JETS OVER KENTUCKY 2024
By Jim Hiller | jetmodeler@earthlink.net
I LOVE SUMMERTIME and the wonderful model events that come with it—good times, good friends, and lots of flying. I again spent a week in July at Jets Over Kentucky in Campbellsville, Kentucky, is the go-to event for jet modelers. There were approximately 190 registered pilots, with 900-plus feet of tents that were 40 feet deep, and plenty of flying time.
This year, the ranks of the sport jets grew again and even included new players on the market. The days of knowing all of the jet models that are available and having experience with a majority of them is over—there are just too many models to follow. If you have an interest and want to learn what is available, just do an internet search on the 2024 Jets Over Kentucky event and you will be amazed at the variety of models.
The Scale jets again were out in force, both with vendors who had amazing products and pilots with some incredibly built models. Many of them have been past award winners at Scale events throughout the country.
The much-anticipated release of 2024 was the CARF-Models F-4 Phantom, which is a very large model with an overall length of 13 to 14 feet, depending on the version of the F-4 that you order. The details of this model, including the extensive selection of underwing stores that are available, display the love and attention that Andreas Gietz and his crew have put into the development of this model. It is truly amazing.
Another great feature of this large model is that it can be built to the Large Turbine Model Airplane 2 (LTMA-2) weight and power requirements, which is a very impressive engineering feat. The all-up empty weight can be as light as 44 kilograms, or approximately 97 pounds. The maximum listed weight with all of the options and a large turbine is 55 kilograms, or approximately 121 pounds. It’s a big airplane with big weights.
Moving on to individual efforts, let’s start with William Jackson’s foam EDF F-4 Phantom jet that he brought and displayed in grand fashion. William went through the effort of putting a hard-surface, quality finish on this model then detailed it with features such as rivets, panel lines, full graphics, and some very well-done weathering to create a high-quality Scale model.
An unusual model this year at Jets Over Kentucky was Bryce Watson’s large-scale, turbine-powered Airbus Tiger combat helicopter. A special area was assigned to Bryce to fly his highly detailed helicopter to the crowd’s delight. It was a hit among the spectators because they were able to get up close to the model and Bryce, who made a great effort to answer their many questions before and after his demonstration flights. Bryce’s flights were very professional and scale in appearance—a true crowd pleaser.
A side note is that this first turbine helicopter to fly at Jets Over Kentucky worked
Moving on to individual efforts, let’s start with William Jackson’s foam EDF F-4 Phantom jet that he brought and displayed in grand fashion. William went through the effort of putting a hard-surface, quality finish on this model then detailed it with features such as rivets, panel lines, full graphics, and some very well-done weathering to create a high-quality Scale model.
An unusual model this year at Jets Over Kentucky was Bryce Watson’s large-scale, turbine-powered Airbus Tiger combat helicopter. A special area was assigned to Bryce to fly his highly detailed helicopter to the crowd’s delight. It was a hit among the spectators because they were able to get up close to the model and Bryce, who made a great effort to answer their many questions before and after his demonstration flights. Bryce’s flights were very professional and scale in appearance—a true crowd pleaser.
A side note is that this first turbine helicopter to fly at Jets Over Kentucky worked out so well that an interest has been expressed by Contest Director Lewis Patton to expand large-scale turbine helicopter participation at the event in future years.
Large-scale turbine helicopters made an appearance at the 2024 Jets Over Kentucky, with Bryce Watson attending and flying his Airbus Tiger. A select area was assigned for his helicopter operations to allow spectators to get an up-close view of his flying.
Roberto also brought his L-39 Albatros to Jets Over Kentucky. So much attention to detail was paid to this Scale model, including the extra effort to duplicate entrance stairs.
The top Scale jet award at Jets Over Kentucky this year went to Roberto Zelaya and his incredible Aermacchi MB-339. The photo shows the extra effort that went into the build, not only duplicating the exterior details of the airplane but also the hatches that open for equally detailed interior areas.
kits—almost as many as what Golden West Models produced of the original model prototype. The extra effort to duplicate items, such as the scale flap/spoiler setup, the large two-seat cockpit, and the many internal items hidden behind functioning hatches, really brought out the points for this model.
Roberto Zelaya also had multiple entries. His large models, a BAe Hawk 100 and an Aermacchi MB-339, were both wonderfully detailed builds. The top award was for his MB-339, which is truly a work of art. A thorough examination of this model reveals that the exterior is very well detailed, the cockpit is impeccable, and there are many functioning hatches with thoroughly detailed interior items adding to the complexity of the build. Well done, Roberto!
If you have an interest in participating with a turbine helicopter, contact Lewis directly for more information.
On to some of the Scale award winners. This was a tough selection with all of the highly detailed models on display. The airplanes that stood above the rest were a large group, but, alas, the top award winners were picked out. It was tough to capture one of these awards because so many of the models were of World Jet Masters quality. Great job, guys and gals!
Sal Becherano had some top models, such as his L-39 Albatros, Cessna A-37 Dragonfly, and an F-86 Sabre. All of them were extremely well-detailed builds. The standout in his fleet was his A-37 Dragonfly from a PST Jets kit. The company only made five of these
SOURCES:
Jet Pilots Organization (JPO)
www.jetpilot.org
Jets Over Kentucky
www.jokjets.com
Lewis Patton
(502) 592-5267
PST Jets
www.pstjets.com
CARF-Models
www.carf-models.com
