For the Christmas Tree
THE POPULARITY of the "Modeler's Widow" jacket patch shows that many of our wives have something in common with the better known football widow. Dawn has very little interest in flying or boating models and even prefers not to hold one of those "oily things" for pictures, but she did take a liking to airplanes in her own type of handicraft. She had been making wooden Christmas tree ornaments from kits, and liked the idea of putting together and painting my home-made airplane miniatures. I took a slide of the three-view drawing of my favorite biplane and reduced to about a six-in. span which was then cut from 1/16-in. basswood on the jigsaw.
Please Repeat That!
MANUFACTURERS have provided the model builder with almost every lettering and graphic trim needed for a professionally finished model. However, for a scratch builder like myself, there is often a need for graphics not available at the store. While simple artwork can be masked and spray-painted, the requirements for lettering can be a lot of work with inconsistent results. Since manufacturers use the silk screen method to produce their decal sheets, why not use the system for ourselves. If a model builder can produce professional looking artwork (with the help of a typesetter) then he or she can produce quality trim sheets using the silk screen method at home.
Christopher: RC Parachutist
THE ARTICLE in Parachutist magazine began, "Only a dummy would jump from 500 feet." It went on to point out the many other risks with Christopher's first jump-things such as using a ram-air canopy, definitely not a beginner's chute, and the dangers of a chute made and packed by an inexperienced person. All of this makes Chris seem a bit foolhardy, but readers who have looked over the photos know that we are really talking about a one-foot-tall RC dummy.
Snapshot Twin
In the big picture, Snapshot Twin sits serenely as if waiting for cargo. Here, it is free of cameras or Shuttle rack, but it's ready to roam the skies. Some have suggested moving the nacelles outward to line up with the booms, but that would aggravate one-engine-out problems. Below: With the Shuttle aboard, Snapshot Twin breaks ground and begins to bank for the first turn. There is enough power to carry the Snapshot Twin and 22-oz. Shuttle straight up to 400 ft., but the author prefers more realistic flight. Takeoff photo by John Preston.
Space Shuttle II
COLUMBIA IS HOME AGAIN, and the second landing was as picture-perfect as the first. I wish I could have said that about the first two landings I made with my model! It didn't take me long to get the hang of it, though; within the next dozen flights the model was performing nicely. The shuttle models have now completed well over 100 flights, and the landings look very much like the real thing. I even found myself watching the landing on TV to memorize the approach. It was nice to watch the landing without having to worry about what my thumbs were doing. It was my turn to cheer, for a change, when Columbia touched down. Our model is no match to the experience of watching the real ones, but you couldn't tell from the crowd reactions at the air shows were we fly.
