RADIO CONTROL GIANTS 2003/10

October 2003 111
IN THE JULY 2003 Radio Control (RC) Giants column, I wrote
about the Sirius SuperTest from Peak Electronics. I referred to the
SuperTest as a cycler. George Joy, “the Sirius Charger guy,”
wrote to thank me for the coverage in the column and informed
me that the SuperTest is not a cycler, but a precision battery tester
that only discharges batteries.
In the same column, while describing the ACE Dual Digital
Variable Charger, I wrote that the output is adjustable from 5
mAh (milliampere-hours) to 500 mAh in 5 mAh increments. What
I should have written was that the output is adjustable from 5 mA
(milliamperes) to 500 mA in 5 mA increments.
This certainly proves what my wife has been telling me for
years: that I am far from perfect!
ARF Bashing: Most of us know what kit-bashing is. For those
who do not, it is the practice of making significant changes to a
model kit during construction so that it
looks like something else when it is
finished. With the proliferation of Almost
Ready-to-Fly (ARF) models, there are
modelers who just won’t leave well enough
alone.
Chris Sellman of Centereach, New
York, and Steve Anthony of Patchogue,
New York, bashed their 100-inch-wingspan
Piper L-21s. Both aircraft started life as
Hangar 9 PA-18 Super Cubs. The Super
Cub is offered in a civilian paint scheme of
white and red and is sold through Horizon
Hobby. Steve and Chris enjoy going to
IMAA (International Miniature Aircraft
Association) events with their models, and
they wanted a military version of the Super
Cub that they could take to the warbird
events.
The L-21, or Super Cub, has some
advantages over the standard J-3/L-4
version that makes it more modelerfriendly,
one of which is the size and shape
of the engine cowling on the Super Cub. It’s
Sal Calvagna, 1335 Broadway Ave., Holbrook NY 11741; E-mail: [email protected]
RADIO CONTROL GIANTS
A pair of Piper PA-18 Super Cubs from Hangar 9 were ARFbashed
into Piper L-21Bs by Chris Sellman and Steve Anthony.
Rick Arrowood is standing with his BTE Super Flyin’ King model. It spans 132 inches
and is powered by a Desert Aircraft 100cc twin engine.
Tom Polapink’s O.S. 120-powered Pfalz D.IIIa was built from his
own plans, and he competed with it at Top Gun 2003.
This is a side view of Tom Polapink’s Pfalz D.IIIa. Notice his
excellent hand-painted eight-point star.
112 MODEL AVIATION
larger—more specifically, wider—which allows for a broader
range of engine installations. It’s nicer-looking to have an engine
installed within a cowling where you do not have to hack up the
cowling to accept the engine.
Another advantage is that the Super Cub PA-18/L-21 has flaps.
If you have flown a model with flaps, you know how much fun it
is to change the aircraft’s flight characteristics using them. This
airplane is also an excellent flap trainer for those who are
graduating from a four-channel model to a five-channel model.
Some of the changes Chris and Steve made to the ARF model
included:
• Removal of red paint from the WorldTex covering using
acetone.
• Removing covering material to make the greenhouse cockpit.
• Installing Robart 1⁄4-scale Cub landing gear.
• Repainting with acrylic latex paint available from The Home
Depot and clear-coating with Krylon satin clear.
• Adding graphics from Major Decals and Rockin’ Rose Grafix.
Chris powered his L-21 version with a Zenoah G-23, and Steve
used a Zenoah G-38 to power his. Both engines were easy to
install and both models fly well with their gas-burner power
plants. Steve chose the G-38 because he also uses the L-21 as a
glider tug. He says that he has no problem towing gliders with as
large as a 4-meter span and weighing 12 pounds.
Both L-21s were finished in the paint scheme of an L-21B
owned by the North Coates Flying Club in England. Chris and
Steve did a wonderful job with the conversion from the PA-18s to
L-21s. They both agree that the ARF-bashing project and flying
the L-21s are great fun.
Building on the success of the full-scale J-3 Cub, the tandemseat
PA-18 Super Cub featured a stronger airframe, additional fuel
tanks, and a much larger engine. The Super Cub was ordered in
large numbers by the US Army as the L-21 for liaison and
observation duties. The Army began receiving them in 1953 and
The Balsa USA S.E.5a fuselage is under construction. The
engine-mount box is slid forward in this picture.
The S.E.5a fuselage with the engine-mount box slid aft. It was
designed to accommodate a variety of engines.
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the last one was delivered in 1959.
Roughly 7,500 Super Cubs had been built
when Piper decided to suspend production
in 1981.
A year later more were built for a Texas
company, and 250 were eventually
delivered by 1988. Limited production
continued into the 1990s, and the last new
airplane was delivered in 1995. The Super
Cub is one of the longest-produced light
aircraft in the world.
If you are interested in more
information on the Super Cub ARF from
Hangar 9, visit the Horizon Hobby Web
site at www.horizonhobby.com.
Rick Arrowood of Troy, Ohio, sent a
photograph of his Super Flyin’ King which
was built from a Bruce Tharpe Engineering
(BTE) kit. The model spans 132 inches and
has a wing area of 3,380 square inches. It
weighs 371⁄2 pounds and is powered by a
Desert Aircraft 100cc twin gas engine
swinging a 27 x 10 propeller. The kit
comes with a prebent aluminum landing
gear and 7-inch Sullivan wheels.
Rick uses high-torque metal gear
servos, dual receivers, and two SR
Batteries 2200 mAh receiver battery
packs. Rick also installed a smoke system
and a 50-ounce smoke tank. The model is
covered in MonoKote which Rick says is
“the modeler’s number one covering
choice.” The graphics were made by
Kirby’s Kustom Vinyl Graphics.
The juvenile theme—Jumpers ‘R’ Us—
is a play on words that explains the main
purpose of the model. It drops a 21-inchtall,
41⁄4-pound precision paratrooper that
has a 59-inch-wide parasail. The jumper is
also radio controlled. Rick says that in the
future he plans to pull banners and
sailplanes, take photos and videos, and
drop candy.
At the Toledo expo 2003, the Super
Flyin’ King took second place in the Sport
Mono Plane competition and third place in
the Best MonoKote class. It looks as
though Rick has plenty of fun with his
Super Flyin’ King model! Great covering
job!
For more information about this model
and other BTE models, visit the
company’s Web site at
www.btemodels.com or call (800) 557-
4470.
Tom Polapink of Centereach, New York,
built a beautiful 1⁄6-scale Pfalz D.IIIa from
his own plans in 1990. The model is
powered by an O.S. 120 four-stroke
engine, has a 74-inch wingspan, and
weighs 14 pounds. The fuselage is
fiberglass-covered and the wings are
covered with Super Coverite material.
The model was repainted in 2003 and
finished in the colors of Max Holtzem’s
World War I aircraft. The new color
scheme is unique and Tom did a
magnificent job of painting the eightpointed
star on the fuselage.
Tom is world-class model builder, an
annual competitor at Top Gun, and a real
gentleman. He is also one of the most
knowledgeable individuals I know on the
subject of World War I aviation.
If you’re interested in the Polapink
Pfalz D.IIIa, you can purchase the kit,
plans, and accessories in 1⁄6-, 1⁄4-, or 1⁄3-
scale size from Arizona Model Aircrafters.
The Web site address is
www.arizonamodels.com/index.htm and
the telephone number is (480) 348-3733.
The Balsa USA S.E.5a construction is
underway. The instruction manual is
thorough and contains many helpful
photos. In addition to doing a great job
guiding the builder through the
construction sequence, the manual
contains historical background about the
S.E.5a and information regarding British
and US markings.
One of the outstanding engineering
features of this kit is the adjustable
engine-mount box. It is designed so that
the builder can accommodate a wide
variety of engine choices. This will
undoubtedly save the builder from having
to make extensive modifications to install
his or her favorite power plant. All of the
wood has been of excellent quality.
Ed Hirschfeld of Selden, New York, is
currently working on the S.E.5a. Ed is a
fine, prolific model builder who has been
collaborating with me on a couple of
projects so that I will be able to present
them in a timely manner. Look for more
information on the Balsa USA S.E.5a in
future columns.
For more information about the S.E.5a
or any other of Balsa USA’s fine kits, you
can visit the Web site at
www.balsausa.com or call (906) 863-
6421.
This ends another RC Giants column. I
am finishing the work on the CANT
Z.1007 bomber model that was featured in
the July and August 2003 columns. I
should have it completed and test-flown in
time for the next column.
If you have any questions or concerns,
please contact me at the E-mail address or
home address listed at the beginning of the
column.
Till next month! MA
October 2003 113
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OS91 FX 10,500 12,000
ST GS 40 13,600 15,000
ST GS 45 ABC 14,600 16,300
TT Pro 46 14,000 15,100
TT Pro 61 11,400 12,300
Webra 40 GT 13,800 15,200
Webra 50 GT 14,600 15,900
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