A new crop of turbine jet trainers

Model Airplane News, Mar 2004 by Yarrish, Gerry

For several years now, turbine-powered jet models have been gaining popularity. The development of the engines, support equipment and control systems in recent years has been nothing less than amazing. Turbines are becoming less expensive, and the onboard electronics have developed to a point where just a push of a single button will make it all go. just about anyone can operate them correctly and safely. With this ever-increasing plug-and-play sophistication, turbine-powered jets are slowly becoming more accessible to sport fliers. This month, I thought I'd highlight some of the new sport jet turbine trainers that are or will soon become available.

It's a given that to fly jets, especially turbine-powered ones, you must be an experienced pilot. But what has been missing (until now) has been a relatively inexpensive transition model designed to give new jet pilots the time and experience to learn how to operate a turbine jet engine. Several well-known model designers realized this and are now producing down-to-earth trainers. One way these designers have kept the speeds and wing loading down (both good things for trainer aircraft) was by making their models relatively large!

According to the IMAA, giant scale is generally considered to apply to model aircraft with minimum wingspans of 80 inches for monoplanes and 60 inches for multiwing aircraft. Jet aircraft fall under the "140-inch" rule: the combined fuselage length and wingtip to wingtip span, excluding any protrusions, must be at least 140 inches or larger to be considered giant scale. The aircraft in this column fall into the giant-scale class. Let's take a closer look.

REACTION 54

The next kit to come from Bruce Tharpe Engineering (BTE) will be the Reaction 54. This sleek turbine trainer is tentatively set to be available sometime this year. Bruce is shooting for a release date that coincides with the Toledo show, so please wait until April before you start calling him for this one. Bruce says it's his kind of plane-lots of wing area, a thick airfoil, a relatively low top speed and fantastic low-speed handling. Sounds good to me! So far, flight-testing has been a sheer joy!

The Reaction 54 has all-wood construction and doesn't have any foam or fiberglass parts. It's designed to use 54mm compressor turbines (hence its name) such as the RAM 500, PST 600, FTE SOOT, Wren 54, Mamba and several others. It has retracts, flaps and plenty of room in the nose compartment for all the necessary equipment. Bruce's prototype has several features that you don't see on a lot of many other turbine models. For one, it has a few open rib bays near the wingtips. It uses a MonoKote covering and CA Easy Hinges. Flex cables in a pull-pull linkage setup are used for the rudder and elevator; Bruce has installed an electric nosewheel brake. There's no fixed price yet, but the ballpark figure is in the $400 to $500 range.

WS: 78 in.; L: 80 in.; dry weight: 15.5 Ib.; wing area: 1,450 sq. in.; recommended engine: 54mm compressor class.

HEATWAVE

Designed by Dave Platt, the Heatwave from Hobby Hangar has a very jet-like appearance that enhances its simplified, all-wood construction. The easy-to-build model will certainly draw attention wherever it goes. The kit comes with precision CNC-machined and laser-cut parts, and it features plug-in wing panels. The scale-like model has retractable trike gear, flaps and a unique split-V tail that forms the mounting platform for the turbine engine. The very large main hatch greatly simplifies equipment access, and with the engine out in the open, there's no fussing around with internal ducting or tailpipes. The prototype is finished with a lightweight iron-on film that further simplifies the build and makes repairs much less of an issue.

WS: 78 in.; L: 77 in.; wing area: 1,254 sq. in.; recommended engine: 18- to 25-lb.-thrust dass. Price: $459.99 (plus SScH).

FACET 2300

Designed by Kerry Sterner, the KJ Scaled Designs Facet 2300 is a sport jet/turbine trainer. Quick to build and a pleasure to fly, Kerry's design has large flaps and rugged, fixed landing gear that make it a perfect grass-field flyer. Kerry says the Facet can operate from fields as short as 400 feet. The Facet is designed to be a fast, easy build and uses laser-cut parts. You can add stock balsa from your local hobby shop, or you can order the optional wood pack. The average builder can frame up a model completely in as little as two weekends. The Facet features a 2-piece, plug-in wing for fast field assembly and easy transport. The semi-kit contains 57 laser-cut wood parts, a custom aluminum main landing gear and an Oleo nose-gear strut, a wingjoiner tube, foam wing-cores, an aluminum heat shield, a 64-ounce main fuel tank, CAD plans, an assembly and flight setup manual and a bill of materials.

A unique design feature of the Facet is that all the turbine electronics and fuel delivery components are mounted on a single, removable tray that greatly simplifies the equipment installation.

WS: 90 in.; wing area: 1,210 sq. in.; dry weight: 18 to 20 Ib.; wing loading: 38 oz./sq. ft.; L: 70 in.; fuel capacity: 118 oz.; recommended engine: Simjet 2300 or 1700. Price: $389 USD; $599.99 CND. (A 68-inch-wingspan Facet 1200 is also available.)