Tinisn Tor - View Site

'by Rich
Uravitch
OK; it's the end of February, and you're looking for a warm place to go
before the temperature starts to rise in your hometown. That you are an
avid RC modeler who wants to broaden your horizons to include jet modeling
makes the decision a no-brainer—Florida Jets. Once again, the site for this
premier jet event was the Flagler County airport, about five minutes west of
Interstate 95 in Bunnell, FL.
I arrived early Friday morning to see cloudy, drizzly skies, and this was as nice
as It got for the next 48 hours, i watched about a dozen flights through the mist
before I called it quits, hoping for better
weather the next day. Unfortunately,
it only worsened; no one got airborne
Saturday because of the deluge of rain
and gusty winds.
But as if to offer a reprieve, Sunday
opened with chilly but sunny skies and
minimal wind nearly down the centerline-a
dramatic difference from the
previous two days.
FLYING TIME
A few aircraft always stand out in your
mind as exceptional in performance,
appearance, creativity, or just plain talent.
Dave Malchione's big, orange, NMC-marked F-4 Phantom remains a
crowd-pleaser. When he touched down on the numbers in a perfect attitude, all
that was missing were the blue/gray puffs of smoke from the tires!
As is usually the case at jet events, the majority of the models were from the
Bob Violett Models (BVM) product line; there's no question that BVM has captured
the lion's share of the jet market. The newest scale machine from the
BVM jet house is the F-1OOF Super Sabre. It has all the appeal of Bob's "D"
model, and he reports that it flies even more smoothly. Watching it fly is aweinspiring.
Even with all the external features such as Bull Pups, Mk.82s and
other goodies, it really cooks. What Bob has not yet managed to capture is the
sound of his "D" model; if you've heard it, you know what I mean. It's magical!
Bob confided that he has actually tried switching some external things
around trying to determine what is producing that fabulous noise. I sure hope
he finds it!
36 MDDEL AIRPLANE NEWS
4
This is John Christensen with his smartlooking
L-1O11, built from the PCM Models
kit The ATA livery was beautifully executed.
One of two Kerry
Sterner-designed
Rutan ARES at the
meet, Jay
Smullen's model
featured a matte
black color
scheme like the
full-scale version
seen In the movie
"Iron Eagle II."
This Malchione F-4J Rhino from the BVM kit Is a
Florida Jets veteran and continues to be
Impressive—not to mention highly visible!