Radio Control: Old-Timers
SHERESHAW'S NIMBUS. This month we present a really rare bird. While most of Ben Shereshaw's designs are frequently seen both in competition and for sport, the model in the photos is the first one of its kind that I can recall ever seeing in a modern-day publication. There is certainly a reason for this, but it's not that the Nimbus is a bad design, aerodynamically. Rather, the problems lie in two areas: 1) The construction system is a nightmare; 2) The drawings available are grossly in error. As published in the June 1937 Model Airplane News (not June 1938 as listed in John Pond's catalog), the fuselage was built up using a series of full-depth bulkheads held together with four longerons. No crutch or frame was used! In other words, one attempted to develop a straight fuselage by eyeballing the thing in midair while attaching the longerons.
Radio Control: Old-Timers
LI'L MISERY. This month's feature Old-Timer is a rare bird, indeed. It was designed by John Worth (who is now AMA's Executive Director) and published in the July 1942 issue of Air Trails. I, like many others, have looked at those old drawings with only casual interest, dismissing the Li'l Misery as an exercise in tailless aerodynamics and little more. John Worth now tells us: "In the early Forties, Dick Coen and I had a great arrangement for trying out new ideas. I would draw them up, and he would build them. Li'l Misery was one of these, and it was an immediate success.
Radio Control: Old-Timers
SPOOK. This month's featured Old-Timer is one of my personal, all-time favorites, although I've never built one. That the Modelcraft Spook is possessed of a distinct esthetic appeal is undeniable. The distinctive gull wing and long, thin outlines combine with pretty fair aerodynamics to create what has become a truly classic Old-Timer. I've always had a sneaking suspicion that the Joe Weathers Mystery Man published in the June 1939 Air Trails might have had an influence on Barney Snyder's Spook, which was introduced in June of 1940. After all, Weathers was living in San Diego, and Modelcraft had a shop and kit operation in Los Angeles.
Radio Control: Old-Timers
THE FIRST TIME EVER! This month's Old-Timer is one that has never before been published. As a matter of fact, it isn't even SAM-legal at this point. (SAM is the Society of Antique Modelers-an organized, national group which promotes building, flying, and competing with Free Flight models which were designed prior to 1941. Some of their present-day events utilize Radio Control. RMcM.) What we have is a replica which was developed and built by Ralph Beck of Beloit, WI from old photos and a section of the original 1935 drawings. I suspect that the design will soon be authenticated by the SAM committee which is responsible for this type of certification.
Radio Control: Old-Timers
WHAT SEASON is it, anyway? This column is being written on a 100º afternoon in August 1987, but it is for the February 1988 issue! And, the February issue will reach readers just about Christmas 1987. To say it is a bit weird to be wishing readers a joyous holiday season under these circumstances is a definite understatement. But, such is the magazine writer's fate. Henry Edward Moyer's Cloud Cruiser is my Old-Timer of the month. Since Ben Shereshaw's Cloud Cruiser is the model by this name which is much better known, I thought it prudent to prefix the designer's name to this one to avoid confusion. The Moyer Cloud Cruiser was published in the July 1937 issue of Model Airplane News, whereas Shereshaw's was in the November 1937 Flying Aces. One can only speculate as to why the editor of Flying Aces didn't hurriedly change Ben's choice of names for his model.
