106 MODEL AVIATION
Also included in this column:
• Found Bush Hawk XP
• Bill Zinger’s Jenny
• Unique Mustang
documentation source
Making the smart Scale-project choice—knowing your options
[[email protected]]
Radio Control Scale Stan Alexander
Bill Zinger’s Proctor Enterprises Jenny painted in a color scheme
from the US Army museum in Fort Rucker, Alabama.
Check out all the turnbuckles in this close-up of Bill Zinger’s Jenny.
Tom Poole built his 1/4-scale Piper Tri-Pacer from an Ikon N’wst
kit. This is a good model for beginners.
The Found Bush Hawk XP on floats is a great bush plane and a
different type of aircraft to build into a model.
IN WRITING this column, I often learn new and exciting
information or am able to help other Scale modelers with
different aspects of their projects. Reports filter in from Scale
events across the country, and I try to attend as many as my
schedule will allow. Then there are times when I find out about
an airplane I never knew existed, which can be a treat for Scale
modelers.
Last month I wrote about selecting an airplane to build. You
have to like the full-scale aircraft enough to want to put a great
deal of time into constructing the model. If it’s one of the ARFs,
you can put it together quickly and go fly. But building is a lot of
the fun; it’s worth the effort to make that time in your schedule.
Many modelers select and purchase a kit before they figure the
total cost of building it. Numerous models, especially those with
retracts and flaps, involve what some would consider “hidden”
costs.
You might pay $200 for the kit, only to learn that the tires,
retracts, cockpit kit, and other details add up to another $500-600.
That $200 doesn’t include the engine either, and if the model
spans 65-90 inches, you are usually looking at an additional
$200-300.
That is one reason why kits such as the J-3 have been so
popular throughout the many years. There is a multitude of color
schemes for the Cub (that’s right; you don’t have to paint it
yellow). There are also a huge number of types you could build,
including military, civilian, Civil Air Patrol, aerobat, etc.
You can add floats, skis, or conventional wheels, and I’ve even
seen a few with wheel pants. The clipped-wing version of the Cub
is fun to model and fly, because the full-scale version was an
aerobatic performer that could do basic maneuvers for
competition or the local fly-in.
There are many other civil types in kit form for which you
don’t have the expense of some of the additions I mentioned. Tom
Poole built a beautiful 1/4-scale Piper Tri-Pacer from an Ikon
N’wst kit and has done great with it in competition in the last two
years.
Are you looking at a 1/5- to 1/3-scale warbird? Most of this type
I saw at Top Gun this year were 1/4 scale except for the World
War I pursuits; they were mostly finished out at 1/3 scale.
Many of the World War II heavy-metal types will cost $3,000
or more to build with retracts, flaps, etc. However, most modelers
will tell you that it isn’t the cost of parts but the cost of time that
makes the model much more valuable.
The size of Scale models seems to be ever increasing, which
puts some modelers out in the left field of competition. Most of
the successful championships across the country are held at fullscale
airports—not model facilities. This is because a full-scale
runway or taxiway can accommodate four flightlines or more.
There are also large jets that require a huge overfly area, which
the 1/4- to 1/3-scale warbirds also enjoy. Events such as Florida
Jets or Top Gun provide healthy accommodations for the variety
of requirements needed for today’s innovative models.
With mechanical options, you have what some modelers call “automatic 10s” for flight scores if
everything works as it should with retracts
and flaps. Other options you might add to
a warbird are a tank drop or bomb drop.
It’s a toss-up between technology and
simplicity.
There are no automatic 10s in most
competitions, but the realism of an
opening canopy or landing lights heightens
the wow factor at any fly-in. These
features can’t be used for flight options,
but they add that warm, fuzzy feeling of
being at a full-scale airfield, which is the
realism-in-flight appreciation that judges
use to award a score.
One of the aspects I enjoy is finding
airplanes that are relatively undiscovered
by the modeling public. Last fall I
attended a local swap meet, and I saw a kit
of a model that looked similar to
something a modeler might design as a
bush plane.
While researching the model later, I
learned that it was a one-off Found Bush
Hawk XL. The Internet is a great source of
information and sometimes three-views.
I’ve written the Found company for
permission to publish its three-views of the
Bush Hawk in the magazine, with no luck
so far. But the company has downloadable
three-views of the airplane in three
different forms. It sort of looks like a
modern version of the de Havilland
Beaver, which looks like it could do the
job handily.
Found Brothers Aviation Ltd. was
established to design and build the FBA-1
based on experience gained from bush
operations in northern Canada. The new
airplane was designed to withstand the
rugged environment of the undeveloped
regions of North America’s bush country.
In 1996, Found Aircraft Development
Inc. acquired the rights to the FBA-2C and
started development and production of an
improved model that was designated the
FBA-2C2 Bush Hawk XP. It was designed
to fly from rough fields, water, or snow.
The Hawk was to compete with a wide
range of airplanes, including the normal
Cessnas we see with floats in Alaska and
Canada.
Top Notch Product Company has a
small 48-inch, electric-powered model of
the Bush Hawk. There are plans to have a
1/4-scale version of this aircraft for next
year that will be CAD drawn with laser-cut
parts. That would produce a 96-inchwingspan
model.
Around Scale: The beautiful Curtiss Jenny
has been a classic for almost a century; it’s
hard to believe. There have been many
different versions, large and small, built all
over the world.
Proctor Enterprises has produced one of
the best kits of this subject, and Bill Zinger
of Columbia, Tennessee, built it. If you
know anything about these kits, you
understand how amazing they are. They
have an incredible amount of scale
airframe structure, as well as fittings, etc.
that are needed to go with them.
Bill’s 87-inch Jenny, with an RCV .91
engine, is modeled after a replica JN-4D
that is located at an Army museum in Fort
Rucker, Alabama. Some of the details
include all the rigging, wire wheels, scale
cockpit, pilot, and static propeller.
Bookshelf: Air Battles: P-51B/C Mustangs
Over The Third Reich, by Tomasz Szlagor,
is published by Kagero Publications. The
early Mustangs have always fascinated me.
For one, you don’t see them as often as you
do the later D version with the bubble
canopy.
This soft-cover, 80-page book includes
some good information about variants of
the Mustang, including the A-36 dive
bombers. B and C models of the P-51 with
such names as “Shoo Shoo Baby,” “Miss
Pea Ridge,” “Ding Hao!,” “Easy Rockin’
Mama” “Shangri-La,” “The Hun Hunter
Texas,” “Available Jones 5th,” “Joan,” and
“Marion” have photos that show the entire
aircraft.
Scale drawings and Mylar masks for
plastic models are included with the book.
There are color side views of some of the
aircraft, including 10 different color
schemes. The two “hoods” are shown, one
of which is the Malcolm type. It is
basically a sliding canopy with a bubble on
top for a little more room in the cockpit.
Although this is not the most
comprehensive book on the subject, there
are some good photos, scale drawings, and
color side views. It isn’t as extensive as
others from the same publisher.
With the devaluation of the dollar, the
prices seem to be going up. But as I write
this, the book is available from Squadron
for $26.09 plus shipping. It is item
KG12002.
Next month I’ll start a simple build-along
with some Scale modelers’ favorite and
others’ most dreaded subject: the J-3 Cub.
I’ll do so because there are so many RC
modelers out there who have never built a
model in kit form. Have you?
I warn you that it could be a J-3 with a
twist, but I hope not a warp.
Fair skies and tailwinds! MA
Sources:
Found Aircraft
www.foundair.com
Top Notch Product Company
(615) 866-4327
www.topnotchkits.com
Proctor Enterprises
(503) 651-1918
www.proctor-enterprises.com
Squadron
(877) 414-0434 (toll-free)
www.squadron.com
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/09
Page Numbers: 106,107,108
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/09
Page Numbers: 106,107,108
106 MODEL AVIATION
Also included in this column:
• Found Bush Hawk XP
• Bill Zinger’s Jenny
• Unique Mustang
documentation source
Making the smart Scale-project choice—knowing your options
[[email protected]]
Radio Control Scale Stan Alexander
Bill Zinger’s Proctor Enterprises Jenny painted in a color scheme
from the US Army museum in Fort Rucker, Alabama.
Check out all the turnbuckles in this close-up of Bill Zinger’s Jenny.
Tom Poole built his 1/4-scale Piper Tri-Pacer from an Ikon N’wst
kit. This is a good model for beginners.
The Found Bush Hawk XP on floats is a great bush plane and a
different type of aircraft to build into a model.
IN WRITING this column, I often learn new and exciting
information or am able to help other Scale modelers with
different aspects of their projects. Reports filter in from Scale
events across the country, and I try to attend as many as my
schedule will allow. Then there are times when I find out about
an airplane I never knew existed, which can be a treat for Scale
modelers.
Last month I wrote about selecting an airplane to build. You
have to like the full-scale aircraft enough to want to put a great
deal of time into constructing the model. If it’s one of the ARFs,
you can put it together quickly and go fly. But building is a lot of
the fun; it’s worth the effort to make that time in your schedule.
Many modelers select and purchase a kit before they figure the
total cost of building it. Numerous models, especially those with
retracts and flaps, involve what some would consider “hidden”
costs.
You might pay $200 for the kit, only to learn that the tires,
retracts, cockpit kit, and other details add up to another $500-600.
That $200 doesn’t include the engine either, and if the model
spans 65-90 inches, you are usually looking at an additional
$200-300.
That is one reason why kits such as the J-3 have been so
popular throughout the many years. There is a multitude of color
schemes for the Cub (that’s right; you don’t have to paint it
yellow). There are also a huge number of types you could build,
including military, civilian, Civil Air Patrol, aerobat, etc.
You can add floats, skis, or conventional wheels, and I’ve even
seen a few with wheel pants. The clipped-wing version of the Cub
is fun to model and fly, because the full-scale version was an
aerobatic performer that could do basic maneuvers for
competition or the local fly-in.
There are many other civil types in kit form for which you
don’t have the expense of some of the additions I mentioned. Tom
Poole built a beautiful 1/4-scale Piper Tri-Pacer from an Ikon
N’wst kit and has done great with it in competition in the last two
years.
Are you looking at a 1/5- to 1/3-scale warbird? Most of this type
I saw at Top Gun this year were 1/4 scale except for the World
War I pursuits; they were mostly finished out at 1/3 scale.
Many of the World War II heavy-metal types will cost $3,000
or more to build with retracts, flaps, etc. However, most modelers
will tell you that it isn’t the cost of parts but the cost of time that
makes the model much more valuable.
The size of Scale models seems to be ever increasing, which
puts some modelers out in the left field of competition. Most of
the successful championships across the country are held at fullscale
airports—not model facilities. This is because a full-scale
runway or taxiway can accommodate four flightlines or more.
There are also large jets that require a huge overfly area, which
the 1/4- to 1/3-scale warbirds also enjoy. Events such as Florida
Jets or Top Gun provide healthy accommodations for the variety
of requirements needed for today’s innovative models.
With mechanical options, you have what some modelers call “automatic 10s” for flight scores if
everything works as it should with retracts
and flaps. Other options you might add to
a warbird are a tank drop or bomb drop.
It’s a toss-up between technology and
simplicity.
There are no automatic 10s in most
competitions, but the realism of an
opening canopy or landing lights heightens
the wow factor at any fly-in. These
features can’t be used for flight options,
but they add that warm, fuzzy feeling of
being at a full-scale airfield, which is the
realism-in-flight appreciation that judges
use to award a score.
One of the aspects I enjoy is finding
airplanes that are relatively undiscovered
by the modeling public. Last fall I
attended a local swap meet, and I saw a kit
of a model that looked similar to
something a modeler might design as a
bush plane.
While researching the model later, I
learned that it was a one-off Found Bush
Hawk XL. The Internet is a great source of
information and sometimes three-views.
I’ve written the Found company for
permission to publish its three-views of the
Bush Hawk in the magazine, with no luck
so far. But the company has downloadable
three-views of the airplane in three
different forms. It sort of looks like a
modern version of the de Havilland
Beaver, which looks like it could do the
job handily.
Found Brothers Aviation Ltd. was
established to design and build the FBA-1
based on experience gained from bush
operations in northern Canada. The new
airplane was designed to withstand the
rugged environment of the undeveloped
regions of North America’s bush country.
In 1996, Found Aircraft Development
Inc. acquired the rights to the FBA-2C and
started development and production of an
improved model that was designated the
FBA-2C2 Bush Hawk XP. It was designed
to fly from rough fields, water, or snow.
The Hawk was to compete with a wide
range of airplanes, including the normal
Cessnas we see with floats in Alaska and
Canada.
Top Notch Product Company has a
small 48-inch, electric-powered model of
the Bush Hawk. There are plans to have a
1/4-scale version of this aircraft for next
year that will be CAD drawn with laser-cut
parts. That would produce a 96-inchwingspan
model.
Around Scale: The beautiful Curtiss Jenny
has been a classic for almost a century; it’s
hard to believe. There have been many
different versions, large and small, built all
over the world.
Proctor Enterprises has produced one of
the best kits of this subject, and Bill Zinger
of Columbia, Tennessee, built it. If you
know anything about these kits, you
understand how amazing they are. They
have an incredible amount of scale
airframe structure, as well as fittings, etc.
that are needed to go with them.
Bill’s 87-inch Jenny, with an RCV .91
engine, is modeled after a replica JN-4D
that is located at an Army museum in Fort
Rucker, Alabama. Some of the details
include all the rigging, wire wheels, scale
cockpit, pilot, and static propeller.
Bookshelf: Air Battles: P-51B/C Mustangs
Over The Third Reich, by Tomasz Szlagor,
is published by Kagero Publications. The
early Mustangs have always fascinated me.
For one, you don’t see them as often as you
do the later D version with the bubble
canopy.
This soft-cover, 80-page book includes
some good information about variants of
the Mustang, including the A-36 dive
bombers. B and C models of the P-51 with
such names as “Shoo Shoo Baby,” “Miss
Pea Ridge,” “Ding Hao!,” “Easy Rockin’
Mama” “Shangri-La,” “The Hun Hunter
Texas,” “Available Jones 5th,” “Joan,” and
“Marion” have photos that show the entire
aircraft.
Scale drawings and Mylar masks for
plastic models are included with the book.
There are color side views of some of the
aircraft, including 10 different color
schemes. The two “hoods” are shown, one
of which is the Malcolm type. It is
basically a sliding canopy with a bubble on
top for a little more room in the cockpit.
Although this is not the most
comprehensive book on the subject, there
are some good photos, scale drawings, and
color side views. It isn’t as extensive as
others from the same publisher.
With the devaluation of the dollar, the
prices seem to be going up. But as I write
this, the book is available from Squadron
for $26.09 plus shipping. It is item
KG12002.
Next month I’ll start a simple build-along
with some Scale modelers’ favorite and
others’ most dreaded subject: the J-3 Cub.
I’ll do so because there are so many RC
modelers out there who have never built a
model in kit form. Have you?
I warn you that it could be a J-3 with a
twist, but I hope not a warp.
Fair skies and tailwinds! MA
Sources:
Found Aircraft
www.foundair.com
Top Notch Product Company
(615) 866-4327
www.topnotchkits.com
Proctor Enterprises
(503) 651-1918
www.proctor-enterprises.com
Squadron
(877) 414-0434 (toll-free)
www.squadron.com
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/09
Page Numbers: 106,107,108
106 MODEL AVIATION
Also included in this column:
• Found Bush Hawk XP
• Bill Zinger’s Jenny
• Unique Mustang
documentation source
Making the smart Scale-project choice—knowing your options
[[email protected]]
Radio Control Scale Stan Alexander
Bill Zinger’s Proctor Enterprises Jenny painted in a color scheme
from the US Army museum in Fort Rucker, Alabama.
Check out all the turnbuckles in this close-up of Bill Zinger’s Jenny.
Tom Poole built his 1/4-scale Piper Tri-Pacer from an Ikon N’wst
kit. This is a good model for beginners.
The Found Bush Hawk XP on floats is a great bush plane and a
different type of aircraft to build into a model.
IN WRITING this column, I often learn new and exciting
information or am able to help other Scale modelers with
different aspects of their projects. Reports filter in from Scale
events across the country, and I try to attend as many as my
schedule will allow. Then there are times when I find out about
an airplane I never knew existed, which can be a treat for Scale
modelers.
Last month I wrote about selecting an airplane to build. You
have to like the full-scale aircraft enough to want to put a great
deal of time into constructing the model. If it’s one of the ARFs,
you can put it together quickly and go fly. But building is a lot of
the fun; it’s worth the effort to make that time in your schedule.
Many modelers select and purchase a kit before they figure the
total cost of building it. Numerous models, especially those with
retracts and flaps, involve what some would consider “hidden”
costs.
You might pay $200 for the kit, only to learn that the tires,
retracts, cockpit kit, and other details add up to another $500-600.
That $200 doesn’t include the engine either, and if the model
spans 65-90 inches, you are usually looking at an additional
$200-300.
That is one reason why kits such as the J-3 have been so
popular throughout the many years. There is a multitude of color
schemes for the Cub (that’s right; you don’t have to paint it
yellow). There are also a huge number of types you could build,
including military, civilian, Civil Air Patrol, aerobat, etc.
You can add floats, skis, or conventional wheels, and I’ve even
seen a few with wheel pants. The clipped-wing version of the Cub
is fun to model and fly, because the full-scale version was an
aerobatic performer that could do basic maneuvers for
competition or the local fly-in.
There are many other civil types in kit form for which you
don’t have the expense of some of the additions I mentioned. Tom
Poole built a beautiful 1/4-scale Piper Tri-Pacer from an Ikon
N’wst kit and has done great with it in competition in the last two
years.
Are you looking at a 1/5- to 1/3-scale warbird? Most of this type
I saw at Top Gun this year were 1/4 scale except for the World
War I pursuits; they were mostly finished out at 1/3 scale.
Many of the World War II heavy-metal types will cost $3,000
or more to build with retracts, flaps, etc. However, most modelers
will tell you that it isn’t the cost of parts but the cost of time that
makes the model much more valuable.
The size of Scale models seems to be ever increasing, which
puts some modelers out in the left field of competition. Most of
the successful championships across the country are held at fullscale
airports—not model facilities. This is because a full-scale
runway or taxiway can accommodate four flightlines or more.
There are also large jets that require a huge overfly area, which
the 1/4- to 1/3-scale warbirds also enjoy. Events such as Florida
Jets or Top Gun provide healthy accommodations for the variety
of requirements needed for today’s innovative models.
With mechanical options, you have what some modelers call “automatic 10s” for flight scores if
everything works as it should with retracts
and flaps. Other options you might add to
a warbird are a tank drop or bomb drop.
It’s a toss-up between technology and
simplicity.
There are no automatic 10s in most
competitions, but the realism of an
opening canopy or landing lights heightens
the wow factor at any fly-in. These
features can’t be used for flight options,
but they add that warm, fuzzy feeling of
being at a full-scale airfield, which is the
realism-in-flight appreciation that judges
use to award a score.
One of the aspects I enjoy is finding
airplanes that are relatively undiscovered
by the modeling public. Last fall I
attended a local swap meet, and I saw a kit
of a model that looked similar to
something a modeler might design as a
bush plane.
While researching the model later, I
learned that it was a one-off Found Bush
Hawk XL. The Internet is a great source of
information and sometimes three-views.
I’ve written the Found company for
permission to publish its three-views of the
Bush Hawk in the magazine, with no luck
so far. But the company has downloadable
three-views of the airplane in three
different forms. It sort of looks like a
modern version of the de Havilland
Beaver, which looks like it could do the
job handily.
Found Brothers Aviation Ltd. was
established to design and build the FBA-1
based on experience gained from bush
operations in northern Canada. The new
airplane was designed to withstand the
rugged environment of the undeveloped
regions of North America’s bush country.
In 1996, Found Aircraft Development
Inc. acquired the rights to the FBA-2C and
started development and production of an
improved model that was designated the
FBA-2C2 Bush Hawk XP. It was designed
to fly from rough fields, water, or snow.
The Hawk was to compete with a wide
range of airplanes, including the normal
Cessnas we see with floats in Alaska and
Canada.
Top Notch Product Company has a
small 48-inch, electric-powered model of
the Bush Hawk. There are plans to have a
1/4-scale version of this aircraft for next
year that will be CAD drawn with laser-cut
parts. That would produce a 96-inchwingspan
model.
Around Scale: The beautiful Curtiss Jenny
has been a classic for almost a century; it’s
hard to believe. There have been many
different versions, large and small, built all
over the world.
Proctor Enterprises has produced one of
the best kits of this subject, and Bill Zinger
of Columbia, Tennessee, built it. If you
know anything about these kits, you
understand how amazing they are. They
have an incredible amount of scale
airframe structure, as well as fittings, etc.
that are needed to go with them.
Bill’s 87-inch Jenny, with an RCV .91
engine, is modeled after a replica JN-4D
that is located at an Army museum in Fort
Rucker, Alabama. Some of the details
include all the rigging, wire wheels, scale
cockpit, pilot, and static propeller.
Bookshelf: Air Battles: P-51B/C Mustangs
Over The Third Reich, by Tomasz Szlagor,
is published by Kagero Publications. The
early Mustangs have always fascinated me.
For one, you don’t see them as often as you
do the later D version with the bubble
canopy.
This soft-cover, 80-page book includes
some good information about variants of
the Mustang, including the A-36 dive
bombers. B and C models of the P-51 with
such names as “Shoo Shoo Baby,” “Miss
Pea Ridge,” “Ding Hao!,” “Easy Rockin’
Mama” “Shangri-La,” “The Hun Hunter
Texas,” “Available Jones 5th,” “Joan,” and
“Marion” have photos that show the entire
aircraft.
Scale drawings and Mylar masks for
plastic models are included with the book.
There are color side views of some of the
aircraft, including 10 different color
schemes. The two “hoods” are shown, one
of which is the Malcolm type. It is
basically a sliding canopy with a bubble on
top for a little more room in the cockpit.
Although this is not the most
comprehensive book on the subject, there
are some good photos, scale drawings, and
color side views. It isn’t as extensive as
others from the same publisher.
With the devaluation of the dollar, the
prices seem to be going up. But as I write
this, the book is available from Squadron
for $26.09 plus shipping. It is item
KG12002.
Next month I’ll start a simple build-along
with some Scale modelers’ favorite and
others’ most dreaded subject: the J-3 Cub.
I’ll do so because there are so many RC
modelers out there who have never built a
model in kit form. Have you?
I warn you that it could be a J-3 with a
twist, but I hope not a warp.
Fair skies and tailwinds! MA
Sources:
Found Aircraft
www.foundair.com
Top Notch Product Company
(615) 866-4327
www.topnotchkits.com
Proctor Enterprises
(503) 651-1918
www.proctor-enterprises.com
Squadron
(877) 414-0434 (toll-free)
www.squadron.com
