Radio Control Jets
Jim Hiller [[email protected]]
New ARF jets from Jet Hangar Hobbies and BVM
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 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 compact 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 white-and-orange of Edwards Air Force Base or the hard-core military camouflage colors of Desert Storm.
If you prefer to paint it yourself, 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 scale-appearing, 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 ducted-fan 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.
Pricing for the JHH A-7 Corsair II:
- Airframe: $850
- A-7 scale retract system: $350
- Scale ARF turbine model total cost: about $1,200
- Corsair II with Wren MW44: about $3,350
- Corsair II with ducted-fan power system: about $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
- A basic military gray-and-white scheme
The gray-and-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-wing version and 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 Winamac, 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 ducted-fan system with the Neu motor installation and a well-developed, great-airflow 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 high-performance, electric-ducted-fan models for some years now—though with smaller fans—so he knows what he is getting into developing this 5-inch-diameter 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 E-Turbax system comes at a price. You have to have batteries to support this type of power, and in this case it's big-time power: 2,800 watts. JHH is testing with a 10-cell Li-Poly battery system with 7,500 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 1035P 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 JHH 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:
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 the jet market. The rivalry continues, and it will bring 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-ducted-fan power package, and you can expect the A-7 Corsair II and the ARF Bandit to have electric options.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
