Letters to the Editor
Model Aviation, 5161 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302
Wants the Basics
Concerning the leather fillets mentioned in D.B. Mathews’ “Flying for Fun” article in the April 2003 issue, those are a standard supply item for makers of foundry patterns. Most cast-iron items you see started life as wooden patterns.
It’s challenging to make wooden structures in the shape of iron castings, partly because of the need for lots of nice fillets, so that industry has developed practical products. They’re still available, in wax as well as leather (has anybody used the wax ones for models?), from pattern-making supply houses such as Freeman Manufacturing and Supply at (440) 934-1902 and Kindt-Collins at (216) 252-4122. Radii available range from 1/32 inch to 1 inch.
I love the magazine, and think you do a great job with it. Like perhaps quite a portion of your readers I did a lot of modeling as a kid, then none for 30 years, and in the last couple of years I’ve returned to the hobby with enthusiasm. I’ve been building and flying several kinds of models, haven’t chosen one type to specialize in, and don’t know if I will. I’m fascinated by all the possibilities, and enjoy the special interest group articles.
However, I wish there was some way to get acquainted with the basic premise of their models and the tasks described. The stunning variety of model aircraft pursuits makes it impossible even for an old-timer to be up to speed on every kind, and nobody has the time or opportunity to try them all. The articles, and the activities themselves, might attract more interest if an uninitiated reader could tell what was going on. I don’t want a complete beginner’s primer in every update, but a brief description of the kinds of models used, and what they’re trying to achieve, might make the special interest articles more appealing.
Chuck Taylor San Francisco, California
Microhenrys Memories
Guess what? The April and May issues of Model Aviation got mixed up in my stack of mail, so I read the May issue first, in which was the second of Bob Aberle’s excellent introductions to radio control systems. To my great sorrow, I find in the April issue the announcement that there will be no more Microhenrys.
Saying that this strip has been one of Model Aviation’s most popular features is the understatement of the century. As I wrote in an earlier Letter to the Editor (June 10, 1996), “The Microhenrys” was my favorite item in the magazine and the one to which I turned first before looking at anything else.
I also noted in that letter that the title is extremely clever, embodying not only Ed’s name but being in fact the appropriate unit of inductance for the coils used in our RC apparatus. I might add that I wrote to Ed personally in 1998 to congratulate him on the tenth anniversary of this creation and received a nice letter in return.
Finally, in response to a poll Ed sent out asking if people liked his strip, I wrote another Letter to the Editor (February 27, 1999) expressing my enthusiasm and again mentioning that saying I liked it was the understatement of the century.
The passing of “The Microhenrys” is indeed a sad event, and I shall treasure more than ever two clips from the strip that are posted here in my study: the one where Margie’s man proposes to her via a banner towed by his model airplane, and a subsequent one in which the two of them are flying their respective models and he says, “My life was great until you came along—now it’s perfect.”
Dean S. Edmonds Jr. Naples, Florida
Finally Flying RC
As a new member of the AMA I read with interest my first AMA magazine and was impressed with the quality of the articles and the wide range of model interests catered for. Although a new member I am not new to aeromodeling; in fact I have been involved in many ways for some fifty-five years.
I have recently moved to the USA from England where I started modeling at around the age of eleven with a Frog 100 (1 cc or 0.08 cu. in.) diesel engine and a beginner’s control-line model, the Frog Radius.
After leaving school I worked as an apprentice for the de Havilland Aircraft Co. and built full scale instead of models. This was followed by service in the Royal Air Force where yet again I went back to modeling with an O.S. .35 purchased in Germany in 1959.
The modeling bug was put to rest for a long while with the appearance of a wife and then three children but re-emerged around the time my son was eleven in 1975. By this time I was a teacher and ran a model club at the school and introduced my son and a great many other young people to the hobby, and I was still using the O.S. engine bought in Germany and still going strong.
From the very early days when RC flight was in its infancy with single-valve (vacuum) type transmitters and receivers and rubber-drive escapement servos I wanted to progress to this arm of the hobby. I even started to build the radio gear myself but ran out of cash, as a schoolboy’s pocket money did not stretch very far even in those days.
I am now in my sixty-sixth year and have at last gotten around to flying RC. As an introduction to RC I purchased the complete ARF trainer combo from Pacific Aero Models and have been very pleased with the ease of construction and the general clarity of the instructions.
I would agree with your correspondent, Roger Gonzalez (April 2003 “Letters to the Editor”), with regard to the super-large models and the costs involved. Even at my age I would find myself in the same situation that I did as a boy with regard to flying RC; the cost is way beyond my ability to meet, and if building from scratch the space requirements are beyond what an average house could accommodate.
Again I would congratulate you on the quality of the magazine; it caters for all branches of the hobby as well as keeping members up to date with coming events and the center news. I found many of the articles on other branches of the hobby of great interest as I like to be at least cognizant of what is happening in other peoples’ areas of interest.
James Driver Vancouver, Washington
Fuel Bottles
In the May issue of Model Aviation “Letters to the Editor” Kent Eagle mentioned the MSR fuel bottle. MSR stands for Mountain Safety Research. The bottles are for lightweight backpacking stoves.
The bottles come in three sizes: 11 oz., 22 oz., and 32 oz. They have screw tops with an O-ring to match the fuel: gasoline, kerosene, and alcohol. Kerosene is a fractionation cut of liquid off the primary tower when processing crude oil. You have to specify the fuel to be assured the proper O-ring is furnished.
After some ten years away from diesel engines I’m playing around with conversion heads for 0.02, 0.049, and a 0.03 diesel. The 11 oz. bottles I am using are aluminum and fit into a six-pack carrier with a little ice to keep the diesel fuel fresh.
The fuel bottles are manufactured in Canada. They are available through Footsloggers, 139 South Depot Street, Boone, North Carolina 28607, phone (828) 262-5121, ask for Jason Berry.
Mountain Safety Research, PO Box 24547, Seattle WA 98124.
Hope this will help other modelers.
Frederick E. “Gene” Nevin Jacksonville, Illinois
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
