Old-Timers - 2006/08

The SAM Championships is coming to Muncie in 2006!
Also included in this column:
• Thoughts about VSC XVIII
• SCIF/SCAMPS annual Old-
Timer contest
• Dirk Woestenburg recalls the
Scientific Flea
• Bob Govro tells of his meeting
Joe Bridi and Irwin Ohlsson
August 2006 141
Old-Timers Mike Keville | [email protected]
Tim Dannels (Denver CO) with 10-foot-span Goldberg Valkyrie
at 1966 Nats. OT modeling was in its formative stage that year.
John (Doc) Holliday (Shawnee KS) with CL Dragon—a 1947 design
by J.C. (Madman) Yates—at VSC XVIII in Tucson AZ in March.
WELCOME BACK to the column for those
who still build their own models. Let’s get the
serious stuff out of the way first.
I’ve noticed that old-time modelers—the
“stick-and-tissue builders”—seem to be
passing away with increasing frequency. This
really isn’t surprising, given the human
lifespan and the fact that many have been at
this hobby since Wiley Post flew around the
world in his Vega.
I’m a relative “newbie”; I didn’t start until
1947. And although the prospect of leaving
this world is inevitable, there are certain
things we can do to help reduce the chance of
a premature departure. Proper diet, frequent
exercise, and a positive outlook on life are
essential. A good sense of humor doesn’t hurt
either.
This past year I’ve been more careful to
avoid artery-clogging foods. I also began
pumping a bit of iron—nothing serious, just
little 15-pounders—just to get the blood
flowing.
As you may have noted by now, this year’s
SAM (Society of Antique Modelers)
Championships, to be held at the National
Flying Site in Muncie, Indiana, will include
CL events for Old Time Stunt (Precision
Aerobatics) and Classic Stunt.
Based on the success of these two events
that were added last year in Henderson,
Nevada, CD Randy Ryan and Event Director
Allen Goff are expecting increased
participation. Although the majority of Old
Timer (OT) activity centers on FF and RCAssist
events, an increasing number of
modelers are discovering (or in some cases
rediscovering) the joy of “direct connection.”
The largest and most successful meet for
vintage CL events—actually the largest all-
Stunt contest in the world—is the annual
Vintage Stunt Championships (VSC) held
each March in Tucson, Arizona. This year
more than 200 participants preregistered: 97
in Classic (pre-1970 designs), more than 80 in
Old Time (pre-1953 designs), and a new high
of 17 in Old Time Spark Ignition.
Hosted by the famed AMA Gold Leader
Club the Cholla Choppers, with outstanding
assistance from members of the Central
Arizona Control Line Club, VSC XVIII
featured four days of competition and another
three days of precontest practice and tuning
for the 2,300-foot elevation.
The VSC is an AMA sanctioned Class C
contest, but it is more of an annual reunion
and fun-fly. Some have described it as a
“Love-In.”
Those whose modeling nostalgia focuses
on CL may want to visit the SAM Champs to
relive the days when Barnstormers, Zilches,
Noblers, and Thunderbirds ruled the circle.
Dates are September 11-15. You can obtain
more information on the SAM Web site at
www.antiquemodeler.org or by contacting
CD Randy Ryan, 6985 Edwards Rd.,
Belleville MI 48111; Tel.: (734) 697-8982.
For those on the left coast who can’t make
the long haul to Muncie, the SCIF/SCAMPS
annual OT contest will be held at California’s
Lost Hills flying site November 4-5. The
Southern California Ignition Flyers and
Southern California Antique Model Plane
08sig5.QXD 6/23/06 1:01 PM Page 141Society join forces each fall to host one of the
longest-running OT meets in existence. The
weather that time of year should be ideal.
You can obtain more information from
Kevin Sherman, 1521 S. Normandy Terr.,
Corona CA 92882, or Mike Myers, 911
Kilmary Ln., Glendale CA 92107. Mike is
also the current SAM president and the SCIF
newsletter editor. (I wonder what he does in
his spare time.)
Each club produces an outstanding
newsletter, edited and mailed by the men I
mentioned. There exists something of a
friendly rivalry between the two groups,
often noted in print with playful jabs, yet both
newsletters are loaded with helpful hints, tips,
and “who-flew-what?” information. They are
well worth the price.
Subscriptions to the SCIF letter The
Flightplug are $20 per year, mailed to M.H.
“Bud” Matthews, 20006 Delight St., Canyon
Country CA 91351. Subscriptions to the
SCAMPS Gas Lines are $25 per year and
include membership in the club. Contact
George Walter at [email protected] for the
address. Heck, get both. They’re worth every
penny.
If you’d like to really plan ahead, the
2007 SAM Champs will return to the dry (we
hope) lakebed near Las Vegas. Hal
Wightman has agreed to CD that contest.
Spectators are welcome.
Based on letters and E-mail I have
received, it appears that many of this
column’s readers are not currently active
fliers, yet they would delight in seeing
Zippers, Bombshells, etc. roar their way
upward once again.
Memories of those balky spark-ignition
engines are quickly erased when you watch
them perform as a result of transistorized
ignition components and generally improved
skills. If you’re among that group, do
yourself a favor and go watch. The RC-Assist
events will amaze you.
There’s nothing quite like the sight of a
Lanzo Bomber hauling nearly straight up
behind a howling McCoy .60 or a gaggle of
Gollywocks, strands of rubber unwinding
madly, clawing their way upward.
Perhaps your taste runs toward tethered
flying. When was the last time you saw a
Super Duper Zilch perform precision
Overhead Eights? Did you think those days
were gone forever? Not so! Attend any of the
gala events I have mentioned above and
relive the memories.
Dirk Woestenburg (Morro Bay CA)
recalled my earlier mention of the old rubberpower
kits that included dummy sparkignition
engines complete with sound effects.
He sent a couple photos of himself with a
Scientific Flea. One picture shows him at age
13 in Detroit, Michigan, and the other shows
him with the Flea he built sometime around
2002.
Regarding the 1937 version, he wrote:
“If you built it according to the
instructions, there was even a gas tank, inlet
tube with needle valve, and a spark plug [all
simulated]. There was a ratchet that flipped a
piece of flat brass spring stock to simulate the
engine sound as the prop spun. That was a
model of the Brown Junior, which was thefirst real engine I bought several years later
for $12.50, including coil and condenser.”
Sometime ago I received a nice letter from
Bob Govro (Albany OR) in which he
described an RC hydro session he once
attended and his meeting with Joe Bridi and
the late Irwin Ohlsson. Bob included some Email
photocopies that can’t be used here since
we need actual prints and not copies.
Nonetheless, following is what he wrote:
“In June 1978 I flew in an RC floatplane
contest (NW Seaplane Championships) with
Irwin Ohlsson and Joe Bridi. This was at
Haystack Reservoir in central Oregon. They
arrived at nearby Redmond OR in a private
airplane, and someone drove them out to the
lake.
“I introduced myself and asked Mr.
Ohlsson how he got AMA number 4, which
was barely visible on the top of his model’s
wing. He replied that he was the fourth
president of the AMA. Later that day Mr.
Bridi flew his twin .60-powered model
inverted in a long, low pass in front of the
crowd.”
My first exposure to OT modeling was at
the 1966 Nats, held aboard Naval Air Station
Glenview in Illinois. The movement had been
in existence for a few years, thanks to such
people as John Pond, Bud McNorgan, Tim
Dannels, et al., but I’d been out of the
country, thanks to a government-sponsored
tour of beautiful, exotic Vietnam, and hadn’t
seen any of this yet.
I walked into the workshop hangar at that
Nats, and there was a silked Comet Sailplane,
a blue-and-white KG-1, and several other
blasts from the past on display. Later that day,
out on the flightline, I managed to snap
several color photos—including one I am
including in this issue—of Tim Dannels and
his Goldberg Valkyrie.
I also took pictures of Louis Levine with
his Sailplane and Bob Larsh (I think) with a
beautiful red Brooklyn Dodger. Somehow a
few of those photos managed to survive the
ensuing 40 years and several long-distance
moves, and I hope to include some in future
issues.
On the topic of photos, I remind everyone
that the MA staff can use only high-quality
prints; that is, actual photographs—not Emailed
pictures or printer copies. (Having
mentioned that, I’ll admit that some of my
own aren’t exactly “high-quality.”)
When submitting photos, try for
uncluttered backgrounds and good contrast.
Include all pertinent information about the
model and the builder. Most who submit
photos say they are ours to keep. If you send
one you’d like returned, we will make every
effort to ensure its safety. Given our lead
time, you may not see it again for several
months, but we will do our best to return it to
you in good condition.
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