Radio Control Giants
Sal Calvagna [[email protected]]
A 1/3-scale Bristol Scout from Walt Moucha
Nowadays it might be commonplace to see 1/5-, 1/4-, and 1/3-scale model aircraft at your club’s flying field. Heck, if you’re into RC aerobatics, you can readily purchase 40%-size ARFs.
The use of converted chainsaw-type, gasoline-powered two-stroke engines made the growth of bigger models possible. Later, purpose-built gas engines in the 50 cc–100 cc range provided the inspiration for airplane designers to enlarge all types of aircraft.
With the continuing increase in available power, which is now well past 250 cc, the limitation in model size is not measured in feet, but in pounds. Airplanes are generally limited to 55 pounds in the U.S., which is the AMA’s weight limit.
There is an experimental RC aircraft category within the AMA that allows models up to 100 pounds to be flown, but this classification has specific rules and requires annual inspections by certified individuals.
Numerous 1/3-scale (33%) designs are available to today’s modeler. Balsa USA has more than a few kits in that size range, including the Sopwith Pup, Fokker D.VII, Piper Cub, and Stearman biplane. If you’re not interested in building from a kit, there’s a plethora of 1/3-scale aerobatic ARFs. Below are a few 1/3-scale projects I’m featuring this month.
Walt Moucha of Fort Pierce, Florida, is offering his latest creation: a 1/3-scale Bristol Scout. It spans 97 inches, has a fuselage length of 88 inches, a wing chord of 18 inches, and a finished weight of roughly 35 pounds. Walt is selling the Scout as a laser-cut short kit. He also has a fiberglass cowl available, sold separately. At less than 30 ounces of wing loading, he says this model is a floater. Call or e-mail Walt for more information — you can find his information in the Sources list.
Frank Barnwell designed the full-scale Bristol Scout from his prewar racing airplane for the British & Colonial Aeroplane Company. It was one of the first single-seat fighters produced in quantity by the British and represented the Royal Flying Corps’ first attempt at a true fighter/pursuit aircraft. Early in its World War I debut, the Bristol was used as an unarmed flying scout. It was incredibly maneuverable but a tight fit for even an average-sized man. The airplane was later fitted with an unsynchronized Lewis machine gun, and in March 1916 it became the first British aircraft to be armed with a synchronized machine gun. By that summer it was relegated to pilot training as more advanced fighters emerged. Approximately 370 of these aircraft were produced.
Other 1/3-scale projects
Ken Eckstein of Bridgewater, Connecticut, built a nicely finished Glenn Torrance Models 1/3-scale Fokker Dr.I triplane. According to him, it flies extremely well. The model is powered by a Fuji 64 cc two-stroke gas engine that swings a 24 x 8 propeller, and it’s covered with Solartex. Ken used exterior latex paint for the finish. If I had to choose one aircraft from the war to end all wars — World War I — that many people could probably identify more easily than any other, it would be the Dr.I. It remains indelibly stamped into our minds some 90 years after that terrible conflict.
Herman Burton built the Advanced Scale Models P-61 Black Widow ARF, available from Hobby People. The model spans just shy of 80 inches and weighs close to 14 pounds. With 1,010 square inches of wing area, it is advertised to have 31 ounces of wing loading. Herman reports that the model is powered by two O.S. .91a four-stroke glow engines.
The model arrived in a large, heavy-duty cardboard box containing eight main sections: the two external booms, the two outer wing panels, the horizontal stabilizer, the wing center-section, the central fuselage, and the fuselage filler piece. They were carefully bubble wrapped. In addition, the box included the engine cowlings, wing tubes, control surfaces, and landing gear doors.
Herman says the model went together well, with all parts fitting perfectly, though he made some improvements he felt were necessary. He is happy to report that the model flies with authority on the two O.S. .91a four-stroke glow engines that he installed.
The full-scale P-61 was built by Northrop and was the first U.S. aircraft specifically designed to be a night fighter. It was exceptionally maneuverable for such a large airplane. The P-61 did not have ailerons; to control roll it used tapered spoilerons that, when deployed, disrupted the airflow over the wing, reducing lift and causing that wing to drop.
The Black Widow's first kill was a V-1 flying bomb on July 16, 1944. It is unofficially credited with the last aerial kill of World War II — a Nakajima Ki-44 Tojo on August 15 or 16, 1945. That was accomplished without firing a shot: the P-61 pursued the Ki-44 at wave-top level, and the Japanese aircraft's wingtip struck the water, causing it to explode.
A P-61 also assisted in freeing 500 prisoners from a Japanese POW camp in the Philippines. It flew over the site while performing aerobatic maneuvers, distracting the guards as U.S. Rangers crept into striking distance of the camp. No P-61 was ever destroyed in aerial combat. Both the pilot and radar operator were credited with a kill. The last P-61 was retired in 1952, and 706 Black Widows were produced.
The last 1/3-scale model this month does not fall within AMA guidelines; it's not even radio-controlled. It will be piloted by Jack Bally of Dixon, Illinois. I thought readers might enjoy seeing this amazing Boeing B-17 under construction.
A fellow AMA member sent me the following:
"So what do you do when you've already built a Kitfox, a Georgia Special and your buddies (with the help of a few adult beverages) prod you to build 'one last' experimental?
"If you are Jack Bally of Dixon, Illinois, you build a 1/3-scale B-17 Flying Fortress. With more than 1,000 hours as pilot in command and the ratings to go along with them, Jack is no newcomer to aviation. But his stick time is for pure pleasure.
"Nowadays Jack is content to operate his Kitfox and Georgia Special for local flights from his private strip just north of Dixon Municipal Airport. A carpenter by trade, Jack used the GI Bill to learn to fly and spent four years as a certificated flight instructor, sharing his passion with others while honing his piloting skills.
"Jack plans to power the plane with four four-cylinder, air-cooled, 80-hp Hirth F-30 two-stroke boxer engines."
I hope to have more information about this fantastic B-17 build in future columns.
So ends another column. I'll be back next month!
Sources
- Walt Moucha
(772) 460-6436 [email protected]
- Glenn Torrance Models
(919) 765-0814 www.flygtm.com
- Advanced Scale Models
(800) 854-8471 www.globalhobby.com
- Balsa USA
(800) 225-7287 www.balsausa.com
- International Miniature Aircraft Association
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
