Ares Tiger Mothwith magnet attached panel removed (above left) to show 3- in-1 receiver/motor unit. Mini-Vapor (above center) with prop saver and BSD flexible prop. The battery holder is modified to use a #8 rubber band to keep the battery from dangling. Paper model E.III parts (above right) glued to Depron
from Gene Korotky that Pete Schumann brought to life. Tissue printed parts (below left) for Paul Tarascon’s Nieuport 11 “Zigomar” provided by Gene. Pete assembled the Nieuport 11 parts (below right) incorporating a spinning engine and ailerons into this model.
bound for use with another plane every time. This is a little different than the DSM2 system where the same plane setting can be used with two different models without re- binding each time.
The RTF version has the charger built into the transmitter. The WOT version comes with a charger that mates with a USB port to supply its power. This is a very nice flying model. It will fly slow enough at low power to fly comfortably in a small gym for ten minutes. At a higher throttle setting it will easily loop. Outside it will handle light winds. The magnet mounted undercarriage, lower wings, and struts make the repair of minor prangs an easy reassembly task. Flyzone has released two more WWI Mi- cro models; a Nieuport 17 last Fall and a S.E.5 this Winter. I have the Nieuport 17, but not the S.E.5 yet. Each release has im- proved the flight characteristics of the mod- els. While the Albatros and Dr.1 were prone to zoom upon application of power, the Nieu-
port 17 has enough thrust offset to handle it well. I did need to enlarge the battery slot to accept the battery without popping the con- nector loose. It flies faster than the Ares Tiger Moth, but can be flown comfortably in a small gym and it will handle moderate wind outside.
These models are available in a RTF ver- sion with a transmitter or a TxR version with the AnyLink module. I like the TxR version and use the AnyLink module on my old Hitec transmitter with the mix set to put the rudder control on the right stick. I have been perusing the Indoor and Micro Model forums located at RCGroups
www.rcgroups.com for years. Lots of good in- formation
there like Gordon Johnson’s
analysis of motors and tissue printing tutori- als. A couple of the posters—Pete Schu- mann, known on RCGroups as “mtflyr” and Gene Korotky “speedy01”, on RCGroups— have multiple threads on WWI micro scale models. Gene lives in Florida, but fortunate- ly Pete lives in the Northern Virgina area. Pete and his WWI Group, The Royal North- ern Virginia Air Service (RNVAS) crew—in-
cluding Jinwoo Choe “jingjingjing” and Paul Stamison “newbeflyer”, on RCGroups—fly regularly, both indoor and out, in the Wash- ington, DC area. I have been privileged to get to know these guys and fly with them. Pete has modified a number of ParkZone ultra micro models and scratchbuilt some WWII models using their gear. He also has modified the Flyzone micro WWI models into some real beauties. Gene has collaborated with Pete in developing a method of using paper model patterns to produce Depron sheet WWI models. Complicated WWI mark- ings, camouflage, and lozenge patterns are reproduced by printing the paper model pat- terns onto gift wrapping tissue. Applying these tissue patterns to Depron with spray adhesive and cutting them out, in effect pro- duces a kit of pre-decorated-ready-to-assem- ble parts. Get more details on RC Groups by searching on the names or from an upcoming article by Gene at
www.fullsizeplans.com. Of course Depron construction is not the
only way to build a scale microflier. Small bal- sa models are quite suitable for conversion to micro R/C. More on these next time.
Vapor Total weight (g)
Comparison of Vapors Mini Vapor
15.00 9.10 Total weight (g) 2.62 1.45 30 mAh cell
Pete Schumann with his Fokker E.III. In the background is Jinwoo Choe, another avid WWI micro flyer and innovative kit designer.
FLYING MODELS
Rubber spinner Vapor brick
0.85 0.58 0.20
Decr % Decr –5.90 –39%
Implied airframe weight 5.59 2.47 Implied airframe weight –3.12 –56% 70 mAh cell
–1.17 –45%
Gearbox & 6–15mm motor 2.44 1.75 Gearbox & 6–10mm motor –0.69 –28% Prop
3.30 2.85 Mini Vapor brick
–0.27 –32% –0.20
–0.45 –14% 53
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