It’s been a while since I’ve posted on my site, apologies for that. As you probably know, I’ve been obsessing over rubber powered flying models. Also, I’m preparing to begin teaching young pilots on how to build their very own flying models as part of a Maker program in my town.
I’ve thought long and hard about the best projects to introduce young pilots to the hobby. I recently came across an article on Frank Ehling’s Dart-Too plane while browsing the AMA website. The Dart-Too is a follow up project to the popular Delta Dart / AMA Cub that Mr. Ehling designed. When I found this project I knew it would be a great starter project.
After downloading the plan, however, I found the plan was incomplete. What I mean by this is, when the two pages of the plan are joined together a large gap appeared in the middle of the plan.
The original plan downloaded from the AMA site with missing design information in the center.
I took it upon myself to draw in the missing information and recompile the PDF, the downloadable plan and article are found here. The AMA logo and “Dart-Too” text were removed in order to provide space for the future pilots to add their names and custom designs.
I found this project easy to build and fun to fly. I used regular copy paper for my build, and yes, it adds quite a bit of extra weight. I will likely build it again using tissue paper to examine the potentially improved flight times. Feel free to download the plan and build a few for yourself!
For a little more than a year I’ve been interested in making old fashioned stick and tissue free flight airplanes. I made a few as a youngster, but I can’t say they ever actually took flight. I’ve been building Peanut Scale and other smaller flying models focusing on making them fly. I joined the AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics) and the Flying Aces Club and devouring as much information about free flight models as possible. I was excited to learn the 2018 AMA Expo East was practically in my backyard. I purchased a two-day ticket and anxiously awaited the event.
Friday February 23 finally arrived. I filled out the Static Display Entry Form, packed up my recently completed Farman Mosquito peanut and I headed out to the Meadowlands Exposition Center. Light rain greeted my arrival and no close parking was to be found. I eventually parked the car, grabbed the shoe box with the Farman and started the walk to the Expo Center. Once inside I picked up my tickets at the Will Call window and headed off to enter my plane.
I glanced at the other entries, beautiful and large RC planes, and chucked to myself when I thought about the peanut Farman I held in my hands. Aware I wasn’t going to set the world on fire with my model I was simply happy to support the event and participate. I was greeted by two nice gentlemen at the entry table. I removed my model from the box and placed it on the table. “Wow! You already filled out the entry form.” one of the men said, “You checked Post World War I, that’s not the correct category – that one is for scale. Not quite sure what category yours should be.” One of the men stood up and walked to ask the man in charge.
How many RC planes use Rubber motors?
When the man returned he said, ” You can’t enter your plane, it’s not RC.” The other gentleman said, “Well, can’t we just put it on the table to offer inspiration?” “No. It can’t be entered. Sorry.” I thought to myself, “But I could enter a BOAT or a CAR as long as they’re RC – at the Model Aeronautics Expo.”
Back in the shoe box and into the car you go.
I know if my type of plane was permitted in the competition it would stand little chance of winning. There are much better modelers out there than me. My beef with the AMA is how little they care about the very types of model craft that started the whole hobby! Model shops are closing, clubs have all but disappeared and all the information the AMA provides is written for the handful of master modelers that are still around. Where does someone new to the hobby learn the basics? The AMA provides the simple die cut balsa and rubber band models to children, and the old timers that know what they’re doing can make these simple models fly. Most children (myself included) have a lot of trouble trimming the planes to fly well.
The AMA forgets all of the intermediate steps between the simple die cut planes and the beautifully crafted RC masterpieces. Look no further for reasons why membership is diminishing.
Speaker Series East 2018
The AMA Expo East included three different speaker presentations. The first, How To Make A Spaceship. Start By Building Model Planes, presented by Author Julian Guthrie and Space Ship One Structural Engineer Dan Kreigh was an inspiring for all ages look at the history of Spack Ship One. The second Designing And Building Scale Models From Scratch, presented by Mr. Top Gun Dave Wigley, would have been more aptly titled Here’s A Few Extremely Complicated Parts I’ve Built For My Beautiful Masterpieces. I was one of a handful of people to sit through the entire lecture. When Mr. Wigley concluded and asked for questions he addressed each person with a question by name. The third and final presentation, Building A Flying Football Field, An Insider’s Scoop on Stratolaunch, presented by Mason Hutchison from Scaled Composites, was an very interesting look at building the world’s largest plane and an inspiring company. It was refreshing to see innovative and open minded companies like Scaled Composites still existed.
Exhibitors
There was a wide variety of exhibitors / vendors at the 2018 AMA Expo East. Just about every aspect of scale models was represented. I spent the most money at the National Balsa booth. They were very helpful with finding everything I needed. I had a nice time speaking with the good people at Micro Fasteners and I picked up a few miscellaneous bits and bobs I needed around the workshop. In my opinion the best booth was Stevens Aeromodel, their kits were beautiful and well packaged all around. I’m not interested in RC planes (yet) so I didn’t make any purchases from Stevens Aeromodel, but I was very tempted.
My Take Away from 2018 AMA Expo East
I wasn’t allowed to enter my flying stick and tissue airplane model into the airplane model contest. I only attended the event on Friday, even though I purchased a two day ticket. Several times I overheard vendors speaking about how turnout is low, membership is down and the only people at the Expo were other vendors. The first and third speakers in the series were interesting and inspiring. The vendors were friendly and helpful, although there wasn’t much along the lines of my primary interest, old fashioned stick and tissue rubber powered planes. The Society of Antique Modelers had three or four stick and tissue planes on exhibit which were interesting to examine.
It’s a shame that the AMA has all but forgotten where the hobby started. There is a charm to the old fashioned rubber planes and they provide a platform to affordably explore and experiment with little risk of damaging the plane or something else. Rubber powered planes are quiet and can be flown just about anywhere without causing a disturbance. I suppose the AMA goes where the money goes, and it seems the new thing is drones. Drones are fun, but in my opinion they are the exact opposite of building something beautiful that flies on its own power. Perhaps when the old fellers running the AMA retire from the organization someone will come to their senses.
If anyone is interested in my remaining one day pass, for collecting sake, I’ll be happy to mail it to you.
Installing The Feeder Bellows Hinge Cloth and Valves
This is a continuation of my previous post about replacing the bellows of The Gem Roller Organ. At this point the all the bellows cloth has been removed and the wood surfaces have been sanded completely clean of previous debris.
To begin installing the feeder bellows cloth, start with the hinge cloth. The hinge cloth is cut about 1 1/2″ longer than the length of the gap (the width was about 1 3/8″). The extra material must be cut to create two tabs at each end in order to fold over the feeder bellows cloth after it’s installed (see image above). I used a piece of bellow cloth from a previous project to create the hinge, not the material from the repair kit I purchased. The repair kit cloth will work just as effectively.
Using a double-boiler I combined about two tablespoons of dry hide glue and water in a small jelly jar. Once the glue reached 160°F (I monitored the temperature with a candy thermometer in the water of the double-boiler) I went to work. A disposable craft brush was used to apply the glue both to the centered hinge gap in the wood and the area of the cloth that’s inside the gap. The hinge cloth was installed with the help of a butter knife to push the cloth to the bottom of the gap.
New leather valves were cut from the leather from the kit and installed with hide glue. Remember, only the ends of the valve leather are glued! Be sure to keep the leather tight against the wood, for an air tight seal, before moving onto something else.
I added a little surprise for someone to find in a hundred years when they’re replacing my bellows cloth. It’s a photo of Lana Wood (Natalie’s sister) from a 1961 Playboy magazine. I made sure it was fastened good with spray mount.
The image to the right (above) is me adding shellac to the hinge cloth. As I mentioned in the previous post, shellac helps to seal up little leaks that most certainly will occur.
Installing the Feeder Bellows Cloth
Installing the feeder bellows cloth is fairly straightforward. Use the cloth you removed as a template for cutting the new material or download the pattern I created from mine. I recommend making a template out of paper to test the fit before cutting the replacement cloth.
Working one small area at a time, I applied hide glue to both the edges of the bellows wood and the cloth. I used some push pins to hold things in place while I worked, and while the glue set. In the end I used many more pins that are in the image above. The possible leaks the pin holes create are minuscule compared the leaks they’re preventing. I used a butter knife (image above) to press the cloth against the platform wood.
One word of caution. There is a finish applied to the wood in the push rod hole on the platform (red rectangle above) where the bellows attach. The original bellows were not stuck in this area, and it was very hard to make the new cloth stick as well. I permanently attached a few tiny tacks, applied with needle nose pliers, through the cloth and into the wood to keep the bellows sealed in this area.
When the cloth is completely attached remember to glue, fold over and tack the little tabs from the hinge cloth (red circles above). Leave the pins in overnight to allow the glue to cure. Resist the temptation to “test” the bellows until you’re sure the glue is set. I also sealed all the seams with a few coats of shellac.
Installing the Reservoir Bellows Cloth
Replace the reservoir bellows cloth following the same technique used to replace the feeder bellows cloth. Start by installing the hinge cloth. The hinge cloth for the reservoir bellows does not have tabs that wrap around the sides like the feeder bellows do. Instead, the main reservoir bellows cloth has tabs wrapping around the hinge cloth. Use plenty of pins to keep the cloth in place until the glue is cured. Use a razor blade to trim any access cloth protruding over the top edge of the lid.
Assembling the Gem Roller Organ Cabinet and Push Rod
Now would be a good time to inspect the reeds. With the reed block detached from the front of the cabinet gently blow on the reeds. It’s not a trumpet, you’re lips shouldn’t need to touch the block to sound each reed. I forgot to make certain all the reeds were in working order before assembling my Gem, and a few don’t sound. Reviewing some photos of my reeds, it is clear some are bent out of position. One day I’ll go back and adjust them.
Use bellows cloth, or I used black craft foam, to create a gasket for the front of the cabinet (photo above). Install the front of the cabinet and attach the mechanism. Then guide the wooden push rod from under the platform and attach it to the crank. Tighten the screw, then attach the other end of the push rod to the feeder bellows. With the push rod installed, attach the platform to the four sided base.
A note about the push rod. The original push rod on my organ withstood several attachments and detachments. During one assembly it broke (#1 in photo above). I crafted a new one out of random black walnut and it broke while being attached (#2). Next I tried a piece of Douglas fir (#3). It broke as well.
It was then I looked closely the wood grain of the original. The grain was tight and quartersawn, meaning the grain was parallel to the block (green check mark above). The red X in the image above shows bad wood grain for the push rod. The gran is bad because cracks occur with the grain.
A scrounged around my stockpile of wood scraps and found a suitable piece of black walnut. The resulting push rod (#4) installed with easy success.
Replacing the Valve Pads
Replacing the valve pads was an easy task. I used a dental hook to remove the old pads, they basically fell off. I used Q-Tips soaked with denatured alcohol to clean the metal surface. My patience was wearing thin so I decided to use CA glue (super glue) to fasten the new pads. Nothing stressful or unpredictable to report about the process.
The Gem Roller Organ Performance
With The Gem Roller Organ fully assembled (and somewhat adjusted) it was time for its first performance! I put on one of the cobs that shipped with the organ and started cranking. Strong and clear music filled the room. As I mentioned earlier, some of the reeds aren’t adjusted, so they sound weak or not at all. Regardless, the melody was clear and very familiar.
After sharing this video with my parents they immediately knew the name of the song, “Nearer, My God, to Thee”. My parents also knew this as the song the band played as the Titanic sunk.
Conclusion
I hope you’ve found my posts about The Gem Roller Organ helpful. I know it’s far from comprehensive, but it’s a lot more information than what’s on the internet. If you’d like me to post other specific information, or if you’ve found any errors in the text please let me know. I had a fun time restoring my Gem Roller Organ. If you decide to restore a Gem on your own, take your time, don’t rush or set any deadlines. It’s a slow process that’s best suited for deliberate and careful work.
I’ve been enchanted by The Gem Roller Organ for many years. I’ve scoured the web for every nugget of information I could about this mechanical marvel and I’ve learned just about everything there is to know. The two things that fascinate me most about The Gem Roller Organ are:
1. The bellows create a vacuum to pull air through the reeds (as opposed to pushing pressurized air through reeds, whistles or pipes).
2. The drive mechanism not only rotates the cob, but slowly offsets to the left. This increases the duration of a tune to three rotations of the cob. When the tune is complete a spring loaded release mechanism pushes the cob to the right, which resets the cob to the start of the tune. It’s amazing how much is going on in such a small mechanism! (more on that at John Wolff’s Web Museum)
Loaded with everything I’ve learned about the Gem, it was time to get one of my own! I purchased mine on Ebay for a handsome fee, even though the listing clearly stated the unit didn’t “create much sound”. Examining the images of the Ebay listing I knew the mechanism was complete and in undamaged condition.
It was clear, however, someone tried to repair the unit by gluing the sheepskin valves on the feeder bellows completely closed! Knowing full well that there was certainly an underlying problem that caused this repair, I suspected fixing the valves would not return the unit to its original glory. Long story short, the bellows cloth and valves needed to be replaced.
Things to Consider Before Starting a Restoration
Restoring my Gem Roller Organ required about twenty hours of effort using the CONCERT ROLLER ORGAN REPAIR KIT from Roller Organ Restorations for eighty dollars. This company will restore a Gem for as little as $255. The repair kit includes an instruction sheet that, personally, I found confusing and of little use. I say this because it is assumed the reader already understands the name and function of every part and there are no illustrations. If you aren’t comfortable with working with tiny parts, hot hide glue and tight spaces with awkward bits you may want to seek the help of a professional.
The cotton based bellows cloth included in the kit functions well, but looks like neoprene and nothing like the original cloth backed black rubber of the original. I prefer the aesthetics of the original cloth and there are other downsides to the kit’s cloth which I’ll explain later. However, it’s great that someone provides a quality kit to replace the bellows and pallet valve pads in one kit.
If you decide to replace the bellows I recommend carefully disassembling the unit, storing screws and small parts small labeled Ziploc bags and record the order in which the unit was dismantled. When all the parts are clean, the original bellows material is completely removed and the wood surfaces are sanded clean the unit should be assembled in reverse order.
Hide glue is the way to go when working with bellows cloth. If you’ve never worked with hide glue before, it can be intimidating at first. It’s not as complicated as it seems and I find hide glue much easier to use than any other suggested replacement adhesive. I purchased my hide glue from Tools For Working Wood. The site has a clear explanation of the various strengths, I use 315 gram strength. While your shopping for supplies I recommend picking up some shellac flakes as well. Dissolve the shellac flakes in denatured alcohol (not rubbing alcohol) and you’re good to go.
“Good to go where,” you ask? Shellac works well for sealing up any leaks that unavoidably occur between the bellows cloth and the wood it’s attached to. A few coats around the perimeter helps keep leaks to a minimum. Shellac is not mentioned in the Organ Repair Kit Instruction Sheet, and with good reason. Shellac discolors the cotton based material, so care must be used when applying shellac. The discoloration of the cloth on the feeder bellows (under the cabinet) doesn’t matter much because it’s hidden. The shellac needs to be applied to the reservoir bellows from inside the cabinet to prevent discoloring the outside of the fabric.
Opening the case of the Gem Roller Organ
Opening the cabinet is fairly straightforward. The feeder bellows push rod is attached to the crankshaft by the springiness of the wood and locked into place with screw #1. Loosen screw #1 enough to gently release the push rod from the crankshaft. Well done! The hard part of opening the cabinet is complete.
Now remove screws #2 and #3 to detach the crankshaft bearing from the case. The crankshaft assembly can be removed by gently guiding it out of the bearing in the rear of the mechanism. Remove screws #4-8 in no particular order. The front panel can now be removed by sliding it forward.
A Look Inside the Reservoir Bellows
We’re finally getting a view of things my internet searches failed to reveal! The top half of the image is the inside of the reservoir bellows. The springs hold the bellows open against the vacuum created by the feeder bellows below. When the vacuum compresses the reservoir too much the lid touches the relief valve push rod which opens a valve on the underside of the cabinet, temporarily allowing air into the reservoir to reduce the vacuum.
The lower half of the image shows the reed block attached to the front panel. The reed block can be detached and gently cleaned. To do so, remove the two remaining screws on the front panel to the left and right of the palette valves. A word of caution: In my haste to attach the reed block after cleaning, I mistakenly attached it upside down. The resulting music was not very good.
Remove The Gem Roller Organ Reservoir Bellows
Using a heat gun (top left) to remove the bellows cloth.
Notice the little tabs on the large, three-sided bellows cloth that wrap around to the front at the corners and cover the “hinge cloth” across the front of the unit. These tabs are important to include with the replacement cloth.
I started the process of removing the reservoir bellows cloth by gently poking, prodding and cutting at the tabs with and x-acto blade and small dental hook/pick. This process worked well where the glue was compromised. However, the bellows cloth was stuck extremely well on the corners and a few other areas. That’s when I got out the heat gun.
With the heat gun on a low setting the flow of hot air was swept side to side on the areas that were stuck solid. To my surprise just as the temperature of the wood got almost too hot to touch, the bellows cloth easily peeled away from the lid and cabinet.
Be careful with the heat gun. Too much heat will ruin the finish of the wood cabinet! A heat gun, after all, is a great tool for doing exactly that, removing paint and finish. Those uncomfortable using a heat gun should start with a hair dryer with low heat.
Remove the two valve leather strips as well.
Accessing the Feeder Bellows
Accessing the feeder bellows of The Gem Roller Organ was something that had me stumped. After a brief study of the construction of the cabinet I believed the feeder bellows were simply glued to the underside of the platform. “Perhaps a sharp downward drop would knock the bellows loose?” was the general theme of my thinking.
This is NOT the reality, so please don’t try it! The bellows do not disconnect from the underside of the platform, the platform disconnects from the sides of the cabinet. The image above has four red circles highlighting the screws to be removed to accomplish this. I suppose these screws were invisible to me because the construction of the unit was not as I originally expected.
Removing the Feeder Bellows Cloth
Building on the experience you’ve gained by removing the reservoir bellows cloth, removing the feeder bellows cloth is mostly an easy task. Start by removing the spring and the three tacks to remove the relief valve (already removed in image). Next remove the two screws on the wooden feeder bar and remove the bar (a little heat should loosen the glue. Remove the eight feeder bellows tacks (four on each side), I used needle-nosed pliers for the task.
Notice the tacks are binding down tabs connected to the hinge cloth. This tab configuration is opposite of the reservoir cloth. Remember, the tabs on the reservoir cloth cover the hinge cloth, the tabs on the feeder bellows stem from the hinge cloth and cover the side of each feeder bellows. This must be replicated with the replacement cloth.
I removed the bellows cloth using heat, x-acto blade and small dental hook/pick. The hinge cloth is the most problematic to remove. I ended up using a rotary tool with tiny diamond burrs like these. The hinge cloth and glue need to be completely removed down to the wood! It took me two hours to remove the hinge cloth down to the wood.
The two valve leather strips should be removed as well.
Make sure all of the old bellows cloth and glue is removed on all surfaces! I will admit I used this Sanding Disc Kit quite a bit to accomplish the task. Don’t be fooled, these little sanding discs are hungry little buggers! A careful and gentle touch is all that’s required, slow and steady wins the race. A little side note about the sanding discs, I use them all the time on countless things. I’ve owned the set for more than ten years and I still have most of the discs. They last forever before they need to be replaced.
My next post How to Replace The Gem Roller Organ Bellows Part Two coming soon. I will provide downloadable patterns for the replacement bellows cloth. And yes, I’ll share the experience of replacing the bellows cloth and reassembly. If I’m feeling ambitious a video performance will be included as well!
My “Summer of Free-Flight” has been a lot of fun! It’s been a learning experience, not always smooth going, but always fun! I’ve built and flown a few really fun balsa wood stick and tissue paper airplanes this summer. The latest plane added to my fleet of planes is Rob Peck’s classic design, the Prairie Bird.
Peck Polymers Prairie Bird Airplane
A friend recommended I build the Prairie Bird because of its reputation as a great flyer. He was correct; more on that later. I searched around on the internet and downloaded the plan. The plan was formatted to print nicely on 11″x17″ paper – so I uploaded the file to Staples and had them print me a few on some quite nice card stock. I believe five copies cost me under $3 total. I pinned the plan to my building board, covered it with Saran Wrap and got to work.
Carved balsa wood exhaust pipes and a front shot of the assembled fuselage.
I really took my time on this project making certain everything was as perfect as could be. The straightforward design of the plane made it easy to construct a straight and square fuselage. I practically glued the cross-braces one at a time and waited for the glue to set before I adding the next one.
Adding tissue paper was a snap because there isn’t too many compound angles and curves to the parts. The tissue on everything except the rudder and stabilizer was shrunk with 50/50 water/alcohol mixture. Following the shrinking I added a three coats of 50/50 SIG Lite-Coat/Thinner. The windshield is made with clear plastic from a salad container. I used plastic Peck wheels, a Peck Nylon Bearing and Peck propeller. The propeller was balanced by gently sanding away material until an even balance was achieved (a lot more sanding than I expected).
The Prairie Bird over Watsessing Park.
My test flights were a great success. At first I was flying with approximately 300 turns on the motor, eventually increasing to about 600. Many more turns are possible, but I didn’t have a helper or a stooge to help me stretch wind the motor. I didn’t want to press my luck.
The Prairie Bird performed wonderfully and was a champion at catching thermals. One of the flights concluded in a tree. Lucky for me it was low enough to the ground that I whacked it loose with a six foot long stick.
The thrill that is achieved from flying these little beauties is beyond words. The careful work and attention is forgotten – and happiness consumes me when they take to the air, and when they land where they can be easily retrieved.
My recent interest in building old fashioned balsa wood and tissue model airplanes inspired me to visit a local estate sale featuring model building and model train supplies. I immediately focused my attention of a few stacks of magazines of all sorts. Lucky for me I found a few issues of Universal Model Airplane News spanning from 1932 to 1935.
The magazines are in “less than ideal” condition. Several of the magazines crumbled into pieces during the process of flatbed scanning their contents. Also, these magazines were owned by someone who enjoyed scrap-booking, resulting with square holes of missing information and photos. With that said, plenty of useful information and plans remain in these little gems. Each magazine has regular columns such as: The Aerodynamic Design of the Model Plane (by Charles Hampson Grant), Aviation Advisory Board, Model Kinx (by J. G. Marinac), “Whats” and What Nots” of Model Plane Building (by Howard G. McEntee) and Air Ways – Here and There.
Even if you’re not interested in model airplanes, you should download them and give them a read – for history’s sake!
The summer of 2017 is flying by! Pun intended. I’ve been busy building free-flight rubber powered Peanut Scale airplanes (and some other styles as well). Sadly I haven’t been spending much time flying them – it’s either windy or dark outside when I find time for actually flying! For relaxation and inspiration I took a long weekend road trip to the AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics) Museum in Muncie, Indiana, the National Museum of the USAF as well as the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park in Dayton, Ohio. I highly recommend all of these destinations!
The Labor Day 2017 weekend bring the Long’s Park Art Festival in Lancaster, PA. I don’t present any of my work at the festival, but I always look forward to seeing the various crafts on display. My favorite, without a doubt, is the great stuff Lohr Woodworking Studio showcases! For the past few years they’ve been kind enough to allow me to help pack up their trailer at the end of the show. It’s my once-a-year workout.
Speaking of the awesome folks at Lohr Woodworking, I’ve been invited (okay, I invited myself) to be a teacher’s assistant during the Sold Out Sept 18-23, 2017 Practical Woodworking Course. The kind hearts of Jeff, Larissa, Rob and Eoin provide me a relaxing getaway, to be surrounded by big power tools and reeling minds excited about learning the craft of furniture making. For the most part I catch up on my woodcarving projects quietly in the corner.
The plan was to attend the Barron Field Air Races in Wawayanda, NY Oct 22-23. I was going to try my hand at entering a few of my peanut planes into some friendly Flying Aces Club contests for the very first time. However, on one recent evening as I nodded off to sleep I was thinking “October. October… When is the…?” Instead of racing planes I’ll in Wayne, NJ at the North Jersey Woodcarvers Woodcarving & Art Show Oct 22-23 2017. It’s been a few years since I’ve had a table at the show – and I really miss the gang from the club and the American Woodcarving School.
Attending the show will give me an excuse to complete some of the carvings I started with enthusiasm several years ago. I guess I’ll be putting the planes on hold until November. I have a lot of carving to do if I stand a chance at finishing two or three of those carving projects!
Sorry it’s been a while since I posted on the blog. I have been keeping my status up to date on Instagram if you’re interested. Until next time!
The Canarsie Courier (top) and Canary (bottom) From the Don Ross book.
I’ve been busy making good old fashioned balsa stick and tissue rubber powered free flight planes. As I likely mentioned in an earlier post I’ve decided to take some time from woodworking and carving to relax and explore the hobby of flying model planes. My focus is primarily on Peanut Scale fliers, but instead of jumping right in I wanted to do it right and take some time to learn the nuts and bolts of making planes that fly. I’ve worked my way (mostly) through Don Ross’s book on rubber powered planes, with some success with building and flying these airborne works of art.
The complete SIG AMA Racer
I assembled and flew a few of the SIG Models beginner planes: AMA Cub, AMA Racer, etc and had fun flying these sticks with wings. These projects helped me gain an understanding of how to trim (adjust) model planes for flight. Because these planes are so light their flight times are long and magical! I moved onto building and flying my own (no longer produced) SIG Uncle Sam plane which flew well until I accidentally locked it in the hot car too long and warped the stabilizer and rudder.
After completing the prior projects I decided I was ready to assemble my first Peanut Scale plane, which is the whole reason why I started on this journey. I was a busy boy online snatching up vintage Peanut Scale kits. For whatever reason Sterling kits (manufactured in Philadelphia, PA) captured my interest. My plan is to complete all six kits, twelve planes in all. I started the process with Kit #2: Monocoupe – Citabria. I laid out the plans for both on my building board and got to work.
Sterling Models Monocoupe in progress
I completed the Monocoupe first. At first I wasn’t interested in decorating the planes, I was simply going to apply white tissue and call it done. As the Monocoupe was taking shape, something clicked in my psyche and suddenly I was interested in applying all the details. Because of this they project took about twice as long as expected (a few weekends).
I’ve had an opportunity to take the complete Monocoupe out for a few test flights. To my surprise, it flew straight as an arrow. There are a few adjustments I’d like to make to balance the model better and improve the performance of the propeller. However, I think I’m going to hold off on any ambitious changes until I get more experience building and flying these wonderful Peanut Scale marvels.
The video above is of the Canarsie Canary I built using the plans from the Don Ross book Rubber Powered Model Airplanes. My previous post shared some of the construction of this model. I mentioned the first few flights were encouraging, but subsequent flights continued to get worse. This was because the propeller bracket was slowly tipping downward with each winding of the rubber band. I shimmed the bracket and the plane flies great!
Moving on to the next plane in the book. The Canarsie Courier. My model of this plane still isn’t flying as it should. I’m pretty sure I need to add weight to the nose, even though the weight of the plane is balanced as it should be. In the meantime I will share a little of my experience working through the book Rubber Powered Model Airplanes.
My Introduction to Building Balsa Airplanes
When I recently made the decision to start the hobby of building model airplanes I started with research. Despite how long this pastime has been around I quickly learned there isn’t a thorough Beginner’s Guide available for the novice. There is a wealth of information online but it assumes the reader has building experience and an understanding of the terminology. Because I am most interested in free flight rubber powered airplanes I’ve started with the aptly titled book Rubber Powered Model Airplanes by the late Don Ross.
The book is a fantastic introduction to the hobby and shares a wealth of tips and information for every newcomer. It isn’t, however, without shortcomings. The book instructs the reader to read the text multiple times and to have a complete understand of the plans before building the projects. There are many disparities throughout the text and illustrations which directly contradict each other. According to the author the plans are drawn in various scales to improve the reader’s competency with model plans. However, the plans don’t match.
Canarsie Courier pylon from plans
The plans for this pylon are taken directly from the Canarsie Courier plans. Here the pylon illustration on the right is reduced to match the illustration on the left. It’s not hard to notice the illustrated height is different between the two, also no height measurement is provided in the plans or the text. Another inconsistent example is the length of the motor stick. The plan stipulates a length of eighteen inches; if the plans are properly enlarged they motor stick is actually drawn to a length of seventeen inches.
I assume the plane will fly, to some degree, regardless of the length chosen by the modeler. However, this is a book for beginners. I’ve already learned enough to know these planes are tricky to build and fly with meticulous effort. It’s easy to become frustrated when inconsistencies such as these are discovered.
Therefore I’m taking a break from working through this book and exploring a few other options on building free flight planes.
I mentioned in an earlier post at the summer of 2017 is time for me to learn the ins and outs of rubber powered free flight model planes. To do so I’m starting from square one – the fabulous book by Don Ross titled Rubber Powered Model Airplanes. The first project in the book is the Canarsie Canary, a basic balsa wood design. All that is needed is some balsa wood, a propeller with mount and a loop of airplane rubber.
I purchased the balsa wood from my local hobby shop, the propeller and rubber was ordered from SIG, a popular model plane manufacturer. While I waited for the parts to arrive (and they came within a few days) I started building the balsa wood parts. As you can see it’s not a very complicated design, basically a stick with wings, rudder and stabilizer. The most complicated aspect of the build is setting the wing dihedral, bending the wing tips upward – this adds flight stability.
Setting the Wing Dihedral
I followed the instructions somewhat diligently. Scotch tape is applied on the top of the wing where the bend will occur. The wing is flipped over and lightly scored to allow the wood to bend, but not break. The wing tips must be folded upward 1 1/4″ and the gap is filled with glue. For precision sake the wings were supported on two stacks of plywood scraps (each stack is a piece of 1/2″ and 3/4″ plywood) 1 1/4″ tall. I used tape to hold everything in place while everything set.
When the remaining parts arrived I assembled the entire plane and gave it a test flight. To my surprise it flew straight and smooth. A few hours later I headed to the local park with plenty of room to give the plane a true test. Before the Canarie Canary can take flight two small rectangles of paper are taped on the wing and rudder. This forces the plane into a gentle left turn.
I’ll be honest, the plane had about ten flights, three of them were somewhat graceful and responded as it should. At times there was a breeze, and some of the adjustments of the plane were not ideal. Suddenly some of the advise that is shared in the book became quite clear. So I’ll be trying out a few modifications and returning to the park soon. I’ll report with more information when it comes to fruition.
Frank Ehling Dart-Too
The Prairie Bird performed wonderfully and was a champion at catching thermals. One of the flights concluded in a tree. Lucky for me it was low enough to the ground that I whacked it loose with a six foot long stick.
