RADIO CONTROL GIANTS
Sal Calvagna 1335 Broadway Ave., Holbrook NY 11741 E-mail: ncalvagn@suffolk.lib.ny.us
NOW IS the time to start thinking about the upcoming season’s new Radio Control (RC) Giant project. Before you know it, spring, and then summer, will be upon us and the flying season will be in full swing. If you have expectations of featuring a new model, now is the time to get moving.
Since I have been so busy with work myself, my closest friends tease me about being “finished” or “washed-up” in the hobby. They say that I will never finish any of the models that I have started.
My answer to them is “bull!” I have told these nonbelievers—my good “pals”—that like flowers in the spring, my workroom will “bloom with newly finished aircraft.” Anyone wanna take bets?
Following are a few manufacturers and distributors that might help get your project off the board this season.
JANACO — Jackscrew Linear Operating Electric Servo
JANACO of Dallas, Texas, manufactures the Jackscrew Linear Operating Electric Servo. This servo has the power needed to operate landing gears, flaps, gear doors, accessories, and almost anything else you can think of that would use a linear adjustable jackscrew with as much as 10 pounds of thrust power.
- Jackscrew adjustable from 1 3/4 inches down to 5/8 inch
- “Noise” squelched for RC operation
- Can be activated mechanically with a timer or by an RC servo
- Weighs 4 ounces
- Operates on inexpensive AA alkaline batteries or a nine-volt transistor battery
- Comes completely wired with limit switches, a reversing switch, a powerful low-drain/high-rpm motor, capacitor, and reversing diodes
- Constructed using high-quality brass and Delron gears
The servo is activated by tripping the toggle switch in the direction that you want the screw to travel. The toggle switch is usually tripped by a standard RC servo or other mechanical means. JANACO provides drawings that show typical installation details for retracting landing gear.
For more information call (972) 681-8290, E-mail flyingjack@juno.com, or write JANACO, 11323 Cotillion, Dallas TX 75228.
ServoCity / Brian Thomas Robotics (BTR)
ServoCity is a division of Brian Thomas Robotics (BTR), one of the leading manufacturers of high-quality educational robots in the world. Founded in 1994, BTR—along with Pitsco, Inc. and Synergistic Systems, Inc.—revolutionized the educational robotics market. With the introduction of the Seeker robot in 1995, followed by the Rooster, SAM, and Seeker II robots, BTR has built a reputation for quality, durability, and price.
BTR robots are used at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Sun Microsystems, IBM, Agile Systems, the Kansas Cosmosphere, the Museum of Discovery, and in thousands of schools. ServoCity’s mission is to become a leading supplier of servos and accessories to the hobbyist by offering good customer service, technical support, and innovative products that are well-designed, built, tested, and priced.
ServoCity sells a variety of servos, extensions, receivers, crystals, servo repair kits, and more, and offers special package deals. Visit their Web site at www.servocity.com. To order call (877) 221-7071; for technical questions call (620) 221-0421.
Ron Weiss Plans — 1/3-Scale Designs
Ron Weiss Plans of Huntington, New York, offers a growing line of 1/3-scale plans including a Fokker D.VIII, Fokker Dr.I, and the Fleet Bipe. His own Fleet Bipe, sporting the Long Island Flying School insignia, is featured in a photo.
Model details:
- Wingspan: 112 inches
- Wing area: 3,360 square inches
- Weight: 40 pounds
- Power: Zenoah G-62 engine (fits nicely in the cowling)
- Covering: Solartex
- Finish: Randolph dope
The plans for the Fleet come in two large sheets and can be purchased directly from Ron for $44 plus $5 shipping. For plans or information call (631) 427-7312 or write Ron Weiss, 20 Linda Pl., Huntington NY 11743. Cowling for the Fleet and Ron's other 1/3-scale designs can be purchased from Mike Gross at (631) 281-0042. The price of the Fleet cowling is $40.
Sterling PT-17 — Gunny Bumburs
Gunny Bumburs of Babylon, New York, built a nice Sterling PT-17. The model spans 64½ inches and weighs 10½ pounds. It is powered by an O.S. 91 four-stroke engine swinging a 15 x 6 propeller.
The aircraft is covered with ColorTex and painted with Top Flite LustreKote paint. Gunny added scale flying and landing wires made from flattened K&S aluminum tubing with 2-56 threaded rods at the ends, and Nelson scale clevises to attach the wires. He polished the tubing to replicate stainless steel.
Gunny finished his PT-17 in US Army Air Corps colors, a popular scheme representing aircraft used to train many World War II Allied pilots. The model looks great and, according to Gunny, flies well too.
1/4-Scale Sopwith Pup — Kevin Shaw
Kevin Shaw of Middle Island, New York, built a beautiful-looking, great-flying 1/4-scale Sopwith Pup from a Balsa USA kit. To improve the scale outline of this Stand-Off Scale kit, Kevin made several changes during construction, including:
- Installation of a scale shock-absorbing landing-gear system
- Installation of a more realistic aluminum cowling
- Pull-pull system on the tail surfaces
- Full set of landing/flying wires
- William Bros. WW I wheels dressed with Palmer Cord Aero Tyre (with a little white paint and a steady hand)
The Pup is covered with Solartex and powered by a Zenoah G-38 gas engine.
Brief historical note: The full-scale Pup was a single-seat fighting scout and the forerunner to the more famous Camel. It was named “Pup” because it looked like a baby 1½ Strutter. The aircraft was delightful to fly—small, simple, and reliable—with generous wing area for good climb and agility. It was underpowered for combat against the Albatros D.III but could turn tightly. The Pup helped establish the reputation of the RNAS in late 1916. It was powered by an 80-horsepower Le Rhone rotary engine (other engines used included the 80-horsepower Gnome and the 100-horsepower Gnome Monosoupape), had a maximum speed of 111 mph, and was armed with a single Vickers machine gun. Roughly 1,770 Pups were built.
P-51B — Bob Allen
Bob Allen of Poughkeepsie, New York, is shown with his latest creation, a P-51B built from a TopFlite kit. The model spans 84½ inches and is powered by a Cheetah 42 gas engine. It uses Robart retractable gear (including tail-wheel gear) and is painted with Chevron Perfect Paint.
The P-51 is finished in Lieutenant Calvin D. Allen Jr.'s colors. He was assigned to the 5th Fighter Squadron, 52nd Fighter Group, of the 15th Air Force. Finishing touches include a TopFlite cockpit kit and TopFlite pilot figure. Bob did a great job building and finishing this model and reports it performs well in the air.
On a sad note, Bob says that this B version is no longer available from TopFlite.
That's all for this month. Send me photos of your latest creations so I can share them with AMA's membership. I will gladly receive any questions, concerns, or advice you have. Stay warm and start building!
MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
