The Planes

Over the years Dale has built and flown many different planes. Here is a collection of just some of them.

(Click on images for a larger image)

1941: Eleven year old Dale is working on a BT-13 Army Air Core Model. Made from a ten cent kit. Typical construction of balsa sticks, printed balsa parts, tissue, and etc. Powered by a rubber band.

1942: Rubber Powered Interstate Cadet. Dale believes this was a fifty cent Berkley kit. Approximately thirty inch wingspan. Flew Great! Dale was 12 when he built this kit.

1944: A Martin B-26 Bomber, (rubber powered). Made from a miniature aircraft kit. It had a forty inch wingspan and Dale covered the entire plane with 1/32 sheet balsa. Color was silver with blue and white invasion stripes. Dale formed the four canopies out of celluloid. Made balsa patterns to size, soaked each sheet of celluloid in a solution called "Cell-U-Mold". This made it pliable like a thin sheet of rubber. Then pulled the sheet over the pattern and held it until it set. Age 14

1944: A Martin B-26 Bomber, (rubber powered). This picture was taken west of Dale's house on the farm. The plane is now stored in his brother's (Ralph) garage in Minneapolis, Kansas.

1946: Harold de Bolt "Airfoiler". This is Dale's second engine powered free flight plane. The plane had a forty-four inch wingspan. Dale entered and flew this plane in the 1946 National Model Airplane Championship held in Wichita Kansas. 

1946: Harold de Bolt "Airfoiler". Different view of the above airplane. Dale was 16 at this time.

1946: A solid model of a Boeing B-17 . Dale made this from full size plans in a Air Trail magazine. This was the first model Dale made for someone else, and received fifteen dollars for it.

1947: Boeing F4B-3 Bi-plane. This plane was made from a kit produced by Corky St. Clair. Corky had a hobby shop in Salina, Kansas for many years. The plane had a thirty-six inch wingspan and was powered with a Madewell .49 (ignition type). It took second place in the control line flying scale at the 1947 Nationals held in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

1947: Boeing F4B-3 (Same plane as above). Dale only flew this plan in 1947 and received five trophies for it at the age of seventeen.