Super Brigadier
THIS is a modernized Berkeley Brigadier, featuring a simplified, stronger structure, modified aerodynamics and for three channels rather than the original rudder-only. This development of the pioneering design requires a 3.0 to 4.0 cc power plant with a throttling device. Prospective builders are strongly discouraged from any attempt at flying the model as a rudder-only craft (the design's original form), as numerous aerodynamic modifications have been made to increase the model's airworthiness; elevator and throttle are absolutely essential for safe flight. First advertised in August, 1949, the Super Brigadier was the first American kit of a powered radio control model. The Super Brigadier predates deBolt's Live Wire and Guillow's Trixter Beam by nearly three years, as they both were introduced in the spring of 1952. The plans for the Super Brigadier illustrate the escapement placed at the rear of the fuselage, with the elastics being wound through the cabin. Also shown on the original kit plans is a PAA-load dummy. The radio equipment illustrated was the Aerotrol, also produced by Bill Effinger's Brooklyn firm.
Radio Control: Old Timers
ELBERT "Joe" Weathers holds an enviable position in the annals of model aviation. His name is associated with some of the most esthetically appealing model designs to grace the pages of the modeling press. His designing talents are evidenced on such all-time classics as Westerner, Mystery Man, Winged Victory, Miss San Diego, Spook, and the postwar Pacific Coaster. All of these designs are characterized by sleek lines, graceful proportions, flowing contours, and extraordinary beauty. This month's feature model, the Tubby, is seemingly out of keeping, totally, with Joe Weathers' normal design philosophy. One can hardly describe it as pretty, or graceful and sleek. Rather, it resembles a stylized Aeronca C-3 Collegiate, giving it a semi-scale appearance with a certain feeling of "cuteness."
Radio Control: Old Timers
THE ATTRACTION in building and flying miniature replicas of full-scale aircraft is the very essence of our hobby. All of us are stimulated by Scale models, be they Peanut or Monster, or Control Line, Radio Control, or Glider. Some undefinable chemistry flows between modeler and Scale model, catalyzing some to Herculean efforts in creating magnificent reproductions of complex prototypes. Meanwhile, others of us receive equal gratification from creating rather simplistic Scale models which only closely resemble the prototype, but which fly beautifully. It can be reasonably presumed that nearly every modeler reading these lines selected a Scale model kit as his first purchase, as a youth. Depending upon the reader's age, that kit may have been an Ideal, Megow, Whitman, or, perhaps, a Joe Ott or Comet, or-if much younger-one of the excellent kits available today.
Radio Control: Old Timers
OLD-TIMER of the month: Published in the July 1940 issue of Model Airplane News, the Hornet is one of Sal Taibi's lesser known designs. Seldom modeled, it is nonetheless most eminently suited for conversion to RC assist. Its large size, coupled with simple construction, makes it a potentially highly competitive machine. Quoting from the construction article: "When the AMA met some time ago, the 1940 Gas Model rules were devised, and we immediately sat ourselves at the old drawing board and scratched our head in search of a design that would be `tops' under the new regulations.
Radio Control: Old-Timers
ALTHOUGH the entire series of Berkeley Cavaliers are usually thought of as Ben Shereshaw designs, such is not the case. Some letter writing and magazine researching has revealed that only the 1936 Cavalier was the product of Ben's genius. The subsequent Custom, Custom Twin-Tail, Standard, and 60 were all team designs by Bill Effinger and his staff at Berkeley. Most kit manufacturers featured a top-of-the-line design back in the 1930s, and the "Cavs" were Berkeley's. The original Shereshaw design was sold in "plans only" form, beginning in March 1936. This version had a nearly-round cross-section on the fuselage, and the profile was very streamlined-looking, hence it is often referred to as the "thin" Cav.
