It seems every time I felt better, The cancer would come back with a vengeance.
My red blood cell and platelet levels got so low the emergency room would not let me leave without a fresh transfusion.
My transfusion intervals have gone from every nine months to every few days.
So back to Boston I went. New specialist, new look at the problem.

Guess what? I'm missing gene number C7. that gene tells the bone marrow to produce blood.
I start a new regime next week to bypass C7. If that works, great. If not, then it's bone marrow transplant time.
If the Drs can get the blood levels up, I'll have some energy and then they can go after the cancer again.

Well I'm still here and doing better. People with aggressive stage three myloma have an average life span of 29 months, I'm now at 31 months and feeling better.
I had a couple more close calls but the new chemo cocktail seems to be working.

I actually feel like building again, all I have to do is clean out the shop.
Lets see what I decide to build.

I've had very little energy and I haven't glued anything together for a while now.
I've sold off most of my larger kits, I guess it's time for the smaller ones too.
I actually feel good, just walking 50 feet or more is out of the question.
Had another treatment yesterday, cancer proteins are up again, looks like I'll have to take another chemo drug .
Things would be a lot more tolerable if I felt like building something.

I'm still here, had a few close ones last month but the Daratumumab seems to be working. Cancer proteins are lower and blood levels look like they are climbing again. All I need now is some strength and endurance.

Well it's October and I'm still here. The chemo kept dropping my blood count to dangerous levels.The docs are trying something new, interferon. Interferon is steroid based not chemo based.
The interferon, I've had two treatments and it seems not to affect the blood counts and is attacking the cancer cells. The docs plan to add chemo when I stabilize and the two treatments together have an 80 per cent success rate.
Not out of the woods yet, but some hope.

A few years ago I built a scale Shoestring racer from the plans my friend used to build the full sized one I used to fly.
here's some pictures of the construction....Continue Reading

Well it's September and I'm still here. The docs are trying to get the right dose of chemo to kill the cancer and not kill me. So Far so good.
So a few years back I thought I needed a specialized airplane to test suspect receivers. So I built a lightweight sport design to test the equipment.
One of my friends named it the Pocket Rocket and a dozen or so people built one.
He built one and did a build log too:
http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/show...=pocket+rocket

I went crazy trying to keep the weight off, flying weight is only 12 ounces.
I used the rudder hinge for the tailwheel mount. it worked.
The picture with the large 3d plane was on a very windy day.The large plane was the only one that wouldn't blow away. The Rocket flew fine.

Build log: https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=621877

Here's some pictures....Continue Reading

A few years back I decided to build another Trainermaster but this time electrified.
Here's some pictures.
I couldn't find a set of plans but I had a box of ribs so I decided to make it by memory. It helps that I used to work for the company.
E Flite 25 4 cell pack and Spektrum equipment and it flies great.
More power than any of my old ones.

...Continue Reading

I started building a Aamco Sportmaster for a friend, he wanted a few changes.
List of changes:
1. Fuselage widened, ( new formers new forward sheeting).
2. New fuselage sides and doublers. 1/8 ply was used as a doubler from the trailing edge forward.
Coupled with the one quarter inch wider formers this gave one half inch more room inside.
3. Built up stabilizer. 1/4 x 1/4 spruce spar added.
4. Built up and larger rudder
5. Elevators built up and larger.
6. Changed landing gear from trike to conventional.
7. Wing mounted by dowels and nylon bolts. 6-32 nylon bolts.
8. Hatch for fuel tank access.
9. Firewall moved rearward to help control CG with OS 95 engine.
10. Dual aileron servos.

All covered now and equipment in, minus aileron servos.... tomorrow.

It's done, ready to fly....maybe today.
Done , delivered and flown. flew great.

Next week I hope to start on the Pursuit.
Here's a few pictures....Continue Reading

A few years ago I was cleaning up and I found a set of plans for the Taurus.
I took them to Staples and had them shrunk to 70 per cent.
Believe it or not, it only took a little over one week from start to finish.
Just under 2 pounds. 480 sized motor.


The Taurus flies great. I did a build log on another site:
http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19864...Continue Reading

My friend crashed his Shoestring, I volunteered to fix it.
I said anything can be fixed, we'll see....Continue Reading

Earhl Stahl Hurricane... sort of
A while back a friend of mine asked me to build a Hurricane, I said i would if he did too.
Here's the build thread of the two Hurricanes.
http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30784...Continue Reading

My dads P-38, I was told I loved to spin the props.
Now I fly only electric so I don't have spin the props anymore.
My dads hobby shop. When it closed I got to build all the unsold kits when I was old enough.
My grandfather and I at the hobby shop. What could be better than to have your dad own a hobby shop?

My first glow plane. Was tether controlled. You held a piece of wood with a piece of string attached to it and the gyroplane attached to the string.
No up or down, you just raised your arm. I was so short I couldn't raise my arm much, so the plane flew relatively stable the whole flight.
My dad also had a J-4 cub coupe too.
I was about 4 when fifth picture was taken. Electric guys think they invented tape for repairs. this was 1952.

1953 or 54 My dad , sister and I with the Bootstraps. I would get this plane once equipment got more reliable.
1962 my cousin with the Bootstraps and I with the Roaring20, no throttle control, every landing was dead stick.
I landed the Roaring 20 under a cow once....only once. Hit a lots of cow pies . Funny now, wasn't then.

In 1968 I soloed a 172. It was a bit anticlimactic, I first flew in my dad"s J-4 in 1952. Hung around airports ever since.
Now retired from flying and instructing just a little over 20,000 hours.
It was a good run.

My girl friend and one of my Sportmasters, 1969.
My Trainermaster landing on the grass,after record trial speed run.
Trainermaster with Fox 60, way overpowered. The wing is a...Continue Reading

I've been collecting kits for quite some time, only kits that I wanted and planned on building.

I just came across these pictures from a few years ago. I actually have a few more now.
I guess it's probably time to sell some.

I have more upstairs too.
Thanks people for buying a bunch of the old kits, it will be easier cleaning up now.

...Continue Reading

Here's a couple of pictures of my electric Aeromaster before I flew in front of some trees. I was doing some low altitude rolls when it disappeared.
I finally got around to repairing it, and it's almost done. The only change is the larger tail.

And the color will be changed, no more green. My eyes are too old....Continue Reading

Aeronca 52s build log of the Live Wire Trainer:
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show....php?t=2516426

Just in case someone is actually reading these blogs...

I'm recovering from Multiple Myeloma and I don't think I can handle some of the people here.
Multiple Myeloma does not have a cure yet, but it is somewhat treatable.
Survival rates are varied depending on the source ,anywhere from 29 months to10 years. If you are under 50, I am not.
I think it's time to take a vacation from here. I've found I have little to no patience while on the meds.

Well it's August 2016, 24 months since I was diagnosed, the cancer is back.
The docs say they have four new drugs that are approved.
My biggest problem is since the stem cell transplant, my blood cell count hasn't improve enough to get above severely anemic.
the last chemo drugs lowered my cell count, hopefully the next drugs won't lower the count too much.
if I'm still around, I'll try to post something in September and subsequent months.
If there is nothing for two months...

Aeromaster
The Aeromaster was designed by Lou Andrews and manufactured by his company, Aamco, Andrews Aircraft Model Company.
The first kits produced by Aamco were the S-Ray and H-Ray. S -Ray Shoulder wing, and H-Ray high wing.These two planes shared the same wing and tail and about 90 per cent of the fuselage pieces.
The S -Ray was listed as the first kit because it was to be the basis for three other airframes, H-Ray, L-Ray and Bi-Ray. The L-Ray had the fuselage mocked up and the Bi-Ray never went beyond an idea.

The H& S Rays sold well and were great planes but the H-Ray sold three or four times as many as the S Ray.
The added equipment space the H-Ray had over the S Ray made all the difference with the old large reed equipment servos. A few ideas were tried to increase the servo area on the L Ray, added wing saddles raised turtle deck among a few ideas that were tossed around. The Bi Ray was to be an L Ray with an additional wing on top .

Around 1964 one of the guys in the flying group ,Pete Zakoyian, had built a Bolero biplane, it flew more like a pattern airplane than a biplane. The plane flew fine but had a high wing loading and large loops or vertical climbs weren't something it was comfortable with. One of the other guys in the group, Ernie Huber wanted something better he and Lou tossed around new ideas for a new biplane.

The idea of wing saddles on the bottom of the Box Loks re emerged from the L Ray and soon grew to make a larger biplane....Continue Reading

Here's a a couple of pictures of a Goldberg Falcon I just finished, along with the one I had in 1963. Picture is spring 1964 still hadn't flown yet.
Home made reed equipment and K&B .19.
New one is electric, E Flite 25 and Spektrum equipment.
Also ailerons.

A few years ago I bought a lot of kits from a gentleman that was getting out of the hobby.
With the kits was a partially built Little Stick he gave me.
I was never a fan of the Sticks so I just put this away with a few other airplanes that I thought I would never build.
I came across a build thread by Balsabird on an Ugly Stick. After reading the thread I decided I'd have a stab at getting my Little Stick finished.

The wing was started, well at least the ribs were attached to the leading and trailing edges. It was also covered in some brown stuff that really made the parts look awful. 40 years of collecting dust had transformed the wood to something you didn't want to touch for fear of catching the Gleep or something.

Some cleaning and sheeting and it started looking better.
Next the fuselage, what an easy plane to build.

Because the wood is so dried out I gave the plane a couple coats of clear dope. All the woodwork is done, the airplane minus the motor and covering weighs 29 ounces. if I can keep it under 3 pounds I'll be happy.

Here's some pictures.

It's funny how the flash makes all the variations in color show up. You can't see that when you're actually holding the plane.

The trailing edge sheeting is only 1/16 balsa and is unsupported, so I added 1/16 webbing between the sheets to keep my hands from breaking the sheets after the plane is done.

I think it will be a little heavier than the target 3 pounds. Up to 37 ounces before covering.

...Continue Reading

My buddy stuffed another one in. Doesn't look too bad, until you look close and squeeze the structure. The lite plywood frame delaminated and shattered like glass.

I replaced the wing and tail on this a couple years ago, but because this plane got a lot of flight time, the on off switch actually wore and failed.
End result is it ended up on my workbench.

I went to my box of Pulse parts and traced a fuselage side onto 1/8 balsa and some 3/32 inch plywood for a doubler. New sides, some old formers and some new pieces and the Pulse is almost ready for a new stab at life....Continue Reading