PILOT TALK Colonial Virginia Aeromodelers Chapter 1474

Transcription

1 PILOT TALK Colonial Virginia Aeromodelers Chapter 1474 Volume No. xi Issue No. 3 Editor: Ken Howard Sr. Date: 4 March 2011 President: John Backes (757) jb753@cox.net Secretary: Anthony Morning (757) toonafish@netzero.net Safety Officer: Cliff Casey (757) rccasey@cox.net Activities: Joe Musika (757) jajlmus@verison.net Newsletter/Badges: Ken Howard Sr. (757) kwhoward1@cox.net Vice President: Bill Van Cleave (757) b72750vc@aol.com Treasurer: Ivan Davis (757) deanie2@cox.net Field Marshal: John Hofmeyer (804) Field Maint: Tom Treese (757) tmtreese@msn.com Visit the CVA Web Site at: Training: Alan Fry (757) Alanwf - CVA@yahoo.com John Backes President President s Column 2011 Meeting Schedule All meetings (except for the Christmas Dinner) in 2011 will be held at the Williamsburg Christian Church on the second Thursday of the month, starting at 7 PM. The next meetings will be 10 March and 14 April Directions to Williamsburg Christian Church The building is at 200 John Tyler Lane. At the intersection of Route 199 and Route 5, turn the OPPOSITE direction that you would turn to go to the field. Go 50 yards and turn right (left is Strawberry Plains Rd.). You can t miss the Church; it is on the right just past the Professional Park that can be seen from Route 199. Everyone needs to be warned that there is an additional fine of $200 for going over 25 MPH and the cops are there a lot. MEETING LOCATION Williamsburg Christian Church 200 John Tyler Lane 7PM Thursday 10 March

2 Mall Show We will be holding our Mall Show on March 12 & 13. Please plan on participating. If you can not come out for the entire weekend, please stop by for a visit. There will be plenty of expert advice to help with your project or just watch and learn some new technique. Bring a building or repair project to work on. It is amazing how much you can accomplish with two days of concentrated effort and several extra sets of hands. Goals Last month I talked about goals and asked for your goals if you were willing to share. I did not get any responses. I hope that you at least thought about it and made some plans. It starts with an idea A couple of months ago, I was given an old Soarstar wing by Jim Scott, a former CVA member. I noticed a divot on the leading edge of the wing and that brought back memories of the combat that we had with three of the Soarstars. We only chased each other a few times and mostly did not try for direct contact because the Soarstar were not very durable but the main memory that I had was how easy it was to get close to each other. I compared that to the combat that we were doing with the current planes. We were having an arms race with bigger motors, bigger batteries and carbon fiber reinforcements. The trouble was that the planes had become so fast and maneuverable that hits were infrequent. It was not unusual to have 7 planes in the air and not have any contact during the entire round. The memory of the Soarstar gave me the idea of trying to design a plane with similar size and performance. I also was trying to have something that was inexpensive, durable and easy to repair. I started with a few things that I had previous experience with. The motor and ESC used on the SuperFly was readily available and the combo only cost about $20. I decided to use blue foam because it was cheap and easy to work with. I liked the performance and ease of building of the KFm airfoil and using the factory fold in the foam as the leading edge that I learned in building the Blue Funder. From there I did some research on the internet, mainly on The Ezone. I decided that I would have a wingspan of 48 which is the width of the blue foam and would have the wing cord, including elevons, be I also decided to use a 2 cell lipo battery. I was worried that the plane would be too slow as designed and decided that I would just trim the wingspan until I got the performance that I was looking for. I completed the prototype late last year and although it needed some adjustments, had about the performance that I was looking for and was fast enough with the full 48 wingspan. I let several pilots test fly my airplane and took orders for the parts needed. We had our first combat on New Year s Day and it was very successful. We had much more action and hits with 3 planes than 7 regular foamy combat planes. There are currently about 15 pilots that have either built or are in the process of building the plane which I named the Slow Combat One Design. There is more information including pictures, drawings and videos on 2

3 Fun Fly NNPRC is holding their annual Frost Bite Fun Fly on 5 March with pilot registration beginning at The entry fee is $5.00 with 3 events, all involving bomb drop with supplied equipment. Here is the link to the flyer. Bite-Flyer_2011.pdf Swap Meets and Auctions Hanover RC club swap meet will be Saturday, March 26, :00 am noon. Admission is $5. The location is Fairmount Christian Church, 6502 Creighton Road, Mechanicsville, Virginia From I-295 in Mechanicsville, Virginia, take exit 34A (Creighton Road East). The church will be on your right in approx ¼ mile. They are also having an indoor Fun Fly Approx 1:00 pm (as soon as the floor is cleared of the swap meet tables) till 5:00 pm. Pilot admission is $10, spectators free.. Show and Tell We are going to have a short show and tell at the end of each meeting. You are invited to bring a new plane, a neat gadget or to show an interesting building technique. Contact Me Phone: jb753@cox.net Address: 8630 Diascund Road, Lanexa, Va Minutes Buck Morning Secretary C.V.A MINUTES Feb 10, 2011 The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm at the Williamsburg Christian Church. Twenty-two members were present. The President announced the minutes of the January 13 th 2011 meeting as published in the last newsletter. A motion was made and seconded to accept the minutes. A vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously. The treasurer reported on the club finances. Site Improvement: Tom Treese commented on the geese at the field leaving plenty of droppings. With the recent weather at the field Tom reminded the members that there are still a few soft spots in some of the parking areas. 3

4 Activities: Joe Musika spoke on the upcoming events for CVA. The mall show is set for Mar with setup on Friday the 11 th. Apr 9 th is set for the electric fly and May 14 for the spring picnic. Bill Van Cleave gave added comment on the mall show and took names from volunteers needed for several duties during the mall show. Safety: John Backes spoke on how the newer electrics having as much power as their glow counterparts, need more attention during setup. An accidental shift of the throttle on an electric with battery connected will result in instant torque being applied by the motor. It has been suggested that during electric setup that the propeller is not attached to the motor to prevent an injury, should the throttle be accidentally moved or the ESC is not properly programmed. Training: No active students. Old Business: John Bollinger expects the weather station to arrive soon and that he may need some help with the installation. Bob Marsh mentioned the passing of member Ernie Barlow. New Business: Joe Musika asked about the possibility of the pit area having some type of shelter. There was some discussion, but concerns of spectator views being blocked, most felt the current pit setup is ok. Show and Tell: Bob Marsh showed a label maker kit good for labeling connectors. There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 7:45 pm. Activities Joe Musika Activities Coordinator DATES TO REMEMBER The activities schedule for 2011 is now finalized and a copy has been ed to each member. We'll keep you posted on the upcoming events in the newsletter. Our first club event is the annual Mall Show. It is on Mar.12th & 13th. We'll need lots of participation to cover this event for the two days. We'll need help on Friday evening starting at 9pm to11pm for set-up. What isn't finished then will be worked on Sat. morning from 7-9am. There will be coffee and donuts for the work Mall Show 12 & 13 March 2011 Electric Fly 9 April 2011 Spring Picnic 14 May

5 crew. Please bring lots of planes for our displays, and any unfinished plane projects you might have that can be viewed by the public. It is also a good time to get help on any project which has been giving you fits. We'll discuss this event more at our next meeting on the 10th. Check our web-page for meeting locale if directions are needed. Look forward to seeing you at the Mall Show. Safety Cliff Casey Safety Officer Just as a reminder or refresher, the club s flying site regulations are listed below. Colonial Virginia Aeromodelers FLYING SITE REGULATIONS 1. You must be, a member in good standing, or a member's invited guest, to operate a radio controlled model of any kind at this flying site. 2. No one, member nor guest, shall operate a radio controlled model on the CVA flying site unless they are a Current AMA Insured Member. 3. The AMA Safety Code and CVA Site Regulations shall apply at all times. 4. NO Alcoholic Beverages, or controlled substances of any kind, are permitted on the site, or on the Tomahund Plantation. 5. Pilots shall range check their aircraft the first flight of the day. 6. Pilots, or Observers, must signal verbally, when attempting to land, or when it becomes necessary to venture on, or across the runway to retrieve an aircraft. 7. No more than 4 aircraft shall be in the air at any one time. 8. Only pilots or pit crew members shall be permitted on the runway side of the Safety Fence while aircraft operations are on-going. 9. AVOID flying over the pits, parking areas, or roadways. 10. Flying directly towards the runway, pits, or spectator area, is prohibited. 5

6 11. DO NOT sit, stand, or kneel, in the PROP ARC of any aircraft while the engine is running above idle. 12. All Members are required to wear their Club Membership Badge while on the site. 13. Failure to obey Club Rules, and/or AMA Safety Rules may result in the loss of flying privileges, and/or loss of club membership. Alan Fry Training Officer Website of the Month This month s website was submitted by Bob Marsh and its called RCWARBIRDS.COM. At this website you will find information on building, setting up and flying RC warbirds and multi engined warbirds. Here is the link: Do you have a favorite website? If so, let me know and I will put it in the newsletter. Favorite online store, how to build, how to fly, etc- send me the link! My address: AlanWF -CVA@yahoo.com More on Safety Training Corner Under the Safety section of this month s Pilot Talk, the official CVA Flying Site Regulations were listed. Be sure to take a look at Academy of Model Aeronautics National Model Aircraft Safety Code. The latest version can be found on the AMA website. I encourage you to take a moment to re-familiarize yourself with these rules so we all can continue to enjoy our hobby in a safe fashion. I thought this would be a good opportunity for me to share other safety tips that I have picked up over the last few years. 1. Painting of propeller tips: Have you ever notice that you cannot see the propeller with the engine running? Painting the outer 1 inch or so of the propeller tips with a light color such as white or yellow remedies this. 6

7 2. Pick up your transmitter with your left hand so that your thumb blocks the throttle gimbal in the idle position. This prevents the throttle gimbal from accidentally being moved off of idle. Continue to hold the transmitter in this manner until you are ready to taxi out to the runway. 3. Ensure the plane is secured before starting the engine. Use the ropes on the iron fence, the wood starting benches, or chocks fastened to the ground to secure the plane before starting the engine. 4. Keep loose clothing, jewelry, lanyards, neck straps, eyeglasses worn around your neck, etc away from those spinning propellers! 5. Ensure your plane is in good mechanical condition. Check all screws, bolts and nuts for tightness. Ensure that all wood and wood joints are structurally sound. Check for loose wire connections. 6. Ensure all control surfaces are working properly. Run through all stick movements to verify correct control surface response. 7. Stay alert and be aware of your surroundings. Communicate your intentions with your fellow pilots. 8. Ensure your batteries are fully charged and are in good condition. Test them frequently to ensure that they are holding their charge. 9. The tips listed above are potentially flesh saving and easy to do. Unfortunately, accidents can still happen. If needed, there is a first aid kit located in our shelter. Take a moment to find its exact location and to familiarize yourself with its contents. See you at the field. Editors Note Ken Howard Sr. Editor HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO: Gary Clifford 7

8 Bill Coada Doug Haller Julian Harris Steve Kolet Kevin Perry Carl Purgold Chuck Smith The official CVA FREQUENCY CONTROL POLICY is to place a pin in the frequency control board prior to turning on your transmitter, and to remove the pin from the board after each use. FLY SAFELY 8