Re: FW: neat article from 1933

From: LeRoy C Cordes <lcordes_at_juno.com>
Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2007 11:15:03 -0500

Nice write up from the past.

LeRoy Cordes
AMA 16974
Chicago, IL
In God We Trust

On Wed, 20 Jun 2007 22:07:06 -0600 "Don DeLoach " <ddeloach_at_comcast.net>
writes:
> FYI
>
> --Don D.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> I was browsing the web and came upon this article. I'm not sure,
> but the
> website seemed to suggest it was published in Time magazine.
>
>
>
> Dave, you might want to include it in an upcoming Wing Tips, if
> there's
> space.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Monday, Jan. 09, 1933
>
>
> Little Ships
>
>
> In a cavernous armory in Manhattan, two days last week, a
> hundred-odd boys
> of high-school age moved quietly about the floor, some carrying
> tiny,
> fragile model airplanes, others standing with heads thrown back,
> gaping
> anxiously at the roof. Up under the lofty girders, slowly and
> silently
> circled little gossamer shapes. At intervals an announcer boomed a
> number
> through a megaphone. The only other noise in the hall was an
> incessant
> metallic undertone like the sound of a score of egg-beaters. This
> came from
> a number of gadgets not unlike egg-beaters in the hands of some of
> the boys.
> They were devices for winding the rubber-band motors of the little
> planes.
> Such was the scene of the Eastern States indoor championship meet
> for
> miniature ships, sponsored by The Universal Model Airplane News.
>
> Three events were run off in the meet, all for flight duration. One
> was for
> Baby R. O. G. (rise-off-ground) types, one for fuselage models, one
> for
> "open sticks." The Baby R. 0. G. class was limited to models of 30
> sq. in.
> maximum wing area, 8 in. length. One after another 20 "babies" took
> off from
> the floor, made wide spirals toward the arched ceiling, propellers
> flailing
> the air. One after another fluttered floorward, rubber motors slack,
> to land
> on paper-thin balsa-wood wheels, until at the end of 7= min. only
> one was
> still in the air for a new world record in its class.
>
> The winning model, owned by Herbert Owen of New Britain, Conn., had
> an
> enormous advantage of lightness. It weighed only .03 oz. Instead of
> Japanese
> tissue, its wing was made of "microfilm," a transparent, opalescent
> substance that looks something like Cellophane. It is made from a
> nitrocellulose fluid base (e.g. collodion, bronzing liquid, etc.)
> that-floats on' water in a gossamer layer, dries in a sheet about
> one-eighth
> the weight of superfine tissue. The winner was awarded the Sportsman
> Pilot
> Cup, originally posted by Sportsman Pilot (monthly) for a race which
> did not
> come off in the National Air Races last September.
>
> The youth who won second place in the Baby R. O. G. class, Carl
> Goldberg,
> 20, of Purchase, N. Y., was regarded as the most important contender
> in the
> meet. Now a student at University of Wisconsin, Goldberg has been
> building
> and racing models in the U. S. meets for about five years, usually
> takes
> highest honors. Younger boys speak of him with awe. Officials laud
> his
> sportsmanship.
>
> Planes in the fuselage class are larger than R. O. G.'s but not
> scale models
> of full-sized airplanes. They have no landing gear, are launched
> from the
> hand. Winner was John Zaic, 18, of Manhattan, with a flight of 6
> min. 57
> sec. Goldberg finished fourth.
>
> Simplest of all flying; models is the "open stick," in which the
> wings and
> propeller are affixed to a single thin stick of balsa wood. This
> time
> Goldberg seemed a sure winner when his plane had stayed up 13 min.
> But just
> then it smacked into a rafter and spiralled to the floor. Goldberg
> elected
> to waive its performance as a "delayed flight" in hope of improving
> his
> time. But his next trial lasted only 9 min. 15 sec. Meanwhile a
> husky youth
> in a black & orange football sweater with a large "9" on his back,
> and a
> baseball cap with a "P" on the-visor, had entered the lists. He was
> an
> unknown, George Schweigart of National Park, N. J. Working
> feverishly at his
> "pit" on the sidelines he had converted a fuselage type into an
> open-stick
> just in time for the event. A moment before the start he broke the
> cardboard-thin-propeller, carved from a single block of balsa. He
> bent the
> propeller into place, launched it anyway. With grace and dignity the
> little
> 'ship flew for 10 min. 45 sec., won first place.
>
> For his total points in all three events Goldberg emerged as usual,
> champion
> of the meet.
>
> Observers noted the deadly earnestness of the contestants. They
> gathered in
> little groups, talking in terms of dihedral, torque,
> centre-of-gravity,
> drag, wing-loading, etc., etc. Each construction job is a complete
> problem
> in aerodynamics.
>
> As in all indoor meets, models were bound to collide with something.
> Now and
> then one would wedge itself among the rafters. If it could not be
> dislodged
> by a toy balloon on a long string, its owner would calmly climb
> after it.
> When the planes settle toward the heads of those on the floor,
> strict
> etiquette must be observed: One must never jump hastily out of the
> way. That
> disturbs the air currents and may cause a plane to dive to the
> floor. Proper
> procedure is to swing one's head slowly, or squat gently.
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
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LeRoy Cordes
AMA 16974
Chicago, IL
In God We Trust
Received on Thu Jun 21 2007 - 09:27:00 CEST