Here the leather fillets are smoothed with a full thickness brushed-on coat of water-based spackling compound (above left) and sanded smooth. Shown are the
tures of the Oriental. Small thick CyA fillets were used at the tail, so the spackling com- pound was needed to make the tail smooth and minimal. Once the fillets were finalized, I brushed on one medium coat of slightly thinned (with water) spackling compound and sanded off all the compound until only that which is left in the grain is visible. Then I masked off the film covering and sprayed on a covering but light coat of Rust-Oleum metal white primer.
Sand off the metal primer, and give it one more lightweight coat that covers but does not add an extreme amount of weight. Final sand the last coat with some 000 steel wool, and clean all surfaces for the application of color. I chose a yellow from X-O Rust to cover all the primer painted surfaces. My flaps and elevators were held in a special stand to allow for full coverage on the items. I glue 3⁄4-inch squares of 1⁄16-inch plywood to a dowel, and I make about twenty of these. I take blocks of blue foam and wrap them in thin Glad brand Clingwrap plastic to prevent paint thinners from melting the foam. Charles Reeves showed me this technique. Stick the home- made sticks and plywood into the hinge slots, and push the sticks into the foam. Paint those areas and re-use as needed.
paint stands (above right) as described in the column. This is so very easy to use and suggested by Charles Reeves, who is a consummate painter in his own right.
Now apply the final coats of your choice of color to the Oriental. Decals and other trim items are added. Now comes the addition of a clear coat. I am lucky that one of my for- mer students owns a body shop. I arrange a time with him and his shop to apply the clear. The product is a Nason brand which is a subsidiary of DuPont paints.
Say that we are going to apply the coat on a Thursday after the shop closes. He mixes the amount of clear and reducer from his larger batch, allows me in the paint booth with the lights, fans, and heat on, and a “medium” wet coat of clear is put on the flaps, elevators, and fuselage of the Orien- tal. He then cleans his gun, and I pay him what I owe him. I do not have to purchase gallons of paint and reducer which will eventually harden over a period of time. The final Oriental project ended up at 43.8 ounces which gives me a wing loading of 12.55 square inches to the ounce of model weight. I have used this system for many years to determine the wing loading without having to convert to square feet. My Bob Gi- aldini Rayette was 600 square inches at 43 ounces for my wing loading number of 13.90. My Louis van den Hout Olympus was at 724 square inches at 56 ounces for a 12.93 num-
ber. I worry when my numbers get closer to the number 10 (not good) but am pleased when the numbers head toward 13 (good). My worst model had 672 squares at 69 ounces for a 9.74 number. That model needs a .65 for power and longer lines to allow a higher air speed but a lower lap time. Just divide your wing/flap area by the weight of the model. This is simple and easy to chart for future reference.
Engine break-in bench
Snapped this engine break-in bench shot along my many miles in the Honda Odyssey that I call my “home-away-from-home” with the number of events and contests that I at- tend throughout the year. The aluminum engine break-in stand is bolted to a concrete block. This is a compact and firm foundation to bring your “BelchFire” .60 to life and an inexpensive means of putting some time on the ringed engine or ABC/AAC piston/liner “fit” powerplant. You will have good clear- ance on the bottom edge of the prop unless you have a humongous engine to awaken and add to the Stunt venue. I believe the en- closed picture in this column will answer any and all questions as to the viability of the proposed system.
Either paint product will work well as both are fish-based oil materials in an easy-to-use spray can. X-Stop is a similar brand found in Ace Hardware stores. X-O Rust (at left) is available in True Value Hardware stores. Rust-Oleum can be found almost anywhere. This simple but effective engine break-in stand (above) was captured on Allen’s travels throughout the contest season.
FLYING MODELS 57
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