Radio Control: Giants
ONLY 10 OF THEM were built by the factory, but counting every replica from Peanut to Giant Scale, thousands have been reproduced. If you figure in the long wing versions, thousands more have been built by modelers around the world. I'm talking about the sleek high-winged Monocoupe in its clipped wing form and the rest of the breed. Of the many Monocoupes manufactured, the Model 90 and 90A were the definitive versions. The aircraft have always fascinated me, and my first published Radio Control (RC) design was the Model 113 Velie-powered prototype. Its appearance in Radio Control Modeler in 1978 generated a friendship that has endured.
Radio Control: Giants
IT WAS MY good fortune to meet Dave Reid in the '80s at one of the STAR (Southern Tier Aero Radio Society) fly-ins at Olean, New York. Dave was getting started in the Radio Control (RC) business, and was featuring his great rubberlike 1/4-scale pilot figures. They were (and still are) realistic and included a host of realistic accessories, such as caps and sunglasses. Dave and I have kept in touch through the years, and I purchased a precut kit of Don Neill's Folkerts SK-4 from him. I had a set of plans and the fiberglass components for the Thompson Trophy winner, and Dave provided the balsa parts.
Radio Control: Giants
They're all over the place - and with good reason. Almost every Giant Scale flightline has one, and maybe more; they're readily identifiable, since most of them are monoplanes with fixed landing gear; the paint jobs are stunning, and many of them carry miniaturized versions of sponsor decals. I'm talking about the proliferation of present-day aerobatic airplane Scale models. They may be Zlins, or CAPs, or Ravens, or any of a vast array of available designs. Bubble canopies and flat engines mark the breed, and models duplicate these common features. The better Giant Scale Radio Control (RC) fliers have taken the aerobatic models to heart, and usually (with smoke trails added) put on show of rolls, loops, and other maneuvers that would do a professional acrobatic pilot proud.
Radio Control: Giants
THOSE OF YOU who have followed my column throughout the years may remember that I'm not all that thrilled with computer Radio Control (RC) radios. Although there are a couple of computer transmitters in the local "inventory," they're only set up for single-model applications. Part of my aversion results from the confusing instruction manuals that come with the transmitters. Some instructions are the product of foreign manufacturers, and the translations leave much to be desired. Setting up an RC computer transmitter for three or more models may also become frustrating.
Radio Control: Giants
WITH ALL of the common and technological distractions, it's amazing that people have time to build and fly Radio Control Giant models. If it isn't the television, it's the computer monitor; if it isn't a fax, it's a collection of E-mail from the Internet. Somewhere in there, a person has to go to work, eat, sleep, and find the hours to glue stick "A" to longeron "B." Although it might not mean much, I'd like to send "attaboys" to all of the readers who have bolted together a Giant. If you can find a couple of extra minutes, why not shoot some great photographs of your pride and joy? I can use them in this column!
