News:



  • March 28, 2024, 06:54:02 PM

Login with username, password and session length

Author Topic: Addiction of an innocent.  (Read 10309 times)

Offline 50+AirYears

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Commander
  • ****
  • Posts: 170
Addiction of an innocent.
« on: December 01, 2014, 11:02:17 PM »
It was my fourth birthday, Feb 1944.  I had already been exposed to some CL planes from kids flying in local parks and school parking lots.  Also had a cousin living in Detroit who used to send his used copies of Air Trails and MAN to anothe cousing I saw frequently.  I was developing a strange urge, an almost frightening desire.  Then, my dad came home from work with a couple small boxes in his hands, all gift wrapped.  A Strombecker Jeep carrier, and a Frigate.  Before I went to bed, he promised me he would help me build them the next day.  However, since I was having trouble sleeping with an undefineable excitement, I tripped the latch on my crib, snuck into the kitchen, and got the two boxes down from the top of the old Victrola (Remember those?) cabinet.  Somehow, I was able to figur out the instructions, first the carrier, which was the easiest.    With my minimal reading skills, I deciphered the plan sheet, worked out the difference between the packets of water mix wood glue and wood filler, and mixed up a batch of wood glue.  I built both models that night.  I dont think I understood what the filler was for untill I tried to paint them with Pactra Enamel.  The end grain soaked up the paint like a sponge.
Over the next year, I had built more Strombeckers, a Megow or two, a couple Walker Hornets, 74 Gliders, and kind of built a couple Comet kits.  To be able to cut out the prinnted wood, dad snapped a couple Gillette Blue Blades in half and wrapped the broken edges with several layers of Mastic tape.  For my fifth birthday, I took the money I'd managed to save up, went down to a bike shop a couple blocks away, and bought an Enterprise Air Racer, an OK Cub .099, and a fuel tank.  The proprietor threw in some black fuel line tubing  Said to use heavy carper thread for lead outs, whatever those were.  Carving the hardwood egine bearers was beyond me, and dad was working overtime on defense contracts. 
For my sixth birthday,someone presented me with a Wen Mac (Aeromite?) with a pull start .049, a can of OK fuel, and an F battery with gator clip   I think it took me about 5 years to get that engine running, with a Walker Balloon tank, 7-4 power prop, and Fox Hi-Nitro fuel.. After that, the engine had absolutely no compression.cables. 
Tony

Offline john e. holliday

  • 24 supporter
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Admiral
  • *
  • Posts: 22752
Re: Addiction of an innocent.
« Reply #1 on: December 02, 2014, 10:55:37 AM »
Another great story.   My Dad was never a modeler,  his main thing was construction of houses, out houses(remember those) and any type of building.   He lost all of his tools on the last house he built from the ground up when the guy that paid him committed suicide in the house.   The local law enforcement people would not let Dad get his tools.  He supported me with my madness of model planes with urging me to do it.   Did not have the money back then.  He could sit and watch people fly all day and never wanted to try, but was willing to launch if needed.  Still miss him after all these years.
John E. "DOC" Holliday
10421 West 56th Terrace
Shawnee, KANSAS  66203
AMA 23530  Have fun as I have and I am still breaking a record.

Offline Will Hinton

  • 24 supporter
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Admiral
  • *
  • Posts: 2765
    • www.authorwillhinton.com
Re: Addiction of an innocent.
« Reply #2 on: December 06, 2014, 12:52:07 PM »
Hey 50+, we're within days of the same age.  However, I started 4 years after you did with the models.  My first was a solid balsa Mig, then I discovered Comet models at the local Rexall store.  Oooooboy - one a week for a very long time after that!  If I wouldn't have flown them out of the top of the hay mow and therefore destroyed them slowly, we would have had to build me a storage hanger!!  What a ride it's been! #^ #^
John 5:24   www.fcmodelers.com

Offline Richard Hutlet

  • 2015
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Lieutenant
  • *
  • Posts: 54
Re: Addiction of an innocent.
« Reply #3 on: December 28, 2014, 08:42:44 PM »
Wow..memory lane. First guy introduced me to C/L was a guy by the name of Jack Willis.
Jack was the original McGivor and if you didn't have the parts he found a way to make them.
I was 14 in 1973 and was a friend of the family. Jack had 3 boys whom he  loved dearly.
FYI they all turned out to be great human beings and successful in their fields.
At any rate the "Buster" C/L plane, Good god I remember carving and shaping 5/16 or so
Balsa to the contours of that airplane. Most times there was not enough "real" Balsa to go
around so we used 1/4" for the spars and a cardboard box to cut the ribs from. Silk
and butrate dope and an Enya 30 - 35 and off we went. Jack passed away when I was in my
late 30's but i'm going to do my best to teach my grand daughter how to build a "Buster" out
of cardboard.

thanks for the memories


Advertise Here
Tags:
 


Advertise Here