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.
Bjorn Karlstrom
This article in the March 1989 MA deserves kudos for everybody connected with its publication. Not only a wonderful story about an amazing man, it was most enjoyable and accurately presented in a fascinating layout.
May I gild the lily?
During the 1950s I began an arrangement with Karlstrom to supply three-view drawings. A river of choice subjects arrived automatically at five magazines during my tenures. On special occasions an editorial query would be answered with a finished drawing within a week or 10 days (he lived in Sweden).
During the Eisenhower administration, when I was editor of MAN, I read a short item buried in the morning paper. An experimental high-altitude plane had crash-landed in the Mojave. The paper used an odd designation: U-2. What was a U-2?
Communist countries (China and East Germany among them) had been charging the United States with high overflights. I wanted the U-2. The letter to Karlstrom was answered "right now" in the form of a one-page three-view drawing, which instantly published.
Khrushchev was meeting with Eisenhower. Gary Powers had been shot down. Confusion reigned, charges flew, and spokesmen outdid themselves in blurring statements to the press. A Californian TV commentator, having reported the "story," went home to dinner. His young son asked him why there was such a mystery. "See, the U-2 is here, right in my magazine," he said. That night the kid's copy of Model Airplane News was held up to the cameras on the 11 o'clock news.
Like Berliner, I never met Bjorn and did not know what he looked like—but our mail had much to say. On that day Bjorn and MAN made history. Like winning the Irish Sweepstakes. The New York Daily News called me at Flying magazine to ask how I had gotten the MAN story—when nobody was aware of the "mystery" plane. Just one of those things. How would one explain Bjorn Karlstrom to the New York Daily News?
Incidentally, I chuckled in surprise at Berliner's use of a quote (and a few facts) of mine. Don has been a distinguished aviation writer for many years and, having once been a reporter, he dug deep on this story. Hello, Don—and Bjorn, wherever you are!
Bill Winter Fairfax, VA
It Would Be Nice . . . But
This regards the letter from Dennis Patera, Issaquah, WA, in the February issue in which he said we should buy domestic radios and engines.
I agree that it would be nice if we all bought more "Made in America" radios and engines. We should also buy "Made in the U.S.A." watches, cameras, binoculars, automobiles, VCRs, TV sets, tape recorders, electric razors, microwave ovens, etc.
Does Mr. Patera follow his own recommendation, or does he own any of the above items which were manufactured abroad? And speaking of the American model engine manufacturer, as Mr. Patera did, what is the source of the ball bearings? Are they made in the U.S.A.?
Don't any of the "domestic" National Contest sponsors sell any imported items such as ball bearings, balsa, transistors, capacitors, radios, engines, kits, etc.? If I buy an imported radio from a domestic sponsor, should I be condemned for buying an import—or should I be congratulated for buying from a domestic Nats sponsor?
I would like very much to buy a good FM seven-channel radio or a good four-stroke engine which was produced entirely in the U.S.A. Can anyone tell me where I should send my order?
Edward Lowe Holdingford, MN
Those "Old" Guys
I like reading Model Aviation a lot, but I've got to tell you some of the old guys who write for you must have iron-poor blood.
For instance, I read the Simitar Slo-Motion article by Bill Winter and Bill Evans and decided to try one. I built it as the gentlemen recommended—with a .20 engine. Oh, it flew great—but too slow! I switched to a .40, which is more in line with a guy my age! That was great for a first-plane trainer, but I felt I was ready for something "up" from there.
The photos show me with my two beauties. They're both Simitars, because I'm a modern kind of guy. The Desperado has a Fox .50, which is a little more than the plan calls for, but it fits just fine. Actually it's just the right combination for a young guy of my age.
Homer Gibson Ripon, WI
Who would dare argue with that logic?
Model Airplane Handbook
Several years ago—when I was a sprout about to fly—I discovered a book in the public library that I must have checked out enough to qualify for ownership: Bill Winter's The Model Airplane Handbook.
There is a copy in a glass case at the AMA museum; it was what jogged my memory. I wrote to Bill Winter, and he suggested I submit my desire for a copy of the book to the AMA readership in hopes that someone out there may have an extra copy. If a reader can help me realize my dream of owning this grand text, please write to me at the following address:
Tom Chipley 24-A South Second St. Warrenton, VA 22186 Phone 1-703/349-4451 (evenings)
We don't normally print requests for wanted items. There are so many good people looking for things that we would be swamped in nothing flat. We thought an exception could be made, though, for the guy who makes those fabulous cutaway drawings you see in this magazine each month.
FLYING NEAR AIRPORTS? BE CAREFUL!
Free Flight or Radio Control flying near airports, or in any situation which might involve the possibility of models being in the vicinity of full-scale aircraft operations, must be avoided—or conducted so as to eliminate any dangerous situation. Models should not be flown in the proximity of full-scale aircraft unless the flyer has someone else with him for the sole purpose of keeping a lookout for full-scale aircraft and supervising the flying so as to prevent the possibility of an accident.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
