Nostalgia and Frank Kaylor’s Cessna T-50 Bobcat
by Stan Alexander [email protected]
During this time of the year some of us may begin thinking about our childhoods, the toys we had, and the television shows we watched that had airplanes in them. Do you remember the Steve Canyon show?
One of my favorite shows that I watched as a child was a western-themed show called Sky King. I loved watching Sky King fly in his Cessna T-50 Bobcat (later a Cessna 310B twin) to save the day. The airplane, no matter what it was, was called the Songbird.
Frank Kaylor and I have been writing to each other for a couple of years now, and he was able to take a short flight in a Cessna T-50 Songbird owned by Ed Newberg, of Mesa, Arizona. I photographed it on a trip there in 2011.
Frank began building his own Scale Songbird with documentation help from Michael McMurtrey. Other airframe collaborators included Bob Green and Mike Irwin, who helped with paint, and Rich Shearer, who assisted with the dummy radials.
The model was built from Don Smith Plans and a short kit by Precision Cut Kits. It is powered by two G-26 engines with an RC Extreme Power ignition. The landing gear is modified Robart units converted to electric by Down & Locked. Frank covered the Songbird with Solartex and painted it with Nelson Hobby paint.
Frank said the model flies great, but I told him that for an airplane with a 100-inch wingspan, he should keep the speed up in the turns and not fly too low and slow on final. My advice worked for this beautiful twin-engine aircraft. Great job, Frank!
NASA on Flickr
Flickr is a photo-sharing site for individuals or organizations. If you want to see some of the best Scale models on the planet, check out the National Association of Scale Aeromodellers (NASA) Flickr pages, accessible through the SIG’s website. The site has thousands of photos, and if you are a NASA member, you can add yours to the site.
Many of the photos have been in MA and include international, local, and national events such as the AMA Scale Nats, Top Gun Invitational, FAI World Championships, the Mint Julep
Tennessee Museum of Aviation
The Tennessee Museum of Aviation is located in Sevierville, Tennessee, at the Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Airport. The museum is located where tourists can shop and hike in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The museum is clean, has great historical displays, uniforms, and armament, as well as two of the nicest P-47 Thunderbolts I've seen in a while: Hun Hunter XVI and Puddy Tat. While I was visiting the museum early this summer, the P-47s were rolled out, as well as a Douglas A-1H Skyraider and several other aircraft. I couldn't pass up this photo opportunity.
I have included a picture of Hun Hunter XVI. If you build the Hangar 9 P-47 it could be used for Fun Scale documentation.
There are several aircraft inside the museum. When I visited there was a T-34B that had been in the service of the North Carolina Department of Forestry, two MiG-17s, and a P-51 hanging from the rafters. The aircraft displays and exhibits are frequently rotated, but there is always plenty to look at. There is a gift shop near the museum’s exit.
Dates to Remember
The 2014 Top Gun invitational meet will be held April 30 through May 4 at the same site as the 2013 event: Paradise Field in Lakeland, Florida. For more information, go to the Top Gun website (see “Sources”). This year’s event was fun and there was nice weather throughout.
AMA Scale Nats The AMA RC Scale Nats will be held July 11-13, 2014. This is the same weekend as an Ironman qualifying event that filled most of the motel rooms in Muncie, Indiana, in 2013. Make your reservations early! Check with AMA to find out which motels offer discounts for AMA members attending the Nats.
Happy holidays! I hope you get the new Scale kit, engine, or radio that you want!
SOURCES:
Tennessee Museum of Aviation (866) 286-8738 www.tnairmuseum.org
Down & Locked LLC www.downandlocked.com
Precision Cut Kits (609) 538-1388 www.precisioncutkits.com
Nelson Hobby (503) 806-3785 www.nelsonhobby.com
RC Extreme Power (678) 372-7697 www.rcextremepower.net
Top Gun www.franktiano.com/TopGunFrameset.htm
AMA Nats www.modelaircraft.org/events/nats.aspx
NASA www.nasascale.org
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
