Free Flight: Sport and Scale

Free Flight: Sport and Scale

Bill Warner, 1370 Monache Avenue, Porterville, CA 93257

Iowa's Hawkeye Aeroneers: To "Encourage flying this summer in groups larger than one." The real heart of modeling.

"HAWKEYE AERONEERS, the internationally famous club for builders and fliers of outdoor rubber-powered models is reborn!" reads the publicity sheet I just received from Paul McIlrath out in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The stated goal of the group is to "Encourage flying this summer in groups larger than one." A possible secondary goal of the club will be to represent the Hawkeye State in some postal contests.

Paul continues, "Can we find an acceptable site to fly and set up a schedule for flying sessions, weather permitting? As temporary Grand Head Aeroneer, I volunteer to fly with anybody, any decent morning or evening at the Pius Church Aerodrome, athletic field and parking lot located directly in back of my house" (1524 48th St. N.E., Cedar Rapids, IA 52402).

Now why, you may ask, would I even bother with one guy's campaign to get some fun flying going out there in mid-America when there are Top Guns, Nats, and World Championships to cover? Well, maybe I'm off in the clouds, but to me the real heart of modeling is when a few guys get together and fly just for the heck of it—anywhere, anytime.

Big contests are important too, but a lot of guys don't want to fly in 'em for a number of reasons—not the least of which is willingly presenting their models for the judges' criticism! Contests are a challenge, but the difference between a challenge and a pain in the butt is often a fine line.

Fun flying can include laid-back "contests" for a little spice, but the support and sharing from friends is what really counts. This camaraderie, coupled with the magic of striving for success in Free Flight, is the soul of what we do. It isn't expensive, the models aren't heavy, noisy, dangerous, or overly complicated, and they can be flown almost anywhere.

One time when the annual New Year's Peanut Scale bash was blown out in Las Vegas, we flew in the room over Chuck West's garage by attaching a thread to a wingtip and swiveling the other end on a tripod in the middle of the room. Not much room with 20 people and their stuff, but it was as much fun as any Nats I've ever attended!

You won't get run out of a schoolyard for making noise, and if you do lose a model in a tree or on a building, it's a good excuse to build a new one! Fly in a park, in a gym, or in front of a shopping center at daybreak on a Sunday morning—it doesn't matter.

How can you become the catalyst who joins a group, even as small as two, that can create something great? How about a letter to the editor in your local paper asking interested parties to come to a meeting at a certain place and time? If you slant it towards inviting kids, you know the paper will run it. How about a notice on the bulletin boards of local schools, senior citizens' centers, supermarkets, and hobby shops? You might find that there are other noiseless fliers like yourself who live in the same area, but have never met. Working together you can set up some flying sessions. Word will get around. Go for it!

I'm hoping you can find skysters to share the hobby with in your area. To that end, I think it is time to publish a list of Flying Aces chapters. If there isn't a Squadron near you, it's time to start one!

Flying Aces Club Squadrons, listed by Squadron number:

1. FAC-GHQ, Erie Model Aircraft Association. The parent organization. Dues are $15 per year, and include a dynamite newsletter with plans and hints galore. Lin Reichel, 3301 Cindy Lane, Erie, PA 16506

1. Ye Olde Hangar #1, Glastonbury Modelers. Ed Novak, 106 Cutlery Ave., S. Meriden, CT 06450

1. Stork Squadron, Cleveland FF Society. Gordon Roberts, 5539 Hilltop Oval, Parma, OH 44134

1. Detroit Cloudbusters. Paul Boyanowski, 8929 Fox, Allen Park, MI 48101

1. 113 Aero Squadron, McCook Field. Frank Scott, 6633 Lefevre Rd., Casstown, OH 45312

1. Cactus Squadron. Dave Smith, 1041 E. Rawhide, Gilbert, AZ 85234

1. Scale Old Timers Society. Tom Sanders, 9 Kern Dr., Perkasie, PA 18944

1. Calumet Escadrille. Phil Cox, 3351 Highway Ave., Highland, IN 46332

1. Swamp Squadron. Dean McGinnes, 1503 Clairdale Lane, Lakeland, FL 33801

1. Miami Hangar. John "Doc" Martin, 2180 Tigertail Ave., Miami, FL 33133

1. Palmetto Aeromodelers. David Smith, 6715 Lake Arcadia Lane, Columbia, SC 29206

1. Kudzu Flying Corps. Dave Rees, 606 Walnut Creek Dr., Goldsboro, NC 27534

1. Mosquito Squadron. Steve Bacom, 836 Banbury Dr., Port Orange, FL 32129

1. Mid-South FAC Squadron. Oliver Benton, 409 Brady Point Rd., Signal Mountain, TN 37377

1. Diabolo Squadron. Harvey Lance, 1206 Hale Dr., Concord, CA 94518

1. FAC Lone Star Sector. Ed DeLoach, 3428 Bryn Mawr, Dallas, TX 75225

1. Canada Goose Squadron. Jack McGillivray, 621 Cosburn Ave., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4C 2V

1. Western Pennsylvania Tailspin Squadron. Jim Buxton, 550 McMurray Rd., Bethel Park, PA 15102

1. Norwich FAC. Jerry Bockius, 48 Division St., Norwich, CT 06360

1. Rio Grande Squadron FAC. Nick Ropar, 7706 Hermanson Pl., Albuquerque, NM 87110

1. Pinkham Field Irregulars. Dave Stott, 4304 Madison Ave., Trumbull, CT 06611

1. Sunflower Squadron. Jim Kutkuch, 12498 S.W. 90th St., Andover, KS 67002

1. Bay State Squadron. Mike Nassise, 22 Greenfield St., South Easton, MA 02375

1. Latex Rangers. Ken Ketner, 4305 93rd St., Lubbock, TX 79423

1. Alamo Escadrille. Joe Joseph, 8311 Babe Ruth, San Antonio, TX 78240

1. Marin Aero Club. Tom Brennan, 21326 Via Colombard, Sonoma, CA 95476

1. S.O.G.I.S. Squadron. Doug Hannay, 4823 13th Ave., Delta, British Columbia, Canada V4M 2B7

1. Wasatch Mountain Devil Dogs. Philip Barlow, 4993 Regency St., Salt Lake City, UT 84117

1. Skyscalers. Bob Lundberg, 3707 Hawthorne Dr., Center Valley, PA 18034

1. Kamikaze Squadron. Gene Smith Jr., 1401 N. Husband, Stillwater, OK 74075

1. Pilotos Locos Squadron. Charles Hill, 6518 LaMora, Houston, TX 77083

1. Old Rhinebeck Squadron. Vic Nippert, 28 Douglas Dr., Lake Katrine, NY 12449

1. Eagle Squadron. Ed Lamb, 15911 E. E. 42nd Pl., Bellevue, WA 98008

1. 71 Eagle Squadron. Lindsey Smith, Spring Meadow, Fyfield, Andover, Hants SP11 8EH, England

1. Georgia Freedom Fliers (57th Fighter Squadron). David Barfield, 2000 Trophy Dr., Marietta, GA 30062

1. Snowbird Squadron. Hal Lorimer, 307 Anchorage Bay Rd., Elizabethtown, Ontario, Canada K6V 7C8

1. Blue Grass Squadron. Nelson Lincoln, Box 429, Berea, KY 40403

1. The Red Pine Raiders. Jack O'Leary, 11425 Keil Circle, Bloomington, MN 55437

1. Tigertown Squadron. Richard Fahey, 827 Shadeland Ave., Burlington, Ontario, Canada L7T 2M2

1. The Scale Staffel. Tom Arnold, 325 F Ave., Coronado, CA 92118-1230

1. The Baltimore Bomber Squadron. Russell Sandusky, 9109 Waltham Woods Rd., Baltimore, MD 21234

1. The Sparrow Hawk Squadron. Bill Harding, 4782 Unity Line Rd., New Waterford, OH 44445

1. The Buckeye Arrow Squadron. George Bredehoft, 815 Licking View Dr., Heath, OH 43056-1539

1. James River Pursuit Squadron. Denis Greaney, 541 Latane Dr., Richmond, VA 23236

1. Gulf Coast Gumband Squadron. John Sperry, 13353 Perdido Key Dr., Pensacola, FL 32507

1. Blue Angels Squadron. Phil Thibodeau, 3236 Park St., Jacksonville, FL 32205

1. The Secret Squadron. Bill Warner, 1370 Monache Ave., Porterville, CA 93257

1. Stealth Squadron. Angus MacShadenfreude, 180 Hickory Hill Ln., North Andover, MA 01845

1. Chicagoland Comet Squadron. Steve Moskal, 30 S. Kensington Ave., LaGrange, IL 60525-2211

1. Shreveport-Bossier Ceiling Seekers. Steven Olson, 104 Wilhelmina St., Bossier City, LA 71111

1. Western Oregon FAC. Frank Hirleman, Box 268, Lincoln City, OR 97367

1. VMF 211 Blue Angels Squadron. Francis Costello, 693 Hillsdale Ave., Hillsdale, NJ 07642

1. The Vulture Squadron. Robert Haight, 5724 Balzar Ave., Las Vegas, NV 89108

1. (reserved)

The Ultimate FF Scale Model?

Many years ago in the Los Angeles area, a talented young modeler named George Heaven was a member of my junior-high group, the Sepulveda Balsa Butchers. Today he's building a 68-foot-span man-carrying airplane powered by a rubber motor made up of multiple strands of 1/4-inch flat strip — it's wound from the power take-off on a tractor!

A quarter-scale model has flown, and maybe by the time you read this the full-sized version will have done so. Made entirely of space-age materials, the "Rubber Bandit" is just a big model airplane, carrying the rubber in a tube fuselage with the pilot suspended below! If you thought a Fike or Lacey was a threat in Scale model competition, wait until somebody builds a 1-inch/1-foot model of this one! Flown without the pilot (as allowed by present rules) it would basically be a model of a model, and would be unbeatable, I would guess.

Cottage Wings Resource Guide:

This constantly updated and annotated list of suppliers, plans, clubs, and information of use to FF Scale modelers now runs to more than 15,000 words! You can get a copy of this essential reference tool for the dollar bill (to cover printing costs) and a legal-sized envelope (with 55 cents postage on it). Send requests to me at 1370 Monache Ave., Porterville, CA 93257.

Well gang, until next time, remember to keep your nose blocks snug, and to wear your safety glasses when you are using instant glues!

P.S. In doing a spelling check on my computer, it repeatedly wanted to replace the British "modeller" with "noiseless"... Interesting. The American spelling "modeler" was even better: "moldier." Ain't computers fun? J+

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.