January 2001 9
5151 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302
Letters to the Editor
Up-trim
It is always a delight to read Ed Henry’s
“Microhenrys” cartoons in each new issue
of Model Aviation.
In my favorite cartoon the little guy
flying his plane is asked, “ … why do you
fly with so much up-trim?” And he replies,
“I feel better when it’s climbing.” So that is
why my new license plate says “UPTRIM.”
David Segal
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Female Flier
I read the article about us female fliers
and wish to thank Christine Demmons of
New Hampshire for her article.
I have been flying RC airplanes since 1986.
I fly at Johnson County Park at Tracee Field,
Edinbugh IN (Johnson County RC Flyers). We
have around 80-100 members every year, and
the guys at the field are very special people.
They also think of me as one of the “guys” but
still repsect me for who I am!
I fly a Snoopy®’s Magic Carpet and also
a Flying Lawn Mower, which is a lot of fun
and different to fly. I also fly regular
airplanes.
Flying is a great hobby for boys, girls, men,
and women. I have been treasurer of our club
for 10 years, and I love it. It is a great place to
meet people, and I love teaching people to fly.
Connie S. Moore
Columbus, Indiana
A Big Thanks
I just wanted to take a moment to say
how happy I am to have found the hobby
of model aviation, and to publicly thank all
those who have taken the time over the
past several years to help me get started.
I’d specifically like to thank the members
of the Wyoming Valley RC Flyers and the
guys at the Twin Towers RC club and all
the folks who fly at Moon Lake Park in
Luzerne County PA.
The hobby has truly changed my life and
I thank God for the joy of living a life
embellished with such fantastic,
multifaceted recreation. I have pretty much
gone off on my own now, but want these
guys to know their patience and kindness
was and still is appreciated, and it is my
promise to them and to all in this hobby that
I will encourage and help others who show
an interest to get started on their way.
I am currently mentoring a 15-year-old
boy who fell in love with the idea after
watching me fly, and I count it a privilege.
Thanks again everyone, and God bless.
George Seashock Jr.
Mocanaqua, Pennsylvania
Mentors are Priceless
I have to agree with Tom Sanders [in the
September 2000 “Free Flight Indoor”
column] about how important mentors are to
kids. I am a 16-year-old TSA [Technology
Student Association] member and beginner
modeler. I entered my first plane in
competition in June 2000 at the Atlanta TSA
conference. I made the finals with my plane,
and I must thank all the modelers who
guided me this past year, for my success.
I first contacted Don Ross via the
Internet and then I went to fly with him in
New York. He was a walking aeronautics
encyclopedia and was very eager to help me.
He then told me about ECIM [East Coast
Indoor Modelers], which is only 20 minutes
from my home.
There I met Steve West, Henry Orzech,
Rob Romash, and Joe Krush. All of these
men were full of flying wisdom and advice,
but above all, were very willing to help me.
Joe Krush sent me info in the mail and
didn’t seem at all bothered by my several
phone calls to him for advice.
Making the finals on my first attempt
was a great accomplishment for me, but I
couldn’t have done it had I not been guided
and taught by these great modelers. They
have inspired me not only to continue
modeling, but to help grade-school kids in
my area to begin modeling too!
Thank you to all!
Joe Buffa
Howell, New Jersey
Winners?
I assume the Delta Dart winners [in Stan
Alexander’s October 2000 Top Gun
coverage, on the bottom right of page 19]
are new to the hobby.
They have a lot more to experience
before being forced into an ARF [Almost
Ready-to-Fly].
George Klenkar
Parma, Ohio
Multicylinder Engines
Let me first say that the reporters that
write the articles are very good, and we do
appreciate their efforts.
In the October 2000 issue, there is an
article by John de Vries, “Radio Control
Giants,” that brings up a subject that is
dear to my heart: round multicylinder
engines.
Mr. Tom Pastore says that he has a
hard time keeping all of the cylinders
running in his Stearman’s Seidel fivecylinder
engine, and Mr. de Vries said he
could not help him.
During the many years that I have been a
member of the AMA and receiver of this
publication, I have yet to see an article on
the health, welfare, care, and tips of the
trade for running these wonderful engines.
There are quite a few of this type of
engine around; to name a few, O.S., Royal,
Seidel, Technopower, Saito, and the
unforgettable Morton. There was even a
rotary produced a few years ago.
Surely, there must be an expert or two
out there who could guide the rest of us
through the darkness with some articles on
this subject.
See what can be done!
Jim Pauley
Trexlertown, Pennslyvania
Flying Site Success
(The following is a letter to Joe Beshar,
Flying Site Coordinator Eastern Region.)
With your help, we have accomplished
what I will call a minor miracle. Our club,
the Cloud Climbers of South East Louisiana,
has been granted permission to use a large
sod farm for our Free Flight activities.
As you know, such properties are not
easy to find, and even when you find them,
they are hard to obtain.
This sod farm is quite large, and is
irregularly shaped. I estimate the northsouth
length to be in excess of one and onehalf
miles, and the east-west width in some
areas to be one mile or slightly wider.
The property is crisscrossed with farm
roads, making retrieval fairly easy, and
further, some motorized vehicles have been
approved, such as small motorbikes, fourwheelers,
golf carts, and bicycles.
Joe, your great initial letter set the stage
for us to begin negotiations with the sodfarm
owner; however there were several
other contributors that I would like to
recognize.
Both Andrew Barron and Dorfman
Crawford sent excellent E-mails describing
their experiences in obtaining and using sod
farms for Free Flight activities. Thanks
guys, and if we can be of help to you, please
let us know.
Ilona Maine from AMA Special Services
sent a nice E-mail describing the AMA
insurance package. Thanks, Ilona.
Armed with all this information, I put
together an information packet for the sodfarm
owner that also contained our club
roster, newsletter, and a set of proposed rules.
I was accompanied to the initial meeting by
Ross Jahnke and Jules Damare, who brought
typical airplanes for the owner to see.
Within two weeks of our meeting, we
received permission to use the property.
Jim Bethea
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Continued on page 190
Objects to Swastika Markings
As I understand it, current rules for
judging Scale contests call for substantial
deductions from a model’s score if it does
not have all the significant markings on the
real aircraft. This means that anyone
modeling a 1933-1945 German aircraft must
include the swastika tail markings to have
any chance in a contest.
Since at least some modelers have strong
ethical objections to displaying that symbol, I
firmly believe the rules should be amended to
clearly allow for its omission without penalty.
We should make clear that use of the
swastika is optional, and not mandatory, on
models of Nazi-era German aircraft in all
Scale competitions.
As someone who has clear and sharp
memories of the behavior of Nazi Germany,
being told I have to put a swastika on my
models bothers me. A lot of people,
particularly in Europe, continue to be troubled
by public display of this Nazi symbol.
It is my understanding that such display is
illegal in several nations, and that this can be a
problem for US modelers at international
events. I know that kits from several countries
routinely lack swastika decals. A recent item
in a British publication recommended taking
photos of models from angles that hid the
swastika, if the model had one.
I should emphasize that I realize the
swastika is an extremely old symbol,
sometimes being called a “sun” sign or
“Thor’s spinning hammer.” At least as
far as I know, putting non-Nazi versions
of it on models is no cause for concern.
I see no problem with the Finnish blue
swastika emblem, or the Latvian 1918-1940 red
swastika or its use in various WW I emblems—
including as part of the regalia on the Indian
chief’s head insignia of the Lafayette Escadrille.
The Germans had a number of planes
during that period which make interesting
models. It is just that some of us have moral
concerns about using the Nazi symbol.
I would emphasize that I have absolutely
no problem with any modeler who chooses
to use that symbol. It was, after all, on the
real planes. But personally, I won’t use it.
And contest rules that appear to encourage
or require using it bother me.
Also, it seems to me that it would be nice
if Model Aviation were to add an obituary
column. A lot of the people who made this a
great hobby are passing from the scene, and
it would be nice to have a consistent place in
the magazine to mark their passing.
C. Thomas Van Vechten
Chevy Chase, Maryland
Propeller Safety
I have been involved in flying model
aviation since long before RC [Radio
Control] became practical—I’ve been in RC
since 1950. AMA was struggling for
recognition in the infancy of the hobby. I do
not remember exactly when I joined AMA,
but I believe it was in the mid-1950s at a
contest in Jacksonville, Florida area.
I have been involved in the evolution of
the hobby, and AMA, and I keep reading ad
nauseam about wooden props, so if you don’t
mind, here’s a slightly different viewpoint.
The only props I have been seriously
injured by were wooden props—24 stitches
in my hand, damage to my veins and
shinbone, skin permanently damaged on left
leg, three-inch-long wooden splinter in fatty
tissue under right arm, believed to be caused
by a wooden prop shattering after the tip hit
small pebbles in the starting area.
Glass-filled props will sustain some nicks,
but I have never seen one explode,
disintegrate, or shatter, of course. They will
hurt anyone not careful, just as a wooden prop
will. So will a marshmallow traveling at the
speed of a 12-inch prop tip at 10,000+ rpm.
There have been so many improvements
in model aircraft equipment, all for the
purpose of making flying easier, more
reliable, and—certainly by today’s dollar
compared to yesteryear’s dollar—much
more affordable, including props.
From this old man’s viewpoint “up with
today’s synthetic material props.”
Joe Regan
Aurora, Colorado
Several weeks ago, I was flying with some
club members at a local field in Pennsylvania.
My plane was a Hobbico Hobbistar .60-size
high-wing advanced trainer, the engine was
an MDS .68 with one of the better-known
composite props, 12 x 6 size. I had a threeinch
Goldberg spinner up front.
I started up, set the needle to a slightly rich
setting, took off into a light wind—very nice
day, warm, some clouds, great conditions.
The plane was flying magnificently at
about 3⁄4 throttle, then I heard the all-toofamiliar
high-rpm whine—symptoms of a lost
prop. I was way up and directly over the field.
I shut the engine down immediately, and
spiraled down to a great dead-stick landing.
All the while it was coming down, I was
thinking, “here we go again—time to order a
new prop nut, thrust bearing and washer,
and spinner.”
After walking about 100 yards down
the runway to get the plane, I noticed the
prop nut, washer, and spinner backplate
were still on the engine! Two things were
missing: the prop and spinner cone.
The prop hub split in flight and off it
came, spinner and all. If someone had been
in the arc of the prop while I was setting up
the carburetor, the results would have been
devastating.
William J. O’Neill
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Likes Comics
I think you should put more of the
comics in your magazine.
Andrew Burton
Loganville, Georgia
