Interview with Dean Thomas

Questions:

1. What was your first model airplane experience? When did you "Catch the bug"?

There are two instances I can remember.-

When I was really little, and my family just moved into a new house, we had to wait what must have been weeks for the movers to get our belongings to our new address. All we had in that house was an ice chest, a couple of sleeping bags, and a stack of plain white paper. My Dad, in a desperate attempt to entertain my brother and I, folded some simple paper airplanes and let me throw them across the very empty living room. Days of entertainment for a 5 or 6 year old.

The second memory and probably the real hook for model airplanes was many winters ago, when my family stayed at my grandparent's timeshare in Tahoe. I cant remember how old I was, 8 or 9? but I do remember my grandfather brought with him to tahoe one of those balsa stick and tissue, rubber band powered airplane kits and a tube of white glue. He showed me how to lay up the model right on top of the plans using waxed paper to keep the glue from sticking to the plans, and to use pins and weights to hold the model while the glue set. I watched and learned as he showed me the ropes of this glorious hobby, but I wasn't so sure it would fly very sell when finished.

When my family got home, with my grandfather's instructions echoing within my still growing cranium, I wound the motor up a couple of hundred times, set it on the smooth ground and let her go. She rolled out 3 or 4 feet, took off and cruised skyward circling as she went. I didn't think something like that was capable of such awe inspiring acts, but I couldn't stop playing with it until the rubber band broke and I was forced to go indoors because of the man eating mosquitoes in my Pacific Northwest neighborhood.

2. Why do you like sailplanes so much?

There is so much in the world of powerless flight. There are very few limits to what you can do.

Sailplanes are artistic. You can never master them, because the conditions are always changing. Once, while flying at a local beach vista, a lady walked up to me and asked me where the motor was... I replied with the simple answer- "The Sun" and she laughed, but after carefully consideration and the knowledge than the sun creates the winds, she stood and watched for about 20 minutes before stating "It's almost as if your airplane is dancing in the breezes" That's the truth. When not engaged in full contact combat, or slope racing, or competing to get the full 100 landing points at the club contest, what sailplane pilots engage in when alone and just looking to get their flight "FIX", is dancing in the breeze.

There are no oils or fumes, the plane doesn't get so grease stained that the covering material wears off it, there aren't any loud screaming motors and I have never gotten my fingers cut off from the non existent motors. No battery packs and chargers to haul out, no paved landing strips are required.

Right now, the speed record for sailplanes in slope lift is 232 mph. That's a sailplane flying a few feet away from you, in wind, on the side of a mountain. AWESOME!

Almost every day of the year is a "SAILPLANE" day, be it at the slopes or in the fields. I have flown thermals on windless days, and I have flown at the slopes in 50 mph winds with near total white out from snow and rain. Considering when I do fly my fuel powered planes, I cant fly unless the winds are less than 10 mph, and visibility must be near 100 percent at all times because you cant safely fly a fuel powered plane just a few feet in front of you like I can fly my sloper.

I fly sailplanes because they are truly relaxing. Quiet, beautiful and amazing. To gain mastery of an invisible force that holds something aloft is truly an amazing experience.

3. Do you participate in any other wind related activities?

I certainly do. I windsurf, and sail any boat I can get my hands on that can handle a sail. I even have a sail that I use to drag my long skate board and I across the quiet parking lot after the mall closes- at break-neck speeds. I love radio control sailboats, and have a huge interest in wind turbine power generators. Imagine if all our electric powered aircraft used wind turbine energy to charge the batteries- wait, wouldn't that make electric powered aircraft, wind powered aircraft?

4. Are electric airplanes as much fun as Fuel powered planes?

Yes, in many ways more. There is relatively little cleanup before loading your plane into your car as there are no oils to wipe off, and it takes little time to prep your planes while at the field, other than charging the batteries. I've found that electric motors either work, or they don't work. Fuel engines somehow find a way to "partially" work. That's where they start up fine, or with some hesitation, then work fine, but somehow when you get them in the air, they cough and sputter and generally find a way of not letting the plane get back to the landing strip, all the while hushing a crowd with anticipation of an impending crash. Electric motors either turn up, or they don't. Simple. The prop is spinning, ready to fly the plane, or your speed controller fried the radio and reversed polarity to the motor. Either way- its running or its not.

I find that having a simple electric plane in your trunk or in the garage is easy to always have ready to fly, just for when I need that flight "FIX" all you need is permission to be in the field, and 20 minutes to get a 15 minute flight in before sunset.

5. Do you have any aeronautical heroes?

Yes, Every man or woman who ever set foot in an aircraft that wasn't absolutely positive they were going to survive the experiment. I hold an unmeasurable reverence for the Wright Brothers- who were first in the world to fly in a powered aircraft using their bicycle shop and their spare time to discover and design principles and equipment we use to this day. Since there were no wind tunnels, they had to design one, which still, to this day amazes even JPL and NASA scientists with its accuracy and scientific approach. They couldn't find a gas engine with the weight and horsepower necessary, so they set out to build one themselves. They had to switch from bicycle mechanics to aircraft pioneers to gas engine developers almost daily. Oh- and the fact that they slid themselves into a glider every day for weeks that, to the untrained eye.. (or my mother) would have called a death trap of wires and splinters- over the course of several years. Hats off to those gentlemen who could prove to my mother that not everything with wires and wood and sailcloth HAS to kill you.

6. Tell us a little bit about your personal achievements in the world of aeronautics?

Sometimes just finding the time to go flying is an achievement around my shop. Lets see. I flew for 11.5 hours a few years back. That broke a National Record.

I've been a consultant for several University aeronautic teams doing various tasks from flight duration to carrying the most weight in payload in a given time frame. I've helped develop different wing and fuselage planforms for other tasks.

I tell you what, If I ever complete the WORLD SAILPLANE DURATION EVENT, I'll let you put it on the web page. Shoot- if I ever win the title "King of THE BLUFF" in my local soaring club, I'll let you post it.

7. Your planes are quite well known, and some have been around for a while. Are there any specific places or achievements we can see them in?

Well, I guess we can start with the FLOYD- Back in '94, there were not a lot of Foam planes in production, maybe 2 or 3, and our club helped bring the foam airplane world into being. Oh yeah- and FULL CONTACT COMBAT- Our club was one of the firsts to ever hold a SLOPE COMBAT contest- all with the FLOYD. It's been on the cover and in the pages of more than a few magazines, occasionally with me wearing an all PINK flight suit. Its been on the cover of RCM, in the pages of RC SOARING DIGEST to name a few. A FLOYD has flown on every continent, except antarctica.- Oh and don't say " what about Iceland"? - first off, is that a continent? and yes, even on iceland. Speaking of which- the fellow I shipped one to there had to wait almost 6 months to receive his plane from us. Seems it is a really slow boat to Iceland. Hawaii, Australia, Japan- EVERYWHERE! By the way- if anyone is interested in taking a FLOYD to ANTARCTICA, let us know.

Joe Wurts (one of the superhero's of sailplanes) even flew a FLOYD. Apparently it was the first sailplane he ever used for DYNAMIC SOARING, or DS'ing.

The PANTHER is next- She was used in the 11.5 hour flight- that's what I designed her for. After that, we decided since she could stand up to that rigorous flight test, she could handle a few beginner pilots.

8. What's this about a "PINK FLIGHT SUIT"?

Oh geez. The Pink Flight suit is something I came up with to sort of fill the bill of two or three problems. The first one was (and still is) people's aversion to pink foam. Trust me, if I could have them make the foam in any other color, I would, but unfortunately, and after many phone calls from myself to the OWENS CORNING (pink panther fame) people, they have to make it PINK. Pink foam is pink. It works better than the Blue foam, and its only available in pink. I figured a couple of things- IF I wore a pink outfit, people would at least notice me while in the lineup at the slope races, and I would stay warm wearing a thick Cotton Military flight suit. Well, people noticed me alright. And by the way- I did stay warm- and people would realize pink is a fantastic color. It isn't by the way, my favorite color, but it is one I have grown accustomed to, and respect for its right to be pink. GO TEAM PINK! Are we done with that question?

9. What is the latest, greatest achievements in radio control modeling that you are most excited about in the past year?

In 2003 we watched indoor RC aircraft weighing 2 or 3 grams take flight with full proportinal controls.The lithium battery technology soared. I think that is what really amazed me this past year. Full proportional control of tiny little actuators controlling what until just last year were only free flight aircraft. AMAZING!

10. Aside from designing and manufacturing planes, what other parts of aeronautics are you interested in, or participate in?

I fly Radio control sailplanes and helicopters, as well as some fuel powered planes. I still fly free flight models, just like I did as a young boy, only some of the paper airplanes I fold now are rather intricate, but I still enjoy those simple, little Guillows rubber band powered dime store airplanes. Was anything ever a dime in a dime store? How come a "DIME STORE" airplane costs 3 or 4 bucks?

I have also been really into watching how the current "space tourism" race is unfolding. I find that amazing.

I love teaching others how to fly RC, and how airplanes work. I love the look on people's faces when they realize that even the "lowly" seagull possesses a capability that men have died trying to create for themselves.

I am interested, as I said before, in renewable resource management, such as wind turbine generators for manufacturing power. The design and development of the blades and fans for those is so closely related to aircraft it is after all, aerodynamics.

11. Aside from airplanes, and air powered things, what are you into? What else are you trained and educated to do?

Trained and educated to do? I was a "PROFESSIONAL DISHWASHER" for about a year in High School, but I seem to not be able to remember my training very well in that field. My Grandfather told me it gives you character.

Hmm or did you want real life skills? Believe it or not, I am trained in Fisheries Wildlife Biology and Watershed Resources Management. I am a trained Salmonid Fishes Hatchery Technician and really enjoy fishing the Pacific Northwest. Fishing has always and will always be one of my favortie activities.

I design airframes and aircraft components for full scale (human carrying) aircraft as well as payload specific (non human carrying) aircraft for many organizations and groups. Payloads of cameras and radios to atmospheric testing equipment and whatever else some crazy scientist has that can benefit from an aerial vantage point.

For hobbies, I'm into all manner of aquatic and sporting activities, radio communications, shooting sports and camping. If it looks fun and has a small degree of inherent safety, I'll try it.

12. Airplane related, what do you want to accomplish?

I am finally going to get strapped into a Hang Glider and experience the thrills of having wings on my back. Many of my friends are hang glider pilots and it was bound to happen- one of them offered to take me up on a tandem flight, so I decided I'd put it off long enough. It's time, I've waited long enough.

I also want to be one of the first people to have the new lightweight aircraft private pilot's licenses. The FAA has been working on this new section of aircraft licensing for many years, and finally they will be opening the classification to the public.

Also, I want to go for the World Record Motorless Glider Time Aloft. 34 hours isn't that long, is it? Ask me sometime how long 11.5 hours is.