10 M ODEL AVIATION
Acrostar
Eddie Fulmer (4409 Oak Meadow Dr., Northport AL 35473; Email:
[email protected]) finally got the Airtronics Acrostar he built
more than 18 years ago out of storage.
He covered the wings with MonoKote® and the fuselage with
fiberglass and LustreKote™ paint. According to Eddie, the model
was ready for its first flight after several rolls of MonoKote®.
Power is by a SuperTigre 90 and the radio is Futaba. The rudder,
elevator, and ailerons were enlarged.
Showing off the Acrostar is Eddie’s daughter Emily.
Ultra Pup and Mini Pup
It took Kirby Crawford (1967 Country Air Dr., Rice Lake WI
54868) a month to draw the plans, and three months to scratch-build
his 1⁄4-scale Ultra Pup from spruce and balsa.
The model weighs 12 pounds, and is powered by an O.S. 120 twin
engine. The landing gear is welded chrome moly tubing, and the bungees
are fully functional. The stabilizer is ground-adjustable with a jack screw.
The Pup is covered with Sig Koverall with two coats of latex
brushed on, then sprayed with two coats of DuPont Dulux®
automotive enamel—the same as the full-scale aircraft.
“I built the full-scale Preceptor Ultra Pup three years ago and
have logged 450 hours in it,” wrote Kirby. “The model flies much
like the full-scale except I don’t do aerobatics in the full-scale.”
1932 Chet Loose racer
Chuck Snyder (10759 Moss Hill Ln., Cincinnati OH 45249; Email:
[email protected]) sent this photo of Jim Moore’s 36-
inch-span replica of the Golden Age racing airplane.
This original design was built from balsa and plywood, and is
powered by a .40 engine.
According to Chuck, Jim formed the model’s cowl over a foam
plug by coating the plug with Elmer’s® white glue, then
fiberglassing it with polyester resin.
“Jim is from the old school that covers with silkspan and silk,”
wrote Chuck.
Jim is president of the Queen City U-Control club. His address is
RR 1 Box 86, Butler KY 41006.
“To Infinity and Beyond!™”
Piloted by a spunky Buzz Lightyear (of Toy Story 2 fame), this
Goldberg Tiger 2 is Bob Vixie’s (3445 Possum Ct., Colorado
Springs CO 80918) second Radio Control model.
The Tiger is covered with MonoKote® and is powered by an
O.S. 46 FX.
“Flying at 7,000 feet in the shadow of Pikes Peak, Buzz’s hot
pink-and-blue craft is easy to spot,” wrote Bob, who is a member of
the Pikes Peak RC Club.
Model Aviation, 5161 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302
Focal Point
May 2001 11
F-4 Phantom
Domenick Grillo (18 Ellsworth Ave., Staten Island NY 10312)
scratch-built his jet from Nick Ziroli plans.
An O.S. .46 DF engine and Kress Jets RK 740 fan unit provide the
power for this 51⁄2-pound model. Domenick covered it with MonoKote®.
“I am a big NASCAR® fan and my favorite driver is Dale
Earnhardt, as I am sure is obvious from my photos,” wrote Domenick.
“I do not plan on entering into any Scale competition, so I finished the
airplane in Dale Earnhardt’s #3 stock car color scheme.”
Somethin’ extra
According to Nik Rende (RR 10 Box 959, Augusta ME 04330),
his Sig model flies “better than I could have hoped!”
It is powered by a K&B .48 engine and has a three-blade
Graupner 10 x 6 propeller.
The model’s color scheme is courtesy of Nik’s wife, who picked
the colors from half-used rolls of covering he had laying around,
including MonoKote®, UltraCote®, and Sig covering that someone
gave him.
Bücker Bü.133 Jungmeister
“Mr. Beverly Howard was a friend of mine when he and I lived
in Charleston SC,” wrote W.G. Dickerson (100 Beaver Creek Ln.,
Sharpsburg GA 30277). “He owned and flew the full-scale aircraft
of this model.”
W.G. scratch-built his model from Dave Platt plans, and covered
it with 21st Century® Fabric. The model has a Saito 120 engine and
a JR radio. The model’s trim is like that on Beverly’s aircraft.
“It flies great,” wrote W.G. “Very steady on landing. It
brings back old memories of when I used to see Mr. Howard fly
his aircraft.”
According to W.G., Beverly was killed in his aircraft in an air
show, and the airplane is or will be displayed at the National Air and
Space Museum in Washington DC.
Stearman n2S-3 and Plumcat
Both of Dix Garner’s (57 Whitefeather, Flagler Beach FL
32136; E-mail: [email protected]) models were built from
Don Godfrey plans, which Dix obtained from Reid’s Quality
Model Products.
Both models weigh 27 pounds, are powered by Q52 engines, and
use Futaba PCM radios.
Dix uses JHM Aero Engineering’s Flight Pack Failure Protector
in both models, and SR 2000 mAh battery packs for primary.
According to Dix, building time for the two biplanes was 482
hours during a span of 200 days.
“They transport well with a minimum of load time in my Lincoln
Towncar, with wings in the back seat,” wrote Dix.
He flies with Flagler County Radio Aero Modelers.
12 M ODEL AVIATION
Model Aviation, 5161 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302
Focal Point
Giles 202
Gerald W. Haverly’s (132 Fair St., Schoharie NY 12157)
grandson Shawn Haverly is shown with Gerald’s Great Planes
model.
According to Gerald, Shawn started on the buddy box at age
four.
The Giles is covered with MonoKote®, and the radio is a Futaba
SkySport. With some reinforcing, the model weighs eight pounds.
Power is provided by an inverted SuperTigre .90 spinning a Master
Airscrew three-blade propeller.
The pilot is the Tasmanian Devil, who is carrying a container of
50% nitromethane fuel.
“Flight characteristics are fantastic,” wrote Gerald.
TBM-3e Avenger
This is Errol B. Winson’s (2030 Cutter Dr., League City TX
77573) scratch-built 1⁄5-scale model.
It spans 124 inches, has a Quadra 200 for power, functional
folding wings, flaps, wingslots, sliding canopy, functional turret,
functional tail hook, bomb bay, and torpedo or four bomb drops.
“This airplane has a great history in the Pacific Theatre and I was
fortunate enough to have access to Mr. Bill Hill’s fine example of
this aircraft which I modeled,” wrote Errol.
Besides all the panel lines, the model has 79,800 rivets, more
than 1,000 screws in the canopy and turret, a fully detailed cockpit
and turret, 18 servos, six air-control systems, 13 air cylinders, an
onboard electric starter, custom CNC machined wheels to match the
original, and custom retracts built by Unitracts in England.
Also featured are two transmitters and three receivers, along with
eight separate battery packs.
“The maiden voyage was a perfect flight!” wrote Errol.
P-47 Thunderbolt
This is Jim Levell’s (27421 Harlan Ln., Highland CA 92346) Mad
Dog K9 Special Top Flite® P-47D Razorback.
Power is provided by a SuperTigre G-75, and Jim uses a Hitec
Prism seven-channel radio with eight servos.
The airplane was covered with .58-ounce fiberglass cloth and
epoxy. The paint is Krylon® Sun Yellow, True Blue, Black, and Red,
with 21st Century® Gloss Clear.
Weight is 103⁄4 pounds, and the model features mechanical retracts.
Whirlwind and Tempest
John G. Giles’ (3240 NW 14th, Oklahoma City OK 73107; Email:
[email protected]) scratch-built 1938 Westland Whirlwind (left)
weighs 10 pounds and has a 76-inch wingspan.
Power is provided by 40 engines with 11 x 6 propellers. This is
John’s second Whirlwind.
“With gears retracted, it is a pure joy to hear and fly,” wrote John.
The 63⁄4-pound Hawker Tempest is from a Heritage kit, and is
powered by a 51 engine with an 11 x 6 propeller. The wingspan is
54.4 inches, with retracts.
John used MonoKote® for the cream and blue, and the brown is
LustreKote™ paint. The MonoKote®, paint, and decals were coated
with Flat Clear LustreKote™.
May 2001 13
Proud of your latest building/flying effort? Share it with MA’s
readers! Send us a glossy color print (no digital photos under
300 dpi or photocopies, please), with appropriate description
(no handwritten submissions, please), and we’ll run the best
submissions as space permits.
Please include your full address (including E-mail, if
available) so that interested parties may contact you directly.
Send to: Model Aviation, 5161 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302;
Attn: Focal Point.
Because of this section’s popularity, it may be several
months before your model is featured.
First Scale Attempt
Richard Blackwood (141 Gerow Ave., Spartanburg SC 29302) has
always liked Scale models—especially Mustangs. He thought the Top
Flite® P-51D had the best scale outline.
“I’ve built a lot of models, but my lack of Scale experience caused
the model to come out at 12 pounds, 13 ounces,” wrote Richard.
The model flies well despite of the weight, and is fast and smooth.
“Landing is another matter—even with full flaps,” he wrote.
The P-51 has an O.S. .61 long-stroke SF-ABC engine. Richard
modified the crutch of the fuselage to accept a full-length pilot and a
full cockpit with instrumentation.
The model also features a seven-channel Futaba radio, operational
navigation lights, retractable main landing gear and tail wheel, flaps,
and a sliding canopy
The color scheme and markings are those of Colonel J.L. Mason of
the 352nd Fighter Group.
The eagle’s Catch of the Day!
Todd Booker (Box 111, Sturgeon Lake MN 55783) built and
covered this Carl Goldberg Eagle II.
The model has Carl Goldberg floats, and is powered by an O.S.
.46 FX engine.
Todd covered the Eagle with MonoKote®, and his mother-inlaw
Francie Skarich brush-painted it.
A Young Fan
James T. Spraker (Box 84, New Trenton IN 47035) wanted to
impress his grandson Travis with this model; Travis is a John
Deere® tractor fan.
The model is powered by a SuperTigre .40 engine, and is
covered with UltraCote®.
“This SlowPoke sure got his attention,” wrote James.
Druine Turbulent
John V. Kunte (RR 2 Box 128, Rome PA 18837) built his model
from plans in the September 1999 Model Aviation.
Power is provided by an MDS .68 engine John won when he
subscribed to RC Report magazine. The pilot is a Star Wars™ figure
from a shampoo bottle.
“I have been flying CL [Control Line] and RC [Radio Control]
for 40+ years,” wrote John.
