Radio Control: Old-Timers
SCIENTIFIC'S VARSITY. I'll readily admit to overusing Bill Schmidt's projects in my columns, but he keeps doing such weird stuff that it's just irresistable! Case in point: now he's hauled off and built an enlarged version of a model that most of us had considered to be a pure turkey-and the darn thing turned out not half-bad. I guess that I'd better not bad-mouth him too much, since he sort of got the inspiration from the Scientific Coronet I blew up to 150%-size and which resulted in a really exceptional thermal-flying machine.
Radio Control: Old-Timers
VISUALIZE the crate it took to ship this thing to England! Packing Wakefield rubber-powered entries for shipment to a far land (where they were to be proxy-flown) was a common practice in the pre-WW II era. The same cannot be said for gas-powered models. In that respect, the Krupp Bowden winner has a rare story associated with it. Can you imagine crating this thing-the drawings do not show any provisions to separate the wing panels-and shipping it from Akron, OH to England? For many years both before and after WW II, Col. Bowden, one of England's more outstanding modeling pioneers, sponsored a perpetual trophy to be awarded annually to the winner of a Gas event. The winner was determined by a complex set of rules involving the appearance of the plane, engineering features, duration of flight, and landing/takeoff characteristics.
Comet Jr. Clipper + 35%
THE PROTOTYPE MODEL was a Comet Models' kit called the Jr. Clipper. It had a 36-in. wingspan and was for rubber power. The model presented here is enlarged 35% over the original, and the structures have been redesigned for use with 1/2A engines. It is a great fun flier. Although it is the size of a 1/2A Texaco model, it is not eligible for Society of Antique Modelers (SAM) competitions due to its rubber-power origins. The original kit was introduced in 1938 as one of a series directed to those who lacked funds to buy engines but who were attracted to the larger gas-type models. They all featured some sort of device to produce a hum as the rubber motor unwound. Usually a ratchet was attached to the propeller which then vibrated a strip of metal. The resulting sound was much like that which today's kids produce by sticking playing cards into the spokes of a bicycle.
Radio Control: Old-Timers
ZAIC EXPERIMENTAL NO. 2. I'm sure that anyone having an ongoing interest in Old-Timers has accumulated a set of Frank Zaic's Yearbooks and his other publications. Like me, most have leafed through them repeatedly with much enjoyment and considerable curiosity over some of the more unusual designs, wondering just exactly what some of them might look like in the "silk" and how well they might fly. Last time around, I used Krupp's Bowden Winner as an Old-Timer of the Month and as an example of the rare designs in the Yearbooks. I received many favorable reactions from several sources, including Frank Zaic, himself. Seemingly, there is some force at work, since no sooner did I submit that material than I received photos of two other rare birds from Zaic's Yearbooks. This month's Old-Timer is one of them.
Radio Control: Old-Timers
CHLOE? There are several Old-Timer designs advertised Back Then for which drawings seem no longer to exist. I wonder if, somewhere, someone might have one of those old kits gathering dust-or at least know someone who does. Wouldn't it be great if someone reading this column were to have such a treasure and be willing to share it with the general Old-Timer movement? Two of the more interesting designs for which no drawings seem to exist are the Dictator, by Triangle Models, and the Cloud Drifter, by Modern Aircraft Supply. Both are poorly illustrated in the old magazine ads but appear to be cleanly-designed and certainly worthy of resurrection.
