Kaz -2010/08

46 MODEL AVIATION
Kaz !
Above: Ed “Kaz” Kazmirski’s most famous pose was for
the cover of the January 1963 Model Airplane News,
which contained an excellent construction article.
Right: A young Kaz shows his first original design: the
Orion. He won the 1960 FAI World Championships
with it.
IT STARTED AS a simple
announcement on an RC Universe
(RCU) forum that a model was being
auctioned. But it wasn’t just any
airplane; it was arguably the most
famous sport and RC Aerobatics (Pattern)
aircraft designed in the more than 50
years of RC history: Ed Kazmirski’s
legendary Taurus.
More than a year later, modelers
around the world are still talking about
the Taurus and his other designs. If you
have never heard of him, the Taurus, or
his other creations, read on; you might
want to fly them someday soon.
by Duane Wilson
August 2010 47
Top left: Kaz wows Chicago Cubs fans with an RC
(ground only) demonstration of his Orion between
baseball games. The exhibition was covered in the
January 1963 Model Airplane News.
Top right: Kaz is shown in a British publication with
his second-generation Taurus, sporting its second
wing with Fritz Bosch airfoil. He flew this model
during the 1964 season.
Right: A full-page ad for the “new” Top Flite Taurus kit
includes the impressive list of its wins before it was
released. Notice the price! Published in the January 1963
Model Airplane News.
Above: This concept Taurus pusher shows Kaz’s
innovative “out of the box” thinking. Notice the caption.
Printed in a March/April (year unknown) Grid Leaks.
Photos as noted if information was available
One of RC’s greatest stars and the
evolut ion of a classic design
48 MODEL AVIATION
Kaz’s Achievements
• September 1957: Kaz’s first 1st-place finish
• August 1959: Participated in Nats with
modified Astro-Hog
• June 1960: Orion plans published
• July 1960: FAI Championships in Switzerland,
Orion takes win
• November 1960: Orion kit released
• August 1961: Participated in Nats with
modified Orion
• November 1961: First flight of “contest
prototype” Taurus
• December 1961: First formal Taurus plans
drawn
• April 1962: Kaz’s three-week tour of Africa
• August 1962: Taurus wins at Nats
• October 1962: Taurus plans published in Radio
Control Models and Electronics magazine
• December 1962: Top Flite releases Taurus kit
• January 1963: Taurus plans/article published
in Model Airplane News magazine
• August 1963: Kaz’s USS Lexington carrier
demonstration
• August 1963: Taurus takes 3rd at FAI
Championships in Belgium
• Early 1964: R/C Expert article about Japanese
tour with Taurus 2
• March-April 1964: Grid Leaks publishes
article about the Kazmirski pusher
• April 1964: Tauri (high-wing trainer) plans
published
• August 1964: Kaz participates in Nats with
Taurus 2
• May 1965: Simla debuts
• August 1965: Radio Control Modeler ad
shows Simla
• August 1965: Kaz participates in Nats with
Simla
• Kaz is captain of 1965 US team at FAI World
Championships
—Duane Wilson
The Taurus is perhaps the first modern Pattern airplane. It was
originally designed to fly on a .45 two-stroke engine and old
toggle-switch reed radio system of the early 1960s. Many of
today’s aeromodelers who have piloted it say that the Taurus flies
even better with today’s proportional radios and a .45- to .61-size
two-stroke or equivalent four-stroke engine.
The Taurus also makes a great electric-powered model. With a
70-inch wingspan, and designed for precision aerobatics, it is still
a great Pattern trainer or super-smooth-flying sport aircraft.
There were many pioneers of early RC Pattern, each with his
own contribution to the hobby, but Ed Kazmirski (often referred
to as “Kaz”) was easily the most famous. He emerged on the
national scene just as Pattern competition was starting to hit its
stride. Before long, everyone at the field seemed to be flying a
trainer, a Cub, or a Taurus.
Even as a newcomer to competition, his ability to master reed
radios allowed him to claim his first victory at the prestigious
Detroit Invitational the first time he entered. Kaz quickly
established himself as the man to beat among the leading pilots of
the day. Not only a superb competitor, he was also an influential
leader, a trendsetter, and a self-taught designer.
From Kaz’s personal collection is a candid of him during the
time he was an award-winning photographer and traveled
around the world.
48 MODEL AVIATION
Kaz’s Achievements
• September 1957: Kaz’s first 1st-place finish
• August 1959: Participated in Nats with
modified Astro-Hog
• June 1960: Orion plans published
• July 1960: FAI Championships in Switzerland,
Orion takes win
• November 1960: Orion kit released
• August 1961: Participated in Nats with
modified Orion
• November 1961: First flight of “contest
prototype” Taurus
• December 1961: First formal Taurus plans
drawn
• April 1962: Kaz’s three-week tour of Africa
• August 1962: Taurus wins at Nats
• October 1962: Taurus plans published in Radio
Control Models and Electronics magazine
• December 1962: Top Flite releases Taurus kit
• January 1963: Taurus plans/article published
in Model Airplane News magazine
• August 1963: Kaz’s USS Lexington carrier
demonstration
• August 1963: Taurus takes 3rd at FAI
Championships in Belgium
• Early 1964: R/C Expert article about Japanese
tour with Taurus 2
• March-April 1964: Grid Leaks publishes
article about the Kazmirski pusher
• April 1964: Tauri (high-wing trainer) plans
published
• August 1964: Kaz participates in Nats with
Taurus 2
• May 1965: Simla debuts
• August 1965: Radio Control Modeler ad
shows Simla
• August 1965: Kaz participates in Nats with
Simla
• Kaz is captain of 1965 US team at FAI World
Championships
—Duane Wilson
The Taurus is perhaps the first modern Pattern airplane. It was
originally designed to fly on a .45 two-stroke engine and old
toggle-switch reed radio system of the early 1960s. Many of
today’s aeromodelers who have piloted it say that the Taurus flies
even better with today’s proportional radios and a .45- to .61-size
two-stroke or equivalent four-stroke engine.
The Taurus also makes a great electric-powered model. With a
70-inch wingspan, and designed for precision aerobatics, it is still
a great Pattern trainer or super-smooth-flying sport aircraft.
There were many pioneers of early RC Pattern, each with his
own contribution to the hobby, but Ed Kazmirski (often referred
to as “Kaz”) was easily the most famous. He emerged on the
national scene just as Pattern competition was starting to hit its
stride. Before long, everyone at the field seemed to be flying a
trainer, a Cub, or a Taurus.
Even as a newcomer to competition, his ability to master reed
radios allowed him to claim his first victory at the prestigious
Detroit Invitational the first time he entered. Kaz quickly
established himself as the man to beat among the leading pilots of
the day. Not only a superb competitor, he was also an influential
leader, a trendsetter, and a self-taught designer.
From Kaz’s personal collection is a candid of him during the
time he was an award-winning photographer and traveled
around the world.
50 MODEL AVIATION
the concept of smooth flying, higher
drag, and slower, more constant speed.
The flight characteristics resulted from
an attempt to build as light of a model
as possible that employed a relatively
thick airfoil, short nose, and long tail
moment. These design features
became the benchmark for all Taurus
models.
From all of the evidence we have
obtained while studying the evolution
of the several Taurus variants, it
appears that Kaz never drew formal
plans for his designs. The earliest
plans we have were for the second
prototype; Frank Myers drew it, and it
was labeled the “Prototype Contest
Model.”
That version was dated December 6,
1961, and it was drawn after the fact
from the completed model. The plans
provide a first-flight date of
Thanksgiving 1961. This model sports
a pilot figure named “F.U. Kilroy” (who
greatly resembles Kaz), smoking a
cigar.
Dennis Hunt, who is originally from
what is now the African nation of
Zimbabwe, coordinated Kaz’s first
overseas tour in April 1962 to promote
RC in general and precision aerobatics
in particular. Dennis later relocated to
the US and is currently a leader in the
Senior Pattern Association (SPA).
With his South African accent, softspoken
Dennis recalls that as part of
the tour arrangements, he built a
duplicate of Kaz’s Taurus in case he
was unable to transport his airplanes
to Southern Africa. (This was before
the Top Flite kit or even the prototype
plans.)
As described in the Model Airplane
News article, “Our Mr. K. Goes to
Africa,” Kaz sent Dennis letters and
audiotapes describing the details of his
new prototype. Some of the sketches
were drawn on “crude brown paper.” In
the end, Kaz was able to ship his own
aircraft for the three-week tour.
Two months after returning home,
Kaz flew his Taurus to a Nats win and
plans were made for a second kit.
During the summer of 1962, his
friends and fellow competitors flew
many Taurus prototypes. That gave the
new design an impressive contest
record before it was even released.
That was a great marketing
technique, but the Taurus legend was
firmly established for another reason.
The fresh, new design had to be a
superior aircraft that could outfly the
competition, which it convincingly did.
The Taurus was not a single model,
but more of an evolution spanning
several years. It began with that first
Orion hybrid and changed with each
successive version. It is now clear that
Kaz never built two identical models,
but continued to experiment as the
design evolved.
He experimented with two airfoils
and changed the wing shape and
position, stabilizer thickness, and tailmoment
length. However, all versions
adhered to the same successful
formula. The second-generation
Taurus, which was flown during the
1964 season, employed a tapered LE
and straight TE, which are found on
most subsequent Pattern airplanes.
Kaz borrowed a new airfoil from
Fritz Bosch: a German pilot he met at
the 1963 World Championships. The
Bosch airfoil was symmetrical and had
a sharper LE for a better spin, yet it
retained its thickness for the increased
drag that Kaz wanted.
A new feature was a large, thicksectioned
horizontal stabilizer, again to
presumably increase drag. The
fuselage was also sleeker in
appearance and had the longest tail
moment of the series.
Magazine clips and photos featuring
Kaz and his projects continued to
surface on the RCU thread, revealing
previously unknown-about models. We
were surprised to learn that several
Taurus variants were built during a
relatively short span of years; even the
jetlike pusher Taurus was built for the
1964 Toledo model show.
The biggest surprise to the
aeromodeling world was in 1965, when
Kaz turned in a new direction again, with
an ambitious project based on the
Taurus: a large-scale, 102-inch-wingspan
model that was designed to fly better
and smoother than the conventional-size
Pattern aircraft of the time.
By May of that year, Kaz unveiled
what proved to be an exciting but
troubled airplane that was decades
ahead of the large-scale and 2-meter
aerobatic aircraft that are common
today. The “Simla,” named after a town
in the Himalaya mountains, served as an
experimental design.
When Ed “Kaz” Kazmirski of
Chicago, Illinois, emerged on the
national scene, it was obvious that he
had an extraordinary talent for flying
with “reed” radio equipment. He also
had a drive for excellence and a
natural gift for experimentation.
Following is a description of Kaz
from an issue of Grid Leaks (an
aeromodeling magazine of the time).
“He’s a guy who ponders, who
does not accept the satisfactory as
the ultimate, who visits airports to
study real-crate details, or consults
with full-scale authorities who have
broken ground in fresh areas … ”
Other descriptions of him were
similar. Kaz seemed to always be
looking for a better design, by means
of research and intuition. He flew RC
in an age before computer-assisted
design, when designing Pattern
aircraft was as much trial and error
as it was engineering.
From the beginning Kaz chose not
to compete with a stock-built
airplane. The earliest information we
have reports his competing in 1959
with a “modified” Astro-Hog (a
leading design of the time). He was
in his late 30s, as were most of the
pioneers of Pattern.
Early success led Kaz to create his
first original design, the Orion, for the
following season. He proved the
effectiveness of his earliest
modifications and made his Orion
famous by consistently winning
contests with it, including the 1960
World Championships, held that year
in Switzerland. Top Flite kitted the
design shortly thereafter.
Almost immediately after his win
at the World Championships, Kaz
started work on a radically different
Pattern concept he called the
“Taurus.” During what became a fouryear
development period, he
produced at least two prototypes of
which we are aware.
The first was derived from the
Orion, but it wouldn’t have been
recognizable to us today as a Taurus.
The long nose moment and stubby
tail proved to be a disappointment,
as Ed said in an interview.
Learning from that effort, Kaz
developed the second prototype on
Kazmirski: The Innovator
August 2010 51
It had adjustable wing positions
(shoulder, mid, and low), adjustable
dihedral and incidence, and, most
innovative of all, plug-in wings, which
was unheard of in the mid-1960s. As
did all of Kaz’s designs, this model
drew a crowd wherever it went.
I interviewed Kaz by phone about
the Simla (read about it in the
October 2007 MA’s “In the Air”)
shortly before his death in 2007. It
had generated a great deal of
renewed interest when its picture
was published in the July MA.
Kaz told me that before the first
flight, a photographic floodlight fell
on the Simla during a professional
photo shoot. According to him, the
light landed “right on the CG … ”
Flight performance suffered from
the extra 12 ounces of weight added
during repairs on this airplane (with a
.60 two-stroke engine), which was
already much larger and heavier than
other models of the time. Still, the
Simla flew well in several contests and
underwent two modifications in an
effort to improve performance before
competing in the 1965 Nats.
Unfortunately the Simla’s life was
short. It mysteriously disappeared
from its storage place in the
crawlspace of Kaz’s home and was
permanently lost. It was a difficult
loss for him and, as with all of his
designs, there were no plans.
This incident might have hastened
Kaz’s early departure from RC. You
could hear the sense of loss in his
voice while telling the Simla’s story
after all those years, but he was
gratified to learn of the modeling
public’s renewed interest in his last
design.
The story isn’t over, though. After
Kaz’s passing, previously unknownabout
photographs of the Simla were
found in his estate, making it
possible, for the first time, to
reconstruct his final creation.
There is now a Simla re-creation
project underway; I’m sure Kaz would
have loved to see it fly again.
The Taurus legend lives on as
people rediscover its gentle but
distinctively Pattern flight
characteristics. The VR/CS has
named it its “theme model” for
2010. MA
—Duane Wilson
Kaz with his 150%-scaled-up and refined Taurus: the Simla. Many of its innovations
were unheard of at the time, such as plug-in wings and adjustable stabilizer. This part
of the story isn’t finished; stay tuned for more in a future issue of MA.
National Model Aviation Museum Director Michael Smith (L), Registrar Maria
VanVreede, and VR/CS President Bob Noll give the Taurus the “white glove”
treatment during its transfer. Wilson photo.
primarily the need to spend more time tending to the family business. However, there
might have been other factors, including the rise of (then-new and easier to fly) proportional
radios and the tremendous influx of competitive pilots as Pattern competition quickly grew
in popularity.
After leaving RC, Kaz turned his talents to other interests including photography, in
which he created a nationally recognized name for himself. He had published many awardwinning
photos in travel publications such as National Geographic Travel.
Although Kaz left RC behind, he had made a permanent mark on RC and Pattern
competition as a man ahead of his time. He has many innovations to his credit, shaping the
sport for years to come.
52 MODEL AVIATION
plus hits, the Ed Kazmirski’s Taurus thread
on RCU’s Classic RC Pattern Flying
forum is long to wade through, but there is
a reward in the form of much solid
historical documentation among all the
opinions and theories.
When exploring the Taurus’s evolution,
we developed a sense of what Kaz was
trying to achieve and how this special
airplane influenced aircraft design for years.
We think we have a good timeline for
many of the highlights of Kaz’s career, but
several questions remain unanswered.
What about a nearly finished variant that
was discovered and preserved with the
other two models for more than 40 years?
When was it built?
What happened to the pusher Taurus
and other prototypes? Was Kaz truly
satisfied with the final Taurus 2? If not,
what would he have changed? I hope we
can continue to learn, from new sources,
about what is arguably the most famous
RC model.
For those who want to fly something
different while flying a piece of history, Jeff
Petroski of Home and Hobby Solutions (see
“Sources” for contact information) has a
reasonable laser-cut kit of the Taurus. He
has kits for Kaz’s Orion, Taurus 2, and
large-scale Simla designs in the works.
I believe that many answers are still out
there and hope that aeromodelers who
knew and flew with Kaz can add to, or
correct, the reconstructed history we have
to help us complete the story. MA
Duane Wilson
[email protected]
Sources:
Kazmirski RCU thread:
www.rcuniverse.com/forum/forumid_379/tt
.htm
Home and Hobby Solutions, Inc
2076 Mountain Laurel Rd.
Lancaster SC 29720
www.homeandhobbysolutions.net
Vintage Radio Control Society
(607) 754-5279 (President Bob Noll)
www.vintagercsociety.org
Similar to a national founding father,
Kaz hasn’t been forgotten. He later said that
the 11 years spent in RC were the best of his
life.
The Taurus Puzzle: Few people knew what
had become of Kaz’s models, or if they even
existed decades later. But speculation ended
with that one-sentence announcement on
RCU’s Classic RC Pattern Flying forum in
June 2008.
Those of us who were interested in the
designer and his airplanes were amazed to
see the pictures of his two remaining
personal Tauruses that were offered by
Chuck Noble, who was the owner of the
auction house that handled Kaz’s estate.
The aircraft had not only survived, but
they had been carefully preserved in the
travel crate that was built for his first
overseas trip 47 years earlier. The models
were in surprisingly good condition,
considering their age and their extensive
flight histories, and required only minimal
restoration and cleanup. The painted finishes
looked better than those on most of the
models you typically see today at the flying
field.
In time, Chuck released new information
about, photos of, and details of the aircraft.
What at first was an object of curiosity
quickly turned into an international
investigation. Taurus fans, like “aircraft
archeologists,” went through their RC
magazine archives, contributing rare photos,
specifications, and data as Kaz’s RC career
was put under the microscope.
The story was much more complicated
(and interesting), than we had imagined. A
nucleus of five of us from diverse locations
worldwide (including Germany,
Netherlands, Ireland, and New Zealand)
contributed hard facts and ideas, as well as
lots of speculation and educated guesses.
These discussions were, at times,
“frank” (as they say in diplomatic circles);
however, we had the common goal of
wanting to find the true history of the
Taurus along with the proper sequence of
events that led to each of Kaz’s designs.
The first Taurus auctioned (which
started the forum thread) was the most
famous of Kaz’s two models and the
inspiration for the Top Flite kit released in
1963. The Vintage Radio Control Society
(VR/CS) purchased the aircraft for
donation to the AMA museum in Muncie,
Indiana.
A fellow VR/CS member and I
purchased the second of Ed’s Tauruses
(which I had seen him fly as a young teen).
The Taurus 2, as it is now known, has since
been restored to its original flying
condition and has been flown a handful of
times at special events.
In spite of the risks of flying it, we think
that at least one of Kaz’s airplanes deserves
to test its wings and take to the air once
more as a living memorial to him. It still
flies beautifully.
Legendary models are great for a reason:
they have withstood the test of time. After
nearly 50 years, the Taurus’s excellent
flying characteristics continue to make it a
favorite.
Even during the period when the Taurus
was the world’s premier Pattern aircraft,
Kaz noted that it was so stable he had to
develop a special kickup elevator with the
reed radio to get it to spin. With its
moderate and consistent airspeed
throughout maneuvers, the Taurus remains
so easy to fly that the average aerobatic
pilot can concentrate on performing
maneuvers—not on fighting the model
through them.
At well more than 80 pages and 80,000-

46 MODEL AVIATION
Kaz !
Above: Ed “Kaz” Kazmirski’s most famous pose was for
the cover of the January 1963 Model Airplane News,
which contained an excellent construction article.
Right: A young Kaz shows his first original design: the
Orion. He won the 1960 FAI World Championships
with it.
IT STARTED AS a simple
announcement on an RC Universe
(RCU) forum that a model was being
auctioned. But it wasn’t just any
airplane; it was arguably the most
famous sport and RC Aerobatics (Pattern)
aircraft designed in the more than 50
years of RC history: Ed Kazmirski’s
legendary Taurus.
More than a year later, modelers
around the world are still talking about
the Taurus and his other designs. If you
have never heard of him, the Taurus, or
his other creations, read on; you might
want to fly them someday soon.
by Duane Wilson
August 2010 47
Top left: Kaz wows Chicago Cubs fans with an RC
(ground only) demonstration of his Orion between
baseball games. The exhibition was covered in the
January 1963 Model Airplane News.
Top right: Kaz is shown in a British publication with
his second-generation Taurus, sporting its second
wing with Fritz Bosch airfoil. He flew this model
during the 1964 season.
Right: A full-page ad for the “new” Top Flite Taurus kit
includes the impressive list of its wins before it was
released. Notice the price! Published in the January 1963
Model Airplane News.
Above: This concept Taurus pusher shows Kaz’s
innovative “out of the box” thinking. Notice the caption.
Printed in a March/April (year unknown) Grid Leaks.
Photos as noted if information was available
One of RC’s greatest stars and the
evolut ion of a classic design
48 MODEL AVIATION
Kaz’s Achievements
• September 1957: Kaz’s first 1st-place finish
• August 1959: Participated in Nats with
modified Astro-Hog
• June 1960: Orion plans published
• July 1960: FAI Championships in Switzerland,
Orion takes win
• November 1960: Orion kit released
• August 1961: Participated in Nats with
modified Orion
• November 1961: First flight of “contest
prototype” Taurus
• December 1961: First formal Taurus plans
drawn
• April 1962: Kaz’s three-week tour of Africa
• August 1962: Taurus wins at Nats
• October 1962: Taurus plans published in Radio
Control Models and Electronics magazine
• December 1962: Top Flite releases Taurus kit
• January 1963: Taurus plans/article published
in Model Airplane News magazine
• August 1963: Kaz’s USS Lexington carrier
demonstration
• August 1963: Taurus takes 3rd at FAI
Championships in Belgium
• Early 1964: R/C Expert article about Japanese
tour with Taurus 2
• March-April 1964: Grid Leaks publishes
article about the Kazmirski pusher
• April 1964: Tauri (high-wing trainer) plans
published
• August 1964: Kaz participates in Nats with
Taurus 2
• May 1965: Simla debuts
• August 1965: Radio Control Modeler ad
shows Simla
• August 1965: Kaz participates in Nats with
Simla
• Kaz is captain of 1965 US team at FAI World
Championships
—Duane Wilson
The Taurus is perhaps the first modern Pattern airplane. It was
originally designed to fly on a .45 two-stroke engine and old
toggle-switch reed radio system of the early 1960s. Many of
today’s aeromodelers who have piloted it say that the Taurus flies
even better with today’s proportional radios and a .45- to .61-size
two-stroke or equivalent four-stroke engine.
The Taurus also makes a great electric-powered model. With a
70-inch wingspan, and designed for precision aerobatics, it is still
a great Pattern trainer or super-smooth-flying sport aircraft.
There were many pioneers of early RC Pattern, each with his
own contribution to the hobby, but Ed Kazmirski (often referred
to as “Kaz”) was easily the most famous. He emerged on the
national scene just as Pattern competition was starting to hit its
stride. Before long, everyone at the field seemed to be flying a
trainer, a Cub, or a Taurus.
Even as a newcomer to competition, his ability to master reed
radios allowed him to claim his first victory at the prestigious
Detroit Invitational the first time he entered. Kaz quickly
established himself as the man to beat among the leading pilots of
the day. Not only a superb competitor, he was also an influential
leader, a trendsetter, and a self-taught designer.
From Kaz’s personal collection is a candid of him during the
time he was an award-winning photographer and traveled
around the world.
48 MODEL AVIATION
Kaz’s Achievements
• September 1957: Kaz’s first 1st-place finish
• August 1959: Participated in Nats with
modified Astro-Hog
• June 1960: Orion plans published
• July 1960: FAI Championships in Switzerland,
Orion takes win
• November 1960: Orion kit released
• August 1961: Participated in Nats with
modified Orion
• November 1961: First flight of “contest
prototype” Taurus
• December 1961: First formal Taurus plans
drawn
• April 1962: Kaz’s three-week tour of Africa
• August 1962: Taurus wins at Nats
• October 1962: Taurus plans published in Radio
Control Models and Electronics magazine
• December 1962: Top Flite releases Taurus kit
• January 1963: Taurus plans/article published
in Model Airplane News magazine
• August 1963: Kaz’s USS Lexington carrier
demonstration
• August 1963: Taurus takes 3rd at FAI
Championships in Belgium
• Early 1964: R/C Expert article about Japanese
tour with Taurus 2
• March-April 1964: Grid Leaks publishes
article about the Kazmirski pusher
• April 1964: Tauri (high-wing trainer) plans
published
• August 1964: Kaz participates in Nats with
Taurus 2
• May 1965: Simla debuts
• August 1965: Radio Control Modeler ad
shows Simla
• August 1965: Kaz participates in Nats with
Simla
• Kaz is captain of 1965 US team at FAI World
Championships
—Duane Wilson
The Taurus is perhaps the first modern Pattern airplane. It was
originally designed to fly on a .45 two-stroke engine and old
toggle-switch reed radio system of the early 1960s. Many of
today’s aeromodelers who have piloted it say that the Taurus flies
even better with today’s proportional radios and a .45- to .61-size
two-stroke or equivalent four-stroke engine.
The Taurus also makes a great electric-powered model. With a
70-inch wingspan, and designed for precision aerobatics, it is still
a great Pattern trainer or super-smooth-flying sport aircraft.
There were many pioneers of early RC Pattern, each with his
own contribution to the hobby, but Ed Kazmirski (often referred
to as “Kaz”) was easily the most famous. He emerged on the
national scene just as Pattern competition was starting to hit its
stride. Before long, everyone at the field seemed to be flying a
trainer, a Cub, or a Taurus.
Even as a newcomer to competition, his ability to master reed
radios allowed him to claim his first victory at the prestigious
Detroit Invitational the first time he entered. Kaz quickly
established himself as the man to beat among the leading pilots of
the day. Not only a superb competitor, he was also an influential
leader, a trendsetter, and a self-taught designer.
From Kaz’s personal collection is a candid of him during the
time he was an award-winning photographer and traveled
around the world.
50 MODEL AVIATION
the concept of smooth flying, higher
drag, and slower, more constant speed.
The flight characteristics resulted from
an attempt to build as light of a model
as possible that employed a relatively
thick airfoil, short nose, and long tail
moment. These design features
became the benchmark for all Taurus
models.
From all of the evidence we have
obtained while studying the evolution
of the several Taurus variants, it
appears that Kaz never drew formal
plans for his designs. The earliest
plans we have were for the second
prototype; Frank Myers drew it, and it
was labeled the “Prototype Contest
Model.”
That version was dated December 6,
1961, and it was drawn after the fact
from the completed model. The plans
provide a first-flight date of
Thanksgiving 1961. This model sports
a pilot figure named “F.U. Kilroy” (who
greatly resembles Kaz), smoking a
cigar.
Dennis Hunt, who is originally from
what is now the African nation of
Zimbabwe, coordinated Kaz’s first
overseas tour in April 1962 to promote
RC in general and precision aerobatics
in particular. Dennis later relocated to
the US and is currently a leader in the
Senior Pattern Association (SPA).
With his South African accent, softspoken
Dennis recalls that as part of
the tour arrangements, he built a
duplicate of Kaz’s Taurus in case he
was unable to transport his airplanes
to Southern Africa. (This was before
the Top Flite kit or even the prototype
plans.)
As described in the Model Airplane
News article, “Our Mr. K. Goes to
Africa,” Kaz sent Dennis letters and
audiotapes describing the details of his
new prototype. Some of the sketches
were drawn on “crude brown paper.” In
the end, Kaz was able to ship his own
aircraft for the three-week tour.
Two months after returning home,
Kaz flew his Taurus to a Nats win and
plans were made for a second kit.
During the summer of 1962, his
friends and fellow competitors flew
many Taurus prototypes. That gave the
new design an impressive contest
record before it was even released.
That was a great marketing
technique, but the Taurus legend was
firmly established for another reason.
The fresh, new design had to be a
superior aircraft that could outfly the
competition, which it convincingly did.
The Taurus was not a single model,
but more of an evolution spanning
several years. It began with that first
Orion hybrid and changed with each
successive version. It is now clear that
Kaz never built two identical models,
but continued to experiment as the
design evolved.
He experimented with two airfoils
and changed the wing shape and
position, stabilizer thickness, and tailmoment
length. However, all versions
adhered to the same successful
formula. The second-generation
Taurus, which was flown during the
1964 season, employed a tapered LE
and straight TE, which are found on
most subsequent Pattern airplanes.
Kaz borrowed a new airfoil from
Fritz Bosch: a German pilot he met at
the 1963 World Championships. The
Bosch airfoil was symmetrical and had
a sharper LE for a better spin, yet it
retained its thickness for the increased
drag that Kaz wanted.
A new feature was a large, thicksectioned
horizontal stabilizer, again to
presumably increase drag. The
fuselage was also sleeker in
appearance and had the longest tail
moment of the series.
Magazine clips and photos featuring
Kaz and his projects continued to
surface on the RCU thread, revealing
previously unknown-about models. We
were surprised to learn that several
Taurus variants were built during a
relatively short span of years; even the
jetlike pusher Taurus was built for the
1964 Toledo model show.
The biggest surprise to the
aeromodeling world was in 1965, when
Kaz turned in a new direction again, with
an ambitious project based on the
Taurus: a large-scale, 102-inch-wingspan
model that was designed to fly better
and smoother than the conventional-size
Pattern aircraft of the time.
By May of that year, Kaz unveiled
what proved to be an exciting but
troubled airplane that was decades
ahead of the large-scale and 2-meter
aerobatic aircraft that are common
today. The “Simla,” named after a town
in the Himalaya mountains, served as an
experimental design.
When Ed “Kaz” Kazmirski of
Chicago, Illinois, emerged on the
national scene, it was obvious that he
had an extraordinary talent for flying
with “reed” radio equipment. He also
had a drive for excellence and a
natural gift for experimentation.
Following is a description of Kaz
from an issue of Grid Leaks (an
aeromodeling magazine of the time).
“He’s a guy who ponders, who
does not accept the satisfactory as
the ultimate, who visits airports to
study real-crate details, or consults
with full-scale authorities who have
broken ground in fresh areas … ”
Other descriptions of him were
similar. Kaz seemed to always be
looking for a better design, by means
of research and intuition. He flew RC
in an age before computer-assisted
design, when designing Pattern
aircraft was as much trial and error
as it was engineering.
From the beginning Kaz chose not
to compete with a stock-built
airplane. The earliest information we
have reports his competing in 1959
with a “modified” Astro-Hog (a
leading design of the time). He was
in his late 30s, as were most of the
pioneers of Pattern.
Early success led Kaz to create his
first original design, the Orion, for the
following season. He proved the
effectiveness of his earliest
modifications and made his Orion
famous by consistently winning
contests with it, including the 1960
World Championships, held that year
in Switzerland. Top Flite kitted the
design shortly thereafter.
Almost immediately after his win
at the World Championships, Kaz
started work on a radically different
Pattern concept he called the
“Taurus.” During what became a fouryear
development period, he
produced at least two prototypes of
which we are aware.
The first was derived from the
Orion, but it wouldn’t have been
recognizable to us today as a Taurus.
The long nose moment and stubby
tail proved to be a disappointment,
as Ed said in an interview.
Learning from that effort, Kaz
developed the second prototype on
Kazmirski: The Innovator
August 2010 51
It had adjustable wing positions
(shoulder, mid, and low), adjustable
dihedral and incidence, and, most
innovative of all, plug-in wings, which
was unheard of in the mid-1960s. As
did all of Kaz’s designs, this model
drew a crowd wherever it went.
I interviewed Kaz by phone about
the Simla (read about it in the
October 2007 MA’s “In the Air”)
shortly before his death in 2007. It
had generated a great deal of
renewed interest when its picture
was published in the July MA.
Kaz told me that before the first
flight, a photographic floodlight fell
on the Simla during a professional
photo shoot. According to him, the
light landed “right on the CG … ”
Flight performance suffered from
the extra 12 ounces of weight added
during repairs on this airplane (with a
.60 two-stroke engine), which was
already much larger and heavier than
other models of the time. Still, the
Simla flew well in several contests and
underwent two modifications in an
effort to improve performance before
competing in the 1965 Nats.
Unfortunately the Simla’s life was
short. It mysteriously disappeared
from its storage place in the
crawlspace of Kaz’s home and was
permanently lost. It was a difficult
loss for him and, as with all of his
designs, there were no plans.
This incident might have hastened
Kaz’s early departure from RC. You
could hear the sense of loss in his
voice while telling the Simla’s story
after all those years, but he was
gratified to learn of the modeling
public’s renewed interest in his last
design.
The story isn’t over, though. After
Kaz’s passing, previously unknownabout
photographs of the Simla were
found in his estate, making it
possible, for the first time, to
reconstruct his final creation.
There is now a Simla re-creation
project underway; I’m sure Kaz would
have loved to see it fly again.
The Taurus legend lives on as
people rediscover its gentle but
distinctively Pattern flight
characteristics. The VR/CS has
named it its “theme model” for
2010. MA
—Duane Wilson
Kaz with his 150%-scaled-up and refined Taurus: the Simla. Many of its innovations
were unheard of at the time, such as plug-in wings and adjustable stabilizer. This part
of the story isn’t finished; stay tuned for more in a future issue of MA.
National Model Aviation Museum Director Michael Smith (L), Registrar Maria
VanVreede, and VR/CS President Bob Noll give the Taurus the “white glove”
treatment during its transfer. Wilson photo.
primarily the need to spend more time tending to the family business. However, there
might have been other factors, including the rise of (then-new and easier to fly) proportional
radios and the tremendous influx of competitive pilots as Pattern competition quickly grew
in popularity.
After leaving RC, Kaz turned his talents to other interests including photography, in
which he created a nationally recognized name for himself. He had published many awardwinning
photos in travel publications such as National Geographic Travel.
Although Kaz left RC behind, he had made a permanent mark on RC and Pattern
competition as a man ahead of his time. He has many innovations to his credit, shaping the
sport for years to come.
52 MODEL AVIATION
plus hits, the Ed Kazmirski’s Taurus thread
on RCU’s Classic RC Pattern Flying
forum is long to wade through, but there is
a reward in the form of much solid
historical documentation among all the
opinions and theories.
When exploring the Taurus’s evolution,
we developed a sense of what Kaz was
trying to achieve and how this special
airplane influenced aircraft design for years.
We think we have a good timeline for
many of the highlights of Kaz’s career, but
several questions remain unanswered.
What about a nearly finished variant that
was discovered and preserved with the
other two models for more than 40 years?
When was it built?
What happened to the pusher Taurus
and other prototypes? Was Kaz truly
satisfied with the final Taurus 2? If not,
what would he have changed? I hope we
can continue to learn, from new sources,
about what is arguably the most famous
RC model.
For those who want to fly something
different while flying a piece of history, Jeff
Petroski of Home and Hobby Solutions (see
“Sources” for contact information) has a
reasonable laser-cut kit of the Taurus. He
has kits for Kaz’s Orion, Taurus 2, and
large-scale Simla designs in the works.
I believe that many answers are still out
there and hope that aeromodelers who
knew and flew with Kaz can add to, or
correct, the reconstructed history we have
to help us complete the story. MA
Duane Wilson
[email protected]
Sources:
Kazmirski RCU thread:
www.rcuniverse.com/forum/forumid_379/tt
.htm
Home and Hobby Solutions, Inc
2076 Mountain Laurel Rd.
Lancaster SC 29720
www.homeandhobbysolutions.net
Vintage Radio Control Society
(607) 754-5279 (President Bob Noll)
www.vintagercsociety.org
Similar to a national founding father,
Kaz hasn’t been forgotten. He later said that
the 11 years spent in RC were the best of his
life.
The Taurus Puzzle: Few people knew what
had become of Kaz’s models, or if they even
existed decades later. But speculation ended
with that one-sentence announcement on
RCU’s Classic RC Pattern Flying forum in
June 2008.
Those of us who were interested in the
designer and his airplanes were amazed to
see the pictures of his two remaining
personal Tauruses that were offered by
Chuck Noble, who was the owner of the
auction house that handled Kaz’s estate.
The aircraft had not only survived, but
they had been carefully preserved in the
travel crate that was built for his first
overseas trip 47 years earlier. The models
were in surprisingly good condition,
considering their age and their extensive
flight histories, and required only minimal
restoration and cleanup. The painted finishes
looked better than those on most of the
models you typically see today at the flying
field.
In time, Chuck released new information
about, photos of, and details of the aircraft.
What at first was an object of curiosity
quickly turned into an international
investigation. Taurus fans, like “aircraft
archeologists,” went through their RC
magazine archives, contributing rare photos,
specifications, and data as Kaz’s RC career
was put under the microscope.
The story was much more complicated
(and interesting), than we had imagined. A
nucleus of five of us from diverse locations
worldwide (including Germany,
Netherlands, Ireland, and New Zealand)
contributed hard facts and ideas, as well as
lots of speculation and educated guesses.
These discussions were, at times,
“frank” (as they say in diplomatic circles);
however, we had the common goal of
wanting to find the true history of the
Taurus along with the proper sequence of
events that led to each of Kaz’s designs.
The first Taurus auctioned (which
started the forum thread) was the most
famous of Kaz’s two models and the
inspiration for the Top Flite kit released in
1963. The Vintage Radio Control Society
(VR/CS) purchased the aircraft for
donation to the AMA museum in Muncie,
Indiana.
A fellow VR/CS member and I
purchased the second of Ed’s Tauruses
(which I had seen him fly as a young teen).
The Taurus 2, as it is now known, has since
been restored to its original flying
condition and has been flown a handful of
times at special events.
In spite of the risks of flying it, we think
that at least one of Kaz’s airplanes deserves
to test its wings and take to the air once
more as a living memorial to him. It still
flies beautifully.
Legendary models are great for a reason:
they have withstood the test of time. After
nearly 50 years, the Taurus’s excellent
flying characteristics continue to make it a
favorite.
Even during the period when the Taurus
was the world’s premier Pattern aircraft,
Kaz noted that it was so stable he had to
develop a special kickup elevator with the
reed radio to get it to spin. With its
moderate and consistent airspeed
throughout maneuvers, the Taurus remains
so easy to fly that the average aerobatic
pilot can concentrate on performing
maneuvers—not on fighting the model
through them.
At well more than 80 pages and 80,000-

46 MODEL AVIATION
Kaz !
Above: Ed “Kaz” Kazmirski’s most famous pose was for
the cover of the January 1963 Model Airplane News,
which contained an excellent construction article.
Right: A young Kaz shows his first original design: the
Orion. He won the 1960 FAI World Championships
with it.
IT STARTED AS a simple
announcement on an RC Universe
(RCU) forum that a model was being
auctioned. But it wasn’t just any
airplane; it was arguably the most
famous sport and RC Aerobatics (Pattern)
aircraft designed in the more than 50
years of RC history: Ed Kazmirski’s
legendary Taurus.
More than a year later, modelers
around the world are still talking about
the Taurus and his other designs. If you
have never heard of him, the Taurus, or
his other creations, read on; you might
want to fly them someday soon.
by Duane Wilson
August 2010 47
Top left: Kaz wows Chicago Cubs fans with an RC
(ground only) demonstration of his Orion between
baseball games. The exhibition was covered in the
January 1963 Model Airplane News.
Top right: Kaz is shown in a British publication with
his second-generation Taurus, sporting its second
wing with Fritz Bosch airfoil. He flew this model
during the 1964 season.
Right: A full-page ad for the “new” Top Flite Taurus kit
includes the impressive list of its wins before it was
released. Notice the price! Published in the January 1963
Model Airplane News.
Above: This concept Taurus pusher shows Kaz’s
innovative “out of the box” thinking. Notice the caption.
Printed in a March/April (year unknown) Grid Leaks.
Photos as noted if information was available
One of RC’s greatest stars and the
evolut ion of a classic design
48 MODEL AVIATION
Kaz’s Achievements
• September 1957: Kaz’s first 1st-place finish
• August 1959: Participated in Nats with
modified Astro-Hog
• June 1960: Orion plans published
• July 1960: FAI Championships in Switzerland,
Orion takes win
• November 1960: Orion kit released
• August 1961: Participated in Nats with
modified Orion
• November 1961: First flight of “contest
prototype” Taurus
• December 1961: First formal Taurus plans
drawn
• April 1962: Kaz’s three-week tour of Africa
• August 1962: Taurus wins at Nats
• October 1962: Taurus plans published in Radio
Control Models and Electronics magazine
• December 1962: Top Flite releases Taurus kit
• January 1963: Taurus plans/article published
in Model Airplane News magazine
• August 1963: Kaz’s USS Lexington carrier
demonstration
• August 1963: Taurus takes 3rd at FAI
Championships in Belgium
• Early 1964: R/C Expert article about Japanese
tour with Taurus 2
• March-April 1964: Grid Leaks publishes
article about the Kazmirski pusher
• April 1964: Tauri (high-wing trainer) plans
published
• August 1964: Kaz participates in Nats with
Taurus 2
• May 1965: Simla debuts
• August 1965: Radio Control Modeler ad
shows Simla
• August 1965: Kaz participates in Nats with
Simla
• Kaz is captain of 1965 US team at FAI World
Championships
—Duane Wilson
The Taurus is perhaps the first modern Pattern airplane. It was
originally designed to fly on a .45 two-stroke engine and old
toggle-switch reed radio system of the early 1960s. Many of
today’s aeromodelers who have piloted it say that the Taurus flies
even better with today’s proportional radios and a .45- to .61-size
two-stroke or equivalent four-stroke engine.
The Taurus also makes a great electric-powered model. With a
70-inch wingspan, and designed for precision aerobatics, it is still
a great Pattern trainer or super-smooth-flying sport aircraft.
There were many pioneers of early RC Pattern, each with his
own contribution to the hobby, but Ed Kazmirski (often referred
to as “Kaz”) was easily the most famous. He emerged on the
national scene just as Pattern competition was starting to hit its
stride. Before long, everyone at the field seemed to be flying a
trainer, a Cub, or a Taurus.
Even as a newcomer to competition, his ability to master reed
radios allowed him to claim his first victory at the prestigious
Detroit Invitational the first time he entered. Kaz quickly
established himself as the man to beat among the leading pilots of
the day. Not only a superb competitor, he was also an influential
leader, a trendsetter, and a self-taught designer.
From Kaz’s personal collection is a candid of him during the
time he was an award-winning photographer and traveled
around the world.
48 MODEL AVIATION
Kaz’s Achievements
• September 1957: Kaz’s first 1st-place finish
• August 1959: Participated in Nats with
modified Astro-Hog
• June 1960: Orion plans published
• July 1960: FAI Championships in Switzerland,
Orion takes win
• November 1960: Orion kit released
• August 1961: Participated in Nats with
modified Orion
• November 1961: First flight of “contest
prototype” Taurus
• December 1961: First formal Taurus plans
drawn
• April 1962: Kaz’s three-week tour of Africa
• August 1962: Taurus wins at Nats
• October 1962: Taurus plans published in Radio
Control Models and Electronics magazine
• December 1962: Top Flite releases Taurus kit
• January 1963: Taurus plans/article published
in Model Airplane News magazine
• August 1963: Kaz’s USS Lexington carrier
demonstration
• August 1963: Taurus takes 3rd at FAI
Championships in Belgium
• Early 1964: R/C Expert article about Japanese
tour with Taurus 2
• March-April 1964: Grid Leaks publishes
article about the Kazmirski pusher
• April 1964: Tauri (high-wing trainer) plans
published
• August 1964: Kaz participates in Nats with
Taurus 2
• May 1965: Simla debuts
• August 1965: Radio Control Modeler ad
shows Simla
• August 1965: Kaz participates in Nats with
Simla
• Kaz is captain of 1965 US team at FAI World
Championships
—Duane Wilson
The Taurus is perhaps the first modern Pattern airplane. It was
originally designed to fly on a .45 two-stroke engine and old
toggle-switch reed radio system of the early 1960s. Many of
today’s aeromodelers who have piloted it say that the Taurus flies
even better with today’s proportional radios and a .45- to .61-size
two-stroke or equivalent four-stroke engine.
The Taurus also makes a great electric-powered model. With a
70-inch wingspan, and designed for precision aerobatics, it is still
a great Pattern trainer or super-smooth-flying sport aircraft.
There were many pioneers of early RC Pattern, each with his
own contribution to the hobby, but Ed Kazmirski (often referred
to as “Kaz”) was easily the most famous. He emerged on the
national scene just as Pattern competition was starting to hit its
stride. Before long, everyone at the field seemed to be flying a
trainer, a Cub, or a Taurus.
Even as a newcomer to competition, his ability to master reed
radios allowed him to claim his first victory at the prestigious
Detroit Invitational the first time he entered. Kaz quickly
established himself as the man to beat among the leading pilots of
the day. Not only a superb competitor, he was also an influential
leader, a trendsetter, and a self-taught designer.
From Kaz’s personal collection is a candid of him during the
time he was an award-winning photographer and traveled
around the world.
50 MODEL AVIATION
the concept of smooth flying, higher
drag, and slower, more constant speed.
The flight characteristics resulted from
an attempt to build as light of a model
as possible that employed a relatively
thick airfoil, short nose, and long tail
moment. These design features
became the benchmark for all Taurus
models.
From all of the evidence we have
obtained while studying the evolution
of the several Taurus variants, it
appears that Kaz never drew formal
plans for his designs. The earliest
plans we have were for the second
prototype; Frank Myers drew it, and it
was labeled the “Prototype Contest
Model.”
That version was dated December 6,
1961, and it was drawn after the fact
from the completed model. The plans
provide a first-flight date of
Thanksgiving 1961. This model sports
a pilot figure named “F.U. Kilroy” (who
greatly resembles Kaz), smoking a
cigar.
Dennis Hunt, who is originally from
what is now the African nation of
Zimbabwe, coordinated Kaz’s first
overseas tour in April 1962 to promote
RC in general and precision aerobatics
in particular. Dennis later relocated to
the US and is currently a leader in the
Senior Pattern Association (SPA).
With his South African accent, softspoken
Dennis recalls that as part of
the tour arrangements, he built a
duplicate of Kaz’s Taurus in case he
was unable to transport his airplanes
to Southern Africa. (This was before
the Top Flite kit or even the prototype
plans.)
As described in the Model Airplane
News article, “Our Mr. K. Goes to
Africa,” Kaz sent Dennis letters and
audiotapes describing the details of his
new prototype. Some of the sketches
were drawn on “crude brown paper.” In
the end, Kaz was able to ship his own
aircraft for the three-week tour.
Two months after returning home,
Kaz flew his Taurus to a Nats win and
plans were made for a second kit.
During the summer of 1962, his
friends and fellow competitors flew
many Taurus prototypes. That gave the
new design an impressive contest
record before it was even released.
That was a great marketing
technique, but the Taurus legend was
firmly established for another reason.
The fresh, new design had to be a
superior aircraft that could outfly the
competition, which it convincingly did.
The Taurus was not a single model,
but more of an evolution spanning
several years. It began with that first
Orion hybrid and changed with each
successive version. It is now clear that
Kaz never built two identical models,
but continued to experiment as the
design evolved.
He experimented with two airfoils
and changed the wing shape and
position, stabilizer thickness, and tailmoment
length. However, all versions
adhered to the same successful
formula. The second-generation
Taurus, which was flown during the
1964 season, employed a tapered LE
and straight TE, which are found on
most subsequent Pattern airplanes.
Kaz borrowed a new airfoil from
Fritz Bosch: a German pilot he met at
the 1963 World Championships. The
Bosch airfoil was symmetrical and had
a sharper LE for a better spin, yet it
retained its thickness for the increased
drag that Kaz wanted.
A new feature was a large, thicksectioned
horizontal stabilizer, again to
presumably increase drag. The
fuselage was also sleeker in
appearance and had the longest tail
moment of the series.
Magazine clips and photos featuring
Kaz and his projects continued to
surface on the RCU thread, revealing
previously unknown-about models. We
were surprised to learn that several
Taurus variants were built during a
relatively short span of years; even the
jetlike pusher Taurus was built for the
1964 Toledo model show.
The biggest surprise to the
aeromodeling world was in 1965, when
Kaz turned in a new direction again, with
an ambitious project based on the
Taurus: a large-scale, 102-inch-wingspan
model that was designed to fly better
and smoother than the conventional-size
Pattern aircraft of the time.
By May of that year, Kaz unveiled
what proved to be an exciting but
troubled airplane that was decades
ahead of the large-scale and 2-meter
aerobatic aircraft that are common
today. The “Simla,” named after a town
in the Himalaya mountains, served as an
experimental design.
When Ed “Kaz” Kazmirski of
Chicago, Illinois, emerged on the
national scene, it was obvious that he
had an extraordinary talent for flying
with “reed” radio equipment. He also
had a drive for excellence and a
natural gift for experimentation.
Following is a description of Kaz
from an issue of Grid Leaks (an
aeromodeling magazine of the time).
“He’s a guy who ponders, who
does not accept the satisfactory as
the ultimate, who visits airports to
study real-crate details, or consults
with full-scale authorities who have
broken ground in fresh areas … ”
Other descriptions of him were
similar. Kaz seemed to always be
looking for a better design, by means
of research and intuition. He flew RC
in an age before computer-assisted
design, when designing Pattern
aircraft was as much trial and error
as it was engineering.
From the beginning Kaz chose not
to compete with a stock-built
airplane. The earliest information we
have reports his competing in 1959
with a “modified” Astro-Hog (a
leading design of the time). He was
in his late 30s, as were most of the
pioneers of Pattern.
Early success led Kaz to create his
first original design, the Orion, for the
following season. He proved the
effectiveness of his earliest
modifications and made his Orion
famous by consistently winning
contests with it, including the 1960
World Championships, held that year
in Switzerland. Top Flite kitted the
design shortly thereafter.
Almost immediately after his win
at the World Championships, Kaz
started work on a radically different
Pattern concept he called the
“Taurus.” During what became a fouryear
development period, he
produced at least two prototypes of
which we are aware.
The first was derived from the
Orion, but it wouldn’t have been
recognizable to us today as a Taurus.
The long nose moment and stubby
tail proved to be a disappointment,
as Ed said in an interview.
Learning from that effort, Kaz
developed the second prototype on
Kazmirski: The Innovator
August 2010 51
It had adjustable wing positions
(shoulder, mid, and low), adjustable
dihedral and incidence, and, most
innovative of all, plug-in wings, which
was unheard of in the mid-1960s. As
did all of Kaz’s designs, this model
drew a crowd wherever it went.
I interviewed Kaz by phone about
the Simla (read about it in the
October 2007 MA’s “In the Air”)
shortly before his death in 2007. It
had generated a great deal of
renewed interest when its picture
was published in the July MA.
Kaz told me that before the first
flight, a photographic floodlight fell
on the Simla during a professional
photo shoot. According to him, the
light landed “right on the CG … ”
Flight performance suffered from
the extra 12 ounces of weight added
during repairs on this airplane (with a
.60 two-stroke engine), which was
already much larger and heavier than
other models of the time. Still, the
Simla flew well in several contests and
underwent two modifications in an
effort to improve performance before
competing in the 1965 Nats.
Unfortunately the Simla’s life was
short. It mysteriously disappeared
from its storage place in the
crawlspace of Kaz’s home and was
permanently lost. It was a difficult
loss for him and, as with all of his
designs, there were no plans.
This incident might have hastened
Kaz’s early departure from RC. You
could hear the sense of loss in his
voice while telling the Simla’s story
after all those years, but he was
gratified to learn of the modeling
public’s renewed interest in his last
design.
The story isn’t over, though. After
Kaz’s passing, previously unknownabout
photographs of the Simla were
found in his estate, making it
possible, for the first time, to
reconstruct his final creation.
There is now a Simla re-creation
project underway; I’m sure Kaz would
have loved to see it fly again.
The Taurus legend lives on as
people rediscover its gentle but
distinctively Pattern flight
characteristics. The VR/CS has
named it its “theme model” for
2010. MA
—Duane Wilson
Kaz with his 150%-scaled-up and refined Taurus: the Simla. Many of its innovations
were unheard of at the time, such as plug-in wings and adjustable stabilizer. This part
of the story isn’t finished; stay tuned for more in a future issue of MA.
National Model Aviation Museum Director Michael Smith (L), Registrar Maria
VanVreede, and VR/CS President Bob Noll give the Taurus the “white glove”
treatment during its transfer. Wilson photo.
primarily the need to spend more time tending to the family business. However, there
might have been other factors, including the rise of (then-new and easier to fly) proportional
radios and the tremendous influx of competitive pilots as Pattern competition quickly grew
in popularity.
After leaving RC, Kaz turned his talents to other interests including photography, in
which he created a nationally recognized name for himself. He had published many awardwinning
photos in travel publications such as National Geographic Travel.
Although Kaz left RC behind, he had made a permanent mark on RC and Pattern
competition as a man ahead of his time. He has many innovations to his credit, shaping the
sport for years to come.
52 MODEL AVIATION
plus hits, the Ed Kazmirski’s Taurus thread
on RCU’s Classic RC Pattern Flying
forum is long to wade through, but there is
a reward in the form of much solid
historical documentation among all the
opinions and theories.
When exploring the Taurus’s evolution,
we developed a sense of what Kaz was
trying to achieve and how this special
airplane influenced aircraft design for years.
We think we have a good timeline for
many of the highlights of Kaz’s career, but
several questions remain unanswered.
What about a nearly finished variant that
was discovered and preserved with the
other two models for more than 40 years?
When was it built?
What happened to the pusher Taurus
and other prototypes? Was Kaz truly
satisfied with the final Taurus 2? If not,
what would he have changed? I hope we
can continue to learn, from new sources,
about what is arguably the most famous
RC model.
For those who want to fly something
different while flying a piece of history, Jeff
Petroski of Home and Hobby Solutions (see
“Sources” for contact information) has a
reasonable laser-cut kit of the Taurus. He
has kits for Kaz’s Orion, Taurus 2, and
large-scale Simla designs in the works.
I believe that many answers are still out
there and hope that aeromodelers who
knew and flew with Kaz can add to, or
correct, the reconstructed history we have
to help us complete the story. MA
Duane Wilson
[email protected]
Sources:
Kazmirski RCU thread:
www.rcuniverse.com/forum/forumid_379/tt
.htm
Home and Hobby Solutions, Inc
2076 Mountain Laurel Rd.
Lancaster SC 29720
www.homeandhobbysolutions.net
Vintage Radio Control Society
(607) 754-5279 (President Bob Noll)
www.vintagercsociety.org
Similar to a national founding father,
Kaz hasn’t been forgotten. He later said that
the 11 years spent in RC were the best of his
life.
The Taurus Puzzle: Few people knew what
had become of Kaz’s models, or if they even
existed decades later. But speculation ended
with that one-sentence announcement on
RCU’s Classic RC Pattern Flying forum in
June 2008.
Those of us who were interested in the
designer and his airplanes were amazed to
see the pictures of his two remaining
personal Tauruses that were offered by
Chuck Noble, who was the owner of the
auction house that handled Kaz’s estate.
The aircraft had not only survived, but
they had been carefully preserved in the
travel crate that was built for his first
overseas trip 47 years earlier. The models
were in surprisingly good condition,
considering their age and their extensive
flight histories, and required only minimal
restoration and cleanup. The painted finishes
looked better than those on most of the
models you typically see today at the flying
field.
In time, Chuck released new information
about, photos of, and details of the aircraft.
What at first was an object of curiosity
quickly turned into an international
investigation. Taurus fans, like “aircraft
archeologists,” went through their RC
magazine archives, contributing rare photos,
specifications, and data as Kaz’s RC career
was put under the microscope.
The story was much more complicated
(and interesting), than we had imagined. A
nucleus of five of us from diverse locations
worldwide (including Germany,
Netherlands, Ireland, and New Zealand)
contributed hard facts and ideas, as well as
lots of speculation and educated guesses.
These discussions were, at times,
“frank” (as they say in diplomatic circles);
however, we had the common goal of
wanting to find the true history of the
Taurus along with the proper sequence of
events that led to each of Kaz’s designs.
The first Taurus auctioned (which
started the forum thread) was the most
famous of Kaz’s two models and the
inspiration for the Top Flite kit released in
1963. The Vintage Radio Control Society
(VR/CS) purchased the aircraft for
donation to the AMA museum in Muncie,
Indiana.
A fellow VR/CS member and I
purchased the second of Ed’s Tauruses
(which I had seen him fly as a young teen).
The Taurus 2, as it is now known, has since
been restored to its original flying
condition and has been flown a handful of
times at special events.
In spite of the risks of flying it, we think
that at least one of Kaz’s airplanes deserves
to test its wings and take to the air once
more as a living memorial to him. It still
flies beautifully.
Legendary models are great for a reason:
they have withstood the test of time. After
nearly 50 years, the Taurus’s excellent
flying characteristics continue to make it a
favorite.
Even during the period when the Taurus
was the world’s premier Pattern aircraft,
Kaz noted that it was so stable he had to
develop a special kickup elevator with the
reed radio to get it to spin. With its
moderate and consistent airspeed
throughout maneuvers, the Taurus remains
so easy to fly that the average aerobatic
pilot can concentrate on performing
maneuvers—not on fighting the model
through them.
At well more than 80 pages and 80,000-