For as much as I desperately wanted a radio control
system when I was a kid, I never bought an R/C system until I was around 15 years old,
when a used 3-channel OS
digital proportional system became available from a man that lived a couple blocks away.
Even the "cheap" $100 rudder-only escapement models were out of reach on my paltry income
from a paper route. So, it wasn't until a couple years ago, at age 50, that I finally
purchased an escapement from someone on eBay, just to see one up close. Some of the airplane
kits I had, like the Carl Goldberg 1/2A Skylane, showed an escapement installation on
the plans, with the rubber band engine and a rather large receiver constructed of discrete
transistors and large tuning coils.
While looking through the July 1957 issue of
American Modeler, I happened across an advertisement for the very escapement that I now
own. There are no markings on the device - not a manufacturer name or model number. It
turns out the escapement is "The Single," from Bonner Specialties. It is a self-neutralizing
4-arm escapement which provides stronger action to operate throttle, other auxiliary
controls. Weight: 0.6 ounces. Price: $5.95.
I built a mock-up of an escapement installation for controlling the rudder in a single-channel
radio controlled airplane, and then made a video to show how it works (see below photos).
You can use the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics'
inflation calculator
to see that $5.95 is $46.23 in year 2010 dollars.
Even during the busiest times of my life I have endeavored to maintain some form
of model building activity. This site has been created to help me chronicle my journey
through a lifelong involvement in model aviation, which
all began in Mayo,
MD ...
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and text used on the Airplanes and Rockets website are hereby acknowledged.