eRRol WINSoN (League City TX) must
have sprinkled a multigallon supply of
shrinking potion over Bill Hill’s full-scale
Grumman TBM-3E Avenger!
How else could Errol have come up with
a true Scale model of the big Navy torpedo
bomber of World War II? A 124-inch-span
Avenger that has all 79,800 rivets?
The wings fold, and the retractable
landing gear was made for Errol by
Unitracts in England. The model’s
construction took 3,700 hours, and all that
skilled labor really shows.
The model’s power is provided by a
Quadra 200, and the propeller is a threebladed
28 x 10.
Scale features of Errol’s model include
an onboard starter, a functional rear turret,
the pilot’s canopy, tailhook, and bomb bay
doors. The Avenger is capable of dropping
bombs or scale torpedoes.
The model has 19 servos, which are
controlled by Errol’s Futaba radio that has
been modified with the Vantec “Piggy
Back”; it provides 15 additional channels
for operations.
There are five air systems, which
operate 15 air cylinders ranging in size
from two to 14 inches long.
Errol had the advantage of basing his
model on a restored Avenger, owned by
Bill Hill of Spring, Texas. The full-scale
model was flown from the carrier USS
Yorktown in the closing days of the war.
It was credited with sinking nine
Japanese ships!
John A. de Vries, 4610 Moffat Ln., Colorado Springs CO 80915
RADIO CONTROL GIANTS
A close-up view of the TBM-3E Avenger’s cockpits. The upper ball turret can be rotated
by Radio Control. Text has the specifics of this masterpiece.
The rebuilt aircraft is airworthy, and
Errol had the thrill of getting a flight in it.
New friend Dan Santich has shared his
latest Giant with us, and it’s a big one.
Dan modeled the Miss San
Bernardino in 50% scale! At 134 inches
in span, the wing is actually 75% scale
and contains 3,000 square inches of area.
Power for the 32-pound model is a 3W-
40 and, according to Dan, it flies “like a
butterfly.”
Dan (1029 Old Hwy. 601, Mt. Airy
NC 27030) is offering plans for the
exciting model for $40, and he is
offering what he calls a “Big Bird
Gasser.” The device includes a
commercial-grade pump (for gas or glow
fuel) and a self-contained 12-volt
battery. It’s $59.95 plus shipping and
handling.
I had the great fortune of recently visiting
the San Diego Aerospace Museum—a trip
I’ve anticipated for a long time.
The museum has a host of 1:1-scale
airplanes that are maintained in applepie
order.
The basic philosophy of the museum is
to restore to precise condition, but not to
flyable condition. More than 200 volunteers
rebuild the aircraft in the museum’s
basement workshop.
The price to enter the museum is $8, but
a docent will give you a tour of the
workshop for an extra $3 (well worth the
extra cost!).
The workers were rebuilding a true
basket case while I was there—a Cessna
L-19 that was completely destroyed from
the propeller to the cockpit. They were
also building a full-scale replica of a
Boeing P-26A “Peashooter.” Their work
is meticulous.
I was also treated to their absolute
Errol Winson of League City TX built this Giant Scale Grumman TBM-3E Avenger.
Everything on the prototype has been duplicated in scale. It’s stunning!
102 M ODEL AVIATION
scale version of the Wright Bros. first
engine. And it runs!
The engine doesn’t have a carburetor,
but an interesting type of fuel injection. To
start it, four gallons of boiling water are
put in the “radiator” system. The fuel line
circles the hot water jacket and terminates
above an open venturi. The atomized fuel
mixes with air and, with any luck at all,
finds its way into the four cylinders of the
engine. Crude, but effective!
Of course, the museum proper is jampacked
with historic aircraft. There’s one of
the Spirit of St. Louis replicas that flew in
the movie with Jimmy Stewart.
The history of flight is represented by
pre-Wright Bros. gliders and a full-scale
version of the Wright Flyer.
The World War I era is represented
by one of the only three surviving Spad
VIIs, a Fokker Triplane, and a Nieuport
11. A host of Giant Scale models
represent WW I airplanes for which
there’s no room in the museum.
Postwar aircraft include a 1920s
Swallow and two barnstorming Curtiss
Jennys, as well as a pristine Ryan ST.
World War II exhibits include a P-40
(the only flyable airplane in the
collection), an F4F Wildcat, and an F6F
Hellcat. An inverted Messerschmitt Me
109 and a Japanese Zero in prelanding
condition give credit to the opposition.
There’s even a Ryan PT-22 with its
polished aluminum finish.
The Korean War exhibit is rather
extensive, and includes a North American
F-86 and a MiG-17.
The center atrium of the museum holds
a Consolidated PBY-5A; it’s the first
“Dumbo” I’ve seen that includes full
machine-gun armament! (There’s also a
helicopter in the atrium, but I didn’t see
the identification card for it.)
The next replica on the San Diego
Aerospace Museum’s building schedule is a
Gee Bee R-series racer (either the R-1 or R-
2). Given the skill of the cellar-dwellers, it
should be a doozer.
The average age of the museum
volunteers is 78 years—and they’re all
perfectionists!
My four-hour visit was more than a
memorable event; it left me practically
breathless!
As I wrote in the January column, I have
acquired a “park flier.” All the bits and
pieces are in hand, but I’ve been
overcome by all the wires the electricpowered
model requires.
So far I’ve figured out that the battery
pack, which powers the motor and the
airborne Radio Control system, is to be
“parked” in the prebuilt balsa “gondola.”
I am a bit antsy about the servo
installation; they’re to be mounted to the
motor stick cum fuselage using hook and
loop tabs. I’m not about to epoxy them
in place!
The construction instructions consist
of very obscure exploded diagrams that
were drawn by a knowledgeable
Czechoslovakian designer. If I can get the
knee bone connected to the leg bone and
the batteries charged, I’ll have a flyable
Bleriot—if the servos don’t slip from
their mountings.
There are some bits and pieces that are
supposed to gear down the electric motor,
and the propeller has to be assembled from
provided plastic components.
Simple, it ain’t!
I sure hope your winter Giant Scale project is
proceeding apace. I’m looking forward to
photos of it for the column! MA
Dan’s Miss San Bernardino has a fuel pump, and a selfcontained
battery to power it. The system looks very handy!
Dan Santich’s (Mt. Airy, NC) super-size (50% scale) 32-pound
version of the Miss San Bernardino is powered by a 3W-40 engine.
February 2001 103
