THE WORLD’S PREMIER R/C JET MAGAZINE
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015
TOP GUN ‘15
A true showpiece of Jet models from Lakeland Airport, Florida
KINGTECH K-45G Engine test…
VENOM CONVERSION
www.rcjetinternational.com AUG/SEP15 • £5.99
Part 2 – Finishing & Flying
MICK REEVES LIGHTNING A boyhood dream built…
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CONTENTS AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2015
Issue 133
EDITOR Barry Atkinson rcji@traplet.com REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS David Gladwin, Colin Straus, Dave Wilshere, Harry Curzon, Jon Ranson, David Hart and Lee Sinton MANAGING DIRECTOR Tony Stephenson OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Tom Stephenson DESIGN AND PRODUCTION MANAGER Nick Powell MAGAZINE DESIGN AND LAYOUT James Scott ADVERTISING SALES Angela Price Tel: 01684 588568 email: advertising@traplet.com MARKETING EXECUTIVE Wendy Adams Tel: 01684 588521 ADVERTISING COPY CONTROL Cindi Griffiths Tel: 01684 588517 email: adcopy@traplet.com PRINTER Warners plc NEWSSTAND DISTRIBUTION Seymour Distribution Ltd. (020 7429 4000) HOBBY TRADE DISTRIBUTION Traplet Publications Limited (01684 588522) US DISTRIBUTION Traplet Distribution USA Ltd., 816 N. Country Fair Drive, Suite 5 Champaign, Illinois 61821USA Tel: 217-355-2970 Fax: 217-954-0472 AUSTRALIAN DISTRIBUTION Traplet Publications & Hobbies, P.O. Box 501, Engadine, NSW 2233, Australia. Tel: (02) 9520 0933 Fax: (02) 9520 0032 email: sales@traplet.com.au
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PUBLISHED BY Traplet Publications Ltd, Traplet House, Willow End Park, Blackmore Park Road, Welland, Malvern, WR13 6NN, England. Tel: 01684 588500 Fax: 01684 578558 email: customerservice@traplet.com
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015
TOP GUN ‘15
A true showpiece of Jet models from Lakeland Airport, Florida
SUBSCRIPTIONS 1 Year subscription prices: UK £35.94 Europe £49.99 W/Wide £51.99 USA & Canada US $71.99 2 Years subscription prices: UK £71.88 Europe £89.99 W/Wide £91.99 USA & Canada US $141.99 BACK ISSUES UK £5.99/US $10.99 Customer Service: 01684 588599 Order Hotline: 01684 588599 Online Ordering: www.trapletshop.com © 2015 Traplet Publications Limited. All rights reserved.
ON THE COVER:
This lovely, moody photo, shot just prior to sunset by David Hart was taken at Top Gun 2015, Lakeland, Florida. The aircraft is a Grippen, belonging to Jim McEwen. David is an excellent photographer and his work on both R/C aircraft and full size can be seen at www. warbirdandrcairplanephotography. com. AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015
KINGTECH K-45G Engine test…
VENOM CONVERSION
www.rcjetinternational.com AUG/SEP15 • £5.99
Part 2 – Finishing & Flying
MICK REEVES LIGHTNING A boyhood dream built…
08>
9
770968 329093
This magazine is sold subject to the following conditions: that it shall not without written consent of the publishers be lent, resold or otherwise disposed of by way of trade in excess of the recommended maximum retail price. All rights strictly reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any way without the prior agreement of the publisher. All letters must be accompanied by the sender’s full name and address. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited correspondence nor some of the opinions expressed. All material and artwork originated by Traplet Publications Ltd., photographs, drawings, plans used in this magazine become the publishers copyright under Copyright law. Some photographs may have been digitally re-mastered. The Company reserves the right to suspend or refuse any advertisements without giving reasons. Whilst every care is taken to avoid mistakes, Traplet Publications Ltd. cannot be liable in any way for errors or omissions. Nor can the Publisher accept any responsibility for the bona fides of advertisers. © Traplet Publications Limited 2015 ISSN 0968-3291
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TOP GUN 2015
34
Regulars 6 FROM THE COCKPIT
News and product information from around the jet-modelling world
48 GAS TURBINE PERFORMANCE COMPARISONS Up to date engine data
72 BUYING POWER
Reader’s FREE classified advertisements
74 NEXT ISSUE
What’s in store for the October/November ‘15 issue
Features 10 TECHNICALLY SPEAKING
Amongst a multitude of subjects this month Dave Gladwin looks at Jets Munt’s XBL 100 gas turbine in use, and has a quick peek at JR’s new flagship Tx, the JR 28X
20 A FLASH OF LIGHTNING
Harry Curzon builds the aircraft of his boyhood dreams, the Lightning, from the Mick Reeves kit
26 VENOM VICTORIOUS
In this final part Jon Ranson finishes and then test flies his 1/6th scale electric conversion Venom, and asks Chris Golds for his recollections of the full size aircraft
34 TOP GUN 2015
David Hart reports from this invitation-only showpiece that was blessed with glorious weather and some fantastic models
44 KINGTECH K-45G
Our new engine test sees Colin Straus go in-depth with KingTech’s new entry into the small turbine market, the K-45G
LETS GET AIRBORNE
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52 LETS GET AIRBORNE
Skymaster’s large and impressive Avanti XXL sport jet takes to the skies, and leaves Colin a very happy flyer!
59 THE FRUITS OF OUR LABOUR
Lee Sinton concludes his series on designing and making a sequencer unit that can be used for all manner of functions
68 JET CHATTER
Dave looks at choosing a new van to carry his models around and gives some advice on making a safe landing
A FLASH OF LIGHTNING
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AUTHOR & PHOTOGRAPHER: COLIN STRAUS
Lets Get Airborne!
Colin takes to the skies with Skymaster’s large and impressive Avanti XXL sport jet
The Avanti XXL in its particularly colourful and attractive scheme, almost ready to take to the air for its first flight
W
ith the completed Avanti checked and re-checked it was off to Debden and my local jet flying site on the first available day, which proved to be a bright and sunny day, albeit with a stiff wind almost directly down the runway. A quick air test with another model showed that the conditions, although not perfect, were quite flyable, so the model was carefully extracted from my trailer, in which it resides with only a few millimetres to spare at nose and tail. Once assembled a retract check was carried out, followed by a range check, after which control deflections and directions were checked by myself and a flying friend, just to be 100% certain that they were functioning in the correct direction.
Ready To Go
I had run the KingTech 210 in the airframe the previous day, and thus confirmed that the fuel tank, header tank and tubing had no leaks, and that no air bubbles were present, so the tank was filled and air system topped up ready for the maiden flight. As would be expected the KingTech 210 started up without fuss, and after a final check, the large canopy was carefully fitted and secured with the single bolt at the rear. Taxiing out showed that the model is very stable on the ground, with the wide track helping here, and even reasonably tight turns could be performed without the model leaning over too much – I had pressurised the oil damped oleos to around 150 psi and this seemed about right.
A man with his model – Colin lends scale to this large sport jet Once lined up on the runway the throttle was opened and the model accelerated away quite quickly, until after a run of around 80 metres gentle backpressure on the elevator stick lifted the nose and the model smoothly took to the air for the first time. The immediate impression I had was of stability, with the blustery wind having almost no effect on this large and sleek model, and within a few seconds it was at a comfortable height, the undercarriage had been retracted and the power pulled back to around the mid stick position.
As the Avanti flew back downwind we could see that although the main legs had retracted correctly, the nose leg was still in an only partially retracted position, with the nose doors jammed against it. I had been concerned about this before flying, as all three of the legs retract slowly due to their need for a relatively high volume of air, and with the nose leg retracting forward the air pressure when the model is in flight creates a substantial amount of drag. Luckily as it was only the nose leg, the model’s flying abilities seemed unimpaired, so
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avanti XXL
the flight was continued, and after a couple of circuits to get used to the control responses the Avanti was brought down low to position for the ever enthusiastic photographer. It was at this point that I realised that not a single click of trim had been required for straight and level flight, this being the first time in many years I have had this happen. Clearly the moulds for the flying surfaces are extremely accurate, and the entire airframe perfectly straight and square, whilst of course the quality of assembly and set-up must also have been superb, either that or I was just very lucky! Control responses at the recommended settings were almost perfect for me, with a nice, reasonably rapid roll rate and excellent pitch response, whilst the rudder was equally effective, rather surprising as the recommended movement of this surface is
A low pass for the camera illustrates the stuck nose leg, which would not retract fully during the first flight
With the nosewheel just clear of the runway the Avanti XXL accelerates away for its first lift-off
relatively small. Clearly the unusual thick and concave trailing edge of the rudder really does work and makes this surface particularly powerful. The KingTech 210 proved to be a good match to the airframe, only just over half power being required to give the model a comfortable flying speed, whilst full power pushed the Avanti vertical until our height limit was reached, even when the model was fairly full of fuel early on in the flight. I always keep first flights reasonably short, so after a few basic aerobatic manoeuvres had been completed the Avanti was taken high and slowed down to check the stall, which occurred at a surprisingly low airspeed, after which the same exercise was carried out with the flaps at take-off and landing positions. I found that both flap positions caused the model to nose up, clearly requiring more down trim to be mixed in, but with the flaps fully deployed, when the ailerons are mixed in to provide crow braking, the model almost appeared to hover with its nose into the wind.
Airborne and the landing gear is tucking itself away, although the nose leg was still proving to be stubborn
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