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 "The Perlan 2 high altitude glider has achieved
another altitude record over the high peaks in the southern part of the Patagonia mountain
range. After being pulled to an altitude of 42,000 feet, the Perlan 2 continued to climb
past 62,000 feet. This altitude is beyond the Armstrong Line, which defines
the point beyond which the blood in a human body would boil unless protected by some
form of pressurization. Perlan Mission II's chief pilot Jim Payne, and pilot and project
manager Morgan Sandercock shattered the previous record, set by the same pilots about
one year ago in the same region of Argentina. At that time, Payne and Sandercock flew
to 52,221 feet. The team recently started using a tow plane ..."
 This particular page is from page 47 of the July
1957 issue of American Modeler magazine. If you can find one of these older
model Thimble-Drome (Cox)
PeeWee .020's on eBay in the original packaging, it will typically end up selling
for $75 or more. Thimble Drome is no longer in operation. Use the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics' inflation calculator to see what items cost in today's dollars. For instance,
that $3.95 PeeWee .020 would be $35.19 in 2018 money - a factor of nearly 10x ...
 "Indicates an overwhelming interest in nighttime
operations, other expanded operations. On the eve of the two-year anniversary of the
FAA establishing regulations for operating small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), also
known as drones, the
Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) today
released an update to its analysis of waivers by the FAA for UAS operations beyond the
scope of the Small UAS Rule and found that nearly 2,000 have been granted. The analysis
finds that nearly 92% of the waivers grant permission to operate UAS at night, which
is not permitted under the FAA rule. The report also shows that first responders around
the country ..."
 I finally found the scanned file for this Stunting
"Vickers
Wellesley" article that appeared in the May 1957 issue of American Modeler
magazine. Somehow the magazine disappeared and I had to dig back into an old hard drive
from 2011 to find the file. Anyway, here is yet another fine Walter Musciano design of
the British bomber of World War II fame. Designed for a .35-size engine, this 58"
wingspan control line model with 420 cubic inch of wing area should be capable of basic
stunting. An electric power setup could easily be adapted to the airframe, and some weight
could be saved by thinning out the structural members a bit. Smooth-running brushless
motors don't put anywhere near the vibratory strain on models as internal combustion
engines do ...
If you are a fan of control line (aka CL, C/L, U-control) Jim Walker and have not
yet visited the Jim
Walker & The American Junior Aircraft Company, this is the time to do so. "Jim
Walker was really one of a kind. He was a visionary, a showman, an inventor and a passionate
promoter of Model Aviation. Whether he was flying his Two-Speed ignition engine Fireball
with U-Control or his 10¢ Model 74 Glider, Jim Walker captivated the crowds and
the imagination of a generation of youngsters with his incredible flying skills. Producing
Ready-To-Fly model planes years before balsa became common, his American Junior Aircraft
Company shaped the future of the hobby world with his innovative ideas ..."
 Note: Be sure to look at reader comments at
the bottom. "The FAA recently changed its mind about exempting model aircraft. Radio
control aircraft hobbyists are currently standing up to the FAA, Department of Defense,
and select members of Congress in order to preserve the freedom of their pastime, to
fly small model aircraft in select locations around the U.S. In a petition, RC pilots
say their fight revolves around 'Rule 336,' which is a section in the FAA Modernization and Reform
Act from 2012 that exempts model and remote control aircraft enthusiasts from regulation
if they were flown for 'hobby & recreation' purposes. Earlier this summer, the federal
government reversed the original ruling, leaving enthusiasts vulnerable to federal regulation ..."
 Alain Pons, of France, sent my a paper copy of
the plans for his custom-designed 6-foot wingspan R/C canard model airplane - "Alain's Duck." I had it
scanned to JPG format at Office Max and then did some clean-up to enhance the contrast
and eliminate most of the fold lines. You can easily scale the plans to any size you
need to fit your tastes. Thanks again to Alain for making this available ...
 Airplanes and Rockets website visitor Rob P.
wrote to ask that I post the construction article for George Wilson's "Quick Floats," which appeared
in the May 1973 issue of American Aircraft Modeler magazine. It's nice to know
that even with all the prefabricated floats available for purchase today that there is
still someone who prefers to build his own. The original Quick Floats design was sized
for a .60-powered stunt airplane, but you can easily scale them up or down as needed
to fit your model. I normally do not include a full-resolution scan in order to give
the AMA Plans Service an opportunity to sell a copy (very low prices); however, a visit
to their website does not show a listing for Quick Floats. Click on the plans images
below for the larger versions. Beware that scans from the magazine may contain skew ...
 "Bye Aerospace announced August 20 a successful
first flight for a solar-electric aircraft created with surveillance and patrol missions
in mind. The company founded by CEO George Bye hopes to be the first to certify an American-made
electric airplane, the
Sun Flyer, which was designed to reduce the cost of flight training
and prove that electric propulsion is a viable alternative to petroleum-based fuels in
general aviation. The mission of the Solar-Electric Survey Aircraft, or SOLESA, is somewhat
different, Bye explained in an email, though the two platforms share many components
and systems. 'The SOLESA ‘could’ be available to the 'public,' but not likely, because
of the solar cell expense to the aircraft ..."
 Dr. Ralph Brooke was a member of the 1963 U.S.
International Team, which won the World Champion ships at Genk, Belgium. His custom designed
"Whistler" full
house radio control model airplane is featured in this 1963 issue of American Modeler
magazine. The engine was a Veco .45, which was smaller than the .60 size used by many
competitors of the day. The plans are well-drawn, but the wing portion is broken across
the two sheets, and only the left half is shown. The wingspan is only 59", so it really
wouldn't have been that much trouble to put at least the entire wing half on one sheet.
That has always been a pet peeve of mine. Otherwise, the Whistler is a nice looking model
and could easily be adapted to electric power ...
 "Airbus has praised the success of the drone's
maiden flight and plans to increase the device's duration, while the UK government is
set to become the first one to adopt the technology for its needs. While Airbus is mostly
known for its passenger aircraft construction, it is also one of the global leaders in
space engineering. The company's press-release published on Wednesday reveals another
achievement in this sphere. A
Zephyr S HAPS drone (High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite) successfully
landed in Farnborough, the UK upon finishing its first trial flight. The drone was in
the air for 25 days, 23 hours, and 57 minutes, breaking the world record ..."
 "Engine maker Rolls-Royce has released details
of a new EVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) vehicle at this year's Farnborough
Airshow. The hybrid aircraft, designed to carry four or five passengers, has an M250
gas turbine which delivers around 500 kW of electrical power. This is used to drive
six rotors that can provide both lift and propulsion, with the wings tilting forward
90° once sufficient altitude has been reached. Four of the rotors can also fold into
the wings, leaving two at the rear to provide thrust at cruising altitude while helping
to reduce cabin noise. Top speed is estimated at 250mph and range is predicted ..."
 "The plans for a
launch
site for rockets in Sutherland on the north coast of Scotland have already attracted
lively debate in our news section, so it is an obvious choice for our poll this week.
There have been ambitions to site a spaceport in the UK for over a decade, but business
secretary Greg Clark's announcement at the opening of the Farnborough Air Show was the
first concrete sign of these plans being put into government policy, and were accompanied
by an announcement of a £50 million UK space launch fund. We have suggested a number
of options as responses to the question. Is the plan an unequivocally good idea ..."
 Vernon (Vern) Estes is single-handedly responsible
for the prevention of untold eyes, fingers, arms, hair, and even lives, due to his invention
of safe, prepackaged, solid fuel model rocket engines. Estes Industries was founded in
1958, the year this article on model rocketry safety appeared in American Molder
magazine. Shortly after Estes began operation, they published a newsletter titled, "Estes
Model Rocket News," which had amongst its contents numerous tips on safe handling and
use of model rocket
engines, and many warning against trying to build your own engines. The thought of
kids and even adults handling picrate, the fulminate, and the iodate compounds is enough
to send chills down my spine. G. Harry Stine, editor of the model rocketry column
in American Modeler ...
 The Museum of Flight produced a very nice video
titled, "A Conversation with Vern
and Gleda Estes." If you are or once were a model rocketeer - a term coined by Vern
- you will definitely want to view video. After watching the video, go straight to the
VernEstes.com website
and look through the vast historical information there, which includes an incredible
film of the beginnings of the Penrose, Colorado, headquarters and factory. Vern and Gleda
built the first structures by hand, block by block. It was truly a bygone era of rugged
individualism. We owe the pair much gratitude for transforming model rocketry into a
safe, affordable hobby.
 I wish these types of drones were around during
my USAF days. "U.S. Army instructors at Fort Benning, Georgia recently opened a new
drone training school to teach young soldiers to become as familiar
with these tiny flying devices as they are handling M4 carbines. The 3rd Squadron, 16th
Cavalry Regiment, 316th Cavalry Brigade opened its new small unmanned aerial system,
or SUAS, course facility June 11 and recently began giving classes to basic trainees
'so they can become familiar with drones before they show up to their units,' Sgt. 1st
Class Hilario Dominguez, the lead instructor for the class, said in a recent Defense
Department news release. Students at the SUAS course showed basic trainees ..."
 "Not even James Bond had an Aston Martin like
this. The British sports car maker revealed a concept version of a flying car, the
Volante Vision Concept, at the Farnborough Airshow this week. Aston
Martin has billed the futuristic vehicle as a luxury car for the skies. The autonomous
hybrid-electric vehicle, which has room for three passengers, is designed for urban and
inter-city travel, the company said. It's also capable of vertical take-offs and landings.
The vehicle could fly at top speeds of around 200 miles per hour, according to Reuters.
'With the population in urban areas continuing to grow ..."
 The original speakers on my Reader's Digest 800-XR
stereo system sounded OK, but they sounded crackly at some frequencies even at normal
volume level, so I decided to
replace the speakers with something more modern. Not wanting to spend
a lot of money on speakers and a crossover network, I opted for a set of car speakers
with built-in crossovers. Since car speakers have a 4 Ω impedance and the stereo
wants 8 Ω, I wired the two new speakers in series. Over time, the right channel
on the Speaker A output became scratchy and sometimes would drop out completely. There
was also an issue with
distortion on all outputs when the volume was turned ...
 While serving in the U.S. Air Force at Robins AFG,
Georgia, in the early 1980s, I took advantage of the base woodworking shop to make a
set of stereo speaker enclosures, turn a couple lamps on the wood lathe, and a few other
projects. Most have been sold or given away over the many household moves that have transpired
since then. One of the oak lamps
has survived, probably because I had given it to Melanie as a present before we were
married. It is made from some 3" thick blocks that were found in the wood shop's scrap
bin. I laminated three of them together and then turned an ad hoc design (no preplanned
shape) that can be seen in these couple photos. A couple grooves were added and then
brass tubing was bent ...
Author:
Kirt Blattenberger
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