Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/08
Page Numbers: 72,73

72 MODEL AVIATION
Focal Point
Ben Lanterman ([email protected]) built his Astro Hog,
piloted by Darth Vader, from a Sig kit. It’s stock except for a lower
dihedral angle, and covering is MonoKote.
The airborne gear is all Spektrum, with the AR7000 DSM2
seven-channel receiver and DS821 servos. Ben has dual aileron
servos and dual elevator servos for redundancy.
The motor is an AXI 4130/16 with a Jeti Advance 77 Opto Plus
brushless ESC. An Ultimate BEC for receiver and servo power is
used. The model weighs 9 pounds with battery. Ben is using a JR
12X 2.4 transmitter, which he claims is nice and easy to program.
“A friend mentioned that invasion stripes were used by the Allies
in WW II and seemed a bit out of place with Darth Vader doing the
piloting,” he wrote. “I responded by saying that it depended on
which side you were on in the Star Wars movies.”
Astro Hog
Laddie Mikulasko ([email protected]) built this turboprop
version of the Douglas DC-3 from foam sheets that he purchased in a
dollar store.
The model has a 78-inch wingspan and a flying weight of 7 pounds.
It is powered by two AXI 2820/16 clones and two three-cell, 3000 mAh
Li-Poly packs connected in parallel. Each motor draws 24 amps,
driving these propellers and putting out 2.5 pounds of static thrust each.
“The color scheme is of the full-size airplane that Basler Aviation in
Oshkosh modified for the Alfred Wegener Institute of Germany, to be
used in the Polar Regions in the Arctic and Antarctic for research,”
wrote Laddie.
According to him, the model flies great.
Joe Mariencheck (1737 Ghost Creek Dr., Collierville TN 38017; email:
[email protected]) built his Blue Stick from Ugly Stick
plans ordered from R/C Modeler magazine; they were originally
featured in its May and June 1985 issues.
After being out of modeling for roughly 15 years, Joe decided to reenter
the hobby.
“ … the ARFs didn’t interest me; I was doing it old school,” he
wrote.
The Blue Stick spans 60 inches and weighs just more than 6 pounds.
Covering is MonoKote, and control is via a Futaba 6EXP radio system
with S3004 servos. Joe modified the plans for a bolt-on wing and added
a servo to each aileron. Otherwise, it’s just as Phill Kraft drew it.
Joe cleaned up his tried-and-true K&B .61 that he has had for more
than 20 years. It worked perfectly.
“I decided to cover the airplane blue instead of the traditional red so
everyone would know it was not an ARF,” wrote Joe. “It has worked so
far! It flies great.”
Blue Stick
DC-3 Turbo
Carl ([email protected]) built his Golden Era 60
Biplane from plans for Fred Randall’s design that was featured in
the February 2009 MA and the short kit that is available from
Creative Hobbies (as cited in the article).
The bipe uses a Saito .91 engine and a Spektrum transmitter.
Carl modified the fuselage construction to all stick and formers.
“I like a slightly rounded fuselage,” he wrote. “I also wanted to
keep the weight down since my landing gear is much thicker than
the one specified and is carbon fiber reinforced.”
Carl opted not to use the design’s composite LEs; he wrote that
he would rather have them break instead of possibly tear the lower
wings off.
Covering is Sig Koverall, and the finish is acrylic latex paints.
Carl uses FAI fuel, so the acrylic paint is basically fuelproof.
The “Sport 60” (as he calls it) will fly when the fields dry out. It
is also set up for floats.
Sport 60 (91)
08sig3.QXD 6/22/09 3:08 PM Page 72
August 2009 73
Al Schmidt has a ball flying (7422 Avery Rd., Dublin OH 43017;
e-mail: [email protected]) his modified Hobby Lobby
Miss 2 ARF.
He made a larger vertical fin with a bigger rudder, modified the
elevator to clear the rudder, and added lightening holes to the
stabilizer tips. Then he made a cowling with a removable hatch that
is held on with magnets, for access to the motor and battery. In
addition, Al hand-formed a clear-plastic windshield. He re-covered
the wing and tail, and trimmed them with Top Flite MonoKote.
The Miss Two has an AXI 2212/34 motor, APC 9 x 6E propeller,
and 3S-2250 Li-Poly battery coupled to a Castle Creations
Thunderbird-18 ESC. Control is via a Polk Tracker II transmitter
using a Seeker 6 receiver and two Hitec HS-81 servos.
“With the large battery, added for balance, the average flight is
about 1 hour and the best flight, so far, is just under 2 hours with the
help from some thermals,” wrote Al.
Chris Myhre ([email protected]) built this Navy version of the
Bell Jet Ranger: the Sea Ranger. Its ready-to-fly weight is 12.5 pounds.
He constructed it using a 60-size Century/FunKey Jet Ranger
fuselage. The mechanics are electric and flybarless, based on T-Rex
600 architecture, with frames from Rotorworkz. The mechanics are
stretched to 60 size, with modified T-Rex 700 parts.
The TH-57 features a Kontronic Tango 45-08 motor, Castle
Creations Phoenix-85HV, and two four-cell, 5000 mAh Li-Poly packs
in series. The receiver is powered by a two-cell Li-Poly pack and
Duralite regulator. The tail is tamed with a Futaba GY401 gyro, and a
Skookum Robotics SK-360 Digital Flybar provides the stability in the
absence of a flybar.
“Construction took nine months and the scale detailing would not
have been possible without many helpful photos from Bryan
Weatherup’s TH-57 gouge site,” wrote Chris.
John M. Anderson (319 E. 17th St., Grand Island NE 68801; Tel.:
[308] 382-7536) built both of his latest models from scratch during
the first three months of 2009. It took him five weeks for each one.
Each aircraft weighs approximately 8 pounds. He scaled up a P-
51B Mustang three-view from the North American Web site to
create a 70-inch wingspan. It is covered with MonoKote and
powered by an O.S. .91 four-stroke engine.
John’s Cessna 170B originated from plans and several parts
patterns enlarged by 111% from an old Sig Manufacturing kit. The
model spans 80 inches, is covered with MonoKote, and is powered
by a Magnum .70 four-stroke engine.
John made fiberglass cowls for both models using the Lost Foam
method. John writes he has modeled airplanes since age 4, when he
constructed a solid-wood miniature of the Spirit of St. Louis. He has
been without sight in one of his eyes since birth.
TH-57 Sea Ranger
My Miss Two
Cessna and Mustang
Jeff Shutic ([email protected]) built his 1/4-scale Eindecker
from an SR Batteries kit.
He moved the cockpit forward 3.5 inches and built a scale
horizontal stabilizer.
“It replaces a previous version that I lost in a crash at last year’s
Hoosier Dawn Patrol,” wrote Jeff.
Power is a Zenoah G-38 engine. Stits Lite fabric and polyfiber
paint cover the Eindecker, and all markings are painted.
“The only parts reused after the crash of the Eindecker ‘1.0’ were
the wheels and tailskid,” Jeff wrote. “We all lose a model from time
to time.”
Eindecker
See page 175 for submission guidelines
Focal Point
08sig3.QXD 6/22/09 2:42 PM Page 73
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/08
Page Numbers: 72,73

72 MODEL AVIATION
Focal Point
Ben Lanterman ([email protected]) built his Astro Hog,
piloted by Darth Vader, from a Sig kit. It’s stock except for a lower
dihedral angle, and covering is MonoKote.
The airborne gear is all Spektrum, with the AR7000 DSM2
seven-channel receiver and DS821 servos. Ben has dual aileron
servos and dual elevator servos for redundancy.
The motor is an AXI 4130/16 with a Jeti Advance 77 Opto Plus
brushless ESC. An Ultimate BEC for receiver and servo power is
used. The model weighs 9 pounds with battery. Ben is using a JR
12X 2.4 transmitter, which he claims is nice and easy to program.
“A friend mentioned that invasion stripes were used by the Allies
in WW II and seemed a bit out of place with Darth Vader doing the
piloting,” he wrote. “I responded by saying that it depended on
which side you were on in the Star Wars movies.”
Astro Hog
Laddie Mikulasko ([email protected]) built this turboprop
version of the Douglas DC-3 from foam sheets that he purchased in a
dollar store.
The model has a 78-inch wingspan and a flying weight of 7 pounds.
It is powered by two AXI 2820/16 clones and two three-cell, 3000 mAh
Li-Poly packs connected in parallel. Each motor draws 24 amps,
driving these propellers and putting out 2.5 pounds of static thrust each.
“The color scheme is of the full-size airplane that Basler Aviation in
Oshkosh modified for the Alfred Wegener Institute of Germany, to be
used in the Polar Regions in the Arctic and Antarctic for research,”
wrote Laddie.
According to him, the model flies great.
Joe Mariencheck (1737 Ghost Creek Dr., Collierville TN 38017; email:
[email protected]) built his Blue Stick from Ugly Stick
plans ordered from R/C Modeler magazine; they were originally
featured in its May and June 1985 issues.
After being out of modeling for roughly 15 years, Joe decided to reenter
the hobby.
“ … the ARFs didn’t interest me; I was doing it old school,” he
wrote.
The Blue Stick spans 60 inches and weighs just more than 6 pounds.
Covering is MonoKote, and control is via a Futaba 6EXP radio system
with S3004 servos. Joe modified the plans for a bolt-on wing and added
a servo to each aileron. Otherwise, it’s just as Phill Kraft drew it.
Joe cleaned up his tried-and-true K&B .61 that he has had for more
than 20 years. It worked perfectly.
“I decided to cover the airplane blue instead of the traditional red so
everyone would know it was not an ARF,” wrote Joe. “It has worked so
far! It flies great.”
Blue Stick
DC-3 Turbo
Carl ([email protected]) built his Golden Era 60
Biplane from plans for Fred Randall’s design that was featured in
the February 2009 MA and the short kit that is available from
Creative Hobbies (as cited in the article).
The bipe uses a Saito .91 engine and a Spektrum transmitter.
Carl modified the fuselage construction to all stick and formers.
“I like a slightly rounded fuselage,” he wrote. “I also wanted to
keep the weight down since my landing gear is much thicker than
the one specified and is carbon fiber reinforced.”
Carl opted not to use the design’s composite LEs; he wrote that
he would rather have them break instead of possibly tear the lower
wings off.
Covering is Sig Koverall, and the finish is acrylic latex paints.
Carl uses FAI fuel, so the acrylic paint is basically fuelproof.
The “Sport 60” (as he calls it) will fly when the fields dry out. It
is also set up for floats.
Sport 60 (91)
08sig3.QXD 6/22/09 3:08 PM Page 72
August 2009 73
Al Schmidt has a ball flying (7422 Avery Rd., Dublin OH 43017;
e-mail: [email protected]) his modified Hobby Lobby
Miss 2 ARF.
He made a larger vertical fin with a bigger rudder, modified the
elevator to clear the rudder, and added lightening holes to the
stabilizer tips. Then he made a cowling with a removable hatch that
is held on with magnets, for access to the motor and battery. In
addition, Al hand-formed a clear-plastic windshield. He re-covered
the wing and tail, and trimmed them with Top Flite MonoKote.
The Miss Two has an AXI 2212/34 motor, APC 9 x 6E propeller,
and 3S-2250 Li-Poly battery coupled to a Castle Creations
Thunderbird-18 ESC. Control is via a Polk Tracker II transmitter
using a Seeker 6 receiver and two Hitec HS-81 servos.
“With the large battery, added for balance, the average flight is
about 1 hour and the best flight, so far, is just under 2 hours with the
help from some thermals,” wrote Al.
Chris Myhre ([email protected]) built this Navy version of the
Bell Jet Ranger: the Sea Ranger. Its ready-to-fly weight is 12.5 pounds.
He constructed it using a 60-size Century/FunKey Jet Ranger
fuselage. The mechanics are electric and flybarless, based on T-Rex
600 architecture, with frames from Rotorworkz. The mechanics are
stretched to 60 size, with modified T-Rex 700 parts.
The TH-57 features a Kontronic Tango 45-08 motor, Castle
Creations Phoenix-85HV, and two four-cell, 5000 mAh Li-Poly packs
in series. The receiver is powered by a two-cell Li-Poly pack and
Duralite regulator. The tail is tamed with a Futaba GY401 gyro, and a
Skookum Robotics SK-360 Digital Flybar provides the stability in the
absence of a flybar.
“Construction took nine months and the scale detailing would not
have been possible without many helpful photos from Bryan
Weatherup’s TH-57 gouge site,” wrote Chris.
John M. Anderson (319 E. 17th St., Grand Island NE 68801; Tel.:
[308] 382-7536) built both of his latest models from scratch during
the first three months of 2009. It took him five weeks for each one.
Each aircraft weighs approximately 8 pounds. He scaled up a P-
51B Mustang three-view from the North American Web site to
create a 70-inch wingspan. It is covered with MonoKote and
powered by an O.S. .91 four-stroke engine.
John’s Cessna 170B originated from plans and several parts
patterns enlarged by 111% from an old Sig Manufacturing kit. The
model spans 80 inches, is covered with MonoKote, and is powered
by a Magnum .70 four-stroke engine.
John made fiberglass cowls for both models using the Lost Foam
method. John writes he has modeled airplanes since age 4, when he
constructed a solid-wood miniature of the Spirit of St. Louis. He has
been without sight in one of his eyes since birth.
TH-57 Sea Ranger
My Miss Two
Cessna and Mustang
Jeff Shutic ([email protected]) built his 1/4-scale Eindecker
from an SR Batteries kit.
He moved the cockpit forward 3.5 inches and built a scale
horizontal stabilizer.
“It replaces a previous version that I lost in a crash at last year’s
Hoosier Dawn Patrol,” wrote Jeff.
Power is a Zenoah G-38 engine. Stits Lite fabric and polyfiber
paint cover the Eindecker, and all markings are painted.
“The only parts reused after the crash of the Eindecker ‘1.0’ were
the wheels and tailskid,” Jeff wrote. “We all lose a model from time
to time.”
Eindecker
See page 175 for submission guidelines
Focal Point
08sig3.QXD 6/22/09 2:42 PM Page 73