Free Flight Scale - 2006/12

156 MODEL AVIATION
The pursuit of model-building happiness
[[email protected]]
Free Flight Scale Dennis Norman
Also included in this column:
• Flying Aces Club Nats news
and views
• Jet Catapult Gliders
• The Sycamore Modelers
• Missing Constellation apology
Bob Bojanowski’s Jumbo Bonzo racer is wound in the thick of the 2006 FAC Nats. Cars
were parked like that all along the 200-yard flightline. Wunsche photo.
Del Balunek as a determined Japanese
samurai exemplifies the aspect of escape
among FAC competitors. Fred Wunsche
photo.
Dan Kane’s popular Rapier-powered
Blohm und Voss P.215 gave consistently
spectacular flights. Russ Brown photo.
Rich Weber shows off his handsome Bristol
Scout Model C built from a Thomas
Designs kit. Scott Dobberfuhl photo.
A NEWSPAPER reporter recently asked
me why I build model airplanes. “It’s in the
Declaration of Independence,” I quipped.
His deer-in-the-headlights reaction led me to
finish by adding: “The Pursuit of
Happiness!” At least from a Flying Aces
point of view, model airplanes are “fun”
whether you are looking at them, building
them, or flying them.
For me there is something therapeutic
about model airplanes. They would seem to
be disconnected from the pressures of
practicing law, which I do, yet as I see it the
two are uniquely compatible.
Being a Scale buff and largely a scratch
builder, I find that research is an integral part
of model building and the practice of law.
Both require structured thought. Neither
demand absolute rigidity, but rather a sense
of logic and harmony if a pleasing result is to
be obtained.
In my practice of law I work on many
cases at one time. There are frequently
delays in any case as I wait for
correspondence, hearings to be scheduled,
trial dates to be announced, etc.
In refreshing contrast to the sometimes
frustrating delays in my work, I find that
model-airplane building is an activity I can
work at purposefully and achieve a result
within a reasonable time. I enjoy seeing
others’ projects and sharing my projects with
them.
I have often said that an hour or two at
12sig5.QXD 10/25/06 12:46 PM Page 156December 2006 157
Peter Kateris launches his Fokker D.VII
into a beautiful summer sky and gives us a
great memory of WW I FAC Combat at
its best. Dick Gorman photo.
The FAC WW I Combat Mass Launch. Fliers come from across the US, Canada, and
England to compete in these events that represent the best of FF Scale. Gorman photo.
A colorful corner of Wayne Perry’s workshop featuring models, publications, and vintage
kits reminds us that there is much inspiration in such things. Perry photo.
my workbench centers me and gives me
renewal. It may not be for everyone, but
building model airplanes brings me
happiness, and I love the pursuit.
I have more to share with you about the
2006 Flying Aces Club (FAC) Nats. A
project that caught many people’s eyes was
Bob Bojanowski’s giant rubber-powered
Bonzo racer. With a wingspan of 46 inches
and with 16 strands of 3/16-inch rubber, this
tissue-and-stick behemoth commanded
attention at the Scale static judging and on
the field.
I have included a picture of Bob with his
winding crew as they prepared the model on
the flightline. The airplane flew well and
gave me one of my fondest memories of the
2006 FAC Nats.
Another memorable event from the FAC
Nats was the appearance of Del Balunek as a
determined samurai. Fred Wunsche sent me
a picture of Samurai Balunek, which I am
including here. The seriousness of his pose is
actually a playful expression of the joy of the
fantasies that enrich our hobby.
Del is also a lawyer. He served for many
years as a magistrate, he is a widely read
historian, and he is a serious student and
intellectual. In posing as The Samurai, he too
finds a moment of escape and joy. Yes, even
happiness. It is hard to see him in full regalia
and not smile.
A new acquaintance I met at the 2006
FAC Nats was Wayne Perry of Bath, Maine.
He is an avid collector of model airplane kits
from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. In
particular, he is interested in old kits from
such manufacturers as Cleveland, Scientific,
Miniature Models, and Guillow’s.
Wayne recently sent me a snapshot of
one corner of his hobby room. I am sharing it
with you as an example of how one can
tastefully display a collection, even in a
workshop.
Wayne also told me about the work of
Englishman Wallace Rigby in the 1930s and
1940s. Rigby was particularly interested in
paper scale airplane modeling and did so
with the intention of flying his subjects. If
you have access to the March 1988
Aeromodeller magazine, you can read at
length about Wallace’s activities.
Wayne also made me aware of a series of
airplane sculpture books put out by Wallace
and said they are desirable collectors’ items
if you can find them. Anyone interested in
old kits should contact Wayne at 444 Middle
St., Bath ME 04530.
The explosive popularity of Rapier-powered
jet models has revived a similar but less
complex form of FF Scale modeling: Jet
12sig5.QXD 10/25/06 12:49 PM Page 157Catapult Gliders. For many of us, making FF
models of jet subjects has been problematic.
The Jetex motors gave some hope, but they
were often unreliable and have largely
disappeared from the modeling scene in the
last few decades.
The Flying Aces created the FAC Jet
Catapult Scale event as a method of
promoting flying jet subjects. The rules allot
zero to 8 points for coloring-and-markings,
zero to 8 points for details, and zero to 4
points for workmanship. Profile fuselages
are permitted, and there is no limitation to
wingspan and no requirement for landing
gear.
The launch method is stretched rubber
catapult. The catapult is not specifically
described, but two schools have evolved.
The first uses a handheld stick to which a
small loop of rubber is attached. The model
is held in one hand and launched by the
catapult held in the other.
The second method, the one I prefer, is to
use a longer (6- to 8-foot) loop of rubber
attached to a large (6- to 8-foot) length of
pole that has been driven into the ground.
Flights of five to 10 seconds can usually
be obtained with the handheld method, and
flights of 15 to 20 seconds are typical using
the larger apparatus.
I had an article published in the April
1992 MA about a MiG-29 Catapult Glider
with a built-up fuselage and an all-sheet
wing and empennage. I suggest you find the
article—not necessarily for the purpose of
building a MiG-29, but for a detailed
discussion about the techniques I used in
constructing that type of model.
I have since built several other models of
jets, with spans ranging from 12 to 18
inches. All have produced exciting flights.
Today I am using Jet Catapult Scale
models to delight my grandchildren and
introduce them to FF Scale modeling. The
short, often spectacular nature of the models’
flights combined with the ability to fly the
airplanes several times in rapid succession is
ideal for inspiring youngsters.
One caveat I must make you aware of is
that Jet Catapult Scale models fly quickly and
may pose a danger to others. Therefore, it is
important that they be launched downwind
from other contestants or observers. They
should also, of course, be launched at a
distance of at least 100 feet from other people
to minimize the risks to them.
Most recently I have been experimenting
with using a combination of a larger catapult
for models powered by Rapier motors. In
combining these two methods, I reap the
benefits of a powerful launch to altitude while
the Rapier builds thrust.
By the time the model is at altitude, the
motor produces thrust that continues the
model’s climb and lengthens the duration of
its flight. I believe that flights of a minute or
more are possible using this method.
My daughter Suzanne is a Ph.D.
psychologist specializing in geropsychology
and practices in Cincinnati, Ohio. She made
me aware of the musical, “Ace,” which I
mentioned in the September 2006 column,
and she keeps me informed about subjects of
interest that cross her path. One of these
subjects, of course, is model-airplane
building.
Suzanne recently sent me a flyer from a
Cincinnati-based group called the Sycamore
Modelers. The handout invited those
interested in modeling, including rubber- and
electric-powered FF Scale, to join the
Sycamore Modelers, who hold meetings each
Wednesday morning from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at
the Sycamore Senior Center at 4455 Carver
Woods Drive in Blue Ash, Ohio—a
Cincinnati suburb. For more information call
Bob Munson at (513) 825-7621.The Sycamore Modelers describe
themselves as “an established, easy-going
group with an interest in model building.”
They add that “if you are inexperienced, we
will provide instruction. If you are an
expert, we will learn from you. No dues, no
pressure.”
That is an example of the grace that only
maturity brings. We should all learn from
this. With the explosive growth of our
senior-citizen population, groups such as
the Sycamore Modelers will become more
and more relevant to expanding interest in
what we do.
To those of you who attended the 2006
FAC Nats in Geneseo, New York, and who
may have attended the FAC Outdoor
Champs contest in Muncie this fall, I
sincerely apologize for not bringing my
partially built 61.5-inch-span Lockheed
Constellation.
I had no room in my van when I went to
Geneseo, and when I came back I found
myself in an extremely busy time with work
and did no modeling until just before the
Outdoor Champs. I assure you that I am
working on it, and I hope to be able to share
it with you in the coming months.
“Good things,” it is said, “do not happen
quickly.” Scratch-building a major project
is one of the “good things” that proves the
saying true.
I have included some photos from the
FAC Nats in this column. My thanks to all
of you who have taken the time to share
your wonderful pictures; they inspire us all,
and we all benefit from your generosity.
Keep them coming!
It’s time to close the hangar door again. In
doing so, I want you to know that I always
leave the latchstring out for you. Anytime
you want to come on, just pull the
latchstring by dropping me a letter, an Email,
or a telephone call to (216) 631-7774.
A photo, plans, a magazine article, a book,
or anything else you share with me gives
me the chance to share it with all AMA
members and will be warmly appreciated.
Best wishes to you during the holiday
season and in 2007. May you “Build Well,
Build Often, and Fly Much.” MA