The Inside Loop - 2009/02

riends have sent me fantastic links to
Web sites that depict the 1920s and
1930s with stunning imagery. You
know what? It doesn’t look like those days
were all that golden, since that was when the
Great Depression took place. However, that
time period is the age in which we proclaim
that aviation was in its “Golden Era.”
Perhaps that title has something to do
with reverse psychology. Many great things
came out of that time period as well—
perhaps something worth much more than
gold. Since it’s the people who remember
that time, perhaps it is best to remember that
although struggle and hardship were
endured, the golden rule people grasped is
what made those times golden in a much
higher sense.
Although we might be looking at tough
times ahead, I like to think it’s also a time
when the “gold” in all of us can shine
through. Great minds created great aircraft
in that era, and the rewards carried us
through.
Today we walk through museums and
libraries that are thick with imagery and
remember the golden era as a time
overcome with pride. We will be
remembered as those who strived, just as
they were.
Perhaps that’s not the only golden era I
want you to be thinking about now. Fred
Randall introduced his Golden Era to us in
the May 2008 issue as a 60-size sport
model. The project came to us after he sent
a photo in to our “Focal Point” department
over a year before, and the editor asked if
Fred would be interested in publishing the
design. Not ever doing anything of the sort,
of course, he agreed.
Ever since, just about every conversation
we have with Fred turns into another great
article. Someone once asked me, “How do
you become a great modeler?” I tell them,
“When the chance comes, you just do it.”
Fred keeps on doing it, and we’re proud
to feature his ideas for your benefit. That’s
part of the golden rule, right?
As Fred will tell you in his article on
page 18, he looked at the monoplane and
wondered what it would look like as a bipe.
By nature he has a knack for finding the
simplest solution to a problem, and he found
out that a whole new airplane needed only a
few new parts; the Golden Era 60 fuselage
will work with both wing options.
Fred had the model done when the
weather in New England couldn’t be worse:
the dead of winter. It wouldn’t be until late
spring, when his club field dried out, that
testing could proceed. He also had me
nagging him for some decent flight shots. (I
can be such a pain that way.) The friendly
banter carried on until Fred wrote in an email,
“How about I just mail the airplane to
you?” [Gulp!]
Long story short, the Golden Era 60 Bipe
Editor Michael Ramsey
[email protected]
F
arrived a few weeks later and another article
was born. In a month or two, we will share
an article with you about how to ship
finished model airplanes across the
country—another successful venture.
We not only got some great flying shots
of this fabulous sport aircraft, but Shane
Scherschel, a good friend of the MA
editorial staff, made a dynamite video of the
Golden Era Bipe flying that we’ve posted
online for you. I wonder what this model
will look like on floats.
Also in this issue, Bob Aberle and I
report on the 2008 NEAT Fair held in
upstate New York. Like the electric models
flown both indoors and outdoors at this
event, the valley location is surrounded by
the Catskill Forest: very green.
For seven years, Tom Hunt has
organized this event with the skills earned
him as a craftsman and ingenious engineer.
It almost broke my heart to see those wellbuilt
transmitter impound cabinets go to
total waste last year.
Digital spread spectrum radio systems
are changing the face of the fun-fly and all
group RC events for the better. The
reliability, simplification, and signal quality
has had such a strong impact on the
aeromodeling community that I believe it’s
a major reason why we’re seeing events rise
in attendance so dramatically.
Not only that, but the flightline is filled
with pilots landing upright instead of
otherwise, because the call of the “I ain’t got
it!” pilot seems virtually extinct. Good
riddance.
See you at the next fun-fly! MA
The Inside Loop
Published by The Academy of Model Aeronautics
Rob Kurek
Director of Publications
Editorial offices: (765) 287-1256, extension
224 (8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays); Fax: (765)
281-7907
Contributing Editors
Dave Mathewson
President
Mark Smith
Executive Vice President
Staff
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of Model Aeronautics, Inc., an associate member of the
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Account Executive Angie Martin
Administrative Assistant Yolanda Jones
Assistant Editor Jay Smith
Communications Specialist Ashley Rauen
Director of Design/Production Carla Kunz
Editor Michael Ramsey
Executive Editor Elizabeth Helms
Graphic Designer Sarah Shaw
Managing Editor Shelia Ames Webb
Production Associate Jennifer Orebaugh
Stan Alexander
Bob Angel
Darwin Barrie
Bill Boss
Paul Bradley
Sal Calvagna
Mark Fadely
Dave Garwood
Dave Gee
Greg Gimlick
John Glezellis
Jim T. Graham
Donald Grissom
Eric Henderson
Jim Hiller
Louis Joyner
John Kagan
Rich Lopez
Joe Malinchak
Dennis Norman
Dean Pappas
Richard L. Perry
Matt Russell
Red Scholefield
Gene Smith
Joe Wagner
Editor Emeritus Bob Hunt
Technical Editor Bob Aberle
“When the chance comes,
you just do it.”
6 MODEL AVIATION
Chief Financial Officer Vacant
Executive Director Jim Cherry
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