OLD-TIMERS - 2003/03

I WONDER HOW many readers spotted
the following item in Newsweek, dated
October 28, 2002. A gentleman named Dana
Wall, reminiscing about his father’s
craftsmanship with musical instruments,
included this anecdote:
“When I was 13, I said I wanted an
‘Olson [sic] 60’ gasoline engine for my
balsa-wood model airplanes. Dad said he
could build it for me. He borrowed my
friend’s motor, took measurements, made
wooden parts, cast them in aluminum and
turned the pieces on his lathe until they fit.
He purchased only a spark plug, the gas
tank and a rubber fuel line.”
One of several club newsletters I receive
is from Society of Antique Modelers (SAM)
Chapter 40 in Michigan, edited by Joe
Roose. Among the members is Joe Dallaire,
who is one of the better-known names
among Old-Time (OT) modelers. The club
flies a lot of 1⁄2A Texaco—an event for
scaled-down versions of the large, graceful
Free Flight (FF) designs of the late 1930s.
The club also promotes a limited-engine-run
event: the increasingly popular “Foxacoy”
for OT Class C FF models powered only by
Fox .35 Stunt or McCoy .35 Red Head
engines.
If you live in that area and would like to
hook up with SAM 40, contact Joe Dallaire,
6263 Charlesworth, Dearborn Heights MI
48127. Dues are $10 per year.
Although most OT activity centers on FF
and Radio Control (or Radio Assist) events,
much interest is being seen in Control Line
(CL). The majority of OT/CL focus has
been on Stunt designs, but I’ve noted an
increase in Speed, Class B Team Racing,
and “retro” Carrier (i.e., throttle and hook
only; no line-sliders and no “prop-hanging”).
If your tastes run to CL, you might want to be in Tucson,
Arizona, March 20-23 for the 15th annual Vintage Stunt
Championships (VSC). It’s 100% OT CL Stunt with three separate
events:
• Old-Time for models designed prior to 1953. Internal
modifications are permitted for strength and safety, but all exterior
measurements must be as originally designed. Flight pattern is based
on the 1951-1952 AMA rules and is far less difficult to perform well
than the current one. Bonus points are awarded for designs with no
wing flaps and for using spark-ignition engines.
• Classic is for models designed prior to 1970 and is flown
according to the current AMA CL Precision Aerobatics pattern. This
event features such nostalgic designs as the Nobler, the
Thunderbird, the Shark 45, and those beautiful I-beam wing designs
such as the Ares, the Cobra, etc. from the 1950s and 1960s.
Mike Keville, 6218 E. Evergreen St., Mesa AZ 85205; E-mail: [email protected]
OLD-TIMERS
Jim Kelly (Mission KS) launches an ROW Zeek at early Nats, possibly NAS Olathe. Can
you identify others in the photo? Location? Year? Berni Schoenfield photo.
Horace Williams and friend in May 1938 hold models covered with voile and doped with
shoe cement thinned with acetone. There are more details in the text.
Ed Kunaschk (Phoenix AZ) fires up ignition Super Cyclone in CL
Saftig Inverting Stunter—one of many VSC entries.
150 MODEL AVIATION
March 2003 151
Old-Time designs are eligible to compete
in the Classic event. Many-time F2B team
member David Fitzgerald flew a Ringmaster
to ninth place (out of 80-plus entries) at last
year’s gathering.
• The third event is for ignition-only Old-
Time designs. In it you will see everything
from Jim Walker Fireballs to Super Cyclonepowered
Zilches and Floyd Carter’s
magnificent Wildman 60.
Although many prizes are awarded, the
VSC is a four-day celebration of “the way
things used to be” (or perhaps ought to be),
where the focus is on fun and exhibition
rather than trophy-hunting. You will meet
such notables in the hobby as Bill Werwage,
Charles Mackey, Larry Scarinzi, “Wild Bill”
Netzeband, and many others whose names
are well known from past and present,
including MA’s aeromodeling editor, Bob
Hunt.
Because of the large number of
participants, pre-entry is required by March
10. For full details contact Jim Hoffman,
2658 W. Montgomery Dr., Chandler AZ
85224; Tel.: (480) 897-0630; E-mail:
[email protected].
Spacers, Ramrods, Texans, Zeeks, and other
1950s FF designs filled the air at the 2002
San Valeers Nostalgia Annual at Taft,
California. Mike Thompson won
Sweepstakes, followed closely by Bob
DeShields. There is not enough space here to
list all the entrants, although it looks like
fixed-surface FF with plain-bearing engines
is gaining popularity. Many thanks to Terry
Thorkildsen for the report.
It might seem unbelievable to anyone who
began modeling in recent years, but there
was a time when radio didn’t “control” the
majority of the hobby. Before World War II,
FF was king. From 1946 to sometime near
1970, CL was a dominant force. Youngsters
built and flew everything, in all categories.
There was no “Junior problem” (unless you
consider that some of the youngsters often
outflew everyone else). It was a wonderful,
magical time—an era when one didn’t need
a second mortgage to be competitive and
“competition” was not a dirty word.
I receive many letters from those who
fondly recall their early years in modeling.
Some include copies of photos or newspaper
clippings. Copy quality ranges from
excellent (in some cases) to barely legible.
Although some are occasionally submitted
for print here, most are unable to be
reproduced on these pages.
Horace Williams (whose address has
unfortunately gone astray here) sent copies
of photos taken in 1938-1939. I’ve included
one with this column. He and a friend, who
both appear to be 12-14 years old in the
photos, designed, built, and flew a large,
original-design FF model. The caption for
an August 1939 photo reads:
“The main spars were spruce and the rest
is balsa that we made ourselves from 14 inch
x 14 inch balsa logs that we got at a sale at the
Boston Navy Yard. Those logs were used to
launch ships and were not used again.
“[Another photo] shows my friend and I
with models we built from plans. Powered by
Brown Junior engines, the planes were
covered with a cloth called voile. We painted
the cloth with a homemade dope made from
shoe cement thinned with acetone.”
The latter is the photo I submitted. Taken
in May 1938, the models resemble Scientific
Red Zephyrs. Someone please confirm or
deny that. And I don’t know what “voile” is,
either; perhaps someone will enlighten me. I
have to chuckle a bit while trying to picture
today’s newcomers starting with nothing but a
foot-square balsa log, some shoe cement, and
acetone. In all honesty, I probably wouldn’t
do it either.
Copies of newspaper clippings from the
1930s through the 1950s often list winners’
names and hometowns as well as winning
times or speeds. Skip Long of Bridgeton,
Missouri, tells of “The Great East-West
Model Airplane Circus” held in Saint Louis in
1947. It featured CL Speed, including pulsejet,
and was held at a public school stadium
(no joke).
Several records were set, and the list of
winners and participants includes Mel
Anderson, Les McBrayer, Jim Walker,
of it all and giving me an excuse to dig out
the clippings.”
John Breazzano of Moorefield, West
Virginia, sent a copy of a newspaper
clipping from April 1947 in which he is
featured with several other winners and
organizers of a New Jersey meet. John,
apparently from Pompton Lakes at that
time, flew a CL Akrobat design powered by
a Super Cyclone.
“I also used the Super Cyke in a ‘Bipe’
and ‘Super Bipe’ (deBolt designs?) for CL
Combat and did very well in all types of
events, including Kadena Air Force base,
Okinawa, in 1948 and ’49,” wrote John.
Memories like these arrive every week.
If you have a favorite story from the OT era,
former AMA president Keith Storey, and
several other prominent West Coast fliers of
that era. Skip wrote:
“I think Bill Winter proposed the idea,
and the Greater St. Louis Modelers’
Association got the sponsors and made the
arrangements. East and West Coast
modeling groups held qualifying contests.
The event lasted two days, and since model
aviation was at that time such a big thing it
had excellent media coverage.
“The copies I sent you are from the
major St. Louis newspapers that had on-site
reporters covering the contest. You may
have heard most of this before, but in any
case I wish to thank you for reminding me
152 MODEL AVIATION
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feel free to share it here. Because of
deadlines and so forth, it could be quite
some time before it is published, but I
certainly enjoy seeing them. Good-quality
photos are especially appreciated, and they
will be returned to you if you ask.
The move from Arizona to Maine remains
targeted for April or thereabouts. For now,
please continue sending those E-mails,
letters, and photos to the address in the
header. As always, a self-addressed,
stamped envelope will guarantee you a fast
reply to letters. I’m not sure how much
longer my E-mail address will be valid; if
you’re so equipped, keep sending until it
bounces. MA
Bruce
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