“It’s About Time!”
I used to fly with 3-time USA F2B team member, Bob Baron. Until his death in 1999, after a 20-year battle with Leukemia. Bob won the NATS in 1996 with his version of “Big Jim” Greenaway’s Patternmaster. Greenaway is gone too, as are many other prominent designers and flyers. Bob Baron was always acutely aware his time on earth would be limited. (He died at the age of 54.)
After his NATS win, he came home saying, though he had won, the full-size 740 square inch Patternmaster “isn’t good enough-It’s too hard to hold onto in heavy wind” due to it’s wing area and 70-ounce weight. Bob, when he was not 100% healthy, simply could not fly it up to his own potential.
The original “Time Machine” was thus created, as a 10% linear reduction of the Patternmaster, resulting in a 640 square inch model, with proportions of the Greenaway design.
Jim Greenaway had designed the Patternmaster sometime around 1979 (according to flyers who knew Jim well) thus making it Nostalgia and Super 70’s legal. Jim had wanted a plane “his size”-he was huge! - to use a Merco .61 for power. He incorporated some really important design ideas, including very thick airfoil for lift, and constant speed, (Al Rabe concept) and simple, “almost no blocks” construction for quick building and light weight (Les McDonald’s Stilettos). Wing and stab/elevator were foam and Jim produced cores for these. Plans were drawn by Mike Rogers, another prominent member of the Flushing Meadows (N.Y.) stunt group.
I published the down-sized “Time Machine” in Flying Models” in 1998. Bob Baron flew my original for hundreds of flights. As a result, he built his own version, which he called “Spartan:”, (after his lifestyle!) and used it to be top qualifier in his circle at the 1998 NATS (Double Star .60 Lite power.) Unfortunately, the wing folded during a warm-up flight on top-20 day. (I had argued for plywood-stub spars in the cored wing. He felt it wasn’t needed…to save weight. The #1 Time Machine did not have a fully cored wing.)
Bob never really got to show the plane’s potential as in late 1998 he became ill again, and died in September of 1999, twenty years ago… though it seems like 5 minutes ago to me.
Which brings me back to the concept of “time”. It seems like many of us pursue this hobby/sport as if we will be here, and healthy, forever. That is simply not true. Having lost a number of friends like Bob Baron, I am keenly aware of this. As a result, everything I do in stunt has a time element. I am always after “quick, easy, and functional enough to be competitive.” The next plane I build could be my last one, and the same is true for you, too. Also, making the hobby “time efficient” allows more time for other important things – family, friends, church, and so on.
With that in mind, I want to re-emphasize my product line with it’s “time” theme. I offer a range of kits, including contest oriented profile models, and full fuselage models, including all size versions of the “Patternmaster”, from the full-size Greenaway version down to 1/2A size. All kits have pre-sheeted cored wings, contest balsa parts and landing gear hardware. You supply your preferred wheels, control system, and power system. I can even offer these with wing and tail surfaces “pre-finished” in Ultracote or light fiberglass/nitrate dope.
I can do this because I have come up with production methods that are very time efficient for me. As a result, you too can benefit from this time-focused concept. Call, or write for details, designs offered, and levels of pre-fabrication.
One other thing, I have flown a number of designs since Time Machine #1 in 1996. I have also flown other people’s Time Machine versions in several sizes. I am convinced there is something special about Greenaway’s layout, regardless of size. I have never found anything as easy to fly well. That’s why, as I write this, I am building a full-size Patternmaster for Stalker .76 power.
Tom Dixon
November 25, 2019
Controline Sales, LLC
315 Santa Anita Avenue
Woodstock, GA 301289
Phone/FAX (770) 592-3279
Topic: It's About Time - Tom Dixon (Read 2526 times)