Getting the hollow logs flying

"I know Bob will enjoy seeing these."

You have that right Ken, my eyes popped when I saw that Hellcat!

Last months issue of AIR CLASSICS magazine featured it and sent me to the internet looking for a balsa model. Nothing on ebay but I found one, I think at Tower in Radio Control. Large model 63 inches, too much for me at this point. I was looking for something C/L.

Air Classics, my all time favorite magazine. I just sent roddie a years subscription in appreciation for an engine that he had sent me. I think Kim keeps a subscription too.





This issue features the "Sun-Setter's" squadron of WW2......a response to - Japan The "Rising Sun" nation. Air Classics deals with everything aviation, not just the WW2 era. Michael O'Leary the publisher is a hard-nosed no holds barred kind of guy that tells it like it is. I like him.

A little like you and Cribbs Ken.

Bob,
I can't remember where I saw it (I think RCGroups)...recently a guy showed a 1/2A Hellcat based on a Baby Ringmaster wing. The thread poster used "Film-Kote" of some type. Maybe he can supply patterns so you could scratch build one.

There is also the Brodak Wildcat in 1/2A that would take very little work to bash into a Hellcat.

30D41_Jim

944_Jim wrote:Bob,
I can't remember where I saw it (I think RCGroups)...recently a guy showed a 1/2A Hellcat based on a Baby Ringmaster wing. The thread poster used "Film-Kote" of some type. Maybe he can supply patterns so you could scratch build one.

There is also the Brodak Wildcat in 1/2A that would take very little work to bash into a Hellcat.

30D41_Jim

Thanks Jim, I will look into the Brodak kit.

It was Tower:

https://www.towerhobbies.com/product/f6f-hellcat-15cc-arf-64/HAN2765.html

Guillows makes one too, but stick built. I'm not up to that.

Cool Ken, I am sure you will have them sorted and airborne in no time.

Bob, I hope I don’t always come off hard nosed and blunt. Most if not all info I pass along is from what I have learned from Ken. Some info I have learned on my own. When I see troublesome mistakes occurring I tend to interject before the plane ends in a pile of balsa. It can be very discouraging to new hobbyists to bust recently built planes. My heart is in the right place even if my words don’t convey it.

Most people don’t listen to me anyway! It’s good to have Ken as he has the ability to write in a way that folks respond to. He really is a great source of knowledge. If it wasn’t for him I would still be flying level laps and pulling the odd figure 9.

Ron

Cribbs74 wrote:Cool Ken, I am sure you will have them sorted and airborne in no time.

Bob, I hope I don’t always come off hard nosed and blunt. Most if not all info I pass along is from what I have learned from Ken. Some info I have learned on my own. When I see troublesome mistakes occurring I tend to interject before the plane ends in a pile of balsa. It can be very discouraging to new hobbyists to bust recently built planes.  My heart is in the right place even if my words don’t convey it.

Most people don’t listen to me anyway! It’s good to have Ken as he has the ability to write in a way that folks respond to. He really is a great source of knowledge. If it wasn’t for him I would still be flying level laps and pulling the odd figure 9.

Ron

I like "Hard-nosed and Blunt" Ron. You don't learn anything from people that always agree with you!

Bwahahah! I sometimes feel like I'm still flying many figure-9s and pulling the odd level laps!

Ron, thank you for the nice words. I'm fortunate to have a great group of club members. Much knowledge is from my buddy Dan. But one thing is for certain, I've been around this stuff a long time.

I took the Hellcat to the table last evening. What I see in this thing leaves a pit in my stomach. I can't rebuild the thing. I managed to get the top block off and the canopy. The bellcrank bolt was laying on the pilot inside. I was able to get the bellcrank out which is a big plus. The firewall was a real gem and managed to sneak that out for a new one. I don't do the wood screw crap for holding engines on. It's blind nuts for me so I have to get those installed. The OK Cub .049A is what I will install as the B model would require a tank and that doesn't look feasible. So leadouts need a re do and the bellcrank. The elevator had some continuous cloth on it which glued it solid with no movement. I just have to get it flying. Wheels are soldered on and they don't move.

GOOD on YOU Ken.. helping to resurrect some vintage models for a friend.  

Any chance that this one might be a Douglas AD/A-1 Skyraider?





I had first thought it might be a Martin AM "Mauler" but the Mauler has a slightly canted wing.. and the rudder/fin is different. The Mauler was kitted by Sturdi-Built/J. Roberts as a 3/4" scale C/L carrier model to showcase their 3-line handle/bellcrank system.

Shown below is the Martin AM "Mauler"...

full-scale



Sturdi-Built C/L Carrier model



When's the last time that the Philly Flyers had a C/L "Balloon-Bust" event?

Well, it's been a month since I received these planes. I got them fixed and I was able to fly one of them on Sunday. Now it's been a while since I posted on this and I just saw your post Roddie. We used to have balloon bust one to two times a year. We had a girl club member named Jen. She was a beautiful person who sadly passed away from a form of brain cancer. With her entire head bandaged up, she made it down to Huntersville. Jen, Rusty and his family and many of our Philly Fliers had a great BB-Q.Jen passed a few weeks later. Jen loved balloon bust and we would do it once a year incorporating it into our contest.

After I had the incident with my twin on Sunday, I had no lines to fly on. Frank our video expert lent me a set of 45' lines. I was a bit leary of the length for this model. He talked me into it and it was drizzling. I was essentially packed up but I agreed and I'm glad I did. The Hellcat wouldn't stay running and now the Hunter Killer was acting a bit funny with short runs. Well I used Tygon tubing on the backplate which twisted up inside and collapsed causing the funny business of shutting off early.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nL0Z0vJOjy8

Well.. that was thoroughly enjoyable. So good to see you out flying with your son!

Roddie, the video doesn't capture the rain. It rained off and on all day and I was pretty damp and the temps were on a downward plunge. Just not enough time to get it squared away. In addition, the parking lot we are on is like a mine field.  As I mentioned, I was packed and ready to head home when Frank said he brought his camera and wanted to at least try to capture it flying. These are not my engines on the plane. The Hellcat essentially has it's nose cowling glued on and the engine can't be removed without breaking it off. The Killer has the wrapped around aluminum which is also no fun. I discovered that the tubing I used was a Tygon like material from my chain saw. The diameter was great and the stiffness was good as well. Little did I know that when exposed to fuel the line would twist on itself and turn soft. Therefore, even with the needle wide open, it was struggling for fuel.