Barry W

I lived in France for nearly 40 years and flew both model aircraft including gliders in the southern alps. I am sure you would be made very welcome in any French model club. So take your model glider and have a great holiday. By the way where are you planning to fly full size gliders? I used to fly in the southern alps mainly from Fayence which is near Cannes. Barry

Here are attached a couple of photos on my Mini Super taken today. (I live in Florida) I built this from Outerzone plans about 6 months ago. It was initially the tail drager plan. However I found the plane very difficult to take off from our grass strip as it would not track straight when taking off The problem was that as soon as power was applied the tail and tail wheel lifted off the ground and the rudder did not have sufficient effect a low speed to. control the direction. I modified the plane and converted it to a tricycle undercarriage as shown in the photos and that fixed the takeoff problem. However I did not like the way the plane turned with rudder only. Hence I added strip ailerons which now make the plane pleasant to fly. I would strongly recommend these two modifications. I added the ailerons to the standard wing with 2 inch dihedral and it seams to work just fine. The plane is powered by a OS15LA which gives it ample power I hope this post may be of interest On a sadder note I learnt today that another Brit here in the US Eric Cluton died on Saturday from a serious heat attack. Eric designed the full size FRED and the Sharkface when he was living in the UK. I knew him when he was testing his FRED at Meir aerodrome near Stoke on Trent in the mid 60s.

I looked at the plan and instructions on the Outerzone web site. They say that for the for the Robot to fly correctly it is important that some "reflex" be built into the wing trailing edge by packing it up 1/16 on an inch. I have never come across this before but they say this is important. So if the plane is still not flying correctly check that the wing has the requited reflex built into the trailing edge.

When I lived in France we used to used a glider tug called a Bison I believe Topmodel sells a kit here is a link https://www.topmodel.fr/en/remorqueurs-C66 Hope this helps

There is a lot of fun to be had from the small rc planes. When I lived in France I built a Bumblevee which has a V tail plane hence the "vee" in the name. The plan is available of outerzone plans https://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=10613 Mine was fitted with a Cox Black Widow engine and was a great flyer. I am almost tempted to build another as I gave mine away when I left France. Great Fun/Price ratio.

I had a similar problem when I modified my Super 60 by replacing the rear tail wheel to a steerable tail wheel. Due to the design of the SS60 I had to move the tail wheel further forward to the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer. In this case when I applied power the rear of the plane would lift straight away hence as the tail wheel was no longer on the ground there was no directional control as there was not sufficient air speed for the rudder to become effective. Hence the plane would shoot of to either the left or right. The only way I can overcome this is to hold full up elevator as I gently apply power. This keeps the tail wheel on the ground. As the plane builds up speed the rudder become effective and I reduce the up elevator as the plane takes off.. .

News from China says his two cousins Ho Lee Flew and Sum Ting Wong have also caught the virus

Here is something that may be of interest if I can get the link to work It is a 1/9 model of a B36 built in the US during theearly 1950s www.rchalloffame.org/Exhibits/Exhibit41/index.html Barry

Thanks GeeW, that's just the information I was looking for.. They don't have many Sharkfaces over here in "The Land of the brave and home of the free". The folks in the local RC club think I am a crazy Brit as they seem to mostly fly "out of the box" foam planes. I know Eric Cluton is also in the US but is quite a drive up to Georgia from central Florida.. Also he is a die=hard diesel man so probably has no experience with electric. Barry

HI , I have built a Sharkface with Electric Outrunner motor and rudder /elevator/throttle control. The model weighs 14 .5 ounces ready to fly. The question I have is what it the recommended power in Watts and prop size for an average flying Sharkface? The motor I have is a Cheetah A2212-15, 930RPM/V, max current 12A Max Amps, 133W for 60 seconds The motor weight is 47g/1.65oz. The recommended prop size is APC8*4E 72Watts or 9*4.5E 108Watts. These values are with a 3S battery. I would appreciate advice from anyone with experience with an electric powered Sharkface Barry           Edited By Barry W on 08/12/2019 15:29:32

First Christmas Joke: Three men died on Christmas Eve and were met by Saint Peter at the pearly gates. 'In honor of this holy season' Saint Peter said, 'You must each possess something that symbolizes Christmas to get into heaven.' The Englishman fumbled through his pockets and pulled out a lighter. He flicked it on. 'It's a candle', he said. 'You may pass through the pearly gates' Saint Peter said. The Scotsman reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. He shook them and said, 'They're bells.' Saint Peter said 'You may pass through the pearly gates'. The Irishman started searching desperately through his pockets and finally pulled out a pair of women's panties. St. Peter looked at the man with a raised eyebrow and asked, 'And just what do those symbolize?' 'These are Carols.' Edited By David Ashby - Moderator on 23/12/2018 18:58:13

Here is information on the design of a work bench. http://www.eaa1000.av.org/technicl/worktabl/tablefig.htm It is from the Experimental Aviation web site as a work bench is often the first thing one builds before building a plane. You can adjust the length and width to suit your requirements. I suggest adding a lip on the front of the top working area.

Du-Bros sell a range of tanks that may suite. https://www.dubro.com/products/fuel-tanks

I used the motor out of my Multiplex Easy Glider Pro, which was a HIMAX C2816-1220 It had a 9by6 folding prop and used a 3S2200 mah battery. This motor is really too powerful but as it was available I used it and it gives quite a spectacular rate of climb

The first high start I bought in the late 1980s The bungee system came with the bungee the line and a parachute at the glider end. The advantage of a parachute is once disconnected from the glider the line will slowly fall to the ground and with the wind blow towards the launch point. It obviously will not reach the launch point as it can't stretch the bungee cord. You still have to walk find the line and pull it back for the next launch. For OP it is handy to have a spring loaded fish scale so you can try with different launch tension to find the optimal value.

The first high start I bought in the late 1980s The bungee system came with the bungee the line and a parachute at the glider end. The advantage of a parachute is once disconnected from the glider the line will slowly fall to the ground and with the wind blow towards the launch point. It obviously will not reach the launch point as it can't stretch the bungee cord. You still have to walk find the line and pull it back for the next launch. For OP it is handy to have a spring loaded fish scale so you can try with different launch tension to find the optimal value.

There is a lot of good advice in the above replies.I have done quite a bit of bungee launching with a Goldberg Gentle Lady which is an excellent glider. I believe that Sussex Models still sells the kit. I would just like to add a couple of point. On the glider end near the tow hook ring place a small red flag. The flag adds a bit of drag to the line and helps it to unhook from the glider at the top of the launch. Also it help find the end of the line when you are looking for it after the launch. Most of my bungee launches were from nicely mown school fields when I lived in California. When I tried bungee bungee launches from a model aircraft field in the south of France it was a real problem due to the tough weeds that were mixed in with the grass and made it difficult to run out the bungee line without getting tangled up with the weeds. I ended up abandoning the bungee and fitted an electric motor and the GL is still flying to this day now that I am back in the US.

David There is an interesting article on The Big Guff in this months US Model Aviation Magazine. It talks about the 20 year old twin brothers Bill and Walt Good who built the Big Guff as well as the radio equipment. The plane is considered to be the first designed specifically for Radio Control in the US. The plane won the US RC Nats. in 1938,39 and 40. A version of the plane and radio equipment is on display at the US Model Aircraft Museum in Muncie IN. Muncie is a bit off the usual US tourist route however it is possible to see the plane if you do a virtual tour of the museum. Type in modelaircraft.org/museum then click on museum and then go to virtual tour. Then find your way to the model shop and the Big Guff is hanging above the entry. It looks as though this model has "polydihedral" (sp) probably to give it some better flight stability. If you are interested email me your address and I will try and scan and sent you the article. I also think Big Guff looks like a big brother to Sparky a plane I built from an Aeromodeler plan which is on the list here and was first published in 1951

I have seen the Horrizon Hobies Convergence at our flying field and it is an interesting plane. Half drone and half airplane Above is a picture. It really is an interesting model which takes off off vertically and then by switching a switch on the transmitter The two front motors progressively switch to forward mode and the rear motor stops. In normal flight mode there are two options either beginner with limited pitch and roll or no limit where the plane is fully aerobatic. It operates off a regular 3S2200 mah battery. Underneath the model is a space to fit a small camera. There is a You tube video which gives more detailed info and which I can't seem to insert in this thread Our local model shop here is Florida ordered 4 model and they sold out straight away and there is a wait list so perhaps there may be some delay in getting the model to the UK. The cost here is in the region of $250 which seems to include everything except perhaps the receiver and battery. Hope you find this of interest. Barry

John I have just finished building a Goldberg Electra which was an electric version of a Gentle Lady. This model came out in the 1980s and had a heavy motor and 6 or 7 cell Nicad battery. I don't think the model had much success at the time as it weight in at 48 ounces and would have been under powered. The model was designed to be fitted with a normal prop as folding props were perhaps not available. To avoid breaking the prop they fitted a mono wheel type UC. It was a 3/32 piano wire fitted to the motor mount and extended back from the fuselage at 45 degrees with a 1.5 inch wheel. You could try something like this with your Super size Gentle Lady to protect the prop. Hope this helps   Barry Edited By Barry W on 14/11/2016 17:57:04

The French tow plane you mention is called a Bison and is one of the most popular tugs used in France. When I lived in France I had a 2 channel glider similar to a Gentle Lady by Carl Goldberg. We used to tow it up with a Bison. The thing to do is get the tug pilot to climb vertical or as vertical as possible and the glider will follow. It is perhaps net very elegant but is cuts the speed down and the poor glider has to follow. If things did get out of control just unhook. Hope this helps Barry

Ceejay There is an interesting book "Wings over Meir" (the story of the Potteries Aerodrome) by William Cooke which mentions in some detail Eric Cluton and his airplane FRED. The book which is mainly about the airfield also covers all the aviation events that took place in the Stoke on Trent area dating back to early balloon flights in the 1890s. It also mentions Eric working as a 16 year old during the war at the aerodrome and on occasion being able to taxi across the field P51 Mustangs. In fact the book is very interesting from a historical point of view as it mentions many of the "Great and Famous" Bader, Leigh- Mallory etc,that came to The Meir both before, during and after the War. Also it mentions Eric wrote a book called "An Aeroplane Called FRED". I hope this may be of interest to some of you especially if you are from the Staffordshire area. Barry

I remember Eric when he was doing his test flights of FRED at The Mier airfield at Stoke on Trent. It was in the mid 1960s. He used to tow the plane from his home to the field with his motor cycle and side car. He spent quite a bit of time sorting out his engine problems as initially he had a twin cylinder Triumph motor bike engine driving the prop via a chain reduction drive. Most of the early flight attempts resulted in a short hop before the chain came off the sprocket resulting in a rather hurried return to earth. Eric who had learnt to fly gliders at Long Mynd told me he had recuperated the broken wings of a T21B glider which he had shortened and modified for his FRED. I used to fly gliders and tow gliders with a Tiger Moth at that time at The Mier and remember well the various adventures Eric had with his FRED. He did after a couple of years get it to fly quite well with a VW engine. The plane flew quite slowly due to the thick T21 wing section which also gave it a very slow stalling speed. Once I overtook him when flying a Swallow glider much to his surprise as I had time to give him a two finger salute. Happy times.