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General control line discussion => Open Forum => Topic started by: Bob Hunt on January 03, 2024, 10:05:39 AM
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I have a ton of old slides that my father took back in the 1940s and 1950s. I've been wanting to get a digital converter for several years with which to archive and share these photos.
I just hooked the device up and here's the very first slide I scanned. It is of Red Reinhardt in our living room around Christmas, oh, 1958 I'd guess. He's holding his last model airplane design. It's a swept-wing flying wing!
I'll be scanning hundreds of old slides and as I find ones that may be of interest to those on this forum I'll upload them.
So, here's the very first one of Red!
Later - Bob Hunt
PS: That photo on the table behind Red is of my sister, Joyce. She's now 83! - Bob
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Cool Photo! Nice Christmas tree!! I would be interested in see that model fly!! I wonder how it worked out?
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee
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LOL! Yeah, my sister was a fanatic about applying tinsel to every tree we ever had. She wouldn't let me do any tinseling, and when I went to bed she would also rearrange every ornament that I had put on the tree. n~
Here's another shot of Red at the Millville NJ meet around 1949 or so. As many of you know, Red went on from here to design a number of very famous Old Time Stunt models, including the 1950 International Stunt Champ, the El Diablo, the Galloping Comedian, and the Stunt Wing, with which he won the 1954 Mirror Meet.
Red and Larry Scarinzi were absolute best buddies, and now, sadly they are both gone. But, boy, the memories they left behind...
Later - Bob
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Great pictures Bob, can't wait to see more.
W.W.
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Here's another shot of Red at the Millville NJ meet around 1949 or so.
Boy does this one bring back memories. Mom, bored stiff and questioning her sanity taking me to a contest in some dusty old airport where control line was flown off of a dirt road and you had to dodge run away free flight planes. Being addressed as "Hey Kid" and listening to the bets if we could get the motor started? Being ecstatic with 5th place in junior cause you placed so near the top. Sure was fun!
Ken
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Red needs a slingshot hanging out of his back pocket!
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Love the tinsel; obviously installed by a perfectionist.
Just like my dad.
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Very much enjoying the converted slides!
What converter did you decide on?
I have many family and other slides that I need to digitize.
Andre
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Hi Andre:
Welcome back to SH. I decided on the Kodak Slide N' Scan. It was around $140.00. It's very easy to use and I have a ton of slides to do, and several thousand strips of B&W film (mostly from my days at Flying Models...) as well.
I've learned that you really do have to use the cleaner wand that they supply with the scanner to avoid dust and such.
And, here's one more scan that is a bit historic. It's Red and Larry Scarinzi's wife, Ginger, hamming it up at a contest in the 1950s. To me this stuff is priceless as I grew up around Red and Larry. Red worked for my dad for nearly 30 years off and on, so I was around him a lot. We worked together in my dad's machine shop until I joined the Army in 1968.
Later - Bob
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Jeeez. Is it just age that makes us so nostalgic or has the world really deteriorated so much? I'm only 61 but I really miss the 70's and 80's. So much simpler. So much cleaner. Great pictures. It's nice to be able to communicate with people who's names pop up in old publications from decades ago. Kind of a link to a past I was too young to know much about.
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Thanks for the pictures. I was just getting started in the mid 50's. H^^
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Jeeez. Is it just age that makes us so nostalgic or has the world really deteriorated so much? I'm only 61 but I really miss the 70's and 80's. So much simpler. So much cleaner. Great pictures. It's nice to be able to communicate with people who's names pop up in old publications from decades ago. Kind of a link to a past I was too young to know much about.
I think the 50's was the best era for a kid to grow up in in any of our life times. Things were much simpler. We had more real "fun" doing things and learning. We walked a mile to school through the woods and parental supervision consisted of "Dinner will be at 6:00, if you are going to play in the woods, take your gun". We built forts and tree houses, climbed trees and ate fresh fruit and berries sitting on a limb. We lived in the country - I was 8. There is probably a video game where they can simulate that to day.
By the 1960's things got just a bit more serious and being 18 in 1965 was not the best age to avoid all the "sh**" about to come.
It's all memories now but boy would I like another repeat of that decade (without the racism).
Ken
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Bob....thanks so much for putting faces to many of the names I have heard through most of my life.
Looking forward to more of them!
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My pleasure, Dave!
And as a nightcap, here's another one. This time it's Dawn Cosmillo with her "Pigeon Jet"(so named by her competitors because the nose of the ship looked like a pigeon's head from a side view). This photo was taken around 1967 at my parent's house in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. We had been at a local contest and my father invited a bunch of the fliers back to our house for a cookout. He took the opportunity to take some photos of the flier's with their models. Also in attendance that day at the cookout were John D'Ottavio, Dawn's father, Jim and her brother, Jimmy, Bill Simons, Gene Schaffer, Mark Tiefau and his father, and, well, a bunch of other East Coast fliers. It was quite a shindig...
Dawn and I flew against each other almost every week in those days in the Senior division at contests. She was a very good flier, and also just a very nice person. I spoke with Dawn not too many years back. She's living in Florida. We chatted for a while about the days we competed, but she said that she hadn't thought about flying for many years at that point.
Dawn won the Junior Nats title in 1965 at Willow Grove flying a Nobler. She placed second (I'm pretty sure...) to Mike Stott in the Senior division at the 1969 Nats, also at Willow Grove.
I'll keep scanning slides tomorrow and I'm sure I'll have some more interesting ones to share.
Later Bob
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I see in the pictures of Red holding his models that he flew clockwise. That was standard where I came from in the early 1950's. Were there many others flying clockwise in the east coast?? I've always wondered when and why did the counter-clockwise become the normal way??
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Hi Roy!
Long time, man... Must be an optical illusion; Red flew Counterclockwise his whole career.
Happy New Year - Bob
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These are great Bob! Can I steal them to post on the PAMPA facebook page for a couple throwback Thursday posts?
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Lead tinsel: the good stuff
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Thank you Bob for your reply!
I've sent you a PM!
One more thing: Does the Kodak Slide n' Scan have a USB interface so the end result goes to the PC? Or does it save to a thumb drive, or either?
Andre
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Thanks for the pictures Bob. Larry's stories about Red and their adventures were, mostly, unbelievable except they were true. While we heard them repeatedly it sure would be great to hear him tell them right now. Also, I flew a combat match with Dawn at a GSCB meet. I was 15 and terrified ! Jeez, what if I bumped into the most famous girl in our world! Distracted. All I can remember is that I lost the match. These are memories. TS
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I think the 50's was the best era for a kid to grow up in in any of our life times. Things were much simpler. We had more real "fun" doing things and learning. We walked a mile to school through the woods and parental supervision consisted of "Dinner will be at 6:00, if you are going to play in the woods, take your gun". We built forts and tree houses, climbed trees and ate fresh fruit and berries sitting on a limb. We lived in the country - I was 8. There is probably a video game where they can simulate that to day.
By the 1960's things got just a bit more serious and being 18 in 1965 was not the best age to avoid all the "sh**" about to come.
It's all memories now but boy would I like another repeat of that decade (without the racism).
Ken
Ken,
Your story is right out of my past. Not everything was perfect back in the 50s but it sure was a less complicated time.
Steve
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Thanks for the pictures Bob. Larry's stories about Red and their adventures were, mostly, unbelievable except they were true. While we heard them repeatedly it sure would be great to hear him tell them right now. Also, I flew a combat match with Dawn at a GSCB meet. I was 15 and terrified ! Jeez, what if I bumped into the most famous girl in our world! Distracted. All I can remember is that I lost the match. These are memories. TS
LOL! I can sympathize, Tom, I lost way more stunt meets to Dawn than I won (but, I did win a few!). She was a great ambassador for our sport; approachable and friendly.
Yeah, the Larry and Red stories were/are great. I have a bunch of them to tell; probably ones you've already heard. I started writing an autobiography many years ago, and I'm quite certain I'll never actually finish it, but I did write a chapter about how Red and Larry influenced me as a young flier. I'll drop that chapter in here for those who might be interested:
Red and Larry
In your lifetime you will hopefully be fortunate enough to meet a very few people who are larger than life. Secretly, you might even wish that you were one of them. That’s how I have always felt about Red Reinhardt and Larry Scarinzi.
Our local flying club was blessed to have had both of them as members at the same time. These were two heroes of such proportions as to keep a young flier constantly in awe. They both possessed such unbelievable building and flying skills that all action on the field would literally stop whenever they fired up an engine. Add to this the fact that they were absolutely hilarious natural characters, and it’s easy to see why even after more than 60 years they are still revered by those who grew up flying model airplanes in the New Jersey area. Whenever old time Eastern modelers get together, invariably the conversation gets quickly around to the telling and re-telling of favorite Red and Larry stories.
As I mentioned at the beginning, Red and Larry were pretty much fixtures at our house. They both liked and admired Dad, and they especially liked Mom’s Fried Chicken (remember, she was a native Kentuckian!). In fact, when Red got married, he brought his wife, Edie, to our house to receive genuine Southern Fried Chicken cooking lessons! Red would always carry a bucket of fried chicken next to him in his car to snack on during long trips.
Red
Of the two, Red was the quiet one. He had an extremely quick wit, but was the type that waited for just the right moment and then delivered the quintessential punch line. No one was cooler than Red. His incredible building skills seemed to stem from a natural artistic talent. He was constantly drawing really great little cartoon character sketches, and could decorate the wing of a new model with one in short order. In fact, many of Larry’s designs sported a sketch by Red on the wing or on the plan.
In 1961 I was entered in Junior Combat at the Nats in Willow Grove. Red was living with my family at the time and worked for Dad as a machinist. I showed him my brand new, Riley Wooten designed, Quicker, which was painted all red. He told me to get him a pencil as he grabbed the ship from me. I watched in total amazement as he freehand drew flames from the leading edge back onto the wing. Some of the flames would overlap and some would blend, but the end result was beautiful. I spent the next few evenings painstakingly hand painting the flames to Red’s outlines. He added some much needed three dimensional coloring, and the finished product was the best looking model, by far, that I had owned up to that point!
At the Nats I was stopped constantly by spectators who wanted a picture of the flaming Quicker. Oh, yeah, I lost in the first round, but didn’t put a scratch on the plane. I flew it for several years after that, and it will always rank in my mind as one of my all time favorites.
Red could be irreverent. There is a great story about how he was flying at a contest that was sponsored by a local New Jersey Lions Club. Apparently the Stunt judges - who were Lions club members - had never even seen a model airplane before, and they were doing an awful job at scoring. Red decided that they needed some waking up, so during his flight he howled his hot stunter down out of a dive and did a perfect touch and go on their desk! Stunned, they all rocked backwards onto the ground. He got their attention, but no trophy that day!
On several occasions, Red and Larry qualified for the Plymouth Internationals meet that was held in Detroit and sponsored by the Plymouth division of Chrysler. They stayed in a local hotel. Now, there are many stories that have been told about their escapades at those meets. Some are true. Some are, well, enhanced, but they are all legendary to those of us who followed their exploits.
One of my favorites among the documented true stories is the Great Wing-Under Caper. It seems that Red and Larry got their hands on one of Jim Walker’s U-Reely handles and dropped a model out of a lofty hotel window, letting out line until the model was adjacent to a window a few stories lower. I’ve never been too sure who did the flying and who did the starting (neither one would take the blame or credit), but the result was a series of high speed “wing-unders” that apparently almost took off some curious heads on the lower floors as they peaked out the windows!
Red always seemed to have a supply of Cherry Bombs on hand. At the Plymouth Internats he found a damaged Wakefield model in a garbage can. Apparently only the nose was really smashed, and he fixed the ship up so that it could be flown. He wrapped solder around the damaged nose to get the CG right, and then attached the wing with rubber bands. He positioned a Cherry Bomb inside the fuselage, with its fuse running under the wing holdown bands. He launched it from his hotel window, and everyone watched with delight as it soared beautifully into the night - until the fuse burnt through the rubber bands . . .
As the story goes, the fuselage separated from the wing and spiraled down until it was only a few feet above a police officer that was standing on a street corner. It exploded, showering the stunned cop with little sticks and bits of colored tissue! I’ll bet he never fully recovered.
There are a number of other Cherry Bomb stories, but the one I like best was kept for years as a strict secret. It can now be told because, even if the statute of limitations hasn’t expired, they can’t touch Red. It seems there was this mail chute in the Hotel at the Plymouth meet. Red apparently dropped a Cherry Bomb down the chute and, from all first hand accounts, the result was confetti to about the fifth floor! Yes, he was mischievous, but, oh boy, was he ever fun!
Red designed several very well known airplanes. The first of these to be published was his 1950 Internationals Stunt Winner. The seemingly simple, racer-like ship was deceptively innovative. The constant chord wing featured tapered leading and trailing edge sheeting. The width of the sheeting diminished from root to tip, as the need for strength also diminished. Red employed a full depth “D” tube type spar, and also shear webbed between the ribs at the trailing edge. This made for an extremely light but incredibly rigid wing. The fuselage featured a thin sheet box crutch with formers that were planked with 1/16-inch balsa. The stab and elevator were made from 1/8 inch thick balsa, and the elevators were very wide and had lots of area.
Red drilled an extra hole in the stock aluminum bellcrank to allow the pushrod to be attached very close to the pivot point, yielding very little pushrod movement. He attached the pushrod to the elevator using a very tall horn. He balanced his ships extremely far aft, but they weren’t sensitive due to the small amount of pushrod movement and resulting small amount of elevator deflection. His wrist could move a great deal without inducing much control. That was the secret to his ultra-smoothness, while still achieving super tight corners. The model was balanced near its center of lift, but felt groovy to his hand. Ingenious! Many of today’s fliers are now using that same principal to achieve tight turning, but groovy feeling ships.
Another of Red’s innovative designs was the Galloping Comedian, which was built to defend his Plymouth Internationals title. This design featured a hexagonal fuselage shape with an open cockpit and a spun aluminum cowling. The wing design was similar to the 1950 Internationals Winner, but featured large round wing tips. Red pulled all the stops in trying to make this ship as light as possible. He went a bit too far, and the wing broke, preventing him from defending his title in Detroit in 1951. Red fixed the ship after the meet and continued to fly it locally.
Initially, the Comedian was fitted with a sand cast Fox .35, but the ship was so light that he retrofitted a K&B .19. The ship flew even better with the lighter engine! This design is often seen at OTS meets around the country. It is distinctive in outline, and most of the ones that I have seen seem to fly very competitively. My father spun the custom cowl for Red, and had the original mold in his possession right up to his death in 2002.
Red’s next design was somewhat more spartan in appearance, but it was, perhaps, his best performer. The El Diablo featured a simple balsa box fuselage with a flat top and bottom, a sheet balsa tail group, and a rigid constant chord wing with outrageous bat-like trailing edge pieces. It was used for both Stunt and Combat flying, and had removable landing gear for better Combat performance. The fuselage was finished in natural wood with clear dope, and the wing was covered with green silk. It was simple and easy to construct, but it flew magnificently.
Red used a sand-cast Fox .35 in the El Diablo for power, and flew it on .010 solid lines! You can just imagine how well that combination flew in that time period. The El Diablo is a favorite in many areas of the country for OTS events, but especially so here in the East where Red was king of that era. This design would make a great kit because of its ease of construction.
Around late 1953, the flapped stunt ship had made its appearance, and a new type of pattern was beginning to be accepted. The slow, smooth and fluid type of maneuvers flown by ships like Bob Palmer’s Pow Wow, Smoothie and Thunderbird, and George Aldrich’s Noblers were hard for most fliers to resist. Stunt was becoming Precision Aerobatics. Red was more in favor of the high speed, fast and furious type of Stunt flying and didn’t make the transition to the flapped machines. He confided in me much later that the change in airplane and pattern style is why he retired from Stunt flying competition, and from the hobby eventually.
Still, in 1954 Red made one last significant contribution with his Stunt Wing. This design featured a wide constant chord section to which the elevator was hinged and the engine pod was attached. Outboard of this section were tapered panels culminating in beautifully shaped, round wingtips. This design featured a ½ inch square spar, which was doubled near the center section to be ½ inch by 1 inch wide. The ribs were cut to allow them to slide onto the spar and into their final position. Larry Scarinzi originally developed this type of construction and he continued to use it in many of his designs over the years.
The Stunt Wing in its initial form had a shorter nose than the final version, and it was originally named “Mister Completely.” It was finished in this form with dyed green silk and a clear fuselage section. After one test flight the ship proved to be too sensitive. Red added a significant amount of length to the nose and repainted the ship in all black with white AMA numbers. That’s the form in which it was published in Model Airplane News in March of 1955.
With this ship Red won the Stunt event at the 1954 Mirror Meet that was contested at Floyd Bennet Field in Brooklyn, New York. This was a huge meet that was sponsored by the Daily Mirror newspaper, and it featured a special pattern that took two flights to complete. There were many very challenging maneuvers in this pattern such as the “Bolo Wingover,” in which the model had to complete eight loops while at the same time performing a wingover. Neat!
A bonus of 50 points was awarded if the pilot could execute a perfect spot landing. Red flew very well, but needed the 50-point bonus to insure his win. Larry set a wooden line reel at the edge of the circle and told the judges that Red would use that reel as his “spot.” It was a very windy day, and as Red completed his flight, the engine quit as the model was passing over the reel. Red immediately put the ship into a vertical climb, and then made an abrupt “U-Turn” into a vertical dive and the spinner hit the reel within a half-inch of dead center. The airplane bounced up vertically, flattened out into a horizontal position and Red then jiggled the handle to make the model flutter down to the ground, with the engine landing dead center over the reel. The reel even had a distinct dent in it from the spinner impact. The judges awarded him the full 50 bonus points and he won not only the contest, but also a Grumman aluminum canoe! At that same meet Ernie Babcock won a full-Scale Ercoupe as his prize! Why can’t we have prizes like that anymore?
Within a year, Larry used the basic plan form of the Stunt Wing to design his very high performance Greased Lightning combat ship.
Red quit flying long before I came of age and got serious about it. I got to watch him fly a lot, but was too young to really appreciate his legendary talent. After he quit competition flying, he worked for my Dad for many years as a machinist, and even lived with my family off and on. In fact, we once shared a room. I can remember countless modeling conversations with Red in the dark before we each drifted off to sleep.
Many years later, as I was learning the machinist’s trade, Red was assigned by my dad as my mentor. He was as gifted with metal as he was with balsa, and taught me many things. My Father had taught Red the basics of machining and machine design, but the type of talent Red had was a gift from God, and he was considered by Dad as a genius. There was a genuine bond between them that transcends words.
Around 1967 I was already on the road to flying serious competition Stunt, and had produced my first really pretty Stunt ship. It was a scratch-built Nobler that sported a candy apple red paint job. I had spent a whole year building and finishing that ship, and it was my pride and joy.
Although Red had been away from modeling for several years at that time, we still talked about flying and building on a daily basis at work. One evening I asked him to come to the field with me to watch my pattern. He was impressed with my progress, and made a few suggestions for further improvement. I questioned the trim of the plane, and asked Red to fly it and evaluate it.
Once in the air, Red’s natural talent was apparent. He flew that Nobler to its very limits, and with a smoothness that was amazing. He kept flying maneuvers with the Nobler until the fuel ran out. Unfortunately, the engine quit while the ship was inverted. Red was used to models that were extremely light and agile and could be flipped over quickly whenever that happened. The Nobler wouldn’t do that! The results were predictable; the ship stalled half way through the recovery and fell in towards him. He couldn’t run fast enough to save it, and the ship shattered nearly at his feet.
I knew instantly that Red would feel guilty for crashing my best plane, and I remember feeling so bad for him because of that. I tried to console him, but he was devastated. He knew how much that plane meant to me. It was a defining moment in our friendship. I was trying to make him feel better, and he was trying to apologize for crashing my ship. Red insisted on trying to fix it, but it was damaged beyond repair. He tried, however, and I learned lots of valuable woodworking lessons by watching him try to fix the ship. To my knowledge, he never again picked up a handle.
Some years later, around 1970, Red and my Brother, Jimmy, got involved with off-road motorcycles. I had been riding for a couple of years at that time. I had just bought a brand new Norton 750 Commando, and took a ride to Red’s house in late November. Red lived in rural Doylestown, Pennsylvania and his area was surrounded with lots of open fields and forests.
We went to an area where they had laid out a basically circular scramble course. Part of the course was in a field, and part ran through some woods. My Brother was riding small displacement Honda, and Red had a brand new BSA Victor 441 “Thumper” (single cylinder bike). I watched for a while as they charged around the course, and then Red asked me if I would like to take a stab at it with his BSA. The natural competitor in me came out as I climbed aboard the Victor; I really wanted to impress them both with my riding skills.
In riding motorcycles - just as in any other motor-skill sport - you rely on your conditioned reflexes to do the work for you. My Norton had a shift pattern of “one up, three down” (In this pattern you put your toe under the shift lever and raise it to put the bike in first gear, and then you push down on the lever as you ascend through the gears), but Red’s ride was just the opposite with a “one down, three up” pattern. When I got charging through the woods, I forgot the pattern, and my reflexes took over with predictable results.
I was really moving; much faster than I should have been going for my first off-road experience. I hit the wrong gear on my third lap of the course, and instantly found myself flying through the air at about 40 MPH. The flight was pretty good, but the landing was harsh! My right knee smacked into a large boulder and the pain was incredible. I looked back for the bike, which had taken a different path but with similar results. It ran into a tree and was badly banged up. The front forks were bent back at a severe angle and the tank was dented. Remember, this was a brand new bike for Red, and I thought he was going to kill me.
Red and Jimmy arrived on the scene, and were relieved to see me still conscious and breathing (at least I think they were . . .). Then Red went to get his bike. Instead of being angry, Red started to genuinely laugh out loud. I asked him why he wasn’t mad, and he said that he had felt guilty since crashing my Nobler and that now we were even! He wedged the forks between two trees and bent them back semi-straight, hopped on the bike and roared off with a huge smile. Later, they picked me up and placed me on the Norton and pointed me towards home. I was in terrific pain throughout the long cold ride, but I was also smiling, because Red was finally off the hook for pranging the Nobler.
Red continued to ride for sport, and even raced a little, but my brother really became proficient at Enduro riding, winning many titles in the next ten years or so. He raced with the famous Jack Penton of Penton Motorcycle fame, and was never badly hurt. He retired from racing in the late 1980s but still rides a lot on the road.
In 1973 Red was seriously injured in an automobile accident. The car in which he was riding as a passenger hit a bridge abutment head on. As a result of the accident Red was paralyzed from the waist down, and less than a year later he died.
Red will always be alive in my mind as one of the most talented, creative and fun-loving people I have ever met. I still miss him dearly.
Larry
Where Red had the cool of a Steve McQueen, Larry had (and still has) the comic timing and facial expressions of a Buddy Hackett or Jerry Lewis, and the complete general zaniness of a Robin Williams. You never knew what he would do or say next, but you certainly didn’t want to miss it!
I guess I looked forward to seeing Larry most. Because Red worked for my dad, I got to see him a lot on a regular basis, and so I guess I took that for granted.
Thursday nights were what I lived for in the 1950s. That was club-meeting night for the Union Model Airplane Club. Our late spring, summer, and early fall meetings were held at the flying field, and if you missed one, you missed an opportunity to be entertained, amazed and even instructed by Larry.
Virtually every week Larry would show up with a new creation; a new stunt or combat model that was both stunning to behold for its aesthetic beauty, and ultra-exciting to watch in flight. Sometimes it was hard to tell Larry’s stunters from his combat models, because the terminal velocity of either type was usually about the same. Larry liked - and still does like - fast, tight turning models.
A complete rundown on all of the models that Larry produced over those years would fill this journal to overflowing, but there were a few that stick out in my mind as milestones. Among these was his aforementioned Greased Lightning. If you were to look at one of Larry’s “Greasers” today, you might mistake it for one of the many FAI Combat models that are winning in world competition. The only readily noticeable differences would be that the engine is mounted upright in the Greaser, and the flawless silk and dope finish would put the clear plastic film finishes of today’s model to complete shame.
Most of Larry’s combat models were not built for competition; he had a few “beaters” that were used for that purpose. The models he showcased at the field on Thursday nights were pieces of flying research art. Larry’s models were fast. And by fast I don’t mean just normal fast. There were several members of the Union club that were very accomplished modelers, and they had ships that could certainly travel around the circle quickly. But when Larry fired one of his up and it was launched, all of the others seemed slow by comparison with speed that seems rivaled only by today’s modern combat models. Larry was and is an engine genius, and could make lots of horsepower where others could not.
Among Larry’s interests in modeling was a genuine fascination with 1/2A - and smaller - models. He produced many designs for the diminutive power plants that were published in the various magazines. Among my favorites was his Queen Bee biplane that was designed around the, then new, Cox Pee Wee .020 engine. This was a model that could be flown on fairly short lines and still produce incredible aerobatic performance. Larry even flew it on lines so short that he could hold the handle above his head and perform wing-unders that just barely missed his feet!
Each year the Union club participated in a town wide gala called the Union Panorama. It was a showcase for all sorts of talent, and it went on for several hours on the stage of the Union High School. The Union Model Airplane Club put on a show of rubber powered ROG models that flew out over the audience and then landed back on the stage. I was privileged to have been one of the youngsters who flew the ROG models on a couple of occasions. The finale of the show was a flight by Larry with the Queen Bee. It was loud in that auditorium, and it was fast, and Larry was the consummate showman with the model. He would do a few loops and figure eights being very careful not to hit the overhead curtain, and then he would walk forward and fly the model down into the orchestra pit! One surprised man in the front row was seen pulling in his chin to avoid being hit by Larry’s speeding ship. Great sport! No one was ever hit, however, and his performance was always the most talked about “act” in the entire show.
I was just really getting started flying control line in those days, but I knew that I wanted to fly like Larry and Red. My father and I built a Ringmaster and put one of the then new and powerful Johnson .35 engines in it. Man did it move! I wanted desperately to show off my newfound skills with this ship, and challenged Larry to a combat match. Please understand that this was exactly like a driver who has just received his learner’s permit challenging Mario Andretti to a race at Indy. Larry passed on the challenge at first, but I just kept on bugging him about it, and in front of the other club members. Eventually they started kidding him, saying that he was scared of me. We all started chanting “Chicken Scarinzi, Chicken Scarinzi” and finally he relented and said OK to the match.
Larry would also fly a Ringmaster. He built a really pretty one that was finished in transparent yellow with blue and red trim. This ship was actually built to teach his wife, Ginger, how to fly. We put on the streamers and fired the models up. Larry didn’t even try to show me up, but instead let me make a few passes at his streamer. He made sure to avoid my attempts at the last second to be sure that I didn’t actually cut his streamer and have a chance to be declared the winner; that would be embarrassing!
We flew around level (I hadn’t learned to fly inverted yet!) for a while, and I found myself on the opposite side of the circle to where Larry’s plane was flying. I decided to be daring and did a wingover to Larry’s side of the circle, and as luck would have it, Larry wasn’t expecting that from me at all. I dove right through his streamer and got my very first “cut” in combat. Larry was shocked, and everyone around the circle was laughing hysterically. Then his engine quit and he landed, followed shortly by me. I had “beaten” Larry Scarinzi at a club meeting in front of everyone. I was happy, but also pretty scared. What would Larry say?
Well, he’s a great guy, and certainly he could have easily overwhelmed me with his skill during our match, and I would not have had a chance. He took it very easy on me indeed. He was laughing right along with everyone else after the match, feigning humiliation, and putting on a great show of it. Then he asked for a rematch! I said “no way.” He started chanting “Chicken Hunt, Chicken Hunt.” And to this day he almost always greets me with “Chicken Hunt.” It’s a title I wear proudly. He made a young boy’s entire year with that fun match, and it is still a vivid memory for me. We laugh about it often.
Even Larry doesn’t know this next bit. It was at the Union club field in the summer of 1958 when I first became aware of competition Control Line Aerobatics and what it entailed. Larry was practicing for an upcoming stunt meet with his Gay Devil design, and I just happened to be walking past the circle upwind of his maneuvers. Until that moment I had never actually studied a stunt pattern. For some reason I stopped walking and just watched Larry fly. I stayed there for three or four complete flights, mesmerized by the beauty of the maneuvers being scribed in the air before me. It was the first time I realized that this could be done with exacting precision, and I think it was at that moment I realized for the first time that I eventually wanted to become a stunt flier.
Most of Larry’s stunters were flapless designs that really moved. One in particular that I remember as being both awe inspiring and intimidating at the same time was his Grey Ghost. This model was large for the time, and featured a silk covered wing that was built using the ½ inch square main spar construction that he favored. The model was so fast - and Larry flew it so tight to 45 degrees - that the wing would bend noticeably during maneuvers. In fact it bent a lot! I was always scared that the ship would someday simply explode during a set of loops. It never did, however.
Larry’s father had owned and operated a bicycle shop in Summit, New Jersey, and Larry often worked there as a young man. He went on to become an engineer for Lockheed, Bell Labs, Bendix and the Singer Corporation, but eventually bought and operated a bicycle shop, just like his dad did. It was a very successful venture for Larry and his family, and he became more and more involved with that industry. In fact, he stopped flying model airplanes for several years while he was building up the bicycle shop.
He came to the 1992 Nats in Chicopee, Massachusetts, and became energized to fly again. Larry sold his bicycle shop in 1996 and retired. As this is being written, he’s still flying fast, tight turning models, is still just a zany as he ever was, and is most certainly the youngest spirit that I know. He and Ginger make the trek each year to the Vintage Stunt Championships in Tucson, Arizona, and meander across the country as they go, visiting many old modeling friends. I have the feeling that he will go on forever, and that makes me smile - a lot.
Memories, memories... Sadly, Larry passed away last year (2023), but his legend - and Red's - will live on in Stunt Lore forever.
Later - Bob
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Thank you Bob for your reply!
I've sent you a PM!
One more thing: Does the Kodak Slide n' Scan have a USB interface so the end result goes to the PC? Or does it save to a thumb drive, or either?
Andre
Hi Andre:
It does have a USB interface, and that's how the unit is powered up as well. It takes an SD card that can be removed and put into the slot in the back of the computer for file transfer as well.
To answer your PM question, my son, Robby got mine from Amazon. Perhaps that's why the prices you saw for this unit were somewhat higher.
I love this thing, but it will be a time consumer...
Bob
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Bob, you are an excellent writer. I enjoy reading your stories. I am sure most all of us have stories to tell, but are not able to present them as you do. I experienced some interesting things in my modeling adventure.
I was wondering, does your machine convert B/W pictures to color? Some of your pictures are in the era of B/W.
Thank you for sharing.
Rusty
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Bob, you are an excellent writer. I enjoy reading your stories. I am sure most all of us have stories to tell, but are not able to present them as you do. I experienced some interesting things in my modeling adventure.
I was wondering, does your machine convert B/W pictures to color? Some of your pictures are in the era of B/W.
Thank you for sharing.
Rusty
Hi Rusty:
Thanks for the kudos on my writing; I guess my time as an editor paid off to a degree...
No, my slide/film scanner does not convert B&W to color. My father was - among many other things - an avid photographer, and he was taking color slides as early as the late 1940s, so all the ones that I've posted to date were from slides that dad took.
Later - Bob
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Great stuff Bob!
The gentlemen in the picture behind Red and Ginger looks awfully like a guy that used to fly Quickie around here(nj). Tom Schaefer help me out here, George ?
TL
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Okay, here's the first trip down memory lane for today. This time it's my Stunt mentor, flying buddy, Ping Pong partner, and Best Man at my wedding, Bill Simons.
In these photos Bill is holding his P-39 Airacobra design. It was published in Flying Models magazine and was Bill's first published work. These photos were taken at the Union Model Airplane Club field. The Airacobra featured a Foam Flite (Mike and Arnie Stott) foam core wing, and it was powered by a Fox 35. It was a great flyer and with it Bill won several East Coast contests. The photos are circa 1967.
Later - Bob
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While we are showcasing Bill Simons, I'm posting a couple of photos that were taken in late 1965 (or maybe early 1966...) at the Garden State Circle Burner's field in Lincoln Park, NJ. One is of Bill holding his Lew McFarland designed Shark 45 and the other one is of Bill's Nobler (the blue and gold trimmed plane), his Shark 45, Gene Schaffer's black stunt model (un-named, like a lot of his stuff...), and my grody looking red Chief (don't laugh; it flew very well!).
Later - Bob
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Up next is Harold Price! Harold was one of the most creative and talented people I've ever known; he was also one of the grumpiest people I've ever known! All kidding aside, Harold was an innovator of the first degree, and his retract-equipped Crusade design was his top achievement. It was beautiful, light, and a great flyer.
I used to travel to contests with Harold, and I learned a lot from him, and for some reason he wasn't grumpy to me.
The photos presented here were taken at the Garden State Circle Burner's field around 1965 or '66. He's demonstrating how the retracts worked in the Crusader.
Enjoy -Bob
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Here's another photo of Harold Price that was taken at a contest that was held at Willet's Point, New York. For you baseball fans, that was to soon become the site of Shea Stadium; the Mets home field.
The plane is Harold's Ranger, which was actually just a re-finished Valkyrie. I'm pretty certain that this one was taken in 1965.
I'm throwing in another photo of Harold with one of his Crusaders. This one did not feature retracts.
More to come... - Bob
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Hi Bob
THANKS for all the cool pix! Noticed in the background below Harold's trike gear Crusader there is... Bill Suarez' P-38?
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Hi Denny:
Funny you should ask about Bill's P-38... Because that's the next photo up! Not sure who the gentleman is with the olive drab model, but that's Bill with his famous red one. Again taken at the Garden State Circle Burner's field in late 1965 I'm pretty sure. Bill was the top Senior flier in our area in that era. An amazing talent.
More to come yet... - Bob
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Some time around 1966-1967 I remember seeing Harold Price flying his Crusader with the retractable gear at a contest at Anacostia NAS ( or was it Bolling AFB? ) just outside of Washington, DC. I thought this was amazing! When the airplane was flying downwind you could see the gear come partially down but would go back up on the upwind side. If I remember correctly there was a small funnel that caught the air to retract the gear. I'm sure Bob can explain this further on how the gear system worked. This 15 year old kid was very impressed!
Dick Tyndall
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Here's one more. This time it's Bob Lampione with his semi-scale Mustang. Bob was Gene Schaffer's flying buddy in those days, and he learned quickly from Gene. Just three years later, in 1969, Bob would win the Nats flying his gorgeous Sabre Jet stunter. He was a superb finisher right from the start.
This photo was taken at the 1966 fall meet at Garden State Circle Burners (but it might have been 1965... The years just seem to blend in my mind these days).
More to come - Bob
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Bob, great photos. The stories are great and I wish that Red was still active when I became a UMAC member in 1965.
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Hi Denny:
Funny you should ask about Bill's P-38... Because that's the next photo up! Not sure who the gentleman is with the olive drab model, but that's Bill with his famous red one. Again taken at the Garden State Circle Burner's field in late 1965 I'm pretty sure. Bill was the top Senior flier in our area in that era. An amazing talent.
More to come yet... - Bob
Man, they've got a LOT of rudder offset in those P-38's! Got any shots of Bill's F-4 Phantom? One of my all time favorite designs. y1
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Amazing the way the colours have held .
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Amazing the way the colours have held .
Yeah, Matt, that amazed me as well. The slides were kept in a box and away from heat and sunlight. Even most of the much older ones have held up extremely well. I'm so thankful that I can finally archive these treasures and share them. This stuff belongs to the event and the fliers. Let's all redouble our efforts to chronicle the rich past of the Stunt event in photos and stories. I've said it many times in the past; each of us needs to take up the loom and fill in the fabric of the history of the event before it's too late. No one cares about the prose used, nor the quality of the photos presented; all that matters is preservation... Please, everyone write something that you remember about the models and especially the people who flew/fly Stunt in your area, and then post it here.
To your point, Matt, here is a photo that was taken in the late 1940s or very early 1950s of some RC action. My father was also into early RC flying and he was close friends and clubmates with Leon Shulman and Fran McElwee; two legendary modelers. The second photo was taken in our living room in Union, New Jersey during an early RC club meeting. The colors are striking.
Later - Bob
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You guys just knew this was coming... Naturally, my father took a lot of photos of me when I was young. I'm going to post a few of those here, even though it pains me to see how old I've become, and how much hair I've lost over the years.
This first photo was taken by a friend of my father's when he was starting his Consolidated Wow at the Doylestown, PA airport, which he managed. That's me holding it. This photo was taken around 1960. Note the Stearman on the ramp in the background. I used to fly in that airplane with the legendary air show pilot, "Big Ed" Mahler. And, Ed, Red Reinhardt, my brother, and I used to shoot 22 caliber rifles in that large hangar in the winter. I mowed tie-downs for fifty cents a piece in the summer to make some money, while keeping my eye open for any air taxi flights that were due to leave. When there was an empty seat on those flights (usually with our Tri-Pacer or our Bonanza), Dad would let me go along and then I'd get to fly the plane back to Doylestown. Man, did I have a great childhood!
More to come - Bob
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I had two Veco Mustang's in the 1960s. Here's a couple of photos of the first one. I received the kit for this model for Christmas in 1963. Just as I was starting to build it I had a terrible sled riding accident which almost cost me my right leg. While home recuperating from the surgeries I hobbled down to our basement shop to carve and shape the nose block into the spinner. The top block piece of balsa was hard to carve, and I put too much pressure while pulling the knife towards me. The knife suddenly hit a soft spot and accelerated towards the hand that was holding the fuselage. The knife exited the block at speed and went right into my left wrist, cutting a neat inch and a half-long slit. I was due to go to the doctors for a check up on my leg later that day, so I just pulled the wound closed with bandages and figured he would take a look at it during my office visit. Well, after examining my leg he did unwrap the bandages and then told his receptionist to hold his afternoon appointments. He had to put eight stitches in the wrist, and then looked at my mother and said, "Mrs. Hunt, your son is accident prone."
I built that Mustang the winter before learning the pattern, and it flew pretty well, but it had a small wing and square maneuvers were not its strong suit. It did teach me a lot of lessons, however, especially about carving...
Bob
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Continuing the story of my Mustangs... Several years after having built my first Veco Mustang, I constructed a second one. By that time I had learned a bunch more about building, and especially about building light airplanes, The second Mustang was built in 1969, with intentions of using it in AMA Stunt competition. It flew much better than my first Mustang, but it was still just a bit weak on tight cornering ability; it did great round maneuvers, however.
In 1970 I received a phone call from John Miske. John had come up with the idea to hold an "Old Tyme Stunt" event at the Garden State Circle Burners field, and asked me if I would come and fly in the contest. The rules he instituted (and which most Old Time Stunt events still adhere to when it comes to age eligibility) stated that the model had to be kitted or published in a magazine prior to 1953. I told him I didn't have a model that would comply to those rules. "Yes you do," he told me, "Your Veco Mustang was kitted in 1952." I did not know that... So, I did enter that first OTS contest and had to take a 10-point hit because my model was fitted with flaps. I had a great battle with John D'Ottavio - who flew a non-flapped All American - and just edged him out for the win. I had no idea that John Miske's whim of an event would go on to be so popular. Having won the first one is something I now cherish.
The Mustang I used in that first OTS event was powered by a Fox .35 and was finished with Aero Gloss dope. I've always loved the looks of the Mustang (who doesn't...), and many years later I designed what I call a "What it should have looked like scale" version, which was built by Mike Palko and Dan Banjock. I need to build one of those for myself someday, but with my current love for twins, it may have to be an F-82 Twin Mustang! Here are some photos of my 1970 OTS Mustang.
Bob
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The Mustang I used in that first OTS event was powered by a Fox .35 and was finished with Aero Gloss dope.
The lost art of cockpit detail. I almost long for the old appearance rules....almost.
Ken
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This is really good stuff Bob.
Thanks
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Well, Ken, your comment dovetails nicely into my next photo. I had the thought to just skip this one, as it was by far not the best looking airplane I had produced in that period. But, it was a significant one for me. I had two Chiefs, but could only find slides depicting the second one that I built. I guess I was in a hurry to fly it because I didn't install a canopy, or any paint detailing to speak of. It was light at 32 ounces, however, and it really flew quite well. It was the first airplane that I ever entered in a Stunt contest, and with it I won the 1966 Far Hills New Jersey contest in the Senior division. It was 1965 at my club dust-bowl field in Dumont, New Jersey, and while I was wiping it down from a flight, that I heard a voice behind me say "Looks like someone here wants to be a Stunt flier." That someone was Bill Simons. Bill was at that time one of the top three Stunt fliers on the East Coast, and certainly the best one in New Jersey at the time. I was shocked when he offered to help me, and then he gave me a matchbook cover with his phone number on it. I recorded that phone number in several places just to be sure I'd never lose it. I still remember it by heart: PO-8-5806. (Don't bother calling that number; Bill moved from that location many years ago, and, I'm sad to report, passed away several years ago.) Bill was good to his word and we became inseparable flying and building buddies. Without Bill's help and guidance I'm sure I would never have achieved any of things I did in the years after that in the Stunt event. Thanks, Bill, and enjoy the competition in Heaven...
Bob
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This is really good stuff Bob.
Thanks
Glad you are enjoying the trip down memory lane, John! #^ I know a lot of this is a bit self serving, but I just wanted to share my history and the history of Stunt on the East Coast in the 1950s and 1960s as best I could through these old photographs. I'll post a couple more about some of my old planes and then get back to highlighting some other flier's planes and stories.
To that end, here's a photo of the plane with which I learned to fly the pattern. It was a J. Roberts company, Swift. And, again, I'll paste in here a segment of my autobiography that tells the story of that airplane and the day I flew my first pattern. Here goes...
We moved from Pennsylvania to Bergen County, New Jersey in 1962. My father had received an offer to work for the Speedry Corporation at their facility in Queens, New York. He decided to live in northern New Jersey and commute, rather than moving into the city.
My parents bought a beautiful house in Woodcliff Lake, which is situated in the very upscale portion of Bergen County, New Jersey. That house had a huge basement and a large two car garage; there was plenty of room in which to set up a nice size shop, and I did that almost immediately upon our move there in the fall of 1962.
The first model I built in that shop was a J. Roberts Swift. The Swift was one of three profile designs produced by by the J. Roberts company that shared a wing and tail. There were two Jet styled, trike gear models in that series (Sabre and Cobra) and one - the Swift - that resembled a 1930s two open cockpit, taildragger sport plane. The Swift had a wingspan of about 42 inches, and it was not fitted with flaps. The double taper wing was built round a center piece that fit into slots in the leading edge pieces and the trailing edge pieces and set the tapers, and it also acted as the bellcrank mount. The fuselage was routed round on the edges and featured a slotted front end that accepted the pre-made solid wood motor mount. The stabilizer and the elevator were inletted to accept a pre-made hinge system. If you ever built a Jim Walker-designed Firecat, you will get the idea; it was very prefabricated and extremely easy to build. The Swift also had removable wing-mounted landing gear.
I finished the Swift in short order and powered it with a Fox .19. It flew very well and required no tweaks to get the wing level; a testament to its interlocking construction techniques I’m sure.
With the Swift I learned to do squares and most of the double round maneuvers. I flew it a lot, and felt I was steadily improving, but the thought to be able to do the whole pattern recognizably seemed daunting at best.
One day my mother dropped me off at the Union Model Airplane Club field. At that time we lived about 35 minutes north of Union, and I don’t remember why Mom drove me all the way down there. Perhaps she was visiting one of our old neighbors.
There were three circles at the Union field, and one of them had a fully paved concrete circle. That circle was used by the Experts. When I got there one of the top Senior class fliers in the region, Carl Wahlberg was busy practicing on the concrete “donut” with his original design, Blackhawk Stunt model. I had a stooge release system with me, and I had no wish to bother or annoy Carl while he was doing some serious pattern practice. I went over to the adjacent grass circle and settled into my regimin of practicing wingovers, loops, and tortured squares.
I flew a few flights and then, when I was refueling the Swift for one more sortie, I heard a voice saying hello behind me. I turned to see Carl walking up towards my pit area. I was pretty sure I had done something to @#$% him off. Hey, why else would this local area Stunt Star be calling on me?
Carl then asked me why I wasn’t flying the pattern. A bit taken back, I answered that I didn’t actually know all the maneuvers in the pattern. “Yes you do,” he said, and then explained to me that he had been watching me fly and observed that I knew all the elements of the pattern but I just had to connected them in the correct order in which to perform the schedule.
I told Carl that I didn’t think the Swift would actually do all the maneuvers. He asked me if he could fly it. Hey, when someone like that asks you for a flight on your ship, you quickly fuel it up and get it ready to go before he changes his mind!
Carl told me to launch the Swift and then join him in the center of the circle. I did that and took a seat in a spot where I could easily watch the maneuvers. Carl proceeded to fly a gorgeous pattern with the Swift, and he told me while he was flying that I had a perfect model with which to learn the pattern. He sure made it look good, and he made it look easy.
After he landed he told me that I was going to fly the entire pattern on my next flight. After having seen the ease with which he flew the Swift through all the maneuvers, it seemed reasonable. He gave me a few pointers on what to do, and how to stand for some of the more difficult maneuvers, and then it was time for me to jump in the deep end.
Carl launched the plane, and then came out to the center of the circle to coach me. I remember that some of the maneuvers were a bit ragged, but I got through them all safely. When I landed we both celebrated my first complete pattern. I never did see Carl again after that day, and I often wondered what happened to him; he just dropped out of the East Coast Stunt scene. I still think about that day often and wonder what my flying career might have been like had Carl not come over to help and coach me. I’m pretty sure I owe him a lot!
Anyway, after that day it was “Katy Bar the Door!” I started going to my local field every flyable day from that point on, and I put hundreds of patterns on that Swift. In fact, the pattern was all I flew from that point on; sport flying was a thing of the past for me.
I flew in wind, calm, and rain; I was on a mission to perfect the pattern. I still had no plans to actually fly in competition someday; I figured I’d never be at that level. Just flying the pattern became the most joyful thing in my life.
I wore out that Swift, and at the end it was just too oil soaked to fly well. So, I built another one! And I eventually wore that one out too. By that time I had logged hundreds of patterns in practice and in all type of conditions, and I felt I would soon be ready for a built-up Stunt model.
Later - Bob
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Just a couple more of me, I promise!
After having met Bill Simons in 1965, and flying my Chief the next season with him as my coach, I decided to build a "real" Stunt model.. This seems like an appropriate place to insert some of the things I wrote about Bill in my unfinished (and maybe never to be finished...) autobiography. It details the history behind my Red Nobler (which, by the way was eventually crashed by Red Reinhardt!). So, this next bit is dedicated with sincere appreciation and admiration of Bill Simons...
In the mid 1960s on the East Coast there were a number of excellent Stunt fliers, and predictably the local and regional meets were hotly contested. In fact, there were so many fliers in those days that it was common for the contest to start at 8 AM and run to dark and the competitors would only get one flight each! Among the notable Open class fliers of the era in that region were John D’Ottavio, Harold Price, Ron Pavloer, Bob Lampione, Dave Cook, Bobby Miller, Bill Simons, and the legendary Gene Schaffer. While Gene won the lion’s share of the contest on the East Coast in those days, there were some who gave him a real run for his money at times. Chief among those fliers in my mind was Bill Simons.
Bill lived in Northvale, New Jersey, a town that was about ten miles from my parent’s home in Woodcliff Lake. I got to watch Bill fly at the local meets and always marveled at the quality of the construction and finish of his models, and his flying. He was consistently good and always placed highly at contests, if he didn’t outright win.
One day in 1964 he showed up at my club field in Westwood, New Jersey with his gorgeous, original Aztec Stunter. He didn’t know me from Adam at that point as I had not even thought about competing. I was still honing my pattern skills with the J. Roberts Swift profile. Apparently he had been out practicing at a “secret” field and just decided to stop by and see what was going on at our field. Someone asked Bill to fly a demo flight for us and he got the Aztec out of his car. It was just beautiful, and everyone at the field was afraid to even launch it. No one wanted to chance putting a ding in that piece of flying artwork. I wasn’t that shy. I offered to launch for Bill and he proceeded to put in a spectacular pattern for us. After that I didn’t see Bill for about a year.
In the interim I had finished and was flying the red Chief I wrote about earlier. I had joined a club that had permission to fly on two ball fields on alternating weekends in Dumont, New Jersey. At that point I was flying the pattern pretty well, but I still had no thought to actually enter a contest.
One day I had just finished a full pattern flight with the Chief and was busy wiping it off in the dusty pit area. In fact, the whole field was sort of a dust bowl. That’s when I heard a voice behind me say, “Looks like someone here wants to be a Stunt flier.” I recognized the voice; it was Bill Simons. He had stopped by - again after a practice session at his “secret” field - and had watched my pattern. We started talking and he said that if I had any questions he’d be happy to help me. Well, I must have scared him a bit as I leaped at the chance to learn from this talented man. He answered all the questions I had then, and gave me his phone number on the back of a pack of matches. I kept that match book for years in my wallet so I wouldn’t forget his number. I even wrote it down in several places at home so I’d be sure to always have it; PO8-5806; I’ll take that number to my grave…
I waited a whole day to call him. I guess I convinced him that I was serious because he invited me to come over to his house the next day for a visit. Needless to say, I didn’t get too much sleep that night.
When I arrived at his house the next day he introduced me to his wife, Tootie. She was a trip, and I could write an entire book about her. Just ask Les McDonald about Tootie sometime; he could write a book too. Don’t get me wrong; she was great, just…unusual. Then Bill led me to his upstairs workshop, which was actually a converted bedroom. On the bench were all the parts for his newest Stunt model. It was a jet styled design, and the parts were arranged perfectly in pristine beauty. I mean, man! Those parts looked absolutely perfect. There were no dings, dents, glue spots, nothing, just perfectly shaped and sanded balsa. Pure artwork.
I decided right then and there that I wanted to build like that, and told Bill as much while I gushed over those parts and over all the beautiful models that were hanging on his workshop wall. I guess he sensed that I was serious because he invited me to learn from him. How great was that, Bill Simons, one of the East Coast elite Stunt fliers took me on as his student. Obviously one of the best days of my young life; I had a mentor!
Bill and I started flying together almost immediately. He was a letter carrier for the Closter, New Jersey Post Office and he worked a very early shift, which meant that he got home in the early afternoon. I started meeting him at his house on just about every good weather flying day and we’d go through what became a serious ritual; it was essential that we have a cup of coffee before heading for the field. At that time I was not a coffee drinker, but I quickly became one at Bill’s insistence. Really, he called it “Stunt Flier Coffee” and we had to have a cup before we could leave for the field. Hey, I’m not kidding; coffee was an almost religious experience for Bill, and I was indoctrinated into that cult. I figured if I didn’t drink the coffee I wouldn’t get any help at the field! And, I remain a coffee drinker to this day.
I finally got to see and fly on Bill’s “Secret Practice Field.” Actually it was the commons that surrounded the Tenafly High School, and I don’t think Bill had official permission to fly there; but no one ever complained; it was a different world. It was a wide open field with very little to stir up turbulence. I started out my sessions with Bill flying my hideous red Chief. Bill was at that time flying one of his “Simonized” Noblers (more about that later…). Bill’s stunter weighed 39 ounces and was powered by a Fox .35. And, like all of Bill’s airplanes, it was gorgeous. The Chief, as I wrote above was a deceptively good flying ship; it looked like a barge. After a few sessions - and lots of shape and intersection coaching (the bottoms were already good thanks to the hundreds of flights with the Swift…) - Bill suggested that I should take a flight on his Nobler. Yeah, right; I’m going to fly that piece of aerobatic art. Bill persisted. He told me that he’d been watching me very closely and felt that I already had the idea of how to fly a quality pattern. He just thought putting a light and well-trimmed (read that, straight…) airplane in my hands might encourage me to build a better airplane. He did at the last minute remind me that this was his current competition plane. But he also told me that I was ready for an airplane of this caliber and to relax and have fun with it.
Well, the ensuing flight was an epiphany. As soon as the Nobler broke ground I could feel the difference between my Chief and a true quality airplane. I flew a few level laps just doing mild climbs and dives to get used to the silky feel, and then Bill broke the spell by yelling out to me to do the pattern. I did not do the entire pattern on that flight with the Nobler, but I did a bunch of maneuvers and they were all effortless. I had no idea that a Stunt model could feel like that. I wanted one, right away!
Then Bill suggested that I enter my first CL Stunt competition at the upcoming Bayshore, Long Island contest. The thought of flying in a contest was about the farthest thing from my mind. In fact, I didn’t think I’d ever actually fly in competition; I just loved flying. And the thought of showing up with that ugly red Chief when all the other fliers would have polished beauties was also something I wasn’t looking forward to. Bill persisted and I did indeed enter my first Stunt contest. No, I didn’t win, or even place, but I did get through my flights and got pattern points each time, and, I didn’t crash. And, amazingly, there were a number of models entered that were pretty much on par with my red Chief in the looks department, so I didn’t feel too embarrassed.
As building season approached, Bill suggested to me that I should build one of his “Simonized” Noblers. He had built a number of Noblers and had developed ways to make them lighter, straighter and stronger, and much less complicated to build than the Green Box kit Nobler. He told me to take the kit ribs, spar pieces, trailing edge strips and leading edge planking from the kit box and throw everything else in the garbage can. Oh, he told me to keep the landing gear wire if I wanted fuselage mounted gear. I opted for wing gear with wheel pants, and so the gear wire followed all that die-cut kit wood into the trash. Sure glad my father didn’t find out that I threw most of that kit away… I ended up throwing away the leading edge and trailing edge planking, too, because the wood was too heavy.
Bill’s modifications to the kit Nobler included new fuselage sides without the lightening holes aft of the wing; hollowed balsa top and bottom blocks in place of the planking over formers; 1/4-inch sheet stabilizer and elevators in place of the built-up tail assembly; a sheeted rudder in place of the ribbed one; and hollowed balsa block tips in place of the multi-part tips supplied in the kit. I had actually tried to build a Nobler from the Green Box kit a year or so before I started flying with Bill, and the results were not good. The stock kit has a lot of parts and they were engineered to fit in a kit box. With my rudimentary skills at the time I had a lot of trouble making the model look like the one on the kit box cover. It was a mess and I never finished it. With Bill’s help and modification suggestions I was confident that I could now build a real stunt ship.
Bill did oversee the construction of my new Nobler, but he insisted that I do all the actual work. I’m very glad he insisted on that because it made me stretch my skills to achieve a good result. And, in fact, the resulting model was really pretty; it was my first really good looking, straight, and relatively light ship (it came out at 43 ounces!). And it flew good. Bill flew it on its maiden voyage and when he landed he pronounced it ready for competition. I won a number of Senior Stunt events with that plane on the Eastern circuit in 1967, and I cannot imagine ever being able to do that without Bill Simon’s help and mentorship.
Later - Bob
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Okay, last one about my planes for a while, but this bit is very important to my travels in Stunt.
This one deals with the events leading up to the production of my Caprice design. I'll drop in here a segment from my Caprice book text that tells the story. This segment is dedicated to Gene Schaffer; one of the most gifted fliers and competitors I've ever known.
"Secret Moments”
In the spring of 1966, I finished my “Simonized” Nobler. Bill Simons had built about a gazillion Noblers over the years, and had found areas that he felt could benefit from some further engineering. In fact, when I bought my “Green Box” Nobler kit to start building my first real competition stunter, Bill told me to remove the wing ribs and the “D” Tube spar pieces from the kit box and throw everything else away – except the landing gear wire if I were going to build the model with the standard gear placement.
I decided that I wanted a wing gear model, so the gear wire followed almost all that high-priced, die-cut balsa into the trashcan (I did keep the leading edge and trailing edge sheeting). I’m sure glad my dad never found out that I threw away almost all of that kit!
Bill told me to start with new 1/8-inch balsa sides – without the lightening holes that kit sides had - and new formers that didn’t protrude upward from the sides to form the basis for the aft turtle deck. He told me that I would be using carved and hollowed blocks for all of the fuselage shapes and the cowl. Ditto for the wingtips; they would each be made from two pieces of balsa block, carved and hollowed. It was clear that Bill had made a few of these and had found ways to make them stronger, faster, and easier. He told me to substitute 1⁄4 inch sheet balsa for the built-up stabilizer and elevators supplied in the kit and to make a built-up and sheeted rudder as well.
I followed Bill’s directions to the letter, and the result was the first really pretty Stunt model that I owned. I painted it in Candy Apple Red with black and white trim; it was my pride and joy. Bill flew the first test flight and pronounced it a very good ship. I remember it weighed in at about 44 ounces, which was not too bad for a first try at a contest-finished model. I powered it with a Fox .35 Anniversary Special (the one with the gold anodizing) and a Top Flite 10 x 6 prop. With that model and Bill’s coaching, I began to fly at a competitive level – at least in the Senior Stunt division.
There was a famous contest that was held each year in New Bedford, Massachusetts, at the New Bedford Airport, and I wanted to go. Bill Simons had a previous engagement and couldn’t make the trip. I was of driving age at that point, so I convinced my father to allow me to take the family station wagon and go alone to that meet. I would have to leave late on Saturday night, drive over two hundred miles, grab a little sleep in the car, then compete all day long and drive home on Sunday night. That he let me attempt this trip was amazing, but I think he knew how anxious I was to prove myself against all comers in my age bracket. Dad always did fully support my modeling interests.
That drive was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my young life. It was an adventure, really. I had not gone anywhere outside of our immediate area, alone, and certainly nowhere of any distance at night in the car. There were lots of new feelings running around in my head during that trip, and I remember really liking the mystery of night driving on a secluded New England highway. In fact, I really believe that is why I prefer long distance night driving to this day. Those who know me well also know of this penchant for leaving for home after a full day’s flying and driving through the night. They just think I’m weird.
On that trip I learned the joys of channel surfing on AM radio to find just the right driving tune, and of course the time honored practice of singing along at the top of my lungs. (I know... I won’t quit my day job.) I also liked looking in the rear view mirror and seeing my gleaming red Nobler strapped in and waiting. That was my first hit of the gunfighter mentality. I was going into someone else’s territory to do battle. Great stuff!
I arrived at the airport in the wee hours of Sunday morning, and almost immediately dropped into a deep sleep lying on the front seat of the car. I was exhausted. I guess I slept for about three or four hours until awakened by the sound of a model airplane engine. Someone was getting in an early practice flight.
I got up and went into the airport to use the facilities and get a cup of coffee. When I went back outside, I saw that a number of contestants had arrived. Among them was Gene Schaffer, who had brought along his wife Sue. Gene had this absolutely gorgeous, gleaming red Firebird, out of which he pulled his latest sleek stunter. This was the model that was to inspire the Caprice design. As much as I had liked his model that I damaged in Astoria, this one was even more stunning and well proportioned.
I had gotten to know Gene a bit by this time, and had even visited him alone once at his new home in Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey. I was getting braver...
Gene asked if I would like to practice with him, and I quickly accepted. That was an honor! We were told that we couldn’t practice on the actual contest site for a while yet, but we could practice on an adjacent ball field. Trees bordered that field on one side, and it was quite tight. I wasn’t too sure that there was enough room to fly there. Gene suggested that I go first.
In retrospect it might have been a good idea to walk the lines, with the model attached, around the circle to the tree line to insure that there was enough room. But we didn’t...
I fired up, signaled for a launch, and took off. I had made a full lap before the outside wingtip hit a branch that was overhanging the circle. I backed up as much as I could and completed the flight carefully to prevent another mishap. When I landed, I ran to inspect the ship. Only a small rip was found at the top of the last outer wing rib bay, and a small piece of scotch tape fixed it up well enough to continue flying that day. But, alas, my pristine winged weapon now had a scar. I was a bit miffed. Gene opted to wait to practice until the main contest site was opened...
All went well that day for both of us; I won the Senior Stunt event, and Gene won in Open. As always, when Gene flew, the entire contest came to a halt to watch him. Amazing... simply amazing.
I think Gene could tell that I was pretty tired after the contest. He suggested that I follow him on the way home, as we both took the same route for most of the way. I remember being so sleepy that I could hardly focus on the road. I know I weaved around a bunch. After about an hour on the road, Gene signaled me to pull off at an exit. He pulled into a fairly expensive-looking restaurant’s parking lot. I was on a very strict budget that weekend; in fact I was down to about five bucks!
Gene and Sue said they needed to eat and that I should join them. I started to make some lame excuse about needing to get back on the road, but Gene told me to shut up and come with them. He also said that he was buying! Wow! This was great. One of my Stunt heroes was taking me to dinner!
Gene said that we needed to celebrate our “team” win and fairly demanded that I order a steak. It was pretty much at that moment that I knew I had been accepted into the competitive East Coast Stunt scene. In retrospect I think that his offer of dinner was also his way of apologizing for the tree strike earlier that day; I think he felt in some way at fault for that. I was starting to see through Gene’s tough, gruff exterior and was finding a kind and gentle soul there. It was the start of a very long, meaningful, and fun friendship.
My Nobler was a really good flying model, but it didn’t present or fly like Gene’s “Blackbird” (so named by me because Gene didn’t name his models in those days, and he did paint all of his models in base black for about five years). I really wanted a model that would drive through wind and turbulence as Gene’s did, and one with which I could get that great looking corner.
I asked Gene at dinner that evening if I could have the plans for his model so I could build one. He informed me very matter-of-factly that there were no plans for the ship. He went on to tell me that all of the dimensions for his models were in his head! Not being one to take a hint, I pressed on. “Could I have those dimensions?” Gene let out a nervous laugh, popped and twitched a bit, and then looked me straight in the eye. He didn’t say anything for quite a few moments; he was very still and serene. (I later learned that when Gene was serious and focused, he could overcome the nervous condition. This was certainly the case when he flew!) Then he smiled very sincerely and said yes.
What followed was a serious discussion of my intentions. He would only give those dimensions to me if I would assure him that I was going to build the ship just as he instructed. I still get chills when I think about that discussion. I promised, of course, to follow his every direction and not make a move without consulting him.
Gene asked the waitress for a pen, ripped a section of the paper placemat, and began listing all of the dimensions on it for me. He told me what wing design to order from Foam Flite, and then he gave me the “Secret Moments,” which, according to him, were the real reason for his models’ great performance. Gene was very stern and direct when he uttered those dimensions. It was as if he were giving me some priceless map to a hidden treasure.
Those moment arm dimensions are forever etched in my memory, and I might forget a lot of things, but never those numbers! Nose Moment: 9 3/8 inches; Tail Moment: 14 3/4 inches. Doesn’t sound all that impressive now, but I felt somehow blessed when he uttered them and wrote them down for me.
Along with the Secret Moments came a solemn oath not to tell anyone else. Of course, Gene released this information to general distribution himself some years later, so I guess it’s all right for me to relate it again here.
Pressing my luck, I asked Gene if I could change the wing tip, tail tip, and wheel spat shapes to suit my own taste. Surprisingly, that didn’t seem to bother him at all. In fact, I think he liked the idea, so when I returned home, I began working on the model that was to eventually become the Caprice. Wow, what a trip!
Later - Bob
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Hey Bob,
This is truly great stuff! Please keep it coming
Thanks
Joe
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That was the first time I met you..I was one of the new members of the New Bedford Raiders, Len Gadomski was the club president at the time. I loved that candy apple red model and asked you how you did it, Very patiently you explained the entire procedure.. Later I saw the Nobler on the ground and a bimbo bent over and touched the wing and said, "Oh, baby it's paper" At first I thought she had put the hole in the wing... The Goomba behind her had to be one of Patriarca's men. Cigar and all. Later, before you went home, you did the most perfect patch I ever saw. Still have the photos. D>K
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Hey Bob,
This is truly great stuff! Please keep it coming
Thanks
Joe
Hi Joe:
I'm scanning as fast as I can! LL~ LL~ LL~ Seriously, I'm glad you like it. With that last post I've pretty much caught everyone up on my formative years and the attendant airplanes. The Genesis Sage book pretty much picks up where I left off and chronicles the next 50 plus years. Just to remind everyone, that book is available for free. If you want to receive it, please send me a PM here at Stunt Hangar and include your email address.
I have a few more photos that date back into the 1960s, but I also have a bunch of them that are from contests in the 1970s.
Here are two more from that era. The first one is another photo taken by my father at the cookout we had after a contest around 1967. It's of John D'Ottavio with his Starr Lite design. John was a long time top competitor on the East Coast Stunt scene, and he was, along with Larry Scarinzi, Dawn Cosmillo's mentor and coach.
The second photo was taken in the basement playroom of my parent's house around 1969 or so. I'm not certain that this is why they called Gene a great "stick" man. We mostly played killer games of Ping Pong...
Later - Bob
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Around 1967 or '68, Mike Stott (of Foam Flite foam wing manufacturing and Sig Manufacturing fame...) came East for a few weeks and brought along his famous Chipmunk stunter. The attached photo was taken at the Union Model Airplane Club field, where I'm pretty certain he won Senior Stunt in the contest that day. He also flew at a couple of other meets while he was here and had some great (and friendly) battles with Dawn Cosmillo. I can't remember who won the most contests between the two, but I do remember that it was a thrill to have Mike visit our corner of the world. One of the nicest guys ever!
More to come... Bob
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That was the first time I met you..I was one of the new members of the New Bedford Raiders, Len Gadomski was the club president at the time. I loved that candy apple red model and asked you how you did it, Very patiently you explained the entire procedure.. Later I saw the Nobler on the ground and a bimbo bent over and touched the wing and said, "Oh, baby it's paper" At first I thought she had put the hole in the wing... The Goomba behind her had to be one of Patriarca's men. Cigar and all. Later, before you went home, you did the most perfect patch I ever saw. Still have the photos. D>K
LOL! I remember that lady! Funny how guarded we are with our toy airplanes. But, hey, a lot work went into them and like Bill Werwage always says, "My planes are my children." That was a great day for me. Gene and I went into another group of "gunfighter's" territory and we pretty much wiped them out; Gene won Open and I won Senior. The little bit of damage that tree limb did to the last outer bay on the Nobler was a sort of badge of honor. From that point on I stopped babying that ship and just used it as a competition weapon... Until Red crashed it. ???
Thanks for the memory, Ty! - Bob
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No way I can compete with Bob but Ty's post prompted me to share a few of my childhood memories. The first picture was taken the day of my first contest in 1959. I think I was 12. I have no clue how I did. My steel trap memory rusted shut years ago. The next ones are of my Sandpiper design of which I have built 5. The best story is #1. I designed it in 1963 as a high school drafting class project. My meager allowance and some grass cutting jobs had kept me flying but nothing spectacular. With the 1964 Nats being a home town event the next year our local hobby shop owner offered to let me use his back room to build. I was thrilled and started immediately. He sold me a Fox 35 at cost, I think it was $2.50 and he gave me enough wood, Ambroid and AeroGLoss to finish it. I think the total cost added up to $14. Even though I had a driver's license, I had no car, so all of my flying had to be walking distance from our house or I had to carry the plane on my bicycle. I learned how to hold it by the nose just right so that it would "fly" as I rode. There was a grade school two blocks from our house that had a baseball diamond and basket ball court. If I laid it out just perfectly, I could take off from the side of the basketball court and land on the baseball diamond and that is how the plane got it's unlikely name. Had nothing to do with the bird. The baseball diamond was very sandy, and I had my wheels very close to the CG and the plane only weighed 34oz so every time I landed too fast it would nose over and fill up my pipe shaped nose scoop with sand. Pipesander just didn't have much of a ring to it.
I flew it in the 1963 Southwestern's and I think I won Senior but that is part of the rust. (I need some of Bob's brain lube) and a couple of other "locals" in the Dallas area before the 1964 Nats. This is where Ty's post comes in. The picture with the young lady watching me put on a fresh coat of wax prior to appearance judging is my Grandmother. Immediately after my Grandfather took the picture she slipped and put her hand through my outboard wing. I had a problem. Fortunately George Aldrich, the ED excused me from appearance judging so that I could go home and fix it. They would judge it in the morning. This was before the days of CA and replacing two ribs and recovering with enough dope takes time but I got it done and made it back the next morining. They judged it and gave me somewhere around 28 points. After what I thought were two pretty good flights I was off to fly my FF events and had to wait till that was done to find out I had placed 6th (out of 20+) with a 300 (a good score from Navy judges). When I got my score sheets I had a big fat -0- for appearance. Not even the minimum. The Tabulator had forgotten to put it on my score sheet and nobody noticed. That was the last contest for the original Sandpiper. It didn't survive the motor quitting in a RWO and broke the nose and tail off. That was the birth of II which was a profile with the same wing and tail. III was the first plane I built after returning to Stunt in 2017. It had different tips and an OS46LA replacing the Fox 35. Great flyer but not Classic Legal. I have this thing about designing and flying my own planes. It is a character defect. That led to a complete rebuild of the original 1963 plane to be my classic ship - Sandpiper IV. Only significant change was to make it electric. Even used the 1963 rib templates I had preserved the sheet metal stacking ends to make the ribs. Placed in a few local contests with it, then disaster struck. A defective oil filled heater exploded in our attached aviary and our house *and my shop* burned to the ground. My entire fleet, all 5 of them were vaporized, literally. Fortunately, Insurance covered about half of what they were worth and Sandpiper V, duplicating II which was a profile, was born. Named it Trifecta since it can be flown in profile, classic and PA.
I am really enjoying this thread. Hope others have stories to tell.
Ken
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Around 1967 or '68, Mike Stott (of Foam Flite foam wing manufacturing and Sig Manufacturing fame...) came East for a few weeks and brought along his famous Chipmunk stunter. The attached photo was taken at the Union Model Airplane Club field, where I'm pretty certain he won Senior Stunt in the contest that day. He also flew at a couple of other meets while he was here and had some great (and friendly) battles with Dawn Cosmillo. I can't remember who won the most contests between the two, but I do remember that it was a thrill to have Mike visit our corner of the world. One of the nicest guys ever!
More to come... Bob
I convinced Mike to make the long trip from Mankato (MN) to attend the Union (NJ) AAA Memorial Day Contest. I took Mike to a single circle field in Springfield , NJ to get some handle time. My family had a small motel and Mike stayed there. The night before the contest, Mom prepared a big Italian meal for Mike and his travel mate. They loved it. We had a lot of fun. Mike and his late Dad, Arnie - great people.
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It was either 1969 or 1970. He had won (or would soon win) Senior at the NATS. Memory fading here.
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This is the best thread on this forum in a REALLY long time. Thanks Bob, can't ever get enough of this stuff. :)
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I agree Wayne, I love these old photos. I saw a number of these planes in black and white magazines growing up and to see them in color and to hear the history associated with them is just awesome. Thanks Bob!!!
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Immediately after my Grandfather took the picture she slipped and put her hand through my outboard wing.
Didn't include the picture. 1000 limit!
Found a couple more while I was stationed in Korea. About 10 of us shared the base Hobby Shop. We each had a cabinet. Working on my Miss America mustang. Last one the mustang in flight. Sorry but my digitizer really sucks. Need to get one like Bob's. No idea why the site decided to rotate them.
Ken
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I convinced Mike to make the long trip from Mankato (MN) to attend the Union (NJ) AAA Memorial Day Contest. I took Mike to a single circle field in Springfield , NJ to get some handle time. My family had a small motel and Mike stayed there. The night before the contest, Mom prepared a big Italian meal for Mike and his travel mate. They loved it. We had a lot of fun. Mike and his late Dad, Arnie - great people.
Hi Frank:
How's Florida? You dodged a bullet by starting your winter vacation when you did. We just got hit by a pretty good snow storm up here. Say hi to Julie for me.
I did not know that you were the one who invited Mike to come East. The year was fuzzy in my mind, but I do remember that he flew at Union, and also at a contest in Troy, New York. I was still flying the original Black Caprice at that time, so it had to be 1968, unless he made two separate trips. Guess it all doesn't matter much so long as we can save these old photographs for posterity.
And, a shout out to Ken Culbertson, who has embraced the spirit of this thread and has posted some photos from a bygone era in his neck of the woods. We need more people to start chronicling with stories and photos, again, to "fill in the fabric of the history of the event."
Okay, before I fire up the snow blower and clean off the driveway, here's another photo from the past. This one is of Andy Lee's exquisite Sunshine. Andy and I traveled together to the 1973 Nats in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and had a great week flying with all the "greats" of the event. It was my first Nats to fly Stunt; I did fly Combat at the 1961 Nats. I think Andy had competed at a Nats or two before 1973, so he was the "veteran" of our twosome (I just fact checked this with Andy and he told me that he had indeed flown in the 1965 and 1966 Nats).
I'm also including a B&W photo that Andy sent me several years ago. That's Beth England holding Andy's Sunshine at a Union Model Airplane Club event some time after the 1973 Nats. Beth, by the way, was "Miss Old Tyme Stunt" at the first OTS contest in 1970. Very nice girl.
The snow blower awaits... - Bob
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Ya' know... Snow blowing ain't that easy when the snow is deep and wet! I'm exhausted, but the driveway is clear. Now the ambulance will be able to pull right up to the door. LL~ LL~
Okay this next one is very special as the builder of this model passed away only a few years ago. He was one of the most gifted builders/finishers this event has ever known. Of course I'm referring to Ski Dombrowski. Ski was perhaps most well known for his flawless Lacemaker, with which he captured the Concourse award at a Nats long ago (if someone remembers the year, please enlighten us here...).
Ski produced another flawless model before the Lacemaker, however, and - please forgive me - I cannot recall what he called this one. But, it was a fixture at many East Coast contests I'm thinking back in the late 1980s to early 1990s (again, someone who know this history better, please fill in the blanks here).
So, without further ado (always wanted to use that word somewhere...), here's one of Ski's masterpeces.
Bob
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No thread of this nature would be complete without at least one photo of the legendary Jack Sheeks. He's shown here holding his twin-engine Semi-Scale Mosquito at a Nats. I'm thinking this was taken at the 1982 Nats in Lincoln, Nebraska, as the white pants (seen in the background) were still in vogue. This was yet another published model by the great Mr. Sheeks. Does anyone care to venture a guess as to how many airplanes Jack had published?
Later - Bob
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Here's the last one until later today. Many of you have probably never heard of Rick Bachl before, but he and his dad, Fred, were fixtures on the East Coast Stunt scene back in the day. Rick stopped flying for a long time to focus on a career and a family, but he did reappear a few years back at VSC flying a Charles Mackey-designed Lark. His dad designed a very clever exponential bellcrank system in the late 1980 to early 1990s. Sadly, Fred passed, but Rick is still with us and I'm going to try and get him back in the game as he lives very near me.
The photo is of Rick and, I'm assuming, his wife (sorry, don't know her name) at the Union Model Airplane Club field somewhere back in the late 1960s to very early 1970s. He's holding his rendition of the Dave Gierke-designed NOVI III. It was absolutely beautiful! Note the "stacked" AMA numbers and copious paint detailing. Another perfectionist...
The pre-game shows are coming on and I'm set to watch some football - Bob
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John D came to Dallas for a few months, installing floors in numerous stores using the same tools, measures, and tapes he got when he stepped off the Navy ship and hung up his SeaBee uniform. WWII was over.
John flew his planes and broke in engines at the DMAA circles, sharing his knowledge with everyone.
What a wonderful gentleman!
dg
PS: How wonderful to see photos of his younger days ....Thank you, Bob.
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Okay, now I'm going to have some fun with an old buddy of mine. Lou Wolgast flew in the Senior division back in the early 1960s. His main competition was Eddie Elasic, George Jones, Frank Pisz, and Buddy Wieder. Eddie won the lion's share of the contests back then with his Impala design. He had three of them. Two of them were painted brown with gold or cream trim, and the third one was a light mint green.
Lou really like the triple rudder effect, but he was a Mopar man, and a Chevy name would just never adorn one of his ships! Or at least that's what he told me on the phone a couple of days back when I called him. Lou's Fury design had more squarish rudders than did the Impala.
When I scanned the second photo shown here, I noticed that the model had squarish rudders, but it carried the name "Impala II." It just couldn't be Lou's ship with that name on it...
I called Lou to try and figure out whose plane this might be. "It's not mine," answered Lou, "Mine was named Fury!" Then I checked the AMA number and asked Lou what his number was. Turns out the plane taking off in the photo below has Lou's AMA number on it. Being a Chevy guy myself (hey, I had a Caprice just a few years later...), I just could not resist busting on Lou hard! All in good fun of course..
So, judge for yourselves. I'm posting the photo of Eddie's Impala first, then Lou's "Impala II" (Woo boy is he going to get harassed by his fellow Cholla Chopper club members), which clearly shows his AMA number. And just to seal the deal, I'm posting a photo of Lou's magnificent Mirage as well. Please note the AMA numbers on the "Impala II" and the Mirage...
I just love this stuff... - Bob
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Here's the last one for tonight.
This one is difficult for me, as the man pictured here was one of my very long time friends. Vic Macaluso passed away a couple of years ago, and I still cannot fathom that. He was a vital and athletic guy who loved to water ski, build model airplanes and model boats, fly RC gliders, and generally keep himself busy doing all sorts of creative things. He was an author for me when I was the Editor of Flying Models magazine, producing a ton of product review articles, how-to articles, and he authored the model boating column for several years as well. He bailed me out on numerous occasions when I needed to fill a few pages in the magazine. I wondered if he ever slept.
Vic was a fast rising star on the East Coast CL Stunt scene in the late 1960s and early 1970s, producing a number of spectacular semi-scale models, including his original Crusader. Vic's first Crusader was built in just eight weeks, and it featured an anhedral wing with large drop tanks attached, lots of surface relief detailing, and a spectacular finish. And, it flew great, too!
In fact, Vic won a number of East Coast meets in 1970 with the first Crusader against very stiff competition. None of us on that circuit thought that the Crusader would be a success with all the unusual design features. Boy were we wrong. Vic went on the design a very scale-like F-14 Tomcat, and that few well also. It was Vic's influence that made me decided to build my F-105 Thunderchief.
Vic's love of RC Scale took over for many years, and he produced a large number of museum quality models that usually won the static competitions at the major trade shows. Very often he'd win in both the RC Scale Airplane category and the RC Scale Boat category at those shows. He was a dynamo.
Around 1993 he decided to return to Cl competition, and built a beautiful version of Randy Smith's SV-11. He followed that with updated versions of his Crusader and his Tomcat, and both were published in Flying Models magazine.
We traveled together a bit to trade shows (Toledo), and to CL contests out of the area, and then his interests returned to RC Scale, where his heart really was... I thought he'd go on forever.
So this last photo for the day is dedicated to that human dynamo and great guy, Victa'!
Godspeed, Vic, and please do not use up all the good balsa in heaven - Bob
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I'm kicking off today's offerings with a few of my old Buddy and childhood hero, Larry Scarinzi.
The first photo is of Larry's Super Flapper design. Note that more than half the wing is hinged as a large flap. Larry had a similar 1/2 A design back in the 1950s, and updated it many years later in this .15-size ship. I asked Larry if he thought it might be worth trying in a full-size Stunt model. He said that the hardware to make it strong enough might be a weight problem. That was several years ago, and with some of today's materials it just might be feasible... Anyone game to try it? (I might...) Larry said the model flew extremely well and had a great corner. Hmmmm...
There is also a shot of Larry seemingly asleep; he was probably just conjuring up another outrageous design. LL~ LL~
And, lastly there is a photo of Larry with some of his Combat designs and a Red Reinhardt-designed El Diablo. He was a master silker!
Later - Bob
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Love that Flapper.
And love these pics and all the history!
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Here are a few group shots that I took at various contests.
The first one shows the Top 5 finalist at the 1981 Nats. In the back row left to right are Kirk Mullinex (5th), Wynn Paul (4th). In the front row left to right are Ted Fancher (2nd), Bill Werwage (Champion), and Les McDonald (3rd).
The second photo was taken at a VSC back in 1991. This one features all the Olympics that were there that year. Left to right standing are Bob Whitely, a mystery flier (perhaps someone can identify him), and Chris McMillin. In the front of the group kneeling is the designer of the Olympic. Bob Gialdini.
The third photo is from the same VSC as the above photo (1991), and this one features all the Noblers that were there. Kneeling Left to right are Jim Lee, Lou Wolgast, and Randy Cuberly. Standing is George Aldrich, the legendary designer of the equally legendary Nobler.
More to come - Bob
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Just one more from the 1991 VSC contest. Here are the Chiefs... Not the guys holding the airplanes, but the design! That's Ted Fancher standing with his Chief and Mike Pratt kneeling with his. The Chief is one of my all time favorite airplanes, and these are two great examples.
Later - Bob
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Here's one last group shot for the day. This one was taken by my father at the 1974 Eastern States Championships that were contested at the Johnsville Naval Air Station in Warminster, PA. How many can you identify!
Bob
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Okay, last one for today.
This is Dave Rees' Talon at a contest in Union New Jersey in 1974. This may be the most perfectly constructed CL stunt model ever... next to maybe Dave's incredible F-5 Freedom Fighter. The cockpit detailing in those two models was beyond belief.
I was honored to have been asked to cut and cover the foam wings for those two models, and even more honored to have been asked by Dave to do the trim flights on the Talon. It flew just about perfectly right "off the board." Dave left CL Stunt to become one of the Free Flight Scale world's greatest champions. A nicer more gentle man never existed. He passed away severl years ago, but he sure left his mark on modeling.
Later - Bob
PS: I'll throw in a shot or two of the Freedom Fighter as well...
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LOL! Yeah, my sister was a fanatic about applying tinsel to every tree we ever had. She wouldn't let me do any tinseling, and when I went to bed she would also rearrange every ornament that I had put on the tree. n~
Here's another shot of Red at the Millville NJ meet around 1949 or so. As many of you know, Red went on from here to design a number of very famous Old Time Stunt models, including the 1950 International Stunt Champ, the El Diablo, the Galloping Comedian, and the Stunt Wing, with which he won the 1954 Mirror Meet.
Red and Larry Scarinzi were absolute best buddies, and now, sadly they are both gone. But, boy, the memories they left behind...
Later - Bob
Bob, at my house down in Miami, we used tinsel too. My brother and I would get in trouble with mom as we liked to throw the tinsel on. She insisted that it be hung "delicately." After Christmas, mom would remove all of the tinsel and put it back in the box to use again.
There was a lot of experimenting with flying wing concepts in that period of time. Look now at the B-2, who would of thought?
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LOL! Yeah, Norm, that tinsel thing was one of my childhood traumas. I really wanted to "help" with the tree, but my sister was insistent that I not be allowed to "mess it up." She meant well, however, and we laugh when I bust her about it now. She's now 83 and she's still a dynamo and a perfectionist. She was also a champion roller skater in her youth, and she turned pro at that as a teacher and a judge. My brother, Jim, was also a champion in his sport of motorcycle Enduro racing, so all three kids in the Hunt household were (and still are...) extremely competitive. If you were to reach for the last baked potato in the bowl at dinnertime you'd be likely to get a fork stuck in the back of your hand! y1 y1 y1
That flying wing that Red is holding in the photo never panned out, and I don't think more than five or six people ever even saw that model. Red brought it to the house to show my dad, and thankfully Pop grabbed his camera and got that shot. Red was extremely inventive and creative; and he was just plain fun to be around. In later years Bill Simons and I stayed for the week of the 1969 Nats at Red's home in Doylestown, PA. We played killer gamed of Ping Pong late into the night with Red. He and Larry Scarinzi were my two childhood heroes...
Later - Bob
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The first "victim" for today is Frank McMillan. I have photos of two of Frank's airplanes from years past. The first photo shows his immaculate Martin Baker MB-5 Semi-Scale stunter. Frank designed this one in collaboration with Al Rabe. It was powered by a hybrid ST/Como engine.
The second photo os of Frank's well-traveled Tucker Special. This photo was taken at a VSC in the early 1990s. With this model Frank won the Nats Classic Stunt crown in 1991 at Lawrenceville, Illinois. Great flying model!
Later - Bob
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Up to this point most of the photos I've been posting were those that my father took years ago. I did lip in a few that I took over the years, and, well, that's how I'll proceed now as I've pretty much scanned all the relevant old "dad" photos.
When I was the editor at Flying Models (for 17 years), we published a number of significant CL Stunt designs and other CL models as well. Typically I'd ask the authors to shoot some possible cover shot candidates. I have a number of boxes of those slides and will continue on posting one or two examples from each of those boxes.
The first one up is Les Nering's Nering Special. This was a very popular plan from our Carstens Plans Service. The FM plans are still available from Thayer Syme, who purchase the plans when FM went defunct. Do a search for Flying Models Plans Service and you will find a rich source for CL Stunt plans. I'm also including a photo of the Nering Special posed with two more examples of Les' work. The red (ish) model appears to be a Smoothie, and the black model looks like a 1952 Nobler. Les did beautiful work!
Later - Bob
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Bob,
Thank you for posting the picture from the 1974 East States Championships. Now to name some planes and flyers. Front row is Mark Sullivan’s Centurion. Second row close is Billy Simons Scorpion and far is my Apparition. I don’t know who flew the Messerschmitt, the Stunt Machine or the blue Genesis. I see two Genesis behind that where the close one is yours and the other may be Gene Schafer's. Behind that in the center is Dave Rees’s Talon. In the back behind the Talon I believe is Andy Lee’s Sunshine. Mark Sullivan and I are standing in the back on the right, where I have on the light blue fishing hat and Mark is to the left. Great memories!
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Up to this point most of the photos I've been posting were those that my father took years ago. I did lip in a few that I took over the years, and, well, that's how I'll proceed now as I've pretty much scanned all the relevant old "dad" photos.
When I was the editor at Flying Models (for 17 years), we published a number of significant CL Stunt designs and other CL models as well. Typically I'd ask the authors to shoot some possible cover shot candidates. I have a number of boxes of those slides and will continue on posting one or two examples from each of those boxes.
The first one up is Les Nering's Nering Special. This was a very popular plan from our Carstens Plans Service. The FM plans are still available from Thayer Syme, who purchase the plans when FM went defunct. Do a search for Flying Models Plans Service and you will find a rich source for CL Stunt plans. I'm also including a photo of the Nering Special posed with two more examples of Les' work. The red (ish) model appears to be a Smoothie, and the black model looks like a 1952 Nobler. Les did beautiful work!
Later - Bob
Vic Macaluso ended up with that Nering when he first got back into flying. Then Vic sold that plane to my grandfather and he flew it for a while. My grandpa ended up building two more Nering Special’s, one was painted a silver green, then refinished and flown at the 1996 NATS. The second one was finished all white and given to Mike Chiodo for him to finish painting. He flew it before he gave it to Mike and he said that was probably one of the best airplanes he’s ever built. It flew right off the board.
He also built another Nering-esque airplane. He used the fuselage profile of the Nering but used a Joe Adamusko Bucks Deluxe wing and tail in it. it was an incredibly attractive airplane! This is the only picture I have of it on my phone
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Couple more pictures of Vic with his F-14 and my grandpa launching for him and the belly of his pink SV-11
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Bob,
Thank you for posting the picture from the 1974 East States Championships. Now to name some planes and flyers. Front row is Mark Sullivan’s Centurion. Second row close is Billy Simons Scorpion and far is my Apparition. I don’t know who flew the Messerschmitt, the Stunt Machine or the blue Genesis. I see two Genesis behind that where the close one is yours and the other may be Gene Schafer's. Behind that in the center is Dave Rees’s Talon. In the back behind the Talon I believe is Andy Lee’s Sunshine. Mark Sullivan and I are standing in the back on the right, where I have on the light blue fishing hat and Mark is to the left. Great memories!
Wow! Hi Doug! How the heck are you? So glad to see you here; when are you going to come back and play with us?
The ME-109-like plane belonged to Joe Attewell (not sure of the spelling if it should be one "T" or two...); one of the Philadelphia area fliers. He was friends with Dave Rees and Lou Ruger. I'm pretty sure one of the unidentified planes belongs to Lou. There is also a Stunt Machine in there, but that's not Gene's. You are correct; one of the Genesis models (the one in the center) is my "Nuclear Banana Genesis, and the other one on the far side aft is Gene's. Gene flew his Genesis 46 at that year's Nats and placed second, and at the 1974 World Championships and placed sixth. That is Bill Simons' ship near the front, but it was actually named Scorpio. Brings back some memories, eh?
Later - Bob
PS: Give me a call
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Couple more pictures of Vic with his F-14 and my grandpa launching for him and the belly of his pink SV-11
Great shots of Vic and your grandfather, Matt! So glad these old photos are surfacing here.
Bob
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Here's the last one for today. I took this photo at the 1981 Nats in Seguin, Texas. I was judging that year instead of flying.
This is Mr. PAMPA himself, Wynn Paul with the 1981 version of the PAMPAWAGON. Pretty sure it had an ST .46 in the nose in that era. Wynn flew very well and placed fourth, just behind Les McDonald, Ted Fancher, and the Champion that year, Bill Werwage. Pretty much all I remember about that Nats is that it was HOT!
Later - Bob
PS: If you have not yet obtained a copy of Wynn's history of Stunt book, you are missing out on the most outstanding work about our event's history that has ever been published. Get one soon, as there will only be one print run... - Bob
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OMG BUBBA! JUST OMG!!!!!
What a memory and all those "pics"!!!!
The history of "STUNT" should be cataloged and danged if you ain't doin' just that!
You da' Man my friend! Luv ya!
Ted
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Here are a few group shots that I took at various contests.
The first one shows the Top 5 finalist at the 1981 Nats. In the back row left to right are Kirk Mullinex (5th), Wynn Paul (4th). In the front row left to right are Ted Fancher (2nd), Bill Werwage (Champion), and Les McDonald (3rd).
The second photo was taken at a VSC back in 1991. This one features all the Olympics that were there that year. Left to right standing are Bob Whitely, a mystery flier (perhaps someone can identify him), and Chris McMillin. In the front of the group kneeling is the designer of the Olympic. Bob Gialdini.
The third photo is from the same VSC as the above photo (1991), and this one features all the Noblers that were there. Kneeling Left to right are Jim Lee, Lou Wolgast, and Randy Cuberly. Standing is George Aldrich, the legendary designer of the equally legendary Nobler.
More to come - Bob
Hi Bobby,
Dino Mancinelli is the mystery SoCal Olympic Stunter in the picture of the long ago 1991 VSC.
Chris…
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Hi Bobby,
Dino Mancinelli is the mystery SoCal Olympic Stunter in the picture of the long ago 1991 VSC.
Chris…
I have been trying to think of Dino's name sine that post was made. It was my first VSC that was made possible by Chris McMillin arranging for me to buy an E Ticket. I scoured the magazines looking for something unusual and small enough to fit in a box that was under the TWA size limit and decidedon Arthur Alfieri's " Ruby" design. Remember that Bob? You were the only one there that recognized the name and design. Didn't hurt that it was an east coast pilot and model. I still have the airplane in repairable shape. I fell in with Dino almost right away as he was a nice guy and fun to be around and had a really nice model. I could not think of his last name until Chris just texted me about it and it came to me right away. That was the beginning of a LOT of fun to be had in Tucson over the years.
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee
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Of course, Dino Mancinelli! How could I forget? (I'm 76, that's how...). Thanks, Chris for filling in that blank. Thanks also to Dan McEntee for reminding me of Arthur Alfieri's Ruby. He was a fixture at the early 1960 East Coast contests, and his designs and finishing techniques with silk were reminiscent of Larry Scarinzi's models. I remember when that was published in Flying Models magazine.
Great stuff - Bob
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Ya' know... Snow blowing ain't that easy when the snow is deep and wet! I'm exhausted, but the driveway is clear. Now the ambulance will be able to pull right up to the door. LL~ LL~
Okay this next one is very special as the builder of this model passed away only a few years ago. He was one of the most gifted builders/finishers this event has ever known. Of course I'm referring to Ski Dombrowski. Ski was perhaps most well known for his flawless Lacemaker, with which he captured the Concourse award at a Nats long ago (if someone remembers the year, please enlighten us here...).
Ski produced another flawless model before the Lacemaker, however, and - please forgive me - I cannot recall what he called this one. But, it was a fixture at many East Coast contests I'm thinking back in the late 1980s to early 1990s (again, someone who know this history better, please fill in the blanks here).
So, without further ado (always wanted to use that word somewhere...), here's one of Ski's masterpeces.
Bob
That Ski Dombrowski model is one of about five which I clearly remember from my childhood days of running score sheets for some nats Ed. Captivating.
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First one for today is of Jeff Anderson with his Ted Fancher-designed Citation II, I'm throwing in two photos of Jeff; one is with his good friend, flying buddy, coach, and mentor, the late Arlie Preszler. Jeff won Senior at the 1982 Nats in Lincoln, Nebraska with this model. Jeff was torn between Stunt flying and baseball. He was, from all accounts, a pro-level player. Jeff and Arlie hail from California. Two nicer people never existed...
Another great memory... Bob
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And while we are highlighting nice guys from California, here's one of my favorites, the late Jim Armour. Jim sent the slides from which these photos were scanned for a possible cover shot in the issue in which his Epic design was published. I was getting into a bit of hot water during my tenure at FM for giving Cl Stunt a bit too much exposure in relation to all the other modeling disciplines. Sadly, it seems Jim's masterpiece fell victim to that pressure and did not adorn the cover of the issue in which the Epic was featured.
Jim's other passions were hot cars (check out the detail on the nose of that '55 Chevy in one of the photos) and music. He was a fantastic guitar player. I had the opportunity to play with him once at a party and was humbled by his ability and talent. Just a super nice man. Jim and Bob Whitely were best buddies who shared a lot of the same interests; and now they are both gone...
Later - Bob
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And while we are highlighting nice guys from California, here's one of my favorites, the late Jim Armour. Jim sent the slides from which these photos were scanned for a possible cover shot in the issue in which his Epic design was published.
Later - Bob
You are certainly on a roll! I never knew my father had a twin brother with a different name. :o Unfortunately, he is not around to ask. The resemblance is uncanny. Now I know where my liking for that tip design came from! Keep it up, really enjoying this. FM should have let you put him on the cover? You are here, they are not! LL~
Ken
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Here's another one from the 1992 (I'm pretty sure...) VSC contest. That's Rusty Brown kneeling in the front with his rendition of Bill Netzeband's Fierce Arrow. Not sure who the gentleman is standing with his FA. If you look closely you will be able to see Ted Fancher flying his Chief in the background. Ted edged me out that year for the Classic title. I was flying my brand new Tucker Special.
More memories... - Bob
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The older East Coast guys (both of us...) will remember the infamous Far Hills New Jersey contests that were put on by the Bedminster/Far Hills Lions Club. The trophies were great, the judging, not so much. In fact it became known as "Farce Hills" by many of the Stunt Fliers. This photo was taken in either 1951 or 1952 by my father. I remember watching the B Team Racing event finals from the big grand stand on the field. That happened just before the trophy presentation each year as I recall. Years later I would win my first Stunt contest on that field. The judging was just fine that day! LL~ LL~ LL~ They did have nice trophies for the era, however...
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Bob . . . I sure wish Dave Cook was around to see these photos. Me, I'm still waiting for that perfect photo of Bill Simons' Yank.
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Bob . . . I sure wish Dave Cook was around to see these photos. Me, I'm still waiting for that perfect photo of Bill Simons' Yank.
Hi Rick:
You mean like this one... ;D ;D
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Hi Rick:
You mean like this one... ;D ;D
YESSSSSS!!!!! Got any more? Wanna draw plans????
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Here's another one from the 1992 (I'm pretty sure...) VSC contest. That's Rusty Brown kneeling in the front with his rendition of Bill Netzeband's Fierce Arrow. Not sure who the gentleman is standing with his FA. If you look closely you will be able to see Ted Fancher flying his Chief in the background. Ted edged me out that year for the Classic title. I was flying my brand new Tucker Special.
More memories... - Bob
I'm not sure who the other gentleman is, but looks familiar. I'm thinking he is a local Cholla Chopper member. We need pictures of the score boards from these old contests.
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee
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Hey again Bubba!
Really enjoyed our half hour or so on the phone last night. Thanks for calling! Wrangled a lot of "do you remembers"...etc. of grand times in the past.
Had to scroll through your whole thread again today and had some thoughts about the passing of time and the hobby. Your pictures of one after another of magnificent, beautiful pieces of flying art was a grand reminder of what a wonderful life we lead among so many talented, artistic, kind and warm hearted competitors for so many years. To think that, most likely, all of those beautiful ships were, in fact, creations of the guys (and a few gals, for sure) that grew up and in a hobby that required that they not only fly great but also spend the time and bread the talent to make the beautiful machines they flew so well.
Makes an old geezer like me wonder to what degree the event has changed around the world with the ability to buy and fly in many venues. Does the lack of craftsmanship necessary to compete in this previously demanding manner "change" the event we grew with and loved??? I sure don't know but it's got to be different. Thankful that our Nats will welcome international competitors who wish to compete in our Nats those that comply with the requirement for craftsmanship as well as a tricky hand on the handle.
As you know after our chat last night I'm pretty much out of the CLPA gig at age 80, having moved on to other disciplines for a change of pace late in life, but I still keep up with what's going on and get on Stunt Hangar daily to keep my mind attached to what's happening. Problem with that is I'm still surrounded by stunt stuff in my "den' and a garage that will only hold Shareen's car as the rest is filled with "stunt stuff"! Don't know what to do with it! Damned if I'm gonna trash it but...
Oi vey! Life is demanding!
Kidding, my friend. I'll be back again and again to see what else shows up. Bet its more beautiful pieces of airborne fine art!
Ted
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Hi Ted:
Yeah, we rambled on a bit didn't we... Those were great days. Glad you like the photos; I'm finding more every day, so this thread will go on for a while. Give Shareen a hug.
Okay, I've found a few more old slides. The first one here is anther shot of Dawn's plane from around 1967 or '68.
The second and third shots are of a fun plane that I built from a Veco Papoose kit. Those kits were great because you could modify them to look like anything you wanted.
Later - Bob
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I spent the day helping a friend with his new model, so I'm bushed.
I'm leaving off tonight with three photos of my father's planes from the 1950s. The first one is a "bones" shot of his original design Travelaire biplane that was published in the December 1952 issue of Model Airplane News, making it OTS legal!
The second shot is of dear old dad with one of his profile sport models. Note that it is powered with a McCoy 60!
The third photo is dad's Trixter BC twin. See, twins run in the family...
See ya' tomorrow with more.
G'night - Bob
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Amazing pics & stories Bob
So many parallels in my memory banks! From the passion our fathers had, both my dad and cousin Hoyt constantly drew planes and comic characters, the Thursday night Man Cave build sessions at Warren Walkers basement shop, I even have the 1.25 inch #11 Exacto scar on my left hand! I'm really enjoying this. Funny thing, I have heard you tell stories at Warren's, as I read, I hear your voice! I seriously appreciate Warren and the very high caliber friends I have made there. I'd like to include you in that group! I hope to see you again someday, compare scars!
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Oh yeah, one other thing... Red's #13 model. I actually have a very nice short kit of it, and a new in box L&J Fox .35. Someday!
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LOL! Hi Phil: When it comes to comparing scars you better have more than that inch and quarter slit. I have a beauty on my right leg from a very serious sledding accident when I was 14 (running into a frozen-in-the-ground, ragged water cutoff pipe at 30 MPH can fillet your leg pretty quickly). But, hey, I'm game if you are... n~ n~
I loved hanging out at Warren's. You guys really have a great group there. I was treated like a king, and the best part was being introduced to Tri-Tip steak! Don't have that where I live.
Glad to call all you guys friends. Now, be careful with that knife; unless you get really serious with it you don't have a chance in our scars competition.
Later - Bob
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Couldn't sleep so I figured I'd add another photo to the pile. This one was taken at the BBQ my dad threw after a contest in the late 1960s. It's Mark Tiefau with his Nobler and the trophy he won that day in Junior Stunt. Mark was an up and coming flier on the East Coast and a fixture at all the contests. He had other interests in life that won out over Stunt flying. He was also an accomplished RC Pattern flier and a prodigy pianist. I was stunned when I heard him play. He was very close with his father and they always showed up together. Incredibly nice people. I think Mark would have excelled at anything he tried. He pushed himself very hard.
Later - Bob
PS: I have not been in contact with Mark since 1985 when we flew together at the Nats in RC Pattern competition. So, I did a search for him on Google and found a video that he wrote, produced, video taped and in which he did all the music. I'm throwing that link in here now. Told ya' he was talented. I didn't know that he also played guitar. But, hey, he's aged a bit; that doesn't happen to us does it...? n~ n~ Here's the link: https://youtu.be/ivVULvui33Q
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Time for some Panthers...
The first photo was taken at the 1967 or '68 GSCB Fall meet. I have no clue as to who the gentleman is holding that really nice Kenhi Panther. Perhaps someone might recognize him and enlighten us. The turnout for those GSCB meets was huge back in the day, and many traveled from neighboring states to attend. I'm thinking that is the case here as I pretty much remember all the "regulars" at those meets.
The second photo is the uncovered bones of my Midwest version Panther (C-Tube wing with leading edge planking). That ship never did reach fruition, but I can't remember why. Just as a historical note, Bob Whitely won the very first Vintage Stunt Championships Classic Stunt crown flying a Panther, but I'm pretty sure his was the Kenhi version with the turbulator leading edge strips. Again, perhaps someone who was there in 1989 (I started going in 1990, and then attended 22 of them!) can report for sure which version Bob flew that year.
More later - Bob
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Found one more of my flying buddy/Best Man Bill Simons. This one was taken at the 1974 Nats in Lake Charles. Bill placed fourth that year with his ST .46 powered ship. It had a killer corner!
More later - Bob
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Found this one in the box of slides. My son, Robby learned the pattern on a Hole Shot in less than a week, and then he needed something with flaps. We built two RD-1 models, which were essentially foam winged Twisters with slight mods to the moments and the aesthetics. The original RD -1 was published in Flying Models magazine. The first RD-1 started our being powered by an Enya 30 SS. Great little engine (and long lasting...), but we opted to retrofit an OS 32 FSR, with reduced blow-down timing to allow for a steady 2-4 break. Robby and I (and Bill Werwage) flew the heck out of these things back in the early 1990s. Robby's next plane was the Europa, and then the Geo-Star.
The photo is of the second RD-1. It would still be a great choice for learning the pattern without investing too much time and money.
Later - Bob
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LOL! Hi Phil: When it comes to comparing scars you better have more than that inch and quarter slit.
Bob, I have a bent fork experience too! At age 24, I broadside a 1972 Chevelle at 35 mph on my 1979 Yamaha XT500 torque monster! I was pretty adept on a trampoline in HS, witnesses said it looked like an acrobatic performance! I landed on the top of my head, taking a gouge out of my week old orange Bell helmet (helmet law in California had just passed) that helmet saved my brain for sure. At 17, 19 & 24 I had motorcycle accidents that tore me up good! Years of chiropractic care followed. Now at 61, I am an arthritic mess. 30 years as a printing pressman, 15 as pest control tech, plus a few years in waterproofing, backyard mechanic since handing my dad wrenches since I was 5! Yes, brother we probably match many scars!
But hopefully, next time, we can talk about the perfect control set up, the best ever hinges and how to line them up! Cloth. Stitched, various maker hinges... I'm still trying to get that pull on my handle feather light, having that ship dance like it's on rails!
Thanks for sharing all these pics & stories! I have spent every possible moment reading, thinking and reminiscing of my own passion for flying model airplanes, how it came to be, the endless drawing as a kid, all of it. The holidays tend to be that way, but this is great send into the new year. It is much appreciated! I have miles of 8mm B&W film... been wanting to something with it before it ends up in the dust bin.
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LOL! Hi Phil: When it comes to comparing scars you better have more than that inch and quarter slit. I have a beauty on my right leg from a very serious sledding accident when I was 14 (running into a frozen-in-the-ground, ragged water cutoff pipe at 30 MPH can fillet your leg pretty quickly). But, hey, I'm game if you are... n~ n~
I loved hanging out at Warren's. You guys really have a great group there. I was treated like a king, and the best part was being introduced to Tri-Tip steak! Don't have that where I live.
Glad to call all you guys friends. Now, be careful with that knife; unless you get really serious with it you don't have a chance in our scars competition.
Later - Bob
Bob I can assure you the pleasure was all mine, I wish you could make it back someday.
W.W.
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Found this one in the box of slides. My son, Robby learned the pattern on a Hole Shot in less than a week, and then he needed something with flaps. We built two RD-1 models, which were essentially foam winged Twisters with slight mods to the moments and the aesthetics.
I guess a lot of people had the same idea. I forget who else told me they did it, but I also designed a foam-wing Twister, with a decent tail volume and different esthetics (and also paying attention to the Fancherized Twister idea of not breaking off the tail when it flipped over). This was for a bunch of guys flying down at Gilroy, named Gilroy Standard Stunter. I gave the plans and a set of cores to a guy down there, so he could build it under my direction and come up with a prototype. He had been around for a while do I figured he was fully engaged. Never saw him, or the plans, again! As far as I know the airplane was never built.
I note that I ALSO had the idea to take the same airplane, add some taper to the wing, and have an advanced trainer. Would have been just as easy to build as long as it used a foam wing. I didn't do anything, and then a year or so later, someone showed up (again, at Gilroy) with a Prowler kit!
Brett
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Here's an interesting one. This was taken at the Far Hills NJ meet around 1952. I have no idea who this young man is, but the airplane was unique. Looks like McCoy 60 for power.
Later - Bob
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Bob,
Thanks much for entertaining us with this tour of your past, I hope you don't run out of goodies soon. I look forward to your next post every time I go to SH.
The interesting thing that comes to mind here is he calls this model U2. Lockheed first introduced the U2 in 1953. The young fella was obviously impressed.
Steve
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Here's another one from the 1992 (I'm pretty sure...) VSC contest. That's Rusty Brown kneeling in the front with his rendition of Bill Netzeband's Fierce Arrow. Not sure who the gentleman is standing with his FA. If you look closely you will be able to see Ted Fancher flying his Chief in the background. Ted edged me out that year for the Classic title. I was flying my brand new Tucker Special.
More memories... - Bob
Holy Cow! Bubba! How can you remember all these details when I can't remember what day it is!!
You da man! The hobby is lucky to have you....in more ways than one; I might add.
Ted
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Just one more from the 1991 VSC contest. Here are the Chiefs... Not the guys holding the airplanes, but the design! That's Ted Fancher standing with his Chief and Mike Pratt kneeling with his. The Chief is one of my all time favorite airplanes, and these are two great examples.
Later - Bob
Hey Bob! That Chief is hanging pretty much over my head as I type this! Sun doesn't reach it where it is (unlike a few others like the Ares I built and flew at the first ever VSC). Pour some solvent into the engine, flip the prop a few hundred times and we could take it out and put in a few!!!
A Nats era judge at that VSC said he thought the Chief's flights would have been competitive at a Nats!!! (Was that you, by the way???)
Problem was it came in a lowly 3rd place (IIRC) cause I could never get the engine started in time to avoid an over run!! One round or another someone (don't recall who) ran out to the circle as I was trying to beat the "Chief era" engine to life (forgot which it was back back then) with no success and gave me some straight nitro to plop in the intake and that got it going. Pretty embarrassing for a so called "Hot Shot" pilot of the era!!!! Once airborne the Chief flew pretty darn good. Came in 3rd IIRC despite the penalty for over runs.
Great memories! (at least the memories I actually can remember!!!)
Thanks again...like everyone else I'm loving this thread. You da' man, my friend!
Ted
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I have no idea who this young man is, but the airplane was unique.
Later - Bob
To say the least. Looks like he started building a school bus, then added wings, and named it...Denise.
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I think the U2 is a grownup's plane and the kid is just getting his picture taken. To me the graphics are pretty fancy for the time period although anything is possible, especially considering the location.
This is a most excellent thread. Stunning photos of both well known and obscure planes and people.
A couple of years before Schultzie passed I sent him a box of slides from the late sixties and early seventies. He was going to do what you are doing here. You just know that box is around some where but, alas, I truly believe it's gone from us.
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Okay, I'm getting to the bottom of the barrel of the slides I've already scanned. And some of these were marred by some kind of spots on the film that I could not get rid of. I'll post them anyway, and then I'll set up and scan some more for the upcoming week.
The first of one I'm posting here is of my last 35-size Genesis (the 36 ounce one that Ted Fancher alway writes about), and the first 46-size Genesis, which was nicknamed the "Nuclear Banana" by my "friends"..." Note that the exhaust hole in the cowl is empty, so this photo was taken before the engine was installed. This was taken just before the Nats in 1974, outside the building in which I had my Control Specialties Company.
The second photo was taken of the Nuclear Banana just before a flight at the 1974 Lake Charles Nats. Bill Simons is holding for me, but his face is obstructed by Gene Schaffer who was looking on. We were pretty inseparable back then, and I have wonderful memories of our adventures together.
The last photo was taken at the 1974 Eastern States Championships that was held annually at the Johnsville Naval Air Station in Warminster, PA. Note the white pants and the pilot who had a lot of hair. Woo boy have things changed... That was a very good flying airplane, and I sold it to Jimmy Casale when he needed a practice ship. Big mistake on my part...
Later - Bob
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A couple of years before Schultzie passed I sent him a box of slides from the late sixties and early seventies. He was going to do what you are doing here. You just know that box is around some where but, alas, I truly believe it's gone from us.
Would be great to track it down and send it to Bob. S?P
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Would be great to track it down and send it to Bob. S?P
That would be great, Wayne. Les and I have spoken about those slides a few times, but neither of us has contacted Don's relatives about it. I still have Don's phone number in my address book, so I'll give it a try, with Les' permission of course (they were, after all, his slides...).
I have found and scanned a few more old slides. And, a bunch of them were taken at the 1974 Nats in Lake Charles, LA. And, since we were talking about Les, let's start off with a photo of his last 35-size Stiletto. Les placed fifth that year, behind Bob Gieseke, Gene Schaffer, Al Rabe, and Bill Simons, but it was clear that he was a fast rising star in the Stunt world, and much better placings would come soon for him.
And, while we're talking about Stilettos, let's give some love to Remel Cooper who flew his Stiletto 35 at that year's Nats. The second photo here is of Remel's ship. He and Les were (and still are) good friends.
More to come - Bob
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Here's some more from the 1974 Nats in Lake Charles. Up this time is the legendary Al Rabe. Al flew his Semi-Scale "Easy Two Sugar" P-51D Mustang to a third place at this Nats. Al offered me a ride on the Mustang after the competition and I eagerly accepted. The Mustang did amazingly perfect round maneuvers and was obviously extremely well trimmed. It was, however, lacking somewhat in cornering ability. His next Mustang - Snaggletooth" - had that problem fixed! Still, Al's consistency and showmanship resulted in a very high placing at this extremely competitive Nats. As a brief aside, this was the first Nats in which more of the top-ten fliers flew 46-size airplanes than 35-size ships. To paraphrase Bob Dylan, "The times they were a changin'...
The last photo here shows the Mustang in the pit area with Wynn Paul's 1974 version of the PAMPA Wagon.
More to come - Bob
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One of the most beautiful and stunning models seen at the 1974 Nats was Jerry Pilgrim's Sundance. It was yet another 46-size airplane. Jerry placed seventh on this occasion, but would finish in a tie for fourth place with Bill Werwage with this same plane a year later. I wonder what ever became of Jerry; he was a soft spoken, friendly guy who had a lot of talent for doing this Stunt thing. I seem to remember that the Sundance was built around a Shark 45 wing and numbers.
Later - Bob
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Here's the last one until later today; I have to clear the driveway of snow again (I hate you California guys... ??? ???) Up this time is Lew McFarland's Akromaster at the 1974 Nats. It was yet another 46-size ship, but that was nothing new for Lew as he pretty much started the "big" airplane thing several years before with his Shark 45. Lew placed 10th at this Nats, and if memory serves it was his last Nats appearance. Enlighten me if I'm wrong on this.
Later - Bob
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Here's one more: I'm pretty sure this Cygnus belongs to Bob McDonald, but it might be his father, Rolland's model. They flew together for several years in Nats and local competition back in those days, so I'm not entirely sure if this is Bob's or Rolland's. But, it is sure plenty stylish!
Later - Bob
UPDATE! I just spoke with Bob (he's in the hospital with some serious spine issues, but he reported that he is doing much better), and he told me that is his airplane and that he flew that one at the 1980 Nats in Wilmington, OH. It was powered by an HP 40 Schneurle ported engine, and had a lace paint job. Bob always did build exquisite airplanes! - Bob
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Up this time is the legendary Al Rabe.
Al was the absolute master in the design mix of an excellent scale appearance with great stunt performance. The flawless front row finishes were the icing on the cake. Sure do miss seeing his work.
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Last one for tonight: Here's Dave Hemstrought's faithful, and beautiful rendition of Walt Pyron's P-39 Aerobatic Airacobra that was published in the July, 1959 issue of American Modeler magazine. This was a rather smallish airplane by the era's standards. It featured a bit of dihedral, and a side mounted motor. Walt, by the way was the 1953 Nats Junior Champion. In that contest he flew a Bob Elliott-designed Black Tiger P-40 semi-scale Stunt model, which was also on the smallish side. The attached photo was taken at the 1993 Vintage Stunt Championships.
I vividly remember opening the issue of American Modeler in which the Aerobatic Airacobra was featured and being captivated by the action takeoff shot of Walt's P-39. Just stunning stuff. I always wanted to build one of those models, but when I realized just how small it was I sort of hedged a bit. Still, the stuff of dreams for a young man... which I was in those days.
See you all tomorrow - Bob
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56 inch , on ' William ' Simons . Believe you knew the guy .
(https://outerzone.co.uk/images/_thumbs/models/3746.jpg)
Al ( and others ) work were an inspiration to many ' overseas ' , I believe lead a ' semi scale ' stunt trend worldwide . Not all of them got it as good .
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Walt's Airacobra was pubished in flying models in
April 1995 c/l stunt classic series #2
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One of the most beautiful and stunning models seen at the 1974 Nats was Jerry Pilgrim's Sundance.
This one brings back a memory. I think it was around 1976 or 77 at the Southwestern's in Dallas. It was early, with the morning sun just peaking over the tracks and I looked up to see Jerry carrying Pilgrim's Progress to the circle, catching the sun so that it looked like it was really on fire. A junior I was helping (yes we had them back then) got that awe struck look only a kid can get and blurted out: "WOW, that's Jerry Pilgrim". I can't remember another single thing about that contest.
Ken
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Walt's Airacobra was pubished in flying models in
April 1995 c/l stunt classic series #2
Hi Alan:
Yeah, I know, I was the one who re-published it. It was originally published in July of 1959 in American Modeler. While at Flying Models I started a "Classic Stunt Series," and we re-published a number of very significant Classic airplanes including the Airacobra. Also in that series was Bob Tucker's Tucker Special, Bob Gialdini's Olympic, Art Polawski's Atom, and Charles Licklighter's Ballerina III (there might have been others; it's early in the morning and my brain is still not functioning too well. Need coffee...).
Later -Bob
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56 inch , on ' William ' Simons . Believe you knew the guy.
Hi Matt: Yup, I knew Bill very well. I'm going to paste in here a section of my probably never to be finished autobiography that contains some stories about Bill Simons. He was an under appreciated soul...
Bill was also a very prolific designer, with a number of original designs to his credit that have become classics over the years. Many of Bill’s originals were published in Flying Models magazine in the 1970s. His first published designed was his P-39 Airacobra. That one appeared in print in the August 1968 issue of Flying Models. Bill’s next published design was the Shoestring which was designed in 1968 and flown at the Nats and many other contests in 1969. It was not published in Flying Models until September of 1971, but since it was designed prior to the Classic Stunt deadline of December 31, 1969, and actually flown at the 1969 Nats in Willow Grove we know that it qualifies for Classic.
Bill designed a number of other airplanes that were never published that were great looking and great flying ships. I’m going to insert here a piece that I wrote for my Genesis Saga book. It explains the transition that Bill made from 35-size ships to the larger ST 46-size airplanes. In my opinion he gets the credit for establishing a whole new design trend, especially for those of us on the East Coast.
For the next part of the Genesis story we need to retrace our steps a bit back to 1970. After Bill Werwage’s appearance at the 1969 Nats and his subsequent successes with the ST 46 powered USA-1 at the 1969 Team Trials and his Gold Medal winning performance at the 1970 World Championships, a number of stunt fliers began thinking about designing larger ships and utilizing the seemingly abundant, smooth and tamable power of the Super Tigre.46 engine.
Bob Lampione decided to go “big” for 1970 and designed and built a larger version of his 1969 Nats winning F-86 Sabre Jet. He opted to start his big model experiments around a foam Shark 45 wing, and he used a Fox .59 for power. His decision to use the Fox 59 instead of the ST 46 came about because of Larry Scarinzi’s success with the Fox 59 in his famous Blue Angel design. With that ship Larry placed third at the 1964 Nats in Dallas.
Unfortunately the Fox just didn’t make the kind of power required to haul the somewhat heavy F-86 around properly. Add to that the fact that Bob was never able to achieve a proper “stunt run” with that engine and the result was less than desirable. It was good enough, however, to garner a fine fourth place finish at the 1970 Nats in Glenview, Illinois.
Bill Simons had decided to go big at about that same time, but he opted to use the ST 46 for power as Bill Werwage had. He really didn’t want to use any existing design technology and so he set off on his own to come up with a totally new ship using the “blank sheet of paper” approach.
The first decision that Bill had to make was what wing to use. Again he shunned any existing airfoils and came up with a set of his own. I remember being in his shop and asking him how one designs an original airfoil. He literally put a piece of plywood on the floor and then put his foot down on the plywood and drew around the curve of the sole of his shoe! “There,” he said, “It’s a Florsheim Special!” Obviously he tweaked that curve more than just a bit before he was done designing, but that really was how he initially started the development of that airfoil set.
Bill designed a ship with twin rudders and appropriately named it Gemini. I cut the foam wing for that ship and it had more than 720 square inches of wing area. It was the biggest thing he’d ever built, and as it began to take shape in his diminutive bedroom workshop, I wasn’t too sure that he’d be able to get it out the door when it was finished. Okay, that’s an exaggeration… but not much of one!
In typical Bill Simons’ fashion, the finish on the Gemini was outstanding. Unfortunately, however, the projected finished weight was exceeded by quite a few ounces and the ship tilted the scales at 67 ounces! We were used to the 35 ships coming in at 39 to 45 ounces, so this was a shock. So much so that Bill decided to not even attempt flying the new ship. He just hung it on his workshop wall. And there it stayed for almost three years just gathering balsa dust and serving as an example of a good idea gone wrong.
I tried to get Bill to fly the Gemini, if only to see what it looked like in the air, but he was having none of it. It was a “Hangar Queen” to him and that was that. Bill could be stubborn.
Okay, now let’s fast forward to 1973. Just a couple of days before Bill was scheduled to leave for the Oshkosh Nats he was out practicing with his Gambit model. This ship was a slightly larger than normal 35-size design, but it was very light and it flew very well. It was powered by an OS Max 35S engine. Bill had been practicing hard with this ship and he was looking more than ready to make a serious assault on the Walker Trophy that year. That’s what we all thought right up to the point where, on one of the last practice flights before packing to leave, he neglected to walk backwards while performing a triangle loop in dead calm conditions. You guessed it; the model hit its own wake turbulence and knife-edged in towards Bill. He couldn’t gain line tension quickly enough to save the model and it smashed to bits against the asphalt.
Bill did not have another model to use as a backup… except the un-flown, heavy, balsa dust-covered Gemini. I reminded him about that model shortly after he picked up all the pieces of the shattered Gambit.
Bill took the Gemini off the wall and cleaned off the three-year accumulation of dust and paint overspray. Under that mess was still a beautiful, brand-new stunt model. It was still heavy, however, and Bill didn’t hold out too much hope that it would fly well, if at all. He’s a trouper, however and proceeded to purchase and prepare a brand new set of .018 cables on which to fly the ship (neither he nor I had flown a model on such “thick” lines before).
Bill, Bill Eybers, and I went out to the field the next day to test fly the Gemini. Bill test ran the engine on the ground and then rolled out the .018 “chains.” He fired up the ST .46 and set the needle. We were all amazed at the “throat” of the sound made by this engine. He looked at me and smiled a bit, raised his eyebrows in a sort of “Here goes nothing” look, walked to the center of the circle and picked up the handle. He signaled for launch and I remember thinking as the big Gemini accelerated away that this was a bit like christening a new Navy ship and seeing it slide down the dry dock ways!
The Gemini settled into very stable-looking level flight at about a 5.5 second lap time. It looked slow on the long lines (at least they were longer than we were used to!). As I remember they were 65-foot long lines. So the actual length from the center of the plane to the center of the handle was in the 67-foot range.
The moment of truth had arrived and I was surprised to see Bill pull right up into a Reverse Wingover! I thought he might at least do a few loops or lazy eights before starting a pattern. What followed was an epiphany for all of us. The big ship flew awesomely well, and Bill looked good with it immediately.
When he landed we both broke out in unbridled laughter. He was obviously more than a little happy with the performance of the new/old ship and just could not believe that something so big and heavy could perform so well. (inside he just had to be kicking himself…)
Bill did a very few trim adjustments and flew the ship four or five more times and then declared it the best flying thing he’d ever owned. He offered me a flight on the ship, and even though it was the only plane he had that he could compete with the following week at the Nats, I took him up on it. I was told, however, to take it easy and not do the entire pattern with it. That seemed fair.
The Gemini felt great to me right away and had a sort of “slow motion” characteristic to it. The long lines and the powerful engine combined to yield an airplane that was amazingly easy to fly at 45 degrees. It was also extremely easy to scribe round and square shapes with that model. The vertical line tension was the best I’d ever felt up to that point from a stunt model. I knew that Bill had a serious weapon here, and I wanted one too!
For the record, Bill flew the Gemini to a fifth place finish at the 1973 Nats. That’s not bad for a brand new model with but a small handful of practice flights on it. The weather at Oshkosh that year was very windy and Bill’s big model went through it with obvious ease.
Bill’s Gemini kicked the door open for a number of us to make the transition to larger airplane and take advantage of the more powerful engines that were emerging. And while Bill didn’t publish the Gemini, he did use all the data he collected with that ship to design and build what has become perhaps one of his best known models, the Scorpio. Bill flew that ship to a fourth place finish at the 1974 Nats against some of the toughest competition ever seen at a Nats. That Scorpio was the first in a long series of Scorpios, and it was published in Flying Models magazine. Two years later Bill showed up at the 1976 Nats flying an 800 square inch version of the Scorpio and finished in a very credible fifth place. That plane had the very best corner of any model I have ever seen no matter what the time frame. And, in fact, all the models built around Bill’s original set of “numbers” for the Gemini/Scorpio series were noted by everyone of the era for their amazingly tight and smooth corners.
Bill lost his number one airplane just a few weeks before the 1980 Nats. He called me and asked if I had any spare components lying around that he might steal to make a quick model so he could compete at that Nats. I did have a new wing, tail, and fuselage crutch assembly with the top and bottom blocks attached and ready for carving on the boards, and I gave them to Bill. He finished up the building and finishing and produced what was to be his last published design, the Rogue.
Although known as very quiet person for the most part, Bill had this really great and offbeat sense of humor. One good example of this is when Gene Schaffer showed up at the Garden State Circle Burners field in early 1970 with his brand new twin rudder design. In those days Gene rarely named his stunt models. On this particular model Gene had emblazoned the left wing with a large “USA” and the left wing with an equally large “AMA.” Gene sat the model in the pit area and we all gathered around to admire it. After a minute or so, Bill asked Gene in a very deadpan manner what the name meant. Perplexed, Gene said that it didn’t have a name. “It sure does”, smirked Bill, “U-S-A A-M-A, Oosa-Amma!” That got a huge laugh from the group standing around the plane. Gene hated that name, but it stuck, and after a while even Gene began calling it the Oosa-Amma.
Another example of Bill’s offbeat sense of humor (and, really I could relate dozens of them…) happened when we traveled together to a contest in New Bedford, Massachusetts around 1969. We estimated that the contest site was about four hours from the area in which we lived, but in fact we really didn’t know how long it would take us to get there (remember, we had no Google Maps in those days to tell us how long a drive time from place to place.). So, we decided to leave around midnight from Bill’s house just to be sure. We took my mother’s four door AMC sedan and packed two quite large (for the day at least) Stunt models in the back seat, and all our other gear in the trunk and headed out. At that time of night there was little to virtually no traffic, and the ride went quickly; so quickly in fact that we got to the parking lot adjacent to the contest field around three in the morning. The site for the contest was a field at the New Bedford Airport. So, we were a bit early in arriving…
Those of you who knew Bill will understand this next part. We had no money for a motel room, so we decided to sleep sitting up in the front seat of Mom’s car. It had a pretty spacious bench seat, but Bill had very long legs. He was around 6-foot, 5-inches tall. After only a very few minutes it became obvious that he could not get comfortable enough to get any sleep. For some reason - that I to this day cannot explain - I had packed a sleeping bag in the trunk of the car. We had parked just adjacent to the fence that surrounded the area that we were pretty sure would be the contest site, and just outside that fence there were a number of park-type benches. I think I volunteered to take the sleeping bag and sleep on one of the bench’s so Bill could stretch out across the front seat of the car, but then again Bill may have thrown me out; it’s been more than 50 years since this all happened, so my memory may be a bit clouded on that point.
It was pretty warm that night as I recall, but there were a lot of mosquitos buzzing around. I zipped the sleeping bag up around my head, leaving just enough open to get some air to breath and finally started to drift off to sleep. My first attempt at that was cut short when I heard the screeching tires of a car speeding around the turn into the parking lot. The car pulled right up to where I was cuddled up in the sleeping bag and I heard a door open and then slam shut. Then I was accosted by an irate man asking me where his daughter was (you cannot make this stuff up). I told him I didn’t know what he was talking about and that I had just arrived from New Jersey and was there to attend a model airplane contest. He was at first adamant that it was me who had picked up his daughter earlier that evening and he knew the the airport parking lot was the local “lover’s lane.” (Whew boy, I could write a book… Well, in fact, I am). I finally convinced the man that I was not the one who was out with his daughter and he left; offering no apology mind you. Through all of this my flying buddy, Bill - remember Bill? - stayed in the car, sleeping like a baby (he was never the type to interfere).
I was just about to drift off to sleep again when I felt something poking me in the ribs. I unzipped the sleeping bag to find a police officer standing there looking a bit puzzled. He asked me what I was doing sleeping on a public bench at that time of the morning (probably at that point around 4 o’clock). I told him, as I had the irate dad earlier, that I was waiting of a model airplane contest start. He wasn’t buying it. He wanted identification and I think he was about ready to run me in for vagrancy. Then it dawned on me to tell him to confirm my story with Bill, who was still snug asleep in the car. The officer went over to the car, which was about thirty feet away, and tapped on the passenger side window with his night stick. Bill rolled down the window and asked what the problem was. The officer asked if Bill knew me and could confirm my story. That’s when Bill said to the cop, “I’ve never seen him before in my life,” and rolled the window back up! Fortunately the officer had a great sense of humor and just started laughing; he knew a good prank when he saw it. But that story is absolutely true, and I think it serves to convey just how clever and quick Bill was with humor.
I’ll give just one more example of Bill’s humorous side. In December of 1973 I got married to Marianne (as I’m writing this portion of the book we are in our 50th year of marriage; yeah, she’s a saint). Bill was my Best Man, and I stayed at his house the night before the wedding. In the morning while I was taking a bath (he didn’t have a shower), he knocked on the bathroom door and came in with a bottle and two glasses. The bottle contained blackberry flavored brandy. He told me that I should probably have a few hits of the brandy as no one should do what I was about to do sober. I joined him in one short toast…
In closing this section on Bill - and I could write a very thick book about all our adventures together - I want to give him credit for the title of this saga.Whenever I got down, or depressed about not winning he would say to me, “Kid (he always called me kid), fly good enough, long enough, and they can’t keep it from you.”
Bill and I built and flew together for many years, and we became more than flying buddies, we were best friends. As I write this entry in 2023, Bill has been gone for several years. He was one of my all time heroes and certainly one of the best friends I ever had. He was helpful to anyone who asked for assistance, he had a great sense of humor, he was an amazing flier for a long period of time, he was one of the best builders and finishers the event has ever seen, and he was about as humble a person as I’ve ever known. Perhaps that is why he is still so revered and respected on the CL Stunt scene. I’ll never forget him.
Later - Bob
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Bob
Just ran across this pic from the past.
About 2010 at the Polk City , Iowa contest I believe.
Freddy showed up at one of our contests in Topeka a year or so before this. Saw him at a couple of contests then lost touch.
Later'
Jim
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Wow! Thanks for posting this, Jim. Fred was one of my best friends back in the 1970s.We flew a lot together, and traveled to several contests together, including the 1976 KOI. We both enjoyed country rock music (especially The Flying Burrito Brothers, Poco, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Gram Parsons, etc...). Fred was an exceptional Bass player, and, early on, a wine salesman. He introduced my wife, Marianne and me to Mosel; funny the things you remember...
Fred was a very good flier, and he was very competitive from his Junior years to Open. He had a lot of other interests in life, and never really concentrated fully on Stunt flying. If he had, he would have most certainly become one of the top pilots; his natural ability was that good.
When he passed, his wife Sandy sent me a portion of his ashes. I spread half of them at the Garden State Circle Burners' field in New Jersey, and half of them at a certain field in Indiana... I understand that some of George Aldrich's ashes were spread at that same field. Seems fitting to me.
Fred was an original, and one of the most memorable characters I've ever known.
Attached are few of my favorite photos of Fred. The first one is of Fred, his wife Sandy, and their two daughters just a few years before his passing. The second photo was taken at Bruckner Hobbies in Bronx, New York. That's Andy Lee at left, Sam Bridges in the center, and Freddy at right. The last photo is of Fred when he was a Junior, flying at the 1964 Snow Bird contest at the famed Garden State Circle Burner's field in Lincoln Park, New Jersey.
Later - Bob
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I found a few more photos of Fred Miles that might be of interest. The first one is Fred, Gene Schaffer, and Mike Rogers at the famed Flushing Meadows field in Queens, New York. The second one is Fred and me hamming it up at a local contest. The third one (an Andy Lee photo) was taken around 1975 at the Union Model Airplane Club's Memorial Day contest. Fred is preparing to launch for Billy Eybers. That's Bill Simons standing at the far right in the photo. All three are gone now; it doesn't seem possible...
Later - Bob
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Interesting to note that he went from the Iowa contest directly out to see you.... See the same shirt and pants...!!
Sorry to hear he had passed . didn't know.
thanks
Jim
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Interesting to note that he went from the Iowa contest directly out to see you.... See the same shirt and pants...!!
Sorry to hear he had passed . didn't know.
thanks
Jim
LOL! He didn't come to see me, Jim; he sent me that photo of him and his family. It was probably taken the same day as yours was.
Later -Bob
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Bob
You are correct! That was in Omaha instead of Iowa. I can see the soap box derby gravity track in the background.
Seymour Smith park, Omaha, NE
thanks
Jim
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Bob
You are correct! That was in Omaha instead of Iowa. I can see the soap box derby gravity track in the background.
Seymour Smith park, Omaha, NE
thanks
Jim
I wasn't gonna stir the pot Jim, but I was sure those pics weren't from Polk City. No matter. :)
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Wayne
I must admit that I guessed the location, because I knew I had seen Freddy at the Polk City contest.
And, obviously at Omaha!!
the mind is a wonderful thing...... ;-)
Jim
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I'm posting an early one today because I won't have the chance later to post anything. My wife and I are taking our beloved Golden Retriever, Casey to have CCL surgery (her second one...). This time on her right leg. She's 7 years old and still thinks she's a puppy. She runs and jumps very high, and doing that she blew out another CCL (ACL in a human...). So please forgive me, for gushing a bit about my dog. Everyone who knows me also knows that my dog is a huge part of my life (I think it's the same with all who live with a dog...). So my first photo is of Casey.
The second and third photos were taken (I'm pretty sure) at the 1980 Nats in Wilmington, OH. The first one is a Gieseke Nobler and the second one is of a Gypsy. I have no idea who the owners of these planes are. Can someone enlighten us? They are beautiful ships!
Later - Bob
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For all you dog lovers, here's an update: Casey came through the surgery with flying colors. And, yes, just like most of my airplanes, she is a Bronze Dog. I'll start posting more airplane photos tomorrow after we get home with Casey.
Casey thanks all of you for the good thoughts and prayers - Bob
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Good pooch!! Glad she's gonna be OK.. The first dog we owned lived a long time. Just a rescue mixed breed that my wife and mother in law picked out of a local "adopt-a-thon" that would have been euthanized in the following days if she had not been adopted. She had similar problems with her hind legs. One had a bad joint, and in compensating for it, she injured the other. The vet said it would be enormously expensive to do any surgery on a dog her age ( about 12 or15 at the time I think) and the money just wasn't in the budget. he said there was a chance that she could heal naturally with some medication but we would have top carry her up and down steps and such. So that's what we did. She really seemed to know what the situation was and did not push things herself at all. After 3 weeks or so we saw an improvement and after about 3 or 4 more weeks, we let her start walking stairs herself to go outside, but it was obvious that she knew she still had to take it easy. She eventually fully recovered, and was her old self again and lived to be almost 20 years old I think Dogs are amazing animals!
Thanks for the pictures also Bob!! That scanner does a really nice job. Does it freshen up the colors and such as part of the process? Sean gave me a small scanner for Christmas a few years ago that I still need to learn how to use.
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee
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Hi Dan:
Thanks for the thoughts. What Casey had would not have healed on its own. And, yes, this particular surgery is VERY expensive. But, hey, she's my little girl...
As for the scanner, yes, it does have a feature that lets you adjust the color and the brightness, but I prefer to use the color and other adjustment tools on my MAC. I'm almost at the end of the slides that I have, but now it's on to the mountain (about a foot high...) of B&W film strips. There must be 10,000 of them or more... %^@ I won't have too much time to do that in the near future as I'll have to be with Casey pretty much 24 -7 for the next two weeks. At that point I'll probably start another thread as this one is getting long.
Later - Bob
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The first one for today features Bob Whitely and Bob Gialdini at VSC 3 in 1991. That's Bob G signing Bob W's Olympic, which as you probably already know is a Gialdini design. Also included here is a photo of Bob Whitely's 1989 VSC winning Panther, and a photo of his 1974 Nats version of his famous Miss Kell. The two Bobs are now gone, but they each left a rich legacy.
Later - Bob
PS: Note that in the first photo Chris McMillin is standing in line waiting to have his Olympic be autographed by Bob!
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Hi Dan:
Thanks for the thoughts. What Casey had would not have healed on its own. And, yes, this particular surgery is VERY expensive. But, hey, she's my little girl...
As for the scanner, yes, it does have a feature that lets you adjust the color and the brightness, but I prefer to use the color and other adjustment tools on my MAC. I'm almost at the end of the slides that I have, but now it's on to the mountain (about a foot high...) of B&W film strips. There must be 10,000 of them or more... %^@ I won't have too much time to do that in the near future as I'll have to be with Casey pretty much 24 -7 for the next two weeks. At that point I'll probably start another thread as this one is getting long.
Later - Bob
Good Morning Bob;
You have mentioned before that you have several writings in progress and have doubts about being able to finish. Is it possible in this day and age to post the manuscripts, photos, and related items that you have to a web site somewhere that will preserve them but still allow others to view them/ If you go through this process of scanning photos and such, it would be nice to only have to handle them once. You could make slight corrections, additions and deletions as you go but they will still be around. What you have accumulated and what you have in your head still is too significant to let slip away over time. I would think someone out there might know how to do this. I'm sure the AMA would like to have a digital archive, but I think a separate, independent collection would be a good companion to that. I would like to think that 40 years from now or more that there will still be people around that would greatly appreciate being able to see and read of your life time's modeling adventures, and it would include your Dad also and his contributions to model aviation history. Just a thought.
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee
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That's gotta be Jim silhavys gypsy in his world team color scheme, either that or somebody (aside from my dad) cloned it.
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Hi David:
I'm very sure that is not Jim Silhavy's actual Gypsy. I've seen his red one up close, and this ain't it. It's very nice, however, and I'm certain someone will see this post and either claim it or identify it. I'll check the AMA number through Muncie on Monday...
While I'm here (my son, Robby spelled me from dog sitting duty for a few minutes...) I'll post a couple more old photos.
The first one is a group of Tucker Specials at a VSC in the early 1990s. That's Jim Armour at left standing, me at right standing, and Frank McMillan kneeling. The Tucker Special has been a favorite at that contest over the years.
The second photo is a close up of my Tucker Spacial. It initially had a Webra 28 mounted in the nose, but that was replaced by a Webra 32 with reduced blow-down timing in the sleeve. It was very powerful, but also had great 2-4 run characteristics. That model captured for me the first of my seven VSC Classic Stunt wins, and it was one of my favorites. It lasted a long time, too. It weighed 34 ounces and flew outstandingly well.
Okay, time to get back to dog sitting Casey. She has to be watched 24-7 for at least 14 days, and this is day 2...
Later - Bob
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Bobby, I have just started through this thread again. As I have stated before you have had/have a great life with all the people and places you have been. Glad to hear your pup is doing wel. Remember my Sandy the demented toy Poodle that used to be with me at VSC? She liked everybody except one person that she would groel at every time he got close for some reason. She was supposed to be a pure bred but because of deformed hind qaurters could not be bred. But she was my puppy from the first second she got in my arms. She passed about three or so years ago on a memoroal day while I was at the computor. She was hurting and I gave her som hemp oil to ease the pain. I think shewent peacefully then. Still mis her. Lost count of how many dogs have been in my life. Dad always said don't make pets of them but I remember a couple that stayed close to him. One in particular that was rejected from a litter as a pup. I would feed her with a toy baby bottle until she learned to drink from a dish.
Also I want to thank you for the memories of the people that have gone on and I wonder why I'm still here. Anyway thanks again.
By the way talking of pictures the wife handed me several boxes of picture I had taken through the years. A lot of contest photos, NATS and trips with Melvin and Brenda. Fro some reason I alway had doubles made. I sortd through them and all the contest pictures I sent home with Melvin about a month ago. Amazing how we changed through the years. H^^
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Bobby, I have just started through this thread again. As I have stated before you have had/have a great life with all the people and places you have been. Glad to hear your pup is doing wel. Remember my Sandy the demented toy Poodle that used to be with me at VSC? She liked everybody except one person that she would groel at every time he got close for some reason. She was supposed to be a pure bred but because of deformed hind qaurters could not be bred. But she was my puppy from the first second she got in my arms. She passed about three or so years ago on a memoroal day while I was at the computor. She was hurting and I gave her som hemp oil to ease the pain. I think shewent peacefully then. Still mis her. Lost count of how many dogs have been in my life. Dad always said don't make pets of them but I remember a couple that stayed close to him. One in particular that was rejected from a litter as a pup. I would feed her with a toy baby bottle until she learned to drink from a dish.
Also I want to thank you for the memories of the people that have gone on and I wonder why I'm still here. Anyway thanks again.
By the way talking of pictures the wife handed me several boxes of picture I had taken through the years. A lot of contest photos, NATS and trips with Melvin and Brenda. Fro some reason I alway had doubles made. I sortd through them and all the contest pictures I sent home with Melvin about a month ago. Amazing how we changed through the years. H^^
Hi Doc:
So sorry to hear about Sandy. Yes, I do seem to remember her at VSC with you. Also remember Rusty Brown's pup, but have forgotten her name; they were inseparable too. They get into our hearts...
Time for more photos. The two posted here were taken at VSC 3 (I'm pretty sure...) of Gordan Delaney's version of Mark Fecnor's Two Much design. Gordan and his pit crew are getting the engines started for Bart Klapinski. Bart flew the model - sans appearance points - in the contest and did very well with it. I got a chance to fly it after the contest and it took a month for my right arm to stop hurting. That thing pulled hard!
Later - Bob
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Hi Doc:
So sorry to hear about Sandy. Yes, I do seem to remember her at VSC with you. Also remember Rusty Brown's pup, but have forgotten her name; they were inseparable too. They ge into our hearts...
Time for more photos. The two posted here were taken at VSC 3 (I'm pretty sure...) of Gordan Delaney's version of Mark Fecnor's Two Much design. Gordan and his pit crew are getting the engines started for Bart Klapinski. Bart flew the model - sans appearance points - in the contest and did very well with it. I got a chance to fly it after the contest and it took a month for my right arm to stop hurting. That thing pulled hard!
Later - Bob
That was my first, maybe second trip to VSC I think. I think the guy in the white T-shirt is Robin Siezmore maybe? Not sure whgo is launching the airplane. I think it was on Bart's second flight that he sucked in a butterfly into the venturi of one of the engines and and man did that sound strange!! Didn't choke the engine off, just made it back fire and not run correctly. After the flight Gordy cut the lead outs off, if I remember correctly. Chris McMillin picked one of them up and handed it to me as a souvenir! I had won the best crash trophy which had a broken off Madewell .49 cylinder and head as a topper with a Champion spark plug in it. The lead out was solid wire so i clipped the loop onto the plug like it was the high tension lead! More great memories!!
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee
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Hi Dan,
That is Mark Fechnor in the white tee shirt. Designed the first twin. Raul Alva is holding the plane and I`m starting the engines.This is my version of his twin. Shorter Nacells? and longer tail moment. Also moved the canopy forward and slim down the Fuse.and changed the rudder shape
Gordy
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I went to VSC III to report on the affair for Flying Models magazine. I didn't have a Classic legal model to fly at the time, but Bob Hazle offered me the use of his Bill Werwage-designed Ares to fly in the competition (sans appearance pints of course) and I was very pleased to finish in fourth place with it. Bob is a very talented builder, and his Ares was both light and extremely well trimmed. It was a joy to fly, and he told me to "Fly it like you stole it." Or words to that effect...
At that contest there were several examples each of some of the more famous stunt designs, and I got the owners of each of those groups together for photos. I have already posted the group of Olympics, Noblers, Fierce Arrows, and Chiefs that were present. This time it's the Ares group. Left to right are Bob Hazle (blue Ares), Lou Woolard (red Ares), ad Jim Hoffman (yellow Ares). I took a bunch of shots of this particular group as I intended to use one of those shots as the cover photo for the issue in which the VSC III report was to be published. I also used the other color group shots on a color page inside the magazine. To me that was a memorable issue.
Here's the Ares contingent...
Later - Bob
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The last one for tonight is another shot of Jim Hoffman; this time without the beard... This photo was taken of Jim and his Jim Kostecky-designed Talon at VSC VIII (1996).
G'night - Bob
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No group of photos from a VSC would be complete without one of LeRoy Black; a virtual fixture at the VSCs over the years, and one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. Here's LeRoy with his rendition of Bob Palmer's Skyscraper design. I think LeRoy has had that hat forever...
Later - Bob
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The last one for today is of Todd Lee's Lew McFarland-designed Dolphin at an early (VSC III?) Vintage Stunt Championships. It was a great performing ship, especially with Todd at the handle!
Have a great night - Bob
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Here's a really old one from my father's box of slides. I think this is George Lieb, but I'm not certain of that. At any rate he's holding an old "Pollywog" airfoil Chief. Note the A-26 Invader tail assembly in the background. This was taken around 1950 at the Millville, NJ airport. There were a lot of contests held on that site back then.
Later - Bob
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Getting very close to the bottom of the barrel of the slides my father took way back when, but I thought the one attached here might be of interest. It was taken during a contest at the famed Linden, New Jersey Airport. If you look close you will see several PBY Catalina flying boats lined up in the background.
Later - Bob
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Well, Ken, your comment dovetails nicely into my next photo. I had the thought to just skip this one, as it was by far not the best looking airplane I had produced in that period. But, it was a significant one for me. I had two Chiefs, but could only find slides depicting the second one that I built. I guess I was in a hurry to fly it because I didn't install a canopy, or any paint detailing to speak of. It was light at 32 ounces, however, and it really flew quite well. It was the first airplane that I ever entered in a Stunt contest, and with it I won the 1966 Far Hills New Jersey contest in the Senior division. It was 1965 at my club dust-bowl field in Dumont, New Jersey, and while I was wiping it down from a flight, that I heard a voice behind me say "Looks like someone here wants to be a Stunt flier." That someone was Bill Simons. Bill was at that time one of the top three Stunt fliers on the East Coast, and certainly the best one in New Jersey at the time. I was shocked when he offered to help me, and then he gave me a matchbook cover with his phone number on it. I recorded that phone number in several places just to be sure I'd never lose it. I still remember it by heart: PO-8-5806. (Don't bother calling that number; Bill moved from that location many years ago, and, I'm sad to report, passed away several years ago.) Bill was good to his word and we became inseparable flying and building buddies. Without Bill's help and guidance I'm sure I would never have achieved any of things I did in the years after that in the Stunt event. Thanks, Bill, and enjoy the competition in Heaven...
Bob
Hey Bob! I have a Chief hanging on the wall to my right that I flew at VSC a couple of times. Alas, I failed to get the "era appropriate" engine started quickly enough and ran overtime. A judge from somewhere out east came up afterwards and told me the flight "could'a won" a Nats had it not been for that overrun! Was that you by any chance????
Just reminiscing. Like everyone else, I'm flabbergasted at your memory and collection of still dandy photos from a century or so of CLPA past. You "da Man" my friend! So glad we shared our passions for a part of our treasured years.
Ted
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Hi Ted:
LOL! Yup, that was me who told you that. And, it was no exaggeration; you flew that Chief magnificently. You would have easily won that VSC Classic event had you been able to start that Johnson 35. I have always liked the way a good Chief flies, and yours was perhaps (well, actually...) the best one I ever saw. I had a grody old red one years ago (there are a couple of photos on this thread of mine...) that flew very well, and with it I won my first ever CL Stunt first place trophy; didn't do it on appearance points however...
Yeah, we shared a lot of adventures - including that surreal trip to China - over the years, and we have those memories to keep. We are part of the "over the hill gang" now, but we did some damage along the way. What a life...
Thanks for the memories old friend - Bob
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Here's two more modern photos (relatively speaking). The first one is a photo of Ken Purzycki's original design Parski at the Westover Nats in either 1992 or 1995. Glen Meador and Lou Dudka cut the foam wing for this beauty. Ken, by the way, was a chemist and he used to blend the fuel that virtually every stunt flier on the East Coast used in those days. It was called KP 725 (KP for Ken Purzycki and 725 for the nitro/castor mix). Sadly Ken passed away a couple of years ago. He was a great guy and is sorely missed by all who knew him.
The other photo here is of Bill Werwage and my Son, Robby. Two of the planes shown here are Bill Werwage designed and built Geo-XLs. The plane that Robby is holding is a slightly downsized version of the Geo-XL design called the Geo-Star, and the model sitting at the lower right is my 1994 built-up wing version of my Saturn. As you can see, we copied Bill's paint scheme and had sort of a team thing going that year. Robby won his fourth Senior Nats Championship with the Geo-Star the following year in Pasco, Washington. My Saturn had a more ominous fate; a leadout broke during a practice flight at the 1996 Nats. It was destroyed. Makes for a colorful photo though...
Later - Bob
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Getting very close to the bottom of the barrel of the slides my father took way back when, but I thought the one attached here might be of interest. It was taken during a contest at the famed Linden, New Jersey Airport. If you look close you will see several PBY Catalina flying boats lined up in the background.
Later - Bob
Wow, so jealous of "those days". Makes me wonder when the last time three flyable PBY's all sat together. Any idea what year the photo is from?
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Wow, so jealous of "those days". Makes me wonder when the last time three flyable PBY's all sat together. Any idea what year the photo is from?
Probably 1948 or '49.
Bob
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Probably 1948 or '49.
Bob
Great stuff. :)
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Okay, here's something different. A contest! The prize? A thumb drive containing my personal model photo collection of more than 14 gb of photos.
The Contest: Be the first one (Dennis Adamisin is disqualified from this contest...) to identify the young fellow in the attached photo, what the trophy he is holding represents, and when the trophy was won.
Let the contest begin...
Bob
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Do we get to ask questions? Like is the person pictured still with us? I can narrow it down slightly since the toddler looks about 2 and the plane has what looks like an OK Cub .049 that he cannot be more than 77. Assuming the plane in the pictured won the trophy then the contest would have to be around 1949. But if he is just holding it for someone else all bets are off. Hair color is no help but the white shoes, who do we know that liked white shoes? So with just those facts I have narrowed it down to just about anybody. LL~
Ken
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Bob Hunt.
Youngest Junior pilot to win a contest.
!949-50
y1 #^ ;D
Blessings;
Larry
PS: He started with the white pants and shoes at a very early age. ;D
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Ta Da! We have a winner!
Larry hit it almost perfectly on the head. That's me at 22 months of age in 1949. The story behind this is neat. My father ran the Exchange Club contests in New Jersey in the late 1940s and early 1950s. One of the stipulations for the Exchange Club's participation/sponsorship was that each contest had to offer a Youngest Contestant event. As the story goes (and I don't remember any part of this...) my father held me in his arms and put my hand in the handle. I had to fly a requisite number of laps without his assistance (five or six I think) to have the flight qualify. I guess I did that as I won first place. Now, the really neat part of the story is who I "beat." At exactly two years of age, Don Shulman placed second. Don is the son of modeling legend, Leon Shulman! Leon told my father that for the next contest he was going to get his newborn daughter out of the crib to compete!. Both families laughed about that for years. There's more... Many years later I went to work for Don as a salesman, and we laughed often at work about that story. I was a lousy salesman and left that job to become the Associate Editor of Flying Models magazine in 1979 - 30 years after my first competition win! And, as Paul Harvey used to say. "And that's the rest of the story."
Larry, your thumb drive with the photos will be in the mail on Monday.
Congrats - Bob
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Thanks Bob,
Much appreciated. Cool story. You have certainly had a long and illustrious career. Thanks for sharing a portion of it with all of us. A fun ride it has been, reading and enjoying your many stories. I am sure it was even more enjoyable for you living them. Thanks again, and please continue sharing your incredible experiences.
Many blessings my friend;
Larry
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Wow, so jealous of "those days". Makes me wonder when the last time three flyable PBY's all sat together. Any idea what year the photo is from?
Just read this and thought I'd add the following!
When I was very young and working as a "swabber and gasser of Cessna's" at my dad's Cessna FBO at the Renton, Washington airport (at the south end of Lake Washington) there was a string of a half dozen or so apparently grounded) PBYs across the runway sitting idle and mothballed (in front of the huge Boeing Plant). When we were feeling antsy once in a while big brother Gary and I would sneak across the lake end of the runway and climb aboard one that had a missing aft window (IIRC) and wandered up to the cockpit and "flew" the puppy all over the globe! One of the "perks" for working for daddy! Shoot, one of the lots of airborne memories from a long aviation filled life, now restricted to those memories!
Ted
P.S. IIRC, I later learned that these old timers had been raised from the bottom of the Lake and placed there for a few years along with a handful of larger amphibians. Not sure for how long nor where they later went.
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Bob, was the plane a Testers .049 Trainer??
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Hi Bob:
Yes, I believe it was a Testors .049 trainer. Good thing there was no builder of the model rule for that event... n~ n~
Later - Bob
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their trainers were very under rated
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I must have liked it; I gave it three wet diapers... n~ n~ LL~ LL~
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I found a couple more photos that I'm pretty sure were taken at VSC 2 (or maybe VSC 3...). The first one is Jim Lee's version of the Charles Mackey designed Hummingbird. John Davis flew one of these in one of the early AYSC (Air Youth State Championships) qualifying meets and at the Nats as the resulting State Champ of Indiana. Not sure of the year, however.
The second photo is Bob English's version of Bill Werwage's bubble canopy Ares. Bob spelled the name wrong on the ship, but it was a beauty nonetheless. Bob was known for his ornate gold-based paint schemes.
Later - Bob Hunt
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Maybe it is once belonged to Ari? He isn't the only one. My 1974 Surveyer and the 1975 Surveyor. First person to notice the mistake was a judge. HB~>
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I've pretty well run out of my father's old color slides, but I did find a bunch of old B&W prints that he made. Dad was an avid photographer and he had a B&W darkroom set up at our home.
This first photo is of the famous Bob Tucker (no, not the one from St. Louis who designed the Tucker Special), who designed a number of models back in the late 1940's and early 1950s. Many of his models were powered by Drone Diesels (but not the one in the attached photo...). Bob won the Nats Stunt event in Open in the early 1950s (I'll have to check my Wynn Paul Stunt History books for the actual year, but they are now out on loan to a friend...). Bob was a fixture at the contests on the East Coast back then along with the likes of Red Reinhardt, Larry Scarinzi, and George Lieb. Memories, memories...
Check out the old cars in the background!
Later - Bob
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One of his cool ships was the Tucker 903 (the 903 was from the Raleigh 903 cigarette brand). It was powered by a Madwell 49. It is in the Tom Morris OTS booklet. Pretty good size ship for its day.
Best, DennisT
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Hi Dennis:
A lot of East Coast fliers (and elsewhere I'm sure...) used Madewell 49 engines in those days. Any of the ignition Madewell engines were converted for glow use, and I remember my father flying them in many of his ships. We also used a lot of K&B Torpedo 29 engines.
Attached are three more old B&W photos that my dad took and printed. I have no idea who these people are, but the planes are neat! That last one is a guy holding a Don McGovern designed Pirate I'm pretty sure.
Later - Bob
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Thanks for the photos. Maybe some one will recognize the the young guys. D>K