CONTROL LINE NAVY CARRIER
Dick Perry, 427 Live Oak Ln. NE, Albuquerque NM 87122; E-mail: [email protected]
January 2005 163
This Douglas TBD Dauntless took third place in Class I at the
Nats. It ran a small muffler on 30%-nitromethane fuel.
Mike Greb’s muffler-equipped Class II Martin MO-1 uses a full tuned
pipe and 10% fuel under this year’s new rule. An overall view of the third-place Class I Dauntless.
AIRCRAFT AND MUSEUMS: Earlier I wrote about some
reference books that might be of interest to Carrier fliers for
documentation purposes or just as good reading on the history of
naval aviation.
Another great source of information is the Internet. Much
information can be found with any of the good search engines by
typing in aircraft designators, manufacturers, or common names. A
couple other sources of information are museum Web sites and the
museums themselves.
My favorite museums are the big ones, but there is much to be
found and enjoyed at many of the smaller ones as well. The Fleet Air
Arm Museum (United Kingdom) has a soft spot in my heart because
of the Short Seamew with its British origins. Its Web page is
www.fleetairarm.com/indexFlash.htm.
The consummate museum for Carrier types is the National
Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida (http://naval.
aviation.museum/intro.html). It took a hit from hurricane Ivan and
was closed for a while during repairs, but from what I understand,
the damages were not too severe (in spite of conflicting initial
reports). Today (October 11) was the first day the museum was
reopened to the public, with “hurricane therapy” consisting of free
Hurricane Ivan T-shirts for the first two weeks.
While I was in Washington DC, one of my favorite quick trips
was to the Marine Corps Air-Ground Museum, which is a little
facility on the grounds of Quantico, Virginia. There I found a
Grumman F7F Tigercat rescued from firebombing service awaiting
restoration and a photo of a Martin MO-1 landing onboard the USS
Langley.
There were also (many years ago and probably transferred to the
National Archives by now) original airplane cards describing the
assignment histories of many of the Navy’s early aircraft. I was able
to confirm the Langley assignments for the only two MO-1s to be
allocated to the only aircraft carrier at the time. Neither assignment
lasted very long, but airplanes in those days didn’t last very long
either!
Sadly, the Marine Corps Air-Ground Museum has closed
permanently. The good news is that rising from the ashes will be the
National Marine Corps Museum: a magnificent new structure on
Quantico, near Interstate 95. It will open in 2006. The old museum’s
facilities are being used to prepare exhibits for the new museum, so
the loss is for a good cause.
Aero-Web at www.aero-web.org/ is a good site for locating
aircraft and aviation museums. Its resources can point you to a large
number of facilities, but be sure to contact them before planning to
visit. The information on the site may not be current (as with the
closing of the Museum of Naval Aviation following Ivan).
J. Roberts: I enjoyed a nostalgia trip a couple months ago when I
found an old American Modeler magazine from August 1957. In it
were ads for Strombecker, Enterprise Model Aircraft, Herkimer
(O.K. Cub), Scientific, Forster, deBolt Model Engineering, American
Jr. Aircraft, Consolidated, Cleveland, Victor Stanzel, Berkeley, and a
host of other memories from my first modeling days.
The magazine also contained a “Third Line Theme” article
describing the genesis of the first three-line control system (the origin
of the current Brodak product) by J. Robert
(Bob) Smurthwaite. His company was the J.
Roberts Model Manufacturing Company.
The article showed photos of the original
double-decker-configuration bellcrank. It
also described the first use of the system in
Navy Carrier competition at the 1956 Dallas
Naval Air Station Nationals, with Donald
Storner and John Corrough taking first place
in Junior and second place in Senior flying
J. Roberts Sabre models. Glenn McGree
took first place in Senior with a Bearcat and
a Fox .59.
The article includes a photo of a
Crusader model based on the F-8U
Crusader. Frank Macy of McMinnville,
Oregon, has one of those that Bob
Smurthwaite built and powered by a
Johnson .35 with his “Vari-Speed’’ engine
speed control. Mike Potter wrote to me
about the model and promised photos of it
later. I’ll be sure to include them in this
column.
New Rules Cycle: The cycle for rules
changes taking effect in 2007 begins in
January. The opportunity to submit change
proposals runs from January through
September 2005.
This is a new two-year schedule
recommended by the Contest Board
chairmen and passed this year by the AMA
Executive Council.
Nationals: It’s not too early to be planning
for the 2005 Nats. By the time you read this,
the schedule will be firm, but you’ll have to
wait until the May issue to read about it in
this column. Check the AMA Web site for
details at www.modelaircraft.org/.
The Navy Carrier Society is seeking
volunteers to officiate and assist. If you are
interested, please contact me at the address
in the header or Bill Calkins at 317 Snow
St., Sugar Grove IL 60554; Tel.: (630) 466-
1531.
Mufflers: At the recent Nats, Mike Greb
flew two muffler-equipped models under the
rule that became effective this year,
allowing any muffler with 10% fuel. He had
a challenging time with the Class II model
equipped with a full tuned pipe. The engine
speed required during slow flight was near
the point at which the engine came “on the
pipe,” and the resulting variation in speed
added an unwelcome complexity.
Mike’s Class I model with a Quickie-Jett
.40 engine and muffler was more forgiving,
with a much wider response from the
muffler. He placed second with that
airplane.
Gary Hull also brought muffler-equipped
models to the Nats. His were fitted with
shorter “tongue”-style mufflers, for which
the rules allow the use of any fuel. He
placed third in Class II with his Devastator,
running an O.S. 45 FSR engine on 30%
nitromethane.
I’m looking forward to seeing your winter
Carrier projects. Please send me photos with
details of the model. MA
Edition: Model Aviation - 2005/01
Page Numbers: 163,164
Edition: Model Aviation - 2005/01
Page Numbers: 163,164
CONTROL LINE NAVY CARRIER
Dick Perry, 427 Live Oak Ln. NE, Albuquerque NM 87122; E-mail: [email protected]
January 2005 163
This Douglas TBD Dauntless took third place in Class I at the
Nats. It ran a small muffler on 30%-nitromethane fuel.
Mike Greb’s muffler-equipped Class II Martin MO-1 uses a full tuned
pipe and 10% fuel under this year’s new rule. An overall view of the third-place Class I Dauntless.
AIRCRAFT AND MUSEUMS: Earlier I wrote about some
reference books that might be of interest to Carrier fliers for
documentation purposes or just as good reading on the history of
naval aviation.
Another great source of information is the Internet. Much
information can be found with any of the good search engines by
typing in aircraft designators, manufacturers, or common names. A
couple other sources of information are museum Web sites and the
museums themselves.
My favorite museums are the big ones, but there is much to be
found and enjoyed at many of the smaller ones as well. The Fleet Air
Arm Museum (United Kingdom) has a soft spot in my heart because
of the Short Seamew with its British origins. Its Web page is
www.fleetairarm.com/indexFlash.htm.
The consummate museum for Carrier types is the National
Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida (http://naval.
aviation.museum/intro.html). It took a hit from hurricane Ivan and
was closed for a while during repairs, but from what I understand,
the damages were not too severe (in spite of conflicting initial
reports). Today (October 11) was the first day the museum was
reopened to the public, with “hurricane therapy” consisting of free
Hurricane Ivan T-shirts for the first two weeks.
While I was in Washington DC, one of my favorite quick trips
was to the Marine Corps Air-Ground Museum, which is a little
facility on the grounds of Quantico, Virginia. There I found a
Grumman F7F Tigercat rescued from firebombing service awaiting
restoration and a photo of a Martin MO-1 landing onboard the USS
Langley.
There were also (many years ago and probably transferred to the
National Archives by now) original airplane cards describing the
assignment histories of many of the Navy’s early aircraft. I was able
to confirm the Langley assignments for the only two MO-1s to be
allocated to the only aircraft carrier at the time. Neither assignment
lasted very long, but airplanes in those days didn’t last very long
either!
Sadly, the Marine Corps Air-Ground Museum has closed
permanently. The good news is that rising from the ashes will be the
National Marine Corps Museum: a magnificent new structure on
Quantico, near Interstate 95. It will open in 2006. The old museum’s
facilities are being used to prepare exhibits for the new museum, so
the loss is for a good cause.
Aero-Web at www.aero-web.org/ is a good site for locating
aircraft and aviation museums. Its resources can point you to a large
number of facilities, but be sure to contact them before planning to
visit. The information on the site may not be current (as with the
closing of the Museum of Naval Aviation following Ivan).
J. Roberts: I enjoyed a nostalgia trip a couple months ago when I
found an old American Modeler magazine from August 1957. In it
were ads for Strombecker, Enterprise Model Aircraft, Herkimer
(O.K. Cub), Scientific, Forster, deBolt Model Engineering, American
Jr. Aircraft, Consolidated, Cleveland, Victor Stanzel, Berkeley, and a
host of other memories from my first modeling days.
The magazine also contained a “Third Line Theme” article
describing the genesis of the first three-line control system (the origin
of the current Brodak product) by J. Robert
(Bob) Smurthwaite. His company was the J.
Roberts Model Manufacturing Company.
The article showed photos of the original
double-decker-configuration bellcrank. It
also described the first use of the system in
Navy Carrier competition at the 1956 Dallas
Naval Air Station Nationals, with Donald
Storner and John Corrough taking first place
in Junior and second place in Senior flying
J. Roberts Sabre models. Glenn McGree
took first place in Senior with a Bearcat and
a Fox .59.
The article includes a photo of a
Crusader model based on the F-8U
Crusader. Frank Macy of McMinnville,
Oregon, has one of those that Bob
Smurthwaite built and powered by a
Johnson .35 with his “Vari-Speed’’ engine
speed control. Mike Potter wrote to me
about the model and promised photos of it
later. I’ll be sure to include them in this
column.
New Rules Cycle: The cycle for rules
changes taking effect in 2007 begins in
January. The opportunity to submit change
proposals runs from January through
September 2005.
This is a new two-year schedule
recommended by the Contest Board
chairmen and passed this year by the AMA
Executive Council.
Nationals: It’s not too early to be planning
for the 2005 Nats. By the time you read this,
the schedule will be firm, but you’ll have to
wait until the May issue to read about it in
this column. Check the AMA Web site for
details at www.modelaircraft.org/.
The Navy Carrier Society is seeking
volunteers to officiate and assist. If you are
interested, please contact me at the address
in the header or Bill Calkins at 317 Snow
St., Sugar Grove IL 60554; Tel.: (630) 466-
1531.
Mufflers: At the recent Nats, Mike Greb
flew two muffler-equipped models under the
rule that became effective this year,
allowing any muffler with 10% fuel. He had
a challenging time with the Class II model
equipped with a full tuned pipe. The engine
speed required during slow flight was near
the point at which the engine came “on the
pipe,” and the resulting variation in speed
added an unwelcome complexity.
Mike’s Class I model with a Quickie-Jett
.40 engine and muffler was more forgiving,
with a much wider response from the
muffler. He placed second with that
airplane.
Gary Hull also brought muffler-equipped
models to the Nats. His were fitted with
shorter “tongue”-style mufflers, for which
the rules allow the use of any fuel. He
placed third in Class II with his Devastator,
running an O.S. 45 FSR engine on 30%
nitromethane.
I’m looking forward to seeing your winter
Carrier projects. Please send me photos with
details of the model. MA