OLD-TIMERS - 2004/05

May 2004 145
WELCOME BACK, Old-Time (OT) modelers. I wrote this
installment on New Year’s Eve, thus it may be a bit dated by the time it
reaches your mailbox. Because of the lead time, and the fact that this
column is bimonthly, we are often “scooped” by other publications.
Although some items I present here could hardly be called “news,” I’ll
do my best to keep it interesting and informative. (See Bob Hunt’s
February column [on page 7] on that subject.)
SAM Champs 2004: This year’s Society of Antique Modelers (SAM)
Championships will be held at the AMA site in Muncie, Indiana,
September 13-17. A full schedule of Nostalgia FF events is slated. Jim
Coffin will be the contest manager, Ray Combs will direct FF, and
Mark Patrolia will handle the RC events. Contest headquarters will be
the Signature Inn hotel near Ball State University in Muncie.
Speaking of SAM, there has been a staffing change; the formerly
combined positions of secretary and treasurer are now separate.
Secretary Charlie Reich is currently handling membership duties;
therefore, please disregard what I wrote two columns ago about
sending applications and renewals to Gene Wallock in Oklahoma.
SAM’s new contact is Charlie Reich, 310 Wisteria Rd., Saint
Augustine FL 32086; Tel.: (904) 797-4688; E-mail:
[email protected].
The Saint Louis Thermaleers FF club won the 2003 Jimmie Allen
postal contest. Secretary Hal Schwan noted that the club has entered
every year since 1996, constantly improving their scores until they
“finally made it to the top.”
According to Hal, these postal meets are “great fun for all, whether
now flying FF, CL, or RC. All you need to enter is three fliers and hold
your contest on any date between June 1 and September 30, 2004.
[Each club may enter as many three-person teams as it wants. See the
following entry information.] The Jimmie Allen designs are, for the
most part, easy to build and trim out, and are great sport fliers when not
flown in contests.”
He also wrote:
“This is the second time that St. Louis has wrested the trophy from
the clutches of the San Diego clubs. Two years ago, SAM NX-211 of
St. Louis took top honors. The photo shows our winning team, the top
three of our 10 fliers. They are (L-R) Mike Shaw, Conrad Ruppert, and
Hal Schwan. All three flew the Jimmie Allen Sky Raider.
“As a reward for our win, the Thermaleers have had their name
engraved on a beautiful perpetual trophy and we have the honor of
running the contest in 2004. Complete rules, entry form, and a list of
sources for Jimmie Allen kits and plans are available from Hal
Schwan, 105 Shady Valley Dr., Chesterfield MO 63017.”
Jim Bassett (Toledo WA) sent photos of what he calls “a weird old
Orwick.” He saw the unusual-looking engine on that popular Internet
Web site where selling prices continue to escalate beyond reality. (I
could fill a page with my thoughts on that, but I won’t.) Believing that
engine collectors may be able to shed some light on this, Jim wrote:
“Recently I came across a weird-looking engine on eBay. It looked
for the world like a 1937 Orwick .73 sideport, having a front rotary
intake with some sort of lever below the needle valve. I was fortunate
to acquire the engine and examine it closely. The previous owner had
discovered it among her late father’s effects and put it up for auction.
His name was Mr. Van Horsen. He was working in Southern California
at the time and may have known Henry Orwick.
“The engine was dirty and stuck after sitting for 60-plus years in a
Mike Keville, 31 Franklin Pkwy., Brunswick ME 04011; E-mail: [email protected]
OLD-TIMERS
L-R: Saint Louis Thermaleers Mike Shaw, Conrad Ruppert, and
Hal Schwan won the 2003 Jimmie Allen postal contest.
Jim Bassett (Toledo WA) obtained this modified Orwick .73
engine. Text has full story. Photo by Tom Hill.
Multitalented modeler Bill Schmidt (Wichita, Kansas) built this
fine Ercoupe from a Comet 50¢ kit.
148 MODEL AVIATION
box. It took weeks of soaking before I could
free it up, disassemble, clean, and polish the
tarnished parts. During reassembly I was
puzzled by the function of the lever-operated
device below the FRV [front rotary valve]
needle valve. It was obviously an on-off valve
for the front intake—and why would the
engine have two intakes and needle valves?
“A series of fine articles by Bill Tift in the
Engine Collector’s Journal gave me a clue.
Mr. Tift personally knew Henry Orwick and
mentioned several times how Henry liked to
experiment. We know the Orwick engines
ended up being FRV inducted, although they
started out as sideports. If a bright engine
builder wanted to select the best method of
induction, it seems he would build one of each
for comparative purposes.
“Since Henry’s early engines were custom
built, what better way to get accurate
comparative data on sideport vs. FRV
induction than to have one or more engines
which could be operated via both methods?
That is the purpose for which I believe this
engine was intended. Although I suppose the
on-off valve could be used to adjust the intake
mixture à la Hurleman, then why would there
be a needle valve upstream?
“Cork up the back intake and run the
engine via FRV, then shut off the FRV intake
and run it sideport and compare the results.
This is only speculation on my part, but it
does explain the configuration of this engine.”
Does anyone have any knowledge about
this? If so, please let us know.
I have a couple suppliers to tell you about.
Bob Harris runs a small business that offers
many of the early RC designs as laser-cut kits.
As he so succinctly put it, “Our models do not
come in ARF; only in the old-fashioned way:
you have to build them”—a notion that some
of us find particularly refreshing these days.
Bob is a member of the Vintage R/C
Society (VR/CS). He started his business
when the price of original kits skyrocketed on
that well-known Web-based auction site. For
example, a Junior Falcon kit went for $250
plus, an Esquire went for $305, and a Veco
White Cloud went for $400 plus. (Yes, I
know—but to RC fliers these designs are
“old-time.”)
Bob uses contemporary radio systems in
his demo products, although he does enjoy
hearing comments such as, “How’s that
‘thang’ go up? It ain’t got no elevator.” If your
interest is in early RC designs, check his Web
site at www.earlyrcmodels.com or E-mail him
at [email protected].
If you are into collecting kits, you may
want to contact Robert Stricker. The mailman
(oops, I mean postal person) delivered his 24-
page catalog of old kits, engine parts, and
accessories that brought back many memories.
It contained a great deal of Comet, Hawk
Cavacraft, Enterprise—even a few prized
Strombeckers and Clevelands—as well as a
lengthy list of miscellaneous engine parts for
McCoy, K&B, OK Cub, and others. There was
no indication of a price for this list, but you
can contact Robert at 924 Jaipur Ave.,
Naperville IL 60540; Tel.: (630) 961-0327;
Fax: (630) 961-7526.
Robert is a member of KAPA (Kits and
Plans Antiquitous), which is an organization
devoted to collecting and trading. I used to
belong to it, but I let my membership lapse
when it was determined that I was going broke
in a hurry! After all, who could resist a new-inthe-
box Strombecker DC-6 kit for “only” $80?
Thanks to reader correspondence, I am
learning that many people out there have fond
memories of the hobby but, for whatever
reason, are not currently building models.
Some just love to collect and/or trade kits and
other objects from what we call the “Golden
Era.” If that’s your cup of tea, contact KAPA’s
Morrie Leventhal at 1788 Niobe Ave.,
Anaheim CA 92708.
Frequent contributor Bill Schmidt (Wichita
KS) sent a photo of the rubber-powered
Ercoupe he built from a 50¢ Comet kit.
Actually, 50¢ was the kit’s original price; I
haven’t checked lately, but there would
probably be some “sticker shock” involved
today. In a note accompanying the photo, Bill
wrote:
“I worship at the shrine of Comet, as its
products were what I cut my teeth on as a boy.
My published and kitted designs actually
mimic the Comet field of drawing style
because of this early, romantic style.
“I continue to build Comet models from
time to time, as they have the ability to take me
away to a much simpler time and place, which
May 2004 149
serves to insulate me from the hurried
complexity of the world today.”
Amen to that last statement. It seems to
reflect how most OT devotees feel about an
era that was not only a far better time in
general, but a far better time for modeling. If
you agree, please share your thoughts. Goodquality
photos (hard copies—not E-mailed)
are especially welcome. If you would like a
reply, please enclose an SASE.
Until next time, remember: it’s Ambroid and
balsa. MA