Diesel Delights

IT'S SO ADDICTIVE, it ought to be illegal. After 40 years of sniffing diesel fuel and model diesel engine exhaust, I still haven't had enough. All my senses get in the act-the pungent smells of kerosene, oil and ether (raw or burnt), the satisfying feel of starting a diesel, the way it sounds once it's running. Usually, even before the model takes to the air I'm feeling high. Diesel model engines are comparatively unknown, even misunderstood, in this country. These internal-combustion engines have never been as popular in the Americas as in Europe and, to a lesser degree, Japan. Some American modelers seem even to hold them in contempt.

Hanno Prettner: World Aerobatics Champion

AUSTRIA'S Hanno Prettner, RC Aerobatics model pilot par excellence, is one of the few, and possibly the only, RC flier who makes his living from competition and display flying throughout the world. Hanno is an eight-time winner of the Las Vegas Tournament of Champions (illness prevented his competing in 1990) and a six-time champion of the World F3A Radio Control Aerobatics contests. Trophies from other Austrian and European wins fill an entire room of his home in Klagenfurt, Austria.

Delilah

This twin-.020-powered flying boat is at home in the air and in the water. If you are looking for a model that's versatile, small, maneuverable, exciting, and different, I'm sure that Delilah will fit the bill. Delilah's a 38-inch-span twin-engined flying boat, powered by Cox Tee Dee .020s. Delilah's a flighty piece of work, but still handles like a thoroughbred. It had been some years since I had built a model with a rolled-plywood fuselage. It was this type of structure that came to mind while I was looking at an old copy of Radio Control Models and Electronics (RCM&E). In it was a photograph of a model I designed called the Seastormer. Although the Seastormer handled very well in the air, it was not at ease on the water.

At Last: Success with a Model Gas Turbine Jet Engine

THE INFAMOUS Peace Ladies camped outside Greenham Common Air Base in England did not seem too perturbed as a few score of modelers' cars lined-up to enter the main gate. For one thing, the nearest resemblance to a Cruise missile was a motley assortment of RC models packed in the rear of some vehicles. However, in one of the cars was a model that, to our eyes at least, was just as revolutionary as any sophisticated missile, and it was destined to make history-though only modeling history. Sunday, February 27, 1983, was the day scheduled for the maiden flight of an RC model fitted with a genuine gas turbine jet engine. In true British tradition, the day was cold, wet, and windy.