Peter Mack

Simon,You are probably familiar with the following, but anyway...  http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=862222Check Posts 4; 34; 63 and 65 Most of these terrific scale models are powered by a single 10 gram outrunner and weigh in at 100 grams or a bit over.  I do not have the skills or patience to build models like these but I have made several simpler models with these motors (or the smaller 5 grammer) around this weight and they all performed very well.  I have just checked the weight of a 10 gram motor plus suitable Esc, Rx, 3x servos and battery (2s 250 mah) and it comes to about 45 grams. By anyway, enough dugression from RTP!  The following pics are from a very old booklet on RTP that I have a photocopy of.  Hope they are legible. Peter

Sorry Simon.  I have just reread your post and the specs are there.  I imagine that a lot of that 4.5 oz weight would be taken up with the motors.  Now, a 10 gram outrunner instead.....hmmm.  Or if you could still find this one at Hobby King (I can't) it would be nice:http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1118210&highlight=contra+rotating Peter

Simon,What a wonderful model - and wonderfully complex with the contra-rotating props!  What are the specs of your model (span, weight, etc)?  Could it be converted to micro RC with different motor(s)? The MB5 was truly beautiful, just about the ultimate in piston-powered fighters.  Congratulations. Peter

 This model fuselage is typical of the cardboard jobs we made.  Foam blocks were glued in with hot melt glue as formers. The paper clip hook with insulation cover can be seen clearly. The "flying wires" are made from a pair of wires stripped from grey multistrand computer connection cable. I think the female plug was salvaged from an old computer too.  The cardboard control surfaces were created by simply cutting in the appropriate places and bending the sections up or down.  .

"Peter and others have mentioned the flying wires shorting so i am now worried about the same problem. I am using ballards flying wire or will be when i get going so how do i connect it." Graham,I used a wire hook (usually from a paper clip) that had a length of plastic tube cut from some electrical cable squeezed over it. I simply tied a knot in the "flying wires" and looped this over the hook. Never had any shorting or disconnection problems.  Having some difficultyposting pictures on this forum.  Much easier to explain than verbal description!Peter  

Hello to RTP fans.  I have just discovered this thread and I am pleased to see that RTP is still alive and well.  I developed an interest in the system years ago, especially as a means of introducing school children to model flying.  I have also noticed that an ancient article of mine on the topic also remains on the web: http://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/mccarthy_rtp.html This is sadly in need of revision and updating, but some of the  ideas worked well back then, especially the use of simple cardboard models as a way of demonstrating the basic setting up of an aircraft: CG; wing and tailplane incidences; wing loading; simple aerofoil effects; control surface effects, etc. All of these could be implemented and the outcomes immediately made apparent!  With every group I would have the model scurrying around on the floor (lots of jeers) then stop it, tweak the elevators, and up she would go to gasps of amazement. Getting small groups of students engaged quickly in building a cardboard model and flying it was a plus for this approach to RTP.  Jono's comment on 11/8 brought back unpleasant memories: "The lacquered wire is an issue although careful storage makes a difference." I recall trying to solder the stuff in the middle of a session - it was always kinking and breaking.  I found that a cheap alternative was a pair of wires stripped from grey comptuer linking cable.  They were somewhat heavier of course but as they were joined as a single unit the air resistance was probably about the same.  Good luck with RTP.Peter