C/LStunt D
oug Moon took the top honors at the 2012 US AMA Nationals this past July. He has quickly climbed to the pinnacle of control line Stunt from his first early start in Beginner control line Stunt at the 1994 Lubbock, Texas Nats to his solid triumph last sum- mer. Doug passed the particulars of his Riff Raff model and its history on to me. I will let Doug say his piece.
“Bob Gieseke originally designed and built this model around 1999, 2000, or 2001. I built the smaller 1997 version of the Gieseke Bear in 2002. At first flight, there was a control setup error, and it was clear the model would not be Nats worthy. I had flown one of Bob’s Geo-Bears and knew it would be my next model. I just didn’t know it would be right then.
“It was early Spring. I went to the house and got started. Just a few days shy of 12 weeks I brought out my first of many Geo- Bears on May 19, 2002. From that time until the Nats began that year, I flew it just over 250 flights in that year. I made the Top 5 as a rookie in Open. I have built several since then, moving the numbers around here and there, but never deviating too far from the original design.
“In 2010, I took the first Riff Raff (Geo-
Bear) to second place just 5 points behind Billy Werwage. After that I decided to build an exact duplicate of the original one I had built in 2002, only it would retain the name Riff Raff. There are no plans, but I have a sheet of paper with all the number measure- ments I build it from. I completed the copy early in the Spring of 2012 and proceeded to take it all the way to the top this time. “The wing is a Bill Werwage Geo-Bolt that I built in a Bob Hunt lost foam jig. Wing span is 63 inches, and it does not use full span flaps. The flap area behind the tips is fixed inboard, and a trim tab is used on the outboard tip area. It utilizes wing [landing] gear rather than a fuselage mounted assem-
by allen brickhaus You can reach Allen Brickhausat PO Box 206, Golconda, Illinois 62938, or via e-mail at
abkb801@shawneelink.net
PHOTO: DOUG MOON
Here is one of Doug Moon’s own shots of his Riff Raff 2012 US AMA Nationals C.L.P.A. Open winner and recipient of the Walker Cup. Without a doubt, Doug flew well to win both the Open category and the Walker Cup.
bly. The flaps are built up and sheeted. The leading edge of the flaps is round and built up as well, to create the centered and even hinge slots. The wing is relieved 1 inch at the front inside the fuse to help accommo- date the 8-ounce Sullivan clunk tank. “The stab and elevator follow the style of
the Gieseke Nobler with tip plates added. They are built up. The stab and elevator are 26% of the wing area. The stab is ½ inch thick flat with a round LE and TE. The ele- vators have a round LE with a taper to 1⁄8 inch at the TE. Inserted into the TE of the elevators
is a carbon blade spar. This
strengthens the TE and will help it resist twisting and or flexing under load. The stab span is 29 inches.
“The nose moment is 9 inches and the tail moment is 17¾ inches. Maple motor mounts
run from the top of the wing all the way out to the nose ring. The motor crutch is in- stalled onto the fuse sides upside down on my flat work bench. That way the alignment is correct. Now I have two fuse sides hang- ing out behind the motor crutch. It is best to have a jig to align the fuselage sides. I have learned a little trick along the way. At the TE of the wing at the top of the fuse now fac- ing down on the bench, I install a 1⁄4 × 1⁄4- inch balsa spar across the fuse. This creates the width I want where the taper will begin. “Then, using straight edges, I carefully cut a long triangle piece of 1⁄16-inch balsa sheet that will glue in from that first spar and taper all the way back to the end of the fuse sides. I drop it in, pull the sides togeth- er, and tack them along the way moving to the rear of the fuse. Once I am satisfied all is
PHOTO: DOUG MOON
The tail assembly on Doug’s Riff Raff (above left). This is a very effective color scheme and it looks great on the ground and in the
air.The Riff Raffcaptured in
24
PHOTOGRAPHY: ALLEN BRICKHAUS
the tent area (above right) at the 2012 Nationals. Note the large openings of the air inlets and the Al Rabe styled landing gear struts.
FEBRUARY 2013
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