FOCAL POINT 2013/07
J-3 Cub
Patrick Alexander (11203 Saywell Ave., Cleveland, OH 44108; email: [email protected]) built this Great Planes Piper Cub.
The Cub spans 76.5 inches and has a Magnum XL52 engine and a Master Airscrew 12 x 6 K-Series propeller. The radio is a Futaba Conquest. He added nose art, naming the model after his niece, Tabitha.
Patrick wrote: "I always wanted a J-3 Cub. It flies wonderfully and is so dependable that it has become my everyday flier. It always gets attention at the airfield."
Fieseler Storch
Ed Holt (5707 Sierra Vista Dr., Riverbank, CA 95367) built his Fieseler Storch from BP Hobbies.
The Storch is powered by a Himax 2816 brushless motor spinning a 10 x 5 propeller. The model employs a Castle Creations 25-amp ESC.
"It flies great. The flaps and moveable leading edge really slow it down," wrote Ed.
North Star
Kenneth Hollingshead (51 Bryant Dr., Albertville, AL 35951; email: [email protected]) built this model from a kit by Laddie Mikulasko.
The kit came with a note from Laddie stating he no longer owned the rights to the drawings. Kenneth wrote that the kit left a lot to the creativity of the builder, so he assembled it based on past kit- and scratch-building experiences.
The North Star is powered by a Super Tigre G-51 Ring with a three-blade, 7-inch pitch propeller that fits the available space. The radio is an eight-channel Hitec with five servos.
Kenneth installed a mini servo in the power pod to avoid using a complex routed 48-inch cable for the throttle. To ease servicing of the power pod, he made the tail-feather assembly bolt-on. Also, the wingtips and floats are bolted on.
Python
Dennis Carlsen (10193 Banner Lava Cap Rd., Nevada City, CA 95959; email: [email protected]) based his model on the Model 12 Pitts Python.
Dennis started with foam models to get the proportions right for the flight performance he wanted, then built 36- and 48-inch wingspan balsa models from his own plans. He had a friend help with CAD design and had the model laser cut.
The Python has a 60-inch wingspan and is legal for Giant Scale events. Weight is 12 pounds and the model requires about a 2,500-watt motor. Dennis uses a Neu 1515 1.5Y motor, a 20 x 11 APC E propeller and nine-cell battery packs for 2,700 watts.
There is little coupling on knife-edge. Loops, flat spins, and tumbles are all easily within the flight envelope. The Python has easy takeoffs and landings.
If anyone is interested, Dennis can have short kits made.
Focke-Wulf Fw 190D-9
Darren Gibson (6801 Burnell Dr., Eau Claire, WI 54703; email: [email protected]) built his Fw 190D-9 from a Top Flite kit.
The model spans 63.5 inches and weighs 11 pounds. Power is a Super Tigre .75 engine turning a 13 x 6 propeller. The covering is MonoKote Flat Olive Drab and Flat Dove Gray. Darren’s model is controlled by a Futaba FP-7UAP and Futaba servos.
Darren wrote: "When I land on the grass strip, I keep the landing gear in the up position so it does not flip over on landings. It does okay landing on its belly."
Patriot
Gale Enstad (13416 Copper Crest Dr., Bakersfield, CA 93306; email: [email protected]) flew a friend’s Great Planes Patriot and decided he wanted one.
During the build, Gale made some changes to the nose and canopy for a more jetlike appearance. He also added anhedral to the horizontal stabilizer. The tiger stripes turned out to be easy to make using a dressmaker’s cutting wheel.
A Hitec radio system with an Aurora 9 transmitter guides it. Power comes from an O.S. .46 engine. Robart retracts clean it up in flight.
Mosquito
Rob Askegaard submitted this model on behalf of his friend, Bob Goff.
Bob (Huntington Beach, CA; email: [email protected]) created this scratch-built de Havilland Mosquito from Cleveland 1/8-scale plans. The wingspan is 85 inches and it weighs approximately 12 pounds. Power is provided by two Mega 22-20 motors with Mini Demon gear reduction.
The Mosquito uses Zinger three-blade wooden propellers and Zinger spinners. Batteries are two Thunder Power three-cell 6000 mAh LiPo packs. Covering is transparent UltraCote and paint. The landing gear is Robart mechanical with Dave Brown wheels.
Quadcopter
Walt "Hank" Lehner (1225 Gardenia Ln., Prescott, AZ 86305; email: [email protected]) scratch-built this quadcopter he calls Buttercup.
The aircraft’s arms are 11-inch segments of thin-wall PVC irrigation pipe. Turnigy 2228/17 outrunner motors are mounted on small plywood platforms screwed into the PVC arms. The motors spin 8-inch Graupner quadcopter propellers.
At the heart of the quadcopter is a HobbyKing v2.1 multirotor control board that is preprogrammed for "plus" configuration flight. Power is supplied by a Value Hobby 2650 mAh three-cell LiPo battery.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
