Radio Control: Old Timers
THIS MONTH'S oldtimer feature comes from the work bench of Woodrow Wilson. Not the League of Nations Wilson, our Woodrow works on the Space Shuttle and builds pretty model airplanes. The plane in the photo is Woody's second Magnet. His first was built about 1937 from a $3.95 kit by Bay Ridge of Brooklyn, NY, long since out of business. Powered with a Mighty Midget, Woody's original was a beautiful fun flier free flight, that he spent many memorable hours chasing across Oklahoma on foot. The current Thermal Magnet uses a Futaba radio for rudder, elevator, and motor controls, is covered with Silkspan and butyrate dope. He says, "my model flies very slowly, is underpowered with an O.S. 30, climbs poorly, but glides like a feather in cold molasses. A real Thermal Magnet; any idiot can fly it."
The Super Duper Zilch
ZILCH! What an odd name for a famous model for a series of highly successful kits. Not really, when we recall that a company named S.N.A.F.U. and another P.D.Q. were contemporaries of the Berkeley Zilch series in the immediate post WW II era. Other names were becoming famous in control-line stunt in that era. J.C. "Madman" Yates, Bob Tucker, Davey Slagle, Lou Andrews-and Jim Saftig. These men, and others, were adding dimensions to stunt with their designs and flying skills that seemed incredible. U-Control (a name and mechanism patented and licensed by Jim Walker) stunt had advanced from Ralph Roof's 1946 Nats winning T-Craft, to nearly all the maneuvers flown in the event nearly 30 years later.
Radio Control: Old Timers
IS IT permissible to finish a Red Zephyr in yellow and black? Why select a Red Zephyr as the model of the month when it is so well known? Most anyone who has observed the flight of Herb Greenburg's classic recognizes it as a superb thermal hanger, thanks to its very long tail-moment and high-aspect-ratio wing. But it has an undeservedly bad reputation for a glaring structural weakness. Its construction is light, simple, and economical. Sadly, in any contact with something more solid than "tall grass" the nose is inclined to separate in front of the wing leading edge. I have observed this mishap at least three times, and John Pond claims it is a 100% probability. A little ingenuity will correct the problem.
Radio Control: Old Timers
AFTER competing in the World Scale Champs in England, Bob and Dolly Wischer remained for two weeks touring the countryside, finishing up at Old Warden Aerodrome where a "meet" was held for Old Timer free flight and RC. Officially titled The Aeromodeller Vintage Meeting, the annual event also marked the Golden Jubilee for the Lord Wakefield cup. The Wischers have provided some superior shots of some out-of-the-rut designs that we shall share with you for the next few issues. Two of those photos are of two Vulcans, a 1944 design of D.A. Russell. The late Mr. Russell was for many years editor and publisher of the English magazine Aeromodeller, and the construction drawings are still available through the mag. Russell's drawings show a Dennymite .57 ignition engine manufactured then sold in the U.S. by movie idol Reginald Denny. (See Dennyplane, MA Jan. 77 for details.)
Bebe Jodel D.9
LONG a popular design for the homebuilder, the Bebe Jodel D.9 offers the same advantages to the modeler-attractive lines, ease of construction, and excellent flight characteristics. Originally designed by Jean Delemontez and Edward Joly in 1948, the plane has undergone continuous refinement and modification since that time. The plane has been certificated with numerous engines ranging from the D.9 with its 25-hp Poinsard, through the D.92 version with a modified Volkswagen engine, and on up to the two seater D.119 with a 90-hp Continental. All versions are low wing, featuring a one-piece lifting section with a constant chord center portion and tapered wing tips, each set at a dihedral angle of 14 degrees. The fuselage and tail units are of wood construction with fabric or plywood covering.
