The Kerswap that refused to come down

Got the Kerswap down from the tree this AM with just a little bit of help from Mr. Winchester. Damage not too severe, mostly a lot of holes in covering. Did cut receiver antenna in two, That may have been holding it up there. Got the locator back which was the important part.

Bob Erpelding

Four Stroke Diesel (without ether)

Final Test Flight of the Comet Sailplane

I met George Grant at the Planesman's field around 7:00 a.m. this morning. It was a great morning, clear, around 80° and dead calm, but the wind sock was oriented for a NE wind direction. The engine went rich in the power climb on first flight and the Sailplane was brought down.

The engine was leaned out about a 1/4 turn on the needle valve and the Sailplane was launched again. The engine was screaming all the way up the power climb, but I got "gun shy" as the image of the Sailplane grew smaller and I cut the engine prematurely around 29 or 30 seconds. The duration of this second flight 7 min 13 sec.

About half of the down trim was used in the power climb and most of the up trim is used in the glide. The Sailplane transitions well and really glides beautifully with no bad handling tendencies that I could detect. Once trimmed, the Sailplane is as steady as a rock and with no tendencies to roll off to either side. The turns are smooth and the model recovers almost hands off. Also the model did not try to stall or porpoise.

On the third flight, the needle valve was not touched. Again the engine ran extremely well (at peak rpm) during the power climb. The Sailplane stayed in the groove all the way up for the full to the 35 sec engine run. I chopped the throttle at 34 sec and the McCoy 60 cut off at exactly 35 sec. Again the Sailplane transitioned smoothly. The elevator trim was adjusted and a flat glide was established with a heading into the NE. In the early morning air, the Sailplane just seemed to hang there motionless. No particular control was necessary as the Sailplane was truly in a free flight mode. As my good friend Dick Huang used to say, "Just park it up there Tandy until you get your Max and then bring her down and we'll do it again" ! The flight time on this third flight was 9 min 7 sec and that is a Max in dead air. With any lift at all, this Sailplane will have no trouble staying up 15 min or more. Guys, it has been a long time coming, but at last the Sailplane is now fully flight tested and ready for the 2010 SAM Champs, thanks to George Grant's help.

By the way, George took some really good pictures this morning that I want to share with you all..........................Tandy Walker

The Sailplane at the Top of the 35 sec Power Climb

Coming Down Some, but Still Quite High

Gliding Smoothly During the Descent

Overhead Pass for George's Picture

A Focused, but a Most Pleased Pilot

Down Wind Leg

Initiating Turn on Final

Lining up with the Runway

In the Approach the Glide Speed is Unbelievably Slow.

This is a Close Up of the Sailplane from the Picture Above

Starting to Flare about Four Foot off the Runway

This is Really a Great Close Up of the Sailplane Taken from the Picture Above

(It is hard to Describe Just how Smooth and Stable the Sailplane is.)

Will the cowl go back on at this point?

Revised Walston Transmitter Installation

The picture below shows the Walston Transmitter inside the earlier lipstick tube. The problem was there was no quick or convenient way to hold the tube in its position and so it kept backing out during flight and falling down in the bottom of the fuselage.


I really wanted a design that was simple, functional, and easy to work with. The transmitter batteries have to be removed and installed and the transmitter itself has to be transferrred from aircraft to aircraft. The design would have to involve some very small rubber bands that go around the tiny transmitter to hold it in place. So I went to the orthodonist and got a package of his dental bands shown below that are used on kid's braces to straighten their teeth. These bands are quite small, very durable, and extremely elastic.


The design for the transmitter holder that I came up with is shown below. It consists of a 1/16" X 1/2" bass wood base with a short piece of 3/16" X 1/4" spruce drilled out for the antenna sheath and glued across the end of the base as shown below. This was cleard doped three times and two pieces of loop Velcro stuck to the bottom for securing the holder inside the Cloudster's cockpit. The antenna sheath was also CA'd in place. The transmitter's antenna was instered into the sheath and the transmitter was secured to the holder's base with four dental bands. What could be simpler or more functional and it does protect the antenna joint at the end of the transmitter.


A piece of 1/32" plywood was cut out to fit down on the fuselage's cross members to the left side of the speed control's platform. It was clear doped three times and two pieces of hook Velcro stuck to the top for securing the transmitter holder as shown below.


To install Walston transmitter, you simply slide the antenna sheath back down into the fuselage and then move the holder forward and push it onto the Velcro hooks on the right side of the speed control as shown below. Notice that the holder sticks out over the fuselage's cross member in the back a 1/4". To remove the holder, you put a finger under the holder's overhang and lift up, which easily separates the Velcro interface thus releasing the holder from its platform. This truly is a design that is simple, functional, and easy to work with moving it from plane to plane..............................Tandy Walker

Got it to fly!!

Cabin Stick Flight Report

Moved the CG to 35%. Shimmed the leading edge of the stab up 1/32 of an inch.

The first flight still had a hard right. Took a long hard look at the rudder and the rear of the fuselage. Decided the fuselage was bent like banana or the cabin was causing the hard right. FIX! Move the rudder 3/16 of an inch to the left and make that the neutral position.

Next flight was pretty good. The glide had a very slight stall. Put in one click of down trim.

Last flight it went up like the Wedgy and the Airfoiler.

All these check out flights were made in a 10 to 12 mph wind.

It did not look that windy when I went out to fly. The Lanzo R/C Cabin Stick is ready to fly in a contest, even a windy contest!

I have another long running Cox engine in this model. It got way up thar; lucky it was a dark cloudy sky.

I am through building and flying 1/2 A Texaco models.

Bucky

More Vintage R/C YouTube Videos

The Majestic Major

180 is Max

Videos from Volar Libremente

A Texaco Foote Westerner (scaled up A version) Part 2

Solartex covered wing.

New 10 inch airscrew

New engine cutoff

Harry Higley aluminium spinner turned down on a drill.

Here is an .020 Replica

200 Square Inch Tatone Atomizer

Tom,

I flew my 200sq" / 7 ounce ATOMIZER yesterday. At 96 watts/pound it goes like a sky rocket. Attached are a few photos. I'm using an AXCI 2203-46 on 2 X 800 mAh Li-oly cells. (42 watts input power). This will be in the October RC MICRO WORLD.

I won my only 1/2 A Texaco contest while down in the Tampa, Fl area flying with Fred Mulholland. Out of 33 entries that day I had the only two 15 miunute max flights with my full size 288 sq." ATOMIZER. I have a photo that shows Walt Good giving my my plaque.

Bob Aberle

Bucky's Latest Project IV

Hi Tom,

Finally completed the 1/2 A Texaco Lanzo R/C Cabin Stick.
It weighs 16 ounces with the tracker transmitter installed.
Wing area is 288 square inches or 2 square feet.
It is covered with Polyspan and trimmed with Jap tissue and silkspan.
I doped 2 coats of 50% nitrate dope and 50% thinner, follow with five coats of butyrate 50 - 50 thinner.
Due to the high humidity the doped blushed.
Gene Wallock told me to use 50% retarder and 50% dope to slow down the drying.
It worked!
Hope to fly it soon.

Bucky

2010 AAM Old Timer Reunion model airplanes

Jim Jennings Jr. Electric "B" Free Flight Model

Jim Jennings Jr. flies his Electric "B" Free Flight model at 2010 Free Flight Nationals in Muncie, Indiana. The model gives good aerial views of the AMA flying field. Technical assistance provided by Alan Abriss of Home Grown TV.

Model Builder Dragonfly (first flights part II)

A continuation of Part ONE of the report of the first flights of the Model Builder Magazine: Dragonfly designed by Tex Newman in the 1970s and copied by Bucky Walter with modern radio components.

























Dragonfly photos spotted on the web