The Haught Corner
Two Eggs, Over Easy:
Egg on my face! I failed to notice an error in the Indicator plans (June 1996 issue). The fuselage side view shows a too-large center chord for the wing. The rear (trailing-edge) location is correct, but the wing is not as wide as shown. Simply measure forward from the trailing edge on the wing plan to get the proper chord width, then add fuselage top sheeting from the correct leading-edge location to the point where the nose taper begins. That should do it!
Egg #2—The Elusive Butterfly:
I am somewhat notorious for having a large collection of trivia floating around the vast caverns of my head (evidently there’s not much else up there, so there’s plenty of room). This can serve one well at social gatherings and around the water cooler, but like anything else abused, it can get you in a heap of trouble.
My mental catalog of rock songs and their composers “did me in” when I wrote the XB-70 article in the June issue. I mistakenly referred to the FF B-70 model’s designer as Bob Linn, rather than Jack Linn. Apologies to Jack for confusing him with the man who sang the 1960s hit “Elusive Butterfly.” And thanks to Bill Warner for pointing this out.
Net Result:
AMA is now on the Internet! The address is http://www.modelaircraft.org. There is quite a variety of places to explore and/or gather information.
But as Information Systems Manager Dave Norris points out, this is a work in progress; there are several areas labeled “Under Construction,” and it means what it says. Better to have the page up and running in partial form than to delay things for the sake of a few items not yet completed.
Dave gave us a tour through AMA’s page, and it’s quite impressive. He also noted that for those who may have experienced variable degrees of graphic quality, this can be directly related to use of an online carrier. Apparently some are better than others, and this can account for the difference in appearance.
The quality of some Web browsers is another variable. This was confirmed in a later conversation with my sister, who works with the folks at America Online. The one feature of AOL she doesn’t care for is the Web browser; at this writing (early May 1996) AOL has issued a software upgrade (Version 2.7) to include an improved browser, but I have yet to download it. The upgrade is free, but takes 250 minutes (!) to accomplish, so I haven’t blocked out the time yet.
Dave advised that the page was designed for best results with Netscape Navigator 2.0. There can be problems with code support in other applications. This doesn’t affect the functionality of the page, but the appearance is not quite as nice.
A full-page ad elsewhere in this issue explains a bit more about the AMA Web page.
“Better to have the page up and running in partial form than to delay things ...”
Remembering The Carrier Cruise:
Dean Wright sent along a “blast from the past”: the list of participants in the 1966 National Model Airplane Meet Champions Orientation Cruise.
The Carrier Cruise was a post-Nats event with heavy involvement by the Hobby Industry Association of America. Some 30 or so junior-age fliers were flown at no charge from the Nats site to Pensacola, Florida for a few days of orientation and observation, highlighted by a model-flying demonstration and a cruise aboard the aircraft carrier Lexington. After the cruise, the modelers and press representatives were flown to several Navy bases for pickup by their parents.
A look at the roster for 1966 shows contestants such as Marylou Brown, Butch Schroder, Susan Weisenbach, Richard Dolby, Mike Taibi, Bob and Jack McGovern, Mike Ettel, and Randy Richmond. There were press representatives from the Chicago Tribune, Boys’ Life, American Modeler, and Model Airplane News. And such familiar names as Pete Sotich and Johnny Clemens were present from AMA and HIAA.
What a deal this was! My parents told me that I could hardly stop talking about it during the six-hour drive home from Glenview, Illinois, where they picked me up. We slept in barracks on base, got the “grand tour” of training facilities, and watched what seemed like 5,000 takeoffs and landings from the Lexington.
And I still have the Plexiglas paperweight given to each of us—gold wings with a gold carrier base: “Guest of the Secretary of the Navy—Fly With the Fleet.” I’ll never forget flying one of my 1/2A FF models from the Lexington’s deck—and having it returned unharmed after a water landing. A Navy launch was sent out for retrieval duty on that flight.
I also recall that for many of us this was our first time in a “real” airplane, and the bumpy ride in an old cargo airplane caused all but two of us to “toss” the nice box lunch the Navy gave us. I’m sure the flight crew got Hazardous Duty pay for that one.
And what of another AMA/HIAA project: the Air Youth State Champion program? During the late ’50s–early ’60s, winners of state championship contests were flown to the Nationals site that year and participated in a variety of Nats‑related activities.
At the time, these programs seemed to be a tremendous PR opportunity for all concerned. I wonder how many of the juniors who participated in the cruises or were Air Youth champions eventually chose the Navy as their service branch? And wouldn’t it be great to have similar programs today?
Thanks to Dean Wright for the look back.
Jim Haught Managing Editor
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
