Old-Timers
Mike Keville | [email protected]
A fellow club member’s tribute to Ray Schwind
Departing from my usual rambling, this will be a brief column; just prior to deadline I was heavily involved in what you might call "other interests." I had planned to include something having to do with rules and those who seem to thrive on arguing about them, but I don't think I will.
With this installment I am submitting the first in a series of old black-and-white photos I received from Royce Childress of Kent, Washington. Most were taken in September 1938 in and around Los Angeles, California, and they include contest scenes at the old Rosecrans and Western flying site. Several of the 67-year-old photos are in poor condition, thus creating something of a challenge for the MA staff.
In most cases the names of the models and their pilots were not provided. This will be noted where applicable with future photos, in the hopes that someone who was there can identify them.
The first photo in this series is of Evelyn Fletcher with a biplane that is painted to resemble Army pursuit airplanes of the era. I don't know if she was the builder or flier, or if she was merely posing with the model while the gas-station attendant pretended to fill the tank.
The location is unknown, except for being across the street from an A&P market—probably somewhere in south Los Angeles. As you can see, a full-scale aircraft, possibly a Fokker F.32, is parked behind them.
Does anyone recall the scene? If so, please contact me with the details.
Indiana's Ray Schwind is popular with his fellow club members, as attested to by Lowell Newton who sent the following.
"Ray is 85 years old and still flies regularly as a member of the New Fowler RC Club located in southern Indiana. His skill as a builder, unflagging enthusiasm for the hobby, and wisdom acquired since boyhood are generously and kindly dispensed to fellow modelers.
"His workshop is a wonderland of neatness and order. People who have watched him fly are amazed at the aerobatics he can perform without ailerons.
"I am enclosing a photo of Ray with his 1/4-scale TD Coupe to his left—the viewer's right. Powered by a Laser 150 engine and guided by a three-channel, single-knob Kraft radio, the model was built after scaling up the plans about 18 years ago.
"Ray is a veteran of the World War II battles of Kasserine Pass in North Africa and the Anzio beachhead in Italy. Last August he traveled to Ireland to visit a woman he'd met when stationed there during the war. The two have visited on both sides of the Atlantic ever since.
"We can always expect to see Ray at the field regardless of whether it's hot or cold, despite a 10-mile drive on busy highways. He has owned a 1939 Ford convertible since shortly after the war, occasionally driving it to and from the flying site.
"Once, when one of our members flew his model into the top of a tree, our club president—with spiked boots, ropes, and pulleys—began climbing toward the model. When about 20 feet up he looked down, and there was then-81-year-old Ray right behind him, climbing like a youth. Ray's spirit, sense of fun, and remarkable self-reliance provide inspiration and an example for all of us who know him."
On the subject of grand, old men, mentors, etc., the late Everett N. Angus was AMA's president in 1947–1948, and he was instrumental in organizing and hosting the huge postwar meets at Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. He is also responsible for my becoming a "lifer" in this hobby.
As the grand prize for winners in a kids' "shelf model" (remember those?) contest in June 1950, Mr. Angus flew me and another young man in his Stinson Voyager to a Triple A meet in Millville, New Jersey. What an eye-opener that was! Before that I had no idea that those things could actually fly. The return trip in his maroon Stinson was sort of ho hum after my first exposure to the delightful aroma of burned castor oil.
Imagine trying that today. "Hello. You don't know me, but I want to take your son to a distant location in my personal airplane and I can't tell you when we'll be back." It was a different world then, and if not for Everett Angus I suspect my own world today would be far less enjoyable.
(It has since come to my attention that MA Aeromodeling Editor Bob Hunt attended the same contest as a then-small child. Twenty-eight years later he was crowned the World Champion in CL Precision Aerobatics.)
Among the many fine club newsletters I receive is The Flightplug from the Southern California Ignition Flyers (SCIF). Mike Myers is the editor and is also the current SAM (Society of Antique Modelers) president, thus he spends more time at the keyboard than at the building bench.
A fall issue of The Flightplug mentioned the late Toshi Matsuda. That came as a shock since Mr. Matsuda was someone I had always hoped to meet and never did. His models were impeccable examples of craftsmanship and finish—especially the Zeeks he flew four and five decades ago.
John Pakiz of Omaha, Nebraska, sent a nice letter and some photos of his Moth, which is a delightful Old-Time design by Herb Spatz. I will include one of the photos next time. MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
