January 2011 81
As I wrIte this month’s column I am still winding down from a
wonderful weekend of flying at the NEAT (Northeast Electric
Aircraft Technology) Fair, held in Shinhopple, New York,
September 17-19. Because we moved the indoor-flying portion of
the event to the Keystone Indoor Electric Fly in October,
attendance of the true micro-fliers was down.
However, the sky in the park flyer area was consistently filled
with micromodels of all sizes and types. New designs such as the
ParkZone T-28, HobbyZone Champ, and Flyzone Albatros were
everywhere. It was great to see modelers of all ages enjoying these
RTFs and the growth and potential of our segment of the hobby!
Pete Foss had fun with his ParkZone Sukhoi, to which he added
some beautiful Celtics decals. Personalizing your RTF is a great
way to set it apart from others. The Celtics decal set and several
other beautiful graphics for the ParkZone Sukhoi are available
from Dennis Watson at Smokey Mountain Graphics.
I took many of my old micromodels and a few new ones to the
NEAT Fair. I flew my 1/72-scale MiG-15 in front of others for the
first time, but I could make only a few short flights with it because
of the winds and minor problems I was having with it.
I also flew my latest Classroom Fighter design: a 1/48-scale P-
51D Mustang. I am calling it the “Ultimate Classroom Fighter,”
because it has much more detail than my previous designs and
features a custom light set. This P-51 has drop tanks, cowling
covers that hide the GB05 motor, and was even signed by Bud
Anderson, who flew the full-scale original “Old Crow” P-51.
Joe Malinchak Micro-Flying | [email protected]
2010 NEAT Fair
Pete Foss flew his ParkZone Sukhoi at the 2010 NEAT Fair. He
customized the model with cool Celtics decals, which are
available from Smokey Mountain Graphics.
The new 14.5-inch-span, three-channel Flyzone Albatros has great scale
looks and performs great. Engine details, plastic machine guns, and foam
pilot are nice touches.
Left: The author refers to his new 1/48-scale, 5-gram Old Crow P-51D as the
“Ultimate Classroom Fighter”; it features a Tiny Brite Lights set that includes
navigation, position, and working machine gun lights that fire at random.
Also included in this column:
• Nick Leichty’s incredible Micro Acrobat
• The Flyzone Albatros is a hit!
01sig3.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 11/22/10 8:07 AM Page 81
82 MODEL AVIATION
After reviewing the great new light sets from Tiny Brite
Lights in the September 2010 column, I contacted the company
to see if it could make a set that would work on my Classroom
Fighters. I told the employees that the set would have to weigh
400 milligrams or less to suit my needs.
To my surprise, they told me that they already had a set
working in one of my Plantraco Classroom Fighters that they
had purchased. It features red and green navigation lights, a
solid-white position light, and working machine gun lights that
fire at random!
The company sent me a sample set to test, and I was blown
away by the way the lights look on a model in flight. The unit
with wires weighs right at 400 milligrams, and I hope it will be
added to the Tiny Brite Lights product line.
I am thankful that we aeromodelers keep pushing the limits of
what we can do with micro-size aircraft designs. One area in
which some are hoping for development is in micro 3-D
aerobatics models.
Nick Leichty is making that dream a reality with his new
Micro Acrobat Biplane. He designs and builds some of the
world’s smallest RC components and has helped many
modelers, including me, achieve success with his wonderful
products.
Nick’s new aircraft weighs only 5 grams ready to fly and can
do loops and rolls and go straight up on a single 20 mA Li-Poly
cell. It is constructed from .018-inch Durobatics and 1mm
Depron foam.
The biplane features a 115-milligram Rabbit receiver with
actuator amplifiers on the aileron, elevator, and rudder channels;
three of Nick’s 50-ohm miniactuators; and a Gasparin G9 700
motor. He constructed everything on the model except for the
motor and ESC.
According to him, it will fly aerobatics for up to 10 minutes
with the 20 mA cell. He also said that the airplane flies well at
slow speeds and can even perform circles in a living room.
Nick will sell you all of the necessary components to build
your own model, or even an RTF version of the Micro Acrobat
Biplane. Please see his Micro Flier Radio Web site for more
information and to see his wonderful line of products.
After seeing the new three-channel Flyzone Albatros at the
NEAT Fair, I could not wait to fly one. It has a 14.5-inch
wingspan and comes nicely packaged in an attractive box that
also serves as a carrying case and protective storage container.
The Albatros comes with everything needed to fly it,
including a 2.4 GHz transmitter, batteries, plastic machine guns,
Nick Leichty’s new 6-inch-span Micro Acrobat Biplane uses his 50-
ohm miniactuators and a 115-milligram Rabbit receiver with
amplifiers on aileron, rudder, and elevator channels. He made
everything on the model except the ESC and motor!
Nick’s model weighs only 5 grams and will perform many 3-D
maneuvers. It uses a new Gasparin G9 700 motor that will allow
eight- to 10-minute flights using a 20 mAh Li-Poly cell.
and even an unpainted pilot figure to add to its beautiful scale looks. (I
still have to paint my pilot when I get some time.)
The transmitter also functions as a charger for the 130 mAh Li-Poly
cell. I simply removed the model from the box, charged the battery,
and took the Albatros outside to test-fly.
It weighs only 1 ounce ready to fly without the guns and pilot
figure, so I knew that it would perform well. The first flight was great,
but the model needed considerable up-elevator trim to stay level.
I landed the airplane and made a simple adjustment to the linkage
with needle-nose pliers. Once properly trimmed, it flies wonderfully.
The motor has plenty of power to allow the Albatros to do basic
aerobatics such as loops from level flight. I was even doing some nice
hammerhead stalls.
However, I like to fly these aircraft low and slow, and fortunately
this design has good slow-speed characteristics. It also features nicelooking
scale wheels, for easy takeoffs and landings.
The Flyzone Albatros is a winner, and I am looking forward to
seeing other releases in this category of models—maybe an S.E.5a
with which to do a little dogfighting. MA
Sources:
NEAT Fair
www.neatfair.org
Smokey Mountain Graphics
http://smokeymountaingraphics.com
Tiny Brite Lights
www.tinybritelights.com
Micro Flier Radio
(941) 377-9808
http://microflierradio.com
Gasparin CO2 Motors
www.gasparin.cz
Flyzone
(800) 637-7660
www.flyzoneplanes.com
01sig3.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 11/22/10 8:07 AM Page 82
Edition: Model Aviation - 2011/01
Page Numbers: 81,82
Edition: Model Aviation - 2011/01
Page Numbers: 81,82
January 2011 81
As I wrIte this month’s column I am still winding down from a
wonderful weekend of flying at the NEAT (Northeast Electric
Aircraft Technology) Fair, held in Shinhopple, New York,
September 17-19. Because we moved the indoor-flying portion of
the event to the Keystone Indoor Electric Fly in October,
attendance of the true micro-fliers was down.
However, the sky in the park flyer area was consistently filled
with micromodels of all sizes and types. New designs such as the
ParkZone T-28, HobbyZone Champ, and Flyzone Albatros were
everywhere. It was great to see modelers of all ages enjoying these
RTFs and the growth and potential of our segment of the hobby!
Pete Foss had fun with his ParkZone Sukhoi, to which he added
some beautiful Celtics decals. Personalizing your RTF is a great
way to set it apart from others. The Celtics decal set and several
other beautiful graphics for the ParkZone Sukhoi are available
from Dennis Watson at Smokey Mountain Graphics.
I took many of my old micromodels and a few new ones to the
NEAT Fair. I flew my 1/72-scale MiG-15 in front of others for the
first time, but I could make only a few short flights with it because
of the winds and minor problems I was having with it.
I also flew my latest Classroom Fighter design: a 1/48-scale P-
51D Mustang. I am calling it the “Ultimate Classroom Fighter,”
because it has much more detail than my previous designs and
features a custom light set. This P-51 has drop tanks, cowling
covers that hide the GB05 motor, and was even signed by Bud
Anderson, who flew the full-scale original “Old Crow” P-51.
Joe Malinchak Micro-Flying | [email protected]
2010 NEAT Fair
Pete Foss flew his ParkZone Sukhoi at the 2010 NEAT Fair. He
customized the model with cool Celtics decals, which are
available from Smokey Mountain Graphics.
The new 14.5-inch-span, three-channel Flyzone Albatros has great scale
looks and performs great. Engine details, plastic machine guns, and foam
pilot are nice touches.
Left: The author refers to his new 1/48-scale, 5-gram Old Crow P-51D as the
“Ultimate Classroom Fighter”; it features a Tiny Brite Lights set that includes
navigation, position, and working machine gun lights that fire at random.
Also included in this column:
• Nick Leichty’s incredible Micro Acrobat
• The Flyzone Albatros is a hit!
01sig3.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 11/22/10 8:07 AM Page 81
82 MODEL AVIATION
After reviewing the great new light sets from Tiny Brite
Lights in the September 2010 column, I contacted the company
to see if it could make a set that would work on my Classroom
Fighters. I told the employees that the set would have to weigh
400 milligrams or less to suit my needs.
To my surprise, they told me that they already had a set
working in one of my Plantraco Classroom Fighters that they
had purchased. It features red and green navigation lights, a
solid-white position light, and working machine gun lights that
fire at random!
The company sent me a sample set to test, and I was blown
away by the way the lights look on a model in flight. The unit
with wires weighs right at 400 milligrams, and I hope it will be
added to the Tiny Brite Lights product line.
I am thankful that we aeromodelers keep pushing the limits of
what we can do with micro-size aircraft designs. One area in
which some are hoping for development is in micro 3-D
aerobatics models.
Nick Leichty is making that dream a reality with his new
Micro Acrobat Biplane. He designs and builds some of the
world’s smallest RC components and has helped many
modelers, including me, achieve success with his wonderful
products.
Nick’s new aircraft weighs only 5 grams ready to fly and can
do loops and rolls and go straight up on a single 20 mA Li-Poly
cell. It is constructed from .018-inch Durobatics and 1mm
Depron foam.
The biplane features a 115-milligram Rabbit receiver with
actuator amplifiers on the aileron, elevator, and rudder channels;
three of Nick’s 50-ohm miniactuators; and a Gasparin G9 700
motor. He constructed everything on the model except for the
motor and ESC.
According to him, it will fly aerobatics for up to 10 minutes
with the 20 mA cell. He also said that the airplane flies well at
slow speeds and can even perform circles in a living room.
Nick will sell you all of the necessary components to build
your own model, or even an RTF version of the Micro Acrobat
Biplane. Please see his Micro Flier Radio Web site for more
information and to see his wonderful line of products.
After seeing the new three-channel Flyzone Albatros at the
NEAT Fair, I could not wait to fly one. It has a 14.5-inch
wingspan and comes nicely packaged in an attractive box that
also serves as a carrying case and protective storage container.
The Albatros comes with everything needed to fly it,
including a 2.4 GHz transmitter, batteries, plastic machine guns,
Nick Leichty’s new 6-inch-span Micro Acrobat Biplane uses his 50-
ohm miniactuators and a 115-milligram Rabbit receiver with
amplifiers on aileron, rudder, and elevator channels. He made
everything on the model except the ESC and motor!
Nick’s model weighs only 5 grams and will perform many 3-D
maneuvers. It uses a new Gasparin G9 700 motor that will allow
eight- to 10-minute flights using a 20 mAh Li-Poly cell.
and even an unpainted pilot figure to add to its beautiful scale looks. (I
still have to paint my pilot when I get some time.)
The transmitter also functions as a charger for the 130 mAh Li-Poly
cell. I simply removed the model from the box, charged the battery,
and took the Albatros outside to test-fly.
It weighs only 1 ounce ready to fly without the guns and pilot
figure, so I knew that it would perform well. The first flight was great,
but the model needed considerable up-elevator trim to stay level.
I landed the airplane and made a simple adjustment to the linkage
with needle-nose pliers. Once properly trimmed, it flies wonderfully.
The motor has plenty of power to allow the Albatros to do basic
aerobatics such as loops from level flight. I was even doing some nice
hammerhead stalls.
However, I like to fly these aircraft low and slow, and fortunately
this design has good slow-speed characteristics. It also features nicelooking
scale wheels, for easy takeoffs and landings.
The Flyzone Albatros is a winner, and I am looking forward to
seeing other releases in this category of models—maybe an S.E.5a
with which to do a little dogfighting. MA
Sources:
NEAT Fair
www.neatfair.org
Smokey Mountain Graphics
http://smokeymountaingraphics.com
Tiny Brite Lights
www.tinybritelights.com
Micro Flier Radio
(941) 377-9808
http://microflierradio.com
Gasparin CO2 Motors
www.gasparin.cz
Flyzone
(800) 637-7660
www.flyzoneplanes.com
01sig3.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 11/22/10 8:07 AM Page 82
