Letters to the Editor
All letters will be carefully considered; those of general interest will be used. Send to Model Aviation, 815 15th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005.
And More!
The Flying Dutchmen Aeromodelers have addressed themselves to the problem brought to the surface "one more time" by your thought-provoking For Openers in MA's December 1978 issue. The junior problem, as handled by the Flying Dutchmen Aeromodelers (Reading, PA), is rather successfully managed as follows.
The term "junior" is simply a beginner — age is not relevant. We learned the age stigma one day while preparing a newcomer to meet some already established "juniors." A 58-year-old came over to meet the newcomer. The newcomer said, "Oh my gosh, I thought you would be a seven-year-old."
In the course of finding the almost impassable road to getting a child to see the light and build models one-on-one, we started to wise up and give him a reason to build. A child likes to participate in activities he identifies with grown-ups. So what followed was magic, or the next thing to it: sell model aviation as a family activity. When the child sees his parents interested, we often gain three new club members in one shot — the child, the parent, and sometimes other family members.
The final plus is that with model building established in the home, the child will not be in contact with the hobby only at the couple of meetings a month where his project is worked on. In conclusion, having parents sell the hobby-sport to their peers brings our organization more interested adults, and the young "juniors" stay in step because it's the thing to do. The Flying Dutchmen Aeromodelers keep the wheel turning by educating all parties to improve their building habits, etc.
Bob Diefenderfer West Lawn, PA
Thanks for the Memories
An article in your December 1978 issue certainly brought back memories of my start in the hobby. Back in 1950 (at age 12) I built my first free-flight gas model, a Dakota biplane manufactured by the old Henry Engineering Company (later acquired by Veco). My little all-balsa bipe was powered by a Spitzy Jr. .045 1/2A engine, which was manufactured by the Anderson-Spitfire people. If my memory is correct, this engine had a list price of $3.95, including an integral fuel tank. I lost that Dakota before the summer was over, but fortunately never lost the hobby.
About ten years ago I found a Dumas Dakota kit in my local hobby shop and naturally had to try again. The enclosed photo (taken recently by my son, Tom) shows my "new" Dakota is still in good flying condition. With the improvements in model engines through the years, it is interesting to note that the Dakota now flies easily with a Cox Pee Wee .020 instead of the original .045 engine.
Your author, Clarence Haught, did a splendid job in his design-update article. I had always wanted to put a single-channel R/C in my Dakota; in fact, I still may do that one of these days. At any rate, to quote a famous show-business personality, "thanks for the memories."
Bob Aberle Contributing Editor (R/C), Flying Models
Guff Flies Again!
An article in the October 1978 issue (page 48) that interested me very much was the piece on Walt and Bill Good's Guff. My son built this model about three years ago from plans published in Air Trails (Nov.–Dec.).
Randolph H. Smyre Charleston, SC
Since this letter, Mr. Smyre has completed his Guff. The accompanying picture shows him and his son, Tom, with their two magnificent flying machines. We've urged him to send prints to Walt Good, now retired in Florida.
He Was Perturbed
I'm trying to write this letter and hold back my upset feelings at the same time, so please excuse the poor, confused grammar. After reading For Openers (Nov. 1978 issue of MA), I cooled off a day or so, then phoned Johnny Clemens. He suggested I write you to explain my feelings.
My model-plane building and flying began back in the '40s; in fact, Johnny Clemens taught me to loop my CL Strato Cat and Fire Ball. Along came the Korean conflict and the U.S. Army; in the late '50s I flew CL in Japan and Korea, and then in the '60s I got into R/C. Anyhow, I dropped my AMA in the '50s and lost my number, but I have now returned to AMA for contest and insurance. I fly R/C for sport and CL scale for contest, so you wonder, "Why is he mad?"
Since 1947 I've owned, raced, and toured on motorcycles. I am the VP of the Oak Cliff Gypsy's M/C Club. So someone's statement, "What if some cycle gang gets into 1/4 scale RC," was one big slap in the face. Do you suggest I put away my R/C and CL because I ride bikes?
In our club, as with other charter clubs, we have doctors, lawyers, airline pilots, preachers, and others who enjoy model building. I knew the type you meant, and the remark was hurtful to many of us who enjoy model aviation and other pursuits.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
