History Preserved: The Collection of the National Model Aviation Museum
It is one of those quirks in history. Chet Lanzo won the 1937 RC Nats with his Stick, and Walt and Bill Good’s Big Guff took fourth place. Yet the Big Guff is credited with being the first successful RC model. How did that happen?
Lanzo managed to get the Stick into the air for a short hop during the competition. The Big Guff earned fourth place based on the preflight demonstration of its controls; it never even made a flight attempt because rain moved in after Lanzo’s flight.
The Big Guff won in 1938, but it was a hollow victory; the model crashed just after takeoff, and Walt Good was the only modeler who attempted an official flight in high winds.
Beginning with the first successful test flight of the Big Guff in May 1937, it was flown multiple times for fun and in exhibitions at various events. By the start of the 1939 Nats it had been flown successfully almost 100 times.
Walt and Bill Good earned first place at an RC Nats competition in 1939—and that was a true victory. Competing against 10 other aircraft, Bill piloted the Big Guff through all of the required maneuvers—twice—during a 14-minute flight.
Compared to every other flight during the previous two years, that one demonstrated what RC was supposed to be about. The brothers went on to confirm their success in several demonstration flights during the rest of the year, and they won the 1940 Nats. The Good brothers, and their Big Guff, had made a name for themselves.
The model started out as a Free Flight Guff design that Walt almost continually changed as he and his brother learned what did and did not work. Bill updated and refined the radio equipment.
Fred Mulholland, Tom Gealta, and Bob Copper built the replica Big Guff that is on display at the museum after a reproduction that Rich Bonnell constructed crashed. Fred, Tom, and Bob presented their version of the model to Walt Good at a dinner at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida in 1988. He donated it to the museum in 1989.
The replica donated to the museum is based on the 1939 drawings, although the replica radio equipment on exhibit dates to 1937. As was the original model, the one on display is painted international orange—Walt’s favorite visibility color. And, as did the original, it carries the turquoise-blue “Radio” insignia on the fuselage as its only decoration.
MA — Maria VanVreede Museum Registrar
Smithsonian Acquires Model Airplane
In September 2010 the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., vetted the TransAtlantic Model (TAM) and selected it as a historic artifact. The model donated to the Smithsonian is identical to the TAM that flew from Newfoundland to Ireland in August 2003.
The original airplane is on display at the National Model Aviation Museum in Muncie, Indiana. The aircraft in the Smithsonian collection was flight-tested in May and June 2003 and was taken to Newfoundland in August of that year, ready to fly if needed.
That TAM was transferred to the Smithsonian through the efforts of Christopher Moore, curator of aeromodels at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. He has been given a large space for model display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, near Washington Dulles Airport; it will be some time before that exhibit is open to the public. Plans for it include Walt Good’s Guff.
I thank all of you who helped achieve this goal, and hope that each of you feels as rewarded as I do.
— Maynard Hill [email protected]
Come Fly in the Mountaineer State!
A piece on page 9 of the March 2010 MA—“My Flying Field for Friends and AMA Members”—struck a chord, because the same scenario exists here in a small community in West Virginia. The Teter Airfield is a work in progress, with the goal of introducing people to RC models.
The first fly-in was held September 17–19 this year. Its mission was to attract the public to RC flying and to promote AMA membership to those who fly and are not yet members. Activities are planned for 2011. But walking starts with the first few wobbly steps.
The biggest problem was finding a place to fly—especially one that was close enough to home. This is often a daunting task, and it could leave people who are interested in RC with little opportunity to participate if they live a great distance from the site. Finding, building, and maintaining a quality airfield requires a lot of work and money.
Three years ago, Ron Carpenter, who works for a general contractor building water-treatment plants, found himself traveling up and down the East Coast. That left him with little or no time to enjoy his hobby—flying RC airplanes and helicopters. Ron searched areas near his work sites and joined nearby flying clubs. (Thanks, AMA, for providing information about where to fly.)
Ron wanted to provide an opportunity for those who find themselves in a similar situation to his—and for those who live nearby—to enjoy the hobby. He lives in West Virginia, where mountainous terrain and trees present obstacles for the RC enthusiast. However, he found a piece of flat terrain on his father-in-law’s farm, and work began to make an RC flying field.
The project started with laying out an airstrip, which measures 65 feet wide and 750 feet long. Then the dozer came in to level the site, preparing for seeding with a quality runway grass. Three run-up stands were constructed, along with an equipment shed and a covered viewing area.
Facility features:
- Runway: 65 ft wide by 750 ft long
- Three run-up stands
- Equipment shed
- Covered viewing area
There will be no official club at the Teter Airfield. It will be open to anyone who wants to learn how to fly, enjoys flying, or wants to watch others fly. The focus is on providing recreational opportunities for the entire family.
Each airfield user is required to be an AMA member and must purchase an annual “flight pass”—a portion of which one can “work off” by helping to maintain the airstrip. Flying at the site is governed by a set of airfield guidelines and AMA rules. The facility is an alcohol- and drug-free zone.
Ron Carpenter is an unusual hobby enthusiast in that he took it upon himself to construct a private airfield so that he could have a place to fly. But he didn’t give much thought to how much such construction would cost or what the annual maintenance costs might be.
The facility is located near Buckhannon, West Virginia. If you currently fly RC and do not have a place to fly or call home, come out and visit the airfield! You can find it at www.mapquest.com/mq/7-xn9s or e-mail Ron at [email protected] for information.
Vendors are welcome to attend scheduled fly-ins, which will be announced in the free airfield newsletter. Anyone can subscribe to the publication online or by sending $10 per year (to cover postage and printing costs) for a hard copy.
— Richard Whiting [email protected] District III
Young Hawks Get Their Wings
The Lake Sawyer Hawks of Black Diamond, Washington, are an incredibly active and unified club. Not only do they enjoy aeromodeling and RC flight, but every year they set aside a special day to introduce children to model aviation. (The club was featured in an article in the February 2007 MA about how it acquired its airfield.)
The Hawks participate in the Maple Valley Kids Festival at Lake Wilderness Park in Maple Valley, Washington; it was held on July 17 this year. The club set up tables and banners, and there was outstanding participation by children of all ages.
A large number of club-member volunteers brought a large dose of enthusiasm. The Hawks are known in the area as a neighbor-friendly group.
Each volunteer wore a yellow T-shirt with the Lake Sawyer Hawks logo on the front. Tom Richards wore a shirt with “Test Pilot” emblazoned across the back so he could be easily distinguished.
Kids who visited the club's booth had the opportunity to build rubber-powered AMA Delta Darts. Club members manufactured assembly fixtures—using a design that the Yakima Valley Aero Modelers provided—to facilitate alignment of the models, and volunteers handled the more complex portions of the assembly process. However, the children were involved in construction to the maximum extent possible.
The city of Maple Valley purchased the Delta Dart kits, and the Covington Hobby Store supplied the necessary adhesives. It is estimated that roughly 325 airplanes were built that day, producing roughly 325 smiling faces.
The weather was perfect that day, and it looked like everyone had a marvelous time. The Lake Sawyer Hawks volunteers were exhausted by the end of the day, but very pleased with the results of their efforts.
When things were all put away, the volunteers gathered at a local restaurant and ate dinner wearing their yellow T-shirts. They discussed the highlights of their efforts and gave a special thank you to the designated test pilot, Tom Richards, who ensured that each model flew perfectly before a child took it away.
At the end of the day, one of the club volunteers received the following e-mail from Rachel Gerberding—“Emma’s Mom”:
“I just wanted to let you know how neat your Delta Dart plane kit is. Ray Peters helped my daughter, Emma, put hers together and she is very proud of it.
“Having taught preschool for more than 10 years, I really appreciate all the coordination, patience, and enthusiasm your volunteers brought to the project. There were many steps involved in the plane kits and the volunteers were all really good with the children’s varying skill and attention levels. Ray was especially patient with my daughter, who likes precision and often takes a long time getting things ‘just right.’
“The assemblers and test pilots were equally good with the children, and I saw many smiles on kids’ faces as they saw the result of their hard work and persistence take flight.
“What a great project for the festival! I know Emma will enjoy her plane for a long time.”
A letter such as this produced a good deal of enthusiasm among the volunteers. We are hoping to have as big a turnout at next year’s festival and as much enthusiasm as any club can generate.
We encourage other clubs to do similar things for young people, who are the up-and-coming model builders. Lake Sawyer Hawks members took the accompanying photographs for MA.
— Arnold C. Anderson [email protected] District XI
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
