profile/ no-cal

[peteypete]

Is there a difference between a profile and a no-cal model? I'm interested in building one after seeing one ,a profile of a cub, do well over 3 minutes in the gym.it looked to be about peanut size or a tad bigger. does anyone know where I can download a plan of a sport model or buy a kit? they look simple to build (don't they all) and lots of fun.

[Terry Lyttle]

I always felt that "profile" was a sheet fuse, "no-cal" was built-up. I can't understand why it didn't catch on, it truly is a lot of fun, and the flight times are excellent. I built a P-38 from an old Air Trails plan, all sheet, 4" props a blast to fly indoors, never got to build it No-cal, may yet once I get a gym to use.

And because they fly so slow, you can literally build anything you want. Seems to me that Al Lidberg, the Guru of No-cal has a site somewhere, anybody know the address?

[JCastle]

For bang for your buck and ease of building it's hard to beat a no-cal model. Here is a link to several excellent plans that you can down load in Adobe. http://www.geocities.com/paulbrad_98/nocals.htm
These plans have building tips on the sheet and are a great way to get started.
The nice thing about no-cal is that once you get the idea about how to build them is all you need is a 3-view and you can easily build almost any plane.

Good Luck and post pictures if you can.:)

John

[KnifeEdge51]

How in the world does a profile model withstand the stress of the rubber band motor? Perhaps I'm just not thinking hard enough here, but it seems to me that if you just make a simple sheet profile body that, once you start getting a few winds in the motor, that the body would snap. How's this work? Thanks (from a young and un-enlightened person)!

Nick R.

[peteypete]

On the right side of the fuse,(the side they seldom show) is a motor stick, to which is attached the motor bearing and prop, rubber and rear hook. If you look at the aforementioned web site you may be able to see this set-up. Just like any stick fuse...pretty neat. If you decide to try one let me know and I'll build along with you.

[Terry Lyttle]

We manufactured a series of all-sheet kits, and rather than add a motor stick, we cut a slot in the fuse which gave the right downthrust. We used a Peck profile noseblock (plastic, along with ready-made props and shafts), and a length of wood dowel at the rear. We supplied wire for the S-hook at the rear as well. This meant that the rubber load was concentric with the fuse.

This setup worked well, as we lost a few of the prototypes (particularly the Barracuda, 4 in all) to thermals. Just anolther venture that didn't work out as expected.:)

[Bob Chiang]

Terry, you're right: Al has lots of plans for No-Cals, and here's the site:
http://www.aalmps.com/

Here's another source of plans and supplies:
http://www.aeroaces.com/aeroaceshome.htm

Bob Chiang
Ithaca, NY

[Rifleman]

Originally posted by KnifeEdge51
How in the world does a profile model withstand the stress of the rubber band motor? Perhaps I'm just not thinking hard enough here, but it seems to me that if you just make a simple sheet profile body that, once you start getting a few winds in the motor, that the body would snap. How's this work? Thanks (from a young and un-enlightened person)!

Nick R.
Nick :
Its not all that hard to figure how the No-Cal can take a motor....if it only weighs 5-6 gms, then it won't take much motor to move it through the air....I had a 5 gm Helio Courier, which in the Ralph Wilson Field House in Orchard Park NY, did over 5 mins on a loop of rubber (Tan II) .068x30".....at over 100 turns per inch, it left my hand with over 3000 turns in it.....admittedly it did have a bit of wow to the motor stick, but in a way it helped take back some of the right thrust and with a launch angle of +60 degrees, the burst carried it to over 20 feet before it could nose over and go into a steady climb.....never touched the girders, but it was close !
Sorry, I don't have a pic of that particular plane....its watching over the goings-on in one of the Maintenance hangers at Tor Intl from the rafters .........oh well....I built it to fly and I don't remember it being broken or even coming down............

[KnifeEdge51]

Rifleman,

Thanks! That's actually a slightly older post of mine. You're photo's and descriptions in the "Canadian hotbed?" post helped me out quite a bit. Before I saw your photo's, I thought the body of no-cals was just a sheet of 1/16 balsa or similar material, and was curious as to how a simple sheet of material could resist warping. However, once I saw that it was built up, and it hade a nice stick for the motor, it became MUCH easier to understand. :D Thanks again!

Nick

[T. Lyttle]

... that's two of us! :D

You're the first one I've met (?) who has also lost a model Indoors! I lost a Peck Cougar at the Coliseum in Vancouver many years ago...

Yup, No-Cal is easy; the variations are endless, all you need is a set of 3-views, any size, and build away. Once you have built a few to suit the hall you fly in (normally you only get one outdoor flight, ask me how I know), and soon you will be sharing flight space...:D

[KnifeEdge51]

EDIT: Heh, I made this post, and never bothered to look about three posts up. I apologize for asking such a brainless question! Thanks.

Nick

[Rifleman]

Originally posted by T. Lyttle
... that's two of us! :D
You're the first one I've met (?) who has also lost a model Indoors! I lost a Peck Cougar at the Coliseum in Vancouver many years ago...

One ? you only lost one ?....I have a Heinkel 100 taking an airconditioning course at the Univ of Western Ont....a Taylorcraft inspecting the girders in the Niagara Falls Convention Center, I put a P-47 into the overhead scoreclock in the SUNY basketball gym near Buffalo NY, also in the Air Canada maintenance hangar is a nice little Phantom Flash which was a 3 minute plane.....gee it sure keeps the storage space down to a small warehouse ! these are a few of the ones I have lost..........

[T. Lyttle]

... to a guy that loses models indoor for a living! :D :D :D

[Rifleman]

So you think I do it seriously.....its not like I wanted to,,,,,but I have mended my ways, .......haven't lost one in quite some time.......I guess not flying indoors for some time may have a bearing on that too :D

[T. Lyttle]

... I feel your pain; I too have not done any Indoor for years. When I moved here, the school board and the local village told me that they were not interested in using their facilities for such endeavours. I haven't seen such curled lips for some time :( .

So I have been relegated to losing my models to acres of brush, hiding in fruit trees, disappearing on thermals, that sort of thing; it just ain't the same. It is the seeming impossibility of losing a model indoors, something the same as losing your car keys...:D