Fuselage cuttings of a MiG-29 show how they stack together (above) very accurately using the tetris-bukvorez construction method. Nakayan’s M-346 (above, at right) rests next to his friend’s version in between flights in Japan. Twin 70mm fans move these 57-inch long beauties nicely. Taken recently, the Barjayposes with its custodian Jamie Cuff (at right) in England, as reported in a web thread of its history.
builder’s pages for the various models, and some nice videos as well.
While I am impressed with what an ac- complished CAD designer can accomplish (more like in awe!) I am also impressed with what several individuals can accom- plish with “conventional” materials—like balsa and ply. Two fellows in Japan decided to design and build the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 (co-designed and built with Yak as the Yak-130), and documented everything including videos in a thread on RC Groups at:
http://tinyurl.com/d65kncg.
The primary builder, a fellow from Tokyo, who goes by the screen name “nakayan” had the CAD drawings converted and the wood laser-cut then published the plans for us to use. All I can say is thank you! The build is documented in video form, and the plane is designed for twin 70mm fan units. A guy in Denver has taken the ball and performed a change-up (how’s that for mixing up sports- isms!) by using both balsa and hot wire-cut Depron® to build a version for a single 90mm fan. At 57 inches long with a 46-inch wingspan it is sized nicely.
I think the thing I like the most about both the Russian jigsaw puzzle and the M- 346 balsa-bashing builds is that one’s cre- ativity and engineering knowledge can be used without reinventing the entire air-
plane (like in an ARF). I had the left main gear blocks pull out on one today when a brake locked and spun the airplane on the asphalt popping the entire unit out cleanly, since there was only a tiny bit of hot glue holding the blocks in. It is only a matter of time until the other mount comes out … if I had built the wing; this engineering/re-engi- neering would have been done prior to sheeting the wing, so back to why I like the build threads above.
30 years—that is how long turbine pow- ered R/C jets have been around, which is probably 15 to 20 years longer than many would have guessed. On March 20, 1983 at RAF Greenham Common, in the UK, a team of designers and dreamers had several years of design work and dreams come to fruition as Gerry Jackman made modeling history by flying the world’s first gas turbine-pow- ered model aircraft that day.
The original engine was big, heavy and es- sentially a “one-off” that never got to the “B” model, since life and desires go on, and change. With its size, it is amazing that only 10 pounds of thrust were available, which is what today’s diminutive Wren 44 produces, in a package that is smaller than a soda can. To borrow a phrase: “We’ve come a long way baby!” The Barjay, as the model is known, would find itself right at home on any flight
Upcoming Events First in Flight Jet Rally
Central Texas Jet Rally Highland Jets Jet Rally
Pine Hill Jet Rally Virginia Jets
FLYING MODELS May 22–26 May 24–25 May 31–June 2
May 25–26 June 7–9
Wilson Industrial Air Park, Wilson, NC ARCA Club Field, Austin, TX Mohawk Valley Firebirds R/C Club Frankford Highland Airport, Frankford, NY Pine Hill Airport, Albion, NY Twin County Airport, Hillsville, VA CD: Bill Jarrett, 276-237-0607 59
CD: Larry Lewis, 919-231-4983
rclarry@aol.com
CD: Ken White,
www.austinrc.org CD: Art Arro, 315-865-4990
arrokats@twcny.rr.com http://mvfirebirds.com
line today with its twin boom layout. Fortu- nately the airframe survives and is being retrofitted with a modern engine for occa- sional flights at British modeling events. A link with videos from 1983 can be found on
http://tinyurl.com/bsn3sao. I think it is well worth some time to see where we came from. MFDs, or Multi Function Displays are the screens in most modern airplanes which give them the nickname of “glass cockpits”. In most fighter aircraft, a large bubble canopy gives the pilot’s “office” an obvious and glaring “look here” sign, without the sign. WW II airplanes are easy to outfit—some round gauges from Hobby Lobby and some flat black paint gives a nice illusion—but what about glass panels? Enter Wojtek, who has been a fixture on the RCU jets forum for a long time, and the company he has started, Voy Tech RC-MFD, which manufactures a number of MFDs for helicopters, general aviation and military with many different functions available. If for no other reason than seeing what is pos- sible, I think it’s worth visiting his site at
www.voy-tech.com.
Additionally, much more information, pho- tos, video and discussion—including a work- ing Heads Up Display (HUD)—can be found on the web at
http://tinyurl.com/dxkzx39. That’s it for this time around, so until next time: fly safe, and trust in thrust!
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68