Radio Control: Giant Scale
By
John A. de Vries Colonel, USAF, Ret. 4610 Moffat Ln. Colorado Springs, CO 80915
New plans in the stack
It's astounding — a couple of columns ago I decried the lack of exotic Giant Scale designs, and now my office, drawers and mailbox are bulging with drawings. Just to give an idea of what has stacked up:
- Don Neill — Folkerts SK-3. I'm working on a retract mechanism for Rudy Kling's 1937 Thompson Trophy winner that ties into these plans.
Address: Don Neill, 1129 South 40th St., Lincoln, NE 68519.
- Gus Morfis — Culver PQ-14. Designed by Al Mooney as an aerial target during WWII, the PQ-14 is unique. Although it had a cockpit, it was often flown by radio control (1:1 Giant Scale!), so a model might be flown without a pilot figure.
Address: Gus Morfis, 4709 Green Meadows Ave., Torrance, CA 90505.
- Bert Thompson — Schoenfeldt Keith-Rider R-4 Firecracker (1938 Greve Trophy winner). Like all of Bert's subjects, the Firecracker will reward an experienced scratchbuilder; retract installation should be straightforward using commercial mechanisms. Also in the pile are Bert's Howard "Ike" plans (the two-wheeled pants are currently languishing in my cold garage workshop).
Address: Thompson Model Products, 219 White City Blvd., Springfield, IL 62703.
- Art Hershberger — Beta drawings of a big Northrop P-61 twin. Art asked me to check the plans before he builds; the night-fighter, powered with two .60 engines, looks great on first perusal.
- Doc Pepino (Scale Plans & Photo Service) — Quarter-scale Lincoln Sport (originally by Pat Pattison) with scale structure; a spectacular Old-Timer. A 1/3-scale version is also available.
Address: Scale Plans & Photo Service, 3209 Madison Ave., Greensboro, NC 27403.
- Chuck Rhodes — C.R. 170. An aerobatic-minded Giant Scaler and a very good-looking model.
Address: Chuck Rhodes, 3218 Fairacres Rd., Huntsville, AL 35805.
I feel rather like a model-building Midas — plans, plans, plans — and the monstrous regret is I'll never be able to build all of the beauties in the stack. Add to that three models of my own design waiting to be built (including the eternal Ryan B-5) — ah, to be 50 again!
Herb Heaton's retracts — air/hydraulic system
At a recent club meeting I saw a set of retracts machined by our president, Herb Heaton, that literally took my breath away. They are bulletproof and designed specifically for the Giant Scaler. The operating principle has been used before, but never executed so elegantly.
Key features:
- Air/hydraulic system with a miniature 2½-oz. accumulator.
- Power source is an air reservoir (a sturdy clear plastic bottle) holding about 100 psi. Air, directed by a servo-controlled valve, charges the accumulator.
- Hydraulic lines (Herb uses automotive brake fluid) run to the gear-leg actuating cylinders through control needle valves. The needle valves regulate the extension/retraction speed so each leg can have its own, scale-like rate.
- Steel rods provide positive up/down locks. The system presents hydraulic pressure to the leg actuators — only about 35 psi — yet it hauls up 5-inch wheels without strain.
- Prototype uses two hydraulic lines for up and down, but Herb has designed an air valve to run the retracts on a single line. A spring in the actuator will lower the gear if needed.
- The gear cylinder will simplify installation.
Advantages over all-air systems:
- Hydraulic lines are much thinner than typical air lines and can be snaked through smaller holes in the model structure.
- The jerkiness common to air systems is eliminated; retraction and extension are smooth.
- The system is designed to be pumped up by a common foot-operated tire pump.
If you're interested in these retracts, contact Herb Heaton: 5175 Crestwood Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80918; phone 1-719-528-1433. He intends to manufacture them if there is enough interest.
Books and classic designers
For model aviation history buffs, Norm Rosenstock has written a memoir, Tales of an Ancient Modeler (VIP Publishers, Inc.). Norm is a true Radio Control pioneer; the book details his experiences in Free Flight, Control Line, and early single-channel radio days.
- Price: $14.95 (plus $2 P&H).
- Publisher address: VIP Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 16103, Colorado Springs, CO 80935.
- If you want to build any of Norm's Giant Scale designs (Church Midwing, Waco, Farnham Monospar, Great Lakes Trainer and Special), contact Norm: 124 Granada St., Royal Palm Beach, FL 33411.
Other notes
A letter from Jerry Van Hoozstyn (2351 N. Lake Star Drive, Tucson, AZ 85749) reminded me that he sells drawings for a very large (33%) Jodel P-12 and an even larger (40%) Piel Emeraude. Jerry used to live in Denver; I have seen his planes fly here and at the QSASA Fly-In in Las Vegas — they are outstanding, meticulously scaled, and very stable in flight. Jerry included a photo of a Jodel built in New Zealand.
My sincere thanks to all the Giant Scale designers who shared plans with me this past month — it's been a real eye-opener. There is a whole host of diverse RC model designs available right now that tempt the scratchbuilder. What's your next bird going to be?
John A. de Vries Colonel, USAF, Ret. 4610 Moffat Ln., Colorado Springs, CO 80915
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
