Flite-Metal

I have not had a great deal of time since returning from Dallas. Wife had a health issue that put her in the
hospital. Prognosis is this morning.

What little time I have had resulted in a complete revamping of the seats with more detail. Sam told me
yesterday he had completed design of the instrument panel illumination. Not a simple on-off system. He
described repetitive and random sequencing. Look forward to installing it. One of Sam's many expertise
is electronics design.

Flite-Metal

.......... .............

Paulette, the love of my life, and the best part of me, passed August 14th at 1:30 am.

A celebration of Paulette with her friends will occur October 19, 2019 at the school she
worked in for 33 years. A web site has been created and growing with photos of Paulette
with family and friends.

Friends and visitors are offered an opportunity to register an email address to receive
details of when and where friends will gather to celebrate Paulette M. Clayman's life.

At the bottom of the web site there is an area for comments, remembrances, and what
she would have preferred in lieu of flowers.

Don Sims

So sorry to read this Ed. Prayers to her and the family.

Flite-Metal

Don,
Thank you. I have always looked upon this community for project support. I posted my loss here
and no where else because in a moment of sadness I was somehow drawing strength from those
who have contributed support and resource for my B-47 project. Though my greatest supporter is
gone, this site and those contributing to it are a great inspiration.

Flite-Metal

Interesting thing about staying busy... Paulette would have wanted me to continue my obsessive compulsive
symptoms. Back at revisions to the original cockpit tub and ejection seats. Glad to report I am much happier with
latest iteration of these. Will continue and post a YourTube when I feel it is fit for public viewing.

Rabbitcreekok

So sorry to hear of your Paulette's passing. She looks like a beautiful lady. I will keep you and your family in my prayers.

Flite-Metal

Jim,

Thank you. Paulette was a beautiful angel when we were together, and now. Mourning is something we all
should prepare for as this is a natural state of mind. Your post contributes to my moving through the process.

Thanks again,

Flite-Metal

Bomber Field's B-17 & Big Bird Gathering is Sept. 18, 19, 20 & 21 in Monaville, TX a fifteen minute drive west
of Houston on I-10 taking FM359 North in Brookshire, TX to Monaville's flashing caution light turning left, drive
1/4 mile...Bomber Field is on your left.

Rabbitcreekok

Ed, that looks like a great place to fly. Paved, grass and water, all in one place. Wish I could be there. Have a great time.

Flite-Metal

Its been a long time since we walked out in that 36 acres of grass. Like it happened yesterday...Though early-on
there were multiple events each year things got a little long on the tooth so it was reduced to a multiple day War
Bird gathering and the B-17 ~ Big Bird event.

Prone to about four inches of water retention when monsoon season arrived the initial events were more like a mud
puddle gathering. Entering and especially leaving at the end of a three or four day event required assistance of a
front end loader nestled beside a quonset hut (hangar) used for storage of member's larger models that otherwise
would be time consuming to assemble for flight.

A grass 1:1 air strip is behind the two story spectator/pit pavilion. This became our parking lot for the typical 5000
spectators at each event. These properties were originally rice farms, designed to retain water. Gumbo, a mixture of
clay and sand is "the" soil composition so anything less than a gravel road turns into what resembles the contents
of a potter's wheel. Today a nice gravel entrance and "adjusted" drainage keep things as they should be.

Anyone within four hours of Monaville, TX. will be rewarded with flights of some of the best scale aircraft (recip &
electric) from all across the country. Lodging is not an issue as there are motels a short drive away from the field,
electrical hookups for motor homes onsite, and plenty of good old Texas countryside to look up at all those stars. I
believe a series of hand claps occur at this point in the song...;^) "You-all come now...Ya Hear?"

Flite-Metal

Barry Raborn will display his Lockheed F-104 and demonstrate his covering technique as he finishes his giant scale P-51 at Bomber Field on September 20th at 7:00 pm. I explain surface finishing techniques used by Top Gun, World Jet Meet, AMA NATs, Scale Masters first place winners & five Toledo WEAK Signals (Best Of Show) winners.

Each attendee receives a generous quantity of for their scale projects. Everyone attending has an opportunity to win a FK5 (1/5th scale) Aluminum Finishing System given to a lucky attendee. Don't miss an opportunity to see How2 apply and finish to replicate a natural or polished appearance.



You can't win $164.99 worth of unless you attend this 7:00 PM seminar on Sept. 20 at Bomber Field USA in Monaville, TX...just a short drive West of Houston, TX off I-10 North of Brookshire on FM359. Bring a friend and double your chance to win the FK-5.

Flite-Metal

This morning I woke at my usual 4:00 AM to find clearing weather on Houston's West side. The hurricane/tropical
storm is progressing Northeast, away from Houston and Monaville, TX where Bomber Field's B-17 & Big Bird Fly-In
begins today, September 18, 19, 20, 21.

......................

Friday, Sept. 20th at 7 PM a How2 will be conducted with Barry Raborn demonstrating How2
apply to his latest Giant Scale P-51.



Barry's Mirce F-104 will be on display for an up close & personal inspection during our presentation.

Flite-Metal

Anyone East or North of Houston...You will pass through rain prior to the Houston Metro...Beltway 8.
None of this rain is, nor has it been, in Monaville (aka Bomber Field). Skies are clear with just a bit of
dry cooler temps...Fall has arrived at Bomber Field.

So, if you were thinking of coming for the B-17 and Big Bird Gathering at Bomber Field the 18th thru
the 21st. Com'on Down!!!! There's a place for you up on our observation deck atop the pit building.
See you at the How2 presentation at 7:00 PM on Friday (Sept. 19th).

Flite-Metal

Got to visit with a lot of friends from over the last 31 years at Bomber Field. Many of whom came from
as far away as Newport News, VA., Canada, L.A., and of course South Of The Border. Early pilot count
exceeded 100 about 30% more than the typical Friday head count.

Spectator head count was in excess of 400...a huge number given our history over the last 31 years for
a Friday session. Normally there are between 1 to 2 thousand spectators at Bomber Field's annual events.

Two showers during the course of the day brought a well deserved break for the five flight line managers.
Driving in and out of the event was never an issue...considering the amount of rain over the last five days.

I will return this morning and post photos and possibly some video in YouTube links.

How2 session was well attended. 40+ pilots received multiple rolls of .
An FK5 1/5th scale covering system was given away during the Show-N-Tell. Barry applied
panels to his latest P-51 as questions about application and finishing were answered.

Will return this morning.

Flite-Metal

Want to post an "Atta Boy" to Dick Reynolds who drove from Newport News with his 1/12th (opps) Boeing B-47. Its getting close to completion. Dick's OCD engineering is showing in his extensive use of G-10 & cantilevered structure Dick has contributed his super human design skills to Sam and my two B-47's. Look for more details in the near future.
...................

I like the way Dick used G-10 standing off and making it easy maintenance of the twin 20 mm cannons. In addition to the turret servo access in this area on Sam's and my B-47's the approach and brake parachutes are just ahead of the rear sheath. They are hard point mounted to endure stress of deployment.

...................

Insightful

Ops, Ed. My B-47E is only 1/12 scale. If it was 1/10 scale, it would not fit in the MB Sprinter van.

Rabbitcreekok

Glad the event went off well in spite of the rain, Ed. I assume that the 400 spectators in attendance was supposed to be 4,000 since you said it was more than the previous 1 to 2 thousand spectators.

It is interesting that the model will utilize a functioning drag chute for landing. That is a really nice touch. Will the model be powered by turbines or ducted fans?

Flite-Metal

Jim, the spectator head count got well over 1000 Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Considering the weather all around Bomber Field that surprised me. It rained twice on Friday for a brief downpour that quickly dried up. 90% of the heavy rain over the weekend was on Houston's East side, Galveston Bay, and over toward Beaumont where there were in excess of 40 inches of rain.
.................................
......................

Use of an approach and brake chute was mandated by the inline (bicycle) landing gear on the B-47. Touch down has to be virtually at the same time on rear and front gear otherwise rebound between the rear and front gear will split
the fuselage in half.
.........................
There are electric brakes on each of the rear strut tires.This eliminates an off axis roll on landing if the front were to
lock up and turn the model sideways.

To aid in landing angle during an approach FAI permitted use of a center cascading LED array where, like in the 1:1
the LEDs arranged in a straight line parallel to the runway are cascade blinking to the center of the bar to prevent
me from a misaligned approach caused by Dutch Roll inherent in smooth skinned swept wing aircraft.

.................................................. ..............
.................................
As a B-47 enters final glide slope the nose will rotate about center axis of the fuselage by 10 feet on the 1:1. Not
something to observe without concern for a B-47 model where the Dutch Roll can be 10 to 12 inches.

Rabbitcreekok

Having the fuselage split in half would not be a good thing on the real B-47 or the model either.

Flite-Metal

Right!

Jim,

To date (forty plus years) there have only been four R/C B-47's flown. All of which have suffered this fate... It has been my intention to study why each crashed with severe consequence. Hopefully preparing for final approach
will enable me to avoid becoming number five.

The 1:1 B-47's suffered many losses of plane and crew in the early deployments. Many never completed training.
.................................................. ........

Flite-Metal

You asked about power. It has two bifurcated JetFan EDF, one in each inboard nacelle and a pair of 6# thrust
EDF in the outboard nacelles. These are capable of over 52# of thrust. The all up weight is anticipated to be
44#. Of that the batteries are 13#. FAI max for F4C is 33# (15 kg) sans batteries.

Rabbitcreekok

Ed, I never really realized the problems with the B-47. I always liked the looks of the airplane, but like many military airplanes, they were apparently a bear to fly.

It did not look like it ended well for the pilot and co-pilot in that film. Not enough altitude for the chutes to deploy. I know some of the ejection seats will work at ground level, but those did not look like they would.

Flite-Metal

...............................
Actually the B-47 is said to have been a simple and easy airplane to fly. Getting it up and back down was the only real issue that plagued "all" of them. They had to be flown to the ground...not permitted to simply float in just above stall speed as is the case for its replacement the B-52.

There was something like 75 mph difference 'tween stall and touch down speed. Dutch Roll added to the issue as well. Its bellows driven rudder compensation was all that saved it. There were gyros in the front, middle, and rear meaning out as best they could.
...............
The real issue was fatigue...pilot, co-pilot, and navigator/bombardier were each trading off fuel management duty during every flight...100% of the time it was in the air or idling on the apron~ready line. The wings had "0" fuel in
them. The entire fuel system was within the fuselage. CG had to be constantly maintained via fuel transfer ahead and behind CG in order to stay aloft. This meant there was little to no rest for any of the three.

Flite-Metal

I have gotten to that inevitable point in every project...CG confirmation. Not being one to go against convention
I tend to lean heavily on a manufacturer's declaration over any model calculator. Does anyone take exception
to Boeing's 25% of MAC?
..........

Yes I am being a wee bit paranoid as I am breaking new ground here. There is a C/L model currently flying in
the UK who's email this morning stated his CG is at the trailing edge and he is wants to add a wee bit more to
the front end.

He did not state whether he meant the trailing edge at the side of the fuselage or center line of fuselage. I had
explicitly referenced a Boeing declaration behind intersect of wings at the fuselage center line as 25% of MAC.
On my B-47 that's a difference of about 3~4 inches between the two locations.

Looking for a life line here...

Insightful

MAC - Mean Aerodynamic Chord

The Mean Aerodynamic Chord is located at the span-wise geometric center of one half of the 2D wing plan form. The geometric center is the center of the area or balance point of the 2D wing plan form. If you cut out a 2D wing plan form from cardboard, the balance point, span-wise and chord-wise, is the geometric center. The wing chord, parallel to the airflow (or fuselage body), is the Mean Aerodynamic Chord (MAC). Wing plan forms are typically extended to the fuselage centerline.

The 25% value of the MAC (from the wing leading edge) is the approximate location of the wing zero pitching moment. Therefore, the wing lift and pitching moment coefficients are calculated and plotted for this reference point.

The airplane Center of Gravity (CG) can be anywhere longitudinally. For calculation purposes, it is referenced as a percent of the MAC. The “standard CG symbol” shown on the drawing is not the mass CG, but the location of the 25% value of the MAC. These locations are shown for aerodynamic calculation purposes, not mass CG purposes.

For the B-47E, the allowable CG range is 14% to 32% of the value of the MAC. The CG will move forward when the landing gear is retracted and move aft when the landing gear is extended (3% to 5%). The fuel distribution or battery charge will also affect the CG .