RADIO CONTROL JETS
Jim Hiller, 6090 Downs Rd., Champion OH 44481
AMA CONTINUES to listen and respond to us as our turbine experience grows. The latest example of this is the maximum thrust rule as it relates to multiengine, turbine-powered aircraft. The previous rule restricted us to a maximum of 35 pounds of total combined thrust. This was a problem for modelers flying multiengine turbine aircraft. It has been changed to allow multiengine, turbine-powered aircraft with a maximum of 35 pounds of thrust per turbine.
For a typical twin-turbine model such as a Rafale, the takeoff weight approaches 50 pounds. If it loses a turbine on takeoff, suddenly you are faced with only 17 pounds of thrust, 50 pounds of aircraft, and a low-aspect-ratio wing. This does not make for long aircraft life. Total thrust to weight is still limited to .9 to 1 unless a speedcontroller is used, just as on a single-turbine aircraft.
I applaud the AMA Safety Committee for allowing the larger combined thrust in the interest of improving our single-engine recovery chances.
The second bit of news is another chapter in the RAM turbine situation. RAM is no longer selling or servicing turbines. An agreement has been reached with Carlos Villarreal to service the RAM turbines. Repair Technology International (RTI) is the company Carlos has set up. He has picked up the remaining turbines that were sent for repair from the RAM shop and is working with the owners of these turbines to service them.
I spoke with Carlos, and he is committed to establishing a quality shop with proper equipment to service the existing RAM turbines. Carlos has contacted many parts suppliers for RAM to establish his spareparts supply lines. He intends to stick around for a long time. This is no small task, but Carlos Villarreal does know the RAM turbines; he worked for RAM for many years.
We can look for RTI's presence at some of the major jet meets because Carlos recognizes the need to support his customers, get to know them, and provide the personal service they desire. Carlos Villarreal's business telephone is (786) 303-3243, and his E-mail address is [email protected].
I wish Carlos well in this business endeavor. To Albert and Rei, good luck in your future endeavors and come join us at the flying field.
I had the opportunity to visit Tad Krzanowski at Golden West Models in Los Angeles again in July. Tad took me flying and allowed me to make many flights on his Giant Scale Cessna A-37 Dragonfly. This model has more than 18 square feet of wing and weighs less than 45 pounds empty.
We flew from a runway of only 450 feet in length, but it really didn't feel short with this large model. The airplane sets up well on landing approach, and the flare for landing is predictable, making precision landings easy. I truly enjoyed flying this big, smooth aircraft.
A second Dragonfly, owned by Sung Su Kim, was flying, and he graciously offered me an opportunity to fly the aircraft. You don't have to ask me twice.
What a treat! Flying large-scale turbine models all weekend made the trip an enjoyable experience. Sung's model had all the bomb pylons, so it is a bit heavier, but it flies just as well. Slow rolls, point rolls, and all aerobatic maneuvers are a pleasure with this craft.
What Golden West Models I got to see the company's new sport model: the Blade. This is a delta-wing-type aircraft with a fully enclosed turbine. Construction is fully composite with a white finish. The prototype looked good and should make a quick-build sport jet. The first deliveries of fiberglass components for the kits were already in the shop, and the process of preparing the kits was underway.
Another new product from Golden West Models is a heavy-duty retract unit made for the flying model. It brought a set back for my own use, complete with gear struts, wheels, and brakes. These look like a solid product for the jet modeler, as many old ducted-fan retracts are proving inadequate to handle the heavy weights of a fully fueled turbine model.
I have no pictures of these products at this time, but check out the Golden West Website at www.goldenwestmodels.net for additional information.
Let's move on to flying! Michigan Jets was held in July, and again the Michigan gang put together a first-class jet meet. The event chairman was Burt Eisenberg, and the Contest Director was Art Czukowski of Art's Hobby. And yes, this is a Jet Pilot's Organization (JPO) event.
The crew ran a very good meet on an awesome site & smooth concrete runway. We replaced the old runway at the Grasse Ile airport. There are no more bumps—just a long, wide expanse of runway to get lost on. There are no entry fees, but donations to the Leukemia foundation are accepted.
We went up there in force and had two great days of flying at an excellent facility.
Again this year, all proceeds go to the Naval Air Station Grasse Ile Foundation and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The Naval Air Station Grasse Ile Foundation is building a museum in honor of those who served at the station. Funds raised from this annual jet event have already begun to show their presence with the planting of trees leading to the memorial.
Again, one of the local kids fighting leukemia was on hand to join the festivities. John Stokes used Larry DePas's airplane to set him up on a buddy box to fly a Maverick. The next day Adam came back to fly again—and did he! The crew set Adam up with Paul McCaulley and Jeff Foley. They got him on a buddy box with a turbine-powered Bandit! Was he in heaven!
Paul even made one of those barn-burner passes, and they told Adam he was going 250 mph. Adam was shaking just like he was on his first turbine model. He got his 200 mph certificate and a huge smile.
It feels good to participate in an event that brings this much joy to the kids. We had John, Larry, Paul, Jeff, and Burt.
The man who took home the awards from the event also drove the greatest distance. Johnny Herro rode out in almost as many flights with his RAM-powered Avanti. William Jackson did with his F-86. Johnny's F-15 is a beautiful model, and he flies it extremely well. He had no problems all weekend. The smoke system is choice—tons of smoke the entire time. Johnny took Top Gun, Best Military, and Pilot's Choice, but no award was given for the smoke. Lewis Patton continued to gather awards with his CAI Predator—this time for Best Sport Performance.
Best Finish went to Jon Stow with a beautiful new BoCat. This meet brought out some new turbine modelers such as Jon. He started with a BVM P-80 product model before stepping up to his first jet, which is a brand-new running BoCat. He flies it well.
Another new turbine modeler at this Michigan Jets was Scott Greene of Emmett, Michigan. He brought out his first jet, a wonderfully finished BVM Balsa Bandit. You would never know Scott has only a few months of turbine experience when you watch him handle this high-speed aircraft.
RC Jets
His actions are professional, on and off the flightline. Scott's prior experience came in the form of Jet Hanger Hobbies and Byron ducted-fan models. Welcome to the world of jets.
I have some advice for those who let their jets sit during the winter: watch out for algae growth in the fuel system.
I had an encounter with algae clogging the fuel filter on the third flight out of winter storage. It started as a partial loss of power, finally resulting in a turbine shutdown on the way back to the field (Did you know you can suck the leaves off the trees and not even scratch the paint on a composite airframe?) I love the good old DF-15; nothing slows them down! We simply cleaned the algae out of the fuel filter, flushed the system, and went back to flying.
This is not a new issue, but it caught me by surprise. I don't know where the algae was growing—possibly in the fuel tanks themselves. That algae growth is for real, and this bothers some of us, so watch out for it.
The weekend is coming and the jet meets are in full swing. Time to make some holes in the sky. JH
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
