Letters to the Editor
Kadets
5151 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302
Larry Klingberg's article on semiscale Kadets in the May issue of MA was a masterpiece! I have been kit-bashing since my retirement and return to the hobby, but my attempts have been mostly with a customer (homemade) graphics and simple changes in the shape of the flying surfaces. Larry's article brings a whole new level of customization to kit-building.
In Larry's article, he recommends covering with Solartex®. It would be great if you could convince him to write a comprehensive article on how to use this covering material, complete with dos and don'ts, and temperatures, etc. Covering materials, their application and use, are not often covered in any of the magazines with any depth, and I am sure such information would be more than welcomed.
I am a master with sags, bubbles, and wrinkles, whether over open structures or sheeted. Larry is kind enough to be working with me now on my latest Solartex® project.
I enjoy your magazine and often profit and extend my skills with the information provided.
This hobby is wonderful. It's fun being a kid again.
Paul Kulszishi Greenport, New York
Beyond the Call
I would like to tell you about another sportsman who took it past the flying field: my test friend Mark Hunt, who helped me get started with the hobby of flying RC in 1994. He is willing to help anybody in the sport. But he recently took his kindness off the field as well.
Tabitha, my daughter, would often come out to the field and watch us fly. At the age of 15 she became gravely ill. It was determined that she had Battens disease, a fatal disease in all cases. Mark and our employer, Mahlon Dennis of Dennis Tool Co., coordinated a massive fund-raising event to help with medical and impending funeral expenses.
Sadly, Tabitha passed away 10 days before the fund-raising event took place, but by this time enough money was collected to start payment on the funeral.
To me, this was beyond sportsmanship. Special thanks to Mark Hunt and to Mahlon Dennis and his family. I hope this article makes it to the editor, as it demonstrates that our fellow modelers are family. They are willing to give of themselves on and off the field.
In memory of Tabitha Hendrickson, 7/20/84–3/28/2000.
Bert Hendrickson Houston, Texas
Having Fun
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. That is a very true statement indeed. On page 136, Model Aviation June 2000 issue, "Focus on Education" by Michael Smith says it all. Those youngsters, especially the Amish-Mennonites preparing to try out the computer simulators, are sure having some fun.
Keep up the good work, AMA.
Harold R. Parker Evansville, Indiana
Old-Timers
Wanted to let someone there know how much I like the new column, "Old-Timers." I like Mike Keville's approach to the subject. There are still some of us pre-WW II modelers out here, though it seems like every month another of us has gone off on that "great final thermal in the sky" (except, of course, the Control Line people).
Also congratulations on the July cover.
Royce Childress Kent, Washington
John Deyo
I am writing this to acknowledge the life of John Deyo from Grand Ledge, Michigan. Unfortunately the modeling community suffered a great loss with the passing of John on Saturday, April 30; he was 70.
John was a dedicated modeler who was always more than willing to lend a helping hand.
Since its inception, John was a member of the Capital Area Radio Drone Squadron of Lansing MI. John's interest in flying began when he started flying Control Line as a young boy. For many years, John served as a flight instructor for the CARDS. John's greatest attribute was his jovial personality and passion for our hobby.
On Saturday, June 3 the CARDS held a memorial ceremony at our field where his ashes were spread from a full-scale airplane. The club also put a final flight on his favorite airplane, a Sig Senior Kadet that had more than 1,900 flights on it. His contribution to the hobby and the modeling community will be missed, and his memory will be with us and our field forever.
Jason Costello Wichita, Kansas
Letters to the Editor
Thirty-eight Years Later
In 1962 I was in the US Air Force, stationed at Lincoln AFB, Lincoln NE. In July of that year I was participating in the 1962 USAF Worldwide Model Airplane Championships at Lackland AFB TX. The Free Flight events were held at the Castroville Airport, approximately 18 miles west of Lackland AFB.
On the day class 1/2A and Class B were held, I had two flyaways. I lost my 1/2A model first, and later the class B model made a beautiful flight, caught a strong Texas thermal, and kept going up. A model friend and I gave chase in a pickup truck, but gave up when the model disappeared straight up overhead. I commented that it was headed for Medina Lake.
I had lost Free Flight models before, but never two on the same day. I won a place on the USAF model team, and we went on to the National Model Airplane contest in Chicago. Sort of forgot about the missing models.
In 1968 I retired from the USAF and moved with my family to San Antonio, and bought a house about 3 miles from Lackland AFB. On March 30, 2000 I was at the Alamo Radio Control Society model field flying RC model airplanes with a couple of other ARCS members, Roy Stanfield and Ken McCraine. My cell phone rang, I answered, and the person on the phone asked if I was Harold Cannon. He said, "I have a model airplane of yours, and have had it over 20 years." He introduced himself as Sammy Tschirhart Jr., of Sammy's Restaurant in Castroville.
It was the B Free Flight that had flown away 38 years before.
The airplane landed near Rio Medina, and was found almost as soon as it landed. I didn't have my name, address, or phone number on the airplane as I should have, but my Academy of Model Aeronautics license number was on the wing.
Back in July 1962, after we lost sight of the model, it drifted northwest away from the Castroville Airport. Sometime later it landed in the yard of the Hoffman family ranch home about a mile west of Rio Medina, and eight miles northwest of the Castroville Airport. Mrs. Hoffman said her children found the model in the yard.
Not knowing how to locate the owner, they buried the model in the Hoffman's garden, where they kept it until around 1986.
Around this time the Hoffmans learned that Sammy Tschirhart Jr. was interested in model airplanes, and they lent the model to him. He kept the model hanging from the ceiling in his room, but finally stored it away in the attic, where it remained until March. Sammy realized that the AMA 65 on the wing might be a clue to the owner of the long-lost model.
Sammy called AMA and talked to Amanda Cummings, who gave him my name and that I lived in San Antonio. Sammy looked up my name in the phone book and called. He already had the model in his pickup so he drove over to the model field and gave me the airplane. It still looked very much the same as it had when I launched it in July 1962.
Sammy later took me to meet the Hoffmans and to see where the model had landed. Mrs. Hoffman's first words after "hello" were, "why didn't you have your name and address on it?"
A very sharp lady.
Harold Cannon San Antonio, Texas
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
