We did some deep cleaning in our warehouse and found this Variant 2 by Reichard Modelsport! It MUST go – $175.00 plus shipping.
Details:
Wingspan: 2000mm (~6.5ft)
Length: 1050mm (~3.5 ft)
Control Surfaces: Elevator, Ailerons, Rudder (3-4 channel)
For sales information, inquire at sales@esprittech.com.
Meet Saul! Saul is building an Aeronaut Volksplane VP-1, a scale version of the Evans VP-1 Volksplane. The Volksplane VP-1 is an aircraft with an interesting history. Designed in 1966, it was meant to be of simple design and construction, yet safe and fun to fly (Bayerl et al. 2011). It was constructed of marine grade plywood, had detachable wings (Tacke et al. 2015), and was powered by a modified VW Beetle automotive engine (Lart, 1974).
The Volksplane was designed with the common pilot in mind. It had more of a DIY feel, and was quite popular amongst home builders. According to the Wikipedia entry, construction was “according to some home builders, almost like building a “giant model aircraft”” (Evans VP-1, 2022).
Saul has decided to build the Aeronaut Volksplane VP-1 scale model for a very special reason – it will be raffled off at Joe Nall 2024, and all the proceeds will go to Triple Tree Aerodrome! If any of you have had a chance to go to Triple Tree, you know just how special of a place it is, and how important it is to the aviation community – RC and full scale. A little birdy has also shared with us that there may be a very special 75% scale project being built along side of this 40% RC model. Keep an eye on our blog for information about that project.
In the meanwhile, head on over to Saul’s YouTube channel (Plane Fun RC) @planefunrc, subscribe, and watch along as he builds this Volksplane VP-1!
Wikipedia. “Evans VP-1 Volksplane.” Wikipedia, January 2022, Retrieved from URL https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evans_VP-1_Volksplane (February 2023)
Mooney, Walt. “Pilot report: Volksplane.” Air Progress, March 1970, p. 39.
Lart, Peter. “Westerlies: Volk’s Popular.” Flying magazine, August 1974, p. 82.
Bayerl et al. 2011, p. 101
Tacke et al. 2015, p. 107.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evans_VP-1_Volksplane#/media/File:Evans_VP-1_Volksplane_Pima.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evans_VP-1_Volksplane#/media/File:Volkswagen_engine_Volksplane.JPG
The Still is a great introduction to the world of pylon racers. While it is not quite as intimidating as some of the fully hollow molded racers, it is stable and easy for the intermediate pilot to handle. Using the recommended brushless setup, the Still launches with just a toss and immediately climbs up and away. The airplane is a fast model with plenty of power – and what better to control it with than a Jeti setup!
Read more about our pylon racers here and find your perfect Jeti setup here.
Now that we know where it started, lets take a look at how radio control flight happens. The technology revolves around the use of radio waves. Radio waves are a form of electromagnetic radiation with a frequency that lies between 10kHz to 100GHz1. Radio waves are used for long distance communication2.
Wavelength Size Comparison
Electromagnetic Spectrum
In the hobby, we use a transmitter to send radio signals with information (instructions) to a receiver, located somewhere in your model. The receiver, which is being powered by a battery, then takes that information and passes it along to what you have plugged into it, telling those devices what to do based on the original input at the transmitter. A very basic set-up, would consist of four servos plugged into the receiver, the receiver battery, and your transmitter.
A servo, otherwise known as a servo motor, is a “self-contained electrical device”3 with an electric motor connected to a gear set. You would then connect an arm to one of the gears and then to a control rod to mechanically control your flight surfaces (Rudder, Elevator, Ailerons, Flaps).
As technology advanced, the devices that you can place into your aircraft have also changed. Now-a-days, setups can range from basic (sport airplane) to a more advanced set-up (turbine aircraft) with multiple devices installed for both functionality and showman ship – and everything in between.
Browse our electronic flight components here!
Technology is constantly changing, and the RC Industry is no exception to that. With products that need programing, sensors for every possible thing imaginable, “an app for that”, multiple frequencies, constantly improving product specs, and transmitters that might-as-well be mini computers, it is understandable that a new RC pilot may become overwhelmed with information. No worries though, follow our flight school segments to learn the basics of RC.
In this segment, we will learn the history behind Remote Control Flying. In 1897 Nikola Tesla discovered the use of radio signal as a way to control things wirelessly. He successfully sent a wireless transmission from his laboratory to a boat on the Hudson River – a distance of about twenty-five miles (Tandon, 2021). People did not believe his discovery, so he later demonstrated it publicly by wirelessly controlling a boat in a pool in Madison Square Gardens (Hunt, 2023). The first RC boat was controlled by using radio waves to direct its movements through an antenna on the boat (Tandon,2021).
Fast forward to the mid 1930s. During this time there were several influential people that made important contributions to RC Flight. One important set of men are the Good brothers – Walt and Bill. These twin brothers, with backgrounds in ham radios, built the first radio controlled airplane in 1937, known as the Big Guff (Pete, 2023). Being able to control the planes trough radio was a giant step forward in the modeling era.
Ross Hull and Clinton DeSoto, both heavily involved in ham radios, are another two of the early RC pioneers. Together, they built and flew RC gliders in the first public demonstration (Gudaitis, 2015). By the end of the 1930’s their sailplanes had over 100 flights total. Unfortunately, Hull passed away in 1939 and Desoto passed away in 1949.
Leo Weiss, a young engineering student, built a fourteen foot wingspan RC model and together with Jon Lopus they had created the reed-control system, basically an eight channel system (Gudaitis, 2015; Noll, 2018). The reed-control system used “six tuned reeds that responded to audio tones” (Gudaitis,2015), and became more popular in the 1950s.
An electronic technician named Joseph Raspante is another revered pioneer of RC. He built an RC system that “used a telephone dial to select control functions” (Gudaitis, 2015).
In 1939 Howard McEntee published details for a twin-frequency transmitter and by 1941 Thracy Petrides and Leon Hilman had published a multifunction, single channel, RC system (Noll, 2018).
By the 1950’s FCC was granting permissions to the RC Modeling community and transmitters began selling to the public. Since then, equipment and the radio control hobby has only continued to grow and evolve!
“Radio Control” Academy of Model Aeronautics. (February 15th, 2023) URL https://www.modelaircraft.org/radio-control#:~:text=The%20first%20truly%20successful%20Radio,brothers%20to%20fly%20the%20Guff.
“The History of Radio Control” Noll, Bob. Model Aviation. (August, 20108) URL https://www.modelaviation.com/history-of-rc
“The First Days of Radio Control” Gudaitis, Frank. Model Airplane News. (July 28th, 2015) URL https://www.modelairplanenews.com/the-first-days-of-rc/
“Nikola Tesla: Father of Robotics” Tandon, Tulika. Jargon Josh. (July 9th, 2021) URL https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/nikola-tesla-birth-career-inventions-family-death-complete-biography-1625744423-1
“Nikola Tesla” Hunt, Inez Whitaker. Encyclopedia Britannica. (January 3rd, 2023). URL https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nikola-Tesla
“Aeromodelling History” Pete. RC Plane World. (February 15th, 2023) URL
Ever wonder what makes up those high quality parts? Well, wonder no-more. We can show you!
Top Model designs their scale wings to be sturdy, light weight, and easy to transport. The wings have a foam core surrounded by obechi sheeting with carbon fiber reinforcement. The wing is then covered in Ultracote. Both the wing and fuselage have pre-installed wiring harnesses that also include multi-pin connectors for fast, trouble-free setup at the field. Due to Topmodel’s ingenious retention system, the wings are easy to remove and transport, yet kept secure when in flight.
Check out all of our TopModel Sailpanes here:
Now, we know that our system is electric, but that doesn’t mean we don’t need efficient cooling! To meet our requirements we added these aluminum cooling vent covers to our OV-10 Bronco. A quick paint job and et voilà – a beautiful new upgrade. Check it out!
This pup loves to chase after our Albatros Classic Sport 3E and Super Sport 2.35E, and these angelic aircraft are definitely worthy of chasing.
Classic in design, but not lacking in technological advancement, the Albatros Classic Sport is one of our favorite choices for a trip to the flying field. It sports a gel-coated fiberglass fuselage, balsa/ply D-tube wing, and a carbon/balsa built up tail. The three meter wing is in three pieces wing for easy travel and storage. Complete with the ailerons, elevator, rudder, and flaps, you are in full control as you fly. As a final touch, the wing and tail are beautifully covered in transparent Ultracote.
Check out the specs here.
The Super Sport 2.35 is another beautifully designed aircraft. This airframe also has a gel-covered fuselage, carbon and balsa built up tail, and a two piece wing that has a carbon fiber main spar/leading edge. Like the Albatros Classic Sport you also have ultimate control while flying with ailerons, elevator, rudder, and flaps.
Read more about the Super Sport 2.35 here.
Another one of our goals when building our aircraft is to keep the quality up for as long as possible. For this reason, we chose to upgrade the hinges to aluminum hinges. Being made out of a metal, such as aluminum, verses Kevlar fabric (CA Hinges) or nylon, will increase the longevity of the hinges when under repeated stress. The added bonus is how nice they look!
A clean install is something we always strive for. These carbon fiber servo fairings not only help us achieve a clean cut look, they also provide protection for the pushrods and support for optimal aerodynamics. Check it out!
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