The Inside Loop
Assistant Editor
Jay Smith — [email protected]
By the time you read this, I will have worked as the assistant editor of MA for two years. The phrase "time flies when you're having fun" comes to mind when I look back on my time here in Muncie, Indiana.
I arrived just in time to attend my first Nats and eagerly accepted the offer to write the feature article. Since then I have contributed several articles and reviews, but, more importantly, my time here has allowed me to grow as a modeler.
Attending events at the International Aeromodeling Center has let me reacquaint myself with aspects of our hobby I hadn't been involved in for quite some time. It has also allowed me to immerse myself in those areas in which I currently participate.
Fortunately, I must have done something right: I've eagerly taken over as editor for the July issue. I was told the temporary assignment was unprecedented, but hey—no pressure, right?
I enjoy the occasional theme issue. Although the theme may not be to everyone's liking, we can all learn from other modeling disciplines and subject matter. World War I (WWI) gets the spotlight this month, since interest in WWI modeling has grown exponentially in recent years with Dawn Patrol–type events across the country.
On a personal level, WWI pilots have always amazed me. Aviation was still in its infancy and aircraft were continually being improved, yet pilots volunteered to fly mission after mission with little regard for their own safety.
The early "knights of the sky" also displayed a level of chivalry that was sadly lost later in the war and is rarely seen in future conflicts.
Two WWI events are covered in this issue, and both share an exciting feature: each venue hosted both full-scale and RC airplanes. The Dawn Patrol Rendezvous, held biennially at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, continues to expand its pilot count. It is run more like a festival, with people dressed in period attire and vendors selling WWI-related items.
The second event is the Blue Max scale competition at Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida. The museum houses one of the largest private collections of full-scale aircraft in the world. Unfortunately, the event was plagued with bad weather and little to no flying was possible. The Blue Max is planned again for next year and should be bigger and better. Coverage of the contest is located in the "In the Air" section.
Featured content and highlights:
- Jim Beagle's Zeppelin-Staaken — one of the most ambitious construction features we've printed; a perfect fit for this special issue and a project that will stand out at any event.
- Hangar 9 Fokker D.VII ARF — our featured review. Impressive; any pilot who wants to fly a semiscale fighter with the feel of a sport model will find it very appealing.
- Aaron Baldwick — tips on using Rub 'n Buff to bring out scale details. This simple-to-apply paste makes a noticeable difference and will likely appear on some of my future projects.
- "Tin Wings" by Lawrence Klingberg — a how-to explaining the technique of using aluminum to form leading edges of Giant Scale aircraft wings. He walks through the process that helped him win at the AMA Expo in 2008.
- Bob Aberle — a much-needed update on flying electric models, covering the basics to make the conversion to clean, quiet power an easy one.
- Giveaway — readers can win a 78-inch-wingspan Extra. Nothing puts a smile on a modeler's face faster than winning cool RC swag; see the "About Us" section covering Extreme Flight RC on page 62.
MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
