies is approximately 500 and 1,500 in TD engines. With our insert style RPM increases by approximately 500 in reedies and no RPM change for TD engines. So it looks like Bernie has actually

Bernie and a fraction of his stock

20 AeroModeller - Mar/Apr 2013

Left: Chris has a 25 year old Semi-scale Hurricane with a 50 year old Pee Wee upfront! Below: Ideal Babe Bee C/L Model Half Scale Flite Streak! This one has a PAW 0.8 though, Cox Diesel alongside

improved some of the engines! There was one difcult question I had to ask Bernie It was said that Cox quality dropped under its period of ownership by others and their engines werent as good. So, what about the quality of the items Bernie is selling? He replied - There is a lot of misconception out there. What modellers are mostly referring to are engines from the 70s compared to today. Back in the old days tolerances were kept very tight, something that was relaxed when Estes took over in 1996. Even the least expensive engine we sell runs perfectly ne with average RPMs no different than 20-30 years ago. However, we have noticed that there could be a 1,000 RPM difference between worst and top performers. This is a result of pistons and cylinders not being hand-matched. By the same token, even at the bottom of the spectrum, a Cox .049 engine will turn a 5x3 propeller at 15,000 RPM with 25% nitro; not too shabby for a $25 engine. So, some small variation from best to worst, but it appears that now, as then,

everyones a winner! My favourite Cox engine has always been the classic Pee Wee, so I asked Bernie if there is any chance at all of these ideal tiny sport engines being reproduced at some future date? I was disappointed but not surprised when he replied: Virtually zero. To make a run of 1,000 would cost about $35 each, making for retail price somewhere around $80 or more. That is not bound to sell in any quantities aside the fact we dont really have $35,000 to spend on something that is bound to be a real slow seller. The problem is low runs. Make 50,000 and you can retail an engine for $30 but you will never sell 50,000 Pee Wees in a lifetime. The .049 outsells the 020 by a margin of a least 10 to 1 and we only sell about 5,000 of the .049 engines per year. We are looking into making 1,000 of the TD .049 engines because they are the 2nd most popular engine after the .049 reedies. Estimated retail price around $70-80 and we anticipate it will take us 3-4 years to sell them. With that proven business acumen and

experience I could hardly dispute this with him. That acumen has led him to fully exploit the possibilities offered by eBay which have allowed Cox International to remain based at Williams Lake, British Columbia, Canada and yet do business all over the world, even winning the prestigious eBay 2012 eBay International Entrepreneur award. If you want to check out Cox International on eBay, they can be found as Xenalook. At the time of writing they had over 13,000 trades and a 99.9% satisfaction rating thats an incredible achievement. They are also on the Internet independently as: www. coxengines.ca and have their own Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/pages/COXInternational/389980851068219 Finally I found that the Cox International web site has a page or two of customer creations so I asked Bernie which was his favourite. Like me he chose the ve-cylinder radial engine. I could have talked to Bernie all day but he had a business to run and I had an editor to satisfy, so we stopped it there!

Cox .049 Diesel conversion with a Cox International Free Flight Tank

Customer Built Cox 5 Cylinder Radial

21

Free Flight Scale

Here we have four models by your columnist seen at Church Fenton. The Vigilant, BE2e and Avro are all Aeromodeller designs, while the Rumpler is an own design. It ew well but had a small rudder, and it tended to wander all over the place.
Progress follows a set pattern. I make quite a good job of building the thing and then comes the trimming stage. Is there any other phrase in all aeromodelling that carries the portent of doom more than add more plasticene? This extra weight in turn necessitates a thick and angry rubber motor, and so I embark on the familiar downward spiral (both metaphorical and literal) of increasing mass and power. At some point the inevitable happens and I screw in a diesel engine. Anyway, four years have passed since the failure of my SE5a (which, incidentally, has been itting about most successfully ever since with a Mills .75 up front), so here we go again

Bucker Jungmann

H
H

Scale Matters
as there ever been a better time for the scale modeller? Just about everything we need is available, albeit online. The amount and accuracy of information is far superior to what it ever was. The photographs that we may previously have spent ages searching for are there at a few clicks of a mouse, with museum websites particularly valuable. There is a tremendous amount of scale activity going on, even if it is not always visible at meetings, and the skill on display when tackling difcult subjects is astounding. Perhaps the only downside is the smaller number of sites available, but

My priority was to nd a subject that would not need the plasticene, so I picked the Bucker Jungmann because I have done a diesel version before and know that it tends to be nose heavy; just right for rubber. I used Eric Coates plan, reduced from 36 to 30. Eric drew this up from his own measurements of the full-size and it is very accurate. This one is the German, Argus-engined version as opposed to the much more common Spanish CASA Jungmann. The latter has more interesting colour schemes but it has a top cowling with double curvature which is more ddly to make than simply bending a piece of aluminium or balsa. Having said that, most modellers of the CASA miss this subtle difference and build a straight cowling anyway. Obviously the structure was changed from the diesel version, which I built ten years ago. I remember the wings warped very badly, so this time I built up the wide LE as follows: a bottom layer of 1/32 balsa; a strip of the thinnest carbon sheet; 3/16 balsa; more carbon and a nal top layer of 1/32 all of it soft, light wood. This sandwich is very resistant to bending. It would have been even

by Bill Dennis
more so if the carbon were on the outside but it does need hiding because it is well very black. I certainly do not want it showing through the yellow paint. I also glued a ne carbon rod along the TE and I am condent this will remain at as well. The rest of the model is entirely conventional. Tail and wingtip outlines are laminated basswood, soaked in ammonia and wrapped around formers. The fuselage is a basic 3/32sq box. Lower wings are attached via carbon rods and support the upper wings at their dihedral angle, just as on my smaller power models. What you see here so far is 3oz and

we survive. This month I shall begin with rubber scale. This class of scale model remains popular in the UK and many examples are to be seen at the various events around the country, in particular the small-eld meetings like Peterborough and Dreaming Spires. It is a truth generally acknowledged that the rubber scale model is the most difcult to trim, and that is why I am not very good at it. Nevertheless I do admire a well-adjusted rubber scale ight and so every four years or so I have another go. Four years is generally long enough for me to forget how bad my last effort was.

Andrew Hewitts DH34 circles overhead on its way to winning the 2011 Nationals (Ian Lever photo).

Your columnists SPAD caught by the camera of Laurence Marks. This model, designed by Laurie Bagley in the early 50s, ew very successfully with a modied pendulum system suggested by Fernando Ramos.

Another photo by Ian Lever captures Bill Denniss Sopwith Triplane in ight.

24 AeroModeller - Mar/Apr 2013

This is Andrew Hewitts very ne Morane N for rubber power. The close-ups show the ne detailing and realistic nish.
I am hoping for an airframe weight of 5oz or so. I am hedging my bets on the location of the rear peg and will wait until nearer completion before deciding where it will be. I dont think I will need to follow the modern trend of putting it through the pilots kidneys. As I write, I am about to begin covering, which will be a layer of polyester tissue with jap tissue on top. I have high hopes that this one will go well, but just in case I shall be fuel-proong inside the cowling!

Your columnists rubber Jungmann is seen here just prior to covering. In retrospect it seems to feature rather more wood than one might have wished for, but the Jungmann is a fast aeroplane!
on my originals, and they, too, are now deemed too valuable to use. More recently we had the Boddo Mills. I havent handled one of these but once spent ten minutes watching a bloke icking away at one in rather a nice model, before losing interest. However, the Mills is a tall engine and there are occasions when it can be difcult to accommodate one within a cowling. The accompanying photo shows an engine tted out with the various bits and pieces I have had made over the years by the skilled and inventive. From the front, we rst encounter a shaft extension for the frequent occasions when the engine cannot go quite far enough forward. A simple Allen screw replaces the compression lever on most scale installations. Moving further back, you will nd that where the engine is mounted in a rotary-type installation, the rear intake and needle valve can interfere with the bulkhead. This can be avoided by using a simple short extension piece. Finally, sometimes it is convenient to use a radial mount in place of the backplate.

A rear view of the RE8 just before its rst trimming session, minus the aileron struts.

straightforward model, other than I tted an engine that starts rst-ick, and got it trimmed in advance of the Nats. In some circles this is viewed as cheating. I will deal with the trimming next month.

Wing tips

Morane N

Still on the theme of rubber power, I have been in temporary custody of Andrew Hewitts Nationalswinning rubber model, so I thought you would be interested in some details. This model is something special indeed, being built to a standard of accuracy, detail and nish that stands up to the closest scrutiny. It is a proper outdoor model; quite big at 42 and weighing 14oz. I was surprised to nd that it is covered in jap tissue, which is certainly lasting well because I have witnessed one or two dramatic arrivals. The Morane is one of the last subjects most of us would choose for rubber power, with its short nose, zero dihedral and minuscule tail surfaces. Indeed Andrews previous attempt in this class was the very similar Fokker Eindekker. Matters are not made easier by the independently adjustable elevators. As might be imagined, stability is marginal and things can occasionally go wrong. However, when it all comes together, it makes for a spectacular sight with exceptional realism, and it was a deserved winner of the Eric Coates Trophy this year.

RE8

Engines

This morning, I spent nearly an hour running a couple of 0.5cc diesels to see if they were viable for a scale model. They were not. Oh, they ran eventually but there was a lot of icking and ddling about with the needles and comp screws, and hot restarts were poor. They might do for a sport model but are not acceptable for competition work where nothing more than two or three icks will do. If you are new to the diesel-powered scale model, I respectfully suggest that the only engines you should consider are the Mills .75 and 1.3, for the reasons known to modellers all over the world: easy starting, an ability to run at and hold a consistent speed, and an indifference to fuel tank position and convoluted plumbing. I will go further and recommend you get only an original Mills. There are plenty about and it doesnt matter one jot if it looks a bit tatty. I have owned or witnessed in action all of the many alternatives and in my experience, the original is the best. How that can be, after 60 years of engineering progress, I dont understand. The rst replica to appear was the Doonside from Australia. I have one, and it is excellent, although I had to have the contra piston loosened. But you will nd these are all behind collectors glass. Then came the Indian Mills of ill repute, recognisable by the grey crankcase and friable crankshaft. The Irvine was beautifully made but I had two, and neither could be tuned to eliminate a misre. They were also 1000rpm down

My latest power model is the RE8, with which I won the Nationals in 2012. I confess that I chose the subject purely to be competitive after three years of non-qualication due to extreme weather (twice) and the intervention of a spectators car. Having said that, the RE is one of my favourite aeroplanes. I like the way it goes together by simply adding more layers of badly tting panels! I dithered for a while over the size and would have preferred a Mills .75 version, which I could y at smaller sites, but in the end I decided on the same scale as a previous model because I still had the four-blade scale propeller! A very important consideration in choosing the RE8 was that I had cast-iron documentation for all aspects of the aircraft. Needless to say, I nished the model just as that beautiful full-size replica arrived in the UK! I did, however, need to shave about six ounces off the weight this time, as the old one had to be re-engined with a PAW 149 to haul it into the air. This was done quite easily by going back to basics. A conventional balsa tail in place of the aluminium tube outlines obviated the need for a signicant lump of nose ballast. The heavy torsion bar u/c and associated thick ply and ironmongery were ditched in favour of much lighter xed legs (the rear ones are reinforced by extra wire bound and soldered on. I have never bent a front leg!). The lower cowling was xed in place to save the weight of attachment. Finally, the rear stringers, which were spruce on my old model to avoid starving the horse, are now just 1/32 balsa long triangles. These do not bend either, but weigh little and take a fraction of the time to plot and make. Ultimate weight is 30oz. The wings use a carbon rod LE but I went back to an old-fashioned ? x 1/8 TE for ease of construction. A carbon-only TE works well but needs more careful setting up. I did, however, glue a ne carbon rod along the edge before locking it all in place with carbon capstrips. Everything has stayed perfectly straight with none of the elliptical warping that looks so ugly. Not much more to say about a relatively

I have a thing about wing tips: specically their prole when viewed from the front. There are few errors more likely to destroy realism than a set of thick, chunky wingtips. I recall the covers of the early RC magazines which would feature, say, an SE5a painted in bright council-house green, posed in long grass and with Clark-Y wings strapped on with elastic bands. The tips would be at and sharply angled seen from the front because the tip rib was the same as the one used at the root. The caption would say, only the absence of a scale prop gives it away... Firstly, only a scale or near-scale section will allow an accurate tip to be built with the correct camber. You then need carefully to study the way the wing tapers, and here it is very helpful to have a photo of the uncovered machine. The Sopwith Aircraft Company often obliged here and I had such a photo for my AeroModeller 1? Strutter. In the original AM article in 1966, the model clearly had the at section and untapered tip prole I wanted to avoid. The structure, in fact, is taken directly from that used by Ken McDonough in his famous series of designs and allows for quick and easy building at the expense of some realism. I improved the appearance by adding some undercamber between the spars and lifting the LE entry point with a 3/32sq spar set on edge. My Sopwith photo showed a straight taper from the third rib in, so I just went at it with a sanding block until it looked right. Of course it is difcult to tell for sure that you have it right until the covering goes on, so be prepared to re-cover this area. Interestingly, I have judged Pete McDermotts amazing DH9A a few times, and an errant tip rib was the only error I could nd in the front view! I have included a photo of the RE8 as the Strutter is in a box.

Memorable ights

In my last column I mentioned how that exceptional ight sticks in the mind. As I write, in the depths of a Mallorcan winter (!) the summer meetings seem a long way away so I like to look back for inspiration. One such ight was with my SPAD S7 from the Bagley plan. This model only lasted one season but I had many superb ights with it. Best of all was at Church Fenton one Wednesday evening. I am grateful to Laurence Marks for capturing it in ight with this superb photo. A quick wiggle to make sure the pendulum ailerons were moving and the model was released for a perfectly straight take off and climb into a blazing sunset. It was at calm and the SPAD performed a wide and leisurely circuit back over our heads, at which point a light breeze blew up and kept it there, lit brightly by the sun before the engine cut and it glided to earth. You do not get too many of those, but when it all comes together, there is nothing in all aeromodelling to beat it. The following weekend, the SPAD was upended by turbulence at Woodvale and destroyed.

25

Control Line Engineering

All the parts L to R Sintered bronze clunks, tank, pipes & bung.

John Benzing puts together a plastic clunk tank that will work in any control line stunt model.

O
O
1/ 2

A CLUNK TANK FOR ALL REASONS

(but particularly control line!)
to be in a win win situation with this tank! But rst of all, which type of tank should we be using? The one that comes out on top for me is the 150cc Kavan which measures 2 x 2 x 3 1/2 and which is ideal for most stunters. As regards positioning the tank in or on the side of a model, a good starting point for all types of tanks is that the centre line of the needle valve should always be level with the centerline of the tank. Fine-tuning adjustments to achieve an equal engine run in both level and inverted ight can be made at a later date on the ying eld (more on this later). Those of you still paying attention will have realised that a 2" square tank means that if the needle valve on the engine is to be level with the centre of the tank it needs to be 1"
The Rustler 61 - as supplied, the needle is inconveniently set above the bearers. The ST 51 - note how the needle valve is perfectly set 1 above the bearers.

pinions regarding plastic clunk tanks seem to fall into two distinct camps - you either love them or you hate them - and Ill be frank, I love them. At the Milton Keynes club we spent ages getting them to work properly in the critical control line mode, but nally, after several years of ddling, we got it right. So the assembly procedure Im going to explain in this little article really does work. Better still, the tank will work using either a two-stroke or four-stroke engine and it can be positioned in either a side mounted or upright conguration. In addition, you will also have the option of plain engine suction or exhaust pressure feed. You really are going

up from the bearers in a traditional stunter (or down if an inverted engine layout is used). No such problems with a prole model however, the world is your oyster. This height problem can stall many modellers at the outset, as the needles on most engines seem to be set at . But all is not lost, I may have been lucky, but the rst engine that I dedicated my life to was the ST 51, and surprise surprise, the needle valve on this engine gave me the exact height setting of 1" (see photo below). Better still the whole venturi assembly, with a little easing on a lathe, can be used on other engines as well, and particularly on my most recent favourite, the Rustler 61, which regrettably has a height setting as supplied of .

26 AeroModeller - Mar/Apr 2013

The Rustler 61 tted with the lathe-eased ST51 Venturi.

ST51 Venturi.

1
Rustler 61 Venturi.

Even the Saito 56 (or 72) four-stroke with a xed choke conversion provides the perfect 1 dimension.

So, now that weve got the needle valve set to the critical 1" above (or below) the engine bearer height we can move on to the assembly of the Kavan plastic clunk tank. If you look at the heading photo showing all the tank components you will notice two DuBroTM sintered bronze clunks on the left hand side of the photo. These really are an important element and no other alternative substitute is acceptable. But why two? Because in this tank arrangement you will have an ongoing choice of the fuel being supplied to the engine either by straightforward suction OR by pressure from the silencer. If you opt for plain suction then you can just use the pressure clunk as an open vent. Alternatively, connect the pressure pipe to a nipple on the silencer to run on pressure. The decision on whether to use plain suction or pressure is discussed in the next paragraph. The drawing below illustrates the pipe layout.

Fuel ller pipe (plug for ight) Top of model

To handle

Engine supply clunk Engine supply

Pressure clunk

Pressure supply (or vent)

27

Control Line Engineering

So do you opt for suction or pressure? The only real answer is to run some test ights out on the eld and note which seems best, if theres no difference, then opt for suction, its as simple as that. Certainly I found that my ST51 preferred pressure, whereas my Rustler 61 does not. No doubt the experts in our ranks can explain why. But before we can get to the ying stage we have to assemble the tank, which is where the TWO sintered bronze clunks come in. The chances are that your pressure supply will be coming from the silencer, but have you ever looked inside your silencer? Its not a pretty sight; an accumulated layer of thick black carbon is probably what will greet you. Worse, if you have ever studied the exhaust outlet residue closely after a ight you will have noted tiny black specks of.... carbon. And this is what you could end up pumping into your tank! And yers wonder why they have constant needle blockages and inconsistent runs. With this Kavan tank arrangement any carbon specks coming through from the silencer are caught INSIDE the sintered bronze cluck as they enter the tank - so in effect the clunk is working in the REVERSE to the way it was intended. Any foreign objects entering the tank via the normal fuel lling process are caught by the other clunk as the engine draws up fuel. Perfect! The actual assembly of the tank is quite straightforward so just study the series of pictures below for the recommended procedure. Note that all the pipes are clipped onto the brass tubes with a length of fuse wire (see photo 1), belt and braces maybe, but they have been known to come off if left to their own devices! Take care when inserting the clunks and curved ller pipe through the mouth of the tank as its quite easy to nick the pipes and make an invisible cut that will come back to haunt you at a later date (see photo 2). Incidentally, a little washing up liquid rubbed onto the rubber bung makes insertion into the tank a lot easier. Remember also to t the brass ring around the boss on the mouth of the tank; this is important as it prevents the plastic from stretching when you come to screw up the rubber bung to achieve a nice fuel-tight seal. So, with the technical details taken care of, all thats necessary now is for you to settle the tank comfortably into the tank bay and to make sure that its securely xed in position. Ive found Velcro to be ideal for this purpose as its quick and easy to loosen for the inevitable tank height adjustments, so dont forget to make provision in your tank layout

Belt and braces, but its always best to wire on the tubing.

Take care not to nick the fuel tubing when installing the pipes.

To handle

Fuel supply to engine

Filler pipe (plug for ight)

Pressure supply (or vent)

28 AeroModeller - Mar/Apr 2013

Tank held in position with Velcro

Filler tube sealed for ight on blocked stub end of blank pipe

Exhaust pressure set up. Rustler 61 installation showing the clunk tank xing rod and exhaust pressure arrangement.

for some this balsa shims for packing the tank either up or down to regulate the engine speed for level and inverted ight (more about this on the next page). Evo-Stick Impact adhesive is ideal for xing the Velcro to the tank sides. Finally, connect up all the plumbing, taking extra care here, as its very easy to connect up the wrong pipes. Always ll the tank through the dedicated ller pipe rather than the silencer pressure connection as this could lead to captured carbon being forced into the tank. And ALWAYS remember to plug the ller. I have a blanked off length of brass pipe permanently xed to the side of the model immediately adjacent to the ller, so its dead easy to form a U shape with the tubing to seal the inlet - see photo No 4 at right. The silencer pressure for my Rustler 61 was designed to be used as shown in photo 5, but ight experiments produced no advantage, so now the curved brass tube in the fuselage side just remains permanently open. Out on the ying eld your rst task once airborne will be to check if you are getting an equal speed of engine run in both upright and inverted ight. If its too fast in level ight relative to inverted then the tank height (and hence the head of fuel) needs to be raised

relative to the needle valve, if its the other way round, then drop the tank. Use the thin balsa packs mentioned earlier to achieve the perfect run. Virtually everything mentioned in this article also applies to prole models, in fact in many ways its easier as everything is so much more accessible. Tank height adjustment can be facilitated by fabricating a simple ply tray - see the article in the May/June 2009 issue of Claptrap.

Ive had great success with my baby Cardinal powered by a Saito four-stroke, but this time running on pressure - see photo 6 at right. So there you have it, a clunk tank for all reasons. G

Saito 40 four-stroke with 100cc Kavan double clunk tank running on pressure as installed in a 54 span Cardinal prole model.

29

Build Time

Just a Pudgey Bostonian

By Steve Higginson Photos by Brian Furutani and Schuyler Higginson

Cute with classic style, Pudgey is a pint-sized package of performance that will knock your socks off!
www.aeromodeller.com
For complete Bostonian Class Rules, See Bonus Coverage for Issue 920 at:

T
T

he Bostonian class was developed to be fun, simple to build and emulate the designs (to some level) of real aircraft. Since those humble beginnings, the class has evolved into a full-edged AMA event category. Over the years, Bostonians have become very popular in both the U.K. and U.S. and have began to spread their wings over rest of the world. By denition, a Bostonian model has a 16-inch maximum wingspan and a fuselage length not to exceed 14 inches. The fuselage must be built-up to enclose an imaginary box 1.5 x 2.5 x 3.0 inches in size. It must have an undercarriage, and all ying surfaces must be covered on both sides. A Bostonian monoplane has to weigh at least 14 grams

without its rubber motor, and biplanes, tri-planes and others must weigh in at 20 grams. These weight minimums tend to encourage reasonably robust structures that put up with ham-sted builders like me and allow them to take a fair amount of day-to-day punishment. The Bostonian movement encourages cartoon-like features of real aircraft, so youll nd many whimsical designs that promote the prime objective of the class FUN! Bostonian models are an excellent choice for beginners because of their ease of building, ruggedness and tractable ying characteristics. I am drawn to Bostonians for all these reasons and more. They are fun, sometimes hysterical in design, and all of the models I have seen y were generally good performers. My inspiration for

Pudgey came from a number of directions. I always loved the potbellied design of the Lockheed Loadstar/Hudson and the kidney bean-shaped vertical tail plane design made me think of Boston Baked Beans (the thought process of a misdirected mind). The rest of the design evolved from there. In the true spirit of the Bostonian, the structure is simple and direct with very few curves (no pun intended) thrown at the builder. The laminated rudder surrounds are simple once you have one or two under your belt. In fact, most modellers who master laminations rarely revert to the accepted splicing method once the strength and weight savings benets have been realised. The box-fuselage is constructed in the usual way. To make the

30 AeroModeller - Mar/Apr 2013


extreme curve in the lower longerons at the tail end and less extreme curve at the nose, I split the 1/16 sq. strip down the middle and soaked the wood in hot water. I made a cardboard form for the rear shape and used push-pins to gently bend the wood to shape and then let it dry before gluing. This method presented no problems.

A cold day in December 2011 at the MCAS Tustin Air Station, in Tustin California, proved to be Pudgeys best indoor day. Best ight of the day: 3 min. 37 sec.

Once the fuselage sides are built and dry, invert the sides over the top view and insert the three F-2 wing cradle cross-members in their assigned places and glue the adjacent bottom cross-members making sure the fuselage is square and true. Glue the fuselage sides together at the tail post and then insert and glue the remaining cross-members again,

making sure the fuselage is square and true. Cross-laminate 1/8 balsa to construct the nose block. Cut the nose plug to t snugly into the nose opening and glue it to the nose block. When dry, t and sand the nose block assembly to the shape on the plan and carefully sand it ush to the fuselage. Bend the undercarriage from 1/32 M.W

31

Build Time

With care taken and good wood selection, the simple airframe structure of Pudgey is light and very strong. Note the Ikara 6 indoor propeller. This prop proved to be too fragile when bumping into indoor obstacles so a wellbalanced 6 Peck prop was nally settled on.

Although the rudder and tail plane assembly structure is light, diagonal bracing makes the ight surfaces warp free after covering.

to the pattern on the plan and sandwich it between two F-1 formers and glue into the fuselage at the point indicated on the plans. Cross-laminate three layers of 1/32 x 1 1/8 x 1 1/8 sheet to make two balsa

wheel blanks. Turn the blanks using a DremelTM tool to make two 3/32 x 1-inch dia. wheels. Insert 1/16 O.D. x 1/8 L aluminium tubing through the center hole making sure it is perpendicular

to the at side of the wheel and glue with CA. Wheel pants are optional but they sure make Pudgey look snappy. Cut the center (WP-2) from 1/8 sheet and cut two (WP-1) 1/32 sheet sides to glue on

Another view of the light and simple airframe structure. The use of hard balsa stock for the L.E., spars and T.E. in the wing make it very resistant to warping during the covering procedure.

32 AeroModeller - Mar/Apr 2013

either side of WP-2. Once dry, carefully sand to a streamline shape. Cut and shape two WP-3 wheel pant supports from soft 1/8 sheet. Locate and drill a 1/32 dia. hole in each wheel pant for the undercarriage wire. Glue WP-3 to the fuselage side of each wheel pant (be sure you make one for each side.) During nal assembly, the wheel pants will secure the wheels and keep them from coming off. Build the tail plane and rudders at on the plan using 1/16 sq. stock and laminated rudder frames. If laminating scares you, make two rudders from light 1/32 C-grain balsa. Cut all wing ribs from medium weight A/B grain balsa making sure all are exact to size. The at bottom airfoil makes the wing assembly a snap. Select hard 1/16 sq. stock for the L.E., 1/16 x 3/16 hard stock for the spar and hard 1/16 x 1/8 stock for the T.E. Slot the T.E. for the correct rib spacing and build the wing at on the plan making sure the two center ribs are set at the proper dihedral angle set by the root rib dihedral gauge. After sanding the wing smooth, cut through the L.E, spar and T.E. and sand the root ribs ush. Pin one wing panel down at, block up the other wing panel 2 , and glue the dihedral joint. Cover your Pudgey with Japanese tissue in the usual manner and trim to suit your taste. Finish with Nitrate dope thinned 100% with Nitrate thinner. If you have the means, use a small spray gun or air brush to control excessive dope coverage. I like to keep nal nish to 2 coats to keep overall weight down. Final assembly is very straightforward:

Pudgey scoots along in front of the massive Tustin airship hangar doors. Just imagine those doors are a good fifty yards in the distance. The wing glues to the wing cradle; the rudders glue to the ends of the tail plane; and the tail plane assembly is glued to the fuselage, making sure all is square and level. Slide the wheels inside the wheel pants and guide each onto the undercarriage wire. Glue securely only at WP-3 so the wheels will turn freely. Using the windscreen pattern from the plan, test t it to the fuselage before cutting your clear acetate. When youre satised with the t, cut the windscreen from clear acetate and glue it to the fuselage with canopy glue. The original Pudgey weighs in at exactly 14 grams without rubber and ies quite nicely indoors with one 18 loop of 3/32 Tan II rubber. For spirited outdoor ying, I use a 20 loop of 1/8 Tan II rubber. To date, her best ight indoors in a CAT I site is 87 seconds and in a CAT IV site, 3 min. 37 sec. However, her outdoor performance is sweet in decent air and turns in consistent 2-3 minute ights. I am sure once you have built a Pudgey Bostonian you will continue to explore much more of what the Bostonian class has to offer. Fresh from the doping shed. Pudgey is so pretty here. Whimsical, yet racy with just a hint of classic design.

After a full year and a half, Pudgey hides her battle scars well and still ies great whenever called upon.

33

Model Engineering
13 year old John Morrill in 1948, member of Green Mountain Modeleers Burlington, with Semi-Scale F/F model powered by a Herkimer OK CO2 motor.

Johns rst batch of his smaller Zephyr C/A motors, only .012 cu. in. capacity.

A
A

FRESH AIR #2 - Design

by John Morrill
s a lifelong traditional aeromodeller, John Morrill has always enjoyed the challenges of working out all the details, designing, engineering, and making every part of the models he builds. Eventually, his curiosity led him to explore the process of metalwork, to increase his knowledge of materials and the art of creative model making, which compared to classical wood models he believed he had already mastered. As a rst project he chose to make an engine, Roy Clough Jrs Little Dragon, as published in Model Airplane News (MAN), Oct/Nov 1950. He gured this would force him to learn all the many and varied techniques, materials and the processes sufciently well to make the engine actually run. Having been a Director of Photography in Hollywood for 30 years, John considers such endeavour to be very therapeutic, to get your mind fully occupied and away from the daily world. Since boyhood, the dream of one day making a miniature Compressed Air (C/A) motor had always been in his thoughts, capable of powering his favourite type of models: small, lightweight F/F ying scale models of around 24 to 30-inch span. Starting around ten years ago, these ideas began to take shape. At the time he knew nothing yet about C/A motors, but was already familiar with 2-stroke and 4-stroke Internal Combustion (I/C) engines, having gone on to make commercial batches of reproduction Sparkies: Louis Garamis Simplex 25 from MAN March/April 1947, and the .19 cu. in. Hornet A by Paul Lindberg (later famous as the manufacturer of plastic model kits) also published as a how-to series in Popular Aviation magazine in 1940. John had never built steam engines either, which use the same principles and from which much can be learned. So this was going to be an entirely new venture for him and so he embarked on his own scientic tests and discoveries.

One of Johns rst model engine building projects, Roy Cloughs Little Dragon.

John Morrills reproduction of Louis Garamis 1947 Simplex 25 spark ignition engine.

Johns tiny Zephyr C/A motor weighs only 15g yet swings 8-inch propeller. On/Off Valve front left side, Filler Valve at rear.

36 AeroModeller - Mar/Apr 2013

Start with Books

During the years John was building his spark ignition engines, he subscribed to the British publication Model Engineer, initially published weekly since 1898, which he says he loved to read. He also found most helpful the classic range of Model & Allied Publications (MAP) excellent series of books on how to run machine tools and accessories, by the recognized doyens, experts in their day, such as: Edgar Westbury, Lawrence Sparey, etc. These are really wonderful books, which are still in print and available from sources such as Tee Publishing in Leamington Spa, UK, www.teepublishing.co.uk or available through second-hand bookshops. None of the information contained in these classics of engineering workshop practices goes out of

date, because they had already gured out all the best ways to make things. So it was a real joy for John to discover all the old ideas for how to perform super precision work by hand, without recourse to exotic machinery. Such

MAP Model Engineering books provided invaluable guidance for home-workshop.

1917 Cavanaugh twin-cylinder design was baseline for Johns rst C/A motor design.

The development of a modern Compressed Air Motor for the Home-Workshop Enthusiast

Bert Pond also famously won the Admiral Moffet International Trophy in 1936 with a best ight of 44 min 14sec, ying proxy for Vern Gray, NZ, seen here Reprints of Bert ponds excellent book still available from John Morrill. (see at 50th Anniversary event held in New Zealand! contact list at end of article) (Bill McGarvey photo)

Comparison of Bert Ponds 3-cylinder Hoosier Whirlwind weighing 9 oz with tank and propeller, to John Morrills tiny single-cylinder Zephyr C/A motor at just over 1 oz including prop. Note: Large propeller sizes indicating relative thrust.

books are still relevant today in the home workshop and of enormous help for anyone wanting to learn amateur machining. Its all in there! Johns rst objective was to make a small C/A motor that would even run. Not knowing where to start John referred to Bert Ponds excellent book: Expansion Engine Powered Model Aircraft, noting the popular 1917 Cavanaugh two-cylinder motor with a 1/2 inch bore and stroke, giving a capacity of .19 cu. in. (3.2 cc). Consequently, John decided to try a single cylinder motor of only 1/4 inch bore and stroke, resulting in a swept volume capacity of .012 cu. in. (0.2 cc) i.e. slightly larger than a Cox Tee Dee .010. At the time he had no idea how much power this was going to

produce, but he set himself a goal that the total propulsion unit (motor and tank) shouldnt weigh more than 1 ounce, in order to match the models he wanted to build and y.

Ins and Outs of Timing

Berts book documents lots of historic ideas for inlet and exhaust valves, to get the pressurized air directly into the Head of the motor and away as exhaust, in the traditional style of C/A motors. This differs signicantly from standard I/C engine practice, which uses an enclosed crankcase to internally mix, pressurize and transfer the fuel-air mixture to the head for ignition. Glow plug engines have a compression ratio of 6:1 to 9:1, and Diesels around 14:1. By contrast, C/A motors

need no crankcase pressure, so can have a lightweight open crankcase and ZERO compression! Theres no point in compressing a gas if its not going to be ignited, and C/A (or likewise CO2) is already held under pressure stored in the Tank! All these design possibilities were considered, comparing the efciency for each type of valve, such as: oscillating and slide valves (complex, heavy and inefcient); rotary and disc valves (requiring close tolerances, but absorbing less torque to operate); piston side valves (causing extra side loads and friction to the piston); and the ball-valve (very simple, but high motive resistance and inefciency). The major disadvantage with a ballvalve, commonly used for CO2 motors, is 37

Model Engineering

30x scale design wheel used to work out valve timing, from the left: Inlet Slot (green) approaches air Delivery Pipe (blue) just after TDC (black dot); Inlet Slot closes at 90 after TDC; Exit Flat (red) approaches air Delivery Pipe past BDC; Exit Flat closes exhaust phase as Crank Pin nears TDC again.

that it traditionally results in geometrically symmetrical timing around piston Top Dead Centre (TDC). The force required for the piston motion to open the ball-valve depends upon remaining air pressure in the tank and the ywheel effect of the propeller and so consumes energy. Because the valve is forced to open equally, before and after TDC, it therefore begins to introduce high-pressure air during the last phase of the piston upstroke. Hence this initial inlet pressure opposes the rotary momentum, thereby robbing the motor of even more power and efciency. Berts book points out that as a result, CO2 motors stop running at around 30 psi, because the running inertia can no longer open the inlet valve. So ball-valve motors eventually stop producing usable thrust and end up running at lower and lower rpm or stopping altogether as the model glides down, even with unused pressure remaining in the Tank. Feasible in practice for higher pressure CO2 motors, starting at 800 psi (hence their small thick-walled tanks) but not for C/A running at typically only around 100 psi.

Johns First Prototype:

The simplest and most efcient solution for C/A applications therefore seemed to be the rotary shaft valve, which John chose for his rst Proof-of-Concept prototype. Not meant to be put in an aircraft, but just to test his design principles. Berts 3-cylinder Whirlwinds used at least 120 inlet timing, as they were self-starting (i.e. one of the cylinders was always open to a gas charge to initiate the start). But a single cylinder C/A motor will only need to be ipped over once to initiate the rst stroke and begin running (so foolproof you can hardly call that starting). Instead, John wanted to use separate Rotary Valves machined into the shaft, for inlet and exhaust timing, and adopted a Plenum, to store a reservoir of high-pressure air, as close as possible to the Head. By using a Plenum the classic pressure drop, resulting 38 AeroModeller - Mar/Apr 2013

from the internal resistance as air travels through the much longer small-bore pipeline from the Tank to the Motor, can be reduced. The Plenum provides a small quantity of full air pressure close to the Inlet Valve, available immediately when needed for each cycle, from the moment the valve opens to impart inertia to the piston. The small volume of pressurized air remaining in the air Delivery Pipe each cycle after this valve closes, is lost by escaping into the cylinder during the remainder of the cycle, and the nal phase of the crank cycle exhausts the air in the cylinder back through the same air Delivery Pipe. Hence the length of the delivery pipe between the Plenum to the Head should always be as short as practical to minimize this loss. To accurately design the air inlet and exhaust timing, John created a simple 2-D card model representing the Shaft Valves and air Delivery Pipe, to help visualize and work out the geometry. The Shaft Inlet Slot lets air released by the valve pass from the Plenum through the Delivery Pipe directly to the Head for the power stroke. Starting with a conservative guess for the baseline power stroke Inlet Port timing, John chose to open the Inlet Valve from 3 past Top Dead Centre (TDC), and close the inlet at 90 crank-pin rotation past TDC. John reasoned that once the Inlet Port closes, the pressurized air is still expanding in the cylinder to complete each revolution. So by using less inlet timing,

this would aid efciency by saving gas charge volume. The less gas used for each rotation, the more there is remaining in the tank, and so the air reservoir will last a lot longer. As the power stroke momentum continues, the descending piston opens exhaust holes in the cylinder wall to allow air pressure to begin to escape (until eventually covered by the piston as it begins to start upwards). Once past Bottom Dead Centre (BDC), power is no longer being generated at the bottom of the stroke as the upstroke begins. As the piston starts to rise in the cylinder, the Shaft Exit Flat also allows exhaust air to escape through the same air Delivery Pipe from the Head to the exhaust hole, without generating any (unwanted and unnecessary) compression within the cylinder as TDC is reached. This air now exits through the exhaust hole in the front of the Shaft Housing and stops exhausting 15 before nally reaching TDC again.

Attention to Detail:
A common shortcoming of the old C/A motors was that typically they are rmly mounted to the air tank as one monolithic unit. Hence there was no provision for making small adjustments to the motor, such as down-thrust or side-thrust, essential for ight trimming. John addressed this practical issue from the outset with another renement, designing a separate Back-plate Mount to t the back of the Crankcase: to permit mounting the Motor either separately for CG

First Prototype motor built as test article ran ne, but was permanently assembled with adhesives, so could not be disassembled for servicing. Note one-piece air Delivery Pipe; direct air feed line from tank with no on/off valve once the propeller is ick started; and one-piece propeller shaft.

reasons; or attached to the Tank as desired to allow for angling the tank to t various model installations; and to facilitate independently adjusting the thrust-line using shims.

More New Ideas

Another novel idea was to replace the traditional solder construction of the old brass motors with modern-day permanent threadlocker, which sets anaerobically in the absence of air (hence it is not suitable for making external structural glue llets). Two-part epoxy is therefore also used for lleting some other assemblies for strength, as described later. John was convinced this would work for C/A motor application, which of course run at essentially ambient temperature, compared to I/C engines (hot) and CO2 motors (cold), and it turns out he was correct. Aluminium replaced brass to save weight and similarly Delrin (a lightweight engineering plastic manufactured by DuPont) was used for the piston, with a simple plain bearing for the Shaft. The basic design concepts described proved workable

on the very rst C/A motor prototype John ever made, which to his surprise and delight ran beautifully! A promising start, but more design work was needed.

Second Prototype:
Another major deciency with the old C/A motors being soldered together, made disassembly virtually impossible, Second Prototype with two-piece air Delivery Pipe sealed with plastic sleeve if needing to clean, Brace, which can be separated to unscrew and remove Head. Note simple on/off x or repair anything. valve now added to air feed line, but leaked. So more innovation from John enabled disassembly into several ball-cocks. When production of such tubing sub-components, by the limited use of only ceased, tanks became spiral-wrapped from three threaded components: Threading brass shim-stock, with a soldered spiral the Cylinder and Head assembly to the seam, which added more weight and labour. Crankcase, to enable the top end to be Some tanks also have a closely spaced spiral removed; Using a screw as the Crank Pin wrap of piano wire, or an internal tension threaded into the Throw, to enable the tie between the end bells, which only added Piston and Rod to be disconnected and also further weight with no structural benet. The to permit removal of the Shaft; Redesigning wire wrap actually weakened such tanks, by the shaft with a screw to retain the propeller, constraining the inherent material exibility so that in the event of a bad crash, only the creating local stress risers, which often caused them to burst locally. These early tanks screw will get bent and not the shaft. were big, heavy and expensive, due to the Being able to remove the Head necessitated considerable material and fabrication effort yet another neat idea: the use of a two-part air involved, usually costing many times more Delivery Pipe, which can be disconnected or than the C/A motor required to lift them in sealed using a sleeve Brace of high-pressure rated Vinyl plastic tubing, slid over the two-part seam. With these few simple features, every part of the motor can be accessed, cleaned, repaired or replaced, to ensure long-life and optimum performance. No shortage of attention to detail and great design ideas here! Although the second motor ran Plastic water bottles can make quick and easy tanks, better than the rst John was still not but are heavier than cans and hold less pressure. satised, in that he couldnt easily keep it adequately lubricated. If it wasnt sufciently lubricated the motor would wear and then it would leak and performance would degrade, and the rst try at a simple on/off air valve also leaked badly so these were the next problem to solve.

Air Tanks constructed from drawn-tube or spiralwrapped shim-stock brass with rmly mounted motor.

H B Brittens 3-cylinder C/A motor rmly attached to wire-wrapped twin-tanks.

A Missing Piece of the Jigsaw

In the early days, air tanks were made from thin-wall seamless-drawn brass tubing, readily available in 3, 4 and 5-inch dia. sizes, tted with hemispherical end domes from brass

Zephyr uses radial-style motor mount, which can be mounted directly onto model or tank.

Smaller diameter juice cans now available, shown on right, are ideal for C/A air tanks.

39

Model Engineering
ight. Large volume tanks were needed to supply the relatively large capacity motors, which quickly consumed a lot of air, requiring even bigger tanks! Johns rst two prototypes were test run using a little 1/2-litre plastic water bottle, weighing about 30g for the tank. Such Bottle-Tanks are quick and easy to adapt and work well for sport models. Berts book also described, how standard 12 oz beer or soda Cans, each weighing around 13g, could also be modied as air-tanks with some success. But by Johns standards, these bottles or cans were still too heavy, too large in diameter to t a small fuselage, and held insufcient pressure for the size of ying scale models he had envisaged. So the project lay dormant for many years until John nally stumbled upon the potential of the new, smaller-diameter aluminium beverage Cans, which began appearing on supermarket shelves, available in two sizes of contents: 5 oz weighing 9.3g, and 7 oz weighing 11.7g. Being smaller, at only 2.1-inch dia., but with similar wall thickness, these small Cans could hold approx 24% higher pressure than standard Beer Cans of 2.6 in dia. Removing the two tops when joining cans together saves 4.6g, plus another 1.3g saved when removing one of the end rims. So experiments began to develop better construction techniques and reliably and safely convert these smaller Cans into Air Tanks. Hydraulic pressure safety tests revealed that such Tanks could withstand over 190 psi. The result was an Air Tank of around 375cc capacity weighing only 15g. At last the initial goal for a complete high-performance C/A propulsion unit under 1 ounce, began to appear feasible.

Hydraulic pressure safety tests veried air tanks can sustain over 190 psi air pressure before rupturing longitudinally, hence tanks are run at only 150 psi max.

Third Prototype
Motivated by the success of the new lighter tank, John now tackled the next iteration to improve the overall design: to protect the motor from wear; to minimize leaks; and to more easily fabricate and service the motor. Wanting the motor to have a long-life with minimum fuss, John decided it should be self-lubricating to the extent possible. He therefore selected Delrin AF (AntiFriction), which is impregnated with Teon (also called PTFE) known for its extremely low coefcient of friction. So Delrin AF was now used for both the Piston and Rod, and immediately proved ideal for maintaining Piston to Cylinder t, and reducing the mass of the moving parts.

Getting his Bearings

To eliminate lubricating oil for the shaft John decided to try using tiny ball bearings. Without prior experience, he planned to try installing them, not exactly how they were intended to be used: with only 2/10

thousands inch clearance to prevent air leakage from the Rotary Shaft Valve. John had derived the necessary clearance gap from leakage formulas in Berts book, which relates the air pressure versus the air gap on the shaft diameter and the length the air has to travel. A cube-factor in this calculation results in a huge penalty, as tolerances get looser, so doubling the gap produces and eight-fold increase in air leakage. Consequently, to maintain a tight t, eccentricity of the bearings and shaft in the housing became a signicant issue. This is one of only two critical areas worth spending some extra effort on doing a good job, because the reservoir of air is limited. But the close tolerance of the ball bearings worked and eliminated the lubrication problem. So John then made a further improvement using a twopiece bearing housing, comprising an internal Spacer inside a concentric Bearing Housing tube, as the easiest way to achieve concentricity for both bearings. More parts, greater accuracy, simpler fabrication, not a bad compromise.

Performance tests veried both rpm and thrust as the air tank pressure runs down. Using a custom low-rpm high-resolution tachometer.

Results show peak performance at 150psi of almost 5 oz thrust at 3,500 rpm.

40 AeroModeller - Mar/Apr 2013

On / Off Air Valve:

Johns rst attempt at an on/off air-valve on the second prototype had leaked a lot. The water-valve style he had copied, although much easier to make, obviously didnt work with pressurized air. So a different type shut-off valve was devised to hold the air pressure in the supply tank, so the yer can wait for the moment of start and launch. To a modeller, this looks like the familiar Needle Valve as we know it on I/C engines, but it goes from off to on in 1/4 turn, and is not designed to modulate the power output. It is simply an on/off switch to run the motor. The way to control speed, power and thrust of a C/A motor is to select the correct diameter and pitch propeller for the intended task. C/A motors operate at a speed proportional to available air pressure, with no other adjustment necessary. There is no point in not letting all the air out. If you want less power for early trimming ights, simply start out with less pressure in the Tank, to reduce power and run time. What you do have to be careful about is not getting any dirt in the tank, which can clog the Rotary Valves and stop the motor from running altogether, requiring disassembly to clean it out.

Realization of a dream, Johns 3rd prototype C/A motor with de Havilland Beaver.

John admits to not being at all competitive by nature, unless he enters a contest!

and controllable power source, for the climb and cruise phase with sport / scale models, than rubber or I/C engines. The only discrepancy John found was that the much larger motors in Berts day (which probably had relatively more torque) favoured propeller Diameter to Pitch ratios common to rubber-powered models (i.e. around 1:1.5 D to P). Whereas Johns much smaller capacity motor seems to prefer around 1:1 D to P ratio. It turned out that using a standard 8 inch diameter Peck-Polymer plastic propeller, which has around 1:1 D to P, produced the best results (and of course a lighter balsa version would prove even more efcient).

Third Motor / Performance

This third prototype motor was now subject to performance measurements. Berts ruleof-thumb suggested a static thrust of 25% of the all-up ying weight will y well, and that 33% static thrust will climb pretty good and gain altitude. If the models glide angle is around 10:1 (forward ight to sink-rate), then 10% thrust will maintain level ight. Using these guidelines John experimented with various different propeller sizes, to adjust the rpm and power released to obtain suitable thrust and endurance. A CA motor develops its max torque at zero rpm. When the piston is at TDC and the gas comes in, maximum pressure acts on the piston crown. So C/A motors act more like a rubber motor than an I/C engine, in its torque rundown over time. Consequently they can swing much larger propellers (for their relative size) than one might expect, and operate at a much lower rpm, which is aerodynamically much more efcient at producing thrust. Consequently, as they use up stored air pressure, the discharge rundown torque gure looks much more like the characteristic sigmoid curve of a rubber motor. However the initial peak burst is less and the cruise is much more sustained. Overall this produces a much more realistic

Third time a charm:

Johns third prototype really worked out all the details. He nally installed this motor in a small F/F Scale de Havilland DHC2 Beaver, and promptly won the 2009 US SAM Champs, in the Duration Class for C/A motors! Finally, following all of these tests and experiments, John decided he wanted just a little more power. So without redesigning the motor or increasing size and weight, he used the time honoured method of simply increasing the capacity by increasing the bore. Adding just 1/32 inch dia. (which doesnt

sound very much) added about 10% to the power output and increased the swept volume to 0.15 cu. in. (.25 cc), for reference now halfway between a Cox .010 and .020 engine. The motor, now christened the Zephyr, was ready for Prime Time. But Johns goal throughout this process was to produce an efcient C/A motor, capable of being made on home-workshop equipment, straightforward enough for the typical budding amateur machinist to tackle as a modelling project, to compliment his model building skills. To go one step further and test this concept, John enlisted the assistance of two local modellers in Los Angeles, Jim Alling and Jim Sprenger, neither of whom had any real metal-work experience, beyond a couple of hacksaw-and-le model parts, which one of the Jims referred to as being akin to making stuff with your teeth! So the Two Jims set forth and have played the role as beta-testers of Johns design and drawings, which will be presented in next months AeroModeller as a build-your-own project for the Zephyr C/A motor! Stay tuned G Contacts: Reprints of Bert Ponds book Expansion Engine Powered Model Aircraft are still available from, Zephyr Motors, Jim Sprenger:

zephyrmodelmotors@gmail.com

Mentor and student apprentices, Jim Alling left, Jim Sprenger right inspect their work.

41

B
B
The Legacy:

Dominator Revival
By Tim Hobbins and Dave Wiseman
ack in 65 when any with-it teenage lad ew Combat, diesels were king, contest entries were huge and Great Britain considered itself the leading Combat Nation. But there was no World Championships in this era, only the European Criterium of Aces to prove who was on top. Overnight, Mike Davis of Cannock Outlaws revolutionized model design with his Dominator, own to Victory in Belgium by his club-mate and new European Champion, Pete Smith. The Dominator concentrated the primary structure in the blunt Leading Edge, forever did away with spars, and utilized at-plate ribs for quick simple accurate production that is practically indestructible (in fact, still the denition of the modern Russian Combat models being own today, 50 years later). Hence it laid the foundation for almost every Combat model since. The Dominator simply was, and remains, that revolutionary. Ode to a Combat Diva: Mary had a little wing, Its covering white as snow, And every time that Mary ew, Boy, did that thing go! Powered by an Olly, With a Taipan prop, Loops and Bunts and Eights galore, Would it never stop? Chasing Tails she beat the best, With ourish and panache, So tough it cant be broken, Not even in a crash! Inside, Outside, Upside Down, She knew all the tricks, Guess you know her name by now, Ms. Dominator-ix! - Anon, anon and on.

Combat Capers

Genesis of the Madness - Tim

Tim Hobbins rst built a Dominator in 1967; thanks to the AeroModeller free plan (A/M Dec 1965). It was covered in white nylon and powered by a Mark III Oliver Tiger. He says it took him ages to build, spending most of the time trying to shape the leading edge with a Surform plane (surely one of the most useless tools ever invented!) Tim says it was a bit of a lump but he built 5 more before he got distracted, less than a year later, by a vision of loveliness in pink silk: Yes, youve all been there, the Ruter Ess! (A/M Dec 68) Fast-forward 45 years and times have changed. Like it or not today we have the internet, upon which there is this thing called The Barton Forum www.controlline.org.uk/ phpBB2/index.php a website where Control Line yers of all Nationalities and persuasions congregate, to discuss any-and-all aspects of

Artwork from Richard Evans T-Shirts depicting the great Mike Davis and European Champion Pete Smith with Dave Balch and Big G accumulated years of dust and dead spiders, Graham Bryant Richard Evans Photo and bolted a new engine in it so he could take it to the eld that day and run-in the aforeC/L activity and associated subjects: some mentioned engine. When he returned serious; some not so serious; and some fairly home that day, he innocently reported this silly. Now the Dominator had a bit of form iportant piece of news on, where else, The on this website, as a few years earlier one Barton Forum, under a thread entitled The particular member (whose name escapes Madness Continues. This tale started out as me?) started a thread where participants a bit of a diary, charting the antics of a small could write a Poem or Ode, to the humble group of Scottish C/L yers on a muddy Dominator. Yes, you read that correctly. You may think that such a thread would draw very Strathclyde Park: I Parra-phrase (pun intended) Anyway, I was running-in a steel (piston and little interest and so you may therefore be liner) PARRA 2.5cc diesel, ying it in of all surprised to learn that so far it has received things a Dominator, and the test ight caused over 200 replies, most of which are poems, such great excitement that now Everyone wants limericks and suchlike. You cant make this to y Dominator Combat again - Good Grief? stuff up - what can I say, were modellers! What happened next dear readers is the Consequently the noble Dominator remained, C/L Combat equivalent of all hell breaking lurking at the back of our consciousness. loose (You really need to get out more often - Ed). But for those who understand North Oer The Border Meanwhile until one day, in deepest Scotland, these things, if something captures a folks imagination, you know it can run like wildre. Gordon Price, who up to now had Gordons comment immediately provoked Team member, dug one out from under a pile replies: Has anyone got a plan? Can I of dead and dying FAI models, blew away the

Dominator Free Plan in the December 1965 Christmas edition of AeroModeller 42 AeroModeller - Mar/Apr 2013

Richard Evans fabulous renditions at 14 ounces and genuine Copeman Olivers, with amazing performance to match Richard Evans Photo

Last years Cold Turkey, Barton Aerodrome, from the left: Simon Timperly (Nuneaton), John Leggott (Barton), Willie Wallace (Scotland), John Cuthbert (Scunthorpe), Andrew Shields (Junior), Tim Hobbins (Scampton), Dave Wiseman (Barton), Gordon Price (Madmac), Richard Houghton, Nick Bridges (South Broistol), Harry Walker (Barton) and daughter Mia Andrew Shields Photo started and were in the air immediately, and At the rst event, twelve yers arrived come too? Can I use an Early Bird? and both pilots were going all-out for the win. prepared to do battle equipped with presumably from fellow Scot, Mr McEnroe: But try as he might Gordon just couldnt Dominators: Old and New, Nice and well, You cannot be serious! So far the Madnessget the better of Andrew, who ew steady Not so Nice. Not only did these models look thread on the Barton Forum has received over and controlled, took the only cut, and nice (or not) but they ALL ew well (more 41,000 views - Wow! put Gordon in the ground on a couple of on this later). So before the contest a photo In a short space of time the idea grew, and occasions. Hence Andrew Shields was the documented all models and pilots, as we did much as Id like to relay all the manic details, Dominator (pun intended) taking home the not know how many would survive. In fact, there really isnt space. Gordon published a plan Winners Medal back to Scotland. as it turned out, ALL SURVIVED to ght in 4-parts, to print off and stick together. Many another day, but some did have a few battle people who had not own for years and years scars. It was nice to see evenly matched models were suddenly frantically gathering wood and doing battle in the sky even as the wind started dope. Its testament to our affection for this to build. As the objective was to have some little model that some of the countrys top combat yers joined in the fun. John Cuthbert, FUN, several rounds were drawn to give every entrant the same number of ights, as opposed F2C Team member, built two beautifully to a knockout pyramid, where the unlucky get nished models. Sto Holland (Flingel Bunt an early shower. Instead, points were awarded: man) Northern Ireland and Richard Evans 3 for a win, 2 for a draw and 0 for a loss. This (Mr Ironmonger) made stunning examples. way maximum enjoyment could be had, all day For some, brought up in the cushy world of long. Lots of fun all round and not a single RTF combat models, the challenge was too mid-air collision all day. Neither did any pilot great so they looked for RTF Dominators! Of fail to get engines started and models in the air. course, there werent any, so I built 17 myself This was not a beauty contest. Winner Andrew In fact all equipment worked well, how often (but now its up to 21 models)! It had all the Shields model at 17.9 ounces came through the could you say that on a winters day. makings of being a good event... event without a scratch it looked this bad So, after 4 rounds of combat and 24 bouts, when he started! Note extra Six-Pennyworth two pilots shone above all others. None Dominator Cold Turkey - Dave of tip weight and 10 engine offset:when other than those two marauding SCOTS: By mutual consent, nally a date for battle too much, is just right! Andrew Shields and Gordon Price, both was xed on a Winters day at the end of GBR Team members, showing that the December: the BARTON COLD TURKEY By days end, chilled and thrilled, every cream always rises to the top. Both had won meeting in sunny Manchester!!! The weather one had had a really good time and enjoyed all 4 of their bouts so it was onto the Grand forecast was for Cold, Windy weather. But every minute of it. Most of all, it was good to Final. This is probably a good time to say even this did not deter the Hardy Scottish see people like John Cuthbert, Chris Barker, that the model which Andrew was ying, contingent from travelling south of the border, Richard Houghton, Nick Bridges and Simon would normally had been consigned to the for an away-match to do Battle on English Timperley, coming out of the woodwork again to SKIP and best described as Old and Tatty, turf. As it was, the weather Gods were in good y Combat. And so everyone is looking forward with an engine having about 10 offset! humour, allowing the day to start off Brisk, to this seasons DOMINATOR COMP at the Gordon had actually given it to Andrew Calm and Sunny. But as battle continued next Barton Bash. See you all there and long may as SCRAP, so chose to y his best, fastest, the wind did gain in power as the Trusty this Madness Continue nicest model in opposition! Both models Dominators battled on.

With three building boards on the go simultaneously, Glass Fibre Uniow Tanks, lighter than tinplate, Quality workmanship and new Ridley Oliver Tim made 17 models for the rst event ! dont leak and guarantees a good run. only 395g complete (Wow, 13.9 ounces !) 43

Retro Modelling
Tony Lumsden with his superbly made Mercury Magna at the free ight Nationals in 2009. How pretty is that, bring yours to Old Warden in May!

Chips with Everything

...including the Ramblings of a Shed Dweller - Andy Brough

T
T

Shed Essentials
his edition is very much more concerned with shedly activities as the short days and winter weather reduces our ying time. There are always many models to repair and new ones to build and winter is the peak time for this activity. For those of us in sheds the activity is often tempered by the cold and damp! Model building requires a comfortable temperature probably around 18C and that can be difcult to achieve unless you are attached to the household heating system. Although I have insulated my shed with 50mm Kingspan insulation board, double glazed the windows and made 50mm foam sandwich main doors its still gets cold! The worst culprit is the oor, which was massively improved by laying a ooring grade chipboard oor over 44 AeroModeller - Mar/Apr 2013 a foam layer. This also gives a slight spring to the oor and is very much kinder to stuff dropped upon it! Extra comfort can be added by what are known as fatigue mats or simply old carpet. Just out of interest the insulation, which is foil covered does go someway to making a Farad cage around your shop so Internet connections can be affected along with cordless phones... To upgrade the heating I installed a large dehumidier to keep the moisture level low as I keep everything from magazines, tissue, balsa, indeed my entire modelling stuff in there and machines and tooling which must not get moisture on them. Believe me, it works and loads of water is extracted. This has the benet of requiring less heat as the dry atmosphere feels warmer so I can get away with temperatures as low as 14 to 15C and feel comfortable. As for a heater, you need a safe one, as any naked ame is a no-no as we use dope and store all manner of solvents and fuel! Fan heaters warm up quickly but do not heat all the space in my experience. Oil lled radiators again do not warm the entire atmosphere and take ages to warm up. The solution I found on the Dimplex web site that is most helpful in choosing suitable heating. I bought an oil-free radiator of 2KW output that has switchable sides so it can be put against a wall and does both radiate and convect. The sensible arrangement is to place the heater in the middle of the working space, i.e. real central heating! The major benet of the dehumidier is the massive air circulation capacity that takes the warm air and distributes it all over the workshop. My dehumidier also has a built in heater that

Superb and efcient the Dimplex 2 KW oil free radiator is ideal for all shed dwellers.

Also an excellent addition to the shop heating is a large capacity dehumidier.

The match of a DremelTM cutting disc of 24mm plus 0.8mm ply makes superb modelling sized biscuits.

Trailing edge xed with a biscuit, oh so strong! is ok for small increases in temperature. One point to be considered is that dehumidiers dont work at low temperatures. I elected to keep a minimum of 10C to keep all the balsa, tissue and magazines dry and warm. This new heating arrangement has made a massive improvement to the comfort and all corners of the shop are at much the same temperature. Its now inviting to leave the comfort of the living room and venture outside in the evening, hence I am much more productive.

Leading edge repaired the same way. in place. Actually a water only joint is remarkably strong and impossible to pull apart as the biscuits. Lets look at a repair job using a technique that will be useful for biscuits. My way of repairing snapped strip material such as a leading edge is to ease the broken bits back together and push it as straight as possible. Then to run thin cyano into the joints. This then needs reinforcing. I do this with splines made out of 0.8mm ply pieces. It just so happens that DremelTM cutting discs are around 0.8mm thick. So, you simply cut a slot over the join and press ply into it pre cut as per the photo, using the cutter as a template. Then run thin cyano in. The outside faces are then planed and otherwise sanded. Incredibly strong and no added bits to thicken the original structure. The photos probably explain this better than the words. Now back to biscuits. Having got matching ply and cutters, we can now make our own miniature biscuits. In woodworking slots are either cut with a purpose made jointer with a retractable blade and adjustable fence or a router table. For modelling the table approach is the way to do it. Nearly all modellers

Small router set up by German company ProxxonTM have a mini drill and the better ones such as DremelTM have router table accessories. ProxxonTM used to offer one but now only sell a proper miniature table with a built in router which is exceptionally good but perhaps a bit over the top for most aero modellers. I bought the old ProxxonTM accessory for use with a ProxxonTM mini drill. The alternative is to use a mini drill table again such as ProxxonTM or DremelTM that has a million uses for precision drilling anyway. The disadvantage of using the drill press is the lack of ready made guarding and if more routing is to be done proper guarding is essential even at miniature sizes and dust extraction too boot! Anyway, assuming a table arrangement, simply add an arbour with a cutting disc to the router/drill. Taking the leading edge to rib biscuit joint as an example of a very useful joint. Set the height of the centre of the cutter to the centre of the leading edge section. Better to cut the joints whilst its still square so there is a at face to slide along the table. Mark where the ribs are to be located on the top face. To set the depth stick temporary blocks on either side of the cutter with double sided tape. Switch on router at full speed and 45

Biscuits anyone?
One of the advantages of having other related hobbies or skills is the ability to transfer knowledge and skills from one activity to another. Biscuit jointing is common in cabinet making for joining two pieces of wood together, used in place of mortise and tenons and dowels. The principle is to cut opposing semicircular recesses in mating faces; in cabinet making this is 4mm, and insert a biscuit whose long edges have matching semicircular outlines. A water based glue is used to both lubricated the assembly, expand the biscuit and glue it

Retro Modelling

Ready to slot the leading edge with spacer blocks in place to set the depth.

Slots cut into the leading edge at the rib locations. The biscuits now rounded off, so much neater Im sure youll agree.

Jig for planing square material or indeed round! Micro rebate plane used to round over the leading edge. Actually the edge of a shooting board. push the leading edge into the cutter at each marked location. Do this steadily and not too quickly or too slowly. You soon get a feel for it. Leading edge done. Now. We need a corresponding slit in the front of the ribs. Line up all the ribs as a block with a piece of scrap on the end of the stack. Use the sliding mitre fence to move the stack through the cutter and the scrap to the set depth. One simple pass. You now have a set of matching slits at exactly the same height off the bottom. Mark and cut with sharp scissors the biscuits out of 0.8mm ply. For this biscuit leave the rib facing side rectangular and circular for the leading edge to match the semicircular slot. Now Ill tell you why this is a brilliant joint. When you assemble the wing, the biscuits are dry tted to the leading edge and the ribs pushed into the ply at the marked location. The joint is tight and will hold the ribs tightly and most importantly square to the leading edge. Carry on with the rest of the assembly and adjust the rib location if required knowing it will remain square at all times. Once happy to glue, run thin cyano onto the ply faces on the top. You could use thin PVA instead. The glue wicks into the ply/balsa joint and also forms llets on the on the ply to give you a bead. A huge gluing area and a joint that will never fail. The very neat trick to tidy up the biscuits is to sand 46 AeroModeller - Mar/Apr 2013 them with a micro drum. This you do by hand with a 6mm drum or in the table, which I did. The resultant radiused biscuits look very professional and are a near perfect joint for very little weight and a huge benet in assembly because the ribs are truly vertical, held in place and guaranteed all at the same level. No more propping up the ribs to hold them square! All this may seem a faff but once you know what to do its quicker than trying to explain it and so incredibly neat. It can be used on the trailing edge as well but not for the small edge used in the model currently being built. So there you are, biscuit joints for model aircraft. You can of course use them for joining sheet together to ensure that the panels are at with no step, which is again one of their cabinet making uses. Out of interest, the trailing edge to rib joint in the example uses llets as I hate slotting trailing edges and usually end up with a small gap on the surface where the rib inserts. Also shown in the photos are my set of transformer laminations which are exactly 12mm thick and U shaped. Theses are heavy and are used to weight down items being glued, as shown in the photo and as a square, which is what they are. They are also used to set dihedral in near enough 1/2 steps by just stacking than up. I got these as scrap over 20 years ago

One of a twin set of planes, note cam adjustable depth setting, saw tooth slot is for a side fence for rebating. and are incredibly useful. Whilst on the subject of wing building how do you make the leading edge section? The router table I have can be used with a suitable cutter. However I must stress that to do this dust extraction should be used as balsa dust is dangerous to health and it make the cut cleaner as otherwise the dust clings and damages the surface and clogs the cutter. You must use a wide plank to rout a section along one edge and then cut off to the appropriate width. Never try and rout a thin section as I have seen in other magazines. This is very dangerous and no woodworking magazine would allow such a practise to be mentioned. My usual way is to plane the rounding over part on a jig. Woodworkers shape timber with cutting tools and sand to smooth the surface. I tend to do the same with balsa. I made a shooting board for planing edges of timber and ply, one long edge of which had a rightangled groove along it and a stop. This was made out of two sheets of mdf both having a 45-beveled edge. These were then glued to make one sheet with an internal 90 channel. This allows both square and round section timber to be held along its length. It is a simple matter to plane parallel to the jig. My jig was meant for larger sections of wood but using a small rebate plane made the job easy. The photo shows the super little plane, which

Sample frame showing wrinkles in the lm when using Modelspan and the wrinkle free n using Jap tissue.

Great new Superlite covering material as mentioned in the text. The 24 micron material has adhesive on the matt side and goes clear once heated.

came as a set of two, one 8mm wide and the other 16mm. The blades are of the snap off scalpel type so ideal for planing soft wood like balsa. There is a fence, which allows a rebate to be planed. We shall return to the use of a shooting board in the future. The leading edge section was therefore planed easily with little dust, only needing a light sanding to complete. It took a minute or so with no set up unlike a router or the crude resting on the edge of a bench!

Easy Mylar
I have so much tissue Id be mad to use any other covering material! However I do like to pre-cover with polyester tissue or if I have to, Mylar. I cant get on with Mylar and for some jobs like rounded fuselages it is a nightmare. One of my indoor ying pals has introduced a clear adhesive backed shrink lm for strengthening DepronTM sheet models. After a discussion I decided this would be a great alternative to Mylar. At 24 microns it is thicker than we are used to in Mylar but the adhesive layer is a real boon. I covered a sample frame after giving two coats of dope and the lm went on very easily and adhered well to the dope using a moderate iron. It seems to take a great deal of heat and pulled off the balsa before burning a hole. I gave the lm and edges a coat of dope and applied tissue wet. When nearly dry I ooded with thinners. So far so good. The rst coat of dope went on well, as it should with the lm underneath preventing drips. The lm did wrinkle after one coat of dope and I have had this issue with Mylar. I suspect much of my old tissue water shrinks too well, so by the time

dope is added its a shrink too far! My current build is a Mercury Magna so I have decided to cover the model in the new material. So far the n has be done and I have used Jap tissue which shrinks less than Modelspan. Its also lighter and with the addition of the clear lm will be more than ample for a small power model. The results so far are better, as I hope the photos of the frame with Modelspan verses the actual n with the Jap tissue, shows, which is almost wrinkle free. More importantly the application of the lm was a piece of cake. The lm is available from Nick Manns web site www.hotwirefoamcutter.co.uk known as Transparent Superlite Covering Film and costs 2.99 per metre with a width of 510mm. You specify the length you want. We will have completed the model by the next issue so Ill give a full update then.

Spot Landing Rudder Only Radio Assist Rules

1) Models must comply with the theme of the competition. e.g. one model, one manufacturer or one designer. 2) Scaling up or down is permitted provided that the maximum engine size is Mills 0.75 or equivalent. This can be modied if the site is suitable and published beforehand. 3) Builder of the model rule applies. 4) Models and iers shall comply with site rules currently in force. 5) Models shall have rudder only radio assistance: if the model normally has elevator/engine control it must be rendered inoperative. 6) Minimum engine run must be 45 seconds. In windy conditions the competition director has discretion to reduce this to an appropriate time down to a minimum of 30 seconds. 7) Placing in the competition is based on models coming to rest nearest to a designated spot on the eld. The number of ights allowed will be stated by the CD. 8) In the event of a tie for rst place there will be a y off. 9) Only 2.4GHz radio is allowed. Im sure this will as much fun as the last one and as a bonus the Pontefract club will be holding another combined single channel and Sam 35 radio assisted free ight meeting sometime in the summer. You can y your Magna there as well! Check out their web site for the details: www.pandasaero.co.uk See you all next time and in the meantime I can be contacted on: acbrough@hotmail.com 47

Single Channel Spot Landing Competition

By kind permission of organiser Ken Sheppard, the Model Air meeting at Old Warden over the weekend of 11/12th May, Sam 35 will hold a spot landing competition similar to the one run at the Vic Smeed memorial meeting reported upon in the last issue. This time its a onedesign competition for the Magna, a popular free ight power design kitted by Mercury from the early 1950s but not seen very often these days. Doug Wass who ran last years comp has had some Magnas laser kitted in the original 38 size plus a 32 reduced size version. Both are eligible for the comp. The rules are on the Sam 35 web site and published below.

Web Walk

Aeromodelling and the World Wide Web

D
D

Mike Evatt takes you into the underground of cyberspace where Free Flight and Control Line aeromodellers thrive.

uring the past 50 years or so, the movement of Radio Control aeromodelling and the advancement of related technologies have become the mainstream in our hobby. The downside of this splendid, high-tech and protable direction is that it has forced the art and science of true aeromodelling to eek out a meagre existence ying under the radar. Traditional modelling lost a lot of momentum and had to seek out other methods to survive. Times got rough, and then got worse. The model aviation arts and sciences began to fade into oblivion. Finally, a saviour arose born from the technologies that once threatened its very existence and they called it The World Wide Web. A computerized network of communication has opened up new avenues for the traditional aeromodeller to travel. Over time, more and more information and sources for raw materials to feed our hobby and industry became available to every aeromodelling household. Once again, the disciplines of our craft have begun to grow and thrive and to do my part; I will be bringing more and more of these resources to your attention. Some of you may already be aware, but over the coming months you will be exposed to new roads to follow and new sources as I take you on a Web Walk that will inspire your imaginations.

Brodak - the one-stop shopping option for all of your control-line needs. www.brodak.com is a cornucopia of control-line delights listing 186 kits, 134 plans 22 handles plus over 1000 other items. Whether you are an experienced control-line builder and yer, or you are just starting out, Brodak Manufacturing and Distributing is a one-stop shopping option for all of your needs. They use only top-quality materials to manufacture every kit to very close tolerances, and individually check every kit for quality and completeness so that you can build the best possible airplane. BuiltRightFlyRight.com at unsurprisingly www.builtrightyright.com aims to market the nest control line kits available. They specialise in limited run manufacture of laser cut kits from the classic, old time and nostalgia stunt eras. Full Kits & Short Kits are normally available for some models. Their output covers Prole, Classic Stunt, Combat, Carrier and Nostalgia so there is plenty to choose from. One of their latest additions to the range is Les McDonalds Stiletto in 35 size shown in the screen-shot. Two brothers from Okmulgee established the Tulsa Gluedobbers Control Line Club of

Time to Warm Up Your Mouse

Brodak Manufacturing and Distributing Company, Inc. claims to be Leading The Way In Control-Line Flying as it has for many a year. The web presence at

48 AeroModeller - Mar/Apr 2013

Les McDonalds Stiletto from BuiltRightFlyRight.com.

The Tulsa Gluedobbers Control Line Club of Oklahoma is well worth the visit.

A new electric cut off timer to conform to the new E-36 rules from BMRJ. Oklahoma in the 1940s when they moved to Tulsa to work for Douglas Aircraft. It was initially a free ight club, but soon added control line and later radio control. The original organisation has since split into three separate clubs, two of which kept the name Gluedobbers, the RC Tulsa Gluedobbers and the Control Line Tulsa Glue Dobbers. Their website at www.tulsacl.com is well worth the visit for the excellent photo galleries, its wealth of hints and tips and web links. E-36 was provisional event formulated in the USA to introduce modellers to electric free ight, as P-30 was to introduce modellers to rubber power and forms a stepping-stone to higher power electric events like F1Q. The event has become very popular in the States

Buy an Ikara Buttery for hours of indoor fun. free ight airplane model called Buttery. Thanks to its ight weight of only 2.8gm you can y this model in your living room and thus enjoy ying with free ight airplane models even when there is bad weather outside. www.indooraero.homeunix.net is the URL of a website published by Andrea Hartstein. These Indoor Aeroplane pages are mainly focused on the Swedish indoor free ight ying scene, and include excellent high-resolution photos in the photo gallery. The content, although aimed at already active indoor yers, is accessible to the beginner with excellent explanatory notes and some relevant articles to aid the novice such as the construction of an F1L as shown in the screen-shot.

and is now attracting a following in the UK. The BMRJ website at www.bmjrmodels.com lists the Stone Age Engineerings new electric cut off timer which conforms to the new E-36 rules which allow brushless motors and a D/T function. This looks like a simple intro to what appears to be a fun class to y! Ikara at www.ikara.eu is a specialist manufacturer of free ight airplane models, powered by rubber motors. This Czech company manufactures kits and ready to y models for indoor and outdoor ying. They pay special attention to models for beginners and youngsters. Signicant parts of their production are models for the P-20 and P-30 competition categories. However the most popular product of the company is an indoor

49

Web Walk

Above: Indoor Aeroplane has excellent photo galleries.

Left: The International Model Airplane Plans Cooperative is an excellent resource. The website of the International Model Airplane Plans Cooperative, also known as the Co-op Plans Project, may be found at www.co-op-plans.com The plans on this website are the result of sharing between modellers and organized groups worldwide. Members, whether individuals or representing clubs or organizations, have agreed to contribute their own holdings into the common archives and to provide the skills and work to preserve and restore these plans such as the plan of the 18 inch span rubber powered Stearman 73 Trainer shown in the screenshot.

50 AeroModeller - Mar/Apr 2013

Outerzone lists of free vintage and old-timer ying model aircraft plans to download.resource.

Artem Babenkos new website displays his extraordinary F1C folder.

Free Flight Supplies for practically all your material needs.

Traditional Chuck Gliders from My Skies. Jap Tissue to sophisticated purpose made pultruded carbon bre sections. And nally! I was asked the other day why beginners HLGs and prole rubber models are no longer made from balsa! Well, here is a company that bucks the trend. My Skies is based in Derbyshire in the UK and design, produce and sell Laser Cut Free Flight model aircraft kits. Check out their website at www.myskies. co.uk for their Ruby, Leaf, Feather and Twister designs. Thats all there is time for from me this month so re up the browser and if you nd something out there of interest that might be good to share, email me at: mikeevatt@hotmail.com

An excellent resource!
Outerzone at www.outerzone.co.uk is a listing of free vintage and old-timer ying model aircraft plans to download. The listing is free for everyone - you dont need to register or log in to download plans. Just start by... well, looking around and clicking on the download links. You can view model plans by category tag (like say free ight, control line, scale, rubber, etc.) using the browse plans pages. The screen-shot shows Lother Piesks unusual 1.5cc F1A Power model Atlantis from the 1959 World Champs at Craneld. Moving on a few decades, if the ultimate in competition free ight is your aim then take a look at Artem Babenkos new website at www.artembabenko.com This site is a personal

webpage of the twice World Champion Artem Babenko of the Ukraine. This site gives a glimpse of the precision and detail of one mans quest to produce an outstanding folding wing F1C power duration model. Mike Woodhouse runs a quite extraordinary operation via his website at www.freeightsupplies.co.uk The theory behind Free Flight Supplies is to supply items which are needed by free-ight and other modellers that cannot be readily obtained through the normal model shop outlets. Mike also believes in the builder of the model principle so what you will nd on his listings are components, plans, materials etc.- rather than ATRF stuff. There are literally hundreds of items from basics like

51

Junior Competition

F1D WORLD INDOOR Championships,

Belgrade Serbia
by Josun Cole

Indoor competition on the World stage as seen through the eyes of one of Great Britains rst F1D Junior Team members

M
M
Starting out

0.6 grams and 1.2 grams are two numbers that mean a lot to F1D iers.

y brother Edward and I have been building up to compete at the World Championships for just over two years. We started ying simpler models, but quickly decided that we really wanted to build and y ultimate indoor duration models. So, we started working on primitive F1D designs. We were fortunate to have access to some of the best indoor iers in the UK and quickly decided on a design by Bernie Hunt, called The Big Square. Apart from its good contest performance in the hands of Derek Richards, it is one of the easier models to build, with no curved structures, just straight edges.

Starting out in F1D is quite intimidating, as almost every aspect of the model requires learning a new skill. Rolling motor tubes, the Close up of Josuns F1D model showing xed pitch prop 52 AeroModeller - Mar/Apr 2013

Interior view of the massive Hall 1 at the Belgrade Fair, Serbia

Junior F1D Team Winners use of boron laments only 0.002 diameter, and especially the selection of wood, is all critical to producing a viable contest model. Our models use round motor sticks rolled from .010 thick balsa, wing spars from .022 thick and a tail boom rolled to a taper and made from .009 thick balsa! The motor stick is so thin that it requires three tungsten laments of .001 diameter to brace it, otherwise it would break when a fully wound motor is attached. Our trip to Belgrade really began when we competed in the Team Trials in Peterborough last November. The target time was 5 minutes on motors and we had six attempts to meet this goal. Our rst ights were test ights and after balancing duration with no hitting the ceiling we both managed to qualify with ights of between 6:30 and 6:40 minutes. First goal achieved. After the trials we set about building our World models, however our biggest hurdle to competing was soon to challenge us. Unbelievably, our trial times were nearly not ratied because of objections from the BMFA Contest director. She considered us too young (we were on the Junior Team) and thought we could not handle the pressure of competition nor the heat in Belgrade. Fortunately, others at the meeting supported us and our results were ratied Great Britain now had its rst F1D Junior Team. The next few months were lled with lots of building and experimenting. The specication of all FAI F1D models is set out to exact rules, so we wanted to build models that were as close to the minimum weight of 1.2g with maximum areas, but would also be durable enough to take the abuse of competition. All our rst models had been light, but too exible and would warp under load and y inconsistently. We attended the team practice days and the initial results were very promising. All six of our contest models ew well with only minor tweaks and we could now consistently y 6:30 minutes on motors. Next stop Belgrade. Belgrade is the beautiful capital city of Serbia. It was founded at the conuence of the River Sava and the River Danube, which is one of Europes longest rivers. The view from the old fortress that protected Belgrade from invaders is truly magnicent. Belgradians are very polite people and we met a lot of them while we stayed in the city centre. The food is very good and varies from meats to salads with plenty of fruit, so we had a lot to choose from.

53

Junior Competition
After testing, it became clear that ying on xed pitch props was going to be challenging as we had no way of controlling our height and our models were ying right to the top of the roof over 100 feet up and were losing time scrubbing the ceiling. Most iers were using Variable-Pitch hubs on their props so we decided to follow suit. Our times improved and we nished a respectable 7th and 9th overall. Importantly, we learnt a lot and the contest gave us a lot of data to use in the World Champs. The F1D World Championships are held over 5 days. The rst day is relaxed with competitors signing on and free training. The second day is practice and also the Ofcial Opening Ceremony, hosted by the FAI and The Belgrade Flying Club. Each country was welcomed and we watched a wonderful display of Serbia dancers in national costumes. All ofcial competition days are split into two sessions. Over the course of three days, competitors are allowed 6 ofcial ights of which the best two contribute to your total score. Before each ight, models are processed by FAI ofcials to ensure they meet the exact specications of the regulations. The wingspan, tailspan and airframe weight are checked. After each ight your motor is also checked to ensure it weighs no more than 0.6g.

Award Ceremony Buffet

Beautiful Belgrade City centre at night

Outside of Hall 1 at sunset The venue for the World Champs was in Hall 1, at Belgrade Fair on the banks of the River Sava. The building is dome shaped and looks like a sea anemone with masses of windows set within radial spines. It is a huge building that is over 100 feet tall. Inside there are no beams or obstructions as long as you y in the middle of the hall more on that later! We had never own in such a tall building and one of our rst challenges was ying on full o.6g motors up to now we had only used ? motors. Now we were going to see what our models were really capable of achieving. We had entered the Dorol Cup, which is an F1D event organised by The Belgrade Flying Club and held immediately before the World Champs. We planned to use the event for setup and evaluation of our models. The Dorol Cup holds to the same rules as all FAI events and teams from most European countries, the USA, Australia and Argentina, all took part. We also had fun meeting other juniors from around the world.

Pre ight
Prior to a ight the model is taken out to the ying area and placed on a stooge. Motors are wound on a winding rig off the model. We use 10:1 winders to apply the turns. For consistent ights, we are more concerned with winding the motors to a constant torque value rather than a certain number of turns. We found this to be the most challenging aspect, as it is easy to get turns or it is easy to get torque, but not both. Too little torque and your model ies at 40 feet, too much and your

Edward Coles F1D up near the roof 54 AeroModeller - Mar/Apr 2013

Edward launches his Big Square

Timekeepers keep a close eye on ights model bumps off the ceiling. The ight characteristics of F1D models are all trimmed into the models prior to launch. Wing warps to prevent stalling on launch, tail tilt to turn the model in its left turn. We use motor stick bow to control climb, as well as adjust the settings on our Variable Pitch Props.

Josun Cole winds the last few turns - motor will then be transferred to model beat me in the individual results. Gabrielia Kaplanova from the Czech Republic was crowned World Champion for the second time with two fantastic ights of 31 minutes each. The Romanian team won the Team award. My brother and I learnt a lot from these two events and have many ideas of how to improve our ight times. We are looking forward to hopefully qualifying for the 2013 European Championships, which is again in Belgrade. The Complete FAI F1 Sporting Code FAI and more images of the 2012 FID World Championships can be seen in the Bonus Content for Issue 920 at: www.aeromodeller.com

Helium lled steering balloon used to move models away from obstacles us the technique of steering. Large helium lled balloons are connected by cord to a shing reel, which allows their height to be controlled. By walking the line below the balloon and gradually approaching the model, it is possible to hook the line between the wing leading edge, then moving the line forward and stopping the prop. Once stopped, the model is walked in right hand circles to where you want it and away from obstacles. This can be tricky as the gap between the wing and prop is only 2 inches and the model can be 50-70 feet high. All good things must come to an end and after three days and six ofcial ights the event was over. We were tired, but pleased with our results. The BMFA had expected us to return 18-minute ights, but our best ights were over 24 minutes. We nished sixth overall in the team event and Edward Our US friend Spencer Tyson assists Josun steer.

Good launch by Edward Edward and I ew at different times within our sessions, as the hall was so hot (45 C) and we found the sun shining through the windows caused very turbulent air down low that was difcult for the models to y through. Higher up, the hot air currents moved the model in ight from one side of the hall to the other, which required us both to learn the skill of steering with balloons to reposition the model away from obstacles. Our US friend, Spencer Tyson taught

55

Vintage Perspective from OZ

by Don Howie

For Old Times S

is the 54 span Utility built and own by Paul Notley from the London area and powered with a Bantam 19 rear disc induction spark engine designed and built by Ben Shereshaw from 1939 to late 1946. The engine design was sold to Herkimer Tool & Model Works Inc. in 1947 and built mainly from the parts supplied, but used the OK type needle valve, sold as the OK Bantam 19. Shereshaw decided to concentrate on producing glow plugs for OK engines rather than having to design and produce model engines. The Utility was a Hacker design published in January 1942 Flying Aces magazine, the model built by Paul having Trexler airwheels, cream Solartex covering with blue/grey paint trim. Next model seen at the SAM 1066 Champs in 2011 is popular vintage modeller Brian Ferrett with his 60 span Halfax Spartan. The kit cost 2 5s 0d in 1948 and was produced by Halfax Models Ltd. Green Mount Works, Halifax, Yorkshire. The model has nylon covering with red paint trim and the deep fuselage makes the model very stable under windy conditions. The original model was designed for the 6cc Stentor British spark engine from 1946, but Brian has tted a HP Mk.2 petrol engine from 1947, rebuilt by Derek Collin and increased from 3.5cc to 4cc. The close-up photo shows this engine, which started as the Atlas 3.5cc in 1946, made at Dunstable, Bedfordshire. In 1947 it was sold as the HP Mk.2 at 3.5cc, made by Morbone Requisites, Barnet, Herts and the rebuilt engine runs nicely on the 10 x 6 nylon prop tted. Next, Stuart Church from St. Austell, Cornwall, is shown holding his 74 span New Ruler powered with an Ohlsson & Rice OR 60 front rotary valve spark engine, introduced by Ohlsson in 1948. The model was designed by Henry Struck and published in Air Trails, April 1940. The model has an open cabin just behind the pylon (not seen in the photo) making it look different to the usual pylon design of the period. The model has silk covering on the wing and tail with red nylon on the fuselage. The model was built by John Mayes from the South Bristol MAC and the original design has an interesting history. Henry Struck

Spark Ignition Models and early Kiel Kraft kits...

I notice at the present time in Australia one can obtain a new spark ignition 2-stroke engine (NGH GT9) that runs on a 25.1 petrol/oil mix and has a capacity of 9.07cc (see link: www.allelectricrc.co.uk/ngh-gt99cc-petrol-engine-2658-p.asp). This is similar in size to the Loutrel and Brown Junior engines in 1934, designed to run on a petrol/oil mix. Petrol has nearly twice the caloric value of methanol/nitro/oil mixes and this has twice the economy. In 1951, FROG introduced a spark ignition version of the popular 500 red glow, costing ten shillings more than this normal 5cc glow plug engine. The Forster Brothers in the USA, again released the Forster 99 in 1955 (rst introduced in 1935) as a spark engine with a two-speed spark timer for radio control use. The old spark engines required manual adjustment of the ignition timing by raising and lowering an arm, but the latest Capacitor Discharge Ignition (CDI) systems with Hall effect sensor do this automatically. The rst Old Timer model pictured from 2011, seen ying at Middle Wallop

Paul Notleys Utility climbs away at Middle Wallop.

56 AeroModeller - Mar/Apr 2013

Sake
sold the design to Berkeley Models Inc. in 1940 and it was kitted as the American Ace at 54 span and 36 span versions, the smaller size for the new Atom .099 spark engine. Henry designed the Brigadier at 58 span, kitted also by Berkeley Models Inc. in 1941 - the model was still popular in the nineteen fties as a radio or PAAload design. Paul Notley holds his 54 span Utility. Brian Ferrett with 60 span Spartan.

Bill Dean at Keil Kraft

Reading the ABC of Control Line ying in the Keil Kraft Handbook & Catalogue for 1957, they claim the Phantom was Britains rst control line kit. The model shown is the Mk.1 at 24 span and powered with a Bantam 19 spark engine, similar to the open cockpit model built by Paul Notley. Early in 1946, Keil Kraft advertised that they were to produce the 28 span Hornet design for their Keil K.6 petrol engine, soon to be released. The new Hornet, when released, cost 2 5s 0d plus 8 17s 6d for the K.6 petrol engine, so most

Close up of HP Mk.2 petrol engine in Halfax Spartan. Stuart Church with his New Ruler.

Top - Mk.1 Phantom with Bantam 19, Bottom Mk.2 21 span Phantom.

Original 24 Phantom in 1947 with Bantam 19 by Paul Notley.

Six early C/L designs by Bill Dean for Keil Kraft.

57

Vintage Perspective from OZ

Mystery Keil K.6 spark engine from 1946. modellers could not afford this combination. In 1947, Bill Dean designed a slightly smaller Phantom at 21 span to take the popular Mills 1.3 c.c. Mk.1 diesel and this kit sold for 18/6d (less than a pound), making it much more popular. The Mk.2 Phantom, shown with bubble canopy and a PAW 1.5cc BB diesel tted, was also built by Paul Notley, and became the leading British control-line trainer. Later in 1948, Bill Dean designed Phantom Mite at 16 span for the under 1cc engines (front, centre in photo), which reduced the kit price. The six Keil Kraft designs shown in the photo, built by Ian Smith in New South Wales, Australia, were still being sold in the nineteen sixties. Next Bill Dean design was the 20 span Scout Biplane in early 1949, shown bottom, right in the photo. This was followed by the Skystreak 26 for 1cc diesels, shown top left in the photo and designed to be fully

Another K.6 running in Junior 60 of Paul Notley. aerobatic. Next design in late 1950 by Bill Dean was the KK Ranger A class Team Racer at 24 span (back, centre in photo) still selling for only 12s 9d in 1957. The Skystreak 40 for the FROG 500 red glow was next, this still a low cost KK kit. The last in 1953 (shown bottom, left in the photo) was the (EeZeBILT) Champ at 20 span with all parts cut out, including the fuselage, bearers, wing, tail etc, so no plan was provided or needed. I assume this was the last C/L design by Bill Dean. it was never listed by Ron Warring from 1948. A number of modellers, such as Eddie Keil, Mick Smith, Ron Moulton, etc. were stationed in South Africa to train pilots and they were able to obtain large 10cc American petrol engines such as the Ohlsson 60, Super Cyclone 65 etc, imported up to the end of 1941 into that country, during the Second World War. Eddie ew a large Falcon design, Mick ew his early Mercury design and I suspect Ron built a C/L model for his Ohlsson 60. Albert Hatfull

Keil K.6

This spark engine, rst advertised in 1946, is rather a mystery 6cc engine and though it was still sold in 1948 for 8 17s 6d by Henry J. Nicholls Ltd. at 308 Holloway Road, London,

WENWriters KK Snipe with MAC .049 power.

Plan of KK Snipe design by Neville

Willis.

58 Aeromodeller - Mar/Apr 2013

may have own a Simplex with a 6cc engine built in South Africa. This is pure speculation that it was a design from that country and made after the war as the Keil K.6 engine, shown being held by Paul Notley in the photo. It is also possible that Eddie Keil bought the dies for the engine and it was produced by Micron (Mr. Gladieux) in Paris, France from 1946. Micron started in 1941 with a 10cc spark engine, followed by the famous 5cc xed compression FRV diesels from 1943. Paris was not bombed by the Germans or the Allies during the war, so model engine production continued, I suspect they were sold to the German troops in 1943 and many to American troops in 1945. Paul Notley has two K.6 spark engines, one is own free ight in a Junior 60 as per the original by Albert Hatfull. The casting work is well executed with separate castings for the cylinder with ns, front housing, rear intake and ignition timer. Three screws and nuts hold down the cylinder with ns, I assume it uses an inserted cylinder liner. The front is also held by three screws and nuts, so no threading is needed. It was never a low cost engine as I expect Eddie Keil had spent a considerable amount of money for the excellent dies. The model with K.6 was own by Paul at Middle Wallop SAM 1066 Champs in 2011 and the picture shows my tacho taking the rev gures. After two runs on the ground we obtained 4,600rpm on the 12 x 6 Zinger wood propellor, the engine running smoothly. It is very easy starting by hand and Paul mentioned he has had 100 ights over 10 years with this original combination of Junior 60 and Keil K.6.

The model does y very well with this combination (see ying photo) and I doubt many modellers bought this spark engine due to the high cost in the 1946 to 1948 period. The Junior 60 design was updated in the mid nineteen fties for radio use with a stronger wing and tailplane, making the design even more popular and modelled by a large number around the world.

Keil Kraft Snipe & Cobra .049

The 40 span Keil Kraft Snipe kit along with the Keil Kraft Cobra .049 glow were introduced late 1960 early 1961. I regard a Vintage design as something over 50 years from introduction, so we can now feature models from the early nineteen sixties. The Snipe sport free ight model was designed by Neville Willis and he tted the low cost DC Bantam glow of .762cc capacity, introduced early 1960. The design is quite simple to build and is a semi-scale observation type aircraft. It is important to incorporate the wash-out on the wing tips to avoid a tip stall and make the model easy to trim and y. My model started out in the nineteen sixties with COX .020 Pee Wee glow up front and required some noseweight when own by Reg Laing. I purchased the model much later from a second owner and it now needed recovering. I decided to t a WEN-MAC .049 glow, mounted upright, and slightly shifting the radial mount engine further forward, eliminating the need for noseweight. A small aluminium trim tab is tted to the n, set to give a left turn on climb and glide. If the climb is too tight to the left, some right thrust may be needed or one can bank the tailplane to give a natural left turn on the

glide, reducing left rudder turn. The KK Cobra .049 glow engine with beam mounts is designed for this model and I recently tested engine No. 2352, made by J Rodwell of Hornchurch, Essex for Keil Kraft. All parts are 1959 Cox .049 Babe Bee vintage with the exception of the crankcase and rear backplate with reed valve intake, which were pressure diecast for J Rodwell in the UK. Roy Cox sold the parts for his low power single transfer cylinder port engine, but most of the Cox reed valve engines from the nineteen sixties and later used dual transfer parts. The engine was tested in October 1960, Aeromodeller and gave .052bhp at 15,000rpm. being similar to most Cox .049 single port reed valve engines. I ran the engine in my backyard on a warm day using 15% nitro fuel. Results as follows: KK Cox Master 6 x 4 Nylon 6 x 3 Grey 5.5 x 4 Comp 11,100rpm 13,800rpm 14,000rpmMax

The engine was easy to start by hand, using 1v on the Cox glow head and it behaved just like a normal Cox reed valve engine. The Cox 6 x 3 prop is better than the larger Keil Kraft 6 x 4 nylon prop shown in the photos. The engine has a .406 bore, .382 stroke and weight of about two ounces! The beam mount make the engine easy to t in Keil Kraft kits designed for the DC Merlin and DC Dart diesels and glow engines in small sizes became popular in the UK during the early sixties. The KK Cobra engine cost 39s 6d in 1961 and offered quite good value.

Two KK Cobra 0.49 glow engines, owned by Nigel Wotton.

KK Cobra name cast in bottom of crankcase.

KK Cobra .049 glow running with KK 6 x 4 nylon prop tted.

The Junior 60 climbs away with K.6 power.

59

Tips & Tricks

I
I

Tru-Flite Top Tips

grew up building many models from the Phil Smiths wonderful Veron TruFlite range, along with similar inspiring offerings from Keil Kraft. At a young age, my dream was to have a miniature wooden hanger at the bottom of the garden, opening on to a super-smooth, close cropped grass runway from which I could ROG the entire series of kits, which I had expertly constructed and trimmed to perfection. Roll on 35 years, and I now realise that even if I had the time and patience, I was never going to get my ying scale models to y as well as they did in my dream. Inefcient, small propellers, often heavy wood, coupled with a rubber band that looked more like a slice from a car inner tube meant that most of these models in their original form did not y as well as originally intended. Although now out of production, the plans for the Veron and Keil Kraft range of small ying scale models remain popular, They all build up into wonderful little models, and with a bit of know-how, can be made to y very well indeed. Heres a run down of a few tweaks that will not only make them y better, but will make them easier to build and look better too;

Text and Photos by Richard Crossley

longerons once the basic fuselage structure was built. For strength, I cut the cabanes over-length, so they glued to pieces of sheet balsa let-in to the main fuselage sides. The cabanes then glued to the inner faces of the centre section ribs on the upper wing. I then webbed across with 1/16 balsa sheet between the struts where they glue to the upper longerons to give a little more strength. I did a similar thing with the undercarriage, although this time the over length struts were splayed out slightly to the correct angle. The inner faces of the fuselage sides were chamfered at the U/C strut location points to ensure the struts were not too set-in. Again I webbed across with 1/16 balsa sheet to provide strength. The key to the survival of this brittle undercarriage is to have a sprung axle. This

No need for that tricky wire bending

Bending up those complex wire parts was always the worst job for me. My cabanes were never true, and my undercarriages were always lop-sided. I have found the big cheat here is to avoid wire altogether for struts. I recently built the Veron Neiuport 27, and used very hard balsa for the cabane struts. These were mounted on the inside face of the main upper

Larger scale sized wheels give a more realistic appearance. Note the larger prop on my model. The n features a laminated balsa outline.

60 AeroModeller - Mar/Apr 2013

gn, rib is Tru-Flite rib desi top of notched to sit on the trailing edge

ling edge owing how trai sh n io ct se sos Rib cr and sanding, d after carving joint is weakene g prior to coverin
is easily achieved by binding the wire axle to the top of the spreader bar, and employing large slotted thin ply gussets where the struts converge to allow the wire to travel upwards with landing impacts. The resulting model is much easier to build than one using wire, as well as being neater and considerably lighter. You can keep the wire on types with a simpler undercarriage, but you may want to use thinner wire to save weight, or in the case of ghter types leave the gear off altogether.

joint. trailing edge/ rib Modication to d in secn now be tapere trailing edge ca eakening joint. tion without w
the rear peg. Hence on many designs the rear motor location point is right back near the tailplane. This spells disaster, particularly for models with a long fuselage and a short nose, as the amount of nose weight required to get the balance point in the correct position renders the model far too heavy to y more than just a few feet. I have found no noticeable reduction in rubber motor performance by moving the rear peg WELL forward. You can afford to be quite radical here, typically on a WW1 type model the rear peg can be not far aft of the lower wing! My Neiuport needed only a tiny amount of

(and some new ones) do not have any wing incidence shown on the plan. This will just not work, unless you bend the tailplane up at an awkward angle. Be sure to check the incidence (angle of attack) of the wings compared to the tailplane. On a biplane I generally give the wings 2 degrees positive incidence compared to the tailplane, and on a monoplane, 3 degrees.

Move the peg forward

What no incidence?

For some unknown reason many older kits

In the olden days it seemed that purpose of the fuselage was to hold the rubber motor nice and tight between the prop hook and

A sprung axle is essential in this otherwise rigid undercarriage. The slot allows the wheel to travel up with impact.

Note how the wooden undercarriage struts (I have used 1/16 ply here) have been webbed as they pass up into the fuselage. Glue well, epoxy is best here. 61

Tips & Tricks

Add incidenc e to wings - 2 de grees on biplanes (a nd triplane ) and 3 degree s on monoplane s

Move rear peg well forward, from here... ...to here!

aces ail surf Sheet t vy, use a are he re, structu built up ly with b prefera es d outlin e t a in lam

The original kits all had unders ize plastic wheels. Mak e bigger scale size on es from balsa

Use hard balsa or ply for all struts, no wire bending needed

nose ballast using this system, and recently I built a little Brewster Buffalo, an aircraft characterised by its short nose, which needed no nose weight at all, and had great performance.

Props, rubber and nose blocks

Choose an efcient plastic prop (I like the Peck type) of around 7 or 8 inch diameter. The amount of rubber required will depend on the weight and type of model, but typically a single loop of 3/16: about 16 long, or a

double loop of 1/8 the same length. Its down to trial and error. It is essential to make a substantial nose block with a big orice to get the rubber back into the model whilst stretchwinding - a nose block hole about 15mm across should be ne. For the nose bearing itself, I use the larger of the white or black Peck types, there is a wire gauge for the prop shaft that ts these perfectly, with no play.

Tru-Flite trailing edges

The Tru-Flite series all feature the same rib

to trailing edge to joints - the rib is notched to sit on top of the trailing edge. This causes problems if you wish to sand the trailing edges to a taper, much of the tip of the rib will be lost, and consequently the joint will be weak. I think a neater and stronger method is to notch the trailing edge to accept the rib. You will need to extend the rear tip of the rib by a about 1/16 and notch the trailing edge by the same amount. This is the system employed in many of the keil kraft designs, and in my opinion is superior.

The rubber attachment peg is moved well forward, just visible here level with the back of the pilots headrest. 62 AeroModeller - Mar/Apr 2013

Note the hard balsa cabane struts passing on the inside face of the main fuselage sides. The wings have plus 2 degrees incidence.

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Tail End Charlie

s you can imagine, with the re-launch of AeroModeller Magazine there would be some new areas of interest that would need their place to be told. Tail End Charlie is just such a place where anything can nd purchase. You may nd topics that range from local folklore through to the most ridiculous of political misrepresentation and redundancy. Ultimately, I will strive to have the content coincide with the overall philosophy for which AeroModeller stands. All of which, we hope, is informative and entertaining. Finally, please let me have your thoughts on this department, if you all think its rubbish, please tell me, I wont take offence, Ill just spend more time ying instead of writing it! On the other hand if you enjoy it, do please send me snippets you think I might usefully woven into it. Nows heres the opportunity to get your news out to the rest of the world or even to make an appeal for information on people, models, events or anything Aeromodelling related. You can contact Chris Ottewell direct by e-mail using chrisottewell@anworld.com I look forward to hearing from you all! Now down to this issues nitty gritty. Flitehook You may have heard that John and Pauline are reluctantly handing over the reins at Flitehook to daughter Mandy. In this age when small retailers are closing on a weekly basis (even ALs Hobbies has now closed their Bristol Branch) this is good news. Mandy has great plans for revitalising this important niche supplier and Im sure you will be able to read all about them elsewhere in the magazine in due course. On the down side however, I have to say that I will miss Paulines no nonsense approach to customers at shows. For example, when I checked that the fuel she was selling me was Laser 5% she simply snapped back well its exactly the same as I sold to Neil Tidy only 5 minutes ago! Cant argue with that! I somehow expect Pauline will appear at a few shows in the future though. However, when I tried to get a picture of Pauline and Mandy together on their stand at Old Warden recently, Pauline was off like a ferret up a drain pipe, but persistence paid off and I nally got a couple. Control line fans in general and Carrier Deck Landing people in particular may know Zoe Quilter. She kindly sent me a picture she took at the free ight Nats earlier in the year We both found it amusing. For those of you who are Control Line fans, if you are not familiar with her web site, take a look at http:// www.fuelsoaked.me.uk/ Ideal for those times when you want a bit of nostalgia or to simply peruse the copies of 1950s and 60s Aeromodeller available on line there. The Nats My man in Australia, Ken Maier condently forecast good ying weather at the British Nationals this year on the grounds that he was staying 12,000 miles away. Well Sunday was perfect and Monday morning pretty good too. So, sorry Ken, much as I enjoy meeting up with you each year, you best stay away for the foreseeable future! It wasnt only the weather, which was encouraging this year; I also had the good fortune to meet two thirds of a lovely threegeneration ying family. Euan Galloway delivered a ratty old Flair Fokker DVII I bought on line (from someone else) to the Nats for me and his 12 year old son Cameron helped me get it back to my camper chatting all the way. Whilst freely admitting to having football ambitions, Cameron was clearly also very interested in traditional Aeromodelling. I was delighted to bump into him and his Dad the following day at the Bring & Buy sale especially when I saw Cameron buy a lovely little traditional free ight model with a super Mills 0.75 up front. Not sure what it was, a Slicker Mite perhaps? I heard it ew well that evening too. If Id seen it rst I would have bought that model, but Im glad Cameron got it instead. As for the third generation I didnt meet up with Granddad, but with two generations of proper modellers following him he must be a pretty good guy! Wandering away from the BMFA Tent, I had a great chat with a very knowledgeable chap wearing an Oliver Tiger tee shirt. We were both bemoaning the SMAE becoming the BMFA but whilst I reluctantly accept the need to do this for marketing reasons, Dave Platt (for it was he) adamantly stuck to the purist

Reecting on the 1st AeroModeller and things to do over the winter.

line. I directed Dave to the Combat Circles so he could buy a few more Oliver Tiger Tee Shirts from Richard Evans before jetting back to the states. If you want to emulate the aeromodelling greats and buy some of these shirts they are available by mail order. Just contact Richard Evans at vickyrich@btinternet.com Talking of Richard Evans, he had an outstanding Nationals winning one Combat class (Vintage) and coming second in another (Oliver). Im sure they will be written up in detail elsewhere, but having been lucky enough to see both I can tell you that they were the most exciting and close fought bouts I have seen in years. And such a performance from a chap who collects his pension next year Amazing! One of the Control Line team Race Finals was also amazing but for the wrong reasons. I was astonished when one of the models appeared to disintegrate early in the race with the fuselage hitting the ground very hard in front of me as other parts shot off in different directions. No idea what happened and Ive never seen it before at this level of competition, but it certainly shows the wisdom of installing the catch fencing around the circles. Apart from the Nats, the other great British meetings for traditional Aeromodellers are the three annual ModelAir events run at Old Warden. Despite the terrible UK summer all three avoided cancellation; indeed the September one was positively glorious, and where else can you see Control Line, Free Flight, R/C Assist and Modern R/C all in close proximity? I really enjoyed the Vic Smeed Concours competition, especially a pre-war model I had not seen before called Victoria Parker. Authentic down to its split cane undercarriage legs it would have been the winner had I been the judge! The builder told me he had met Vic and talked to him about the model, which was apparently named after Victoria Park in London! Just take a look at it! BMFA Museum and Flying Site Many of you will know that the BMFA has had a couple of long standing objectives: (i) to establish a National Aeromodelling Museum and (ii) to obtain a National Model Flying Site. Some time ago Jim Wright (Chairman of the Ivinghoe Soaring Association and Chairman - South Midlands Area BMFA) accepted the challenge to research options for both and report back. We met up at the Nationals and I had the chance to see some of his proposals. I was very impressed by what I saw; Im not going to give any details as things are uid and the BMFA Council obviously has to view and consider it all rst. Sufce to say that after a lifetime in business, Jim knows all about producing proper costed proposals, projecting future costs and revenues and coming up with a realistic deliverable business plan. Its all very impressive and affordable. Hands up all those who would pay an increased subscription of 5 pence per week if we got our museum and ying site? All of you? Yes I thought so. Well it could even be less if Jims sums are correct, so make sure you let the BMFA know that you support their aspirations now. Exhibits are already coming in for the museum. For example, Pete Wrights world record breaking control line speed models from the early 1950s, his plans and other artefacts are already held by the BMFA. With so many of the best loved and most inuential gures passing away over the last few years (think Boddo, Vic Smeed, Ron Moulton, Phil Smith, Ron Warring to name but a few) there is every danger that our model aviation heritage will be lost within a very few years if we dont act soon. There is a constant threat that relatives will not realise the historic value of those old planes which Great Uncle Fred designed and/or built and they will end up with a house clearance company and thus nd themselves in a skip somewhere. And remember, if you do own any aeromodelling memorabilia you can always offer it to the museum to ensure it is held safely for posterity. If you have any suggestions or comments for Jim do send them to me and I will pass them on.

Pauline and Mandy Hook at work on the Flitehook Stand. Pauline on left of shot and Mandy on the right.

A very nice C/L speed model incongruously attending the Free Flight Nats Picture Courtesy of Zoe Quilter.

12 year old Cameron Galloway bought this lovely traditional free ight model with a super Mills 0.75 up front at the Bring & Buy sale.

A beautifully built Vic Smeed Designed Victoria Parker at the nal ModelAir Old Warden meeting of 2012.

Collage of Pete Wright items donated to the BMFA Museum. Created from images supplied by Jim Wright.

66 Aeromodeller - Mar/Apr 2013

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Evolution Engines are available from all good modelshops. For details of your nearest dealer look on our website horizonhobby.co.uk, contact us by telephone: 44(0)1279 641097, or by email: sales@horizonhobby.co.uk. 2011 Horizon Hobby, Inc. Evolution, the Evolution logo and the Horizon Hobby logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Horizon Hobby, Inc. 33728