A View from Broadway

Payment to the gods of Speed

Ken's 21 Proto Speed plane after the crash. Ken Burdick photos

I destroyed my beautiful 21 Proto Speed plane at the 2025 Northwest Control-Line Regionals.

The once Blondie, built by Chrit Sackett, rebuilt and finished in pink was now called the Pink Panther.

Refinished Sacket Blondie, renamed the Pink Panther, before the Regionals.

The model was a fine piece of craftsmanship by “Partner” aka Chris Sackett. The second time I flew it, the wing developed a crack along an aluminum joint to the balsa wing. I spent a couple of months correcting it, the cowled landing gear and any other old stress cracked areas. The original paint scheme was finely detailed, so much so, that I chose an all pink finish with a Pink Panther decal from Lettering.com.

Sackett's Blondie in its original livery.

When I flew it at the 2024 Regional championships, it was just under the record. A good starting point in my mind.

After the initial runs, I changed the head on the Nova Rossi series 2000, from a standard glow plug to a head made by Jerry Rocha; it uses a Nelson-style glow plug and has been very successful set at .005 on his engine. I set mine at .006.

My goal was to break the record in 2025, so I asked Mike Hazel to drive it while I set the needle valve. One super feature that Partner had incorporated in the engine was a left hand marine crankshaft. It runs clockwise instead of counterclockwise thus the takeoff torque is holding the model tight on the lines.

The engine fired right up and I set it just slightly rich. Mike took off reasonably well and the engine absolutely kicked in. It was visually apparent that a new record was in store. Halfway through the 14-lap run, the airplane literally exploded into a heap on the tarmac. I was sick. I asked Mike what happened and he said “the nose fell off.”

John Knoppi, who was helping me, found the engine still securely mounted in the pan, but the pan had broken just behind the engine at a fuel access hole drilled in the pan. The engine was a complete loss, but I managed to salvage a few parts from it. The airplane was beyond being rebuilt. A good lesson in not grinding the pan too thin to save weight.

A week after I got home, I began construction on a new proto. I have a U.S. Nationals model, a profile as now required, but the beauty of a full body Proto Speed has always been one of my favorites.

The new model will be stronger, and also incorporated a .020 cable from the bellcrank bolt to the engine. Currently, It’s in the shop curing some glass work applied to the fuselage. and will be painted pink, sporting the remaining Pink Panther logo I have. Return of the Pink Panther?

The engine was a mess, and I disassembled it after getting home. The piston and liner/rod were fine. The crankshaft was slightly bent and even the head clamp was ruined. I asked Henry Nelson for help in straightening the left hand crankshaft. Henry has been a good friend over the years and said he’d give it a try.

The crankcase was shattered, but John Knoppi graciously gave me a series 2000 Nova Rossi for parts. I rebuilt the engine around the piston and liner. New head clamp, spinner assembly and now just awaiting news from Henry. (Henry emailed me yesterday t say he was able to straighten the very rare crankshaft).

A couple of champions texted me as a morale booster after the loss of the beautiful proto. Precision Aerobatic schampion Chris Cox wrote to say he likes “pink” because, “It’s faster.” Glen Dye write to say, “The slow ones never break the pan.”

So, lil' geezers, I once again paid tribute to the gods of Speed. I’ll be working on my new model for a future record run.

— Kenny-b

The new 21 Proto model under construction.

The new model incorporates a safety strap to hang on to the engine in case of a pan failure.

A View from Broadway

Payment to the gods of Speed

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