CONTROL LINE SCALE
Bill Boss, 77-06 269th St., New Hyde Park NY 11040
MUSEUM VISITS can be fun for the whole family. In January my wife Jan and I spent a week with my brother Bob in Warner Robins GA. During the visit we set aside a day to "revisit" the Museum of Aviation Flight and Technology Center at Robins Air Force Base.
I say revisit because a few years ago I spent time at the museum taking pictures of the airplanes on display. During that visit there was only one building for indoor display; most of the aircraft were outdoors.
The museum, in addition to adding many more aircraft, now has three large buildings for indoor displays. The main building — called the Eagle building — is constructed in the shape of the United States Air Force Stars and Bars insignia.
As you approach this building, you see the "Georgia Peach": a Curtiss C-46 Commando. The C-46 came to the Museum of Aviation through an exchange with Haiti Air Freight in August 1991. To honor the Hump Pilots Association, it is painted as a C-46 from the Air Transport Command based in India in 1943.
A second building is known as the Century of Flight Hangar, and the third is designated Hangar One. In addition to the two new buildings, there is a picnic area and more-than-ample parking facilities.
The Eagle building has three floors. As you enter the rotunda you see an impressive Boeing F-15 Eagle, and hanging from the third-floor ceiling is a magnificent Stearman PT-17D Kaydet. Other aircraft on the first floor include a Curtiss P-40N Warhawk and a Republic P-47D Thunderbolt.
The second floor contains the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame and the General Robert L. Scott exhibit. The third floor contains administrative offices, a café, a collection of close to 300 model aircraft (mostly plastic models), and the Flying Tigers American Volunteer Group (AVG) memorial exhibit.
Hangar One contains more than 15 airplanes and other exhibits, including a Fairchild PT-19A Cornell #42, a Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star, a McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom, a Vultee BT-13B Valiant, and the Tuskegee Airmen exhibit.
The Century of Flight Hangar is so named because of the airplanes on display. A great-looking replica of the Curtiss JN-4 Jenny starts the century in one corner, while the other airplanes on display take you through the years until you come face-to-face with
CL Scale
more desirable for indoor photos. The indoor displays are generally roped off, but using the telephoto lens will allow you to get most of the close-up detail you might want or need.
The museum is located on US Highway 247, just outside of Robins Air Force Base. Visiting hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week and there is no admission charge. The museum's address is P.O. Box 2469, Warner Robins, GA 31099. Tel.: (912) 926-6870. To obtain a full listing of aircraft, information about other exhibits, educational programs, upcoming events, and future expansion projects related to the museum, visit the museum's Web site at www.museumofaviation.org.
Something From the Past: Doug DalTee thought a look back in time might be interesting and fun for Scale old-timers and the younger generation. Some of the die-cast items used on display scale models in the early 1950s and 1940s.
One of this month's photos shows Doug's collection that includes regular demolition bombs, three-blade propellers, and pursuit and ring-mounted guns. Doug notes that the items were made from lead-plated construction by several firms. Selby was the original.
Another item from the past was submitted by Robert L. Madden. He sent a photo of a U-control P-51 Mustang made from riveted aluminum. He wrote that his father bought the airplane from a catalog as a ready-made model sometime between 1947 and 1949 and flew it one time, learning that it "flew like a rock"; he never flew it again.
The airplane is equipped with a Bullet engine, has a 27-inch wingspan, and has Bakelite fabric for wing tips. Robert is hoping that someone out there can help him with some information about the origin/maker of the model and whether it has any collectible value.
If anyone can provide the wanted information, contact Robert Madden at Box 1639, Wickenberg, AZ 85390. I would also like to receive the information so I can tell other readers about this odd model.
Correction: In the February 2002 column I wrote about Dennis Shier's C-130, which had a fuselage constructed from Styrofoam. The article stated that the bulkheads were constructed from one-thick sheets when it should have stated that the bulkheads were cut from one-inch stock. Sorry for the error.
Wanted: Friedrich Kronmiller of Germany wants to find a source of plans or kits for the Consolidated B-24 Liberator and the North American B-25 Mitchell. He is building profile models of these airplanes and plans to build full-bodied models in the future. Friedrich is looking for plans or kits for a B-24 for four .25 engines and a B-25 for two .46 engines.
I have provided him with names of several plan services, but I could not provide him with specific information about kit availability. Perhaps someone reading this column can provide the specific information he is seeking.
If you can help, send the information to Friedrich Kronmeier, Hoellweg 03, D-69226 Nußloch, Germany, or E-mail to Kronmeier@gmx.de.
Getting organized in the workshop is a subject that Jerry Wino believes you can never get too many tips about. He shares a good idea along those lines.
The plastic caps on 35mm film containers are perfect matches for capping cardboard tubes from empty MonoKote® rolls to store wire, pushrods, balsa sticks, etc. The tubes can be cut to custom lengths for special use and fit to different needs. A drop of CYA (cyanoacrylate glue) will permanently bond the cap to the end of the tube if desired.
This item was found in the Indy Sportliners newsletter and had its origin in the Signal Squeaker newsletter.
Please send ideas, notice of upcoming CL (Control Line) Scale events, contest reports, and photos of CL Scale activity to me at the address at the top of this column. MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
