Cumberland Kiwanis
Minutes of July 26, 2010
Bob Chubb
Speakers: Bob Chubb, Retired Cumberland
Coach/Teacher
Topic: Models of WWI and WWII Military
Aircraft
Bob Chubb, well-known retired
coach and teacher, shared his love for model building and military aviation
history. He brought with him
several dozen of his models, which included just about every U. S. airplane
flown in WWI and WWII.
Born in 1942, he remembers
particularly tales told by an uncle, who flew wounded soldiers from Hawaii to
Seattle during the war. As a
child, he wanted to also become a pilot and started building models as early as
7-8 years old. He then went on to
tell how his uncles got into aviation.
It seems that in 1931 they ordered an airplane kit out of Popular
Mechanics and proceeded to assemble it in the basement of the Opera House. They were able to get the completed
wing out ok, but the fuselage was too big, requiring BobŐs grandfather, a
contractor, to remove part of a wall.
The completed American Eagle was taken out east of Cumberland and the
brothers eventually taught themselves to fly. Later, BobŐs grandfather bought the uncle a Waco, and he did
barnstorming around the Midwest, stationed at Holmen Field in St. Paul, where
he gave plane rides for $1.50. He
later became a pilot for Northwest Airline.
Bob then showed some model
plans and described the sequence of building. He noted how aviation developed from wings supported by
struts and wires to cantilever form without outside support. He gave an overview of how military airplanes
progressed from purely observation to providing firepower. With several WWII bomber models, he
explained how bombing techniques developed. As he showed each WWII model, he noted how various people
from Cumberland served on them during the war. After the talk, members were able to examine BobŐs many
excellent models and discuss additional aspects of his hobby.