Indholdsfortegnelse for March 2023 i Model Airplane News

LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL When a pilot masters the basics of RC flight, he or she inevitably pulls back on the stick to perform their first loop. And that’s where it all starts for RC aerobatic pilots. These high-power, agile aircraft can test the limits of bo Tha pilot’s skills and the aircraft’s performance capabilities. Which is of course what makes flying aerobats so fun and exciting, and frankly addicting. Have you ever spent time with an aerobat RC pilot? That’s all they want to talk about and for good reason! So in this issue of Model Airplane News, we cover a lot of aerobatic airspace. First, you need a plane. Check out “Top 10 Aerobats,” where our editors pick fliers from lightweight electrics to giant-powered gassers. We’ll help…

I love Cubs (who doesn’t?) so I was thrilled to receive the new FMS PA-18 Super Cub. It’s a smaller version of the popular 1700mm Super Cub that FMS released four years ago. The new one spans 1300mm (51 inches) but is remarkably similar, right down to the 2016 Above Alaska color scheme. The little Cub is constructed of injection-molded EPO foam and dressed up with trim paint and a unique set of decals. The Ready to Fly version includes everything except for four AA batteries, and the Plug and Play version requires a transmitter and receiver. Need a little versatility? The Super Cub can be equipped with an optional float kit, complete with water rudder, that will let you fly off ponds or other open waterways. The Super Cub…

Inside and outside snap rolls add great excitement to flying while opening up a whole new world of maneuver possibilities. We’ll start with inside, or positive, snap rolls, which are accomplished by applying full (normal rate) up-elevator along with full rudder and aileron in the same direction. Quickly applying full up-elevator causes the wing to exceed its critical angle of attack, resulting in a stall. The stalled (unloaded) wing breaks the hold of the airflow, allowing the airplane to rapidly rotate about all three axes, i.e., snap roll. Europeans quite descriptively refer to this as a “flick” roll. SNAP BASICS There are several different directions in which snaps can be performed. Pulling up-elevator distinguishes it as an “inside” snap, irrespective of whether the plane is upright, vertical, or inverted. (Pushing…

While at the flying field, I witnessed a fellow giant-scale enthusiast fly a large aerobatic aircraft in a rather inconsistent manner. Mainly flying 3D-type aerobatics at slow speeds, he would occasionally attempt a hesitation roll, stall turn, or some other traditional maneuver in which precision was needed. Immediately following the flight, I found out that he was only using one control rate where upward of 40 degrees of deflection was used on all control surfaces. The aerobatic airplanes found on the market today are designed to fly a wide range of maneuvers at various speeds. Even though it is true that you can fly all maneuvers on a single rate, it’s easy to either over-or under-control the model as not every maneuver requires the same control surface deflection amounts, exponential…

T-45 GOSHAWK Patrick Skahill, Amelia Island, Florida This T-45 started out as an ARF from Banana Hobby. The Goshawk military trainer is an EDF model with a 110-mm electric power system and features operational speed brakes, leading-edge slats and other features normally found on turbine jets. A set of 12S LiPo batteries power the Hawk, and it’s flown on a JR XG-8 radio system. Patrick completely refinished the Hawk with a custom Lone Star of Texas scheme that he painted, then completed the finish with Callie Graphics. He says that it flies well and has an amazing “whoosh” sound in flight due to the big fan. BABY BIRDIE Eduardo Roesch, Antigua, Guatemala Eduardo built this Baby Birdie from Outerzone Plans and converted the .049 glow design to electric. The 2200Kv…

My all-time favorite model—and no offense to many others because I own or have owned a lot of models in my modeling career that I really enjoy—is my Hangar 9 60cc Corsair with a Saito 90cc radial engine. Not only do I take it to fly-ins and warbird events, but I have it out at the field a lot because I just love to fly it. The sound and the iconic looks of the “bent wing bird” have spectators and even club members who see it all the time asking, “When are you going to fly that?” Living in Florida, I’m blessed to fly a lot. With that in mind it’s natural that my favorite model accumulates a lot of flights during the course of a year. An integral part…

Steven Santich is the son of the designer of the Hots, Dan Santich. Dan, who was once the editor of Model Airplane News, designed the original Hots, which at the time, was one of the first true fun-fly designs. It went on to be developed into all types and sizes of glow-powered kits. Steven, what was the basic idea behind your father’s original design concept? My father designed the Hots for better flight characteristics and simplicity of design. Those two elements not only made the original airplane a household name, but they also have contributed to the success of all its successors. What maneuvers were considered “Hots” moves back then? At the time, the Hots set the standard for fun-fly flight characteristics. Things like tight spins, loops and knife-edge passes…

Every year, the Alaska Airman’s Association, in coordination with industry businesses, holds a huge, aviation themed raffle to fund scholarships, fly-ins, and advocacy to support General Aviation. In 2016, Above Alaska Aviation refurbished a Piper PA-18 Super Cub so that the winner received a fully capable bush plane. Joanna Livermont of Dillingham, Alaska won the refurbished Super Cub that year. The Super Cub with its 150 hp engine and huge tires that can handle rough terrain is a “go anywhere” staple of the Alaska bush and GA pilots.…

Nearly two years ago I was lucky enough to review the Heli-Professional soXos Strike 7 700-size helicopter. Since then, I have had hundreds of flights and the Strike 7 has become my go-to machine. However, Heli-Professional haven’t rested on their laurels and have been quietly working on an improved version of the Strike 7. In this review I take a look at the new soXos Strike 7.1 and equip it with a mix of high-performance components. With improvements in key areas, the new Strike 7.1 looks very impressive on paper, but how does this translate to real world flying performance? It’s time to find out! EQUIPMENT USED I used a Scorpion HKII 4525-520kv Ultimate motor, which is wound with a single strand of 1.4mm wire for the highest possible efficiency.…

Published in the June, 1938 issue of Model Airplane News, Herbert K. Weiss’s sub-Peanut-scale Nieuport 161 is a free-flight reproduction of the prototype French fighter produced in 1935. The design is receiving renewed interest thanks to its inclusion in the Flying Aces Club (flyingacesclub.com) January 2023 newsletter. Built by newsletter editor Michael Kelly, the new model differs from the plan with a removable nose block, a more forward rubber motor peg to help with balance, and additional tissue anchors to make covering easier. The Nieuport is covered with silver Esaki tissue with inkjet-printed tissue markings; it weighs 8.9 grams ready-to-fly with a 1.8g rubber motor. Kelly writes that it was a fast build, taking just a week from cutting the first pieces to its first flight. He adds, “Flight trimming…

BUBBLE-FREE TRIMMING There are several ways to trim a finished heat shrunk covered aircraft. However, sometimes bubbles of air can become trapped under the trim covering. Cut your trim material to the desired shape/size and switch on your covering iron to a low temperature. The temperature of the iron must be low enough so that it does not activate the heat sensitive adhesive on one side of the covering. Using an off cut of the same trim material for test purposes, slowly increase the iron temperature until the adhesive just starts to melt/stick. Now lay your trim design on your aircraft in the desired location and tack the trim in several locations using the tip of the iron, just sufficient to retain the trim. Then, again with the tip of…

This annual warbird event started in memory of Dino DiGiorgio Sr., the man who in 1997 started the World Miniature Warbird Association. He wanted to preserve military aviation history with fun-fly style events that included all sizes of RC models. Dino Sr. passed away in 2003, and his son Dino Jr. has been the motivational driver for this special memorial event. This was my second time attending the Rally, and it did not disappoint. It was again held at Mac Hodges Field in Andersonville, Georgia. The grass runway is like a golf course fairway that includes a pond for float flying. Not only does Mac have a beautiful airfield, but the rest of the topnotch facility includes a huge covered staging area, restrooms with showers, a lot of RV parking,…

There’s truth to the adage that “bigger models fly better,” and when an elite pilot is at the controls, it’s can be nearly impossible to tell an RC model from its full-size sibling! Such is the case with Ali Machinchy and his giant CARF-Models MiG-17F, which thrills spectators everywhere it flies. At last year’s Top Gun Scale Invitational, Ali took home the Best Pro Jet award, and the flight judges also awarded him the highest overall flight score. We caught up with Ali and asked him to share more details on his impressive jet, which you may be surprised to learn is an almost-ready-to-fly model! Model Airplane News: How long have you been flying RC and building RC aircraft? Ali Machinchy: I have been flying RC since the age of…

Correctly stopping whole-number snap rolls (1 or 2) is obvious, however, stopping fractional snap rolls such as 1. requires an awareness of which attitude the plane needs to be in when the snaps are completed. In other words, since there is little time to count fractions of snaps, you instead snap the airplane to a predetermined attitude. For example: when 1 1/2 outside snap rolls are performed from an upright attitude on top of an outside loop, you must stop the snaps with the airplane inverted (setting the stage for a pull into the back side of the loop). Another option is to perform the first half of the loop inside (pulling), execute 1 1/2 snaps, and push into the back side of the loop. In this version, the airplane…