To perform the “wheels down” tail-slide, simply apply full up-elevator when the model begins to slide back. This will make the model fall with the wheels pointing towards the ground. If you want to perform the “wheels up” tail-slide, apply full down-elevator when the airplane begins sliding back; this allows the airplane to fall over with its wheels pointing toward the sky. In competition aerobatics, the distance that the airplane must fall backwards must only be a visible amount. Also, when the aircraft slides backwards, it will often “pendulum” past the vertical after falling through. This “pendulum” effect is completely normal and should not be considered a downgrade.

While this may seem like a fairly simple maneuver to execute, it takes a lot of practice to perform consistently. Also, different factors exist that will make this maneuver more challenging to perform. For example, if wind is present, it becomes more difficult for the model to slide backwards while holding the vertical up-line. The model may want to angle itself into the wind. If you find that after performing this maneuver a few times, you’re having difficulty getting the aircraft to slide back, you may need to move the center of gravity back (make the model more “tail heavy”). However, always remember to add tail weight in moderation, as an extremely tail-heavy model can become very unstable in conventional flight.

DOWN TO BUSINESS
The tail-slide shown here is a wheels-down version and is being performed parallel to the runway, from left to right.

1. While flying parallel to the runway and making sure that your wings are level, increase the throttle to full power. If your airplane does not have a great power-to-weight ratio, pull into the º loop gently to establish the vertical up-line.
2. The length of the vertical up-line is entirely up to the pilot. However, keep in mind that larger maneuvers often look better than smaller ones. Also, the length of up-line varies depending on your aircraft’s size. Regardless, keep in mind that you may need to apply various rudder corrections to keep the model tracking on a perfectly vertical up-line.
3. Begin pulling the throttle back until the airplane comes to a stop. If the airplane is on a perfectly vertical up-line, the aircraft will begin to fall backwards. With the “wheels-down” tailslide, you apply full up-elevator to guide the model’s tail back and away from the vertical down-line. After the aircraft rotates its nose will fall forward. When it nears the vertical down-line, release all elevator input.
4. The length of the vertical down-line should to be the same length as the vertical up-line.
5. To exit the maneuver, begin the final º inside loop by applying up-elevator and make sure that its radius is the same as the entry radius. As the model nears horizontal upright flight, increase power to keep the airspeed constant.

Even though the fundamentals of performing the tail-slide are fairly easy, depending on the wind conditions, this maneuver can be challenging. Don’t become discouraged if you cannot perform this maneuver during your first few attempts. Always practice, and if you still find difficult to perform, gradually add some tail weight and take a closer look at your aircraft’s control setup. Until next time, safe flying and always remember to have fun!

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The Sonex Carlos is modeling is a single place home-built, experimental E.A.A. aircraft and his model is completely detailed inside and out. The cockpit is fully appointed and has a functional hinged canopy.

For the airframe, there no RC model building techniques used. His 30% Sonex is build entirely out of aluminum using the same building techniques as used to produce the full size aircraft using with factory drawings (kindly provided to him by Sonex Aircraft Company. It is an accurate duplicate with each skin panel and rivet line reproduced exactly to scale. All the internal structures are also duplicated just like the real thing. Carlos says it took him many hours to design and build it. He uses aluminum sheets from 0.008- through 0.040-inch thickness depending on the stress level, and uses solid rivets. These vary from 3/64- through 3/32-inch diameter.

Carlos commented that the small rivets are very expensive so he is very careful while shutting and bucking them into place. And much care is taken to avoid “smiles” and “tipping”.

For power, Carlos chose a ZDZ 50cc engine, and he is using a JR 11XG DMSS radio system. The only RC products used are the radio gear, engine and propeller. Everything else was custom built by Carlos.

Photos by Carlos Rangel & David Hart

The post Road to Top Gun — Carlos Rangel and his 30% Scale All-Aluminum Sonex appeared first on Model Airplane News.

Gwyn has been building this project on and off for the past 12 years. The model is based on the only original Hawker Fury based at Duxford in the UK. It has a 90-inch wingspan and weighs about 29lbs wet. The Fury is powered by a Laser 300 V-Twin engine in keeping with its British theme. Gwyn is using a JR XG14E radio and equipment. The model has a scale wing section and the fuselage construction follows the same structure as the full sized. The model is covered with Silk and Tissue and features frayed-edged tapes on all the ribs. Gwyn comments: “After some years of trying to achieve a polished aluminum finish with paint and/or foil, I was persuaded to try making the cowling from aluminum. Luckily, I have a very talent metal smith living nearby who was prepared to tolerate me using his workshop, his knowledge and fixing my mistakes”.

“The results speak for themselves and it is the part of the model that Gwyn is most proud of. As we live at the bottom of the world, we need to disassemble the model and pack it into airline acceptable box sizes to be able to bring it with us to Top Gun from Auckland, New Zealand via Houston. Luckily our national carrier (Air New Zealand), has an excellent protocol with our National model association to allow this to happen”.

“I have been to Top Gun four times now, the first time was in 2011 when I topped the Masters static score with my Douglas SBD Dauntless Dive Bomber. Top Gun has always been a favorite model competition for us as we have made many new friends and have been welcomed unreservedly into the event. This year’s event is very special being the 30th anniversary and Frank Tiano deserves all the plaudits for bringing this event to the modeling public for this period of time. It’s a great week in Lakeland, FL and we hope to see you all there soon”.

The post A Really Long Road to Top Gun — 7,851 miles for Gwyn Avenell and his 1/4-scale Hawker Fury. appeared first on Model Airplane News.

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(Above) Here is the old wornout clear plastic folded windshield I am replacing on a Ziroli Stearman PT-17. As you can see, it’s seen better days.

(Above) Use the old windshield as a guide to make a new paper  template.

(Above) Use a sharp X-Acto Knife and cut your template out. You can fold it in half along the centerline of the front pane to make sure it is even all around. This is important if it is to fit in place accurately and look scale.

(Above) Place the template on a piece of 0.030 inch. G-10 fiberglass material, use a fine tip marker and trace it out, so you can cut the frame blank out. I use a fine tooth bandsaw and a belt sander to smooth all the edges. G-10 fiberglass material is available from franktiano.com.

(Above) After the blank is cutout and sanded smooth, use a straightedge and a scriber (or the back edge of a X-Acto blade,) and scribe a bend line in the two places where the blank will be bent to form the frame. Important! Do not scribe all the way through the material, you just want to crack the material to form a sharp bend.

(Above) To prevent the lines from cracking all the way through add some masking tape to the lines before bending.

(Above) Flip the blank over and place under a straightedge. Now carefully lift the blank while applying pressure down on the ruler. As soon as the material cracks, stop lifting.

(Above) Here the frame blank is ready to be attached to the base piece. Do not flex the crack bend lines as they will eventually will break. We will apply glue to set the bend angles once it has been bonded to the base.

(Above left) Before you can make the base, be sure to sand the area smooth  where the old windshield was located. A rough surface will prevent the new windshield from fitting into place properly.   (Above right) For the base use 0.015 inch G-1o sheet and tape it down tightly over the fuselage so it sets down exactly to the shape of the cockpit area. Also now is a good time to draw on a centerline to help with alignment.

(Above left.) Before gluing the frame blank to the base with Zap medium CA glue, use 220 grit sandpaper and roughen the surface of the base.  (Above right.) Work slowly and center the blank in its proper postion. Tack glue at the bottom of the center frame and then bend the side frames into position. Check the alignment and if everything is straight and evenly formed, add more glue tacks and hit with some Zip kicker. Apply a thin even bead of glue to seal all joints and then run beads of glue on the inside (and the outside) of the crack bends. Here the blank has been glued into place.

(Above) The best way to make sure the windshield is attached properly, is to sight down the length of the fuselage and make sure the top of the blank is parrallel with the horizontal stab and the frame is centered on the vertical fin.

(Above) Remove the tape and lift the windshield from the fuselage. You’ll notice that the enite assembly is now very stiff and holds it shape nicely. Start cutting away excess material using a old pair of shop sissors.

(Above) Use a marker and draw the outline of the base strip making it about 1/4 to 5/16 inch wide depending on what looks scale! I use a belt sander to shape the base and then use 220-grit sandpaper to smooth the edges. Take your time and be gentle, you can still break the assembly if you are ham fisted at this point!.

(Above) Here the base has been shaped and sanded smooth.

(Above left.) Using the outer edge as a guide, mark the inside edges of the base with a fine tip marker. Typically I make the base between 3/8 and 1/2 inch wide depending on the size of the model.  (Above right.) Use a Motor-tool and a medium-size grinding bit and carefully remove the access material from the middel of the base. As before, use sandpaper to shape and smooth the base strip.

(Above left.) With a flat sanding bar and fine sandpaper, sand the glue beads over the crack bends until you have smooth, shape corner edges. If you find voids, add more glue and sand again. (Above right.) To make the bottom fillet apply masking tape to the frame and mark the upper edge using the lower base edge as a guide.

(Above Left.) Here the tape has been cut to shape and I am using JB Weld as the filler material to form the fillets. (Above right.) Here I have mixed the filler material and using a scrap piece of balsa I have applied it to the lower joint.

(Above.) I use a length of  K&S 3/8-inch-diameter brass tube to form the concave shape of the filler material. Again, work slowly and if you mess up, re-apply some more filler and try again. JB Weld sets very slowly and it is very forgiving.

(Above) Now use some water and your finger tips to smooth and spread out the filler. If you do a good job here, no sanding is required for a smooth finish!

(Above.) OK, remove the masking tape and let the filler material cure overnight. Now, go ahead and make the second windshield using the same technique.

(Above & Below.) Here’s a couple pix of the formed windshield assemblies in place on the Stearman.

I also threw in an old scale pilot figure (1/5-scale) for size reference. As you can see, the base strip fits snuggly down on the surface of the fuselage. You can either glue it into place with Zap CA or, do as I do and just tack glue it with a couple drops of glue and then add small screws to hold it in place. With the screws, you can easily remove the windshields if needed for repairs or if you are going to refinish the fuselage, (which is what I will eventually be doing here.) Small screws are available from MicroFasteners.com and from rtlfasteners.com.

The next steps will be cutting the blank panels out,  painting, adding the clear window panes  and attaching the finished assemblies to the fuselage.  Here’s Part 2 : https://www.modelairplanenews.com/blog/2011/07/10/making-scale-3-frame-windshields-part-2/

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