Nice article in MA by Duane.

I hope Duane can post a copy here so that the 'International' members can have a read too...
Evan.

Glad to see that someone has received their August Model Aviation...thanks for mentioning it here, and the complement. Coming from you, it means something.

I haven't received it yet, so I still don't know exactly what the article looks like. The article is inspired by and based on the Ed Kazmirski's Taurus thread right here in RCU in this section. I believe that thread contains the most information, (mixed among the rubble of opinion, speculation and outright garbage contained within its 82 pages). Anyone who can plow through the entire thread with their mind intact will have a much better appreciation of Ed Kazmirski.

No, I can't post it here...I don't own it. You can go to the AMA, (Academy of Model Aeronautics) web site and request copies. I must admit I'm happy with the article as written, (I understand they had to trim some away, but I don't know how much. I hope most of it is still there ).

I hope everyone will make a point of reading it when they receive their new mags, and I hope they enjoy it.

Duane

Evan...the AMA website is:

http://www.modelaircraft.org/

Save me a few to send to my relatives

Thanks for the link Duane, but for those of us who don't live in America, don't belong to the AMA ('cause there ain't no need), don't know of any AMA members close by (not actually being in America) and have never seen an 'AM', well, we will have to wait until some kind soul scans his and posts it here, or on the 'other Kaz thread' or we simply will never see it. Ahh, well...
Evan

C'mon Evan...don't be such a "gloomy gus". If you contact them and pay for it (somehow) they will ship it to the moon

Send me your address, (again), and I'll mail you a copy. It will not be posted on this thread unless someone wants a copyright infringement lawsuit.

Duane

Oh, I didn't want to cause a fuss Duane, I simply wasn't thinking...we scan stuff here all the time with 'nary a thought for any 'copyright' stuff. I was under the impression that, once published and in the public domain, you could do amost anything you wanted with the info...I will try to contact the AMA myself and see if I can't get a copy somehow, your kind offer will be a last resort.
Evan, with thanks.

"My kind offer"..is probably the easiest way. Please send me your address, (I don't think I have it anymore), and I'd be happy to figure out the best way.

Evan...without you it is unlikely we would have a Simla in the works.

Duane

Great job on the article Duane. It's hard to believe my original post resulted in all that's transpired. I had hoped it would help get the plane into the hands of someone who would appreciate its significance. I started in R/C, as a teenager, in about 1967, and there were still plenty of Taruses at the local flying site. The RCU thread and article are a well-deserved tribute to "Kaz" and all he meant to the hobby of R/C.

I received my Model Aviation, today, and it brought back so many memories of my childhood.
I thought ED , "Kaz" murski was just too cool for school! He had that hair, and those way cool RayBan's. I was 8 in 63 and had just moved with my Army family to Italy. We had no TV, and I read and read many things. My Dad had been involved in RC for a couple of years and I remember that just making a successful flight was something to be proud of! And aerobatics have always inriqued me..

The bunny rabbit on the tail of the plane is a "Playboy Bunny" sticker, the Men's magazine....I couldn't read past page 10 of the thread without jumping past the rest. Sewing hinges was common, they work great!

Watching that film of the '63 Internats was funny, Man I thought those guys flew better than that! But , then I remember the radios they were using and guess they did pretty good.
Back on the earlier pages there was a question about what they thought was a piece of tape on the tail under the stab., That could be a door or hatch cut in the tail for an earlier design "Esacpemant" radio....I remember my Dad's earliest radios had "Galloping Ghost" escapements radios, and you needed a way to get to the rubberbands strung down the fuselage that powered the "servos".

SUPER ARTICLE, Duane, Man it was a great read!!!

I tried hard to capture the "essence" of this thread; it contains a truly great story about an extraoridinary person in the early days of RC. I had to "lobby" Model Aviation at the beginning to try to get more than a few words in the "In the Air" section, but then MA editor Michael Ramsey decided to give it a try.

If you enjoyed the article, I'd recommend you write Michael a quick note or e-mail telling him that this kind of topic is interesting to you...it's the only way he had to gage interest by the public. I'd like to see more about vintage pattern, but there are many many interests within RC all competing for space in the magazine. I'd like Michael to feel his faith in me to write something that would appeal to people was justified. [8D]

Again thanks to everyone who has written showing their support.

Duane

great article. well written and nice to see classic pattern in the spotlight.

Nicely done Duane. Having grown up barely a mile behind Kaz's right shoulder (parking lot photo with Taurus) really brings RC modeling full circle for me. Having seen Kaz fly at Kickapoo Woods in the 60's and seeing his memorybrought back to life is very satisfying, he was the "man" pops and all the others regarded as the best in those days.Thanks.
hook

Duane,

Excellent job on the MA article. I really enjoyed it. I hope the rest of the general AMA population enjoyed seeing true history being brought back to life. I want a Simla kit when Jeff is finished.

take care,
Dan

Carolina Custom Aircraft

Hook
The trip to Chicago is still in the works as of right now to meet you fine folks in the Chicago area, and to try to get pictures from the same spot Kaz took his. I'd appreciate it if you could "zero in" on the same spot based on the pictures posted in the Kaz thread. From Asheville, NC, Muncie is kind-of on the way. We may look into dropping in there as well.

Thanks Dan for the nice words...the story of Kaz seemed a "natural" to write after all the information presented in the Ed Kazmirski's Taurus thread. Ed was truly a remarkable guy, and was bigger than life...a true superstar.

The Simla kit is well-engineered and a pleasure to build. Jeff did a great job...the parts fit precisely. The design lends itself to modern building methods like carbon fiber tubes. It should fly similarly to an early 2-meter pattern plane except for the rudder and fin, (but remember thre was no Knife Edge back then).

It will look great...hope it flys

Duane

Duane, Great job on the article in MA! I remember I was around 12 when Kaz was the man, followed everything I could about him. Thanks for letting everybody in AMA read about him.

Regards, Pete

I'll be happy to help in any way I can Duane. I've go the pics I took (and posted) back in March and likely can narrow it down to within a few meters of where Kaz was in the parking lot. The apartment is still there and should provide a very good reference point. The shape and width of the parking lot is the same as it was when I was there in the 60's, 70's, 80's, and this past March. Let me know when the trip is contemplated and I'll arrange for the time off if needed. Again, great job resurrecting a true RC modeling legend.
Mark

Thanks Mark

We are now getting to the "details" phase of building, with all the major components completed, and will be fast approaching the covering phase. Looks like all three of us are leaning to a silkspan/dope job. For some reason I can't bring myself to use iron-on coverings on this plane, inspite of the fact I haven't silked and doped a plane since 1967. We have been doing our homework on the art of silking and doping, and are hoping the skills will return, and quickly.

News....... for those who liked this article......as the Simla picture caption suggested, the story is not over on the Simla. We have agreed on a follow-up construction article on ...scheduled for the January 2011 issue. . This of course assumes that the plane will actually lift off the ground, make a lap of the field and land. Details, details, but Michale actually expects it to fly. I have already begun work on the article, (multiple re-writes are manditory), and have started gathering background pictures...some of these have appeared on the thread. The article will concentrate on the Simla story, the "International Simla Re-creation Project", and what we were trying to achieve by re-creating the model. It will not be a step-by-step process construction piece with tons of construction pictures...instead, since the building is straight-forward, (and the person who will build the plane probably has some experience, though it is not absolutely necessary), building comments will concentrate on some of the details and choices the builder will need to decide upon to personalize his own version of the plane.

What kind of decisions are we talking about??. One example is the decision to build an exact reproduction or not. We believe we have enough information about how Ed designed the plane, that an individual who wanted to create a faithful reproduction of the original in every way, (including a slit maple block with bolts to squeeze down on the aluminum tips of the plug in wings), he can do it...but our goal was to try to save weight, and build a plane on the INSIDE that takes advantage of some of the newer building methods that have come along over the past 40 years, such as CF or aluminum wing tubes. The plane lends itself well to the newer building methods, and we know that Ed himself would have taken advantage of any competitive edge he could find. The builder could however re-create the adjustable wing for low-mid-and shoulder wing position, adjustable stab incidence and adjustable dihedral....the works if they so desire. We chose NOT to do this, but we will help you by providing documentation if requested.

Just wanted you to be aware of what is coming down the road. Need to get back to building....

Duane

Duane,
When speaking of covering the open bays on the Simla, a thought.

In C/L Stunt guys have been using PolySpan, it's a unidirectional synthetic that really resists punctures. It's essentially dress lining and has some pecularities in use, but has been in service for years. It's lighter than silk, heavier than silkspan but takes less material to fill than either.

How I use it is to cover the whole model's wood parts with carbon veil or silkspan and add a few coats of dope, then cut out pieces of the PolySpan about a quarter to half inch outside of the open bay area and dope it on around the edges and pull it taught. Put the Monocote gun to it and it'll pull tight with little heat. Then start the build-up. One thing you cannot do is sand through the build-up because the PolySpan will not tolerate any roughing up. If you do, it'll release strands of nylon that stick straight up and the only thing I've been able to do with it is bury them in putty or talc and dope goo! If you try to sand them smooth it gets worse! The stuff fills really quickly and paints just like silk or silkspan, only it's tough. Keys and stuff bounce right off, weeds and twigs won't touch it.

I get mine from CLC Hobbies in Albuqerque or Aeroproducts in Atlanta.

Thanks for writing the article in MA, it is very well done and the mag editors did a nice job in the presentation.

Chris...

When speaking of covering the open bays on the Simla.....

There are no open bays on Simla...everything is sheeted.

I'm starting to work more on details like the fuel tank hatch and the hatch door beneath the wing bay. Details, details

Duane

Duane,

If I'm not mistaken, Simla is all sheet, right? If that's the case, covering is easy. For solid surfaces, I would just use a light to medium silkspan. Build up the dope coats (nitrate) on the wood and lightly sand after each (70/30 mix). Put around four coats on; you want the wood to reflect light. Flow it on with your brush and try not to drag the dope. Cut the silkspan to size, grain lengthwise for the surface you are covering. Lightly spray with water to relax the weave, smooth it out by hand then brush in a coat of nitrate. Apply two more nitrate coats to seal the weave, lightly sand after each. Now it's time for clear butyrate. Spray it in a 70/30 mix thinner to dope. You want it to be almost the viscosity of water. Spray two, lightly sand with wet 600. Do it again. Twice. The object is to obtain a glass smooth surface for the color coats. Spray two coats of Randolph "Rand O Fill" silver. You want to lightly sand with 600 (wet) after each coat. The reason for silver? It provides UV protection plus gives a consistent base for the color coats. Now it is time for your colors. Use retarder for the color coats only. First off you need a base coat of white for consistency. Spray two coats, sand after each. Mask off for the accent colors and spray each seperately, applied in coats light enough to give consistent coverage. When you have the airframe masked off for a particular color, shoot a light coat of clear to seal the tape edges. Pigmented dope will certainly find a way under it if you don't! Another thing you need to do between the clear nitrate/butyrate/silver buildup is to let it cure for at least a week before the next step in the process.

Once the plane is completely painted, you are not done. Lightly wet sand with a polishing grit, something like 800 to 1000. Add dish soap to the water to lubricate the paper. Wash down the surface and allow to dry. Mix a batch of clear dope and thinner with a good amount of retarter. Spray it, walk away and let it cure for at least two to three weeks. Rub it with with fine rubbing compound and wax. Stand back and let them ask you how you did that fantastic Monocote job.[sm=wink_smile.gif]

It's a lot of work but you will have a show quality finish that will weigh no more than Monocote. Done properly, you should be able to run your fingertips across the paint seams and barely feel them.

I usually use the non-taughtening products from Randolph. Brodak is the same stuff so there should be no problems with compatibility. If you start with a brand whether Brodak or SIG, stay with it. Sometimes I have had problems mixing the two.

Glass cloth and finishing resin can be just as labor intensive as dope and fabric.

Monocote or other mylars are ok for those who may have health issues with dope or epoxies or do not have the facilities available.

Post pictures so we can admire your hard work.

I read the MA article about Kaz last night, which is the only reason I found the thread. Nice Job!

Now I want to build a Taurus....thanks!!

Well, That makes it easy!

Still a great article.


Chris...