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.
Loves Willard Designs
Re: RC Drake II Flying Boat — Ken Willard must have been sent from the great beyond to keep the charm of sport flying alive for those of us to whom competition is only to learn better the forces of gravity. His designs keep the joy of the hobby alive.
Elmar Meuer, Bronx, NY
Elmar's letter was accompanied by an order for Drake II full-size plans, which were sent posthaste.
Rhinebeck First?
I thought you would be interested to know that Frank Stanton's model of Italy's finest World War I era recon fighter-bomber, the Ansaldo SVA 5, swept first place trophies in both the Scale and Flight Maneuvers events at the hotly-contested 1980 Rhinebeck Meet on the weekend of September 6–7. Rhinebeck, I feel, is the Mecca for all true pilgrims of the Great War airplanes.
The double victory of Stanton's beautiful model, which he designed, built, and flew, underscores the unique dual merits of the Ansaldo design. Not only is it an authentic, museum-quality scale model, but it also outflies the plethora of models with Great War insignia that otherwise aren't much different from Ugly-Stiks and the like.
Maybe you'll be able to print the enclosed picture.
Edward C. Miller, Holland, PA
Miller is the guy who took the super pictures of Frank Stanton's Nieuport Type 24bis, which appeared in the August 1980 Model Aviation as an article on modifying VK's Nieuport 17 kit. We think we've persuaded Miller and Stanton to team up again for a presentation on the Ansaldo. Look for it a few months down the road.
CL World Champs Impressions
I had the pleasure of being a supporter of the 1980 Control Line Team that competed in Poland. My brother, Charlie, flew on the Speed Team.
Perhaps you would like the impressions of an "outsider" concerning this event. Following is a short poem that sums up this competition week for me.
World Competition
Model airplanes are a hobby, Though to some it seems much more. A world competition has become a tradition— A contest for all nations, They come to fly their creations.
Model aviation, with all its complications— The wind, the rain, the changes in weather, Make it so hard to get it together.
They all compete in different events, Fix their planes under tents, They take apart, They modify And then go out again to fly.
To the best of their abilities, They make use of the facilities, And they all achieve.
Each should receive recognition For competing in this world competition. This goodwill mission.
The time, the effort put into these days Is reason enough for honor and praise.
The culmination of the week's ordeal Is a splendid banquet, a really big deal! Plenty to eat, even more to drink— Wine, vintage Vodka, beer— "Let's have some over here!"
All circulate and spread good cheer, Trade mementos from far and near, But all too soon it comes to an end, The time has come to say goodbye to friends. But it never really ends— They're on a model airplane high, It can never die.
Ellen Lieber, Moorestown, NJ
Northrop Alpha 4A
I read the Alpha 4A article by Ken Wilson (October Model Aviation) with more than casual interest, as I completed my 4%-scale Alpha almost two years ago. Being employed by TWA as a technical editor, I was able to get much-needed data, plus use of the original blueprints, to work from.
The model is Enya .60-powered, with Pro-Line radio. Cowling, wheel parts, and tail cone were vacuum-formed by myself. Placards were photographically reduced 3/4-scale Xerox copies of the original placards. The Enya is completely enclosed behind a dummy Williams Brothers engine (front half, only, of each cylinder). Wings are foam-cored, outer panels planked with balsa. Fuselage is box-form-stringer construction, planked with balsa. Covering is silver (non-shrink) Mylar, with scale rivet spacing from the "sticky" side before applying.
A word of caution about flying the scale Alpha: the center wing section has such a terrific amount of lift that the model will become airborne before the ailerons are effective, unless you hold it on the ground until you have plenty of speed.
Anyway, hope you might find a slot for maybe one picture somewhere in a future issue.
Eldon D. Dobbe, Faucett, MO
Better than that, we're printing two pictures. And we're checking to see if Mr. Dobbe might develop a construction article for printing later.
Likes For Fun, Drake
I read, with great interest, the "Just For the Fun of It" feature in the October issue of Model Aviation. I think that it's the best part of the magazine. I especially enjoyed the article on Luther Hux's indoor RC balloon, and am looking forward to future articles of this type.
I also enjoyed the construction article, Ken Willard's Drake II. I would like to build a half-A size version of this aircraft. Perhaps you might know where I could find the original 1951 plans for the 36-in. span version. It would make an interesting winter project.
In closing, I would just like to say what a great organization the AMA is. As a beginner in R/C, I would have had great difficulty getting started were it not for the AMA. Thank you, and keep up the good work!
Simon Levy, Huntington, NY
We were able to help Mr. Levy with a not-so-good photocopy of the reduced plan from a yellowed old copy of MAN in the AMA files. MAN says, by the way, that they aren't able to supply full-size plans of the original FF Drake.
Youngster Looks for Early RC
I'm 12 years old and fly RC.
In the July '80 edition, there was an article called "Milestones in RC." I really enjoyed it.
Three of the airplanes caught my eye. I would like to know if anyone could send copies of plans of the Viscount (Hal deBolt), the Orion (Ed Kazmirski), or the Astro Hog (Fred Dunn). You've got a great magazine. I'm a member of the Antelope Valley Tailwinds.
Craig Earls 816 W. Ave. J-14 Lancaster, CA 93534
Wants Sonic Cruiser
I would like to find a kit for the deBolt Sonic Cruiser. It hit the market in 1961. I have tried Mr. deBolt, and he has no kits, only plans. DeBolt Model Engineering Co. is gone, and Midwest doesn't have any Sonic Cruisers. Can you help me locate a Sonic Cruiser kit? Please help!
Embrid C. Ervin 12410 Ingram Cleveland, OH 44108
Mistaken Identity
Many thanks for the photograph of my tow-line glider in the September 1980 Model Aviation article on the U.S. Free Flight Championships. I also appreciate the kind comments of your author, Clarence Haught.
One problem exists: the young man holding the airplane is not Jeff Livotto, but my son, Kurt. He was really excited about having his picture in the magazine.
The glider was found on May 24 by Bob White. It was sun-bleached, and had been chewed up by rabbits (maybe Jimmy Carter wasn't exaggerating about their aggressiveness). After some repairs, it's again ready for the wars—with a new DT timer.
Bob Norton, Bakersfield, CA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
