Info on this stooge

[Paul Allen]

Does anyone have info on this stooge,need to know if release plate moves
freely or is locked into position.
Thanks
Paul

[Brett Buck]

Does anyone have info on this stooge,need to know if release plate moves
freely or is locked into position.\

    I think it moves up and down freely to align with the direction of force, which reduces the chances of compressing the tail gear and having it nose over at release. I have had them either way, my current/last stooge is really just the plate part, with two big holes in it for 8" custom spikes that get driven into the dirt.

     To show you how long ago this information is, I have never used it with a tuned-pipe model.

    Brett

[Joe M]

I sinpped this picture a while back wondering the same question.

[Bill Hummel]

Hi Paul, I got this stooge from Bob Baron many years ago! Yes, the plate moves freely up and down. No problems even after lots of years!

[Crist Rigotti]

I think the plate moves up and down so you can use it with tricycle gear too?

[Dan McEntee]

I think the plate moves up and down so you can use it with tricycle gear too?

     I'm gonna vote no on that one! You know I have been flying my Sharks along time, and in order to fly them along I tried about everything I could think of the retain the airplane in a standard type stooge. The biggest thing I learned is that you DO NOT want to retain the airplane by just the nose wheel! It's hard to explain and even more difficult to watch when you are trying for a clean release! This stooge in question looks like it is intended to just retain the model by the tail wheel wire about the tail wheel. The strut for the wheel goes behind the spring loaded pin, and the movable part holds the tail wheel down??  Most guys use a 1/2" to 1' tail wheel and that doesn't require a huge movement and the model gets away clean with no bouncing and you don't need any kind of extra hoop or loop on the tail end.. I have never seen one. Who made this one and are they still in production?
      Type at you later,
  Dan McEntee

[Paul Allen]

Thanks all for the info.
Paul

[Ralph Fichtl]

I know is thread is kind of old but, I didn't see any information about the stooge and who made them.

[john e. holliday]

Looking at the pictures it would be easy to make.

[Steve Helmick]

Tom Morris had them made.  His were all painted a bright yellow.. Very heavy and no need to anchor them.

I have one of Tom Morris' yellow painted stooges, and it doesn't and never did have the hinged aluminum part shown. Not saying he didn't make some like that, but this was previously ID'd as a (Bob?) Baron product. The aluminum bit itself would either take a Bridgeport-type milling machine or several determined hours to make with a drillpress, hacksaw and belt sander (i.e., all the stuff I have in my shop that doesn't identify as a metal lathe). My bandsaw would pitch a fit if requested to cut that aluminum, which looks to probably be 3/8" 6061T6.  Steve

[Steve Dwyer]

This thread interests me because I have been for some time especially when I pick up my flight box to go to the field been thinking about making a new stooge. I made mine years back using 3/4" plywood with a solidly attached aluminum slide mechanism I fabricated similar to the ones in the photos above. I use one 8" landscape spike to secure it. The issue I have is when I place it on the field the 10" x 10" plywood deck tends to elevate the tail more than I'd like. If the lawn is a bit higher than desired (common for the local parks) the prop will sometimes catch on release. Additionally many designs now have an intended high tail wheel or skid hook leveling the model in order to help achieve a smooth climb out departure following release. Giving thought, wouldn't the "hinged" mechanism tend to lift the tail further and possibly result in a prop strike and especially if you were to do the traditional wiggle check of the elevator before release? I know...go find a better field but in theory would not the hinging style release be problematic?

Steve

[Roy DeCamara]

I first saw an ad for this stooge in Stunt News probably 25 years ago.  It was priced around $100.00 I think.  Like probably many others I was put back a bit on the price.  Somewhere I did get to see one of these stooges.  It was made by or for Bob Barron.  When I saw the quality of this stooge, I decided it was really reasonably priced.  I called Bob Barron to order one of these stooges.  He told me they were no longer available as the response was so poor, he had discontinued making them.  What he did tell me was that if I was going to fly with a stooge, "DO NOT DO IT HALF A$$ED".  "DO NOT ATTACH THE STOOGE TO THE TAILWHEEL STRUT". Yeah, I know, you have all seen or done the little loop soldered to the tail wheel strut. He then explained to us a separate tail hook built into the model and dedicated to the use of a stooge. Since I myself had experienced tail wheel strut failures, I took Bob's advice to heart.  I make a separate tail hook made from .078 music wire and the installation varies depending if installed during construction of the model or if retrofitted on a completed model.
One time at contest many years ago I was flying a model that had been retrofitted with the dedicated tail hook and during a practice flight the tailwheel strut, 1/16 wire, broke off where it exited the fuselage bottom skin.  I used the stooge hook as a tail skid and completed my flights. True story!
One parting comment, anyone who thinks this stooge can be made with the average tools most modelers have available has gone around the bend a bit.