Author: Sal Calvagna
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/02
Page Numbers: 124,125,126
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Radio Control Giants — February 2008

By Sal Calvagna <[email protected]>

Gunny Bumburs' highly detailed Top Flite P-51 Mustang

Welcome back to another RC Giants column. My previous pieces about P-51 Mustangs and the Balsa USA Spad build generated a fair amount of interest among readers. In this month's issue I'm happy to feature another P-51—this one by Gunny Bumburs of Babylon, New York.

Not one to leave well enough alone, Gunny spent the last five months detailing a Top Flite Giant Scale P-51 ARF. The model spans 84.5 inches, weighs 24 pounds, and is powered by a Revolution 50 ignition gas engine.

The model came precovered with MonoKote film; however, Gunny removed the covering and prepared the bare wood with a coat of Sig Stix-It. Stix-It is a great wood sealer for any prefinished iron-on coverings—film or fabric. It helps eliminate troublesome pull-ups, lifting seams, and wrinkles, and it contains a super-strong, heat-activated adhesive that keeps covering material stuck down tight.

Once re-covered with MonoKote, Gunny used a 220-grit, sponge-type sanding block to give it a brushed-aluminum finish. The finish was scratched in one direction. Panel lines were added later using a piece of folded sandpaper, again scratching lightly to scribe each one.

The P-51 was finished as Bud Anderson’s Old Crow. Decals were made by Wildmann Graphics and the painted portions were done using Top Flite LusterKote and Krylon spray paint. In addition to the beautiful finish, Gunny added many aftermarket items such as Aerotech exhaust stacks, drop tanks, wheels, and bombs.

The cowl and air scoop were purchased from Fiberglass Specialties. Gunny used Robart landing gear but fabricated fully functional inner and outer gear doors. For proper operation he used a Mini Hobby ATL gear-door sequencer.

Gunny also installed a lighting system purchased from ElectroDynamics. This system includes a wingtip light, tail light, and his own-design landing light that swivels up and down from the landing-gear wheel well when the gear is lowered. The wing drop tanks and bombs are releasable in flight.

The 52cc gas engine has a slim profile, rear intake, rear exhaust, and a long crankshaft that places the engine head farther back in the cowl. This engine is ideal for models with narrow, longer cowls such as the P-51, P-40, Me 109, etc. An optional cooling fan and shroud are available to alleviate heat problems.

See the source list for some of the products used on the P-51. Gunny reports that the Mustang is rock solid in the air. Great modeling, Gunny!

Balsa USA Spad Build Continues

The Spad 13 is now in the covering stage

The photos show the lower wing, vertical stabilizer, and rudder completed. The builder has used Solartex Natural.

Solartex is a heat-shrink fabric with an adhesive backing that makes it ready to use on your favorite model. Since it has a fabric weave, it is an excellent choice for World War I models. It is strong and has a superb ability to shrink around compound curves. Solartex will accept a wide assortment of paints. The natural color has little pigment, which makes the material slightly lighter in weight.

The builder has done a magnificent job of constructing and framing the model. The previous columns gave an indication that I was building the Spad; this is not the case. My friend Lou Cetrangelo is constructing the model. He’s much neater than I am. Keep up the good work, Lou.

Carl Diehl’s Spad 13

The last few columns’ information about and photos of Lou’s Balsa USA Spad 13 generated a good amount of interest. Carl S. Diehl of Mattawan, Michigan, built his Balsa USA 1/4-scale Spad 13. He claims this was the first Spad kit Balsa USA released.

Carl received the kit in February 2007, and the aircraft won second place in military sport at the Toledo Show in April 2007. He used a Laser 200 twin-cylinder engine and a Spektrum radio. The Spad’s all-up weight is a remarkable 15 pounds.

Carl referenced hundreds of photos from the full-scale aircraft to replicate its detail. One of the interesting changes made during construction was adding 1/4 inch of dihedral to the upper wing panel. The Spad’s wings contained no dihedral, but a long, straight wing without dihedral tends to look as though it is drooping or that it has anhedral. The addition of a small amount of dihedral actually makes the wing look straight.

One of the photos shows the scale aileron bellcrank assembly Carl made by using brass tubes and solder. Nice work, Carl!

Hodges Hobbies High-Torque Starter

If you’re in the market for a high-torque, heavy-duty starter for your larger engines, look no further. Hodges Hobbies of Andersonville, Georgia, has what you need.

This heavy-duty starter uses a reduction-gear assembly, a 12- to 24-volt Sullivan Dynatron motor, and two 12-volt sealed batteries. This unit will easily handle large, high-compression gas engines. To obtain pricing and more information, see the source listing.

So ends another RC Giants column. Don’t be shy—send me some photos of your current project. We would love to see what you’re working on.

In the meantime, have a great time at the field. Safe flying!

Sources

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