Florida Jets

Author: Barry Vaught

Florida jet event grounds with spectators and aircraft beneath the title artwork.

Lakeland Florida Jets

Lakeland is the place to be in March for jet pilots

by Barry Vaught

A large model jet flying low over a runway and trailing smoke. — Mark Petrak’s Tomahawk Design Albatros L-39 XXXL is 1:2.7 scale. Its 12-foot wingspan can carry more than 100 pounds of weight. The model, built by Joseph Kager, received the Critics’ Choice Award. Photos by the author

Florida Jets week, held March 7-12, 2016, started Florida’s RC air show season with two great events, 165 pilots, more than 200 jets, highly skilled talent, thrilling entertainment, and lots of fun in the sun. The Red Flag event, which was covered in the July 2016 issue of Model Aviation, took place the first three days, followed by Florida Jets.

Some of the pilots who participated in the Red Flag RC Jet Aerobatic Competition were ready to simply fly their jets in a fun, noncompetitive manner and burn a lot of fuel. Florida Jets has a large following and is a “jet-together,” where electric and turbine pilots can safely fly their jets almost as many times as they want.

Surprises come early when Ali Machinchy is attending an airplane event. Ali is a magician with airplanes and it is always fun to see what he is flying at the events because he prefers to fly a variety of airplanes. He brought a one-of-a-kind Turbo Spitfire, an Avanti Viper XXL, and an F-86 Tomahawk Sabre.

The Turbo Spitfire is an ongoing custom project that flew and sounded great. It needed a little help while taxiing because of the crosswinds. Ali’s ⅓-scale Avanti Viper XXL is a beautiful jet and flies smoothly. We mounted a GoPro HERO4 camera on the elevator stabilizer to chronicle the flight. I was concerned about mounting a camera on his aircraft, but the flat adhesive GoPro mount was easily removed by simply twisting the camera. Ali’s ⅓-scale Tomahawk Sabre is beautiful and flew as nicely as the Viper.

Barry Hou brought an unusual English

Spectators viewing model aircraft at the Florida Jets runway walk. — The Florida Jets runway walk allowed the spectators to see the aircraft up close and meet the pilots. Photos by the author

Pilots and model jets beneath a tent at Florida Jets — Barry Hou, Greg Foushi, and Kristopher Gunter, standing in the front of their tent, are enjoying this year’s Florida Jets!

Model F-86 Tomahawk Sabre in flight — Ali Machinchy’s F-86 Tomahawk Sabre is an all-composite, 1/3-scale, 128-inch wingspan jet that weighs 45 pounds. It received the Best Scale Jet Performance award.

Large blue F-15 Eagle model jet on the runway

Electric Lightning that has the turbines mounted vertically, one above the other. Full-scale pilots have described flying the aircraft as “being saddled to a skyrocket.”

A less expensive way to start flying turbine jets is to build your own. Dana Thrasher’s Turbinator was built from a kit. He purchased a used turbine and has approximately $4,500 invested in the jet. The Turbinator flew well and looked great in its Marine Corps color scheme.

It is always heartwarming to see a father and son enjoying our great hobby together. Joey Tamez and his son, Joshua, traveled from Texas with their yellow Navy Shockwave.

Kristopher Gunter brought an F-15 Eagle, which has a special “Let’s Roll” symbol on the fuselage in the spirit of 9/11. This symbol is displayed on various full-scale aircraft throughout the Air Force as a way of recognizing the heroes and victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

The halftime shows included some of the best ever at Florida Jets, with demonstration flights from some of the Red Flag RC Jet Aerobatics pilots and formation teams.

Many people are involved in RC airplane events to make them safe, entertaining, and successful. Sam Wright has been announcing Frank Tiano’s RC events for 29 years.

John Walsh is a former air traffic controller and serves as the onsite air boss. He monitors full-scale air traffic while the RC event is in progress. If there is a full-scale aircraft emergency, the RC models will be grounded until the emergency is over. The Lakeland Linder Regional Airport is extremely cooperative and this is a good example of how full-scale aircraft and RC aircraft can work together for the benefit of everyone.

Congratulations to Frank Tiano and everyone involved for another exciting, memorable Florida Jets.

—Barry Vaught
b\vaught@cfl.rr.com

SOURCES:

Florida Jets
Frank Tiano Enterprises
www.franktiano.com

Jet Pilots’ Organization
www.jetpilots.org

Kristopher Gunter standing beside his F-15 Eagle model jet — Kristopher Gunter and his F-15 Eagle with “Let’s Roll” painted on the fuselage.

Spectators seated beside the flightline at Florida Jets. — The flightline was filled with spectators on the west side of the field at the start of the halftime show.

Dana Thrasher’s camouflaged Turbinator model jet in flight. — Dana Thrasher’s Turbinator has a 76-inch wingspan. The 26-pound model is powered by a P-140X turbine.

Barry Hou’s English Electric Lightning model jet in flight, with Hou pictured below. — Barry Hou’s rare English Electric Lightning relies on two KingTech 160 turbines. One jet turbine is situated above the other.

Joey and Joshua Tamaz with their yellow Navy Shockwave model. — Father and son, Joey and Joshua Tamaz, display their Shockwave. The 80-inch wingspan model received the Best Sport Jet award.

FLORIDA JETS SPECIAL AWARDS

AWARD　　　　　　　　　SPONSOR　　　　　　　　　　 PILOT　　　　　　　　　 MODEL

Best Military Jet　　　　　　　　　　　　 Model Airplane News　　　　　　　　 Greg Wright　　　　　　　　 F-86 (Canadian)

　Runner-up　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Zap Glue　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Pete Goldsmith　　　　　　　 F-104 (Luftwaffe)

Best Sport Jet　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Horizon Hobby　　　　　　　　　　　　 Joey Tamaz　　　　　　　　　 Ultra Bandit

Best Sport Jet Runner-up　　　　　　　　 Global Jet Club　　　　　　　　　　　 Bob Violett　　　　　　　　　 Ultra Bandit

Best Sport Color Scheme　　　　　　　　　 JetCat USA　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Azza Stephens　　　　　　　 Rebel Pro

Best Civilian Jet　　　　　　　　　　　　 Ray & Robin’s Hobby Center　　　　　　 Ali Machinchy　　　　　　　 Viper Jet

Best Sport Jet Performance　　　　　　　 Dreamworks Model Products　　　　　　 Pablo Fernandez　　　　　　 Rebel Pro

Best Scale Jet Performance　　　　　　　 Elite Aerosports　　　　　　　　　　　 Ali Machinchy　　　　　　　 F-86 (Luftwaffe)

Best Electric Jet Performance　　　　　　 Hobbico　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 RJ Gonzalez　　　　　　　　 MiG 15

Best Multi Jet Performance　　　　　　　 Fly RC　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Jim Martin　　　　　　　　　 F-14

Best Craftsmanship　　　　　　　　　　　 Bob Violett Models　　　　　　　　　 Jack Diaz　　　　　　　　　 F-86

Most Outstanding Jet Flight　　　　　　　 KingTech Turbines　　　　　　　　　 Sebastiano Silvestri　　　　 Avanti

　Runner-up　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Jet Central　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Azza Stephens　　　　　　　 Rebel Pro

Just Plane Crazy　　　　　　　　　　　　 Best in the West Jets　　　　　　　　 Ali Machinchy　　　　　　　 Turbo Spitfire

Special Recognition　　　　　　　　　　 RC Sport Flyer　　　　　　　　　　　 Mike Adams　　　　　　　　 Viper Jet

Special Recognition　　　　　　　　　　 Frank Tiano Enterprises　　　　　　　 Ken McSpadden　　　　　　 Viper Jet

Special Recognition　　　　　　　　　　 Spektrum Radio　　　　　　　　　　　 Rei Gonzalez　　　　　　　 T-2 Buckeye

Special Recognition　　　　　　　　　　 EZ Balancer　　　　　　　　　　　　 Dustin Buescher　　　　　　 BVM F-16

Special Recognition　　　　　　　　　　 Florida Jets Fly Girls　　　　　　　 Scott Harris　　　　　　　 T-2 Buckeye

Special Recognition　　　　　　　　　　 PowerBox Systems　　　　　　　　　 Kristopher Gunter　　　　　 F-16

Special Recognition　　　　　　　　　　 JR Americas　　　　　　　　　　　　 Jose Melendez　　　　　　 Avanti “Frozen”

Critics’ Choice　　　　　　　　　　　　 Zap Glue and Model Airplane News　　 Mark Petrak　　　　　　　　 L-39

　Runner-up　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Frank Tiano Enterprises　　　　　　　 Greg Wright　　　　　　　　 F-86

Red custom Turbo Spitfire model displayed in flight. — Ali Machinchy’s impressive, custom Turbo Spitfire has a 91-inch wingspan, 32-pound flying weight, and is powered by a turboprop.

A red BAE Hawk model approaching over the runway as spectators watch. — Jeff Stubbs’s BAE Hawk on final approach in a stiff crosswind.

Greg Foushi and Bill Freeland standing with their F-16 model jets. — Greg Foushi and Bill Freeland display their F-16s. Greg and Bill are members of the Remote Control Association of Central Florida in Apopka FL.