Detail of final servo mounting module assembly. Foam wing tape under servo tabs (above left) is used to give servos some cushion from engine vibration. Daniel also used this technique on the Faux Free Flightdesign years earlier on
these servos which have no mounting grommet for vibration isolation. Start of installation of the right side of the fuselage (above right) and the curved upper sheeting for the fuselage behind the firewall.
way for takeoff, which is also a pointless pro- cedure with an electric powered model. Once the takeoff is initiated the “gas” en- gine flyer also needs to be thinking of and ready for what to do (Plan B) should the en- gine suddenly die for lack of fuel or an air bubble in the line, a sudden glob of goo get- ting caught in the needle valve seat, a nee- dle setting sag or a host of other potential is- sues with a “gas” engine. Something the electric propulsion system usually does not demand of the pilot.
When flying “gas” planes I often find my- self asking where would I put the model down if the engine were to quit right now. With an electric powered plane this thought never crosses my mind, but because of years of training on a gas type airplane I’ve found the thoughts are still in the back of my mind and ever at the ready.
When hand launching a “gas” model there is often the problem of the engine coughing and quitting shortly after launch. So the launch is approached with great care and the ear listening for any slight “burble” from the engine just prior to release. A hand launch with an electric powered model has no such worries and is almost a non event. Once airborne the guessing game often continues until you become more comfort- able and confident with these “gas” engines. Usually the pilot flies on “time” based on the volume of fuel in the tank. When the fuel runs out the power change is very immedi- ate and drastic. Then you are a glider and must land “dead stick” and usually the best place is not often the runway. With the elec- tric powered model there are several warn- ings along the way when the battery is get- ting low. It takes a really blind person to ignore all these warning signs and then be forced to land off the field.
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Finally, there is the final approach and landing. As we all know, sometimes things don’t go according to plan and a go around is required. Almost never a worry with the electric powered aircraft as long as one has not let the battery get too low. However, with the “gas” engine plane it becomes just like another takeoff. All the “What ifs” all over again. If the engine coughs and quits as the throttle is advanced, you are now in a “committed to land” situation and if the rea- son for going around is still there you will still have to deal with it.
So, as you can now see there are a lot of pit- falls to flying a “gas” engine that are not as- sociated with the electric powered model, making the “gas” powered model more com- plicated and difficult to fly safely and correct- ly. This is not something that I had given a lot of thought to when first learning to fly R/C in the late 1970s because everybody had to deal with these issues as a matter of course. So it was intuitively obvious and tacitly implied that all would know of these pitfalls and that all would be aware and have to deal with them as there was no other way. It was part of the community knowledge base. Electric powered flight was only for a very few dedicated experimenters and the elec- tric powered equipment was heavy and un- derpowered. Today viewed in retrospect from the viewpoint of a person who may have done only all electric aircraft with no other experience, which is more common to- day, the problem becomes obvious and is easily seen.
Of course, if starting and running one of these engines is indeed part of your flying fun then, by all means, go for it. Another or- ganization out there, called the Society of Antique Modelers, or SAM for short, flies some of the earliest and most complex and primitive types of model airplane engines (real gasoline engines as opposed to glow, with a coil, condenser, points, another bat- tery to run the ignition system and a real spark plug) as part of their sport and after all these years these engines are still out there and running. Some of them however can be extremely fussy and there are some out there like the GHQ which are legendary for not running at all. That is why they still sell Harley Davidson motorcycles. It’s all about the sound, smell and vibration. This is also a contributing factor in a prob- lem that all members of this hobby must come to grips with—loss of “habitat”. Just like certain species that are on the endan- gered list, modelers share with them this in- tractable problem.
Many years ago when this hobby was get- ting started, flying fields and open land were fairly easy to come by. Often the young modeler was living on a farm as America was for the most part agriculturally inclined at the time and most people did not live in cities. Even those in New York were able to fly in Central Park during the 1930s and
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