Radio Control Jets - 2006/12

142 MODEL AVIATION
you can get it ready to paint at a slight
discount. This model will make a great
starting point for a super-detailed finish
with all the right scale fine points.
Also available with the A-7 Corsair II
is a quality set of scale oleo struts and a
knee-type nose-gear strut to give your
model the right stance, sitting on a scaleappearing,
functioning landing gear. I
couldn’t imagine not getting these struts to
dress up the model and provide the best
landing-gear setup possible.
The A-7 Corsair II is just the right size
for the lightweight Wren MW44 turbine
available through JHH. The MW44 puts
out a solid 10 pounds of thrust yet weighs
only 1 pound. Just incredible! That’s
right—no mistake—the MW44 now puts
out 10 pounds of thrust. I have seen a few
of these MW44s, and they can move these
smaller models with authority.
If you prefer the lower costs of ductedfan
modeling, the Corsair II is available
with the Turbax ducted fan and an O.S. .46
VX-DF. The O.S. .46 really turns on the
performance of the Turbax fan.
I saw the A-7 Corsair II at the Toledo
Expo this year for the first time and was
impressed by its scale appearance and its
good basic design. Construction consists
of a fiberglass molded fuselage and a
balsa-and-foam wing with fiberglass-cloth
covering. The gear doors and control
surfaces have the hinges installed and
ready to be glued in place.
The JHH A-7 Corsair II costs a
reasonable $850 for the airframe and
another $350 for the A-7 scale retract
system. A scale ARF turbine model for a
total cost of $1,200 isn’t bad. If you
New ARF jets from Jet Hangar Hobbies and BVM
[[email protected]]
Radio Control Jets Jim Hiller
JHH has introduced its A-7 Corsair II in ARF form, available for turbine power, ductedfan
power, and soon-to-be-released electric-ducted-fan power.
The new BVM Electric VioFan is under development, and the
promise of 5-inch-diameter electric ducted fans is close.
Bob Violett displayed his new ARF version of the Bandit at the
Toledo Show. It flew all summer at major jet events.
wingspan of 47 inches and a length of 57
inches. This small size still sports a wing
area of 552 square inches—not bad for
such a small package.
This model isn’t merely a likeness of
the A-7 Corsair II; it really is a scale
model. It looks right. The aircraft is
available painted in the colorful whiteand-
orange of Edwards Air Force Base or
the hard-core military camouflage colors
of Desert Storm.
Should you want to paint it yourself,
JET HANGAR HOBBIES (JHH) has
added some exciting new offerings to its
product line. The first is the ARF version
of the company’s A-7 Corsair II. This is a
great addition to the growing selection of
ARF jet models available.
The JHH Corsair II is sized for 7- to
12-pound-thrust turbines. As such, it is
slightly smaller and less expensive than
many of the large ARF jet models that
have recently come onto the market.
The JHH Corsair II is 1/10 scale, with a
12sig5.QXD 10/25/06 12:36 PM Page 142include a Wren MW44 in the Corsair II
package, the cost is $3,350; if you
choose a ducted-fan power system, your
package price is $1,495.
The next ARF that was offered this
past summer was the Bob Violett
Models (BVM) Bandit. This is exciting
because it is an ARF version of one of
the most popular, high-performance
sport jet models produced—a truly
proven design. The original BVM
Bandit started as an all-composite,
molded kit requiring assembly and
painting, followed by a lighter-weight,
balsa-wing version with a slightly
longer wingspan.
The ARF Bandit returns to its roots
as a completely molded, composite
model—strong and lightweight but now
prepainted in the mold. There are four
basic color schemes available for the
Bandit ARF: three sport schemes and a
basic military gray and white. The grayand-
white model, with the addition of
one simple trim color and some
available decal sets from Pro-Mark, can
be dressed up to be your unique military
Bandit.
The new ARF Bandit is based on the
longer balsa Bandit wing with a span of
69 inches. The overall length of the
model is 71 inches with the straight fin
and 73 inches with the swept fin.
Depending on the selection of turbine
and equipment, the model should yield
an empty weight between 17 and 18
pounds—quite lightweight for a turbine
Bandit.
Recommended power for the ARF
Bandit is 12- to 20-pound-thrust
turbines. The BVM landing-gear system
developed for this model has a long,
proven history. Fuel cells, landing gear,
and the turbine installation kit to match
your engine are priced separately.
Expect a “go fly” price of roughly
$4,595 for your BVM ARF Bandit
including the required accessories,
turbine, and radio.
I saw Dustin Buescher put on a show
with his new ARF Bandit at the
Winimac, Indiana, jet event this past
summer flying with a JetCat P-70. The
model had plenty of power for
aerobatics, and with the efficiency of
the fully ducted turbine installation,
there was no lack of speed.
Do you want to fly fast? The ARF
Bandit works. Dustin shared his flying
experience by passing the transmitter
around, and quite a few interested
modelers had a go at flying the model.
There were smiles all around.
The next generation of power systems
for our jet models is electric ducted
fans, now with 5-inch-diameter fans.
JHH and BVM are developing electric
versions of their ducted-fan systems,
and both companies are talking about
them. Both systems are based on Steve
Neu’s electric motors, and their power
to turn these ducted fans is for real.
Bob Violett has flown public
demonstrations with a Viper powered by
his Electric VioFan (EVF) ducted-fan
system. BVM is displaying the ductedfan
system with the Neu motor
installation and a well-developed, greatairflow
package. It looks ready and the
performance is there. The BVM fan is
roughly 4.75 inches in diameter.
Currently the major issue to work
through is completing the package—
mainly the battery system—before
introduction as a complete power
package with good flight times,
minimum weight, and good durability.
The JHH 5-inch fan with motor is
referred to as the E-Turbax system. The
company is using a Steve Neu motor,
and it has a tight-looking installation in
the Turbax fan. JHH has chosen the
Castle Creations controller to run the
setup.
I had a couple informative
discussions with Chris and Larry Wolfe
about the development of the E-Turbax
unit. Chris has been flying highperformance,
electric-ducted-fan models
for some years now—though with
smaller fans—so he knows what he is
getting into developing this 5-inchdiameter
system.
Chris and Larry provided me with
some statistics. A bench-test running at
28,800 rpm produced 12-14 pounds of
thrust, which should yield speeds
exceeding 200 mph. That is wild! That’s
better than any piston engine has ever
powered a Turbax fan and is similar to
or better than any .90 cu. in. engine
ducted-fan system.
As with all good things, the ETurbax
system comes at a price. You
have to have batteries to support this
type of power, and in this case it’s bigtime
power: 2,800 watts. JHH is testing
with a 10-cell Li-Poly battery system
with 7500 mAh capacity. Using its
Falcon line of Li-Poly batteries, the
company is familiar with them and what
abuse they can take. This is a 10S3P
pack, so at full power five or six
minutes may be realistic without
abusing the batteries.
As I write this, testing has been
limited to bench running but flying will
commence soon. The plan is to install
an E-Turbax fan in a JHH A-7 Corsair
II model and test it under flying
conditions. The company has promised
to keep me updated on its progress.
BVM and JHM have additional
information available on their Web sites
about their electric-ducted-fan systems
and are updating the sites as
developments continue. If you are
interested in large, electric-ducted-fan
development, go to www.bvmjets.com
and www.jethangar.com.
By the time this column is in print,
both companies will have made great
strides in their electric programs. I am
looking forward to this new direction in
jet power. The rivalry continues, and
with it will come better products for
modelers.
While you’re visiting these Web
sites, don’t forget to check out those
new ARF models. You’re going to need
an airframe for that new electric-ductedfan
power package, and you can expect
the A-7 Corsair II and the ARF Bandit
to have electric options. MA
12sig5.QXD 10/25/06 12:39 PM Page 144