Author: Sal Calvagna
Edition: Model Aviation - 2003/04
Page Numbers: 96,97,98
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RADIO CONTROL GIANTS

Sal Calvagna

1335 Broadway Ave., Holbrook, NY 11741 E-mail: [email protected]

WHEN YOU BRING your Radio Control (RC) Giant to the field for its inaugural test flight, take a moment to reflect on how many others made it possible for you to accomplish this. I don't mean that some of your friends came over and, after a few beers, helped you finish your model.

My point is that hundreds of people from various businesses in the hobby industry make it possible for our projects to come to fruition. Although you, the builder of an RC Giant, are ultimately responsible for the successful outcome of your model airplane, many in the industry share credit in the success of the finished product. To illustrate further, I will use my good friend Ed Hirschfeld's de Havilland D.H.94 Moth Minor built from Jerry Bates plans and The Aeroplane Works cut kit.

The Moth Minor was conceived as a fully aerobatic but forgiving basic trainer aircraft, intended to be more economical than de Havilland's other Moth successors. In 1938, production began of alternative-trainer or coupe-tourer versions, flyable from either cockpit. The design featured wheel brakes, an air brake, and folding wings for storage.

In all, 115 Moth Minors were produced, and 42 of those were built in Australia after the production line and unassembled airframes were shipped to de Havilland's Bankstown, Sydney, plant.

Many Moth Minors were pressed into military service in England, and 12 returned to civilian service after World War II. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) ordered 50 Moth Minors, but only 42 were delivered. After the war, many RAAF Moth Minors continued to fly in aero clubs and with private owners. There were three included in the Australian civil register in 2002.

Jerry Bates wrote that the inspiration for the Moth Minor model came from a British friend who had shown him photos of the aircraft taken in the 1950s. The photos were of a Moth Minor at a grass field somewhere in England and were evocative of private aviation at its best.

Jerry began searching for anything he could find about the D.H.94. He was able to have another friend take photos of a Commemorative Air Force (CAF) D.H.94. Jerry created an accurate three-view on his computer, then designed the 1/4-scale plans. Over the last four years he has completely redrawn the plans four times to increase scale fidelity and make a better model. Jerry says that the 1/4-scale Moth Minor is one of the most well-behaved, mild-mannered scale models he has ever had the pleasure of flying.

Jerry has spent hundreds of hours to bring modelers an accurate 1/4-scale rendition of this little-known aircraft. For all his labor, Jerry charges $35 for his plans and instruction manual. Some may balk at paying $35–$50 just for a set of plans. It may seem like a lot for two or three sheets of paper, but take the time to think about how much work goes into drawing a set of plans. Hundreds of hours are devoted to developing three-views and sitting in front of a computer screen, drawing and redrawing plans to get them perfect or nearly perfect. The cost is really quite reasonable.

People such as Jerry Bates design model plans because they enjoy doing it. They are modelers first and work hard for what they can make. Jerry is one of those dedicated individuals who strives to deliver the best possible model plans that start us on our way to a successful model airplane.

Selling model-airplane plans is not the easiest or most lucrative way to make a living. A friend once asked me, "Do you know how to make a million dollars in our hobby?" His answer was to "start with two million and know when to get out."

Ed ordered the de Havilland D.H.94 cut kit from The Aeroplane Works in Martinsville, New Jersey. The kit is hand cut and comes with all the wood necessary to build the aircraft. Included in the kit are cardboard tubes for aileron extensions and a tail-wheel assembly.

All of the parts are superbly cut and come with a guarantee from the Gill family that if there is any piece of wood with which the customer is not satisfied, contact The Aeroplane Works and they will replace it free of charge, no questions asked. They even go as far as to say that if a customer makes a mistake with any part, he or she can contact The Aeroplane Works and have the part replaced free of charge.

The D.H.94 cut kit cost is $375. Some may see this as a high price for a wood kit, but if you have the opportunity to see one of the kits firsthand, you will likely change your mind.

The kit contains $50–$75 worth of raw wood: aircraft-grade plywood, light plywood, spruce, balsa sheeting of various thicknesses, etc., and all the parts have been hand cut and labeled. Just cutting the parts alone takes many hours. If you were to divide the amount left after deducting the cost of the wood by the number of hours it took to make this kit, you would see that the hourly rate is unimpressive.

This is more a labor of love than a way to make a living; however, buying a kit from any kit cutter is a great time-saving way to get started with your project.

The model spans 109 inches, is 72 inches long, and weighs roughly 20 pounds. Ed uses a Zenoah G-38 to power the D.H.94, and he has a Futaba radio with Hitec servos. The Moth Minor is covered with Solartex and uses Robart hinges, Du-Bro wheels, and a Sullivan fuel tank.

The flash cyanoacrylate (CyA) glue Ed used was purchased from Balsa Products. The fixed landing gear was purchased from Century Jet Models, and the aluminum wing joiner was bought from Sig Manufacturing Co. The pilot figures are from Williams Bros., and Zinger made the propeller. Ed used a heavy-duty switch harness from Maxx Products International (MPI).

These are some of the hobby-industry manufacturers and distributors that have played a part in successfully completing Ed's model. I am sure there are others because I did not discuss the hardware or paint.

If you look further at Ed's Moth Minor, you might be surprised to learn that it is an international production. The balsa used in his model is from Central America. The transmitter, receiver, and engine are made in Japan, and the servos are manufactured in the Philippines. The covering material is made in Great Britain, and the batteries come from Mexico. Of course, many parts were made in the United States.

You may see things from a slightly different perspective the next time you take your RC Giant out to the field for its first flight. Think about all who played a role in making your model a success. It may or may not take a village to raise a child, but it sure takes the hobby industry to complete your model successfully, especially if you build and fly RC Giants.

Following is a list of some of the manufacturers that helped complete Ed's de Havilland Moth Minor:

Bernie Sanders of Melville, New York, built a great-looking 1/3-scale Morane-Saulnier AI from a Balsa USA kit. The AI spans 108 inches and is powered by a Zenoah G-45 gas engine.

Bernie covered the model with Solartex and used water-based paint to finish it. He uses an Airtronics four-channel radio and says the model flies well. His friend Davey Shaw of Huntington, New York, helped him paint the model.

That's it for this month. As always, send in your thoughts, comments, and concerns. Please send in those photos and descriptions of your RC Giants.

Keep up the good work! MA

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.