MAGNIFICENT
RC GIANT
SCALE
MODELS
By Sal Calvagna | rcgiants@optonline.net
ALTHOUGH I WROTE this column in mid-November 2020, I’ll take this opportunity to welcome you to 2021 with the hopes that the COVID-19 pandemic is under control and calm prevails.
Most of us missed out on many gatherings that should have been held during the pandemic in 2020. Let’s see if we can turn things around for 2021. In the meantime, I am fortunate to be able to offer the following two RC Giant Scale models for this column.
Guy Forshey’s Boeing 80A-1
There are times when you see a Giant Scale model and just shake your head in wonder. This is one of them! Guy Forshey of Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, scratch-built this amazing Boeing 80A-1 from some scale drawings and plans that he drew. Here’s what Guy wrote:
“Greetings, Sal. I am sending some pictures of my recently completed, scratch-built, 1/8-scale Boeing 80A-1. The project spanned five years and was my first all-electric-powered model.
“My son is an aerospace engineer for Boeing, working in the Seattle area, and when my wife and I fly there from Pennsylvania, we make it a point to spend a day at The Museum of Flight. This facility is a must-see for aviation enthusiasts and houses the only surviving example of the 1928 Boeing 80-A1 airliner.
“I resisted the temptation to do this project at first, knowing how consuming this undertaking would be since I like to detail both the interior and exterior of each model. Later, I obtained a scale drawing from the museum and drew a set of model-size drawings in 2015. Since then, it has been full-speed ahead.
“The interior has passenger seats, working reading lights, curtains (my wife’s contribution), mahogany wall panels, and a complete restroom. The cockpit has all of the features of the original. The Pratt & Whitney Hornet engines were made using modified Williams Brothers Wasp cylinders with RimFire 80 motors that slide into a crankcase made from 2-inch diameter PVC pipe.
“The engine nacelles and the nose section are fiberglass made in two halves from plaster molds. Pennsylvania winters are an ideal time to hand-cut hundreds of rib-stitch tapes and cut thin strips of wood to simulate corrugated metal on the ailerons and the stabilizer. The model is covered with Sig Koverall on the open areas and 1/2-ounce
fiberglass cloth and rosin on the sheeted surfaces.
“This was my first attempt at using latex paint on a model, and I was pleased with the result. Despite three six-cell LiPo batteries in the front fuselage, I still needed some weight to balance it properly.
“With a wingspan of 120 inches and a weight of approximately 40 pounds, this model is the largest I have ever built, and I hope to have a report sometime soon of its behavior in the air.”
Guy is an amazing craftsman and I wish him the greatest success with his Boeing 80-A1.
He belongs to the Altoona Radio Control Club and the Cove Country Flyers located in Woodbury, Pennsylvania.
Glenn Torrance Fokker Dr.1 Triplane
Here’s an equally amazing model: a Glenn
Torrance-designed, 1/3-scale Fokker Dr.1 triplane that was built by Dave Von Frank of East Hampton, New York. The model is powered by a DLE-111 twin-cylinder gas engine and weighs approximately 40 pounds. Glenn is known for his fidelity to scale in all of his designs, and the Dr.1 is as close as it comes to a miniature reproduction.
This model was covered with Sig
Manufacturing Koverall cloth that was doped onto the structure and painted with Klass Kote paints. All of the markings were painted on using Red 5 stencils.
As with all triplanes, they are a joy to fly in the air. It’s the takeoffs and landings that can be interesting. Great job, Dave!
That’s all for now. Keep your fingers crossed, and let’s hope for a return to some sort of normalcy with the coming of spring.
SOURCES:
The Museum of Flight
www.museumofflight.org
