Was I the first to use K&B 45 at AMA Nationals

Johnny Brodbeck of K&B Allyn talked me into putting a K&B 45 in my P40N Warhawk while he was Contest Director for USAF Model Airplane Championships in 1960. He had just introduced the 45 as smooth running RC engine.
He had his son John Junior bring one to the Dallas Nats. In the mean time I removed the Fox 35 and retro fitted a K&B 35 in my P40N, which had the same mounting holes and crankshaft length as the 45.

Mr Brodbeck convinced me, sight unseen, that the 45 would hold a solid, unchanging 4 cycle run and would easily haul my 47 ounce, 57 inch wing span model through the pattern with ease. Fortunately John Junior had the engine broken in for me.

The engine fit perfectly in place of the K&B 35. One big short coming of the engine was that it needed more fuel than the Fox 35 to run at a steady four stroke, which was what I was used to. It ran out of fuel in the middle of the clover leaf ever time I flew it, using 70 foot lines eyelet to eyelet. I shortened the lines to 65 feet eyelet to eyelet, but that did not help the fuel problem. It just made lap times faster.

I had mounted the tank permanently as was the custom back in 1950s and digging it out of the model and installing a bigger tank was not an option.

Being on the Air Force Team, I had a bunch of events that I had to fly for team points. I knew I was not going to be allowed to spend a lot of time with the Stunt event. So I put in my two officials, setting the engine just breaking off four cycle. The 45 would lean out in each maneuver and with a Top Flite 12 X 6 paddle blade prop it was like a rocket, much like a Torp 35 Combat Special engine.

It ran out of fuel in the middle of the Clover Leaf on both official flights. Of course that cost me pattern points, landing points and only minimum points for the clover leaf.

1960 Nats George Aldrich was the Event Director and due to so many entrants he had set up the multiple circles and eliminations down to a final top 10 qualifiers from each circle. I managed to be in the top ten in my circle but I did not fly anymore because I knew the 45 was not going to get any better gas mileage and I was being pressed to get hopping on my other events.

Lew MacFarland was not on the Air Force Team that year. He did fly in competition and if I remember correctly, he would have won had he not left out the triangle loops on his final official flight. He was flying his Ruffy. I would suspect Johnny Brodbeck probably gave Lew his K&B 45 for his Shark at that Nationals. You will have to ask Lew about all of that. My 69 year old memory tends to falter lately.

I later put a 5 ounce tank in the P40N and with the K&B 45 went on to win a few more contests. It was great to fly on 67 foot lines and run it on a dead four cycle with 6 second lap times. It was a good engine but like the green head 35s the piston and liner wore out rather fast.

Johnny said he the engine he gave me was timed for Controlled Line Stunt flying. He never revealed any technical details. It had a ventura insert with a standard K&B needle valve assembly.
He also told me I was the first to use this engine in PA at the Nats.

I am getting too old to build let alone fly anymore. Like some of the other old timers, I fall when I have to look up and walk at the same time.

I am not as good as I once was, but I am good as I once was.....once

I am not as good as I once was, but I am good as I once was.....once
>
>Hawk

THINK VIAGRA!

George

PS. There is also, "I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was." Keep Smiling...

Hawk sent me this picture awhile back. I compressed it and now it is my pleasure to post it. I think this might have been a few years ago, but the same model. Steve

by any act, error, or omission, I have, intentionally or
unintentionally, displayed any breedist, disciplinist, sexist, racist,
culturalist, nationalist, regionalist, localist, ageist, lookist, ableist,
sizeist, speciesist, intellectualist, socioeconomicist, ethnocentrist,
phallocentrist, heteropatriarchalist, or other violation of the rules of
political correctness, known or unknown, I am not sorry and I encourage you
to get over it.

Wow, This is the first time I saw a picture of Hoyet since 1968 at Olathe NAs. For sure i'm not sending him my picture. Dennis

LAST EDITED ON Oct-14-04 AT 11:35 PM (CDT)
 
>Wow, This is the first time I saw a picture of Hoyet since
>1968 at Olathe NAs. For sure i'm not sending him my picture.
>Dennis

Dennis, you old fox. How are you. I suppose you are going to tell everyone about my cowl flying off just as I began my take off roll. Yes it happened. I tried to claim that Al Rabe had sabataged me trying to install his wiggle rudder in my model. lol. The judges would not buy that. Interestingly, I was disqualified for the cowl flying off and was not allowed to fly my second official, the first not being scored. My bad luck at the Stunt Circles was just the same as in all the years prior. Poor me!

I remember standing behind Al Rabe in the line awaiting appearance points judging and listening to him explain how his wiggle rudder worked and how it made his plane fly the pattern better. I and others (I want mention any names but there were some biggies)later laughed at him or just smiled with apparent skepticism as he explained it. Boy there were a lot of skeptics and disbelievers proven wrong by Al Rabe down the line in later years.
I never got to thank him for his many contributions, the least of which was his "wiggle rudder." So I will do that at this time: THANKS AL! I sincerely look forward to meeting you in person again, before we are placed in a Nursing Home. grin.

I remember the howling winds at Olathe. It was the AMA flying site from Hell in my opinion. I flew Stunt in Texas for the 12 years that I lived in San Antonio. George Aldrich would shame me when I tried to chicken out, lecturing me with "You will never be a competitive Stunt Pilot if you don't master flying in the wind. It paid off down the road years later. I don't remember a day in Texas that was as bad as every day of that week in 1968 at Olathe.

So Dennis, drop me a line and tell me how you have overcome YOUR fear of flying in the wind. rye grin.

By the way, you should have seen my act at VSC 11???

Hi Hoyt,

Does Tom still have the plans you drew on your kitchen table of the P40N? Havn't seen you in a while, but you must be about a scratch handicap golfer by now huh? It's great talking about stuff from the 50's and 60's here! Did you end up giving that Viking to your nephew Phil when he came out from good old CA to visit? If not you better get busy and finish it, O.K.? Have you flown to any more T-Bird airshows in Tullahoma? Well, gotta go for now, but keep young and vigorous. Hmmmmmm, 69 Huh, I guess I'm not too far behind in that regard.

Jim Pollock

LAST EDITED ON Oct-16-04 AT 07:32 AM (CDT)
 
>Does Tom still have the plans of the P40N that you drew on your kitchen table? Haven't seen you in a while, but you must be
>about a scratch handicap golfer by now huh? Did you
>end up giving that Viking to your nephew Phil when he came
>out from good old CA to visit? Have you flown to any more T-Bird
>airshows in Tullahoma? keep young and vigorous. Hmmmmmm, 69 Huh, >Jim Pollock

Hi Jim, I will try to answer these hard questions first.

<Does Tom still have the plans you drew on your kitchen table of the,P40N?

Yes he does. He is redrawing them and hopefully will get them inked for possible article in magazine, or better yet, in Stunt News. He has made patterns for all parts and hints that he might provide it in kit form down the road. But he stays busier than a cat in a rocking chair factory. We are building two P40N's, side by side. Tom chose the P40F version with shorter fuselage. Mine is the P40N version, which has a different canopy configuration. Both models will be very scale like. Both will have sliding canopies.

Wing Span: 57.5 inches and about 600 sq inches of area.
Tom is putting a Discovery Retro 60 in his. I want to do the same but I am bumming out locating one. Say, why don't you let me borrow/have yours? Both models are about out ready to begin painting.
The weigh 25.5 oz without engine and wheels and canopy. I am afraid they will be too light!

<Haven't seen you in a while, but you must be about scratch handicap <golfer by now huh?

Let me say this about that, and I want to be perfectly clear. I am down from 179 lbs to 154 total weight, dripping wet. Chloresteral is 150. Prostrate cancer is cured, and Viagra WORKS. I play from the old folks tee box, which is about equal to the ladies tee box. I am good enough that Tom Morris has completely given up playing with me. I did hit two good balls on the 18th hole the yesterday....I stepped on the head of a rake. I put like old folks make love, SLOW and CLUMSEY.

I bought a special ball retriever and I have collected over 500 balls, most of them ones I lost in the water. Want to by some good golf balls?

<Did you end up giving that Viking to your nephew Phil when he came
>out from good old CA to visit?

Yes, my nephew tried to talk me out of the Viking, with real tears and a fit or two. But I prevaled and was able to pacify him with a box of goodies that I scammed from an RC swap meet. As you know, those RC Wienies are push-overs. I did sell the (read that gave away) the Lou Woolard Fox 40 that I was going to power the Viking with.

The Viking is no closer to being finished than when you tried to sneak it out of the house the last time you visted before you went AWOL from Redstone Arsenal and hid out somewhere in West Virginia Hills. My cat has redisigned the tips a bit, but other than that it still the same. I would like to blame the lack of progress on having sold (read that giving away) the Fox 40. I have an English LASER .90 four stroke that I might power it with. Unless someone is willing to trade me a Discovery Retro 60 for it and some other goodies thrown in to sweeten the deal. yuk yuk yuk. Jim, I know you want the model, but NO, you can't have it.

<Have you flown to any more T-Bird airshows in Tullahoma?>

You must be talking about the time I was allowed to fly the $150,000 Maule to Arnold Engineering Center in Tullahoma, Tenn, and landing just as they closed the field to air traffic for the Air Show, right? No I have not flown it again. The owner sobered up and came to his senses. He took it his wife and the Maule away from my old USAF buddy Col "Wild Willie" Ken Cobb, who had borrowed both.

Col Cobb and I are building three of his two place amphibian kit planes, with a V-4 Rotax engine and 500 mile range. I will post picks here later, as I think it would make an interesting UC Stunt Model. Wing is dihedral free, with pusher prop configuration. The west coast gang do fly ROW UC stunt don't they? I know the Floridians and South Alabamians do now.

<keep young and vigorous. Hmmmmmm, 69 Huh?>

I am thirty-nine and I can run like the devil, when the ground is level, for about 67 feet, the length of my flying lines. I will admit to the hitch in my "Get-a-long," but you know hair loss and false teeth can make you look older than you are. So like you, I am only 39, I just look older. And falling while flying UC Stunt is no sign of old age. I have been doing that since I first had sex.

Now let me close with a question for you: Have you been hit by any UC Stunt ships lately? BEWARE, John Simpson is looking for you. lol

Keep in touch. I miss many great conversations and our yanking Tom Morris's chain. I can manage to get in a few zinger ever now and then, but he is a sharp cookie, he just can't play golf too well, nor fly a stunt pattern to well.

Hawk
256-538-0110, give me a call sometime.

Hawk

>Keep in touch. I miss many great conversations and our
>yanking Tom Morris's chain. I can manage to get in a few
>zinger ever now and then, but he is a sharp cookie, he just
>can't play golf too well, nor fly a stunt pattern to well.
>
>Hawk
>256-538-0110, give me a call sometime.

Hawk,

John doesn't even have to come looking for me with a plane anymore! My own planes chase me around now....You shoulda seen the fiasco that went on at the Nats when my plane hit the ground at the bottom of an hourglass!!! Also, I don't have my engine anymore. Ron King bought it back from me. I'm going to do the Gene Martine thing and build a Staris with a .40 "SOMETIME?" Tom can't fly too well now huh? I guess he looks at that third place plaque he won in Classic Stunt from the 1998 Nats with envy these days then.

I'm in Virginia - - Not West Virginia - unless of course I'm going gambling at the casino in Charles Town WV. I'm up here doing some time in nasty winter weather until I can retire and actually afford to live on what I will get. Two more years should do it though!!!
When I get back down there I plan to live somewhere between Tullahoma TN and Gadsden AL. I kinda like the looks of the little towns of Henagar AL, and Huntland TN.