2005 Model of the Month

ARF or Pre-Built Category

Kit, Plans, or Own Design Category

Be sure to bring your model to the next meeting!

This is Phil Greasley and his very nice looking A-26 bomber.
Model Specs :

The model is the VQ Models A-26

78" Wing Span

Twin OS .32 SX with Brisson Mufflers

Weight is 10lbs even

SpringAir Retracts

I detailed the model after a Real A-26 that flies the air racing circuit.

(There was no entry in the ARF category for February)

MODEL OF THE MONTH for FEBRUARY (Kit Category): It was a pleasure to see two entries for the "Build It Yourself" (or Kit) Category at February's club meeting. Kit building is becoming a lost art throughout the hobby. However, two fine examples of kit building were displayed at the meeting and Owen Dwire's Sportster Twin won the vote. Owen says his inspiration for the model was an article and plans from RC Modeler magazine. Owen purchased the plans for the aircraft, although he said they lacked much of the detailed data required to build the model. He then modified a Sportster 40 kit by building two nacelles, reinforcing the wing center section, adding spruce spars and ply doublers, adding 6.5 inches to the wings to come up with the final 62"wingspan, and he narrowed the nose section to provide a better look to the fuselage. Owen increased the fin and rudder by 10% to give him that added control necessary in the case of an engine out situation. Owen performed his normal high quality construction of the model and finished the twin off in yellow Monocoat with red trim. The nacelles were fiberglassed and painted. Owen added his trademark scratch built graphics to the wing and fuselage and mounted a pair of OS .32 SX engines for what should be plenty of power. The aircraft weighs in at lbs., 11.8 oz and Owen says he will fly her as soon as the weather cooperates. Good luck with that beautiful twin Owen.

Model Of The Month, ARF Category for March:

Tony Gorgone surprised club members with a beautifully built 35% Carden Extra that dwarfed most of the models that are entered in this competition. At 99 inches in length and 105 inches of wingspan, we are glad Tony has a van to carry his new baby around. Although the model is actually a kit, Mr. Jim Short, a renowned builder, was contracted to build the model to Tony's specifications, thus making the model an ARF for Tony's entry into the Model of the Month Program. A Desert Aircraft 100 twin cylinder gas engine will be the power plant for this beautiful model and Tony admits he has spared no expense outfitting the aircraft with the finest radio equipment and batteries available. The IMAC legal model should weigh in at around 28-30lbs when finished and Tony says it should be flying in a couple of weeks or so. Good luck with this very nice aerobatic aircraft Tony. See you at the field.

Model Of The Month, Build It Yourself Category for March:

Brian Foveaux was proud to show off his Foamy Mini Yak 54, and it is easy to see why. Designed and constructed by Brian himself, club members are always pleased to see a labor of love. The little white foamy weighs in at 3.8 oz and cranks out a whopping 7 oz of thrust using a CD ROM 3 phase motor. If one does the math, it is clear the little model has a better that 2 to 1 thrust to weight ratio which should allow to accelerate going strait up. We also know this to be true because Brian succeeded in demonstrating the concept by planting the aircraft firmly in the ceiling of the meeting room. No harm done however and we are sure Brian will have many hours of low cost fun with this great model. Congratulations Brian.

April Model Of The Month: Own Design

Every now and then, a modeler in our club steps up to the plate and completes a "mind boggling" project that will have all of the club members talking for months. Larry Botsford's scratch built 1/6th scale Chance Vought V-173 Flying Pancake is just such a project. All were amazed when Larry carried his bright yellow electric recreation of this very intriguing 1950s Navy concept fighter into the club meeting room. Larry spent a good amount of time collecting the documentation for the aircraft and even dragged his poor wife to Texas where the real aircraft is undergoing a complete restoration. Larry and his spouse spent hours measuring the aircraft and he even came home with some samples of the actual fabric so he could match the paint exactly. Larry began by producing plans scaled up from three view drawings. He apparently settled on the 1/6th scale because he measured his vehicle and that is the largest size that he could transport. Larry not only took on a difficult subject to model, he decided to power the aircraft with large electric motors, a power source technique he had never dealt with before. So he had to learn about electric flying, Litho battery packs, speed controllers, and electric motors at the same time he constructed the model of that rare subject. Two AXI 4120/18 motors were incorporated for power, and Larry fiberglassed the sheeted portions of the model with 6/10oz cloth and doped the fabric covered surfaces. He vacuum-formed the very complicated canopy and underside windscreen areas. The model has flown twice. Larry tells us that the first flight was surprisingly smooth and stable. However, he admits that the second flight took place after he added about a pound of paint and scale detail and the aircraft was indeed a handful on that flight. If you are waiting to see it fly, you may be disappointed because Larry says he has no plans at this time to fly it again. Larry has set the bar on scale and realism very high with his "Pancake". Congratulations Larry on a spectacular creation.

(See more photos in the gallery)

There was no entry in the
Kit, Plans, or Own Design Category
for MAY

Model Of the Month, ARF Category, May 2005

Our May winner for Model of the Month was none other than
Mr. Owen Dwire with his new Goldberg Ultimate Bipe ARF. Owen seems to be a regular winner and always produces very nice aircraft. His Dark blue Bipe was no exception. Sporting a Saito 100 for power and some of Owen's trademark additional graphics, the model was beautiful. Owen says he ran into a few glitches with the Goldberg kit in that some of the light ply used throughout the model seemed to be delaminating and the ailerons turned out longer than the wings. He quickly worked through these issues however and added some final touches such as painting the canopy bows, wing supports, and landing gear legs to match the blue of the airframe. Owen moved the battery pack around which resulted in no additional weight required for balance and the finished model weighs in at just under 7 lbs The big Saito four stroke has no trouble pulling the airplane through the air. Biplanes are normally one of the harder aircraft to fly but Owen says the Ultimate Bipe is an exception. I have personally seen the model in that air and would have to agree. It flies as though it were on rails. Congratulations Owen on another fine model.

Model of the Month, ARF Category, June

Gerry Winkler brought his latest project to the club meeting and joined the winners circle in the Model of the Month ARF category. The model is a .60-size Ace Cloud Dancer and it is one of those sleek looking newer ARFs that appears as though it is doing 85 miles an hour sitting on the ground. The Cloud Dancer has a 72 inch wing Span, is 57 inches long, and weighs in at about 6.5 lbs. Jerry installed a O.S. 61 FX for power which should make that aircraft move out smartly. Jerry says the model went together nicely as per the instructions but warns that the instructions make an assumption that the builder has done this before. Jerry said that other than the cowl being too thin and having to design some under wing graphics so that he will be able to distinguish top from bottom when airborne, the model was as advertised. Congratulations Jerry and good luck with that Cloud Dancer.

Model of the Month, Build It Yourself category, June

Federico Jones put a new spin on the program this month when he brought a model to the meeting that he had originally built in 1986 and recently rehabbed and recovered. The aircraft was a Classic Ryan Navion that Federico had seen highlighted in a 1982 volume of Remote Control Modeler magazine. After ordering the plans, Federico built the model and covered it in civilian colors (white, yellow, and red). The model began to show some wear and tear after 19 years of flying so Federico stripped it down, reworked/updated the airframe, and recovered the Navion in Air Force livery. The Air Force apparently used the Navion years ago as a shuttle. The Navion has a 67.5 inch wingspan, 660sq in of wing area, is 54.5 inches long, and uses an O.S. 61FX for power. Fred is rather proud of his overhaul of the Navion and we can see why. The aircraft now weighs 4.5lbs less than it used to and it is ready for another 19 years of service. Good luck with your Navion Fred.

There was NO model of the month for July. Did you know the winner/s get a free
mouse pad of you holding your model?
"You have to enter one to win".

Model of the Month for September:

Al Riopel displayed a relatively simple, yet innovative model to club members at the September meeting. Al’s electric powered Gyrocopter was a great example of a project that does not consume extravagant amounts of money or building time to produce. Yet Al has a very nice model that flies well. Al used plans for the Gyrocopter he obtained from RC Universe which calls for the use of dowel sticks and balsa to be lashed and glued together to create the majority of the structure. Forward motion is dependant upon an E-Flight Out Runner electric motor while lift is created with the help of a free wheeling rotor blade. The Gyrocopter is designed with a main mast that supports the rotor and the CG falls just slightly forward of this structure. Al purchased a rotor head assembly which is actuated by two Blue Bird 371 (9 gram) servos glued directly to the main mast. A third servo is dedicated to the rudder with a pull-pull system. Electric power stems from a 1300 mAh Lithium Polymer battery. Al says the model needs some 100 amps to fly and this battery setup works well. The Gyrocopter is not painted and weighs in at an incredible 15 oz. Al says that take off runs are short with the main rotor spinning up to speed in the first 30 ft and the craft lifting off in another 30 ft. Al told members he opened the plans and built the main structure of the Gyrocopter in two hours. This model is a testament to what can be accomplished in this hobby on a slim budget and a burdensome time schedule. Thanks Al for sharing your project with the club and good luck on every mission it flies.

Built from Plans Category

ARF Division

October Model of the Month

It is really hard to knock what is going on in the world of “Almost Ready to Fly (ARF)” RC aircraft today. A case in point is Joe Lupton’s Giant Scale Planes P-40 Warhawk. There are few aircraft that carry the true lines of an early American fighter plane like the P-40 and Joe’s ARF does a fine job of replicating those lines. Joe explained to club members that he purchased the model on e-bay through a Dutch auction for $250. A good deal for such a nice project. Joe had much praise for the light but well built fiberglass fuselage. As a precaution, he added some carbon fiber to areas where he thought the glass was a bit thin. Joe modeled the P-40 after the full sized bird campaigned by the Fighter Factory down in Suffolk , VA. Joe said the ARF came with Decals already placed on the airframe and after much effort to remove them, he decided to just paint over them, a strategy that produced realistic results. Joe mounted a YS 120 for power, Century Jet retract gear, and new Nationalist Chinese markings over Imron paint and says that the model weighs in at approximately 13 and a half pounds. Not bad for a rather large airplane. All Joe is waiting on is some good weather so he can launch his new fighter and just about all of the club members present told him they want a heads-up when the day comes so we can be there to see this beauty fly. Thanks Joe for letting us in on this wonderful project and good luck with flight operations.

The Model of the Year for both of the above categories will be selected by popular vote at the
December Christmas Dinner Meeting. The winner in each category will receive a $25.00 gift
certificate from Stream Hobby Shop.