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SHOOT VIDEO WITH THE NEW

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The RC Aircraft Pilots and Builders Magazine

SPLENDOR

and • • • • •

How to Cover Piper PA-28 Plan Easy Mold Making New E-Power Column Learn to Fly on the Apprentice S

USA & CANADA $6.49

Discover F3A Pattern Flying at the Controls of this Outstanding RTF Machine

RC-SF.COM

OCTOBER 2013

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PG 72 DEPARTMENTS

10 14 88 89

PG 66

LEADING EDGE

See why this airplane may be the perfect trainer.

HOT PRODUCTS ADVERTISER INDEX MYSTERY AIRPLANE

BUILD

BRISTOL BEAUFIGHTER #3 Learn from a Top Gun professional how to make parts molds. By David Wigley

COVERING THE DALLAIRE SPORTSTER This step-by-step how-to will give you the skills for covering your model to perfection. By Jeff Troy

EASY MODEL MAKING HOW-TO Our master builder explains quick and easy mold making that will save you lots of time. By Rob Caso

E-POWER COLUMN #1 Learn the fundamental realationships between voltage, current and resistance. By Andrew Gibbs RC SPORT FLYER â€” OCTOBER 2013

HOW TO

AEROBATICS PART 7 Learning the basic maneuvers, as detailed in this article, is the way to advance your piloting into 3D flying. By Daniel Holman

PLAN

PIPER AIRCRAFT PA-28 Examine this PA-28 plan to learn how to build your next scale airplane from scratch with balsa and plywood. By Wendell Hoestler

The new Heli-Max 1SQ V CAM lets you start doing video surveillance

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OCTOBER 2013

Wind About 40 percent throttle is required when pivoting the airplane over the top of the

Slowly and gently release the rudder and throttle inputs as the airplane’s flight path nears a vertical down-line.

hammerhead.

PG 52

Get ready for 3D flying by learning the basics from a pro pilot.

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As the airplane slows, it loses its wind penetration ability and requires a larger amount of wind

At this point, airspeed is low and lots of wind correction is required.

correction.

As the airspeed increases, the airplane requires less wind

When at a high airspeed, the required wind correction is

correction.

minimal.

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REVIEW

HELI-MAX 1SQ V.CAM Discover how you can do video surveillance with this little quadcopter. By Max Keppler

E-Flite APPRENTICE S 15e We show you why this new electric-powered SAFE model may be the best trainer ever. By Wil Byers / Alyssa Peña

HITEC FUN CUB Get a good look at why Devin thinks this little Cub is a fun and easy airplane to fly. By Devin Troy

E-Flite CARBON-Z SPLENDOR If you’ve ever wanted to try F3A pattern flying, this review gives you an inside look at an affordable intro airplane. By Wil Byers

RC-SF.COM

Bell Electronic Technologies MEMS

Bell Electronic Technologies 529 Shadow Lane Yreka, CA 96097 Phone: 530-842-3150 aeroperfect.com

se your laptop or desktop PC to set up your RC aircraft, and do so with 0.01 degrees of precision. With their new unit, there’s no need to level your aircraft. Simply plug in the two-axis MEMS angle sensor—it comes with a USB 2.0 cable. Then you can set up control throws, wing incidence, decalage and engine thrust angle using the intuitive Graphical User Interface. You can even convert control throws that were expressed in inches or millimeters to degrees with a single click of your computer’s mouse. AeroPerfect™ is compatible with Windows 7/8, Vista, XP.

Bold Props

Frank Tiano Enterprises West Pipkin Road Lakeland, FL 33880 franktiano.com

rank Tiano Enterprises, better known as FTE, recently released a new line of propellers they believe may become the “Go To” product for the majority of RC power pilots. BOLD Props are made by a company that manufactures propellers for full-scale, ultra-

C-Ray 180

Horizon Hobby, Inc. 4105 Fieldstone Road Champaign, IL 61822 Phone: 217-352-1913 horizonhobby.com

he E-flite C-Ray 180 PNP flying wing is a clever airplane designed with simplicity in mind, so that you can catch a flight at any cavalier moment. Its lightweight Z-Foam® construction makes it possible to bounce back from crashes with minimal impact to its flying performance. The sleek lines of its design include a copious amount of wing area for increased stability. Not to be caged,

RC SPORT FLYER — OCTOBER 2013

light aircraft. They know propellers! FTE has taken their superior product, and by going direct to the modeler is able to offer highquality propellers at lower than customary pricing. Frank Tiano promises these new propellers

are as good, or better, than anything available today, but he is selling them for less. BOLD is offering sizes for 15- to 500-cc-size engines. They range from 14- to 42-in. diameters. Finally, BOLD Props will custom-make any size propeller you or your company may need.

its custom power system delivers spirited performance that you can enjoy. Out of the box, the C-Ray 180 is ready to accept the Spektrum®-compatible micro-class receiver and transmitter. Fast or slow, you’ll find its performance comfortable whether drawing

circles in the sky or just clowning around, flying with friends for some cool combat fun. Price $99.99 (EFL3075)

HOT PRODUCTS

RCGF 26-cc Gas Engine

BP Hobbies LLC 115 Stryker Lane Building 4 Unit 10 Hillsborough, NJ 08844 Phone: 908-431-5603 bphobbies.com

P Hobbies announces the arrival of the new, RCGF 26-cc “Beam Mount Version” gasoline-powered engine. This engine produces 2.95 hp and can turn an 18 x 8 propeller at 7000 rpm. The 26 is a lightweight,

Common Sense GPS Speed Meter

Specifications Common Sense RC PO Box 3546 Chatsworth, CA 91313 Phone: 866-405-8811 commonsenserc.com

his handy GPS Speed Meter can tell you all that and more! It displays your current GPS coordinates and records your entire trip, allowing you export the data to your PC and track where your aircraft or vehicle has been.

FieldMate Pro Electric Field Box

compact design that employs a rail-mount system. The RCGF 26-cc, beam-mount engine weighs 900 g (≈32 oz) with ignition and muffler. All RCGF engines come with propeller adapter, muffler, two beams, spark plug, electronic CDI ignition, twoyear manufacturer’s warranty and a 30-day BP Hobbies return warranty. Replacement parts and fee-based servicing are available from BP Hobbies. BP Hobbies is the exclusive RCGF distributor for the U.S. and Canada. RCGF Engines are available at your local hobby store or at BPHobbies.com.

Horizon Hobby, Inc. 4105 Fieldstone Road Champaign, IL 61822 Phone: 217-352-1913 horizonhobby.com

Features

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Battery life

2 .5 hours

Requires

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GPS Coordinator

Displays current longitude and latitude as well as total distance traveled. Records GPS coordinates of entire trip allowing you to track an aircraft or vehicle using the GPSLogger software that you download to your PC.

Speedometer

Displays current speed and records top speed and average speed

Altimeter

Records peak altitude

GPS Software

Also allows you to export your data to Google Earth for more advanced GPS logging

Power

Built-in, rechargeable, 200-mAh LiPo battery

Price $99.95 It also records top speed and top altitude that can be instantly reviewed once you’re done flying or racing.

you have easy access to parts and pieces, and there is plenty of storage for the equipment you have and need most. EFLA180 $69.99

he E-flite FieldMate Pro Electric Field Box is the ideal choice for RC pilots who want an organized container that can carry everything required to help them have a great time flying electric-powered aircraft. The box comes fully assembled and is built from high-quality materials. It is finished such that it will stand the test of time. Finally, it is engineered so that FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @RCSPORTFLYER

RC-SF.COM

BY Dave Wigley

BRISTOL BEAUFIGHTER

MAKING THE MOLDED PARTS

fter the Beaufighter’s basic airframe was framed and sheeted, numerous molded and formed parts needed to be fabricated. Since this aircraft was a scratch-built project, there were no commercially available parts— everything had to be designed and manufactured by me. For this Top Gun project, the

2 On a scale model, molded parts are a necessity if you want to make certain you duplicate the full-scale aircraft’s outlines correctly.

This is the balsa mockup of the wing in the area of the nacelle. This will provide an accurate flange on the mold after it is layed up over the plug/wing section mockup.

4 Sections of pink foam are glued together with spray adhesive then station cross sections are layed out.

formed parts generally fall into three different types: fiberglass, vacuumformed and cast parts. On the Beaufighter, the molded fiberglass parts included the nacelles, cowls, carburetor intakes, nose radome and oil cooler intakes. The clear canopy and rear cupola are vacuum-formed plastic, so solid plugs were needed for them. The dummy engines, static

RC SPORT FLYER — OCTOBER 2013

Tools used to shape the foam nacelle plug along with cardboard templates used to check for symmetry at the cross sections.

BRISTOL BEAUFIGHTER propeller hubs and blades were resin cast. Flexible silicone molds were made to fabricate them. For the fiberglass pieces, the steps are as follows: first a plug is made that is the exact shape and dimensions of the finished part. After the plug is shaped, sanded and polished, a multi-part mold is laid up over the male plug. When the mold is removed from the male plug it forms a female mold. The female mold is then used to form the finished part. This requires a lot of effort for just one or two finished parts. However, I actually enjoy this phase of a scratch-built project. Working with composites and resins is a nice change of pace from working with wood and building the airframe. The two construction types require very different skill sets.

NACELLES

The plugs for the nacelles were hand carved from pink foam. This material is fairly inexpensive and is available at most home improvement stores. You’ll find that sometimes you need to glue foam sheets together. The best way to glue the slabs together is with spray adhesive. Most other types of glues will leave a hard line at the joint line. You’ll discover that these are difficult to sand and will transfer through to the finished surface. Note too that pink foam is soft enough to be rough shaped quickly using a cheese grater as your tool, then with 80-grit sandpaper and finally with

220-grit. I use cardboard templates to frequently check the shape I’m creating for symmetry. I do so at preset locations or stations on the plug. The left and right nacelles of the Beaufighter are identical except for the joint at the wing’s surfaces. This is because the wing is tapered and slightly swept back. The nacelles obviously mount on the wings, so the parts needed to be shaped to fit over the leading edges. I framed and sheeted a mockup of the wing, with a constant cross section of the outboard rib at the nacelle location. As you will see later, this allowed me to make the plug, and to lay up the mold, so that the finished nacelles would have the correct shape at the outboard edge. Consequently, only larger, inboard edges needed to be trimmed to fit the wing.

5 The plug is roughly shaped using the “cheese grater.” This tool is good for removing a lot of material while still keeping a smooth shape.

6 The plug is sanded smooth with 80 then 220 grit sandpaper prior to applying fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin.

8 Successive layers of fiberglass cloth are laid up with epoxy resin over the plug to build up a smooth, strong surface.

The nacelle plug after being waxed and polished. It is now ready for the parting planes and mold layup. RC-SF.COM

BY Jeff Troy

COVERINGTHE DALLAIRE SPORTSTER IT IS NOT A STRETCH TO SAY THIS IS FUN!

These are the materials you’ll need to cover your model.

n my last installment, I showed you how I prepare my stickand former models for covering with fabric. My example for the covering procedure is the 108-in. Dallaire Sportster, manufactured by my longtime friend Bill Shive at Shive Specialties. The model’s airframe components have been sanded, filled where necessary and sanded again. They are now ready for the covering process.

MATERIALS

Despite the fact that this material has been out of production for several years, I’m using Super Coverite to cover my Dallaire. Similar materials are available though. Some of my favorites are Stits Poly-Lite from Chip Mull at F&M Enterprises, 34

RC SPORT FLYER — OCTOBER 2013

Koverall from the Sig Manufacturing Company and Solartex. Stits and Koverall have no adhesive applied, so using either of these fabrics will require you to coat the airframe with the recommended adhesive wherever the covering will come into contact with it. Solartex is a popular brand that is available in a variety of colors and tones, and it already has an effective adhesive coating on its back. Coverite 21st Century Fabric is primed, painted and sealed fabric that doesn’t require treatment of any kind before or after application, although I find that it works best on models with reasonably rigid structure. Regardless of the fabric you choose, the application methods I use will work well for you if you have done the

model’s preparation work properly. Because my Dallaire Sportster will be covered with fabric, it won’t be subject to the usual problems associated with film-over-film trimming. I will cover the entire airframe with raw Coverite, which has more of a translucent, white tone than anything else. The model’s trim colors will be red and blue, and I might be tempted to throw a little yellow into the mix. Down the road, two or three installments from now, I will apply the red, blue, and yellow trim pieces directly over the white base. If you’re an ARF/RTF pilot who has never covered an airplane before, don’t be intimidated by the job ahead of you. It isn’t difficult, and when it comes to applying fabric instead of

COVERING THE DALLAIRE SPORTSTER

3 The Dallaire Sportster’s wing will not be covered in this installment, but it should be used as a guide to cut the four pieces of fabric that will be used to cover it. Doing this will let you properly apportion the remainder of the roll to cover the remaining parts of the model.

Here are two of the four fabric sheets needed to cover the wing. Rough cutting is fine for now, and be sure to allow at least 2-4 inches of excess material all around.

5 After the wing covering is cut from the roll, cut the fabric for the smaller components. Always allow for excess material around all perimeters.

polyester or polypropylene film, it’s even easier. Fabrics have excellent shrink rates, they go around corners easier than most plastic films, and most fabrics can be lifted and repositioned if you make an error and think you might be getting into trouble.

STRETCH

Whether you cover your models with film or fabric, the one rule to guide you is that the primary concern is stretch, not shrink. All heat-shrink materials must eventually be called upon to shrink to some degree, but if they are applied with a pulling-andstretching technique as opposed to a loose application, the end result may FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @RCSPORTFLYER

Tack cloths, also called tack rags, are available in paint stores, hardware stores and better hobby shops. They are offered under several brand names by several companies, and all of them work fine for modeling use.

be tighter, longer lasting and resistant to loosening under the rays of the sun. Why do so many covering jobs get loose when the airplane is at rest on the airfield? Because heat makes things expand, not shrink. Sure, heatshrink coverings will initially shrink when hit with an iron or a heat gun, but if they are loosely applied and shrunk to tighten, heat from the sun will do its work and the covering will begin to “bag” again, loosening enough to wrinkle, blister and sag. If you pull and stretch the material over the airframe before touching an iron to the covering, you will prevent all those exposure-related problems—and the covering will stay

neat and tight. Put into its simplest, most easily understood example: imagine that you are covering your new model with a large section of a rubber balloon or a big piece of Playtex Glove material. Pull and stretch as you apply the covering, and most of the shrinking work will be done before it starts.

IRONS

Several different hobby covering irons are offered in the marketplace. I prefer the 21st Century Iron from Coverite. This iron has a computercontrolled thermostat that holds the shoe temperature to +/- 3 degrees of the temperature indicated on its dial. The dial reads in actual (Fahrenheit) RC-SF.COM

BY Robert J. Caso

EASY MOLD MAKING IT’S A PROCESS THAT WILL SAVE YOU TIME AND MONEY

f you have never done a traditional mold, it is a timeconsuming process that requires numerous expensive materials and sequential procedures that must be followed to the letter. By a “traditional mold,” I am referring to a fiberglass-filled, female mold made of either polyester or epoxy gel coat as its matrix. For these, a “plug” is made first, which is a solid representation of the part that is to be produced, and the mold is then formed around this, often in halves. Then, using epoxy and fiberglass cloth, a part is formed inside the mold. The number of components comprising a mold are generally referred to as numbers of parts—molds made in halves are thusly referred to as two-part molds. For more complete information on how to make traditional molds, see the September 2012 issue of RC-SF. Glass/gel-coat molds are very durable and can be used for the

production of many parts. Sometimes, however, I have no intention of making multiple parts from a mold and just need a one-off part for a particular model. Moreover, many kits or ARFs come with formed plastic parts that would be better made out of fiberglass for durability reasons. For such parts, I have made vacuumformed plastic molds to serve as the basis to make fiberglass parts for a model, doing so with great results. The procedures that I describe here are generally for the production of a single-part mold. I have not attempted a two-part plastic mold, although, with a bit of ingenuity, I am sure this could be done. The one downtick here is that you will need a way to produce a vacuum-formed part. Nevertheless, the time it takes to make the required vacuum table might be less than that needed to make a traditional mold. Keep in mind, too, that there are model accessory companies that can do the vacuum forming for you. If you try to make a fiberglass part directly from a vacuum-formed piece found in a kit, the resulting part will be out of

2 A plastic forming was made over the kit’s vacuum-formed nose piece, thus yielding a mold for a fiberglass part.

specification by at least the thickness of the plastic. So, I have resorted to vacuum forming over an already vacuum-formed kit part to make a mold of the original forming. The kit part, in essence, becomes the plug for a new mold. An issue that must be addressed first is that vacuum-formed parts to be copied are rather flimsy and will most likely be crushed or deformed under vacuum pressure during the “forming over” process. A way to support them is to first wax to the internals of the forming and then fill it with Durham’s Water Putty, a plasterlike material. I have not tried this, but I bet that spray insulation foam would work also. The weight of the Water Putty could deform the part from the inside while it sets, so consider temporarily supporting the outside of the part. Remember though, it is the outside of the part that you need, so don’t do anything permanent. Tape or temporary balsa supports are good ideas for this process. Once the plastic plug is internally supported, apply synthetic automotive grease to the outside of the plug

RC SPORT FLYER — OCTOBER 2013

The nose has now been cast with a fiberglass lay up and tack glued to a plywood ring bolted on the prop shaft.

EASY MOLD MAKING

4 The baseplate for sides had to be split diagonally and bent to match the cowl’s upper and lower panels.

to prevent the new forming from sticking to the plug. Any depressions in the forming that you want to reproduce accurately, such as an indentation for a propeller shaft, should have small holes drilled in them through to the table to allow the plastic to form completely. I usually use .030-in. ABS plastic for the new mold. Once the plastic forming is made over the plug, the mold is just about ready. After degreasing the mold, I usually first give the inside a wet sanding with 600-grit sandpaper and then apply mold-parting wax. After buffing this off, I then apply PVA mold release agent—when it is dry, the mold is ready for the fiberglass lay up. Depending upon how sturdy the new plastic mold is, be careful handling it during the lay up procedure and

A test fit of the sides; once the correct angles were set, the diagonal split was tacked back together with CA glue.

even when laying the mold back on the table with the wet fiberglass in it. Sometimes, just the weight of the glass can distort the mold enough to result in a deformed part. Furthermore, since the plastic mold is not very durable, you may only have two or three tries to get the fiberglass part right. For some parts, the vacuumforming step can be omitted entirely. The cowl for my 66-in.-wingspan Tiger Moth is comprised of singlepart molds. These were taken from an out-of-production kit’s vacuumformed parts, molds that I’d made from plugs that I fabricated, and one that I made from a curved sheet of plastic. The upper part of the Moth’s cowl, if you take a good look at it, is really nothing more than a half-coneshaped panel that mates up with the

nose piece. For this, I fabricated a trio of horseshoe-shaped frames set on a ply base and then I simply glued in a curved piece of plastic sheet that connects all the frames, thus forming a concave half cone. From here, it was a simple matter to lay up the fiberglass inside the half cone. The cockpit hatches were done in a similar fashion. The kit did not include plastic formings for the two side panels. So I made plugs for these starting with pieces of lite-plywood sheets, which were cut to match the opening on each side of the cowl. The top, bottom and forward edges of each side panel had to be flat and straight to mate up with the rest of the cowl, but its aft section has a shallow bulge outward. A further complication was that the upper and lower edges of

6 The underside of the plug had to be supported with balsa strips since the base of the plug is no longer flat.

Polyurethane foam was applied and sanded level with the ribs and then 2-oz-weight fiberglass cloth was laminated on top of this.

RC-SF.COM

BY Andrew BY GeneGibbs Cope

E-POWER

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VOLTAGE, CURRENT AND RESISTANCE IS FUNDAMENTAL

The new electric power systems guides that are now available at gibbsguides. com have become very popular. You’ll want to have a look to see if they might be of aid to your model flying.

RC SPORT FLYER — OCTOBER 2013

elcome to RC Sport Flyer magazine’s new column. The magazine’s editor, Wil Byers, asked me if I’d be interested in writing a column, a request I was delighted to accept. I’ll start by introducing myself. My name is Andrew Gibbs. I’m 48 years old and I’ve been building and flying model airplanes for about 42 of those years. I started flying electricpowered models around 1977. It began a fascination with e-powered models. My fleet consists mostly of e-powered models. However, I enjoy sport, scale and unorthodox types. I live in the UK where there is a very active e-powered model airplane community. As well as being an enthusiastic modeler, I’m passionate about all things aeronautical. I became a fullscale airplane pilot in 1990. Since then I’ve flown a variety of airplanes

This is a photograph of me, Andrew Gibbs, enjoying a nice relaxing day before going flying. Any day at the airfield is better than any day at the office, right?

E-POWER

All electrically conductive materials have a resistance to the flow of electric current, including the materials from which batteries are made. This means that the battery, as well as being the source of the voltage that drives a current around a circuit, also imposes its own resistance to the flow of electricity.

John Swain is shown here looking happy with his Stolac. This shot shows its covering quality. The contrast between the grey and white provides a strong horizontal line. This detail allows the model’s flight attitude to be easily judged while it is in flight. I might well emulate this detail on my own models.

The lower part of the nacelle provides a convenient home for the flap servo to be hidden. Notice the direct linkage to the flap’s control horn. Cooling air enters through the center section intakes and is fed to the ESCs before being fed to the nacelle. Then it flows back to the motor and finally out through a vent at the rear of the nacelle.

This tank of water serves to illustrate the concept of electrical voltage, which can be likened to water pressure at the outlet. The higher the water level is, the greater the pressure of water (in our case battery voltage) within the tank. The tank’s volume represents battery capacity. The flow rate of water represents current.

from single-seat, wood-and-fabric, open-cockpit homebuilt aircraft through to airliners. I’m also the name behind the electric-modelaircraft, information-products website gibbsguides.com.

for discussion, with a friendly, approachable feel to it. However, to do this I need to know what subjects you would like to see discussed. So please write.

THE COLUMN

Each month I plan to introduce and discuss an inspirational model. For this first month, it is John Swain’s Stoltac design. The name is an abbreviation of Short Takeoff and Landing Tactical Aircraft. The model’s wingspan is 72 inches and it has an 11-in. chord. So it’s got plenty of wing area at 5-1/2 sq ft, or 792 square

This column is meant to inform and entertain. I recently wrote three detailed guides on the subject of electric power systems for model aircraft. These have become very popular, and I’ll be using material from these guides in each issue. I’d also like my column to be a forum FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @RCSPORTFLYER

MODEL OF THE MONTH

inches. It has a weight of 9-1/2 lb, so the wing loading works out at just under 28 oz/ft2. The model uses a pair of EMax BL2826 motors. They turn 12 x 6 slow-fly-type propellers. Each motor gets power from a 3S 5300-mAh LiPo battery. Two 50-amp electronic speed controllers are used, one for each motor. The motors have a Kv of 850 (rpm per volt). The propellers therefore turn at about 8000 rpm at full throttle. At this power setting, the motors draw about 38 amps, which equates to about 840 watts. This means that the power loading RC-SF.COM

BY Daniel Holman

AEROBATICS PART 7 LEARNING THE BASICS PREPARES YOU FOR REAL 3D PILOTING Flying in high winds adds a new dimension to aerobatic flying. If you practice in it, it can make you a better pilot. In this photo, I am flying my Extreme Flight 60” Extra 300EXP at a walking speed into the wind.

hether my airplane is flying on its wing, fuselage or propeller, aerobatics continues to

thrill me. In Aerobatics Part 6 I explained how to make an airplane’s flight precise when flown in windy conditions. I also covered some precision aerobatic maneuvers. I cannot stress enough the importance of having a good piloting foundation in precision aerobatics before you advance into 3D and Extreme Aerobatics (XA) style flying. Although I have not written about every precision aerobatic maneuver in detail yet, I’ve given you the fundamental steps and foundational principles that, when applied, will make you an excellent precision aerobatic pilot. In this, and later installments of my how-to series, I will continue to explain and expound on different precision aerobatic maneuvers. Starting in this issue, I will also begin to cover some of the basic principles of 3D flight. First, however, I will cover two more precision aerobatic maneuvers that you will find in all classes of International Miniature Aerobatic Club (IMAC) and pattern flying. I encourage all of you aspiring aerobatic pilots to get involved with competitions in either of these categories because competition will help you hone your piloting skills. After this aerobatics article, I will have gone over every maneuver 52

RC SPORT FLYER — OCTOBER 2013

Wind Slowly and gently release the rudder and throttle inputs as the airplane’s flight path nears a vertical down-line.

At this point, airspeed is low and lots of wind correction is required.

As the airspeed increases, the airplane requires less wind correction.

About 40 percent throttle is required when pivoing the airplane over the top of the hammerhead.

As the airplane slows, it loses its wind penetration ability and requires a larger amount of wind correction.

When at a high airspeed, the required wind correction is minimal.

AEROBATICS PART 7 that you will find flown in the lower classes of competition.

HAMMERHEAD STALL

The Hammerhead stall is a relatively simple maneuver, yet widely used, even in the Advanced and Unlimited classes of aerobatics. As with all precision aerobatic maneuvers, the entry and exit is just as important as the maneuver itself. In every aerobatic sequence, the Hammerhead stall is preceded by some kind of vertical up-line. Flying the up-line, the airplane must travel absolutely vertically—regardless of the wind speed or direction. This often necessitates crabbing the airplane into the wind as we discussed in the last issue. After establishing the vertical line and reaching desired altitude, the pilot must slow the airplane gently. During its deceleration, the pilot must never cut the throttle all the way, which will help avoid having it deviate from its vertical line. Depending on the airplane, I generally bring the throttle back to about 40 percent to slow the airplane down until it is almost stopped. A common misconception is that the airplane actually stops in this maneuver. The reality is that the airplane must never quite stop—only one wingtip does. As the airplane nears a stop, I input full rudder in the required turn direction and hold a small amount of throttle throughout the airplane’s rotation. Right before the airplane is pointed straight down, I gently, and relatively slowly, release the rudder input. As soon as the airplane’s flight path has locked into a perfectly vertical down-line, I gently bring the throttle back to idle to keep the down-line as slow as possible. The reason that I wait to cut the throttle until the airplane has established its down-line is to avoid fishtailing. You see, without a little bit of air flowing over the airplane’s vertical stabilizer, it will often tail wag when the rudder is neutralized. Always make sure that your airplane’s entry and exit radiuses are congruent. That is how you should pilot your model through the basic Hammerhead stall. FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @RCSPORTFLYER

Now let’s look at a few of the specific points of this maneuver. The direction in which the airplane will pivot mut always be determined by the wind direction. Even in the Unlimited IMAC class, the direction of the Hammerhead is not specified because the airplane should always pivot into the wind. A Hammerhead executed correctly when the airplane is flying with the wind should be scored just as high as one done into the wind. However, it is much more difficult to do with the wind because of the weathervane factor. As soon as the airplane is at a near-zero airspeed and pointed with the wind, the control surfaces become almost nonresponsive and the wind tries to blow the airplane’s tail around. For this reason, you must plan this maneuver relative to the wind to ensure that the wind will benefit the airplane’s flight path. A rule of thumb that makes finding the right pivot direction easier is that in a crosswind, the airplane will never pivot 180 degrees. Instead, you must crab the airplane with its nose into the wind on its up-line, and you must keep its nose into the wind to some extent on its down-line. If you are preparing to do a hammerhead stall in which you will need to pivot the airplane past 180 degrees to adequately correct for wind, you have the airplane going the wrong direction. Also keep in mind that the wind correction required at the top of both vertical lines will be more than at the bottom because of the airplane’s low airspeed.

This diagram shows the IMAC spin broken down into its respective parts. Notice how the nose comes up just a few degrees before the stall break. The airplane must drop a wing in the stall to initiate the spin correctly.

RC-SF.COM

BY Wendel Hoestler

PIPER PA-28

LOW-WING, LIGHT AIRCRAFT FOR THE BUILDER

RC SPORT FLYER â€” OCTOBER 2013

PIPER PA-28

iper PA-28 Cherokees are light aircraft designed for flight training, air taxi and private pilot flying. The PA-28 is built by Piper Aircraft. The Piper PA-28s are all-metal, single-engine, piston-powered, low-wing and tricycle landing gear aircraft. The first PA-28 received its type certification from the Federal Aviation Administration in 1960. PA28s remains in production today. Piper has created variations of the Cherokee by installing engines ranging from 140 to 300Â hp, providing turbocharging, offering fixed or retractable landing gear, fixed-pitch or constant-speed propellers, and

stretching the fuselage. The larger, six-seat version is designated the PA32 Saratoga. Wendellâ€™s plan recreates the PA-28 version of the Piper. It is

designed to be powered by a 38 to 62-cc engine. This plan comes as two sheets, which are detailed such that even the beginner builder can have success creating this model.

RC-SF.COM

BY Max Keppler

HELI-MAX 1SQ V•CAM

YOU ARE GOING TO FLIP SHOOTING VIDEO WITH THIS LITTLE QUAD

f you’ve been wanting to do a little drone flying to capture video around the house, the new HeliMax® 1SQ V•CAM multi-rotor quadcopter may just be your perfect pick. This little quad comes ready to fly, including a built-in digital camera that shoots jpeg images at 96 dots per inch, and that captures video that is 1280 x 720 pixels at 30 frames per second. What makes this quadcopter so much fun is that it is small! It weighs just over an ounce and has four snappy little coreless brushed motors that let it zip around the room. It also employees Heli-Max’s TAGS-FX Sensor Fusion stabilization system that makes the quad easy to fly and helps you get good-quality, in-air video when you are doing aroundthe-house surveillance.

It is small but provides BIG fun in terms of flying, taking photos and shooting video.

WHAT YOU GET

• 1SQ V•CAM with micro digital camera • 6-channel 2.4-GHz SLT 640 Tx w/ “AA” batteries • 1S 250-mAh LiPo battery • USB LiPo battery charger • Extra set of (4) rotor blades • 2 Gig Micro SD Card • Card reader • Screwdriver

FEATURES

• TAGS-FX Sensor Fusion stabilization system • On-board, micro, digital video camera • 3D aerobatic Auto-FLIP feature

Everything you will need to fly the Heli-Max 1SQ V•CAM is included in the RTF package. You only need to charge the battery and it is ready to fly.

RC SPORT FLYER — OCTOBER 2013

HELI-MAX 1SQ V-CAM • On-board, micro, snap-shot, digital picture camera • Tx-R SLT auto-define programming • LED lights (white and red) on each of the motor pods

SET UP

Getting the 1SQ V•CAM quadcopter ready to fly is unbelievably easy. You’ll start by plugging the battery into its USB charger. Then you’ll plug the charger into a USB port on your computer, cell phone charger or even a cigarette lighter USB charge port. You’ll know the battery is charging when the red charge light comes on. The charge will be complete when the red light starts to flash slowly. It is easy. However, know that a charge may take as much as an hour to complete, although we never had to wait that long for a charge to complete. If you plan to take video on the maiden flight, you’ll need to install the SD card into the camera module. That too is easy to do; just push the SD card into the slot until it clicks into place. Once you have the SD card in place, you’ll push the battery into its holder. Then you’ll install the four “AA” batteries in the TX460 transmitter. Note that the transmitter comes set in mode two control. The manual explains how to change the control mode if needed. One mode makes the 1SQ easier to

Shown above is everything that comes in the RTF package for the quad. You even get an extra set of blades and a USB interface for the SD card.

This photo gives you a good look at what the guts of the Heli-Max 1SQ V•CAM look like. There is lots and lots of “brain power” packed into the microprocessor on this quad. FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @RCSPORTFLYER

Here you can see where the SD card plugs into the bottom of the quad, as well as the camera. The battery holder sits just above the camera mount and the battery slides in from the back. RC-SF.COM

BY Wil Byers

APPRENTICE S 15e AN AIRPLANE THAT MAKES IT SAFE TO BE A BEGINNER

The Apprentice S 15e ARF comes with everything you’ll need to get into flying RC, including the transmitter and the LiPo battery that will power the airplane.

AFE™ stands for Sensor Assisted Flight Envelope. SAFE technology is implemented in the control system of the new Apprentice® S 15e RTF (ready to fly) airplane. As such, the Apprentice S 15e is one of the best trainer/sport airplanes available to RC pilots today. This new technology makes the Apprentice S 15e extremely easy to fly, even for the first-time RC pilot. At the heart of this new control

technology is a sensor system that implements spatial awareness as a way to provide flight envelop protection. As a result, the control system acts like a basic autopilot

In the air the Apprentice S 15e looks every bit the part of a regular sport airplane, but its SAFE system separates it from every other model in its category.

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APPRENTICE S 15E RTF

This is how your Apprentice S will come from E-flite. It is nearly ready to fly. You need only add the battery, tail surfaces and attach the wings.

to counter the effects of thermals, wind and gusts. The beginner pilot, therefore, feels more in control of the airplane because the flight performance is smooth, yet responsive. SAFE also provides multiple levels of flight control, so depending on the pilot’s skill level the level of control can be adjusted. Moreover, the Apprentice S’s SAFE technology implements a “panic” mode so that if the pilot gets into trouble they can simply hit a switch to have their model returned to level flight. This is simply amazing in-flight performance you’ve yet to experience. It can be used as an outstanding training aid for any pilot new to RC or wanting to better their piloting. Another superb feature of the Apprentice S package is its level of completeness. The model is made of durable Z-Foam™ material, so it comes nearly ready to fly. It takes only minutes to attach the wing to

All around the Apprentice S 15e is an attractive, well-designed model for the beginner or intermediate pilot. It makes an excellent trainer!

the fuselage with rubber bands. You’ll attach the tail and install the landing gear; the modeler needs do only these few basic assembly functions, charge the battery and do a range test, and the model is ready to fly. Also, you’ll like the fact that the Apprentice S is powered by a

As with the rudder, the elevator’s pushrod and its linkages are tight and slop free. We found the elevator control to be very good.

The rudder’s control linkage is well designed so there is no slop or free-play in its control. This means a nice, tight control feel for the pilot.

brushless, outrunner-type electric motor system. That means it is so quiet that you can fly it at most any park or RC airfield. The motor system provides enough power to let an experienced pilot fly it through loops, rolls, hammerhead stalls and even do a bit of inverted flying. While we did not get them for our review model, you can even buy a set of molded foam floats for the Apprentice S that will turn it into a great flying floatplane.

An 840 Kv brushless outrunner motor powers the model. It gets power from a 3S 3200-mAh LiPo battery that runs through a 30-amp ESC.

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BY Devin Troy

FUN CUB

IT’S ABOUT FLYING A FUN, COOL LITTLE AIRPLANE

he FunCub by Multiplex is an extremely well-executed model with looks, features and performance made to deliver. It’s one thing for an airplane to fly well, but it’s another for an airplane to impress, and that is exactly what the FunCub does. This model provides the pilot with an assembly process easy enough for beginners to complete while learning a few

RC SPORT FLYER — OCTOBER 2013

assembly tricks, yet detailed enough to keep pros from getting bored. Once you get to the RC airfield, this airplane is ready to make every pilot its biggest fan.

KIT CONTENTS

A large portion of what you need to create your FunCub is already included in the kit. In the box you’ll find the fuselage, two

MULTIPLEX/HITEC RCD FUNCUB wing components and two tail components. Two Tiny-S servos are already installed in the fuselage, as well as four Nano-S servos in the wing. The ailerons and flaps are ready to use with linkages, and the linkages for the rudder and elevator have been installed as well. The brushless motor and brushless controller are also installed, which saves a lot of effort on the builder’s part. The propeller, motor and spinner, landing gear, and tail wheel unit are all included, as are the many decals, necessary hardware and manual.

FLIGHT TESTING

Thanks to the gigantic wheels on the FunCub, ground takeoffs are no trouble. It’s always easiest to do these on a paved surface or very closely mown grass. One of the claims of the Multiplex FunCub is its ability to take off from surfaces that have not even been mown. At the RC airfield,

These are the parts and pieces that will come in your Hitec RC / Multiplex Fun Cub. You’ll need a receiver and a transmitter too.

A hobby knife and ruler produce precision cutouts for the decals, which are included in the FunCub kit package.

I start my decal application by removing just a small portion of the paper backing.

Place the decal where you want it before pressing down the exposed adhesive to make the bond to the airplane’s the surface. Done right you will not get any bubbles.

When applying larger graphics, spraying the surface with glass cleaner will make it easier to get rid of air bubbles as well as fix any alignment mistakes.

RC-SF.COM

BY Wil Byers

CARBON-Z SPLENDOR

™ ™

TAKE CONTROL OF THIS F3A AIRPLANE TO REALIZE SPLENDID PERFORMANCE

E-flite’s Splendor looks splendid either upright or inverted. It will let you experience F3A pattern flying, but without you needing to spend thousands of dollars for a full-on competition machine.

Jill shows you just how clean the lines of the Splendor are, as well as how long its tail moment is, which makes for its superb tracking ability and handling.

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rom the moment I first laid eyes on this airplane, I’ve been wanting to review it. I make no apologies for it. I’ve wanted to fly a pattern airplane for a long time. However, whenever I’ve priced what it would take to get me into a real F3A competition airplane I’ve thought twice about it. This is especially so because I’ve not had the desire to get into competition F3A flying. Rather, I’ve just wanted to fly an F3A airplane to do graceful aerobatics like what I’ve seen Quique Somenzini fly with his F3A models. It is kind of like an artist painting sequences in the air to see topnotch F3A pilots putting their models through their routines. Moreover, to see one of these machines fly a slow roll down the flight line just a few feet off the ground is amazing. It is like the airplane is preprogrammed not to move off its heading. So, when E-flite® introduced this

E-FLITE CARBON-Z™ SPLENDOR™

This shot of Jill with the Splendor gives you an idea of just how long the model is relative to her.

new Carbon-Z™ version of their Splendor™ electricpowered F3A airplane, I wanted to get one to test my piloting skills flying F3A—or it after a fashion. What makes this model special though is its AS3X® technology that is built into the Spektrum™AR635 2.4GHz receiver system. AS3X makes it possible for even an intermediate pilot like me to have a lot of fun flying this airplane, without sacrificing the feel of rock-solid stability and unmatched performance that the BL50 outrunner motor delivers. Moreover this model comes almost ready to fly—and I mean almost ready. You will not spend more than an hour getting it ready to fly. It simply falls together. For me that means

This shot was taken just after takeoff. Notice that I’m holding a bit of up elevator control because I had the battery about a 1/2 in. too far forward.

The Carbon-Z Splendor comes with a pilot in its cockpit, which makes for a nice finishing touch.

a lot in light of the fact that my model building/assembly time is extremely limited. Most importantly though I wanted to do the test report on this airplane as a way to see what it would be like to fly F3A, especially since this would be my first time at the controls of such a model. I’ll

As you can see the elevator control servo and linkage is designed to provide positive, slop-free control. It will take you less than five minutes to hook up the controls to both the elevator and the rudder. FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @RCSPORTFLYER

Here you see the rudder’s control servo and linkage is also designed to provide positive, slop-free control. Notice that the tail wheel is driven through the rudder’s plastic hinge. It works very well. RC-SF.COM

RC Sport Flyer Oct 2013 (Vol 18-10)