AMA Cub


Hard at work		Jim Bethea assists

Joan helps with building, Tabasco not needed for the kit.		Jules and Janet supervise

Mass launch		Another view of the flying field.

Three Stooges minus one.		Variations of Delta Dart including a biplane.

We did a Delta Dart Make and Take for about 30 MD/MS wheelchair kids and their families at Seashore Methodist Assembly in Biloxi , Mississippi . It was a day of fun hosted by S.K.I.P., which stands for Sick Kids need Involved People. Ben Mathews, the organizer, is a wheelchair bound friend of mine who also has a degenerative ailment. It was as much an outing for the siblings and overstressed parents of these kids, as for the youngsters themselves. Some of you might know much about this. We had six members from our SAM 59 club and five of Ben’s friends, from New Orleans , Covington , and Mandeville, bringing the total help to eight guys and three gals.

We brought 75 SIG Cub kits and had only 5 left over. The idea of making kits was to use pre-cut spars and avoid passing out razor blades or hobby knives. We used white glue in catsup cups with coffee stirrers for applicators. Roughly half the wings were mounted using the prop and tail method, and half using 8 mounting jigs I made out of cardboard, just like the laser cut ones, but free. Many parents and older kids astonished us by actually reading the instructions, and building their first-ever flying model with very little guidance.

One child was violently allergic to latex, so we kept the motors outside the door to the cafeteria as a precaution, and handed them out as people left the building to fly. We gave them extra 1/8 by 7" rubber bands to take home for later, donated by Mercury Hobbies in Albita Springs , Louisiana . All building was done in a 2 hour time frame from 10 am until noon, with a mass launch outside at 12:30. I wowed the crowd with my Delta Bipe, which uses a 15" loop of 0.105 rubber, and will do a minute in calm air, but many others flew well, too. This was because the models came out about 7 to 7.5 grams without the motor. Nice and light. Balsa gliders and Guillows Wright Flyers were donated by Hobby Hut of New Orleans as prizes. After flying, a spaghetti lunch was provided, with piles of cookies for dessert.

I have never had so much fun and felt so useful and good about doing something. We hope to go again next year.

New Orleans SAM 59 Club Members Do a Make and Take