Royall Moore

THE FLYING ACES Club's Thompson Trophy race is what attracted attention to these "Gee Bee" models. Vern Clemenets, whose plans have inspired many a modeler, suggested the barrel-shaped Super Sportsters as likely subjects for geared rubber motors. When Bill Warner encouraged me with his "No way!" I just had to give it a try. The interest these chubby racers arouse everywhere they are flown may help in demonstrating how gears can improve the duration of short-nosed, or just plain short, scale models. Many other power sources have been used to fly models but the quiet simplicity of the rubberband motor keeps it popular. However, when used in a scale model, the results are often less than spectacular. Gearing has been proposed as a possible aid. Geared rubber systems have been around since before the Wright Brothers' success. Various arrangements have intrigued model fliers with the hope of some magical multiplication of motor run, but most eye them with a combination of humor and doubt. Can they really increase duration?