FanFacts H
ello again, and what an interest- ing month it has been! Reviewing, and re-reviewing almost 2500 photos of phenomenal airplanes,
and seeing more detail each time they are viewed is an interesting exercise and makes my “scale-ness” filter go up logarithmically. I’ve also spent some time looking up/review- ing information on bungee launching and hook placement (more on this next month, I need to finish my modifications and take some photos first!). There will be no close- up, detail type photos, and not a lot of words from me this month, but I’ll present a bunch of neat airplanes in all sizes and price points for you to ponder as we enter the building season.
Following my photo review, I headed
down the road to Waco, Texas for the 29th incarnation of The Greater Southwest Jet Rally. I was unable to attend last year and we were washed out in 2009 after just half a day, so it has been three years since I have been able to hang out and fly with a great group of folks, and I’m glad I made the trip! It is always a pleasure to see what Vernon Montgomery is flying, and along with his venerable KingCat (one of the original batch) he brought along a large F-86. This new model is the 1
⁄5 scale Skymaster F-86,
and with a wingspan of 91 inches, this is not a small airplane; but watching it in flight is a treat, since it is (in Vernon’s hands) smooth! Also present was a “blast from the past”
in the form of a B-58. I can remember see- ing the Lynn McCauley-designed beauty fly (once) on ducted fans and hearing Butch Sickels’ plans for this one makes me look for- ward to what is coming! Keeping with the large airplanes theme,
“B-1 Bob” Moore brought his huge, scratch built Thud to fly, and fly he did! This is one large and serious model, which like its full
Fan Fly. Vernon can show you how to fly a Sabre,big and smooth. PHOTOGRAPHY: GREG MOORE
Vernon Montgomery’s new 1 ⁄5
scale counterpart, likes to use up the avail- able runway. An unfortunate engine issue resulted in an off-field landing which broke one of the wings, but by the time this issue reaches you, it should be back in the air. Bob also had a large F-14 that he has been work- ing on, so he and Butch had quite the im- pressive tent to stare into! When Saturday came, the tent grew even
more impressive with the addition of Barry Raborn’s gorgeous Phantasy-in-Blue F-84. Barry has been flying this model (and tak- ing it to Top Gun) for several years, and it just works! At the other end of the pits, Roger Kirchner brought his Jack Holland- designed Jackknife, and the more I see this plane fly, the more impressed I am with it! The prototype was smooth, but the produc- tion versions are amazing!
by greg moore You can reach Greg Moore via e-mail at
jetflyr@comcast.net
scale F-86 from Skymaster settles in for a landing at the Greater Southwest All right, you don’t have a 90-foot trailer
to put your airplanes in, or a workshop to match so the above airplanes are nice to look at, but I can hear you saying “Next!” and I agree wholeheartedly. While I wish (semi- sort-a) that I had the vehicle and workshop, sizing to manage one of those big beauties, I want something a bit more space-efficient. Barry Raborn had his as yet unflown Toma- hawk Models Futura, which, with its For- mula 1 automobile racing team color scheme, is amazing to look at, and only needs a “120N” sized engine for power. While it is definitely a “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” airplane, a flying buddy had the “90N” sized version, which flew very nicely, and at our high Colorado altitude! Sticking with the “normal sized planes was Freddie Jones from Sun City, AZ who
Butch Sickels brought his B-58 Hustler out from his mothball closet to bask in the sun in Waco, TX (above left). Plans to get this venerable beauty into the air again are afoot, with much more predictable and powerful turbine power. Bob (B-1 Bob) Moore came down from Oklahoma to fly his huge F-105 Thunderchief
44
(above right). Totally scratchbuilt, this big beautiful Thudneeds to be seen to be believed, and just like its full-scale counterpart, it likes to use most of the runway before committing aviation, but once airborne is a fantastic sight. One is hard pressed to distinguish the model from the full scale in photographs.
DECEMBER 2011
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