For the 30th Anniversary of Top Gun, the Team of Steve (builder) and pilot Curtis Switzer are heading to Top Gun to fly in Team Scale with Steve’s 44% scale Vans RV4. From Saint Cloud, FL, Steve built the RV-4 from the Grupp Models kit and his entry is modeled after Taylor De Ley’s plane, who at the age of 17 became the youngest pilot ever to fly the Nation’s perimeter saying “it would get me out of my hectic world before college started”.
The color scheme and sponsors decals are accurate to the original aircraft’s 2011 paint scheme. Painted in Behr Acrylic colors, several techniques were used to apply the rivet detail; some cut directly into the plywood, others are cut into to the glass cloth to achieve the weathered look
Specs
Wingspan 114”
Length 100”
Height at the front 26”
Weight 48lbs
Engine 3W-106cc gas
Propeller 26 x 10 Falcon, (Beech wood)
Radio Jeti – DS16 with HiTec 5645 mg servos and Bavarian Demon Cortex Gyro
Paint Finish Behr Acrylic
Steve is also competing in the ProAm Prop class with his tried and true 1/4-scale Yak 11. Built from the FiberClassics kit, Steve thought it only appropriate to bring back his classic Yak 11 which he first flew at Top Gun in 2006. The plane is 25 years old and has been flown all over the World.
Specs
Kit FiberClassics YAK 11 ¼ Scale
Wings 98”
Weight 38lbs
Engine 3W 85 Twin
Radio Futaba 14mz
Servos Hitec 645 mg
Gyro Bavarian Demon
Propeller WWII Xoar 26 x 8
Retracts Wabo
Finishes Painted in Humbrol Paint – Prussian Blue & Earth Brown