Getting some model airplane traction (age 12 – 16)

We moved back to Saskatchewan when I was around 12. By this time I was getting pretty technical and had been through every science kit you could think of (aeronautics, optics, electronics, chemistry). Being in a small community where there was no hobby store, I had to get creative to get parts for my projects and experiments. I was visiting the dump regularly and was pulling parts out of appliances, televisions and you name it.

In retrospect I had shifted away from the less technical stuff (painting, macrame, drawing and such) and more into Meccano, flight, kite flying, motorcycles, paper planes and such.

I went through a phase of various model airplane experiments. I was pretty good at making things but flight has a lot of subtleties to it. I remember a reasonably successful ornithology project. I remember cutting the outline of a plane out of parts of 1/4 inch wood (that was fairly light) and mounting an .049 engine on it. In retrospect it was out of balance and had a 0-0-0 configuration so obviously it could not work.

I had been asking my parents for a remote control plane for quite some time. In those days that was a pretty expensive endeavor.

One day when we were in Handicraft Supplies (in Saskatoon an hour away), I managed to coax my dad into buying a balsa model plane kit. I seem to remember it being 20 or 40 dollars. Or it was 40 and my dad got it for 20 since it was so old.

It was very old. In fact, in the plans it showed a galloping ghost escapement mechanism (what they used before proportional radio control that is now popular).  But I knew I would some day have a radio control system and could figure out how to convert the plane to accept the digital proportional system.

It required at least an 0.49 engine which I actually had on hand!

Words cannot describe how excited I was about this project.

It took many evenings to get this plane together. Being my first serious project I had a lot of learning, studying and I had to figure out some more advanced techniques of building.

Of course my room became a pile of sawdust as I worked my way through this project.

I used silk-span and dope to finish the surface to be entirely red.

The plane had a 42″ wingspan and had a build up horizontal stabilizer. Tail drag style landing gear.

I eventually had my Cox Baby Bee 0.49 engine installed.

The radio control system was still just a dream as I still had not managed to procure that.

The plane sat around a bit while I worked on that problem and also on other projects.

One day, the curiosity of seeing the plane fly became overwhelming and I made a decision to fly it free flight! That is, with no control system. I theorized that if I did it right, it would fly on the engine for a while and then eventually land and I could simply chase after it.

I brought it out to a small field and started the engine. By the way, typical glow engine such as a Cox glow engine is a tricky business to start. Thankfully by then I’d tinkered with them quite a bit (since I had figured out how to convert these airplane engines into car engines and make model cars out of my meccano set using them). So I was able to get the engine going no sweat.

I hand launched the plane and it want to what a recall as about 40 feet, then stalled and came nearly straight down and didn’t quite recover before piling into the ground. One one hand I was so excited to see if fly but on the other it appeared totaled.

I brought it home and put it on my shelf above my workbench and continued with other projects while I thought about how to solve the issue of getting a radio control system.

A couple of weeks later my dad had his friend Bruce Sanborn over for a beer.

Of course I was too busy in my room with projects to bother with my parents’ guests but my dad called me to introduce me to his friend.

After that he asked me to go and get the big red plane from my room and show it. I was actually embarrassed because it was a disaster. I said it could take a month to figure out how to fix it and I could show it then. My dad insisted that I go get it now. So I went off to get it.

Mr. Sanborn explained to me that he had a Heath Kit six channel radio control system and he didn’t have an airplane. We talked about using his radio in my plane. Wow! The issue of a lack of a radio control system was now solved!!! I bet my parents and Mr. Sanborn must have been very amused at how excited I was!

Needless to say, the Lil’ Esquire project got moved to the top of my priorities! I forgot exactly how long it took to get the plane back together but I think it was a week. After a series of visits to Mr. Sanborn’s home, the radio was installed and everything was ready to go!

Mr. Sanborn suggested that I might be able to learn to fly the plane faster than him so we should get me up to speed and then I could show/help him. I didn’t mind and I thought it was a great plan.

I recall my knees actually shaking just before the first flight.

Here is an excerpt from my diary from this time period.

As you can see it was a pretty fun time. We were able to figure out how to fly RC planes on our own.

Brian Wattie arrived on the scene just after we had figured out basic flying. With the progress that we made plus the new guy on the block that was already into model planes my parents bought me a Sig Kavalier which is an intermediate level plane. Brian Wattie showed me how to fly it “properly”. He showed me the right procedures for operating a model aircraft at a club, procedures for landing. He also showed me basic pattern. Loops, cuban eights, split-S turns, rolls and more advanced stuff.

Mr. Wattie also gave me a printout of a design called Hangar Rat rubber power plane. He also gave one to Mr. Sanborn. We all made Hanger rats and he gave us all some sample 1/8th inch rubber and taught us all about the correct way of winding and trimming a rubber-power plane.  I must say we had a lot of fun in the gym with our hangar rats.

Mr. Wattie taught us all about cyanoacrylate glues, dremel moto tools. He showed me how to use a sanding block and much more. At times I would drop into his house and just hang out in his workshop as he worked on various projects so I’d absorb stuff like crazy.

He also encouraged other people in the community to try rubber-power and RC aircraft. The picture at the right shows a flying demonstration that he organized. He invited people from Saskatoon to show off pattern planes, 1/2A, 1/4 scale and many other exciting projects.

The unknown bearded man that I often saw at Handycraft supplies appears in the far right of the photo.

The plane being held upside down on the left by three men was a pattern plane. In those days pattern planes had tuned pipes and were pretty fast. With all the noise it was pretty exciting for a teenager!

What a huge spectacle for a community of less than 300 people!

Needless to say, this time of my life was very fruitful with model airplanes and other projects!

This time period had so many other projects not mentioned or detailed here. A hang glider to be towed behind a motorbike, DIY 2 speed transmissions for model cars, clutches, tree houses, motorcycles, electronics projects, camping, chasing girls and much more.

Sadly, the picture at the right is a picture of this gymnasium.

The town was actually a ghost town for some years before it became a buffalo ranch. Sagehill Buffalo Ranch may still be in operation but the Joseph Saxsinger the rancher and last occupant of Sagehill died a few years ago in his late 80s. He died in the hospital from injuries caused by a bisson (what they actually raise on a ranch like this).

Many of the buildings are still standing but they are deteriorating fast.

In the gym at the right I played floor hockey, badminton, volleyball, had school dances, flew model planes and more.