FOCAL POINT
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Super Kaos 60
Mark Snowden (Batavia, Ohio; email: msnowden@hotmail.com) found a 50-year-old Joe Bridi Super Kaos 60 balsa kit for sale online. After the meet-up and sale, he realized that it did not contain wood for the 58.5-inch wing. The seller was mortified and gave Mark a box of unused balsa that more than completed the build.
The electric conversion sports a balsa replica .60 VECO engine in the nose. Because the hatch was put under the nose, the canopy sits atop four rare earth magnets that pull out of harm’s way during a battery swap. The unique livery was done by Callie Graphics.
Mark used the design to honor a Control Line Stunt airplane called Ephesian that was built and flown by Will Hinton back in the 1970s. Mark and Will are both officers in the Fellowship of Christian Modelers (www.fcmodelers.com). Mark and the Super Kaos 60 were also featured in “I Am the AMA” in the March 2024 issue of Model Aviation.
Roban EC-130 Helicopter
Chuck Mager (Red Oak, North Carolina; email: jets20@hotmail.com) said, “You don’t see many helicopters in ‘Focal Point,’ so here is mine.” His Roban 800-size EC-130 helicopter was modeled after the full-scale aircraft used for Grand Canyon tours.
The 12S power system comes from two 6S 6,000 mAh batteries, an Egodrift 360 Kv motor, and a Castle Creations 120 ESC. KST servos handle the swashplate and tail rotor, all controlled through an Ikon flybarless system. The nine-blade Fenestron tail rotor also has scale stator blades just like the full-scale heli.
Other scale details include custom-made seat belts for all seven seats, a civilian pilot from Warbird Pilots, lighted instrument panels, and navigation and strobe lights from UniLight. The main blades have also been painted to match the full-scale heli.
Sig Smith-Miniplane
Mark Hewis (Orwell, Ohio; email: hewismark@gmail.com) built this 44-inch wingspan Sig Smith-Miniplane over the past two years. He converted it to electric, with power by an Avian 4250-850 Kv motor on a four-cell 3,300 mAh battery and control by a Spektrum AR630 receiver with Safe technology. Weighing 5.6 pounds, it is covered with Ceconite Lite and finished in Randolph nitrate and butyrate dope, with a Callie Graphics mask for the trim.
Mark said that this is a tribute to the airplane he test-flew in 1970 at the “happy age” of 19.
X-Fly J-65 Replica of Gulfstream G650
Scott Price (Portland, Oregon; email: sprice133@comcast.net) repainted the stock X-Fly J-65 to replicate a Gulfstream G650. Rust-Oleum Apple Red paint covering the stock gray, combined with a little less than a 70-inch wingspan, makes for a highly visible airplane in the air.
Twin 70mm 12-blade fans powered by two 2860-KV2200 inrunner brushless motors run off of a 6S 6,000 mAh battery to provide 6-plus minutes of very scale flight. The stock ARF comes with a three-axis stabilization system that does a good job of dealing with windy days and includes an auxiliary channel that is dedicated to keeping the nose gear tracking straight down the runway.
Servoless metal retracts with durable trailing link suspension struts handle hard surface or grass landings confidently. Control is via a Futaba T14FG 14-channel transmitter and Futaba R617FS FASST seven-channel receiver.
Dancing Wings PT-17 ARF
Ron Cheshire (Largo, Florida; email: ronwc@hotmail.com) bought this Dancing Wings 63-inch PT-17 ARF still in the box at a swap meet. It uses a 60-size motor with a 100-amp ESC, a 6,000 mAh 6S LiPo battery, and a 14 X 8 propeller. Control is by Ron’s trusty Futaba 10J radio with standard Hitec BB servos. Even with the heavy battery, he had to add 8 ounces of lead to get the center of gravity correct.
The photo was taken right before the test flight at the Largo Flying Club. “The test flight went fine, with a few minor adjustments,” Ron said. “My good friend, Steve Philbin, helped me with the finish-up work.”
Dynaflite Fun-Scale Fly Baby
Darren Gibson’s (Eau Claire, Wisconsin; email: darreng8@juno.com) new airplane build for 2024 is a Dynaflite 84-inch Fun Scale Fly Baby.
Power is provided by a US 25 gas engine that has a spring start. Darren stated that it’s easy to start and that he has always liked the color scheme that he covered it using MonoKote.
Diamond Dust 2.0
The Diamond Dust 2.0, by Chris Fox (Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania; email: rcflyer90@gmail.com), has been an ongoing trial-and-error project, but he believes that he has found the best setup for the electric model.
Power is by a Neu 1120 1Y motor and an APD 200-amp FX drive with a Cam 7 x 7 power propeller. He stated that, on 5S, “it flies very crisp and light with excellent power! On 6S, it is insane! It’s well overpowered but still very easy to fly.” He uses Savox SC-0252MG servos and a Spektrum six-channel receiver with a Spektrum NX10 10-channel transmitter.
Chris said, “If you want a very versatile Delta that goes from crawl speed to ballistic in seconds, build one of these!”
CARF-Models MiG-15
Jamie Park (Highlands Ranch, Colorado; email: parkjn@gmail.com) submitted his CARF-Models MiG-15 that he built in the fall and winter of 2023.
The livery is a Czech scheme that was painted with Rust-Oleum using graphics from Callie Graphics. The 80-inch wingspan jet weighs 27 pounds dry and is powered by a KingTech 120G4 turbine engine using diesel. Control is with an FrSky X20S radio and ProModeler 360DS servos, and Electron Retracts landing gear is employed.
The maiden went very well at Jamie’s home club, the Arvada Associated Modelers, in Denver (at an elevation of 5,800 feet), with a few clicks of aileron and elevator.
