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Author Topic: Why not a Paul DelGatto Day?  (Read 906 times)

Offline Scott Richlen

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Why not a Paul DelGatto Day?
« on: November 24, 2022, 06:50:31 AM »
Our (and other clubs) used to do a Musciano event and it was a lot of fun.  And we currently participate in the World-Wide International interplanetary, and etc. Ringmaster-A-Thon, an ode to Matt Kania.

So, why not a National PDG Day?  He was a prolific designer of everything model airplane and his design portfolio is highly varied and really quite excellent.  And he was taken from us way too early.

It would give us an excuse to build one of his unique designs and fly it in a fun-fly format.  It would likely attract some of our less active guys back to the building table and the flying field.  It would be non-competitive other than being able to build something unique and show it off by flying it at the flying field.  And for those incluned, a great exploration/hunt finding his plans in magazines as varied as Mechanics Illustrated, and etc.

No, yes, dumb idea?  Wha-da-ya-think?

Offline Leonard Bourel

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Re: Why not a Paul DelGatto Day?
« Reply #1 on: November 24, 2022, 07:19:22 AM »
Hey Scott Not to hijack your thread I have not heard of Paul Delgattoo but I knew a guy named Jack Sheeks who we could do the same also prolific designer and builder and all round great guy Great idea Scott!!!

Offline john e. holliday

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Re: Why not a Paul DelGatto Day?
« Reply #2 on: November 24, 2022, 09:57:46 AM »
I don't know if they still have the Jack Sheeks award at VSC.   I got the high point pattern award and Jack Haverly got the appearance award the first year it was given. D>K
John E. "DOC" Holliday
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Offline john e. holliday

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Re: Why not a Paul DelGatto Day?
« Reply #3 on: November 24, 2022, 10:04:21 AM »
I remember Paul's designs in the Mechanix Illustrated and a couple of others.  IAMA may have them listed under his name and I haven't looked yet. D>K
John E. "DOC" Holliday
10421 West 56th Terrace
Shawnee, KANSAS  66203
AMA 23530  Have fun as I have and I am still breaking a record.

Offline Scott Richlen

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Re: Why not a Paul DelGatto Day?
« Reply #4 on: November 24, 2022, 10:38:17 AM »
Quote
I have not heard of Paul Delgattoo

Len:

You need to look him up!  He had a wide variety of designs, much wider than Sheeks.  Unfortunately not well known enough.

Offline Dennis Leonhardi

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Re: Why not a Paul DelGatto Day?
« Reply #5 on: November 24, 2022, 11:03:38 AM »
Len:

You need to look him up!  He had a wide variety of designs, much wider than Sheeks.  Unfortunately not well known enough.


Not to demean Jack Sheeks in any way; he was a prolific Stunt designer and did some others - but Del Gatto did an incredibly diverse range of types.  I've been selling plans on eBay for nearly 20 years and have been somewhat surprised by the number of buyers who have related Del Gatto was their favorite designer.

As illustration, the Sheeks Stunt plans I offer are:

AT-9 Jeep
Beechcraft Staggerwing
Care
"Mossie" de Havilland Mosquito
Enya 35 Demon Stunter
F4U Corsair
F5F-1 Skyrocket
Focke-Wulf Fw 190
Freedom 45
Hawker Hurricane
Heinkel He 100
La Donna
Messerschmitt 109G
Moon Dust
P-26 Peashooter
Ryan S-C
Sea Vixon
Spitfire
Stuka
Stunt-Liner
Swinger
Torino

And the Del Gatto Plans are:

1/2-A: Profile AT-6/SNJ Texan
1/2-A: Profile F4U Corsair
Profile: Whipsaw (Kitted)
Profile Warbird: "Baby Mustang" (Kitted)
Profile Warbird: Hawker Typhoon (Kitted)
Profile Warbird: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk (Kitted)
Scale: Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
Stunt: B-25 Mitchell

To add a few points: (1) I hardly touch the full range of Del Gatto's work, (2) he drew the plans for many designs by others, and (3) while Jack Sheeks provided plans and inspiration to build, Del Gatto brought his designs into our workshops in the form of kits.

I confess to being a Del Gatto fan.
Think for yourself !  XXX might win the Nats, be an expert on designing, building, finishing, flying, tuning engines - but you might not wanna take tax advice from him.  Or consider his views on the climate to be fact ...

Offline GallopingGhostler

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Re: Why not a Paul DelGatto Day?
« Reply #6 on: November 24, 2022, 12:08:43 PM »
Yes, Dennis, Paul Del Gatto was a prolific designer as well as an excellent draftsman. Some of the Scientific Half-A C/L's were his designs.

About 16 years ago, when the late Joe Wagner had an E-mail forum blog (we'd E-mail replies to his blog newsletter, he'd then take our questions and comments, comment on them and send us a PDF newsletter), Paul's daughter contacted the forum about something to remember her late father by. I had 2 copies of his Berkeley Plan P4-6, 35" rubber / FF gas / CL Interstate Super Cadet. One was the 1952 Berkeley original, the other relabeled as SIG's Craftsman series plan.

I decided to keep the SIG version and mailed her the original Berkeley version, for which she was grateful.

Online kenneth cook

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Re: Why not a Paul DelGatto Day?
« Reply #7 on: November 24, 2022, 12:10:42 PM »
           I like his Jetex designs, a talented designer.

Offline Tony Drago

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Re: Why not a Paul DelGatto Day?
« Reply #8 on: November 24, 2022, 01:11:55 PM »
            
Paul E. Del Gatto

Despite his untimely death at the early age of 39, Paul Del Gatto was undoubtedly the most prolific designer of Jetex models. Moreover, his models were not just of aircraft — cars, boats, and even flying wheels took shape in his fertile mind and appeared in a large number of magazine articles and books.

     Paul's plans on the Jetex.org website include:
         Hi-Altitude Speed Model
         X-15
         Two-Stage Space Ship

Paul had practical experience of flying, having enlisted in the Army Air Force in World War II. He received his commission as a 2nd Lieutenant at Freeman Field, Indiana in 1944, and served as a B-24 'Liberator' Pilot-Instructor.

Following the war, he studied aeronautical engineering and resumed his interest in model building. He began contributing to model magazines with designs that were varied and original. In Flying Models alone, he published plans for autogyros, deltas, Wakefields, gliders, R/C scale, and of course, Jetex. Other articles covered such topics as rubber motors and airfoils.

A more substantial publication of Paul's was "All About Jetex", which became for many Jetex modelers the 'Bible' of Jetex building, flying and motor operation and maintenance. In another booklet, "Jets and Models", he covered pulse-jets as well as Jetex.

Paul helped develop countless kit designs for all the major American manufacturers – Comet, Enterprise, Berkeley, Telasco, Jetco, and AMC among them.

Flying Models concluded their heart-felt tribute to Paul in these words:

"We will sincerely miss Paul's talents here at Flying Models, and to a still greater degree as a friend. We were proud to know this man. He was highly motivated toward all things aeronautical, creative, artistic, and full of laughter. May we express the sympathies of modelers from all lands to his [family]. This was a fine and clean-minded man, and by casting his teen-age children to this same high standard, he has fulfilled a high purpose here on earth."
    

Paul Del Gatto launches his triple-Jetex Bomarc

Del Gatto launching Bomarc
- Model Airplane News, Oct. 1958, p. 18

Flying Models illustrated their obituary of Paul Del Gatto with this fine action photo

Del Gatto launching free-flight model
- Flying Models, Dec./Jan. 1965, p. 22
      

Offline Dennis Leonhardi

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Re: Why not a Paul DelGatto Day?
« Reply #9 on: November 24, 2022, 04:59:01 PM »
Thanks guys!  Especially that tribute, Tony.

I measure the significance of a designer by the impact they've had on the hobby and especially me.

Thus, we can Thank Oba St. Clair for U-Control, but I Thank Jim Walker for the Firebaby I received at Christmas time so many years ago.

Dennis
Think for yourself !  XXX might win the Nats, be an expert on designing, building, finishing, flying, tuning engines - but you might not wanna take tax advice from him.  Or consider his views on the climate to be fact ...

Offline Scott Richlen

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Re: Why not a Paul DelGatto Day?
« Reply #10 on: November 24, 2022, 05:56:48 PM »
Dennis and Tony: Thanks so much for the info on Paul Del Gatto.

Aerofred has 21 of his plans and the Outerzone has 104.  Wow!

My favorite of all his plans is his Lady Luck, a very beautiful classic stuntship.  Someday....

Offline Tony Drago

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Re: Why not a Paul DelGatto Day?
« Reply #11 on: November 24, 2022, 06:30:27 PM »
 The info I posted on Paul Del Gatto I copy and pasted from Jetex.org

Offline GallopingGhostler

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Re: Why not a Paul DelGatto Day?
« Reply #12 on: November 24, 2022, 09:11:56 PM »
In 5th grade I built Paul's Scientific rubber powered 20" Cessna 180 stick and tissue F/F kit. It had sheet balsa rudder and stabilizer, I guess to simplify building for the neophyte. I made the mistake of sealing and color doping like I did with the control line aircraft, which made it tail heavy; also color doped the white tissue with brushed Testors orange butyrate dope, which made it overall heavy, didn't fly well. (Well, I was only 11 YO and learning. <= :D )

Closest to it I have found is one within the same series, Paul's Scientific 20" Miss America II, based loosely on Frank Zaic's / Joe Wagner's 1936 84" Miss America gasser F/F. (Paul took liberty to make it formulate into rubber power easier, like the modified fuselage near the tail area.)

https://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=6046 - 20" Scientific Miss America II by Paul Del Gatto


If I were to build it again or the related Miss America II, I'd tissue the whole thing including the sheet tail, clear dope with only color trim to keep it light.

I recall a few Scientific half-A CL's having Paul's name on the instructions plan sheet, (they weren't all done by Walt Musciano), just haven't located them yet.

Offline Scott Richlen

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Re: Why not a Paul DelGatto Day?
« Reply #13 on: November 25, 2022, 06:51:19 AM »
When our club was hosting our Musciano event we were always looking for more of Walt's plans.  During our search we came across Paul Del Gatto plans and ignored them since they weren't the object of our hunt.  Now I wish I remembered where we found them.  I'm pretty sure there were a bunch of Half-A control liners from Scientific but I don't see many of his listed.

Offline fred cesquim

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Re: Why not a Paul DelGatto Day?
« Reply #14 on: November 25, 2022, 09:56:00 AM »
always loved Lady Luck
maybe some day...

Offline Scott Richlen

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Re: Why not a Paul DelGatto Day?
« Reply #15 on: November 25, 2022, 11:16:59 AM »
Fred:

Thanks for posting the picture.  Lady Luck has all the great shapes and curves of the classic ships.  It's hard not to be attracted to it.  I'm wondering if that is the only large stunt ship he designed?  Anybody know?


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