Free Flight: Old-Timers

FREE FLIGHT OLD-TIMERS U i1 U WAS FLYING Free Flight 940s Mahieu-designed Zeek came out interesting combination old new five-panel wing Goldberg Sailplane also used Goldberg technique locating almost-completed models center gravity CG before gluing pylon predetermined point wing chord right CC new thing deliberate stabilizer stab tilt glide trim time some people said wouldnt use stab tilt because having wing stab misaligned unattractive sign sloppy workmanship adopted technique soon flying circles around did Prior use stabilizer tilt glide circle trim sort like pylon models usually turned right under power balanced power pattern left rudder hoping amount left rudder needed control power pattern would give good glide circle left-climbing cabin models used right rudder worked fairly well amount rudder needed climb often either way too little way too much glide effect rudder very dependent airspeed something like increasing power square speed increase little rudder has big effect power much less effect slower glide lifting stab/aft center gravity setup quickly evolved Free Flight control large pitch-trim change comes large power/glide airspeed differences tilted stabilizer will give very controllable glide turn has little effect power means possible trim glide climb independently wondered used trim technique firstI assumed Leu Mahieu Since Old-Timer fliers use stabilizer tilt trim whether original plan Oust use modern adhesives coverings glass-filled plastic propellers also wondered started asked Sal Taibi what often want know something said Frank Parmenter started So contacted Frank got whole story As typical early modeling days sometimes present just finished Carl Goldberg Comet Sailplane night before big Midwestern States contest 1940 Bright early day meet its first test flights flew right off drawing board after couple tests opened up Its hot Ohlsson 60 hauled up fantastic rate perfect recovery nice tight thermal-catching glide As postmortems would have robbed couldnt get off ground official flight Rube Goldberg no kin Carl retracting gear retracted before ROGd [Rose-Off Ground] shattering props pride over plywood takeoff boards Since couldnt get official flight used up attempts made some test flights almost lost tight glide circle really latched onto smallest bump night really got tore out retractable gear installed permanent single-wheel gear finished doping fuselage lined up stab out alignment could have built thing cockeyed Well guessed next time out didnt fly worth hoot still went up okay nice glide circle gone stalling What world wrong flying good before done straightened out alignment tail just didnt seem possible could cause such change desperate tore out carefully-made shims putting back like before Presto glide circle back stall gone seemed unreal no doubt difference Boy discovery Like others accident cared used trim adjustment models Naturally too good thing keep secret besides dont believe secrets modeling soon fliers Oak Park Pirates gas model club using left Chicago area work NACA [National Advisory Committee Aeronautics] Hampton Virginia passed fliers fliers recruited NACA December 1941 returned after WW II carried breakthrough Free Flight trim back wherever going 1946 Free Flight modelers never heard until Zeek remember reading Carl Goldberg flying Indoor glider lightly-glued stabilizer came loose trailing edge held leading edge stab assumed angle about 45O saw descent steep slow gentle began explore occurrenceeventually giving us worlds popular form dethermalizer would have glued stab better am genius Carl 997 119 Frank Parmenter 1942 20 years old Forster 29-powered Swoose designed Jack Roeser 1940 Frank Parmenter 1978 020 Replica Swoosea fine seldom-seen alternative Zippers Alerts Baker photo