Navy and sank over 300,000 tons of enemy ships. It was considered the most destructive air weapon of the U.S. combat aircraft to fight from the beginning of the World War II until the end. The history behind this aircraft and the pilots who flew the Dauntless inspired me to build a giant scale version as a tribute to aviation achievement at that time in history. The aft gunner, the countless rivets and rugged construction along with the iconic dive brakes and trapeze dive bomb release made for a captivating project that I have dreamed of building since the first day I discovered this aircraft as a young boy growing up. Michael Fetyko: I have always admired the beautiful lines of the SBD Dauntless. Tell us what inspired you to choose the Dauntless for your project. Model Airplane News: Congratulations on your first place win in the Sport Prop class. We had a chance to catch up with Michael and asked him about his backstory. Michael controlled the beautiful SBD with his Futaba 18MZ radio system, and flew his SBD to a final score of 120.000. Powered by a Moki 300 radial gas engine turning a 32Г—18 propeller, the Dauntless is equipped with Scale Sierra landing gear and has a detailed cockpit interior using Dynamic Balsa parts. The Dauntless has a 124-inch wingspan, is 100 inches long and weighs in at 90 pounds.

Michael teamed up with his lead engineer for the project, Henry Nguyen and built the dive bomber from Jerry Bates plans.

The Moki 300 provides very scale-like performance.

Douglas sbd dauntless