|
 Airplanes & Rockets website visitor
David T. wrote asking about locating an article where the author reports on having
initially tried aero-towing
by a powered airplane with the tow line connected to the tail of the tow plane.
I have never seen that method tried, and this article demonstrates why it is not
commonplace. Disaster evidently resulted, so the author ended up connecting the
tow line to the wing hold-down bolts and success ensued. This is the only
aero-tow article I could find in the 1975 year range that David referenced, but
it is not what he was looking for. If you know of an article that contains the
experience he requested, please send me an e-mail and I will pass it along to
David...
 American Modeler magazine has a rich history
rooted in the enthusiasm for model aircraft, covering topics such as building, flying,
engines, fuel, contests, advertisements, and product reviews. Its lineage can be
traced back to the publication Air Trails, which underwent a transformation
in 1955 to focus on scale modeling, broadening its scope to include aircraft, cars,
and trains. This evolution culminated in the December 1956 rebranding of Air
Trails as American Modeler. The first issue under this title was volume
47, number 3. Initially, the magazine was published monthly, catering to a wide
audience of hobbyists and enthusiasts. Albert L. "Al" Lewis, a pivotal figure in
the magazine's history, served as editor during its formative years. His tenure
began in the late 1950s and extended...
 The term "gas" when referring to
miniature 2-cycle internal combustion engines (ICE) for model airplanes, boats,
cars, and helicopters, has its origin in the early days of modeling. Similar to
full-size automotive gas engines, they ran on gasoline, and used a spark plug with
a high voltage power source and timing mechanism that was an integral part of the
engine. As with a lawn mower or outboard boat engine, timing of the spark relative
to the position of the piston in the cylinder is critical for optimum performance.
Tuning the system could be a real challenge if inferior gas was used, the spark
plug was worn or dirty, or the spark generator / timing was poorly...
 Today, computer software has replaced much
of the simulation and experimentation that used to be the sole domain of
wind and smoke tunnels.
The mathematical equations are so complex for high resolution, 3-dimensional calculations
that very powerful computers are required to run even relatively simple simulations.
While there are programs that can be purchased for about $1,000 that do a good job
for uncomplicated shapes, large, university and corporation scale computers are
needed for "serious" work like designing commercial and military aircraft, passenger...
 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, 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 all the weight
and bulk. Modern-day low-cost, readily available R/C models incorporate, depending
on your requirements, autopilot, total prefabrication of airframe, propulsion, and
guidance components. BTW, dig Mr. Bohnenblust's ride in that photo...
 After dropping off some stuff at the Erie
City Mission, Melanie and I walked through the display floor to see what was available.
We've gotten some good things there in the past, including a Queen Anne chair and
a china hutch. We've been looking for a used, full-size bed for the spare bedroom
to replace the twin bed that used to be our daughter's. Fortunately, the Erie City
Mission had recently acquired a turn-of-the-20th-century
rope bed that, according to lore, used to belong to the owner of a defunct local
brewery (Kohler?). Heavy pine is used for the entire framework. It was in fair shape,
with expected dings and scratches from 100+ years of use. Rather than undertake
a total restoration...
 The
1961 Academy of Model Aeronautics' (AMA's) National Model Airplane Championships
(aka "The Nats") were held that year at Willow Grove Naval Air Station just North
of Philadelphia. The U.S. military was concerned with encouraging young men to excel
in the field of aviation in order to help breed future pilots, mechanics, researchers,
and other aerospace related careers within the Army, Air Force, Marines, and Navy.
In fact, the U.S. Navy was a prime sponsor of the Nats for many years. In the
early 1970s, geniuses in the Pentagon decided that such activity was no longer a
good investment, so the AMA had to find other private and public venues for events.
The AMA's flagship publication, American Modeler magazine, provided coverage...
 If
you have been around the Airplanes and Rockets website for a while, you are probably
aware that my hobby activities have been funded by my profession in radio communications
(see RFCafe.com). Reading this, you likely
also know that each year the AMA holds national championships for all forms of model
aviation including radio control, control, and free flight. Airplanes, helicopters,
and theses day drones, are the primary focus, while rockets, cars, and boats are
sometimes featured. Various classes of contents are conducted, including Expert
and Standard, Senior and Junior, and others. What really caught my attention this
year and last year was the first name of the champion for the Junior class of control
line flying - Angstrom! Is that a great name or what? It sure beats Kirt. The name,
of course, is a unit of wavelength named in honor of
Anders Jonas Ångström.
Here is the origin of Ebernez.
 "Designed to operate as a high-altitude,
long-endurance surveillance and reconnaissance platform the aircraft - defined as
a
High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS) Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS) - has been
designed by BAE Systems subsidiary Prismatic, a division of the company's FalconWorks
advanced research and development arm. Alongside reconnaissance, the aircraft has
the potential to be used in the delivery of communications networks including 4G
and 5G and could be used in a wide range of applications, such as disaster relief
and border protection, as a cost-effective alternative..."
 Once upon a time there was an organization
called the Boy Scouts of America, whose adult leadership sought to prepare generations
of young men to be brave, enterprising, purposeful, resolute, enduring, partnering,
assuring, reformed, enthusiastic, and devoted to himself, his community, and his
country. Its membership was exclusively biological male. The fact that I used the
term "biological male" is an indicator of what has gone tragically wrong with the
BSA in the last decade or so with wokeness and infiltration by ne're-do-well agents
of change. But, I digress. This aviation themed adventure article appeared in a
1938 issue of Boys' Life magazine, the official publication of the BSA.
Its arctic locale...
 The
Estes Astron Gyroc
model rocket, introduced in the late 1960s, is a fascinating example of ingenuity
in model rocketry. It was designed to demonstrate an innovative recovery method
- spin recovery - that set it apart from traditional parachute or streamer recovery
systems. The Gyroc became an instant hit among rocketeers due to its simplicity,
affordability, and the spectacle of its recovery mechanism in action. A newer version
called the "Tazz" is now being sold. It simplifies the building process. Development
History The Gyroc was developed during a period when Estes Industries sought to
expand the educational...
 While orbiting the Moon on
Christmas Eve, 1968, NASA astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell,
and William Anders made a live broadcast from from the
Apollo 8 command module, in which they showed video of the
lunar surface and the Earth as seen from one of the spacecraft's portals. That flight
produced the famous "Earthrise" photograph which is featured on a U.S. commemorative
stamp issued in May of 1969 - just three months before Apollo 11 landed on
the moon. On the ninth orbit, toward the end of the transmission, the three astronauts
each took a turn reading from the book of
Genesis, chapter 1, verses 1 through 10. They
finished with, "And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck,
a Merry Christmas – and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth."
From Melanie and
me here at AirplanesAndRockets.com, we wish you all a very
Merry Christmas and a
happy and prosperous New Year!
 The
Honest John rocket,
officially designated M31, represents one of the earliest tactical ballistic missile
systems deployed by the United States Army. Its inception stemmed from the necessity
for a reliable battlefield nuclear delivery system during the early years of the
Cold War. Development began in 1950 under the auspices of the U.S. Army Ordnance
Corps, with technical guidance provided by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which was
contracted to bring the concept to fruition. By 1953, the Honest John was operational,
making it the first surface-to-surface rocket in the U.S. arsenal designed to deliver
nuclear warheads. Development Timeline and Key Personnel The Honest John program's
roots trace back to increasing tensions in the post-World War II era, as the United
States sought systems capable of delivering nuclear payloads without the need for
long-range...
 Let's see... if this was the
14th
Nationals contest, then that means the first one was held in 1941-14+1 = 1928.
That date agrees somewhat with the Academy of Model Aeronautics' (AMA) website that
documents the complete history of model airplane comteptition. To wit: "Airplane
Model League of America (AMLA) Nationals, sponsored by American Boy magazine, set
the standard for future events. Held in Detroit from 1928 to 1930, the two-day event
featured the Mulvihill and Stout indoor and outdoor trophies, plus a scale static
contest and an awards banquet." Another article sets 1923 as the first National
Aeromodeling Championships, although the only event was Mulvihill. The AMA itself
was officially founded in 1936. According to a June 1976 Model Aviation magazine
article entitled, "What You Should Know About Balsa," balsa wood was not the most
popular structural material for model airplanes until about the time of this contest.
Pine and bamboo were often used before then.
 As with so many other aspects of technical
application, the state of the art of
rubber motors has advanced significantly
since the writing of this article - not that the information contained herein is
anywhere near obsolete (except trying to find Pirelli rubber). Rubber motor braiding
techniques, lubricants, the rubber length, width, thickness, modulus, composition,
has all been studied and characterized to the nth degree so most of the guesswork
is gone as far as the actual motor performance is concerned. Still all the other
variables in the airframe and propeller system (prop, bearing, gearing)...
 "Unknown
drone activity forced one of the U.S.'s most critical military installations to
shut down for several hours late Friday evening and Saturday morning, officials
confirmed. The incident prompted heightened security measures and temporarily
halted operations at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Home to the 88th
Air Base Wing, Wright-Patterson is one of the largest and most strategically important
bases in the U.S., tasked with advanced research, intelligence, and operations.
Unauthorized drone activity in military airspace poses significant risks, from espionage
to safety hazards. In audio recordings by the Air Force Base air traffic control,
which were shared online, an operator can be heard saying they are diverting 'over
base' air traffic..."
 Lifeguard duty is the latest application
for radio-control systems and the combination of modern high-powered electric motors
and Li-Ion batteries. An Arizona-based company called Hydronalix has created a robotic
flotation device to deploy to reach swimmers in distress when a lifeguard can't
get there soon enough. The robot is called EMILY, which is an acronym for
Emergency Integrated Life-saving
Lanyard. EMILY weighs 25 pounds, can go up to 25 miles per hour and can be used
as a flotation device for up to six people. Its batteries will run the device for
about 15-20 minutes...
 The 1939 Thompson Trophy Air Races, held
in Cleveland, Ohio, was the final show for that series until after World War II.
Roscoe Turner was there in his Meteor LTR-14 racer. He had won top spot the
year before with a speed of 283 mph, and in 1939 at 282 mph. In a unique
turn in aviation career tacks, Turner conjured up a scheme where, based on equally
unique circumstances largely of his own design, adopted a lion as a mascot to sell
his services as a corporate products promoter. His first big success was with Gilmore
Oil, after which the lion was named. "Gilmore" flew around the country with Mr. Turner...
 The AirplanesAndRockets.com website
exists entirely on the support of its visitors by way of a small percentage earned
with your
Amazon.com purchases, which typically works out
to less than $10 per month. That barley covers the domain registration and secure
server fees for AirplanesAndRockets.com. If you plan to buy items via
Amazon.com, please click on this link to begin
your shopping session from here so that I get credit for it. Doing so does not cost
you anything extra. Thank you for your support.
 The
Cessna 336 and
337 Skymaster hold a unique place in aviation history as distinctive twin-engine
aircraft with a push-pull configuration. Their design addressed the challenges of
asymmetric thrust inherent in traditional twin-engine aircraft, with both engines
mounted along the centerline - one in the nose as a tractor and the other in the
tail as a pusher. Development began in the late 1950s, led by Cessna engineers under
the leadership of company president Dwane Wallace. By February 1961, the first prototype
of the Cessna 336 took to the skies, featuring a fixed landing gear design. Production
of the 336 began in 1963, but it faced limitations in market success due to its
performance constraints and non-retractable gear...
 Don Berliner wrote a historical article about
the Bellanca 28-70 Irish
Swoop racer for the August 1972 edition of American Aircraft Modeler
magazine. Bjorn Karlstrom provided one of his masterpiece 4-view illustrations.
I scanned, OCRed, and posted the contents for your convenience. The Academy of Model
Aeronautics still provides full-size drawings and plans for most of the airplanes
featured over the years. "The Bellanca 28-70 was a long-range air racer designed
for James Fitzmaurice Irish pioneer aviator, who christened it Irish Swoop. Although
it was built in time for the 1934 MacRobertson Race from England to Australia, it
was never destined to be a competitive long-distance racer but it was ultimately
reborn..."
 "On the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland,
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne is home to many roboticists. It's also
home to many birds, which spend the majority of their time doing bird things. Flying
is a lot of work, and many birds have figured out that they can instead just walk
around on the ground, where all the food tends to be, and not tire themselves out
by having to get airborne over and over again. 'Whenever I encountered crows on
the EPFL campus, I would observe how they walked, hopped over or jumped on obstacles,
and jumped for take-offs,' says Won Dong Shin, a doctoral student. 'What I consistently
observed was that they always jumped to initiate flight, even in situations where
they could have used only their wings.' Shin is author on a paper published today
in Nature that explores both why
birds jump to take off, and how that can be beneficially applied..."
 Up until the United States of America officially
entered what became known as World War II (on December 7, 1941, following the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor), what we now call World War I was referred
to only as "The War." Recall that is was dubbed by H.G. Wells to be "The War to
End All Wars." It did not. This "Snapshots of the War" piece in the March 1937
issue of Flying Aces magazine features what air power looked like in the
early days of World War II. Interestingly, the "cocarde" (aka "cockade") referred
to in the wrecked De Havilland D.H.-4 was, according to most contemporary sources,
a term used to describe similar insignia worn on military head dresses and jackets.
Insignia painted on military equipment was called a "roundel." There is a very nice
photo of a Clerget rotary engine as it was mounted in the Sopwith Camel, along with
the twin Vickers machine guns mounted to fire through the propeller via synchronization
...
 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...
 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)...
|
 114 River Road, Edgewater, MD 21037 (originally
Rt. 4 box 504) is where I grew up - or more appropriately, got older - and spent
as much time as possible building and flying every kind of airplane, rocket, and
helicopter I could get my hands on. It has been close to 20 years since going back
there, but thanks to the miracle of Google Earth, I was able to grab this satellite
image of the old stomping grounds. It looks pretty much the way I remember it. My
father and I built the addition on the southwest end, and the porch on the southeast
side. That section of sidewalk that goes nowhere now used to terminate at a 10'x10'
steel shed. Those two outbuildings in the back yard are new. In the zoomed out view
of the Google map (below) you can see the entire neighborhood of Holly Hill Harbor.
Explanations of the markings will be given later in the story. The yellow circle
is approximately where I flew and eventually crashed many control line airplanes.
After destroying the first couple Cox plastic models I received as presents at Christmas
and/or birthdays, I finally got wise and bought a Cox PT-19 Trainer. It was with
the PT-19 Trainer that I finally learned to fly a control line airplane...
 "The
fact that every part of this ship was built by the lowest bidder." That, according
to Gene Kranz (NASA Flight Director during the Gemini and Apollo missions), was
Alan Shepard's reply when asked what he thought about as he sat atop the
Mercury Redstone rocket*, waiting for liftoff. Shepard knew the boost vehicle,
the "Redstone," was originally designed as an expendable ballistic missile and not
for safely launching humans into space might have had something to do with it, too.
This 1957 vintage article (5 years prior to Shepard's flight), describes some the
electronics systems that were used in the program both onboard for stabilization
and on the ground for guidance. "A new type computer can solve in five minutes a
ballistic trajectory problem which would require a man more than a year to complete."
Today, a cellphone app can do it in less than a second...
 Axiom
Test Equipment, an electronic test equipment rentals and sales company headquartered
in North County San Diego, has published a blog post entitled "Keep
UAVs Flying High with Proper Testing." This blog is the first in a series of
four planned articles that will take a closer look at the global fascination with
UAVs and how they are used, whether for farming or for warfare, and some of the
best test tools that can be applied to ensuring the best UAV performance possible.
"Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), popularly known as drones, have been a part of
military operations for decades, often paving the way for an operation with their
remote intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance (ISR) capabilities. Those
familiar with military drones may think of million-dollar UAVs like the Predator
with comprehensive electronic weapons payloads, including radar and sophisticated
navigation and guidance systems. The military demand for fixed- and rotary-wing
UAVs has grown steadily over the past decade...
 After about a 12-month hiatus from flying
any kind of model airplane, and having sold all of my RC gear prior to moving to
Erie, PA, I looked around for something that would get me back into the air quickly.
My first inclination was to build yet another Spirit 2-meter sailplane and put a
brushless motor in it like before, but I really didn't want to have to take the
time to build it first. I also did not particularly care for most of the ARF gliders
that were available, but seeing the ParkZone
Radian sailplane on the Horizon Hobby website and watching the video of its
flight convinced me to spring the $250 for the RTF version. There certainly is no
better value out there - a nice-looking sailplane with brushless motor and controller,
servos, a 3-cell Li-Po battery, and a charger, along with a 2.4 GHz spread spectrum
radio system. You cannot buy the parts individually for that much. See September
7, 2009 update: Assembly was a piece of cake - just slide the horizontal stabilizer
/ elevator into place and secure it with the supplied clear tape, then connect the
pushrod wire to the control horn...
 This
Sketchbook was
scanned from the March 1957 issue of American Modeler magazine, published
by the Academy of Model Aeronautics. Most building tips are timeless. Even in this
era of ready-to-fly (RTF), almost-ready-to-fly (ARF), bind-and-fly (BAF), etc.,
there are still many modelers who build their own aircraft. Nearly all top tier
competition fliers build their own models, as do aficionados of vintage (aka old-timer)
models. Some guys just would rather build than buy a pre-build airplane, whether
from a kit or from plans. I like the idea of using a sharpened bullet cartridge
for boring lightening holes in ribs, tail surfaces, etc., rather than using a drill
bit. The tip about using a slot in the bellcrank for the flaps of a control line
stunt models seems a bit iffy, since it can permit oscillations (fluttering) during
normal flight...
 Vernon (Vern) Estes is single-handedly responsible
for the prevention of untold eyes, fingers, arms, hair, and even lives, due to his
invention of safe, prepackaged, solid fuel model rocket engines. Estes Industries
was founded in 1958, the year this article on model rocketry safety appeared in
American Molder magazine. Shortly after Estes began operation, they published
a newsletter titled, "Estes Model Rocket News," which had amongst its contents numerous
tips on safe handling and use of
model rocket engines, and many warning against trying to build your own engines.
The thought of kids and even adults handling picrate, the fulminate, and the iodate
compounds is enough to send chills down my spine. G. Harry Stine, editor of
the model rocketry column in American Modeler ...
 1934 was still riding the back of the high
voltage craze popularized by Nikola Tesla at the turn of the century. Super high
voltage spark gap transmitters were still being used in long distance communications
for special applications. William Haight was one of many people engaged in weather
manipulation - both its creation and destruction. Transportation, agriculture, and
recreation would greatly benefit from the ability to locally and temporarily control
weather. This story of Mr. Haight's high-voltage "electrodrome"
machine appeared in the May 1934 issue of Flying Aces magazine. Another
version of this electrodrome article by author Mel Wharton, entitled "Eliminating
the Peril of Fog," appeared in the April 1934 edition of Flying magazine.
There he says, "Repeated tests have shown that the operations of dispersing fog
is most effective at about 600,000 cycles - though work is done all the way on a
range from 500,000 to 1,500,000 cycles. The machine is capable of developing 500,000
volts, but only a fraction of this voltage is found necessary." A 4½ horsepower
gasoline engine-powered generator provides the voltage. A May 1935 issue of
Popular Mechanics magazine reports on Mr. Haight's electrodrome work...
This particular
Hobby People advertisement is from page 53 of the March 1970 issue
of American Aircraft Modeler magazine. Hobby People was probably the first
company that I ever did mail order from to get airplane supplies. Hobby People is
no longer in operation. All copyrights (if any) are hereby acknowledged. Use the
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' inflation calculator to see what items cost in
today's dollars. For instance, that $3.99 "Cox .049 Babe Bee" engine would be $26.16
in 2018 money. The "regular" price of $6.00 would be $39.34 in 2018. Cox International
...
 Flettner rotors were at one time believed
to be the next big thing in air-driven propulsion. They would replace cloth sails
on boats and fixed wings on aeroplanes. I remember seeing such fantastic contraptions
in magazines like Mechanix Illustrated and Popular Mechanics back
in the 1960's and 1970's. The nouveau sails and wings were actually built on experimental
vehicles which can be found in a Google search on Flettner rotor. They operate on
the Magnus effect, which is where a lifting force is generated by a spinning sphere
or cylinder moving through the air (or water, or any fluid), thereby causing an
unequal pressure to build on opposite sides. I had a Magnus rotor kite as a kid
in the late 1960's that was made of thin, molded plastic ...
 For
as long as I can remember, The Old Farmer's Almanac (OFA) has included a set of
Mathematical Puzzles in its annual publication. They range in
difficulty from 1 (very easy) to 5 (sometimes quite difficult). Having been a faithful
buyer and reader of the OFA for as long as I can remember, I have spent many hours
toiling with some of the more challenging examples. In fact, there were a lot which
I never did figure out and needed to look up the answers in the back (come to think
of it, I experienced the same dilemma with my college engineering textbooks). Because
quite a few of the Mathematical Puzzles are worthy of an engineer's cerebration,
contemplation, and deliberation, they will all be eventually posted here...
 My
flight simulator software (MS Flight Sim 2002) and computer it runs on (HP i7 notebook)
are each more powerful than the software and computer that ran the
Douglas DC-8 pilot training simulator featured in this 1958 article in Popular
Electronics magazine. Two racks of 1000+ vacuum tubes did the figurative
electronic heavy lifting while massive DC motors did the literal physical cockpit
heavy lifting. The computer needed to handle as many as 40 variables at one time,
including 6 differential equations of motion. 100 servomotors, 540 amplifiers and
2,200 gears drove the instrument panel gauges, dials, and movie projector mechanisms.
The instrument panel description conjures images of the inside of a modern office-grade
copying machine with its very dense conglomeration of gears and axels...
 Founded in 1964 and located in Brentwood,
Tennessee,
Hobby Lobby International closed its doors a couple years ago.
Born in an era when many - if not most - products used by aircraft, boat, and
car modelers were manufactured here in the United States, Hobby Lobby served the
entire spectrum of modeling. Hobby Lobby did offer many hard-to-get foreign kits
as well, though. It was the first mail-order hobby shops that I remember using.
There were not any "real" hobby shops near my Mayo, Maryland, home as a kid, so
unless I could whine enough to get my father to drive me the 20+ miles to the
nearest hobby shop, the only alternative was to cut out the order form, fill it
out, have my mother write a check (from money I earned on my paper route), stuff
it all in an envelope ...
 Aircraft historians might find the information
from this 1942 edition of Flying Aces magazine useful. As has long been
the case on many Russian airplanes and helicopters, the basic outlines - and often
even the details - are recognizable from the original versions designed by the United
States, England, and Germany. The Russkies have been short on design and test capabilities
and long on materials, manpower, and espionage agents. It wouldn't be so bad if
the copying was not so obvious. Even their attempt at a space shuttle was a carbon
copy of ours. If not for their leaders' commitment to Communism and Socialism, Russia
could be ...
 Creativity and ingenuity was needed more
often by aircraft modelers back when various aspects of the hobby were in the development
stages and access to a prefabricated device was not as ready as today. If you need
a special-purpose
product or method nowadays, a Google search will usually turn up a solution
in the form of an off-the-shelf item and/or instructions on how to do it yourself
- sometimes even with a video to show you how to do it. In the middle of the last
century, if you wanted a component or gizmo other than common things like wheels,
propellers, and bell cranks, you had to make them yourself from on-hand materials
or do without. I often am amazed at the ideas presented in these Sketch Book
installments. Check out the device designed by Mr. Mustafa K. Artam, of
Istanbul, Turkey, for checking relative thrust ...
 The
1971 Toledo R/C trade show as a major event in large part because
of the new generation of transistorized pulse proportional radio control systems
being introduced that were rapidly replacing legacy vacuum tube and some solid state
reed and escapement systems. A large selection of new model designers were also
offered to accommodate the lighter weight, smaller, and more highly functional radios.
Fast forward nearly half a century to what will soon be the 2019 Toledo Show and
you will find an incredible array of high technology electronics and airframes.
Most models will be factory-built, with balsa and plywood kits being mostly extremely
small or extremely large models. Glow fuel engines will barely have a presence,
having been replaced by large gasoline engines and brushless motors. Transmitters
are highly programmable and have no extendable antennas ...
 Ahhhh, the days before electric powered
everything. I will be the first to admit that the ease of operation, cleanliness,
and quietness of an e-powered model is convenient and helps keep neighbors happy,
but the undeniable fact is that from a motivational perspective, nothing in modeling
compares to a screaming
internal combustion engine (ICE) with blue smoke pouring out of
the exhaust - especially when no muffler is installed. Go on, you can admit it,
unless of course you have never partaken in that aspect of our hobby. When I was
a kid, if I could hear even the slightest hint of a glow engine running, I'd be
on my bicycle pedaling as fast as I could toward the source of the beautiful sound.
Sometimes it was a kid down the road with his Cox tethered car, or on rare occasions
a fellow model airplane flier. A man a couple blocks away flew R/C airplanes and
helicopters, and my sudden presence every time he started up an engine probably
made him cringe (although I did stay out at the street unless invited over). I would
be content to sit on the side of the road and listen to the engine run and if lucky,
get a whiff of the exhaust. I've told Melanie that if I ever lapse into unconsciousness
and cannot otherwise be revived, fire up a Cox .049 in front of me or wave a spent
Estes rocket engine under my nose. I there still is no response...
 This vintage
Jetex-Powered
Comet Lockheed F−94C Starfire kit (Kit No. SP−1) has been started by the previous
owner. It was designed and drawn by Gerald Blumenthal. The copyright date printed
on the plans is 1953. Many of the parts had been cut out of the printwood balsa
sheets, but none of the airframe has been assembled. I have not done a full inventory
of the kit, but it appears most, if not all, parts are present. The vacuum-formed
plastic components are a bit deformed and discolored from sitting in the box for
many decades, but are useable. A unique feature is the way the landing gear legs
are assembled out of a hardwood dowel for the main strut with music wire protruding
from the bottom for attaching the wooden wheel. One of the gears is already built.
Details are provided for the installation of a Jetex 150 engine with the augmenter
tube. This is a very rare kit...
 If you have been in the modeling world since
at least the 1990s, you have witnessed the slow but steady evolution of
electric propulsion systems to the point where we are today with
the technology having overcome and largely replaced glow engines. During that time,
the resentment and jealousy of glow engine modelers has been very apparent. I must
admit to having some feelings of betrayal to the power source to which I owed my
early days of model flight, but by the early 2000s I was using electric power in
my gliders - before brushless motors and lithium-polymer batteries were household
words. By 2005 or 2006, power-to-weight ratios of brushless motors and LiPos were
on par with and pushing past glow engines. Now, with 40C batteries, incredibly powerful
outrunner motors, and finely engineered electronic controllers, there is no reason
other than for nostalgic satisfaction ...
 During World War II, Germany terrorized
Europe with it
rocket bombs, most notably the V−1 Buzz Bomb and the V−2 Rocket. The "V" prefix,
BTW, stands for Vergeltungswaffe, translated as "vengeance weapon," or "retribution
weapon." Both "vengeance" and "retribution" are really misnomers since it was Germany
that was the aggressor in both WWI and WWII. The vengeance or retribution in Hitler's
view was likely the punishment and restrictions imposed on Germany by the Treaty
of Versailles for its vicious and inhumane behavior before and during World War I.
History shows they doubled down on it during World War II. But I digress. This
1946 article in Radio−Craft magazine proposes a scheme for a "radar rocket"
system that could detect, acquire, and intercept an enemy rocket bomb in flight
- a concept that was never really successful until the Patriot Missile...
 Bill Hutchinson drew many, many comics for
model aircraft magazines in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s (and maybe the 1940s, but I
don't have any that old). A lot of them have been - and are yet to be - posted here
on the Airplanes And Rockets website. "Competition Daze" comics appeared in the November 1950 issue of
Air Trails magazine, and has a control line theme. Also being about competition,
Mr. Hutchinson integrated a few sports-related ideas into the situation. Control
line stunt, speed, and combat are amongst the subjects. I haven't figured out what
the punch line is on comic #3. Anyone? My favorite is #9 ...
New: All 21 pictures now posted.
As a kid in the 1960's, following America's progress in the Space Race was a big
part of my life. I built and launched as many Estes rockets as my meager newspaper
route-funded budget allowed. When John Glenn made his historic Earth-orbiting flight
in the Mercury Freedom 7 space capsule on February 20, 1962, I was a mere 3
years old, but my parent say I was an ardent aerospace fan beginning at a very young
age. Most American households probably had at least one
View-Master
stereo slide viewer, and ours was amongst them. I loved the 3D Peanuts slide
sets, and especially any with an airplane or space exploration theme. My
originals are long gone, but fortunately I was able to buy this near-perfect set
titled, "America's Man in Space," on eBay ... |
