Old-Timers - 2007/06
Mike Keville | [email protected]
Because these columns are written three months prior to the cover date, "news" items are often, well, not. Some are as stale as last week's bread.
However, I would be remiss if I failed to mention Chuck Hollinger's passing. He left this world in December, but word didn't reach here until February. Chuck designed and published a number of attractive and competitive FF and CL models in the 1940s and 1950s.
The design I best recall is his CL Scale/Precision Aerobatics (Stunt) Fleet PT-6 biplane that was featured as a construction article in an early 1950s Air Trails. Former National Stunt Champion Bart Klapinski built and flew the model to two second-place finishes (out of more than 80 entries) in the Old Time event at the annual Vintage Stunt Championships in Tucson, Arizona.
Rest in peace, Chuck. Thanks for the memories.
Mystery Flier Identified
A photo this month may look familiar since it was published in the August 2006 issue on page 142. At that time the only information I could offer was that it was taken in 1938 at the old Rosecrans & Western site in Los Angeles.
The young man holding the model was unidentified, thus I'd asked if anyone recognized him. As it turned out, someone did.
George Sing (Glendale, Arizona) identified the flier as Wing Jung, who once flew a lot of Wakefield and later married his uncle's sister. George said he met Wing in 1939 and recognized him immediately upon seeing the photo.
George is still an active modeler at age 84. He flies each Tuesday and Thursday with his friend Luke Dang.
Fullerplast Availability
The December column mentioned Fullerplast (yes, one word; it's a registered trademark)—a two-part finish that provides a tough fuelproof coating for doped tissue and other coverings. I mentioned that I didn't know where to find any today.
Not long after that column was published, word arrived from Charles Greenwood that you can order Fullerplast from Van-Dee Decorating Center, 205 S. Federal Hwy., Stuart FL 34994. The product is featured on the company's web site (www.van-dee.com) as "Fullerplast Varnish" and is available in gloss or satin. The price could have changed, but you can expect a significant weight reduction to your wallet. Van-Dee stocks a full line of other sealers, urethanes, and lacquers, Binks spray equipment, and sundries. The company accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. The toll-free phone number is (800) 749-VAND (8263).
Polyspan Lite Now Available in the U.S.
Good news for those who want to cover with the new lightweight Polyspan. Formerly available only from Mike Woodhouse in the United Kingdom, you can now obtain it from Larry Davidson in the U.S.
Polyspan Lite weighs just 15 grams (.529 ounce) per square meter, as opposed to 25 grams (.881 ounce) for the original. This tough heat-shrink material is suitable for everything from small rubber-powered models to Class C Old-Time Power designs. Sold in 6-foot sheets measuring 1 meter wide, Polyspan costs $13 plus postage. Order from Larry Davidson, 66 Casa Mia Cir., Moneta VA 24121; Tel.: (540) 721-4563; E-mail: [email protected].
Builder-Of-the-Model (BOM) Rule Discussion
There has been much talk lately about the Builder-Of-the-Model (BOM) rule as it pertains to AMA FF events. To put it mildly, many modelers are passionate about the subject, pro or con, especially with the increasing availability of ARF designs. Comments range from "Who cares?" to those we can't print here. Don't even think of mentioning the subject among those who fly CL Stunt.
Colorado's Bill Gieseking wrote some thoughts about FF awhile back, echoing those of several others. He agreed to have his opinions included in this column, and I have extracted some key points. He wrote:
"Certainly the BOM [rule] made real sense when we were all kids—when the hard-learned skills in construction were a big part of the whole ambience of that Golden Age of modeling. But now I simply want to see Free Flight airplanes clouding the sky—whatever the source, whatever the hand that lets it go. The big obstacle to that happening is a shortage of fliers and time.
"I have tried with limited success to enroll some Juniors in flying Free Flight, but I can't make modelers out of them. To me it was an accomplishment to see them fly some Catapult and Hand Launched Gliders. They flew remarkably well, yet their fascination was caught up in the motorcycles used to chase them.
"Back in the late 1930s every kid on the block built model airplanes. Nowadays every kid on the block is doing everything and anything except that noble pastime.
"Yes, I feel a greater personal accomplishment by fielding my own creations. But that has nothing to do with what anyone else is doing.
"If I win occasionally, that is great. But I am thrilled to see a fellow flier succeed in beating me, because the only feeling I have is that I'm going to try harder to do better.
"My feeling is that the retention of the BOM [rule] is a detriment to the current health of Free Flight. The one no-brainer exception to that is Scale. In that event it is the builder's craftsmanship that is the object of judging."
Those are one man's thoughts; opinions vary. Some feel that the BOM rule has outlived its usefulness and that anything helping to increase participation is a good thing. Others feel that if you don't build your own models, we're facing The End Of Civilization As We Know It. There don't seem to be any gray areas there.
Since it's my job to report and not offer opinions, I won't add any comments here, although you can probably guess what those are.
Final Column
Th-th-th-that's all, folks! Following Bill Baker's tenure I began writing this column with the July 2000 issue. Seven years later I find myself out of steam—or sort of like running out of airspeed and ideas at the same time. Thus I have advised the MA staff that this will be my final Old-Timers column.
It's been fun, but other interests have surfaced. I hope someone will step forward to continue this column.
MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
