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Seen in these pages before, Mike Kulczyk’s scratchbuilt, 90mm JetFan powered FJ-1 Fury (above left) poses for the camera, resplendent in its operational paint scheme. A labor of love for several years, Mike doesn’t seem to do anything that is not scratchbuilt. Kit bashing is an honorable art, and if the wing needs help… well, you design a new one. Rich Uravitch liked the flight characteristics of his HobbyKing L-59, but found that the gripe about the wing strength and quality was correct, so he designed a new wing (above center)


If, like me, you are not skilled in CAD drawing, you peruse RCGroups and down- load the pdf file Rich has shared to get an idea of what he has in mind, then go to the shop and tune up your scroll saw. It is possi- ble that Rich might be able to kit a wing set at some point, but for now he plans on a downloadable set of plans with ribs once he has verified everything works correctly. (Ah yes, warm days in Florida this time of year allow for actual flying!)


Since I allowed my brain to digress with the word “flying” Rich provided a photo from


adding some more area and using good wood. Plans for a downloadable pdf file are anticipated; so a scratchbuilding kit basher’s plans to bring new life to a nice flying but under-thought arf will soon be a reality. The RCG links are discussed in the text. Living in Florida, Rich gets to fly in warm, sunny conditions (in early January) while the rest of us shiver. So he provided Greg with a nice shot of his own-designed twin 70mm S-3 Viking (above right). Hope for flying photos of the new L-59 wing are possible within a few weeks with that kind of weather!


New Years of his S-3 Viking. Boy that sure looks gorgeous against the broken clouds and blue sky (rather than the 10-degree temps with snow I see out my window). Someone else who has the scratchbuilding gene is Jim Young. He decided on a MiG-17 designed around the Hyperflow 56mm fan unit which works well in his 4S powered Great Planes Phazer. With a 28-inch span and 33 inches long, I see bungee launching in its future. Like Rich, Jim knows CAD and has access to a laser cutting company, so what is a guy to do? Well for starters, he pub-


lishes his building process for others to com- ment on (mostly positive) and he decides to enter the annual “Scale Build Off” sponsored by RCG. Even if you don’t have an interest in MiG-17s, I feel this is a good thread to check out just to follow his light but strong-enough building thoughts. Well worth your time in my opinion! You can find the thread at: www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php ?t=2040946.


That’s it for this time around, I need to leave some room for the photos, so until next time: fly safe, and trust in thrust!


When you are conversant with CAD design programs and want to design your own airplane (above), it is easy to convert the plans into a laser-cutting language to make your construction easier and somewhat more precise, which is what Jim Young did for his 28-inch span MiG-17. Designed around a Hyperflow 56 mm fan unit, Jim’s MiG (above right) has a simple, rolled 1


⁄64 -inch


plywood intake/exhaust tube which also adds strength and rigidity to the overall structure. Seen here, prior to sheeting the fuselage, Jim has an appropriately sized 4S battery taped on top to check the closeness of his balance computations. Further along, Jim’s fuselage is planked and the wings temporarily attached (at right) with airplane noises beginning to be made in his shop. It is looking enough like a MiG-17 that Jim has now decided to enter it in the annual “Scale Build Off” on RCGroups.


Upcoming Events Florida Jets Tucson Jet Rally Fortbend Jet Rally March 6–8 March 13–15 March 27–29 Mississippi Afterburner April 24–26 FLYING MODELS Paradise Field, Lakeland, FL TIMPA Field, Tucson, AZ


Fortbend RC Club, Rosenberg, TX John Bell Williams Airport


Raymond, MS (suburb of Jackson, MS) 55


CD: Frank Tiano, 863-607-6611 www.franktiano.com


www.tucsonwarbirds.com (registration) www.timpa.org (map)


lb.bernal@earthlink.net www.mississippijets.com


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