BAMS Newsletter - September, 2005

NEW MEMBERSHIP POINT SYSTEM The Board has come up with a point system for active members which will be implemented 01/01/06. In accordance with the Butler Aircraft Modelers Society By-Laws, there is a section dedicated to encouraging members to more active - Article IV Responsibilites of Membership. There is also a section dealing with when a member is not responsible - Article III Membership (2nd paragraph). Physical disabilites are also covered under Article IV. This By-Law has never been enforced because it could not be done so fairly until now. Article IV Responsibility of Membership Members are responsible for supporting the activities of the BUTLER AIRCRAFT MODELERS SOCIETY and maintaining the flying field and property of the organization. With the only exception being a physical handicap or disability, which could keep a member from the physical work. Article III Flying Membership - Full flying privileges without membership responsibility described in *Article IV. Dues will be (4) four times that of an Open Member. Must have the appropriate AMA license and obey all Field Regulations. The number of points that each member will need to accumlate in order to stay in good standings is 5.* Points will be earned for active participation in club events as indicated below:
	Work Day	3 points
	Yard Sale	3 points
	Special Events (Open House, Fly-In, etc.)	3 points
	Teach or Help on Flight Training Nights	1 point each
	Meeting Attendance	1/2 point per meeting

Dues for 2006 can be sent to Thomas Fisher, 612 Center Drive, Chicora, PA 16025. Checks should be made out to Butler Aircraft Modelers. Open Family membership is $40.00 BAMS MEETINGS and the 2006 schedule will be sent out after the winter meeting. Notification of the winter meeting will be sent in time for all to attend. For the 2005 Schedule of Events, click here
USING THE STITS COVERING AND PAINT SYSTEM
THE ROAD TO THE NATIONALS Ron Hemphill My story begins with a trip to my daughter’s house when she was living in Ohio, not far from Columbus. It was the week of the Masters Scale Championship in 1998. I spent four days drooling over those immaculate miniatures and talking to their owners. One of the planes stood out from the others. It was a Piper J-3 that was flown in team scale. Those of you who know me know that I have to find out the details that make a great looking model. I was told that the covering was the Stits covering and paint system. What is that? I never heard of it. The answer came back- it is a polyester cloth and paint system like that used on the full size aircraft. I was impressed. The next time I saw this system was at the Toledo show. It was on several planes and was part of the NASA Road show symposium. There was an instructional course about the advantages and use of the system presented by F&M Enterprises. I was hooked. When it came time to cover my Balsa USA Citabria Pro that I was building for the Nationals, I chose to use the "System". It is officially known as the Poly Fiber Covering System. It is easy to use, very strong and gives the authentic cloth-covering look that I wanted. The system works like this. A. Attach the cloth with Poly Tak B. Fill the weave with Poly-Brush C. Apply Poly-Spray for Opacity and UV protection D. Apply Poly-Tone (color) The fabric is polyester and the Poly-Tak is designed to attach it to solid structure and to itself. MEK is used for thinning and clean up. I started with the wing at the trailing edge. I cut a piece of fabric large enough to wrap completely around the wing. With the wing sitting on top of the fabric, bring the fabric up around the trailing edge and start to attach it to the topside. Work about 10 to 12 inches at a time because of the very fast drying time. When the trailing edge is complete, pull the fabric completely around the wing and turn the wing upside down. Now attach the fabric to the bottom side of the trailing edge. The cloth is not glued to the leading edge. We want it to float on the wing. Now attach it to the center section and the wing tip. You can smooth it out as much as possible but don’t worry about the wrinkles. The cloth will shrink at 10 to 12% at 350 degrees F. I used a glue/cloth width of about Ľ" on both sides of the trailing edge. This gives about ˝" of cloth overlap. Next comes the fun part- the shrinking. Before we can shrink the fabric one rule must be understood. NEVER SHRINK WITH A HEAT GUN. A heat gun is to uncontrollable for a constant temperature and can reach temperatures as high as 500 degrees. If the temperature of the polyester goes over 400 degrees, it will start to expand and not shrink. The next step is to calibrate the iron. Use a stack of paper towels about ˝" thick, lay a candy thermometer on top of the towels, then the iron on top of that. Bring the temperature of the iron up to 225 degrees and mark that point on the iron. Do this for settings of 250, 275, 300 & 350 deg. The cloth will start to shrink at 225 degrees. After shrinking I brushed a little Poly-Brush around the edges, let it dry and then trimmed the edges. After trimming, I brushed on a coat of Poly-Brush over the complete wing. I wanted to use the rib stitching on my wing so this step came next. I applied the Finishing Tape or "pinked" tape over the ribs and around the leading and trailing edge with the Poly-Brush. I then laid out the spacing of the stitch on the ribs, used the head of a "T" pin dipped in carpenters glue to make the stitch on top of the tape. When dry and painted this will look like the stitch on the rib. I then sprayed on the second coat of Poly- brush over the wing. The Poly-Spray is applied next to provide opacity and UV protection. If you want a see thru look do not use this step. This product is silver in color and I used it on all the surfaces. I sprayed it on but it can be brushed also. Poly-Tone is the color coat that is applied next. It is easier to put the lighter color on first then apply the darker colors. I applied the white first then applied the red. I used a combination of masking tape, plastic and 3M painters tape to mask the markings on the plane. All of the products as well as the paint are premixed and ready to use right out of the can. The last part of the system that I had to use is the Feather Coat or FC-900 primer on the cowling and wheel pants. This primer bonds to plastic and composites, then the Poly Tone paint chemically bonds to the primer. The Poly Tone is a polyester paint and will not stick to these surfaces with out the FC-900 primer. I learned the hard way. This paint system is the easiest that I have used. Everything is premixed, it is tough, takes the heat in the sun without sagging, and can be brushed or sprayed. At the NATS my plane sat on black top in near 90-degree heat all day with no ill effects at all. The down side is that it is not for everyone. It is more time consuming and cost more than the plastic coverings. If you are building a cloth covered scale airplane and want the authentic look of the full size subject then this is the system to use. I have the full instruction sheet and a VHS tape that will give you complete instructions and tips about the system. If you have questions or need help you can call me or e-mail me with them.