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.
Charlie Chambers' Cougar
I wish to correct a bit of information which appeared in the RC Scale Nats report in the November 1983 issue.
In two places—under the lower right-hand photograph on page 47 as well as in the narrative on page 48—it states that the F9F-8 Cougar flown at the 1983 Nats by Charlie Chambers was powered by a K&B 7.5cc engine. This is incorrect. Charlie was flying a prototype Turbax III system which used a Rossi .61 engine. The problem he experienced with the spinner coming off the fan was due to the additional 3–4,000 rpm produced by the .61 engine as opposed to the 7.5 by K&B. In order to solve this problem, we are currently working on a harder material which will withstand 70,000 psi. For this reason, the Turbax III has not yet been released. I wish to make it perfectly clear that Charlie Chambers was flying a prototype system which has not yet been marketed. The problem with the spinner has never occurred with the Turbax I and the K&B 7.5 c.c. engine.
Larry D. Wolfe Jet Hangar Hobbies Lakewood, CA
We contacted the authors of this report, Bob and Dolly Wischer, who indicated that the information in the article and photo caption was in agreement with the notes gathered when the picture was taken at the Nats. However, this particular information was gathered soon after Charlie Chambers had driven nonstop from Chicago to Chicopee. Exhausted as Charlie was at the time of the interview, apparently he momentarily forgot about the switch in the engines.
Max Bassett/Bill Brown Revisited
I have been reading with great interest the three-part article written by Dave Ritchie concerning Maxwell Bassett and his early modeling career (Sept., Oct., and Nov., 1983 issues). It gives me great pleasure to see this information put into print, because I think it should be available to modelers in the future. It is of special interest to me, because Bassett and Bill Brown were neighbors of mine, and although I was never closely associated with Maxwell Bassett, I was aware of the doings of this pair through my close friendship with Bill Brown.
Dave Ritchie sought permission to interview me approximately two years ago when he found that I still had Brown Junior No. A5 in my possession. This engine, along with a couple of Lykens Brown engines of preproduction and production vintages, have been in my possession (or in the possession of my stepfather, Charles H. Stagg).
On page 76 of the November issue there is a picture showing Bassett, Brown, and me with Bassett holding the Cardinal. This picture was taken in the spring of 1938, and we three were standing in front of my stepfather's home in the 7800 block of Frontenac Street in Philadelphia. The caption under the picture is reasonably correct; however, the dates locating the place of manufacture of the Lykens Brown engines were reversed. The sequence of events was as follows:
- The first production run of the small engines was initially made by Bill Brown in the basement of his home in early 1937.
- On September 25, 1938, a company known as Lykens Brown Motors was formed for the purpose of producing the Lykens Brown engine. The principals were William Lykens Brown IV, Charles H. Stagg, Fred A. Aldrin, and Robert P. Scarsdale. A machine shop was established at Somerton Airport, Somerton, PA. Production of the first run continued at the new location under the personal direction and direct supervision of Brown. He was also the senior machinist.
- Production ceased at Somerton early in 1939, being transferred by Bill Brown to State College, PA. A second production run was made by Brown at State College during 1939–1940. The later units of the second run could be identified by the adjustable timer.
- In 1940, production of the engine stopped. Brown left State College and returned to Philadelphia.
In spite of this small discrepancy, I think that Dave Ritchie wrote an excellent article.
I noticed on page 37 of the November issue a picture of Bassett donating the Cardinal to Hurst Bowers, AMA Museum curator. In the caption, it stated that the model was built for the Lykens Brown. I am enclosing a photograph of Lykens Brown Serial No. 10 which had been removed from production and used for engine testing, flight testing, and publicity pictures for Megow. This is typical of the engine used to power the Cardinal, whose test flight I witnessed. The engine has been in my possession all of these years. It still runs and is one of the most cherished things I have.
Bob Scarsdale Park Ridge, NJ
We sent a copy of Bob's letter to Dave Ritchie, who responded: "Of course I must defer to Bob's first-hand experience and, therefore, stand corrected on the points he raised."
Good work needs to be recognized. The series just completed by Dave Ritchie on Maxwell Bassett was outstanding. The research was complete, and the tie with Bill Brown was an added bonus. I do not believe I have seen pictures of Bassett's models nor of Brown's early engines published in such detail anywhere else.
I am very much interested in the history of model aviation, as the enclosed picture shows. This is my Thermic 100 that I built this year from Frank Zaic's original design. It was the first RC sailplane. Mine is just like the original except for a modern radio, flying stabilizer, and a two-piece wing. Readers of Frank Zaic's publications may recognize the pose I am trying to copy with the picture.
Roger J. Schroeder Overland Park, KS
We've received more mail on the Max Bassett series than on most any other subject that has been printed in recent times. Dave Ritchie's work has been uniformly praised.
John Kanakos Remembered
It was with great sadness that I read of the passing of John Kanakos in the November District 2 Report by John Byrne. I know that John Kanakos loved helicopters, and in recent years he devoted much of his time to a very technical aspect of our hobby.
Perhaps there are a few things that should be mentioned about John which might go unknown to most of us in this hobby. When I was a 5th grader with his brother, Nick, John and brother George ran a small "model airplane shop" in the East Eighties of Yorkville, Manhattan, NY. It stocked glue, banana oil, tissue, and lots of 1/16 sq. balsa. He also stocked the colossal size of 1/8 sq. balsa. He had 10-cent, 25-cent, and "big" 50-cent kits. The one biggie of it for us was the fact that master builders John and George could be seen at work doing their thing. That is where Nick and I got our savvy on gluing sticks together.
John could put on tissue like magic—no wrinkles or seams to be seen anywhere. If you had a problem, go see John and he would help you. Some of us never knew that you could pin the wood down to the plans! Holding the pieces together and blowing on them would make you hyperventilate! George would carve out huge nose blocks and hollow them out almost to paper thinness. Test gliding and short flights with a few winds of 1/8 flat were done in the middle of the street!
When I wasn't doing homework or practicing the piano, my parents knew where to find me. Just watching John and George glue those sticks together was an education. The public library was my model magazine source, and none of us saw a Brown Junior or Baby Cyclone. For money, 1936 was a rough year, but guys who had these engines could be seen with a nickel subway ride to Van Cortlandt Park.
John Kanakos is symbolic to me of an era when air-minded youth were served without organizations or programs of any kind. John helped young people get started. His model store was also a workshop, and if you were lucky you could walk away with discarded wheels and scraps. Those were real scratch-building days, because you simply didn't have the "scratch," but John helped you out with a cheap set of plans, or free plans if you bought the wood.
We sure could use more people like him in a culture and hobby of almost cold professionalism.
Emil Agosta Weaverville, NC
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
