Focal Point
Blu Baby
Seventeen-year-old Ella Robbins (email: lapastorella@rocketmail.com) built this foam model with modified plans from RCGroups. Ella wrote: “I started with a Sea BB, based off of this design, but with only elevator/rudder (no ailerons). This is a modified Blu Baby from plans off of RCGroups with a full-camber wing that my brother designed. It has ailerons, so this is my aileron trainer!”
“It is electric powered by a 3S 1,600 mAh battery. The paint job was really the finishing touch to the model!”
“Overall, this model is not super fancy, but it is a very good trainer, and I think it looks pretty good, too. I have really enjoyed building and testing this plane, and am looking forward to logging lots of flights with it.”
Sig Spacewalker
Dave Hood (Steamboat Springs, Colorado; email: redlava1@comcast.net) of the Yampa Valley Skyscrapers club built this 1/3-scale Sig Skywalker.
The instruments and instrument panel are handmade. Covering is Koverall with rib stitching and pinked tape. It is painted with Sherwin Williams house paint. The Skywalker weighs 20 pounds with a Zenoah G45 turning a 20 x 8 propeller. Flo, the pilot, is from www.litepilots.com and fits perfectly with the airplane.
“This was a very enjoyable kit and flew very well on the initial test flight,” wrote Dave.
Silver Lancer
Scott Richlen (email: scttva@gmail.com) built this model third in a line of Silver Lancer Control Line Aerobatics aircraft that he designed. Based on an illustration in a 1937 pulp magazine of the Bill Barnes Silver Lancer, the original was powered by two inline V-12s. Scott was only able to fit one PA 61 into his model for power.
Construction is balsa and silkspan and it is finished in automobile base coat and clear coat over a butyrate base. It has a full cockpit layout and pilot. The completed Silver Lancer spans 58 inches and weighs 64 ounces.
Ziroli B-25
Mike Laible (Seabrook, Texas; email: mrlaible@sbcglobal.net) and his father, Robert, built this Ziroli B-25.
Robert, who lives in Florissant, Missouri, cut all of the pieces for the B-25 and constructed the model to primer stage. It was then handed off to Mike who finished the detailing and painting.
Mike wrote: “This was a wonderful project and has since led to a great relationship with my dad, the 345th Bomb Group reunion, and the Commemorative Air Force [CAF], Missouri wing.”
“After I completed the plane, my father never saw it finished or fly. In summer 2014, I planned a visit to the St. Louis area with the bomber in tow. I arranged to meet up with the CAF and snap a couple of pictures with the full-scale B-25, and then fly it at the Spirits of St. Louis R/C Flying Club.
“It was a wonderful trip and everyone was more than accommodating. I believe my dad acquired a couple of new wrinkles with his constant smile.”
Velocity SE
Marvin Clemens (Oceanside, California; email: lomar498@yahoo.com) scratch-built this model Velocity SE with plans he drew from a small three-view drawing emailed to him by Velocity, Inc. in Florida.
The Velocity has a 72-inch wingspan and a flying weight of 8.5 pounds. A 5055 outrunner motor turns a 12 x 8 three-blade propeller with power from a 6S 4,000 mAh LiPo battery.
“The model flies fantastic and was a great project that kept me busy for about three months,” wrote Marvin.
Extra 330L
Tom Blassick (St. Charles, Illinois; email: trblassick@gmail.com) built this discontinued aerobatic Giant Scale Extra 300L from a Great Planes kit.
Modifications were made to the plans to include a larger elevator and extended rudder balance tab for more aerobatic performance. To save weight, contest balsa was used on most of the sheeting in the wing and tail, taking off approximately 1.5 pounds total. A DA-100 engine was used for power along with a Sullivan smoke system piped to stock Desert Aircraft mufflers.
The Extra was finished and flown in 2008. It currently has more than 1,000 flights on it. Weighing in at 25 pounds, Tom wrote that it is one of the best-flying models he’s ever flown and a true icon of designer Mike Cross’ legacy.
Lanier Husky
Will Cobb (Lavonia, Georgia; email: wilinfl(a) yahoo.com) picked up this 106-inch Lanier Husky in a trade. It was built, but it had never been flown.
Will removed the gas engine and converted it to electric power. It uses an E-flite Power 160 and a Castle HV 120-amp ESC. This combination provides takeoffs in 5 feet and flight times in excess of 13 minutes. Landings look great. With 100% flaps, it slows down to a walk.
“I could not ask for a better introduction to large-scale aircraft. It flies like a trainer,” wrote Will.
TBM-3 Avenger
Charlie Teixeira (Houston, Texas; email: cteix89@comcast.net) built this TBM-3 Avenger from a Skyshark Hobbies RC kit.
The 1/9-scale Avenger has a 72-inch wingspan and 13-pound flying weight. Power comes from an O.S. .95 engine with a JTEC in-cowl muffler. The model is covered with .5-ounce fiberglass cloth and Z-Poxy resin, has panel lines, and numerous simulated rivets. Retracts, including the tail wheel, are by Robart.
Charlie’s Avenger is painted with automotive primer and latex colors matched to the military full-scale colors by Home Depot. The Century Jet Models pilots were modified and painted.
