Free Flight: Duration
Harry Murphy 3824 Oakwood Blvd. Anderson, IN 46011
New 1/2A engine for the Nineties
Emerging from the shadow of the famed Indy 500 Speedway is a new production engine with such revolutionary styling and superior performance potential that it appears to usher in a decade of new challenges for all facets of 1/2A gas Free Flight, Control Line, and Radio Control flying.
The engine is the product of Fred Baldwin and Jim Van Arsdal, whose partnership has created BV Competition Engines. Their engine, the Shuriken, is to be produced in .049 and .061 cu. in. sizes—the latter intended for use in the new small-engine FAI Free Flight event, F1J.
As photos suggest, the diminutive powerplant is unique in many respects, particularly for a 1/2A-size engine. Quality exudes from its radical styling and beautiful multicolored anodized finishes. The engines are currently produced with either a red or black anodized crankcase, with contrasting black prop-drive washer, plug retainer, backplate, prop spinner, and intake venturi. Only the needle valve assembly and button-style glow plug are purchased; the remaining parts are unique to the engine.
Aside from its good looks, the engine is intended as a high-performance racing machine. Its basic innards verify that intent:
- Schnuerle porting with ABC (aluminum piston in a bronze cylinder liner, chrome-plated) piston and liner.
- Double-ball-bearing-supported crankshaft with a vented crankpin.
- 4340 alloy steel piston pin attaching a titanium-nitrided steel connecting rod to a forged silicon-aluminum alloy piston (unusual, as most present-day 1/2A engines incorporate staked-in connecting rods).
- Prop drive washer retained with a SuperTigre-like lock cone that binds the drive washer onto the crankshaft.
- Entire assembly weighs just 2-1/4 oz.
The engine comes with a special two-pin spanner wrench used to remove the backplate and glow-plug retainer or to tighten the prop nut. No traditional nuts, bolts, screwdrivers, or conventional wrenches are required for disassembly—an example of advanced design thinking by Fred Baldwin.
When asked about the Shuriken name, Fred disclosed his background in karate and said a Shuriken is one of those shiny star-like steel weapons used by ninjas in martial-arts movies.
The needle valve assembly is a standard 6-32 tpi Dale Kim design. The glow plug is a GloBee R5X button-type; the glow-plug manufacturer is also located in Indianapolis, close to BV Competition Engines.
Performance claims (from initial prototypes) include:
- 27,500 rpm on 50% nitro with a 6 x 3 prop (FF use).
- 32,000 rpm with 70% nitro and a 4 x 3 single-bladed CL speed prop.
An initial run of 600 production engines is under way. To order from BV Competition Engines (1163 Country Club Rd., Indianapolis, IN 46234) send a 25¢ stamp (no envelope) with a note stating the desired name; your name moves near the top of the waiting list and you will be notified to send money. Current engine pricing: $20.00 (.049); $21.00 (.061).
Fred and Jim request that this purchase procedure be used until the initial rush subsides.
I wish the Shuriken success in the marketplace; a vacancy exists for a durable, racing-type production engine for 1/2A gas competition. If prototype performance is indicative, new competition concepts and model designs utilizing this power source are likely. It should also boost popularity for the fledgling FAI small-engine event, F1J.
The F1J event
In a nutshell, F1J is a relatively new small-gas-engine-powered FAI free-flight event, flown in rounds similar to F1C Power, but without the strict mass of regulations associated with F1C. The event rules are minimal:
- Maximum engine size: 1.0 cc (.061 cu. in.)
- Minimum all-up model weight: 100 grams (3.65 oz.)
- Engine runs: seven seconds
- Maximum flight: two minutes
- Five official flights
- Fuel constituents: not restricted as in F1C
Any standard 1/2A model that meets the minimum weight is eligible. For example, a five-year-old gas design by the late Tom Hutchinson, now flown by Bruce Augustus at the Sierra Cup, used a Cox TD .049 with a Cox gray plastic prop and outperformed several more sophisticated, multi-trimmed models built specifically for the event.
F1J has been added to the 1990 NFFS/USOA/CAMA Nats at Lawrenceville, IL this October.
Note: Official rules for F1J (and for F1G — Coupe d'Hiver — and F1H — All-Nordic Towline Glider) do not yet appear correctly in the 1990–91 AMA Competition Regulations book or the FAI Sporting Code. F1G's fuselage cross-section rules have been deleted, and the new minimum weight for F1H models is 180 grams. AMA Technical Director Bob Underwood has agreed that these three events will be flown to the properly corrected regulations, even though they have not yet been formally printed.
PAA Load Gas returns
Not to be confused with the current official AMA Payload Gas event for .020 engines, a combined Class V4A, A, and B PAA Load Gas event will return this fall as one of the NFFS-sponsored events at the weekend USOA/CAMA meet.
History: Pan American Airways (PAA) originally sponsored several weight-lifting model events from 1948–1961, including the V4A, A, and B Gas events from 1948–1957. Pan Am dropped the gas-powered classes in 1958 but returned PAA Load Gas for 1959 as a single PAA Load class for .020 engines; sponsorship ceased entirely in 1961. The NFFS reintroduced .020 Payload and Clipper Cargo as special events in 1968; they became official AMA events by 1974.
Thanks to Rudy Kluiber and Terry Riemer, PAA Load Gas returns under the NFFS as "Nostalgia Gas PAA Load," combining the previous V4A, A, and B Gas events into a single class for designs published or kitted during the 1948–1957 era.
Class dummy weights:
- "Half-A"s: 4-ounce dimensioned occupant (dummy)
- Class A: 8-ounce dimensioned pilot
- Class B: 16 oz. or two 8-ounce pilots
Event rules summary (as continued):
- The model must not weigh less than 100 oz. per cubic inch of engine displacement, with the proper size dummy and its respective weight added.
- Engine runs: 15 seconds
- Flight time: two-minute maximum
- Attempts: six attempts allowed to make three official flights of 40 seconds or more
- All flights shall ROG (rise off ground)
For a complete set of rules and a list of eligible designs, send a large SASE to Rudy Kluiber, 2021 Lakeland, Lakewood, OH 44107, or to this columnist, and you will receive an information packet by return mail.
Let's make it a well-attended revival. See you there!
Mad Ball Timer fuel shutoff
The Mad Ball King supplies a half-dozen typewritten pages of instructions and sketches with each order, covering do-it-yourself timer fabrication and care/maintenance tips. The converted toy timer can get the timer weight down to around the five-gram region.
Purchase options:
- Bare mechanism (taken from the toy, cleaned, lubricated, checked): $11.50 postpaid
- Fully fabricated timer: $13.50 each postpaid, or two for $25
- Flexible thin-wall fuel tubing: $1.25/ft. (three-foot minimum)
Order from: Hank Nystrom, 3317 Pine Timber Dr., Johnson City, TN 37604. Tell him Duration sent you!
Note: Sources for the toy mechanisms are drying up; Tomy, Mad Ball, and similar toy mechanisms may become extinct. An inexpensive electronic fuel shutoff may be needed.
Campbell's Custom Kits — new offerings
Lee Campbell sent two new kits:
- 80% rendition of a Russ Hansen 1/2 T-Bird for '40 Nostalgia Gas competition — $19.98
- Hand-Launch Glider (HLG) by Dick "Fast Richard" Mathis — $8.98
Both kits include fine balsa with parts cut to shape. Add $2.50 per order for shipping and handling. Order direct from Campbell's Custom Kits.
Dr. Diesel's Diary
Eric Clutton's new book, Dr. Diesel's Diary, is 36 pages covering model diesel engines: fuel, props, exhaust systems, starting, hints and tips. Recommended reading for any engine buff.
Price: $10 plus $1 postage. Order from Eric Clutton, 913 Cedar Lane, Tullahoma, TN 37388.
Trim sheets from Eagle Products
Jim Evans (Eagle Products) sent trim sheet samples. Each package contains three strips, 8 x 26 in. Available in many colors and patterns (solid, multicolored fades, dark-to-light blends). You can cut license numbers and lettering from the material.
Application:
- Sketch your design on paper.
- Tape the paper to the trim material and cut through both layers with a sharp modeler's knife.
- Peel off the paper backing and apply; the material is pressure-sensitive—press to remove trapped air bubbles.
For colors, pricing, and orders: Eagle Products, P.O. Box 4600, Corona, CA 91723.
Al Lidberg Morane Saulnier MS-29 plan
Al Lidberg's latest plan is a 22-in. wingspan rubber flying-scale version of the Morane Saulnier AI (MS-29), a little-known WWI French fighter. Features include solid ribs with scale spacing, movable ailerons/rudder/elevators, half-shell fuselage construction, detailed camouflage markings, and a scale three-view. Although intended for rubber power, it can be flown with CO2 or electric power.
Price: $6. Order from A. Lidberg, 614 E. Fordham, Tempe, AZ 85283.
Old-Timer Model Supply catalog
Ken Sykora of Old-Timer Model Supply sent his 1990 catalog, which carries hundreds of old-time plans. Catalog cost: $2. Address: P.O. Box 7334, Van Nuys, CA 91409.
50th Anniversary — Roy Nield's 1940 Moffett Model postal contest
P. Peter Mann is organizing a season-long postal contest ending October 31, 1990, commemorating Roy Nield's 1940 Moffett model. Fly your replica anywhere and send your times to Peter; enter as often as you wish. Plans are available from John Pond Old-Time Plan Service (Plan #61) or Model Builder magazine (Plan 7820-11). A November 1940 Air Trails may contain the original plans. Easy Built Models offers a kit (FF-62) for $20.
No entry fees. Awards for 16-and-under and 17-and-up categories. Register and request particulars from Peter Mann, 36 Rydehlam St., Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1H 2W4.
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By the time you read this, we will be well into another outdoor flying season here in the Midwest. See you downwind!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
