OLD-TIMERS
Mike Keville 6218 E. Evergreen St., Mesa AZ 85205 E-mail: [email protected]
Column notes and mail delay
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 .29 glow 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.
John Pond plans collection
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.
Free Flight, radio assist, and CL conversions
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 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, for example:
- O&R
- K&B Torpedo
- OK
- McCoy
- Bullet
- Forster
- 4-bolt Fox
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 mounted 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.
Vintage RC equipment and the Guillows Trixter Beam
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 Y-shaped antennas? The 27-MHz Citizens' 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 Guillows 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 Citizens' band radio and Bonner escapement, was covered with silkspan and doped with AeroGloss."
Custom kits from Joe Grasso
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 Kazmarski's Orion, and Jerry Nelson's Sultan were in the works for production.
Kits feature rolled plans, pre-bent 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].
Bill Schmidt's early 1/2A FF projects
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-inch-span 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.
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.
Jimmie Allen Postal Contest
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) by 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.
Final thoughts
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," many 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
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
