Free Flight: Duration
TWIN PUSHERS. Twin-pusher canards dominated Outdoor Free Flight for a quarter century, until the early Thirties, for the simple reason that they won! Other configurations were tried, but failed. Why? Perhaps it was simply a matter of everyone following the beaten rut. Indoor single-prop tractors were well understood by then, but the decalage used was like 8 or 10 degrees, which must have put the CG somewhere near the leading edge, OK perhaps for Indoor flying, but far too "loopy" for Outdoor success. (Outdoor models are much happier with small decalage, big tails, long distances between the wing and tail, and then necessarily, a CG position a long ways back from the leading edge, and perhaps even behind the trailing edge.) It would be interesting to trace the transition from twin-pushers to single-tractors in Outdoor competition, but I'll have to leave that up to guys who
Free Flight: Duration
OUTDOOR HLG record broken. By now, you probably know that Bill Blanchard's record, of some eight years' standing, has been broken. Bill broke his own record so many times I've lost count, and he put it up there where it was something worth shooting at. Bill sort of dropped out of competition after winning both Indoor and Outdoor HLG in the Open age classes at the 1977 Nats; not much left for encores after that. Meanwhile, several fliers, particularly in Southern California, have been making a specific effort to break Bill's record. Notable among these is Jim Lueken, who in his first year of flying, and as a Senior, copped the Tulsa Glue Dobbers Trophy for high time in Outdoor HLG at the 1977 Nats, even beating Blanchard's Open score. Since that time, Jim has acquired a truckload of trophies in the event.
Free Flight: Duration
OBSERVATIONS on the gentlemanly art of whittling: virtually every book that concerns itself with the woodsy lore will admonish the reader to always cut away from himself, never toward himself. To be sure, if you follow that advice, you will minimize your chances of slicing a finger. To be sure, if you hold the work with your left hand above the part to be whittled; and push the knife away from yourself with your right hand, you will find it very difficult to cut a finger. But you might sever some other portion of your anatomy from it's time honored place of residence-or commit mayhem on an innocent bystander. It is good advice, but it doesn't go far enough. Besides, cutting toward yourself is an absolute necessity under some circumstances, one of which is prop carving, so you best learn to do it, and to do it safely.
Free Flight: Duration
A REAL OLD-TIMER. A while back, I got curious about the first model I'd built, probably about 1930. I could clearly remember the perspective illustration in the magazine from which I got the plans, but the visions of the model were dim. I do remember that I was somewhat a'scared to fly the fool thing, and somehow my dad got hold of a local expert to help me out. First, he added downthrust; I'd never heard of such a thing! A neat little pigtail of music wire in the right place, he judged (whoever he was) would be just right. Still, I don't think it got more than about six ft. off the ground.
Free Flight: Duration
THE ATRIUM, one more time. In the February issue, I suggested that Indoor Week 1982 might have been the last time we'd see big-time Indoor Free Flight in the atrium of the Northwood Institute at West Baden, IN; as it now stands, we'll get one more shot at it during the period June 12-19, 1983. We don't have all the details at this writing (Editor's note: Bud Tenny has more info in his column, this month. RMcM.), but the Second U.S. Indoor Championships is firm for the period June 12-15, 1983. The U.S. Indoor Champs will include every Indoor event you ever heard of, plus a few that you probably have not: all the official AMA events, plus Bostonian, Formula Manhattan, Peanut Speed, Unlimited Speed, and who knows what else. The period June 16-19 will undoubtedly be a repeat of previous years, plus perhaps a few added goodies: the mail-in-your-model Fourth World Peanut Grand Prix, with enough classes and subclasses of Peanut Scale models to ensure your getting a fair shot at your specialty, whether it be pre-WW I Pioneer Class, or Post-WW II Modern Class, and even a special class for Fikes and Laceys.
