Maxx
Key Veteran
Location: Shreveport Louisana
My Posts This: Topic Forum | In the late '60-early '70"s Dieter Schluter and Ewald Heim (BTW, the ball in the middle of your swashplate that lets it swivel is called a Heim Ball!) started flying remote control helis that were fully controlable...the first in history! Their helicopters were built in full bodies (cobras and Jetrangers) and had actual wet transmissions for gear reduction of the main and tail rotors! When demand outpaced production capibility, Hegi started producing the Hegi Cobra. After that I believe Mr. Heim went to work for Kavan (?) and the Kavan Jetranger was born! Full Bodied, wet transmission, a .60 sized engine (the Webra Blackhead was in mine) with a blazing 1.5 HP on a good day, the Jetranger was one of the first "mass produced"helis imported into the USA. With low power, a heavy (14+ lbs.) airframe and radios that were very rudimentary by todays standards; the Kavans flew very well! Then, about 1974, the pod and boom heli was born and the fuselage models faded from the view. American, Revolution, GMP and Schluter all started producing the first generation of helis that bear a resemblance to what is flown today. Around 1977 I saw some of the first aerobatics flown by helis in Shreveport and Sulphur La.! Hubert Bitner, Mike Mas, Larry Jolly and Bo Hinch were really unbelievible...loops, rolls and sustained inverted flight, all with no gyros, no servo reversing, no expo or dual rates, no idle-ups or hold switches...just a radio that had two sticks and four trim pots...on AM no less! Ahhh, the good 'ol days...YEA RIGHT! Chris (the ancient flatus) |
my guess is that they flew worse than they look! 
ha ha ha ha ha!
Don't ask me how I know this )-the radio survived unscathed but it makes you check twice after that. The idea came about when I got to the field one day with everything--but the TX!
