By Kim Lamb of the Chieftain
 

Jack Dixon (r) and Wayne Locke, and their
beautiful WWII aircraft models (photo by the author)

Man has always dreamt of breaking his earthly bonds to soar in the wild
blue of the sky above. Wayne Locke and Jack Dixon of Enterprise have
fulfilled that desire on a small scale by means of model airplanes which they have flown a combined 110 years since the early 1940s.

As boyhood friends in Enterprise, the two became interested in building
model planes constructed of light weight wood, covered with tissue,
glued together, and painted with a lacquer called " plane dope" that would
tighten the tissue and water proof the plane's exterior.

"One of my first planes was a beautiful cream and orange colored biplane 
called 'The Great Lakes Trainer'," said 86 year-old Jack Dixon . "I had to
cut out all of the parts so it was very labor intensive'" he said.

Wayne Locke,71, started building planes during WWII. "Balsa wood 
was hard to come by because of the war so I used what I think was
tamarack. It was hard and splintery,"he said. Balsa was scarce since
it was used in the ring type life preservers found on ships. All of
their early planes were powered by a long rubber band that was
wound by hand to supply power to the prop. After the war ended 
both men returned to Wallowa County to continue on with their 
lives and their passion for flight.

As the world changed with the end of the war, so too did the
model plane industry. Plane kits powered by small gas engines
enabled longer and higher flights. Some planes were designed for
"free flight". The plane's rudder could be adjusted so the airplane
would fly in circles free of any extraneous control. Control line
planes were flown from the ground in circles via a line that
controlled the plane's rudder, flaps and speed.

The first radio controlled planes came on to the scene in the 
early 1950s. Remote transmitters and receivers were 
cumbersome and unreliable, making them impractical to 
use. A single button controlled the plane's maneuvers, one
blip to turn right , two blips to turn left, three blips controlled
altitude, and four adjusted the motor speed.

The newfound freedom that the remote controlled plane gave 
was exciting for the two friends. "I got a plane hung up in 
a tree," Locke said. He went home and returned with
a .22 caliber rifle and shot the limb off to retrieve it. They
made skis out of tin cans for the planes to land on in place of
wheels. "We have also built numerous plane with pontoons
attached so we could land on Wallowa Lake," Locke said.

Weather wasn't much of a concern for the men as they 
would fly their machines in the sub-zero temperatures of 
the county. "We were out flying one day when the airplane
got away from us," Locke said. The men scanned the 
horizon for a possible clue as to the plane's position.
Locke saw a small red dot against the mountains and 
quickly grabbed a pair of binoculars. "I could see it was
the plane, it must have been about five or six miles 
away," he said. He finally got the plane turned
around and landed it in the front yard.

Controller and motor design changed in the 1970s with
advances in technology. Controllers of today have two
control sticks which operate the plane's flaps, rudder
and motor speed independently. The first power plants 
were ignition engines comprised of a small spark plug, coil
and condenser.

Manufacturers redesigned the miniature engines 
incorporating a glow plug much like a diesel
engine. The glow plug ignites the fuel which is an 
alcohol, oil mix. Compression caused by the
motor's piston keeps the tiny engine running.

The motor's power is based on its cubic inches. 
Companies build a variety of different sized
motors. One small motor that Locke has at 
home will turn 36,000 revolutions per minute.

"When it's running it sounds like a mad hornet," he said.

A planes mortality rate is always a concern to its 
pilot, but it's something they must live with. "If
you fly them, sooner or later you will wreck them," 
Dixon said with a smile." It's just part of the
hobby and you get used to it," he said.

Locke had a plane built in 1957 that he had flown 
until a couple of years ago when the inevitable
happened. "It was way up in the sky when something
snapped," he said. The plane plummeted slamming into
the ground. "All I could do was pick up the motor and
receiver and walk away. If you get mad it doesn't do 
you any good," he said.

According to Locke, there are a variety of planes, 
motors and controllers available in a variety of
price ranges for anyone interested in flying. A 
number of controllers are "buddy boxes" which
allow a second controller to be linked to an
instructor's to help students out of bad situations. "It's
extremely difficult to just walk out and fly without
assistance from an instructor," Dixon said.

Planes can be purchased totally disassembled 
or ARF (almost ready to fly). The ARF models
usually require about 12 hours of assembly time.

Prices for a complete setup start around $350, 
but the sky is the limit depending on what you are
shooting for. Some companies even have small jet 
engines that start at $3,000.

The passion for flying still burns deep for both men 
though Dixon is considering retirement from the
hobby. " My reflexes just aren't what they used to
be,"Dixon said.

The men get together with other local flying enthusiasts
throughout the year at the Joseph Airport
to fly their planes and talk shop.

Copyright 2001 Wallowa County Chieftain
Last modified: 11/21/01