Evenings have been busy here. I’ve been preparing a new fleet for Indoor season. This is risky, as new planes rarely perform in a winning manner. But my NoCal Racer (Folkerts SK-2) was not flying well at the end of last year and my WWII NoCal (Barracuda) is suffering a lot of wear and tear. And I need to develop some new stuff.
So, quickly, Here are some details:
BARRACUDA NOCAL
I built a second Barracuda NoCal when my first one got hung up in the rafters. I never flew it because when I returned to the Indoor site the next month, I was presented with my model – the maintenance crew got it down for me! I had 5 victories before the “loss” in 2019 and the ragged flyer now has 18 kanones. It’s been a workhorse, to say the least, but it is definitely showing its age and I need to prepare a new model.
Cuda #2 is really a stop-gap, as I intend to build another Spitfire NoCal (read about #1 here). The first of those never was trimmed properly Indoor and then got stuck in a tree in the back yard.
Anyway, I will be testing my new NoCal nose Bearing design on the Barracuda – I replaced the nose bearing the other day. Here is a photo. I’ll be using these on my (new) NoCals this season.
FLOYD BEAN NOCAL
As I said, my Folkerts SK-2 NoCal has suffered even more than my ‘Cuda. The wings were broken and repairs didn’t go well. It has earned eight kanones in the last two seasons, but only one last year. So, it will be retired and a New Racer NoCal was framed up this week. It is not covered yet, but that will take place before the contest on the (lucky) 13th. Here is a photo of the fuselage. Note the ruler is a 16 INCH ruler!
STALLION HIGH WING PEANUT
This will be the third Stallion Peanut I have built, but the first in over 25 years. For some reason, I like the Stallion and have built two Peanuts, two Jumbos, and a NoCal. And now there is a third Peanut, and a third Jumbo is on the drawing boards.
The focus on this one is to build it light. Challenge #1 is to build it to the target weight of 5 grams. Based on the photo below, I am thinking 6 grams is more likely. Light is important as this model only has 22 square inches of wing area – it’s not very big.
Challenge #2 will be to find the right prop and rubber combination for the light model. With luck, I’ll be able to fly it with a loop of 1/16″ rubber. We’ll see. Here’s the framed up stack of parts. This stack also includes a nose bearing similar to the NoCal, but for small lightweight models. (There’s lots of experimenting going on here at Volare Acres!)
The colors and markings have been laid out for printing, so covering will happen soon.
