Alec Salt's models

Alec Salt's Model Airplanes

In 1995, we bought my son a radio-controlled trainer airplane for Christmas. We built the model together and joined a flying club so that he could get some lessons. For many months, he was the pilot and I was the mechanic. Tony rapidly became so good that he became the instructor while I learned. It was an interesting experience being the novice with your son as the expert. Since that time Tony and I have built and flown many models, of which some are shown below.
At the moment, my main interest is in flying radio-controlled model jets. These models are powered by a small, real turbine engine that sounds and works like the real thing. The models are fast (some up to 200 mph) and quite challenging to fly.

This is a jet-powered model called a DV8R (pronounced "Deviator"), which I bought in October 2004. It has a 7' wingspan and is approximately 7' in length. It is powered by a JetCat P80 turbine which puts out 19 lbs of thrust at 120,000 rpm. The model weighs in at 28 lbs unfueled and carries about 0.75 gallons of kerosene at takeoff. It is fast (about 130 - 140 mph maximum) but stable in flight. It was a good model to perform the certification flights that the AMA requires for turbine pilots.

Videos of the DV8R Flying
DV8R at SLRC Club Field, 6.2 mB
DV8R at Winamac, 2005, 11.6 mB

The DV8R coming in to land, with the wheels down and the flaps fully extended. The plane has retractable landing gear and brakes on the main wheels, both of which are powered by compressed air. The flaps are mainly used to give a "dirty" flying configuration, meaning that it is not streamlined and requires more thrust to push it through the air. That way, as you get close to the runway you can cut the turbine back and the plane will slow down and land nicely.

This is my third jet - a Rookie that I finished in Summer 2005. The Rookie has the same size engine as the DV8R but is much lighter, weighing in at 19 lbs dry. It is also much faster, doing close to 200 mph.

Videos of the Rookie Flying
Rookie at Winamac, 2005, 6.8 mB

This was our first jet, a Tango, that was powered by a JetCat P80 turbine. It was built during the Winter of 2003/2004. This was during the period that I was writing my NIH grant renewal for the work we do in my laboratory. Building the plane became a "therapeutic exercise" by giving me breaks from thinking about work. A number of months later when we tried flying it, we discovered a major problem with this type of model. Near the end of the third flight we had flaps and landing gear down when the turbine flamed out and we lost power. It turns out that this plane will not fly in this configuarion and it performed what has been described on the radio control talk boards as "The Tango Stall". In brief, it fell out of the air like a brick and was totally totaled.

Click here for a video of the Whiplash being launched (4.8 mB). The Whiplash is a small, very fast prop-powered plane. It is powered with a .45 Rossi with an aftermarket tuned pipe. The movie shows one of the first take-offs (not the smoothest!) from a launcher that is used to get into the air. The plane is made of composite and is very thin, so it really, really moves. The biggest challenge is to keep the plane within the limits of your vision and not let it "get away from you". Every flight with this plane gives you an adrenalin rush!!