Due to the nature of the very-small-businesses that provide our hobby, I have had to remove some products from my catalog. My hope is that this is temporary. The following have been removed due to supply and or/production issues with my suppliers:
Everyone loves Peanuts (unless you’re allergic). Here is my latest. The Bellanca Aries T-250 – a rare model from the ’70s. Cloudbuster Chris Boehm built one several years ago from the Walt Mooney plan. We talked and he wants a bigger one. I said “that sounds great” but I did this one for the upcoming indoor season. (I’ll get to larger version later.)
Now I am working on printed tissue. Two factors here: 1) there were only four built (easy!) and 2) all of the color schemes are complicated.
I built this (and cut laser parts) from light 1/32″ and light 1/20″ balsa – hoping to create something for Indoor that will not have to fly at a million (scale) miles an hour. The ribs and most of the formers are 1/32″. All of the stringers and cut pieces are 1/20″. I did use 1/16″ square for the leading edges and spars.
This Peanut has almost 33 square inches of wing area. That’s not bad for a “normal” airplane (not a racer or other “strange” configuration). In fact, it is more than my Nesmith Cougar or my T.E.A.M. HiMax.
The challenge for me now (beyond the tissue) is to make a light and well-functioning prop. I’m not sure if this will be a stacked prop or a formed prop. I can’t seem to make formed props lighter than carved ones, so I’ll probably go stacked. I’m calculating (mentally) a 5″ or 5.5″ at about 6″ Pitch.
Oh, I’ve got to vacu-form a windscreen – shouldn’t be too hard. With any luck, I can get this flying at around 6 grams without rubber – I hope!
A New Embryo: Over the last week or so, I’ve been working on a new Embryo design. This one is based on the Tom Nallen Durham Mystery. My flying buddy, Winn Moore, told me to extend the fuselage. He had done that, and it seemed to work well. I couldn’t leave that alone and extended the fuselage and did several other tweaks and sent the new plan – along with a fictional story regarding how the “Durham Air Limousine” came to be. I won’t publish that story until it appears in the FAC News.
The weather is not the best here in Michigan as autumn has set in. We are scheduled to have a Cloudbusters Outdoor Contest Sunday (14 Oct), weather depending. I will give the Air Limo a good test there. I did take it out in the back yard today with a short fat test motor and 300 turns and got it to climb in right spirals to about 30 feet and had a great glide – so good I almost lost it in the woods and/or creek. It’s time to stop testing in my back yard before I lose it.
I am confident this will fly and fly well. I will have short kits available soon. Here are a couple of photos of the model. (scroll past the photos to read other news items).
the airfoil might make some modelers say “Golly”
The wing has the same dimensions as the Durham Mystery.
P.S. these are my “standardized” endurance colors. Some say they are “garish” I say they are just right.
New Site: As you might be aware, I had my site updated – it has been a long journey. It is not “perfect” and some of you have found issues, most are caused by screen size. I paid good money for this – more than I wanted and the contractor failed to meet my expectations. But, the store is up to date and (supposedly) secure – and my blog is integrated with the web store. So, even though I have had to fix some things myself, I think it is done (or as done as I can make it, since the contractor has again disappeared on me).
Model Performance: This may be the most significant issue in my modeling in the last two or three years. I’ve been trying to step up my performance game and coming out of the July contests, I asked Don DeLoach for some pointers on how to get better performance out of my models.
I have a Wanderer that I use for OT Stick – and it has done very well over the last three seasons. I almost always get a max – but rarely more than 2.5 minutes unless assisted by good air. How can I increase my glide?
Don told me one thing (with follow-on tidbits) that really changed my models’ performances. He said:
Now I have done that – well, partially – but I took all my endurance models and calculated the CG, marked it on the wing, set the model (with motor) on my balance jig, and used clay to balance. Every plane was different than what I had been flying. I had to do the next portions of trimming at Muncie at the Outdoor Champs.
I only changed the incidence and worked up the power. I started requesting official flights as my final thrust trimming was being done. All of my endurance planes became predictable max flyers and their glide was terrific. Heed Don’s words and your flights will be better.
Here is one more important tidbit that Don gave to me:
Let me just expand on this a little bit. Many people say 30% is good to balance, but then they need to crank up the incidence to get the model to glide. Then when they apply power, they need a lot of downthrust. Do you think – just maybe – the 30% CG is not back far enough? Stop guessing and start calculating.
I have seen a particular (and popular) model that requires a LOT of downthrust to fly. I wasn’t the only one that observed this. Using the information above, if it has too much downthrust, it must have too much decalage, and as the last bullet states, too much decalage means the model is nose heavy.
Solve this by finding the CG, setting it, and gliding. Adjust the tail incidence to get a good glide. Then apply power and you should need much less downthrust. (Note, that this model is a biplane and, like the Fokker D.vii, you probably need to set the horizontal so the leading edge is higher than the trailing edge – GIVEN THE PROPER BALANCING.
This is our 4th YEAR of doing this – stop by the VOLARE Tent after flying on Thursday and grab a FREE HOTDOG as our Customer Appreciation! See you there!
It’s been a long journey – I needed a site upgrade for some security reasons. The site has been in flux for over a month, but now things are looking and acting a lot more like they are meant to be.
In the past, my blog and my sales area were two separate sites, barely linked and not really integrated. Now, you can see that my blog area is fully contained within the shopping portal. All of my articles and New Product posts will appear right here. You will have access to all of my old articles are reference material via the menu on the right side. Note that if you are within the shopping area, this menu disappears, replaced by shopping items. If you want to return to the blog and its menu, you can get there from two different paths: 1) click the word BLOG on the main menu bar at the top (the black band). You can also get to the blog by clicking the VOLARE PRODUCTS image in the upper left corner.
If you notice any broken images, please let me know. There are hundreds on my site and some are not yet fixed. Also, let me know of any other issues you might find while looking around.
–george
Some people say Free Flight is dying. Some people say kids don’t fly Free Flight. Sometimes there is a bright spot on the horizon.
In 2012, I came back to Free Flight Modeling and I purchased a vendor business. I specialize in Flying Aces Club Free Flight (even today), but I felt that I needed to promote my business to a community and audience that I would not normally see. I went to the AMA Outdoor Free Flight Nationals in Muncie, Indiana. And I became aware that Free Flight is, while still small, bigger than I thought. There were a couple hundred, maybe more, people flying all types of models – rubber, gas, electric, glider.
I also was exposed to two things: 1) the Builder of the Model (BOM) rule was eliminated for AMA Outdoor Free Flight and 2) this actually helps kids participate and compete in Free Flight. And the National Free Flight Society (NFFS) truly encourages kids to participate, holding many events (and trophies!) for Junior and Senior classes. I am a fan of BOM, but it truly has a place for juniors – they can learn to fly before they learn to build – and that is critical because it instills the spirit of flying into the kids.
Two of the kids that I have been watching at the AMA Nats every year since then are Hayden Ashworth and Kyle Gerspacher. Hayden was a tiny little kid learning to fly his grandfather’s gas models. And Kyle, just as tiny, was out on the field flying P-30 and other sport rubber models with his dad. Our paths don’t cross much except for the AMA Nats, but we know who each other are and I was able to tell each of them “good luck” when I saw them this year in July.
Why good luck? Well both of them were headed to the FAI Junior World Championships in Bulgaria – happening right now. Hayden, focusing on F1P (a gas-powered event) talked with some modesty about how he was on the team and might not be the best (as the only Junior F1P representative for the USA). This week has been a fantastic one for both boys.
Hayden on the left and Kyle on the right. Today in Bulgaria. Champions in my book! (Snagged off of Facebook. USA Team photo – probably by Gene Ulm.)
Kyle flew in F1B – the most demanding and high-tech “unlimited” rubber. He maxed in every round and made the final fly-off where he placed Second in the World. Hayden flew his power ship in much the same way – maxing every round and flying to Second in the fly-off. Such an accomplishment for both of them. To paraphrase what Rudy Kluiber said today: I am happy to say “I knew them when…” and I hope to be watching them for years to come.
Well, two weeks of National Contests are over for the year (first the FAC nats in Geneseo, NY and then the AMA Nats in Muncie, IN). I had goals – most of which remain unfulfilled, but it was a good time and many lessons learned come from it – along with new goals and projects.
I have three ships which I can depend on to give be consistent and reliable performance: the Bad Axe (Embryo), the Wanderer (OT Stick), and the King Harry (2 Bit/OT Fuselage). The Bad Axe and the Wanderer are in their third season and the King Harry is in its second season.
The Wanderer, while I would like a better climb-out is reliable, as long as I keep the dumb pilot from making mistakes. It often makes a fly-off (after 3 maxes), but is oftne short on the duration needed to win the fly-off. This year in Geneseo, after one long flight, I retrieved it from the beans and got back to “camp” and noticed about 3/4″ was missing from one tip of the propeller. Not having a replacement prop handy, I just balanced it and flew at least 4 or 5 more flights on it without noticing any difference. My Wanderer came in 4th in fly-offs in Geneseo and Muncie this year. I will make a new prop, but keep the old one on hand – just in case.
Prop Damage – and my new tattoo. Remember to live every day.
My Bad Axe – two-time AMA Nats Embryo Champ has taken a beating – the 1/16″ fuselage does not handle blown motors well. In June, ALL of the tissue was blown off the fuselage and I could not complete my 3 flights at that particular contest. I hurriedly recovered the rear part of the fuse (behind the wing), but the front half remained shaky. It was so windy in Geneseo, I could not get my flights in and chose to concentrate on 2-Bit. I took it to Muncie and proceeded to break the entire top of the nose off the model test flying before the contest even started (Tuesday evening). The plane has been suffering for awhile and I should have just stopped right there, but I had to defend my trophy! I rebuilt the nose the night before Embryo in Pat Murray’s motor home. I used 1/8″ square throughout because I couldn’t finish the tissue to give it strength. It would have to do.
The next day, I upped the motor from a loop of 3/16″ to 2 loops of 1/8″ (the plane is getting pretty heavy). I gave it a test flight and had mediocre results. I called for a time and put up an 89 second flight – a sad ending to a faithful model. In a moment of inspiration – or desperation – I swapped out the 6.5″ wooden Superior Prop for a Czech 7.875″ plastic prop and wound it up. Gene Smith was timing me and I expected more mediocre results. After about ten seconds of flight, he shouted to me “I’ll mark your max down right now!” as I rode off chasing a monstrous rocketing flight. Indeed it was a max! My third flight was a repeat of the second. That prop and rubber combo breathed new life into a model that was nearly retired. If I had just swapped that prop one flight earlier, I would have taken home Champion again, instead of Second Place. I will keep using the Bad Axe, but will soon build a new Embryo.
The King Harry was looking like it would be FAC Nats champ when I put in a terrific 3+ minute flight on a windy day deep into the beans – and I walked right up to it (roughly 10-15 feet off my 1/2-mile line). I had some issues getting off the table in the strong winds and as I took off on my bike for the launch table, the O-Ring I used on the prop end of the motor BROKE, sending the fully-wound motor back through the fuselage, taking out uprights and tissue. The prop was also broken in half earlier (probably best I did not get that last flight). More dashed dreams at Geneseo.
At least 8 cross pieced to be replaced and almost all of the tissue.
I got home from New York on Sunday afternoon. I was leaving for Indiana on Tuesday. That left Monday to rebuild and re-cover the fuselage and repair the prop. It was a fairly simple job, but time-consuming. The prop was reinforced with carbon fiber strips and bound with thread. But the plane was back to “normal”.
It flew well in testing – and it flew well during official flights. I maxed out, although the last flight was in “bad air” and only got a 2:00.xx flight – JUST ENOUGH! I waited the rest of the day – there were serious flyers out there flying, including Don DeLoach with his amazing Flying Aces Moth – and he had maxed his first flight. I waited until the cut-off time for OT Fuselage times (3pm to allow for a potential fly-off). No one triple maxed – I was CHAMPION!
You can see the prop repair.
Tuesday, I leave for the Flying Aces Club Nats in Geneseo, NY. If you like Scale Rubber Powered Free Flight, then you need to get yourself there at some point. It’s three days of flying and cameraderie with literally thousands of flights made by over a hundred FAC Modelers.
I will return home on Sunday and then take off the next Tuesday for three more days of Free Flight at the AMA Outdoor Free Flight Nats in Muncie, IN. There are more flyers at this event and Rubber Scale is dwarfed by all other aspects of Outdoor Free Flight.
News of note: I am going to be releasing three new short kits at Geneseo. the 18″ Denny Starling (for 2 Bit and OT Fuse), the Peanut T.E.A.M. HiMax, and the long-awaited 24″ Cessna C-34 (for Thompson Races, FAC Scale, Golden Age Monoplane, etc.)
These will be available online after I return from Muncie – In August some time. There will be limited quantities of these available at Geneseo (very short runs).
A note about the C-34. I am afraid that this short kit will not have the same low price you have come to enjoy from my short kits. As I was preparing these, I was astounded at how much wood and time it takes for each kit. Each kit will have a rolled plan, SIX sheets of laser-cut 1/16″ balsa (over 160 laser cut parts, not counting the supplies generic gussets), and a small sheet of laser-cut 1/64″ ply parts. The balsa took over 30 minutes per kit to cut – that’s a lot of time! One custom laser cutting service I saw charges $71 per hour of cutting time (another place charges 4 cents an inch – who knows how many inches are in this kit!) Because of the time involved, I am sorry to say that I will be charging $25 for the C-34 short kit.
I have been very busy trying to fill my stocks for these contest and this photo shows most (but not all – I’m still burning balsa!) of the kits that I will be bringing – there are over 100 in this photo.
At Geneseo, the only DEDICATED time I will take to selling is on Wednesday, during the judging. Look for me in the hangar where all the action is. I have a very full slate of flying, so I won’t have stuff for sale on the field, but maybe after hours you can convince me to sell you something 😉
At Muncie, I can probably spare more time to selling as there are less events. Look for me on the field, somewhat near the FAC Headquarters.
If you have pre-ordered, I will have your package available.
See you there!
As I mentioned elsewhere, the T.E.A.M. HiMax homebuilt ultralight has been a favorite subject of mine. So much so, that I have heard these words from my son Jack’s mouth: “not another HiMax – ugh!” I initially did a Peanut in the late 80’s, based on an article in Radio Control Modeler. That article and plan had the proportions all wrong and over the years, I have corrected all my various versions. I even went to the trouble of downloading the full-size plans when they were free. This version is my most-scale version, although the final short kit (in the near future) will have one more tweak to even more scale accuracy.
Even though I had the plan re-drawn and parts laid out and ready to cut very early this year (2018), I didn’t decide to build it until after the passing of modeling friend, Jim Miller. Jim and I shared an affinity for this plane and he recently asked me for documentation on this particular full-scale aircraft because of its simplicity. As a homebuilt, the builders often put their own modifications on the plane – this one is most simple, with only a curved upper front cowl added, a single body color, and the very minimum of lettering. I dedicate this plan and model to my friend, Jim.
The model came out at 10.4 grams without rubber; more than I had hoped. It did need 0.7g added to the tail. I used a Gizmo Geezer nose button; they are a little heavy (and indispensable!) While I would have preferred less, I am satisfied. The prop is a 6″x9P stacked prop, cut down to 5.5″. This is a high pitch for a small prop and requires a loop of 3/32″ rubber to drive it. I think a 5″ lower pitch prop would have let me fly it on a loop 1/16″ – well, if I had been able to keep the weight down to 6 or 7 grams.
Below you will find:
Oh, I built this from 01 July through 07 July – a small personal challenge to see if I could build a model quickly for the FAC Nats – still over a week away (I guess I still have time to build another model!) It would have been done a couple days earlier, had I left off some of the scale details and skipped a few more real-life duties and chores.
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The Thompson Race in the Flying Aces Club is for pre-war racers with radial engines. Think: GeeBees, Wedell-Williams, Laird Super Solution, Laird-Turner, Cessna CR-2 and CR-3. Back over 20 years ago, there were restrictions against “factory” racers – or any commercially-built race plane. That gradually changed and now you can find Lockheed Altairs, Beech Staggerwings, and more racing in the Thompson. One of the models that has emerged as a consistent, maybe even dominating, winner in this event is the Mr Mulligan. As a high-wing cabin, it might be easier to build, trim, and fly than most other race planes.
If you’re like me, you are always looking for the obscure, unusual, or just a little different – not wanting to build what everyone else is building. But I wanted to build a “Mr Mulligan Killer” – something that would be able to challenge the dominance of the white high-wing. For over 20 years, my plan was to build Johnny Livingston’s clipped wing Monocoupe, but then I discovered a new subject for the races: the Cessna C-34 – with the benefits of no struts and no wheel pants!
The first eligible C-34 for the Thompson – but only if you accept the Detroit News Trophy as a “race”.
The current wording in the FAC Rules permits airplanes that raced in other US races, not just the big National Air Races. As I did my research for a possible Dime Scale C-34, I kept running across references to “trophy winner” and “winningest airplane” – it seems the C-34 helped Cessna secure the Detroit News Air Transport Trophy (a four-event race for; economy, speed, and minimum take-off and landing capabilities with the best passenger safety and comfort). A Cessna AW had won years before and in 1935 and 1936, a C-34 provided the 2nd and 3rd manufacturer wins and Cessna earned the permanent possession of the trophy – and much-needed attention and sales resulting.
Notice the list of 1935 NAR wins in the lower left corner! (These are the trophies in the first ad above.)
But efficiency tours are not usually considered “races” and I did not want to claim that the C-34 would be eligible for the FAC Thompson Race by virtue of an efficiency trial, even if speed was part of it.
At the 1936 Miami Air Races, Cessna also won the Argentine Trophy with a speed of 156 mph – but how was that race structured – and talk about obscure – who would willingly accept that without thinking I was trying to pull a fast one in qualifications? I hoped I could find more definitive, less suspect race results. I did so in the 1936 National Air Races.
Betty Browning won the Amelia Earhart Trophy at the 1936 NAR (Los Angeles), a 5-lap, 25 mile pylon race for women pilots. She flew the same C-34 that won the 3rd win of the Detroit News Trophy – and the Argentine Trophy: s/n 320, NC15852. This is a “real” air race! If you discount it because it was a women’s race, then you are discounting the real accomplishments of women pilots of the time.
On to the documentation of the plane – what color was it? Well, the two photos I could find of the plane, we can see a light overall color with darker stripe and an even darker race number.
I also found references to “green” and “pee-wee green”. I assumed a light green with a dark green stripe and a black “75” for the races. I asked online in a Cessna Airmaster group “what color was pee-wee-green?” Cessna historian, William Koelling, provided this image:
Note that this has yellow highlights, whereas #75 has darker highlights. Then, months later, Mr Koelling posted some Cessna historical documents:
This solidified the colors: PPG PeeWee Green #65, Chrome Green trim #66, and a Medium Yellow pinstripe #54. I found that Design Master Spring Green is pretty close to PeeWee green, so I used that for the main paint. Then I found samples online of Chrome Green and used them to print the stripes and numbers on the tissue before covering.
So, there you have it! Enough documentation to prove that the Cessna C-34 can qualify for the FAC Thompson Races under the current rules of “The Thompson Trophy Event is for models of aircraft with radial engines that were entered in the Thompson, Greve,
Bendix, or other domestic races held from 1929 through 1939.” Not only did the C-34 enter races, it was a winner!
