I am without words...

JIM RYAN F4F WILDCAT RESTORATION...A SPECIAL PROJECT FOR A SPECIAL FRIEND (30 min 48 sec)

THIS is an example of the lifelong friends you make in this hobby...Brent is an absolutely amazing person!

PLEASE leave him a thumbs up and subscribe to his amazing channel...

Remembering Ensign Albert J. Hickman who, on this day in 1959, bravely stayed with his stricken F3H Demon in order to avoid having the jet crash into a residential neighborhood (in this case, Clairemont) and Hawthorne Elementary school.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1959_San_Diego_F3H_crash

https://calegion.org/albert-hickman-...ation-bravery/

https://doyleglass.com/2023/06/12/na...nnocent-lives/

https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/305037

On this historic date in aviation history, I thought an interesting retrospective would be in order...

Absolutely MASSIVE leaps and bounds were taking place in aviation in a very short span during the 1930's and 1940's.

For example:

The Golden Age
On January 19, 1937, a year and a half after setting the land plane speed record in the H-1 Racer, eccentric millionaire and aviation enthusiast Howard Hughes broke his own transcontinental speed record by flying non-stop from Los Angeles to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes, smashing the previous time of 9 hours, 27 minutes by two hours. His average speed over the flight was 322 miles per hour...

Hughes H-1 Racer by Greg Minden - GOLDEN AGE RECORD SETTER! (6 min 12 sec)

The Demon in the Sky
Then, a little over a decade later on 14 October 1947, over the Mojave Desert in California (less than a month after the U.S. Air Force had been created as a separate service), Captain Charles "Chuck" Yeager piloted an experimental Bell X-1 aircraft, tail number #46-062 and nicknamed Glamorous Glennis for his wife, and reached Mach 1.06 (700 miles per hour), thus defeating the notorious demon in the sky...

RC Bell X-1 - THE RIGHT STUFF TRIBUTE FLIGHT! (5 min 9 sec)

...Continue Reading

On this, the 81st anniversary of the pivotal Battle of Midway (June 4-6, 1942), we honor and remember the sacrifices made by aviators who gave the last full measure of devotion, many while flying dreadfully obsolete aircraft into the maw of the Imperial Japanese Navy:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Midway

One such group of aviators was Marine Scout/Bombing Squadron (VMSB) 241, flying hastily patched up and repaired Vought SB2U-3 Vindicators.

This is Master Modeler John Morgan's last creation being expertly flown by Brent Hecht...

Honoring VMSB-241: The 81st Anniversary of the Battle of Midway, June 4-6, 1942 (5 min 6 sec)

Although this epic battle would go into history as one of the most important Naval engagements of all time, only ONE Medal of Honor would be awarded: That would be awarded posthumously to Marine Capt. Richard E. Fleming for gallantry beyond all trepidation...
https://www.nationalww2museum.org/wa...gs-medal-honor

May we NEVER forget their courage and sacrifice...

80 years ago today, the U.S. Naval aviators of Torpedo 8 and Torpedo 6 took off from their carriers (the USS Hornet and USS Enterprise, respectively), and flew into history during the Battle of Midway, June 4-6, 1942.

An iconic portrait of the pilots of Torpedo Eight on the eve of the battle...


A tribute build by master modeler John Morgan in flight at St. George several years ago...

Douglas TBD-1 Devastator by John Morgan: In Memory of Torpedo Eight - St. George Utah, 2018 (9 min 28 sec)

May we never forget their courage and sacrifice...

A special thanks to all my longtime and new subscribers! Here' a flight in some absolutely stunning desert scenery !

A short flight celebrating 500 videos here on Justwingit!! (4 min 47 sec)

There's now 500 videos to sort through here on Justwingit, and here's to 500 more

This is an absolutely classic & super-cool vintage electric powered B-17 that J Mangino flew at the Arizona Electric Festival in February, 2022 :

Don Smith Plans 128" B-17 Flying Fortress: Vintage RC Bomber with John Mangino at AEF, 2022 (7 min 36 sec)

John acquired this grand old model from a builder who has sadly passed away, and he is now taking care of it. She's completely scratch-built using Don Smith plans and has a 128" wingspan. I believe John mentions the AUW in the video. Stay tuned to the end of the video to see just how close this model came to it's final flight! Thank goodness it survived and John will now make improvements to insure it will not suffer from the same problems in the future...

All the best to you my friends and thanks for checking in !

James Lashmett doing a great scale flight demo with the new XFly J-65 at the Arizona Electric Festival !

XFly J-65 Twin 70mm EDF Business Jet PNP: Scale flight demo w/James Lashmett at AEF, 2022 (5 min 49 sec)

Hangar 9 OV-10 Bronco: Veteran tribute flight w/Ali Mach and Milo at AEF, 2022 (7 min 33 sec)

You meet such great people in this hobby....simply remarkable !

So this is a raw "at the field" video, on the model's FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCE demonstrating the new E-flite F-14 Twin 40mm Tomcat being flown by Horizon's Ali Machinchy in some EXTREMELY breezy conditions at the Arizona Electric Festival, in Mesa Arizona !

E-flite F-14 Tomcat Twin 40mm EDF BNF Basic: VERY windy demo flight w/Ali Machinchy at AEF, 2022 (5 min 43 sec)

***DISCLAIMER*** It was EXTREMELY windy and COLD that day (13-15 mph winds, with a temperature of 45 degrees Fahrenheit, and that's not counting the wind chill), so if you are annoyed by the wind sound, I do apologize

A timeless classic; STILL a great flying and looking model from ParkZone/Horizon Hobby...

ParkZone Stinson SR-10 1.3m PNP: Timeless Classic from the Golden Age of Aviation (9 min 56 sec)

So this is Rodger Hecht's Hangar 9 F6F Hellcat being flown by his son Brent up in Tehachapi California a while back...

Hangar 9 F6F Hellcat 15cc ARF (64") w/DLE-20 by Rodger Hecht (8 min 16 sec)

Enjoy !

So this is Derek Micko's gorgeous, scratch-built Polikarpov I-16 "Rata" flying to a period correct piece of music :

Warszawianka (Whirlwinds of Danger) - Derek Micko's Polikarpov I-16 Rata at St. George Utah (4 min 16 sec)

The Warszawianka (Whirlwinds of Danger) was a very popular revolutionary song that became famous during the Spanish Civil War, where these little fighters shocked the world...

Enjoy !

So this is Rodger Hecht's super cool, 3D printed Avro Vulcan bomber recently at St. George Utah :

3D printed Avro Vulcan Bomber w/50mm EDF by Rodger Hecht at St. George Utah (5 min 10 sec)

I STILL can't believe this little jet is powered by a single 50mm EDF and flying on a 3 cell battery !

Here's the build thread :
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...n-FMS-50mm-EDF

Enjoy

So this is Barrett Hochhaus' absolutely HUGE, completely scratch built Me 323 Gigant recently at St. George Utah !

Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant ("Giant") by Barrett Hochhaus - Scale Flight Demo at St. George Utah (14 min 40 sec)

This is a RARELY modeled aircraft, of which only a little over 200 were ever built full scale. This plane truly exemplifies the title "gentle giant" and is a credit to the imagination and skill of Barrett

Enjoy the history and scale flight demo !

So this is Barrett Hochhaus' gorgeous, scratch-built, and virtually forgotten Budd RB-1 "Conestoga" at St. George Utah recently :

The Budd RB-1 Conestoga by Barrett Hochhaus - History and Scale Flight Demo at St. George Utah (10 min 42 sec)

This very rare plane makes for even rarer scale model subject; I think Barrett did a fantastic job capturing the essence of this strange plane from WWII...

Enjoy the history and flight !

So this is the maiden flight of the scratch-built wonder by Scott Ramirez, a Mitsubishi G4M3 "Betty" bomber :

Mitsubishi G4M3 "Betty" bomber by Scott Ramirez - Maiden Flight! (6 min 22 sec)

To say the model flew amazing would be an understatement....

Thanks for watching my friends !

This is the maiden flight of master modeler John Morgan's last build: an 84" wingspan Vought SB2U Vindicator. John passed away last September when the model was roughly 60% finished. John's widow gracefully allowed the model to be transported across the country to be finished. A team of friends and highly skilled RC airplane modelers completed the job and this is the culmination of their efforts to finish the model in honor of John:

John Morgan's last build: the Vought SB2U Vindicator - Maiden Flight (4 min 28 sec)

Please enjoy this tribute flight, and thank you so much for watching...

Brent Hecht's Freewing F-4D Phantom II redone as a QF-4B Target Drone at Socal Warbirds and Classics a while back...

Brent Hecht's Freewing F-4D Phantom II/QF-4B Target Drone - Friday Flashback! (5 min 23 sec)

Enjoy the show my friends !

Spencer Kleinhans' super detailed Skymaster F-16 ripping it up over the Hemet Jet Rally !

Skymaster F-16 Falcon with Swiwin SW300B by Spencer Kleinhans at Hemet Jet Rally, 2021 (11 min 29 sec)

Jan Sundberg's really nice Hawker Hunter makes a guest appearance in the video as well...

Enjoy the show !