Around the Patch

Author: Thayer Syme

Edition: Model Aviation - 2021/11
Page Numbers: 62, 63, 64

Rubber-powered Nicholas Beazley NB-3 model airplane

INSPIRING
MODELS AND
MODELERS

By Thayer Syme | thayer@flying-models.com

IT GETS HARD TO deny the inevitable by the time November rolls into New England. Halloween candy will soon be gone, the leaves will need raking, and the flying season is over. Sure, there might be a few more days of warm sun and calm wind to log a last flight or two before the snow flies, but they are not guaranteed.

As we brace for the holidays—and their imposition on our hobby—many of us will also finalize our building plans for the winter.

Toward that end, I want to mention a few inspiring modelers and their models that span our hobby. These builders have raised the bar in their own pursuit of the craft, while inspiring me and countless others along the way.

Micro Gear

Model Aviation “Micro-Flying” columnist Joe Malinchak is best known in our hobby circles for his micro aircraft, which he is often capable of flying in his own living room. He regularly pushes to levels unknown, and the accompanying photo is a perfect example.

Starting with two 0.5-gram Micro Flier Radio servos, Joe created a pair of rotating retracts for a new indoor Corsair that he built to debut at the Northeast Electric Aircraft Technology (NEAT) Fair in mid-September 2021. Joe has other great plans for this model, so I will let him reveal them in his own column. No question, I expect to be at the Indoor Night at NEAT indoor flying event that Saturday!

FF Poetry

Tom Hallman is well-known throughout the Free Flight (FF) community for his exceptional rubber-powered scale creations. With duration the goal and limited power available, a delicate balance is required for success, and Tom is a modern master. He carefully optimizes his model structures to resist the compression and torque of a fully wound motor, while also reducing the weight as much as practical to ensure maximum performance.

Hand holding a tiny micro Corsair model with rotating retracts — Joe Malinchak’s new micro Corsair with custom-built 90° rotating retracts debuted at the 2021 NEAT Fair. Look for more about it in Joe’s “Micro-Flying” column!

Tom’s megascale Nicholas Beazley NB-3 spans 54 inches. The completed structure is shown in one of the photos. It weighs 108 grams—or a scant 3.8 ounces! This elegant flyer was enlarged from the 24-inch Dave Rees design, which was Tom’s first rubber-scale build more than 30 years ago.

Tom has inspired countless people around the world, with nearly 5 million views on his maxfliart YouTube channel as of mid-September 2021. Tom’s videos feature exceptional production quality because of the same attention to detail that he lavishes upon his models. I encourage all of you to set aside at least a few minutes to watch his Nicholas Beazley and other models in action, as shown in the link in “Sources.”

CL Stunt

Bob Hunt is well known as a highly decorated Control Line (CL) Precision

Riley Model B model airplane on a grass field — Oozing Golden Age appeal, Chuck Gratner’s Riley Model B represents his personal vision for the perfect 1930s sport airplane. Despite learned opinion, it is not a scale model—yet.

Two photos showing Bob Hunt’s Wildfire model before and after finishing. — Seen here before and after finishing, Bob Hunt’s immaculately crafted Wildfire is a gleaming reminder that a flawless finish starts with flawless preparation. Contact Bob for copies of his excellent building manuals.

Aerobatics (Stunt) competitor, with countless national and international wins to his name, including a gold medal at the 1978 World Championships. I had the unexpected pleasure of visiting with Bob briefly while passing through his area this past summer and was immediately awed by his work.

I’ve often maintained that the CL fraternity has some of the nicest finished models seen in our hobby, and that impression was further enhanced with a quick glance around his shop. In addition to his own models, Bob builds professionally for others, and his five-plus decades of experience are readily apparent.

Bob served as editor of Model Aviation and Flying Models magazines for more than 20 years and edited Stunt News, the voice of the AMA Special Interest Group, Precision Aerobatics Model Pilots Association (PAMPA), which represents the CL Stunt community.

Bob has shared much of his knowledge through those pages and continues to do so with a series of manuals that describe his building techniques. He offers these manuals free for the asking, and I highly recommend them for their tremendous insight into his building process. You might not be building CL Stunt models, but I am confident that you will integrate some of his techniques into a future project of your own.

Golden Age Glamour

Back in the mid-1960s, Lou Proctor designed and built a “scale” model that wasn’t. Lou’s Antic was his own vision of the ideal pre-World War I flyer, without the constraints of duplicating an actual prototype. Proctor Enterprises is now in new hands, but the iconic Antic remains popular today for its vintage look, great flying, and scalelike construction methods. It is available in multiple sizes and variants, including monoplane, biplane, and seaplane configurations.

Chuck Gratner built and enjoyed his own Antic approximately 30 years ago, and then started musing about his own idealized version of what might have been, with another 15 years of aeronautical evolution thrown into the mix. The result is the Gratner Brothers Riley Model B, inspired by the existing aviation technology and aesthetics of the 1920s and 1930s.

Its planked forward fuselage is reminiscent of Prohibition’s “rum-runner” speedboats. With graceful flowing lines and gleaming metal work, the Model B is an exercise in aerial excellence. It has fooled more than a few viewers who couldn’t quite recall that company or outline from their otherwise encyclopedic knowledge of aviation’s Golden Age.

Consumed by his vision and relentless search to perfect it, Chuck has built no less than 15 versions of this model throughout the last 20 years, typically making only slight changes of size and geometry between editions. His latest version spans 128 inches and is powered with a Valach 140 four-stroke gas engine with an electric starter. He reports that it’s the best-flying version yet, and the experts who have flown it have begged him not to change anything. Perhaps it’s a sign that he’s closing in on the dream.

Chuck and I first met when he debuted the Riley at the Toledo Show: R/C Model Expo with model number seven. It featured a Moki radial engine and was flawless. The judges agreed, awarding him the Best Sport Plane award. You can imagine my surprise later that spring when Chuck handed me the transmitter for a few flights on it at the Joe Nall event. I’ve had my eye out for a small, full-scale radial engine ever since!

There are many, such as these gentlemen, who are willing to share their own experience in order to keep our pastime moving forward. Feel free to reach out to your local experts, or via email and the links in “Sources,” if you have any questions about your own projects.