Sweet Fifteen

Sailplanes and Rubber models

Video from Volar Libremente

Keil Kraft Senators

Thermal Thumbers of Metro Atlanta

http://thermalthumbers.com/

Flying at Shelby Airport May 20th, 2010

I arrived at the airport this morning in time to retrieve Gil's

1/2A AMA ship, a model he designed called the Pop-up powered

by a Russian Profi engine.

The model failed to DT and landed on the asphalt runway. Upon examination, we noted that the DT fuse burnt through the core but the outside (and the rubber band) was intact.

Gil Morris launching his Pop-up on its fly away flight

Dumb luck or bad fuse? Unfortunately, it was probably the latter because next time, the thermals decided to play for keeps. We watched it fly away in relatively calm conditions. I was the last to lose sight of it at 37 minutes. We then pursued by car. For nearly two more hours we tracked it 5 miles to the east, 3 miles south and then another 8-9 miles back west. It was apparent that the model was still airborne but was not in sight and it's anyone's guess how high it went. (I've hit large bugs in a jet >30,000 ft up and I know they didn't get up that high themselves.)

We must have been a strange sight; an octogenarian pointing a strange device at the sky followed closely from behind by someone who would pick him up every tenth of a mile or so. One old lady abandoned her gardening to come over and express her concern when we passed the entrance to her driveway. "I've been out all morning and haven't seen anything--- This is the first time I've seen anyone doing what you're doing." I explained that he had been flying models competitively around the world since the forties and she left with the assurance that we were harmless and wished us luck.

When we were about the give up, the target quit moving and pointing the antenna up in the sky didn't make the Walston beep. I parked along the side of the road and saw Gil emerge from the woods 200yds away. It was found but still lost. To wit, it was in a tree! At least fifty feet above the ground and that's where it stayed when we left Shelby hoping winds would come in the next day or two and we could return to pick it up.

May 22nd update from Gilbert Morris

Hi Tom and Bucky,

I went to Shelby late yesterday expecting the model to be down but it wasn't. It's hung up on the nose and on the tail end and neither will let go despite winds of 18 mph. I sat and just looked at it in the woods from 5:00 pm to 6:30 and then went in town for dinner and then checked again at 8:00 pm. It just sways with the branches in the wind. It's probably going to need a really strong gust. There's no strong winds in the forecast so I'm not going back up again until I get back from Lost Hills a week from Tuesday. Incidentally, the stab is DTed now.

At first, when I went in the woods, I couldn't find it in the branches nor anywhere else so went I back to the car and got the tracker and again spotted it in the same old place. It didn't rain up there but it's expected this evening. More fun!

Gil

June 7th Update

Hi Tom and Bucky,

Got it!!

Fuselage and stab were directly below where it had been but the wing was hidden in the undergrowth about 80 ft away. I had almost given up looking for it because of the mosquitoes. As I was about to pull away, the woods owner dropped by wanting to know why we had been going into his woods. He understood and was a bit surprised after I explained. He took it well but I didn't tell him the next step, had there been one, would have been the chain saw. Minimal damage. Transmitter good as new (batteries dead), engine okay but wing and stab waterlogged. I'm not sure it didn't come down before the big storm. All rubber bands were broken and even the fuel line rubber was badly deteriorated and I'll bet the wing rubber bands broke before the storm. The fuse had burned out in the core and never got to the RB. Anyways, all's well that ends well.

Gil

Carrol Allen at Wawayanda

I went down to the field Thursday. The field is in great shape compared to other years. None of the bridges are washed out.

The wind was light to none and the sod was firm but the fields with no sod was very squishy.

The lift was unavoidable as the sun was evaporating the water and it was constant up everywhere.

I took another video with only about 70% turns and the model would have easily done 3 mins. Notice all the water in the fields south of the Wallkill, NY. The water in the Wallkill was right up to the edge of the fields with a very rapid current.

Here's what it looked like 3 months ago.

Remuera Glider

calendar photo

As built by Bucky Walter (double size)

October 16, 2012 update

Hi Bucky, thanks for answering what must seem a strange contact out of the blue. As you know once something is on the internet it is there forever!! I was looking for something the other day when I stumbled on an old post of yours on the Building Board and saw the Remuera Glider. Anyway, I am a long time member of AMAC, the Auckland Model Aero Club here in New Zealand. Our club was formed in 1928. We fly everything except helicopter but we have a particular focus on vintage, free flight scale, control line and indoor. Although NZ is of mainly British heritage, our club swings both ways as it were and we incorporate a SAM chapter (SAM 1928) for those who want to fly to your rules. We do a fair bit of 1/2A and A Texaco and quite a few of us have Jimmie Allen models. W.B. (Bill) Mackley who designed the Remuera Glider was a life member and patron of AMAC until his passing a couple of years back. I have attached some blurb and a photo from the Model Flying NZ website. The model Bill is holding is his 72” gassie the Venus. I have a plan for this beautiful model and will build it for R/C assist one day soon. It is approved for vintage competition. Remuera is one of Auckland’s central suburbs and I guess the model was designed while Bill was living there before the war. Bill flew in the RNZAF during WWII and was an airline pilot afterwards. He was a real gentleman. Please excuse this intrusion on your privacy but I thought you might be interested in the context to your Remuera Glider Regards, Mike Mulholland



 Bill Mackley joined the Auckland Model Aero Club in October 1930 and was soon making a name for himself in both contest flying and club management. His Yellow Bird fuselage rubber design was one of the first really successful Auckland fuselage designs. This was kitted by Modelair. A little later, Modelair also kitted his Red Bird and Hornet designs. He was a New Zealand Wakefield team member in 1936, and represented New Zealand at the 1937 Moffett contest. He also coached the members of the Auckland Grammar School MAC to such good effect that the soundly beat AMAC in a competition! In 1936, Bill set new records in Fuselage Indoor ROW, Spar outdoor ROW, Senior Spar indoor ROW, Scale outdoor ROG, and in 1937 he set a new mark in Senior Spar Indoor ROW. Bill always played an important role in club management. He was a Committee Man in 1933, Secretary for a time in 1935, Club Captain in 1936 and 1937, Vice President in 1938, 1940-41, and 1943 to 1949. He was Club Patron from 1978 to 1984, and again in 1987 to 2002. He was also active in NZMAA matters, being the Public Relations Officer in 1937, a member of the Technical Committee in 1937, and a member of the Board of Management in 1937 and 1938. In 1937 he was co-editor of the NZMAA Notes in Fernleaf, the Official Organ of the Association. He won the NZMAA Silver Badge for June/July 1937.

Hi Tom,

Gil finally got recognition for flying in the World Champs.

You can have this magazine to keep when you pickup the Fat Little Sucker.

Bucky