Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2022 i Model Airplane News

GO FAST, TURN LEFT! Air racing is one of the most exciting events a pilot can participate in. It’s where skill and the upper performance limits of an aircraft converge. This month we showcase two air racers: a foamie Mustang hotrod and a scaled out, 250cc-powered Corsair. The foamie Mustang comes receiver ready in four schemes, so it’s perfect for club racing. The Corsair, a modified CARF-Models aircraft, is a team scale project built by Jim McDevitt and flown by Mike Wolvin. Modeled after the “Lucky Gallon” 1946 racer, it is a true stunner. HOW TO’S AND MORE Get ready for the flightline with this month’s how-tos from the experts. In “Radio Basics,” we share some must-know tips that are guaranteed to make you fly better. In “Propeller Essentials,” you’ll…

All we hear about lately is declining membership, how drones have caused all of our problems, and of course, the real biggie, the FAA is going to shut us down and put us all in jail. I think we should try to do something to turn things around, for our club as well as the hobby. You know as well as I that the doctor’s office is where we spend a lot of our time. So why not do some advertising there? We all receive Model Airplane News each month, and if you’re like me, you open it as soon as it arrives. The cover is always an eye-catcher, and it has great articles for all of the different areas of the hobby. All I ever see is Ladies Home Journal…

Here at Model Airplane News, we field a lot of questions. Two of the most common inquiries about radio setup concern control throw rates, including dual-rate setups. We hope this short article will help you to use your radio to fly better! We assume that you have already set your aircraft up with proper mechanical throws (see sidebar) and are only using your transmitter to fine-tune them to suit your flying style and preferences. CONTROL THROW RATES Many RC pilots just set their control throws to the manufacturer’s recommended rates without ever adjusting them. But because every plane—even ARFs—flies a little different, you should always adjust your control rates to your comfort zone of flying or what feels right to you. Why? Your choice of radio, servo, and battery pack…

AT A GLANCE NAME: Aeronca Chief TYPE: Lightweight RC scale WINGSPAN: 53.7 in. WING AREA: 375 sq. in. LENGTH: 30.75 in. WEIGHT: 15 oz. WING LOADING: 5.76 oz./sq. ft. RADIO REQ’D: 4-channel (rudder, elevator, throttle, aileron) MOTOR: Himax 2812-0850 outrunner brushless (mpihobby.com) PROP: APC 9 x 6 SlowFly prop (apcprop.com) First flown in 1945, the Aeronca Model-11 Chief was powered by a 50hp engine. Then in 1946, an all-new Chief made its debut as the Model 11AC, powered by a 65hp engine. With cruise speeds in the 85 to 90mph range, the 11AC had a top speed of 100mph. The defining feature of the 11AC Chief was that it shared its wings, tail group and cowl with the very successful 7AC Champ, which kept production costs in line amounting to…

The arrival of the P-51 Mustang in the European theater during WW II was one of the turning points of the war for the Allies. Equipped with powerful engines and drop tanks, they had the range and performance to escort bombers to the heart of Germany and wipe out their ability to make war. After the war, many Mustangs are housed in private collections, but a few have been heavily modified to race in the Unlimited class at the Reno Air races and other races throughout the world. Stripped of excess weight, and the engines machined to extract the very last horsepower the airframes have been cleaned up of drag by removing intake scoops and the bubble canopy. The result is 500 plus mph machines that race side by side…

A familiar sight at the Cape Coral R/Sea Hawks field and in the winners’ circle at National Association of Scale Aeromodelers competitions around the country, Jim McDevitt’s and Mike Wolvin’s latest creation is a showstopper that looks as good in the pits as it does in flight. It’s a CARF-Models Corsair modified to the scheme of “Lucky Gallon,” the first ever Corsair to be used in racing, coming in sixth at the Cleveland National Air Races in 1946. Jim built the model, and Mike is the exclusive pilot. At the 2021 Top Gun Scale Invitational, “Lucky Gallon” placed first in static scoring in Team and third overall. We caught up with Jim and Mike to learn more about this impressive aircraft. Model Airplane News: Tell us more about your beautiful…

Uber craftsman Greg Hahn scratch-built this masterpiece replica of the Hansa-Brandenburg in 1/3 scale. The huge plane has a wingspan of 13 feet and is powered by a DLE-85 2-cycle gas engine. Greg flies his Hansa-Brandenburg with a Futaba 32MZ radio system. The Hansa-Brandenburg B.I/C.I, also known as the Type LDD, was a two-seat, communal cockpit biplane designed by Ernst Heinkel, who at the time worked at the parent company. The Type LDD was an armed reconnaissance aircraft that served, among other places, with the Austro-Hungarian Military. The Hansa-Brandenburg saw service in the early part of World War I. The LDD that Greg modeled was shot down over Italy during in June of 1917. The project took shape when Greg took a 3-view drawing, blew it up to 1/3 scale,…

SPITFIRE MK. XI Murray Covello, Orchard Park, New York PILOT PROJECT OF THE MONTH Murray started with a Top Flite kit to create this photo reconnaissance variant from the UK’s 16 Squadron. He modified the rudder, retractable tailwheel, and carburetor scoop and mounted an oblique RunCam behind the cockpit. His Spitfire is powered by a Rimfire-80 brushless motor, 6-cell 5000mAh battery pack, and 15 x 8 propeller. It is fully glassed and painted and weighs in at 12 pounds. Murry reports the extra weight makes the Spit come in hot for landings, but the electric system produces good scale power in flight. The pale blue paint job is finished with markings from Callie Graphics. The blue color blends in with the sky making it the perfect paint job for a…

Spektrum’s Smart batteries, chargers, and Avian speed controls are an evolution in technology, with data cables in their IC connectors that provide access to a plethora of useful information as well as programming capability. I reviewed the Spektrum S2200 Smart charger in May 2022, and it has taken the place of honor as my primary go-to battery charger for my ever-expanding inventory of Spektrum Smart LiPo and LiFe batteries. It works great on the large 6S LiPo batteries I fly many of my models with, but I wanted something small and handy to charge Smart LiFe receiver batteries and other smaller batteries while my big flight packs charge. Enter the S155. The S155 has both IC3 and IC5 outputs that allow you charge a variety of Spektrum Smart batteries. It…

Choosing the right prop for your plane is usually as simple as following the recommendations of the plane, motor, or engine manufacturer. But what happens if you want to use a prop you have on hand? Will a prop that’s just slightly larger or smaller have noticeably lower performance? Maybe you prefer to fly with a wood prop instead of a plastic, resin, or carbon-fiber prop … does the material matter? If you’re flying electric, should you use a prop designed for electric power? Suddenly your choices don’t seem so cut and dry. In this article, we’ll provide the answers to these questions and more. PROP SPECS All propellers are sold by two main specifications: the diameter and the pitch. Understanding these two specs will help you when it comes…

I chose the Himax 2812-0850 motor for the Chief because it can swing a scale prop on two LiPo cells and provide the proper speed range for the model. What makes this motor the best setup is using the APC 9 x 6 Slow Fly prop. The current draw is under 6 amps, and using a 1320mAh battery, it will deliver flight durations in excess of 15 minutes. In flight, the motor is smooth and silent, delivers very scale-like power, and is only running at about 1⁄2 of its capacity. The Castle Creations Thunderbird 18 speed control is small, light, and features a 3A BEC, so there’s no danger of an unexpected shutdown using four servos. An 18A speed control is overkill, but, it also has one of the smoothest,…

At most airports, if you walk out onto the tarmac carrying a drone, about the best you can hope for is to be asked, “What do you think you’re doing here?” At Eastern Oregon Regional Airport, however, they ask a different question, “How can we help?” That’s because Eastern Oregon Regional Airport (PDT) is home to the Pendleton Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Range—and drones are their business. “When people come out to do testing with us, they find that our control tower is very familiar with UAS,” said Darryl Abling, the range manager. “They have a lot of experience coordinating multiple, simultaneous UAS operations alongside our manned traffic—commuter airplanes, general aviation pilots, crop dusters, cargo flights, helicopters and the military.” While the full integration of UAS into the National Airspace…

SECURING PUSHRODS Here’s a great way to secure pushrod ends using heat-shrink tubing. If the screw on the EZ connector happens to work loose, the heat shrink will keep the connections from slipping and going out of trim or at worst, resulting loss of control. Add dab of silicone on the screws as an extra measure of safety. Gary Culver, North Tonawanda, New York NON-SLIP WASHERS Rubber back-bonded washers are available from many hardware sources; we get ours from RTL Fasteners. They have many uses in modeling and work great where vibration is an issue and help keep plastic canopies, fiberglass cowls, and other parts secured. They also help avoid cracks in fiberglass and plastic parts while distributing the load of the retaining screws over a wider area. The rubber…

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Do you really need balance props? The quick answer is always, “Yes!” A properly balanced prop will give you more rpm from every type of power system. A balanced prop will also reduce the wear and tear on your aircraft by greatly reducing vibration, which leads to reducing premature failure to all the components and thereby gives your aircraft a longer life. There are several types of balancers on the market that will do a great job of getting different size props balanced. At Model Airplane News, we are partial to the Du-Bro Tru-Spin Precision Balancer, which we’ve been using for many years. No matter which you use, the balancing procedure will be the same for all. 1. SIZE THE HOLE The first step is to enlarge the propeller’s shaft…

AT A GLANCE Model: 1100mm Race Edition P-51s Manufacturer: FMS Models (fmsmodel.com) Type: ARF civilian scale racers Wingspan: 42 in. Pilot skill level: Intermediate Time to assemble: 20 minutes Radio req’d: 6-or 7-channel Power req’d: 4S 2800mAh LiPo Price: $259.99 Whether you’re playing with an RC airplane, car, or even a sailboat, eventually going solo can get a little boring. Add another person or two and start racing, even sailboats become fun and competitive! To that end, FMS has decided to rerelease their 1100mm P-51 Mustangs in four classic Reno Racing schemes that are sure to be popular models for some friendly club pylon racing. The Mustangs are constructed of high-density injection-molded EPO foam, so they feature plenty of molded surface detail. The high-density foam makes them less prone to…

One of my favorite maneuvers of all time is the upright flat turn. With this maneuver, an RC pilot can make an RC aircraft fly like a control-line model. It is very neat, but can also be quite demanding on the airframe (especially the rudder control surface). During a flat turn, the model yaws with the use of the rudder. When rudder input has been applied, you need to stop any bank tendencies with the use of aileron (opposite aileron deflection is required). However, the amount of aileron required depends on the aircraft’s wing design. Airplanes with more wing dihedral need more aileron input than models with little to no wing dihedral. Different airplanes require different amounts of control input to perform this maneuver. To start the flat turn, establish…