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Balsa USA Stick #4
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There is an interesting story behind the birth of this airplane. I originally bought the kit with the intent of building
the plane, and crashing it. The event was to be captured on video tape. I began building it rather hastily in an effort
to get it done quickly. In fact, I remember working on it in a hotel room in Lake Havasu City, AZ while taking a road
trip from Tucson, AZ to Bakersfield, CA to visit a friend of mine. But then it sat for a long time, and I didn't quite
have the heart to destroy what I was creating, as I tend to develop affinity for my creations.
I decided that one day I would finish the plane and simply add it to my collection of Balsa USA Sticks. I just didn't
know when, or what was in store for it. It actually did, in fact, wind up on video in a crash, but not like I had ever
imagined.
Somewhere around 1991 or so, I joined forces with a guy from work to create a public access television show. It was a
show called Hobby Hut, and its purpose was to explore various hobbies that people occupied their time with. Since I had
all the makings for a model airplane, I had an automatic topic for the first show. The show was a great
success and won a number of awards, and it featured the construction and maiden flight(s) of this very airplane.
The aircraft was almost literally slapped together without much consideration to accuracy and workmanship. After all, it
was intended to fly kind of wobbly to keep in alignment with the show's main character. It was also going to crash in one
scene (which was intended to be the final scene that we shot). As it turned out, the plane was a joy to fly, and it flew
better than any Balsa USA Stick that I built, previously. It's funny how things turn out that way. Also, the crash scene
didn't hardly hurt the plane at all - it suffered some minor damage to one wing panel (although, a friend of mine
discovered, later, that the top spar appears to be broken near the center).
Broken spar and all, we finished the show with several more flights. The most fantastic of which was when we got in the
back of a truck and flew the plane along side us across the desert at sunset. This became the scene for the closing
credits, which actually really stole the show (and was probably one reason we won an award).
If there is ever a cure for hangar rash, I will be first in line to buy the remedy. While repairing a book shelf, I
dropped a shelf on the wing, taking out a rib and the letter "T" in the "HOBBY HUT" wing graphics. But I have since
repaired it. Apparently, nobody makes that color of peel-and-stick trim sheets anymore - and I only had a tiny bit
left over from the original construction - but, fortunately, I didn't need it. I was able to use the damaged pieces
to repair the lettering, and from a distance as close as standing next to the plane, it looks as good as new. This
plane has flown very little since the production of the Hobby Hut show, but I have recently (November, 2002) installed
new servos and a brand new O.S. .40 FP engine (purchased from ebay), complete with an RJL diesel conversion head. I
do not know if I will tear into the wing in search of a broken spar before flying it again, but it is otherwise ready
to go. This is the only Stick 40 that has never had a landing gear problem. Perhaps that is a testament to my
experience.
Copyright 2002
11/20/2002