As you turn the pages of this issue, you will see a good mix of surprises, all of which were very well planned. (No, there is nothing strange in your breakfast.) One of the articles that I would really like the readers to pay close attention to is by Donald Brooks on how to determine static thrust.

     Now, before you decide that sipping a cup of hot Rit dye is a better idea than reading an article filled with math equations, I want you to consider the benefits of what Don has put together for us. To make things easier to digest, we broke the feature up into several sidebars. This article will teach you how a specific propeller will perform, no matter what aircraft is used during the test. Who wouldn't want to know that?

     For any pilot, thrust is everything. After all, you do not want to pull your model into a hover and find out at the wrong moment that you are out of power. If a person travels to a field far from home, there is a good chance that weather and altitude density are going to change the airplane's performance. This article will prepare you for those occasions also.

     Have you ever doodled an airplane that looked as though it could be a great model? Members of the Aeroguidance Society have stared at their club logo for nearly 50 years with just that thought.

     The little blue airplane in that artwork had a timeless look that finally inspired Bob Noll and Ken Maroni to team up and get one together. They involved the entire club in the design process, in the hope that most of the members would want to build one.

     The AGS Retro fits the bill for anyone looking to build a 40-size sport model. Its control surfaces are modest compared to those of the 3-D models offered today, but the benefit is that it will perform great with average stock servos. RC Aerobatics (Pattern) fliers designed it; if they put their seal of approval on the model, rest assured it has precision potential.

     We labeled the model a "beginner's" build project because Ken went to great lengths to detail the plans and include many of the templates on separate sheets. The stick-building part of the fuselage and tail surfaces is a lot of fun to do, although it's more time-consuming than straight sheet surfaces.

     Again, the Pattern designer has shown a talent for light building. Along with careful wood selection, if the builder can get the model's weight near the specified 4 pounds, he or she will have an incredible flier that should also do well at the next club building contest.

     I saw Doug Crumley's Storch for the first time two years ago—about the time when I started with MA. The model was just in the bare bones, but the level of detail was impressive.

     I was inspired and poked my nose around the sticks and wire as much as I could. The nice thing about Doug's Ed Andrews model was that it maintained the giant greenhouse cockpit because it had a prototypical steel-tube frame.

     Doug was well on his way to a Scale Masters-winning aircraft and had already documented a lot of the building sequence. His project reminded me of those hours spent in my father's workshop, just hanging out watching him work on something. Even though I was not doing any of the work, it was as though I was absorbing his talent.

     "The Storch and Me" article is Doug's short account of the project, along with a number of juicy photos. There's a great deal to tell about an undertaking such as this, so we've shown off his work in the magazine.

     But for an even more detailed account, more photos, and a video, click your way to the MA Web site ( ( www.modelaircraft.org/mag/index.htm) for this new exclusive online feature. Let's hope that some of Doug's talent in these pages spills over into your modeling project.  MA