Randy:
Darn. Just saw that you have replied here... been forgetting to keep checking for an update to the thread.
Anyway... it was me that remembers the part about you flying the ST powered Zipper. John was the one asking about the other flyers.
So it was in '66 that you won Senior Combat with the Zipper? Hm. I thought it was '68, but you ought to know you're the one that did it! Now, as to why I remember that picture of you holding the Zipper (and sort of remember the caption), is beyond me. I do know that when I was just starting out in C/L and I discovered combat, I fell in love with those mean looking stabilator-type combat planes. I would purchase the magazines and oogle the combat pictures taken at the Nats or wherever. I would read and reread the captions and study the planes in the pictures. In a word: I was ate up with it for several years.
Lots of time to talk about yesterday... let's talk about today:
So you've not flown a C/L airplane since 1970?
First thing that you need to know is that you WILL get dizzy again. You'll have to re-acclimate in order not to.
As for flying a combat (vintage type) plane again: If you flew them before, you can likely fly them again.
However, I would suggest that you do NOT go up with a vintage combat plane right off the bat. Age does have some bearing on our ability to fly them, but only in the sense that you won't be as physically agile to recover from a blunder as you were in your teens, and you may find your reflexes are just a tad less than when a kid... but you should be able to get back to the place to where you can fly/stunt a vintage-type combat plane again.
I'm 64 years of age, and I can still fly my 100 - 110 MPH vintage combat planes good enough to have a ball flying them. I have vintage combat enthusiast friends that are older than I am that can still sling around a vintage combat plane and have a ton of fun doing so. Shucks, ol' Larry Scarinzi is now in his 80's, and he can still tear up the air!! And then there's Dick Stubblefield who was still kickin' hiney and takin' names in his 70s!!
For your information, the Tulsa C/L Gluedobbers (of which I am a member) are still an active C/L club and have an excellent flying field. It would be great if you could become a part of the fun. That would be an excellent setting in which to re-enter C/L flying. I have some older Fox 35 powered foam wing slow combat airplanes (around 70 MPH) that would be good for you to use to re-enter flying.
Anyway, hope you get back into C/L flying and it would be a hoot to see some plans of the Zipper if you're successful at restoring your set. Also, if the kits become a reality, I'm in for one or two!
OH... and stop in down below at the "Combat" forum, introduce yourself, and join in the fun!
Andre Ming
Poteau, OK