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 The role of the
flight engineer
is one of the most significant yet increasingly historical professions in the history
of aviation. Introduced during an era when aircraft systems grew increasingly complex,
the position of flight engineer bridged the gap between pilots and the intricate
mechanical and electrical systems of larger, multi-engine aircraft. The history
of the flight engineer position is closely tied to the evolution of aviation technology,
airline operations, and the military's increasing reliance on heavy aircraft during
and after World War II. The position of flight engineer first emerged in the 1930s
with the advent of multi-engine commercial aircraft such as the Boeing 314 Clipper
and the Douglas DC-4. These aircraft required a dedicated crew member who was responsible
for monitoring and managing the various systems, including engines, fuel, hydraulics,
pressurization, and electrical systems...
 As a lifelong admirer of Charles Schulz's
Peanuts comic strip, I occasionally buy a collectible item like a Snoopy music box
that plays "It's a Long Way to Tipperary," a plastic Schroeder and piano figurine,
a Charlie Brown Skediddler, or a Snoopy astronaut from the Apollo era. This time
I bought the edition of TV Guide that announced the first showing of the "A Charlie
Brown Christmas" cartoon. Also in this edition is the announcement of plans
to preempt regular programming to televise the launch of the Gemini VII spacecraft,
which carried astronauts Frank Borman and James A. Lovell. It launched right on
time at 7:30 pm on December 4th, 1965. "As his millions of fans long since have
discovered, under that inept, ineffectual, bumbling exterior of Charlie Brown's
there beats a heart as soft and sweet as a marshmallow. In the sequence on these
pages, drawn exclusively for TV Guide by Charlie's creator, Charles Schulz, he becomes
concerned about the true meaning of Christmas...
 I've been using X-acto tools since my teenage
years the early 1970s. Before that, my razor knife blades were either the single-edge
hardware store type or double-edge blades copped from my father's safety razor (those
were truly dangerous, even with one edge taped). Half a century later, I now have
a selection of many flavors of X-actor blades and handles. As the chart above shows,
there seems to be an X-acto blade for every purpose. I often wondered what they
were all meant for, until I found this
X-acto Blade Usage Chart
from the company. Like most people, by far my most often used blade is the trusty
#11. I've been through hundreds of them. X-acto also makes a wide variety of specially
shaped carving blades, including vees, cups, circles (routers)...
 Most people these days are probably now
aware of an aeronautical profession that up until around the early 1980s was a vital
part of aviation - the
flight
engineer. This 1950s article in Air Trails magazine highlights what
was at the time a very prestigious and sought-after position for people wanting
professional level careers in both commercial and military aviation. Since the 1930s,
aircraft were rapidly growing larger and more complex. Most had two to four engines,
retracting landing gear, pressurized cabins, autopilots, electronic and celestial
navigation, long distance routes, and increasingly crowded airways. All that plus
en route and destination airport weather, and even ground traffic clutter at
airports...
 This is part two of a series from the March
1957 issue of American Modeler magazine that briefly introduces a dozen
winning free flight models and comments from their designers. Current day modelers
who like to fly the vintage (old timer) airplanes might pick up a useful tip from
the masters of the golden age of free flight. Materials have not changed a lot since
then, other than maybe the use of carbon fiber in the airframe, and no doubt engine
technology has gotten better, but the fundamentals of trimming for the powered and
glide portions of free flight pretty much remain the same...
Anyone who watched the
WKRP in Cincinnati TV sitcom back in the 1970s has to remember what was one
of the funniest episodes ever. Here is the 4 minutes that made Prime Time history.
In this Thanksgiving episode, station owner Arthur Carlson decided he would surprise
the community with good deed - that doubled as a promotional stunt for his radio
station - by dropping turkeys from a helicopter for lucky shoppers at the local
shopping mall. Watch the disaster unfold as Les Nessman reports live, and then see
Carlson's final comment that is still used or alluded to in many comic routines.
Posting this video is an RF Cafe tradition. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
 "A team of students at the University of
Southern California has officially set a
new record for the highest amateur space launch - and they've set the bar very,
very high for anyone who tries to beat it. The rocket, Aftershock II, reached a
height of about 470,000 feet (about 90 miles), passing the existing record for highest
amateur space flight by about 80,000 feet. The launch The team's successful launch
took place on October 20, though it took roughly a month for the student team to
verify the data via a report this month. That data showed that the amateur rocket
traveled roughly five-and-a-half times the speed of sound during the launch. To
perform the test, students from the USC Rocket Propulsion Lab traveled to the Black
Rock Desert, since the playas and dry lake beds there proved suitable..."
 This brief piece from the October 1950 issue
of Air Trails magazine was a springboard into articles on
control line models for beginners. The Peppy Trainer, for example, is 28" wingspan,
flat−bottom airfoil control line model with a solid balsa fuselage and tail surfaces.
It used a .09 engine - which would typically be easier to adjust and keep running
than a standard .049 engine. That article also recommends more than a dozen other
good trainer models to server both the rank control line beginner and someone just
getting into control line aerobatics. Many have built-up fuselages, which the experts
claim is best for high precision maneuvers since the rigidity of the 3-dimensional
structure minimizes twisting, keeping the alignment between the wing and horizontal
stabilizer consistent. There are low-wing, mid-wing, and high-wing configurations,
both scale-like and non-scale...
 Destination Lancaster pledged $100,000 toward
finishing construction of the new
Flight Test Museum at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The Museum is expected
to become a top destination and draw hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Aerospace
Valley area near Lancaster, California. Art Thompson, Chairman of the Flight Test
Historical Foundation (FTHF) said, 'This significant pledge from Destination Lancaster
demonstrates their vision for the economic growth and tourism potential of our region.
The new museum will serve as a cornerstone attraction, drawing aviation enthusiasts..."
 Airplanes and Rockets website visitor Michael
M. wrote to request that I post this article, along with the ones for the
Satellite 1000 free-flight champion,
and The Giants of Free Flight. His reason was that he wanted to get his flying team
back together again in Bill Hunter, who passed away recently. This 1972 American
Aircraft Modeler magazine article on covering with Mylar is very extensive
and is another example of such efforts that were common in hobby magazines of decades
ago - a large part of my motivation for making them available. It is rare...
 1943, in the midst of World War II,
was about the beginning of the time when all the
fantastic predictions of flying cars, video phones, domestic robots, two-day
work weeks, meals in pill form, self-driving lawn mowers, self-driving cars, moon
and planet habitats, and other creations were being pitched by technical magazines
like Popular Mechanics, Popular Science, Science and Mechanics,
Mechanix Illustrated, and others. Even the "women's" mags were full of
promises of automated everything to make housework simpler. While many of the fundamental
inventions has since been created, only a few have evolved to full maturity as envisioned.
A flying machine in every garage is one which has not. Such a Jetsons...
 We will be moving back to Erie, PA, where
overcast skies dominate, and the city lights kill views, so I am going to try to
sell this before leaving. I'd keep it as a museum piece for display if I was going
to have room, but we might be going into an apartment. The entire system has been
stripped down and refinished, with original components retained for authenticity.
Included are telescope, mount, clock drive, finder scope, 9 mm and 18 mm
eyepieces, 2x Barlow, dust covers. This is truly a unique opportunity. Please contact
me via e-mail if you are interested in buying it. Local pick-up only, or I'll deliver
for $50 within 100 miles of Greensboro, NC, with payment in advance...
 Here is a very simple technique for creating
and applying custom
lettering - or even complex graphics - using Monokote covering. It makes cutting
out and positioning the individual pieces easy on flat surfaces or surfaces with
a simple curve or bend. Complex surfaces like cowls and wheel pants can be more
challenging, but at least the shapes can be created this way. Use any word processor
or graphics program to create the exact size and text and/or graphic shapes, including
spacing and alignment, italics, font face, etc., that you want on your printer.
Print it out on regular printer paper (20# works fine). Tape the paper onto the
Monokote and cut out each character with an x-Acto...
 This
Midwest Products Sharpie Schooner is one
of two static display models that I built for my dearest, Melanie (the other being
a Midwest Products Muscongus Bay Lobster Smack). She actually bought them to build
herself, but decided to let me build them instead. I used my woodworking, metalworking,
and painting skills for the structure and accessories, and she used her sewing skills
to make the sails. Applying all those tuft strings on the sails was quite time-consuming.
Deft Gloss clear was sprayed on the entire structure and sanded between coats for
a smooth surface. Then, Testors enamel paint was applied on the bottom of the hull.
The effort paid off with a 1st Place ribbon at the 2004 Dixie Classic Fair, in Winston-Salem,
North Carolina...
 The Russian MiG-15 and French Mystère jet
airplanes were prominent first in the Korean War and then into the Vietnam era.
They were two of the earliest jet fighters in air warfare. Many of the American
jet planes were being modeled around 1956, when this issue of Young Men magazine
came out, but at least in domestic magazines, plans for foreign jobs were fairly
rare. Here are plans for the two aforementioned Russian and French jets which use
the Jetex 50 engine for propulsion. Construction is all balsa, consisting of
a minimal framework covered with 1/32" balsa...
 Snow season arrived here in Erie, Pennsylvania,
already (13" on November 10th), and I didn't want to miss the chance to do some
flying off of snow skis. Last winter I mounted a pair of DuBro snow skis to my
Herr Engineering
J-3 Cub and flew a couple times with them, but they were the standard model
that are too big and heavy for this 1/2A-sized model. DuBro's Park Flyer Snow Skis
seemed like they might be a better choice for the J-3, so I ordered a pair. The
size is just about right, but the vacuum-formed plastic was a bit too thin for me
to confidently install them on the J-3. I decided that they would be perfectly useable
with a little sturdying up. As can be seen in the photos, there are two stiffening
slots...
 While looking for the edition of TV Guide
that published the first airing of "A Charlie Brown Christmas," I noticed that the
time period coincided with the launching of the
Gemini VII spacecraft.
In a stroke of good fortune, it indeed included an announcement that regularly scheduled
programming would be preempted as necessary to provide live coverage of the launch,
to give timely updates, and to coverage the splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean. 2:30
Gemini Space Flight The 14-day Gemini VII space flight is scheduled for launching
from Cape Kennedy's Pad 19 at 2:30 P.M. Astronauts Frank Borman and James A. Lovell
will be making man's longest journey...
 "An aviation company pushing the boundaries
of
solar-powered flight has successfully finished the first in a series of tests
for its uncrewed airplane, taking off from Mississippi's Stennis International Airport
for six flights high over the Gulf of Mexico. The company, Skydweller Aero Inc.,
says its aircraft - essentially a giant drone with a wingspan greater than a 747
- had one flight lasting 22.5 hours and another lasting 16 hours during the initial
testing campaign. The company says it is developing technology to enable its airplanes
to eventually spend months cruising at 40,000 feet, guided by a team of techs on
the ground and using only the sun for fuel. The top of the plane is equipped with
17,000 solar cells..."
 A scheme I have considered for control line
models is one of the entries in the "Sketch Book" section of the February 1949 issue
of Air Trails magazine. Mr. Joseph Johnson shows how he used a moveable
rudder on his scale airplane to increase tension on the control lines when up elevator
is commanded. A similar system could be devised for stunt models which increases
right rudder (for CCW circles, left rudder for CW) as either up or down elevator
is fed in. Another option I have never tried is to have a
moveable
rudder controlled by a spring connected to a sliding bellcrank platform that
would increase outward rudder when line tension lessens, and decrease it when the
lines get tight. Such a system would be most useful for compensating for wind gusts
that slacken the control lines. Maybe some day I'll have the time to experiment
with that. A handful of other ideas are included...
 Website visitor Bob wrote to ask that I
scan and post the construction article and plans for the
F-84G Thunderjet control
line model. It appeared in the July 1970 issue of American Aircraft Modeler magazine.
The unique feature of this model is that the power is supplied by the pilot. A fishing
pole and line is used to drag the airplane around the flying circle and a separate,
standard two-line elevator control is used to maneuver the model. Construction is
sheet balsa. Author Joe Wagner (well-known in the modeling world) claims that with
a bit of practice just about any aerobatic maneuver can be accomplished except for
the overhead routines like the figure eight...
 "Drones
will be deployed for long distance inspection of infrastructure as well as site
security following new rule changes published by the UK Civil Aviation Authority.
The aviation regulator's new rules will enable drones to fly beyond the visual line
of sight (BVLOS) of remote pilots in so-called 'atypical' operations through its
new policy for atypical air environments (AAE). BVLOS flights have been taking place
in the UK for several years, but these flights have occurred primarily in trials
under strict restrictions..."
 The 1956 Air Trails magazine Annual
Edition reported on the World Championships in Germany for the International Wakefield
Cup, F.A.I Free Flight, and Nordic A/2 Glider events. The three '55 World Championships
were held in September at the U.S. Air Force's Finthen Airfield, near Wiesbaden,
Germany. Competition was fierce amongst European and American contenders. It is
worthwhile to remember that 1955 was a mere eleven years after the end of World
War II, and that former foes were gathered together for a sporting contest.
There could easily have been men there who, without knowing it, were competing against
military adversaries they met on the battlefield or in occupied towns a decade earlier...
 This
rocket
boost glider called the Dyna-Soar was powered by American Telasco's version
of the Jetex 50 engine. Jetex rocket engines were quite popular with model airplane,
boat, and car builders through the early 1970s, at which point the fuel supplies
began to disappear. Most Internet sources posit that Imperial Chemicals Industries
(ICI) ceased making the fuel pellets due to a combination of liability and regulation
issues. ICI, based in Scotland, manufactured the Jetex fuel pellets* from a measured
blend of guanidine nitrate, 2,4-dinitroresorcinol, potassium nitrate...
 Leonardo da Vinci is usually credited with
producing the first illustration of a helicopter concept. It employed a rotating
helical corkscrew device at the top in order to enable the craft and occupant to
"screw his way aloft, in much the same manner as Archimedes designed his eponymous
helical screw device to lift water from a lower level to a higher level. Water,
being dense and cohesive with itself, was easily elevated, whilst air, not being
dense or cohesive, did not yield to the same technique. In fact, if the "aerial
screw" were able to spin rapidly enough and was of an efficient aerodynamic design,
it would work. Here is a 4-screw drone to prove it. These "Windmill
Planes" presented in the February 1939 issue of Popular Science magazine represent
the state of the art at the time. Surprisingly omitted is an example of Igor Sikorsky's
helicopter design, which he first flew successfully in September...
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 As is the case with so much as you get older
- and especially when you've gotten a LOT older - it is rather sad to be reminded
of all the things that played a large role in your lifetime that are no longer around
(both people and things). Back in the day, I never considered that some time in
the distant future so many of the things I took for granted would not exist any
more. Montgomery Ward, Sears & Roebuck, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Hechinger Lumber,
Woolworth, Toys R Us, Howard Johnson, Circuit City, Eastern Airlines, Western Auto,
Dart Drug, Radio Shack, Allied Radio, Heathkit, RCA, A&P Grocery, Pantry Pride,
KB Toys, and many more that do not immediately come to mind were the brick and mortar
places we of my generation (born in 1958) knew so well. In the model building world,
a similar list of long gone and not so long gone companies could be made as well.
Sterling Models, of course, is amongst them, along with Aamco, America's Hobby
Center, Marks Models, Airtronics, Berkeley Models, Kraft Radio, Hobby People, Jetco,
Cox, Scientific Models, Tatone, and many more. For nostalgia's sake, here is an
advertisement from a 1960 issue of American Modeler magazine, which itself
is no longer in existence...
 According to this 1960 Air Trails magazine
"Starting
Control Line Combat" article, the contest event first appeared in the AMA (Academy
of Model Aeronautics) rulebook in 1950. Hard to believe that was 72 years ago as
of this writing. It's equally hard to believe it was only 8 years before I was born
- ugh. Control line combat remains a very popular sport today, and is one of the
relatively few aspects of the hobby which has not changed considerably. Engines
have gotten more powerful and reliable, and building materials have improved, but
the basic outline of the airframe is about the same. The story reports on combat
rounds having up to five planes flying at once, duking it out for air superiority.
Too bad there's not a video of it with all the flyers trying desperately to not
become entangled in each other's lines or even keeping out of each other's way.
There must have been a lot of smashed balsa after that event. Anyway, this article
provides a lot of detail concerning all aspects of model construction, engine and
fuel tank setup, and flying. Interesting fact: In the early days of control line
combat, prolonged inverted flight was permitted...
 The cost of balsa, like everything else,
has been rising significantly since the COVID-19 "plandemic" hit the world a couple
years ago. Along with it the price of manufactured kits has gone up as well. A simple
1/16" x 3" sheet of balsa now costs around $2.00 (Sig price). In 2019, you could
get it for $1.13 per the stored page at Archive.org. That's a 77% increase. Being
a scratch builder of model airplanes, I frequently watch e-Bay, RC Universe,
RC Groups, etc., for bargains on balsa, but they're getting harder to come
by. If you have to order a balsa block online, there is a good chance it will end
up being more dense (i.e., harder and heavier) than desired. Since local hobby shops
(LHS's) are very rare these days, there is seldom an opportunity to go in and look
for a suitable block prior to purchasing...
 General Electric (GE) produced a series
of informational technical publications in comic book format back in the 1950s.
One was entitled "Adventures in
Jet Power," released in 1950, 1955, and 1960. GE has been a major producer of
jet engines for commercial and military aircraft for many decades. After doing an
extensive search for full versions of the comics, I finally found this 1950 issue
posted on The Fabulous Fifties website. Other of the Adventure Series included "Adventures
in Electricity," "Adventures into the Past," Adventures Inside the Atom," and "Adventures
in Electronics." Here is a good list of all of the GE Adventure Series comics. Many
of these comic books can be bought on eBay...
 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)...
 Over time, our (Melanie and me) Peanuts collection
of memorabilia has grow from the few items she had left over from her girlhood to
complete sets. She had the Hungerford Linus and Sally, so we still needed to find
Schroeder, Lucy, Charlie Brown, Pigpen, and Snoopy. Everything was procured via
eBay auctions. It took a lot of patience to be able to get good quality items at
an affordable price. The "Peanuts: The Art of Charles M. Schulz" book was very helpful
in identifying which Peanuts memorabilia items were made. The author mentioned that
the rarest Hungerford piece was the piano that came with Schroeder, so a saved search
was placed on eBay and after about a year, one came up for auction. We paid less
than $100 for it back around 2010. We're still in need of Lucy, Charlie Brown, Pigpen,
and Snoopy. Please let me know if you have these that you are will to sell at a
reasonable price...
 Donald Keyhoe wrote a huge number of aviation
adventure articles for Flying Aces magazine in the 1930s. His flying ace
was Captain Philip Strange, a "G−2" agent with a unique sense of intuition that
allows him to practically (but not really) read people's minds. He is also a master
of disguises. Capt. Strange's era is World War I and his venue was the
front lines of Germany and France. After Philip Strange came Kerry Keen (aka "The
Griffon") during the World War II era, written by real-world ace pilot Arch
Whitehouse. You will likely be introduced to a new bunch of words that were particular
to the times, like "ack emma," referring to the signalman's phonetic pronunciation
of "A" and "M." In "The Ghost
from G−2," the reference is to "aircraft mechanics," but ack emma was more routinely
applied to "A.M." for morning, or ante meridian ("pip emma" was P.M., or post meridian).
"Ack-ack" was for...
 Airplanes and Rockets website visitor Ray
L. wrote to say he has a
Biceps control line
model that appeared in the April 1969 edition of American Aircraft Modeler
magazine, and that he would like to have the article posted. Per Roy, "I bought
this model from one of our club members who is a team race flier and built it on
a whim, he fitted it with electric and had it test flown by one of our aerobatic
pilots and after that he lost interest it and I was happy to give it a good home,
the quality of build and finish is to pro standards." Power in the original was
a Fox .59, wingspan is 48". AMA Plans Service still prints the Biceps plans.
 The
Thermal-G R/C Club
held its annual summer fly-in on August 15, 2010, at the Erie Tech Center. The day
was sunny (a little too warm for me) and quite windy. Because of the wind, most
models were grounded, but a few brave souls did some flying, including quite a bit
of 3-D stuff. I always get nervous seeing that stuff done so close to the pit area
- especially in high wind - but at least up to the point that Melanie and I left,
there had been no incidents. Also present were members of the Bean Hill Flyers control
line club. Here are a few pictures I took of the flight line...
 This particular kit is of the
Marks Models P-51 Mustang.
You can see the Marks Models label was pasted over a Dynaflite box. An Internet
search shows at least two varieties of box label, depending on the era. Mark Smith,
of Windfree and Windward R/C glider fame, founded the company. According to the
Dynaflite
website in 1999, "Marks Models became Dynaflite many years ago." The date seems
to be around 1995, when Hobbico bought Marks Models, and then turned it into Dynaflite.
Construction was of balsa and plywood, vacuum-formed plastic components, and a sheeted
foam wing.
The Stuka
Stunt control line aerobatics model was designed and flown by Don Still. Don
was top placing (2066.6 points) member of the winning USA team, with his new version
Stuka Stunt, at the 1960 World Stunt Championships in Budapest, Hungary. The model
sports a 42" wingspan with a wing area of 391 sq. in., weight is 28-30 ounces. Construction
is standard balsa, plywood, and spruce. Plans for the original version Stuka Stunt
were featured in the April 1952 issue of Air Trails. The model won the
1952 and 1954 Nationals (Nats), the 1953 Internationals, and the 1951 Tangerine
Internationals. It took second place in the 1951 and 1960 Nationals. These plans
for Don's new Stuka Stunt appeared in the July 1961 issue of American Modeler
magazine.
 It seems most every old time rubber-powered
free flight model has been converted by someone to electric-powered radio control.
The availability of motors and R/C airborne systems weighing in the grams - or fraction
thereof - is making R/C flight for even the tiniest models possible. It would be
interesting to see somebody convert these
Matchbox
Fliers, which appeared in the April 1962 issue of American Modeler
magazine, to at least single-channel R/C using one of the nano-size radio systems
available today. Heck, there's probably a way to even mount a camera to a model
this small these days...
 This is part two of an article that began
in the September 1974 American Aircraft Modeler magazine. The
Supersweep
was used to break the long-standing Indoor Hand Launched Glider (IHLG) record of
one minute and thirty seconds. In 2009, Stan Buddenbohm set a new record for 1:52.12
(see video below). Website visitor Ward B. recently wrote asking that I post
the second article on the Supersweep, so, here it is. Plans can be found in the
September 1974 edition of American Aircraft Modeler.
 Many moons ago I designed and built a combined
salt & pepper
and napkin holder for use on a round oak table we had when first married (1983).
It had a Lazy Susan turntable for the base to facilitate easy access by anyone sitting
at the table. At some point during our many household moves, we sold both the table
and the turntable at a yard sale. For a long time I have been planning to build
another to replace it. Finally, I used some leftover hickory wood from my Grandmother
clock project and built what you see here. It is about 11½" in diameter; the size
was kept as small as practical so as not to take up too much room on the table.
One improvement over the first iteration was only placing vertical supports near
the four corners, which keeps the back open for inserting napkins without needing
to remove the salt and pepper shakers...
 Website visitor Richard P. wrote to ask
for me to scan articles from the June 1971 edition of American Aircraft Modeler
magazine. The two articles, subtitled "A Study in Design Ideas," feature two control
line stunters, the F-4 Phantom
and the B8 Crusader, presented together as complimentary models but with varied
construction techniques. Designed and built by two separate modelers, Bill Suarez
and Vic Macaluso, respectively, they are similar in that both represented at the
time "the Navy's best current jet fighters," both have tricycle landing gear, have
wingspans in the 55-60" range, and use inverted mounting for a .35-size engine.
The big difference between the two is that the Phantom ahs a built-up wing while
the Crusader has a foam core wing...
 The first thing I learned (or re-learned)
in reading this article is that in 1967, "Hertz" had only recently been assigned
as the official unit of frequency. According to Wikipedia, International Electrotechnical
Commission (IEC) adopted it in in 1930, but it wasn't until 1960 that it was adopted
by the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) (Conférence Générale des
Poids et Mesures). Hertz replace cycles per second (cps). The next thing that happened
was that I was reminded of how images such as the op-art tracing of
antenna oscillation that are routinely generated today by sophisticated software,
required huge amounts of setup time and trials to yield just a single useful and
meaningful image using actual hardware...
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)...
 This
"R/C
Triplex: Three Channels on One Channel" article that appeared in a 1956 issue
of Popular Electronics magazine was written by a fellow who was well known in the
aeromodeling world at the time - Claude McCullough. Claude won many titles in precision
scale for both control line (C/L) and radio control (R/C). As was the case with
many R/C modelers of the era, he did a lot of experimentation with transmitters,
receivers, and electromechanical devices used to move control surfaces. Rubber-band-powered
escapements dominated the field, but some servomechanisms were being developed to
provide a means for proportional control and/or a more powerful means of multiposition
control. As can be seen in the video I produced showing how a typical escapement
worked, the output drove the airplane's rudder to either neutral, full left, or
full right deflections, with no position in-between. To actuate the control, the
R/C pilot pushed a button on the transmitter the number of times required to affect
the desired control movement. That made for somewhat jerky flights...
 Since this membership application for the
Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) brings up the subject of inflation, I figured
it would be interesting to find out what the inflation rate was in 1949 when it
appeared in Air Trails magazine. According to the CPI Inflation Calculator, the
rate in 1949 was actually negative (-1.2%) due to a multi-year economic recession
triggered by President Truman's "Fair Deal"; however, in the previous year (1948)
it was a whopping 8.1%, and the year before that (1947) it was an incredible 14.4%!!!
So, massive inflation was definitely still on the minds of Americans at the time.
The current inflation rate (March 2022) is sitting at 8.5%, with no sign of things
getting any better. In fact, economists say if the inflation rate was calculated
the way it was in 1949, it would be in the 15% realm. According to the BLS Inflation
Calculator, what would have cost you $1.00 in September 1949 will cost you $12.03
in March of 2022. That's 1,203% inflation in about 73 years, which averages to about
1.102% per year (1.102^73 = 1,200). Clearly, we are currently in a period of significant
inflation, but that's what we get when the government prints money like mad and
dilutes the value of every dollar in your pocket...
 The X-15 was an experimental aircraft developed
by NASA and the U.S. Air Force in the 1950s and 1960s. It was a rocket-powered aircraft
designed to explore the high-speed and high-altitude flight regimes. The X-15 program
aimed to gather data on aerodynamics, structural heat resistance, and control systems
for future space and hypersonic vehicles. The X-15 was primarily built for research
purposes, aiming to push the boundaries of manned flight. It provided valuable data
on the effects of high speeds, altitudes, and temperatures on aircraft and human
physiology. The X-15 achieved impressive speeds, with its fastest recorded speed
being Mach 6.7 (about 4,520 miles per hour). It also reached altitudes of up to
354,200 feet. The X-15 was flown by a select group of experienced test pilots, including
Neil Armstrong. From 1959 to 1968, the X-15 completed a total of 199 flights...
 Here are a few more helpful
model building tips from the May 1961 issue of the Academy of Model Aeronautics'
American Modeler magazine. Many are not so useful anymore because inexpensive
and commercially made versions of the gadgets and tools presented are readily available.
Of course you can still do it yourself for any of them, and if time and/or money
is an issue, you might need to. The first one requires a product that is scarce
these days - photographic negatives. Nearly every household used to have old negatives
laying around, but not anymore. Maybe your parents or grandparents have some they
could spare if you really want to give it a try. The painted-on water-transfer decal
seems like a pretty slick idea, and could still be a useful trick. I wonder how
well it works... |
