AIR WAVES

Many thanks for the great flight tips, and please keep Quique's stuff coming!

FLYING WITH QUIQUE

I'm a student of 3D aerobatics, and I enjoy all of your flying-related articles. I've noticed that Model Airplane News is publishing aerobatic how-to articles by Quique Somenzini. The July issue featured his Harrier roll, and I'm happy to report that I finally get it! Thanks to those great illustrations and the breakdown of the maneuver into simple steps, I am now doing the Harrier roll the way it's supposed to be done. Many thanks for the great flight tips, and please keep Quique's stuff coming!

RANDY WATKINS, HUNTINGTON, WV

Randy, thanks for the encouragement. We love working with Quique; he's a great pilot who loves to share his techniques. The highly detailed flight illustrations are computergenerated by our buddy Marc D'Antonio of FX Models. The combination of a pro pilot and a pro illustrator is a match made in heaven! GY

PLANS SEARCH

I have been a modeler for more than 35 years and like to scratch-build. Over the years, I have compiled a fair collection of model-airplane plans-many of which I ordered from Model Airplane News. How can I decipher your plan numbers so I can look up the construction articles the plans were published with? Lately, when I have ordered plans from your service, small photocopies of the articles have been included, but I would much prefer to read the fullcolor articles from my magazine collection. Thanks for supplying the hobby with some great designs; they sure do beat the current crop of ARFs I see at the local flying patch!

MALCOLM EDWARDS SR., CHICAGO, IL

Malcolm, I am pleased that you enjoy our construction articles. Our plans library uses a simple 5-digit system to identify the issues the plans come from. For example: FSP 08861 represents the August 1986 issue, and FSP 03791 indicates the March 1979 issue. The last digit (usually, either a 1 or a 2) tells how many plans were in that issue. In recent years, the last digits have been replaced with alphabetic references: "A" for the first plans set offered in a given issue, "B" for the second plans set, etc. Hope this clears things up! GY

MODEL-BUILDING FOAM

I enjoyed Mark Rittinger's article on the B-26 Marauder in the December 2004 issue of Model Airplane News. The article mentioned "pink foam" insulation as a major building material. I looked in building supply stores but found only 4x8-foot by 2-inch sheets of white polystyrene. Is this the same material, or is the pink insulation different (and better) for modeling?

STEVE SMITH, SACRAMENTO, CA

Steve, four types of foam are typically used in RC modeling: white foam (expanded polystyrene) is available in 1-, 1.5- and 2-pound densities; pink foam (Owens-Corning Foamular 150 or 250) is available in a 1.8-pounds-per-cubic-foot density; blue Dow foam comes in 1.8- and 2-pound densities. The fourth type is EPP foam (expanded polypropylene); this is commonly used for shipping. Pink and blue are ordinarily used in the U.S. as basement insulation. Perhaps you've had trouble finding them because many homes in California don't have basements'.

Pink and blue foams are "closed-cell": millions of tiny air bubbles are trapped in them, and this makes them very easy to sand and shape. White is beaded, and it can be difficult to sand, but since it's available in your area, you can use it for wings instead of using pink or blue-if you can find it in the correct density. Thick wings can use 1-pound-density white; thinner wings benefit from the strength of 2-pound white, pink, or blue.

The foam fuselage on my Marauder is made of pink foam. Blue or 2-pound white would also work, but keep in mind that the white variety is a bit more difficult to sand and shape. I find pink and blue the best and easiest to work with when forming the fuselages and wings featured in my "Electric Warbirds" series of 42-inch-wingspan models. It provides a good balance of workability, cost, dent-resistance, strength and weight. Happy shopping! Mark Rittinger

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Copyright Air Age Publishing Aug 2005
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