AIR WAVES

Model Airplane News, Sep 2004

WRITE TO US! We welcome your comments and suggestions. Letters should be addressed to "Airwaves," Model Airplane News, 100 East Ridge, Ridgefield, CT 06877-4606 USA; email man@airage.com. Letters may be edited for clarity and brevity. We regret that, owing to the tremendous numbers of letters we receive, we cannot respond to every one.

BUYERS' GUIDE BONUS!

I just subscribed to Model Airplane News. Thank you for your special Buyers' Guide (August 2004) issue. As a newcomer to RC, I fly electric-powered foamies and have been looking for more information on a good, glow-powered trainer/sport model. All the kits and accessories in your guide did the trick. Many thanks for thinking of the beginners!

Clayton Moore

[email]

Clayton, we're glad you found the Model Airplane News 2004 Buyers' Guide helpful. It's good to have a handy reference source whether you're a beginner or an old pro. Good luck with your new glow-powered trainer! GY

CLEANING LATEX PAINT

I am a regular reader of Model Airplane News and just finished reading both of your articles on latex painting (April 2001 and November 2003 issues). I have become very interested and would like to paint my 40-size P-51 with latex. I have only one question: after every flight, I wipe down my plane with a paper towel and Windex; will this have an effect on the paint if I clear-coat it? Thank you for your help.

Ryan Nolan

Penfield, NY

Ryan, Windex will not have any effect on the clearcoat, if you've used a good-quality dearcoat that is fuelproof (glow fuel). One suggestion: after you've finished painting the latex, make sure that it has cured fully before you apply any clearcoat over it. With some latex paints, this "full-cure" cycle can take as long as a month. To test, select a spot on the plane that has a hard, solid surface, such as the bottom of the cowl. Press on this area with your thumb and look to see whether the thumbprint remains. If it does, the paint has not fully cured. Don't worry about the thumbprint; as the paint finishes its cure cycle, the print will disappear. When the paint has fully cured, apply the clearcoat in three or four fine coats. The first coat should be a very light mist. Let this coat dry to a tacky state before you apply the next coat. Each coat after that can be a bit "wetter." The key, though, is not to flood the latex with clearcoat. If it gets too wet, the clearcoat solvents will attack the latex. Go light and easy, and all will be fine. Good luck on your P-51 project.

Roy Vaillancourt

SHRINKING PLANS?

I have a complaint! I purchased a set of the Gary Allen-designed ¼-scale Fokker D-VII plans from RCStore.com several years ago, and I started to build from them this past winter. Your article and the description say that the model is supposed to have an 88-inch span! I measured the span, and it is only 87.75 inches! What gives? I stored my rolled plans in a drawer in my basement workshop. Did you just round up the span measurement or do you have a printing problem?

Erick Underwood

New York, NY

Erick, discrepancies in length measurement can indeed creep into model airplane plans, especially large paper plans such as Gary's Fokker D-VII. This is why our original plans-the ones that are used to make copies-are inked onto clear plastic material called Mylar. What I fear has happened to your plans is that over the years, they have shrunk because of changes in temperature and humidity levels. Mylar does not expand or shrink. Shrinking ¼ inch is not all that bad, however, and you can make the last rib bay on each wing panel fainch wider than shown and build the wings without further worry. Good luck with your project! GY

SUPERTIGRE G90

I just bought an older, "new-in-box" SuperTigre G90 glow engine from eBay and can't wait to put it in the nose of one of my .60-size airplanes. I have looked in back issues of Model Airplane News but can't find any information on this engine. Can you help me out with some basic info and recommendations for this engine? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thomas Bragg

[email]

Thomas, the SuperTigre line of 2-stroke glow engines manufactured in Bologna, Italy, has a reputation for producing good low-end torque. The G90 can trace its roots back to the SuperTigre .61, which was bored out to become the G75 and then enlarged once more to produce the .90ci G90. Now distributed by Great Planes, the SuperTigre engine line is experiencing new popularity, and we should be seeing more of these great ringed engines at the flying field.

If you want to learn more about this engine, you can find Mike Billinton's G90 review in the December 1996 issue of Model Airplane News. I also converted a G90 to run on gasoline by adding a Nelson/ProSpark electronic ignition system to it. Check out my "Thinking Big" column in the July 1999 issue for more details! GY