RE: C/L Flying movies
SnApRoLl !! Got no idea where you found this but it's one of the best old videos I've seen - OUTSTANDING!!!! Sure brings back some memories of just how terrible some of those old planes really flew in 1962. Still have my PT-19 and Spitfire from that period - and they still fly ... but I'd NEVER try that inverted flight with the wings they have. Yeah, cool video. Dave
Posted on: 5/17/2013 9:08 PM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "Control Lines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11514878

RE: Debolt Live Wire Champ
[quote]ORIGINAL: alan0899 [quote]ORIGINAL: kakatoha Can anyone share the plan to build the LiveWire Champion N1520. I have the kit but do not have the instructions. Just a bunch of wood :). Please help! [/quote] G'day Mate, I have just finished setting up my Champ, again, I built it in the early 80's, used it for years, funflys & stuff, I even got 2nd place in loop & roll at Coffs fun fly, one year. It has a OS max 25FSR, & a 10x4 prop. I have the original building instructions, do you still need them? I can scan & email to you if you need them. Just let me know your Email address, & I'll scan it. I have taken some pix of my Champ, Yes it is the original covering on the wings & tail, built 1982, but I had to recover the Fuselage. It is now guided by a JR DSX9 2.4Ghz TX, & a Spektrum AR 6200 DSM2 RX. Cheers. [/quote] Also, some years ago (1995) Model Airplane News published an article on the Champ that I came across - probably on one of the RCU Champ forums - and kept. Got them in my website at: http://www.wanderings-ds.com/files/champ10-man-dec1995-1.pdf http://www.wanderings-ds.com/files/champ10-man-dec1995-2.pdf http://www.wanderings-ds.com/files/champ10-man-dec1995-3.pdf http://www.wanderings-ds.com/files/champ10-man-dec1995-4.pdf These might help some too. BTW, Alan - your Champ's looking GOOD!!! Mine runs with the same engine/prop set-up. Love it!! Dave
Posted on: 9/1/2012 7:10 AM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11213453

RE: Engine Choice for a 73 inch J3 Cub.
Definitely put the 46 in it. I've got a GP Cub with nearly the same wingspan and the original OS 40LA wasn't really enough for it. She's a floater, no doubt about that, but she needs a bit of oomph to get off the ground in a reasonable distance to start with. Yeah, there's practically no dihedral on a Cub. I fly several planes with 46-class engines in them. If you're not "maxed out" with the RPMs all the time you'll get about 1 minute/ounce fuel. I use mostly 10oz tanks with my birds, a couple have 12 oz. with plenty of time in the air per flight.
Posted on: 7/10/2012 5:29 AM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "Sport Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11149746

RE: Scale Line Models Great Lakes Trainer Build
Amazing! When I put mine back together I had no idea they'd actually designed it for the spokes - it was simply the only thing I could see that would work over such a large GAP! The decals are actually rather easy to make. Just be sure to spray at least 2 coats over them to seal good. I use the transparent for some, white-backing for many. If you want solid colors (such as for the GLAC logo) I recommend white-backed. I don't think you'll have any troubles at all but lemme know if you want me to do them anyway - happy to help.
Posted on: 7/8/2012 7:07 AM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11147372

RE: Scale Line Models Great Lakes Trainer Build
Yeah, definitely looking good, I like your use of the spiderwire. Gotta tell ya, your solder jobs look GREAT!! I'm no great shakes with a soldering iron - was lucky that every one of my solder joints was a good one as they were originally. You're doing GREAT with the "mass" aspect - mine had enough mass in that frontal area to give the loggers a day off, I dumped THAT MUCH balsa, spruce & hardwood out of the front end. When you get to it, I got my cockpit combing from Tower - worked just great. Also, not sure of just how the cockpit-hatch connects PROPERLY (mine was truly messed up when I got it) but I used bicycle spokes to hold mine down - cowl top too (but you won't have to worry about that, having the fibreglass cowl available). Tell me if I'm wrong - you're building yours with the crank at the top of the cowl, ya? That would be the original "E" model, as I understand how they were labeled at that time. EVERYTHING coming out of the factory today is listed as "E" - - 2T-1E. Another small tidbit of trivia - the WACO people just bought rights to build new Great Lakes planes too. I guess this has been just in the past couple weeks. They're planning to build a couple dozen planes this year and they're aiming for 100 planes/year after that. Yup - your logo is the exact same one I got from the website - I just used the center portion because the guys in the full-size birds seem to change the style of the words as they please and the particular bird I modeled after had the name tiny-printed underneath. Hey, if you're not comfy with doing your own decals just let me know. I've got the paper and spray right here - won't take a minute to print them out and send them to you. Just let me know how tall you want - happy to do it. Dave
Posted on: 7/5/2012 10:50 AM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11144043

RE: Scale Line Models Great Lakes Trainer Build
OOPS - will look it up again.
Posted on: 7/4/2012 12:08 PM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11142063

RE: Scale Line Models Great Lakes Trainer Build
Was just looking at the Cleveland plans this morning for one. They've got plans for 10" wing up to what would be a .90 or so size. cleveland.com I think. Will check... Yeah, go to http://www.clevelandairline.com/ASP/PRODUCT.asp and when you get there click on Great Lakes as the manufacturer, and pick the 2T-1E - plenty of sizes there.
Posted on: 7/4/2012 12:06 PM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11142873

RE: Scale Line Models Great Lakes Trainer Build
[quote]ORIGINAL: ampeater Dave, You did a great job restoring yours, she looks great! That is the same scheme I was thinking of, but I also have an old picture that I might go with, still undecided. I was thinking of using Koverall/dope but decided to stick with the simpler iron-on covering. I read your site, sounds like the .40 didn't work out for you, you had to put in a .60? I'm shooting for a .35 equivalent, so I hope it works out. Sounds like you also had to add some tail weight, was it because of the bigger engine? My motor is a heck of a lot lighter up front, and I should be able to slide the batteries back and forth to balance. I was thinking of putting the rudder and elev servos as far forward as I can, but if it's gonna be nose heavy, I might keep them per plan. [/quote] I thank you kindly for the good words - yeah, she's very much a favorite when she's on the field. As far as "paint jobs" go, most of the original planes came in 2 fairly simple color patterns. The first is like mine, solid fuse and fins with the tear-drop that matched the wings, and the other is the centered paint stripe down the side. Got some pics of that one below too. The modern planes, coming out of the factory today, are all over the landscape as far as color scheme goes - I don't think any 2 are the same, with the exception of 5 that one guy out West has - all are identical, all are powered with a turboprop engine. From what I've been able to find out, they do precision aerobatics at rather high speeds and the planes are capable of in excess of 350 knots. That's truly MOVING for a 2T. Yeah, no doubt about it - the .40 didn't work out so well. I went to a .45 with 11X6 prop that was a bit better (she could get higher than 10 feet with that one) but she really came to life when I put the OS FSa.56 4-stroke with 12X6 prop and Dubro motor mount into her. IMHO, you're going about your build absolutely perfectly - stay with your thoughts, keep her LIGHT. Mine was apparently built in the 60's and 1960's methods were used. The entire nose was CARVED from balsa blocks, hardwood engine mounts, a huge amount of ply behind the firewall and in the wing-mount area. When I put the .56 into her I rebuilt the entire nose section (sure wish I'd had access to your fibreglass nose), narrowing it down a bit to a more "scale" appearance (also cut a lot of drag) and cut many many lightening holes into the plywood. Shaved a lot of other things up-front too. One thing I'll never be able to prove, but I suspect strongly, was that mine originally had an ignition engine. The entire area ahead of the firewall was cut for a large (size-wise) engine but the area just behind the firewall had a spot for a rather small fuel tank - I'm guessing 4 oz. or so. Anyway, during the final set-up I moved the radio battery and receiver into the rear of the fuse, first bay behind the lower wing, and all the servos are right there ahead of that bulkhead, right under the rear cockpit. Fuel tank (8 oz and I use 15% nitro fuel) takes up the rest of the space under the front cockpit. Never did put any weight in the tail, fortunately. CG, today, is right at the LE of the lower wing and she flies pretty decently - she's certainly no aerobat but she can loop, roll and do all the basic maneuvers that folks like to see. Got a link here to a whole bunch (couple hundred) of pics of 2Ts as they're flying today. http://www.russellw.com/photoalbum/photo_query_results.asp?qModel=e2T-1A You'll see #841 (not 840 as I said before) and a BUNCH of others, including some 2T-1C's (radial engines with round cowls) that must be awesome to fly. Pic below - the other main "old time" color pattern. Dave
Posted on: 7/3/2012 8:19 PM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11142044

RE: Scale Line Models Great Lakes Trainer Build
[quote]ORIGINAL: ampeater My mother bought this Scale Line Models Great Lakes Trainer kit as a gift for my father in 1962. It's been in the rafters since, and he asked me to build it for him, probably mostly for sentimental reasons. ... I plan to cover with orange solartex with black paint. Oh, and my mother planned ahead enough to buy an optional fiberglass cowl for it. Who would have thought she knew about such things back then…… [/quote] Not a half-bad plane at all - found one myself a couple years ago in a yard-sale, in pretty sad shape. Took her apart and put her back together, painted in the scheme of the full-size NC-840H, a 2T-1B model. Among other things, during the restoration I contacted John Dunham, owner/president/CEO of the Great Lakes Aircraft Company which is now located in Colorado. He put me in contact with Harvey Swack (company historian and info guru). Mr Dunham gave permission to use the GLAC logo and Mr Swack sent me a copy of the original company 3-view drawings. I covered mine with SIG Koverall & Stixit, painted with SIG dopes. You can see a bit of what I went through on the website - http://www.wanderings-ds.com/whs/52-2t1a.html I'm including a copy of the logo and some of the other stuff they sent here, along with a couple pics of my bird - and the full-size bird that I based the paint job on. Good luck with yours!!!! AND THANK YOUR MOTHER FOR STILL HAVING IT!!!!!!!!!!!! Dave
Posted on: 7/2/2012 8:21 PM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11140744

RE: Best method to remove old EconoKote film?
Not sure that econokote would work quite the same, but I used acetone to take the remainder of monokote from the wood on a near 40-year old plane and it worked just fine. What you're doing with that "color" layer is trying to remove the glue, which is all that's holding the color. Should work fairly well.
Posted on: 6/10/2012 5:31 AM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "RC Gliders, Sailplanes and Slope Soaring"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11113057

RE: Nose Job
I'm certainly no expert - just barely able to keep my own gliders balanced something close to right, but IMHO you're doing just fine. I've got an old Aquila that I made a "slight" modification to about 30 years ago - added a wheel (1.5" tapered design) on the underside to help keep the fuse from getting all torn up, and it's worked just fine for decades. You might think about this too, as long as you're going all out on that nose. She sticks out about 5/8" under the fuse and has never seemed to mess with the flight characteristics. I'll be VERY interested in seeing your tow set-up. I've seen planes using them but have never seen how it's actually done. Dave
Posted on: 5/16/2012 1:22 AM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "RC Gliders, Sailplanes and Slope Soaring"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11082630

RE: Better to build straight wings or wing with some turn up near the tip.
I'm certainly no expert on this - however, from my experience, if you turn the wingtip "up" you're going to get a somewhat "squirrelly" bird any time you maneuver because of "tip-stall". This can be deadly on landings - totally destructive if there's enough stall. A straight wing or one with washout (turning the wingtip down) is actually the more preferential set-up for most wings, whether powered or gliders. Dave [quote]ORIGINAL: videorov Which seems to fly the thermals better. The straight I guess will fly faster? Im talking wings up around 4ft each side. The straight wings are easier to build with hot wire cutting process. [/quote]
Posted on: 4/3/2012 2:39 AM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "RC Gliders, Sailplanes and Slope Soaring"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11026228

RE: What am I?
[quote]ORIGINAL: BMatthews I'm not sure... Shouldn't the fin have been built on with plywood inner doublers added before it was closed up like this one? [/quote] Most definitely!!! That's probably the reason it's still in its present state - looks like several wrong steps at the wrong time and the builder just stopped at that point. As I see it, it's possible to finish the fuse and correct many/most of the errors but it would take a fair amount of cutting (basically, a total disassembly) and re-build. Dave
Posted on: 3/3/2012 5:03 AM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "RC Gliders, Sailplanes and Slope Soaring"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10984660

RE: What am I?
That's a near-finished fuse for a Bird-of-Time. Here's mine just after that same point. Dave [quote]ORIGINAL: e-sailpilot86 I was found in a stash of balsawood and miscellaneous scraps bought at a swapmeet table. What is this? It's shape and curves look familiar, pretty sure it belongs to a 2 meter model of some sort. Someone went to the trouble of putting some 1/64 ply in it to hold it together more strongly. Heavy amounts of balsa on the underside, no plans, there were two half-wing sets of ribs for two different models... 1/4" balsa sides, and it's definately not contest grade... it's a brick. 7.5 ounces [X(] on my scale with as little as you see here. The construction quality is, [i]eh[/i]. But it's nowhere near completion so I can fix that. There's enough wood in the box to turn it into something... I'll probably just turn it into some sort of scratchbuild RES model, let someone else cover it unless I can score a roll of used covering for dirt cheap. Fuselage is about 42" long, seems like a 2-meter model. I'll use my scrap-fu to turn it into something a bit bigger than that if I can. [/quote]
Posted on: 3/1/2012 5:44 AM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "RC Gliders, Sailplanes and Slope Soaring"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10982707

RE: spacewalker 2 40
If it's the Seagull model (ARF), this is taken directly from the website - airplane manual. http://secure.hobbyzone.com/catalog/hz/rcplanes/planes_seagull/SEA2050.html?media=pdf - - click on "manuals", click on "spacewalker" INITIAL FLYING/SPORT FLYING Ailerons: 3/16” up 3/16” down. Elevator: 3/8” up 3/8” down. Rudder: 1” right 1” left. AEROBATIC FLYING Ailerons: 3/8” up 3/8” down. Elevator: 1” up 1” down. Rudder: 2” right 2” left. Do not use the aerobatic settings for
Posted on: 1/10/2012 4:48 AM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "Sport Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10901406

RE: Control Line Plane Donation
Dave, before anything else I want to thank you and your crew for all that you guys/gals do. If you're interested, I've got a pair of baby Ringmasters, one flat-wing trainer and one built-up that you could have. Only have one TD-.049 for them though but it's a good one. Also have a SIG Akromaster available with an old but good running Fox .15 on-board. Might be able to supply y'all with some of the field equipment too. You guys ever down in the Norfolk area? I could have my son bring them down there with him when he comes up here around Christmas - I'm in Luray, about 200 miles inland from there and a bit north. If that's not an option, there's always snail-mail after Christmas. Dave Wittich, TSgt, USAF (Retired) [quote]ORIGINAL: DRonland Hello, My name is David, and I am a Chief Boatsmate, active duty. We ( over a dozen of us) onboard our Coast Guard Cutter are in search of a plane to train on for our Moral. Due to our schedule, operations, and current logistics we cannot feasibly find the time to build a plane for ourselves. Many of us are interested. I myself with the schedule have not been able to build for a while. We pull into ports that we would be able to fly at the military ball field near the cutter. We are looking for a trainer, possibly a Flite Streak or Ringmaster. If anyone would be willing to donate us one or two that would be great. In turn, we will provide pictures of us enjoying the plane. I have a few engines, so we would not need the engine if you decided you wanted to keep the one it had. Thank You for your consideration. DRonland [/quote]
Posted on: 12/13/2011 3:08 AM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "Control Lines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10857050

RE: New to sailplanes
Hey Mike, your located in VA - where? Dave
Posted on: 11/18/2011 9:39 AM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "RC Gliders, Sailplanes and Slope Soaring"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10818143

RE: C/L scale handle
Monellar, that Shackelton's beautiful!
Posted on: 11/1/2011 5:28 AM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "Control Lines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10791764

RE: Black Horse Angel Tail-dragger Conversion
Bill, have never looked at one of these before but just looking at it, I have to wonder why it was ever a trike in the first place. She looks GOOD!!!!!!!!! Dave
Posted on: 10/27/2011 5:19 AM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "Sport Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10784763

RE: Floater; which kind?
Louis, I'm also one of those that likes the larger gliders - fly my BoT and Spirit-100 a lot in quite a few different wind conditions. I'm actually a major fan of the BoT for most flying conditions. She's a lot stronger than one would think - as long as you go with the kit. There's plenty of room under those wings for a ballast box (necessary for those high wind days) and she'll stay with a slope all day long. My biggest suggestions for the BoT would be to make sure you build those wings with all the bracing she can hold (I ran my webbing nearly out to the wingtips - front and rear webbing to the polyhedral joint) and I'd think seriously about carboning the bottom spar, just for insurance sake. The added weight is near nothing. You mentioned slopes - I'd also suggest ailerons if you're going to be putting a lot of time on slopes. IMHO, the BoT suffers a bit in the "tight turn capability" department and something in the range of 5-bay-wide ailerons would probably help her a whole lot in that department. For most other flying they wouldn't be necessary at all, but on a slope I think she'd benefit from the added capability. So far (something over a year of flying it) my BoT has shown NO adverse surprises in windy conditions - she's got spoilers but not ailerons (don't do a lot of slope soaring around here - too many trees on the mountains). Have NEVER had a problem with flutter, etc., no matter how steep I've had her diving (and there HAVE been a few near vertical dives to get away from predatory eagles, hawks, etc). Speaking of ballast boxes, I'm sure I've seen a thread here on various-weight ballast blocks. Going to have to do a search for it again. I'm sure there are other floaters out there that are just as good as the BoT, and I'm hoping you'll hear from others with those ideas, but for my money the BoT's a great choice. Dave (pic - me & my Bot and Spirit-100)
Posted on: 10/19/2011 4:18 AM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "RC Gliders, Sailplanes and Slope Soaring"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10772703

RE: it's about time 4 my Bird of Time
I may be quite wrong but this UAV of yours appears to be the "new" MALE (yeah, that's its name) UAV being developed by Dassault Aviation, working with the Israeli company IAI. Basically, it's a modified version of the Heron TP airframe. It's still in the development stages as far as I know. This could easily be the prototype.
Posted on: 10/14/2011 11:30 AM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "RC Gliders, Sailplanes and Slope Soaring"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10765182

RE: it's about time 4 my Bird of Time
[quote]ORIGINAL: skeeter_ca Why is that girl in a red, white and blue bikini holding a russian jet? And yes, look again there is a jet in the picture! skeeter [/quote] Yup, it's a jet alright - MiG-29 (NATO codename - Fulcrum). The girl could quite possibly be Russian too, she certainly looks the part. Remember, their new colors - since the de-revolution - is (in order) white, blue, red. (pic below) Dave
Posted on: 10/14/2011 4:04 AM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "RC Gliders, Sailplanes and Slope Soaring"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10764599

RE: Need Some Advice On A Goldberg Electra
[quote]ORIGINAL: da Rock This might be an aged thread (maybe 1/10 as old as the Electra) but it seems there are people still interested in the old bird. [/quote] Yeah, definitely seems so. Myself, I've got an old Gentle Lady that I fly with Cox TD.049 and I have a lot of fun with it. May one day refit it to electric and try it that way, dunno though. One item that I would like to comment on, came a few messages above: "I tried ailerons on a couple of Electra wings, one with a flat wing, and the other with no tip dihedral. The airplane flies too slowly to make any use of ailerons, the adverse yaw from the downgoing aileron made turning sloppy." It's a very true observation. The GL (or Electra, whichever - they're basically the same plane) definitely doesn't respond well to ailerons but I'd be willing to bet that a flat-built wing with spoilerons would probably work much better. She's still not an aerobatic bird, so effectiveness would not make her what you might call "highly maneuverable" but it might be something to work with. Dave (pic - My Gentle Lady with .049)
Posted on: 10/12/2011 4:26 AM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "RC Gliders, Sailplanes and Slope Soaring"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10761173

RE: Control Line Build?
[quote]ORIGINAL: Lou Crane Royf, I believe there was an Me-262 (tail-dragger!) prototype with a single, propellor engine. ...To confirm the flying abilities while waiting for the turbine engines to be provided. (There were some problems, there. And their TBO (time between overhauls) was "rather brief," too.) Pretty model! In 1980, wife, kids and I saw an Me-262 in a static display at Frankfurt/Rhein-Main Airport when we flew home from my final Army tour in Germany. No idea how authentic the displayed aircraft were. Shoddy construction. Coarse surfaces. An He-111 alongside the Me was just as awful. Your Me is much, much nicer to look at. [/quote] Lou, you're right about the tail-dragger ME262. Several of the early 262s were tail-draggers. And, those planes at Rhein-Main are actual combat planes from WW2 - they all flew in the war. The HE-111, for one, took part in the bombing of Stalingrad. Downstairs at the far East end of the terminal are also a BF-109G and a JU-87 Stuka. You wanna talk about "rough" finishes on a plane, you should see the Stuka. Almost nothing on the plane fits together flush. One of the "seasoned" (don't like the "o" word - I'm too close to being in that category) airport workers there told me that during much of the war they were putting planes together so fast they actually left stuff out, replaced with rough sheet metal. I was stationed in W. Berlin, Sembach AB, Wiesbaden & Stuttgart - flew out of R-M regularly throughout my USAF career. BTW, I agree with you - Royf's 262 looks GREAT! Dave
Posted on: 10/7/2011 5:04 AM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "Control Lines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10752736

RE: A 4H controlline trainer
John, your "bash" looks great! I especially like the idea of the ailerons still being adjustable, neat idea. Being that the plane has a rather long tail-end, it should make a GREAT CL trainer. I asked my granddaughter about the 4H aeronautics thing and she told me there's a whole program there, aimed primarily at stuff like crop-dusting but apparently there's no "top end" and the kids can go pretty much as far as they want into it. I like that! Should any of the kids decide they want to go further into this and actually try building/learning what it's all about, I might suggest the SIG Akrobat - another great CL plane in the .15 engine range. I taught my daughter to fly CL on one of these and she had no troubles at all. Once she was comfy with the control rod all the way down at the bottom of the elevator horn I started moving it in - she now flies CL as well as I do (maybe better - she doesn't have to pay for repairs, I do) and has moved in on my Skylarks & Shark-45.
Posted on: 10/7/2011 4:47 AM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "Control Lines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10752716

RE: Restoring an old Great Lakes 2T-1A biplane
Got a couple goodies here that you might just be able to use. Back when I restored mine I'd actually written (e-mail) to the President of Great Lakes Aircraft Corporation and he gave me permission to use the company logo on my plane. So, if you know how to make your own decals, you've got the original logo here to work with. The company historian also sent me a shrunk-down copy of the original company design specs from 1931. Am including them here for you, along with one of the original advertisements and an ad for a young lady who was just as famous as Amelia Earhart "back in the day". Dig that price tag for a brand new plane!! Also have a pic of the "prototype", the very first 2T-1 (black & white, rather fuzzy unfortunately - plane was actually red overall with tan/sand teardrop on fuse side and red & tan wings). Got a modern pic that shows the true colors. There were 2 basic paint designs in the early days. One had the teardrop side like mine, one had the center-stripe like yours. Feel like an idiot on those last pics I sent - first one, the 2T-1C is actually a 2T-1C1, just like yours - it has the ailerons on top & bottom. Should have paid better attention when I sent it. Second pic, of the 2T-1A2 - the plane's been modified to also have upper ailerons - its true designation is 2T-1A2b. That one shows the connecting rod between upper and lower quite well. BTW, you connect them at the TE of the aileron. A small bit of history on the 2T's. Some (all early mods [A, B & C] involved here) were/are made with single cockpit, some with doubles - yours is a single. The double cockpits were the norm, and 90% of the OLD 2T's (before 1940) are built that way, 100% of the new ones. The single cockpit was for mail carriers - front cockpit was moved back and a cargo compartment was installed in front of him, behind the firewall. The plane could carry up to 250 lbs of mail, plus pilot, plus full fuel load - average range being in the 500 mile neighborhood. If you're into designations, the full designation on your bird is GL-2T-1C1. GL (Great Lakes) 2 (wings) T (trainer) 1 (engine) C (3-rd major mod, radial engine) 1 (upper ailerons). The company has only made this one basic design since 1928 and their designation system is quite simple. "A" birds had an engine with the crank-shaft at the bottom, "B" birds had one with crank at top. "C" was radial engines and was the first mod with the larger rudder seen today. WW-2 hit and they made a few planes for the USAAF (all "C"s) but Stearman beat them out and got the big contract for trainer planes, building the PT-17 in huge quantities. Great Lakes all but folded by 1943. "D" designation was skipped - would have been an enclosed cockpit but nobody wanted it. They came back in the late 1950's with the 2T-1E that had a new engine (same engine as in Piper Super-Cubs) - much more capable and with opposing cylinders, giving her today's flattened front-end. "E"s are the main design built today. "Espt" is a special-built turboprop version - something like 800+hp driving an airframe that was originally designed for something like 75 horses. There aren't many of these around, I think all (5 or 6) are owned by one guy that runs an aerobatic team. Only flying tips I can really give you is fly her gently!!!!!! She CAN roll at an incredibly fast rate, even with just a little bit of roll input. ALWAYS use rudder & aileron together - the adverse yaw with just aileron input is actually entertaining to watch (she's quite capable of "crabbing" in the air once you get used to the inputs - one direction on ailerons, the other on rudder) but frightening if you're the one on the controls. Loops are something impressive to watch - she can nearly rotate on her wing if your CG's right. And she flies quite well on just rudder when you're simply tooling around in the air. Should you have to come down "dead stick", don't try to extend the glide a whole lot - bring her down fairly smartly and keep some speed on those wings. She does glide decently but at somewhat more of an angle than many others - due exclusively to the drag of being an old-design biplane. Hey! Good luck with the fun fly!!!
Posted on: 10/4/2011 3:08 AM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10747651

RE: Restoring an old Great Lakes 2T-1A biplane
Ah, Mark - a 2T-1C1 ( "C" is the round cowl with radial engine, the final "1" designates both upper & lower wing ailerons) sits in your hangar, looking good. Am throwing in a pic of a full-size 2T-1C (no upper ailerons), and another of a 2T-1A2 (inverted engine, shows spinner at top of front instead of bottom) that has almost your paint job. Yup, you've got solid rods through the bottom wing to a belcrank, then the rod to the lower wing aileron. Upper & lower are simply connected together by a single rod, lower pushes upper. Gonna need a GOOD, STRONG servo to push all that. Third pic is a brand new 2T, right off the assembly line. Company moved from Cleveland to Colorado years ago and is still producing the very same airplane - some with turbine engines. HUGE horsepower on those planes. Still the same airframe though. As far as posting pics here, it's fairly easy. You've got the pics on your computer. When you reply to a message you'll see the "Click here to upload images and files" notation at the bottom of the text box. Simply click on that and a new box will appear with something like 8-10 lines on it. Click one at a time on the "browse" button and then thread through your computer to where your pic is. Double click on your pic and it's added to the list. When you're done adding to the boxes hit the "OK" button and wait until the reply comes back that says all pics are uploaded. You're done! Dave [quote]ORIGINAL: Marc B Dave Thanks for the advise. I ordered a mount for my 46 last night and a 12X5 prop which looks like it will fit OK. The area to mount servos etc is in the fuselage accessed by removing the bottom wing, this allows the components to be mounted just above the center line. Both upper and lower wings have airlerons connected by external linkage, but the servo mounts into a pocket on the lower wing where the two rods are soldered together with a single vertical post to control both left and right. there must be bell cranks in each side of the wing. I am not sure how to attach my servo linkage. There are some pics posted in my album but I don't know how to attach them to this link, I'll keep trying. Marc [/quote]
Posted on: 10/3/2011 1:36 PM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10746738

RE: Restoring an old Great Lakes 2T-1A biplane
Mark, welcome to the world of Great Lakes 2T's! Looks like your plane is a bit different from mine, but no big thing there. I found the best CG on mine by measuring the total chord (center LE of top wing to TE of bottom wing) and balancing at 1/3 of the total chord back from the LE of top wing. Depending on the actual structure of your wings, this puts it at just a tiny bit forward of the main spars of your bottom wing. Every bit as important as the basic CG though, is the vertical/lateral CG. Keep your radio equipment as high in the fuse as you can - it helps turns. Definitely go with your .46 and put the longest prop you can fit onto her that the engine can turn to full revs - there's a lot of nose there and a huge amount of drag in the design. My own 2T has a top wingspan of 56" and I've got a .60 with a 12X5 right now - just barely long enough. Haven't kept the pages up on mine (they're a bit out of date is all) but you can see some of what I went through at http://www.wanderings-ds.com/whs/52-2t1a.html - she IS a fun plane to fly. Dave
Posted on: 10/3/2011 2:57 AM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10745951

RE: ANYBODY FLYING A DYNAFLITE BUTTERFLY ANYMORE?
OK guys, in answer to what I KNOW is about to come... ...yes, I can hear the laughter. Now, got a truly dumb question - it's been a long long time since I had to repair/cover a plane. What do you clean the monokote glue residue off the iron (hot) with????? Sheesh. Old age and synility strike again!! Dave
Posted on: 9/14/2011 9:44 AM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "RC Gliders, Sailplanes and Slope Soaring"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10716268

RE: Brotherhood of the Ring Forum is Back!!!
[quote]ORIGINAL: jcralley John, Do it!! Get that old Ringmaster flying and put some flights in for the Ringmaster Fly-A-Thon on October 1st and 2nd!!!!! It is really as easy as getting out one (or more) of your Ringmasters and flying it/them on October 1st and/or 2nd. That’s it – Oh yes, by not later than 12:00 noon EDT you will need to email the number of flights to: ringmasterflyahton-2011@yahoo.com That is it!! Of course, however, we would also like to know where you flew, how many different Ringmasters were flown and who the pilots were. Yes, and if anyone of the pilots flew his/her very first control line flight you can count that as 2 flights!! These statistics are not essential but we would really like to have them. Coordinator, Richard Grogan will email you back with the final tabulation of the results for this year’s Fly-A-Thon. The results will also be posted on control line forums. Please do your best to join us in this event and thanks in advance!!! John ElectroBro Cralley For the Brotherhood of the Ring Forum [/quote] That's not later than 12:00 noon EDT on the 4th of October, if I remember right. Dave
Posted on: 9/14/2011 5:43 AM by Author "skylark-flier" in the forum "Control Lines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10715952