Free Flight: Duration
Harry Murphy 3824 Oakwood Blvd. Anderson, IN 46011
NOSGAS NATS for '88! It was inevitable. With the growing interest in the Nostalgia Gas (NosGas) events, the concept of a Nostalgia Gas National Championships just had to materialize—and now it has. The National Free Flight Society (NFFS) has formally announced that the first Annual NFFS Nostalgia Champs will be held at the Mid America Air Center near Lawrenceville, IL on July 19–20, 1988.
If these dates sound a little familiar, they should, because the affair will be staged in conjunction with the 1988 SAM (Society of Antique Modelers) Champs, which is also slated for the week of July 18, 1988 at the same spot.
There will be six events on the contest card. Tuesday, July 19 will feature 1/2A Gas, A Gas, and C Gas. Wednesday, July 20 will feature 1/2A Gas, B Gas, and a new event: Nostalgia Gas Ignition. In addition, there will be a High-Point Award to be given to the Grand Champion. For advance information on rules, applications, housing, etc., send a SASE to NFFS Nostalgia Champs Manager Moe Whittemore, RR #1, Box 296, New Palestine, IN 46163.
Nostalgia Gas Ignition (simplified rules)
- Engines: Original ignition types or replicas only. Conversions or diesels are ineligible. Fuel to be gas and oil only.
- Model designs: Must be a legal NosGas design which shows only an ignition engine on the plans or is so referenced in the published construction article. Designs showing both types are ineligible (i.e., A/B Zeeks, Civvy Boys, etc.).
- No scaling of designs allowed. Engine run to be 16 seconds. Hand-launched models must comply with a wing loading of 8 ounces per square foot of projected wing area.
Personally, I am very pleased to see the Ignition event added, for this fills a long-standing void in the evolution of Free Flight Gas by providing a viable competition class for those post-1942 ignition designs that have never been recognized by the SAM folks.
I also like the 8-oz-per-sq-ft wing-loading requirement; should any of the current post-'42 designs be eventually approved by SAM (thus making them ineligible for NosGas competition), the models themselves will require no modifications to be eligible for SAM Old-Timer competition.
OK, NosGas fans. You asked for it—now support it! See ya there... and thank Bob Larsh and the Lawrenceville gang for making it possible.
What's New?
- Marge Weisenbach no longer offers that great 1/4-in.-diameter cotton clothesline once peddled for use as DT-fuse-lighting punk. Now she carries a 3/16-in.-diameter substitute that can be used both for the punk and the fuse itself. I use it, and it's great stuff! Minimum order is 10¢ per foot for 100 ft, which includes shipping and handling. Any order over the 100-ft minimum will have excess postage refunded. Marge's address: 4568 West 146th Street, Cleveland, OH 44135. Get your club together and order a bunch at once to save on the postage.
- Fresno Model Airplane Company: Two new offerings have hit the hobby shops.
- Miss World's Fair (50-in. span): The promised 50-in.-span version now joins the 25-in.-span version already being produced. The kit includes full-length rolled plans, four sheets of black-and-yellow Japanese tissue, five sheets of printwood, a complete complement of stickwood cut to appropriate lengths, an R/N 16-in. folding prop, hardwood wheels and a celluloid windscreen. Marion Crowder says "lotta love."
- 45-in.-span American: Same contents as the Miss World's Fair kit except the tissue is red-white-and-blue to suit the model theme.
- Both kits sell for $19.95 plus $2 postage and handling and come in a sturdy cardboard kit box.
- Other projects in the hopper: a 30-in.-span Flying Aces Sky Gull (a larger version of the Moth) and a 25-in.-span parasol-winged Comet Dipper. After these hit the street Marion says she's taking some time off. Mailing address: Fresno Model Airplane Co., 4267 North Charles, Fresno, CA 93722. Tell 'em Duration sent you.
Larry Freeborn — Modeler's Pin
Larry Freeborn is offering a new concept in a basic model-building tool—the Modeler's Pin. These pins have clear plastic cylindrical handles for heads and are available in two handle diameters (1/8 in. or 3/16 in.) with a neat square shoulder on the shank. The shoulder permits aligning balsa strips, wing ribs, or other components over plans and retains the part snugly without having to pin into the part itself. A neat idea!
Send $2 for a postpaid sample kit containing specimens of varying sizes and lengths plus an order/price sheet. Mail to: Freeborn Enterprises, 3416 Ethelwood Dr., Jeffersontown, KY 40299.
Campbell Custom Kits
Lee and Shirley Campbell have added a NosGas-eligible T-Bird designed by Russ Hansen to their product line. If your hobby dealer cannot supply it, send $19.98 (plus $2.50 shipping) to Campbell Custom Kits, P.O. Box 5996, Lake Worth, FL 33461-0181.
The Campbells are also reissuing three of the Pearl series kits originally designed by Billy Joe Chenault:
- V-4 Mini-Pearl — $19.98
- A/B Mini-Pearl — $49.98
- B/C Pearl Express — $59.98
For Old-Timer advocates: an .020 Replica, 150 sq. in., Foo-Z-O-U 2-kit is offered for $19.98 plus $2.50 shipping. This kit includes plans by Ron Sharpton.
Note: When sending inquiries to these cottage-industry folks, always mail a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE). Answering questions can be costly for operators who work on a shoestring basis.
Personnel
A personal welcome to Bill Baker (of the Dixie Flyer newsletter fame) as the new contributing editor for the "Free Flight—Old Timers" column. Bill replaces Clarence Haught—our best wishes to Clarence for his new endeavors and kudos for a job well done.
Helpful Hints
- Plasticizer for coverings: Nat Comfort advises that almost all current paper coverings (silkspan or tissue) require plenty of plasticizer in the dope to avoid brittleness. The white silkspan on my Comet Zipper wing and stab lasted only two contest seasons before developing parallel tears. A half-dozen drops of castor oil added to a pint of thinned dope should do the trick if commercial plasticizers aren't available.
- Fitting celluloid windscreens: Cutting and fitting celluloid windshields can be difficult and expensive if you waste material. Practice with a cardboard template first—bond-paper-like material or a manila folder works well. Since most windscreens are symmetrical:
- Concentrate on getting one side accurately, centerline around the side windows, fold and crease the cardboard at the centerline, and cut the other side to match.
- Fit the trimmed cardboard template against the fuselage, then cut a piece of celluloid using the cardboard as a guide. Make small allowances for edge shrinkage.
- When satisfied with the fit, trace the cardboard template onto the celluloid with a fine-point felt-tip pen. Allow the ink to dry, then cut out the celluloid pattern and re-check the fit. Glue in place with Reynolds cement or Ambroid. If it isn't right, cut another template and try again until it fits.
Indoor Rubber Speed
When winter terminates most outdoor flying, club meetings become the center of indoor free-flight activity. If your meetings need adrenalized activity, consider the Strat-O-Bats of Seattle's Indoor Rubber Speed.
They anchor two helium-filled balloons about 20 ft. apart in a small gymnasium. The idea is to R.O.G. a rubber-powered model from a start/finish line and have it make two laps around the balloons against the clock. The number of flights is not limited. The fastest time wins fame until someone beats it.
They keep classes simple so as not to demand a lot of building time. They currently run classes including:
- AMA Racer: commercial solid-sheet with plastic props (Sleek Streaks and the like)
- Peanut/No-Cal Scale
- Unlimited
The "Seattle Series" runs five months—October through April—with a trophy for the fastest time posted in each class by the last session in spring. Sounds like a good test for my 10cc Comet ME-100.
Newsletter Spotlight
The Seattle Strat-O-Bats produce a fine newsletter, the Bat Sheet, coedited by Chris Wier and Dennis Weatherly. Subscription: $5/year for 12 (sometimes 11) issues. Send a check to Kevin Collins, 4320 Schaefer Drive East, Redmond, WA 98053.
Notes and Sign-off
A correction and thanks to John Oldenkamp for clarifying my translation of "El Torbellino"—it properly means "whirlwind, bustle, rush, confusion." Thanks, John, and keep pumping away at Pee Wee-30, et al.
See ya downwind!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
