Flying for Fun
Gravity and Stuff: Everyone knows about Sir Isaac Newton and his adventures underneath a tree (how fortunate for him that he chose to sit under an apple tree rather than a coconut palm). That experience led him to develop a series of mathematical calculations relating to gravitational forces, and those calculations have bedeviled physics students ever since. (Oddly, Isaac Newton became immortal while the contribution to mankind by his brother Fig, a baker, has been all but forgotten.) Unfortunately, Newton's law of gravitation contains an error! Gravity is not distributed evenly above Earth! Modelers are aware of this, but as a result of observation rather than fancy mathematics.
Flying for Fun
PREVIOUS NEWCOMER Issue columns have directed philosophical comments toward the structured portions of the hobby and toward their recruitment of newcomers. My intent is to welcome new modelers and to offer something that the experienced modeler can pass on to increase the newcomers' long-term enjoyment of the hobby - the cardinal rule for operating engine-powered model airplanes: Do not get your body parts entangled in spinning propellers! Many people have seen modelers (newcomers and experts alike) get chewed up by props, but anyone with common sense can recognize the potential for injury from a rotating propeller blade.
Flying for Fun
WHY NOT? My challenge and the resultant success of Duane Dahnert's Ford Flying Flivver (March 1996 issue; Duane has plans for the Flivver: 7209 Bryant Ave. S. Richfield MN 55423; and Fiberglass Specialities can provide a cowl) has led me to toss out another Scale subject that is worthy of attention. As is the case with many longtime modelers, I have a list of unusual subjects and projects I'd like to build "someday." Scale designs seem to accumulate that modelers wish someone would kit, or at least develop for publication. The Piper Skycycle is near the top of my list. I've even suggested it to a couple of the fiberglass aftermarket providers, but neither of them knew the prototype, so they had no interest.
Flying for Fun
And Now, a Commercial Message: It is inappropriate for the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) to endorse particular products or to publish product reviews. (Those functions are well-covered by other publications anyhow.) However, column writers can report on what we perceive to be useful items (and sources). I'm on the lookout for anything that will add to the fun of flying, such as the following. More "Back Then" Stuff: I'd like to share personal recollections, featured in my April 1991 column, from the 1948 National Aeromodeling Championships (Nats):
Flying for Fun
CHEAP THRILLS: Last month I chatted about the fun of flying really small Free Flight (FF) models. Those comments were directed primarily at the K&B Infant. 020 reproduction that Bob Langelius is selling. The appeal of sport FF lies in the large amount of fun that is available for very low equipment and material costs, and in the availability of flying fields - many playgrounds and athletic complexes are suitable. It's difficult to fly aerobatics (at least deliberately) with sport FF models, but the beauty of an aircraft following only the commands of wind and gravity can be very rewarding. It saddens me to realize that many readers have never experienced this thing of pure beauty; they're missing out some of modeling's very special moments.
