Author: Sal Calvagna
Edition: Model Aviation - 2010/12
Page Numbers: 116,117
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Radio Control Giants

Sal Calvagna [[email protected]]

The Flitfire Nevada, then and now

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 one of the 49 full-scale Flitfires that were raffled in the U.S. to raise funds for the Royal Air Force (RAF) Benevolent Fund during World War II.

Background: The Flitfire raffle

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 museum website (see Sources) and 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 Model Aviation. Shortly after that issue hit the street, I received a letter from Harry Frank of Bayonne, New Jersey, that I read in amazement.

Letter from Harry Frank

He wrote:

"Wow, seeing the cover of the Aug 2010 issue of Model Aviation, a silver painted Piper Cub with license # NC37930 — 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 donated the proceeds to the RAF Benevolent Fund. We purchased the Cub for $1,250, 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."

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.

Response from Peg Cahill

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 '70s or early 1980s 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 NC37930 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's Balsa USA Dr.I

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 U.S. It offers a great lineup of World War 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 designs, visit the company's website (see Sources).

About the Fokker Dr.I

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!

Sources

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.