F/FSport W
by david mitchell You can reach David Mitchellat 230 Walnut St. NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20012, or via e-mail at
davedge@me.com
riting a monthly column is a bit like going back to school. “Here is your assignment: write a 1500 word essay on a topic that inter- ests you, and about which you would like to know more. Your essay should include plen- ty of outside references and should be illus- trated as to be visually engaging.” Okay! We have our general topic—freeflight. My par- ticular interest is in rubber powered scale modeling, and exploring the means by which to create light, sturdy, aesthetically pleas- ing and good-flying airplanes.
It’s my hope that my explorations in this vein will have applications across a broad spectrum of freefight modeling, not just rubber scale. That said, I’m keenly aware that those of you who tune in looking for your monthly dose of, say, diesel-powered sport models, may be feeling a bit left out lately. I have to say that my experience is just not that broad; it may take some other willing soul to offer the powers-that-be at FMthe material for just such a column. Un- til that time, I will try to fold in as much va- riety as I think I can intelligently discuss, and see if I don’t learn something along the way!
On target
There’s a fair amount of cross-pollination that occurs between FAC scale-oriented fly- ers and other, more typically sport F/F or- ganizations such as SAM (Society of Antique Modelers) and the National Free Flight So- ciety. Just as the FAC offers a variety of sport F/F events within its rule book, so has the NFFS begun in more recent years to fea- ture scale F/F, especially rubber, in its newsletter.
So it’s not unusual to come across guys like Bob Hodes who are active in more than one area of freeflight modeling. Bob is a member of the Vegas Antique Model Air- plane Society (VAMPS) as well as FAC Squadron 54, the Vegas Vultures. He re- cently sent me photos and a description of a
PHOTO: BOB HODES
Larry Fair and Bobby Haight of the VAMPS with an electric powered Bugaboo. The Bugaboo’s rugged construction is a necessity for the local terrain!
contest the locals have been running over the past year and a half—a one-design, tar- get time event featuring the Joost Baker de- signed Bugaboo. Any power source could be used: ignition, glow, diesel or electric. The idea of a fun sport event with simple rules is always an attractive one, and I was reminded of the FAC’s “Old Time Gas Repli- ca” event, another target-time competition, in which modelers can use any power source other than rubber in a model built from a pre-1946 non-scale gas design. Bob writes of the Bugaboo that “... there was even an at- tempt at a rubber-powered version. It was spectacularly unsuccessful; however, the design really doesn’t lend itself to rubber power.”
He further states that, “The Bugaboo is a great model for a fun event such as done by the VAMPS. The model is simple, easy to build, easy to trim, and unlikely to get lost. A rough rule of thumb is that the glide time will mirror the motor run (a one-minute mo- tor run will get the model high enough for about a one-minute glide). A little lift can
ruin this rule, however, making the compe- tition more challenging.”
Anybody who has spent their life trying
their darndest just to attain a two-minute max will find hitting a target time a very dif- ferent sort of challenge. Give it a try!
Back to schoolin’ Tom Hallman is a master at coming up
with ways to make fiddly scale bits and mul- tiple pieces of something or the other. His latest model, a PT-26, incorporates more neat techniques than you could shake a Peck prop at. Before we go into some details, take a moment to just soak this beauty in. Notice the consistency of his overall presen- tation—colors are all of a similar intensity and opacity, and the scale and surface qual- ity of the various details are convincing. This is a really difficult thing to achieve, yet no two modelers, having really taken the time to work their processes out, will arrive at the same style. Though we all inspire one another, a Hallman model presents quite dif- ferently than a Chris Starleaf, Rich Weber,
PHOTOS: TOM HALLMAN
Tom Hallman’s PT-26 (above). Who wouldn’t date this beauty? Tom’s tools for making fairings (at right) are illustrated here. A sheet of easily-cut aluminum, a burnishing tool, a spot of paper and thee = scale romance.
38 JULY 2013
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