Letters To The Editor
All letters will be carefully considered; those of general interest will be used. Send to Model Aviation, 1810 Samuel Morse Dr., Reston, VA 22090.
AMA Cubs on the Mall
I am enclosing a photo taken on the Mall in Washington, D.C., this past summer. The opportunity to fly Delta Darts there resulted from Smithsonian Associates staff contacting AMA HQ asking if someone could teach model building as an education program. My wife, Dawn, and I were the instructors for a class of 15 youngsters.
One of the highlights of the building session was a tour of the National Air and Space Museum's model display. After I narrated the tour through the different types of models present, we returned to the rubber-powered model display. It was fun to tell the children that they were about to build a model like the one on display. The model, of course, was the AMA Cub (Delta Dart). The display model had different markings but otherwise was the same design as the ones the kids were going to build.
Another highlight was flying the models on the spacious Mall. It came as no surprise that each child's AMA Cub flew; even the roughest construction doesn't seem to keep this model from rewarding the builder. Add a hot day and nearby walkways to produce thermals, and the resulting long flights were a surprise to the new modelers.
Luther Hux Annandale, VA
It probably took some doing to get the kids to stop flying long enough for the group picture. The Mall, where the flying took place, runs from the Capitol building to the Jefferson Memorial — with the Washington Monument rising above the middle of the group. At extreme left in the picture is the old "Castle" building of the Smithsonian Institution.
About Juniors
I have just finished reading Bill Winter's column in the October 1986 issue, and I have some comments to make on Junior membership.
I started flying in 1974 at the age of 12. I was introduced to the hobby by one of the salesmen at the local hobby shop, although my father and his friends were active modelers in their younger years. I started in .15 control line and went on to fly Fast Combat. After high school I was inactive in the hobby until last year, when I took up CL and RC again.
Even though I flew models for many years, it was only this year that I finally joined the AMA. I feel that many young fliers do not join AMA simply because they do not bother. I know that I did not. Why? Most young fliers are short on cash. The $11 (now $16) is a gallon of fuel or a long way toward the price of a kit. Besides, the average kid does not see the advantage to joining the AMA.
Another point Mike O'Bryan made was the cost of RC equipment. The perfect solution to this problem is to go for control line instead. A sport kit ($16), engine ($35), lines ($5), and some fuel — and don’t forget covering and small stuff ($20). Not bad, huh? Moreover, I wonder how many active guys think of giving an interested child some of their old equipment. That's how I got my first engine.
Thanks for letting me ramble,
Charles Gallo Flushing, NY
Soldering Jig Follow-up
Just finished building Larry Kruse's neat soldering jig as described in the June 1986 Model Aviation. Two small improvements are possible:
- Substitute one of the four alligator clips with a blunt-nosed metal spring clip. This type opens farther than an alligator clip of equal size. (Do keep three of the four regular alligator clips because of the long, narrow nose they have.)
- Paint the base. Although regular paint would suffer damage from hot solder being dropped, high-temperature exhaust-pipe paint will handle solder temperatures with nary a wrinkle.
It was a good article.
Doug Dahlke Oshkosh, WI
Miss RJ's Vacuum-Formed Wings
An article by the Malina brothers appeared in the September 1986 Model Aviation about building their Miss RJ FAI pylon racing model. The technique used to assemble the wings was vacuum forming, but almost no details of the process were given.
Interested readers should be aware of two recent articles in RC Modeler magazine which give step-by-step details of the vacuum-bagging process. The articles, "How to Build Vacuum-Bag Wings" and "How to Build a Vacuum-Pump System," appear in the November 1986 and January 1987 issues of RCM, respectively.
Although the principles were initially worked out for sailplane wings, they are applicable to all types of models. Builders of the Miss RJ model should find these articles very useful.
Don Edberg Tujunga, CA
Twin Kougar
Here are some pictures of a Twin Kougar Mk II — from a Sig kit, of course (the basic plane, anyway). I took it upon myself to try this setup mostly because I love the way a Kougar flies. The twin flies identical to the single except it is more stable. The twin is just as acrobatic as the single.
I use two Super Tigre .60s with 11-7/8-inch props and two complete flight packs with eight servos (Tower Gold Series — they never miss a beat). The twin will fly on just one engine (the left one, anyway). Both engines turn the same direction, and there's no outward thrust.
Some specifications: basically the plane is two Kougars stuck together with a 15-1/4-inch center wing section added. The two fuselages come off separately. The covering is MonoKote applied in separate pieces (not MonoKote atop MonoKote). I call the color scheme Miami Vice, and I've named the model Celebrity Lady.
The plane weighs just under 10 lb., and it flies beautifully. Wind is no problem at all.
Mitch Karbowski Red Bluff, CA
B-17 Flying
The November 1986 issue of Model Aviation delivers various discussions on B-17 models. Two of the mentionables are of considerable building interest to me.
May I be so bold as to improve on someone's thinking about B-17 flying characteristics? On page 47 near the bottom, the article states that realism of Tom Street's flight was faulted by turns too steep for a bomber.
As a former B-17 and B-25 pilot, let me assure you that many flights executed 85° banks while simulating dogfights with P-39s and P-40s. Bombers dogfighting with pursuit ships may sound crazy, so perhaps those of us who engaged in such action may have lapsed the balance beam, but we beamed with glee when we eluded fighter attacks. It burned the fighter pilot's ego to the core.
The Fortress was the most forgiving plane I ever flew. On the opposite end, the Liberator was a wallowing sky cow. But both ships were quite capable of extremely steep turns.
For the interest record, one fighter could never eliminate one bomber. Two fighters stood about a 5% chance, three perhaps 50%, and four close to 100%. Bomber aerobatics are not recommended, but they can be flown much like fighters with the right pilot at the controls. All these flights occurred within the Sixth Air Force.
Ernest E. Koken Sequim, WA
RC Symposium
The Remote Control Association of Central Florida will again be sponsoring, for the 19th year (between Christmas and New Year's), the Tangerine International Contest. This is the largest club-sponsored RC contest in the world.
This year we are adding something new that we think will be of tremendous interest. Our club and its Board of Directors feel that, in addition to sponsoring competition, we should actively promote the education and dissemination of information to RCers.
This year we are beginning a three-evening symposium in conjunction with the Tangerine. There will be three different programs held each of the three evenings. We've assembled a "Who's Who" panel of speakers to staff each program.
Admission will be $7.50 per night, or $15.00 for all three nights.
Complete information about the entire Tangerine Week in Florida (including the symposium) can be obtained by sending a stamped, pre-addressed envelope to: RCAFC, P.O. Box 8213, Maitland, FL 32751 (or by telephoning 305/695-2836 and leaving a full mailing address).
Dave Tyson, RCAFC Pres. Du Richmond, RCAFC Sec. Maitland, FL
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
