New RC Giants projects
by Sal Calvagna [email protected]
Welcome back. Wow, another year has slipped by. It seems as though the older I get the faster the years pass. The holidays are right around the corner, so let me take this opportunity to wish all of my readers the very best that this holiday season has to offer. Peace on Earth, goodwill to all.
I'm going to share a few excellent RC Giant models to get those juices flowing for 2014!
Team Braun's T-28 Trojan
Team Braun, John Sr. and John Jr., of Staten Island, New York, are shown with their new Iron Bay Model Company T-28 Trojan. The model spans nearly 98 inches with a length of 79 inches.
The aircraft is powered by a Zenoah GT-80 twin-cylinder gas engine that swings a Meizlik 22 x 10 three-blade propeller. It has 12 Hitec servos, including one for the speed brake. It has Robart electric retracts, navigation lights, and a Sullivan Skywriter smoke system.
The Trojan uses dual 7.4-volt 3,000 mAh LiPo batteries: one for the main system and one for backup. It also has a third 7.4-volt 3,000 mAh LiPo battery to power the electric retracts, navigation lights, and smoke system. The airplane weighs 36 pounds dry.
As with most Iron Bay warbirds, the center section of the wing is integrated with the highly detailed, molded fiberglass fuselage. The retractable landing gear remains in the fuselage for transportation, and the outer wing panels plug in for easy field assembly.
The color scheme was used by the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in the 1950s. For postwar pilots to prepare for the jet age, the U.S. Air Force, along with the Navy and Marine Corps, needed a trainer that had a tricycle landing gear arrangement. North American designed the T-28 to replace the World War II-era T-6 Texan trainer.
It was first flown in September 1949 with an 800 hp engine and entered production in 1950. Later, the U.S. Navy ordered the B and C versions, which offered 1,425 hp powerplants for carrier training. Production ended in 1957 with approximately 1,950 aircraft produced.
In 1962 the Air Force began modifying the T-28A into the T-28D, specifically for counterinsurgency operations in Southeast Asia. What started out as a trainer became an effective and successful close-air-support weapon against ground forces.
The maiden flight of the Brauns' model was at the Mercer County Radio Control Society Field in Imlaystown, New Jersey. John Jr. reported that it flew great right off the board with only minor elevator and aileron adjustment.
For more information about the T-28 and other great Iron Bay models, please visit the company's website listed in "Sources."
RC Giants
Sal Calvagna
Tony Kirchenko's Hellcat and Corsair
Tony Kirchenko of Setauket, New York, is the owner/builder of two outstanding models: a Nick Ziroli Plans-built F6F Hellcat and a CARF-Models F4U Corsair. Tony is an accomplished builder and pilot and a past Top Gun competitor.
The Hellcat has modifications to the wing and landing gear for scale fidelity because the model was built for competition. It was painted using Klass Kote epoxy in the finish of the F6F-5K target-tow aircraft of VU-1 Utility Squadron 1 at Barber’s Point, Hawaii, in the mid- to late-1950s. All of the markings were painted using Red 5 Design stencils. Power is a Moki 150 radial swinging a 26 x 14 propeller.
Visit Nick Ziroli Plans at the website listed in “Sources” for more information about the Hellcat.
Tony’s F4U is from a CARF-Models kit. It is 1:4.5 scale, which gives it a massive 110-inch wingspan with a length of 86 inches. The Corsair is powered by a Moki 250 radial four-stroke gas engine swinging a Solo 32 x 15 three-blade propeller. The airplane was painted with Klass Kote epoxy.
This model features scale landing gear doors, an operating arresting gear hook, sliding canopy, landing lights, and hydraulically operated folding wings. The model is controlled using a 14-channel 2.4 GHz Futaba radio with a combination of Futaba and Hitec servos. The Corsair has superb flying qualities and the Moki radial sounds amazing.
For more information about the Corsair or other CARF models, visit the company’s website. To learn more about Moki radials, visit the Vogelsang Aeroscale website.
That’s all for this column; see you next year!
SOURCES:
- Iron Bay Model Company
(304) 232-7511 www.ironbaymodelcompany.com
- CARF-Models
[email protected] www.carf-models.com
- Nick Ziroli Plans
(631) 467-4765 www.ziroliplans.com
- Vogelsang Aeroscale
(919) 533-6275 www.vogelsang-aeroscale.com
- International Miniature Aircraft Association
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
