RC Sport Flyer Aug 2013 (Vol 18-08) by RC Flyer News

TTX650 Review pg 76 World’s Most In-Depth RC Aircraft Magazine

Carbon Cub Flight Report Exclusive

Top Gun Winning Beaufighter Build Part 1 USA & Canada $6.49

Discover How

the New L-13 Blanik 4.2-meter ARF Takes

You to Soaring Heights

Plus

• Aerobatics Part 5 • How to Fiberglass • International Slope Races • Crazyflie Nano Quad Copter

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august 2013

DEPARTMENTS

Event

10 96 97

leading edge advertiser index Mystery airplane

feature

International Slope Races This is man-on-man racing like youâ€™ve never seen before. Check it out! By Aric Wilmunder

pg 12

CrazyFlie Nano Quadcopter Discover how much programming and control power is in this little package. By Paul Gentile

BUILD

Bristol Beaufighter #1 Learn from the best in Top Gun how to build a winning airplane. By David Wigley Build an ASK-18 Part 4 Part 4 of this series details what it takes to finish a 1/3-scale, scratch-built glider. By Gene Cope Nick Ziroli, Fokker DR.1 Fuselage, Part 1 Jump into this article to see how you would build this classic all-wood airplane. By Jeff Troy competitors Part 1 Rob interviews a Top Gun professional to reveal his secrets to success. By Robert J Caso

pg 78

See why this radio delivers performance plus, and is affordable!

pg 20

A Top Gun Pro reveals his secrets to building super scale models.

pg 48 pg 72

RC SPORT FLYER â€” august 2013

Photo

Yakima AeroTow Take a look at this photo spread to see what you may be missing in RC soaring. By Staff

report

aeroWorks Carbon Cub SS If you like Cubs you need to read this article to see if the AeroWorks Carbon Cub is not your next large-scale airplane purchase. By Wil Byers

how to

august 2013

review

Aerobatics Part 5 This pro pilot explains why it is important to learn to fly your model in a â€œbox.â€? By Daniel Holman

tactic TTX650 Discover just how much programming power is built into this 6-channel transmitter. By RC-SF Staff L-13 Blanik 4.2 m ARF If you are a scale glider enthusiast, here is a new offfering that is a must for your hangar. By Gene Cope

Learn our simple and easy secrets to fiberglassing airframes.

pg 68

How to Fiberglass This article takes you step by step through the process of fiberglassing an airframe. By Richard Kuns

pg 86

The new E-flite L-13 Blanik 4.2 m ARF glider may just be your perfect pick for aerotowing and soaring. Follow us on twitter @rcsportflyer

RC-SF.COM

BY Aric Wilmunder

International Slope Races

It’s Man-on-Man Racing at Davenport 12

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

International Slope Races

s my car pulls up at the Davenport International Slope Races, my first impression is of the stunning ocean view from the top of the cliffs. The race site is just north of Santa Cruz, California. Across the small bay I can see a white sandy beach with dozens of kite-boarders hopping waves in the surf. A moment later, over the sound of the wind, I hear an ominous whistling that catches my attention. As I look towards the cliff ’s edge, I see the blur of three slope racers, each jockeying for a lead position, in a race that can quickly sandwich a pilot’s glider between the walls of the cliff and the inhospitable waves below.

Site

The flying site is a private airstrip on the top of a cliff overlooking the ocean. There is even a hangar for equipment storage. If asked, the

Darrell Zaballos shows perfect piloting form on his way to the overall ISR win, and a new course record flying his Freestyler 4T.

owner is happy to tell of some of the more harrowing takeoffs and landings he and other pilots have made from this small strip of land that often has dangerous crosswinds. These same winds can play havoc with the racing machines—just to the right of the launch area is a small hillock that can generate rotors, which can roll a glider upside-down before it has enough airspeed to fly away from the cliff. Landings are equally challenging, but are softened by a thick pad of ice plant that can absorb a model’s energy when it comes in too fast. Every precaution is taken to protect the pilots, spectators and racers. However, unlike auto racing where losing paint is part of the sport, having your glider clipped by another that is running at more than 100 mph can easily lead to a trip down to the beach to gather up the pieces. The Brits often refer to the royal children as “the heir

and the spare.” When you fly at Davenport, nearly every pilot brings at least one spare glider and some bring more. For some reason 2012 was a particularly tough year, with the airplane pits looking more like a M*A*S*H triage center, but scattered with broken gliders. The competition this year was just as fierce. Fortunately, after two days and with 16 rounds of racing, only two sailplanes required significant repairs.

Weather

One pilot described the flying conditions on the first day as “the perfect Davenport day.” The winds were coming in at both the right speed and the right direction. The temperatures were ideal, even in the 35-mph winds. Visibility was good too, with just a light sea mist over the basin. In contrast to the first day, when we arrived the next morning we

RC-SF.COM

BY Paul Gentile

Crazyflie Nano Quadcopter Big things await you in this small package

Stable. Fun. Fast. The Crazyflie will surprise even the most experienced quadcopter pilots.

RC SPORT FLYER â€” august 2013

Crazyflie Nano Quadcopter

he biggest thing in quadcopters is small, nano size actually. The Crazyflie Nano Quadcopter from Bitcraze weighs in at about 19 grams and is only 90 millimeters from rotor to rotor. Do not be fooled by the The Crazyflie Nano 10-DOF kit includes an extra motor, motor Crazyflieâ€™s diminutive mount and six extra plastic propellers. size as it is packed with features. Within those 90 mm, the Crazyflie 10-DOF has three gyros, three accelerometers, three magnometers (compasses), an altitude sensor, live telemetry, four motor controllers, a built-in battery charger and a 32-bit micro-controller for Before soldering anything to the PCB, attach the A laptop or a desktop PC will work fine as the interface Crazyflie to USB power to ensure it works. to your Crazyflie quadcopter. a brain. The Crazyflie can lift another five to 10 grams of payload, which several people have used to add a video camera for FPV flying. Tobias Antonsson, Marcus Eliasson and Arnaud Taffanel of Switzerland are the creators of the Crazyflie. The Crazyflie story started in 2009 when the three worked for a Swedish consulting company called Epsilon Embedded Systems. In their spare time the three began formulating an idea for an open source quadcopter with a simple premise: get an electronic board to fly. Motivated to fly indoors by the cold Swedish winter months the team decided that small was the way to go. Working on what was then known as the Daedalus Project the team built several prototypes. In 2010 the first working prototype was completed and the team submitted a video of their creation to the popular website Hackaday. The video went viral and demand for the quadcopter exploded. Trying to keep up with demand for their creation, the team left The dining room table makes a large enough flying field for the Crazyflie. Epsilon in 2011 and formed a new Follow us on twitter @rcsportflyer

RC-SF.COM

BY David Wigley

Bristol Beaufighter Concept and Design

Is it full-scale or model? With no ugly cylinders, spark plug boots or control horns visible, this could be Pilot Officer Burrowes on approach for landing.

s modelers, we can be pretty creative. It’s great to dream about our next project even though we may not have finished the one we’re working on. Often I find myself thinking, “Wouldn’t it be neat to…” and then the creative juices start flowing and my imagination starts running wild. Then, in reality, I start designing and creating something that turns out to be more than I bargained for. That’s what happened with my latest project, the Bristol Beaufighter. To be perfectly honest, that’s what happens with every project I tackle! Within this wonderful hobby of model aviation, my real passion is scale warbirds. I enjoy researching the history of how a certain aircraft design was developed and used in service. I then select a specific aircraft to replicate in miniature. After having some success with my Westland Wyvern design, it was time to move on to something new. 28

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

I like to challenge myself with each new project whether it’s a different construction method or a new engineering solution. To me, that’s what is fun about the hobby—the sky literally is the limit. For my latest project I wanted to build a multi-engine subject, along the lines of warbirds—the DeHaviland Mosquito and Bristol Beaufighter came to mind. Again wanting to challenge myself, I took the path less travelled, and settled on the Beaufighter. You just don’t see many Beaufighters being done as RC aircraft. Maybe there’s a good reason why that’s true and I was about to find out. Just looking at the three-view drawing, it was obvious that with no nose on the airframe, and with a fairly long tail moment, you’d need to build the tail as lightweight as possible or you could end up with an airplane that would be so tail heavy that it wouldn’t fly, which means you’d find

yourself with a very BIG paperweight. That way of thinking can sometimes get you into trouble, as I was about to discover. Building models is supposed to be a journey; you are supposed to enjoy the ride, so to speak. You shouldn’t be continually thinking about getting it finished and in the air. That usually leads to disaster. Journeys, by definition, have to end someday. In the case of my Beaufighter, my journey lasted five years. There were numerous challenges along the way, including designing and fabricating the landing gear and its scale exhausts.

Design

So here’s how I set about designing this beast. Over the years I’ve noticed that multi-engine scale models seem to look small if they are built to the same size as single-engine airplanes. I guess it’s part of the illusion we create with a model. So right from the start I knew I wanted

Bristol Beaufighter Four-time, Mr Top Gun winner, Dave Wigley with his latest competition entry, the Bristol Beaufighter, a WWII Royal Air Force coastal strike aircraft.

I pulled out my tape measure—138 in. is 11-1/2 feet, which stretches more than halfway across my shop! This was getting a bit nutty already, but I kept hearing that voice saying, “Build a twin BIG or it will look small.” After I got over the initial shock of the size, I enlarged the three-view to 1/10th the size of the model. This drawing became my master for the entire build because it was easy to check dimensions with an engineering scale in tenths of an to build a big Beaufighter. I always start with a good threeview drawing and a color plate that matches the drawing very closely. This helps tremendously later when it comes to laying out and painting the color and markings. There is less “fudging” to be done to get the markings in the right place. I began doing some rough calculations with various scales and finally settled on 1/5th scale. This yielded a wingspan of 138 in. and a length of 96 in. Then

A good cutaway drawing of the full-sized aircraft is invaluable to get a good handle on the internal structure of the airframe.

Once I’ve settled on a three-view drawing to design from, I enlarge it to 1/10th the size of the model’s dimensions. This makes scaling easier if you use an engineer’s scale.

RC-SF.COM

BY Gene Cope

ASK-18 Part 4 The Finish (Devil) is in the Details

s I explained in Part 1 of this build series, the Rosenthal fuselage, canopy and wing rod were purchased in about 2001. They then sat in my shop until late 2012. Once I started work on this project I found that the gel-coated, 1/3-scale, ASK-18 fuselage was probably a second. As such, there were many flaws in the gel-coat finish. I repaired the flaws by opening and filling them with a mixture of epoxy and Cab-O-Sil filler. These areas were then sanded and, where necessary, spotfilled with automotive body putty. Next the landing wheelâ€™s location was marked and routed open with a eighth-inch-diameter cutter. A Dremel sanding drum

2 Work on the ASK-18 fuselage started with the marking of the location where the main landing wheel would be installed.

4 This is what the wheel opening looked like before it was smoothed and finished by way of a sanding drum run in my Dremel tool.

Using a 1/8-in.-diameter router bit in a Dremel tool router base, the wheel well opening was cut just inside the line marked on the fuselage.

RC SPORT FLYER â€” august 2013

This the wheel opening, looking it at from inside the fuselage. In this photo the axle support and axle plates have been epoxy glued to the fuselage.

ASK-18 Part 4

6 The tailwheel’s leaf springs assembly was fabricated out of a Tamiya® RC truck axle spring set, bass wood and a couple of bolts.

With the tailwheel angle block in place, 4-40 socket caphead screws secured the tailwheel assembly to the fuselage.

8 The 5-in.-diameter Sullivan Lite wheel was used. It is removable by first removing the axle plugs on each side of the fuselage.

was then used to smooth the edges of the opening. I chose to use a 5-in.-diameter Sullivan Lite wheel. It was chosen for its width and aluminum rim plus its durability. The wheel’s axel is a 0.156-in.-diameter stainless steel rod. It is retained in the fuselage, on each side of the wheel, by a 3/16-in.diameter stainless steel tube. There are two, 1/4-in., plywood axel mounts on each side of the wheel opening. The support tube runs through the axel mounts and exits on both sides of the fuselage. In so doing, the axle can be removed if needed. I made a wheel cover. It was made by applying fiberglass cloth and epoxy over a foam plug. The foam was removed after the epoxy cured. After fitting the wheel cover to the fuselage, it was fastened into place using Follow us on twitter @rcsportflyer

The tow release was fabricated out of a bass wood block, brass tubing and a piece of music wire that will run in the brass tubes.

fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin. Next I built a tailwheel assembly. It was fabricated out of a Tamiya® RC truck leaf spring kit. The spring steel segments were cut so that I could utilize the existing holes to mount the tailwheel assembly. The wheel came from an RC aircraft. A bass wood block was cut to provide the correct mounting angle for the leaf spring, and a mating block was glued inside the fuselage. It holds the 4-40 blind nuts. The blocks were epoxied in place before the mount screws were drilled. The location of the tow release’s hole is just back and under the nose of the fuselage. The hole in the fuselage was cut with a Forstner bit because its outside tooth cuts a clean diameter hole in the fiberglass fuselage without burs. The bass wood

release mechanism’s wood block was drilled using a 3/8-in.-diameter wood Forstner bit. Then a cross hole was drilled in the block to accept the brass support tubes for the release pin. When all the pieces were cut to size, petroleum jelly was applied to the release pin to act as a release agent. Then the brass tubing was glued in place with epoxy resin. After the epoxy cured, a check was made to verify that the pin moved freely in the brass tubes. The tow release mechanism was then glued in the fuselage. I used a substitute pin that was coated with petroleum jelly during the installation. The block was coated with epoxy and pressed into place in the fuselage. Note that I checked that the release pin was aligned properly with the hole in the fuselage. After the epoxy RC-SF.COM

BY Jeff Troy

Nick Ziroli Fokker Dr.1 Fuselage, Part 1 Building Is Art! Watch Your Skills Develop

part from the Piper Cub, the Fokker Dr.1 triplane may be one of, if not the most, recognizable airplanes in the world. Largely, this must be because of its association with the “Bloody Red” Baron Manfred von Richtofen. My triplane is being built from Nick Ziroli plans and a customcut kit by the late Chuck Gill of The Aeroplane Works. Nick’s plans are still available (ziroliplans.com), and although The Aeroplane Works is no longer producing it, several companies continue to offer hand-cut and laser-cut short kits and full kits of the model. Construction of my Dr.1 began almost two years ago with its tail feathers, then in later installments, advanced to the model’s three wings. After temporarily shelving the project while dealing with components for the four other models in this series, I’ve come back to the Fokker to complete its fuselage. 42

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

If you are a new reader of my “Building Model Airplanes” series, please be aware that its purpose is not to simply follow the instructions and build a collection of airplanes. My intent is to pass along many helpful hints and tips to make building these and any other model airplanes easier, faster, better and more enjoyable. Whenever the opportunities arise during construction, I will use that step to describe some little bit of information that you may find useful when building your own models. Building the Dr.1 fuselage is relatively simple, thanks to Nick Ziroli’s uncanny capacity for intelligent design. This is a sporty, “sorta-scale” model, and Nick didn’t waste a lot of energy in pursuit of true-to-scale construction. Instead, he designed a handsome tribute to the legendary Fokker that builds quickly, finishes easily and flies as well as many typical sport models. Several liberties are taken with the outline,

and the undercamber airfoil has been replaced with a flat-bottom for easier building and covering, and greater forgiveness on the control sticks. The fuselage sides and their two doublers are cut from 1/8-in. LitePly. Two tabs are on each of the doublers to set the distance from the forward edges of the fuselage sides. In retrospect, try not to apply adhesive to these tabs, so that they may be cut away more easily to allow the firewall to fit correctly in front of the doublers and between the sides. Place the doublers carefully, aligning the upper notches and allowing 1/8 in. from the upper edges to accommodate the base of the mid-wing fuselage hatch. I used Bob Smith Industries’ Insta-Cure + (gap filling) CA for the doublers, although slow-setting, Maxi-Cure (thick) CA or Mid-Cure 15-minute epoxy are both viable substitutes, especially if you are not accustomed to working quickly. Cut, fit and add the 1/4-in.-

Nick Ziroli Fokker Dr.1 Fuselage, Part 1

Lite-ply doublers are used to strengthen the fuselage sides from the firewall to the rear of the cockpit area. The doublers can be installed with a variety of adhesives, from gap-filling CA to 15-minute epoxy or thick CA.

I find it easiest to cut the ends of the sticks after they are installed, using the fuselage notches as guides to making perfect cuts.

square sticks along the upper and lower edges of the fuselage sides. Remember past lessons, and always cut the longest sticks first. If you do that, a shorter stick can still be made from the too-short piece. These square sticks can be measured and cut before installation, but I like to cut the excess lengths off of the sticks after they have been installed on the model. Try using the fuselage notches as guides to make perfect cuts, but be careful not to cut down into the sides and thus weaken them. Square sticks of 1/4 in. are also used for the uprights in the rear of the fuselage. Three uprights are needed for each side. Be sure to cut each stick 1/16 to 1/8 in. longer than Follow us on twitter @rcsportflyer

With the doublers installed, add the 1/4-in. square sticks at the upper and lower edges of the sides. Always cut the long sticks first; that way, if you cut one short, it can still be used for a shorter length instead of having to trash it.

Additional 1/4-in. square sticks are used for the uprights in the rear fuselage. Cut each stick slightly oversize, then use the bar sander to adjust each stick for a perfect fit. More 1/4-in. sticks will be used for the crossmembers in the rear of the fuselage, but I will get to them in the next installment.

needed, then sand each stick for a perfect fit with coarse or mediumgrit sandpaper on a bar sander. The edge-of-the-bench technique is always good for accurate trimming, but “close enough” is acceptable for the uprights. Many other sticks and bits will be added to the basic fuselage in the next installment, but for now, don’t be confused by the wing saddle doublers shown on the plans. They are to be installed on the outside of the fuselage, and sanded to conform to the shape of the sheeted side fairings. When the basic construction of both fuselage sides has been completed, align the two assemblies

carefully and tape them together so their positions cannot shift. Now use coarse sandpaper on the Tee-Bar or Easy-Touch Sander to bring the perimeters of both sides to a uniform shape. This is more important than you might think, and truly helps to make alignment of the wings and stabilizer easier in the final stages of construction. Joining the sides to create the box-style fuselage is a quick and easy procedure. The first step is to install the F-2, F-3 and F-4 bulkheads. I found that I had to make small notches in the upper edges of the F-3 to allow the upper sticks to fit. Starting with either the left or the right side, install the bulkheads one at RC-SF.COM

BY Robert J. Caso

Competitors – Part 1 10 Scale Questions for a Top Gun Pro

played a lot of baseball when I was a kid. There’s probably a season’s worth of baseballs still floating around in the sewer drains where I grew up—I was always just a tad slower than the ball as it disappeared forever. One thing I consistently did right though was to make sure I played ball with kids who were better players than me. While it was sometimes a humbling experience, the end result was that I became a better player. The same theory holds true in scale modeling. Hang around with the pros, and maybe some of their expertise will rub off. I am truly a lucky guy to have friends the likes of Tom Wolf, Dave Wigley and Mark Frankel. Since I bug them so much with questions, I’m not sure how long this is going to last, so it’s best I write this article now while the iron is hot. I wanted to keep their responses largely intact, so Wil and I decided to make this a two-part article.

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

Mark’s T-34B has been competing for more than a few years, but its accurate outlines and flyability keep its scores high in competitions.

Mark and his self-designed, multi-award-winning T-34B pose on the apron between the Top Gun sorties.

Competitors – Part I

Mark Frankel

Mark and I have known each other since the 1980s and he is the guy primarily responsible for teaching me mold making and composite construction. I also picked up a number of other great tips from him, like using automotive finishing materials on my scale models and molds—something that, inexplicably, had never occurred to me. I am constantly impressed with the surface detail that Mark’s models exhibit, a critical skill that he has mastered to the max. Here’s what he had to say:

Picking a Scale Subject

Most scale modelers and designers are always looking for the “perfect” subject. If you come across a group of scale guys at a trade show, fly-in or contest, you can be sure that they’re having a lively debate about the “perfect” subject. When selecting a subject,

I always focus on configuration as well as determining adequate wing area. Nothing is worse than designing a lead brick that struggles to get airborne, falls out of the sky when power is reduced, or snaps over on its back in a tight turn. Too much wing area can be equally troublesome. Very high aspect ratio wings can present some interesting problems and highly tapered wings have a tendency to tip stall. An airplane with limited horizontal or vertical tail surface areas, or one that is too closely coupled (tail surfaces are very close to the center of lift) can be a handful to fly. I also consider the force arrangements on the aircraft. A thrust line that is far from the wing reference plane can produce serious trim problems when power is applied or reduced. If you have ever flown a seaplane with a pylonmounted engine you will know what I mean. In my view, a good subject (there is no “perfect” subject) is one that provides a model that is stable yet agile, has a good climb rate and handles wind predictably.

Mark maintains that multicolored aircraft seem to consistently outperform their drab competitors and are easier to see in the air.

RC-SF.COM

BY Staff Michael Gore makes a landing approach with his HF Model’s 6-meter wingspan Ventus, after a soaring flight under some huge cumulus clouds.

Yakima Aerotow Glider and Sailplane Pilots Revel in Huge Eastern Washington Lift 56

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

Dave Collis’ 1/3-scale Grunau Baby IIB is from Lanyu model. Dave recovered the model in fabric and refinished it to add extra details.

Yakima Aerotow

very spring a group of enthusiastic RC glider/ sailplane pilots comes together in the Yakima, Washington, valley to fly their motorless aircraft at Glesner’s Airfield. This year was the 15th year of this event, which is hosted and managed by the contest director, Gene Cope. He is ably assisted each year by Greg Neveu. Glesner Field is at the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, on their eastern slope (GPS 46.537898,

-120.776369). It sits at about 1,900 feet above sea level. The site produces some of the best lift you will find anywhere in the United States or Canada. As a result, the Yakima Aerotow event is known to pilots from California, Oregon, Idaho, Washington, Canada and beyond as a place to get lots of airtime on their aircraft, during a relaxing weekend of aerotowing. Not surprisingly, the 2013 event was well attended by northwest

pilots. They came with both vintage and modern gliders in search of rising air, which can and does yield hours of thermal soaring fun and relaxation. Disappointment Field was generating lift like there would be no thermals tomorrow. It was stellar lift! This year’s event had tug pilots Dave Collis, Gene Cope and Michael Gore pulling gliders with their DA100- and DLE-111-powered airplanes. They were getting the gliders/ sailplanes to 1,000 feet above ground level in about two minutes. From that

Gene Cope’s new E-flite 4.2-meter wingspan comes in for a landing after a long soaring flight that took it up to 2,200 feet AGL.

Rob Brown flew his ASH31Mi, which sports an upn-go electric motor power system. The model is from soaringusa.com.

Wil Byers maidens his new 6-meter wingspan ASG-29 at the Yakima Aerotow. It’s running a Jeti radio system. The 29 is from icare-rc.com.

Gene Cope was the CD of the event. He was flying his 33%-scale, scratch-built ASK-18, which is an absolutely super soaring machine.

RC-SF.COM

BY Richard Kuns

Fiberglass

A Little Work for a Lot of Durability

Dilute Z-Poxy® Finishing Resin 2:1 with denatured alcohol in a cup, apply with a disposable brush and smooth with a squeegee such as this plastic card.

Brush resin on and evenly squeegee it into the cloth. Do not attempt to build extra resin on the surface.

After resin dries, you will cut the cloth away from the hatches and wheel wells and the wing’s leading and trailing edges.

ike many of you, I have built a number of airplanes. They range from sport to pattern to WWI scale models. They’ve always had or used iron-on coverings. My latest project has been a fifth-scale Corsair that seemed to demand a painted finish. This is so because with the exception of ailerons, elevators and the rudder, this model is completely sheeted.

Fiberglass

Fiberglass and paint finishes

3 4

Glass is applied right over plastic oil coolers resulting in a seamless transition that disappears under the final paint. You’ll want to protect the wing mount dowels so they are not coated with resin.

To avoid any possible seam on the top wingtip, the fiberglass is wrapped around the edges so that it overlaps the glass on the bottom.

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

have many advantages over iron-on coverings. First of all, the surfaces are much harder and more durable. Many of the little hangar-rash mishaps that can happen with other airplane coverings do not damage a fiberglass finish. A fiberglass finish will not develop bubbles nor sag in the sun. Textured details like rivets and panel lines are easily accomplished during the painting process. Then too, color matching between the airplane and parts such as cowls and canopy frames is easy since the same paint is used to paint all the parts, which is very difficult when trying to match a paint color to an iron-on covering. There are a few disadvantages to using fiberglass. A couple to consider: It certainly takes more time and effort to finish, and repairs are not

Fiberglass My Corsair is nearly ready for its maiden flight. The vinyl is from Callie Graphics’ VMFT-20 Marines package, with green stripes being painted on.

as simple as ironing on patches of covering to damaged areas.

How To Do

Over the years I have seen many techniques for fiberglassing. The technique described here is one I learned from a modeler friend. It provides excellent results. It uses readily available, low-odor materials and is easy for the newcomer to learn. I recommend you start with the wing, since it is a large, relatively flat surface. Do the bottom first and then the top. This will give you some practice before you tackle the more complex shapes on the fuselage. Prepare the wing’s surface by sanding and filling the most egregious imperfections. You do not need to sand the wood as finely as you would for an iron-on covering, where the imperfections can telegraph through the material. Next, apply the first coat of fiberglass. I use 0.7-oz fiberglass cloth from The Composites Store. Pacer® Finish Resin is used as the resin. You’ll want to mix it by using one part Follow us on twitter @rcsportflyer

resin, one part hardener and one part denatured alcohol. Drape the cloth over the surface and then apply the resin mixture to the cloth with a disposable brush. Smooth the resin into the cloth with a small squeegee—an old credit card will work well. Make sure you apply an even coat so that the fiberglass will adhere to the wood. However, do not let the resin build up on top of the cloth. Unlike an iron-on covering, do not fit the cloth into openings and recesses. Simply cover over them and then cut the cloth away from those areas once the resin has dried. After the first coat of resin dries, cut off most of the excess cloth. Then lightly sand the area with 200-grit wet sandpaper. Sanding the edges of cloth should cleanly remove the excess material from the model. Next continue covering the rest

of the part with cloth and resin, slightly overlapping the fiberglass cloth-to-cloth joints.Then lightly sand the second side, and smooth the overlap joints. Next you will apply a second coat of resin to the entire surface. As you apply this coat, you will also brush resin onto any exposed wood edges around openings such as hatches or wheel wells. This will give a good base for the paint. Let the resin dry and then lightly sand it. To fiberglass the fuselage, first glass the bottoms of the stabilizers. Then glass the fuselage’s bottom starting at its front and working to the tail. The front will typically take large pieces of glass cloth while the rear around the tail feathers may need several small pieces. Just overlap the glass and then smooth the joint during the sanding. On the fuselage’s top, first cover the fin and tops of the RC-SF.COM

BY Wil Byers

AeroWorks

Carbon Cub SS

Short Takeoffs and Landings are What this Airplane Does Well

ubCrafters Carbon Cub SS is a modern version of the infamous Super Cub. The Carbon Cub SS is built in Yakima, Washington, which is just up the road from my home. I’ve visited CubCrafters’ factory and seen the full-scale Carbon Cub SS up close and personal. I’ve even been fortunate enough to have had a ride in a CubCrafters Sport Cub. Both the Carbon Cub SS and the Sport Cub employ modern materials and state-

of-the-art engineering and design to make them, arguably, the best backcountry airplanes you can buy. So it was that when I saw the AeroWorks™ Carbon Cub I wanted to have one for my hangar. I wanted one because I’d seen the way it performed in the hands of very capable pilots. I’d seen it doing knife-edge loops, when it was powered by a DA-120 engine. I knew that if it would perform like that for others, then it would certainly be good enough for me. As a result, I purchased my Carbon Cub about a year ago. It kept getting put on the back burner in terms of projects, partly because I just like to fiddle with my airplanes getting them set up and ready to fly. Nevertheless, I finished my Carbon Cub this past April. Unfortunately, at that time the winds and bad weather for flying settled in. I kept watching and waiting. It was either work or weather that kept me from flying it. Finally, a weekend came that offered beautiful blue skies and light winds. I loaded the Carbon Cub in the truck and drove to Glestner’s Airfield in Yakima. I wanted to maiden the airplane at a This fly-by pass shows off the superb looks and build quality of the AeroWorks Carbon Cub—just look at the cowl that sucks air in and across the cylinders!

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

AeroWorks Carbon Cub SS

My AeroWorks Carbon Cub is powered by a DA-120, two-cylinder engine that turns a Falcom carbon propeller. I’m using a Spektrum DX-18 transmitter for control.

I’m a little nervous for the maiden flight of my Carbon Cub, so I’m not smiling. However, the purr of the DA-120 engine will make any redblooded RC pilot pretty happy.

Dropping the flaps on this Cub will let you put its nose down very steeply, but without building any airspeed, which makes landings fun and easy.

dirt strip where the full-scale Carbon Cub sometimes does touch-and-go landings.

Takeoff

As you would expect I did a complete radio-range check, as well as a control check. It was then time to start the engine. I must tell you that you should remember to flip the engine kill switch on your transmitter into the start position. If you don’t you could lose a good friend to a heart attack. Truly, I got a laugh out of the fact that I was so stupid. My friend, Gene Cope, was not quite so amused because he was doing the starting. Once the switch was turned on, the DA-120 engine fired immediately. I let the engine warm and then taxied it for takeoff. The recommended Hitec RCD servos are very powerful, so you feel in total control flying this 168-in.-wingspan airplane. All the servos are high-voltage type.

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BY Staff

TTX650

Powerful, Programmable, Understandable, Affordable...

imes being what they are, $149.97 doesn’t buy you much anymore. That’s not the case, however, when you buy a new TACTIC TTX650 transmitter— not at all! The new transmitter is a powerhouse of features and functionality. It’s almost hard to believe that you can “score” on this radio for so little. What you’ll get in the TTX650 is a transmitter that weighs just one pound, six ounces, with a set of “AA” batteries installed. You’ll also get a unit with digital trims, adjustable control sticks that are precise and frictionfree, a clear and easy-to-read liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, as well the transmitter that just feels good in your hands. The radio is, of course, designed to operate on the 2.4-GHz radio band. It has seven, well-positioned toggle switches; two are threeposition, four are two-position, and one is a snap switch that you’d likely use for snap rolls and such. The unit’s On/Off switch is well-placed on the front of the radio just above the LCD screen, recessed into the radio’s case just enough to keep it out of the way during piloting. Just above the On/ Off switch is the neck-strap clasp and above it is the On/Off indicator light, which provides a bright blue glow when the radio is turned on. On top of the radio is the carry handle, 78

RC SPORT FLYER — august 2013

which tilts the radio facedown just a bit when it is being carried. The battery tray is on the back and bottom of the case. It holds four “AA” batteries or NiCad or NiMH cells. At the bottom and left side of the transmitter is a firmware port, and below it is a charging jack. Finally, to the left and right of the LCD screen are six programming buttons: Servo, Clear, ESC, +/5, -/6, and the Enter key. All the keys are very easy

The TTX650 is very ergonomic and lightweight, which means it feels good in your hands, so you feel in control of your model at all times.

and intuitive to use. You will like the layout and positioning of the control sticks as well as the switches. TACTIC has a good design in their 650! So, here is what you get in the new TACTIC TTX650 radio:

Tactic TTX650

Your Tactic TTX650 sixchannel radio comes with four “AA” batteries for power. You can change them out for either NiCads or NiMH cells.

Features • • • • • • • • • • •

20 Model memory Easy-to-use programming Intuitive menus Easy-to-read LCD screen w/ adjustable contrast User-selectable switch assignments 4 programmable mixes 8 pre-programmed mixes Airplane and helicopter programming Compatible with SLT receivers and Tx-R aircraft Quad-bearing gimbals Adjustable stick lengths and

tensions • Wireless trainer system with selectable channels • Reversing, sub-trim and travel limits on all channels • Dual rates and exponential (aileron, elevator, rudder) • Digital trims with slow/fast adjustment • One up/down timer, one battery timer • Adjustable, low-voltage alarm • 4 “AA” alkaline batteries included • Charge jack for optional NiCd/ NiMH packs • External antenna that rotates and folds for easy storage

Functions • • • • • • • •

Model Select Model Management Trim Settings CH5 and CH6 Assignment Channel Assignments Trainer Function Warnings Servo Reversing (all channels)

Switches E and F are on the upper-left side of the transmitter’s case. Switch E is a three-position toggle, while F is a two-position, spring-loaded snap switch. Switch H is located on the top right of the transmitter’s case. It is a two-position toggle switch. It is program-assignable to the control function you want. Follow us on twitter @rcsportflyer

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BY Gene Cope

L-13 Blanik 4.2 m ARF A Glider to give You RC soaring Energy

RC SPORT FLYER â€” august 2013

E-Flite L-13 Blanik 4.2 m ARF

You’ll discover that the 4.2-meterwingspan Blanik is very forgiving on an aerotow. All you’ll need to do is keep its wings level. It will follow the tug.

he full-scale, L-13 Blaník is a two-seater glider that was first produced by Let Kunovice in 1956. It is an aluminum glider, built to be a trainer. It is the most prevalent glider in the world. It has even been used by the United States Air Force Academy under the designation TG-10C. It has also been used extensively as a training glider. The original glider employs NACA laminar flow wing section profiles and components from the Soviet aerospace industry. The Blaník entered production in 1958. It gained popularity with glider pilots because it is inexpensive, rugged and durable. The total production is in excess of 3000, with variants. E-flite’s new 1/4-scale, L-13 Blanik is a copy of the Red Bull version. It comes with many details, including the Red Bull trim scheme, which is factory done. The balsa-sheeted wings include a set of flaps that can be deployed for extra lift during thermal and for steep, slow approaches to landing. The modified HQW airfoil gives the L-13 a good lift-over-drag ratio and superb penetration. The molded fiberglass fuselage is large

and roomy, so it is easy to work in when installing and maintaining the radio control gear. The wings are made such that a set of electric-powered spoilers can be installed to aid in glide path control and for de-thermalling the glider. The model comes with a releasable towhook that installs in the nose, which makes it suitable for aerotowing. Then too, the glider has a landing wheel in the belly of the fuselage, so you can even fly it from paved airstrips.

Kit Contents

• • • • • • • • • •

Fiberglass fuselage Balsa-sheeted, foam-core wings Sealed hinging for ailerons and flaps Balsa-sheeted tail Carbon-fiber joiners Official Red Bull scheme UltraCote® covering Landing flaps Hinged canopy Hardware package

Needed To Complete • • • • • • •

Spektrum DX8 transmitter AR7010 7-channel DSMX receiver Spektrum DX8 used Spektrum AR7017 DSMX (min) Spektrum (6) A6030, (2) A5040 6.0-volt 4500-mAh NiMH battery Electric spoilers (Optional)

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