OK, let's change the subject a little back to the "Ed Kazmirski's Taurus" thread, which eventually led to this thread. If you are one of the brave readers who has trudged through the whole
Ed Kaz Taurus thread, you will remember that a relatively small group of us, (Cees from the Netherlands, Ray from Belfast, North Ireland, Evan from New Zealand, and Burkhard from Germany--in addition to myself and a host of others), made up the bulk of replies to that thread as we researched
anything having to do with Ed, his RC career, and his designs. We tried to figure out what came first, what came next etc and made up time lines covering Ed's 11-year tenure as RC's first "superstar". We worked together, we sometimes fought amongst ourselves, (the thread was "cleaned up" numerous times), but we accomplished and learned a lot in the process. Mixed in with all our ill-conceived personal opinions, (and what can charitably be called "rubbish"), is a lot of good information on Ed--it is probably the best single source of documentation on Ed Kazmirski and his planes for those interested in this remarkable pioneer of RC.
The Simla discussions started around page 51 of that thread, and we worked out many if not most of the mysteries concerning the Simla over a period of 1-1/2 months in mid 2009. It's hard to believe that was five years ago. The entire Simla project took 18 months from the date of its first mention until we made the first flights of the prototype on October 3rd 2010. The Simla article was printed in the March 2011 issue of Model Aviation, then this build thread was born a little later.
I've said all that in order to "set the table" for the most recent phase of the Simla project just completed. It might be of interest to anyone who was involved with either the Kaz thread, (started in 2008) or this one. Evan, Ray, Burkhard, Cees, Ray Kunz, (and many others), got to "KNOW" each other pretty well, (kind-of like RC "brothers"), as we met and worked together on the two threads even though we were from different countries, (even continents) and we never actually met in person. Some plans, design materials, data sources, (even original genuine Ed Kazmirski propellers) were exchanged back and forth over the months and years when the
Ed Kazmirski Taurus thread was the hottest thing in the RC Classic Pattern category, (that thread didn't become #1 in views by accident).
I told each of them, (Evan, Ray, and Burkhard), that I'd love to meet each of them personally
someday, even though the prospects for a meeting seemed kind-of dim. Well, time passed and I lost the close touch that we had over time. There were a few e-mails, but not much... but then things were about to change.
I retired a few months ago, and the freedom gave me the opportunity to tag along with my brother on a business trip of his to Germany. When I learned of this opportunity I hoped that Burkhard, (USTIK in the threads), might still be interested in a meeting some five years later. Fortunately for me he was, and we made plans to meet personally in mid-November. I had never been to Europe, and Burkhard turned out to be the PERFECT travel host as we got together for several days.
I took the train down to Augsburg and he met me at the train station. I got the chance to see all kinds of things that you can only see if an experienced "guide" shows them to you--all the history, the sights--everything. We even got the chance to go to Salzburg, Austria for a day. It was fantastic, and a trip I will never forget. Burkhard, I can't thank you enough for everything you did and the time you set aside to visit with me. All I can do is invite you to the US, and I'll return the favor.
We happened to be the same age, but Burkhard is much more used to walking miles, (kilometers) without batting an eye than I was. I thought me legs were in good shape--they weren't. He wore me out!!
I know this entry is already pretty long, but just one more thing. Burkhard was also our "simulator specialist". By plugging in the various parameters of the Simla, we knew months in advance how the Simla would look, and perform when finished. That was a great encouragement to us as we worked on the project. It was great to finally
sit at your desk in Augsburg and fly your simulations of the Simla and other planes, (see photo--these are the only photos of us together--I'm glad we took the time to make the picture).
Thanks again Burkhard, (UStik). On the way home I flew OVER Ireland, and would still like to meet Ray (if you're still dialing into RCU), and someday trace my Irish roots. I might even make it to New Zealand some day and surprise Evan. You can never tell.
