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Mike Hurley, 11542 Decatur Ct., Westminster CO 80234; E-mail: [email protected]
RADIO CONTROL SCALE AEROBATICS
only A hAndFul of manufacturers in the US specialize in
competition-level Scale Aerobatics (SA) models and few have
managed to stand out as category leaders. One such company is
Aeroworks, co-owned by Rocco Mariani and Kevin Dietrich. Since
this column strives to focus on activity and innovation within the SA
community, I thought it would be interesting to bring you some of the
background behind one of our sport’s leaders. Aeroworks is located
just a few miles from where I live, so I took a trip to the shop and
talked with Rocco.
“Tell me a little bit about the history of Aeroworks and how you got
started.”
“Kevin and I have always been modelers, very enthused in the
hobby and flew everything from Quickie 500s to Scale birds, sticks,
you name it—lots of styles of aircraft. About 10 years ago we wanted
to get into bigger airplanes. So we each kept buying different airplanes
and flying them, but everything we bought was heavy, expensive,
badly engineered, didn’t fly very well, and nobody knew much about
them.
“Gas engines were just coming around and we had to learn on our
own how to cope with them. We decided we could build something
lighter for ourselves for our altitude here in Denver (5,280 feet). We
looked at these airplanes and they were complicated; lots of sticks, lots
of carving, lots of foam, sheeting, and balsa blocks. We wanted
something with simple, straightforward construction, easy to build
straight, easy to build light, and easy to repair too. So the first airplane
we ever designed was a 90-inch Laser 200. At that time we were
experimenting with G-62s on tune pipes and 5.8 singles on glow to get
more power.
“People were saying ‘Wow, that’s a neat airplane; how can I get
one?’ We thought maybe if we could build a couple of these a year it
would pay for our interest in the hobby, and we did that. We sold a
couple here and there, and before you know it we were selling one or
two a month, then one or two a week, and it was getting really busy, so
we decided to turn this into a small business but keep our full-time
jobs.
“We kept doing the Lasers, and then we designed the big Profile
Extra which was a real popular airplane. It got to the point it was so
busy that in ’94 we decided to go full time with Aeroworks. But what
finally got us really moving was when we introduced the 105-inchwingspan
Edge 540 at the TOC [Tournament of Champions] in ’95.
“We had gone to the TOC in ’94 as spectators and walked up and
down the line behind the spectator fence looking at these huge 100- to
105-inch airplanes, and we noticed how they were just Swiss cheese.
We saw Chip Hyde’s big 42% Ultimate, and there were lightening
holes everywhere. That made us think, Wow, we’re still overbuilding
our airplanes.
“So we went back and picked a new airplane we knew performed
well at full scale, and that was the Edge 540. We did some research on
it and talked to Zivko Aeronautics about it. We really thought the
airplane was unique looking, unique flying, and very interesting. And
we thought it would catch on. So we designed a 36% Edge 540 to be
super lightweight. We did everything we possibly could to get weight
off that airplane, learning from the TOC pilots and trial and error.
“We built two of them, and they flew awesome. It flew different
from anything else—very stable and very aerobatic. We were
convinced that this was what was going to help grow our company and
that we could make a living.
“We went to the TOC in ’95 with the two airplanes and nobody
having any idea who we were. We knew that the pilots had a meeting
Kevin Dietrich puts the final touches on an Edge in the
Aeroworks shop.
Rocco Mariani takes care of business in the Aeroworks office.
L-R: Quique Somenzini’s father, Kevin Dietrich, Rocco Mariani, and
Quique with his winning Aeroworks 37% Extra 300L at 1996 TOC.
110 M ODEL AVIATION
Kevin Dietrich displays Aeroworks’ new
31% Edge 540T ARF. The airplane is
designed to be economical and
competitive.
before the TOC. We actually snuck into one
of the pilots’ meetings and convinced the CD
[contest director] Steve Rojecki to allow us to
speak to the pilots during the meeting. So we
introduced ourselves and offered our two
36% Edges to any TOC pilot as backup.
“We handed out flyers and pamphlets to
the TOC pilots as they were walking out of
the meeting. It was very weird. A couple of
US pilots and the guys from outside the US
were fairly responsive to us, but most of the
Americans had the attitude of ‘who do you
guys think you are?’ They literally took our
flyers and crumpled them up in front of us
and tossed them in the trash can!
“At that point Kevin and I were starting to
wonder if the whole thing was a good idea.
We kept at it. We got permission to display
our airplanes on the grassy area throughout
the TOC and handed out flyers, and we talked
to people, opened up the canopies, showed off
the construction, but nothing really felt good
about the whole trip.
“About two months later I got a call from
Quique Somenzini! He said he was looking
for a new airplane for the ’96 TOC and was
very impressed with our construction, but he
wanted a bigger airplane and he wanted an
Extra 300. He wasn’t really familiar with the
Edge. We told him we were interested in
doing the project. We agreed to build him an
Edge 540 in the bones and send it to him in
Argentina so he could critique it, then we’d
start on an Extra for him.
“So we sent him the airplane and he
started flying it for demo flights. He was
really impressed with the airplane and added
some of his own modifications—big ailerons,
big elevators, big rudder—and that’s how the
modifications for the Extra came along. He
sent us a full-size outline of an Extra 300 on
tissue paper. We designed two Extra 300s
with two-piece fuselages for transportation,
built them in the bones, and sent them to
Argentina. Kevin built the wings and I built
the fuselages, and we’d never even seen them
put together before they were sent to
Argentina.
“We get to the TOC in ’96, meet up with
Quique at the dry lake bed a week before the
event, and there are the two airplanes. We
were just floored! Here are these two
airplanes that we designed from the ground
up, at the TOC with Quique Somenzini flying
them! What an amazing feeling. And that was
the year he won the TOC with those airplanes
doing some phenomenal 3-D stuff. It was
right after that that we started kitting that
airplane, and that’s what really helped us
make our name.
“We had also hooked up with Bill Hempel
at the QSAA [Radio Control Quarter Scale
Association of America] in ’95. At this point
nobody knew what the Edge 540 was. They
thought it was ugly and wouldn’t fly. Bill was
there doing demos for Cactus Aviation and
3W. He had a Godfrey Extra at the time. We
asked him if he would do a demo flight with
our Edge 540 at the QSAA, and he said no
problem. He did an awesome demo flight
with it, and he was impressed. He landed the
airplane, and we asked what he thought of the
airplane. He said ‘It’s no Extra,’ and he
walked away!
“The next day he came to our booth at
about 10 a.m. He said, you know I’ve been
thinking about that airplane, and I really did
some cool stuff with it yesterday that I
couldn’t have gotten away with on another
airplane, and I’d really like to fly it again
January 2003 111
today. He called us two weeks later and said,
‘I haven’t thought of anything else but that
Edge since the day I flew it. I need one of
those airplanes!’ And that’s when we started
the sponsorship with Bill Hempel. And he
went on to win the IMAC [International
Miniature Aircraft Association] nationals,
and Team Edge developed.”
“What are some of the accomplishments that
you’ve picked up along the way?”
“Our major wins include three times first
place at the TOC and three firsts in
Unlimited at the IMAC nationals.”
“You guys have really been getting into more
ARFs [Almost Ready to Flys]. Tell us how
that evolved.”
“When we first started we sold prebuilt
airplanes. Then we went into kits, and deluxe
prebuilt. And as time went on we could see
the trend of people wanting ARFs. Folks
don’t seem to have the time and space to
build like they used to. So we started to
research the ARFs and where we could have
them made.
“First we made some connections in
Mexico and tried making the 29% Edge
there, but the quality was just not acceptable.
We’d always had very good-quality
competition aircraft, and we wanted to stay
with that with the ARFs. We tried Thailand,
but again, the parts didn’t fit the way we
wanted, they didn’t look the way we wanted,
and they were too heavy. We made some
connections in China and went back and
forth for two years working with the Chinese
to come out with our first prototype 33%
540T ARF.
“What we found in China was the
craftsmanship was phenomenal; you couldn’t
ask for better builders. But they didn’t have
good training as far as what type of materials
to use, what types of glues to use, etc. But
they were very open to listening and were
fast learners. So over time we were able to
work with them to produce an airplane that
was very similar to what our kit was. We
taught them exactly how we wanted the paint
and which glues to use for which
construction. We had to get the wood a year
in advance and dry it to solve final-fit issues
because the climate there is so humid.
“So we finally got an ARF we could be
proud of. We’re still making changes, and
the airplanes just keep getting better.”
“Tell us about the new airplane you’ve just
introduced and the philosophy behind it.”
“It’s a 31% Edge 540T with a 92-inch
wingspan, 84-inch length, two-piece wing,
removable two-piece stab, and it’s the same
design and construction as the 33% 540T.
It’s a little bit smaller than the 100cc size,
but it’s big enough to allow the beginning 3-
D pilot to learn 3-D maneuvers. The larger
airplanes are so much easier to learn those
maneuvers with. Our concept was to
introduce a gas, aerobatic, 3-D competitionstyle
airplane for the first-time gas pilot so he
could put together an inexpensive ARF that
would perform and compete with the 33%,
35%, and the 40% in IMAC, and do all the
3-D maneuvers with stability. It’s 17 pounds
and designed around standard servos and a
G-62-size engine—bottom line budget but
top line performance.”
“So this airplane is going to bridge that gap
between being inexpensive enough for that
guy who wants to fly 3-D but isn’t ready to
spend the big bucks, and still offer the
performance that you’re going to need to
learn 3-D easily.”
“That’s exactly who we’re trying to
target with the airplane. Some of the smaller
airplanes are definitely 3-D-capable but very
difficult to learn with. You need 90 inches or
better to learn with.”
“What are some other products you’re
coming out with?”
“Talking about 3-D-trainable, we’re
coming out with the 80-inch fun-fly Extra
300 profile as an ARF. We’ve modified it to
fly even better than the kit. It’s designed for
those guys that don’t want to go to gas—
they want to stay on glow—but they want to
learn to hover and do 3-D. It’s incredibly
easy to hang, and it’s designed around the
O.S. 1.6 engine, Saito 180/150, Moki 1.8,
BME, etc. It’s 10 pounds, ready to fly with
the 1.6.
“We’re moving into a wide variety of
ARFs including a 35% Katana, a 40-size
Edge, and a 120-size Extra. We introduced
the Katana at Toledo this year as a kit.
People loved it but they want it as an ARF,
so we’re moving towards that.
“For the high end we’re coming out with
a 42% Ultimate which is designed directly
off Chip Hyde’s airplane built and designed
by his dad. We had his airplane in our shop
for a year, and with his permission took all
the dimensions. No other manufacturer
wanted to take on the challenge of doing it,
building it strong, straight, and light. We
collaborated with Chip to make some
modifications to the airplane for better
flying, such as an airfoil tail, larger rudder,
and larger elevators with counterbalances.
The wing placement is a little bit different,
and there are bigger ailerons for 3-D.
“Chip will fly the airplane at the TOC.
It’s our goal to have an ARF in the TOC that
is capable of winning. Imagine being able to
buy a TOC airplane off the shelf!”
“So what does the future hold for
Aeroworks?”
“We have a lot of new ideas in the works,
but you’re just gonna have to wait and see.
I’ll tell you this: you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!”
you can get in touch with Aeroworks at
(303) 366-4205 or online at
www.aeroworks.net. MA
