Steve's 1912 Blackburn Monoplane

Now it begins. Steve wanted to compete in the Speed 400 Pre-1914 event at the SAM Champs in October of 1914. SAM 117 member Jack Hiner egged him on with some ideas for a scale subject.

And the winner is......(drum roll here, please)
The 1912 Blackburn Monoplane. The best 3-view was found via a Google search.

The next step, scope out the plans available from all possible sources. Jack knows I love scale modeling from scratch. The Comet Kid is back in the hunt. For the complete "Build" go to www.cometkid.com.

And Bob continues with comments on the SAM RC glider rules:

Now to SAM rules

[Towline gliders are listed in the: SAM Approved Designs List ~ Rubber, HL Glider and Towline Glider]

SAM handbook: 9SG. O/T Glider (Not an engine powered event):-
A. Any glider designed or kitted before 1947, scaling OK.

B. Maximum wingspan = 120 inches, no minimum wing loading.

C. Precision event: 20-minute total of three flights (or less).

1. Time over 20 minutes, deducted from 20 minutes.

D. Tow release starts the clock.

E. High start or winch only. Max extended length = 700 feet.

F. Launch equipment supplied by CD or pilot.

For the 2013 Champs, the CD, who runs the event has added the restrictions:

1. High start only- I do not know why, I will discuss with him. A nice variable speed winch can save a lot of wings.

2. No aileron control, which is OK with me.

Bob Galler's Floater

(All text and photos by Bob Galler)

The Floater first appeared in the Model Glider Design book by Frank Zaic first printing 1944 but the Floater appeared in 1942 as a design. The original had a span of 72" and as it appeared in the MGD (page123) it had only dihedral but was changed to polyhedral with each wing section an equal 17- 3/4". In the Model Aeronautic Year Book for 1959-1961 Zaic pontificates on his excellent design and its progression on pages 148-150. The stabilizer was an unusual 4" by 29". Frank used a very short coupled fuselage because at the time the AMA rules required the (L/100)2 cross section applied even to gliders, which meant the longer the fuse the more bulbous it became. After 1946 the AMA was convinced to drop this preposterous rule, (Editor's Note: We all know about preposterous rules - even in this day and age.)  I do not know much more about the history thereof. Be that as it may, Frank also used a NACA 6409 with flat bottom, which is actually a no number airfoil just for the Floater. Another unique characteristic is that Frank used an incredible 6 degrees of positive attack on the wing to tail, and according to him this, along with the narrow tail and short, body gave the Floater its bouncy glide, especially in tight circles. According to several old timers that have built and flown the Floater free flight, it works that way just fine and was competitive until the A2 gliders took over after 1947.

My RC Floater is scaled up to 93" span with a wing area of 855 sq. inches and a tail that is as long as the tail on the Dallaire (36") but only has a chord of 5". The wing airfoil is extremely thick for a chord of 10". For RC I reduced the wing angle of attack to 4 degrees, kept the balance point similar, just behind mid chord. With RC you do not have to circle so tightly to keep in a thermal, but could if needed. And the first glides look really good, although nose heavy with my 1000 mAh nicad pack which weighed 9.1 oz! I have a nimh pack of 6 cell 1500 mAh on its way from Tower Hobbies that weighs 1 1/2 oz less. I kept the tail and rudder as light as possible and used good wood for the longerons and covered with natural Micafilm and Sig Stix-It . A one piece continuous span of Micafilm give the tail real strength. Anyway landings are gentle. Overall the Floater is weighing in at 2 lbs 10 oz, for about 7 oz/sq ft. The RC gear is :

Rx- Spectrum AR 400. Elevator servo is a HK 4 gram and rudder is a Spektrum micro digital of 7.2 grams both rear fuse mounted. A Slide switch is installed in the fuse side near the battery/ballast compartment. A six cell 1500 mah hour receiver pack operates the servos with authority! The elevator only has minimal travel about 20 degrees, but the rudder has a large throw and is of very good proportions. And ,oh yes, the wing is 2 piece or it doesn't fit in my truck cap. I used .332 dia steel rod inside carbon tube as the main joiner and a 1/4" rod of aluminum for the rear joiner and made the first 3 ribs of 1/8 inch ply. The carbon fiber lengths are encased in epoxy. If that breaks then I want to see how! With a one piece wing I am sure it would deduct 4 oz overall from the wieght of the Floater. The fuselage is covered with a combo of pearl white Micafilm and red Micafilm. The wing similar. Sig Stix-It used throughout. The Micafilm is the original good stuff. I have no more red to speak of but have a good supply of the white and some silver on its way from my supplier .

 

I give credit to:Harry Klarich for the short kit, and myself for the balsa and trailing edges. Ha Ha. And I used the Bob Holman jigs for building the fuselage nice and true.

 

 

Richard Dick and his new Playboy Sr.

Richard Dick is leading the way with yet another Playboy from his growing stable of Playboys. Here's the data from Richard: "Some specs on the 80" Playboy. Motor - Hacker A30-10L. Prop - 11x8 (temporary till I get it launching well). ESC - Turnigy 40A Plush. Battery - 1000mAh 20C 2S (temporary), Covering - Ultracote transparent, Kit - Cleveland Playboy Senior GP-5017, Weight - ready-to-fly 52 oz (Heavy, like Republic Aircraft Co designed and built airplanes) The 1000mAh pack meets SAM rules for a 2S battery and 800mAh for a 3S. I programed the Winged Shadow for 200 m and 90 seconds that is mounted in my 67" Playboy. The 90 second mode works while the 200 m mode needs testing."

There you have it! Thanks to Richard for all the details on his new model.

The Comet Kid

2013 Southwest Regional Model Airplane Champs

SAM 100 was well represented at the SWR (Southwest Regional Model Airplane Championships) in Eloy, AZ this past January 19, 20, & 21. SWR is actually 3 contests - AMA Free Flight, FAI Free Flight, and SAM RC Old Timers. Here's the short story of our participation in photos.

Bob Galler flew his So Long in the Electric Replica class. This was our second ER meet at SWR.

Richard Dick flew his Stratostreak in ER.

Vic Newton (first place winner in 2012) clowns around with his Playboy (Pylon version). How about a new covering job before you campaign that little guy, Vic?

Your humble scribe came back with his 1940 Comet Sailplane.

AND THE WINNERS OF ELECTRIC REPLICA IN 2013 WERE:



Richard Dick took Third Place.

Good friend Luther Peters took Second Place.

Vic Newton wins First Place - convincingly! He was the only contestant to score a 10-minute max.

 

The photos of the award presentation were taken at the Saturday night barbecue and campfire.

 

This time we didn't get as many photos of the whole range of RC events - including the electric events

Mary and I get ready to fly our Flying Aces Stick in Speed 400. It was not a pretty second flight and I elected to scratch the entry. Later (March 2) I was able to start improving the performance at Balloon Fiesta Park in Albuquerque.

 

That's all for now. It's time to get ready for the SAM Champs in Boulder, NV coming up this October.





SAM 100 at Balloon Fiesta Park - A New Year's Fun Fly 01/05/13

 

 

Can you name the models? This was our first Fun Fly of the New Year at Albuquerque's Balloon Fiesta Park. Our weather that day was a surprise...warm! Bob Galler's Electric Replica So Long was lost by Bob while flying in the sun. And then found & returned to him by a kid. The Lesson Learned ---make sure you put your name, address and phone number in all your models. Bob got a call after losing the model in the sun, returned the call (turned out to be the finder's father) and the So Long was returned. Vic Newton's venerable Lanzo Bomber is partially hidden by a Dallaire Sportster.

 

(Photo by Vic Newton)