Flying for Fun
SAMENESS: Throughout the long history of model airplane building and flying, there has been a tendency for modelers to construct look-alikes. This used to be the result of a design doing well in competition and everyone jumping on its bandwagon. Lately it seems that what you see at the flying fields are cookie-cutter examples of what is available in kit form. Plan-built models are becoming more and more rare, while self-designs are almost unheard of. Some modelers avoid this "sameness" trend by changing the appearance of kit designs, and my hat goes off to them. This "kit-bashing" was illustrated in an article called "Just Imagine" in the June 1993 Model Aviation.
Flying for Fun
This month's column was inspired by the nostalgic joy that I experienced in developing the Rudder Bug construction article for the April 1998 issue, and hopefully will increase the readers' appreciation of contemporary Radio Control (RC) equipment. Measuring Success: Perhaps the most reliable index of a model's impact on the hobby is how often it is plagiarized. Consider how many reincarnations of Joe Bridi's Kaos have been kitted and/or published; the same can be said about Phil Kraft's Ugly Stik, Carl Goldberg's Zipper and Sailplane, Sal Taibi's Starduster, Bob Palmer's Chief, George Aldrich's Nobler, and a handful of other "benchmark" designs.
Flying for Fun
In my July column I talked about the terms "original designs," "plan-built," "kit-built," and "factory-built" as they relate to model aircraft. Hopefully my militant objection to the badly misused, and therefore incomprehensible, term "scratch-built" hasn't upset anyone. I'll further confuse the issue this month with a look at partial kits (a.k.a. short kits) - essentially, kits that contain all parts of a model design that require cutting with a jigsaw or band saw. The builder then provides required sheet and strip wood to complete the project. This approach allows the creation of models that are not so "cookie-cutter" common, without the more-challenging aspects of building from plans.
Flying for Fun
A Splendid Subject: In the last several columns I've been "banging the drum," promoting unusual modeling subjects. This month I have a rare, yet extremely appealing aircraft: the Boeing Model 80. Many people are familiar, to one extent or another, with the Ford and Junkers trimotors, and to a lesser extent with the American Fokker units. Did you know that they were preceded by trimotor commercial aircraft, not only from Boeing and Stinson, but Armstrong Whitworth's Argosy (now there is one ugly airplane), de Havilland's Hercules, and several other domestic and foreign manufacturers?
Flying for Fun
In the Beginning: In the late 1970s, a few RC (Radio Control) modelers began to build and fly much larger aircraft than previously seen. Several factors were involved in the development of these seven- to 12-foot-span model aircraft that weighed 15 pounds and more, including: "my airplane is bigger than yours," smoother flying characteristics (particularly in windy weather), improved visibility, and the use of less-expensive building materials and engines. Recalling those early days, the Bud Nosen series of large Scale models was originally designed around .60 cubic inch (cu. in.) two-stroke engines. Why? Because they were the largest model aircraft engines available.
