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105% Wingspan Airtronics Aquila Sailplane

105% Airtronics Aquila Sailplane - Airplanes and RocketsNot being able to hold off any longer, I finally began working on a scratch-built version of the Airtronics Aquila. I had the good folks at Staples enlarge the plans to 105% to push the wingspan just over 100" (~104") so it will be my biggest sailplane ever - yeah, I know, lame. By scaling up so slightly most of the structural components like the spars, balsa and plywood, etc., will be able to stay per the original without risking overstressing. However, since this Aquila will sport a brushless motor in the nose (sacrilegious?), I am beefing up some of the areas and using harder balsa in places I might not have otherwise. Since I do not have easy (pronounced "affordable") access to the large pieces of 1/8" LitePly...

Failed 1972 Kosmos Venus Probe Returns to Earth

Failed 1972 Kosmos Venus Probe Returns to Earth - Airplanes and Rockets"Launched in 1972 by the Soviet Union (USSR), the spacecraft known as Kosmos 482 was part of a series of missions bound for Venus. But this one never made it out of orbit around Earth, stranded there by a rocket malfunction. Much of the spacecraft came tumbling back to Earth within a decade of the failed launch. The European Union Space Surveillance and Tracking confirmed its uncontrolled reentry, based on analysis and no-shows of the spacecraft on subsequent orbits. The ESA's space debris office also indicated that the spacecraft had reentered after it failed to appear over a German radar station. It was not immediately known..."

My Misguided Missile

My Misguided Missile, February 1959 Popular Electronics - RF CafeCarl Kohler strikes again with this 1959 Popular Electronics magazine techno-story entitled, "My Guided Missile." His alter ego, self-proclaimed "genius-type engineer" protoself faces off against an exasperated wife over his latest ambitious creation - the Kohler Komet homemade guided missile. Undeterred by his wife's concerns about past radio-control mishaps, he takes the rocket to Bonneville Flats for testing, assuring her of its safety features, including a parachute recovery system. However, disaster strikes when the launch startles him, causing him to crush the transmitter. The missile spirals out of control, narrowly missing the group before obliterating a police car in a spectacular crash...

Task Force: The Big Bomber Learns Its Job

Task Force: The Big Bomber Learns Its Job - Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, April 6, 1942 Life - RF CafeThis 1942 Life magazine article profiles a B-17E Flying Fortress bomber and its nine-man crew, detailing their roles in America's early WWII air campaign against Japan. The bomber, part of the 342nd Bombardment Squadron, operates as a self-contained "task force," capable of delivering devastating strikes like Colin Kelly’s sinking of the battleship Haruna. The crew - four officers (pilot, copilot, navigator, bombardier) and five enlisted gunners - undergo six weeks of operational training at MacDill Field to forge teamwork essential for survival. The B-17E's firepower includes eight .50-caliber machine guns manned by the enlisted crew...

Jim Walker A-J Aircraft

Jim Walker A-J Aircraft Ad, May 1954 Model Airplane News - Airplanes and RocketsThis May 1954 Model Airplane News magazine ad for Jim Walker's A-J Aircraft Co. promoted the rugged "Firebaby" control-line model, emphasizing its durability while acknowledging that crashes happen. The ad reassured buyers that spare parts were readily available through dealers, ensuring quick repairs. The Firebaby was offered in single-wing or biplane configurations, with or without an engine, priced as low as $2.50 (without engine) or $7.85 (with engine). Jim Walker, a pioneering figure in model aviation, revolutionized the hobby with mass-produced, ready-to-fly (RTF) models. His designs, like the Firebaby, made control-line flying accessible to beginners. Walker’s company, A-J Aircraft, claimed to be the "World’s Largest Manufacturer of Ready-to-Fly Model Aircraft" at the time. Later, Cox Models surpassed A-J, becoming the dominant RTF...

"How to Design and Build Flying Models"

"How to Design and Build Flying Models," March 1961 American Modeler Magazine - Airplanes and Rockets"How to Design and Build Flying Models" might have been the first book I ever read on the title's subject. I probably checked it out of the Annapolis Public Library sometime in the late 1960s. Somehow, I still have it (I hate to think what the overdue book fee is for it by now). After all the intervening years, the one passage from the book that sticks with me is a description of what it would be like to have a twin engined World War II control line model with home-built retractable landing gear. I remember laying in bed and seeing myself flying that imaginary model - corny, but true. At around 10 years old with my only actual control line flying experience being with a Cox PT-19 Trainer, it could only be a dream. Tools, ability, material, and money were not there. What little I earned from a paper route was divided amongst...

West Coast Japs Interned in Mountain Camp

West Coast Japs Are Interned in Mountain Camp, April 6, 1942 Life - RF CafeThis 1942 issue of Life magazine reported on the first 1,000 Japanese volunteers arrived at Manzanar, a government "reception center" in California's Owens Valley, to prepare for the forced relocation of 112,000 Japanese residents from the West Coast. Though most were U.S. citizens, they were treated as potential enemies. The Army promised humane conditions - self-governance, paid labor ($54-$94/month), and agricultural development - but Manzanar remained a guarded concentration camp. Internees, limited to what they could carry, were housed in barracks with minimal furnishings. Despite scenic surroundings, including views of Mt. Whitney, the camp was stark, with unfinished sewers and communal meals. Some expressed loyalty, even proposing wartime factory work...

Drones Carry out Precise Flight Autonomously

Drones Carry out Precise Flight Autonomously - Airplanes and Rockets"A team of cyber-systems researchers, engineers, optical specialists and roboticists at Zhejiang University, in China, has developed a navigation system for quadcopter drones that gives them the ability to carry out precise flight maneuvers autonomously. As reported in the journal Science Robotics, the group developed a multi-pronged system that allows quadcopter drones to carry out complex aerobatic maneuvers autonomously, in a safe manner, both indoors and outdoors. It would be advantageous if drones were able to carry out tasks autonomously without human intervention. It would allow for flying..."

Negro Pilots Get Wings at Tuskegee Institute

Negro Pilots Get Wings at Tuskegee Institute, March 23, 1942 Life - RF CafeAt Tuskegee, Alabama, March 7, Colonel Frederick V. H. Kimble, U. S. A., pinned wings on the blouses of five young Negro lieutenants, members of the first graduating class of the Army's first Negro air school. Since last July they had undergone all the primary and advanced training to which white Army cadets at Randolph and Kelly fields are subject. Now they are charter members of the Air Force's 99th (all Negro) Pursuit Squadron, established last summer at a $2,000,000 airdrome near Alabama's famed Tuskegee Institute and now developing into one of the Army's biggest training bases...

McMurtry Spéirling e-Hypercar Drives Upside Down

McMurtry Spéirling e-Hypercar Drives Upside Down - RF Cafe"Claimed to be a world first, the demonstration took place at Swinhay House. A McMurtry Spéirling PURE Validation Prototype 1 (VP1) was driven on to a custom-built platform which then rotated 180 degrees to invert the stationary vehicle. Relying on the huge 'Downforce on Demand' created by twin 23,000 RPM fans on the car's undercarriage, the Spéirling remained firmly attached to the platform and was driven a few feet forward before the rig rotated it back to ground. 'This demonstration was an exciting proof-of-concept using a small purpose-built rig, but is perhaps just the beginning of what's possible. With a longer inverted track or a suitable tunnel, we may be able to drive..."

Important Facts About Balsa Wood, Sig Catalog

Important Facts About Balsa Wood, Sig Catalog - Airplanes and RocketsBalsa wood was a special thing to me as a kid. To me, it represented the essence of model airplanes and model rockets. At the time - the 1960s and 70s - plastic and foam as model components were considered a sign of cheapness, low quality, amateurishness. It was like having "Made in Japan" stamped on it. Now, of course, it's a different world where Japan is renowned for some of the highest quality electronics and cars and the plastic and foam ARFs represent some of the highest-performing aircraft at the flying field. I have owned a few of those foamies, but still, at least for my tastes, nothing beats the look, feel and aroma of balsa. Somehow the tell-tale surface texture of foam, even with a nice paint job, ruins the authenticity of an otherwise beautifully factory-finished scale F4-U Corsair or P-38 Lightning. Sorry, that's just the way it is. Sig Manufacturing was...

TWA in a 1960 Saturday Evening Post

TWA - Trans World Airline, April 29, 1950 The Saturday Evening Post - RF CafeWhen this Trans World Airline (TWA) advertisement appeared in the April 29, 1950, issue of The Saturday Evening Post magazine , the airline industry was transitioning from relying on amphibious aircraft for long-distance overseas flights to using land-based planes. These new aircraft, like the 300-mph Skyliners mentioned in the ad, offered increased speed and comfort, revolutionizing air travel and making it more accessible to the general public. TWA capitalized on this newfound ability to fly customers quickly and comfortably to destinations across the U.S. and around the world, emphasizing the potential for adventure and leisure even within the constraints of a typical two-week vacation...

Lockheed P-38 Lightning

Lockheed Aircraft Corporation P-38 Lightning, April 6, 1942 Life - RF CafeAn April 1942 issue of Life magazine, just four months into WWII, carried this full-page advertisement celebrating the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, a revolutionary fighter aircraft hailed as the world' s fastest - nearing the speed of sound - with unmatched maneuverability, outclassing enemy planes in combat. Built by Lockheed for the U.S. Army and British RAF, the P-38 embodied American ingenuity and freedom, flown by daring pilots defending democracy. The ad positions the Lightning as a symbol of U.S. air supremacy, critical to Allied victory in WWII, while promoting Lockheed's role in advancing aviation for both wartime protection and postwar progress. The closing tagline, "Look to Lockheed for Leadership," reinforces the company's wartime prestige and vision for the future...

Death Flies the Equator

Death Flies the Equator, March 1937 Flying Aces - Airplanes and RocketsSome of the adventure stories in Flying Aces magazine were practically full-length novels. The May 1934 issue included one of Donald Keyhoe's pieces entitled, "Death Flies the Equator," featuring intrepid G-2 agent, Dick Knight, and his sidekick, Lothario Doyle, who team up to pit good against evil across the globe. The notorious "Four Faces" cabal fixed on achieving world domination are a constant challenge for the wits and wile of our heroic pair. Dick Knight supplies the brunt of required brainwork while ex-Marine Doyle breaks bones and faces when needed. Both are accomplished airborne dogfighters, avigators (archaic term for aviator / navigator), and mechanics. Many of these stories involve fantastic weapons and deception devices, sabotage, moles, traitors, and incredible feats of flying. They really are "page-turners," and the only things that keeps me from reading straight through is wanting to be able to spread the entertainment across t

Flettner-Type Rotor Wing-Control Line Model

Flettner-Type Rotor Wing-Control Line Model, March 1957 American Modeler Magazine - Airplanes and RocketsFlettner 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...

The Fantastic Secret Weapons of Germany

Speaking of Pictures... These Are the Fantastic Secret Weapons of Germany, September 10, 1945 Life - RF CafeWithout a doubt, Germany has in the past far overestimated its ability to conquer the world by leveraging its undeniable history of innovation and determination. A success in the Franco-Prussian War gave it a sense of superiority and invincibility. WWI and WWII were lost primarily due to the blitzkrieg strategy later failing to overwhelm and subdue the enemy in short order, causing protracted wars and diminishing resources from within its domain. If Germany had instead exploited its technical prowess in world markets, it might have been an economic superpower today. The native population was/is brilliant. Today, Germany's leaders are, in acts of self-flagellation and penance...

Talking Them In

Talking Them In (February 1938 Boys' Life Article) - Airplanes and RocketsDuring the late 1930s, commercial air transportation experienced a significant boom, largely fueled by the introduction of the Douglas DC-3 in 1935. This aircraft, widely recognized for its efficiency and reliability, revolutionized air travel, making it more accessible and popular than ever before. The rapid growth of this sector placed an unprecedented demand on air traffic control services, as exemplified by the busy operations at Newark, the world's most active airport at the time. The article from the 1938 issue of Boys' Life magazine further illustrates this, detailing a trip from Newark to Pittsburgh, where Air Traffic Control, managed by the Bureau of Air Commerce, played a critical role in ensuring the safe and orderly movement of a burgeoning number of flights, underscoring the vita...

Televising the Moon

Televising the Moon, October 1964 Radio-Electronics - RF CafeIn this October 1964 issue of Radio-Electronics magazine, editor Hugo Gernsback writes about the historic feat on July 31 of that year, where NASA lunar probe Ranger 7's RCA-designed television cameras successfully transmitted the first close-up televised pictures of the moon's surface to Earth after six previous failed attempts. The unmanned spacecraft traveled 240,000 miles through space over 68 hours to capture 4,316 still images with its six high-resolution cameras. These images provided crucial information for future manned lunar explorations, revealing that the dust layer on the moon's surface is likely only 2 to 12 inches deep, and showing small craters down to sizes of three feet. The success of Ranger 7 marked a significant advancement in lunar exploration technology, paving the way for further unmanned missions and eventual manned expeditions to the moon...

Build the S.S.P. Helicopter

S.S.P. Helicopter from the August 1972 American Aircraft Modeler - Airplanes and RocketsImagine if your path to flying an R/C helicopter involved first designing, then building, and then troubleshooting the contraption. That was the burden of pioneers. We have people like S.S.P. Helicopter designer Gene Rock to thank for being able to enjoy the state-of-the-art models that are available today. This article from the August 1972 edition of American Aircraft Modeler magazine describes the process of machining all the metal parts for an Enya .45-powered craft. Mr. Rock even designed a very successful mechanical gyro for keeping the tail under control. If you have ever tried flying an R/C heli without any type of gyro (I have, on a DuBro Tristar), you will fully appreciate what a pleasure it is to not have to manually counter torque changes (throttle) with tail rotor stick input from the transmitter. Around 2008 I bought a Blade MCX2 coaxial rotor helicopter for flying inside, and the gyro is so good on that thing that you can put it in a full speed pirouette...

Heli-Taxis Are Here

Heli-Taxis Are Here, May 1946 Popular Science - Airplanes and RocketsIn 1946, Popular Science magazine highlighted the burgeoning potential of helicopters, detailing their versatility and the innovative ways people envisioned using them, from hunting expeditions and aerial orchestras to funeral services. The article underscored the helicopter's unique capabilities, such as vertical take-off and landing, and its proven utility during World War II in diverse environments. Commercial helicopters were on the cusp of becoming available, with initial deliveries set to start that year, though primarily for business and government use due to high costs and complexities in operation. The piece also discussed the challenges faced by manufacturers, including mechanical complexities like torque and the need for mass production to reduce costs...

United Aircraft Corporation

United Aircraft Corporation, April 29, 1950 The Saturday Evening Post - RF CafeIf you do a lot of overseas air travel for work (or any other reason), this en route time map from a 1950 issue of The Saturday Evening Post magazine might give you a bit of cheering up. Compare the length of time in the air back during the day of propeller-driven airliners versus what you typically experience today. United Aircraft published that a trip from New York to London took 12-½ hours (with favorable winds). The same flight today takes around 7-½ hours, a 40% reduction. From Seattle to Tokyo was 28-½ hours, and is now 10-½ hours, for a 63% reduction! Those shorter flight times are due to both faster jet-powered airplanes and an ability to climb to and cruise at altitudes where jet stream winds are highly additive. Of course having to endure 10-½ hours crammed into a narrow seat with the back of the front...

Tiniest Flying Robot Soars Thanks to Magnets

Tiniest Flying Robot Soars Thanks to Magnets - Airplanes and Rockets"Like a bumblebee flitting from flower to flower, a new insect-inspired flying robot created by engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, can hover, change trajectory and even hit small targets. Less than 1 centimeter in diameter, the device weighs only 21 milligrams, making it the world's smallest wireless robot capable of controlled flight. For a robot to fly, it must be equipped with a power source, like a battery, and electronics for flight control, both of which can be challenging to integrate into very small, lightweight devices. To overcome this issue, Lin and the UC Berkeley team used an external magnetic field to power the device and control the flight path. The robot is shaped like a small propeller and includes two small magnets..."

Snoopy Wind-Up Alarm Clock Restoration

Snoopy Wind-Up Alarm Clock Restoration - Airplanes and RocketsBeing very far-sighted, having a modern alarm clock next to the bed with large LED numbers is a great convenience for seeing the time at night. However, I have always hated the electronic alarm sound and neither do I want music since it tends to put me back to sleep. The old fashioned wind-up mechanical alarm clocks did the job quite handily, and I missed having such a clock after many decades of doing without. So, I decided to look for a Peanuts-themed clock from the 1960s or 70s. This Snoop alarm clock came up for bid on eBay, and I picked it up for under $10, probably because the seller said it did not work. He was correct that it didn't work in its selling condition. However, I disassembled...

DX Hams Do Get Around

DX Hams Do Get Around (November 1940 Boys' Life Article) - Airplanes and RocketsIn this November 1940 issue of the Boy Scouts Boys' Life magazine, amateur radio operators, or "hams," are described as having the ability to communicate across vast distances, connecting far-flung locations such as Goulds, Florida, Cali, Colombia, Cairo, Kenilworth, England, Bombay, and Brisbane. These operators, licensed by the Federal Communications Commission, engage in various activities such as talking to distant stations, participating in contests, and providing emergency communication during natural disasters. With call letters assigned by international treaty, these stations use a combination of code and phone to make contact, exchanging reports and QSL cards. The Radio merit badge was first offered in 1918 and has been...

Model Airplane, Helicopter, Boat, & Rocket Videos

Model Airplane, Helicopter, Boat, & Rocket Action Videos - Airplanes and RocketsHere is a list of model airplane, helicopter, rocket, and boat videos put together around 2008. As you might expect, by now many of the websites and/or the original content are gone. Where possible, I located missing material on the Archive.org website (the Wayback Machine). Links I couldn't find anywhere have been deleted. Many of the videos are ones I created for the Airplanes and Rockets website...

Citizen-Ship Radio Advertisement

Citizen-Ship Radio Advertisement, May 1971 American Aircraft Modeler - Airplanes and RocketsDid you know that Citizen-Ship Radio was a division of Curtis Dyna-Products Corporation - the company that produced the Dyna-Jet engine? Me neither. This uniquely done full-page advertisement from a 1971 issue of American Aircraft Modeler broke the news. I'm not sure when Citizen-Ship stopped making radio control gear, but it couldn't have been too long after 1971 because they didn't appear in the model airplane magazines much after then. Cutris Dyna Products, by the way, is still in business producing fogger machines for crops, special effects, and other needs. ...

Radio Control News, May 1954 MAN

Radio Control News, May 1954 Model Airplane News - Airplanes and Rockets1954 was just a decade after World War II, during which time the Army Signal Corps introduced a method of printing - or etching - metallic circuit conductors on an insulator substrate, and thus was born the printed circuit board (PCB). The first boards used a phenolic-paper laminate, which is the shiny brown substrate material that is still found in some industrial applications like motors and control panels. Ferric chloride was used to etch away the copper foil not masked off with photoresist chemicals. I made many crude PCBs using a resist ink pen to draw circuit traces and component mounting pads, then etched away the exposed copper with ferric chloride purchased at Radio Shack. This line from the article is reminiscent of people who remarked similarly about the first televisions and computers: "One of the first questions that arises is: 'What good is it and what do I gain by using it?'" Printed inductors were already being used, as the photo shows. Back in the mid 1980s, I programmed an HP 85 computer, using HP BASIC (aka Rocky Mountain BASIC), to draw printed inductor patters in the engineering development lab where I worked for Westinghouse. A built-in thermal printer spit out the image on paper, and then the image was transferred onto clear acetate in a copying machine for use in the photoresist exposure process. Anyone else remember using one?

Ephemeris - Class A and FAI Free Flight Model

Ephemeris - Class A and FAI Free Flight Article & Plans, March/April 1963 American Modeler - Airplanes and RocketsThe "Ephemeris" Class A and FAI free flight model was somewhat of a sensation in the modeling world back in 1963 when it appeared in the March/April issue of American Modeler magazine because it featured up thrust. Its designer, R. Jess Krieser, was "thinking outside the box" before the term was even coined. Mr. Krieser took an engineering approach to redesigning the Carl Goldberg "Sailplane" model and after examining tables and graphs on L/D curves on airfoil drag coefficients, settled on the final form factor that became the Ephemeris. Read about it here...

Dr. Ralph Brooke's "Whistler" Article & Plans

Dr. Ralph Brooke's "Whistler" Article & Plans, July/August 1963 American Modeler - Airplanes and RocketsDr. Ralph Brooke was a member of the 1963 U.S. International Team, which won the World Champion ships at Genk, Belgium. He custom designed "Whistler" full house radio control model airplane is featured in this 1963 issue of American Modeler magazine. The engine was a Veco .45, which was smaller than the .60 size used by many competitors of the day. The plans are well-drawn, but the wing portion is broken across the two sheets, and only the left half is shown. The wingspan is only 59", so it really wouldn't have been that much trouble to put at least the entire wing half on one sheet. That has always been a pet peeve of mine. Otherwise, the Whistler is a nice looking model and could easily be adapted to electric power ...

Outboard Model Boat Motors

Outboard Model Boat Motors - Airplanes and RocketsOutboard motors for model boats have been available for a long time. Advertisements in modeling magazines from the 1950s (as far back as my collection goes) has plenty of them. Ailyn's Sea Fury outboard motor and the Fuji outboard motors are just a couple examples for which I have copies of the ads. I don't know if any are still manufactured today, but if you hang around eBay long enough, you will find them up for auction. As of this writing, there is a Fuji .15 outboard motor up for bid. It appears to me in remarkably good condition. These two advertisements were scanned from 1950s vintage American Modeler magazines, offered by America's Hobby Center (no longer in business) in New York City. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' inflation calculator the $29.95 price in 1957 would be $313.59 in 2011 money. These vintage motors usually sell at about the inflation-adjusted price, so when you see them go for a couple hundred dollars, it really is not so much in today's money...

The Nearly Effortless Flight of the Albatross

The Nearly Effortless Flight of the Albatross - Airplanes and RocketsThe 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...

Adjusting the Power R/C Plane

Adjusting the Power R/C Plane, January 1955 Popular Electronics - Airplanes and RocketsIf you ever had any doubt whether Bill Winter was one of the model airplane hobby's earliest and most prolific contributors, check out this article that appeared in the January 1955 edition of Popular Electronics magazine (only the third issue since its inception). Radio control systems were just beginning to be commercialized and priced at a point where a lot of the public could afford it. Quirks and high unreliability that plagued early systems had become less of an issue so that airplane and power plant design efforts could take priority with aeromodelers. In this article, Bill addresses setting proper wing incidence and engine thrust angles for good, repeatable, stable flight...

Peanuts Bobblehead (Nodder) Collection

Peanuts Bobblehead (Nodder) Collection - Airplanes and RocketsThis is a complete set of the Peanuts Bobblehead (Nodder) figures. They're not perfect, but in pretty good condition. Over time, our Peanuts collection of memorabilia has grown from the few items she had left over from her girlhood to complete sets. Everything was gotten via eBay auctions. It took a lot of patience to be able to get good quality items at an affordable price. The "Peanuts: The Art of Charles M. Schulz" book was very helpful in identifying which Peanuts memorabilia items ...

Mathematical Puzzles & Rainy Day Amusements, 1984 OFA

Mathematical Puzzles & Rainy Day Amusements, 1984 OFA - RF CafeFor 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...

ParkZone Radian Electric-Powered Sailplane

ParkZone Radian Electric-Powered Sailplane - Airplanes and RocketsAfter 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...

Citizen-Ship LT-3 Relayless Receiver

Citizen-Ship LT-3 Relayless Receiver, March 1961 American Modeler Magazine - Airplanes and RocketsIn 1961 when this Citizen−Ship LT−3 Relayless Receiver promotion appeared in American Modeler magazine, transistorized circuits were a relatively new thing. Many people were dubious of the newfangled technology and were leery of the dependability of them. It didn't take long for the convenience of low weight, small size, higher functionality, and no need for bulky and heavy high voltage batteries to sway even the most hard cord tubeist (a word I just made up) toward adopting the format. Even so, the state of the art had a long way to go to get anywhere close to today's micro- and nano-sized receivers and servos, with capabilities and reliability levels only dreamed of in 1961. The escapement mechanism featured was powered by a twisted rubber band. A pulse of current from the receiver caused the control arms to rotate a quarter turn when a small solenoid released the escapement tab. So, although the receiver itself was "relayless," the escapement still had one (a relay is a solenoid with make/break electrical contacts)...

Lite-Brite by Hasbro

Lite-Brite by Hasbro - Airplanes and RocketsWhen Melanie and I got married in 1983, part of her dowry included some of the toys she had as a little girl. A Hasbro Lite-Brite was one of them. Our kids played with it when they were young, but somewhere along the line during our many household moves, it disappeared. We probably donated it to the Salvation Army at some point - a lot of our stuff has ended up there. About a month ago we started watching for a good one on eBay that didn't cost too much ...

The Berliner-Joyce OJ-2

The Berliner-Joyce OJ-2, May 1968 American Aircraft Modeler - Airplanes and RocketsThe 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 ...

Parris-Dunn "Little Bobby" Helicopter Kite Kit

Parris-Dunn "Little Bobby" Helicopter Kit - Airplanes and RocketsThis Parris-Dunn "Little Bobby" Helicopter Kite kit may well be the only one left in existence. Many thanks to Mr. Steven Krick for providing the kit to me for documenting. I will contact the AMA's National Model Aviation Museum in Muncie, Indiana, to find out if they want it for their collection of model aviation historical items. A fairly extensive search on the WWW turned up exactly zero other examples of this kit, or any mention of it for that matter. Parris-Dunn was primarily a wind-powered electricity generator company located in Clarinda, Iowa, formed in the 1930s. In the days before commercial electric power was delivered to rural areas, farms and homes were run on DC power provided by banks of lead-acid storage batteries, so the generators were very popular as a means of recharging them. Many early radio sets ...

The "Scotch Monoped" - Article & Plans

The "Scotch Monoped" - Article & Plans, December 1939 Flying Aces - Airplanes and RocketsHere is a fairly unique free flight rubber model named the "Scotch Monoped" partly due to its having a single wheel and partly due to its designer being of Scottish heritage. It is of simple stick and tissue construction, and full-sized planes were published in the December 1939 issue of Flying Aces magazine. "Scotty" Mayors says he made it inherently stable under all conditions by providing lots of side area in the fuselage and dual vertical fins. The airfoil is a rather thick flat-bottomed section. A look at the open framework reveals that minimum weight was a goal, since even the wing ribs have lightening holes cut in them. I forgot to scan the wing plan sheet...

Hydro Hints - Pontoons for Airplanes

Hydro Hints - Pontoons for Airplanes, September 1949 Air Trails - Airplanes and RocketsGiven the "Hydro Hints" title of this article from the September 1949 issue of Air Trails magazine, I though it would be about model hydroplanes, but it turned out to be about designing and building floats (pontoons) for free flight and control line airplanes. Rise Off Water (ROW) has been a popular sport flying and contest event for about as long as model airplanes have been around. Unlike with R/C water flying, these floats needed only to function as launching devices since unless you are flying off a large body of water, it is unlikely that the model would also be landing on water. In fact, many ROW flights are initiated from a make-shift "puddle" consisting of a child's plastic wading pool or a small area in the ground that has been filled with water specifically for the event. Take-off run distances are extremely short unless the model runs into trouble or the floats and/or airplane are poorly designed...

Southern Senior High School Class of 1976 Yearbook

Southern Senior High School Class of 1976 Yearbook Photos - Airplanes and RocketsThese images were scanned from my 1976 yearbook for Southern Senior High School in Harwood, Maryland.. Only pages with information on Seniors is included. Birthdates have been covered over, but everything else remains. Please let me know if you would like your picture and/or information removed. On the other hand, if you would like to send additional information for posting or would like me to send you the full-resolution scan of your page, then please send me an e-mail. A full list of all the names that go with these photos can be found at the bottom of this page. Having them in text format (versus a photo) will allow search engines to find your name and associate it with Southern Senior High School. Oh, and yes, all the photos are in B&W; there are only eight pages with color in the entire book...

Sparks on Ice: Radio in the Arctic

Sparks on Ice: Radio in the Arctic, December 1945 Flying Aces - Airplanes and RocketsThe old adage about pioneers taking the arrows is true in many realms - not just the exploration and settling of the wild west. This story entitled "Sparks on Ice" recounting the trials and tribulations of the troops who installed and debugged the first arctic directional beacons appeared in a 1945 issue of Flying Age magazine. "Sparks" (or "Sparky") was an endearing nickname given to early radio operators who used spark gap transmitters to send out their Morse code messages. It stuck around for many years after better transmitter systems were developed - although it is not very often heard today. The most interesting part of Mark Weaver's article is a discussion of the many atmospheric phenomena that affect radio waves of various wavelengths. A lot of smart people - enlisted, commissioned, and civilian - sacrificed mightily...

Find Your Birth Star

Find Your Birth Star - Airplanes and RocketsIf 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...

Fizz-Wizz CO2-Powered Model Airplane Article & Plans

Fizz-Wizz CO2-Powered Model Airplane Article & Plans, March 1962 American Modeler - Airplanes and RocketsCO2 power for model airplanes gained a lot of popularity in the 1950s and throughout the 1960s and then waned for some reason in the 1970s. The same trend was exhibited in Jetex type engines. CO2 engines run off a cylinder of compressed carbon dioxide gas, which were and still are readily available due to their use in air rifles and pistols. A metal tube feeds the top of the engine cylinder where a metal ball under pressure from the gas seals off the cylinder until the piston pushes up on it. When the port opens, gas pressure forces the piston down to the point where the gas is ejected at the exhaust port. Momentum from the propeller mass swings the piston back to the top of the cylinder where it once again opens the ball valve to start the cycle all over again. CO2 engines are very reliable and easy to start since no ignition is required; however, the power−to−weight ratio is fairly low. This 1962 American modeler magazine article presents plans, and building and flying instructions for the "Fizz−Wizz..."

RF Electronics Shapes, Stencils for Office, Visio by RF Cafe
Cafe Press

RF Electronics Shapes, Stencils for Office, Visio by RF Cafe

Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) - Airplanes and Rockets

Academy of Model Aeronautics

Tower Hobbies logo - Airplanes and Rockets

Tower Hobbies

Horizon Hobby logo - Airplanes and Rockets

Horizon Hobby

Sig Manufacturing - Airplanes and Rockets

Sig Mfg

Brodak Manufacturing - Airplanes and Rockets

Brodak Mfg