My recent surgery was much more extreme than I was expecting it to be and has made it very difficult for me to try to write posts to the blog.  For the next few weeks I will be unable to maintain a new post every day as I had originally began.  The surgery on my neck was so extreme that I have been unable to sit in a chair by the computer and type.  This has continued far longer than I had anticipated because of severe nerve irritation in the ring finger and little finger on both hands.  This makes it almost impossible for me to type and therefore for the next few weeks don't expect a new post every day.  I will do the best that I can, however I must have someone else do the typing for me.  Thanks for your patience and understanding. 

   My very first successful radio controlled model airplane was the famous "Carl Goldberg Falcon 56".  I'm not sure when this kit  first became available, but I believe it to be somewhere in the 1960's.  It had several characteristics that made it a very ideal beginners first airplane.  In it's original design, it was built to be flown as a three channel airplane.  This means that there were three control functions required to control the aircraft.  Throttle, rudder, and elevator control functions were all that was needed to fly this radio controlled model airplane.  Some fliers modified the design by lessening the dihedral and adding strip ailerons to give it four channel performance.  This worked fairly well in some cases because the pilot had the foresight to modify some of the other flight characteristics needed to enhance performance when being used as a four channel aircraft. 

    First there was the Junior Falcon, a smaller plane probably around the 36 or 37 inch wingspan. Next came the falcon 56 indeed the most popular trainer of all time which is still being made.   Next in line came  the skylark which was the same size as the Falcon 56,however it was a low wing aircraft designed to fly faster and be more aerobatic.  

    The last and largest of the Falcons was the Senior Falcon a 60 sized aircraft with about a 73 inch wingspan.  Also an excellent aircraft that was used in a cross country flight from California to South Carolina sometime in the mid 1970s.  That famous radio controlled model airplane now resides in the Smithsonian Institute.  All said and done, the Goldberg  Falcon series of trainers are all excellent, easy to build, and will give you years of flying enjoyment.

    If I were going to build my own trainer today, I would build the Falcon Mark III which has several improvements over the original Falcon 56.  It is an excellent flying aircraft, very ruggedly built and slightly smaller than most of the trainers that you see today.  I start thinking about building one and now I'm thinking of doing just that and featuring it in a series of blog entries.  The OldManFlier is back and I hope I am up to more regular posting.  See you next time.  

     When you purchase your radio controlled model airplane kit, there will be several additional items that you will need to get in order to complete the assembly.   Wheels, fuel tank, fuel line, propeller, spinner,and fuel fill valve are among some of the items that are not always included in the kit.  The hobby supplier, whether that is a local store or online, will usually have a list of what additional items each kit will require.

     Some of the things you will need are probably already available in your household.  Snap clothes pins, dressmakers T-pins, waxed paper and masking tqpe are some of the common things that will come in handy when you begin to assemble your model aircraft.  You will also need an assortment of glue.  Different parts of the model require different kinds of glue.  CA (cyanoacrylate) is what will be used for most of the assembly of the balsa parts, carpenters glue ( "TiteBond" is my favorite) is better for gluing parts that have a large surface and will need careful alignment.  The carpenters glue dries much slower and will allow a few minutes to make minor postion adjustments.  Epoxy is recommended for gluing any parts that are subject to extra stress or vibration, such as the wing center joint and motor mount rails.  You can select epoxy according to the drying time.  Some is 5-minute, 30-minute, and some have even longer set up and curing times.  Usually, the longer times will result in a stronger bond, but who wants to wait 24 hours to assemble the next pieces.  I use mostly 5-minute and 30-minute epoxy and have good results with both.

     Probably the most useful and important tool that you will need is the hobby knife fitted with a #11 tapered pointed blade.  You will probably want to buy a set of various hobby knives or at least an extra package of the #11 blades.  For making nice smooth cuts be sure to change to a new blade if it starts to tear or rip the balsa instead of cutting it.  Another handy cutting tool is the razor saw.  These come in a couple of different styles and number of teeth per inch.  It is handy to have a couple different ones.  Also, for cutting the plywood parts and any irregular shapes, a coping saw or a scroll saw is helpful.

     Another very helpful tool is a dremel moto tool.  There are many useful attachments available for these moto tools, but a word of caution is in order.  Be sure to follow all the safety instructions and be careful when sanding or grinding on balsa, as it is soft and it is easy to remove more material than you want and you could ruin some of the parts.

    Well, maybe you will have some time to order some of these items online or pick them up at your local hobby store.  It is always a good idea to know which radio controlled model airplane kit you are going to build so that you can learn exactly what extra items you will need to get.  More on that will be coming up in the next few blog entries.  See you next time.

    The next several entries in this blog will be about building your model plane from a kit.  We will cover what  tools and supplies that are necessary and some things that make your work a little easier.  As we progress through the kit building process, I urge you to ask questions if you don't understand some part of this discussion,  That is why we have a "comments" section at the end of each of the entries. 

     To successfully build your radio controlled model airplane kit, you will need to have an area to work in where you can leave what you have done so far and it won't be disturbed.  Maybe a spot in the basement or in the garage will work for you.  Some hobby shops teach kit building and have a shop set up just for this purpose.  Where ever you choose to do the work, make sure it is well-lighted and has adequate room all the way around the work table if possible.   If you don't have a good flat  table or bench to build on, you will need to build that first.  

    A satisfactory modeling bench can be made from an old interior door.  Sometimes you can find these at garage sales or maybe a salvage yard for house parts.  Or maybe you can find a house remodeling project where they are replacing the interior doors and will very likely just throw the old ones away.

     What you need to have is a perfectly flat, smooth work surface, so if you use an old door, make sure it doesn't have panels in it.  If you don' t have a door, you can use a sheet of 3/4" thick MDF board from your local building supplies store.  Cut it to about 36" by 80" or whatever size fits the work area.  You will need a work surface big enough to build each half of the wing while it is lying flat on the table.  A 32 in. by 80 in.  door is about an ideal size.  All you really need to set the door on is a couple of sawhorses, but if you want to, you can build some legs for your bench. 

     First, lay 3 or 4 2 by 4s on the sawhorses on edge.   Lay the door or the MDF board flat on the 2 by 4s and either nail or screw it in place.  Then using a good accurate level to check with, shim an adjust until you are sure the surface is flat and level – very important!

    You can glue some fiber ceiling tile to the bench to provide a nice surface to stick T-pins into to hold the balsa parts in place while the glue dries.  More on that in another entry.  Usually leaving the unfinished side of the tile up gives a smoother surface.

     Okay, now that you have a nice bench to build your model on, let's take a break and next time we'll talk about some of the tools and supplies you will need to complete your project.  Please leave comments and let me know how I am doing.  Thanks.  See you next time.     

     We are rapidly approaching the end of 2007 and everyone is busy with shopping and the details of the holiday festivities.  As we come to the end of the year the blog posts will be focusing on review and re-posting some of the earlier entries.  This is because I am entering the hospital this week for surgery and it will be several weeks before I will be able to spend time sitting at the computer to write the daily entries.  So please bear with me and I will try to keep up with the schedule of posting entries that I have recently established.

     For those of you who have just joined us at "talking RC hobbies", let me explain what we are doing here.  The main goal of this blog is to promote the advancement of the radio controlled hobbies.  I will be covering all the different areas of interest, including radio controlled motorcycles, off-road and track racers,  sailboats and power boats, helicopters, and model airplanes.  The nature of each of the different radio controlled hobbies is such that it will take several blog entries to cover everything that is needed to get someone started in each particular branch of the hobby.  If you don't see anything yet on what you are interested in, please stay with me as I will be covering all areas as soon as possible. 

    Primarily, what I want to do with this blog is to help introduce more young people and families with children to radio controlled hobbies.  Some of the information presented will, I am sure, be "old hat" to some of you that have been in RC modeling for a while, but remember that we all had to start at the beginning.  So, In the interest of promoting the continued growth in our hobby, please hang in there and feel free to offer any comments and assistance as we progress.  At some point I will be reviewing new products and techniques as they develop.  If you know of something that will interest our readers, please don't hesitate to let me know about it and I can set up having you post an entry as a guest.  Remember, we all need to work together to keep the hobby growing and expanding into new areas.  See you next time.

     If you're looking for your first radio controlled model airplane and you want to get started flying very quickly, then maybe a ready-to-fly trainer is right for you.  I will briefly introduce two fine RTF trainers.  Please note: I am not endorsing either of these two planes, just presenting an overview of what is available.

    The Megatech Nitro AirStrike is a ready-to-fly trainer that is designed with the first time flier in mind.  With a light wing loading of 18 ounces per square inch, it is an easy plane to fly.  It is powered by a Megatech .46 ball-bearing nitro engine already installed.  The Airtronics 4-channel radio equipment is also installed.  Built from high quality balsa and model aircraft plywood, this model can be ready to take to the air in less than a half hour.

    Another RTF trainer manufactured by Hobbico is the NexStar .46.  It has all the usual features for the beginning pilot as well as the Futaba AFS Active Flight Stabilizer.  And it comes with its own flight simulator so you can practice flying it on your home computer.   The OS .46 as well as the 4-channel Futaba radio are already installed.  This is also a stable, low speed trainer with gentle handling.  It should take you only 30 minutes or less to get this bird assembled.

    Again, as I haven't flown either of these models, I am not making any personal recommendations here.  But, from reading the reviews and talking with others that have flown these excellent trainers, you would do well to consider one of them for your first trainer.   You can check them out at your local hobby store or online.  Look at the features of each and ask questions to help you make the best decision.

    As I have stated several times before, find an AMA sanctioned club and a qualified trainer to help you get started in this exciting hobby.  You will be up and flying sooner and with much more success.  See you next time.