CONTROL LINE AEROBATICS
Frank McMillan 12106 Gunter Grove, San Antonio, TX 78231
Introduction
By the time you read this column, the building season will be in full swing. I’ve been thinking about what to build, what airplanes I need, and what parts, pieces, and materials will be necessary to make these projects happen.
If that sounds like the elements of a plan, it should. To maximize the time you have available, you need to have things thought out so you can make progress and accomplish your goals.
Each of us has a “life” outside our hobby and sport that must take priority, but the time we do have can be better utilized if we know what we will do in our program. That’s what we are going to discuss, build, and organize. Hopefully I’ll give some of you a different spin to fully enjoy the building season.
A building mindset
One thing I’ve learned in 50 years of building these airplanes is that you don’t build light, accurate models in a hurry or in long, uninterrupted sessions. In my long-ago youth I used to buy a Veco Chief kit on Friday afternoon and fly it the next weekend. That was before I had a family and responsibilities, and it wasn’t the best—speed became the driving factor.
When expediency enters the building equation, you take shortcuts that affect a model’s weight, accuracy, and life span. It’s better to take the attitude of doing each item the best you possibly can.
Many projects are lengthy and involved. Viewed as a whole they can be daunting, which may discourage you from starting. That won’t get you anywhere, so you have to figure out a practical approach to get the job done.
Look at a project as an organized group of pieces that can be divided into ever smaller parts. The smaller the piece, the more manageable the task and the less time required. In management terms, that is called “chunking.”
Kits vs. scratch-building
Kits are a way to facilitate starting and completing a project. They save labor, time, and thought by pre-engineering the design, cutting ribs, and providing necessary hardware. We have it good in the stunt world, with multiple suppliers of excellent kits.
Scratch-building is a mental roadblock to some, but it needn’t be. After all, a kit is nothing more than a design with some of the building work finished.
One major benefit of a good kit is the building instructions. Some current kits, such as those in the Brodak line, offer exceptional step-by-step instructions. The old Veco line also had wonderful illustrated instructions. The primary difference between kit providers is engineering and parts provision.
If you’re taken with a design published in a magazine with no kit available, you’ll need to scratch-build. Make a kit from the plans: take patterns of necessary parts, list and acquire materials and hardware, and fabricate what’s required. This requires more time, but it’s doable.
Be aware kits are engineered for production at a cost—some are better than others. In years past, cost considerations led to changes that affected performance. For example, Ambroid’s kits for the Don Still Stuka and the Bill Werwage Ares had wood-size and length changes to reduce cost; the pieces produced from those modified kits did not fly as well as the originals. Fortunately, kit quality and presentation have improved since then.
Preparing to build: study and inventory
Whether you choose a kit or scratch-build, prepare thoroughly. Study the plans in detail to figure out how you will put components together and perform final assembly.
Ask yourself:
- Do you need to acquire or construct fixtures?
- Are you comfortable with construction techniques such as I-beam or Warren Truss-type wings?
- Do you need a lost-foam fixture or a wing-rib creation fixture?
If I were building a Classic Ares or a Cobra, I’d review the Bob Hunt tape showing the master Bill Werwage constructing an Ares. The Warren Truss system requires a lost-foam fixture and a rib fixture; using these effectively requires understanding the procedures, but the results are rewarding.
The I-beam video and information on the lost-foam wing-building system are available from Robin’s View Productions, Box 68, Stockertown, PA 18083; Tel.: (610) 746-0106.
As you study your project, list what you already have (kits usually include strong hardware packages) and what you need. Do you have the proper wood for all parts you must construct? I can’t count the number of times builders had to make do with a heavier piece or the wrong grain pattern.
The best way to ensure good wood is available is to maintain a continuing program to acquire contest-quality wood and to keep a stock of appropriate sizes. There’s nothing more discouraging than having to stop at a critical point because you lack a set of horns or a bellcrank. Do your homework.
Managing the build: chunking and daily progress
Central to successfully completing a model is breaking the project into many manageable pieces. This allows you to maximize the time you have on a daily basis.
Say on your way home from work you realize your evening allows less than an hour. Visualize a task that can be completed in that time. This sounds obvious—so much so you might discount it—but major projects in the real world are managed in a similar fashion.
A management tool called a work breakdown structure breaks tasks into levels with assigned skills and estimated hours, and it also maps the project flow. That’s essentially the technique I’ve been recommending.
In this flow of construction, it’s important to keep making progress—do something each day, no matter how small. If you’re making small parts, put a coat of dope on them and let them set up; it won’t take long. Can you do something to a part before you go to work? Many small tasks can be done and left to set up overnight.
Resolve to make it happen, and you will—if you are organized.
Resources and a kit note
In recent years we in Texas have been supported by a hobby shop focused on stunt products: Ultra Hobby Products. The company can be reached at 9930 Edgecliff Cir., Dallas, TX 78238; Tel.: (214) 348-3962. Early on the company brought out control-system components such as machine clevises and carbon pushrods with custom ends. Since then it has added more complementary products.
The latest addition is a much-anticipated version of Bob Gieseke’s “Bear” Nobler. This design has undergone considerable development and is specifically tailored to modern high-rpm pipe engines. It is a midsize airplane (675 square inches) and is engineered to build exceptionally light.
Bob and Mike Scott (Nationals Advanced winner) have tested production models in the low-50-ounce range. Coupled with newer high-power engines, that promises exceptional performance. The kits include many laser-cut parts, including ribs and plywood pieces, which make for easier building. The wood in the kits is first-rate, so I expect excellent examples to be built.
The Nobler is available as a full kit with a hardware package or as a short kit containing laser-cut ribs, plywood fuselage formers and doublers, bellcrank mounts, and plans.
—MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
