Florida Jets

Written by Barry Vaught Lakeland is the place to be in March for jet pilots Event coverage Photos by the author As seen in the August 2016 issue of Model Aviation.

Bonus Photos

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Event coverage

Florida Jets week, held March 7-12, 2016, started Florida’s RC air show season with two great events, 165 pilots, more than 200 jets, highly skilled talent, thrilling entertainment, and lots of fun in the sun. The Red Flag event, which was covered in the July 2016 issue of Model Aviation, took place the first three days, followed by Florida Jets. Some of the pilots who participated in the Red Flag RC Jet Aerobatic Competition were ready to simply fly their jets in a fun, noncompetitive manner and burn a lot of fuel. Florida Jets has a large following and is a “jet-together,” where electric and turbine pilots can safely fly their jets almost as many times as they want.

Mark Petrak’s Tomahawk Design Alabtros L-39 XXXL is 1:2.7 scale. Its 12-foot wingspan can carry more than 100 pounds of weight. The model, built by Joseph Kager, received the Critics’ Choice Award.

Greg Foushi and Bill Freeland display their F-16s. Greg and Bill are members of the Remote Control Association of Central Florida in Apopka FL.

Barry Hou, Greg Foushi, and Kristopher Gunter, standing in the front of their tent, are enjoying this year’s Florida Jets!

Surprises come early when Ali Machinchy is attending an airplane event. Ali is a magician with airplanes and it is always fun to see what he is flying at the events because he prefers to fly a variety of airplanes. He brought a one-of-a-kind Turbo Spitfire, an Avanti Viper XXL, and an F-86 Tomahawk Sabre.

Ali Machinchy’s impressive, custom Turbo Spitfire has a 91-inch wingspan, 32-pound flying weight, and is powered by a turboprop.

Ali Machinchy’s F-86 Tomahawk Sabre is an all-composite, 1/3-scale, 128-inch wingspan jet that weighs 45 pounds. It received the Best Scale Jet Performance award.

The Turbo Spitfire is an ongoing custom project that flew and sounded great. It needed a little help while taxiing because of the crosswinds. Ali’s 1/3-scale Avanti Viper XXL is a beautiful jet and flies smoothly. We mounted a GoPro HERO4 camera on the elevator stabilizer to chronicle the flight. I was concerned about mounting a camera on his aircraft, but the flat adhesive GoPro mount was easily removed by simply twisting the camera. Ali’s 1/3-scale Tomahawk Sabre is beautiful and flew as nicely as the Viper. Barry Hou brought an unusual English Electric Lightning that has the turbines mounted vertically, one above the other. Full-scale pilots have described flying the aircraft as “being saddled to a skyrocket.” A less expensive way to start flying turbine jets is to build your own. Dana Thrasher’s Turbinator was built from a kit. He purchased a used turbine and has approximately $4,500 invested in the jet. The Turbinator flew well and looked great in its Marine Corps color scheme.

Barry Hou’s rare English Electric Lightning relies on two KingTech 160 turbines. One jet turbine is situated above the other.

Dana Thrasher’s Turbinator has a 76-inch wingspan. The 26-pound model is powered by a P-140X turbine.

Jeff Stubbs’s BAE Hawk on final approach in a stiff crosswind.

It is always heartwarming to see a father and son enjoying our great hobby together. Joey Tamez and his son, Joshua, traveled from Texas with their yellow Navy Shockwave. Kristopher Gunter brought an F-15 Eagle, which has a special “Let’s Roll” symbol on the fuselage in the spirit of 9/11. This symbol is displayed on various full-scale aircraft throughout the Air Force as a way of recognizing the heroes and victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. The halftime shows included some of the best ever at Florida Jets, with demonstration flights from some of the Red Flag RC Jet Aerobatics pilots and formation teams.

Father and son, Joey and Joshua Tamaz, display their Shockwave. The 80-inch wingspan model received the Best Sport Jet award.

Kristopher Gunter and his F-15 Eagle with “Let’s Roll” painted on the fuselage.

The flightline was filled with spectators on the west side of the field at the start of the halftime show.

The Florida Jets runway walk allowed the spectators to see the aircraft up close and meet the pilots.

Many people are involved in RC airplane events to make them safe, entertaining, and successful. Sam Wright has been announcing Frank Tiano’s RC events for 29 years. John Walsh is a former air traffic controller and serves as the onsite air boss. He monitors full-scale air traffic while the RC event is in progress. If there is a full-scale aircraft emergency, the RC models will be grounded until the emergency is over. The Lakeland Linder Regional Airport is extremely cooperative and this is a good example of how full-scale aircraft and RC aircraft can work together for the benefit of everyone. Congratulations to Frank Tiano and everyone involved for another exciting, memorable Florida Jets. —Barry Vaught [email protected]

Florida Jets Special Awards

Award	Sponsor	Pilot	Model
Best Military Jet	Model Airplane News	Greg Wright	F-86 (Canadian)
Runner-up	Zap Glue	Pete Goldsmith	F-104 (Luftwaffe)
Best Sport Jet	Horizon Hobby	Joey Tamaz	Ultra Bandit
Best Sport Jet Runner-up	Global Jet Club	Bob Violett	Ultra Bandit
Best Sport Color Scheme	JetCat USA	Azza Stephens	Rebel Pro
Best Civilian Jet	Ray & Robin’s Hobby Center	Ali Machinchy	Viper Jet
Best Sport Jet Performance	Dreamworks Model Products	Pablo Fernandez	Rebel Pro
Best Scale Jet Performance	Elite Aerosports	Ali Machinchy	F-86 (Luftwaffe)
Best Electric Jet Performance	Hobbico	RJ Gonzalez	MiG 15
Best Multi Jet Performance	Fly RC	Jim Martin	F-14
Best Craftsmanship	Bob Violett Models	Jack Diaz	F-86
Most Outstanding Jet Flight	KingTech Turbines	Sebastiano Silvestri	Avanti
Runner-up	Jet Central	Azza Stephens	Rebel Pro
Just Plane Crazy	Best in the West Jets	Ali Machinchy	Turbo Spitfire
Special Recognition	RC Sport Flyer	Mike Adams	Viper Jet
Special Recognition	Frank Tiano Enterprises	Ken McSpadden	Viper Jet
Special Recognition	Spektrum Radio	Rei Gonzalez	T-2 Buckeye
Special Recognition	EZ Balancer	Dustin Buescher	BVM F-16
Special Recognition	Florida Jets Fly Girls	Scott Harris	T-2 Buckeye
Special Recognition	PowerBox Systems	Kristopher Gunter	F-16
Special Recognition	JR Americas	Jose Melendez	Avanti “Frozen”
Critics’ Choice	Zap Glue and Model Airplane News	Mark Petrak	L-39
Runner-up	Frank Tiano Enterprises	Greg Wright	F-86

Sources:

Florida Jets Frank Tiano Enterprises www.franktiano.com Jet Pilots’ Organization www.jetpilots.org