Who is the modeler that makes custom made spinners. He's in Australia. I lost his contact info.

Help would be appreciated.

Charles

The Kilsdonk article " Your Propeller & You" which included instructions and a template to build your own pitch gauge was published in Model Aviation, August 1975.  Model Aviation also published another article "Build a Propeller Pitch Gauge" by Don Ogren in May 2007.  Useful stuff if you do not have access to Prather pitch gauge and some of the knock offs that have appeared over the years.

Keith

John Kilsdonk had a pitch gauge construction article in the August 1975 issue of Model Aviation. The article is available in the tech tips section of nclra.org.

I don't want to argue with Ted's writings but I thought I might add a little input here.

If you decide to take off with the wind on the back of the model be prepared that any up elevator before model is at speed will tip it over and eat the prop.  I have seen this time and time and time and time and time again at all levels of flying from the nats top 20 day down to the weekend sport session.  So many carbon props, many that can't be duplicated, torn up during this type of launch. Wind from behind the model hinders the surfaces effectiveness.  They actually work opposite of what they are supposed to do.

What works for me on high wind days is to take off dead down wind or just a few feet past dead down wind.  Prior to release level the elevator and keep the model level as it comes up to speed.  The wind will help it lift off ground faster than normal but you will have control over it with a simple step back if needed.  Or you can feed a little down into it and keep it on the ground until it is up to speed and then lift off.  You have to be off of the ground prior top 1/4 lap anyway so you can be up before the wind is directly into the models face.  I was once told a very long time ago these "These things were built to fly so get it in air, QUICKLY!"   

Give them a call....he might have dropped it when it became scarce 

I mostly build from scratch, and that would certainly be something I might actually put together.

I figured I oughta try to copy & paste the mysterious information I emailed to Joe. This was written by Mr. Ted Fancher, FYI. It seemed to me that Joe's setup might be improved by working on some of these suggestions, particularly items 1, 2, 3 & 4. Especially note the thoughts about the wingover! Thanks to Ted for putting this stuff in writting to help the rest of us.     Steve


"There are things you need to do to prepare for flying in high winds. Most important concept to remember is that stunt flying is ALL about energy management. Converting kinetic energy into potential and back. Energy management is critical when flying in windy conditions. Here's what works for me:

Setup:

1) Don't bother flying nose heavy models in high winds. There is no way around this: the further forward CG(Center of Gravity) from CL(Center of Lift), the larger the arm of force, the mode wind will push the model around. Make sure models have CG where designer intended them. If unsure where it it should be, balance the model so that CG is 6-12mm in front(can someone verify that it's in FRONT and not BEHIND, I'm always fuzzy about this) of CL.
2) Never trim in high winds. Make sure to trim the model when winds are less than 5km.
3) if you are using 3 blade prop, switch to larger diameter 2-blade prop with SQUARE tips.
4) increase launch RPM's to get .1-.2 faster lap times.

Flying maneuvers:

Takeoff:
Launch so that the wind is in the back of the model. The idea is have wind help the model accelerate(build up energy) on the downwind side(right side) of the circle. The goal is to get airborne just before you cross over from downwind to upwind side of the circle. The reason for doing it before crossing over is that you will need to establish gradual climb before you get to the up wind side. Once you're on the upwind side, the model will begin to slow down. slow = poor response to control inputs. If you are not established on the climb out, it will be difficult to change direction on the upwind side. As a general rule, the model will respond slower to control inputs on the upwind side of the circle.

Level flight:
There is not much to do here but to prepare for one of the most difficult maneuvers: wingover. To do that, you need to build up momentum. Start accelerating the model by walking backward in circle, keeping the model in font of you. The last lap before the wingover you should be walking backward as fast as possible without tripping over.

Wingover
This is the most difficult maneuver because the model is heavy(full of fuel) and has forward CG. Make soft entries into turns 1 and 3.The entry should be as if you are starting a round circle rather than a typical square entry. Another critical component is to enter directly upwind. You have to abandon the notion that you can steer the model in high winds. No amount of corrections will make the model fly straight wingover if you did not enter directly downwind. If you miss the turn and the model starts move sideways, accept the error and fly the rest of the maneuver in the direction the wind is blowing.

Inside and outside round loops, Inside square loop
Flying round loops directly downwind will cause the model to move faster and faster with every loop. This is called the "windup" and it may cause the model go so fast that it will fly into the ground. Key here is to avoid windup by biasing the center of loops to the left of the downwind for inside loops and to the right for the outsides. Amount of bias is directly proportional to how high the winds are. More wind, more bias. Start by flying insides 3m past direct downwind. If you get the amount of bias correct, the model will fly loops as if there is no wind! Oh yes, one critical detail: NEVER FLY above 45 degrees!!! think of 45 as "do not cross" line. If you do, the lines will go slack and the model will be at the mercy of Boreas, the God of the Wind!
Outside Squares
Same bias rules apply as with round loops. At the entry into the maneuver, the model will be going very fast. Turning down will make it go even faster. There is very little you can do so be prepared to turn hard and quick. There is one very good trick to lower the entry speed to somewhere manageable: do not start climb to enter outsides until you are on the downwind side of the circle. Speed loss due to the climb will offset the speed gain provided by the wind on the downwind side. The steeper the climb, the slower the entry will be. Don't make it too slow though: slow = lack of control.

Triangle

Bias just like you would with rounds. The first turn will be on the upwind side and the wind will make the model turn harder that usual so there is no need to make that hard first turn. Let wind help you. The less you turn, the more energy you will have for turn 3.

Horizontal round and square 8

DO NOT BIAS! DO NOT FLY ABOVE 45! These maneuvers should be directly down wind. Be prepared for the model to slow down significantly at the top and adjust your timing accordingly. Most pilots develop a rhythm for squared 8's: evenly spaced turn, turn, turn. That rhythm is your enemy in high winds! Fly by watching position of the model instead.


Vertical 8

This seems to be the most difficult maneuver for most pilots because most pilots fly large inside loop which places the outside loop past 90 degrees. Past 90, there is not just the wind slowing it down, the wind s actually pushes it DOWN towards you! The key here is to keep inside loop tight below 45, directly downwind. Remember the wind up issue when flying round loops directly down wind? Well, here we NEED that wind up to build energy for the outside top loop! Another key element here is to keep line tension up. One way to do it is to shorten the lines. I typically fly with my hand almost extended. When flying the outside loop, I bring the handle closer to my chest and begin to I will begin to kneel on one knee. What this does is decrease the radius of the circle the model flies which increases line tension. Stand back up and move the hand to regular position for the down side.

Hourglass

Unlike other maneuvers that have just one or two tricks to keep flying, hourglass needs 5 tricks!
1) Build up energy by walking backwards like just like you did for the wingover. slowly build up the speed, so that you are walking the fastest during the last 1/4 lap before turn 1.
2) make a shallow turn up. Since turn 1 takes place on the upwind side, the wind will make the turn steeper than usual so you need to account for it.
3) The wind will push the model after turn 1 and will help the model speed up. At this point you need to build your energy for turns 2 and 3. Extend you arm completely if possible
4) As you approach turn 2, the lines will begin to slack and you will not be able to make that turn unless you keep the tension up! Start contracting your arm and kneel. Shortening the flying radius transfers built up energy into model speed and line tension.
5) Turns 2 and 3 should be done very quickly one after the other. Turn 2 forces the model to turn hard into the wind which kills most of the energy. The more you stay up there the slower the model will get.

After turn 3, the model will be traveling down plus be pushed by the wind. This will translate into a lot of speed. Turn 4 will come very quick and suddenly. You need to keel the energy. Stand back up and extend your arm. If the wind is really strong, I go as far as make a step forward..

Overhead 8
Make a gradual entry from level flight. The key here is not to loose energy on the way up. Spend as little time flying into the wind by keeping the loops tight. Most pilots fly big overhead loops. DO NOT DESCEND BELOW 45!!! Large loops mean very long flight into the wind! Another trick is to contract the arm/kneel when flying into the wind and to release/stand on the downwind side of the loops. It is also VERY IMPORTANT that you fly the maneuver DIRECTLY overhead. This is again has to do with how much time you spend flying into the wind.

Clover
There is little you can do to keep the tension. All you have is make sure you don't cross 90 degrees on loops 1 and 3. Contract arm/kneel as needed to keep line tension, stand/release when wind is pushing the model to store the energy. On the final climb out, the model has lost the most energy, it's climbing AND flying into the wind. This is where models get lost. As soon as you cross 90 degrees, the maneuver is over and you can start the turn downwind.

Landing
Try to land on the down wind side as the wind as this will be where line tension is the highest.This is important since the model will start moving INTO the wind and will try to lift off. you need line tension to keep the model down on the ground. I usually aim for 5m before directly downwind as my landing point."


 

Where is the heavy silkspan?  Brodak only lists the light and the medium.

There were/are a LOT more straight and great Vectors than warped....and the company took care of any issues.....
As far as I know, no electric Vector ARF/ARCs but he does have a nifty laser cut set that allows very easy conversion to electric.

I build primarily scratch- I could not envision wanting an ARF. Not a put down- just that being a modeler means your hands and mind can do almost anything. Building a plane from hand drawn plans is a thrill and I wouldn't turn down a gimme, but I have planes and projects so hopefully someone with dreams can win. Thanks Admiral.