Newport News Park
Radio Control Club

 2006

Model of the Month Contest

       

The basic rules of the Model of the Month Contest are very simple.
The model has to be built or assembled by the club member.
 There are two categories:
1,  ARF and 2,  Built Up.
 Built up includes kit built, plans built, or your own design.
You must bring a model to the meeting to win. Monthly winners
 may receive a mouse pad of them holding their model,
 and they will be entered in the Model of the Year contest at
the Annual Christmas Dinner. The award is a $25.00 gift certificate
 at Stream Hobbies for each category.

January

ARF Category

Built Up Category

No model entered in January

No model entered in January

February

ARF Category

Built Up Category

Build it yourself category ââââ

    Red Covington shared a model with club members that he has had in his inventory for some years.  Red even commented that his reasoning for bringing the model in now was really to show off the power plant that he had mounted on the airframe.  The model was a classic high wing built from a set of plans produced by Ben Sheristow in 1938.  Red bought the plans when he saw them in a Model Aviation Magazine in 1978.  The aircraft is an antique free flight design that called for a .29 size engine.  Red built the aircraft some years ago and has flown it using a .40 size engine.  However, Red recently switched the engine out by installing a Forster .31 rear rotor intake engine he purchased brand new in 1951.  The engine had no throttle so Red had to rig up a engine shut off that basically uses a servo to pull the fuel line free of the engine fuel nipple.  Red says the aircraft flies well with the setup.  The aircraft looks good in its yellow Monocoat covering with black trim. There is something to be said for the graceful old designs of the past.  Thanks for sharing yours with the club Red.

 

 

March

ARF Category

Built Up Category

Almost Ready to Fly Category (ARF)
Tom Weidner showed off his electric Telemaster from Hobby Lobby during the March meeting.  Those of us who have been around this hobby for a while know that Telemasters seem to come in all sizes from small to very large.  However, this was the first electric version this modeler had seen and it was a very nicely done model.  Tom powers the Telemaster with a AXI Brushless Outrunner Motor and Lithium Poly 4400mAh batteries. Tom said the instruction booklet was easy to follow and comprehensive and putting the aircraft together was fairly easy.  Tom is awaiting some better weather to test fly the Telemaster but if this one flies anything like it ancestors, Tom won't have any problems.

  Good luck with that airplane Tom.

 
Build it Yourself Category
Dave Fratello showed up at the March club meeting with a very interesting model.  It was a kit of the aircraft the Wright Brothers demonstrated for the US Army,  the 1909 Wright Flyer.  The aircraft is built up of balsa, covered with Solartex, and is powered by two electric motors.  The aircraft sports a wingspan of approximately 35in and weighs in at an unbelievable 15oz..  Dave briefed that he currently has three flights on the aircraft and that once airborne, it actually flies very well.  Dave told club members that the company that kits the airplane, Herr Engineering, is coming out with brushless motors that will be a one-for-one replacement of the small motors currently on the airplane, and will provide 50% more power.  Dave said the airplane is deceiving in that the Center of Gravity is in front of the leading edge of the wings so weight had to be moved forward as far as possible to balance it out.  Thanks Dave for sharing your project with us and good luck with future flights.

April

ARF Category

Built Up Category

Model of the Month ARF Category
Jerry Winkler entered April's ARF category with an airplane he has owned before but finally met its demise.  Jerry liked Seagull Model's rendition of the Porter PC-9M so much that he just had to have another.  Finished in its red and white Canadian livery, Jerry even found pictures of the real aircraft Seagull modeled on the internet, just in time to enter the model in the Sports Scale competition in the club's upcoming scale contest in July.  Jerry briefed club members that the wingspan on the model was around 60.5 inches and the weight came in at 6 pounds.  Jerry installed the new O.S. 46AX engine and it swings a scale looking four blade prop.  Jerry switched out the supplied nose gear with a more scale and functional one from Sullivan Products.  Capping the bird off with a scale looking aluminum spinner, Jerry has a fine looking scale model of the PC-9.  Good luck with this one Jerry.
Model of the Month Build It Yourself Category
You could hear everyone in the room sigh when Owen Dwire came into the meeting with his new Midwest Mach1, painted in yellow and trimmed in teal.  This model actually looks as though it is going two hundred miles an hour sitting on the table.  Owen briefed members that it is almost impossible to find one of the Mach1 kits anymore and as luck would have it, a fellow club member purchased one off of the internet.  After copying the plans and making templates of the various parts and pieces, Owen ordered foam wing and stab blanks and cut the wood parts himself to build the model.  The target weight for the entire model was 6.5 pounds and the model actually weighed in at 6 Lbs, 11 oz.  Not too bad.  At that weight and powered by an O.S. 61FSR, the model should be fast and agile.  Midwest had good luck campaigning this model in the seventies with some NATs wins and Owen intends to fly his in the upcoming Senior Pattern Association competition.  Good luck Owen with an absolutely beautiful model.

MAY

ARF Category

Built Up Category

 
Model of the Month, Almost Ready to Fly (ARF) Category:
Club President Joe Lupton brought his latest project in for Club members to see.  It was an ARF kit of the BAE Hawk, painted up in Red Arrow Demonstration Team livery.  Joe said the ducted fan model was originally produced by Jet Hanger Hobbies but was later copied by any number of Chinese model companies and sold on e-bay which is where Joe purchased his. Joes Hawk is powered by a OS.77 ducted fan engine which should provide plenty of power and it has retract gear which is a compellation of Spring Air and Top Gun Hobbies mechanisms and struts.  Flaps and a fuel mixture control rounds out the operations on the jet and Joe says he does not know exact weight other than the fact he knows it weighs more than 10 lbs.  Joe had to design his own engine cover as one did not come with the kit.  He also had to switch out the supplied tailpipe due to the fact it weighed 6oz by itself which was way too much.  Joe warned members that this was not a beginners ARF due to it having almost no instructions and questionable fit for some parts.  Joe also says the red paint job on the model is so hard that if it flexes at all, it tends to crack.  Although Joe was less than impressed with the kit itself, he did his usual exemplarily job of putting the model together and it should look awesome in the air.  Thanks for bringing in your Hawk Joe.  


 

Model of the Month, Build It Yourself (BIY) Category:
Dave Fratello proved to Club members that he was more than just a casual electric aircraft pilot.  Dave brought in his scratch built RC Electric Propulsion Aircraft he himself designed in a CAD program and a beautiful aircraft it was.  Dave sent his design to a kit cutter who sent him back the intricate pieces with all of the appropriate lightening holes.  Dave designed the aircraft with one mission in mind….to capture 5 Electric Model World Records and bring them back to the United States from where they now reside in Europe.  Dave used to be a piston engine modeler but as he got involved in UAV programs at work, his research showed him that the Electric Model US and World Records were not as extraordinary as one would think.  He told members that he believes that this is largely due to a history of poor electric equipment and performance.  That is all changed now and Dave says the records are there for the taking and he intends to do just that with his 110" wingspan beauty.  The uninformed may look at Dave's airplane and describe it as a powered glider because that is what it looks like.  But the aircraft is designed to be hand launched, and the high power brushless motor is scheduled to provide power throughout the entire flight for each of the World Record attempts.  Dave will attempt to capture altitude and distance records in the "Battery (Rechargeable)" and "Any Combination" world record categories.  Later, he will attempt to capture the Solar Power world record but he must use a lighter aircraft for that.  Speaking of weight, Dave's aircraft weighs in at 50oz empty and right at 11lbs when the two 15V, 20 AMP/hr Lithium, Manganese Dioxide batteries are installed.  Each of those batteries weighs 2.5lbs and the aircraft was actually designed around those batteries.  The aircraft sports a V-tail to save weight and no landing gear because the rules do not specify that landing gear is a requirement.  The aircraft has a GPS system installed and will constantly transmit data to the ground on its altitude and airspeed.  Dave intends to fly the aircraft with the help of a downward looking camera when he shoots for altitude records in excess of 12000 ft.  Dave has a couple of trim flights to perform prior to any record attempts but has asked Club members to volunteer their time to assist during the actual record attempts.  Sign me up Dave!  Congratulations on a beautiful model and good luck on a worthwhile endeavor.

JUNE

ARF Category

Built Up Category

No model entered in June

No model entered in June

July

ARF Category

Built Up Category

 

There were no entries in the Built-up Category for July.

 

 

Patrick Bell is the winner for July in the ARF Category with his nice looking P-51 PTS Trainer from Hanger-9. That's right, a trainer! The kit comes complete with an EVO .47 sized engine and is really almost ready to fly. 

From the looks of Patrick's flying before the meeting, he was almost ready to solo. Then you can take off the training wheels!  That would be the clear plastic NACA droops on the leading edges near the tips. These are very effective in reducing the stall speed and in preventing tip stalls. A very nice model, Patrick!

 

 

August

Model Of the Month for August-ARF Category
Jerry Winkler won the ARF category this month with his new Lancair 360 by China Model Products and distributed by Nitro Models.  What a good looking aircraft.  The fiberglass fuselage was flawless, and the wings sported a set of winglets that really set this model off.  Jerry installed an OS .46 FX that should give him very reliable performance for a long time to come.  The model incorporates 6 servos and only costs about $112.00 which is a steal for an aircraft as nice as the Lancair 360.  Good luck with your new airplane Jerry, and thanks for sharing it with club members.
 

 
 
Model Of the Month for August-Build it Yourself Category
Phil Greasley entered his Top Flite Giant Scale P-47 Thunderbolt in this month's kit category.  The airplane was finished in the "Razorback" configuration and painted to match a P-47 called "Pied Piper" that saw action in Pacific Theater during the Second World War.  This was Phil's first attempt at painting an aircraft with Latex house paint and the finish turned out well.  Phil mounted a Zenoah G-62 for power and installed Robart retracts for both the mains and tail wheel.  Phil purchased aftermarket accessories such as a display prop and wing hardpoints.  Although he hasn't weighed the model in its finished form, Phil suspects the P-47 will probably tilt the scales around 24 lbs. 
 

 

 

September

ARF Category

Built Up Category

There was no entry for this month

There was no entry for this month.....

 

October

ARF Category

Built Up Category

There was no entry in the built -up category for October.

 <===<< October winner in the ARF Category was Phil Greasley with  his model of the Soviet Mig 21 Fishbed.  It was a V-Mar ARF.  Radio gear is in the rear to provide proper balance on the delta wing configuration.  Phil used an OS .91 FX for power.  It has servos for each elevator, and is equipped with flaps and retracts.  He used SpringAir retracts- air driven to retract, spring driven to lower.  The pre- assembly is remarkable with painted pilot and canopy pre- installed, push rods in place, & control services hinged and glued.  It has several long hatches to allow access to the interior for assembly.  It is all balsa, covered with a thick covering material.  He estimates it at 8- 10 lbs. Phil will use a Futaba radio, with some Hi Tech servos.  The model is sold by Richmond RC.  
On sale, Phil paid $279.  

Great looking model , Phil!

November

ARF Category

Built Up Category

No entry for November

No entry for November

Just a reminder that the Model of the Year in each category will be selected by ballot at the 
Christmas Dinner from the monthly winners. 
 The winners of each category will have all of his membership fees for 2007 paid in full.