Your Club hard at work again, building a new shelter for the helicopter side of the field.

Transcription

1 AMA CHARTER CLUB NO. 329 VOLUME 50 NUMBER 8 AUGUST 2004 Your Club hard at work again, building a new shelter for the helicopter side of the field. Monthly Club Meeting Friday, August 20, 2004 County Council Building Auditorium 100 Maryland Avenue 8 pm Rockville, MD Program: ram: JR Challenge 2004 Video Provided by the Outdoor Channel Evening Raffle Provided by: Doug s Hobby Shop of Waldorf, MD Harrier 3D ARF Huge B-25 blown up from Ziroli plans, 2-Quadra 100 s 14 foot wing span, 95 pounds Magnificent scale detail. War birds over Delaware

2 Page 2 District of Columbia Radio Control Club August 2004 PRESIDENT: Walt Gallaugher V.P.: Kevin Jackson County Liaison: Jim McDaniel BOARD OF DIRECTORS Scott Davies Mike Dooley Andy Finizio Walt Gallaugher Allan Hoffman Kevin Jackson Jim McDaniel Jeff Mervis Mike Peizer TREASURER: Scott Davies MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY: Andy Kane 305 Natick Court Silver Spring, MD RECORDING SECRETARY: Mike Peizer SHOW TEAM MANAGER: Paul Howey NEWSLETTER EDITOR: Andy Kane dcrceditor@aol.com MEETING PROGRAM COORDINATOR: Kevin Jackson The DC/RC Newsletter is published monthly by the District of Columbia Radio Control Inc. Deadline for submitting materials for publication is the last Friday of each month. Any part of the newsletter may be reproduced for non-profit purposes unless otherwise noted. Please credit the Newsletter and Author if named. Articles may not reflect the opinion of the club, but that of the author. Visit us on the web: IMAC Nationals By Andy Kane This year I had the pleasure to attend the IMAC Nationals, held at the AMA National Flying site, Headquartered in Muncie IN. The event spanned 4 days, and more than 55 contestants were in attendance. In a typical IMAC contest the four classes flew all four days, Sportsman, had about 15 contestants, Intermediate had about 12 contestants, Advanced had about 7 contestants and Unlimited had about 22 contestants. most everybody that I spoke with is already making plans to come back again next year. If you would like to learn more about IMAC Visit the web site, Sportsman Winner s Intermediate Winner s Did you know that any airplane brought in to the model shop will receive 3 free raffle tickets. Bring in your models each month for your free tickets, and to share ideas. TABLE OF CONTENTS IMAC NATIONALS PG 2 CLUB MEETING MINUTES PG 3 DCRC AIR SHOW TEAM REPORT PG 4 BOARD MEETING MINUTES PG 5 TELLTAIL TALE PG 6 GOOD NEWS/CALENDAR OF EVENTS PG 7 DCRC BRICK, NATS, WARBIRDS BACK On the Cover: DCRC Club hard are work again making improvements to the flying field. The Florida Crew, Stephen, Tina, John and Kelly Roy Barrow and his wife April, from NC ran the event, with April doing all the scoring, Stan and Nora Stockman from SC ran the flight line, as did Phil and Rhonda Vance. The contest was very professionally run event, and the event team is to be commended. Thursday Night cookout and Friday night banquet completed the social activities. Pilots from all over the US, from Florida to Main, and form California to DC were in attendance. It was a great weekend and a wonderful event, and Advanced Winner s Unlimited Winner s

3 August 2004 District of Columbia Radio Control Club Page 3 Club Meeting Minutes The meeting was called to order by DCRC president Walt Gallaugher at 8:06 PM. Guests: Bernard Macbeth and his son, Elijah intend to join soon and learn to fly R/C. Walt opened his remarks by informing the members that we had a trainer and some fuel donated to the club. Our benefactor s first name is Rob, and that s all the information available. Sound testing using a giant scale Yak and an Extra 300 was completed. The new data logging sound meters were placed in two locations, one at the field and the other on a neighbor s adjacent property, and readings were taken. The preliminary results show there is no readily discernable correlation between noise level at the field and noise level at a remote location. It had been hoped that a correlation between measured prop tip speed on the ground and sound level in the air could be discerned. The issue is significantly more complex than first thought. There is, at best, a loose correlation between the meter readings at the field and the remote location, but nothing that is useful. The results will be reviewed at the next Board meeting and a decision will be made concerning how to proceed from there. Taking meaningful sound measurements is not an easy task. The human ear is probably the best indicator for potential sound issues. Reports: Treasurer: Don Gray wanted an update on where we were, financially, since it is the halfway point in the year. Walt said Scott Davies would be happy to update anyone on the financial aspects of the club. Just get in touch with the club treasurer, Scott Davies. Newsletter & Membership: Jim McDaniel reported for Andy Kane that there was a bit of a problem with the July newsletter. It was an error on the part of the printer and it has been rectified. Flight Instruction: Michael Peizer reported flight training continues to go well. We have certified 3 or 4 students so far this season. Sound & Safety: Jeff Mervis reported that Sergei has made a request to hold a combat contest at the field. This will be the first contest held at the new Walt Good field. Field Maintenance: Mike Dooley donated a lawnmower to the club. Community & Public Relations: Jim McDaniel reported the shed is installed and it looks very good. The helicopter shelter is going to be built tomorrow. A crew has been lined up lined up and they are ready to go. The contract for the portable toilet has expired and the county has decided to have a different company provide a portable toilet. The service will probably be much better. The old toilet is still there and full to the brim. The old contractor should have taken it away last month. DCRC has been invited to do a static display at the Montgomery County Airpark picnic. The club will be well represented. The Wings of Freedom Air Show has been cancelled. The air show on July 4th at Great Meadow, Plains Virginia was a great success. It rained a bit but the show went on. Model Shop: Frank Neher showed the CAP-232 that his son, Steven won last month. It s powered by an OS FX.91, and weighs 7.5lbs. It will be ready to fly very soon. Jay Stargel showed an Ikarus Shop Flyer. It comes with real nice hardware. The plane is equipped with a brushless motor, and has incredible performance on a three-cell LiPo battery pack. Jay wants to learn to hover it. The airplane weighs eight ounces. Eric Mohn showed his new Hog Bipe by SIG. He modified it by adding a stronger servo and a pull-pull rudder. It s powered by a Saito.80 and has 100 hours of building time in it. Program: Terry Lamb gave a detailed presentation on the building of his 1/3 scale YMF-5 WACO Biplane. It is a Team Genesis kit available through RC Showcase. He made several rather innovative modifications to the flying wires and struts to make it easier to set up at the field. Terry said he had a ball building it and the result is a beautiful biplane with a ten-foot wingspan! The meeting was adjourned at 9:37 PM. DCRC Designated Pilot Proficiency Test Conductors as of 3/25/2004 Ron Bozzonetti/Mike Dooley Andy Finizio (airplanes and helicopters) Walt Gallagher/Don Gray Doug Harper/Alan Hoffman Kevin Jackson/Andy Kane Ed Leibolt/Jim McDaniel Howard Matos (airplanes and helicopters) Tim Miller (helicopters) Mike Peizer For more info see the DCRC web page

4 Page 4 District of Columbia Radio Control Club August 2004 DCRC Air Show Team Great Meadows 4th of July BY DOUG HARPER The DCRC Air show Team celebrated the Fourth of July by doing a show for upwards of 15,000 people outside of Washington, DC. The venue is called Great Meadow and is smack in the middle of Virginia horse country about 30 miles west of our nation s capitol. The day was jam packed with activities of all kinds including horse jumping, dog walking, many fun rides for the kiddies, model rockets, lots of food, etc. They even had two USMC helicopters, like the ones that transport the president, land on the property for walkthroughs. Since it was the 4 th of July, they had a special commemoration WWII veterans. Of course, the DCRC Air show Team was the featured event of the day being scheduled right before the grand finale fireworks. and his 12-year-old son Joseph who fly an Extra 330 aerobatic aircraft together. The crowd was duly impressed to see Joseph step up to the controls. Joseph has even mastered the tricky art of hovering right in front of himself. Always a crowd pleaser. Next we had a pair of Byron Texans who put on a dazzling duet act. These aircraft, both in military colors, were flown by Jim McDaniel and Dave McQueeney. Given A well know TV and radio personality named Ron David made the connection to our team thru Andy Kane. Ron suggested several months ago that this wonderful all-day event would be even better with model aircraft flying. We couldn t agree more and eagerly started working on a 4 th of July show. Our show started with a rainbow hued 1/3 scale clipwing Cub, flown by Doug Harper, demonstrating to the crowd how the controls on a model airplane work. This was followed by a beautiful ¼ scale Stearman in Navy colors flown by Andy Finizio. This aircraft is stunning on the ground and in the air. We then had a guest flyer, Jim Cokinos, who flew his helicopter to thrill the crowd. He even did inverted hovering (never have figured that one out). One of our special acts is the father son team of manager Jim McDaniel the tall grass and crosswind runway at this show, their takeoffs and landings were too much to believe. Finally Andy Kane, premier aerobatic flier, took his 40% Composite-ARF YAK to the skies. Andy had show smoke and accompanying music for his act and left the crowd breathless. Andy is always a pleaser at every show. Our finale was a brace of four giant scale cubs, flown by Jim McDaniel, Allan Hoffman, Andy Finizio, and Doug Harper. There is always something special about large Cubs and the crowd reacted enthusiastically. Andy Finizio had his latest jet-powered model at the show for static display. He started the engine a couple of times before the show to give the crowd a chance to hear what a model jet engine sounds like just like the big ones. Just as our show ended, the threatening skies opened up with a rain that started gently but soon built to a good soaker. We hurriedly put our planes away and settled in for the fireworks. Even with the rain, they were beautiful and created a fitting end to a very patriotic day. We look forward to returning to Great Meadow again next year to again present the fun of model aircraft to the viewing public.

5 August 2004 District of Columbia Radio Control Club Page 5 Board Meeting Minutes Board Meeting Minutes By Mike Peizer The meeting was called to order by Walt Gallaugher at the Walt Good Field at 7:22 PM. In attendance were Mike Dooley, Scott Davies, Jim McDaniel, Andy Kane, Walt Gallaugher, Allan Hoffman, Kevin Jackson, Jeff Mervis, Andy Finizio and Michael Peizer. On behalf of the club, Walt thanked all those involved in the construction of the helicopter shelter. It is a first rate, professional job. The latest sound testing results did not yield much new information. After analyzing the data it seems that a reasonable guideline for giant scale airplanes, measured while they are in the air, is a reading of no more than 73dB (A weighted). All giant scale airplanes operated at the Walt Good Field must be equipped with a three bladed prop, and canister mufflers. Airplanes powered by standard glo engines must follow current AMA sound rules. Walt concluded his report by stating, once again that the best indicator of sound levels is the human ear. In other words, if it sounds too loud the chances are it really is too loud. The Board agreed with the recommendations for sound levels at the field. Jeff Mervis informed the Board that he intends to tell Sergei that he can hold the combat event at the field as long as he can find a contest director and follows all the pertinent AMA rules. There was some discussion about whether Sergei could pull all the loose ends together in time to hold the event on September 4 th. The closing of the field to general flying needs to be published in the August newsletter, and there are a few other administrative tasks, which need to be completed very soon. After some additional discussion, the Board agreed Sergei could hold a combat event at the field, when he has met all the necessary requirements. Reports: Treasurer: Scott Davies said that anyone who wants information about the club finances should contact him for an update. The reason we don t publish more specific financial information in the newsletter is because the newsletter is published on the web. Any expenses over $ will be reported in the minutes, as a matter of course. There were three expenses over $ for July. Field Maintenance: The only field maintenance issue concerns the old portable toilet which has been left at the field. Jim McDaniel has spoken to an employee at Fogels, the company that had the contract with the county for the portable toilet. Jim s contact said he will try to get the old portable toilet removed from the field, but no promises were made. Field Improvement & Awards: Jim McDaniel learned that the members who painted the roof of the shelter at the north end of the pits have not painted the roof of the shelter at the south end of the pits. The agreement was that both shelters were supposed to be painted. This issue will be taken up with the appropriate members so the other shelter roof will be painted to match. Jim was contacted by Les Hamilton to see if the club would be willing to donate $15.00 to STAR to purchase a copy of the TAM-5 video. It is available in both VHS ($15.00) and DVD ($20.00) format. Allan suggested we purchase both videos for $35.00 as a donation to STAR. Jim moved that the Board adopt Allan s suggestion. It was duly seconded and passed unanimously. Lastly, Jim reported the shelter for the helicopter side of the field is 98 percent completed and we are very close to the budgeted amount for field improvements this season. This is the last major improvement scheduled for the field this season. Community & Public Relations: Jim reported there were a total of four club members who participated in a static display and demonstration at the Montgomery County Airpark picnic. They were Harry Grattan, Dave McQueeney, Rob Sarlan and Scott Davies. Their efforts were well received. Newsletter & Membership: Andy Kane reported the printer corrected the July newsletter mistake. We have 228 members at this time. New Business: Scott Davies brought a kit for a Tower.40 trainer, which was donated to the club by a member who is going back to Germany. The kit was dropped off at his house while he was away and the name of our benefactor was not retained. Kevin Jackson would like the Board to consider offering Bob Yount a lifetime membership in DCRC. The Board would propose the action to the membership at the next meeting. The members present would then vote yes or no. It was decided that Kevin would write up a proposal to offer Bob Yount a lifetime membership and it to Andy Kane for inclusion in the newsletter. The members will vote on the proposal at the next meeting. In the meantime, Bob would be notified of the Board s intentions. Jeff Mervis announced he has decided not to run for reelection to the Board in October. He said he would always be available for legal analysis and other legal stuff. Jim said that he thinks Jeff is an asset to the Board and he should reconsider. The other Board members agreed. Jeff said he would think about it. Next, Mike Dooley said he was also considering not running for reelection. The Board members asked him to reconsider, as well. Andy Kane was at the IMAC Nationals at AMA Headquarters in Muncie, IN and he checked out the granite brick for DCRC on the Walk of Fame. He took a couple of pictures. Andy Finizio purchased a large generator for the club and turned it over to Jim who will keep it at his place. The meeting was adjourned at 9:13 PM.

6 Page 6 District of Columbia Radio Control Club August 2004 The Telltale Tail BY JULIO CESAR DE LA YNCERA The other day I had some issues with my helicopter tail it was hunting or waging a little. This tail waging is an oscillation of the tail usually about 10 to 25 degrees to either side of the direction you are trying to go. Normally this kind of behavior is associated with the Gyro being too sensitive or the Gyro not being sensitive enough. If the Gyro is too sensitive the tail will oscillate rapidly like a happy dog glad to see you when you get back home from work! On the other hand if the sensitivity on the Gyro is set too low the tail may wanderoff center and oscillate in a very slow movement. Going back to the problem I had, I first tried to solve it by lowering the sensitivity of my gyro from 50% to 40% since my heli tail movement seems quick enough to be attributed to an oversensitive Gyro but that did not fix the problem. This tail wagging can also occur if the Gyro is vibrating and the Gyro tries to compensate for the vibration producing the tail wag. When I originally build my helicopter, I did not use the standard double sided tape that comes with the Gyro that was a big mistake on my part. With my fingers I wiggle the Gyro, to see if vibrations could be coming that way and it seems a bit loose, so I took out the Gyro and replace the double sided tape with a new standard tape but unfortunately the tail wagging still persisted. I also heard that the tail supporting struts if they are a bit loose can also introduce vibration of the tail boom, the reason for this is because the tail boom may move more than it needs to, and so the Gyro starts over-compensating. So I disassemble the tail boom struts put some CA to the plastic end pieces to make them more solid and tested again but with desolation the problem was still there. I continue testing the Helicopter just hovering at 2 ft off the ground looking for clues as to where the problem was coming from when suddenly I loss total control of the tail, the helicopter started doing a pirouette (full rotation of the tail) without my control. I panic a little bit and put the chopper down immediately, fortunately nothing broke by my abrupt landing. This time it was clear now that the symptom of the disease plaguing my helicopter were either coming from the Gyro itself or the high speed servo that the Gyro was using to control the tail. The Gyro I was using was a Futaba GY401. I heard everyone say is a very reliable piece of electronics, as to the servo the Gyro was using to control the tail rotor was a 9253 servo and after some talking with others it seems that my servo could be the most probable culprit of my tribulations. I got a Futaba 9254 to replace the other one. Some one say that 9254 are more reliable than 9253 so I replaced the servo and just like magic the tail was steady again. That got me thinking also into replacing the other servos that came with my radio kit. They all were standard Futaba S3001. After some questions to other very experience pilots I decided to go for the HiTec High Torque Programmable servo the HS-5625MG. So I replaced my aileron servo, my elevator servo and my collective pitch servo. After checking all my settings I noticed that when I changed to Idle-Up 2 (Is a programming switch used in Helicopters) my ball link snap out of position I was lucky I retested this on the bench. In conclusion if your heli got a tail problem the possible reasons you should be checking one at the time are: If the tail wags in a very fast or slow movement the Gyro could be too sensitive or not sensitive enough. If the tail still wags and you have determined that is not the Gyro sensitivity then check or replace the double side tape holding the Gyro to the helicopter body. Check also the struts that support the tail boom they should firmly hold the tail boom. Check your servo if all the above fails and lastly replace your Gyro. If you are doing these changes then do one at the time so that you can find the reason of your problem. Since my helicopter was tail wagging but it was not really a lot I was initially thinking to ignored the problem but something compel me to do something about it, I am very glad I did so, otherwise I probably would have crashed if I had flown my heli with a bad servo on the Gyro. The biggest lesson to learn here is, do not ignore a problem even if it seems too small to be your concern.~

7 August 2004 District of Columbia Radio Control Club Page 7 THE GOOD STUFF BY DON GRAY On July 17 th, the Saturday following the monthly club meeting, more than 15 club members met at the field to construct a shelter near the helicopter pit area. People started arriving around 7 AM. And thanks to the hardworking group and able leadership and DRIVE of Jim McDaniel, the structure was under roof about seven hours and one pizza break later. By the time you read this, the gazebo-style shelter should be finished and painted. Following is a list of the volunteers who helped: Supot Chersakul, Jimmy Cokinos, Julio Cesar De La Yncera, Walt Gallaugher, David Garrison, Gary Golladay, Ira Glikman, Don Gray, Allan Hoffman, Chuck Lee, Howard Matos, Jim McDaniel, Joseph McDaniel, Tim Miller, Mike Moeasen, Ben Patamawenu, and Dick Strimple. I hope I didn t leave anyone out. This will be a welcomed addition to our field. And the application of a roof coating to help reduce the heat under the existing two shelters on the airplane side is in the works. Now for the model and pilots report. First up is a photo of Chuck Lee posing with his Flying Crutch. Yes, the fuselage is an actual full-size crutch. He says he became interested after seeing a picture of this unusual model in the November 2003 issue of Model Aviation. He contacted the builder who sent him a series of pictures and design details. The model has a functional canard and ailerons but no rudder. He initially installed an OS 40; however taxing tests indicate a 60 or larger size engine may be required to get it in the air. Next is a picture of Frantz Tanis with his unknown ARF he has named 626. Frantz says he used parts of different airplanes to create the 626, which is equipped with an OS 46 sporting a tuned pipe, and mechanical retracts. He is using a Futaba T6A8 radio system. The model is quite fast and flies very well. M a n y times when you see Frantz at the field, Walter Rubino, a master joke teller, can be found flying as well. These guys usually become involved in what I refer to as catch up combat where midair very often occurs when one or the other catches up to the other. In the next photo we see Walter with two of his most colorful models, a Great Planes Super Sportster 40 ARF, powered by an OS 52 4-stroke; and a Hangar 9 Areste sporting a Saito 72. I think he uses a JR radio but forgot to ask which model. A n d last up is a picture of Lou Goldberg posing with Big John a sixties era design by Bill Northrop, the former editor/ publisher of Model Builder and also a former record holder and member of DCRC. The model was scratch built from plans by Ron Bozzonetti. Ron passed on the model to me and I in turn passed it on to Lou. Who will be the next owner? Lou is using a Hitec radio and (what else) a K&B.61 for power. The model was one of the largest in that era. Well that wraps it up for this month. Give yourself a treat and go flying at least once this month. Check me out on the web: August 7 DCRC Training 7-8 IMAC Summer Sizzle, Milford PA 7-8 Jets Liberty Jet Rally, Lebanon PA 7-8 Wings over Piper, Loch Haven PA IMAC Triple Tree SC Stan Stockman IMAA Binghamton, NY 20 DCRC Club Meeting Andy Kane 21 DCRC Training IMAC CAPI Bowie, MD Dave Michael Bealeton IMAA Jim McDaniel September 3-5 DOGS IMAA Wright Patterson AFB OH 4 DCRC Training 11 Swan Harbor IMAA Aberdeen MD IMAC Shawnee PA Ed Alt 17 DCRC Club Meeting Jim McDaniel 18 DCRC Training FARM Club Pattern Contest Bealeton, VA 17 PGRC War birds Scale Rally 26 DCRC Oktoberfest IMAA Fayetteville, NC Richard Harding 30-3 Superman Jet Rally, Metropolis, IL October 2 PGRC Open House 2-3 IMAC Granite State, NH 8-10 Triple Tree Aero Tow, Gliders 9 DCRC Training 9 PGRV Q-500 Races 15 DCRC Club Meeting Walt Gallaugher IMAC SE IMAC Championships, Winston Salem, NC, Roy Barrow Triple Tree Invitational Jet Fly In 23 DCRC Training November 5-7 Florida Jet Rally, Lake Wales Florida 6 DCRC Training 19 DCRC Club Meeting December 17 DCRC Club Meeting 2005 January February March 3-6 JR Challenge Punta Gorda FL If you have an event you want listed here please let me know Dcrceditor@aol.com

8 Andy Kane 305 Natick Court SILVER SPRING MD FIRST CLASS MAIL DCRC s Brick on the AMA Walk of Fame 18 foot wing span, 200 pound Boeing Stratocrusier Flown during the noon time demo at War birds. IMAC Nationals, Muncie Indiana, 8 Composite-arf in the competition. War birds over Delaware, Rod Jaeger and David Fepelstein with their P-51 s