Aviation History Books
Q585: Bob, from time to time you review new aviation history books. I haven’t heard any mention of these in some time. Is there anything new on the horizon?
A585: Yes. I just received one that might interest many modelers. The book is titled The Aircraft Designers: A Grumman Historical Perspective. It was written by Michael Ciminera, the former vice president of Advanced Systems at Grumman Aerospace Corporation, and who was my boss for the many years that I worked at Grumman.
Mike has done an incredible job of describing the thought process behind all of the Grumman aircraft designs from its start in 1929 until 1994, the year Grumman was acquired by Northrop Corporation. Inside the front cover of the book is a color timeline foldout pictorial showing every Grumman aircraft designed during that 65-year period.
This book would provide many Scale model aircraft builders with needed documentation for the construction of RC models. I did that in 1977 when I published a construction article about the little-known Grumman G-63 Kitten that appeared in the February 1977 issue of Flying Models. I’ve included a photo taken then showing me with my Kitten along with Franklin “Hank” Kurt, who first flew the full-scale Kitten in 1944 at the close of World War II. The Kitten is one of the many Grumman designs mentioned in the book.
This book describes all of the design details and the thought process that went into each Grumman design. Many photos support the text. From this information a modeler could select any number of Grumman designs for his or her future Scale model building projects.
This book is available from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, as well as Amazon.com. Source information is provided at the end of this column.
Converting Kraft Transmitters to 2.4 GHz
Q586: I have an old Kraft RC transmitter that operates on the 72 MHz RC frequencies. It was so popular in its day. Have you heard of anyone converting one of these old transmitters to operate on 2.4 GHz spread spectrum?
A586: Noted RC author, Cal Orr, recently sent me photos showing how he converted the Kraft Synthesized module to 2.4 GHz spread spectrum. Cal was able to convert his dual-stick Kraft Signature transmitter. A JR 9C 2.4 GHz module was installed inside the old Kraft Synthesized module.
Cal went on to say that his modified module contains a 2.4 GHz antenna, bind button, and LED. He indicated that he did have to make some interface electronics inside the module so that no modifications were required on the transmitter. He suggested that you remove the old 72 MHz whip antenna because it is a piece of metal close to and in parallel with the 2.4 GHz antenna stub, which can kill some radio range.
Cal was kind enough to allow me to publish his current email address should you have any detailed questions about this conversion.
AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame
Q587: What are the chances of someone being elected to the AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame? What does the process entail?
A587: The chances of being elected to the AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame are good. I have been on the selection committee for approximately the last 10 years. There is a committee member assigned from each AMA district and all previous AMA presidents have voting rights.
It’s sad, but in recent years few Hall of Fame applications have been received. At one time, 50 or more applications were submitted each year and in some cases as many as 10-15 modelers were annually selected. More recently, these numbers have decreased. Lack of knowledge about the process, along with the feeling that “I could never be selected,” has reduced this wonderful award down to only a few modelers each year.
To start the process of nominating someone, you need to obtain the AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame application. The form consists of three pages and is available on the AMA website (listed in the “Sources” section).
All nominations must be sent to AMA Headquarters by March 31 each year. This (being in the February issue) still gives you two more months to submit your application for the calendar year 2014. Award announcements are usually made in July.
A good candidate must have made important contributions to our hobby throughout the years. Volunteer service is important as is an educational involvement in our youth members. Of course, competition wins, published articles, and technological contributions are also considered. I’m hoping after reading this that more modelers will submit applications for their deserving friends.
