Hey Shultzie. Doooo you rememba tha sharp corners Gene Matheney used to do?
I AGREE 100 %
This Grey GENIE-BIRD of Gene's was truly the fastest turning stunt model that I have ever test flown.
I was SHOCKED the first time I flew it...
I seem to remembeR that at first, that it felt as if the model needed more hand movent to start a turn....that is....
until I became used to the feel and also until I was brave enough to
POP the handle like Gene had instructed me.
NO ONE IN THOSE DAYS...BUILT MODELS AS LIGHT WEIGHT AS GENE MATHENEY!!!
(THIS MODEL ON THE SCALES WAS ONLY 37 OUNCES!!!) but unlike most light weight models...
Gene advocated those beautiful elipse or rounded wing tips for smooth level flight in windy conditions and always insisted on flaps that NEVER RAN FULL SPAN...AND ALWAYS USED BALANCED ELEVATORS to give his models even more turning HP with less load on the wrist and control handle.
However remember the movement throw on at model seemed at least over 45 degrees, at least? Much greater than most of our models in the early 60 etc.
Leo, we all remember just how PICKY PICKY PICKY..our late friend Tim Dunlop of Portland was..when it came to choices of models...but after Tim flew Gene's model...HE JUST HAD TO BUILD ONE HIMSELF.
Tim built a beautiful "RED GENIE BIRD" for the 68 Olatha Nats..and both of us were blown away and just how BLINDING THE CORNERS were with Tim's New model.
Yes, that model ruled the corners
--------------------------I feel a tear coming on!!!Sadly we lost that model...on the road trip to the 68 Nationals at Olatha. Unfortunately I was driving his new wide track GRAND PRIX PONTE'ACKKK-ITITY AKKK DON'T TALK BACK...across western Kansas at about a steady 95mph.
THEN LIKE OUT OF NO WHERE..EXCEPT MAYBE FROM THE PITS OF HELL...CAME THIS HUGE PIE TRUCK that was traveling west at about the SAME 95 MPH that we were going. Suddenly it passed by us at a closing rate of almost 200 mph.... with HORRIFIC RESULTS.
I CAN STILL HEAR THAT LOUD RIPPING
"KA-BAM!" and STILL SEE THAT U-HAUL car top carrier in in the rear view mirror...as it flew away in a slow barrell roll and exploded into a million pieces when it hit the ground. (About a 100 yards off into a farmers wheat field.
Luckily Tim and I had stored 3 other stunt models...in that Pontiac's huge oversized trunk. but the new GENIE BIRD was stored in the car top carrier. YES!!!
YES! THE GENIE BIRD "BIT THE BIG ONE" AND WAS SHATTERED INTO CONFETTI SIZED PIECES...
AMAZING HOWEVER...Tims precious dozen HARD BOILED BREAKFAST EGGS..were still undamaged and withstood that impact without even a crack.
It took us about an hour to walk all over and around that field, picking up our "meagers " U NAME IT......clothing, shoes, underpants, socks, toothbrushes...(a six pack of my precious Rainier Beer that now was reduced to a small one bottle.)
As you know Leo, Tim was a total tea totaler' but that day....Tim, Vance and I sat there in that golden Kansas wheat field...carefully passing, sharing and crying in that one little bottle of beloved Rainier...while at the same time eating a few of his precious undamaged boiled eggs that his beloved wife Audrey had boiled for our trip. We drove into the next small town and went to the Bus Depoe and made arrangements with one of the employees there to go out and pick up the U haul top carriers pieces and deliver the pieces that had already closed for the day.
heres for the memories...