Aerosmith R/C Hobby

Few Sundays ago I had the pleasure of visiting Sembawang ‘Jet airbase’. It was my pleasure to meet Mr. Adrian Cher and his comrades.

36 year old Adrian is happily married to his wife as much as he is to his planes. When not building mind-blowing jets, Adrian is the Technical Director in a CG Production Company.

Adrian has spent 20 years in RC, from cars to planes. The most interesting facet of aeromodelling to him is EDF and pusher jets. He is more interested in the majestic art of flying-defying gravity than ‘hot rod’ attributes of speed and size.

His favorite aeroplanes are, obviously, F-14D Tomcat, P-40 and the ever majestic 747-400.

On the flip side, Adrian and his flying buddies would like to see more scale competition in Singapore, perhaps also model photo competition. They would also like to see better value EDF jets. Among the problems he faces are lone flyers that don’t check frequency when they fly causing unnecessary crashes and grief. Glitches and lack of flying field with long runways seems to be a concern as well.

On the brighter side of life, Adrian enjoys the wealth of information from the internet, such as tech forums in Singapore and international sites. For his scale jet efforts, static model planes are a good source of detail info.

On the topic of what advice he has to offer to new comers, well, a good trainer/buddy is invaluable. As for him, he considered himself lucky as he had an all inspiring relative to spur him on during his forming years in aeromodelling.

It is also important to mention that behind every successful man, there is always a supportive woman. Well, for Adrian case, there is the beautiful and very supportive Mrs. Claira Cher. Of the many things that all of us could ameliorate, having a supportive spouse, is hard to replicate. For this, I am sure; a lot of us are envious beyond words.

In conclusion, we, at Aerosmith hobby are very proud and inspired by Mr. Adrian Cher and what he and his comrades have achieved at Sembawang. We have search the net extensively and found no group that has achieved what they have, by a long short. Not only have the group been able to built great looking jets but they have been able to make them fully functional. Orville and Wilber Wright would have been proud.

With that, we would like to grant Mr. Adrian Cher the honorary title of Aerosmith Aeromaster for the month of December. Congratulations! With this honour, Adrian would enjoy additional 10% discount* on all his purchases made during the applicable month.

December plane of the month is Adrian’s F-14 Tomcat (Sundowner). It is based on Steve Shumate plans from parkjets. Adrian has incorporated many modifications to improve its scale appearance. The curves on this lady are purely and instinctively attractive…simply beautiful.

The materials used are mostly depron 6mm from Art Friend at Bras Basah complex. Structurally, some light thin ply are used.

In as far as the finishing, this is where the black art lies. Adrian is proud to share that he uses modelite filler to fill up larger gaps and followed by acrylic emulsion wall paint. Finally Tamiya Acrylic paint is used for markings and canopy glossing. Panel lines are drawn straight on the surface. Insignia and stencils are meticulously hand painted. He is truly an artist and the Tomcat is truly a work of art…

Technically, Adrian and his comrades have successfully perfected the art of pusher jet power plants. To all of you who are still experimenting, well the following info is one sure winning combination.

Brushless motor	Axi 2808/24 9x6 APC 1100kv
Battery lipo	DN power 2150 mah 20c
Propeller	9 X 6 APC (thin electric)
ESC	Hobby wing 30amp

During launch, the feline is steady and in control with no excessive torque roll. With wings swung forward (extended), it flies normally and perform almost all basic aerobatics…big jet loops and rolls. Roll rate is a touch slow however manageable. With the wing swung back (retracted), pitch compensation is necessary. Roll rate increases significantly, yet, the planes still flies very predictably.

Power off glide is good and under control. As for landing, reduced power approach until just prior to touch down where positive flare is necessary.

Overall, the plane is by no mean underpowered and has no ugly characteristic. The only teething problem is the selection of wing swing servo. It requires a reasonably big and powerful one.

In conclusion, the technical set up is excellent, to have functional swing wing is truly a technical break through as with the rest of the jet. We would recommend the project for intermediate to advance pilots. Looking at the jet, it would be able to be converted to EDF. As an avid F-14 fan myself, it is truly a mile stone in electric rc flight. Beautiful and functional.

**Aerosmith-hobby does not carry this plane in our stock however we do carry applicable accessories**

Aerosmith would like to extend our gratitude to Mr Weelian for sharing his excellent pictures and videos for use in this column.