Flight Streak Article?

Hey gang,

Was there ever an article written about the Flite Streak (the original) back in the day?
I’ll soon be assembling my ARF Streak and would like to learn more about its background.

It would be great if someone had an old article to scan and E-mail, or any info for that matter.

No. It just appeared at a demo (by GMA) at the NATs and wowed 'em so much none was needed. The first year of production some 45,000 kits were sold by TF.

Jake

45,000! Wonder how many were active in control-line at the time?

>45,000! Wonder how many were active in control-line at the
>time?

Heaven alone knows- the NATs attendence used to number in the thousands in those days. GMA wrote me that Sid Axlerod had planned and ordered materials for a run of about 7500 Nobler kits in the first year. He was sold out and back-ordered in about two weeks (1957)- same year the Flite Streak made it's kit appearance.
Wish we could see that again someday!

Jake

This would predate CL flying as we know it, but the pre-war model airplane club hosted by William R. Hurst and the Hurst newspapers once had a memebership around three million.

LAST EDITED ON Mar-31-04 AT 03:55 PM (CDT)
 
Yep! People today have no idea unless they study history. Can you imagine that was in a nation with less than half of the population we have today?
No internet, no computers, NO TV and the majority of the population was rural. Amazing stuff!

Jake

LAST EDITED ON Mar-31-04 AT 03:53 PM (CDT)
 
GMA had the flight streak sitting next to his nobler at the 57 nats. I lanched a friends Nobler right after George flew his plane.George said to me that was the first Top Flight Nobler he had seen with a bubble canopy.He did a demo flight of the streak and we all were very surprised to see a profile fly so good. By the way his Nobler had many small patches on it where he had made repairs.
Ed

There were probably a few less activities to catch a person's attention back then and aviation still had some "magic" to it.

When I first went to work for C*x, in 1973 they were about at their peak. We made about 1.1 MILLION engines in those days each year. The ME-109 sold 50,000 units the first year, and 30K the second. Finally dribbled down to about 10K a year for the rest of that decade.

At least two sets of PT-19 tools wore out beyond repair. The current version is at least set #3, possibly #4.

1/2As are always a hoot! I am trying to decide what to install my Holland Hornet on- maybe a Snapper.

Jake

Jake,
Should be a good match considering the Snapper was marketed for the Atwood Shrike. If I remember correctly, it has a wing that uses 1/32" balsa for the ribs and sheeting. Nice looking plane.

...unless you are talking about the earlier profile version.

Elwyn,

Aviation didn't have some magic back then, It was the magic! Every boy (and many girls) wanted to be a pilot. Newspapers, Magazines of the day had articles in every addition about some aeronautical event or achievement. Aviation made such huge strides in the period from the '20s to the '60s. It was much like the computer age today. Prototypes became obsolete before they could be put into production. Read Chuck Yeager's biography!

IMHO the most public interest was from '41 thru the late '50s. Most of us ol' f***s grew up in that era and that's why we still have the passion for flight from our childhood experiences. Today's youth are not exposed to flight as the number one frontier to conquer (it isn't). That is why IMHO we need to re-think how to best perpetuate the sport/hobby we all love in light of the changing sociatal climate.

A bit off thread so appoligies to all. It's still Magic to me! AND, I have four Flight Streaks and am going to buy an ARF. Great little plane and I tore up a bunch of them in combat in the 60s-70s.

>IMHO the most public interest was from '41 thru the late
>'50s. Most of us ol' f***s grew up in that era and that's
>why we still have the passion for flight from our childhood
>experiences.>Later, John

You know, John, I still go out and watch planes go over when I hear them, just like my Dad and I did in the late 50's and early 60's. I'm finally getting a chance to get my private license-after a 40+ year wait.
Kelvin

Cool!
I do that when I hear the old "radial rumble". There is a local guy that has a beautiful restored T-6 done in correct late USAF training scheme with the dayglo orange wing and tail bands. You should see it come over at low level against a clear blue sky with a few clouds as a backdrop- makes me almost want to cry sometimes...

Jake

Hi Guys,
How true it is that aeronautics were THE thing in *our* childhood.
I can still vaguely remember the DC-3 flight I took when I was 7. It was just a sight seeing flight at the old Douglas Airport in Charlotte, NC. Things like that were done all over the country in the late 40's and '50s.
Model airplanes were our attachment to the miracle of flight! No Nintendo, Playstation, X-Box, or even much TV. A much simpler liestyle, and Moms at home, usually. We have SO much more to compete against today, and "regular old flight" is no longer the "Miracle" it once was. That is my main concern..... what can we bring to the table to convince young'uns of today's society, a society which will never be the way it once was, that model airplanes are a worh while, lifelong endeavor.

Bill <><

I was lucky, living not too far from Washington National Airport and Bolling AFB.

Lots of DC-3s, DC-4s, DC-6s, DC-7s, Viscounts (Capitol Airlines <"A billion safety miles, a perfect safety record>)", Connies, F-27s later, Convair 240s, etc. flying over.

I'm not sure, but I think I witnessed the flyover for Hap Arnold's funeral. There were a ton of fighter planes of the area, all flying in formation. This kind of dawned on me maybe 40 years after the fact.

A few years ago, I was out running on a rural road, and, all of a sudden, a Yankee Air Force B-17 flew past. That one made a nice sound, too.

Some Air Shows do a "Heritage Run" where a P-51 and a F-15 do a flyby together. Man is that something to see!
I don't think there is a flyer who doesn't like the P-51 series.

I was brought up and raised in sunnyvale ca. only a few miles away from the moffet naval base. We lived almost directly underneath the incoming flight path and got to see virtualy every kind of aircraft under the sun, from 1964-1992. Every other year they would host an show with vintage ww2 planes, bi plane stunters, Blue Angels and more. The Blue Angels were totally awesome until about 1986 when they were told to slow down and tone down there act, because of noise complaints, and increasing population growth. Oh well, its still good stuff!! - Paul