Radio Control: Giant Scale
Author
John A. de Vries Colonel, USAF, Ret. 4610 Moffat Ln. Colorado Springs, CO 80915
Ryan B-5 wheels from K‑Mart scooters
Well, Fred Wallman has done it again. Fred and I are both building 1/4‑scale Ryan B‑5s and have identical needs for some accessories—most notably wheels. After searching local sources in vain, Fred found the perfect wheels in a most unlikely place: a pair of K‑Mart scooters.
The scooter wheels are precisely scale diameter and match the tire cross section once about 180 knobs are trimmed off and the rubber is buffed smooth. Fred even machined two closed‑end scale Ryan axle caps that attach with a setscrew like model‑type wheel collars. He shipped a pair to me (UPS showing up with ready‑to‑use Ryan‑scale wheels!), and they make the hangar queen look spiffy. Best of all, these K‑Mart "scale accessories" are light as feathers.
Propeller failure and receiver‑switch vibration
The column is becoming a clearinghouse for engine/propeller‑induced "krumps." The latest victim is Jim Lasik. While flying his Giant Fokker Eindecker, a wooden propeller split lengthwise and a chunk of blade blew off. The model quickly pitched nose‑down and was destroyed on impact.
Vibration was the culprit, but Jim has proof it didn't directly affect the radio. He was using an internally mounted receiver with an accessory device and an external wire pushrod operating the receiver switch. Vibration moved the pushrod so the switch read OFF—Jim describes the loss as "just like someone had turned off the receiver." Moral: if you don't surface‑mount your Giant Bird's receiver switch, ensure major vibration cannot move the switch to the OFF position. The same precaution should apply to the engine "kill" switch.
CAP 21 converted into a P‑51 Mustang
"Scale" isn't a fetish here—we cover the whole spectrum of large‑size RC models (IMAA, AMA Big Bird SIG). A good example: Leon Shulman's clever conversion. Lee began building a CAP 21 from Dick Garmhausen's drawings but midway through became enamored of the North American P‑51 Mustang. Noticing the similarity between the CAP 21 and the P‑51, he shaved off the CAP's turtledeck and modified the wing and stabilizer shapes.
Fitting Tom Keeling's T&D Fiberglass P‑51 cowl to the front (voilà!), plus a Sachs .31 engine and Dave Platt's P‑51 bubble canopy, produced a convincing 90‑in. span fun‑scale Mustang. For convenience and good ground handling Lee chose belly‑mounted aluminum landing gear borrowed from Godfrey's A‑scale Laser model. The result is striking—and it flies well.
Documentation and plans
A couple of documentation items of interest arrived recently.
- Charles L. Neely, P.O. Box 3963, Visalia, CA 93278, sent a set of drawings for a 1/4‑scale Mustang (4‑in. to the ft. scale). The drawings are excellent—Neely's draftsmanship is impeccable and his plans should be easy to enlarge to Giant size. He also offers other versions and designs; send an SASE for his price list. Included offerings:
- B and C versions of the Mustang (including the Malcolm hood) in two sizes
- Curtiss JN‑4 Jenny
- 1929 Taylor Bros. Chummy (predecessor of the Cub)
- Andrew C. Anson, editor of 1919–1939 Air Wars, produces a journal called AeroPlans. Issue #11 (52 pages) contains 26 varied aircraft in multi‑view, including the Junkers K51/Mitsubishi Ki‑20 bomber, the Curtiss Model G Scout, and an early Polish hang glider that evolved into a powered airplane. AeroPlans is $11.50 (including postage and handling). Address: AeroPlans, 8931 Kittyhawk Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90045.
Also note the flagship publication 1919–1939 Air Wars; the September 1988 issue was devoted to models of the period and contains useful plans and three‑views of interest to Giant builders.
- Mick Reeves (Mick Reeves Models, 10 The Avenue, March, Cambs., PE15 9RP, England) is now offering Giant drawings. He provides 1/4‑scale drawings for his Sopwith Camel (6th in the 1988 World Scale Championships) and plans 3/8‑scale versions as well. He also intends to offer the Sopwith Pup in 3/8‑ and 1/4‑scale. Spun aluminum cowls will be available for these WW I models.
Giant B‑17 project
There's a local stir: three club members—Bill Sheaves, Rich Pabilonia, and Ivan Munninghoff—are contemplating a trio of Giant Flying Fortresses. They acquired B‑17 drawings from England and have begun construction. Planned dimensions: 125‑in. wingspan and 89‑in. length; power will be four .40 engines.
Bill has already designed and built detachable scale retracts for the Forts. He found very small but powerful German electric motors with planetary gears to turn the retract screws in full‑scale fashion. Each gear has its own four‑pen‑cell battery pack and provides about 150 gear cycles per charge. When he demonstrated the system at the club meeting, members were impressed. This project should yield useful model‑engineering techniques; we’ll keep readers updated.
Seasonal note
March winds and the flying season are approaching. Hope your winter projects are coming along famously.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
