PILOT PROJECTS

SEND IN YOUR SNAPSHOTS. Model Airplane News is your magazine and, as always, we encourage reader participation. In "Pilot Projects," we feature pictures from you-our readers. Both color slides and color prints are acceptable, but please do not send digital printouts or Polaroid prints. Emailed submissions must be at least 300dpi. We receive so many photographs that we are unable to return them. All photos used in this section will be eligible for a grand prize of $500, to be awarded at the end of the year. The winner will be chosen from all entries published, so get a photo or two, plus a brief description, and send them in! Send those pictures to "Pilot Projects," Model Airplane News, 100 East Ridge, Ridgefield, CT 06877-4606 USA.

Scratch-built Peregrine Freestyle 45

Edward DeLaura

East Lyme, CT

Introducing the Peregrine Freestyle! Edward engineered, designed and scratch-built this superb flyer. With a wingspan of 53 ½ inches, a wing area of 680 square inches, a 17-ounce-per-square-foot wing loading and a weight of 5 pounds, the Peregrine is "very smooth in the air and lands like a trainer." Edward uses a SuperTigre .45 ABC engine, a 4-channel Hitec radio and 5 servos. The plane's covering is 21st Century film. Edward says, "It has proven to be a superb pattern and freestyle aircraft and performs maneuvers such as knife-edge flight." Very nicely done!

Hawker Hurricane Mk.IIA

Michael Goetz

Beavercreek, OH

No need to run from this Hurricane! Michael powers his 16-pound model with an O.S. 1.20 FS engine. The 80-inch foam wing with balsa covering sports two-tone paint, and its blue underside camouflages it from all enemies! Its fuselage is made of polyglass, and the tail surfaces are built-up balsa covered with fabric. You may be wondering about the model's decals. Michael, of course, knows the correct squadron identification; "MBG" is his monogram. But no matter which initials it displays, it's a fantastic-looking model!

Fokker Dr.I

John Delevoryas

San Jose, CA

This great flyer looks beautiful in the California sun. John built his Fokker over the course of 4 ½ years! With the help of a Futaba radio and the power of an O.S. .70 4-stroke engine, this remarkable aircraft performed incredibly well on its first flight: it completed two Immelmann turns and a few spins. And what a sight it is with its 47-inch wingspan and bright finish! Believe it or not, this wonderfully detailed model weighs only 5 ¼ pounds. Terrific work, John! Be sure to keep us posted on your upcoming projects.

Bristol Bombay

Terry Overton

Shoreline, WA

Basing it on the 1935 Bombay prototype, Terry designed and built this miniature bomber to show case its scale appearance, flight and sound. Built to a scale of 11.5 percent of the full-size plane, the model is 95 inches long, has a wingspan of 132 inches and weighs approximately 38 pounds. The fuselage is made of 1/8-inch lite-ply formers and balsa blocks, and the wings are made of white foam and have full-depth box spars and 3/32-inch balsa. The wonderfully sleek finish is MonoKote aluminum, and Solartex silver fabric covers the ailerons, elevators and rudders. The Bombay is powered by two Enya R1.20GP 4-stroke engines with either a 16x6 (best for flight performance) or a 15x8 (for more realistic appearance and sound) 3-blade prop; Terry uses a JR 8103 transmitter, a 940S PCM onboard receiver and 14 Hitec servos-that's right, we said 14 servos. The servos control the throttles, elevators, ailerons, rudders, steerable tailwheel, flaps and bomb releases (of course; what would a bomber be without bomb releases?). In the bottom of the fuselage, Terry has cleverly built a compartment that holds up to four talcumpowder-filled "bombs" that release a talc "smoke" to create a more realistic visual effect on impact. Superb craftsmanship, Terry!

Copyright Air Age Publishing Dec 2004
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