Jets over Pampa

Model Airplane News, Dec 2002 by van Mourik, Dick

In mid-July, pilots from all over Europe converge on the Pampa Model Fighter Club field in northern Belgium for the Jets Over Pampa fly in. Now in its 13th year, it has grown from a modest national show into a premier twoday event. More than 100 pilots participated this year, and all seemed to have a great time.

Jets Over Pampa is not a competition. On Saturday, pilots gathered for some flight training and to exchange information and ideas, while Sunday's highlight was an airshow that featured some of Europe's best jet jockeys.

Perfect weather and lots of highflying action ensured that no one went home disappointed.

The best part of any flying event is, of course, the flying, and there was certainly plenty of that! Brothers Dick and Bert van de Vecht, well known among their peers, brought along several jet models. The most impressive one in their hangar is the de Havilland DH-180 Swallow, which looks very similar to the German Me-163 Komet. Powered by a Jetcat turbine, this kit-built model spans 89 inches and weighs 28 pounds, and Dick and Bert fiberglassed and painted it with Humbrol enamel paint. This model dispels the myth that turbine models are destined to have short lives; the Swallow has logged hundreds of flights and remains alive and well!

One model not in short supply was the F-16, and the Avonds belonging to Geert Van der Voorde and Marc Thienpoint were definitely crowd favorites. Modeled after two planes in a Belgian squadron based at Kleine Brogel, these aircraft are a welcome change from the usual gray camouflage. Both models are powered by AMT Netherlands Mercury HPs. Marc's F-16 is a work of art in every respect: it is immaculately built and detailed, and the attractive tiger scheme is enough to make any modeler envious. It's finished with two-part acrylic paint just like the full-size plane it's modeled after. The 53-inch-wingspan model weighs 20 pounds and features Robart retracts. Marc has several Avonds designs in his squadron and says he's extremely satisfied with all of them, but the F-16 is his favorite.

But Geert and Marc's spectacular fighters weren't the only impressive F-16s at Pampa. Marijn Penninex's scratch-built F-16 earned its share of the spotlight. At 20-percent scale, this model is huge; it is available as a kit from AMT Netherlands.

Modeled after a Dutch demo version of the famous Falcon, Marijn's fighter is extremely accurate in every respect. With a wingspan of slightly more than 80 inches, this model's flying weight is between 33 and 37 pounds, depending on the turbine used for power. In Pampa, Marijn used an AMT Netherlands Olympus turbine, and it provided a very scale-like performance. Marin's F-16 features many scale touches, including working scale retracts.

Of course, F-16s weren't the only models in abundance. Within Europe, the Avonds F-15 is probably the most widely modeled scale turbine-no less than 15 were at Pampa. Among the notables was Ian Russel's Jetcat 120-powered F-15 that weighed 22 pounds. Ian flew it expertly, demonstrating it with all the ease of an aileron trainer.

Mark Leavesley brought along the ductedfan-powered BVM T-33 originally built by Ian Richardson. Mark converted it to accommodate an AMT turbine, which provides the 18-pound model with incredible performance.

A model-maker by trade, Paul Boyle finished his Jetwelt Santorin in a non-scale but very authentic-looking Russian paint scheme. Powered by a Jetcat 120 and flown with a JR radio, the 30-pound Santorin features Eurotract retracts and a Humbrol enamel finish. The model has very docile handling characteristics and can perform slow aerobatics with ease. Sadly, radio failure cut short its Pampa appearance.

It's spectacular to watch model jets streak across the sky at 250mph, but I was equally impressed by the graceful performance of the BAC 145/176 Strikemaster designed and built by Peter Mayer of Germany. Peter originally designed this model as an easy-to-fly jet trainer that could also be used for scale competition.

His design seems to be quite successful; several BAC models were at Pampa this year. At 22-percent scale, the large model's wingspan is 98 inches, and it uses a Jetcat P-120 for power. The prototype (which is still flying) weighs about 45 pounds, but later production models weigh 34 pounds. A neat feature is the onboard smoke system that leaves a very convincing smoke trail.

Most would agree that the star of this year's show was Frank Lammer's scratch-built DC-10 finished in Royal Dutch Airlines colors. Originally powered by two O.S. .61 engines, the DC10 now uses a single AMT Netherlands Mercury HP engine for power. Although the wings span a massive 137 inches, the model weighs only 32 pounds. Frank installed Spring Air retracts and uses a Futaba 9 ZAP radio for control, and believe it or not, this impressive model was finished in car paint.

Congratulations and thanks to the organizers and participants for yet another successful Pampa fly in. I can't wait until next year!