Letters to the Editor
Send your Letters to the Editor to: Model Aviation, 5151 East Memorial Drive, Muncie, IN 47302
The Unknown Flier
Is this you? I met this guy at the 1994 Nats. He had a new Spirit 100 and used our hi-start for its maiden voyage. I got some pictures of it, but not his address! If you read this, send me your address, please!
Katie Bosman 512 South Oxford Ave. Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin 54235
Katie is a senior-age sailplane flier who did quite well at the 1994 Nats.
No Sympathy
I was appalled at your sympathetic answer to a letter from Jack Tillett (August '94 MA) involving the notion that a club Safety Officer would have the audacity to call a modeler and insist that bird chasing is unacceptable behavior. Those "welcome spectators" he mentions could be anyone from anywhere and may very well not like you chasing birds. They may also have the political pull to see to it that none of you or your buddies get to do it at your leased flying site again!
"Bird chasers," "temper-tantrum throwers," "pit buzzers," and the odd clown who refuses to put a muffler on his airplane to meet reasonable flying site noise limits all present the wrong image to the interested public who show up to watch at our flying sites. They should be treated like the pariahs they are, not coddled and made to feel this sort of thing is okay. A small club of less than 100 members may not have a problem with this sort of thing. But I can tell you from experience that larger clubs with several hundred members often do, and as they say, "It only takes one."
William D. Crowl Sacramento, California
Editor: You're absolutely right — boorish behavior at the flying field should not be tolerated. I wasn't attempting to condone bird-chasing; rather, I was concerned about the treatment Mr. Tillett received.
Importance of Safety
I would like to stress the importance of wearing safety glasses while using model airplane glue. My thirteen-year-old son got glue in his eye while working on his model airplane.
He was not wearing safety glasses, and had to make an emergency trip to the hospital. If not properly treated, he could have had permanent damage to his cornea. He suffered mild abrasions on his cornea. We were very fortunate his eye healed completely due to the immediate treatment he received. Please always wear safety glasses while using this glue.
Mary Mandeville Lakeville, Massachusetts
Fans of Fewer Jumps
I felt obligated to send you another letter since I had written a critical letter several months ago.
My complaint several months ago was about the number of "jumps" that the stories made in Model Aviation magazine. I just looked through my October 1994 issue and could only find one article that jumped: "Letters to the Editor." I fully understand that there will be some jumping; there is just no way around it.
Your magazine is now much easier to read since I no longer have to hunt for a story's conclusion 75 pages away. The stories now run one page after another, only broken by advertising — a welcome change.
I feel certain that your readers appreciate being able to follow a story more easily now. As for myself, I just wanted to say thank you.
John A. Hruby Duncan, Oklahoma
Whilst perusing the October 1994 issue of Model Aviation I came to realize that something was not right. Then it came to me: all the articles were in one piece, continued, when necessary, on a following page. WOW! What a concept. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Would that every publication on the planet follow your noble example, eschewing the pernicious practice of scattering half-inch bits of article over fifteen or twenty pages.
Good work!
Lorenzo Cordova Glenview, Illinois
Microhenrys
There is never a reason why the Microhenrys page should be left out. That page is the only one that is always worth reading.
Much of the other drivel you print is not worth the paper it is written on. Microhenrys can always be in your magazine if you will cut out some of the AMA advertising. It is very doubtful that anything will be lost if you delete the AMA Programs For Members page, the 1994 Membership Application page, the half page of Membership Information, and the self-serving AMA advertising for an issue or two or more. Also, in most instances the District Reports can be condensed or eliminated.
Until we can be an AMA member without subscribing to Model Aviation — the one page always read, studied, and discussed is the Microhenrys page — nothing else. Read your own Letters to the Editor. You can leave out anything else and you would not receive a letter of criticism.
Otherwise, give us an opportunity to save $12 per year off our membership and keep up your magazine.
Gary G. Antene Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Safety Is Serious Business
I'm disgusted with the careless attitudes of the editors of this magazine.
You publish a picture of a person with a glue bottle stuck up his nose and when a reader cautions you about the potential for danger if children might see such a picture, you tell him to supervise his child.
Some months back, that same safety column showed a picture of an airplane which had a circular saw blade instead of a propeller to emphasize the dangers of spinning props.
Don't you realize that we have enough trouble getting acceptance of this hobby without publishing material that will help the lawyers of those who would like to shut us down? You have certain responsible writers like Howard Crispin and Don Lowe who continually caution about how we exhibit ourselves to the public. Then you have editors who not only allow irresponsible material to be published, but make excuses for it when someone cautions them about it.
You seem to exhibit the same "we know best" attitude toward safety that you showed when readers complained about the annoying page jumps in your articles!
Armand Graziani Kendall Park, New Jersey
Almost Ready to Fly
I read in a recent issue of MA about the good of ARFs. If you fly in a very public area, people tend to come up and ask a lot of questions. They ask the usual questions every time, but when I say you have to build the planes they get discouraged.
This sport is not for everybody. Many people are not patient enough to build a model. I avoid telling people about ARF models because I think they take from the feeling of the sport. I'm sure every modeler remembers the first time they saw the plane they worked on for days get airborne; it's a feeling of pride and joy. ARF models take that feeling away.
So let's suppose a person buys an ARF trainer and learns how to fly. Now he or she wants a better plane that performs beyond the trainer level. But now the pilot has no building skills. There are almost no high-performance ARFs. The pilot is stuck.
Or what if pilots say "I never want to enter competitions, so why do I need high-performance ships?" Maybe in a year or two that attitude will change and he or she does want to compete; the pilot won't have the building skills to build the ship needed for competitions.
If a person says that they don't have the time to build a plane then maybe they should think twice about entering this hobby? For me half of the thrill is to have a plane you built with your own hands fly; it's a feeling one can't really explain.
Thanks for your time.
Ali Khani Torrance, California
Editor: The role of the ARF has been debated since such models first appeared. It's great that you feel pride in craftsmanship, but there are many who simply want to get out and fly; the ARF provides means to an end for them.
The ARF has doubtless increased the number of active fliers. And there's always the point that we don't make our golf clubs tennis racquets; why should we have to make our models?
"Liquids & Chemicals" Tips
The piece by Graham Hicks, "Liquids and Chemicals in the Workshop," is a real benefit to MA readers and aeromodellers in general. It is a real information piece about a subject not covered in all I've read to date (books, magazines, etc.). Thanks Graham and thanks Jim!
Speaking of chemicals, I would like to offer a tip I've found useful. It's a recipe for an aircraft cleaner which is inexpensive and works well. It does not harm MonoKote or UltraCote. I haven't tried it on anything else, but don't see any reason why it would hurt other coverings (test a sample first, however).
- 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol (70%)
- 1-1/2 tsp ammonia
- 1-1/2 tsp dish soap
- Mix with tap water in a 32-ounce bottle.
I will pass credit for this idea to my neighbor and fellow modeler, Dick Lee, who said, "Here, try some of this stuff."
Steve Aldridge Boise, Idaho
I enjoyed Graham Hicks' article about the dangerous chemicals that are used in this hobby. Acetone was a chemical in the article that Mr. Hicks mentioned is very hazardous.
I have been flying ARF models the last four years that have plastic fuselages. The method of repair is to soak plastic shavings in acetone, which makes a putty-like substance, and use that to patch cracks and holes. Instead of pure acetone, I use nail-polish remover. It has enough acetone to do the repairs (though it may take a bit longer), but it is diluted and has conditioners in it to make it less hazardous.
Mark Atkins Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
I have gleaned a lot of useful modeling information from all the traditional magazines, but the September issue on "Liquids and Chemicals in the Workshop" is probably the best I have utilized since being associated with modeling.
My thanks to Graham Hicks for this very informative treatise. I have utilized this information immediately after reading it through. In the past I have largely ignored elementary personal safety precautions. I assure you that this commentary brought me back to the reality of the physical dangers of chemical fumes right from within my own workshop.
I go one step further and now use a sealed container for chemically soaked rags, tissue, etc., having learned that the fumes are the most dangerous as well as the most explosive element for the modeler.
Thanks for good, useful information from a first-rate publication.
Dave Spencer Dayton, Ohio
"Haught Corner" Comments
I was moved by your recent editorial (Sept. issue) to drop you a note of encouragement—I'm part of the 15, not of the one! I find MA to have about the same quality produced by your predecessors, and there are some things I like even better: your "Haught Corner" column being one of them; for whatever reason I'm a bit prejudiced by that neat pic of you launching the Ramrod!
I suspect that should one be able to determine the age at which our modeling heroes first gained national prominence, it would be at less than 39; I believe Carl Goldberg was a lot younger than that at the time he upset the apple cart with the Zipper.
Perhaps we need to forgive old free-flighters for the occasional one who believes a person must be a senior citizen before he can contribute anything worthwhile; after all, the average age of NFFS members is about 50!
Frankly I think 39 is an ideal age: old enough to be educated and have a bunch of real-world experience, and yet young enough that physical and cerebral processes have not yet attenuated much. And those 'youngsters' who, like yourself, have not only studied history, but have learned the many lessons it can demonstrate, are in an excellent position to move us into the next millennium.
Another thing I was pleased to see in your column was humility. In this day and age, all too often a younger man who has pretty well gotten his life together gets a big head as well. Yours is just the right size and perspective—keep it up.
William D. Crowl Sacramento, California
Don't let it grow.
Ron St. Jean Yerington, Nevada
Editor: Ron designed a number of famous models, including the Ramrod shown in the column header. In recent years he has worked with RC and FF models that make extensive use of foam construction.
I read in your editorial (October 1994) with great interest. As president of Tri-Village R/Cers (an AMA-sanctioned club in the northwest suburbs of Chicago), I agree wholeheartedly that we should encourage people into this hobby instead of discouraging participation.
While our club is not perfect, we do a number of things to encourage newcomers. We have an excellent flight instruction program, informative tech sessions during our meetings, and instructional articles in our monthly newsletter.
Since our flying field is maintained by the Forest Preserve of Cook County, we get a number of passers-by stopping to observe what we're doing. Our membership bends over backward to answer questions and offer suggestions to anyone interested in the hobby.
We even maintain a trainer plane (with buddy box) to allow people to find out what R/C flying is all about.
Mike Lynch Hoffman Estates, Illinois
In regard to the letter a few issues ago about a modeler who complained about rude treatment he received while on a visit to Florida, and also your article in the October issue:
I would like you to know that I'm an old hat to control-line modeling from years back, but new to R/C modeling these past few months. I joined the Sacramento Red Barons out of Sacramento, California, for the following reasons.
After receiving help in the local hobby shop from Jack Becquette, Sacramento Red Barons Safety Officer, while purchasing material for a float plane I'm building, he suggested I visit the flying field on a Thursday night.
The following Thursday I was there with my own plane, radio, and field gear ready to fly; lo and behold I was welcomed aboard very nicely by John Sorenson, club president, Art Holden, club treasurer, Jack Becquette, club safety officer, and four of the instructor pilots. After talking things over and getting questions answered, I was asked if I was ready to fly, and my answer was definitely "yes."
The Sacramento Red Barons have every Thursday afternoon set aside for instructing only. The club furnishes the planes, radios, and instructors for the newly joined members who are wanting to learn the art of flying R/C.
Everyone in the club that I've spoken with has been very helpful on teaching, providing advice or suggestions on the ins and outs of R/C flying and modeling from their own years of experience.
This is to show that not all clubs are cliquish (this I personally despise) and that there are a few around that are actually outstanding in all aspects. I have only been a member of the Sacramento Red Barons for a month now, and from what I have seen and heard, this is one club I will be a member of for quite some time.
I would like to say thanks to the people who care about helping others achieve their goals.
Michael D. McLaughlin Sacramento, California
AT-6 Racing
It could be seen by anyone who knows anything about people, what the AT-6 racing is all about. The race that brought this message home to me was the AMA-hosted race at the wonderful headquarters located in Muncie, Indiana. Everyone who is part of the modeling world should visit this unbelievable oasis carved out of an 1,100-acre cornfield.
I witnessed people who were old enough to be my grandfather (and I am a proud grandfather myself) walking slowly to the flight line. As they got closer to the flight line some magic seemed to have come over them. Herding over the tool in which they were about to do battle over the skies of Muncie, IN.
You could see the nervousness come in, but not for long, because these pilots, callers, and crew members have been doing this a long time, and when not building, they have been bench racing in the garages and basements throughout this wonderful country.
The signal was given to start the engines for the race and all but the crew member with the starter seemed to turn to mannequins until they would hear the engine start or the little puff of smoke that belches from a choked engine; then these lifeless figures would all turn to smiles and would all go to their respective places in order of a well-rehearsed drill team.
This self-induced stress was gaining in tempo because it was necessary to get the Texan off the ground in the crosswinds. The race was then started and the crews and pilots all had formed that thin layer of sweat that is needed to keep the reflexes razor sharp.
After the race was over and the planes were called in to land, everyone but the pilots became the mannequins. Once the bird was back safely in the hands of the crews, the jubilation could be seen all over the place.
These select few that got to experience this type of compassion for plane and crew are a rarity indeed. The very same people that were limping to the flight line were now walking on their toes, shaking each other's hands and slapping each other on the back.
It isn't my intention to give the idea that this is limited to a certain age group, because all ages were represented. But being a grandfather, I have a special place in my heart for them.
Thank you, AMA, for giving us at Klotz Special Formula a chance to be a part of the Mid-American AT-6 Challenge and witness this great event. Let's do it again. You can bet we will be there cheering for the grandfathers.
Bob Morrison Klotz Special Formula Products Fort Wayne, Indiana
Two Suggestions
Like many modelers, I have attended model competitions and fly-ins. These are advertised to modelers with the usual flyers and posters, but many are advertised in newspapers and on radio and television stations and often draw good-sized crowds of non-modelers who have come to see the "show." We talk and write about reaching out to bring new people, especially youth, into the hobby and at events such as these, we have them coming to us, but we do virtually nothing to communicate with them!
Why not set up a booth or table at such events for the purpose of answering questions, handing out material and inviting people to club meetings, and regular flying sessions? The announcer could make the visitors aware of this booth, tell them where it is located, and make them aware that the event sponsors are genuinely glad they have come.
Another way to reach out to visitors would be to have designated modelers walk among the crowd wearing brightly colored hats or T-shirts, with the announcer telling people that if they have any questions, they are invited to ask the people with the red/yellow/etc. hats or T-shirts. Given the typical annual dues for a club, one new member who joins because of an effort such as this would pay for a lot of shirts or hats!
There isn't much to be lost by trying these ideas and there is a great deal for the local club, the AMA, and the hobby to gain.
James Fierro Longwood, Florida
Enclosed please find an ad for a "Flea & Fly." What a great idea for clubs to earn more money at their fly-ins by selling flea-market space! This club went to a lot of work—good fun, food, fleaing, and flying.
Brad Greenwood Atchison, Kansas
Thoughts on Technical Articles
Some comments on technical publication as I know it. I'm a biologist who has published some 50 papers on fish in the scientific literature. I've also written a dozen or so articles published in popular aquarium magazines.
When I write a scientific paper, I write it according to the "instructions to authors" of the journal in which I hope to publish. The journal's readers want a highly structured paper in which the methods are given in sufficient detail to permit repetition by another competent worker. The results are presented with statistics to show significance. Then a discussion as to the interpretation of the results follows.
In popular magazines I write more informally and fully explain the equipment used and the steps that the novice must take to get the job done. I find that editors of popular magazines often want the final copy condensed to fit available space and simplify some of the technicalities. The result is often an article that gives the impression that some magic is performed when there is only careful attention to basic technique.
The point is that writers should be aware of the different audiences and write accordingly. If Model Aviation wants to serve both audiences, every technical article should have (1) a formal section describing experimental procedures and data for the expert and (2) a practical section that tells the novice how to accomplish the task. Both are important.
Sincerely, W. J. Tebeau Newport Beach, California
On technical publication and review processes: when I submit to a journal I typically send an original and three hard copies plus a copy on disc. On receiving my manuscript, the editor sends a notice that the manuscript has been received and sent out for review. The editor will then send the copies to three expert reviewers for comment. The reviewers are supposed to help the author and may recommend rejection, major revision, minor revision, or acceptance.
I tend to do more editing than most reviewers do, in part because many of the articles I review are written by someone for whom English is a second language. The editor will, on the basis of the reviewers' comments, accept, accept with minor revision, accept with major revision, ask for resubmission, or flatly reject the article. In any case, the reviewers' comments are sent along.
If an article is rejected, you use the reviewers' comments to modify it (or not), rewrite and send to the next best journal. If revisions are required, you either make the revisions or make a convincing case to the editor that the revisions are not needed.
This process is considerably different from how you operate. I think it is quite appropriate that Model Aviation publish real technical articles that can inform the modeler who wants to have that level of understanding.
May I suggest that you establish a category of "Technical Article" with these features:
- That the article undergoes technical review, somewhat as described above, before you accept it for publication.
- That technical articles are paid for at three times the going rate.
- That technical articles are published in a compact format without interruption.
- That initially no more than two or three technical articles be published in a year.
Publishing research papers is the core of the scientific enterprise, and any active scientist has to live with rejection—not only from editors, but from funding agencies as well. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen! I have no sympathy for any "expert" who cannot face criticism and respond to it in a constructive and professional manner. I have even less respect for the "expert" who shows contempt for his audience by his sloppy writing or sloppy thinking.
We scientists have battled ourselves since the Middle Ages to get rid of authoritarianism; the belief that if Mr. X, the noted model builder, said it, it must be true. Better we should think that Mr. X's ideas deserve careful consideration first, rather than out-of-hand rejection. If Mr. X accepts the authoritarian view of himself, that is an unfortunate character flaw in such a nice fellow.
Anyway, I hope these comments will help you in your thinking about some of your problems as managing editor.
Jim Thomerson Collinsville, Illinois
Right Direction
I am much gratified to read of the planned "Newcomers" column. Finally, I think you are headed in the proper direction for material which should be in the official publication of an Academy. Mr. Earl Stahl's remarks in the "Letters" column of the September issue sum up my long-held feelings quite well regarding greater focus on education.
In a lighter vein, the ill treatment of visitors to flying fields is not a recent tragedy! Several years ago, in the early '70s, I was in Dallas, Texas on business. About 8:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning, while enroute to some forgotten destination, we happened to pass an RC field. One individual was flying alone, and really winging out an Ugly Stick-type aircraft.
I decided to stop by to say howdy. When the individual landed the aircraft and was fueling it, I began to walk toward the pits. He turned, snarled "members only," started the engine, and took off!
He seemed so positive in his right to send me away that I didn't bother to remind him of the prominently posted "No Flying Before 10 a.m. on Sundays" sign. He seemed to be "the exception to the rule" we hear so much about!
Yours in the sincere anticipation of a revitalized, active AMA, working to help educate those who hold the future of our hobby and our nation — our children!
Robert J. Spivey Austin, Texas
Center of Pressure
Barnaby Wainfan's "Airfoils for Flying Wings" (September 1994, page 19) gives a lot of good advice. But Barnaby should have been kinder to the "archaic notion of airfoil center of pressure." Stability depends on the center of pressure's moving aft of the CG as the angle of attack rises, and forward of the CG as it falls. Translating this rule into the engineer's force and moment system makes it harder to understand—but it greatly simplifies design calculations, provided that the moment about the aerodynamic center (≈ 25% chord) is independent of angle of attack.
For small, light models the moment can vary. Flat balsa flying wings 8 x 3 x 1/16 weighing 7 g will glide stably either way up with the CG anywhere between 22 and 37% chord, even though the pitching moment changes from positive to negative when the CG is moved aft of 25% (C. W. McCutchen, "Superstability," Model Builder, Oct. 1982, p. 52; Nov. 1982, p. 46; "Superstability—Or Why Your Chuck Glider Has Two Personalities," NFFS Symposium, 1986). That the model is stable even when the moment is negative is because the negative moment gets bigger as the angle of attack increases.
Barnaby's theory, with its constant pitching moment, denies the phenomenon, and insists that the wing can be stable only one way up, and only when the CG is forward of 25%.
Something is happening that the theory does not take account of. The thick boundary layer must be making the effective camber of the wing, that sensed by the air outside the boundary layer, become more positive as the angle of attack rises.
The phenomenon has practical consequences for modelers. Hand-launched gliders trimmed zero-zero follow the textbook at high speeds and low angles of attack. The book says they should have very low pitching moment, and go up like arrows. They do.
But at gliding speed at the top of the trajectory, the boundary layers are thick and the models have a stable center-of-pressure travel. They defy the book, gliding stably and recovering quickly from minor disturbances. Upset into a steep dive, however, they revert to being arrows and plunge to earth.
Charles W. McCutchen Bethesda, Maryland
Control-Surface Flutter
I was reading the October issue of Model Aviation and came across the article on control-surface flutter by H. Carlin Hulick. Mr. Hulick gave the example of the elevator balance weights on the P-38 as a fix for surface flutter. Something jogged my memory, and I remembered a text written by Jeffery L. Ethell on this subject.
As it turns out, according to Mr. Ethell, those balance weights didn't solve the problem and were considered by Kelly Johnson to be useless. The reason you see them on all the pictures and drawings of P-38s is a story in itself.
Summarizing quite a bit: the problem of control oscillation in dive tests was first recognized in May of 1941 when Major Signa Gilkie drove the fifth YP-38 from over 30,000 feet straight down. Only elevator trim and the thicker air at 7,000 feet allowed him to gain control.
The chief of the Lockheed Design Bureau, Hall Hibbard, and Kelly Johnson thought the problem was compressibility, but because of the time constraints of getting the plane into production during those war years, they overruled and a quick fix was done by sticking mass-balance weights on the elevator. After all, rumors would probably infiltrate to the training P-38 pilots that there was a dive problem and the factory had fixed it. They could even see the fix as they prepared to get into the plane: the balance weights hanging on the elevator.
The real problem was found later in wind-tunnel tests first at the California Institute of Technology and later at the NACA Ames Laboratory. It turns out that in a dive the wing-to-fuselage joints were causing a turbulent flow that ran over the elevator and at Mach .67 there were certain points on the wing that reached the speed of sound.
The pilot, when nosed over in a steep dive, would experience control-yoke oscillations (which were thought to be flutter) and then complete loss of control. Because the war was on, only stop-gap fixes were done. They included fillets between the wing and fuselage and dive brakes under each wing outboard of the engines. Most of the P-38s had been built by the time these fixes were introduced.
Dick Korda
Can you tell me whether Dick Korda of Wakefield fame is still alive? Background for this question:
I read somewhere that he died from lung cancer in 1990 and that the proceeds from the Dick Korda Commemorative Contest would go to children's cancer research.
Then I read that he attended and flew his model in the Dick Korda Commemorative Contest.
Looking forward to hearing from you about Dick Korda, with many thanks.
Tom Ponce St. Augustine, Florida
Editor: I'm happy to report that Dick is alive and well, and recently attended the SAM Champs in Muncie, which was named in his honor. He had the honor of the first flight on the day the Korda event was held. Of course, the flight was a max.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
