Back in the Fall I went to a swap meet in Delaware. On one of the tables was a Bob Hunt Genesis missing the cowl but otherwise in good shape. The owner Tom was asking $100 for it. I was reluctant because the motor beams looked like a bunch of different engines were once installed based on the number of holes filled with 1/8" dowl rod. I was going to pass on it,but Tom lowered the price to $80 and I took it thinking how bad could it be?

When I got her home I burnt the midnight oil and mounted my newly reworked HP 40. The next morning I met John Saunders at the field to test fly her. She only weighed 42oz ready to go. I put my 61' Nobler lines and handle on her.

Once the plane was in the air I started checking her out and she was really good. Great corners, locked in on level flight,great rounds. I flew most of the pattern stunts  then waited for the fuel to run out. When the engine quit I started to set her up for landing when all of a sudden the engine ,beams,and top block fall off the plane and were hanging below the plane held on by the muffler pressure line! I'm able to land the plane with minimal damage.

The plane was really perfect from the wing leading edge back so it was a matter of building a totally new nose. I saved what pieces I could to use as templates for new parts. I built the engine crutch exactly as Bob did originally and sistered  in new fuselage nose sides and doubles.I fashioned  new top and bottom blocks, shaped them, then hollowed everything out for weight saving.I made sure that the nose moment was exactly as the original.

Next I moved on to the engine cowling. Since I had nothing to go by I designed my own along the lines of the classic 60's ships with the snorkel in the front. Very sexy indeed!

When the construction of the nose and cowl was complete I glassed it all with the very light weight glass cloth and used Zpoxy finishing resin to adhere the cloth. I use one thinned coat to hold the cloth in place ,one thicker coat to fill the weave.At this point I mixed up my own sanding sealer of 1/3 thinner,1/3 talc,1/3 clear Brodak dope,a bit on grey dope to help with sanding. I'm at a stand still now with the finishing waiting for drier weather....she looks great in my eyes.

This ship has a bunch of history actually. According to Bob Hunt it was built around 74/75?  After crashing his best plane Joe Adamusko bought the unfinished , but ready for finishing plane from Bob. Joe decided not to use it in competition as he didn't build it. The plane hung on Joe's wall for like 10 years when his then brother in law got into C/L. Joe put a nice finish on it for him, but I understand he didn't use it much. The plane hung at Joe's sister's house for years when Joe then went to pick it up to keep it from being placed in the trash!

I understand that Joe either sold or gave the plane away at one of the local meets. At this point it's history is cloudy,but Tom S. might know more. I'm probably the 6th owner ,but don't know for sure. Meanwhile the plane is 44 or 45 years old.....just amazing.  Maybe Bob Hunt or Tom can tell us more about this plane....Cheers.PhillySkip

Hi Skip:

It was certainly a trip down memory lane for me seeing this ship again. Yes, I built that model in 1974, just at the time I was switching over to the larger Genesis 46 format. This one was to be the third 35-size Genesis in my arsenal. And, it has some significant history points attached to it...

I had been making foam flaps separate from the wing up to that point, and it suddenly dawned on me that I could cut the flaps integral to the wing core and then cover the entire assembly with balsa and then separate the flaps. I had to make up skins that had the grain running parallel to the leading edge of the wing back to the hinge line area, and then graft on balsa that had the grain running parallel to the leading edge of the flap to make up the remainder of the skin. If I had run the grain biased across the flap, the flaps would have a tendency to warp or bow. After the wing had been sheeted, I made allotment for the trailing edge of the wing and the leading edge cap for the flaps and cut that section out when I separated the flaps from the wing. I then balsa capped the trailing edge of the wing and made fixtures to hold the flap in alignment and capped them with balsa as well. The result was flaps that perfectly fit the trailing edge of the wing and were bow and warp free.

That model also had another new innovation. It was the first wing built with the landing gear "clip" system that I had developed. In that system the wing core has a vertical 1/8-inch Lite-Ply spar installed, and then slots are cut chord-wise back to that spar to allow Lite-Ply half ribs to but up against the spar. The result is a system that allows the landing gear block or plate to be positioned very accurately and be extremely strong. It worked so well on subsequent models (remember, I sold this model before it was finished...) that it still use that exact system to this day in my own wings and in those that I produce commercially. (See the photos below for a more graphic explanation of the LG clip system.) 

That Genesis was also one that was designed to be long and sleek. It was the most futuristic Genesis in my opinion, at least until the advent of the Genesis Extreme many years later. I really wish now that I had finished that ship and used it in competition. Sounds like it flies very well according to you, Skip!

Thanks for posting those old photos, Skip!

Bob



   

Here are two pics of the Genesis taken by Joe Adamusko in 1988! The plane was maybe 14 years old at the time of these pics!

One thing: If I had not sold that model to Joe back in 1974 or '75, and had decided to finish it, I would certainly not have used that copper/bronze as a trim color... 

(Come on, that was funny!)

Bob

Hey Doc the only time any of my planes would be "appearance" judged would be at Brodaks for Pampa Stunt. You know, since those "Jersey Guys" shamed me into Advanced last season my wife doesn't have to worry about me bringing any hardware home.......LOL. That advanced group around here is a tough group to play with!.....Cheers,Skip

You're welcome, and thank you for your advice on all sorts of "Stunt" related stuff.........Skip

I'm in the painting stage of the new nose and ran into a problem. When Joe Adamusko originally painted the plane he was experimenting with some type of automotive clear top coat. When I was preparing the nose for painting I blended my dope into (on) the original top coat at the transition from new nose to fuselage at wing leading edge. Well the dope didn't adhere to the top coat. When wet sanding with 600 wet paper the new white dope started pealing off of the original finish. I'll have to figure out how to get the transition area to hold the Brodak dope.

Thanks for sharing that info.

Just a hacker at this. Thanks for the kind words. Being retired gives me the time to devote to our hobby. I not only enjoy building new planes,but like to restore the old ones as well. My wife who supports my hobby is great,but goes nuts the moment she smells anything stinky coming out of the shop. So ,I have to paint outside when the weather permits and I use a lot of Monokote for wings and stabs to cut down on the painting. Hey I'm not a first row guy,just want to have nice stuff to fly and enjoy......Skip