Focal Point - 2004/08
Model Aviation, 5161 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302
First Effort
Jerry Arndt (11155 N. Lakeside Oaks Ave., Baton Rouge, LA 70810) sent in this photo of his son Andrew with his Tower Hobbies .40 trainer. This is the first model Andrew has built by himself.
"Andrew has been an avid RC airplane aficionado since he has been able to talk," wrote Jerry. "His grandfather, Ron Szot, is a lifelong RC airplane enthusiast and he helped Andrew build his first trainer airplane when he was only 5 years old."
Flying Razor
Carl Schurenberg (7678 Oceola Ln., West Chester, OH 45069; E-mail: [email protected]) built this Fokker D.VIII "Flying Razor" from a 1/4-scale Balsa USA kit. He powers it with a Zenoah G-26 gas engine.
The model has an 82-inch wingspan. Carl used Solartex fabric to cover the wings and applied Arizona Model Aircrafters printed lozenge fabric to the fuselage.
"I found the cowl paint scheme daunting, but black paint covered by carefully placed white vinyl triangles solved the problem," he wrote.
Sopwith Pup
Ted Kulik (41 Seven Star Rd., Groveland, MA 01834; E-mail: [email protected]) built this 1/4-scale Sopwith Pup from a Balsa USA kit.
The Pup spans 77 inches and weighs 16.5 pounds. It is covered with Solartex and has a Saito FA-170R3 engine swinging a Classic Series 18 x 6 propeller.
Features include Proctor Enterprises rigging wire and turnbuckles, a Williams Bros. machine gun, a Balsa USA spun-aluminum cowling, and a Forsyth Engineering custom bronze spinner nut.
Guidance is provided by a Futaba transmitter. The control surfaces are actuated by Hitec HS-605BB servos, and a Futaba S3003 servo is used for throttle control.
Humming Bird
"I have always enjoyed the little-known airplanes from the 1920s and ’30s," wrote Gerry Becker (4949 Samish Way #37, Bellingham, WA 98229; E-mail: [email protected]). "My wife bought me Mike Vines' book Wind in the Wires for my birthday, and after spotting the de Havilland D.H.53 Humming Bird in that book, I knew I had to build it."
Gerry built his model from modified plans purchased from Bill Northrop's Plans Service. The finished model is powered by an O.S. .52 FS engine, has a 63-inch wingspan, and weighs 6 pounds.
Worth the Time
George Young (45 Sheep Pasture Rd., Madison, CT 06443; E-mail: [email protected]) built this Spirit of Yesteryear 3M Scooter RES glider.
It spans 118 inches, has a wing area of 1,037 square inches, and weighs 57.8 ounces, which yields a wing loading of 8.4 ounces per square foot of wing area.
The model includes a Maxx Products ACC617 on-board battery checker, a JR R700 receiver, Futaba S3101 rudder and elevator servos, and UltraCote covering. There is provision for 16 ounces of additional ballast in the wings.
"This is a very nice flying glider that can make tight circles without tip stalling," wrote George. "It was worth the time it took to build it."
Painted Chipmunk
Roger Spencer (R.R. 1, Box 177, Verona, MO 65769) built this replica of Art Scholl's Super Chipmunk.
He used Krylon acrylic latex paint for the finish and the Liberty Bell graphic; the Pennzoil name and the numbers on the fin are hand-painted. Roger applied a Polycrylic clear coat over the paint to fuel-proof the model.
A SuperTigre G-3250 engine powers the model, and a JR radio provides guidance.
Dr.I Triplane
George Wendt (5890 Main St., Millbrook, AL 36054) sent in this dramatic photo of his Balsa USA Dr.I triplane.
It weighs 16 pounds and is powered by a Zenoah G-26 engine. George used Sig Koverall for the covering and painted the model with Krylon paint.
"The kit was a blast to build; the parts fit was great and the plans were well thought out," he wrote. "It flies like a trainer after it's in the air."
Gee Bee Y
John Curran (8432 Etiwanda Ave., Northridge, CA 91325; E-mail: [email protected]) built this Gee Bee Y from an Ikon N'West kit. It spans 90 inches and weighs 24 pounds.
He covered his model with Stits Lite Fabric and finished it with Stits paints. The dummy engine is from FTE, and the colors and graphics came from Bob's Aircraft Documentation.
The model uses a 3.2 Sachs engine from J&A Engineering, and guidance is provided by a Futaba radio system.
Miss Piggy
Roger Camp (5176 S. Kenton Way, Englewood, CO 80111; E-mail: [email protected]) assembled this original "Miss Piggy" design using parts salvaged from several wrecks.
The wings are from two Corsairs, the stabilizer is from a trainer, the elevators were formerly UltraStick flaps, and Roger scratch-built the rest.
This design was inspired by a photo of a full-scale Fleet 50 twin-engine biplane. Two O.S. .40 LA engines provide power. The model weighs 8.65 pounds and has a wing area of approximately 960 square inches.
Bandito Grande
Jerry O'Keefe (158 Mariners Dr., Fairfield Glade, TN 38558; E-mail: [email protected]) built this D.B. Mathews design from plans and instructions published in the July 2001 Radio Control Modeler magazine.
The model spans 82 inches and weighs 12–13 pounds. A Saito 150 engine, swinging a Master Airscrew 16 x 8 propeller, provides power. The covering is MonoKote, and guidance is provided by a Hitec Eclipse radio system.
"This aircraft is an outstanding sport flier, is very stable, and takeoffs and landings are exceptionally smooth," wrote Jerry.
Sig Skybolt
Stanley R. Sawyer (4702 Silver Heron Dr., Melbourne, FL 32934) built this Skybolt from an older Sig kit. It has all-balsa construction; the parts patterns were printed on sheets of balsa. The upper turtledeck was originally plastic, but Stanley replaced it with a balsa framework.
The model features upper and lower ailerons on each wing, dual cockpits, and is covered with MonoKote.
A Saito 65 four-stroke engine powers the 45-inch-wingspan airplane. It weighs 6 pounds and is controlled by a Futaba radio system.
"It's a blast to fly!" wrote Stan.
Creamsicle
Bob Purdy (E-mail: [email protected]) built this 9-pound Carl Goldberg Ultimate biplane and covered it with UltraCote. A Saito 120 engine powers it.
"I wanted to cover the model with a color that could be seen easily against the blue Arizona sky," he wrote. "I had plenty of orange and cream covering. My wife, Linda, seeing the finished model stated that it reminded her of that ice cream bar, the Creamsicle."
Fokker D.VII With a Past
Bill Stoutenburg (255 Mayer Rd. Apt. 350, Frankenmuth, MI 48734) has an 18-inch-span Fokker D.VII with an interesting story. He built the model from a Guillows kit that was given to him by a friend who purchased it at a trade show. The kit had apparently been in a fire, and the box showed some smoke damage.
Bill converted the free-flight model to control-line and powered it with a Cox Pee Wee .020 engine. He painted it with AeroGloss model dope.
Corben Ace
Chuck Vettes (8732 Westminster Blvd. #5, Westminster, CA 92683; E-mail: [email protected]) built this rarely seen Corben Ace to 1/4 scale. It weighs 13 pounds.
The model is powered by an RCV 90 four-stroke engine, which has a gear reduction of 2:1 and produces a distinctive sound as it swings an 18 x 12 propeller.
Chuck covered the Ace with Stits and Solartex materials, and a Futaba transmitter with a Hitec receiver and servos are used for guidance.
"The airplane flies well but should definitely not be flown by beginners!" wrote Chuck. "Coordinated rudder input is almost mandatory."
RV-4
Robert E. Lee (805 Cloisters Dr., Florence, SC 29505; E-mail: [email protected]) built this Great Planes RV-4 and painted it to look like his brother-in-law Gene Thomas's full-scale version.
An O.S. .46 FX engine powers the model, and a Futaba radio, with seven servos, is used for guidance. Robert covered the RV-4 with MonoKote and used color-matching LustreKote paint for the cowl and Stan's Fiber Tech wheel pants. The model took him eight months to build.
"The airplane has functioning flaps and flies like a dream," he wrote.
Fleet Model 1
Dave Seale (58 Sanderson Ave., Dedham, MA 02026; E-mail: [email protected]) built this Fleet biplane from plans by Bill King. The construction article for this model was published in the December 1964 Model Airplane News, and plans are still available through RCstore.com.
The model is a 1/6-scale version of the famous aircraft. It spans 63.25 inches, weighs 8.75 pounds, and is powered by a Saito 72 four-stroke engine. It is covered with 21st Century paint.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
