Henderson, Nevada, 2007 SAM Championships
Bob Angell [email protected]
THE SAM (Society of Antique Modelers) Champs is probably the largest and most active annual gathering of Old-Time (OT) flying enthusiasts in the world. The weeklong 2007 event was held October 7–12 in Henderson, Nevada, the town just south of and adjacent to Las Vegas.
I took my turn as Contest Director for the RC events while Gene Wallock directed the FF competition, which was located a distance across the flat, dry lakebed. For many years Gene has volunteered for this duty almost every other year. Lately the event has rotated between the Nevada site and the AMA flying field in Muncie, Indiana, where it was scheduled to be held the week of September 8–12 in 2008.
The 2007 contest attracted more than 160 fliers. We experienced great weather throughout the week. Temperatures were mild and winds were calm until mid-afternoons, when a breeze usually kicked up, so the smart plan was to get flights in early. Several events are scheduled each day, so most fliers bring a carload of airplanes if they want to fly every day.
Many attendees come mainly for the social atmosphere and may bring just one model or none at all. On Monday evening a mini-banquet called a “bean feed” is held; the regular banquet and awards ceremonies take place Friday evening. The bean feed is a tradition held over from the early gatherings, when cookouts were held on the field.
Contestants came from many states — including a couple of enthusiasts from Alaska — and from Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. The personable Australians come as a team, complete with matching, colorful uniforms. Although Aussie SAM rules vary somewhat from ours, the team members did well under US competition rules.
Grand Championship awards are given to fliers who score highest in several selected events. On the FF side, Californian Ron Thomas was Grand Champ for ignition engine power and Herb Kothe of Colorado was Grand Champ for rubber power.
Bob Hawkins of Texas was the RC Grand Champion in the ignition- and glow-power categories. He comes well prepared and has won each of these two categories several times through the years. Jay Burkhart of Kentucky won the electric Grand Championship. Complete results are published in SAM Speaks and are available on the SAM web site.
Besides the flying championships there is a concours event, in which a large number of beautifully built models are on static display and voted on during the bean feed. The display may be static, but each model must make a qualifying flight. Awards are made in several categories.
There is also a “collecto” (short for collectogether), at which many antique and collectible engines, kits, and other items change hands. The SAM Champs’ version is slightly smaller than many MECA (Model Engine Collectors Association) collectos, but most of the goodies offered are directly suited for SAM competition. A raffle is also featured, and the prizes are mostly OT engines and kits.
As in the general modeling community, participation in the seven electric-power events (offered in RC only) was noticeably higher. The new Speed 400 electric event was added quite late, and, surprisingly, 17 people assembled models and entered.
Not all OT fliers are comfortable with electric power, but it’s the wave of the future as populations close in on flying fields. Most OT ignition engines do not accommodate or get along well with mufflers, so the noise factor limits available flying fields.
SAM Speaks CD set — ordering
A comprehensive set of two CDs is being compiled that will contain the entire collection of SAM Speaks, from the first issue to date. It will include decades of history of personalities, models, engines, events, and years of accumulated technical know-how to make you a competent builder and flier of “real” model airplanes.
- The discs were expected to be available by the time this appeared.
- To order, send a $30 (postpaid) check made payable to the Society of Antique Modelers to:
- Karl Gies, 131 13th Ave. South, Lewiston, MT 59457.
- Postage costs will be added for overseas delivery.
Spark-ignition engines — cleanup and preparation for running
Old spark-ignition engines are an integral part of many OT flying activities, and I’ve received requests for basic information about how to set up and run the old sparkers. Many modelers have one or more such engines laying around and would at least like to see and hear them run.
One SAM member is planning a book about the subject, but meanwhile you can glean much information from the SAM Speaks CD set. I’ll offer a few short courses piecemeal in this column, starting with cleanup in preparation for running.
Many engines are found seized up because they have not run for several years. Those that were run on the old standard mix of gasoline and 70-weight oil (3:1 ratio) are more likely to turn over more easily than the later glow-fueled engines using methanol with castor-oil lube.
Steps and tips for freeing and preparing engines:
- Identify whether the engine was last run on gas-and-oil or glow fuel. A clue that a sparker was probably run on glow fuel is the absence of a timer and a glow plug installed rather than a spark plug. Champion produced glow plugs that look like spark plugs from the outside; those have a “G” designation in the size/type printed on the porcelain.
- Flush the engine with the fuel type that was last used; it’s the best solvent to loosen old gunk and residue. Do this regardless of which fuel you plan to run.
- Try wiping away a little goo from the engine’s outside with a bit of each type of fuel on a rag. If gasoline cleans it better, the engine was probably last run on gasoline, and vice versa for glow fuel.
- For mildly frozen engines, put the correct fuel in the intake, exhaust, and plug cavity and let it sit for a while. Then mount a propeller, use gloves and a heat gun, and warm the engine.
- Use moderate pressure turning the propeller so you don’t destroy a prized old engine. How much pressure should you use? If something breaks, that was too much.
- Once the piston starts to move, continue to add fuel, rotate, and flush thoroughly. Most old sparkers used plain bushings rather than ball bearings, so getting the engine to turn freely is often enough to get it running.
- For later model engines that use ball bearings (Hornets, McCoys, Doolings, etc.), do a more thorough job of cleaning, especially if congealed castor oil is present in the bearings.
- For thoroughly frozen engines, if you aren’t an engine mechanic you might be better off handing it to someone who is.
I’ll discuss the electric-spark business later, including coils, timers, wiring diagrams, etc. Meanwhile, if you’re eager to run your oldie, or if it’s missing the timer, you can install a glow plug and run it on mild glow fuel — preferably FAI (no nitromethane) or 5% nitro.
Some of the bigger engines used 3/8–24 plugs instead of the now-universal 1/4–32 thread. The big plugs can still be found, and adapters are available to size the larger threads down to 1/4–32.
Many of these power plants are fragile, so don’t try to make one into a speed engine right away. They were fitted to much tighter tolerances than engines built today, and most require rich running and prolonged break-in. This is good in one way because you’ll often find that these old jewels were never fully broken in, much less worn out.
Taft, California — the free flight field
The site at Taft, California, has been called “the world’s best free flight flying field,” certainly not for its bare dirt surface, but for the open space, the extremely dependable flying weather, and the reasonable accommodations in the little town. Use of the field had been reported to be in jeopardy for the past couple of years.
SAM Chapter 26 scheduled the annual John Pond Commemorative OT RC contest there last fall, so some serious research was done on current ownership. It was found that the various reports were nothing more than rumors based on a large land sale some distance from the field.
So I can happily announce that all’s well for continued use of the world’s best FF field — at least for the near future.
MA
Sources
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
