|
Having a page devoted to the Sterling Ringmasters seems like a good idea. Over its history Sterling kitted 13 different
Ringmasters!
S-1 Ringmaster (1950)
S-1A New Ringmaster
S5 Ringmaster Jr. (1955)
S6 Super Ringmaster
S13 Baby Ringmaster
S18 Ringmaster Imperial
S22 Ringmaster Sportster
S26 Custom Ringmaster (thanks Bob P.)
S29 Ringmaster Jr. Flash
S30 Beginners Ringmaster
S32 Beginners Ringmaster Bipe
Then there was the R/C versions:
FS-40 R/C Ringmaster
FS-41 R/C Ringmaster ARF
Did I miss any?
Is this the most flown model airplane name of all time?
Please send material (stories and/or pictures) for this special page dedicated to the memory of the STERLING RINGMASTER!
Check for Ringmasters on eBay
In 1955 I was 8 years old and our family was living at Shiroi Air Force Base, in Japan where my Father was stationed.
One day I heard for the first time cyclic droning of a control line model being flown in an open field behind the officer's
club. I went to investigate and found three or four young airmen flying u/c. Sometimes I look back on that day
as one of the events that literally changed my life for I have been involved with modeling continuously ever since.
What remains clear as a bell (I think) after all these years is the memory of that Ringmaster....finished only in multiple
coats of clear dope. The smooth, shiny surface, the silkspan expertly applied without a wrinkle, and the subtle woodgrain
of the balsa showing through the finish created in my mind an image of a craftsman AND a flyer.
Although I enjoy
all facets of modeling and have been actively involved in R/C since the early '60s, the memory of that first beautifully crafted
and lovely design stays with me. I currently own many unbuilt Ringmasters and still have one that was built nearly 30
years ago with a Fox .35 stunt in the nose....and it's proudly hanging on a wall of my home (thanks to a wonderfully understanding
wife!). It has been said that one never forgets his first love....and in my case, the first flying model I ever saw
was the Ringmaster....even after all these years it remains,for me, the iconic u/c model.
Dean Owen
AMA 45036
Morehead, Kentucky
I am in London, in the UK. I have a Ringmaster (S1), still in kit form, still
in the box, untouched, I have had it for decades. I cant bring myself to make it, despite a huge passion for control line
flying (or U-control as you Americans call it), it is one of a few vintage kits that I have in stock (including some classic
Keil Kraft control liners, Keil Kraft were sort of like the UK equivalent to what Sterling were in the USA).
I learnt to
fly C/L as a teen, back in the 1970s, using designs from plans published in Aeromodeller magazine, a series of truly excellent
articles by John Stroud called (if my memory serves me right) Flying Start took me and my buddies through the basics of engine
handling and making up lines etc. etc. and then the series culminated with two free plans, Tough Cookie and Tough Nut which
were trainers for the then popular Davies Charlton range of small diesels that were made in the UK.
This got us all airborne
with these tough little trainers and then we graduated to more aerobatic designs, in my case a Keil Kraft Gazelle with a PAW
1.5cc diesel. What a revelation that engine was! After the chugging performance of the Davies Charlton engines this little
screaming PAW seemed awesomely potent on a 7x6 prop!
Then we grew older and people moved on, but I never left C/L flying
and am still very active in that area. And I am proud to have such a classic as a S1 Ringmaster in my kit stash!
Freddy Drewer
In the spring of 1958 I saw an ad for a model airplane club being
formed by a local community service organization in my hometown in southeastern PA. Actually, a few members had convinced
a local store owner to offer a Ringmaster Junior kit and all the items necessary to fly it, including a Fox .15 for a very
special price to all the boys interested in joining. We had a large group. The store owner made it clear that
he had agreed to a very bad thing. But he kept his word.
A local boy scout troop owned wooded land complete with
a lodge of sorts. Our club met there to build our kits. Those weeks became the one memory from my childhood that I regard
today as the most magical and fun. We all have those moments and we all know we can't recapture them. The club
ceased operation abruptly before giving flight lessons. There we all were, our completed gems in hand, left to fend
for ourselves. I never could start the engine, so I didn't fly--a real blessing as it turned out. 25 years later
I came across the model on a top shelf in my parent's garage. The tissue had peeled away and an enterprising rodent
had nibbled the rudder. After disassembling, sanding, reassembling, sanding, covering, and painting my old friend, it
looked as brand new as it actually was. After cleaning and lubricating the engine, it started very quickly. My
old relic flew for the first time, beautifully. The original junior wasn't a stunt plane actually; it was a trainer.
But none of my more capable planes thrilled me as much. It was stolen from storage some years later. But the moments
I had "in the ring" are what matter to me.
Norman Umberger
Akron, OH
The first ringmaster I ever laid eyes on was an S-1 I found in the want-ads! I had to drive 60+ miles to get it, but I
did, and was about to wet my jeans on the drive home! I put it on the front seat, and as I drove home I could imagine myself
flying this giant bird...and because it was white, I nicknamed it lovingly the "Pelican" It's skin was silkspan, with untold
applications of white dope...the stripe was bright red, the engine mount cheeks were black, and believe it or not, there was
a Fox 35 tightly bolted right in front of a wonderfully shaped steel tank! When I got home, I went to work on the pre-flight
checks, while my boys watched in awe......It was their first chance to see their Dad fly...and fly I did, one whole tank...many
laps at 65'cables...and several jubilant loops, smiling like a madman.....fill er up boys, I'm not done till the sun goes
down.....~John Dennis Stiles
I was stationed with the the Army at Camp Zama, Japan from April 1956 til July
1958. We had a wonderful craft workshop on base run by a talented, personable guy named Michitaka Sogosan.
"Sogo", as he liked to be called, was a championship level contender in the Japanese
national U-control speed competition. His beautiful little racing planes were works of art. And, he made U-control enthusists
out of all of us who spent time at the craftshop building model airplanes. Sogo was an avid promoter of Sterling models. They
were strong, easy to build accurately, and good looking. So I learned to build and fly U-control with a Super Ringmaster dolled
up with wheel pants and a hand rubbed red and white paint job.
After polishing my building and flying skills my second Sterling kit was the beautiful
Waco cabin plane.
One of the guys who built and flew with us was Larry Tarrent. He later became
a test pilot for Douglas in California. He was a true enthusiast and his modeling reflected his dedication to aviation and
airplanes. Flying and building competitions with the Navy and Marine bases in the area were frequent and well attended. Larry's
models were consistant contest winners both for finish and performance and typically featured things like lighted instrument
panels and navigation lights. Naturally we all were inspired by his work and tried to include his show stopping details in
our own modeling efforts.
I put a lot of time, effort and TLC into the Waco. It was finished in dark blue
with orange trim. Of course it had a lighted instrument panel and working nav lights. I had just finished it when my time
to return to the U.S was moved up a month. Along with a couple of other lesser projects and the Super Ringmaster, I carefully
packed it up in a custom made crate (A Spec-5 could afford that kind of stuff in Japan at that time) and shipped it to my
home in Indiana. The crate never got there. I have no idea what happened to it, whether somebody discovered what was in it
and "requisitioned" it or whether it got smashed beyond recognition in transit and pitched over the side. But, you can bet
I've never gotten over that Waco. When I discovered a kit of that very airplane on eBay some months ago I couldn't believe
it. Unfortunately somebody wanted it as badly as I did, maybe more. I've bid two or three since without success. But I'm going
up the learning curve and I'll get one. When I do there's a great shop in Valparaiso that will make a perfect copy of the
plans. I will have that done and send them to you. As,I see the C-4 drawings are one sets you need. I also have the Ryan ST,
still in the box with "Ronsan $4.30" written on the top in Sogo's hand. The plans for that one are covered with scotch tape,
some of the diecut formers for the rear of the fusalage are missing due to a long ago torn corner and there are no decals,
so I can't help you there. I'm recreating the #11 and 12 formers so I can build it. I have time to do that now that I'm retired.
But, I'll make you a promise. If I acquire a C-4 Waco in respectable condition, I'll share any aspect of the kit you can use.
Thanks for your interest in "old" models. What a great thing the internet is.
All of this stuff you were certain you would never see again can be found with the press of a couple of keys.
I hope I didn't bore you to sleep with my story, but it's a sincere attempt to
convey the fun, relationships and great memories that revolved around modeling and particullarly Sterling models as far away
as Japan and as long as fifty years ago. Thanks for listening,
Ron Fraser
I built a Super Ringmaster from a Sterling kit in 1969. Spent lots
of hours trying to make it as nice as possible using silkspan and dope. Two tone blue. Hand pinstriped.
Took it to the flying field and ask a more experienced control line
pilot to test it out for the first flight. He made several laps around and inverted. The plane flew well until the Fox .35
quit. The pilot attempted to bring the plane up and over to make upright landing. The Ringmaster climbed to about 40' then
nose dived to the ground resulting in debris scattered in a 20' diameter circle. I carried my masterpiece home in a paper
bag. I built another Super Ringmaster last year from plans. It flies well but I haven't had the courage to try inverted flight
as yet. . .
Joe Messinger
Morgantown,WV
Autobiography of Matt Kania - Ringmaster Designer
|
