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Classic plane of the moment

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Bob Hunt:

--- Quote from: Tim Wescott on October 29, 2021, 09:07:11 AM ---For no reason other than I think it's cool.  It's probably too small, if you built it with 1959 methods it'd be too flexible, and there's just not enough room behind the wing trailing edge to make working on the control system easy.  But -- it's cool.

No, I haven't built one -- I just want to.

Temco TT-1 by JE Wells, May 1959 FM.  Looks like it should be OK aerodynamically (the tail's a bit short), but you'd probably want that tail boom to have some strategically-placed carbon fiber, and you'd want to think hard about how to make a strong, rigid fuselage.  Or just build it with 1959 sensibilities and accept that it'll wiggle and crack.



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Hi Tim:

I think that a lot of us looked at that Temco TT-1 and wanted to build one. It was certainly one of those character-filled designs from that amazing era. It probably wasn't one of the best flying models ever built in that era, but who knows...

Later - Bob 

Bob Hunt:

--- Quote from: Ty Marcucci on November 04, 2021, 11:08:33 PM ---Didn't Berkeley kit the TT1?

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Hi Ty:

I'm pretty sure Berkeley did not kit the CL Stunt version of the TT-1. I sort of remember that they kitted a free flight version for Jetex motors. Perhaps some one else here could verify or correct that.

Here's something interesting about the Berkeley company: Apparently after WWII they made a deal to purchase a lot of balsa that had been used in life rafts on liberty ships. That balsa had endured a lot of UV rays while on ships, and that rendered the balsa brittle. It also had a very washed out look to it. Anyone who ever had a Berkeley kit (and I had a few...) can attest that the balsa was very fragile.

Another interesting fact about WWII balsa: The fuel tanks in our fighter planes were wedged in place with large blocks of balsa. After the war they were stripping the fighters that had been shipped back to the states of all tanks and liquids, and then they were in many cases just shoved into the bay! We lived in Union, New Jersey, just a stones throw from Port Newark and Port Elizabeth. They were stripping the fighters at those docks. My father found out about the balsa blocks and went down there with a truck. He purchased for a pittance a huge amount of 3 to 4 pound balsa blocks. I can vividly remember those blocks stored between the ceiling joists in our basement. Probably made for great insulation! Anyway, we had very light blocks for many years after that. In fact I was still building models that had carved top, bottom, wing tip and cowl blocks from that wood supply well into the 1970s! All my buddies would come to the shop and talk me out of a set of blocks for their new stunters on a routine basis. We built a lot of light models from that wood...     

Later - Bob

Ken Culbertson:

--- Quote from: Ty Marcucci on November 05, 2021, 08:03:50 AM ---Ah yes, balsa life rafts.  I got hold of one while stationed in San Diego circa 1976 or so. Terrible balsa, mostly glued together blocks. Had to toss it all.  D>K

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What you tossed is probably better than anything you can find in today's LHS, assuming you have one! LL~

Ken

Steve Fitton:
Now I understand where the term "Super Nobler" wing came from in the northeast.

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