Lockheed T-33 “T-Bird”

TEAM Class, Graham Mears, static score: 99.423

Coming out on top of the Team category, fighting for every point, was the team of Canadian Graham Mears and Brit Ali Machinchy. Their entry, a big, big T-33 “T-Bird started life as an imported Scale-Jets kit and is one of two currently flying. No stranger to scale circles, Graham is one of those rare types that is comfortable with, and expert at, virtually any type of replica making material. From the tube and fabric of his Super Cub to the “tin” of his F-16s, he produces an outstanding and convincing model. His T-33 was absolutely beautiful and got better everywhere you looked, including those often ignored “insides” like wheel wells and equipment access doors. For those of you who think that pre-molded composite airplanes have a leg up in competition or are easier to finish, especially those with all that sexy surface detail molded in, remember, that can be a double edged sword. If the prototype from which the molds are produced have errors, every one that comes out of those molds will have the same errors which the builder makes a decision to let ride or fix. Even minor issues like an incorrectly located panel line which doesn’t match the documentation requires the elimination of the original and the creation of the correction. Graham’s effort on his entry surely impressed the judges. O.K., the model was impressive enough to be almost perfect in static score. Now what? Now, friends, you hook up with Ali Machinchy, who seems to be able to expertly fly anything, form a team and sit back while he racks up a phenomenal string of superb flight to land you in first place in your class. Near perfect airplane, near perfect flying and international synergism—very tough to beat!

Grumman A-6E Intruder

TEAM Class, Mike Selby, static score: 99.423

Among Vietnam war era U.S. aircraft, there are a few airplanes that stand out in the minds of nearly everyone, even those with a limited knowledge of that period of military aircraft. The Grumman A-6 Intruder may not be one of them. Less fabled and lauded over than the Thud, Rhino, SLUF and the Scooter, the Intruder nevertheless formed the backbone of the Navy interdiction/attack mission in both “A” (attack) and the “EA” Prowler electronic versions and was a key player during that time. A book and a movie were done (“Flight of the Intruder”) which introduced the type to a lot more people than would have otherwise known about it. From a proportion and planform standpoint, the A-6 makes a near perfect R/C model. With the appearance of reliable, good performing turbines, it was sure to be modeled. Mike Selby, another veteran of the Top Gun Team category with his Tigercat, Vindicator, Buffalo, A-10, F-111 behind him, jumped into the Intruder project with both feet. He fabricated the molds and built nearly everything else on the model and this 1/5-scale (10 foot), 55 pound beauty is the result. Powered by a single B300F turbine, the Intruder shows a level of realistic skin representation that you would be hard pressed to tell from the real thing. Big models mean big cockpits, which in turn, mean a lot of space to be occupied and filled, and Mike did, masterfully. From seats to consoles to instrument panels, it was all there! Being so close to the project, Mike again enlisted the flying skills of Ray Johns who drove the big machine around in a very convincing manner. Although Ray told me he hasn’t yet had a lot of practice time with the A-6, his performance was polished enough to end them in 2nd spot in the Team Category.

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This enormous 1/6-scale Wyvern (which is a mythical dragon-like creature) is constructed of balsa and light ply, covered in heat-shrink material imprinted with all of the details and insignias. A complete hardware package is supplied in the kit, including fuel tank, plastic spinner with alloy backplate and even engine standoffs. The all metal, shock-absorbing, air up/down retractable main landing gear is also included. There are numerous vacu-formed and painted plastic scale accessories such as drop tanks, missiles and engine exhaust ports. The cowl is made of lightweight fiberglass complete with panel lines and painted to match the covering material.

General Flight Performance
Stability: This warbird looks belie its innocuous handling. With all that dihedral and the CG and control throws set at manufacturer’s specs, this plane is a real treat to fly.

Tracking: The huge tail and horizontal tail winglets keep the nose pointed where it should be. I only noticed a tiny bit of tail wag at certain speeds, likely due to the drop tanks or missiles, but it was barely noticeable. At most speeds (especially high speed) it was rock solid.

Aerobatics: All of your typical warbird aerobatics can be performed with the Wyvern, and it looks great doing so. There is plenty of power on tap to do huge, scale-like loops and vertical climbouts after that low-level pass.

Glide and stall performance: The large split flaps do a great job at slowing this plane down with very little elevator compensation needed. Rollout was shorter than expected thanks to the slow landing speed. The wings have washout built in which keeps the stalls predictable and easy to recover.

SPECIFICATIONS

Name of plane: Westland Wyvern

Manufacturer: BH Models

Distributor: Global Hobby (available at hobbypeople.net)

Price: $699.99

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4 SIMPLE STEPS TO THIS IMPRESSIVE MOVE

This month, we will discuss a competition maneuver called the “avalanche.” Even if you don’t aspire to be a competition pilot, you can learn from the fundamentals in this exciting move. For example, I’m sure a lot of you have performed a basic loop. In fact, the loop is the first aerobatic maneuver that many people perform. The avalanche is a basic loop, but has one addition to it. At the top of the loop, the pilot performs a snap roll. Since we’ve discussed the snap roll in the past, this is the perfect next maneuver to cover. Without further delay, let’s get the avalanche rolling!

FIRST THINGS FIRST

When performing a graceful maneuver like the loop, focus your attention on geometry and smoothness. When executing the “loop” portion of this aerobatic maneuver, you want a low-rate setting that has about 12 degrees of elevator deflection, 30 degrees of rudder deflection, 25 degrees or more of aileron deflection and exponential on all surfaces. As a starting place, I recommend you use about 20% of expo and increase it until you are comfortable with how the airplane responds. Keep in mind that adding expo will soften the feel of how your servo reacts around neutral.

Let’s now discuss the snap roll. The snap roll rotation should happen relatively fast, and if you find that your model “barrel rolls” around in rotation, you do not have enough control surface deflection and may need different rates on your radio. Most models will snap with about 15 degrees of elevator, 35 degrees of rudder and 35 degrees of aileron throw, but again, values differ from model to model. This serves as an overview, and fine-tuning your model will be up to you. As I mentioned earlier, use exponential and start with a value of about 35% on all control surfaces and then make any necessary adjustments.

When I perform a maneuver like the avalanche, I keep my model on my low-rate settings for the “loop” portion of the maneuver. Then, when I want to initiate the snap roll, I switch to my high-rate setting. I perform the snap and flip immediately back to my low-rate setting for the rest of the figure. To simplify matters, I use flight modes, which means that all rates can be found on one switch!

AVALANCHE OVERVIEW

The Charger R/C Fuzion 3D is a great aerobatic performer.

Until you are familiar with this maneuver, I recommend you climb to an altitude of about 150 feet. Keep in mind, though, that this altitude will vary depending on the size of your model; this starting point is great for an electric model with a wingspan of about 50 inches.

Once your altitude is established and your airplane is traveling parallel to the runway, increase the throttle and begin a gradual loop right when the model passes the pilot (for future reference, the pilot’s position is called the “center”). Keeping the same radius, it’s critical to perform a snap roll at the top of the loop. If the loop began immediately after the model passed the pilot, the snap should be performed as the model is inverted over the top of the loop and at center. Once the snap roll is performed, the model continues the second half of the loop and exits at the same altitude at which the maneuver began.

Now, let’s simplify the control inputs needed and divide this maneuver into four steps:

1 Begin by climbing to a safe altitude and orienting your model so it’s traveling parallel to the runway. The throttle will vary depending on your model’s power-to-weight ratio and the size of your loop. If your model has a fairly equal power-to-weight ratio, you’ll need to use maximum power, especially if you want to perform a larger loop. Increase the throttle to about 90% for your first attempt, and wait until the model approaches center.

2 If you’re using dual rates, make sure you’re on your low-rate setting. As the model is at center, gently pull back on the elevator control surface to begin the loop. Geometry is the key, and it’s critical to perform a perfect circle. With that being said, you may need to increase your throttle to keep the speed of the model constant. Also, you may need to make various rudder corrections to keep the model at the same distance from you (nine out of 10 times, you’ll need to apply right rudder due to motor torque). Keep the same radius constant throughout, and when the model is almost halfway through the loop, it should almost be at center, but inverted. This is a key moment to flip to your high-rate settings, or what I call my “snap rate condition.”

3 Initiate the positive snap roll by applying full left rudder, left aileron and up-elevator (if performing the snap to the left; otherwise, right rudder and right aileron with up-elevator). After one complete rotation is performed, neutralize inputs and immediately flip back to your low-rate setting and decrease the throttle to about 10% power.

4 Complete the second half of the loop. When the model is 75% done with the loop, it may be necessary to lower the throttle to idle. However, keep in mind that you may need to increase the power again as you are approaching center (the same point at which the maneuver began).

GEOMETRY IS THE KEY, AND IT’S CRITICAL TO PERFORM A PERFECT CIRCLE

TIPS FOR SUCCESS

Now that you have learned how to properly execute the avalanche, let’s discuss a few key tips. If you are flying in an extreme headwind, you may need to gradually pull the model up to initiate the loop and then pull back harder once it has completed the first quadrant, as the wind may push you toward center faster than anticipated. After the snap is performed, you’ll need to pull a little harder on the elevator until you are about 80% done with the loop. You then ease off elevator to complete the maneuver as the model is directly in front of you. Whether you are flying in a head-wind, which we just described, tailwind, or crosswind, it is critical for this maneuver to be centered and performed directly in front of you. Make all necessary adjustments so the model always remains at the same depth from you and that it reaches the cardinal points.

TEXT BY JOHN GLEZELLIS; ILLUSTRATION BY CHROME CITY STUDIOS

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(Above) Rich Uravitch interviews pilot Chip Koenig about his Fokker Triplane

 (above) Gerry Yarrish Chats with Builder Mike Selby and his A-6E Intruder

Model Airplane News - The #1 resource for RC plane and helicopter enthusiasts featuring news, videos, product releases and tech tips.

Some time ago, we asked fixed-wing pilots how they felt about flying with helicopters. Some were very accommodating while others wanted a total ban on helis at their flying fields. As a heli pilot, have you ever felt unwelcome at an AMA field? What’s your solution to flying with “plankers”? We want to hear the heli side of the story.

Here’s the original post:

Recently at a flying field, I overheard a few club members talking about implementing a total ban on helicopters. We aren’t talking about restrictions on flight times, or relegating helicopters to the side of the field, or even asking them to keep to the flight pattern; they wanted a NO HELICOPTERS ALLOWED rule.

Why can’t helicopter and airplane pilots just get along? A few years ago, helicopter pilots were invited to the Top Gun Scale Invitational that we cover every year. These machines were museum-quality scale gunships and civilian choppers with handmade rotor heads and intricate landing gear, and they flew in a very realistic manner — no 3D moves here! Yet, as much as you could see the mutual respect for craftsmanship between the heli and plane pilots, they were two very distinct groups … the helicopter pilots held their event a quarter mile away (same field, a landing strip for full-size aircraft) and, during the flight portion of the event, pilots on both sides complained about the other “flying over their airspace” or “too high into the traffic pattern.” There weren’t any mishaps, but that was the first–and last!–time helicopters were in attendance.

If mature scale enthusiasts can’t get along at the same event, I wonder if there’s any hope for the rest of us sport and 3D pilots. It’s unfortunate if helicopter pilots aren’t welcome at flying fields because, in large part, they represent the new generation and are a growing segment of the hobby. On the other hand, helicopters do make me more nervous than prop planes, and I wouldn’t want to have to fly a pattern around them. What’s the solution? Tell us what you think.

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Up to this stage, the blades have been sanded and primed and filled to produce a smooth and blemish free surface. So, now I started painting. I used Master Modeler enamel sprap paint and matched the color reference numbers to a 3-view drawing from a scale plastic model kit. For stand off scale and for sport flying, getting the colors exact is not important, But the colors are flat black and glossy yellow for the tips.

(Above) Start by cleaning off any grease or finger prints with a little alcohol and let dry. Now spray on a few mist coats of the yellow from the tip to about half way down the length of the blades. Let the paint dry and then the yellow lightly to blend it in and eliminate any thick blotches that come from the spray can.

(Above) Now, after the yellow has dried overnight, use a tack cloth to clean off the blades and mask off the tip portion and form a small “handle” using more tape so you can hang the blades while the paint dries. I use 3M Blue Painter’s Tape.

(Above)  Mist on 3 or 4 light coats of the black, making sure to get both the leading and trailing edges covered. Hang the blade in a dust free area until dry. Once the paint has dried for about an hour, remove the tape masking and set the blades so they black does not touch the working surface. I block them up at the tips as the yellow is already dry.

Graphics/Decals

The finishing touch that really makes the propeller blades look scale is the manufacturer’s logo and the nomenclature markings at the base of each blade showing the pitch information. For this project, I used water-slide decals from Cal-Grafx.

(Above)  These are really nicely done, and are different from the norm as they have pre-trimmed clear coat. That is to say, when applied, they have a very neat and professional appearance. Most water-slide decals have an overall clear covering and when you cut out your markings, they show the cut-line you made with the scissors.

(Above)  To apply the markings, first cut the graphic from the master sheet and dip into some room-temperature water for a few seconds. THis allows you to peel away the entire decal from the bigger sheet along with its pre-trimmed clear coat. Now place the grapic back into the water bowl and after about 30 seconds or so, slide your graphic into place while keeping the backing paper flat so you do not damage or fold the decal over itself. Now, important point! Do not wipe the water away, but rather blot the water away while pressing the marking into place. Cal-Grafx supplies small sponge material designed for this and they work great. Now let your decals dry overnight and if you want, you can clear coat the entire blade to seal and protect the decals. As is they are fuel resistant and very durable, but a little more cleat enamel doesn’t hurt anything.

(Above) Since we are doing several blades, I put guide marks on a piece of paper to help get all the decals in the same location. If you do add your own clear coat, be sure to make a test to make sure it is compatible with the decals.

That’s it. Next time we’ll add some final details to the hub assembly and assemble the Hamilton Standard 3-Blade Propeller. Make using the Nick Ziroli Plans kit and the modified upgraded hub, the final product is going to look awesome on any warbird in the 1/6 to 1/5 scale size range.

Stay tuned!

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