Control Tower March 1997 [Archive]

jbourke

Mar 01, 1997, 01:00 AM

<h2 align="center">Column Table of Contents</h2>

<a href="#E-Zone News">Ezone News</a> 
<a href="#New Products">New Products</a> 
<a href="#Photo Gallery">Photo Gallery</a> 
<a href="#My New Workbench">My New Workbench</a> 
<a href="#Letters">Letters to the Editor</a>

<h2 align="left"><a name="E-Zone News">E-Zone News</a> </h2>

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<td><h3>Article Contest </h3>
Congratulations to Bill Bowne, who is the winner of a $40 gift certificate to Unbeaten
Path Imports. Bill won the E Zone's last article contest for his construction article of
the PT-19 (which is also our feature article for the month). My thanks to Bill for a job
well done. You can order plans for the PT-19 right from this web site.
The remaining prizes are being randomly distributed to the remaining authors. My thanks
to everyone who sent in an article. The contest generated several outstanding articles
which you will all see in the coming months.
<h3 align="left">New Site Features</h3>
This month the E Zone is presenting two new Web Site Services. 
<ul>
<li>Our new <a href="http://www.ezonemag.com/ezone_db">Classifieds</a>
section allows users to enter information about upcoming events, personal ads, for
sale/wanted postings, and other information. Users can also search through the listings
for postings that are of interest to them. 
</li>
<li>The <a href="http://www.ezonemag.com/disc">Electric Flight Web Board</a>
also has its debut this month. The Web Board is an on-line discussion center that uses
normal web browsers so users can quickly leave questions and chat with fellow electric
flight hobbyists. This service in no way supersedes EFLIGHT, the mailing list, but it
should be useful for users who want to ask quick questions, or who do not want to go
through the trouble of subscribing to EFLIGHT.
</li>
</ul>
Want to hear something exciting? <a href="/articles/ezonemag/ctower/ftp://ftp.ezonemag.com/misc/f5b_2.wav">Check out the WAV file that Dennis Weatherly
recently uploaded to our ftp site</a>. Its a recording of Steve Neu's F5B ship wowing the
crowd at the KRC.</td>
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<hr>

<h2 align="left"><a name="New Products">New Products</a></h2>

If you are a vendor with a press release or product announcement that you would like to
share, <a href="http://rcgroups.com/shared/nospam.php?u=jbourke&d=ezonemag.com">email me at jbourke(at)ezonemag.com</a>. 

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<td><h3>Keyence Micro Helis</h3>
Keyence has been manufacturing micro helis for some time, but unfortunately they have
not chosen to export them outside of Japan, yet. They have recently put up a web page with
several neat photos. These helis are small (less than one foot in length in some cases)
and are absolutely marvelous to look at. Check out their great web site and don't be
afraid to drop them a line for some info. I am in contact with the company and I will
share any news which they pass on to me. <a href="http://www.keyence.co.jp/hobby/hobbye.html">http://www.keyence.co.jp/hobby/hobbye.html</a>
<h3>New Astro Super Boxes are here!</h3>
Astro's New Super high ratio Gear Boxes are now available for your next giant scale
project.. The largest size super box Model 714 fits the Cobalt 60 and 90 motors. the 714
uses a 60 tooth stailnless steel spur gear and an 18 tooth stainless steel pinion gear.
The Model 713 fits the Astro Cobalt 25, and 40 motors. It uses a 59 tooth aluminum helical
gear and a 19 tooth helical brass pinion gear. Now the modeler can swing really large
scale size props. When fitted with the new super box the standard cobalt 40 swings an
18x10 prop! Now you can fly that Quarter Scale Cub on a Cobalt 40.
Super Box Prices<ul>
<li>Super Box Model 714 ...Retail $79.95...Special internet price $69.95</li>
<li>Super Box Model 713 ...Retail $69.95...Special internet price $59.95</li>
<li>Optional 20 tooth pinion for 714...$10.00</li>
</ul>
Visit Astro-Flight on the web at <a href="http://www.astroflight.com">http://www.astroflight.com</a></td>
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<hr>

<h2><a name="Photo Gallery">Photo Gallery</a></h2>

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<td width="50%"><img src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/ezonemag/ctower/../../images/jimryan2.jpg" width="251" height="281"></td>
<td width="50%"><img src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/ezonemag/ctower/../../images/jimryan3.jpg" width="248" height="260"></td>
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<td colspan="2">Jim Ryan with his P-38 and Hellcat models. Jim has provided a write-up of
his fiberglass finishing techniques for this month's issue. <a href="/articles/ezonemag/ctower/../1997/jimglass.htm">Read
Jim's Article</a></td>
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<td width="50%"><img src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/ezonemag/ctower/../../images/efreak2.jpg" width="359" height="282">
Dave Harris sent in these photos of his Electro Freak, a
modified Electrostreak. Wing is foam and balsa sheeted with span increased to 52".
Separate servos for aileron and no rudder. Powered by Aveox 1412 2Y motor and 10 1700 cell
packs. Rx and its battery pack are placed behind the wing. All up weight is about 58 oz.</td>
<td width="50%"><img src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/ezonemag/ctower/../../images/efreak.jpg" width="282" height="336"> 
Looks like Dave's plane has plenty of power.</td>
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<hr>

<h2><a name="My New Workbench">My New Workbench</a></h2>

I recently moved about 2000 miles to a new home in Dallas, Texas. For the first time in
my life I have a dedicated room for my hobby. No more building models on the kitchen table
or having to work in an unfinished stone basement.

Before even unpacking my models, I decided to build a workbench. 

<img src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/ezonemag/ctower/../../images/workb3.jpg" width="344" height="228">

Luckily, my handyman brother-in-law, Marty, was visiting that week and
"volunteered" to help. In fact, he and his son, Josh, ended up doing most of the
work after I threw my back out while lifting a heavy sheet of plywood. I had to lay on the
floor with my legs propped up for most of the day, but luckily I was able to find the
energy to "supervise" the progress of the workbench so it met my specifications.
I sometimes wonder if Marty will ever visit again!

My new bench is 9 feet long in total. 6 feet of that is a very flat table used for
building models. The rightmost 3 feet is a soldering station and includes a pegboard for
hanging miscellaneous parts. 

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<td width="50%"><img src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/ezonemag/ctower/../../images/workb1.jpg" width="334" height="233"> 
The Building Board portion of the workbench. </td>
<td width="50%">"Celotex" insulation material is being used as the actual
building surface. If you aren't familiar with Celotex, it is a spongy, styrofoam-like
sheet that is stuck between two thick layers of paper-like sheet. Its great for sticking
pins in, but a little bit soft. Ceiling tiles are also useful. I tend to switch between
the two materials depending on what I'm building. While building the wing, I use the
Celotex as the size allows me to stick the whole plan on the building surface. While
sheeting the wing I use the ceiling tiles so the pins have something to "grab"
into.I placed some models on the bottom shelf when I took the picture. That area now
contains a couple of power tools and my Shop Vac.</td>
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<td width="50%">There is an outlet strip on the left edge. The feet of the bench are
adjustable so that the height can be exactly matched to the building board (thanks
Marty!).The pegboard is useful for hanging lots of stuff. I'm an incredibly messy
person so it helps if I have a place for everything and everything in its place, as they
say.
The lamp attached to the top shelf is a simple shop lamp that cost only $7 USD. It is
adjustable and really helps me see what I'm working on.
Lets have a contest. Who can identify the most items on the peg board? A free EFLIGHT
button to the winner! </td>
<td width="50%"><img src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/ezonemag/ctower/../../images/workb2.jpg" width="230" height="322"> 
The soldering station area of the workbench. </td>
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The entire workbench was built for just under $100 (US). This low price came about due
to the simplicity of materials used. The workbench top is a damaged door which I purchased
at the local hardware store for only a few dollars. The most expensive piece of wood used
in the bench is the 3/4" plywood shelf underneath the building board, which cost $13
(US). The rest of the construction is just 2x4s, pegboard, and cheap particle board.

The fancy brackets used to fasten the 2x4 legs together are from a company called
"Simpson Strong-Ties". I purchased two of their workbench kits for $20 each.
Each kit includes plans, screws, brackets, and a materials list. Even though a workbench
is pretty easy to design and build, it is awful nice to have such a great starting point.
I highly recommend one of these kits if you intend to build a workbench anytime soon. I
also highly recommend that you lift with your legs, not your back!

<hr>

<h2><a name="Letters">Letters</a> </h2>

I love receiving letters from people who have viewed the site. The following is a
sampling of the letters I've received this month.  If you have a modeling photo or
technique you'd like to share email me at <a href="http://rcgroups.com/shared/nospam.php?u=jbourke&d=ezonemag.com">jbourke(at)ezonemag.com</a>.
Beware: anyone who asks me for advice via email has a chance of seeing their letter in
virtual print the next month! (especially if they say something nice about the site- hint,
hint!)

Some of the letters are edited to remove irrelevant or personal information. My
comments are in boldface type. If you do not see this sentence in boldface, get a new
browser or the next section will be a wee bit confusing.

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<td width="100%">Date: Mon, 17 Feb 1997 16:45:42 -0600 
From: Brad Butler <bbutler(at)midwest.net> 
To: jbourke(at)ezonemag.com 
 
Jim, I have been flying a electra for a couple of months with a master 
airscrew flight pack with a 2.5 to 1 ratio and absolutly love it. The 
motor that it comes with it leaves a lot to be desired with its non 
replaceable brushes. I'm using an ESC but the motor has already burned up 
with only about 5 flights on it. Any ideas of good replacement motors? 
I've got a reverse rotation Magnetic Mayhem RC truck motor laying around 
that I plan to try. If you have any other ideas I would really appreciate 
them. 
 
Brad Butler 
bbutler(at)midwest.com 
Brad,
Just about any Graupner Speed 600 clone will work fine for you. Sig labels a
motor which is available a little bit cheaper than the Graupner variant, but both should
be found for just over $10 (US). 
I don't know anything about the Magnetic Mayhem motor, so I cannot advise you
on that. Most of the R/C car motors will operate fine if a gearbox is used and the
amperage is kept within reason (less than 20 amps if possible). You shouldn't run most of
them direct drive, as they are designed to be geared down and it will be hard to find a
suitable prop for a direct drive application. Again, these are just general guidelines. I
don't know the numbers for the Magnetic Mayhem motor, specifically (cool name though-
where do the R/C car guys come up with these motor names).
Before you thoroughly test out your new motor, whichever one you choose, try
measuring the amperage you are drawing. Your first motor should have lasted more than five
flights and I'm concerned that you are over-propped. In general, its not a good idea to
draw more than 20 amps on a ferrite motor for an extended period of time.
<hr>
Date: Sat, 28 Jun 1997 21:51:39 -0400 
From: Jay <jay(at)cyberbeach.net> 
To: jbourke(at)ezonemag.com 
Subject: rc chat 
 
Hello, 
Just wanted to tell you that I have created an RC chat site for us RCer's, 
so we can pass information a little more easily. It's at 
<a href="http://www.cyberbeach.net/~jay/rc_chat">http://www.cyberbeach.net/~jay/rc_chat</a> 
Hope to see you there!! 
 
Thanks, 
Jay (if you see this name say hi)
Jay,
I usually don't visit IRC sites because I am so busy with email, but I hope it
is a great success. 
<hr>
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 19:42:09 -0500 (EST) 
From: Killgeebee(at)aol.com 
To: jbourke(at)ezonemag.com 
Subject: No Subject 
 
Jim, 
My name is Craig Killer and I am on my second model. My first being the well 
kwown and loved CG Electra. The second however is the Hobby Lobby Jr 
Telemaster (electric) fitted with a Astro 05 geared. I have calculated the 
finished weight to be about 57 to 60 oz. . Question? Have you heard about the 
flying characteristics of this model and are there any tips out there?
Craig,
I haven't flown the Jr. Telemaster. Maybe someone out there in internet land
will see this and give you their impressions via email. Lets take a look at the numbers...
An Astro 05 is usually run on 7 or 8 cells. I'll assume 7. You can draw 30 amps
with no problem (Select a prop which does this). This means our watts is 210 (7volts x 30
amps = 210 watts). The rule of thumb is that we need at least 50 watts for every pound of
aircraft. Your plane weighs roughly 3.5 lbs, so you have somewhere around 60 watts/pound.
You will have no problem rising off the ground or performing aerobatics. 
<hr>
Date: Thu, 27 Feb 1997 23:14:25 -0800 
From: Walter Gray <gwr7mm(at)sympatico.ca> 
To: jbourke(at)ezonemag.com 
Subject: Permission to distribute FAQ's 
 
The Oakville Model Flying Club up in Ontario with a 1996 membership of 
300 members, has only 6 electric flyers. In an effort to promote greater 
interest in electric flight at OMFC, two of us are putting out a little 
newsletter for each club meeting called "Electrifying News". 
 
We would appreciate having your permission to reproduce selected items 
from your excellent Electric Flight FAQ on an occasional basis in order 
to spread the "good news" about electric flight around our club. 
 
All excerpts would be fully credited, of course. 
 
It is an uphill battle in this club but we hope to make some progress 
this year. We have been able to get OMFC to host its first electric fun 
fly on the 24th of May and I hope to get a notice to you with full 
details hopefully for inclusion in EFlight. 
 
Walt Gray 

Walt,
The official policy for distributing information found on the E Zone is as
follows:
Provided that there are no further limitations listed inside the article by the
author, all articles on the E Zone can be freely distributed by non-electronic means for
non-commercial purposes.
The plain language of the above is that you can go ahead and pass out as many
paper copies of our material as you want, but you cannot transfer the information via
electronic media. The reason for the limitation is that we are considering offering
electronic publishing of the magazine in CD-ROM format for people without web access. I
have been in contact with several other web sites and manufacturers and I can tell you
that the CD-ROM will be chock FULL of valuable information. We will try to price the CD as
low as possible so that more people will have access to it. Initial estimate is less than
$20 each.
So, as long as you don't plan on trying to compete with us in the web or CD
market, go ahead and use the information on this site as you wish.
<hr>
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 1997 15:30:29 -0500 (EST) 
From: Aztec1000(at)aol.com 
To: jbourke(at)ezonemag.com 
Subject: Great Stuff Brother! 
 
I have just come across your E-Flight Web Site and am very impressed, to say 
the least. 
 
I am in the UK, electric flying for quite some time now and would love 
contact with anyone out there who has an interest in Speed 400 Scale Models 
and also Early Experimental Flying Machines (pre-WWI) I am presently building 
a 1912 Avro D Biplane for electrics. 
 
Kindest Regards, Dave. 

Dave,
One thing you might consider is visiting our new Classifieds section and
putting the above info in the Guestbook. Perhaps another user will see it and contact you.
One great thing about the internet is that you can often meet people right next door to
you with similar interests.
<hr>
Date: Sun, 09 Feb 1997 15:40:10 -0500 
From: Dan Wenz <djwenz(at)clark.net> 
To: jbourke(at)ezonemag.com 
Subject: Newbie 
 
Just the site I've been seeking! After seeing the photos on the site, 
GOD!, wish I were 60 again (I'm 63):-( I've grandkids now, hope they'll 
be as interested as grandpa is. Flew mainly U-control in the late 40's 
and early 50's, more time now for this "new" hobby, and, of course, it's 
an excuse to buy some neat electronic equipment to play with. Thanks for 
the site, and have a nice day :-)
Dan,
Thanks for the letter. Alot of people out there are joining the ranks of
electric fliers. Make sure to make an entry in the guestbook while you are visiting the
site.</td>
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