Tail Slide Haven-Homage to the Departed

Homage To The Departed If you’ve been building and flying R/C aircraft for more than a couple of years, no doubt some products you liked made the dreaded discontinued list. The reasons why companies fail and products disappear from the marketplace is varied, complex, and the potential subject of a dry Doctoral thesis. Certainly inept corporate management, errant market forecasting, competition, and low product sales contribute to a product or companies demise. As a consumer, witnessing a favorite brand, or brands, disappear from the marketplace is just plain disappointing. I've compiled a short list (I could add more), of kit producers I was disappointed to see disappear. I owned products from most of the companies listed. What I didn’t buy from these companies appeared on my endless wish list .

Byron Originals

Incorporated in 1975 with worldwide sales, Byron Originals still exists today. Once pioneers of giant scale and ducted fan aircraft, they now sell model fuel and spa accessories. From the Byron Fuels website: “In 1998, diminishing interest in building model airplanes from kits reduced the size of that part of the hobby and the decision was made to discontinue the manufacture of Byron Originals.”...Uh...OK... poor sales and high overhead? Byron didn’t jump on the ARF train like everyone else to survive either. By the time they ceased aircraft production, Byron giant kits cost substantially more than the typical smaller sized ARF. Although construction and the finishing process of Byron Kits wasn’t difficult, it was time consuming and consequently, found little favor with the growing ARF crowd. Adding to the kit cost, Byron touted a “whole kit concept”. Each kit contained everything one needed to assemble the airplane (often overlooked by modelers giving the kits good value), except the radio, engine, and if desired, various optional accessories. The kits were impressively engineered, looked great when completed by a modeler with some skills and flew very well. Some of the old Byron Originals aircraft are allegedly being manufactured by Iron Bay Model Company and they may be a source of spare Byron parts. Since last checking their web site, the homepage had no click-able links. There were however, warm reminders of the penalty of copyright infringements; 5 years in the slammer and a 250K fine. Royal Royal was a Japanese company (later semi- resurrected under the name Marutaka), manufacturing an extensive line of mostly scale model balsa kits. Sizes ranged from .15 to .90. True craftsman kits, the balsa was cut and finished to perfection for assembly. Royal offered a selection of models other companies didn't at the time. The B17, P-38 lightning, 60-90 size Curtis Hawk, B-25, C47, Northrop F-61 Black Widow, light civil aircraft, and many Japanese WW2 fighters were some of their unique offerings. Furthermore, Royal sold their own line of field equipment, servos, engines and eventually, ARF airplanes. The Royal engines I owned were trouble free, always started, and offered superior value for the money.

Hobby Shack/Pilot-OK Model

The Pilot/OK balsa kits were sold through Hobby Shack. The Hobby Shack web site is on line but has little to do with R/C airplane models. If you need a volcano making kit, Hobby Shack is the place go. Many of the kits were designed by Y. Matsumoto and N. Nakayama. The kits were impressively engineered and some designs used the “Quick Build” method. While some claim to have invented the idea of an easy building model, Pilot had the “Quick Build” method of model assembly well before some companies existed. When building by the quick build method the fuselage formers/bulkheads were designed to fit into the fuselage side notches during assembly. Once all the fuselage bulkheads were in place, secured with rubber bands and squared, the bulkheads could be glued in place to the fuselage with CA glue. This technique made for a quick, easy building, and strong fuselage. Some Pilot products are still sold on web sites overseas. Current offerings are a small shadow of their old product line, which included airplanes from .10 size, to 1/3 scale, and gliders.

Sterling Models

I can hear the jeers and cheers now. If you built a Sterling kit, no doubt you discovered some poor die cutting or had to re-cut a wood part . A legit complaint for sure, but I never heard a complaint about Sterling models flying badly. Located in Philadelphia and founded in 1946 by Mr. Edward Manulkin, Sterling produced over 120 different models including boats, gliders, U-Control, rubber powered, and R/C aircraft. Sterling ceased production in 1994. Traditional construction techniques were used on most airplane models. Lay down a keel, add formers and stringers, flip it over and repeat for a fuselage. A time consuming building method, but the finished framework became a work of art, almost too beautiful to cover. Modelers lost an invaluable resource with the demise of Sterling. From rubber peanut fliers to scale R/C, they gave us unsurpassed variety. Many of their kits are still sought after today. The .60 powered Stearman pictured left and the Waco S.R.E cabin biplane are two of the most popular. I could certainly add a few more companies to the homage. I sadly miss these companies and their products. If you’re a relative newcomer to the hobby and aren’t familiar with these long lost brands, you can be grateful—your wish list will never be as long as mine was! John W. Blossick Tail Slide Haven johnb@tslidehaven.com 2015

Sterlings .60 Stearman-Still sought after today

Worth Mentioning

If Honda killed the British and European Motorcycles in the U.S. with the CB 750, EZ models certainly helped drive the dagger into the heart of the kit makers with their ARF airplanes. Typically heavy with high wing loading, these ARF models appealed to those who wanted to get into the air quickly. EZ remained popular until they were out ARF’d. by other companies building less expensive and better flying models. They now have very limited offerings through Singapore Hobby Supply. Today you can buy a 69” span 1.20 sized Bücker Bü 131 Jungmann for $1,018.50. At that price, heck, buy two!