Why is this young man smiling? What he’s done is build the structure in his hands to a weight equal to about the same weight as one and a third dollar bills. Moving that structure means relearning how to move, how to walk because the slightest mismove, moving just a bit too fast, can damage [...]
Max’s HLS in 2007, originally uploaded by ronwfoto. I’ve edited Max’s email about flying the Hand Launched Stick a bit: “Now I have built a new wing covered with microfilm which will soon be followed by a new stab covered in microfilm as well. The model weighs around 1.35g and I have only flown good [...]
J.KGN.HLS.JUN08, originally uploaded by ronwfoto. When discussing indoor with interested modelers, the question I hear most often is “What’s the record for the longest flight?” Planes that are uncategorized are called HLS or Hand Launched Stick(s), a generic term. In this case it describes a plane built for maximum time aloft record attempts. John holds [...]
Bob Clemens launching his Sorcerer, originally uploaded by ronwfoto. Here’s a nice story. In the late seventies when I was collecting material for my book I asked many modelers for photos and other material to give the book some substance. I was a long time admirer of Bob Clemens’ photographs of his models. Bob had [...]
Pete Andrews in 1972 at Cardington, originally uploaded by ronwfoto. Pete Andrews was one of my (and many other’s) mentors in Indoor. A man of few words, one wag said he had built in asymmetry (due to a childhood polio deformation of one shoulder). He had a great sense of humor but it was desert [...]