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.
NMPRA Championships
On behalf of the SLO Flyers, please accept our congratulations and our thanks for Bill Hager's excellent article and pictures in the February 1984 issue.
We particularly enjoyed the fine photo coverage, and I expect that Kent Nogy (shown launching in Lane 1 on the cover) may start charging for his autograph. Particular thanks for noting our safety efforts for personnel. We really worked hard on that one.
George Stewart, Sec./Treas. SLO Flyers, Inc. San Luis Obispo, CA
Polar Bear Fun-Fly
Once again the fearless fliers of the Frozen North have braved the sub-zero weather under Arctic conditions to pull off another successful Polar Bear Fun-Fly. This was the 4th one, and the 3rd which was held at sub-zero temperatures.
The weather finally gave us a break as we received over 5½ in. of snow yesterday. Luckily it stopped in time for us to get the snow plow out and clear the runway. Sunday's weather was overcast with a temperature of -6°F, but there was only a 2 mph breeze.
This was our first try at flying at the fairgrounds. Most of the fliers found the runway to be a little short, and "one-way" to boot. On all sides there was a 39-inch snow berm to stop some of the "head-strong" birds, so the runway was only 35 ft. wide and 152 ft. long, and there was a small forest on the right about 250 ft. from the end of the runway.
We had 11 people fly on seven different aircraft. Can you believe that only two of the engines needed to be preheated in order to run?
Lately it seems that someone has switched our weather with the Lower 48—not that I'm complaining, mind you. If anyone in the Lower 48 would like to come up for a little flying, just drop us a line—that goes for the summer, as well. (I think that some of you might enjoy the 22½ hours of daylight that we have in June.)
Paul Caulkett, V.P. Midnight Sun RC Club, Inc. P.O. Box 790 Fairbanks, Alaska 99707
Paul's letter was written on January 1, apparently right after getting home from the Fun-Fly. In addition to himself, he noted that the following pilots flew:
- Mike Harry
- Randall Compton
- Larry Coblenz
- Scott Reeburg
- Peter Reeburg
- Marty Hall
- Pete Rossi
- Bill Reed
- L. B. Graham
- Rick Fields
Over 6,000 Miles Logged!
Enclosed is a picture of our RC Shadow. Our group has put over 200 air hours on it. At a minimal airspeed of 30 mph, this means that the Shadow has flown over 6,000 miles.
At Point Fermin, which is near Los Angeles, we fly regularly. This model is a high-performance type. It will do all sorts of stunts, and it will easily exceed 100 mph.
Bill Sprague Los Angeles, CA
We wrote Bill for the names of the guys in the picture. His response: "On the cliff we are very informal and only go by first names or nicknames. The person holding the Shadow is Jimmy, I am the person holding the Ace transmitter. Big John is the person on Jimmy's other side, and the little guy on the end is Little John."
Go with the Patch
A clean, neat, fresh-looking plane is pretty much the goal of every modeler. But what if you've had a crack-up and your plane looks a little weathered? Why not emphasize the patchwork, make the plane look as if it really had been in a war?
The Spad pictured did go the crack-up route, and then "fabric" patches were necessary. But instead of trying to hide the patches, they were outlined with a marker pen. The stitching-like marks were made around each patch as if they'd been sewn on—as if they'd been repaired right at the battlefront to get the Spad ready to take to the skies against the Red Baron and his Flying Circus. The result is a nicely weathered, seasoned-in, interesting look of a plane that has served its pilot and country faithfully.
This kind of finish is especially great on models of WW I planes, though any fabric-covered plane can get a delightfully caricatured look as a result. Give it a thought. It might just give your plane a whole "new" look.
Mitch Pieronek Grosse Pte. Woods, MI
Sportavia Returns Home
Sportavia is not an animal, as the old story goes. It was Mr. Thruman Mickey's model airplane lost in flight in July 1981.
On that fateful day, Thruman hand-launched his beginner's airplane, a Sportavia powered by a Cox .049 with rudder and elevator controls. With butterflies and tension, Thruman forgot to activate the flight switch. Sportavia was on its own and out of sight. Efforts at recovery failed, and Thruman wrote it off to experience.
This past July, in 1983, fellow flier Jerry Burner, on a business call, discovered a lady had bought an airplane at a garage sale. Further discussion prompted Jerry to call Thruman, and the airplane was identified as Thruman's Sportavia. For one dollar, Thruman recovered his now-neighborhood airplane. Believe it or not, the battery had a little power left to wiggle the servos.
Sportavia has been checked out and is still flying as of this date. Thruman Mickey and Bill Elliott operate The Hobby Hangar in Indianapolis, IN, but the Sportavia is not for sale.
William Drummond Indianapolis, IN
We're glad Thruman's plane eventually found its way home—but we'd remind everyone having a model subject to being lost that the owner's name, address, and phone number should be on the model where it is easily visible. Besides, the AMA Safety Code requires that the owner's name and address or his AMA number be affixed somewhere on or inside the model (this is with the exception of indoor models).
Another Dakota
I guess another Dakota is nothing special. This one, however, is not scaled up—it is scaled down—to about a 20-in. wingspan. It is built entirely of Styrofoam (White Skin by Hi Johnson Model Products), with the exception of the engine and landing gear mounts. It is glued with thick CYA, which welds the mating surfaces if used sparingly. White Skin has a curl in it (from being shipped in a roll) which is fine for airfoils but annoying for other areas. The little Dakota is powered by a Cox .010.
Bud Overn Santa Ana, CA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
