Indholdsfortegnelse for May 2023 i Model Airplane News

IT’S FLY-IN SEASON! The RC aircraft modeling hobby can be a somewhat lonely endeavor at times. Builders can spend hours (sometimes years!) on end in the workshop. Plus, it can be a challenge to find a family member, friend or even a flying buddy to head out to the field with. Ah, the life of the lonely modeler. However, every spring, when the leaves sprout and the flowers start to bloom, an RC event comes to your town—or at least within a reasonable driving distance. This is your time to get outside and enjoy your favorite hobby with other enthusiasts. Those who are event regulars are already making plans and deciding which events to attend. If you have never been to a local RC event, please trust you will not…

WHAT CAN GO WRONG? There are several factors that can cause a gas engine to go dead stick in flight and proper fuel system setup can mitigate or eliminate many of them. This article assumes that the engine is properly tuned because the most frequent cause of in-flight engine issues is improper tuning, usually running too lean and the engine overheating is the culprit though an overly rich motor can load up and cut out when the throttle is advanced. So get it tuned right first and remember, an engine that isn’t running right on the ground won’t get any better in the air! Some engine issues can be disguised as poor tuning practices yet despite pilots spending a lot of time “chasing the needles” the problems continue to persist.…

Bigger models fly better. It’s a fact of physics because while you can scale an airplane down, you can’t scale an air molecule. Not only do big planes fly better, but they are also easier to see. As a result, our planes are getting bigger and bigger, even our servos are getting an unbelievable amount of strength to help push all those large control surfaces. However, even with the giant leaps of power, in some cases we still have to double up servos on one surface or use a servo on each surface to perform a single function, such as dual elevators. For modelers, this means we have to set up multiple servos so they are in harmony with each other, traveling the same distance and ending in the same…

AT A GLANCE Model: J-65 Twin 70mm EDF Business Jet PNP Manufacturer: Xfly-Model Distributors: Banana Hobby (bananahobby.com), U.S.; Great Hobbies (greathobbies.com), Canada Wingspan: 69.5 in. Pilot skill level: Intermediate Time to assemble: 20 minutes Power req’d: 6S 5000-6000mAh LiPo Radio req’d: 7-channel Price: $500 The Xfly-Model J-65 is a beautifully designed, twin 70mm EDF plug-and-play jet that resembles a Bombardier Challenger 650 business aircraft. Although it is easy to assemble, it is a large, highperformance jet that’s intended for intermediate pilots. When you first open the box, you are greeted with an attention to detail in the packaging. The fuselage, wings, nacelles and t-tail all have a place within the box that makes sure that they don’t touch each other during shipping—no hangar rash to be seen. The J-65 is…

In the midst of NASA’s Apollo Program, which saw Neil Armstrong walk on the moon, the U.S. space agency built a line-up of RC planes. At the time, NASA was engaged in flight research with a variety of reentry shapes called "lifting bodies," which are the six aircraft in the foreground. The purple and yellow "mothership" was used to launch the lifting bodies. This photo was taken at the NASA Flight Research Center (now named the Armstrong Flight Research Center) on Rogers Dry Lake bed, part of Edwards Air Force Base. Looks like a fun day at work for these NASA engineers and model builders!…

PILOT PROJECT OF THE MONTH F-101 VOODOO Chuck Cawthon, Garland, Texas Chuck enjoys scratch-building models from the early jet era and says that he trades scale proportions for good flying performance. His 1/10-scale Voodoo features a pair of 70mm EDF motors with 60-amp speed controls. Constructed of various thicknesses of Dow Blu-Cor foam, the 70-inch-long jet weighs 4 pounds 10 ounces. It’s flown with a 4S 3500mAh battery. Chuck writes, “The takeoff roll is brisk with an aggressive climb and rock solid cruise.” LAZY BEE COLLECTION Darcy Olson [email] These three Lazy Bees were built to maximize the fun! One is built as a glider with a belly skid, one has a moderately powered electric setup and wheels, and one has a high performance electric setup and floats. Each wing…

We love our ARF models: they make it easy to get a good looking airplane, jet, or helicopter in the air quickly. But let’s face it, with the exception of a few that contain graphics for a few different schemes, they all look alike. Such was the case with my Roban Bell 407 helicopter from Motion RC; I needed to add something to make it mine. The color scheme is close enough to that of the local Jacksonville Sheriff’s Department Bell 407 that I decided to start there. Tyler Gray Models 3D-Printed FLIR Turret The next step was adding a few more details just to complete the look of the full-size 407. I reached out to Tyler Gray of Tyler Gray Models and ordered a Forward Looking Infra Red (FLIR)…

Growing up in Connecticut, I had watched many of Palen’s wonders take to the sky, but I had forgotten about this little gem. I was quite taken with the radial engine protruding from the once-polished aluminum cowl. Despite the ungainly tripod landing gear of the 113, I could still make out the classic lines of a true champion. I also found a 3-view drawing of a Monocoupe 70. Unlike the 113, the 70 had a more conventional landing gear complete with spoke wheels. “Wouldn’t this make an interesting RC subject?,” I thought. When I designed the Monocoupe, I wanted something large enough to fly scale-like, but small enough to accommodate park flier hardware and components. I estimated the flying weight to be under 30 oz. and decided to build the…

AT A GLANCE Model: Medina 2m F5-RES ARF Manufacturer: Armsoar (armsoar.com) Wingspan: 78.74 in. Pilot skill level: Intermediate Time to assemble: 4 hours Power incl’d: 1806 KV2450 motor Radio req’d: 4-channel Price: $450 Well-known in the RC glider industry for producing high-quality, highperformance carbon-fiber models, Armsoar models have won competitions at the highest level. Armsoar recently collaborated with Performance Models in Australia to produce their first wooden airframe. The new Medina RES 2-meter glider is the result. In this review I build and fly the F5 electric ARF; Armsoar also has unpowered and kit versions. UNIQUE FEATURES The Medina comes with a high level of preassembly, including the pre-built and covered, wooden three-piece wing, V-tail and wooden front fuselage section. The wing has a carbon-fiber spar that runs across the…

DRILL EXTENSION Pin drills are great for drilling extremely small holes and are available in a variety of sizes. The only issue with using a pin drill is that you may need to extend the reach. Put the drill in the pin drill chuck, then put the entire pin drill into a cordless drill. Take care not to side load the thin pin drill or it can break. David Lees, Ravenna, Ohio MICRO SANDER It can be a struggle to effectively sand in small spaces. I cut most of the bristles off an old cordless oscillating electric toothbrush head. Then I cut some Velcro-backed sandpaper to shape and attached to the remaining bristles. This provides a very small sanding head that can reach tight places! Mike Trautman, Champaign, Illinois HOLE…

Jon Ellis has been flying beautifully built scale helicopters for years, and I have had the pleasure of running into him at events in the Southeast. I got to sit down for a few minutes and discuss his 1/4-scale Bell 47G project. Any fan of the series M*A*S*H (an acronym for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) will immediately recognize the distinctive glass bubble cockpit of the Bell 47. Jon’s model is an extremely accurate representation of the real thing. Model Airplane News: Can tell us about how flying RC led to your career flying full-scale helicopters? Jon Ellis: I purchased my first RC helicopter in early 1980 after seeing a very small advertisement in “RC Modeler.” It was a Cricket make by John Gorham of Gorham Model Products. In 1983 I…

All precision aerobatic maneuvers are based on geometric shapes. Whether it’s a simple roll on a horizontal line, a vertical up-line or a simple 180-degree turn, geometry is found at the heart of aerobatics. This month, we’ll discuss the triangle loop with 1/2 rolls. This is a unique maneuver that’s elegant to watch when correctly performed. Although this maneuver may appear fairly easy to fly, don’t be fooled … it takes some time to master. FIRST THINGS FIRST Before attempting your first triangle loop, it’s important that you have an airplane with the proper flight setup. I use flight modes on my models, which means that my aileron, elevator and rudder rates are all on one switch. Use low-rate aileron and elevator settings for this maneuver. On this rate, I…