C/L Flying & Building Tips
 Judging Clinic 2007 1/2a Engine TipsReplace the reed in a Cox .049 courtesy of Fieldaway on Youtube.com Stunt Engine
New Electric Tips
Construction
Glue
.Cyanoacrilate (super glue, AKA CA)Kids!, don't use this with out adult supervion. CA glue come in 4 type of viscosity, thin to super thick. First time users should buy Medium. If you happen to get CA on your hands or fingers, use Nail Polish Remover will take it off. Caution: CA
Glue (Cyanoacrylate) fumes and sanding dust are noxious and may irritate the skin, Primer BottleOne of Bill's tips is to use a small squeeze bottle as a primer bottle for fuel. This save on fuel waste. Bill Osborne Fuel FillerTap Plastic Hand Pumps can fit a variaty of can from quart to gallon. Each pump can dispense 1oz of fuel. The tip can be modified to fit a fuel tubing. Fuel SyringeThe first thing I do when I purchase a new fuel syringe, it to tape over the indicators tick mark with Clear Packing Tape. This will prevent the indicator from wearing off when exposed to fuel. |
Flying
TrimmingTed Fancher Design nd Trim of Control Line Stunt Models
Cox Sure Start Mods
Luke from Australia, RC Universe Forum Cox Performance ProductsNelson Head for all Cox .049-.051, AME, Norvel .049
Finishing
Dave Fitzgerald, Ted Fancher and Professor Buck Compatible Dope Thinners
This thinner has been used by a lot of top stunt people including Windy Urtonowski, as a more economical replacement for Sig or Brodak Dope Thinner. I tried it with Brodak dope with no problems. Sacramento Sky Ranch Inc. San Leandro Color |
I
recommend using a nontoxic carpenter quality wood glue such as Elmer's Probond
or Franklin's Titebond wood glue. These glue setups very fast and is water soluble
for easy clean up.
With the Sure Start, If you disassemble the backplate, drill the venturi
out 11/64th's then you will find that it really performs. I am using a
stock head along with stock everthing else and my last tach reading was
17,000 rpm with a cox 5x3. It is giving more rpm now after I sorted the
compression out with head shims, but I can't find my tach. From memory
it was giving 15,500-16,000 rpm before the mod. Not too bad for a $7.00
engine. 
How
to win the "Concourse d Elegance"
There has been some discussion regarding thinner for dope. From Duane Roaches
suggestion, I was able to purchase a 1 gallon can of "Dupont 3608S or 3602S"
Acrylic Lacquer Thinner" from San Leandro Color. 3602 will works better
in colder weather. Another compatible thinner for Brodak Dope is Randolph or
Aero Classic Butyrate Thinner from any Aircraft Supply store.
Make Your Own Decals
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For decal paper, go to: www.micromark.com Font TipsUse only scalable fonts whick are bject-oriented graphics language such
as PostScript or TrueType. Such fonts are called scalable because the
representation of the font defines the shape of each character (the typeface)
but not the size. Given a typeface definition, a scalable-font system
can produce characters at any size (or scale). In Microsoft Word, you can manual type in any size font point size even if it does not show in the drop down list.
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Micromark decal paper works the best. You can purchase either in clear
or white background. Print using best quality in your computer Inkjet
or Laserjet type printer. After decal sheet is printed, use Krylon Workable
Fixatif to keep it from smearing. It is a matte finish coating, especially
formulated for use with pastel, charcoal and pencil. Perfect for drawings,
sketches and layouts. You can buy an 11 oz. can from any Art or Frame
store for about $7. It's the same stuff as the Micromark fixative, but
a lot cheaper.
Quick and Easy with Rustoleum Paint
For a nicer job....
I found that is a good alternative to dope. It if 1/3 the cost of dope, fuel proof, and provides an excellent finish with minimal work. First prime the surface, either balsa or silkspan with 4 coats of clear nitrate dope. Sand between coat with 320 sand paper. Spray with Rustoleum color. For the most kid with 1/2a airplanes, one good color of color should do it. Too many coat can add too much weight to the 1/2a's.
To
get a better finish on larger models, you can use a Lacquer based sandable
auto primer such as Plasti-kote after the nitrate dope base. Sand off most imperfection with
320 wet/dry sand paper and apply and second coat and repeat until you
achieved your desire finish. After sanding the primer coat to 400
or 600 grit, you can use either color dope, auto lacquer, Rustoleum or Epoxy paint.
Heman Lee
Rustoleum - use it almost exclusively. Use a simpler approach: buy Sears "Lite Spackle"; take a couple of tablespoons full and carefully thin with water until a relatively thick but brushable viscosity is achieved. Using a fine mist spray bottle, lightly wet all balsa surfaces to be finished. This keeps the slurry moisture from rapidly penetrating into the balsa and resultant caking of Spackle on the wood surface. Immediately apply the thinned speckle slurry with a brush; let dry. Sand with 220/240 grit dry sandpaper until most of the excess speckle is removed. Apply two coats of spray can auto "sandable" primer then wet sand down with 400 grit wet/dry lightly so as not to break through the primer barrier. Allow to dry for at least an hour. Apply a "tack" coat of Rustoleum; let dry for 15-30 minutes. Apply a second coat making sure the film thickness just approaches, but doesn't result in paint sags or runs. This can be the finish coat; however, I've achieved almost glass-like finishes with a third coat. Allow to dry a week before completing final assembly of the airplane or applying any other finish colors.
Fillets - used to use light speckle; however, I encountered significant blistering problems when applying either dope (nitrate or butyrate) and auto primer/Rustoleum over them. I now use Hobbico "Hobbylite Filler". It is water soluble and impervious to blistering and works much easier for fillets than speckle, too.
Chip Largent
Norfolk Aeromodelers CL Model Airplane
Club
Virginia Beach, VA
Fillers & Fillets
If your not building a competition class full fuselage stunt ship, I don't think there is a need to mess around with using an epoxy based fillet. For smaller fillet on 1/2a or sport profile model, just buy some feather weight spackle from Home Depot or local hardware store. It works!
Alternative to Epoxylite
Tap
'500' Filler is a good alternate to more costly epoxy based filler such as EpoxyLite
or Aeropoxy. It is light weight and will not bubble with dope finishes. A whole
quart of this stuff can be purchased at any Tap Plastics location for only $8.50.
The hardener come in a separate 2.7oz. tube for $2.25. The only thing to watch
for is work time. You have to work fast. Do only one fillet at a time. Use about
a round tsp size of fillet and sqeeze out 1 pea size amount of hardener. Mix for
only about 15 second and apply quickly to the wing joint. Smooth out by dipping
your finger in to alcohol and go over your fillet. This will create a smooth finish.
Let is dry completely before sanding.
Heman Lee
SuperFil
You can purchase SuperFil
at your local aircraft suppliers. It weight less than 4 pounds per gallon --
Bondo is about 10! It is xpoxy tough and will Not Shrink or Crack! It SUPER-EASY
Sanding and work great of Composites, Aluminum, Wood, and much more.
http://www.polyfiber.com/
Spot Putty
Mix Ambroid Glue and Talcum Power can be use to fill small imperfections and defects. It can also be used as a light weight fillet
Larry Fernadez
You can also use, automotive "Spot Putty" to repair small dents or imperfections in your finish.
Heman Lee
Cheap Field Box
Just use one of the plastic open tool caddies. I've seen them for
as little as 2.99 at Home Depot.
Heman Lee
Uni-flow Stunt Tank SetupUniflow is a type of venting
used by most stunter flyers as opposed to standard venting. The uniflow vent is
submerge in the fuel rather than venting in the open air inside the tank. This
allows pressure to be equalized from a full to empty, thus giving a more constant
engine run. The problem with standard venting it that when the fuel is near the
end, the pressure in the tank lowers, resulting in leaner run towards the end.
The uniflow setup correct this problem. It is a good idea to vent the airflow to the inboard wing side because it is more constant. |
Note: If you add the uniflow vent to an existing standard vented tank, you must plug or cap the fill tube. The new uniflow vent will replace the fill. Plans for George Aldrich Uniflow tank |
V11.27.2 Copyright © 2011 Aeromaniac Design Inc.