|
RE: Rat Racing Plane kits
I had a Count Clipper with the mag pan many years ago...it was a flying brick. A Ringmaster could outperform it.
|
RE: Rat Racing Plane kits
ORIGINAL: Kiwi All right, who remembers this, when a contest was further distant than the normal range limit for leaving at 3:00 AM? Fort Worth and Dallas were a longer drive away for us, so we would leave the evening before, then stop at the roadside park outside of town when we got to it, and sleep a few hours, sometimes on the car's roof, if there were three of us, and I'd drawn a short straw! We'd wake up at 6:00, find a place for breakfast, and then head for the contest site. Another modeler on a budget suggested that, and it was workable, but only if I had a baby-sitter to stay with my kids, after 1964 (when they were along, I had to call ahead to a member of the host club I knew, or at least had a phone number for, and arrange a place to throw down sleeping bags in his house . . ) remember that I was on a stretched budget throughout my more active contest-going years, and felt that motel rooms were a real luxury expense! Bob Mears |
RE: Rat Racing Plane kits
Many Thanks to all of you that went back and brought forward these memorial postings. They certainly do bring back those days when model airplanes were really FUN!
I just have to digest this posting of Lou Melancon: Reading these posts about Rat Racing in Louisiana and Texas in the 60's brings back a lot of memories. In those years contests were a couple of weeks apart and they were held in Longview, Texas, Houston, Dallas, Lake Jackson, Shreveport, Louisiana, Alexandria, New Orleans, and other places, but those are the areas we went too. I was a teenager and built my combat planes and rat racers. My dad set up the engines. We mixed our own fuel in those days and used chemicals that today are known carcinogens (nitro benzine). If I remember correctly we ran 40% nitromethane, UCONN synthetic oil, and 8X9 Top Flite Power Props. 18 months at Ellington, and USAF said, Boy, you going to SAC, B-47s. That pretty well stomped on my competition, but have you ever seen a Lieutenant flying a Stunter between two rows of Alert B-47s, all loaded with thermonukes, and ready to head for action? That is where I learned to be a fair Stunt flier. :D Some 5 years later I wound up in Laredo, TX as a Flight Instructor in the T-33, and modeling again really came to town. I also instructed in the T-38. I made several trips to Lake Jackson for CL Stunt and Free Flight. On one trip I took the Base Commander's son (I had gotten him fairly well trained) and he won several trophies. Guee what! About 6 weeks later, we had a nice Asphalt circle for up to 70 ft lines, fenced and with bleachers. :) The airplanes in the early sixties were based on the Harter's speed pan but a profile design out of Houston used by Ron Eastman and John Locke pretty much took over in 64 or 65. We used variations on that design for a couple of years before returning to pan based racers and cowling the engines. We used Super Tigre G-21 35s in combat and ringed 40s in Rat Race. The ringed engine would re-start much better than the lapped engines. I can remember going to contest in an un-airconditioned car with 4 others, 2 in the front, three in the back in the middle of night trying to get to the contest a just about day break. One of the guys in the back was usually doping a combat plane or doing repairs. In Houston we flew against John and Ron, plus Dickie Ritch, Sherwood Buckstaff, all three of the Stubbefiels, Monica Garrison, Pat Willcox, Bill Estill and many others. In Baton Rouge we had my dad, Jim Bethea, Brian Froisy, Howard Williams, and Bill Stevens active in racing for several years. FYI, Pat Wilcox is the President of Jetero RC Club, www.jetero.com, just east of Huffman. His son Mike was a world champion CL Combat flier a few years ago. Rumor is that he is now a hard working father and husband. ;) Dicky Ritch's son, Randy, owns a Hobby Shop NW Houston area, just north of beltway and is a local AMA Associate Vice Pres. The speeds of the racers, their line pull and the physical demands of racing led to a shortage of able pilots. Sometines a pilot would fly his own plane and that of several others in a day. There were times when the finalists could fly off because they were using the same pilot. Those years, contests, airplanes, and people were very important to me growing up and I treasure the memories. _____________________________ Waco Brotherhood Member #110 Hide Signatures |
RE: Rat Racing Plane kits
<font size="-1">And I thought I was all alone! We rode to contests early in the AM back in 60 and 61 to midwest events AND doped planes and made last minute repairs or adjustments as we rode (not driving). We got there early sometimes to run in a new engine before the day's events began. What a great hobby, as I remember being in the LAST combat round and NO airplane! Not to worry, my opponent offered me a plane to fly! Where is that kind of sportsmanship today? Having opponents offer fuel or props when needed was commonplace and winning at any cost was not the most important thing. My parents were always nervous about me at 14 and 15 riding with 'strangers' on holiday wekends to contests. They said if I maintained good grades though, I could go where I liked. Not true as in "if anything happened to you, your _______ will never forgive me", they renegged! Very disappointing, but the contests I did go to, including the NATS will never be forgotten. We learned from Earl Alexis, a cousin of a friend, who grew up flying models in New Orleans and saw us trying to fly with a half-A trainer (cessna 172). He said "that's no model airplane. Have you heard of combat?" He then took us to the hobby shop (he was over 16 and driving, going to electronic school at night and working for Belltone fixing hearing aids). He was fired up at the idea of flying again and bought a Ringmaster, motor, etc., built it in a day or two showing us how and took us to the park to fly it. At first, with no wheels, the idea that you would hand lauch a plane seemed like he was kidding us, plus he wanted us to hold this HUGE thing while it was trying to tear itself out of our hands? After one of us stepped forward and the plane was airborne, he had each of us into the center and put his hand over ours in the control handle, so we could FEEL this real model airplane pull! That did it! No more fear of mildly windy days and soon we all had Ringmasters. Next was combat and then the first CRASH. Pieces were retrieved in a shopping bag and depression set in. Earl said, 'come with me and we will make her fly again. IMPOSSIBLE, too many pieces, too much destruction, yet she was airborne 2 days later. Next, kit combat and then scratch built combat, mixing our fuel, rat racers, stunt for Earl and another veteran we discovered in the area that built speed planes and still another into early radio planes. Wonderful, helpful people in a great hobby. I feel so fortunate to have lived at that time, because with the chemistry and electrical experiments, my own rifle, my casting and finishing a working black powder ships cannon lethal at 500 yards(.38 cal. 9 inches long), rockets and other things I was allowed to do (won the sciene fair several times), my parents would be put in jail today! Yes, we were very fortunate. Leonard Evans/highiron999</font>
<font size="-1">Posted on: 6/24/2010 5:49 PM by Author "<span style="font-weight:bold;">highiron999</span>" in the forum "Control Lines"</font> |
RE: Rat Racing Plane kits
Hi Horace,
My dad Charlie worked at Dow Chemical in Freeport. We lived in Lake Jackson till I was six when we moved to Louisiana as Dow started the Louisiana plant. As a kid in Lake Jackson I got to go to a wonderful hobby shop and drool over the planes and engines. They had a new engine called "Max" which looked good and was priced right. My dad and his friends were skeptical of all things made in Japan as they had a reputation for cheap and inferior products during that time. My dad took my brother and I to contests in Long View, Houston, and Shreveport just to see what it was all about. He liked building and working on engines and we eventually got into serious rat racing and combat. Everybody flew model airplanes then, it was almost a right o passagetobuild a scientific carved wood kit, put Baby Bee on it and go show your friends. Model airplanes were very high tech and racers were at the top of the heap. I know Mike and Pat Willcox and flew RC combat with them for a few years. Mike is certainly at a level I could never match but simply watch in awe as he dominated CL combat for years. Glad I could share the memories, best regards, Lou. |
RE: Rat Racing Plane kits
I have the plan and i used to fly it and race it with my friend and it is the best plane for me because i used to service it on the regular basis and whenever i have to play with it i always clean and when it need some of the oil i provide it. it fly smoothly and very easy to handle.
|
RE: Rat Racing Plane kits
I have no idea about it because i never fly and i feel fear.I hope this forum is help you to solve this problem.thanks for sharing.
|
What a collection of old memories! I grew up in Lafayette, LA, flew C/L, aspired to combat and R/R, but couldn't run with the big boys. I remeber most of the above names, plus a few of my own friends: Irvin Lauw, George Crain, George Hall, OMG, things that would just be illegal amounts of fun now. Now, at 67, I'm into diesels, would kill to have a real Oliver Tiger Mk 3, but exist with a n MVVS and a possible Fox .15 schneurle b/b that I may conver to diesel by way of Davis. As the old song says, "Thanks for the memories?"
|
Hello Lou,
I was just surfing this forum and saw this thread. I went to our F2C Team Trails in Dallas a few weeks ago traveling on I-10 through Baton Rouge started me thinking about Charlie and so many more great racers we have lost. Racing in the 60's - 80's were fantastic times, when you won you beat at least 30+ teams, now at our nats you might beat 5 or 6, so sad. I will always cherish the time I spent with Charlie. Dick Lambert |
Originally Posted by DaveSR71
(Post 9818595)
Jim
Yeah, Rat was out of hand. At 135lbs soaking wet I built engines and pitted. 5-6 lap test flights and then the shut off was about all I felt Ok doing. Heck a slip or trip and I might wind up lost in the next county. In the 60s George Cleveland tried to get me to fly one as a jr at State Champs one year. Took an entire day to convince him that at lap 6 I was going to hit the shut off. We would have won as the airplane had about 20mph on the other jrs. I'm chicken. highiron Here is a pic of some sort of Quicky type Rat built in the 80s by a friend after I quit flying. I think they were using combat engines then. Strange engine rules for current Quicky Rat. The K&B 40 is engine of choice from whats legal. As they slowly blow up others will replace it. Notice external controls. I think this is a requirement. Sounds like you knew some of the old bunch. Stub and Buckstaff are 2 that come to mind as they were my main competition and one of us 3 usually had first place.-there were others. Great guys and good times. Stub and 4-5 of the others still fly combat!! Buck is gone. David Jim Plake, just wondering if I know you? I've lately been hanging around the RC pylon forum but I grew up flying combat with those guys. In the '70's I flew in a club in Houston at Melrose park. Buckstaff and all the Stubblefields were in the club. As I remember combat and rat race were the thing to do. More names from the past? How about- Lanny and Larry Stubblefield? Ron Esman and David Layman- (they were a hell of a team)- the Dickey Ritch and Fred French team. George Cleveland- there were more. My brother and I were the only kids in the club so we always had to fly the men in our contests. hehe, when we traveled to the other club contests and actually got to fly other juniors it was easy pickens! |
| All times are GMT -8. The time now is 02:31 AM. |
Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.