Radio Control: Giant Scale
John A. de Vries
Colonel, USAF, Ret. 4610 Moffat Ln. Colorado Springs, CO 80915
Fooling Us, again!
Bob Hanson started the flurry of converting nonscale Giants to good-flying scale subjects. Bob, as you may recall, modified a Sig Senior Kadet to represent Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis. We've heard from Wilbur Todd (Richmond, VA), who looked at the same kit and came up with an entirely different scale bird. Wilbur "saw" a Stinson Voyager 165 Station Wagon and proceeded to build it.
He increased the wingspan to 90 in. to maintain the proper proportion to the fuselage length and then designed Stinson-like tail feathers and cowling. His other wing modifications included reducing the chord to 13½ in. and cutting the dihedral in half. For power, he's using an O.S. .61SF, which should be adequate for the nine-pound model. He added wing struts and wheel pants, and voila — a Stinson Station Wagon. It's amazing.
Modifications Wilbur Todd made:
- Wingspan increased to 90 in.
- Wing chord reduced to 13½ in.
- Dihedral cut in half.
- Stinson-like tail feathers and cowling designed.
- O.S. .61SF engine for power (suitable for ~9 lb).
- Added wing struts and wheel pants.
Red face department
Or, why columnists get gray hair. In the May '90 column, I referred to a "Fiat CR 170," designed by Chuck Rhodes of Huntsville, AL, as being an obscure scale subject. It couldn't be more obscure! In fact, Chuck's beautiful bird wasn't a scale model at all — it, and his CR 270 biplane, are sport models, plain and simple. My sincere thanks to Gordon Banks, genial editor of R/C Report magazine, for putting me straight. In a rather weak defense, I'll just say that Chuck's model looked like a scale bird.
Show 'n' Tell
Show 'n' Tell is a feature of practically every RC club meeting. Members bring their latest models for the edification and admiration of their peers.
IMAA Chapter 90, in the Denver, CO area, conducts what may be the ultimate show 'n' tell during their yearly Winter Project Review. Seventy members and guests (of the 100 Giant Scalers in Chapter 90) participated in the March 18, 1990 review, which was held in Wayne Wallace's automotive shop. Not only were the members' models displayed, the chapter conducted informative seminars on Giant RC modeling subjects.
Ken Otto and Hal Johnson photographed the models, and chapter secretary Leo Ford prepared the captions. We'll be using the pictures in the next several columns (look for them!).
Northeast scale events
For our friends in the Northeast, I've received word from the Kitchener-Waterloo Flying Dutchmen. They're conducting their 21st annual Scale Rally on September 8–9, 1990. This is sort of a Canadian counterpart to the Olean, NY STARs Scale Rally. The Flying Dutchmen attract over 200 models, many of them magnificent Giants.
Further details may be obtained from:
- Mr. John Towell
40 Fran Ellen Cr. Kitchener, Ontario, Canada N2N 2N5 Tel. 1-519/742-5070
(And yes — it's just like making a long-distance call in the States.)
Commercial news: Curtiss Robin kit
Emil Neely (Ikon Northwest, P.O. Box 306, Post Falls, ID 83854) has announced the kit for the radial-engined version of the Curtiss Robin. The 98-in. span puts it in the Giant category, and the scale six-cylinder twin-row Curtiss Challenger engine makes it a unique subject.
Props — Bolly carbon-fiber props
I've heard that some of us Giant Scalers have had problems with props. Losing a blade that's being turned by a powerful gas engine can do more than spoil your whole day — it's downright dangerous! Word comes from Tom Dixon (Suite 401, 1938 Peachtree Rd., Atlanta, GA 30309; tel. 1-404/973-0004) that he's handling (and customizing) Bolly props.
Bollys are carbon-fiber/epoxy-glass propellers and are unique because they use continuous-strand carbon fiber from tip to tip. I haven't used one yet, but this method of construction has much to recommend it. A big SASE will probably get you spec sheets from Tom.
New book — CAMADAT
Dick Phillips and I (ViP Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 16103, Colorado Springs, CO 80935) have been burning the midnight oil. We've come up with a book for the computer-literate model builder. Written by Curtis Givens of Dayton, OH, the book's title is Computer-Aided Model Aircraft Design and Testing (CAMADAT) and includes a number of BASIC and C programs that exemplify the title.
Among several others, there are programs to predetermine the speed of a model airplane, help choose the proper propeller and engine combination, and calculate other flight parameters using IBM-compatible personal computers. The book costs $19.95 plus $2 P&H. A 5¼-in., 360K disk is available with all the programs already entered for an additional $9.95 (postage-free if ordered with the book).
Instructional videotapes
Although certainly not within the realm of Giant Scale, I saw something in Toledo that bears copying by any and all kit manufacturers and plans providers. The Cox engine people sell a number of small ARF (almost-ready-to-fly) RC kits. As with many other manufacturers, they include comprehensive, illustrated instruction manuals with each kit. Even with this good documentation, they found that modelers were having difficulty assembling and flying their ARFs. The solution to the problem? Videotape.
John Elliott of Cox was showing one at his Toledo booth, and it was most impressive. The assembly and flying of Cox's Fairchild 24 was covered in 12 minutes. The tape even included instructions on how to hand-launch the model (after showing how to practice the launches with a beverage can!). Although the Cox tapes are true professional quality (and cost a bunch to produce), they can't be beaten for comprehensive information.
Certainly a how-to tape for a Giant RC model would be a lot more complex. There are a number of product-specific VCR tapes on the market that are of direct value to us Big Bird builders. Short tapes covering unique or peculiar construction techniques and flying tips would surely help beginning or intermediate Giant modelers when they tackle a specific project.
John de Vries Colonel, USAF, Ret. 4610 Moffat Ln. Colorado Springs, CO 80915
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
