Welcome back. Participating in a model flying event can be exciting and fun. When that event also includes full-scale aircraft, the excitement is doubled.
This was the case at the third annual Mid-Atlantic World War I Dawn Patrol event, hosted by the Tidewater Radio Control Club. It was held at the Virginia Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
The museum contains one of the largest private collections of World War I and World War II aircraft, and includes some of the rarest examples of existing warbirds, including the Polikarpov I-16 and the world’s only flying de Havilland Mosquito. One amazing feature of this museum is that none of the aircraft are roped off. You can get up close and personal to all of the exhibits. This is a wonderful opportunity for modelers to examine and photograph every detail.
The five-day event was held in early October, with a full-scale airshow on Saturday and Sunday, accented with selected Giant Scale models flying. More than 75 models—many in the 1/3-scale range and some 1/2-scale aircraft—were at the show. All were beautifully finished. I have shared a few pictures of the beautiful airplanes.
I’d like to offer a big thank-you to event coordinator Scott Vickery for making the fly-in safe and fun. For more information about the Dawn Patrol event and the Virginia Military Aviation Museum, please visit their respective websites listed in “Sources.”
Blackburn Monoplane
Alan and Simon Yendle came from Austin, Texas, with Alan’s 1/2-scale 1912 Blackburn Monoplane, to attend the Dawn Patrol gathering. One of the largest models at the event, the monoplane spans 16 feet and is covered with Sig Koverall. The covering is hand stitched to each wing rib and roll control is accomplished through wing warping.
The aircraft is powered by a DA-150 gas engine. According to Alan, the monoplane is assembled and held together using 72 turnbuckles.
The full-scale aircraft was built by Robert Blackburn in 1912. It was sold to a man who crashed the monoplane in 1914. It remained untouched in a barn until after WW II, and was restored to flying condition in 1947. It now resides at Old Warden, Bedfordshire, England, as part of the Shuttleworth Collection. The Blackburn Type D is the oldest airworthy British airplane in existence.
For more information about the amazing aircraft in the Shuttleworth Collection, please visit the website listed in “Sources.”
1911 Avro
Keith Goff of McDonough, Georgia, brought his amazing 1/3-scale Avro Type D model that was built using enlarged George Madison plans. The model sports wing-warping controls and is covered with Sig Koverall. A DLE-55 gas engine, hidden nicely beneath the fake Green four-cylinder, provides the power for this early aircraft. Keith made all of the parts for this model, including the functional landing gear and wheels.
The full-scale Avro Type D was built by aviation pioneer A.V. Roe, and was his first biplane design. It was easy to fly and eventually sold to a naval commander who had the airplane converted to a floatplane. It became the first floatplane to take off from British seawater.
Albatros D.III
Dick Pettit of Durham, North Carolina, is shown in one of the photos with his 1/3-scale Albatros D.III. Another great Balsa USA design, it is powered by a DLE-85 gas engine swinging a 27 x 10 XOAR Axial propeller.
The full-scale Albatros was test-flown in 1916 and received the largest German production contract to date—400 aircraft. Similar to the Nieuport 11, the Albatros is considered a sesquiplane and not a biplane, because the lower wing is less than half the area of the upper wing. Manfred von Richthofen, the famous Red Baron, scored most of his kills while flying the Albatros.
For more information about the model, please visit the Balsa USA website. If you see Mr. Pettit and his Albatros, please don’t tell him it’s pink!
Eindecker E.I
And finally, Götz Vogelsang brought his 40% Paolo Severin-designed Eindecker E.I to the Dawn Patrol event. Complete with wing warping, the Eindecker is true to the original design, with a welded tube frame, scale ribs with trailing-edge wire, and other details that mimic the original design.
The model is powered by a Valach 120 four-stroke gas engine swinging a Fiala 30 x 12 propeller. For more information about this model, please visit Paolo Severin’s website or contact Götz at Vogelsang Aeroscale.
That’s all for this month. How is your 2015 project coming along? Send me an email with some photos and I will be happy to include your project in an upcoming “RC Giants” column.