Prelude to Kiev
IN OLDEN DAYS, when life was so much simpler, a few guys would stand around and watch pilots doing impromptu maneuvers in their Taperwing Wacos and Ryan trainers. Then they would talk it over and decide who had flown best and who hadn't. The winner got the trophy and the cash, and everyone else grumbled. It wasn't a very precise way of judging an aerobatic contest, but it was the best they had. And it was also a wide open opportunity for bias, and for building up the reputation of a pilot the judges liked, and for discouraging newcomers. But as long as aerobatic championships carried about as much prestige as professional wrestling titles, not very many people lost sleep over it. It was more show than sport, anyway.
E.A.A.
Right: An RAF SE-5E, on loan from the Smithsonian, is great attraction for modelers interested in bare bones detailing. Much of the restoration was done in EAA's R & D shop. Above: Exterior view of the Experimental Aircraft Association headquarters and the Air Museum. See list at end of article for types of aircraft and engines on exhibition. Right: Part of Gene Chase's job as Exec. Assist. for Museum Acquisitions is upgrading and updating displays. Here he stands in the front of Hindenburg Disaster display put together by George Hardy Jr. Gene is holding a part of the frame of the famous dirigible.
SAM Old-Timer Champs
THIS EVENT is the once-a-year get-together for those who grew up with Browns, Super Cykes, Hornets, Synchro Aces, and other good names such as Flying Quaker, Quaker Flash, Clipper, Zipper, Sailplane, Playboy, Mercury, Miss America, Megow, Comet, Scientific, Cleveland, Peerless, and on and on. Of course, there is more than a smattering of newcomers with a love for the Old-Timer style of flying. No, the Society of Antique Modelers (SAM) is not just for those who knew a time when RC was "a dream of dim conception" while a few, a very few (Chet
