More Playboy Kits

LAST EDITED ON Oct-03-06 AT 10:53 PM (CST)
 
I plan to produce another run of Playboy kits. I had several people ask me if I planned to make more of them. I would like to do more so those who want one will be able to get it. More later.

Hi Bill; Can you give us some history on the airplane. Seems like I should know something about it, but can't remember it. Was it published? If so, what magazine, so i can check it out a little more.
What is the price on the kit?
Thanks a lot,
Dan McEntee

LAST EDITED ON Oct-04-06 AT 02:13 PM (CST)
 
Dan,

No it wasn't published. It was flown at the 1968 Nats however by Norm Whittle in Senior. There is a picture of Norm starting the playboy in a Model Magazine. Keith Trostle related about a repair he was involved in making on the Playboy at the 68 Nats. It was later purchased by Tom Warden and it bacame the father of both the "Continental" and "Minado". I didn't know all this first hand. It came to light slowly as those involved in the 1968 Nats and were close friends of Tom Warden chimed in here. From memory, I recall Bob Whitley and Phil Granderson, along with Keith Trostle.

That's what I thought. Norm Whittle used to live here in the St.Louis area for a while, and I actually knew him from flying R/C saiplanes before I got involved with stunt. He had a Playboy that he sold, and made the rounds of several guys here in the St.Louis area. I think I was even offered it at one time, but I think it required an ST.46, and I didn't have any at that time. I think it was light blue with some red and dark blue trim. Most likely not his original.
Norm is a member here on SSW, isn't he? Maybe he'll fill in the details if he sees this.
Thanks a lot,
Dan McEntee

The blue model was his Eagle V and powered by an HP .40. The orange version, which was powered by an ST.40 or an HP.40 was the Eagle IV. His last one was white with yellow, red and orange trim, and it was the Eagle VI with an ST.46 for motivation. I have plans to all three of his last models before the Sultan craze. I even owned one of his, which passed on to Byron Barker, looked a lot like an R/C Curare pattern plane.

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Allen,
I just talked to Norm and asked him about this and he told me it was the Eagle. He sent me these pictures of the origional Playboy.

Norm's mentor in stunt, Jim Mayfield designed and flew the Playboy for years before Norm flew the airplane in the picture at the 1968 Nats! That airplane in the picture is not the "original" Playboy.

In fact, I was traveling with Jim and Dad in the old '67 Country Squire wagon to Buckeye one year with Jim's cream and red/gold Playboy nestled under the massive AMA-68 in the back of the wagon. I'm pretty sure Jim won, and beat Dad and Gordan Delaney.

I even have photographic evidence. It'll take a day or so, but I'll post it.

Yes, the Playboy was designed by Jim Mayfield of Garden Grove, California, well known Southern California stunt flyer and a flying buddy of my father, Keith Trostle, Ray Smith, Bill Rutherford, Tom Warden, and many others of that period. The model was in existence at the time our family arrived in California in 1966. It is very interesting that the principles of this new Playboy kit are leaving out the designer's name!

Why?

Chris...

The Playboy kit was a copy of the plane Norm flew at the NATS as close as I could make it for production. It is nice that you can supply some of the background history.

Whoever actually designed it, the Playboy has absolutely lovely classical lines and porportions.

I can see a strong "DNA" connection between it and Tom Warden's Continental and Minado designs.. (I copied wing and stab tip shapes from the Continental for my Special Effects stunter.)

Speaking of Warden's designs, I'm sure it has been asked before, but are there any available plans for Tom's Minado? I saw one of these ships at VSC many years ago and its elegance still haunts me. It had a very well done cockpit detail, with oxygen tanks on top behind the pilot's seat. The one I saw was metallic salmon in color, I understand Tom had another one which was metallic sapphire..

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"Do not bite at the bait of pleasure till you know there is no hook." -Thomas Jefferson

Chris,
Just a little up date. I beat Jim Mayfield at the buckeye contest.

Gordy

Laura says Hi to you all.
Chris...

Bill,

Can you give us some numbers (wing area, L/E to nose, suggested power-plant and hinge to hinge) plus wing construction method?

Looks like a real predator & thanx,
Grady

LAST EDITED ON Oct-05-06 AT 12:04 PM (CST)
 
The Playboy is built using the Laser Locked Rib system. A view of the wing construction can be seen at:

http://www.clstunt.com/htdocs/dcforum/DCForumID1/18983.html

The wingspan is 54 inches, 43 inches nose to tail including spinner as shown, the area is 560 approximately, the origional flew with a McCoy 40 if I am not mistaken and the suggested engine is 35 to 46. I used a reworked Thunder Tiger 36 in the first one I built and Magnum 36 in my second. My choice of these engines was to fit inside the cowl with out the head fins showing.

The "spar" is a box beam of two full span laser cut hardwood spars glued into a box configuration, The beam comes completely assembled in the kit. The Laser Locked Ribs are cut to lenght and flat bottom for part of the length and notched to fit around the beam. The motor crutch is assembled ready to mount the motor and install. There are other pre made assemblies.

Edited for bad typing

Bill,
Exquisite.
$?.
Neat Neat Neat,
Grady

The kits sold for $ 160.00 plus $15.00 shipping. All of the kits have been spoken for or sold. There are some that I will deliver at Huntersville. I have plans to produce more kits depending on how many people want them.

LAST EDITED ON Oct-05-06 AT 04:33 PM (CST)
 
I am going to attempt to upload five pictures. They are hopefully in this order:

Norm Whittle's Orange Eagle IV

Norm Whittle's Blue Eagle V

Norm Whittle's White Eagle VI which just missed being Nats champ due to lack of a triangle in the last flight.

Roger Barrett's (sp?) Eagle, painted like Silhavy's Gypsy 40

Tim Williams' Eagle done up in black and gold

I did not get the picture order correct, but I did get them on the forum

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To me, the Eagle looks different from the Playboy in wing and stab leading edge sweeps and tip shapes, rudder shape, flap and elevator sizes and tip treatments (e.g. Playboy stab has counterbalanced tips), plus canopy size and position.

Otherwise, the Eagle design seems amazingly similar to the Playboy!

Both are certainly beautiful old elegant classic ships.

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"The ultimate test of a relationship is to disagree but hold hands." -Alexander Penney

Good evening guys. Again I'm honored that so much attention is being paid to a second place airplane in Sr. over 38 years ago. The "68 Playboy" is/was a simplified Jim Mayfield Playboy design. As Chris stated Jim had an absolutely beautiful elliptical (very complex construction) airplane. So that I could build it, Jim laid out an I-beam, gave me the rib template and told me to draw in the shapes. Well I admired Jim, his Playboy and his construction skills so much that the airplane looked just like his – can’t imagine anything else happening. Jim used to take me to contests, to the hobby shop and answer my many questions on the phone – something we would never think of doing today. The plans that I provided Bill Sawyer clearly gave credit to Jim for designing the Playboy.
On to Allan Brickhaus – no one knows more about my Eagle Series of stunters than Allen, even I have had to call him and ask what airplane was I flying in 78 etc… The Eagle is an evolution of the Playboy as the Sultan is an evolution of the Eagle. They all flew very well and many have flown them. The design reflects the teaching of a great mentor - Jim Mayfield
PS I still have the Jim Mayfield Playboy rib template, have traveled all over the world as a military guy with it.

>Good evening guys. Again I'm honored that so much attention
>is being paid to a second place airplane in Sr. over 38
>years ago. The "68 Playboy" is/was a simplified Jim
>Mayfield Playboy design. As Chris stated Jim had an
>absolutely beautiful elliptical (very complex construction)
>airplane. So that I could build it, Jim laid out an I-beam,
>gave me the rib template and told me to draw in the shapes.
>Well I admired Jim, his Playboy and his construction skills
>so much that the airplane looked just like his – can’t
>imagine anything else happening. Jim used to take me to
>contests, to the hobby shop and answer my many questions on
>the phone – something we would never think of doing today.
>The plans that I provided Bill Sawyer clearly gave credit to
>Jim for designing the Playboy.
>On to Allan Brickhaus – no one knows more about my Eagle
>Series of stunters than Allen, even I have had to call him
>and ask what airplane was I flying in 78 etc… The Eagle is
>an evolution of the Playboy as the Sultan is an evolution of
>the Eagle. They all flew very well and many have flown
>them. The design reflects the teaching of a great mentor -
>Jim Mayfield
>PS I still have the Jim Mayfield Playboy rib template, have
>traveled all over the world as a military guy with it.

Hi Norm,

I never realized the Eagle had so much in common with the Playboy, but aren't all our models evolutions of something?

The blue Eagle pictured at Buder Park is one that Mark Hughes flew until it was so fuel soaked it was falling apart. A full fuel can fell on it in his basement and ended it's flying!

Good to hear Jim's credited for the Playboy's design, he was a very nice man when I knew him.

Chris...

Norm Whittles Post #15 is correct. Jim Mayfield designed the Original Playboy, which had a larger wing, of Elliptical design, than Norms Playboy. Tom Warden liked the lines of Norm's modified Playboy, and yes, the shape of Warden's Continental, and Minado, reflect the appearance of Whittles modified Playboy, except that Tom Warden enlarged Norms I-Beam type design to get it back close to the size of Jim Mayfields Original Playboy design. Here's some trivia that I THINK is correct?? Jim Mayfield Brush Painted his airplanes, and wet sanded between coats? His airplanes were always very light? One of his airplanes weighed 34oz., and he had to add 4oz. to the c.g. to make it fly properly? Tom Wardens Original Purple Minado still hangs in my living room.
All of the above info. was passed on to me personally from Tom Warden, and Norm Whittle, and Bob Whitely, back in the late 60's.
Tom Lay, on behalf of Tom Warden.
email: [email protected]

LAST EDITED ON Oct-05-06 AT 07:31 PM (CST)
 
>I am going to attempt to upload five pictures. They are
>hopefully in this order:

>
>Norm Whittle's Blue Eagle V
>
>Norm Whittle's White Eagle VI which just missed being Nats
>champ due to lack of a triangle in the last flight.
>

Hey thats Budder Park!! LOL

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Robert Storick
AMA 12366

Saint Louis,MO.

Yeah, and the photo definately wasn't taken last week! There would be nothing but trees in the background now. And that is the airplane that I was refering to earlier in another post on this thread. The last I saw of it, I think Mark Hughes had it, after Gary Hajek, but I may be a little foggy on that.
Good to hear from you Norm!
Dan McEntee

I knew that.

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LAST EDITED ON Oct-08-06 AT 08:58 AM (CST)
 
Love the paint scheme on the original Playboy.
I lived in the St Louis area from '64 to '73, and was member of the old St Louis Yellow Jackets.. That's how Buder was, and now you can't see the Interstate for all the trees!

I judged 2 FAI team selections during that period also.

I must be going brain dead, because I don't remember that airplane. or Norm. Please forgive me.

PS: Robert Storick.. please note the PILOT and cockpit detail !

All --

We got to see Bill's efforts as a completed (well, nearly) model, an uncovered version, and a view of parts included in the kit. The workmanship is fantastic!

I can't imagine anyone buying one and not being satisfied!

Bill, for what events does the "Playboy" qualify? I forget.

Larry,

The Playboy is eligible for Classic and Pampa events