GLUE BLUES

It does look like our traditional favorite for stick and tissue construction, nitrocellulose glue (Duco, Comet, Testors, etc.) is going the way of the dinosaurs. Although your editor hasn't been able to find it at the big super stores and dollar stores, the Duco Web site says it's available at Ace Hardware. The problem is price, even when you find it. The Duco site shows much higher prices than we have ever paid before, so be prepared. I am now using a Testor's tube, $2.29 for 5/8 ounce. Of course, we have to clench our teeth and blame inflation but perhaps we need to look at "alternative glue medicine." We probably don't always need a quick-setting glue; Elmer's white glue and carpenter's glue will probably work OK in many applications on the building board. The expensive stuff can be reserved for mostly flying site emergencies. And of course Cya (cyanoacrylate) is a good substitute once a technique is developed to put up with its ornery characteristics. One technique is to use a blob of clay as a "reservoir." Punch a hole in it, not too deep, with a brush handle or something similar, and create a well for dipping into with a piece of wire; a straightened paper clip is OK. There may be better ways to apply it but it seems that the most practical is to have all the sticks in place then drop a tiny drop of thin Cya on each joint. But it may be possible to use the gel-type Cya in the same manner as Duco, applying the glue to one piece before joining it with the other. But don't think you can peel it off your fingers like you can with the old stuff. No way! Also, the Cya has a relatively short shelf life unless you keep it in the freezer when not in use. Although it is supposed to have moisture to set and is not supposed to be affected by temperature, I have found that it does keep a lot longer if stored at low temperature. In summary, it is not likely that things will improve with Duco-type glues; they simply don't compete with all the other glues when it comes to strength. It works for us because even with its marginal strength, it is still usually stronger than the balsa that it holds together.

BUT IF YOU INSIST ON NITROCELLULOSE...

As described in past issues, it is possible to dissolve items like ping-pong balls in acetone and create your own brand. I wasn't able to find the "two star" table tennis balls mentioned in a past issue but did use three balls that were not identified. They dissolved OK but the glue retained the white color even after it dried. I also tried using plain Wal-Mart lacquer ($11 per quart) after it had evaporated to the consistency of glue, and it held OK but seemed to take longer to set. I had left it exposed for several days (average temperature about 50 degrees F) until it evaporated down to about 40% of its original volume. It may be possible to shorten the setting time if allowed to evaporate to a lesser volume. In both cases, however, you still have the problem of getting the stuff into a suitable container. Somebody out there probably already has a good idea on this subject. Let's hear it!

DESIGN MASTER FLORAL SPRAY

It seems that this stuff is generally accepted as almost weightless, but we find that while it is lighter in weight than Krylon spray paint, for example, its weight is by no means negligible. Our testing showed Floral Spray added about 25% to the weight of Esaki tissue as compared with 50% more weight added by White Fusion Krylon. Clear Satin Krylon added 98%.

HIMMEL!

This cartoon is taken from the September 1940 issue of Aeromodeller - at the height of the Battle of Britain. There is nothing in that issue that reflects despair, fear or low morale because of the bombardment. Undoubtedly there were restraints to reporting such an attitude because it would comfort the enemy. But the British were no doubt toughing it out, as Hermann Goering, for one, expected. At the Neurenburg trials, he said he had expressed his doubts to Hitler that the British people would be demoralized by the bombing.

Now we know the real reason for the Air Minstry ban on the flying of petrol planes. - D.A.R

FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, NO LESS

In browsing through the Windy Sock store of material saved for future issues, your editor ran across a clipping from the late Doc Martin's Hangar pilot newsletter. It's an article from no less than the Wall Street Journal, April 23, 1998 titled "The Right Stuff: A Maverick Flier Scales New Heights." Very interesting to all free-flighters, it also educates us in how the outside world looks at our hobby, especially those people born long after the "Flying Aces generation." Doc Martin had written above the article, "Can you believe this, pilots? Free-flight on page one of the Wall Street Journal!!" It's a very well written article, informative and interesting even to active modelers, and doesn't lend itself to condensation, so we will present it in two installments.

"How Mr. Andriukov Rocked the Model Plane World; More Than Rubber Bands. Talk about tightly wound. Alexander Andriukov stands in a vast brush-covered field, his hands wrapped around a model airplane with a five-foot wingspan. He grabs the propeller and gives the powerful rubber band inside its fuselage a twist. Then he takes a quick step and hurls it into the air. The plane shoots off into the cloudless California sky, and three minutes later, the craft drifts back to earth - just about a mile (away).

"For years, fliers of Wakefields - among the world's highest performance rubber-band-powered planes - personally constructed their craft in basement workshops or garages. Then Mr. Andriukov, a Ukrainian aeronautical engineer - and the field's current world champion - propelled a slew of high-tech ideas into the world of Wakefielders. This most arcane of sports hasn't been the same since.

"Mr. Andriukov equips his planes with complex delayed-release propellers that allow him to hurl them like javelins at the beginning of the flight. His ingenious front end changes the propeller's pitch in midflight to keep the revolutions high.

"He even put a special heater on his planes to put more snap in their rubber bands. The idea sparked such long flights that the device has been banned by the Paris-based Federation Aeronautique Internationale, which sets the ground rules for aviation contests.

"Because of his wizardry, Mr. Andriukov last summer became the first three-time winner of the Wakefield trophy when his final flight stayed aloft for seven minutes and 44 seconds - the best time in that competition (But didn't Dick Korda's winner stay aloft for 43 minutes in 1940? The reporter should have reported that, too...Editor Joe). Forty-two years old in a sport where people compete into their 60s, Mr. Andriukov is widely considered to be the best Wakefield flyer ever. (But the contest field isn't very level, is it, with a high-tech model being compared with balsa and sticks of FAC days....Editor)

These aren't the rubber-band-powered planes furtively launched at third-grade teachers. Rather, they cost up to $1,500 apiece, pack as much energy as a bullet leaving a gun, and can gain thousands of feet of altitude if they catch a thermal. They weigh only eight ounces and are powered by little more than an ounce of lubricated rubber strands.

"The rubber motor is so taut that competitors use a device that looks like a hand drill to crank them up, straining like fishermen reeling in marlin as they do so. Only a single supplier in the world, John Clapp of Sayre, Penn., sells the springy rubber used in Wakefields, and he refuses to disclose where he buys it. Each time he receives a new batch, Mr. Clapp sends samples to a select bunch of fliers who test it on homemade stretching contraptions.

"Robert Piserchio, a former member of the U.S. National Wakefield team, uses a 14-foot long board and a boat winch to study the energy retention of each new shipment. Last July, he received a now legendary batch ‘that tested better than anything I had tested before,' he recalls. ‘I quickly called up my friends and said, 'Buy all you can.'"

(Continued next month)

NEW LIFE FOR WWI AERO AND SKYWAYS !

There has been a major change in the management of these two publications, brought about by overwhelming financial problems in the printing and distribution of these two publications, and the problems have been further intensified by the decrease in revenue from subscriptions. This is a common problem in the magazine industry, and the WWI Aero/Skyways directors have responded with the same alternative as others have chosen: the Internet. Applauded as well as cursed (WS has done both!), there is a lifesaver in the digital world that many publications are grabbing. So take a look at the WWI Aero/Skyways ad below and send them an e-mail asking for the full scoop. You won't be disappointed in the new look of the on-line publications, especially if you have struggled with the poor quality of the paper-version photographs in the old magazine. Their quality was degraded not only by the unclear images of ancient photos but also by the lack of contrast probably due to the expense of doing better. And the color —Wow! What a difference. You'll see things in full color that couldn't appear in the paper version, bits and pieces of those old aeroplanes that will give us scale modelers heart palpitations. And the black-and-white stuff is in such sharp detail, where the original photo allows of course, that an impressive scale score is bound to result. Look at the photo below. It is labeled "Brown and Barlow's carburetor fitted to the Advance aero engine." And the publication is full of details like that. Really good stuff!

  

FROM CURTIS JARRET

"This is my first Embryo model. It's from a Tim Bucher plan book I bought a few years back. It's called Miss Micromanaged. The building and covering was pretty straightforward; the wing tips and vertical stabilizers were the biggest challenge for me due to the laminated outlines. It's pretty much complete and comes in at 15 grams. I'm starting out with an 18" loop of 1/8" rubber as per the plan. Waiting for one of those rare calm days for the first test flights."

Thanks for the input, Curtis, and for the nice photos, all self-explanatory. Nothing spectacular here, just good solid FAC stuff that we need more of to keep clubs active everywhere. The book Curtis mentions is Stick and Tissue Modeler's Album, Volume One, by Tim Bucher. It contains ten plans, including a scale Bristol Brownie, electric Peanut, ROW floatplane, electric Peanut Reisler R.III/22, "Tailless Terror" flying wing and "The Rambler" electric gas replica. It's a good selection of sound designs of a wide spectrum of free-flight models, good projects for newcomers to the hobby as well as old timers who don't like construction challenges and want fairly assured, good flying results. Publisher is Meteor Publishing, 42263 50th Street West, Suite 703, Quartz Hill, CA 93536. Price as of several years ago was $14.95 plus $3 shipping.

  

  

SOLID MODEL HINTS AND TIPS - By Steve Sibal
Taken from Cloudbusters newsletter - Ralph Kuenz, Editor

My very first solid model was a balsa Comet P-47 I made when I was maybe 12 years old. It was carved using a single-edge razor blade and finished using brushed-on Frog Green Testor's enamel left over from a plastic model car kit. It was so ugly, I threw it out as soon as the paint dried. Many years later I helped my fellow Cloudbusters in their activity to supply WWII recognition models to the Naval Aviation Museum, and built an OS2U Kingfisher floatplane. I have since built maybe two dozen solids, some better than others. Here are some hints and tips I have learned that may be helpful.

(Joe's comments: Some years before Steve built his P-47, I entered the model airplane hobby with a Comet kit of the Mr. Mulligan racer. I was attracted by the name more than anything else - clever! The plane had only recently won the Thompson trophy so it was receiving quite a bit of recognition. A kid a couple of years older than I was my mentor, and he assured me it would be OK to paint it any color(s) I wished; I chose orange and blue! He built one wing panel and I did the other. Naturally, this resulted in two different-size wing panels. It was enjoyable. No one seemed to think a model airplane could fly, so solid models were quite popular and probably introduced many kids to the hobby. Anyhow, I consider this article a keeper because eventually the flying field will be out of reach for many of us old buzzards, and it would be nice to work toward a collection of nicely detailed models of a certain era, historically important and not likely to crash to utter destruction. From Windy Sock to Steve Sibal: Thanks!)

Fuselage

I recommend using basswood instead of balsa for all wood parts. Bass carves very easily without gouging or splitting, and has much less grain to fill before finishing. The block used for the fuselage should be at least one inch longer and ¼ inch deeper than the finished fuselage. Laminate the fuselage block from two pieces (left side and right side) to result in a vertical glue line down the length of the fuselage, and glue together using yellow carpenter's glue. (White glue doesn't sand very well....editor). You will later use this glue line as a reference to assure symmetry and alignment. This two-piece block idea is also useful for floats, bombs, etc. On the side of the fuselage block, draw a horizontal line from front to rear in the middle of the block. Draw a center line on a copy of the fuselage top- and side-view plans through the prop thrust line and extend an inch beyond the front and rear of the fuselage. Glue the side-view and top-view plans to the fuselage block using rubber cement. Align the fuselage top-view plan centerline with the fuselage block centerline glue joint. Align the fuselage side-view plan with the horizontal line drawn on the fuselage block.

If you want to mount the finished model on a music wire pedestal, set the fuselage block on its top and drill a one-inch deep vertical hole in the bottom of the fuselage block on the centerline glue joint at the middle of the wing root chord. The drill diameter should match the OD of a brass tube into which the music-wire pedestal is inserted. I use 1/32" ID tubes for 1/72 scale fighters and 1/16" tubes for medium bombers. If building a model with top or bottom turrets, use a spade bit which is the same diameter as the turret to bore a vertical hole into the top or bottom of the fuselage block on the centerline glue joint. The bottom of the hole should be about ¾ inch inside the finished fuselage. Drill vertical holes in the bottom of the block to mount music wire for the tail wheel strut, arresting hook, centerline float struts, etc. Drill vertical holes in the top of the block to mount music wire for upper wing struts, antenna masts, direction-finder lops, etc.

Lay the fuselage block on its side and drill holes completely though the side of the block to locate the LE and TE of the wing on the fuselage. Use a drill diameter at the LE that approximates the LE radius of the wing root. Use a 1/32 inch diameter drill to locate the TE. Now drill a hole completely through the block at the maximum thickness point of the wing airfoil. Use a drill diameter that matches the maximum wing airfoil thickness at the wing root. Using a scroll saw or coping saw, insert the saw blade through the largest diameter hole and saw the airfoil shape into the fuselage between the three drilled holes. Repeat this procedure for the horizontal stab. Also drill holes into the side of the fuselage block to locate ends of struts, flying wires, etc. where shown on the plans. If the fuselage side-view has small radius corners, such as the bottom of the windshield to the top of the cowl, drill holes through the block at these corners. This is much more accurate and easier than trying to cut a tight corner with a saw.

Set the fuselage block on its bottom and cut out the fuselage to 1/16 inch outside of the top-view plan glued to the block. Sand the fuselage block to match the top-view fuselage plan out line. On the bottom of the block, measure the width of the left and right sides of the fuselage relative to the centerline glue joint at several locations down the length of the fuselage. Sand as needed to ensure symmetry of the fuselage sides with the centerline glue joint. Glue the cutoff left and right sides of the fuselage block to the sanded fuselage with Ambroid, Duco, etc. After the glue has dried, lay the block on its side and cut the fuselage to 1/16 inch outside of the side-view plan glued to the block. Insert a stub of brass tube into the pedestal mounting hole you drilled earlier, CA the tube in place, and trim the tube flush with the bottom of the fuselage. Sand the top and bottom of the fuselage as needed to match the side-view fuselage plan outline. Remove the left and right side block scraps you glued to the fuselage, using acetone. You now have a symmetrical, rectangular cross-section fuselage with locating holes for the wing, stab, turrets, etc. that is ready to carve.

Wings: Instead of gluing left and right wing stubs to the outside of the fuselage, which is a source of weakness and misalignment, add a wing center section between the left and right wings like that used on most full-scale jobs. Select a sheet of wood that is at least as thick as the maximum wing airfoil thickness. Make a copy of the wing top view plan, and draw a center section on the plan. Sand the wing blank to match the top-view plan outline. Drill vertical locating holes completely through the wing blank at attachment points for landing gear struts, wing struts, float struts, flying wires, etc., where shown on the plans. Peel off the wing plan copy and taper the top of the wing blank to the correct thickness in the front or rear view. On the front edge of the wing blank, draw an ink line tip-to-tip, one-third of the way up from the bottom of the blank. This will be your reference mark for locating the wing leading edge radius. On the rear of the wing blank, draw a line at the inboard bottom of the wing tip panel to a point half-way up from the bottom of the blank. This will be your reference mark for locating the wing trailing edge, and will also transition the airfoil from a flat-bottom to a symmetrical cross section with washout. Around the left and right sides of the wing blank, draw a line half-way up from the bottom of the wing blank. This will be your reference mark for locating the edge of the wing tips, which will have a symmetrical airfoil. You now have a rectangular cross section wing blank of the correct thickness with leading edges, trailing edges, and attachment points for landing gear, etc., defined to begin carving. After carving the airfoils and tips to shape, cut the wing blank at the dihedral joint lines to create left, right and center section panels. Sand the inboard ends of the left and right wing panels to create dihedral joints between the wing panels and the wing center section just like you would do for a hand-launch glider.

Tail surfaces: Where thin (1/16" or less) tail surfaces are required, laminate a tail surface blank from two sheets of 1/32" bass and orient the sheet grains plus or minus 30 degrees, or use 1/16" plywood. This results in much stronger and warp-free surfaces. Use the lamination glue line as a reference to locate the leading and trailing edges. Glue a copy of the tail surface plans to the blank using rubber cement. Cut out the entire horizontal stab as one piece, not separate left and right halves. To make a stronger vertical-stab-to-fuselage joint, extend the bottom of the vertical stab plan by 1/8", and cut out the stab to this shape. Cut a 1/8" deep groove with a knife or Dremel into the top of the fuselage to insert this extended vertical stab.

Assembly: Assemble the left, right and center section wing panels using epoxy. To strengthen the wing joints, especially important for gull wings, drill two or three horizontal holes through the joint and insert hubs of music wire of the same diameter as the drill. CA the music wire stubs in place and fill the remaining holes. You can also use this technique to glue left/right wing stubs to the fuselage if you insist on using wing stubs. Glue the vertical stab into its slot in the fuselage with epoxy and align the stab center line to be parallel with the fuselage center line glue joint. Glue the wing and horizontal stab in their slots in the fuselage and align the wing center section and horizontal stab to be perpendicular to the fuselage center line glue joint and the vertical stab. If wing root fairings extend beyond the trailing edge of the wing, cut fairing bottom templates from 1/32" ply and epoxy them to the wing trailing edge and the fuselage side. Create fairings between the fuselage and wings or tail surfaces with a 50/50 mix of epoxy and microballoons. Wood putty also works but requires multiple applications and longer drying times. Apply fairing material with a piece of tubing or dowel to create a consistent radius down the length of the fairing. When dry, sand the fairings and wipe with acetone or denatured alcohol to ensure good paint bonding.

Details: Cut stubs of music wire of the appropriate diameter, then drill and CA in place to simulate exhaust pipes, pitot tubes, machine guns, landing gear, wing struts, etc. Bologna-slice dowels to create main and tail wheels . Insert stubs of wood dowels of the appropriate diameter into a Dremel or drill press and turn to shape using small files to create prop hubs, spinners, bombs, etc. Carve small external details such as air scoops, radiators, exhaust pipes, etc. from wood scraps or dowels and glue using epoxy. Secure details using drilled holes and stubs of music wire if needed. If building a model with turrets, get a dowel which is the same diameter as the turret and round the end of the dowel to replicate the exposed shape of the turret. Cut the shaped dowel about ½" longer than the height of the turret shown in the side-view plan. Place the dowel into its hole in fuselage, slide the dowel up/down in the hole as required to match the exposed height of the turret shown on the plan; mark the turret height with a pencil and glue in place. Use pins to hold the turret to the correct height while the glue is drying.

Finishing: Use Elmer's wood putty to fill dings or gouges in the wood surfaces, and also to fill and fair the gaps between details and the wing or fuselage. Thin the putty with water if necessary and apply with a piece of tubing or dowel to create a consistent radius. Seal all surfaces with several coats of nitrate dope to ensure good paint bonding, sanding between each coat. Repeat as necessary until the unsanded nitrate leaves a shine. Prime using automotive lacquer primer or Krylon primer from a rattle can. NAPA brand flat black lacquer primer is my favorite for WWII identification models. If any blemishes appear, fill them with automotive lacquer spot putty and sand before applying the next coat of primer. Use alternating colors for primer coats to avoid over-sanding and ruining your previous work. Stop sanding when you see a different primer color appear.

GLIDER TOW LINE

CHORDWISE, SPANWISE, OTHERWISE

The debate goes on: To minimize warping, do we cover with tissue grain running chordwise or lengthwise/ spanwise? Most modelers run the grain spanwise, but there is a good reason to run it chordwise, since the most shrinkage occurs in a direction perpendicular to the grain. As mentioned before, your editor had a problem with eliminating the wrinkles when the grain ran chordwise, and dihedral took on the shape of an arc as well. The latter problem could be eliminated with an extra spar or two in most cases but the stubborn wrinkles are something else, probably more dependent on the skill of the paperhanger! Bob Isaacks, a proponent of chordwise covering, now comes through with a tip or two.

"If you cover wet, cover the bottom of the wing first. As the tissue dries, it will have a tendency to bow up. Not to worry! Next cover the top, wet, and redampen the bottom tissue. Since there is slightly more tissue on top of the wing (because of camber), the bow on the bottom will disappear. If all else fails, rewet both sides (I use alcohol) and pin down. Get ready for some of the best covering jobs you have ever done! Do NOT glue to every bay; stick to the periphery only. This allows a more uniform overall shrink and is the real secret to a no-wrinkle job. After the tissue is shrunk tight, doping the tissue will attach it to every rib."

THE 4-CANNON MUSTANG