Bill Hurley


Yes, you may use my picture. I'd be honored. It'd be a fitting tribute to the plane that a few minutes later took off on the long trip West (well, South in this case). Actually, if I hadn't been showing-off I would never have lost it.

It was July of 1995 at the SAM 27 old-time rubber yearly event. George Benson and I were planning to fly 'cabins' in the under 150 sq." class. The wind was pretty much blowing out the contest, so we didn't fly them. I had brought the tripe to fly around to drum-up interest in including a Dime Scale class next year. (Didn't happen.) I knew the triplane would fly well in the wind, being about the most stable flyer I've ever had. As a lark, I entered it. My times weren't too bad. I was amused, while others seemed amazed. I was the one amazed, though, when it zoomed up and around going down wind fast, but NOT coming down. Six or so of us did a thorough search for a half mile or more on the path we'd all seen it take . . . OOS.

I guess the real joke is that it took second place! My nanosecond of fame. And there are those that still talk of it. May your triplane do even better.

It was from a Megow Models' dime kit plan. That is the only one in that class that has +incidence in the stab.(as far as I know). George Benson turned me onto an article on it in Aero Modeler, by Doug McHard. The scale is poor and I planned to fly it in peanut(11/34" span) so I set the mid-wing on the top longeron and adjusted it's length, made movable ailerons and rudder, and gave it a built-up spreader wing instead of 1/16" sheet. The nostalgia note is that that red/white checkered paper I used was scraps left over from what my brother stamped-up in 1936 to cover his Megow Fokker Triplane.

Bill


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