Matthew Wilder

Hey Ron, me too actually, so it's not just an age thing. But I do like setting my planes up like my motorcycles. You fool people into believing they're nothing special by riding like a normal person 90% of the time, until you gas them a little bit every now and then, and watch the jaws drop and old ladies scatter! I've been getting back into sailplane flying lately, so I've been keen on flying all of my aircraft low and slow as some good practice to get used to flying on the edge of a stall again. I especially like how the Cutlass goes nose high to the sky just like the real airplane. It really looks the part. My wife even comes out every time I fly it because she loves watching it. She calls it "unusual but cool," and has pretty much demanded I only fly that one, and get rid of the others..haha. Still can't wait till we get June's issue over here though, because I've decided for the next build I want to do the Marshonet to keep my Nieuport company. I do love odd looking airplanes, and that one definitely looks the part.

As an update, I really need to eat humble pie on my claims of speed. I had my timed distance slightly off (this time I used a proper surveyors tape to mark out my run), so in reality, it's closer to 85-90 mph. But still, plenty fast. So much so, I needed to reinforce the rudders because of flutter at speed. Launches became difficult so I've since switched off to an APC 9X7.5E and it's much better, but I still keep the 8X8 pylon prop around for the occasional fun run.

Hey Ron, no problem, if you haven't noticed I tend to ramble to. I had a Vox as well, but lent it to a friend, and it never came back. I also had a Fender Jaguar I used on stage for years (but sold it to fund my Nieuport 17..now I kind of wish I hadn't), and only bought my first American Fender Strat when I was 18. My brother fronted me the money, so I gave him another guitar as interest on top. I was working as a janitor putting myself through college, and worked all summer while also going to school, all for that darn guitfiddle! It was so worth it though. Tele's are also great too. Don't you just wish though that you could hop a Tardis ride back to then with some money and snatch one up? Considering how they cost well over a grand now, it'd be very worth it. I only have a Tele copy though. It has an American flag painted on the front that a guy had custom made for himself, but was selling at a market down here because he needed the cash. It has a flamed maple neck and the works. GREAT sound. Now, here's where you'll shoot me. My first amp, and still my favorite is a 59' Fender Vibrolux 1X10. It lived its whole life at a school, and when my grandfather's friend Ed retired, he gave it to me thinking I may want to learn one day. So, not having any idea how rare it was at the time, I picked up a guitar that very week, and haven't looked back since! Gosh, I must have played close to 300 shows with that amp, not counting all the years of practice on it. Also, that's one heck of an interesting story about the "free flight" Cutlass. It gave me a good chuckle. And yes, we do have one down here at the Pensacola Naval Air Museum. I last visited there when I was 16, and I have to say it's one very, very nice museum; it's one of my favorite all time air museums, even more so than the Smithsonian dare I say it. Somewhere around is a pic of me by the old F7 they have, and also a pic in the mock training cockpit of one too. I'll have to dig them out someday. As far as cartoon racing, I think a standard motor prop combination should be the only motor choice allowed, but the airframe be completely up to the racer to keep things more even keeled. And to be honest, I think a nice low speed set-up would be the most fun of all. Sort of like low speed/high fun type amateur racing they sometimes have down here with cars. You know, more about flying, and less about super performance. I definitely wouldn't mind a nice laid back racing event. And yes, though most of the guys I've met buy and fly more than build, their toys sure are nice! But, I do give it to them, because they learned how to repair and do some building from a local gentlemen who's since left the hobby, and he taught them quite well, so at least they're able to fix their stuff to some degree. They just choose not to build. Don't get me wrong though; I do like ARFs, and even foamies, but if I had to choose only one, scratch/kit building is still the best overall fun and satisfaction per pound for me as well. And on to Andy. That Bootlace looks fantastic. Reminds me a lot of my now lost LeVier Cosmic Wind if it had been mated with a Shoestring racer. Nice job. Also, for anyone out there; has anybody built Tim Hooper's 1919 Hild Marshonet yet? I saw it's next issue's plan. Yes, we're very slow to get new issues here. We're still only on May. However, I just thought this may be a very unique and fun model to do, and kind of hope to get a sneak peek if anyone has started or completed one yet. I was thinking of doing the Westland Wagtail first, since I've never worked in Depron and want to give it a try, but if the Marshonet is as fun as it looks, I may do that one first.

That's awesome. My father (whose name is also Ron) was a rock organist in the 60's and early 70's. Had a really nice Hammond B3 and the Leslie cabinets to go with it. We always joke that had he spent less time playing with his "organ" he might be famous by now! It does always amaze me though how many of us aviation fanatics are also musicians of various sorts. Both my brother and my dad fly, and my brother was my bassist for years and also one hell of a guitarist now. Ok, back on topic. You'd be interested to know that even with the 8X8, there's next to no torque roll on takeoff, however I've taken to chucking it off a local hill (and what seems the ONLY hill within 100 miles of here in ever so flat Florida) to give me the drop needed to get it up to speed and flying. It looks a lot like watching old carrier shots of these airplanes when it drops a little bit then takes off like mad. I also tried a 10X4.5 prop that the motor was originally designed for, and while acceptable, wasn't quite nearly as much fun as the 8X8 set-up, though it was much easier to hand launch with more thrust off the line. Again, toque roll even on the 10 wasn't terrible or anything close to it, probably owing to the airplanes ample wing area out back. Additionally I did some timed speed runs over a known distance today, and on average with a fresh pack it will cover 1/10 of a mile in 3 seconds flat, and 4.25 on a half discharged lipo. That equates to somewhere around 120mph with fresh batteries! It certainly is a fast bugger, so I tend to keep it throttled back more often than not. I did encounter a flutter issue with the tails early on at these speeds, but that was remedied by blocking them with triangular stock at the mounting points. I wish I could convince some of the local guys to build some and start a local Cutlass Rocket Race League, however they're all into giant scale gas 3D, or turbine flying and won't even give small scale electric a second thought. If it doesn't run on gas, they won't run it. It's a shame really. The largest craft I currently fly is a 1/5.5 Nieuport 17 (though I do have an all wood 4 meter Pilatus sailplane and a 1/3 Spacewalker being rehabbed right now), and it's still one of the smallest down here. I get looked at like I have two heads when they see these, and even more so when I inform them that I don't own any large scale aerobats, or ANY aerobats for that matter anymore. haha So, any of you guys from across the pond want to come over and form a race league and show the giant scale 3d guys that smaller and electric can be just as fun?

Ohhh, I really like the Quantus idea a lot. Many of the Connie's I've seen modeled are TWA (for good reason) or Air France, so that'd definitely be something different. And I agree that the MATS scheme is also a good one. But hey, you'll be at that point soon enough. One step at a time until then. Oh, and I amend my previous comment (for accuracy sake)..I misstated mine as an l-749; It's really an L-049 variant, not that there's a huge amount of difference externally. But one thing I can't possibly agree with (and my apologies) is that the Super Constellation looked better than the original! I used to joke around with my brother (who prefers the Supers as well) that the tip tanks were only added as flotation aids to appease passengers afraid of cross oceanic voyages. And he'd make fun of me about the astrodome navigation bubble in the top of earlier models and the navigators use of sextants by asking, "so, where are the sails rigged on this thing?"

Oh, that's outstanding. Thanks so much for cluing me in. It seems now I should download it, and explain to the wife that I have no excuse now not to re-create "our" airplane. Also, much luck to your build. It's really turning out great so far. What color scheme are you thinking of doing it in?

This really piques my interest to the highest degree. I got married to my lovely wife in a Lockheed L-749 Constellation that was the first ever delivered to Air France, and now resides at my former local airport of Greenwood Lake in New Jersey in the US. We used the isle as the actual wedding isle, and the cockpit as the altar. It was something for an aviation buff such as myself. My wife has since been on me about building a Constellation, but finding plans for anything other than the "Super" Connie is next to impossible. But, for me a Connie is a Connie, and I can't wait to see how this turns out. Also, a link for anyone interested in the Connie. This is the exact one I was married in. **LINK**

The first pic posted several years ago looks a lot like a Marmon-Herrington armoured car. My father-in-law was actually restoring one in South Africa.

Here's my Cartoon Cutlass. I saw the plans in R/C Model Aeroplane; it's our version of RCM&E here in the States, and aside from the cover name and tagline, it's exactly the same. However, I just knew I had to build one. Fantastic model on a Rimfire .10 and an 8X8 with a 3s2200. Speed doesn't begin to describe it. Rocket ship to Mars just might. I built mine with all 1/4 (6mm) balsa, and the KF2 wing. It's a super flyer and exceedingly light weight due to my wood choices, but a little bit of a pain to launch with such a high pitch prop. Once airborne though, it's truly a great flying airplane. Thanks to Mr. Ron Evans and Mr. Nigel Hawes for bringing this model to us. I'm super excited about it. As far as I'm aware, it's one of the first if not only one flying here in the U.S. I don't know if I dare tell anyone about it though, because I like being the only one having such a good flying small aircraft. It's like having the keys to a top secret test airplane!