Mike Barbee will again be competing with his absolutely immense T-34B Mentor in the Expert class. The plane is 36% scale and has a wingspan of 138 inches and is 110 inches long. Mike built it from a Bob Patton design and the fuselage is fiberglass made from Bob’s molds. The wings are foam sheeted and finished with 1.5 oz. fiberglass cloth using Zap Finishing Resin. Paint is automotive, base coat/clear coat system. Wheels are 8 inches in diameter and are controlled by Firgelli linear actuators, all electric landing gear.
Gear doors are actuated by Futaba 9157 servos. Canopy is sliding with air cylinders and air is also use to actuate the brakes. The radio system is Futaba 18 MZ and the 14 servos are powered by A 123 batteries from Electro Dynamics. Lights , strobes and landing lights are from Electro Dynamics also. The engine is a DA 200 4 cylinder turning a 32/14 prop at 5100 RPM.
The plane weighs 115lbs., and Mike flies with a LMP AMA waiver. Last year I place first in the Expert class at Top Gun and also place first in the AMA Nationals at Muncie, IN.
awesome airplane ,nice work
Thje T-34 is a favorite plane of mine and I have a smaller one built from a Top Flight kit in the traditional yellow trainer colors.