Graeme Mears >
T- 33 Shooting Star
Built in his Woodbridge, Ontario workshop,
Graem Mears’ Lockheed T- 33 Shooting Star
started with a Marijn Pennix Scale-jet kit.
Graeme’s vintage Thunderbird will be flown in
Team Scale with Ali Michinchy from the UK as
its pilot. It has a 110-inch span, a length of 101
inches, and is 1/4.5 scale. The jet weighs 46
pounds and is powered by a JetCat P180 turbine
engine. Kit. The kit is mostly of conventional
composite construction and is one of, if not the
very first production kit. Graeme did a ton of
improvements and modifications to the basic
airframe and it is controlled with a JR 12X and a
Spektrum 12X Powerbox receiver.
Gary Prince > P- 47 Thunderbol T
Gary and Brian Prince from North Canton, OH, will be bringing a Meister P- 47 called “Zombie”
and a CARF Corsair for this year’s Top Gun event. Gary will be flying the P- 47 at Top Gun this
year, and Dino Di Giorgio will be flying the new Corsair in the Unrestricted Class. The P- 47
was built from a Meister Scale all wood kit and is covered with a combination of Flight Metal
and Meister Aerofoil aluminum. The landing gear is from Century Jet Models and converted
to electric drive by Down & Locked. The engine is a 3 W 80 and the radio is a JR 12X. The static
scale propeller is handmade and the flying prop is a Biela 26x10. The engine cowl cooling flaps
are operational and the detailed dummy R-2800 radial engine was also hand built. Gary’s
Thunderbolt has two first-place finishes at Westerville OH, two second-place finishes at
Toledo OH, and an award from the 2011 Monster Planes event in Lakeland FL.
Lonnie Johnson >
WACO YMF- 5
Lonnie Johnson of Hendersonville,
TN, will be competing with this
colorful WACO YMF- 5 biplane in
Team Scale with Mitch Epstein as
the pilot. It is a 1/3-scale project
and it is based on an AMR kit. Nicely
detailed and painted it is covered
with Nelson’s LiteFab that’s
been finished with custom mixed
DuPont Base Coat/Clear Coat
automotive paint. Lonnie powered
his impressive biplane with a DLE
223 and uses a Futaba 2.4 T10
CAG transmitter and 11 Hitec digital
servos for control.
Mike Selby > A-6E Intruder
The team of Mike Selby and General Raymond Johns of
the USAF (Pilot) will be competing at the 2012 Top Gun
event with Mike’s amazing Team Scale entry—a completely
original Grumman A-6E Intruder. The A-6E is made from a
composite vacuum layer of aired carbon and fiberglass. The
formers are made with nomex/carbon to reduce weight.
The landing gear is made from aluminum/titanium, again to
reduce weight. The plane is just under 1/5-scale and weighs
55 pounds dry. It uses a B300F turbine with the power
dialed back. It is a single engine with a bifurcated pipe made
of stainless steel and titanium. The model has functional
slats and flaps, as well as pylons with ordnance. Probably
the toughest part of Mike’s project was the landing gear and
the main doors which are very large. We can’t wait to see
this amazing jet at Top Gun this year!
