By Model Airplai

BY MODEL AIRPLAI

bird-place Dennis Crooks' Learjet 35A on takeoff. The model flew impressively Mark Frankel's colorful F-4D Skyray was entered in Team This 1 / 5 . 4 - s c a l e F8F B at well over 120mph and was a big crowd pleaser. Dennis had to increase the Scale with Dean DiGiorgio as pilot and placed fifth. Whitley of Lynn H a v e r tire pressure so the big jet could get up enough speed on the grass runway. It Mark's construction article on this ducted-Ian-jet design plans, and it includes t was well worth the effort. appeared in the April '93 issue of "Model Airplane News." built. The mighty Navy The 18-pound O.S. .91-powered jet uses a Ramtech fan 0. S. 300 twin-cylinde unit and rides on Glennis wheels. wingspan, weighs 25 po, fuel tanks. Mel placed fit

b y G E R R Y Y A R R I S H E NEWS & PACER TECHNOLOGY

rcat was built by Mel Getting caught up in the fearsome crcsswind, this Japanese FL, using Jerry Bates A6M3 model 32 Zero built by Jeff Foley just avoids scratch- landing gear that Mel ing its wing tip. Jell built his model from a Dave Platt kit and ¥hter is powered by an placed seventh. An O.S. 1.08 engine powers the 18-pound, The main Top Gun for 1993, First-place Corvin Miller of ngine, has a 78-inch 1/5.5-scale, 80-inch-wingspan model with authority. Sarasota, FL, and his 1/4- scale Globe Swift. Corvin earned a ds and has "droppable" static score of 96.491 and a flight score of 91.958 for a winning total of 188.449. The model has a wingspan of 80 inches, weighs 21.25 pounds and is powered by an O.S. 160 twin-cylin- H E W E E K E N D O F M a y 1 a n d 2 w a s p e r f e c t f o r t h e 5 t h T o p der engine. T G u n S c a l e I n v i t a t i o n a l h e l d i n s u n n y W e s t P a l m B e a c h , F L . W i t h t e m p e r a t u r e s i n t h e m i d 8 0 s , a c a r p e t o f l u s h g r a s s o n t h e h u g e f l y i n g s i t e a n d 5 7 o f t h e b e s t s c a l e m o d e l a i r c r a f t e v e r b u i l t T h u r s d a y m o r n i n g t o t h e f i n a l r o u n d o n S u n d a y a f t e r n o o n , t h e c o m p e t i n g f o r t h o u s a n d s o f d o l l a r s i n p r i z e m o n e y a n d t r o p h i e s , c a l i b e r o f t h e m o d e l s a n d t h e e v e r - i n c r e a s i n g p r o f i c i e n c y o f t h e i r t h i s y e a r ' s T o p G u n e x t r a v a g a n z a w a s a l m o s t b e y o n d d e s c r i p - p i l o t s m a d e it i m p o s s i b l e t o s i n g l e o u t a n y m o d e l a s a s u r e w i n - t i o n . n e r . E a c h y e a r , t h e q u a l i t y , e n g i n e e r i n g a n d e x e c u t i o n o f t h e s e A c r o w d o f t h o u s a n d s a n d a h o s t o f s p o n s o r i n g m a n u f a c t u r - f l y i n g m a s t e r p i e c e s c o n t i n u e t o i m p r o v e , a n d t h a t t h e y ' r e a c t u a l - e r s w i t n e s s e d t h e e v e n t s t h a t m a d e u p t h i s t w o - d a y c o m p e t i - ly f l o w n is a t r i b u t e t o t h e h a r d w o r k a n d d e d i c a t i o n o f t h e m o d - t i o n . A s b e f o r e , Model Airplane News a n d P a c e r t e c h n o l o g y c o - e l e i t i b e h i n d t h e t r a n s m i t t e r s . s p o n s o r e d t h e m e e t , w h i c h m u s t n o w t r u l y b e t h e g r e a t e s t d i s - W e c o n g r a t u l a t e a l l t h e w i n n e r s — e s p e c i a l l y t h e n e w m a n o n p l a y o f R/C s c a l e a i r c r a f t s h o w m a n s h i p . t o p , C o r v i n M i l l e r , w h o f l e w h i s s c r a t c h - b u i l t , 1 / 4 - s c a l e G l o b e E x p e r t m o d e l e r s f r o m a r o u n d t h e w o r l d c a m e f o r t h e c h a n c e S w i f t , a n d t h e T e a m S c a l e w i n n e r s , B o b V i o l e t t a n d J e r r y C a u d l e t o b e t h i s y e a r ' s T o p G u n w i n n e r . F r o m t h e f i r s t p r a c t i c e o n w i t h t h e i r L o c k h e e d T - 3 3 j e t . JUDGING The contest is a combination of static judging (this came first, for obvious reasons!) and flight judging. Practice flights are usually flown after the models have been "static-judged." The rules specify that neither the model's outline nor its markings may be altered in

Eduardo Esteves of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, placed 19th with this 1/4-scale, scratch-buill Rearwin Skyranger. Covered with Sig Coverall cloth, the finish is automotive enamel. An O.S. 300 twin-cylinder 4-stroke engine powers the 112-inch-wingspan model. Eduardo scratch-built all the hardware on this seldom-modeled subject. 1. Eighth-place Kim Foster of Mansfield. OH, built this wonderful 1 / 4 - s c a l e model of a Nieuport 28 from the Proctor kit. Powered by a Y.S. 1.20 4-stroke engine, the model has an 80-inch wingspan, weighs 16 pounds and has an automotive lac- quer finish that duplicates a modern reproduction of the famous WW I ¥ tighter.

2. The father-and-son team of Tony and David Malchione of Kennett Square, PA, prepare their T-33B T- Bird lor the second round. Powered by a BVM .91 engine and a Viojett Ian. the model placed sixth in Team Scale.

3. This close-up shows the excellent detail on Dick Hansen's 1 / 4 - s c a l e Albatros.

4. A gathering of jetsters and their jets. From left to right: Paul Schuessler. Pattie Generali. Kent Nogy, Garland Hamilton. Bob Violett. Jerry Caudle, Bill Harris and Terry Nitsch.

5. Rich Uravitch (left) and Nick Ziroli Jr. carry Nick's Hellcat back to the pits after a wheels-up landing. The impressive Grumman fighter with its unique British paint scheme won the Best Military award. Scratch-built from Ziroli plans, the model has a wingspan of 96 inches, weighs 40 pounds and is powered by a Sachs 5.2 gas engine.

6. Bob Boswell placed 21st with his Mark Frankel-designed F-4D1 Skyray. Here. Bob brings it in for a landing. Power comes from an O.S. .91 engine and Dynamax fan.

7. This 1/5-scale. 101-inch-wing-span F4U1A Corsair was built by Bill SteffeS of Schenectady, NY, and flown fly Nick Ziroli Jr. in the Team Scale event. It weighs 35 pounds and is powered by a Zenoah G-62 gas engine. Scratch-built from enlarged Ziroli plans, the model is equipped with Robart retracts and Gene Barton wheels.

8. Kent Nogy of Paso Robles, CA. returned again to Top Gun with his North American F-86F Sabre jet and placed 25th. Flared for landing, the model is just about to touch down. The model is built from a BVM kit, weighs 13.5 pounds, is powered by a BVM .81 engine and has a wingspan of 58 inches.

9. Tom Polapink of Centereach, NY, built this great-flying Sopwith Snipe, which is powered by a Quadra 35 gas engine. Just under 1/4 scale, the model has an 84-inch wingspan and weighs 18 pounds. Tom earned the highest static score (98.490) at this year's Top Gun.

10. Jeff Foley's Japanese Zero is a study of surface detailing. Rivets, panel lines and just the right amount of weathering make the model look as it someone sprinkled "shrink dust" on the full-size fighter. Jeff's static score was 97.157. TOP GUN any way between the static and flight judging. If you have two spinners—one for static and one for

British pilots (left to right): Richard Crapp, Justin Fowler, David flight—both must be Boddington (editor of Radio Control Scale Aircraft). Gerry Rathband. Neil shown to the judges. Tidey (manufacturer of laser engines). Mike "Swampfoot" Booth. Robert The same holds true Hamilton Wright and David Toyer. Models (left to right): Antonov AN-2. Vickers Vimy. Sopwith Triplane and Gloster Meteor. The British team's for ordnances such as models were delivered free of charge by Britannia Airways. Mr. Top Gun himself, Frank Tiano, mugs b o m b s and d r o p it up for the camera during a brief break tanks. from keeping everything running smooth- I n t e r n a t i o n a l ly. Frank has done a lot for the sport of The static judges scale. evaluate: A f f a i r • A c c u r a c y of a I t ' s t h e h i s t o r y t h a t m a k e s a s c a l e e x t r a v a g a n z a s u c h a s T o p G u n s o model's outline—judged by documentation and three-views; e x c i t i n g , e v e n t o n o n - m o d e l e r s . I t ' s t h e o n e i n g r e d i e n t t h a t s e t s s c a l e m e e t s a p a r t f r o m o t h e r e v e n t s . F e w w o u l d a r g u e t h a t E n g l i s h , G e r m a n • Color and markings—judged by referring to color chips, a n d A m e r i c a n a v i a t i o n h i s t o r y h a v e b e e n c l o s e l y t i e d t h r o u g h o u t m o s t o f photographs and drawings; t h i s c e n t u r y . H o w a p p r o p r i a t e it i s t h a t f i n e s c a l e m o d e l e r s a n d a d m i r e r s • Craftsmanship—judged by its overall finish, details and o f a v i a t i o n h i s t o r y f r o m t h e s e v e r y c o u n t r i e s s h o u l d m e e t a t T o p G u n in f r i e n d l y c o m p e t i t i o n . degree of scale perfection. Three judges score the model while T h e G e r m a n t e a m s h o w e d u p w i t h t h r e e e x c e l l e n t f l y i n g s h i p s standing 15 feet away from it, and a fourth judge scores crafts- d e s i g n e d b y A n d r e a s G i e t z , a n d t h e y ' r e a v a i l a b l e a s h i g h l y p r e f a b r i c a t e d manship while standing next to the modeler as he holds his f i b e r g l a s s k i t s : a 9 2 - i n c h s p a n Y a k 1 1 ; a 1 0 2 - i n c h - s p a n S p i t f i r e ( n o t s h o w n ) a n d a b e a u t i f u l 1 2 6 - i n c h - s p a n D C - 3 c a l l e d " S e n t i m e n t a l model: side view, front, top and bottom. J o u r n e y s . " T h e l a s t o f t h e s e w a s f l o w n b y S t e p h a n D u r r s t e i n t o w i n B e s t Flight judging is based on: C i v i l i a n M o d e l , w h i c h w a s a w a r d e d b y L a n i e r R C . • Five rounds; the lowest score is thrown out. F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n o n t h e s e e x c e l l e n t f l y i n g k i t s , c o n t a c t M o d e l A v i a t i o n T e c h n o l o g y ( 4 0 7 ) 6 2 6 - 6 9 5 5 . • Five mandatory maneuvers: takeoff, slow-speed flyby, high- T h e G e r m a n s w e r e v e r y p r a g m a t i c d u r i n g t h e d a y s a n d n i g h t s o f T o p speed flyby, traffic pattern and landing. G u n . I l i k e t h e G e r m a n s ; y o u k n o w w h e r e y o u s t a n d w i t h t h e m . T h e i r p h i - l o s o p h y i s s i m p l e a n d e a s y t o u n d e r s t a n d . D a y t i m e w a s f o r s e r i o u s f l y - • Five optional maneuvers: slip-S, loop, roll, etc. i n g ; n i g h t t i m e w a s f o r s e r i o u s f u n ! T h e y d i d b o t h " t o t h e f u l l e s t . " Before the first flight, contestants are allowed to demonstrate T h e E n g l i s h , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , w e r e s e r i o u s a b o u t v e r y l i t t l e , s h o w i n g up to two mechanical options, such as retractable landing gear, u p w i t h s o m e v e r y u n i q u e s c r a t c h - b u i l t m o d e l s . T h e w i l d e s t o f t h e s e w a s a G e r r y R a t h b a n d - b u i l t V i c k e r V i m y — a t w i n L a s e r 1 0 0 - p o w e r e d W W I flaps, etc. The flight judges look for scale realism in the b i p l a n e t h a t w a s d e s i g n e d a n d f l o w n b y Radio Control Scale Aircraft e d i - execution of various flight maneuvers—a real test of pilot pro- t o r , D a v e " l a u g h i n g - m a n " B o d d i n g t o n . ficiency. A s y o u c a n s e e f r o m t h e p h o t o , t h e V i m y w a s n ' t t h e o n l y o f f b e a t u n d e r t a k i n g c r e a t e d b y t h e B r i t s . E q u a l l y u n i q u e w e r e R i c h a r d C r a p p ' s 1 think the only thing harder than designing, building, fin- A n t o n o v A N - 2 R u s s i a n b i p l a n e a n d D a v i d T o y e r ' s G l o s t e r M e t e o r ( a l s o ishing and flying a model at Top Gun is judging the models. f r o m a D a v i d B o d d i n g t o n p l a n ) . I c a n e a s i l y r e l a t e t o t h e E n g l i s h ; t h e y Chief judges George Leu (Flying) and Tim Farrell (Static) a d m i r a b l y p l u n g e h e a d l o n g i n t o t h e a b s u r d a t e v e r y p o s s i b l e m o m e n t — d a y o r n i g h t . along with their teams of hard-working judges did super jobs, S e r i o u s l y , it w a s q u i t e a n e x p e r i e n c e t o b e in t h e p r e s e n c e o f c o u n t r y - as did the contestants themselves and the models they flew. m e n w h o s e a v i a t i o n h i s t o r y i s a s t o r y o f b o t h c i v i l i a n c o o p e r a t i o n a n d — With mere fractions of points separating the winners, this has h o w s h a l l w e s a y i t — m i l i t a r y c o m p e t i t i o n ? B u t a l l i s f o r g o t t e n a n d t h e f u n o f s c a l e c o m p e t i t i o n a t T o p G u n p u t s s m i l e s o n e v e r y o n e ' s f a c e s , n o m a t - to be the most demanding and precise national competition. t e r w h a t o n e ' s n a t i v e l a n g u a g e m i g h t b e . If, h o w e v e r , a s p a r k o f a g g r e s s i v e c o m p e t i t i o n i s o c c a s i o n a l l y n o t e d , it i s , n o d o u b t , t h e f a u l t o f u s Y a n k s . A f t e r a l l , w e a l l o w e d t h e B r i t s t o p u t HALF-TIME t h e i r s l i g h t l y o v e r r a t e d , a l b e i t s u p e r c h a r g e d , R o l l s R o y c e M e r l i n V - 1 2 i n t o HIGH JINKS o u r s u p e r l a t i v e a i r f r a m e , t h e N o r t h A m e r i c a n P - 5 1 M u s t a n g — a c o m b i n a - t i o n t h a t p r o v e d t o b e a g i a n t t h o r n i n t h e L u f t w a f f e ' s s i d e . I k n o w I'll p a y Each d a y , to the f o r t h a t o n e ! delight of spectators— O h w e l l , c o m e p l u n g e h e a d l o n g w i t h u s n e x t y e a r i n t o d a y s o f f l y i n g and to give competi- a n d n i g h t s o f f u n ( b e it s e r i o u s o r a b s u r d ) a t T o p G u n — t h e international e v e n t . — C h r i s Chianelli tors a well-deserved rest—we were treated

Half-time high jinks included Bubba Spivey flying his Lanier Stinger sport plane. Powered by a G-B2 gas engine, there was smoke to spare during his heart- The German Team with the Fiber Classics Yak 11 and DC-3 (left to right): stopping routine. Michael Becker. Andreas Gietz (owner of Fiber Classics), Helmut Durrstein. Stefan Bloss and Stephan Durrstein. The Yak and the Spitfire (not shown) featured incredibly quiet, in-fuselage muffling—a possible feature for Model Caught in a speedy knife-edge. Bubba's Week's Airplane News. The DC-3 was powered by O.S. Surpass. 70 4-stroke engines. Special biplane spills out its smoky signature. Airplanes were shipped courtesy of American Airlines.

68 MODEL AIRPLANE NEWS 7. Linda Crooks and Mark Frankel carry Dennis Crooks' 1/6-scale Learjet 35A back to the pits after a successful flight. The jet is powered by two O.S. .77 engines turning Dynamax fans, and it has a wingspan of 80 inches. Dennis placed third with the impressive corporate jet built from the Frankel kit.

2. Bud Roane of Melbourne, FL, flew this scratch-built, 1/4-scale Sopwith Pup and placed 22nd. The WW I scout plane is powered by an O.S. 120 FS 4-stroke engine, weighs 15 pounds and has a 79.5-inch wingspan. Charlie Chambers of Coral Springs, FL, scratch-built this beautiful all-aluminum-covered Grumman F8-1 Bearcat from Jerry Bates plans. It has a wingspan of 77.25 inches and weighs 28 pounds. Powered by a Super Tigre 4500 glow engine, the model is equipped with modified FTE Nick Tusa of East Moriches, NY, pushes back his 1/3-scale retracts and scratch-built wheels. The scale panel sec- Fokker D-VII WW I German fighter after another successful tions are made of 2mm-thick aluminum. flight. The giant model has a 10-foot wingspan and is 7.5 feet long. It weighs 38 pounds and is powered by a Quadra to the greatest aerial hot-dogging around. Bubba 100 gas engine. The finish is a hand-painted "lozenge" Spivey, of Lanier R/C, and his wing man W a y n e pattern done in watercolors over doped cloth with a clear coat of polyurethane. Every part of this model was scratch- Voyles, with their models twisting, tumbling and thun- built by Nick. dering past flight-line center, showed us just what giant- size, gas burners can do. Powered by smoke-equipped, Zenoah G-62s, the big Lanier Stingers executed rolling 360-degree turns, dou- ble flat-spins, very low, inverted passes and nearly hov- ering vertical pullouts. Two of the popular Zap Gang, these guys had my vote for the "Top Sticks" award. TOC aerobatics were exemplified by the absolute precision of Geoff C o m b s , who flew his Ultimate Sixth-place Diego Lopez did very well with his 1/5-scale Skyraider. The 90-inch-wingspan biplane. Two things strike you when you see his perfor- model weighs 37 pounds and is powered by a Webra Bully engine. The model has opera- tional folding wings and is equipped with navigation lights that show when the wing's fold- mance: the grace of each maneuver as the bipe enters down-locks are properly engaged.

ll t o o o f t e n i t ' s h e a r d : " Y o u A h a v e t o b u i l d a w a r b i r d o r a m o d e r n t w i n - e n g i n e d u c t e d - f a n s h i p o f y o u r o w n d e s i g n t o w i n a t T o p G u n . " W e l l , t o d i s p r o v e t h i s t i r e d c o m p l a i n t , h e r e a r e t w o a n t i q u e s f r o m v a s t l y d i f f e r e n t e r a s t h a t t o o k t o p h o n o r s a t T o p G u n . T w e n t y - e i g h t - y e a r - o l d T o m P o l a p i n k , f r o m C e n t e r e a c h , L o n g I s l a n d , N Y , t o o k t h e t o p s t a t i c s c o r e o f t h e w e e k e n d w i t h h i s i n c r e d i b l y a c c u r a t e , p a i n s t a k i n g l y e d , j u s t h o w f a r y o u c a n g o w i t h a n e n t r y b u i l t f r o m a c o m m e r c i a l - d e t a i l e d S o p w i t h S n i p e . O b v i o u s l y , n o t a P h a n t o m o r a B e a r c a t , l y a v a i l a b l e k i t . W i t h h i s B o b V i o l e t t F - 8 6 F , T e r r y w a s n o t o n l y T o m ' s S o p w i t h n o n e t h e l e s s w a s a w a r d e d a g l o r i o u s 9 8 . 4 9 0 s t a t i c a m o n g t h e t o p s i x s t a t i c s c o r e s w i t h 9 6 . 5 0 7 p o i n t s , b u t h e a l s o p o i n t s — t h e c l o s e s t T o p G u n s c o r e t o t h a t p e r f e c t 1 0 0 . w o n t h e S p e c i a l A w a r d of B e s t C r a f t s m a n s h i p ( p r e s e n t e d b y A c e N o t o n l y d i d T o m t a k e t h e h i g h e s t s t a t i c s c o r e w i t h t h e S n i p e R / C ) . J u s t l o o k a t t h e d e t a i l i n t h a t c o c k p i t ! T e r r y u s e d m a n y ( h i s o w n d e s i g n ) , b u t h e a l s o m a n a g e d t o l o g t h r e e f l i g h t s in t h e off t h e s h e l f s c a l e n i c e t i e s l i k e G l e n n i s w h e e l s , a f a v o r i t e o n T o p 8 0 s , i n s p i t e o f s t r o n g , G u n j e t s . g u s t y c r o s s w i n d s a l l F i n a l l y , b y l o g g i n g b e a u t i f u l s c a l e f l i g h t s c o n s i s t e n t l y i n t h e w e e k e n d ( c o n d i t i o n s 9 0 s , T e r r y t o o k s e c o n d o v e r a l l w i t h a s c o r e o f 1 8 8 . 2 9 9 — n o t b a d o f t e n d a n g e r o u s f o r f o r a p r o j e c t t h a t s t a r t e d a s a n o f f - t h e - s h e l f k i t . T h i s u n d e r t a k i n g s c a l e s u b j e c t s f r o m W W m a k e s all o f u s f e e l a s if w e m i g h t h a v e a s h o t a t s c a l e e v e n t s if 1). T o m ' s o v e r a l l s c o r e o f w e ' r e w i l l i n g t o p u t i n t h e e f f o r t t o m a k e it s t a n d o u t . 1 8 1 . 7 4 g a v e h i m 1 1 t h S o , t h a n k y o u T e r r y a n d T o m , n o t o n l y f o r b e i n g p a r t o f t h e T o p p l a c e o u t o f 4 9 c o n t e s - G u n I n v i t a t i o n a l s p e c t a c l e , b u t f o r a l s o d i s p r o v i n g s o m e l o n g - t a n t s . I t ' s s c a r y t o t h i n k s t a n d i n g m i s c o n c e p t i o n s a b o u t w a r b i r d s a n d e x o t i c j e t s b e i n g t h e w h a t T o m ' s f i n a l s c o r e o n l y p l a n e s t h a t c a n w i n a t T o p G u n a n d y o u c a n ' t w i n w i t h a k i t — m i g h t h a v e b e e n h a d t h e w r o n g ! — C h r i s C h i a n e l l i w i n d s c o o p e r a t e d j u s t a bit m o r e . O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , It's t h e E f f o r t T e r r y N i t s c h f r o m C o l u m b u s , O H , s h o w - t h a t C o u n t s -

and exits each maneuver; and the sheer power of the model as its big gas e n g i n e thunders overhead. It takes a lot of sky to complete T O C maneuvers, but his land- Claude McCullough of Montezuma, IA, starts the O.S. Gemini 160 twin ings were so "on-the- on his unusual, scratch-built, 1/4-scale. Rawdon T-1. It has a 100-inch spot" that they looked wingspan and weighs 21 pounds. Finished with Sig and Randolph's effortless. E x p e r t s butyrate dope, it's incredibly detailed. Long associated with Sig Mfg. Co., AMA Hall of Fame member Claude has designed many kits, a l w a y s m a k e the including the famous Kadet series of trainers. impossible look easy. Bob Violett and his daughter Patty Generali prepare her While performing F-86—The Huff—for flight. As many discovered, she's a s o m e of the hottest formidable competitor. T O P GUN T O P BRASS hot-dogging ever seen Chief static judge—Tim Farrell with his F l y i n g M a c h i n e , C l o u d Static judges—Bob Curry, Bill Deverna, Lee Henderson Dancer team member Don Muddiman Chief flight Judge—George Leu rightfully grabbed his fair share of Flight judges—Wayne Fredrick, Darlene Fredrick, Bob Campbell, "ohhs" and "ahhs." This small unre- Jim Semonian, Jim Parker, Stan Alexander, John Smith, Tom Kozel m a r k a b l e - l o o k i n g m o d e l ' s perfor- Head scorekeeper—Rosella Curry mance was in marked contrast to its appearance. A vertical hand-launch was followed by a series of mind-bog- i n f o r m a t i v e , gling snaps, loops and Lomcevaks that e n t e r t a i n i n g took the plane almost out of sight. The Static judging. Left to right: Bob narratives; the finale—a 90-degree, vertical, dead- Curry, Lee Henderson and "scribe" Dick Voigt scrutinize a contestant's Palm Beach stick dive from the clouds to a split- documentation. These guys worked A e r o C l u b second-timing pull-out—would have very hard throughout the weekend. members who caused wing failure on lesser models. p l a n n e d and With a bright green Viper sport jet, Terry Nitsch showed what hosted the e v e n t ; the cutting edge of speed and performance is all about (how about Britannia Airways 200mph!). His ducted-fan jet did the fastest, lowest, high-speed for arranging trans- passes and went much too fast for my camera to record clearly. port of the British With a flight commentary by Frankie T. himself, the entire flight models; American was reminiscent of the displays put on by the Blue Angels and the Airlines for trans- Thunderbirds. Bob Violett and Bill Harris flew a pair of Violett porting the German Maverick jets in slow, fast flybys. Bob Fiorenze flew his black, models; the judges, who did their jobs flawlessly; and to the host of swing-wing F-14 Navy Tomcat built from the Yellow Aircraft kit. other sponsors and manufacturers who donated products and cash Seeing it pull its wings back in flight was like seeing a bird of prey awards. They all helped to make this thing called "Top Gun" a won- making ready for the kill! derful success. • In themselves, all these half-time showmen put TOP GUN '93 SPONSORS on a true-to-form, Top Company Donation Awarded for/to Ace R/C Assorted electronic equipment Best Craftsmanship G u n s h o w within a Airtronics Infinity Radio Critics' Choice show. Aeroloft Trophy, gift certificate Best Markings Bob Violett Models Maverick kit, trophy accessories Best Jet Bob Banka Plans catalogue All pilots THANK YOU!... Dave Platt Models P-51D kit 2nd, Expert ...to "Mr. T.G." Frank Eagle Editions 5 Jerry Crandal art prints Assorted placings Futaba 7-channel PCM radio 1st, Team Scale Tiano for promoting Glenn Torrance Fokker DRI Iriplane kit 3rd, Expert the e v e n t ; H e r s c h e l Horizon Hobby Dist JR X-388 radio 1st, Expert Lanier R/C $200 cash, trophy, 10 Stinger Jr. kits Best Civilian, assorted placings W o r t h y of P a c e r R/C Report $200 cash, trophy Best Bipe Technology for being Robart Mfg $200 cash, trophy Eng. Excellence co-sponsor; announc- Sig Mfg Spacewalker 111/4-scale kit 2nd, Team Scale Dry Set Dry Set markings Every pilot ers Sam Wright and Team Scale winners Jerry Caudle (left) and Model Airplane News Cash prizes, accommodations, trophies, giveaways Best Military Bob Violett receive their awards on D a v e Platt for their Frank Tiano Ent Cash, trophies, hard work! All participating Sunday. Pacer Technology Cash prizes, airfares, hats, glue kits, trophies High Static