AROUND THE PATCH
SOPWITH TABLOID UPDATE
By Thayer Syme | thayer@flying-models.com
YOU MIGHT RECALL that most of my last column recounted stories of two friends. This month, I’m sharing a few more photos that have crossed my inbox and I hope that they might inspire a few more of you to share your own models or perhaps to try a new project a bit outside of your comfort zone.
Back in the November 2019 issue of Model Aviation, I shared a workshop photo of a lovely 1914 Sopwith Tabloid built by Carlos Rangel of Tucson, Arizona. Carlos had worked from Cleveland Model plans and the Tabloid was still unflown at the time of my deadline. To be perfectly honest, I don’t recall following up after he flew this gem, so I will belatedly do that now.
His goal was to have it ready for the 34th Annual London Bridge Seaplane Classic, hosted by the Desert Hawks RC Club on Lake Havasu in Arizona in early November 2019. And, fortunately, it was! This popular event saw the end of its run because of the pandemic, and the 2019 edition was its last. Efforts to revive it have been unsuccessful to date.
The Tabloid’s successful maiden flight was made late in October 2019, at about the time that the November issue was showing up in your mailboxes. It proved to be a very smooth flyer, and a few months later, Carlos shared an image of it resting on Canyon Lake, Arizona, just before its maiden flight.
He reached out again about a month ago with a much smaller model, this time, a Free Flight (FF) Blériot with rubber power. In his own words, Carlos reported that he “scratch-built the Blériot X1-B from Tom Nallen II plans. The wingspan is 16-1/4 inches. It features an adjustable horizontal stabilizer, functional wing wires, and landing gear springs.”
He continued, “I recently discovered the exciting facet of our hobby that is building and flying rubber band-powered FF models. This model was built in preparation for the Round Valley Dome Indoor Event to be held at Eagar, Arizona, in April.”
These two early birds don’t have much in common, save their builder and pre-Great War status. That said, I always enjoy seeing a longtime modeler discover the appeal of another segment of the hobby, and I wish Carlos all the best as he explores the joys and challenges that FF can offer.
Next, we jump east to North Carolina—and a couple of decades later—courtesy of John Fields. His recently completed Monocoupe is a stunner. Originally designed by Tom Stark, this classic design took first place in Open Rubber FF Scale at the 1973 Nats before its release as a Sig Mfg. kit.
I don’t know whether Sig is planning to reissue this kit in the near future or not, but it does show up on eBay fairly regularly, if you feel the urge to build your own.
John claims that the Monocoupe still needs a bunch of work, primarily an adjustable tail for easy trimming. From my desk, though, this looker seems ready to go. Well done, John!
He also included the vintage photo of a full-scale Taylorcraft BC-12 that he owned for several years. Well-known as an alternative to Piper’s J-3 Cub, the BC-12 features
side-by-side seating and, apparently, a more efficient wing. By all accounts, it will outpace a J-3 while using the same 65-hp engine, despite its wider fuselage.
John’s T-Craft rolled out of the paint shop in September of 1941, just a few months before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Early Taylorcraft didn’t have an electrical system
and hand-propping was required to start like most aircraft in its class—and our models.
Despite being a less popular modeling subject than Cubs, the Taylorcraft remains a great flyer in all sizes. Numerous kits and plans have been issued throughout the years, with arguably the most iconic offering as Comet’s 54-inch wingspan FF kit. This kit and others regularly turn up for sale at swap meets and online, with many plans readily available from such sources as AMA and Flying Models.
Matt King’s concentration while releasing his version epitomizes the thrill of launching such a large and efficient model on a calm summer day and hopefully into a passing thermal. Countless other builds have been successfully converted to glow and electric power with a radio on board, making them perfect for flying lazy circuits on calm summer evenings and for those who get their exercise at the gym.
I’ll wrap up this month’s column with a thought from Steve Hendren that sums up the joy of this hobby just perfectly.
“I have to say my favorite plane is my Herr Rally XP, which I built several years ago. I say favorite not because of its performance but simply because I built it myself.”
Please do reach out if you would like to share one of your projects or a favorite building technique within these pages. Also know that it doesn’t have to be rubber powered or FF, as this month mostly seems. I’m interested in whatever makes you smile while building and flying.
SOURCES:
Desert Hawks RC Club
www.deserthawksrc.org
AMA Plans Service
(765) 287-1256, ext. 507
https://plans.modelaircraft.org
Flying Models Plans
https://store.flying-models.com
Sig Mfg. Co., Inc.
(847) 257-7491
www.sigmfg.com
Tom Nallen Plans
www.thegeebee.com
