RC Giant Scale

Author: Sal Calvagna

1/3-scale Polikarpov I-16 model on a grassy field

RC GIANT SCALE

1/3-SCALE
POLIKARPOV
I-16 FROM
BELGIUM

By Sal Calvagna | rcgiants@optonline.net

WELCOME BACK. The October issue of Model Aviation is dedicated to building, construction, tips and tricks, and how-to articles, so I have included a “how-to” in this column for installing and programming a Sullivan Products SkyWriter Electronic Smoke System. But first, while Giant Scale modeling is a popular segment of model aviation here in the US, it is also very popular with our modeling friends in Europe.

Prolific modeler and friend Carton Alexander, of Kortrijk, West Flanders, Belgium, is shown in the photo with his 1/3-scale plans-built Russian Polikarpov I-16. It was commonly referred to as the Russian Rat from the Spanish word “rata,” which was the nickname given to it during the Spanish Civil War. The Russian nickname was Ishak, which means “little donkey.”

Carton built it using three-views and plans in Le Modèle Réduit d’Avion (MRA) magazine from Lyon, France. The I-16 spans 3 meters (approximately 118 inches) and weighs 28 kilograms (close to 61-1/2 pounds). Because the model has such a short nose moment, there’s lots of lead up front to properly balance it.

It is powered by a 3W-157 twin-cylinder gas engine. Carton used a set of modified Robart retractable landing gear and hand-made the cowling from a combination of wood, aluminum, and foam. The canopy was constructed from a brass structure that was finished with clear PETG plastic. Carton reports that the model flies well, but it comes in a bit hot on landings.

An interesting fact about the full-scale aircraft is that it was the world’s first monoplane fighter to use retractable landing gear. First flown in late 1933, it saw action in the Spanish Civil War and was Russia’s most numerous fighter at the start of the World War II.

It’s a super model, Carton!

Installing a SkyWriter Smoke System

An easy way to add some excitement to your flying masterpiece is to install a smoke system. With a flip of a switch, you can make plumes of smoke in flight or become an aerial artist by making different shapes in the sky.

One of the easiest and most effective systems to install is the Sullivan Products SkyWriter Electronic Smoke System, part number S753. The SkyWriter comes with everything you need for installation (less the muffler with an appropriate inlet), a separate smoke liquid tank, and a battery pack to power the pump. The photos show everything that is needed for proper installation.

After it’s installed, you can add the pump to any unused channel on the receiver.

You’ll then mix the pump channel with the throttle channel to control the volume of liquid into the muffler. Sullivan’s instructions read, “The microprocessor on the SkyWriter control board thinks like a servo. When the pump is off, the processor is responding to a full throw in the negative direction. When it is pumping, it responds to a throw past neutral in the other direction and sets the pump motor speed based on the positive throw percentage. This is important because if you have too much