I launched a build log for the Jr's Pride over on the Vintage and Old Tiner forum, and it's really been jogging memories and grabbing people's attention, so I though I'd put it out here too.

Jr's Pride was published as a plan and construction article in American Aircraft Modeler Magazine back in 1973 as part of their "For the Tenderfoot" series. The model was designed by Herb Clukey, a well-known name in the world of free flight at the time and at one point the owner of Flyline Models.

Jr's Pride struck a chord with me as a young kid and apparently had the same effect on a bunch of other fellows as well. Several guys are making noise about building one for themselves. The design has been successfully scaled-up and there is talk of an RC version. More than one person has considered the use of foam for construction. Possibilities upon possibilities await exploration.

So if you're stuck at home or need something to do this weekend, here you go. Have fun.

1. Link to my build log ( I'm just getting started.

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...r#post51972099

2. Link to plan and construction article on Outerzone.

https://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=2726

3. Link to prior RCG thread featuring 200% scaled, 30" span Jr's Pride

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...s-Pride-Glider

Photo and plan thumbnail credits to Outerzone.

Thought I would perhaps briefly revive my long-dormant RCG blog with a simple post and a single image that possibly appeared in one of Bill Hannan's columns long ago.

If you could use a little bit of serenity in your life, google the name "Sherman Gillespie," grab some tissue and a few sticks of balsa and have a looksee at the Vintage and Old Timer forum here:
https://www.rcgroups.com/vintage-and...r-designs-209/

While you're at it, check out the Flying Aces Club. Back issues of their long-running newsletter here:
http://flyingacesclub.com/wp/about-t...s-back-issues/

A great source of kits, supplies, accessories and even current/recent issues of Aeromodeller magazine from the U.K. is Peck Polymers. You can peruse their offerings here:
https://www.wind-it-up.com

Folks, an unprecedented 43 models have been completed as part of the 50 + build off for designs kitted/published at least 50 years ago. So many beautiful hand-crafted models to choose from. Please take a moment to visit our activity on the Vintage and Old Timer forum and cast your votes for the top 5 models.

Just follow the link:

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show....php?t=2750329

Special thanks and credit to Sundancer for administering the build offs and to WMD and the outerzone site for making so many plans available at the click of a button, and to the fantastic group of modeler builders from around the world that have produced some really beautiful, diverse, and high caliber work. Model building is alive and well!

Sal Taibi design. Cool old kit. Printwood and diecut. Don't make 'em like this much anymore.

Geez. I guess I should update my blog - it's been almost a year, and the Super Sniffer and Drifter II previously featured got set aside for other projects.

Meanwhile, I have really enjoyed "hanging out" on the Vintage and Old Timer forum over the last year or so and engaging with model builders from all over the country plus the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, etc...

Current projects include an Eric Clutton Sharkface, a really obscure Gibbs Mayfly, and the original small Midwest Sniffer. The Mayfly looked so homely after frame-up that I almost tossed it. Instead, I deviated from the original plans with some cosmetic changes and renamed it the "Junebug."

After a lifetime (50 years) in the hobby, lots of changes seem to be in the air at once: FAA registration and maybe more regs to come on our once freely enjoyed hobby plus noise restrictions cropping up, etc... I have begun trending back towards smaller < 48" vintage and old timers and now primarily for electric power with the option for quick change to glow for trips out in the country where I can make some noise. I have also decided it's high time to get out of the collecting end of the hobby and have been thinning the herd but keeping some of my favorite engines 'cause I just love 'em - love to run them just for fun when I can, but of course that is getting harder and harder to do as the world around me continues to get swallowed by development.

In the interest of...Continue Reading

24 hour progress report. Worked out the basic location of all the equipment then installed pushrod tubes and finished sheeting the rear and top of the fuselage. Bent and rough cut the landing gear, will trim the legs to final length once I select wheels. Drilled the firewall for the motor mount. Installed blind nuts. Finished covering the wing and stab. Started cutting the elevator. Jim O'Reilly engineered a clever design for the center section of the elevator on this RC-assist version of the Super Sniffer that assures clearance for the stab mount, allows for a removable tail assembly yet retains the appearance of the original Midwest free flight. I have marked all the lines in pencil but have not completed the cuts. Not much new to show by way of pictures yet, I notice the coverlite synthetic tissue appears opaque in photograph. It is actually reasonably transparent in the light, my preference for any vintage model, and I think a couple of thin coats of clear dope will aid translucency. Hope to finish the fuselage including equipment install over the rest of the long weekend

The Memorial Day long weekend is at hand, and I am itching to see a finished model. Along with a rekindled interest in gliders, I have become interested in electric power again, as it has been a number of years since my first exploration into the dark side, and to that end I have been following electric developments with SAM oldtimer flying and NFFS nostalgia and E-36 events with growing interest.

For sport and thermal flying, I have waiting in the wings a Holman/O'Reilly replica Super Sniffer that I will say is about 2/3 maybe 3/4 complete. I have most if not all needed supplies on hand. I have the aforementioned long weekend at my disposal.....

Hmm..... Wonder how much I can get done?

Great video. Appears to be footage from the 1984 NATS? Free flight and SAM RC flying. Lots of cabin models and ignition engines.

Old Timers Flying Model Aircraft 1984 Classic (35 min 45 sec)

If the creator is on this forum, job well done.

Been meaning to update the blog again. Progress on the Drifter II. Fuselage and tail feathers framed up and partially sanded. Have not started the wing yet. Couldn't stay away from the vintage power models and have been working on a couple I started last fall, including an RCM/ Hobby Shack Real Thing from the early seventies for OS .10 power.

Always dreaming of the next project. Have been taking a look at the Junior 60 and launched a thread in the Vintage/Old Time forum.. Have also long admired John Tatone's Frisco Kid and received a quick favorable request for plans, same forum. I think the. Frisco Kid will make a great nostalgia model with rc assist and should make for a simple, straightforward project with constant chord wing and stab.

Will end with a couple of photos....

Let's see if I can revive my dormant blog. After years of fooling around with old timers, I got the sailplane bug again. I'm a builder, and I like wood, and flying season is coming, so here we go:

Starting with an old Craft Air Drifter II, a 72" floater for lazy afternoons and gentle breezes. Never built or flew one of these back in the day. Recently bumbled onto an original kit in excellent condition with good wood.

Day 1 session 1. Sketched some options to eliminate the balanced rudder then built what looked about right.

While making progress on my build for BBCC 2, which you can follow here....

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show....php?t=1860600

....I snapped a a of shot of the building and sometimes fixing table that I work from out in the garage - I mean "shop" - when the termperature is agreeable. My favorite neighbor has a big screen tv and a couch in his garage, along with lots of sports memorabilia, oh, and a Harley too, but I've got airplanes.

It's busy and a little small at 30" x 48", but I like it. I've got two layers of shelves above the pegboards that don't show. Plan to add a second workbench next year when the weather gets cold again, that way I can have one table for building things and another table for fixing the things I built.

BBCC 2 -- 2nd Balsa Builders Conversion Contest
Announcing "BBCC 2", the 2nd Balsa Builders Conversion Contest Thread

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show....php?t=1842080

Goal: Build and fly a radio controlled model aircraft, constructed predominantly of balsa, based upon a kit or plans not originally designed for radio control.

Contest Announcement:.....01 MAR 2013
Formal Contest Start:.....01 APR 2013
Entries Close:............30 APR 2013
Contest Ends:.............31 AUG 2013
Polling Ends:.............30 SEP 2013


Just what I need - the excuse to start another build. Maybe the "pressure" of a deadline will spur me along. I'm narrowing down and mulling over three possible choices for the build/conversion:

1: Goldberg Blazer 1/2a free flight to RC
2: Kerswap old time free flight to RC
3: Consolidated "Wow" control line combat to RC

Gotta make the final decision in the next day or so to start getting set up for the April 1 start. This should be a fun addition to the spring/summer. Looking forward to getting to know the other guys in the contest and to seeing what everybody else builds....

There's something about model airplanes hanging from the ceiling. For starters, the thought brings back old memories of my dad's garage and the variety of models he used to have hanging from the ceiling. But I also think of the hobby shops of yore, the places my dad took me into when I was a boy, wide-eyed and full of wonder. I remember in particular Art's in Jacksonville, Fl, the Decatur Speedway (I think that is what it was called) located in what used to be the tiny town of Decatur, Georgia, and a little place called the Crafter's Corner that was located in my hometown up until 1978 or so. Those were the hobby shops of my childhood, and they all always had a bunch of model airplanes of every type, free flight, control line and rc, hanging from the ceiling. I always looked forward to excursions to those places, and few things made me happier as a boy when I was "surprised" with a trip to look around a hobby shop. Once inside, I was always looking up, awed by the colorful display that was hanging above me, dreaming and imagining, wishing i could take this or that home with me....

Fast forward to young adulthood, and I think of Randy's, the hobby shop where I worked for a time in the late 80's/early 90's as also having a ceiling well stocked, not only with built planes for sale or display but also rc helicopters and large rockets. I got to know the guys that built the models, and the stories behind them. But the hobby was changing - many of the models on...Continue Reading