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.
To be Precise
I have followed with interest Model Aviation for a number of years and find it an exceptionally well-informed and balanced magazine that certainly covers all aspects of aeromodeling.
In the November issue, Bob Wischer's report on the Scale W/Cs states that Ireland's team was the first to be entered in scale. In fact, the Model Aeronautical Council of Ireland had a two-man team in the 1970 W/C held at Cranfield in England. John Carroll flew a Turbulent (incidentally still flying and a veteran of over 1,000 flights!) and "Doc" Dennis O'Hara flew a Tiger Moth. Also, the caption to the large Lancaster states that the builder was Jim Davis. In fact this "Lanc" is Roy Levers' machine, the demise of which I witnessed at the "Hixon Mini Nats." Underpowered, would you believe, and that non-retractable gear certainly did not help. Jim Davis' "Lanc" is somewhat smaller, has two .61s in the inboard nacelles and flies a treat.
Best regards to all my AMA friends.
Captain Joe Dible Dublin, Ireland
The editor may have confused that caption.
Snazzy Hot Rock
Being a local resident to Bill Evans, I had the opportunity of owning, building, and flying just about every airplane that Bill has designed in the past couple of years. One of my favorites is his Hot Rock.
Having had an all-balsa version of this ship and, of course, boring it to death, I decided to try the fiberglass fuselage version which features a plywood-sheeted foam wing. In addition to switching to the glass version, I decided to incorporate a few of my own ideas into the already superb design.
Construction time was about four and a half days, which in my opinion is very minimal. My modifications are the conversion from conventional landing gear to a tricycle gear configuration, the addition of a canopy, and, last of all, a removable cowl that ensures easy "under the hood" maintenance. Enclosed are pictures.
Steve Lepler Chatsworth, CA
Oh, That Nieuport March Cover!
Hey, you guys, look again! Rudder and ailerons are both in a left turn—not as explained on page 2 (About the Cover). Gotcha. I know you didn't ask, but I would say he was in knife-edge or big trouble. Glad you guys aren't in my pit crew—I have enough trouble. Kidding aside, good magazine, good shot.
Joseph Maiore, Sr. Bloomfield, NJ
Several readers have pointed out that the controls were coordinated for a roll-out—that is, left rudder and left aileron. What had bothered us was the extreme left rudder with the plane in a stand-on-the-tip position; that would be severe top-rudder, and in that attitude constitutes a powerful force to slip. It seemed to us that the slip input would be weighed against the roll-out controls; and other flight factors— which way was the ship rolling with application of controls, and how fast was it going—could determine which would win out. The ship did crack up. However, we fuss defensively. Ailerons and rudder were clearly saying the same thing—roll left.
Original Wright Flyer
Just received the January issue and especially enjoyed the Destiny at Kitty Hawk. The article reminded me of something that "bugged" me in the past.
Since the Wright plane crashed not too long after that famous day and was repaired, then the plane at the National Air and Space Museum and listed as the original isn't really the original because of the new materials used to repair it.
Ah, to open another can of worms.
Maybe it's something like the ax my grandfather had. It was supposed to have been the one Lincoln used to split fence rails. Of course, the handle had been replaced a few times because they broke and then the head sort of wore out so it was replaced, "but it's the original Lincoln ax." Just kidding.
You don't really get the full meaning of that first flight until you go to Kitty Hawk and see the actual distance the plane flew and then see a jet liner flying over with a wingspan larger than the distance the Wrights flew.
John R. Walker Bel Air, MD
Also, just kidding—if that is not the original Wright Flyer, what is it? If your car is not the original you bought four years ago because it has two new tires, what is it? Anyway, if you'd like to touch a piece of the fabric used to recover the "original Wright Flyer," it hangs, framed, on our office wall.
More Schoolyard
Please present more of these .02-powered scale warbirds. I think they are fascinating. (I just went out to buy a Cannon Super Mini system—2-channel—to go in mine.)
Jerome Lakes Bluffton, IN
Please work on Bowers and Srull to come up with a P-35 (.02 or .049) which would fly like the Wildcat. It could even land on its retractable wheels.
John W. Sloane Freeland, PA
Many people were interested in the simple, light structural approach to small RC scale models. Regarding the P-35, both Srull and Bowers think it a toughie.
Kudos—Mr. Lee!
I want to write and compliment both your magazine and Mr. Glenn Lee on one heck of a fine article ("All About Two-Cycle Engines") that appeared in MA 1/79. It was quite informative and answered questions I've had in my mind for a long time. In fact, I'd say that to me, that one article was just about worth my whole year subscription rate!
David Swolak Cincinnati, OH
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
