letters to the editor
All letters will be carefully considered, those of general interest used. Send to Model Aviation, 815 15th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005.
Ace High
Enclosed are two photos of an Ace High Glider that I modified from the original plans of pulse-rudder-only. Picture shows both rudder and elevator controls. Also I reinforced the fuselage tail section (this was a weak point) and glued the stab on instead of using rubberbands. I made the cowl cover with two screws for mounting, also easier access to radio installation.
I also built a pulse-rudder-only. It flew quite well, but altitude could not be maintained, nor level flight. Control in the landings was not good; there was always the possibility of stalls and dips, and to decrease altitude it was necessary to spiral down, which was not too good for the wing as it looped when control was neutralized.
With the two controls (I am using two E.K. servos) the glider performance and flight characteristics are greatly improved. Level flight and altitude can be maintained, good turns and even some stunts can be easily made. Stalling and dips in landing are eliminated completely; excellent landings can be made. Using a .049 Cox engine with a fuel tank extension, longer flights are experienced, and performance is good. I only added one servo, so weight is no problem. This is also an excellent performer for the beginner, much easier to learn RC, with less crashes, and more confidence.
Arthur Oberstaedt, AMA 79497 Brighton, MI
Mr. Oberstaedt's remarks about the Ace High glider when equipped for rudder-only should not be construed as criticism. Actually, his experience with the design, both as rudder-only and with two servos—rudder and elevator—simply point up the differences of both modes of flying, and the bonus that accrues with addition of elevator. Incidentally, he is proud of being a senior modeler—he is 68.
Give Him a Twin
I would like to say I enjoy Model Aviation magazine. I read it from cover to cover. I think the "Model Design" section should have more multi-engine plans. Whether it be RC or control line, scale or profile doesn't matter. I prefer control line. Multi-engine planes are a lot of fun.
Leigh Garry, AMA 86649 Flushing, NY
We'll keep it in mind, Leigh. Our schedule is rounded out for 1977, but perhaps we'll find a suitable twin before next season. Quite a few multi-engined kits exist in the RC field as advertising in various magazines indicates.
Murray's Answer
In my April copy of Model Aviation I found an old friend named Murray and his own "Answer" depicted. True I saw it last in Bakersfield at the big meet of 1939 in Free Flight. Murray beat us all that day. I am 64 now and have been a missile engineer on Apollo and Saturn V. Retired now and going to get involved with gas models.
Is Scotty no longer with us? Who handled the kit of Answer in 1940 under the name "Topper?" Do they still do so?
Frank H. Chaussee Palmdale, CA
Scotty was killed during the siege of Malta in WW II. He had enlisted in the RCAF early in the war, had many victories to his credit as a Spitfire pilot, fell victim when attacked while taking off—having shot down four fighters the same day. The Topper was kitted by Bay Ridge, in Brooklyn, long since out of business.
All at Sea
Without offending our good friends in the United Kingdom, I thought it appropriate to forward the enclosed article which appeared in the Athens, Greece, Athens News on Sunday, 23 January 1977.
"Salcombe, England (AP)—Rescue services swung into action Saturday after an aircraft was reported to have crashed into the sea off this Devon County town with two survivors in a dinghy. Salcombe lifeboat and a Royal Air Force rescue launch from Plymouth went out. An RAF helicopter from Chivenor on the north Devon coast found a 20-foot wingspan model airplane in the water and two fishermen happily floating in a dinghy. Happening to have a paper flying field on the 23rd, a few fliers got a good chuckle out of the article."
Duwaine L. Laib, AMA 39296 Lt., U.S. Navy Greece
Thank You
I just finished reading Keith Gebers' article, "Shoot that Model on Movie Film" and want to compliment you for the selection, and Mr. Gebers for the preparation of the best presentation that I have ever read in any magazine on the basics of Movie Making.
Bradford W. Powers San Diego, CA
Advertisers Take Note
I realize I am late with my application for the special Model Aviation magazine subscription. I am located in an overseas area with the Army and did not receive my AMA News until late Friday evening, November 5. It seems that nobody allows any consideration for the people located at APO/FPO addresses. All magazine subscriptions arrive at APO/FPO addresses too late for the subscribers to take advantage of any specials offered by various supply sources. The same applies to the magazines sold on the newsstands which in almost all cases arrive later than subscription issues.
Could the Academy possibly suggest to the various hobby dealers advertising in the various modeling magazines to consider all the members of the military community (Army, Air Force, Navy) and allow 30-day extensions, on all specials of
Letters to the Editor
offered to customers sending in orders from APO/FPO addresses? I am sure that such an action by the dealers especially the AMA would earn the undying appreciation of modelers the world over because there are American modelers all over the world.
Richard Gadarin CW4, US Army APO, NY
RC Helicopters/Schoonard continued from page 24
off from vibration. A simple cure for this problem is to epoxy in two 1/8 x 1/4 x 1/2 plywood blocks inside of the mounting tabs. When fit to the fuselage, they can be drilled and tapped for 4-40 or small sheet-metal screws. This makes a very secure mount and is simple to do.
Free Floating Main Rotor Blades: One of the very hard and time-consuming things in setting up a Jet Ranger has been setting the rotor-blade lead lag. Not only does this take a great deal of time, but the process to accomplish perfect lead lag includes blade tongues that have a bad habit of splitting blades even on a slight upset. The answer to these problems is free-floating blades. Ernie Huber has done rolls and loops with free-floating blades. At Greenville last year, he had several crashes due to engine failure, and even though the helicopter sustained severe damage each time, no damage was done to the blades.
I have been experimenting with dual-pivot points on my main rotor blades. The theory was that in calm, hot weather we need more rotor disc area and in windy weather, less disc area. The pivot holes are drilled 3/4 of an inch apart so that the disc can be increased or decreased 1 1/2 inches by simply installing the blades in a different hole. It has worked really well, but I have found that each setting requires retracting the blades. However, this is a minor problem and takes only a couple of
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
