13th S.A.M. Annual Championships
The gas shortage may have cut the entry but the 75 contestants who made it to Salt Lake City for three days in July flew the spectrum of oldies in 24 lively events. Mention the Great Salt Flats and one immediately thinks competition. For years and years men and women alike have brought their hopes, dreams and their finely tuned machines to Utah to break old records, to set new ones or just to prove a point. Some have left exalted and others in bitter defeat, yet they continue to compete. And competition it was for the 75 contestants vying for top honors in 21 official and 3 special events of the 13th running of the Society of Antique Modelers Annual Championships held in Salt Lake City, July 24, 25 and 26. The three days of competition are held on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday rather than on the usual weekend. This allows those traveling long distances to participate in the contest during a one week vacation period using the weekends for travel and hopefully not taking too much away from family vacation plans. This system was somewhat hampered this year by Sunday closures of many service stations. Fear of gasoline shortages may have restricted the attendance somewhat, however many contestants flew in by airline or private airplanes.
Free Flight: Old Timers
IF YOU'VE been in this free-flight game for long you have undoubtedly run across Frank Zaic's fabulous Yearbooks. These gold mines of free-flight lore and knowledge occupy a revered spot on my bookshelf, and are frequently referred to as an authoritative source of practical and theoretical information. A perusal of these soft-cover manuals reveals that there is really not much that is new in model aviation, only refinements of what has been tried before! You can imagine my excitement when, during a recent trip to California, engine builder John Morrill arranged an interview with the legendary Frank Zaic! The three hours that followed has to be a major highlight of my year. Frank has recently retired from his "regular job" and is now devoting his full efforts to his personal interests. These include in addition to model airplanes, photography, reading science fiction and most recently oil painting. Frank is concerned about maintaining physical and mental health in his retirement years, but if his enthusiasm for life and the sparkle in his eyes are any indication, I would judge him to be in excellent health and much younger than his years indicate.
Free Flight: Old Timers
HAIL To The Champs: The thirteenth running of the annual SAM Champs will take place in Salt Lake City, Utah on July 24, 25, and 26. Hosted this year by the Salt Lake Antique Modelers, (S.L.A.M.) SAM Chapter 18, the event will be headquartered at the Ramada Inn. Contest Manager Lin Haslam has put together a full slate of Old Timer events. In addition to the standard categories the champs will offer some exciting special events. Among these are the previously offered compressed-air event sponsored by Tim Banazak and the Danny Sheelds' Twin-pusher class. Of particular interest is the "Slag Engine" event sponsored by engine specialist Mark Fechner, of Marks Model Engines, 4456 W. 3145 So., Salt Lake City, Utah 84120. The Slag Engine event is open to any engine with both the piston and cylinder bore made of aluminum. In Mark's words an "A·A" engine as opposed the currently popular "A·B·C" engines. Several old favorites (?) like the Thor, Genie, Rogers, Ram, Buzz, Syncro, etc., are eligible. The model may be either a cabin or pylon design (meeting all old-timer rules).
Free Flight: Old Timers
BE A CONVERT. A few columns back we featured some homemade engines by John Morrill. John was able to successfully construct these engines because of his skill as a machinist and having access to the proper machine tools. Not all of us have the necessary skills or equipment to build our own engine but would still like to try our hand at engine work. Hans Ochsner, 4699 Lake George Road, Metamora, Michigan 48455, has been producing successful engine conversions, from glo to ignition, using basic tools. Before we delve into the details of engine conversion let us review the essentials of ignition systems without getting bogged down in any heavy theory.
Free Flight: Old Timers
ODDS and Ends: Some time back we commented on a few unusual contest names. Bob Lundberg, secretary/treasurer of the "Western Lake Superior Flying and Hiking Society" (whew!), a multiple interest club in Duluth, Minnesota, wrote to tell us about the "Third Annual Frozen Feet Meet." Bob states, "This meet is held the second Sunday in March despite the weather which usually is in the 20 degree range with one or two feet of snow still left from the ravages of winter. Only one event is flown-Outdoor Handlaunch Glider." Not only is this club not lacking for words, they're not lacking enthusiasm either! Hans Ochsner, of Metamora, Michigan mentioned a good tip in his recent letter, "An added note of caution, isolate fuel tanks from engines that turn high rpm. My experience is that about 12,000 rpm, attached tanks are instant foam, dropping rpm until the fuel again becomes liquid, then picking up again until it foams. The high-low cycling won't fly your airplane." This would be most prevalent in conversions as most of the original ignition engines won't turn up that high.
