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 While looking through some old issues of
American Aircraft Modeler magazine, I was quite surprised to find that
none other than radio great
Paul Harvey is (or
was) a builder and flyer of radio controlled airplanes. There was a feature article
done by Paul Harvey in one of the issues in the 1974 timeframe. Mr. Harvey then
wrote a regular column titled "Paul Harvey Views." Understandably, the column only
ran for a few months - probably because of his extremely busy schedule. This one
is from the December 1974 edition...
 "In August last
year Nokia and Axiom Space announced they were working to equip the latter's next-generation
lunar
spacesuits with 4G/LTE connectivity for the for NASA's Artemis III mission to
the moon. The idea is that arming the new spacesuit, called Axiom Extravehicular
Mobility Unit (AxEMU), with high-speed cellular-network capabilities means it can
support HD video, telemetry data and voice transmission over multiple kilometers
on the moon. This means the Artemis III crewmembers will then be able to capture
real-time video and communications..."
 Previously I posted the first part of a
story about two 1980s-vintage bicycles I bought from a guy off craigslist. That
was the complete teardown and restoration of
Melanie's Columbia
Commuter III, 3-speed women's model. This page has photos from doing the
same thing to my
Huffy 3 Timberline, 3-speed men's bicycle. One important aspect worth repeating
is the use of Krud Kutter for removing all the oil and grease. The stuff is amazing.
I soaked all the parts overnight that would fit in a bucket filled with a gallon
of it. Upon removing even the grimiest and greasiest components like the gearbox,
bearings, and the chain, I discovered they were squeaky clean. A toothbrush removed...
 Being
a long-time fan of John T. Frye's "Carl & Jerry" technodrama™ series, I
have been intending to attempt a contemporary version which has a Ham radio theme.
Its purpose, as with "Carl & Jerry," is to encourage young people to adopt electronics
as a hobby and even as a career, while using Amateur Radio as an enticement. Ham
radio offers practical experience in electronic theory, fabrication, and operation
in an environment that encourages community service, mentorship, camaraderie, and
self discipline. In the U.S., there are approximately 760,000 licensed amateur radio
operators; worldwide, the estimated number is around 3,000,000. The American Radio
Relay League (ARRL) and the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) track these
statistics. This title of the series is, for now anyway, "Calvin &
Phineas Hamming It Up," and the first adventure is called, "The Phantom QRM."
Call signs are fictitious, chosen to hopefully not step on someone's real call sign.
The boys' names derive from my grandson's name...
 You might wonder why an article entitled
"Winning
the National Radio Control Meet" for model airplanes would appear in the ARRL's
QST magazine. The answer is that back in 1940 when it was published, a
Ham license was required to operate a radio control (R/C) transmitter. There were
no license-free bands for hobbyists as there are now. In fact, it wasn't until 1976
that the FCC suspended their requirement for registration as an operator, which
has returned in the form of an FAA "drone" (aka USAS) pilot directive. The author,
William (Bill) E. Good (W8IFD, W2CVI), was the twin brother of Walter (Walt) A.
Good (W3NPS), both of whom held doctoral degrees in and physics, and were referred
to as "the fathers of radio control." The photo of Bill shows his station...
 Often when I see photos of some of the
early
radio control gear for model airplanes, I have a simultaneous reaction of aghastness
and marvel at the crudity and ingenuousness, respectively, of the electromechanical
devices - the same kind of reaction I have to stories about early surgical procedures
and equipment. In 1940, when this article appeared in the ARRL's QST magazine, successful
takeoffs and landings were considered notable events not so much because of pilot
ability (or inability), but because of the low reliability of available electronic
and mechanical gear. Vacuum tubes with attendant heavy, high voltage power supplies,
and heavy metal gears and shafts required large airframes to support...
 American Modeler magazine published
stories on many forms of modeling including airplanes, cars, boats, and rockets.
A lot of attention was paid to teenagers in order to encourage a pursuit of careers
in engineering and science. In case you don't know, the U.S. Navy used to sponsor
the AMA Nationals specifically to attract young modelers into the service. This
1957 edition reports on the activities of James M. Blackmon, Jr., who was the nation's
youngest rocket builder to receive national recognition by the
American Rocket Society.
He built in his basement a 6' tall liquid-fueled rocket...
 This November 1961 installment of American
Modeler magazine's "Sketchbook
- Hints & Kinks" column has a very interesting alternative to the traditional
"stooge" that is used when a helper is not available to assist in launching a control
line airplane model. The drawing is a bit confusing, but what's going on is the
flyer starts and holds the model at a point just outside the dashed line circle,
and the pole is set midway of the diameter of the circle. That gives the airplane
half the circle to take off before it is free of the pole. Then, it is flown normally.
I can see where, as the inventor states, the process could be a spooky until the
flyer has gotten used to it...
 "Delta Air Lines and JetZero are partnering
to develop a
commercial blended-wing-body (BWB) aircraft that would be 50 percent more fuel
efficient than those in current operation, the carrier has announced. The development,
which builds upon a Department of Defense's Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) investment
in the BWB technology, comes as Delta continues to focus on its goal of net-zero
emissions by 2050. BWB aircraft received a boost in 2023 for its BWB aircraft when
the U.S. Air Force awarded it $235 million over four years for the development and
production of a full-scale demonstrator. The aircraft is to take its first flight
in 2027..."
 Website visitor Tom A. wrote to ask me to
post this "Baby Biplane" article
from the October 1971 edition of American Aircraft Modeler magazine. It
was one of the For the Tenderfoot models that the magazine published almost
monthly for many years. The Baby Biplane uses a very simple structure but as with
any biplane of any size, the extra work of building a second wing and adjusting
it to fly properly take a little more work. Using the modern trick of printing a
colored patter on the Jap tissue prior to attaching it would make Baby Biplane look
really spiffy...
 Estes does not sell the D-13 engine line
anymore, but it does sell a D-12. The D-13 produced 9 pounds of thrust according
to this article and the 1971 Estes catalog (p94), whereas according to the 2014
Estes catalog the D-12 produces only 7.4 pounds (p79). If you want similar performance
with readily available
rocket engines,
you will need to get them from a company like Aerotech, which makes an F30FJ-6 model
that produces 9 pounds of thrust. With that solution you're look at about $12 per
launch. I believe that with modern materials like graphite for spars and/or leading
edges, and the lightweight airborne systems, the flying weight could be significantly
reduced, and a much lower thrust (and cost) engine could be used...
 Here is a detailed account of
American model aviation magazines, presented in chronological order of their
founding, including publication date ranges, editors' names with their tenures where
available, and a description of each magazine's purpose and target audience. These
titles - spanning from the early 20th century to the present as of February 2025
- reflect the evolution of model aviation from rubber-powered gliders to modern
RC drones. The data is drawn from historical records, enthusiast archives, and trends
A conceptual timeline follows, imagining the overlapping publication spans, though
an image isn't generated here - envision a horizontal chart from 1915 to 2025 tracking
these magazines' lifespans...
 Low-wing airplanes had not quite caught
on with the flying public prior to World War II, so Aeronca had an uphill battle
in gaining acceptance of its "Model-L" series of
planes. It ended up being a complete success. The article has an interesting tale
of salvaging partially-complete airplanes during a flood in Cincinnati in 1937 using
techniques that would never be allowed in today's highly regulated and monitored
world. Interestingly website visitor Glen M. sent me a photo of an Aeronca
LC on floats - the "LCS" model the author of this American Aircraft Modeler
magazine article suggests might have never been built. To be fair...
 As of
February, 2025, when this is being written, several major
artificial intelligence engines are publicly accessible through free tiers,
temporary free access, or subscription-based models with broad availability. I have
been evaluating ChatGPT-4 (OpenAI) and very recently, Grok 3 (xAI). I requested
from both ChatGPT and Grok, tables of comparison and contrast between the two, based
on "Aspect" criteria I provided. Those results are presented below. They seem to
be mostly honest assessments. Perhaps not surprisingly, Grok 3 often invoked
the name of its founder (Mr. Musk) during my interactions with it on wireless
communications topics. I will reveal more on that later...
 "September 30 marked the end of the FAA's
fiscal year and with it, the annual conclusion of the annual 12-month tracking of
fatal accidents among experimental category aircraft. The preliminary numbers
from the agency received late last week appear to present an excellent snapshot
of safety over the past year. While the final totals are still being tabulated,
the initial total of 37 accidents is well below the FAA's not-to-exceed figure of
46 for the period. That includes 29 fatal accidents in homebuilt aircraft. More
details will be available in the coming weeks as the FAA's annual total of GA activity..."
 Hi Johnson was a well-known designer
and manufacturer of model airplane engines in the middle of the last century. His
series of throttled engines was widely used in the early years of radio control.
A lot of research went into producing the engines to produce long lifetime, easy
starting, and consistency of operation. The
Johnson
35 R/C, which is the subject of this 1962 American Modeler magazine
article, was one of the first to used dual ball bearings on the crankshaft, contributing
mightily to the accomplishment of the aforementioned goals. The state of the art
for all types of model flying had advanced to where pilots could expect...
 With all the news lately about AI (artificial
intelligence) and whether the good it can do offsets the bad, I decided to ask both
Grok 3 (X.ai) and ChatGPT (OpenAI) to compose short essays on a few model aviation
related topics. While that will not settle the aforementioned dilemma, it will provide
a peek into the "good" side of what AI can do. I have been using ChatGPT for a few
months, and just recently Grok 3. Here is a side-by-side, unedited comparison
of the results of submitting the exact same query to both AI beings. Note that the
content for both Grok 3 and ChatGPT is fairly brief, not long-winded treatises
that would fill a book. Having used both for a while, it seems when you hear about
students using AI...
 As with most things these days related to
model airplane components, extensive research into materials, structure, and functionality
have been thoroughly researched and engineered to the point where the modeler has
little more to do that install parts into his craft. Parameters have been thoroughly
analyzed using computers over a wide range of input stimuli to determine the optimal
configuration. The effort dedicated by author Wayne Schindler to design and conduct
an experiment to determine the optimal dimensions and shapes for a
ducted
fan propulsion system is nothing short of academic. His efforts produced a list
of design parameters to consider when building a ducted fan-powered model airplane.
The net result in Mr. Schindler's case was an amazing 325% thrust improvement...
 "A
study from Canada has found a 26% annual chance that space debris will re-enter
the atmosphere and
pass through a busy flight area. The chance of space debris hitting an aircraft
is very low, but the research from a team at the University of British Columbia
highlights that the potential for uncontrolled space debris to disrupt flights and
create additional costs for airlines and passengers is not. The research is published
in Scientific Reports. In 2022, a re-entering 20-tonne..."
 The
Gloster E.1/44, presented in this 1948 issue of Popular Science magazine,
was a British experimental jet fighter developed in the 1940s as a potential single-engine
counterpart to the twin-engine Gloster Meteor. Designed by the Gloster Aircraft
Company to meet Air Ministry Specification E.1/44, it was powered by a Rolls-Royce
Nene turbojet and featured a sleek, straight-wing design with a tricycle landing
gear. Initially conceived as a simpler and more economical jet fighter for the Royal
Air Force, the project faced numerous delays due to shifting priorities...
 During
World War II, Americans, Britains, Frenchmen, and other civilians were seriously
engaged in helping to defend their homeland. Those who were not in the military
gathered bottles, tin cans, tires, and clothing to use in the war effort. Others
volunteered at the Red Cross, veterans' hospitals, and USO offices. Some stood guard
at their nation's seashores and land borders, both as armed sentries and as troop
and aircraft spotters. As part of the civil defense effort, listening devices were
built to help detect the sound of approaching airplanes. In patriotic tradition,
magazines like Popular Science published many articles to assist the population
contribute. Here is a plan for a "Homemade
Plane Detector." It used a horn "antenna" that...
 As a member of the Academy of Model Aeronautics
(AMA) since around 1971 (AMA # 92498), I have witnessed a lot of change in the organization
as well as in the model industry. When I first joined as a teenager, AMA headquarters
consisted of rented office space in a Washington, D.C., building, Richard Nixon
was president, and the war in Viet Nam was on nightly news. AMA headquarters moved
into a brand new building, which included museum space, on purchased property in
Reston, Virginia, in 1983. A growing AMA membership and the desire to consolidate
national competitions to a central location resulted in
establishing residence in Muncie, Indiana, where the 25,000 square-foot Frank
V. Ehling Complex celebrated its grand opening in 1992. Since then, an additional
25,000 square feet of space...
 I did not bother to look up what the
world record endurance flight length is for an R/C glider as of this writing,
but in December 1956 when this article appeared in the first edition of American
Modeler magazine, a team of three modelers did 8 hours, 34 minutes and 21 seconds
at Torrey Pines, California. That would be an amazing accomplishment with today's
equipment, but these guys did it with a vacuum tube receiver and an escapement mechanism
driven by a twisted rubber band - rudder-only! No elevator control, no flaps or
speed brakes, no gyroscopic stabilization, no proportional rudder deflection. It
was left, center, or right...
 This is the earliest known photo of me with
a control line airplane - a Cox PT-19 Trainer.
I'm guessing it was summer of 1969, when I would have been 12 to 13 years old (my
birthday is August 18, so it could have been before or after). I remember that 1969
was the year because it was the year that Hurricane Camille tore up Biloxi, Mississippi
(where I would many years later be stationed for electronics training in the USAF)
and the rains even in Mayo, Maryland, where I lived, were torrential. It is the
airplane with which I first learned to fly control line. There was another Cox control
line plane that I had prior to the PT-19 Trainer, but I cannot recall...
 Mr. Bill Gaylord has been gracious enough
to allow me to post photos and information about his fine
Guillow's free-flight
model airplanes that he
converted to electric powered R/C. The level of craftsmanship is incredible
both in the frame-up and the covering and finish. You can find lots of photos and
details of the build on the RCGroups bulletin board. I do not see whether he has
ever flown any of these models. My guess is that with the structural beefing up
required to support the motor, battery, and R/C gear results in a high wing loading.
I personally would never dare risk these models by trying to fly them! They would
all spend their days as hanger queens - display only...
 It is kind of amazing that as recently as
1950, aircraft manufacturers were still using
radial engines on new aircraft. This 1950 issue of Air Trails magazine
reports on the Navy's P2V-4 Neptune, the latest model of Lockheed's patrol bomber,
which is powered by two 3,200 horse power Wright Turbo-Cyclone radials. In-line
engine formats are definitely more streamlined, but from a maintenance perspective,
being able to change out a single cylinder rather than an servicing the entire block
was definitely handier. Having only ever ridden in one airplane having a radial
engine (a Ford Trimotor), I can't say...
 1963 was five years since America's first
communications satellite, Echo, was placed in orbit. Echo was a passive, spherical
reflector that merely provided a good reflective surface for bouncing radio signals
off of. By 1963, when this
Eavesdropping on Satellites article appeared in Popular Electronics
magazine, the space race was well underway and active communications satellites
were being launched at a rapid pace. Spotting and tracking satellites has long been
a popular pastime with two types of hobbyists: amateur astronomers using telescopes
and binoculars, and amateur radio operators using antennas and receivers...
 The other night Melanie and I were watching
an episode of the old Gilligan's Island television show titled "Wrongway Feldman,"
which was about a long-forgotten, famous aviator who took a wrong turn during a
race and ended up being stranded on the same island as seven famous castaways. The
"Spirit of the Bronx" airplane featured in the show was referred to by Wrongway
as a Krieder Reisner KR21. It is a right nice looking biplane. I immediately hit
the pause button and looked it up on Google. The KR-21, according to the EAA AirVenture
Museum's website, was manufactured in the 1929-1930 timespan, had a 22'-7" wingspan,
and a 125 hp Kinner B5 (R-440), 372 cubic inch, 5-cylinder radial...
|
 Low-wing airplanes had not quite caught on
with the flying public prior to World War II, so Aeronca had an uphill battle in
gaining acceptance of its "Model-L" series of planes. It ended up being a complete
success. The article has an interesting tale of salvaging partially-complete airplanes
during a flood in Cincinnati in 1937 using techniques that would never be allowed
in today's highly regulated and monitored world. Interestingly website visitor Glen M.
sent me a photo of an
Aeronca LC on floats
- the "LCS" model the author of this American Aircraft Modeler article suggests
might have never been built. To be fair, finding obscure information was a lot more
difficult in 1969, long before the Internet put petabytes of data at everyone's
fingertips...
 Air Trails - Hobbies for Young Men
magazine covered a wide variety of subjects of both model and full-scale.
All things fast and/or exotic were of great interest to America's
youth in the day, and everything was fair game for modeling. Lockheed's now long-famous
C-130 Hercules was just making its maiden flight as a prototype YC-130 in 1954 when
this edition was published. Grumman's F9F-9 Tiger jet fighter became the F11F Tiger
while the F9F designation became the significantly different-looking F9F Cougar
- no confusion there. The Cessna 620, a 4-engine version of their successful
310 (get it? - 2 x 310 = 620), never made it past the prototype phase ...
 November 9, 1978,
a date which will live in infamy - for me, anyway. That was the
day I left my comfortable, oblivious 20-year-old existence as an electrician in
Mayo, Maryland, and boarded a Delta Airlines flight to San Antonio, Texas. About
six months earlier I had signed up under the Delayed Enlistment program. I was on
my way to becoming a fully trained and qualified Weather Equipment Specialist, a
career field chosen based on my keen interest in weather phenomena, aviation, and
aerospace (aka airplanes and rockets). The plan was to survive six weeks of Basic
Training (BT) at Lackland Air Force Base and then go on to technical school at Chanute
AFB in Illinois. My first assignment ...
 Slot car racing used to be a big deal back
before battery-powered radio control cars became inexpensive and readily available.
Many hobby shops, including one I used to frequent in Laurel, Maryland, had slot
car tracks set up for patrons to use. I think we paid something like a dollar for
half an hour. You could either bring your own car, or rent one from the hobby shop.
As with any activity, certain stereotypes are created and stick with slot car racers
and their creations. This set of comics from the September/October 1963 edition
of American Modeler magazine documents some of those things...
 My next venture into R/C helicopters after
the DuBro Tristar came about a decade later when I bought an
Ikarus ECO 8 electric
chopper from Hobby Lobby (circa 1998). It was pretty lame in performance (but then
so was I) with the stock motor and a very heavy NiCad battery pack. At least there
were no clutch problems to deal with as those which plagued the Tri-Star. This time
I had a heading hold gyro for the tail rotor and I was actually able to somewhat
fly the thing. The photo of me flying (kinda) my ECO 8 was taken in Colorado
Springs, Colorado, in August of 1998. After losing patience with the poor
performance of the brushed motor and NiCad battery pack, I sold it on an AOL
bulletin board to some guy in Florida. It had not suffered any damage beyond a
slight dent in the tail boom where ...
 Here is a list of many
classic modeling magazines
that are now or have been in print within the last decade or so. Unfortunately,
most of these magazines are now out of print. Some have disappeared altogether while
others have online-only editions. Fortunately, though, a few benevolent souls have
taken it upon themselves to scan hundreds of past issues and made them available
in PDF format at no charge to everyone. The Archive.org website's Wayback Machine™
has captured many years worth of the magazines' webpages, so all ...
 Walter M. Jefferies, Jr., was one of the
premier illustrators for model aircraft magazines in the era that this 4-view drawing
of the Temco TT−1
"Pinto" jet appeared in American Modeler magazine. The Pinto was designed to
be a rugged military trainer. Temco (Texas Engineering & Manufacturing Company
) was in competition with Cessna Aircraft's T−37 "Tweet" ( an embarrassing name)
which we all know by now based on its familiarity won the bid. Once you have heard
the loud, extremely high pitched sound of the T−37 sitting on the tarmac, you'll
never forget it. A primary difference between the two airplanes is that the Pinto
was a tandem seating arrangement, while the Tweet was side-by-side. I would have
given a month's pay when I was in the USAF to be able to get a ride in a T−37. Of
course month's pay for a non-NCO airman back in the 1970's was a pittance, so it
would have been a cheap ride...
 Our one-car garage does not have a lot of
extra space in it, especially considering it also holds a riding lawn mower, a snow
blower, a backup power generator, and various and sundry yard and car tools. That
doesn't leave much room for the assortment of shoes and boots needed by Melanie
and me. We had been using a stack of cinder blocks to stuff shoes in, but they looked
rather crude and the holes were not really big enough to allow the shoes to be fully
enclosed. After completing building a set of stairs into the basement, there were
end pieces of the stair treads left over that were just the right width to fit into
the space where the cinder blocks used to be stacked. 2x3 framing lumber ...
 Per Merriam-Webster, the word "quiz" as a
noun means: 1) an eccentric person, 2: a practical joke, or 3: the act or action
of quizzing specifically - a short oral or written test. As a verb it means: 1)
to make fun of - mock, 2) to look at inquisitively, or 3) to question closely. Since
this "Quiz on Aeronautical Engineering Education" from a 1946 issue of Air Trails
magazine is directed toward the reader, its content does not seem to meet any of
the definitions. It can only really be called a "quiz" if it is directed toward
the
Northrop Aeronautical Institute, which it is. It is clearly a case of the reader
asking the questions, not the reader being quizzed on his aeronautical knowledge.
I point this out only because it seems like a deceptive technique for grabbing the
reader's attention by implying a test of technical prowess - in which the kind of
people who read this sort of magazine typically love to participate. Instead, it
is merely an advertisement...
 Some companies
have expressed an interest in being able to target Airplanes and Rockets via the
Google
AdSense program. Yes, it is possible to do that. As you might expect, finding
the exact information on the Google AdSense website is a bit difficult. This short
video does a good job summarizing exactly how to implement the "Ad Targeting" option,
then "Placements," and then add "Websites." Just enter airplanesandrockets.com
. There are other settings to optimize your advertising campaign with keywords (both
included and excluded), pricing, scheduling, statistical data collection and reporting,
etc. If you are currently using Google AdSense, then please consider this method,
and if you are not using AdSense, now would be a good time to look into it. I have
had reports from some companies that experience great results using AdSense (not
just on Airplanes and Rockets)...
 Beginning
in the mid 1960s, Sears catalogs contained some pretty nice equatorial mount, refractor
telescopes. The f15, 60 mm (2.3") "Discoverer" Model 6305 appeared in
the 1967 catalog for $99.98, which in 2019 money is the equivalent of $763.49 (per
the BLS CPI calculator). Then, in 1970 this f15.5, 90 mm (3.5")
Model 6345 was offered for $499.95, or the equivalent of $3,401.88
(per the CPI calculator). Yow, I'm guessing not many of those were sold, especially
as evidenced by the lack of available 6345 models that show up on astronomy forums
and on eBay. Although not mentioned in the description, there appears to be a motor
drive on the right ascension axis. Five oculars (0.975" ?) are included along with
a special rotatable prism that holds all five - pretty convenient if it works well.
Otherwise, it has the same set of accessories...
 Here are detailed drawings for the
Douglas
A-20 Boston / Havoc Bomber that I electronically scanned from my purchased copy
of the November 1970 American Aircraft Modeler magazine. Per Wikipedia: "The Douglas
A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American medium bomber, attack aircraft,
night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. Designed
to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for a bomber, it was ordered by France for
their air force before the USAAC decided it would also meet their requirements."
Because the drawings span two pages, you will need to adjust the size and alignment
a bit to get halves to line up properly. From there, with some extra effort you
should be able to create plans for a model if plans can no longer be purchased or
you just enjoy drawing plans (I do). Line drawings for this fine model were created
by Mr. Björn Karlström...
 On page 511 of the Sears 1969 Christmas
Wish Book are a few
Erector Sets. This was probably the year (±a couple) that I got
my first Erector Set. This was a step up from the Tinkertoy sets I previously owned.
While not the largest set made, it had quite a lot of parts, including a motor.
Although I already had a natural interest in assembling and - to my parents' dismay
- disassembling stuff, it was gifts like this that really helped nurture what would
become a life-long pursuit of things mechanical and electrical, eventually leading
to my earning an electrical engineering degree. I remember getting a pretty good
finger pinch by one of the motorize contraptions I built. Show above is Erector
Set #3, similar to the one I received for Christmas in 1969. This one I bought on
eBay since, as with most things I owned, the original did not survive my handling...
 Here are the plans and article for Charles
Parrott's semi-scale
Curtiss P-40 Warhawk control line stunt model as they appeared in a 1963 issue
of American Modeler magazine. It sports a 38" wingspan and is powered by an inverted-mounted
Fox .35 Stunt engine fed by a modified Veco 3.5 ounce fuel tank. There was
an effort in the era to have competition stunt models resemble real-life airplanes,
even though exaggeration of fuselage, wing, and tail surfaces were required to facilitate
stunting. As is evidenced by today's top control line stunt models, the fad gave
way to structures designed specifically for accommodating the needs of flight. Even
full-size aircraft design moves in that direction over time, where traditional features
and methods give way to modern technology and materials. Compare the look of a production
composite frame general aviation airplane from Diamond Aircraft or Cirrus Aircraft...
 Winged Shadow Systems has developed a solid
state electronic altimeter called the
How High™ that plugs into a spare receiver channel for power, and provides altitude
readings between 50 feet and 7,000 feet above ground level. The heart of the
system is the SM5420 pressure sensor, by Silicon Microstructures. It is a micromachined
structure molded in an 8-pin SOIC plastic package. Here is the datasheet. Per the
manufacturer, "The SM5420C is a small outline SO-8 packaged pressure sensor. The
sensor uses SMI’s SM5108C micromachined, piezoresistive pressure sensing chip that
has been optimized to provide the highest possible accuracy for a package of this
size..." News Flash:
I set a personal thermalling altitude record of 1,267 feet in my 85% Aquila glider
on May 23, 2024!
 Less than a year before the U.S. was officially
drawn into World War II with surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, American fighter
pilot Lieutenant Thomas McBride provided this first-hand report on what he perceived
to be the current status of the
German air force (Luftwaffe). While in France he noted bizarre
behavior of young German pilots, often with no more than a few hours of flight instruction,
making deadly rookie flying mistakes and strafing ambulances and farm animals for
sport and blood lust. Older pilots with slower reflexes were put in higher performance
aircraft and could not compete with younger British pilots, while plebes in the
same airplanes could not, due to insufficient training, handle the power and maneuverability.
Blacking out under high G forces and not allowing sufficient altitude for vertical
bombing runs spelled the end to many Luftwaffe airmen ...
 Mr. Steven Krick wrote to ask a question
about my method for applying Silkspan on an open frame area on a vintage
Berkeley Privateer seaplane model he is in the process of building. After imparting
some of my limited knowledge on such matters, he responded with some photos of the
framed-up Privateer. A few days he followed with a photo after the Silkspan has
been applied. Hopefully, more images will be made available as the progress continues.
A Cox .049 is being used for power. The Privateer was - and still is- a very popular
amphibious model. When Berkeley first produced the kit, modelers built it for radio
control, control line, and free flight ...
 It was in this May 1975 issue of R/C
Modeler magazine that I first saw the
Airtronics Aquila
sailplane (way too graceful to refer to it as merely a glider). Airtronics had
not introduced a kit yet, but they were selling a canopy and hardware kit along
with plans, so I ordered them and scratch built my first Aquila. I was 17 years
old then. It was covered to look like the one in the photo above (which would become
the kit box label photo). Not having lite ply for the fuselage, I used hard balsa.
Somehow I eventually managed to destroy Aquila #1, but by that time a kit was available,
so I bought one and also the ABS plastic fuselage. A standard Hi-Start was used
for launching. A few years ago I built a 105% Aquila version simply because I wanted
another Aquila and had never built a sailplane with a wingspan greater than 99".
I am now in the process of building an 80% scale Aquila...
 This short tongue-in-cheek article about
the use of salt mines in Communist countries like Romania for indoor free flight
contests was appeared in a 1963 issue of American Modeler magazine, at a time when
the Cold War was in full swing, your neighbor might have built a nuclear shelter
in his back yard, and kids practiced getting under their desks in the event of a
wave of incoming ICMBs tipped with MIRVs. In fact, the FAI world championships have
been held in Romanian salt mines a few times, and they will return there in 2014.
BTW, for those too young to remember, it used to be a common joke to talk about
sending someone to the Siberian salt mines as a form of punishment...
 "The navigators who fly the regular routes
use everything they can. They use celestial navigation, but because there is-hour
daylight they can use only one star, the sun." That's a line from this "Kelly's
Awful Airline" article in a 1965 issue of Popular Mechanics magazine.
It describes one of the many challenges facing the crew of U.S. Navy Air Development
Squadron Six's Commander George R. Kelly as they perform many amazing feats of daring,
skill, and ingenuity. In such an unaccommodating environment as is the Antarctica,
bravery and determination are essential personal traits necessary for not just accomplishing
goals, but for basic survival. C-130s, C-47s, and what looks like a "Huey" (Bell
UH-1) flew day and night, in temperatures that can nearly...
 If you're still using the "old" one-arm
escapements in your radio controlled model airplane, you're probably also still
using that "greasy kid stuff" in your hair as well. Just like the hip guy has switched
to Vitalis, the hip modeler has switched to multi-arm escapements that allow more
than just full left/right or full up/down throw on the rudder or elevator, respectively.
Today's equivalent would be advocating for the use of digital servos versus the
"old" analog servos. The more things change, the more they stay the same. This article
entitled, "3 and 4 Finger
R/C Escapements," appeared in a 1955 issue of Popular Electronics magazine.
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