104 MODEL AVIATION
A VERY HAPPY and healthy new year to
all AMA members and their families.
Wow! It seems like yesterday when the
Western world reached the second
millennium (year 2000) and, right before
our eyes, another decade has slipped by.
During this time, great strides have been
made in RC. Radio-control models have
greatly increased in size and—at the same
time—shrunk to miniscule proportions, 2.4
GHz digital spread spectrum technology is
fast replacing 72 MHz as the system of
choice, and new motor/battery technology
has vastly expanded electric-flight
capabilities.
What do these next 10 years hold for us?
I’m not sure, but, like most, I’ll ride the
wave because I’m in it for the long haul.
If you’re a fan of early aviation, like to fly
World War I/Golden Age-era models, want
to visit a museum that is dedicated exclusively to these years,
and would like to see full-scale aircraft take to the sky just a
stone’s throw from your seat, at only one place and time during
the year is all this possible. It’s at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome
in Rhinebeck, New York, during the Mid-Hudson Radio Control
Society’s (MHRCS’s) Rhinebeck Jamboree.
This event is held each year during the second weekend in
September; in 2009, the 43rd edition of the Jamboree took place
September 11-13. The weekend started with a constant
downpour Friday and sporadic rainfall during the full-scale air
show on Saturday. However, there was a lot of model flying
Saturday morning and throughout the beautiful day on Sunday.
The MHRCS staff did a great job of hosting the gathering.
Flight-station management was excellent. Like a smoothrunning
assembly line, pilots who were waiting to fly were
invited to the next open station; those who wanted to land their
aircraft were announced clearly and given top priority.
The club worked especially hard to prepare the field that is
typically used year-round for full-scale airplanes for their
smaller cousins. The grass field was closely cropped, flight
stations were installed, and registration booth and transmitter
impound tents were erected.
There is so much going on at the Jamboree that it takes
several volunteers from the MHRCS to make this event the
success that it is. Although there were many excellent replicas of
early aircraft at the fly-in, with more than 100 WW I types and a
Models of the 2009 Rhinebeck Jamboree
[ncalvagn@suffolk.lib.ny.us]
Radio Control Giants Sal Calvagna
Keith Zimmerly designed his Avro 504C and built it from scratch. The Rhinebeck
Aerodrome’s own Sausage Werks and Der Bad Boyz are in the background.
With all that wing area and even at 47
pounds, the Avro 504C comes in for a
landing at a crawling pace.
Dick Eimert’s scratch-built Bell Airacuda looks sleek for a 1930s
concept, but the full-scale version was scrapped because of poor
performance and several serious flaws.
Left: An open engine nacelle of the XFM-
1A Airacuda. The outrunner motor drives
a 12-inch-long shaft that is ball-bearing
supported at the propeller.
01sig4.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 11/20/09 12:37 PM Page 104mix of earlier and later models, I could select only a few to
highlight in this column because of space limitations.
Keith Zimmerly of
Mercerville, New
Jersey, flew his
beautiful, scratchbuilt,
1/3-scale Avro
504C. It spanned 12
feet and was powered
by a 3W 100cc gas
engine.
Keith drew his
own plans (on a piece
of Sheetrock, I am
told), covered the
model with Solartex
material, and painted
it with Krylon spray
paint. He used an
aluminum cowl from a Balsa USA 1/3-scale Sopwith Pup kit.
Keith does a great job of flying the Avro at realistic speeds and
in a scale manner. He is a prolific and superb builder of large-scale
models, an all-around good guy, and current president of the
Mercer County Radio Control Society. It was nice to see a model
of the Avro flying at Rhinebeck, because the Aerodrome has a fullscale,
flying 504K.
Sir Edwin Alliott Verdon Roe—one of Great Britain’s earliest
and most well-respected aircraft designers—started the Avro
company, whose name is an acronym for A.V. Roe, in 1910. He
was the first Englishman to fly a powered aircraft at Brooklands
(one of Britain’s first airfields) in 1908 and the first to fly an all-
British-built machine a year later.
The Avro 504 is credited with training nearly every British pilot
during the Great War: WW I. It also has the distinction of being
the first English aircraft shot down in combat. Lt. V. Waterfall of
No. 5 Squadron in Belgium was piloting the 504 when it was taken
down by infantry fire.
More than 8,000 Avros were manufactured in a variety of
versions; the most-produced aircraft was the 504K. Keith’s 504C
was the single-seat version. The forward cockpit was replaced with
a large fuel tank that extended the aircraft’s range twofold.
Congrats to Keith on his 504C; what a great flier!
Dick Eimert of Airmont, New York, built the unusual Bell XFM-
1A Airacuda from plans that he developed from three-views and
technical information he received from the Smithsonian and the
AAF museums. The model spans 84 inches and is powered by two
Atlas AM2921/10 outrunner motors that have been specially fitted
with 12-inch drive shafts that are ball-bearing supported.
Dick initially installed two glow engines to power the aircraft.
However, because of extreme vibration, the drive train would come
apart. No matter what configuration he tried, he could not make the
installation work.
At his wit’s end and after some time away from the model, Dick
decided to install electric power, which works beautifully.
According to him, the model flies nicely and has plenty of power—
unlike the full-scale aircraft.
The XFM-1 was Bell Aircraft Corporation’s first military
aircraft. It was designed to be a “bomber destroyer” and
incorporated many design advances. However, its many flaws saw
to its demise. The airplane was too slow—slower than the bombers
it was supposed to destroy—and was not very maneuverable in the
event of attack by enemy fighters.
On a single engine, the Airacuda could not be flown and was
uncontrollable. And it was anemic as a bomber; it could carry only
600 pounds of explosives. All of the XFM-1s were scrapped by
1942.
Marvin Erbesfeld of Atlantis, Florida, a retired heart surgeon,
January 2010 105
Marvin with his magnificent 1/3-scale Mick Reeves Models Sopwith
Camel.
Marvin Erbesfeld’s Sopwith Camel flies
at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome.
Ransom Fairchild flew this model at
Top Gun and at the Jamboree.
attended the Jamboree with his recent Top Gun entry: a 1/3-scale
Sopwith Camel built from Mick Reeves Models. The aircraft spans
112 inches and is powered by a Desert Aircraft DA-100 gas engine.
The Camel was meticulously constructed with all of the correct
details; it is a work of art. It was featured in Flying Scale Models
magazine, in an article that Simon Delaney of England wrote. It’s
appropriate for a British author to expound on a Sopwith Camel’s
virtues.
Marvin’s model was flown during the Jamboree by Ransom
Fairchild—an American Airlines pilot who flew the model
throughout the Top Gun competition.
The full-scale Sopwith Camel was designed to replace the aging
Sopwith Pup. But unlike the Pup, the Camel was difficult to fly. It
had a nasty reputation of killing less-than-capable pilots.
Although 413 Camel pilots were shot down in combat, 385
were killed in non-combat-related accidents. However, the Camel
was a successful fighter; it is credited with shooting down more of
the enemy than any other Allied aircraft during WW I. It could
accomplish that, because in an experienced pilot’s hands its
maneuverability was unmatched by any of its contemporaries.
That fact was owed to the Camel’s being tail-heavy and having
the engine, fuel tank, twin machine guns, and pilot positioned in
the forward one-third of the aircraft. The rotary engine’s
gyroscopic effect made the airplane turn to the right twice as fast as
other fighters. A competent pilot took advantage of those traits.
The Camel and the S.E.5a finally outclassed the German
Albatros fighters in early 1918, but by the middle of that year, the
type was limited by its speed and poor performance at high
altitudes.
After mid-1918, Camels were used in ground attack and
infantry support, in which they excelled. Approximately 5,500
were built, and many in military aviation consider the Camel to be
one of the greatest fighting aircraft of its time.
Magnificent workmanship, Marvin! I wouldn’t expect anything
less from a well-known heart surgeon.
That’s all for now. As we enter the second decade of the
millennium, I wish all of us continued success with all our
modeling endeavors. MA
Sources:
Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome
www.oldrhinebeck.org
MHRCS
www.mhrcs.com
International Miniature Aircraft Association
www.fly-imaa.org
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