an excellent designer, so we can look for good things to happen when the merger is complete. George will keep us apprised of progress as things move forward, as we will make readers aware of new developments at that time.
Another new and interesting kit EAA and AOPA folks will quickly recog-
PHOTO: DON STEWART
Don Stewart, the designer of the full-scale EAA Headwind, is now offering an 18-inch freeflight short kit and plans of his creation. A larger 54-inch plan is also available from Stewart Aircraft. Details in the text.
firm, which counts the Thunderbolt as one of 43 kits that it offers, as well as over 245 plans, Esaki tissue, decals, wheels, canopies, and assorted other needed modeling prod- ucts and publications. Their address is P.O. Box 1685, Andover, MA 01810. Their web ad- dress is
www.goldenagereproductions.com/ While the 24-inch Stallion is not available
from Volare Products as Mark built it, they do have plans for a FAC Jumbo version that could be reduced to that size. Since Volare is at this time an on-line shop, their address is
http://www.volare.teamwetworks.com/ and they have an extensive line of No-Cals, Peanut Scale, Scale, and Jumbo plans available.
Good news from Shorty’s Basement As I mentioned in the preceding sentence,
at this time Volare Products is an on-line shop specializing in quality plans in various sizes. That is just about to change. A recent conversation with George Bredehoft revealed that Volare has purchased the assets and merchandise of Shorty’s Basement and is in the process of merging the two enterprises. We were all disappointed to learn a few months ago that Dan and Carole Kane were closing Shorty’s Basement due to health rea- sons, but the fact that it has been acquired by George Bredehoft is terrific news. George is a long-time accomplished freeflighter and
nize the name Don Stewart, designer of the Stewart Headwind, the 265, and the FooFighter. Starting his design career in 1961 by forming Stewart Aircraft, Don pro- duced the Headwind in 1962 by naming it in opposition to the Wittman Tailwind which was noted for its speed. A model of the Head- wind by Al Wolsky was featured as a con- struction article in this magazine in April of 1975.
Don’s next design, the FooFighter, was
first built in 1967 and styled to resemble a WWI fighter—but with a difference. The FooFighter was designed for very docile han- dling and limited aerobatic capabilities. The Foo was followed almost 30 years lat-
er by the 265, a sleek two-place low-winger powered by a sixty-five horsepower engine. The little plane was inspired by a Ryan ST which Don had seen as a kid working at the local airport—but relegated to sketches and ideas until the Mikron III engine appeared in 1993 and all of the pieces came together. Since that time, Don says, he has received many requests for the plans. “Many,” he says, “indicated that they wanted to install large engines which are not compatible with the 265. For that reason, I don’t have draw- ings for sale.” Referencing the opening quote of this col-
umn, I think Don is a freeflighter at heart. In evidence of that, he now has a freeflight short kit and plans of his first design, an 18- inch wing span Headwind available at $20 plus $5 shipping from his web site at
www.stewartaircraft.com/. He also has plans for a 54-inch version listed there, al- though you get to cut the parts yourself. Both could be converted to micro or stan- dard R/C gear, if chasing is not as much fun as you remembered it to be. The photo of the freeflight Headwind in-
cluded in this column is still lacking its wing struts and a lot of the “come alive” details, but I wanted you to see what a cutie it will
be. In addition to the web site listed above, look for the Stewart Aircraft ad in this mag- azine for more information and details of Don’s offerings.
A stick and tissue jet We don’t usually think of jets as normal
stick and tissue fare, although there are many examples such as Chris Starleaf’s B- 47 Stratojet featured in last month’s column as well as several others almost anyone could name that put the lie to that state- ment. The point being, however, that prop driven planes tend to make up the largest number of stick and tissue scale projects upon which modelers embark. Master modeler, Bill Schmidt, doesn’t
seem to care one way or another what’s up front or pushing from behind on the myriad number of models he builds, and he is back this month with a simply exquisite Comet F- 84E Thunderjet. Bill’s forte is using just tis- sue and clear dope to create stunning mod- els brought to life by details rendered in—you guessed it—tissue and clear dope. Although airbrushing opaque paint has become a standard with scale planes, Bill’s scale planes resemble stained-glass win- dows for their clarity and beauty, while at the same time still managing to create the illusion of the full size plane. His use of con- trasting colors, panel lines, minute details, and lettering help in that process. Looking at the cockpit details and letter-
ing of the F-84E shows how that illusion is enhanced, but yet in a minimalist way. Like- wise, the complexity of the landing gear ren- dered in simple geometric forms and the ad- dition of the carved wing tanks with their triangular fins make the plane a complete work of art in its own right. At the same time, in another shot of the
model not used this month, there is a rubber motor peg clear at the back of the plane, just in front of the exhaust ring. Obviously, the plane is not intended to be a static scale model, so we’ll look forward to Bill’s subse- quent report of how the model flies in a lat- er column. Next month, indoor models and unique powerplants take centerstage as we pursue the goal of making us all better modelers. In the meantime, don’t leave any good days un- flown. Throw something into the air!
PHOTOS: BILL SCHMIDT
Bill Schmidt has outdone himself with his latest rendering of the Comet Republic F-84E Thunderjet (above). Bill’s use of tissue and clear dope for realistically finishing models (at right) is unparalleled. Choosing a jet subject is out of the ordinary, and choosing to finish it as he did makes a really unique and eye-catching model.
FLYING MODELS 25
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