1988 SAM Champs
THE ANNUAL MIGRATION of certain bird and animal species to ancestral breeding grounds has long been studied by scientists. Certain of the creatures perform amazing feats of navigation and endurance to reach their goal. I have made a study of the members of the Society of Antique Modelers for many years now, and I find them unique in that they migrate annually to a moving target, with each successive destina-
Free Flight: Old-Timers
BEFORE we get to nuts, bolts, and gluing sticks, I want to let loose some philosophical comments. I often think of an incident from 1960 when I was holding Bob Wilder's Wakefield while he practiced winding to absolute maximum turns prior to our going to try to get him on the U.S. Wakefield team. Sixteen strands of 1/4-in. rubber is a lot, and to get all the power possible the expert stretches the rubber almost to the breaking point throughout the entire winding procedure. We both were grunting and straining . . . trying to concentrate on the number of turns and just the right feel or tension to the pull. This was before Bob made his now-famous torque meters that make this job so much easier. He would pull so hard I could feel my heels cut into the grass at the Wichita "Beech Field." A boy of about 10 years was watching our labors with amazement. After a flight, as we prepared to do it all again, the boy said, "Hey! I have an .049 Baby Bee I will sell you guys for three bucks that will fly that thing without all that work."
Free Flight: Old-Timers
THE STORY of the 1939 Wakefield finals, dominated by Dick Korda's first-flight-of-the-day win, is part of our history. I have never had the pleasure of talking to Mr. Korda, but I have talked with several people who were there and who saw THE FLIGHT. There were weak thermals and almost calm winds in the morning, and the afternoon brought more wind, haze, and fewer thermals. While THE FLIGHT was in progress, others did try to launch into the lift but could not reach it or stay in it. THE FLIGHT involved two distinct thermals, two instances of a considerable gain in altitude, and a landing near the launch point.
Free Flight: Old-Timers
IN MY LAST column (January) there was a photo of Bob Beecroft's 1990 United States Free Flight Champs 1/2A Texaco winner. Free Flight Texaco events are sort of rare, needing fine weather and space. Rules tend to be those of the local club, so they vary somewhat-and vary greatly from the popular RC 1/2A Texaco rules, which have been somewhat standardized by SAM. The powerhouse built by Beecroft is 56-in. span, which is larger than allowed by the RC rules, and it uses a rotary valve engine as opposed to the reed valve engine required by the RC rules. Beecroft's engine is made of a Cox TD crankcase and shaft, a Kirn Kraft needle valve and TD venturi (stock), a Cox Texaco Special piston, cylinder and head, and a Cox muffler. The exhaust is conducted by a piece of tubing to the bottom of the cowl, so there will be little exhaust residue on the model.
Free Flight: Old-Timers
WHEN I BEGAN writing this column about six years ago, I wondered why we are called contributing editors instead of columnists or writers. Well, the aptness of the term editor becomes more apparent with time, as I spend more energy deciding what to include and what to leave out than I do writing. I do wish I could be more timely and write monthly - I am writing this in January - so as to be able to keep up a sort of dialog...but I will try to bloom where planted. In my March 1993 column, I drew a rough graph to show the relationship of turns to torque for a rubber motor. One of the points to be made from the graph is that about 80% of the motor's potential power comes from the last 20% of turns.
