Focal Point
Hoot of a Sea Fury
Robert A. Templeton (111 Hilltop Rd., Laurens, SC 29360) sent this photo of his latest building project: a Top Flite Gold Edition kit of the Supermarine Sea Fury.
The model spans 64 inches, weighs 11 pounds, and is finished in the color scheme of the Reno racer that Robert “Hoot” Gibson flew. Stan and Nora Stockman of Cutting Edge Graphics in Greenwood, South Carolina, made the graphics. The model has a Futaba six-channel FM radio for guidance and is fitted with Robart retracts. An O.S. .91 four-stroke engine provides power.
Hangar 9 Texan
Dusty Rhodes (5 Meadow Run, Round Rock, TX 78664) says he is extremely pleased with his AT-6 Texan ARF kit from Hangar 9.
Dusty powers his Texan with a .91 Magnum engine that swings a 14 x 6 propeller. This combination not only sounds good, according to Dusty, but allows most maneuvers to be flown at half throttle. He added the red stripes on the wings.
"It had one of the best instruction manuals I’ve seen in an ARF kit in a long time," he wrote.
Modified RV-4
Eugene B. Blanck (5874 Royal Isles Blvd., Boynton Beach, FL 33437; E-mail: [email protected]) built this Great Planes RV-4 and modified it to accommodate an O.S. .52 FS engine.
He placed the rudder servo under the left horizontal stabilizer and moved the servo tray and battery pack back as far as he could. This allowed him to obtain the proper CG location without adding weight to the model’s tail.
The RV-4 uses a Hitec transmitter and receiver and three Hitec standard ball-bearing servos. Eugene used two Cirrus CS-30BB mini servos for the ailerons. Covering is white Solartex fabric with dark-blue MonoKote trim.
Ryan PT-22
Chuck Vettes (7335 Cascade Ct., Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730; E-mail: [email protected]) built this 1/4-scale Ryan PT-22 from an Ikon N’west kit.
It spans 90 inches, has an all-up weight of 22 pounds, and took Chuck nine months to complete. The model is powered by an O.S. 3.0 cu. in., five-cylinder radial, four-stroke engine and is fitted with a McDaniel onboard glow unit to fire the plugs. It features fully functioning landing gear, flaps, and flying wires. The fuselage is covered with Chrome UltraCote and black Solartex; all other surfaces are covered with 21st Century Fabric.
"The sound of the big radial is amazing and attracts lots of attention at the local flying field," wrote Chuck.
Patrick Extra
Rex Hutchinson (6306 Newberry Rd., Indianapolis, IN 46256) purchased his Dave Patrick Models 27%-scale Extra 330L as an Almost Ready-to-Cover kit and finished it with MonoKote. He completed painted parts with LustreKote paint.
The model spans 76 inches, weighs 15 pounds, and is controlled via a Futaba T6XAS radio with eight Hitec HS-625 servos. Power is provided by an O.S. 1.60 FX engine, fitted with a Slimline Pitts muffler.
Rex’s Extra features a plug-in stabilizer that allows incidence adjustments to both halves. "The model has about 15 flights on it and it just keeps getting better," he wrote.
Altered Hog-Bipe
Ray Creasy (215 Edgewater Dr., Sevierville, TN 37862) built this 60-size Hog-Bipe from a Sig Manufacturing kit but didn’t like the stock model’s open-nose configuration. He modified it by adding a cheek cowl from a Smith Miniplane and inverted the engine.
The 8.5-pound Hog-Bipe is covered with heat-shrinkable Koverall. Ray used clear dope to seal the Koverall, then applied a color finish of Rust-Oleum. A Thunder Tiger Pro .61 engine provides power, and guidance is via a JR radio system.
Mirror Image
Al Clark (28 Midwood Rd., Rockville Centre, NY 11570) combined two Avistar trainers by inverting one on top of the other and joining them with a plywood frame. He calls this strange-looking concept the "Mirror Image."
Al can unbolt either model from the frame and fly it alone or combine the two and fly them together. Landings can be made upright or inverted, but the approach and touchdown must be perfect; otherwise the contraption can flip over and end up with two broken propellers.
Chloe P-51
Bob Dannmyer (145 Lee Ann Ct., Hanover, PA 17331) assembled this Hangar 9 P-51 just before leaving for a one-year tour with the Army in Iraq. He added a checkerboard trim pattern to the nose and named the model after his granddaughter, Chloe.
Bob chose a Saito 100 for power and installed a set of Robart mechanical retracts in place of the stock units. According to him, the airplane flies great.
Edge 540
Brian Becker (8800 Gulf Freeway Apt. 62, Houston, TX 77017) is proud of the 29% Aeroworks Edge 540 that his dad, John, built.
The 84-inch-wingspan model weighs 16 pounds, is powered by a Brison 3.2 gas engine, and is covered with UltraCote. A Futaba T6XAS transmitter and a 138 DP receiver provide guidance; the servos are Hitec digital units. Kirby's Custom Vinyl Graphics provided the finishing touch.
"The airplane is excellent at aerobatics, and with 25 flights so far, the engine just keeps getting better," wrote Brian.
Gee Bee R-2
Fred Carignan (175 West Broadway, Salem, NJ 08079; E-mail: [email protected]) shows off his Adrian Page 1/5-scale Gee Bee R-2.
This 6.5-pound model is powered by a Saito 100 Golden Knight engine and is covered with Coverite. Fred's wife, Charlene, made period clothes for the 1/5-scale pilot, which are removable through the scale door opening on the left side of the Gee Bee.
"Adrian Page's engineering skills are evident, as all of the 'bad' habits of the Gee Bee have been eliminated while keeping the true scale outline of the Gee Bee R-2," wrote Fred.
Busy Bee
Mike Bridges (HC2, Box 235J, Hunt, TX 78024; E-mail: [email protected]) built this sporty Birdi Busy Bee and powers it with a .41 engine. He uses a JR 652 radio-control system with six ball-bearing servos for guidance.
The model spans 90 inches and weighs 17 pounds ready-to-fly. All flying surfaces are built up, and the Bee is covered with MonoKote. "It does great aerobatic maneuvers, and the .41 provides plenty of power," wrote Mike.
"Hairless Joe" P-47D
Dave Gianakos (21 Mountain High Ct., Littleton, CO 80127; E-mail: [email protected]) built this 1/6-scale model of the P-47D called "Hairless Joe" (named after a character from the "Li'l Abner" comic strip).
It represents the fighter flown in World War II by Colonel David Schilling, commander of the 56th Fighter Group. The model is from an Aerotech kit. Built from carbon fiber, the wings and fuselage have rivets, screws, panel lines, and fasteners molded into the skin.
The P-47 flies on a Brison-Sachs 4.2 two-stroke engine and weighs 32 pounds. It features a scale droppable fuel tank and scale 500-pound bombs, retractable landing gear, Fowler flaps, and a completely detailed interior.
OV-10 Bronco
Bobby W. Hargis Sr. (2507 Hwy. 337, Lafayette, GA 30728; E-mail: [email protected]) submitted a dramatic photo of his OV-10 Bronco in flight at a Chattanooga, Tennessee warbird fly-in.
The 20-pound model was built from Rich Uravitch plans over the course of a year. It was covered with Coverite fabric and painted with Perfect Paint. The Bronco is fitted with Spring Air retracts, a Robart air system and Robart wheels, Unibrakes, and a RAM light system. Two Saito 72 four-stroke engines spinning 12 x 6 Master Airscrew propellers provide the power. Control is via a JR radio system.
"I still want rockets under the wings and a drop fuel tank in the center," wrote Bobby.
Aeronca C-3 "Collegian"
Robert L. Gray (290 W. 1050 N., Layton, UT 84041) built this Aeronca C-3 "Collegian" from modified Balsa USA 1/4-scale plans. He enlarged the model to 1/3 scale, giving it a wingspan of 12 feet.
The 38-pound model is covered with Sig Koverall and painted with Sig modeling dope. The fuselage is Dark Blue, and the wings and stabilizer are Lemon Yellow. The C-3 is fitted with an O.S. 300 engine and features full interior detailing and flying wires from Proctor Enterprises.
Electric Tiger Moth
John B. Delevoryas (1668 Jacob Ave., San Jose, CA 95124) built a 36-inch-wingspan, electric-powered Tiger Moth from a Pro Tech kit.
It mounts a Graupner Speed 400 motor with a 1.85:1 gear ratio and uses a seven-cell, 600 mAh Ni-Cd battery pack. John reports that the Tiger Moth flies realistically in the capable hands of two expert fliers (Paul Tomaszewski and Grant Bright). It is even capable of performing some aerobatics despite its 24-ounce weight.
Aries Pattern Model
Wayne Galligan (3004 Coventry, Waxahachie, TX 75165; E-mail: [email protected]) built this new design by Mike Harrison. Kits are available from Aeroslave at www.aeroslave.com.
The Aries features a carbon-fiber fuselage with a Coremat laminate, yielding a stiff, lightweight unit. The wings are sheeted foam-core, and the landing gear is also made from carbon fiber. The model is hand-tuned.
An O.S. 1.40 RX engine, fitted with a Karl Mueller header, powers the 10.5-pound model and spins a 17 x 10 APC propeller. "The model is smooth, straight as an arrow, and flies at a slow, consistent speed that is needed for current Pattern schedules," wrote Wayne.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
