John T

I'm not usually that worried about adding a pilot, but even to me this one looked a bit empty without one on a low pass. I put this chap together out of a few scraps of balsa. I must admit that he looks as though he's stepped out of an episode of "Last of the summer wine" 🙂

If I ever get around to building a new wing for the rudder/elevator controlled Wee Snifter I'll go use 9 or 10 degrees under each wing. If you were thinking of using a gull wing design you might want a touch more if you don't have ailerons. Of course, with ailerons it's counter productive to have that much dihedral. If you decide to go for just aileron/elevator and you are really worried about adverse yaw, just add some differential to make the upgoing aileron move more than the down going one. Easy to do with one servo by either raking the control horns or using off centre holes on the servo. But as Piers has said, it shouldn't be a problem unless you have a high aspect ratio wing. Don't forget that differential will work the 'wrong' way if you fly inverted...

My rudder/elevator controlled "Wee Snifter" has about 7 degrees dihedral under each wing but it could really do with a bit more for more positive rudder control. As Engine Doctor says, elevator and aileron might be a better option if you want positive control while preserving a scale like amount of dihedral. For such a lightweight set up as you're proposing I think the extra weight and complication of CAR wouldn't be worth it.

It's your model and so long as you're happy with it it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. I think that is the most extreme amount of side thrust I have ever seen on a model! As PatMc says, I'd reduce it drastically. I'm sure it will be absolutely fine with a flat bottomed section. It will certainly be easier to cover.

As Leccyflyer says, perhaps it's because it's formulated to work with water based EZE Dope. These photos are of the balsa cowl on my "Jersey Javelin". The EZE tissue was just attached using Wilco interior varnish, and as you can see, by keeping it damp it went around the compound curves ok with a bit of patience. I didn't have any real issues with the edges detaching.

I tried some a few years ago and was also less than impressed. I've recently become a bit of a fan of EZE Tissue. It's got excellent wet strength and bright colours. The downside is that the coloured tissue also isn't compatible with cellulose dope. I've used it on it's own using EZE Dope, and also over Doculam, applied with Wilco satin varnish.

Seems to be working ok for me now. These access problems can get expensive. I sat down with a cup of tea this morning thinking I'd look at the forum for 10 minutes, but because the site was virtually unusable I ended up looking at AliExpress instead, with the inevitable result... 🙂

Over the last few years I have covered a number of model with tissue over Doculam. I have used a variety of different tissues including HobbyCraft, Model Span and EZE Tissue using either Cellulose Dope, Eze Dope or Wilco Satin Varnish. The most satisfactory combination I have found so far is EZE Tissue with Wilco Satin Varnish (I'm sure other WBPU's would work just as well). Eze tissue has excellent wet strength and can be moulded around compound curves with a bit of patience, so long as you keep it damp. The only real disadvantage I can see with EZE Tissue is that the coloured tissue is apparently not compatible with cellulose dope, although I'm not sure why you would want to go that way as it works so well with WBPU.

I've wondered about building one of these myself, so I'd be interested to know how goes when the weather decides to cooperate. The internal pushrods for the rudders are very neat.

I recently built a Jersey Javelin, which had a similar layout. In an attempt to get the C of G forward I built a vertical battery box directly behind the motor with the ESC below the motor. I fitted the servos as far forward as possible and used a closed loop connection to the rudder to keep the weight to a minimum at the rear. Even then I still needed to add a small amount of nose weight. You must remember that the old spark ignition engine and their associated equipment were heavy bits of kit, These models were designed for free flight with a relatively steep climb under power followed by a glide. They could be trimmed to fly like this with the C of G further back than we are used to seeing with modern designs, in part due to larger tail planes. My Jersey Javelin seems to fly well with the C of G 52% back from the LE, though it's safer to start with it further forward. The tail section is symmetrical on this design.

If it has a slightly grainy appearance then it may well be Fibafilm, which is supposed to look like well doped tissue. If so, then it will need an adhesive such as Balsaloc on the framework. Just use an iron to heat shrink it in the normal way. It doesn't shrink quite as much as most iron on films though, which makes compound curves a bit of a challenge.

You would think so, but I built one two or three years ago from an original Mercury kit with the specified amount of dihedral, and this shows no sign of wallowing in turns. I did increase the rudder area slightly after club mate warned me that his son had managed to spin one into the ground, but I can't get mine to spin in the first place! As Richard says, this is really at it's best in lighter winds. I must admit that I don't fly mine very often due to the horrendous noise the PAW 19 produces, but it's a very stable if slightly unexciting model to fly. Here's a photo of mine. Apologies for any eye strain this might cause, but I was using left over tissue... (Hobbycraft tissue over Doculam covering)🙂

I have a number of PAW engines ranging from the 19 and downwards in capacity, but the pick of the crop for me is the PAW55. This is an absolute jewel of an engine, easy to start and surprisingly powerful for a 0.55cc engine. I now have 3 of them, one in a 32" span "Poppet" which I fly with the prop on backwards to reduce the power a bit, and I've got one in a D.B. Rookie 68" span powered glider, which it powers surprisingly well. The Rookie is shown below as I originally built it with a PAW100.

It's available from https://www.flugmodell-magazin.de/downloads/kunstflugtauglicher-buschflieger-mit-oldtimer-flair/

For the last few days we've been treated to the sight of several hot air balloons flying over the house from the Northampton Balloon Festival. On Friday evening we must have been directly downwind of the festival, with many of the balloons flying directly over the house or landing in the fields surrounding the village. By the time I'd remembered to take a picture many of them had flown past, but here's a few photos anyway. There's something very uplifting about balloons, if you'll excuse the pun...

I only went on the Sunday, and as Nick said, the weather was glorious, ideal for the lightweight stuff in the free flight and radio assist area. Although I did take a few different models with me, I was having so much fun flying my rudder only rubber powered models that I never actually made it to the R/C flight line!

I only made it to Ponte on the Saturday and had a thoroughly good day. After seeing this video I'll make sure I stay for the Sunday as well next time! Another big thank you to all those involved in organising this event. There just isn't anything else like it in this country.

The Jersey Javelin is now finished and I finally managed to fly it for the first time earlier today, before rain stopped play. I decided to cover the model in Eze Tissue over Doculam using Wilco satin varnish. Not exactly authentic for the period, but then neither is electric power and R/C! This tissue has excellent wet strength and bright colours, making it ideal for this type of finish. I was concerned about mounting the tailplane rigidly as the fuselage looked a bit fragile at the back in the event of an "untidy" arrival. In the end I decided that the rubber bands used on the original plan were the way to go, along with a couple of keys to keep everything in line. Here are some numbers for those that like that sort of thing: Wing span 46". Wing area about 2090 square cm or 2.25 square feet. Total weight ready to fly including battery 556g (19.6oz). Motor EMAX CF2822. ESC 20A. Using a APC 7 x 5E prop and a 3S LiPo it was showing about 109W and around 9.6A on my Watt Meter. I'm pleased to say that the first flight was uneventful, with just a touch of down trim needed. It has quite a spritely climb with a slight hint of dutch rolling at full power, as you would expect with this layout. Power off it has a very floaty glide, and I think it will thermal well. Very impressive for a 1940's design. The stall is a bit of a non event, and I can't make it spin. Overall I'm very happy with it At the moment the C of G is about 52% back from the leading edge, which feels about right. I may try moving it back slightly when I've flown it a bit more. Anyway, here are some photos.

Over the last few years I've become a bit of a fan of this type of covering, and I just happen to be in the process of covering my Jersey Javelin using Eze tissue over Doculam. Unfortunately I'd already covered the model with Doculam when I came across this post, so I can't tell you what the Doculam added, but I thought It might be interesting to see how much weight the tissue and varnish really added. The wing is about 2090 square cm in area, so if I double that to account for both the top and bottom it comes to 4180 square cm or 4.5 square feet if you prefer imperial units. The wing weighed in at 75g including Doculam. After covering with coloured Eze Tissue and 2 coats of Wilco Satin Varnish ('cos it's what I had on the shelf) I found the weight had now gone up to 97g, an increase of 22g or just over 3/4 of an ounce. So it looks like tissue and varnish work out at around 53g per square metre. As an aside I should mention that Eze Tissue is ideal for this as it has excellent wet strength and strong, vibrant colours.

Well, it's taken a lot longer than I originally intended, but I've finally completed the main components. Progress stopped when I picked up Covid shortly after the initial post, but a few good flying days recently has re-inspired me and I'm now back on track again. With a layout like this there is every chance that the model will be seriously tail heavy. The original spark ignition engines and their associated bits must have weighed a substantial amount. In an attempt to get the heaviest items as far forward as possible I've constructed a vertical battery box between the original firewall and the new motor mounting plate. This is big enough to take anything up to a 2200mAh LiPo. Like many other areas on the plan, the details of the cowl are a bit vague, to say the least. I've tried to replicate something like the planked construction sketched on the plan and hope it'll look ok after a good dose of sanding. I'll cut a few cooling holes when I've hacked it to shape. Now I've just got to sort out the tail mount and it will be ready for a thorough sanding before covering. I can already imagine the sun shining through the wings as it floats overhead...

Looks good Alec, and you've inspired me to get on and finish my latest model. Let us know how you get on flying it when the weather finally relents.

Like many other gliders of this era, I think this is a perfect model for converting to electric. I wouldn't be surprised if you find it still needs a touch of down elevator while under power though, even with 3 degrees of down thrust. I think I've got the plan for this somewhere, but it's one of those models that I never quite got round to building. I was never totally convinced with the wooden dowel wing joiners though, although they obviously did the job OK. I'll be watching this build with interest.

A few years ago my brother in law gave me a very old and slightly battered plan for a Jersey Javelin than he had acquired from his cousin. Now, this is a design I’d never come across before and it certainly looked a bit different from the usual high wing cabin monoplanes of the era. From what I can gather the original design concept dates back to 1939, but this evolved into the plan that I have in the 1940’s. In its day it was considered a high performance free flight contest model, which partly explains it’s rather unusual appearance as Walt Schroder, the designer, tried to reduce the drag of an undercarriage that was required at the time. Anyway, I quickly realised that there were a few minor details missing from the plan, such as wing tip ribs and former shapes, so I consigned it to my stash of plans to look at again at some time in the future. Fast forward, and that time has finally arrived. I’d never quite forgotten about this quirky design and I now found that there was another version of this plan available on Outer Zone https://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=9487. Although it isn’t quite the same as the plan I’ve got, it is similar enough for me to fill in the missing details. My local club field isn’t suitable for free flight models so I thought I would convert it to radio with rudder, elevator and throttle control. I will also replace the suggested Bantam 0.199 spark ignition engine with a brushless outrunner. I can see a number of reasons why this isn’t a very good choice for converting to R/C. However, the quirky looks quite appeal to me, and anyway I like a challenge! As the last few models I’ve built have been mainly foam board construction I was beginning to suffer withdrawal symptoms from traditional building, so as you can see from the photo’s I’ve now made a start. The first thing that’s became apparent is that both plans are inaccurate in a number of areas, with dimensional difference between side and plan views in places. The centre section also looks impossible to build exactly as shown, so I’ve gone my own way with that while trying to preserve the original appearance. I suspect there may well be other issues as the build continues. I know it’s a bit of a longshot, but I wondered if anyone else in Model Flying forum land has any experience with this design, and if so is there anything in particular to watch out for?

I've been using tissue over Doculam for a few years now. A few days ago I noticed that one edge of tissue had cracked and was delaminating slightly from the Doculam at a dihedral join on one of my models . I'd used Wilco Satin Varnish rather than cellulose dope to bond the tissue to the Doculam on this model. Now this model has been flown a lot over the last few years in conditions varying between damp or freezing to 30 degrees C plus hot sunshine, but I've not noticed this on any of my other models where I've used cellulose dope to attach the tissue to the Doculam. I'm wondering whether you get a stronger bond with traditional dope. The underlying Doculam seems fine so it's really just a cosmetic issue, but it's a bit untidy.

That's weird, perhaps it's something to do with the time of year, but I've just had to replace the bottom element on our oven that went just before Christmas. I also had to get the oven out to access the element and I was most unimpressed at the build standard... Still, at around £25 it was a lot cheaper than a new oven and it seems to be working fine again now.