Old-Timers - 2012/10

Old-Timer modeling activity
is alive and well worldwide.
The annual Eurochamps is the
largest of the overseas versions of the
US Society of Antique Modelers (SAM)
Championships. The models, events, and
rules are similar to ours.
Now in its 10th year and drawing
fliers from several countries, the
participation level this year was the
highest ever. In most events the number
of entrants has surpassed that of our
own championships. The venue moves
from country to country each year,
receiving local support, possibly because
of the healthy competition between the
countries.
In 2012, SAM Chapter 119
in Slovakia was sponsored by 38
companies. There were trained local
volunteers to help with such matters
as shagging and managing the 20-plus
bungees provided for approximately
120 Old-Timer Glider entrants. Backup
timing and recording was provided
by 20 young ladies who made the hot
weather—up to 95º F—more bearable
by wearing bikinis while recording flight
times.
Population density and the resulting
lack of open space don’t allow FF events
to be offered consistently from year to
year, so all were RC events. I’m told
the last FF event was during the 2010
Champs in the Czech Republic when
three or four FF events, mainly Rubber
and Hand-Launched Glider, were
offered. Fortunately, the US and several
other countries can still find a few
locations with room to accommodate FF
at the Old-Timer Championships.
Gliders, or Sailplanes if you prefer, are
more popular in Europe, which accounts
for the high level of participation. Those
20 hi-starts and
line shaggers
were needed to
accommodate the
286 flights made
during six rounds
of flying.
By the end
of the day,
competition had
narrowed to four
fliers going into
the flyoff round.
Gyorgy Berko of
Hungary emerged
the winner,
followed by Alois
Hrabacek from
the Czech Republic, and Filippo Bezzi
of Italy. The fourth flier, Petr Svoboda of
the Czech Republic, missed the awards
podium by only eight seconds.
Electric Old-Timer had 85 entries,
ending up with a 13-pilot flyoff. Rover
Mersecchi, József Szennyei, and Berko
placed in first, second, and third. As
Mersecchi came down for the last flyoff
landing, the crowd gave him an ovation.
Immediately following that, a large
stork glided low and slow over the
flightline. Again the crowd reacted
with applause, shouting, “The stork wins.”
Texaco is the most popular of the engine-powered events
and second most popular overall. European fliers excel at this
event and most use diesel power to squeeze the longest run
time out of the limited fuel allotment.
More than half of the models flown were originally designed
in the US, unlike the Glider entries that were predominantly
European designs. Of the approximately 50 fliers in Texaco,
Miroslav Camaj of Slovakia emerged the winner, flying the
popular US design, the Lanzo Bomber.
More than 90% of the pilots used 2.4 GHz radios, which has
made things easier for international travel and competition,
but designing take-apart models and packing cases still
presents challenges. This year, Ed Hamler and Roy Brown were
the only US entrants.
Ed is the current SAM USA president and he provided
most of the detail for this report. He flew various sizes of Chet
Lanzo’s 1938 Airborn design.
By accumulating two first places, two seconds, and a third,
Ed emerged as the meet’s grand champion! Nick Bruschi of
San Marino, and Gyorgy Berko were runners-up. Next year’s
SAM Eurochamps is planned for June 23-28, 2013, at the
airfield in Jakabszaállás, Hungary.
Chester “Chet” Lanzo
Chet Lanzo is one of the most recognized names among
Old-Timer modelers. During roughly 65 years as a modeler, he
progressed with the hobby, starting with Rubber models, later
gasoline powered, then on to RC. He was a top competitor in
all of those categories, winning many meets, setting records,
creating new designs, and having models published and kitted
by various publishers and manufacturers.
During the heyday of Rubber power, Chet won national
meets in indoor and outdoor categories and often led the way
in design trends. His plans appeared in many publications and
one of his Wakefield designs is often duplicated and flown.
Chet designed a popular model for the Rubber Stick event.
It set endurance records, and is also a favorite build today.
Later he designed a different gasoline-powered stick model,
known as the Lanzo Stick.
Chet is often credited with being the father of RC. He was
a licensed amateur radio operator and designed and flew with
some of the first RC systems. As with most new developments,
others were working in the same direction at the time, but
Chet was more visibly successful. He won the first national
RC championship in 1937. During the three successive years,
the event was won by the Good brothers, who are also wellrecognized
RC pioneers. In 1941, Jim Walker, considered the
father of CL, won that RC event.
Frank Zaic’s 1938 Model Aeronautics Yearbook features
seven of Chet’s schematics for RC systems. He even installed
one in a model car. In the book, Chet describes an airborne
transmitter which provides a signal for finding a lost model.
That was a forerunner of the Walston retrieval system widely
used by FF fliers today.
Chet’s antique radio model, the RC-1, is frequently flown in
SAM events. Its size makes it a good selection for the Brown
Junior and Ohlsson sideport single-engine events where scaling
is not allowed. His later, larger, and more successful RC aircraft
is known as the Racer, and sometimes appears as a candidate
for the Texaco fuel allotment event.
Chet’s all-time favorite—at least in Old-Timer RC circles—
is the Bomber. The model is a fairly easy build, easy to fly,
and a competitive Soaring machine. It’s a pre-1939 Antiquecategory
design, which makes it eligible for nearly all the
engine-powered events.
It has been built in numerous sizes and classes for spark
ignition, glow, and electric fl ying. The
Bomber is a superior RC training model,
especially for those who aren’t destined
to excel at Pattern fl ying, 3-D, or Pylon
Racing within a couple of months.
The Lanzo Airborn design is rapidly
gaining in popularity and is beginning
to rival the Bomber as a competition
favorite. It began as an RC Glider and
later had an engine added. The enginepowered
version is the most frequently
seen, but at least one has been built as
a “convertible” and campaigned both in
engine-powered and Glider events.
We’ll know the Airborn has fully
arrived when we begin to hear
complaints about seeing too many in
competition.
The Record Breaker is another
Lanzo design, popular with FF and RC
modelers. It’s often fl own in Texaco
events. The wing appears to be the same
as that of the Bomber, but it’s mounted
on cabane struts rather than a pylon.
Those who knew Chet Lanzo describe
him as modest, unassuming, and a
gentleman.
Seldom Seen Models
Seldom seen models are favorites
among many OT enthusiasts. There is
even a special Concours category for
them at the annual SAM Champs: Miss
Seldom Seen.
Franny Brodigans’ great-looking
Shereshaw Cumulus was pictured in my
April 2012, column. I mentioned that
she was constructing a rare Shereshaw
XP-3.
The model has been completed and
it lives up to Franny’s high standards
of construction and fi nish. The photo
explains it better than I can.
Errors
Some common and often comical
construction errors were cited in the
last column. I’ve recalled another that
should be classifi ed as more maddening
than comical. It might have even caused
some less-tenacious people to quit the
hobby. There was once a product on the
market called Liquid Solder.
Some modelers took the name at
face value and used it to join their
spark ignition wire connections, but the
product was nothing more than silvercolored
glue, with little or no electrical
conductance.
Few people, especially kids, had
ohmmeters or other test equipment
at that time. Imagine the frustration
of trying to sort that one out when an
engine wouldn’t start.
Upcoming Event
The 37th Annual John Pond
Commemorative Old-Timer RC contest
will be held October 27-28 this year.
The venue is once again Taft, California’s
Condor Field, which has sometimes
been described as the world’s best FF
site.
Taft has the most reliable fl ying
weather, but many of the scheduled
FF events have moved to Lost Hills,
30 miles or so to the north. Creeping
encroachment of civilization has begun
to shrink the open chase area at Taft,
while Lost Hills is an almost endless
open desert, devoid of obstacles.
Check the Contest Calendar for more
information.