Letters to the Editor
All letters will be carefully considered, those of general interest used. Send to Model Aviation, 815 15th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005.
Old-Old-Timer Reunions?
Thought that, perhaps, older modelers would be interested in the reunion idea. We in Milwaukee will hold our 10th reunion this spring; these gatherings were attended by modelers old and new and until the last of them passed on in 1974, original members of the Milwaukee Model Aero Club of the 1914 era. These old modelers had life-long contact with the Illinois MAC members, with whom they competed before WW I.
Don Lockwood, oldest active member of the IMAC, organized a small reunion in 1975 and by good luck in 1976 was able to have a good number of old IMAC members together for a really historic gathering last August in Chicago.
Since Bert Pond, myself and others have written a bit on the history of the early Nationals, we were quite pleased to find the first three winners of the Mulvihill among the group. The meeting began at a northside restaurant where a luncheon was hosted by Bill Schweitzer and Bob Jaros. A constant flow of photo albums circulated during the meal which stirred memories of long ago when the twin-pusher was the best contest plane and a powered model was propelled by compressed air.
This was followed by adjournment to a nearby park which brought out boxes of twin-pushers and the 1920 compressed-air model of Bill Schweitzer (restored by Don Lockwood). Flights had to be kept short because of the size of the field but everyone handled the models expertly, while cameras clicked.
Incidentally, much old-old-timer enthusiasm began in the letters column of AAM about 8–10 years ago. Speaking of old-timers, pleased to see Merrill Hamburg in the Hall of Fame. Now let's get going. Joe Lucas, great promoter of model aviation; old hobbies collecting old-old-timer model plans, pictures, etc., always a pleasure to hear from modelers interested in exchanging such material as well as building and flying ancient contraptions.
Jim Noonan Milwaukee, WI
Super Fiberglass Fuselages
Re your article "Super Fiberglass Fuselages," (Dec. 1976). I hope your magazine continues to have such high-caliber articles. Here's how I made out.
I tried to make too large a model. I used two layers of glass cloth. The model was Bob Holman's P-47—it is big. But I didn't have any problems. The foam came out slick. The whole fuselage came out slicker than a cat's whiskers—and very true to form. The fuse is very strong and hard to bend out of shape. But with two layers of cloth it came out too heavy for my interests. I put it on the shelf so I can take time to think about it.
I know that on my next smaller pattern ship it will come out a lot better. This process will work very well on smaller aircraft. I didn't have any problems with the article—it was very well done.
Doug Banko LaSalle, Ill.
That DC-8 Again
Regarding my DC-8 in your April issue, I pass on a few statistics which may be of interest. The idea behind the DC-8 was to build a gliding model of a powered airplane which would have reasonably good soaring ability and would look realistic in the air. The jet transports seemed like good prospects for this purpose because of their clean lines. I picked the DC-8 because it might have a better L/D than some of the newer wide-bodied jets, and it still is well known.
The model is built from plans of the DC-8-50, the earliest model of the transport with turbojet engines and unstretched fuselage. The model has a span of 10 ft., is 10 ft. 3 in. long, and has 14 sq. ft. of wing area. It weighs 10-1/2 lbs. The fuselage cross section is 11 in. wide, 12 in. high. If I had built the stretched version it would have been 14 ft. long—a little too big to fit in the shop.
The model comes apart for transportation. The fuselage comes in two sections, the wings come apart in the center and the halves of the horizontal tail and the nacelles are removable. The disassembled model was supposed to fit in the trunk of a large car, but didn't quite make it, so I made a large box to fit on top of the car to carry the fuselage sections.
The model was made simple as possible, with rudder, ailerons, and movable stabilizer for control, but without spoilers, flaps or landing gear. The nacelles are dummies, with their noses closed to prevent drag of internal air flow.
I am anxious to make some better comparative tests with other model gliders,
Letters to Editor
but the people who saw it fly at Cumberland will agree that it seems to hold its own with the competition models, at least under those windy conditions.
Hewitt Phillips Hampton, VA.
The two-page article on the DC-8 in the April issue was based upon writeups in the Sailplane and the DCRC Newsletter. Pictures were taken by Bill Cavanaugh when the model flew at Cumberland.
Gray Area
"Grey" should be spelled "gray." Quite some time ago, a U.S. advertising agent wanted to be hoity-toity and used the spelling of the "colour grey" in his ad for "classe." Others followed suit. It reminds me of Major Grey's Chutney from India. In England they say, "The colour of the aeroplane's tyres are charcoal-grey." In this country we say, "The color of the airplane's tires are charcoal-gray."
The Red Coats have long since departed. As a Bicentennial Year resolution (letter dated Dec.), let us be consistent and spell it "GRAY." Ask any paint manufacturer (except those specializing in antiquing).
P.S. Don't let us mislead you, but tyres are black.
Robert C. Morrison Vida, OR.
More Whirling Wings
Enclosed are photos of my Focke-Achgelis autogiro—and one of Bill Rauch and his model. I take no credit for the design. That belongs to Skip Ruff (4/75, MB). The only thing I contributed is the perseverance to learn to fly it—about ten months' worth... it is very exciting to watch in the air, a cross between plane and helicopter. I made some modifications.
1) Attachment of rotor booms by means of saddles held to fuselage by rubberbands (to come off easily in case of crashes).
2) Use of pine blades rather than balsa, for longer life.
3) A 50% increase in rudder area.
I used ball-bearing rotor shafts and aluminum bearing housings—the recommended Cox .049 crankshafts and engine bodies would be adequate. Without head wind, a run of 100 ft. is required to attain rotor speeds sufficient for lift-off. A K & B .40 is used, driving a 10/6 prop. Weight about 5 lbs.
In a slight breeze the giro can be made to hover; when engine speed is reduced a little more, it descends like a helicopter. In calm it must advance so control surfaces can function. I plan to build a duplicate for use with one of the DCRC Demo teams this year.
Glenn Scillian Silver Spring, Md.
Metallic Mercury—a Danger
On page 87 of the February 1977 issue Dan Pruss gives a tabulation of metal densities in connection with their use as glider ballast... even the mention of it may prompt some to try it.
I have spent many hours... analyzing specimens of urine and hair, and finally kidney, liver and brain, for mercury. The 3-year-old girl who digested a small amount of metallic mercury suffered six weeks of incredible agony and finally died...
If you or Dan feel a printed warning might help avoid even one such case, I hope you will consider it. If you want to use my name or refer inquiries to me, you may. The less mercury there is around ordinary homes or shops, the better.
Wayne P. Van Meter University of Montana Missoula, MT 59812
We included Professor Van Meter's full address. Actually, care must be taken in the use of many materials in our general as well as modeling environment. See "Aeromodeling Hazards," pg. 59, in March 1977 issue—concluded in the AMA News section in the April issue.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
