Thermal Magnet still flies years later
Tex Newman
Tex Newman (Gladstone, Oregon) shared several photos from days gone by. He wrote:
“The first photo [top, left] is of a Bay Ridge Thermal Magnet I built from John Pond plans in 1971. It was powered with a Vivell .35 engine on ignition and was first flown [as] Free Flight in the Livermore, California, area with a group that became known as SAM [Society of Antique Modelers] 21.
“The baby turning the prop in the [top, right] picture is my youngest son at about 18 months of age. The plane was re-covered with silk and butyrate dope again in 2006 and re-engined with an O.S. .26FS and a Series 73 Kraft radio was installed. The [bottom] photo is of my son and his son at less than 2 years old, examining the old heirloom.
“The Thermal Magnet’s latest outing was early this past spring [in 2016]. It still flies as nicely as ever and is beautiful with the sun shining through the wings like in the magazine ad photos in the 1940s.”
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