Author: Sal Calvagna

Edition: Model Aviation - 2026/04
Page Numbers: 60, 61, 62
RC Giant Scale

RC GIANTS TAKE TO THE SKY

By Sal Calvagna rcgiants@optonline.net

The front view of Mike Purcell’s Ziroli Plans 1/5-scale Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless dive bomber.

RC Giant Scale

WELCOME BACK. Featured in this month’s column are two superb RC Giant Scale aircraft that we all should see a lot more of during the 2026 flying season. Enjoy!

Ziroli Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless Dive Bomber

Mike Purcell, of Cape Charles, Virginia, built this amazing Nick Ziroli Plans 1/5-scale Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless dive bomber. Spanning 100 inches and weighing in at 43 pounds, this World War II-era aircraft is powered by a 3W-75 two-stroke gas engine swinging a JC Super Props 24 x 10 propeller.

The SBD-5 was built using standard stick-built construction techniques, Zap Glue products, and balsa sheeting, and features a fiberglass finish. Mike took the time to add more than 40,000 simulated rivets with a hypodermic needle and toothpick to enhance the model’s scale fidelity. He installed Robart pneumatic, retractable landing gear with a mixture of Hitec HS-645MG and JR PROPO servos throughout. Mike even went the extra mile by making the rear gunner turret rotate from side to side and installed a Meister Scale large bomb release mechanism.

WarbirdColors paint and Callie Graphics paint masks were used for the scheme of U.S. Navy Lt. Cook Cleland, who led his squadron on a late-afternoon strike against Japanese carriers on June 10, 1944, which was just days before the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot. Lt. Cleland won the U.S. Navy Cross for the success of this mission.

Mike reports that the model is very stable, predictable, and easy to see in the air. In order to replicate a dive bomb approach, he starts at altitude, throttles back to slow down, deploys the speed brakes, pushes the elevator stick down to achieve a 70° to 80° dive, and then releases the bomb. Mike admits that this was not easy to perfect. The model lands like it’s on rails.

For a couple of facts about the full-scale aircraft, Douglas manufactured the SBD Dauntless from 1940 to 1944, with the SBD-5 variant being the most produced at nearly 3,000 aircraft made. It is best remembered as the aircraft that dealt the fatal blows to all four Japanese aircraft carriers during the Battle of Midway. Pilots joked that the SBD-5 was slow but deadly. Even though it was to be replaced by the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver in 1944, the Dauntless proved to have better performance and continued flying until the end of the war.

Nice work, Mike! Congratulations on such an awesome aircraft.

23% Vickers Vimy Bomber

Jeff Shutic, of Wakeman, Ohio, has been working on a nearly 1/4-scale Vickers Vimy bomber model for more than 10 years. Once it was framed, it ended up sitting idle because of his work/life obligations. Now that he’s retired, Jeff is committed to completing the model.

Spanning close to 16 feet, Jeff expects the model to weigh in the vicinity of 105 pounds. The scratch-built project used enlarged Ian Stair drawings that were published in Windsock Datafiles about the Vickers Vimy. He even followed the framing details of the full-scale aircraft, especially the engine nacelles, which will house a pair of Zenoah G-62 two-stroke gas engines.

The nacelle interplane struts were designed to carry the thrust loads directly to the spruce wing spars. Most of the airframe is aircraft-grade spruce with balsa ribs and formers, and 1/16 Finnish birch plywood was used for the various shear webs.

The ailerons are statically balanced, while the elevators are counterbalanced internally along the pull-pull wire sets in the forward fuselage. The double landing gear sets use powerchair wheels that have dual-bearings and are closed out with faux wheel covers.

Jeff covered the model with Stits Poly Lite fabric and used Behr acrylic latex for the paint. The flight controls are fully redundant to comply with AMA’s Large Model Aircraft Program rules. A Futaba transmitter and receivers were used, along with Hitec servos.

The wire rigging was the most challenging part of the project. Using Mick Reeves .020 x .125-wide flat wire, Jeff’s solution was to produce his own left-hand/right-hand stud and clevis sets to create truly adjustable rigging. Bronze studs were turned and threaded, press-fit, and then silver-soldered onto the flat wire.

What a great project, Jeff! I can’t wait to see the finished model.

The SBD-5 in flight with its flaps down.
The SBD-5 in flight with its flaps down.
The rear gunner of the SBD-5. Notice the rivet and turret details.
The rear gunner of the SBD-5. Notice the rivet and turret details.

That’s all for this month. Drop me an email with some photos of your current project. I’m sure your fellow AMA members would enjoy seeing them. Don’t forget to include yourself in the photo. Best to you in 2026.

Jeff Shutic’s 23% Vickers Vimy bomber framed and partially covered.
Jeff Shutic’s 23% Vickers Vimy bomber framed and partially covered.
Jeff covered and painted the Vimy’s tail with Behr exterior acrylic latex paint.
Jeff covered and painted the Vimy’s tail with Behr exterior acrylic latex paint.
The Vimy’s fuselage sides feature fabric covering with nicely sewn seams for added fidelity.
The Vimy’s fuselage sides feature fabric covering with nicely sewn seams for added fidelity.
Jeff designed his own wire attachments for the aircraft.
Jeff designed his own wire attachments for the aircraft.

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