Letters to the Editor - 2003/09

Thanks from Lodge Family
We would like to take this opportunity to
thank you for selecting our grandson John’s
letter for the June issue of Model Aviation.
As a result of his letter, a very kind reader
from CA called and offered John a ready to
fly RC airplane. He even went miles out of
his way to deliver it right to John.
He advised John to find a local RC
flying club and an instructor. John did both.
He attended the May meeting of the Las
Vegas RC Flying Club. The members gave
John a warm welcome. They introduced him
as a celebrity and wanted to hear about his
article and the RC airplane. One of the
members who won a prize in a drawing
gave it to John.
Later that week John went to William
Bennett Field where another member gave
him flying lessons on a buddy box. We’re so
grateful that John was able to connect with
so many caring and generous people.
Once again, thank you from all of John’s
family.
Robert and Shirley Lodge
Las Vegas, Nevada
Cornell Confusion
On page 27 of the June issue of Model
Aviation a Fairchild PT-19 with an enclosed
canopy built by Charlie Baker is shown as a
PT-26. On page 98 of the same issue a similar
canopied Fairchild is shown as a PT-23. Next
to that picture is another Fairchild with a
radial engine. This is called a PT-26.
You may have mixed up the captions of
these two pictures as the documents that I
have indicate that the canopied Fairchild on
page 27 is indeed a PT-26.
I don’t know if the Fairchild with the
radial engine was a PT-23, but it is interesting
to note that the prototype used a Kinner
engine. It was manufactured by Howard
Aircraft, builder of the Howard DGA-15,
owned by Benny Howard, and builder of
several winning racing airplanes, including
the “Mr. Mulligan.”
The factory where these trainers were built
was in Saint Charles, Illinois, across the road
on the east side of the DuPage County
Airport. The building was owned by other
businesses since World War II and about 12
or 15 years ago it burned to the ground.
Another bit of interesting history gone.
George McAleer
Ivins, Utah
Impressed With FTGU
I just received your July issue and was
very impressed with Bob Aberle’s latest
“From the Ground Up” column. They just
keep getting better and better.
“From the Ground Up” is a well written
primer with excellent insights and solutions
for the RC airplane modeling novice. It
provides sentence after sentence of practical
advice and great tips and suggestions from
someone who obviously has mastered his art.
The columns have been included in our
club library as an excellent resource for the
novice pilot or for anyone who wants to brush
up on their modeling skills.
Charles R. Varvaro
Ontario, California
Feels Deceived
I am a long time airplane modeler, almost
30 years, and while I do fly airplanes (not
very good) my passion is building. I grew up
in NJ and lived there for 62 years. When I got
into the sport in 1975 I joined a club and we
went to all the shows.
The big one back east was the WRAM
Show held in Westchester, New York, usually
at the Westchester Civic Center but
sometimes it was at Yonkers Raceway. These
shows were a joy to go to. It was all about
airplanes and most all the vendors were there
to display their wares and introduce new
items.
In 1993 I moved to California and because
of all that was going on with my family at that
time I stopped building, and for about 10
years I did nothing with airplanes but I am
now back in the sport full time and enjoying it
very much.
And now for the reason I am writing to
you. I read most of the publication and came
across the advertisement about the RCX
show. The ad talked about airplanes and race
cars. I looked forward to it with much
anticipation.
Much to my disappointment, it was 80%
race cars and 20% airplanes. I feel that I was
deceived. On the Web site vendors were listed
but vendors while making product for both
sports featured race car items.
It is my opinion that if a show features
both sports at the same show it should be
made abundantly clear what vendors will be
displaying airplane items and which vendors
will feature race car items. This way attendees
can intelligently decide whether it is
worthwhile for them to attend.
I might add that the people I spoke to
about this show were also disappointed and
stated that they would not attend next year’s
show.
This is a hobby, and most people are
passionate about their hobby, particularly
builders like myself. I think this type of
behavior degrades the sport. There is plenty of
room for both sports even at the same arena,
but it should be executed properly.
Robert Stantley
Laguna Niguel, California
One That Got Away
I have been involved in this great hobby
of ours for the majority of my life. Starting
with those simple gliders with the solid
body and slip-in sheet wing to my ten
functional (not crashed) radio control
aircraft.
But between the gliders and RC aircraft,
there were my Free Flight aircraft. Watching
my progress in building these airplanes was
like Homer in October Sky. My initial
airplanes did not fly at all. The next ones
flew, but never did what they were supposed
to do.
I was becoming fed up with my lack of
success and was close to giving up Free
Flight when I saw the Easy-Built Models
Wakefield model. This was the largest
Free Flight kit I had ever seen and at $20, I
bought it. Like many fifteen year olds, I
spent every minute of my time building the
airplane and finished it in about twenty
hours. I modified the kit in many ways
such as lightening the ribs and replacing
the diagonal braces with string. The
resulting airplane was both strong and
light.
The initial flights were great especially
for someone who never had an airplane fly
for more than ten seconds. The airplane
maintained a 45 degree climb angle and
leveled off after a few seconds. It made
about three flights with durations longer
than two minutes. Then I added what I
should not have, one hundred feet of Sig’s
1⁄4 inch rubber band.
I flew my airplane on its “great flight” in
a field about one mile inland from Lake
Michigan. The weather was calm and the
sun had been up for about an hour. To wind
the rubber band took about ten minutes.
With one hand holding the fuselage and
the other on the propeller, I thrust it
forward. The airplane instantly pointed its
nose straight into the sky and shot upwards
like a rocket. The airplane was under power
for more than a minute. At the apex of its
flight, it was merely a small dot in the sky in
a slow turning descent. I watched it fly for
about five minutes until the worst of my
fears became a reality.
Facing east, I felt a slight breeze on the
back of my neck. I chased after my airplane
till I could walk no farther. If I wanted to get
my airplane, I would need to swim. I
watched my airplane as it drifted east and
lost sight of it before it hit the water.
For some strange reason, I think this is
going to be one of those “the ones that got
away” stories I’ll be saying some day down
the road. Unfortunately, that means some
people might not believe me. MA
Allan Froehlich
Cedarburg, Wisconsin
Model Aviation, 5161 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302
Letters to the Editor
September 2003 9