Nakajima Ki-43 Oscar — Sal Calvagna’s Road to Top Gun Entry

Nakajima Ki-43 Oscar — Sal Calvagna’s Road to Top Gun Entry

From Holbrook Long Island, NY, Sal Calvagna will for the first time be competing at Top Gun with his Nakajima Ki-43 Oscar. Competing in the Pro-Am Sportsman class, Sal built his Ki-43 from Jerry Bates plans with laser-cut parts from LaserCutUSA.com.

Road to Top Gun, Sal Calvagna, Ki-43 Oscar, RC, model airplane, RC scale, Top Gun, Japanese fighter

Road to Top Gun, Sal Calvagna, Ki-43 Oscar

Sal’s 1/5-scale Japanese warbird has traditional balsa and plywood construction and is covered and finished with 3/4 oz., fiberglass cloth and Z-Poxy Finishing resin. The paint is a combination of Krylon spray paint and custom mixed Behr’s exterior Latex paint topped off with Krylon clear coat. All the markings are hand painted with the exception of the tail badges which are home-made water-slide decals.

rc model airplane, radio control scale, japanese fighter, giant scale

Road to Top Gun, Sal Calvagna, Ki-43 Oscar

Sal’s Oscar is powered with a Zenoah G62 (turning a 22×10 Menz prop), with a custom-made exhaust system. Guidance comes from a Spektrum DX9 Radio using Hitec metal gear hi-torque servos. Sierra Giant Scale retractable landing gear are used and the entire airframe is detailed with panel lines, hatches and thousands of rivets. It took a little over seven months for Sal to complete the Oscar.

Road to Top Gun, Sal Calvagna, Ki-43 Oscar

Oscar Pilot

The Oscar is painted in the markings of a Nakajima Ki-43-II Otsu Hayabusa, Burmese presentation aircraft from 1944 with the Burmese national emblem (Peacock) on the tail. The presentation cartouche on the rear fuselage translates to: “Asia Revival Burma No.1 tribute.”

 

 

RC model airplanes, scale rc, giant scale, Top Gun, Japanese fighter

Road to Top Gun, Sal Calvagna, Ki-43 Oscar

Sal made his own water slide decals for the tail markings on the Oscar.

RC, Radio control scale, giant scale, Top Gun

Road to Top Gun, Sal Calvagna, Ki-43 Oscar

4 Comments

  1. That is a nice looking Oscar, Sal. Will we be seeing it at the Toledo Show?

  2. Nice looking aircraft.
    I hope that I can get to Top Gun this year and see it.

  3. I just got the plans for this plan today. I see in the plans it shows a DLE 33 for power and I see Sal used a Zenoah 62. Is the plane able to fly on the 33 scale likr?

  4. Sal very nice looking Oscar. I am building the same plane and look forward to flying this nice plane this year sometime.

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