FREE FLIGHT SPORT and SCALE
Bill Warner, 1370 Monache Avenue, Porterville, CA 93257
Epoxy luck
The epoxy didn't set up! Hooray! In the May issue of Le Fana d'Aviation, this phenomenon, which has occasionally plagued modelers, saved two full-size planes from a horrible terrestrial fate.
Americans like to weld machine gun barrels shut and do similar things to retain forbidden objects that have some aesthetic value to us. The Swiss military, in their infinite wisdom, decided that rather than scrapping all of their old target tug F+W Emmen C-3605s, they would render them unflyable and sell them to civilians. This was to prevent incompetent civil pilots from destroying these historic artifacts. To this end, the Lycoming T-53 turboprop units were poured full of epoxy.
Two prospective buyers for these planes, Frenchmen Yves Duval and Robert Laurent, researched the temperature and humidity on the day the epoxy had been poured and thought there might be an outside chance that it hadn't set up properly. They purchased two of the planes, tore down the compressors and voilà! A slightly oily engine interior and the cold, humid weather conditions had successfully defeated the epoxy's mission. With about the same odds as reversing a vasectomy, the engines were cleaned out and restored to their original purpose.
When a modeler epoxies something using wrong proportions or conditions, the model may be doomed; in this case, the planes were liberated. Is there a moral to this story that might make a difference in your next epoxy project?
De-warping methods
Taking out warps on the field is always fun. Little twists creep in before flying that often become apparent only when the model is test flown. A variety of methods have been tried:
- The most common: breathe heavily on the offending surface for about 30 seconds while twisting it in the opposite direction. This will sometimes be enough, at least for a flight or two.
- Car exhaust: I tried de-warping with the aid of car exhaust, but once got soot spots on a new model that proved impossible to remove, so I quit that.
- Propane torch: I liked using a propane torch, holding the plane far enough away to prevent incineration, but keeping my hand where I could feel the heat. I loaned the torch to a friend at Lake Elsinore to fix his wing — which he promptly ignited. Now I leave the torch at home.
- Steam: Some guys rig up little steam cans fired by Sterno or alcohol; I admit I have never actually seen anyone do this. If you have access to 110V AC, you can use a mini steam wrinkle remover or a hair dryer.
- Newest entry: a $12.96 Wal‑Mart 12-volt hair dryer that plugs into the cigarette lighter receptacle in your car.
Computers and three-views
Computers are rapidly becoming an adjunct to the hobby. Cameras have long been necessary for enlarging three-views, artwork, and for recording finished models for posterity and for sharing in magazines and newsletters. Some enterprising modelers have cataloged magazines, plans and how-to references as three-view files on computers, though the task requires time and patience. Real World Complete Models have designed an aid computer to give airfoils, cross-sections and other information.
Phil Koopman recently wrote an interesting article on making three-views from photographs for WW I Aero, Leo Opdycke's unequalled journal on early aircraft. Described in the November 1992 issue, Frank Van Dalen, assisted by Phil, developed a program that converts two-dimensional photo data into three-dimensional outlines of the photographed object. These outlines can be used with CAD (computer-assisted drawing) programs to produce remarkably accurate three-views.
This is another hobby which most of us have no desire to get into, either because of the cost involved or because we're set in our ways. If you are interested, you can get more information from WW I Aero, 15 Crescent Rd., Poughkeepsie, NY 12601-4490. Yearly subscriptions to the journal (four issues per year) and to its companion publication, Skyways, also published at that address, are $25 each. They are "must haves" for serious modelers who are hungry for good documentation. Many back issues are still available—send for a list.
Great clichés department
Dan Miller writes in to add a couple of quotes to our collection of model clichés found on plans and in magazines:
- "Make templates and cut out ribs." ("What's a template?")
- "Use strong but light balsa." ("Anyone knows what that is?")
- "The prototype is still being tested." ("I can't get it to fly.")
Taft revisited
With the recent switch of much California free-flight activity to the flat-for-miles Lost Hills site (a place which inspires ecstasy when it is not windy and blowing dust — an all-too-frequent phenomenon), not much is heard from Condor Field in Taft.
Taft still gets my vote as the best place to fly. Maybe it's because of nostalgia — I've flown there for over 30 years and lost many models to those legendary Taft thermals, which can lift a trash can full of bricks. You don't need all those fancy thermistor-with-streamer outfits there; just chuck a handful of dry grass and see if the chaff rises.
With the Memorial Day USFFC now moved to Lost Hills over Labor Day, the Blacksheep Squadron of Burbank, California, has taken over those traditional three days with an annual to end all free-flight contests.
More than 80 free-flight events were flown this year — many of them Scale. Events ranged from:
- Grapenut to Indoor
- Ornithopter to Night Catapult Glider
There was something for everyone. You might see a glider made of feathers, a four-foot-diameter flying saucer, or a Pennyplane flying in the dawn calm. For many, Addie Naccarato's gourmet Italian feast was reason enough to go. This meet is a must for hard-core free-flighters!
Danger in paradise
Have some sort of dust mask at either Taft or Lost Hills, just in case. I live in the southern Central Valley of California, and the dust-borne spores causing Valley Fever (coccidioidomycosis) are always something to be aware of — 1992 and 1993 were record years for the disease here.
Go, fly, have a ball, but be prepared. Dr. Will Nakashima, writing in the NFFS Digest some time back, advised fliers to hold their breath when a dust devil passes.
A word to those who let their kids roar around on off-road vehicles upwind of the flying site: many cases of "cocci" are serious enough to require hospitalization and missing several weeks of work. You wouldn't drive the freeways half asleep, use CYA glues without eye protection, risk Lyme disease from ticks by chasing through bushes in shorts, or run through rattlesnake country barefoot, would you?
Night flying
Once, when we were young and foolish, we used to rubber-band a DT fuse to the landing gear legs of Sleek Streaks and fly them at night, watching the little red spark go around in circles overhead while we timed them. Having seen a grass fire explode on a flying site once is enough to cure you of that!
Night-flying today is made possible by tiny battery/bulb units, strobes for big models, or little fish-line cyalume sticks (Lunker Lights) available from bait shops. The easiest way to go is the cyalume.
I found that putting one on each wing strut of my 24-inch Curtiss-Reid rubber model permitted visibility at all times. You may need good eyesight if you hit a night thermal, or if there is moonlight, but under normal conditions you should have no problem tracking your model.
Attachment of the tiny cyalume sticks should be at the center of gravity (CG) so as not to upset the flying trim; do a test flight or two before it gets dark. Once cracked, the sticks glow for several hours. You can fly anything from P-30s to hand-launched gliders with them. A powerful flashlight is always nice to have handy for chasing.
Feather and windshield glue
Ken Johnson, who counts archery among his many hobbies, has recently discovered a new use for fletching cement (normally used for gluing feathers to aluminum arrow shafts). He says it works quite well for attaching windshields on scale models. Thanks, Ken!
Ducted-fan electric
Ducted-fan electric is certainly here to stay. Hi-line mini-electric units have been available for some time from Dave Rees, 301 Yearling Dr., Goldsboro, NC 27530. A comprehensive book on the subject is now available from Ferrell Papis, 300 W. Lincoln #82, Orange, CA 92665.
Ferrell, an outstanding builder and flier with years of ducted-fan experience, has finished a superb 60-page book on the subject. It centers on building the MiG 15, both as a rubber profile and 19-inch or 25-inch electric versions, with techniques applicable to any ducted-fan project.
He also covers how to do markings with a color dot-matrix printer, how to build your own props and fans, vacu-form canopies, and lots of other useful stuff. The price of $24 (plus $4 shipping and handling in the U.S.) is a little steep, but if you want to get into successful ducted-fan building and flying, you can't find better information or plans.
Cottage industries guide
My annotated, computer-updated daily list of 150-plus suppliers, clubs, and purveyors of model stuff and new products useful to free-flight scale modelers can be yours for a dollar and a large self-addressed stamped envelope (52 cents postage) to me at the address heading up this column. This non-profit list exists because there isn't space here to give all these guys the attention they deserve, and they can't afford much advertising.
Well, until next time, gang — protect your prop hooks with plastic tubing, strain your fuel, and give your wife a well-deserved bouquet of roses for putting up with your competition: Free Flight Sport & Scale.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
