Who dat?

[Larry Renger]

A friend recently purchased a really beautifully built 1/2A Magician. The wing has the AMA number 16188. How can we find out who built it?  🤠

[Motorman]

Probable someone about 90 years old.

[Dave Hull]

Larry,

Unfortunately, the way the AMA website membership page works is that you need BOTH the AMA number and the last name. I'm not sure why this is a policy, since I can't figure out who might take advantage of a license number in some nefarious way. For comparison, the FAA aircraft license numbers are publicly searchable. I have tried in the past to track people down solely based on the AMA license number but without headquarters assistance you are out of luck unless a club or flying partner can help you. I checked the VCB records and we have had no member with the 16188 license number since I became president. Sorry I couldn't help. Would like to see the Magician, though....

Dave
Valley Circle Burners

[Steve Helmick]

Dave Gardner once said he called AMA HQ about some sort of CD type question and identified himself only with his AMA number. They wanted to know which one, leaving the impression that there could be more than one. Yah, baffling.
  Steve

[Rusty]

About 30 years ago I was given a R/C airplane with a transmitter.  The plane was a high wing and looked like a free flight.  I had an ignition engine and a tube type receiver and was rudder controlled.  The transmitter had a button and a TV looking antenna.   The plane had an AMA number and a decal saying 1954 NATS.   I wrote the the AMA about finding the owner.    About 2 months later I got a letter from someone who stated they was in their late 80s and said they was in a nursing home.  The person said they was the owner and said the plane was flown in the 1954 NATS.  He included 2 pieces of paper with drawings of how the wiring and batteries should be connected to the receiver.  It was amazing how detailed the drawings were.   

I had the plane on display in my hobby shop until I closed it.  I sold it to a guy who was a collector.  I had to make a wood frame crate to ship it in.  UPS said the box was 1" over the maximum size they take, but did let me ship it.   

 

[Ken Culbertson]

When I returned to flying in 2015 I sent in my dues under my AMA number.  They said it belonged to someone else.  When asked if they reused numbers the answer was no.  I was a CD so I asked if my original number was still under my name they said it was never issued and I could have it if I wanted it.  I asked why I could not have my CD number back since that was what was on all of the planes I still had and they told me they had no record of me being a CD.  I sent them scans of my license and my certificate and they said they still had no record and that the CD number belonged to someone else.  They wouldn't tell me who or when it was issued.  Since our club had enough CD's to go around, I let it go.

Ken

[Larry Renger]

James, the new owner, plans to fly it at Whittier Narrows this coming Saturday. I plan to be there to help out. I’ll shoot some photos.

[Dave Hull]

Larry,

I came across a wing panel that was "discarded" at Whittier a few years ago. It had some nice construction details so I picked it up to study it. I still don't know who built it. The number is 153181.  Looking forward to your pictures!

Dave

[spare_parts]

Larry,

I came across a wing panel that was "discarded" at Whittier a few years ago. It had some nice construction details so I picked it up to study it. I still don't know who built it. The number is 153181.  Looking forward to your pictures!

Dave

Google, at times, turns up interesting things.  https://www.freeflight.org/scat_blog/sen-2020-2/ https://www.cbmodeldesigns.com/about-us.htm

[Dave Hull]

Ahhh! One mystery solved. And the name explains the great workmanship....

Thanks, Parts!

[Larry Renger]

Great build!

Wish we could find the builder.

Looking forward to flight next weekend.

[Dan McEntee]

  Any idea who kit or which plan it might have been built from? What's the wing span?
  Type at you later,
    Dan McEntee

[Dave Hull]

Thanks, for the pictures Larry!

That is a good color combination. I might steal it someday. Maybe add a little gold trim.

Dave

[Larry Renger]

  Any idea who kit or which plan it might have been built from? What's the wing span?
  Type at you later,
    Dan McEntee

My scale down of the Magician by Jim Silhavey as actually designed before the Midwest kit simplifed version. Published in Flying Models and sort of kitted by RSM (lasercut part set if you knew to ask for it, not a catalog item).

I don’t recall the wingspan, but it has around 225 sq in wing. This one has an APC Wasp .061 up front, and a 6/2 prop.

Fully capable of a competitive AMA pattern (Bart Klapinski scored 495 points with mine).
🤠

[Larry Renger]

Bob Gialdini was also involved in early Magician development.

I checked the plans. The 1/2 A is 33.5 inch span and 230 sq.in. area.

🤠

[Larry Renger]

A checkout flight by Antone Kephart went beautifully. Very smooth flyer but still fully aerobatic. 👍

First flight by James, the owner, not quite so well. 🙀

[Ty Marcucci]

Not positive, but I believe Golden State Models put out a 1/2A Magician, but called it something else.

[Dan McEntee]

Not positive, but I believe Golden State Models put out a 1/2A Magician, but called it something else.

      That might be their Stork?? I recall GS making a Spitfire, an ME-109  and the Stork , all using the wing/numbers from the Stork?? I'm still not fully awake yet.

  Type at you later,
   Dan McEntee

[Larry Renger]

I think the Stork wing was higher aspect ratio and thinner airfoil. 🤠

[Dave Hull]

Hopefully it is still in one piece...?

[Larry Renger]

3 pieces, but repairable. 😥👎😱

[Dave Hull]

Bummerdude!

He should get a Flattie, like the Baby Skyray. That'll get you a long way up the learning curve--presuming he's not an expert that just had a bad day. I had two guys giving mine a try a week ago in the afternoon breeze. The giant fender washer tipweight works great! I finally remembered to turn the prop around for their first flights.

The Divot