Radio controlled model world october 2016

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ELAN 100

ON TEST! A CLASSIC 100 INCH SOARER BUILT FROM A THOROUGHLY MODERN KIT

DESERT WACO SPOTLIGHT ON A FINE SCALE MODEL OF A CABIN SERIES BIPLANE

PULLOUT R/C PLAN

WORTH £11.99

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OCTOBER 2016

POLE DANCER

ULTRA SIMPLE AND VERY FAST! BUILD THIS 40" CLUB RACER

TOP FLIGHTS FROM TIBENHAM

CELEBRATING THE LMA’S NEW VENUE IN EAST ANGLIA PLAN FEATURE!

SIZE ONE

Issue 393 £4.75

PETER MILLER’S 51- INCH SPORT MODEL IS PERFECT FOR A .30 FOUR-STROKE OR A .25 TWO-STROKE GLOW

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Contents 62 SCALE SOARING

Chris Williams was so enthused by the success of his electrified Slingsby Dart 17R that he started work on making another electric scale glider based on the Bergfalke IV from his recently published plan in RCMW (MW3750). Chris also reports from the Ghost Squadron Aerotow at Middle Wallop in early May

72 A BRIT IN BRITTANY

FRONT COVER

Neil Hutchinson provides another of his stunning cover shots, this time from the LMA’s inaugural East Anglian show at Tibenham, where his camera zoomed in on the Honey Bee built by Dave Horton. The full size Honey Bee was designed in the 1950s in the USA as a home build, from where you can still buy plans and accessories. Dave’s model has a wingspan of 19 feet and is powered by a Westlake 350 cc petrol engine. It has some very interesting features, like a working dashboard complete with fuel gauge. There’s even a working radio! Turn to page 66 to read Neil’s full Tibenham report

REGULARS 6 8

PRE FLIGHT

Introducing this issue

TAKE OFF

Latest R/C model flying news

More tales from a French model club, with ex-pat Dave Goodenough.

This time Les Fous Volants prepare for their two-day scale model show, one of the largest in North-West France. Top notch pilots and their beautifully crafted creations were expected to gather at the runway of St Cyr-Coetquidan – but the weather had other ideas...

However, some flying still went ahead

78 SOARERS’ SLOT

Mike Proctor catches up on a vintage soaring project and witnesses the first flight of a 1960 designed Beatnik. He also visits the UK F5J International, held over the first weekend in July at Ashurst, West Sussex, before heading straight over to France to soar his gliders in the hot dry conditions at the annual Loire Valley F5J event

90 THE SPORT CHANNEL Gray selects another batch of popular sport modelling topics

93 DIARY DATES

Our events page ramps up for autumn and the start of the indoor model flying season

12 SHOP WINDOW

OCTOBER 2016 • ISSUE #393

REVIEWS 16 ELAN 100

Tony van Geffen builds a classic glider from the Cambrian Model Company. The 100" Elan was first introduced in the 1980s and this modern kit provides a quick, easy build and has great performance in the air. Elan is a two-channel thermal and slope soarer with a sturdy plywood and balsa fuselage and two-piece plug-in wings

FEATURES 24 FROM THE SCRAPHEAP Frank Skilbeck takes part in an enjoyable inter-club Scrapheap Challenge organised by Gloucester Model Flying Club.

Intrigued, Frank circulated the GMFC’s invitation around his fellow Newent club members and soon solicited enough interest to put together a team

29 MODEL FLYING WITH A DISABILITY

Living with a disability doesn’t mean that you cannot enjoy flying R/C aircraft. Brian Collins, who was paralysed following a motorcycle accident, passes on some of his experiences, tips and advice on R/C flying from his wheelchair

34 THE LONGEST XC

Vaughn Entwistle recounts an epic cross-country glider flight made

by Pat Teakle from Crook Peak and far across the Mendip Hills back in 1984

A look at the latest R/C products

56 LIGHT FLIGHT

After a mild overdose on quadcopters, John Stennard returns to flying indoor model aeroplanes and helicopters.

In his regular small models column he reviews the Blade AH-64 Apache and also discusses flying disc-shaped Bugs and Nutballs

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38 A SUPERB WACO YKC

Phillip Kent takes a close look at Paul Blakeborough’s detailed model of a military Waco Cabin Series biplane. Built to 1:5.5 scale, Paul’s YKC flew at the Pontefract ‘Traplet Scale’ competition in May. It is based on a full size example used by the Long Range Desert Group (LRGD), a covert force that carried out deep penetration and intelligence raids behind enemy lines, mainly in the Libyan Desert between 1940 and 1943

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42 SIZE ONE

Looking around for something quick to build for a spare SC 30FS, Peter Miller scaled up his Size Zero design from RCMW March 2008 (MW3304) by 18%.

The resulting 51" wingspan model provides the perfect dimensions for a .30 size, four-stroke engine, although Size One would also perform well on a .25 two-stroke glow. Peter changed construction from an open framework fuselage and built up tail surfaces to sheet sides and solid sheet tail surfaces, and also fitted a wingmounted undercarriage

50 POLE DANCER

Pull out this month’s free plan and construct this simple to build 40" wingspan Depron and balsa pylon racer, designed by Graham Dorschell for a 1500 KV outrunner and three function R/C

66 LMA AT TIBENHAM 2016 Neil Hutchinson visits the new home of the Large Model Association’s East Anglian show, which was based at Rougham for many years, but because of a new road development and safety concerns a new site had to be found.

The new site at Tibenham, which is approximately halfway between Thetford and Norwich, benefits from having a tarmac runway – ideal for flying big model aeroplanes!

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83 QUICK QUADS

After a short break, to prevent multirotor overload with our readers, John Stennard returns to conclude his short series on sport flying with a racing quadcopter, plus lots of tips on FPV flying

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Paul flew his Waco to second place in the Pontefract leg of the Traplet Scale competition

P

Built to 1:5.5 scale, the 72 inch wingspan YKC makes a nicely sized model aeroplane 38

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aul Blakeborough is the treasurer of the BMFA Northern Area and I have been the Northern Area Auditor for some years now. I meet up with Paul every year end to audit the accounts and after completing the audit we have a chat about our models. There was a surprise in store for me this time as I found that Paul was building a model of a Waco YKC. The reason for my surprise was because I had been working on my own model of the YKC for some time. As a result of our chat my endeavours to complete my model increased dramatically and a first flight was made in the autumn of 2015. (See the January 2016 issue of R/C Model World for details of my model.)

Paul, however, was well ahead of me and his 1 to 5.5 scale model of the YKC flew in May of 2015. I had a chance to photograph and check over the model at the Pontefract Traplet competition in May of this year and I was most impressed with what I saw.

Big And Little The model is based on a full size example that was used by the Long Range Desert Group, or LRGD, during the 1939 to 1945 war. The LRGD was a covert force that carried out deep penetration and intelligence raids behind enemy lines, mainly in the Libyan Desert between 1940 and 1943.

There were two Waco cabin biplanes used by the LRGD, one named Little – a YKC, and

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MODEL SPOTLIGHT

A Superb Waco YKC Phillip Kent takes a close look at Paul Blakeborough’s detailed model of a military Waco Cabin Series biplane

These pictures show the excellent rib stitching and corrugated control surfaces one named Big – a ZGC-7. The Big and Little names were given due to the engine horse power ratings used in the two aircraft.

The one modelled by Paul was Little, the YKC. The Y in the designation was for the engine, a 225 hp 7 cylinder Jacobs L-4 radial. The K was for a Cabin Series aircraft and the C was for aircraft produced by Waco between 1931 and 1935. The ZGC, Big, had a 285 hp 7 cylinder Jacobs L-5, the G was for the Cabin series, the C for a Custom Cabin and the 7 for aircraft built by Waco in 1937.

Model Details The model uses typical building techniques that use strip and sheet balsa, along with

ply and some blue foam for wing root fairings.

The wings use rib for rib construction and both plug into the fuselage with piano wire dowels.

The tail unit relies on the excellent balsa core construction, with the fuselage using a box padded out with formers that carry the multitude of stringers that give the model its attractive streamlined shape.

The struts use the K&S extruded aerofoil aluminium tubes that bolt together with 2 mm nuts and bolts. The undercarriage uses modified Unitract oleos built into triangular leg fairings. The model has a fully furnished interior, with access through an opening door.

The dummy radial engine was built up using Williams Brothers cylinders modified to

Centre section details include the sleek wing fairings, the wing walk-way and the nicely reproduced curved rear cockpit glazing resemble the Jacobs 7 cylinder unit.

The model has a wingspan of 72 inches and is powered by a Laser 120 fourstroke. The weight is 12 lb 6 oz, giving it a wing loading of 21 oz per square foot.

The Solartex covered camouflaged model is painted with Vallejo Model Color water based paints. The colours used are Azure 70.902 (blue) for the undersides, US Field Drab 70.873 for the darker brown and for the lighter brown a three to one mix of Buff 70.976 and Middlestone 70.882.

The photographs should give readers an idea of the quality of this superb model designed and built by Paul Blakeborough.

RCMW

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