Flying for Fun 2003/05

ERRATA

In the last few months I’ve been incorrect or misinformed about several subjects mentioned in this column. To set the record straight and avoid confusion, following are some corrections.

• The negatives of the crashing CG-4 glider in St. Louis, Missouri (in the January 2003 column), apparently do still exist as the photo appears in the book Silent Wings by Gerard Devlin, published by St. Martin’s Press in 1985. Your local library can likely locate this book through its nationwide lending program. Thanks to Charles O’Donnell of Eugene, Oregon, for this information.
• Norman Burgdorf of Arnold, Missouri, kindly loaned his copy of a video produced by KETC-TV in St. Louis titled Great Disasters in St. Louis—a documentary which includes stills of the crashing CG-4 like those I reproduced in the December column. The video includes an interview with Jack Zehrt, who took the spectacular photos. He relates that this was one of his first coverage assignments with the Globe-Democrat and that, in typical photographer fashion, he didn’t feel any personal involvement at the moment of the crash as a result of that detachment that comes to us when a camera lens is between ourselves and the event.
• Traditionally, newspapers and television stations assign reporters to stories on the basis of seniority. The city editor of the Globe-Democrat didn’t consider the demonstration of that CG-4 and the attendant events of any great importance. How wrong that proved to be!

Construction Plans

This WACO CG-4 coverage is getting to be a bit like having a tiger by the tail: material keeps showing up in the mail that deserves mention, but I am in danger of this column becoming one-dimensional. Nonetheless, Jeff Bright (12763 Chaparral Ave., Saratoga CA 95070-3639) has compiled a listing of construction plans for models of the CG-4. This includes US and foreign plans and the sources for them. It’s neat and useful work. If you are interested in the list, send a self-addressed, stamped #10 (business-size) envelope (SASE) to Jeff.

(Those of us who write columns for the various magazines will probably respond much more quickly [if at all] if you’re considerate enough to include SASEs with your letters.)

Hold Still

The device shown in the January 2003 photos holding the Cruiser 60 and the Somethin’ Extra in place while I was getting them started is the Hold Still that I wrote about in the February 2002 column. These are available directly from Bill Zimmerman at 415 S. Denver, Hastings NE 68901; Tel.: (402) 462-5458. After almost two years of constant use, I’ve reached the point where I’m uncomfortable starting any power plant without the model in the Hold Still. I just don’t have any extra body parts to feed the propellers.

U-Haul

Approximately 20 years ago an automobile company design team was eating lunch when someone said, “Hey, we ought to develop an ideal vehicle for the model airplane fliers.” The result of this inspiration was the minivan. Of course the preceding doesn’t contain a thread of truth. However, looking around the parking lots of most flying fields would cause one to wonder. Many minivans of various brands are used to haul model airplanes around. These vehicles are not usually exclusively dedicated to that specific task. Only a fortunate few can afford to have a minivan that doesn’t double as a first or second car.

Converting a minivan back and forth to fill its various functional requirements with