May 2007 81
I’M GOING BACK in time to write about one of the early 3-D
innovators. Most of us don’t know who invented many of the 3-D
maneuvers we do everyday.
Flying 3-D is a fairly new concept to aeromodeling. But no
matter how long one has been in the hobby, a pilot exploiting and
stretching the envelope at the flying field is a sight to behold. It
makes most modelers want to try it—even the ones who may not
be part of this interest. That is probably why 3-D flying is gaining
so much popularity among modelers.
Many pilots have paved the way for this innovative form of
flying. Many modelers and manufacturers have spent countless
hours developing aircraft and equipment to perform these 3-D
maneuvers.
With John Sabini’s help I’m going to write about one such
innovator—Yuri Higuchi—in the hopes of encouraging more
modelers to tell their stories of the hobby they love so
much.
Yuri is a master craftsman and licensed A&P (airframe
and powerplant) mechanic from Long Island, New York.
He developed a passion for model airplanes at a young
age. He would ride his bicycle to nearby hobby shops,
fascinated by the airplanes he dreamed of someday
building and flying.
At age 8 Yuri began building balsa-and-tissue-covered
airplanes. He spent hours on minute details that set his
Born to Fly Jim T. Graham | [email protected]
The Yuri Higuchi story
Right: Jason Shulman (L) and Sean
Plummer of Hacker Brushless help Yuri
with the Hacker-powered 42% Extra 260.
Photo courtesy Wildberry Productions.
Above: This Extra 260 shows the huge
amount of power that can be attained
from electric motors. Times have
changed! Photo courtesy Wildberry
Productions.
Yuri Higuchi constructed this custom-built Extra 330 in nine weeks. Look at
that covering job! Photo by Barry Fink.
models apart from others. His building and flying abilities were
evident.
When Yuri was 13 his mother and sisters bought him his first
radio-control system; it was a Futaba unit. He started practicing
and learning to fly on his own on the side streets of his home and
at the local school yard.
Yuri learned about a club in the area, and on his second day at
the local flying field he was immediately signed off as a pilot. He
did more than 20 landings that day.
Two years later he received a Carl Goldberg Skylark 56 kit for
his birthday. Yuri had the airplane ready to fly in less than 24
hours. He constructed it and covered it in the three-color
MonoKote scheme that was depicted on the kit box.
His superb craftsmanship skills and speedy work were so
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first 37% Almost Ready-to-Cover Precision Aviation Extra 300S.
He applied his own custom-designed MonoKote scheme.
Yuri is one of the best MonoKote artists. His technique is
stunning and flawless, and it has earned him many finishing
awards. He added his unique top-half quick-pin-release cowl along
with a quick-release canopy.
That Extra 300S won Best MonoKote and Best Aerobatic
Aircraft in static competition at the 1996 WRAM Show in
Westchester, New York, and the People’s Choice Award at the 8th
Jumbo Jamboree in Mercer, New Jersey.
Yuri went to many Tournament of Champions (TOCs) in the
mid- to late 1980s and 1990s. He remembers Hanno Prettner
introducing music to a freestyle routine and seeing Waterfalls and
Knife-Edge Spins there. Chip Hyde started Torque Rolling up high
at one of the TOC events. Later Quique Somenzini came back
Torque Rolling lower to the ground. Yuri was hooked.
This was the beginning of 3-D. Events such as the TOC pushed
the hobby, pilots, and equipment to new heights. It gave
motivation to experiment and try new things.
Yuri takes time out to sign some autographs for future 3-D pilots
in Puerto Rico. John Sabini photo.
Yuri conducts a tail-touch session at the lake during the Joe Nall
Fly In. Rich Hughes photo.
Only roughly half power is needed from
Yuri’s DA-150 to hold the 3.1-meter
Composite-ARF Extra 300S motionless in
a steady breeze. Sabini photo.
impressive that others took notice. RC modelers began lining up to
have Yuri build and paint their airplanes. Eventually he was
earning enough money to support his passion.
One of his customers and admirers picked him up everyday
after school, taking him to the Port Washington Flight Club. There
he would, at the age of 15, practice and teach others how to fly.
Yuri began designing model airplanes with Andrea Pasquarelli for
the engineering department of Manhattan College, to compete
against designers and pilots from approximately 100 colleges for
the SAE Heavy Lift Design in Dayton, Ohio, in 1996. Their model
design, along with Yuri’s piloting, earned Manhattan College 11th
place.
He and Andrea eventually started their own business. They
designed 3-D models for Kangke such as the Extra 300, Laser 200,
Texas Hurricane, and Rear-Wind Speedster. They introduced
anodized aluminum control horns and pushrods to the market
through their company: UCV Manufacturing.
Yuri eventually stepped up to bigger models, purchasing his
Yuri gets ready for a flight at the tender age of 16. Photo courtesy Yuri Higuchi.
82 MODEL AVIATION
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May 2007 83
At one TOC Yuri met Andreas of
FiberClassics, and at the Toledo R/C Expo
he ordered a FiberClassics 40% Giles 202.
He also met Dave Johnson of Desert
Aircraft and ordered a DA-150 engine.
Since the beginning Yuri has flown Futaba
equipment, so he upgraded to a 9Z radio
system. He finished the model in time for
the next TOC.
Yuri drove out to Las Vegas, Nevada,
and flew after-hours with the competing
pilots. There he met Jason Shulman. Yuri
let Jason fly the G-202. Jason loved the
airplane so much that two days before the
competition he asked Yuri if he could fly it
in the TOC.
Dave Johnson assured Yuri that if
anything happened to the model he would
take responsibility. To sweeten the deal
Dave and Andreas gave Yuri a bargain on a
new G-202 and a DA-150.
At that point Yuri had two airplanes
with which to practice. He learned from
those early TOC pilots to fly all the 3-D
maneuvers using the 40% Giles 202. Many
people don’t do that. However, he
perfected the maneuvers and practiced
them all the time. Yuri was burning 15
gallons of fuel every week.
Then Yuri started competing in
International Miniature Aerobatic Club
(IMAC). He sold all his smaller airplanes
and helicopters so he could concentrate on
flying large Scale Aerobatics models in
competition. This paid off; Yuri became
the 1999 and 2000 Northeast Unlimited
Champion and finished in second place in
2001.
Jason Shulman and Yuri met up again
that spring at the Joe Nall Fly In. Both flew
FiberClassics models. They took off with
their aircraft, and as they were flying they
decided to Torque Roll over the pond. It
created roars and cheers. They started a
trend, and everyone who dared joined in
that evening over the pond.
At this time Yuri was working at
Larry’s Hobby Shop in Commack, New
York. There he met many modelers who
were interested in the new 3-D flight. Yuri
helped many kids find a great hobby, and
veteran modelers loved the technical
knowledge he had of equipment, building
techniques, and flying.
Yuri was known for his extraordinary
abilities not only to fly, but to design and
build models as well. His friends and
business partners challenged him to build a
40%-plus-size aircraft from scratch and
have it ready for the 2001 Westchester
Radio Aero Modelers Show, which was
nine and a half weeks away at the time.
He put in 500 hours to unveil an allbalsa
stick model of a 45% Extra 330SX.
The aircraft was a masterpiece that was
ahead of its time. Powered with a DA-150
engine, it was the largest 3-D Scale
Aerobatics aircraft to date. At 42 pounds
and spanning 135 inches, it was the lightest
model of its size built.
The 330SX won Best Finish and Best
Aerobatic Aircraft at the 2001 WRAM
Show. The beautiful custom MonoKote color
scheme is copied endlessly by many ARF
manufacturers today.
Yuri pioneered many signature 3-D
maneuvers, such as the Climbing Inverted
Flat Spin, the high-alpha rollers, and the Pogo
Stick. He had his award-winning Extra 330 at
the Joe Nall, and it was a showstopper just
sitting on the ground. He did not fly until it
quieted down that evening.
When he flew his 45% Extra, no one
imagined they would see new 3-D maneuvers
performed so low to terra firma. It got
everyone back out again and people crowded
around him.
Back then no one did those 3-D
maneuvers as low to the ground as Yuri did.
He started a trend. People were amazed to see
the 135-inch Extra high-alpha-rolling straight
down the runway with the wingtips inches off
the ground. He did Blenders that were so
violent people cringed at seeing them stop at
eye level and then climb out in an inverted
flat spin.
Torque-rolling at will was Yuri’s forte.
He would pogo the Torque Roll almost as if
the airplane would slam the tail into the
ground. People went crazy.
A pilot next to Yuri at the Joe Nall who
watched in amazement was Frank Noll. Yuri
looked over, and without hesitation said
“Here, you try it,” and gave Frank the 9Z
transmitter.
In an unexpected twist, Joe Nall event
announcer Bob Sadler asked little Aaron
Hayes—a boy with some misfortune who
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was given an airplane ride and a model
airplane—if there was anything else
those at the Joe Nall could do for him.
Aaron said he wanted to meet Yuri and
get his autograph. The crowd line went
nuts!
Yuri came back to the Triple Tree
Aerodrome in Woodruff, South Carolina,
to win with his prized Extra at the 2001
Don Lowe Masters, taking first place in
Freestyle and fourth at the 2002 Extreme
Flight Championships (XFC).
Yuri relocated to Anthem, Arizona,
so he can enjoy flying and riding his
motorcycle year-round. His sponsor and
friend Dave Johnson invited him to
compete in the 2004 Tucson Shootout.
Yuri had an accident on his
motorcycle the day before the
competition, but it did not stop him from
flying at the contest. Scared and bruised,
Yuri laughed at his second-to-last place
finish. However, as he always says,
“Half of it is just showing up and talking
to people.”
He did a flight demonstration at the
Totally Outrageous Challenge in Las
Vegas. There he met Hacker Brushless
Motors’ Sean Plummer, who asked Yuri
to convert his gas-powered 42% Dave
von Linsowe Extra 260 to an electricpowered
model.
Yuri re-engineered the kit for a
Hacker motor conversion and Thunder
Power batteries. The Extra 260’s
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innovation and custom MonoKote finish
earned him the Best Aerobatic Aircraft
award at the 2005 AMA Convention in
Ontario, California, and the model graced
the cover of the April 2005 MA. Yuri was
one of the first to build and fly a 40%-
plus-size, electric-powered Scale
Aerobatics model in the US.
His great aerobatic moves and surprise
finishes won him an invitation to the
February 2005 Wild Ravens Air Show in
San Juan, Puerto Rico, along with other
greats such as Mark Leseburg, Jason Noll,
Jason Shulman, and Mike McConville.
Yuri put together a high-energy, 10-minute
Freestyle routine that left a lasting
impression on the Puerto Ricans. The
spectators would say, “We want to see the
USA flag plane fly.”
At the banquet the club sponsors said to
the other top pilots that Yuri was leaving
them in the dust and that they better pick it
up.
The rest of 2005 was not so good. Yuri
had been taking care of his mom for
sometime, and she passed on in September.
This took a great toll on him, and he
stopped flying for a while to get his life
back together.
However, Yuri is practicing and
dedicating time again to his passion of
model airplanes. He finished eighth at the
2005 XFC and 11th at the 2006 XFC. At
the 2006 XFC the Canton RC Club in Ohio
posted the following on its Web site.
“Yuri and his team were so friendly and
answered so many questions with
patience! Yuri is funny and friendly and a
lot of fun to talk with too. I guess you
could say they all fit together as a group
and it’s definitely apparent in their manner
with each other and their admirers.”
His contagious laugh; selfless, kidlike
attitude; and willingness to help others
with 3-D flight has inspired many
spectators and pilots throughout the
country. You can hear in Yuri’s voice how
grateful he is to his sponsors and friends;
he believes he could not have done what
he has without them. He is humble and
thankful to all the people who have stood
behind him.
Yuri has become a highly prized pilot
who performs half-time shows at fullscale
air shows and model shows. He said:
“I have always enjoyed both building
and flying, especially flying in
competition and to entertain the crowd. I
want to thank everyone for their support.
Stop by the trailer that says ‘Team
Higuchi’ and say hello. We go to most of
the events around the country. I will be
there to answer any questions and talk 3-D!
Otherwise, look for me at Show Center!”
To watch video of Yuri practicing and
flying his routine, go to www.ama.rc
groups.com. MA
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