This is the Fubar, a gas design from the 50's. The engine is a Cox Killer Bee. Covering is Japanese tissue. I have done som initial glide tests, and it looks promising. I still have to work out the dethermalizer; the one shown on the plans is a bit flaky, but I think I can get it to work. The stabilizer is attached to the bottom of the fuselage, which makes the DT setup tricky.

I put the Fubar and the Tigercat on hold while I built this model, the Ebenezer. This was originally published in the British magazine Aeromodeller in 1954. (Making this design the same age as me.)
I just finished it today, and it is too windy to test fly it. I did give it a few test glides, though, and the balance and glide look perfect with no adjustments. I hope to fly it next weekend.

The model is all balsa, and finished with three thinned coats of clear dope, followed by one coat of color on the wings and tail, and two coats on the fuselage. The orange dope is an old bottle of Aerogloss, which covers really well, and goes on very evenly, even when using a brush. The engine is a Cox Pee Wee .020. The wheels are balsa.

Coming soon:

I have almost completed a Fubar, an .049 powered free flight from the '50s. Also, a peanut scale Grumman Tigercat, a twin-engine fighter. Photos coming soon.

The Tigercat framework, and the wing of the Brooklyn Dodger gas model, were recently damaged by a cat who stepped on them while trying to look out of the basement window. Repairs are almost complete.

The PT Ringmaster .049 Bipe. This is my first, and so far only, control-line model. I found the kit (by Sterling, no longer available) in the leftovers bin at a hobby shop. The engine is a Cox Babe Bee .049 purchaed on EBay. For the finish, I used an old bottle of Aero Gloss Cub Yellow dope, which looks great.

The Stinson L-5, from a Peck Polymers kit. This one flys great indoors or out, and is a lot of fun. Simple models fly better.

The Peck Polymers Stringless Wonder, designed by Bill Hannan. This is a fun model, and is easy to build. I tried flying it indoors, but found it difficult to trim. It flys great outdoors on a loop of 1/8" rubber.

This is the DeHavilland DH-6, designed by Walt Mooney. The plans are available from Peck Polymers in the Walt Mooney Bag of Peanuts. This is a peanut scale model designed for indoor flying. This one has flown very well at the Teaneck Armory, Teaneck, NJ. The wheels are an old set of Fulton Hungerford wheels that I purchased many years ago. The tissue is white Japanese tissue. I printed the linen color, and the makings, on an injet printer. I created the markings in a graphics program on the PC. The tissue was not water-shrunk or doped. The propeller is laminated basswood.

This is the Euler D-1. The plans were originally publishied in Model Builder magazine in the early 1980's. I built one then, and recently built this one. It was designed by Walt Mooney, and is a good flyer, although I find that biplanes are always difficult to trim. This one has flown at the Teaneck Armory, in Teaneck, NJ.

A Fike E peanut scale model, built from a plan purchased from Peck-Polymers. This is a fantastic flyer. This one consistently does 50 seconds indoors at the Teaneck, NJ Armory. It has no dihedral, but is extemely stable. There is considerable washout in the wings.

A Satellite 320 free flight model. I recently built this from a Midwest kit that I purchased when I was a kid, back in the late '60s. The engine is a Norvel .049. The covering is silkspan, which was dyed with Tintex fabric dye, and finished with clear dope. This is probably the best covering job I have ever done. Silkspan is a nice material to work with. The fuselage (balsa sheet) is covered with Japanese tissue, and painted with Brodak colored dope.

I have not yet tested this under power, but it has a beautiful glide, and should be a real floater. The wing area is 320 square inches, which is a lot for an .049 engine.

The timer is a Texas Timers Micro I. The fuel tank is a Perfect brand wedge-type tank. The Norvel engine is equipped with a crankcase pressure tap, to pressureize the fuel tank.

Went to a flying session at the Teaneck Armory on 10/19/05. Flew my Fike E and a Peck-Polymers P-51 Mustang (peanut scale). The Mustang is a great airplane. To fly at the Armory, you need to join the Metropolitan Sport Squadron: http://www.rcsites.net/metsportsquadron/