Club 2067 F Ribcrackers Model Airplane Club We re on the web! http:/www.ribcrackers.org Thunderbolt September 2012 Editor s Note As dusk was approaching on a warm and calm August student night, Ray Field was visited by some unexpected hot air fliers. Four hot air balloons arrived much to the delight to all on the ground. Hovering above was a powered paraglider watching the landings taking place below. Salutations were exchanged with the fliers as the chasers in their vans arrived. In ten to fifteen minutes, they were packed up and out of there, well it seemed that short! An entertaining evening was enjoyed by all and Hank is still wondering when the Champagne is being served! Ray Field LAT: 42.5062 N LON: 83.5987 W Congratulations are in order for student and now pilot Ken Briscoe on soloing at an earlier student night. It appears that August was a quiet month of flying. No other events or happenings were reported to me. Hope all had a good month of flying and vacations. Still a lot more flying time left. See you at the club meeting and Ray Field. Don September Club Meeting Monday, September 10, 7:00 pm Ray Field - 55495 Grand River - East of Milford Rd. In case of fowl weather, the meeting will be held in Warren s garage. Call any officer for directions.
Ribcrackers August Meeting Minutes August 6, 2012 Be it known that Marshall Stern Weed wacked around the bleachers before the meeting. He had earlier painted them. Meeting started at 6:58. President s report Gus proclaimed the warbird event was a complete success. Thanks to all who helped and took part. No new business No complaints Welcome to two new members: David Bowen, John Jushkewich (student) Please keep in mind that student night is for the new students. New students have priority. Instructors are willing to help others on a time available basis. General flying is permitted as long as there are no students currently flying or waiting to fly. There are a few students that are very close to being able to solo. Keep up the good work. This year seems to be a great year for new members. We could use some more instructors. Please see Matt Jerue for info. Maneuver of the Month: Immelmann / Split S (Cuban 8) After a brief overview of how the maneuver should look a flying demonstration was presented. Two discussion topics were brought up by Gus AMA mentioned the senior pattern series: This is where single pass pattern flying was revived using classic pattern airplanes. The idea is to have a more relaxed atmosphere with a smaller budget and to open up pattern competition to more people The other discussion centered around exponential radio setup. What it is, who uses it and why one would use it. Exponential setup on a transmitter allows you to customize how much a control surface moves with respect to control stick input. Almost all competitors use it to some extent but it can make every day flying easier as well. The topic of how many and what type of fun flys was once again addressed while not coming to any real consensus. No Model of the Month or Raffle Let s go fly (7:35) Gerald Klose Errol Peschel enjoying another summer flying day.
Unexpected Hot Air Guests Arrive on Student Night
Weird, Wild, and Whacky Aircraft Scott Cruzen Last month s (July) Thunderbolt included a photo of an odd-looking and little-known warbird that could make a great modeling subject for any builder who might want something different from all the Mustangs, Corsairs, and Spitfires that usually show up at the flying field. I don t know how many of you may have recognized this oddball, but for all of you who were stumped, here is the answer. Last month s plane was a Miles Aircraft M.39 Libellula Tandem Wing Tactical Bomber prototype. The name Libellula is taken from the taxonomic name for dragonflies: Libellulidae. The M.39 first flew in 1943, but never made it beyond the testing stage, despite showing a lot of promise. It was intended to have been scaled up to a large size for the eventual production application. Apparently, George Miles was a little too far ahead of his time on this design because it never went anywhere. It looks a lot like several of the modern tandem wing designs developed by Burt Rutan, though. Editor s Note: The following article by Scott was intended for the August Thunderbolt issue. If you can identify the airplanes that Scott writes about, send them to me and I will publish your answer in the next issue. Don
In keeping with the tandem wing theme, here is another oddball WWII aircraft for you to identify (and maybe model?). This airplane was designed and initially developed in France but was captured by the Germans after the fall of France. The Germans completed the development and flight testing, which is why you see it in both French and German livery in these two pictures. This airplane was intended to be used as a flying command post for directing bomber and fighter squadrons, with a pilot handling the flying duties, the squadron commander sitting in the middle seat, occupied only with directing the battle, and both protected by a machine gunner in the rear cockpit. Eight prototypes were built and two were flight tested. The odd braced gull wing design was the result of the French Air Ministry insisting on that design over the objections of the aircraft designer, who wanted a conventional straight unbraced wing. It was, in effect, designed by committee. This airplane usually winds up on everybody s 10 ugliest airplanes of all time list. Can You Identify this Ugly Warbird? This column has turned out to be so much fun that I m going to toss out one additional mystery plane this month. We ve all seen those monstrosities on the internet that have wings and engines and floats sticking out all over the place, and are obviously the result of some creative Photoshop work. Well, this plane looks every bit as bad as those phonies, but it was real and actually flew. Believe it or not, this ninewinged monster was once some design engineer s idea of the future of air travel! This design takes the tandem wing concept one step further, with three sets of tandem wings. It was developed by a major aircraft company that is still in business producing both military and commercial aircraft, although I doubt if they brag about this particular piece of their corporate history. You d have to be a real masochist to attempt building an RC model of this one you d grow old and expire before getting all the wing ribs cut out. Scott
UPCOMING LOCAL EVENTS Sep. 8 Mid West Regional Float Fly Skymasters Sep. 8 Mich. Control Line Chanpionships Strathmoor Sep. 10 Ribcrackers Club Meeting Ray Field Sep. 15 Joe Jacobs Memorial Scale Meet PMAC Sep. 15 Fall Fun Fly Flying Pilgrims Oct. 1 Ribcrackers Club Meeting Check out the details of local flying events on page 149 of Model Aviation, September issue. Yes, that is a Real Aircraft and it actually did Fly. What is It? Student Night continues every Wednesday at 6:00 pm Ribcrackers 2012 Board of Directors Club Positions President Gus Dabringhaus 248-486-4274 gusd@trudexone.com Vice President / Field Marshall Scott Cruzen 248-275-3416 scruzen@me.com Secretary Matt Jerue 248-348-5948 mdjerue@mi.rr.com Treasurer Dennis Robbins 248-661-3562 drobbins421@yahoo.com Librarian Ken Hilton 248-885-9048 Thunderbolt Editor Don Unsworth 248-348-0961 dunswrth@sbcglobal.net Safety Officer Alex Alexopoulos 248-909-6869 Chief Instructor Matt Jerue 248-348-5948 Minute Recorder Gerald Klose 248-582-1803 Raffle Coordinator Warren Wells 248-437-2694