Letters to the Editor
All letters will be carefully considered; those of general interest will be used. Send to Model Aviation, 1810 Samuel Morse Dr., Reston, VA 22090.
Space Shuttle
Your readers may be interested in the 1/72-scale Space Shuttle and carrier plane that I built. The Space Shuttle is a real crowd pleaser when it is flown by Larry Chapman with Ron Mobley flying the carrier plane, which is a Hobby Shack QB Monster. The Shuttle has three-channel controls with a Circus radio, while the QB has a six-channel Futaba.
I built the QB with a one-piece wing. Originally it was powered with a tuned-pipe HB .61, but presently it is powered by a Supertigre .75.
John W. Perault Howe, IN
Spitfire Recalled
Recently, while sitting in a local barber shop awaiting my turn, I picked up a badly torn, mutilated copy of Model Aviation dated October 1981. Pages were torn out, as well as the various ads. However, I came across an item that intrigued me: the Electric Spitfire.
I flew one of these in the 1940s, but haven't touched a "stick" since. Mine, of course, was not electric. I am married to a British lady whose family thinks the Spit won the Battle of Britain single-handed.
I am 66 years old and retired (Julia says "retarded") and I have the notion to build one, but on a lesser scale than 6 ft., if possible, but would go "all the way" if not. I have the tools, possibly the know-how, and all the equipment necessary to build this Spit and the information necessary to get it into the air.
No, I will not attempt to fly it myself. My reflexes are too slow, but there is a flying club nearby, and some of those fellows are experts. All of them fly planes with glow engines, and if I showed up with an electric model, I believe it would open some jaws and eyes. I understand that a battery charger is necessary. Where is it available, and can I charge the unit's battery from my 12V car battery?
My grandson Brian is in the hobby, flying a Sig Kougar and a Goldberg Eagle on a 4-ch. radio. I would like to complete the Spit and have him fly it.
Brian picked up what appears to be an Old-Timer engine. I will attempt to draw a picture of it and describe the features. Can you identify it perhaps as a collector's item?
Put me down for a year's subscription to Model Aviation.
Pass this on to your readers. Brian got Super Jet glue between his thumb and forefinger, holding them fast. I used his mom's fingernail polish remover to unglue them.
John E. Beisel Elizabethtown, KY
Unfortunately, the sketches that Mr. Beisel sent aren't suitable for reproduction—but it is plain that the engine in question is a spark-ignition Rogers .29, definitely a collector's item.
Airacuda
Although you and Dave Haught have stolen my thunder with the Airacuda article (February 1983 Model Aviation), I still wish you and Dave a happy new year.
For some time—years, in fact—I have been trying to get my act together to do an article on an .049-powered machine. If that worked, I would go on to a bigger model with plenty of detail.
I am fortunate to have access to a set of large three-view drawings (on an 18-ft. roll) which I obtained some 15 years ago and which I still have. The size of the three-views is just the right size for a 1/2A model such as Dave presented. My time being limited, I just kept putting off building my model over and over again. I've done that with many hot ideas, only to find that someone else has done what I only thought about. Dave has done a fine job with the Airacuda.
Please forward to Dave the enclosed set of solid model plans of the Airacuda which I used to construct a model many years ago. The plans are from an Ace Whitman kit, which was put out by Joe Ott.
The Airacuda is well known in western New York, where I live, because it was built in Buffalo by some of the finest craftsmen around. The Airacuda was known as the XFM-1, FM-1, and, of course, the YFM-1. It also came in a then-new tricycle-gear configuration on some of the models. This trike gear, which is now so common, was developed by the Bell people. They solved the problems associated with it through the use of a shimmy damper and other devices, which was used on Bell's next design, the Airacobra, which was the first operational fighter to have this type of gear.
Fran Ptaszkiewicz Tonawanda, NY
U.S.S. Missouri
Enclosed is a photo of my RC model battleship, Missouri, built from a Sterling Models kit. The reason for this letter is that on September 9, 1982 my model ship and other RC-related items were stolen from my VW van when I stayed overnight in Florence, SC.
I would appreciate it if you would publish this photo or at least a notice in a future issue of MA that this RC model was stolen, and I am hopeful of getting it back.
I am a member of SPARKS in St. Pete, FL. Dick Poulin 10005 Bay Pines Blvd. No. 10 St. Petersburg, FL 33708
Model ship builder Poulin is also a member of the AMA. If anyone should know of the whereabouts of his Battleship Missouri and/or equipment, please contact him directly at the address given.
Gloster Gauntlet
Thanks for the interesting article on the Gloster Gauntlet in your September 1982 issue. As mentioned in the text, the Gauntlet also saw service here in Finland. A total of 24 planes were received as a gift of the South African government and were delivered in March–April 1940.
What is of perhaps greater interest is that Finnish enthusiasts have been able to locate a wreck of the Gauntlet and have restored it to flyable condition. As proof of that feat, I enclose pages of a Finnish picture magazine.
The pictures were taken at a recent experimental fly-in here in Finland. The Gauntlet flew with the experimental registration marks OH-XGT (GT-400, military) in the capable hands of Paavo Naukannen, major and chief test pilot of the FAF. OH-XGT is believed to be the only surviving example of this type.
Kari Heikkala Helsinki-Lento, Finland
We reproduce one of the several pictures from the pages sent to us of the Finnish magazine.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
