OLD-TIMERS - 2003/05

May 2003 127
WOULDN’T YOU know it? After writing in January’s column
that I answer E-mail within 24 hours, our computer went down and
was in the shop for three weeks. I may not have E-mail again until
we get to Maine since we’re packing now. Regular (snail) mail
will hopefully be forwarded to our new home, though I don’t know
where that is yet because this is being written on New Year’s Day
(for my January 10 deadline).
In that January column I featured a photo of an Old-Timer (OT)
climbing out against an early-morning sunrise; or at least I thought
it was climbing out. As it turned out, the model wasn’t moving at
all.
The Foo-2-U-Too in that photo was identified by Lee Campbell
as his. At a Florida meet it was suspended from his streamer pole
braced by his cooler. Light monofilament was used to suspend the
model. Lee kitted that design from 1985 to 1991, and that photo
was taken for use in his catalog. He wrote that it was taken quite
early in the morning since “any breeze that could be felt would
make the model dance around like a hyped-up Fred Astaire.”
Also regarding that column, I received several inquiries about
the photo of Warren Tiahrt’s Control Line (CL) Di-Doe. It seems
to have brought back many memories, along with requests for
plans sources. I recently finished one of those models myself, with
O&R glow .29 power, and can understand the nostalgia it
provides.
If CL bipes are your thing, the Di-Doe is a snap to build and it
flies very well, having won the 1949 Nationals Novelty Stunt
event for designer Howard Thombs. A full-size plan is available
for $10 postpaid from Tom Dixon, Box 671166, Marietta GA
30066.
In case you haven’t heard, the John Pond plans collection lives
on, thanks to AMA. Things were still being sorted and cataloged
as I was writing this, but the service may be up and running by
now.
I received many puzzled inquiries after writing that the business
had moved to Oregon in care of John’s grandson. Apparently many
people were left holding the bag. With our three-month lead time,
things can change in a hurry. Many thanks to the people in Muncie
for rescuing this treasured collection.
Most OT activity centers on Free Flight (FF), which is only
natural since that’s where modeling has its roots. A good number
of those models are flown via radio control (more accurately, radio
Mike Keville, 6218 E. Evergreen St., Mesa AZ 85205; E-mail: [email protected]
OLD-TIMERS
Bill Schmidt’s 1951 Ollie with OK Cub .049X, retract gear, Wen-
Mac spinner, and Polyspan covering. Schmidt photo.
Bill Schmidt’s 1949 Profile Powerhouse with K&B .020 Infant and
Delrin tank. Design was a Berkeley kit. Schmidt photo.
Andy Faykun several years ago at Taft, California, with a Taibi
Brooklyn Dodger. Photo courtesy Bill Baker.
assist), helping to ensure their return to the launching point.
I don’t fly Radio Control (RC), so I can’t really comment on
that activity except to write that it does have a certain appeal if I
intend to ever build those antique FF designs in the plans bin.
Long chases and OOS (out-of-sight) flights no longer have the
appeal they once did.
Apparently Ron Carr of Ballwin, Missouri, feels the same way.
He and his friend John Schifko converted two well-known OT FF
designs—a Buzzard Bombshell and a 1938 Challenger—to CL.
Roughly 60 years ago, many modelers would hook lines to their FF
models, which were then known as “Goats.”
Ron and John entered their models in the annual Lafayette Old
Time contest in St. Louis last October. They flew in the Society of
Antique Modelers (SAM) Slow Flight event. The rules require
SAM-eligible designs, 1942 or earlier; elevator control only; 60-
foot lines; and wingtip weight is okay. Any SAM-legal ignition or
diesel engine can be used, as can any early glow engine (O&R,
K&B Torpedo, OK, McCoy, Bullet, Forster, 4-bolt Fox, etc.).
There are seven laps timed, with the lowest speed winning.
John flew his Bombshell with a Super Cyclone on ignition for a
speed of 27.65 mph. Ron’s Challenger won with a speed of 22.29
mph with a glow Fleetwind .60 and a 14 x
6 propeller on backward.
If you’d like to hear more about this
event, contact Ron Carr, 418 Madrina Ct.,
Ballwin MO 63021-6336. It’s always a
good idea to enclose a self-addressed,
stamped envelope (SASE) when
requesting information.
The reliability, light weight, and
relatively low cost of current RC
equipment is certainly a far cry from the
early years. Remember those huge,
ground-based transmitters with their Yshaped
antennas? The 27mc Citizenship
band? Flights were usually made with
crossed fingers, often accompanied by the
anguished cry, “I ain’t got it”—or worse.
In those days of vacuum tubes and
escapements, the Guillow company kitted a
48-inch-span RC model named the Trixter
Beam. It was a short-coupled design with a
deep fuselage and tricycle gear. For .09 to
.19 engines, the kit sold for $6.95 and was
popular in the early to mid-1950s. Thanks
to the growing Nostalgia movement, now
we’re seeing some of those flown with
modern radios and engines.
Bob Mills of Statesville, North
Carolina, sent a photocopy of his current
version. Being a copy, it probably wouldn’t
print well here, which is a shame since it
includes small inserts of him with his mid-
1950s original. He wrote:
“It was built for me by Kurt Foraues of
Hartland, VT. Covered with MonoKote, it
has an O.S. .15 engine and Futaba radio
using rudder, elevator and engine control.
The picture in the insert is the original I
built about 1955. That one has a Citizenship
radio and Bonner escapement, was covered
with silkspan and doped with AeroGloss.”
If vintage RC is your thing, you might
want to contact Joe Grasso. He offers
custom kits of the Live Wire Senior, the
Live Wire Champ, and the Smog Hog.
When he wrote (in December), Walt
Good’s Rudder Bug, Bill Winter’s Swamp
Box, Ed Kazmirski’s Orion, and Jerry
Nelson’s Sultan were in the works for
production.
Kits feature rolled plans, prebent gear,
cleanly cut parts, and all stick and sheet
wood. These are custom-cut kits, so allow a
couple of weeks for delivery. The price at
this writing is $129 each plus $10 shipping;
make check or money order payable to Joe
Grasso.
Joe will also be custom-kitting several
vintage CL designs, most likely starting
with Bob Elliott’s Black Tiger that won the
1953 Nationals. Joe asked for suggestions
for future CL projects, and of course I sent
him a few. His work comes highly
recommended by those who’ve seen and
built his kits.
For more information, contact Joe
Grasso at 8 Quiet Forest, Sylva NC 28779,
call (828) 631-3693, or E-mail
[email protected].
128 MODEL AVIATION
Bill Schmidt of Wichita, Kansas, has
been busy building a couple dozen early
1⁄2A FF designs powered by early .049s
such as the Wasp, the OK Cub, the Wen-
Mac, and the K&B Torpedo. The Torpedo
.049 is rare, and Bill corralled several. He
sent photos of 15 of his 23 latest projects,
including a Civy Boy 31, a Zeek, a Kiwi,
and several of the early JASCO designs
by Frank Ehling (Phoenix Flash, JASCO
Streak, etc).
Bill also built a replica of the 24-inchspan
1949 Berkeley kit of the Profile
Powerhouse. I doubt if Bill will mind my
repeating what he had to say about it.
“These do not fly!” They spiral-in to
the left or right no matter what you do.
Others I’ve talked to say the same thing. If
the first one doesn’t fly, the solution is to
build a second one that doesn’t fly. You
might ask your readers about this.”
Okay, I will. Who can add to the story?
Bill can supply plans for the
aforementioned designs for $8 postpaid.
He also has the Ollie, the Fubar (both
versions), the El-En-Gone, the Mini-
Hogan 34, the Half Wild Goose, and
several early CL designs. Contact Bill at
4647 Krueger, Wichita KS 67220; Tel.:
(316) 744-0378.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t publicly thank
Jerry Rocha of Napa, California, for
sending complete results from the 2002
Jimmie Allen Postal Contest, along with a
couple of really swell photos.
Unfortunately we were “scooped” by
another publication (Flying Models) with
those, so I will just mention that if you’d
like to participate in the 2003 edition,
send a large SASE to Jerry at 3583 Ruston
Ln., Napa CA 94558. Hopefully it’s not
too late.
I’ll make one last reference to the
January column. I did receive many
comments regarding that letter from the
anonymous modeler about the size, cost,
and complexity of today’s “models,” all
of which were in complete agreement
with me—including some which could
not be repeated here.
Not surprisingly, I also received a
number of letters and E-mails concerning
today’s instant-gratification generation
and their Ready-to-Fly stuff bought from
someplace resembling a toy store.
Bob Thoms of Shelby, Iowa, wrote:
“Now they have gyros and such to fly the
plane for you. They might just as well
hire someone to go out and fly the darn
plane, and they can sit home and watch
TV.”
I’d better quit while I’m ahead (or
before I get fired). Just because many of
us still like to patiently cut balsa and
build our own models doesn’t necessarily
mean that the hobby as we know it is
rapidly approaching the dustbin of
history. Does it? MA
May 2003 129