Photo tour of the USAF Museum in Dayton Ohio taken from an aerospace engineers perspective.
https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil
Address: 1100 Spaatz St, Dayton, OH 45433
Globe Swift – Aircraft of the Month
This aircraft of the month is the Globe Swift, aimed at the “predicted” post WWII Aviation boom Globe aircraft designed and built the Swift to offer a sporty aircraft more similar to the advanced fighter aircraft of the war than pre war tube and fabric high wing aircraft.
What was not factored into the equation was the once in a lifetime gigantic surplus of WWII aircraft put on the open market at an extreme discount. Production ended in 1951 but with over 1,500 built you can still see them at airports every now and then.
While working for Piper at KVRB, the airport was also home to LoPresti Aviation, the same company that produced the Spectra seaplane (ref December of 2020 aircraft of the month) acquired the rights to the swift. LoPresti was acquired by Whelen Engineering in 2019 that still offers parts and mods for the aircraft. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LoPresti_Fury
Another connection I have is Mark Langford from the Corvair aviation community also owns (last I knew) a 1946 Globe Swift, Some truly impressive flight photos on his web site from both the KR2 and Swift http://www.n56ml.com/sunsets/ .
Because of its production numbers, looks and years it has been around there are quite a few YouTube Videos on it.
There is some swift merch but its on independent sites (not amazon)
For RC aircraft Outerzone did come to the rescue with quite a few options.
https://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=8155
https://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=3898
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Zenith 600 series – Aircraft of the Month
This aircraft of the month is the Zenith 600 series. It’s a 2 seat, low wing, all metal kitplane with several power options.
I first encountered the 600 series when I was part of the Fly Corvair hanger gang. William was developing the Corvair based fire wall forward package for the aircraft. If your looking for a 100 – 120 hp opposing 6 cylinder direct drive butter smooth power plant with excellent parts availability I would highly recommend checking out https://flycorvair.net/ & https://www.youtube.com/@WWFlycorvair
To see some specific 600 series / Corvair builds check out https://flycorvair.net/2013/10/31/16-flying-corvair-powered-zenith-601-650s/
The 601 I got to fly had excellent handling qualities and good power with the base 2700 / 0-164 Corvair power plant.
First flight was back in 1984 and designed by Chris Heintz & Avions Pierre. I got to attend a few of Chris’s forums at Airventure & Sun-N-Fun, he was a very skilled Engineer.
EAA coverage = https://www.eaa.org/eaa/aircraft-building/kits-and-plans/t—z/zodiac-ch600-and-ch601
Latest iteration is the CH650, kit info, pricing & other resources can be found at: https://zenithair.net/introduction-ch650/
The modern kits feature CNC matched hole assembly along with pull rivets makes for quick, straight forward assembly.
It’s quite the popular series of kits so there is a bunch of YouTube videos on it.
No real hits for RC model options or Merch beyond what would be on the Zenith main site.
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Arrow RC Seaplane Flight
Digging through the archives from the 2000s, I found this classic flight footage of my scratch-built Arrow Seaplane.
Designed by the legendary Laddie Mikulasko (the mastermind behind the iconic Northstar), the Arrow is an incredible performer on both water and in the air. This particular build featured a slightly modified nose and a standout Monokote finish.
If you want to build your own, the original RCM magazine might be gone, but the legacy lives on! Check out the free plan links below.
🛠️ Build Specs & Setup
- Design: Arrow Seaplane (RCM Plan #1335, July 2004)
- Designer: Laddie Mikulasko
- Powerplant: K&B .65 Sportster (Lightweight & reliable)
- Radio Control: Futaba 9CAPS
- Finish: Purple, Gold, Platinum, and Chrome Monokote
📂 Free Plans & Resources
- Free Full-Size PDF Plans (Outerzone): ➡️ https://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=6504
- Color Magazine Scans (Buzz Sharpy’s Facebook): ➡️ https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Gx4mpei8c/
✈️ Join the Gould Aero Community
Thanks for watching! If you love classic RC builds, aviation history, and project deep-dives, make sure to Like and Subscribe to the channel.
🌐 Check out our main website for more aviation content: https://gouldaero.com/
#RCPlanes #Seaplane #ScratchBuilt #LaddieMikulasko #RCAirplane #VintageRC #GouldAero #Outerzone #FutabaRC
Some Pictures of the build:
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Amazon Fire Stick Select, Know Before You Buy!!!
Upgrade to the Max: Skip the lag. The Fire TV Stick 4K Max is well worth the extra cash ➡️ https://amzn.to/49BZWjI
Official Website: Read our full tech, aviation, and auto deep dives ➡️ https://gouldaero.com/
#FireTVStick #FireStickSelect #TechReview #FireStick4KMax #StreamingDevices #AmazonFireStick #GouldAero #TechReviews
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RC Bookcase – A ton of rc aircraft content
I stumbled upon an amazing web site for anyone who is interested in vintage RC aircraft magazines and catalogs available for free pdf downloads called https://rcbookcase.com/
They do have a donate link that could be well worth it to any Aviation Philantropy people out there
I subscribed to RCM From 1993 to its end in 2006 so it’s amazing to see all the high quality scans,
Many other magazines and even catalogs are available.
I can’t thank the curators enough for keeping this historical content alive on this web site, Outerzone, Buzz Sharpy on Face Book, and others.
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Ennis House Tile 3D print aka Blade Runner
Much thanks to Thingiverse user Keenan for the .stl file https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:45567
This 11.5″ in x & y print shows off the Creality K2 Plus capability, over all print took around 6 hours with mostly stock settings.
Full review of my K2 at: https://gouldaero.com/2025/11/29/crea…
Buy on Amazon = https://amzn.to/4or7YR1
I may use it as a master for a silicone mold to make light weight concrete copies from
The pattern / tile and block was used in the Ennis house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1924, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ennis_H…
The house and notably the pattern has been shown in several movies including Blade Runner, The Rocketeer, House on Haunted Hill & The 13th Floor to name a few.
Out of all five Mayan Revival houses FLW built the Ennis house is by far the most memorable, a true icon in the Archetecture world.
A few photos of the Ennis house and movies that used it or had set designs from it
Blade Runner: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_Runner
The Rocketeer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rocketeer_(film)
The Thirteenth Floor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thirteenth_Floor
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General Airborne Transport XCG-16 – Aircraft of the Month
This months aircraft is a unique transport glider from WWII. This aircraft caught my eye on the canceled aircraft facebook page, ref: https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=981364570937692&id=100071924734346&mibextid=wwXIfr&rdid=NIE6aPTT9lZhRlHM
This glider seriously looks like many sketches from my high school / college years.
While rather unconventional it is very sleek and went against the Waco CG-13 that ultimately won the down select with the Army air core.
The XCG-16 was evolved from the lifting fuselage theories of Vincent Burnelli laid out in U.S. Patent No. 1,758,498,
A very good article on the -16 can be found at: https://www.cafsocal.com/back-to-the-future-with-the-xcg-16-bowlus-transport-glider/
Forum thread: https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/general-airborne-transport-xcg-16-combat-glider.13844/
Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Airborne_Transport_XCG-16
Cargo was setup side by side with leading edge mounted doors
Only one XCG-16 was produced and flown. It had good flight qualities however had other deficiencies that turned the vote to the Waco offering.
For such an odd WWII one off prototype there are a few good videos on YouTube about it:
Very surprising there are no hits on Outerzone for the XCG-16.
With the ruled surfaces it would be rather easy to build one of these out of Balsa or even foam board.
Massive thanks to the Cafsocal web site above a detailed pdf is available, see the quick link below, with the combined with modern cad software and even 3D printing getting an accurate RC version is quite workable.
And here is a lower rez verion for quick ref:
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Sonex is saved
Fresh off the press, Sonex is saved, interview with Brian on the experimental aircraft channel
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Sonex High Wing – Aircraft of the Month
With the recent announcement that Sonex Aircraft is facing bankruptcy I wanted to do this month’s article on their last project known as “the high wing”.
Sonex has always been a value packed and innovated kit plane manufacture. One of my first experiances around Sonex was Dan Weseman Corvair Powered Sonex often called a Cleanex to draw a line on what powers it. Very impressive aircraft all around. The Local EAA chapter 203 in Palm Beach had a Sonex motor glider going when I was part of the group.
Hopefully a well funded / aviation minded investor can come in and save the company and continue operations.
The Experimental Aircraft Channel has been covering what’s been going on with the recent events along with a flight in the high wing
https://www.youtube.com/@ExperimentalAircraftChannel
As of the time of this writing the Sonex page is still up and running, this is the detailed page for the high wing: https://www.sonexaircraft.com/highwing/
It seems like a very good entry into the high wing, off airport market.
With it being a new aircraft there are quite a few YouTube Videos on it:
Sonex’s main playlist:
No RC options I’m aware of but seems like it would be easy to scratch build a scale RC via Balsa or 3D printing.
Gould Aero 