Indholdsfortegnelse for July/August 2023 i Model Airplane News

HOT TOPIC: REMOTE ID There have always been raging debates within the RC community—electric vs. gas, helicopters vs airplanes, ARFs vs kits. But none has raged, or outraged, more RC pilots than Remote ID. For those who may not know, Remote ID is essentially a technology that allows the FAA to track your drone or RC model aircraft. Over the past few years, this has been an increasing topic of debate and regulation, especially with the onset of drone deliveries. For instance, Google’s Wing drone delivery service has already dropped off hundreds of thousands of packages in various cities in the U.S., Finland, and Australia. In our April 2021 issue we published an eight-page feature article on Remote ID, called “The Future of RC: Understanding the new FAA rules for…

When building a plane from plans, one of the first tasks is to make the ribs. For this task, I’m making 16 ribs for each wing of a biplane out of 1/16-inch-thick balsa. These ribs are kind of “fat” and symmetrical. When I first started making ribs, I would cut each rib and try to shape it by hand. This was a daunting task and lot of work, and the ribs usually had quite a bit of variation. I found that rough-cutting the ribs, tacking them together with glue to make one big rib stack, and then shaping them resulted in more uniform ribs. You can use the same method for cutting ribs that are not identical, like for tapered or elliptical wings; just do two at a time. Ideally,…

Legend Hobby is offering an impressive, very large, ARF version of the venerable L-19 Bird Dog for 70 to 120cc gas engines. It has a whopping 156-inch wingspan and comes in a choice of three different liveries, or even uncovered. This big and impressive model can be assembled in a relatively short time and with a variety of engine sizes. It features all sorts of scale details, like removable antennas and bolt-on rocket launchers while still allowing the builder to get in the air fairly quickly. AT A GLANCE Model: L-19 “Bird Dog” Manufacturer: Legend Hobby (legendhobby.com) Wingspan: 156 in. Pilot skill level: Intermediate Time to assemble: 40 hours Radio req’d: 6-to 9-channel Power req’d: 70 to 120cc gas engine Price: Starting at $2,195 GEAR USED Radio: Spektrum NX10SE and AR10350T…

We have run into Chris “Moe” Gleason at events all over, including Top Gun, Florida Jets, and Joe Nall. Chris is an outstanding pilot and builder and a great all-around guy. He is a team rep for several companies and is always willing to lend a helping hand so that others succeed in the RC jet hobby. We caught up with Chris at Florida Jets where he was flying his T-1 Models F-22 Raptor and was the well-deserved recipient of the Elite Aerosports Best Scale Jet Award. The Raptor also won the Best Craftsmanship award (see the bomb bay!) and Most Photogenic Jet. Model Airplane News: Chris, how long have you been building and flying RC? Chris Gleason: I have been modeling and flying for around 26 years. My parents…

Instantly recognizable thanks to its bent-wing design, the Vought F4U Corsair has been a longtime modeler favorite. The U.S. Navy received its first production Corsair in July of 1942, and Model Airplane News put one on the cover not too long after in November of 1943. Even back then, MAN knew a good thing when they saw it! Worth mentioning that our June 2023 issue had a Corsair on the cover—80 years later! Today, this model remains one of the most popular RC warbirds, and it’s difficult to go to a warbird event and not see several. How did this navy-blue fighter become so popular? Whether it was its unique inverted gull wing—designed to accommodate its massive 13-foot propeller—its lead role in the television show "Baa Baa Black Sheep," or…

AC-130 GUNSHIP Mike Estle, Columbus, Ohio Mike took a Hobby King ARF Avios C-130 and turned it into an AC-130 Spooky Ghost Runner gunship. This above-and-beyond makeover took place with the help of his wife Katie. He masked off the Hercules and gave it a full paint job, including panel line details, formation lights and of course, Callie Graphics logos. He 3D-printed the distinctive heavy-duty armament and targeting camera. Mike also uses the functional rear carbo ramp to drop parachute equipped soldiers. CESSNA 0-2 SUPER SKYMASTER Darrel Gibson, Eau Claire, Wisconsin In our out-of-the-ordinary aircraft category we have a Cessna Super Skymaster. Built from a Chin Model Aircraft kit, it has an ASP .15 in the front and an ASP .09 in the rear engine pod. The 52-inch-span 0-2 Skymaster…

Almost 20 years ago, WD-40 released their “No-Mess” pen. It was a convenient way to deliver the tried-and-true product in a more precise fashion, opening up its uses to a multitude of jobs that the spray can just wasn’t quite suited for. Fast forward to 2023, and the MAN crew was able to get its hands on WD-40’s latest innovation, the WD-40 Precision Pen. This prototype product isn’t yet available for purchase at the time of writing but is slated for release sometime in 2023. What makes the Precision Pen better than the original “No-Mess” product is its more rugged pen body as well as a more precise applicator tip. Combine that with contractor-grade top cap and you’ve got yourself a winning product. The Precision Pen is nice and compact,…

AT A GLANCE Model: Alpha Jet 80mm EDF PNP Manufacturer: XFly Model Distributor: Banana Hobby (bananahobby.com) Wingspan: 38.2 in. Pilot skill level: Intermediate Time to assemble: Under an hour Power req’d: 6S 4,000 to 5,000mAh 35C LiPo Radio req’d: 6-channel Price: $489.90 X-Fly Model produces the Alpha Jet in both the tactical gray scheme of the French Air Force as well as the striking Patrouille de France jet demonstration team. I received the French airshow version for our review but other than the colors the jets are identical. Available from Banana Hobby, the Alpha Jet is an 80mm electric ducted fan model that is constructed of injection-molded foam. The Plug-and-Play version includes everything but a radio system, receiver, and a 6S LiPo flight battery. The Alpha Jet doesn’t require any…

AT A GLANCE MODEL: Stinson Reliant SE-5E SCALE: ⅕ WINGSPAN: 98 in. LENGTH: 64 in. WEIGHT: 26 lb. WING AREA: 1,550 sq. in. WING LOADING: 38oz./sq. ft. POWER REQ’D: 2.25 to 3hp engine RADIO REQ’D: 7 channel (with flaps and on-board choke) The Stinson SR-5E Reliant is a beautiful example from a time in aviation when sharp looks were just as important as aerodynamics. Powered by a big Lycoming or Wright radial engine, more than 1,300 Reliants were produced from 1933 to 1941. Different models of the Reliant (from the SR-1 to the SR-10) were made during that time and included both civilian and military versions. There were two distinct types of Reliants: the straight wings (up to the SR-6) and the gull wings (from SR-7 onward). If you decide…

SPONSORS AERO PANDA AMAZON BONNIE & BRIAN O’MEARA BOOMA RC GATOR RC HORIZON HOBBY JETCAT MODEL AIRPLANE NEWS NATIONAL BALSA POWERBOX VIC RC ZAP ADHESIVES The One Eighth Air Force started this event more than 50 years ago, in 1972. It was the first large event in the country that catered to strictly scale models. This was the first time the event was held at the Sun Valley Fliers field in Phoenix, Arizona, and attendees enjoyed a beautiful flying field and sunny, 70-degree weather. There is no secret that Arizona weather has some of the best year-round flying in the country, and March 16-19 was no exception. Just west of Phoenix, Sky Harbor airport lies a beautiful flying field with an East-West, 700 x 60-foot runway, long covered pilot pavilion,…

The Patrouille de France is the French Air and Space Force equivalent of the world-famous Navy Blue Angels or the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. The French fly this gorgeous Alpha Jet, which is a two-place military trainer jet, in a nine-aircraft formation. The large number of jets and the use of multiple colors of smoke (in the colors of the French flag) gives rise to a 20-minute aerobatic routine that wows large airshow crowds across Europe and beyond.…

At the Perry Swap meet last year, I picked up a nearly brand-new Hangar 9 60cc XCub that was ready to fly, and I had a considerable investment in it. I installed a PowerBox telemetry capable receiver and configured my usual telemetry widgets for link performance and voltage. I was probably less careful going over the plane because I knew the previous owner to be a reliable builder, so I did a range check, wiggled the controls and went flying. Something felt wrong in the air so I landed and started looking for the problem. The log indicated that voltage was dropping to near zero in flight! The problem was I couldn’t duplicate the issue on the ground no matter how hard I moved the stick around. I replaced the…

BEFORE WE BEGIN With respect to the low-rate settings of an aerobatic aircraft, I prefer to start off with 25 degrees of aileron deflection with 25% exponential, 20 degrees of elevator deflection with 35% exponential, and 35 degrees of rudder deflection with 50% exponential. When I’m in the air, I can make any changes necessary to cater to my specific preferences. During the figure 6, the elevator is a key control surface as it will be used for a majority of the maneuver. First, the aircraft pushes to a vertical downline where a half roll is performed. Then, you’ll execute ¾ of an outside loop to exit the maneuver upright. If the elevator is sensitive, you’ll have to fight the aircraft, which you don’t want! You also don’t need an…