Letters to the Editor
Send your Letters to the Editor to: Model Aviation, 5151 East Memorial Drive, Muncie, IN 47302
Correction
I received an e-mail from Heather Rose of Great Planes Model Distributing informing me that in my October "RC Helicopters" column I mistakenly credited Horizon Hobby Distribution for the Instruction Manual Supplement to the Concept 46 V/R helicopter. The Concept 46 V/R helicopter is distributed by Great Planes.
Paul Tradelius Bradenton, Florida
Celebration of Pioneers
Congratulations on the Celebration of Pioneers gathering at Muncie. What an opportunity to meet the cream of the crop of model builders and renew old acquaintances. John Worth did an outstanding job arranging the gathering and the facilities provided by the AMA.
I had been to Muncie a few times but wasn't aware of the excellent flying sites the AMA has acquired. It's understandable why the Chicago Aeronuts have left Bong Field for the far-superior area adjacent to the AMA Headquarters. For a change, model builders no longer have to be told "You're losing this land, because..."
I especially enjoyed conversing with model builders I have read about for many years, including Sal Taibi, George Perryman, Dick Korda, George Reich, and Dr. Good, to name just a few. I also reminded Frank Parmenter that I hadn't seen him since the 1941 Nationals — that's 57 years!
For those of us who have been lucky enough to see all of this happen, I say thank you!
Art Christensen Arlington Heights, Illinois
Having just returned from the Eagles II Celebration, I don't think what really happened sank in until about halfway home. Just think about it — it gives this old guy goosebumps. I felt I had to write and tell everyone "thanks."
Sitting in the banquet hall with all of the aeromodeling greats of the past 60 or so years was humbling and awesome. To actually meet and talk to the people who designed, manufactured, and produced the models and related products during the 67 years I have been involved is beyond belief. My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our trip to AMA Headquarters; we discovered it is only slightly more than 200 miles from Lansing, Michigan to Muncie, Indiana (about three-and-a-half hours). We will definitely visit more often.
To meet and talk with the people who have provided me the tools to foster and perpetuate model aviation all these years — and to find that they are just regular people like me — is beyond comprehension. To be recognized by your peers with the Pioneers Award for something that came naturally has to be the apex of my so-called career in aeromodeling. I have often wondered what the good Lord had in store for me as my mission in life; maybe this is it. I could die tomorrow and go very peacefully, with no regrets.
I must extend my heartfelt thanks to John Worth and his committee, the Academy, and the Headquarters employees for a weekend that will forever be indelibly inscribed in my memory. May God bless you all, and again, thank you.
Chuck Spencer Lansing, Michigan
Nine Lives?
Yes, you can get nine lives out of an airplane. If you're one of those who occasionally have a less-than-perfect landing and are left with a scattering of brightly colored confetti that was an airplane just moments ago, don't despair. The wreckage can be reassembled a lot faster and cheaper than your pride can.
Here's the deal:
- Conceal a large garbage bag among your field accessories. You only need it when you go to collect wreckage. Make sure to gather all pieces from the crash; you can discard the covering material later.
- Take inventory at the crash site, paying particular attention to small, expensive, easily overlooked items like servos. Don't go home without them.
- If you saved the blueprints, use them to realign structure and remake parts like wing ribs and formers. If you don't have blueprints, use common sense to keep the airplane's lines true.
Repair tips:
- Tack the pieces back together with cyanoacrylate (CA) glue, much like making a jigsaw puzzle. Restore basic alignment and shape first; strengthening comes second.
- Breaks along the grain of balsa can often be repaired with CA glue and an accelerator; most of the balsa's strength can be regained.
- Breaks across the grain require splints. Glue a length of balsa or hardwood to each side of the break and epoxy for strength.
- For leading-edge wing breaks, glue end-to-end first, keeping proper alignment, then splint as needed.
- Popsicle sticks are a modeler's secret weapon: strong, lightweight, and easy to shape. Epoxy and quick glues adhere well to them. Cut the stick to size (old-fashioned wire cutters work well and prevent splintering), overlap the break by approximately one inch, and epoxy in place. Epoxy usually works better than CA for these splints.
- Main spars may require more strength; use a spruce splint and epoxy.
- Fuselage front-section damage can be pieced back together using the puzzle method; splint the mainframe sections with hardwood and use epoxy. Check balance — light filler compound will cover any visible gaps.
Fine-tune and fly. How's your pride doing? Don't forget to keep a good supply of Popsicle sticks on hand for emergencies — craft shops and some hobby shops stock plenty.
Help Wanted
I just had to write and say how much I appreciate this hobby. I have been involved with model aviation for the past seven years and build and fly almost anything that might work. A recent career change has taken away a lot of my building time, but I still love to fly.
I'm writing about a model I had a few years ago that is no longer available through hobby shops or catalogs I have contacted. It is a small pusher-type ARF F-16 Falcon by E/Z OK Models of Japan. It is designed for .25-size two-stroke engines. If anyone has a kit to sell or knows of a hobby shop that has one in stock, please get in touch with me.
Thanks again for a great magazine that I love to read.
Eddie Sheridan 8081 Furnace Rd. Slatington, PA 18080
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
