RADIO CONTROL GIANTS
John A. de Vries
4610 Moffat Lane, Colorado Springs CO 80915
The October 1995 column featured a whiz-dinger of a model built by Ralph Beck of Beloit, Wisconsin. Ralph's model duplicated a full-scale Lincoln Sport single-place biplane homebuilt of the '30s. He copied a Sport that was/is owned by Dennis Trone with one major exception. Mr. Trone's aircraft is powered by a three-cylinder engine and Ralph had only a two-cylinder Saito 270 available. Although many versions of the Lincoln "Sport" were built with two-cylinder engines, Ralph had to make a compromise and wasn't able to duplicate Denny Trone's aircraft exactly.
When we featured Mr. Beck's model we included a photo of it "in the bones" as well as a shot of the prototype that's based at an airport just down the road from his home. Ralph finished up the model with its Saito "hummer" and was satisfied with his Giant.
But he had heard of a three-cylinder model engine that was marketed by C.B. Associates in the early '80s. Ralph advertised in R/C Report magazine in an attempt to acquire one of the 2.35 cu. in. displacement four-stroke engines. Happily, Cliff Bumpus, the builder of the engine, saw his ad and volunteered to build one of his F3R engines for Ralph!
Of course, Ralph had to rebuild the front end of his model to accommodate the close-to-scale three-banger. Part of his inspiration for the additional work was the fact that the F3R matches the Szekely engine of the '30s almost exactly. It's a scale engine in a dead-on-scale model.
In case you have the "hots" for a scale three-cylinder four-stroke engine, at last Cliff had more for sale. The price is right up there ($1,395), but Mr. Bumpus' engines are beautifully precision-turned from bar stock. Cliff Bumpus, 835 Yale Drive, Mansfield OH 44907. And Ralph Beck attests to the fact that they run as good as they look.
Frank Newman — 1913 Etrich Taube replica
Longtime readers of this column will remember that in 1978 Paul Matt published a book about Taube airplanes. Frank Newman of Deer Park, TX has proved to be as big a fan of the unique pre‑WWI German/Austrian monoplanes as I am. By dint of some very serious research, Frank produced a particularly beautiful replica of the 1913 Etrich D2 Taube in Giant Scale.
He started with the Balsa USA Taube kit, which replicates a rather generic version of the more than 500 "real" Taubes that were built by some 50+ Teutonic manufacturers. Some of the enhancements Frank applied to the basic kit design include:
- Fully detailed cockpits.
- A completely detailed Daimler‑Mercedes engine. His son did the basic structure and Frank did the final touches.
- A functional, scale bomb‑dropping mechanism. The mechanism works perfectly and has been used on 30 of the 50 successful flights of the model. The bomb drop works.
Frank included four E-sized figures — two in the model's cockpits: Lt. Neumann (pilot) and German Crown Prince Wilhelm (passenger/observer). Both aeronauts are duplicated standing figures, with the Prince being clothed in the Death's Head Hussars dress uniform. Solartex fabric and Japanese tissue, plus patee crosses and insignia, give the model an old‑timey look. Frank selected an OS 91 for power. The 10-pound model spans 82 inches and is 63 inches long. Speaking of super-scale, the model flies in a very scale fashion and is spectacular.
Bob Holman — plans, kits and laser-cut parts
Bob Holman, working harder than retirement usually allows, has done regular jobs and is now offering a wide array of scale model plans and kits. He's gone hi‑tech and is providing laser‑cut parts for several available designs. The latest is Brian Taylor's Giant Scale 81‑inch span De Havilland Mosquito.
Available items and prices:
- Plans: $45
- Fiberglass cowls, gear door covers, clear canopy, nose fairing plus two aluminum spinners: $125
- Laser-cut parts: $75
- Postage & handling: $10
- Whole package available
Contact: Bob Holman E‑mail: bhplans@aol.com Snail mail: Box 741, San Bernardino CA 92402 Fax: 909‑889‑9307
Charles W. Reeves — seeking Judy drawings
Charles W. Reeves, 8310 Moore Road, Paducah KY 42001, has an urge to build and fly a 1/5‑scale Japanese Judy model that was featured in Bob Taylor's December 1981 issue of Scale R/C Modeler. Drawings were available at that time. Charles has tried to contact Bob. Vic Tomeo carried the drawings for sale. Frank Tiano and Ray Kleeber built models from plans featured in the September 1993 Model Airplane News. Charles would like to hear from volunteers who can provide or lend him Bob Taylor's Judy drawings; he'll pay postage both ways.
Notes to CD's and upcoming issues
A note to CDs who plan and advertise Giant Scale Fly‑Ins: Most of the announcements we get are too late to be included in our column. I'd like to mention the traditional Fly‑Ins but the magazine's lead time before publication frustrates the desire. If you want a plug for your event, please forward the particulars three or more months in advance.
There will be no Giant Scale column in next month's Model Aviation—it's the annual Nationals issue. The January issue will feature a photo of a super-scale 82‑inch de Havilland Chipmunk built by Gary Miller of Charlotte, North Carolina. It's a beauty in full military camouflage.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
