stunthanger.com
Classic Designs => Classic Planes => Topic started by: Tom Niebuhr on September 21, 2012, 06:44:34 PM
-
I am building a Classic "Impala" in honor of my old flying partner Ed Elasick.
Hey Derek: How is this for less than a week? Waiting for the Morris controls to arrive, but I can keep going on much more.
-
Hey Tom,
Very impressive for one week's work. ;D
Derek
-
Tom, am I right that you're double sheeting the center section? Excellent way to toughen up the fuselage/wing joint, especially for a profile fuselage where the stress is so concentrated, or an engine that vibrates a lot. y1 Steve
-
Nice work Tom, Impala has always been one of my favorites. I understand that both the Impala and Lou Wolgast's Fury trace their ancestry back to the JD Falcon, is that correct? 8)
-
Steve,
Yes, the "Impala' center section is double planked, as were the "JD Falcon" and "Jerseyan". This makes the center section very strong. I have never seen a structual failure of these wings.
Balsa Butcher,
Ed Elasick and I both had "JD Falcons". So the "Falcon" influence is there. Harold Price also had an influence.
Ed flew the "Falcon" at the '61 Nats. He came out with his 1st "Impala" for the '62 season and I built an "Impala" the following year. . The "Impala" preceded triple tail airplanes like the "Fury" and "Trianic". The "Impala" wing is not a "Nobler" but it is closer to the "Nobler" than the "JD Falcon" which has less sweep in the leading edge.
Later on, Lou Wolgast (also a Garden State Circle Burner) Came out with his "Fury". The "Fury" has the "Impala" look with squared off rudders, and did use the "J.D. Falcon" wing. I had previously had an airplane that I called "Fury". Ed was not happy at the time about Lou's look alike with Square rudders, but we all laugh about it today.
-
Here are some pictures showing some of the “Impala” history:
1) #1 “Impala” as it looks today. The original wheel pants were replace at one time with the gear fairings. This airplane was Sig Chocolate Brown.
2) #2 “Impala” was mint green. This airplane was later crashed by the late George Gaydos.
3) #3 “Impala” was Sig Chocolate Brown.
4) Andy Lee’s “Impala” and my “JD Falcon”
5) #1 “Impala” and #4 “Impala” that was never completed. Scott Crichton now has these airplanes.
6) Sam Sciorrot'a Falcon
7) Ed with his #3 "Impala"
-
Cool stuff...
Wasn't Andy Lee's monocoated? It sure was pretty...
-
Yes,
Andy Lee's "Impala" was monocoat.
-
Mr. Neibur,
I use the similar wing construction jig to fabricate wings.
In the photos, the wing is still in the jig. Additionally, the lightening holes are sketched on the balsa ribs.
1. When do you remove the extra balsa from the ribs?
2. How (besides very carefully) do you remove the extra balsa from the ribs?
Thanks for the photos.
Good construction.
You are a fast builder compared to myself.
t michael jennings ::)
Knoxville, TN,
-
Michael,
I use what I call a "Poor Man's Jig". True up a 2 x 4 so that it is square. Then cut it into sections. Total cost is about $3.00. The tubes are 3/8" dia. with .062 walls. 3/8" solid rods could also be used. The rods are supported at both ends of the wing and also close to the middle. I laser cut U shaped 3/8" clips to hold the rods. A simple nail and rubber bands secures the rods. The wing can easily be flipped over as you are working on it.
The ribs are laser cut to close tolerance including the jig holes. The parts that will be removed are laser cut, leaving small uncut bridges to hold everything in place. Depending on where the rods have to be for the specific wing, these lightning holes can be removed at the leading before or after assembly using an Exacto knife to cut the bridges.
Installing the ribs onto the rods requires care. Twisting the rods will help. Rod removal also requires care and rod twisting.
I am attaching a picture of the “Poor Man’s Jig” with an “All American Sr.” wing . this should answer your questions.
-
I am building a Classic "Impala" in honor of my old flying partner Ed Elasick.
Hey Derek: How is this for less than a week? Waiting for the Morris controls to arrive, but I can keep going on much more.
Tom...I spent some time this morning trying to find some additional history & BIO about the amazing history of Eddie Elasick....about his life in CLPA?
Any further links about Eddie would be a great history lesson and read about his artistry in stunt.
Sadly soooo far my search hasn't been too successful? :(
-
Shultzie,
You will not find too much on Eddie. He won the Air Youth Championships at the 1961 Willow Grove Nats. He used an airplane that was designed for the event by John D'Ottavio. The Fox .25 powered airplane was the "Jr Falcon", but it was published as the "Topper" (See picture)
Ed also published a small fun 1/2A airplane in Model Airplane News.
He competed some in combat. Eddie and I also flew Balloon Bust when we flew over the poll (strafing). We consistently finished 1st and 2nd. Ed's primary event was always stunt, and he almost made the FAI team before Juniors and Seniors had special berths.
As a Junior and then a Senior he consistently won against people like Gene Shaffer, Harold Price, Bill Simons, John D'Ottavio, Windy Urtnowski, and Bill Suarez. He left Stunt for many reasons: burn out; college; girls; and another circumstance that I will not discuss.
The second picture is Eddie receiving an award at an early Garden State Circle Burners meeting. Ed's father is to his left as we view the picture.
The third picture is of me and Ed at a contest at Marine Park in Brooklyn.
There were many very good Juniors and Seniors back then, but Ed was perhaps the best that I had personally seen.
When he was forced to sell his home in Rhode Island a few years ago, he left over a hundred trophies in the attic. These were all acquired in a period of only 4 or 5 years.
-
Thanks Tom
Friendships that can last virtually a lifetime....Again, Thanks for taking the time to share his story with us. H^^
-
Life gets in the way, along with other commitments so progress has been slowed down some.
Here is a picture of the cowl roughed out. The wheel pants are shaped and have to hollowed out. Wing tips are finished and the flaps are shaped and hinge slots are cut. It is very close to assembly.
-
Shultzie,
You will not find too much on Eddie. He won the Air Youth Championships at the 1961 Willow Grove Nats. He used an airplane that was designed for the event by John D'Ottavio. The Fox .25 powered airplane was the "Jr Falcon", but it was published as the "Topper" (See picture)
Ed also published a small fun 1/2A airplane in Model Airplane News.
He competed some in combat. Eddie and I also flew Balloon Bust when we flew over the poll (strafing). We consistently finished 1st and 2nd. Ed's primary event was always stunt, and he almost made the FAI team before Juniors and Seniors had special berths.
As a Junior and then a Senior he consistently won against people like Gene Shaffer, Harold Price, Bill Simons, John D'Ottavio, Windy Urtnowski, and Bill Suarez. He left Stunt for many reasons: burn out; college; girls; and another circumstance that I will not discuss.
The second picture is Eddie receiving an award at an early Garden State Circle Burners meeting. Ed's father is to his left as we view the picture.
The third picture is of me and Ed at a contest at Marine Park in Brooklyn.
There were many very good Juniors and Seniors back then, but Ed was perhaps the best that I had personally seen.
When he was forced to sell his home in Rhode Island a few years ago, he left over a hundred trophies in the attic. These were all acquired in a period of only 4 or 5 years.
I tried again to find more about Eddie.....hopefully he is still with us....seems like we have lost waaaay too many gifted CLPA flyers over the past couple of years?
Hope everyone had a great Christmas...and best wishes in then new year to arrive very very soon.
-
Yes Ed is still with us. He is hard to get on the phone. I talked to his brother Bruce last week. he told me that Ed's health could be better.
My "Impala" is coming along. The wing is in the fuselage, the controls are installed and the stab is in place. The fuselage bottom is also on. It is in that uninteresting stage, picture wise. I will get the turtle deck in place next and then I will show more pictures.
-
Thanks for keeping us in touch about Eddie...
If you do hear from him..please mention to him that so many of us in those years...were so amazed by his amazing creative and artistic CLPA talent and made a difference in our lives.
Within a few days....I will have a birthday that my body thinks is going to be 109 years old...
I just went through a very long MRI screening this morning.
Problemo' is... that my height has shrunk from 5'8'' down to 5'4" which has begun to compress my old lower back spinal injury waaay back in 1981 and is now beginning to shut off the nerves to my hips, legs, and feet...leaving me with horrific bouts of both numbness or pain from the waist down.
IT SUCKS TO GET OLD!! BUT WHAZZZDA OPTION? LL~ LL~ LL~
-
Finally here are some update pictures of my "Impala" build.
While this can be a boring stage to show in pictures, I want to show an alternate way of installing "formers" Actually full formers are eliminated. Look close and you will see that 1/8" x 5/16" balsa is used top and bottom to create the proper fuselage width. 3/32" sq pieces are installed vertically against the fuselage sides. In addition, 3/32" sq pieces are also installed on the diagonal against the fuselage sides. At the top of the fuselage 3/32" x 1/4" diagonal pieces are installed. This structure is very light and the fuselage is very resistant to twisting at this stage of construction.
-
It is now starting to look like an airplane. The turtle deck is 3/32 balsa installed like a leading edge.
-
Please post more photos- soon will begin building from the short kit you supplied to camp Hummel and me. The pics will be very helpful. Thanks for making the short kit available.
-
Here is the start of the cockpit. A little more work to do.
-
Looking good. Where did the pilot come from?
-
Looking good. Where did the pilot come from?
He looks a lot like the driver from the OK "Go Kart". ;D
BIG Bear
RNMM/AMM
-
We used to use these pilots in NJ in the '60s. Yes it is the OK Cub go kart driver.
I have been looking for these for about 20 years. I even called what is left of Herkimer and they told me that the manufacturer was out of business. Then someone called me with a source and asked how many I wanted!. That was a shock! Through this contact I was able to call the person who bought the remaining stock of Kart drivers. With a minimum buy of 3 I had to pay $15 each. One would be $20. This is kind of pricey, but was worth it for this nostalgic binge. I also have one of these pilots in my "Jerseyan". That was the last one that I had from the old days.
-
The pilot reminds me vaguely or Darth Vader for some reason. Maybe the oversized helmet.
-
You're thinking of Dark Helmet.
-
Here is the pilot in a 1952 model I have. Old time legal jet style model,no flaps.
Ed
-
Other commitments have slowed down the "Impala" progress. It is finally beginning to look like an "Impala"
-
It looks very pretty,, I like it
-
That looks great Tom. It has given me some motivation to finish my current build. 8)
-
Looks GREAT Tom, you are doing Eddie E proud.
-
Another update as of last night. Flaps are fitted, wheel pant fairings are started and the cowl is close to being fitted properly. Progress is very slow at this time. I took these pictures last night in the dark just to show to Ed.
The good news is that Ed Elasick called me last night. I had sent him a book of pictures from the '60s to the present time, including over 500 signature wishing him well from VSC, Brodacks and several foreign countries including Japan.
He said that he was almost in tears because no one had ever done something like that for him. We practiced together and went to contests together so I kinda choked up too. Ed was excited that I was building an Impala. We hope that we can get together.
-
When you next talk with Ed please be sure to let him know two more Impala builds in progress here in upstate NY- thanks to short kit you provided us. Regards - Lyle
-
Tom, it is great that you are honoring Eddie in this way. I can remember sitting and reading about the guys/gals in the day when I wished I could be competitive as you were and probably still are. In my early twenties before I could afford to attend local contests. But, then it was Rat Racing, Combat and Navy Carrier. It wasn't until the 70's when a young man by the name of David Adelman talked me into flying the stunt pattern. After I started flying stunt him and his lovely wife moved back to Connecticut. But, it was stunt that got me to places where I could meet the people I had always read about and back then I guess I was kind of backward(of course some people wish I was still backward) and was afraid of bothering people. Anyway, I hope to make it back to a Dallas contest again. May not fly stunt but would be great to see you all again.
-
David Adelman has been out to several of the NEST contests ain Wrentham. I saw him fly and he does an awesum pattern. He flew my Thunderbird and it was a wonderful site to see. I hope we will see more of him this season.
-
That is good news. Never could get him to fly competition here in KC. Last time I seen him was a Chickopee NATS. If you see him again tell him DOC Holliday says hi.
-
Well,
After health problems and about 16 months, I am finally working on the Impala again.
Here it is now with carbon applied with nitrate. Two more coats of nitrate and it will be ready for fillets. I am very happy with it at this stage.
-
That looks great Tom.
-
It is now covered with Polyspan. Superfil is used for the fillets. Next is to final fit the canopy and cowl.
Three coats of clear will be applied and then primer.
-
Well here it is with the white base coat. I tried something different and paid the price. I had to strip some of the areas. This will not be my best effort. Hopefully many of the bad areas will be hidden with location of the trim colors.
The plan is to uses tan as the main color with brown, white and gold. (Two of Eddie's Impalas were brown.)
-
Interesting nose.
-
Randy,
The nose is actually pretty standard. I just have different cuts to make it easier to remove the cowl when the muffler is in place.
-
It's coming along nice Tom
-
Tom,
Glad to see you're back at it.
Looks really nice. H^^
I see you went that CF route.
Adds strength and covers the wood grain quickly. Correct?
I like the colors you're going to use also also.
I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product.