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
Joe Ott's Models
You recently published a small plan of Joe Ott's SE-5 (November 1981 "Just For the Fun of It" column), which made me remember a similar model that Stan Corcoran used to fly in 1934 — which had very slow and stable flight characteristics.
I have scaled up your small plans to original size and built a model (photos enclosed), retaining Ott construction insofar as practical. The motor stick was eliminated, and the center‑section mount for the upper wing was simplified. Span is 30 in., and weight with eight strands of 3/16 rubber is 7.25 oz.
The thrust adjustment was by guess — two degrees of both right and down. With zero incidence and the CG at the leading edge of the lower wing, the first flight was beautiful. I highly recommend this model for purely enjoyable building and flying.
Does Bill Winter by chance have any more Joe Ott designs?
Rex V. Bixby Costa Mesa, CA
Bill Winter does have more Joe Ott plans, going back to stick jobs published as early as 1920. But Bill recently moved (anyone who has done so knows how this upsets things), and he's fighting a book deadline. Joe Ott (now 83) calls Bill weekly about a unique trainer RC and radio system he hopes to put on the market. Maybe Joe will supply us with plans of other famous rubber‑scale crates of the Twenties. Meanwhile, determined researchers may be able to locate a copy of Joe Ott's own hard‑cover book published many years ago. It contains a number of the scale planes, Ott's Nieuport 17 being Winter's all‑time favorite.
Isaac's Fury
I am a novice Peanut Scale builder. I built a Peck Lacey M-10 which weighs 12 grams, and I can't get it to fly at all. I also built a Peck Andreasson that weighs 10 grams, and it flies beautifully.
The Isaac's Fury (March 1982 issue, page 47) arrived at the perfect time. It looks lovely. I want to build it, and would like to try a carved prop on it instead of the plastic ones that I have been using.
I have some experience with outdoor rubber free flight, and have carved a few props for Coupes, but this will be the first for a really small airplane. The ability to change pitch is very attractive and should help me learn something about Peanut flying.
The plan, however, leaves out a critical dimension for the prop. It doesn't show the width of the blank. Please advise me of the correct dimension at your earliest convenience, so that I can proceed. I would like to try out the prop on my Andreasson as well.
Donald H. Ross Cresskill, NJ
Author Gene Post responds: The missing dimension on the prop blank should read one inch wide. The angle of the prop tip is a diagonal across the end of the block, giving washout similar to many Coupe props. The plans indicate that this tip diagonal intersects the trailing edge at 1/16 in. from the face of the prop blade. The diagonal of the tip is such that it also intersects the leading edge of the blade at 1/16 in. from the back surface. This second 1/16‑in. dimension isn't on the plans either, because I couldn't figure out how to clearly get it on the drawing. Most people probably will understand this by close examination of the drawings. Anyway, the angle of the tip probably isn't all that critical on a prop this small. Having carved and formed Wakefield props for the past 20 years, I guess the washed‑out tip idea carried over to the Fury.
Nothing New Under the Sun?
The recent Hendertoon in Model Aviation (March 1982, page 127) conveys the point that you can't do a barrel roll with a control‑line plane. Master showman Jim Walker proved otherwise long ago. Enclosed is an article with pictures to prove that fact (from the Air Trails Model Annual '54). If you think something hasn’t been tried, check into the many accomplishments of Jim Walker. Chances are he did it first, and a long time ago. We just forget.
Les Deily Douglaston, NY
The Hendertoon referred to is printed here in smaller size, and also a picture of Jim Walker’s specially modified Fireball for doing the barrel‑roll maneuver. Actually the whole model didn’t revolve — just the wing and fuselage mid‑section. Note the large inboard frame which carries the bellcrank at the tip and within which the wing rotated. Walker was a marvelous showman and innovator.
WW I RC Air Force
I have an extensive collection of 1/6‑scale WW I RC aircraft, and would like some publicity on them in Model Aviation, if possible. Also, I would like to locate some other members interested in this phase of the hobby. There isn’t anyone locally that I have found so far. I hope you can be of some help.
Scott Blynder 11024 S.W. 12th Ave. Miami, FL 33176 (305) 596‑6620
We asked Scott to send us a picture of his collection, but he responded that he didn’t have a shot of them all grouped together. The top picture shows his Fokker D‑VII and SE‑5a, built from Sterling and Top Flite kits. The middle picture is a scratch‑built Fokker D‑VII, and the bottom one shows a Fokker DR‑1 from a VK kit. By now Scott probably has finished a Nieuport 17 he was working on — and he also had a Sopwith Camel and a Sopwith Triplane underway. Some air force? Anyone with similar interests in the Miami area, please contact Scott directly.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
