Letters to the Editor
Stolen model alert: Citabria Aerobatic Pro
I am a member of C.A.M. (Central Arizona Modelers) in Sedona, Arizona (AMA No. 122789). My new Citabria Aerobatic Pro with an 80‑in. wingspan was stolen from the back of my pickup truck. It was at the Chevron station, where I had stopped returning home from C.A.M.'s Annual Water Fly‑In at Pecks Lake in Cottonwood, Arizona.
The plane is covered with transparent green MonoKote and is very noticeable. It has an O.S. FS 1.20 engine and had approximately 260 hours of TLC building it.
Information concerning the airplane's location will be rewarded.
I would very much like to make it impossible for the person who stole it to enjoy it. I feel that publishing this letter in MA will accomplish this.
Jack Schefer Black Canyon, Arizona
1991 Nationals were great!
My wife, Jane, and I attended our first Nationals this year (as spectators) and wish to thank all involved for a very memorable event. Many people spent a lot of hours in very hot conditions to make it all come together. Thanks also to the nice, hospitable people of Lawrenceville, Illinois and Vincennes, Indiana who were truly appreciative of having the Nationals held in their area. Radio, newspaper, and local shops all gave recognition to the event. One truly felt welcome.
As for the competition itself, I was quite impressed to see events that I had only read about previously. Amazing aerobatics were performed in the Control Line and RC events. Pylon racing was fast and furious, while Control Line Speed was awesome due to the fantastic speeds (and noise).
My greatest interest though was with the RC Scale events. I was very impressed with the high level of craftsmanship displayed but was sorry to see several planes sustain damage due to flying in high winds. A special thanks to Claude McCullough, Mike Weishans, and Mike Stills for answering questions about documenting, building, and flying RC Scale models. Who knows, I may also take a crack at competing at the Nationals!
Mark Immonen Ann Arbor, Michigan
More than trivia
Did you know that a guy named Cooper Kimbrell is using RC aircraft to scare cormorants away from the catfish farms in Mississippi and Louisiana? (This information came from Richard Coniff's article in the July Smithsonian magazine.)
On an entirely different matter, I have a giant Stik which (if memory serves correctly) I bought from the House of Balsa for about $70 a few years back. Arguably it is the best buy in the history of modeldom. It has a nine‑foot span (I never measured the fuselage).
It's much too big for the cellar at home, so I store it in the cellar of my office building. It needed a little reworking, so I brought it home to the shop to fix it and then took it back to the office. I was a little rushed that morning and didn't have time to put it in the cellar. Instead I put it in the staff room with the wing resting. The first staff member to come in saw that monster sitting there and asked, seriously, "Oh, are you going somewhere?"
Walter Kent Glen Rock, New Jersey
Clemens saying recalled
In reference to Bob Parazin's search for the phrase concerning model airplanes in MA, August '91, I can remember a Johnny Clemens statement that was in an issue from about the mid‑'70s as well as I can recall. He said model airplanes are "greater than golf." Anyway, it might turn on a light bulb for someone.
Mike Ditrich Erie, Pennsylvania
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
