WRAM show and converting glow to gas, The

Model Airplane News, Jul 1999 by Yarrish, Gerry

WHEN I HEAR everyone talk about going to the WRAM show in Westchester, NY, I know that the beginning of flying season is near. The 1999 show, as always, provided an opportunity to see old friends and to check out new products and models. If you live in the Northeast and have never attended this show, go at least once; there's no better way to say goodbye to winter.

My first stop at the show is always the Nick Ziroli Plans* booth. Nick Sr.'s latest creation is an 80-inch-span Ercoupe. This popular 1940s, twin-tailed civilian aircraft is Nick's choice for this year's Scale Masters competition. To ease transportation, Nick's model is very easy to take apart. Nick will probably power the Ercoupe with a gasoline engine, and the finished model will be a real beauty when we see it on the Scale Masters flightline.

Nick Jr., also at the booth, showed me his new GSE 2000 groundsupport unit. It is particularly useful to modelers who use retracts because it includes its own 12V battery, air compressor and air gauge. A fuel pump (safe for gasoline), a 64-ounce fuel container, high-quality rocker switches and a fire extinguisher are also included with the aluminum-housed support system. Its black powder-coated finish enhances durability.

In the Cermark* booth I saw an impressive IMAA-legal ARF in the form of a Pitts S2B that was designed exclusively for Cermark by Dave Patrick. The S2B is intended for .90 to 1.20 4-stroke engines and has a 60-inch span. One of Cermark's ARF Signature Series, it comes covered with Ultracote and features one-piece wings;-no ugly centersection seams to hide! I was equally impressed with the model's weight-91/2 pounds with a .90 in the nose, and a little over 10 pounds with a 1.20. Its relatively light weight and 1,020 square inches of wing area will make the Pitts a real floater on landing. You just gotta love these new-generation ARFs.

I ran into Bob Shapiro up on the stage area; he was showing off his impressive, 30percent-scale Staudacher GS300. Available through Hobbies and Helis*, Bob's Staudacher comes built and almost ready to cover (ARC). First in a series of ARC giant-scale airplanes, the GS300 is jig built and features "enginebox" construction that provides an internal. unitized structure to which he engine, landing gear and wing tube sockets attach, thereby ensuring a rigid and durable airframe. A gelcoat fiberglass engine cowl and wheel pants are also included. The tail surfaces also come built and include already installed flying wire mounts and control-horn mounts. The wing is completely ready to hinge, and the servo pockets and wire channels are cut out; the LE is already shaped, and the wing tube sockets are installed.

Intended for a Zenoah G-62 engine, the 90-inch-span Staudacher's price is $599; not too bad, considering the amount of work already put into the airplane.

FOKKER COWLS

I also spoke with Jamie Johnston of Arizona Model Aircrafters*, who showed me his line of WW I accessories. I was looking for a scale, flat-faced Fokker Dr.1 cowl for my latest project, and the metal cowls he had on display caught my eye. A unique aspect of Jamie's line of scale aircraft kits and accessories is that almost everything in his catalog is available in several sizes; the most popular are 1/6-, 1/4-, and 1/3-scales. The metal Dr.1 cowls require you to install the thin, laser-cut plywood faceplate-a relatively easy task. For my model, I replaced the plywood faceplate with common aluminum roofflashing and replaced the supplied machine screws with smaller, Phillipshead, sheet-metal screws. As you can see, the finished cowl is well worth the afternoon it took to assemble it.

Jamie also has full-size (man-carrying) aircraft kits available for several of the designs he sells in model form. Talk about exact-scale model kits: the model plans are reduced CAD drawings of the full-size plans he sells to Experimental Aircraft Association builders.

GIANTS ON DISPLAY

Another reason to attend the WRAM show is simply to see all the model aircraft in the static-display contest. Each year, I am impressed with the craftsmanship and engineering that goes into these models. To see many of them actually fly later on in the year is the icing on the cake. This year, the majority were big models, and several of their builders took home well-deserved prizes.

Bill Steffes won Best Plane with his giant-size SNJ-5 Texan. Bill enlarged the very popular 1/5-scale Nick Ziroli plans to 1/4 scale. Bill's Quadra 100-powered Texan has an onboard electric engine starter.

The overall Best in Show went to that "scale madman" from Canada-Graeme Mears-for his 1/3-scale Waco UPF-7 biplane. The word "impressive" doesn't begin to describe this aircraft; Graeme has literally reproduced a 1/3-size Waco, not simply a model of one. The airframe is made of welded chromoly steel tubes; the truss-type wing ribs are built from spruce; the covering and paint are the same as used on the full-size aircraft (Scale Stits); and every nut, bolt, washer and metal panel on the original is there in miniature. Powered by a Siedel radial engine, Graeme's beauty will soon fly at Top Gun, so keep your eyeballs peeled for more on this one-of-a-kind airplane.