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.
Praise for Cowley
After reading Martyn Cowley's account of the 1986 U.S. Free Flight Team Trials in the February Model Aviation, I just had to take time to write a letter of personal thanks.
For a number of years I have read his excellent accounts of FAI Free Flight events in Model Aviation and other publications with great pleasure. He can say in one sentence what others take a paragraph to say. Even then, others seem to miss the point.
Martyn obviously understands FAI Free Flight events, and I consider it a privilege and pleasure to read what he has to say. His work can only add to the credibility of Model Aviation magazine and the AMA.
Bill Lovins Estes Park, CO
Henri Fabre
At the time my "History in Models/Models in History" article was written, French pioneer designer Henri Fabre (first man to leave the water in an aircraft) was still alive. Before the article appeared, he had passed away at the remarkable age of 102 years.
Henri had been a staunch supporter of modeling as a hobby and research tool. He gave a great deal of credit in his books to the influence of early model builders upon his career in aviation.
Bill Hannan Escondido, CA
He's a Ham
I subscribe to five major modeling magazines. It seems that most every issue contains comments on frequency problems. It is my opinion that a good percentage of the problems RC models have are not frequency related, but frequency becomes an excellent excuse to use for our failures.
Some frequency problems do occur. It does not take long for major interference problems to be pinpointed in specific locations. A certain frequency might not be any good because of repeater activity or other commercial users.
It is not the purpose of this brief message to propose ways to prevent third-order intermodulation or other quirks some seem to be experiencing. Others have covered this subject with great care and detail. However, I would like to suggest one way to prevent major frequency problems as well as to eliminate much time spent waiting at any flying site for a frequency to be "open."
After purchasing a Good Brothers radio in 1951, I soon discovered that the radio was on the 6-meter ham band and that, in order to operate this radio, a license was required.
At that time there were no license-free frequencies, and the Citizens Band, which was examination-free but not license-free, had not yet appeared. (It was not long after this that the Citizens Band became usable by modelers and the general public.) I prepared for the Amateur Radio General Class license and became a ham radio operator with the call letters W8NIK.
The privilege to operate on the 6-meter ham band (50–54 MHz) has been very worthwhile—certainly worth every minute of the time and effort it took to become licensed.
Today it is much easier to be licensed for operation on 6 meters, as there are several classes that are applicable: Novice, Technician, General, Advanced, and Extra Class. Each of these licenses offers certain privileges and requires different levels of knowledge and skill.
The easiest way to become licensed for RC activity is to learn some basic electrical theory and acquire the ability to send and receive international Morse code at the rate of five words per minute. This will qualify you for the Technician license.
The Novice license, while allowing limited operation on 50–54 MHz (6 meters), does not qualify one to operate RC. Like the Technician class, the Novice license requires five words per minute of Morse code, but a little less theory is required. Since all RCers would benefit from basic electrical knowledge, it is recommended that a person go directly for the Technician license.
The General license requires 13 wpm and a greater amount of theory. Only the more serious hams go for the Advanced and Extra Class licenses. (The Technician license is all the RC person needs.)
Complete license requirements, study materials, and cassette tapes for code practice are available from the American Radio Relay League, 225 Main St., Newington, CT 06111. Study guides and cassettes are also available from the Heath Co., Dept. 016-339, Benton Harbor, MI 49022. Local ham radio clubs and many community colleges offer classes for those desiring to pursue a ham radio license.
Please allow me to cite some personal experiences as an RCer on 6 meters. The 50–54 MHz band is so little used that many clubs do not even have frequency pins for those frequencies. Most fun-fly events I attend do have frequency pins for the lower portion of the band (53.1, 53.2, and 53.3), but none for 53.6, 53.7, and 53.8. This means that very few modelers are taking advantage of these uncluttered frequencies. I have attended many fun flies with from 50 to over 100 participants and have been the only person on the upper portion of the 6-meter band. A licensed radio amateur does not experience any long waits on any of the 6-meter frequencies.
As I observe my own life, there are very few meaningful tangible and intangible possessions I have acquired that did not take a little extra time and effort. My ham license is one of these.
Wendell Hostetler Orrville, OH
Simitars Assemble!
It's about time Model Aviation and its staff get some recognition, and I'm sure I speak for the Bill Evans Simitar pilots across the country when I say thank you.
Because of your dedication to innovation, the development of the Simitar series aircraft has become a reality to all of us.
I started my RC hobby because of the first article you published in the early 1970s. I found that magazine in a rummage sale; it caught my attention and hooked my interest. That was two years ago. Since then I've collected all of your Simitar articles, built and flown all of them, and have even come up with a few variations of my own. It's not just me, though.
We now have formed the Milwaukee Simitar Squadron with 35 members and at least that many Simitars in the air. By the way, most are new AMA members. More and more people are being caught by the mystique of the flying wing.
Thanks again for your support of Bill Evans' Simitars—a true 21st-century aircraft. Without you, we'd have never known about this exciting concept.
Gordon Stahl, Pres. Milwaukee Simitar Squadron Milwaukee, WI
Ironside/Etude
Enclosed is a photo of a half-scratchbuilt model using your Ironside plans and an Etude (electric) wing. I modified the Ironside by increasing the size by 15% and installing a tricycle gear. The Etude wing has a 47 in. span. An O.S. .20 four-cycle engine pulls it real well.
The extreme rear mount location of the main landing gear keeps the bird stuck to the ground on takeoff. A definite "rotation" is needed to become airborne. Ailerons are used, and the craft is stable and solid on landing approach. I used a size-larger gear set to give lots of ground clearance for the prop—a .049 which turns 9,700 rpm.
The Ironside fuselage is extra-sturdy. The plane has an all-up weight of just over 3 lb. A 4-oz. tank keeps it in the air for up to 25 minutes!
The Mooney-style tail feathers give the appearance I like. I had to split the elevator pushrod and exit just ahead of the vertical fin with dual rods connected to bellcranks on each elevator. The horizontal stabilizer has about 2° positive incidence and the wing about 1° positive relative to the thrust line.
I am still fine-tuning for a perfectly balanced ship, but it has flown nicely from the first flight. I am a novice, and this is my second scratch ship.
Peter Williams Glendale, AZ
Dakota Beech
Yet another version of Joe Wagner's ubiquitous Dakota. This one is not bigger or smaller (24 in. wingspan), but note the negative stagger à la Beechcraft.
Bud Overn Santa Ana, CA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
