Worth a Closer Look
A Gift of Dreams
A young boy matures among the tide flats of Essex, Massachusetts, daring to imagine the stirring world of model airplanes. Facing ambivalence from parents and peers, an adolescent in the 1950s and 1960s learns who he is, what he loves, and that being different is not always wrong.
Robert A. Benjamin’s A Gift of Dreams is a coming-of-age autobiography of small-town life and desires that are too big to contain. Beginning with his first model at age five, Robert shares the passions of a child and how they evolve with growing up. He falls in love with the idea of model aviation and shapes his life around it. As friends around him grow out of the hobby and move on to other things, Robert holds onto his first passion, wondering if he can, in fact, build an RC model airplane.
An excerpt of the book reads: “From my reading I also knew about another kind of model that seemed almost too wonderful to be real, but Mr. Wilkins at the hobby shop assured me that there really was such a thing as radio controlled model airplanes.”
Good grades, holding multiple jobs, and being an elite ROTC member are balanced with the yearning to build an RC model. Many warn Robert that RC flight has its pitfalls, and some tell him he will never be able to do it. After finding support in unexpected places and the ability within himself, Robert works devotedly in an attempt to prove popular opinion wrong.
Benjamin’s writing reflects the passion he feels for this part of his life. He uses vivid imagery to describe the brilliance of life among waterways and marshy fields. His accounts of journeys along the river have readers feeling the breeze in the trees and the waves smacking along the shore. Contrastingly, readers experience the loss felt with each broken airplane.
A Gift of Dreams is a tender story illustrating blossoming adolescence and how some dreams never end. It is a story that will be enjoyed by many—not just model builders. The message leaves readers remembering what their dreams were as children and why, after all these years, they may have managed to disappear.
Barnes & Noble: Visit your local store or call (800) 843-2665; Website: www.barnesandnoble.com
Spektrum 9100
Support high-current flight systems straight through without the need for a separate power system. The AR9100 is intended for models using multiple servos that draw excess current or multiple high-torque servos, such as giant-scale airplanes and jets.
Key features:
- Robust power bus designed to manage high-current loads.
- Dual 16 AWG battery input leads with EC3 connectors for larger battery packs.
- Soft switch design to avoid loss of power if a switch fails.
- Main unit houses the power bus and includes three remote receivers with remote receiver extensions, allowing varied mounting locations for a wide RF view and a reliable RF link.
- Optional fourth remote receiver (SPM9545, sold separately) can be added for enhanced receiving capability.
Horizon Hobby Inc.: 4105 Fieldstone Rd., Champaign, IL 61822; Tel.: (800) 338-4639; Website: www.horizonhobby.com
AeroCat V2
Go fast without spending countless hours at the workbench or bending the checkbook. This delta-wing design takes its looks from popular turbine-powered sport models that cost thousands of dollars to own. The 6 mm Depron foam model comes preprinted in a choice of two color schemes (red or blue).
Highlights:
- CNC router-cut parts that locate servo and equipment positions for easy installation.
- Tab-notched parts to ensure a quick, accurate build.
- All hardware needed to complete the model is included.
- Depending on power choice, capable of speeds in excess of 70 mph with unlimited vertical, yet it also flies well at low to moderate speeds.
The original AeroCat was fun, and it was even better with optional rudder control. The AeroCat V2 is improved with the addition of more than 4 feet of carbon fiber and a new trim scheme (red version shown). This aircraft is much stiffer and more durable than before; the carbon-fiber leading edges virtually eliminate high-speed flex and flutter.
ModelAero.com; Tel.: (419) 966-2230; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: www.modelaero.com
Airfoilz Extra 260
Airfoilz goes full fuselage with the introduction of its Extra 260 aerobatic kit. Airfoilz designs and produces model aircraft that are fun to fly with “best in class” performance. Following the path of its Yak and Edge, the Extra 260 can fly in 15–20 mph and faster winds, and it excels in 3-D and IMAC-style flying.
Construction and features:
- Hybrid fuselage: foam skin with a light plywood crutch assembly for a lightweight, extremely rigid, no-twist design.
- Wing: folded-Depron-skin with a balsa I-beam spar.
- Kit includes laser-cut parts designed to interlock for proper alignment; the fuselage usually takes less than 1½ hours to assemble.
- Control setup: two servos for the 40-inch wing's ailerons and one servo each for elevator and rudder.
- Kit comes complete with hardware, a pull-pull rudder setup, and decals.
3DX Hobbies; 2 Lakeview Ave., Suite #307, Piscataway, NJ 08854; Tel.: (732) 406-5726; Websites: www.3dxhobbies.com, www.airfoilz.com
O.S. 200 Surpass
This is the biggest O.S. Surpass yet: a fuel-injected version of the 2.00 cu. in. Surpass power plant. Fuel injection boosts power and performance, making this an excellent choice for powering large-scale aircraft.
Benefits:
- Higher torque allows the 200 FS-FI to swing larger propellers with ease.
- Four-stroke operation provides a quieter, more realistic sound.
- Supplied with a multidirectional muffler for versatile mounting options.
Great Planes Hobby Distributors; Box 9021, Champaign, IL 61826; Tel.: (217) 398-3630; Website: www.osengines.com
Save Your Screen
RC Screen Protectors have been tested on car windshields for more than a year and to temperatures above 155°F. If, after many years, you choose to replace or remove your screen protector, it will come off as if it were applied yesterday.
The largest benefit is restoring the appearance of transmitters that already have scratches and scuffing. Users report applying a Screen Protector to a well-used transmitter and having people mistake it for new. Each screen protector is precision-engineered for your specific transmitter. Versions are available for popular models such as the Futaba 9C, Spektrum DX7, and JR 9303, with more models to follow. Every radius, buttonhole, and control wheel cutout is exactly where it should be. Pilots who use high-end radios will notice that the feel of touch screens is often improved by the application of a Screen Protector.
RC Screen Protectors; 343 Indian Hills Dr., Meridian, MS 39305; Tel.: (601) 616-4455; Website: www.rcscreenprotectors.com
In each installment of "Worth a Closer Look" we bring you new and exciting products from our industry. These write-ups are not press releases but short reviews written by the MA staff. In each instance the product or service is actually built, tested, flown, or used to give you a firsthand account of how it performs.
We have found some of these items on our own, but many have been brought to our attention by outside sources. If you have a product or service that you feel might be "worth a closer look," contact MA Editor Michael Ramsey at (765) 287-1256, ext. 223, or [email protected].
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
