A Picture from 1948 (or so)

[JoeJust]

Here's a real laugher! Around 1948-50 or so, I decided that I was going to set a new speed record. Attached is a picture that one of my nieces gave me this week. This is the vey first UC plane that I conceived, designed and built by myself. The power was a high class OK Cub, .049.
The prop was "Jazzed" up by hand painting. If you look closely you can see the tank was under the inboard wing.
Needless to say, it never broke the existing 1/2A speed record. Now, after nearly 70 years later I still can't design or build anything that has brought me more positive memories than this little plane I called "THE SPEED DEAMON"
Hope you all got a good laugh over this story.
Joe Just

[EddyR]

Joe     Around 1951 I had a small profile that was about the size of a Ringmaster JR,not out yet, with a Rear intake McCoy19.
 I used it for Class A speed and placed a few times with it and won once with it . Top speed was 79 mph.
Ed

[Ken Culbertson]

HI Joe.  That is a much better rendition than my first free flight. Thankfully NO photos exist, none were taken. I used a Wen Mac .049, a paper tube from a roll of paper towels, big block of balsa in the nose, the wing from the 2 for one kit by Scientific P51 with the tail mounted ala F89 Scorpion.  My buddy Hugh, and I took it out to what was called Milich Ranch and tried to fly it. It was  very tail heavy, but sort of flew ten or so feet. Success, and we did this to the end of the alfalfa field, one mile later, 10 feet at a time. Eventually it just fell apart from all the oil. I stuck with known quality after that.

You actually got a Wen Mac to run?  I am impressed!

Ken

[Chancey Chorney]

That's neat. It is nice seeing old pictures like this. And nice plane too. I like the added touch of the propeller.

[Dave Hull]

Any speed plane with a prop diameter as big as the wingspan deserves audacity points. You could have won if they had ponied those up.

Dave

PS--That prop had to be good for another 5 mph, easy, over a stock prop. Better airflow.

[Dave Harmon]

You actually got a Wen Mac to run?  I am impressed!

Ken

The Wen-Mac with the red plastic spinner and red head was my first engine.
Couldn't start it....took it back to the hobby shop and the guy there could not start it either.
He gave me a K&B .049 and it ran very well....used it for a long time.
Something must have been wrong with those WM engines back then.