Focal Point
Model Aviation, 5161 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302
World-Class Models
John Lorbiecki (1508 Valley View Dr., Hubertus WI 53033) sent this photo of his son John Lorbiecki, who is a member of the 2002 Junior F1J Free Flight team. He will compete in the Junior Free Flight World Championships in Slovakia in August.
John is holding two of his competition aircraft. He has been flying models since he was five years old.
The F1J model (left) is an all-carbon-composite design by Vasily Beschasny of the Ukraine. It is powered by a Cyclon .061 engine running on Red Max 35% nitro fuel.
The F1C airplane is an early Achterberg model. It is also all carbon fiber and spans 92 inches. The engine is a Nelson .15 with a homemade folding propeller—approximately 7 x 2.5. It runs on no nitro Fédération Aéronautique Internationale fuel. The airframe was acquired from another good modeler: Charlie Stiles.
Flying Dutchman
This was William M. Wittey's (192 Warner Ln., Harmony PA 16037) third scratch-built and first 1/4-scale airplane. The Flying Dutchman was featured as a construction article in the September 2000 Model Aviation.
This model weighs eight pounds and has a Saito 65 four-stroke. William has roughly $340 in it, not counting the engine and radio he took from another model.
"The prints showed a flat antique spinner; I could not find one like that, so I made my own out of cherry wood," wrote William. "I made the backrest out of leatherette and the windshield trim was insulation from a piece of electric wire."
He used 21st Century® Fabric so that the covering looked like canvas. He put a servo in each wing and enclosed them.
Stinson Reliant
"Through my years of flying I always envied the small number of people who owned early Stinson Reliants," wrote Bill Foth (14 E. Oak, Algona IA 50511). "Now that I am older and have gotten in RC [Radio Control] flying I decided to have one of my own."
Bill copied the paint scheme from a 1999 Oshkosh Champion SR-8 owned by Paul Senoir of Hampton IA. He used TopFlite® MonoKote® and trim strip for the finish.
Bill found the old Stenfing kit on the Internet. The model is slightly smaller than 1/6 scale, at 57% lines, and is powered by an O.S. .46 LA with a Futaba 6XA radio. He used the .46 LA because it was the only engine his dealer had that would fit in the short cowling.
Tuskegee Tribute
Al Kanser's (Box 56, New Lisbon NY 13415) TopFlite® Giant Scale P-51 Mustang is finished to replicate the Tuskegee Airmen P-51 at the Air Mobility Command Museum in Dover, Delaware.
The aircraft is equipped with a Quadra 52 engine, Robart retracts, a Futaba radio, GWS servos, and custom graphics by DGL Graphics.
"The pilot is a G.I. Joe® Tuskegee airman in a scale flight suit.
"Michelle Hulick, posing with the aircraft, is wearing a Tuskegee Airmen T-shirt from Airtees, autographed by six original Tuskegee Airmen, which is one of my most prized possessions," wrote Al.
Spacewalker II
“As I thumbed through magazines, I wore out pages that contained pictures of the Spacewalker II, until finally!” wrote Steve Tarnowsky (335 Cicero Ave., Greenville TN 37743; E-mail: [email protected]). “I had to have it.”
The model is from a Sig 1/4-scale kit and is covered with 21st Century® fabric, LustreKote® paint, a 1/8-inch black pinstripe, and has dual instrument panels that Steve made on his personal computer. It sports a Magnum 120 four-stroke and a Futaba FM radio.
“I've come back to RC after a 10-year layoff,” wrote Steve. “I've always liked classic airplanes.”
Modified Eagle
This is Eric W. Tull’s (215 N. Green St., McHenry IL 60050) scratch-built, modified Goldberg Eagle. He had the prints enlarged 1 1/2 times. The only change in the design is the B-25 profile—the twin tail.
Power is provided by a Saito 120 engine. Covering is Oracover®.
“It flies exactly the same as the original size Eagle—just easier to see,” wrote Eric.
Rarely-Seen Sailplane
“Since you never seem to print any sailplanes, here’s a photo of my Sapphire,” wrote Glenn Dean (2306 Wampum Dr., Harker Heights TX 76548; E-mail: [email protected]).
The model is a 120-inch Unlimited sailplane. It runs six servos—full house—on a JR radio. The finish is LustreKote® over Varathane®.
“The Sapphire is customized with the Rotary Driver System so that all of the control linkages are completely internal, resulting in a very clean airframe,” wrote Glenn. “It also has a custom ballast system that I designed.”
According to Glenn, the Sapphire thermals extremely well; its longest flight to date was more than an hour long. And it does pretty well at contests!
Mr. America Kaos 40
Carl Malta’s (3 Valleyview Ave., Jamestown NY 14701) Kaos 40 was built from a Tower Hobbies kit.
The model is covered with red, white and blue MonoKote®, and the blue wing and stabilizer tips were painted with TopFlite® spray. The stars are graphics.
Power is provided by an O.S. .45 SF ABC on 15% fuel. The skis are Du-Bro with the nose gear steerable, and it turns in a five-foot circle. The airplane is controlled by a Hitec radio with four servos. The pilot is Captain America.
“The kit was a delight to build and goes together very nicely,” wrote Carl. “It flies great and true like a Stunt model, but can be as docile as you want it to be. I would recommend this plane to anyone going into their first aileron-controlled airplane.”
Blackbird
Frank Slavin (3173 Weston St., Philadelphia PA 19136) designed his Blackbird.
It has a 40-inch wingspan, a 200-square-inch wing, and is powered by two MICRO-4 ducted fans, which are wired in parallel from five 110 mAh Ni-Cds. The wing loading is 0.6 grams per square inch.
"Flight times have been up to two minutes (plus time to go behind and into trees)," wrote Frank. "Best flights have been with alternated V-tail of 5% reduction in area."
Avistar Floatplane
Tom Hopkins' (2611 Beckwith Tr., Marietta GA 30068; E-mail: [email protected]) Hobbico model has 40-size Great Planes floats.
This Avistar was his first Almost Ready-to-Fly airplane, and it died a tragic death on its first flight because of pilot and mechanical errors. So Tom bought a new Avistar, which has many flights, and he still enjoys it.
"Being a 60-plus-year model builder, I decided to rebuild the wreck and to make a floatplane out of it," wrote Tom. "It turned out nice and flies well—plus the picture is pretty. I would recommend floats on an Avistar."
Aileron-Equipped
"I was enjoying reading my Model Aviation, and turning to page 10 of the March 2001 issue I was stunned and horrified to see Mr. Larry Davidson's Great Planes SlowPoke equipped with ailerons," wrote Loren Swensen (541 Lindell St., Akron OH 44305; E-mail: [email protected]).
"As you can see by the enclosed photo of my daughter Lynn holding my SlowPoke, I added ailerons first," he wrote. "I will agree with Mr. Davidson: ailerons are an essential modification!"
Loren used a standard 3003 Futaba servo centered in the wing with rods and bellcranks to actuate the ailerons. The radio is a Futaba four-channel with 3003 servos. It has an O.S. .25 FX and is covered with Cub Yellow and Black MonoKote®.
Large Trainer
Charles Severance's (11325 N. Main St., Jacksonville FL 32218) model started out as a Sig Kadet Senior kit. He redesigned all the tail surfaces and relocated the fin and rudder. The cowl is homemade from fiberglass, and wheel pants were added to get a "more classic look."
The wing was lengthened to 81 inches with flat tips. There is a servo-operated two-door bomb bay drop.
The model is covered with MonoKote® and powered by an O.S. 70 four-stroke engine. The radio is an Airtronics six-channel Vanguard.
"The airplane is light, and in a mild breeze can be made to stand still in the air," wrote Charles.
"Another Cub"
"I know—another Cub ..." wrote William G. Koster (2401 San Juan Dr., Lake Havasu City AZ 86403; E-mail: [email protected]). "This one, however, is a modified 1/4-scale Balsa USA kit." It spans 109 inches and weighs 18 pounds with a wing loading of 25 ounces per square foot. Power is provided by an O.S. 240 flat four, and it swings a 20 x 8 propeller. The Cub has scale landing and tail-wheel gear. Covering is 21st Century® Fabric with matching paint. The radio is by Airtronics. The wings were built up by William's good friend Frank Wilson (Ventura CA). The picture was taken at El Dorado Dry Lake near Las Vegas NV.
Let It Snow
After being away for eight years, Mike Burmistrzak (2434 Stapleton Rd., Goodells MI 48027) decided to get back into the hobby. Shown is his Hobbico Trainer Almost Ready to Fly covered with MonoKote®. It is powered by an O.S. .46 LA engine. "It is a very well built ARF and flies great even with skis," wrote Mike.
Proud of your latest building/flying effort? Share it with MA's readers! Send us a glossy color print (no digital photos under 300 dpi or photocopies, please), with appropriate description (no handwritten submissions, please), and we'll run the best submissions as space permits. Please include your full address (including E-mail, if available) so that interested parties may contact you directly. Send to: Model Aviation, 5161 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302; Attn: Focal Point. Because of this section's popularity, it may be several months before your model is featured.
UpRoar
"This is what you must call a real 'tail-dragger,'" wrote Mort Tyler (47 Mira Loma Rd., Orinda CA 94563; E-mail: [email protected]). "I took a page from the Space Shuttle for the rudder configuration and LuckyStick for the CROW/butterfly ailerons/flaps for this UpRoar. Each wing was extended three inches to make the ailerons and flaps have equal areas." Knowing that he would be adding additional servo weight to the aft fuselage, Mort installed an O.S. 108 engine which gave a center of gravity close to nominal. According to Mort, with a wing loading of 22 ounces per square foot, vertical performance is outstanding and the effect of the CROW is noticeable as the model slows down.
Pair of Fws
Michael Stevens (8174 Mill Creek Cir., West Chester OH 45069; E-mail: [email protected]) and Joel Duling built these Black Kommandeur Chevrons and Black 4 Focke-Wulf Fw 190D-9s respectively from kits in 1998. These Hobby Hangar models are fiberglass with 65-inch, balsa-sheeted foam-core wings painted with Chevron® Perfect Paint in JG26 Operation Bodenplatte markings. Both aircraft are powered by SuperTigre 75 engines with three-blade propellers, aluminum spinners, and J'Tec mufflers. The models are controlled by Airtronics six-channel radios, and the retracts are from Century Jet Models, Inc. "Both aircraft have flown well over the last couple of years, even with several repairs after the periodic hard landing," wrote Michael.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
