In the Air - 2010/12
US Wins at Spacemodeling World Champs!
S8D is the FAI designation for RC rocket gliders that are powered by “D”-level rocket motors. The pilot must boost his or her model vertically straight under rocket power. If the boost is not sufficiently vertical, the flight is disqualified.
Once the boost phase is complete, the pilot must try to keep the glider in the air as long as possible. If the craft can make it to 6 minutes, it earns a “max” and timing stops. There are three rounds in the competition.
The 2010 US junior team consisted of veteran international competitors Matthew Berk and Craig Vinyard, both of whom flew in the 2008 World Championships held in Spain. They were joined this year by 10-year-old newcomer Alyssa Stenberg. Although she was new to international competition, Alyssa had flown RC for two years and is a three-time A Division US Model Rocketry champion.
The level of competition at the World Championships is intense, and it had been years since the American junior team had won a medal in any event. The team raised some competitors’ eyebrows when it showed up to enter a 10-year-old girl in an event in which boys who are 16 and older normally compete.
The team flew magnificently, with Craig finishing 16th, Matthew placing 4th, and Alyssa flying three perfect max-time rounds to make it all the way to the flyoff, for an eventual silver medal. This was the first time that the US juniors had won a silver medal in any event and the first US team gold medal!
With Craig and Matthew “retiring” to the senior division, the American team is searching for junior RC glider pilots who would be interested in joining Alyssa for another run at gold in 2012. If you are, or know anyone who would be, interested in competing in this event, send me an e-mail.
MA — Jon Stenberg [email protected]
History Preserved:
The Collection of the National Model Aviation Museum
We don't know everything. Throughout the course of time, with the AMA's move between sites and multiple staff members coming and going, some of the knowledge of what is in the museum collection has been lost.
To recapture that knowledge, current staff members are working hard to catalog the entire collection while sorting through old correspondence and photographs looking for evidence that explains some of what we have. Much has been learned this way, but it isn't enough.
A 6-foot gull-wing RC model has little information associated with it. The fuselage is covered in red silkspan, but the wing is MonoKote, which prohibits easily dating the aircraft. The "5" on the fuselage and O.S. engine, Pilot Radio Control, and SAM (Society of Antique Modelers) decals give little indication of ownership or history. The AMA number, 96278, offers no clues; it has been invalid for as far back as computerized membership records go. (That begs the question if it even was an AMA number or one for another organization such as SMAE or SAM.)
Two photographs exist of the model as it was unpacked after a move, but there is no information about the name of the airplane, when it was donated to the collection, or who donated it. With so little to go on, research was put on hold.
In August 2010 a researcher in England who had been browsing the museum's website contacted us. In a behind-the-scenes photograph of the collection's storage area, he saw the gull-wing aircraft hanging and thought it looked similar to a design his father had built in 1984—a replica of Michael J. Roll's 1937–1938 Under Construction.
This researcher sent a photograph of himself as a child posing with the model and a description of what he remembered about how the airplane was passed around to various friends before it wound up in the U.S. He included a list of features that would distinguish the aircraft. He wanted to know if it was his father's.
After comparing the provided photograph with the model and performing a few searches on the names that were provided, it was concluded that the airplane did not belong to the writer's father. There were slight differences in the shape of the fuselage, and the shape of the fin was much different.
However, the designs were similar enough to prompt Museum Director Michael Smith to look up other Roll designs. A model called, appropriately, the Gull, closely matches the airplane that is in the museum. (Plans for this design—set 28496—are available for purchase from the AMA Plans Service.)
Although the information acquired didn't solve the mystery of how or when the model came to be here, we know more than we did when we started searching for its origins—and that's a huge help. Feel free to contact the museum if you have a question about what is in the collection or knowledge you want to share. We don't know everything.
MA
— Maria VanVreede Museum Registrar
A 2010 Mackey Stunt Reunion
For the 1958 AMA Nats, Charles Mackey designed a twin-boom model that he called the "Gobbleswantz." Bob Randall flew it at the competition, held at the Glenview Naval Air Station outside of Chicago, Illinois, and won the Open CL Precision Aerobatics (Stunt) event.
This was significant because Bob competed against such notable modelers as Rolland McDonald, Milton Boos, Bob Gialdini, Jim Silhavy, and George Aldrich. After the win, the twin-boom design became well known for its uniqueness. Because of its size—spanning 58 inches—it started the trend toward larger models and bigger engines.
When my Gobbleswantz was completed this past spring, I e-mailed Charles to inform him of how pleased I was with the way it flew and that I would be taking it to the CL Nats. I let him know that I intended to fly it in Classic and Advanced classes.
In his excited reply, Charles let me know that an Indianapolis friend of ours, Jim Vornholt, had rebuilt an original twin-boom Carousel—another of Charles' designs—and was planning to take it to Muncie.
Jim had won Senior Stunt with his Carousel at the 1960 and 1961 Nats. His grandfather, Everett Angus, who was AMA's fifth president (1947–1948), watched. The model had suffered much "hangar rash" throughout the years, so it required an extensive restoration. (How he got the model back after more than 40 years is another story.)
Charles was excited. I soon learned that the Mackeys, who live in California, had made plans to travel to Muncie, Indiana, to attend the 2010 Nats. So we planned a reunion, and I promised him a flight with my Gobbleswantz.
At the contest my model and I flew to 6th place in Classic Stunt as Charles and his wife, Phyllis, watched. Jim Vornholt had his Carousel at the Classic circle that day, so there was a great photo opportunity.
That evening, after a great dinner together, we gathered at the L-Pad on the AMA site for flying.
After declaring that he hadn't flown Stunt in 30 years, Charles nervously picked up the handle and I anxiously launched my Gobbleswantz.
He flew it like a pro and put in a good flight, saying that he liked the airplane and the way it flew. I needn't have worried.
But Jim's Carousel was going up for a maiden flight, so we were all a bit nervous. He set the needle, Bill Werwage launched, and the airplane slowly took to the air. Level flight was tricky for a few laps, but the model was soon tamed.
Charles went to the center of the circle and took the handle, flew out the tank, and followed with a smooth landing. He had just flown two of his designs that had won Stunt Nats titles more than 50 years ago. That's what this reunion was all about.
The next day we met again at the L-Pad to take more pictures as Charles autographed our models. Scott Condon brought his Mackey-designed Starlight from home to show and have autographed. There were also a couple of Larks at the gathering, which Charles flew in the 1958 Nats.
The Mackeys hadn't been to Muncie for several years, so this turned into a big reunion with many aeromodeling friends. And we stored the 2010 CL Stunt Nats in our memory banks.
MA
— Don Ogren [email protected]
Model Aircraft Fly High at Hawaii Event
The Third Annual Biggest Little Airshow, held on Ford Island at the Pacific Aviation Museum in Hawaii, made for a fun weekend in August. More than 7,000 guests attended those two days, which exceeded the amount of people we thought would join us.
The AMA Birds of Paradise air show team, which is based in Hawaii, and pilots from the mainland dazzled the audience with their more than 100 1/5-scale RC model airplanes. Also featured were 75 vintage cars, 20 sparkling Corvettes, one electric-powered car, and four Smart cars.
We joined the Navy Morale, Welfare and Recreation organization to make this event free for servicemen and servicewomen in Hawaii. There was a beer garden, and two popular bands played among the Restoration Shop and our new full-scale Flying Tigers Curtiss P-40.
MA
— Ken DeHoff Pacific Aviation Museum–Pearl Harbor Executive Director
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
