Cosmic Wind from Sterling

Looking through my magazines, the earliest I have with the ad is February of 61. That box art was typical of the 1950's kits .

Mark,Ken,thank you.

Hi Andras, Do you intend to fabricate a "modular" firewall system to accommodate the radial vs. beam-mountings, or will you go with a radial-firewall, and use tank-mounts for the Tee Dee/rotary-valve engines?

The Cosmic-wind is a nice-looking sleek airframe for sure! Are there any actual "ARF" assemblies in the kit?

i think that was a typo...

roddie wrote:Hi Andras, Do you intend to fabricate a "modular" firewall system to accommodate the radial vs. beam-mountings, or will you go with a radial-firewall, and use tank-mounts for the Tee Dee/rotary-valve engines?

The Cosmic-wind is a nice-looking sleek airframe for sure! Are there any actual "ARF" assemblies in the kit?

Thanks Roddie.  Ooops that was really a typo it is not ARF but pre-cut components on plywood and balsa sheets.

Because 2 of the mounting holes on a 049 horseshoe backplate already overlap 2 holes on the TeeDee 049 mount sold by Bernie,I just have to relocate/re-drill the 2 others on the latter so that the hole patterns should be the same. I am just waiting for the postman to deliver 09 mounts where I will have to figure out how to relocate all 4 holes to match the pattern above. Thus I would need the same 4 mounting holes on the firewall for all 3 engine sizes. If not possible with 4 - yet to be seen after the 09 mounts have arrived - I will make a pattern for max. 6 bolt locations on the firewall. I just do not want to unnecessarily weaken the firewall with too many holes.

Well, I grew up with printwood kits so I think a die-cut kit actually IS an ARF

[quote="KariFS"]Well, I grew up with printwood kits so I think a die-cut kit actually IS an ARF [/quote

Kari,


again etymology, or euphemism: to me this kit also is an Almost Ready to Fly plane: all I have to do is just build it from something more than the atoms that constitute the building materials...so it is almost ready....

KariFS wrote:Well, I grew up with printwood kits so I think a die-cut kit actually IS an ARF

lol, you got a point there!

Hello !, beautiful model, very good project!
What is your idea, you're going to make for R / C? that engine will place him... 09?
I will be alert to construction progress!

Thank you Mauricio. I still wait for the postman to deliver my TeeDee09 engine and its engine mount so that I can prepare the firewall for 3 different engines. I believe the TeeDee 09 will be a bit on the strong side, I am sure the TD049 is the ideal one, but the "Killer Bee clone" I made should also be fine.

I will surely reinforce the stock balsa leading and trailing edges as well as the spars with carbon strips, in my experience the sometimes tough landings are best survived with these reinforcements.

I assume I will start building next week once I have the engine mount.

It's always an ARF if you're a fast builder!!! Great that you're preparing for multi-engines! It's nice to have that option for sure! What did Sterling provide for engine-cowling parts? Anything pre-fab?

Roddie,

the kit includes plastic coil cheeks, wheel pants and a transparent canopy, all made of plastic and to be trimmed then glued. If I manage a clean build, this is going to be a very good looking project....

balogh wrote:Roddie,

the kit includes plastic coil cheeks, wheel pants and a transparent canopy, all made of plastic and to be trimmed then glued. If I manage a clean build, this is going to be a very good looking project....

Without a doubt Andras!! Of course.. I'll make a "Roddie-suggestion".. but this may be worthwhile. I don't know how scarce this kit actually is.. or if you have the desire/know-how/materials on-hand.. BUT.......... consider making (or having someone make..) vacuum-molds of those parts.. foremost; the cowl-cheeks. I've never seen this kit. Those molded pieces are irreplaceable parts.. unlike cutting replacement/new wood pieces. Now would be the time to look into it. The plan looks like it shows the fuse full-size. Is the wing-plan/rib detail full-size as well? If not; you might want to take the time to trace-out the individual pertinent parts (wing-ribs..) on paper.. and keep it with your other model airplane plans, in the event that you decide to build another someday in the future.

I know that it's something few modelers would do, but "Sterling" and their kits are long-gone.. and these plastic pieces are signature to the style of this airplane.

Does the kit give aileron-detail for RC? Sterling kits of that era were marketed as Scale/RC/Free-flight and C/L. I'm thinking that you'll build ailerons; whether their construction is outlined on the plans or not. You have so many more options for lightweight radio components today.. than there were when that kit was being offered.

Congratulations on finding the kit, and good luck in building it! I'm sure that you will do a fine job.. and the scale/power recommendations are exactly what you're used to flying.

Thanks, Roddie,

I could not agree more. The kit seems to be very rare, actually I only saw another one at

http://www.oldmodelkits.com/index.php?g=flying-balsa-model-kits&mat=balsa,

and when I wrote about it on CEF, someone jumped on it virtually immediately and bought it.

The cheeks are made of relatively strong plastic but are really vulnerable. Not just because of the unscheduled nose-down landings that I saw (errr, caused) some of my planes do in the past, but because of  their delicate connection to the fuse, or my habit of grabbing the nose of the plane while starting the engine, etc. I also thought of further reinforcing it from inside, or find a plastic bottle in a cosmetics or convenience store with a section that resembles the cheek, cut it out  and use that instead of the genuine part....

Your note on securing the reproducability of the wood parts is also valid. Unfortunately the plans do not show the airfoil of the wing ribs, and the ribs are so precisely laid out on the balsa sheets that not much will be left from the sheet (as a "die") after I have popped them out of the sheets. I may draw their contour on the backside of the plan for making replicas if need be.

I have the same issue with the Li'l Roughneck plane - one of my most frequently flying one - that was built from the last kit that Selecthobbies sold to me, and I do not find this kit anywhere anymore....just when I bought the Cosmic Wind, the seller also had a Li'l Roughneck but I lost the auction to another ebayer and could  buy the Cosmic Wind only instead of both. Luckily the wing of the Roughneck is still in excellent shape, but the fuse began to soak castor and will have to be re-built...that is not so difficult.

One thing is sure, rather than building the kit hastily in impatience, I will do it with careful considerations exactly because it is probably one of the last such kits in existence or at least the last one currently accessible worldwide.

Currently this one on ebay for those interested.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cosmic-Wind-Sterling-Radio-Control-Model-No-Instructions-/201678609374?hash=item2ef4fb5bde:g:OkcAAOSwPCVX22cb

It would be great if you would trace the parts on paper before assembling the model. Outerzone has the plan but no patterns of the parts. Easiest way to do this would be to trace them with a pen on ordinary copy paper and then scan the sheets into a PDF.

Also if you should ever need to make new parts, it is easy to print the required sheets out on a laser printer, put them face down on balsa sheet and then with a hot iron transfer the outlines on the balsa. It's like magic

Making replacement cowls wheel pants and other cosmetic parts is easier (provided one is not after 100% accuracy) than trying to figure out the shapes and dimensions of parts not shown on the plan.

I started the build, with the wing. Before I get the TeeDee 09 by the mail hopefully next week and prepare the 3-in-1 firewall for all 3 engine options,  I do not want to fiddle with the fuse.




Given the rough terrain over which I usually fly my planes, and the brute force of the TD 090 that will be the strongest option to drive the Cosmic Wind, I decided to reinforce the spar and leading edge both:

I embedded a 3mm dia carbon tube into the leading edge, and glued a 3x1mm carbon strip to the spar.



The plans show sheeting for the wing only on its top, the bottom remains covered only by monokote.

While the kit dates back to probably the early 60-s, the materials furnished in the box are big-time strong balsa and plywood..die-cut parts that easily and accurately detach from the parent sheets...

More to come later this week.

KariFS wrote:It would be great if you would trace the parts on paper before assembling the model. Outerzone has the plan but no patterns of the parts. Easiest way to do this would be to trace them with a pen on ordinary copy paper and then scan the sheets into a PDF.

Also if you should ever need to make new parts, it is easy to print the required sheets out on a laser printer, put them face down on balsa sheet and then with a hot iron transfer the outlines on the balsa. It's like magic

Making replacement cowls wheel pants and other cosmetic parts is easier (provided one is not after 100% accuracy) than trying to figure out the shapes and dimensions of parts not shown on the plan.

Kari, I traced the wing ribs on paper just in case I once need/want to rebuild it. Your trick of copying the drawing on balsa from a photocopy by ironing is new to me, but will surely try it...thanks for the tip.

You're getting right down to business Andras! I hope you're able to source a cylinder/sleeve for the .09. I'm assuming that your recent "wanted" thread is for this model's subject .09 engine.

Have you had any luck in securing a new place to fly? I was disappointed when you posted recent issues with the land-owner. Am I correct here? I could be losing my mind.. well.. some would agree that I lost my mind a while back..

I think that the carbon-fiber mods were good insurance. The .09 will likely turn-out to be "the engine" for this airplane IMHO. Actually...... I wouldn't count on a reed-valve .049 to fly this model. Building a 3-in-1 radial-mount firewall might cause vibration-issues to come to light when switching-over to test the rotary-valve engines. The "killer-bee" clone would certainly fly it.. but at the minimalist .049 Tee Dee engine recommendation. You could also experience "finicky" tuning/operation with the killer-bee. An easily-accessible bladder-compartment would need to be fabricated. I know that you've had great success with balloon-tanks in your models. Maybe it would make more sense to "save" the killer-bee for a purpose-built model.. and design aluminum-plates for an adjustable beam-mount system to accept the rotary-valve engine options?

Roddie,

yes, the throttle ring would go on my TeeDee 09 (that I have not seen yet even though it has surprisingly crossed the Atlantic 2x in the last week - courtesy USPS - on its way from its seller in Maryland to Budapest....see my post on the USPS tracking going nuts)

The flying field I used to  go to is no longer accessible by car. The owner - a British supermarket chain called Tesco -   put roadblocks to the entrance, no matter that this is just a vacant, but beautiful pasture, without any commercial use. I regret it because this is near my home, and was/is still ideal for flying (all my recent flight videos were shot there).

So my only way to go flying my COX planes is by riding on my Li'l Honda,dodging with slaloms  the roadblocks at the field entrance,  with my Li'l Roughneck (or max an 1/2A size plane), disassembled, put in a backpack.

This is one reason why I started to build the Cosmic Wind immediately I had the time today, to win some time before the TD09 comes,  because if cold, rainy season arrives,  I will not be able to go flying at all  -  cold rainy wheather is not ideal to ride  my Honda Grom.(In the recent years I used to go flying even on subzero winter days when car access was not denied yet.)

Pictured below are my 2 Li'l roughnecks: one driven by my Killer Bee clone, on top of the other critter with a 125ccm engine.

https://www.tescoplc.com/about-us/our-businesses/tesco-hungary/tesco-in-hungary/


I dislike Tesco with a vengeance. The only reason for them to buy land is to build a store or a warehouse on it.

In my home village they built a massive supermarket - an eyesore! - and then undercut the local traders resulting in quite a few local businesses closing down. This seems to be the modern way of large commercial organisations and the local area loses its character.

It is not the most scrupulous of firms.

http://www.itv.com/news/2015-01-08/horsemeat-and-accounting-scandals-tescos-setbacks-since-2011/

Selling us horse meat "beef" burgers did them no favours.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Tesco

There have been many instances of them not treating their suppliers very well.

Ian yes Tesco was busted here couple times for retagging food items to "extend" the  "Best before" dates selling scrap food after its expiry. They did not even bother to remove the old tag, just stuck the new one on the old.

They paid the fine and shrugged their shoulders as if business were usual.
But they are probably not alone with such ethics on the market.