Question of the day

What is everyone's formative notion regarding your Favorite Stunt Ship DESIGN of all time?

In other words, what is your all time favorite stunt plane design?
Not necessarily the "best plane" you've had.

Bill <><

Don Still's Stuka Stunt.

Oh, was that a surprise to everybody?

>Don Still's Stuka Stunt.
>
>Oh, was that a surprise to everybody?

Never in a million years would I have guessed that one! LOL!!!!
Thanks, Bill <><

Stiletto.

>Stiletto.
Ditto

Ty and Steve,
Which one the 660 or 600?

John

PS My choice so far is the Stiletto 600, but I might upgrade to the 660 when I get it started/finished

John,

I really like the look of the small stiletto. The plans for it were published under the name 'Stiletto 35'.
Ty is the expert on all things Stiletto and he should be able to answer what the wing area of the small Stiletto is. I just don't have access to the plans right now.

>John,
>
>I really like the look of the small stiletto. The plans for
>it were published under the name 'Stiletto 35'.
>Ty is the expert on all things Stiletto and he should be
>able to answer what the wing area of the small Stiletto is.
>I just don't have access to the plans right now.
>
>
>
>Steven Yampolsky
>Webmaster for www.control-line.org

Steve,
I bought the M&P kit from my LHS when I was about 15 or 16. Hauled it all around the world with me during my military adventures and finally built it 17 years later (about 4 years ago). Flew it for about a season and a half before I had a ground handling error that took her from me. Since then I have found a replacement kit and she is on the list of things to build (we all have one of those don't we?). I pulled out the measuring devices one night and did some cipherin' and came up with about 600 squares. Recently I received a kit of the 660 (not M&P) and when comparing the plans, it took a while to find the differences in the wing to make up that 60 sqare inches. Of course the fuse has the differences in the tail area as well as the nose section, but maintains the basic outlines of the smaller model. Hopefully Ty will chime in and go over the design differences between the M&P 660 and the plan version.

Hi guys. OK, first off I am not an "expert" on things Stiletto. Just a know it all. ha. I have three Stiletto kits. A 660, and two M&P kits. They are three very different airplanes and then Tom Dixon put out one called the Stiletto XL. It is close to the 660. At any rate, any Stiletto is a very nice looking plane. Kinda like a bazzoom blonde that is almost top heavy, blue eyes, very freindly and my wife isn't around. Kinda like that.
It has a jet look and the classic look rolled into one. But beauty is in the eyes of the balsa butcher. I just aquired an early kit of the Sterling Oak Works Super Ringmaster. It's so ugly it's cute. Kinda like the new VW beetles.

Yep,

The design is not much different from others designs of that era but still, there's something about it..... I can't put my finger on it. Built up turtledeck is kinda neat: no carving!

I wonder what it would behave like with a piped engine like RoJett 40 or PA 40lite. Ooh, I drool just thinking about it.

My dream is to build a Stiletto and have Les fly it. The day that happens, I'll be in heaven.

BLACK HAWK
Madman "Dragon"
Larry

I am a newer flyer, and so far I would say my favorite is the Cobra. Just looks so darn cool!

The best flying plane for me was a very light Twister and my now dead Fancy Pants. That sucker was awesome!

I may find that I fall in love with my GA Special. It has only been up a few times, but it flys like it's on rails.

Veco Smoothie..........It was the first full bodied large stunter I built. The year was 1957. I worked on a hay truck at 2 cents per bale to buy it(I think the price was $7.95). I was 16 years old and a Junior in High School. Built it in the middle of the living room floor, covered it with silk, used Testors clear/Corsair blue finish with Orange-yellow trim (Testor's colors). Power was an upright mounted Fox .35 stunt running on Nitro-X and a 10/6 Top Flite prop. I flew it on the High School athletic field in Green Ridge, Missouri. Magic.................. I have built many others since then, but you always remember the first one.

This might sound self serving, but I really mean it.

The "J.D.Falcon" and the "Jerseyan", both John D'Ottavio designs. Also my own "Top Hat"

The "Jerseyan" will definitely be featured in an upcoming Model Aviation.

The best airplane plane that I have flown that was built by someone else has got to be Jim Kostecky's "Spirit of America" I flew it at the end of the 1969 St Louis team trials.

Tom,
That would have been a very easy guess on my part!! I remember when you first finished your authentic replica of the "Falcon". It's interesting that a lot of responses, so far, from young and "older", are Classic designs. Even Windy's Tradition has the Classic look.
Bill <><

No quesiton: Thunderbird.

Jim Kostecky's Formula S a close second.

Dave Gierke's Novi IV, followed closely by the Novi III.
Bigiron

JUNO
Ed

Skylark,

My first full blown Stunt Ship, someday I will get the one I built this past winter finished and flying.

I it hard to determine just ONE design unless you've built and flown them all. Until I built all the designs I like, I will stick to the design that swept me off my feet as a kid: Stiletto.

I am determined to build the following models that I find pretty but never got a chance to fly(yet):

1) Stiletto: childhood dream plane
2) Chipmunk: best looking Classic ship
3) MoBest: best looking profile plus a technological "tour de force"
4) Geo-XL: best looking pipe ship design
5) Derringer: best looking neo-classic design.

- 59 Ares
- Junar
- Saturn
- Argus
- SV series, I just like Randy's stuff
- Soundwave - a buso design that i have only seen a few pictures of he flew it at the 1994 nats in texas.

Those have always been my favorites

VECO Chief and Smoothie were my favorite birds in the 50's. The Thunderbird in the 60's was my next airplane to build besides the numerous Ringmasters and P-51's Which I crashed regularly!

Elliot's Black Tiger. Sort of a Stuka with teeth.
Steve
The older I get, the better I used to fly!

There were so many cool planes from the classic era, it would be hard for me to pick one favorite. I have always liked Don Still's Stuka Stunt, in fact I just finished one a couple of weeks ago. Dick Mathis Chizler also stokes me up pretty good. I just started building one this week. I'm also building a profile version for the P-40 class. Being a big fan of semi-scale, Dave Hemstrought's PT-19 and Charles Parrot's P-40 would also be at the top of my list. Larry, NorCal Circle Jerks

I saw a lot of stunters in the good old days and was mightily impressed by them, but I'd have to pick the Walker B-17.

Howard,

>>...but I'd have to pick the Walker B-17.<<

Oh yea, that was going out on a limb.

The 'Skystreak 26' designed by Bill Dean and Ron Prentice and kitted by KeilKraft.

Wow, an easy question!

#1. Tom Warden's Continental. Classic in the true sense.
#2. Tom Warden's Minado. Not classic but a beauty.
#3. My own Spinks Akromaster.
#4. 59 Thunderbird.
#5. Silhavy's large Gypsy
#6. Bob's variation of the Nobler.
#7. Simpson's Cavalier
8. Southwick's Skylark.
9. Billy's Ares.
#10. My own Excelsior. (Not yet finished and flown) Could go up higher, we'll see.

That's enough!

The Next One.

From somewhere near Parkville, Mo.1
William Crane
AMA 6733

I'd have to chime in for the big Cobra. The Cavalier is clearly another lovely. Tom Warden's exotic Minado, and his Continental. The Melton/Young Roadrunner.

(Geez, these ships all have something in common, don't they?)

And, of course, my own (future)CL stunter design, "Stealth":

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"Is that your final answer?" -Regis Philbin

Larry that stealth PA model is one I just gotta build. So how can I obtain some plans??? Hmmmm? Drool, slober, oooohh baby. Yep, just gotta have a setofplans. Please!!

Ty,

A few little details to work out on the fuselage cross sections.. (nod, nod, wink, wink!)

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"It ain't necessarily so." -Gershwin's Law

Great lines!

Bob Hunt's Genesis was a dream ship once upon a time. Foam wing was relatively new then!

Gotta go with the Nobler.

Without a doubt, my favorite design is the Ares. That airplane is just plain classy looking.

Windy's TRADITION defines what a PA aeroplane should look like, in my opinion.
Watching several great examples fly at recent Nationals, Brett's presents the best, again, mu opinion.
And Bob G's yellow Nobler was nifty, too.

See Ya

Thunderbird and Smoothy Just because they is so durned sexy and Al's Bearcat just because its so, so, ....you know.....cool!

#1 Smoothie
#2 Black Tiger

THIS week!

Toss up between Don's Stuka and his Victory. I have to go and look at each in his shop every time I go there. It's my Wally World.
Dennis Parsley

Bill:

Bart Klapinski's TEMPEST. It's clean, simple of line and a bit different. I just destroyed mine(major league crash) and I'm already building another. Pilot failure, not airplane. That was the best flying stunter I've ever had.

Another design I vaguely remember as beautiful was called CONQUISTADOR. Anyone remember that?

Jeff W.

>What is everyone's formative notion regarding your Favorite Stunt Ship DESIGN of all time?

1) Werwage "Ares"

2) Wooley W.C. "Argus"

3) Melton/Young "Road Runner"

4) Simpson "Cavalier"

Order changes with mood. 'seems to be a theme here.

Hey Serge,
Looking at your list............are we "kin"?????
LOL!!
Bill <><

I agree with one of the earlier posts, it depends on my mood.

I had the American Modeler Magazine with the 3 Mustunts and have always wanted to build them all. I also like the '57 Nobler and the G. Nobler.

Zuriel

How about:

Southwick's 'Lark'

Gieseke's modern (97-99) 'Bear Nobler'.
A real 'hot rod' looking plane.

Kaz Minato's mid-90s version of his 'Blue Max'.

I'm with Rush on this: Paul Walker's B-17. Either one of them.

All other models listed here I can replicate. To a pretty high standard, given enough time and motivation.

But the B-17s both are so far above what the rest of us can achieve, so far over the top as CL Stunt models, so wildly impressive in flight they make everything else look rather mundane and ordinary.

Bob Palmer's Thunderbird II, may even build someday.

The Ares, no doubt, unless maybe the Cobra, but I'll stick with the Ares.

Tough question, but have to say the Cobra, followed by the Sheik, then the Knight. OK anything with an I-beam.
Dave R

Absolutely no question to me.

Bob Palmer's Smoothie, Thunderbird and Thunderbird II. My father built all three, covered completely in silk and Testors Butyrate Dope.
All Fox 35 powered. All dream fliers.

Larger scale...
Berkeley Zilch powered by Fox 59. Silk Covered.

Dave,

Yep, I liked a lot of those Jack Sheeks planes. Built a lot of them, too.

I was particularly partial to the twin boom, I-Beam jobs.

But my order is still probably:

1) Bob Palmer's Thunderbird (either one)
2) Jim Kostecky's Formula "S"
3) Jack Sheeks's Torino
4) Bill Werwage's USA-1 (which I am currently building)
5) Jerry "?" Atlantis

The last is interesting. When I flew at Whittier Narrows as a kid, there was a guy named Jerry (don't know his last name) that flew an I-Beam, 35 sized plane. It was done in red and yellow died silkspan and said "Altantis" on the wing. As I remember, he said it was his own design. This would have been the very late 60s. I had one picture of it. I'm trying to recover my cousin's airplane photo album from his estate. That's were the picture is.

Anyway, the image of that plane is still drilled in my memory.

Seeing I'm fairly new, my present ship "loves" are Brodak Nobler, GMA Profile Nobler(in the works), Gieseke Ultra Bear. I also have a Time Machine that is beautiful. Also, the "Stuka Gull Wing" version that was posted from this year's Tucson meet, is truly a fantastic ship. So many, sooo little time.