utes and will make a welcome addition to any model aviation collection. The video is priced at $20 plus $4 shipping to Alan Abriss, 94-20 66th Ave., Suite 1G, Rego Park, NY 11374, or on-line from
http://www.homegrowntv.com.
Pushed back to the future The always-inventive John Krouse comes
up with new and unusual subjects for his mini and micro electric projects on a regular basis. This time, however, he had to travel a long way back for a subject—in this case the old “A”-frame twin pusher models that were developed during modeling’s infancy. Al- though he reached a long way back, he also made a decided forward leap in choosing to make his tiny A-frame canard out of high- tech Depron® foam sheet mated to time- honored spruce sticks forming the A-frame fuselage. The canard and sub-fin/rudder were cut from 1.0mm Depron® material with the 13.5
× 3-inch wing constructed from even thin- ner 0.5mm sheeting. Since John opted for a Jedelsky airfoil, it was necessary to bond a ¹⁄₁₆ × ¹⁄₈-inch balsa spar on the underside of the wing along the spanwise “crease”. Note the doublers in key areas requiring more strength. The little pusher is powered by a pair of
6mm×12mm pager motors spinning two di- rect-drive 1.6-inch diameter Cox plastic props that do not appear to be counter-ro- tating. Left rudder deflection (the rudder is on the bottom) is used to adjust a circling power pattern for indoor flight. The length of the motor run is controlled by
a manually set Stew Meyers electro-mechan- ical push-button timer. All up, the plane weighs 14.5 grams with a single 60 mAh lithi- um-polymer battery filled to the brim with electrons. John didn’t say what the plane weighed when the electrons were used up.
Promoting the Pearl Last month we spent some time with Don DeLoach’s new electric powered Super Pearl 202 E as a viable new design for the NFFS E-36 novice event. Not one to rest on his lau- rels, this month Don has two larger Super Pearl short kits that can be adapted to sev- eral events. The first is the Super Pearl 542 short kit intended for AMA A or B Gas and is eligible for AB Classic for hot engines and high
PHOTOS: JOHN KROUSE
John Krouse reached back in time for the design of his latest micro-electric (above left). John rendered his Old Time “A” frame rubber powered pusher in a high-tech Depron® and electric powered format. John’s pusher uses twin pager motors with 1.6-inch Cox plastic props for power (above right). Note the paper clip mounting beams that permit fine-tuning the thrust adjustments. The size of the single-edge razor blade gives some sense of the size of the tiny model.
speed launches. It is also convertible for AMA A/B Electric with an outrunner motor and 4–7 cell Li-Po batteries. The accompa- nying photo of transplanted Magnificent Mountain Man, Gary Baughman, and his new Super Pearl 542 should get the building juices flowing. The second offering is the Super Pearl 282
for AMA ½A Gas and ½A Classic Gas, and is intended for modern high speed engines like the Cyclon .049–.061. It, too, can be con- verted to AMA A/B Electric with an outrun- ner motor and 3–4 cell Li-Po batteries. It is Don’s intention to advertise these
two kits along with the Super Pearl 202 E on a dedicated web site at
www.pearl
freeflight.com, which is still under con- struction as this is written. Check from time to time in the near future to see if it’s up and running. In the meantime, you can contact Don via e-mail at
ddeloach@comcast.net for prices and more information about his new short kits.
New from Thomas Designs Greg Thomas, of Thomas Designs, has produced what is arguably the finest, most complex, and most expensive rubber pow- ered model airplane ever kitted. Over four years in design, development and fabrica- tion, it is intended for the very experienced and dedicated builder. This new kit offering, the American military T-50/UC-78 twin, fa- miliarly nick-named the Bamboo Bomber, contains over 1400 laser-cut wood parts, precision vacu-formed cowling, fairings, Ja- cobs engine details, canopy and miscella-
neous other parts. Also included are “an abundance of laser-cut paper detail parts which will really set the model apart in any event requiring fidelity to scale detail.” Spanning 42 inches, it could also be easily converted to electric freeflight or even elec- tric R/C. All assembly requirements are shown of four 36 ×48-inch and one 17 ×22- inch drawings. During the development of the kit, we
had the pleasure of having Greg as a guest in our home and saw the work-in-progress drawings laid out over the island in our kitchen. Now in finished CAD format, they are the most complete, most intricate, and most beautifully done drawings I have ever seen. The many isometric and perspective drawings included not only reveal the rela- tionship of all of the parts to each other; the drawings are works of art in and of them- selves. For an all-inclusive view of the T-50/UC-
78 kit and pricing, go to the interesting and entertaining Thomas Designs web site at
www.thomasdesigns.net. Greg has limited kit production to only 20 kits for 20 very dis- criminating modelers up to the challenge of this ambitious project. While you are at the web site, check out
the rest of his plans and kits, including a model much simpler than the T-50/UC-78— a re-work of the old Comet Firefly, spanning 24 inches and including 4–6 pound balsa for a fantastically light airframe. It could be the something you throw into the air as we get past Punxatawney Phil on Ground Hog Day and into the new outdoor flying season!
PHOTOS: THOMAS DESIGNS
Thomas Designs is well-known for the excellent quality and scale fidelity of their designs. Owner Greg Thomas may be going for a Guinness Book of World Record for his latest offering, however. The T-50/UC-78 kit (above left) is arguably the most complex and detailed rubber powered kit ever offered. Details in the text. In a much simpler mode than the T-50/UC-78, another Thomas
FLYING MODELS
Designs kit for 2012 is this Comet Firefly(above right) which first appeared in the Comet line of kits more than seven decades ago. The perspective drawing shows the simplicity and beauty of this model, brought up-to-date with select 4–6 pound balsa for extended flight times. This kit would make a great model to throw up in the air for next season.
59
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76