Letters to the Editor
Credit Where It's Due:
The story on Bergen County, New Jersey's new model aerodrome in the December 1991 issue (page 21) neglected to give credit for the splendid aerial photo to two dedicated AMA modelers from that area: pilot Dan Dispenza and photographer Vic Bock. Thanks to District II's new vice president, Joe Beshar, for pointing out this shortcoming.
Farewell to a friend
Aeromodeling lost one of its "quiet giants" on November 19, 1991, with the passing of Herbert J. Clukey of Fairfax, Virginia. Herb was a cofounder of Flyline Models and president of the firm until his untimely death at age 66. In addition to being responsible for many of the Flyline kit designs, he was the draftsman of a number of beautiful construction plans used in Model Aviation and other publications.
Herb was born in Jackman, Maine, where he spent his entire youth until serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II. In addition to being an ardent modeler, he was a most talented musician and played tenor saxophone in several of the popular big bands of the postwar era.
He later found himself fully employed in the vocation of his first love, the model industry. He spent many years working in the famous Corr's Hobby Shop in Washington, D.C., prior to his career with Flyline Models.
Herb is survived by his wife, Mrs. Sue Clukey of Fairfax, Virginia; a son, Mr. Terry Clukey of Fairfax, Virginia; a daughter, Mrs. Ilka Costales of Los Angeles, California; another daughter, Mrs. Sandra Smith of Fairfax, Virginia; and a sister, Mrs. Angela Robertson of Mt. Pocono, Pennsylvania.
Herb will be greatly missed, not only by his family and host of friends, but by the entire aeromodeling community worldwide, who have so enjoyed his designs and contributions to the hobby for many years.
Hurst Bowers McLean, VA
(Editor's note: Herb Clukey was a personal friend for about 40 years. His bubbling good spirits and the tricky gleam in his eye always made it a pleasure to spend time with him talking about — well, almost anything. But he had a great love for model airplanes. I still remember the story he told me about being a youngster living on a farm. He had just finished a new Hand-Launched Glider and took it outside for a test flight. "It flew over the barn and into the pig pen, and the hogs ate it before I could get to it." Goodbye for now, friend. I'll miss you. RMcM)
Letters to the Editor
Continued from page 5
RC wiring harnesses: A word of caution
I recently ordered a switch harness assembly for my RC system and was surprised to find that it had a 3/32-in. mini-phone jack for the battery charger input, instead of the S servo connector as previously supplied. The S connector was rather difficult to panel-mount in the model, while the mini-phone jack has the virtues of being small, light and easily mounted to a panel.
Unfortunately, these phone jacks also have some serious design problems, which, in my view, make them unsuitable for this application. In one instance, whenever the plug from the charger unit is inserted or withdrawn, it creates a momentary short circuit across the battery and charger lines.
It may be that in most cases this brief short across the receiver Ni-Cd and the charger output will not cause any damage. However, one of my battery chargers from a different brand of equipment was actually damaged by the transients produced by using a mini-phone jack, and there is always the possibility of the jack being left in the shorted condition for an extended period, creating a fire hazard.
I would recommend replacing these connectors, wherever they are found in a power-supply application, with a coaxial DC power connector, an RCA-type phone jack, a servo connector, or any other type where the conductors cannot be brought into contact during charger connection.
Note that the charger connection to transmitters is usually a coaxial DC plug. If you decide to use another DC plug for the receiver charge line, then it needs to be clearly labeled so you don't mate the wrong plugs.
I hope manufacturers of RC equipment will phase out the use of these connectors which are really not safe or appropriate in battery circuits.
John W. Powell Valley Forge Signal Seekers St. Albans Model Aero Club (UK) Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania
P.S.: I haven't written to Model Aviation for some time and always enjoy the magazine, especially when it includes material relevant to soaring or electronics. Thanks for continuing all that work to keep the magazine alive.
Thanks for the tip on the connectors and for the kind words. It is our goal to keep the magazine alive — to serve our readers, the finest, friendliest people in the world. RMcM
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Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
