Free Flight SPORT/SCALE
Bill Warner
A couple of months ago I got a letter that seemed to deserve more than a casual reply. It was from Will Volny, Jr., in Palatine, IL — a town not known for its Free-Flight Scale activity. Having gone through a similar situation many years ago, I feel his questions point to one of the reasons FF Scale has not grown larger than it has.
I'll bet 99 out of 100 kids (boys at least) have tried to build — or have built — a FF Scale rubber model. Of these, 85 were never finished or flown (according to a representative for one of the largest kit makers in the country). Of the remaining few, only one percent (and probably less) ever experienced the heady delights of consistent success, and only a tiny fraction of this number becomes hooked to the degree of a Flying Aces Clubster. That is not to say the rest are not interested, but they feel they can never really succeed at it. Whose fault? We needn't go into that again, as I think Will has focused our attention on kits for the time being.
Here's Will:
"From my limited knowledge of Rubber Scale (I've just begun an interest), it seems to me that Guillows and Sterling outdoor rubber-powered kits are terribly unsuited for rubber unless they are drastically lightened. Is this true? If it is true, then why are they kitted as such?"
An Open Letter
Dear Will,
Your observation that many commercially available Rubber Scale kits are terribly unsuited for flying is one heard from countless newcomers every year. It is not a new situation. Kits available over the past 50 years have, by and large, been poorly designed by today's standards, often lack adequate information to build them well enough to fly, and — with a few exceptions — the balsa supplied has not been "contest quality."
The people who produce these kits are generally well-meaning and often engender interest in FF Rubber Scale by the very attractive box-cover renditions of the subject aircraft. One can only assume either a misguided desire to help beginners by including lots of big, heavy, indestructible pieces, or an understandable desire to maximize profits by keeping costs down. Contest-quality balsa costs a lot more than average commercial grade — plus the expense of hand-sorting wood by weight and grain for the various applications in each kit. A well-filled box with colorful plastic parts and decals has eye appeal to the uninitiated who "want to get more for their money." You get more plane, and that is the problem.
A well-designed kit will not only have less junk in it, but will have hand-selected wood: hard where it needs to be hard (main longerons and spars) and soft where it needs to be soft (non-stressed fairings, etc.). The front end should include an easily removable, thrust-adjustable noseblock designed into the plan. What good is a well-built, light model if it can't be easily stretch-wound and if there is no provision to shim in thrust-line adjustments (about half the secret of getting it to fly well)?
A large percentage of the modelers I asked suggested that after gaining some experience with simple ROG models — starting with the all-sheet Sleek Streek and working up through simple types like the Peck ROG to the Lacey M-10 Peanut kit from Peck Polymers (which has a minimum of curves and will outfly most larger scale jobs) — one is then ready to look over the offerings from Flyline or Golden Age Reproductions.
Recommended sources and notes:
- Golden Age Reproductions
- Send for their catalog (about $4 the last time I checked). Their catalog is full of full-page reproduction ads and classic designs. Many are oldies but goodies; with simple upgrades — music wire in undercarriages, a rear motor peg instead of old interior hooks, and a good nose plug (see p. 38 of Bill Hannan's Peanut Power book, available from Peck) — you can have very flyable models.
- They have also produced a few popular kits. Their Rearwin Speedster comes highly recommended by Maxecuter Club kit expert Allan Schanzle.
- Address: P.O. Box 13, Braintree, MA 02184
- Flyline Models
- Fifty cents will bring their latest catalog listing some of the best kits available today. Don Srull's Heinkel 100D is one of the finest-flying kits on the market and, next to the Peck Lacey M-10, was often mentioned in my survey as a great flier.
- Address: 2820 Dyer Ave (B-11), Fairfax, VA 22031
- Peck Polymers
- Peck sells larger Rubber Scale kits and has one of the best complete lines of supplies for the rubber or CO-2 builder: from "How-to" books to top Peanut plans and kits. One dollar brings their catalog.
- Address: P.O. Box 2498, La Mesa, CA 92041
While looking over all the great plans available, you may decide to forego a kit altogether and scratchbuild from a plan or two. Still, kits are handy. I hope you and others who have good or bad experiences with kits will write and share your experiences.
Other plan and resource notes:
- Dave Diels
- Dave offers nicely drawn Peanut plans (also available at 18-in. span and at 12-in. to the foot). His plans feature laminated wingtips and tail outlines which might give a new modeler some trouble, but his instruction sheet and separate Xerox of cut-out parts (so you won't have to slice up your plan) show a lot of thought.
- I especially like his Supermarine Sparrow (Peanut), available for $2 postpaid. His list is heavy on round WWII types, so if you're a bit beyond beginner level and a war buff, send a SASE for his plan list.
- Address: P.O. Box 101, Woodville, OH 43469
Handy Hints
- Round balsa strip tool (from Dick Smith, Garden Grove, CA)
- Drill a series of holes in a piece of brass plate (for example, from an old trophy). Start with a diameter that begins to take the corners off the square stick being pushed through, then drill progressively smaller holes until the final push-through gives the desired diameter.
- After drilling, file the top and bottom surfaces of the brass flat and carefully touch up any burrs pushed into the holes. This provides a sharp edge for cleanly rounding the strip.
- Scale documentation
- Dale Willoughby's Scale Model Research service can make finding scale documentation easier. His catalog (usually $1) describes what he offers in each "foto pak," even down to the quality of interior-view shots. If he has a Xerox of the 3-view, he'll copy it for you.
- Address: P.O. Box 573, Anza, CA 92306
Until next time, keep a tight cap on your diesel fuel can and keep your Pirelli rubber out of the sunlight!
Bill Warner 423-C San Vicente Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90402
SAFE FLYING IS NO ACCIDENT
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
