Gladys no.82.pub - Sheffield Society of Aeromodellers

ISSUE No.82
Summer 2002 Apr - Jun
page 1
The Sheffield Society of Aeromodellers
The Newsletter of The Sheffield Society of Aeromodellers
Production
Editor :- James Michael Bowles (Mike)
5 Worcester Drive Sheffield Sl0 4JG
Tel:-0114 2304813
E-Mail: [email protected]
The Editorial Team:
Mike Stott - ace reporter and photographer
[email protected]
Terry Gregory - committee liaison, events and progress chaser
[email protected]
Brian Johnson - researcher (things of interest to write about)
Original items published in The Newsletter of the Sheffield Society of Aeromodellers may be
reproduced in club and society newsletters, providing that both the author and the newsletter
are credited.
It would be appreciated if a copy of the publication could be forwarded to the author of the
item, (via the editor at the above address) so that he/she is aware of its use.
Permission most be obtained before using any item commercially.
The views and opinions expressed in any article printed in the Newsletter may not necessarily
reflect those of the editor, the committee or membership of the SSA.
The SSA, its Committee and membership do not accept responsibility for any advertisement
placed in the newsletter by individuals or commercial entities or for any safety (or any other)
advice published in the newsletter.
In other words - Use your common sense and don't blame us if it goes wrong!!
Subscriptions are available from the editor, at only £6:00 (UK) for six issues.
An evening with Derbyshire and Lancs Gliding Club.
We are invited to hold an evening meet at the Great Hucklow site during July or August.
Suggested dates; 17 and 18 July, W/C 22 July, 1 and 2 August 2002 later if preferred.
Come and try an aerotow experience and watch a Biplane demonstration.
If you are interested contact Terry Gregory or Mike Bowles for details and preferred
dates.
Cover Page: Martin Tricklebank proudly presents his Nieuport 28 Bi plane, see Martin’s article
on page 20
Back Page: Steve Philpott prepares his F1E Magnetic free flight model for flight
page 2
Editorial by Mike Bowles
SAFETY ON THE FIELD
The need for safer practices and more discipline (when flying electric powered models) came
into question yet again during the preparation of this magazine. Most of the concerns are
expressed with regard to flying at the Sportsman’s field due in part to the mixed flying that
takes place there. Dodging people walking their dogs, weaving in and out of kites and the
location of the “pits” area have all been discussed. Do we need clarity on a set of rules or
protocols for this situation?
One solution would be for someone to act as “policeman”, an unpopular role but that may not be
necessary with a little thought and care. One difficulty comes from the fact that those people
who ROG need the short grass located close to the wooded area on the right, whilst those who
hand launch prefer to be further away from the trees towards the centre of the field. Having
two flight-lines introduces a tendency to fly around the pits or oneself. In a power club this
would be a no-no. Most of the time we fly without incident but occasionally there has been the
odd accident. Resulting in either damage to aircraft and on one occasion a person’s hand, a
nasty cut to his thumb.
Some of the incidents came from a practice that is common but perhaps questionable. Running
the battery down in the pits area after landing. Perhaps someone can explain why this is
considered to be beneficial. Another problem comes from the fact that many models do not
have a switch to isolate the power to the receiver so the throttle is always live. Some speed
controllers have the means to be switched off or are failsafe if the Tranny is switched off .
Introducing a switch between the speed controller and receiver using an extension lead with
the black wire switched has also been suggested. If you decide to use this method you will
need to check whether it affects the performance of the receiver. The additional connections
and switch contacts can increase the resistance in the circuit and hence create a small voltage
drop. The other thing to consider is that although you will have disabled the receiver, the link
between the battery, speed controller and motor may still be live. So it may be advisable to do
a range check under high and low voltage battery conditions.
HOWEVER, THERE IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN ALL DO TO REDUCE POTENTIAL
PROBLEMS IMMEDIATELY.
If you want to do a motor run it is recommended that you do not do it in the pits area or
whilst the model is pointing towards people or models. The incidents that have been witnessed
appear to have resulted because of a failure to observe this simple code. If we were a power
club we would get jumped on immediately if we did this. The IC rules for moving away from the
pits are there for the following reasons; noise levels can distract pilots on the flight-line, the
inherent dangers that can result from a rotating propeller or a flying blade if it breaks. With
electric power we have an added danger that potential energy from a battery can be instantly
converted into a rotating propellor without anyone having to swing the prop into action. The
most common incident that we have seen has been when the aircraft has moved forward under
power due to unintentional movement of the throttle stick. These incidents may have been
avoided if the power to the receiver could have been switched off before the power packs
were removed.
PLEASE REMEMBER THERE ARE PRACTICES THAT MAY BE TOLERABLE WHEN FLYING
SLOPE SOARERS THAT CAN BE HIGHLY DANGEROUS WHEN THE MODEL HAS POWER
PACK, MOTOR AND PROPELLOR ATTACHED.
page 3
PG Gerasis Fox (2M)
Mike Stott
page 5
Electric ‘Hell!!Cat’
Andy Gregory
page 10
F1E Magnet Flying
Trevor Faulkner
page 13
Peggy-Sue
Brian Johnson
page 18
Nieuport 28
Martin Tricklebank
page 20
Newshound
............................
page 23
Letters to the Editor
............................
page 24
New Club Member
Ron Broughton
New to the club is Ron Broughton.
Ron is currently manufacturing the
Blitz range of EPP wings under the
name Superronik. He can be seen
on the slope most weekends. One
or two existing members have
already purchased his Blitz EPP
Wing and are reporting good
results. He also produced the EPP
wings for the clubs model warbird
club night building sessions
arranged by Tim Scowcroft. Have a
look at Ron’s website at http://
www.geocities.com/sblitz666/
superronik.
page 4
PG Gerasis Fox (2M)
Mike Stott
scale glider; but what? Eventually after
I think that most folk love to see a scale much head scratching I set my heart on a
MDM Fox, don’t ask me why, truth is I
glider soaring effortlessly along the
don’t know, maybe it was because it was a
slope, especially the big 3-4 metre
little different, certainly not as elegant
wingspan types. The gracefulness and
sheer efficiency of them is, in my opinion, as more conventionally shaped gliders.
The Search for a Fox
what this RC gliding hobby of ours is all
about. The down side is that apart from
I searched all the UK web sites to try to
being very expensive, the darned things
find one of the size that I wanted and
take up a lot of car space and take ages
after a while I came across one
to rig up on the slope; fine for some
people, but unfortunately not for me. My
last scale glider was the original
Multiplex ASW 27 (there’s a new version
27B out now), at just under 2 meters
wing span it has been just about the right
size for me; both from the point of view
of fitting it in the car and it’s ease when
it comes to self launching. It was with
this in mind I decided to buy another
Introduction
page 5
manufactured by a well-known Czech
Republic company called PG Gerasis. It
seemed just what I wanted, the right
size (just over 2 metres), almost ready to
fly, already covered and most important,
the right price (more about that later). I
set about trying to source one in this
country to find that only one shop (in
Salisbury) was advertising it, and they
wanted £135 including postage. When I
contacted them they said it was out of
stock. However, to be honest even if they
had got one I doubt that I would have
purchased it, so poor was their service
via email; even when I talked to them on
the phone they were so slow and
unhelpful it was annoying.
I decided to widen my horizons and
surfed the net worldwide. Hobby-Lobby
in the US supplied the model, but emailed
me to say that the postage to the UK was
going to cost as much as the model and
wasn’t worthwhile. OK, I was getting
desperate now and started to look at
sites in Germany (there are lots), this
where I found my salvation. I was
surprised just how many of the sites had
the Fox I was looking for. I eventually
plumped for a company called Lenger
Modellbau (http://www.lenger.com). I
emailed Heinrich Lenger and he
confirmed (in perfect English) that he
had one in stock for 299DM (£95) plus
40DM (£13) postage, this equates to
£108. Unfortunately Lenger didn’t take
credit cards so I had to get my bank to
do a credit transfer. This is very easy to
do but they charged me £14 for the
privilege, apparently this is a standard
charge and I could have transferred
several thousand pounds if I had wanted
page 6
(most useful – not!). At this point I was
getting somewhat worried about
transferring money in to someone’s
account so far away in another country,
knowing full well I could quite easily loose
it, with little hope of getting it back. I
decided to risk it anyway. I shouldn’t
have worried; Heinrich emailed me to tell
me that he had received the money and
again when he had dispatched the model.
I had the Fox in my hands safe and sound
in less than two weeks, no extras to pay
or anything. The amazing part of the
story is that the model, even adding on
postage and the bank charge, cost me
£13 less than it would have if I had
bought it in this country; had it not been
for the bank charge it would have been
£27 less. I have heard all sorts of
stories about the pitfalls of buying kits
from abroad but I found Heinrich Lenger
to be honest and fair. Maybe I‘ve just
been lucky, but based on this experience
I would have no hesitation in doing it
again; in fact most of the models I have
seen appear to be far cheaper in Europe
than you can get them in this country,
just why this is I’m not sure. One thing's
for sure, if we ever get the Euro in this
country the purchase of models from
Europe will be a darned site easier.
fitting the horns to the rudder and the
elevator, the positioning of the snakes
Considering the amount of transit the kit
within the fuselage was way out, resulting
had endured it was in a good condition
in a geometry that gave little or no
when it arrived at my door. The only
movement on the control surfaces. The
damage sustained was to the very tips of
answer was simple; I just pulled them out
the wings, which had been crushed
and re-tacked them in place using epoxy.
slightly; every thing else was fine. The
In my opinion it’s things like this that
picture shows the basic components,
sort the good kits from the indifferent.
which are pretty good quality. Apart from
The Fox is basically a good kit but it is
one or two very small blemishes the
let down by the fact that the
fuselage it is as good as I have seen on
manufacturer has given little pre-thought
most other similar models. The bag of
to the final assembly. On the other hand
accessories such as clevises etc was
anyone who has owned a Multiplex kit will
unfortunately very poor quality, and
see the reverse, everything is well
although functional seemed ill thought
thought out with the usual Germanic
out and a little cheap and nasty. I tried
precision. In the overall scheme of
to use some but finished up using mostly
things, and considering the price of the
my own. The wings were pre-covered and
model, I must say that the good aspects
as usual I was amazed how they do it so
vastly outweigh the bad.
neatly. The single wheel was also prefitted to the fuselage, this needed a bit Although probably not essential, the
of work because the axel was loose but it manual is very brief and unfortunately it
is written in Czechoslovakian. I spent
was only a minute’s job. The steel joiner
rod was tight in the fuselage and I had to quite a while trying to decipher it with
very little success. Then I decided to
rub it down with some emery cloth and
email Gerasis to ask if they had an
then it fitted perfectly.
English version, within half an hour they
The fuselage comes with two outer
had emailed me back a pre-prepared
snakes fitted, which on the surface
English text version (this proves the
seems great. However, when it came to
The Kit
page 7
power of email; imagine just how long it
would have taken by post).
Assembly of the Model
All I needed now was a couple of micro
servos for the ailerons and a couple of
standard servos for the elevator and
rudder. These were purchased and I set
off assembling the model. As I started to
mount the wing servos in the pre-routed
apertures I noticed that on one of the
wings the aileron had very little
downward movement. On closer inspection
it was clear what was up. The ailerons had
been top hinged with Selotape but the
trailing edge had not been chamfered to
allow adequate down movement. This
meant that I had to take off the aileron,
pull back the covering and sand a
chamfer. This was not too big a job but
no matter how much I tried I couldn’t get
as neat a finish as it was originally, having
page 8
said that probably only I will notice. The
kit comes with some wing servo covers
made of thin plastic, after cutting these
were then Selotaped over the servos and
looked fine. The final job was to epoxy
the incidence pin in place.
The fuselage was next. The rudder is a
moulded job with hidden hinges, all that
is required is to epoxy it on to the
already prepared hinge post and “hey
presto!” it’s done. The elevator is simply
attached with a plastic screw; this would
have made removal for transportation a
cinch. However, the screw didn’t engage
properly so I finished gluing it on. The
two standard sized servos are then
mounted on a ply tray (which you have to
make yourself) and then glued in the
fuselage. There is so much room in the
fuselage that this is again a very easy
task. Then came the dreaded canopy; a
fibreglass support/frame is supplied but
one still has to cut the canopy to suit, a
job I hate with a passion. The frame was
a good approximate fit, but by no means
perfect and I had to do some preliminary
work on it in order to get a good fit with
the location on the fuselage. Much
cursing later and the job was done to my
satisfaction. Next came the cutting of
the canopy itself, it seems as though the
canopy was a “one size fits all” for all the
models in the Gerasis stable. It certainly
was huge, much bigger than the frame, it
was difficult to work out which way round
it needed to be, so I guessed and with
trembling fingers I started to cut it out,
luckily it worked. However, I made a
complete hash of cutting the rear
windows and had to find some new clear
plastic and make some more from
scratch, this was by far the most
painstaking job of all. The kit contains a
spring loaded latch catch which once
mounted worked pretty well.
Setting up the Fox
There are some basic decals with the kit,
which were applied to the fuselage and
wings along with a bit of colour film on
the wingtips and rudder; although only
minimalists they brightened the model
and made it look more realistic. That was
it; the only thing missing was a pilot in
the cockpit; a must in my opinion but
another job I hate, so I decided to wait
until after flight trials.
I had thought of writing about the flight
characteristics of the model but as
things stand this review is long enough
and it’s still mid winter so I will report
back in the next couple of editions of
Gladys just how well she fly’s. From what
I have read the Fox should be fast and
manoeuvrable especially with the RG 15
section…..I’d better be careful!
I set the moving bits of the Fox up using
the throws stated in the manual,
unfortunately it didn’t state anything for
The receiver and batteries were next to using the ailerons as brakes so I just
be fitted. Because of the amount of nose guessed the amount of up on the ailerons.
weight I thought I might need I decided I also programmed a bit of down in the
to use 1300 mAh sub C sized batteries I elevator to compensate for the usual
pitch up that occurs with this sort of
had redundant from an Electro-Flight
braking. Most models need some elevator
project. As it turned out the nose was
too heavy and I resorted to a set of 800 compensation; usually down, but in some
mAh Nickel Metal Hydride cells. For the rare cases the elevator needs to go up.
receiver I used a spare DIY Micron Mini. My ASW 27 for instance, needs up
elevator on aileron braking; I don’t know
I have several of these types of
receivers and have found them to be very why, it seems crazy and against what one
would expect but the fact is that it does.
reliable.
Manufacturer
Wingspan
Section
Price
P G Gerasis (CZ)
2030mm
RG15
£95 (Ex postage)
page 9
Electric ‘Hell!!Cat’
Andy Gregory
building board add the central
1/8` x ¼` stringer to align the
ribs, then add the 1/8` square
stringers around the rest of the
fuselage. When both halves are
complete they are then joined
together. This method of
building keeps everything nice
and straight on the board and
leads to a surprisingly light and
strong assembly. But I didn’t do
it this way and having completed
the fuselage by joining the ribs
first
then
adding all the stringers, my
Bor-a-da (that’s Welsh for Hello). Well
father
informed
me `No you’re supposed
after building and flying the wings off
to
build
the
two
halves
of the fuselage on
the Pico Cub (See back issues of GLADYS
the bench and then assemble them
“Virgin Electric”) while the foot and
together`. Sound advice if a little too
mouth was affecting the slopes I took a
liking to this electric lark. So I bought a late.
plan for a Dale Tattam designed
Cutting and slotting the ribs turned out
HELLCAT to terrorise the Welsh
to be a long job. I tried various methods
hillsides (RC Model World MW2469). The to speed up the slotting but found that
original rubber powered free flight model none were very effective. But it was very
plane had been converted to electric R/C, satisfying to see the result when they
to be powered by a 540 buggy motor on
were all complete. On assembling the fuss
an Olympus gearbox swinging an 11” x 8”
I found a couple of stray slots that did
prop. It’s 44” wing span with elevator,
not match up. Yes they were on the plans
and aileron control and the fact that a
and after much head scratching these
buggy motor was lounging in an old car in were discarded as superfluous and filled
the loft may have helped in the choice of in with a couple of off-cuts.
aircraft.
The nose section was built separately and
The building required lots of that rare
then covered with 1/16` sheet with a
material called balsa wood, mainly 1/8`
built up front cowl in ¼` sheet. Down
sheet and 1/8` square stringers. For
thrust is built into the nose section. The
junior readers (anyone under 45) the
front bulkhead was two pieces of 1/8`
fuselage build is a series of formers
light ply. The front section of the fuss is
notched 1/8` to accept the stringers.
also covered in sheet and I made sure
The correct method of building would
there was a large hatch to get the power
have been to place the two halves on the pack in and out.
page 10
The wings are straightforward rib and
stringers the only difficult bit was the
running of the aileron linkage. I chose not
to use the bell crank assembly as shown
on the plan in an effort to save weight.
The aileron was cut straight from trailing
edge stock and mounted with the trusty
filo fax divider card. The tail plane is
made from 1/8` sheet, as is the fin. I
built the fin and rudder so it could be
made operational if required; I come to
the rudder later!
Having fully assembled the model it was
time to dress the cat, I chose navy blue
solar film and spent a couple of days
trying not to warp the whole structure
while shrinking the film! The trimmings on
the finished plane were done with sticky
back plastic. There has been a little lull
(5 months) in completing the plane. As
per normal with my models the pilot was
donated from my daughters cuddly bear
collection. We were unable to get a cat of
some description to fit but a chipmunk
was found to fit the bill. Also donated
were a pair of Barbie wrap-a-round
shades and a head set with a boom
microphone. The pilot probably weighs
more than half the radio gear, but who is
going to fly it! (You’re supposed to fly it.
Ed.) The canopy was moulded from a coke
bottle. I made two canopy’s cutting the
glass sections out of one then painting
and sticking it on to the top of the other
to give the impression of the frame.
When fitting out the motor I discovered
a failing in the mounting of the Olympus
belt drive gearbox. You cannot get your
fingers never mind the screws and
screwdriver inside the nose to fasten it
to the mountings? I spent several hours
cursing while trying to fix the gearbox to
the mounts. Even a 90 degree angled
screwdriver couldn’t get the ******
screws in. So with the motor screws the
front of the gearbox was securely bolted
through the bulkhead to the motor, a
couple of cable ties were then employed
to secure the inner part of the box to
the mountings. Time to test the motor
and box, well a quick hot wiring from a
1400, 6-cell pack did nothing to improve
my mood. There was a smell of burning
and not very much action from the spinny
bit. On further investigation I discovered
that the motor was not operational. The
buggy that donated the motor had blown
its speed controller while playing in the
snow! I think the motor also lunched
itself! (Chewed up Ed.). There was a
slight lull as mentioned in installing a
speed 600 and Jeti 35amp speed
controller which have proved to be an
excellent choice (and cheap, total cost
£31) even if the motor is a little on the
heavy side. The new motor had moved the
CG forward, but this could be easily
rectified with the battery pack being
moved back a little. There was just the
matter of the aileron servo being in the
way! So with a new mounting plate I was
able to move the pack far enough back to
balance the plane. The power packs were
made up from 7 x 1900 mAh sub C cells
from industrial equipment (Drill battery
packs). Standard servos were used and a
Micron 6 channel receiver. Everything
was ready to go; even the weather in late
March was on my side. It was time for
the maiden flight.
Having only run the motor for a couple of
page 11
seconds at a time in the loft, sorry
workshop, it was surprising the amount of
thrust generated when full throttle was
given. All pre-flight checks were
completed and it was just as well they
were. It was a simple error but yes the
elevator was reversed. The flying site is
a rough field and the Hellcat does not
have an undercarriage so hand launching
was the order of the day. Not having any
information on control throws I set them
all to what “looked good”. Full power and a
good heave and it was away. The climb out
was nice and steady and as I brought the
model round into a circuit I discovered
the throws on the aileron were a little
excessive, and to say you couldn’t get a
fag paper between my bum cheeks is no
exaggeration. I managed to gently bring
the model in to land. Even with the
gentlest of movement on the stick the
plane wanted to roll into a tip stall and
dive to terraferma, not the best maiden
page 12
flight. Back on the ground in one piece, I
adjusted the endpoints on the aileron
servo and dialled in 45% exponential.
Ready for flight number two, this time
the plane flew well if handled smoothly.
There was still an element of stall if you
tried to turn tightly. The motor / prop
combination seems to be well matched
and I achieved a good 5 min flight with
power to spare. The plane looked very
impressive in flight and I thoroughly
enjoyed the subsequent flights. Now I
mentioned earlier about the rudder. This
is what the model really needs to help
turn the plane. I think a rudder mixed
with the aileron's would help the plane
turn vice free, making this a good stand
of scale model. Will I convert it! I’ll see.
If anyone would like to develop this
model further I might be persuaded to
part with it. Too many pressing projects
on the building board at the present to
give the Cat the time it deserves.
Magnet Flying - Some hows and whys
I hope readers of Gladys will forgive my
attempts to explain what a small group of
club members are doing when anyone with
any sense is standing still and twiddling
with Tx controls. My excuse is that I was
asked to explain – so please accept my
apologies in advance.
Trevor Faulkner
N-S seeking tendency is extremely limited.
Thinking in terms of R/C servos, which
have “pulls” of 4lbs and upwards, a
magnet’s power is less than 1oz. (30gms).
Hence the need for carefully designed
rudder bits.
THE MODELS
THE BASICS
are designed to operate within certain
speed “brackets”, contests allow five
models to be used, and these will vary from
fast aircraft capable of 20 mph or so,
when ballasted, to models capable of
floating along at 4-5 mph. The former tend
to be smaller, heavier, and with flatThe natural tendency for a magnet is to
bottomed or semi-symmetrical wing
align itself, N-S, and to keep to this. If a
sections, the later with under-cambered
rudder is moved as the magnet moves, it
produces a steering effect. Because of the high lift, high drag aerofoil, often reaching
design of the units, it is possible to set the 9’ 0” or so wing span.
rudder anywhere within a 360O arc so that ESSENTIALS
Magnet, (or F1E) models are slope-soaring
gliders with automatic steering. The
majority use a simple pivoted bar magnet
linked to a carefully designed fin and
rudder unit.
with the magnet lying N-S, the fin/rudder
can be positioned exactly in line with the
model’s centreline (seen from above). This
direction is set to be directly orientated
into the prevailing wind. Fin/rudder units
are usually at the front but rear steering,
via a transmission link is possible. The
power (torque) available via the magnet’s
With no power to spare, models must be as
warp free as possible. They must be
capable of being assembled in an exactly
pre-determined form, with no “slop” in the
wing or tail seating, or in alignment of
fuselages or flying surfaces. Magnet units
must run freely, but to avoid overcorrection when the magnet-bar moves, a
page 13
pivots or cracked jewels. Setting were old
clock gears …. And everything worked! Now
SPECIAL FEATURES, which make modern we have complete “front ends”, only lacking
a rudder, with a fuselage nose, magnetF1E flying much easier, include standard
moulded plastic parts, which I import from holder, fin-deck, damper, sprung
adjustable jewelled bearings, and plastic
Germany. [By way of exchange, Sheffield
Magnet Company supplies the bar magnets setting wheel plus the magnet ---- all for
less than £35.00.
to our German friend for fitting to his
units.] In the early days I used home-made FLYING F1E models are great for “fun
flying”. A flight of 40secs – 1 min. can
bits, which in retrospect seem incredibly
often result in the flier being able to
crude. The pivot would be a sharpened
point (steel), moving in a countersunk bolt assess his trimming and directional- tuning
of the glider, give a worthwhile gain in
head for a bearing. We tried using fine
biro points on clock “jewelled” bearings; I altitude and relatively short recovery
distance. A session with 20-25 launches
made some sprung bearings to avoid bent
constitutes a good day’s
flying.
“damper” of aluminium is used to cut
oscillation.
COMPETITIONS
Target times are set by a
contest Director for each of
five rounds. A good C.D. (like
Brian Castleton) will use his
experience to find a winner
by indicating a target (time)
that is reasonably within
reach, but not too easy. If,
for example, two minutes is
chosen, and everyone
reaches that flight time, the
next round will probably be
to a higher target – say two
and half or three minutes.
A good C.D. will endeavour to
produce a winner without
exhausting his competitors
too much, as recovery of the
model on our slopes is not
easy.
Times can vary from two –
five minutes and in cases
where two or more
page 14
page 15
MEMORIES
competitors “max-out” a fly-off is
arranged, usually but not always, going up
1. Visiting and flying in a thermal
to seven, nine or even eleven minutes. In
competition way, way back some 30
the unusual event of a tie being reached
years ago – and placing second with a
without a “perfect” – (i.e. five maximums)
single channel model, self designed and
is reached, the C.D. will decide on what is a
built. [The winner had a two channel
reasonable target in view of the
multi-proportional gear. Mine had
conditions.
“bang-bang” – ever heard of it?]
Graham Freeston towed for me, the
WHY DO WE DO IT? Oddly enough we
model had never been “on the line”
love the hills, like the exercise and enjoy
before and there was no spot-landing
the thrill of launching a model, which has,
requirement. All the models were built
as far as we can make it, been tuned to fly
by fliers and all varied considerably.
predictably and effectively in the
Wonderful!
prevailing conditions. Going home tired
after a good session is very satisfying. I
2. Lying on my back on the South slope
often lose a couple of pounds – an easy way
one evening, watching my magnet-model
to reduce weight. (Ed. I don’t see any
holding lift perfectly dead ahead.
evidence of this being a problem for
Utopia.
Trevor.)
3. Staying with Hans Gremma (inventor of
REGRETS
magnet flying as we know it ) and seeing
his slow flying “Flamingo Section”
First, the usual one – that there are no
models perform at walking speed. Sadly
young British F1E fliers [Poland, Romania,
Hans died some four years ago. A
Czech Republic, etc. all have lots of young
modest genius Nostalgia!
fliers who build excellent models.] All our
traditional skills seem to be going
CONCLUSIONS
Eastwards, if not to pot.
I started magnet-modelling by accident!
Second, the “boffin” approach – Global
An old copy of “Aeromodeller” came my
positioning is definitely on the cards – as is way, with an article by Hans. My (then)
the use of an electronic compass linked to club was Luton and D.M.A.C. – mostly into
a servo and hence to a rudder. I see this
R/C slope soaring. I couldn’t afford R/C –
appealing to technophiles who are more
but living near Ivinghoe I wanted to slope
interested in the gizmo than the aircraft. fly. Free flight models offered me a way
The appeal of doing a lot with minimum
forward.
complication has been one of the main
My first model was a success – (luck) –
attractions of magnet- flying for me.
winning a free-flight slope-soaring contest
Third, I have heard that complete “ready
at Ivinghoe. This was in ’58, Since then I
to fly” F1E models are now to be had – at a have written countless articles for “A-M”,
price. Well you pay your money and take
“S-F” and “A.M.I”. I still enjoy the class –
your choice. For this old codger that’s not and being with the people that fly it. They
really aeromodelling, simply model flying.
all contribute to making magnet flying a
[S.M.A.E. versus B.M.F.A. that says it all.] wonderful activity.
page 16
page 17
Peggy-Sue (RC Sports Aerobatic)
Brian Johnson
Introduction
reply.
This is a story about “Peggy-Sue”, the RC
model of course not the young lady courted in
my teens. “Oh boy” those were the days! Sorry
I digress, back to the model. Mick Battison
and I had been invited to a “fun-fly” at
Tockwith airfield a few months ago. For those
of you that have not heard of Tockwith, it is
close to Wetherby and boasts a tarmac runway
and is used by full size light aircraft regularly.
It is rented out to the Brighouse Scale and
Vintage RC model flying club. The club
organises events such as “fun-flies” on the
first Sunday in the month. This year they are
having sixteen such events and visitors are
invited both for flying and spectating. The
diary of their events can be found in the
BMFA News and most model magazines. A day
out at Tockwith is highly recommended and I
feel sure you would be made most welcome.
But ever optimistic I gave Maurice my
telephone number just in case he changed his
mind. Well the rest is history, before long he
called me and now Peggy-Sue is mine.
Now for the difficult bit
Peter Miller, the designer, reviewed this model
in the July 2000 issue of “Aviation Modeller”.
This tells you everything about the model and
where to obtain the plans if you would like to
build one. The article is all about the IC
version, but if you are interested in an electric
version then read on as I describe how mine
was converted from an IC model to electric
power.
Bearing in mind that the model was built for
IC and was already 3lb 9oz in weight, I had to
face the fact that I would have to spend some
considerable time and money converting her
for successful electric flight. With such a
Mick and I enjoyed our day at the airfield, but
beautifully finished model things had to be
as it was our first visit neither of us decided
right from the start. I gave it some serious
to try our hand at flying. There is a charge of
thought before attempting the conversion.
£5 to fly for the day and the club is very
strict with frequency control utilising an S&M I wanted the following:
frequency checker.
Plenty of power to enable a good take off
It was on this day that I first saw Peggy-Sue. (ROG)
A case of love at first sight and I knew that I
must have her either by buying her from her
owner or by making one myself. I introduced
myself to the pilot Maurice Thompson who had
flown the model superbly. I let him know that
I admired both his skills as a pilot and the
looks of the plane. On examination at close
quarters it was clear that the building was
superb. It occurred to me that I only know of
one other person who can build to this high
standard (modesty forbids me from naming
myself); I can hear you now muttering to
yourself “rubbish! rubbish!”. However, I
wanted this model so much that I plucked up
the courage and asked Maurice if he was
prepared to sell her. “Not for Sale”, came the
page 18
Good performance in the air
Simple aerobatics
Flight times of 10 minutes or so
Converting the airframe to accept the power
unit wasn’t a problem, there was plenty of room
for a 7-cell battery pack, 600 sized motor and
a speed controller. There was even enough
room to fit an 8-cell battery pack if needed. I
chose the same power set up that had been a
success in a Ben Buckle “Junior Sixty” that I
built last year. The planes’ specifications are
very similar. So fitted with a Permax 600
Watts/Pound?
(7.2v) motor, an 11x8 prop, a 3:1 Master
Airscrew gearbox and 7-cells I conducted the This terminology might be unfamiliar to some
readers. But this is a way of assessing the
IC Version
likely power required to fly a particular model
Engine
SC 30 FS
at various levels of performance successfully.
Control
Aileron, elevator, rudder
RC equipment Standard size, 4 function, RC
Amps consumed x Voltage = Watts/lb.
system
All up weight (lb.)
Wing span
50” (1270 mm)
Wing chord
9½” (241 mm)
In the case of Peggy-Sue:
Wing section
semi-symmetrical
22 x 8.4 = 49 watts/lb.
Average weight 3lbs 9oz
3lb 12oz
Electric Version
Prop, master airscrew, 11 x 8 wood
£4.00
Prop adaptor
£3.50
Master airscrew gear box 3:1 ratio
£16.00
Permax 600 (7.2 v)
£4.00
Speed controller (30 amp)
£25.00
2100 SCR 8.4v battery
£22.00
TOTAL COST (of conversion)
£74.50
With this result I was confident that she
would take off from short grass, perform
simple aerobatics and give a flight time in the
region of 8-12 minutes.
Specifications
customary bench tests. The following results
were recorded; 22 amps at 5500
rpm at the prop. Using watts/lb.
as my yardstick I knew that I
was on the right track.
page 19
Nieuport 28
Martin Tricklebank
model. He must have ‘cos I managed to
Having been buzzed by Mike Stott, “ace
photograf” and his low level turbo digi-cam, build one. Anyone seen a Walkley bus fly?
the inevitable, “do a write up for Gladys
Building and Covering :
please “ soon followed.
The model is built from Balsa, liteply, cyano
Let me just say that I have a bit of a thing and epoxy glues with conventional ribs,
about biplanes and I have contemplated
formers and such. The tin bits are the
spending quite a lot on something big with a usual piano wire and brass tube with solder
proper engine. In fact this particular itch
for undercarriage and control horns. The
has only been partially suppressed by other only plastic in the construction is pipe
thoughts towards a largish sailplane.
lagging, courtesy of Jim Bowles (thanks
Jim), stiffened with sanding sealer for the
I have so far built and flown a Boddington
tyres. Wheels are balsa/ply discs with
Bistormer (6ft span) and a Golden Eagle
(4ft span), both of which are glow powered brass tube hubs and paper cone finishers.
biplanes. The Bistormer is bigish but did
not stop the itch much.
Covering as stated is Mylar with doped on
tissue painted with two coats max of Hum
brol enamels. The Mylar was put on as
So why did I go for the Nieuport.
George described except that I used Sig
Well its different, the finish would be a
Stixit as a bond. If you decide to use this
challenge, I like electric models, but most
don’t let it dry too thoroughly. The Mylar
important the plan was free. Also George
set another thought in motion, what would will stick with finger pressure only, before
you need to use the iron. Also use-shrinking
it turn out like if covered in Mylar and
dope but thin it very much (80%) the wings
tissue. Peter Rake the designer said in his
are not strong on this model. One thing I
article in Flying Scale Models April 2001,
found with Mylar is that it suffers from
that he used Litespan. I was not keen on
static, muchly. Pull it out shake it and the
that and having seen the finish George
Stringwell produced there seemed to be no electrons fall off, yes.
All the decals are Fablon and the ‘Kicking
alternative.
Ass’ is from my fair hand. The machine gun
Scale :
is made around a hair roller from the
So to the model - 36” span, 1/9th scale, all
mother-in-laws roller bag.
up weight 25 oz.
Hardware/Flying :
The overall outline from any view, except
head on, is not scale, but only part scale not Peter Rake specified a Speed 400,
Graupner 2.3:1 gearbox driving an 11x6
really semi scale. The full size has a
tapered fuselage with a more rounded nose wooden prop with 7 x500AR cells. Jeti 4 Rx
plus 2 Union UM9G servos for rudder/
cone. This plan produces a less rounded
elevator and an all up weight of 24 oz.
nose and a partially tubular fuselage but
you would not notice this off a Walkley bus, Pictures in the article show the Nieuport
flying?
when its flying. I think Peter achieved his
I have tried this but with 7x1000
aim of providing a realistic easily built
page 20
Bardwells cells, Jeti 5 Rx and 2 x Pico
servos (Supertec) for an all up weight of
25oz. It did not fly.
Failing that a Jamara 480 seems likely but
adds another 1.2oz. The weight is going up
like a thermal.
True I was struggling a little without CG
position and control throw information. It
appears to need a lot of control movement
and definitely more power.
Conclusion
The key to this I think is the cells. Peter
used AR NiCads, which have lower internal
impedance. I have tried an 8x800AR pack
and the static current went up from 9.6
amps to 12.8 using the 11x6 prop. So to
make up an 8x700 AR pack which will fit, via
a 9x6 prop should I think do the trick, but
push the weight up a little.
far.
Its cute and its a biplane and looked good
for the few seconds it flew. It needs
ailerons for more control, so if the power
Next try was with 8 cells, a plastic 8x6 prop cannot be pushed up without putting the
and more engine side thrust,( it seemed to
weight through the roof, I will just have to
be pulling left). It did fly just but not to
scratch the itch and go for something
far. The CG at a point on the top wing spar
bigger. Anyone know where I can get the
seems OK but still more power is needed. An plan enlarged?
abortive try with a new cell pack cracked
Many thanks to all at the field for the help
the lower wing stopping everything.
and encouragement on both occasions so
Request from the Editor:
Mike (Jim) asked me if I could also include a
little of the history of the Nie 28 C, C
represents Chasse. Most of this is sourced
from Peter Rakes articles in the associated
magazine so all credit to him for the
research and all credit to me for the totally
page 21
accurate plagiarism precis.
The 28 was developed directly from the
earlier models 11, 21, 23, 24 and 27
aircraft but with one distinct difference.
It was Nieuports first true Biplane and
not a sesquiplane, that is the lower wing
was almost full span and nearly full cord.
This dramatically increased the available
wing area to help cope with the much more
powerful engines used and to help maintain
manoeuvrability.
Nieuports previous philosophy was ‘ build
light, arm light, keep up agility, similar to
the Japanese Type 0 Navy fighter at the
beginning of WW2 and this worked for the
early years of WW1. By arm light they
meant use only one machine gun of good
calibre since at that time, second to the
engine, a machine gun and ammunition was
a fare lump in proportion to the all up
weight.
However the rotters on the other side of
the front started using the Fokker D V11.
This was better all round, had more fire
power and was almost as manoeuvrable. If
that was not enough Spad came along with
their model 13 in late 1917 which could
meet the Fokker on equal terms, plus. So
the 28 was left out in the cold. It was not
used operationally by France but was used
by the American Expeditionary Force in
late 1917 and 1918.
page 22
The American government purchased some
300 Nie 28s in late 1917 for use in 1918.
These did not have armament and so early
patrols in February were recon only. Just
after this, one Mg per machine was
obtained and later many machines had two
Mgs. The 28 did have some success
through pilots such as Rickenbaker and
Douglas Campbell became the first
American trained fighter pilot to shoot
down an enemy aircraft in action in a Nie
28C, in April 1918. Later in 1918 the
Nieuport was phased out in favour of the
Spad.
Strangely the Nieuport was used by
American civilians as an air racer, with
clipped wings and in some Hollywood films
(movies) of the 1930s.
The aeroplane depicted by Peter in his
article is of a representative example of
an aircraft of the First Pursuit Group 95th Squadron of the American
Expeditionary Force 1918. This is the
model I tried to reproduce.
Hi, Newshound here…digging the dirt and sleaze just for you!
This report came from the South Slope on a
warm October afternoon. (What a treat
that must have been.) A slight zephyr of a
breeze was just about keeping the floaters
airborne, when suddenly the tranquility was
shattered by the arrival of that doyen of
the slope, Barry Barker. Well known for his
expensive, but almost always unkempt
models and radio gear, Barry likes to beat up
the slope undertaking aerobatic feats most
of us would like to do, but probably never
will.
I greeted Barry and asked what he was
flying today. “Oh yes, it’s something
special”, he stated in an extremely buoyant
manner. “I got this recently to complement
my three meter (and very expensive) F3J
Starlite” “What is it then Barry?” I asked
inquisitively. “It’s a Mini-Starlite”.
Somewhat skeptically I retorted, “but
there’s no such thing Barry, it looks like a
cheap Graupner V Star to me!” “No, no, no“
Barry spat out, “ it’s definitely a MiniStarlite, I swapped it with Mick Battison for
my Multiplex 3030 transmitter and that’s
worth at least a couple of hundred quid”. He
went on, “The two servos needed to control
the rudder and elevator really push my new
top of the range Multiplex 4000 transmitter
to the limit, it took me ages to program
them in.” I looked again at the model, it was
a basic V Star, of that there was no doubt.
Barry giggled almost uncontrollably at the
astonishing height he had achieved with his
new model. “You can’t beat these Multiplex
transmitters for gaining height.” I looked
puzzled and instinctively wondered about
the sanity of the man. “What’s the
transmitter got to do with gaining height
Barry?”. “Ah well!” he winked at me
knowingly, “the MPX tranny has a special
height gain switch”. He landed not long after
and proceeded to show me the special
switch. “This is the one, I switch it this way
and the glider goes up and this way and the
glider comes down.” I sighed and in
desperation walked away…..It was the power
on/off switch!
Then I caught something out of the corner
of my eye. It was Mick Battison chuckling
and mumbling incoherently, something about
a 3030 transmitter and getting back to his
car as fast as possible.
Until the next time!
“Gladys International accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of events portrayed in this
article. However, it does thank the victim for giving permission to publish.”
page 23
Letters to the Editor
page 24
Dear Mike
A follow-up to the Blacka Moor saga.
I was very concerned (as readers of Gladys will have gathered) that flying on Blacka
Moor was under threat for 3 months of the year. Indeed Sheffield’s Environmental
Officer had stated that “as far as she was concerned, model flying on Blacka Moor
was no longer permitted”.
Having attended several meetings, I decided to open the issue to public scrutiny,
writing to numerous city councillors, our local MP and to the editor of the “Bradway
Bugle” a free news-sheet for the Bradway and Totley areas’ residents.
This appeared to generate considerable interest and activity, the final upshot being
a meeting on February 22 between representatives from the Sheffield Wild-Life
Trust, the RSPB, English Nature, and myself.
At this meeting we reached an agreement that Free-Flight’s Contest Calendar,
(which needed to be able to offer North and East facing slopes for F1E contests)
would limit itself to one contest in the April – May period, the rest of the year being
open as normal.
I accepted this regulation after hearing the RSPB’s explanation of the nesting
habits of Lapwings a species, which is in decline. [It seems that continuous human
presence on or near a nest will cause the parents to leave the eggs, which will chill.
It was pointed out that this was not due to model flying, simply the threat posed by
humans over a significant time for egg-chilling to take place.]
This agreement has been welcomed by the F1E contest fliers and the calendar has
been amended.
Not many SSA fliers use Blacka Moor but it would be prudent to avoid the period
April – May as regards the North and East facing slopes. The “power area” (near
Stony Ridge Road) is not part of the Sheffield Wild-Life Trust’s Site of Special
Scientific Interest.
In passing, I’m happy to tell you that the car park (Fox House end) of the access
lane has been improved – this was the cause of my initial enquiries and through which
I learned of the threat to model flying on the site!
Cordially
Trevor
page 25
Subject: Good day's flying...
Hi Terry,
Me and my son Matthew would like to thank you and the lads from your flying club, for your
friendly company last Friday up at Callow Bank – could you please pass this on for us. We felt
most welcome at your site - and it is a really lovely place... how lucky you are to have it for your
local flying site. Next time we'll bring some evens crystals!
We took quite a few pictures on the day... and we thought that you and your friends might like to
have a look. We are therefore putting them up on our Website, in a dynamic picture show system
- which is all about showing good quality pictures, and dynamic (usually humorous) dialogue (where
appropriate) to go with them. Since we don't know the names of the characters in the pics... for
this particular show we'll probably not bother with dialogue to start with... but if you or your
mates want to add some funny comments, just let us know and i'll put them on. (You can get an
idea of what is possible by watching the show all about 'Barbie' flying our Acrowat.)
The pictures will be at www.peoplesystems.co.uk and you'll need to find the section called
"Projectors".
**** Note that your pics are not up there yet! - It’ll take a few days to sort them out and muck
about with them a bit. So that I can put some comments about your club on the intro - could you
let me have the full name of club flying club?
Let me know ASAP, and I’ll let you know as soon as they are up on the web.
Will be in touch again.
Kind regards,
Andy Brett
P.S. - you'll find I’m actually interested in PEOPLE as much as aeroplanes - as is reflected in lots
of the images on my site. Attached is a funny one from the end of the day at Callow Bank... so
where did all those balloons come from?
Andy Brett
37 Tyne Road
Oakham
Rutland
LE15 6SJ
Tel and Fax 01572
756472
email:
page 26
Dear Mr Bowles
I am returning the book that I borrowed
from the SSA some time ago. I apologise for
the delay in returning it. I must have upset
someone seriously in the past because I have
to spend sometimes 20 hrs out of every day
laying down to take the vertical pressure off
my back. I therefore do not get a great deal
done. Hence the delay. I hope this book
reaches you in good condition. I found it very
informative.
I did intend writing an article for your
(Gladys ?) but back trouble put paid to that.
If there is an opportunity in the future I will
try to complete something for the mag as a
peace offering. A "Flinger". Acquired from
Simon Jackson converted to E400?
I would like to take this opportunity to thank
all the guys I met through the SSA club
meets, and on Callow bank. It's a good club to
be a member of and have fond memories of
meetings etc.
I have not rejoined the SSA club due to the
high cost of travel being lOOmile round trip.
Still being unemployed I have to cut the
cloth according to my means.
I am on the committee of the Saxilby Indoor
Model Flyers, and will be helping run another
Indoor Fun Fly meeting at Yarborough
School, on Sunday October the 6th
Starting at 12.00 noon till 5.00pm. If any one
within the SSA would like to come they are
very welcome. Barry Barker (SSA) has been
several times.
I hope to fly at Callow Bank 1-2 times a year
with SSA permission of course.
May I ring you sometime in the future to find
out who the committee members are?
Thanks again and happy landings.
Yours Truly
J V Cooper
SSA Show Night
Joint 1st and 3rd
1st
1st
3rd
page 27
page 28