Favorite local FF Scale clubs
by Dennis Norman
dennis@airacemodels.com
In the late 1930s, several groups of teenage model airplane builders formed in the Detroit area. Those from Royal Oak, Michigan, were mostly interested in Free Flight (FF) and FF Scale, but also dabbled in budding Control Line and RC activity. The Royal Oak group congregated at Jack Willitt’s hobby shop and named themselves the Royal Oak Thermites Club (ROTC).
The club’s favorite early flying site was a vast, undeveloped area at 9 Mile Road and Northwestern Highway, which is now part of the city of Southfield, Michigan. This was also the home of the Sky Guys Model Airplane Club of Detroit.
With the outbreak of World War II, club membership decreased as older members joined various branches of the armed forces. Declining membership caused the ROTC to consolidate with other clubs in Warren, East Detroit, and Frasier, Michigan. In 1944, the Thermites name was dropped in favor of Cloudbusters, the name by which the club is known today.
During the immediate postwar period, former Cloudbusters members returned from military service, interest in model aviation increased, and club membership grew. The Plymouth Motor
Cloudbusters member Ted Allebone shows off his magnificent electric-powered FF Scale Handley Page before launching it for another outstanding flight. Photo by George Bredehoft.
Cloudbusters member Jack Moses passed away shortly after the 2016 FAC Nats. A prolific builder and great guy, Jack was one of only a few people with perfect FAC Nats attendance.
Car Corporation began sponsoring large contests (dubbed The Plymouth International Meets), which were held at the Cloudbusters flying field in the late 1940s. At that time, the club held its meetings at various members’ homes.
In 1948, Jake Drake opened a hobby shop known as Hobby Hangar, in Royal Oak. Jake supported the Cloudbusters club, which met at Hobby Hangar until 1957 when the shop closed. For the next several years, the Cloudbusters met at various locations, including Christ Memorial Presbyterian Church in Royal Oak.
When Christ Memorial closed in
Cloudbusters member Pete Azure, with his awesome Jumbo Scale SR-7, presents an example of superb skill and craftsmanship. Bredehoft photo.
2009, the Cloudbusters found a new meeting place at Drayton Presbyterian Church in Ferndale, Michigan, where the club still meets monthly.
In 1965, Cloudbusters member George M. Lewis Jr. incorporated the club under Michigan law. As a result, a constitution and bylaws were adopted, articulating the club’s purposes and goals in Article II of its constitution as:
“This club will be organized for the purpose of promoting Model Aviation, to procure and disseminate information of pertinent natures to its members, and to indulge in all activities necessary to its existence.”
Cloudbusters members took the constitution seriously and became outstanding leaders in FF and FF Scale. For more than 35 years, the Cloudbusters helped Cub Scout groups interested in model aviation. For the first 20 years of the Flying Aces Club (FAC) Nats, Cloudbusters members assisted the FAC with Scale judging and the running of flying events at Geneseo, New York.
Today, members Ralph Kuenz,
Winn Moore, and George Bredehoft serve as FAC vice president, council member, and FAC Keeper of Kanones, respectively.
The current Cloudbusters officers are:
- President: Davis Gloff
- Vice President: Winn Moore
- Secretary: Chuck Hickson
- Treasurer: Mike Welshans
- Safety Officer: Bruce Thoms
- Newsletter Editor: Chris A. Boehm
The Cloudbusters club hosts two major contests each year: the Spring Indoor Fling and the Fall FAC Outdoor Championships. In addition to this, the club hosts an annual education picnic at Broome Park in Flint, Michigan. The picnic is open to the public, and free food and drink are provided for the guests while they watch a typical flying meet. Detailed information is shared on model construction, flying, and future Cloudbusters events.
Individual Cloudbusters members
have belonged to AMA for years, but the club did not receive AMA charter status until 1983. Cloudbusters currently has 24 active members.
The club’s newsletter has more than 120 subscribers. With friends throughout the FF and FF Scale communities in both the US and abroad, the Cloudbusters club still provides inspirational leadership. Long may it continue!
My first awareness of the Cloudbusters was hearing Cleveland Free Flight Society (CFFS) members tell stories of the club’s legendary appearance at a CFFS contest early in the summer of 1974. I wrote an account about this in my March 2016 “Free Flight Scale” column, on page 129. It is a great story about one of the most outstanding, creative, and fun-loving FF Scale clubs, and I hope that you will take time to look it up.
Special thanks to George Bredehoft, Ralph Kuenz, Tom Hallman, Mike Welshans, and Cafe Press for their help in providing photos and information for this column.
I have just learned that because of circumstances beyond the FAC’s control, the 2017 Non-Nats in Geneseo, New York, has been rescheduled for July 19-22, 2017.
SOURCES:
AMA
(800) 435-9262
www.modelaircraft.org
CFFS
Rich Weber, president
se5weber@cox.net
FAC
Ross P. Mayo, president
skyami@att.net
www.flyingacesclub.com
National Free Flight Society (NFFS)
www.freeflight.org
Cloudbusters Model Airplane Club
37693 Gregory Ln.
Sterling Heights MI 48312
http://cloudbustermac.tripod.com
