AIR WAVES

Model Airplane News, Oct 2004

TRI-MOTOR MAGIC

I just read the review of the electric-powered Kavan Ford Tri-Motor in your September 2004 issue. I have been looking for a model of the "Tin Goose" ever since I flew in one a few years ago at the EAA AirVenture airshow at the Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wl. Flying in the Ford Trimotor was like going back in time. It sure was noisy, though; I could have used earplugs! I would like to convert the Kavan model to the original land-based configuration and to duplicate the marking of the EAA's 1986 restoration aircraft. Do you think this would be possible? Thanks for a great magazine!

Bob Conrad

Appleton, WI

Bob, I'll bet your ride in the EAA's Ford Trimotor was memorable! I hope that you took a lot of photos so you can accurately paint the Kavan model. Considering the model's lightweight construction, I'm sure that by adding a little plywood and then using bent, 1/16-inch music wire for the gear struts, you could, indeed, convert the float-equipped Tin Goose into a land animal! A set of William Bros, vintage wheels would do the trick nicely. If your conversion is successful, send us a few snapshots for "Pilot Projects." Good luck! GY

MORE CORSAIR

I'm an avid reader of Model Airplane News, and I always turn to the letters section first. In the August issue, in the "Bent-Wing Warbird" reply, the editor attempted to explain the reason for the Corsair's inverted gull wing. It's true that the purpose of the wing design was, in part, to provide better prop clearance and shorten the landing gear's Oleo struts, but there were two other very good reasons for the inverted gull wing.

In Barrett Tillman's book "Corsair!," the author points out that the wing design was used primarily to reduce aerodynamic drag at the wing-to-fuselage juncture. (The wings meet the fuselage at a 90-degree angle.) This eliminates the need for huge wing fillets similar to those seen on the P-51s, P-47s and P-40s that were built in the same era. The other motivation behind this particular wing design was to allow the wings to be folded directly over the canopy, thereby reducing the plane's "footprint" on carrier decks. The landing gear's straight-aft retraction also permitted larger internal wing tanks. All in all, the Corsair was quite an aircraft.

Samuel L. Will [email]

Samuel, thanks for the additional information on the Corsair's unusual wing shape; you sound like quite a devotee! GY

RETRO INTERCEPTOR

Three cheers for Dave Rubelen! I just ordered a set of plans for his modern, miniature version of Pappy deBolt's Interceptor (August 2004 issue). Considering the ever-rising popularity of electric-powered scale flyers and giant gas-burning acrobats, I was very pleased to see you publish a classic, userfriendly, ½A glow-powered sport design! I am a fan of the Small Model Airplane Lovers League (SMALL) and have several Norvel BigMig-powered sport models. I really enjoy flying ½A models! I hope to have my Interceptor Jr. ready by the time the Dallas Radio Control Club holds its Small Steps FlyIn in September. Thanks again, and please keep us "small guys" in mind when you plan future construction articles!

Ty Wilson [email]

Ty, we always try to balance the content of Model Airplane News, and ½A-powered glow models are part of our recipe for appealing to all of our readers. Dave Rubelen has designed and flown small RC models for a very long time, and I'm certain that you'll like what he has in store for us in the future! The Small Steps event is on September 25, and I bet the DRCC members and "Mr. Small Steps," Randy Randolph, will be pleased to see you and your Interceptor Jr. there. Have fun! GY

TERRY'S F-100F

Love the photo of Terry Nitsch's winning F-100F Super Sabre in the August issue! I was at Top Gun this year, and Terry's jet was the most impressive one I have ever seen! Do you have any more information on this colorful aircraft, and can you tell me how he got that shiny metal finish on it?

Michael Thompson [email]

Michael, Terry Nitsch is a very talented scale competitor who has a number of Top Gun wins to his credit. His most recent aircraft is the F-100F Super Sabre you mentioned; he built it from a Bob Violett Models kit. The model has a 70-inch span and is powered by an AMT 450 turbine engine. The paint scheme is modeled after Dean Cutshall's full-size jet that has been flown at Terry's jet event, the "Heart of Ohio Jet Scramble" in Columbus.

The polished aluminum look requires lots of hand work. It's a combination of 'materials that begins with a supersmooth primer coat on the fiberglass surfaces followed by the application of a product called FliteMetal (available at scaleaero.com); it's adhesive-backed aluminum foil that's applied panel by panel. The panels are then sanded with progressively finer grits of emery paper and then hand-polished for the final finish. Where paint was needed, Terry used Ditzler basecoat (aka "DBC") automotive paint and Concept clear auto paint. He burnished the rivets by hand and obtained the small screw heads and nomenclature markings from Pro-Mark ([618] 524-2440; pro-mark.com).