PBM Martin Mariner: This was a six-month, built-from-scratch project from plans by Keith Sparks. The fuselage and wings are foam construction and are covered with fiberglass. The plane is powered by two 4-stroke Magnum .52 engines and weighs approximately 20 pounds. Roger writes, “This is my second scratch-build, and I have been able to learn [...]
Easy Epoxy Remover: Sometimes there is a real need to separate two parts that are epoxied together such as after a crash when you need to glue them back together. One of the easiest ways to separate the epoxy from the wood is to use a heat gun like the one used for shrink covering. [...]
Due to its steady winds, strong lift, and generous grass landing areas, we see some impressive slope gliders on the the slopes over Wilson Lake in Lucas, Kansas. Phil flew his Neptune a couple days before the 19th annual Midwest Slope Challenge in May 2012. Phil saw the prototype airplane in action near his home [...]
At a recent fun-fly event at the Kingston RC Club in Kingston, Ontario, I ran into my old flying buddy and Model Airplane News contributor, Martin Irvine, who had brought with him a recent project he had just finished. Now Martin is known for picking unusual designs and his latest efforts, a 1917 Aviatik D1 [...]
It’s in the bag: When reversing the shaft on a brushless motor, I have sometimes had to remove the E or C clips from the shaft. They usually fly away when I try to remove them. It could take an hour or more to find these clips once they fly off the shaft. A good [...]
T-28 Trojan: Jeff writes, “Sometimes the fun in our hobby is seeing how we can transition a simple ARF into something more interesting.” He stripped his ParkZone T-28 completely down, filled all the dents and scratches and added Testor’s spray paint and new decals. Then it was time to make struts for some HobbyZone floats. [...]
In this video we examine the key control inputs in executing the three-turn negative spin. Because this is a negative spin you will bring the plane into the maneuver inverted at a fairly high altitude. You then decrease throttle and add enough elevator to maintain altitude so the plane stalls. Although it looks hard, you will soon [...]
The most important part of any model build is making sure the CG balance point is correct. With a giant plane like the Top Flite Corsair, you need to take your time, or better yet, get the help of a friend to move the plane around. Start with the plane in the maintenance cradle upside [...]
