Local man builds scale model planes

Lee Kufchak at work on his scale model Curtiss Jenny. The intricate model will be too nice to risk flying it on Sunday afternoons, so Kufchak will donate it to a museum. photo by Jim Mitchell When Lee and Marti Kufchak built their house in Black Butte Ranch, attic space was finished to provide storage for Marti's sewing needs. But now it is known as "The Hangar." Lee uses the space for many of his model airplanes.

Lee Kufchak makes model airplanes -- not the ones some of us made when we were young, not the Revell snap-together plastic replicas, not the cheap balsa gliders, but museum-quality scale models of historic airplanes.

Kufchak builds mostly from plans, creating his three-dimensional replicas from two-dimensional drawings. Most are built to fly using radio controls.

Kufchak set out to become an engineer, then decided mathematics was more to his liking. But he obviously retains an engineering mind. He can discuss stresses and engine specifications. He readily recites the physical and flight characteristics and the functions of the real airplanes after which he models.

He builds with balsa and aircraft plywood, using the multiple-ply plywood for reinforcement "from the firewall back. In case I come in a little too hard or crash it helps protect the radio."

The wings are built from balsa ribs, covered with sheet balsa, then fiberglassed to create an amazingly smooth surface. On some models he uses a heat-shrink plastic for the wing surface.

The overall surface is painted. Kufchak uses household paint, mixed to create authentic colors.

Some models are authentically scaled to the smallest detail, even to the size of the gun mounts and turrets. Others are built "off scale" using the builder's creativity and vision.

For beginning radio control enthusiasts, foam models are available that are almost ready to fly. Basically, according to Kufchak, "You insert the batteries and you are ready to go."

Kufchak and most of his friends fly models designed around .40 cubic-inch engines. They have a wingspan of about 4 feet. Some are very aerobatic. Others are for looks.

Beginners tend to fly high-wing models (wing mounted above the fuselage) because of their inherent stability. According to Kufchack, beginners tend to fly "in a tube" with their vision focused on the airplane. As they gain experience their vision "opens up" to take in more of the sky around the model until eventually they are seeing most of the sky, the landing strip, and other planes in the air.

How long has he been making models? "A while. When I was a kid you could buy a ten-cent model -- rubber band, wind them up and you could fly them. In those days we learned a lot about flight, about trim and aerodynamic effects. Those types of models still exist but they're more than 10 cents, of course."

He started radio control flying with a one-button radio that controlled the rudder only -- push it once for right rudder, twice for left rudder. As radios became more sophisticated they added more controls.

The latest control box looks like something from science fiction compared to the early models.

The engineering is what Kufchak enjoys -- going from a plan to a finished product.

He says, "Most of the time the plans are pretty accurate, but sometimes I have to make modifications to make the model work. Balance is critical to a plane's staying in the air. I build my own fixtures to make sure all surfaces are in alignment."

Flying twin engine models supplies an extra challenge.

According to Kufchak, when one engine goes out, it is usually not apparent from the ground until the power of the other engine starts to pull the model to the side and potentially out of control.

"You have to really be on top of it, crank in opposite rudder, and bring it down pretty quickly," he said. "You land it dead-stick (no power), something we practice regularly."

The fuel normally used is ethylene (70 percent methynol), available at model shops. Larger models use gasoline and Kufchak says he will eventually go to diesel on some of his models.

Kufchak belongs to the 30-member Cascade Flyers, a flying club that flies out of a small strip near the viewpoint on Highway 20 east of Sisters.

"It's a bunch of people that just enjoy flying -- some are very good, others are just beginning," he said.

They fly nearly every Sunday and invite the public to come out to observe.

"I like to fly, but I probably like to build more than I like to fly," Kufchak said.

He has two challenging projects in the works -- a B-25 medium bomber used in Doolittle's Tokyo Raid in 1942 and a Curtiss Jenny biplane, probably the most famous World War I fighter airplane.

It was used extensively for "barnstorming" after the war.

Kufchak plans to fly the 101-inch wingspan B-25 but says there will be too much work (1,500-plus hours) in the Jenny to risk flying it.

"I will probably give it to a museum," he said.