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 This slideshow stepping through the years
of the Camaro holds special meaning for me since my first car was a '69
Camaro SS. "Chevrolet introduced its
Mustang-fighting Camaro selling the first one on September 29, 1966. The
first episode of Star Trek debuted on NBC TV three weeks earlier. For the 1968
model year, the just-introduced Camaro saw changes mainly for regulatory issues,
such as the newly mandated side marker lights in the fenders. For 1969, Chevrolet
stylists toughened the Camaro, widening the rear fenders and adding crisp character
lines atop the wheel arches, rendering the openings trapezoidal rather than
rounded. After a late production start, the second-generation Camaro..."
 As the old saying goes, a picture is
worth a thousand words. That being the case, here are 8,000 of some of the most
amazing words that I've ever seen regarding
Cox control line
airplanes. These photos were sent to me by Airplanes and Rockets website
visitor Charlie H. According to his e-mail, there are around 300 models
in all, many of which are still in their original boxes. I see some pretty unique
examples in the photos. If my understanding is correct, he is interested in
selling his collection. It must be worth a small fortune. I will let you know
how to contact him if he does want to sell part or all of the models...
 "Who
needs a sensor from the manufacturer? Researchers from the University of Washington
have equipped their drone with one of nature's finest detectors: a
moth antenna. 'Nature really blows our human-made odor sensors out of the
water,' said UW doctoral student Melanie Anderson , lead researcher of the aerial
vehicle known as the 'Smellicopter.' 'By using an actual moth antenna with Smellicopter,
we're able to get the best of both worlds: the sensitivity of a biological organism
on a robotic platform where we can control its motion.' The live antenna responds
to chemical signals, allowing the flying vehicle to navigate toward specific
odors..."
 For the last dozen years or so, I have
been working to re-acquire some of the items I remember having as a kid and
teenager back in the 1960s and 1970s. Dittos for Melanie's stuff. Very few of
the original articles survived my handling, but fortunately many other people
took better care of their stuff (or their parents did), so much of it is available
on eBay. Back in the early days of eBay, a lot of the vintage gears could be
purchased at a decent price, but nowadays the costs have skyrocketed. This 1960s
era Carrom (aka Carom)
Game Board came from our daughter, who found it in a Goodwill store for
just a couple bucks. Even Goodwill and Salvation Army store prices have gone
through the roof, but she got this at one of the specialty "Bins" outlets...
 Japanese involvement in World War I
is generally not as well known as it is for World War II. The surprise
attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, has permanently implanted itself
as one of the nation's most memorable events, and obviously the U.S. and Japan
were mortal enemies until the Japs' unconditional surrender on September 2,
1945, following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Conversely, Japan was
part of the Allied (aka Entente) powers in World War I, and was considered
an ally of America, Great Britain, Italy, and France (primarily) in their war
against Germany, Austria, and the Ottoman Empire. It was one of those "the enemy
of my enemy is my friend" scenarios. Japan played a major role in barricading
German sea lanes in the South Pacific...
 "Autonomous
aircraft systems have the potential to save lives, and NASA Armstrong Flight
Research Center's Resilient Autonomy project is at the forefront of development.
These advanced software systems are preventing air-to-ground collisions in piloted
aircraft and the project is now focusing on developments to prevent aircraft
from colliding with other aircraft in the air. The software can better manage
the mission intent of the flight while always maneuvering within the acceptable
performance limits of the aircraft, much like how a pilot manages a safe flight.
Autonomous aircraft systems have the potential to save lives..."
 Buhl Aircraft Company, founded in 1925
in Detroit, Michigan, really had just two successful airplane designs - the
CA−6 Airsedan and the
LA−1
Bull Pup. The Buhl A−1 Autogyro was a novelty aircraft that never gained
popularity. It came out in 1931, a year before the company went out of business.
This 1/2A size Bull Pup construction by Charles Hollinger article and plans
appeared in a 1950 issue of Air Trails magazine. The Bull Pup began life as
a rubber powered model, and Mr. Hollinger adapted it for powered free flight
at a request from Air Trails editors. Its 35" wingspan is a convenient size
and makes for an economical building project, even more so with today's balsa
prices. A conversion to electric power with three-channel R/C would be easily
accomplished...
 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 2:30 pm on December 4th. "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...
 "An
intelligent parachute system deploys itself an emergency to bring the damaged
drone safely to the ground. The system can be easily mounted to a drone at any
time using a bayonet lock. Intelligent electronics monitor the flight condition,
independent of flight control; an algorithm implements automatic crash detection.
In an emergency, the pilot no longer has to react and press a release button.
The system operates without explosive, pyrotechnical components. Drone Rescue
Systems GmbH, awarded by the European Space Agency (ESNC-2016), developed the
fastest and most efficient parachute safety solution for drones available on
the market right now..."
 Airplanes and Rockets website visitor
L. Ross wrote to request that this article featuring
Warren Kurth's Jetstream A-1 towline glider be posted. I recently purchased
the November 1960 issue of American Modeler magazine, where it appeared, so
I scanned and processed the images and text. Detailed building, covering, and
flying instructions are provided by Mr. Kurth. The Jetstream's projected
wingspan is given on the plans as 47", with a wing area of 269 square inches.
The fuselage is 31" long with a balsa box construction, while the wing an tail
surfaces are sticks and sheet ribs. The wing airfoil is undercambered, which
makes covering with Jap tissue a little tricky, but the horizontal stabilizer
uses a flat bottom lifting airfoil. Instructions for making the regulation A-1
towline is even given. The model is built so light that it requires more than
1.5 ounces of ballast to bring it up to the A-1 class minimum of 5.08 oz
(144 grams)...
 The 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...
 Experts and news outlets told
Americans and people of the world not to use hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as an
off-label treatment for the Wuhan Flu, in spite of its being safely prescribed
for decades. We were told by "experts" that no vaccine could possibly be developed
in less than a year. Now, the American Medical Association (AMA) has changed
its mind on HCQ and a vaccine is being distributed today. Politically motivated
fake science has likely caused suffering and death for an untold number of people.
Per
Resolution 509 (p18), November 2020: "RESOLVED, That our American Medical
Association rescind its statement calling for physicians to stop prescribing
hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine until sufficient evidence becomes available
to conclusively illustrate that the harm associated with use outweighs benefit
early in the disease course..." Careful who you listen to - it could kill you.
 "In smaller spacecraft such as CubeSat
satellites, a
salt-based monopropellant is showing promise. The propellant, called FAM-110A,
is a mixture of two commercially available salts. It can be used in a combined
chemical-electric thruster. A rocket engine using the propellant could be practical
at almost any pressure level; however, it also leaves a significant amount of
liquid residue after it burns. This is undesirable because it means that the
combustion is incomplete. The formulation requires changes in order to improve
efficiency of its combustion..."
 This "Mactuator," or
magnetic
actuator for radio controlled models, may be a form of the very first truly
digital servo - that is to say that a digital input consisting of ones and zeroes
determines the position of the control arm. Analog servos and their "digital"
cousins of the types employed by R/C modelers use the relative position and
width of a pulse in a train of pulses to determine what the position of the
control arm will be. The main difference between the two types is the refresh
rate of analog versus digital - about 20 milliseconds vs. 0.3 milliseconds,
respectively. Most people not familiar with hobby type servos would probably
assume - and understandably so - that a digital servo takes as a signal input
a binary word of some length instructing it where to position the control arm.
For instance, the receiver might output a 10-bit word that represents 210 =
1024 discrete positions for the servo...
 "The first man to break the sound barrier,
Chuck Yeager, and who
undoubtedly had 'the right stuff,' died on December 7, 2020 at the ripe old
age of 97. You can't take West Virginia out of the boy. Charles Yeager was born
on February 13, 1923, in Myra, West Virginia, deep in the heart of Appalachian
hill country. As a child, Yeager shot squirrels and rabbits and skinned them
for the family's dinners. In September 1941, armed with his high school diploma,
Yeager enlisted in the Army Air Forces, which was the precursor to today's U.S.
Air Force. Yeager became an airplane mechanic. After tagging along with a maintenance
officer who was flight-testing an airplane, Yeager decided to sign up for a
flight training program..."
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