Also included in this column:
• Modelers as skilled workers
• Repairs for orphaned radios
• Unique ARF designs
• Indoor electrics
MY PIECE about the Plymouth Internats in the October 2006 issue,
noting the ensuing incredible decline in the numbers of youngsters
involved in model airplanes, elicited considerable mail. Without
exception, those who wrote agreed with my diagnosis of the
problem and offered some interesting additional comments.
I’ve chosen one of those to quote for further thought, which
follows. It is from Robert Hixson of San Francisco, California, and
he makes some points worth adding to the discussion.
“To say things have changed in America since those days is
really an understatement as you clearly know; several changes for
young folks today
include: television,
money, video games
and more single
parent homes.
“Yet, the AMA
is stronger than
ever, world markets
in hobby materials
are flourishing, and
there are more fliers
than ever before.
We can only do our
part, stay involved,
enjoy what we have today in model aviation, and hope to have the
opportunity to pass on some of what we have learned and
experienced. If we can do that, we have been blessed. ”
Something else to add to the changes in kids’ activities in our
modern society is the increase in demands on young people’s
recreational time. Highly organized activities such as baseball,
soccer, football, and other sports didn’t exist when most of us were
kids.
It is obvious that there is a huge increase in participation in our
hobby—particularly in RC. New clubs with new flying fields are
popping up across the country, sales of modeling materials and
ARFs are booming, and the development of reliable electricpowered
models has caused a virtual explosion of flying at
nontraditional flying sites, both outdoors and indoors.
Yet the fliers are almost exclusively young adults whose
educational, family, and financial situation has opened up time for a
hobby. The other group, which is an important one, is the recently
retired who finally have time and money for a hobby they may have
been interested in as youths.
Chris Price’s (Scott City KS) Great Planes Gee Bee Model R has
an Evolution .26 GT engine and an 18 x 8 propeller.
Mike Fabin’s (Sterling KS) Pacific Aeromodel Gee Bee Model Y is
powered by a Zenoah G-26 engine.
Jim Embree (Wichita KS) with his 9.8-pound Great Planes de
Havilland Tiger Moth. It uses an O.S. .91 FS engine.
February 2007 87
Mike Fabin’s GBY makes a high-speed pass. It’s realistic in the air.
Mike Hammel (Arkansas City KS) with his latest Xcaliber indoor
RC model from Fancy Foam Models.
Jim Embree’s Tiger Moth does what it does best: fly by slowly.
Notably absent from most flying fields are youngsters! With the
exception of father-and-son teams, there are few kids. So as much as I
hate to suggest it, perhaps our efforts as clubs and organizations
should be aimed at a totally different market and age group than we
have traditionally centered on.
It’s possible that we could be rewarded more if we paid more
attention to recruiting the recent empty nesters and the recently
retired. I know that statement will cause some heartburn for many
people, but think about it.
Then again, perhaps those programs that have traditionally been
aimed at gaining the interest of kids, such as the ubiquitous AMA
Cub, etc., are responsible in a way for the previously mentioned
newcomers. Perhaps it just takes a long time to get those kids we
spent time with back when to finally take interest, but how can that
possibly be measured or quantified?
Programs aimed at youngsters are a bit like planting seeds; it takes
a long time for the seeds to germinate and bloom. It could be that the
new people entering our hobby are the fruit of seeds that were planted
many years ago.
I do not pretend to have any answers to these questions. The only
thing is that many newcomers are coming into our hobby from
someplace!
As I wrote the preceding, another observation occurred to me.
Wichita, Kansas’s (where I live) economy is strongly based on the
employees of the major airframe manufacturers and the thousands of
workers in the peripheral industries we refer to as “job shops” who
manufacture components for the majors.
It is incredible how many of those employees—not just engineers
and technical people but machinists, sheet-metal workers, and others
involved in the assembly of airplanes—are modelers. The question is,
Are they in the aircraft industry because they are modelers or is it the
other way around?
Considering the shortage of skilled workers now and the severe
shortage projected in the next few years as many of these workers
reach retirement age, are there enough modelers to replace them? Burt
Rutan touched on this pending shortage and the desirability of hiring
modelers by the industry in his acceptance speech when he was
inducted into the Model Aviation Hall of Fame.
As the US automobile manufacturers are forced to lay off more
and more workers, perhaps many of them should be retrained as
aircraft workers. To that end, the local city, county, and manufacturers
are building a new vocational-education training facility for that exact
purpose.
Let’s hope there are enough young modelers to fill some of these
jobs in the future. Frankly, I doubt that there will be.
Radio Orphans: Many of us have old Ace Micropro transmitters and
dearly love their simple programming, solid-feeling all-metal gimbals,
and other features. Unfortunately Ace Radio ceased production many
years ago, and consequently factory service is no longer available.
I’ve found a place to have these radio components serviced or
repaired, along with many other brands of orphaned radio equipment
including Kraft and Pro Line. I highly recommend Radio South.
(See the ad in this issue.)
However, there is one caveat to these long-out-of-production
units: Radio South has only a limited supply of components that are
peculiar to those brands. For more contemporary radios, Tony
Stillman, who owns and operates Radio South, also provides superb
service.
And then for the many modelers who are still using old-style
Airtronics receivers, by accident longtime flying buddy Tom Ames
has discovered that the JR 9303 “dial-up” transmitter will run those
old receivers regardless of the frequency they are on.
Other contemporary transmitters including the newer Airtronics
will not run the old receivers, but the JR 9303 will. The reason is
simple; old Airtronics and contemporary JR radios utilize negative
shift and all other brands, including new
Airtronics, are positive shift.
The obvious advantage of using a
modern JR transmitter with old Airtronics
receivers is that the JR 9303 will run any
of your old FM Airtronics receivers since
it selects channels with a push-button
system, and you end up with a
programmable transmitter.
ARFs in the Positive: In the last several
months I have been pounding the drum for
the Asian ARF manufacturers to consider
additional scale prototypes for production.
This month I’ll present some ARFs that fit
that parameter.
I recently attended an International
Miniature Aircraft Association (IMAA)
event here in Wichita and was pleased to
see some models of prototypes other than
warbirds and contemporary aerobatic
models. Take a look at the majority of
models in the background of this month’s
photos to see what I mean.
Please understand that I have no
personal vendetta against the more
ordinary scale ARFs; it’s just that for
decades the hallmarks of modelers were
originality, creativity, innovation, and
pride in being different. I worry that those
attributes are being lost.
The ARF concept should make it
possible for modelers to have well-out-ofthe-
rut scale models that might have been
extremely difficult for individuals to
develop from scratch, especially
considering the quality of the average ARF
compared to the building and covering
skills most of us have. It’s encouraging to
see some variety of ARFs showing up at
the flying fields and on the dealers’
shelves.
I won’t attempt to write a long, detailed
history of the Granville brothers—hence
the “Gee Bee” moniker—there is excellent
information on the Internet and fellow
modeler Henry Haffke has written several
great books on the subject. Henry has also
published several model designs of these
interesting Gee Bee aircraft in the various
magazines.
However, some pieces of trivia I found
on the Internet are worth sharing. The
Granville bothers (five) established a
manufacturing facility in Springfield,
Massachusetts, in 1929. That city is better
known as the home of the Springfield
Armory and its legendary firearms.
Considering the time period, the
brothers found it necessary to raise money
by winning air races to keep their civilian
sport airplanes’ production afloat. For that
reason I was delighted to find and
photograph the famous, or infamous, R
racer and a Y that was originally marketed
to the sport pilot but proved to be a
successful racer in its power class.
It would appear that Gee Bees were
well engineered and built, but a series of
misfortunes left the products with what
turns out to be an undeserved reputation as
“killer airplanes.” Many of us have seen
the spectacular newsreel footage of the R
flown by Lowell Bayles rolling wildly into
some railroad tracks and bursting into
flames.
Conflicting reports on the cause of this
crash can be found. One theory is that the
right wing of the aircraft fluttered off
during the high-speed pass. Elsewhere it
indicates that the filler cap on the fuel tank
came off, struck Bayles in the head, and
rendered him unconscious.
A year later the Granvilles had
produced another R-1, which was flown to
victory in the Thompson Trophy Race of
1932. Jimmie Doolittle piloted the aircraft,
which was so much faster than the other
entries that it lapped the field in that
closed-course race of 20 laps.
In 1933 the Granvilles suffered several
setbacks that likely led to the company’s
demise. In July during the Bendix crosscountry
race the R-2 suffered landing-gear
damage and was withdrawn.
That same day Russell Boardman, who
was also competing, in an R-1, was killed
when the aircraft suffered engine failure
during takeoff after refueling in
Indianapolis, Indiana. Then in September
25-year-old female pilot Florence
Klingensmith lost her life during a Phillips
Trophy Race in Chicago, Illinois, when
she flew her Model Y into a tree.
By the end of 1933 Granville Brothers
Aircraft Compant was bankrupt—not
necessarily as a result of the horrible
publicity caused by the accidents, but
because the Granvilles had not won
enough prize money to keep the company
afloat.
A final irony occurred in 1934. Eldest
Granville brother Zantford was delivering
one of the last Sportsters to a customer
when he ran into trouble. While trying to
land in Spartanburg, South Carolina, he
noticed construction equipment on the
runway. He attempted to power up and pull
up when the engine failed. He died on the
way to the hospital.
Astonishingly, Delmar Benjamin has
built a replica R-2 that he flies at air shows
across the country. His routine includes
aerobatics, contradicting the “killer
airplane” reputation this airplane has had
for decades.
I was also delighted to see an ARF de
Havilland Tiger Moth at the IMAA event.
This aircraft was the leading primary
trainer for the Royal Air Force (RAF) and
the Royal Canadian Air Force during
World War II. The Tiger Moth was actually
a common sight at civilian flying schools
before 1939 and was a logical choice for a
military trainer.
Thousands of Tiger Moths were built in
Great Britain and in Canada, and many of
them are still to be seen at antique and
classic fly-ins. They have the reputation of
being docile and forgiving, yet quite sturdy.
Primary training of pilots during the
dark early days of World War II could not
be safely conducted in a war zone, so the
majority of RAF pilots were sent to Canada
for instruction. As a result, many
cemeteries in Canada contain the remains
of young pilots from England, Australia,
South Africa, and other commonwealth
countries.
Jim Embree’s Great Planes ARF Tiger
Moth flies slowly and with considerable
grace on its O.S. .91 four-stroke. It should
since it weighs only 9.8 pounds.
Xcalibur: I’m running out of room and
can’t write as much about indoor electricpowered
flying as I’d like. Interest in
indoor flying is sweeping the country and
for good reason; there are no concerns
about wind, rain, or temperatures, summer
or winter—one can just fly.
Mike Hammel tells me that any facility
that could hold two tennis courts and has at
least a 15-foot ceiling is adequate for
indoor RC. His latest product is the wildlooking
Xcalibur in the accompanying
photo, with force generators used for wing
crossbracing. It is powered with an AXI
2204 motor and uses a two-cell 300 mAh
Li-Poly pack indoors and a three-cell 300
pack outdoors.
The decorations are preprinted in UVactivated
ink, as they are on all of Fancy
Foam Models’ kits. Take a look at www.fancy
foam.com for more information about
Mike’s product line. MA
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/02
Page Numbers: 86,87,88,89
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/02
Page Numbers: 86,87,88,89
Also included in this column:
• Modelers as skilled workers
• Repairs for orphaned radios
• Unique ARF designs
• Indoor electrics
MY PIECE about the Plymouth Internats in the October 2006 issue,
noting the ensuing incredible decline in the numbers of youngsters
involved in model airplanes, elicited considerable mail. Without
exception, those who wrote agreed with my diagnosis of the
problem and offered some interesting additional comments.
I’ve chosen one of those to quote for further thought, which
follows. It is from Robert Hixson of San Francisco, California, and
he makes some points worth adding to the discussion.
“To say things have changed in America since those days is
really an understatement as you clearly know; several changes for
young folks today
include: television,
money, video games
and more single
parent homes.
“Yet, the AMA
is stronger than
ever, world markets
in hobby materials
are flourishing, and
there are more fliers
than ever before.
We can only do our
part, stay involved,
enjoy what we have today in model aviation, and hope to have the
opportunity to pass on some of what we have learned and
experienced. If we can do that, we have been blessed. ”
Something else to add to the changes in kids’ activities in our
modern society is the increase in demands on young people’s
recreational time. Highly organized activities such as baseball,
soccer, football, and other sports didn’t exist when most of us were
kids.
It is obvious that there is a huge increase in participation in our
hobby—particularly in RC. New clubs with new flying fields are
popping up across the country, sales of modeling materials and
ARFs are booming, and the development of reliable electricpowered
models has caused a virtual explosion of flying at
nontraditional flying sites, both outdoors and indoors.
Yet the fliers are almost exclusively young adults whose
educational, family, and financial situation has opened up time for a
hobby. The other group, which is an important one, is the recently
retired who finally have time and money for a hobby they may have
been interested in as youths.
Chris Price’s (Scott City KS) Great Planes Gee Bee Model R has
an Evolution .26 GT engine and an 18 x 8 propeller.
Mike Fabin’s (Sterling KS) Pacific Aeromodel Gee Bee Model Y is
powered by a Zenoah G-26 engine.
Jim Embree (Wichita KS) with his 9.8-pound Great Planes de
Havilland Tiger Moth. It uses an O.S. .91 FS engine.
February 2007 87
Mike Fabin’s GBY makes a high-speed pass. It’s realistic in the air.
Mike Hammel (Arkansas City KS) with his latest Xcaliber indoor
RC model from Fancy Foam Models.
Jim Embree’s Tiger Moth does what it does best: fly by slowly.
Notably absent from most flying fields are youngsters! With the
exception of father-and-son teams, there are few kids. So as much as I
hate to suggest it, perhaps our efforts as clubs and organizations
should be aimed at a totally different market and age group than we
have traditionally centered on.
It’s possible that we could be rewarded more if we paid more
attention to recruiting the recent empty nesters and the recently
retired. I know that statement will cause some heartburn for many
people, but think about it.
Then again, perhaps those programs that have traditionally been
aimed at gaining the interest of kids, such as the ubiquitous AMA
Cub, etc., are responsible in a way for the previously mentioned
newcomers. Perhaps it just takes a long time to get those kids we
spent time with back when to finally take interest, but how can that
possibly be measured or quantified?
Programs aimed at youngsters are a bit like planting seeds; it takes
a long time for the seeds to germinate and bloom. It could be that the
new people entering our hobby are the fruit of seeds that were planted
many years ago.
I do not pretend to have any answers to these questions. The only
thing is that many newcomers are coming into our hobby from
someplace!
As I wrote the preceding, another observation occurred to me.
Wichita, Kansas’s (where I live) economy is strongly based on the
employees of the major airframe manufacturers and the thousands of
workers in the peripheral industries we refer to as “job shops” who
manufacture components for the majors.
It is incredible how many of those employees—not just engineers
and technical people but machinists, sheet-metal workers, and others
involved in the assembly of airplanes—are modelers. The question is,
Are they in the aircraft industry because they are modelers or is it the
other way around?
Considering the shortage of skilled workers now and the severe
shortage projected in the next few years as many of these workers
reach retirement age, are there enough modelers to replace them? Burt
Rutan touched on this pending shortage and the desirability of hiring
modelers by the industry in his acceptance speech when he was
inducted into the Model Aviation Hall of Fame.
As the US automobile manufacturers are forced to lay off more
and more workers, perhaps many of them should be retrained as
aircraft workers. To that end, the local city, county, and manufacturers
are building a new vocational-education training facility for that exact
purpose.
Let’s hope there are enough young modelers to fill some of these
jobs in the future. Frankly, I doubt that there will be.
Radio Orphans: Many of us have old Ace Micropro transmitters and
dearly love their simple programming, solid-feeling all-metal gimbals,
and other features. Unfortunately Ace Radio ceased production many
years ago, and consequently factory service is no longer available.
I’ve found a place to have these radio components serviced or
repaired, along with many other brands of orphaned radio equipment
including Kraft and Pro Line. I highly recommend Radio South.
(See the ad in this issue.)
However, there is one caveat to these long-out-of-production
units: Radio South has only a limited supply of components that are
peculiar to those brands. For more contemporary radios, Tony
Stillman, who owns and operates Radio South, also provides superb
service.
And then for the many modelers who are still using old-style
Airtronics receivers, by accident longtime flying buddy Tom Ames
has discovered that the JR 9303 “dial-up” transmitter will run those
old receivers regardless of the frequency they are on.
Other contemporary transmitters including the newer Airtronics
will not run the old receivers, but the JR 9303 will. The reason is
simple; old Airtronics and contemporary JR radios utilize negative
shift and all other brands, including new
Airtronics, are positive shift.
The obvious advantage of using a
modern JR transmitter with old Airtronics
receivers is that the JR 9303 will run any
of your old FM Airtronics receivers since
it selects channels with a push-button
system, and you end up with a
programmable transmitter.
ARFs in the Positive: In the last several
months I have been pounding the drum for
the Asian ARF manufacturers to consider
additional scale prototypes for production.
This month I’ll present some ARFs that fit
that parameter.
I recently attended an International
Miniature Aircraft Association (IMAA)
event here in Wichita and was pleased to
see some models of prototypes other than
warbirds and contemporary aerobatic
models. Take a look at the majority of
models in the background of this month’s
photos to see what I mean.
Please understand that I have no
personal vendetta against the more
ordinary scale ARFs; it’s just that for
decades the hallmarks of modelers were
originality, creativity, innovation, and
pride in being different. I worry that those
attributes are being lost.
The ARF concept should make it
possible for modelers to have well-out-ofthe-
rut scale models that might have been
extremely difficult for individuals to
develop from scratch, especially
considering the quality of the average ARF
compared to the building and covering
skills most of us have. It’s encouraging to
see some variety of ARFs showing up at
the flying fields and on the dealers’
shelves.
I won’t attempt to write a long, detailed
history of the Granville brothers—hence
the “Gee Bee” moniker—there is excellent
information on the Internet and fellow
modeler Henry Haffke has written several
great books on the subject. Henry has also
published several model designs of these
interesting Gee Bee aircraft in the various
magazines.
However, some pieces of trivia I found
on the Internet are worth sharing. The
Granville bothers (five) established a
manufacturing facility in Springfield,
Massachusetts, in 1929. That city is better
known as the home of the Springfield
Armory and its legendary firearms.
Considering the time period, the
brothers found it necessary to raise money
by winning air races to keep their civilian
sport airplanes’ production afloat. For that
reason I was delighted to find and
photograph the famous, or infamous, R
racer and a Y that was originally marketed
to the sport pilot but proved to be a
successful racer in its power class.
It would appear that Gee Bees were
well engineered and built, but a series of
misfortunes left the products with what
turns out to be an undeserved reputation as
“killer airplanes.” Many of us have seen
the spectacular newsreel footage of the R
flown by Lowell Bayles rolling wildly into
some railroad tracks and bursting into
flames.
Conflicting reports on the cause of this
crash can be found. One theory is that the
right wing of the aircraft fluttered off
during the high-speed pass. Elsewhere it
indicates that the filler cap on the fuel tank
came off, struck Bayles in the head, and
rendered him unconscious.
A year later the Granvilles had
produced another R-1, which was flown to
victory in the Thompson Trophy Race of
1932. Jimmie Doolittle piloted the aircraft,
which was so much faster than the other
entries that it lapped the field in that
closed-course race of 20 laps.
In 1933 the Granvilles suffered several
setbacks that likely led to the company’s
demise. In July during the Bendix crosscountry
race the R-2 suffered landing-gear
damage and was withdrawn.
That same day Russell Boardman, who
was also competing, in an R-1, was killed
when the aircraft suffered engine failure
during takeoff after refueling in
Indianapolis, Indiana. Then in September
25-year-old female pilot Florence
Klingensmith lost her life during a Phillips
Trophy Race in Chicago, Illinois, when
she flew her Model Y into a tree.
By the end of 1933 Granville Brothers
Aircraft Compant was bankrupt—not
necessarily as a result of the horrible
publicity caused by the accidents, but
because the Granvilles had not won
enough prize money to keep the company
afloat.
A final irony occurred in 1934. Eldest
Granville brother Zantford was delivering
one of the last Sportsters to a customer
when he ran into trouble. While trying to
land in Spartanburg, South Carolina, he
noticed construction equipment on the
runway. He attempted to power up and pull
up when the engine failed. He died on the
way to the hospital.
Astonishingly, Delmar Benjamin has
built a replica R-2 that he flies at air shows
across the country. His routine includes
aerobatics, contradicting the “killer
airplane” reputation this airplane has had
for decades.
I was also delighted to see an ARF de
Havilland Tiger Moth at the IMAA event.
This aircraft was the leading primary
trainer for the Royal Air Force (RAF) and
the Royal Canadian Air Force during
World War II. The Tiger Moth was actually
a common sight at civilian flying schools
before 1939 and was a logical choice for a
military trainer.
Thousands of Tiger Moths were built in
Great Britain and in Canada, and many of
them are still to be seen at antique and
classic fly-ins. They have the reputation of
being docile and forgiving, yet quite sturdy.
Primary training of pilots during the
dark early days of World War II could not
be safely conducted in a war zone, so the
majority of RAF pilots were sent to Canada
for instruction. As a result, many
cemeteries in Canada contain the remains
of young pilots from England, Australia,
South Africa, and other commonwealth
countries.
Jim Embree’s Great Planes ARF Tiger
Moth flies slowly and with considerable
grace on its O.S. .91 four-stroke. It should
since it weighs only 9.8 pounds.
Xcalibur: I’m running out of room and
can’t write as much about indoor electricpowered
flying as I’d like. Interest in
indoor flying is sweeping the country and
for good reason; there are no concerns
about wind, rain, or temperatures, summer
or winter—one can just fly.
Mike Hammel tells me that any facility
that could hold two tennis courts and has at
least a 15-foot ceiling is adequate for
indoor RC. His latest product is the wildlooking
Xcalibur in the accompanying
photo, with force generators used for wing
crossbracing. It is powered with an AXI
2204 motor and uses a two-cell 300 mAh
Li-Poly pack indoors and a three-cell 300
pack outdoors.
The decorations are preprinted in UVactivated
ink, as they are on all of Fancy
Foam Models’ kits. Take a look at www.fancy
foam.com for more information about
Mike’s product line. MA
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/02
Page Numbers: 86,87,88,89
Also included in this column:
• Modelers as skilled workers
• Repairs for orphaned radios
• Unique ARF designs
• Indoor electrics
MY PIECE about the Plymouth Internats in the October 2006 issue,
noting the ensuing incredible decline in the numbers of youngsters
involved in model airplanes, elicited considerable mail. Without
exception, those who wrote agreed with my diagnosis of the
problem and offered some interesting additional comments.
I’ve chosen one of those to quote for further thought, which
follows. It is from Robert Hixson of San Francisco, California, and
he makes some points worth adding to the discussion.
“To say things have changed in America since those days is
really an understatement as you clearly know; several changes for
young folks today
include: television,
money, video games
and more single
parent homes.
“Yet, the AMA
is stronger than
ever, world markets
in hobby materials
are flourishing, and
there are more fliers
than ever before.
We can only do our
part, stay involved,
enjoy what we have today in model aviation, and hope to have the
opportunity to pass on some of what we have learned and
experienced. If we can do that, we have been blessed. ”
Something else to add to the changes in kids’ activities in our
modern society is the increase in demands on young people’s
recreational time. Highly organized activities such as baseball,
soccer, football, and other sports didn’t exist when most of us were
kids.
It is obvious that there is a huge increase in participation in our
hobby—particularly in RC. New clubs with new flying fields are
popping up across the country, sales of modeling materials and
ARFs are booming, and the development of reliable electricpowered
models has caused a virtual explosion of flying at
nontraditional flying sites, both outdoors and indoors.
Yet the fliers are almost exclusively young adults whose
educational, family, and financial situation has opened up time for a
hobby. The other group, which is an important one, is the recently
retired who finally have time and money for a hobby they may have
been interested in as youths.
Chris Price’s (Scott City KS) Great Planes Gee Bee Model R has
an Evolution .26 GT engine and an 18 x 8 propeller.
Mike Fabin’s (Sterling KS) Pacific Aeromodel Gee Bee Model Y is
powered by a Zenoah G-26 engine.
Jim Embree (Wichita KS) with his 9.8-pound Great Planes de
Havilland Tiger Moth. It uses an O.S. .91 FS engine.
February 2007 87
Mike Fabin’s GBY makes a high-speed pass. It’s realistic in the air.
Mike Hammel (Arkansas City KS) with his latest Xcaliber indoor
RC model from Fancy Foam Models.
Jim Embree’s Tiger Moth does what it does best: fly by slowly.
Notably absent from most flying fields are youngsters! With the
exception of father-and-son teams, there are few kids. So as much as I
hate to suggest it, perhaps our efforts as clubs and organizations
should be aimed at a totally different market and age group than we
have traditionally centered on.
It’s possible that we could be rewarded more if we paid more
attention to recruiting the recent empty nesters and the recently
retired. I know that statement will cause some heartburn for many
people, but think about it.
Then again, perhaps those programs that have traditionally been
aimed at gaining the interest of kids, such as the ubiquitous AMA
Cub, etc., are responsible in a way for the previously mentioned
newcomers. Perhaps it just takes a long time to get those kids we
spent time with back when to finally take interest, but how can that
possibly be measured or quantified?
Programs aimed at youngsters are a bit like planting seeds; it takes
a long time for the seeds to germinate and bloom. It could be that the
new people entering our hobby are the fruit of seeds that were planted
many years ago.
I do not pretend to have any answers to these questions. The only
thing is that many newcomers are coming into our hobby from
someplace!
As I wrote the preceding, another observation occurred to me.
Wichita, Kansas’s (where I live) economy is strongly based on the
employees of the major airframe manufacturers and the thousands of
workers in the peripheral industries we refer to as “job shops” who
manufacture components for the majors.
It is incredible how many of those employees—not just engineers
and technical people but machinists, sheet-metal workers, and others
involved in the assembly of airplanes—are modelers. The question is,
Are they in the aircraft industry because they are modelers or is it the
other way around?
Considering the shortage of skilled workers now and the severe
shortage projected in the next few years as many of these workers
reach retirement age, are there enough modelers to replace them? Burt
Rutan touched on this pending shortage and the desirability of hiring
modelers by the industry in his acceptance speech when he was
inducted into the Model Aviation Hall of Fame.
As the US automobile manufacturers are forced to lay off more
and more workers, perhaps many of them should be retrained as
aircraft workers. To that end, the local city, county, and manufacturers
are building a new vocational-education training facility for that exact
purpose.
Let’s hope there are enough young modelers to fill some of these
jobs in the future. Frankly, I doubt that there will be.
Radio Orphans: Many of us have old Ace Micropro transmitters and
dearly love their simple programming, solid-feeling all-metal gimbals,
and other features. Unfortunately Ace Radio ceased production many
years ago, and consequently factory service is no longer available.
I’ve found a place to have these radio components serviced or
repaired, along with many other brands of orphaned radio equipment
including Kraft and Pro Line. I highly recommend Radio South.
(See the ad in this issue.)
However, there is one caveat to these long-out-of-production
units: Radio South has only a limited supply of components that are
peculiar to those brands. For more contemporary radios, Tony
Stillman, who owns and operates Radio South, also provides superb
service.
And then for the many modelers who are still using old-style
Airtronics receivers, by accident longtime flying buddy Tom Ames
has discovered that the JR 9303 “dial-up” transmitter will run those
old receivers regardless of the frequency they are on.
Other contemporary transmitters including the newer Airtronics
will not run the old receivers, but the JR 9303 will. The reason is
simple; old Airtronics and contemporary JR radios utilize negative
shift and all other brands, including new
Airtronics, are positive shift.
The obvious advantage of using a
modern JR transmitter with old Airtronics
receivers is that the JR 9303 will run any
of your old FM Airtronics receivers since
it selects channels with a push-button
system, and you end up with a
programmable transmitter.
ARFs in the Positive: In the last several
months I have been pounding the drum for
the Asian ARF manufacturers to consider
additional scale prototypes for production.
This month I’ll present some ARFs that fit
that parameter.
I recently attended an International
Miniature Aircraft Association (IMAA)
event here in Wichita and was pleased to
see some models of prototypes other than
warbirds and contemporary aerobatic
models. Take a look at the majority of
models in the background of this month’s
photos to see what I mean.
Please understand that I have no
personal vendetta against the more
ordinary scale ARFs; it’s just that for
decades the hallmarks of modelers were
originality, creativity, innovation, and
pride in being different. I worry that those
attributes are being lost.
The ARF concept should make it
possible for modelers to have well-out-ofthe-
rut scale models that might have been
extremely difficult for individuals to
develop from scratch, especially
considering the quality of the average ARF
compared to the building and covering
skills most of us have. It’s encouraging to
see some variety of ARFs showing up at
the flying fields and on the dealers’
shelves.
I won’t attempt to write a long, detailed
history of the Granville brothers—hence
the “Gee Bee” moniker—there is excellent
information on the Internet and fellow
modeler Henry Haffke has written several
great books on the subject. Henry has also
published several model designs of these
interesting Gee Bee aircraft in the various
magazines.
However, some pieces of trivia I found
on the Internet are worth sharing. The
Granville bothers (five) established a
manufacturing facility in Springfield,
Massachusetts, in 1929. That city is better
known as the home of the Springfield
Armory and its legendary firearms.
Considering the time period, the
brothers found it necessary to raise money
by winning air races to keep their civilian
sport airplanes’ production afloat. For that
reason I was delighted to find and
photograph the famous, or infamous, R
racer and a Y that was originally marketed
to the sport pilot but proved to be a
successful racer in its power class.
It would appear that Gee Bees were
well engineered and built, but a series of
misfortunes left the products with what
turns out to be an undeserved reputation as
“killer airplanes.” Many of us have seen
the spectacular newsreel footage of the R
flown by Lowell Bayles rolling wildly into
some railroad tracks and bursting into
flames.
Conflicting reports on the cause of this
crash can be found. One theory is that the
right wing of the aircraft fluttered off
during the high-speed pass. Elsewhere it
indicates that the filler cap on the fuel tank
came off, struck Bayles in the head, and
rendered him unconscious.
A year later the Granvilles had
produced another R-1, which was flown to
victory in the Thompson Trophy Race of
1932. Jimmie Doolittle piloted the aircraft,
which was so much faster than the other
entries that it lapped the field in that
closed-course race of 20 laps.
In 1933 the Granvilles suffered several
setbacks that likely led to the company’s
demise. In July during the Bendix crosscountry
race the R-2 suffered landing-gear
damage and was withdrawn.
That same day Russell Boardman, who
was also competing, in an R-1, was killed
when the aircraft suffered engine failure
during takeoff after refueling in
Indianapolis, Indiana. Then in September
25-year-old female pilot Florence
Klingensmith lost her life during a Phillips
Trophy Race in Chicago, Illinois, when
she flew her Model Y into a tree.
By the end of 1933 Granville Brothers
Aircraft Compant was bankrupt—not
necessarily as a result of the horrible
publicity caused by the accidents, but
because the Granvilles had not won
enough prize money to keep the company
afloat.
A final irony occurred in 1934. Eldest
Granville brother Zantford was delivering
one of the last Sportsters to a customer
when he ran into trouble. While trying to
land in Spartanburg, South Carolina, he
noticed construction equipment on the
runway. He attempted to power up and pull
up when the engine failed. He died on the
way to the hospital.
Astonishingly, Delmar Benjamin has
built a replica R-2 that he flies at air shows
across the country. His routine includes
aerobatics, contradicting the “killer
airplane” reputation this airplane has had
for decades.
I was also delighted to see an ARF de
Havilland Tiger Moth at the IMAA event.
This aircraft was the leading primary
trainer for the Royal Air Force (RAF) and
the Royal Canadian Air Force during
World War II. The Tiger Moth was actually
a common sight at civilian flying schools
before 1939 and was a logical choice for a
military trainer.
Thousands of Tiger Moths were built in
Great Britain and in Canada, and many of
them are still to be seen at antique and
classic fly-ins. They have the reputation of
being docile and forgiving, yet quite sturdy.
Primary training of pilots during the
dark early days of World War II could not
be safely conducted in a war zone, so the
majority of RAF pilots were sent to Canada
for instruction. As a result, many
cemeteries in Canada contain the remains
of young pilots from England, Australia,
South Africa, and other commonwealth
countries.
Jim Embree’s Great Planes ARF Tiger
Moth flies slowly and with considerable
grace on its O.S. .91 four-stroke. It should
since it weighs only 9.8 pounds.
Xcalibur: I’m running out of room and
can’t write as much about indoor electricpowered
flying as I’d like. Interest in
indoor flying is sweeping the country and
for good reason; there are no concerns
about wind, rain, or temperatures, summer
or winter—one can just fly.
Mike Hammel tells me that any facility
that could hold two tennis courts and has at
least a 15-foot ceiling is adequate for
indoor RC. His latest product is the wildlooking
Xcalibur in the accompanying
photo, with force generators used for wing
crossbracing. It is powered with an AXI
2204 motor and uses a two-cell 300 mAh
Li-Poly pack indoors and a three-cell 300
pack outdoors.
The decorations are preprinted in UVactivated
ink, as they are on all of Fancy
Foam Models’ kits. Take a look at www.fancy
foam.com for more information about
Mike’s product line. MA
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/02
Page Numbers: 86,87,88,89
Also included in this column:
• Modelers as skilled workers
• Repairs for orphaned radios
• Unique ARF designs
• Indoor electrics
MY PIECE about the Plymouth Internats in the October 2006 issue,
noting the ensuing incredible decline in the numbers of youngsters
involved in model airplanes, elicited considerable mail. Without
exception, those who wrote agreed with my diagnosis of the
problem and offered some interesting additional comments.
I’ve chosen one of those to quote for further thought, which
follows. It is from Robert Hixson of San Francisco, California, and
he makes some points worth adding to the discussion.
“To say things have changed in America since those days is
really an understatement as you clearly know; several changes for
young folks today
include: television,
money, video games
and more single
parent homes.
“Yet, the AMA
is stronger than
ever, world markets
in hobby materials
are flourishing, and
there are more fliers
than ever before.
We can only do our
part, stay involved,
enjoy what we have today in model aviation, and hope to have the
opportunity to pass on some of what we have learned and
experienced. If we can do that, we have been blessed. ”
Something else to add to the changes in kids’ activities in our
modern society is the increase in demands on young people’s
recreational time. Highly organized activities such as baseball,
soccer, football, and other sports didn’t exist when most of us were
kids.
It is obvious that there is a huge increase in participation in our
hobby—particularly in RC. New clubs with new flying fields are
popping up across the country, sales of modeling materials and
ARFs are booming, and the development of reliable electricpowered
models has caused a virtual explosion of flying at
nontraditional flying sites, both outdoors and indoors.
Yet the fliers are almost exclusively young adults whose
educational, family, and financial situation has opened up time for a
hobby. The other group, which is an important one, is the recently
retired who finally have time and money for a hobby they may have
been interested in as youths.
Chris Price’s (Scott City KS) Great Planes Gee Bee Model R has
an Evolution .26 GT engine and an 18 x 8 propeller.
Mike Fabin’s (Sterling KS) Pacific Aeromodel Gee Bee Model Y is
powered by a Zenoah G-26 engine.
Jim Embree (Wichita KS) with his 9.8-pound Great Planes de
Havilland Tiger Moth. It uses an O.S. .91 FS engine.
February 2007 87
Mike Fabin’s GBY makes a high-speed pass. It’s realistic in the air.
Mike Hammel (Arkansas City KS) with his latest Xcaliber indoor
RC model from Fancy Foam Models.
Jim Embree’s Tiger Moth does what it does best: fly by slowly.
Notably absent from most flying fields are youngsters! With the
exception of father-and-son teams, there are few kids. So as much as I
hate to suggest it, perhaps our efforts as clubs and organizations
should be aimed at a totally different market and age group than we
have traditionally centered on.
It’s possible that we could be rewarded more if we paid more
attention to recruiting the recent empty nesters and the recently
retired. I know that statement will cause some heartburn for many
people, but think about it.
Then again, perhaps those programs that have traditionally been
aimed at gaining the interest of kids, such as the ubiquitous AMA
Cub, etc., are responsible in a way for the previously mentioned
newcomers. Perhaps it just takes a long time to get those kids we
spent time with back when to finally take interest, but how can that
possibly be measured or quantified?
Programs aimed at youngsters are a bit like planting seeds; it takes
a long time for the seeds to germinate and bloom. It could be that the
new people entering our hobby are the fruit of seeds that were planted
many years ago.
I do not pretend to have any answers to these questions. The only
thing is that many newcomers are coming into our hobby from
someplace!
As I wrote the preceding, another observation occurred to me.
Wichita, Kansas’s (where I live) economy is strongly based on the
employees of the major airframe manufacturers and the thousands of
workers in the peripheral industries we refer to as “job shops” who
manufacture components for the majors.
It is incredible how many of those employees—not just engineers
and technical people but machinists, sheet-metal workers, and others
involved in the assembly of airplanes—are modelers. The question is,
Are they in the aircraft industry because they are modelers or is it the
other way around?
Considering the shortage of skilled workers now and the severe
shortage projected in the next few years as many of these workers
reach retirement age, are there enough modelers to replace them? Burt
Rutan touched on this pending shortage and the desirability of hiring
modelers by the industry in his acceptance speech when he was
inducted into the Model Aviation Hall of Fame.
As the US automobile manufacturers are forced to lay off more
and more workers, perhaps many of them should be retrained as
aircraft workers. To that end, the local city, county, and manufacturers
are building a new vocational-education training facility for that exact
purpose.
Let’s hope there are enough young modelers to fill some of these
jobs in the future. Frankly, I doubt that there will be.
Radio Orphans: Many of us have old Ace Micropro transmitters and
dearly love their simple programming, solid-feeling all-metal gimbals,
and other features. Unfortunately Ace Radio ceased production many
years ago, and consequently factory service is no longer available.
I’ve found a place to have these radio components serviced or
repaired, along with many other brands of orphaned radio equipment
including Kraft and Pro Line. I highly recommend Radio South.
(See the ad in this issue.)
However, there is one caveat to these long-out-of-production
units: Radio South has only a limited supply of components that are
peculiar to those brands. For more contemporary radios, Tony
Stillman, who owns and operates Radio South, also provides superb
service.
And then for the many modelers who are still using old-style
Airtronics receivers, by accident longtime flying buddy Tom Ames
has discovered that the JR 9303 “dial-up” transmitter will run those
old receivers regardless of the frequency they are on.
Other contemporary transmitters including the newer Airtronics
will not run the old receivers, but the JR 9303 will. The reason is
simple; old Airtronics and contemporary JR radios utilize negative
shift and all other brands, including new
Airtronics, are positive shift.
The obvious advantage of using a
modern JR transmitter with old Airtronics
receivers is that the JR 9303 will run any
of your old FM Airtronics receivers since
it selects channels with a push-button
system, and you end up with a
programmable transmitter.
ARFs in the Positive: In the last several
months I have been pounding the drum for
the Asian ARF manufacturers to consider
additional scale prototypes for production.
This month I’ll present some ARFs that fit
that parameter.
I recently attended an International
Miniature Aircraft Association (IMAA)
event here in Wichita and was pleased to
see some models of prototypes other than
warbirds and contemporary aerobatic
models. Take a look at the majority of
models in the background of this month’s
photos to see what I mean.
Please understand that I have no
personal vendetta against the more
ordinary scale ARFs; it’s just that for
decades the hallmarks of modelers were
originality, creativity, innovation, and
pride in being different. I worry that those
attributes are being lost.
The ARF concept should make it
possible for modelers to have well-out-ofthe-
rut scale models that might have been
extremely difficult for individuals to
develop from scratch, especially
considering the quality of the average ARF
compared to the building and covering
skills most of us have. It’s encouraging to
see some variety of ARFs showing up at
the flying fields and on the dealers’
shelves.
I won’t attempt to write a long, detailed
history of the Granville brothers—hence
the “Gee Bee” moniker—there is excellent
information on the Internet and fellow
modeler Henry Haffke has written several
great books on the subject. Henry has also
published several model designs of these
interesting Gee Bee aircraft in the various
magazines.
However, some pieces of trivia I found
on the Internet are worth sharing. The
Granville bothers (five) established a
manufacturing facility in Springfield,
Massachusetts, in 1929. That city is better
known as the home of the Springfield
Armory and its legendary firearms.
Considering the time period, the
brothers found it necessary to raise money
by winning air races to keep their civilian
sport airplanes’ production afloat. For that
reason I was delighted to find and
photograph the famous, or infamous, R
racer and a Y that was originally marketed
to the sport pilot but proved to be a
successful racer in its power class.
It would appear that Gee Bees were
well engineered and built, but a series of
misfortunes left the products with what
turns out to be an undeserved reputation as
“killer airplanes.” Many of us have seen
the spectacular newsreel footage of the R
flown by Lowell Bayles rolling wildly into
some railroad tracks and bursting into
flames.
Conflicting reports on the cause of this
crash can be found. One theory is that the
right wing of the aircraft fluttered off
during the high-speed pass. Elsewhere it
indicates that the filler cap on the fuel tank
came off, struck Bayles in the head, and
rendered him unconscious.
A year later the Granvilles had
produced another R-1, which was flown to
victory in the Thompson Trophy Race of
1932. Jimmie Doolittle piloted the aircraft,
which was so much faster than the other
entries that it lapped the field in that
closed-course race of 20 laps.
In 1933 the Granvilles suffered several
setbacks that likely led to the company’s
demise. In July during the Bendix crosscountry
race the R-2 suffered landing-gear
damage and was withdrawn.
That same day Russell Boardman, who
was also competing, in an R-1, was killed
when the aircraft suffered engine failure
during takeoff after refueling in
Indianapolis, Indiana. Then in September
25-year-old female pilot Florence
Klingensmith lost her life during a Phillips
Trophy Race in Chicago, Illinois, when
she flew her Model Y into a tree.
By the end of 1933 Granville Brothers
Aircraft Compant was bankrupt—not
necessarily as a result of the horrible
publicity caused by the accidents, but
because the Granvilles had not won
enough prize money to keep the company
afloat.
A final irony occurred in 1934. Eldest
Granville brother Zantford was delivering
one of the last Sportsters to a customer
when he ran into trouble. While trying to
land in Spartanburg, South Carolina, he
noticed construction equipment on the
runway. He attempted to power up and pull
up when the engine failed. He died on the
way to the hospital.
Astonishingly, Delmar Benjamin has
built a replica R-2 that he flies at air shows
across the country. His routine includes
aerobatics, contradicting the “killer
airplane” reputation this airplane has had
for decades.
I was also delighted to see an ARF de
Havilland Tiger Moth at the IMAA event.
This aircraft was the leading primary
trainer for the Royal Air Force (RAF) and
the Royal Canadian Air Force during
World War II. The Tiger Moth was actually
a common sight at civilian flying schools
before 1939 and was a logical choice for a
military trainer.
Thousands of Tiger Moths were built in
Great Britain and in Canada, and many of
them are still to be seen at antique and
classic fly-ins. They have the reputation of
being docile and forgiving, yet quite sturdy.
Primary training of pilots during the
dark early days of World War II could not
be safely conducted in a war zone, so the
majority of RAF pilots were sent to Canada
for instruction. As a result, many
cemeteries in Canada contain the remains
of young pilots from England, Australia,
South Africa, and other commonwealth
countries.
Jim Embree’s Great Planes ARF Tiger
Moth flies slowly and with considerable
grace on its O.S. .91 four-stroke. It should
since it weighs only 9.8 pounds.
Xcalibur: I’m running out of room and
can’t write as much about indoor electricpowered
flying as I’d like. Interest in
indoor flying is sweeping the country and
for good reason; there are no concerns
about wind, rain, or temperatures, summer
or winter—one can just fly.
Mike Hammel tells me that any facility
that could hold two tennis courts and has at
least a 15-foot ceiling is adequate for
indoor RC. His latest product is the wildlooking
Xcalibur in the accompanying
photo, with force generators used for wing
crossbracing. It is powered with an AXI
2204 motor and uses a two-cell 300 mAh
Li-Poly pack indoors and a three-cell 300
pack outdoors.
The decorations are preprinted in UVactivated
ink, as they are on all of Fancy
Foam Models’ kits. Take a look at www.fancy
foam.com for more information about
Mike’s product line. MA