Remote Controlled; Scale Jets

That is indeed one of the highest quality scale models I have ever seen. And its size makes me speechless. The guy on the RC controls even needs a operator license for that giant toy in Europe.

But this model RC plane performes much better than the original aircraft, the phased out German Air Force version of the Alpha Jet. The French trainer version is still used for pilot training and flown by the Patroille de France, the french acro team. Perfect basic trainer but used as a combat aircraft like in the German Air Force, more or less a joke.

With external stores (two 500 lbs bombs and two external tanks !!) and the 27 mm Gun Pod plus the ECM equipment in exchange for the rear Stencel Ejection seat (in the attack role, the aircraft was converted into a single seat aircraft), the a/c had no more combat range, could barely reach its 360 KTS low level cruise speed and after one or two evasive maneuvers, you were down to helicopter speeds.

I know what I am talking about. In the eighties, I flew (had to fly !) the Alpha Jet for two years during my time in the German Air Force Reserve at the 49th TFW near Munich. Nice for acrobatics, when flying a clean aircraft but coming from an F-4, it felt like being degraded. After these two years, they changed the rules for combat pilots in the Air Force Reserve again and I could go back to the F-4, even as an Reserve Pilot. 183 flying hours on that little toy were more than enough. These days, there is no such thing like an flying German Air Force Reserve anymore.

The German Alpa Jet Pilots where a constant target for mockery and jokes among NATO military aviators.

"How do You stop the engines of an Alpha Jet after flight? Just hold your hands out oft the cockpit and in front of the intakes."

"Where does the Alpha Jet gets most of the bird strikes. On the trailing edges!!"

Sorry, but I could not resist .

Great video, great performance of the RC pilot (nevertheless he almost crashed during the very low inverted flyby) and a very perfect scale model. It looks like the wings are a little bit longer than its role model, probably to make it flyable as a scale model. Very realistic with many controllable features, flaps, slats, a nicely simulated afterburner, even the drag chute compartement opened after landing (was that a drag chute failure?).

Why do we see so very few RC F-104. Because it most likely scares the most confident and proficient RC builder and pilot away, because it is so difficult to build and fly.

This seems to be the Luke AFB version of the USAF F-104 we flew during our weapons course, the German F-104G had some little differences. The configuration shown with two tip tanks, was the most liked and used config. The tip tanks created some additional lift. But the turning performance of the RC model is a bit unreal. Anything below 450 KTS without flaps half and slats to maneuver and fully operational BLC (boundary layer control) would have killed you. But less than 90 sec. from brake release to FL 100 was really impressive. And experiencing your first T2 reset at Mach 2 (J-79 feature on the engine control) is one thing every 104 driver always remembers. 121 degrees centigrate duct temp high and 127 degrees wind shield temp high were the only speed limits this plane had.

The combat plane of my life, F-104 G for ever . As I said, a complete Martin Baker Ejection Seat of a F-104 G is still displayed in my home office. Today my CJ-2 is like flying in an armchair, compared to the above.

Very nice finds Ron. Looks like You got very exited by this well flown and perfect scale models.

The problems with the RC Junkers Ju 188 on its maiden flight is IMHO a combination of not very well balanced controls (especially the elevator) and some limited RC pilot skills of the operator. The Ju 188 was well known for its portly control responses. Junkers bombers were by no means crispy fighters. By reprogramming the RC contols, limiting the control surface deflection and some more practice of the RC pilot both problems should be solvable.

The German Airforce inherited a complete Mig 29 wing located in Preschen, East Germany near the Polish border, when taking over the NVA, the east German Forces after the reunion of both countries.

A friend of mine from my former Wing became commanding officer of the Mig 29 base in the early nineties and during one of my reserve duty times, he invited me for a back seat ride in a Mig-29 double seater.

Very impressive airplane from a pilots point of view. Very high power to weight ratio, impressive acceleration and climb ratio, highly maneuverable and one of the best ejection seats world wide.

But from the tactical point of view, especially in NATO enviroment, totally useless. The radar was a 100% copy of the early APG-65, the F-18 radar but without the controls and displays of the F-18. The Mig-29 pilot had a great PD radar but no clue about his tactical enviroment. The IR air to air missile, a stolen AIM-9b. Soviet tactics, only ground controlled intercepts. The plans were stolen from US sources. But the most limiting factor was its marginal range. Typical mission duration with one external centerline tank were about 30 min. The German Mig-29 by purpose had no wet stations for external wing tanks. The communist east German leaders were probably to afraid of their pilots to run over to us , as there was no other fighter stationed in east Germany capable of catching that beast. The pilots could not select VHF radio frequencies by numbers, they only had coloured select positions without any numbers behind. For example: Red (on ground control), Green (own tower), Yellow (GCI controller), Blue (own approach radar).

But the craziest thing with this centerline tank were its position directly under the APU exhaust. In order to route the hot exhaust gases, the tank had a tube integrated into it, to lead the very hot gases THROUGH the tank. Any western certification person would have gone crazy about this arrangement.

Anyhow, it was a great ride. A simulated 30 min high altitude intercept with supersonic run, some acrobatics with more than 7 g and almost a glider landing, as we did run out of fuel. Today I am definately to old for that kind of fun.



Very soon the Mig-29 were given away because of there uselessness. Some went to the US and other Allies for evaluation and the rest was given to the polish Air Force (for free !!!).

This Mig-29 RC models are very well built and flown but these russian RC pilots are military professionals with direct access to the original plans and the orginal airplanes. They fly RC for living.

I have met the Tu-95 nato code Bear several times during my actice and reserve time both flying the F-104 G and the F-4 F. During my F-104 G time, Germany was still under Allied Command and the German Air Force was not allowed to do Air Policy. So all of our "meetings" with eastern aircraft over the North Sea and the Baltic were all officially illegal and we were always unarmed. During QRA, we were not allowed to intercept them on Alpha scrambles.

The Tu-95 came several time a month down the North Sea towards the German coast in order to check out our reaction time and to listen to our radio coms. A gigantig aircraft, a flying dinosaur with large counterrotating props, very fast (almost like a jet) and with enormous range. But the Russian aircrews always behaved friently and according to international rules. I have some great photo shots in my files both from my SLR camera and from my gun camera. Will try to convert some of this wet film negatives to JPEG format and will then post them on JF, as all of these "illegal" pictures are now barred .

Ron, more nice videos, more stories!

Sorry for the German language in this video but this is IMHO really extreme scale modelling. Unless you are a bachelor, one in fact would need a tolerant wife in order to build RC planes in this size, complexity and costs. These men for sure spend a lot of time in their work shops.

I do not believe that this giant RC model can easily be topped. An 8 engine B-52 Flying Fortress (the BUF !). I wonder if it really has 8 jet engines or only 4 (one in every gondola). Looks like, it had a little gear trouble.