Here we present stories or TALES from our members about their MODEL AIRPLANES. How they were MADE. How they TRIUMPHED or met their DEMISE. Or we are simply trying to convey a STORY associated with them. — You will have to be the judge if they are true or not…
These TALES are in no particular order…
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at one of our summer 2020 Fun Flys.
Also notable here in the snapshot above is that Jack is wearing a T shirt that has the logo of the regional club called TOPMAC which was our club’s name until it was changed to Heart of America Free Flight Association or HAFFA as we know it today.
sTICK AND TISSUE oLD-TIMER
GETS RESTORED & converted to Electric RC
Our webpage Restoring and Converting an Old-Timer Model Airplane to RC Electric will show you in pictures and text how this was done. The original Altimeter was built probably sometime in the 90s by Carl Perkins. It was damaged and the tissue was fairly tattered. As you follow along in the slide show at the bottom of the page, you won’t believe the transformation. This page also points out tips and pointers on resorting an older model like this one.
More and more aeromodelers are converting these old “birds” because the technology has come of age.
It’s not uncommon for this bird to get flight times of over an hour using a single battery charge. “That’s the challenge—to make the plane and electronics light enough and efficient enough to get record times.” says Paul. “Plus—it’s a bonus not to have to chase it and instead have it come down feet from where you launched it. It’s a win win.” he added.
This plane was originally built and flown by Carl Perkins of Prairie Village KS a few decades ago (Incidentally, Carl was on the US F1B team at the World Championships in 1961). With trimming help and advice from several fliers at Marion, and serendipitous thermals, the Double Feature went on to make a 9+ minute flight later that day. Suman continues to fly the plane regularly.
More about Carl Perkins can be found on Restoring an Old-Timer.
Smoothie crash lands in clover as HAffa president, jeff renz, races over to inspect the damage.
A sigh of relief was in order when it was discovered that nothing serious was broken. Built from an Easy Built Models Kit over the winter months, Jeff Renz was happy with the Smoothie’s flights later in the day after the incident. “It flew as good as can be expected, given the circumstances.” Jeff said as he packed it away July 7th, 2020 at the end of an evening of flying at one of our Summer Fun Flys.
Mike Basta’s Jimmy Allen Blue Bird — 2015
Matt Basta you see—was Mike Basta’s dad and got him hooked on model airplane building at an early age of only 5.
a fitting tribute to Emil Schutzel
Photography by Jeff Nisley
to keep these birds flying gracefully can be housed in very small boxes.
Here’s a Slide Show featuring Emil Schutzel.
Use the dots at the bottom or the left & right buttons for navigation.
The Kansas City Star featured Emil in their write up about indoor model flying. 
Emils likes the fact that all of the tools and supplies he needs to keep these birds flying gracefully can be housed in very small boxes. 
Emil’s “Legal Eagle”. The plans for this plane must fit on one piece of legal sized paper. 
In 1906 Santos-Dumont designed the first French airplane, a lightweight box-kite plane 14-bis, built for him by the Voisin brothers. The 14-bis pioneered wheeled landing gear, and in 1906, became the first airplane to fly in public (leading many to believe that Santos-Dumont had achieved the first successful airplane flight). It flew brief hops, under moderate control, and was promptly hailed throughout Europe as the first successful airplane (the Wright’s secretive achievements, not yet validated by any independent, internationally recognized authority, were not yet widely believed outside the United States, until the Wrights’ 1908 European tour). Even after the Wrights performed in Europe in 1908, Santos-Dumont’s 14-bis was widely regarded as the first European plane to fly under human control. 
Emil’s Santos-Dumont 14-Bis in Flight 
Left to right Paul Morgenroth, III, Emil Schutzel, Suman Saripalli, Jack Vetter, Jeff Renz, and Gary Hodson 
On February 3, 2018 the HAFFA Indoor modelers held a surprise unveiling of a group of framed photos of his work doing miniature furniture in the late 1980s and 90s. 
Osawatomie Auditorium, 439 Main Street, Osawatomie, KS. Here is where Emil spends a lot of his free time. In the winter months, HAFFA members hold Flying Sessions on the first Saturday of each month. For upcoming dates, go to Indoor Flying Sessions on this website. 
One of the many fine examples of Emil’s miniature furniture. One can’t even imagine the number of hours needed as well as the skills necessary to produces a masterpiece like this. 
Emil explained that he used plans for a full sized Winsor chair to produce this minuature. The spindles were painstakingly made on a very small lathe. Not a simple task! 
Emil commented that it was a big challenge to making one Windsor chair but a bigger one to make all three to match!
but a bigger one to make all three to match!” — Photos by Jeff Nisley
Did you know that haffa member Emil Schutzel made Miniature Furniture back in the 1990s?
Here is one of the many fine examples of Emil’s miniature furniture. Each of the drawers of the dresser above pull out and they all have dove tail joints on all four of their corners (do the math!). To give you some perspective, this piece is about 11 inches tall.
At left are three matching Windsor chairs that emil hand made. He scaled down real sized plans to accomplish this. And yes, he had a small lathe to turn out the many spindles needed and a working miniature table saw to accomplish all this. Amazing!
One can’t even imagine the number of hours needed as well as the skills necessary to produces masterpieces like these.
A better flight time is the single and ultimate motivating factor in all of Emil’s efforts throughout the years. — Feb. 2018 —
KC'S FREE FLIGHT AËROMODELLING SITE 