Flying Penguin Foto Gallery (1996)

A place where I can show off pictures of my planes, and some of yours (if I feel like it)

(Click on any of the thumbnail images to view a larger picture.)

Please Note: If you submit a photo, I will post your e-mail address so others can contact you, unless you specifically ask me not to post it.

"I test flew the Semitar (SWEEPEE) and it was something else to get used to at first! It was scratch built by Bud Grant of Newark Valley, N.Y. It flies great with no bad habits, except going the wrong way! It also is the first plane that I ever flew that broke the linkage to its elevator and I still could land safely. I'll let you figure that one out."

"This is my new Ultra Sport 1000. Flies like a dream. Engine is a Super Tiger 3000, and unlike most people's experiences with it, mine runs like a champ. Unlimited vertical performance. My first foray into the world of giant scale - I'm still shaking when I fly it. The thought of what an un-godly sound this big thing would make on impact keeps running around in the back of my mind. I keep living in fear I'll Value-Jet the sucker into the ground (Hey! Hey! I know that was a tasteless cheap shot, but far be it for me to be squeemish about political correctness! Besides, I actually saw the Value Jet crash site in person - it looked exactly like my Ultra Sport 40 crash, and I still find pieces of my plane that occasionally float to the surface of the muck bog it crashed into, months after the fact...).

"Like the pilot bust? Yup, that's me. Had my wife take a photo of me in profile in the requisite position for flying. Then I scanned it into the computer and printed it along with a reverse mirror image (for the other side). Glued one picture to one side of a piece of light-ply and cut it out with a scroll saw, then glued the other photo onto the other side. Sealed it with clear monokote to protect it from any fuel that might creep under the canopy. If you want to try this and you don't have a scanner or color printer, just take your photo down to a print shop and they should be able to make the copies for you."

"A couple of years ago, I was preparing to build a model, and was looking for a subject plane to replicate. A friend had given me a copy of Vintage Airplane, a publication of the E.A.A., and on the back cover was a photo taken at sundown of the prettiest Cub I ever saw. That picture was enough to make me want to copy the plane, but after reading the story in the magazine, I knew that Cub NC 29043 had to be replicated in miniature. It would take a long time to tell the whole story, but suffice to say I contacted the owner of the full scale Cub, the model was built, and we became friends."

"But... it's the story of the Cub, and a dad made of the stuff all dads should be made of, and a son cut from the same stock. Written by John Baker, of Macon, GA, in 1991, and excerpted here with his kind permission, is the tale of a fine son's love for a fine dad... Click here to read this true story and know why I am so very proud to call Gordon 'Papa' Cargile of Columbia, South Carolina, 'ma bon ami'........"

Rob flies at Markham Park in Sunrise, Florida. Rob works at R/C Hobbies, but on his days off treats us to some spectacular flying with this mean machine.

Mike also flies at Markham Park in Sunrise, Florida. This beautiful model is powered by an OS 91. It unfortunately suffered an elevator failure on take-off during it's third flight and and took some damage. I'm sure it'll be up and flying again soon.

"This is my latest, completed 6/4/96, so it gets multiple pictures! It is a Byron Bonanza, built from a kit manufactured in 1980 or so. I was lucky to find it. The plane is modeled after a 1986 F33A that my father bought new, and was forced to sell last year due to medical reasons. The full-size aircraft is currently hangared at Reid Hillview airport in San Jose, CA. That plane was numbered N444SH, the SH being my father's initials. GH are mine. The paints I used are identical to those Beechcraft used on the N444SH, so the color match is perfect. I was also fortunate to locate an interior kit which was available as an option with the model. The instrument panel was included as a photograph - I added the bezels and made the control yoke from scratch."

"My pride and joy. This is the same kit that was later marketed by Great Planes. The cowl is made by Fiberglass Specialties. They make a version with and without Waco-style blisters. O.S. 91FS 4-cycle, Futaba 6 channel Conquest, Monokote covering, redundant battery system, smoke system. I used the TME Simple Smoker electric pump, operated by a seperate 5 cell battery pack. No special muffler, just slipped a piece of silicon tubing over the stock muffler to keep air flow off of it. The plane's rather heavy with three battery packs, but this makes for very scale flight performance. Superb aerobatics plane despite the fact that I built it with ailerons on the lower wing only (More smoke, I want to die...)."

Send me your photos along with your name and a description of your plane. If I use your photo you get nothing but the admiration (and occasional snicker) from your fellow peers. If I don't use it, I'll tack it up in my workshop and claim I built it. E-Mail it or Snail Mail it, your choice.