Radio Control: Helicopters
Larry Jolly
15781 Empire Ln. Westminster, CA 92683
Please accept my apologies. Some of you were expecting to see a review of the Hobby Dynamics Kalt Cyclone II in this issue. I want to assure you that I haven't forgotten it — I've just been too busy to finish the article. I hope to be back on schedule next month, so expect to see the Cyclone II then.
Tangerine contest report
I heard from recently married Dan Melnik, who reported that Laura Slocum has now joined the Melnik team on a permanent basis, and that the Tangerine meet was held (date not provided). I didn't get enough information from Dan to go into too much detail, but he did say that the weather was good and that Chuck Whacker CD'ed a great contest.
FAI results:
- Tim Schoonard — X-Cell Long Ranger
- Dan Chapman — Schluter Champion (pod-and-boom)
- Tom Dooley — X-Cell Long Ranger
- Wayne Mann — X-Cell (pod-and-boom) with CPM mixing
- Mike Mas — Champion
- Dan Melnik — Kalt Excalibur
Scale results:
- Steve Mintz — R-22 (the same model he used to win the '84 Nats)
- Mike Ellis — 1/3-scale UH-1B Huey with Kalt Gas Baron mechanics
- Dan Chapman — Bell 222 Junior from Schluter (beautifully painted)
My apologies to the Intermediate and Novice fliers — Dan didn't have the results from your events. Apparently he had a lot on his mind, as he had only been married a few hours when I called. What timing, eh, Dan? Again, congratulations to Dan and Laura and to Chuck Whacker for running the successful '89 Tangerine.
Shortly after talking to Dan Melnik, I received a call and then a letter from Mike Ellis of Sevierville, TN.
Letter excerpts from Mike Ellis
As it looked when it flew, everyone stopped and watched. I am a commercial helicopter pilot here in Tennessee and have flown the Huey; I am very fond of it. I flew a Bell 204 in the movie King Kong Lives, so we have a little in common.
The mechanics I used were Kalt Gas Baron (who would have guessed, with me being a Kalt gas fan — ha!). I used the basic KBS rotor head because of its scale appearance. Bill Curtis built me a great set of blades that were 33 inches long and weighed 240 grams. Before we painted the chopper, we flew it at weights up to 17 lb.; it was getting marginal on power at that point. Flying weight at contest time was 15 lb. Rotor RPM was around 1,100.
From the comments I received, I believe we can give them a Tennessee Ass-Kickin' at the Nats. I hope to have the next one finished for display at Top o' the Rockies. Feel free to use any of the pictures I have sent, and call me any time. Thanks again for a great product.
Editor's notes on Mike's Huey
Thanks for the kind words, Mike. As you can see from the photos, Mike doesn't have to go far to get scale documentation for a Bell 204 model — it's his "work car," so to speak.
Nonetheless, it's not easy to achieve a final product as detailed as Mike's Huey. Mike is a true craftsman. Unfortunately, this particular model was badly damaged at the Tangerine, but Mike is bouncing back and is getting ready for the Nats right now. Mike, we wish you a lot of luck and we're anxious to see your Nats model — please keep us posted.
For those interested, I'm contacting Bill Curtis to get more information on his various blades and products. I'll get you an update.
GMP update
I had a recent talk with John Gorham, who brought me up to speed on the happenings at GMP. According to John, the Americanization of GMP is complete, including a new main gear, tail rotor gear box, and cooling shroud. That's a lot of tooling, but as they say, necessity is the mother of invention, and GMP was able to reach its goals in a short three months.
John says that all GMP kits are in stock, and that the Rebel is attracting a large following. John also mentioned a new 40-size, full-house machine to make its debut at Toledo. Tentatively called the Viper, the new helicopter features light weight and full acrobatic performance.
Closing
I'm sorry, but the column is going to be a short one this month. I've recently been very busy on a large ducted-fan model Boeing 737-200 for a movie and am just now getting my life back to — for me — what is normal. I would, however, like to thank you for reading my column. If you have any questions or photos of you and your helicopters, drop me a line — I'll try to publish them.
BCNU
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
