Let The Show Begin: What Are the AMA Show Teams Up To?
Duke Iden
Bama Flyers (AST #122)
From down south Alabama way, the Bama Flyers took part in the Dog Daze Parade. Guess Dog Daze is what they call August around Birmingham 'cause it's so hot.
If your club wants positive exposure around your hometown, consider a parade. Latch onto some ideas from the Bama Flyers' float. In the accompanying photo is team manager Jim Weems with his 1/3-scale Extra 230. Big, huh? The Bama Flyers' Space Shuttle really flies at the air shows.
Photo credit: Doug Smith
Float details:
- Construction: three-inch Styrofoam with 1/4-inch plywood sides.
- Size: 2 x 3 feet overall.
- Wheels: rolls on four Du-Bro three-inch wheels.
- Steering: Kwik-links are attached to the steerable front wheels using nose gear brackets. A tiller protrudes out the front and uses pushrods.
- Decoration: flag-design skirting adds a nice touch.
Yes, the Extra 230 idles along the parade route and pulls the float. Neat idea.
For safety, one man leads the float unit to keep curious children at bay. Two fellows hold cords attached to the mains, and another guy follows.
That was the plan—until the parade started and one wheel developed a serious dysfunction and wouldn't work. After some tinkering, the float rolled along and impressed local residents. Then, for no apparent reason, the parade turned into a race.
Someone forgot to tell the Bama Flyers they were the only walking unit in the entire procession. The sight of half-dozen overaged, overweight RC enthusiasts running pell-mell down the main street of Trussville, Alabama, trying to keep up with motor-pulled floats, was something else.
After sprinting several blocks in the dog-days heat, the intrepid fliers gave up (passed out, fainted, went comatose—that sort of thing). Brother Weems, though, was not about to give up. He unhooked the float carrying the Space Shuttle from his Extra 230 and ran down the street pulling his plane after him. The only problem was he couldn't keep ahead of the pickup trailing him that was pulling the Uncle Willie's Sausage float. Jim is doing fine now; he should be back to near normal come winter.
Participating in a parade can be a great boost for your club. It can draw new interest and new members and, more important, is a way to get your club involved with a community effort. This can help retain a valuable flying site if you're having difficulties. Just be sure you aren't the only walking unit in the parade!
Buckeye Aero Squadron (AST #106) — Dr. Bill Lehn and Glenn Stucker
"Martha, I saw the strangest thing flying at that RC field..." Chances are whoever was talking to Martha went past the field near Dayton, Ohio, where Dr. Bill Lehn is based. Dr. Lehn and his cohort Glenn Stucker go for the unusual—make that weird. Highlighted here with photos by Dan Parsons is an array of flying marvels.
Highlights:
- Snoopy: mounted on a 40-inch-diameter Styrofoam saucer. Snoopy serves as the rudder but can be replaced. Dr. Lehn says he can swap the dog for a TV 7 logo (a black circle with a white 7). That trick got him featured on television.
- Flying wing: a modified Klingberg Future Flight with a throttled O.S. .09 engine and tiplets. Dr. Lehn says a black color scheme would be impressive at shows, but folks seem to like the red-and-white design.
- Other oddities: cars and lawnmowers can fly. The lawnmower and flying doghouse perform much better with the addition of rudder and winglets.
Photo credit: Dan Parsons
WITHITCOG — Clyde Deatherage (Sierra Eagles, AST #144)
And finally...a flying washtub? A creation of Clyde Deatherage of Auburn, California. It's not really a flying washtub; Clyde calls it a V/TOL—vertical takeoff. The full name is WITHITCOG—"Where in the Hell Is the Center of Gravity (CG)?"
About Clyde:
- Age: 72 years young.
- Club: Sierra Eagles, AST #144.
- Trivia: He saw Lindbergh fly over Salt Lake City while Lindbergh was en route to New York to begin the transatlantic flight.
WITHITCOG specifications:
- Diameter: 37 inches.
- Chord: 18 inches.
- Weight: 4.5 pounds.
- Power: .40 Magnum engine.
- Construction: mostly Celotex, reinforced with 1/32 balsa and covered with silkspan.
- Name origin: it has 32 points of balance on the perimeter, the CG of the outside of the circle, and the CG of the inside wing—hence, "where is the CG?"
I checked with Clyde to see how things were progressing since a recent letter said all that was needed to put his creation in action was for the radio to be returned from the factory. The radio did come back, but there was another calamity: the family cat walked through the inside of WITHITCOG and poked holes in the silkspan. The cat is fine. Clyde should be back to near normal come winter.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
