A Long Trip Around the CL Circle

History Preserved

By Michael Smith, National Model Aviation Museum Director

As seen in the December 2023 issue of Model Aviation.

IN MAY 1957, members of the Eugene Prop Spinners model airplane club made a presentation to the Eugene Oregon Exchange Club. The club highlighted details about model flying in hopes that the Exchange Club might sponsor its aeromodeling activities. This included an attempt to set an endurance record of 100 hours.

The photo shows one of the 13 pilots, Gary Jacquemin (17), handing over controls to Ray Howard (35) while ground crew member Wendell Gray (16) looks on. In the image, the fuel tank worn by the pilots can be seen on Gary’s chest.

Prop Spinners members, including Control Line (CL) pioneer Oba St. Claire, were building the model for this flight, which was expected to fly 3,000 air miles while averaging 60 mph. The cost of the record-setting project was estimated to be $312.55, including the model engine and fuel. The Exchange Club agreed to sponsor the event, with the flight planned for the third week of June. The record they were planning to beat was a time of 35 hours and 8 minutes.

Before the flight, members of the Exchange Club visited neighbors around the ballpark, telling of the proposed event. Thirty people signed a petition that they would not mind the noise, with the Eugene Hotel offering rooms, free of charge, to those who the noise would bother.

On Monday, June 17, the first attempt was made at the Bethel Ball Park as part of a larger four-day CL model contest. This came to a crashing halt at 12:29 p.m. after 26 hours and 23 minutes. The ground crew hoped that repairs could be made quickly, allowing for a second attempt.

Once ready, pilots would be taking twohour shifts and, when not flying, they would camp out in the park’s baseball dugout. Unfortunately, the second attempt did not fare much better, lasting only 14 hours and 23 minutes. "Extreme vibration, tearing an elevator hinge, and breaking the motor mounts, caused the crash," noted a reporter from the Eugene Guard. It was also stated that the group in California that currently held the endurance record had taken 17 attempts.

On September 1, 1957, the Prop Spinners made the third attempt, this time at the Eugene Speedway. Thirteen pilots exchanged the handle during this flight, lasting 64 hours and 33 minutes. It was estimated that the model flew more than 2,705 miles, consumed 30-7/8 gallons of fuel, and flew at roughly 36.5 mph, later increasing to 44 mph. Sixty-foot control lines were used, along with two electrical lines and the fuel line.

The flight was accomplished with the aid of a fuel tank, worn on the pilot’s chest, with a fuel line running down the control lines. One of the ground crew members would then make occasional trips to the circle’s center to refill the fuel tank. Pilot exchange then required not only the passing of the handle but the fuel tank as well. At one point, concern arose that they would not have enough fuel, but Shirley’s Air Service volunteered to fly a Prop Spinner to Portland, where a 55-gallon drum of fuel was acquired and flown back.

The record flight ended at 4:41 on Tuesday, September 4. As the Prop Spinner president commented, "The engine finally wore out, it just reached the end of its life."

On August 31, 2023, the Spirit of Exchange was officially donated to the museum.