Years ago I got to visit Johnny Clemmons in his hobby shop. Some how the conversation got to leading edges and planes not flying like they should, like hunting in level flight. He stated he had a young man show up with a fabulous plane he had not flown yet. Any way he got the plane flying and was having trouble. They checked balance and the usual stuff. Then Johnny asked him if he could fix the plane. It ahd a razor sharp leading. Out came the old pocket knife and Johnny started shaping the leading the leading edge as best as he could. said he had a tube of glue and put a coat over the bare wood. They flew the plane again. The young man couldn't believe the difference. He also stated that that sharp leading edge is what was shown on the plans. That is when he was told that experience will teel him plans are not always correct.
I always tried to get to his shop every time I was in a phone school inn Dallas. A lot of history in that shop. But as usual Johnny went on to a better reward. The reason for this post is the discussion of leading edged in the old time section. Before I met Johnny I always tried to make a nice round leading edge like the preshaped leading edges of the Sterling kits.
Topic: Leading edges (Read 1006 times)