In the Air - 2010/12

December 2010 9
INtheAIR
AMA HEADQUARTERS AND MEMBER NEWS
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]
Ten-year-old Alyssa Stenberg
placed second in the S8D
Junior World Spacemodeling
Championships in Serbia.
Alyssa after reaching her
third flight max.
Team USA brings home the Gold
in S8D Junior!
On Sunday,
September 26, 2010,
retired US Air Force
Lt. Col. Harold
Brown—who flew with
the Tuskegee Airmen—
was presented with an
RC model of the
airplane he piloted
during World War II. It
is a Global Art 1/6-scale
P-51 with a Magnum
.70 four-stroke engine
and retracts.
After more than a
year of planning,
Harold was invited to the North Coast R/C Flyers airfield in
Marblehead, Ohio, for the presentation. He flew the large trainer
with the use of a buddy box.
The P-51 was ready
for flight when Harold
arrived, and it went
ballistic after I
performed minor trim
adjustments and
retracted the gear. I
slowed the Mustang and
let Harold take control.
“Wow, this can get
addicting with a little
practice; let’s do it
again,” he said with a
grin. MA
—Dan Jadwisiak,
Builder and North Coast
R/C Flyers President
[email protected]
District III
US Wins at Spacemodeling World Champs!
Tuskegee Airman Is HonoredWith a P-51
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10 MODEL AVIATION
INtheAIR
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 Web site contacted us. In a behind-the-scenes
photograph of the collections 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 US. 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
History Preserved:
T h e C o l l e c t i o n o f t h e
National Model Aviation Museum
Recycle Your MAs to Attract Newcomers
At the August meeting of the 95th RC
Squadron of Roanoke Rapids, North
Carolina, I suggested that we give a back
issue of MA to every spectator at the
upcoming fall fun-fly. This would promote
the hobby and future club membership. I
mentioned that we could insert a flyer in
each copy, with club contact information
and directions to the field.
The membership decided that this would
be a great thing to do. What better
ambassador for the hobby and our club than
the AMA’s flagship publication, in the
hands of interested people?
On the day of the fly-in I made leaflets to
insert in each of the more than 30 MAs I had
and the others that fellow members brought
to the field. All visitors, primarily kids and
their parents, received a magazine. We also
gave those who were interested stick time
on the club trainer via buddy box.
This is a small start, but I expect great
things from the seeds we planted with these
young people and their parents. I don’t
know if this has been done at other clubs’
public functions, but it is a low-cost
giveaway for event guests.
Many issues of MA are sitting on
members’ shelves, collecting dust. Instead
they could be placed in the hands of
interested young people, who are the future
of the hobby. MA
—Frank Mintz, 95th RC Squadron Model
Aviation Club member
District IV
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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 Mackeydesigned
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]
December 2010 11
INtheAIR
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 significant 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
Charles Mackey (center) with his two twin-boom designs and
their owners. Jim Vornholt (L) holds his Carousel and Don
Ogren holds his Gobbleswantz.
Charles flies Don’s Gobbleswantz on the L-Pad during the Nats (on July 13).
Charles autographs the Gobbleswantz.
Bob Randall and the original Gobbleswantz at the
1958 Nats.
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12 MODEL AVIATION
INtheAIR
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
The Academy recently welcomed Life Members Jamie Scott (Charlotte NC), William Grey (Castle Rock CO), Ingolf Micklisch
(Cape Coral FL), Christian Micklisch (Cape Coral FL), David Parrish (Seabrook TX), Chris Moore (Bay Village OH), Jim Rawson
(Saratoga CA), Brian Sokol (Des Plaines IL), Michael Turk (San Diego CA), William Dyer (Burlington NJ), Mark Ryder (Encino CA),
Eun Lee (Buena Park CA), Luis Leyton (Brownsville TX), and Gregory Baggerly (Tampa FL).
For information about becoming a Life Member, contact AMA Headquarters at (800) 435-9262. MA
—AMA Membership Department
AMA Thanks Its Lifetime Supporters!
Model Aircraft
Fly High at
Hawaii Event The Pensacola Free Flight Team (PFFT) in Florida
believes in showing appreciation to the Navy for our use of
one of the finest FF fields in the country. For many years
our club, which is more than a half-century old, has flown
at a Navy helicopter training field, which is a square mile
of soft, thick, 6-inch-deep grass.
The photo shows PFFT Vice President Paul Grabski
presenting checks totaling $2,100 to Senior Chief Petty
Officer Trevor Rowe of NAS Whiting Field. The money is
earmarked for the Navy/Marine Corps Relief Society and
represents only part of the donations expected in 2010. The
club has donated well more than $10,000 to that
organization in the past decade.
The PFFT sponsors two major events each year, and
model fliers from across the US attend. When contestants
register, many voluntarily contribute to the Navy/Marine
Corps Relief Society. Upon entering, some fliers have
written checks for as much as $500!
When participating aeromodelers make these donations,
they not only feel as if they are making a contribution to a
worthy cause, but they also consider it to be a token of
appreciation to the Navy for allowing them to be guests on
its field. MA.
—George White, PFFT President
[email protected]
District V
The PFFT Supports
Our Troops!
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