Warbirds Over Delaware
by Sal Calvagna [email protected]
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) specifications 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-filled time for all. From the mass World War I and World War II flights, the noontime shows, the continuous pilots' raffle, 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 flew 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 finish. The model sported Robart retractable landing gear and Glennis wheels. The B-26 was impressive merely sitting 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 modifications that involved increasing the wingspan and enlarging the vertical fin and rudder, the airplane became one of the finest 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 conflict.
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 fiberglass 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 flight.
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 flight!
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 fighter of World War 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 specifics. Although it was not one of the premier fighters or bombers at this year's event, there was a reason I included it in this column.
Although building and flying 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 flying truck should be a parachute-dropped 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!
Sources
- Delaware R/C Club — www.delawarerc.org/warbirds.htm
- IMAA — www.fly-imaa.org
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
