From One Hand to Another

Model airplane displayed indoors, red, white, and blue with a cart attached.

History Preserved

By Michael Smith, National Model Aviation Museum Director | michaels@modelaircraft.org

IN THE DECEMBER2023 issue of Model Aviation, my "History Preserved" article focused on a unique Control Line (CL) model that was built and flown by members of the Eugene Prop Spinners out of Eugene, Oregon. The Spirit of Exchange, sponsored by the Eugene Exchange Club, took off on September 1, 1957, flying nonstop for 64 hours and 33 minutes and ending its flight on September 3, 1957. Thirteen pilots exchanged the handles during the flight, covering an estimated 2,705 miles.

Model airplane with red, white, and blue design, displayed indoors. — The Spirit of Exchange was recently donated to the National Model Aviation Museum, along with its E-Z Just handles. Photo by AMA Digital Media Specialist Bryce Hutchens.

Model airplane with colorful stripes on a table, featuring a detached red and metal component. — The Spirit of Exchange flew nonstop for 64 hours and 33 minutes in 1957. Hutchens photo.

Metal plate with red handles and green wires on a dark surface. — The E-Z Just handles were designed by Eugene Prop Spinners members, including Oba St. Clair. Hutchens photo.

This past August, John Thompson, the treasurer for the Eugene Prop Spinners, reached out regarding an important part of that story—the handle itself. Designed by Eugene Prop Spinners club members, including CL pioneer and 2001 AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame Inductee Oba St. Clair, the two E-Z Just handles allow for multiple pilots to pass the airplane to and from one another. A knob controls the servo that adjusts the needle-valve in flight, while a switch on the handle operates the fuel pump, sending fuel from a tank worn by the pilot to the aircraft’s onboard fuel tank. The club acquired the handles from the Agerter family, who have run the Eugene Toy & Hobby store in Eugene since 1933.

The flight was accomplished with the aid of the fuel tank, which was worn on the pilot’s chest with a fuel line running down the control lines. Two electrical lines, one fuel line, and 60-foot control lines were used. One of the ground crew members occasionally made trips to the circle’s center to refill the fuel tank. The pilot exchange then required not only the passing of the handle but the fuel tank as well.

Two photos of men flying model airplanes at a speedway. — Members of the Eugene Prop Spinners fly the Spirit of Exchange in Eugene OR.

Red and silver mechanical device with a propeller and visible wiring. — The Eugene Prop Spinners originally acquired the E-Z Just handles from the Agerter family, owners of the Eugene Toy & Hobby store in Eugene OR, since 1933. Hutchens photo.

Group of people standing behind a model airplane with text about a new endurance record. — News of the Spirit of Exchange’s flight appeared in *West Coast Model*News magazine.

I don’t oftengo back and highlight an artifact that has already been presented, but this year, a unique part of that airplane’s story was donated to the museum.