From: Simon To
Sent: 8/17/2017 9:08 AM
To: Patty Generali
Subject: Jet World Master 2017 in Finland

Dear Patty:

We entered the F-80 Minuteman in this event. It is flown by Andy Zheng from China. The other plane is from Frank Wegner from the German Team (EDF).

This F-80 was originally Terry Nitsch 's plane, which won Top Gun back in 1998. We also entered this plane in the Jet World Master in 2001 in Thailand and won third place.

Best regards,
Simon To

From: Marshal Emmendorfer
Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2015 10:06 PM
To: Patty
Subject: Monroe Michigan jet meet

New oldies but goodies. The new P 80 is mine and the new T 33 is Ron Vargo's. We flew both of them today. They are BVM kits from the 80s. Not bad for 30 year old kits.

Marshal

From: ROGER KO
Sent: Monday, July 20, 2015 9:16 AM
To: BVMJets
Subject: F-80 Saggin' Dragon Maiden

Hi Bob,

I finally got my beautiful F-80 Saggin' Dragon, built by Jess Hogan, maidened this past weekend at the Sepulveda Basin here in Southern California. We got 2 flights in before we got rained out (believe it or not!).  Anthony Dimaio (Steve's brother) was at the sticks and the jet flies absolutely great.

Cheers,

Roger

Frank Wegner from Hamburg, Germany has had great success with the BVM F-80 and early BVM F-16 on EDF power. Multiple awards were won at German Jet Masters

From: Captain Ralph
To: Patty Generali
Sent: Friday, January 18, 2013 11:25 AM
Subject: picture

Hi Patty:

Here is a picture of both of my BVM Shooting Stars. The silver one is the BVM F-80 and the other a BVM T-33. They will both be entered in the Top Gun 2013 event. Hope to see you guys there.

 Ralph Esposito

From: Captain Ralph
To: Patty Generali
Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2012 11:52 AM
Subject: BVM F-80

Hi Bob and Patty

Here are a few pictures of my new BVM F-80. The jet flies "GREAT" as if on rails. The jet is a lot more stable with the drop tanks on. I have now around 30 flights on it and look forward for another 30 flights. My regards to the BVM TEAM!

Captain Ralph Esposito
Miami, FL
Sao Paulo, Brazil

BV with the All Electric F-80

  This F-80 is our first example of the All Electric Shooting Star kits coming along soon.  The propulsion is by the 19.5# thrust EVF ~3~ 12s with 65C 7700 mAh ThunderPower LiPo batteries.  A 2700 mAh 2 cell ThunderPower pack powers the E-Purple Retracts, the BVM E-Brake V2, full landing gear and wheel well doors, speed brakes, flaps, and tank drop. 
A JR 12X radio controls it all.  The orange wing tips are stick-on vinyl's that aid visibility after the Tip Tanks are jettisoned.  These computer cut panels are available for F-80 customers .

From: Captain Ralph
To: Patty
Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 3:28 PM
Subject: F-80 Kansas Tornado

 Hi Patty...Recognize the jet? I hope so.
It flies like a dream. Now that I have the BVM Kevlar tanks in it I am able to get flight times up to 14 minutes.
Please let Bob know that I am taking very good care of his bird as you can see.

Regards to the BVM team,
Captain Ralph Esposito
Alfs Hobbies,
Miami, Florida

   Col. Bob Thacker (USAF Retired) from San Clemente, California modified a BVM F-80 Shooting Star to emulate the original YP80A that he and Chuck Yeager flew. The enclosed photos and letter tell one of their aviation stories.

Thanks Colonel for sharing this with us.

Terry's winning "Minute Man" turbine F-80 claimed 1st place at both Top Gun and the AMA Nationals.

David Payne of Chattanooga, TN flies this BVM F-80. It's finished in Presto Coverite film and looks great in the air because of the highly reflective finish. Note the shark's eyes and mouth on the Misawa tanks. F-80 owners really like the way this Korean War fighter flies.

This ducted fan F-80 built by Dave Valdez placed 5th in a field of tough competitors. The F-80 flies well off grass or pavement and the landing gear has been put through the test over the years.

Frankie Mirandez flew this F-80 in Top Gun '01 and '02 and finishing in the top half of the contest each time.

Skeet Hunt of Reno, Nevada sent us this shot of his F-80 turbine coming in for a landing at the Tucson jet rally. Skeet says, "I am having the time of my life learning this hobby and the confidence your products bring to the learning curve is greatly appreciated."

Ken Fiala from St. George, Utah has completed the test flights on his brand new turbine powered F-80. Ken is using a Jet Cat P80 for power. Here is an excerpt from an email we recently received from Ken commenting about his BVM F-80, "I think the F80 is pretty well dialed in now, today I put two more flights on it and the performance is awesome. I just wanted to say I'm very pleased with the turbine F-80 and would recommend it to anyone that's interested in a turbine performer. Thanks and regards, Ken Fiala."

Ralf Ploenes flew this F-80 in the 3rd World Jet Masters held in Austria. These photo's clearly show the drop tanks being released and then setup for a perfect landing.

Simon To is the proud owner of the Lockheed TV-1 (F-80) built by Jerry Caudle. This same aircraft did compete in Top Gun in West Palm Beach, FL and is now flying off the smooth runways of Hong Kong.

Rene Alvarez did a great job with Coverite Presto on his AcroJets F-80. Rene uses a RAM 750 turbine to power this model. Several articles have been published in RCJI and MAN and a video tape with Jerry Caudle is available on how to do it. It does take some serious practice though.

Rene engineered his own technique for a sliding canopy. Three styles of tip tanks are available from BVM to accomplish different F-80 variants. ProMark Graphics has scale transfer markings for the F-80 and all of BVM kits. This photo is properly staged with the old Tamiami hangar in the background. All F-80 pilots like Rene love the way it flies. D.F. and turbine versions are available.

Rich Fong makes a perfect roll out at the Jet World Masters qualifier in Metropolis, IL. Rich and his Hat-in-the-Ring F-80B was the first alternate for the 2nd Jet Masters that was held in Wroughton, England in August '97.

This is an early F-80 kit that was built by Tom Robertson and flown to second place Team Scale at Top Gun '94 by Patty Generali. The model still resides at BVM. The markings for this and all of the other F-80's shown here are by ProMark.