FOCAL POINT
Little Demon
Les Couey (1949 W. Anderson St., Evanston WY 82930) built this Giant Scale Top Flite P-47 kit and converted it to the razorback-canopy version.
It has an 86-inch wingspan and features flaps and Robart retracts. The airplane has a redundant flight system with an EMS battery backer; the primary battery is a 4200 mAh NiMH with a backup 2000 mAh NiMH six-volt system. A Zenoah G-62 is used for power. Les used Krylon spray paint for the markings and colors.
The model is completed in the Little Demon scheme, based on the one flown by Maj. Walter C. Beckham of the 353rd FG, 351st FS.
Brother Skyrays
Adrian Land (283 Vine St., San Carlos CA 94070; email: [email protected]) wrote: "I'm teaching my two wee boys to fly Control Line! In the picture you'll see Andrew (age 7) with his traditional sky-blue Sig Skyray, Cox Black Widow powered; and Aiden (almost 4) with his navy-blue version, converted for electric power.
"The Balsa Products A2212-10 electric motor turns a K&B nylon 6 x 3 propeller at about the same rpm as the Black Widow with an 800 mAh LiPo battery sufficient for two trainer flights of up to 1 1/2 minutes. A JMP-2 timer coupled to a BP 18A ESC controls flight speed and duration.
"As you'd expect for the classic Sig Skyray, both models fly well. The extra weight of the battery on the electric power is no problem for training flights with the generous wing area of the Skyray."
Mid-Star
Ray Castner (15207 Parkwood Ln., Strongsville OH 44149; email: [email protected]) built this Sig Mid-Star kit purchased from the Hobby Hangar in Medina, Ohio.
The model is powered by an O.S. .46 turning an 11 x 6 propeller. The covering is tan and olive drab MonoKote, with red on the wingtips to enhance visibility.
Ray wrote: "[I] was going for the P-40 Flying Tiger look in an easy-to-fly airplane, and the Mid-Star was a good fit. Red wingtips were included to make the plane easy to see below the treeline at the field. The Flying Tiger decals were ordered as used on the Great Planes P-40, and the tiger teeth were hand cut from MonoKote trim."
Swiss Pilatus Porter STOL
William Welle (1720 Kilpatrick Rd., Nokomis FL 34275; email: [email protected]) scratch-built his Pilatus Porter entirely from 3/16-inch lightweight foam board.
William wrote: "Once the pattern is drawn on the boards, all the parts can be cut out with a #11 blade X-Acto knife in about an hour or less. The foam parts are then creased, bent, compressed, and otherwise manipulated to make the model that you see here. Sanding and painting using poster paint completes the job. Obviously no covering is required.
"This relatively lightweight 48-inch model flies at a realistically scale speed because of light wing loading, with a small electric outrunner motor and lightweight components. It can be easily flown in light winds."
Spacewalker
Gordon Collyer (16188 Glenhollow Ct., Culpeper VA 22701; email: [email protected]) built this 47-inch Spacewalker .10 converted to electric power from House of Balsa.
The model weighs 28.8 ounces ready to fly with a Rimfire .10 motor and a Flight Power 1600 mAh battery. The Spacewalker balanced without additional weight with the battery placement slightly in front of the leading edge.
Four-channel control was implemented with four Futaba S3114 servos, using wing-mounted servos for the ailerons. The coverings used were MonoKote for all flight surfaces and Coverite Microlite for the fuselage.
Gordon wrote: "I was concerned about flex between the elevator halves, so I added a 1/16-inch wire stiffener across the joint. Additionally, I have enclosed the front of the model and opened up formers for cooling airflow. Finally, I reduced the dihedral by half and deleted the wheel pants in order to allow use of 2.25-inch wheels for flying off my home grass field, Skyline Flyers in Culpeper, Virginia."
TS-11 200BR Jet
Todd Davis (telephone: [319] 361-2513; email: [email protected]) built this turbine-powered jet modeled after a single-seat attack version that now sits outside a Polish museum.
Powered by a Jet Central Rabbit, the model was built by modifying Ziroli Turbinator plans. Todd's model includes Robart retracts and split flaps. A Futaba 12FG provides control along with a Smart-fly module that provides dual receiver battery capability.
Todd wrote: "It's a great trainer jet and I have over 100 flights on it."
Stipa Caproni
Don Watson (765 Louis St., Eugene OR 97402; email: [email protected]) wrote: "I scratch-built this aircraft, which is similar to a plane built in Italy in the early 1930s. A man by the name of Luigi Stipa designed it and it was built by a man named Caproni. The tubular fuselage is a venturi-shaped tube.
"On this model, the diameter is 18 inches and it is 48 inches long with a wingspan of 102 inches. It is powered with a Zenoah G-38. If you look close, you can see the aluminum bulkheads near the front that form the venturi feature of this plane. The inside of the fuselage is fiberglass. It is approximately 1/6 scale.
"I have done much research on this aircraft and have lots of photos of my model and of the original. If you are interested, email me."
Focke-Wulf 190D
Tom Fey (918 E. Olive, Arlington Heights IL 60004; email: [email protected]) presents his prototype of designer Gus Morfis' Focke-Wulf 190D.
The model is powered by a 150-watt, 1500 Kv outrunner via eight NiMH cells and a 7 x 5 Master Airscrew propeller. Tom's model spans 32.5 inches and weighs 21 ounces. A four-channel radio flies the airplane fast and smooth, upright or inverted.
The Focke-Wulf is all-balsa construction and covered in clear MonoKote scuffed with 400-grit paper, then spray painted. Markings are hand painted from stencils.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
