Woodsom Farm Fall Meet Sunday Oct. 20

FLASH: The October 12 meet has been rescheduled to Sunday October 20

Event Flyer HERE

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A gaggle of Tribute Models soar into the Canadian sky!  Harfang Squadron fliers have been busy at the building board.
Clive G. retrieves his GB.2 twin flying boat from the stream at the Sept 15 Durham meet.
Bern D. ready to send his Commando aloft on an early morning flight at the September Waywayanda, NY meet.
Jim W’s Scrappy One Design model. Many of these ships were seen at the recent Glastonbury indoor flying session.
Clubster Kim W. built this neat little Boxy Bipe as her 2nd model. Looks like Rocky in the cockpit…where’s Bullwinkle?

Fly at Woodsom Farm this Sunday

Heads Up Skysters!  We’ll be flying on the big field at Woodsom Farm in Amesbury this Sunday, October 20.  Last Saturday’s meet at Woodsom Farm was cancelled due to poor flying weather. 

The contest event roster remains unchanged – check out the full Oct. 20 Meet Flyer.  You’ll find directions to the field and key contacts on the Flyer as well.  

Fall flying at Woodsom Farm is the best.  See you at the field!

September Woodsom Farm Meet Results

The Sept. 7 meet saw a light flyer turnout, but nice weather. Several folks showed up to watch and fly gliders that were handed out. Chris helped Alec get his Sleek Streak flying and by the afternoon he was getting 30+ second flights every time.  Way to go guys!
The contest events were hotly contested.  In Dime Scale (pg2 below), a scant 2 seconds separated 1st place from second and second from third.  An exciting event..

Stealth Squadron Sept 2024 Results Page 1

Stealth Squadron Sept 2024 Results Page 2

Novak Tribute & Scrappy One Design Models

Well, folks sure have been busy at the building board!  Our Canadian clubsters from the Harfang Squadron have built and flown a whole gaggle of Novak Tribute Models.  Rumors of several streamer-flying mass launches have been reported, accompanied by a mysterious photo (sidebar pic).  Surely the pic was staged…could it be real??   That’s the Spirit skysters… NRE is smiling!

Check out the NRE Tribute Event page for pics of new Tribute Models built by clubsters.  Send yours along and we’ll put it up for all to see.  It’s all for FUN!

Reports are trickling in of lots of Scrappy One Design activity down in the Glastonbury. CT high school gym.  The first flying session of the 2024-25 indoor season was this past weekend and Scrappies (?) were said to be bouncing off the ceiling and putting up nice flights.  The excitement is building!

See you on the field at Woodsom Farm this Sunday skysters –

Tribute Plans & Lawrence Airport Event

Free Download Plans & Articles for 9 Tribute Event models – HERE

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Clubster Rick P is building this Rigid Midget from the 1952 Aeromodeller plan
Stealth Sqdn table at the August 17 National Aviation Day at Lawrence Airport
Commando launch at Woodsom Farm test field
Civil Air Patrol cadets at Lawrence Airport Aviation Day
SE-5 launch at Woodsom Farm test field
Ryan STA launch at Woodsom Farm test field
Stealth Squadroneers exhibited stick & tissue models and handed out Guillow’s gliders at the Aug 17 Lawrence Airport Aviation Day

Aviation Day at Lawrence Airport

There’s been a lot going on gang and we’re doing our best to keep you informed.  First up is a follow up to our last post A Tribute to Ed Novak.

Plan & Article Downloads Available!

Yep, all 9 Tribute Event plans (incl. articles) are now available on this site for download FREE.   Not since Comet sold kits for a dime have we seen such a deal!  Those keyboard wizards at HQ even put a NRE Tribute Event page on the top menu of this site to house the plans, tips, rules, etc.  Several Tribute Models have already been built – Rick P’s Rigid Midget is under construction (sidebar pic) and Tom N’s got a video of his Commando flying.  Better get building now as rumors are the first Tribute Event will be held this Fall at a Durham, CT meet.

Aviation Day at Lawrence Airport

Stealth Squadroneers continued their outreach to air-minded folks of all ages with a stick and tissue model airplane exhibit at the Lawrence Airport National Aviation Day on August 17.  Our roving reporter was there and managed to snap a few pics of the action (sidebar).  Steve E. brought a box of Guillow’s gliders left over from the terrific  Spencer-Peirce Little Farm event earlier this summer.  These gliders were handed out to interested kids and parents who came by our table.  And what a hit they were!  Kids just love these simple flying models  — we’re hoping to do more of these events.

Fun Flying at Woodsom Farm

OK, you’ve finished that model and you just can’t wait until the next club meet to fly it.  You’ve glided it into the couch and maybe over that patch of soft grass in your backyard, but you need a bit more room to wind it up and try a test flight or two.

Sure, you can venture to your local playground or ballfield – heck that’s where our Tribute Models were intended to be flown.  Another option is the back field off the parking lot at Woodsom Farm.  A few clubsters have been gathering recently at this “testing field” on calm mornings.  They’ve been having a ball just flying for fun, and getting their models ready for the club flying meets (see Calendar for dates & flyers).  Often this group finishes with a cup of coffee at a local shop in Amesbury.  If you’re interested in getting on their group text, reach out via the Contact Us form and we’ll fill you in.  Remember, this hobby and our club is all about having FUN!  

Keep building and see you at the field!

A Tribute to Ed Novak

A New Tribute Event for all-sheet balsa sport flyers –

Stay Tuned for More!

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Ed Novak at White’s Farm (Pinkham Field) in Durham, CT in 1979
Ed launches a Lacey peanut. Durham 1976
NRE Tribute Event Rules (click to view larger)
Commando from the 1943 Air Trails magazine Victory Squadron. Original model is to left; new model by clubster Tom N. at right.

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.

Aug 11 – Durham, CT

Aug 24 – Amesbury, MA

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!

Spencer-Peirce Little Farm Event Recap & Pics

See you at our flying meets:

Aug 11 – Durham, CT

Aug 24 – Amesbury, MA

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Guillow’s custom printed Jetstream models and Historic New England promoted the event in local newspapers
Spencer-Peirce Little Farm staff helped flyers with their models.
The “Flying Aces Take Flight” registration table ~ 150 air-minded folks attended
The Guillow’s table was busy all day
Guillow’s sponsored several raffles during the event
Family fun!
Attendees were able to customize their Guillow’s Jetstream models at the Assembly Table

Flying Aces Take Flight!

What a fabulous time we all had at the June 8 “Flying Aces Take Flight” event at the Spencer-Peirce Little Farm in Newbury, MA.

Not since the Jordan Marsh – Boston Traveler sponsored meets of the late 1930’s have we seen so many young folks and families flying free flight model airplanes in one place!

We’ll tell the story of those Jordan Traveler Junior Aviation League meets in a future post, but let’s get on with a recap of the June 8 event.  Check out some pics in the sidebar here and more on clubster John R’s photo page.   Thanks John!

A Brief Recap

The Rittmeister (aka Rich Z) conceived the initial concept for the “Flying Aces Take Flight” event and established much of the early plans with the Spencer-Peirce Little and Guillow’s leads.   Rich provides his brief recap below:  

“This was not the typical Flying Aces Club contest because we had moved into the realm of public education and flight demonstration. We coordinated with Guillow’s and the Spencer-Peirce Little Farm staff in organizing the event site.  In addition to model flying on the Farm’s open field, there was a spectator area, a model display area, the Stealth Squadron Repair Facility, and a Guillow’s exhibit area which included aerial games for the kids.   Indoors we had a continuous video loop on a TV screen that ran highlights of our past contests and a display table of Guillow’s models built by club members.  In appreciation of Guillow’s sponsorship, our Flying Aces Club presented the Guillow’s representatives with a trophy cup that a past member won at a Guillow’s-sponsored Jordan Traveler Junior Aviation League model meet in 1941.

A Sunny, Windy Day

On June 8th, the day of the event, the sky was sunny and warm with winds from the west at 15 mph gusting to over 20 mph.  More than one hundred and fifty attendees spread picnic blankets and chairs alongside the field and walked the flight line talking to the Flying Aces who were more than willing to answer any questions.  John R. handled the mic at the public address podium keeping spectators informed of activities on the field such as mass launch flights. 

Most importantly, attendees wanted to fly their Jetstreams (free with admission ticket purchase) and we had several clubsters on the field to help them.  The repair facility had a steady stream of
people with models needing to be glued back together or having broken rubber motors replaced.
The mood was festive. The Farm staff and Guillow’s were delighted with the event, and we in the FAC had the opportunity to introduce our type of model building and flying to the public.  The consensus
is that we will do it again next year. The Stealth Squadron FAC would like to thank Historic New England and Guillow’s for their sponsorship.”

Thanks Richard!

Now, if you attended the June 8 Flying Aces Take Flight event, it was great to meet and fly with you. 

If you’d like to learn more about free flight model airplanes, we invite you to come to any of our flying meets in Amesbury, MA (Woodsom Farm), or Durham, CT (White’s Farm). 

Check out the Coming Events and Calendar on this website for more information, directions and contacts.

See you on the flightline!

Fying Aces Take Flight at Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm!

Exhibition Flying at Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm in Newbury MA on June 8, 2024

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Stealth Squadron will Fly Stick & Tissue models at this open-to-the-public event. Click to view Event Listing at historicnewengland.org
The Stealth Sqdn Spring Meet has been moved to May 11, 2024. Click to view full flyer w/directions
Steve E’s WW2 Mass Launch winning Hellcat at April 14 Georgetown Meet
Richard B flies his Guillows Bird Dog at an impromptu Woodsom Farm trimming session
John R holds Rich Z’s Airmaster at the Glastonbury April 21 meet.
First sortie in the popular World War 2 mass launch event at the April 14 Meet in the Penn Brook School. This was our last meet of the indoor season.

CHANGE: May 11 1st Outdoor Meet

Whew.  Just like that the Indoor Flying Season is over!  The April 14 meet at the Penn Book School in Georgetown was a big success, with lots of entries in many of the events.  See the Results Sheets below:

 

And the following week, flyers gathered at the Glastonbury High School in CT for the final indoor meet at that site.  Check out the great pics of the action that Clubster John R took HERE.  Thanks for sharing John!

Flying Aces Take Flight at Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm!

Yep, that’s right, on June 8 the Stealth Squadron FAC club #49 will put on a stick-and-tissue rubber powered model airplane exhibition at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm in beautiful Newbury MA.  From 11am to 2pm, Stealth Squadroneers will fly their models in several exhibition events and help attendees get their stick models (included with public admission tickets) flying at this historic early New England farm.  Check out the Event Listing on the Historic New England site and tell your family and friends to come join us at the event!

Last Club Meeting of the Season coming up!

Monday May 6 will be the final club meeting of the season at the Georgetown Public Library.  Check out the sidebar or Calendar listings for the details.   With the good weather and longer days, we’ll be planning more impromptu flying sessions at the testing field  off the parking lot at Woodsom Farm in Amesbury, MA.  Perhaps our club meetings will be at this field.

 

See you at the May 11 meet at Woodsom Farm, skyster!

March Recap & Outdoor Meet Flyers!

Season’s Final Indoor Meets:
Georgetown, MA 4.14.2024
Glastonbury, CT  4.21.2024
Be there!

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Rich & Pete Scale Judging Gbury 3.3.24
Steve E won the Chameleon Pylon Race at the Mar 10 Georgetown meet
Perfect Launch by Alec at Mar 10 meet
Stick model Mass Launch – Fun!
Chameleons in Glastonbury gym, March 3 meet
Guillow’s Strato Streak Flyers in Penn Brook gym March 10, 2024

May 4 Outdoor Season Opener!

It’s been very quiet these past few weeks.  We know – everyone’s at their workbenches finishing up models for the coming outdoor season, right?  Well, Spring has Sprung and it’s here!

Outdoor Meet Flyers Posted!

Yep, we’ve just posted all of the Event Flyers for the Spring, Summer and Fall meets at Woodsom Farm in Amesbury.  Check the Calendar page of this site – you’ll find all of the local meet Flyers there – including the meets at White’s Farm (aka Pinkham Field) in Durham, CT.   Mark your own calendar and see you at the field skyster!

Indoor Season Closing Soon!

But it’s not over yet.  There’s still time to fly in Georgetown, MA, or Glastonbury, CT.  Check the meet Flyers in the Coming Events sidebar, or on the Calendar . 

We had so much fun at the March indoor meets (see pics).  It’ll be months before we’re indoors again, so don’t miss these last dates.

The March 10 Georgetown meet in the Penn Brook School gym was a blast.  Stick models were flying around everywhere!  Many thanks to Sam B for bringing the Guillow’s and Jetco kits – and Glastonbury ace John K for donating them.

The Chameleon One Design pylon race was a riot with Steve E’s, tight-turning Tiger Chameleon besting “rapid” Rich Z’s speedy Chameleon.

Check out the Georgetown March 10 Meet Results below:

 

Remember, we’ll be back flying in the Penn Brook School gym on Sunday April 14.  See you there!

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

Components of the Halley prop.  6 in. dia. Ikara prop shown for comparison.
A Bristol Brownie Peanut Scale Model fitted with a Halley prop described in the featured article.
Brownie’s prop & noseblock close up. Note brass tube bushing and latch free wheeler
Ray’s outstanding Voisin Hydro Peanut Scale model uses an efficient paddle-bladed prop.
Kash builds a Crossbow Embryo model at the Feb 5 Club Mtg at the Georgetown Public Library
Steve E’s unique Kyushu Shinden Canard NoCal at the Feb 4 Georgetown meet.  Note the lightweight indoor style “pusher” propeller.

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!

How to Make a Q-Tip Prop 

Jan 14 Meet Results – Feb 4 Meet Next Up!

Sunday Feb 4 Indoor Meet at Penn Brook School, Georgetown, MA

Be there!

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Winter Georgetown Indoor Meets Flyer
Kash and his Comet Step 2 stick model. Flew well!
Luc and wife Annie trekked from Montreal to fly at the Stealth meet
Richard launches his Pussycat in the Penn Brook School gym
Luc’s Dewoitine WW2 fighter on the winding stooge
Top competitors in the Skelly hangar!
Animal themed models on Steve E’s table at the January 14 indoor meet

New Models, New Flyers!

The Stealth Squadron indoor flying season kicked off with a rush on January 14. 

The first serious snowstorms of the year must have spurred a flurry of model building activity as several new flyers brought a bunch of new models.  There’s nothing like the satisfaction of seeing a new model fly successfully. 

There were a raft of new One Design models flitting about.  Steve’s “Tony the Tiger” Chameleon was a crowd favorite and a fitting stablemate to his infamous “Cow” Pussycat model. 

Kash brought a table full of new models including a nice flying stick model from the old Comet Build & Fly series.  He had another all-sheet balsa stick model flying – an original design we think.  Oh, and only a burst motor kept him out of the WW2 mass launch winners circle.  Way to go Kash!  

Intrepid Canadian flyer, Luc, trimmed his French Dewoitine fighter to circle nicely in the gym, but a burst motor also kept him out of the finals.  Rich’s steady flying Comet P-40 held the course to win the WW2 mass launch event.

Richard B. had a nice Chameleon that was dealing with some nasty wing warps.  A new Taylorcraft Dimer looked promising in flight – now if only it can be convinced to turn!

A pretty little Super Ace parasol was seen flying out of the Maine corner of the gym.  Some nice first flights for this model.  Ara thrilled the gang with his CO2 powered model.  It’s not often we see these  expansion engine powered models.

Bill’s Chameleon was pretty in it’s blue and yellow US Army Air Corps livery and his big new SE-5a World War 1 fighter wowed the gang by flying in stable flat circles.

Sam brought his new WW1 Bristol Fighter that some of the gang got to see fly in Glastonbury, CT a few weeks back.  Tom’s DH-4 another new WW1 recon biplane was also making circuits in the gym.  Tony’s neat Halberstadt fighter flew in the WW1 mass launch event too.

Alec, another youthful local flyer, flew several models from a Guillow’s stick job, to a Pussycat and an Embryo Endurance ship.

The Rittmeister challenged Ray’s indomitable Pussycat with his own new Pussycat model in the mass launch event. 

William, busy preparing for his 2nd year Engineering studies, flew his old reliable and highly competitive fleet of models.  He shared some neat new tong tools – a design/make exercise at school.  Thanks William!

In between all of this flying, a number of competition events were held.

Steve shared the Official Results below:

Remember, we’ll be back flying in the Penn Brook School gym on Sunday February 4.  See you on the flightline skyster!

1/7/2024 Glastonbury Meet Cancelled!

Legendary model magazine editor Bill Winter shares his perspective.  Read Now

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Bill Winter – pioneer rubber scale modeler and long-time editor of American Aircraft Modeler magazine.
Clubster Matt K. launches his 54in Comet Taylorcraft at Waywayanda, NY.
Chris M. readies his Whitehead pioneer scale model. It flies!
A 50in Waco biplane soars at Woodsom Farm in Amesbury, MA. Built from a pre-war Megow Models plan.
A Nieuport 17 peanut scale model climbs for the gym rafters. Built from a 1930s vintage Peerless Models plan.

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!