For visitors to my website, my “Build of the Month” (BOTM) Series was created to help those who are trying to get started in building their own Radio Controlled (RC) Model Aircraft.

 "Aerofred.com" and "Outerzone.co.uk" are two of my favorite web sites to obtain free RC model airplane plans for my new builds. Additionally, they like to post images of Builder's models, and both sites have posted my RC model images and build descriptions under the heading of the associated aircraft model. Other good sources for free plans are: "Hip Pocket Aeronautics Builders' Plan Gallery", "Vintage & Old-Timer RCM Free Plans", "James Hatton Blog Free Plans and Articles", "Hlsat Blog RCModeler Free Plans and Articles", and "Don Dewey Memorial RCM Plans Collection."

 If you are currently not an active builder, and you would like to be, my BOTM Series is a great place to start. If you have an RC model aircraft that you would like to see featured in this section or feel others may find interesting, please let me know and I will make every attempt to find scratch build plans, photos, and maybe even a published build article, which I will then post in one of my future BOTM editions. Just send me an email @: Build of the Month.

All prior “BOTM” Editions are now available for you viewing pleasure @: BOTM Series Archive I, or BOTM Series Archive II.

NOTE - You can view all images in a “Spotlight Box” by simply clicking on any image.

Build of the Month WW-II Mini-Series - January 2025 Edition

 I hope you enjoyed last months BOTM WW-II Mini-Series 3rd Edition on the Mitsubishi A6M Zero model. If you have an RC model that you would like to see featured in this section or feel others may find interesting, please let me know and I will make every attempt to find scratch build plans, photos, and maybe even a published build article, which will then post in a future edition. Just send me an email @: Build of the Month.

 Ok, now lets see what I have for the month of January 2025. Continuing with the “BOTM WW-II Mini-Series,” for the 4th Edition we will move back to the European Theater and this time on the Eastern Front. How about a fighter that was the single most produced military aircraft design in aviation history. So given these requirements, this 4th Edition of my BOTM WW-II Mini-Series features the Ilyushin IL-2 Stormovik, a fighter manufactured by the Soviet Union.

 The Ilyushin IL-2 is a ground-attack plane that was produced by the Soviet Union in large numbers during the Second World War. To IL-2 pilots, the aircraft was known by the diminutive "Ilyusha". To the soldiers on the ground, it was called the "Hunchback", the "Flying Tank" or the "Flying Infantryman". Its postwar NATO reporting name was Bark.

 The IL-2 was designed by Sergey Ilyushin and his team at the Central Design Bureau in 1938. During the war, 36,183 units of the IL-2 were produced, and in combination with its successor, the Ilyushin IL-10, a total of 42,330 were built, making it the single most produced military aircraft design in aviation history, as well as one of the most produced piloted aircraft in history along with the American postwar civilian Cessna 172 and the German then-contemporary Messerschmitt Bf-109.

 The IL-2 played a crucial role on the Eastern Front. When factories fell behind on deliveries, Joseph Stalin told the factory managers that the IL-2s were "as essential to the Red Army as air and bread."

 The IL-2 was anything but advanced in its mixed wood-and-metal construction, which was relatively easy to manufacture in significant numbers using relatively unskilled workers. But for an aircraft, it was an amazing achievement. Among the Shturmovik’s most important assets were its strength and robustness in combat. The forward fuselage section, protecting the aircraft’s fuel system, radiators and crew station, was built entirely of armor plate. Thus, the IL-2 could, and often did, absorb extraordinary battle damage and survive to fight another day. The protective armor shell employed a special alloy developed for the IL-2; its thickness varied by location on the airframe. Special consideration had been given to a technology that would allow maintenance personnel to stamp the armor steel in the field, thus providing flexibility in the design, especially when Soviet units were forced to operate from primitive forward battle areas.

 The IL-2 continued in service into the Cold War period (1947-1991) where it was delivered to Soviet allies across Europe. Bulgaria took on a fleet of 120 IL-2 attackers and 10 IL-2U trainers in 1934 and operated these well into 1954. Similarly, the IL-2 formed a portion of the Hungarian Air Force, and these were flown into 1952. Czechoslovakia took on 33 IL-2 attackers and 2 trainer forms for their part and operated them during the war in 1944 into 1949. Mongolian Army Aviation fielded 71 IL-2 aircraft from 1945 onwards and actively supported them into 1954. Yugoslavia fielded the IL-2 in no fewer than ten Air Force squadrons - the last ones were retired in 1954.

 The legacy of the IL-2 lives on today in the Sukhoi Su-25 "Frogfoot", the Soviet answer to the American Fairchild Republic A-10 "Thunderbolt II" (Warthog). Like the IL-2, the Su-25 bristles with a broad armament array (missiles, rockets, gunpods and the like), is developed for low-altitude fighting, and has survivability features such as an ejection seat, twin-engine configuration, and armored systems and sub-systems not to mention active and passive warning and countermeasures systems.

• Actual Aircraft Specifications:
• Crew: Two
• Length: 11.65 m (38 ft 3 in)
• Wingspan: 14.60 m (47 ft 11 in)
• Height: 4.17 m (13 ft 8 in) (tail up)
• Wing area: 38.50 m2 (414.4 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 4,425 kg (9,755 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 6,360 kg (14,021 lb)
• Power plant: 1 – Mikulin AM-38F liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,280 kW (1,720 hp) (takeoff power), 1,100 kW (1,500 hp) at 750 m (2,460 ft)
• Propellers: 3-bladed AV-57-158 variable-pitch propeller, 3.60 m (11 ft 10 in) diameter
• Maximum speed: 410 km/h (250 mph, 220 kn) at 1,500 m (4,900 ft)
• Range: 765 km (475 mi, 413 nmi) at 275 km/h (171 mph; 148 kn) and 1,000 m (3,300 ft)
• Service ceiling: 4,525 m (14,846 ft) (service ceiling), 6,360 m (20,870 ft) (absolute ceiling)
• Guns: 2 – fixed forward-firing VYa-23 cannons, 150 rounds per gun
• 2 – fixed forward-firing ShKAS machine guns, 750 rounds per gun
• 1 – manually aimed Berezin UBT machine gun in rear cockpit, 300 rounds
• Rockets: 8 – RS-82 rockets or 4 – RS-132 rockets
• Bombs: 6 – 100 kg (220 lb) bombs in wing bomb-bays and underwing, or 4 – dispensers for 48 – 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) PTAB anti-armour bombs (192 total) in wing bays

 Source of Images: Outerzone Ilyushin IL-2 Stormovik Webpage.

 RC MODEL CONSTRUCTION: The Stormovik was as important to Russia as the Spitfire was to Great Britain and the Mustang was to America, yet the Stormovik is not well known in the West. Perhaps we modelers can do something about that. As a scale model, the Stormovik has excellent moments. It has a high-lift airfoil, a long, slender fuselage, a huge tail, and short, wide-apart landing gear with big wheels. The full-size Stormovik was designed for rough-field operation and low-speed stability - just the qualities we seek in a scale subject.

 It's odd that it is rarely seen in model form; the only other RC design I know of is Bob Underwood's version which placed in the AMA Nats in the early 80s. The Stormovik presented here was prepared by photo-enlarging the Aeromodeler/MAP drawings and filling in the structure. It is exact; no deviations from scale were permitted. If you use the Aeromodeler drawings for “proof of scale” documentation and you follow the plans faithfully, you should receive a perfect score for “accuracy of outline” in AMA scale contests. Only part of the Aeromodeler drawing is presented here; the complete drawing contains additional views and more detail. The Profile publication number 88 is apparently derived from the same Aeromodeler drawing, so it is also excellent scale documentation plus it contains many color schemes.

 Upgrading to Precision Scale or FAI scale is possible by adding more details. If you decide to build this airplane, you should first gather all scale documentation before cutting the first piece of wood (see the list of references on the plans). Then, wait for a cold Siberian night, put on your boots and babushka, and march down to your shop. Shove a tape of Shostikovitch's Leningrad Symphony into the stereo and toast a “salut” to Mother Russia. Let's begin..."

 WING: Wing construction starts with making wing ribs. It is important to drill the 1/4″ wing rod holes as accurately as possible. Don't drill these holes with a twist drill, it will tear balsa wood instead of cutting it, and it does not permit accurately centering the drill. Here is a better way to do it. Cut a 3/4″ section of 1/4″ O.D. brass tube. Bevel the inside edge of one end with a Dremel grinding stone. Grind the edge to be as sharp as possible. Chuck this in your drill press or electric hand drill. Place a wing rib on a flat piece of pine and slip it under the drill press. Lower the brass tube, motor off, until the tube touches the 1/4″ circle marked on the rib. Align to a perfect match and turn on the drill. Lower the tube slowly until resistance is felt and withdraw. Voila! - a perfect hole. Remove the tube and push out the balsa plug. Resharpen after every 10 holes.

 The wing is built on a wing jig, one panel at a time. If you have a commercial wing jig, use it. Otherwise, buy two 3′, 1/4″ steel rods from the local hardware store. Apply a very thin coat of oil to the rods, just in case some glue spills on them. Lay these over the wing plan, raised on short sections of wooden blocks beyond the root rib and tip rib. The image below shows my wing jig being used to build a Bokkie wing. It works GREAT! You can build the same wing jig using the August 1967 RCM Article available @: RCBookcase.com.

 FUSELAGE: The fuselage structure is “flat sides and formers” typical of pattern ships and non-scale airplanes. Use light materials for everything aft of the Center of Gravity and hollow the tail blocks to save weight. Use only 4-6 pound grade balsa. Remember that any unnecessary weight in the tail must be paid for by 6 times as much counterweight in the nose, and all unnecessary weight degrades performance.

 FLIGHT CHARACTERISTICS: Check and double-check the balance point (C.G.) as shown on the plans. Further forward is okay, but don't let the C.G. be aft of this point. If the plane turns out to be considerably heavier than 9 pounds, the C.G. should be even further forward. Ground handling is outstanding. No up elevator is required for starting the take-off roll, just hit the loud-lever and steer with the rudder. When properly trimmed, it will lift off by itself. Good ground handling is to be expected, considering the rough field conditions for which the original was designed.

 The plane is quite stable and very smooth flying. Slow rolls are axial and uniform in roll rate. Low passes are chilling, this is the airplane that destroyed 70 German tanks in 20 minutes. When you see those cannon barrels coming at you and you hear the engine snarling, remember that the German Army called this airplane Schwarz Tod — “Black Death.” The flaps are very effective. Steep descents for landing with full flap cause no buildup in airspeed. 40 degrees of flap is about right for a normal landing approach or for slow fly-bys. This permits slow flight without loss of stability. But full flap should be used only in steep descents, they slow the airplane too much in level flight. The stronger the wind, the less flap deflection. If the wind is greater than 15 mph, don't use any flap at all for landings. Never use flaps for take-offs except, perhaps, partial flap in dead-calm air.

 Spins are slow with no tendency to become flat. Neutralizing the rudder and elevator instantly stops the spin. At the elevator throw shown on the plans, entry to the spin is critical. If you wish to do spins as a contest maneuver, you must use greater elevator throw for more reliable spin entrance, a good application for dual rates.

• RC Model Specifications:
• Aircraft Type: Sport Scale Warbird
• Wing Span: 70″
• Wing Chord: 18″ Root, 7″ Tip
• Total Wing Area: 880 square inches
• Wing Location: Low Wing
• Airfoil: 14 percent Scale Flat Bottom
• Wing Platform: Double Taper
• Dihedral each Tip: 2″
• Fuselage Length: 58″
• Stabilizer Span: 25″
• Stabilizer Chord (including elevator): 9″
• Total Stab Area: 235″
• Number of Channels: 6 - Throttle, Ailerons, Rudder, Elevator, Flaps, and Retract Gear
• Ready to Fly Weight: 144 oz. depending on power system selection
• Glow Fuel Engines: .90 - 1.08 2-stroke or 1.2 4-stroke
• Electric Powered: Output of 1,800-2,400 Watts, 80-120 amp ESC, 4-6 cell 45C LiPo pack of 5,000mah.

 The Ilyushin IL-2 Stormovik RC model in this months edition can be built using a set of plans and article which are available @: “Outerzone.”

Outerzone Ilyushin IL-2 Stormovik Webpage.

 I hope you have enjoyed this months selection, and just maybe, I have spurred some interest in trying your hand at building an RC model airplane.

Until next month - Keep the Balsa Dust Flying!!

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