OLD-TIMERS - 2004/03

March 2004 149
THE POWERHOUSE saga continues. The topic may have
overstayed its welcome here, but the final (I promise) word comes
from Richard Kaufman of Phoenix, Arizona. He wrote to dispute
those claims that the design was prone to crash.
“My twin brother, father, and I were avid Free Flight fliers in the
Phoenix area from the late 1940s until 1975 when we ran out of
space and got tired of chasing them. My reason for writing is the
comments about our favorite design of all time, the Powerhouse. We
built all of them, starting with the 33-inch which won a local contest
on the first try.
“We won two engines at that meet: a McCoy .09 which went into
a gorgeous Powerhouse 41 that was lost on its first flight. The other
was our first K&B, a beautiful .19 Greenhead. This was an
incredibly powerful engine for the time and pop was not used to any
airplane flying that fast. The model, a Powerhouse 56, was almost
lost despite using the dethermalizer every time.
“He traded the K&B for a less powerful Cub .19 and the model
flew magnificently with this engine. We flew it for four years before
entering it in the 1957 Southwest Regionals. I have enclosed a
newspaper clipping for you.
[The March 11, 1957, Phoenix Gazette shows a photo of the
twins with the model that was found and returned, somewhat worse
for wear, after spending two weeks in the surrounding desert.]
“Dad and I later built a Powerhouse 64. Like all the others, it too
was a superb flier. We initially put a K&B .19 in it, but I wanted
more power so he let me install a three-bolt K&B .32 Greenhead.
This was the smoothest and fastest of all the Powerhouses we built.
“The Powerhouse 33 was the only one we flew without
downthrust. The rest had between 4 and 5 degrees, each having the
same wonderful flying characteristics. They would take off and start
down a few degrees, accelerate rapidly to a breathtaking gradual
right turning climb between 80 and 90 degrees, then transition to a
Mike Keville, 31 Franklin Pkwy., Brunswick ME 04011; E-mail: [email protected]
OLD-TIMERS
L-R: Pioneering modelers Bob Palmer, Roy Mayes, and David Johnson recall the good
old days, at the Charles Mackey Open (Los Angeles CA) in 2002. Mackey photo.
Royce Childress, seen here in 1941 with
his older sister, built and flew a Comet
Sailplane at age 10. Childress photo.
Fred Wunsche holds Wally Simmers’ Gollywock design at a
Detroit Cloudbusters meet. Linstrum photo.
150 MODEL AVIATION
gorgeous smooth, majestic glide. No other
Free Flight we ever had could glide like a
Powerhouse. I can honestly say that after
more than 200 flights we never crashed any
of them.
“Dad later scaled one down to a 24-inch
span powered with a TD .010. We took it
out to our RC field one day in 1979. It flew
just like the others but sadly was lost on the
first flight. Thinking about it now really
bothers me, knowing it was the last one he
ever built, having passed away in 1988.
Today my brother and I still have a
Powerhouse 33, 41, 56, and 64, stored in a
cool, air-conditioned place forever.”
My recent plea for photos paid off. Please
keep them coming. My good friend Charles
Mackey sent one showing Bob Palmer, Roy
Mayes, and David Johnson chatting about
the good old days of the 1940s and 1950s
when they flew in Southern California.
They reunited at the 2002 Charles Mackey
Open: a Control Line (CL) contest held at
Whittier Narrows Park in Los Angeles
County.
Bob, 85, was half of the famed Yates-
Palmer Exhibition Team. He is perhaps best
known as CL’s ambassador to the world via
his international travels promoting the
hobby. His Smoothie and Thunderbird
designs are legendary in the CL Stunt world
and are widely flown today in nostalgia
events.
Many believe Roy, 89, to be the first
person to fly a CL model inverted. He
founded WAM (Western Association of
Modelers), wrote the first CL Stunt rules
that incorporated appearance points, and
was a full-scale aerobatics instructor.
David, 84, was the first to fly a model
airplane across the Arctic Circle. The model
is on display at the AMA museum. He also
toured the country demonstrating Kraft
Radio Control equipment. David has set a
goal of flying a model airplane every day
from his 84th to his 85th birthdays.
Junior Problem? In the good old days the
only “problem” was that the Juniors were
likely to knock your socks off in
competition. Thousands of youngsters built
and flew competitive models that they had
constructed, often without adult help.
Among them was Royce Childress of
Kent, Washington, who in my previous
column shared his memories of the old
Rosecrans-and-Western flying site in
California. Perhaps difficult for today’s buyand-
fly generation to imagine, Royce built
and flew a Comet Sailplane at the age of 10.
In a note accompanying several photos
he wrote, “This was my Christmas present
in 1939. I really didn’t think I would get it
because the kit was $13, which was two
months’ rent on many houses then.”
I think today’s “Junior problem” is here
to stay. Aviation, which was glamorous and
romantic in the 1930s and 1940s, is now a
bottom-line business using efficient but
look-alike machines (except the
Experimental Aircraft Association)
operating from sealed-off, remote airfields.
Yes, WACOs, SR-9s, etc. do exist, but
they’re beyond the view of most youngsters.
Then there’s the price and complexity of
what passes for “model” airplanes these
days, but let’s not go there.
As noted earlier, letters and E-mails I
receive support the notion that a good
number of Old-Timer fans are “retreads”
returning to the hobby after a long absence.
As with any new endeavor, there is a
learning curve; this is particularly true for
those who choose to fly competitively.
Following is some good information
from Bob Angel, SAM (Society of Antique
Modelers) Chapter 26, taken from the
newsletter of Michigan’s SAM Chapter 40
(Joe Roose, editor). The item was published
last fall, but it’s never too late to pass along
good advice. Regarding official flights
versus attempts in SAM events, Bob wrote:
“Someone recently wrote that attempts
were the most abused rule in the SAM rule
book. I have to agree. If you observe
carefully, it’s amazing how many
experienced competitors abuse this rule by
failing record attempts. We won’t speculate
on how often this is out of forgetfulness,
ignorance, or some darker reason. It’s
simple enough.
“Each time you release an airplane in an
attempt at an official flight, something must
be put down on the scorecard. If not an
official time, or a zero for an off-field
landing, it’s an attempt. If the wind catches
your wing and the model ground loops,
that’s an attempt. If your 1⁄2A engine dies at
release, that’s an attempt.
“When you’ve filled in the allotted
number of flight scores on the scorecard,
you’re through flying. Or when you use the
allotted attempts via any combination of
flight scores and attempts, you’re through
flying. If you have an engine overrun, it’s
an automatic attempt, no choice. If that
happens to use up your last flight or
attempt on the scorecard, you’re through
flying that event.
“I met one guy who thought you could
fly three flights in 1⁄2A Texaco and call the
worst one an attempt. If you’re going to
call an attempt it must be done early in the
flight, in accordance with specifics in the
rule book. And you must land right away if
an attempt has been declared, not fly
another six minutes then decide.
“In Texaco events, especially 1⁄2A
Texaco, the four-minute allowance to call
an attempt can sometimes be used to good
advantage. At the pilot briefing for 1⁄2A
Postal contests, SAM 26 reminds
[everyone] of the four-minute rule.
“More than once we bailed out a sick
engine run by waiting until the four
minutes was nearly over before taking the
flight or declaring an attempt. Sometimes
we hit a strong thermal around three
minutes, accepted the flight, and maxed
out.”
I have an address change for Larry
Richards, who produces those replica
Veco, Midwest, and Sterling CL kits (see
my January column). He recently retired
and can now be reached at 5390 Mesa
Verde Dr., Sparks NV 89463. His new
telephone number is (775) 354-2307.
One benefit to writing a column here is
the contact from modelers I haven’t seen in
many years. Before our move I got a call
from Ron Wittman, who was at one time
The Man in Free Flight Indoor Hand-
Launched Glider. I once competed against
him at the now-gone Santa Ana, California,
blimp hangars—where it didn’t take long
to determine that I was horribly outclassed.
More recently I received a letter and
photos from old buddy Dave “VTO”
Linstrum. I also hear from people such as
Michael H. Michaels, who wrote: “I am
new to this aspect of flying, and any help
that you can give me will be greatly
appreciated. Please keep helping us
neophytes.”
I am far from being an authority on the
subject—I am actually more of an avid fan
(okay, groupie)—but if I don’t know the
answer, I will direct you to those who do. I
usually answer E-mail within 24 hours and
letters the next day if you enclose a selfaddressed,
stamped envelope. Thanks to all
for your interest in Old-Timers. MA