OLD-TIMERS
Mike Keville, <REDACTED>; E-mail: <REDACTED>
OLD-TIME MODELING celebrates not only the designs of bygone years, but for many it helps foster an illusion of reliving an era when the world was a far better place.
In September that illusion was brutally shattered. The fact is that we live in the here and now, and it's not always pleasant.
On a lighter note, following is an item sent via E-mail from London, England. It was forwarded by someone who would probably prefer to remain anonymous, so I'll just call him, umm, Al Lidberg.
"As we all know, cyanoacrylate is the devil's glue. Its users are doomed to spend all eternity in hell with their fingertips stuck together.
"Regular use of Ambroid, however, will ensure an afterlife in the Great Flying Field in the Sky, where tall grass and thermals abound, rubber never breaks, engines always start the first time, models max on every flight and are retrieved by angels.
"Take your pick."
That is something most of us have known for many years. I figured it was high time it was shared with the general membership.
In the November 2001 column I featured a photo of a 1945 Control Line (CL) design by Earl Cayton. Named the Tethered Trainer, the O&R .29-powered replica was built by Floyd Carter.
Shortly thereafter, I was deluged with letters and E-mail requesting a source for plans. That photo awakened many memories—including those of Earl Cayton. He wrote:
"When I designed [the model] I couldn't have believed that anyone would be building it 60 years later! I built the original early in 1942 when I was 17 years old, to teach myself Control Line flying. Bill Winter liked it and published it in Air Trails.
"Scientific (the former kit company) made it into a kit after WW II but renamed it Cyclone. A friend has a collection of kit boxes, stored in his attic, of all the kits that he has built, including one of these."
You may recall Earl's very stylish CL stunt Sleekster from the August 1955 Flying Models. In another letter he explained:
"I did that article on assignment from Bill Tyler and Don McGarren. They wanted a good-looking Stunter for .25 to .35 engines. Before I could build it in 1955, the U.S. Air Force sent me to check out the then-very-advanced F-100 Super Sabre.
"So that I could meet the publishing deadline I asked good friend Don Bolger, an excellent stunter, to build the model from my plans.
"When I returned, I flew his model and liked it so much that I built an enlarged version for an Owick .60, which I had a lot of fun with and flew for many years until I wore it out."
Earl added that he dropped out of modeling after the 1960 contest season, when full-scale flying occupied most of his free time.
Recently some old friends contacted him and got him interested again — especially in Old-Time and Nostalgic Classics events.
Oh, and about those Tethered Trainer plans. They're available from Floyd Carter for $3 plus $1 postage. Write to him at <REDACTED>; E-mail: <REDACTED>.
As do many of you, I have great memories of Jim Walker's A-174 — the "10-cent glider." Yes, they really did cost 10 cents, and boy did they fly.
And yes, I really did hear someone ask a hobby shop owner, "How much are your 10-cent gliders?"
I can't say for certain, but Jim's "10-cent glider" is probably responsible for me becoming (in Dave Thornburg's term) a lifer in this hobby. Slide the wing forward for loops and such, and slide it back for long glides.
Despite being heavily involved with CL events, I'm still thrilled by the floating glide of Free Flight models, and, as you might suspect (here it comes), "some of my best friends" are Free Flighters.
Although we've never met, I've enjoyed some excellent correspondence with Larry Davidson — one of the better-known members of SAM (the Society of Antique Modelers), someone who knows Larry may be unaware that he moved last year.
Because of our lead time (and because this column is bimonthly), it may be ancient news to most, but Larry's new address is <REDACTED>. His E-mail address (<REDACTED>) remains the same.
As mentioned before, much of my mail comes from those who have recently learned of Old-Time modeling and are seeking sources of plans, supplies, and so forth. Often the letters are accompanied by questions about current building methods and materials.
Although I still recommend good, old-fashioned model cement for assembly, certain construction methods differ, resulting in lighter and stronger frameworks.
Most readers can turn to the page right about here, because I'm about to suggest the use of laminated tips and other components — a common practice unless you're just returning to the hobby. I'm not very good at explaining this, but here goes.
Rather than cut large chunks of balsa to shape, make those rounded wing and stabilizer tips from laminations of strip wood. It's stronger and, arguably, lighter than the curved sheet pieces so often used in the bygone days.
Start by making a pattern from thick cardboard or scrap balsa. This pattern should be the size of the tip or other component curved tip or other component.
Coat the edge of the pattern with wax (candle, crayon, or whatever) as a release agent so that the glued-up pieces that you'll soon wrap around it won't stick to it. Do not skimp here; wax it heavily or you'll be sorry later. How do you think I know that?
Using several strips of balsa measuring somewhat larger than required, soak them for an hour or so in a 50/50 solution of ammonia and water.
An excellent vessel for this is one of those disposable water trays used for soaking wallpaper rolls, or you can use the bathtub — assuming that your family enjoys the odor of ammonia.
Wrap those softened strips around the form, holding them in place with a gajillion straight pins.
Let all this dry overnight, then remove the strips from the form, then place them on the form one at a time, gluing them together with white glue or aliphatic resin.
I hear that some use cyanoacrylate (superglue), but that makes it harder, if not impossible, to sand the assembly to shape when you're finished.
You've just made a strong, light, and much prettier (after shaping and sanding) wing tip.
It's been my experience that if you are using the strips together with aliphatic resin (Titebond, etc.) while the strips are still wet, the ammonia causes the glue to curdle, making quite a mess.
So, if this process is rather messy to begin with, why add to your misery? The strips are much easier to bond when dry.
This was far from a concise explanation. There are any number of ways to do this, and for all I know I may be doing it wrong.
If you want a really good course on how to build laminated tips and other shapes, contact Fernando Ramos, who writes the Free Flight Scale column. Trust me on this one.
As always, your photos and anecdotes are welcome, though it may be a while before I can work them in.
Search your memory banks too, because I am particularly interested in hearing from anyone who may have a June 1950 contest held at the Millville NJ airport.
That's all for now. I'll be back in two months.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
