RC Giants - 2012/10

One of my all-time favorite Giant Scale events is Warbirds Over Delaware
(WOD). For 21 years, the Delaware R/C Club has hosted this wonderful
event at Lums Pond State Park, located in Kirkwood, Delaware. Any
military aircraft of any era that meets International Miniature Aircraft Association
(IMAA) specifi cations is welcome to participate.
This year’s event was held July 11-15. I have attended so many WOD events that
I no longer feel like a participant. I feel like family.
The Delaware R/C members work hard to provide a safe and fun-fi lled time for
all. From the mass World War I and World War II fl ights, the noontime shows, the
continuous
pilots’ raffl e,
electric
mayhem,
the Saturday
night barbecue, and a variety of other
happenings, it’s easy to have a great time
at this event.
There were many great models
present and I want to share a few.
B-26 Marauder
Paul LeTourneau from Oconto,
Wisconsin, brought one of the premier
crowd pleasers to this year’s WOD. Paul
fl ew his giant 170-inch wingspan B-26
Marauder that was powered by two DA-
100 gas engines.
Paul’s B-26 weighs 110 pounds and
was completely covered with aluminum
tape for an authentic fi nish. The model
sported Robart retractable landing gear
and Glennis wheels. The B-26 was
impressive merely setting on the ground,
and was doubly so in the air.
The full-scale B-26 was built by the
Glenn L. Martin Company during
World War II. Although the aircraft
distinguished itself during the war, this
wasn’t the case early in its career. In
fact, it was dubbed the Widow Maker
because it was involved in so many
accidents during takeoffs and landings.
After modifi cations that involved
increasing the wingspan and enlarging
the vertical fi n and rudder, the airplane
became one of the fi nest twin-engine,
medium-size bombers of the war. At the
end of the war, the B-26 had the lowest
loss rate of any United States Army Air
Force bomber. More than 5,000 were
produced by the end of the confl ict.
Easy Tiger Yak-3U
Alfred and Michael Fusco of
Stamford, Connecticut, brought their
Easy Tiger Models Yak-3U. The Yak
spans 96 inches and was painted with
Behr exterior house paint. The model
has a fi berglass fuselage with built-up
wood wings. It is modeled after the Reno
racer, Steadfast. True to the full-scale
aircraft, this model was fast in fl ight.
What made this model so unusual
at this event was that it was electric
powered! The Yak sported an Easy Tiger
100 electric motor that was powered by
a 12s, 10,000 mAh LiPo battery pack
spinning a 24 x 12 three-blade propeller.
All that was missing was the engine
noise in fl ight!
Fokker D.VII
Scott Vickery of South Mills, North
Carolina, brought his well-displayed
1/3-scale Fokker D.VII built from
enlarged Proctor Enterprises plans. The
original plans were 1/4 scale.
Scott built this model from lumber he
purchased at Lowe’s and painted it using
Behr exterior paint. The D.VII is covered
with a combination of Solartex and
Glenn Torrance (GTM) lozenge-pattern
material. Scott hand painted all of the
markings, including the great-looking
dragons.
It is powered by a ZDZ Super-80 gas
engine. One of the reasons that I was
drawn to this model was the unique
way that Scott had it displayed, with the
pilot sitting on a chair near his aircraft
reading a German newspaper, quite
relaxed but ready for the next sortie.
The Fokker D.VII was arguably the
best all-around fi ghter of WW I. I used
the word arguably, but really there’s
not much to argue about. I apologize
to all those Sopwith Camel, S.E.5a, and
Spad supporters. They come in a close
second!
De Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter
I did not get the name of the builder
of this next model or any specifi cs.
Although it was not one of the premier
fi ghters or bombers at this year’s event,
there was a reason I included it in this
column.
Although building and fl ying Giant
Scale models is a serious hobby or sport,
it is important to remember that we are
here to have a good time and maybe
some laughs along the way. Although the
builder may remain anonymous for the
time being, I’m sure that there’s a little
bit of him or her in all of us.
What we are looking at is a de
Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter. The
Otter is a high-wing STOL (short
takeoff and landing) aircraft that was
built to perform the same role as the
earlier de Havilland Beaver. It was
simply a larger aircraft capable of
greater lift.
It entered service in late 1952 and was
used by the Royal Canadian Air Force,
along with the U.S. Army, which became
the largest operator of the Otter.
The Otter was used by military
and civilian operators in many of the
remote parts of the world. It was used
extensively in Antarctic exploration
and made a huge contribution to the
exploration of many less-traveled areas
of the world.
The builder of this model felt that
the current cargo of this Canadian Air
Force fl ying truck should be a parachutedropped
crate of Molson beer. It put a
smile on my face, and it goes to show
that we modelers do indeed have a great
sense of humor!
That’s all for now. See you in
December!