F/FSport “A designer knows he has achieved perfec-
tion when there’s nothing left to take away.” —ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPERY
H
aving been in all aspects of this sport for some five decades, I’ve had pretty good exposure to all of the design efforts put forth in con-
trol line, radio control, and freeflight—even to the point of publishing more than a bunch of construction articles in each of those venues. The thing that has always puzzled me is
the seeming need on the part of many mod- elers to feel they must improve any design by almost automatically strengthening structures (which adds additional weight) and by increasing power (which adds addi- tional weight), beyond what the original de- signer intended. The corollary, of course, is that strong, heavy, overpowered airplanes do not fly as well as those that strike a bal- ance between power, strength, and weight. Competent designers know that and engi- neer their planes to that end, taking away as much as they dare to enhance the perfor- mance of their creations. Fortunately, freeflighters are the least
prone to beefing up and overpowering models because they know that once the plane is in the air, as today’s expression goes, “it is what it is”, and you can’t re-bag that cat. They come the closest to subscribing to our open- ing quote, more so than any other segment of the hobby because they realize that weight is the enemy and simplicity is the cure. We are fortunate this month to be able to feature ex- amples of that essentialist approach to de- sign with some beautiful airplanes rendered by some of our best modelers.
A Fokker from Midkiff David Barfield used his considerable mod-
eling and photographic talents by juxtapos- ing his WWI Fokker D-VIII against a strik- ingly modern backdrop, creating a visual time-warp effect for the viewer. The model is the prototype for a soon-to-be-offered
by larry kruse You can reach Larry Kruseat 18 NW Heatherstone Drive, Lawton, Oklahoma 73505, or via e-mail at
aircats@att.net
PHOTO: DAVID BARFIELD
David Barfield built this prototype Fokker D-VIII from a Mike Midkiff short kit that should be available in the near future. David selected one of the more unusual color schemes available for the plane and says it literally flew well from the first test flights with a small adjustment to the stabilizer incidence.
laser-cut short kit from Mike Midkiff. David says this was one of his most enjoyable scale builds, coming right off of the building board and requiring only a small incidence in the stabilizer to get it to fly well. The final touch will be a pilot figure on board. Note the po- sition of the rubber peg in relation to the overall fuselage length, indicating that even a long motor with lots of turns can be used without affecting the c.g. or requiring addi- tional nose weight as the rubber motor size increases. Look for the availability of the kit in the
near future by checking the Ozark Model Avi- ation website
www.ozarkmodelaviation.com/ or by contacting Mike Midkiff by mail at Ozark Model Aviation, 125 Heneretta Drive, Hurst, TX 76054.
Fine models from Fineman Noted FAC flyer, Mark Fineman, sent along a couple of shots of his newest efforts,
a 24-inch P-47 Thunderbolt from the Golden Age Reproductions kit and a sleek and graceful similar-spanned Aero Data Turbo- Stallion built from a one-off kit provided by George Bredehoft of Volare Products. Mark chose what appear to be the unusu-
al markings of the British Commonwealth Southeast Asia Air Command as the livery for his P-47 and says that the plane needs a bit more trimming to fit into the category of a great flyer. The Stallion, on the other hand, has been an outstanding flyer from the get-go. While neither plane has an excruciating amount of scale detail, the markings, panel lines, machine guns, and minimal cockpit details dress up the P-47 and the huge ex- haust pipes, tip plates and spinner of the Stallion contribute to the overall scale effect. The source for the P-47 kit is Jim Fiorel- lo’s well-known Golden Age Reproductions
PHOTOS: MARK FINEMAN
Mark Fineman has a new entry in the trimming stages for FAC WWII Mass Launch events. His P-47 Thunderbolt (at left) is from the Golden Age Reproduction kit, spans 24 inches and uses a Peck-Polymers prop. Another Mark Fineman creation is this sleek 24-inch Turbo-Stallion(above) from Volare Products plans obtained from George Bredehoft. Volare Products has acquired Shorty’s Basement and is moving toward marketing their merchandise in the immediate future.
24 AUGUST 2012
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