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General control line discussion => Open Forum => Topic started by: Sam Laughery on April 27, 2007, 08:45:54 PM
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I'm kind of curious as to how many of you fly 1/2 A, what planes you like and what is your favorite 1/2 A engine. I haven't seen any since I got back into CL 3 or 4 years ago at least not in our area. John Brodak has had me working on converting a few kits to beam mounts and I'm just wondering how popular they are.
Thanks H^^ H^^ H^^
Sam
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I have found that most "Stunt" fliers perfer the more powerful beam mount engines however the majority of fliers are "Sport" fliers and they perfer Cox, OK, of other radial mount engines.
Larry
WWW.BLACKHAWKMODELS.COM
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I fly 1/2A. My favourite plane is the Brodak 1/2A Pathfinder with a Norvel Big Mig .061. We also have Baby Clowns and some Cox RTFs. Our Baby Clowns use Cox engines Black Widows & Golden Bees and I have an AFR Baby Clown with a Norvel Big Mig 049.
We had a Baby Flite Streak with a Cox Medallion 049 and boy was this thing fast! None of the kids would go near it.
We dont have any competitions here for 1/2A fo it's just fun fly stuff with the kids.
Cheers
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Hi there all. I fly 1/2a also. that's all i fly. Errr build. haven't flown in a few years but still build all 1/2a exclusively. Cheap to build and fly. Some great looking critters too. Mostly profile but will be starting a Pinto from scratch followed by a Baby Bird. Now in progress building a profile Spitfire and 'White Lightening'. After them I will be starting on my first two full fuselage ships. Will all be powered by Brodak 0.61's.
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Of course I am biased, opinionated, and, fortunately, expert. I have the manufactured designs, kitted models, articles and trophies to prove it. With that, the following diatribe....
There are a variety of very excellent kits and engines available for 1/2A and 1cc (.061 size as we fly in the LA area). Brodak makes several, especially the Baby Pathfinder. His Baby Fite Streak and Lightning Streak are close, though not quite as good. For the less powerful engines, the larger of his 1/2 A models, such as the Baby Clown fly really well. I flew the Baby Clown with a PAW 55 (.035 c.i.) for years until I trashed it on a traffic pylon flying demos at the Fullerton airshow. =(
RSM has several outstanding kits, especially the Pinto and Hunter Stunter. They are full fuselage models for hot .049 and regular .061 engines. They both have an excellent airfoil, great construction, and working flaps for best, smooth maneuverability. They and the Sky Sport all share the same basic wing with details such as engine mounting, landing gear, fuselage construction and styling changed to suit your needs. The Pinto is Leprechaun legal (as are the Baby Flite Streak and Baby Clown).
My ideal for small models is to have about 3500 sq.in. per cubic inch of displacement, and 20 square inch/ounce of wing loading. These numbers ONLY apply to models in the 150 to 250 square inch region. Cubic wing loading goes crazy for ranges outside that. Google "3-D wing Loading" for an explanation of REAL scaling techniques.
I have published several designs, and am working on more. The latest will be published in Flying Models in a month or so. It is the Sky Sport, and has a 180 sq.in. wing, LONG tail moment, high aspect ratio tail, twin rudders that enhance the tail aspect ratio even more, and relatively light weight to give a 22 sq.in./ounce loading. It flies on 45 foot lines with a .049, and with an .061 could probably handle 50+ feet. Competition scores have ranged from 435 to 462 so far.
Sky Sport's real advantages are the following: It does not need a spinner on the engine, the styling works perfectly with a regular engine spinner/nut. Second, there is no special hard/unavailable tank required. A simple, floppy balloon sits in a chamber disguised as cheek cowls to provide foaming-proof fuel supply. Finally, the aerodynamic layout results in a model that turns on a dime, and doesn't ask for change. You turn the corner, and it does it and stops. Period! No bobble!! This is something that flaps will do for you if you can get them tuned right, but the Sky Sport has it built in.
I owe a lot of credit to Bill Netzband for clueing me in to how to tune a flapless model. Thanks Bill!!! I have always been more than pleased to steal his ideas, they work.
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Well, More guys fly 1/2A than you might realize! Besides Larry's stuff, Blackhawk Models sells the old Musciano hollow-log designs. I design, kit and fly nearly exclusively 1/2A also (MinnesotaModeler).
My favorite engines are Norvels, .049 and especially .061, unfortunately apparently no longer available. I have high hopes for the AP Wasp engines, look like clones of Norvels but I haven't tried one yet, have read some encouraging reports from those who have. The Cox production engines are still available I think at $6.95 or something and are decent if mild little engines. Can't get a cheaper entry into the sport!
Larry's right, a good .061-powered stunt plane will handle 50 foot lines no problem. I fly (flew) my LittleAxe, full fuselage, flapped, 200 sq. in., on 48 foot lines generally, have gone as long as 52'. I usually keep my .049s on 35 to 42' lines, especially the reed-valve Coxes.
Check out my kitted designs at:
http://snipurl.com/9igp
(shameless plug)
--Ray
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Although I only have one 1/2A plane, I do fly it quite often. It is a scaled down Twister with a Cox Black Widow engine. It flies quite well on 40ft lines.
Phil
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Agree with Larry and Warren, 1/2A Pathfinder/Norvel .061 is a great combo.
300+ flights on my first one. Second one is finished, hope to test fly this weekend (wind permitting) prior to Phil Coopy's Fly In next weekend.
Have flown a neighbor's Brodak Baby Clown w/Norvel .061, 48' lines, too much power for this plane when flown by a beginner. Plan to install a Norvel or Brodak .049.
I like the idea of beam mounts on the larger (ie .061 compatible) 1/2A's.
"Our" 1/2A Fierce Arrow project has yet to be flown, by the current builders, so cant comment, yet!
Just my $.02 worth.
Roger
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Considering that many available 1/2a engines are beam mount type engines, it seems to me to just make good sense to design some kits for them. These engines also require provisions for a fuel tank. Currently I have a hand full of 1/2a engines but only two that I regularly use. One is beam mount, and the other is radial mount.
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All my kits are set up as beam mount or radial mount, per buyer's preference. Personally I prefer beam mounts.
--Ray
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Our larger 1/2A models, Dick Sarpolus kits, are set up to use both type of engines and the new line coming out later this year will also use both types.
Larry
Black Hawk Models
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That's pretty impressive. I may have to give it a try. The last 1/2A plane I flew was the Fire Baby in the 50s. The two we've converted to beam mount so far are the Baby Lightning Streak and the Cosmic Wind. The Lightning Streak is available now and the Lil Toni should be ready in a couple of weeks.
Sam
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I haven't been able to fly cl for a couple of years thanks to a small stroke affecting my balance, but I should be able to get back into it this year. Just finished a Firebaby II with the same OK Cub .049B that was in the Firebaby I had back about 1950. Bit gummed up, but still seems to have great compression.
I also have a Monarch 1/2A Vitamin in the works, which will use a newer (only about 50 years old) Cub .074 with the integral tank. In the garage, I have a Sterling F-84 with BW, Sterling profile D-VII with BW, Cox Cobra heli (Actually an autogyro), Cox Hyper Viper, Top Flight 1/2 A Flite Streak, Goldberg Lil Satan, Sterling profile Pits, and a Nieuport 17 with a Pee Wee .020, scratch built from an older FM article, and an old Scientific Big Otto with a BW. My next little guy will be a Sterling Viper with probably a Norvel.
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Hi Phil
That 1/2A Twister looks great! Did you draw up the plan for that one yourself? I wouldn't mind building one. I have a full size Twister with a Saito 30 on it and love flying it... it's one of my favourites. I would love to have a 1/2A size version for flying on the beach with the children.
Cheers
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I would guess that most of you would think I prefer 1/2A's, since 7 of the 8 models I built this winter were 1/2A's or smaller. Actually I like big twin engine scale CL models the best, but they require a lot of time and expense to build and compete with.
I guess I just got on a "little plane" kick this winter. They have been fun to design and build. Now I get to fly them any time I want to as they fit in a small flying site.
I can also teach my grandchildren to fly them at very little cost.
Clancy
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Count me in as a 1/2A flier I may at times not have a larger plane to fly but I always have a couple of 1/2As in the hanger ready to fly. A list Sig Skyray, Sig Beechcraft, Queen Bee. On the bench Pinto, Little Legend Nobler, two of my own designs. y1
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I fly 1/2a because Larry Renger flys 1/2a. All them nice planes he mentioned I never get to fly them, I get to fly the indestructable foamy ones. But they are fun and we do get a lot of laughs out of them. Like yesterday when the "expert" was flying one of his wings and it came in on him. We looked at each like what happend? Larry does have this wing called the Plastic Fantastic and it is a kick in the pants to fly, We had Stephen, my wifes son, doing figure eights with it and he has only been flying for a couple of months.
Andy
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I have several 1/2A's in my stable. A few Sig Skyrays, Pinto, couple of Hackers that my brother-in-law made his maiden flights on. But, most of my 1/2A's are mouse racers called Streakers that make great trainers when equiped with 6-3 props and engine set a little rich. One thing about 1/2A's is the youngster are intimidated by them. DOC Holliday
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Just look at the 1/2A forum some topics have 3 pages or more.
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Sam-
I myself have converted 2 Brodak 1/2a planes to beam mount for a Norvel Big Mig .049. The Cosmic Wind, and the Swea Pea, both fly well, but the best one I have flown yet would have to be the 1/2a pathfinder. The baby clown and baby ringmaster are great stunters when built right.
Good luck with your building!!
Jordan