The Inside Loop
Editor
Michael Ramsey [email protected]
Close your eyes and dream about being inside an airplane where you're the pilot. What do you see in your mind's eye?
For me, it's bright blue skies and puffy white clouds on a calm afternoon. I'm strolling through the sky, not 500 feet above green trees and an endless sea of hilly landscape.
The yoke in my right hand steadies the controls in perfect trim. My left two fingers caress the shoulder-high throttle, and my feet are numb as they rest against the rudder pedals. In the backseat are my boys, staring wide-eyed out the weathered Plexiglas. The sun is high enough to tell us that the fuel tank floating full at that moment is ours to spend.
When I open my eyes, the airplane I was mind‑flying is as clear as crystal. I know that someday that dream will become a reality.
But for now, the J-3 Cub I dream about so vividly will have to be, in reality, a miniature replica. Because of that dream, this month we have a precious gem to share that you can make your very own.
Pat Tritle's model work is inspirational. I feel like I know him better with each of his creations—even if I don't build them. The J-3 Cub he created for us is no less inspirational, even though a lot of people think the Cub is kitsch in the aeromodeling world.
I always have a Cub in my fleet. I've owned many and passed them on thinking I'd grown out of them. Not long after, though, I yearn for a J-3, and lucky for us there's always a new one on the market to try.
When I looked at the AMA Plans Service list of stock, it surprised me that we didn't have a good Cub on the list. That made Pat's project all the sweeter. He would help us make our collection more complete.
His Cub was a three-channel model at the time. I offhandedly asked Pat if he thought his 40-inch model could be made with ailerons. Not a week later, the plans were updated and photos arrived with all the upgrades that had been nonchalantly mentioned. Man, am I jealous of him—and grateful.
On the dream flip side, for you speed demons, racing is a hot activity that's great for anyone who needs to practice his or her air-gasping technique. I was just on site to check out the "No Bull" air racing trials of the Extreme Flight Championships, and I couldn't believe how many times I had to catch my breath. Now there's something else I want to try (darn it)!
Moreover, the safety precautions taken to put the race together were impressive. The course was set so that all the aircraft energy was directed away from the spectators. All the down-on-the-deck work by the RC pilots was well away from the crowd, yet so easy to appreciate.
Every race experience I've witnessed has been an exercise in safety at both model and full-scale events. The Reno Air Races held every year in the Nevada desert are a pinnacle of safety practice, yet they remain the greatest, and most expensive, resource for adrenaline delivery.
Michael Brown took a walk on the other side of the spectator benches to cover the event as a photojournalist. The images he captured fly off the page.
When I learned to drive a car, taking a course in defensive driving meant you could get your student driver's permit six months early. Of course I took the class. Aeromodeling safety starts at the bench (or classroom) too. Don Apostolico's "pickup" article about his anticrash technique shows that RC piloting in a predictive manner makes sense and isn't too hard. Defensive RC flying starts with choosing the right equipment and having the proper tools. Skimping or cutting corners will only lead to disaster, and redundancy is as practical as keeping a spare tire in the trunk of the family SUV.
Friends of mine and I joked recently that in the old days we built airplanes so much faster than we do today. Are we getting old? I debated that age is less of a factor than intelligence. I'd like to believe that today we're building smarter. Don's article will get you there sooner than the decades it took me.
Maybe you don't have the skills now, but you can get them. Surely members of your AMA club can help with that and maybe even lend you the tools. That's a real plus of being a club member, isn't it?
Okay, you can be obsessive about redundancy for sure. Don tells us what order of redundancy is most essential. We're giving you the lucky top 13 now. In a way, it's like we're teaching you how to buy the right amount of insurance.
After all, the better your aircraft works, the better you'll sleep at night dreaming about those blue‑sky afternoons.
—Michael Ramsey
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
