OLD-TIMERS
Mike Keville, 31 Franklin Pkwy., Brunswick ME 04011; E-mail: [email protected]
AS THE LEAVES change color and the temperature drops (in some parts of the country, anyway), we prepare for that time-honored tradition known as The Building Season. It’s time once again to wash and bag those rubber motors, drain those fuel tanks, and clear off those workbenches. There’s nothing like a fresh supply of light balsa and #11 blades to get the juices flowing.
Or perhaps you’d prefer to toss another log on the fire, grab a beverage of choice, and browse through this issue for an hour or so. I hope you enjoy reading this column, but don’t overlook the others, including those outside your area of current interest. We often discover some interesting information in those.
With any luck, my building season may finally get underway. It seems like it took forever to unpack and begin to re-establish the hobby room after our move. Other chores took priority, and still do. Somewhere there’s a tube of Ambroid with my name on it, although I’ve yet to find it.
Letters and memories: the Profile Powerhouse
In the previous column I mentioned a follow-up tale regarding Berkeley’s little 24-inch-span Profile Powerhouse. Several readers have written to take issue with the statement that the design was a dud. Among them was Frank Garon of Iselin, New Jersey, who wrote:
“It was a sweet spring Saturday. The errands were done and I was on my way to Mullican’s hobby shop. Purchasing a quart of Francisco Labs fuel and a 6 x 3 Tornado prop, I parted with my dollar, said goodbye to Willie, and left.
“Back at the house I admired my latest gem, a Profile Powerhouse. Comet cement at 10 cents a tube; Comet or Testors dope at 10 cents a bottle. Life was good. The big problem had been getting the K&B Infant at $5.95, but running errands for Joe the butcher finally earned me one. Running it until my mother yelled at me to quit the noise, I savored the cologne of burnt fuel.
“Down at the ball field no one was playing, so it was all mine. People didn’t yell at you in those days if you flew a model airplane. I cranked up the Infant, gave the needle one final turn, and launched my pride and joy. My heart skipped a beat as it went down and right, but then it lifted into the blue, trailing a thin plume of exhaust. Then silence.
“But what’s this? Instead of gliding back to earth, it began to go up. It kept going up, and drifting away too. I ran after it, dodging some cars, but finally lost sight of it. Brokenhearted as only a kid can be, yet somehow elated, I knew I would never see it again. As far as I know, that Profile Powerhouse is still in a thermal time warp. Who says they don’t fly?”
Notwithstanding the loss of his model and hard-earned engine, Frank summed up that entire era with the statement “Life was good.” They were simpler times, although we were minus many of the conveniences we enjoy today. Old-Time (OT) modeling allows us to keep one foot in the past while enjoying things such as modern medicine, instant communication, and cyanoacrylate adhesives.
A similar letter arrived from Ross Summers of Fort Washington, Maryland, who recalled the time he lost his Profile Powerhouse out of sight (OOS) from a Kansas field. This occurred sometime in 1952 or 1953 while he was attending Fort Hays State University. He wrote:
“After a near-empty-tank test flight, I launched it for a second flight with a full tank. This was inexcusable because I had lost an Arden .099 that way on a Berkeley Skyrocket A. The Profile Powerhouse flew too well; it went OOS over the city. We didn’t even attempt to chase it.
“Sometime later a youngster came into our hobby shop with a K&B .020 that he wanted to buy a kit for. I showed him my initials scratched into the aluminum backplate, so I got my engine back. I gave him a reward.
“He said the airplane had been badly damaged by apparent impact with a concrete grain elevator; he did not attempt to salvage it. I do recall that the wood in that kit was soft and weak. The engine went on to power a Testors Baby Trainer that I used to teach others how to fly Control Line on the dance floor of the American Legion hall in my hometown.”
Thus it seems there were exceptions to the Profile Powerhouse’s “no-fly” reputation, even though Bill Schmidt—the originator of this discussion—maintains that he never saw one. In a follow-up letter he wrote: “No one has explained why the Korda Powerhouse designs (all sizes) are such bears to trim out in the power portion of flying. I talked to Bill Baker [former Model Aviation OT columnist] last night and he said every one he ever saw crashed under power, including his Powerhouse 64.”
The inclusion of those old 1/2A Free Flight photos in the May 2003 column drew a great deal of interest.
“I got to meet a lot of new friends and get some plans into the hands of closet-type modelers who aren’t members of [the various OT organizations] and who consequently didn’t know that their childhood memories can still be grasped,” wrote Bill. If your interest is in the early 1950s small Free Flight designs, here’s that address again: Bill Schmidt Jr., 4647 Krueger, Wichita KS 67220.
Radio Control OT and engine experiments
Those who enjoy sport flying with Radio Control OT models may want to contact Billy Maples. He has been experimenting with an exhaust-gas recirculation (EGR) system that he says reduces idle speed.
“It functions by picking up exhaust gas from the muffler and routing it back to the intake,” he wrote. “The larger the volume of gas, the slower the idle. It has been tested on both modern and older engines and seems to work equally well on both.” Billy is willing to donate the test engine (a McCoy .29) and EGR design to anyone who is willing to flight-test it in an OT. Bench testing with 15% fuel and a 9 x 5 propeller yielded 11,700 rpm with an idle speed of 4,000 rpm.
If you are interested, contact:
- Billy G. Maples, 48 Oak Ln., Eatontown NJ 07724; Tel.: (732) 389-2048.
What is “old time”?
The inclusion of that 1960s-era photo (Craig Cusick and his Fédération Aéronautique Internationale model) in the September column prompted comment. Some feel that it's too modern for an OT column, and others feel that 43 years ago is "old time." I guess it all depends on one's date of birth.
When the OT movement began sometime near 1960, with a cutoff date of 1942, many "old" designs were then only 18 years old. I'll be happy to tailor this column to whatever the readership wants. What's your opinion?
Resources for returning modelers
Modelers who are returning to the hobby after a long layoff may be wondering where to obtain plans, kits, and supplies for OT. Neighborhood hobby shops are, with a few notable exceptions, a memory, thus our items must now be mail-ordered. Members of the various AMA Special Interest Groups know the sources, but they are unknown to the newcomer or returnee.
If that's you, send me a legal-size self-addressed, stamped envelope to receive a list of major suppliers. The list has been updated since it was last offered two years ago, and it includes addresses of the various Special Interest Groups and key sources of supplies for the OT fraternity.
Photos, material and deadlines
As this was written we were still unpacking after the 2,800-mile cross-country move, and I hadn't yet located the box containing my photo "stash" — a collection that is growing mighty thin. I appreciate receiving any photos of OT activity, be it Free Flight, Control Line, or Radio Control.
I'm also running a bit low on material for print (which is probably apparent by now). Therefore, I would appreciate receiving any news or anecdotes regarding OT activity. Please note that contest announcements must be sent well in advance because of our three-month lead time and the fact that this column is published every other month.
One thing we did manage to accomplish was to get a new E-mail address, which is included in the column header. If you sent E-mail to the old "extremezone" address and did not receive a reply, please resend to the new one.
MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
