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 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...
 As a lifelong admirer of Charles Schulz's
Peanuts comic strip, I occasionally buy a collectible item like a Snoopy music box
that plays "It's a Long Way to Tipperary," a plastic Schroeder and piano figurine,
a Charlie Brown Skediddler, or a Snoopy astronaut from the Apollo era. This time
I bought the edition of TV Guide that announced the first showing of the "A Charlie
Brown Christmas" cartoon. Also in this edition is the announcement of plans
to preempt regular programming to televise the launch of the Gemini VII spacecraft,
which carried astronauts Frank Borman and James A. Lovell. It launched right on
time at 7:30 pm on December 4th, 1965. "As his millions of fans long since have
discovered, under that inept, ineffectual, bumbling exterior of Charlie Brown's
there beats a heart as soft and sweet as a marshmallow. In the sequence on these
pages, drawn exclusively for TV Guide by Charlie's creator, Charles Schulz, he becomes
concerned about the true meaning of Christmas...
 I've been using X-acto tools since my teenage
years the early 1970s. Before that, my razor knife blades were either the single-edge
hardware store type or double-edge blades copped from my father's safety razor (those
were truly dangerous, even with one edge taped). Half a century later, I now have
a selection of many flavors of X-actor blades and handles. As the chart above shows,
there seems to be an X-acto blade for every purpose. I often wondered what they
were all meant for, until I found this
X-acto Blade Usage Chart
from the company. Like most people, by far my most often used blade is the trusty
#11. I've been through hundreds of them. X-acto also makes a wide variety of specially
shaped carving blades, including vees, cups, circles (routers)...
 Most people these days are probably now
aware of an aeronautical profession that up until around the early 1980s was a vital
part of aviation - the
flight
engineer. This 1950s article in Air Trails magazine highlights what
was at the time a very prestigious and sought-after position for people wanting
professional level careers in both commercial and military aviation. Since the 1930s,
aircraft were rapidly growing larger and more complex. Most had two to four engines,
retracting landing gear, pressurized cabins, autopilots, electronic and celestial
navigation, long distance routes, and increasingly crowded airways. All that plus
en route and destination airport weather, and even ground traffic clutter at
airports...
 This is part two of a series from the March
1957 issue of American Modeler magazine that briefly introduces a dozen
winning free flight models and comments from their designers. Current day modelers
who like to fly the vintage (old timer) airplanes might pick up a useful tip from
the masters of the golden age of free flight. Materials have not changed a lot since
then, other than maybe the use of carbon fiber in the airframe, and no doubt engine
technology has gotten better, but the fundamentals of trimming for the powered and
glide portions of free flight pretty much remain the same...
|
 This "Jet 50" kit was part
of Jetco's Superflite series. It was designed to be powered by the venerable Jetex 50
rocket motor. It is one of the models I had as a kid in Mayo, Maryland, back in
the late 1960s. It was a lot like building and flying the Estes Falcon rocket-powered
glider. The big difference was that the "Jet 50" flew at a leisurely pace as
the Jetex 50 motor burned for about 20-30 seconds with a gentle "hiss," whereas
the Falcon blasted off with more of a "ssst" sound for about half a second whilst
the craft ascended to a couple hundred feet high. Each had its advantages. The "Jet 50"
could be trimmed to fly in a tight circle in the back yard of our half-acre lot,
but the Falcon required bicycling over to Klinken's Field where there was a big
open field of many acres.
 There is no doubt that Du−Bro set the stage
for commercially produced radio controlled (R/C) helicopters with the
Whirlybird 500.
Its use of a top-mounted engine that relied on counter-torque to set the main rotor
blades spinning was unique. There were a few published articles on homebrew free-flight
helicopters that used the arrangement, and Cox even marketed a ready-to-fly model
that had a Cox .020 engine mounted on top called the Sky Copter (I owned one as
a kid in the late 1960s). To my knowledge all other R/C helicopter models used a
gear or belt drive from the engine to the main rotor shaft. It is amazing that this
quite top-heavy configuration flew at all. Du−Bro engineers deserve a lot of credit.
Note extensive use of common Du−Bro products like wheel collars, pushrods and clevises,
strip aileron hookups, brass tubing, and nuts, bolts and screws. A lot of assembly
work was involved, including a good bit of soldering...
 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...
 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...
 Airplanes and Rockets website visitor Rob P.
wrote to ask that I post the construction article for George Wilson's "Quick Floats,"
which appeared in the May 1973 issue of American Aircraft Modeler magazine.
It's nice to know that even with all the prefabricated floats available for purchase
today that there is still someone who prefers to build his own. The original Quick
Floats design was sized for a .60-powered stunt airplane, but you can easily scale
them up or down as needed to fit your model. I normally do not include a full-resolution
scan in order to give the AMA Plans Service an opportunity to sell a copy (very
low prices); however, a visit to their website does not show a listing for Quick
Floats. Click on the plans images below for the larger versions. Beware that scans
from the magazine may contain skew ...
 For what was probably one of the first major
model aircraft contests following the end of World War II, the New York Daily
Mirror's "Model
Flying and Air Fair" drew a thousand contestants and a quarter of a million
spectators to it Grumman Airport*, Long Island, venue. That gives you a good idea
of how popular not just full-scale, but model airplanes were in the era. People
were still fascinated with the concept of human flight, and the vast majority of
people worldwide had never flown on an airplane of any sort. Note in the aerial
view photo of the airport the huge number of cars - it's so obvious that it's easy
to miss. Note Lew Andrews, who later went on to manufacture model airplanes under
the name of AAMCo, was the Plymouth International Stunt Champion. One thing that
occurred to me when examining the model photos is how the basic form of the control
line speed model has not changed much over the decades...
 Like many little girls who were born in the
1960s, Melanie had a small collection of
Suzy Homemaker toy appliances. Old photographs from birthdays
and Christmases past document the times they were received. Melanie had the Suzy
Homemaker Oven / Stove and the Suzy Homemaker Clothes Iron. Since hers was long
gone my the time we got married in 1983, we decided to look for them on eBay. As
with just about everything ever made, we easily found them in nice condition. Neither
the oven nor the iron came with their original boxes because those are very expensive.
This page of Suzy Homemaker products appeared ...
 My very first radio control system was an
OS
Digital Digitron DS−3, 3−channel system. I have wanted to get one for nostalgia's
sake for a long time. I had a saved search on eBay for years and finally a few months
ago, one came up for auction, which I won. My plan is to replace the original 27.195 MHz
electronics with that of my 6−channel 72.750 MHz Futaba system, with necessary
modifications to the gimbal potentiometers, NiCad battery, antenna mount, etc. I
will need to add a dual rate switch somewhere inconspicuous so as to not detract
from the original look. The results will be posted here when done ...
 Prior to the advent of commonplace high-speed
digital computers, designing advanced aircraft structures required a lot of effort
building scale models and testing them in wind tunnels and, when possible, in
actual flight. The process was both expensive and time-consuming. As computer simulations
have been fine tuned, the need to build models have been nearly entirely eliminated.
Modern aircraft can go from computer monitor to production with the full-size prototype
being the first actual version of the plane to be built. This article from a 1957
issue of American Modeler magazine reports on some of the very labor-intensive
experimental and scale models built for testing and concept verification. Many of
the technicians who did the planning and building were hobbyists who were fortunate
enough to gets jobs to get paid for engaging in their passion...
 The
Berliner-Joyce OJ−2 was a multi-purpose biplane built for naval
service. Its maiden flight was in 1931. As this American Aircraft Modeler
magazine article photos show, it could be configured with wheels or floats.
Berliner-Joyce Aircraft Corporation had is main offices in Baltimore, Maryland,
which was a popular location for defense contractors then and now. The Glen L.
Martin Company, manufacturer of the famous Martin B−10 Bomber, was also in
Baltimore. The OJ-2 was in heavy competition with the Vought O2U Corsair, which,
unlike its eventual and much more famous successor gull-wing, all-metal
F4U Corsair, was a fabric-covered biplane. Someone at Vaught must have really
been stuck on using the Corsair name ...
 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 the late 1960s when I received a Cox
Sky Copter free flight helicopter for Christmas, there was very little in the way
of commercially available flying model helicopters. It was modeled after the Bell
47−G, which was later made famous by the M.A.S.H. television series. Victor Stanzel
sold its tethered ElectroMic "Copter" that was powered by a pair of "D" cell batteries.
As far as I know, Cox made the only nitro fuel powered free flight helicopter, named
"Sky Copter." It was powered by a Cox .020 engine mounted to the top-center of the
main rotor shaft, and caused the rotors to turn due to the counter torque cause
by the propeller on the .020. It worked very well. After getting the engine started,
you would give the rotors a spin in the clockwise direction (looking down from the
top), and the gently push the model straight up. My guess is that most of the lift
was provided by the engine's propeller pushing air down, and that the spinning rotors
served primarily to stabilize the model during powered flight. Once the engine quit,
the spinning rotors essentially went into a counter-rotation mode to gently bring
the Sky Copter back to terra firma...
 Du-Bro was the first American company to
produce a radio control helicopter kit - the Whirlybird 505. That was sometime
around 1972 It was modeled after the way free flight helicopters were built an the
engine and propeller sitting on top of the main rotor, using a free-wheeling rotor
that turned in response to the counter torque of the engine. Fixed pitch rotor blades
were controlled via a flybar assembly as was the case prior to the advent of flybarless
rotor heads. Du-Bro's next helicopter was a much-improved and very popular Hughes 300,
using a driven rotor with the engine mounted in the fuselage. It also used a flybar
for rotor control. Building off that success, they next introduced this
TriStar R/C helicopter. It was smaller than the Hughes 300
and modeled after the RotorWay Scorpion homebuilt ...
 When most people think about control line
(CL) models, airplanes are what comes to mind. However, prior to the advent of miniature,
reliable radio control (RC) systems, model boats and model cars also ran on control
lines, as reported in a 1957 issue of American Modeler magazine. Most of
the time they went in circles, just like model airplanes do; however, some hobbyists
stretched out long sections of straight line in order to get maximum speeds from
their craft. Unlike with model airplanes where an operator in the center of the
circle exerted control of the elevator (and sometimes throttle), the
control line boats
and cars generally ran with no form of control. In fact, usually the models
were tethered with a single line in the center of the circle and the operator handled
the boat or car from the outside...
 This is the Sunday, January 2, 1944, "Flyin' Jenny" comic strip. The Baltimore Sun newspaper, published
not far from where I grew up near Annapolis, Maryland, carried "Flyin' Jenny" from
the late 1930s until the strip ended in the mid 1940s, so I saved a couple dozen
from there. The first one I downloaded has a publication date of December 7, 1941
- that date "which will live in infamy," per President Roosevelt. Many Americans
were receiving word over the radio of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor while
reading this comic at the breakfast table. I expect that soon there will be World
War II themes. "Flyin' Jenny," whose real name was Virginia Dare (what's in
a name?), was a test pilot for Starcraft Aviation Factory ...
 Douglas Rolfe's sketch of this
Roland
C-II biplane is another example of his amazing ability not just to create a
drawing, but to depict the model's construction features in a manner helpful to
builders. That, coupled with the masterfully detailed and laid-out plans by Walter
Musciano and a brief history on the airplane along with its most famous pilot, Eduard
von Schleich, makes this an article you won't want to miss - especially if you are
a World War I historian. I have to wonder whether Eduard von Schleich's fellow
Flieger (aviators) referred to him as "verrückte Augen" ("crazy eyes")?...
 My
Vise-Grip
pliers have performed a lot of hard duty over the decades. Many rusted nuts and
bolts would still be unremoved if it weren't for their sharp, corrugated locking
jaws. I have 10", 7", and 4" w/cutter, and 6" long nose models. These are all manufactured
under the Petersen Manufacturing Company name, before they bought Irwin, who now
manufactures Vise-Grips. Even high quality tools eventually show signs of wear after
decades of use and abuse. A few of mine had jaws worn down to the point where they
no longer would "bite" into the bolt head or nut being clamped. I was about to buy
a couple new pairs of Vise-Grips, but then wondered if I could recondition the jaws
to put the pointed shape back on the jaws with a triangle file ...
 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..."
 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)...
Jean "Shep" Shepherd, most recently known for the movie "A Christmas Story,"
spawned by his book entitled "In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash," was widely
known in the 1950s through 70s for his ad hoc story telling on AM radio stations
like WOR in NY City. Shep was an avid amateur radio enthusiast his entire life,
and told anecdotes about it often while on the air. He was also an airplane modeler
in his younger days. This May 3, 1973
Model Airplanes
broadcast by Shep recounts the time he and his friend Schwartz (a real guy and
one of The Christmas Story" characters), as teenagers, pooled their paper route
money to buy and build Flying Quaker R/C airplane from plans, with a Brown engine
and home-built radio gear (they were both Hams with electronics skills). It was
nearly a year-long project for them. On the Flying Quaker's maiden flight, it got
caught up in a strong thermal. Listen to his story to learn how it turned out ...
 At QuinStar, we're about more than millimeter-wave
technology. The people comprising QuinStar Technology pursue diverse and exciting
outside interests. Our Chief Engineer, Jim Schellenberg, is a highly skilled amateur
astronomical photographer. He captured this beautiful image of the
Orion nebula using a specially modified Canon 6D. The camera responds
to the H-alpha spectral line at 656 nm (from hydrogen gas), which is seen as red
in the photo. The camera is mounted on an 11-inch telescope that tracks the object
as the earth rotates. This image consists of nine one-minute exposures that are
"stacked" to form the image you see. This is an excellent time of the year to view
the Orion nebula. It can be seen with the naked eye ... |
