Letters to the Editor
About the Top Gun '91 article
As a former Globe Swift owner (Cert. #90804) I must concur with author George Jenkins' observation (October '91 issue, page 30), for reasons explained below. Mr. Corvin Miller's Swift may have shown an odd angle on the rudder (I looked in vain for a picture).
In the late fifties the FBO at Venice Airport was Vince Fette, and he modified the rudders of Swifts by adding an extension forward of the vertical stabilizer. I feel certain that Mr. Miller probably copied a full-scale Swift that had been so modified.
Readers who have flown the full-scale Swift will recall that the original configuration of the tail assembly was "close coupled," and the addition to the vertical stabilizer made for more stable flight characteristics (especially on crosswind takeoffs with the original 85-horsepower Continental engine). I would love to build a model of that aircraft and wonder if Mr. Miller has plans available for it.
Ted Chachakis Groton, Connecticut
Paris Air Show '91: Boo! Hiss!
I believe that articles such as "Paris Air Show 1991" that appeared in your December 1991 issue are not appropriate for inclusion in your magazine. Although well written, picturesque, and somewhat informative, the article deals with the Paris Air Show. This is a trade show for full-scale aircraft.
The author, Mr. Berliner, got caught up in the fascination of the trade show dealing with full-scale aircraft and neglected the title of your fine magazine, namely Model Aviation.
The article did mention "... Lots of miniaturized replicas ..." and did have several pictures of model aircraft. However, the article dealt with pavilions, sales stands, and many other topics that had nothing to do with model aircraft.
Past articles written by Mr. Berliner dealing with such things as full-scale antique aircraft, full-scale historic aircraft, etc., are very informative for the scale model builder. He should continue his fine presentation of articles of this type.
After all, the title of your magazine is Model Aviation, and articles in the magazine should deal with this subject. The Paris Air Show article would have been appropriate if Mr. Berliner, among other topics dealing with model aviation, had gone into greater detail concerning the building of and building techniques associated with the model aircraft displayed at the show.
Robert E. Bodner Flanders, New Jersey
Paris Air Show '91: He loved it!
I enjoyed reading the Paris Air Show article by Don Berliner in the December 1991 issue of Model Aviation. For most people, the chance to attend such an event is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, if ever! The excellent photos and text made me wish I could go there one day!
I noticed one small error, however, in one of the photo captions. On page 2, the F-15 Eagle described in the third photo is not correct. It is actually an AMX ground-attack aircraft which was jointly designed and developed by Italy's Aeritalia and Aermacchi in conjunction with Brazil's Embraer. The bubble canopy and gray paint job give it a slight resemblance to the F-15. The differences between the AMX and the F-15 are the smaller size (the people in the photo background are taller than the nose of the plane), the single tail, the single engine, and the wing-tip ordnance attachment points of the AMX.
I hope Model Aviation continues to include articles on special aviation events of full-scale aircraft. There are lots of interesting new aircraft being made by other countries which we here in the U.S. may never know about unless we attend or read about an international event such as the Paris Air Show. I think the AMX would make an excellent scale ducted-fan model. Perhaps in future articles, it would be nice for your contributing editors to obtain the address of the public relations office for some of these aircraft companies so that readers can obtain information to help in their modeling projects. Wouldn't it be great to get a full-color brochure on the MiG-31!
Edmund M. Urabe Waipahu, Hawaii
Publisher's reply: The publisher believes that many modelers have a good deal of interest in all phases of aviation — including full-scale. Also, features of full-scale aircraft may strike the fancy of a modeler and encourage him (or her) to design or build a model of a new aircraft or to adopt some feature to a model. Where better to see what's new in the world of full-scale aviation than at the world's oldest and most prestigious air show? — RMcM.
Frank Zaic: Alive and kicking!
I appreciate your coverage of my participation at the NAA Honors reception. It was well done, the article (April '92 issue — ed.).
I had a quick look at the main photo. I will have to accept the march of time. As for the small photo: I had to identify myself by the dark glasses and the dark strip around the neck which held up my eyeglass cord. I want to set the record straight on the model I am holding. It is not mine. Either the model is in someone's collection or someone had me pose with it for his collection. My AMA number is 477.
Frank Zaic Northridge, California
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
