TOM BRETT'S DESIGNS-UPDATE
I can't remember the last time I was really EXCITED about something, (I'm talking "kid-in-a-candy-shop" excited), to the point that I kept thinking about the experience days later. When did YOU last feel that way? It's a shame that sometimes the older we get, the more we say to ourselves "been there...done that". Last week however, I had one of those rare "top of the world" experiences when I got the opportunity to meet Tom Brett's wife, Helen. Both Tom and Helen were involved in the hobby of early R/C pattern in different ways, and both were important members of the RCCD, (Radio Control Club of Detroit), back in the early days of pattern. The RCCD held an important meet called the Great Lakes Invitational, (later changed to the Detroit Invitational).
Tom started flying real aircraft in the Navy and later became immersed in R/C for a brief period of years before returning to full-scale aircraft in 1966. He was by profession an aeronautical/mechanical engineer, and became the 1962, (I belive) world pattern champion. He designed all of his planes...starting with his trainers. [X(]
Like contemporary pattern pioneer Ed Kazmirski, his R/C career was brief but full of innovations and contributions to the new sport. Not only did he design his own planes, all his hardware was home-made, and as an engineer, his workmanship and attention to detail was flawless. He also designed brake and pressurized fuel systems. As a complement to his short R/C career, some 35 years after his premature passing at only 48, his planes are still being built and flown today.
Tom and my father, (who joined when we moved to the area), both belonged to the RCCD at the same time. As I've said elsewhere, I went to the field with my Dad as a young teen and watched everything that went on. My first plane a few years later had his characteristic colors of light and dark blue, with yellow transparent silk. Tom always had a crowd around him, and I never took the opportunity to speak to him, but that didn't mean that he was any less a hero to me. To me, he set the example of what a pattern pilot should be like.
As described on page 70-71 or so of the Ed Kazmirski's Taurus thread, due to Chuck Winter's home movies of three Detroit Invitationals being converted to DVD, I had the opportunity to once again meet Ms Brett more than 35 years after the one chance encounter I had with her, when I delivered her copy of the video to her house during a family trip back to Michigan last week. That delivery turned into a 4-hour visit with her and a charter member of the RCCD, (formed in 1953) named Willie McMath. What an experience it was to share that afternoon with them.
After a while, we went downstairs to look at Tom's planes. In addition to the trainers, (one called "the Beast" because it hit her on the shoulder), were the Nimbus 1, 2, and 3, and a larger plane with a thicker Taurus-like wing called the Cirrus, (designed for proportional). All were in what appeared to be near perfect condition, though only part of the fuselages and the wings were visible. These planes were separated from us by several feet of "stuff' in the basement, and were not available for close inspection without a lot of work...so I viewed them from a distance. Each fuselage was sitting on the floor on its nose, so only the tail section was visible. The wings to most of the planes were held by a rack.
The main "prize" to me was the 1962-vintage travel crate, (much like the "infamous" crate from Ed Kazmirski's Taurus). It still holds "Apogee"...sister ship to the Perigee which now hangs in the AMA museum. On top of the crate rested the TBX-1, final Brett design flown by him at the 1965 NATS, (see attached for Perigee and TBX photos). I summoned my courage and asked if we could pull these planes out and clean them up for viewing...outside in the sun. They hadn't been disturbed in decades, but Helen was quite gracious and was a wonderful hostess. After a comprehesive cleaning, (it was amazing how well they cleaned up), we went outside for a photo-shoot. The planes were in at least as good a condition as the average modern plane you see at the field.
Duane