OLD-TIMERS
Mike Keville 31 Franklin Pkwy., Brunswick, ME 04011 E-mail: [email protected]
The Powerhouse saga
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 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 we were 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 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; he 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."
Photos and reunions
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 Palmer, 85: Half of the famed Yates-Palmer Exhibition Team. Known as CL's ambassador to the world via 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.
- Roy Mayes, 89: Believed by many 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 Johnson, 84: 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 buy-and-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.
SAM: attempts and official flights
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 at SAM events, Bob wrote:
"Someone recently wrote that attempts are the most abused rule in the SAM rule book. I have to agree. If you observe carefully, it's amazing how many 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; do not fly another six minutes then decide.
"In Texaco events, especially 1/4A 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."
Address change
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:
- 9380 Mesa Verde Dr., Sparks, NV 89436
- Telephone: (775) 354-2307
Contacts and closing
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 in the now-gone Santa Ana 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. Michaelis, 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'll direct you to those who do. I usually answer e-mail within 24 hours and letters the next day if you enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Thanks to all for your interest in Old-Timers.
MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
