THE WORLD'S BEST R/C SCALE MAGAZINE

Drawing ribs with DesignCAD

R/C Scale at Duxford
PowerBox PIONEER
Pzl 23 Karas (part 2)

05 - SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021
£ 5.99

Nieuport 17 Warbirds 2021 in Poland Sukhoi 31

 ON THE COVER:

Page 14

Museum
A beautiful picture of Hannes Lutzenberger’s CARF
GeeBee R2. The article starting on page 24 is the R/C Scale
fascinating story of how his passion has led to major
improvements in an existing kit.

Page 36
Plz 23 Karas part 2

Page

NIEUPORT 17
 CONTENTS
8 NIEUPORT 17
One fuselage...seven WW1 fighters!
14 Museum R/C Scale
R/C Scale at Duxford
24 Carf GEE BEE R2 - Part 1
The story of the new and improved V2 version
30 Computer Drawing
Drawing wing ribs with DesignCAD
36 Plz 23 karas - Part 2
8 A fascinating subject from Poland
42 Sukhoi 31
A Massive Acrobat!
50 POWERBOX PIONEER
An advanced new unit from PowerBox
54 WARBIRDS 2021
A great scale event in Poland
58 FOKKER D.VII - Part 5
Customizing the Hangar 9 ARF
Dear friends,
EDITORIAL
let's talk about our shared passion for scale modelling, because this issue of the
Honorary editor
Tony Stephenson
magazine contains yet more examples of the immense dedication of our fantastic contributors.
When I mention passions, I am referring both to that for our models as well as those specific to Editor
the contributors supplying articles to our magazine. Marco Benincasa
marco@rcscaleint.com
I'd like to start by talking about one of our dearest contributors, P.J. Ash, who really went the
extra mile, and even if he didn't quite succeed in the end, well, he deserves a round of applause Co-editor
Colin Straus
from both us and our readers: despite being vaccinated, he had the misfortune to contract
colin@rcscaleint.com
Covid-19. As seems to be common with the vast majority of vaccinated people who then
unfortunately get infected, the symptoms were not life-threatening, but they were very debilitating.
Magazine design and layout
So, as you can imagine, he really wasn't very well at all and had some nasty moments. Well, Emanuela Amadei
even then he didn't want to give up and worked hard to complete a very interesting technical
article about weathering. We held on until the last possible second before having to send this Printer
issue to print, if only to reward his wonderful efforts for us, the magazine, and our readers, but Warner plc
in the end it was just not possible to include it, and thus you will find it in the next issue. We
should therefore give a vote of thanks to a contributor who, even though struck down by severe Published by
symptoms, did not want to give up! THANKS P.J! YOU'RE GREAT! Radio Control Publishing Ltd
Bush House, Ongar Road, Writtle,
Let me now turn to other types of passion, and now I am talking about Hannes Lutzenberger, Essex, CM1 3NZ. - U.K.
who you will know well by now for his series of articles about the wonderful Mustang racer
"Precious Metal", as well as Andreas Gietz, owner of what is undoubtedly one of the most Subscriptions
famous companies in the world, CARF. As you can read in the first part of the article on page sales@rcjetint.com
24, Hannes has a real passion for the Gee Bee R2, and his history and experience with this very RC Scale International is a bi-monthly magazine
special subject, including the one produced by CARF, extends over many years. Well, thanks to 1 year subscription prices:
his passion, his skills, and the experience he has accumulated over the years, he has managed UK £ 32.50
to eliminate all the flaws inherent in the model versions of the Gee Bee, including the CARF Europe £ 43.00
version, making it much easier and more fun to fly... and here comes Andreas Gietz: Andreas' USA & Canada £ 45.00
passion for his products is well known, as is his desire to always strive for the best; contrary to Worldwide £ 45.00
those manufacturers who consider their models perfect and impossible to improve, he did not
hesitate to acknowledge Hannes' steps forward when developing "his" Gee Bee R2, implementing
all the valuable changes (which you can read about over the two part article) in a new and
updated version, making it possible for all lovers of this particular subject, who had avoided it
ADVERTISER INDEX
until now due to the enormity of the challenge, to finally enjoy a Gee Bee R2 with easier and Aviator...................................... 64
much more pleasant flying characteristics (it will never be a trainer, but that is fairly obvious!). CARF......................................... 2
Desert Aircraft...................... 52
And what about Benoit Paysant Le Roux? I won't list out here his impressive "aeromodelling cv",
Fighteraces............................. 7
full of success at the highest levels of world class aerobatics, nor the list of original models he has
designed, which have had success around the globe and influenced many different fields of R/C KingTech.................................. 22
modelling, but we can't fail to mention the fabulous mix of passion and absolute genius that distingui- PowerBox Systems............. 7
shes him, and that leads him to create models such as the fabulous Nieuport 17, the first part of an RealModelPilots.................... 7
article on this model being published in this issue. This follows on from the article "A fuselage.... 7 Sarik Hobbies......................... 23
fighters of WW1" published in RCSI issue 3, and explores the remarkable and, I repeat, ingenious Zap Glue.................................. 35
construction techniques behind this project, which I am sure will inspire many readers.
The magazine is sold subject to the following conditions: that it shall not without written
I end with a small... geographical note! Once again we live up to the word "International" inclu- consent of the publishers be lent, resold or otherwise disposed of by way of trade in
excess of the recommended maximum retail price.
ded in the name of the magazine, publishing fascinating reports of two large events dedicated All rights strictly reserved. No part of the publication may be reproduced in any way
without the prior agreement of the publisher. All letters must be accompanied by the
to scale models: one took place in England, and the other in Poland! It's always a pleasure to sender’s full name and address. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for unsoli-
cover modelling activity from all over the world, so... send us your reports!!! cited correspondence nor for the opinions expressed. All material and artwork origina-
ted by Radio Control Publishing Ltd, photographs, drawings, plans used in this maga-
zine become the publishers copyright under Copyright law. Some photographs may
have been digitally re-mastered. The Company reserves the right to suspend or refuse
Happy flights and safe landings! any advertisement without giving reasons. Whilst every care is taken to avoid
Marco mistakes, Radio Control Publishing Ltd cannot be liable in any way for errors or omis-
sions. Nor can the Publisher accept any responsibility for the bona fides of advertisers.

Editor: Marco Benincasa

Marco is 47 and, thanks to his parents, he was hearing about aeromodelling before he was born!
His father, Giulio, was one of the of the best Control Line Combat (F2D) pilots in the world, and his mother, Giovanna, was Giulio's helper and mechanic in competitions including World
and European Championships; together they won many trophies and titles. Giulio is still 100% involved in aeromodelling, building planes and travelling with Marco all around the world for
various competitions.
Editor of the biggest Italian aeromodelling magazine Modellistica International since 1997, and of R/C Jet International since 2017, Marco is passionate about aeromodelling and aero-
nautics, flying every type of model aircraft. He started flying at the age of 6, and quickly got involved in pattern flying, winning the first of his 8 National F3A titles when he was 17. Since
then Marco travels the world to compete in the biggest and most important events, such as F3A World and European Championships (winning two individual Bronze Medals and a Team
Gold medal), the Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas and, since 2007, the famous Top Gun event in Florida.
Marco loves designing new planes, testing prototypes, reviewing various products for his magazines, and R/C flying all around the world with old and new friends. Marco's son, Riccardo,
is now 16 and has been flying R/C since the age of 5.
 Benoit Paysant Le Roux

17
his Nieuport
t P a ys a n t Le Roux with
Benoi

This article is a follow-up to that published in issue 3 of

R/C Scale International, which described the 14-18 pro-
ject of the HMAC (Hague Model Air Club), a French club
located in Normandy. This project paid tribute to the
early “Knights of the air” on the centenary of the end of
the 1st World War in 2018. The aim of this collective
project was to present at our annual flying event seve-
ral aircraft from the different countries involved in the The fuselage and cowl molds
conflict. To do this, the construction of these models produce all seven models: yes, the fuselages are all
had to be fast, robust and inexpensive whilst at the identical. Of course, this is not a model intended for
same time the aircraft needed to have excellent flight scale competitions, but a semi-scale model developed
qualities. We therefore decided to build these models to be easy and fun to fly :)
using techniques used by the club for a long time and
thus well proven. The construction consists of a fibre- Making the fuselage
glass fuselage and cowling, combined with wings and
tail surfaces made of polystyrene and balsa and covered The fuselage is a conventional moulding using fibre-
with Kraft paper, the entire airframe then being painted. glass cloth. A first layer of 50gr. cloth is applied inside
In this article, I will cover in detail the construction of the mould to give a good external finish, then a layer of
the Nieuport 17, which is exactly the same as all the 200gr. cloth is added in the sharp corners of the fuse-
other aircraft as only one fuselage mould was used to lage to limit the number of bubbles in these areas. A full

8
layer of 200gr. cloth is then laminated inside the entire
fuselage, followed by another layer from the nose to the
trailing edge of the lower wing. Finally a third layer,
again 200gr., is applied just to the first 10cm of the
front of the fuselage. Four strips of 30x10mm balsa
about 10mm wide are glued along the sides of the fuse-
lage to stiffen it, as the fuselage is quite deep and can
deform without these, as there are no internal formers.
The cowling is made from 3 layers of 200gr. cloth, with
the entire fuselage plus cowl weighing around 1.5Kg
fresh out of the mould.

The wings
Whilst the fuselage is curing in the mould it is a perfect
time to start the wing construction! This is a biplane so
there are two wings to be built as well as the wing struts
etc. The wings are cut from polystyrene using hot wire
and aluminium templates in the traditional manner.
Everything is wire cut: leading edge, trailing edge, aile-
rons and spar slots. The wing section chosen is the
famous Clark Y, which is easy to work with, but also has
good load-bearing capacity and is thin enough to have

9
 ire cut the
lates to hot w
All the temp nd the various slots
wing cores a The control surface templates

Better mark
thing before and prepare every-
covering in
paper!
good "penetration" even in the
Normandy wind!
Checking the wing alignment The leading edges are made of
100x10mm balsa and the trailing
edge is 20mm wide balsa. The wing
is laid flat on the building board,
making it easy to plane and sand
these parts to shape. Don't forget to
make holes for the servo leads - I
make them using a 12mm diameter
aluminium tube, rotating this slowly
whilst pushing it gently into the
wing, in the centre of the section
and aligned with the aileron servo
Hard wood blocks are inserted for mounting recess. You have to take
the four 6mm retaining screws

10
 Covering with Kraft paper
The Kraft paper used is brown, 60gr/m2. Cut 2 pieces the full length of the upper wing
(top and bottom) as there is no dihedral, but 3 pieces for the lower wing (1 for the bottom
and 2 for the top). Of course you have to cut in the direction of the paper’s grain and ensu-
re that the smooth side of the Kraft paper is on the outside surface. The glue used is a
mixture of upholstery glue and white glue (about 20% white glue to improve the bond) -
the glue should be smooth and even. A large brush with soft bristles will be used to spre-
ad the glue on the polystyrene, then a smaller one for the finishing touches.
Start with the underside of the wing - once the glue has been applied to the polystyrene,
the Kraft paper is rolled up and dipped in water, then gradually unrolled, holding it by two
corners. It is a good idea to place a basin of water on the ground and climb a step ladder
to unroll the Kraft. This way there is less risk of creasing the paper, because once it is wet
it must be kept perfectly taut. Let the water run off until only few drops are still falling, then
ailerons it is ready to be put on the wing. This needs two people to hold the paper and position it
completed
One of the accurately on the wing. Use your hand to gently force out any air bubbles so that the Kraft
is stuck down well to the polystyrene. Fold the Kraft over the leading edge and around the
your time and check every few cen- wing tips. Do not use scissors for any of this, but tear the Kraft, which leaves less obvious
timetres that the tube is still accura- overlaps. At the trailing edge leave 15cm of paper overhanging without folding it over.
Cover the top of the wing – in a similar manner to the underside leave 15cm of paper at
tely aligned! It takes a little practice,
the trailing edge which will be glued to the Kraft extending from the bottom. If in some
it's a bit tedious and care has to be places the Kraft paper tends to lift you can use pure white glue to glue it back down. Once
taken, but it works. After that you the wing is completely covered, apply glue with the large brush over the entire wing. The
can assemble the two halves of the wing must now be left to dry, using a number of clamps onto the paper left extending from
upper wing. The spars are made of the trailing edge to support the wing. Each clamp is attached by a rubber band to a large
5mm diameter carbon kite tubes. On metal bar, longer than the wing. The wing then hangs horizontally with the leading edge
the upper wing, which has no dihe- down, positioned in the middle of a room so that it dries evenly. Do not place the wing
dral, the 2 metre carbon tubes are near a radiator, and allow 24 hours to thoroughly dry. After drying, the extended Kraft trai-
installed at full length and centrally, ling edge is removed by sanding the trailing edge with sandpaper. Areas where there are
adding small sections at both ends creases can be sanded with fine sandpaper. The dried Kraft can be worked like wood:
to match the 2.30 metre wingspan, sanded, coated and painted. All that remains is to add some 50gr glass cloth on the cen-
this eliminates the conventional tre of the bottom wing to strengthen the joint area, laminated with epoxy resin. Finally, to
joint at the centre, saving weight simulate the fabric covering and the way it
droops between the ribs, I ran lines of white
and maximising strength. The hot glue from front to the rear of the wing
wire cutting has to be very accurate panels and then positioned strips of Kraft
so that the carbon fits into its slot paper on top of these.
with no gaps, white glue being used
to glue the spars into place. A 1 to
2mm thick balsa strip is finally glued
on top of the carbon tube.
For the lower wing, which does have
dihedral, the two wing panels have
the carbon tubes installed before the
panels are joined together - two
small 2mm ply wing joiners are
installed to reinforce the joint. All
the wood to polystyrene joins are
carried out using white glue if the fit
is good, or with Sader PU glue if the
fit is poor. Next, we prepare the
location and mounting of the servos
in the wings. The servos are fitted
upright in the wings to save time
during installation and for easy
access. The control horns are cut
from 2mm epoxy sheet and are
glued to the polystyrene aileron
using PU glue, they are the full depth

11
The struts are made with a 2mm plywood core with epoxy sheet used at the ends to reinforce them where
the 3mm nylon screws secure them to the wings, and 50x10mm balsa added to give the correct shape
of the aileron section to give the maximum bonding
surface. Drill holes in the glued area of the horns to
strengthen the bond.
The wings are secured to the fuselage with four 6mm
diameter nylon screws. These screws are ideal, as in the
event of a shock they break quite easily, which limits the
damage to the fuselage or wings. Blocks of 100 x 10mm
balsa wood stacked 4x4cm thick are glued into the
wings where the screws are to be fitted, then holes are
The tailplane structure
drilled in the middle. Be careful to drill perfectly perpen-
dicularly to the wing section (from the bottom for the
lower wing and from above for the top wing). A section
of 8mm o/d carbon tube is glued into these balsa blocks
with cyano to prevent the screws from crushing the
wings when they are tightened.
The wings can now be prepared for finishing. As the
wings are covered with Kraft paper, any exposed wood
has to be sanded so that it is below the level of the poly-
styrene by 0.5 to 1.0mm, as when drying, the Kraft
paper will compress the polystyrene and any hard parts
will become obvious, which is not ideal and less than
attractive. But prior to the paper covering, all the strut
fittings have to be prepared. These are made of 2mm
aluminium, bent to the angle of the struts, with the sec-
tion of aluminium bracket that fits into the wing being
sandwiched between two pieces of balsa to increase the
gluing area. The part of the bracket the strut attaches to
is drilled to suit the pin of a metal clevis. Check the
finish of the wings once more time - if there are any
holes caused by missing polystyrene beads you can fill
them with RedDevil's OnTime, a very light filler. Vacuum
the Styrofoam to remove any dust so that the wings are
Hard wood blocks are inserted in the tailplane almost ready to be covered with Kraft paper.
for the fuselage strut retaining screws

Making and fitting the control horns

12
 The wing struts mounted at the correct incidence Tailplane surfaces
angles I made a template from
The struts are made with a 2mm Depron that supports the 2 wing Because of their rounded shape, the
plywood core with epoxy sheet used panels, the struts are then adjusted tail surfaces are made from glued
at the ends to reinforce them where to perfectly match the wing panels laminated balsa wood 15x10mm,
the 3mm nylon screws secure them (see plan). After a coat of cellulose and once assembled are filled with
to the wings, and 50x10mm balsa to they are painted using oil paint with polystyrene. The tail surfaces are
give the correct shape. Make sure a mixture of burnt sienna and oxide then covered with Kraft paper in the
they fit perfectly to the wings of yellow, I much prefer the appearan- same way as the wings. The hinges
course. To ensure the wings are ce of this to a simple brown paint. are Kavan, glued into place using PU
The drying time is however very long glue, whilst the tailplane struts are
(about 10 days). Once dry they are made from aluminium tube, flatte-
varnished. The bracing wires are ned at the ends and drilled, secured
made of 15Kg sheathed steel wire to the fuselage and tailplane with
attached using 3mm metal clevises. 3mm diameter screws. Prepare the
tailskid and attach it to the fuselage.
(To be continued)
Benoit Paysant Le Roux

13
 R/C Scale a
Authors: Colin Straus - Photos: Neil Hutchinson and Colin Straus
After a gap of more than 10 years, it
was with great anticipation that I set off
for a new one day event at the iconic
and historic airfield at Imperial War
Museum Duxford, in the county of
Cambridgeshire. Organised by
Graham Buchanan together with Rod
Dean, Display Director at Duxford, the
event was actually held over 2 days,
with flying taking place on day one,
only the static display operating on the
second day.
As the airfield is extremely active with
a wide range of historic aircraft based
there alongside the museum itself, the Just a few of th
e many WW2 fi
model flying was limited to two 90 ghters brough
t by the famou
s TJD Warbird
minute sessions, one in the morning s team.
and the other in the afternoon. In bet-
ween these times we were treated to
close up views of single and two seat
Spitfires taking off and landing, some
carrying very lucky passengers for
pleasure flights, others being taken up
in Tiger Moths and a D.H. Rapide.
There was a large turnout of pilots, not
surprising given the appeal of the
museum, and the models flown ranged
from WW1 though to modern jets, and
included almost everything else in bet-
ween, although WW2 models were in
the majority.

This aggressive looking A-10 was flown by

Mark Hinton, more than adequately powered
by a pair of JetCat P130-RX turbines.

14
at Duxford

Early morning view of the flightline before the public arrived,

some of the museum’s external exhibits seen in the background.

The U.K. weather was misbehaving as usual, so the sum- Pilots and teams attending included the well known
mer’s day was more like autumn, being rather grey and TJD team, featured in issue 1 of R/C Scale
overcast, and with a moderate breeze, luckily this was pret- International, with a huge number of large scale
ty much directly in line with the model runway that had been WW2 aircraft, with examples of a Hurricane,
prepared on the grass for us. Skyraiders, Mustangs, Corsair, Thunderbolt,
Zero, Wyvern and Stukas.

15
 How often do you see a sight like this at a model show – the famous Sally B, the
only airworthy B-17 in Europe, with a Spitfire taking off in the background.

Philip Noel brought his superb and almost This huge 1/3 scale FW-190D has been built
complete ¼ scale Me 262 for static display, by Graham Buchanan, and is nearly ready to
this having been converted to B-1a/U1 2 seat fly, fitted with a ZDZ 500cc flat 4 engine.
night fighter version configuration.
The internationally known Ghost
Squadron brought their superb ½ scale
Tiger Moth, this being used to aerotow
the unusual and beautifully built and
finished 1:2 scale Slingsby Falcon 1
glider. MWM Warbirds were also out in
force, with Michael Donnelly being first
to fly with an exuberant display of his
Elite Aerosport Havoc jet.
In amongst the large variety of WW2
fighters I was particularly impressed
ess, fully with a ¼ scale Mk IX built from the
er ’s lo ve ly Ziroli Dauntlengine.
p
George Nap powered with a GP76
detailed and

The very realistic Hangar 9 Bronco, powered with

16 twin DLE 30 engines and flown by Jamie Privet.
One of four Ziroli Stukas flown at the event, this is
Danny Booth-Adams’ example, powered by a DLE55.

Mick Reeves kit, and unusually, being A superb aerotow demonstration was given
electric powered. Flown superbly by by John Greenfield and Tony Hazlehurst of
Rachel Anderson, and built by her the Ghost Squadron’s with their Tiger Moth
and Slingsby Falcon 1 pairing.
father Phil, the model had an superb
performance, with a very wide speed
range and was clearly capable of every
aerobatic manoeuvre a Spitfire could
perform. Weighing in at 42Lb ready to
fly, the model is powered with a Turnigy
100cc motor, running on no less than
24 cells, these in a series/parallel con-
figuration, resulting in 12S 6200mAh
being fed to the motor, with this set-up
offering flight times of up to 14 minutes.
WW1 models were represented by a
very nice 1/3 scale Fokker DVII flown
by Chris Berry, and powered by a
Zenoah 62 with reduction drive, wei-
ghing 39Lbs, the model being particu-
larly well detailed including a very con-

Johns’ stunning Tiggie is built to ½ scale, and has a

Falcon 1 on superb performance, being powered with a twin
a d ro n ’s ½ scale Slingsbyfinished glider cylinder petrol engine, which was also built by John.
qu d
The Ghost Sch, this superbly built aneighing 13Kg.
final approa gspan of 5200mm and w
having a win

Ghost Squadron members with their fantastic ½ scale models,

the American Air Museum building in the background.

17
 vincing scale engine.
At the other end of spectrum, scale jets
were represented by Mark Hinton with
his Aviation Design Rafale and
Skymaster A-10, Geoff Wallace with
his Skymaster Hawk and F-15, and the
impressive Air Trade Turbo Raven
flown by Paul Privett and powered with
a K-60 turboprop unit.
Twins flown included a Hangar 9
Bronco ably piloted by MWM pilot
Jamie Privet plus a Wellington bomber
fitted with Zenoah 26cc engines and
flown by Dave Napper, whilst Chris
Bradbury flew his 30% scale Pitts
Challenger through a superb aerobatic
display, this 73” span model being
electric powered.
Ghost Squadron also bought this lovely ½ scale Orlik III gli- As well as the models being flown as
der, which has a wingspan of 7500mm and weighs 29Kg. part of the event there were also plen-

Possibly the most impressive display of the

day was given by Rachel Anderson with this
electric power ¼ scale Spitfire, built from
the Mick Reeves kit by her father, Phil.

18
 The rear section of an enormous ¼ scale Avro The level of detail being added to
Lancaster was on static display, built by Brian the Lancaster is very evident
Hutchinson, transport issues meant that the remain- here, even though the rear gun
der of the model had to stay in the workshop! turret is not yet finished.
ty more that were on static display
alongside museum exhibits in one of
the historic hangars. Amongst a range
of superb models, one in particular
stood out, although in this case it was
only the tail section and an engine
nacelle on display, but these alone
were extremely impressive, as they
were from a ¼ scale Avro Lancaster!
Designed and built by Brian
Hutchinson, the entire airframe is well
on the way to completion, but transport
limitations meant that only part could
be brought to Duxford. Built and detai-
led to the highest standard, this model,

The models
line, allowin being flown were a
g the many rra
spectators yed along the crowd
to get a clo
se-up view.

19
The Ziroli P-47 of Danny Booth-
Adams about to touch down, the
model powered by an EME60.

which will have a wingspan of 25’ 6”,

will be a stunning achievement when
completed, and RCSI plan to bring you
the full story once it has successfully
flown. One of the other highlights was
Philip Noel’s new and almost finished
¼ scale Airworld Me 262, which has
been converted into the B-1a/U1 2 seat
night fighter version, complete with the
intricate Neptune radar aerial array in
the nose.
As well as organising the event
Graham Buchanan had brought along
his almost complete and huge 1/3rd
scale FW-190D, powered by a ZDZ
500cc flat four engine. Superbly detai- Chris Bradbu
vertical roll, ry’s Pitts Challenger ca
led, this model has been a real labour ample power ugh
being provid t midst way through a
of love for Graham – hopefully it will ed by its Dua
lsky motor.
take to the air soon.

Gregg Veasey’s P-51B/C on appro-

ach, built from the Ziroli plan
and powered with an EME60.

20
 Mark Hinton gave one of his very professional displays
with his incredibly realistic Aviation Design Rafale.

Other models on static display inclu-

ded large scale gliders, warbirds and
jets, covering almost all eras of flight.
Overall the event was a huge success,
with plenty of superb flying against the
backdrop of what is the largest aviation
museum in Europe. The opportunity to
spend time visiting the museum as well
as looking at the active historic aircraft
(and more) on display in the various
halls and hangars in between the flying
sessions was very enjoyable. At the
time of writing it looks as though future
similar events are very likely to take
place, so RCSI will be sure to be there!
The gorgeou
s 1/3 scale F
with reductio ok
Colin Straus n drive, and ker DVII powered by a Z
flown by Chri enoah 62
s Berry.

One of a number of twins present, Dave Napper’s Wellington from

the Tony Nijhuis Kit performed well with its Zenoah 26cc engines.

21
CARF Gee Bee R2

Hannes with the much improved version of the CARF Gee Bee R2...read the full story of how this was done!
Famous but at the same notorious;
everyone knows about her and
wants to see her fly, however few
modelers pull the trigger and build
one – of course we're talking about
the Gee Bee R2. This subject is seen
as being unpredictable and difficult
to fly, with the landings in particular
apparently being purely a matter of
chance. The question we have to ask
is if this reputation is truly deserved?
Are these stories accurate or just A black and w
complete fiction, from people who hite image of th
e full size R2
have never built or flown an R2
themselves? Unfortunately, self- question and yes to the second! This
appointed experts are a dime a is the story of how I “tamed the
dozen when it comes to this aircraft, beast", and how my work is now The original...replica!
so with this article we want to try to available to benefit everyone: we're
shed some light in the darkness - is talking about the development of The original Gee Bee racing machi-
the Gee Bee really this challenging or the very successful v2 version of the nes were built in the 1930s by the
can a normal pilot fly it successfully? CARF Gee Bee R2 Granville Brothers, from Springfield,
The answer now is no to the first Massachusetts, USA.

24
Hannes in front of the full size Gee
Bee R2 replica of Delmar Benjamin

Probably better known to today's

generation than the original from
1932, this model is based on the
rebuilt Gee Bee R2 in 1991. The
build of the full scale replica started
on January 1st, 1991 by the two US
show pilots Steve Wolf and Delmar
Benjamin. A total of 5 people spent
about 5000 hours construction time
before it completed its maiden flight
in Creswell, USA on December 23,
1991. There is a 40 minute video of
the first flight on my channel on
YouTube. The replica is almost
exactly the same as the original The full-scale
from 1932, the only differences replica is kept
at the Fantas
y of Flight mus
being the hydraulic disc brakes, an eum in Florid
a, USA.
inverted flight fuel tank and a stee-
rable tail wheel. The R2 has a win-
gspan of 7.6m, a 1,400kg take-off
weight and is powered with a 450hp
Pratt & Whitney Wasp 9 cylinder
radial engine. The maximum speed
is 490 km/h, the landing approach
is flown at 260 km/h with tou-
chdown at 200 km/h - the stall
occurs at a sporty 160km/h. For
comparison, a Cessna 150 has a
cruising speed of 200 km/h and
stalls at a mere 65 km/h. Pilot
Delmar Benjamin said to me in
2014: “If the Gee Bee gets too slow,
it doesn't just drop a wing, it stops
flying immediately and without war-
ning, noses down and becomes
uncontrollable. It’s just like throwing
a manhole cover. But if you know
how to deal with it, it is a great air-
plane".
Delmar Benjamin flew the replica for
over 10 years at various air shows, That’s how you get in and out of the Gee Bee R2...a door!

25
Kermit Weeks, founder and owner of the Fantasy of Flight museum, allowed Hannes to sit in the Gee Bee.

inspiring millions of people around

the planet. In the end, he had well
over 1,500 hours in his log book,
more than all other Gee Bee pilots
put together. To this day he is the
only pilot who has ever flown a Gee
Bee R2 inverted. Due to various inci-
dents, in 2001 Delmar decided to
call time on his partnership with the
Gee Bee and allow it a well-deserved
retirement. He once told me that I
should not constantly overuse my
Guardian Angel, so it was time to say
goodbye, the available store of hap-
piness has simply been used up.
Since 2002 the machine has been in
Kermit Weeks‘ Fantasy of Flight
Museum near Orlando in Florida,
never to be flown again. Delmar
Benjamin has officially moved on
from the Gee Bee and now lives with At the EAA Aviation museum in Oshkosh, USA, is the only
surviving part of a Gee Bee: the right wing panel of the R2!

26
his wife Linda quietly on his farm in
Shelby, Montana.
Museum owner Kermit Weeks told
me on one of our visits to Florida
that every year, around Christmas
time, Delmar suddenly shows up at
the museum without prior notice,
spends a few minutes at the Gee
Bee, before disappearing undetected
in the crowd of tourists. He just can't
ignore it completely, after all, it‘s
still his baby and always will be...

The model
My personal Gee Bee challenge has
been a very long one, starting back
in 1998. I had my first contact with
this airplane at the cinema, when
during the opening scene of the Hannes’ passion for Gee Bees can be understood
Disney film "The Rocketeer", the when you see what is hanging on the wall!
hangar door opens and a Gee Bee Z
is pushed out onto the runway.
Shortly thereafter, a wild flight follo-
wed, climaxing with a crash landing
in full Hollywood fashion! I was
thrilled, that was a great plane! I
spent the next few years building all
sorts of little Gee Bees and getting
them up in the air. Somehow every-
thing was tried, yet actually nothing
worked. In summary, I can say a lot
of hard work, wasted time, and
experience was gained however all
the models were still destroyed! By
the end, and in common with many
other model pilots, I came to the
conclusion that a scale model of the
Gee Bee was simply not flyable.
Topic closed!
But no - another boost in motivation
then came when I saw an advertise-
ment for the FiberClassics air show
in a model flying magazine in 2001,
with the full scale Gee Bee by Delmar
Benjamin as the cover plane. The R2 Sarah Lutzenberger give scale to the Gee Bee fuselage
is coming to Germany and Delmar
will be flying in Michelstadt? I had to
get there, but there was a problem: I
was 17 years old, an apprentice and
of course broke. I tried my luck with
various club members over a num-
ber of days to see if anyone would
be going to the air show and could
take me with them, because I saw
this airshow as the only opportunity
to see and experience the Gee Bee
"live" once in a lifetime. After a few
weeks a friend said to me: yes, we're
going to Michelstadt!
By the time we arrived in the Ladies and Gentlemen...Delmar Benjamin!

27
 Checking the C.G. of one of the many CARF Gee Bees emerging from “Hannes Speed Shop”!

Odenwald, the R2 had already lived

up to its fearsome reputation. There
had been a landing accident the day
before and it was not clear whether
the machine could quickly be retur-
ned to an airworthy condition. After
many hours of waiting, the hangar
gates opened in late afternoon and
the Gee Bee was pushed out,
although without its full wheel
pants, but apparently ready for a
flight attempt. After a few test runs
and various brake tests, Delmar
finally rolled to the end of the run-
way. There he turned the plane 180
degrees using left wheel braking
and lined up for take-off. The 450hp
Pratt & Whitney radial engine was
idling and ready to go, whilst not a
sound could be heard from the
crowd. His wife Linda was at the
microphone and asked everyone to
watch Delmar and the Gee Bee, as it
will be taking off soon! More long
seconds passed, it was so quiet -
you could have heard a pin drop.
Eventually the engine opened up to
maximum revs and the R2 started
forward. Delmar pushed in down
elevator to raise the tail as quickly as
possible so that he would then be
able to look over the nose and see
the runway. The R2 accelerated
quickly, and just a few moments
later the Gee Bee shot past me to the
applause of the audience and lifted
off smoothly at the end of the run-

28
way and into the evening sky over the Odenwald! WOW! arrived. Based on the flying experience I had gathered
This is an airplane! The entire airfield was on its feet and over the last few years, I took a day off work and drove
celebrated the aircraft's first flyby as if we had just won to the model airfield in the morning, to be there on my
the soccer world championship. The atmosphere is very own. I didn't know what to expect or what would hap-
difficult to put into words to explain to anyone not pen. The model was set up in peace and the running
there. After a few very gentle flypasts, Delmar said behavior of the 3W was meticulously checked. There I
goodbye and flew the R2 back to the long runway at stood, the "flying coffin" and I, at the field of the MFC
Mannheim. With a signed T-shirt and a FiberClassics Bad Wörishofen. I remembered Michelstadt and the
Gee Bee Flyer in my backpack, I made my way home moment when Delmar thundered down the runway. I
later, dreaming of the day that I might successfully fly a believed in Santa Claus for 8 years, now it's time to
FiberClassics Gee Bee myself. believe in myself for 5 minutes - all or nothing, so I
Then, a few years later, it finally happened: I ordered my stepped on the gas!
first CARF Gee Bee! I built the model to the best of my The Gee Bee accelerated and I had to hold some rudder
ability and powered the model with a DA150. When it to keep it straight, then quite abruptly the plane lifted off
came to the first flight, I lacked my usual courage and steeply by itself. Immediate down elevator was applied,
handed the radio over to an extremely experienced pilot but with little effect, at least at first! As it turned out
friend of mine. Unfortunately, the engine stopped in later, the center of gravity was far too far back. Anyway,
flight, resulting in a forced landing in a field which cau- I'm flying! Then followed a few circuits during which I
sed a great deal of damage, the Gee Bee never being tried to somehow get the Gee Bee under some kind of
rebuilt. Disheartened by this I gave up, the Gee Bee was control. After a few minutes my nerves were exhausted
just too big a challenge for me. More years passed and and I started my first landing attempts. Different
I gained experience in building & flying larger models. approaches with different speeds were tried, but some-
Subconsciously, however, the thought "Gee Bee" was how nothing seemed to go right. I remembered the
still pounding in the back of my mind... The following words of my fellow aviator Fritz, who said to me: “Always
year my father visited the Reno Air Races in Nevada and keep your nose down on the approach, keep your speed
brought me a Gee Bee book as a "souvenir" about the high, fly it on to the airfield, get off the throttle, put it
construction of the full scale replica of Delmar on the main landing gear and centre the elevator! The
Benjamin: 96 pages full of many color pictures about tail will drop by itself as the speed reduces" Said and
the legendary racing plane rekindled the fire. A few done! I still don't know exactly how it worked out, but
months later, by pure luck, I found a used FiberClassics the Gee Bee was back on the ground safely
Gee Bee with a 106 3W twin on the internet. The price
and distance were fine so I thought - I'll try one last (To be Continued)
time. After a few modifications, the day of the first flight Hannes Lutzenberger

29
 Photo 1

A giant scale airplane can have as many as two dozen To begin, draw the plan for the wing and measure the
different ribs. It is possible to draw each of these ribs chord of the wing at each rib location. Also draw a front
manually but that method can be rather inaccurate, and view of the wing and measure the thickness of the wing
of course the process needs to be precise for the wing at each rib location. Download DesignCAD 2D 64-bit to
sheeting to mate well with the ribs. A quicker and more your computer – this is available as a free trial donwnlo-
accurate method is to use CAD (Computer Aided ad and can be purchased later if required. You will also
Design) to draw at least the outline of each rib, with the need a printer and scanner. (photo 2)
modeler manually drawing the remaining details such as Trace the outline of the airfoil from the airplane’s 3-
spar notches, lightening holes, servo mounts, etc.. views. Use translucent vellum paper and a fine-point
(photo 1) pencil or pen. Use an ellipse drawing template to trace
the leading edge and a French curve
for the remainder of the airfoil.
These tools are available at artist
supply stores.
Scan the drawing on your computer
forming a JPG file. Crop out unnee-
ded space around the airfoil and
open your DesignCAD program.
(photo 3)

Photo 3

Photo 2

30
Click on the “Create a new drawing” in the upper left. Photo 7
You may close the “Tip of the Day”. (photo 4)

Eight “Handles” (little red squares) will appear at the top,

bottom, left and right and corners of the image. If the
Photo 4
handles are not there, click on the image and they will
Move the cursor to the upper left and click on “File”. appear. The presence of handles says that the image has
Move the cursor down to “Image…” and right click on been selected for the next operation which is to convert
“Load Image File…”. Select the file containing the scan- the JPG image to a DesignCAD (.dcd) digital file. (photo 8)
ned airfoil JPG image and click on it. (photo 5)

Photo 5

Photo 8
Click on “Tools” at the top of the screen, and move the
cursor down and click on “Auto Trace Bitmap”. (photo 9)

A big blue rectangle will appear on the screen. Click on

it and your scanned airfoil image will appear in the scre-
en. (photo 6)

Photo 9
Click on “Remove Bitmap After Trace” and click on
“Trace”. (photo 10)

Photo 10

Photo 6

It may be too big for the screen and in this case only
part of it will appear. If so, click on “View” at the top of
the screen, scroll down and click on “Fit to Window”.
(photo 7)

31
A new fine-line image of the airfoil will appear that is Do the same for the trailing edge. We now have vertical
DesignCAD’s representation of your airfoil. If you click lines at both the leading and trailing edges. (photo 15)
on various parts of the image, changes in color will
show that it consists of several short line segments.
Again, handles appear at the edges of the image.
Next, we wish to add dimensions to this image so that
we can resize it. Click outside the image to remove the
handles. This will remove clutter we don’t need right
now. (photo 11)

Photo 11

Click on the orange square with the two red arrows

labeled “Orthogonal Mode”. This causes all lines that we
draw to be either horizontal or vertical—what we need
for drawing dimensions. (photo 12)
Photo 12
Photo 15

Click on “Edit”, scroll down and click on “Select All”. This

collects all the lines in the drawing into one object so
that it can be operated on as a whole. (photo 16)

Photo 16
Click on “Draw” and scroll down to “Lines…” and right to
click on “Line”. This will allow us to draw a vertical line.
(photo 13)
Photo 13

Move the cursor to the tip of the leading edge and click
once. Move the cursor down below the airfoil and dou- Click on “Tools”, scroll down to “Groups” and click on
ble click. This draws a vertical line at the leading edge. “Group Define”. This defines all as a single object so
(photo 14) that we can move and resize it. (photo 17)

Photo 14 Photo 17

32
Click and drag one of the handles to reduce the size to Repeat the Dimension operation but select “Y axis”.
approximately one of the rib sizes using the rulers Click on the highest point on the airfoil and double click
above and on the left as a guide. We do this now so that on the bottom of the airfoil. The height of the airfoil will
the font size of numbers will be appropriate. (photo 18) appear. (photo 22)
Photo 18 Photo 22

Click on “Dimension” in the command row above and

click again on the “Dimension” that is the top item in the
resulting list. (photo 19)
Photo 19

Click on “Tools”, scroll down and click on “Group

Explode”. This breaks the drawing into separate pieces
so that we can redefine the group. Click on “Edit” and
click on “Select All” to combine all segments of the dra-
wing. This allows us to “drag and drop” the handles to
change the chord and height of the airfoil. (photo 23)
Photo 23

The “Dimension” window will appear. Click on “X-Axis”.

Click on “Text” and select a text size. (0.1 is a good
choice). Then click on “Arrowhead” and enter 0.1 in the
“Size” field and click on Save and Close. (photo 20)
Photo 20 Click and hold on one of the side handles and move it
left or right to change the chord of the airfoil. Notice
how the numbers change as you move the handle.
Likewise, click and drag one of the vertical handles to
change the height of the airfoil as per your list of chords
and thicknesses derived from the model’s wing plans. It
might be necessary to click on “View” and “Fit to
Window” if the result is too big or too small for the win-
dow. It might also be necessary to zoom in on part of
the drawing in order to make tiny movements of the
Move the cursor to the left vertical line and click once. handles. If so, click on “View” and click on “Zoom”.
Move the cursor to the right vertical line and double (photo 24)
click. A horizontal dimension line with arrowheads will
appear with the distance between the vertical lines Photo 24
displayed. (photo 21)
Photo 21

33
Next, we draw an inside line parallel to the airfoil that is Let’s add a title to the drawing. Click on the T (for TEXT)
the thickness of the wing sheeting, e.g. 3/32” on the left side of the screen. A “Text” window will
=0.09375”. Click on “Draw”, over to “Line” and down to appear. Enter the text, e.g., “RIB1” and the text “Size”
click on “Parallel by Distance”. (photo 25) e.g., 0.5. “RIB 1” will appear in the drawing as light cha-
racters. The cursor will appear on the text. (photo 29)
Photo 25 Photo 29

Move the cursor (and the text) to where you wish to have
it displayed and double click. The text will be written as
bolder print on the drawing. Save the drawing (“File“--
Enter the wing sheeting thickness in inches, e.g., Save As…”) for later reference with the file name “Rib 1”
0.09375. Click on the line. (photo 26) or something similar. (photo 30)

Photo 30
Photo 26

A parallel line will appear. If you move the cursor outsi-

de the line a parallel line will appear outside the line. If
you move the cursor inside the line the parallel line will
move inside the line. Move it inside and click. A parallel
line will be drawn inside the airfoil line. The airfoil con-
sists of several connected lines, so you must repeat this It’s time to print the rib so we can add further details.
process all around the airfoil. (photo 27-28) Click on “File” again and scroll about 2/3rds down and
click on “Print”. Unclick “Fit to Paper”. Set “Scale” to
“Custom” and then to “1:1”. This example is too big to
print on one page so it must be printed two pages. So
click on “Panel” and change “Mark” to “Corner Mark” and
click on “Setup” to open another window to select your
printer’s paper size, typically letter size and click on
“OK”. (photo 31-32)

Photo 31

Photo 27 Photo 28

34
 Photo 32 details. Then draw these in by hand. To draw the next
rib, erase the interior parallel line using the “Erase”
command under “Edit”. Erase the title “Rib1”. Drag and
drop the handles to a new chord and thickness. Redraw
the parallel lines and add a new title. (photo 33)
Add the ribs to the wing plans.
This technique can also be used for drawing horizontal
and vertical stabilizer ribs. The method can also be
adapted to lofting fuselage formers. Consider using the
In this example, the Rib1 will be printed on two sheets. rotate command (Edit—Selection Edit—Rotate) to twist
Each sheet will have a mark in each corner. Load your ribs for washout.
printer with vellum paper and print. Assemble the two For more construction articles and free scale plan dow-
sheets so that the corner marks align and tape the two nloads, visit www.mnbigbirds.com.
sheets together. Lay the drawing over the wing plans
and mark the location of the leading edge spar, main David P Andersen
spar, aileron hinge line, servo cable holes and other

Photo 33
 Pzl 23 Karas
A little known subject from Poland
Authors: Ireneusz Potocki, M.Sc. Marek Rogusz, Kazimierz Rauchfleisch
Photos: Ireneusz Potocki, Krzysztof Majewski

Landing gear
Having a tall and rather narrow lan-
ding gear, a less than perfect tou-
chdown on the runway when landing
could lead to some problems such
as uncontrollable bounces etc, so
having an effective suspension
system is vital. The landing gear
structure was made of reinforced
aluminum tubes, to keep everything
light but with the necessary
strength; for damping I used 80
Newton hydraulic cylinders each
complete with its own spring, so
that the model sticks to the ground
very nicely when landing, giving
great confidence, which as we know
is very important for every pilot in The home-made landing gear is complete with 80N hydraulic
this final stage of the flight! cylinders to absorb the loads of take-off and landing

36
Ireneusz Potocki with his Pzl 23 Karas

37
 The tail surface servos The heavy batteries and other electronic components were
mounted above the engine to assist with balancing the model

Electronics
We should always install the best
servos possible in our models, both
in terms of quality and performance;
in my Karas I installed 25kg.cm tor-
que Hitec and JR digital servos, even
though I knew that a torque figure of
around 16kg.cm would be sufficient.
I also installed a Dualsky voltage
regulator, the VR Pro Duo, which
feeds power to the elevator and aile-
ron servos, using two 6000 mAh Li-
Ion batteries. The elevator utilises
two JR 8711HV servos, while the
rudder has a Hitec HS 5955TG servo.

The battery charging sockets are hidden behind this scale radiator

38
The engine is a Zenoah ZG-62 The custom made engine mount
with belt reduction system

Due to the short nose of the Karas,

the positioning of every component
is very important to avoid problems
getting the model to balance correc-
tly: the 3 servos for the tail surfaces
are mounted in the centre of the
model, on a specially made mount
under the tail gunner.
The batteries, receiver and voltage
regulator are mounted in the front
of the model just above the engine.
Ailerons and flaps are operated
using JR DS 8711 servos.

Engine
Such a model needs an engine that
not only provides adequate power,
but also is totally reliable! Also, I

39
 wanted to be able to fit a propeller
large enough to be close to the scale
size. My choice was thus of a power
plant that has all of this: the Zenoah
G-62 is known around the world for
its power and superb reliability, and
it can also be fitted with a belt dri-
ven reduction system, so I installed
a 1/1.75 reduction gear unit which
o siblings!
eu sz ’ K a ra s now has tw allows me to use a large 30x10”
Iren
propeller.

40
 Flight that had helped me with this project!
My Karas doesn't fly fast, but then G-62 power and the other with a
this was not what it was designed Moki 180.
The model made its first flight in
for! As per the full size, it flies slo- I'm very happy with the work we
April 2020 and handled very well
wly and steadily. have done to achieve this result, and
right from take off. I did not have to
proud to have had the possibility to
make any trim changes at all during
the flight, it flew well, responding to
Conclusion build and fly a model of an intere-
sting aircraft from the history of
the controls very quickly and accu-
At the time of writing two further Polish aviation.
rately. You can imagine that I was
Karas models have been built by my
delighted, as were all the friends
friends: one with the same Zenoah Ireneusz Potocki

41
 Sukhoi 31
A Massive Acrobat!
Luca Altieri
Hello everyone, I am delighted to have this i.e. 4.4 metre wingspan and 3.95 metre The first phase was the drawing up of all
opportunity to present my latest scale length. These dimensions were also the surfaces of the model in CAD, fuselage,
creation in R/C Scale International: a semi- influenced by the size of the new van I wing and stabilisers. I used a NACA0009
scale replica of the Su-31 "unlimited" aero- bought to transport my models. profile for the tail surfaces, whilst for the
batic aircraft built by the Sukhoi company, Once the size of the model had been set- wing I opted for the Eppler169, a symmetri-
production of which has now concluded. tled, I started looking for a good 3-view so cal profile with a maximum thickness of
Those who know me are aware that I have that I could then develop the entire structu- 14%; the full size plane has a thicker profi-
always had a passion for large scale aero- re of the model using CAD: it was my le, at 18%, but I tried to find a compromise
batics, with the aim of replicating as close- intention to have all the parts laser-cut to to give maximum flight realism whilst avoi-
ly as possible the flight of the full size air- reduce the building time of a model of this ding ending up with a model that is too fast
craft, so I decided that making a giant kind, which is very similar in structure to a or too "fun fly".
replica would certainly result in something full size aircraft. I have kept the moment arm between the
even more realistic! I also tried to contact the Sukhoi company stabiliser and the wing at the scale dimen-
for official documentation etc but .............. sion, the same going for the exact positio-
The giant Su-31 I am still waiting for a reply. ning and alignment of the two surfaces; I
In the end I had to settle for an A4 3-view know that this is not ideal for precision
My semi-scale model is at 56.5% scale, complete with fuselage sections. aerobatics, but the aim all along is to get
perhaps a slightly strange figure, but the maximum possible realism in aerobatic
necessary give the model size I wanted, flight: it is not a model intended for compe-
titions, it's for shows and displays.
Once the 3D computer modelling was fini-
shed, I had a polystyrene model of the
fuselage CNC-milled to check that it mat-
ched the lines of the full size as closely as
possible. The challenge was that I was
starting with a 40mm section taken from
the small 3-view and then enlarging it to
550mm: it takes very little for the lines to
end up out by 5-10mm, especially the cur-
ved sections.
After checking everything and adjusting
the curves that were not accurate, I started
drawing the entire structure - in the end, to
complete the design took no less than 250
hours of computer work.
enor mous!
model.....it's
e sc a le to the finished
gives th
Luca Altieri

42
During the design process I set myself a
target weight of 42Kg, using a ZDZ 420
four-cylinder boxer engine, which itself
weighs 11.5Kg without silencers.
A small note about the choice of the engi-
ne: I didn't consider using radial engines
due to their relatively heavy weight and
limited power, instead deciding to use a
boxer engine. At the beginning I had cho-
sen the ZDZ-420 as mentioned above, The laser-cut 'kit' based on the CAD-drawn design
then later, when the project was almost
complete, I ended up fitting a ZDZ-500,
which is 2Kg heavier but much more
powerful.
To ensure that the various stressed com-
ponents were strong enough whilst being
as light as possible, I asked for help from
colleagues using structural calculations to
confirm materials and sizes.
The outcomes were as follows:
- The main structure of the wing is made
with 10mm diameter carbon tube spars
and 3mm poplar plywood; all gluing was
done with UHU Plus epoxy glue at a tem- Above: one of the ribs
perature of 45° to increase the bond
strength. The wing joiner is an 80mm dia- Right: one of the front formers

Su-31 full size

The Su-31 is a single-seat aerobatic aircraft
developed by the Russian company Sukhoi.
Created in 1992 as a single-seat variant of
the Sukhoi Su-29, with a more powerful
Vedeneyev M14PF engine and new landing
gear, the prototype was initially named the
Sukhoi Su-29T.
The aircraft utilises a tubular steel structure
Full Size Specs to drastically reduce the overall weight.
The fuel tank has a capacity of 70 litres,
Dimensions however additional tanks can be installed
Length 6.83 metres under the wings to carry a further 206 litres.
It has three compartments where various
Wingspan 7.80 metres
items of luggage can be stored, respective-
Height 2.76 metres ly behind the pilot, behind the engine and in
Wing Area 11.83 square metres front of the control panel. Engine options
Empty Weight 700 Kg were the 360 hp M14P or the 400 hp M14PF.
Maximum Take Off Weight 1050 Kg
It went into production in 1994 under the
name Sukhoi Su-31 (or Sukhoi Su-31T).
Three other variants were produced: the Su-
Power System 31M in 1995, with a pilot ejection system,
the Su-31M2 in 2000, equipped with a
Engine Vedeneyev M14PF Vedeneyev M9F engine and the Su-31X, an
export version of the basic model.
Power 298kW (400hp)
The aircraft was used by pilot Jurgis Kairys
to win the Breitling Cup. The award-winning
Performance Russian aerobatic pilot Svetlana Kapanina
Max Speed 450 km/h also used it in her displays.
Climb Speed 24.0 m/s
The photo shows Sergio Dallan's I-Ject upon
which Luca Altieri based the design of his
model and from which he took the color
Data from Sukhoi Company scheme.

43
 The central part of the fuselage structure
meter carbon tube, 2.5mm thick and
1,900mm long
- The stabiliser has two joiners, one 25mm
diameter tube and one 16mm diameter
tube; 5mm carbon tube reinforcing being
used, again with 3mm poplar ply gussets.
- A carbonfibre main landing gear, produ-
ced using an autoclave, designed to
withstand a load of 100Kg.
And now we come to the structure of the
model: as you can see from the photos, it's
a traditional structure made of poplar and
birch plywood with balsa sheeting.
As you can imagine, the biggest challenge
was to select the materials, dimensions
and lightening required to end up with a
light but strong structure to withstand the
extreme loads of aerobatic flight. During
the 3D modelling I kept a close eye on all
the estimated weights, collecting these in The basic structure of the fuselage is complete
an Excel spreadsheet. hard balsa spars and 3mm medium balsa struction phase as simple and quick as
For the fuselage, I used 5mm poplar ply for sheeting; as well as this there are some possible.
the formers, 3mm for the sides, 10x10mm reinforcing strips from 5mm birch ply. The The fuselage is built by first making a slot
stringers, 18mm birch firewall and landing tailplane halves use 3mm balsa ribs, together box, assembled carefully on a flat
gear mounts, while the entire engine 6x6mm hard balsa spars and 2mm surface, and then further formers are
mount is made of 10mm poplar glassed medium balsa sheeting. added to give it its curvature.
with 160g/m2 fiberglass cloth and bound to To make you smile I can tell you that I used Wings and tailplane halves have holes in
the wing tube; all sheeting is 3mm medium around 1600 pins in total when adding the
density balsa. sheeting...!
The wing structure consists of 5 mm poplar As for the control surface hinges, they uti-
ply ribs at the root, reducing in turn to 3mm lise a "single-axis" system, the photos
poplar ply and then to 3mm balsa by the show exactly how this is done. The entire
tip. There are also additional 10x10mm structure is designed to make the con-

The fin and rudder during construction (left) and the completed and sheeted
rudder (right). All the control surfaces utilise a single-axis hinge system (centre)

44
 The fuselage now sheeted in balsa One of the rudder
hinge pivots

Starting to build the wing

Three stages of tailplane construction

the ribs so that they can be slid onto carbon tubes, these being
supported perfectly level on wooden blocks, ensuring these vital
flying surfaces are built straight.
During the assembly of the wings I had to be very careful: they
are so large that it is easy for large errors to creep in, even if the
initial misalignment is just a few millimetres, perhaps this being
due to parts that had to be forced together during construction.
You have to use a lot of clamps and continuously check the ali-
gnment with the lines on the plan.
In the end I managed to get pretty close to my target: the fusela-
ge weighed a total of 10.6Kg, the wings 3Kg each, the stabiliser
1Kg and the rudder 0.4Kg.
Covering the completed airframe required about 20metres of yel-
low Oracover and the same amount of black, the livery being
reproduced is that of the full size Su-31 "I-JECT" of the multiple
Italian champion Sergio Dallan. As for the engine cowl and the
canopy, I made polystyrene plugs by gluing together multiple
CNC cut 20mm slices from my CAD drawing, these being sanded
to shape and then covered in 400 gr. fiberglass cloth, followed by
160 gr. and then 80 g, a lot of filler and wet sanding to eliminate

45
lumps and dips as much as possible. (and hold against flight loads!) ailerons, The result was:
The spinner plug is made from stone pine elevators and rudder. - No. 4 Hitec D980TW servos with
wood, turned in the lathe and then finished I used a good software program that, by 45kg.cm torque at 7.4V for each aileron
with nitro filler and paint. setting speed, lever arm lengths, average - 4 servos as above for the rudder
The mouldings were made by Arolab in chords and deflection angles, outputs what - 2 servos as above for each elevator.
Biella, Italy; the engine cowling is a power is required to move them. One alternative solution would be to use
lightweight sandwich of carbon and Airex
foam, while the spinner is carbon.
The spinner backplate is aluminium, milled
using a 5-axis lathe, again after careful
CAD modelling. The canopy was vacfor-
med, not without a few problems, from 2
mm thick material; the preparation of the
plug was an extremely difficult job, fini-
shing it off with filler carved with using a
harmonic steel 30cm blade to eliminate as
far as possible any visible defects, which
would otherwise have shown up clearly in
the canopy surface.
Let's now move on to the R/C system,
which is no easy task given the size of the
control surfaces. The first job was to check
the torque required for the servos to move
The beautiful wing structure

The spars are reinforced Tailplane root ribs with

with carbon tubes attachment points

46
 panels
e of the wing
Luca with on

The home-made carbon tail gear

The two photos above show the finished

Sukhoi ready to be covered in Oracover

One of the characteristic wheel fairings

Hitec industrial servos, which have a torque of 100kg.cm, but the

problem is that they have to be 12V powered and there is no con-
trol unit to make this possible.
The whole system is controlled by a Champion SRS Powerbox
controller with PowerBus system, dual Futaba receivers con-
nected via S.Bus and power supply using two 5000mAh Li-Ion
batteries.
This control unit enables us, at the end of each flight, to check the
main parameters such as the condition of the signal seen by the
receivers, the state of the batteries, the maximum power consu-
med during the flight, etc, etc. These are very important parame-
ters and it is good practice to check them at the end of each flight
to see if there are any anomalies. On the transmitter, I have also
set up a low battery alarm, utilising telemetry for this option. The
finished airframe weighed 44Kg, increasing to around 45Kg after
balancing, meaning that I exceeded the target weight by 3Kg, but
of course 2Kg of this is caused by the heavier engine, and I had
to add 1Kg lead in the tail to get the correct centre of gravity (I'm
slowly removing much of this as I fly the model more).
Let's talk about the engine: as I mentioned, I installed a ZDZ 4-
cylinder 500cc engine, with Italian made AS Power canisters and Wings and tail
surfaces after
a Biela 43x16 wood/carbon propeller. being covered
in Oracover

47
 Making the plugs and moulds for the cowl and clear canopy
The ground tests gave a 4300rpm maxi-
mum, and the pull is truly remarkable.
It would have been nice to be able to fit a
gearbox and larger propeller and thus
obtain much greater thrust, but I would
have had to make a planetary gearbox
with gears...... too complex; whilst the belt
solution is not suitable for an aerobatic air-
craft where you often have to move the
throttle rapidly, quickly varying the RPM.
The four-cylinder boxer required the instal-
lation of air ducting to cool the rear cylin-
ders: these were made of carbon and 3mm
airex with high-temperature resin; every-
thing is mounted together with panels and
screws inside the cowling.
This engine is set up for the utmost reliabi-
lity: both the power supply and the fuel
supply are split, which means that, in the
event of a failure in either of these
systems, half the engine will continue run-
ning so that the aircraft can be landed
safely.
And now we come to the first flight, which

48
 Engine installation resembles that of an ultralight aircraft
oth touchdowns. To help I am thinking of
raising the ailerons around 20° as soon as
the model is on the ground, to kill some of
the lift from the wings and prevent the
plane from lifting off again and bouncing. I
The ZDZ four-cylinder may try this in the future.
boxer - 500cc! I have also tried some basic aerobatic figu-
took place with me as a guest at the res, the roll speed is ok, the vertical climb
Mazzè airfield of my friend Antonio Gizer ditto even if the power to weight ratio does
Ducting for cooling
Mendicino. not match that of the typical 2.6m model
Needless to say, the stress level was sky- with a 120cc engine; the overall behaviour
high, the builder always has concerns is neutral in any flight attitude.
about a model he has designed and built Needless to say the flight, accompanied by
himself, and in this case, as well as all the the sound of a 500cc 4-cylinder boxer, is
normal concerns we must add the consi- extremely realistic.
derable size of the Su-31. The stall speed is very low, thanks to the
The first take-off demonstrated that the wing loading of a mere 120 g/dm² distribu-
model had good handling characteristics, ted over almost 4 square metres of wing
although of course I performed the whole area.
flight in "Piper" style: slow, gentle turns, no In the end, building this giant Su-31 took
more than a 45° climb with the engine at me more than 1,000 hours of work, spread
2/3 power and a simple stall test. over two years, but the satisfaction of
No particular problems were found, just seeing such a model fly, when it has been
the centre of gravity, which was a bit too produced and controlled entirely by your
far back. own head and hands is unimaginable!
I found it difficult to land: the tendency to If anyone would like to try their hand at
"kangaroo" and bounce is remarkable; I building their own example of my Su-31, I
have to try to avoid this and get the model can provide a complete kit consisting of all
into a 3 point flare attitude to ensure smo- the laser-cut wooden parts, composite
moulded parts and drawings.

Greetings to all and good flying.

Luca Altieri
l_altieri@fastwebnet.it
The electronics utilise the
PowerBox PowerBus system

Happy pilot
after flight te
sting!

49
 PowerBox PIONEER
Colin Straus

Complete Pioneer package, with MicroSwitch.

The development staff at PowerBox must this being included in the package – perso-
never waste time sleeping, as this innovative nally if I was installing the unit in a model
company comes up with a constant stream of powered by a large petrol engine I would be
new and improved products, the subject of tempted to use some dense foam for the
this review being the advanced PowerBox mounting, to minimise the amount of vibration
Pioneer. getting to the unit.
Other items included are the redundant elec-
The Pioneer is a high performance power tronic on/off button switch and a pair of dou-
supply, incorporates twin serial bus receiver ble male ended JR type extension leads, as
functionality, has full telemetry capability and well as an instruction manual in both English
notably, with the addition of an iGyro SAT, it and German languages.
offers advanced gyro stabilisation. The Pioneer as supplied has a black finish to
Unlike many previous PowerBox power sup- the lower section of its case, the upper
ply units, the Pioneer does not include volta- machined aluminium part being an attractive
ge regulation, eliminating the large and heavy silver/grey, with the various connections to it
regulators and heatsinks, which means that being as follows:
the unit is extremely small and light, being 2 x Battery input (Multiplex Type)
only 63.5 x 43.4 x 11.8mm in size and wei- 2 x Serial bus Rx inputs
ghing a mere 45 grams with switch but 1 x Fast Track input
without leads. To minimise overall weight and 1 x Data input
size the unit does without mounting lugs, 1 x Switch input
instead it is recommended that the Pioneer 14 x PWM Servo outputs
The Pioneer is both very compact
be mounted using double sided foam tape, and beautifully produced. The Pioneer can be used together with three

50
different radio systems, unsurprisingly the
first of these being the Powerbox Core, the
remaining systems being Jeti (EX-Bus) and
Futaba (S-Bus2). No radio system setting is
required, as the Pioneer automatically
detects which system is being used, making
the basic operation pretty much plug & play.
Obviously the Pioneer integrates best with
the Core radio system, with both products
having been developed by the same team.
Both the Core and Jeti transmitters can be
used to setup and adjust all of the parame-
ters of the Pioneer, however this is not possi-
ble with Futaba, so either a USB lead or the
PowerBox BlueCom adapter is required in The 14 PWM servo out- Twin Multiplex style battery soc-
this case, these pugging into the data socket puts completely fill kets, FastTrack and 2 Rx sockets
one end of the Pioneer. are on the opposite end of the unit.
on the unit. All three radio systems enjoy full
telemetry via the Pioneer, this being output is also possible to utilise the GPS II sensor, of radio signal loss. Commonly used on the
from the unit to the receiver connected to the but at the time of writing only when using a throttle, it can also be usefully used on other
RX1 socket. Core radio, in which case the GPS sensor is channels with many models.
Of course having no regulators means that connected to the receiver’s RX1 socket. As a Futaba user I was looking forward to
the battery voltage is passed through unalte- PowerBox have advised that by the time this seeing how easy the unit would be to set-up
red, so it is vital that the servos, receiver etc article is published, they will have completed and program, in particular the interface of the
are all suitable. In most cases this will not further development, which will enable the unit with the iGyro SAT using the BlueCom
really be an issue, as suitable servos can be GPS II sensor to work with both Futaba and with my Android phone. In fact this proved
selected to suit the battery voltage , so 4.8v, Jeti systems, this including the GPS II driven very straightforward indeed, with the Pioneer
6.0v/6.6v or HV (high voltage) servos, whilst Airspeed Factor function. doing exactly what it was designed to do, and
most modern receivers will cope with any of Basic settings for the unit are as follows: self-selecting Futaba S-Bus2 when first swit-
these voltages. The voltage range of the unit - Output frame rate selection ched on, as it detected the Futaba serial bus
is from 4.0 to 9.0 volts so 2 cell Li-Po batte- - Capacity reset system data.
ries can be used without problems when - Reset gyro Setting up the telemetry on my 32MZ proved
using HV servos, whereas if lower voltage - Failsafe very simple, following the detailed instruc-
on-board equipment is fitted then 6.0volt Ni- Frame rate allows the unit to output the frame tions in the Pioneer manual saw this comple-
Mh or 6.6volt Li-Fe batteries can be used. rate best matched to the servos being used, ted in less than a couple of minutes, and the
Although the Pioneer is small, it packs a enabling them to provide maximum perfor- following value screens were displayed:
punch, as it can pass no less than 10 Amps mance. - Voltage 1
continuously on both of the two circuits and Capacity reset allows the user to set the radio - Voltage 2
as much as 20 Amps peak current on each channel to be used to reset the battery capa- - Capacity 1
circuit for up to 30 seconds. Current consum- city figures once the batteries have been fully - Capacity 2
ption of the unit when in use is 105mA but charged – the default for this is channel 16. - Antenna fades 1
switched off it consumes a mere 30µA. As might be expected, the reset gyro function - Antenna fades 2
Optionally, the tiny iGyro SAT gyro unit can allows the functions of the gyro to be reset. - Lost frames
be connected to the Pioneer via the Failsafe is where any servo outputs can be - Hold
FastTrack socket – it should be noted that it set to move to a preset position in the event - Speed (km/h)

Even the electronic MicroSwitch

Data and Switch sockets are on the side. has a machined alloy case.

51
- Altitude (metres)
- Distance (metres)
- Trip (km)
Of course as I was using a Futaba radio and
thus could not connect (at the time of writing)
the GPS II, the Speed, Altitude, Distance and
Trip screens were not populated on my tele-
metry display.
What has been detailed so far makes the
Pioneer a high specification yet lightweight
twin battery/twin serial bus receiver system
incorporating full telemetry, but the addition of
the tiny iGyro SAT brings a completely new
dimension to the unit, and adds multi-axis
stabilisation, with a wide range of parameters
capable of being selected/adjusted.
With the iGyro SAT connected to the Pioneer,
and the relevant channel numbers for the Test setup with two Futaba receivers and PowerBox batteries, note
various functions set I was able to select the the Bluecom device for communication with my Android phone.
main gyro screen by clicking on the top right
of the main screen displayed on my phone,
this brought up 6 options; Mounting Position,
Gyro Aileron, Gyro Elevator, Gyro Rudder,
Failsafe Settings and Reset.
The first of these options enables the moun-
ting position of the SAT to be correctly set in
seconds, with the same screen also allowing
the centre and end points of the transmitter
sticks to be established. The three gyro con-
trol function options each allow two gain ran-
ges (0 to +100% and 0 to -100% - this can be
used to switch Attitude Assist on and off) to
be set for three outputs each (a total of nine)
and the Attitude Assist level/s to be set, as
well as Gyro Characteristics, Stick Priority,
Lock-in Feel and Airspeed Factor. I won’t go First of tw
displaying teo screens on the tra
into detail about these as David Gladwin has lemetry data nsm
from the Pio itter
covered the capabilities of the iGyro SAT in neer.
 Initial display on my phone of Bottom of the same scre-
the main data from the en, showing the three Initial display to set-up
Pioneer, enabling updates and outputs for each of the the iGyro SAT.
setup to be carried out. main flying controls.

This screen allows the All aileron setting and adju- Pioneer failsafe
mounting position of the stments are made in this screen settings are made
iGyro SAT to be set, as well – there are similar screens for via this screen.
as the stick endpoints. elevator and rudder.
depth in the April/May 2020 issue of RCJI, but suffice it to say that I suspect that the Pioneer may become one of the best sellers out of
although tiny, the iGyro SAT is an extremely sophisticated device that the wide range of power supplies produced by PowerBox, as it is very
is ideal for models ranging from the small and light right through to affordable, extremely compact and light, offers effective and high cur-
some of the largest and most complicated scale models we fly. Some rent capacity twin battery/receiver functionality, full telemetry, and with
modellers will not countenance the use of Gyros in scale models, but the addition of the iGyro SAT a powerful stabilisation ability. I will be
as far as I am concerned any technology that can improve in-flight installing the review unit in a model in the near future and will report
realism should be welcomed. Gyro stabilisation is particularly useful about how I get on then.
for models with lighter wing loadings, which are easily disturbed by Colin Straus
wind gusts, or for pretty much any scale model when been flown in
bumpy conditions, unfortunately all too common here in the U.K.! WEBSITE: www.powerbox-systems.com

53
Warbirds 2021
A great scale event in Poland
Mariusz Grzywaczyk
Warbirds 2021 was the fifth time this
largest meeting of R/C modelers in
Poland had taken place, and was held
on July 22-25, 2021, at the airport of
the Sport Modeling Club in Bobrowniki.
The first event took place back in July
2017; at that point no one expected it
would grow into the most famous
modeling event in Poland. Modelers
famous for participating in F4C and
F4G attend our event, and we are visi-
ted by friends from a number of
European countries including
Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and
Malta. The atmosphere during the eve- The wonder fu
l air field of
nings is amazing, and whilst enjoying the Sport Mod
eling Club in
our food we could admire amazing Bobrowniki
models of planes from around the
world. Usually, the first modelers arrive
on site on Thursday, when it starts to
turn into a campsite. We provide very
good facilities, with running water, toi-
lets, hot water showers and electric
power, whilst also being able to organi-
ze catering for the participants. We
must be doing something right, as we
have visitors that have been attending
the event since it started.
Undoubtedly, the star of this year's
event was the team from Austria with
Franz Obenauf . They brought some
superbly built and finished P-47
Thunderbolt models, which looked
even better in the air. The flights of
their Thunderbolts with their Moki 400
One of the 3 superb Mitsubishi Zero's present at the meeting

54
 Military jets are also warbirds! This is a very nice Vampire
engines were incredibly realistic, with
the roar of the engines drawing huge
applause from hundreds of spectators,
being repeated several times each
day. The Austrians also brought very
nice Ju-188s with a span of over 6
metres. Taxiing the Junkers with the

The two amazing, huge and wonderful Ju-188s of Franz Obenauf and Adi Leopold

55
 Pilots and models waiting to fly

sound of the Moki 250 engines "is

music for the ears of modellers." Franz
promised that next year, after more
practice, he would fly the Ju-188 in
Bobrowniki – we will hold him to his
word and wait with eager anticipation!
Bartek ..... with his F-16 Flying Falcon
in Turkish colors gave an impressive
display, with the model in its black and
gold colour scheme being one of the
stars of the event. The F-16C Solo Turk
flights generated a great deal of inte-
rest amongst the visitors to Warbirds.
Bartek made some spectacular flights,
demonstrating the aerobatic ability of
this model jet, as well as its impressive

yński
bi s by S ta nisław Skarż 1933
e RWD-5 rt of the
L-26 and th flown as pa ight
Both the PZ hemes of the aircraft t on the ground and in fl
sc
carry the llenge. They looked gr ea
Atlantic Cha

56
low speed handling, using the effective
airbrakes. Great show Bartek! A
second very popular jet was the F-86
Sabre, which made some spectacular
low level passes, and was almost indi-
stinguishable from the original.
We could also admire several models
that replicated some of the history of
Polish aviation in the air. First of these
were the PZL-23b Karaś models desi-
gned by Irek Potocki and built by Irek
and Piotr, beautifully finished and with
all the detail of the full size aircraft,
whilst being painted in the original
colors of Polish squadrons from
September 1939.
A model of one of the most famous
fighters of the Second World War, the
Spitfire Mk9, in the colors of one of the
Polish squadrons in England, was on
static display - we hope to see this
model in the air next year. Warbirds
this year hosted no less than three
A6M Zero models, reminding us of this
legendary aircraft of the Japanese
Empire. The superb flying performance
of this machine was demonstrated in
flight, one of the model pilots even
having the characteristic "Kamikaze"
headband. All three models were fully
detailed and the weathered finish they
had was typical of the heavily used full
size examples during the Pacific war.
Of course, many other models also
took part at the event, in fact a grand The F-16 in
"Solo T urk"
total of around 120, but describing all scheme mad
e several spec
tacular fligh
of them would take far too much space. ts

Three examples of the PZL-23b designed by Ireneus Potocki were at the event, honoring the history of Polish Aviation

57
 The P-47 Thunderbolt in action
We registered 85 participating pilots,
all meeting up at the evening parties,
enjoying live music.
The award for the most spectacular
flight display was given to Franz and
his team of colleagues for their
Thunderbolts. The local authority of
Bobrowniki was very helpful to us, and
we would like to thank Mrs. Małgorzata
Bednarek, the mayor, in particular. We
would also like to take this opportunity
to invite everyone to Warbirds VI at
Bobrowniki in July 2022, to be held at
the SKM Bobrowniki airport.
SKM Bobrowniki website: skm-
bobrowniki.pl where you can see the
location of the airport and the report
from Warbirds 2021.
Don't forget to visit our Facebook page
low-altitude at SKM-Bobrowniki.
bre m a d e spectacular al
a
The F-86 S oked just like the orig in
flights and lo Mariusz Grzywaczyk
SKM Bobrowniki

58
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FOKKER D.VII
Hangar 9
Customizing an ARF
P.J. Ash Part 5
Flight
After all the work it was finally time to take
this plane out to fly. I have flown many dif-
ferent types of aircraft including the Fokker
D.VII and know that this airplane flies great,
whilst seeing the videos on the Horizon
Hobby website helped illustrate that this
was going to be a winner.
I was concerned about the fact that I knew
I had added weight with all the scale
details, but unlike the 3D capabilities
demonstrated in the video, I wasn’t intere-

The Fokker d
uring the ma
iden flight

P.J. Ash, author, with the Fokker DVII

60
sted in doing any of that.
It is so nice that Hangar 9 includes a wing
jig for transportation and storage, with this
allowing you to put the plane together at
the field in under 10 minutes. I was very
happy I had this feature along with the fact
that the plane has no flying wires (as per
the full size).
After checking all the linkages several times,
control throws, and over all airworthiness, it
was time to start the engine and go fly.
After a few flips, the DLE 55 jumped into life
and I was set. Taxying out was very easy,
as even though the Fokker D.VII does not
have a tail wheel (only a skid) the huge
rudder allows you to turn with ease. If you
have trouble getting the plane around, use
a little down elevator to lighten the load on
the tail, and you can turn with ease, almost
as if you have a tail wheel.
After taxi out, I lined up with the runway,
took a deep breath, looked to my left and
right, and began to slowly add power.
Rudder effectiveness is more than enough
to counteract the torque. Within less than
20 feet the tail was off the ground and after
around another 100 feet, the plane lifted
off the runway and gently climbed into the
air, a little down elevator allowing a steady
climb out. Within a few seconds I realized
that I was gaining airspeed at an alarming
rate! That’s right! I did have a 55cc engine
in this bird, so I immediately backed off to
about half throttle, and the plane settled
into a really nice and gentle first turn as I
was continuing to climb out.
After a few passes, it was time to see what
the flying characteristics were like. At seve-
ral hundred feet, I pulled the power to see
what it would do in a stall. Remember, I
had added extra weight, so would that On the field the details added to the surface stand out clearly

61
 The Fokker begins its take-off run

cause a problem? Nope! In fact, at power when we add power, but this is not perfect I was very interested in seeing how she
off and full up elevator (gradually to main- as the results vary with the speed. would perform a roll. With ailerons on the
tain altitude), the plane just started to Steep turns were easy and the plane did top wing only, this can be a bit of a difficult
descend. During the stall, I had aileron con- not want to drop its nose or lose altitude. I maneuver to do. This type of set up can
trol as well as rudder control. After about a decided to perform a wing over. Again, I make for a sluggish roll with the tendency
50-foot descent, I added power and the knew I did not have a 3D plane, but let’s to drop a wing. Not in this case! I applied
plane immediately began to climb. take a look at some mild aerobatics. power and let the nose climb a bit and put
One note, I noticed in any maneuver, if you I did not have to descend to gain airspeed. full aileron. It wasn’t like a jet, but she came
push the power up, you will need to add From level flight, I applied full power and around with no problem.
down elevator or the plane will climb. The let the plane climb until vertical. Then, I held Loops were easy as she has an over abun-
wings do a great job providing more than it. Well, guess what? She eventually slowed dance of power. In fact I did not have to
enough lift. With the additional power of a to a very mild climb. That’s right! She was decrease altitude to increase airspeed as I
55cc motor, you just need to remember to hanging on the prop! Well, I guess I have a do with other WWI type aircraft. Just full
counter all that thrust! I think that this could 3D plane after all! After a few seconds I power and up and over she goes!
be solved by adding a little of downthrust decided to kick the rudder….and over she I have a very good friend who is known in
to the engine. An alternative solution would went! Pulling the power back to idle, I the aerobatic arena. I asked him to take the
be to add a throttle/elevator mix, so that applied back pressure on the elevator and sticks and give her a wring out. I told him,
the elevator neutral moves down a little she easily came back to level flight. “let’s see what she is capable of”. Well, he

62
 some time on WWI planes, it’s just a bit.
During the final stages of the roll out as the
tail settled, I pulled full up elevator. Rudder
input was ample to maintain the runway
centerline and the plane graciously slowed
to a stop.
Full rudder and a bit of power later, I had
the nose pointing back towards the shut
down spot at our field and taxied back like
I owned the place! What a joy to fly!

Conclusion
It's been a fun project!
The Hangar-9 Fokker D.VII is an excellent
platform to build out a very scale plane.
Again, its simple box type construction and
clean lines really make it a pleasure to
build. I really have to give Hangar 9 credit
ly paid off! for designing an outstanding model that
th e co ck pi t has certain flies very well, it is no wonder that you see
The work on
this plane at every WWI event. There are so
many unique color schemes out there that
did. This plane, even with all the scale and I gently applied power to about half anyone could pick something different with
detail, could perform any maneuver in the and smoothly climbed out. I told “the ease. The real aircraft used no flying wires
book. In fact, he was able to perform rol- guys” I meant to do that as I’m sure their other than on the landing gear and this
ling 360s! This is when you create a hori- response was chuckles and rolling eyes. On also simplifies the task of building a scale
zontal circle in the sky as you are conti- the next approach I pulled the power all plane from this ARF. The fact that the cock-
nuing to roll the plane. It was amazing. the way back from the start of my base leg. pit can be removed allows one to place all
After a few minutes, I remembered that this I was about 400 feet away from my inten- the switches on the inside thus letting the
was a maiden and I should get her on the ded touchdown point and around 80 feet modeler keep to the scale finish without a
ground and do a look over. My friend gave in altitude. Perfect! load of work. If you are a scale nut or just
me the radio and it was time to come in on The plane began to slow and I gradually someone who would like something a bit
an approach. I will tell you that the glide added elevator to decrease the descent. I different, this would be a great project for
path on this plane is a bit faster than the popped the power just a bit and the plane you. I hope you have enjoyed reading this
basic ARF which makes sense because she maintained the descent until touchdown. I series of articles as much as I have when
is a bit heavier than the standard ARF. allowed the tail to come down on its own writing them, and if even just one of the
I had about 1/4 power on the down wind during the roll out. techniques I described here has been use-
and base leg. When I turned final, I felt that Again, the roll out was a bit longer due to ful for you, my mission is accomplished!
I was a bit fast and pulled it back to idle. the slightly faster landing speed. It really is
Sure enough, the plane zoomed past me barely noticeable, but to someone who has P.J. Ash

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