stunthanger.com
General control line discussion => Open Forum => Topic started by: Robert Zambelli on December 30, 2017, 12:05:06 PM
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Given to me by a friend for the museum, I'd like you to see this.
Looks to be hand-carved from cedar, powered by a GHQ engine with flywheel, bevel gear final drive, front wheel drive.
Some really neat workmanship.
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That's cool.
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The car looks like it has never been run
It probably hasn't, it's powered by a GHQ!
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Neat. I've never seen a wood tether car. I wonder if it was gong to be a mold for a cast aluminum body. WW2 may have put a stop to that with the control on all metal for the war effort. It could also have been a wood copy of a cast body. Looks typical of the Indy cars of the era. D>K
Wow -- it could have been, couldn't it? It'd be the kind of thing that an inspired high-school student (or high-school shop teacher) could have made.
It does look like someone's long-ago unfinished project.
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THAT'S really cool, Bob! I hadn't ever seen a wooden tether car either, but it looks a lot like others of the 1940's (body is more 1930's style though). 'wonder what its story was. I have some old "Model Craftman" magazines. If I have time, I'll look to see what class they had for it. What's the displacement? I know they had different classes for different gearing. - SK
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Bob:
Could we set aside some time at Brodaks one evening and have a tether car demonstration up on the asphalt donut? Do it right before Banjock fires up the jets?
Do you think that might bring some running ones out of the woodwork?
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Here's what I made for my Grandson a year ago. However, its not powered (except by little hands...).
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Bob, Aiden is building a little tether car right now. It's actually painted. I'll get pics later. He's pretty happy about it. I have another kit ready for him when he's done with this one.
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Here's aiden's car with the canopy glue drying. It only looks spotty because it dries clear. He did a great job. I'm very proud. He'll get a black widow on this one.
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'Hand carved from cedar...' Bet that was a job, I hand carved my 20" Bantom Flat Tail midget cowl from balsa, the 'halo' (flare around cowling) reminded me of fledgling days of carving parts for very early balsa planes in my youth!
Very interesting departure from the norm, in that time slot.
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Bob:
Could we set aside some time at Brodaks one evening and have a tether car demonstration up on the asphalt donut? Do it right before Banjock fires up the jets?
Do you think that might bring some running ones out of the woodwork?
Our club used to run 1/2A prop rods with a 10' radius, indoors. The grass infield of the Brodak circle kills the deal.
Prop rods have tremendous pull, especially with nobody to take up the slack & absorb shocks. We had a pylon core-drilled and cemented into the floor. You can't carry enough weight to make a weighted pylon.
We graduated from tethered cars to airplanes. 1/2A's were banned due to 100 MPH TeeDees.
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Bob:
Could we set aside some time at Brodaks one evening and have a tether car demonstration up on the asphalt donut? Do it right before Banjock fires up the jets?
Do you think that might bring some running ones out of the woodwork?
Scott - I think that's a great idea.
Did I just hear you volunteer to organize the event??? #^ #^
Bob Z.
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Bob:
First off: there was a comment that the donut wouldn't work because of the infield. Is this true or not? We need a tether car guy to tell us yes or no. We need more than just anybody's opinion - we want a knowledgable tether car guy to give us a thumbs up or thumbs down.
If the answer is "yes", I would be happy to help, but someone who actually knows something about tether cars and their operation needs to be a major participant in organizing and operating this. I can only carve an un-powered car and am the perfect example of "does not know what he does not know" about tether cars. Beginning with the center hardpoint and the whole tethering scheme....
But I'll be happy to be that person's assistant for either Thursday or Friday evening.
How about a show of hands: how many of you would actually participate if we did this?
Scott
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Bob:
Could we set aside some time at Brodaks one evening and have a tether car demonstration up on the asphalt donut? Do it right before Banjock fires up the jets?
Do you think that might bring some running ones out of the woodwork?
Banjock has some tether cars too, he brought some to Muncie one year, but there was some place off the AMA site that he was running them at.
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Seems likely that people are bringing different expectations to this idea. For any even remotely modern tether car, you probably have to have a serious track. But that is not where the conversation started--with the wooden car powered(?) by a GHQ. For example, a couple of years ago during one of our control line airplane races, we had some of the tether car guys (there is an active and excellent track at Whittier Narrows park here in LA) ask to use our paved flying circle during our lunch break for a vintage car demo. There was no conflict, and besides, we wanted to see what a vintage car could do. As I recall, they brought out a weighted pylon and gave it a go. Seemed to work fine--but it was going at a speed that you could watch it go around, as opposed to the modern cars that are just a blur. It was fun....
I do not recall how long the line was, but again if I recall correctly, it was attached to the pylon a few feet off the ground.
You could probably get any and all advice you need from the tether guys. I suppose they have a forum? They love vintage stuff. I went to their NATS a few years back, and they had lots of cars on display. Not a wooden one among 'em though. But they sure had lot of rough aluminum castings for car bodies.
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There was a tether car track at the old flying field at Rosecrans and Western Ave. in Los Angeles in the late '40s. Primarily a free flight field, the car track was first class, having concrete track and fenced for safety. I flew my free flight planes there often. When we heard the scream of the tether cars, everyone went over to watch. The cars were mostly .60 size and made lots of noise! Some of the regular car people were Dick McCoy and Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, who was a feature on the Jack Benny radio show. All of the engines were spark ignition. Each car had a vertical wire. When the run had been timed, the operator held a cloth over the track to catch the wire and switch off the spark ignition.
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I see them shutting off the cars with a broom nowdays. I would guess that they are tripping a lever operated fuel shutoff. I never heard that the Western site had a car track. I imagine that there used to be a lot more of them around, but don't know how many guys were running cars back in the day. Now, it seems like there are three left: Whittier California, Gary(?) Indiana, and I've heard that there is one in New York somewhere?
The Whittier track has a grass infield, but the wire is never allowed to touch down. The platform and the track are both elevated a bit.
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THAT'S really cool, Bob! I hadn't ever seen a wooden tether car either, but it looks a lot like others of the 1940's (body is more 1930's style though). 'wonder what its story was. I have some old "Model Craftman" magazines. If I have time, I'll look to see what class they had for it. What's the displacement? I know they had different classes for different gearing. - SK
The GHQ is a .51. It could be a Loutrel, the predecessor of the GHQ. They actually ran.
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I see them shutting off the cars with a broom nowdays. I would guess that they are tripping a lever operated fuel shutoff. I never heard that the Western site had a car track. I imagine that there used to be a lot more of them around, but don't know how many guys were running cars back in the day. Now, it seems like there are three left: Whittier California, Gary(?) Indiana, and I've heard that there is one in New York somewhere?
The Whittier track has a grass infield, but the wire is never allowed to touch down. The platform and the track are both elevated a bit.
Jackson Park, Anderson, IN & Seaford, NY
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the grass area is big ,would need around a 52 ft wire to clear it
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Tether cars run on a 35 ft. cable, like .093 piano wire. You need a really smooth track. Even the vintage stuff gets going pretty quick. The fence and curbing is there for a reason. Doing this ad hoc is fraught with peril.
BTW, wood bodies on cast pans were not uncommon back in the day.
http://toybaron.com/Tetherhistory.htm
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Anderson--that's it. Thanks, Bob. Don't know why I was thinking Gary, IN.
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Bob,
Here is the web site that has some interesting tether car stuff.
http://www.amrca.com/
Some pretty neat stuff - 230 mph plus.
Best, DennisT
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Maybe Dan will make a rocket tether car :X