rcacro

While searching my files for the prints of the Super Skylark, I came across these photos taken during the test phase of the original Falcon 56. If my memory is correct, these pictures were taken in a Park located in Maywood, Il. This was the original Falcon 56 without the ailerons.
I am the one starting the engine and was the test pilot on most of the test flights. We did convince Carl to fly the test model during one of the early flights as I stood close behind him ready to grab the transmitter. No buddy box arrangements in those days.
Photos were taken by Joe Vermock who was a commercial photographer and a very skilled modeler who was the person who taught me me how to build light models.
BTW the park land was previously used as one of the first airports for Airmail service in the country.

John W.
Scottsdale, Az

SGibson

My Feedback: (2)

What year were the photographs taken? Do you remember which radio was used for the first flights? I looks like an old reed system.
The Falcon 56 was my first R/C plane. I added ailerons to it and powered it with an Enya .29
I really enjoy the Vintage & Antique forum here on R/C Universe.
S Gibson

NM2K

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In the far right photo, is that a Don Brown Quadraplex transmitter you are using?


Ed Cregger

ukengineman

Thanks for sharing these pictures with us.

Strat2003

My Feedback: (1)

Neat pics!

A couple of side questions.....did Carl actually design the airplane, or just set up some parameters and approve the final result?
Was Carl a physically small guy? He seems to be in lots of the photos I've seen.

Dan Vincent

Yeah, Carl was on the short side but I think guys like him should be measured from the Chin up.

He was a master at making beautiful FF models.

Jim Messer

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I was privliged to know Carl Goldgerg, as a free-flight competitor in this hobby. He was my mentor. I always wanted to be like him. Attaced is a photo I took of Carl while standing in the line with him at the Nats in Chicago with his 1/2A Viking free-flight, the last Nats that Carl was able to attend. As far as I am concerned, he was the father of model aviatiion, and I built all his models - my first one a Zipper in 1941.

HighPlains

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If I'm not mistaken, Carl was the inventer of the pop-up dethermalizer for free flight.

boberos

John,
Interesting that you mentioned Joe Vermoch.
Joe designed the 1/2 A ''Jodel'' for Midwest Products who kitted it for a while.
Before that he did a larger Jodel. Do know of any plans available for the larger Jodel?
Thanks.

rcacro

SGibson wrote
"What year were the photographs taken? Do you remember which radio was used for the first flights? I looks like an old reed system"
Iam not sure of the exact year. Maybe about 1960.
The transmitter Carl is holding is a MIN-X reed system. You can see acorn nut covers on the top that covered the POts that were used to adjust the tone frequencies. We also used a CG reed system in some of the protypes.
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Creggar wrote
"In the far right photo, is that a Don Brown Quadraplex transmitter you are using?"
No see comment above. Never did see any Don Brown Quadraplex used in the Chicago area. We went from using reed systems right to proportional. F&M in my case.
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Strat2003 wrote
"A couple of side questions.....did Carl actually design the airplane, or just set up some parameters and approve the final result?
Was Carl a physically small guy? He seems to be in lots of the photos I've seen."

No. Carl did not design the airplane. It was lot of my ideas on what a RC airplane should be in that time frame. I had designed and built several shouder wing airplanes before the Falcon. I must credit Dale Root and his Ascender design for the basic layout that I adopted for use in my designs. I was also an accomplised RC flyer and had a basic understanding of electronics.
However, Carl always made me justify my ideas and asked a lot questions about our recommendations. Joe Vermock and some others also contributed to the design effort.
Carl was short in statture but big in mind and a real gentleman. I am sure I learned more from than he did from me. Carl's other expertise was in the area of kit manufacturing and general business.
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Boberos wrote
Interesting that you mentioned Joe Vermoch.
"Joe designed the 1/2 A ''Jodel'' for Midwest Products who kitted it for a while.
Before that he did a larger Jodel. Do know of any plans available for the larger Jodel? "

Your right about Joe and the Jodel. I still have the 1/2 a sized Jodel I built in collegehanging in my shop.
Attached are pics of the larger Jodel. It flew so well I placed in both scale and pattern in the same contest with the one airplane. I will PM you about some plans I know of.

Thanks to everyone for your interest in this posting. It brings back a lot of memories for me.

John Wisniewski

NM2K

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Don Brown's Quadraplex system was a four channel analog proportional system, not reeds, just FYI.


Ed Cregger

quepasa

RCACRO, I don't even know how to thank you for your help/design on the Falcon! It was one of my 1st. r/c planes, and helped teach me to fly. When it came time to re-learn to fly, I went right back to what worked before and built another one. I expect to order another to bash into a twin. Your design will out live us both! Thank You! Q.

NM2K

My Feedback: (14)

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What quepasa said. You have designed an all time classic model in the Falcon 56.

I remember when your Falcon was the first semi-symmetrical airfoil equipped model to be used as a trainer. None of the zooming of traditional flat bottom airfoil equipped trainers.

Unfortunately, we have slid backwards in training design due to the ease of rapidly building flat-bottom airfoiled wings in an Asian ARF factory. You were way ahead of your time.


Ed Cregger

jaymen

John, looking at the photos I said to myself, "Gosh, that sure looks like the speed champ Bill Wisnewski..." No wonder, eh? Give a bit of your personal bio, and a little about your brother, others here would really enjoy the reading.

Jay..

rcacro

Hi Jay
Bill is not a relative that I know of. The name is very common in Poland like Smith is in the UK. I came from Chicago.
I did meet Bill Wisniewski on several occasions. He was a nice guy who enjoyed working on engines..

short Bio. Technical high school and college, built UC and RC in high School. Started with single channel Berkley Aerotrol transmitter and homemade Miller receiver. Built most of my RC equipment until digital proportional came out. Also designed my own RC airplanes or modified other designs to suit my purpose.
Hold extra class amateur radio license W2DEG and private pilot license.
Current RC airplane is an ARF (ugh!) WH Sukhoi with DA-100. Still compete in Pattern and IMAC. And still have not done half the things that I would like to in my life but am running out of time. Had to quite working three times to have more time for hobbies.

John

Chad H

Thanks also John for sharing those photographs, I would like to tell you that I also learned to fly on the original Falcon 56 (older kit at the time) with added ailerons too. It was finished with Sig Silray for covering and Sig dopes. Power was from a gift from my brother that used to train on, a standard OS 40. The Falcon taught me how to fly, take off and land, plus my first basic aerobatics. It survived, and I sold it to another to train on.
Before I flew RC, my brother and I had a U-Control club here at our farm with all the neighborhood kids I involved. I learned U-control on a Goldberg Wizard, then advanced to Lil` Satan. Oh man a pile of them were built. Throw in the odd Lil` Jumpin` Bean, and Swordsman to boot.
Thanks again, Chad.
Here`s the proud owner in 1979 with his Falcon 56........

PeterC

Great thread here guys. This is what this column should be about. Old designs, old radios, and old timers.
The Falcon was my first R/C ship too. Power was a OS 25 on three channels. One important thing I learned from that airplane was never to finish a plane in all black.
I have just finished a Falcon mark III and am ready to test it when the weather becomes better. The only chnge I made was to reduce the dihedral. I flew a friends Falcon this passt summer and it flew so nice I had to build one for my self. It's nice to have a 40 sized hack ready to go any time and one that will fit in the car whithout too much disassembly.
Peter

H5487

Like so many others, my first R/C was also a Falcon 56 - in 1970. Used a Digi-Trio radio (Rud/Elev/Throt) and an OS-30. Learned to fly by crowhopping it in the high school parking lot until I got up the nerve to take it around for the first time. (No buddy box umbilical cords back then.) Converted it into a taildragger in 1971. Left it at the parent's house when I went into the USAF at the end of 71. I still have it but I'm afraid to fly it now because all of the glue joints are 37 years old. I still have that OS-30 too but I sold the Digi-Trio back in the 70s. (I could kick myself now for doing that!)

Got back into R/C two years ago and guess what? Bought another Falcon 56 to re-learn with. Why not stick with a good thing, right?

Harvey

Ralph78

Well all this talk of "Falcon 56's and I thought I better look at my stack of "Going to build some day" kits. and sure enough I have a Falcon 56 Mark 2. I bought it from "Hobby Shack" back when they had their warehouse near what is now the John Wane Airport in Orange County California. I never got around to opening it, but now I guess I'll half to build it for old time's sake when I get a chance. Does any one know what the difference is in the two kits?

Ralph

H5487

My first F56 was a MkII also. I believe the improvements from the original were a wider nose to accommodate larger engines and an easier to build fuselage.

Harvey

metaldriver

My father first learned to fly with a Falco 56 back in the early 70's. And as a result the seed of model aircraft was planted in my life. How ever my first Falcon was none other than the wonderfully small Jr Falcon. I still have fond memories of flying it after all these years.

ukengineman

I know the fuselage of the current Falcon III has a different construction from the original. Can anyone advise me if the wing and tail are the same as the original and is the basic shape of the Mk III fuselage still the same?

PeterC

I'm not totally sure of the differences between the original, MkII, & MkIII but I have a original wing kit in the basement and it seems to me that the only difference is in the wing spars. The newer ones have a spruce cap strip on the main spar to strengthen it for the larger engines of today. The stab seems about the same but I'm just working from memory here. The Mk III has a all plywood fuselage which is easier (?) to build and keep straight. It is also a bit boxier but seems to retain the flavour of the original. Throw away the pushrods on the Mk III kit, they are garbage. I still like nyrods on all but my really large aircraft.
Peter

quepasa

Heres a photo of my kit-bashed Falcon III. No matter what you do to a Falcon to change its looks, its still a Falcon. [8D]

ukengineman

Thanks for your reply PeterC. I have downloaded the building instructions for the MkIII and apart from the construction of the fuselage (ply as you said) the nose has no block balsa and is more angular. I think it might be possible to build from a Mk III kit but make it look more like the original by adding block to the nose and shaping it like the Mk I.