Old-Timers
Mike Keville, 6218 E. Evergreen St., Mesa, AZ 85205; E-mail: [email protected]
He looked as if he might be 80, but he didn't say and I didn't ask. He was looking intently at the spark-ignition models on the ready line, with that "thousand-yard stare" in his eyes.
Quietly, the man asked if he could step inside the ropes for a closer look, offering that he hadn't seen things like this since "back around 1948," when he quit modeling, sold everything, started a family, etc. The usual story.
But unlike many of us, he never got back into modeling.
He'd heard of the contest, which was not far from his home, and he stopped by on a whim to check it out.
"I didn't realize anyone was still doing this," he said.
That's something we hear all too often. The sad fact is, unless people are already connected with the hobby, they don't know we're out here.
Flying sites (that haven't disappeared) continue to move farther from population centers, and the result is far too many people who "didn't realize anyone was still doing this."
I struck up a conversation with the visitor, and I offered to escort him inside the ropes. He could hardly believe the sight of so many Orwicks, Super Clydes, and Ohlssons—not to mention the howling Fox .59 long-shaft that brought a big grin to his face. He was spellbound.
It was nearing the end of the century, yet people were still flying the engines and models of his youth. Moreover, they were actually competing with them!
"Had a bunch of 'em myself back then," he said. "Flew an Orwick .64 in a Comet Sailplane 'til it disappeared one day. Lost it out of sight around 30 minutes or so ... That was about a month's wages then."
He also recalled "a big old U-control job that flew on about 90 feet of line and boy, did it ever move."
The man told me his name, but I promptly forgot it in the heat of things. (My attention span that day wasn't worth the wood in a Berkeley kit.) That's too bad, because there are probably hundreds of former modelers like him, who would be thrilled to see our re-creations and perhaps even participate in the hobby again.
There's a large senior citizens center in my neighborhood, where occasional craft shows are held. It might be fun to display a few Old-Timer models there, to see if they draw any "hits"—perhaps bring a few smiles, awaken a few long-dormant memories, and help eliminate the thought, "I didn't realize anyone was still doing this."
Crossover
Among those who enjoy Old-Timers are modelers who don't confine their activities to a particular discipline.
Mike Ditrich (Erie, PA) is primarily known for producing some of the most gorgeous Classic-era Control Line (CL) stunt models, but he also enjoys Free Flight (FF) and Radio Control (RC).
Mike built a version of Goldberg's Comet Clipper I from plans. It weighs three pounds, 12 ounces, and has a three-channel Airtronics radio, a Fox .40 RC engine, balloon wheels, and Polysapan covering. Finish is Sig dope, with one coat of automotive DuPont® Chromaclear.
"I wanted to use silk, but would have had to take out a loan," Mike wrote.
Mike added, "I also wanted a slow-flying nostalgic plane, and now I can sit in a lawn chair with a cold drink in the hand, transmitter in the other and just relax. It's a beautiful sight in late evening with the sun going down. Throttle back to idle, or just let it glide."
Max Burkhard of Fairmont, WV might agree with that sentiment. In a letter forwarded to me by Bill Baker, Max wrote:
"I build mostly RC-guided Free Flights, a Berkeley Brigadier being among my favorites. I fly them from my lawn chair, as I don't walk too well anymore. During the fifties I was a member of the Sheppard AFB Tail Twisters MAC, flying Free Flight and CL Stunt. Indoor columnist Bud Tenny was in the same club.
"I used to visit my cousin in Tulsa and watch the Glue Dobbers fly at Harvey Young airport off East 11th Street. That was always a very active model club."
The Glue Dobbers is still active. Max is almost 70 years old now.
From the Mailbag
Responding to the Megow Planefilm item in the July issue, Frank Schwartz (Hendersonville, TN) wrote:
"I was building rubber-band stuff back then but could only afford tissue, usually what came in the 10- or 25-cent kit box. In the late '50s or early '60s Citizenship Radio Corp. offered 30 x 72-inch rolls of 'heat-sealed shrink-type covering material' for $4.95.
"Nobody would buy it, though they sent lots of it out to clubs as contest prizes. It looked really nice when painted, and was ahead of its time. I don't know of anyone other than myself and Citizenship's Bill Welker who ever used it, hence it died unknown, unused, and unappreciated."
John Walker of Charlottesville, VA did use Planefilm. He wrote:
"The first (and last) time I used the stuff was more than 60 years ago. It was during the Depression, and while the prices seem low now, they were quite high then. Remember, first-rate Japanese tissue was 5 cents a sheet and banana oil and dope were also 5 cents for a relatively large bottle. As for Planefilm, the solvent was used to both attach and tighten it.
"It has one great drawback other than cost. If you weren't careful in applying the solvent, you could 'burn' a hole in it."
John also commented on my question of whether or not Planefilm was heat-shrunk.
"I think the same thing would have happened to the film that would happen if you used a MonoKote® iron on a nitrate-doped surface," he wrote.
That's a good point, and not a practice I'd recommend.
Don Hutchinson (Mansfield, TX) sent me a mint-condition 1940 Megow catalog that explains how Planefilm was attached and tightened, using Megow's solvent. (The catalog's mouth-watering content also cancelled any plans I had for that night.)
Society and Corrections
Here's your cue, Society of Antique Modelers (SAM) members! Bernard Koff (Palm Beach Gardens, FL) wrote:
"I notice that SAM covers many RC models that look like Free Flight. Maybe I should have built one of those to learn to fly. I really don't understand what RC Free Flight is and how contests are held."
If you have a reply, E-mail Bernard at [email protected].
Bob Harris wrote:
"Glad to see you've expanded to include RC and Control Line. I collect older radios and kits and still fly a few of them. My dad goes back to the days of single-channel and reeds. Among others, I have a Little Eaglet with a Controlaire 10-channel reed unit still flying. With the onset of cell phones the 27-megahertz frequency is clean and we have very little to no interference."
I had a request to feature something on the 1950s-era Payload (P A-A Load) events, sponsored by Pan American Airlines.
As much as I'd like to do that, those aren't truly Old-Timer events, thus they are outside the scope of this column.
The events are "old-time" to many, but PAA-Load falls into Free Flight's Nostalgia category.
It's a bit late, but I'm going to include a much-needed correction. Bob Munn sent the following reminder:
"It was something of a surprise to read [in the July issue] that you mentioned SAM only in connection with Free Flight, when in fact it is by far the major and most active group for Radio Control Old-Timers as well."
Bob is absolutely right.
Old-Timer Scale subjects are welcome here. In fact, they're eagerly sought.
It's good to see photos of designs from Cleveland, Peerless, Megow, etc., and RC and CL subjects. Although the FF designs are the oldest, RC and CL Scale date from the late 1940s to the early 1950s, and they could be considered Old-Timers.
Mark Gerber's Aeronca Sedan was one of two 35-inch-span CL kits that Monogram produced at midcentury (the other was a Piper Cub Special). Both were sort of oversized Speedee-Bilt kits.
Mark's Aeronca uses a glow O&R .23 for power, and it was flown in a demonstration at this year's Vintage Stunt Championships.
I have a soft spot for these old Monogram designs and Cleveland kits, although any Scale subject is appreciated.
MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
