A RoadRunner by any other name..

..is still a thing of beauty.

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Nah, nah, nah, nah! I just got PLANS for Jim Young's gorgeous Bellanca, which has the RR wing. And a copy of the construction article! This '69 beauty is classic legal - plans AND article reprint from Tom Neibuhr!

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As Tony Lang would say: "now, that's MY next meal!".

It's another purty old thing, just dripping with Zen.

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"What a long time I have been running after unrealities!" -Jitoku Eki

Whoa... you got THAT right!! WOW!!

Tim

I look at this (and a handful of other stunt models) and I just KNOW they are elegant and beautiful. HOW is that? How do the simple lines of a fuselage look so cool and correct?

Yeh, yea, there something about our individual tastes, but the difference between gorgeous (like the Bellanca) and butt-ugly is SO intense.

I need Claus Maikis to teach me what is cool, not so I just recognize it, and say "that's it!", but can actually create it.

Meanwhile, I invite you to look at Young's Bellanca and NOT say "That's it!"

(Remember Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, wherein the author (Pirsig) went nuts, trying to define beauty? Maybe we aren't supposed to know.)

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"Wild Thing... I think you MOVE me..." -The Troggs

OH BABY!!

"I don't know about this tuned pipe business. I practiced on that thing until my lips turned blue, and I still can't play a stinkin note."
"Homer J. Simpson"

The RoadRunner was a Bill Melton/Jim Young creation. This has the RR wing, so Bill Melton must have had a hand in there. Not bad for a Carrier flyer! This, I LIKE! dg

Almost as pretty as the Ballerina . . .

Ouch! Put away that whip! Don't DO that again . . .

Yeah Boy, If I didn't have a Bob Palmer '59 T-bird about ready for covering, I'd jump right on this one. Tricycle gear, almost like cheating!

So where do we get plans? DOC:)

Tom Nieburh - Blue Sky Models, for plans and article reprint.

Here's the Wascally Wabbit who designed it (Jim Young) with his WoadWunner! (Check out that AMA number.)

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"I tell ya when I was a kid, all I knew was rejection. My yo-yo, it never came back!" -Rodney Dangerfield

LAST EDITED ON Nov-11-04 AT 09:12 AM (CST)
 
I have the original plans and the original book saved back for another Classic project. Jim's article is also a good read for trimming purposes.

LAST EDITED ON Nov-11-04 AT 10:50 AM (CST)
 
With the talk about the Roadrunner and the first RR kits going out next week, Larry and I have been talking about this subject.

Last week Jim Young sent me the pictures of RR derivatives. I then sent them to Larry. In turn Larry put them on this thread.(Jim told us it would be Ok to show these pictures to everyone.)

The Blue RR that a "young" Jim is holding is actually the last "Roadrunner-X" built in the 70's (Not Classic legal). This shows the evolution of the RR since Jim's current larger PA-61 powered "Roadrunner" bears resemblence to the "RR-X"

There is one additional picture of a "P-40" RR (not a profile).. it was a RR painted in the Flying Tigers scheme, built years back, by Mark Bowen, we believe.

Since Larry said WOW when he saw the Bellanca, I sent him a copy of the Bellanca drawing and the M.A.N. article Oct. 1969 (Classic legal)

The subject of moments can come up again:

1) I have the RR that was used for the M.A.N. March 1967 article. The M.A.N. plans correctly show a 9 1/2 nose and 14 1/8" hinge to hinge tail moment. Jim later eliminated the shaft extension , thus shortening the nose to 9". This is the length used on the Blue Sky Models kit since it is documented with photos of the actual airplane. (The builder can lengthen it back if desired, but the newer engines are heavier than the old Fox .35, making the shorter dimension more desirable in most cases.).. Jim agrees with this.

2) Jim Young has told me many times that he loved the way the Bellanca flies. The Bellanca article mentions the advantages of a "long" tail moment. Here's the interesting part... The Bellanca nose is the same as the shortenen RR...9", and the Bellanca tail moment is very slightly longer..14 1/4"

I will also be able to produce the laser ribs for the Bellanca for those who want them. These would be supplied with the original 1/8" Ply landing gear rib. With aft gear mounting location for the Tri-gear set up.

I could also make up a Bellanca short kit similar to that I make for the Shark .35. This however, will take a little time for more CAD work. But I will do it if there is interest.

There were also some pictures of the Bellanca cockpit, that although not the best quaility, they revealed an unbelievably detailed interior with leather seats, a complete instrument panel and dual controls and yokes.

Contact me with questions and details.

Tom Niebuhr

LAST EDITED ON Nov-11-04 AT 12:00 PM (CST)
 
Let me clarify. Mark Bowen did NOT build the P40 RR, he bought it at the club auction (I believe!). I was under the impression that Jim Young may have built it. Mark got many flights out of it. It has the same AMA number on the wing as the Bellanca, which is why I assumed that.

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Edit: It is also possible that this is a different ship from the one Mark Bowen had. Mark's may have been built by Roy Alberson, for example. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the one Mark was flying, I had just assumed that it was a one-off.

Mark did build a couple of RRs, and one of them won the VSC concurs one year. That particular ship had suffered damaged from riding in the back of Mark's battered old Dodge pickup - something fell on it, and BOTH wings had large punctures on the top side! It was sickening, but then he repaired it and won the concurs with it.

It would be interesting to know just how many RRs and derivatives that Bill Melton and Jim Young actually built over the years!

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"Last year I went fishing with Salvador Dali. He was using a dotted line. He caught every other fish." -Steven Wright

Larry,
Just talked to Jim Young.. You are correct.. he did build the RR "P-40". There were some changes to the cowl and the rudder shape. He doesn't remember who he sold the airplane to.

Wow... that's one cool plane that can be built into so many different planes! That's a whole new area to explore. Gonna have to get me some plans!!

Tim

Tim,

While you're at it, get a set of Nobler plans. That design has probably been modified more forms than any other.

Hi, guys--I just found this, and what a great welcome-My favorite airplane, which I have never been able to build!
I was a student at NMSU from 1969-1975, and associated with Bill Melton, Jim Young, and the the rest of the crew.
That was the time when Bill Melton was drifting away from Stunt into racing--particularly Goodyear--and into Carrier. He always tried to teach me how to finish a model--but I was too impatient to go FLY!
Bill built a "Zlin-runner" in '71 or '72 that had lines like a Zlin Akrobat, and Roy (I think) built a twin Piper "Apache" style, using 2 Fox .25's I believe--all about the same time.

Roger,
It is funny that you mention the twin. I was talking to Jim again last night and he mentioned that he originally had designed the a twin as the Twin Comanchie , but saw a picture of the Bellanca on the cover of Flying magazine, and built the Bellanca instead. He said that someone else had built the twin with two .25 engines. He did not mention who built it. Jim did say however, that Bill was not involved in the design of the Bellanca or the Twin.

I'll talk to Jim again about the person who built the twin, and will also ask him about Bill's Zlin.

Roger, please drop me an e-mail, I live in Blue Ridge just NE of McKinney. Have I met you at a Dallas contest?

Jim just told me that the twin was built by Roy Alberson, who still lives accross the street from Bill Melton's house. (Jim also lived on the same street.) He also had forgotten about Bill's "Zlin-Roadrunner", but remembered it when I mentioned it. He said that it was a neat airplane. He also said that this was just before Bill started to build the RR's with the cheeks.

Again, Bill was a prolific builder, and built so many airplanes that you can't remember them all.

Jim also mentioned that Bill built a smaller .25 size RR that he called the "School Bus"!!

We might have to write a book about the RR and all the spinoffs!

Tom Niebuhr

Tom:
I don't remember the "School Bus"--but I'll never forget the sound of those 2- .25's 2/4-ing in sync doing the pattern. Roy didn't fly the thing a lot, but it made an impression.

I understand that there is a kit (Short or otherwise) of the Roadrunner out there? I'd love to get ahold of one.

Last I saw of Jim was in Las Cruces, I think it was the year before Bill died, at their fall contest--a pale shadow of its former self, but still well attended. Bill looked at me, said "Where you Been?" and handed me a stop watch and lap counter. He made Jim a judge for Stunt. Just like I'd never been gone...

I have been thinking about building one of those or a woodpecker (british design) seeing pictures just fuels the old fire...

thanks larry!
aaron