stunthanger.com
Speed,Combat,Scale,Racing => Combat => Topic started by: Terrence Durrill on January 06, 2013, 11:57:31 AM
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The following post is transcribed from a topic up above but appropriate here as well:
My brother-in-law and I flew VooDoos and Sneekers thru 1965, but changed to Riley's Vampire in 1966 and found them much quicker (no pun intended) in maneuvers than the VooDoo. We did pretty well in midwestern competition during the latter 1960's, flying the Vampire with Fox .36xBB and later Super Tigre .35 Combat and G-21 .35 engines. I finished 5th out of 73 contestants in the 1968 Olathe, Kansas Nationals with the Vampire/Super Tigre G-21 .35 combination. Of course, Riley took the first place trophy that year and yes, he was flying a FLITE LINE Vampire with a Wootenized Fox .36xBB. If anyone could ever take command of the combat circle when he stepped into it, it was Riley Wooten! y1 D>K H^^
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The Vampire could be a hard plane to build, trying to get that light cardboard glued down without warping the wing. In our area we had several of them fail when the motor mount came loose on the dowel and burnt it enough from vibration that the plane came apart.
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Yeah, the Vampire was a first-generation foamie. We had a lot to learn about the art of high power high speed foam planes.
Richard Wilkins got to right with the Superstar circa 1974.
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The Vampire was the result of two years of playing with foam construction and we have learned a lot since then. They flew good, but had to be built properly. If so they were tough. I built 6 that I used for 66, 67 and 68. Still had 5 and the 6th was repairable, but they were a long way from the next generation...... It just proved my old saying "you can't build a perfect kit unless you supply a builder in each box" so we did not keep it on the market very long. I would have to say it was successful, if not profitable. At 75 Nats Richard Wilkins wanted one of my Vampires so I traded for one of his planes, which I still have powered with a G21-15 ST.....It's great fun to fly but slows very bad in turns.
RW
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Mr. Wooten, I sent you a message.
Cliff
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It just proved my old saying "you can't build a perfect kit unless you supply a builder in each box"
Heh. That sparks memories of helping customers when I was working for my dad's company. Roadster bodies have to be mounted on a straight and true frame if the doors are going to fit properly -- about 95% of our "your product is @#$%, the doors don't fit" calls ended up being because of a frame that was bent, twisted, diamond-shaped, or otherwise just plain wrong.