electric flight uk - British Electric Flight Association

ELECTRIC FLIGHT U.K.
ISSUE No. 72 SPRING 2003
THE MAGAZINE OF THE
BRITISH ELECTRIC
FLIGHT ASSOCIATION
http://www.ezonemag.com
Visit the E-Zone on-line magazine – the best source of
information for the electric flyer on the web today!
‹
Monthly columns covering nearly all aspects of electric
flight
‹
Reviews on the hottest new aircraft and conversions
‹
Pictures of reader’s projects from all over the globe
‹
Showcase of manufacturers’ electric offerings
‹
Join the E-flight mailing list and converse with hundreds
of electric flyers from around the world
‹
Four years of articles archived on-line
‹
Classified ads
‹
Links to numerous other electric internet sites
Best of all – it’s free! Be sure to stop in!
http://www.ezonemag.com
Electric Flight - U.K.
Issue 72 - Spring 2003
"To Encourage and Further all Aspects of Electric Model Flight in
the British Isles and Elsewhere" - B.E.F.A. Constitution
CONTENTS
BEFA Committee 2003/4 ......................... 4
Chairman's Chatter ................................. 5
News from the AGM .............................. 6
Current Lines ......................................... 7
New-2-U ................................................. 8
Readers' Models .................................. 11
Living with the Piccolo ........................ 17
TLC from your TLO .............................. 23
Fun-Fly Competition Idea .................... 28
BEFA Leagues Final Report ................. 32
Letters to the Committee ...................... 33
Model Motors MV2020/20 ................... 36
Join the Cub! ........................................ 39
Messerschmitt Me 262 “Schwalbe” .....
FanJet Trainer & Vampire .....................
The Ill-fated career of a Me 109 ............
The Martinet ........................................
“Pico-Stick” Developments ..................
A Simple Motor Mount System ...........
The Blue Max .......................................
Inspiration ............................................
Preset Speed Controller for FF .............
For Sale / Wanted .................................
Event Calendar .....................................
New to Electric Flight? Start Here ........
BEFA Sales ...........................................
Advertisers Index .................................
44
51
53
58
60
62
64
66
73
76
78
84
86
86
Cover Photo: The cover photograph is Hercules of Jörg Golombek and Michael
Häberle. It is approximately 1/7th scale and spans 19’ 8½” (6m). See page 67 for
more details.
NEXT ISSUE. The copy date for the Summer 2003 issue is 1st June 2003, with
the magazine due for publication by 1st July 2003.
DISCLAIMER
B.E.F.A. and Electric Flight U.K. wish to point out that the content, techniques
and opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the individual authors and
do not necessarily represent the views of either the Editor of this magazine or
B.E.F.A. and its committee. All reasonable care is taken in the preparation and
compilation of the magazine, but B.E.F.A. and its committee cannot be held liable
for any error or omission in the content of this magazine or any subsequent
damage or loss arising howsoever caused.
To allow proper appreciation of the photographs used, colour copies of them will
be posted on the B.E.F.A. website after publication of this magazine. If you can,
check them out at www.befa.org.uk
E.F.-U.K.
3
BEFA Committee 2003/4
Chairman
Robert Mahoney
123 Lane End Road, High Wycombe, Bucks. HP12 4HF
EMail: befa@rlmahoney.co.uk
Secretary
Peter Turner
37 Church Street, Horsley, Derbyshire. DE21 5BQ
Email: peter@alport.fsnet.co.uk
Membership Secretary
David Andrews
2 Gainsborough Road, Kibworth Harcourt, Leicester. LE8 0SG
Email: david@kibworth.fsnet.co.uk
Treasurer
Bob Smith
1 Lynwood Avenue, Tollesby, Middlesborough, Cleveland. TS5 7PD
Email: bobsmith@ntlworld.com
Editor EF-UK
Jan Bassett
111 Plantagenet Chase, Yeovil, Somerset. BA20 2PR
Tel. 01935 472743, E-mail: jan.bassett@electric-flight.org.uk
EF-UK Printer
Brian Boughton
'Red Roofs', Vicarage Road, Thetford, Norfolk. IP24 2LH
Events Co-ordinator
Terry Stuckey
31 Dysart Avenue, Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey. KT2 5QZ
Competition Secretary
David Beavor
34 Chestnut Close, Brampton, Huntingdon, Cambs.
Midlands Representative
Roger Winsor
14 Butler Gardens, Market Harborough, Leics. LE16 9LY
Email: Rogerwinsor7@aol.com
Northern Representative
Bob Smith, details as Treasurer
Southern Representative
Dave Chinery
251 Station Road, Hayes, Middx. UB3 4JD
South West Representative Jan Bassett, details as Editor EF-UK
Indoor & Free-Flight Rep.
Gordon Tarling
87 Cowley Mill Road, Uxbridge, Middx. UB8 2QD
Email: gordon.tarling@ntlworld.com
Technical Liaison Officer
Alan Bedingham
17 Highcliffe Close, Wickford, Essex. SS11 8JZ
Email: bbba18333@blueyonder.co.uk
Public Relations Officer
Dave Perrett
10 High Lees, Sharnford, Leicester. LE10 3PW
Tel: 01455 272297, Email: d.l.perrett@btinternet.com
Webmaster
Jan Bassett, details as Editor EF-UK - (www.befa.org.uk)
Safety Adviser
Stan Rose
Tel: 01636 525029, Email: rose@elston4.freeserve.co.uk
Please enclose an SAE with all postal correspondence to the committee.
4
E.F.-U.K.
Chairman’s Chatter
Dear Members
We are now approaching the thirteenth year since being formed. In the
last year I have attended the Dortmund Modellbau, Sandown Show and
the BMFA Annual General Meeting, the latter with our Secretary Peter
Turner. At these events, we have promoted our Association to flyers
from all disciplines.
Over the years I have tried to get flyers from over the channel to come
to one of our events, and this year I succeeded in getting Jean-Paul
Schlösser (JePe) over to the Middle Wallop event. The sight and sounds
of his models said SPEED in a big way!
There are now 400 members in the Association. We could double this
amount if every member recruited just one member. It is up to you where
our Association goes in the next few years. It would be nice to see the
membership rise to over the 1000 barrier. Just think what the
Association could do you for if we had this number of members.
Your committee is now getting ready for the next round of Exhibitions
that we display our wares at, and in organising the fly-ins that are
included in the events pages of this issue and on the web site.
Last year saw two new events on the BEFA calendar, An East Anglia
event at the Phoenix Club’s flying site near Lowestoft and an event at
the Exeter Club’s flying site at Exeter Racecourse. The numbers at these
events were low, but that’s the way that events are formed.
Some good news about Middle Wallop this year is that we have been
granted our weekend event! In fact, we will be the only RC event on this
site in 2003 due to difficulties last year. This is due to your fly-in crew
leaving the airfield as we found it, or better!
I would like to thank your Committee members for the hard work they
have done during the past year.
I wish you all the best for the 2003 flying season, so safe flying and
KEEP THE WATTS UP!
Robert Mahoney
E.F.-U.K.
5
News from the AGM
by the Editor
Just a little note to inform members that could not make the Annual General
Meeting (AGM) of the significant points of interest.
• Firstly, I’m sure you’ll be interested to know the Membership fee for the coming
year - well good news as they remain unchanged, which is £20 for UK members.
• Constitution changes:
• The post of Safety Officer has been changed to that of Safety Adviser to
fall in line with the BMFA guidelines.
• It was agreed at the AGM that Robert Mahoney and Bob Smith be granted
life membership of the BEFA.
• Election of Committee Officials.
• The following individuals had been co-opted into committee positions at
the last AGM and were elected to stand for 1 year to fall in line with the
normally committee election cycle.
• Secretary
• Membership Secretary
Peter Turner
David Andrews
• The following individuals were elected / re-elected to the committee:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Chairman
Treasurer
Public Relations Officer
Competition Secretary
Technical Officer:
Safety Adviser:
Robert Mahoney
Bob Smith
David Perrett
David Beavor
Alan Bedingham
Stan Rose
• It was announced that the Membership incentive scheme will commence with
effect from the next membership year (starting 1st April 2003). This takes the
form of a £5 discount voucher for each new member that you introduce. The
voucher(s) will be redeemable against your membership next year.
• Award of Trophies / Certificates:
• E400 League
• 1st
• 2nd
• 3rd
6
Trevor Grey
Bob West
Dave Perrett
E.F.-U.K.
• Electroslot League
• 1st
• 2nd
• 3rd
Dave Perrett
Stephen Mettam
Stan Rose
• The Exide / Drydex Trophy was awarded to Kevin Saunders for his
Rafale ducted fan and Thunderbird 5 models.
• The QFI Trophy was awarded to Bob Smith for the technical articles he
has written for the modelling press.
I unfortunately have to inform you that an item was stolen from the Bring & Buy
stand. The committee work very hard on the Bring & Buy stand in an effort to
help offset the cost of renting the centre for the AGM and Technical Workshop.
This callous act made most of our effort pointless and directly impacts on the
money available to the Association. The impact is not just restricted to the financial
penalty, but also to the seriously demoralising influence it has on the committee.
This theft will be raised at the BEFA committee meeting to discuss whether we
continue the Bring & Buy stand. If we do decide to continue the Bring & Buy
stand, we will almost certainly have to make some changes to the format.
Current Lines
from the Editor
My thanks to everyone that has contributed to the magazine in the recent past,
which made my job much easier due to the amount of information available.
However, I have very little in reserve and will need more information for future
issues. Please pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard and drop me some information.
I have been promised a number of articles on a diverse range of subjects, which
should make the next issue interesting if they all materialise. If you’ve promised
me article, please send it in as soon as you can so I can get it ready for publication.
The additional time also allows for any queries to be answered without affecting
the publication date.
I have been too busy to do any more on my D.H.2, but I have completed a small
EDF Alpha Jet and a Multiplex Kranich for the coming season. I’m also planing a
large model using a Torcman TM430 motor to provide about 1000W - more
information on all these in a future issue.
It is membership renewal time and this years form is included with this issue.
David Andrews is waiting for the forms to appear, so don’t disappoint him.
Remember that if you want to get something off your chest or to get the members
views, you can always send in a letter for inclusion.
Jan
E.F.-U.K.
7
New-2-U
A Brief Round-up of New Items of Interest
Crossfire
Howard Metcalf's fabulous design for 600 motors is now available again! Pre-cut
fuselage sides and die cut ribs, together with top quality wood and fittings make
this a superb aerobatic electric plane for the discerning builder and flier.
This amazing aerobatic electric plane will fly quite adequately on a humble 600 or for totally ballistic performance try a brushless motor! The speed range is
incredible - at an all up weight of 40 ozs (1.1kg) and with full up elevator and
trim, it will gently 'mush' rather than stall! Flat out with a brushless, the speed
is breathtaking!
With little effort, the Crossfire can also be flown as a slope soarer. (Look out for
Slopefire coming soon!)
The fully comprehensive kit is just £49.99 + £4.50 P&P and available on my mail
order only from Peter Ross at S T C, 29 Hawkers Lane, Wells, Somerset BA5 3JJ.
Tel.: 01749 679739. All major credit cards accepted.
Editors Note: Having bought a Crossfire kit from Howard a few years ago, I
thoroughly recommend it as a sport model - it is still one of my favourites.
8
E.F.-U.K.
Max Rivers - Torcman Motors & Components
Readers may remember the TorqueMax LRK brushless DIY motors from Issue 68.
The main advantage of LRK motors is low rpm, high torque and the ability to
turn large props without the use of a gearbox. For those who don't have access to
a lathe the full range of parts, sub-assemblies, kits, finished motors, speed
controllers and accessories are now available in the UK from importer Max Rivers.
The aim of Max Rivers is to encourage wider understanding, innovation and to
help promote enjoyment of LRK motor design principles. This type of motor springs
from a series of articles published in a German magazine, since when many modellers
have built their own examples using a lathe, salvaged stator parts and magnets.
For those who want to experiment further the beautifully designed and engineered
turned parts produced in Blaustein by Torcman are worthy of special attention.
The parts of an Eco X motor kit with optional assembled & glued rotor
Currently these parts are produced in 3 stator diameters (28, 35 & 43 mm) with
up to 4 different stator lengths (from 5 to 30 mm). Altogether a set of 9 different
sizes of motor ranging in capacity from around 40W to over 1.8kW. Also being
developed is a 20mm size 'Baby' indoor motor. For those who can never get enough,
the TM685-40 'Monster' can deliver up to 3.5kW, is made to limited order on an
experimental basis while we wait for speed controller technology to fully catch up.
By varying the coil windings Torcman motors can be optimised for different
applications. The operating speed of each type of motor can be finely tuned from
4,000 to 15,000 rpm by varying the number of turns and gauge of wire employed
in the winding. This makes it possible to find the perfect power unit for almost
every application of electric flight from slow flyers through sports, aerobatic and
scale to high-performance hotliners and helicopters.
E.F.-U.K.
9
A partially assembled TM350-28 motor with 12 turns
One way to decide is to select a motor with the capacity to deliver the power
required, then determine a winding to match the propeller to the airframe. The
choice can sometimes be daunting because combinations of winding/prop/battery
can lead to dozens of different performance profiles. Fortunately it is possible to
accurately calculate the motor characteristics. Help is on hand as lots of
information is already available (in English) on the Max Rivers web site
(www.maxrivers.com)
and friendly support is
provided by telephone and
email.
Max Rivers supplies each
motor ready to fly with a
custom winding or in kit
form for self-assembly.
Contact details:
Max Rivers,
7 The Green Wye,
Ashford,
Kent,
TN25 5AJ.
Tel.: 01233 812507
www.maxrivers.com
10
The assembled TM350-28 motor, ready to run
E.F.-U.K.
Readers' Models
Your chance to show the members your model(s).
The above photograph was sent in by Dick Godden and is his latest conversion to
electric power. It was originally built in the late 60’s as a slope soarer and had
been in his loft for 30 years.
He says he is embarrassed because he can’t remember the name of the model. The
only thing he remembers is that it was a plan in one of the modelling magazines
and that a fibreglass fuselage was available separately.
Motor: Graupner Speed 600 Race 8.4v motor & Graupner 2.8:1 gearbox
Propeller: 14” x 9.5” CAM folding propeller
Battery Pack: 7 x 2000mAh cells, which give a 4.5 minute motor run.
All-up weight: 62 oz. (1.75kg).
Maybe one of you recognises it and can help out.
If you recognise the model, please contact the Editor with any information, who
will pass on the message.
E.F.-U.K.
11
This is Mike Pirie with his modified Multiplex Twin-Jet. It is powered by 2 Permax
480 motors using Irvine 5” x 5” carbon propellers. Power is supplied by 8 Sanyo
RC-2400 cells through 2 Schulze slim 26 speed controllers. The 2 speed controllers
allow differential control of the motors (on the rudder stick) giving stall turns
and interesting spins. The canopy hatch was built in an elongated form which
allows easier access to the battery and speed controllers. The finish is roughly
based on the MiG 21 “Fishbed” used by the Indian Air Force. The normal flight
time is around 12 minutes.
12
E.F.-U.K.
The second model from Mike Pirie is a modified Balsacraft Bristol Blenheim. Span
60” (154 cm), wing area 530 sq. in. (34 dm2) and weighs 64 oz. (1.8 kg). Power is
from two 8.4v Speed 600 motors and Graupner 8” x 4” SlimProps on 6 Sanyo RC3000HV cells giving 9 minute flights. It is modified to allow easy battery changes
from under the wing (the original layout requires the wing to be removed). He
E.F.-U.K.
13
also fitted a clear canopy and gun turret complete with crew (1.5g total weight
from Small Scale Custom Services).
Editor: Close-up of the glazing and crew of the Blenheim - it really does make a
difference to the looks of the model and well worth the effort.
This is another Mike Pirie model, a Voster Hercules. It is 72” (180 cm) span, 580
sq. in. (37.4 dm2) and weighs 116 oz. (3.3 kg). It is powered by 4 x 6v Speed 400
motors with Aeronaut 2.64:1 gearboxes, Graupner 8” x 6” SlimProps and 18
Sanyo CP-1700 cells giving flight times of 7 minutes. Mike says it needs bungee
assistance for ROG, flies like a trainer and the gearboxes produce a very realistic
sound. He also says the kit (bought 3 years ago) was let down by poor accessories
and the lack of English instructions.
14
E.F.-U.K.
Above is an aerobat, called Smooth-E, designed by Stuart Ord. It was designed 3
years ago, and after a few teething troubles is a satisfying flyer. The aim to
produce a model that was able to do big, smooth manoeuvres like i.c. aerobats and
have power to spare. It is now powered by a Mega 22/30/4 brushless motor with a
Robbe Planeta 4.6:1 gearbox, a Hacker controller on 26 to 30 cells and a 12” x 8”
propeller. Span 62” (157 cm), area 650 sq. in. (42 dm2), weight 136 oz. (3.86 kg).
Another model sent in by Stuart Ord, and is a Nano Gnat. Span 28” (71 cm), wing
area 262 sq. in. (16.9 dm2), weight 7 oz. (200g) with 8 x 300mAh NiMH cells.
Powered by a GWS IPS motor, 4:1 gearbox, 2A controller and 10” x 4.7” propeller.
He also flies it with 6 x 300mAh NiMH cells, which saves some weight.
E.F.-U.K.
15
Stuart Ord’s again. He says its not very vintage as it is covered in SolarFilm, but
it looks good in the air. He says the wings a very prone to warping, but are sorted
out easily with a heat gun. Powered by a Speed 600 motor, a 2:1 gearbox, 10” x 6”
propeller on 8 cells.
Below is the final model from Stuart Ord, another own design called Nemesis.
Span 85” (216 cm), wing area 724 sq. in. (46.7 dm2), weight 65 oz. (1.84 kg). It has
a Graupner Speed 700 motor on 10 cells with a direct drive 10” x 8” propeller.
The current draw is around 26A giving 260W. Control is rubber / elevator with an
RC switch operating the motor.
16
E.F.-U.K.
Living with the Piccolo
by John Jackson
Hi all, many of you have no doubt, like myself, have noted in passing the advent
of the indoor helicopter, some may even have taken it up as an interest. Like most
I had seen the adverts but taken no move to acquire one, until actually watching
one fly indoors whilst on holiday, and I was just hypnotized. Maybe it was the
wine, but watching it hanging there defying gravity left enough impression to
trigger a buy a few weeks later.
The Eco Piccolo from Ikarus is a half pound fixed pitch electric helicopter. It uses
a variant of the 280-sized motor and its structure is a few bits of carbon rod and
tube, several fairly complex plastic mouldings and a front canopy stuck together
from thin vac-formed plastic parts. It can be assembled in one evening (honest!
I’ve timed an assembly at just over 2 hours) and uses just two 6 gram servos. The
build instructions are clear and it’s hard to get wrong. There, that doesn’t sound
much does it? Fortunately that’s just the start of the fun.
I took my newly assembled Piccolo to one of our occasional club indoor meets,
and it skittered about the floor, wobbling and attacking ankles, sometimes rotating
rapidly on its four polystyrene training balls. Talk about nervous, the sweat was
making the transmitter slippery. After several hops and lurches some long dormant
heli reactions awoke and I managed a few terrifying seconds of hover, the other
club members watching warily from positions near the far wall. The heli sat in
the air with the right skid low, later I learned this is characteristic for a clockwise
rotor as the tail thrust tries to push the heli left.
Hops got longer, mostly, and were punctuated by panic landings, many of which
detached the rotor head completely, it flying then through the air like a whirling
boomerang on its own, to the amusement of the spectators. This latter behaviour
is a design feature, the
head pops off the hub
bearings to remove the
energy in the spinning
rotor and reduce damage
to the rest of the
mechanics.
Over the course of several
sessions I gained skill and
confidence, until the
training undercarriage
was removed and the heli
could now fly longer, freed
of the extra weight.
A Piccolo heavily disguised in a Bell 222 body kiy
E.F.-U.K.
17
Two years later I’m still learning, and enjoying the thrill of just watching the
little cutie whirring quietly around a hall. I’m getting to grips with flying nose-in
towards me, and have tweaked, modified and generally tinkered with the machine
to my satisfaction.
Encouraged by my eventual ability to do a basic up-down hover, I wanted to meet
with other enthusiasts, and have travelled up to 3 hours on occasion to Coventry,
Halesowen, Dewsbury, Rotherham & Queensferry. These meetings are always in
some sort of large hall, and sometimes have fixed wing fliers enjoying the weatherfree conditions too. I spent an enjoyable Saturday at Leominster recently at a
heli-only event, we had 18 helis present, all variants on the Piccolo or Modelsport
Hornet, which is Piccolo sized but very different in character. Go to a meeting like
these, will you fellows, loads of tips to pick up and you can see if helis are for you.
So what other kinds of tiny helis are there? Presently there are 3 generally available
families, the Piccolo, Hornet & Mario Arguello’s MIA range (Robin and Housefly).
An original Piccolo (left) and new larger Eco Piccolo
The Piccolo is available
in fixed pitch form, or
can be converted to
collective pitch, and
just becoming available
are slightly larger
versions, the Eco &
Pro. All have a fixed
pitch tail where yaw
(“rudder”) control is
by varying the speed of
the separate tail
motor. The main
motor is 280 sized, tail
is N20 like the little
Wattage B2 bomber, or
150 size for the Pro.
The Hornet is also to be had in fixed or collective pitch, but uses a shaft to take
power to the tail and yaw control is by varying the tail rotor pitch, requiring a
third servo. A 300 motor as per the Graupner version is used.
The MIA designs seem to be rare over here in England, I haven’t seen one yet. The
Robin is 280/300 sized, the smaller Housefly has a Mabuchi 180, it used to use a
150 like the GWS IP series fixed wing motors. Tail motor for the housefly is N20.
Getting going
Any top tips for getting going with your first indoor heli? Yes I have a few:
1. If you can, get someone competent to help tweak your new baby and trim it.
18
E.F.-U.K.
2. Use a training undercarriage, it absorbs some of the shock from sudden landings.
3. Fly in a large space preferably with a smooth floor, and no wind i.e. indoors.
The heli tips over less and you can find lost bits easier.
4. Some time on a simulator will help, but the real thing isn’t quite the same.
5. Never surrender! If the flight goes badly pear-shaped, fight to the last inch to
keep things upright, then shut the throttle promptly once the ground has arrived
to reduce any damage.
A few improvements
What is it about helis that makes pilots so keen to mod. them? Witness the vast
range of aftermarket stuff on heli dealers’ walls! I regularly log on to the Piccolo
bulletin board on the web, and the swapping of ideas, mods., battery types,
beginners’ tips is continuous, this is a very active board. Make no mistake, the
Piccolo flies pretty good out of the box, and other than use an 8 cell NiMH pack
instead of the standard 7 NiCd mine went months without anything except a bit
of cyano here and there.
OK so I glued a bit of balsa above the battery front to stop the battery rear
sagging, glued a bead onto the tail skid to stop it snagging the floor, vented the
canopy top (the motor gets very hot), glued the head bearings on, glued the motor
pinion, weighted the main blade leading edges….see what I mean? By the time you
read this I’ll have again filed, taped, lightened, replaced or bodged something.
The list of things people have done to the Piccolo is really endless, here are some
I have seen, most are applicable to fixed or collective pitch versions:
1. Alloy hub. Recommended! To replace the plastic main rotor hub, which can
break, and to prevent loss of the two ballraces. When the head pops off in a crash,
sometimes the ballraces go
with it and disappear into
some dark corner. They
can be tied on with dental
floss or glued but this is a
better solution.
2. Anti-rotation link. This
drives
round
the
swashplate; the standard
item is a wobbly thing
with a stiff hinge. It is
possible to make a better
hinge from a control
surface hinge though a
CNC machined version is
available, which also has
An experimental brushless motor from an old CD-ROM
motor. Rewinding 15 turns of 0.4mm wire and ballraces.
E.F.-U.K.
19
The CD-ROM motor compared to the original motor
the advantage of locating the swashplate properly. As standard this can float
considerably up and down, losing control movement.
3. Swashplate location. The plate has to swivel in 2 axes; the standard setup has
no bearing at the centre, just a gap! Springs, balls, silicon rubber tube, pen parts
have all been ingeniously applied to the shaft to locate the plate and stop it flapping
up and down. A ball conversion is now available for the plate to swivel on, in
conjunction with the above anti-rotation link makes for far more precise control.
4. Main blade bolts. The standard nylon nuts & bolts are horrible, are you listening
Ikarus? Easily replaced with slightly larger metal ones and Nyloc nuts, which
stay adjusted for tightness.
5. Adjustable servo links. Instead of squishing the dogleg in the wire, fit a straight
wire and a screw type clamp on the servo arm.
6. Undercarriage mods. Usually applied after beating the original carbon struts
to death, some have used wire instead, or adapted the MIA kit.
7. Tail skid. Often replaced with wire, from piano wire to paperclip.
8. Cut blades with varying amounts trimmed from the main blade trailing edge to
raise the revs. Improves hover stability, quicker response to controls, copes better
with wind. Beware though, if the motor isn’t fast enough, the heli may not lift!
9. Replacement blades. Carbon replacements from Robert Lee in Sheffield are tough
and intended to improve forward flight. Hornet blades have been tried with success,
they have less pitch so see the comments on cut blades.
20
E.F.-U.K.
10. Tail boom. The original is adequate but seems to split if knocked. Replacements
are available which are stronger or lighter, certainly cheaper, and inventive owners
have used alloy or even dowel.
11. Tail motor. Eventually burns out, more quickly on 8 cell packs. The Wattage
B2 motor is cheaper, or TSH micro motor for electric control line planes. You do
have to fit a pinion to these.
12. Main motor. The standard 295 and 310 motors do work, the 295 doesn’t have
much reserve of power. Normal hop-up is the Orion Elite Micro Modified, a coreless
Swiss motor that requires lower gearing or even cut down blades. For more money
the little Astro 010 or Hacker B20L bring brushless to the Piccolo.
13. Batteries. The standard 250mAh 7-cell pack is good for about 4 minutes on a
Piccolo. Use Sanyo or Panasonic AAA cells, the red JST connectors can be bettered
but they work OK. For longer flights 8 AAA NiMH cells (not all types are good)
give twice the flight time, but please let the motors cool between flights! The tail
motor life will reduce. Some new Lithium polymer cells from Kokam look promising.
14. JMP HF9-32 heli controller gives the tail virtually DC drive to cure the above!
I’d better stop there, but many custom carbon and alloy parts are available, fins,
swashplates, canopies, gears, bearings and shafts. Improvements in battery
technologies, small radio and the increase in the indoor scene in general bode well
for the future of the small helicopter and fliers are getting into rotary flight who
would otherwise never have considered it. Enjoy the pictures enclosed, I enjoyed
taking them and have met lots of grand folk in my microheli flight so far.
If you are able, surf over to the Ikarus website and look in on us, on the Piccolo
forum at http://www.ikarus-modellbau.de/Ikarus/
John’s half Bell in flight at Leominster. The Tailboom is built from 1mm carbon rod to
Rob Hemmings’ plan of the Bell 47 Sioux. Photo by Gary Wright
E.F.-U.K.
21
Contacts for specialist items: Apologies for any not included here. I have left
out the big advertisers, you can look them up yourselves:
Piccolo upgrade parts. Ian Ankers, E-Flight, PO Box 432, Southport,
Merseyside, PR8 4WX, UK. Tel: 0845 6446517 (Local Rate), Fax: 0870 7202778
(National Rate). sales@e-flight.co.uk www.e-flight.co.uk
Piccolo upgrades. Precision Model Products, 118B Long Pond Road, Plymouth,
MA 02360, USA. Tel: 508747 4556.
warcoly@aol.com www.precisionmodelproducts.com/
Speed controllers. Castle Creations, 18773 W. 117th Street, Olathe, KS 66061,
USA. Tel: (913)438-6325.
info@castlecreations.com www.castlerc.com/index.html
Microhelis and upgrades.
Dreamhobbies, 2728 Delta Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90810, USA.
steve@dreamhobbies.com http://dreamhobbies.com/
Helihobby (electric helicopter specialist). www.helihobby.com/
B2 motors. Hillcott Electronics, 40 Church Lane, Henbury, Macclesfield,
Cheshire. SK11 9NN, UK. Tel: 01625 420247
info@hillcott.plus.com www.hillcott.plus.com/
Hornet upgrades, canopies.
George Ioannidis, 96 Ripon Way, Borehamwood, Herts, WD6 2JA, UK.
orders@electricrotors.com www.electricrotors.com/
Hornet upgrades (and heli tips, mods). John Kallas, c/o Red Duck Music, 16033
Bolsa Chica Rd, Huntington Beach, CA 92649, USA
jrkallas@earthlink.net http://microhelis.homestead.com/index.html
JMP controllers, WES gear pinions.
RCS Technik, 22 Dartmouth Park Avenue, London NW5 1JN. 020 7267 9049
sales@rcscale.co.uk www.rcscale.co.uk/
Piccolo spares.. Graham Stanley, Wychwood House, North Brook Road,
Coundon Green, Coventry, CV6 2AJ, UK. Tel: 02476 204818
graham@modelfly.com http://modelfly.com
Shulze, Hacker. Gordon Tarling, 87 Cowley Mill Road, Uxbridge, Middlesex.
UB8 2QD. U.K. Tel: 01895 251551
sales@gordontarling.com www.gordontarling.co.uk
Robert Lee, carbon main blades and fin.
Note these may be out of production for a while. Not too long I hope!
rob@carbonblades.co.uk www.carbonblades.co.uk/
22
E.F.-U.K.
TLC from your TLO
by Alan Bedingham
This time I'm going to look at the heavy metal end of our hobby, 14 cells and up.
A lot of people seem to be reluctant to get into this size of 'plane which I find a
little odd. In fact, I reckon the best way for an oily fan driver to try electric is to
take an existing 40 size 'plane and stick some electrics in it. The logic is that the
expense of converting an existing 40 size model to 14 cell electric is about the
same as building a 7 cell model from scratch and 14 cell models are far more likely
to fly successfully than some of the 7 cell stuff I've seen in model shops. You don't
need to buy new lightweight radio, the motors are not that expensive, and if you
find electric power doesn't suit you, just convert it back again! True, you've got to
buy a decent charger but that won't be money wasted because it can be used to
fast charge your radio batteries. All that hassle trying to decide whether to put
your gear on overnight charge becomes a thing of the past.
I once (rashly) said about ten years ago that we would all be flying electric models
in 15 years' time and oily fans would have died out. Given the number of electric
models appearing in my club and the way brushless motor prices are dropping,
maybe I wasn't so far wrong. There's still some prejudice to get rid of though. I get
sharp intakes of breath when I'm asked how much I paid for some of my motors,
yet, when I query the cost of the four strokes in their models, and it's double what
my motors cost, they don't think they're expensive. Odd that. And they don't seem
to mind paying fifteen quid a gallon for fuel either!
Anyway, off the hobby horse and on to the first query from Peter Shanks:An ARF Conversion
I am considering converting a Ripmax Citabria 40 to Electric. Essentials are
1630mm (63") span and 2600g (92oz) weight. Would it work and what motor,
battery, gearbox, prop equipment would you suggest I consider? I am looking for
non frantic duration with ROG? I would rather not enter the world of brushless if
possible, but if that is what is needed so be it! Hope this is enough info for
suggestions. The Citabria is a Cub style ARTF built in traditional manner, balsa
and SolarFilm. Ribbed wings are 590 sq ins , 12% thick with v slight curve to
bottom of wings and a parallel chord of 10ins. The weight of all the components of
the kit excluding any electrics, servos, or receiver is around 1500 g, so their
quoted weight of 2300 - 2600g must be all up, with a .52 -.70 4-stroke.
I think this looks like a practical conversion.
You're looking at 14 or so cells, one possible motor/gearbox combination is the
Graupner Speed 700 Neo geared (around £80 ) running an APC 12x8 prop. All up
weight will be in the region of 102-105 oz, giving quite a reasonable wing loading
of around 25 oz/sq. ft and a power loading of around 65W/lb. If you find you need
more grunt, try a 13x9 which ups the current to 35A and the power loading to
E.F.-U.K.
23
77W/lb. I'm flying a 'plane similar in size and weight to this on 14 cells with two
direct drive Astro 05s on the wings and it's quite sprightly, including flying off
water at 136 oz!
Even Bigger Stuff
Nick Marshall is into bigger planes than most of us and asked about a cost effective
powertrain for a Sopwith Pup at 66in span and an estimated weight of 9 1/2lb. He
tried to get a Speed 900 but they were out of stock and wondered about two Speed
700s geared to a common shaft. He estimated he would need around 1000W to fly
his beast. What I find impressive is that he's building and flying these big electric
aeroplanes on an annual modelling budget of £250-300!
I think your estimate of around 1000 Watts for the Pup is generous and you could
probably get away with less - maybe 750Watts - but, as you say, finding a reasonable
cost motor is difficult at this power level.
I have some suggestions for you :Your idea of using two speed 700s is a good one, the difficulty comes with finding
a commercial gearbox to do the job. I would suggest you build your own -- gears,
cogged belts and pulleys are available from :S.H.Muffett Ltd,
Ashdown House, Lamberts Road,
North Farm Industrial Estate,
Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN2 3EH.
Telephone: 01892 542111 / 01892 532900,
Fax: 01892 545916
http://www.muffett.co.uk/
24
E.F.-U.K.
ElectriCalc suggests that two Speed 700 Neos (#6306) wired in series on 21 cells
and geared to one propeller shaft at a ratio of 1.9:1 would drive a 14x8 APC to give
a thrust of around 6 lb at a reasonable 36A. No need for advanced engineering
skills, good quality ¼in ply is plenty strong enough to make the gearbox frame - if you plan ahead, you can integrate it into the structure of the 'plane like I've
done with my Bristol M1. (I owe Nick an apology here, the numbers I sent him in
my original reply were wrong, bit of a cock up on the calculation front I'm afraid,
must try harder. These I've checked three times!)
Another route is to scour the second-hand market for something like an Astro 40
geared or one of the big brushed motors from Graupner or Mega. I've seen big
Astros in the bring and buy at Leamington Spa, so it might be worth putting a
want ad in EF-UK and Q&EFI.
Have you heard of the Dewalt motors that are popular in the US?
Here's some info from the Modelair-Tech web site :Dewalt 18.0V Motor. The Dewalt 18.0V motor (photograph overleaf) normally
runs on 16-21 cells coupled with our H-1000 belt drive. This combination of the
H-1000/Dewalt 18.0 motor is capable of flying 700-1400 sq. in. sport models weighing
up to 12 lbs. The motor is supplied ready to install in our H-1000FW or our older
H-1000BM. The motor needs to be modified to be used on the H-1000FW. This can
be done by the modeller with a lathe and a good drill press, however, we suggest
that you let us do it for a small fee. MSRP: $51
E.F.-U.K.
25
The Dewalt Motor - Unmodified (left) and modified for use with the H-1000FW drive
Special H-1000/motor combos. The H-1000FW is available with the popular Dewalt
18.0 volt motor. We have found that the most useful ratios and cell counts for this
combo to be 3.1:1 for 16-18 cells and 3.6:1 for 19-21 cells. Props range between 14”
& 16" in diameter. If you desire to swing slightly smaller props, choose the 2.86:1
ratio. Models it can fly range between 700 and 1300 sq. in. and weigh between 7
and 10 lb. The motor has replaceable brushes and a ball bearing supported output
shaft. Modelair-Tech has a "combo" nearly ready to install in your model.
The Dewalt motor with Modelair-Tech H-1000FW belt drive
MODELAIR-TECH, P.O. Box 1467, Lake Grove, N.Y. 11755-0867, USA
Phone and Fax: 631-981-0372, E-Mail: modelairtech@rc-aero.com
For Continental Europe and British Isle sales, please contact Gordon Tarling
My experience is that US Dollar prices can be read as Pounds Sterling by the time
the stuff gets over here and the VAT man has put his squeeze on.
26
E.F.-U.K.
If you're willing to experiment, a really cheap route is to look at using car heater
fan motors, they're designed to run at 12V for literally years, so I would have no
hesitation running them at twice that for short periods and they're designed to
run at low speed with big fans.
Have a look in your local scrapyard for something from a medium size car like a
Mondeo, stick 21 or 24 cells on it and see how big a prop it will turn, you may not
need a gearbox at all. As you're building a model with a radial cowl, you might
want to grab one of those 'pancake' style radiator cooling fan motors and try that
as well. If it does work, I want to hear about it, so please do an article for EF-UK!
Since I wrote this reply to Nick, the Flyware range of outrunner brushless motors
have reached England, and include some designed for this sort of power level. I
know this won't be an cheap way to go, but, spending some £200 gets you a
brushless motor and controller that will handle 750 Watts and swing a big prop
without a gearbox. It's not that long ago that this sort of money wouldn't have
bought a 21 cell brushed rare earth motor without a controller!
When you get past the 7 -8 cell range of models, the cost of brushless motors
nowadays is often close to brushed motors, so the decision to go brushless, with
all the benefits of low maintenance and higher efficiency that bring, becomes easy.
Lead Acid Batteries - Again!
My charging battery seemed to be down on capacity so I did a bit of digging
around to see if I could find any help on the net. Sure enough, I found a site http://www.uuhome.de/william.darden/ - that has all you need to know about the
care and feeding of these unwieldy, recalcitrant beasts.
One possibility suggested was that the battery might have sulphated up. Sulphation
occurs when lead sulphate cannot be converted back to charged material and can
happen when discharged batteries stand for a long time. The remedy is to (wait
for it) apply a constant current of one to two amps for 48 to 120 hours at 14.4
VDC. Yes, 2 to 5 days! I tried it, and it worked for me, so if you've got a battery
that is feeling its age you may want to give it a whirl. Don't forget to check the
electrolyte level and top up if necessary with de-ionised water, the battery will be
losing water as it gasses.
Perhaps I should explain - hydrogen and oxygen gas are produced as part of the
reaction during charging, depleting the water content of the electrolyte and,
incidentally, making one of the most explosive combinations of gasses known to
man, so be careful about naked lights and sparks near the battery when it's on
charge. Before you ask, yes, you can top up maintenance free batteries, just prise
off the cell covers with a screwdriver. There's nothing you can do with gel-cell
batteries if they're sulphated up except put them in the recycling bay at the tip.
Next time, some aeroplane queries and some rules of thumb.
Don't let the smoke out!
E.F.-U.K.
27
Fun-Fly Competition Idea
by John Bowerman
Since getting into electric flight I have been constantly looking at getting back in
to the area of modelling I was interested in when using the infernal combustion
engine. I have always admired the elegant lines of gliders but never had the patience
skill or the eyesight to be interested in participating in this side of the hobby. I
much rather enjoy the sports aerobatic and scale side of the hobby, principally the
sports aerobatic side over the last few years.
As I have grown used to the electric motor so my aspirations have grown in terms
of power, weight and capability of the aircraft have developed. My first real success
was in converting the very suitable plan of the Ripmax Xtreme.
By redrawing the outline of the aircraft and modifying it to suit electric power by
the removal of all the plywood and making the fuselage a basic ¼ square structure.
I made no alterations to the actual design only to the method of construction.
This coupled with an Astro 40 plus Gearbox at 3.1:1, 16 x 3000 NiMH cells and a
APC 13” x 7” propeller provides a very satisfactory power train to give good
aerobatics for 6 minutes plus take off and landing. I learned a lot with this aircraft
and it showed me that electric flight does not have to mean low performance.
I wanted to develop the idea of the Xtreme, but around the 10 Cell power pack so
my latest effort designed around the 3D principle is 650 sq. in., weights 37 ozs.
dry (less battery) and 57 ozs. with a 10 cell RC-2000 pack. With an AXI 2820/10
driving a wooden 11” x 7” propeller the static current is showing as 34A.
The first flight was on the 28th December 2002. The patch was waterlogged so we
decided to take off from the rough rather than a hand launch. I prefer to take off
from the ground as this way you get a better feel for the aeroplane before you
commit to aviation.
In 3m it was airborne and it seemed like the most natural thing to do. The power
of 360W made the climb easy and the thick wing section made every thing very
slow and easy. The loading made the landing easy even in the fairly strong breeze.
We only managed three flights before it became too unpleasant but I am convinced
the idea will work.
My prototype model has the following specification:
Wing Span
Section
Wing Loading
Propeller:
Power input
48 in.
Clark Y at 15%
10.87 ozs / sq. ft
MA Wood 10” x 6”
366W (@ 35A)
Average Chord
All up Weight
Motor
Batteries
RPM
12 in.
43.5 ounces
VM24/16
10 Sanyo CP-1300
7500
Where are we going with all this I hear you ask well here's the idea.
28
E.F.-U.K.
John’s prototype model in translucent red and blue
Electric Fun-Fly
If you think about what the power boys do with their Fun-Flys it becomes clear
that the flight time is only 2 minutes of power, give or take. The tasks they have
to perform are Limbo, Touch & Go, Timed Glide and Loops and Rolls.
These tasks are timed and I believe the max time is 2 minutes so what is to stop
and electric style competition based upon this formula. We could not compete with
them but I feel we could provide a competitive class within our own discipline.
Looking very loosely at design criteria it seems to me that about 450 - 500 sq. in.
of wing area would be necessary if the loading is to be kept down. The aircraft
would need to be minimalist in its design, much like the current power Fun-Fly.
Looking at classes there could be two as in the power regime, one for ferrite (No
Cobalt) motors and standard control surfaces and one for brushless motors and
control mixing. I would suggest the 600 size motor as a good starting point either
direct drive or geared, certainly for the Standard Class. The other class could be
left open and allow the battery size to be the limiting factor.
Considering the current market place it should be possible to get the flight
equipment weight down to 14 ounces. The airframe weight should be able to be
constructed down to about 18 ounces with sensible structures. Power source could
be the CP-1300 in a 10 Cell pack weighing in at 13 ounces.
A 10-cell CP-1300 pack providing the motor with 26A (312W) will give 3 minutes
at full bore and you are going to have the throttle closed for some of that time.
E.F.-U.K.
29
The total of this little lot comes to 45 oz. so even with a few extra bits that always
seem to accumulate it should be possible to have an all up weight of say 48 oz.
(3lbs). The wing loading on this at 500 sq. in. would be around 14 oz. / sq. ft,
which is not bad for a fun fly.
There is a certain amount of interest in my own club and it is my intention to
design and build an aircraft at 500 square inches to test the theory so to speak.
Encouraged by this I have drawn up a simple set of rules, which could be adopted
if there is enough interest.
Common Rules
1.
2.
3.
4.
10 cells maximum.
Allowed controls.
a.
Rudder
b.
Elevator
c.
Ailerons
d.
Throttle
Same motor, propeller & battery combination to used for all events.
Take off from the ground.
Standard Class
1.
A single Ferrite motor only.
2.
No mixing of control surfaces. Note: Two servos can be used for
aileron control, but they are to connected to the same Rx output.
Take off from the ground.
3.
Class 1
1.
2.
Any Motor(s) Brushed or Brushless.
Mixing of all control surfaces allowed in any combination.
Events
Time Glide
Motor power for 30 seconds and then switch off and longest glide.
Bonus points for landing within 3m of the Landing Spot
Touch & Go
As many touch and goes within a 7.5m square box within 2 minute slots
Limbo
As many passes under a limbo tape within a 2-minute slot time to start
after the first underpass.
30
E.F.-U.K.
Another view of John’s prototype Fun-Fly
As mentioned the rules above form a starting base for any interested parties. If
there is any interest then I would be very interested in your responses. I can be
contacted at john.Bowerman@virgin.net
Good flying
Editor’s Note:
Due to the relatively small number of entries at fly-ins last season, the subject of
competitions was discussed at a recent BEFA committee meeting.
The committee consider that there is little point in continuing with the Vintage
competition as the potential number of entries is extremely limited, and last season
only one person registered at a couple of events.
Due to the larger number of scale models flying it is intended to retain the Scale
competition, subject to review during the season.
This Fun-Fly idea was considered to have merit and the committee would consider
running a form of this competition during one (or more) of the fly-ins this season.
Whether this competition format takes-off (pun intended) is down to the
membership, and specifically those attending fly-ins.
It is requested that anyone interested in this type of event contact the Editor so that
the level of interest can be gauged. See page 4 for contact details.
E.F.-U.K.
31
BEFA Leagues Final Report
by Dave Perrett
In issue 70 of EF-UK, I penned a few paragraphs describing the progress of the
BEFA League E 400 and Electroslot events culminating with the Nationals on the
25th August. This note is to bring you up to date. The season concluded with two
more events, one at York and the final one at Pillerton Hersey.
York - 15th September.
This venue, which more properly is at Haxby, ,just outside York, was provided for
us by Mike Proctor and his crew. In the previous year at York the stubble remaining
on the field was adequate to puncture fine holes in the covering, particularly if
you were using the lighter weight of transparent Profilm. No problem this year
and the weather conditions were quite good, even if the attendance was not.
Pillerton Hersey - 22nd September.
The following week we were at Pillerton for the second time in the year thanks to
John Lewthwaite. Happily the conditions were good this time particularly as one
or two final league positions were to be settled on the day. Unhappily, despite my
attempt to persuade others to join the fun, the attendance was again low. (Perhaps
you intending competitors had not yet completed models for these events!!) The
results were very close. Out of a potential 100% the top three in E 400 were in the
99% bracket and in Electroslot the top three exceeded 98%.
The first three placings in these events were as follows:E 400 York
Pillerton
Electroslot York
1st
2nd
3rd
Steve Mettam Trevor Grey
Dave Perrett Bob West
Bob Smith
Neil Stainton
1st
2nd
3rd
Pillerton
Steve Mettam Steve Mettam
Barry Flude
Neil Stainton
Bob Smith
Dave Perrett
The final league placings, for the best four events, were:Place
E400
Electroslot
1st
Trevor Grey
Dave Perrett
2nd
Bob West
Steve Mettam
3rd
Dave Perrett
Stan Rose
The calendar for the league events this year are in this issue, come & join us. The
Electroslot competition rules are on the BEFA website and in the BMFA handbook.
Most people seem to think that you need high tech models, but that is not so is
confirmed by the above tables. Both Trevor Grey & Neil Stainton used well built
and flown traditional balsa models. Should you not join the leaders straight away
you will find it encouraging to improve at each, or at least every other event
Whatever it is fun to fly with other like minded modellers and to learn from them!!
See you there!!
32
E.F.-U.K.
Letters to the Committee
Dear Editor,
I have just read the EF-UK Issue 71 very interesting Super 80 article and would
like to take up one point. On page 64 the author stated he reinforced the web
between the top and bottom wing spars so they were strongest AT THE TIP as
that is where most deflection is observed.
Unfortunately although wings deflect most at the tips both the shear and bending
forces are concentrated at the wing root in all flight conditions. For a constant
chord wing, the shear forces are at the maximum at the root and decrease
approximately linearly to zero at the tip. Thus the webbing between the top and
bottom spar caps should be thickest at the root (say 1/8" vertical grain balsa on a
big 8lb model) and decrease in thickness to a minimum (say 1/16" vertical grain)
at the tip. For D box wings the webbing should never be left off as it also serves to
close off the D, increasing the wing’s torsional stiffness greatly.
While talking about forces on
a wing it may be worth noting
that in a constant chord wing
the bending forces decrease
towards the tip according to
a square law. Thus half way
from the root to the tip the
bending force has reduced to
just one quarter of the root
value. Ideally for maximum
strength and minimum
weight the spar caps should
be tapered from the root to
the tip in a similar manner.
Of
course
all
root
reinforcements should be
tapered off to avoid any stress
risers.
I hope this helps modellers build stronger and lighter wings,
Neil Stainton.
Response from the Editor:
Not much I can say about this except that I should have spotted the error in the
original article. Thanks to Neil for correcting this error and providing some useful
guidance about bending moments and wing design.
E.F.-U.K.
33
Dear Editor,
The scale competition debate is similar to that which the BMFA have had recently
and they have come up with the option of a flying scale competition for any models
and a flying / static competition for self constructed planes.
This was in a recent BMFA News, BEFA should adopt a similar approach, either
accept all planes but only mark on the flying characteristics or include construction
but exclude ARTF planes.
Alternative options are just to fly for fun, prize for the best scale flight, and a
prize for the best constructed plane - includes vintage and sport.
I would appreciate a 30 min session AM and PM when scale planes could be flown
without concern about fast fun planes being in the air.
I am confused about the soaring spot, the technology allows flights of 40 minutes
+ with no problem, what is the purpose and how long does it go on for?
What are the events for? If they are to allow anyone to fly then the current peg
system is fine, if you do want a display of electric flying, especially the larger
planes, you may need to allow some time for groups of folk to fly specific schedules
without the concern of who else is in the air.
There have been very enjoyable displays of pico jets, scale planes, EDF and I
would encourage you to enable more people to do some display flying. The
alternative is spending the day flying large circuits missing the faster / slower
planes. The public then never see a plane doing manoeuvres reasonably close.
This probably varies according to the balance of flyers / spectators
Mike Payne.
Response from the Editor.
Mike raises a number of interesting points here.
The BMFA approach seems quite sensible. The biggest problem BEFA has is that
most flyers don’t seem to want to take part in the Scale (or other) competitions. The
limited number of entries makes it impractical to split the Scale competition into
two groups as we may only have one entry in a class. I think that this will have to
be discussed at the first fly-ins of the season to see what the consensus is.
I personally think that dividing the fly-in into sessions for different types of model
can work very well. Maybe we should try slots for Vintage, Scale and Fast Jets something to consider between now and the start of the fly-in season.
The soaring spot, commonly called the All-Up-Last-Down, or AULD, is a traditional
event that is the most popular event BEFA runs. Mike is correct that flights of 40+
minutes are possible, in fact I’ve been flying a Lithium Manganese powered model
with a 50 minute motor run. The primary purpose is to simply see who can fly the
longest in the prevailing conditions. It also serves a secondary purpose in giving
34
E.F.-U.K.
the fly-in organisers a break for lunch. Given ideal soaring conditions, the AULD
could potentially last all afternoon, but a number of options can be used to bring
the event to a close in around an hour.
The first option is to force entrants to perform a limbo below an imaginary line.
When the requirement for a limbo is announced entrants have a limited time to
perform the limbo and failure to descend low enough in the time frame means
disqualification. Successive limbos can be called to drain battery packs.
The Competition Director can also introduce any other restrictions, such as limiting
the height of climbs. Once the number of flyers in the AULD is reduced to the last
few, normally flying is allowed to resume.
I think that some of the main reasons for people attending fly-ins are to see what
interesting models are around and chatting about the latest ideas or equipment.
Looking at the figures from the Sunday at Middle Wallop last year, we only had
about 1/2 as many pilot’s registered as cars attending. This suggests that flying is
at best secondary for some people attending the fly-ins. Unfortunately, we can’t tell
how many of these are ‘general public’ coming to see what it is all about and how
many are just not flying that day..
Jan Bassett
Please send any correspondence to the Editor, contact details on page 4.
CROSSFIRE
Howard Metcalf’s fabulous design for 600 motors is now available again! Pre-cut fuselage
sides and die cut ribs, together with top quality wood and fittings make this a superb
aerobatic electric plane for the discerning builder and flier.
This amazing aerobatic electric plane will fly quite adequately on a humble 600, and for
totally ballistic performance try a brushless motor!! The speed range is incredible – at an
all up weight of 40 ozs and with full up elevator and trim, it will gently ‘mush’ rather than
stall! Flat out with a brushless, the speed is breathtaking!
Crossfire can also be flown as a slope
soarer (Slopefire coming soon!)
The fully comprehensive kit is
just £49.99 + £4.50 P&P. All major
credit cards accepted.
Mail order only from Peter Ross
at:
S T C,
29 Hawkers Lane,
Wells,
Somerset.
BA5 3JJ
Tel: 01749 679739.
E.F.-U.K.
35
Model Motors MV2020/20
by Bob Partington
The MV 2020/20 motor is produced by Model Motors, the Czech Republic
manufacturer. These motors were originally marketed under the Velcom banner.
I have been very impressed by model goods from the Czech Republic.
They are produced by good engineers, and therefore they are of high quality and
also inexpensive, making them very good value for money. I got the motor from
the importer Puffin Models.
The motor is a 400 size brushed Neodym type, which is claimed to be suitable for
use in electric ducted fans. Being of 400 size it fits the WeMoTec 480 Minifan. The
dimensions are 27 mm diameter, 55 mm over all length and the weight is 105g.
Suppressers are already fitted internally. The brushes are the same cross section
as the Plettenberg, so from experience I expect a long brush life.
Model Motors MV2020/20 with a Plettenberg 200-20-6 (on the left) for comparison
I tested the motor in the Minifan on 10 x Sanyo CP-1700 cells. The current hot off
the charger was about 33A with an average across the run of 24A.
It is noteworthy that the data sheet included with the motor says that the highest
efficiency is at that average current! The corresponding power was 330W and
241W. In comparison on the same set-up the Plettenberg drew 30A (300W); and
22A (239W).
36
E.F.-U.K.
I checked the RPM at the average power and found it be almost exactly 28,000,
which is about the same as the Plettenberg. The thrust corresponding to this
figure was extrapolated from the WeMoTec data sheets giving 23 oz. (6.4N) at
switch on, with an average of 18 oz. (5.0N) across the run.
Glockner Sabre as used to test fly the motors
Encouraged by these numbers I replaced the Plettenberg in my Glockner Sabre
with the MV and flew it. As expected the performance was about the same and the
duration only a bit shorter.
I have just test flown my RBC kits Ta 183 Huckebein for the Minifan fitted with
an MV 2020/20 for 10 cells (see the picture overleaf of the motor including it fitted
in the model).
The model at 44 oz (1.25kg) weighs the same as the Sabre and because the duct is
short and straight through, with no obstruction (unlike the Sabre) the model is
faster and duration the same.
I have also bench tested the MV with 12 x Sanyo CP-1700 cells. The power was up
from 241W to 353W with current up from 24A to 29A. The motor gave no sign of
overheating, and indeed as can be seen in the picture the back of the motor is very
open.
However, I don’t intend to use the motor on 12 cells because I know from experience
with the Plettenberg 200-25-4 that at these current levels brush life is frustratingly
short.
In summary this is a pretty good brushed motor for EDF.
E.F.-U.K.
37
The RBC kits Ta 183 Huckebein. The view below shows the motor as fitted to the model
using a WeMoTec 480 Minifan.
38
E.F.-U.K.
Need a handy, tough little Park Flyer?
Join the Cub!
by Brian Rawnsley
After a season of park flying with the GWS Pico-Stick last year, I was looking for
a new and different park flier. Browsing the trade stands at the BEFA Technical
Workshop last year brought me face to face with a GWS Pico Cub J3F kit. The
price looked reasonable, the kit itself simple and attractive.
But was it just a “dressed up” Pico Stick? Would the same GWS 150 power unit
cope with the increased drag of a square fuselage and wing struts? After some
dithering I jumped in and bought the kit. I have not regretted doing so.
At home, out of the box came two fuselage halves, made of polystyrene foam. Then
came Depron wings and tail, and a complete range of components including a
motor, gearbox, propeller, pushrods, horns and glue. The fuselage, wings and tail
are pre-coloured in “Cub Yellow”.
Assembly of the fuselage was straightforward; the fuselage halves being joined
sandwiching a single engine bearer. The instructions recommend holding the halves
together using “paper tape”. I tried using masking tape for this, but found that
even this relatively “low tack” tape lifted a bit of the yellow surface finish on the
polystyrene foam. Maybe rubber bands would be a better idea.
The GWS Cub waiting to take-off for another flight
E.F.-U.K.
39
The GWS Cub climbing out.
The Cub on a low(ish) fly-by
40
E.F.-U.K.
A
The wing struts are mounted by gluing little nylon brackets to the fuselage and
wings. Each bracket has a single hole, and the bamboo struts have a “quick link”
type pushrod-keeper fitted on each end. It is worth making sure that these
mountings are firmly glued in, as the wing struts really do work for a living!
The vacuum-formed plastic engine cowl looks flimsy, but in fact seems to bend
rather than shatter in hard landings. Motor and propeller installation is
straightforward, the propeller a GWS 10” x 4.7”.
For the tail and fin, the instructions suggest applying transparent tape to the
hinge lines, then to “carefully bend the surfaces 40° each side until they move
comfortably”. To lighten the load on the servos I chose to cut through the rudder
and elevator hinge lines with a balsa knife, chamfer the edges a bit and then hinge
them with the transparent tape. This has worked well in service.
A close pass at slow speed
Addition of the radio, servos, undercarriage, fairings and other details was
straightforward, and are well explained in the illustrated instruction manual.
All in all, a couple of evenings’ work and I had a model ready to fly. Holding the
model in my hand, it looked and felt very different in character from the Pico
Stick. Somehow, the Cub feels tough, rigid and boxy, where the Pico Stick feels
light and flexible, as if a puff of wind would blow it away.
I use my favourite park-fly battery, the 300mAh 7-cell Nickel Metal Hydride unit
supplied by Overlander. This required a little carving of the polystyrene foam
E.F.-U.K.
41
An overhead pass showing the near scale outline
around the battery compartment to fit, but seems to give about the right power to
weight ratio. Despite warnings in the instructions not to use more than 7.2 volts
(6 cells), I have not yet had any motor overheating or life-shortening problems.
To fly, I adjourned to my local park during a rare spell of winter sunshine. Takeoff
from the cricket pitch was nice, the tail showing little tendency to swing. The
model was airborne in a few yards. The rate of climb was very positive, similar to
the Pico-Stick. The first difference I noticed was when turning. The yaw / roll
couple is much better than the Pico-Stick, so the Cub is easier to control in turns.
This may be because the high wing and cabin give some additional dihedral effect.
The second difference is much more profound, and gives the Cub a character all of
its own. When I throttled back fully, I found that unlike the Pico Stick, the prop
does not stop, but keeps on “windmilling”. The Cub then slows down and to keep
it from stalling, you have to descend at quite a steep angle. With the large prop
acting as an airbrake in this way, I found I could descend to land in true STOL
fashion. Who needed flaps? Crossing the “crease” at about shoulder height, I
found I could land and stop about half way along the cricket pitch. Having learned
this party trick, the Cub became a fascinating aeroplane to fly. Flights are typically
ten to twelve minutes, and during one flight, I managed more than twenty circuits
and touch-and-go landings. Ground handling is fine, and the Cub can be taxied
and steered around quite precisely.
The GWS park-fliers are supplied with very narrow, over-large, spoked wheels.
These look fine on the Pico-Stick but I feel they just do not look right on the Cub.
42
E.F.-U.K.
For this reason, I have now replaced them with some very light foam-rubber
wheels with plastic hubs. These were again bought from a stand at the BEFA
workshop event, and have proved fine in service.
The Cub is at its best in calm conditions, and I only take it out in the evenings or
early mornings. It can handle a little wind, but is not comfortable to fly in anything
more than a “light air”. Over several park-fly sessions it has proved quite robustthe main “wear and tear” problem being with the Depron undercarriage fairings.
This has resulted from many misjudged “STOL” landings where I have flared out
too early or too late, the resulting “bounce” causing the undercarriage to flex,
and the fairings to crinkle and crack a bit.
In conclusion, I like the Pico J3F Cub. It is a useful, practical model with lots of
character. For me, the “spirit” of park-flying is grabbing three battery packs, the
tranny and model fully rigged, at the beginning or end of a normal day. Then a
short walk from home to the field, or a stop on the way to work, for a quick half
hour session. The Cub fills this requirement quite happily.
If you have any queries or comments, you can contact Brian via email at
sandra@brianrawnsley.freeserve.co.uk.
Kit: Pico Cub J3-F from Grand Wing Servo (www.grandwing.com.tw)
Span: 39.8” (1 m), Loading: 4.4 oz./sq.ft. (13.4 g/dm2), Flying weight: 8oz (225g)
Fitted with: GWS Pico 4ch Receiver, GWS Pico 6gm servos, GWS Pico 2A Speed
Controller, Overlander 300mAh NiMH Battery.
The Cub looking longingly down the strip awaiting another go
E.F.-U.K.
43
The Messerschmitt Me 262
“Schwalbe”
by Christian Hoffmann
Before I began the planning of my new project, I had to decide which Ducted Fan
(DF) would be used. As I am a promoter of 1/5th scale models I made calculations
about the diameter of DF required.
This would have to have been 120mm diameter and the model would have been
2.5m span. This was too big for my taste, and would have broken the bank.
Recalculate for 1/6th scale, and a 2m span model and a fan diameter of 80mm and
90mm would also be possible - this was it!
A 2m span model is an eye-catcher, and for propulsion 30 cells should be sufficient.
As DF two Aeronaut Turbo-Fans were chosen. These are affordable and are very
light in addition. Accordingly to the leaflet that comes with them, a thrust of 13N
(47 oz.) at 15V when used with an Ultra 930-6 motor can be achieved.
For 2 fans this would produce 26N thrust. The whole model ready to fly could be
5 to 5.5kg and have a thrust to weight ratio of 50%. This would be adequate
power for a jet-like performance. Now that the propulsion decisions were made,
construction could begin.
44
Looking down the rear fuselage
E.F.-U.K.
The internal equipment - plenty of room
Joesf Hösef was asked to enlarge a 3-view drawing to the required size - no need
for time consuming drawings. Now I had some large sheets of paper with my
dream model on at the correct scale of 1/6th.
The fuselage sections of the 3-view were used to cut the formers. Building the
fuselage was in the normal manner as half sections (like the full-size Mosquito).
Formers were made from 4mm balsa ply (or 3mm liteply) with 5 x 10mm and 5 x
5mm balsa longerons.
The whole fuselage was sheeted with strips of 3mm balsa (which can be seen in
some of the photographs). At the same time, the fairing between the fuselage and
fin was built.
A NACA 0010 section was used for tailplane, and a hole this shape was cut through
the fin. The tailplane was made ribs and spars, sheeted with 1.5mm balsa and the
elevator made from solid balsa.
To improve the scale like appearance, counterbalance weights were fitted to rudder
and elevator. After a final sanding, the fuselage was covered with 25g/m2 glassfibre cloth using DDS-Lack The tailplane was covered with a fabric covering. A
canopy was vacuum-formed and a hatch cut in the fuselage for the battery packs.
E.F.-U.K.
45
Battery packs & speed controller readily accessible from a hatch on top of the fuselage
Special attention was paid to the decoration of the cockpit (Editor: which is clearly
evident in the photographs). As I had a good picture of the pilot’s office, it was
built as accurate as possible.
The 1/6th pilot figure is something special. It was taken from the stock of
Petrausch, and is extremely light and very realistic (I think that one of Pete’s
pilots would also fit very nicely). Lots of small levers, instruments, switches and
control stick make the final touches.
It seems like a mad undertaking, while on the other hand you want to save every
unnecessary gram on a DF model. But sometimes you can’t live without a certain
touch of luxury on a scale model.
Having made so much progress with the fuselage, the building of the wings could
begin. As a wing section, I chose the Ritz 2-30-12. It had less camber than the
NACA 2412 section and therefore should be better for greater speeds. Another
point to consider was the depth of the undercarriage.
The building technique was threading the ribs on an 8mm carbon tube like a
shish-kebab, which makes building without a warp very easy and avoids the building
of a crutch. The servo leads were also fed inside the tube.
46
E.F.-U.K.
To achieve the necessary torsional stiffness, the tube was enclosed by an upper
and lower spar and shear webs. The wing was only planked in front of the spar,
therefore creating a ‘D’ box without adding much weight to the structure.
The trailing edge was created by 2 narrow strips of balsa with a layer of 40g/m2
glass cloth between (carbon rovings could also be used). After cutting out the
ailerons, the retracts were next.
As the 100mm diameter wheels were width than the depth of the wing. However,
the wheel boxes could sit above the top skin as they are inside the wide fuselage.
A few ply plates were attached to the spar to provide mounting points.
The model was then assembled for the first time and the wing fairings were
completed. A very lightweight and fragile airframe stood in front of me. The control
surfaces were then hinged.
Just before I could commence building the nacelles, it was time for our club
exhibition in Geisenhausen. The building of the nacelles required some thinking
and patience. My first efforts were put into thrust tubes. These had to be 45cm
long, because the fan unit had to be placed at the front for CofG reasons.
The amazing cockpit and pilot - could be the real,thing
E.F.-U.K.
47
The front hatch showing the nose leg mounting and speed controller
To avoid losses in thrust, the inner surfaces needed to be very smooth. A simple,
but ideal, solution was found by covering the 0.4mm ply with transparent Oracover
(Profilm in the UK) and then rolling them into a tube. This had to be done carefully
to avoid getting air bubbles between the film and ply. I would prefer to treat the
ply with sanding sealer, or make the tubes from glass cloth.
The rear 100mm of the thrust tube reduces from 90mm to 80mm diameter to
produce a thrust cone and increase the efflux velocity. Two rings of rolled ply join
the DF and tubes together. The whole assembly was completed by the addition of
formers planked with 2mm ply.
It should be pointed out that there is a long tube, ending in a cone, fitted to the
rear of the motor. This is so that the cross-sectional area of the thrust tube remains
constant along its entire length.
The front and rear outer parts of the nacelles were vacuum formed from ABS. The
rear section is glued in place, but the front part is detachable for maintenance of
the motors. Finally the nacelles were covered with tissue and prepared for painting.
The nacelles had now to be fitted to the wing. For this purpose square balsa was
glued to the underside of the wing to take the stress. The nacelles were glued to
the wing and fairing made using epoxy and micro-balloons.
48
E.F.-U.K.
It was now time to cover the wing in iron-on fabric. This time iron-on covering
from Conrad Electronics was used, which worked very well - no need to prime and
a very reasonable price. Fuselage joint lines were imitated with thin stripes of
film. Everything was finally sprayed in the paint scheme of 9 Staffel, Jagdgeschader
7 Parchim. The first flight attempts were unsuccessful because the grass was too
long, and the nose leg was too flimsy and had a lot of play.
Adjustments were made getting ready for Aspach, where a successful maiden flight
was achieved. However, before the second flight one Aeronaut DF disintegrated,
which might have been due to a small stone being sucked in or poor bonding of
the fan blades. The Aeronaut DFs were replaced with Schübelers. These produced
2N more thrust each and I consider these are the best DF you can get for your
money. The changing to the DS-51 fans had paid off without any question. More
thrust and a higher speed fit perfectly with the whole appearance of the model.
The flight time is around 5 minutes.
The dream of this jet model cam true. The many hours spent in the workshop are
more than compensated for by the fascinating looks of the model and the remarkably
good performance.
Maybe we will meet at a show in the future, but be ware the bug might bite you!
One fan assembly with centre body
E.F.-U.K.
49
Dimensions:
Span:
Length:
Weight:
Wing Area:
Wing Loading:
Wing / Tail Sections:
200 cm
172 cm
5.3 kg
57.1 dm2
92.8 g/dm2
Ritz 2-30-12
Equipment:
Impellers:
Motors:
Batteries:
Speed Controller:
2 x DS 51, 90mm diameter
2 x Ultra 930-6
32 cells Sanyo 1700 SCRC
Schulze d53/60bo
Performance Figures (approximate):
Thrust:
30N
Thrust : Weight
45%
Jet Efflux:
48 m/s
Current:
30A
Power:
1200W
78.7”
67.7”
187 oz. (11.7 lb.)
885 sq. in.
30.4 oz. / sq. ft.
NACA 0010
108 oz. (6.75 lb.)
107 m.p.h.
The tail fin showing the modified Swastika (a requirement in Germany)
50
E.F.-U.K.
FanJet Trainer & Vampire
by John Stennard
After making and successfully flying an indoor model using the GWS DF unit I
turned my thoughts to an outdoor model. I picked on the FanJet design as I had
built a glow-powered version that had flown well.
My indoor fan model used a moulded Depron wing available from Flitehook. These
wings are 18" span and originally designed for a rubber-powered model. For the
fan model I had cut and rejoined two wings to give a 24" span. I designed the
FanJet around a strengthened version of this wing and it has been very successful.
It was the free plan in the Sept Q&EFI. My test flights were done with a 6 x Sanyo
120 mAh NiCd pack as used with the indoor model. The flight duration was rather
short so I began experimenting with larger packs. My best results have been with
a 6 x 600 mAh NiMH pack. In this configuration the AUW is around 190g (6.5oz).
It will actually easily lift a 7 cell pack. This improves the performance but exceeds
the manufactures specifications!
FanJet with 6 x 600mAh battery pack
With the FanJet flying well I looked for a second design and decided on the Vampire.
This uses the same strengthened ‘cut and joined’ 24" Depron wing. The Vampire
quite literally flew out of my hand and performs well. It is not as fast as the
FanJet and really does need the 7 cell pack to get the same performance.
E.F.-U.K.
51
The FanJet in flight with the 6 x 600mAh battery pack
With the GWS DF units costing around £12 this is a very low cost way to enjoy
some small jet flying. The models described here cost about £4 to make and really
do fly well. Ideally a twin jet model is the way to go as for 30g extra weight you
can double the power output. I note that the new GWS models to suit their units
are both twins.
My next model will definitely be a twin and for both light weigh and ease of
construction a profile fuselage with Depron wings and tail surfaces makes sense.
This will be my chosen construction method for a few more GWS jets.
The Vampire with GWS DF
52
E.F.-U.K.
The ill-fated career of a Me109
by John Norman
As an air-minded 10-year-old towards the end of World War Two I made my first
attempt at a flying model aircraft: a Hurricane from an Astral kit. I happened to
be the envied possessor of a quantity of single-edged razor blades and, with their
help, I managed to create a bloodstained Obechi airframe covered in white tissue.
I painted the whole lot with some light blue enamel which had been in the coal
cupboard for as long as I could remember. Needless to say my Hurricane proved
about as airworthy as the dustbin to which it was promptly consigned. The strange
part is that I wasn't put off. I kept trying and, four or five years later, I actually
got a model to fly properly. Someone once said to me, "born aeromodellers just
don't give up!"
This all came back to me as I looked at the remains of my Me109 waiting, as the
photograph shows, for the bin-men.
An ignominious end!
E.F.-U.K.
53
The Me109 in its first incarnation
The scratch built 109 started its life four years ago and, at its demise, had the
following specs:Span:
43" (110 cm)
Controls:
Ailerons, rudder, elevator, throttle.
Motor :
Pro 480 with Mini Olympus gearbox
Propeller:
9” x 6” CAM SlimProp
ESC:
Multiplex Pico 400 with BEC
Battery:
8 x Overlander 1300 NiMH cells
Weight:
36 oz. (1.0 kg)
Power:
90W at 12A
I obtained the outlines of the model by roughly scaling up a beautiful Doug McHard
plan for an 18" rubber-powered 109. The built-up balsa, liteply and foam structure
was covered with panels of thin card and the whole job finished in desert camouflage
using swatch pots of matt emulsion. A set of Flair decals completed the exercise.
The model had been conceived as dual-purpose - powered scale with a battery pack
or PSS without. In its PSS form it needed only 3 oz. of lead at the front to achieve
balance. Everything seemed OK, but it just didn't fly. On the slope it just wobbled
around and plonked into the ground.
After the first set of repairs I decided to abandon PSS and concentrate on the
powered option. At this stage the motor was a 6v Speed 400 with a Mini Olympus
gearbox. Propellers are a problem with the Mini Olympus, and I ended up adapting
one of those cheap black 9” x 4” folders which were very common a few years ago.
54
E.F.-U.K.
Power was provided by a 6 cell NiCd pack. Sounds alright? Well it wasn't. After a
reasonable, if short, climb-out she cavorted all over the place with me in a panic
yanking at the sticks and, doubtless, making things worse.
After an interval of some months I made the necessary repairs and tried again. I
took the opportunity to increase the wing incidence slightly, move the balance
point forward and fit a fixed 8” x 6” propeller. All to no avail: another short,
hopeless flight and a bad crash.
When, ultimately, I got round to the repairs, I decided to increase the wing area by
inserting a 10" flat centre panel. Still no joy. Just another crash. My companion
on the day, who had ACTUALLY SAT IN THE COCKPIT OF AN Me109, said,
"Well, the full-size was like that - twitchy as hell."
As the wing was broken I reverted it back to scale. I did away with the receiver
battery and fitted the Multiplex controller with a BEC. I made up a pack of 10
Foam ribbed wing was built on to thin card lower skin. Top covered with small panels.
Technique involves coating both surface with white glue and ironing in place when dry
E.F.-U.K.
55
The basis of the fuselage is a sheet balsa horizontal crutch which is used as a datum for
the wing seat, tail seta, thrust-line and general alignment. Vertical upper and lower
keels together with formers are added to achieve shape. The final airframe is completely
covered in thin card supported where necessary by scraps of shaper foam
NiMH 1000 cells to see if a little extra urge might help. Whew! It went off like a jet
straight into a half-loop and inverted flight (I can't manage inverted yet!).
More uncontrolled full-throttle aerobatics followed, during which we heard a loud
crack. Until then I hadn't thought of throttling back! When I did, she suddenly
smoothed out and flew a nice half-circuit around us and back into wind. Wow, I
thought, I've got there. Not quite. The right wing folded upwards and she flopped
down like a Monty Python parrot.
To bin or not to bin? On and off for months I picked over the remains. Finally,
encouraged partly by wifely optimism ("of course you can mend it") and partly by
the memory of that miraculous half-circuit, I decided to have one last try.
I took a lot of care over the repairs and improved the finish by stippling some grey
over the rather bright sand coloured top surface. The 400 motor was replaced by
a 480 and a 9” x 6” propeller fitted. I'd acquired some of Overlander's green 1300
cells, eight of which - although theoretically down in the W/lb. department - seemed
to offer plenty of oomph in practice.
So, one fine October weekday I took her out to give it a go. I was pleased to be on
my own. You don't feel such a chump when things go wrong if no one's about, do
you? With no helper, I had to use my catapult self-launching set-up. The initial
omens were not good.
56
E.F.-U.K.
ME109 alongside two of John’s other card covered creations
At the first release the bungee just dragged the model into the heather. At the
second attempt the wings cleared the heather but clipped a small gorse bush. For
the third attempt I propped the launch pad up with some boxes from my flight bag
to give a higher angle of attack. At release the line slipped off the hook and shot
off on its own. The shock was sufficient to topple the launch pad contraption and
the Messerschmitt stood on its nose.
I just laughed and started to set it all up again. At the fourth try patience got its
reward. The Me109 went up straight and true to a good height. As she levelled off
I slowly opened the throttle and climbed away. At a safe height I did a turn…and,
well, a really exhilarating 10 minutes ensued.
Some lovely banked turns, lowish passes and climb-out at realistic speeds, steady
circuits at half-throttle and all to the accompaniment of a magical purr from the
Mini-Olympus. Everything was just right. I didn't even think of touching a trim.
The ending, of course, couldn't be totally happy. During the flight I had twice lost
the orientation but had quickly regained it. When it happened a third time at low
altitude I just lost it and in a second or two it was "Surrey all out", as my Granddad
used to say. So it is definitely R.I.P. Me109.
I suppose I couldn't blame people for thinking that I imagined the last part of this
saga. When I told my friend - the one who had sat in the Me109 - I could see the
doubt clouding over his face.
I've no witnesses of course, and the only evidence I've got is of yet another crash.
Perhaps I'll build a replica - that sounds like a good idea. In the meantime I've got
the memory of those 10 minutes. They can't take that away!
E.F.-U.K.
57
The Martinet
by Stuart Ord.
The Martinet was first designed and built about 8 years ago. It was an immediate
success despite its low power & cheap (AA) cells. That model had 2 mini-servos
for aileron & elevator. Motor control consisted of a blade fuse inserted just before
launch! On 6 cells it was a tad leisurely despite the low 17 oz. (480 g) weight.
The Martinet
Since then, I’ve built four more. I don’t remember the exact history, but all had
Graupner Speed 400 motors with 2.33:1 gearbox, giving the best performance
with 8 or 9 cells on a 7.2v motor and a 7” x 6” propeller.
Along the line, the models acquired a flight switch with BEC, a third servo for
rudder, and a fourth to allow flaperons. I found that the flaperons action didn’t
make much difference (Editor: sounds like insufficient flaperon throw to me). So
the last Martinet went back to a single aileron servo to save weight.
The construction is a little odd as the model is one piece with a blue foam wing
which is only covered with SolarFilm directly on the foam. The original had a full
depth balsa spar, but Martinet 1 suffered a wing failure during some tight loops.
Since then a single tow of carbon has been lightly epoxied to the outer surface of
the spar, with a second tow in the central region. Lightening holes are cut behind
the spar, leaving around ½” (13 mm) wide foam “ribs”.
58
E.F.-U.K.
Over the years the cells went from 500 mAh, to 600, then 700, and I’ve just
bought some 1000s. I’ve still to find if they can take 8A discharge on a regular
basis OK. Maybe I’ll try NiMH cells this year, or maybe my first small brushless.
Over all this is a delightful, cheap model. It doesn’t have a high power to weight
ratio so “prop hanging” is out of the question, but aerobatics are pretty good
considering its size and power.
As a famous full-size aerobatic pilot (Bob Hoover) once said, “it’s all about energy
conservation”. It can fly in a very small cube of air (but it’s too quick for indoors)
and can slip into the car boot without others noticing.
Span:
Wing Area:
Motor:
Gearbox:
Propeller:
Weight (8 cells)
Current (8 cells)
Power (8 cells)
36”
91 cm
246 sq. in.
15.9 dm2
Graupner Speed 400, 7.2v
Graupner 2.33:1
7” x 6”, pushed onto shaft
21 oz.
600 g
6.2A
48W
The plan for the Martinet is available at www.chestermodelflyingclub.co.uk,
as is a construction article that can help during building one.
Close-up of the internals - shoe horn anyone
E.F.-U.K.
59
“Pico-Stick” Developments
by Brian Rawnsley
I have been experimenting with the Pico-Stick in an effort to find alternative
solutions to making it flyable in a much smaller indoor space.
The first solution was a “lightest possible wing loading for slowest possible flight”
type solution. I have increased the chord to 10” (25 cm) and span to 48” (122 cm).
The wing was built-up using 1/16” (1.6mm) balsa ribs, 3/16” (4.8mm) x 1/2”
(12.7mm) balsa trailing edge, and a 3/8” (9.5mm) square shaped leading edge. The
wing section is Eppler 387, but modified to have a flat bottom. It is covered with
“Non-PVC Food-Wrap” aka Cling-Film from Sainbury’s, which is applied to top
and bottom surfaces with Bostik all-purpose clean contact adhesive.
The wing joiners are now 1.5mm carbon rod, sleeved with heat-shrink tubing for
a positive fit and a bit of shock absorbing. The joiners are inserted in the normal
Pico-Stick fuselage wing-mount. The dihedral is about twice that of a standard
Pico-Stick. A large fin and barn-door rudder, made from 3mm Depron, replaces
the original to give good directional control at slow speed. The 7-cell 300mAh
NiMH pack is moved forward of the wing to counterbalance the new, heavier tail.
This produces a model with about 1/2 the wing-loading of a standard Pico-Stick.
It certainly does fly slower and turn tighter, and can therefore be flown in smaller
spaces. I have flown it for a “season” indoors. The main lesson learned is that
wooden wing joiners are not strong enough.
The second version is a “Most Manoeuvrable” type, with a fun-fly type wing with
strip ailerons. The aim was for a model with about the same flying speed as a
standard Pico-Stick, but much more manoeuvrable. The wing structure is built60
E.F.-U.K.
up from balsa similar to type 1, but with 3mm Depron ailerons added. The ailerons
are “coupled” with the rudder, being pushrod actuated from the rudder servo.
The wing span is 40” (102 cm) and chord 10” (25 cm), uses an Eppler 374 section
and is covered in SolarFilm.
This model is really fun to fly indoors and will fly in a smaller space than the
standard Pico-Stick, but is a little “hairier” than the first type. I have also flown
it outdoors and feel that it is capable of some manoeuvres if the speed range was
not limited by the large geared propeller. The main lesson learned was that
SolarFilm shrinks a bit too strongly for such a light structure, causing the trailing
edge to warp. It was a case of using what I had available. (Editor: If you reduce the
temperature right down, the shrinkage rate reduces dramatically.).
The linkage arrangement for the rudder and ailerons
E.F.-U.K.
61
A Simple Motor Mount System
by M D Mackendrick of Phoenix MFC, Dorset
This is an easy and strong motor mounting system for all electric flight motors,
but particularly suited to outrunners and other brushless motors. This mounting
method allows for easy setting of any required down & side thrust. It also reinforces
the nose of the aircraft.
The material required is flat alloy strip. I mostly use 10mm x 1.5mm strip bought
at B&Q or any other hardware store. The finished mount is glued to the aircraft
with epoxy. If I have to use 15 mm wide strip I drill lightening holes along the
length of the strip where excessive strength is not necessary.
Step 1. Select the mounting hole method - see diagrammed variants - decide on the
length of the side pieces -I usually leave an excess to cut off later. Make the holes
or notch in the middle of the strip to match the motor & its mounting screws.
Step 2. Mount motor & mark width for
bending. Then remove the motor and in
a suitable vice carefully bend the corners
as shown. It's best to clamp the weakened
i.e. drilled part of the strip in the vice
jaws to keep it flat.
62
E.F.-U.K.
Step 3. Your airframe must be built with the nose section incomplete, usually
sides only finished. Unless you are using the battery position to set the CofG,
complete as far as possible the remainder of the model including covering and all
fittings & electrics.
Step 4. Put motor & mounting plates into nose & clamp with clips or pegs to get
a satisfactory fit and move the position forward or back to establish the CG.
Remember there will be a propeller, spinner & cowlings yet to add weight in front.
Also don't forget to set any down thrust. Mark the exact position of the alloy
strips; remove the motor & using epoxy glue the mount to the sides.
Step 5 Re-mount the motor & build the front cowlings/hatches to match. I often
use a plate of Ply held by the motor mount bolts to support the front of the
cowlings Do remember to build in some cooling air access. Usually I have made
some sort of intake underneath or even left the bottom of the motor uncovered i.e.
no under-cowl.
I have used this system to mount Aveox motors with gearboxes in 3 aircraft , an
AXI Outrunner in an Alienator, an Astro Cobalt 05 & of course several speed
400s, some with gearboxes.
Tip- to remove the mount, heat with a largish soldering iron. The epoxy will
soften & separate easily.
You can easily bend the mount to fit curvature.
E.F.-U.K.
63
The Blue Max
by John Stennard
Looking for a ‘bigger than normal’ model for electric power I came across the
Global Models Blue Max. This model is sold in the UK by YT International. It is
a ‘vintage, Eindecker’ style model of 1.7m (67") wingspan and is designed for a
.40-.46 2-stroke or .52 4-stroke with an AUW of around 2.5kg (5.5lb.).
I wanted to use an electric power unit that would give enough power from 2 x 7 or
8 cell standard packs. I did not want to have to use larger packs. John Emms of
Puffin Models was consulted and he was confident that a standard Model Motors
24/12 or 24/16 brushed motor with a 3:1 gearbox would give the required power
output. A test with the 3:1 geared 24/16 and a APC-E 14" x 7” showed that around
300W+ were available with 14 or 16 cells, and on 16 cells gave around 6000 RPM.
3000mAh NiMH cells were used for the tests using a Jeti 450 opto ESC controller.
The excellent quality of this ARTF model made it a pleasure to assemble and the
conversion to E-power was very easy. I may have ‘over engineered’ the motor
mount but a 14" propeller at power encourages one to ensure the mounting is a
secure and solid fixture! The final AUW is 3kg and the Blue Max has flown with
both the 24/12 & 24/16 motors. The 24/12 can only be used up to 14 cells and a 12"
prop. This motor flew the Blue Max adequately but is probably best suited to a 22.5kg size of model. The performance is better with the 24/16, 16 cells & 14"
propeller combo, giving a very short take off run and 8+ minute flights.
I think the performance using electric power is very appropriate for the type of
model. A spritely takeoff, stable and pleasant handling characteristics in flight
and easy landings make it a lovely aircraft to fly.
64
E.F.-U.K.
I think my objectives of getting a ‘large’ electric model in the air, using coupled
standard packs, has been very successful. Other than electric gliders my largest
model to date has been the Multiplex Cargo. In fact the Blue Max has very similar
flight characteristics.
The 24/16 motor and excellent quality indrive gearbox from Puffin Models costs
around £70. I think this represents a very good value for money power system for
the Blue Max, and any model of the 2-3kg size.
Would it be better with a brushless motor? As a regular user of brushless motors
and AXI motors in particular, I am sure it would, but of course at a price. When
the new larger version of the direct drive AXI arrives I will be able to give it a try
and see how it compares.
E.F.-U.K.
65
Inspiration
The following photographs were submitted from various model events during the
2002 season. They are included here to give illustrate what is possible and to
inspire for the 2003 season.
An Auster in yellow Army colours
There are plenty of novelty designs out there
66
E.F.-U.K.
The Hercules of Jörg Golombek and Michael Häberle. It is approximately 1/7th scale
and spans 19’ 8½” (6m), has a wing area of 5200 sq .in. (335dm2) and weighs 44 lb.
(20kg). To get this brute off the ground, 4 Marx GT300/10 motors run through 5:1
gearboxes and swing 20” x 10” propellers using a total of 48 cells.
This is the Fiesler Storch of Klaus Seidel. It has a span of 9’ 5” (2.85m) and a flying
weight of 12.1 lb. (5.5kg). It is powered by an Ultra 1600-8 motor coupled to a 2.4:1
gearbox, a 20” x 6” propeller and 24 cells.
E.F.-U.K.
67
This is Philipp Gardemin with his 1/6th scale Junkers Ju-52. It is almost 16’ (4.85m)
span, has a wing area of 4620 sq. in. (300dm2) and weighs 43.5 lb. (19.7kg). It is
powered by 3 Torcman 350/28 22T brushless motors, sharing 48 cells and direct drive
onto 17” x 8” propellers.
68
A Gee Bee Model Z in yellow and black
E.F.-U.K.
The large Messerschmitt Me Bf109G-6 of Christoph Meindl. Span is 2m (79”) and it
weighs around 6kg (13 lb.). It is powered by a Graupner Ultra 3500 with a 2:1 gearbox
with 36 x Sanyo RC-2400 cells and swinging a 24” x 14” propeller.
The same Me 109 cutting a groove through the sky
E.F.-U.K.
69
The Gotha Go 151 of Bruno Schmalzgruber. It is approximately 8’ (2.5m) span and has a
flying weight of 12.3 lb. (5.6kg). Power is from 2 Keller 25/12 motors on 2.5:1
gearboxes, turning 14” x 8” propellers on 16 cells.
This is a model of a Boeing prototype aircraft of the “Blended Wing Body” type.
70
E.F.-U.K.
A semi-scale Boulton-Paul P111 ducted fan in prototype yellow markings.
A very nice Fouga Magister in dark blue with white wings and red tip tanks.
E.F.-U.K.
71
In the foreground is a very sleek looking twin EDF model called Blade in blue and
orange, judging by it’s looks it should really motor. Behind is an F9F Panther EDF in
standard US Navy colours of dark blue with white trim.
A very nicely finished scale ducted fan model of a Henschel Hs132A jet dive bomber. The
Hs132 was designed as a jet replacement for the well known Ju87 Stuka, but never saw
service as the first prototype were captured just before making its first flight.
72
E.F.-U.K.
A Preset Speed Controller for
Free-Flight Models
by John Bunting
With the advent of ultra-lightweight radio gear, the free-flight electric model may
be a declining species. However, I like to have one or two such models to fly on
calm evenings, or at meetings where radio flying is limited. In the interests of
peace and quiet, I converted a small model from a ½cc diesel to electric power,
using a KP02 power unit. This has a geared motor driving a 7” propeller and is
powered by 3 small 110mAh NiCd cells. From a full charge, the motor draws
about 5A and runs for about a minute.
It occurred to me that if you have a little power to spare, it might be useful to be
able to reduce the motor speed and fly the model with less power, but with a
longer motor run. The best way to do this, without wasting any battery power,
would be to use a circuit similar to the output stage of an RC Speed Controller; a
MOSFET switch controlled by a signal of variable mark / space ratio. In this case
the signal would be generated by a simple CMOS oscillator, with the mark / space
ratio set by a small potentiometer before flight.
However, the low battery voltage was a problem. CMOS circuits need a supply of
at least 3v, and the MOSFET needs a gate-to-source voltage of between 3v to 6v,
depending on the type, to switch fully ‘on’ for a current of 5A. The battery is
nominally 3.6v, but can soon fall to less than 3v when the motor is running.
I was about to drop the idea when a possible solution came to mind. When switching
an inductive load, such as a motor or solenoid, an induced voltage peak is generated
at the junction of switch and load, at the end of each ‘on’ phase of the switching
E.F.-U.K.
73
cycle. The peak is of short duration, but can reach a level much higher than the
supply voltage, and may exceed the safe working voltage of the MOSFET.
For this reason, a reversed diode (D3 here), is usually connected in parallel with
the load. When the induced peak voltage exceeds the supply voltage, the diode
becomes forward-biased , and forms a low-resistance path from the MOSFET to
the supply line. This limits the peak to a safe level, and in my test circuit the
oscilloscope showed a peak amplitude of about 8v.
If we now connect another diode (D4) and a capacitor (C2), as shown, we have
what is called a ‘diode pump’ circuit. The capacitor is charged up, via the diode, to
a voltage almost equal to the peak value and this gives a DC voltage, which can be
used to power the CMOS oscillator. This will also give an output signal high
enough to switch the MOSFET.
This is possible because the oscillator needs only a very low supply current,
typically 100µA. Provided that the battery voltage is initially high enough to get
the circuit started, it then holds itself up by it’s own bootstraps, so to speak, and
keeps working until the battery drops below 2v, and is therefore almost completely
discharged.
The circuit works well with the KP02 unit, allowing the motor to be set from a
tick-over to almost full speed. The maximum speed is not quite as high as when
running direct from the battery, as there must be at least a short ‘off’ period in the
switching cycle to keep the diode pump working.
If you want to keep the option of running at absolute top speed, a small 2-way
switch or connector could be fitted top bypass the MOSFET and connect the
motor straight to the negative terminal of the battery in the usual way. (Editor:
alternatively just remove the unit and connect the battery to the motor).
The circuit also worked with two other small motors from my junk box, but the
DC voltage from the diode pump will depend on the motor characteristics, so in
that respect the circuit should be regarded as the basis for further experiment.
The MOSFET should be of a type with a low gate threshold voltage; the FP45N03L
starts to conduct below 2v, and a search of RS or other suppliers’ lists should
reveal a few other suitable types. If you are using a higher voltage battery, of 4.8v
or more, you may find that the diode pump is unnecessary and the oscillator can
be run direct from the battery. However, make sure that it’s output voltage remains
high enough, at least until the battery is on the verge of being fully discharged. If
the MOSFET gets more than slightly warm, it’s almost certainly not being switched
fully on by the gate signal.
For the oscillator, the pin connections are shown for a CD4001, but any other
CMOS IC containing two or more inverters could be used (e.g. 4011 or 4069).
With VR1 and C1 values shown, it runs at 3kHz. The circuit can be assembled on
a piece of Veroboard just over 1” square, and weighs less than ½oz.
74
E.F.-U.K.
Component List:
IC1
CD4001
VR1
R1
820K
Q1
R2
47K
D1, D2, D4
R3
100R
D3
C1
220pF
C2
22µF or 47µF, 16V min. electrolytic
1M0 min. preset
FP45N03L or similar
1N4148 or similar
1N4001
The above view shows
the holes used from the
component side and the
track cut locations for
reference.
The top left view of the
Veroboard is as seen
from the track side after
cutting the tracks as
shown.
The view on the left is the finished board
complete with all components. Please pay
attention to component orientation.
(Editor: When fitted in the supply output from an RC switch, this design could be
used to control the speed of motors used in electric retracts or similar devices).
E.F.-U.K.
75
FOR SALE / WANTED
Member's Sales & Wants
For Sale on behalf of the estate of the late Sqn Ldr Ken Wood, MBE. The models
are all fully built & shipping is difficult, but delivery and/or viewing can be arrange
at any of the BEFA fly-ins or the AGM. For more details (or digital photographs),
contact Jan Bassett on 01935 472743 or jan.bassett@electric-flight.org.uk:
• Goldberg Electra powered sailplane with modified nose shape (78” span
single-piece wing of 663 sq. in.). Fitted with 1 Hitec HS-80 & 1 Futaba
S143 servo. The motor mounting is designed for a Keller 22/12 motor, but
would fit a 600 motor & compact gearbox with little or no modification.
Covered in SolarFilm, the fuselage, fin & wing centre are red, with the
tailplane, elevator & rudder in white and yellow outboard on the wings.
Intended for 7 Sub-C cells, but would take 8 Sub-C or 10 4/5 Sub-C. Price
for a quick sale to a good home at £40 ono.
• Goldberg Electra powered sailplane with modified nose shape as above.
Fitted with Fleet FPS-24A speed control, Micron Mini Rx and 2 Fleet
FPS-18 mini servos. Covered overall in Fibafilm with the fuselage, elevator
& rudder in white and the wings, tailplane & fin in red. Intended for 7
Sub-C cells, but would take 8 Sub-C or 10 4/5 Sub-C. Price for a quick
sale to a good home at £40 ono.
For Sale by Eric Cable, the following motors which are boxed and unflown.
Contact Eric on telephone 01935 478974 (Yeovil).
• Plettenberg HP 200/20/12 motor - £75
• Astro 05 FAI, 6 turn motor, geared 2.2:1 - £95
• LRP Super 400 - £25
Wanted by the Editor (contact details on page 4) any of the following:
• General or Technical Articles.
• Product Reviews.
• New products.
• Electric Flight Event write-ups.
• Hints and Tips.
76
E.F.-U.K.
• Photographs of your models (with dimensions, equipment installed and
flight performance please).
• New items of interest for inclusion in this magazine.
• Photograph prints supplied will be returned if you supply a return address,
unless you specify otherwise.
• Digital photographs should be at least 1000 pixels wide, in colour and
uncompressed wherever possible.
Requests for inclusion in the For Sale & Wanted pages can be made by email, post
or by telephone, to the Editor using the contact details on page 4. Entries can also
be submitted on-line from the For Sale & Wanted page on the BEFA website at
www.befa.org.uk
If you wish to have pictures included with your for sale or wanted entry, post
photographs, or email graphic files, to the Editor. Graphic files should be in colour
and uncompressed were possible.
Adverts will be included in both E.F.-U.K. and on the BEFA Website unless
instructed otherwise.
uzzflight
167 Duffield Road, Derby. DE22 1AJ
Telephone: 01332 601693
Email:
pete@buzzflight.co.uk
Website:
www.buzzflight.co.uk
Hummingbird
the definitive control-line trainer - ideal for youngsters
Deluxe Kit - complete with motor, propeller, prop. adapter, spinner, wheels, balsa,
u/c wire, control-line / power wire, on-off switch, battery connectors, sundries,
building instructions & full-size plan, bellcrank and control handle. The only
other items needed are the covering and a 12v 7AH battery. £39.99 + £2.50 P&P.
Standard Kit - contains balsa, u/c wire, control-line / power wire, on-off switch,
battery connectors, sundries, building instructions & full-size plan, bellcrank and
control handle. Again the covering and a 12v 7AH battery are not included. £24.99
+ £2.50 P&P.
Plans & Instructions - £7.99 including P&P, add £5.99 for control-line / power
wire and switch. Please contact us for Overseas prices.
Please make cheques payable to Buzzflight and allow 14 days for delivery.
E.F.-U.K.
77
Electric Flight Calendar
If you would like details of your event to appear in these pages please send full
details to the Editor EF-UK, contact details on page 4. For last minute info check
out the events list on the BEFA website at www.befa.org.uk
Dates, times and, even, locations of events can change at the last minute. You are
strongly advised to check on events with the given contacts before setting out on
your journey to any event.
You are asked to please check with the organisers of non-BEFA events for their
qualification requirements before the event.
All BEFA flying events require proof of BMFA or equivalent insurance
to fly. Additionally, all models must have been satisfactorily test flown
prior to the BEFA event to fly - NO TEST FLIGHTS ON THE DAY.
The BEFA has not yet set minimum qualifications to fly at our events, i.e. no
BMFA certificates are required to fly. Currently all that is expected of pilots is a
reasonable level of flying competency.
April 2003
27th
BEFA League Event at Pillerton Hersey. ElectroSlot / E400 league
event. For info contact Dave Perrett at d.l.perrett@btinternet.com
May 2003
16th / 17th Brooklands Museum 60th Anniversary of the famous Dam
Busters Raid. Brooklands Museum where Barnes Wallis developed
many aircraft, but perhaps best known for his Dam Busting "bouncing
bomb" will be marking the 60th anniversary of this raid on Friday
16th & Saturday 17th May 2003.
The main event will take place on the Saturday, where electric (&
i.c.) Scale Model Flyers are invited to compete for the Barnes Wallis
Memorial Cup & other prizes in an event guaranteed to test the flying
skills of all B certificate pilots. As many will know, 3 aircraft types
were used in the original development and final execution of the raid.
The Vickers Wellington & Mosquito using the original Highball depth
charge, and finally the Lancaster's of 617 Squadron for the raid.
Modellers have to modify or build from scratch these aircraft, sized
approximately to the scale of a solid practice golf ball. This to be
carried in the bomb bay and released over water and a mock up of
one of the original dams. Those perfectionists who consider they can
go one better and spin up their golf ball in situ before release are
welcome to incorporate an additional drive motor.
78
E.F.-U.K.
As a further tribute to Barnes Wallis, who as you may know also did
all the original design / development work on "Swing Wing" technology,
we would welcome demonstrations of his R100 Airship, Vickers
Wellesley, Wellington & Swallow aircraft. Many other types are also
welcome, those built or flown from Brooklands, such as the Sopwith,
Hawker and Supermarine. Where plans are not readily available, the
Museum archive should be able to help. Back up crews and non flyers
are welcome and we look forward to a great days flying.
In order to plan everything well ahead, the Museum would appreciate
getting an idea of numbers in advance, so please let them have your
name and details by contacting Gemma Lane on 01932 857381 or via
email at events@brooklandsmuseum.com
18th
BEFA League event at Leicester. ElectroSlot and E400 league event.
For details contact Dave Perrett at d.l.perrett@btinternet.com
June 2003
1st
BEFA League event at Leamington Spa. ElectroSlot / E400 league
event. For info contact Dave Perrett at d.l.perrett@btinternet.com
1st
Hayes & District M.A.C.’s Diamond Jubilee Electric Fly-In at
Cranford Country Park, Hayes, Middx. Pilots’ Briefing 10am, ends
6pm. Full 35MHz band - Now ALL channels (odds & evens). Flyfor-fun plus informal Scale, Vintage and Last Down comps. Possibly
a Pico-Jet Pylon Race! A Traders’ “village” is planned. (Trader’s setup from 8am) Bring the family to enjoy the beautiful woodlands,
river and adventure playground. Toilets (incl. disabled) and
refreshments available in the park. Further details from Dave Chinery
0208 573 4687 or DavidDchinery@aol.com
15th
BMFA Southern Area Fly-In. Lovely site courtesy of Winchester
MAC with large area of short mown grass, access off the A .52
Winchester to Petersfield road. 10am - 5pm. Trophies for scale aircraft
by popular vote. Other trophies. Lunchtime All Up Last Down
Competition. Join us for a relaxing fly All frequencies can be used.
Entry fee £3 per pilot. For more information see page 78 or contact
Andy Palmer at 92 Durley Ave, Waterlooville, Hants, PO8 8TZ, email
andy@palmer99.freeserve.co.uk or telephone 02392 253761, or
Eddie Clowes at 7 Thatched Cottage Park, Southampton Road,
Lyndhurst, Hants, SO43 7BW, telephone: 02380 282847.
22nd
Chester MFC - RC All Electric Fly-In at the Roodee Racecourse,
Chester. Open duration, vintage & scale competitions - entries on
the day. Extended sports flying. Pilot’s briefing at 9.30am. Enquiries
to C R Filtness, 26 Raymond Street, Chester - Tel 01244 378476.
E.F.-U.K.
79
June 2003 (continued)
22nd
The 12th annual Cumulus E-fly-in will be held at the Cumulus
club field in Winssen near Nijmegen, the Netherlands. For more
information, please http://home.hetnet.nl/~ronvans/
28th / 29th Wings and Wheels Model Spectacular at North Weald Airfield,
Essex. All the usual attractions of this annual event. Please see the
advert on page 79 for more details.
July 2003
5th
BEFA League event at Middle Wallop. ElectroSlot and E400 league
event. Due to the field being shared with the fly-in only ODD
frequencies are available on 35MHz. For more details contact
Dave Perrett at d.l.perrett@btinternet.com.
5th / 6th
BEFA Fly-In at Middle Wallop. On the Saturday (5th) the site
will be shared with the League events and therefore even frequencies
only for 35MHz. No Free-Flight. The Sunday (6th) is Fly-In only
with all frequencies available. For more information contact Robert
Mahoney at befa@rlmahoney.co.uk
20th
Grand Electric Fly-In at Pontefract Park (off J 32 M62) presented
by BMFA Northern Area with Pontefract & District Aeromodellers.
10am to 5pm. Low key events for Scale (Flying), Sport, Vintage,
AULD, & Helicopters (if numbers allow). Pilots £2 per event,
spectators free. Proof of BMFA insurance essential. All frequencies.
Raffle. Free boot sale. Traders by prior appointment only. Sorry no
camping. For details see http://www.pandasclub.fsnet.co.uk/ or
contact John Thompson on email j.thompson3@ntlworld.com or
telephone 01924 515595 (reasonable hours please).
27th
BEFA League event at Leamington Spa. ElectroSlot / E400 league
event. For info contact Dave Perrett at d.l.perrett@btinternet.com
27th
Bath SPARCS All Electric Fly-in at RAF Colerne Wiltshire.
Airfield site with grass and tarmac runways. No competitions. Proof
of BMFA insurance required. Regret no facilities for spectators. Pilots
brief 1000. Contact Bob Partington Tel 01225 891441 or
bob.partington@ukonline.co.uk
August 2003
3rd
BEFA Fly-In at Woburn Abbey. For more information contact Robert
Mahoney at befa@rlmahoney.co.uk
10th
BEFA Fly-In at Leamington Spa. For more information contact Jan
Bassett at befa@electric-flight.org.uk
80
E.F.-U.K.
16th/17th
Greenacres Fun Fly at Walsall Airport. Cost per frequency £2.50.
The usual arrangements for camping, trade, etc. For further
information contact Andrew Moult on telephone 01922 724311 or
email Andrew@tmoult.fsnet.co.uk or alternatively Peter Hubbard,
on 07754 058872 or email hubbardp@blueyonder.co.uk
17th
BEFA East Anglia Fly-In at Phoenix MFC, Lowestoft. All electric
flyers with BMFA insurance welcome. Fun flying with the addition
of Scale, All-Up-Last-Down & Vintage competitions. Even frequencies
only. Barbecue / liquid refreshments available. Pilots entrance fee of
£2.00. Location at Pakefield, Lowestoft, Suffolk. For further info
contact Tom Taylor, 01493-668555 or e-mail tom.t.usn@lineone.net.
Additional information and location map available at the Phoenix
MFC web site at www.phoenix-mfc.freeserve.co.uk
31st
Furness Model Aircraft Society annual Electric Fly-in
beginning at 10am. The venue will be the Rakesmoor Lane flying site
at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. Entry fee will be £4 per modeller.
Proof of insurance is required on the day. Further details from Gary
Knight, 12 Dale Street, Askam-in-Furness, Cumbria. LA16 7DH. Tel.
01229 467447 or email gp.knight@ukonline.co.uk
September 2003
7th
Open Electric Day at North London RCMFC, Baldock. Entry
£5 on the day. No Free-Flight. Limited Trade welcome by prior
appointment only. Proof of insurance essential. Food & drink
available. For more details call John Raines on 01462 893059.
7th
West Calder Aeromodellers fly-in. Tarmac & grass runways.
Snacks available. Free entry. SAA/BMFA insurance required. 10am
to 5pm, all welcome. More details at www.modelclub.org
13th
The Northern Area BMFA presents the Annual Pudsey Swap Meet
and Indoor Free Flight event. Pudsey Civic Hall, near Leeds.
Doors open 8.30am. Tables £3 each, admission £1. Flying starts 1pm.
Classes for: Small Scale; ARTF Butterfly; Foam 200 & Civic / mini
Gyminie Cricket; Dart; and Hamster. Charge will be £1 per class
entered (Juniors free). Details Gordon Warburton 0113 2852947or
Northern Area Website (http://members.aol.com/bmfanorth/) or
email bmfanorth@aol.com
14th
BEFA League event at York. ElectroSlot / E400 league event. For
more details contact Dave Perrett at d.l.perrett@btinternet.com
21st
Pillerton Hersey fly-in courtesy of John Lewthwaite, including an
All-Up-Last-Down competition. Contact John Lewthwaite for more
information on telephone 01789 740 688.
E.F.-U.K.
81
September 2003 (continued)
28th
BEFA League event at Pillerton Hersey. ElectroSlot / E400 league
event. More info from Dave Perrett at d.l.perrett@btinternet.com
November 2003
2nd
82
BEFA Technical Workshop at the Royal Centre, Royal Leamington
Spa. The usual Traders Fair and technical presentations.
E.F.-U.K.
JUNE 28TH & 29TH 2003
at North Weald Airfield, Essex
(Just off Junction 7 - M11 motorway)
The largest RC Model Show in the South
Flight Line directed by The Ghost Squadron
Electric Model Display Pilots welcome, pre booking required.
Please contact us if you are interested in displaying your model.
Other attractions include:- Large Model Boat Pool,
Model Car displays, Over 70 Model Trade Stands,
Gigantic Modellers Bring & Buy, Bar, Refreshments, Saturday Night
Entertainment plus lots more!!
See all about the 2002 Show on our web site
www.wingsnwheelsspectacular.com
Entrance Prices
Adult £ 7.00
Concessions £ 6.00
Children (5-16) £ 4.00
Advanced Prices
Adult £ 6.00
Concessions £ 5.50
Children (5-16) £ 3.50
Family Ticket (in advance only)
(2 adults & up to 4 children) £20.00
You can telephone, fax, post or email your order to the address / contact details
below. Applications for advance tickets much reach Wings & Wheels no later
than 24 June 2003. No refunds will be made. Please allow 14 days for delivery.
Tel./Fax: ++ 44 (0) 1480 462265
email: wingsnwheels@dial.pipex.com
Designaction Limited, Wings & Wheels, PO Box 284, HUNTINGDON. PE28 9AE
E.F.-U.K.
83
New to ELECTRIC FLIGHT?
START HERE . . . . .
You may be taking up Electric Flight for the first time, you may be converting
from another discipline. Whatever your situation, help and advice is available.
BEFA has prepared an information sheet which details further sources of
information which you may find useful when just joining the hobby. To receive a
copy, please send a Stamped Addressed Envelope (SAE) to Robert Mahoney, address
on page 4.
BEGINNER'S GUIDE
A Beginner’s Guide to Electric Flight is available, which explains many of the
'Mysteries' of Electrics’ and will, hopefully, set you off on the right foot. Please
send £3.00, per copy required, to The Editor of EF-UK at the address on page 4.
Please add £1.00 extra for overseas postage and remit in Sterling, cheques payable
to BEFA.
TECHNICAL HELP SERVICE
Technical help is now available again for the use of all members. We regret that
no telephone service is available, but all questions in writing (or email) will be
answered by our new Technical Liaison Officer (TLO). Please refer your queries
to our TLO, to the postal or email address on page 4. Please ensure that you
include an SAE for a reply.
CONNECTIONS SERVICE
Requests are frequently received from members who wish to be put in contact
with other members living in the same area. The easiest method of doing this is
to place a free 'wanted' advert in the classified section of this magazine.
Alternatively, a request may be made IN WRITING to the Membership Secretary
who is allowed to divulge such information to members ONLY. Please supply as
much information about your location as possible and please remember to include
an SAE for your reply.
B.E.F.A. MEMBERSHIP
Membership of the Association is open to all members of the BMFA. Those who
are not members of our national controlling body may only subscribe to EF-UK
with no other benefits of membership. Overseas members are very welcome and
will be classed as full members if they belong to their own national controlling
body.
CONTACT
For full details, please send an SAE to the Membership Secretary (address on page
4) requesting a membership application form. Those with Internet access may
visit the B.E.F.A. website at http://www.befa.org.uk, where you will find all the
membership application form & information you should require.
84
E.F.-U.K.
MAIL ORDER MODEL SUPPLY
GOLD PLUGS Ideal for Speed 400/600
2mm plug 75p; cuts into two giving one plug/socket
2mm solder socket 43p. 2mm plug and a 2mm socket £1.15
Lightweight 2mm plug and socket 55p; Max 15A motor current draw
Spares. 2mm light plug 40p. 2mm light socket 20p
Pack of red/black shrink: 3.2mm or 4.8mm 50p
GOLD PLUGS 600 or larger motor
4mm plug 90p; cuts into plug/socket. Very low resistance
4mm hollow plug and a separate 4mm solder socket £1.15
Spares. 4mm hollow plug 85p. 4mm solder socket 43p
Lightweight 4mm plug and socket 75p; Max motor current 35A suggested
Spares. 4mm light plug 55p. 4mm light socket 25p
Pack of red/black shrink: 6.4mm £1.25: 4.8mm 75p
Providing that you bear in mind the suggested amp ratings all the 2mm and 4mm plugs are
interchangeable. All fit any of the same size.
EXTRA FLEXIBLE WIRE. 0.5mm2, 129 strands, Max 10A, 35p/metre
Red or Black or White. Park Flyers etc. or servo extensions.
EXTRA FLEXIBLE WIRE
Supplied in packs of 1 metre of red and 1 metre of black, i.e. 2 metres of wire
0.75mm2, 196 strands; ideal for weight saving, Max 15A, £1.00/pack
1.00mm2, 258 strands; ideal for weight saving for speed 400, Max 19A, £1.40/pack
1.50mm2, 378 strands; ideal for speed 400, £2.00/pack
4mm2, 1036 strands; £3.50/pack
SILICONE INSULATED WIRE. Pack of 1 metre of red and 1 metre of black
1.5mm2, 378 strands. £2.50
2.5mm2, 651 strands. £3.00
All wire can be cut off the roll, in longer lengths if required.
CELL HEATSHRINK metre lengths
25mm 50p; suits single AAA or AA cells or any same size
48mm 75p; suits single sub C cells/sticks or packs of dumpy 600
65mm 85p; suits 1700 or 2000 packs, also RC oblong sticks etc.
94mm 95p; suits double deck packs (1700 etc.)
All sizes layflat width, supplied in clear. 48mm available in opaque blue also.
WIRE HEATSHRINK metre lengths
1.6mm 50p; 2.4mm 60p; 9.5mm £1.00. Black only
3.2mm 75p; 4.8mm 80p; 6.4mm 95p. All in red or black.
ALL ORDERS PLUS POSTAGE: 60p UK; £1.10 Europe; £1.70 World
M. E. DONKIN, 37 WYDALE ROAD, OSBALDWICK, YORK, YO10 3PG
Tel/Fax 01904 414738. Mobile 0771 202 8329.
E-mail: michael@moms63.freeserve.co.uk or modelsupply@netscapeonline.co.uk
All messages - an attempt will be made to contact you. (I work shifts)
Computer faxes must send start signal before my fax will respond!
E.F.-U.K.
85
B.E.F.A. Sales
BEFA Round, Coloured Rub-down Decals - 50p each
BEFA 2000' Millennium Decals - £1.00 each
Back Issues of EF-UK - No's 38, 40, 41, 44, 52, 53, 55 to 63 (inclusive) at £1.00
each for BEFA members, or £2.00 each to non-members. Issues 64 to 70 are also
available to BEFA members at £3.00 each, or £5.00 each to non-members. These
prices include UK P&P, overseas rates on application.
Please Note these are the ONLY back issues now available.
EF-UK Index. A comprehensive index of EF-UK from issue 28 to 59 is available
by sending a £1 coin to cover copying and postage cost.
Binders:- are available to hold eight issues of Electric Flight U.K. Produced in
dark blue with gold lettering on the spine, these cost £4.50 each including U.K.
postage. Please add £1 for European postage and £2 for Worldwide postage.
Sweat Shirts & Tee-Shirts: Stock of these is now almost all gone - please
contact Robert Mahoney regarding remaining stock, sizes and prices.
Please send all orders to Robert Mahoney at the address on page 4.
PLEASE REMIT IN STERLING ONLY,
WITH ALL CHEQUES MADE PAYABLE TO B.E.F.A.
Advertisers Index
BEFA Sales .................................................................. 86
Buzzflight .................................................................... 77
E-Zone ...............................................Inside Front Cover
Fanfare ............................................... Inside Back Cover
For Sale / Wanted ........................................................ 76
Mail Order Model Supply............................................ 85
S T C (Crossfire) .......................................................... 35
Traplet ............................................. Outside Back Cover
Wings & Wheels .......................................................... 83
E.F.-U.K. advertising rates are £20 per full page, £10 per half page, per issue.
Please contact the Editor for further information (see page 4).
86
E.F.-U.K.
– MAIL ORDER –
SPORTS ELECTRIC FLIGHT
FANS AND GEARBOXES
www.fanfare.f9.co.uk
GEARBOXES
FANS
Morley ‘Jet Elec’ Fan .............................. £15.00
Adaptors for 480 & 410 motors .............. £3.00
WeMoTec Micro-Fan (280/300/330) ..... £14.00
WeMoTec Mini-Fan (400/480) ............... £28.00
WeMoTec Midi-Fan (540/ 600/930) ....... £38.00
MOTORS
WEP Turbo 10 ........................................ £55.00
Speed 500 E Race ................................. £13.00
Speed 600 8.4v BB SP .......................... £15.00
Speed 600 8.4v Race ............................ £18.00
Speed 650 9.6v BB Race ...................... £33.00
Speed 700 ............................ £14.00 to £22.00
Speed 700 Neodym ............................... £38.00
RE 380 / Rocket 400 ................................ £4.50
Speed 480 PB .. £14.00 BB ................ £21.00
Pro 400 ............... £5.00 Pro 480 HS .... £7.00
Master Airscrew 2.5, 3, 3.5:1 ............... £16.00
TAB Inline 2.65 540/600’s .................... £40.00
TAB Inline 2.08 & 3.05 480’s ............. £40.00
TAB Inline 2.1 700’s .............................. £50.00
Mini Olympus ....... £8.00 Olympus ...... £12.00
MOTORS / GEARBOXES
MFA 2.5:1 N.I.L. with 540 ...................... £21.00
Speed 400 FG3 ..................................... £17.00
SpeedGear 400 4:1 Inline ...................... £35.00
SpeedGear 480 3.45:1 .......................... £48.00
SpeedGear 500 2.8:1 ............................ £40.00
SpeedGear 600 2.8:1 ............................ £41.00
SpeedGear 700 2.7:1 9.6v .................... £60.00
SpeedGear 700 Neo .............................. £82.00
Mini-Olympus & RE380 .......................... £12.00
Olympus & 540 ...................................... £19.00
Robbe 410/35/45 ................................... £36.00
MAXCIM BRUSHLESS
Max Neo 13Y 1430 rpm/v ................... £160.00
Max Neo 13D 2470 rpm/v .................... £160.00
21 Cell Controller ................................. £140.00
25 Cell Controller ................................. £180.00
Superbox 1.6 to 4.28:1 ......................... £50.00
Monsterbox 4 to 6.8:1 .......................... £60.00
Motor Mount ........................................... £10.00
CHARGERS
Speed 1 Pulse / Pk
Det 4-8 cells ........................................... £27.00
Speed Ex Digital
as above with discharge ...................... £55.00
Simprop 25 cell .................................... £100.00
PROPS
M.A. Folding
12x8 ............... £14.00
15x12 ............. £15.25
M.A. Wood Electric
10x6/10x8 ........ £4.00
11x7/11x9 ........ £4.25
12x8/12x10 ...... £4.50
13x8/13x10 ...... £5.00
Carbon Folders
7x4 ................... £6.00
(Perkins)
8x4.5 ................ £6.00
11x8 ................. £9.00
Slimprops 8x4, 8x6, 9x5, 9x6 .............. £3.50
APC Electric
6” - 12” dia. .......... £3 to £4
(full range available) 13 ” - 18” dia. ..... £5 to £10
Selection of Graupner & Aeronaut
folding & fixed props.
Wheels, Wire, Servos, Fuses, Caps,
Powerpole, 4mm & 2mm gold conns.
FANFARE • 18 HILLSIDE ROAD • TANKERTON • WHITSTABLE • KENT • CT5 3EX
‘Sports Electric’ Helpline - Phone / Fax: (01227) 771331 - E-mail: john.swain1@virgin.net
Now online at - www.fanfare.f9.co.uk