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
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:
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Contact Flying Modelsat (973) 383-3355 Voice, (973) 383-4064 FAX, or e-mail us at
frankf@flying-models.com
ob Caso took a bunch of good pic- tures and put together a good ar- ticle on the 25th anniversary of Top Gun, one of scale R/C’s pre- mier events. In all the fluster of a deadline though we goofed identifying one of the pic- tures, that of Douglas Dauntless on page 44 in the June 2013 issue of FM.
In a way it was a serendipitous goof be- cause in setting the facts straight it revealed a good story. Rich Uravitch was the protag- onist who informed me of the mistake and proceeded to tell me the back story. So here it is.
First I owe Bill Steffes an apology for not crediting him as the builder of the Daunt- less. He entered it in Team scale with Dave Pinegar as his pilot. Bill, for many years, was and is an ardent scale pilot/builder. And for many years, even from the beginning I think, he was a regular competitor at Top Gun.
He was also a regular in the static compe- tition at the WRAM Show each year until he moved permanently to Florida. He would catch up with me at the show and talk about models and his planes, or would compare notes during the static judging. About eight years ago, he suffered a debil- itating stroke that prevented him from en- joying his passion, model airplanes and fly- ing. It was a long road back but this year he came to Top Gun once again, with the Dauntless, a model he had crashed before the stroke and which had laid around all that time.
But he managed to resurrect it despite his handicap, and in the very able flying skills of Dave Pinegar managed to do well. It’s a pleasure to see a good person and modeler back in the thick of things he loves. Here’s hoping he manages to enjoy more years do- ing what he loves.
Since we’re on the subject of scale, now might be a good time to mention warbird events. Larry Kruse treats us to a look at the Warbirds over Texas, a relative newcomer to this increasingly popular way to bring lots of gorgeous R/C scale models together for some low key flying. As Larry relates the North Dallas R/C Club, under the direction of Ter- ry Farmer quickly learned over the span of two years how to run a thoroughly enjoyable scale gathering and bring in a very decent sized group of modelers and magnificent models.
These scale get-togethers seem to be pro- liferating and the granddaddy of them all is Warbirds over Delaware that was the proto- type. The Delaware R/C Club started it 21 years ago and it has grown to be a very big event that draws mostly giant scale models and quarter scale models from the entire East Coast to the site at Lums Pond State Park.
Both groups, the North Dallas R/C Club and the Delaware R/C Club, deserve a heap of kudos for bringing the really good stuff to- gether and promoting it to the public. Keep an eye pealed for a warbird event near you.
About four years ago, Daniel Walton pre- sented a super simple R/C design aimed at beginners. It was a simple stick design for electric. It didn’t have a lot of eye appeal but it’s simplicity was meant to provide an op- portunity for successfully building and fly- ing a first R/C ship—and at a good, econom- ical price.
Well the follow-on to the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Schtyk) has arrived, It’s the K.I.S.S. Phase II. While it still retains simplicity of construction, it raises the bar a notch by in- corporating a full fuselage, and using some of the techniques learned with the first K.I.S.S.
And as an added bonus, Daniel continues the saga with an article about how he added a whole light system to the K.I.S.S. for a very practical and good reason. Seems that out in the Midwest—he lives in Kansas—the wind blows perpetually, except at night. The conspiracy of daytime wind and nighttime calm kept people from flying small models. With his lighting system Daniel has broken the conspiracy and designed a system that can keep a plane very visible on even the blackest of nights so one can enjoy the calm of evening.
While Daniel designed this system for the K.I.S.S. his ideas certainly could be used on almost any plane. The photography will dra- matically show what the plane looks like when fully lit, and how easily orientation can be determined. Just be careful that the neighbors don’t mistake your plane for a U.F.O.
No one will mistake the 3DX Hobbies FlatFoilZ Edge 540 for a U.F.O. But there is no mistaking the amount of fun you can have with this very economical flat plate foamie. The FlatFoilZ series was follow-on to the 3DX AirFoilZ line. The whole ration- ale for the latter was a rigid, “fat” fuselage foam profile with a cambered wing. They proved that the rigidity really enhanced the responsiveness of these simple planes. The FlatFoilZ series mixed the equation by going to complete flat plate construction. But the rigidity had to remain. From my ex- perience with the Edge 540 reviewed this month, it has successfully retained the rigidity that makes it pretty responsive. And this isn’t an ARF. It has to be built al- most like any balsa profile.
Pete Serafini just happened to be around so I asked him to help with the flight pho- tography and then I turned the plane over to him since he’s much better at 3D flying than I am. After that flying session we both had the same comment: very nice! Don’t think I have to tell you that small helicopters are hugely popular. Most of them up until now have relied on coaxial ro- tors for ease of flying but that doesn’t seem to be the case these days as you’ll see with the review of the Heli-Max UH-60 Black Hawk. As Chris Susicke reports, this little chopper marries the scale detail found in a plastic model with a four-blade rotor and a tail blade rotor. –FRANK FANELLI
AUGUST 2013
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