Author: J.A. de Vries
Edition: Model Aviation - 1996/09
Page Numbers: 101, 102
,

RADIO CONTROL GIANTS

John A. de Vries 4610 Moffat Lane, Colorado Springs, CO 80915

SEPTEMBER IS THE TRADITIONAL MONTH for big air races. The prewar Cleveland and postwar Reno extravaganzas were and are scheduled for the early fall. It isn't hot news that Giant RC scale modelers have taken to miniature versions of Reno pylon-polishing competitions, with California and Texas leading the way with their spectacular model air races. Seaplane enthusiasts were even included in the model airplane racing fever at the late, lamented Lake Havasu, Arizona miniature Schneider Cup races.

However, racing-aircraft models have been conspicuous by their absence in reviews of the many Giant Scale fly-ins reported in the magazines. This is rather surprising, as there are plenty of construction drawings for Golden Age racing airplanes available.

Sources for Giant Scale Racing-Airplane Plans

  • Wendell Hostetler

1041 Heatherwood Lane, Orrville, OH 44667 Listings include four great racers: Roscoe Turner's LTR-1 (Thompson Trophy winner, '38 and '39), Jimmy Wedell's Wedell-Williams racer, Art Chester's Jeep (raced throughout the '30s), and the Madera-winning Lancair.

  • Henry Haffke ("Mr. Gee Bee")

Magic View Motel, Route 11, RR 1, Box 22, Londonderry, VT 05148 1/4-scale drawings for most Gee Bee models. Many designs are sized for relatively inexpensive .90-size engines.

  • Vern Clements

308 Palo Alto Dr., Caldwell, ID 83605 1/4-scale Gee Bee Z and R-1/R-2 drawings. Also drawings for Hall-Springfield Bulldog, Keith-Rider R-4 Firecracker, Art Chester's Goon (1/4 scale, enlargeable), and a clipped-wing Monocoupe in 1/4 scale. Vern's drawings are true scale (used by Steve Wolf and Delmar Benjamin to build a full-scale Gee Bee R-2).

  • Lynn Lockrow (Classic Airplans)

321 Camellia Dr., Auburn, AL 36830 Nifty 1/4-scale drawings for Monocoupe racers (short-winged speedster).

  • Bert Thompson

219 White City Blvd., Springfield, IL 62703 Complete Giant Scale racing-airplane designer. Known for Howard Ike drawings and other Golden Age reductions.

  • Don Neill

1129 South 40th St., Lincoln, NE 68519 Had 1/4-scale racing airplane drawings, including Folkerts SK-3 (1937 Thompson Trophy winner) and Hall-Springfield Bulldog. Local libraries may have copies of his drawings and fiberglass parts.

  • Bill Effinger (W.E. Technical Services)

3206 E. Post Woods Dr., Atlanta, GA 30339 Latest: Jimmy Doolittle's Laird Super Solution in 1/5 scale. Also plans for Page's Curtiss Racer and a 1/4-scale Steve Wittman Buster (qualifies for IMAA as 1/4 scale).

  • Ed Packard (available from Cleveland Model & Supply Co.)

Cleveland Model & Supply Co., 9800A Detroit Ave., Cleveland, OH 44102 Classic racing-airplane designs in Giant sizes. Catalog available ($2). May require some homebuilt engineering for RC stresses.

  • Scale Plans & Photo Service (Supermarine racers by Doc Pepino)

3209 Madison Ave., Greensboro, NC 27403 Exact-scale drawings of Supermarine Schneider Cup racers.

  • Don Smith

2260 N.E. First Ave., Boca Raton, FL 33431 Beautiful plans for the Curtiss R3C-2 biplane Schneider seaplane.

Additional Sources and Kits

  • Many Giant Scale racing-airplane plans are "hidden" in full-size plans listings of major modeling magazines. Examples:
  • Chester's Jeep plans for Radio Control Modeler.
  • Howard Hughes H-1 plans for Scale R/C Modeler (available through Bob Holman).
  • Commercial kits and drawings for racers:
  • Byron kits: Beech Staggerwing (Louise Thaden's Bendix winner), Wedell-Williams, Gee Bee.
  • Art Johnson's Seversky P-35 drawings (available from RCM) can be used to duplicate Jackie Cochran's Bendix racer and modified for Frank Fowler's racer.
  • Bill Hannan's drawings in the Williams Bros. P-35 plastic kit document racer differences.
  • Phil Kent's model of the Alexander Bullet (Model Aviation, Nov 1995) can be enlarged to Giant size to duplicate the craft raced by Edith Foltz and Errett Williams.

References and Three-View Sources

  • The Golden Age of Air Racing by Pappy Weaver and Wes Schmid (EAA Aviation Foundation, Box 3065, Oshkosh, WI 54903) — prime source of information on prewar racers.
  • Paul Matt — notable three-views of racing airplanes (Howards, Lairds).
  • William F. Kerka — series of racing aircraft drawings for the American Air Racing Society (c/o Rudy Profant, 4060 W. 158th St., Cleveland, OH 44135). These enlarge well to Giant sizes.

Scale and Power Considerations

  • Many prewar racing airplanes, especially Greve Trophy (550-cubic-inch) competitors, scale to relatively small "Giant" models:
  • Example: Rudy Kling's Folkerts racer at 3/4-scale spans 16 ft 4 in, yielding a model wing span of about 49 inches.
  • These "Small Giants" can often use off-the-shelf radio gear and less-expensive engines (.90 to 1.20 or comparable gas burners). They make good starter projects for Giant Scale racing models.

Powerplants for Larger Giants

  • Klaus Nowak (Quadra-Arrow) has introduced two powerful engines:
  • QA1000XL: twin configuration, weighs ~6.3 lb, produces ~9.8 hp from 6.4 cu in displacement — intended for airplanes in the 40 lb class.
  • Q100XL: weighs ~7 lb, produces ~10 hp from 5.9 cu in displacement — intended for airplanes in the 30 lb range.
  • No publishable photos were available at the time of writing.

Final Notes

  • Although many Golden Age racers were one-off designs, documentation is readily available for competition-minded Giant Scale modelers. With plans, three-views, and a bit of engineering, authentic and competitive Giant Scale racing models are within reach.

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.