Joe Ott's Sky Pursuit
JOSEPH S. OTT, better known to the model aircraft building fraternity as Joe Ott, was a prolific designer and builder of model aircraft in the 20s, 30s, and 40s. Many of his designs were published. Now in his 80s, Mr. Ott still has his hand in the hobby. The models he designed and built ranged from very small to those that would be considered large even by today's standards. Not too long ago, Bill Hannan authored a series of articles on model aircraft publications in Model Aviation. One listed was a book by Mr. Ott published in 1932 by Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc., of Chicago called Model Aircraft, Building and Flying.
Wing Thing
Everyone, it seems, loves a simple, rapidly-built model that really flies - but not so good a flier that it takes a huge flying field. This Free Flight CO2 powered pusher model fits those conditions very well. This is one of those models that confubalate (or is it disconfubalate?) you. (Editor: For all of you who went to the dictionary and couldn't find this old word, its present day meaning is more or less equivalent to a Catch-22 situation.) The idea was to design a model that was different enough to be interesting. You'll want it to fly...but not too well so you won't have to chase it very far. Our dream is to have a model that can be launched from the rear deck, circle the house, and land back on the deck - preferably on the picnic table to avoid bending down and picking it up.
How to Construct Identical Built-up Fuselage Sides
NO MATTER how careful the average modeler tries to be, small discrepancies creep in during the construction of built-up fuselage sides. Like so many things, the differences aren't noticed until the sides are joined together and you try to square them up. These variations, as small as they may be, are especially troublesome on small models. This construction technique is best suited for fuselage lengths up to 24 in. However, if thicker cardboard is used for the pattern, there is no reason why it cannot be used for larger models.
