Staten Island RC Modelers

06/09/2023

Slip or slip-up?

03/08/2023

The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge used?

Well, because that's the way they built them in England, and English engineers designed the first US railroads. Why did the English build them like that?

Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the wagon tramways, and that's the gauge they used. So, why did 'they' use that gauge then?

Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they had used for building wagons, which used that same wheel spacing. Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing?

Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would break more often on some of the old, long distance roads in England . You see, that's the spacing of the wheel ruts. So who built those old rutted roads?

Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads in Europe (including England ) for their legions. Those roads have been used ever since.
And what about the ruts in the roads?

Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match or run the risk of destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots were made for Imperial Rome , they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing. Therefore the United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot. Bureaucracies live forever.

So the next time you are handed a specification/procedure/process and wonder 'What horse's a*s came up with this?', you may be exactly right. Imperial Roman army chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the rear ends of two war horses. (Two horses' as*es.)

Now, the twist to the story:
When you see a Space Shuttle sitting on its launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank. These are solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. The SRBs are made by Thiokol at their factory in Utah . The engineers who designed the SRBs would have preferred to make them a bit fatter, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line from the factory happens to run through a tunnel in the mountains, and the SRBs had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad track, as you now know, is about as wide as two horses' behinds.

So, a major Space Shuttle design feature, of what is arguably the world's most advanced transportation system, was determined over two thousand years ago by the width of a horse's a*s.

And you thought being a horse's a*s wasn't important? Ancient horse's as*es control almost everything. 😁😁

01/20/2023

Seen this for soldering but never covering before!

Holding a large wing while you apply covering material can be tricky. A 2-foot piece of 2×1—inch board with hooks or nails in its edges will hold the wing nicely if you stretch rubber bands across it, as shown. If required, you can nail a block under the far end to make the overhanging wing level. This will work very well, even if the board is shorter than the wing. Adapted from 400 Great R/C Modeling Tips by Jim Newman, Volume II, an Air Age Media publication.

12/26/2022

NEXT UP!

12/07/2022

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS SEASON TO ALL!

DID YOU KNOW......

For all the fans of “It’s A Wonderful Life” and Jimmy Stewart . . .

Just months after winning his 1941 Academy Award for best actor in “The Philadelphia Story,” Jimmy Stewart, one of the best-known actors of the day, left Hollywood and joined the US Army. He was the first big-name movie star to enlist in World War II.

An accomplished private pilot, the 33-year-old Hollywood icon became a US Army Air Force aviator, earning his 2nd Lieutenant commission in early 1942. With his celebrity status and huge popularity with the American public, he was assigned to starring in recruiting films, attending rallies, and training younger pilots.

Stewart, however, wasn’t satisfied. He wanted to fly combat missions in Europe, not spend time in a stateside training command. By 1944, frustrated and feeling the war was passing him by, he asked his commanding officer to transfer him to a unit deploying to Europe. His request was reluctantly granted.
Stewart, now a Captain, was sent to England, where he spent the next 18 months flying B-24 Liberator bombers over Germany. Throughout his time overseas, the US Army Air Corps' top brass had tried to keep the popular movie star from flying over enemy territory. But Stewart would hear nothing of it.

Determined to lead by example, he bucked the system, assigning himself to every combat mission he could. By the end of the war he was one of the most respected and decorated pilots in his unit.

But his wartime service came at a high personal price.

In the final months of WWII he was grounded
for being “flak happy,” today called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
When he returned to the US in August 1945, Stewart was a changed man. He had lost so much weight that he looked sickly. He rarely slept, and when he did he had nightmares of planes exploding and men falling through the air screaming (in one mission alone his unit had lost 13 planes and 130 men, most of whom he knew personally).

He was depressed, couldn’t focus, and refused to talk to anyone about his war experiences. His acting career was all but over.

As one of Stewart's biographers put it, "Every decision he made [during the war] was going to preserve life or cost lives. He took back to Hollywood all the stress that he had built up.”
In 1946 he got his break. He took the role of George Bailey, the suicidal father in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The rest is history.
Actors and crew of the set realized that in many of the disturbing scenes of George Bailey unraveling in front of his family, Stewart wasn’t acting. His PTSD was being captured on filmed for potentially millions to see.
But despite Stewart's inner turmoil, making the movie was therapeutic for the combat veteran. He would go on to become one of the most accomplished and loved actors in American history.

When asked in 1941 why he wanted to leave his acting career to fly combat missions over N**i Germany, he said, "This country's conscience is bigger than all the studios in Hollywood put together, and the time will come when we'll have to fight.”

This Christmas season, as many of us watch the classic Christmas film, “It’s A Wonderful Life,” it’s also a fitting time to remember the sacrifices of Jimmy Stewart and all the men who gave up so much to serve their country during wartime. We will always remember you!
Postscript:

While fighting in Europe, Stewart's Oscar statue was proudly displayed in his father’s Pennsylvania hardware store. Throughout his life, the beloved actor always said his father, a World War I veteran, was the person who had made the biggest impact on him.

Jimmy Stewart was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985 and died in 1997 at the age of 89.

08/12/2022

07/27/2021

Heading back to Franklin and expecting another great day. Come on out to see pilots from all over showing their skills of build and flying. Expecting another SI invasion….

05/19/2021

Put it on your calendar. Fun event sponsored by Pine Barren’s Modelers RC Club. A bunch of SIRCM members will be there.

04/25/2021

The boys went visiting to Dorbrook Park where we all have second memberships with the Jersey Coast Sport Fliers for a change of scenery. Luckily we had the place to ourselves...

03/22/2021

Let the flying season begin!

03/04/2021

Join me this Saturday, March 6th, for the next LIVE Hidden Gems Internet Radio Show form 10am till 12pm EST (adjust your clocks accordingly).
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02/05/2021

Join me tomorrow Feb 6th from 10am-12pm EST for the next live show (www.makerparkradio.nyc). I have a great collection of rare tunes, socially conscious music and a new music set, featuring a new version of a rock classic ready for you.
MakerPark Radio - makerparkradio.nyc Seppe Pizza Bar Milk and Honey Tattoo Parlour

08/21/2020

Join Tampa Dave this Saturday Aug 22nd from 10am-12pm as he hosts the Hidden Gems Show on www.makerparkradio.nyc. Also use the Maker Park Radio Appor ask your home device “play Maker Park Radio.nyc”. He has a great mix of music and surprises ready for your listening pleasure
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08/08/2020

On Live today Aug 8th from 10am-12pm EDT ON www.makerparkradio.nyc, the Maker Park Radio or TuneIn Radio App or ask your home device “Play MakerParkRadio.nyc”
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05/30/2020

Join me today Sat May 30th from 10am-12pm EDT on www.makerparkradio.nyc for my annual Kick-Off to summer special. A great musical soundtrack for your Saturday Morning

Join me this Saturday for the Hidden Gems Kick-Off to Summer Special on MakerPark Radio - makerparkradio.nyc from 10am-12pm EDT

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