Control Line Aerobatics
Ted Fancher
One of the real joys of doing this monthly mumbling is the way it fills my mailbox with fascinating correspondence. Although I do my very best to answer every one of them personally, I don't often use them as material for the column. I prefer, generally, developing my own subject matter and (heh, heh, heh) force-feeding you, my faithful readers, with the gospel according to Fancher.
A few months ago, however, I received a letter that I simply can't keep to myself. Those of you who have been in the stunt business as long as I have—or longer—will find it a fascinating trip down memory lane, and all you plebes (new guys) oughta read it as an enjoyable part of paying your stunt dues. It's from a gentleman named Joe Wagner. I'll include a few excerpts first and almost all of the last.
Letter excerpts — Joe Wagner
Dear Ted:
As you may know, I was chief engineer for Veco for about four years and designed or redesigned nearly the whole Veco product line between 1950 and 1953. Over the years I have had quite a few requests for full-size plans for my Veco designs. Enclosed is a copy of my Squaw drawing. I am about to complete the Chief plans and will later draw the Brave and Warrior in the same style. The plans are beautifully done and are full of nostalgic commentary. They can be obtained for $5 each from:
Joe Wagner 135 Waugh Ave. Wilmington, PA 16142
I've been flying U-Control since 1945. Jim Walker got me my first job in modeling, traveling over America demonstrating U-Control for the Model & Hobby Industry Association. I flew models by Sterling, Top-Flite, Comet, and Scientific. Nevertheless, I've never flown in competition.
I've been following the present status of U-Control stunt flying, and although I have no direct experience with today's precision aerobatic models with their flawless Imron finishes, tuned exhaust pipes, etc., I still fly U-Control in the Fifties' style. My models are built in the old-fashioned way, powered by vintage-type engines, and are finished with silkspan and dope. My models fly kind of slowly, but that's okay with me. I used to fly Chiefs with McCoy .19s, and that was more fun for me than a .35-powered Yak-9 at twice the flying speed.
My idea of the purpose of model airplanes is to HAVE FUN!! I get no enjoyment, though, from conforming to somebody else's idea of how I should make my models perform. Maybe I was spoiled by my contacts with Jim Walker, Davey Slagle, J.C. ("Madman") Yates, etc., back in the Good Old Days. It's true that Davey was an incomparable contest flier, but his mastery over control line models was never shown as well at contests as it was in his free-style flying sessions.
Have you ever seen a Reverso? How about a 180° flight? These were just a couple of the oddball things Davey was famous for.
- The Reverso: Davey would take off, do a series of horizontal eights while walking backwards to a predetermined point, put a lamppost halfway between him and the airplane, level out, and fly toward the post until the lines hit the course. The model would turn sharply into the post and fly back toward Davey. He'd let it come pretty close, half-loop and fly back around the post inverted, yaw around the circle, and do the same thing coming the other way.
- The 180° flight: Davey would take off and fly the whole tank out while leaning against the wall of a building.
He also flew team-stunt maneuvers in formation of two and, occasionally, three models. He invented maneuvers such as Chain, Inverted Takeoff, Wheel-Rolling, Wingovers, and his own specialty, the Flopover — performable on a very light, large-area model such as my Super Chief (19 oz., 600 sq. in.), powered by a plain-bearing, rear-rotary McCoy .19.
Have you ever seen the Sabre Dance as done by Jim Walker with a specially modified Fireball? Or how about the infamous Di-Do biplane, flown by Howard Thombs (he was the first winner of the Walker Cup, I think — seems I don't have the Cup around anymore or I'd look it up for sure), which would take off, fly a lap or two, then the pilot would put the handle on the ground and step on it while the model simply looped until the tank ran dry!
You never see glider pickups any more, nor circle-drawing (done on blacktop with a piece of chalk attached to the top) of the fin via a short length of 1/4-in. square balsa, nor steeple-chasing over and under obstacles.
I think the reason that all forms of model flying have lost popularity is the overemphasis on rigid adherence to contest rules. We have so conformed to specifications we have taken most of the spirit out of flying. Doing what our teachers, supervisors, law enforcement people, Internal Revenue Service, etc., tell us to do — and how to do it, and when — and where! That's why, to me anyway, it's so enjoyable to get out and fly for my own kind of fun. I don't need trophies to prove that I'm having fun.
Sincerely, Joe Wagner
Background on Veco — Joe Wagner (expanded)
Joe also provided a detailed background on the origins of Veco and its product line:
In the beginning there was the Burbank Manufacturing Company, organized by Mr. Hi Johnson and Bob Palmer in late 1947. They produced a series of control-line kits: Palmer's Go-Devil in "Sr." (60-powered) and "Jr." (29-powered) versions, and J.C. "Madman" Yates' Madman, also in large and small versions. J.C. was not an active partner, being tied up with Hank Ostman in the Y & O propeller business.
Sales were pretty good but mostly limited to the West Coast. Then Bob Palmer had a severe accident, catching his right hand in the die-cutting machine and losing all the fingers on that hand, which put a crimp in the company's activities, mostly on the morale front.
Gilbert ("Gil") Henry entered the picture. Gil wasn't a modeler but saw more money to be made in the hobby field than in machine tools and automotive audio. Not long after V‑J Day he bought out the old Burbank Material shop, moved it into a small shop in Burbank, Calif., and formed the Veco Company (derived from Henry Engineering Co.).
By 1948 Gil learned that Burbank Mfg. Co. and Rick's Mfg. Co. (makers of kits such as the Boxcar and Dilly) were in trouble. He contracted to consolidate operations and product lines by buying up the Ricks assets and adding major usable machinery from the Burbank Manufacturing Company to establish a new model manufacturing company. This was incorporated under the Heco name and located at 2400 North Hollywood Way in Burbank, in a large brick building that had served as a cafeteria for Lockheed and Vega workers during the war.
Organization and roles:
- Hi Johnson: model design and engineering.
- Bob Palmer: kit-packaging operation.
- Clarence Searcy: shop supervisor (an old Free Flight man from the Los Angeles Thermal Thumber Club).
- Gil Henry: front-office business tycoon (he owned 51% of the stock).
Design evolution:
- The first Veco kits—Brave and Warrior—were Hi Johnson's work and intended as stunt trainers. The Brave had no flaps and was boxy; the Warrior had similar wings with flaps and a carved-block balsa upper fuselage for streamlined contours. Wing construction was sparse, with heavy leading and trailing edges, similar to a Sterling Ringmaster.
- Next came the Chief, Squaw, and Papoose designs. The Chief was essentially an updated Go-Devil. Hi didn't continue making the exact Burbank models because the days of big, ignition-engined stunt ships were ending. The Go-Devil and Madman had come in at the end of that era.
- The Chief was a Go-Devil Sr. modified to use a glow .29 instead of an Orwick .64. The tadpole airfoil used was a manufacturing expedient to nest re-cut wing ribs closer together and save balsa.
- The Squaw was based on the Go-Devil Jr.
- The Papoose was a new, scaled-down Squaw for the McCoy .09 glow engine that was about to be released.
Name change to Veco:
- The company name had to be revised because the Heco abbreviation was already trademarked by Hardware Engineering Co. Gil Henry chose Veco because the "V" fit the same logo format he wanted in place of "H."
Joe concluded that he had received numerous requests for full-size plans of Veco designs and reiterated that he was producing beautifully done plans with nostalgic commentary, available for $5 each (see contact above).
Closing notes from Ted Fancher
That's all we have space for this month. Next month I'll conclude Joe's letter, wherein he discusses further development of the famous Veco line of stunt ships, the origin of "stunt flaps," his encounters with notable figures (George Aldrich, for instance), and chronicles his journey through the living archives of our fabulous event. Stay tuned.
I've just received a set of five videotapes from Ken Budenski, official P.A.M.P.A. videographer, containing highlights (and a few lowlights) of last July's 1987 Nats Stunt event. These outstanding tapes are of very good quality and show entire flights of the top finishers (and some others) over both Friday's semifinals and Saturday's Walker Cup flyoff. In addition, there are numerous interviews with famous personalities such as Bob Hunt, Bob Baron, Bob Gialdini, Frank McMillan, and others. If you were unable to attend the Nats and want to be an eyewitness, drop a line (and $50) to:
Ken Budenski 427 Caroline Janesville, WI 53545
Set aside about 10 hours to enjoy them to their fullest.
Ted Fancher 158 Flying Cloud Isle Foster City, CA 94404
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
