Zel

My Feedback: (1)

Hi,

Ed Crotty has just released his RC Hall of Fame Website! This is going to be the best place on the Web to research Vintage RC equipment. It is still in the works and needs a little touching up but it is oustanding for a beginning!

Check it out! There is an outstanding history of the Space Control. You can view it by going to the website and click on the "Inducties" item on the menu and then go to the "Manufacturers" item and scroll down and click on "Space Control" then click "History"

You can check almost any other radio you have an interest in but most of them are not as complete as the Space Control.

Of course I have a personal interest in the Space Control history because I was a major part of it!

The Website is: http://www.rchalloffame.org

The menu items are rather small type but you can probably sort it out.

Enjoy!

Zel Ritchie

maxpower1954

You guys are going to love this...the Controlaire section answered all my questions (like why I lost three airplanes to the Controlaire 5.)

I had to force myself to stop looking at Ed's site, so much information and great pics - because I've got to get things done today, but now I have my evening planned!

Great job, Ed! Russ Farris

Zel

My Feedback: (1)

Russ,

Thanks for your comments. I am glad to hear you got some good info from the site!

I am sure Ed would appreciate hearing from you. You can contact him through his website by clicking on "About Us" then click on "Contact Us": http://www.rchalloffame.org .

We are planning a "Resurrection Flight" with the 45 year old Space Control and my original plane, the "Phantom" that I used in the National and International competition. You can see the Space Control and the Phantom here: http://www.zelsrc.com I am just starting to put up the site so there is not much there yet.

Ed has furnished the Space Control from his collection and Dan Hines of "Carolina Custom Aircraft, 924 Stoney Mountain Road, Rougemont, North Carolina 27572, 336-364-3120" is building a Phantom for the Historic Flight! Jerry Nelson of "Nelson Models" is sending me a "Fox 59" from one of his "old" airplanes for the flight. Jay Mendoza has checked out the Space Control System and made the necessary repairs to restore it to 'Like New" condition. So it will be true "Vintage", except for the fact that the airplane is a duplicate, not the original.

I hope to have videos of the project.

Zel

Zel

My Feedback: (1)

Hi,

I just wanted to ad this. It was originally posted in
"Some early digital proportional history"

Since this is more than:

"Some early digital proportional history"

I am moving it here.

I will be making new posts here.

Zel
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

I just got a call from Ed Crotty, he is doing the
"RC Hall of Fame", and he has the site up ready for
viewing. It still needs a few refinements but he has
done a Phantastic job of getting it all together!

He does not have all of the info on all of the
manufacturers yet but he has a really good history
of the Space Control! (Of course that is the part I
have the most interest in!)

You can check it out by selecting the "Manufacturers"
from the main menu and then scroll down to
"Space Control" then click on "History".

You can also check out the "Inducties".
Space Control with Hershel Toomim and Zel Ritchie
are in the Honored position!

The website is: http://www.rchalloffame.org

The menu items are rather small and hard to read but
you should be able to figure it all out.

You will probably find a lot of other very interesting
information there too. I haven't had time to check it
all out yet.

He will be expanding it as more info becomes available.

Let me know what you think.

Zel

Vintage RC-er

boberos

Hi Zel,

Can Ed be contacted by email?
The only address I could find is snail mail.

Thanks,
Bob

Zel

My Feedback: (1)

Hi Bob,

Please send me a PM or email me at: [email protected]

Please feel free to post any comments or questions here.

I am sure someone will respond.

Zel

Michaelj2k

Zel,

What a great site! Ed has done a fantastic job of documenting RC history. Now I have one for you and I hope you may recall this one as you were involved in the Southern California RC scene back then.

Mac Beauchamp operating under the name of Glas Kraft marketed several fiberglass fuselages of popular pattern birds of the time. One he did was Cliff Weirwick's Candy and Mac's own design called the Viper. In the late sixties there were several of these flying in the Delaware RC Club, one of which was owned by Bill Northrop who may still have it. Anyway, my dad latched onto one of these and flew it until the radio told a joke and the airplane came down laughing. It was repaired but he later sold it. He purchased another one that was not completed which I still have today.

I'm curious to know if you were familiar with this airplane and the possibility that the molds may still exist (hard to say after all these years). Here's a picture of the Candy and Viper from an old RCM ad around 1965.

Zel

My Feedback: (1)

Hi Michaelj2k,

Thanks for you comments! Yes I think he
has done a terrific job. I am sure he will
be adding to it as new information comes
available.

He is inviting comments and suggestions.
I am sure he would be glad to hear from
you.

Yes I remember Glas Kraft and the Candy.
I am not sure about the Viper. It sounds
familiar but I am not sure.

I have no idea whether any of the molds are
still available. Maybe someone here will have
some knowledge of Mac and or info on the
molds. Hopefully someone will pick up on it.

My memory of those days is not the greatest!
When I quit flying RC in 1965 I made a serious
effort to not even think about RC.

I lot is coming back to me now as I get more
involved.

I don't know if you ever saw the Phantom which
I flew. Since Ed Crotty got in touch with me to
get info on the Space Control I got to thinking it
would be a real kcik to create a "resurrection flight"
with the Phantom and Space Control. You can get
a quick look at them on my website:

http://www.zelsrc.com

I am just starting on it so there is not much there
yet. I will be adding more as time permits.

Ed Crotty has loaned me a Space Control from his
collection for the flight(s). Dan Hines of Carolina
Custom Aircraft is building a Phantom, (he is going
to kit it for his line of Vintage Aircraft), and Jay
Mendoza, a local RC equipment expert, has checked
the Space Control and has it working perfectly.

Jerry Nelson, of Nelson Hobbies, is sending me a
Fox 59 from one of his old planes, so I will have a
true "Vintage" flight!

We hope to have it ready before too long.

Thanks for jumping in here. Hopefully we will be
hearing from a lot of other old timers here.

Zel

Michaelj2k

I've passed Ed's website on to the Vintage RC Society Yahoo Group so maybe you will have a few visits from there.

Check out the VR/CS website, http://www.vintagercsociety.org

jaymen

Absolutely outstanding!

What wealth of information for everyone.
Someday, I'll have to make the trek and see it all.

In reading the personall accounts, and looking at all the different brands that appear almost simultaniousely in some instances, it is apparent what an amazing industry r/c was in the 1960s.

Here you had dozens of USA manufactures all trying to produce a successful R/C product for modelers, in what was at that time, a very small market, as it had yet to emerge fully. The efforts spent for so little potential reward are amazing. You see hobbyists basically starting out to make something they could not get, and winding up changing the hobby forever. This continues in today's present electric revolution of the R/C hobby. Some made a commercial attempt because the demand for their invention led them there, while others did not, and every possible scenario in between was ultimate played out.

It's amazing to see all the different iterations of the theme each designer chose to incorperate in their creation. In most of the benchmark creations, we still can trace back out current radios roots. Also one notes how much better those 40+ year old anodized aluminum cases stand withstood the the rigors of fuel soaked hands, which will eventually destroy today's plastic cased radios.

Another notable trend was the propo radios mostly all had some form of open gimbal at first, then injection molded plastic closed gimbals became "the " thing, and the the trend reverted back to open "precision" gimbals and went full circle! Some of the Pro-Line, OS, Millcott, Kraft, Ace, Logictrol, and others featured some very nice sticks that in some peoples opinion have yet to be surpassed, I being one of those people.

There appears to have been a "golden" era, if one can say there ever was one in R/C electronics, before the "big" guys came in. During the mid sixties, it was basically up for grabs as to who would come up with what next, and there was plenty of room, especially if you had a local following. All it took was for several engineers at a local aerospace plant to joint the local r/c club, and before you knew it they were making r/c gear for sale! This theme repeated itself countless times across the country at that time, absolutley amazing. These guys were fearless, and some actually survived major commercial failures and setbacks. True testimony to the tenacity and perseverance of an R/C modeler!

Yeah, alot of dreams, schemes, bashed balsa, flyaways, and broke bank accounts were the norm in this game. It's an amazing phenomina that shows what we Americans can do when we set our minds to it. I miss those days, they were really exciting.

Doc.316

Zel;
That picture of you with the "girl in the white dress" is a classic. Was she a model? The dress seems kind of short.....

Steve

Zel

My Feedback: (1)

Hi Doc316,

I agree! She is a model hired by Dick Tichner who was a free
lance photographer. He supplied many pictures for Model
Magazines, mostly RC Modeler. I will have the Phantom
story on my website soon.

You can see pictures of me and my wife in my profile here
in RCUniverse. I will be puting more pictures on my website
when I have the time. http://www.zelsrc.con

Zel

Zel

My Feedback: (1)

Jay,

Great article! You are right! It was a great experience
"growing up" with the development of RC equipment!

What I wanted was a system that would allow me to fly
my model planes like flying the " real" thing. It was a
long time coming but the Space Control gave me what
was as close as possible.

I had the control stick just like in the J-3 Cub I learned
to fly in. The rudder was controlled with a knob on
the stick, which worked out very well. Throttle was
controled by my left hand, just like in the J-3.

In some cases it was even better than flying the Cub
because it allowed me to do maneuvers that were not
possible in the J-3 Cub! But flying with the Space Control
was almost like being in the "real" plane and I didn't
have to endure, (but I could imagine), the G-forces!

I will put a "history" of my journey through RC flying
on my website, when I have time, that led up to the
Space Control - and beyond.

Zel

Zel

My Feedback: (1)

Boberos,

I talked to Ed and he now has his email link
on his website: http://www.rchalloffame.org.

Check under "About Us" then "Contact Us"

Zel

WEDJ

Wow, he even has Westport Variants in there.

Good radios. I used to work for them for a short time back in 1977.

Doc.316

Zel:
Well I was looking at the "pic with the girl in the dress" and I said to myself...(that looks like a RCM cover)...I used to love those...(well the girls were er...hot)...then I looked at you and I said to myself...(WOW...he looks nervous)........

So you gave up R/C....(for how many years?)...my goodness...that is the part of the story that really amazes me....(I guess that I haven't really tried to be super-competitive)...but a bit competitive...(I have raced some...and would have gotten into pattern if they didn't change it)....(and I didn't have a R/C company..etc...etc..)...

So did you really not keep up with radio control for all these years?....and get reinterested lately? (I have to admit that I am kind of an addict)....to me that is the most interesting part of the story. If you really did this it must have been like "time warp" when you at least started looking again....(I am thinking radios here...30 model memorys....servo reversing....expo...etc.....and they are reliable)....but work er...(FM) using the same principals that were developed back in the 60's....

Have you flown?...are you going to start up in the hobby again?

Your storys are truly amazing...(and VERY interesting I might add)...

Steve

iflyj3

My Feedback: (7)

Can you give us some history on Westport. I have these two in my collection and know very little about them.

Zel

My Feedback: (1)

Hi flyj3,

Re: Can you give us some history on Westport. I have these
two in my collection and know very little about them.

I don't have any information but I am sure that Ed can give
you some info. You can contact him. Go to his website:

http://www.rchalloffame.org.

Check "About Us" then "Contact Us".

you will find a link to his email there.

I am sure he will be glad to hear from you.

Hope it works out for you.

Please post your results here.

Thanks,

Zel

Zel

My Feedback: (1)

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the feedback! Yes, shortly after I came
back from Sweden, in 1965 I 'retired' from RC.

I 'forgot' all about it for over 43 years, until Ed
contacted me for info on the Space Contol.

I will be putting my RC history on my website
with more details when I have the time.

It really was like time-warp when I saw how things
had evolved over the years. Especially the types
of RC equipment available now! Back then it was not
even possible to imagine the current technology!

Who would have believed 'Spread Spectrum'?
Truly 'sience Fiction' back then. I had no idea what
it was when I first heard it!

It was like 'Rip Van Winkle', (if you remember that).

But even with all the 'convenience' features that
are available today, like: Reversable servo switches,
selectable servo movements, servo mixing, not having
to worry about interference or 'sharing' time, etc., I
think I can do everything with the airplane with the
Space Control that can be done with all the fancy gadgets!

Time will tell, because I hope to have the Space Control
back in the air soon. It will be fun, if I don't get shot
shot down with interferrence!

Zel

iflyj3

My Feedback: (7)

Hi Zel,

I have looked at the web site and he has done a fine job. I got some info from a friend of mine up in the East but WEBJ said he used to work for Westport, so I thought he might have first hand information.

Doc.316

Zel;
Yea...to be really honest it is the "sticks" that make the airplane go...most of the newer members of the R/C community don't even know how to put an sbend in the engine control arm to adjust throws...you should be fine with the "space control" since most of the CB traffic has stopped (and I flew 27mhz during the CB craze and didn't have any problems) the only thing that might get you are all the cheapo rc planes and boats they are coming out with from china.......

Good to hear that you are getting back in...can't wait for the pics....welcome back.

Wow that guy with the RC Hall of Fame Websight must have been collecting for a LONG time...I remember when I was given those old radios...now I have to pay premium prices for them...It is amazing how much they are worth now.

Thanks for sharing your story on there...it was really interesting and I will be looking forward when you get your websight up.

Steve

WEDJ

These radios were a sort of hobby for the owner of Westport International (Don - I forget his last name). The difference is that rather than adjust the width of the pulses, they adjusted the width of the spacing instead, and used uniform, narrow high powered radio pulses. This allowed much stronger radio signals, which still kept the average power output within FCC guidelines.

Hence, the radios were far less prone to interference, and had greater range. We would regularly fly with the antennas completely collapsed, far out without problems.

Westport also did a lot of vibration testing, since they had all the military test equipment anyway. When they did batteries, Sanyo came out way ahead of everyone else. this was long before they were popular.

Bob Helman (General Manager) bought Don out and he retired. Bob was a real genius type. Westport's main business was making precision bellows assemblies for military aircraft switches. I think Variant radios were only on the market for a few years total. When I worked there, they were in Milford, CT, but later moved a town over to West Haven.

in 2000, Unison industries bought out Westport, you can see the bellows here. http://www.unisonindustries.com/docs...wsbrochure.pdf

A lot of Heli guys liked the Variant because of all the metal to metal problems they faced back in those days. Pete Reed (pylon Guru) also flew Variants. Westport would make dual rates and tail rotor mixing sort of "to order".

I wish I had kept mine. One person I used to work with there is Joe Acosta, who now owns Build Right Fly Right hobbies. He has an antique radio collection that includes several Variants. www.brfrhobbies.com

iflyj3

My Feedback: (7)

Thanks for the update.

Dan