Radio Control Giants - 2010/12

116 MODEL AVIATION
Welcome back. I’ll take this opportunity to wish all readers and
their families and friends a very happy and healthy holiday season.
Peace on Earth and good will toward man.
The august 2010 column featured a Flitfire Cub by Ted Galbraith of
North Weald, Essex, England. The model started life as a 1/4-scale
Hangar 9 ARF that was damaged in shipping.
Ted repaired the airplane and re-covered it as
[[email protected]]
Radio Control Giants Sal Calvagna
The Flitfire Nevada, then and now
Also included in this column:
• Bill Brandt’s Fokker Dr.I
Ted Galbraith uncovered his Hangar 9 1/4-scale Cub and refinished
it as one of 49 Flitfires built to support the RAF war effort in 1941.
Harry Frank was one of the original 10
owners of the NC37930 Flitfire. They
purchased it in a raffle through Piper that
benefited disabled RAF pilots and their
families.
Peg learned the origins of her prized Cub and replaced its yellow scheme restoration with
the original Flitfire scheme as a tribute to its history.
This Piper Cub went on to perform at air shows as a clipped-wing aerobat during the
1980s. Peg Cahill eventually purchased it and restored it to the full-wing configuration.
one of the 49 full-scale Flitfires that was raffled in the US to raise
funds for the Royal Air Force (RAF) Benevolent Fund during World
War II.
The Piper Aircraft Corporation initially built and raffled one
Flitfire for the RAF Benevolent Fund, which helped disabled RAF
pilots and their families. The Flitfire was painted all silver and had
RAF roundels, and its name was a derivative of the famous Spitfire.
That was such a great success that 48 more of the aircraft were
raffled; each was stenciled with the name of a state. During the time of
the raffle—in 1941—there were 48 states; Hawaii and Alaska did not
achieve statehood until the late 1950s.
Ted modeled his aircraft after a full-scale restoration that took
place at the Port Townsend Aero Museum in Chimacum, Washington.
For information about that project, visit the Web site at the address in
the “Sources” listing. Click on “contract work” on the home page.
In addition to my featuring Ted’s Flitfire in the RC Giants column,
he was thrilled to have it grace the cover of the August MA. Shortly
after that issue hit the street, I received a letter from Harry Frank of
Bayonne, New Jersey, that I read in amazement.
He wrote:
“Wow, seeing the cover of the Aug 2010 issue of Model Aviation,
a silver painted Piper Cub with license # NC 37930, hey, that’s my
first full sized aircraft.
“Background, in early 1941, ten mostly model airplane
builders decided to form a flying club and learn to fly. We
purchased one of the 48 ‘Flitfire’ Cubs that Piper built and
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Above: The Fokker Dr.I triplane is probably the most
recognizable aircraft from WW I. Bill Brandt’s Zenoah
G-26-powered version performs a mock strafe run. Joe
Wojtkowicz photo.
Right: Bill Brandt covered his Balsa USA 1/4-scale Dr.I
with 21st Century Fabric and finish-painted it with Rust-
Oleum spray.
donated the proceeds to the RAF Benevolent Fund. We purchased
the Cub for $1250, costing each of us $125.00.
“We took delivery in early May 1941 and my first flight in
NC37930 ‘Flitfire Nevada’ was from Newark Airport on 5/14/41. To
simplify operations we moved the Cub to Staten Island airport.
“I flew ‘Flitfire Nevada’ from 5/14/41 to 6/19/42, getting my
private pilot license in September 1941. I entered the aviation cadet
program in the summer of 1942 and graduated in April 1943.
“After approximately 50 years of flying as a flight instructor,
Corporate pilot, owner of a seaplane air taxi, I retired at age 70 in
1990. I resumed model building and my first RC model was a 1/4 Sig
Cub, of course it was finished in silver like my original full size
‘Flitfire.’
“I am currently 90 years old and I fly 30 percent ARFs. My
original model Cub was given to a good friend ‘Skie’ Godleski who
lets me fly it on occasion. The photo of the Flitfire and I was taken in
1941. I don’t know what became of NC 37930 as it was sold in 1942
as most of the partners entered the military and served in WWII.”
After receiving this amazing letter from Harry, I forwarded all of
the information I had to the Port Townsend Aero Museum, where
the full-scale aircraft resided, in hopes of contacting the current
owner.
A short time later I received an e-mail from Peg Cahill of
Snohomish, Washington, who has owned NC37930 since the early
1980s. She wrote:
“The museum director forwarded your e-mail and attachments
regarding the Nevada Flitfire to me as I own the airplane. I bought
the Cub in the late ‘70’s or early 1980’s and the Port Townsend
Aero Museum restored it for me.
“Over the years I have heard from a number of prior owners, all
of whom had stories to tell. When I bought N37930 it was a clipped
wing Cub used for aerobatics. I’ve been told it was once owned by
Marion Cole of Cole Brothers fame.
“While I was in the process of restoring the aircraft to a long
wing yellow Cub I learned from a Flitfire buff in the Netherlands
that it was one of the original Flitfires, but he didn’t know which
state it was from. He did say that there are only 13 left. So the
yellow came off and we started over.
“Your e-mail bowled me over. I would love to talk to Mr. Frank,
if you would be kind enough to forward his contact information or
to send him mine. I also have some photos he might like to have.
“When I purchased the Cub, my flight instructor and friend,
Frank Barker flew along on my first flight from Yakima, WA to
Barker Airfield near Mt. Vernon, WA. It took a little over three
hours flight time, which is about what it would take to drive in a car.
“We must have had a stiff head wind (I guess any head wind is a
stiff head wind in a Cub) because I remember looking down at the
highway which crosses the Cascade Mountains, and over which we
were flying, and seeing a Greyhound Bus. We never did overtake
and pass that bus!”
It’s amazing that this whole story started with a “damaged in
shipping” Hangar 9 1/4-scale Cub and ended with the original and
current owner of NC37930 describing the nearly-70-year history of
this aircraft.
Thanks to Harry Frank, the restoration of the full-scale Flitfire and
the completion of the 1/4-scale model can be accomplished with the
addition of “Nevada” to the forward fuselage. Ain’t RC modeling
great?
Bill Brandt of Center Moriches, New York, is shown with his 1/4-scale
Balsa USA Dr.I triplane. It is powered by a Zenoah G-26 two-stroke
gasoline engine and covered with 21st Century Fabric. The model is
painted with Rust-Oleum spray.
Wheels and machine guns are from Williams Brothers, and the
pilot figure is from Aces of Iron. Bill wrote that the Dr.I is one of his
favorite models.
Balsa USA is one of the few kit manufacturers left in the US. It
offers a great lineup of WW I- and sport-model kits in 1/6-1/3 scale. For
more information about the Dr.I or any of the company’s other
fantastic designs, visit the company’s Web site. I have included it in
the “Sources” listing.
The Fokker Dr.I is probably the most recognizable aircraft from
World War I. It was made famous by the infamous Red Baron—
Manfred Von Richthofen—and other German aces of the time. The
Red Baron obtained his last 20 kills in the triplane and was fatally
wounded by ground fire while flying a Dr.I.
It was one of the best dogfighting aircraft of the war because of its
maneuverability. The triplane possessed a great rate of climb and could
out-turn its rivals. However, its slower speed and chronic structural
problems ended the short career of the Dr.I.
Only 320 were built. Although it’s a popular subject at full-scale
and model aircraft meets, no original airframes exist today.
That’s all for this month. Now is the time to start building; get that
project going! MA
Sources:
Port Townsend Aero Museum
(360) 379-5244
www.ptaeromuseum.com
Hangar 9
(800) 338-4639
www.hangar-9.com
Balsa USA
(906) 863-6421
www.balsausa.com
International Miniature Aircraft Association
www.fly-imaa.org
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