Since the last post was lost, and the photo wasn't all that good, here is my "work in progress" Golden Hawk again.  It started in life as a BlackHawk kit, but I copied the wing and tail outlines from an original Scientific Kit.  My estimate is that it will weigh 5.5 ounces complete.  Finish so far, is Butyrate dope and very light silkspan on all the wood surfaces.  I intend to spray it with bright red Klass Kote epoxy.  Engine choice may change from time to time as I have Black Widow, Golden Bee, RR-1 and Venom engines to play with.     Depends on my mood and whatever the challenge is at the next Musciano meet.

OOPS, sorry, forgot to post the photo!  Here it is... 

Well, I really don't need to be that intense about weight reduction on this type of model.  It is just for nostalgia's sake that I am building it.  The wood in the Blackhawk kit was pretty darn good, and I did hollow out the fuselage after shaving the outside thinner.  It will be good enough to do all the basic stunts, I am sure.  If I want more performance, I have several full-stunt .049 and .061 models in my "hangar".

Thanks to the generosity of several people, I now have plans to the Cutlass and F-51 Mustang.  I would love to get the Stuka and Me-109 original plans too.  Back in "the day" I never built these kits, as I always wanted more stunt performance, and knew enough to realize that light weight, lots of area, and a good airfoil were required.  I actually designed most of my own models even then.  I still looked longingly at the Scientific ads, as the models looked so good in the photos (drawings?)  So many nifty designs, so little time and money.....  Now, I can occasionally tackle a project like this, maybe one a year, and do it right.  Plus, I no longer am likely to crash a simple model, and know how to build and finish them so they don't get oil soaked or have parts just fall off (like engines!).

The Golden Hawk is the second I have built, the first being an American Boy.  I think the Cutlass will be next as it is one of my favorite aircraft.

The GH is ready for base white coat, then the red top coat.  I have pilots picked out and available (Wallace and Gromit, Gromit in the rear seat, of course).  The artwork is done, ready to print onto decal sheet. 

I understand that there will be a Musciano/Blackhawk fun fly in Los Angeles in June, so this model should be ready and tested by then.

Andy Borgogna has a Blackhawk Me-109 completed, and I still have the Blackhawk American Boy ready to roll.  Y'all come if you can, or let me know and I'll proxy fly your birds.

I don't think there will be any "hardware" awarded, but we can do some photos and publicity.  Perhaps the enthusiasm for these fun models will increase as has the nostalgia rubber-band free-flight class as boosted by the "Flying Aces"

Hmm, Larry Rice, how about sponsoring a "Blackhawk Squadron" ?  Fixed rules? Specific events?  Go rip off how the FA does it?  They certainly have a marvelout turnout with a much smaller working base than Control-line does.