January 2003 125
Greg Rose, 1312 NW 196th St., Edmond OK 73003
RADIO CONTROL COMBAT
The Talon by Plastic Concept Planes, designed for Class C Open
Combat, sports a unique silhouette with its forward-swept wing.
A.J. Seaholm’s Ki-64 Rob proved its toughness when a midair
left parts from a less fortunate model driven through its wing!
Stan Erwin poses with his Skull Bandit: an easy-to-fly Open
design that proved competitive at the 2002 Nationals.
The nATionAls is not only a showcase for modelers but
model manufacturers as well. The 2002 Radio Control (RC)
Combat Nationals, held at the AMA Headquarters in Muncie,
Indiana, was no exception as manufacturers came out to show
their stuff and several new designs were presented.
Open Class B Combat seemed to be the happening place,
outpacing not only new Scale kit development but new releases
in all other Open-class sizes combined, including the new Class
C Combat.
One design that suddenly seems to be everywhere is the new
Skull Bandit produced by Eagle Press (1880 Enterprise Dr.
N.E., Suite D, Buford GA 30518; Tel.: [404] 557-2521). A
unique feature of the Skull Bandit is the one-piece, high-density
polyethylene (HDPE), profile-type fuselage that is cut using a
CNC router. The one-piece fuselage is used to form an integral
engine mount, performs as the servo tray for throttle and
elevator servos, and forces correct incidence in the wing and
tail!
The Skull Bandit’s wings, cut from high-load foam using a
Selig 8036 airfoil, span 64 inches. The leading edge of the wing
is made from a 1⁄4-inch polypropylene rod, providing
considerable impact resistance for midair collisions or wild
landings.
The Coroplast tail fits neatly into slots cut into the fuselage
and can be rapidly removed and replaced for quick field repairs.
The design is balanced for a convenient hand launch and is easy
to fly. Skull Bandits did well at the Nationals, and I know we
will be seeing more of them.
Another Open design that did well at the Nationals was the
new Predator X from TufFlight (5376 Amalfi Dr., Clay NY
13041; Tel.: [315] 698-8103). As have many Open designs, the
original 48-inch-span Predator has been undergoing updates and
is billed as version 5.0. The new Predator X has improved on
the original Predator by stretching its span to an incredible 72
inches, giving it the longest streamer-grabbing span of any
126 M ODEL AVIATION
design at the Nationals.
Mark Mozo and Joe Chovan flew
different versions of the new design at the
Nationals and performed well with them.
The Predator X has another trick up its
sleeve; the kit can be built as a singleengine,
.25-powered design or it can be
built as a twin-engine version powered by
two .15-size engines!
The durable EPS wing has 888 square
inches of area and unique, side-by-side
ailerons. This avoids binding as the wing
flexes during the tight maneuvers the
aircraft is capable of performing. Since
the flying-wing design has no fuselage,
the weight with this huge span is roughly
3-3.5 pounds.
Although only Open Class B (.30
maximum displacement and 3.5 pounds
maximum weight) was flown at the
Nationals, some kits for the new Class C
(.47 maximum displacement and 5 pounds
maximum weight) were introduced.
Among them is one of TufFlight’s flyingwing
designs; the new Terminator looks
much like a larger version of the original
Predator, but it sports a 56-inch span with
765 square inches of wing area. Designed
to be powered by a .40- to .46-size
engine, the Terminator tips the scales at
3.5-4 pounds.
Another design for Open Class C came
from Plastic Concept Planes (452 Bluff
City Blvd., Elgin IL 60120; Tel.: [847]
697-9220; Web site:
plasticconceptplanes.com). The new
Talon billed as a Class C Combat aircraft,
a club racer, or a sport design is
constructed in the conventional SPAD
manner with Coroplast wings and tail and
a PVC downspout for the fuselage.
What isn’t conventional about the
design is the sporty, forward-swept wing.
With the wingtips swept forward 11
inches on a 46-inch wing, the Talon offers
a unique silhouette in the air. Designed to
be powered with an engine in the .40-.46
range, the Talon’s integral Coroplast wing
and tail assembly takes “Corogami” to a
new height for Combat designs.
on the Scale side, Warbirds Ltd. (11111
E. 67th St., Tulsa OK 74133; Tel.: [918]
740-1234; Web site:
www.warbirdsltd.com) showcased its new
Ki-64 Rob by sponsoring A.J. Seaholm in
Scale Combat. The new Rob spans 50
inches and was very competitive.
The kit features a seamless Kevlarreinforced
fiberglass fuselage and engine
cowl. The wings are balsa-sheeted foam,
and the kit includes internal brazed
elevator controls for the laminated balsa
tail. With A.J. flying the design, there
were plenty of opportunities to test its
durability; it survived several midair
collisions during the Nationals.
Lawless’ Kombat Craft (5117 Bayside
Dr., Troy MI 48098; Tel.: [248] 641-
7768; E-mail:
[email protected])
introduced its new Supermarine Spitfire
Mk HF.VII (the Spitfire remembered for
its extended pointy wingtips). The new kit
uses a ripstop-covered, cut-foam fuselage
and balsa-sheeted foam-core wings.
Taking full advantage of the 10%
allowed in excess of 1/12 scale in the Scale
Combat rules, the Lawless’ Spitfire spans
44 inches and weighs in at 2.5-2.75
pounds depending on engine and radio
equipment. The Spitfire kit comes with a
PETG formed canopy and cowl.
While the Spitfire flew at the
Nationals, the other new Lawless’
design—the Northrop A-17A—was just in
prototype form. Now available, the A-
17A kit features the same construction as
the Spitfire. Although not a well-known
design, the Northrop A-17A shares many
of the same lines as its more famous
progeny, the Douglas SBD Dauntless. The
Lawless’ A-17A is also enlarged 10%
more than 1/12 scale, giving its three-piece
wing a 52-inch span.
In addition to these two new designs,
Lawless’ Kombat Craft has more in the
works.
That’s all for now. Until next time, build,
build, build, and when you’re flying be
sure to check your six! MA
