AMA Expo East 2017
by Sal Calvagna
rcgiants@optonline.net
Welcome back. I was honored to be one of the guest speakers at the inaugural AMA Expo East, held at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, New Jersey, on February 24-26. Whatever I had to impart paled in comparison to what four-time space shuttle commander Robert “Hoot” Gibson, and what son of aviation great Igor Sikorsky, Nikolai Sikorsky, had to say. In one word: historic.
Featured in this column are two of the magnificent RC Giant Scale model award winners at this year’s Expo.
Before I get started, I have been informed that the 32nd Annual Binghamton Aeros’ event has this year been extended to a full four days. The event has been rebranded as the Binghamton Aeros’ Festival of Giants and will be held August 10-13 at the Chenango Bridge Airport near Binghamton, New York. Contacts for the event are listed in “Sources.”
Lavochkin La-7
Gary West, of Ocala, Florida, built an amazing Russian World War II fighter, the Lavochkin La-7. The model was built from a Scale Wings kit, spans 111 inches, and is powered by a Moki 250cc radial engine. It is 1:3.5 scale and sports segmented scale flaps, a sliding pneumatic canopy, and a scratch-built cockpit. The aircraft is painted with exterior latex paint.
Gary uses a Spektrum DX18 radio for control. The model won first place in the post-World War I class. Congratulations, Gary! For more information about this airplane, please visit the Scale Wings page on the Vogelsang Aeroscale website.
The Lavochkin La-7 was similar to the previous La-5; however, it was given a more powerful engine and metal wing spars. The La-5 sported wooden spars.
Additionally, the La-7 incorporated a third 20mm cannon and all three could fire approximately 7 pounds of lead per second.
Flying at more than 400 mph, the La-5 and La-7 were two of the best fighter aircraft of WW II. Approximately 5,750 La-7s were produced. For Semyon Alekseyevich Lavochkin’s contribution during the war, he was awarded the esteemed Stalin Prize.
Gee Bee Model R-2
Ed Andrews, of Pittsburgh, is shown in one of the photos with his scratch-built 52% Gee Bee Model R-2 Racer. The model has a 13-foot wingspan, weighs 122 pounds, and is finished with urethane paint. It is powered by a ZDZ 210 engine and took 2½ years to complete.
The Gee Bee has scale landing gear, door locks with keys, a homemade exhaust, and hand-painted lettering.
The original Gee Bee Model R-2 was flown in the 1932 Cleveland Air Races and the associated Transcontinental Air Race. Ed’s model was designed and built to replicate one that was flown by Delmar Benjamin in the 1990s. The full-scale Gee Bee now rests at Fantasy of Flight near Lakeland, Florida.
1/6-Scale McDonnell F-101 Voodoo
Four-time Top Gun winner Dave Wigley, of Lake Grove, New York, had his latest “top secret” project—a 1/6-scale McDonnell F-101 Voodoo at the show. Okay, it’s not so top secret, but I did get first crack at reporting on the build.
Dave is building the model from three-view drawings and designed all of the parts—including the landing gear—himself. At 1/6 scale, the fuselage is nearly 12 feet long. The photo depicts the mold that Dave made to fabricate the dozen or so plugs that were necessary for the fiberglass/carbon-fiber parts. The model can be broken down into three fuselage sections with removable wings. Stay tuned for progress reports.
The full-scale Voodoo was designed to be used in a multifunction capacity as a nuclear-armed fighter/bomber and photo reconnaissance aircraft. The first production model was delivered in 1954. Although its career as a fighter/bomber was relatively short, it served longer as an interceptor and for photo reconnaissance. It was affectionately called the One-Oh-Wonder and was known for its many record-setting achievements.
Top RC Model P-51 Mustang ARF
Caiman Distribution LLC was at this year’s AMA Expo East with its line of Top RC Model aircraft. The latest is the 89-inch wingspan P-51 Mustang, which is offered in two schemes and designed to be powered by a 50cc to 60cc engine. Unlike similar-size P-51 ARF models that are on the market today, the Top RC Model Mustang is full composite construction. There’s no film covering here. Some of the specifications for the model include a true scale outline; a prepainted finish with preapplied, coated decals; a scalelike painted, full-depth cockpit and scale exhaust; included drop tanks; and a complete hardware package featuring fiberglass control horns.
For more information about these high-quality ARF kits, please visit the Caiman Distribution website.
News Flash
After more than 40 years in production, the ever-popular Balsa USA 1/3-scale Sopwith Pup kit has been redesigned. This was one of the earliest and largest kit offerings available at the dawn of Giant Scale modeling, and has become one of the favorite WW I models of all time.
The new kit, #461, will include laser-cut parts, functional landing gear, and prebent wire cabanes with fairings. The model’s dimensions remain the same: 108-inch wingspan, 77-inch fuselage length, 36-inch height, and 4,428 square inches of wing area. The all-up weight is still nearly 30 pounds. The Pup is designed for 45cc to 70cc engines.
For more information, visit the Balsa USA website.
That’s all for now. See you in August.
SOURCES:
Binghamton Aeros’ Festival of Giants
Larry Cobb, contest director: cobb99@nep.net
Tony Jensen: travelpilot@gmail.com
www.binghamtonaeros.wildapricot.org/
event-2421063
Vogelsang Aeroscale
(919) 533-6275
www.vogelsangaeroscale.com
Caiman Distribution LLC
(800) 803-3658
www.caimandist.com
Balsa USA
(906) 863-6421
https://shop.balsa usa.com
AMA Expo East
www.amaexpo.com
