|
 This article appeared in the November 2024
issue of Astronomy magazine - not sure why. "Brothers is a place that has
somehow slipped outside the passage of time. Located in a sea of sagebrush in central
Oregon, this former stagecoach stopover once serviced horse-drawn migrants bound
for the Willamette Valley. Thanks to the nonprofit organization
OregonRocketry, Brothers has outlasted the surrounding ghost towns to find new
purpose as one of the preeminent high-power rocket launch sites in America. The
group has purchased land and established a site out here in coyote country for the
advancement of amateur rocketry and education of future aerospace engineers. They
have a waiver from the FAA that currently allows them to blast the things nearly
four miles into the air..."
 "Japanese
operator SoftBank announced that the Sunglaider, its large-scale solar-powered uncrewed
aircraft system (UAS) designed for
High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) stratospheric telecommunications, was
utilized in a field trial conducted by AeroVironment and the U.S. DoD in New Mexico,
the U.S. During the trial, carried out in early August, Sunglider succeeded in achieving
stratospheric flight, the Japanese operator said. With a wingspan of 78 meters and
the capability to carry payloads weighing up to 75kg, the Sunglider is larger than
other publicly announced HAPS UAS..."
 The
Cessna
Skymaster (336/337) has always been my favorite twin-engined civilian lightplane.
A military version of it is designated as the O-2 Skymaster. For as long as I can
remember, I have threatened to build a control-line model of one. Well, that time
has finally arrived, and I began by ordering these plans from the AMA Plans Service.
It will be powered by a pair of 480-sized brushless motors, and throttle will be
controlled by a hand-held car/boat format transmitter, the one I use on my control-line
Douglas DC-3. I am modifying the fuselage construction to accommodate the motors,
and am adding formers to simplify the building process. Mr. Welch's original omitted
formers in the cabin area...
 Fox model airplane engines had a reputation
for ruggedness and contest-winning performance, but were also notoriously difficult
to get started - at least without an electric starter. In 1961, when this full-page
advertisement appeared in American Modeler magazine, electric starters
were not in many modelers' field boxes, and particularly those owned by youngsters
whose modeling budget came from meager allowances and paper routes. Born in 1958,
I was 15 or 16 years old before being able to afford the luxury, and I remember
relentlessly flipping the propellers on my
Fox 15 and Fox 35 control line engines. Half the time when they...
 If you have ever wanted to try your hand
(thumbs, to be more specific) at a floatplane, then this
1/2A size Aeronca
Champion which appeared in the March 1957 issue of Model Airplane News magazine,
is just the ticket. Although designed by Walt Mooney as a free flight ROW (rise-off-water)
model that easily converts between wheels and floats, modifications to 3 or 4 channel
radio control would be a snap, especially since the plans show separate construction
for the control surfaces along the hinge line. With about a 46" wingspan and lightweight
but strong construction, this model could easily have been designed with modern
electric power...
 I did a quick Web search on how to
repair damaged book bindings, and as is typical, most of what is out there is
a rewritten regurgitation of other pages. Tape and glue are the order of the day
per those instructions, but that is really insufficient to effect a good repair
on books - particularly older volumes - which use string and fabric along the spine
to form a very rugged and durable binding for standing up to repeated use. When
you desire to restore a book to as close to its original condition as possible,
the more extensive method described in this 1965 Popular Mechanics magazine article
is needed. All the tools and materials required are described, as is instructions
for assembling a book...
 "Rohde &
Schwarz has been at the forefront of addressing the evolving threats posed by advanced
drone technology to security, public safety, and critical infrastructure. As drones
become more sophisticated and complex, malicious drones equipped with advanced capabilities
present significant challenges. To counter these threats, Rohde & Schwarz has
developed cutting-edge
Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (CUAS) designed to detect, neutralize, and mitigate
emerging drone risks effectively. In a recent interview, Martin Woywod, Product
Manager for Counter-UAS Systems at Rohde & Schwarz, explained the urgency of
counter-drone technology in today's world..."
 Airplanes and Rockets website visitor Lars
B. wrote from Sweden requesting that I scan this "Wind Flying" article
from the September 1972 edition of American Aircraft Modeler magazine.
It describes a method for replacing engines and motors with human power for preforming
some pretty impressive C/L aerobatics on windy days. Basically, you drag the model
airplane around on its control lines, which often required not just turning in a
circle while standing in one place, but walking around a small circle in order to
get more speed. If there is any wind, you need to put extra effort into the pulling
when moving into the wind. I can remember doing this as a teenager, only I did it
with the engine in place but not...
• FCC Rules for
5 GHz Band Drone Operations
•
EAA Weighs in on MOSAIC
• Smithsonian
Opens Hangar Doors to Pilots
• EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2024 July 22-28
• The Smallest
Air Force One
 Post World War II was a big time for
model building and operating. Veterans and their families helped relieve the stress
and anxieties of the era with both scale and original design
model boats, cars, trains,
submarines, motorcycles helicopters, airplanes, tanks, even oddities like bicycles,
farm equipment, carnival layouts, animals, and historic buildings (of which
many of those appeared in model train layouts). The level of artistry and craftsmanship
was impressive, particularly considering the sparsity of pre-made miniature accoutrements
like hardware fittings, mechanisms for operating control surfaces and mechanisms,
and even appropriate finishes. Radio control was in its infancy, being largely the
realm of modelers with knowledge...
 Website visitor Steve R. wrote requesting
that I scan and post this "Square Hare" article from the September 1962 issue of
American Modeler magazine. Says, Steve, "I built one of these back then
on Galloping ghost and it went great till servo failed (modified mighty Midget motor).
Later I built another for Class one Aerobatics fitted with OS 40 and Kraft Propo,
this was very successful. Nostalgia strikes and I'd like to build another as a sport
model." Square Hare from Delaware is a bit unique in that its wing has no spar and
is constructed from diagonally arranged ribs sandwiched between 3/32" balsa sheeting.
Looking at all the hardware required just for the elevator control really makes
you appreciate modern radio gear with servos. Hopefully, Steve will grace us with
a photo of his completed Square Hare.
 "On September 9, the House of Representatives
passed H.R.2864: the
Countering CCP Drones Act. This would add future equipment made by DJI technologies
to the FCC's Covered List on the premise that it poses a risk to U.S. national security.
The Countering CCP Drones Act would essentially ban UAS and related tech produced
by DJI from operating on U.S. telecommunications infrastructure. This trails several
'inaccurate and unsubstantiated' claims against the company regarding sensitive
data sharing with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This would not directly affect
customers, at least for now, though it is guaranteed to have a massive effect on
DJI's..."
 I had no idea that there were multiple versions
of the Ford Trimotor
(aka Tin Goose). This article from an 1962 edition of American Modeler
magazine provides a fairly in-depth look at the history of the airplane. If you
follow politics at all, you know that Halliburton is a name that became a household
word when George Bush chose Dick Cheney as his vice president. According to author
Joe Christy, SAFE-way airline, which operated Ford Trimotors, was started by Oklahoma
oilman Erle Halliburton, and was sold to TWA (Trans World Airline) in 1931. In an
incredible stroke of good fortune, Melanie and I were able to take a ride in a Ford
Trimotor in the summer of 2013, flying out of Erie International Airport (see my
Ford Trimotor video)...
 The
1955 Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) National Model Airplane Championships,
held at the Los Alamitos, California, Naval Air Station was by all measures a smashing
success - "the best run Nationals competition in history." Extensive coverage of
the event appeared in the Annual Edition of Air Trails magazine. Free flight
and control line model airplanes were there, but no radio control types attended;
the technology was not yet within reach of enough hobbyists to warrant inclusion.
A look at the photos makes evident the amazing quality and variation of models,
both scale and non-scale. Take a look at the F4U Corsair with the folding wings,
the Ford Trimotor, Fairchild C-119, and the Fokker DR-1 triplane. Speaking of quality
models, two of the feminine kind were on-hand to award trophies. Hillevi Rombin,
Miss Universe of 1955, and movie starlet Marla English, are pictured with two lucky
winners..
 Ummm... was this really a "space walk?"
If so, then I "sky walked" when I climbed to the top of my 6-foot wooden ladder
yesterday. "The world's first commercial space walk, performed by billionaire
Jared Isaacman and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis, tested new technology and was practically
flawless. It wasn't a small step - more a clamber, really - but as billionaire entrepreneur
Jared Isaacman
climbed partway out of a SpaceX Dragon capsule located nearly 740 kilometers
above Earth on early Thursday morning, he made a giant leap into spaceflight history.
That's because Isaacman is a private citizen who is flying in a commercial spacecraft
on a voyage he paid for - not a government-agency...
 Here are plans for the
Boeing B&W 1916
Biplane that I electronically scanned from my purchased copy of the March 1965
Model Airplane News magazine. When I have more time, I will dig the magazine
out of storage and scan/OCR the rest of the article. For now you can at least review
the plans. Click on the images for larger versions. I have even large files for
them at the original 200 dpi resolution. Designed and built by Mr. Francis Reynolds.
Plans for this fine model were drawn by Mr. Ray Vinup. All copyrights (if any) are
hereby acknowledged. "The Boeing Model 1, also known as the B & W Seaplane,
was a United States single-engine biplane seaplane aircraft. It was the first Boeing
product and carried the initials..."
 When building my Enterprise-E control stunt
airplane, I knew that the amount of control surface throw available for both flaps
and elevator was extreme, but I wanted to have the reserve capability in case it
was needed. It was definitely NOT needed! Fortunately, because of the way the top
fuselage hatch is designed for removal there is easy access to the flap control
horn, and thereby the ability to move pushrod clevises around to decrease throws.
Even with doing that, however, the model is still very sensitive to control line
handle movements. My only solution was to obtain a
control line handle with
line spacing less than the 4-1/4" on the stock Sullivan handle. That spacing has
been a little too much for other models as well, so an alternate handle would be
nice anyway...
 I received a lot of feedback after first
posting this piece on how to straighten cupped
and/or bowed laminated countertops. That was a couple years ago. Since I continue
to see severely deformed countertops in Lowes and Home Depot, it is worth brining
attention to it again. You might be able to get a really good deal on the otherwise
unsellable laminated countertops, then use my easy method for nearly perfectly flattening
them. Al that is required is sawing a cross-hatch pattern part-way through the bottom
surface, and then screwing, gluing, and clamping them whilst being held flat. The
wood around the outside edge serves as the space normally placed between the top
of the lower cabinet base and the countertop. Tyr it. You'll like it!
 "Gotonomi,
a UAV satellite connectivity solutions provider, has announced the completion of
further successful flight trials and the opening of orders for production units
of all variants of its
UAV satcom terminals at Commercial UAV Expo 2024 in Las Vegas. The launch marks
a significant milestone, transitioning from pre-production flight development kits
to type-approved, commercial terminals, enabling scalable beyond visual line of
sight operations (BVLOS) for drone operators wishing to offer inspection, surveillance,
and delivery services. Following extensive verification testing, including flight
trials..."
 When I first saw this "U-Control
Model Plane" article in a 1952 issue of Popular Mechanics magazine,
I expected it to have been written by one of the Stanzel brothers. Long after their
entry into the model airplane manufacturing world, Joe and Victor created their
line of battery-powered, electric motor-driven control line models in 1958. It eventually
included a helicopter, a monoplane, and a flying saucer, amongst other craft. The
Stanzels, BTW, invented the Monoline control line system which was adopted by U-control
(aka control line) speed modelers because it created much less aerodynamic drag,
facilitating higher airspeeds. Maybe this article was a motivation for the Stanzels...
 Another of Melanie's family's relics is
this pine clothes chest.
After more than 100 years of use and abuse, this chest was in dire need of restoration.
Construction is very low density pine, with dovetailed corners. Finish was a clear
varnish with no stain. The bottom, back, and inside had no finish at all. Restoration
consisted of knocking apart and re-gluing most joints, sanding, and filling in the
multiple dings and scratches where they were really deep. Minor imperfections were
kept for the sake of character. Minwax dark walnut stain was used inside and out,
and allowed to dry for a week. Then, two coats of Deft satin clear were brushed
on with 320 sanding and 0000 steel wool between coats...
 "The SETI Institute, in collaboration with
the Berkeley SETI Research Center and the International Centre for Radio Astronomy
Research, has initiated a pioneering study using the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA)
in Western Australia. Led by Dr. Chenoa Tremblay of the SETI Institute and Prof.
Steven Tingay of Curtin University, this research marks the first
search for alien technology in galaxies beyond our own, specifically targeting
low radio frequencies (100 MHz). The MWA's extensive field of view (FOV) allowed
the research team to examine approximately 2,800 galaxies in a single observation,
with known distances for 1,300 of these galaxies..."
 This report of the
1962 (16th) British
Nationals appeared in the 1963 Annular edition of American Modeler
modeler, which I believe was published in January of 1963. Just as back in the day,
the U.S. Nationals were held on a military installation (U.S. Navy sponsorship),
the British Nats were held at Barkston Heath R.A.F. station. Although technically
it was an international event, it appears that Brits and Yanks were the only competitors
- or at least the only ones mentioned. See anyone you know?
 When
Dyna-Jet engine in new or like-new condition is listed for sale or auction on
eBay, it usually sells for north of $500. Sometimes buyers get lucky and win an
auction for less. This 1946 Popular Science magazine article entitled "Baby V-1
Flies for Fun" appeared just a year after Germany had surrendered unconditionally.
Only a year before that, Londoners ran for cover in underground shelters when V-1
"Buzz Bombs" were heard making their tell-tale 45 Hz "buzz" noise as they made
their way toward England. "V-1" was from the German Vergeltungswaffe 1 meaning
"Vengeance Weapon 1." The only reference to a "robomb" I see other than this
article is from a 1944 issue of Time magazines entitled, "Science: How the Robomb
Works." As Paul Harvey would famously say, "Now you know... the Rest of the story."
 SpaceX
and Blue Origin have been in the news for the last decade for their efforts (some
successful, some not) to
autonomously land a spacecraft vertically under its own power. Love it or hate
it, NASA has been doing that for nearly six decades. Granted, it was on celestial
bodies with lower gravitational acceleration than on Earth, but the earliest craft
(Surveyor 1, 1966) had relatively crude electronics aboard, including a Doppler
radar, flight computer, and video camera. The now legendary Apollo Guidance Computer
has been written about extensively, and is a testimony to the brilliance of the
scientists, engineers, managers, operators, and technicians who built and flew it.
Articles like this one in the May 1967 issue of Radio-Electronics magazine...
 I am not aware of the origin of this matrix,
but it is a very useful tool for determining whether certain
filler
materials and finish chemistries are compatible or, equally important, incompatible.
It was included in the July 2012 edition of the Bean Hill Flyers control-line club
newsletter. This might save somebody the grief and angst from applying a finish
over a base that will cause it to bubble, peel, blister, or not ever dry. One important
point this chart indicates is that you can apply butyrate dope over nitrate dope,
but you CANNOT apply nitrate dope over butyrate dope. There might be other instances
of one-way compatibilities, but if you are not sure, do a test first or avoid the
deadly combination altogether. You also need to verify compatibility of the various
rattle can...
 According to Guiness World Records, the
current holder of the record for the
fastest model car is the "Radio Controlled Bullet," by Nic Case, having achieved
a speed of 202.02 mph (325.12 km/h), in 2014. In 2019, Estonian Ando Rohtmets set
the tethered model car speed record of 215.92 mph (347.490 kmph). All
modern speed records are set using electric motor power, unlike these models reported
on in a 1948 issue of Popular Science magazine which used liquid fuel and
internal combustion engines (ICE). However, not all of those ICE powerplants had
pistons. Mr. Frank Brennan showed up with a DynaJet-powered model car, purportedly
fashioned after the Nazi V-1 "Buzz Bomb" (remember this was only a couple years
past...
 The
Eclipse is a gigantic radio-controlled
sailplane model with a 16-foot wingspan, geodesic ribs construction, and "V" tail
configuration. It is built up from balsa, plywood, spruce, and a fiberglass tail
boom. I remember first seeing the model on the cover of the October 1974 issue of
American Aircraft Modeler magazine, and really wanting to build one. Unfortunately,
I was only 16 years old at the time and was barely able to afford control line models,
let alone a huge RC sailplane. Of course with the cost of balsa today, it is no
more affordable now as then. It probably takes four rolls of Monokote to cover!
Here are plans for the Eclipse that I electronically scanned from my purchased copy
AAM. You might be able to scale up the image...
 The Estes
Saturn 1B rocket is another model that I really wanted to have as a kid,
but just didn't have the money. In those days, I launched everything that I built,
so I could not see spending a huge amount of my paper route money only to take the
risk of destruction due to the parachutes not deploying properly or maybe an engine
malfunction. I had launched enough rockets to know that the probability of something
going wrong was directly proportional to the cost and time spent building. Instead,
I stuck mostly with models that cost no more than about $3 (in 1960s-1970s dollars).
This Saturn 1B model has long been in my rocket building queue, but decade
passed before I felt justified spending the money and time to buy and build one.
The Saturn 1B was one of the Saturn V's predecessors and was used as the
launch vehicle for the first few Apollo missions...
 Jetex "rocket" motors were quite popular
during the 1940s through the 1970s. Their debut in the modeling world was in 1948,
per the Jetex.org website. Unlike Estes rocket engines that used combustion to generate
a high velocity ejection stream, Jetex fuel pellets merely "burned" at a constant
rate while the exhaust was forced through a small orifice in the engine's metal
housing (casing). Also unlike Estes engines, the Jetex casing was reusable and re-fuelable.
Half a dozen or so sizes and thrust levels eventually were produced. I had a couple
of the Jetex 50 engines that got strapped to Guillows balsa gliders and, to
some degree, were made to fly in jet-like fashion...
 Infographics are a big thing (literally)
in the business and science world, although they do seem to have passed their prime.
Well-done infographics typically have the form of a high aspect ratio drawing that
presents a detailed timeline or process flow of events or concepts. The progress
can run top to bottom or bottom to top, depending on the creator's intentions. This
particular infographic, produced by the BBC's "Great Turning
Points" series, outlines the major milestones in development of flying machines
beginning with the Wright Flyer in 1903 and progressing through both manned and
unmanned airplanes up through the U.S...
|
 In 1961 when this
Citizen−Ship LT−3 Relayless Receiver promotion appeared in American Modeler
magazine, transistorized circuits were a relatively new thing. Many people were
dubious of the newfangled technology and were leery of the dependability of them.
It didn't take long for the convenience of low weight, small size, higher functionality,
and no need for bulky and heavy high voltage batteries to sway even the most hard
cord tubeist (a word I just made up) toward adopting the format. Even so, the state
of the art had a long way to go to get anywhere close to today's micro- and nano-sized
receivers and servos, with capabilities and reliability levels only dreamed of in
1961. The escapement mechanism featured was powered by a twisted rubber band. A
pulse of current from the receiver caused the control arms to rotate a quarter turn
when a small solenoid released the escapement tab. So, although the receiver itself
was "relayless," the escapement still had one (a relay is a solenoid with make/break
electrical contacts)...
Website visitor Christian H. for buying my Estes Alpha II rocket kit.
He and his son built it and sent this photo - nice job! The original
Astron (Estes) Alpha kit, as can be seen in the
photos, had balsa fins and nose cone. The fins were cut from sheet balsa and needed
to be glued individually to the body tube. Then, both the nose cone and fins needed
to be coated with filler and sanded before painting. I wonder whether the new model,
which uses lightweight plastic and does not require painting, is lighter than the
original?
 The April 1960 issue of American Modeler
magazine provided this octet of handy
tricks and tips for model airplane building in its monthly "Sketchbook" feature.
Readers write in with ideas they came up with to solve commonly encountered issues
with hardware, framework construction and covering, painting, trimming out a model
for good flight characteristics, engine operation, and others. Many might seem obvious,
but such is often the case after you see a solution, kind of like in school when
working a math or physics problem and looking at the answer in the back of the book.
A couple of the suggestions here are things I have done, such as running a nut up
on a bolt prior to cutting the bolt so that it can then clean up the threads as
it is removed. I also used to put a piece of fuel tubing between the fuel/air nipples
on the fuel tanks of Cox Babe Bees to facilitate flying inverted. The homemade long
drill bit trick was made in order to make holes through lamps I turned on my lathe...
 Peter Bowers was a well-known designer and
builder of both full-size and model airplanes. As an aeronautical engineer working
for Boeing in Seattle, he was well qualified for his hobby pursuits of homebuilt
airplanes and competition-class free flight airplanes. He was also an aviation photographer
and historian with many books and magazine articles to his credit. Bowers' most
famous creation is undoubtedly the Bowers Fly Baby monoplane, which won the Experimental
Aircraft Association (EAA) contest in 1962 for the best low-cost, folding-wing plane
that can be towed or trailered from home to and from the airport - the goal being
to avoid expensive hanger or tie-down fees. The Fly Baby was much in the fashion
of a large model as it was constructed almost entirely of wood...
 The flying business was big business in the
early days of aviation. From the beginning, specialized training and certification
was needed to be trusted in the air with mail, cargo, and the lives of strangers.
As with today, a flyboy could teach himself to fly and put his own neck on the line
(only with ultralights now, though), but anything more meant graduating from a college
curriculum and/or getting training from the military. The Civil Aeronautics Authority
(CAA, now the Federal Aviation Administration cum FAA), oversaw non-military flights
and its Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) regulated and certified private schools
for teaching aspiring pilots aerodynamics, mechanics, weather phenomena, airframe
and powerplant maintenance, rules and regulations, public relations, and other necessary
skills. This "Youth
Air Movement News" column from the December 1939 issue of Flying Aces
magazine reported on the progress of the program, and mentioned here that women
were being permitted into the flying schools as well...
 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.
 Here is yet another example of how hobbyists
laid the groundwork for technical innovations that were eventually adapted for use
and improved by professional organizations - the military, universities, corporations.
Radio control of model airplanes was first successfully achieved by a pair of brothers,
Dr. Bill Good and Dr. Walt Good (kind of like the Wrights), who experimented with
what were at the time rather crude engines and electronic and electromechanical
devices. The year was 1936, only eleven years before this article appeared in Radio−Craft
magazine reporting on the U.S. Army Air Force's and Navy's use of radio-controlled
drones, or as the title says, "Teleguided
Missiles." Some systems were designed from the ground up to be missiles while
others were systems installed in existing aircraft which had been decommissioned
for normal human-piloted use. They were sort of a Kamikaze craft without the expendable
airman inside...
 Radio
control (R/C) systems operating in the 2.4 GHz ISM band, using one of or
a combination of frequency hopping and direct sequence spread spectrum scheme, have
been in widespread use since the early 2000s. As with any new technology, there
was a lot of reluctance to adoption of the systems based on a few reports (valid
or not) of performance issues - primarily lack of control range where communications
between the transmitter (Tx) and receiver (Rx) with a pilot and aircraft was lost
and a crash ensued. Tx power was already at the FCC-mandated maximum, so manufacturers
quickly improved receivers by adding diversity with a second Rx antenna. The receiver
microprocessor continuously monitors signal integrity from both antennas and uses
the best one. It is the same scheme that was already being used by WiFi routers
also operating at 2.4 GHz...
 Re-timing, cleaning up (air and fuel flow
passages), freeing up (sliding friction), lightening and balancing (removing unnecessary
material), and breaking in (initial running with rich fuel mixture while interfacing
metal parts fit themselves to each other) are all part of the effort necessary to
create winning engines for model racing events. This 1962 American Modeler
magazine article predates Schnuerle porting (in model engines), ABC (aluminum, brass,
chromium) cylinder liners, and modern metal alloys, but still the concepts are applicable
to today's engines. It purpose is to instruct on proper
engine break-in so that
it will have a long lifespan. Wankel lovers will appreciate the homemade engine
shown...
 It's hard to imagine a time when radio control
was such a novelty that contests included events where models were steered around
on the ground to weave through obstacles, as was the case when this 1957 American
Modeler magazine article was published. The thing is, when I got my first R/C
system, an OS Digital 3−channel set, I had not yet learned to fly so I "drove" my
S−Ray around the yard and in the street in front of my house. The noise from the
OS .20 engine and the RF interference on television VHF channel 5 annoyed the neighbors
at times. My transmitter was at 27.195 MHz, and the harmonics fell squarely
into the RF and audio bands. My best friend back in the day had one of the Smog
Hogs referred to in the article. In 1957,
radio systems only approximated proportional control, so smooth
maneuvers were not easy to do. Receiver tuning was necessary between flights for
a lot of systems, and interference from other users in or near the 27 MHz band
was a constant threat to models...
 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...
 Melanie inherited a very old
rolling pin from her grandmother,
and at some point in our many household moves it either got lost or we gave it away.
It has been gone for many years. The one she has been using was bought at Kohl's
- nothing special. Unlike Melanie's grandmother's rolling pin which was turned from
a single piece of wood, including the handles, the replacement roller is on an axel
between separate handles. A couple years back I finally found a 12" Craftsman wood
lathe like the one I had bought soon after separating from the USAF in 1982, but
I sold it in 1992 prior to a cross-country move. A little over a year ago, we built
a house on our daughter and son-in-law's farm, and needed to cut down a couple very
large red oak and white oak trees. They were cut into 10-foot by 10" wide by 1"
thick fence boards and stacked to dry for a year. I chose some of the best examples
of boards and ran them through my Craftsman planer to have in store for future projects.
Window ledges were made for the house from some of it, and there were a lot of 1-1/2"
wide strips left over. I decided to laminate in alternate strips of red and white
oak. The contrast is not extreme like when using maple and walnut...
 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...
 G. Harry Stine was (and in some places
still is) a household word (ok, a letter and two words) amongst people who engage
in model rocketry. As a degreed physicist, he spent his professional years working
in both civilian and government aerospace projects. In his spare time, Mr. Stine
contributed mightily to the science, industry, and sport of model rocketry. His
monthly columns in American Aircraft Modeler magazine were read and appreciated
by enthusiasts hungry for a regular helping of the technical side of the craft,
served in layman's terms. A typical article written by him reports on some happenings
in the trade show and contest realms, while including a lesson in
model rocket design and flight...
 Can you imagine what a sweet sound it must
be with four Cox .049 engines running at the same time on the same airplane? Keith
Laumer and John Simmance didn't have to wonder once they teamed up to design, build,
and fly this 45" wingspan, control line
B-17
Flying Fortress. As if that wasn't enough, they added a custom electrical retractable
landing gear (including the tail wheel), navigation lights, throttles on all four
engines, and flaps! An 800:1 reduction gear box was coupled with a 3 volt motor
to drive the retract mechanism, flaps, throttles, and light switches. A third control
line and a Roberts 3-line bellcrank controlled everything. Operation of the retracts
is a bit dicey since they are triggered to go up at full throttle, then go back
down at low throttle. That means the pilot has to be careful not to command full
throttle while the model is on the ground or the landing gear will fold up on him.
I would not have wanted the task of trying to get all four Babe Bee .049 engines
running at the same time. Today we have commercially available electric starters
for the small engines, but in 1963 when this article appeared in American Modeler
magazine, it was either use the spring starter on the engine or flip it by hand...
 As a kid living in Holly Hill Harbor, Maryland,
I managed to find many uses for those
thin plastic bags that protected garments returned from the dry cleaner. The
two most often were for parachutes and for filling with hot air to use as a balloon.
I'd tape my mother's sewing thread to a cut-out circle for a parachute, then tie
a small rock to the ends of the "shroud lines." Then, I'd fold it and wrap the lines
around it like with my Estes rockets, and chuck it as high into the air as possible.
Only when my arm got sore did the repetitions stop. The hot air balloon exercises
were not very impressive. Forming a two-dimensional piece of plastic into a three-dimensional
sphere(oid) resulted in a less than optimal enclosure, with excess material that
only added weight without adding volume for hot air. A hair dryer borrowed - usually
without permission - provided the hot (more like warm) air for buoyancy. The thin
plastic easily wrinkled if the end of the hair dyer touched it...
 Ah, the simpler times when enjoyment, competition,
and industry could be found on a
slot car race track in a musty basement. Pre-fab models were rare
in the day, and those that could be bought couldn't hold a candle to those hand
crafted by young men like the ones in these photos. It was not a pastime only for
the younger set, though. Older guys with metal lathes and fine crafting tools created
museum quality masterpieces. This "International Miniature Racing" article from
the August 1962 issue of American Modeler magazine reports on worldwide
interest in slot car racing. I'm always amazed at how many men and boys wore sport
coats and ties while participating not just in formal events, but even during everyday
activities...
 Website visitor David S., who wrote
a while back to let me know about the line of Atlantis Models* re−manufactured vintage
plastic kits, recently sent these photos of his amazing collection of
model airplanes and rockets.
As you can seem, most of the airplanes are rubber-powered free-flight. A few electric-powered
R/C models are hangared in the garage over the door (a good use of the space). Let's
see, for airplanes I spy a P−47 Thunderbolt, an L−4 Grasshopper, a J−3 (or maybe
a J−5) Cub, a couple P−51 Mustangs, A Focke-Wulf, a Beechcraft Bonanza, a Supermarine
Spitfire (or two), a Sopwith Camel, a Fairchild something-or-other, a P−40 Warhawk,
and a Stearman PT−17. In the rocket category is an Estes Mars Lander, an Alpha (of
course), a Gyroc, an Honest John, an Aerobee, a Big Bertha, and an Avenger. How
many can you identify? David didn't mention whether he flies the free-flight models
and rockets or if they're primarily hangar queens...
 Gliders (aka sailplanes) have always attracted
me because of their
sleek
lines and graceful, silent flight. As a sailboat requires its pilot to possess
a knowledge of how to exploit properties of air currents to propel his water craft,
so, too, must a glider pilot know how to interpret and predict air currents to enable
long flights of his aircraft. As an enthusiast and practitioner of both model and
full-size boats and airplanes (many moons ago), I have great appreciation for both
motor-powered and nature-powered versions, but given a choice between the two, I'll
take the sailplane and the sailboat most of the time. It was not until materials
science was able to produce spars and skins strong and light enough for enabling
high aspect ratio wings that glider transformed from pudgy and boxy to lean and
highly aerodynamic. High performance sailplanes can achieve greater than 40:1 glide
ratios, meaning 40,000 feet (7½ miles) horizontally for every 1,000 feet of altitude
lost (in neutral air). In 1945 when this "Glight!" article appeared in Flying Age
magazine, the aforementioned materials discoveries had either not yet been made
or not yet applied to glider airframes, as can be seen in these photos...
 The October 1950 issue of Air Trails
magazine did a duo-feature on Henri Delanne and his
Duo-Monoplane designs. This article reports on the life and accomplishments
of Delanne and his out-of-the-box concept of what an airplane should look like.
While not quite canards, they did have the wing far back on the fuselage, and larger
than usual horizontal stabilizer surfaces (essentially a second wing - almost a
biplane with sever staggering) and dual vertical fins. Flying surfaces were so close
to each other that airflow from the forward wing had to profoundly affect the rearward
wing. Wind tunnels, pioneered by Wilbur and Orville Wright, were available for study
of such configurations, but it would be very interesting to see on of Delannes Duo-Monoplanes
modeled on a modern software simulator using computational fluid dynamics algorithms...
 When deciding which type of covering to
apply to a model airplane structure, it would be helpful to have a table of
covering material density for comparison.
Here is such a table which shows, for instance, that 21st Century Fabric is the
heaviest type of covering you can use. MicroLite covering is the lightest weight.
Not shown are most doped or painted coverings because finished weights are so dependent
on substrate type (silk, Silkspan, tissue, etc.), paint or dope type, and number/thickness
of coats. To calculate the covering weight, multiply the density by the total surface
area of your model...
 My introduction to using a wood lathe was
my high school wood shop class in my Junior year (circa 1974-1975) at Southern Senior
High in Harwood, MD. Mr. Charles Smith was the teacher. I have him to thank
for imparting a lifelong love for woodworking. Back in those days, we respected
teachers by addressing them Mr., Mrs., or Ms. Surprisingly, about a decade after
graduating, I ran into Mr. Smith at AACC while taking a class toward my electrical
engineering degree (he was not in my class). The wood shop at Robins AFB was well-equipped,
and include a wood lathe. I used it to turn a couple lamps from blocks of oak provided
by a Sgt. Eddie Nugent from my radar shop, who had cut down a tree a year or so
earlier. One of the two, which incorporated a burnt-out thyratron tube from the
S-band search radar, disappeared decades ago. I gave it to Melanie as a Christmas
present before we got married (in 1983). The other oak lamp is still around today.
After getting out of the USAF in 1982, I bought a
Craftsman 12"
wood lathe from the Sears store in Parole Plaza, in Annapolis, Maryland. When
Melanie and I got married, I set it up in the basement work shop of our tiny Cade
Cod house in Arnold, Maryland. You can also see in the photo my first Craftsman
radial arm saw, also bought at the Parole Plaza Sears store. After four decades
of moving from place to place many times, I still have a Craftsman radial arm saw...
 Materials and methods for free flight aeromodeling
have changed significantly since this "Free
Flight Action" column appeared in the January 1975 issue of American Aircraft
Modeler magazine, but the enthusiasm has not. Carbon fiber tubing now constitutes
a large portion of modern free flight duration model airframes, electronic timers
have replaced mechanical wind-up timers (and even dethermalizer fuses), electric
motors have joined (but not replaced) glow fuel engines, and lighter and stronger
covering has supplanted tissue and/or silkspan and dope. More efficient airfoils,
and wing, empennage, and fuselage planforms combine to produce new record flights
in all competitive classes. Even modern weather detection and forecasting is being
used to predict the best moment for launching. You've come a long way, baby...
 Mr. Peter M. wrote a couple weeks ago
requesting a high resolution version of this 4−view line drawing of the
De Havilland
DH60G Gipsy Moth in order to assist his in creating a 3D computer model of it
on the 3D Warehouse website. It appeared in the May 1969 issue of American
Aircraft Modeler magazine. As you can see from the screen capture above, he
did an amazing job! Click on the image to view the live 3D model that can be rotated
and zoomed. Peter's model replicates the airplane flown by Amy Johnson on her historic
11,000-mile solo flight in 1930 from solo from London England to Darwin Australia.
Many thanks to Peter for making this available...
 In this December 1961 issue of American
Modeler magazine, editor Bill Winter laments the termination of Pan American
Airways' (PAA) sponsorship of the popular
PAA-Load contesting event. For the previous 14 years, Pan Am underwrote
expenses and created, monitored, wrote the rules for, publicized, convened contests,
and awarded prizes for an aspect of model airplane building and flying meant to
encourage youngsters to be involved in the design, flying and strategic planning
of creating a platform which would carry large amounts of weight at low power. According
the Mr. Winter, the PAA-Load event might have been too successful for its own
good. As with most kinds of competitions with high participation, dedicated participants
finely tuned their designing, building, and flying skills to the point where newcomers...
 The Douglas Aircraft Company's
DC−4 conducted its maiden flight on June 7, 1938. It was a hugely successful
four-engined aircraft used for civilian and military passenger and cargo transportation.
Military versions of the plane were designated C−54 and R5D. The DC−4 was designed
to be the airline industry's "dream" airplane - "a Grand Hotel with wings", capable
of cruise speeds of more than two hundred miles per hour and a range of 3,300 miles,
making it capable of non-stop coast-to-coast flight. Although the DC−4 was the brainchild
of United Airlines, a consortium of five companies - United, TWA, American, Eastern
and Pan American - financed the endeavor to ensure success would not be hampered
due to cost and competition concerns. The airplane's control systems were so complex
that a new crew member position called "flight engineer" was created to monitor
and tend to all the meters, dials, knobs, switches, and panel lights, while allowing
the pilots to worry mostly about flying...
 For most people my age (born in 1958), the
first experience with a "real" flying model helicopter was this
ElectroMic "Copter"
by Stanzel. I finally acquired one via eBay for a fair price. The "Copter" uses
two D-cell batteries in the plastic handle to power a motor, also in the handle,
which in turn drives the center wire of a coaxial cable that connects to the helicopter
rotor. Flying the Copter is a matter of pressing the power button and then manipulating
the handle to direct the model in flight. With fully charged batteries, the helicopter
generates a lot of lift and requires angling the control cable downward to prevent
the thing from performing the equivalent of a wingover. Forward and reverse flight
involve angling the controller left and right. After a few moments of practice,
precise control is fairly easy...
 Douglas Rolfe, who provided many detailed
and line drawings of full-scale aircraft for American Modeler magazine, here summarizes
the history of
Chance Vought Aircraft Company. While the name appears to be the joint venture
of two separate people, one by the name of Chance and the other by the name of Vought,
it is in fact the namesake of Mr. Chance Milton Vought. Another such instructional
name of the same sort is Johns Hopkins University, which is named after Mr. Johns
Hopkins. Probably the most well-known airplane models are the F4U Corsair
and OS2U Kingfisher of World War II and Pappy Boyington's Black Sheep
Squadron (VMA-214) fame, and the F8U Crusader of Korean War fame. Chance Vought
obviously was really fond of the "Corsair" name since he name three separate models
with it: the 1926 O2U Corsair, the 1931 V50 Corsair, and the 1940 F4U Corsair...
 This expertly rendered 3-view drawing of
the
Luscombe Silvaire appeared in the June 1959 issue of American Modeler magazine.
Draftsman Jim Trigs provided many such detailed drawings for modeling and full-scale
aircraft publications. According to this 2012 Capital Journal newspaper piece on
Jim Riggs, he flew from 1953 through 2008, with 28 of those 52 years devoted to
United Airlines. Being a South Dakota native, he was inducted in to the South Dakota
Aviation Hall of Fame in 2012. Jim soloed in a Cessna 140 in 1953 when he was 16,
then went on to log nearly 22,000 hours of flight time over his career. He flew
helicopters in Vietnam, and spent decades in the Civil Air Patrol - a true aviation
enthusiast. Jim left us in 1995... |
