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Sketch Book
February 1949 Air Trails Hobbies for Young Men

February 1949 Air Trails
February 1949 Air Trails Cover - Airplanes and RocketsTable of Contents

These pages from vintage modeling magazines like Flying Aces, Air Trails, American Modeler, American Aircraft Modeler, Young Men, Flying Models, Model Airplane News, R/C Modeler, captured the era. All copyrights acknowledged.

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 in the feature, including an interesting use of tapered trailing edge stock for wing spars.

Sketch Book

Sketch Book, February 1949 Air Trails - Airplanes and RocketsHave you developed something new in construction, control, or flying that might interest other modeler? Send a rough sketch - we'll redraw it and pay $2 for each one accepted

• Compact functional design is evident in speed model dreamed up by Bill Shellman and James LaPointe, Detroit, Mich. Body is chiefly a plywood former with hollowed blocks fore and aft. Incidentally, fellows, don't forget an air outlet! By the way - Sketchbook is open to an occasional "dream design" that has not been tried out in actual tests. Sort of Airmen of Vision along model lines.

• Tom Wardlaw, Kansas City, Mo., veteran free-flighter, patches gas model wings with leading edge sheet covering. Lapping ribs gives flush-fitting patch.

• Microfilm patching material is held by static electricity between newspaper layers. When needed, cut to size through paper. By Dick Baxter, Detroit, Mich.

• Joseph Johnson, Greenfield, Mass., uses additional pushrod to rudder horn on flying scale control models to assure an outward pull in climbing maneuvers."

• Wing spars of tapered trailing edge stock suggested by John Maloney, Warren, O. Points of maximum fiber tension are thus heavier and stronger.

• Lubed rubber strands tied securely by first knotting ends; small rubber bands secure loop ends for easier handling. From Merwin Bristol, Oak Park, Ill.

• From French Morocco, North Africa, comes idea by Paul Fredericq for rubber-loaded mechanism to turn the rudder of your towline glider for circling glide.

Sketchbook Editions

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Back when the Sketchbook, Gadgetry, Powerless Pointers, and Engine Info columns were run, there were very few pre-built models, and there simply was not as much available in the way of hardware and specialized modeling tools. We were still a nation of designers and builders. The workforce was full of people who worked on production lines, built houses and buildings with hand tools, and did not have distractions like Nintendos and X-Boxes. Remember that plastics were not common material until the early 50s and the transistor wasn't invented until late 47. Enjoy the tips. Some of you will no doubt wax nostalgic over the methods, since you can remember the days when you did the exact same thing!

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