During World War I,
the United States spent $1,500,000,000 on military aviation, resulting in the
development of various
advanced aircraft designs. This 1937 issue of Flying Aces magazine
mentions a few of them. This was 19 years after the armistice. Although these
planes did not see combat due to the war ending sooner than expected, they
showcased American ingenuity and engineering prowess. Notable examples include
the L.W.F.G.2, which had a top speed of 130 mph and carried seven guns; the
Loening monoplane, which was the fastest two-seater fighter at the time with a
speed of 146 mph; and the Curtiss single-seater fighter, capable of reaching 160
mph. These aircraft laid the foundation for modern American military aviation...
While looking through some old issues of
American Aircraft Modeler magazine, I was quite surprised to find that
none other than radio great Paul
Harvey is (or was) a builder and flyer of radio controlled airplanes. There
was a feature article done by Paul Harvey in one of the issues in the 1974 timeframe.
Mr. Harvey then wrote a regular column titled "Paul Harvey Views." Understandably,
the column only ran for a few months - probably because of his extremely busy schedule.
This one is from the December 1974 edition...
"In August last year Nokia
and Axiom Space announced they were working to equip the latter's next-generation
lunar
spacesuits with 4G/LTE connectivity for the for NASA's Artemis III mission to
the moon. The idea is that arming the new spacesuit, called Axiom Extravehicular
Mobility Unit (AxEMU), with high-speed cellular-network capabilities means it can
support HD video, telemetry data and voice transmission over multiple kilometers
on the moon. This means the Artemis III crewmembers will then be able to capture
real-time video and communications..."
Previously I posted the first part of a
story about two 1980s-vintage bicycles I bought from a guy off craigslist. That
was the complete teardown and restoration of
Melanie's Columbia Commuter III,
3-speed women's model. This page has photos from doing the same thing to my
Huffy 3 Timberline, 3-speed
men's bicycle. One important aspect worth repeating is the use of Krud Kutter
for removing all the oil and grease. The stuff is amazing. I soaked all the parts
overnight that would fit in a bucket filled with a gallon of it. Upon removing even
the grimiest and greasiest components like the gearbox, bearings, and the chain,
I discovered they were squeaky clean. A toothbrush removed...
Being a long-time
fan of John T. Frye's "Carl & Jerry" technodrama™ series, I have been intending
to attempt a contemporary version which has a Ham radio theme. Its purpose, as with
"Carl & Jerry," is to encourage young people to adopt electronics as a hobby
and even as a career, while using Amateur Radio as an enticement. Ham radio offers
practical experience in electronic theory, fabrication, and operation in an environment
that encourages community service, mentorship, camaraderie, and self discipline.
In the U.S., there are approximately 760,000 licensed amateur radio operators; worldwide,
the estimated number is around 3,000,000. The American Radio Relay League (ARRL)
and the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) track these statistics. This title
of the series is, for now anyway, "Calvin &
Phineas Hamming It Up," and the first adventure is called, "The Phantom QRM."
Call signs are fictitious, chosen to hopefully not step on someone's real call sign.
The boys' names derive from my grandson's name...
You might wonder why an article entitled
"Winning
the National Radio Control Meet" for model airplanes would appear in the ARRL's
QST magazine. The answer is that back in 1940 when it was published, a
Ham license was required to operate a radio control (R/C) transmitter. There were
no license-free bands for hobbyists as there are now. In fact, it wasn't until 1976
that the FCC suspended their requirement for registration as an operator, which
has returned in the form of an FAA "drone" (aka USAS) pilot directive. The author,
William (Bill) E. Good (W8IFD, W2CVI), was the twin brother of Walter (Walt) A.
Good (W3NPS), both of whom held doctoral degrees in and physics, and were referred
to as "the fathers of radio control." The photo of Bill shows his station...
Often when I see photos of some of the
early radio control gear for model airplanes, I have a simultaneous reaction
of aghastness and marvel at the crudity and ingenuousness, respectively, of the
electromechanical devices - the same kind of reaction I have to stories about early
surgical procedures and equipment. In 1940, when this article appeared in the ARRL's
QST magazine, successful takeoffs and landings were considered notable events not
so much because of pilot ability (or inability), but because of the low reliability
of available electronic and mechanical gear. Vacuum tubes with attendant heavy,
high voltage power supplies, and heavy metal gears and shafts required large airframes
to support...
American Modeler magazine published
stories on many forms of modeling including airplanes, cars, boats, and rockets.
A lot of attention was paid to teenagers in order to encourage a pursuit of careers
in engineering and science. In case you don't know, the U.S. Navy used to sponsor
the AMA Nationals specifically to attract young modelers into the service. This
1957 edition reports on the activities of James M. Blackmon, Jr., who was the nation's
youngest rocket builder to receive national recognition by the
American Rocket Society.
He built in his basement a 6' tall liquid-fueled rocket...
This November 1961 installment of American
Modeler magazine's "Sketchbook
- Hints & Kinks" column has a very interesting alternative to the traditional
"stooge" that is used when a helper is not available to assist in launching a control
line airplane model. The drawing is a bit confusing, but what's going on is the
flyer starts and holds the model at a point just outside the dashed line circle,
and the pole is set midway of the diameter of the circle. That gives the airplane
half the circle to take off before it is free of the pole. Then, it is flown normally.
I can see where, as the inventor states, the process could be a spooky until the
flyer has gotten used to it. The risk, as I see it, is that if the model lifts off
and clears the pole before making its half circle...
"Delta Air Lines and JetZero are partnering
to develop a
commercial blended-wing-body (BWB) aircraft that would be 50 percent more fuel
efficient than those in current operation, the carrier has announced. The development,
which builds upon a Department of Defense's Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) investment
in the BWB technology, comes as Delta continues to focus on its goal of net-zero
emissions by 2050. BWB aircraft received a boost in 2023 for its BWB aircraft when
the U.S. Air Force awarded it $235 million over four years for the development and
production of a full-scale demonstrator. The aircraft is to take its first flight
in 2027..."
Website visitor Tom A. wrote to ask me to
post this "Baby Biplane"
article from the October 1971 edition of American Aircraft Modeler magazine.
It was one of the For the Tenderfoot models that the magazine published
almost monthly for many years. The Baby Biplane uses a very simple structure but
as with any biplane of any size, the extra work of building a second wing and adjusting
it to fly properly take a little more work. Using the modern trick of printing a
colored patter on the Jap tissue prior to attaching it would make Baby Biplane look
really spiffy...
Estes does not sell the D-13 engine line
anymore, but it does sell a D-12. The D-13 produced 9 pounds of thrust according
to this article and the 1971 Estes catalog (p94), whereas according to the 2014
Estes catalog the D-12 produces only 7.4 pounds (p79). If you want similar performance
with readily available
rocket
engines, you will need to get them from a company like Aerotech, which makes
an F30FJ-6 model that produces 9 pounds of thrust. With that solution you're look
at about $12 per launch. I believe that with modern materials like graphite for
spars and/or leading edges, and the lightweight airborne systems, the flying weight
could be significantly reduced, and a much lower thrust (and cost) engine could
be used...
