TDP i sirraft presented herein Stand Of Seale model ofthe Japanese Mitsubishi “5-Md “Claude” It makes a very interest- ing and unusual RIC design, one not often seen due to ite pre-war origin. ‘This aircraft evolved from a 1984 roguire- ‘ment for a machine capable of @ speed of at least 218 mph at 10,000 feet and the ability toreach 16,000 feet in6.5 minutes. Theitle ship outdid itself by attaining the speed of 278 mph, climbing to 16,400 feet in 5:54, It was quite naturally accepted for service Tight away. A final carrier version was still, Inservice when the Pacific war broke out and it was not replaced by the famous “Zero” ‘until the summer of 1942, Later a version of iveame out with an enclosed cockpit, but the pilots didn’t trust soit was replaced by the ‘configuration which you see presented here. ‘The dimensions of the A-b-Mé are as fo- lows: 36” 1” wingspan; 24" 9%" fuselage length; height 10° 6". Armed with two 7.7 caliber machine guns and a pair of 66 Ib bombs all-up weight came to 3,684 Ibs. The type 96 alsa had the honor of being the first monoplane fighter to be accepted by the Japanese Navy. 'AIl this just set the stage 45 years ago. ‘There are no more wars for itto fight so what we are interested in here is its historial niche in the scheme of things and how it might perform as an R/C Stand-OMT design. 1 think you'll agree itis @ beautiful looking aircraft that will arouse interest inthe field Construction has been simplified as much as poseible so us od duds can handle the action. tn the interest of performance, two devi tions were made from the scale configu ton, The wing was moved back 1" to help achieve the proper balance point, and atthat ‘Thad to ada ton of ead to the forward nose, sp builders are advised to strive hard to keep the tail and aft fuselage structure on the light side to minimize nose ballast. Secondly, the airfoil itself was thickened as with many other models, A little more lift and slower ‘approach speeds permit more practical ying when fields aresmaller and flight experience Jess than it should be. ‘As the ship neared completion I became ‘kind of worried about my rusty reflexes with radio, leould remember you did something ‘with the etick but! forgot what. It's always a {ood idea when in doubt to have the sharpest flyer around trim aship out on the test fight, things can happen fast and if you're not sshead of an untrimmed ship, then it’s ahead ‘of you. Bob Godfrey volunteered forthe little chore, but the event was held off until Steve ‘Ashby could be with us in order to utilize is ‘No, no Jack, that's upside down! The bilane era was ending, thoughts of retracts wee just a dream, Protos on this spread shoulo whet your appetite for this early fighter. Rakih, color, and unusual 2