|
 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...
 "On the occasion of the 50th anniversary
of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which began its operations
on October 1, 1958, we offer this list of the
50 most memorable images from NASA's history. We recognize that any such ranking
is inherently subjective. The rationale for why any one image ranked two slots higher
than any other combines several factors, including our attempt to balance the list
between human spaceflight, satellite imaging, and planetary exploration. Many wonderful
images did not make the final cut - we couldn't convince the editors to give us
20 pages instead of 10. The list omits significant events from space history that
were not NASA achievements..."
 This sort of cutting edge technology used
to be the domain of military operations, but nowadays it can be found in amusement
parks and even at backyard parties. The parachute training facility which appeared
in a 1937 issue of Popular Mechanics magazine was real whiz-bang stuff
at the time. Although Russia's system is featured here, I have to believe other
countries were doing the same sort of thing. Using a
high power fan to boost the paratrooper trainee in a simulated parachute descent
was an excellent method of introducing men to the sensations and reactions to control
inputs via shroud lines. The story noes not mention whether the fan was forceful
enough to simulate a free-fall experience. Just today a saw a news item showing
such recreational free-fall machine companies called Urban Air and iFall...
 Since first starting with control line model
sin the late 1960s, I always intended to build a multi-engine model of some sort,
but didn't get around to it until around 2016 when I began construction on a Douglas
DC-3 (maiden flight occurred in 2023). With the plethora of ready-to-fly (RTF) and
almost RTF (ARF) models on the market today at very reasonable prices, there is
no real good excuse for not doing it; so I'll have to stick with my bad excuses.
But I digress. This simple twin
"Wee-38" Lightning which
appeared in the December 1959 issue of American Modeler magazine, uses
a pair of Cox .020 or .049 engines and solid balsa components. You could electrify
the model with equivalent brushless motors, ESCs, and a LiPo battery pack. It would
be nice if a series of ESCs would be marketed for twin motors, since unlike with
brushed...
 The
Space Race was one of the most significant geopolitical and scientific competitions
of the 20th century, driven by the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet
Union during the Cold War. It spanned from the late 1940s through the 1970s, with
a focus on achieving superiority in space exploration, a domain viewed as critical
not only for scientific advancement but also for military and strategic dominance.
Rooted in rocket technology developed during World War II, the Space Race transformed
the world's understanding of science and technology, culminating in the most dramatic
achievement: the landing of humans on the Moon in 1969. This treatise explores the
key milestones, the countries and key players involved, technological developments,
the interplay between military...
 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
|
 If you ask most people what a
birth star is, almost certainly
he/she will relate it somehow to astrology. The thought makes me cringe. Although
there really is no such thing as a birth star, there is such a thing as a star whose
distance from Earth is equivalent in light-years to the day you were born. That
means the light leaving the star actually began radiating in the direction of Earth
within a few months of the day you were born. For instance, I was born on August
18, 1958, which was 54.5 years ago. All that's needed to find my birthday star is
to find one that is 54.5 light-years away. Fortunately, there's an app for that.
Per the Joint Astronomy Center website's birthday star finder: (the original website
is gone) "Your birthday star is in the constellation Taurus...
 Model boat plans are more difficult to come
by than model airplane plans, so seeing this article in the August 1954 issue of
Air Trails magazine for a small, free-running hydroplane was a nice find.
Its simple, inexpensive construction makes it a quick build for those rare modelers
that still build their own models out of wood. The Skiddin' II can easily accommodate
a modern miniature radio control system and a brushless motor setup. The original
model was designed for a transom-mounted glow fuel outboard engine, but those things
make model boat plans look plentiful. If you really want an outboard, try eBay,
and be prepared to pay a couple hundred bucks for it...
 A lot of wild and zany ideas for flying
machines have been tried over the years. Most, if not all, of them could probably
be coaxed into flying with modern computer-controlled stabilization and navigations
systems that use fast-reacting powerplants, sensitive accelerometers and position
sensors. For anything other than stable platforms, human pilots just could not provide
control - at least on an extended basis and under adverse weather conditions. This
"flying platform"
by Hiller Helicopters is one such example. It appeared in the May 1957 issue of
American Modeler magazine. Piloting it was essentially the same as with the Lunar
Lander...
 The July 2013 edition of IEEE's Spectrum
magazine had a really good article on a high tech study that is being done on the
manner in which an albatross
manages to fly great distances and for long periods of time while rarely needing
to flap its wings. As shown in the thumbnail (and in the article), an albatross
performs a series of rapid climbs into very strong wind, turns, and dives leeward
nearly to the water's surface, then repeats the process over and over as it makes
its way to its destination. The process is called dynamic soaring. R/C soaring pilots
have been doing the same sort of thing for a few years now. Obviously the albatross
figured out how to fly like that long before mankind was able to mimic it, but the
researchers in the article seem to not have knowledge of the R/C soaring technique.
They are capturing albatrosses in their nests and attaching GPS-based sensors with
data recorders to the birds' back feathers and retrieving the units when the birds
return to their nests...
 In my zeal to procure some of the items
I remember having or using as a kid in the 1960s and '70s, along with some of the
things Melanie and I had when we first got married back in 1983, I ran across this
Sears Electric Clipper Set
(#7934) on eBay. The seller was only asking about $10 for it, so here it is. As
you can see in the photos, it is in mint condition, and even the original box shows
only minor wear and tear from sitting in someone's closet for more than half a century.
I disassembled the clippers and did a thorough cleaning (not much there) and oiled
the moving parts with a bit of 3-in-1. Everything seems to be in great condition.
Even the power cord is supple and unscathed. One of the plastic blade attachments
was included, although the instruction sheet shows four types. Judging from other
similar clippers for sale on eBay, the set only came with one, and the other styles
must have been available for purchase separately. If you have any you can bear to
part with, please let me know...
 Just as originally intended, a lot of people
have contacted me after seeing themselves, a friend, or a family member mentioned
in one of these articles published in vintage American Modeler and
American Aircraft Modeler magazines. Often, it came as the result of reporting
on a modeling event, like the "Mid-America
Stunt Championships" covered here in "Wild Bill Netzeband's Control Line Capers"
column in the January / February 1963 issue of American Modeler magazine. Do a site-wide
search of Airplanes and Rockets to see if your name appears somewhere. Also in the
article is a report of Veco's new 35C and also on a game-changing monoline control
handle for C/L racing. A comical "Things You Wouldn't Know" section is included
to provide the "real" meaning of words used by modelers. Did you know that Bob Violett
and Cliff Telford of R/C racing fame did C/L racing as well?
 These couple
vintage model
aviation comics appeared in the May 1957 issue of the Academy of Model Aeronautics'
American Modeler magazine. The one on page 8 might need some explanation in order
"get it." Back in the era, aviation of all sorts - both model and full-size - was
still a novelty for most people. When either type of aircraft was seen close to
the ground where people could get up-close looks, a crowd would often gather. In
this comic, a huge group of people stopped to watch the model airplane fly, so the
modeler decided it was his civic duty to provide a show for the onlookers. Many
decades ago, comic strips had a very broad appeal with people. Daily newspapers
and magazines often carried a large variety of single pane comics and strip comics...
 Early
"servos"
were nothing more than the electromechanical equivalents of rubber band-powered
escapement. Rather than energizing a solenoid that would allow the rubber band to
turn the control arm, the pulse signal from the receiver would set a motor in motion,
and then limit switches would stop it once the predetermined position was reached.
They had a number of advantages over rubber-powered escapements in that the power
delivered to the control surface was not diminished with every actuation (except
from some negligible energy drain from the batteries), they were able to deliver
a lot more power, and they took up less real estate inside the fuselage. It was
a first step toward today's proportional servos. This 1955 issue of Popular
Electronics magazines shows the state of the art in the day...
 My best friend and fellow model airplane
and rocket, Jerry Flynn, received an
Berkeley models Astro−Hog
kit along with a few others and some engines from an associate of his father. The
guy's father had died and left behind a bunch of modeling stuff. At the time, neither
Jerry nor I had built or flown a radio controlled model, having at the age of around
14 years old not had the money to buy equipment. Back in the early 1970's it was
not like today where you could buy R/C models and equipment for very little money.
Jerry went ahead and built the Astro−Hog over a timespan of about a year, and during
that time he bought a second-hand Futaba 4-channel radio (27.095 MHz version).
He did his typically very nice job of building and doping the airplane...
 In August 1973 (the 18th), I was just turning
15 years old and could only dream of owning an R/C airplane, much less an R/C helicopter.
It was still a time when very few people possessed the skill or money to become
proficient enough at flying helis to consider competing in a contest. There were
no programmable radios, and the metal-to-metal contact of gears and mechanical connections
wreaked havoc on the 72 MHz receivers. Gyros were of the Hiller mechanical type;
piezoelectric versions that integrated with the tail rotor servo were yet to be
invented. Many of the models that appeared at the
1973 Helicopter Nationals
were either entirely home built, or modified from a standard kit. Having struggled
with a DuBro TriStar helicopter myself in the late 1970s, I can attest to the difficulty
posed by trying to keep the tail under control when engine speed changed, which
was constantly since fixed pitch was the rule of the day. Thank goodness for modern
inventions that allow just about anyone to successfully an R/C helicopter...
 According
to the postscript to this editorial, Hugo Gernsback wrote his opinion on the then
current state of space exploration and his recommendation for how future efforts
should proceed, a month before Alan Shepherd made his historic suborbital flight
aboard the Freedom 7 Mercury capsule. That May 5, 1961, feat marked mankind's
first foray into space. Surprisingly, Gernsback was not in favor of a
manned space program. He believed the resources and expense required to support
human life in space would be better invested in developing autonomous and remotely
controlled robotic systems. Many people agreed with him then and today. Although
I do not oppose manned space flight, I tend to agree with Gernsback that much more
can be accomplished with machines than with humans. NASA's many successes on Mars
are evidence of the accomplishments possible with robots, and the long-term missions
possible. At some point it might be necessary to explore sending men to other planets,
but there really is no imperative at this time - just a desire to do so. Coincidentally
(or maybe not so coincidentally), Mr. Gernsback refers to his vision of a lunar
probe as "surveyor," which was name of NASA's series of robotic lunar lander probes
deployed...
 When I think of a Navy (or Air Force, or
Army, or Marine, or Coast Guard) test pilot, what comes to mind is a high powered
fighter airplane, a bomber, or even maybe a helicopter, but the guys in this 1937
Popular Mechanics magazine article are proving cargo and personnel type seaplanes.
Doing so might not be as glorious as the aforementioned types, but it is still no
job for the weak of heart or slow of mind. The average lifetime of a test pilot
is less than that of "regular" pilots because not only are new, untried concepts
tested, but part of the wringing out procedure involves pushing the craft to its
limits to determine whether the design goals were met, and to know what the placarded
"never exceed" numbers should be. Many a test pilot perished during the final "10-G"
stress tests of airplanes during World War I, which is quite a demand from
what were usually stick and tissue (spruce and silk, actually) airframes...
 Lightweight
lithium
ion polymer (Li-Poly) batteries have made a huge impact on the performance,
and subsequently the acceptance of electric systems as a replacement for the traditional
nitromethane (nitro) and gasoline power systems in model airplanes and helicopters.
Their energy density (Wh/kg is the most common unit of measure), combined with the
relatively new and extremely powerful brushless motors, electric power systems are
rivaling the internal combustion systems in terms of both energy and duration. Development
of both the brushless motors and the advanced battery technologies has been, both
officially and unofficially, a joint venture between government and civilian research
and development efforts. If you keep up with the news headlines for NASA, defense
contractors, green energy researchers, and similar organizations, you have witnessed
the plethora of new vehicles that have been built tested, and in may cased deployed
in the field. These range from micro air vehicles that carry surveillance equipment
for the military, to hybrid and fully electric passenger vehicles, vastly improved...
 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...
 Here on page 388 of the Sears 1969 Christmas
Wish Book is a wide selection of modern
AM-FM
clock radios. The ad says, "Instant sound solid state table and clock radios."
In 2011, most people use their cellphone clocks for everything from appointment
keeping to wakeup alarms. Displays are LCD with a few LED straggles still around.
The model shown here can only be found at the Salvation Army store or a thrift shop...
maybe at a yard sale. Use the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' inflation calculator
to see what items cost in today's dollars. That $19.50" AM-FM clock radio would
cost...
 This
Nufnut free flight model airplane article and plans came to being in response
to laments from would-be model airplane builders who tried and failed at their first
(and sometimes more) attempts to make and fly something even as simple as a rubber
powered model. The author decided to present detailed instructions on building and
covering an open frame stick and tissue model, being sure to detail areas that generally
cause the most trouble. The most difficult task for most beginners is covering the
airframe with tissue and then obtaining a warp-free structure after application
of dope. If you are new to the hobby and either have experienced such disappointments
or are considering getting into the fine hobby of model airplane building and flying
and seek sage advice on how to avoid discouraging pitfalls, then you have come to
the right place. Tufnut is a somewhat unique design with its solid balsa fuselage
that has a slot cut in it for containing the rubber band, rather than just using
a stick with the rubber hanging underneath...
 I have received many requests for the scanned
plans file for the Comet Sparky free flight model. Along with the plans, I provide
three files that contain the printwood
patterns. Printwood patterns, for those of you unfamiliar with the term, are
the ink pattern that were printed directly onto the balsa so that the model builder
could cut the pieces out. This was the el cheapo way of producing a kit where the
expense of die cutting was not incurred by the manufacturer. Truth be told, the
die cutting was usually so lousy that you were better off cutting the parts yourself.
Well, it would be if companies like Comet didn't make a habit of using balsa with
about the same density and hardness as oak. Cutting 1/16" square longerons in fuselage
bulkheads or wing spar notches in wing ribs was a real challenge - especially if
you were a kid whose only form of razor sharp tool was a used blade from your father's
razor. By the way, the printwood patterns are necessary because most plans from
kits do not include templates for all of the sheet balsa parts. That is as true
today as it was 50 years ago...
 Finding poetry, short stories, and even
songs
in magazines was common up until sometime in the 1970s. I'm not sure why it stopped
(or nearly so), but as a reader of many vintage magazine types - airplanes, woodworking,
mechanics, electronics, and others - I can attest to it. Both here on Airplanes
and Rockets and on my RF Cafe engineering website, I have posted quite a few examples.
Here is yet another from the July/August 1963 edition of American Modeler
magazine. As time goes by, I wonder how many of today's readers are even familiar
with some of the tunes the songs are meant to follow...
 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...
 With the commercial airline industry and
military strategic and logistic air operations moving inexorably into the jet age,
demand was high for skilled
airframe and powerplant (A&P) mechanics. The military took care of its own
training, but the civilian world also desperately needed technicians to maintain
their hardware. For that matter, even highly experienced veterans usually needed
to receive specialized training to qualify for working on the models of engines
and airframes sold for civilian use. As you probably know, many models of both airplanes
and engines had both military and civilian versions, so a lot of similarity existed,
but with the huge investment in equipment and human lives at stake, total familiarity
with complete systems was (and still is) essential. Model and full-size aviation
magazines published many articles like this one in a 1967 issue of American Modeler
in order to coax people into the field. Promises of good pay...
 Airplanes and Rockets visitor Dave J. wrote
to ask that I post this article on the
Missy DARA
(Dayton Air Racing Association ) quarter midget racer that appeared in the April
1974 edition of American Aircraft Modeler magazine. It is a scale knockoff of the
full-scale Miss Dara Formula racer. I offer to do this for people at no charge as
time permits. Also, I usually post a scan of the plans, but if you are going to
build the model, I highly recommend buying a set from the AMA Plans Service if they
are still available. Missy Dara plans do not appear to be available at this time.
The AMA will scale the plans to any size you need, so you're not locked into the
original wingspan. House of Balsa manufactured a Miss Dara kit back in the 1980s...
 S.C. Smith's cover drawing for this
1956 issue of Air Trails magazine is an enhanced version of Wayne Schindler's
ducted fan Saab Draken 210 free flight [semi] scale model airplane.
Back in the day, there were no commercially available ducted fan units, so they
needed to be designed and fabricated by the builder of the model. The computer optimized
ducted fan units we have today are matched to the powerplant, which much more often
that not is a brushless motor. I don't know if anyone makes a ducted fan for glow
fuel engines anymore. This Saab Draken 210 used a Cox .049 Thermal Hopper glow engine,
which was capable of turning 10,000 rpm. 1956 is the year Cox introduced the
Babe Bee .049 was introduced, but might not have been available at the time. It
could do 13,500 rpm on 15% nitro fuel, so could have added significant thrust
to the ducted fan unit. The six-blade, three-inch diameter fan was not enclosed
in a tightly fitting duct like modern fans are. This new 50 mm diameter (~2")
electric ducted fan (EDF) puts out 770 g (1.6 lb.) of thrust on a 3-cell
LiPo battery...
 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)...
 I remember back in the 1970s when I first
got into radio control flying, one of my planned accomplishments for life was to
polish my glider flying skills to the point that I could earn an LSF Level 5 rank.
Well, here I am at 62 and am lucky to get in a 20-minute thermal on a good day.
The reason for not attaining the lofty goal could blamed on lack of time, lack of
money, lack of opportunity, and lack of a lot of things, but the real cause is lack
of commitment. The guys who occupy the top slots are there because they have sacrificed
other things in order to be the best at
RC soaring. It was as true in
1974 as it is today in (gasp) 2022! In this December 1974 American Aircraft Modeler
magazine coverage of the League of Silent Flight Tournament, Mark Smith emerges
as the winner and debuts with his self-designed Windfree glider. He later marketed
the Windfree (99" wingspan) and the Windward (72" wingspan) as part of his Mark's
Models business...
 The Estes
Saturn V rocket is a model that I really wanted to have as a kid, but never
could justify spending 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).
The photo to the left is one of my favorites since it shows the Estes Saturn V... |
