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Author Topic: Nashville Rats  (Read 4559 times)

Offline Tim Stone

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Nashville Rats
« on: March 08, 2020, 03:07:36 PM »
   I would invite those of us with still somewhat intact memories to this discussion.
 Please share your memories of the Nashville Rats team. They were unbeatable in their
day and are deserving of some reminiscing.

Offline Tim Stone

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #1 on: March 25, 2020, 11:42:44 AM »
SAD. no memories.

Online Mike Hazel

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #2 on: March 25, 2020, 01:09:03 PM »
Tim,  I do remember watching them practice Fast Rat at the 77 Nats.  Was astounded at how they got the plane down in just a half lap for the pit man.   

Offline bob whitney

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #3 on: March 25, 2020, 03:39:28 PM »
I know Lambert and Ballard flew against them but neither are one here
rad racer

Offline C.T. Schaefer

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #4 on: March 26, 2020, 05:42:54 AM »
We went to the Nats in 76 and entered slow rat. Our junk was running pretty good and we figured we had a shot at success..............until we saw what they were doing! Our planes were a gradual evolution of the stuff we flew with the good old G-21. The 5.8 was heavier and thirstier so I just made a bigger plane to balance out. It flew ok but was heavy. The Nashville guys took a leap from the stone age to the renaissance and simply blew everyone away! It was awesome and a good example of why it is good to go to the Nats. It is a great classroom!!   TS

Offline Al Ferraro

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #5 on: March 26, 2020, 10:10:23 AM »
Tim this should make you happy!  ;D
Al

Offline Al Ferraro

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #6 on: March 26, 2020, 10:12:20 AM »
Couple more.
Al

Offline bob whitney

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #7 on: March 26, 2020, 11:04:26 AM »
is this one of theirs
rad racer

Offline Al Ferraro

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #8 on: March 26, 2020, 07:50:20 PM »
is this one of theirs
  No, this plane belonged to my pilot John Ross who passed away 5 years ago. It's powered by a Tuned Hill OS 36 engine. John was so impressed with the Nashville Rat team models that he had to build one. John and I flew it in the 2007 Nats to 3rd place. One of these days I'll hook up the lines to it and rip it around for some fun.
Al

Offline mike londke

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #9 on: March 26, 2020, 08:00:21 PM »
Was Mack Henry part of this group? Seems I saw plans of Rat Racers he'd designed back in the day when I helped him clean out his shop. I know later he mostly flew combat but may have flown rat in the early days. His flying buddies were Charlie Pate and Marshall Busby. Mack live 4 miles from me. I haven't visited in a while and probably shouldn't because of Covid,  but I could call him.
AMA 48913  USPA D-19580  NRA Life Member  MI State Record Holder 50 way Freefall Formation Skydive  "Don't let the planet sneak up on you"

Offline Dick Tyndall

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #10 on: March 27, 2020, 01:36:04 AM »
  You guys are talking about Paul Tune and Larry Hill. I don't remember how it happened but because of them O. S. came up with a .36 size engine in their .40 rear intake racing engine. There were very few of these produced. You had to get them thru Hobby Lobby In Tennessee or Bill McGraw if I remember correctly. I managed to get one but never built an airplane so I sold mine. I know a friend in North Carolina who still has some of these because I saw them last Fall. The Tune-Hill team were hard to beat in most any of the controline racing events, especially Slow Rat. Larry was a pretty big guy and it was not too easy to fly with him in the circle. Ballard was bad enough, but Larry was pretty tough.  Ahh, the good 'ole days.........

                Dick Tyndall

Offline BillLee

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #11 on: March 27, 2020, 07:01:26 AM »
..... Larry was a pretty big guy and it was not too easy to fly with him in the circle. Ballard was bad enough, but Larry was pretty tough.  .....l

And then there was Stubby! Perhaps the only pilot on earth that could (and did!) put Larry Hill on his hip and move him where he belonged in the circle! Was described by some as "Flying with a fire plug in the middle of the circle."
Bill Lee
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Offline Al Ferraro

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #12 on: March 27, 2020, 08:42:33 AM »
  You guys are talking about Paul Tune and Larry Hill. I don't remember how it happened but because of them O. S. came up with a .36 size engine in their .40 rear intake racing engine. There were very few of these produced.

                Dick Tyndall
There was two version of OS .36 engines. The Tune Hill version that had a smaller bore than the .40 and the same stroke, which is my engine. The OS version had the same bore as the .40 with a shorter stroke.
 Bill your initials are still on the outboard wing from tech inspection at the 2007 Nats.
Al

Offline bill bischoff

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #13 on: March 27, 2020, 09:29:50 AM »
"Stubby" of course is Richard Stubblefield from Houston.

Offline Tim Stone

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #14 on: March 27, 2020, 01:32:27 PM »
Was Mack Henry part of this group? Seems I saw plans of Rat Racers he'd designed back in the day when I helped him clean out his shop. I know later he mostly flew combat but may have flown rat in the early days. His flying buddies were Charlie Pate and Marshall Busby. Mack live 4 miles from me. I haven't visited in a while and probably shouldn't because of Covid,  but I could call him.

   I remember 4 guys on their team but I was only 15 at the time so my memory is fuzzy. I believe Mack & Marshall
were team mates with Paul & Larry at some point. I think Marshall told me that they practiced every week.

Online Ron Duly

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #15 on: March 27, 2020, 11:42:12 PM »
Then there was the time at the NATS (1977 I think) when Bob Oge was having a "discussion" with his pilot about his piloting skills and family heritage. A booming voice came from the center of the circle telling Paul that if he ever yelled at him (Larry) like that he'd kick his butt!  Total silence.......

At least that's how I remember it.

Offline john e. holliday

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #16 on: March 28, 2020, 09:59:46 AM »
How many remember the dual tank set up they had.  1/2 way through a run they would trip a mechanism on the plan to allow for a richer setting, if I remember right. D>K
John E. "DOC" Holliday
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Offline Al Ferraro

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #17 on: March 28, 2020, 01:18:51 PM »
How many remember the dual tank set up they had.
  Doc, look at my photos, there is a small tank on the out board side of the fuselage to get the model off the ground. When the plane is in the air the swing weight valve opens up. The extra pressure from the inboard tank feed the engine at wide open throttle.  You can see the swing weight valve in the open position in one of the photos.
Al

Offline Tim Stone

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #18 on: March 29, 2020, 10:40:37 AM »
Then there was the time at the NATS (1977 I think) when Bob Oge was having a "discussion" with his pilot about his piloting skills and family heritage. A booming voice came from the center of the circle telling Paul that if he ever yelled at him (Larry) like that he'd kick his butt!  Total silence.......

At least that's how I remember it.

   I would certainly and did respect anything Larry Hill had to say! I was not Oges' pilot at that time. I was out
of racing from 1976 to 1997.  We have been team mates before & after that to this day.  He's my bro...
Thanks for the memory Ron!

Offline Brad LaPointe

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #19 on: March 29, 2020, 12:36:07 PM »
Good thread guys . This is the kind of thing that makes this a great site .

Thanks,
Brad

Offline mike londke

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #20 on: March 29, 2020, 05:59:39 PM »
 I called Mack today to get some info on the Nashville Rats and his son told me he passed in late January. He'd had a couple of bad falls that caused complications.
AMA 48913  USPA D-19580  NRA Life Member  MI State Record Holder 50 way Freefall Formation Skydive  "Don't let the planet sneak up on you"

Offline BillLee

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #21 on: March 29, 2020, 08:59:28 PM »
Sorry to hear of Mack's passing.

A memory of him....

We had been at a World Championships somewhere in Eastern Europe, don't remember where or when. Mack had been Circle Marshall and someone had honored him with a large bottle of red wine. Mack packed it in his suitcase to bring home.

The return trip included an overnight in Copenhagen where Mack and I shared a hotel room. Upon retrieving his luggage at the hotel, Mack found that the baggage crushers at the airport had caused the bottle of wine to be broken in his suitcase.

We spent the evening trying to rinse the wine out of his clothes, all to no avail! What a mess!

Ruined the wine, too!  :P
Bill Lee
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Offline Dick Tyndall

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #22 on: March 29, 2020, 09:30:56 PM »
   So sorry to hear that Mack is no longer with us. I did not know him very well. He was a very good combat flier. He and David Owen were teamed up for many years going to combat contests across the country. About the time I was getting out of flying Mack was going to many of the big combat contests as the circle marshall. I was told that he was the best there was at doing this.  I kept up with what was going on with the combat stuff through Steve Kott and others for a few years after I got out and started racing R/C boats. As we get older the people we looked up to and admired in this hobby begin to go away. We need to say the things we admired about them and how much they meant to us and our hobby while they are still here. I think it would mean a lot to them to hear it from their peers while they are still around. I am just as guilty of this as anyone else. I'll try to do better in the future.
    My thoughts and prayers go out to Mack's family and friends.

             Dick Tyndall

Offline Tom_Fluker

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #23 on: March 30, 2020, 07:24:00 AM »
How many remember the dual tank set up they had.  1/2 way through a run they would trip a mechanism on the plan to allow for a richer setting, if I remember right. D>K

Doc - If I remember right, the first year or so of the "fast" slow rats, they used a 2 needle valve system.  About half way through the run, they would hit the shutoff (full up) to move from the first to the second needle.  At the pit, full down for the shutoff to the second one.  Not sure how long that lasted before going to the small chicken hopper tank.

Offline Tom_Fluker

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #24 on: March 30, 2020, 07:27:52 AM »
Sorry to hear of Mack's passing.

A memory of him....

We had been at a World Championships somewhere in Eastern Europe,

Seems like there were several stories that started that way.  When we went to Kiev in 1988, I think there was a question of whether or not he was going to make it out.  He and Vernon had a good time at the banquet.

Sorry to hear he's gone.

Tom

Offline GEORGE CONNORS

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #25 on: March 31, 2020, 06:41:15 AM »
My memory of the Tune-Hill team is from the '76 Nats held at Dayton Ohio - it was one of only two Nats that I attended.  I was there with John Ross, and three of our sons, Dave, George, and Charlie.  We camped nearby the base.  I pulled a pop-up with my '73 Plymouth fire-engine red wagon.  Our sons were 9 -10 ten-year-olds.  It was at the racing circle.  Junior Slow Rat was being run.  George and Charlie were "competing" using Flite Streaks and g-21's (stock, not reworked in anyway.)  BTW, I didn't know Tom Schaefer at the time.  John and I planned to Fly Slow-rat along with Fast and Slow combat.  Well, you probably guessed it!  One of my sons got airborne and was immediately overtaken at an unbelievable rate of speed by the other flyer.  I think it was only two up.  That plane was a sight to behold. It was extremely fast and stable with quick pits.  We complete the "race" and were clearing the circle.  One of the men from the other team approached us - I am not sure who now.  To say the least he was extremely apologetic.  To paraphrase, he said that they did not come to the Nats with the intent of showing  anyone up.  We talked and eventually he offered to send us one of their engines.  Of course, being proud guys from New Jersey, I respectfully declined.  In summary I can write that the Tune-Hill team was highly competitive, but displayed sportsmanship beyond belief.

There are many memories for me of that Nats.  I will conclude this entry with the note that Charlie made it to the final in Junior Slow Combat.  We had switched to my buddy's(Pete Sofko) Fox CS.  Duke  was giving $200.00 to winners flying Fox.  Charlie came down two or three times in the match.  John and I got him back up.  It was clear he was way behind on points. The match nearly over he's airborne.  The other young man - older and taller went inverted.  Out of nowhere, Charlie does a wing over, catches the knot and "kills" his opponent as the final horn sounds.  I mention this because -again as I recall now all these years later - one of the first to congratulate Charlie was a member of the other team's pit crew -  yes a Tune-Hill member.  Another display of sportsmanship. 

I will post later John Ross' and my experiences with OS 36's.  For now, light wind and tight lines.    George
george connors

Offline C.T. Schaefer

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #26 on: April 01, 2020, 06:23:35 AM »
Good addition to the story George!  TS

Offline PaulGibeault

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #27 on: April 04, 2020, 02:35:52 PM »
I remember attending a contest where the Nash Rats were flying in. I hadn't seen slow rat like this before & didn't fly the event.  After the racing was finished during some slack time I recognized tall Paul Tune sitting on a bench. I approached him & asked what size prop he uses on his models. He replied: " You wanna ask me a different question?"  That pretty much ended our discussion right there!

Offline Tim Stone

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #28 on: April 05, 2020, 02:28:43 PM »
I remember attending a contest where the Nash Rats were flying in. I hadn't seen slow rat like this before & didn't fly the event.  After the racing was finished during some slack time I recognized tall Paul Tune sitting on a bench. I approached him & asked what size prop he uses on his models. He replied: " You wanna ask me a different question?"  That pretty much ended our discussion right there!

Next time (if there is one) just pick up the front end & lookie for yourself. That was & still is a pointy question for sure!. Works for me.
Unless propeller ID is sanded off the hub, which i'm sure it was.
« Last Edit: April 06, 2020, 12:01:42 PM by Tim Stone »

Offline Dick Tyndall

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #29 on: April 05, 2020, 10:07:15 PM »
I remember attending a contest where the Nash Rats were flying in. I hadn't seen slow rat like this before & didn't fly the event.  After the racing was finished during some slack time I recognized tall Paul Tune sitting on a bench. I approached him & asked what size prop he uses on his models. He replied: " You wanna ask me a different question?"  That pretty much ended our discussion right there!
   Sounds more like a response that would come from Larry rather than Paul. Most of the fast guys back then were using glass and/or carbon fiber props. Lots of green colored props seen around in those years that were made by Al Kelly ( Chicago ). He would make you just about anything you wanted.

                      Dick Tyndall

Offline Tim Stone

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #30 on: April 06, 2020, 12:14:27 PM »
   Sounds more like a response that would come from Larry rather than Paul. Most of the fast guys back then were using glass and/or carbon fiber props. Lots of green colored props seen around in those years that were made by Al Kelly ( Chicago ). He would make you just about anything you wanted.

                      Dick Tyndall

   Yes if you begged, he liked you and could work on his terms (Indefinite) you might get a prop. But they were so good. Much better
than the resin starved Bartels props of the day with flippity, floppity, impossible to finish ...I hated their mesh, whatever it was.
   No CF props in the late '70's.  When they appeared on the scene, game changer. That
said, in certain applications, a Kelly prop will run with the best of them even now.
   CHAPTER 2- Steve Wilk was making props when I returned to racing in 1996. So was Mike Hazel & Steve Eichenburg. I was in prop heaven.
Still am!

Offline Rlamb10769

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #31 on: April 07, 2020, 05:15:08 PM »
Hi Tim,
Just read about Marshall and Mack and posted on the main forum before I saw this post. The Nashville Rats in the 70’s were my Dad and I main competition, they were the best in slow rat but we usually beat them in fast rat. Larry Hill didn’t join them until a little later in the 70’s. My Dad flew the slow rats and I flew the fast rats, Larry never gave me much problem in the center.
I remember and I think it was 78 Nats where Pop and I were 1,2 in prelims and finals. Larry came out of the circle and told Paul I passed Lambert once.
Sad to hear about Mack and Marshall, RIP until we meet again.
Dick Lambert

Offline Tim Stone

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #32 on: April 09, 2020, 10:25:51 AM »
Hi Tim,
Just read about Marshall and Mack and posted on the main forum before I saw this post. The Nashville Rats in the 70’s were my Dad and I main competition, they were the best in slow rat but we usually beat them in fast rat. Larry Hill didn’t join them until a little later in the 70’s. My Dad flew the slow rats and I flew the fast rats, Larry never gave me much problem in the center.
I remember and I think it was 78 Nats where Pop and I were 1,2 in prelims and finals. Larry came out of the circle and told Paul I passed Lambert once.
Sad to hear about Mack and Marshall, RIP until we meet again.
Dick Lambert

   Thanks for sharing the memories. They are heart felt and appreciated.  I always looked up to these guys. You & your Dad as well.
(You can't pass me, Grandpa!)

Offline mike londke

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #33 on: June 18, 2020, 10:07:12 AM »
I found these plans in Mack’s stuff. I can bring them to the Nats if anyone wants them. I just need a scan in return for a friend.
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Offline Mike Urban

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #34 on: July 22, 2022, 03:48:35 PM »
At the 2022 nats just completed, Chris Gay was carrying some combat ships to his car on Saturday morning. A large man saw them and came over and started a conversation in the parking lot. Turned out to be Larry Hill. I had never met him, but had heard a lot about him and Paul Tune. He joined us for breakfast, and for dinner Saturday evening. He spent most of the day at the combat circles swapping stories with Stubblefield while F2D was being flown. Always nice to meet a legend.

Mike

Offline Motorman

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Re: Nashville Rats
« Reply #35 on: July 22, 2022, 09:59:27 PM »
In the 70's at the nats, I seem to remember these guys walking around with matching blue shirts that said something about being a rat race team. Maybe it was them?

Motorman 8)


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