SEMAC

SE C NE
NEWWS
Newsle
etter Of The South Eastern Model
M Airrcraft Club Inc

Daniel Scicluna’s
S big
ig 1929 WACO
O ATO Taperrwing climbs
s out after a pass
p along th
he East Westt runway.

N
Notes From
m The
e Lastt GM
Preesident Ron Paine welco
omed twenty nine membe ers, Com
mmittee Me
eeting Report
inccluding new member
m Ronn Bell, to the General Meeting Secretary David Stephan rep ported briefly
y on items
on 2 February 2010. A nummber of apolo ogies were discussed at the
e recent commmittee meeting, including
g:
recceived.
4 proposed Insstructor courrse;
Inw
wards Corrresponden
nce
4 2010 Twiligh ht Flying sche
edule;
4 City of Gre
eater Danden nong regardin
ng our
4 field lease siituation.
successful grant appliccation.
4 VMAA New wsletter. Gen
neral Busin
ness
4 Enquiry fro
om a potentiaal new membber. Pubblic Address s System
A puublic addresss system for the field has s been obtain ned
Treasurer’s Report
R
t City of Greater Dande
via the enong grant - thanks to
Tre
easurer Pete
er Short repo orted on the club’s
c finance
es at Grae eme Lewis anda
31 January 20110 and advissed that: his efforts
e in In th
his issue:
4 we have on ne new mem mber since the last meetin ng; obtaaining the graant. Gen neral Meeting g Notes ............... 1
4 our Term Deposit
D will be
b reinvested d at the end of
o The PA loudspeaker E-2CC Hawkeye, Part 5 ................. 3
March, together with a sum to be trransferred froom can be mounted at Exhaust Caniste er Development ... 5
our working
g account; the front
f of the Great Planes RV V-4 ...................... 6
4 there are no
n other majo or expenses anticipated for
f trans smitter pounnd. Fund Raising Up pdate ................... 6
the remainder of the fin
nancial year. The power sourcce
Phaaeton Biplane e .......................... 7
will be
b a 12 to 24 40
volt inverter, with
h Touch and Go .............................. 8
the battery
b to be
e A Hawkeye Disa aster .................... 8
NEXT
T GENERA
AL MEETIING Servvo Safety ................................ 9
charrged by a sm mall
Tues
sday 6 Ap
pril - 8.00 PM
P sola
ar cell. Kid Care ....................................... 9
Classsic Mistakes s, Part 2 .............. 9
Wing De-warping ....................... 11
Fokker DVii, Parrt 7 .................... 12

SE
EMAC News -1-
Ma
arch - April 20
010
Field Lease
Peter Short confirmed that we will take up our five year SEMAC Web Site
lease extension offer. A rent increase, the first in five It was suggested that SEMAC should establish its own
years has been negotiated with our landlord. web site – i.e. semac.org.au. Ian Hunter, Michael
Peter also advised that we have several years still to Turner and Jason Gibbs (as our resident internet gurus)
run on our current council permit to operate at the site. are to investigate.
While our lease situation is secure, due to the Safety Issues
continuing industrialisation of the area the committee A number of safety issues were discussed:
will consider any new field options that may arise. 4 the VMAA advice to not arm electric models until
Field Security reaching the flight line – and how caution is needed
President Ron Paine raised for discussion a number of when carrying IC powered models out of the pit
security issues. area;
4 Our gates have again been left unlocked. On the 4 the need to avoid priming IC engines with the glow
most recent occasion the gates were locked at driver attached; and
about five one afternoon, but were found unlocked 4 the need to carry out a range check before the first
by early the following morning. flight of the day;
4 There have been a number of acts of vandalism, Members are reminded that small children:
the nature of which suggests they have been 4 must be under effective supervision at all times; and
carried out by a club member. The perpetrator is
4 are not permitted on to the flight line.
urged to raise any grievance/s openly with
committee member or at a General Meeting. Members are asked to keep an eye on any littlies and
bring any problems to the parent’s attention.
4 Members seem reluctant to take their rubbish home
with them. The Bomb Award
4 Pit mats have been left out. The Bomb Award went to Roger Puehl for a fairly
spectacular roll into the ground shortly after takeoff –
Equipment Donations
fortunately with not too much damage.
While donations of suitable items are welcomed,
Roger’s investigation revealed that his receiver battery
members intending to leave at the field equipment of
pack had dropped a cell, causing his receiver to “go off
any kind, including unwanted aircraft, are asked to clear
the air”. While this is likely to cause problems for any
it with the committee first.
receiver, apparently full voltage is especially critical with
Twilight Fly-In 2.4GHz gear.
The next twilight Fly-In is scheduled for Saturday 24 Show and Tell
April. All members are invited to:
We had, as always, some extra good items.
4 bring a plate to share around;
Alex Evans displayed and discussed his well advanced
4 bring their own after-flight refreshments; Hawkeye project – another great example of the lengths
4 sleep over in the club rooms if they wish. to which a dedicated scratch builder will go in order to
Further regular events are to be scheduled. produce a detailed and complex model.
Instructor Course Ron Paine displayed his recently acquired 1930’s Mini
Moa glider, as shown below. With a wingspan of about
The MAAA is yet to provide a date for the proposed
3.5 metres, the silk covered Moa is a marvellous
course. Ron Paine is to follow it up with the MAAA’s
example of the scratch builder’s skills.
new CFI, Murray Ellis.
Sausages and Drinks
The Sunday morning sausage sizzle nets the
club between $30 and $40 per week.
For some time the sausages have been
supplied by committee members, who take it in
turns to buy them. While they’re happy to
keep doing so, other members are invited to
spread the cost and labour burden around by
placing themselves on the sausage supply and
cook roster – about $10 once every few
months if a few more join in.
The club will provide cold cans of drink for
purchase on hot Sunday mornings.
Fund Raising
Graeme Lewis reported on further local and
state government grant opportunities that may
be pursued. JA Photo

SEMAC News -2-

March - April 2010
Grumman E-2C Hawkeye, Part 5 – By Alex Evans

OK, have you ever tried to vacuum-form something?

No, neither have I, that is until now.
The next challenge ahead of me was to construct /
form the 2 engine nacelles… The initial plan was to
fibre-glass them over the blue foam plugs I made,
same way I did the nose (if you can recall a year ago).
Then I thought again… Fibreglass is messy, and to
get a good shape, I will need at least 4 layers!
When I placed the fibreglass nose on the kitchen
scale – I get 160 grams! Hmm… The engine nacelles
are going to be heavier no doubt, and 2 of them will
be around half a kilo. No way! So, what’s the
alternative?
A friend of mine is constructing his own helicopter
bodies out of plastic - High Impact Polystyrene
(HIPS). Depending on the size and shape of the item,
you choose the thickness of the material, and on his The oven is pre-heated to some 230 degrees, and
advice and experience. I got a sheet of 0.75 mm thick after experimenting a few times (and destroying some
which comes in size of 1370x760mm, and you cut of the sheets) we concluded that for this thickness and
them into slices to fit inside a domestic oven – so you shape – 80 seconds in the oven will do the trick.
get 9 sections. To go through all the experiments, I The end result looks like this.
bought 2 such sheets – they are each around $8 or
there about.
The HIPS is available from Profile Plastics at Unit 1/55
Barry Street, Bayswater.
Here are some views of the tool you do the
vacuuming with. It is not complicated, but this time I
opted to use what he had, instead of spending time to
build my own.

And just in case, if you wonder – what is inside the

HIPS, well – it is one quarter (or one part) of the blue
foam plug I created – which used to look like this…

The above picture shows the base box, with the

vacuum attachment connected. It can be made out of
wood too, but he just had something made out of
aluminium and used it as is. He just used some gray
masking tape to seal the corners, so as not to lose
suction.
The next picture shows the frame that is made out of
two bits of chip wood (this has air bubbles and is a
good insulator). Once the HIPS is inserted in between
the two parts of the frame, tighten all around, goes in
the oven. All photos by A Evans

SEMAC News -3-

March - April 2010
The reason for slicing this into 4 parts is simple – you bars – check out the following link for an explanation:
can’t vacuum form the whole thing in one go. You http://www.automotivetouchup.com/spray‐
must make “Parts” which are then glued together with paint/adhesion‐promoter.aspx. 
special plastic glue, to form the shape you wanted.
For simplicity, and so that I don’t end up with an article
that consumes 4 pages, I skipped of course a few
“details”, but I am sure you can get the idea.
One BIG Warning… Never make the plug out of any
foam, if you intend to vacuum form over it. The HIPS
coming out of a 230 degrees oven “sinks” into the
plug, damages it badly, and the end result goes in the
bin…
Back to square one. Well, I tried coating the foam with
wood putty, it helped but not 100%, and in the pictures
that follow you will still be able to see the places
where the heat sank through the putty despite
everything I did.
Once the 2 halves of the back section are joined and
sprayed with automotive putty / filler – it looks like this:
The above picture shows the end result of the 2 front
parts, joined together, puttied, primed and fish
coloured sprayed. The back bit is still WIP raw result
of the 2 parts glued together, and just one coat of
spray putty, and I am sure you can see that there is
some work needed there to finish it properly. At this
junction the whole lot weighs 104 grams, and by the
time I am done with it’ this will be probably around 120
grams – which is a much better result than I would get
using fibreglass. My hand in the picture will also put
things in perspective. As you know, it is an 80”
wingspan model – and the nacelles are accordingly
large.
Now, gradually – you can start getting the idea, of why
am I working on it for some 2 years now, and I am
nowhere near done with this project.
The smudged areas are where I had to fill in the bits The ‘End’ result of all that looks now something like
that sunk in with the heat, to compliment the part to its the next picture. From this picture, you can already
intended shape. Then you spray putty again, sand it see the intended colour scheme – that is, for those of
down again, wait for it to dry and sand all over again. you receiving the newsletter by email.
The actual work is in making the plug, and making it
from the right material, then there is little to do other
then finish it, I have learned my lesson – the hard way
of course!
The glue for joining bits of HIPS is from hobby shops,
at some $6 - $7 for a small 50 m/l bottle – I got mine
from Hobbyman in Dandenong - Revell Contacta
Professional glue which is a glue for plastics (or
similar).
This thing is magic. It kind of melts the two parts and
creates a seam like welding bond. Then you sand-
paper the extra hanging bits to form the shape you
need, spray putty over it, finish it off and conclude with
a few coats of your chosen paint for the colour All photos by A Evans
scheme you need.
Oh, and to paint plastic – you need a first 2 coats of Until next time, fly safe ‐ Alex 
primer used by car companies before painting bumper

SEMAC News -4-

March - April 2010
Exhaust Canister development
Mario Acquis tells us how to design and build a very neat exhaust system.
Since making my own exhaust mufflers I wanted to the bend and welded together to make the “S” shape
make a canister for my giant stick. The first one was needed to fit fuselage. I then made and welded a 3mm
made from a spray can but only lasted about half dozen steel plate to fit the engine. A couple of coats of high
flights before it broke just after the weld on the inlet temp paint to finish it off.
pipe. The material is not quite thick enough to handle The header pipe, which was only half the weight of the
the vibration from the engine, so I started looking for a steel muffler it replaced, was a little heavy but over all
better alternative. with the muffler / clamps etc fitted it was only a little
Working for a car company, I came across a part that I heavier - about one and a half times the weight of the
thought would make a great canister. It is a receiver old steel muffler.
dryer used in car air-conditioning and I was able to get No noticeable gain in performance but the motor seems
a couple from our company panel beater from crash to run very well, is quiet and looks great – "this one
repairs jobs. should out last the model".
I cut the end off where the tubes bolt on, removed the The photo shows the steel header and the new canister
filter pellets from inside and was left with two nice made from the receiver drier and joined together with a
aluminium canisters which can be joined end to end, Teflon pipe.
which saves making ends caps. The next
step was to drill a 25mm hole in the
bottom of one for the inlet pipe and 16mm
on the bottom of the other for the outlet. I
joined the 25mm pipe to the 16mm pipe to
go inside, with holes for the gasses to
enter and exit. No baffles needed and it
was ready to be welded.
Only problem is the receiver dryers are too
thick, at about 2.5mm wall thickness, for
me weld with the gas torch. I tried but
couldn’t get it hot enough to take, so I
looked around for somebody to weld it for
me and found a place in South
Dandenong who did a great job for $50.00.
Needing a header pipe to fit the Ryobi, I
bought a couple of 90 degree mandrel
bent 25mm steel pipes, which were cut at
M Agius photo

SEMAC GENERAL MEETING

Tuesday 6 April– 8.00 PM
Dingley Community Hall
Marcus Rd Dingley
Melway 88 F6
Come along for:
4 all the latest news and reports
4 show and tell
4 a friendly chat
4 Colin’s excellent supper.

Bring your mini helicopter along for a Chopper Fly-In after the meeting.

SHUT THE GATES

People are still leaving the gates open and/or unlocked. Remember:
4 our three gates must be kept closed at all times; and
4 last one out must lock the first and third gates.

SEMAC News -5-

March - April 2010
GREAT PLANES RV-4 KIT REVIEW
Gary Curtis’ nifty little RV-4 sees action at last – if only briefly.
After four years I finally decided to try and get my out plans and all the hardware you need to complete
Great Planes RV-4 plane into the air the other the kit. The manual which comes with it is pretty
Sunday. good as well giving you all the options to set it up with
After a couple engine starts with the assistance of four or two stroke engines. The book has very clear
young John Andrews it finally took off into the air for illustrations to make the construction of the plan very
about 50 feet until the engine stopped and with a straight forward. With the plane now completed and
straight ahead landing it came back down and bent having the livery changed twice the final colours have
the wheels. Apart from that no other damage and at turned out not too bad. Next time at the field come
the time of typing this piece it has been repaired for and check it out and tell me what you think.
its next adventure. Regards, Gary Curtis.
Liking the challenge of kit building, I purchased this  
kit on one of my country trips when it
was on special and took around six
months to complete construction.
Of course the ARF equivalent is now
available, but a bit more expensive
than the kit. I believe the kit is still
available if you want to have a go
and build it. VMAR planes did one a
few years ago as an ARF, but I don’t
think it was as good.
So what do we have here?
4 Fuselage- 1260 mm
4 Wingspan- 1388 mm
4 Weight – 2610- 2850 g
4 Engine 46 two stroke or 52 four
stroke.
Like any Great Planes kits they are
G Curtis photo
very comprehensive, with well laid

FUNDRAISING UPDATE - by Graeme Lewis.

Well our grant applications are proceeding at snail pace
at the moment. I have a current grant application in with
the Department of Planning and Community
Development and we should get an answer around the
first week of April, although Easter might delay that.
I am in the process of placing a grant application with
the City of Greater Dandenong under the “Occasional
Grant and Donation Program” to raise funds towards
the Bobcat mower repairs. This application will be
submitted in the last week of March. At the same time I
am applying for a grant from the Kingston Council to
help buy some audio visual equipment to be used at our
meetings and for training purposes at the field.
The 1st funding round of the “Small Grants Program”
within the City of Greater Dandenong is now open and
available for projects during the period Jan 2011 to
June 2011. The 2nd funding round applications open in
August for projects during the period Jan 2011 to Dec
2011. I had thought that Warbirds day in March/April
2011 could benefit from these funds. But we need to
decide as a group if Warbirds day is worth conducting
SEMAC News
March - April 2010
and are people interested enough to run the day or
should we apply for some other program funding. If you
have any thoughts let the committee know.
We are having a meeting on the 31st March with the
Community Property Officer, Sport and Leisure
Department, City of Greater Dandenong, which Peter,
Ron and I will attend to explore areas of Dandenong
that may be suitable for a new flying field. We should
be able to report at the next meeting of any outcomes.
If anyone has any thought on projects that the club
could undertake please let the committee know and I
will look for a grant to try and fund the program. Longer
term projects are best as the process is slow and grants
are only available at certain times of the year. A
demographic of the membership that Peter provided
showed we are predominantly a senior / ageing
membership with more than 50% over 50. There are
grants available to assist seniors adapt to retirement,
adjust to ageing, to remain active in the community etc,
etc. If you don't have a problem with being called "old"
(it’s only a word) maybe there is something in this area.
-6-
Building another Phaeton Biplane
Colin Vandersluy’s biplane meets a “Phaeton worse than death”, but there’s a replacement well underway.
Early last year I decided to fly my trusty, beaut to fly,
Phaeton. It was about four years old, but other
projects, like a Mustang (anyone want to buy a
Mustang?), had meant it hadn’t been flown for a while.
Down to the field on a beautiful Sunday morning and
out with the Phaeton. Better range check all the control
movements. Yes, elevator up down, rudder left and
right, ailerons up and down.
With the old twin plug OS 80 on full song, out to the
runway and off we go. Hell, it’s rolling over to the left.
More right aileron, but it got worse - bloody hell, “bang”.
Walked over and collected the bits, followed by post
crash examination. Everything is working, but oops, the
ailerons are moving the wrong way. How did I miss
that? Our club helicopter pilot looks over my shoulder
and quietly says “you looked but did not see”. How
true, but a lesson learnt.
I loved the old biplane so much, it was off to Addie’s
next week to order a replacement, and in about eight
weeks a Balsa USA kit duly arrived. A large box of
balsa and plans, plus an instruction book. Not quite as
good as the old one, but OK.
I decided to put an OS 120 four stroke in this one,
mounted upside down. This meant modifying the
firewall and setting up the required incidences. I also
installed a bigger tank while I was at it. Graeme Lewis
printed me off some information from the internet – I
was very interested in the top wing angle of incidence.
Rather than the supplied undercarriage, I decided to
use to use my existing modified one – some others
have done the same thing. Because of the larger tank I
couldn’t find a place for the battery pack, but eventually
fitted forward it forward of the undercarriage under the
tank. Access is now via a removable plate covering the
G Lewis photo
SEMAC News
March - April 2010
battery pack and undercarriage.
I managed to salvage a complete undamaged tailplane
and fitted it to the new Phaeton. The wings were built
using the original wing tips also salvaged from the
wreck. The original wing support and struts were also
OK to reuse. The wing mounting bolts kept squashing
the balsa, so I bushed the holes with aluminium tubing.
The throttle arm was reversed on the motor and was a
long way from the servo push rod, which had to run
alongside the tank. To get around this I made up a
special extension to the motor’s throttle boss and can
now put the lever anywhere I want.
Plumbing from the tank was a problem as the engine
mount was in the way. The solution was to come down
at 450 then out through the firewall and under the
engine mount. Hope it all works.
The plastic cowl came in two halves. Unfortunately
they’d been trimmed by right and left handed people, as
they were different in length and difficult to join. Once
joined, I trimmed them up and modified the whole cowl
with air scoops, exhaust outlet and carbie needle
access hole. I also added another air scoop in front,
with a grill made from an electric shaver head.
The fuselage was painted with spray can Wattyl Kill
Rust epoxy enamel. This went on well over spray can
Motorspray primer putty. Hope it’s all fuel proof. The
colour scheme is blue fuselage, with yellow wings and
tail.
The radio was installed as per the crashed one using
the same mounting plate and push rods, which just
made the length from servo’s to tailplane.
It might be on the field by Easter, and if it flies as good
as my first one I’ll be very happy. The photo was taken
by Graeme Lewis – thanks Graeme.
Happy landing
on the grass
and not in the
hay bales.
The Whacky
Waco, Colin V.
The Balsa USA
Phaeton, nearly
ready to cover and
spray.
-7-
 Touch and Go – Rod Clipstone
The keen club member and flyer of numerous aerobatic aeroplanes touches down
briefly with John Andrews.

Could we have a little background information?
I'm 57 years old and Dealer Principal of a Yamaha
Motorcycle Franchise in Ringwood. Married to Maria and
have two sons, Ben 19 years old and Matthew 15 years
old.
How did you get involved in model aircraft?
I have been interested in flying from the age of 8. I
started with control line, spending many Saturday
mornings trying to flick start a diesel engine, usually
without success.
Where and when did you learn to fly RC models?
I learnt to fly radio control with the Lilydale Club in the
1970's till about 18 years of age, dropped out until around
1996 then got back into it with vengeance.
What was your first RC aeroplane?
First RC plane was a Marksman trainer (kit). No ARF's in
those days, controlled by an OS Pixie single channel.
Who has been the greatest influence on your aero
modelling career?
No one person in particular but rather all the club
members have had something individually to contribute
from their specialist areas.
What has been your favourite RC aeroplane?
My favourite aeroplane is a 'U Can Do 3D' plane with the
50cc DL engine. The enjoyment comes from its versatility
– slow manoeuvre speeds, hovering and 3D aerobatics.
What has been your least favourite RC aeroplane?
Starduster. Ask Shorty, he's got a similar aircraft. They
are a mongrel - snap anywhere, break off the
undercarriage and hard to land. Not pleasant at all.
What are you mainly flying at the moment?
The U Can Do is my back up but I'm having a lot of fun
with the 50cc fitted to an Extra 300. Lots of vertical
penetration, snaps, lomcevak, all good fun. Have also
ventured onto the dark side – an electric helicopter has
my interest as of late.
Any particular aircraft you would like to build and fly?
Long term plan is to complete my scale Spitfire.
If money were no object, what would you be flying?
Turboprop Raven aerobatic aircraft. Worth about
$20,000.
What does the future hold for RC aero modelling?
With the availability of cheaper 2.4 gear and the
increasing range of electric aircraft and helicopters they
may appeal to entry level flyers.

Feel free to nominate a member you would like to see featured in a future Touch and Go
(perhaps even yourself). Just send me a note at jandrs@bigpond.net.au.

A Hawkeye Disaster
Alex Evans tells us about an accident he’s definitely going to avoid.
During the construction of my current project, I came model – had two fuel tanks, each of some 300 cc (one
across a story about one chap in the USA named Mike per engine to fuel a Saito 1.25 four stroke). For
Ulkowski, who made an attempt on scratch building a convenience, in his own words, he decided to mount a
100” span Hawkeye E-2C, big bird indeed (mine is only tank inside each nacelle behind the motor.
80”). As per what he was accustomed to, throughout his The problem was that this point was in fact BEHIND the
modelling years – you ought to balance your model C.G point – hence, when it was full it added some 0.6
“Dry”, assuming the fuel will just make it safer and KG to the back of the C.G point, which proved fatal
maybe a bit nose heavy. shortly after takeoff.
This theory is of course applicable with IC powered The attached video link tells the rest of the story.
models only, and it is probably also right - if your fuel
http://www.rcuvideos.com/video/Hawkeye-Maiden-wmv
tank is ahead of the C.G point, not behind it. The said

Many thanks to Alex, Colin, David, Gary, Graeme, Ian, Peter, Rod and Roger for their excellent contributions
to this issue. If you fancy joining them next time, we’d welcome your:
4 construction articles or photographs 4 tips and advice Why not have a photo of your
4 tales of your modelling or flying 4 gossip or reminiscences model in the next issue?
experiences – happy or sad 4 advertisements You could bring it down to
Email or disk preferred, but hand written OK.
the field one Sunday, or send
me a photo.

SEMAC News -8-

March - April 2010
1 Min
nute Serv
vo Sa
afety
y Sem
mina
ar
Pe
eter Harriso
on passes on a pretty
y good safe
ety tip.
I had an Elevattor Servo flutttering aroun nd centre like e our Nationaal Flag on Au
ustralia Day.
Seervo would no ot zero instan
ntly, Elevator did a little Irish Jig and then came to
o rest at appproximately centre positio on.
I fo
ound the cau use of the flutttering - how
wever I
totally destroye ed the servo in doing so.
The Carbon Fillm in the Fee edback Poten ntiometer
wa as eroded do own exposing g the phenolic board
substrate in the e neutral servvo position.
y have old servos, thatt have had a lot of flights
If you
ove ew years, including crashes,
er the last fe
consider opening a few serrvos up and look l inside
theem.
Ussing a Jewelle er’s Loupe, inspect the carbon
c film
insside the Pote entiometer an nd look for de eep
groooves in the carbon film at a the neutra al position.
I am sure you willw be shockked at what I found -
servos do not last forever. Take a minute to open
a servo
s up and d look inside it for safety’ss sake. Arrow shows a JR NES 507
5 potentiome eter.
Go ood Engine Runs
R to You All and Rem member to Have a loo
ok at www.seattlerobotics.org
g if
you’ve eve
er wondered ho
ow a servo worrks.
Keeep the Field and Pits Cle ean
JA Photo
P
Peeter Harrison - AUS 2972 25

T
Take Carre of the Kids
s!
Wee all know that youngsterrs like to be part
p of the acction. And what
w could bee
moore fun than scampering
s around down n at the field while Dad, Grandad
G or Uncle
U
has a fly?
Hoowever, we also
a all know that littlies and
a model ae eroplanes are
en’t a good
combination. What
W a nightmare it would be to have e a small child
d trip and falll into
a whirling
w propeller. So:
4 if you bringg children dow wn to the field, you are obliged
o to enssure that the
ey are
under adult supervision n at all times – we’re a prretty easy go
oing bunch, so s ask
someone to keep an eyye on them while w you fly; and
4 if you see someone
s elsse’s youngste ers unsupervvised, keep them from
immediate danger and bring it to the parent’s atttention.

C
Classi
ic Aviiation
n Mod
delling
g Misttakes
s – Pa
art 2
Ro
oger Puehl presents more
m class
sic mistake
es – and ho
ow to avoid
d them.
Blo own Glow Plugs.
P Pop! There are onlyo 2 reasonns spee ed…..then tu urn! You can n do anythingg with
gloow plugs fail. Old age an nd a lean runn. If you are airsppeed!!! Ground speed is not airspeed d. Just becau use
burning plugs in flight your needle is wa ay too lean the model
m is movving fast doe esn’t mean it has airspeed.
causing overhe eating. Rem member yourr engine will lean If yo
ou turn prema aturely your chance of stalling
out considerab bly in flight. Don’t
D try and squeeze the e last dow wnwind are grreatly increassed and to makem matterss
RP PM out on the e ground! Le eave it on thee rich side. wors se you haven n’t had time tto gain heigh
ht!! Models
Priming motors with on board b glow oro ignition with higher wing loadings sufffer from this s most. Just
systems. Ban ng!! Just thin nking about that
t makes mem takinng off and flyying straight aahead for a brief
b moment
shiver. Again… …slow down n and check that
t the ignition mak kes the take off o look contrrolled and gives you a
sysstem is off beefore priming g. Think serriously aboutt safeety margin for the downwind turn.
fitting a warning g light to tell you that the glow or ignition Prop p Strike. Th he old finger in the prop routine.
r Use an
sysstem is arme ed!! elecctric starter when
w you cann. I have beeen caught ou ut
Do ownwind turrn immediattely after tak keoff. Stall Stall
S flicking other mo odeller’s propps to help after an enginee
Sta all!! A classic gotcha!! Take
T off into wind
w and kee ep stopppage only to o find out the hard way th hat the back ofo
going straight ahead.
a The model often wants to turn left the prop
p is like a razor blade. Ouch!! Ta ake this edgee
due to torque. Don’t let it!!!! Gain heigh ht and off before
b you fitt the prop to tthe motor. Often
O the cutt
SE
EMAC News -9-
Ma
arch - April 20
010
occurs when the motor is being hand started and the
engine back fires. Again it is actually the trailing edge
of the blade that gets you. These edges don’t need to
be sharp at all. This edge must come off prior to
balancing. At very least a little piece of 400 grit paper in
your tool box is great for cleaning up sharp edges on
props. Other than that, modellers think that once the
engine starts there is some great rush to do things.
Take your time around a running engine. Slow down.
Always tune an engine slowly. You can always top up
the tank once it’s tuned. Fingers take ages to grow
back! (And carry a “chicken stick” in your pocket, Ed).
Start, walk and stop. The old modellers’ two step!!
One of the most frustrating things that can happen on a
Sunday afternoon, or any other day for that matter.
We’ve all seen it play out. Engine gets started with
great fanfare., a bit of expert tuning goes on…..we pick
up the model with a satisfied look on our faces and walk
to the flight line with a swagger that Tom Cruise would
be proud of……only to have the engine stall!! Arrrrrrrr!
Then we do it all over again….and again…and again!!
95% of the time an engine will run for a few minutes
and then stall because it is overheating!! It doesn’t take
WANTED
Two O.S. 46AX crankcases wanted.
Do you have any damaged O.S. 46AX engines?
Turn your junk into cash - top dollar paid.
FOR SALE
Two damaged O.S. 46AXs – broken mounting lugs.
Cheap. Peter Harrison.
Mobile: 0400 139 477
Email: peter.d.harrison@telstra.com
The end of a good day’s flying. Great atmospheric shot of David Stephan’s P40 Kitty Hawk.
SEMAC News
March - April 2010
much for this to happen. The cause could be several
things including, a lean needle, the cylinder head not
getting enough cooling (perhaps on a scale model,) the
prop being too big causing loading or the fuel has
insufficient oil or the wrong type of oil. Synthetic oils
have quite a narrow temp in which they are efficient.
When they get very hot they stop lubricating! Whatever
the cause it generally gets down to excessive heat!
(This is why it runs ok for a few minutes….till the heat
builds up and alters the tuning, then stops.) This will
become increasingly noticeable as we get to the
warmer months. The only way to fix it is to recognise it
and treat the cause not the symptoms.
I hope I’ve got a few people thinking with these few hits
and memories! …..maybe we could build on the list and
include a few more “classic cock ups” in each news
letter. Better to learn from another’s mistakes than to
follow where angels have feared to tread! I look
forward to reading and learning from some other
persons classic goof ups!
Cheers and Happy Landings!
Roger
(AUS 65102.)
Like to receive your News by email instead of hard copy?
Contact me at jandrs@bigpond.net.au and I’ll pop you on
the email database.
File size is about 1.4 MB - individual email addresses are
not revealed.
D Stephan photo
- 10 -
Wing De-Warping Made Easy
Your Editor takes the easy way out.
Now, I know that a good many of you out there are
consummate aero modellers, taking great pride in the
quality and beauty of your workmanship. Then there
are the rest of us.
Some years ago, I got the urge to build an Auster.
Having seen advertised a nice looking AOP9 kit, I
thought ‘that’ll do’, and headed down to the late Gerry
Enery’s shop to buy one. Gerry didn’t have one in stock
and, in typical fairly blunt fashion, said he wouldn’t order
me one in. Some nonsense about it being too hard for
me to build. Undaunted, I headed off to another fine
hobby shop where the proprietor, not knowing me so
well, happily sold me my dream kit.
I rather imagine that by now you would have guessed
that Gerry was right. I’d built a few kits before, but the
Auster, with its plug in wings and cabin structure
serving basically as glassed in cabane struts, was a
pretty complex kit. Add in a tricky fuselage front end,
combined with some poorly cut and ill fitting parts, and
construction turned out to be fairly hard work. I had two
main problems. One was building the fuselage and
wing mounting structure true so that the wing incidence
was correct. The other was building the two wing
halves warp free. And that’s where I ran into trouble.
With the Auster finally completed and looking pretty
good with its yellow Solartex covering, everything
seemed OK. I was checking though using only a Mk I
eyeball – none of this fancy wing incidence meter stuff
for me.
JA photo
TWILIGHT FLY-IN
Saturday 24 April
See General Meeting Notes for details.
SEMAC News
March - April 2010
The first flight was nearly a disaster, with the Auster
entering a tight turn to port as soon as the wheels left
the ground. Full right aileron just got it flying in a more
or less straight line and I was able to nurse it around the
circuit for a safe landing. A large adjustment to the
aileron clevices got the Auster flying again, but it never
really felt right. On top of that I was a bit embarrassed
by the fact that, sitting on the ground, the aeroplane
looked like it had enough aileron on to put it into a 900
banked turn to starboard. So, after just a few flights,
the Auster sat in my workshop gathering dust.
I recently decided it was time to get the wing warp
sorted out. By this time I’d acquired a wing incidence
meter, which had revealed that the Auster’s wing halves
were warped in opposite directions – making the whole
thing look a bit like an oversized fine pitch propeller.
The obvious thing would have been to have built a new
set of wings, but that seemed a bit extreme. Instead, I
removed a panel of covering from the underneath of
each wing and used a hacksaw blade to cut through
several wing ribs between the front and rear spars. As
the port wing had a negative warp, I then fitted a balsa
wedge into each cut to force the rib halves apart,
removing the warp. A balsa plate was then glued across
each cut.
The starboard wing had a positive warp, so the ribs
were drawn together at the cuts and clamped while
balsa plates were glued in place.
Sounds rather rough and ready, but it
was surprisingly effective. The Auster’s
since had a number of flights, flying
straight and level first off with only
minor trim adjustments required.
Have fun, John
The Auster’s warp free port wing, balsa plates
glued over the rib cuts.
WORKING BEE
Sunday 11 April
Starting at 8.30 am for about
two hours.
Equipment needed for a
general cleanup includes:
4 whipper snippers
4 rakes
4 shovels.
- 11 -
B ding the Fok
Build kker DVii - part 7
Ian
n Hunter makes
m progress on an
nother grea
at scratch built
b projec
ct.
Byy far the trickiiest part to date has been n the cabane es to join the top
win ng to the fuze e. These havve now been n fabricated anda work can n
mo ove forward on o the remaining items. Other O items that
t needed
consideration werew both the e carb and in nlet manifold. The stock
ma anifold is lighht weight and d does its inteended purpo ose. So does the
carb. But bolt a prop on the e front and tryy getting it too rev – ahhh
thaat's a bit diffe
erent. Initial testing of thee stock arrang gement yield ded
inssufficient perfformance du ue mostly to inadequate
i f
fuel/air flow.
The Walbro WA A167 will mo ore than provvide what we e need, but itss
bore size is mu uch bigger th han that of the stock manifold. Also, iff the
stoock manifold did fit the ca arb, it would not suit my needs
n as I didn't
wa ant a dirty greeat carb stickking outside the line of th he fuselage. SoS
a new
n inlet manifold was madem from baar stock. Thiss new
N
Note the differen
nce in bore siz ze (stock carb is
i
arrrangement has the twofold benefit of keeping the carb inside the t on the left).
linees of the fuze e and the ne eedles face re earwards forr easy carb
tunning. If you do decide to make m your owwn manifold for a Walbro o,
don't forget to allow
a for the vacuum pulsse for the carb's fuel pum mp.
The forward de ecking (where the machin ne guns go) is made from m¼
incch sq. balsa stringers,
s 3m
mm ply forme ers and then sheeted with h
2.55mm balsa. The engine cowling whicch extends th he length of the
t
dummy 6 cylind der in-line enngine is made up of a 3m mm ply plate with
w
thee curved porttion being 2 laminations of o 3mm balsa. For the sid des
of the cowl, 2.5 5mm balsa iss used. The radiator
r supp port/frame is
3mmm ply and where
w the outtside of the radiator
r is, th
hese are
fabbricated from m balsa blockk. Naturally th here are miscc. screws etc c. to
hold everything g in place.
The other half of o the cowlin ng that goes underneath the t engine is s
basically made e in-situ. I maade an outer frame with a centre keel. Up Carb wiith new inlet manifold.
m
fro
ont, there's ba alsa block an nd the remainder is sheeted with 3mm m
balsa. The she eeting was 'pe ersuaded' to o curve by slig ghtly dampening
thee outside of the
t balsa she eet where I wanted
w it to bend.
b The pla ans
acttually show this
t part of thhe assembly to be made entirely from m
balsa block. I didn't
d pursue this option as a it would be e very waste eful,
heavy and time e consuming.
Soo to date:- the e fuze, cowlss, tail, axle wing,
w wheels, top wing,
bottom wing an nd cabanes haveh been made.
m
Still to do:- wing tips, caban nes to be covvered with tim mber, outer 'N'
strruts to be ma ade/timber co overed. Engine fit out with h plumbing etc,
e
raddio fit out, co
overing etc. Still
S a bunch of o things, but definitely on
thee home stretcch.

O of the few models I've bu

One uilt that actually
y
hiides the engine
e.
All photos
p by I Hunter

SE
EMAC News - 12 -
Ma
arch - April 20
010
 The DVii - almost there, but
still a bunch of things to
finish it off

I Hunter photos

South Eastern Model Aircraft Club Inc

PO Box 64
Dingley Vic 3I72
http://members.IInet.com.au/~semac SEMAC News
Editor
COMMITTEE
John Andrews 0407 364 390
President Ron Paine 9769 9462 jandrs@bigpond.net.au
Vice President Daniel Scicluna
Secretary/Public Officer David Stephan Assistant Editor & Webmaster
Treasurer Peter Short 9700 0785 Ian Hunter
Committee Members: Rod Clipstone 9802 4216 semac@iinet.net.au
Bob Pheil
Roger Puehl 9374 1311 0408 148 518
Mark Sivyer 0412 054 492
Colin Vandersluys 9589 0729

SEMAC News - 13 -
March - April 2010
 Add
die’s Hobbies
s
The biggest
b little h
hobby shop in
town n.
If it’s available
a in Australia and wew
havven’t got it, w
we can get it!
We sto
ock all well kn
nown brands of
airc
craft, radios, e
engines and
accessories.
Bulk fue
els.
Ultra co
ompetitive prrices on spec
cial
for the month.

Where friendly
W y service is
a way off life.
Ev
very month is
s a special.

641 Nepean High

hway Carrum
Phone/Fax 97
773 3955

Last, but certa

L ainly not least, new member
A
Aiden Turner h
has a flying lessson with
SEMAC Instruc ctor Rod Clipstone.
I suspect Aiden’s Dad, Michaael, may be
s
struggling to g
get his hands on
o the
transmitter fro
om now on.

SE
EMAC News - 14 -
Ma
arch - April 20
010