jessiej

OK, here is the story of my first glow powered freeflight.

I became hooked on model airplanes at a very young age when my father would stop and let me watch people flying control line. I was soon building Comet stick and tissue models. I got my first engine, an OK Cub .049 when I was about 9. I put it on a AJ Firebaby and learned the basics of CL flying. I soon got a Fox .29 and built a Ringmaster for it. I still have the Fox.

While I had never so much as seen an engine powered freeflight model I read everything I could find in Flying Models and Model Airplane News and decided to give FF a try. I purchased the only FF kit in the local shop, a Berkley 1/2A Bootstraps, built it and covered it in yellow tissue with blue trim and mounted the Cub. I rigged an eyedropper tank like I had read about. I gave no thought to a dethermaliser as I had little hope the thing would actually fly, let alone fly away.

I took the little ship on a visit to relatives who owned a farm, and along with my younger cousin set out to fly.

As I had read, I made the first flight with the engine rich and the prop on backward. To my amazement the little ship climbes smothly and circled in a most realistic manner!

Emboldened I flew the model about three more times with a bit more fuel and power each time. Finaly I ran the Cub at full power. This time the Bootstraps really came to life! It climbed in a steep spiral, just like the models I had read of, and at a good height the engine stopped and the plane stettled smoothly into a lazy circling glide. Then, my wondering eyes saw the model continue to climb! Higher and higher it flew until the tiny fleck of yellow vanished forever.

I regretted the loss of the model and the Cub, but I have never forgotten the sight of my handiwork soaring off into the heavens.

bboykin

to johnbuckner
like the looks of your chunker plane would like to build some for grandkids can i get plans to build these. i like the part with rubberband catupult. also have rubberband winder picked up at swapeet several years ago. would like to know what you mean about X about# strands of rubber.

thanks bobby

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

Hi Bobby, Yes I loved and sort of grew up with the rubber American Junior Hornets and the Jetco Thermic 18 chuck glider kits.

Mine are just built from memory after all those years (they are very simple and you can even still get airfoiled balsa for wings at sig on occassion) they may be a little off from the originals.

I searched and found apparently you can still get the plans for the Thermic 18 Here and seemingly only three bucks:

http://www.tmrcsailplanes.com/plans-and-patterns.html

scroll down pretty far for the Thermic 18.

Not sure what the second part of your question is and can,t even find my original post in this hugh thread

p51drb

509boatman55 , sorry to bother you but i have a newbie question ( first ff plane, i fly r/c, c/l,)if you don't mind. i am just starting on the zeek.looking at plans and instructions, my question is about the stabilizer platform. is it made with two 3" pieces of balsa & how does it mount to fuse? plan shows as rectangle does it stay as that or do you shape to fuse? would you have any pix of yours? again sorry for all the questions .thanks for the help, russ (maybe post will get some more hits anyway!)

509boatman55

Hey p51drb
The stab platform is a rectangle 1" by about 4 3/4" long -one piece, I believe. Do not shape it to the fuselage-it is held in place with rubber bands(the stab) so you need the whole footprint of the stab platform to help keep it stable. I just rounded the corners. I also reinforced the whole thing with a layer of .04 microplywood(Midwest). When you mount it, please be aware that the stabilizer will not sit flat with the fuselage-the right tip should be higher than the left. It may be easier to tilt the platform rather than shim for stab tilt later-your choice.Start with the right tip about 3/8 higer. This stab tilt is what makes the model circle to the right,due to complex aerodynamics I do not fully understand-it just works and that works for me. The powered climb is trimmed out using the rudder tab(gently!)and shimming in side thrust if neccessary.The ship should climb in a gentle right hand turn and circle back down to the right.
The two three inch pieces are the wing platform.I covered that with microply also.Slight weight penalty but it will increase the durability of high stress areas.
I do not have any pictures of the tail of mine at the moment. Sorry
Asking me questions is about as far from bothering me as you can get.Glad to give any help I can. I will try and make a sketch on my paint program and post it later. Have fun!!
ps I also sheeted the top center of the wing with micro ply-got tired of sticking my big clumsy fingers through the tissue and dope when adjusting the rubber bands. I started doing that a long time ago and am always glad I did.Cheers!

509boatman55

OK-please excuse my draftsmanship! Hopefully this will help[8D]

p51drb

509boatman55 , yes this all helps. thanks again russ
ps. standby for further ?'s

509boatman55

Fire away p51d- this will be almost as fun as building another myself!

p51drb

ok 509boatman55, here we go.you ask for it! built fuse today.instruction says install stab. platform, but to what and how?THANKS russ

509boatman55

Hope this helps! I checked out my plan, and the stab platform is shown in the side view,under the stabilizer. It is not labeled. It is just a rectangle of balsa glued to the top edges of the sides. It establishes the incidence and tilt of the stab. The incidence is built into the slot (recess) in the fuselage sides. You supply the tilt(right side high) either now or by shimming later when you trim the glide. As this is your first, it might be best to set the platform level and shim later. See previous post for plan view (top down).[8D]

N5RMQ

This will probrbly require an OLDfree flight person. Many years ago (probrbly in the 70's) One of the magazines an an article on something like "The ugliest Free Flight"It was an airplane built from stock balsa pieces. Seems the wing was a stock piece of 1/8 or maybe a little thicker balsa 3' long with a leading edge sanded in and a trailing edge with a sanded taper. It was glued on a 3' piece of maybe 1/4 by 1/4 stock strip for the fuselage, a horiz stab was glued on the underside in the rear and a rudder was slabed on to the side just above the horiz stab. It had a .049 on the nose with a cut off eyedropper tube for the gas tank (short run), and that was it. I built one and I rmember it flew wonderfly. I had many super flights untill one day it just flew away in a thermal.
Wish someone had those plans or something simular, I would sure like to build another one. Thanks.

Hossfly

Well, I'm OLD however I don't remember that specific model. In the '70s I was pretty well caught up in my new interest - RC - so I was not doing much FF. Even today I have no idea what is what, but there are many kits on sale on the other place.

Yes, sometimes even the sportest of sport models can grab a good thermal, and it's bye, bye, to places unknown. [sm=cry_smile.gif]

TFF

I was going to ask the same question but on a .020 type built just like you said. I think one was "School Yard " something or the like. I was wondering how they flew and enlarging it to .049. Want to build something with my son that would be successful, and I got 2-3 Coxs. The one I know of is out of MA.

jessiej

<sigh> I think of the 70s as pretty modern. While I was flying RC in the 70s I also advanced to free flight, mostly rubber power, in the late 70s. I remember articles on several all-sheet models buc none specificaly.

jess

jess

509boatman55

I have a plan for an airplane called the tufurwun-it is in a booklet from 1962. It is all sheet stock and can be made as a towline, catapult or 049 power. I think i would be safe scanning it into this site under the "fair use" clause of the copyright laws but am not sure. Any lawyers out there want to ring in on this one? The airplane is fairly attractive for an all sheet plane and looks durable as well as simple to build.[8D]

N5RMQ

Ibelieve from 1962 there should be no problem what so ever. After a few years they become public domain. I say "scan 'er up"

Hossfly

Go for it:

All these books, magazines, web sites, etc., that state, "All rights reserved" are simply stating a scare-tactic yet a true one. The "rights" reserved are those not protected by the fair use of the copyright law.

>>>
"....such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research,..." covers a LOT of area. Copying the plan is for research, building and flying the model is for research, comment, teaching (if just yourself) and reporting.

GO do it. Now if you start making kits for sale, well you might be pushing the envelope a bit!

N5RMQ

WOW... Sombody slept in a Holiday Inn last night.

509boatman55

Okay Hossfly-here it is. If anybody plans on building one, let us know how it's going

509boatman55

Here is a list of other aircraft plans, dwgs, 3-views from the same source as above-if any interest in any of these, let me know.1.Spinner-cls A &B HLG 2.Design layout for basic towline glider 3.Cataglide-catapult launch glider 4.untitled high-start glider with built up fuse and sheet surfaces5.Ringer a2 Nordic byJoe Bilgri 6.Niblick A2 with auto rudder 7.Apparition towline or Jetex powered flying wing 8.Vind Stormer-all sheet windy weather slope soarer 9.Design Layouts for basic and contest rubber models 10.Cadet Fighter-simple rubber 11. Piper Pacer-rubber 12. Rubber-Dub-Dub contest rubberwith folding prop 13.Serpent-rubber pusher 14.Aeronica "k"-rubber 15. Midgie cabin rubber 16.Gusty by J.Bilgri jetex powered pylon FF 17. Peter Pan Jetex PAA- Loader 18. Whirley-twin jetex powered FF helicopter!! 19.Flying Balooney-baloon powered! 20. V-Girl V-tail cabin 21.Fortastrop 049 pylon freeflight 22.Skyfire 049 pylon 23. Eastwind 09 powered pylon 24. Caja 049 powered pylon 25.Aquasprite 049 ROW FF 26. Fatso 049 pusher FF 27. Pushaire 049 pusher FF 28. holy Mackerel-power unspecified 29 Float construction details 30. Gool-huge 108" WS .60 power pylon FF 31. Hammerhead-push pull twin engine pylon 32.Pogo 049 pylon 33. Thermalaire .,35 powered pylon 34. Macchi 308 cabin freeflight 1/2 A/A 35.The Stare-.29-.35 powered pylon 36. Frostbite-.29-.60 power ROS(snow) 37. Zoomerang 049 power pendulum control sport FF 38.Paa- Ray 049 paa loader 39. Asteroid 320 049 pylon 40.Wizard 700 .19 -.23 power pylon 41. Li'l Richard .45 powered pylon 42. Untitled 049 paa loader by F. Zaic

Any interest, let me know

build light

I am interested in the V Girl and any of the 049 powered planes.

Robert

jessiej

Good gosh Hossfly! An opinion backed up by documentation! What if you set a precedent or some such.

jess

509boatman55

Hey Build LightHere are pdf files for V-Girl and Fortastrop so you have something to look at. I guess you can pick which of the o49 plans you want and post here-maybe I can attach them to a PM or just put them up for everyone? Whatever, just let me Know.[8D]

build light

George, The V-Girl is just stunning! Thanks for sharing.

How about the Fatso?

Robert

509boatman55

Here ya go! Most folks call me Chuck-the G is for Gordon The third attachment got an extra copy of the second attachment plans. but there are two new ones as well called Skyfire and Eastwind-you just have to scroll down for them. Not sure how that happened, but computers are pretty much magic to me.