RCJetInternationalI 172

THE WORLD’S PREMIER R/C JET MAGAZINE
- EDF to turbine conversions

- Dassault Falcon
- Super Galeb
On the cover:
Best In The West (part 2)
CONTENTS
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2022
8 DASSAULT FALCON - Part 1
The business jet at 1:4.5 scale!
12 THE POWERBOX SERVOBRIDGE

Real time servo performance testing made easy
18 EDF TO TURBINE CONVERSIONS

Let’s talk about it!
26 BEST IN THE WEST 2021 - Part 2

Concluding report on one of the biggest R/C jet events in the world
32 TOMAHAWK AVIATION EPIC VICTORY

Adding lights to the Epic Victory
36 JET TALK
Dave’s R/C jet life talk
40 SUPER GALEB - Part 1

A different subject from TopRC
Super
48 KRILL MINI ARES
A compact and high quality composite sport jet Page 48
56 WHAT IF? - Part 3
How to create a color scheme that looks scale but...isn’t!
62 AN EASY WAY TO MAKE A RUNWAY

How to make a perfect runway....with “mulching sheets”
68 GAS TURBINE PERFORMANCE COMPARISONS

Up to date engine data Kril
“WHAT IF?” part 3
Page 40
Page 56
ON THE COVER:
r Galeb part 1 Brian O’Meara’s stunning F-84
Thunderstreak, built from the
famous “Phantasy in Blue” kit, in a
beautiful shot taken by Malvin
Alvarez at Best In The West 2021
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EDITORIAL
Honorary editor
Tony Stephenson
Editor
Marco Benincasa
marco@rcjetint.com
Co-editor
Colin Straus
colin@rcjetint.com
Magazine design and layout

Emanuela Amadei
Printer
Dear friends, Warner plc
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slow everything down and makes everything I do more complicated. USA/Worldwide £ 44.00
On a happier note, in this issue I am pleased to share my own experiences with

you in two very different articles: one on the conversion of modern EDF models ADVERTISER INDEX
to turbine power, and the other.... on making a runway suitable for all types of
models, including jets of course! Advanced Radio....................... 31
In the first article, which is divided into several parts, I wanted to share my thoughts AMT Turbines........................... 72
about converting a model originally developed as an EDF to turbine propulsion, Bertella Models........................ 17
recounting the experience I've had doing this with an Aero-Naut Panther. In fact, BVM Jets.................................. 16
there are many aspects of this conversion that will be of value to other, different CARF......................................... 71
models, not just being restricted to the Panther alone.
The second article is born from the countless questions that over the years aero-
CB Electronics.......................... 44
modellers from all over the world have asked me after seeing the pictures of Dreamworks............................. 24
models I test for my Italian magazine Modellistica, for Jet International and for Electron.................................... 39
our new Scale International magazine: in these photos you can often see my Evojet....................................... 25
runway in the background, this being made from "mulching sheets", and as a F.T.E...................................... 3+54
smooth runway is such an important factor for clubs all over the world, those Horizon Hobby.......................... 47
that were unaware of this way to obtain a perfect runway in a short time and at Hybl Turbines........................... 60
low cost, frequently ask me for information. I know that in some countries a number JetCat........................................ 2
of clubs have been using this system for a long time, but many still don't know it Jettstream................................ 15
can be done, so I have written a detailed article about it so anyone can learn JP Hobby............................... 11+25
how to make a beautiful runway quickly and easily.
KingTech.................................. 46
In this issue we conclude Geoff Grice's very well received series of articles about Lambert................................... 59
the creation of a "What if?" colour scheme, which describes how to complete MacGregor Industries............... 55
something original but at the same time realistic. Osvy Model.............................. 61
PowerBox Systems................... 17
Also not to be missed is the first of a series of articles by Christopher Ferkl, RC Passion............................... 61
whom we already got to know through his giant Airbus A380 article, in this case Schubeler Composite............... 31
about his new Dassault Falcon! Don't miss it, you will see this new gem emerge Sorvolando Compositi.............. 25
fully through the pages of Jet International! Tailormade............................... 35
I won't say any more... Tomahawk Aviation................... 15
Unilight..................................... 17
Happy flights everybody!
Xicoy Electronica...................... 15
Marco Zap Glue................................... 23
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AUTHOR & PHOTOGRAPHER: CHRISTOPHER FERKL
Dassault Falcon
The business jet at 1:4.5 scale!
Part 1
The fuselage masterplug starts to take shape

After successfully completing the 1:13th scale A380 project I very
quickly started looking for a new challenge, and this time the
choice was of a business jet - a Dassault Falcon 20. This model
was chosen because there is or was a scale paper model of it
available from Geli Modellbau, with the plan being that I would
build two examples and fly them in the future together with my
model flying colleague, Jürgen Winkler.
The templates and frames of the paper model from Geli work
very well as the basis for building an R/C model, with all these
frames and the dimensions being enlarged by the correct factors
to give a final scale for the R/C model of 1:4.5, this resulting in a
Falcon 20 with a wingspan of 3.62 metres (142“) and a fuselage
length of 3.81 metres (150“). The take-off weight ready to fly and
including 6 Litres of paraffin should not exceed 20Kg.
Wings and tailplane:

The wings and tail surfaces will be built using a conventional
foam/veneer structure, whilst the fuselage and turbine nacelles
are to be made using carbonfibre this time. The first step was to
produce all the templates for cutting the wing, tail and fuselage
components, these being made from 4mm hardboard. Assembly
commenced with the construction of the wings with our choice of
airfoil section being very close to that of the original, meaning The root sections of the wings aligned with their carbon tube
that the airfoil has a maximum thickness of just under 13cm (5“)
at the root rib.
A 40mm diameter aluminium tube, which extends approximately
30cm into the wing, is used as a joiner, with its exact position
being carefully calculated so that the main landing gear mounts
can be tied in to this strong point, the outer tube for the joiner was
installed into supporting ribs at the root end of the wing panel, so
that all the flight and landing stresses can be distributed across
the entirety of the wing section. To ensure the strength of all the
various joints I always use epoxy resin from HP-Textiles.
Depending on the precise application and load requirements, I
mix in microballoons and/or thixotropic agent in various ratios.
I then cut clearance holes for the wiring (lights and servos) in the
foam cores; small templates of the required diameter are used
for this. Most of these holes are around 10 mm in diameter, this
being large enough to allow the cables for lighting and servos
Sheeting one wing under the press
8
DASSAULT FALCON
(ailerons and flaps) to be pulled through

easily later on in the assembly process.
The mount for the main landing gear was
also fitted into the foam wing core at this
point, Beech plywood some 10 mm thick
was used for this. As mentioned above we
took great care to have the mount tie-in to
the wing tube joining structure to ensure
this part of the airframe was as strong as
possible. The centre of the landing gear
mount is 30mm behind the calculated cen-
tre of gravity.
Reinforcements for the control surface
horn mountings and for the flap hinges
etc, were also embedded into the foam
core. The next step was to sheet the wing
One wing perfectly sheeted in 1.5mm balsa
cores with 1.5mm thick balsa, carbonfibre
fabric (2 x 160g/m2) being laid under the
planking in certain high-stress areas (lan-
ding gear mount, wing spar mount). This
sheeting was once again glued into place
using epoxy resin from HP-Textiles with
an initial tack time of 120 minutes and a
curing time of 24 hours (at room tempera-
ture). The wings were clamped in a joine-
ry press while the epoxy cured, appropria-
te spacers having been cut for this, so that
the pressure is evenly distributed over the
entire surface of the wings during the resin
curing stage.
Once fully cured the ailerons and flaps
were cut free and faced with balsa.
Moulded plastic mounts were used for the
servo installation, the openings for these Two pairs of wings and stabs!
being milled out and the servo frames
glued into place with epoxy resin thicke-
ned with micro balloons. The tailplane/ele-
vator and fin/rudder were also made using
the same foam/balsa veneer construction
method, the tailplane incorporating a
25mm diameter joining tube.
Fuselage:
The fuselage master mould was made
from foam, which was coated with several
layers of 160g/m2 glass cloth, after which
the surface was prepared for moulding
with spray filler, putty and a lot of work!.
The finished fuselage mould was then fit-
ted into a wooden splitter frame and the
gaps filled with plasticine.
For the mould itself, HP-Textiles epoxy
resin system was to be used. The mould
was carefully polished with wax and then
coated with release agent. Once this layer
of release agent had dried out fully, the gel
coat could be applied. When mixing the
gel coat resin (or any epoxy resin), ensu-
re the resin and hardener is thoroughly
mixed, as if this is not carried out well
Fuselage mould: ready!
9
AUTHOR & PHOTOGRAPHER: CHRISTOPHER FERKL
enough uncured soft spots may be found in the completed

mould.
Once the gel coat has been applied, glassfibre chips are sprin-
kled on, the gel coat is then left to cure for around 30 minutes
then any of the glassfibre chips that have not bonded to the gel
coat are vacuumed off, prior to the application of the coupling
layer. For this I mix a normal resin/hardener mixture with micro
balloons and cotton flakes and apply it with a spatula, giving a
thickness of about 5mm. With this completed the glassfibre cloth
can start to be laminated into place, the first layer being of
49g/m2 material with all the others being 160g/m2. In total
around 7 layers are normally used, to make sure that the mould
is rigid and stable.
With the mould complete the fuselage was then laid up using
both carbonfibre and glassfibre. As per the production of the ori-
ginal mould, the mould was again polished with wax and coated
with release agent.
So that the two fuselage halves could be bonded together well
wet on wet, an opening was made on the upper side of the fuse-
lage mould for access. This opening is also used later for the
installation of the various components of the control system and
wing fitting.
Using the access this opening gives the fuselage can be joined
wet on wet after assembling the two mould halves. On one half
of the fuselage the cloth was left overhanging the edge of the
mould by about 5cm. This overhanging layer could then be lami-
nated onto to the other fuselage side through the opening in the
mould/fuselage, a 50mm foam roller on a 70cm long rod is used
for this.
Engine nacelles:
For the engine nacelle a master plug was made, this being was
turned from wood. Two wooden blocks were glued together befo-
re turning, with a sheet of paper being glued between the two
blocks so that the plug could easily be split down the middle.
Once the turning had been completed the finished plug was split
into two parts and one half was prepared for moulding. Again, fil-
ler and putty were used and many hours of careful sanding car-
ried out.
The mould was made in the same way as that of the fuselage
although in the case of the the nacelle only one mould half had
to be made, as the left and right side are identical.
The join line of the two fuselage halves
Fuselage and wings together for the first time!
10
DASSAULT FALCON
The turbine nacelle master plug

The nacelles were also laminated from
carbonfibre and glassfibre, in this case
glass fabric of 49g/m2 was used for the
first layer and then 2 x carbon layers using
80g/m2 cloth. This gives adequate
strength and stiffness for the nacelles.
The nacelle halves were glued together
with aramid tape after curing. At the point
where the aramid tape is applied, a tear- Two Dassault Falcons = four engine nacelles!
off fabric was added as the last layer when
laminating each of the nacelle halves,
which leaves a rough surface when it is
removed, perfect for the later application
of the aramid tape. The mounting brackets
for the engine nacelles, including the
mountings for the turbines, were made
using a CNC milling machine.
In the 2nd construction phase, which will
be covered in a separate report, the wing
finish, installation of the fin and tailplane,
installation of the turbines and tank
system and fitting of the landing gear
should all be detailed.
Christopher Ferkl The nacelle mounting brackets
11
AUTHOR: DAVID GLADWIN
The PowerBox Servobridge

Real time servo performance testing made easy
In recent years telemetry has become an increasing featu- length. We can then see exactly how hard, or otherwise
re of high-end radio control systems with ever expanding that servo is working in flight, when aerodynamic loads are
capabilities. Probably the first really comprehensive tele- applied and aeroelasticity may also be a factor. It can also
metry and monitoring capability was developed and offe- help in making an appropriate servo choice for that appli-
red by the Weatronic system, which allowed detailed and cation.
very extensive system monitoring both during and after the I will be testing the Bridge in my test PST Reaction and
flight. One of the many parameters offered on the measuring servo amperage loads and therefore developed
Weatronic system was, on the larger Gizmo receivers, torque on flaps, ailerons, rudder and elevators at various
system total amperage and battery voltage data. One of speeds, as the Reaction has a very accurate air speed
the few aspects NOT available was individual servo perfor- sensor.
mance, but this has now been corrected with the release Preliminary tests in a Lift Off Hotliner glider with JR 351HV
of the ServoBridge from world renowned manufacturer, servos on ailerons showed a maximum current of .25
PowerBox Systems. amps when an aileron was deflected up 15 degrees for
The Bridge offers multiple functions, which, in brief, are: crow and full aileron applied, adding a further 15 degrees,
• Automatic detection of bus system, with unrestricted then dived at high speed.
choice of bus channel, or pwm signal. Another valuable feature of the Bridge is servo protection.
• Can be used with Jeti and Futaba radios as well as the Over 20 years ago I was critical of the servo specification
PB Core system. on the original BVM BobCat and suggested an upgrade to
• Variable frame rate. JR 9411s or equivalent. Some BobCats were lost due to
• Voltage, amperage and servo temperature measurement. loss of elevator effectiveness, but none after upgrading the
I do feel that the servo monitoring and protection are very servo spec. The question was, just how much power was
valuable features for the following reasons. the elevator demanding? Both of my BobCats are still
The Bridge will monitor individual servo currents so that flying with 9411s after 20 years, so with one equipped with
actual torque developed by the servo as a result of control a Core receiver and Bridge that question can now be
surface movement can be accurately measured. This can answered.
be done by using an identical servo to that installed and of Similarly I have heard of a both a SkyGate Hawk (sadly
which the amperage has been measured. one was lost in public at a JetPower show) and Airworld
If a spring balance is then applied to that servo, a load Hawks being lost due to loss of pitch control. Pitch servo
applied and the recorded amperage replicated, the torque demand on my three Hawks will now be measured accu-
can be easily calculated with an allowance for servo arm rately by the installation of a bridge on the stab. servos, so
The P2 ServoBridge from PowerBox offers a bus function, telemetry feedback and servo overload protection.
The Bridge can be attached to a servo by the adhesive patch, the hole being for the temperature sensor.
12
THE POWERBOX SERVOBRIDGE
On the Core receivers, the ServoBridge is connected via the P2

bus socket and multiple sensors can be connected via the dock.
The use of the adhesive patch can be avoided for bridge reuse with a simple
tie wrap, though temperature accuracy may be degraded slightly.
13
AUTHOR: DAVID GLADWIN
perhaps the causes of the losses can be identified. this is valuable protection for a servo, and as we can now
The Bridge also offers protection of the servos against bur- measure normal servo current draw with the bridge, the
nout: the internal electronic fuse can be set to switch off cutoff values can be realistically set based on normally
power to the servo if a set current is exceeded for a set recorded values.
time. For example, if 5 amps is exceeded for 2 seconds or The Bridge, as can be seen in the photos, is tiny, weighs a
say, 8 amps for half a second (all values can be assigned mere 4 grams, and is a most valuable tool in improving our
by the user) power will be removed from the servo, this knowledge of our radios’ performance. We will report fur-
then being restored after one second for a further check, ther on its use and figures obtained, after flight tests on the
and if the values remain below those set normal operation long suffering Reaction when UK weather improves and
will resume. This process is repeated ten times before a allows some jet flying!
total shutdown is activated. David Gladwin
As a servo which suffers motor burnout usually locks solid, www.powerbox-systems.com
Sample servo performance

Servo Arm idle Amp. 1Kg load* 2Kg load* 3Kg load*
JR 8411 14mm 0.01Amp 0.18/0.13 0.33/0.23 0.5/0.35
JR 893 12mm 0.01Amp 0.29/0.24 0.4/0.33 0.45/0.37
JR 8931+ 12mm 0.01Amp 0.3/0.25 0.4/0.33 0.45/0.375
Mac 5921 22mm 0.01amp 0.29/0.13 0.5/0.22 0.8/0.36
JR 91RW 20mm 0.04Amp 0.12/0.06 0.25/0.125 0.5/0.25
JR 6311 23 mm 0.01Amp 0.33/0.14 0.7/0.30 0.9/0.39
Spekt. 821 17 mm 0.01Amp 0.22/0.12 0.42/0.24 0.75/0.44
JR 4000 15 mm 0.01Amp 0.22/0.15 0.33/0.22 0.58/0.38
JR 507 12 mm 0.01Amp 0.15/0.12 0.26/0.21 0.42/0.35
First load figure refers to amperage at servo arm length as in column 2

Second figure is amperage with arm corrected to 1cm meaning that it indicates amperage at torque of 1,2 or 3
Kg.cm.
Notes:
JR 8411 is well used original servo over 10 years old.

JR 8931 HV is a new unused original JR servo.
JR 8931 + is Dee Force servo, new and unused.
Macgregor 5921 is new unused servo.
JR MP 91RW is used brushless servo.
JR 6311 is used, 10 year old HV servo.
Spektrum DS821 is used, gyro driven rudder servo.
JR 4000 is old, 20 year, JR Super Servo.
JR 507, an original analogue servo at least 25 years old.
It should be noted that these figures were NOT obtained in laboratory conditions but in a modelling workshop
using a servo tester and Jeti Li-Ion battery regulated at 5.7 volts.
14
13-2_PUB. pag. 62 25/05/18 12.58 Pagina 1
O!!!
INF
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KF
CLIC
FO!!!
FOR IN
CLICK
CLICK FOR
INFO!!!
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INF
OR
CKF
CLI
CLICK FOR INFO!!!
CLICK FOR INFO!!!
CLICK FOR INFO!!!
CLICK FOR INFO!!!
FO!!!
FOR IN
CLICK
CLICK FOR INFO!!!
CLICK FOR INFO!!!
CLICK FOR
INFO!!!
AUTHOR : MARCO BENINCASA
EDF TO TURBINE CONVERSIONS

Let’s talk about it!
In the world of R/C jets, perhaps the most popular current
trend is that of "mini turbines"; but when is a turbine defined
Part 1
as “mini'? Well, I think I am safe to state that, at least at the
present time, "mini turbines" are all those with a thrust of no
more than 45 Newtons, a weight of no more than 500g, and
dimensions similar to those of a soda can.
To date, the mini turbines currently available are the Lambert
Kolibri (T15 to T45), the JetCat P20-SX, the KingTech K30
and K45 G4+ as well as the Xicoy X45.
For mini turbines, you need... small jets; unfortunately, at the
moment, not too many are produced specifically for mini tur-
bines, but this is actually not a problem at all! In fact, the prac-
tice of converting 80-90mm EDF jets to turbine power is now
widespread: the vast majority of this class of jet are produced
from foam (Freewing, FMS etc), but there are also some com-
posite models. The Aero-Naut
Panther that th
But, why are mini turbines becoming so popular? Well, in my e author is conv
erting to turbin
e
view there are many good reasons, some of these being list-
The Xicoy X45 (shown here is the example we tested in issue 158)
The Freewing T-33 is a popular subject for turbine conversion is one of the most popular mini turbines at the moment
ed here in no particular order: for a typical 8 minute flight, when using a mini turbine a tank
1 - Although the cost of a mini turbine is not dramatically lower of 700-800ml is often enough to give a comparable flight
than a 'standard' turbine (typically those offering 80 to 120N of length.
thrust), the final cost of the model is SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER 5 - They are often seen by the aeromodeller as less compli-
than that of a 'normal' size jet, i.e. those with a wingspan of cated and therefore more achievable than traditional larger
1.8 – 2 metres and a standard turbine (just think of the cost of jets.
suitable servos, landing gear, on-board electronics, etc.). An 6 - In many cases they can be bought from local model shops.
80/90mm class EDF jet complete with servos and electric All these factors combine to make them a good option for
retracts currently costs between 500 and 600 Euros, a far cry entering the world of turbine jets in a cheaper and less com-
from the 2,000-4,000 Euros (and often more) cost of a "stan- plex way: these are just some of the positive points that many
dard class" jet, to which must be added the cost of the turbine aeromodellers see in small jets, and I'm sure there are many
and other required components. more that I can't think of right now!
2 - They are easy to transport: they can often be carried com- As mentioned, there are many jet models originally designed
plete with the wings fitted, even in normal cars. for 80/90mm EDF power, but what is required when convert-
3 - They require less airspace when flying, and can operate ing a model from EDF to turbine? What factors have to be
from shorter runways. taken into account?
4 - The cost of Kerosene + oil per flight is very low, since Well, a good example I will share with you is my experience
instead of the model having a tank of at least 3 litres capacity with the model you see in the photos, the Panther that used
18
to be manufactured by Aero-Naut; yes, I

used the past tense because the
German company has recently ceased
production of this model, and I was lucky
enough to be able to buy the last one
available!
This model, designed for the Aero-Naut
"Turbo-Fan 4000" 90 mm EDF unit, was
introduced to the market many years
ago, when Ni-Cad battery packs were
still in use and Li-Po batteries did not
exist in the aeromodelling world; at first
the Aero-Naut Panther did not even
have landing gear, it was catapult-
launched and belly landed before a new
version was developed with mounts for
small air retracts. At that time foam mod-
els did not exist, and in fact the Panther
is made entirely of composites, supplied
pre-painted in dark blue. My father and I
both love the Panther, and we have
always loved Aero-Naut products.
Unfortunately, my path had never
crossed that of the Aero-Naut Panther,
but a few months ago, looking at my
JetCat P20 (it's an earlier example, with
externally mounted kerostart plug) sit-
ting unemployed in a box, I had a eure-
ka moment! I had been thinking about
fitting it into a model designed for 90mm
EDF units for some time, but hadn't yet
found a subject that would give me that
final "push" needed. And so, after involv-
ing my father in the concept (it didn't
take long!) I managed to buy the last
Aero-Naut Panther ever made!
Initial considerations
Generally speaking, what do we have to
consider when we commence such a
conversion? There are several factors to
bear in mind and they will of course vary
depending on whether the model we
have chosen is an ARF complete with
servos and landing gear, or whether (as
in the case of the Panther) we have to
get these components separately. As
well as this, the space available in the
fuselage must be checked carefully: a
turbine brings additional components
which have to be installed, so we must
be sure we have enough space to be
able to mount them properly.
The EDF power system has very few
components that have to be mounted in
a model, as it consists of the fan+motor On jets using twin EDF power, that also have a large gap between the nacelles,
unit, ESC and battery pack... and that's a great solution is to mount the turbine externally, in between the nacelles.
it! Turbines, on the other hand, need These two jets, the Freewing Mig-29 and F-14, have both been converted with
their own ECU, fuel pump, metal tailpipe JetCat P20-SX turbines by Armando Bianco from Italy. It's clear how jam
(required if the turbine is fitted internally packed the fuselage is with tank, tubes and all the turbine ancillaries! Finding
space for everything is one of the key aspects of turbine conversions
19
in the conventional position, not if it is

tail or externally mounted), a tank (which
brings with it tubes, filling and vent fit-
tings, connections, etc...) and, in the
case of older turbines like mine, external
mini-solenoid valves... and all this must
not only be installed into the model, but
also carefully and securely positioned!
In addition, the radio system in an EDF
jet of this class is usually powered by
the ESC BEC, however with the turbine
there is no BEC and so added to the list
above is one, or preferably two, batter-
ies for the radio system, a switch, and
not forgetting... the turbine battery! Due
to this space is often at a premium so
consequently an in-depth preliminary
This is the 90mm EDF F-16 converted to Kingtech K-30G3 power by Geoff Grice (see the full article in issue n.157).
Two important areas to consider when converting a foam jet to turbine are the turbine mounting and how the fuselage is protected from heat
study plays a vital role. We also need to
think about servos: we need to install
servos that are small (in the "mini" cate-
gory) but powerful and strong enough to
handle the full deflections of the control
surfaces of the model at the speeds we
expect, so it is a good idea to select ser-
vos with a minimum of 3Kg.cm torque.
If the model is already equipped with
servos, we therefore need to know
The thin wing section of the Panther will need some careful work to find the right
position for the additional servo for the flaps, as well as finding a servo that will fit! whether their specs are compatible with
The Panther fuselage, as it comes out of the box. As we’ll see, there are quite a few modifications needed to convert to turbine power
20
In a turbine conversion the turbine mounts and their positioning

are critical factors. In some models, like the Panther, we can use
parts of the original EDF mounts
To have the JetCat P20-SX mounted as far forward as possible (right) to help with the
balance, the author had to cut away some of the joint line of the air intake duct (left)
speeds that could be expected to be when landing as it was at take-off. may be relatively small and light, their
higher than those of the fan powered The additional weight of a turbine model weight will have to be added to the final
version. What about the landing gear? If comes, as mentioned, from those compo- bill; in the end then, the final weight of
the retracts are included there is no nents required by the turbine itself, such the turbine model may be a little higher
problem, otherwise we have to find a as the pump, tailpipe, ECU plus its bat- than the electric version, but there
suitable set, with wheels of the right tery, not forgetting the radio power supply. should not be enough of a difference to
diameter, and oleo legs of the correct Although these components individually affect the flight characteristics nor, in
size and with springing to suit the most cases, will it be a problem for the
expected final all-up weight. landing gear that is already installed in
ARF models and/or of those, of the
Weights same size, that are sold separately.
In general, the weight of the Speed

fan+motor+ESC equals, or is fairly close
to that of a mini turbine, so we are in a This is a very important subject, which
situation of equivalence. The weight of a must be approached with care and a
6S 4000-5000mAh battery pack, typical- responsible attitude, as without this we
ly used to power such an EDF unit, is could encounter some negative out-
about 650-700 grams, increasing further comes. We need to have a rough idea of
in the case of models using 8S packs (or the thrust provided by the EDF unit
twin jets that use two 6S packs), and so intended for the jet we're converting, so
we can say that an 800cc tank full of that we can know if, voluntarily or not, it
kerosene and complete with tubes and might be possible for the airframe to be
connections weighs little more... but it pushed to higher speeds than those
does have one big advantage! anticipated by using said EDF; this fac-
The turbine powered model becomes tor is fundamental when asking a num-
lighter and lighter during flight as it con- ber of important questions: which servos
sumes the kerosene, while the electric should I install? If the model is an ARF,
model will be exactly the same weight The tailpipe was custom made by Osvaldo are the servos installed by the manufac-
Gotta in titanium and weighs a mere 56 grams!
21
turer able to hold the control surfaces

still (preventing flutter) in high speed
flight, and move them as required when
commanded? Also, is the model struc-
ture capable of handling higher speeds?
If not, what modifications do we need to
make?
These considerations are vitally impor-
tant! In fact, there are well-known cases
of aeromodellers who have installed, for
example, a 45N thrust turbine in models
that were originally designed for a 25N
thrust fan, looking for a considerable
increase in performance, and the results
have been catastrophic: entire all-flying
tailplanes (F-14, F-16, SU-27...) pulver- The author's JetCat P20-SE together with the tailpipe from Osvymodel.it
ized, broken wings, burnt out servos
with consequent loss of control, etc., Once we received the kit, my father and original positions are incompatible with
etc, so my advice is to ask yourself I unpacked all the parts to check them the mounts.
these questions and act accordingly. and to learn more about the aiframe and 3 - We will mount the turbine exactly
materials used, so that we could draw where the EDF used to be installed,
My experience up a list of modifications required to making mounts that will be glued to the
install the turbine; this is what we former using the existing slots, thus the
What I have covered so far are the main learned from this first 'inspection': turbine will not be at the rear, but just
areas to be considered before we even 1 - There are no flaps: given the resid- behind the centre of the model.
start work on the model, but there is ual thrust of the turbine, this of course 4 - Given the positioning of the turbine,
often more that will be necessary, so not being present when using EDF we will need a very light tailpipe, both to
what follows is my experience convert- power, combined with the aerodynamic minimise the final weight of the model
ing the Aero-Naut Panther to turbine cleanliness of the Panther, we will have and also to avoid the weight of the pipe
power, which I share with you as any to find a way to add them to help slow pushing the balance point back, result-
work that proves necessary will not be the model down; this will require cutting ing in having to add a lot of weight in the
exclusive only to this model, but will be them free of the wings and then adding nose.
common to many other similar sized the relevant servos. Since the model is 5 - The upper part of the tail can be
models as well. made of composites (the wings are completely disassembled, but this is not
As mentioned above, the only item I had made of a very light sandwich of thin compatible with typical turbine opera-
before I received the Panther was my foam and fibreglass), cutting them out tions, especially during the start proce-
JetCat P20 turbine: I had used it with accurately will not be easy, but it is cer- dure: the tailplane is glued to this part of
great success in my Mini Xcalibur for tainly not impossible. the fuselage assembly, and its servo (or
some time and so I know it very well. Its 2 - The retract mounts are designed for servos as we will see...) is mounted
24N thrust is comparable with that of the an old pneumatic mini set. We will have inside the rear section, so if we need to
90mm EDF units of the time when the to find suitable electric retracts and legs have access to the turbine during start-
Panther was designed, and I also found that will fit the mounts (and cope with up, we should keep the whole upper part
several YouTube videos of German and the expected all-up weight of the com- of the tail disassembled, and therefore
Austrian modellers who had done simi- pleted model), and be prepared to mod- the elevator servo disconnected, and
lar conversions, thus confirming my ify them and perhaps change the posi- then reassemble everything when the
basic idea was sound. tions of the mounting screws, if their turbine is running: this is totally impracti-
Carlos Marquez made the custom tank:

860cc, and just 137 grams with fittings!
22
cal and in fact not possible, since the sions of the tailpipe and fuel tank. These fuel lines from the turbine to the pump.
detachable section is fixed to the rear were prioritised so that we could give After a few days, Osvaldo sent me some
fuselage with a screw, right in the the correct measurements to the two pictures of the tailpipe: no need to say
exhaust area which will of course be red "artists" that would make these vitally that it’s another jewel! It's 20cm long and
hot! This will force us to cut away a sec- important components: I have already has a diameter of 8cm. Osvaldo decided
tion of the upper fuselage above the tur- mentioned that Carlos Marquez to go for the maximum diameter possi-
bine to make a hatch, and then think (cmjets.com) was going to mould a cus- ble at the rear of the fuselage, 8cm,
about inventing a quick and easy way of tom tank, and Osvaldo Gotta (osvymod- even if this is way bigger than the P20
removing/refitting it as needed. el.it) would be manufacturing the actually needs; he explained to me that
6 - No problem with the positioning of tailpipe; once they had the required with such a large diameter there will be
the tank, there is ample space where the information, we could get on with the absolutely zero thrust loss, the air circu-
Ni-Cad battery pack was originally other steps of the build while the tank lation (and thus the cooling) is much bet-
placed; at this point I would like to thank and tailpipe were being produced. ter and all for an almost unnoticeable
once again the "tank master" Carlos Our next step was to build the two main increase in weight. He made it in very
Marquez, owner of CM Jets, who has mounts for the turbine, using the original thin titanium (!) and the result is that it
produced a custom-made tank for the triangular supports intended for the EDF weighs a mere 56 grams!
Panther that is absolutely perfect and of version; to help the model to balance And what about the tank??? Carlos
the highest quality. These turbine con- with a minimum of (or no) noseweight, made the one you see in the photos, a
versions are now made much simpler we positioned the turbine as forward as perfectly dimensioned tank, with a
thanks to Carlos, who by producing cus- possible, which in practical terms means capacity of 860cc (perfect for the P20),
tom-made tanks, often of quite unusual as forward as the kerostart plug of my and that weighs only 137 grams!
shapes, solves what could otherwise be (originally gas-start) JetCat P20 allowed I couldn't ask for more!
an intractable problem. us. With the turbine this far forward the I'll stop here for this month. In the sec-
starter motor of the turbine would have ond part we will get to work on the con-
First steps come into contact with the joint of the air version and the installation of the elec-
intake ducts, so I had to use my dear tronic components.
We started assembly of the Panther Dremel to cut away some of this joint
focusing on 3 main tasks: mounting the line and let the starter fit through. This Marco Benincasa
turbine and deciding the exact dimen- has also proved necessary to run the
Best in the W
Occasionally, although luckily a very rare

occurrence, we reach the deadline for the
publication of the new issue of Jet
International before we receive all the
pictures we were expecting and had plan-
ned to include, or the author may have
forgotten to send them, and/or some
important part of the text is missing, or we
encounter one of the 100’s of other last
minute problems that may arise when
producing a magazine.
Well, there was something missing from the Best In The West 2021 report we published in the last issue, in this case the list of
the vital sponsors, so we’re delighted to have the opportunity to include it in this issue, with thanks to Joe Castelao and others
that have been so helpful.
Events like Best In The West are without any doubt incredibly important for our hobby, they're one of the vital constituents con-
tributing to the lifeblood that keeps our R/C flying world alive and breathing, and to ensure the success of these events there are
3 essential elements that have to come together: organizers, participants and sponsors; organizers need sponsors as well as
participants, and one of the nicest features of our world is that, in many cases, the sponsors are also participants, as they're acti-
ve enthusiasts in the hobby. Without the support of sponsors and vendors big events such as Best In The West would simply not
exist, so let's thank each and every one of them for their efforts in helping Joe Castelao make it happen!
26
BEST IN THE WEST 2021
West 2021part 2
27
BITW 2021 SPONSORS
BARKS Club
effluxRC
Jersey Modeler
Zap Glue
House of Balsa
Horizon Hobby - (maj. sp.)
Banana Hobby - (maj. sp.)
Global Jet Club - (maj. sp.)
KingTech USA - (maj. sp.)
Elite Aerosports - (maj. sp.)
Baja Hobby USA - (maj. sp.)
Carf-Models - (maj. sp.)
RC Jet International
Sky Candy Lights
Peter Goldsmith Designs
JR Propo
Spektrum RC - (maj. sp.)
Bob Violett Models (BVM)
Top Gun/Frank Tiano Enterprise
Tony Quist
Warbirds West (Mike Fetyko)
Metal Building Supplies
(Scott Prossen) - (maj. sp.)
Brian and Bonnie O'Meara
John Gerhardt and Sharla Powley
Bobby Carbajal - (maj. sp.)
Inland Rod & Restoration
(Leo Huerta)
Steve Kottman
David Long - (maj. sp.)
Scott Rais
Tyson and Jordana Dodd
Dr. Ken Wagner - (maj. sp.)
David Shoffner - (maj. sp.)
Wylie Warbirds (Terry Farmer)
Jets Over Kentucky (Lewis Patton)
Lowell Wexler
Tailored Pilots
Pico Party Rentals (Billy Edwards)
Buttonwillow Elk-Hills Airport
Kern County Airport
RC Pilot
RC Flightdeck - (maj. sp.)
(maj.sp. denotes Major Sponsors) Peter Liu, owner of Baja Hobby, displayed several of his range of jets, such
as the Shark (shown here with Peter himself) and the Arowana (above)
28
BEST IN THE WEST 2021
BITW 2021 VENDORS

- Elite Aerosports - Pablo Fernandez, Scott Marr
- Banana Hobby - Carrie Lau
- KingTech USA Turbines- Barry Hou
- CARF Models - Andreas Geitz, Ray Labonte
- Bob Violett Models(BVM)-Patty Generali, Rob Lynch
- Global Jet Club- Mike Deni Lin
- DeeForce Aviation/JR PROPO- Sawamura Jun
- Baja Hobby USA- Peter Liu
- House of Balsa/Zap Glue-Paul Stenberg
- JetsMunt America"s Turbines-Pablo Vargas
- AeroPanda-Manny Rodriguez
- Jet Central Turbines-Juan Ramon Ruiz
- E-Power-Ron Abir
- RC Plane Stands-Glen Hackler
Barry Hou, Mr.Kingtech USA, with his 1:5 scale F-16 powered with a K-450!
Team JRPropo-DeeForce Aviation with their Havoc's
29
Banana Hobby brought a number of jets to BITW 2021, both EDF and turbine
powered, including the Aerofoam T-45 Goshawk G2 and the L-39 Albatross
Elite Aerosport showed both the Bravado, flown also by world

renowned pilot David Shulman (left) and the new Viper Sport
A Pilot-RC FC-1 3D about to land
30
AUTHOR & PHOTOgRAPHeR: COLIN STRAUS
Tomahawk Aviation
Epic Victory
All lit up!
I have thoroughly enjoyed flying the
Tomahawk Epic Victory I assembled
for review last year, but I often felt that
there was something missing, this
being the various navigation and
strobe lights that are so characteristic
of modern airliners and business jets
such as the Epic Victory. As we
approached another U.K. winter I
decided that this was the ideal time to
get to work and fit a full light set to the
airframe, and having had great suc-
cess with uniLIGHT products in the
past, this was my first port of call.
Following a very helpful discussion
with Ulrich Rockstroh the order was
placed for a comprehensive package, Full uniLIGHT set supplied for the Epic Victory.
which included combined navigation
and strobe lights on the wingtips, wingtip nav/strobe lights, which was recess in the leading edges of both
landing lights for the leading edge of quite straightforward, just requiring a wing panels for the lights, these being
the wings, nose gear light, tail naviga- slot to be cut into the wingtips to allow glued into liteply/balsa mountings,
tion light and strobe light for the the alloy heatsink section of the light which themselves were glued into the
underside of the fuselage, all of these to slide into the wing, a small quantity wing, with small liteply faces being
being operated by the Black.4 con- of epoxy then being used to secure glued on both sides. These were all
troller. the light in place. Fitting the wing finished with self-adhesive aluminium
When the package arrived I started mounted landing lights took a little foil, Metalcoat from Mick Reeves
with the installation of the combined more work, as I first had to cut out a Models, then some thin clear acetate
Clear acetate sheet was heated and formed

Wing landing light glued into place with liteply facings added. around the leading edge of the wing.
32
TOMAHAWK AVIATION EPIC VICTORY
Under fuselage strobe light was installed just in front of the wing.
Light cover fitted using some tiny

M1x5 screws and metal foil to finish.
Noseleg light installed.
Combined wingtip navigation and strobe light unit in place, with

Tail navigation light. some touch up paintwork still to be completed around the unit.
sheet was heated and pulled over a ther wing to fuselage connections. Here I drilled a hole in the rear of the
section of the wing leading edge to Moving on to the fuselage itself, fitting fairing at the top of the fin, and then
form the light covers, finally finishing the under fuselage strobe was quite carefully opened this up until the light,
with strips of Metalcoat around the simple, with a small slot being cut for complete with wiring, could be slid into
edges. Luckily I had enough spare the heatsink, as per the wing lights – place, a dab of epoxy securing it firmly.
connections on the Advanced Radio with the strobe glued into place I Last of the lights to be installed was
One Click Plus connectors for the moved to the rear of the model, where that on the noseleg, this being glued
lights, so avoided having to add fur- a small white nav light was to be fitted. to a small aluminium strap, that was
AUTHOR & PHOTOgRAPHeR: COLIN STRAUS - BOB PETRIE
Wing navigation lights illuminated, with the photo having been taken as the under fuselage strobe flashed.
Wingtip navigation light illuminated.
clamped to the noseleg using a M2 screw and nut, the lead

for the light being run up and into the fuselage. The vari-
ous leads were then run carefully through the fuselage,
and were then joined as required to plug into the Black. 4
controller, which was installed on the main equipment tray
just in front of the side door in the fuselage.
The light sequence will be programmed as follows, on my
Futaba 32MZ – initially all lights are off, then when the
throttle trim is increased to full when starting the turbine
the navigation and strobe lights illuminate, finally when full
flap is selected for landing the wing and noseleg landing
lights illuminate, this avoiding the need to use an addition-
al control for the lights, and makes operation automatic.
Tail navigation light illuminated.
Navigation and landing lights illuminated, caught at the point the strobes flashed.
34
All that is left to do is to obtain some

paint that matches that of the model to
finish off some of the bare edges
around the wingtip and tail lights, and
to cover the metal foil around the wing
landing lights.
Although all of the lights are very pow-
erful they are also low wattage, which
should mean that they draw low cur-
rent, this further being confirmed by
the minimal thickness of the wiring,
even the input power lead for the 7.4v The under fuselage strobe reflects strongly off the
supply to the controller is quite thin. I floor, demonstrating just how powerful this light is.
will monitor any increase in power
consumption through the Advanced
Radio display in the model, as power
to the lights is being supplied through
the Smoothflite 16 unit.
At the time of writing the poor winter
weather has precluded flying the Epic
Victory with lights, but having carried
out plenty of testing on the ground I
have seen just how powerful the lights
are, and how they add to the scale
appearance of the model. I very much
look forward to see just how effective
they are in flight, and expect them to
make it much easier to judge the
exact attitude of the model when it is
turning towards the pilot at a distance,
which in overcast conditions can
make this sleek airframe challenging
to see. As soon as I have been able to
fly the model we hope to include a few
Black. 4 light controller being installed in the fuselage.
photos of it in the air with the lights
switched on and shining brightly!
Colin Straus
www.unilight.at
Wingtip navigation light with the strobe illuminated.

AUTHOR - PHOTOGRAPHER: DAVE WILSHERE
Jet Talk
Dave's R/C jet life chat
When people approach me about a suitable turbine airframe,
sometimes I have to offer guidance when they say they cannot
have a scale model, thinking it will be more difficult to fly. That
certainly can be the situation in a few cases, but really there are
a lot of scale airframes that are perfectly suitable for less expe-
rienced jet pilots. There are quite a few sports jets with their
DNA taken from scale designs - more later
If you are thinking of making the jump to turbine power, you
should first be honest with yourself and be sure that you are
ready for the challenge. I continuously say the main thing to
master is energy management, if you feel you have moments
where a model is ahead of you, it may be best to continue that
learning on something without an expensive, fire breathing
powerplant. There is rarely a second chance with a turbine
powered airframe.
Flying most turbine powered models is no more difficult than
many heavier loaded airframes like the 6s or 12s EDF models
or petrol warbirds. The difference is with an impeller/propeller
that speed is always limited. Once the pitch speed is reached
(normally by the available power) the airframe will not travel
much faster even in a dive. A turbines exhaust gas speed is
always faster than the airframe is likely to fly at. Weight, more
than drag can influence speed in that it can help the speed 1/4” plywood packers between retract and mounting plate
increase in a dive and force it to reduce in a climb. This varia-
tion is where the skill is, it’s common when I’m standing with
someone during their first turbine flight to say, ‘throttle back a
bit’. If you are someone who takes their fingers off the throttle
stick having set a power level, jets are not for you!
I have always said pilots that have flown model helicopters
make the best fixed wing pilots, this is because they can use
both sticks together and are used to using the rudder! If you
have no interest in helicopters, even quadcopter operation
makes you more comfortable using two sticks in harmony.
Rebel Hot
I built a Rebel Hot in 2021 with two thoughts in mind. I wanted
a ‘one piece’ jet that would live fully assembled both in storage
and in my model van. When I decided on the Rebel Hot I looked
at a few pictures and watched a couple of videos. I noticed that
all the Hot models I had seen in photos and videos appeared to Some of the Rebel Hot models all flying at
sit on the ground slightly nose down. This is with the JP gear my local club with packers fitted
offered as one option by CARF. I had seen a few Hot models turbines, it would benefit from some help - add to that the majo-
flown and none had exhibited the ‘leap’ take off associated with rity of my turbine flying occurs on grass, I decided to lift the nose
aircraft where the main wheels are mounted too far behind the by adding 6mm (actually ¼” so 6.3mm) packers between the
balance point. The Hot main wheel position is pretty close to nose retract mounts and the wooden mounting rails. Take off
optimum, so even with the slight nose down sit, rotation occurs performance even on winter grass is good with smooth take off
quite smoothly once the ground speed reaches a speed that distances around 60-65m consistently. There are several Rebel
allows the elevator to lift the nose. I knew that take offs would Hot models in my local club with a mix of power units from 60 to
be shorter if the nose was raised slightly and since my choice of 80N thrust and we have incorporated this modification in all of
turbine was a 20 year old JetCat P-60, which is quite heavy for them.
the power output, particularly when you compare it to modern I understand the Electron gear option from CARF has a nose leg
36
JET TALK
Putting the Rebel and L-39 alongside each other, the influence is obvious
set up that is a few mm longer, so the
packers should not be required on
Electron installations.
Scale or Sports Jet?

When new sport jet designs are released,
I can usually look at the layout, moment
arms and areas and make a good judge-
ment about how they are going to fly,
without ever seeing one in the air. To
design something from scratch requires a
lot of work and a huge commitment finan-
cially, especially if the airframe is going to
be moulded. I said earlier that a lot of
sports jets share DNA with full scale air-
craft designs, many of which have been
modelled already.
It makes complete sense to take a design The ViperJet is a scale aeroplane suitable for every level of
that both appeals and is known to fly well jet pilot, Paul Baker has been flying his for several years
- re shape a few lines without fundamen- wing and huge tailplane makes for a very many that I call the 98% build. This is
tally changing the aerodynamics and call stable airframe. There are lots of designs where the builder has done 98% of the
it something else. called ViperJet, but if you look at the installation correctly, then seem to rush or
It’s well known the Futura sports jet has various versions the smaller ones all vary just not bother with the final steps. Quite
its DNA in the BAE Hawk. The Hawk is a in some way. All the larger versions often this will involve something critical,
really nice flying airframe, so simplifying it around 2.5m span are cloned from Stefan since the last things to go in are batteries,
into a sports jet guarantees success. Volker’s original design sold by CARF- receivers or the leads connecting these
When I first saw the Rebel series it was Models. The large tailplane makes the critical items together.
obvious to me it was based on the L-39, ViperJet less critical on balance, after all It might seem obvious to say any installa-
another popular and great flying airframe it’s often called the stabiliser - in the tion needs to be planned with flight loads
in model sizes. The fuselage layout-inlet ViperJet design it does a great job! in mind, but many don’t seem to consider
position and fin shape etc match the L-39, There have been a couple of pure sports the forces involved and amount of move-
with a few curves smoothed out. The wing jets released over the last couple of years ment unsupported leads can achieve. If
platform is completely different with the that are heavily influenced by the the leads move, then the connections can
straight wing and tip tanks swapped for a ViperJet, designs like the Hispano MO- too. Not only is there a chance the con-
slightly swept wing with a double taper in Bull follow the original very closely. Look nections could disconnect completely, fle-
cord and thickness. One of the issues around and you will notice other designs. xing plugs and sockets can lead to inter-
with model L-39’s is the narrow undercar- mittent contact. These are the worst
riage track, so the Rebel series have real- Flight loads things to trouble shoot as on the ground
ly wide main gear making it very stable on perfectly aligned, they will almost certain-
the ground. A few simple changes to a Why are some aeroplanes totally reliable ly make perfect contact!
known design and the Rebel series of and others troublesome, unreliable fru- It’s the reason things like wing connec-
sports jets are born. strations? There will be many different tions only have the hard mount in the
The ViperJet is another full scale design reasons, but many are probably linked. I fuselage. The wing plug is left loose so
used in plenty of model designs because get to see a lot of newly finished airfra- any wing movement does not flex the
it flies so well. The combination of large mes prior to the first flights. There are so connection. It’s still important to support
37
AUTHOR - PHOTOGRAPHER: DAVE WILSHERE
Taking installations from the initial stage (left) to finished (right) can require patience and changes to the layout to perfect
the loose wire, particularly if the wing is

hollow with no structure to fix the loose
wire to. I use a Velcro strap made into a
loop over the wire. I then place a strip of
the opposite Velcro on the wing skin. This
supports the cable and allows for enough
movement to facilitate connecting the
lead and push the wing into position.
I’ve seen problems with turbines flaming
out where it’s not fuel related. Generally,
any flame out where it does not leave a
smoke trail is electronic and not fuel
system. I support cables close to the tur-
bine and ECU/Pump so the cable is retai-
ned to stop any movement in the electri-
cal connections. Modern turbine engines
with many built in safety features can shut Long wire runs may need additional support braces to remove strain on connections
down if there is a momentary poor contact
on the leads. Having a clip or grommet
close to the connection will stop the
movement.
On any new model when I do the initial
turbine runs, I flex the fuel tubes close to
any joints while running at more than 50%
power and look for air bubbles. During the
life of the model, I will do the same to
ensure the tubes are still sealing. This
should remove any chance of a flameout
just as you take off and apply G-force. If
the fuel filter is mounted external to the
turbine I also shake-flick or twist the filter
also while running at a high-power set-
ting. This will dislodge any air trapped
inside. You can reduce the chance of air
inside if you have the filter vertical while
you prime the fuel system the first time.
Dave Wilshere
Supporting wiring or tube connections is important for a reliable airframe
38
AUTHOR & PHOTOGRAPHER: P.J. ASH
Super Galeb Par t

1
A different subject from TopRC
I have always been attracted to different or unusual aircraft the Super Galeb G-4. Instantly, I was hooked.
such as the Super Galeb G-4 from SOKO Aviation. This lit- Gator RC (www.gator-rc.com) is not only the U.S. distribu-
tle known aircraft was developed during the 1970’s as a tor of TopRC, they are also a full line hobby shop with
replacement for the Yugoslav Air Force’s existing fleet of absolutely everything to do with this hobby. Due to the ever
the standard G-2 straight wing Galeb aircraft they were increasing shipping costs we are seeing, Gator RC is offe-
using as a intermediate jet trainer. The Super Galeb G-4 ring free shipping on orders over $99 (excluding planes).
utilizes the British sourced Rolls-Royce Viper turbojet engi- The site is well laid out and there was ample information
ne and is upgraded for much superior performance. You on the Super Galeb. They also carry a wide variety of cool
can read some info about the full size in the dedicated carbon fiber products as well as unique options (control
"box" printed here. horns, hinges, solder jigs, etc) that I haven’t seen at other
TopRC is no stranger to “trying” new types of aircraft and places. Another item I saw and wanted to test was the
introducing the public to unique aircraft never seen before range of servos I’ve heard about, as they carry the
in the R/C market - the Super Galeb is certainly one such Kingmax servo line. I’ve heard great reviews on these ser-
aircraft. The Super Galeb comes from the factory 95% pre- vos and wanted to see for myself what they were all about.
built and finished and has full composite construction with I called the company and talked to one of their staff. Ashley
no “iron-on” covering. It has a very accurate outline with was great and very knowledgeable about both the servo
panels, hatches, rivets and many other scale details mode- as well as TopRC. I asked her what servos would best fit
led right into the surface. It also comes with a scale cock- and she told me that I only needed one version and there
pit, two scale ejection seats (don’t worry, they don’t eject – was no need to spend a lot of money on this aircraft with
on purpose), and a full complement of instruments! The regards to servos. I really appreciated that as I wanted to
electric landing gear system is also quite scale with the keep this plane on a budget. I am going to fly this plane on
correct strut style and bend. The gear also comes with a the KingTech K-120G2 so we decided to go with the
module to easily program the landing gear, gear doors and KM551 Ultra High Speed/Torque servo for all the control
brakes. All you have to do is plug the control module into surfaces. I really appreciate the knowledgeable staff at
the gear port in the receiver, and you are all set up. You Gator RC and suggest anyone looking for a good compa-
can adjust the amps. of the gear and speed from the ny to work with, to check this team out!
module. The Super Galeb comes in two schemes, both I was so excited to find a plane that I felt was very unique
scale: one scheme is the basic Serbian Air Force camo yet had the same flight qualities (at least I hope so) as the
and the other is a bright “Airshow” scheme. The wingspan famous BAE Hawk or T-45. After all, this is a jet trainer that
is 1751mm (69”) with a length of 2372mm (93”) and a has a lot of the same “looks” as those famous planes!
flying weight of 11-12.8Kg (25-28lb). Power comes from a If you have ever seen how TopRC packages their planes,
10-12Kg (22-26lb) thrust turbine. you will not be surprised with my next statement. If you
want to pull everything out for a quick look, then put it back
Why I chose the Super Galeb in the box……DON’T!
They do such a great job packaging the aircraft, one would
Looking around the internet, I wanted a fun and easy jet to never be able to put all the pieces back the way they arri-
fly. Nothing too crazy and something that I did not have to ved. The main components actually fit in a foam cradle
spend a fortune on. I wanted a jet that was scale, but which inside a very thick box. That box is then packaged in a
would fly well. I feel like the Hawk/T-45 is the “Piper Cub” “shipping” outer box. Needless to say, when the plane arri-
at any event. Meaning, in the U.S. it seems whenever you ved, it had all of the marks of a box that was shipped. With
go to an event, there are always lots of Piper Cubs. Don’t all of the usual dings, dents, and yes even boot prints I was
get me wrong! I love that yellow bird, but I just wanted to happily surprised to see the plane arrived with absolutely
have something different. I am a scale guy and though I do no damage. Huge kudos to the team for a great packaging
like sport jets, I really didn’t want that. I know the Hawk is operation. Nowadays it seems that it’s nearly impossible to
very popular because it flies fantastic... they should! They ship something without some sort of damage.
are jet trainers. Thus I was both astonished and surprised Pulling the items out I was very pleased to see the panel
when I came across the Gator-RC website and there was lines were evident, but not too deep. The simulated rivets
40
SUPER GALEB
SOKO AVIATION SUPER GALEB G-4
The Super Galeb, both in its basic configu-

ration and overall outline, resembles the
BAe Hawk (adopted also by the United
States Navy as the T-45) and the Spanish
CASA C-101, however is a different jet
altogether. The aircraft is 12.25 metres
long and stands 4.3 metres high with a 9.88
metre wingspan. This jet has an empty
weight of 3,250 kilograms and can carry
1,882 kilograms of fuel. It can carry a crew
of two (instructor pilot in the back sitting
higher up so as to see over the student pilot
who sits in front). Both the front and rear
cockpit are equipped with Martin-Baker
ejection seats and contain a full cockpit
layout. The Super Galeb can be outfitted
with a center-mounted gun pod containing
a twin-barrel 23mm Gryazev-Shipunov
GSh-23-L cannon with up to 200 rounds.
In addition, there are 4 hard points that can
be fitted with a variety of air to air or air to
ground munitions as well as fuel tanks.
During the early 1990s, Yugoslavia embar-
ked on various upgrades to the G-4 as it
began testing a variety of new air to air and
air to ground missiles along with an upgra-
de package to the cockpit including new
computer components as well as navigatio-
nal aids. Over its history, the Super Galeb
performed numerous operations during the
Yugoslavia War. As a result of this war,
Yugoslavia broke into several smaller
nations, some of which still operate the
Super Galeb G-4. Since 2008, the Serbian
Air Force has been the largest operator of
Super Galeb's and are currently upgrading
them as the remaining fleet of G-4Ms. With
the new modifications and upgrades,
Serbia foresees the use of the Super
Galeb’s into the 2030s and continues to
purchase G-4s from former Yugoslavian
Republics.
41
AUTHOR & PHOTOGRAPHER: P.J. ASH
etc, looked to be the correct size. The paint seemed very that area. Plus, upon closer inspection of the full scale,
well done and matched what my research suggested. I pic- there is a panel near or right at that area, so for us “scale
ked the camo version because I am a warbird and military junkies”, it works.
guy at heart. The fuselage comes in two halves which Both wing halves looked great but one thing I really appre-
helps with the shipping cost. I think it was smart to section ciate is the lack of a gap between the ailerons and the flaps
the fuselage where they did which was right behind the left as well as the lack of gap between those parts and the rest
and right intake. This allows for the seam to be hidden in of the wing. Also, the flaps are hinged to simulate the
The electric retract set is available as an option. It comes with programmable control module and scale looking legs and wheels
The packaging is top notch! The Kingmax KM551 servos used in the Super Galeb being reviewed
42
SUPER GALEB
Fowler flap that Super Galeb has.

Again, I notice the attention to detail
like that and not only do the flaps
deploy in a scale manner, but the flap
hinges also have the scale covering
the real one has. Another plus for the
scale side in me! This will be covered
more during the build, but where the
modeler is supposed to glue scale
parts to the plane the manufacturer
has made outlines in the skin so there
is no guessing where to place those
items.
The left and right stab are fully functio-
nal, and they look to be well built and
light! The tail and rudder are separate
as well. The tail easily slides onto the All the accessories included in the kit
fuselage through pre-built slots that
can be fastened with a set screw. This
allows the modeler to pull this off for
storage or transportation.
The hardware package comes in one
large bag with different components
(based on where they are used) in
separate bags. This is huge. Many
times, I’ve pulled models out of a box
only to desperately look for a loose
bag of hardware, or hardware that has
found itself outside of the bag. With all
of the hardware in one large bag, I
was easily able to catalogue every-
thing. All of the hardware seems very
impressive. The hinges are all, either
HD Robart or composite (G-10). All
control rods look to be either 4x40 or
the metric variant.
Scale parts such as retract doors, antennas etc are included and ready to install
Full flying tailplane halves and the fin/rudder
43
There was a separate bag that contained a bunch of light
blue items. Upon further inspection, I noticed these were
the gear doors. The Super Galeb has a left and a right gear
door for the nose and an outer gear door (affixed to the
main gear) and a separate inner gear door. This, again,
has always been an issue with the “scale junkie” side of
me. So many times, I see beautiful models with gear doors
that are not flush or have huge gaps. This is very prevalent
when it comes to ARFs. The first thing I did was put the
wings together, turn the plane upside down and see how
far off they were. Well, with initial impression there are no
gaps and as long as I can mount everything straight (later
article) it should look perfect.
Wings are ready to receive hinges, servos and retracts
44
The fuselage comes in two parts; the scale cockpit is included!
The centre mounted “cannon” is included as well
The last two items I pulled from the box really are obscure decided to make this easily removable.
items that got me very excited. In many cases, ARFs will To say I am excited about the TopRC Super Galeb distri-
resemble the actual aircraft, but some of the scale details buted by Gator RC is an understatement! I appreciate any
are left out. I get it - when mass producing an airplane, if factory that takes a chance on an aircraft that is not the
the factory included all of the scale bits and pieces, it same as all the others. I totally understand that factories
would take much longer and drive the price up. Most have to produce what sells and there are few people like
modelers who purchase an ARF such as this do want a me who are willing to take a risk on something different. So
very nice-looking plane but really do not care about all the far, my experience with the superb quality of this aircraft
little bits and pieces that the real plane has. However, two coupled with the excellent service from the great staff at
really unique and cool features of the Super Galeb are the Gator RC, means that I am so ready for the next step of
huge center mounted cannon and the long protruding pitot this project. The build!
tube sticking out of the nose. I was excited to see both of
these included! If the modeler chooses not to include the P.J. Ash
cannon and make theirs just the trainer variant, great, but
for those who would like to add that detail, it is already
included. The large pitot tube is a magnet for my arms and
feet so I am sure the factory was thinking of me when they
45
Krill Mini Ares

A compact and high quality composite sport jet!
Mini Ares kit as received after shipping from Czech Republic.
The various moulded components of the

model were well protected with lengths
of protective foam tubing being used to
hold the parts gently yet securely.
Parts supplied with the kit included the JP Hobby electric retracts,
oleos, brakes and controller, decals, wing fences, turbine/EDF mounts,
rear former, 3D printed wing servo mounts and control horns etc.
all of this I was delighted to see Krill Aircraft additional items, so for example the specif-
announce that they would be producing a ic Grumania tailpipe with or without VT noz-
small but all composite version of the very zle, CM Jets fuel tank, servo sets, metal
successful Ares aerobatic/3D sport jet servos arms, two wing bag options plus
designed by Sebastiano Silvestri. With an fuselage bag, PowerBox wing wiring kit,
all up dry weight of around 4.8Kg when fit- balljoint set and a 3D printed air intake
CM Jets supply this superb 1.8 Litre fuel ted with an Xicoy X45 turbine, the model ducting for EDF installations.
tank specifically for the Mini Ares.
appeared to be nice and light, given its When the model arrived following shipping
I had been looking for a new small jet to fly wingspan of 1500mm (59”) and length of from the Krill factory in the Czech Republic,
from my local club flying site, which has a 1700mm (67”), and as I already had an no time was wasted in opening the sub-
grass square to fly from, and which is example of this lovely mini turbine, it took stantial box so I could inspect the contents.
rather too short for larger jets unless every little time to decide to place an order. Note I was very impressed with the internal
landing is perfectly judged. I also wanted that the Mini Ares is equally suited to EDF packaging, with sturdy cardboard dividers
an all composite airframe, but it needed to power, using a 105mm EDF unit with 12S having been used to support the various
be as light as possible, so that touchdowns 5000mAh battery packs, this giving an moulded components, split foam tubing
at low speed would be possible, resulting in overall weight of 6.5Kg. The Krill website ensuring that these parts were gently but
short landing runs, as running off the end of makes ordering simple, and includes a securely supported. A very careful check
the runway could result in damage, at least useful Configurator tool, which enables was made and no damage at all was found,
to the undercarriage and mountings. Given quick and easy selection of options and in fact the quality of a various parts was
48
KRILL MINI ARES
A close-up of the less than perfect paint finish on part of the right
rear fuselage, the rest of the finish being excellent.
(as well as a
w in g ba gs fo r the Mini Ares ples.
types of st exam
Krill offer two option), these are the lower co
single fu se la ge
excellent, with a superbly smooth surface finish, nicely produced
and installed internal structures, and plenty of glue having been
used on all of the joints. The model utilises a paint in the mould
system, so the mould joints can be seen, but they are not obtru-
sive, and of course the Mini Ares is not a scale model, where this
would be important. There are four alternative colour combinations
available, White/Red, White/Blue, Red/Black and the option I had
of Yellow/Black.
Starting with the fuselage, this was nice and light, and had the var-
ious formers, wing mountings and nose retract mount etc pre- The originally supplied white wing servo mount on the right, with
installed at the factory, whilst the air intake and nose retract open- that on the left having been covered in some yellow self-adhesive film.
ings had been neatly completed. Although the colour scheme had
been carried out very neatly on most of the model, I did find that
the rear right side of the fuselage did have some paint creep and
flaws, which has been advised to the factory – it is very difficult to
do anything about this with a model such as this that has been
painted in the mould, but as it is not very noticeable I intend to
leave it as it is. In contrast the finish of the sandwich construction
flying surfaces was excellent, with nice sharp edges to the paint.
Note that all the control surfaces are live hinged, those of the
ailerons, flaps and elevators at the top whilst the rudder is hinged
on the lefthand side. Electric retracts, complete with oleos and
electrically braked wheels were included in the Mini Ares package,
along with a controller, all of these parts being produced by JP
Hobby. Also supplied area pair of wing fences, turbine/EDF Krill’s new pre-coloured servo mounts.
mounts, uninstalled rear former, 3D printed control horns for the
ailerons, flaps, elevator and rudder, as well as a set of four 3D
printed wing servo mounts, carbon tube wing and tail joiners and
a set of decals. The instruction manual is very detailed, having
been prepared by Sebastiano himself, and covers the assembly
from start to finish. It also includes full information on balance point
and movements, as well as exponential and rate settings, plus all
the mixing required to have the model fly as accurately and
smoothly as possible.
As I wanted to keep the model as light as possible the Xicoy X45
turbine, which has an excellent power to weight ratio, and very
good fuel consumption, was an obvious choice, the alternative
being the equally compact KingTech K-45G4+ turbine. Of course
one big advantage of a turbine with good fuel consumption is that
less fuel has to be carried at take-off to give good flight duration,
reducing the overall weight early on in the flight.
Having decided to add the vectored thrust option, I bought the rec-
ommended Grumania pipe plus Micro G-vector unit and this The 3D printed control horns are glued into the surfaces, with
the holes for them having been pre-drilled by the factory.
49
Rudder servo in its mount – the servo screws Aileron servo fitted to the wing
were a little challenging to tighten fully. servo mount and ready to install.
PowerBox Premium one4two connectors were

glued to the wing root section of the fuselage – Unusually the elevator servos are
note also the Multiplex wing lock on their left. installed in the fuselage.
Battery tray above and mount for this below, Ply fuel tank mount was laminated from 2 pieces of 1/32”
the mount then being glued into the fuselage. ply before being glued to the central fuselage former.
proved fairly simple to install, helped by the mounting parts sup-
plied with the pipe. The front of the intake cone has small brackets
that mount to the rear of the engine mounts, whilst the rear of the
pipe slides inside the VT assembly, which itself is screwed to the
rear former of the fuselage. This allows the tailpipe to expand with-
out restriction as it heats up after the turbine is started.
JR servos are recommended in the manual, S3411 with 6.6kg.cm
torque and 0.16s speed for the flying controls, flaps and vectored
thrust, whilst a DS396 with 2.0kg.cm torque and 0.16s speed is
suggested for the nosewheel steering, so these were ordered from
Krill at the same time as the model.
With several of my models being fitted with the excellent fuel tanks
supplied by CM Jets from Spain, finding that the company already
had a tank specifically for the Mini Ares made the decision easy,
and the 1.8 Litre tank was soon on its way to me. It was supplied
Aileron servo and linkage completed.
50
Elevator linkage – note the neat cutaway section of the tailplane for the servo arm.
Main retract unit installed in

the wing, note the flap servo
and linkage in the background.
Excellent access into the fuselage with the large single piece canopy removed.
The X45 turbine is mounted well back in the fuselage,

Front mount and pipework of the fuel tank. with the CM Jets tank just forward of the engine.
JP Hobby controller was mounted above the nose PowerBox Pioneer, switch and iGyro SAT were all mounted
retract unit, with the fuel pump just behind this. on a small plate in front of the nose retract unit.
51
Wing fences are simply glued to the wing panels.
Krill supply this neat wedge to allow easy

Rear view of the Grumania pipe with Micro G-vector unit. removal of the wing and tail surfaces.
complete with a heavy clunk and internal servo fits neatly into a small mount in the ble I had already decided not to paint the
fuel tubing, including a section of rigid tub- fin, although it is a little challenging to interior of the fuselage with grey and stone
ing to eliminate any possibility of the clunk install and tighten the securing screws. The effect paint as I normally do, so all the inte-
ending up at the front of tank. As I was not cover over the servo was supplied loose, rior woodwork was given a coat of clear
planning on installing a header tank, again so I glued four small ply sections at the cor- lacquer to protect it from any fuel leakage.
to save weight, I replaced the clunk with a ners of the opening, and then used some One other area that can have an effect on
felt hi-flow clunk, which should allow all the very small screws to hold the cover in the overall weight is that of the large num-
fuel to be used without air bubbles entering place. ber of extension leads required by modern
the turbine. Moving on to the wing panels, the aileron jets, particularly if the standard lengths
Assembly commenced with the installation and flap servos were fitted to the supplied available are longer than required. Due to
of the elevator servos, unusually these are servo mounts – as these had been printed this I chose to use the excellent PowerBox
fitted to the fuselage sides, with the servo in white they did look rather out of place Premium MAXI servo cable and connec-
arm rotating in an open section of the against the yellow underside of the wing, tors, so that I could make leads to the exact
tailplane root. This works very well, and so I found some yellow self adhesive vinyl length required, whilst the cable itself is
avoids the need for a servo lead connec- material and used this to cover the outer lighter than standard heavy duty cable. To
tion between fuselage and tailplane. No surface of the mounts. The colour match is cover this all in detail I will be writing a sep-
linkages are supplied in the kit, apart from not perfect, but the result is a great arate article which will appear in a future
some M2 clevises, but I was able to find improvement in the overall appearance. issue – suffice to say that I am now hooked
some old but unused Hirobo helicopter M2 Having since spoken to the factory, Krill on this system, and look forward to using it
pushrods of suitable lengths, and used have been quick to spot this minor issue, regularly in the future!
Kavan balljoints at the servo arm end. The and have now developed servo mounts in With the tail servos and extension leads in
3D printed control horns are simply epox- yellow, red and blue to match the various place I moved on to installing the turbine
ied into the pre-drilled holes in the eleva- colour schemes. The installation of the and tailpipe. The turbine/EDF mounts are
tors, with the final result being a nice tight control horns and linkages was similar to supplied loose, but I found that they were
control system. Fitting the tailplane halves that of the tail servos, then all that was left too small for the X45 turbine, so cut new
to the fuselage is very simple, with the was to fit the main retract units, which took wider mounts from carbonfibre faced end
tailplane halves being fitted with a quick no time at all, these dropping neatly into grain balsa, with thin carbonfibre sheet
lock system, just requiring them to be the mounts. Note that no screws, bolts, being laminated on top at the turbine
pushed firmly against the fuselage, where washers or nuts are supplied with the mounting position. I had made the cutouts
they click into place. Krill supply a couple of model, so these need to be sourced by the in these mounts for the VT servos, but
moulded wedges that are used to release owner during assembly, not a big problem. made a mistake in not fitting the servos
the tailplane and wing (the wing panels are The connections between the wings and before the mounts were glued into place, it
secured with a similar system) halves when fuselage use PowerBox Premium one4two proving rather challenging to install the
required. I did find that the leading edge of connectors, one for the servos and a sec- servo mounting screws with the mounts in
the tailplane needed the security brought ond for the retracts/brakes; the matching place. The rear fuselage former is supplied
by the addition of a short length of clear connectors being glued into the wing root loose, and is finally fitted to suit the tailpipe
tape to eliminate any movement, and in area of the fuselage. Moving on to the fuse- being used; as I would be using vectored
fact a similar solution can be seen in one of lage and as I wanted to keep the overall thrust the former ended up being fitted
the instruction manual photos. The rudder weight of the model to the minimum possi- some 7mm forward of the rear of the fuse-
52
Thought has even been given to how the large but

very light canopy is strengthened, with these rein-
forcing strips being included in the moulding. Completed rudder servo and linkage plus servo cover.
lage, first being tack glued into place, its mount and the nose retract complete and strong. Assembly proved pretty
before Aero Tech epoxy was used to with oleo and wheel was installed. On- straightforward and was completed quite
secure it firmly in place. board radio components include two quickly; at the time of writing the Mini Ares
Fitting of the tailpipe and VT unit followed, Futaba R7003SB receivers, these plugging is ready to fly just awaiting some decent
with carbonfibre pushrods being fitted from in to a PowerBox Pioneer via the S.Bus2 weather, which might take some time given
the VT servos back to the unit itself, mak- ports in the receivers. I also fitted an iGyro that we are currently in the middle of a U.K.
ing sure that these remained clear of the SAT to add the advanced gyro stabilisation winter! I was very pleased to find out that
outer skin of the tailpipe, even at full deflec- this offers. The Pioneer, iGyro SAT and PB the final dry weight came to only 4.65Kg,
tion. The intake bellmouth of the tailpipe switch were installed on a small tray just in this including the VT unit and its additional
was secured to the turbine mounts using front of the nose retract mount, this being 2 servos, pushrods etc, with no noseweight
the components supplied with the pipe, mounted low down to allow clearance for being needed, in fact currently the model is
then the turbine itself was fitted, everything the battery plate to be installed or removed fractionally nose heavy, but as it is so close
proving to line up nicely. over the top, whilst the receivers were sim- to the recommended position I intend to
I did find when coming to install the fuel ply servo taped to the fuselage sides, given test fly the model as it is. The X45 should
tank in the model that the oval tank was their minimal weight. The JP Hobby retract endow the model with an excellent per-
some 10mm smaller than the oval cut-out and brake controller was mounted above formance at this weight, and hopefully the
in the former, so as a first stage to mount the nose retract, with a couple of spacers combination will prove ideal for some regu-
the tank I laminated 2 pieces of 1/32” ply being used to lift it slightly, with the tiny X45 lar flying from my local grass flying site.
together whilst they were taped around the fuel pump being screwed to the former at The next issue of RCJI will include a full fly-
base of the tank. Once dry I epoxied this the rear of the nose retract mount. ing report, all being well – I can’t wait!
curved ply mount to the former, adding Overall a very nice small jet – the quality is
some 3/8” balsa sections to strengthen the excellent apart from one small area of Colin Straus
bond. The tank was then siliconed to the paint, and the airframe appears both light
mount, and once this has cured I made up www.krill-model.com/ares-mini
a wide balsa mount that was siliconed
between the bottom of the tank at its front
and the fuselage bottom, then made up
some laminated balsa packing pieces that
were glued on either side of the tank and to
the former, the end result being a securely
fitted tank, important as when full this will
weigh more than 1.5Kg.
I wanted to install the relatively heavy bat-
teries; 2 x 7.4v 1200mAh Li-Po for radio
and retracts and 1 x 7.4v 2200mAh for the
turbine, as far forward in the nose as pos-
sible, yet still be able to remove them eas-
ily for charging, as I do not like charging Li-
Po batteries when they are installed in a
model. After some thought I cut a ply
mounting plate for all three batteries, and
then made up a balsa base unit with a
small ply assembly at the front to capture
the front of the ply mounting plate, the rear
of the plate having a small hole for a screw
which secures the plate in place. Simply
undoing the screw allows the plate, com-
plete with batteries, to be withdrawn quick-
ly and easily as required. Completed Min
i Ares – just the
The nosewheel servo was quickly fitted to decals left to ad
d!
53
AUTHOR & PHOTOGRAPHER: GEOFF GRICE
“What if?” scheme Par t 3

How to create a scheme that “looks scale”...but isn't!
In the previous article we started the

model fitout and also added a lot of
detail with vinyl cut masks and weathe-
ring by airbrush.
Now read on while Geoff finishes the
fitout process, adds a simulated canopy
cord and takes the Hawk into the air on
its maiden flight day.
Wiring and lighting
Pushing ahead with the fitout, it was

time to install the servos, lighting and
wiring harnesses. For control surfaces I
opted to use Hitec HS-5087MH servos
that pack 4.3kg of torque each in a
micro servo footprint– just the ticket for
the Hawk. I also fitted wingtip, tail, and
belly lights from the Unilight 5mm slim
range. The lumen output for these micro
sized LEDs is slightly less than
Unilight’s own larger LED fittings but
they are well sized for the model and
also keep the overall flying weight down.
Geoff with the Mini Hawk he finished in the “What if?” scheme
56
“WHAT IF?”
"What if?" Irish Air Corps BAE Hawk
Having glued the Unilight fittings in

place, I then proceeded to make up a
harness for each wing covering twelve
wires in total.
Aileron, flap, light, retract and brake
were all terminated into a single 12 way
Molex SL connector, which makes setup Unilight 5mm slim LED's fit perfectly
at the club fast and easy. The connection
is keyed with a locking tab so it’s impos-
sible to connect things around the wrong
way, and also none of the connections
can wiggle free in flight – perfect!
I completed 3 way Molex SL connec-
tions for the elevator halves and ran
Powerbox Maxi servo leads for the inter-
nal wiring which brings the benefit of
30% weight saving against conventional
servo leads but still provides more than
sufficient capacity to cope with servo
amperage draw. The weight saving of
wiring can sometimes be understated,
particularly on a small model like this
and any opportunity to minimise weight
is normally a good one.
Powerbox maxi cable and locking connectors ensure reliable control
57
Bringing light to the nose cone Freewing donor light fitting proved ideally suited to the Hawk
An interesting scale detail that I wanted

to include was the addition of a nose fit-
ted landing light which is common to
many Hawk jets. I raided my spare parts
bin and found that the nose lens from a
Freewing 70mm Hawk was roughly a
workable size and shape, allowing it to
be grafted into the nose cone of the
Sebart Mini Hawk. I found that this could
be matched with a Unilight 15mm spo-
tlight so all that remained was to careful-
ly measure and mark the area to be cut
off, take a deep breath and start up the
Dremel cut off wheel. With the nose por-
tion removed I cleaned the inside of the
cut so that the lens would slip easily in to
place and then be glued home - whole Sebart fittings are a little lightweight, but do work
assembly had been pre-painted in
Tamiya gun metal acrylic.
Power distribution and servo control is
taken care of with Booma RC’s fabulous
SmoothFlite 16 unit. There is a flight
review of the SF 16 in RCJI
August/September 2021 (page 66) so I
won’t go in to extensive detail on it here,
but going by experience when planning
this project I knew immediately that the
SF 16 was the best choice for me. In
addition to battery resilience and auto-
matic 3 axis gyro gain, I am also benefi-
ting with steering gyro, gyro controlled
crow braking, and steering servo lock
making the whole package easier to
take off and land, particularly on days Designing “explosive cord” decal for the canopy
Vinyl cut and ready for application Decal gives a hint of things to come
58
“WHAT IF?”
Added subtle details brings the shape to life
where there might be a solid crosswind.

For fuelling purposes I used a CM Jets
custom tank and I found that thanks to
the generous fuselage height I was able
to mount an Intairco iTrap 40 on top for
ideal weight placement. At the end of the
process I found that with two x
1,000mah receiver packs, and a
1,300mah 3s Life on board for the turbi-
ne that the whole model balanced on the
rearmost CG point as specified by the Short run before
take-off thanks
manufacturer without the need for any to KingTech K45
power
ballast to be added front or rear. The
total weight with upgraded wheel brakes once the rolling friction has been brea-
fitted but no fuel on board is a respecta- ched the model accelerates at an exci- apart from some very minor trim adju-
ble 4.4Kg leaving the power to weight ting rate of knots. I guess this is due in stments the airframe is able to fly
ratio close to 1:1. part to the ballraced JP Hobby retract straight and true. Going for a rearward
The final preflight tasks involved pro- set, which I feel is really an essential CG bias seems to be an excellent option
gramming the radio settings, fitting my upgrade for this model as the standard as it maintains a very neutral feel in the
registration sticker, and I also decided to undercarriage is really rather basic. air in both standard and inverted orien-
vinyl cut the explosive canopy cord that Upon achieving take-off speed the Hawk tations, and is capable of some slow and
is often seen on all types of fighter jets. requires only a slight nudge of up eleva- nose high low passes without getting too
This was an interesting experience as I tor to lift off into a generous climb and crazy when the fuel level runs low.
had to create the design inspired by onli-
ne pictures, cut it with white vinyl, and
then carefully fit it to the outside of the
canopy. I am pleased with the result and
it has inspired me to consider as a follow
up project a semi scale cockpit. In the
meantime though it was time to bring
this miniature marvel to the club and see
if the performance in the air could match
the good looks on the ground.
Flying the mini Hawk

turbine
Some small model turbines require the

pilot to hold the tail of the model or apply
brakes to let the turbine spool up and
generate enough thrust to accelerate to
flight speed. This is not the case for the
mini Hawk when powered by the K45
G3, it has an aggressive spool rate and
59
Initial taxi tests proved uneventful

The power to weight ratio (approx. 1:1) makes for impressive no wind present the model is inclined to drop a wing if the pilot
climb outs, stall turns, rolls and loops, but equally impressive flares when landing. For those type of flying conditions, I find
and possibly even more so are the slow and low passes that that it is better to take a flatter approach and let the model
show off the colours and details included in the scheme. touch down level at just on take-off speed. This is aided some-
Landing the Hawk can be a little tricky in that it prefers to what by the JP Hobby trailing struts which help to smooth out
touch down with a slight headwind. If there is a cross wind or any touch down shocks encountered.
This compromise could possibly be offset by moving the CG
forward, but given the fabulous look of the model at slow
speed and excellent flight characteristics in the full flight enve-
lope I am inclined to leave the weight balance as it is and just
avoid over flaring at landing.
Next steps
A very talented friend of mine has been able to design and 3D

print a resin cockpit for the mini Hawk. At the time of writing
we are in the depths of winter where flying is very limited so I
hope to apply some colour to the cockpit kit and put a very
nice finishing touch on my “What if?” semi scale project so
stay tuned …
Geoff Grice
60
AUTHOR & PHOTOGRAPHER: MARCO BENINCASA
How to make a perfect

runway....with “mulching sheets”
One of the problems that many R/C In fact, the idea for this article came ne Modellistica), Federico Tusberti of
model aircraft clubs around the world from the various phone calls and the ACA Club of Carpi (Modena-Italy).
often encounter is the building and emails that we receive, asking for
maintenance of their own runway; we information about our runway, which The problem
can't fly without a runway! Whether it's are all more or less as follows: "In the
grass, concrete, synthetic or another article where you review the model At first, we had opted for the traditional
surface, it is essential if we want to fly XYZ we can see some photos of your closely mowed grass runway at our
our beloved models (unless you fly runway....but exactly how is it field: as the airfield is in a reclamation
exclusively on slopes, of course). made??"; so we said to ourselves area, the water table is less than a
This is even more essential if we want "let's write an article, it could be helpful metre deep and the grass and any
to fly jets! We need a smooth (and for those who have not yet called us". other plant whose seed is brought in
long, if possible...!) runway, especially Before starting, I would like to mention by the wind always grows quickly and
for those jets that have relatively small that the idea was suggested to us by thickly; the so-called "reclamation
wheels, and even more so for EDF an aeromodeller and friend of ours peat", that is the soil, has great advan-
jets. (and contributor to my Italian magazi- tages when it rains, as it absorbs any
Well, for those who are not fortunate
enough to have a concrete or hard sur-
face runway, and thus have to carry
out the never ending work required to
have a good quality grass runway (rol-
ling/levelling the ground, seeding,
watering etc) and the regular cutting
and additional care needed from
spring through to autumn, here is the
solution that we have used for our
flying field and which was then subse-
quently adopted by many Italian (and
multiple others around the world)
clubs.
This photo shows the smooth surface that can be achieved very easily
62
HOW TO MAKE A PERFECT RUNWAY....WITH “MULCHING SHEETS”
This runway is perfect for any size of EDF jet, such as this E-flite
Phantom, including the UMX mini class with their micro wheels
ls used with
An example of plastic nai
the mulch ing she ets
Top and above: the runway thresholds were

tackled using the method described in the text
grass nice and short on the runway

and keeping it under control over the
rest of the flying field (which is 60
metres wide and 440 metres long), to
avoid it turning into an "Amazonian
forest" within two weeks, had become
water immediately, and so even after an almost continuous job. I wanted to
days of rain we don’t see even the explain all of this as I know there are
smallest puddle. On the other hand, many other flying fields around the
having such fertile soil is a real world that are in exactly the same
nightmare for maintenance: from situation.
spring through to autumn we had to
mow the runway at least every three The solution
days! Other than jets of various sizes
(from the Horizon UMX series to 320N So, after having tried other solutions,
turbine class models), my models without much success, we adopted
range from large scale aerobatic air- Federico Tusberti's suggestion and
craft through to scale models, various finally found what we were looking for:
are perfect to sizes of gliders etc, so I need a runway an almost ideal solution, easy to make
U-shaped nails, (staples) und cleanly
secure the she ets to the gro at least 100 metres long and four to six and, no less important, cheap: "mul-
metres wide! Due to this, keeping the ching sheets" also known as "weed
63
AUTHOR & PHOTOGRAPHER: MARCO BENINCASA The Bandit sits slightly tail low on its legs (perfect for smooth take offs!), thus the
hot exhaust gases point down onto the runway surface, but... no problems!!
Along the edges we used both the specific plastic nails (left) and traditional steel nails
control fabric"! I'll use these terms as net; the most important feature of
direct translation from Italian to these sheets is that... they don’t allow
English is not straightforward, but by the grass to grow! That's right! Not a
looking at the photos I’m sure things single blade of grass will grow under
will become clear. them, no matter how fertile the soil!
Our runway has, ever since 2011, You can buy them in a number of diffe-
been composed of these "mulching rent weights (and it goes without
sheets": but what are they? Simple: saying that you should select the hea-
they are synthetic sheets, usually viest one you can find, so that you get
black or green, generally used in agri- the best outcome in terms of strength
culture, in nurseries and greenhouses, and durability) and in different sizes.
and are in fact widely available in gar- They can also be found on...Amazon!
den centres and of course the inter- We bought two large rolls, each being
also
The U-shaped nails are ddle
perfec t for hol din g the mi
of the two sheets down.
A 'patch' made from leftover cloth Big jets on mulching sheets? No problem at all!
64
This Xcalibur has hundreds of flights from the runway described in text, used for the author’s “Jet School”...and as you can
imagine, students manage to make a number of less than perfect landings, but the sheets have never suffered any damage
3 metres by 100 metres (they are usually labelled as 100

metres but in fact they are actually even longer, in our case
120 metres overall!).
We joined the sheets together along their lengths, overlap-
ping them by about 30 cm, so obtaining a runway about 5
metres wide by about 120 metres long. The expense?
Around 500 Euros in total, including the nails and/or the
metal staples that will be used to fix the sheets to the
ground (in 2018 we replaced it all with new sheets... more
on that later!).
Making the runway

Putting it all into practice is quite simple: we start by level-
ling the ground where we want the runway, with the help, if
possible, of a tractor pulling a roller. At this point we need a
group of at least 4 people to lay the sheets, keeping them
under tension and securing them in position onto the
ground with nails and/or staples. If, like us, you have joined
two sheets together (30-40 cm overlap), the nails must be
put through the joint.
An important tip: at the runway thresholds the sheets have
to be buried in the ground to ensure they are kept in ten-
sion; nothing too difficult, we made a small trench as wide
The runway seen from above showing its full 120 metre length
65
AUTHOR & PHOTOGRAPHER: MARCO BENINCASA
The Boeing T-7A starts its take-off roll; have you noticed the very small kerosene
puddle from the tank overflow? No problem, the sheets are “kero resistant”!
as the runway, dug down at an angle, EDF jets that are really close to the sheets we were told to expect a useful
not vertical, then laid the sheet down ground! life of no more than 4 years ... but in
into the trench and back up the surfa- Warning: being a cloth, it has a slightly fact 7 years had passed before we
ce, effectively forming a kind of angled rough texture, so tends to scratch started to see signs of failure.
"U" shape. At this point we backfilled foam models should they lack landing Finally, after year 8, we decided to
the trench with soil, with the weight of gear. So if you have, for example, an replace the old surface, and this time
this pulling the sheets both down and EPP glider or a hand launch EDF, it we decided to take full advantage by
away from the runway, thus keeping it makes sense to keep landing it on making a wider one! So we bought two
in tension. It takes longer to describe grass. Sometimes it doesn't actually rolls of about 6.50 metres wide and
than to do it. scratch the material, it just leaves a 100 metres long (again, they’re actual-
Normal (long) metal nails can be used mark the same color as the runway. ly almost 120 metres long) so now we
on the edges, with every other one have a 12 metre wide runway! Total
being large-headed plastic nails made How long will a cost? 700 Euro (please remember that
especially for mulching sheets, these runway like this last? this price may vary quite considerably
normally being black or green. depending where in the world you
And that's it! After less than a day's The useful life of the cloth is not infini- live)! Honestly, given the countless
work we had made a perfect 5 by 120 te: in the long run atmospheric condi- advantages and the total absence of
metre runway! tions, the sun in particular, ages the any need for maintenance, the ease of
cloth, which eventually starts to show application, the costs being relatively
Use signs of weakness in some areas, with affordable for any model club, and the
small tears gradually appearing. fact that it is suitable for any model
You can fly any kind of jet off this run- Having said this, when we bought our that has an undercarriage, I think I can
way, as well as everything from micro
models with very small wheels (impos-
sible to fly off grass) to large prop
powered ones!
If someone is wondering "But it's just a
thin sheet! What about the high tempe-
rature of the turbine exhaust?" To date
I've never had a problem! Obviously I
start the engine whilst pointing the
exhaust off the runway, to protect it
from a rare but still possible fire during
start up, but once the turbine is run-
ning I do all the taxiing I want, up and
down the runway, without ever dama-
ging the cloth surface.
Even those jets that have limited
ground clearance (so have the
exhaust even closer to the runway sur-
face) never gave a single
problem...including turbine-converted In this situation a "start-up tube" also comes in useful to protect the grass from damage
66
say that it is quite acceptable to have to replace the runway

every 6-8 years!
What about....
prop cuts?
It goes without saying that, being a thin sheet material it
does not have great resistance to being cut, so when a pro-
peller "decides" to hit it, well, it is likely to cut it...but this is
not a problem! It is in fact very easy to repair, as you can
see from the photos, making effective patches with any
spare cloth and some nails (we're also testing out glues...).
The repair can be done immediately, on the spot, preparing
the patch with any knife or pair of scissors we might have
in our toolbox. Of course when flying a jet this issue in unli-
kely to occur, unless using a turboprop.
Conclusions
I conclude with an important further consideration: if the
flying field is not owned by the club, and the owner ever
decides to "evict" us, we can easily.... roll our runway up
and transfer it to our new site! As far as I am concerned this
is a major plus point, and certainly can’t be done with con-
ventional hard surface runways!
I'll leave you now to the photos and this final thought: do
you want to make a great runway for jets (and for any other
type of R/C models) in an easy and cheap way? The
answer is mulching sheets!
Marco Benincasa
We allowed the grass to grow over the
sides to avoid them lifting with crosswinds
67
Performance
Comparisons
Note: To keep the chart to a reasonable size and aid clarity a number
of very old tests have been removed.
T he model turbine performance chart covers a wide range of

engines that have been tested independently, and allows for
easy selection of a suitable turbine for a particular model.
The engines are listed by thrust, as this is normally what is most
important when selecting a new turbine. Once a range of suitable
engines has been decided upon, it is then possible to narrow the
decision still further by looking at the overall weight of the turbine
plus ancillaries such as fuel pump, ECU, battery etc, as well as the
fuel load required for 5 minutes at full power, allowing selection of a
suitable turbine for the specific model or application.
KEY:
= Discontinued Model
= New Engine Test
= Tested previously
1 RPM figures shown are the maximum specified by the manufacturer.

2 Exhaust gas temperature (EGT) is nominal as the actual EGT
varies substantially depending on the exact position of the sensor.
NB
See Hybl Turbines, updated note from current test results: * This is a
Turbine Inlet Temperature (approx. 150°C higher than max. EGT)
3 The maximum thrust figures are shown in Newtons, as this is the

figure commonly used by manufacturers to describe a particular engine.
Conversion factors are; a) To convert to Kg, divide the Newton figure by
9.81. To convert to Lb, divide the Newton figure by 4.45.
4 To convert cc to US fI . oz. multiply the cc figure by 0.0338.

5 To convert Litres to U.S Quart multiply the Litre figure by 1.06.
6 To convert Kg to Lb, multiply the Kg figure by 2.20
7 The thrust to weight ratio is calculated by taking the thrust figure of
the engine and dividing this by the total weight of the engine, ancillaries
and fuel for 5 minutes at full power.
8 TSFC (Thrust Specific Fuel Consumption) - the lower the figure the
more efficient the engine.
9 The weight of the engine includes all parts attached, such as starter,
mounting lugs and temperature sensor, etc.
10 The weight of ancillaries includes ECU, pump, valves etc, and a

notional ECU battery weight has been included for those engines that
are supplied without a battery.
68
69

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THE WORLD’S PREMIER R/C JET MAGAZINE

- EDF to turbine conversions

12 THE POWERBOX SERVOBRIDGE

18 EDF TO TURBINE CONVERSIONS

26 BEST IN THE WEST 2021 - Part 2

32 TOMAHAWK AVIATION EPIC VICTORY

40 SUPER GALEB - Part 1

62 AN EASY WAY TO MAKE A RUNWAY

68 GAS TURBINE PERFORMANCE COMPARISONS

Magazine design and layout

On a happier note, in this issue I am pleased to share my own experiences with

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The fuselage masterplug starts to take shape

Wings and tailplane:

(ailerons and flaps) to be pulled through

enough uncured soft spots may be found in the completed

Fuselage and wings together for the first time!

The turbine nacelle master plug

Christopher Ferkl The nacelle mounting brackets

The PowerBox Servobridge

On the Core receivers, the ServoBridge is connected via the P2

Sample servo performance

JR 8411 14mm 0.01Amp 0.18/0.13 0.33/0.23 0.5/0.35

JR 893 12mm 0.01Amp 0.29/0.24 0.4/0.33 0.45/0.37

JR 8931+ 12mm 0.01Amp 0.3/0.25 0.4/0.33 0.45/0.375

Mac 5921 22mm 0.01amp 0.29/0.13 0.5/0.22 0.8/0.36

JR 91RW 20mm 0.04Amp 0.12/0.06 0.25/0.125 0.5/0.25

JR 6311 23 mm 0.01Amp 0.33/0.14 0.7/0.30 0.9/0.39

Spekt. 821 17 mm 0.01Amp 0.22/0.12 0.42/0.24 0.75/0.44

JR 4000 15 mm 0.01Amp 0.22/0.15 0.33/0.22 0.58/0.38

JR 507 12 mm 0.01Amp 0.15/0.12 0.26/0.21 0.42/0.35

First load figure refers to amperage at servo arm length as in column 2

JR 8411 is well used original servo over 10 years old.

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EDF TO TURBINE CONVERSIONS

to be manufactured by Aero-Naut; yes, I

in the conventional position, not if it is

In a turbine conversion the turbine mounts and their positioning

In general, the weight of the Speed

turer able to hold the control surfaces

Carlos Marquez made the custom tank:

Occasionally, although luckily a very rare

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Team JRPropo-DeeForce Aviation with their Havoc's

Elite Aerosport showed both the Bravado, flown also by world

A Pilot-RC FC-1 3D about to land

Clear acetate sheet was heated and formed

Light cover fitted using some tiny

Noseleg light installed.

Combined wingtip navigation and strobe light unit in place, with

Wingtip navigation light illuminated.

clamped to the noseleg using a M2 screw and nut, the lead

All that is left to do is to obtain some

Wingtip navigation light with the strobe illuminated.