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FanFacts W


elcome back! As the days here in Colorado are finally beginning to get warmer, and longer, a columnist’s fancy soon turns to model jets and ways to build/outfit/detail them of course!


First, let’s start with sticking Styrofoam™ to itself. Simple, right? Just slather on some epoxy and away we go! … maybe. Apparent- ly, making Styrofoam™ grave stones and other ornaments is a big deal (I guess they might think the same about a column con- cerning R/C jets) and somehow, I stumbled upon the following video on YouTube in a “Styrofoam Wars” forum discussing different materials for adhering Styrofoam™ parts: http://tinyurl.com/ckxtqua).


Why do I bring this subject up? I have a


project that is ever so slowly being thought through, and the wing needs almost a four- inch root thickness at the fuselage centerline. Short of spending a small fortune for some specialty cut and shipped foam blanks, what is a desperate (and frugal) scratchbuilder to do if he wants a foam-sheeted wing? The epoxy I mentioned above won’t cut it (a) it’s way too heavy and (b) a hot wire will not cut through it. Titebond will not set due to lack of oxygen exposure, so I don’t know if a hot wire will cut through it or not. “Old” 3M-77 spray contact cement would cut fairly well, and was foam safe; however when they reformulated it, it melts foam like crazy. So I just need time to create some test pieces and test some of the adhesives discussed in the video. I recommend watching it; there are some good thoughts in it.


I will share a material I have used “fairly” successfully, Spray Mount, an artist’s adhe- sive from 3M. It is a light tack spray that works fairly well in holding either templates or two thicknesses of foam together, and a hotwire goes through it well in shorter sec- tions (I haven’t tried a long wing yet). An- other reason for watching the video above is assembly/repair of a foamie, but also for building with foam (a là Keith Sparks). Moving forward, there is always someone


by greg moore You can reach Greg Moore via e-mail at jetflyr@comcast.net


PHOTOGRAPHY: GREG MOORE


Scandalously copied from the web, this Austrian Air Force SAAB 105 has been colorfully painted for airshow demonstrations. Greg loves the pleasing lines of this twin.


who is so far ahead of the curve that the rest of us just stand there with our mouths open catching insects when we see what has been accomplished. (I know it’s not just me!) In this case, it is a fellow in Russia (Egor) who goes by the screen name of “qwerty1000” on RC Groups. He and his team are amazing computer/CAD geniuses, taking three-views and photos and turning them into 3D mod- els, then utilizing “Tetris” technology to cre- ate 3D cut-out jigsaw puzzles that fit togeth- er to create a wonderful (and light) airframe. I first became aware of what he could do by watching the build and gear-geometry problem solving in the following thread: http://tinyurl.com/co73t7d. This thread de- scribes the interesting and unique build of a unique (to us in the US) SAAB 105 trainer, which was also used as a flight demonstra- tor aircraft by the Austrian Air Force. Fast forward 18 months and several flight videos and all I can say is: I’m impressed! Additionally, what I had thought was just an individual achievement was actually just the tip of the iceberg. Several weeks ago I was forwarded a screen shot of a better than 2-me- ter long L-39 (drool!) with the prototype glued together. Along with the screen shot of the


airplane was a list of all the different models that the “tetris-bukvorez group” makes, which is quite a few! At last count I came up with 14 airplanes, plus cars, plus tanks (I have a friend who will like to know that), plus trains … I think you get the idea, anything that can be modeled and CNC cut can be made.


The costs of a kit are very reasonable— about the same as a much smaller foamie from any of the Chinese companies, though you will need to provide your own gear and plywood for mounts and so on. Given the re- ports of one turbine jet manufacturer losing yet another airplane (many over the last few years) and all the reports of poor construc- tion, the ability to assemble and reinforce (as you feel is necessary) a model makes me want to get one right now (back to my drool- ing over the big L-39), but my building queue is a bit long right now. Much more information can be found on RC Groups in the edf/foamies section where a search for threads by “qwerty1000” will bring up many. The home page for the group is: http://bukvorez.ru, click on the English flag. http://tinyurl.com/cwethcb will take you to a link to many of the individual


Taking a simple airframe like a 747, the tetris-bukvorez method (above left) results in a relatively small number of parts. This more complex airframe (above


58


right) uses many more and much more complex parts to produce an incredibly accurate airframe.


MAY 2013


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