Free Flight: Duration
Model Aviation's regular Free Flight Duration Contributing Editor, Bob Meuser, is taking a well-deserved rest from his writing chores. We have asked freelance writer and publisher Bill Hartill to fill in for him this month. Bill is an internationally-known Free Flight competitor of long standing. AFTER a dry spell of 22 years, the U.S.A. at long last has a Free Flight World Champion. Matt Gewain of Florida brought home the Swedish Glider Cup from Australia. Matt now heads the list of 11 U.S. Champions and joins Gerry Ritz as the only U.S.A. A-2 Nordic Glider Champions. Jim Wilson has flown with Matt as much as anyone. Here are Jim's impressions of the new Champion.
Free Flight: Duration
NFFS LIVES! How many times in this column have I prefaced with that statement! Hard times come, hard times go; we survive. The visible tip of the National Free Flight Society iceberg, Free Flight, made a terrific splurge in 1981 and 1982, then fell way behind toward the end of 1983. No excuses. But, it is getting back on stream, and we hope that it will stay that way for awhile. Meanwhile, the mainstream of the NFFS' activities, which keeps the tip of the iceberg afloat, continues: NFFS Supplies, Plans, and Publications services; management of the Indoor Champs; administration of what might turn out to be the cutting edge of Free Flight competition, the Nats unofficial events; interaction with World Champs activities; and gosh knows what else.
Free Flight: Duration
THE HOBBY SHOP versus the Free Flighter. We bellyache a lot about the fact that our local hobby shops don't carry much of the stuff we need. So we mail-order it, along with X-Acto knives and other items that we could get at the local shop, if there was any compelling reason to go there. But, apparently, not many of the shops look beyond the ends of their corporate noses. It isn't often that I present an item from a newsletter without editing it half to death, but the following article from the Wasatch Free Flight Association newsletter (edited by Franklin Anderson) seems to put the subject together pretty well, and in a positive way:
Free Flight: Duration
WHAT should it weigh? When you are building a new model, it is nice to know how the weight is coming along, compared to other models of comparable size. Unfortunately, many plans don't list the weights, and if you're designing your own, you're on your own. Roger Schroeder, 4111 West 98th St., Shawnee Mission, KS 66207 has been compiling data on airframe weights but would like to have more data than he has been able to get by weighing his own models and those of some of his friends.
Free Flight: Duration
Bob Meuser is on vacation, so we've asked veteran Free Flight fanatic Larry Kruse to take the reigns for this month. To all veteran Free Flight modelers, Larry needs no introduction; however, for the newcomers, we'll just suggest that you read on, and let Larry introduce himself. BEING a guest columnist has many of the same attributes as being a grandparent. First of all, no one expects you to be an authority figure. While your comments are noted in sort of a bemused fashion by the patient reader, no one expects you to strike fire with each word. Similarly, a certain amount of doddering misdirection is tolerated. If you fumble, stumble, and bumble a bit, allowances are generally made for the effects of longevity and absent-mindedness.
