FOCAL POINT
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Hog Bipe
Tom Sudduth (Midland, Texas; email: tomsudduth@gmail.com) built this Sig Manufacturing Hog Bipe in 2022 in preparation for the Hi Sky RC club’s 35th annual Calling of the Hogs Fly-In. Built for electric power, modifications were required to accommodate a battery hatch and a new firewall for the brushless motor.
The biplane is powered by a 60‑size 360 Kv brushless motor on a 6S 5,000 mAh LiPo battery pack, swinging a 17 x 6 thin electric propeller and producing 1,200 watts. This setup yields flight times of approximately 8 minutes. The color scheme is based on a Stearman PT-13 trainer in the U.S. Army Corps livery. To complete the scale look, Tom designed and 3D-printed a mock radial engine and pilot using Tinkercad and an Ender 3 Pro printer.
Guided by a Spektrum NX8 transmitter and Hitec metal-geared servos, the 9-pound model handles the west Texas wind well. Tom said, “It quickly became my favorite airplane to fly.”
Berkeley Privateer
Craig Matsuura (Glendora, California; email: crtsutomu@gmail.com) found this 1955 Berkeley Custom Privateer (McGovern’s Monster) in a garage and performed a total rehabilitation. The vintage 114-inch-wingspan floatplane had a sound structure but required stripping and recovering of all of the flying surfaces.
Craig built a new fuselage hatch to replace a missing piece, repainted the fuselage, and installed new equipment. Originally kitted in 1955 following a 1954 Air Trails feature, the Privateer has been returned to its former glory. Craig reports that the aircraft is “a smooth flyer off of the water.”
Blue Angel
Bernie Olson (Aurora, Colorado; email: olsonjg1@att.net) completed his sixth Blue Angel, a Japanese design that won the 1972 FAI F3A World Championship for Aerobatic Model Aircraft (RC Aerobatics [Pattern]). This iteration was scratch-built using a molded fiberglass fuselage, a honeycomb foam-core wing, and a built-up horizontal tail.
Bernie considers the Blue Angel one of the finest-looking Pattern airplanes of its era. His model is propelled by an O.S. .65AX engine and finished with Klass Kote paint. The final flying weight for the aircraft is 7.4 pounds.
Airtronics Buteo
Bruce Stevens (Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; email: brulexdan@yahoo.com) scratch-built this rare Airtronics Buteo, a 2-meter version of the Aquila that was designed by Lee Renaud in 1977. Lee passed away before the design was kitted, but four individuals—Dan Pruss, Gordon Pearson, Larry Jolly, and Mike McIntire—made pre-production kits. “It was Mike who inspired me to make my first scratch-build with this airplane,” Bruce said.
After obtaining a reproduction of the plans, Bruce made several modernizations, including an S3014 airfoil, extending the nose by 3/4 inch, and enlarging the front end and cockpit to handle the modern XPower F2919/10 Light cased outrunner motor and 3S 2,200 mAh 30C Spektrum battery.
Clipped-Wing Taylorcraft
Corey Kelmel (North Bend, Washington; email: bruxeldan@yahoo.com) is pictured with his son and wife, who both assisted in the build of this 1/3-scale clipped-wing Taylorcraft. Built from Bob Nelitz plans and a few pieces from a JTEC short kit, the model is a replica of the full-scale Taylorcraft N125MP, which features a Rihn DR-107 One-Design cowling and tail group, as well as a bigger engine, three-blade propeller, and other modifications.
The 9-foot-wingspan model is powered by a StinGR 120 motor with a Tribune 220-amp ESC and a 25- or 26-inch three-blade propeller. Control is provided by four Savox 2290 servos and a Spektrum nine-channel PowerSafe receiver. Finished in Neucover with a custom fiberglass cowling, aluminum and titanium hardware were used throughout as much as possible. The airplane weighs 25.2 pounds on 12S 7,200 mAh SMC high-voltage LiPo battery packs. Corey utilized carbon fiber and contest balsa to keep the airframe light and rigid.
Ken Willard Schoolgirl
Don C. Irvine (Redmond, Oregon; email: dci2fly@outlook.com) built this enlarged version of Ken Willard’s Schoolgirl after reading Pat Trittle’s “Small-Field Flying” column in the October 2025 issue of Model Aviation. The color scheme celebrates the 250th anniversary of the US. Don plans to fly the Schoolgirl this summer at his club’s field in the Redmond area.
Don downloaded the original single-channel plans from the Outerzone Vintage & Old-Timer Plans website, redrew it on a computer, and then printed it on a large-format printer to reach a 36-inch wingspan. Built from balsa wood and parts on hand, the 22-ounce model is covered in Hangar 9 film. It features a 200-watt HobbyStar 2808 motor, an 8 x 5 propeller, and a six-channel Spektrum radio.
ESM A6M2 Zero
Gonzalo Bures (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico; email: gonzalobures@gmail.com) finished his second ESM 88.5-inch Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero. After losing his first Zero of 15 years to an elevator failure, Gonzalo was able to acquire this model from his friend, Ricky Rivera. The airframe required major surgery and tender loving care, including the removal and replacement of all of the fuselage bulkheads with top-quality plywood.
Gonzalo fixed the fiberglass skin and created space for a full-scale cockpit, which is manned by the pilot from his original model. The Zero is powered by a DLE-55 engine and guided by a Futaba 14SG transmitter. It features pneumatic main retracts with closing gear doors, a mechanical tail wheel retract, and a functional external auxiliary fuel tank that drops in flight. Gonzalo maidened the model this past February.
Blohm & Voss P-170 Cherokee
George Lumpkins (Katy, Texas; email: golumpk@swbell.net), a member of the Bayou City Flyers, is at it again. This time, he’s built this unique Blohm & Voss P-170 from plans found on eBay. Because the full-scale aircraft never moved beyond the proposal stage, George settled on a custom paint scheme developed with Callie Graphics.
The model has a 45-inch wingspan and length of 35 inches. It is powered by three Value Hobby 480-size 1,200 Kv motors with Master Airscrew 8 x 6 three-blade propellers. It uses three Hobbywing 30-amp ESCs and a single CNHL 4,200 mAh 3S LiPo battery. Following a “white-knuckle” maiden flight, George installed a three-axis gyro to stabilize the mass of the engines on the wingtips. He noted that while it might not be a daily flyer, it is now stable and very unique in the air.
