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
PT-26, Not PT-22
This is in regard to the picture at lower left side of page 58 of the December 1989 Model Aviation.
When Fairchild added the canopy to the PT-19, they also redesignated the aircraft as the PT-26 Cornell. The PT-22 was a Ryan WWII primary trainer which bore little resemblance to the PT-19 or PT-26.
Larry Pan Alexandria, VA
Glow Plug Battery Box
Thank you very much for the article "Glow Plug Battery Box" by Col. Render. I have built mine, and it works. This simple box solves a longstanding irritation and opens the door to other ignition possibilities; i.e., permanent glow plug connections to fire up the engine from an external source.
Jim Ke Helena, MT
Prime Cut
Enclosed is a photo of my Prime Cut (construction article in the September 1989 issue). It was first flown on October 19, and at the time of this letter (October 24) I have put in about 20 flights. It's fantastic, great, phenomenal, etc., etc. I've been in Giant Scale for nine years, and the Prime Cut is the best flying big airplane that I have piloted.
Mine weighs 15½ lb. and is powered by an OPS Maxi 30 (which hauls it around like a jet). I've added wheel pants since the picture was taken.
My only problem was during construction when I found the plan top view center line was off. Incidentally, my fuselage was built of foam and luan plywood. This is lightweight and inexpensive (free for the asking at most die-cutting establishments).
Cliff K. Cincinnati, OH
Full-Size DC-3 Floatplane?
I am employed by Folsom's Air Service on Moosehead Lake in Greenville, ME, where we operate a floatplane charter service and a major seaplane maintenance facility.
Right now we are mounting DC-3 floats. They are the world's only set of DC-3 floats. They are 42 ft. long, 5½ ft. deep, and 6 ft. wide. They weigh 2,300 lb. and are amphibious.
I am also building a Ziroli DC-3 on floats. Planned power is a SuperTigre 3000. Hope to have the model complete and the big DC-3 on floats by mid-July 1990. Plans are for both to be performing at the International Seaplane Fly-In at Moosehead Lake in Greenville, ME on September 8–9, 1990.
David H. Greenville, ME
True Innovator
Here's a photo and some reference material on my most recent electric-powered model, the French Latecoere 631. I stumbled across this reference material while searching the Hughes Spruce Goose as a potential electric model.
Span of this model is 100 in., length 75 in., and weight 8 lb. 3 oz., including 28 SR Magnum 1250 Ni-Cd cells. Propulsion consists of six Astro Cobalt 035 motors turning 7 x 4 props with direct drive. Controls include ailerons, elevator, rudders, wing flaps, and proportional "throttle" on all six motors.
Performance off land (note the non-scale takeoff dolly in the picture) is sprightly and with pleasant handling qualities. However, I won't know until the local lakes/ponds/canals unfreeze whether I'll need to increase the cell count in order for it to take off easily from the water.
W.S. (Woody) Blanchard, Jr. Hampton, VA
The reference Woody sent was a copy of Plate 131 from the World Encyclopedia of Civil Aircraft, Angelucci, 1982. The Latecoere 631 was the last of the large passenger flying boats. First flown on November 4, 1942, the program was revived following WWII with Air France putting the first eight Latecoere 631s into service on July 26, 1947. But only three of these planes were flown for a short time before the new generation of landplanes ousted the big flying boats from the scene.
Doc's Coronet 150
Enclosed are photos of D.B. Mathews' Coronet 150 which was featured in your October 1988 issue of Model Aviation. I built it in the winter of 1988 to have a plane for the Saito four-cycle engine which had been in my shop for four years (how time flies!). I have been flying it all last summer and it is a ball.
The construction I used is a little different than what the plans show, and it also is a little heavier. The tail assembly is plank with 1/16" sheet balsa. The fuselage is plank with 1/32" sheet balsa. The landing gear is beefed up to be able to withstand local touch-and-go activity. The Saito .45 swings a 12 x 4 prop and has plenty of power. I have been using 15% fuel with no problems. The transmitter is an old Pro-Line Challenger and the receiver is one I built from a Silver Seven kit. Inexpensive Indy servos have given good service.
I am 69 years old and have been building models since 1935. When I go to brush the dust from my clothes and pry the glue from my fingers, I'll probably have to resort to a hand brush.
Robert K. Bristol
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
