Focal Point
Model Aviation, 5151 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302
Hitch Your Wagon ...
Glenn How (24 Roadrunner Lt., Alamogordo NM 88310) sent this photo "to show what the Stealth City Flyers use for what we call flightus interruptus (crashes).
"It works well and gives the children something to play with and keep them occupied during our time at the field. It is equipped with an antenna with flag, fire extinguisher, light, and three-position siren—all electric."
"A Pussycat to Fly"
David C. Mitchell Jr. (129 Leslie Ave., Baltimore MD 21236) built this Eindecker from a Balsa USA kit.
- Power: O.S. 91 four-stroke
- Wingspan: 80 inches
- Weight: 11 pounds
- Covering: Solartex and 21st Century
"The airplane is a pussycat to fly," wrote David, "and I have received a lot of nice comments on it from fellow fliers." Grandson David is shown with the model, which won first place in a club building contest.
Kit Bashing
"This is my latest effort at 'kit bashing,'" wrote Dennis Ness (156 Creek Rd., Butler PA 16002). "After some idle talk at the airfield about creating a twin-engine UltraSport, I decided to give it a try."
- Power: two O.S. .40FPs turning 10 x 6 props
- Radio: Futaba
- Weight: 6½ pounds (one pound heavier than the author's single-engine UltraSport 40)
- Flights to date: approximately 25
"It flies as well as the single-engine version, with no bad flight tendencies," he reported.
Mosquito
Paul Harding (14403 N. Dakota St., Spokane WA 99208) sent this photo of his de Havilland Mosquito ("for weather reconnaissance and photographic coverage—107 supplied to USAF," says Paul).
- Wingspan: 82 inches
- Weight: 18 pounds
- Power: Super Tigre .51s
- Features: homemade retracts, bomb drop, scale cockpit
- Covering: 21st Century Fabric
- Radio: seven-channel Futaba
Cross Bow
Matt Ford (2 Third St., Glenwood Landing NY 11547) built this model from a Leading Edge Model Aircraft kit.
"When I first saw this airplane, I knew a military-type covering would fit well," wrote Matt.
- Covering: MonoKote®
- Power plant: O.S. .46FX
- Notes: The pilot and underwing missiles are from old models I had laying around.
"The airplane builds out very strong and is quite stable in the air. A low pass down the runway to a gentle climbout is a real crowd-pleaser."
Gee Bee Z
"This was my first scratch-build project," says Ken Siemers (735 Grape Ave., Sunnyvale CA 94087). The model took a little more than three months to complete, based on plans by Adrian Page.
"I like to be creative," wrote Ken, "so the airplane has a slight twist; it's the Gee Bee Z plans with the R2 color scheme."
Phaeton IIs
William M. Wittey (192 Warner Ln., Harmony PA 16037) says that this photo shows three of the five Balsa USA Phaeton II biplanes in his MARS club.
- The yellow one belongs to Bill Hodson.
- The white one with red stars is mine.
- The white one with red-and-blue stripes belongs to Howard Nesbit.
"Thanks for 'Focal Point,'" he wrote. "I like to see the models that others have built."
Astro Hogs
Louis Goldberg (16905 Old Colony Way, Rockville MD 20853) built these "highly modified" Astro Hogs.
- Modifications: tail feathers and fuselage length modified; very little dihedral; new wing with no dihedral
- Power: K&B .61s
- Weight: 7½ pounds each
"When I was a boy, Dr. Walter A. Good was my neighbor, and Air Trails and the Guff [Good model] were the cat's meow."
Phantom
"I have flown RC models for a number of years, both power and gliders, but I still like to build [Free Flight] stick-and-tissue," wrote Ken Rasmussen (1837 S. Redwood St., Visalia CA 93277). The Phantom was built from an Easy Built Models kit.
- Span: 40 inches
- Weight: approximately four ounces
- Covering: MonoKote® on the fuselage; tissue covering on the wing and stabilizer
"I am experimenting with different combinations of props and rubber motors."
"P.S. I am delighted with 'Focal Point.'"
Purple Panther
Daniel Stacko (56 Windcrest Dr., Cecil PA 15321) calls his latest project the Purple Panther, seen here with daughters Lauren and Michelle.
- Build time: approximately six months
- Power: G-62
- Radio: Futaba transmitter, Hitec receiver
- Weight: 16½ pounds
- Span: 84 inches
"It was built to perform unlimited aerobatics, and does not disappoint. My favorite maneuvers are upright and inverted flat spins and waterfalls."
Extra 300L
"The model was built from an Ohio R/C kit, and is a 32% copy of an Extra 300L," wrote Marty Meyer (160 Locust Ave., New Rochelle NY 10805).
- Wingspan: 103 inches
- Power: 3W-100 with Don Harris smoke system
- Prop: 26 x 12 Menz
- Radio: Futaba
- Covering: MonoKote® (cowl and hatch painted with automotive finish)
Mr. Meyer has been in modeling for 65 years and has flown Radio Control models for the past 43 years.
Cloud Niner
Stan Duszczak (32 Heritage Ct., Cheektowaga NY 14225) describes these Bill Winter-designed Cloud Niners as having "split flaps for slowdown from the sky landings, no stalls, fun, lazy, slow or fast flying."
- Left: Jim Smith, age 75, "loves to do only right turns" — power: O.S. 70 four-stroke
- Right: Stan Duszczak, "loves to fly slow, lazy circles" — power: SuperTiger .60
Both men are members of the R/C Aircrafters of Hamburg NY.
Two Weeks to Build
Benjamin Lawless (10005 Indian Queen Point Rd., Fort Washington MD 20744) built this Comet Fokker D.VII "dime model" that is held by Marilyn Graskowiak.
"Fifty years ago, I built these models in two days, but for some reason they take two weeks to build now," he wrote. "Clumsy fingers, I guess."
The lozenge pattern was scanned and printed directly on tissue with a Hewlett-Packard Deskjet 722C color printer. A light coat of Krylon® clear fixative was used to "set" the colors.
"A Super Airplane to Fly"
Robert E. Lee III (805 Cloisters Dr., Florence SC 29505) built his Great Planes Piper J-3 to replicate his brother-in-law's full-scale 1946 aircraft "as close to scale as possible, including his tail number."
- Build time: five months
- Power: O.S. 60FP
- Radio: Futaba
- Covering: 21st Century
- Features: pilot's head moves with the rudder; parachute drops from beneath the right wing
Patriot
Jeff Costa (1409 Tuliptree Rd., Santa Rosa CA 95403) built this Great Planes Patriot.
- Power: O.S. .46FX with Performance Specialties Ultra Thrust muffler
- Covering: Goldberg UltraCote®
- Retracts: Hobbico
- Top speed: in excess of 100 mph
"Not for the meek of heart."
Proud of your latest building/flying effort? Share it with MA's readers! Send us a glossy color print (no digital photos or photocopies, please), with appropriate description, and we'll run the best submissions as time and space permit.
Please include your full address (including E-mail, if available) so that interested parties may contact you directly. Send to: Model Aviation, 5151 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302; Attn: Focal Point.
Tri-Pacer
Robert E. Tendick (827 N. Diamond, Jacksonville IL 62650) and his son hung his Fox-powered Sterling Tri-Pacer Control Line model at his local airport.
"I was given the honor by the local airport manager. To me, this is the best you can ask for—it's seen by the flying people of this USA," he wrote.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
