RE: Orbit Radio
I hate to date myself, but I guess it just comes with age. Some of my earlier experiences included flying with huge transmitters and receivers (by today's standards) that used vacuum tubes. I used to live in the LA area and knew Bob Dunham when he had his shop in Lynwood. I bought one of the early single channel Tx/Rx (no escapements or servos) from him and flew a Jr. Falcon with it. I used a Bonner escapement, Cox TeeDee .049, and I was able to ROG, fly around successfully, and land in front of me after the engine ran out of fuel. Later, I bought an Orbit single stick proportional system from Bob and was very happy with the results. I still have the Orbit radios and Bonner escapements. Bob was one of the nicest guys and he was very patient with people coming into his shop, asking about R/C.
I flew at Mile Square field in Fountain Valley in the days when we had to go to the El Toro Marine base to get the key to the gate. I had one of the earlier gold box Kraft systems with the open gimbals. That was a great system; very reliable. Occasionally, Phil Kraft and Joe Bridi and others would come to the field and show us all how our planes should fly. I remember flying various Kwik Fli versions as well as the Jensen Stiks. Fun times.
Last fall, just for nostalgia sakes, I ordered a set of plans for the Jr. Falcon from AMA and built it with a few mods. I installed a HiTec system with HS81 servos and an OS LA .15 for power. It's been snowing for some time now, so I'll have to wait a month or so before I can take it out.
It's fun to hear from you all and your experiences in the early days. It's one thing to fly these creations we have today, but it's also fun to build a nostalgia plane. I ordered a set of plans for the Playboy Sr. from Bob Holman, so that looks like it'll be a fun plane at the field this summer.
Lee