Ocean County Modelers By-Lines & Fly-Lines
P.O. Box 569, Lakehurst, NJ 08733-0569 April 2017
Word of the Month: firkin
see Air Force , page 2
I n 1964, Tom Moore had to write a paper
when he was in the 10th grade in Andover,
Massachusetts. He chose to write about the
experiences of a highly decorated and distin-
guished Air Force pilot who was a test pilot in
the X-15 program. So Tom took pen to paper
and wrote to Lt. Col. Robert M. White, who
at the time was an operations officer for one
of the F-105 Thunderchief tactical squadrons
in Germany. While stationed at Bitburg Air
Base in Germany, Lt. Col. Robert M. White
who had been with the X-15 program for five
years was eager to write to Tom about his ex-
perience.
Lt. Col. White had a distinguished career in
the U.S. Air Force beginning in World War II
as a P-51 Mustang pilot in Europe until 1954
when he was shot down over Germany on his
52nd combat mission. He was captured and
was a prisoner of war until his release two
months later. He left active duty and became
a member of the Air Force Reserve in New
York while studying at New York University
where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree
in Electrical Engineering. He went on to earn
a Master of Business Administration degree
from the George Washington University in
1966.
He was recalled to active duty in 1951 dur-
ing the Korean War and served as a pilot and
engineering officer and assigned as a fighter
pilot and flight commander at Johnson Air
Base, Japan.
His next assignment was at the Air Force’s
Experimental Test Pilot School at Edwards
Air Force Base, California, where he flew ad-
vanced models of the F-86 Sabre, F-89 Scor-
pion, the new F-102 Delta Dagger, the F-104
Starfighter and the F-105 Thunderchief.
Air Force Military
Aircraft Test Pilot X-15 Test Pilot sets records
PRESIDENT
Edward Hollema
201-320-2872
VICE PRESIDENT
Joseph Acquisto
732-614-2737
TREASURER
Tom Moore
732-644-8601
SECRETARY
Vince Scatuccio 732-534-9524
SAFETY OFFICER
Tony Riccio
848-333-8861
NEWSLETTER EDITOR
Sue Fevola
732-477-1761 [email protected]
PROPERTY MANAGER
vacant
CLOTHING APPAREL
Vacant
WEBSITE ADMINISTRATOR
Vince Scatuccio 732-534-9524
Ocean County Modelers Page 2
Club Officers
Definition for
Word of the Month:
a firkin is a
quarter barrel or cask.
Air Force, from page 1
OCM Meeting
Wednesday
April 26th
7:00pm
Manchester
Municipal Building
NOTICE
All of this experience
led up to the ultimate as-
signment; primary pilot
for the North American X-
15 program in 1958. He
made his first test flight on
April 15, 1960, when the
aircraft was fitted with
two interim, 16,000 lbf
thrust rocket engines. On
his fourth flight he took to the sky with the X-15 under the
wing of a Boeing NB52A Stratofortress and shortly dropped
over Silver Lake near the Nevada-California border. White
fired the two Reaction Motors XLR11-RM-13 rocket engines
and they burned for 258.2 seconds. The purpose of this flight
was to reach maximum altitude in order to test the rocket
plane’s stability and controllability above the atmosphere.
The rocket plane accelerated to Mach 2.52 at 1,773 miles per
hour while climbing at nearly a 70° angle and reached a peak
altitude of 136,600 feet. After engine shutdown, White glided
to a landing on Rogers Dry Lake and touched down. The du-
ration of the flight was 11 minutes, 39.1 seconds. Major
see Air Force, page 3
Ocean County Modelers Page 3
White’s altitude was never recognized as a
record by the Fédération Aéronautique Inter-
nationale. Over the next few years, the X-15
would reach to nearly three times higher.
In February 1961, White unofficially set a
new air speed record when he flew the X-15
at a speed of 2,275 mph, following the instal-
lation of a 57,000 lbf thrust XLR-99 engine.
He was the first human to fly an aircraft at
Mach 4 and later Mach 5 over the next eight
months.
On 17 July 1962, White flew the X-15 to an
altitude of 314,750 feet. The Boeing NB52A
Stratofortress carried White’s 15th flight in the
X-15 hypersonic research rocketplane over
Delamar Dry Lake, Nevada. The purpose of
this flight was to verify the performance of
the Honeywell MH-96 flight control system.
Just one minute before drop, the MH96 failed,
but White reset his circuit breakers and it
came back on line. After dropping from the
Stratofortress, White fired the X-15’s Reac-
tion Motors XLR-99 rocket engine and began
to accelerate and climb. The planned burn
time for the 57,000 pound thrust engine was
80.0 seconds. It shut down 2 seconds late,
driving the X-15 well beyond the planned
peak altitude for this flight. Instead of reach-
ing 280,000 feet, White reached 314,750 feet.
The rocketplane reached Mach 5.45, at 3,832
miles per hour.
Because of the increased speed and altitude,
White was in danger of overshooting his land-
ing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
He crossed the north end of Rogers Dry Lake
and crossed the “high key”—the point where
the X-15 landing maneuver begins—too high
and too fast at Mach 3.5 at 80,000 feet. With-
out power, White made a wide 360° turn over
Rosemond Dry Lake then came back over the
high key at a more normal 28,000 feet and
subsonic speed. He glided to a perfect touch
down, 10 minutes, 20.7 seconds after being
dropped from the B-52. This feat was official-
ly recognized as a new record. It also quali-
fied him for the USAF astronaut wings, be-
coming the first “winged” astronaut, and one
of a few who have flown into space without a
conventional spacecraft. Major White was
featured with a cover story in the August 3,
1962 issue of Life magazine extoling his ac-
complishment. He became the first pilot to
fly faster than Mach 4, Mach 5 and Mach 6
for a total of sixteen X-15 flights.
Following his stint as an X-15 pilot, Colonel
White distinguished himself as an F-105 pilot
flying 70 combat missions over North Vi-
etnam, including leading an attack against the
Paul Doumer Bridge in Hanoi for which he
was awarded the Air Force Cross.
After the war, he served as director of the F-
15 Eagle Systems Program at Wright-
Patterson Air Force Base and then in 1970 as
Commander of the Air Force Flight Test Cen-
ter at Edwards Air Force Base, where he was
responsible for research and developmental
flight testing of manned and unmanned aero-
space vehicles, aircraft systems, deceleration
devices and for the Air Force Test Pilot
Air Force, from page 2
see Air Force, page 4
Ocean County Modelers Page 4
School.
White then
went on to
Command
the Air
Force Re-
serve Of-
ficer Train-
ing Corps
(AFROTC)
for the en-
tire
AFROTC
officer ac-
cession pro-
gram at all
colleges and universities across the United
States. In February 1975, he received his sec-
ond star and became Chief of Staff of the
Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force.
In 1992, Major General White was inducted
into the Aerospace Walk of Honor and in-
ducted into the National Hall of Fame in Day-
ton, Ohio, on July 2006.
He died on March 17, 2010 at the age of 85.
(Initial information provided by Tom Moore.
Additional information came from This Day
in Aviation, and compiled by Sue Fevola)
Saturday, April 9th
Rain Date, April 10th
Many hands make light work, so
come on out and do your share. Bring
your woodworking tools, shovels and
rakes. There’s lot’s to do at the field
to get ready for the Spring flying sea-
son.
Painting, building tables, cleaning
out the shed, etc are all things that
need to be done.
Air Force, from page 3
Field Work Day
Come Out and Support your Club
OCMRC
2nd Annual Auction
Saturday, April 29th
Manchester Municipal
Building
101 Colonial Drive
Manchester, NJ
Downstairs Room
Registration 8:30am
Bidding begins 10:00am
Further details under Events on
OCMRC website.
www.ocmrc.us
If you don’t have time
to do it right,
then when will you have
time to do it over?
Sometimes you
Just Have to Laugh... Tips
and Tricks
Ocean County Modelers Page 5
A Variety of Tips for the Novice
(and the Experienced who
may not have thought of these).
If you are using dual rates, return to high
rate before entering the landing pattern.
Do a couple of turns to adapt to the great-
er sensitivity again.
On flat bottom wing trainer planes: Low
speed handling (banking characteristics
can be improved by raising each aileron
an 1/8” or so. It makes the “up” aileron
more effective.
Installing larger (3”+) wheels on your
trainer will:
1. Make taxiing in grass easier.
2. Improve your visual orientation in
the air.
3. Improve your landings as gear
won’t bend as easily.
Maintain your flight path. Do not make
any erratic maneuvers to avoid faster,
more maneuverable overtaking aircraft
(experienced pilots etc.). It is their re-
sponsibility to avoid you. However, make
a conscientious effort to not be a hazard
either.
If it is obvious that you are going to crash,
kill the power to minimize damage.
A n atheist was walking through the
woods. He said to himself: “What ma-
jestic trees! What powerful rivers! What
beautiful animals!”
As he was walking alongside the river, he
heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. He
turned to look. He saw a 7-foot grizzly
charge towards him. He ran as fast as he
could up the path. He looked over his shoul-
der and saw that the bear was closing in on
him. He looked over his shoulder again, and
the bear was even closer. He tripped and fell
on the ground. He rolled over to pick himself
up but saw that the bear was right on top of
him, reaching for him with his left paw and
raising his right paw to strike him. At that
instant the atheist cried out, “Oh my God!!!”
Time stopped. The bear froze. The forest
was silent.
As a bright light shone upon the man, a
voice came out of the sky. “You deny my
existence for all these years, teach others I
don’t exist and even credit creation to cosmic
accident. Do you expect me to help you out
of this predicament? Am I to count you as a
believer?”
The atheist looked directly into the light, “It
would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask
You to treat me as a Christian now, but per-
haps You could make the BEAR a Christian?”
“Very well,” said the voice.
The light went out. The sounds of the forest
resumed.
And the bear dropped his right paw, brought
both paws together, bowed his head and
spoke:
“Lord bless this food, which I am about to
receive from thy bounty through Christ our
Lord, Amen.”
Ocean County Modelers Page 6
Minutes of OCM
Meeting on
April 22, 2017
V ice President Joe Acquisto called the meeting to order at 7:00pm after the Pledge of Alle-
giance. He mentioned that Ed Hollema is doing well from his surgery and should be back
by the next meeting.
Secretary Vince Scatuccio called for comments or corrections to the minutes of the February
meeting that were published in the newsletter. The minutes were accepted as presented, after
the normal motion, second, and vote process.
The membership total stands at 89 paid members, with an additional 13 junior members. Two
new potential members were at the meeting. Only 21 members attended the meeting tonight
Treasurer Tom Moore reported the beginning March balance was $11,850.89 and as of the
March meeting the balance was $10,698.85. Checks for donations were sent to the township
Police, Fire and First Aid, along with the Jackson High School Scholarship fund.
Safety Officer Tony Riccio stated there were no safety issues to report and noted the field is
in fair shape. April 8th is our field work day when we plan to fill holes on the field, clean out
the trailer and shed, add more gravel to the road, build two new work benches and a new starter
table. He asked members to bring wood-working tools along with shovels and rakes. He again
stressed that safety is always the first and last thing and to check your plane and transmitter
settings to make sure they are performing correctly.
OLD BUSINESS:
Joe talked about the 2017 events being scheduled.
Field Work day: scheduled April 8th, rain date April 9th. Activities include building tables,
move wind sock, paint fence, fix gate, gravel roadway, tables, etc.
Auction: scheduled April 29th, Mike Cook is looking for volunteers for the event.
Pattern Contest: scheduled May 20th.
Community Day: scheduled September 9th.
Mall Display: to be scheduled. Steve Lew contacted the Ocean County Mall and is waiting
for a response to find out if they are interested. Steve also contacted the AMA and received
additional information for the proposed event.
3D event: to be scheduled. Lee Morey will be talking to the 3D community to see if they
are interested in this event proceeding.
see, Minutes, page 7
Ocean County Modelers Page 7
NEW BUSINESS:
Vince informed the membership that the application to renew the AMA Leader award was
submitted.
Mike is scheduling a CPR seminar, no date announced yet. Carl said he reviewed the AED
video on our web site and encouraged all members to view this video. A question was raised
on the pattern contest and what the requirements and rules are. The website https://nsrca.us/
has all the information related to pattern flying. Joe encouraged members to attend the pattern
contest.
Vince mentioned he had purchased a Form Filler material, by Form-Tac at the AMA East
show. The product fills in dents, holes and cracks. The product can be found at www.form-
tac.com. Joe also mentioned another product called Vinyl Spackle by DAP from Home Depot
or Lowes.
CRASH OF THE MONTH:
Mike Cook presented Jam Rabii with the Crash of the Month Award for crashing his B-17
due to a failed servo. Jam stated that it had minor damage and was quickly repaired.
There was no Model of the Month.
The 50/50 was awarded to Vince Scatuccio for $27.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:45pm.
Submitted by Vince Scatuccio, Secretary
Minutes, from page 6
Crash
of the
Month Mike Cook (left) presents the Crash of the
Month Award to Jam Rabii. Jam had a minor
crash with his B-17 and he graciously accept-
ed the award.
Page 8
JACKSON HOBBY SHOP
2275 W. COUNTY LINE RD (RT 526), JACKSON
(IN BENNETTS MILL PLAZA)
732-364-3334 Credit cards accepted Established 1969
JACKSON HOBBY SHOP
Full Line Hobby Shop
The Parts & Service Specialists
STORE HOURS
Tuesday thru Friday: 11am-6pm
Saturday: 11am - 5pm
Sunday & Monday - Closed
L.G.B. “G” GAUGE
INDOOR—OUTDOOR
TRAINS
We carry Lionel trains “for the kid in you”
Show your OCM
club card for 10%
discount.
(See store personnel
for details.)
Ocean County Modelers
New items
arriving daily