Crist Rigotti always has a crisp, clean, and efficient method of setting up his power sources (above left), whether it was the nitro setups as before or his new electric units as he is using now. Frank Williams pulls his arming device (above right) to prevent any safety problems while his Vortexremains at rest. Frank is always one to bring something new to the Nats. You are going to have to read
more about the leading edges of the flukes on humpback whales to understand the effectiveness of the turbulated wing leading edge on Frank’s Vortex(below left). Mike Stinson of Louisville, Kentucky (below right) adjusts his needle valve in preparation for another practice flight at the “L” pad on the AMA Muncie site. His success in Stunt has him climbing the award ladder at a fast pace.
Mike Stinson’s BB2 Mike Stinson of the Louisville, Kentucky
area has put together his own design model to take advantage of light weight as well as a steady and strong powerplant. His clear film coated BB2 has a 51.375-inch span and 655 square inches of wing area. The tail vol- ume is 178.5 square inches, which is just a bit above 25% of the total wing and flap area of the BB2. Mike has chosen an 8.75-inch nose moment and a 15.25-inch tail moment. The total length of the BB2 is 39.5 inches. Mike uses a Byron Barker tuned (C.F. Slattery) Magnum .53 for power. Mike learned how to make his own tank and built a 6.25-ounce version to carry the necessary fuel for the Magnum engine. He attached an old Top Flite 12–5 paddle blade prop to the Magnum and releases the model at 8500 rpm while using lines of .015-inch braided diameter and an eyelet to eyelet measure- ment of 62 feet. His fuel of choice is 10% ni- tro and a half and half mix of 22% oil con- tent. Mike won Beginner Stunt at the 2010 Nats and Intermediate Stunt at the 2011 Nats. Congratulations Mike.
P.J. Rowland’s Raptor Although P.J.’s Gieseke Nobler got him a
lot of attention, I wanted to spotlight his PAMPA Raptor model. The wing became warped during the shipping from Australia to the United States, and he abandoned the plane for the flights on his G. Nobler in the PAMPA events. I am reprising this C.L.P.A. model that is around 640 square inches with the inboard wing being 5.8 inches longer than the outboard panel. He is using a Paul Walker Miss America wing platform with a nose moment of 9.75 inches.
FLYING MODELS
The 65-ounce Raptor is slung around
quite effectively with a Stalker .81. I enjoyed watching P.J. change a venturi. You had to be wide awake too see it happen as it was a simple matter of taking off the filter, pulling the old venturi, and pushing in the new ven- turi. He replaced the air filter and was ready to be in the air within one minute. How neat! The tank is carbon fiber which helps cut the gross weight of his Raptor.
The flaps have Howard Rush Boost Tabs.
The carbon fiber bellcrank sets in motion the carbon torque tubes and attached horns. His paint is air brushed on, and ink lines are added with a Rapidograph™ pen. A coat of PPG clear coat is applied when he is done. Although he did not use the Raptor, P.J. did himself well in the Expert class with his classic G. Nobler. It was great to see him and his father at the 2011 Nats.
P.J. Rowland brings his Raptoroff the practice circle while attempting to solve his trim problems prior to the opening days of the AMA Nats in the summer of 2011. There is more on P.J.’s Raptorin the text.
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