2015 Nats and the B Nos Dixielander

A couple of weeks have now passed since the 2015 Free Flight Nats, where I again had a great time. I flew three RC events over four days then spent Wednesday at Free Flight with Larry, Bob and Jimmy. My E-36 endeavors did not go as hoped, but I learned a lot and enjoyed it immensely.
Perhaps the biggest lesson was the importance of reliable surfaces and trim. Just a week earlier my E-202 Pearl had been in perfect trim and flying great. Then on Sunday the power pattern was way off, I spent some time chasing it before realising the fin had taken a warp due to the way I had the model stored at my campsite. I got it dialed again only to have to chase the trim again during test flights on Wednesday morning. Thinking it was OK I launched my first official flight only to see the climb again go flat and I recorded 93 seconds, well short of a max. The rest of the day was spent watching Larry and Bob fly their Lindys in B Nos Gas. It was painful to watch Bob's model glide into rising ground and miss a flyoff max by one second, but Larry was able to get the win on the day. Jimmy took second in 1/2A Classic Gas.

Next year I plan to compete in additional events, and my build list has been refined with an aim to having models for at least Monday through Wednesday next year. The A Pearl is now complete except for some small details, so on to the B Dixie. This week I added some DT hard points to the stab, made the fin, ordered a few missing hardware items, built and mounted the firewall and cut the remainder of the wing ribs. In the coming week I'll start assembling the wing and add the firewall cheeks and skid.

B Nos Dixielander

Next on the build list is a Dixielander for B Nos Gas. This is another model that I started some years ago, the stabilizer and fuselage are framed. Now that the OS 29 is back in hand the front end of the fuse can be completed. I was fairly certain I had cut a full set of ribs for this model but discovered this was not the case, the ribs I remember having are for a smaller A Gas version. Fortunately I had previously decided on spar sizes and cut a ply rib template, so slicing some ribs will not be too large a task. Here are the first 8 cut from 3/32" balsa, I think another 19 are needed.

For the uninitiated (which includes the writer), B Nos Gas refers to the size and class of model. "B" being engine sizes in the range of .20 to .30 cubic inches. "Nos" refers to Nostalgia, which if I understand correctly includes all models for which plans or kits were available during the years 1943 through 1956. Some models kitted after '56 are also approved. "Gas" refers to the fuel source, originally being gasoline. The engines I have run on alcohol (methanol) which is not typically referred to as "gas" other than in this case. Gasoline-burning engines are still used in some classes but they are the minority. Here's another shot of the OS .29, showing the new cylinder head and next to it the original finned head. Engine run times are so short that no cooling fins are needed.

A shot of Dixielander designer George Fuller with a stock Dixie of 50-inch span.

Engines back from rework.

Occasionally I get a card in the letterbox saying that I have a package to be collected at the Post Office. Normally I find this quite annoying, as I do enjoy getting parcels, and having to wait an extra day for them is no fun. This Monday such a card appeared and I had a reasonable idea that it was a couple of free-flight engines back from the attention of Bob Mattes. And so it was, slicing open the box revealed an nicely oily Cox TD .020 and OS .29 III.

The Tee Dee is destined for a 67.5% Dixielander for 1/4A Nos Gas. I had long been searching for an .020 is reasonable condition but the prices were more than I was willing to pay. Eventually I was able to find one online for a moderate amount, and shipped it to Bob to have him apply his magic. He does some internal work, and machines a new head to accommodate a GloBee-style drop-in plug. I'll be using Merlin-branded equivalents of these flat-coil plugs. Bob provides complete details of the rework and test running, by the time he got done with it the TD was turning an APC 4.2x2 prop at a little over 25K rpm on 65% fuel.

The OS came from the generous heart and home of Larry Davidson, though to be fair he did steal it out from under me at a swap shop. Hardly my fault that his experienced eye and treacherous nature snagged it before I could figure out what I was looking at. Nevertheless, it's mine now and will find a good home in a B Nos Dixielander. Perhaps one day the scales of justice shall tip a little in my direction and I will use it to beat the socks off him. Bob machined a Nelson-style head for it in addition to some internal cleanup. In the interest of longevity this is a relatively mild build, after rework it spins an APC 9x4 at 16,800 rpm and will probably be nearer 18K once fully broken in.