OLD-TIMERS
Mike Keville, 31 Franklin Pkwy., Brunswick, ME 04011; E-mail: mjkeville@gwi.net
Veco Dakota — Target Time event (Muncie, IN)
Do you remember the Veco Dakota? Joe Wagner, Model Aviation’s "The Engine Shop" columnist, designed this cute little 24-inch-span, all-sheet-balsa biplane in 1949. Veco kitted it for many years until the firm's demise.
Powered with early 1/2A engines (OK Cub, Spitzy, etc.), the Dakota design flew well but not very far, so it is the perfect candidate for small-field special events such as the one described here.
Larry Davidson, former Society of Antique Modelers champion, will host a "Target Time" Dakota event at the AMA/National Free Flight Society Nationals in Muncie, Indiana, on August 5 at 3 p.m. Jim Bocckinfuso will be the assistant event director. A number of people will donate prizes, and there is a chance (as of this writing) that Joe Wagner may fly in the event.
There are rules intended to keep the event fun and low-stress. Any glow, diesel, or electric power is allowed. Since there is no engine-run requirement, any timer for power shutoff is allowed, including eyedroppers strapped to the fuselage as used in the Good Old Days. No dethermalizers are permitted.
Event rules and scoring
- Target time: 40 seconds (flights timed from launch to touchdown).
- Attempts: Three official attempts; the best flight counts.
- Minimum recorded time: Flights under 10 seconds will not be recorded.
- Scoring: The score is the absolute difference between the target time and the actual flight time.
- Example: A 34-second flight = score of 6.
- A 45-second flight = score of 5.
- A 40-second flight = score of 0 and wins unless tied.
- Tie-breaking: Ties are broken by the competitor’s next best flight(s). No flyoffs are scheduled.
Assistant event director Jim Bocckinfuso wrote: "The 40 seconds came about because we felt that this would be a good time for seeing the little airplanes run and climb for a while yet not go too far and have to chase them very long. Because there is no engine run requirement, even a heavy model is not at a disadvantage; just let the engine run longer. We want everyone to have fun, enjoy some relaxed flying, and not worry about much."
Sponsors and prizes
Among the sponsors and contributors are:
- Hank Nystrom — Texas Timers
- Brian Malin — BMJR Model Products
- Frank Tiano — FTE Enterprises
- Angelo Luongo — modeling tools
- Bobby Geyer — plaques (down to third place)
If you'd like to join the fun, BMJR produces a reproduction Dakota kit for $39 plus $5 S&H. Contact:
- BMJR, Box 1210, Sharpes FL 32959; Tel.: (321) 537-1159.
Full-size plans are also available for those who prefer to build from scratch:
- Bill Schmidt, 4647 Krueger, Wichita KS 67220; Tel.: (316) 744-0378.
For more information about the gathering of Dakotas, contact:
- Larry Davidson, 66 Casa Mia Cir., Moneta VA 24121; Tel.: (540) 721-4563; E-mail: Samchamp@charter.net.
Reflections on Old-Timers and Scale modeling
I wish I could be there, but it's not in the cards. It sounds as though the event will be a lot of fun, surely helping to maintain the Old-Timer premise of building models that do not advance the state of the art.
There was a time when we built and flew models for the pure enjoyment of watching them fly, unconcerned with a bunch of restrictive rules designed, as many believe, to help guarantee that the same few people cart home all the loot. Affordable, fine-flying model airplanes are largely unknown to today's generation — not because they aren't available (they are, if you know where to look), but mostly because the youth of today seem more interested in soccer, video games, or almost anything except aviation. I can't offer a solution. Others have tried, but their efforts don't appear to have met with much success.
Decades ago, youngsters didn't need a push to get started in modeling. Harry T. Fisher (Bordentown, NJ) wrote: "Your March column in Model Aviation had a picture of a young fellow who built and flew a Comet Sailplane at the age of ten. He beat me by two years. I had my Buccaneer with an Ohlsson engine going when I was 12." Harry's story is typical of the way things were.
As do many others, I remember when control-line (CL) was king and when the sound of model engines could be heard at local parks and ball diamonds. "Park flyers" in those days were somewhat louder than today's electric lightweights — and there were few, if any, complaints about noise. People actually came out to watch, enjoy, and ask questions. That was definitely a different era!
There was also much interest in Scale, perhaps because the standards were a bit more relaxed. A few issues ago I aired some views on that in a letter sent to Bill Boss, who writes Model Aviation’s CL Scale column. Following is the gist of it.
Although today's entries are exquisitely detailed miniature versions of full-scale aircraft, participation has fallen far below what it once was. Retracts, electronics, and other innovations may (repeat, may) be the culprit. Perhaps I am wrong; I certainly have been before.
At local and regional contests in the 1950s, we often saw 15–20 CL Scale entries. Granted, those were more suited to a "beauty" event than true scale since most lacked any sort of surface detail, weathering, or operating features.
At one contest in Millville, New Jersey, it was called the Beauty event. Every entry was finished and polished to a smooth, high gloss; it was unrealistic for warbirds, but they had eye appeal. What I believe led to heavy participation was that modelers were only required to fly their models a minimum of 10 laps to qualify. There were no throttle controls, no retracts, no sliding canopies, and no other gizmos.
I do believe extra points were available for flight maneuvers such as loops and wingovers because I did see several entries try — unsuccessfully — to perform those. (A gorgeous Sterling S.E.5 was splattered all over the concrete.)
The winner was a Stinson Station Wagon built from a Cleveland kit and finished to perfection in maroon and cream. The runner-up was an F2G Corsair built from a Miniature Aircraft kit and finished in the orange-and-white sunburst pattern of Cook Cleland's Goodyear racer. Someone even entered a Monogram Speedee-Bilt Long Midget, finished in metallic blue and powered by one of the "new" 1/2A engines.
Numerous CL Scale entries in those days were built from kits. Many manufacturers contributed to the cause, but Berkeley and Sterling were the most popular sources. Yes, I know: Berkeley kits contained wood that looked and felt as though it had been run through a washing machine, and Sterling's wood was often more suited to building a workbench. (Anyone holding the rights to those designs, please don't sue me for slander; I have proof stored in the closet.)
Notwithstanding the balsa selection, those firms' kits were wildly popular and often used as sport fliers as well as contest entries. All one had to do was exhibit fine craftsmanship, apply a spectacular finish, take off, fly at least 10 laps, and land. I'll bet that if we brought that back, we'd see many more entries. What do you think? Let me hear your views, please.
A request for contributions
I want to address an issue that could impact the future of this column. One reason it's filled with my memories and opinions is a lack of contributions from readers.
We have a three-month lead time here, so I must receive any contest announcements well in advance. Conversely, contest results will be "yesterday's news" by the time they see ink here.
Please send your thoughts, opinions, photos of your latest (or earliest) project, and other Old-Timer–related items to me if you would like to see this column continue. That's a hint. Model Aviation
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
