Flying Aces Club - Hip Pocket Aeronautics

Flying Aces ClubJoin the fun, join the Flying Aces!Please send $18 for U.S. members, $25 for Canadians, and $30for overseas, for a one-year membership, to:

Flying Aces ClubGeneral Headquarters (GHQ) c/o: Ross Mayo C.inC.4207 Crosswinds DriveERIE, PA 16506 - U.S.A.

The Harfang News & Chronicle2

Keep the letters coming, and there is more eternal fame towin.

And remember:Have fun flying, and forget about good nose moment andhuge surface area, go for the Oho OHohohhh AAAAHHAHAAAAaaaa category.

Think of Chris Starleaf with is amazing B47, or Greg Westpioneer, pusher, canard, biplane thing… a FaireyAerodyne… or Vance's Skroback…

Ronny Squadron Leader FAC 71

[email protected]

Editorialby Ronny Gosselin

Hi! To all low and hi flyers!It is with great pleasure that we finally got to the secondedition of the Harfang Chronical and mail. This Chronicle isfree, and you are welcome to print it, give it away, or re-distribute it through email.

After reading the dozens of letters sent to your editor, I ampublishing the two most interesting ones. The first, fromthe famous Zorbach (the pilot that fear itself fears...) andthe other from our friend Russ Brown, with some inputs onthe Pour le Mérite medals that are so coveted.

I also included the answers to the Mystery Airplanes, and Ihope to see some of those magically appear on a judgingtables soon (I should have my fiction flyer by next year).Congratulations to the only good answer to the mysteryaircraft …Mister John Cooper, from Ottawa. You are thewinner of eternal fame!!!

No one saw that the twin engine aircraft is the SO 7010Pégase, of French make. It had two V8 engine coupledtogether, and they were designed to work separately! Ah!those Frenchman! Got to love them…. I can't wait to seewho will build the little mono wheel biplane in peanutscale….sounds like a winner in the “Wow cool! What is thatthing?“ category… (the best category if you ask me!).

Has anybody asked yet my friend Bruce Foster the in depthreason why he calls is winder attachment G-string? Justwait for him to turn red and start giggling… Bruce alsodeserves a good round of applause for winning the“Harfang winter challenge”. He came all the way from Phillyto fly in a hurricane type wind!

mailto:[email protected]

Thank You!A big thank you to all our contributors, for the many hours

spent arguing, as well as collecting and preparing thisChronicle:

Bernard Dion

Giorgio Toso

Gisèle Guilbert Gosselin

Gustavo Durieux

Luc Martin

Octavian Aldea And of course, our Squadron Leader,

Ronny Gosselin

Like to write? Want to join the gang?

Please get in touch with us, and send your material [email protected].

Wawayanda, N.Y. - Fall 2009

WWII Mass Launch Reportby Luc Martin, aka. Fantomas

First Officer of Sqdr. 071e were only 16 on the line, maybe a few more, for themerciless combat that was about to take place above the

Wawayanda battlefield.W

We were here to recreate the battle of France; thereforePolish, Belgium and Dutch airplane had their chance before buthad 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 Russianwere a bit ahead of the time for the battle of France but “whatthe heck”, the more the merrier.


mailto:[email protected]

Here are the good, the bad and the photographer: From left to right: Ronny Gosselin, kneeling and takingpictures, 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, DougBeardsworth (tallest in the line) - Grumman F4F Wildcat, PaulStott - Fiat G55 dark green, Greg West - P51A, Dick Gorman -Yak 3, Stew Meyers - Mig 3, Tom Nallen2 - Boulton-PaulDefiant, Mark Fineman - P-63 Kingcobra, Jerry Crawmer -R-10, Jim Hemmel - Messerchmit BF109F and (shy) DallasCornelius with Ki-61 Hien, just outside the frame.

On our first mission, I was flying an Arsenal VG33, flankedby "Wingnut" my trusty wingman with his brand new DewoitineD520.

We took off, climbed to 1000Ft, leveled off, then set ourcourse North, in fact, wherever the wind will push our wings.

The sky was clear, the sun was shining. A day full of greatexpectation 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 G55you have there... Are you part of the bad guys?

Like in the Battle of France, the brilliant Arsenal fulfilled hismission. During that patrol, I spotted a lonely German planeflying low, well into our territory.

I notified my “wingnut” of the enemy presence, then dived onthe unaware German airplane. While I was closing in, Irecognized the characteristic shape of a Bf 109. The Germantried few brutal evasive maneuvers, but in vain. I kept hisairplane in my gun sight. I opened fire at close range and itwent down, after collecting a couple of direct 20mm bullet hits,

courtesy of the dependable engine-mounted Hispano-Suizacannon.Part 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze-UhKK6E9EWhen I leveled up my airplane and throttled back the engine,

I looked for my wingman to confirm that kill. I was alone in thesky.

Wingnut must have been attacked by another “Gerry”, and wegot separated in the ensuing “mélée”.

After my return to base, I had to wait a few minutes thatseemed like hours to me. The next mission was scheduledright away. We could not wait for him any longer. The enemywas invading our territory. We will honor our fallen comradeswhen time will allow. I was credited for that victory thanks tomy gun camera. I have learned after the war that the pilotname's was Jim Hemmel.

First flight casualties:1.Mig 3 Bf 109F2.Desert camouflage G553.Hien Ki-61Good guys: 1 downBad guys: 3 down

I took off for the second time of the day, for a lonely visualreconnaissance mission to locate the enemy troops andestimate how fast they were progressing.

Except for contrail in the East, indicating aerial combats athigh altitude, I did not make any contact with the enemy norsee any German ground troops. Not finding anything on arecon mission is a disappointing experience. After a fewseconds that felt like hours (time too is also subject to scaleeffects) this painful disappointment was starting to leave place


http://hobbyspecialties.com/index.php

to apathy, when I spotted an aircraft flying on a parallel course.It was a Wildcat returning to base. It had suffered some battledamage. I decided to escort him all the way back home. I flewbeside the brave pilot and his wounded machine, providingmoral support and protection until we reach friendly territory.

Physical and mental fatigue took his toll, and the thirdmission will prove to be fatal for me.

To escape from the closing “Wermacht”, we had to evacuateour base and move down South to safer ground. I took off andset course for our next home base. En route weather was goodthen, after a while, it deteriorated rapidly. Without warning,thick clouds started to form across the horizon. I was still farfrom my destination and I started to doubt I could find analternate airbase. As minutes passed, I was surrounded byblack clouds. I was attracted in a big swirl forming rightahead. I shoved the throttle forward (backwards... For Frenchaircraft?) and kicked left rudder. Nothing happened. My planedid not respond to my inputs. I was about to be swallowed bythis strange weather phenomena. Something unusual was

going on. I feared not. I knew my guardian angel was with mein the cockpit. It was my grandpa Marcel, who had also foughtthe Germans, from Sept 1939 to May 1940, in an AFV, aPanhard 178. I could feel his hand on my shoulder. With himon my side, I was ready for anything.

The big black funnel suddenly opened up to a white powderyfield. I said to myself: that’s it, the free flight heaven! The airwas calm and the propeller was windmilling in silence ahead ofthe engine. I was ready to meet the great creator (I can'tbelieve what load of crap I could invent to make myselfinteresting!)

After a few minutes, I felt the gravity suddenly pulling medown and I had the acute sensation of falling. I was getting outof the “yogurt” not knowing exactly were I was nor how long Ihad been there. The petrol dial gauge was about to hit thezero mark. I was out of gas… hey.. I mean rubber...

Failed to return from 2nd flight: 1.Dewoitine D5202.Tempest II3.P51A4.Boulton-Paul DefiantGood guys: 4 downBad guys: none

I noticed a river and a P51D, who had to belly land, he tooprobably short of petrol, 100 meter short of the river. Cleverdecision, Chris!

I continued downwind, hoping to fly over the river on my lastfumes of gas, but in vain.

A close row of tree was about to jump in my face. No timeto think: I pulled the canopy release handle, rolled the airplaneon his back and bailed out in a split second.


On my way to earth, I watched my faithful arsenal crash inthe deadly trees.

I could not retrieve the airplane on time for the next and lastmission.

Missing in action 3rd flight: 1.P-63 Kingcobra2.F4F Wildcat3.Karakov R-104.Ta 1525.VG-33, prisoner of a treeGood guys: 4 downBad guys: 1 down

When war was finally over, I learned what happened to mytrusty wingman "wingnut", who disappeared in his DewoitineD520 during that historic day. He had run his engine very leanand went over the channel to land in the middle of the nextpatch of grass known as Great Britain, probably a mile awayfrom home base, setting a distance record. It is a remarkableachievement for a 16 “ wing span. He joined the Free Frenchgroup, and carried on the fight for the next 4 years against theenemy.

So it was the end of the battle for the French airplanes,outnumbered, defeated, but proud and convinced that victorywas within reach.

As Wingnut would say later in the officer’s mess, around acold beer: “It is the first time I got eliminated of a mass launchbecause my airplane flew too well.”Part 2:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWjT4NNp4Vk&feature=related

4th and last flight result:1st: Yak 32nd: P51D3rd: G-55 dark green (holding wing with is right hand…)

Picture by Tom Hallman

Editor's Note: A special Thanks to Chris Starleaf for making theextra-long trip from Chicago to be with us, and amaze all of uswith his magnificent airplanes.

Appendix: Rescue Mission behind the Enemy Lines

I had barely enough time to bail out before the tree line, andwhile hanging from my parachute, I watched my airplane crashinto the trees. To my astonishment, the rescue team wasalready there to pick me up. Talk about efficiency!



I was anxious to find the airplane; I did not want this state ofthe art fighter to fall into enemy’s hands.

After a five minutes search, I located it in a tree on the riverbank, hanging propeller down from a branch, 10 meters (30 ft)right over the water. knew I would need special tools: a poleand a rope long enough to reach the branch. I decided to goback to our base and organize a retrieval expedition.

Stew Meyers lend me his retrieval kit (a 100gr dead weightattached to a nylon string) and Wally Farell lend me his orangetelescopic pole. I also grabbed a roll of duct tape from Ronny’stool box.

Back to the river, also known as the “English Channel”,accompanied by the Nallens (father & son) and Sue, the limodriver and life saver in her free time. Nobody knows... Suecould make a big difference if one of the rescuers accidentallyends in up the drink.

We elected to use the string to pull and bend the branchover the river bank and free up my bird.

After a couple of attempts, I managed to catch the rightbranch with the rope and before starting to pull, I asked TomNallen II to extend the telescopic poll to use it as a back-upjust in case the airplane fell in the river.

Tom was extending the pole when he noticed that the endcap was missing.

We looked for it for 10 minutes, then eventually gave up.The darn thing must have fallen in the water! River: 1, RescueTeam: 0 This won’t be easy.

The pole was too short anyway to reach either the plane inthe branch or in the middle of the river. I needed anotherback-up system after it became obvious that a ditching wouldbe inevitable.

I cut half of the unused rope and duct-taped the end to anempty plastic bottle and a piece of dead branch 18 inch long

by one inch diameter, both found on the spot. With the otherend of the rope knotted around my wrist, I threw thecontraption in the middle of the stream to practice and togauge how far I could reach.

The idea was to cast it over the floating plane, with theplastic bottle (cap was on) acting as a life-buoy then pull gentlytoward our side of the river bank.

Sound like a good plan, doesn’t it?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 tocatch my baby once in the water, if it floats. Will it?

The Arsenal did an academic ditching, flat on her belly and itwas coming toward my position. I threw the contraption andwatched in horror… that stupid invention of mine, splash a fewinches short of the fragile bird. The darn rope was too shortand we watched with dismay the plane floating away downstream. 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 usto follow the fast floating plane… God knows for how long!

So we rushed back to the road to follow it, and eventually welost it after a minute of chase. Great, an OOS on water, soundslike a fisherman story!

Tom Nallen II and Sue took the golf cart and went around tothe other river bank.

Tom Senior and I walked 100 yard downstream, as fast aspossible, and I went down the river bank again, hoping for amiracle, 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 questionswent through my mind.


Tom and I started to walk up-stream, our four eyes scanningfor floating debris. After a slow 30 yards battle against thebushes, we finally saw the plane on the opposite shore.

We called the motorized team, and guided them toward ourposition. 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 bellyradiator when a gust of wind blew it away and onto the golfcart steering wheel. Water must have softened the glue stickjoint between radiator and the belly. The resulting little tear-out in the left wing, was the only damage directly related to myaction.

In conclusion, here is my advice: if your plane is floatingaway in the river, unless it is on the edge of Niagara falls, let itgo until it reaches one of the banks.

Thanks again to everybody involved in this rescueexpedition.

The Rescue Team, from right to left:Tom Nallen2, Tom Nallen, Sue Hook, and Luc Martin

While on the subject of this competition, I would like to say avery special Thank You to Chris Starleaf for having come fromso far way.. It was an honor to fly with you.

To be part of the next edition of this cool competition, youcan contact the contest director, Tom Hallman at:

[email protected]


The Duct-Tape Affair

or, How to Field-Repair your Craft(from the Internet)

uring a private "fly-in" fishing excursion in the Alaskanwilderness, the chartered pilot and fishermen left a cooler

and bait in the plane.DAnd a bear smelled it. This is what he did to the plane.

The pilot used his radio to call for help, and had another pilotbring 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!


Letters to the Editor

Ronny Gasoline, Edior,Harfan (No « G ») Chronicle und Mail,Somewhere in Canada.

3/15/10

Dear Msr. Ronny,

I just reading first of your publication. Is goodlike hell.

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 engineship, yas, but hafink two different motor.

The craft, name dun’t know it, is power by Prattand Whiskey round enchine up front. Is got Rapier Sable“X” steam cool enchine behind, so make it abundance ofradiator put it here and there. All diss power was go togearbox drivink contra-props, t’inkink for to be made byHamstrung Stranded. Two Moss patent superchargits, onediss side, ‘nudder one udder site, give it big speed andhigh service ceiling. Is be said dat all flightsurfaces, strong like bull, was take it from VulteeVengeance dive bombers stold it by Japanese sympatizersfrom order for goink England by Leand Lease.

Diss cobble togedder craft was operate by unfamousPanther Squadron. Diss bad guys fly against FlyingTigers in China-Burma-India zone. Secret base wast’inkink for to be in India. You remember it, GeneralStillwell was criticize because he walking out from Burmaafter defeat dere. All peoples was said it he should flyout so he fast regroup forces.But, peoples dun’t know it, he get order from White Housefor to walk out through India for maybe find it PantherSquadron 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

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?

All diss submit by Professor Ahyav Zhorbach, ChiefAerodynamiker, und Historikan from Slobovian PolyteknikInstitude.


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 onan aircraft will generally give you 5 hours of reading… Problemis, the internet includes the entire world, and differentlanguages are in there.

I love finding a weird web site somewhere and learning newstuff. I am reputed for being a guy that likes to “look at thepicture” but knowing what is said in the text is also fun. Itusually includes the history, color, etc.

I often get asked by friends to translate stuff from a Frenchtext, 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 . Selectauto language selection (sometime it not easy guessing whatlanguage it is), and it automatically will give you a “ruff”translation that is usually close enough to get the idea of thetext. Try it you will love it. Broaden your horizons! You will not bedisappointed! Have fun! It may save you from making anotherPiper Cub or Mustang...

Lt Ronny Gosselin

Letters to the Editor - Translation

THE PINKHAM FIELD IRREGULARSSQUADRON 22, FLYING ACES CLUB

4304 MADISON AVENUETRUMBULL, CT 06611

3/16/10

Editor,Harfan Chronicle and MailSomewhere in Canada.

I just received your wonderful publication, forwhich I thank you from the bottom of my fuel pump. Ihaven't enjoyed anything like it since ihe heyday ofFlying Aces magazine.

I was taken by your mystery plane quiz, and offer thisidentification for #1.

You indicate that one of the four mystery planes is "atwin engine." I believe it to be #1. But, I wouldhardly call it a twin engine. It is, in reality, a twoengine ship. The following details will make this clear.

The craft, name unknown, is powered by a Pratt andWhiskey 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 drivingcontra-props believed to be manufactured by HamstrungStranded. Two Moss patent superchargers, one on eitherside, gave this fighter/bomber great speed and a highservice ceiling. It is said that all the flight surfaceswere taken from Vultee Vengeance dive bombers purloinedby Japanese sympathizers from an order bound for Englandas part of the Lend Lease program.

This cobbled together craft was operated by the infamousPanther Squadron. These dastardly bunch pit their mightagainst the Flying Tigers in the China-Burma-lndiaTheater.


http://translate.google.com/#

The location of their secret base was thought to be inIndia. You will recall that General Joe Stilwell wascriticized for walking out after the his defeat in Burma.Popular opinion was that he should have flown out inorder to quickly regroup his forces. This criticism wasunfounded, for General Joe under direct orders from theWhite House, actually took a route through India toconduct a thorough search for the Panther Squadron base.lt was never found! It may have been, that like allbases of such organizations, their secret hangar was inan underground cave which collapsed on them, thus riddingChinese skies of this terrible plague. Could their endbe attributed to the covert and final action of DickNight and his O'Doul's Dew guzzling sidekick, LotharioDoyle?

Respectfully offered by Chief Aerodynamicist, andHistorian, Professor Ahyav Zhorback, of the SlobovianPolytechnic Institute.

The aboye has been translated from the Slobovianlanguage by Parker Brothers, manufacturers of "Scrabble"and other games.

Letters to the Editor, from AustraliaBy Maurice

Special Thanks from Australia!I would like to thank FAC and all its members for staging sucha wonderful event. In particular Ross and the Headquarterscrew for the huge effort they put in. To the Hunters for theirkidnapping me and showing me around. Also to Jim and hislovely wife for all their help and friendship. To Paul forGuillows cockpit assistance and to Dave Diels for his kindness

in providing me with copies of the plans that were lost when Ilost my documentation coming over to Geneseo. To Duco Gurufor being the Guru and all his great advice and knowledge. ToEZ built Dave for making me buy more than I should have andto all the other vendors, particularly Shorty's Basement for herpatience and understanding. To the Harfang crowd that arenow officially my brothers! You guys are an inspiration!. ToJoshua for outstanding models and performance. To Diane forthe dance. To the lovely Juanita for putting up with big dumbAussies! To Pres Brunning for just being the "Pres" and toGizmo for making quality parts for modellers that make allthings go so well. To Pete for his absolute unselfish gesture.To Geoff and Matt for putting up with my BS in the tent next tome!!! Good on ya!

And to Vance! You da man! Great entertainment. If I havemissed anyone please accept my apology but you are there inthat wonderful memory that makes FAC G town to premiersevent.

See you all again in two years.CheersMaurice

Editor's Note: Maurice is from Brisbane Australia… Thank YouMaurice for being one of "US" and travelling the globe to join inthe fun!)


Letters to the Editor From Russ Brown


Product ReviewI would like to mention some products I bought in the lastsmonths that I really liked.First, I tried the newly formed company by Alan Cohen “HobbySpecialties”. I ordered a couple of big props for a jumboaircraft. The result is very good. After talking with Alan aboutpitch and diameter, we agreed on a size. Two weeks later, I gotmy props, made out of balsa. Very good, very light, veryinexpensive… everything you could want in a prop! So I highlyrecommend these props.

The time I do not spend doing props, I can spend it doing otherairplanes!

Alan also sells aluminised “Ziplocs” bag for storing rubber.After trying them out, I love them. They takes a lot less spacethan the cardboard boxes. In them, rubber has NO contactwith light and air... and they are a lot easier to bring out on thefield, without worrying about “burning “ them in the sun...

Alan sell lots of other goodies. Off course, Alan is THE masterfor making spoke wheels, the quality is simply mind boggling!!!Go check it out.:


I also would like to mention a kit I bought from “Shorty’sBasement”. The newest kit they offer, a Goodyear Racer “OleTiger” is all laser-cut,including beautiful laser-cut Japanesepaper letters and some decals for the smaller details.Everything in the kit is top notch. I did not assemble it yet, butit is clear that all of the kits they produce are for the seriousFACers. Other goodies are checkered Japanese tissuebearing,and countless others. Please visit their web site here:

http://www.shortysbasement.com/

Both companies offer secure payment through the Internet. Areal time-saver, if you ask me!

I also need to point out that I actually bought all of these items,and that I am making these statements based solely on myopinion... meaning nobody is bribing me to push theseproduct!!!

Thanks guys for making these available to our smallcommunity, it’s a real gift of love.

Ronny Gosselin

Aircraft SelectionBuild a S.L.O.W. racer for the next non-Nats!!! Here is some ideas for you guys that want to build a SLOWracer and are missing some inspiration...

Get building, Gentlemen!

FOR THE POOR FLYER:


http://www.shortysbasement.com/


FOR THE COMPLICATED FLYER:

FOR THE “ELEGANT” FLYER :

FOR THOSE THAT THINK THEY WON'T CROSS THE CHANNEL:

FOR THE FLYER THAT DOES NO T HAVE A LOT OF RUBBER:

I will see you on the launching line! Lt Ronny Gosselin


Of Winders and Tripods...by Ronny G.

often get asked what the best winder is. Personally, the oneI 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, butI do not think is necessary unless you are super serious aboutrubber... I am not!

INow about the Winding Stooges.

I would like to share with you the info I gathered when I waslooking 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 lotof people about it, and built a couple different ones. The bestone I found so far is an old tripod with an adapter to hold themodel.

Personally, I do not like the ground-level model; it wouldjust hurt my back.

Have lots of hooks on your stooge for braiding motors, andfor hanging other people’s winders.

I suggest that those who want to make one do first a searchon 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 thespike in the ground is not easy, and you have to do it threetimes...• Your spikes always get dirty...• For transport, you always have a long pole to store andlug around

Advantages of tripod stooge:• Collapsible in a smaller, easier to transport volume• Only one “spike” to drive. I was told to use an oldscrewdriver (works great by hand or foot, most of the time, andif difficult to drive in, you can always hit it with a hammer (oryour friend’s cell phone)• Your spike cannot slip because it is inserted in a metalhole at the end of one the legs• The spike is attached directly to the tripod with Velcro foreasy transport and is secured with a string to make sure it doesnot get lost• No tensioning of the cables needed• Bigger volume to “see” and not trip over when the stoogeis open (I would suggest going one step further and spray paintit dayglow orange)

All tripods come with a 1/4-20 pitch screw that you can use toattach several special holders, e.g. for you multi-engine, etc.

Easy to transform a photo tripod into a stooge. Most peoplehave one laying around, or they are easy to find at a garagesale, for very little money.


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.

The only modification needed to the tripod is to bolt a metalstrap to the end of one the legs for spiking the stooge to theground. 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 planeclear of the support block, and you are all set.

Drill several sets of two holes at different height from thebottom wood block, and insert piano wire through the holes inthe ply sheets and your aluminum-tubing rear peg to securethe airplane to the stooge.

Make sure that your tripod is anchored solidly in the groundbefore you start winding your killerblurrace entry, or you willmeet your own aircraft head-on!

Personally I prefer the “Stott” way. He uses two brass tubesthat encase the rear peg (which can be aluminum tubing, atoothpick, or a solid dowel). If you use the two brass tubesmethod, you must ensure that you have sufficient frictionbetween the tubes and the ply sidewalls to provide sufficientholding force. With the brass tubes, you can still use a steelwire for those offbeat airplanes with a hollow peg.

Homemade tripod, with sliding tube and hinge

Not all stooges are made equal... The best one is bringing afriend/older folk/neighbor/children to hold the airplanes foryou!!!

It may cost you a couple of hot dogs on the way back, butfor sure it is "the best".

Mystery Planes #1 - AnswersHere are the answers from the first HC&M issue.

#1

Skyly J 2, from the manga “Skycrawler” (The Teacher)


#2

Kaczka (The Duck) Glider built by the Polish Gliding Research Institute

(Flight, 28 March 1958, p.437)

#3

Stark A.S.20, Regnier 4D2 engine, 74hpTop Speed 142 mph, 24,500 ft ceiling(Flight, September 30th, 1943, p.362)


#4

Quénaud Biplane. 238 Km/h with 35 hp?

#5

The six passengers SNCASO 7010 PegaseUsing two V-8 engines assembled in an X configuration

(Flight, November 21st, 1946, p.558)


Mystery Planes #2#1

#2

#3

#4


Flash NewsArcheological News:

New unknown hieroglyphs found in an ancient Egyptian kingTooten-Navion:

The archaeologists were unable to find a meaning for this sign.

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 formodeling rare birds and prevent them to fall into oblivion.”

A message from the Lesser Known Airplane Foundation.

Wanted Add:

I Would exchange my collection of ubiquitous high winger plan(Piper Cub, Porterfield, and Cessna look-alike) against onesingle “never modeled before” subject.

Lt. Luc Martin

In The Next Issue...

If you read this far, you must be a hopeless case, and maybe 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 HC&M Staff

The End


Documents

Flying Aces Club - Hip Pocket Aeronautics