S atro
Double the Dart for twice the extra flying fun!
PHOTOGRAPHY: HENRY FRAUTSCHY I
nspiration for modeling fun often comes from your family and friends, and this case is no exception. When he was about 12, my son, Alden, kluged up
a pair of Guillow’s Strato-Streaks into a twin-engined model that flew very well, en- couraging him to keep experimenting. A couple of years ago, longtime freeflight mod- eler and noted automotive designer, Pres Bruning, showed me his version of this twin- engine fun machine, and with his permis- sion, I’d like to present this plan for your modeling fun. As you can see in the photos, the original version used regular Sig
www.sigmfg.com AMA Cub kits combined with a balsa center pod, mimicking the wonderful Lockheed P- 38 fighter. To cover the airplane exclusively in the lightweight paper covering from the AMA Cub kit, you’ll need three kits. If you only want to use two kits, you’ll need some lightweight paper or tissue to cover the hor- izontal tail. In addition to the kits, you’ll need a pair
of your favorite balsa or plastic wheels (the 1-inch black plastic wheels from Guillow’s
www.guillow.com are reasonably light, and the Peck-Polymers wheels sold now by A2Z Corp.
www.a2zcorp.us/store/ look like a WWII wheel and tire), and a foot-long piece of 0.032-inch music wire. A piece of light 3⁄32- inch balsa is also needed for the fuselage pod.
Gluing the balsa right to the covering per
the kit directions, build the four wings, ex- cept that each of the inner wing panels will end at the wing cross piece (see photo on drawing). One additional change should be made to each of the wing tips and tail sur- faces; I add a gusset in the corners, instead
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of the folded over covering shown on the kit plan. Each of the wings used the same 13⁄4- inch dihedral at the outer wing tip as the original AMA Cub. That dimension doesn’t seem to be too critical. So if you’re off by 1⁄4- inch, don’t sweat it, as long as it’s the same on each side. Set them aside to dry. Make a pair of motor sticks per the plans, including a rudder on each one. You have two choices for the horizontal
tail; by using the third kit, create the hori- zontal tail using the wing tips of the wing connected by a pair of pieces of balsa (see the photo). Add the three 1⁄16-inch square cross- pieces. Or, if you’d prefer not to use a third kit, lay out the horizontal tail using a pair of 1⁄8
× 1⁄16-inch pieces set at the same width as the wing crosspiece at the wing tips. A sim- ple scarf joint to join the horizontal tail to the wing tips will help make it stronger. This version of the horizontal tail is covered in one piece using any lightweight paper or tissue. If you have some old-fashioned typ- ing paper (we used to call it “onion-skin”), that’s a great choice. Lightweight translu- cent typing paper seems to have gone the way of its companion product, the type- writer ribbon, and has become very scarce. If you find some, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to buy a package and squirrel it away for fu- ture projects. For the tricycle landing gear version
shown in the pictures, I used Strathmore tracing paper obtained at an art supply store.
While the flying surfaces are drying,
make the P-38 style fuselage pod. Using a lightweight piece of 3⁄32-inch balsa, transfer the markings one of three ways. You can
draw them in place using an extra-fine per- manent pen, or print them on lightweight tracing paper or tissue and, using a glue stick (3M’s Scotch Wrinkle-Free glue stick is my new favorite), paste them to each side of the pod. (For information concerning print- ing on tissue, I highly recommend Paul Bradley’s website,
www.parmodels.com.) You can also try a method often used to transfer a copy of printwood pieces to balsa. A word of caution: this method uses MEK, so suitable precautions should be taken when using it to prevent inhaling its fumes, or allowing it to be soaked through the skin. MEK is nasty but very useful stuff, so be careful. It’s also quite flammable. Protective rubber or plastic gloves and a well-ventilat- ed area are a must, and safety glasses to avoid a splash in the eye would be a good idea.
Make a photocopy of the markings, both
the right and left sides. Interestingly, you have to be careful which type of photocopier you use. Most older analog copiers use a car- tridge packed with a toner made of carbon black and polystyrene plastic. When heated by the fuser in the copier, the plastic is fused to the paper. Unfortunately, newer digital copiers use a different material that does not dissolve when it comes in contact with a solvent. Be sure to use one of the older copiers, or this method won’t work. In this case, the “advancement” of copier technolo- gy hasn’t been of benefit to the modeler! Lay the paper printed side down on the
balsa. Holding the paper in place, soak a cot- ton ball or cotton swab with MEK. It should- n’t be dripping, but the MEK should soak through the paper as you wipe it back a forth on the back side of the paper. That will
AUGUST 2012
P-38 By Henry G. Frautschy
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