My son Ben and I had a few inspired days of flying in Pine Forge, PA with my 13"span, rubber-powered 1938 Pearson-Williams Mr.Smoothie, which were some of the last times I'd ever fly on this beautiful field, in late 2018. This was my 3rd peanut Smoothie, having lost the previous two thru the years at Geneseo, NY. A classic flyer that soars on rails, it's a pleasure to fly and film. Ben added another layer, by capturing the flights with his drones, the Mavic Air and the DJI Mavic 2 Pro. Also filmed by Tom Hallman with a Canon PowerShot SX20 & iPhone 11Pro. Music via the talented musicians at artist.io, who breathe life into my films.

Ben Hallman Productions: http://www.hallmanproductions.com
My youngest son, Jonnie (6 yrs) in 1992, launching my first 13" Mr. Smoothie: http://hallmanstudio.com/Smoothie_1.pdf

Simple plan by the late, great Dick Howard: http://hallmanstudio.com/Smoothie13_H...
The 13" model came in at 9.8 grams, and uses a single loop of .125" x 31".

24" plan by the late, great Dave Rees: https://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details....
19" Smoothie kit from Easy Built Models: https://easybuiltmodels.com/pd10.htm#...

Here's the story behind the film from October 2018:

I got out last night for a much needed dose of free-flight with the new peanut Mr. Smoothie,
and my oldest son Ben, who was in town visiting from Brooklyn. He had to borrow a local friend’s
drone for a gig the next day, so we rushed out to Pine Forge during the fading golden hour,
and got in a few flights.

Never liked rushing a trim session, let alone a first trim session with a new bird, but I went into
Dick Van Dyke mode and sped around, making it to the field with a scant hour left before sunset.

With an old motor installed from Smoothie #2 that had flown away in Geneseo the past summer, I tossed her 2-3 times to get the CG, dialed in a thrust setting that sorta felt good, added clay to a wingtip and finally put in 600 turns. She flew a circle, be it somewhat tight.

I gave her a tweak of left rudder, removed the wingtip clay and wa-la!! Didn’t know Ben was filming that first launch with the drone….but I heard him say “wait” just after I let her go.

We were able to film the second flight from 30-40’ with the drone…creating my first near midair with a four-propped object, perhaps only a yard away. He wasn’t able to follow it with the drone, so I continued filming with hand held camera.

After one more flight, and that was it. Crickets & birds were everywhere, it was damp…but it was dead calm, beautiful, and a totally unexpected trim session. Add to that, I was at the field with my adult first born. It couldn’t get any better.

We did it again the next night, and then two months later, after the grass had been harvested.
The December flights...they were the icing. TH

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*** 10 steps to trimming a rubber model, by John Koptonak: http://www.flyingacesclub.com/PFFT/Tr...

Also, these tutorials from Easy Built Models: https://easybuiltmodels.com/tips.htm#...

Here's a source for rubber: https://www.faimodelsupply.com/produc...

Badge Classic DT & spring (at the bottom of the page): http://www.starlink-flitetech.com/tim...

Looking for a Flying Aces Club near you? Check out this link: http://flyingacesclub.com/wp/about-th... If you click on the map at the area closest to you, it will automatically bring up an information request link. That request goes to FAC GHQ and also to the Squadron Commander of record for that squadron.

Geneseo FAC Nats Journals from 2016 & 2018: http://www.maxfliart.com

For more info on free-flight rubber-powered models, check these websites:
https://brooklyn-balsa.square.site
http://www.easybuiltmodels.com/
http://www.volareproducts.com/BUY/
http://www.flyingacesclub.com
National Free Flight Society - https://freeflight.org/
Mike Stuart's Flying Scale Models - http://www.ffscale.co.uk/
https://www.freeflightsupplies.co.uk

Flying Aces Club merchandise: https://www.cafepress.com/flyingacesclub
All profits support Flying Aces Club activities.
Center of Gravity merchandise: https://www.cafepress.com/centergravity