My project for November was to return an old monoplane to flying order. During 2001 I began using RCPages notify option to let me know if anyone was selling any models of a specific type. I chose powered as one option and got notified of a gentleman selling up a whole load of 20+ year old r/c planes. Among them was a Cambria Pioneer Monoplane that was mostly built. Kevin Mad-dog offered to restore the model ready for covering. He also installed all the radio gear and engine. Here we see the steps taken by Kevin during the Pioneer rebuild. Brian if you are reading this, please email me as I seem to have lost your mail address. chinman@bumpygreen.co.uk

Cambria Pioneer. Pre 1914 type Monoplane. 58" span for 3 channel proportional radio. The price tag shows the age of the kit. I was a kid in the '70s when I last saw a Taylor & McKenna store. The local one to me became a Beaties and the model section was sadly never the same.

On the box: Inventors: Mid Wales Model Manufacturers Ltd. Supporting Surface: 600 square inches (incl tail). Control: Elevating by remote control of hinged elevator on rear plane. Steering by remote control of vertical rudder at rear. Starting: Under own power on wheels. Alighting: On combined wheels & skid Drive: Direct, to tractor propellor (yes it's spelled this way on the box) Frame: Spruce & other woods. Means of obtaining stability: Secured by Dihedral angle. Usual Engine: .190 - .250 cubic inch displacement Maximum length: 39 inches. Maximum span: 58 inches

Well you certainly don't see the box descriptions worded like that any more do you.

The original box was in perfect condition, and being used to house a large selection of old wood, both balsa and spruce. It shows a wonderful drawn version of the Pioneer with a suitably pioneering pilot with his flat cap and flapping scarf. Among the bits I also found the original Cambria sticker and the complete plan also in pristine condition.

Bleriot XI Monoplane	McDowall Monoplane

The model seems to be a hybrid of the two pioneer era monoplanes above. The Pioneer shares the same planked fuselage and underslung rear plane of the Bleriot on the left but uses the pyramid shape King Post and vee frame undercarriage layout of the McDowall monoplane. Both 1912 designs.
Pictures from the Canada Aviation Museum who have examples of both planes on display. http://www.aviation.nmstc.ca/Eng/english_home.html

First I would like to say how much I appreciate Kevin lending me a hand by finishing the airframe of this model and second what a marvellous job he did of it.

I'm not sure he knew what he had offered as the Pioneer was just a kit of parts. The wing, tails & fuselage were built but the front of the fuselage ply skin had peeled up with age and had set rock hard. I never thought he would get it back into place but he proved once again why he is the fastest builder in the west by fixing this problem with no trace of the repair visible. Here you can see it loosely assembled before being carted off to Kevin's workshop.

Kevin began by soaking the curly top fuselage ply skin with water to make it pliable, then he clamped it into position to allow the glue to cure. The whole fuselage was lightly sanded, and he checked all joins and ran cyno into any areas that looked suspect. All imperfections removed and a generous coat of varnish was applied all over. Considering how long this model has been stored without use, it was in remarkably good condition and absolutely straight. Good testament to the original builders skill.

Next came the undercarriage, an elaborate bent wire arrangement that provides an unusual damped hinge action for springing. The wheels are of conical hub design and the main axle was actually a little short to mount them correctly. Rather than desolder it and then try to find a longer piece of matching steel rod Kevin kindly donated a pair of narrower scale wheels. The whole wire frame was then painted matt black to match the original look of the era, chroming being considered an unnecessary expense on the real planes.

	The engine was then dry installed to make sure everything fitted as it should. I had originally intended fitting a Thunder Tiger Pro 25 but all agreed this was going to be far too powerful for this type of model. A Thunder Tiger GP 15 was installed and fitted just right, matching both the installed engine mount and the exhaust cutout in the bottom of the firewall and fuselage.
	Another shot of that engine installed and plumbed in. The propeller is an APC 8 x 5 and looks good, matching the silver hammered finish top of the fuselage.
	Here you can see the back of the SLEC fuel tank poking through the bulkhead. The original small bottle type tank was a little brittle with age and being a stickler for efficiency I opted for a modern internal fuel tank to save and problems with unfamiliar tank types. Kev cut a hole that allowed the tank to sit at the same height as the original so as not to affect the fuel feed.

The tail assembly is fairly basic with an all moving fin rudder and flat tailplane. Both surfaces were varnished to darken the wood slightly and this also enhances the grain of the wood. The rudder is a balsa strip frame, slightly rounded on the edges and uses a very simple U wire and biro tube hinge providing a wide movement range. The tail and elevators are again strip frame and is mounted under the frame at the rear of the open fuselage.

Again to keep with the era of the model I asked Kevin to install a closed loop control system for the rudder and elevator. This was no problem for Kevin who has vast experience of model WWI fighters and is no stranger to closed loop installations.

The wing assembly is a single piece with a cockpit area made of plastic mounted on the centre. The pictures of the repair work seem to have been lost in the ether space of email so just the complete shot on the left is useful. Some of the ribs were split and a few were very brittle. Kevin repaired the damaged ones and even replaced the entire rear 2/3 of one rib which was damaged too badly. As you can see on the lower half there is a very dark stain of some kind. I haven't decided what it was that made the stain yet but it looks like something was spilled on it during storage at some time. Kevin suggested I run thin cyno into all the joints as he didn't have any left. I did this as carefully as possible. The wing is totally straight and very rigid and has a large Dihedral angle. Mounting points for bracing cables are fitted with biro tube inserts to allow small eyed screws to be used for securing the cables. A wire pyramid frame is mounted on the centre cockpit section to hold the bracing. Kevin finished the cockpit area in matt black and the top section is painted with silver hammerite to look like the hammered sheet fuselage of the full size planes of the era.

With only limited room and a fairly crucial C of G position, installation of the radio has to be by the book (or how the instructions tell you anyway) Kevin installed hardwood rails as per the plan and mounted the servos side by side. The close proximity and the use of closed loop meant even tighter space to fit everything. Servo dials were used instead of the familiar arms and give just the right amount of movement and travel for this model. The throttle is connected via a rigid cable and runs in a snake-outer tunnel through the bulkhead and firewall to the throttle arm. This is a very positive connection and travel adjust had to be backed of to 70% to achieve correct full throttle without bowing the cable. The switch harness and charging point are located at the rear of the fuselage and cleverly hidden from view by the extended side panels of the cockpit area.

Robbe FS100 servos were used in a matching trio. A Hitec HFS 04MI+ receiver was spare so I handed this and a JR 600mAh r/x pack to Kevin so he could finish the install. Here you can see the busy end of the closed loop control system showing the crimped cables and the tension adjusters.

	Everything installed and ready for finishing. Here are some final pictures of the Pioneer airframe before stating on the covering of the wings and tail. As you can see Kevin made a fabulous job of it and I hope my covering does justice to the excellent rebuild he has done.
No plane is complete without a decent pilot.	This is the only other Pioneer I could find a picture of on the web. It belonged to a gentleman during the late 70's and is featured in the archive of his website. http://www.wingsanthings.flyer.co.uk/index.html

Part 2 - covering the model (full write up of the experience of learning to tissue & dope)

Article by Chinman from Bumpy Green Model Aerodrome
10th December 2001