FREE FLIGHT: OLD-TIMERS
Bill Baker, 1902 Peter Pan, Norman, OK 73072
Torque and winding
I think I have made the point that winding by torque is better than winding rubber by counting turns. So, how to measure torque?
When I was flying in competition (I last did that in 1988) I used Bob Wilder's fine torque meters. These are well made and accurate; not cheap, and not always available—sometimes there is a waiting list. An SASE should get you more data from Wilder's Model Machine Works, 2010 Boston, Irving, Texas; Tel.: (214) 253-8404.
Many fliers are making their own torque meters, often from the articles published in the National Free Flight Society Digest by Jim O'Reilly describing his design for a quite-practical torque meter. Jim will send you the latest data on this for an SASE and a one-dollar bill—a bargain. Jim O'Reilly, 4760 North Battin, Wichita, KS 67220.
Rubber
I continue to get very basic questions regarding rubber models. One fellow wanted me to compare the rubber from various sources. To the best of my knowledge, there is only one source, and that is FAI Model Supply. You can buy rubber from lots of distributors, but they buy it from FAI.
A few people have freezers full of Pirelli, and there is some old FAI gray around, but the currently available stuff (FAI tan) is very good indeed, and I hear it is better than most of the FAI gray. All rubber varies in quality (for our purposes) from batch to batch; when an exceptional batch comes along, that is the time to buy ten pounds and put it in the refrigerator.
Heat and ultraviolet rays hurt rubber, so keep your rubber out of the sun and protected from heat when not in use. I used to keep my motors in a Styrofoam chest at the field and put some ice or cold cans of pop in there to help keep them from getting too hot. At home, they lived in the refrigerator.
I tried an experiment once in which I mixed some active ingredients from UV-blocker ointment into my rubber lube, and the best results indicated some protection, but I think it best not to worry about that and just avoid exposing your rubber to sunlight other than the very short time needed for stretch winding.
Coverings and dope finishes
Tissue and nitrate dope is the answer most of the time. For some models, especially large ones, some of the plastic coverings might be considered for the fuselage only (or silk covering, well doped).
Silk over Japanese tissue (on the fuselage belly only) is sometimes seen on large Old-Timers (the Lanzos, Kordas and the like) to cut down on weed-stubble punctures. I sometimes used polyester dress-lining material as a substitute for silk.
As I have said many times, the best tissue is the more expensive imported type, now selling for about $0.95 a sheet, but it is much superior to the cheaper stuff.
I had considerable success when I was flying in competition, and I felt I owed a lot to my discovery of Aero-Dyne non-tautening nitrate dope (Aero-Dyne's catalog is $1). This dope does shrink some, but not much, and after it shrinks a little the first day it is then through, unlike butyrate, which seems to continue to shrink for months.
I have used Sig's Lite-Coat butyrate with success if used thin and only a couple of coats on light rubber-model structures. But if you put it on until it shines, you had better check for new warps months later, as being a butyrate it never seems to quit shrinking. Nitrate, on the other hand, seems to slowly evaporate away, so that after a year or two another coat of dope may be warranted.
One Sig product I highly recommend is their retarder-thinner to use to cut either nitrate or butyrate 50-50, just like any other thinner. This stuff slows the drying a bit so you do not get blushing (an opaque whitish reaction) when doping on humid days.
Ignition engines
My recent series of columns on rubber basics brought in more reader response than anything else I have ever written, but in several years of doing this column I have never been asked any questions about the mysteries of operating Old-Timer ignition engines. I came to the conclusion that no one was operating ignition engines except people who have been doing it for a long time. To my astonishment, I got a letter asking about ignition engines, so I am considering doing a column or two on that subject, but only if I get some feedback from you indicating that there really is more than one person interested.
Where to get it (suppliers and resources)
- Bob Holman Plans — For years a source of scale-like model kits and plans, including some fine magazine plans from England, Germany, and elsewhere. Bob now sells an English ignition cutoff that replaces a servo for RC OT fliers. It is light and reliable, called the Spot-On (cost $20 plus $1.50 postage). Bob Holman Plans, P.O. Box 741, San Bernardino, CA 92402; Tel.: (909) 885-3959, FAX: (909) 889-9307.
- Hobby Shop South — Many kits from England are being imported, including lines such as Keil Kraft, Veron, Flair, Mercury, Complete-A-Pac, West Wings and others. 1993 catalog $2. Hobby Shop South, 5600 Glade Road, Acworth, GA 30101; Tel.: (404) 974-0843, FAX: (404) 974-6243.
- Bill Warner — Has a list of cottage-industry suppliers for free flight needs and includes newsletters and other useful publications. Updated from time to time. A dollar (and perhaps a stamp or two) to Bill Warner, 1370 W. Monache Ave., Porterville, CA 93257 will get the list to you.
- Stick and Tissue International III — If you liked I and II, you will want this one too. Contains four model construction plans (Peanuts), four three-views, many photos and articles. Feature article on the Gee Bee canard (the Ascender). Cost $9.95 plus postage ($2.50 book rate or $3.50 first class) along with a complete catalog from Hannan's Runway, Box 210, Magalia, CA 95954; Tel.: (916) 873-6421.
- SAM 86 Speaks (newsletter) — Dan O'Grady, 50 Largo Cres., Nepean, Ontario, Canada K2G 3C7; Tel.: (613) 224-3424.
- Dick Gleason — Has virtually complete sets of all model aviation magazines published since 1931, and he has indexed them. For a small fee, Dick will locate a model for you and photocopy the article. He can enlarge magazine plans from original articles and has an extensive library of full-size model plans that he can copy, including those from American Aircraft Modeler, Air Trails, and Hobby Helpers.
- Address: Dick Gleason, 1106 10th Dr. SE, Austin, MN 55912; Tel.: (507) 437-3781.
- Catalogs: Published Nonscale Model Plans (all categories) $5 postpaid to the U.S. and Canada; Scale catalog ("Gold Book of Model Plans from the Golden Age of Aeromodeling") $2.75 (U.S. and Canada). He further breaks catalogs down into categories: nonscale free flight, nonscale gliders, control line, etc.
Final note: Next time you want to know where to get a copy of some old article, write to him — I sold my magazine collection to make room to build some models.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
