Focal Point
"To Infinity and Beyond!™"
Piloted by a spunky Buzz Lightyear (of Toy Story 2 fame), this Goldberg Tiger 2 is Bob Vixie's (3445 Possum Ct., Colorado Springs, CO 80918) second radio-control model.
The Tiger is covered with MonoKote® and is powered by an O.S. 46 FX.
"Flying at 7,000 feet in the shadow of Pikes Peak, Buzz's hot pink-and-blue craft is easy to spot," wrote Bob, who is a member of the Pikes Peak RC Club.
Acrostar
Eddie Fulmer (4409 Oak Meadow Dr., Northport, AL 35473; E-mail: efulmer@aol.com) finally got the Airtronics Acrostar he built more than 18 years ago out of storage.
He covered the wings with MonoKote® and the fuselage with fiberglass and LustreKote™ paint. According to Eddie, the model was ready for its first flight after several rolls of MonoKote®.
Power is by a SuperTigre 90 and the radio is Futaba. The rudder, elevator, and ailerons were enlarged.
Showing off the Acrostar is Eddie's daughter Emily.
Ultra Pup and Mini Pup
It took Kirby Crawford (1967 Country Air Dr., Rice Lake, WI 54868) a month to draw the plans, and three months to scratch-build his 1/4-scale Ultra Pup from spruce and balsa.
The model weighs 12 pounds and is powered by an O.S. 120 twin engine. The landing gear is welded chrome-moly tubing, and the bungees are fully functional. The stabilizer is ground-adjustable with a jack screw.
The Pup is covered with Sig Koverall with two coats of latex brushed on, then sprayed with two coats of DuPont Dulux® automotive enamel—the same as the full-scale aircraft.
"I built the full-scale Preceptor Ultra Pup three years ago and have logged 450 hours in it," wrote Kirby. "The model flies much like the full-scale except I don't do aerobatics in the full-scale."
1932 Chet Loose Racer
Chuck Snyder (10759 Moss Hill Ln., Cincinnati, OH 45249; E-mail: snyderbj.cr@gateway.net) sent this photo of Jim Moore's 36-inch-span replica of the Golden Age racing airplane.
This original design was built from balsa and plywood and is powered by a .40 engine.
According to Chuck, Jim formed the model's cowl over a foam plug by coating the plug with Elmer's® white glue, then fiberglassing it with polyester resin.
"Jim is from the old school that covers with silkspan and silk," wrote Chuck.
Jim is president of the Queen City U-Control club. His address is RR 1 Box 86, Butler, KY 41006.
F-4 Phantom
Domenick Grillo (18 Ellsworth Ave., Staten Island, NY 10312) scratch-built his jet from Nick Ziroli plans.
An O.S. .46 DF engine and a Kress Jets RK 740 fan unit provide the power for this 5½-pound model. Domenick covered it with MonoKote®.
"I am a big NASCAR® fan and my favorite driver is Dale Earnhardt, as I am sure is obvious from my photos," wrote Domenick. "I do not plan on entering into any Scale competition, so I finished the airplane in Dale Earnhardt's #3 stock car color scheme."
Somethin' Extra
According to Nik Rende (RR 10 Box 959, Augusta, ME 04330), his Sig model flies "better than I could have hoped!"
It is powered by a K&B .48 engine and has a three-blade Graupner 10 x 6 propeller.
The model's color scheme is courtesy of Nik's wife, who picked the colors from half-used rolls of covering he had laying around, including MonoKote®, UltraCote®, and Sig covering that someone gave him.
Bücker Bü 133 Jungmeister
"Mr. Beverly Howard was a friend of mine when he and I lived in Charleston, SC," wrote W.G. Dickerson (100 Beaver Creek Ln., Sharpsburg, GA 30277). "He owned and flew the full-scale aircraft of this model."
W.G. scratch-built his model from Dave Platt plans and covered it with 21st Century® Fabric. The model has a Saito 120 engine and a JR radio. The model's trim is like that on Beverly's aircraft.
"It flies great," wrote W.G. "Very steady on landing. It brings back old memories of when I used to see Mr. Howard fly his aircraft."
According to W.G., Beverly was killed in his aircraft in an air show, and the airplane is or will be displayed at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
Stearman N2S-3 and Plumcat
Both of Dix Garner's (57 Whitefeather, Flagler Beach, FL 32136; E-mail: PLUMCAT@juno.com) models were built from Don Godfrey plans, which Dix obtained from Reid's Quality Model Products.
Both models weigh 27 pounds, are powered by O.S. 52 engines, and use Futaba PCM radios.
Dix uses JMH Aero Engineering's Flight Pack Failure Protector in both models, and SR 2000 mAh battery packs for primary power.
According to Dix, building time for the two biplanes was 482 hours during a span of 200 days.
"They transport well with a minimum of load time in my Lincoln Town Car, with wings in the back seat," wrote Dix.
He flies with Flagler County Radio Aero Modelers.
P-47 Thunderbolt
This is Jim Levell's (27421 Harlan Ln., Highland, CA 92346) Mad Dog K-9 Special Top R-47D Razorback.
Power is provided by a SuperTigre G-75, and Jim uses a Hitec Prism seven-channel radio with eight servos.
The airplane was covered with .58-ounce fiberglass cloth and epoxy. The paint is Krylon® Sun Yellow, True Blue, Black, and Red, with 21st Century® Gloss Clear.
Weight is 10¾ pounds, and the model features mechanical retracts.
Whirlwind and Tempest
John G. Giles (3240 NW 14th, Oklahoma City, OK 73107; E-mail: lgiles@ionet.net) scratch-built a 1938 Westland Whirlwind (left) that weighs 10 pounds and has a 76-inch wingspan.
Power is provided by .40 engines with 11 x 6 propellers. This is John's second Whirlwind.
"With gears retracted, it is a pure joy to hear and fly," wrote John.
The 6¾-pound Hawker Tempest is from a Heritage kit and is powered by a .51 engine with an 11 x 6 propeller. The wingspan is 54.4 inches, with retracts.
John used MonoKote® for the cream and blue, and the brown is LustreKote™ paint. The MonoKote®, paint, and decals were coated with Flat Clear LustreKote™.
TBM-3E Avenger
This is Errol B. Winson's (2030 Cutter Dr., League City, TX 77573) scratch-built 1/3-scale model.
It spans 124 inches and has a Quadra 200 for power. Features include functional folding wings, flaps, wing slats, sliding canopy, functional turret, functional tail hook, bomb bay, and torpedo or four-bomb drops.
"This airplane has a great history in the Pacific Theatre and I was fortunate enough to have access to Mr. Bill Hill's fine example of this aircraft which I modeled," wrote Errol.
Besides all the panel lines, the model has 79,800 rivets, more than 1,000 screws in the canopy and turret, a fully detailed cockpit and turret, 18 servos, six air-control systems, 13 air cylinders, an onboard electric starter, custom CNC-machined wheels to match the original, and custom retracts built by Unitra-C in England.
Also featured are two transmitters and three receivers, along with eight separate battery packs.
"The maiden voyage was a perfect flight!" wrote Errol.
Giles 202
Gerald W. Haverly (132 Fair St., Schoharie, NY 12157) is shown with his Great Planes Giles 202 model and his grandson Shawn Haverly.
According to Gerald, Shawn started on the buddy box at age four.
The Giles is covered with MonoKote®, and the radio is a Futaba SkySport. With some reinforcing, the model weighs eight pounds. Power is provided by an inverted SuperTigre .90 spinning a Master Airscrew three-blade propeller.
The pilot is the Tasmanian Devil, who is carrying a container of 50% nitromethane fuel.
"Flight characteristics are fantastic," wrote Gerald.
Druine Turbulent
John V. Kunte (RR 2 Box 128, Rome, PA 18837) built his model from plans in the September 1999 Model Aviation. Power is provided by an MDS .68 engine John won when he subscribed to MA. The pilot is a Star Wars™ figure from a shampoo bottle.
"I have been flying CL [Control Line] and RC [Radio Control] for 40+ years," wrote John.
First Scale Attempt
Richard Blackwood (141 Gerow Ave., Spartanburg, SC 29306) has always liked Scale models—especially Mustangs. He thought the Top Flite® P-51D had the best scale outline.
"I've built a lot of models, but my lack of Scale experience caused the model to come out at 12 pounds, 13 ounces," wrote Richard.
The model flies well despite the weight, and is fast and smooth. "Landing is another matter—even with full flaps," he wrote.
The P-51 has an O.S. .61 two-stroke SF-ABC engine. Richard modified the crutch of the fuselage to accept a full-length pilot and a full cockpit with instrumentation.
The model also features a seven-channel Futaba radio, operational navigation lights, retractable main landing gear and tail wheel, flaps, and a sliding canopy.
The color scheme and markings are those of Colonel J.L. Mason of the 352nd Fighter Group.
The Eagle's Catch of the Day!
Todd Bocket (Box 111, Sturgeon Lake, MN 55783) built and covered this Carl Goldberg Eagle II.
The model has Carl Goldberg floats and is powered by an O.S. .46 FX engine.
Todd covered the Eagle with MonoKote®, and his mother-in-law Francie Slach brush-painted it.
Proud of your latest building/flying effort? Share it with MA's readers! Send us a glossy color print (no digital photos, under 300 dpi or photoscans, please), with an appropriate description (no handwritten submissions, please), and we'll run the best submissions as space permits.
Please include your full address (including E-mail, if available) so that interested parties may contact you directly. Send to: Model Aviation, 5161 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie, IN 47302; Attn: Focal Point.
Because of the section's popularity, it may be several months before your model is featured.
A Young Fan
James T. Spiker (Box 84, New Trenton, IN 47035) wanted to impress his grandson Travis with this model: Travis is a John Deere® tractor fan.
The model is powered by a SuperTigre .40 engine and is covered with UltraCote®.
"This John Deere sure got his attention," wrote James.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
