Technical Stuff

From time to time I will add pages to this section as I run across them or other people submit them. All contributions will be gratefully accepted, just email them to me as a Microsoft Word document and I will do the rest (format & convert to web page).

Do keep in mind that we are publishing this material publicly and copyright issues must be addressed and respected

Click on the links on the menu bar on the left to read the articles.

Miniature Engine Fuels

By FCB Marshall PhD, DIC, Bsc, FRIH.

This article was published in Aeromodeller , March and April 1950 and while that may seem a long time ago surprisingly little has changed in that time apart from the introduction of synthetic oils and even then castor oil is still a very useful lubricant for model engines. While there are some unavoidably technical bits I think this should be compulsory reading for all old timer competition flyers.

Castor Oil

I was directed to this article by Dave Harding, webmaster for the SAM International web site. It has been extracted from the newsletter of the Propstoppers RC Club for June 2000, Dave was at that time their newsletter editor.

The article explains why castor oil is a particularly good lubricant for model engines. It gets a bit technical at times but most people should understand the essentials. If there are any queries about any part they can be directed to me via the contact email address on this web site or the bulletin board and I will be pleased to try and answer them.

Thermal Soaring

This article comes from SAM Speaks #115 January-February 1994, no author was stated. It provides an interesting introduction to thermal soaring which is a skill that is fundamental to our hobby/sport.

Trimming Models

This article by Ron St Jean appeared in SAM Speaks #132 November-December 1996. Ron is probably best known as the designer of the "Ramrod" series of models in the 1950's which are nostalgia legal models. I have been informed that they do not translate to R/C very well, certainly there is not a great deal of space for R/C gear. Ron is a great experimenter in the field of model aerodynamics and builds and flies special models to test out his theories.

A Dozen Aeronautical Myths

One often overhears comments about the behavior of model aircraft at the field, and while the remarks are about models, they would also apply to full size machines.
Some of these expressed ideas reflect common myths, so I dug into my memory from 40 plus years ago for the explanations of why they are wrong, and present them for discussion.