Control Line: Scale
Mike Gretz
WALTER Williamson, of Norfolk, VA, asks, "What has 1,000 sq. in. of wing area, a Fox .35 and 18 wings?"
His own answer: My flying Venetian blind! I got the idea from an old 1972 Flying Models magazine. In it, Dr. C. W. Kirkland had a scale model of the 1904 Phillips Multiplane. I made mine out of an old venetian blind. It weighs 40 ounces. The first flight went OK. I had down thrust in the motor, but I still had to fly with some down elevator. When the motor cut, it had a glide of about 1 to 1. Flights two, three, and four went about the same. Flight number five started off OK. Then it started to yaw back and forward, rock left and right, and then dip up and down until it hit. Even though it's not scale, I thought you might be interested in it.
Walter didn't pass on any possible reasons why flight number five ended prematurely after the first four flights had been successful. I'll be darned if I can figure that thing out from the picture. I do, however, recall that Dr. Kirkland's similar model crashed on its maiden flight at the '72 Nats. Walter's model seems to have set a record of sorts for 18-winged aircraft. Not bad! Especially when you consider, if my memory is correct, that the original Phillips Multiplane never got off the ground. It's obvious that Walter has a lot of fun with his hobby and is a firm believer that "many wings are better than one."
George Swanson
George Swanson, of Salt Lake City, UT, is also a multiwing fan, judging from the photo of his beautiful Nieuport 28. George built his Nieuport from a Sterling kit about 12 years ago, he says. Fox .35 power is enough for loops and figure 8s.
George relates a story about flying the Nieuport: at one time, following suggestions by other biplane fliers, he put considerable lead in the nose. He lost considerable elevation in loops during a contest and didn't quite make a figure 8. He got about six, skimmed the top wing on the asphalt and did some wing damage. Anyway, lately he put on a longer elevator horn and started removing weight — he took out some of the lead up front. Now, with the Fox .35, it's quite sensitive, flies great and can land on grass; you must be careful to keep it from nosing over, George says.
The club is primarily FF and CL oriented; the other main competition airplane is an FF Scale Stinson Voyager built from an old Berkeley kit and powered by an electric motor. As can be seen in another picture George sent, his son Steve also flies CL Scale and does very well himself.
Letter from Jerry Bockius and BLAST
Another fellow, Jerry Bockius, secretary of the Biplane Lovers Association Scale Team (BLAST), recently took grave exception to part of my March 1980 column. In that issue a printed photo of a precision scale Sopwith Camel built by Ed Robinson, Yonkers, N.Y., had the last sentence of the caption under the photo read, "Like bipes becomes marginal wind." That's the way the caption printed in the magazine. What actually was written in the caption Bill Boss sent with the photo was, "Like bipes, ground handling becomes marginal in wind." Two words change the meaning. Bill's thoughts were significantly altered by a couple of words lost in translation at the print shop.
Jerry quickly pointed out the mistake. In part of what he said in his letter: "Gretz, old chap — outrageous! From personal experience and observation I must conclude your opprobrious position on the performance capabilities of CL bipes is untenable." He cites charter member Jack Swaney, who designed, built and flew a Curtiss A-3 Falcon — one of the most stable airplanes he has seen flown under difficult conditions. Obviously, Jerry is protective of bipes and BLAST members are quick to defend their birds.
It's easy to get Jerry excited. Probably the letter was meant in a light-hearted reminder to be careful in future. I certainly have nothing against biplanes — I've built a few and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Two wings does make for a marginal flying model at times. Perhaps I would have diplomatically said the caption: "Like bipes, ground handling can become marginal in wind." Neither version of the caption was meant as a deliberate denunciation of the flying qualities of biplanes. Apologies to Jerry and to anyone else who feels aggrieved.
Let's get cards, letters and pictures.
Mike Gretz, Box 162, Montezuma, IA 50171.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
