|
 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
|
 There is no simpler introduction to functional
model boating than an
airboat - especially if you are already familiar with the operation of glow
fuel (or diesel) engines that have airplane propellers mounted to them. They are
started and adjusted that same way as with an airplane, and all the mechanical complexity
and need for waterproofing prop shafts and rudder connections is avoided. It is
for those very reasons that my first-ever radio-controlled craft back in the mid
1970s was an airboat that I carved out of blue foam and covered with Solarfilm (remember
that stuff?). It had a Cox Babe Bee .049 mounted on a pylon in a pusher configuration.
We lived two blocks from Bear Creek in Mayo, Maryland, so there was easy access
to water. For that matter, whenever we had a really big rain, the water would pool
way up in the road and surrounding yards so that was available for use as well (not
that the grown-ups were happy about all the water - or the noise my boat made).
This cleverly named "Proper One" airboat article and plans appeared in a 1960 issue
of American Modeler magazine. It is much nicer than the kludge...
 These 4-level wooden bleacher plans are
the latest version. I was going to write up a hardware parts list, but never got
around to it. Both sections of the bleachers shown in the photo (built in fall of
2011) are still in service and are in excellent condition. Pressure treated lumber
was used for everything, and all the nuts, bolts, and washers are galvanized. Screws
for the planks are outdoor deck grade. Pressure treated landscaping timbers are
sitting on the ground between the soil and bleachers. My daughter sold the property
a couple years ago, so I don’t have access to it to take any other photos. My son-in-law
and I built both sections of bleachers in one weekend. Since many of the parts are
duplicates, we cut out and drilled the first of each type, then used them as templates
for the rest. If you have half a dozen people available to cut and drill, that will
speed the process considerably. We also built up the first seat/step frame, then
built the others on top of it to assure all were identical (using screws temporarily
so the bolts didn’t get in the way). Get the first one as perfect as possible. Prior
to erecting the entire assemblies, the ground area was leveled and the landscaping
timbers laid into position. We used long deck screws to hold them together to prevent
shifting during assembly. The completed bleachers will be as level as the foundation.
Adjustments can be made, if needed, with shims cut from the pressure treated wood.
Note that if the ground is wet/moist, the landscaping timbers will quickly begin
to bow upward as the wetter bottom expands...
 1954 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?
 A few years back, I wrote about the
Criterion RV−6 Dynascope, 6" Newtonian telescope I attempted to buy whilst serving
in the USAF at Robins AFB, Georgia, in from 1979-82. Now, half a decade later, I
finally found one at a reasonable price, where the owner was willing to pack and
ship it. He did an excellent job with it, and even used a heavy cardboard SonoTube
for protecting the optical tube. After performing a quick mirror alignment and using
the original Criterion eyepieces, I looked at the moon and Saturn and was amazed
at the quality of the image. A pert−near polar alignment was done and the clock
drive was turned on. With Sirius centered in the eyepiece to begin with, it was
still well within the field of view 20 minutes later. Since completing the restoration,
I did another quickie collimation and took the Criterion RV−6 Dynascope out at night
for a test drive. All I have for eyepieces right now are the original 9 mm
and 18 mm focal length jobs. Beginning with the 18 mm, I found Jupiter
and the four Galilean moons, and Saturn along with Titan. They were in very sharp
focus. Changing to the 9 mm yielded amazingly good images - about as good as
I remember seeing through my Celestron CPC−800 telescope. I then put the 18 mm
in the 2x Barlow lens and found the images..
Website visitor Christian H. for buying my Estes Alpha II rocket kit.
He and his son built it and sent this photo - nice job! The original
Astron (Estes) Alpha kit, as can be seen in the
photos, had balsa fins and nose cone. The fins were cut from sheet balsa and needed
to be glued individually to the body tube. Then, both the nose cone and fins needed
to be coated with filler and sanded before painting. I wonder whether the new model,
which uses lightweight plastic and does not require painting, is lighter than the
original?
 I have been using a 4½" bench vise for decades,
and have always wanted to get a larger one. It was OK for most jobs, but there have
been times when I thought for sure I'd break it when hammering or bending metal
parts in it. This
Craftsman 5½" Bench Vise (Model No. 113.228162) appeared on eBay and looked
to be in pretty good condition. I figured a bit of polishing and painting would
restore it to nearly good-as-new. The vise was taken completely apart and all the
paint was removed using a high speed grinder with an abrasive pad. It left the metal
unscathed. Areas that could not be reached with the grinder were wire brushed. Unpainted
metal parts were polished with a fine grit pad. A thin coat of RustOleum primer
was applied, then three coats of gloss red over that. The vise was set in the sun
all day to cure. A thin layer of grease was put on the swivel base mating surfaces,
jaw screw, and where the handle meets the vise jaw...
 My father's side of the family hearkened
from the Buffalo, New York area, but we lived in Mayo, Maryland, where my mother's
family resided. Most summers my father's sister, Bonnie (my aunt) and her husband,
Brian (my uncle) would load my grandparents and another uncle or two into their
big cruiser and drive down for a week. It was always a great time. Every five years
or so, my parents braved a trip with my siblings and me up to Buffalo. I loved it
up there because of the cool weather. Sometime around 1972, we made the trek and
while there, in-between going to Niagara Falls, Crystal Beach, and other nearby
attractions, I built from a Comet kit the
Curtiss JN4-D Jenny
biplane shown below. My Uncle Brian cleared a spot in his basement for me to work.
I left it for him as a decoration. The years passed... and passed... and passed...
 If
you are familiar with aircraft electronic navigation systems, reading in this 1951
Radio−Electronics article's opening paragraph about how "Omnirange
aircraft navigation will make air travel safe, dependable, and predictable regardless
of visibility, and volume of air traffic," really makes you realize how far we have
come in the last seven decades. The network VOR (VHF Omnidirectional Range) station
revolutionized aviation by enabling precision navigation using relatively simple,
reliable, and inexpensive equipment in the cockpit which enables pilots to fly from
waypoint to waypoint across the country. Eventually, five variations of VOR evolved
with ranges going from 25 nautical miles (~29 statute miles) up to 130 nm. The addition
of TACAN (TActiCal Air Navigation) provided slant distance information to or from
the VORTAC station. Since the introduction of full precision GPS, when the U.S.
government unclassified the "P-code"...
 Each
autumn I used to anxiously await the appearance of the newest edition of
The Old Farmer's Almanac on the store shelf, and such was the case with this
1981 issue. It is not that I was/am an avid farmer, just that I enjoy reading the
anecdotes, tales, and interesting historical tidbits included amongst the pages
along with tables of high and low tides, moon and sun rising and setting times,
astronomical events, and weather patterns expected for the year that lay ahead.
Most of all, I liked working the puzzles and riddles. Over the years the difficulty
levels gradually got lower and lower (aka dumbed down), to the point where for the
last decade or so I have not even bothered buying the OFA. Now it is full of numbnut
stuff...
 It is surprising that today there is no equivalent
to the Jetex type motors that provide a simple and safe form of jet propulsion for
small airplane models. you can still buy Jetex engines on eBay for not too much
money, but the fuel pellets are quite expensive. Over the years, a couple companies
have manufactured Jetex-compatible fuel pellets, but all of those are gone now,
too. A couple decades have probably passed since Jetex fuel pellets were available.
American Modeler and a few other magazines used to run build and fly articles for
Jetex powered model airplanes. This April 1960issue included plans for the JexJet,
which uses the Jetex 35 or Jetex 50 size engine. A built-up wing (23"
wingspan) and horizontal stabilizer helps keep the weight down. If anyone knows
of an available Jetex fuel pellet source, including instructions for safely making
your own...
 Sure, you can go online and find hundreds
or maybe thousands of instances of real-life
aircraft instrument images for your model airplane or helicopter, then scale
them to the right size and do a high definition color printout for gluing onto the
panel of your latest pride and joy. However, prior to just a couple decades ago,
the task was more difficult. You could fairly easily find instrument images in magazines
and books and then make copies on a printer or copying machine; some even had a
scaling function allowing you to change the size to fit your need. That was so for
about the last four to five decades, and often gaining access to a printer. Before
that, it was necessary to either be lucky enough to find printed images of the correct
size, or buy a set of printed instruments from a company that sold instruments sets
of various scales...
 This is the Sunday, January 16, 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 who divided her time between wringing out new airplane
designs and chasing bad guys. She was the creation of artist and storyteller Russell
Keaton...
 Here is a clever
control line airplane
carrier deck design that derives it lightness from sparse construction and its
compactness from making the modular components stowable within each other sort of
like the familiar Russian matryoshka nesting dolls. Appearing in the March 1962
issue of American Modeler magazine, it is designed to accommodate a 60' circle,
but slight modifications to the deck components can be easily made for other radii.
Not shown in the plans but likely possible without sacrificing strength and rigidity
would be to drill lightening holed in the 1"x6" and 1"x8" frame members...
 Here is novel idea from well-known free flight
modeler Bill Hannan and hobby shop owner Russ Barrera. It appeared in a 1970 issue
of American Aircraft Modeler magazine. The pair converted an
unused
transmitter case into a handy field box for use with free flight models. In
addition to adding a hinge and latch to the cover, the retractable antenna sports
a small wind sock for judging launch times and even a compass in place of the RF
power meter to note the direction of your model as it drifts off into the wild blue
yonder when the dethermalizer fails to trigger. Without the convenience of eBay,
finding an unused transmitter would have been a bit difficult for most free-flighters
back in the day...
 In the mid-1940s, toward the end of World
War II, Flying Aces magazine changed its name to Flying Age,
while changing its focus from model aviation to aviation in general. Much to the
consternation of many of its readers, that included no longer including the much-loved
fictional stories of flying superstars like Kerry Keen, Dick Knight, Capt. Philip
Strange, Battling Grogan and his Dragon Squadron, Crash Carringer, and of course
Lt. Phineas Pinkham. The good aspect of the change is that Flying Age
published a lot of stories about full-size aircraft and flying which were geared
toward their audience of modelers who were interested in all aspects of aeronautics.
This piece discussed primarily
variable pitch, constant speed propellers being used on military, commercial,
and civilian airplanes. You, like I, though that by now there would be similar propellers
available for model aircraft use, but apart from a few homebuilts, no commercially
made products are available (there was one for indoor electrics, but nothing for
powerful engines / motors). Given the number of variable-pitch rotor heads for helicopters,
it shouldn't be so hard to implement for airplane propellers...
 This is pretty cool. A recruitment ad for
the U.S. Air Force appeared in the March 1961 issue of American Modeler
magazine showing the type of
precision approach radar (PAR) that I worked on while in the service. It was
part of the AN/MPN−14 Landing Control Central system which was a mobile combat unit
consisting of airport surveillance radar (ASR) and PAR primary radar, a TPX−42 Identification
Friend or Foe (IFF) synthetic radar, an AN/GPA−131 data mapper, and AN/ARC−? VHF/UHF
radios. Alignment of the display for glide slope (top) and course line (bottom),
and mile markers, was a complicated procedure involving twisting multiple interdependent
control knobs until the sweeps met with a template. It was not a raster type sweep
like a vintage CRT television, but like a old fashioned oscilloscope sweep instead
where x-y data was fed to the deflection coils...
 By 1960 when this "And
Aweigh They Go!" article appeared in the Annual edition of Air Trails magazine,
radio control systems had advanced to where they were providing a semblance of proportional
control, were smaller in volume and weight (thanks to semiconductors rather than
vacuum tubes), and were more affordable and reliable. Model engines, too, were more
convenient and easier to operate thank to the advent of glow fuel and glow plugs
rather than gasoline and spark ignition systems. Some modelers still employed the
older equipment or a mix of old and new, but the serious contenders did then as
they do now by tending to go with the latest and greatest engines, electronics,
hardware, and construction techniques. The model boats featured here are examples
of the latter...
 For a few months, Air Trails magazine
ran a series of scale line drawings called "Aircraft Engine Scrapbook" which were
meant to be cut out and put in a 3-ring binder. They were one-page information sheets
on various powerplants of the day containing dimensions, mechanical specifications
(displacement, horsepower, compression ration, rotations per minute, etc.), and
a brief note on the engine's production and usage history. This drawing for the
9−cylinder Wright
J5 "Whirlwind" radial engine must be the first of the series because it is numbered
as "−1." Interestingly, the Fokker company is included in the list of "American"
aircraft manufacturers who used the J5. I thought Fokker was primarily a Germany
/ Netherlands company, but according to the Wikipedia entry Anthony Fokker established
a presence in the United States in 1927, and eventually merged with General Motors
and then North American Aviation. It is ironic that the builder of the P-51 Mustang
and the B-25 Mitchell bomber...
 Sometimes when I change or replace the blade
on my bandsaw, I have to re-learn how to fold the blade into that nifty 3-ring configuration
it has in the package when new. Even with trying to carefully note how the new blade
unfolds, it can still difficult to get the old blade back in its original format.
It can be confounding and almost seems impossible to be able to fold the stiff blade
into that third loop without bending it. In fact the
bandsaw blade folds quite
easily when done properly. This time after figuring it out once again, I decided
to make a video of the process. There is probably a complicated equation in knot
theory which mathematically described the complex curve formed by the folded bandsaw
blade...
 Bill Hannan was a prolific designer of and
author of magazine articles and books about free flight models. His contributions
spanned more than fifty years. Many of his designs, like the
Flyangle,
targeted beginners. It appeared in the March 1970 issue of American Aircraft
Modeler magazine His goal was to present models that were easy to build and
that were constructed in such a manner as to virtually guaranty success. Based on
the inherently rigid, warp resistant triangular features of the AMA's Delta Dart,
Hannan's Flyangle introduces a built-up fuselage with a triangular cross-section.
It is the next logical step up from the Delta Dart. Airplanes and Rockets website
visitor Ray M. wrote to request this article. It's nice to know there are still
purists out there building these models...
 In this article appearing in the 1960 Annual
edition of Air Trails magazine, author Robert Angel introduces his "Uni−Flow"
concept for U-Control (aka control line, C/L) model airplanes. His method modifies
the standard wedge type metal fuel tank to operate on the same principle as an office
water cooler. By adding a strategically placed additional brass tubing vent, Mr. Angel
contends the pressure on the inside of the tank remains fairly constant as the vacuum
from the engine's carburetor draws fuel. This is preferred to pressurizing the fuel
tank via either a tap on the crankcase or off the muffler (which there were not
a lot of in 1960. Whether or not the Uni−Flow arrangement is any better than a standard
vent line or pressurization is still a matter of debate half a century later, as
can be seen in this StuntHanger.com forum thread. In fact, it seems the standard
C/L metal fuel tank is a form of uni−flow...
 This
particular article from a 1940 issue of Radio News magazine touches on
two of my hobbies - airplanes and Amateur radio. Whereas most of my flying experience
is with all forms of models, here is a group of Hams who provided logistical radio
communications during the
3rd Open American Soaring Contest, held in Lockport, Illinois. W9USB was the
call sign granted by the FCC especially for the event. Such a contest requires administration
and coordination of air and ground aircraft movement, tow winch operation, pilot
status, event scheduling, and emergency services if required (fortunately, none
were). Being an all volunteer effort, the "Prairie Dogs" subdivision of the "Hamfesters
Club" of Chicago. As pointed out in the article, the highly successful operation
was a great public service demonstrating the capability and utility of Amateur radio.
Many major Ham equipment manufacturers...
 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 the true meaning of Christmas...
 The Douglas Aircraft Company's
DC−4 conducted its maiden flight on June 7, 1938. It was a hugely successful
four-engined aircraft used for civilian and military passenger and cargo transportation.
Military versions of the plane were designated C−54 and R5D. The DC−4 was designed
to be the airline industry's "dream" airplane - "a Grand Hotel with wings", capable
of cruise speeds of more than two hundred miles per hour and a range of 3,300 miles,
making it capable of non-stop coast-to-coast flight. Although the DC−4 was the brainchild
of United Airlines, a consortium of five companies - United, TWA, American, Eastern
and Pan American - financed the endeavor to ensure success would not be hampered
due to cost and competition concerns. The airplane's control systems were so complex
that a new crew member position called "flight engineer" was created to monitor
and tend to all the meters, dials, knobs, switches, and panel lights, while allowing
the pilots to worry mostly about flying...
 Thimble Drone - later to become Cox - sold
its first ready-to-fly control line model, the
Thimble Drome TD-1, beginning
around 1959. Reports have it that the original selling price was $9.99, which according
to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' inflation calculator, is about $95 in year
2021 dollars. The wings were of built-up construction with ribs and thin, molded
sheets of aluminum skins. A modified Space Bug .049 engine was used for power. There
was no spring starter on the early .049 engines, but a rubber finger guard was provided
to help spare the modeler's finger... |
