1990 Scale World Champs
THE COMBINED Radio Control (F4C) and Control Line (F4B) 11th Scale World Championships drew a total of 26 teams this year. In a radically uneven turnout, a record high of 20 countries participated in the Radio Control competition, while only six sent fliers to the Control Line meet. Both championships took place September 1-9, 1990 in Warsaw, Poland. With full teams for F4C and F4B plus 15 supporters, the United States representation was the largest at the contest. Most of the U.S. contingent arrived in Warsaw on August 29 after traveling by LOT Polish Airlines from Chicago. Two lovely young women greeted them at the airport to serve as English/Polish interpreters. Later we learned that interpreters would be used for all communication between the Polish organizers and visiting teams. While discussion of issues at formal meetings took two to three times longer than usual, there were no major problems.
Control Line: Scale
WELL, THE FLYING season is starting here for most of us. That means dusting off the old Scale models or worrying about test flying that model you have spent all winter building. I hope the ideas in this column will help you to get off to a better and more enthusiastic start. You may wonder how the Scale models that fly in competition get all the different options to operate at the proper time when they are flying and sometimes under very adverse conditions. The methods illustrated here may give you a better understanding or at least offer some suggestions on operating the multiple control systems.
Control Line: Scale
LET'S LOOK at how to pick a good flying scale model with all the advantages of appearance, super-detailing without sacrificing the ability to fly good! The first step and the most basic and important one is to take into consideration the appearance of the model as a whole. Will it be possible to duplicate the details in the size you plan on building it? If you decide on building the airplane of your choice on too small of a scale you will eliminate the disadvantage of a lot of surface area, which at first sounds very good. But in the long run this can cause serious problems in detailing the cockpit or landing gear. Yet, also you don't want a huge model that will cause tremendous flying problems.
Control Line: Scale
Last month we discussed what to look for in choosing a good scale model. This month let's talk about what can be done with detailing. Metal-covered aircraft are always impressive; it gives you realistic looking over-lap joints as well as butt joints. There are several different methods of covering with metal, but the one that Bill Harney uses requires thin metal printing plates cut to the scale panel shapes of your model. Then they are formed to your fuselage or wing and glued in place with a good contact cement. In a future article we'll have more on how to use metal covering on your scale model. To simulate panel markings on a standard balsa wood construction, first mark out the panel markings in their scale location to assure proper placement of the panel lines. Then apply masking tape (two layers thick) on the side of the marked line that the other panel overlaps. Next, mix a formula of Sigment, clear dope and talcum powder to a putty-like consistency. Layer the putty on the panel area that is to be raised up, feathering it back about an inch from the masking tape. Wait till the putty mixture has dried and sand it down to the level of the masking tape. Be sure to sand completely down to the masking tape; if you don't, later, when you remove the tape, it may break out a piece of the panel line or leave a rough unfinished edge.
Control Line: Scale
Last month I mentioned that we would talk more about metal-covered models. Well, I got in touch with Bill Harney of Lexington, Mass., who I consider to be the most qualified on this subject, and had him take time out from building to give us some tips on metal covering. I had to do some fast talking to get him to stop working on his model since he has been putting in 40 to 60 hours a week on it in order to have it finished to perfection in time for the Nats. Bill obtained most of his aluminum used in the covering process from offset photo printing shops. The etchings are only on one side of the plate so that side is used as the cement side on the model. It is .005 thick, fairly hard and yet supple enough to be bent and punched. Another source of aluminum is sold in art supply stores and is also .005 thick. This metal is very soft and excellent for compound curves, deep etching and small fairings. As it is formed it work hardens. These two metals will give you a good combination to choose from in covering the various parts of your model.
