Category: Angus Says
Pithy guidance and commentary from the Stealth Squadron mascot Angus Mac Schadenfreude.
More Guillow’s!
See you at the Woodsom Farm (Amesbury, MA) Outdoor Meet Saturday May 16
Event Flyer HERE
Click to Enlarge Images
New Models Galore!
ALERT: the outdoor season opener is Saturday May 16 on the big field at Woodsom Farm in Amesbury, MA. Check out the Flyer and get your models ready!
Simple Fun!
How young were you when you folded and flew your first paper glider? Maybe that simple act of creating something that worked set you on a path as an engineer, artist, or even pilot.
In preparation for the June 20 Flying Aces “Engineers in Training” event at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm in Newbury, MA, the Stealth Squadroneers will offer a free download paper glider. The Spencer Peircer – as the little glider is affectionately known, will be featured in an upcoming Historic New England blog post which reaches as many as 33,000 members.
We’ll share the HNE post here when it drops. In the meantime, why not let the gang know you’re attending the big to do on June 20 and share the event with your friends and family!
Guillow’s Flight Test Reports
Sure it’s been cool, but there have been nice days and modelers have been out flying their new models. Clubster Sam B has been busy building some of Guillow’s most challenging kits. While many modelers build these kits as display models, Sam flies his models, and with new tech Super Capacitor electric power to boot. Here’s an early May test flying report:
“First- the Camel does fly. It meandered over the field, coming close to some trees. This was on maybe 3.2V (supercapacitor charge). Didn’t really climb out, but toddled around nicely. The upshot is that there’s plenty of reserve power.”
And then Sam flew his new Guillows Spirit of St Louis. “At 3.3 V (supercap charge) I got close to a lap, so I opted for 3.4V. This produced a nice climb to about 20′ and then it dawned on me the airplane was still going up. I went chasing as the airplane climbed over some pretty tall trees- gotta be a couple of hundred feet up- maybe more. Somewhere around 3 minutes and change, the airplane lodged in a tree about 30 feet up. It was coming down at that point.”
The next day, Sam stopped by his test field on the way to the Durham meet.
” I got my Spirit back- but it’s a major rebuild. Talked to the farmer- he said the cows were eating it. I don’t think so- it’s not chewed- but the fuse has been crushed and the wing is busted up pretty well. This was not crash damage. I’m really going to enjoy the next steak I eat….”
So the excitement continues to build in anticipation of the Guillow’s 100th anniversary celebration at the FAC Nats in Geneseo this July. You don’t want to miss that one skyster!
See you in the tall green stuff!
Oh, Winter Wild!
See you at the Georgetown MA Indoor Meet Sunday Feb. 22!
Event Flyer HERE
Click to Enlarge Images
Stay warm. Fly Indoors!
Penn Brook School in Georgetown, MA this coming Sunday 2/22/2026. Be there and join our happy (and warm) crew of fliers. See the Flyer HERE!
Frigid Flying Follies
You can’t fool mother nature, but some folks just can’t help but try. Sure, there’s two feet of snow on the ground and the thermometer’s plunging faster than a starlet’s neckline. But heck we’ve gotta fly!
Stories of aero derring-do are coming in from across the frigid northeast. Did you get wind of clubsters John & Kathi R. trekking down the Cape with a U.K. pal to fly off the frozen dunes during the worst snowstorm in years? No? Well, check out John’s photostream HERE. Now, that’s some good ‘ol Yankee hospitality!
Or how about Mitch K’s terror-filled test flight high up on snowy Mt. Killington, VT? Mitch tossed his new Druine Turbulent over the powdery snow in his front yard only to have a Bard Owl snatch the little red model out of the air mid-flight! Mr. Owl quickly found the Druine less than tasty and dropped the carcass to the snow. Repairs are underway.
Guillow’s Postal Contest!
So you can’t wait until the FAC NATS for Guillow’s fun, or you’re just too far away?
The Guillow’s Postal Contest is underway now and you can fly your Modern or Golden Age Guillow’s models in the event. To enter, simply take a photo of your model, include it with your best flight time and submit per the instructions HERE.
Anyone can enter this Postal Event, whether you’ll be in Geneseo for the NATS or not.
Scores will be posted in future issues of the Flying Aces Club News. The Postal Contest ends on December 31, 2026. Sure sounds like fun, eh skyster?
Well that’s all for now. See you in the gym…. or the deep white stuff if you dare!
Go Guillow’s!
See you at the Georgetown MA Indoor Meet Sunday Jan. 11
Event Flyer HERE
Click to Enlarge Images
Guillow’s 100th Anniversary!
Happy New Year – and what a year it’s going to be for us model airplane enthusiasts!
Three cheers for traditional stick & tissue modeling!
January 11 Indoor Flying in Georgetown, MA
Yep, 2026 is off to a flying start. Say boo to bad weather and fly indoors. If you missed the Jan 4 contest at Glastonbury HS in CT, we’re flying again this Sunday Jan 11 at the Penn Brook school in Georgetown, MA. You’ve been building away over the holidays and here’s your chance to get some airtime.
The Event Flyer has all of the details including directions to the gym and key contacts.
Guillow’s at the 2026 FAC NATS
What, you haven’t heard the news?! Well, join our parent org, the national Flying Aces Club, and get with the program. Their bi-monthly hardcopy newsletter brings you all the best in the stick & tissue modeling world including several full-size building plans in every issue. Sign up at flyingacesclub.com!
If you’re a modeler, you likely know about Guillow’s. But did you know it’s the oldest continuously operating model airplane company in the world? And sure, puff your chest out a bit because Guillow’s is located right here in Wakefield, MA!
Stealth Squadroneers love Guillow’s models. We usually have a handful of Guillow’s models flying at our meets and they win competition events too!
We’ve hosted the family fun “Flying Aces Take Flight” event with Guillow’s at the Spencer Peirce Little Farm in Newbury, MA the past two summers and it’s scheduled again for 2026.
So hear ye, hear ye local modelers – here’s your chance to “go national” and fly your Guillow’s model in free flight with like-minded folks from around the country and beyond. Join your fellow Stealth Squadroneers – the Guillow’s Home Team – in beautiful Geneseo, New York this coming July.
The FAC will recognize Guillow’s models flown in each of their NATS competition events and there will be a fun “mass launch” of all Guillow’s models as part of the Guillow’s 100th Anniversary celebration. Models should be built right out of the Guillow’s kit box using the kit wood (die cut or laser cut) and plastic parts. The model may be lightened by sanding and/or reducing the width of the sheetwood parts. More guidance will be posted here soon. Stay tuned.
In the meantime, check out the pictures in the sidebar to see how some clubsters are already building their Guillow’s models. It’ll be fun to chat it up with your fellow modelers at the indoor flying meets and find out who’s building what and how they’re doing it.
See you in the gym skyster!
A Tribute to Ed Novak
A New Tribute Event for all-sheet balsa sport flyers –
Stay Tuned for More!
Click to Enlarge Images
The Spirit of the FAC
This post is dedicated to Ed Novak, an original member of the modern Flying Aces Club (FAC), and a long-time friend. Ed passed on earlier this summer at his home in CT.
But First….Upcoming Flying Meets!
With the FAC Nationals in Geneseo, NY in the rear window, the local New England flying meet schedule is heating up. Hope to see you at our August meets – click the links below for the details.
The Modern Flying Aces Club – Early Years
In the mid-late 1960’s a small group of free flight modelers in southern CT began flying rubber-powered scale and sport models in the style of the pre-WW2 era Flying Aces magazine and the original Flying Aces Club. The emphasis was on fun as characterized by the adventures and tongue in cheek humor of that fictional Flying Aces hero, Phineas Pinkham. Building and flying unique and unconventional models was encouraged, and a sometimes schmaltzy newsletter was started. The spirit caught on, the little club grew to national status, and the modern Flying Aces Club (FAC) was born. Eddie Novak was a key member of that early, wacky and creative crew of flyers.
In fact, Ed was perhaps the first FAC junior flyer not related to the club founders Dave Stott and Bob Thompson. His parents would drive him to the first FAC meets at Pinkham Field in Durham, CT. Yes, that Pinkham Field is the same Whites Farm field that we fly at in Durham, CT today!
The Spirit of the FAC!
Ed was a relentless advocate for the Spirit of those early wacky and adventuresome Flying Aces. Flying model competition was important and as this aspect of the FAC grew, Ed was there to remind us there was more to our Flying Aces Club – Fun!
To celebrate this Spirit and Eddie’s influence over the years, the Pinkham Field Irregulars (as that group of local flyers is known) have come up with a new Ed Novak Tribute Event. This is a fun celebration of the simple all-sheet balsa sport models popularized in WW2 era model magazines.
Rules for the Tribute Event are presented HERE. A number of construction Plans and Articles for these models will be made available for download (free) from this website soon.
The Louis Garami “Commando” published in a 1943 issue of Air Trails is one of these Tribute models. At the top of this post, we’re happy to share a photo of Louis’ original model and one recently built from his plans by clubster Tom N.
We’ll let you know when the downloads are available on our club website here. Stay tuned and keep that building board at the ready!
Make a Q-Tip Indoor Prop!
ALERT: March 3 Glastonbury date will be a FULL DAY contest & flying session!
Feb 4 Contest Results in this post.
click images to view larger
I Need a Better Prop!
OK, before we get into how to make that better prop, let’s share some important updates.
FIRST: The Sunday March 3 Glastonbury H.S. indoor event will be a Full Day 8am-5pm Contest and Flying Session . This is a make-up for the cancelled January full day session. Remember, there is no February Glastonbury indoor flying session, so be sure to make the March 3 Full Day session. Hooray, and thanks to John K for setting this up!
SECOND: Results from the Feb 4 Georgetown, MA meet are below:
2/4 FAC Kanone Report – Sheet 1
2/4 FAC Kanone Report – Sheet 2
Make a Lightweight Indoor Prop
At the Glastonbury, CT high school indoor sessions, you may have noticed a tall gent flying some incredibly small (isn’t that always the way), beautiful and well-behaved models.
Well, on very small and light models such as those that clubster Doug Halley flies, the right prop is critical. A commercial one-piece plastic prop (eg Peck, North Pacific, etc.) can sometimes be just too heavy, or maybe a different pitch is needed. Our Stealthy roving reporter caught up with Doug and asked for more info on the unique adjustable paddle-bladed props on his models.
Doug came through with a detailed article outlining how to make his “Q-Tip Prop” and where to get the components used to build it. Tom N built a Q-Tip prop for his Peanut Scale Bristol Brownie and can attest to its ease of construction. The Brownie won a Peanut Scale event outdoors at a recent FAC Nationals with this prop.
Paddle-bladed props like this work great on lightweight models such as the super cool Kyushu Shinden that Steve E was flying at the Feb 4 Georgetown indoor meet. Be aware, however, that these props are not “legal” for some competitive events – Dime Scale, Chameleon One-Design, for example – they’re too good!
Many thanks to Doug H for sharing his excellent lightweight indoor propeller design with us. And better yet, how to make it and set the pitch!
1/7/2024 Glastonbury Meet Cancelled!
Legendary model magazine editor Bill Winter shares his perspective. Read Now
Click to Enlarge Images
1/7 Glastonbury Meet Cancelled
Due to SNOW forecast.
Don’t miss the Jan 14 Georgetown Indoor Flying!
Sunday January 7, 2024 – CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER!
Sunday January 14, 2024 – Stealth Squadron Winter Meet (Georgetown MA)
Why Free Flight Rubber Scale?
When asked if he flew “those remote control models”, Free Flight Rubber World Champ, Bob Hatschek replied:
“No. The ones I fly are much more advanced. They’re fully automatic.”
Great response Bob, but what about those Rubber Scale Models – why make the effort?
Way back in April 1969, Bill Winter -legendary 1930’s rubber scale modeler and long-time editor of several international model airplane magazines – shared his perspective. His editorial is as relevant today as it was 50yrs ago.
Check out Mr. Winter’s editorial below and share your thoughts via the Comments to this post.
Straight & Level, AAM April 1969
See you in the gym in early January skysters!
Build a Towline Glider for the August & September Amesbury meets!
Download free full-size plan for the Megow Primary Glider HERE!
Click to Enlarge Images
Towline gliders are Fun!
The gang had a blast flying FAC Scale Gliders at the recent FAC Non-Nats in Geneseo NY. So much so that our local flyers convinced skyboss Angus to add the event to the August 26 and September 9 meets at Woodsom Farm in Amesbury.
What, you don’t have a Scale Glider? No problem. The simple, quick to build and great flying Megow Primary Glider plan is available for download free below. The file prints on an 11×17 sheet of paper. Think of this as a super simple dime scale model. It doesn’t have a propeller or noseblock and the fuselage is a simple flat frame. Sure, you can easily make one in time for the late August Woodsom Farm meet!
Building Tips
We’re including several pics of clubster Pete K’s Megow Primary model to help get the juices flowing. Look closely and you’ll see a few simple mods Peter made to his Primary.
Build the model directly off the plan. Use stiff 1/8 square balsa for the upper longeron that the wing sits on. This can be a weak point. Peter added thin card stock gussets at the fuselage upright joints to make it even more robust. Don’t forget to add the thread flying & landing wires per the plan after the model is covered and assembled. This rigging is functional and keeps the model from twisting while going up on the towline. Consider reinforcing the rigging points on the wing with tissue discs.
Towline & Tow Hooks
The towline is lightweight braided fishing line attached to a simple hand winch. The club will provide winches for flyers to use at the August and September meets along with some easy training on how to tow your model to altitude. It’s fun!
The towline has a ring on the end that slips onto the wire tow hook on your glider. Pete mounted three tow hooks on his Primary to make it easier to tow the model in different wind conditions.
That’s it skyster! Download the plan now (below) and get to the building board so you can join in the fun at the upcoming meets. Join the club Zoom meetings, or use the Contact Us form if you have any questions with the build.
Download Megow Primary Glider full size construction plan
Mechanics of the Leading Edge
Indoor flying: Glastonbury CT on March 5 , Georgetown MA on March 12.
Be there!
click images to view larger
Drat my Leading Edge busted!
We recently learned about Young’s Modulus and failure stress
for balsa as a function of density (Material Properties of Balsa for FAC Modelers).
And now our engineer-author William S. is back with a follow up; Mechanics of the Leading Edge. William tells us he took the deep dive into all this technology to solve the age old indoor flyers question “what leading edge won’t break when my plane hits a basketball hoop?“
And to think some of us see these stick and tissue models as just simple toys! Ah yes, to the uninitiated perhaps…
Read the latest article now
High Performance Indoor Scale Model Comparison
Indoor Contests: January 8 in Glastonbury, CT & January 15 in Georgetown MA
Click to Enlarge Images
Lessons from the Glastonbury Gym
Do you remember when we used to fly free flight rubber models in the MIT Dupont Gym in Cambridge MA? Perhaps you flew there with us.
One of the top flyers there, Jim D., built a couple of flying scale models from the popular Golden Age Reproductions kits and plans. One was the 25″ wingspan Scientific Curtiss Robin and the other was the Megow 20″ span Caudron C460 Racer. They were fabulous flyers with flight times of 80sec to 2min duration indoors.
Being an engineer, Jim documented the key specifications for his models – weights, wing area, motor dimensions, etc. He also charted the empirical results from a number of flights on each model in the Glastonbury high school gym. Yes, this is the same gym we’ll be flying in on January 8, 2023!
In his analysis (click link below), Jim compares the performance of the two models and draws some insightful conclusions. He comments on high wing vs. low wing configuration, the effects of drag and wing undercamber among other things.
There’s lots of great information in this brief analysis for both experienced and newer modelers. If you can replicate Jim’s specifications, you’ll be very competitive in indoor meets like the ones coming up in January 2023. Good luck skyster!