DIY Network

RC Jets: Introduction From "Radio Control Hobbies" episode RCH-210

	Chris Chianelli visits the facilities of Bob Violett Models, the premiere manufacturer of turbine-powered radio-controlled jets.
	Bob Violett, founder and president of BVM.

In this episode of DIY Radio Control Hobbies, host Chris Chianelli returns to one of the viewer-favorite topics among RCH viewers: radio-controlled jets.

Chris Chianelli takes the show on the road to Winter Springs, Florida and to the headquarters of Bob Violett Models (BVM). BVM is a leading authority on RC jet manufacturing and design. Chris and Bob take the viewer inside the factory to see how these awesome RC models are made. Later in the show, Chris and some of BVM's employees visit a local RC flying site to put some of these 200 mph jets through their paces.

In this first segment, Bob Violett shows Chris a couple of the premiere flying machines developed and displayed at the BVM facility.

RC Jets: Up Close and Personal

Bob Violett started building model airplanes at age six. His interest in aviation continued in adulthood as he entered the Navy and completed flight school, and then later had a career with Eastern Airlines. He now makes his living designing and supervising the manufacture of high-tech, true-turbine-powered RC jets and the kits that devoted hobbyists use to build them.

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Figure A

• One sterling example of these is an F-100 replica on display at BVM (figure A). A jet enthusiast in Minnesota built this particular aircraft from a BVM kit. Bob calls it "a maximum machine" and "the finest example of a scale-jet model airplane" that he has ever seen. This is not simply a replica of a U.S. F-100, but is an exact replica of a particular F-100 that was flown in the Vietnam war.
  

  Figure B

• Every effort has been made to render this scale model so that it is exactly true to the actual plane. Individual real-aluminum panels are hand-applied, and each is unique and true to its full-size counterpart on the original jet (figure B). Each panel is individually finished and "aged," and thousands of tiny rivets are used to secure the panels to the plane. The builder studied photographs of the vintage jet, and actually got to meet the pilot who flew the real thing in Vietnam. The jet won the team-scale competition at the prior year's Top Gun flight competition and expo. It is capable of speeds exceeding 200 mph.
  

  Figure C

• Moving from historical accuracy to sheer speed, the Super Bandit® (figure C) is a non-scale jet airplane based on Bob's concept of what a high-speed, high-performance should be -- an aircraft that can go very fast and make precise maneuvers. As Bob puts it in his understated manner, "speed is a nice bi-product of having a very clean, powerful machine."

In the segment that follows, Chris and Bob discuss the turbine engines that power these impressive flying machines.

GUESTS :
Bob Violett
President, BVM Jets
170 State Rd. 419
Winter Springs, FL 327008
Phone: 407-327-6333
Fax: 407-327-5020
Website: www.bvmjets.com