Henry R. Carstens
president and publisher
carstens@carstens-publications.com
Frank Fanelli editor
Jim Wiggin associate editor Maureen Frazer production editor
John A. Earley vice-president and director of advertising
Pieter W. Uptegrove advertising manager
George Riley director of marketing
Larry Deitch advertising production manager
Tammy Havens advertising production
Phyllis M. Carstens assistant to the publisher
Otto Vondrak webmaster
Chris Lane book acquisitions manager
Lynn Good, Dot Schmidt customer service
Cathy Streeter dealer service
FLYING MODELS (ISSN 0015-4849) Incorporating FLYING ACES and R/C Model Boating, is published monthly by Carstens Publications, Inc., 108 Phil Hardin Road, Fredon Township, Newton, New Jersey 07860. Phone: 973-383-3355. FAX: 973-383-4064. Visit our web site at
www.flying-models.com, or e-mail us at:
carstens@carstens-publications.com. Henry R. Car- stens, President; John A. Earley, Vice President, Phyl- lis Carstens, Secretary / Treasurer. Periodicals Postage paid at Newton, NJ 07860 and additional mailing offices.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to FLYING MODELS, 108 Phil Hardin Road, Newton NJ 07860. Copyright 2012 by Carstens Publications, Inc. Printed in the U.S.A. Publications Mail Agreement No. 40957020: Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: PO Box 503, RPO West Beaver Creek, Richmond Hill, ON L4B 4R6
SUBSCRIPTIONS: U.S.A. and possessions: $37.95 per year, $69.99 for two years, $99.95 for three years. Sin- gle copies $5.95. Canada/Foreign: $50.00 per year, $94.00 for two years, $136.00 for three years. Single copies $5.95. GST (BN #12472 5060RT). All communi- cations regarding subscriptions and changes of address should be sent to Circulation Manager, FLYING MOD- ELS, 108 Phil Hardin Road, Newton, NJ 07860. Please allow six weeks for change of address.
CONTRIBUTIONS: Articles and photographs are wel- come. Contributors are advised to keep a copy of man- uscripts and illustrations. When requested we will en- deavor to return all material in good condition if accompanied by return postage. FLYING MODELS as- sumes no responsibility for unsolicited material. Pay- ment is normally made upon publication. The contents of this magazine may not be reprinted without the writ- ten permission of the publisher.
ADVERTISING: Main advertising offices: FLYING MODELS, 108 Phil Hardin Road, Newton, NJ 07860. Phone: 973-383-3355; FAX: 973-383-4064.
4
LeftSeat W
Contact Flying Modelsat (973) 383-3355 Voice, (973) 383-4064 FAX, or e-mail us at
frankf@flying-models.com
hat makes the ideal R/C train- er? I’m pretty sure everyone has their favorites. Mine was the Eyeball Industries J-Craft, the
4-channel high wing cabin plane that got me started successfully in R/C. It sort of flew in the face of the conven-
tional wisdom at that time in the early 1970s because it had a tapered semi-sym- metrical wing. Almost all trainers then, in- cluding the venerable Falcons, Sr. and 56, had straight, washboard flat bottom wings. But I really liked the J-Craft. It was solid.
It stayed where you put it, and was never af- fected by wind like the classic trainers. And it certainly wasn’t foolproof. Had quite a few chances to learn rebuilding. Still have it, and it has seen conversions to floats and skis suc- cessfully. If ever there was a keeper the J- Craft is the one, not only for nostalgic reasons but a very practical one: it flies real good! Through the years the mantle of best or
most outstanding trainer has been both cov- eted and contested by various model air- craft, some sport, others scale. In this issue we take up that issue with a unique review, the Firebird Stratos from HobbyZone. The Stratos lays claim to some subtle but so- phisticated design features, chiefly some- thing that’s termed the Virtual Instructor (VI). And to further lay some extra creden- tials on the plane it was designed by Quique Somenzini, who knows more than a little something about model airplanes. So the next question was who to review it.
It certainly wouldn’t illustrate the capabili- ty of the plane to give it to a seasoned pilot. It had to be a total neophyte. Well then, how about two total neophytes? Enter Maureen Frazer and Tammy Havens. Can’t get any more neophyte than these two even though they have been here at Carstens for quite a few years. Despite their long association with FM they never tried their hands at R/C, even when the op- portunity presented itself. This time it was different, probably be-
cause I used my silken persuasion skills this time. You’ll have to see what happened by reading their article on the Firebird Stratos. As a matter of fact when they came back they related their enthusiasm with the plane. They even demanded that they keep on flying it. As some of those here at Carstens expressed it, I may have created a monster. How will it turn out? Stay tuned. And while on the subject of R/C, it’s a good
time to present another of the articles in this issue, the OQ-2A. I guarantee that this plane is obscure. As a matter of fact it could have been taken for a giant, giant scale mod- el. It in fact was a real aircraft with a thor- oughly fascinating history behind it. John Hunton, along with John Bird’s as- sistance, created the model of this WW II ra- dio controlled target drone. And the reason why John took on the project in the first place is just as fascinating as the history of the real aircraft. To add to the unique appeal of the mod-
el—I guarantee you’ll be the only one at your field with one if you build it—it also has the option for a retrieval parachute built into it, just as the real OQ-2A did. If you’re a histo- ry buff, or just like to build unusual models, you’re really gonna like this one. From the annals of WW II we move to the present day with another airplane that isn’t high on the recognition list. As a matter of fact, I didn’t know about it until Flyzone re- leased their model of it. It’s a homebuilt called the Millenium Master, and its sleek lines certainly reflect its brief history. Pete Serafini took on the task of looking it
over for us. It’s a good intermediate size with a 41-inch span and does it ever fly nice. Pete arrived in his Cessna 182 with it one after- noon at Newton Airport to get some flight shots. He certainly showed off its great fly- ing characteristic, even to the point of doing some very proficient knife edges. It’s not a high caliber aerobat but this electric foamy showed that it’s pretty capa- ble at just about any sport aerobatic maneuver. After a bit of an absence, Tom Houle is
back with us, and as he has always shown, the models he presents are always great, whether they’re sport or scale. In his article this month he gives us the Retro Sport. It’s an enlarged version of a 14-inch freeflight he built back in the 1970s, called The Zip. That plane he tells “...flew like stink”. With his enlarged modern remake of that
plane he also figured that if it flies so good as a rubber-powered freeflight, then with all of today’s micro R/C equipment, why not of- fer the option of building it for R/C as well. So now you have a two-fer. And along with
that option you also get Tom’s insight into building. Every article he’s ever shared with us has offered some gems of modeling tech- nique that raises the bar. This plane, while simple and easy to build, still lets us glean some of Tom’s expertise. A few paragraphs back I mentioned that
some here at Carstens said I had created a monster. I think the same could be said of John Brodak in the very best sense of that phrase. No one can contest the fact that John is thoroughly enchanted with control line flying, so much so that he put up his personal resources to create Brodak Manu- facturing for the sole purpose, at that time, of supplying C/L kits, engines, accessories or anything else that a C/L modeler would need. And to support “circle” flying even more
he started that great “monster” of an event, the Brodak Fly-in, held every June. One oth- er person who is thoroughly taken with C/L models, Will Hubin, has attended for quite a few years and shared with us the broad cat- egories flown there each year, including the increasingly popular Junkyard Wars. Will has also proven a master with the camera, capturing some great photos. Ever try photographing a C/L plane while it’s fly- ing? If you have you’ll appreciate what Will has achieved. –FRANK FANELLI
OCTOBER 2012
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68