Radio Control: Helicopters
Dave Chesney
A few months ago I went to Lincolnton, NC for an informal round of helicopter flying. Since there is not a great deal of helicopter activity in the Greensboro area, I welcomed the invitation to go. It seems I don't get much chance to fly for a while — and then several weekends come back-to-back — but I guess I enjoy the little flying I do as much as anyone. Lincolnton would not be the exception.
First there was a short side trip to Charlotte to meet up with Bailey Harris and his friend John Ellis, who then guided me west toward our objective. The weather was a bit warm, but a light breeze would occasionally move the tree limbs I observed so carefully on the trip from Charlotte to Lincolnton. My son Alex fell asleep in the back with the Cricket while I followed Bailey's RX-7 and watched for the signs of the thunderstorms I expected. Meanwhile, I considered the afternoon's flying: this would be the weekend I would fly the JR Apollo radio in Bailey's Kalt 20.
Bob Modlin's Garage
We drove first to the home of Bob Modlin. Bailey had often told me of Bob's love for RC helicopters, but I still was not prepared to enter the extraordinary world of Bob's garage — a model helicopter nut's dream (judge for yourself from the photos of Bob's fleet). I spent much of the next hour looking at Bob's machines. He then patiently moved the fleet from its roost to the outside for the photos I share with you now.
While we waited for a few others to join us for the short haul down to the local high school, the conversation naturally turned to helicopters. I couldn't participate in or overhear every subject, but I'll try to share a few interesting points I remember.
One point was a discussion regarding the aerobatic capabilities of the Kalt Baron 20. It seems a better mixer has been developed that will allow this little .25 machine to perform the exotic aerobatics of some of the .60 machines. Bailey had drawings on this mod, but I failed to get a copy. Fliers in England and Australia are apparently fitting the littlest Kalt for aerobatics. Most of the folks present were flying or had flown the standard Kalt Baron 20; all agreed it is a fine ship and perhaps the best small helicopter buy.
Bob and I discussed the Kobe Kiho Hughes 300, which is imported by CMI of Garden Grove, CA. I convinced Bob to fly it for me; this was the first example I had seen of this beautiful kit. Bob really dolled it up with upholstered seats and other cockpit detail, and it looked very realistic. Ray Hostetler has written a fine article on this machine for Model Builder magazine; if you are interested in further details, contact CMI at P.O. Box 1695, Garden Grove, CA 92642. I understand a new gasoline-powered Hughes 300 will be offered soon — maybe I'll beat Ray to the punch on that one.
Bob's other scale ships included two examples of the Hirobo line, which is distributed by Gorham Model Products. The Hirobo Llama and Bell Iroquois are truly beautiful. Bob's Bell UH2 had an onboard electric starter installed. Can you imagine? One day I hope to build one of the Hirobo scale ships for a future column; Bob's two examples are impressive. Details of the Hirobo machines are available from GMP, 23961 Craftsman Road, Calabasas, CA 91302.
And, of course, Schluter was represented by excellent examples of the Cheyenne, Bell 222 and BO-105. The Cheyenne was not painted to be scale-like, but I could see possibilities for this unique machine. Bob's example did not have retractable landing gear installed, and his BO-105, with its four-blade rotor system, really looked neat.
Bob has this thing about cockpit detail and particularly about leather pilot seats and such, but even without all this detail, his scale fleet would have looked impressive. Luckily, he didn't have radios installed in all his machines; if he had, he would have gotten very tired of me asking for in-flight photos.
The Flying Session
All but a few of the fleet were then safely tucked away, and we caravanned down to the local school for our flying session. Joining in the flying and spectating fun were:
- Lee Hovis
- Rodney Putnam
- Capers Jordan
- Robbie and Bruce Modlin
The thunderstorms I had feared earlier never appeared, so I had no excuse not to try and fly Bailey's Kalt using a two-stick mode; but first I had to settle my nerves with my old reliable Pro-Line single-stick and the Cricket.
This was a hot day, and I must say I became quite frustrated with the Cricket — it refused to lift from the hot asphalt at first. A little 15% nitro fuel solved the problem, and in the remaining time we had a ball flying circuits. I really worked the OS .25FSR hard, making quick departures and rapid approaches to hover. The Cricket can be a very enjoyable machine for just-for-the-fun-of-it flying, and once we solved the fuel problem (it's probably asking too much of the Cricket and .25FSR to fly at such a high density altitude on 0% nitro), I became completely caught up in the sheer fun of asking for — and receiving — complete cooperation from the little chopper. We could make no mistakes until the engine sagged, and I landed a little hard, breaking a main rotor blade.
Bailey readied his Kalt Baron while Lee Hovis and Bob Modlin flew their Kalts. I had seen Bailey's machine fly a few weeks before, but each flight of the Kalt that day impressed me even more with the potential of this machine. Bailey flew a few circuits with the Kalt and its Apollo radio, then turned the machine over to me for some quick hover flights with the new radio. I played with the Apollo features long enough to convince myself of two things: it may be difficult to teach an old dog new tricks, but the bells and whistles of the Apollo will sure help — however, this old dog likes single-stick, and I will proceed with my Ace Silver Seven. I didn't crash Bailey's machine and returned the Kalt and Apollo to him to enjoy for the balance of the afternoon.
Capers Jordan brought his Mini Boy for a little hover practice and seemed to enjoy the stability of his .40-powered machine. I still have not flown the Mini Boy but probably will one day, since I am becoming interested in the smaller machines because they are so much easier to transport. The Crickets, Mini Boys and Kalt 20s sure fit the small cars better.
Final Thoughts
Some weekends will always be memorable. Thanks to Bob Modlin and the others for sharing theirs with me.
See you next month.
Dave Chesney P.O. Box 16612, Greensboro, NC 27406.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
