Something that I have been working on (pic)

Continental XL.

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Um..... WOW!!!! Very nice indeed!!!!

Beautiful!!!



When was the plane designed? I just know it is classic legal.

Tom Warden designed it and I appeared in MAN March 1971. This one is a re-designed airplane around modern numbers, PA 75 on a pipe.

Looks like a ornamental plus not a Continental . Dude the gear are not even on the wing. Sorry but nice try . There are two kits out of it now too ! Nice paint job but it looks more like a ornamental plus ask Dee Rice what he thinks. Not a Continental

Grass gear. Also those 2 kits available are of classic design. This is a modern design.

Oh I see , didn't read the thread very well . I see its a PA 75 job . Now that is a different animal. Nice work and great paint job too .

>Beautiful!!!
>
>
>
>When was the plane designed? I just know it is classic legal.
>

Numero Uno, that is one beautiful airplane, Sparky. A terrific updating of what should have been a viable and venerable "classic" design.

Having said that ...

No, Don. According to the "improved" classic rules, the original Continental is "NOT" classic legal. Under the original rules it would have been (and still "should" have been).

The original rules written a number of years ago ... in large part by myself ... restricted classic to airplanes designed, built or kitted prior to 1965. BUT, and it's a big but (not a scatalogical reference) the rules also advanced the cut off date one year every year so that eventually come 2030 or so airplanes designed in 2000 would be considered classic. This came to be known as a "rolling cut-off date)

After a few years (during which the cut off advanced to 1969 under the old rules), others decided it was inappropriate to advance the cut off and the rule was eliminated making 1969 the hard and fast cut-off. Thus, airplanes many would love to have built -- ones that meant something to them in their own past -- have been excluded, including Tom Warden's magnificent Continental. In other words, nostalgia itself was administratively eliminated for flyers that had no experience prior to 1969 -- in my opinion, a questionable move inasmuch as nostalgia is by far the biggest reason for the popularity of classic as it now exists.

I remain convinced we did ourselves no favors. There are well reasoned arguments in both directions on this decision but I, personally, remain convinced we've cast a vibrant and self invigorating event into a predictable state of future ennui.

I'd love to see one tenth as many Continentals at VSC over the next twenty years as I've already seen of Ares in the last twenty (and the Ares is one of my favorite designs ever ... but enough is enough).

Not only would the old rolling cut off date provide new enthusiasm for builders but it would also provide more diverse opportunities for the nascent specialty kit builders.

Alas, I believe the baby may have left with the bath water.

Time will tell.

Ted Fancher

>Alas, I believe the baby may have left with the bath water.
===========================================================

Not necessarily. Since Classic is an unofficial event, rule change proposals may be submitted to PAMPA Rules Chairperson Alice Cotton-Royer --- though I'm unsure what the current cycle is (annually? bi-annually?) --- nor can I recall whether the voting is done by the Exec Council or by the general membership.

Matter o'fact, sometimes I can barely recall what day it is.

Mike Keville

Ummmm,

Ted,

RJ, Phil Granderson and Paul Walker all have stated that the original "Continental" was designed and flew before 31 Dec 1969, thereby making the plane "CLASSIC LEGAL"....

Jim Pollock Hopefully, they are not suffering from dementia

>Ummmm,
>
>Ted,
>
>RJ, Phil Granderson and Paul Walker all have stated that the
>original "Continental" was designed and flew before
>31 Dec 1969, thereby making the plane "CLASSIC
>LEGAL"....
>
>Jim Pollock Hopefully, they are not suffering from dementia
>

Seems tpo me seeing it the summer of 1969. The reason I rememeber this is the moon landing and my dad and I on the back porch talking about this plane. But it has been many moons..

My dad at that time owned a Hobby shop and some of the guys flew on our parking lot and this plane was on of them. If I havent lost all my brain cells working with dope.

Very Impressive

Robert,

That is just superb !!! Terrific job. The rate that you pump out these beautiful stunters is amazing.

Someday, I wish you would explain how you do the layout and the masking for the multiple scallops around the nose. The red stripes I can handle.

More pictures would be nice.

Cheers.

Warren Wagner

Another beautiful model from Robert. Impressive work! Let us know how she flies.

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"The great thing in this world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are going." -Oliver Wendell Holmes

Incredible Sparky!

Randy C

Very nice Robert...

Are we going to get a flight report anytime soon?

Jim Pollock

I just finished it today.

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Too bad I did not see your other more classic shaped model fly at SIG. Hope to see it in the air when the time arrives. Nice job on the new model and the Continental clone.

Whether or not the Continental qualifies for official "classic", when one modifies a design around "modern numbers", then it can no longer be called classic, but "modern".

I was guilty of doing just that a long time ago with a Palmer Smoothie. The intent was not to "cheat" because I had no plans to fly it in competition. Too bad, because it turned out to be a real nice flyer.

Floyd in OR

Thanks Allen.

To everyone: This is not a classic plane,no way shape or form. It's my interpretation of a classic plane that started me on the right tract in building. A tribute to a great builder Tom Warden.

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Robert,

I, we, realize the one you built is not classic legal, but the original one was - you were one witnesses to that fact also.

Jim Pollock

>Thanks Allen.
>
>To everyone: This is not a classic plane,no way shape or form.
>It's my interpretation of a classic plane that started me on
>the right tract in building. A tribute to a great builder Tom
>Warden.


Hey Sparky,
Does that mean you just did what most of us do and "Stole" the design????

Only kidding of course. It is a beautiful airplane.

Randy C

Worden’s original Continental is Classic legal. This is based on the interpretation that the plane must have been designed, built or flown prior to the end of 1969. It was in reality designed and built by the end of 1968.

While there are many things I have forgotten I do remember the Continental, Whittier Narrows, Tom Worden, Walt Schroeder and the Saturday morning in April 1968 when the cover photo was taken. I watched and listened to Tom agonize over every little detail for several years. Tom like many in So CA those days was inspired by the classic clean works of Jim Mayfield. His Continental and Minudo designs were the result.

Looking at that cover photo, if you look in the background behind the world famous tether car track you can see the faint outline of three guys. They are Neil Moore, Jerry Keck and Frank (just can’t remember his last name). I had met these guys a couple of months earlier when I decided to see if there was anything going on Saturdays other than RC. I remember them well because they were instrumental in the design and development of my original Tyrantula. I learned much about aspect ratios and airfoils from these guys. Although it was very rare for them to enter a contest they flew airplanes that were far superior to the modified VooDoos and other combat planes of the day.

I was surprised to see Tom there on a Sat. because we always flew on Sunday all day. I distinctly remember passing by him and an older man talking, my arms were loaded with combat stuff on my way to the circle. I waived and said hi to Tom but my mission that day was strictly combat. From the circle I could see the man taking pictures of Tom and the Continental. As I went back to the car to get something, Tom called to me “Phil, I want you to meet someone” When I went over he introduced me to the late Walt Schroeder, editor of Model Airplane News! We talked a few minutes and I was off to fly some combat. When Walt was finished taking pictures he and Tom came over to the four of us flying combat planes, we all talked and he took a few more pictures. This was the beginning of a good friendship with Walt which led to him asking me to be a one time guest columnist for Round and Round and the publication of my first construction article. I left So. Ca in the summer of 1973 headed to the Nats in Oshkosh never to return. I stopped at Howard Rush’s apartment in Kent, WA spent a few days there and headed for the Nats. After the Nats I went up to Toronto for a big contest at the Canadian Nation Exhibition. On my way back I stopped at Model Airplane News headquarters in White Plains, NY, met with Walt and got the job of permanent columnist for Round and Round.

When would the Continental fly? That was a very long running Worden/Granderson debate. The thing was finished (at least to me) in late 1968. Tom, being the perfectionist, was always fixing, touching up or re-doing something! I remember once he removed the canopy after everything was finished because he was unhappy with some little detail!

Although it did not appear in print until early ’71 due primarily to Tom’s relentless pursuit of perfection, not seeing it fly had nagged me for a couple of years. Think I only saw it fly once or twice.

I could be mistaken about this but I vaguely remember that someone brought the original airplane to VSC at least 10 or so years ago. It was just on exibit at the appearance judging and not entered in the contest. No idea who brought it. It was a little "tarnished" from age, but was still a magnificent looking airplane. There was some discussion at the time about whether it was classic legal and I guess it was decided through testimony that it was.
I've never seen plans for it but they must be available from someone.

Randy C

Bob Whitely

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Thanks for showing the picture Sparky. Actually the incident I was refering to was several years before that at one of the very early VSC's when we held the appearance judging over in the area next to the pool rather than the area opposite the pool. The Continental was setting aside from all the actual entries just on display.
I wasn't actually part of the discussion (I was playing games in Southeast Asia in 1968-69 & 70), that surrounded whether it was Classic legal or not. I happened to be standing close to it during the discussion because it was close to my Cobra that was being judged. The overriding opinion at that time seemed to be that it was not classic legal.
I'm perfectly willing to accept Phil's word as law on the issue however. A nicer Guy and better memory aren't available anywhere!

Randy C

>I could be mistaken about this but I vaguely remember that
>someone brought the original airplane to VSC at least 10 or so
>years ago. It was just on exibit at the appearance judging
>and not entered in the contest. No idea who brought it. It
>was a little "tarnished" from age, but was still a
>magnificent looking airplane. There was some discussion at
>the time about whether it was classic legal and I guess it was
>decided through testimony that it was.
>I've never seen plans for it but they must be available from
>someone.
>
>Randy C

RSM kits it. I was surprised by all the new kits RSM has on their website. Impressive effort on the part of Eric Rule. Steve

Steve Helmick
Renton, Washington
USA

Tom Dixon sells the plans.