Flying Aces Club - Hip Pocket Aeronautics
Transcription
Flying Aces Club - Hip Pocket Aeronautics
Editorial by Ronny Gosselin Hi! To all low and hi flyers! It is with great pleasure that we finally got to the second edition of the Harfang Chronical and mail. This Chronicle is free, and you are welcome to print it, give it away, or redistribute it through email. After reading the dozens of letters sent to your editor, I am publishing the two most interesting ones. The first, from the famous Zorbach (the pilot that fear itself fears...) and the other from our friend Russ Brown, with some inputs on the Pour le Mérite medals that are so coveted. I also included the answers to the Mystery Airplanes, and I hope to see some of those magically appear on a judging tables soon (I should have my fiction flyer by next year). Congratulations to the only good answer to the mystery aircraft …Mister John Cooper, from Ottawa. You are the winner of eternal fame!!! No one saw that the twin engine aircraft is the SO 7010 Pégase, of French make. It had two V8 engine coupled together, and they were designed to work separately! Ah! those Frenchman! Got to love them…. I can't wait to see who will build the little mono wheel biplane in peanut scale….sounds like a winner in the “Wow cool! What is that thing?“ category… (the best category if you ask me!). Has anybody asked yet my friend Bruce Foster the in depth reason why he calls is winder attachment G-string? Just wait for him to turn red and start giggling… Bruce also deserves a good round of applause for winning the “Harfang winter challenge”. He came all the way from Philly to fly in a hurricane type wind! 2 Keep the letters coming, and there is more eternal fame to win. And remember: Have fun flying, and forget about good nose moment and huge surface area, go for the Oho OHohohhh AAAAHH AHAAAAaaaa category. Think of Chris Starleaf with is amazing B47, or Greg West pioneer, pusher, canard, biplane thing… a Fairey Aerodyne… or Vance's Skroback… Ronny Squadron Leader FAC 71 [email protected] Flying Aces Club Join the fun, join the Flying Aces! Please send $18 for U.S. members, $25 for Canadians, and $30 for overseas, for a one-year membership, to: Flying Aces Clu b General Headquarters (GHQ) c/o: Ross Mayo C.inC. 4207 Crosswinds Drive ERIE, PA 16506 - U.S.A. The Harfang News & Chronicle Thank You! Wawayanda, N.Y. - Fall 2009 WWII Mass Launch Report A big thank you to all our contributors, for the many hours spent arguing, as well as collecting and preparing this Chronicle: Bernard Dion Giorgio Toso Gisèle Guilbert Gosselin Gustavo Durieux Luc Martin Octavian Aldea And of course, our Squadron Leader, Ronny Gosselin W by Luc Martin, aka. Fantomas First Officer of Sqdr. 071 e were only 16 on the line, maybe a few more, for the merciless combat that was about to take place above the Wawayanda battlefield. We were here to recreate the battle of France; therefore Polish, Belgium and Dutch airplane had their chance before but had been already shot down. There was a bunch of bad guys, namely the axis forces (German, Italian and Japs), and the good guys, the allied: British, American, French and Russian. Japanese and Russian were a bit ahead of the time for the battle of France but “what the heck”, the more the merrier. Like to write? Want to join the gang? Please get in touch with us, and send your material to [email protected]. 3 The Harfang News & Chronicle Here are the good, the bad and the photographer: From left to right: Ronny Gosselin, kneeling and taking pictures, Luc Martin - Arsenal VG33, Chris Starleaf – P51D (wearing an anti-collision orange day glow tuque), Walt Farell - Fiat G-55 desert camouflage, Rich Weber - Dewoitine D520, Dave Mitchell - Tempest MKII, Peter Kaiteris - Ta 152, Doug Beardsworth (tallest in the line) - Grumman F4F Wildcat, Paul Stott - Fiat G55 dark green, Greg West - P51A, Dick Gorman Yak 3, Stew Meyers - Mig 3, Tom Nallen2 - Boulton-Paul Defiant, Mark Fineman - P-63 Kingcobra, Jerry Crawmer R-10, Jim Hemmel - Messerchmit BF109F and (shy) Dallas Cornelius with Ki-61 Hien, just outside the frame. On our first mission, I was flying an Arsenal VG33, flanked by "Wingnut" my trusty wingman with his brand new Dewoitine D520. We took off, climbed to 1000Ft, leveled off, then set our course North, in fact, wherever the wind will push our wings. The sky was clear, the sun was shining. A day full of great expectation was ahead of us. We new the enemy was there, somewhere, already in the air or maybe in our side on the field. Who knows what fate we will meet. Hey Paul! Nice Fiat G55 you have there... Are you part of the bad guys? Like in the Battle of France, the brilliant Arsenal fulfilled his mission. During that patrol, I spotted a lonely German plane flying low, well into our territory. I notified my “wingnut” of the enemy presence, then dived on the unaware German airplane. While I was closing in, I recognized the characteristic shape of a Bf 109. The German tried few brutal evasive maneuvers, but in vain. I kept his airplane in my gun sight. I opened fire at close range and it went down, after collecting a couple of direct 20mm bullet hits, 4 courtesy of the dependable engine-mounted Hispano-Suiza cannon. Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze-UhKK6E9E When I leveled up my airplane and throttled back the engine, I looked for my wingman to confirm that kill. I was alone in the sky. Wingnut must have been attacked by another “Gerry”, and we got separated in the ensuing “mélée”. After my return to base, I had to wait a few minutes that seemed like hours to me. The next mission was scheduled right away. We could not wait for him any longer. The enemy was invading our territory. We will honor our fallen comrades when time will allow. I was credited for that victory thanks to my gun camera. I have learned after the war that the pilot name's was Jim Hemmel. First flight casualties: 1.Mig 3 Bf 109F 2.Desert camouflage G55 3.Hien Ki-61 Good guys: 1 down Bad guys: 3 down I took off for the second time of the day, for a lonely visual reconnaissance mission to locate the enemy troops and estimate how fast they were progressing. Except for contrail in the East, indicating aerial combats at high altitude, I did not make any contact with the enemy nor see any German ground troops. Not finding anything on a recon mission is a disappointing experience. After a few seconds that felt like hours (time too is also subject to scale effects) this painful disappointment was starting to leave place The Harfang News & Chronicle going on. I feared not. I knew my guardian angel was with me in the cockpit. It was my grandpa Marcel, who had also fought the Germans, from Sept 1939 to May 1940, in an AFV, a Panhard 178. I could feel his hand on my shoulder. With him on my side, I was ready for anything. The big black funnel suddenly opened up to a white powdery field. I said to myself: that’s it, the free flight heaven! The air was calm and the propeller was windmilling in silence ahead of the engine. I was ready to meet the great creator (I can't believe what load of crap I could invent to make myself interesting!) to apathy, when I spotted an aircraft flying on a parallel course. It was a Wildcat returning to base. It had suffered some battle damage. I decided to escort him all the way back home. I flew beside the brave pilot and his wounded machine, providing moral support and protection until we reach friendly territory. Physical and mental fatigue took his toll, and the third mission will prove to be fatal for me. To escape from the closing “Wermacht”, we had to evacuate our base and move down South to safer ground. I took off and set course for our next home base. En route weather was good then, after a while, it deteriorated rapidly. Without warning, thick clouds started to form across the horizon. I was still far from my destination and I started to doubt I could find an alternate airbase. As minutes passed, I was surrounded by black clouds. I was attracted in a big swirl forming right ahead. I shoved the throttle forward (backwards... For French aircraft?) and kicked left rudder. Nothing happened. My plane did not respond to my inputs. I was about to be swallowed by this strange weather phenomena. Something unusual was 5 After a few minutes, I felt the gravity suddenly pulling me down and I had the acute sensation of falling. I was getting out of the “yogurt” not knowing exactly were I was nor how long I had been there. The petrol dial gauge was about to hit the zero mark. I was out of gas… hey.. I mean rubber... Failed to return from 2nd flight: 1.Dewoitine D520 2.Tempest II 3.P51A 4.Boulton-Paul Defiant Good guys: 4 down Bad guys: none I noticed a river and a P51D, who had to belly land, he too probably short of petrol, 100 meter short of the river. Clever decision, Chris! I continued downwind, hoping to fly over the river on my last fumes of gas, but in vain. A close row of tree was about to jump in my face. No time to think: I pulled the canopy release handle, rolled the airplane on his back and bailed out in a split second. The Harfang News & Chronicle On my way to earth, I watched my faithful arsenal crash in the deadly trees. I could not retrieve the airplane on time for the next and last mission. 4th and last flight result: 1st: Yak 3 2nd: P51D 3rd: G-55 dark green (holding wing with is right hand…) Missing in action 3rd flight: 1.P-63 Kingcobra 2.F4F Wildcat 3.Karakov R-10 4.Ta 152 5.VG-33, prisoner of a tree Good guys: 4 down Bad guys: 1 down When war was finally over, I learned what happened to my trusty wingman "wingnut", who disappeared in his Dewoitine D520 during that historic day. He had run his engine very lean and went over the channel to land in the middle of the next patch of grass known as Great Britain, probably a mile away from home base, setting a distance record. It is a remarkable achievement for a 16 “ wing span. He joined the Free French group, and carried on the fight for the next 4 years against the enemy. So it was the end of the battle for the French airplanes, outnumbered, defeated, but proud and convinced that victory was within reach. As Wingnut would say later in the officer’s mess, around a cold beer: “It is the first time I got eliminated of a mass launch because my airplane flew too well.” Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWjT4NNp4Vk&feature=related 6 Picture by Tom Hallman Editor's Note: A special Thanks to Chris Starleaf for making the extra-long trip from Chicago to be with us, and amaze all of us with his magnificent airplanes. Appendix: Rescue Mission behind the Enemy Lines I had barely enough time to bail out before the tree line, and while hanging from my parachute, I watched my airplane crash into the trees. To my astonishment, the rescue team was already there to pick me up. Talk about efficiency! The Harfang News & Chronicle I was anxious to find the airplane; I did not want this state of the art fighter to fall into enemy’s hands. by one inch diameter, both found on the spot. With the other end of the rope knotted around my wrist, I threw the and a rope long enough to reach the branch. I decided to go back to our base and organize a retrieval expedition. Stew Meyers lend me his retrieval kit (a 100gr dead weight plastic bottle (cap was on) acting as a life-buoy then pull gently toward our side of the river bank. Sound like a good plan, doesn’t it? After a five minutes search, I located it in a tree on the river bank, hanging propeller down from a branch, 10 meters (30 ft) right over the water. knew I would need special tools: a pole attached to a nylon string) and Wally Farell lend me his orange telescopic pole. I also grabbed a roll of duct tape from Ronny’s tool box. Back to the river, also known as the “English Channel”, accompanied by the Nallens (father & son) and Sue, the limo driver and life saver in her free time. Nobody knows... Sue could make a big difference if one of the rescuers accidentally ends in up the drink. We elected to use the string to pull and bend the branch over the river bank and free up my bird. After a couple of attempts, I managed to catch the right branch with the rope and before starting to pull, I asked Tom Nallen II to extend the telescopic poll to use it as a back-up just in case the airplane fell in the river. Tom was extending the pole when he noticed that the end cap was missing. We looked for it for 10 minutes, then eventually gave up. The darn thing must have fallen in the water! River: 1, Rescue Team: 0 This won’t be easy. The pole was too short anyway to reach either the plane in the branch or in the middle of the river. I needed another back-up system after it became obvious that a ditching would be inevitable. I cut half of the unused rope and duct-taped the end to an empty plastic bottle and a piece of dead branch 18 inch long 7 contraption in the middle of the stream to practice and to gauge how far I could reach. The idea was to cast it over the floating plane, with the So here we are, Tom is pulling on the branch and shaking it to free-up the airplane. I am 10 meter down stream, ready to catch my baby once in the water, if it floats. Will it? The Arsenal did an academic ditching, flat on her belly and it was coming toward my position. I threw the contraption and watched in horror… that stupid invention of mine, splash a few inches short of the fragile bird. The darn rope was too short and we watched with dismay the plane floating away down stream. In retrospect, if the rope had been 12 inches longer, the contraption would have landed directly on the airplane. Bushes on the river bank were too dense and prevented us to follow the fast floating plane… God knows for how long! So we rushed back to the road to follow it, and eventually we lost it after a minute of chase. Great, an OOS on water, sounds like a fisherman story! Tom Nallen II and Sue took the golf cart and went around to the other river bank. Tom Senior and I walked 100 yard downstream, as fast as possible, and I went down the river bank again, hoping for a miracle, and waited. Nothing… after 5 minutes… Still nothing. Was it gone by already? Did it become a submarine and pass unnoticed? Was it jammed somewhere? All those questions went through my mind. The Harfang News & Chronicle Tom and I started to walk up-stream, our four eyes scanning for floating debris. After a slow 30 yards battle against the bushes, we finally saw the plane on the opposite shore. We called the motorized team, and guided them toward our position. Tom II picked it up easily and brought it back to us, after another 5 minutes drive. I was holding the rescued plane “scratchless” by the belly radiator when a gust of wind blew it away and onto the golf While on the subject of this competition, I would like to say a very special Thank You to Chris Starleaf for having come from so far way.. It was an honor to fly with you. To be part of the next edition of this cool competition, you can contact the contest director, Tom Hallman at: [email protected] cart steering wheel. Water must have softened the glue stick joint between radiator and the belly. The resulting little tearout in the left wing, was the only damage directly related to my action. In conclusion, here is my advice: if your plane is floating away in the river, unless it is on the edge of Niagara falls, let it go until it reaches one of the banks. Thanks again to everybody involved in this rescue expedition. The Rescue Team, from right to left: Tom Nallen2, Tom Nallen, Sue Hook, and Luc Martin 8 The Harfang News & Chronicle The Duct-Tape Affair or, How to Field-Repair your Craft D (from the Internet) uring a private "fly-in" fishing excursion in the Alaskan wilderness, the chartered pilot and fishermen left a cooler and bait in the plane. And a bear smelled it. This is what he did to the plane. The pilot used his radio to call for help, and had another pilot bring him: •2 new tires, •3 cases of duct tape, •and a supply of sheet plastic • He patched the plane together, and flew it home!!! Believe it or not! 9 The Harfang News & Chronicle cave, and all fall in on top. Fate is clear China skies! Is nice. But, some saidink was work from Dick Knight and , O’Doul’s Dew drink it, Lothario Doyle was do diss. Vhat you t’ink? Maybe so, yas? Letters to the Editor Ronny Gasoline, Edior, Harfan (No « G ») Chronicle und Mail, Somewhere in Canada. All diss submit by Professor Ahyav Zhorbach, Chief Aerodynamiker, und Historikan from Slobovian Polyteknik Institude. 3/15/10 Dear Msr. Ronny, I just reading first of your publication. like hell. Is good You saidink one of four mystery planes is being “twin engine.” I t’inking it be # 1. But, I would dun’t call it twin engine. Is two engine ship, yas, but hafink two different motor. The craft, name dun’t know it, is power by Pratt and Whiskey round enchine up front. Is got Rapier Sable “X” steam cool enchine behind, so make it abundance of radiator put it here and there. All diss power was go to gearbox drivink contra-props, t’inkink for to be made by Hamstrung Stranded. Two Moss patent superchargits, one diss side, ‘nudder one udder site, give it big speed and high service ceiling. Is be said dat all flight surfaces, strong like bull, was take it from Vultee Vengeance dive bombers stold it by Japanese sympatizers from order for goink England by Leand Lease. Diss cobble togedder craft was operate by unfamous Panther Squadron. Diss bad guys fly against Flying Tigers in China-Burma-India zone. Secret base was t’inkink for to be in India. You remember it, General Stillwell was criticize because he walking out from Burma after defeat dere. All peoples was said it he should fly out so he fast regroup forces. But, peoples dun’t know it, he get order from White House for to walk out through India for maybe find it Panther Squadron base. He was lookin’ good, but dun’t find it.! Quick like hell, all Panther not seen no more! Maybe, like all bad guy, have it secret hangar in big 10 The Harfang News & Chronicle How to translate from a foreign language? by Ronny G. How do you translate from unknown languages??? One cool thing about the internet is that a 5 minutes search on an aircraft will generally give you 5 hours of reading… Problem is, the internet includes the entire world, and different languages are in there. I love finding a weird web site somewhere and learning new stuff. I am reputed for being a guy that likes to “look at the picture” but knowing what is said in the text is also fun. It usually includes the history, color, etc. I often get asked by friends to translate stuff from a French text, which is fun, and I urge people to still do it to get a “real” translation, but for those “on the fly” translations, try using the “Google translation” on the internet. Just go here : http://translate.google.com/# ... and do a “copy and paste” of your text in the box . Select auto language selection (sometime it not easy guessing what language it is), and it automatically will give you a “ruff” translation that is usually close enough to get the idea of the text. Try it you will love it. Broaden your horizons! You will not be disappointed! Have fun! It may save you from making another Piper Cub or Mustang... Lt Ronny Gosselin Letters to the Editor - Translation THE PINKHAM FIELD IRREGULARS SQUADRON 22, FLYING ACES CLUB 4304 MADISON AVENUE TRUMBULL, CT 06611 3/16/10 Editor, Harfan Chronicle and Mail Somewhere in Canada. I just received your wonderful publication, for which I thank you from the bottom of my fuel pump. I haven't enjoyed anything like it since ihe heyday of Flying Aces magazine. I was taken by your mystery plane quiz, and offer this identification for #1. You indicate that one of the four mystery planes is "a twin engine." I believe it to be #1. But, I would hardly call it a twin engine. It is, in reality, a two engine ship. The following details will make this clear. The craft, name unknown, is powered by a Pratt and Whiskey radial engine up front. A Rapier Sable "X" steam cooled engine is behind it, hence the abundance of radiators placed here and there. Their combined power was transferred to a gearbox driving contra-props believed to be manufactured by Hamstrung Stranded. Two Moss patent superchargers, one on either side, gave this fighter/bomber great speed and a high service ceiling. It is said that all the flight surfaces were taken from Vultee Vengeance dive bombers purloined by Japanese sympathizers from an order bound for England as part of the Lend Lease program. This cobbled together craft was operated by the infamous Panther Squadron. These dastardly bunch pit their might against the Flying Tigers in the China-Burma-lndia Theater. 11 The Harfang News & Chronicle The location of their secret base was thought to be in India. You will recall that General Joe Stilwell was criticized for walking out after the his defeat in Burma. Popular opinion was that he should have flown out in order to quickly regroup his forces. This criticism was unfounded, for General Joe under direct orders from the White House, actually took a route through India to conduct a thorough search for the Panther Squadron base. lt was never found! It may have been, that like all bases of such organizations, their secret hangar was in an underground cave which collapsed on them, thus ridding Chinese skies of this terrible plague. Could their end be attributed to the covert and final action of Dick Night and his O'Doul's Dew guzzling sidekick, Lothario Doyle? Respectfully offered by Chief Aerodynamicist, and Historian, Professor Ahyav Zhorback, of the Slobovian Polytechnic Institute. in providing me with copies of the plans that were lost when I lost my documentation coming over to Geneseo. To Duco Guru for being the Guru and all his great advice and knowledge. To EZ built Dave for making me buy more than I should have and to all the other vendors, particularly Shorty's Basement for her patience and understanding. To the Harfang crowd that are now officially my brothers! You guys are an inspiration!. To Joshua for outstanding models and performance. To Diane for the dance. To the lovely Juanita for putting up with big dumb Aussies! To Pres Brunning for just being the "Pres" and to Gizmo for making quality parts for modellers that make all things go so well. To Pete for his absolute unselfish gesture. To Geoff and Matt for putting up with my BS in the tent next to me!!! Good on ya! And to Vance! You da man! Great entertainment. If I have missed anyone please accept my apology but you are there in The aboye has been translated from the Slobovian language by Parker Brothers, manufacturers of "Scrabble" and other games. Letters to the Editor, from Australia By Maurice Special Thanks from Australia! I would like to thank FAC and all its members for staging such a wonderful event. In particular Ross and the Headquarters crew for the huge effort they put in. To the Hunters for their that wonderful memory that makes FAC G town to premiers event. See you all again in two years. Cheers Maurice Editor's Note: Maurice is from Brisbane Australia… Thank You Maurice for being one of "US" and travelling the globe to join in the fun!) kidnapping me and showing me around. Also to Jim and his lovely wife for all their help and friendship. To Paul for Guillows cockpit assistance and to Dave Diels for his kindness 12 The Harfang News & Chronicle Letters to the Editor From Russ Brown 13 The Harfang News & Chronicle Product Review I would like to mention some products I bought in the lasts months that I really liked. First, I tried the newly formed company by Alan Cohen “Hobby Specialties”. I ordered a couple of big props for a jumbo aircraft. The result is very good. After talking with Alan about pitch and diameter, we agreed on a size. Two weeks later, I got my props, made out of balsa. Very good, very light, very inexpensive… everything you could want in a prop! So I highly recommend these props. The time I do not spend doing props, I can spend it doing other airplanes! Alan also sells aluminised “Ziplocs” bag for storing rubber. After trying them out, I love them. They takes a lot less space than the cardboard boxes. In them, rubber has NO contact with light and air... and they are a lot easier to bring out on the field, without worrying about “burning “ them in the sun... I also need to point out that I actually bought all of these items, and that I am making these statements based solely on my opinion... meaning nobody is bribing me to push these product!!! Thanks guys for making these available to our small community, it’s a real gift of love. Ronny Gosselin Aircraft Selection Build a S.L.O.W. racer for the next non-Nats!!! Here is some ideas for you guys that want to build a SLOW racer and are missing some inspiration... Get building, Gentlemen! FOR THE POOR FLYER: Alan sell lots of other goodies. Off course, Alan is THE master for making spoke wheels, the quality is simply mind boggling!!! Go check it out.: http://hobbyspecialties.com/index.php I also would like to mention a kit I bought from “Shorty’s Basement”. The newest kit they offer, a Goodyear Racer “Ole Tiger” is all laser-cut,including beautiful laser-cut Japanese paper letters and some decals for the smaller details. Everything in the kit is top notch. I did not assemble it yet, but it is clear that all of the kits they produce are for the serious FACers. Other goodies are checkered Japanese tissue bearing,and countless others. Please visit their web site here: http://www.shortysbasement.com/ Both companies offer secure payment through the Internet. A real time-saver, if you ask me! 14 The Harfang News & Chronicle FOR THE COMPLICATED FLYER: FOR THOSE THAT THINK THE Y WON'T CROSS THE CHANNEL: FOR THE “ELEGANT” FLYER : FOR THE FLYER THAT DOES NO T HAVE A LOT OF RUBBER: I will see you on the launching line! 15 Lt Ronny Gosselin The Harfang News & Chronicle Of Winders and Tripods... I by Ronny G. often get asked what the best winder is. Personally, the one I like the best is the Gizmo Geezer (it will wind Dime Scale to Jumbo with ease). I have the really cool torque meter on it, but I do not think is necessary unless you are super serious about rubber... I am not! Now about the Winding Stooges. I would like to share with you the info I gathered when I was looking to make myself a good Winding Stooge. There are basically two kinds. The Pole and guy-wire type, and the type built from a tripod. Of course, it is only one guy’s opinion, but I did talk to a lot of people about it, and built a couple different ones. The best one I found so far is an old tripod with an adapter to hold the Advantages of tripod stooge: • Collapsible in a smaller, easier to transport volume • Only one “spike” to drive. I was told to use an old screwdriver (works great by hand or foot, most of the time, and if difficult to drive in, you can always hit it with a hammer (or your friend’s cell phone) • Your spike cannot slip because it is inserted in a metal hole at the end of one the legs • The spike is attached directly to the tripod with Velcro for easy transport and is secured with a string to make sure it does not get lost • • No tensioning of the cables needed Bigger volume to “see” and not trip over when the stooge is open (I would suggest going one step further and spray paint it dayglow orange) Stooge made from an old telescope tripod. Notice there is only an old screwdriver in the back leg. The only modification required is to screw a metal bracket to the "back" leg to insert the screwdriver in the ground. I also attach the screwdriver with an orange rope to the stooge, some velcro makes it secure for travelling. Of course, you will need to "wiggle" the soft foam pad to hold the nose of the airplane. model. Personally, I do not like the ground-level model; it would just hurt my back. Have lots of hooks on your stooge for braiding motors, and for hanging other people’s winders. I suggest that those who want to make one do first a search on SFA or Hippocket. Disadvantages of the pole and three guy wires stooge: • Wires get tripped over Wires do not get stored without making a mess • If you have hard ground or you hit a rock, getting the • spike in the ground is not easy, and you have to do it three times... Your spikes always get dirty... For transport, you always have a long pole to store and • • lug around 16 All tripods come with a 1/4-20 pitch screw that you can use to attach several special holders, e.g. for you multi-engine, etc. Easy to transform a photo tripod into a stooge. Most people have one laying around, or they are easy to find at a garage sale, for very little money. The Harfang News & Chronicle The only modification needed to the tripod is to bolt a metal strap to the end of one the legs for spiking the stooge to the ground. This will not prevent you from using it to take pictures! And now for the part that holds the airplanes: One block of wood, a little wider than your plane motor peg, drilled and tapped for the tripod screw, and two pieces (sidewalls) of ply, high enough to keep the tail of your plane clear of the support block, and you are all set. Drill several sets of two holes at different height from the bottom wood block, and insert piano wire through the holes in the ply sheets and your aluminum-tubing rear peg to secure Not all stooges are made equal... The best one is bringing a friend/older folk/neighbor/children to hold the airplanes for you!!! It may cost you a couple of hot dogs on the way back, but for sure it is "the best". Mystery Planes #1 - Answers Here are the answers from the first HC&M issue. #1 the airplane to the stooge. Make sure that your tripod is anchored solidly in the ground before you start winding your killerblurrace entry, or you will meet your own aircraft head-on! Personally I prefer the “Stott” way. He uses two brass tubes that encase the rear peg (which can be aluminum tubing, a toothpick, or a solid dowel). If you use the two brass tubes method, you must ensure that you have sufficient friction between the tubes and the ply sidewalls to provide sufficient holding force. With the brass tubes, you can still use a steel wire for those offbeat airplanes with a hollow peg. Skyly J 2, from the manga “Skycrawler” (The Teacher) Homemade tripod, with sliding tube and hinge 17 The Harfang News & Chronicle #2 #3 Stark A.S.20, Regnier 4D2 engine, 74hp Top Speed 142 mph, 24,500 ft ceiling (Flight, September 30th, 1943, p.362) Kaczka (The Duck) Glider built by the Polish Gliding Research Institute (Flight, 28 March 1958, p.437) 18 The Harfang News & Chronicle #4 #5 The six passengers SNCASO 7010 Pegase Using two V-8 engines assembl ed in an X con figuration (Flight, November 21st, 1946, p.558) Quénaud Biplane. 238 Km/h with 35 hp? 19 The Harfang News & Chronicle Mystery Planes #2 #3 #1 #4 #2 20 The Harfang News & Chronicle Flash News In The Next Issue... Archeological News: New unknown hieroglyphs found in an ancient Egyptian king Tooten-Navion: If you read this far, you must be a hopeless case, and may be actually looking for more! Fear not, in the next Harfang Chronicle & Mail, you will find: Dime scale Dreadnought Must see airplane movies Piaggio P.119 part2 French Lessons: e.g. How to properly say “Latécoère”, (“Lah-tay-cooh-hair”) ... and much much more... Happy Flights and Happy Landings to you all! The archaeologists were unable to find a meaning for this sign. The HC&M Staff Readers help welcome. Great News: L.K.A.F spokesman officially declared: “The P-51 Mustang is no longer an endangered species. Modeler community is invited to save all their spring energy for modeling rare birds and prevent them to fall into oblivion.” A message from the Lesser Known Airplane Foundation. The End Wanted Add: I Would exchange my collection of ubiquitous high winger plan (Piper Cub, Porterfield, and Cessna look-alike) against one single “never modeled before” subject. Lt. Luc Martin 21 The Harfang News & Chronicle