FREE FLIGHT ● CONTROL LINE ● RADIO-ASSISTED FREE PLAN: OCULUS SUPERCAP FF

www.aeromodeller.com
May 2018.
No. 972. £5.99

OCULUS ALL BALSA SHEET ELECTRIC FF

BEGINNER’S CONTROL LINE GLOW CONVERT

HOW TO REVIEW
05

9 770001 923011

GOODYEAR TR FLYING SCALE PARRA WASP 1.5

● INDOOR RC SE5A & STICK REVIEW ● NIGHT RETRIEVAL ● SUPERCAP ● MORE…

CONTENTS
AEROMODELLER 972 May 2018 – Next issue published on 17 May 2018

04 HEARD AT THE HANGAR

DOORS 38 FROM THE ARMCHAIR
Stuart ‘Supercool’ Sherlock derives the
Editorial, News and Views. theory of flight from Leonardo
and Newton…

07 UP AND COMING

42
Calendar of events for the TEAM RACE
next months. Part 2 of a beginner’s guide to
Goodyear racing by Simon Molyneux.

08 OFF THE SHELF Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe,

46
New and Innovative Products. BETTER… RETRIEVAL Bedfordshire LU6 1QX, England
Finding your model in the dark. Issue 972. May 2018

10 POWER TRIP – PARRA WASP Anecdotes and advice from (Issue 054 since relaunch)
A glow version of the 1.5cc engine is Dave Hipperson. How to contact us:
put through its paces by Maris Dislers. Tel: 01525 222573
Email: enquiries@doolittlemedia.com

14 VIABON 2018
Mike Woodhouse reports from this
51 AEROPOST
Your letters and emails. Editorial:
Editor: Andrew Boddington
Email: editor@aeromodeller.com

54
winter coupe event in France. OPTIMISING SUPERCAPS Publisher: Alan Harman
Administration Manager: Hannah McLaurie
Part 2 on using two capacitors in Office Manager: Paula Gray

18 FOR OLD TIMES’ SAKE

A vintage perspective from Oz
by Don Howie.
series, by Bob Lee. Advertisement Manager: Sean Leslie
Editorial Design: Peter Hutchinson
& Alex Hall
KIT REVIEWS
Advertisement and circulation:

22 STITCHES & RIVETS

Using Deluxe Materials products to
58
apply scale surface details.
MICROACES SE5A
Chris Ottewell is captivated by the
Aeromodeller, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe,
Bedfordshire LU6 1QX, England
ready coloured small RC model kit
Tel: 01525 222573
from Microaces. E-mail: enquiries@doolittlemedia.com

Newstrade:
24 CRAWLEY INDOOR
Dave Bishop covers this popular 62 TY 3-2 STICK
A novel balsa and stick kit complete
Select Publisher Services, 3 East Avenue,
Bournemouth, BH3 7BW
Tel: 01202 586848 E-mail: tim@selectps.com
indoor FF event. with simple RC and motor is reviewed
by Maris Dislers. Subscriptions:

26 IN SCALE CIRCLES Aeromodeller, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe,

Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX.

66
Ronnie Tribe looks back at his 2017 TAIL END CHARLIE Tel: 01525 222573
output of CL scale models. Subscribe: 12 issues - UK £66, Europe £87,
The thoughts of Chris Ottewell. Worldwide £98

Website: www.aeromodeller.com
30 FREE PLAN – OCULUS
A quirky all balsa sheet FF model for
capacitor power from Gareth Evans.

AeroModeller is published monthly by Doolittle

Media, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe,
Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX. Entire Contents © 2018
Doolittle Media Reproduction in part or whole of
any text, photograph or illustration without written
permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited.
While due care is taken to ensure the content of
AeroModeller is accurate, the publishers and printers
cannot accept liability for errors and omissions.
Advertisements are accepted for publication in
AeroModeller only upon Doolittle Media’s standard
terms of acceptance of advertising, copies of which
are available from the advertising sales department
of AeroModeller.

Oculus supercap
powered FF model is
the Free Plan.

3
 Bob Davis (b
ob
the developm .davis.design@gmail.com
ent of OD RC ) is encourag
designs with ing
Wrexham MAC a competitio
News, Views and Editorial on Sunday 22 n at
nd July 2018
.

H
HEARD
A NG
A
A
T
R
T H E
D OORS
Your Designs for AeroModeller

T
here are over 80 years’ worth of plans from the
present and old AeroModeller range, plus all the
other flying model magazines such as Model Aircraft
in the UK, MAN and Model Builder in the USA, and
others from around the world. Many of these plans
are still available to build from, either commercially printed to
order or for download. There is no shortage of designs to build!
Changes in materials, technology, classes of model, and
fashion mean there is still room for new designs. I try and run
a plan in every issue of AeroModeller, and occasionally have a
paid feature plan to send away for. I’m always on the look out
for interesting new designs to run in AeroModeller.
So, do you have a plan that I could run in a future issue?
Ideally I run the Free Plan full-size on one or more A3 sheets
in the centre of the magazine. Occasionally some or all of
the plan will be reduced
scale for enlarging at a local copy shop. As I don’t
currently have any re-draughting capability the plan needs to
be of good quality but can be from a CAD package or drawn
by hand. Similarly I am not too worried whether measurements
are imperial or metric, but by preference I would choose metric
measurements as this is the unit for newly purchased materials
(not everybody has a stash of Solarbo branded balsa!)
Do get in touch with details of your design (FF, CL or RC) if
you would like it considered for publication in AeroModeller.
There is a small payment and the chance to see your pride and
joy splashed across these pages.
Regards, Andrew Boddington
editor@aeromodeller.com

PANDAS SEVENTH SINGLE CHANNEL & RETRO RC FLY-IN 2018

Sunday 3rd June is the date for the
Seventh Single Channel & Retro RC Fly-in
at Pontefract Park, with hosts PANDAS,
the Pontefract And District Aeromodellers
Society, website www.pandas.bmfa.org
Saturday 2nd June is an open fun-flying day.
Alongside the single channel event
Reeds, Galloping Ghost, Pulse-Propo and
retro proportional sets are of course very
welcome too. Dave Cowburn will run a
control-Line circle so do bring a CL model
along, and at Dave’s discretion there will be
a have-a-go CL session. Also, SAM 35 will
be running RC assist duration events. Full
details from the websites.
Every year there is an optional ‘theme’ flying! It saw a terrific display by the
session – previously they’ve had the new-age Galloping Ghost models - David
‘Sharkfest’ with Sharkfaces, a full squadron Lovegrove in particular enthralled with his
of Mercury Galahads, formation Veron GG Veron ‘Robot’ and his OD ‘Mangled
Impalas, the ‘Boddo’ theme, and last year Wot’ design, flight after perfect flight with
biplanes and unorthodox models. This year superb flared landings accompanied by the
it is a specific quick-build model for the visible cycling and audible rattle unique to
theme slot, details of which will be released Galloping Ghost models.
3 weeks before the date - the secrecy and
quick-build being all part of the fun! www.
singlechannel.co.uk
Last year’s event was a huge success
with 120+ visitors and over 50 actually flying
and having a great time. It was perfect flying
weather for the noble art of Single-Channel

There is always plenty of

variety at the PANDAS
Retro RC event.

In 2016 David Kay

flew an RC version
of Bert Striegler’s
Roaring 20 from the
old AeroModeller Plans
Service.

4 AeroModeller - May 2018

 NEW ONLINE SOUND ARCHIVE AT NATIONAL AEROSPACE LIBRARY
In February your editor visited the National Aerospace
Library (NAL) in Farnborough (search on the Royal
Aeronautical Society site www.aerosociety.com) for the first
time in a while to handover a pile of the latest AeroModeller
magazines for their archive. The library is open to all for
reference and research, and for those who cannot get to
Farnborough there is much of interest online.
One new addition to their gallery of FF models is Stafford
Screen’s ‘Silhouette 2’ F1C model which was contributed by
Martin Dilly and Peter Jellis of the BMFA. Weighing just 810g
with a wingspan of 2.1 metres the Silhouette 2 was flown on
several occasions as part of British teams in European and
World Championship competitions.
Powered by a US-produced Nelson 15 (2.5cc) glow
engine developing 1.0 bhp, turning a folding carbon-bladed
propeller at 30,000 rpm and limited to just five seconds
running time, a clockwork timer operates auto-rudder,
variable tailplane and wing incidence, engine cut-out and
finally the dethermaliser. The model has been loaned to
the NAL by the BMFA and is prominently displayed at the
entrance to the Library and complements the hanging
display of historic Wakefields.
I thoroughly recommend a visit to the library as there is
so much of interest there. Brian Riddle and Tony Pilmer the
librarians are both knowledgeable and helpful when it comes
to finding specific aeronautical subjects.
For those who cannot easily visit Farnborough a new
Brian Riddle (left) the Chief Librarian at the National Aerospace Library receiving another batch of AeroModellers from Andrew Boddington to
add to those going back to 1936. (Photo by Tony Pilmer)
addition to the online services will be of interest. The NAL
is developing an aeronautical sound archive based on
historical recordings held in the Library’s archives which
have been recently digitalized. The recordings are being
released in batches via the Royal Aeronautical Society’s
SoundCloud site: www.aerosociety.com/podcast
The historic recordings are a real ‘Who’s Who’ of aviation
personalities and historical subjects. Lectures and speeches
available include Sir Frederick Handley Page, Igor Sikorsky,
Peter Twiss and Charles H. Gibbs-Smith. Recently added are
a detailed review of the V-Bomber force in a 2002 lecture by
Andrew Brookes, a review of the advanced postwar VTOL
aircraft research undertaken at Dornier in a 1965 lecture
by Silvius Dornier, and a 1934 recording of Sir Richard
Glazebrook the first the first Chairman of the Advisory
Committee for Aeronautics when it was formed in April 1909.
The impressive roll call of interviews available include
Captain Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown, Chuck Yeager, Scott Crossfield,
Handel Davies, Al White, Bill Humble, Pete Knight, Dick
Johnson, Philip Lucas, Peter Bugge, Col. Emil ‘Ted’
Sturmthal, Harald Penrose, John Morton, D. P. Davies,
Jeffrey Quill, John Cunningham and Sir Barnes Wallis.
The intention of the National Aerospace Library Sound
Archive project is to create a significant oral history archive
which makes the voices of the past (pilots, engineers,
scientists etc.) ‘alive’ once more to inspire and inform current
and future generations.
5
 News, Views and Editorial

CL WORLD CUP
Antonio Giandrini of TCA Racing Accessories and AA Models has advised that the British Model Flying Association and the Aero Club d’Italia
have joined forces to make this year’s Italian Coppa D’Oro control line meeting a combined British/Italian event which will also constitute the
2018 British World Cup contest. This event will take place on September 6 - 7, 2018 at the Francesco Baracca Airport in Lugo di Romagna, the
site of last year’s very successful Italian Coppa D’Oro meeting. Set in a wonderful Italian landscape, the World Cup event will feature all four
mainstream control line disciplines - F2A, F2B, F2C and F2D, while an Open International competition for F2F and F2G will also take place.
The venue offers outstanding facilities for both contestants and supporters, including camping opportunities. Attendees at last year’s Coppa
D’Oro event reported that a great time was had by all - the Italians really know how to show visitors a good time! The number of entries is
limited, so now is the time to register. This can be done directly on line at www.aeromodellugo.org

RON DRAPER RIP 1928-2018

THANKS TO DAVE HIPPERSON FOR HIS MEMORIES OF THE LATE RON DRAPER.
“A couple of issues ago I referred to the
magic moment on Middle Wallop when I
met Ron Draper for the very first time. Until
then he had simply been a hero, a name I
had remembered from when I was 10 years
old and I read about him winning the World
Championships in 1956. When he won with
his Crescendo on Cranfield in 1956 his picture
in this magazine was accompanied by the
almost matter of fact comment that he was
28 years old and an assistant architect. He
was a young, good looking guy with a proper
job, a wife and a nice home and so it might
come as a bit of a surprise to learn that he
was not received back that day with much
enthusiasm. Thankfully soon after that he met
Dianne who became his second wife, and they
stayed together ‘till his passing on the 10th
February this year. I cannot hope to do justice
to a full-blown resume of Ron’s life, not even
the aeromodelling part. As a mate who knew
him for far too short a period I couldn’t rest if I
had not brought you the aspects of his life that
made him special to me, hoping that some of
my experiences might overlap with yours.
He had had a battle with cancer but he
died in hospital of pneumonia and the organ
failure that the infection so often causes in the
elderly, and he sure was elderly. He was 90!
He hadn’t been seen on the flying field for a
few years and during the occasional telephone
conversations we had through that period he
complained mostly of the increasing difficulty
he was having with his hands resulting in an
inability to do the engine tuning work that he
loved and was so good at.
In aeromodelling circles he was of course
best known for being the last Englishman to
win the Power World Championships until
The 1956
World
Champs
British
Power Team.
his club mate Pete Watson did it in 2009, but
practically everything Ron did was taken to a
high competitive level. Possibly the reason he
lived so long and was so fit was because of
the competition cycling regime he followed for
many years.
After the power duration success he turned
to both Wakefield and eventually Indoor
making the team in both disciplines. I don’t
think we quite overlapped with the Wakefields
as he had taken up Indoor seriously in the
mid-sixties just when I started in F1B, so once
again we passed like ships in the night. It was
around that time that he was selling Jap tissue.
To me having been brought up on Modelspan,
this “Draper Jap” as it was known was a Ron Draper, a fairly typical expression.
magical new lightweight material. I remember (Photo Sue Hipperson)
marvelling at the super bright colours every
time I unwrapped an order from this mythical no longer able to compete and which won me
figure I had never met. He returned to numerous events.
competitive Free Flight in the early 90s and Although he could appear a little surly to the
had some success with Vintage rubber classes unwary I was most impressed with his reaction
and of course Slow Open Power with his to the news that Pete Watson had won the
Avanti design with which he won the Southern World Champs and taken away his claim to
Gala. Power attracted him because he saw a fame that had stood for nearly 50 years. He
reason to work on engines again. He was a seemed genuinely delighted. It takes a great
firm believer in the absolute cause of power to sport to behave like that and I am sure it made
weight ratio and had a long running but good- the victory for Pete even sweeter.
natured battle on that subject and others with He never completely explained to me
his equally determined club mate and engine why his hands appear to be over his ears
designer Gordon Cornell. As well as an expert immediately after releasing his model from
re-worker he used to reduce motor weight that wet runway surface in the iconic image on
with machining on the bulkier metal items. page 522 of the October 1956 AeroModeller
One of his greatest successes was an OS 20 (report by Ron Moulton) but the picture stays
which he converted to diesel for Slow Open with me and reminds me always of those
to benefit from the longer run whilst pretty personal and seemingly irrelevant details.
much maintaining the glow’s performance and Irrelevant until now that is. He was one of the
reducing its A.U.W by no less that an ounce! great aeromodellers, can never be replaced
It was this motor that he gave me when he felt and will be sorely missed.”
Ron’s October 1956
dieselised AeroModeller
OS 20 fitted reports
into Dave Ron’s World
Hipperson’s Champs win.
largest Slow Note strange
Open Power stance after
model. VTO launch.
 Events
UP & COMING
April
21 April
Norfolk ‘Insiders’ FF, Stalham
School Sports Hall, Ingham Rd,
Stalham, Norfolk NR12 9DG.
19:00 to 22:00. Informal Indoor
FF, beginners welcome. Cafe.
Richard Crossley on
01692 407936,
richardcrossley1967@gmail.com
21 April
Tonbridge Gassers & Rubber
Fanciers Indoor, Sports
Centre, 601 Maidstone Road,
Rochester ME1 3QJ. 18:30 to
22:00. FF & LW RC.
Eric 01622 737814
eric.przyjemski@btinternet.com
or Steve 0208 942 5000
22 April
Barton F2C CL, Barton,
Manchester. BMFA F2C &
F2CN.
Chris Barker 01252 850239
www.controlline.org.uk
22 April
F1E FF Slope Soaring Team
Selection, TBC Sheffield or
Melton Mowbray.
Ian Kaynes 07941 852144
kaynes@btinternet.com
28-29 April
London Area FF Gala, Salisbury
Plain. 28th: C/G, C/R, C/P, C/E,
P30, CO2. 29th: F1H, F1G,
F1J, BMFA1/2A, Mini Vintage,
E30, HLG-CLG.
Trevor Grey 01892 539221
www.freeflight.bmfa.org
29 April
Vintage & Barton Team Race,
Barton, Manchester. VTR,
Barton.
John Mealing 0117 947 8758
www.controlline.org.uk
29 April
1st Centralised F2B & Team
Selection, Leics.
Mervyn Jones 07890391537
M.jones2@bradfordcollege.ac.uk
May
1 May
Waltham Chase Indoor FF,
Community Centre, Mill Lane,
Wickham, PO17 5AL. 19:00
to 22:00. FF only, flyers £5,
spectators £1.
www.wcaero.co.uk
Alan Wallington 01489 895157
Full details of BMFA events can be found at:
Please note that the events listed are compiled weeks in advance of publication,
and you should check before travelling in case of change. For future inclusion of
your events, please send an email with date and details of the event in a format
similar to those shown below to editor@aeromodeller.com
5-6 May
F2D Combat Contest &
Team Selection, Albermarle,
Stamfordham.
Martin Johnson 01207 271337
martinjohnson9531@gmail.com
12-13 May
Stonehenge & Equinox Cups,
Salisbury Plain, Area 8. FF FAI
International F1A, B, C & Q.
Richard Jack 04477 62346700
richard_jack@live.com
12-13 May
MayFly at the Shuttleworth
Collection, Old Warden SG18
9EP. FF, CL & RC including
Ebenezer, FROG Senior & KK
Elf duration on Sun.
www.modelair.info
www.sam35.org
13 May
Vintage Combat at MayFly, Old
Warden SG18 9EP.
Mick Lewis 01453 542367
combatflyers@talktalk.net
www.combatflyers.co.uk
13 May
Shawbury Indoor, RAF
Shawbury, Dawsons Rough.
13:00 to 16:00.
Electric RC & FF.
John Minchell
j.minchell@btinternet.com
13 May
BMFA Centralised Speed,
Barton, Manchester.
Dick Hart 01387 820335
www.controlline.org.uk
19 May
South Norfolk MFC Indoor,
Leisure Centre, Old Norwich
Road, Wymondham, Norfolk,
NR18 0NT. 19:00 to 22:00.
All model types, 100g max.
www.snmfc.co.uk
19 May
2nd F1E FF Slope Soaring
Team Selection, TBC Sheffield
or Melton Mowbray.
Ian Kaynes 07941 852144
kaynes@btinternet.com
19-20 May
Barton CL Bash, Barton,
Manchester. Sat: Barton GY,
F2CN, TQR, Club Speed,
Carrier Deck. Sun: Barton B,
Classic 15, Vintage A, Vintage
& P/M Stunt, Carrier Deck.
Malcolm Ross 01925 766610
www.controlline.org.uk
20 May to 24 June
SAM35 Area Postals, (20 May
- 4th Area, 24 June - 5th Area),
‘Summerglide’ vintage and
classic glider.
editor@peterboroughmfc.org
www.sam35.org
20 May
BMFA FF 4th Area, Area
Venues. C/G, F1B(Gutteridge),
C/P Team (Keil/Plugge), C/R,
C/E, Vintage R/P(Plugge),
Mini Vintage, E30(Plugge),
HLG/CLG.
www.freeflight.bmfa.org
26 May
Tonbridge Gassers & Rubber
Fanciers Indoor, Sports
Centre, 601 Maidstone Road,
Rochester ME1 3QJ. 18:30 to
22:00. FF & LW RC.
Eric 01622 737814
eric.przyjemski@btinternet.com
or Steve 0208 942 5000
26-27 May
F2B Home International,
Barton, Manchester.
International F2B Stunt
Competition, Wales Hosts.
Kevin Morgan 01159 825587
www.controlline.org.uk
26-28 May
Free Flight Nationals,
Barkston Heath. All FF classes
(including F1G on Monday),
and Junior events.
Mike Woodhouse
01603 457754
michaelwoodhouse1942@gmail.com
www.bmfa.org
28 May
SAM35 at FF Nationals, 36” Hi-
Start glider, under 25” vintage
rubber, low wing/Biplane Cabin
Precision (hand launch, classes
for Rubber and IC).
Contact for SAM Events
John Ashmole 01406 370188
johnashmole@yahoo.co.uk
June
3 June
Barton F2C CL, Barton,
Manchester. BMFA F2C &
F2CN.
Chris Barker 01252 850239
www.controlline.org.uk
www.bmfa.org
3 June
Vintage Combat, Darley Moor
Club Gala, Ashbourne
DE6 2ET.
Mick Lewis 01453 542367
combatflyers@talktalk.net
www.combatflyers.co.uk
3 June
PANDAS Single Channel &
Retro RC Fly-in, Pontefract
Racecourse, W Yorks. Single
Channel, Galloping Ghost, and
simple RC. Also CL.
Shaun Garrity
museum@garritys.net
www.pandasaero.co.uk or
www.singlechannel.co.uk
5 June
Waltham Chase Indoor FF,
Community Centre, Mill Lane,
Wickham, PO17 5AL. 19:00
to 22:00. FF only, flyers £5,
spectators £1.
www.wcaero.co.uk
Alan Wallington 01489 895157
9 June
Ulster CL Championships,
Belfast. F2B and Classic.
Peter Bradshaw 07866642528
peter.bradshaw1949@ntlworld.com
9-10 June
Barton Club Speed Weekend,
Barton, Manchester. Wales
Host. 0115 9825587
www.controlline.org.uk
10 June
Nuneaton MAS CL Vintage
Stunt, Dave Campbell Field,
Stoke Golding, Nr Nuneaton,
CV13 6DR.
David Underwood
01827 713710
david@davidunderwood.plus.com
17 June
SAM 1066, Salisbury Plain.
Vintage FF incl. Glider & Open
Power, F1G, E36, Sports FF.
Roger Newman 0239 2550809
www.sam1066.org
17 June
South Bristol CL Gala,
Berkeley. Including Vintage
Combat,
Mick Lewis 01453 542367
combatflyers@talktalk.net
www.combatflyers.co.uk
www.southbristolmac.co.uk
7
Off The Shelf A round up of new and innovative products for the disce

RDT compatible E-Zee timer from Dens Model Supplies

The well-established E-Zee Electric and IC Free Flight timers have been re-designed to incorporate an RDT (Radio
DeThermaliser) override that is compatible with the Aeris and Bodnar systems.
A separate module is available for those who wish to use a commercial RC system. This connects between the Rx
and the timer and converts the standard RC servo protocol to match that required by the timer.
Adding RDT has required two new pcbʼs, one for the CL timer and the other for the Free Flight versions, similar in
appearance but with detail changes to connectors and their identification markings depending on type.
Software for all types of timer has been updated to allow data entry to each feature directly rather than scrolling
through as previously.

E-Zee Timers are available from Dens Model Supplies. Cost £18.00 each plus
P&P, state which version you require when ordering.
Tel 01983 294182. www.densmodelsupplies.co.uk

E-Zee CL (foreground) and FF timers. The FF timer comes in two flavours:

Electric and IC - identification of type is on the back.

Gordon Burfordʼs Spraycraft SP70 Precision Sandblaster Kit

Model Engines by
Maris Dislers
Available again Maris Dislers (AeroModellerʼs ʻMr Power
Tripʼ) informative book for all IC engine enthusiasts. This
book describes the full suite of Burford engines – GB, Sabre,
Glo Chief, Taipan and beyond. With many performance tests,
beautiful photos and details of correct needle valves, boxes,
and instruction sheets. All in full colour, A4 size, with over 200
pages. This reprinted edition includes three extra engine tests
added since original publication in 2009 and more.
Price is reduced to Australian $ 65 + P&P
Contact: Maris Dislers jamd@adam.com.au
for further particulars.
It may look like an airbrush, but the SP70 precision sandblaster will etch glass, metal & wood. It will also remove paint and clean rust.
The precision sandblaster delivers results quickly & easily. For enthusiast & professionals.
The kit includes: cup 15cc & nozzle 0.5mm, sandblaster holder, hose, compressor adaptor ¼” BSP, abrasive starter bottle 100g, mask.
Applications:
• Etching – glass (decorative or security), metal, stone, wood
• Paint removal – from wooden or metal surfaces
• Cleaning rust – cars, bikes, garden or workshop tools and furniture
• Surface preparation – preparing metal before heat treating or welding
• Renovating & cleaning – die cast parts, toys etc.
Spraycraft SP70 Precision Sandblaster Kit SP70 £49.99
Available from Shesto, Tel +44 (0) 20 8451 6188 www.shesto.co.uk

Maris
Dislers
book
covers
the wide
ranging
Australian
model
engine
output of
Gordon
Burford.

Spraycraft SP70 Precision Sandblaster Kit from Shesto.

8 AeroModeller - May 2018

erning aeromodeller. Send your product information along with high-resolution images to: editor@aeromodeller.com

Lightcraft USB Only LED

Lamp from Shesto
An energy efficient LED Rechargeable lamp with Dimmer Feature. This portable,
folding to compact lamp is ideal for detail lighting when working in your home
workshop and when away. It features a dimmable task light as well as a useful
smaller night light.

FEATURES:
• Portable & Rechargeable
• Energy efficient – Low heat emission
• Mini stand for desk use or hanging slot for night light
• 2m USB cable for use through Computer/Laptop & USB Sockets

SPECIFICATIONS:
• LAMP SIZE: 270 x 51 x 53mm
• COLOUR TEMPERATURE: 5700~6300 Kelvin
• SWITCH: Touch switch with dimmer function for main light & small night light
• CORDLESS UASAGE TIME: 100% light 1.5hrs; 50% light 3hrs; 10% light 8hrs

Lightcraft USB Only LED Portable Folding Lamp

LC8045USB £29.95
Available from Shesto, Tel +44 (0) 20 8451 6188
www.shesto.co.uk

Lightcraft USB rechargeable lamp LC8045USB

Modelfixings Socket Head Small Screws

The Modelfixings SS02 servo screws have the same thread but will be suitable for a whole range of applications where
diameter (approx 2.1mm), length (approx 10.5mm), and a little extra security is required. The flange diameter is also
pitch as the well-known servo manufacturers screws, but have increased to spread the load over a larger area.
an allen key head. This makes installation into deep fuselages
so much easier - the screw is a snug fit onto the end of a 2mm Discounts when buying larger packs of
A/F allen key and will usually stay attached as you reach into screws. Look at the Modelfixings web site
a tight space. Price is £1.40 for 20. to also see long allen key drivers and lots
No more tearing your hair out as you loose the servo screws of other tools.
in the fuselage! No more annoying dents in the wing where Email info@modelfixings.com
you slipped when installing the aileron servo! These screws Tel 0115 8548791
are also ideal for other applications such as securing cowls, www.modelfixings.com
canopies etc.
The SS01 servo screws are a longer version (length approx
14mm). Price £1.40 for 20.
On all versions, the thread of the servo screw extends right up
to the head, so you always have thread biting into the wood,
even when screwing into very thin walls or blocks.
Also available are heavy duty servo screws in 2 length options
(SS04 is 10.5mm, SS03 16mm, both priced £1.95 for 20), with
a diameter of approx 2.5mm. These screws are specifically
designed to suit heavy duty servos used in large scale models
 Power Trip
Parra Wasp 1
Maris Dislers investigates the glow version of this quality .09ci engine
T
raditionally, 1.5cc engines
made good sense for ages, as
the whole bundle was clear of
the rather dinky 049 stuff, but
cheaper than equivalent 2.5cc
or big-block equipment. Just as good,
providing it wasn’t particularly windy and
you didn’t mind the smaller control line
flight hemisphere.
Of course, progress led to more
horsepower and the F.A.I. seriously
considered dropping engine size from
2.5cc to 1.5cc around 1980. That was
defeated and perhaps it’s a good thing.
Considering what has happened in the
10 AeroModeller - May 2018
“simple” F1J class where quite unexpected
amounts of horsepower are extracted
from 1cc engines squealing like stuck pigs
at fantastic RPM. For now at least, there
remains a more comfortable place for
1.5cc engines at Club level. Particularly in
control line combat, with spirited F2D-like
performance, but easier to operate and the
models survive “unintentional landings”
surprisingly well. And mini racing classes
provide an outlet for the young at heart
flyer who is happy with the lighter side.
One of the best 1.5’s available is the
Parra Wasp and readers might recall
our previous test of the diesel version in
AeroModeller No. 919 Jan/Feb 2013. It
seems they got it right from the start, as
no significant changes have been found
necessary since its introduction. Our Wasp
diesel delivered between 0.3 BHP and
almost 0.4 BHP depending on carburettor
insert choke area, putting it among the best
of the modern one-point-fives.
The Wasp is a versatile design, with two
crankcase options (differing in exhaust
port orientation) and choice between diesel
and glowplug ignition. Even an RC throttle
option. This time we’ll look at the glowplug
version and so that direct comparison can
be made with the diesel, we’ve converted
Parra Wasp fitted with optional muffler.
Arrangement best suits combat model
installation. Parra also offers dural combat
mounts, special multiwrench for engine
disassembly and RC throttle option.
1.5cc Glow
Switching between glow or diesel modes is easily done by selecting the
desired head insert.
our original test engine. Simply by
swapping glowplug head in place of diesel
head. A one-minute chameleon trick.
Construction
Briefly, for folk who missed our earlier
review, the Wasp is a modern high
performance front rotary induction type.
Based on an investment cast monobloc
crankcase that needs no assembly screws,
which also helps to keep overall weight
down. Of course, you’ll need Parra’s
multi-tool for disassembly – this tool also
fits prop nut, compression screw and
glow plug. Alternative crankcase options
place the exhaust at 30 degrees upwards
for combat, or 30 degrees downwards
for racing applications. Transfer porting is
the usual Schnuerle plus boost and single
exhaust, cut into a drop-in ABC (Aluminium
piston, Brass Chrome-plated cylinder)
or AAC (Aluminium, Aluminium Chrome)
cylinder. Our test engine is AAC, so a few
grams lighter. The glow head insert, taking
a Nelson style plug, with its threaded clamp
ring completes the top end.
Piston and cylinder remain in top shape after plenty of use. As they say “You
don’t get zip, if it ain’t got that nip”.
The crankshaft rides in 10mm I.D.
rear and 5mm I.D. front bearings. It has
generous front rotary intake port and
6.5mm gas passage for good “breathing”
at higher speeds. Parra offers four venturi
choke size options to tailor the degree of
“suction” to the intended use. Of peripheral
jet type, they are easily changed after
removing the needle valve assembly.
On the Bench
The glow combustion chamber has a wide
squish band with 5 degree conical angle
and central dome. We measured 0.10 cc
volume and added 0.35mm total shims
(plus the 0.2mm head to piston clearance
at TDC) to give an initial geometric
compression ratio of 10:1, using Parra’s
0.1 mm brass and .05mm copper shims.
With the 10% nitro mix, we found no gain
even after removing three 0.1mm shims,
leaving only one 0.05 mm shim to ensure
a good seal, for the highest achievable
compression ratio of 12.5:1. However, on
40% nitro, there was an extra 800 RPM
(when loaded to around 22,000 RPM) at
12.5:1 versus 10:1 CR. Our reported results
are from the engine set in this manner.
We ran four tests;
Test 1 – 10% nitro fuel (FAI F2D mix) using
3mm venturi
Test 2 – 40% nitro (with 20% castor oil,
40% methanol) using 3mm venturi
Test 3 – 10% nitro fuel using 3.5mm
venturi
Test 4 – 40% nitro using 3.5 mm venturi
Hand starting is easy after one or two
choked turns to prime the crankcase,
without kick-back or tendency to “bite”.
The fine-thread needle gave about a half-
turn range at peak before running became
evidently rich or too lean. The test engine’s
Nelson HD glow plug element and the
combustion chamber remained as new
after testing.
The muffler (shared with Parra 2.5
engine) has a 6mm outlet diameter
and an adapter sleeve for the Wasp’s
exhaust stub. A neat clamp ring holds
it securely, without necessarily needing
11
 Power Trip

Bore 12.5 mm (.492 in)

Stroke 11.8 mm (.465 in)
Swept Volume 1.45 cc (.089 cu in)
Weight (without muffler, AAC version) 89 g (3.14 oz)
Crankcase width at bearers 24 mm (.945 in)
Mounting bolt pattern 13 mm x 30 mm (.512 in x 1.18 in)
Length (prop mounting face to back plate) 54.7 mm (2.15 in)
Height (mounting face to top of head) 45.3 mm (1.78 in)
Intake opens 25 degrees ABDC
Intake closes 46 degrees ATDC
Intake duration 201 degrees
Exhaust duration 146 degrees
Transfer/boost port duration 130 degrees Muffler is shared with larger Parra 2.5cc Mk 2
Effective choke area Variable, depending on selected venturi insert. engine. With adapter ring in place, it neatly claps
Tested with 3 mm dia. (7.07 sq mm) and onto exhaust stub. Weighs 6.9g, trading good
3.5 mm dia. (9.62 sq mm) noise reduction for 400 RPM drop.

respective best torque and power points

Test 1 Test 2 Test 3 Test 4
Propeller RPM RPM RPM RPM are close, and at quite similar speeds. Up
APC 7x6 13000 14800 13800 15200 nitro to 40% with either venturi and the
APC 7x5 14700 15800 15000 16500 glow takes the lead. Also noteworthy is the
APC 7x4 15900 17000 16800 18000 glow’s ability to maintain the fizz well after
APC 7x3 19700 20800 20500 21300
the peak BHP figure.
APC 6x3 23800 24900 24800 26500
APC 6.3x4 20900
APC 6.5x3.7 20500 Flight Tests
APC 6.5x5 19200 19700 We tried the Wasp glow in a modern 1/2A
trimmed to 150mm combat model. A stock, full 7x4 prop is
handy, but a bit too much load for best
a rear mounting bracket. It loses 400 power output would be quite small. Unlike performance. We switched to our trimmed
RPM with APC 7x3 propeller, but noise going for the 2.5mm venturi, which drops and reworked Taipan nylon 7x4 turning
reduction was very impressive, dropping around 1,000 RPM in exchange for super almost 19,700 RPM flat out on the ground
from 97 dB A at 3 metres open exhaust consistency in tight turns. Upping nitro to with 10 % nitro test fuel & 3mm venturi.
to 85 dB A with muffler. The added back 40% boosts output, making it a 19 oz-in APC 6.3 x 4 or 6.5 x 3.7 are good off-
pressure smoothed out running and slightly .375 BHP engine. the-shelf options. Modern F2D props will
improved fuel economy. Our second set of performance curves have it over-revving in the air. Vibration is
shows the effect of increasing effective low, but we noticed slight fuel cavitation,
Performance Appraisal choke area by 36% with the largest 3.5mm leading to air bubbles in the fuel line when
With the 3mm venturi, a likely candidate venturi intended for racing. Torque and running with some propellers in the 20,000
for Half-A Combat application, and 10% power rise significantly with both fuels, to 22,000 RPM bracket. The engine coped
nitro fuel, the broad power curve exceeds essentially moving the curves up the scale, well enough for it to be ignored. Lap times
0.3 BHP between 18,000 and 24,000 RPM, without greatly affecting their shape or a little under 2.6 seconds (42 feet line
reaching full song at 0.32 BHP between respective peaking RPM. With 40% nitro, length) at a practical setting that would
20,000 and 22,000 RPM. Maximum maximum 22 oz-in torque between 16,000 hold during manoeuvres. If pushed hard
torque of 17.5 oz-in spans 14,000 to and 17,000 RPM and 0.425 BHP in the towards the end of the tank, we could
16.000 RPM. Flight trials might show the 20,000 – 22,000 RPM region are indicated. induce “going lean”, but recovery was swift
smaller 2.8mm size to be a better choice The Wasp diesel has an edge over the once levelled out.
in some instances, but the difference in glow version running on 10% nitro. The The rules for our local 1/2A Profile Proto

12 AeroModeller - May 2018


External bulges mimic internal transfer passage
profiles. Generous pathway over rear bearing area
compliments large rotary intake valve for free
breathing potential. Yet the Wasp doesn’t need to
run at fantastic RPM to deliver good performance.
Speed class mandate suction feed and
limit glows to F2D Combat fuel (10% nitro
methane content), putting them about
even with the diesels. With Wasp sporting
3.5mm venturi, we achieved an average
137 KPH (85.2 MPH) for the standing
one kilometre on its first outing, turning a
trimmed APC 6.5 x 5 prop. Not far off the
current 141 KPH (87.8 MPH) record held
by the same model and a very lusty CTAH
1.5cc diesel. And this time we were taking
off from grass, not concrete. Seeking more
urge, we later tried a larger 4mm ID venturi
and noted only a few hundred RPM gain.
Long-Run Appraisal
Before conversion to glow plug for these
tests, our engine had earned its keep
as a diesel for several seasons running
flat out in 1/2A Combat. Reporting on
how it fared mechanically, the ball races,
crankpin, piston/cylinder fit remain in
Wasp does 1/2A Profile Proto Speed duty. Simple model. Simple set-up. Lap times around 2.1 seconds are not too
quick for a novice getting the hang of flying with a pylon.
Parra’s Ukrainian made Wasp is a quality product
at a fair price. Easy to operate and good power
output.
perfect condition. However, in that time, we
noted excessive wear in the conrod little
end bearing. A fresh conrod went in and
we then increased the oil content in fuel
from 15% to 20% as a precaution against
a reoccurrence. Interestingly, after bench
and flight testing for this review, we found
that the big end bush in the replacement
conrod had at some stage rotated
somewhat, obscuring the two lubrication
holes. Probably back when operating as
a diesel. No harm done and it’s the only
time this has happened to one of our Parra
engines. Since drilling the bush through
the two conrod lubricating hole positions,
the Wasp now turns 21,300 – 21,600 RPM
with 4mm venturi and APC 7x3 propeller (a
good “single test prop” indicator for peak
power). I’d say at least 500 RPM gain from
restoring the intended lubrication path
to the conrod big end, meaning overall
performance is slightly up on our reported,
Info:
Parra Wasp diesel or glow engines
are available from EX2CL Control Line
Equipment ext2cl@gmail.com Currently
priced at Euro €130 for ABC and Euro
€140 for AAC version. RC versions are
Euro €10 extra.
very impressive test figures. With 4mm
venturi fitted, just between you and me,
subsequent timed flights at our secret
test facility have put that Speed record
in peril. Providing the Wasp is fitted with
a higher pitch propeller that slows initial
acceleration enough to avoid leaving the
fuel behind, but picks up lost time once up
to full speed.
Overall, a very satisfactory result for the
Wasp. Anyone still thinking 1.5’s are relative
weaklings would be in for a surprise when
they see a Wasp perform. Glow or diesel,
the differences are not so great, unlike the
days of yore when there were two different
design paths. Reminds me somewhat of that
final scene in the movie Babe. Where a piglet
reared by farm dogs and believing he can
do their work, perfectly rounds up the sheep
at the dog trials - to the amazement of all.
And the astute old farmer with knowing pride
says “That’ll do pig, that’ll do.” ●
13
 Free Flight Duration
THE RUBBER DAYS AT
VIABON 2018
C
MIKE WOODHOUSE REPORTS FROM THE ‘WINTER CUP’ ON 24TH - 25TH FEBRUARY
ompetition flying in
February always produces
a few issues to contend
with. This year it was windy
in France, in fact it was very
windy. This was the weekend before the
first ‘Beast from the East’. The Saturday
produced a wind strength of 20mph that
increased to 25mph plus on the Sunday.
However, the skies were clear and blue
over the two days. The temperatures
were low; just around zero. The ploughed
land over which the event is flown was
14 AeroModeller - May 2018
frozen solid, so on the plus side there
was no mud to deal with but walking on
frozen ploughed fields is hard work and
without care one could easily turn
an ankle.
Viabon is situated south west of
Paris and the venue is a small full size
private light plane field. This year Chris
Strachan and myself were the only fliers
to represent the UK.
With all the above weather
considerations why then do we go?
The answer is simple, it is a great
weekend out and our French hosts make
us welcome; the whole trip is a very
enjoyable experience. There is a lunch
break and all-day refreshments in the
airfield cabin.
The fierce wind reduced the numbers
who flew; many kept their models safely
in the box. Those who flew risked loss
and damage. On the second day I badly
damaged my aile basse (low wing) coupe
Fluke (last month’s Free Plan) when it
cartwheeled on landing. The model could
not be repaired on the field as I couldn’t
find all the bits.
More Than Rubber
This year the organisers added F1S to
the list of events. OK not rubber, but
it’s not noisy. The idea is to spread the
net and include this new class that is
attracting much interest. The rubber
classes on Saturday were for vintage
Wakefield, P30, and vintage Coupe
d’Hiver. With the wind strength it was a
very hard day and I didn’t find time to
take many photos.
My Yankee VI won the Wakefield event.
The last flight was glorious with a DT
from great height for 4:36 down. It was
a long hard walk but I was helped back
Yves Aubry’s coupe climbs away against the
clear blue skies, only the taped wing repairs
hinting at the high winds it is contending with.
Mike Woodhouse with two French juniors, Elouan Rigault and Patxi Rigault. Yvon Jallet prepares his model for a final attempt in the Coupe d’Hiver. It was
Great to see encouragement of youth flying, with cola rather than wine as prizes! good enough to put Mike Woodhouse into 4th place by one second.

Richard Nouvian and Yves Aubry wind motors for the last round in the shelter of Yves Aubry’s simple but effective model returned to fight another day.
their car boots.

by one of the organisers, Jean-Pierre his search on the previous evening.

Challine, in his car. In addition, I won
P30 with my modified Spencer Willis
P-Super. The modifications include a
carbon fibre tube fuselage with a full-
length motor driving a Peck propeller.
The pylon height has also been
reduced to a minimum. Both models
survived but were quite battered after
their ordeal.
Chris Strachan won both F1S and
Vintage Coupe d’Hiver. Chris’s F1S is
a new high thrust line model, a lighter
version of the model he had been
campaigning for a number of years.
His coupe was a rebuild (new wing
and tail) of the “Jump Bis” which he
has flown for a number of years. The
model went like a train but was lost
on the last flight. Chris went back
in the morning and found it, he just
The wreckage of aile hadn’t gone far enough downwind in
basse Fluke. The mo
since been rebuilt. del has
Persistence
Sunday is the main event of the
Coupe d’Hiver Maurice Bayet. Chris
didn’t fly preferring to search for
the lost model. I flew the Fluke low
winger. Despite the wind it flew well,
and I finished 4th by one second. If
the model had remained in one piece
I could have made the last flight and I
would have moved up a place, as the
locals would remark “C’est la vie”.
However, it was 1st in its class and
we had a good weekend with over a
dozen bottles of red wine between
the two of us collected as prizes.
There was quite a bit of damage
inflicted on the modern Coupe
d’Hivers, many made one flight and
then gave in. The winner was Richard
Nouvian, (Richard is on a roll having

15
 Free Flight Duration

Richard Nouvian prepares his winning model and gets away. Look at those wings bending!

just returned from Lost Hills where he

won F1B at the Max Men contest); he
was the only flier to max out. Three
excellent flights and the model retrieved
undamaged. Yves Aubrey came in 2nd
with his straightforward, basic model.
Yves has won the contest in the past
with this simple single blade propeller
design, just the sort of model needed in
this year’s conditions.
Well, I have the Fluke back together
for the 2019 trip. I’ve made some
modifications to make it tougher for
harsh conditions which I’ll share if
successful.
Richard Nouvian told me after the
contest that France would be staging
an invasion to fly in the Stonehenge and
Equinox cups that will be held in the
UK in May. They intend to get their own
back! ●

Yves Aubry getting away in the last round.

16 AeroModeller - May 2018

 Vintage Perspective from OZ
For Old
Times’ Sake
A look at ‘Ancient and Modern’ models and modellers by Don Howie.
Electric Old Timers
I first flew a small 4 feet span
“Powerhouse” electric OT (Old Timer)
about 20 years ago and this was
featured in my early FOTS articles in
A.M.I. (Aviation Modeller International)
magazine. It used a 540 electric
motor turning a Master Airscrew 3
to 1 gearbox and could R.O.G., but
performance was not that good.
Today, things have changed and for
models of about 4 feet span, the cost
of electric motor, speed controller and
LiPo battery is quite low, due to high
production volumes for ready to fly
foam models. I only use 2 or 3 Lipo
cells, this giving enough power at low
cost. The NiCads in the first computer
transmitters were only 600 mAh (8
cells) and needed to be charged
before each flying day. Today, you can
fit 2400 mAh (8 cells) NiMH Nickel
Metal Hydride batteries, that hold their
72 inch span Scientific “Mercury” electric OT model lifts off at Willunga Vintage M.A.C.
18 AeroModeller - May 2018
charge for years and you can then fly
at short notice without charging.
The great advantage of electric over
I.C. power is the ability to restart the
motor in flight. The models R.O.G.
quickly due to the high power, climb
to height, then cut the motor and
look for thermals. When the model
comes down, you simply power up
and go up again. The OT models fly
slowly and do not require too much
concentration, so we fly sitting in a
chair, with beach umbrella for shade
in the summer time, this at Willunga
Vintage Modellers flying field.
First model seen lifting off is a 72
inch span “Mercury” (1939 Scientific
kit) that uses a Turnigy 3548 motor,
40 Amp speed controller, 1600 mAh
3 cell Lipo pack and turns a 12x6
electric prop. It has SIG Coverall plus
green auto paint (spray can) trim.
Jack Simmons is also shown holding
the model at Willunga field recently
during our summer, so the field is quite
dry. The Scientific “Mercury” was a
featured model at the 2001 U.S. SAM
Champs, designed by Ben Shereshaw
who attended the event at an age of
89 years.
The 72 inch span “Lancer” kitted by
the New Cyclone Aircraft Co. U.S.A. in
1938, designed by Chester Chaplaskie
is a great looking Old Timer, now being
flown by Rod Spurrier at Constellation
flying field. Rod has fitted a Dualsky
480 motor with 9 x 4½ electric prop
and it uses 3 LiPo cells. The model has
Chinese silk covering and Rod made a
new cowl as it was originally powered
with a 4 stroke glow engine.
I flew my “Trenton Terror” for years
as a test bed for old spark engines;
you will see many photos in A.M.I.
magazine from the past. At our
sidewalk sale day at Constellation
Jack Simmons holds his 1939 “Mercury” old timer electric model at Willunga. Rod Spurrier at Constellation M.F.C. field, 72 inch span electric “Lancer”.

Don Howie with much used “Trenton Terror” designed by Mickey D’Angelis, now Great looking Vic Smeed “Mam’Selle” electric powered, built by Jack Simmons,
electric powered. wearing matching colours.

field about a year ago, I bought an covering and spray can auto finish and (diesels) at this time were the Mills P.75
unbranded electric motor and 50 amp I have fitted a 7x5 Graupner Super and the FROG 150. Mine is flown RC
speed controller for quite low cost, I think prop for low battery consumption and with a 1962 Taipan 1.5cc diesel and I
it is under 1000 KVA so can turn a quite reduced drag in the glide. hope to convert it to electric power.
large propeller. This was easy to fit with The 48 inch span Hearn’s Hobbies Bill Britcher has recently converted
3/16 inch ply plate (3 laminations of 1/16 “Observer” kit from 1952, the plan drawn his “Observer” to electric power with
ply) at the front with two screws into the by John Lamont, was designed for .75cc A2212/13T motor of 1000 KVA and it
bearers at the front. The 74 inch span to 1.5cc engines and was a popular goes very well on 3 cells of about 1300
model from Flying Aces, April 1938, uses FF kit in Australia. The popular engines mAh capacity. The model has Chinese
a 2200 mAh 3S pack and turns an 11x6
wooden prop.
Jack Simmons has recently built Bill Britcher holds
his Hearn’s Hobbies
3 Mam’Selle electric models, two at “Observer” now
37½ inch span (original size) and one converted from diesel
to electric
at 52 inch span. He recently sold the
first one built to me and I made some
modifications to make it fly better, but I
thought it best he have his photo taken
with the aircraft.
Jack Simmons grew up in South
London and flew FF power models in
the 1950’s, so is still a great builder of
balsa models. The Vic Smeed 37½ inch
span Mam’Selle shown has EMAX 1800
KVA motor, 12 amp speed controller and
2 cell 950 mAh Lipos. It has Polyspan

19
 Vintage Perspective from OZ
silk on the wings and tail, with
black enamel on the fuselage
and fin. Bill uses an 8x4
electric prop and it is a great
flying model.
Commando
This is a very famous
Canadian design and this
50 inch span power model
was first advertised in Air
Trails, September 1942. It
was kitted by Easy Built
Wing construction shown for “Commando”, has Mills 1.3 Mk 1 fitted.
Models, Modelcraft, Ontario,
Canada. I have the original
“Commando” plan from the
kit but it does not show the
designer of the model.
The engine shown on the
plan is the 1941 Rogers Air
Youth KD29 side port spark
engine of 5cc capacity. This
was a low cost US$4.95
all aluminium engine made
during the war for the Air
Youth of America, and also
used by the Air Youth of
Canada, when they adopted
the “Commando” kit in 1942.
It also resulted in
production of the Hurricane
.244 cubic inch spark engine
by Ray Hunter in Toronto
and this was made for the
“Commando” model, being
produced from late 1944.
(See the article on Canadian
3-view drawing of the “Commando”, from Model Aviation magazine.
The late Malcolm Jagger, Raynes Park M.F.C., built this “Commando”, Canadian design
20 AeroModeller - May 2018
Engines in last month’s issue.)
It is interesting to note that
Easy Built Models (www.
easybuiltmodels.com) are still
producing the “Commando”
in Canada, kit No. FFP-3,
selling for CAN$55.95. If you
Google the name “Easy Built
Models” you will see some
nicely built “Commando”
models, one powered with
a Bantam 19 spark engine.
The ideal engine for British
modellers is the Mills 1.3
diesel, Mk 1 or Mk 2.
The model featured was
built by the late Malcolm
Jagger from Raynes Park
M.F.C. and uses a Mills 1.3
Mk 1 diesel. Malcolm liked
the model as I suspect
it was a great flyer. It is
easy to build, the fuselage
construction is just like a
“Tomboy”. Also shown is the
wing construction with two
bottom spars and limited
number of full length ribs. The
full-length ribs are from 1/16
inch balsa on the plan, but I
think it should be increased
to 3/32 inch or soft 1/8 inch
balsa, to make the wing more
rigid and prevent warps.
The “Commando” was far
ahead of its time in 1942,
being nice looking and easy
(left) First Bantam 19 from 1940/41, (top centre) OK Bantam 19 with CL tank from 1947, (right) Bantam 19 glo has Champion VG2 glo plug fitted.
glo version of OK Bantam 19 from 1948.

to build. This is one model I still wish to is the engine with castings in aluminium The engine was run on 5% nitro glo fuel,
build for my Rogers FRV sparkie from shown at centre top in the photo. Ben starting fairly easily, but was quite noisy.
1946, that starts and runs very nicely. Shereshaw designed the CL racing tank Results were:
shown fitted to this engine. The advent of
Bantam 19 the glo plug by Ray Arden in November
Willard Hungerford from Los Angeles, 1947 changed things again for Ben and Propeller RPM
California hand made a small .199 cubic from 1948 he produced glo plugs for 9x4 Turnigy wood 9,700 RPM
inch spark engine in 1939, that featured OK engines. 10x4 Turnigy wood 8,200 RPM
rear disc induction. Carl Goldberg, who The engine on test is the OK Bantam
owned and flew one in his small designs, 19 glo that looked to be using various old
said it had more power than the popular parts including a magnesium backplate It was quite a nice running engine and I
Ohlsson 23 sideport spark engine. I and old style needle valve, which at first suspect would perform better with more
suspect Ben Shereshaw obtained one of did not fully close when wound in. The nitro in the fuel. A good engine for the
these engines and his Bantam 19 design prop driver was not serrated and gave “Commando” model if you wish to use
for Class A flying in the U.S.A. seems problems with slipping of the propeller. an engine from that era. ●
to be based on the Willard .199. Just
getting the money to have the dies made
was expensive back in 1939, as his new
Bantam 19 with lightweight magnesium
crankcase and backplate needed to be
put in production.
Ben finally got production going at
the end of 1939 and a first series engine
is seen left of the photo of 3 engines. It
was to dominate Class A flying as it was
lightweight and had plenty of power.
After the war it was still the top engine
until Ray Arden released his Arden .199
FRV lightweight spark engine in 1947
with conventional needle valve, which
would turn over 10,000 revs on a
9 x 4 propeller.
Ben quickly sold the engine design
with dies and tooling to OK engines at
Herkimer, New York State and one of the
first built and made at Herkimer in 1947 Bantam 19 glo running nicely at home of Bill Britcher, normal O.S. glo plug fitted.

21
 Scale How To

SIMULATING WING
RIB STITCHING
AND RIVETS
A NOVEL METHOD OF SIMULATING STITCHING AND RIVETS EMPLOYING THE DELUXE
MATERIALS PIN POINT SYRINGE KIT AND RC MODELLERS GLUE. WITH HELP FROM GARY

T
A. RITCHIE AND JOHN BRISTOW OF DELUXE MATERIALS
he right outline and colour category. Here we show how RC demonstration is DeHavilland DH82A
scheme are essential for Modellers Canopy Glue (AD12 – Tiger Moth XL-716. It was scratch built
a successful scale model, originally formulated for sticking plastic by Gary Ritchie from plans designed by
but the right surface detail canopies but useful for so much more) Dennis Bryant. The Tiger Moth model
can lift what could be and the Pin Point Syringe Kit (ACB). was built over a 1 year period from
a nondescript model in to a higher The model featured in the traditional materials of plywood and

The full size ‘Tiggie’ XL-716.

22 AeroModeller - May 2018

 1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

balsa, with wire cabanes and landing
gear. It was covered with Solartex and
spray-painted with silver lacquer.
Scale elements include: fully detailed
cockpits and motor, authentic scale
markings, detailed underbelly, scale prop
and spinner, scale controls including
external pull:pull control wires, fully
functional wing wires with turnbuckles,
weathering and other effects.
She is an exact replica of DeHavilland
DH 82A Tiger Moth XL-716/G-AOIL,
formerly flown for many years out of
Compton Abbas airfield, Dorset, UK.
Tragically XL-716 was lost in a crash on
May 15, 2011 near Witchampton, Dorset,
killing the passenger and seriously
injuring the pilot.
Photo 1: First, the syringe is filled with
RC Modellers Canopy Glue, full strength,
straight out of the bottle. With the
plunger in place gradually depress until
glue exits the tip. Then try some practice
spots and lines on scrap material to get
a feel of how much pressure you need to
deploy while moving the syringe. Let the
glue dry to determine the final thickness.
Photo 2: The Pin Point Syringe kit comes
with three tips. Choose the tip size that
gives the best width glue spot/line for the
scale of your model. Gary used the pink
needle tip to apply a drop of glue to the
front slat of the Tiger Moth to simulate
a rivet.
Photo 3: Wing rib stitches are simulated
with the smaller pink syringe tip, carefully
running glue lines on predetermined
marks across the wing rib caps.
Photo 4: When the glue for the rivets
and stitches is dry, the covering can
be sprayed the final colour. Final paint
finish of markings and weathering is then
applied.
Photo 5: Use high quality photos
or ideally see the full sizeaircraft to
determine the size and position of the
lines/spots of glue.
Photo 6 & 7: The Tiger Moth is painted
and ready to fly.
Photo 8: A superbly finished model like
this looks almost indistinguishable from
the full size when in the air.
Photo 9: Plenty of opportunity for scale
rivets on WWII models such as this IL-2
Sturmovik.
When finished the syringes and tips
can be cleaned using warm soapy
water and dried, ready for future use.
RC Modellers Canopy Glue (AD12)
and the Pin Point Syringe Kit (ACB) are
distributed to all good hobby shops
through Ripmax in the UK. ●
For more information
www.deluxematerials.co.uk

23
 Indoor Event
SCALE AND DURATION FF AT THE
K2 ARENA CRAWLEY
DAVE ‘DB SOUND’ BISHOP GIVES HIS IMPRESSIONS OF THE ANNUAL CADMAC EVENT.
O
nce again I was looking
forward to the annual “not
to be missed” K2 Indoor
flying event at Crawley
on Sunday February
4, organised by CADMAC (Crawley
And District Model Aircraft Club) in
association the South East Area of the
BMFA. The K 2 Arena is well situated
away from the town and the first thing
that greets you when driving in is a
massive car park for hundreds
of vehicles.
The main flying area is round to the
right followed by a quick left from the
entrance. The man in charge (C.D.)
this year was Alex Cameron, son of
the famous and much loved the late
The three open scale winners (L-R) Nick
Peppiatt - Sablatnig SF4 Tri-Plane (Scored
60 points), Peter Iliffe – Fokker Spinne
(scored 54 points), and Alasdair Clark -
Pitcairn Autogiro PA-19 (scored 57 points).
Cedric de la Nougerede brought along this scale
German Fokker Wulf 189 Stosser.
John Whatmore from Maidenhead flew Ray Malmström A close up shot of Alasdair Clark’s Pitcairn PA19 – 4 free- John Hook was at the K2 selling his
designed Viking made from the AeroModeller free plan wheel bladed single seat Autogiro, the full size American Flight Hook goodies.
September 2016. craft flew in the early 1930’s.

Peter, and it was nice to see him lay
out a number of engraved drinking
glasses for the would be winners across
various FF disciplines. One of the things
I always look forward to every year is
the meeting of friends old and new at
the K2 and there were many of them all
ready for a catch-up chat. Many people
are recognised as “having been there
forever” amongst them is Keith Wright
who prints out the names on the BMFA
supplied certificates for winners and
runner uppers. The familiar face of John
Hook was there trading with his Flight
Hook accessories plus other bits and
bobs to keep people flying.
This annual event usually attracts
plenty of flyers who enter the diverse
range of indoor competitions, and this
year was no exception: Legal Eagle
with12 entrants, Open Scale (judged
by Don Coe and James Gordon) with 6
entrants, Peanut scale was being judged
by Peter McRoyall had 5 entrants. Other
categories were flown in sequence
through the day: Hand Launch Glider
had 5 entrants, Catapult Glider had 5
entrants, Living Room Stick had 7, EZB
4, and Gyminnie Cricket with 7. I always
enjoy the “Hangar Rat” mass launch
bit, won by the popular Ken Taylor and
another similar fun item is the “Last one
down Butterfly” won by Tim Mountain.
To save money the hall had been
divided on its left-hand side with safety
netting hung at one end and a game was
being played “next door” which at times
was very audible. Altogether I enjoyed
a great time travelling around the hall
from when the event started at 11am
and once again (and far too soon) the
end came at 4 pm and the results having
been summed the prizes were awarded.
A huge round of applause must go to
the organisers and helpers and it was
wonderful to meet and have a catch-
up with so many old (and some new)
friends. If the “usual” booking dates for
the next years indoor BMFA flying follow
form then it should be Sunday February
3, 2019 and it’s a “not to be missed”
day out. Keep watch at the CADMAC
site www.cadmac.org.uk and in the
AeroModeller Up and Coming Calendar.
The entrance fee for spectators
presently costs £5 with the flyers a bit
more to cover the huge rental costs of
the K2 arena. Post event discussions
from various sources report that the total
income from spectators and flyers wasn’t
enough to cover the costs of running it.
I know from experience running “The
Family Model & Craft Show” at Plumpton
Racecourse in Sussex from 1979-1999,
the costs of hiring (renting) such places
to stage flying events is very expensive,
but it is possible to make the budget
balance with the right content. It would
be a shame to lose this annual event so
get down there in 2019 whether it be as
a flyer or spectator. ■

The father/son Gyminnie Hangar Rat and

Cricket combination of David Gyminnie Cricket
and Tom Goodwin from winner, happy
Crawley. “regular” Ken Taylor.

Young Tom Goodwin receives his Gold certificate

Nick Peppiatt’s Tri-Seaplane FF Scale Winner flew beautifully at the K2. and glass award from Martin Dilly.

25
 Control Line Scale
In Scale Circles
A
Ronnie Tribe looks back at his 2017 CL scale models
s I write this the 2018
Scale Flying Season is
approaching fast with
the first event in April at
Damyns Hall for Carrier
and Scale. I intend to produce articles
covering this and other competitions
throughout the year with photos of
models and techniques used.
So before we start the 2018 season
I thought it would be nice to give a
short resumé of my 2017 models; some
successful and some not so. When
making any scale model you can never
guarantee the outcome until you have
flown the model. In most cases models
fly reasonably well but when pushing the
boundaries in areas such as EDF fans,
forward slanting and delta wings, one
26 AeroModeller - May 2018
is working in areas unknown for control
line models. You must spend sufficient
time researching and then by using
basic control line rules hope the model
performs well.
Brace of 190s
The model I will start with is the Graupner
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 model kit produced
in the 1960s. My first attempt at building
this model was when about 15 years old
and since then I have looked over many
years to obtain another kit to make and
fly. Finally in 2017 my brother found a
complete kit for me which had never
been started. I had the drawings copied
and these were sent for laser cutting of
the main wood parts. The model was
constructed as per the plan with no
First test flight of Ka-1 at Damyns Hall.
Graupner Fw 190 complete kit. High quality with plenty of engineering!
A nice range of models in the 1959 Graupner Brochure. Do you have a scale
kit from this time?
major problems, the only tricky areas
were the block work and sheet covering
around the fuselage. The model was
covered in light weight tissue and dope,
painted in the colours shown on the plan
using Humbrol acrylic paint, and panel
lines added.
The finished model was powered by
a Turnigy outrunner 35-36-1400 motor
running from a Turnigy 4 cell LiPo rated
at 1300ma. An original 54 years old
GESCH SUPER 3 blade 10x5 propeller
made for this model was also used.
Unfortunately the only part I did not
have was the Graupner 3 blade spinner
assembly - therefore I had to make my
own from fibreglass. The original pilot,
also made by Graupner, was fitted. The
model flies well on 52 foot lines, however
it is very light and therefore not really
suitable for windy days. Also included
in the kit box was a very nice brochure
Basic Fw 190 construction.
GUILLOWS Fw 190 - note on/off switch and safety fuse.
of Graupner’s then current control line
kits available in 1959. I wish someone
would make these again! I would like to
build the Dornier 27 from this list - does
anyone have a plan I could copy? This
would be great so do get in contact if
you can.
The next model is another Fw-190,
this a smaller design kitted by Guillows,
to fly at indoor events over the winter
period. This was constructed as per the
plan with a small nylon bellcrank fitted
inside the fuselage. Power is supplied to
the small 12 volt motor in the model by
a 3 cell LiPo at the control handle end
of the lines, a Scalextric hand controller
varies the voltage supplied down two
copper lines insulated with varnish (this
was available from Maplin electronics,
but you may now have to shop around.)
A safety fuse and on-off switch is also
included in the circuit near the LiPo in
case of a short circuit. A commercially
available electric propeller is also used.
A nice little model to fly over the winter
season, Guillows have a good range of
suitable kits for indoor CL to select from.
Bigger Blades
Autogyro models – as this was my first
venture into rotor-craft, I did not know
what to expect. I started with making a
small model (Autogiro MK 2C) plan from
the old AeroModeller plans range and
then a second larger model (Japanese
Kayaba Ka-1) plan from AeroFred.com
on line plans service. Both models were
electric powered using my usual basic
electronic control system. The models
fly very well and it makes a change to do
something completely different.
I now decided to try and push the
boundaries further is it possible to
build a flying Fairey Rotodyne model?
27
 Control Line Scale
Construction of the Autogiro MK 2C.
Fuselage construction of the Rotodyne using my
keel method of building.
This was to have a built up wing and
fuselage fitted with two Turnigy 35-36-
1400 outrunner motors and retracts; the
rotor would be free running. The one and
only flight ended in disaster - the model
took off OK but was very unstable and
only just about controllable. After a few
Model nearly ready for finishing.
28 AeroModeller - May 2018
Nice little model to fly.
Last photo before its fatal flight!
laps I came around into the wind when
suddenly the model decided to do a very
tight loop and ended up in the ground.
Upon examining the carnage I found that
one of the rotor blades had cracked at
the rotor head and was pointing up at
45 degrees, I think this is what caused
Ka-1 with motor speed controller and servo
tester fitted.
Wing construction for the 727 - all balsa with
hardwood undercarriage mounts.
the sudden loop and disintegration. An
interesting project which is still worthy of
a second go. Anyone out there prepared
to have a go?
Boeing 727
This semi-scale 727 airliner was based
on a small model powered by a Cox prepared for the Power Nationals in readers from pushing the boundaries
049 pusher shown in the AeroModeller August 2018. forward. When it works it brings great joy
annual of 1971-72 with the wing span Finally in late December 2017 I started and satisfaction. If any readers have any
increased from 28 to 48 inches. Power to research and draw up the plans for the photos or information they would like me
this time was to be an OS25 LA not Horten Go 229 flying wing. Construction to add in future articles please feel free to
electric. The model was to be profile, should start in early spring and test flying contact myself on my email address or in
therefore sheet fuselage tail and fin with in summer. This will also be the subject person at competitions. I look forward to
a built up wing. The throttle on the motor of a separate article for the AeroModeller readers inputs. ●
was controlled using the same system as in the near future - all being well.
I use for my electric models but feeding So there you are, some designs made robertwilliam1@hotmail.co.uk
the signal into a servo instead of the it and some did not. You can see that not Also see my website
electronic speed controller. Many lessons all my projects have been successful; www.control-line-flying.com
were learnt with this model: moving the however this should not deter any
bellcrank and lead out positions, adding
weight to the rear of the model. The
basic outcomes showed that the CG for
this wing profile should be in the order
of about 70% back from the front of the
wing, requiring a sufficient amount of tail
weight to be added to obtain the correct
balance point. This in turn also increased
the model weight and consequently if
considering something similar I suggest
the motor should be increased up to
about a 40 size motor. Servo control of variable throttle on OS 25 LA,

EDF Jets
Now we come to the last part of this
article and my favourites. I built two
model jets during 2017 one was the
Russian Sukhoi Su-25 'Frogfoot'
followed by the Junkers Ju 287. Both
were experiments, again to see how far
we could go with EDF fans. With the
first model (the Su-25) the aim was to
find out whether two Lander 50mm EDF
fans would produce sufficient power for
a model fitted with long jet tubes. This
was a separate subject covered in the
AeroModeller article February 2017.
The general conclusions were that the
Su-25 model flew well but could do with
a little bit more power. Throughout the
year I experimented with different tube
sizes and inlet shapes, the outcomes
confirm my early findings that a parallel The finished Boeing 727 ready to roll.
inlet and outlet tubes are the best.
The second model was the Junkers Ju
287 with forward facing wings featured
in the March 2018 issue. Having read
the history of Junkers and the Ju 287
I wondered whether a model of this
would fly with four Lander 50mm EDF
fans giving sufficient power for the
model to perform a full scale schedule. I
proceeded to build this model in record
time and test flights in September proved
very good. Now the model is being My two jets: Sukhoi Su-25 and the Junkers Ju 287.

29
 Free Plan
OCULUS
I
Capacitor powered all-sheet balsa FF model with 405mm wing span. Another flight of fantasy by Gareth Evans.
t's Saturday morning. School’s out.
What are you going to do? Watch
cartoons on TV? No, you did that
last weekend. Now here comes
Mum with a Thermos flask and
sandwiches. Yes, we are going for a ride
in the Oculus. Quick, put on your coat
and shoes, and fetch your little sister.
Mum is already wheeling the plane out
of the shed. Help her unfold the wings
and put the safety catches in. A quick
30 AeroModeller - May 2018
walk around and we are ready to go. Up
goes the glass canopy at the front and
we all hop aboard. Strap your sister in
as we taxi to the farmers’ field next door.
Throttle open and off we roll, into the sky.
Oh what a view! So many quiet spots
to land and have a picnic. Mum says
Grandma can remember when all this
used to be motorways, housing estates
and out of town shopping, not the rolling
fields and trees that stretch to every
horizon that England enjoys today. Oh
what a view!
Construction
….Meanwhile, back in the 21st century,
you are sitting at your building board.
Before you lies a 75mm wide sheet of
your best 0.8mm thick “Air-Superiority”
balsa wood, a few bits of 100mm wide
sheet, 3mm thick, and some 19 or 20
SWG piano wire. Let's get going with
The cabin and tail boom are cut from 3mm balsa. The nose leg is ready to be
sandwiched between.
Carefully position the main UC in the tail boom slot.
the fuselage.
From a photocopy, cut out the cabin
and the tail boom. Spray glue (3M
Repositionable Spray Mount is good)
these onto 3mm sheet ready to cut out.
As you'd expect, the tail boom has the
grain running fore and aft. Note that the
cabin has the grain raked backwards
to be parallel to the canopy front. This
adds a bit of vertical stiffness to what
is effectively a wing pylon. Cut out your
balsa parts slightly oversize, place them
flat on the bench and with a true-square
sanding block, set on its side, work back
to the template profiles. Before peeling
the templates off, cut a little slot in the
tail boom, at the top of the ply patch,
for the undercarriage outrigger wire to
sit in. Make the nose leg up using a
small gauge of wire. I had some 19 SWG
(1mm) handy, but something lighter will
do. Secure a small plastic free-flight
wheel with a few turns of button thread
The main undercarriage wire with the tight U-shape and wheels.
The 0.4mm ply patch doublers strengthen where the UC attaches.
soaked with a dab of cyano. Note that
the other end of the nose leg has a spur
bent into it. Press this into the tail boom
after you have made a groove in the
wood for the wire, at the very front. When
you glue the cabin onto the boom, the
nose leg is sandwiched in place. A nice
way to butt-join balsa is to place your
parts together dry, run a length of sticky
tape along the join line, then open them
up like a door hinge, run cement into the
gap and then close the hinge. While this
is setting, cut an over long piece of wire
for the main undercarriage gear. The first
bend should be right in the middle where
you are aiming to create a tight U-shape.
Do this very slowly and carefully. I found
it takes a few minute extra work with the
pliers to avoid snapping the job. Begin
with an acute angle, and then pinch the
corner carefully between the jaws of
your hand tool. You are aiming to get
a bend narrow enough to fit within the
3mm sheet fuselage. Make the additional
bends to each side before fully closing
the central one. This should now fit
through the slot you made earlier in the
tail boom.
Cut two small circles from that sheet
of 0.4mm ply I told you to buy all those
AeroModeller free plans ago. You will
know where to make the central hole if
you cut them out with a compass cutter.
Run these up the legs of both outriggers
and cement them in place. A couple of
clothes pegs will hold then while the
cement dries. Add your plastic wheels in
the way already described.
For the wing, I used one of those
nice bits of light, stiff quarter grain that
get saved specially for small models. If
you have a piece from the model shop
already sawn 3 inch (75mm) wide, your
trailing edge and leading edge are ready
made. Just cut off a 405mm length.
Soak this in a tea tray of water for a few
31
 Free Plan
Use scraps of balsa to pin down the damp wing centre section over the length of 3mm square. Allow to thoroughly dry.
hours until the wood is nice and pliable.
Wipe off the excess water. Pin this damp
sheet over the top of a length of 3mm
square balsa located at about one third
of the wing chord. To avoid holes in the
job, find some bits of scrap balsa and
pin through these to the building board,
trapping the leading and trailing edges of
your wing as you go. Twelve to twenty-
four hours later, you should find your
32 AeroModeller - May 2018
wing blank dry. Unpin it from your board
and hopefully, it has taken on a
nice camber.
Spray glue the wing tip templates from
the plan at either end of your sheet and
then neatly cut them off. Complete the
cutting and sanding of the wing tips, then
remove the templates. Note which wing
tip goes on which end of the
centre section.
The 45 degree tip dihedral is sanded
into the wing camber. Before we do this,
it's a good idea to make a cardboard
sanding template. The side of a cereal
packet is ideal. Mark a square or
rectangle 75mm high. The wing centre
section will set half the dihedral angle,
and the wing tips the other, so draw a
line from the top and the bottom of your
75mm edge sloping back 22.5 degrees.
This is your reference edge and should
be as wide as your sanding block. You
should have drawn something looking
like a blunt arrow on the cereal packet.
Cut this out and bend up the angled
corners to make a channel section,
the same width as your wing chord.
Place your wing centre section into this
channel, camber facing upwards, and
for temporary support, slide that length
of 3mm square balsa back underneath
where it was used before. Now you can
sand the 22.5 degree angle using the
cardboard channel as a guide. Repeat
the process to prepare both wing tips.
Hold the pre-sanded wing parts together
in your hands and check that it's all
square from above and symmetrical from
the front before cementing together.
I hope you have kept the rest of your
excellent 0.8mm sheet to use for the
tailplane. It's a simple flat rectangle
180mm long and 60mm wide. The only
details to add are the tongues at either
end. I cut these very slightly over length
and sanded them flush with the two tip
fins. The fin profile is shown on the plan

Use a scrap of card to make up your wing dihedral sanding jig. The extra The bent up outer edges of the card provide the guide for your sandpaper
lines in the middle are for positioning the 3mm square while sanding the block. You will chamfer the wing centre section at the ends and both tips.
wing root.

33
FREE PLAN – “OCULUS” ELECTRIC FF SPORTS PLAN 644 IN AEROMODELLER 972 MAY 2018
The fins and tailplane with over long tongues are cut from 0.8mm balsa.
complete with slots to match
the tongues.
Oculus is a one-piece machine, so just
mark the centre line of the tail and wing,
then cement them onto the tail boom and
cabin respectively. Check for squareness
on both and perhaps tape down the
leading and trailing edges of the wing to
secure the existing camber. After a light
sanding all over, I gave my Oculus two
The tailplane tongue is cut and sanded back after the fin is glued in place.
coats of traditional banana oil, and then
used a little more to fix tissue colour trim
and the cockpit detail.
Power
On the Port side of the cabin, just under
the trailing edge, add a small rectangle
of 0.4mm ply, matching the footprint
of your chosen electric motor. I used a
10mm cored motor rated “high speed”
with neodymium magnets. Try an internet
search for “M20 High Speed DC motor”
to find one similar. I expect the slightly
bigger N20 (12mm diameter) family of
motors will give good results too. Try to
get a motor with an armature resistance
below 2 Ohms. The motor is stuck onto
the model with a contact adhesive such
as UHU POR, making it easily removable.
Wire your motor in parallel with a 25
Assembled and ready
for decoration.
35
 Free Plan

The M20 high speed electric motor was used in Gareth’s original Oculus. Motor mounted behind the wing with prop in pusher mode.

The 25 Farad capacitor is a friction fit in the rolled paper tube, and can be Charging is by 3 of AA rechargeable cells. Make sure you set up the plug and
adjusted fore and aft for the correct CofG. socket so you charge the Capacitor with the right polarity.

Farad super capacitor (N50QQ) and aircraft balance point as you go. Fine
two pins from a modular IC plug strip tuning the glide trim is done by pushing
(DC18U). Both items are available over your capacitor in or out of the paper
the counter at Maplins (If Maplins tube by a few millimetres. Charging
still exists! See Bob Lee’s with three Ni-MH cells to 3.6
article - Editor). The 25 volts through an IC socket
Farad capacitor gives (DC17T) works fine.
excellent duration, Thrust comes from a
Union U80 propeller
from FliteHook
The Oculus is a sprightly (www.flitehook.
performer indoors or
calm weather outdoors. net), pressed onto
the motor spindle,
in pusher rotation
and is needed to mode of course.
balance the model
correctly. Wet out a strip Flying
of heavy paper with PVA or Balance your Oculus on
balsa cement and roll this round or just aft of the 50% chord
the body of the capacitor, but make sure position. Throw down some mythical
it can be slid off when dry. Cement your seed from that packet marked “Keil Kraft
paper tube near the nose, checking the Trimming Grass”, which used to come
in kits a long time ago, and wait for it to
sprout. Now try a test glide. Hopefully
Mum and the kids in the cockpit survive.
If you now give Oculus a few seconds
charge and launch immediately, you will
get a gentle powered glide with perhaps
a faint left turn. Charge a few seconds
longer and Oculus will maintain height
over a sweeping crescent before coming
down with the motor still whirring.
Torque from the prop is the only turn trim
my prototype relies on. Now give the
capacitor a full charge. You'll recognise
when this occurs because the motor
stops speeding up. Hold the model up,
above shoulder height to launch. We
found the high thrust line and high power
holds the nose down for a few seconds
before she recovers and climbs. You will
get two wide circuits now. Oh, what a
view! ■

36 AeroModeller - May 2018

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 Aerodynamics, Books & More!
From the Armchair…
PART 28: Stuart ’Supercool’ Sherlock on Santos-Dumont, the Donald and Dynamic Pressure… never a Dull moment.
November 1957 AeroModeller had a photo
of this model built by Santos-Dumont. The
power unit was a clockwork motor. It is
thought to be one of the design studies
leading to his 14-bis aeroplane which made
the first powered flight in Europe on 12th
November 1906.
The adventurous nature of Santos-Dumont
lead him to great heights at the turn of the
nineteenth century. His exploits with the
infant state of flight are somewhat mellowed
by his difficult personal life.
38 AeroModeller - May 2018
L
ast episode I discoursed at
some length on wing lift-lift,
while studiously avoiding the
way wing lift arises. This month
I introduce my failed new theory
“Quantitative Molecular Aerodynamics”;
plus I introduce Daniel Bernoulli, and
am haunted by Isaac Newton. But first
I review Paul Hoffman's fascinating
biography of Alberto Santos-Dumont,
“Wings of Madness”, subtitled Alberto
Santos-Dumont and the invention of
flight (2003, ISBN 1-84115-368-0).
From a wealthy Brazilian family of
coffee growers, Alberto had the luxury
of not having to work for a living, while
being financed to a very great degree
by his family. He was enjoying powered
flight long before the Wright Brothers, but
permit me to quote:
“Hot-air balloons, to be sure, were a
familiar sight in the skies of 'fin de siecle'
Paris (close of the 19th century), but they
were not flying machines. With no source
of power… were entirely at the mercy of
the wind”.
“By the turn of the century, Santos-
Dumont changed that. He strapped an
automobile engine and propeller to the
balloon... switched its shape to that
of a sleek cigar. On October 19, 1901,
Thousands of people turned out to
watch him circle the Eiffel Tower in his
innovative airship. The crowds on the
bridges over the Seine were so thick that
people were shoved into the river...”
“...Jules Verne and H.G. Wells sent
congratulatory telegrams.”
“By the end of 1903... He had
designed a small airship, which his
fans called Baladeuse (“Wanderer”),
his personal runabout in which he went
bar-hopping, tying the dirigible to the
gas-lamp posts in front of the city's
glamorous night spots.”
“Cartier... invented one of the first
wristwatches for Santos-Dumont... which
became a must-have accessory for
status-conscious Parisians.”
Some time later he designed
“Demoiselle”, a very small powered
aircraft in which he again caused a
sensation. He had remarkable success
with this aircraft, which had a top speed
close to 60 MPH. A very small man,
Alberto made this aircraft to match his
own weight. That laid the path open for
skinny teenagers to fly this aircraft, and
hundreds were built, although I have
read some spine-tingling accounts of
the instability of this aircraft, which gives
pause for thought.
The text is well written, the story
delightful, so this is a definite read for the
aeromodeller: no diagrams, but plenty
of excellent quality photos illuminate the
text. Recommended.
FAKE EQUATION
My thanks to President Donald Trump for
permission to use the word “FAKE”. How
right he is. Previously I introduced an
equation which can be used to calculate
wing lift. Scurrilously, my explanation did
not address Daniel Bernoulli's equation,
discuss the nature of air, correctly
describe the role of atmospheric
pressure, or greatest sin of all, provide
diagrams. I hang my head in shame.
My excuse is that I was going to do all
the above based on Newton's method
for calculating the flow resistance
experienced by air striking a surface.
I have been trying for months, if not

for years, in trying to understand how
the pressure in an air-stream can
fall as the speed of the air-stream
increases. Sure I've read the theory:
the theory is bulletproof. But still I did
not UNDERSTAND. Hence I decided to
write the theory in terms of air molecule
collisions with the wing surface, just
as did Newton. I already had the name
for the theory, Quantitative Molecular
Aerodynamics.
I failed. Not my fault, I have been
HAUNTED!
STRANGE AIR
Every moment of the day, we breathe air
into out lungs. But would we so do if we
knew what was going on in the air? OK,
so air molecules are really small, there
are huge numbers of them, there are at
any moment tons of them pressing down
on your head. But still we are OK. But
if I told you that the air molecules were
hurtling around, inside your lungs, faster
than a jet fighter, say at Mach 1.5, how
would you feel about that?
Not only are they crashing into your
lung surfaces, but into each other as
well. Air is not quiescent. It is not gentle.
The air at sea level is highly compressed,
storing energy in just the same way as
a compressed steel spring. In just the
same way as a compressed spring, when
released, can do mechanical work, so
can the atmosphere.
The properties of air, the vast numbers,
the collisions, the speed of motion, the
storage of energy, all these permit the
description of air as a fluid. This fluid is
mathematically described by the theory
of “Fluid Mechanics”.
NEWTON’S GHOST
Nothing comes easily to the unprepared
mind. I started by looking up Newton's
master work, THE PRINCIPIA, subtitled
“The Mathematical Principles of Natural
Philosophy”, the section concerning
the forces of air on moving bodies.
What a confusing mess. Then I found a
1910 explanation by Grover Clevelend
Loening which laid out clearly Newton’s
approach: it appears Newton was out by
a factor of 20, meaning aeroplanes would
never fly. Then I found another reference,
Newton wasn't wrong, it was Navier and
Weisbach. All three agreed with Newton,
their status ensuring that other scientists
would also conclude that flight was
impossible.
SO FAR, SO BAD
Noting that the speed of molecules was
of the order of the speed of sound, I
FAR LEFT: I found Baron
Rayleigh’s text a little light
for practical applications in
aeromodelling but I guess that
was expecting a bit much!
LEFT: Not bed-time reading, but
the resurrection of Newtons
gaseous model gives the text
great charm.
became suspicious that if you lined up a
long row of molecules in a straight line,
then permitted them to bump in turn
into each other, that would explain the
speed of propagation of sound. Indeed
the average speed of these molecules in
a straight line is about ¾ of their thermal
speeds, giving a result very close to the
speed of sound.
To check on this I again referred to
Newton, who had this weird derivation
of the speed of sound based on a
pendulum swing. Not only that, to find
the distance between sound pulses, he
considered a pendulum 29725 feet long!
This was too much for me altogether
so I switched to Lord Rayleigh, “The
Theory of Sound”, 1945, page xix,
Volume 1. Well, there was nothing there
on kinetic theory so out of boredom I
read the Intro written by Robert Bruce
Lindsay. Dammit, there was Newton
again, Lindsey explaining Newtons
method for finding the speed of sound!
Well, you know, pearls before swine,
so this is what I found. Lagrange in 1759
severely criticised Newton’s method
(silly boy!), only to find that Lagrange's
own method gave precisely the result
obtained by Newton!
Did I say Newton was wrong about
the force of molecules striking a plane
39
 Aerodynamics, Books & More!
surface? Well, actually, if you read
Newton a bit more closely, his “model”
of the nature of air is rather different than
ours. Newton's model of air required
the molecules to be a long way apart
(rare) and not collide (disposed at equal
distances from each other). These
conditions apply on the upper edges of
our atmosphere. I found in Hayes and
Probstein's “Hypersonic Inviscid Flow”
no less than 77 pages devoted to the gas
dynamics of Sir Isaac Newton!
As I say, haunted.
BACK TO BERNOULLI
Bernoulli described the flow of the air-
stream as a fluid, not Newtons collision
mechanism which latterly had so
failed me.
There was only one way left open to
me. I had to take Bernoulli's equation
and pull it to pieces, one piece at a time,
then express each piece as a diagram.
This actually fell into place quickly, once I
found the following:
1: The atmosphere is very much
like a spring, capable of powering a
mechanical process.
2: The “pressure” referred to is “static”
pressure, occupying a position travelling
40 AeroModeller - May 2018
along with the particle on a streamline.
3: The “dynamic pressure” is that
pressure a particle on the streamline
would generate if it were stopped.
This separation of the two types of
“pressure” is the clever thing.
As one follows any streamline, but
preferably in our case, the dividing
streamline, the velocity and “static”
pressure change inversely: faster air flow,
lower the “static” pressure. The slower
the air flow, the greater the “static”
pressure.
It is the “static” pressure that applies
a force to the wing surface i.e. that
determines the lift force.
The energy source for driving the
flow is atmospheric pressure. When the
molecule speeds up, its kinetic energy
is increased: this energy is drawn from
our compressed air “spring”. When
the molecule slows down, this energy
is returned to our atmospheric energy
reservoir (spring). This process is not
unlike a weight bouncing up and down
on the end of a spring. The energy swaps
from kinetic to potential with every
position of the weight.
The neat thing is that the total amount
of energy, kinetic plus potential, is
constant. The wonderful thing here is
FAR LEFT: No doubt about it,
Leonardo’s reputation as a
polymath and artistic genius is
well deserved. A great read on
the development of science, both
in anatomy and physics.
LEFT: Man powered flight, not
quite up to Da Vinci’s standard
but all the anatomy is there,
along with a very annoyed raptor.
Thanks to E. A. Dees!
that a wing airfoil is such a marvellous
shape that it behaves just like the spring.
Only the working material has changed.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
To carry on further with Bernoulli is
at present counterproductive. I have
been sidetracked by a book I found
in the charity bookshop. Entitled “The
Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci”, Vol.1,
“Arranged, Rendered into English and
Introduced by Edward MacCurdy”, with
my copy published in 1954.
While appreciating Da Vinci's great
artistic skills, I have always been rather
dubious concerning his flying machines
and weapons of war. So much of the
latter could have had Chinese origins.
It is not well known that the Chinese
had a sea route to Southern Europe via
the Red Sea, a canal (long before Suez)
westward to Cairo then up the Nile to the
Mediterranean Sea.
My fears were unfounded. Da Vinci's
range of interests were staggering, his
notebook Vol.1 covered topics from
aphorisms (wise sayings) to anatomy,
natural history, medicine, optics,
acoustics, astronomy, the atmosphere,
flight, flying machines through to
mathematics, etcetera, etcetera.
 The section on flight
occupies 29 pages, and flying
machines another 84 pages!
Reading this tome is a bit
like reading the Principia,
only without the geometrical
figures. Just a few quotes
of aphorisms to whet the
appetite:
● To devise is the work of
the master, to execute the
act of the servant.
● As courage endangers life
even so fear preserves it.
● Threats only serve as
weapons to the threatened.
● Love conquers
everything.
● Reprove a friend in secret
but praise him before
others.
There are five pages of
these. Ignoring context, on
“flight” we have:
● I ask in what part of the
under surface of the breadth
of the wing does this wing
press the air more than in
any part of the length of the
wings.
● The equal power of
resistance of a bird's wing
is always due to the fact of
their being remote in their
extremities from the bird's
centre of gravity.
● The properties of the air
are such that it may become
condensed or rarefied.
● The centre of gravity of
this bird forms the axis of its
equilibrium.
Regrettably I cannot find
the treatise on manned flight
which was written by Paul
MacCready. From memory,
the aerodynamics was such
that for flight with low power
you need to make the wing
area very great, whilst also
keeping the weight down.
This is normally written as a
low wing loading, which we
have seen previously is just a
statement of pressure.
SOMETHING
COMPLETELY
DIFFERENT
There is nothing so gut-
wrenching as the stories of
the North Atlantic shipping,
whether by the fishing fleets
or the tug-boats sent out to
rescue them, unless it's the
story of the sailing vessels
rounding Cape Horn (at
the Drake Passage, South
America).
Many years ago, a friend of
mine was caught in a Force 9
gale in the Fastnet yachting
race. Discussing the sea state ABOVE: This book is a slow
starter, working through the
with her, while dismissing life-styles of the Swordfish
the RAF rescue helicopter fisherman before heading into
the ghastly details of a terrible
gesticulating overhead, it storm, destructive not just at
appears that the height of sea but even on the coastal
environs. Classic.
the waves in such conditions
depends on the depth of the RIGHT: The War with Cape
Horn. This is a gruesome tale
sea. Such gales are not too of the life of seamen in the
bad in deep water, but the time of sail. One in twenty
sailing ships left port, never to
waves developed in shallow be seen again.
seas can be over 60' high.
Such waves are described in
ghastly detail by Sebastian
Junger in “The Perfect Storm”,
1998, ISBN 1-85702-730-2.
Coming to the rescue of
North Atlantic shipping was
the steam-tug “Franklin”, an
epic story by Farley Mowat
“The Grey Seas Under”, 1958,
ISBN 0 350 25368 9, while the
savage seas about Cape Horn
are detailed by Alan Villiers in
“The War with Cape Horn”,
1971, ISBN 0 330 23697 0
Erratum:
In AM No. 968, January 2018,
I incorrectly stated that the
DHA3 Drover had Gypsy
Queen engines. In fact the
engines were Gypsy Majors,
the DH Dove being the aircraft
fitted with Gypsy Queens. ●
A truly amazing history of a coal-bunkered ocean-going tug
which kept working even into the age of the diesel engine. 41
The Grey Seas Under – a genuine classic of the sea.
 Introduction to CL Competition
CL RACING - GETTING INTO GOODYEAR
B
SIMON MOLYNEUX CONTINUES HIS ADVICE ON THE EQUIPMENT NEEDED TO START RACING.
ritish Goodyear racing
models are simple and
inexpensive to build and
great fun to race. They
make practical, rugged
machines, and with a little thought
can be very pretty indeed. Engines are
readily available and simple to operate,
and propellers can be purchased over
the counter. If you fancy a go a control
line racing, this is the class to try. This
time we’ll look at some techniques for
preparing a race ready model.
Choose Your Weapon
For a first model I can’t emphasise
enough - keep it simple! A model with
external controls will be a lot quicker
to build, and won’t give much away in
airspeed. Any PAW 2.5cc Goodyear
version engines will do, alternatively any
Oliver 2.5cc and their Tiger clones will
be just fine for starters. High airspeed
is nice, but good starts and hot restarts
are more important initially. Aim to get
going first, work on your stops and build
speed later.
This model of Ol’ Blue features direct engine mounting to save weight. Note the thin ply canopy and fin.
In reality there are only very small
performance differences between the
model designs and many feature on sites
for download. Ol’ Blue by Dave Clarkson
is really sweet handling model, I also
like the older J.G. Howard version for a
change (both were old APS plans and
are available from www.sarikhobbies.
com). Equal to Ol’ Blue and probably
even more elegant is the Mike Argander
Special, aka Deerfly.
I really enjoy reading about the
Cleveland Air Races, a strand of which
is still continuing today under the IF1
banner. Many new full size designs
are being produced, and can make an
excellent basis for a new Goodyear
model. The Deerfly came to prominence
in the late 1940’s
When starting a build of a racing
model it’s good to focus on the class
requirements. The model has a single
purpose, to race and record as fast a
time as possible. Rule no. 1 is you have
to get to the end of a race to record that
time. Fragile models can be prone to
breakage so don’t be tempted to go too
light. Repaired light models will soon be
as heavy as the one you should have
built in the first place. Profile Goodyear
racers are prone to stress damage on the
fuselage around the back of the wing and
tailplane mounting. During fast catches
the empennage would prefer to continue
on its path…
Rule no.2 is fast models are light, stiff
and straight. Inserting strength into this
mix is a challenge. Materials can be key,
and as we’re effectively building a model
out of planks it’s worth sourcing the best
wood you can. I have used the online
ordering from The Balsa Cabin where
you can select the grade and gain of
balsa. It’s not cheap but the quality and
service provided is excellent. SLEC and
FliteHook are also very good suppliers
and will be happy to discuss your needs.
Hardware
You will require a tank, shut-off, UC
assembly and engine mount. Also
needed is a corresponding valve for
the fuel bottle. Ed Needham and PAW
sell refuelling hardware, shut-offs and
wheels. I have made robust tanks
Brass filler valve-ring and shut-off are best soldered onto the tank first.
from 0.010” soldered tinplate which is
cheap and easily sourced. I’m currently
experimenting with 0.006” nickel silver
which solders very easily indeed. But the
main benefit of this material is that it will
not rust.
When making up tanks I mark out with
a fine pen and cut using suitable metal
cutting scissors. Make bends using
beech bearer scraps to hold the tinplate
both sides and then fold. When you have Ed Needham runs up the prototype K12.
the parts made to give an accurate dry fit Production engines are available from
Technohobby West.
I’ve found it’s easiest to solder the high
mass items first. So I solder the shut-
off and tank valve collar initially, then
make the tank joints. Following this the
overflow pipe is fitted. Brass mounting
angles are fixed on last.
Once finished, flush the flux residue
out of the tank using hot soapy water.
Fill the tank half full and allow it to sit
and give it a shake every now and again.
Then rinse with water and allow to air dry
on a radiator before sploshing a bit or
diesel fuel around to coat the surfaces.
Cleaning is important as flux residue can
provide a temporary false seal and will
potentially contaminate the fuel. Flushing
will also clear the tank of any swarf
from cutting. Fuel system cleanliness
Graham Howard’s Nats winning Ol’ Blue
is imperative in achieving consistent was in the November 1975 AeroModeller.
engine runs. Graham is on the cover with pilot Mike Daly
(left). Great knitwear!
I find making good tanks quite
challenging but ultimately satisfying. You
will also need to make up an overflow / /
prime system, more of which later.
Undercarriage
Dave Clarkson designs regularly featured
a ‘wobbly wheel’ system, where the
wheel is able deflect backwards to Atmospheric study of the Mike Argander
Special shows how beautifully constructed
absorb the shock from landing and some of these early racers were.
A simple folded wheelbox is fabricated over a strip of leg material.
43
 Introduction to CL Competition
Initial marking out of tank in fine pen, cut out
using scissors.
spring forward for take off. These days
titanium plate is readily available for legs;
it’s extremely strong and well suited to
this use.1.8 - 2mm plate will be strong
enough for Goodyear models. Due to its
toughness it is quite tricky to cut, and
I’ve found a Dremel tool indispensable
for this. It can be drilled using HSS bits
but be sure to keep the tip temperature
down or titanium will win every time.
I make up the wheel box from 0.020”
tinplate, which does seem beefy but this
Ross / Court, current National Champs, use an external control model for simplicity.
44 AeroModeller - May 2018
Fold in sides and check for squareness, degrease
thoroughly prior to soldering.
region takes some punishment in the
heat of racing. Pivot is by means of a
3mm bolt with an aero nut soldered to
the box. Hard neoprene rubber sheet or
possibly polyurethane can be used for
the shock absorbtion.
Engine Plate
Quite commonly engines are mounted
on a 5mm aluminium ‘Rothwell plate’,
an idea refined by Steve Rothwell,
of legendary Australian engine
Valve collar and shutoff soldered in place.
manufacturing fame. The purpose of
his engine plate is to provide a stable,
flat platform for the engine and gives
the additional possibility to fit different
makes of engine in the same model.
Alternatively you can go ‘old skool’
and bolt the engine directly to the
bearers using m2.5 / m4 threaded
studs. This will save a few grammes but
I think it probably provides a slightly
inferior mount.
Once the hardware is made up you
Finished tank top minus mounting lugs. Note single vent.
can lay it over your plan to ensure that
everything will fit together and function
correctly. It’s worth spending a few
minutes checking pushrod and shut
off cable runs to get the best possible
alignment. The rules also call for a safety
cable to run between the bellcrank
and motor.
Veteran racer and current 2017 British
Goodyear National Champs, Ross /
Court use a very simple Ol’ Blue with
external controls. Their secret? Excellent
teamwork, preparation and a very good
Ridley Oliver. A class act, they are often
the pacesetters at competitions.
Typical Model Construction
Fuselage
Using the square balsa method I start
with a ‘core’ to suit the width between
the lugs of the desired engine to set the
A simple 5mm aluminium plate can give the
engine a sturdy flat mount. This can be changed
to allow other engines to be fitted.
Ply doubler encapsulates bearers, UC box, wing and tail mounting.
The shutoff must be well soldered with a fillet front and rear.
width. The PAW is roughly an inch so two
pieces of ⅜ balsa with a length of ⅜ x
⅛ spruce for strength forms the basis of
the fus build. Onto these I epoxy the ⅜
square beech bearers and add filler balsa
as I go. I tend to lay up the fuselage on
my flat bench, and always on the same
side so I have a datum.
On my 2018 builds I have extended the
inboard ply doubler to form a U section
with the spruce longerons running full
length. Hopefully this will give added
strength in tension when subjected to
the whipping forces during catching. The
bearers, wheel box, wing and tailplane
are all part of this structure.
I like to use 1/16 ply for the fin and
cockpit. In a missed catch this will stand
up well to the model flipping. A simple
groove with roughly ¼” deep slot will
give a robust fit to the fuselage. I also
Bare fuselage core at the top with completed
laminations below.
mount the tail skid located in the base of
the fin with a U shaped prong soldered in
and sheeted over in balsa to finish.
Wing
The holy grail for building good profile
models is light, straight ‘C’ or quarter
grain balsa. The wing has the largest area
so this is where to focus your attention.
‘C’ grain is by its nature stiffer than
conventional cuts for a given density. So
we’ve got stiff and light sorted before
we’ve even begun! It’s a good idea to
reinforce leading and trailing edges with
spruce or similar. On the catching side a
⅜ spruce leading edge will help to avoid
crush damage to the wing.
You should also add tip weight
during the build. Around 10g is fine,
this extra weight is an investment
giving better ground handling and flying
characteristics. Models built without tip-
weight can be a bit of a handful.
Next time we’ll delve further into
our build and look at finishing and
installing engines and hardware. ●
Resources:
Control line racing rules – www.bmfa.org
Engines: PAW Goodyear Special –
Progress Aero Works 01625 423891 www.
eifflaender.com
K12 Tiger Mk IV type engine -
Technohobby West - technohobbywest@
gmail.com
Hardware - tank & bottle valves, shut-offs,
wheels - Ed Needham 0161 4855193, and
Progress Aero Works.
Balsa, hardwood, piano wire and glue:
The Balsa Cabin 01621 859711
SLEC 01953 885279
Flitehook 02380 861541
45
 Model Science
Part 42
BETTER… RETRIEVAL 11
Dave Hipperson with further experienced advice and old tales of retrieval
Finding Them in the Dark.
Well you probably won’t ever be doing
this simply because it is rarely completely
dark; particularly in the Summer in the
UK. The fact is the human eye works
very well outdoors in the dark it just
needs a bit of looking after and planning
for in advance. Get prepared and it’s
great fun. I have yet to come to any
serious grief doing this as long as you
don’t count walking into a sheep once
(that was a surprise for both of us) and
also contacting an electric fence with
my chest when I wasn’t wearing a shirt
– ouch!
Another pair of eyes or special ability
can be useful. I had an incident in
Summertown off Oxford’s famous Port
Meadow when looking for a CO2 model
late one evening. As usual the local
residents had seen me coming with the
Yagi and it being a pleasant Summer’s
evening were all out offering to help. I
had them searching their gardens and
standing on their garden walls looking
46 AeroModeller - May 2018
NIGHT-TIME
around. It was early days for me with
radio trackers and on reflection maybe
I had kept too large an aerial on for
too long as I could hear it everywhere
but just couldn’t see it. The light was
going and I was running out of energy
and enthusiasm and returned to the
van which was only parked a little way
away. Just at the same moment as Mike
Bull turned up having found his. He
suggested we gave it one more try and
walked with me down this narrow lane
between the gardens which I had trod
many times already. There it is! He was
right. It was hanging in a bush a few
feet above us clear to see. Well clear to
him as he was ‘colour blind’ and saw
the contrasts between the wing and
the foliage completely differently to me.
We simply reached up and lifted it out
unscathed. I must have walked passed
half a dozen times. Thanks Mike.
Look on the positive side. After dark
you no longer have to rush about trying
to find the model before dark as now it is
- it won’t get any worse, no matter how
long you take. If you have been out for
a while then your eyes will have grown
accustomed to the failing light and will
be working very well. Try not to muck
them up. The human eye takes between
20 to 30 minutes to recover its not
inconsiderable night vision capabilities
after is has had a torch beam shone into
it, so avoid that at all costs. Have torches
with you by all means but be very
careful with them. This is why, earlier, I
suggested a very tiny torch for reading
the signal strength scale on the receiver
– something you can hold it in your teeth.
Next illumination aid is a head torch.
This is so it is impossible to blind
yourself with it – it will always shine in
the direction you are facing. Your head
torch is really for seeing your kit, your
feet and where you might be going
(uneven terrain, ditches, hedges, gates
etc) whilst allowing you both hands free
for steadying yourself. Probably wont be
powerful enough to scan fields and you
E RETRIEVALS
don’t want it to be. For that it is helpful to
have a third really powerful beamed torch
hung on your belt, but they are no instant
panacea.
A lot of clutter already but that’s not
all. You may have someone with you – it
would be sensible if you were also in
contact. However be sure to not let them
dazzle you with their torch. Best you
decide which one of you has the torches
then there will always be one of you with
good night vision. It is easy to be your
own worst enemy searching at night.
Obviously radio tracking works just as
well in the dark as it does in the daylight.
You will always hear the model before
you see it so darkness isn’t a problem
for the initial searching - it might still
The tiny hand (mouth) torch compared to the
equally ‘pocket’ head torch.
be worth marking points on the map
at which you have listened in case you
can’t recognise them later. The chase
gets more difficult once you have heard
the model; then the darkness becomes
a factor. Armed with the radio (Biotrack)
and Yagi stay on wheels until absolutely
sure you have got the strongest signal
possible. Now start out on foot and be
very careful to watch for the strongest
signal strength wherever you are. You
will be amazed at how close you can get
to your model before you see it. This is
where those panels of reflective silver
Mylar can be a great boon. They will pick
up the slightest light in the sky.
You may be walking through
completely unknown territory. Be very
Head torch – LED plus tiny hand torch for reading
the radio screen in the dark possibly before the
full head torch becomes necessary. Also a set of
ear phones useful when radio is still strapped to
your belt or when you wish to ensure incoming
‘messages’ are not heard by all and sundry!
careful as you can get into trouble even
in seemingly empty fields. Large herds
of cattle or flocks of sheep, solitary bulls
and of course electric fences. Keep
a low profile too, dark clothes and be
as quiet as possible. On the plus side
there should be few distractions. Don’t
be too eager to flash about with the big
torch as it will draw attention to you.
Never shine it up into the sky as you will
be seen for miles around and you may
not want that. When you do use it only
do so when you think you have seen
something that might be your model and
move it slowly as you will be suprised at
how easy it is to miss your model in the
beam. Somewhat like the Yagi equipped
receiver never just wave it about. Move
This is a proper torch! Rechargeable,
tremendous beam. Best kept on your belt and
used sparingly when you think you have seen
something. Don’t flash it about in the sky or other
people’s eyes! The small torch is included here
for scale.
47
 Model Science
Chris Edge has an eye-catching mixture of
silver and fluorescent extremities on his F1A
glider. (Photo by John O’Donnell)
This is the actual map used for two interesting
retrieves referred to in the text. The total
distance flow of the Slow Open Power model
was about 9 miles. The British Power flight in red
much closer but possibly the luckier of the two.
it slowly, look down the beam carefully
and then shut it off. The sound of the bug
transmissions will be a great incentive
to keep searching especially in the dark.
Those transmissions will lead you to the
model eventually if you only let them.
I mentioned in an earlier episode the
possibility of building in some sort of
flashing light unit like the type often used
in the FAI classes. You don’t need much
48 AeroModeller - May 2018
when you are in a dark wood even less
when in a clear field. The modern L.E.D
(Light Emitting Diode) is both bright and
a very low drain.
It was shortly before I stopped flying
seriously that I was thinking of investing
in a pair of night vision glasses or
goggles, the ones that really work -
military spec - but they would have been
quite expensive.
Furthermore, don’t be too confident
and think you have located the general
area your model is in and then plan to
come back the next day. “Never put off
‘till tomorrow what you can do today”.
Try to find it on the night. It might rain,
or it might not be as safe as you think
it is if you abandon it now. In a later
episode I have a story from great retrieval
enthusiast Ray Alban whose model was
not as safe as he thought it was. It cost
him dear. If you are in a built-up area
then be absolutely sure you have located
the house or garden it is in before
knocking on the door if it isn’t too late,
or retiring till tomorrow if it is. Actually
built up areas are fine for night recoveries
it’s the woods that are the real problem.
We all know that tracking a model into
trees is easy until the last bit – finding
which tree it is up - this is difficult in the
daylight and the best part of impossible
after dark. However always check that
it isn’t hanging in the branches of a tree
on the edge of the wood before plunging
in and then try to settle on a spot in
the wood where the signal is strongest,
marking the tree with tape to return in the
daylight.
There was an occasion when between
bouts of him blinding me with his torch
whilst I was high up in a tree prodding
with the roach pole, George Sharp
remarked that ‘ If I hung on a bit the
Moon would be round the end of the
wood to help light up the model.’ Funny
man! But actually he was correct. That
sort of light can be far more useful than
a torch beam which too easily blinds
the unwary.
There is something about night
time recovery. It heightens the senses
and amplifies the feeling of utmost
dependency on your technique and
equipment. Did a great one from
Rissington on a tremendously hot night.
When we arrived a mile or two downwind
to recover the big SST1 Open Rubber
model which had been beaten into 2nd
place by a single second by the late Jim
Baguley (you have got to let him have
some, after all the first rubber model I
built was his Last Resort!) My motor-
home resplendent in various lights,
not all of which were legally necessary,
arrived downwind like an invading space
craft from Close Encounters or must
have seemed so to the couple in the
tiny VW Camper parked up for the night
in this quiet lay-by. They were off very
quickly when we and our associated
entourage piled out. I must say I felt for
them although they had nothing to fear.
Once a direction had been established
George Sharp and I trundled off into the
blackness over stubble still giving off the
days heat. The fields were vaguely known
to us and in a short time George had
spotted the model.
I had more difficulty in a similar
situation at a Nationals when searching
alone I had an excellent signal from the
Open Rubber fly-off model but now
well after midnight and in the pitch
dark simply couldn’t find it in this open
field I was searching. We camped up in
the motor-home close by and the next
morning I returned to see it clearly in the
centre plus my footprints quite close by.
I must have walked past it a number of
times. Could have been concentrating
too hard on reading the signal strength
on the radio and not actually looking.
It wasn’t quite as simple a few years
later when tracking a big fly-off flight in
the Tony Pannett Trophy from Church
Fenton on a very cold northerly breeze.
Quite a duration – something like seven
minutes in sight but still giving a signal
for 30 minutes at least. We set off in
the gloom and everyone helping had
understandably lost interest and gone
home by the time full darkness fell. I
encouraged myself by remembering that
at least we were driving south so we
were getting slightly nearer home all the
time - but still 180 miles away. It looked
pretty hopeless. Pretty much uncharted
territory. We had maps of course and
it looked like we were a good ten miles
off the field and just about to give up
when a faint signal! What a feeling. It
was February, pitch dark. About 5C and
getting windier. Furthermore there was
a lack of drivable roads in the direction
we wanted to go so we were constantly
criss-crossing the line. By the time I
had the vehicle at the closest point and
getting the strongest signal it had started
to snow. I had a signal and a positive
direction and strode off into completely
unknown fields. I was only a few hundred
feet from it before I could see it though.
The thin covering of snow on the wings
showed up beautifully in the torch beam.
Wonderful feeling. You can see the
landing and listening points in black on
the map.
Calm Conditions are Easier?
As a slight aside, and harking back to my
warnings of the traps when tracking in
the dead calm, on the same map a little
to the North-East (in red) you can see
a course I laid for an errant Brit Power
model a year later. Very calm warm
evening fly-off from the north end of the
main runway. Trouble was when double
checking the model before the flight I
had replaced the fuel tube and forgot to
run it through the shut off device. Hence
although the timer was switched on and
worked fine it didn’t do anything. This
resulted in a 50s or so run and a colossal
height achieved, out of sight overhead.
I flew another model but left a radio
listening and it seemed to go off in about
30 mins - I was lucky as I had obviously
launched it in bad air for it to come down
that quickly. When we set off after it
we marked the map in time increments
rather than miles and used as a bearing
the drift direction at the time of launch
and drew the line you see going south
east. Once again no real road coincident
with this line so we tracked somewhat
off to the south (red arrows) until being
able to turn a bit east and cross the line
at about the 18 minute mark. Still no
signal. As it was fields in all directions we
had no alternative to simply criss-cross
the route as accurately as we could
Talking of calm weather fly-aways again. This is the idea position to adopt if it looks like a long one. It’s best to also have a free-standing assistant to fend off
questions and stop people walking in front or too close.
using the roads available. So this turn to
the east took us way too far north east,
or so we thought, and just as we were
about to turn around we heard it! It was
still further ahead of us. Eventually we
located it and thankfully we were able
to drive right up to it. However it was no
less than 45 degrees off line. Possibly it
was starting to do what the Ewan Jones
flight had done and come around and
back to us but the air was not helpful
and it dumped it early. Because we
were as equally concerned to recover
the reserve flight which had done much
better, I had not been listening to the
original flight through a directional aerial.
The signal told us just that it was still
up and roughly when it landed. Not the
precise direction – we presumed it would
be down the line of the prevailing drift.
We were completely wrong. Always
get a direction before the signal fades
particularly in dithery drift conditions. The
sad post script to this was that the quite
wonderful AM15 in this model was never
the same after this flight. Ran fine just
simply 1500 rpm down on what it had
been. I could only conclude that on such
a long run it completely unloaded - this
was simply too much for the, until then,
perfect tolerances. Basically I wore the
motor out in a single flight!
George Sharp created an interesting
night time retrieval experience with a fly-
off flight from North Luffenham going off
the ‘drome in the very unusual westerly
direction one evening. After he had
launched his large Open Rubber model
we realised that the bug had fallen out
on to the peri-track. This required the
very rapid application of plan B. In other
words yours truly hurtling off under it on
his bike. Unfortunately that was only any
good as far as the aerodrome boundary.
From then on pretty much uncharted
fields and no navigable tracks. I watched
it down as best I could against the poor
light but it had gone a very considerable
distance off the field - at least another
aerodrome length. Further more it was
pretty late and darkness seemed to be
creeping on quickly. No map, no drawn
line along which to search and no bug
to listen too. Alarmingly unsettling to
suddenly have to do this the old way. I
recall I was using the compass on my
watch to keep me roughly on line through
unfamiliar country. (Easterly drifts are very
rare at North Luffenham.) However I had
volunteered for this and I had to give it
my best shot. I estimated the distance
and just kept walking what I hoped was
the line with nothing but the eyeballs to
help. Quite a few small copses and tricky
fields but no long crops. The daylight
went and I was now pretty much in the
dark. I reckoned I had done all I could
but just thought I would do a couple of
detours off either side of my line before I
turned to go back. I did that and on the
second one I noticed what looked like a
strip of water – a long puddle reflecting
the very last of the light in the sky. Then it
wasn’t that – it was George’s silver Mylar
covered wing inner panels! That’s when
I came to appreciate the benefits of the
reflective qualities of material that I have
never much liked.
The Final and Most
Important Part?
You have located the model and are
about to travel back up wind with it.
Maybe if it’s a huge flight most of this
distance will be covered in a vehicle.
However there is always a part that
involves carrying the model. My
favourite was always to leave the model
49
Model Science
The George Fuller designed Dixielander was originally kitted by Yeoman. Parts are now available from Belair or The Vintage Model Company.
assembled and feather it into wind. I
invariably did more damage to models
when I did something unusual like take
the wing off. After all if you do that
then you have got two bits to break or
loose or get blown out of your hands.
Obviously compact open rubber models,
tough power models and the like are
easier in this regard. An A2 glider or
larger usually comes apart at the centre
of the wing. No one could argue that
both those wing halves tied together with
bands is an easier package to manage
than the model assembled. Furthermore
in a real gale when its going to be difficult
walking back into the wind then taking
the tail off too and strapping that to the
wings is a very good scheme. Now it’s
nearly impossible to break anything.
However you have to have remember
some appropriate sized rubber bands to
hold all the bits together. Furthermore if
it’s really blowing then the actual process
of disassembly can be tricky if you can’t
get to cover.
Some designs lend themselves better
to carrying back up wind assembled
than others. It was quite a while before
I realised why my Dixielanders felt so
much more comfortable than any other
power model I flew when retrieving in a
wind. It was of course all to do with that
distinctive pylon shape. With the CG so
far back, right on the trailing edge of the
wing on this design, when one gripped
the fuselage behind the pylon you were
actually holding it quite a distance in
front of the CG, thus making it much
more likely to weathercock into wind
when you walked or cycled back. Every
other power model I have enforces your
hand further back and were never as
50 AeroModeller - May 2018
easy as the Dixi. That pylon was a clever Particularly if the model had got wet or
design feature, as well as a trademark, was slightly damaged. This is where a
although I don’t think George Fuller recovering vehicle and a helper upwind
meant it to be. who can drive it can also be very useful.
Recently it has become popular for Phone them up and get them to come
people to use retrieval boxes on their down and rescue you and your model.
backs when they go off downwind. This Far the safest way. ●
is much more sensible than it might
appear particularly if it’s a rough day Next month legendary nautical
and you are flying a lightweight model. retrievals.
If you can disassemble it somewhere
sheltered, and possibly cover over the
end of the box so pieces don’t blow out
on the way back, then this is surely the
safest method.
We flew one Scottish Nationals when
the wind was tremendously strong.
George Sharp and I somehow managed
to get three Vintage flights each away
without crashing despite the horrible
turbulence. The distances the models
travelled in 2:30 minute plus a bit was
commensurate with there being a 40 Notice the convenient way that the
Dixielander pylon allows one to grip the
mph drift! We lost one of George’s rather model forward of the trailing edge CG point.
expensive caps which flew off and Very comfortable for coming back in any sort
of wind.
vanished but from the six comp flights
we damaged nothing on the models.
The extended walks in the country, over
four miles on each flight’ were OK but
coming back was not so clever mainly
because various gates and fences had to
be negotiated and the models couldn’t
be put down as they would have blown
away. It was terribly slow process with
one of us holding both and the other
climbing then giving both models to the
other and the other climbing. The perfect
occasion for a box – possibly big enough
for both models.
It was often the case that the most
dangerous part of a flight on a very
windy day was that walk or cycle back.
George Fuller with his Dixielander design.
(Photo from Mike Evatt)
 Readers Letters

AeroPost
Do let us know your thoughts on AeroModeller and
aeromodelling in general. We’re happy to receive post
to the Doolittle Media office address, or emails to editor@
aeromodeller.com – all are read although you may not
get a reply. Featured letters may be edited.
Regards, Andrew Boddington

EX-PAT PAT ON BACK!

Hello Andrew,
Thanks a lot for the copy of January AeroModeller. The Halo feature
was nice; so was the rest of the magazine. I found far more to absorb
me in that one issue than in any one (make that 2 or 3) years’ worth of
any American mag. Scant mention of RC and NO dreadful drone crap.

Just one minor correction - did I say somewhere that “I don’t do too
much aeromodelling these days”. Perish the thought! Indeed, now
that my diet has changed from intricate scale-RC jobs (necessary
to make a living) and returned to FF and CL models, my output has
increased manifold.
Cheers! Dave Platt.

Hi Dave,
I’m glad you enjoyed AM. Do put the word around in the USA that there
is still a proper aeromodelling magazine.

“Mea culpa” for the assumption about your modelling output! All the
best for many more years building and flying.
Andrew

The Mini Halo Free Plan in January AM gets Dave Platt’s seal of approval.

BORN AGAIN AUSTRALIAN Hi Bill,

CLUBBER
Good day,
Just bought my first AeroModeller magazine, 70+ years since my last
model, powered, launched on the Darland Banks, Gillingham, Kent
and never seen again. I’m pushing 86 with renewed interest but with
such huge advances in the hobby I did not understand most of what I
read. I need a club, can you tell me if you know of any clubs in northen
Tasmania Australia? Any help you can offer will be much appreciated.
Regards Bill Warboys
It is never too late to start again! I hope you can find some likeminded
people living near you. A good place to start is the Australian MAAA
website
www.maaa.asn.au/find-a-club?view=map
Regards, Andrew
Good day Andrew,
Thank you for your reply. Since contacting you I have found two clubs
both within 30K of my home and will be visiting them soon. I am
looking forward to the next issue of AeroModeller and I am sure I will
understand the excellent features. Again many thanks for your help.
Regards Bill Warboys

FROG CL KITS ARTICLE

Hi Andrew,
I love the AeroModeller, it features articles of exactly the right era for me.
For example, the FROG CL kits article in February was great. I
thought you might like to see my FROG Mosquito, with twin FROG 150
diesels. It was built from plan, rather than an original kit. It flew well,
but was probably too heavy to be aerobatic. It was covered in nylon
and dope, and well fuel proofed!
At one time, I grafted on PAW 149 silencers onto the FROGs, but
starting was more difficult and the power drop was significant, so they
came off again!
Could you do an article on Mercury CL kits? At school, our favourite
was the Mercury Marvin, usually with an AM15 engine. Both me and
my mate got through several of these.
Congratulations with the magazine, Tony Spillane

Hi Tony,
Thanks for your email. We’ve already covered Mercury CL kits back in
February 2015, but I’m sure Don Howie will uncover more old gems in
the future.
Regards, Andrew

Tony Spillane’s all FROG Mosquito.

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 Capacitor Power
OPTIMISING
THE SUPERCAP
POWERTRAIN
I
Part 2. Bob Lee discusses using twin capacitors to drive electric motors.
n part one of this article I described my methods for testing
powertrains for supercap powered models and discussed
the effect of variables such as motor size, capacitor size,
prop size and charge voltage.
So far I have only looked at the performance using a
single capacitor (charged to 2.7V unless otherwise stated).
This means that performance has been limited by the low
voltage. In my previous article (AM, August 2017), I showed a
simple method of charging two, series connected capacitors to
a total of 5.4V, what this does to performance is shown in fig 8.
The performance improvement is dramatic, but it comes at a
cost, which is weight.
When moving from a single capacitor (in this case 10F) to
series capacitors you will need two of them, but for a similar
run time, each needs to be twice the size, in this case, 25F. The
explanation for this that I favour is that with the higher voltage,
the motor is drawing more current and therefore draining the
capacitors faster, hence the need for bigger capacitors. The
question is ‘did the extra weight justify the extra thrust’. The
answer is a definite yes!
Using the single capacitor, the powertrain weight was 8.0
grams and it generated 17 grams of peak thrust. Using the
series connected capacitors the powertrain weight increased
to 18.3 grams and generated 45 grams of peak thrust. This
I DESCRIBED MY SIMPLE CHARGER FOR TWO SERIES CONNECTED
CAPACITORS IN AUGUST 2017 AEROMODELLER.
Fig. 8. SERIES CONNECTED CAPACITORS VERSUS SINGLE
CAPACITOR, 7MM MOTOR, 5 X 3 PROP

means that an extra 10.3 grams of weight generated an extra your previous experience. What follows is a method to estimate
28 grams of thrust, nearly 3 times its weight. That sounds like model size from AUW.
a very good payback to me.
Model Sizing
Serious about Series Capacitors I’m afraid at this point it gets a bit mathematical so if that’s not
I have no doubt that series connected capacitors are the way your thing then you may want to jump a few paragraphs
to go for outdoor models, and that good performance can be Now you know how heavy the model can be, what size will
achieved. There is another ‘hidden’ benefit from this. If using it be? This is down to wing loading (AUW divided by wing
a single capacitor, it’s very likely that it will need a full charge area) and here I use some rather odd units, namely grams/sq.
to 2.7V for flight. Using series capacitors it’s possible that you inch. OK, I know that’s a mix of metric and imperial but using
won’t have to fully charge them to get flight. My Farad model these units gives a target of 0.5 grams/sq. inch for a lightly
(see later) starts to fly on a charge of 3.5V. This means that loaded free flight model. See the excellent book, “Rubber
during trimming, you can slowly increase the charge voltage Powered Model Airplanes “ by Don Ross, the mixed units can
to see the effect on the model. You can also set the charge be attributed to him.
voltage (hence flight time) to suit the size of the flying field. From the above, the wing area (in square inches) will be twice
Everything that I have presented so far is based on measured the weight in grams. Using the 45 gram example would result a
data. What I’m about to do is a bit more speculative, and sets wing area of 90 sq. inches
out to describe a method of estimating the appropriate model To get the wing span from the wing area, its assumption time
size and weight for a particular powertrain. Please consider the again. I have assumed a rectangular wing and an aspect ratio
following guidance on model size a suggested starting point (span divided by cord) of 6.
rather than something hard and fast. Multiply the wing area by 6
I found a rule that says the thrust should be about half the then take the square root of
model weight. I’m not sure of the origin of this but it has this to give the wing span.
seemed to work pretty well for me in the past. However, the In the case above, the wing
thrust is not, of course, constant. In order to ensure a ‘lively’ area is 90 sq. inches so the
climb performance, I modified the rule to say that the peak span is 23 inches (585mm).
thrust should be equal to the model weight. This gives a quick To recap the example
and easy estimation of the model all up weight (AUW) once the above, the peak thrust was
peak thrust is known. Subtracting the powertrain weight gives 45 grams and this was also
the target airframe weight. For example, using Fig 8 and the the target AUW in a model
series capacitors curve, the target AUW would be 45 grams with a 23 inch span. There
and the airframe weight would be 45-18.3 (the powertrain is a lot of speculation and
weight) to give approximately 27 grams.
Recommended reading “Rubber
At this point, with the target model weight identified, many of Powered Model Airplanes” ISBN
you will have a good idea as to the size of the model, based on 0-938716-19-0 covers wing loading.

55
 Capacitor Power

This issue’s Free Plan is the capacitor powered sheet balsa Oculus. A future SuperCap Power Train fitted to the uncovered Ajax.
AM will feature a Free Plan of Bob Lee’s foam Farad. At 22 inches wing span
and weighting 50 grams the Farad is more than adequately powered for
long outdoor flights by the 7mm motor and two, 25F supercaps.

assumption, but I suggest any starting point is better than none If you just wanted to buy one type of motor to ‘test the water’
at all. on supercap power, the 7mm motor would be the one to get
OK, maths over. The example above has been validated by (it’s also the cheapest from HobbyKing). This can be used with
a mostly foam model that I built called the Farad which will be a single capacitor for indoor flying (or small field outdoor) and
a future AeroModeller Free Plan. The wing span is 22 inches used with series capacitors for an outdoor model. For either
(560mm) and it is powered by the 7mm motor, 5 x 3 prop and version use the 5 x 3 prop.
2 x 25F capacitors. The AUW is 50 grams, pretty much as the Using the 7mm motor and a single capacitor for an indoor
example above. First test flights have shown a strong climb model the peak thrust (and hence AUW) is 18 grams and with
and flights of around 1 ½ minutes and so far it’s only been powertrain weight of 7.9 grams with a 10F capacitor and 11.5
charged to 4.5 to 5V. Tests on a full charge will have to wait for grams with a 25F, the suggested model size is 15 to 18 inches.
a DT to be fitted or else I’m going to lose it. Run times are:
During my motor testing I collected a lot of data. I have
collated this into 14 pages of charts and tables. These will be 10F 25F
made available on the website www.aeromodeller.com. What Time to ½ thrust(secs) 14s 16s
follows are some suggestions on powertrains and models Time to ¼ thrust(secs) 38s 80s
based on a selection of the data and referenced in my
example above. Using the 7mm motor and series capacitors for an outdoor
Starting with the 6mm motor, this was first tested with the 4 model, the peak thrust (and AUW) is 45 grams. The powertrain
x 2.5 prop. This is a high resistance motor (2.2 Ohm) and small weight is 18.3 grams for 2 x 25F and 29.7 grams for 2 x 50F.
prop, hence the lowest current draw of all the motors tested The suggested wing span is around 24 inches. Run times are:
(0.3 A peak). The result is that this motor/prop combination will
have the longest power run from a single 10F capacitor. The 2 x 25F 2 x 50F
time to ½ thrust was 36 sec and to ¼ thrust was 72 secs. I Time to ½ thrust(secs) 18s 46s
suggest this powertrain would be suited to a ‘duration’ type Time to ¼ thrust(secs) 40s 85s
indoor model. The peak thrust is only about 9 grams so you
would need to keep the AUW down to something similar. I’ll cover the 8.5mm and dual 7mm motors together since
Bearing in mind that if the powertrain weights 6.5 grams they are very similar in performance which has now moved
means you would need a light airframe. A suggested wing into some serious numbers. The peak thrust from these units
span would be about 12 inches. A 25F Farad capacitor might is around 60 grams, the peak currents are over 2A and the
give very long flights if you build very light and maybe large to peak power over 10W. The target AUW therefore is around
keep the wing loading down. If the model was underpowered 60 grams, the powertrain weights 23.5 grams using 2 x 25F
you always change the prop to a 5 x 3 which would probably capacitors and 34.9 grams using 2 x 50F. The suggested wing
rescue it. span is around 26 to 30 inches. Run times are:
Staying with the 6mm motor but changing to the 5 x 3 prop
gives a very good solution for an indoor sports model. The 2 x 25F 2 x 50F
peak thrust is 13 grams and with a 10F capacitor the time to Time to ½ thrust 15s 30s
½ thrust is 22 secs and to ¼ thrust is 58 seconds. The model Time to ¼ thrust 30s 60s
target AUW would be 13 grams of which 6.6 grams would be
the powertrain. The wingspan would be around 12 inches. I Although I said that the 8.5mm and dual 7mm motors are
think that a 10F capacitor is right for this combination, 25F very similar, I do need to point out that I tested the 8.5mm
would be too heavy. motor with a 6 x 3 prop and the dual 7mm motor with the

56 AeroModeller - May 2018

smaller, 5 x 3 prop. Had I used the 6 x 3 prop on the dual 7mm
motor, it would have been the most powerful motor tested.
Electric Ajax
I have built a Keil Kraft Ajax (30 inches span, designed for
rubber power) for supercap power using the dual 7mm motor.
A challenge to you - who will be the first to convert a P30 and
see what that can do?
The supercap powered Ajax is built from the Belair short kit,
I cut all the stripwood myself. It’s pretty much a standard Ajax,
the side profile is the same but I made the nose wider (to look
more like a power model) and modified it so that I could mount
the motor. I left the long undercarriage partly to preserve the
character and partly to act as a prop saver. The motor is the
AEO RC, dual 7mm unit (from HobbyKing) and it drives a GWS
5x3 prop. The power is two, series connected, 50F supercaps
from Maplin. The DT timer (which isn’t optional!) is a mini timer
from Mike Woodhouse (www.freeflightsupplies.co.uk). The
covering is Solite. The 30 inch span model weights 105 grams
ready to fly.
Series supercaps can safely be charged to 6V, but starting
at this level isn’t a good idea. For the first flights the Ajax
was charged to 3.5V. At this charge level the model climbed
steadily to about 20 feet but then stayed at this height for about
a minute or so before losing height and landing. The next
flights were at 4.0V charge. At this level, the model climbed
strongly to about 50ft and then more slowly after that, and
again, stayed up there. It was saved after about a minute and a
half by the DT, without which the flight would have been over 2
minutes and a long way downwind. Clearly the model has a lot
more to offer as this was only at 2/3 of full charge. It was a bit
windy so I stopped at that point!
The model flew ‘off the board’. it just needed a trim tab on
the rudder to induce a right turn. However, I think I need to
move the CofG forward a little bit as it’s “floaty”.
What this clearly shows is that, using series connected
supercaps it is possible to power a traditionally built model
Bob’s neat installation of electrics in the Ajax are enhanced by the use of
lightweight plastic film covering. Old School DT completes the model.
of 30 inch span (or larger), with power in hand and long flight
times. In fact I’m currently thinking (subject to more flight tests)
that I might reduce the supercaps from 50F to 25F to keep the
model in a sensible size flying field.
SuperCap Availability
Throughout my series of articles on supercaps I have been
recommending those from Nesscap, available from Maplin. At
the time of writing it seems that the future of Maplin is in doubt,
and that another source of suitable supercaps may have to
be found. I originally chose Maplin because they have many
shops and serve the hobby market.
The Nesscap parts are still available from some electronic
distributors but these are all aimed at large end users rather
than hobbyists and often have high shipping costs and/or
minimum order quantities.
Supercaps, or to give them the correct title, Electronic
Double Layer Capacitors (EDLC) are available from RS
Components who will ship small quantities, free of charge,
for next day delivery. They sell supercaps from several
suppliers but those from Cooper Bussman are very similar to
the Nesscap parts. The 10F and 25F parts are the same size
and weight as the Nesscap units. They don’t do a 50F but do
have a 60F which is the same size/weight as the Nesscap 50F.
Prices are comparable with those from Maplin.
The table below shows the full Cooper Bussman part number
and the RS part number:
Cooper Bussman Part No RS Components Part No
10F HV1030-2R7 106-R 763-7769
25F HV1030-2R7 256-R 763-7772
60F HV1030-2R7 606-R 763-7779
I trust these articles have provided some food for thought,
shown the range of models that are possible and given some
guidance on how and where to start. You can contact me by
email on lee_bob2@yahoo.co.uk ●
In December 2016 and August 2017 AeroModeller the late Duncan Pepper
described his experiments to power models like the 24” West Wings Topaz
for outdoors flying.
57
 Kit Review
MICROACES
RAF SE5A
Two contrasting small flying model kit reviews: first Chris Ottewell with the British
T
made pre-coloured depron WWI fighter, followed by a more traditional balsa/
stick sports model from China.
his is an excellent kit,
well presented, with clear
instructions and it builds into
a beautiful model which flies
well. Whilst a lot of work has
been done for you, this is no “ARTF” and
provides a very satisfying build.
Getting Started
The kit arrives through the letterbox in
a simple brown cardboard envelope,
a bit like a tiny piece of Ikea furniture!
The similarity ends there though as the
instructions are clearly written with both
58 AeroModeller - May 2018
words (in English) and pictures and there
is no Allen key! However, everything you
need to build the model airframe bar the
glue is there; just add your chosen power
and control units.
Although Microaces can supply suitable
units, I opted to use the guts from a
well-used Parkzone Sukhoi 26M foamie
aerobatic model which cost me £15.
Once armed with a sharp modelling
knife, small building board, straight edge
and a tube of UHU POR you are ready
to start – Here is tip number 1 – If you
have ANY other sort of UHU glue lock it
The SE5a looks just right when completed.
away as it will dissolve the material this
model is made from! If you look at my
model you will see that the nose has a
slight distortion; this is as a result of me
picking up the wrong glue tube! You have
been warned.
The Fuselage
The fuselage is constructed on a keel like
a boat; each former slips perfectly into
place on the keel, but take care to ensure
that each is in the correct position before
gluing – you will get no second chance.
The structural strength however,
 How your Microaces kit arrives. The contents of the brown envelope.

comes from the skin. This comes in
a single piece which needs “scoring”
where shown to enable it to be curved
and folded to complete the main
fuselage structure. I used the blunt end
of a Swann Morton blade for scoring
material. Those of you of around my age
will remember the Weetabix cardboard
kits printed on their cereal cartons in the
1950s which used the same technique.
Power and Control
After fitting the lower wing and
undercarriage, it is time to add the power
and radio units. This is where I had some
concerns as I wondered what sort of
modifications would be needed for my
chosen units. To my relief the answer
was “none” – everything simply fitted into
place and worked as it should.
Wings and Rigging
The care taken in designing this kit is
exemplified by the inclusion of a neat
wing jig to ensure that the wings are built
with the 2 ½ degrees of dihedral each
side – this makes building a straight
model very simple.
Rigging however is the trickiest part
of the build. This is because the rigging
is functional so it needs to be equally
taught in each strand to avoid building in
warps. This isn’t difficult if you follow the
instructions, but is fiddly and deserves
your full attention. I suggest you rig
the tail first as this is very simple and
success here will give you confidence to
tackle the main rigging.
Undercarriage
The Undercarriage is made of a very light
but resilient material; if you have seen

The formers assembled on the keel. Fuselage skin is wrapped around the formers taking care to keep the keel straight.

Top skins and extra scale details have been added along with the tail surfaces. Undercarriage, motor and radio control is fitted before top wing.
 Kit Review
It flies well for such
a small model.
Jon Porter on the Microaces stand at
any of the shows, he will bend and twist
this stuff and then watch it pop back into
shape; he’s obviously seen my landings
and specified things appropriately! I was
impressed that each wheel consists of no
less than 7 parts plus a tyre – no wonder
it all looks so good once completed!
Preparation and Flight
I was pleased to see that the centre of
gravity came out spot on with no need
for any ballast. I set everything up at
home, with about 5mm travel each way
on the control surfaces (rudder and
elevator only) and used the mixes on my
Rig the tail first to gain experience.
60 AeroModeller - May 2018
Scale: 1/24
Wingspan: 368mm (14.5 inches)
Flying weight: 38.5g (1.3 oz)
Maker: Microaces
www.microaces.myshopify.com
Cost: £40
old Dx7 to enable it to be flown like a
Mode 2 elevator/aileron model. After a
few taxiing trials in the kitchen it was off
to the local sports centre.
Our indoor flying hall is about 2
Badminton Courts in size. Whilst I was
worried that this was a bit tight, in
practice it turned out to be the perfect
size. To keep things safe, we operate a
system of 10 minute slots for different
model types so I had a bit of a nervous
wait until Clive White, my nominated test
pilot, could try her out. She flew perfectly
and when I was handed the Tx I was
amazed how easy she was to fly. I put a
single click of down trim in but other than
Starting to rig the wings.
that she flew perfectly “straight off the
building board”!
My only difficulty has been that I forget
this is a high drag biplane and often
throttle back too far on approach testing
that resilient undercarriage rather too
often. The model has proven to be very
robust with the only damage being a
small split in the top wing from a mid-air
collision; foam safe CA wicked into the
crack fixed that.
I’ve not yet had a chance to fly this
model out of doors, but from seeing
other Microaces models flown outside
at Old Warden I have no doubt that it
will make a relaxing summer evening out
door model.
Satisfaction
What can I say other than this is a great
kit. It enabled me to build a realistic
looking SE5a which flies really well.
The price of the kit is good and if you
adopt my “donor model” approach to
the power and control side of things,
you could end up with a convincing and
robust scale flying model for under £60.
I chose the SE5a in the “Heavy Weather”
finish but there are currently three other
scale finishes to choose from.
The model also looks good on my
sideboard. Non-aeromodelling visitors
admire it and are amazed when I tell
them that it is a flying RC model.
A final plus point for Microaces is that
they sell spare parts – and at sensible
prices. This is particular important for
this type of model as you can’t simply
raid the balsa stack and cut a new part
from scratch yourself.
I’m now tempted to buy another
Microaces kit for next season… ●
 NEW in the ‘HOW TO BUILD...’ series
How to Build...
TAMIYA 1:32 F4U-1A
and F4U-1D CORSAIR
When Tamiya released their 1:32 scale Spitfire
Mk.IXc in 2009, they set a new standard for plastic
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series can’t get any better, Tamiya goes and proves
you wrong.
Their 1:32 scale Birdcage Corsair was released
in mid-2013. This was an outstanding kit in every
respect.
Tamiya expanded their 1:32 scale Corsair family
with an F4U-1A in late 2014. This kit included
several new sprues and offered a wider range of
camouflage and marking possibilities.
Tamiya has now completed the -1 trio with their
new 1:32 scale F4U-1D Corsair. Once again, this kit
includes a significant number of brand new sprues
to depict the unique attributes of this variant.
We can also marvel at the kit’s subtle surface
textures, high level of detail, clever parts breakdown
and accuracy.
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painting pilot figures and include a helpful walk
around of a Corsair under restoration.

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 Kit Review

TY MODEL 3-2
MICRO RC FLYER
A charming little flivver for indoor or calm weather outdoor flying,

T
reviewed by Maris Dislers

he “TY Model 3-2” from

Banggood, is somewhat like a
mini RC electric Hangar Rat.
I was attracted by its small
370mm (14.5 inch) wing span,
use of balsa and plywood in the structure
and budget price of around £24, delivered.
That includes 2.4 GHz RC gear, motor and
prop. Instructions must be downloaded
from the website www.banggood.com
There are 28 step by step photos and a few
explanatory phrases. No plan needed.

Minimalist RC
All the components are of good quality,
safely packed in a cardboard shipping box.
Power comes from a 90 mAh lipo cell, pre-
soldered to the receiver/ESC board, like
the geared 6mm coreless motor and rudder
actuator. With propeller, this lot weighs
9.3g (.33 oz).
The transmitter has slide control for
proportional engine speed, left/right buttons
for bang-bang rudder control. That’s
because it uses a tiny electromagnetic
actuator, not a servo. Energising the
external electromagnet attracts or repels
the little permanent magnet on the
control output yoke, depending on which
transmitter button you’re pressing. If neither
button is pressed, the rudder weather-vanes
and the model reverts to its trimmed free
flight mode.
Bare balsa looks OK and you can add
some of the included peel and stick
numbers. But I applied a base colour with
a Pantone Tria artist’s felt tip pen. The
alcohol ink adds negligible weight and a
few sunburst stripes cut from scrap Fibafilm
(stuck on with 3M photo mounting spray
adhesive) gave a bit more pizzazz for
little effort. Best done before commencing
construction.
I found only one design error. The plywood
centre ribs and frame have front and rear
tabs to fit slots in the two plastic wing
mounting pylons. Those tabs are too long
for the blind-ended slots. Shorten those by
around 1mm, so when assembled, the ribs
but up properly against the pylons. This is
important, because the outrigger pylon slots
need to fully engage the wing panels. Check
this before applying glue.
I mostly used thin superglue and my
special applicator. Which is simply a darning
needle with top of eye ground off, pressed
into a balsa stick handle. This applicator is
dipped into a little puddle of cyano (a couple
of drops dispensed from the bottle onto
polythene sheet). Capillary force wicks a
little cyano up in the applicator tip and this
is delivered to the joint by touching just the
right spot. A clogged tip is easily cleared by
burning off over a flame (keep away from
the fumes). Different needle sizes vary the

62 AeroModeller - May 2018

Simple functional design of the TY 3-2 blends
modern and traditional materials. Not very fiddly,
so a good project for recalibrating to small model
building mode.

63
 Kit Review
Good quality laser cutting is evident. Top side of
ply sheet looks even better. Balsa is light, with
good straight grain.
Well thought out design has proper down and
right thrust angles, and wing incidence “built in”.
Battery is charged in-situ via charging jack at
centre section rib. Tiny on-off switch below and
status LED behind. Rudder actuator attaches to
rear wing pylon. The little wire pushrod clip is
very neat.
delivered amount, or use multiple dabs
for larger joints.
All together, the TY 3-2 weighed 19.6g
(.69 oz). Wing area is 252 sq cm (39 sq
in) for a wing loading of 7.8g/dm2 (2.54
oz/sq ft). Balance point is around 46%
of wing chord. There’s no information
of where it should be, so we assumed
it to be OK and glide test seemed safe
enough. I had to find a small rubber band
to mount the propeller on the motor – the
kit had none.
How does it fly?
You need four AA alkaline cells for the
transmitter. It doubles as the charger
for on-board battery, taking around
30 minutes for full charge that gives a
decent flight time. Plug the supplied lead
into the socket on the receiver board
and a tiny red LED lights up. You know
the battery is full when this goes out.
There’s a tiny on/off switch under the
charging socket. Sliding it back gets the
large adjacent LED blinking. Turn on the
transmitter (with throttle slider at lowest
64 AeroModeller - May 2018
2.4 GHz radio electronics. Proportional motor
speed control, but bang-bang rudder operation
reminiscent of 1960’s single channel – who will be
first to alter this to pulse proportional? On-board
components come pre-soldered, keeping weight
down to 9.3g
I used balsa cement for the rib/wing joints,
setting the wing onto a dressed piece of
wood until it dried. You might have a better
way, because one of my wings ended up with
unintended washout.
setting) and it binds in a few moments.
The LED then stays on and is surprisingly
bright, when the model is flown at dawn
or dusk, when it’s the calmest. You can’t
power through turbulent air with the
TY 3-2.
Try half throttle and hand launch.
Going full blast only seems to add speed,
without much better initial climb rate. A
short rudder blip adjusts heading after
a moment to take effect. The resulting
flight pattern looks a bit jerky, but that’s
unavoidable. Multiple blips induce
quicker turn response than holding full
rudder. This model is inherently stable,
so will probably fly just fine if left to itself.
Handy for us occasional RC types. Mine
has a natural left-hand turn, because
of a little unintended washout in the
left-hand wing. A gentle turn is probably
a good default when rudder control
is not activated. The model will then
cruise quite nicely and you can relax a
bit without constant control inputs. You
can’t dial in rudder trim, so use a paper
trim tab, or a little Blu-tack on a wing tip
My secret weapons for controlled application of
thin cyano adhesive. Text explains all.
Should your motor mount break, try my simple
repair using short inserted carbon pin, thread and
epoxy. Undercarriage mounting method is really
clever. I’d not seen that before. It simply clips into
place above upper screw and inside the lower
two screws, behind screw heads, with spring
tension alone. Easily removed for transport in a
smaller box than otherwise.
to adjust rudder-off flight direction.
Things do not always go smoothly
and on its second flight, the wing or tail
joints came unstuck, the shift giving full
rudder, and the TY 3-2 spiralled into a
hard cricket pitch. A broken plastic motor
mount was the only damage. Quite
easily fixed by inserting a short length
of 1mm carbon rod, so that it could be
lashed onto the carbon rod fuselage
with good thread. Epoxy on the binding
and reglueing the wing pylon and tail
joints had the job done. And the motor
was feeling a little stiff. A dab of oil on
the front bearing sorted that. Since then
nothing has gone wrong.
Overall, the TY Model 3-2 is a
charming little flivver for indoor or calm
weather outdoor flying. The two channel
setup is fine for a simple flight pattern –
keep it in the park or away from walls.
For more spirited 3 channel operation,
the “TY 3-3” kit minus electronics is also
available. Banggood’s website has links
to servos and suitable motor etc. ●
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Tail End Charlie
Another pot pourri of aeromodelling miscellany…
Enchantment
Around the world, at different times and in different places,
we each caught “the Aeromodelling Bug”. As Bob Van
Devender captures our story so brilliantly, he can tell it:
“By 1945 I was ten years old and it was the end of
the Second World War, the shortage years were ending
in the USA. I happened to go into the sporting goods
department of Alex Loeb’s store in Meridia, Mississippi. In
a glass case there, was a tiny model airplane engine called
a “Tiny Atom.” It had a real little breaker point arm for the
ignition points, and a real little gas tank snapped under the
bottom of it, and a cute little propeller spinner on it. After
working with my air corps brother on his furlough jalopies,
I already knew about spark plugs. The tiny little V-3 spark
plug on that engine was beyond charming to a small boy.
I gazed at it, and dreamed of having it. Never in my
entire young life had I ever wanted anything like I wanted
that little model engine. The price on it was impossible;
Fifteen Dollars! Fifteen 1945 dollars were worth about
$278 (~£200) in today’s prices. My working parents were
not rich. They strove every day for essentials. Where
would a 10-year-old boy get a dream $15 fortune for a
model airplane engine?
My mother saw a little boy dreaming, and she was a
solution person, making such impossible things come true
for three brothers older than myself. She had a little home
business selling Christmas cards and calendars. She put
me in business selling Christmas cards, and I ordered a
companion little business from the back of a comic book,
selling flower and garden seeds.
I took my Christmas cards and flower and garden seeds
to school with me, keeping them in my locker, and as soon
as the bell rang, I was on my bicycle, going door to store
in North Meridian, Mississippi, selling those Christmas
cards and seeds. There was a companion education in it. I
learned a lot about garden plants and flower varieties from
selling those seed packets. But that was the way I spent
the fall and coming winter of my 10th year of life.
I lived that fall in deep dread, sometimes not sleeping
at night, worrying that someone would go into Alex Loeb’s
and buy my engine before I even had a chance to buy it.
Finally I had sold my last pack of garden seeds or box of
cards, and had my fifteen dollars. After many trips, any
time I could get away and ride my bicycle the three miles
66 AeroModeller - May 2018
Bob Van Devender
to town, to gaze into that glass case at that magic little
engine, I went in there with the money to buy it! There was
a problem. The clerk, informed me that I also had to have
the sales tax for the purchase. Seeing my crestfallen face,
he relented and paid the sales tax on the engine, himself.”
Lifetime’s Learning
“That little engine taught me many things. Running a
model engine was not simple. It required hooking up a
Bob as a child in 1945.
coil and condenser, providing a battery box, and also
obtaining a pair of telephone dry cell batteries to boost the
starting voltage. I had to mix white gasoline and 70 weight
oil three-to-one, to run it. I was also an education to me
in so many ways. An early thing was that I unwisely tried
to pull it through a liquid lock, and broke the fragile ball
and socket connection between the connecting rod and
piston. I got an early lesson in browsing for spare parts,
and finding the tools to replace them. I was on the road to
being a lifetime mechanic.
An older friend of mine, my modelling companion,
designed a model that could accommodate that little
Atom .099 engine. We built it and I took to school for a
show and tell event in the sixth grade. We have recently
had generations of computer-savvy genius kids, but in
those days it may have been unusual for a kid to bring
a scratch built model plane, complete with an ignitions
system, and a running gasoline engine in it, to a 6th grade
class show and tell.
There were a lot of lessons in that epic engine
experience, too numerous to mention. But it was a good
lesson in that young age is no obstacle to applying young
ambition, and certainly no obstacle to learning many Atom MkIII from the Clanford A to Z book
seemingly-advanced skills and technology. It taught me ISBN 9512524.
that model design, building, flying, all taken together, is
perhaps the most educational activity any child or older
person could find to challenge them.”
Thanks Bob – don’t forget to send you stories/
comments/praise/complaints to me at chrisottewell@
anworld.com or by snail mail via the editorial address.
By Chris Ottewell
Atom on test stand.
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