Monday, June 16, 2008 – 7:10 am
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 the best job a photographer could ask for, he worked for Kodak. His planes were always perfect.
When I asked for material I offered to send each contributor a copy of the book when it came out. In the flush of publishing the first edition I forgot a few people, some of whom reminded me and some who didn’t. As this third printing came out I received a note from Bob letting me know that he was one of the forgotten ones. He’d purchased a copy back in the day, loaned it out and never saw it again – it happened to many. I sent him a copy of this latest printing and received the following email (it made my day):
Ron,
With an apology for this tardy reply, I want to thank you very much for the
copy of your book on indoor (which arrived safely several weeks ago). It was
like seeing an old friend again after an absence of some years, or perhaps a
time capsule of indoor material from an earlier generation. You did lots of
good by bringing out this new printing, and I hope sales are going well.
Regards,
Bob
Friday, June 13, 2008 – 6:33 pm
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 dry. His wife, Georgia, accompanied him to all the flying events. Many compared the two of them to movie stars, Humphrey Bogart and Lana Turner.
Pete was a brilliant builder and even cagier flier. He had ways of making problems that most would solve with mechanical means disappear with the manipulation of the properties of the materials that made up a plane. The adjustment of the weight and dimensions of the balsa, the arrangement and tensions in rigging accomplished a completely coordinated flight that took advantage of the space, the rubber and the weather. Though a group of his planes might seem identical, there were often subtle differences invisible to even the expert eye. Each plane had just the qualities he needed to make his competition flying consistently great. It’s a shame some people can’t live forever.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008 – 1:48 pm
If you think Building & Flying Indoor Model Airplanes is worth telling others about, would you please provide a link to this site or to the main book’s website so that it can be found more easily on the web? We need all the help we can get getting the word out on this third printing. Thanks!
By the way, here’s a site in Japan linking to us. Read Japanese?
Wednesday, June 11, 2008 – 11:51 am
So far you can buy the book from AerocraftRC, Carstens Publications (Flying Models Magazine), Peck Polymers and the National Free Flight Society. We were hoping Nats attendees could pick up a copy at the Museum Store but the AMA was unable to order in time. If you know of some other places that should be carrying Building & Flying Indoor Model Airplanes , please let us know and we’ll get in touch with them. Thanks!
Saturday, June 7, 2008 – 5:10 pm
Max Zaluska, a young modeler and indoor flyer has a photo album on Webshots. Some of his pictures are the clearest and most informative I’ve seen. The shots of planes being built and flying at Lakehurst’s Hangar One are exceptional. There’s a great one of Ray Harlan flying a Pennyplane out of one of the “blue cabins”. On the opening page of each of the albums in his photo-blog there is a button for a slide show on the right side of the screen – it’s not easy to find but is the best way to view his pictures. Moving the cursor to the bottom of the picture opens viewing controls.
