Super Buccaneer by Dick Shields

Dick Shields has been flying with the Rock Valley Fliers in Rockford, Illinois, for a number of years and loves to scratchbuild the classic models of the past. Dick scratchbuilt this Buckeeneer and updated it for modern electronics. Dick built his Buckeeneer with traditional balsa and light ply and powers it with a BP Hobbies 2826-64 brushless motor and a Nanotech 4S 2500 mAh Li-Po pack. Flying surfaces get control thanks to Hitec servos. Fellow club member, Randy Lyttle, flies Dick’s electric Buckeeneer at the club’s annual all electric fun fly each September.

Bill Evans Simitar by Calvin McCarthy

Calvin McCarthy not only enjoys scratchbuilding model airplanes, but also updating those models with modern electronics. Calvin reports: "I built this Bill Evans Simitar, originally published in the December 1976 issue of RC Modeler. The magazine article specified a Cox TD-049 or TD-051 glow engine for power but time moves on. Mine is pulled by an 8–3.8 prop driven by a Model Motors AXI 2212-20 brushless motor with 3-cell Li-Po battery. Construction is hot wire cut foam wings using the original Evans ESA-40 airfoil and sheeted with light 1⁄16-inch balsa. The fuselage is the original sheet balsa as per the plan, simplicity itself. Control is by the use of two Hitec HS-65 servos and a Hobby King Fr-Sky TFR4-B four-channel FAAST compatible receiver. Very solid from a hand launch. Fast and maneuverable and slows down very nicely for its belly landing. Its shape is also an attention grabber as it flies above the flight line long nose first, so it doesn’t see a lot of flights per season."

Miles Aerovan by Will Gaylord

"I just finished a Miles Aerovan before the new year. The model has a 36" span and is 19oz AUW with working flaps and lighting system." The Miles Aerovan was a British twin engine short-range low-cost transport designed in 1944 and built by Miles Aircraft. It was used for freight, joy-riding and passenger services. It also was used by many commercial operators and for some military purposes.

Flying Models Barnstormers welcomes your submissions! Readers of Flying Models are invited to submit pictures (no more than three) and a brief description of their model (no more than 300 words). Images should be at least 1024 pixels across. Please send your submissions to Associate Editor Jim Wiggin for consideration. We look forward to your contributions!