Focal Point
Model Aviation, 5161 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302
Jake’s Flite Streak Jr.
Jake Moon (9930 Edgecliff Cir., Dallas TX 75238) holds his just-completed Flite Streak Jr., built from a Brodak kit. Jake assisted his father, Steve, in every phase of the construction and finishing process.
An O.S. Max III .15 engine powers the model, which weighs 14 ounces and is covered with Polyspan and finished with Sig modeling dope.
At the time this photo was taken, Jake had made approximately 60 solo CL flights with a Sig Buster and was looking forward to learning loops and wingovers with the Flite Streak Jr. He later succeeded.
Cessna 195
Gale Sherman (14417 Shirley Cir., Omaha NE 68144) built his Cessna 195 from plans drawn by Rich Uravitch and covered it with MonoKote. The cowl is finished with red and white LustreKote paint. All of the rocker-arm blisters on the cowling are handmade. The model features a fully detailed instrument panel and a Hangar 9 pilot. An O.S. 52 four-stroke engine powers Gale’s classic Cessna.
"The airplane ground handles and flies great!" he wrote.
Tigrotto
Walter Gremlitz (808 El Rancho Dr., Sun City Center FL 33573) built a Tigrotto from an Italian Mantua Models kit that allows three different model designs from the same kit.
The airplane spans 46.8 inches, weighs roughly 4 pounds, and is powered by an O.S. .10 engine. Most of the fuselage is made from square dural aluminum tubing that was predrilled for assembly using nuts and bolts.
The Tigrotto was supposed to be a taildragger, but Walt modified it to have tricycle gear. The wing was supposed to be a sheeted-foam type, but Walt used balsa instead.
North Star
Jim Archer (146 Lakeview Dr., Buchanan Dam TX 78609; Email: jarcher4@moment.net) wanted something different from all the other airplanes at his field and something that could be flown off water if desired. He built his North Star from a Balsa USA kit and powers it with an O.S. .46 FX engine. Futaba radio gear is used for guidance, and the model is covered with MonoKote.
"It was test flown at our club field by Mel Whitley, former Top Gun winner, and it performed as advertised," wrote Jim. "It is quite fast, looks good, and flies great."
For more great Focal Point photos, go to: www.modelaircraft.org/mag/focalpt/index.asp
Blohm und Voss Bv 141B
Ronald D. Kuhn (N4521 County Hwy. TT, Columbus WI 53925; Email: ronaldkuhn@peoplePC.com) built a rarely modeled Blohm und Voss from Nick Ziroli plans.
He had the plans blown up to 150% of their original size to yield an 82.375-inch wingspan aircraft. An RCV90 engine swinging a 15 3/4 x 13 propeller powers the model.
Ronald hand-cut each of the 57 windows in the "greenhouse" section of the crew compartment.
Cub on Floats
Greg Weaver (8227 Anderson Pl., Harrisburg NC 28075) built a Great Planes 60-size Cub and mounted a set of Great Planes floats on it.
A YS 91AC four-stroke engine powers Greg's 16-pound model. He flew it first with the stock wheels to ensure proper trim and to break in the engine, then switched to the floats.
The Cub is covered with Sig Koverall and painted with Nelson Hobby water-based polyurethane paints. The floats are covered with 3/4-ounce fiberglass on the upper portion and 2-ounce cloth on the lower portion. They have rivet detailing and are painted with Boeing silver wing paint and topcoated with clear.
1912 Headless Pusher
Robert A. Frey (364 W. Hill Rd., Vestal NY 13850) built his 1/8-scale Curtiss 1912 Model D Headless Pusher based on plans for the similar 1911 Model D and photographs of the 1912 Headless Pusher replica on exhibit at the Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport, New York.
Building techniques were similar to those used on the full-scale airplane. Construction materials include balsa, spruce, and birch dowel. The control rigging matches the full-scale airplane, with nylon upholstery thread used for bracing and control wires.
A Speed 400 motor with a Mini Olympus gear drive and a 9 x 6 propeller supplies power. The Headless Pusher spans 39 inches and weighs 20 ounces.
Savoia-Marchetti S.M.79
Ty Brown (4777 Camp Cabarrus Dr., Kannapolis NC 28081; Email: lbrown81@aol.com) built this Italian Savoia-Marchetti torpedo bomber from plans he developed from a three-view sent to him from Malta.
This model spans 110 inches and weighs 22 pounds. Powering it are two Magnum 61 four-stroke engines and an O.S. 91 four-stroke. It features CJM retracts, operating flaps, and a functional torpedo drop.
The wing was built up and is covered with 3/4-ounce fiberglass cloth. The front of the fuselage is also covered with 3/4-ounce cloth, while the rear section is covered with Coverite. Ty's model is finished with latex paints and has a polyurethane clear topcoat.
Focal Point
Scratched Tri-Motor
Jake Chichilitti (509 Cambridge St., Belmont CA 94002) designed plans for his tri-motor airplane from a small metal display model and from photos received via the Internet. The model spans 80 inches and has 720 square inches of wing area. It weighs 7 pounds, 14 ounces, and is powered by three Magnum XL .28 engines. It is covered with Sig-brand silkspan and finished with Brodak modeling dope.
The model features an operational passenger door on the right side of the fuselage that is held closed via rare-earth magnets from RadioShack.
Aluminized Ryan STA-M
Lora Knowlton (7196 S. Nelson St., Littleton CO 80127; Email: CoCoug@aol.com) built the Great Planes Ryan STA-M ARF but made several custom changes.
She learned that the full-scale version's fuselage was aluminum, so she stripped the gray MonoKote from the model and re-covered it with Aluminum MonoKote. She added panel lines and rivets and airbrushed "exhaust and dirt" detail. Lora's Ryan is powered by a YS 91 engine.
"It flies great and looks awesome in the Colorado sky," she wrote.
Clipped-Wing Cub
Dan Wolfe (8079 Wilson Rd., Bannister MI 48807) and his friend Ted McMurray (Montrose MI) built a 1/4-scale clipped-wing Cub from a Sig kit.
A Magnum 160 twin engine powers the model, and a Hitec Flash 5 radio guides it.
Dan and his wife Donna covered and finished the Cub with Nelson LiteFAB and painted it with Nelson Hobby Paint.
"For 25 years I thought it would be neat to see some of my handiwork in a magazine," wrote Dan.
Cassutt Racer
Stan Zdon (902-88th Ln. NW, Coon Rapids MN 55433; Email: szdon@att.net) scratch-built his 28%-scale, 12-pound Cassutt Racer using dimensions and photos from the Internet.
It spans 58 inches, the fuselage length is 54 inches, and the wing area is 864 square inches. An O.S. .91 Surpass engine, swinging an APC 14 x 8 propeller, powers it.
The front of the airplane, from the wing forward, is made from fiberglass and is painted with 21st Century paint, as is the fuselage above the wing and landing gear. The rest of the model is covered with white 21st Century Fabric.
"The entire project was very enjoyable and I had to learn many new procedures," wrote Stan.
Focal Point - 2004/12
1934 Monocoupe Model A
Bill Cohen (67-945 Foothill Rd., Cathedral City CA 92234; Email: Nwc4tff@dslextreme.com) enlarged plans from a 28-inch Cleveland Rubber model to build a 1934 Monocoupe. The finished product spans 8 feet and weighs 11 pounds.
A geared Cobalt .40 AstroFlight motor that runs on 18 cells provides power.
"It flew great while the batteries were at full charge, but as the voltage dropped, the airplane literally fell out of the sky," wrote Bill. He plans to repower the model with an O.S. 91 Surpass engine.
The Monocoupe is covered with orange Micafilm, and the black areas are 21st Century Fabric. Bill uses a six-channel Futaba radio for guidance and an Ace speed control.
Golden Eagle Cessna
David Teer (1076 Forest Rd. #3, New Haven CT 06515; Email: dteer@excite.com) built this Cessna 421 Golden Eagle from plans. It has a wingspan of 121 inches, is 100 inches long, and weighs 54 pounds.
The model features two receivers, two air tanks for the retracts, two three-blade 20 x 10 propellers, two Zenoah G-62 engines, 11 FMA Direct high-torque servos, a navigation light system, two B&B mufflers, and operating split flaps.
Pitts ARF
Roger Russell (330 East College, Jacksonville IL 62650; Email: r.russell@mchsi.com) sent this shot of his Great Planes Pitts ARF.
It has a Zenoah G-62 that turns a 22 x 10 propeller and uses a JR 783 PCM receiver with Hitec servos. Two JR Matchboxes control the four aileron servos and are powered by a separate 4.8-volt/1900 mAh battery pack and switch. The model weighs 20 pounds and has a removable TME smoke tray.
This was an early version of the Great Planes Pitts, and Roger has made all of the updates and suggested modifications. "With over 75 flights on the model, all seems to be holding up," he wrote.
Hogwalker?
Ronald Casteel (5 Norris Dr., Russell PA 18345; Email: casteel@westpa.net) built a unique version of a Spacewalker from a modified Sig Manufacturing Astro-Hog kit.
By converting the Astro-Hog to a taildragger, leaving off the back of the turtledeck, reshaping and relocating the cockpit, changing the shape of the cowl and the wing and tail-surface tips, and adding a scale-like paint scheme, the redesign into a Spacewalker was complete.
The MonoKote-covered airplane is powered by an O.S. .40 FS engine.
"And best of all, it still handles like an Astro-Hog," wrote Ronald.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
