Conference vmszoo::rc

re:      <<< Note 771.324 by WRASSE::FRIEDRICHS "Never trust a premi!" >>>
                           -< Monday float flying! >-

    It was great getting together with Jeff to fly off the water. Much
    more fun than doing it by myself from my folks' dock.

    I just finished the Super Sportster Bipe the day before we left
    for vacation, and I got in only a couple flights off the ground
    and wasn't nearly comfortable yet - still feeling out how it flies.
    It's my first experience with a biplane.

    Well, we got to Lake Winnepesaukee on June 28, and I took a couple
    days to get the floats modified and attached to the biplane (I used
    the same floats that I made for the Kavalier, just had to add new
    mounting points). I didn't know if they were adequate size for the
    bipe with the .61 on it, so I put it in the water to see if it would
    sink - no problem, floated just fine.

    I made a couple flights during the next couple days from our dock.
    The water in front of our dock is fairly shielded from prevailing
    winds, but boat wakes are constantly coming in, so it's sometimes
    a bit rough for takeoffs. The .61 got the bipe up with no sweat at
    all. It flew pretty mushy, I thought, but I wasn't comfortable with
    the plane yet.

    Jeff called Sunday nite and we got together at his grandmother's (?)
    condo development, which is in a small little bay that is nicely
    shielded from wind/wave action. The water was smooth and few boats
    were leaving wakes.  It was lots of fun flying with Jeff. I felt much
    more comfortable there for some reason. I guess it's easier for me to
    have trees around for a point of reference. My folk's dock has about
    1/4 mile of water in front, and I tended to fly too far out. Also,
    there are a couple small islands nearby with trees about even with the end
    of the dock, so it feels cramped on the sides.

    Jeff's Eindecker looked great on floats. I wonder if there were
    any full-scale Eindeckers that flew off water!! He was not over-powered
    like I was so he had to strain a bit to get off the water but it was
    more "scale" looking than my 20' splash & jump takeoffs. The onlookers
    seemed to enjoy the unusual show we put on. One old guy (there always
    seems to be one around) came up and said he used to fly full scale
    planes, had his license back in '12 or sometime (did he know Orville
    and Wilbur?) and he enjoyed the show.

    I flew once more from my folks' dock on Saturday afternoon. The takeoff
    was not very good. I didn't have very good steering on the water - no
    water rudder, just the air rudder and prop wash. Any kind of breeze at
    all and it weather-vanes right into the wind. There is a mooring buoy
    off our dock that I had to watch out for. By the time I got it lined
    up for the takeoff, a wake washed in and just about swamped me. It
    finally launched off the top of one of the waves and I was airborn.

    I'm not happy about the plane's airborn performance with the floats. It
    flew around ok, and no problems with takeoffs, landings, touch & gos,
    etc, but it seemed to yaw a lot in straight flight, and mush around
    turns. I tried to get it inverted a couple times and it wouldn't stay
    there - just flopped back over. I'm sure it's related to the c.g. being
    a bit tail heavy and low (below the bottom of the fuse with the floats
    on). I could put on a pretty good show for the spectators, but didn't
    have any of the (small) finesse I've been trying to develop.  It
    knife-edged great (with no rudder, when I really didn't want it to),
    probably due to the lift of the floats. I did turns consisting of rolling
    to knife edge, no compensating rudder (which let the tail droop
    a little), and up-elevator through the turn. Pretty strange!

    I've now got the wheels back on the bipe and want to get some stick
    time on it from the ground (it's raining today, thunderstorms predicted
    all day). After I get used to handling the bipe without floats, I may
    want to try them again. But for now, I consider the Kavalier to be a
    better float plane.

    Dave

    Dan,

    Having spent over a week submerged in water, I'de be very cautious about
    using the NiCads in the flight pack.  Deep cycling NiCads is good for
    them, but dead shorting them until every last electron is squeezed from
    their gasping, dessicated carcasses is BadBadBad. 

    You should also run the motor some, to get it hot.  You want to drive
    the water out of the armature before it gets a chance to really rust it
    out.

    If you send the motor to Astro, they will "refurbish" it, correcting
    anything that needs correction (you have, at least, screwed up the motor
    timing by dissasembling it), for a very reasonable price.  The magnets
    and the motor casing are the most expensive parts of the motor, and they
    should not have been affected by immersion.  I know that a bent motor
    shaft on an 05 only costs about $30 to repair, and that includes a
    re-tune of the motor.  Well worth it.  So your water damage should be
    less than that.

    Randy.

Late reports:

Last weekend Kevin and I were trying glider tows with his 1/4 scale Cub as
the tug and his Airtronics Oly II as the glider - I had nothing to loose:-)

Anyway he had a bungee cord on the turtle deck of the cub and about 50-75 feet
of sting.  The Oly II had a Nyrod coming out the nose to a piano wire hoop
as per the last Model Aviation article.  I help the glider as tho hand
launching and the cub takes off.  Release and initial climb were normal then
we started the first turn to port.  Kevin's Cub is really cranking and the
poor Oly II starts shaking the wing.  Next thing you know the Oly is upside
down and the wing is really shaking - I pull the release and glide down.

Next we double the string and I get a good 100-150 feet back.  Much better
and no real problems.  No thermals so I'm back done in a few minutes and
we keep playing this game - Al Williams is manning my camera.  After
a few launches we start learning how to make other types of mistakes.

Kevin stalls the Cub once and I release.  

I zig-zag a couple times and drag the cub tail around and force
Kevin to make sharp unexpected turns - we get slack in the line
and break the string once.  

If I trim the glider to stay high he can just make gentle turns
and it stays up and keeps the line off the rudder.  All the time
I just keep hands off the glider.  

Our biggest problem is keeping the glider high and on the outside
of turns.

If we had the moral equivalent of the Thermic Sniffler for the cub so
that we could monitor true airspeed we could do better.  We want to
go max rpm and climb rate - BUT - not fast!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This last weekend Kevin put a practice flight on the bug Jug getting
ready for the Philly master qualifier.  I took the BJ out and dropped
bombs for the first time - great fun.  Also ran with an on board
ignition (on constantly) and it was great.  Finally getting the
handle on this plane.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
================================================================================

That glider towing stuff sounds like fun. I've always wondered what would 
happen if you tried it, and it sounds like you discovered most of the available
problems! Let me know if you need help discovering any new problems.

For an alternate way of "towing" the glider, you can mount it on the back of
the tow plane, like the space shuttle on the 747. A guy who used to fly at the
Acton field modified his Kadet that way, and used it to carry up his Pilot
Harlequin glider. The 2 planes together were a little heavy for takeoffs from
grass, so he just handlaunched it. Worked very well.

Dave

    most of the trouble we got into while towing the olyII was from
    being too cute.  the most reliable way is to take off balls to
    the wall and climb just as hard as you can.  for the st2500
    powered cub, that is 45+ degree climb, no need for this turning
    stuff!
    
    i still want to practice slow rolls with a glider in tow tho...

    Hey guys, I've got something REAL important for you all to consider....

    We've been bantering about getting our planes stuck in trees, and then
    finding a "Professional", a neighborhood kid, to climb the tree and
    recover the plane. There's a *BIG* problem with this.  If you persuade
    (or, even worse, PAY) a minor to perform an action in which he becomes
    injured, YOU ARE LIABLE!!!!  Your AMA insurance WILL NOT COVER YOU. 

    This is a personal liability/negligence issue.

    YOU RISK ANY AND ALL ASSETS YOU OWN. 

    Your plane becomes stuck, you find a 16 year old at a local school yard,
    16 year old climbs tree, 16 year old falls out and breaks neck, Parents
    sue... kiss your house, your cars, your other personal property, and
    maybe even a GOOD CHUNK of your potential future earnings goodbye.

    This is even the case if the 16 year old has, for instance, posted a
    sign at the field advertizing his services specifically for the purpose
    of retreiving lost models.  Don't do it unless the individual is of age!

    Be SURE before he goes up.

    Hire a professional tree climber.. We have done that at the CRRC club
    several times and it has worked out well. He charges $75.00 for about
    1/5 - 1 hours work and is very delighted with the tax free $$$ he gets.
    I suggest you find somebody who knows a tree climber, as then the
    probability of that tree climber putt'in the screws to you are less.
    
    
    
    						Dave
    

re Note 771.482      >>  what ... allows him to climb trees so easy?  
    
    The chap that retrieved my Kadet from the top of a tree two weeks
    ago brought no tools.  I did put a 3/8 chain with a grab hook around
    the trunk at face level to help him get to where there were branches;
    it provided a finger-hold and then milliseconds later a momentary
    foot-hold; he went up the tree like a cat.  Jeff had already taken
    a rope part way up; this climber brought it up to the top with him
    as a safety measure, but I don't think he ever used it as a climbing
    aid.

    He had
    
    	confidence	in little bumps, twigs, irregularities,
    
    	agility		to put a toe where it had  purchase,
    
    	grabby shoes	that seemed to stick to tiny bumps, and
    
    	daring		self confidence.
    
    I didn't.

    Like the DECRCM notes file, there really isn't a note pertaining 
    to this, so I'll stick it here. Perhaps it would be a good idea
    to create another topic with a name something like ALERT. This file
    could be used to inform fellow noters about anything of immediate
    importance. Like your plane or radio just got stolen, any local
    legislation you might hear about pertaining to flying fields,
    something you just found out about from a manufacturer, etc.
    Anyway, here's the purpose of this note.
    
    In Monday's edition of the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, there
    was an add in the lost and found. The add stated that an RC airplane
    had been found. This was told to me by a friend and I didn't see
    the add so I have no other information as to type of plane, what
    kind of shape it's in, etc. There's a news stand I can go to where
    I will be able to pick up the back issue, but I can't do that till
    Saturday.
    
    I havn't seen any notes in this file pertaining to lost planes or
    knowledge of lost planes, so I'm thinking two things. People can
    check with other clubs and see if they can find the "lost pilot", 
    and also see if anyone has reported anything stolen.
    
    If anyone still has Monday's paper, perhaps you can add more detail.
    Basically, there's a plane out there that, even though it may be
    smashed, has a motor, receiver and battery pack in it that I would
    like to see returned to it's rightful owner.
    
    Steve

    Kay you never did comment on how the hobby hawk did.  How about a
    report!

    I agree, an excellent report, Kay. It brought it all back; braving
    the weather to get there ,the crowds, the congestion, all the people
    with the funny accents, and I've never even lived in the northeast!
    
    Seriously, Dave Thornburgh, the designer and original kitter (Southwest
    Sailplanes) of the Bird of Time will be interested to hear it's
    back in production. He's back flying himself after a 12 year layoff,
    with his beloved solid-sheet Jedelsky winged things ala the Doodler
    and Top Cat.
    
    Also, at the Airtronics booth, did they have their new sailplanes
    on display? RCM says April availability. Tower says no word on
    availabilty although they're in the latest Tower Talk.
    
    Terry
    

    Just as an aside to all of the excellent reports on the WRAM show...
    If anyone reads or hears of an excellent deal from American
    Hobbies out of NY you can still cash in. All deals/prices
    advertized at the WRAM show by American Hobbies are available
    for 14 days after the WRAM show as long as supplies last.
    
    IE, OS 40 surpass 4 strokers for 104.95
    	Schluter Scout or Champion   439.95
    
    
    Tom

    Re: .522, Kay,
    
    I forgot to add my congratulations for your 3rd place award for the
    Berliner-Joyce at the WRAM show.  Way to go, amigo!!    

      |
      | |      00	 Adios,      Al
    |_|_|      ( >o
      |    Z__(O_\_	(The Desert Rat)

>< Hey Kay how's the HAWK >-

Gee I just did a reply command to note .526 with the above title
and I got the contents of Steve Smiths note about the found plane
with the Hobie Hawk title - curiousier and curiousier.

Anyway the Hawk didn't place.  I haven't flown it yet - maybe this
weekend for the first time.  The display area where you put the planes
was pretty nice and safe and they had good security but...
Somebody managed to push my power switch on the side of the Hawk so
I charged it up yesterday and I plan to cycle it tonight.  I would
have cycled it last night but I had to cycle the BJ first as I plan
to put it in the Box tonight to ship to Phenix.

Anyway back to the Hawk.  I would like to figure out a hysteresis problem
before I fly it.  I'm sure it will be OK at slow speed but the plane
has a reputation for Dutch roll and wouldn't you know it if I wiggle
the rudder back and forth I have about 3/16" of hysteresis.  The rudder
hinge is so free that without linkage it just flaps from side to side.
The linkage is a straight shot from a brand new Airtronics 102 servo
with the smallest wheel and the inner most hole down a fiberglass arrow
shaft thru a 90 degree piano wire bend to the outer most hole in
the rudder.  So I plan to put a pointer on the servo and fiddle
till I figure out what is wrong here.  My first suspicion is that I
managed to get the antenna tangled up in the arrow shaft.

==================================================================

Someone asked about the new Airtronics sailplanes.  I didn't think
to ask about them but they did not have any planes on display at the
Airtronics booth - only Radios and speed controllers.  I also
saw the add for the Legend in the Tower flyer that arrived a couple
of days ago.

Last night my 1/8 Air Force shirts arrived.  Would have liked to been
wearing one to take the 3rd place trophy for the BJ.  For what it's
worth I don't know how many planes ended up in Post WW1 Military
because I was not in the room prior to the start of judging and
some planes had left already by the time I picked up the BJ but I am
sure there were at least 4 so I beat somebody.  There were a lot of gliders
entered by the time the Judging started.

========================================================================

I forgot to mention that John Sermos was there selling Sermos connectors.
I cornered him and told him about the intermittent connections I had
been having and that I had to throw away a few connectors.  He attempted
to show me how it was impossible to have an intermittent connection
and went on to describe how other modelers have been bending the pin
and etc.  While at the booth I tried sever display Sermos connectors and
plugged them in to every combination of every other Sermos connector that
I could find and several felt real loose.  He was selling his connectors
at $3.00 cash (no bargain).  I asked if he had any manufacturing
defects that might have gotten out into the field and he explained
that such things were impossible.  Alto he expressed great surprise
that anyone had a problem with his connectors he did not volunteer to
replace any that I send in.  Everybody that uses Sermos connectors swears
by them and I am the only person I have ever heard of that has had any
problem.  Must be a black cloud.  Anyway - on my next electric I will
not put any Sermos connectors in it.  I don't know what I'll use but it
won't be Sermos.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

Kay,

   Eliminate the problem and wire the whole shebang in a continuous loop...


;^) ;^) ;^)

    re .530
    
    I love hysteresis problems. Try this Kay: Put on a longer servo
    arm and move the clevis to the outermost hole. If this helps the
    hysteresis but you end up with too much rudder throw, then dial
    in a little less travel volume, if your using your Vision in it.
    If not, then live with the excess throw. It won't bother the Hawk
    but hysteresis will be noticeable.
    
    On my last glider rudder installation I used the Goldberg pull-pull
    Kevlar cord actuation system. This is far superior to any pushrod
    system I've ever tried. It is essentially the closed loop system
    alluded to in .531 but you do have a fair amount of hardware hanging
    out in front of the rudder horn, eyelets, locknuts, crimp tubing,
    etc.
    
    Terry
    

I'm in the process of using one of these pull-pull setups in my Panic and I'm
very pleased with it. I wanted it because I've had other planes bow the pushrods
when making high speed runs and pushing the controls. I must say that the kevlar
doesn't give and you get a very positive movement in BOTH directions.

After all, I intend to go crazy with this plane in the air and I want to be able 
to count on the controls going where they're told.

    The wind struck another blow to RC modeling on Saturday.  The lack
    of flying due to consistent winds in the NE overcame me as I chalked
    one more up for the books.
    
    Don't even think it was my MUNK!  I prepared a plane specifically
    for "what the hell" flying.  I had to have something I wouldn't
    miss in the event of a mis-calculation.
    
    The winds were howling at about 20-30mph across the runway so we
    decided to hand launch.  My little Sig Super Sportster was launched
    into the wind and needed full down trim and right rudder to maintain
    any kind of line.  This was due to the engine position which was
    angled up and to the left.  This was no major problem.
    
    What happened was as  I turned down wind at an exceptionally fast
    speed and began my turn across the wind, I must have put in to much
    rudder (the throw was pretty good since I was flying 3 axis) because
    I managed to get into a death spin at about 50ft.  I tried in vain
    to pull her out, but it was not to happen.  The wind seemed to take
    her by the tail and slam her into the deck (soft mud).  The foam
    wing snapped in 3 places (history) and the shock of the impact knocked
    the rudder and elevator off!  The engine was full of mud, and that
    seemed to be all the damage.  Further inspection at the house showed
    more damage than first appeared.  The servos were thrown forward
    into the foam wrapped battery.  Along the way it cleaned out the
    switch housing (scratch one switch).  After removing the servos,
    I noticed the plastic battery pack case was also broken (not a real
    problem to overcome).  And finally, after checking each servo, I
    discovered that one servo suffered two broken teeth on a gear. 
    This will need to be replaced.  Geesh!
    
    Total flight was about 1-2 minutes.
    
    My brother flying his GEE BEE Seahawk discoverd loose ailerons and
    chose not to attempt an ill fated flight.
    
    My other brother flying his Dura-plane saw the remains of mine and
    said "what the hell."  I hand launched it into the wind and the
    rest was a circus performance worth filming (we forgot the camera).
    After about 5 minutes of flips, rolls, loops, inverted flights and
    some tail walking he cut the engine in hopes to get his plane back
    on the ground.  He kept the nose down and managed to hover the plane
    back to the ground without incident.   What a day!
    
    Ken

    The weather here in Vermont Friday was gorgeous!  So I took a couple
    of hours off to take advantage of the perfect flying conditions.
    
    The MUNK was anxiously awaiting another flight, so I obliged it.
    The runway I used belongs to a local club so it was in great shape.
    The only obstacles are power lines paralleling the runway to your
    back and a cut down corn field paralleling the other side of the
    runway.
    
    Take off was a bit awkward as the MUNK veered off to the left over
    the cornfield.  Did some minor trimming and she was flying great.
    I'm still nervous flying it though.  I think its because it is a
    very responsive bird along with being large and heavier than what
    I've flown before.  All I know is that I am very nervous when it
    comes to low fly-bys and doing stunts.  So I tried a straight-up
    climb with a roll....sloppy at the least do to nerves.  I then did
    a couple not so low fly-bys and set up for a landing.
    
    I dropped power and started my approach.  I dropped the flaps and
    the MUNK started to ease down towards the strip.  The wind was light
    but it was enough to "wobble" the wings, so I kept making adjustments
    to keep her level.  Unfortunately the MUNK was crabbing towards the
    edge of the runway and before I knew it, it was landing on the corn
    stalks!
    
    DAMAGE REPORT
    -------------
    The MUNK suffered three major holes in the wing and one minor hole
    in the horizontal stab.
    One of the holes wiped out about 2" of leading edge and all three
    holes came through the top of the wing.  Since all the damage was
    done in the blue area of the wing, the patches don't show (unless
    you get right on top of it).  A few pieces of sheeting were replaced
    and she is as good as new.
    
    Boy what a scare!
    
    4th flight is now on the books.
    
    
    Ken

    An excellent flying weather weekend, after being rained out the
    previous weekend. 6 or 8 of us out on our prarie site, with most
    trying for various LSF goal-and-returns over a 2 mile round trip
    on a dirt trail across the mesa. Nobody was having any luck making
    the return leg. I was flying my old Cirrus, so had no plans to even
    attempt such grandiose schemes. But after hanging around at 800
    ft. for over 5 min. on one flight, Phil yelled at me to get in his
    car, and we went bounding down the trail, with the old Cirrus huffing
    and puffing to keep up with full, and insufficient, down trim.
    At the far end of the course the the old gal was still at 800 ft.
    so we throw a brody and scream back to the start point, and still
    no altitude loss. Heck, roared on back down to the far end again,
    and this time was down to about 200ft. so jumped out of the car,
    searched around for all of 30 secs., hooked into a tight little
    boomer and climbed out to 800 ft. again, standing on the wing tip!
    Tootled back up to the start, where everbody was shouting "go
    again", but my neck had had enough of craning out the pillbox
    slit that passes for a Camaro side window, so I got out and flew
    around another 10 minutes, while reflecting on the fact that a Cirrus
    is still hard to beat for non-speed events.
    
    Switching to my electric, I had a run in with a Grevys Hawk at about
    600 ft. He stooped on it in a shallow dive from several hundred
    ft. out, so I had time to switch on and turn into him. This always
    confuses them momentarily but Grevys are more unpredictable than
    red-tails, so I was prepared for anything. I switched power
    off and went into a straight ahead glide in good lift. He tucked
    in about 3 ft. back and had too pull in his wings about 50% from
    full soaring mode in order to keep up. He came along side
    a few times but I'd blip the servos and he would veer off. This
    went on for nearly a minute, finally he gave up and headed south
    where the the birds are less strange.
    
    Later in the afternoon we spotted a Whooping Crane (endangered species)
    a few hundred left, themalling at about 2000ft. right over the field.
    
    Terry
    

    WOW! Sounds like one heck of weekend. Goal and return and soaring with
    a hawk, Thats tough to beat Terry. ( You not flying with raw meat
    hanging from the wings are?) 
    
    I haven't been flying for a couple of weeks, but hope to make up for it
    soon. We are supposed to test fly the PPSS ICON this week. 
    
     
    Ron Watts
    

This weekend was very windy in Mass, so I decided to try slope soaring at 
Bose Mountain in Framingham. I had heard from a coworker that two people were
sloping there last weekend and having a great time of it.

I had checked out Bose in the past, but it's far from an ideal slope. For those
of you not familiar with it, the Bose Corp (yes, the ones who make audio gear)
building is situated at the top of what I'm told is an enormous capped land
fill. Well, enormous for a land fill, but as a mountain it's pretty puny.
I would guess a vertical drop of around 50 feet. The slope itself is mostly 
tall grass, bushes, and small trees, so landing on the slope is an invitation
for damage. At the bottom of the hill is road, industrial buildings, a small
forest, and the Mass Turnpike. All rather mediocre landing sites. But atop the
hill is a very large, flat, grassy area, plenty of room to land as long as you
can get to it. 

My concern has always been, if I throw my glider over the side and can't get
enough lift, I will probably damage it on landing. But now that I have an 
electric glider, salvation is just a throttle lever away. 

I went there on Saturday and found that normally high winds get magnified by
the slope; the wind speed had to be at least 30 mph, and my glider simply
won't fly that fast, so I scratched that attempt. Went back Sunday, the wind
was more moderate, so I bit my lip and gave it a heave. It was a little hairy
at first, until I got the nose trimmed down, and I had to bail out once with
the motor, but after a while I got the hang of it and had a very nice flight.
This is really the first time I've flown slope conditions, and now I see why
planes are specifically designed for it. The Challenger just didn't want to
fly fast enough, and the rudder/dihedral control was a little less responsive
than I would have liked. I had an uneventful landing (albeit turbulent), just
as a band of rainshowers passed through. 

After the showers I gave it another try, but this time the wind speed had
increased enough that the plane was backing up and I couldn't stay ahead of the
slope. Matter of fact, I almost got blown off balance by some gusts, so I
called it a day. Still, I can't wait to go back and give it another try! Having
the electric option made me feel much more confident. If anyone around here
wants to try it some weekend, let me know.

Dave

Aaaagggghhh...........

    
    Two of us are building this "thing" (as its pretty ugly looking).
    No undercarraige - just a skid, but a really nice wing section. 

The plane....

        AcroPig - magazine plan (Piglet) increased by 10%.
    
        50" slightly swept back Low winger - thin section. with about 3" dihe. 
        Ailerons  (1/2 wing span) - in from wing tip an a couple of inches.
        Home made foam wings.

        G40 Super Tiger (over)powered.  

        4.5 lbs weight.

        dope + tissue + K&B epoxy painted - all white with 'off-vertical' 
        red/orange/yellow stripes on upper wings and rear fuse.

The weather is improving - something has definitly gone wrong !!!

Well the first mistake was to fly two flights with the ailerons back to front.
The first flight just rolled 360 around  and flopped onto the deck - with no
damage. Second flight was the same except that I got a bit higher and it rolled
and hit the ground a little harder and damaged the wing. I guess the main
problem here was the aileron being back to front. 
                                     
Third flight was with corrected aileron throws and with a reduced throttle -
just to see if engine torque had caused a problem. I think that it stalled about
30' up & out - it was taking off nicely but... it stalled and hit the hard stuff
- damaging the wing further and breaking the engine mount.


I think this is what happened ... as it all happened a bit fast...

    * badly running engine on the ground - maybe it spluttered at stall - 
      dropped nose _pronto_ and found the dirt. Was running OK but not
      up to normal.

    * C og G too far forward ie nose heavy for correct CG - 23-25 % of wing 
      center cord - should have been 25-33%. I also balanced this low winger 
      right way up - next time I will balance it upside down. Before doing so
      checking the original balance.

    * Slight slop in aileron (1/8"+) but then ailerons are not really that
      effective at low speed. Maybe with the wing section they are very
      sensitive.

      As a result of the slop I have an incorrect zero position of the 
      ailerons when returning them from a right turn - although airflow 
      will probably center them. They don't center fully. Servo isn't loose,
      but it must be binding somewhere in the tube.
            
    * too much elev added at the wrong moment - causing a stall.


I have now decided to move the CG back a bit and add the required lead in the
tail. Doing this by pouring just the _right_  amount of lead/epoxy into tail
section rather than weights at the rear of wing. This means I can add less
weight for the required balancing. Didn't do it before cause it meant digging a
hole in the rear of the freshly painted fuse !!!

While building I found that the ailerons were a bit stiff when using Bowden
cable. So I decided to take 4 strands off the cable to reduce friction a bit.
The friction was reduced a good bit... but I added a bit of slop. Some of the
slop was introduced by the Z bends/horn connection.

So to reduce the slop I reverted back to the original cable with no strands
pulled and took off the Z bends and replaced them with those clip in/screw down
things. Slop has decreased to almost nothing. I guess for a straight run
stripping a few strands off Bowden cable is fine but when it has to go around a
bend its going to introduce _slop_.

Now I have reduced it to about 1/16" or less. The tradeoff is the increased
friction in the ailerons. Still got to look at the return-to-center-position
of the ailerons.

I have reduced all throws including the dual rates. Also added exponential
to ail/rudd/elev.

Eric();

    Eric,
    
    Could you explain "ailerons back to front" for this poor dumb cowpoke?
    I'm not familiar with the term and can't sort out what it means.
    
    On the CG, if you even _suspect_ the airplane stalled that easily, the
    absolute *LAST* thing you want to do is move the CG back.  An airplane
    will fly quite satisfactorily with the CG literally on the leading edge
    (though you'll likely run out of elevator when trying to flare for
    landing) but the least tail-heaviness is "THE KISS OF DEATH!"  You
    mentioned the wings are swept so I'm not real sure just where the CG
    should be or how to calculate it but, it you have it at or forward of
    the ppoint indicated on the plans, LEAVE IT BE!  Moving it back will
    only aggravate the problem.
    
    I wish I could add more as to what might've happened but, without
    seeing what it did, I'm unable to make a guess.  Are you *dead-certain*   
    the ailerons are moving in the correct direction??  What you described
    sounded like classic behavior when ailerons are backward; in fact, at
    first, that's what I thought you meant by "back to front."  But,
    reading on and not seeing where you'd corrected them, I figgered' "back
    to front" must mean something else.  The more I think about it, though,
    the more it sounds possible that the ailerons are working backwards...
    check it out and let us know how you make out.
    
      |
      | |      00	 Adios,      Al
    |_|_|      ( >o
      |    Z__(O_\_	(The Desert Rat)

Re: .540

    Al,

>    Could you explain "ailerons back to front" for this poor dumb cowpoke?
>    I'm not familiar with the term and can't sort out what it means.

    Emmm, reminds me of our current field is full of cow**** - you are really in
    the s**t, anyway...

    As you mention further on, its "backward" as you put it. As I said this
    contributed (if not completly) to the termination of the first two flights
    only - I got it right for the final flight.

>    On the CG, if you even _suspect_ the airplane stalled that easily, the
>    absolute *LAST* thing you want to do is move the CG back.  An airplane
>    will fly quite satisfactorily with the CG literally on the leading edge
>    (though you'll likely run out of elevator when trying to flare for
>    landing) but the least tail-heaviness is "THE KISS OF DEATH!"  You
>    mentioned the wings are swept so I'm not real sure just where the CG
>    should be or how to calculate it but, it you have it at or forward of
>    the ppoint indicated on the plans, LEAVE IT BE!  Moving it back will
>    only aggravate the problem.


    The thing is that the CG was never specified in the plan. We estimated the
    position, but I balanced it forward of this point. In other words the
    plane is very nose heavy (tank empty) as regards the correct CG which
    I think should be back about 1/2" or there abouts. I can't imagine the 
    CG being forward of where I balanced it.

    I said the wings were swept back - let me clarify this.  

    The trailing edge is nearly a straight line from tip to tip.
    But the leading edge is raked back. Strictly speaking its not a true
    swept back wing - maybe you could say delta shaped.


    Something like ...
                                   ___
                    _______--------   --------_______
       .______------                                 ------______.
       |                                                         |
       `---------------------------------------------------------'


    Eric();

    Eric,
    
    OK, that clears some things up.  The CG should be fairly easy to locate
    on that planform.  Stay with me hear as this is dreadfully simple but
    takes a few words to explain:
    
    *Note: yer' working on one wing panel only in the following procedure.*
                                                                        
    Draw a chordwise line in the exact center of the wing.  Now, tape a
    piece of string where this line meets the leading edge, then pull it
    taut and tape it to the trailing edge at the wing tip so the string
    lies diagonal to the span.  Repeat this with a second string from
    trailing edge/center-section to leading edge at the tip.  The two
    strings will form an "X" shape and where they intersect is the "Mean
    Aerodynamic Chord" or MAC.  There are more sophisticated, more accurate
    of establishing the MAC but this is plenty good enough for our
    purposes.
    
    Now, draw or imagine a chordwise MAC line exactly parallel to the
    centerline and establish the CG range from [say] 25-30% along the MAC
    line and that is where the plane should balance.  Once established, the
    CG range can be transferred to the fuse or the tip for more convenient
    balancing of the model.  You can simply eyeball it or, if you require
    greater accuracy, you may repeat all the above to establish the same CG
    range points on the opposite wing, then connect like points spanwise.    

    Obviously, the easiest way to do this would be to draw it right on the
    plans.  If they're full-size, you got it made; if not you simply work
    in scale and the same results are achieved.
    
    Hope this doesn't sound too complicated...as I said, it's deceptively
    simple to do but awkward to describe.
    
      |
      | |      00	 Adios,      Al
    |_|_|      ( >o
      |    Z__(O_\_	(The Desert Rat)

Al,

	Thanks for the help. I will have a look at it tonight and see how it
	works out and report back here for others to note.

Regards,

Eric();

 Al,

Well I worked out the MAC on the wing and got a 20-30% position of between 
65-86mm back from the leading edge (when translated to the center of the wing).
This is 15-20mm further back than where I had balanced it for the first few
flights, and, as I sort of suspected, is forward of where I thought it should
have been. All that taken into account as you say it should fly with the CG
fairly far forward.

I did a quick full scale drawing of the wing and got a 20-30% range further
back (80-110mm) but I am going to re-do it and check it. All in all the plane
was very nose heavy for its first few flights. 

What do you think, Al ?

Regards,

Eric();

    Eric,
    
    Well, it appears you have no choice but to try moving the CG back but
    I'd recommend taking it in gentle stages 'til yer' certain this is
    producing the desired effect.  If the plane suddenly becomes
    hyper-sensitive on the elevator, STOP immediately; yer' goin' the wrong
    way.  Be sure to give us a play-by-play of yer' progress and,
    hopefully, the ultimate solution.


Adios, amigos,	Al		     			 __
 (The Desert Rat)			 |     |        / |\	   	       
					 |_____|__(o/--/  | \	   	       
      | |      00	 		<|  ~~~  ____ 04 ----| -----------------
    |_|_|      ( >o			 |\)____/___|\____|_/	   	       
      |    Z__(O_\_			 |	  |___/	 o		       

Well all I can say is FANTASTIC!
    
    This Saturday myself and my 2 older and 2 younger brothers went
    out into the balmy weather and had a blast.  Two of us had built
    home-made Dura-planes and it was their maiden voyage.  We were
    attempting to have some air-to-air combat.  Well, the two planes
    flew just great!  Unfortunately, we had a rash of engine problems
    which kept us from getting in some steady combat.  We did however
    make a few passes at each other as we towed our streamers.  Very
    intersting to say the least.  We did notice that there was quite
    a bit of drag put on the plane due to the streamer.  Anyways, for
    a couple of bucks you can make a duraplane and not worry about
    losing it to a crash.  My two younger brothers made 1-point landings.
    One broke a prop and needle valve and the other pulled his firewall
    right off the plane.  Of course mine is still in one piece.
    
    The MUNK made its 5th flight too!  I'm still nervous on the sticks,
    but I managed to do some rolls, loops and high speed fly-bys.  Still
    had problems landing it with full flaps.  When I got it down, I
    managed to put it just off the road into the grass/ditch...I cracked
    a wheel pant.  Getting better (nerves that is) each time...just
    hope it doesn't take 100 flights.
    
    Ken

>I finally got my winter project, a Prophet 941 sailplane, finished to the point
>where it was flyable this weekend. (If you're interested in a description of

Sounds great Dave - hope you bring it in for show and tell at the next
DECRCM meeting (next Tuesday).

I finally got the Hobie Hawk in the air the other day.  After
getting 741 servos from Airtronics free it had no more hysteresis problems
and I just took it up to a local church yard to hand launch and trim.
I can hardly wait to put it on a high start.  It is just majestic!

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

Kay, did you do a direct trade with Airtronics for the -102s?
When I talked to the customer service fellow there I mentioned
some obsolete servos I had and he said to send them in with $5
and they'd replace them with 102s.  Both because of your
experience with the 102s and because I already paid enough
for them to put the price above reasonable, I decided to not do
this.  

Come to think of it, I do have a badly smoked servo (connected
the power backwards, which is forwards for me); maybe I'll send
that in.

I got out this weekend to do some more testing on my Cobra. I have my custom
muffler installed. The outlet pipe is fairly small and I have been concerned 
about too much back pressure causing problems. I like the sound level with
the small outlet but it made the engine much harder to adjust. I also noticed
that the power output was marginal compared to the larger diameter outlet I ran
before. Before yesterday, I had about 5 flights on the ship with the new 
muffler. Yesterday, the first flight I had problems getting the high speed 
needle valve adjusted. The motor was responding slugishly to throttle inputs
but I did manage to get in an otherwise ok flight. 

On the second flight I fiddled with the needle valve some more and managed to
get the crisp response from the motor I'm  accustomed to. I was having a ball
flying the Cobra back and forth across the field in long lazy figure-eights.
Then I whipped the copter around the turn tightly and the motor sagged. Between
the loss of RPM and the loss of transitional lift from coming out of forward 
flight, the copter dropped out of the sky. It dropped in from about fifteen
feet and broke a blade holder when the rotor blade dropped down and caught 
the vertical fin.

One of the club's fixed wing flyers had been watching me and we got to talking
about the muffler. He had a Funster with an OS 45 with a pickle muffler on it.
The size of the inner diameter on the outlet of his pickle muffler was the same
as on my muffler's outlet pipe. He's running a 45 and I'm running a 50 but my
muffler has a larger body than his so the exhaust gases should be cooler 
coming out of my muffler. Beats me what the problem is. Last night I machined 
an adapter for a larger outlet pipe like I had before. The quieter operation
was nice but I can't afford the loss in performance.

	
    Saturday was a gorgeous day here in Vt.  I and my two brothers and
    my youngest daughter headed out in the AM to take advantage of the
    weather.  Accompanying us was our 3 Duraplanes, one Eagle 2 and my
    MUNK.  Two of the Duraplanes had ailerons attached.  
    
    I fired up my Duraplane w/ailerons.  I took off, inverted and nosed
    in.  No damage.  My brother's Duraplane w/ailerons was also fired
    up and upon take off veered left stayed level about 1' off the deck
    and suddenly did a wing to wing, snapping his horizontal stab.  I
    commenced to fire up again and upon take off went straight up.  I
    tried to correct, but ended up going inverted again and went straight
    in!  The engine was completely submerged in mud.  The double thick
    firewall seperated (half stayed with the engine and the other stayed
    with the plane.)  That was the extent of the damage.  My other brother
    couldn't get his COMO .40 to run at high speed (any suggestions) so
    his Duraplane never flew.
    
    I then put the MUNK up.  Got "5" great flights on it including victory
    rolls, loops (a triple loop which was executed by my daughter), high-
    speed fly-bys and flap landings.  GREAT DAY!
    
    My brother also got 4-5 flights on his Eagle 2.  What a day.
    
    
    Ken

>          <<< Note 771.549 by 8713::TAVARES "Stay Low, Keep Moving" >>>
>                         -< Did you do the trade-in? >-
>
>Kay, did you do a direct trade with Airtronics for the -102s?

I sent Airtronics the 4 102's that came with my Vision radio system.
They send me back 4 741's.  Very nice servos but a bit heavy and large.
But the price was right - no charge.

>When I talked to the customer service fellow there I mentioned
>some obsolete servos I had and he said to send them in with $5
>and they'd replace them with 102s.  Both because of your
>experience with the 102s and because I already paid enough
>for them to put the price above reasonable, I decided to not do
>this.  

Well - its not clear that the 102's were defective or what and they
didn't give any explanation in the return paperwork. 

But I'm glad you entered your note as I have two other bad (read that
beat to death by the user) Airtronics Servos - so I'll have to give
customer services a call - I would like to repair or replace them
for $5.00 each.

>Come to think of it, I do have a badly smoked servo (connected
>the power backwards, which is forwards for me); maybe I'll send
>that in.

Gee - I did that to a JR servo and it smoked like crazy.  But
it is still working OK and just flew in Phoenix.  If fact I was
soldering on the battery harness and didn't have a switch (boy the
things I do) so while it was smoking I had to find the diagonal
cutters and cut the battery leads to stop the smoke.

I recently labeled all my transmitter batteries and receiver batteries
and made a list of what is in what.  This way I can keep a record of
cycled capacity and dates.  Now I'm thinking I should probably keep
some sort of log about servos because as in the case above some of them
have a interesting history.  For instance one of my bad Airtronics
servos has been in a 1/10 scale car that we used to bash around in the
parking lot.  

Better stop rambling.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

    
    Kay, I hope you opened up and checked out the servo.  The smoke
    was most likely a resistor cooking, and doing that to a resistor
    can have serious affects on its life!  I'd never use a servo that
    smoked without having it fully checked out.
    
    Bill

    If it had wings it was flying this weekend. 80 degrees and calm.
    On sat. we had our monthly contest, a crosscountry, on a 1.4 mi.
    round trip course. 12 entries, everything from G.L.s to F3B ships.
    The old Cirrus seemed to be my best choice from my flyable stable.
    
    There were 3 rounds, the course was marked every .1 mile with a
    red cone, with flags at the turn around and S/F. 10 points for every
    .1 mile completed, time was not a factor except as a tie breaker.
    Pilot and spotter/timer rode in the bed of a pick up and attempted
    to survive while the driver roared down a rutted dirt trail.
    
    I was first up, and popped off the line at 60 ft. Stooged around
    for a minute looking for lift and when it wasn't forthcoming I just
    punched off down the course and managed to make .2 miles.
    Second round was great, got 3 good thermals, never got below 600
    ft. and finished in 9:25.
    Third round was good coming off the winch, immediately climbed and
    headed out but found nothing else. Flew the Cirrus as fast as the
    truck would go without pitching us overboard. Made it to the
    turnaround in sink and had to land. Managed a 7th place.
    
    Phil Renaud won with his Eisenmann Camaro, an F3B ship of 6-8
    years ago. He used his own killer winch rather than the club
    winch, and got so high that he simply flew straight out and back
    without having to look for lift. His best time was 3:30.
    
    All in all our most fun contest in a long time, and next time we'll
    have a longer course and smoother road.
    
    Yesterday I flew the Vibaro for the first time with its new wings
    and stab. Wow what a difference! It tracks perfectly in the turns,
    responds to the lightest lift, and has a good speed range. Uses
    S4061 airfoil, with full span(114") flaperons, scissor type metal
    spoilers, Obechi sheeting and Min-Wax polyurethane finish. 10.66
    oz. loading at 68oz. allup weight. This will definitely be my back
    up ship in open class at the Nats, or even primary if the wind blows.
    I'm now building a Southwind Plus (112") as my primary ship, but
    it's going to have to fly mighty good to beat the Vibaro.
    
    One of our occasional flyers showed up yesterday with quite a gadget.
    He's a laser optics engineer at Sandia Labs. He built a heads-up
    display system for RC use. The electronics are contained in a Nike
    missile nose cone , about the size of a 1lb. coffee can, that he
    hangs on his belt. A fiber optic cable comes from the can up to
    an eye piece mounted on a strap around his head. When you look in
    the eyepiece you see the airplane that your flying, and superimposed
    on it is a single dot at the center of the field of view. When
    the xmtr. stick is moved, a closely spaced row of dots "grows" out
    from the center; left, right, up, down, or any combination, following
    the stick movement. He also has a stall warning that beeps when
    a certain preset angle of attack is exceeded.
    
    When I first looked at it I assumed it was something that he borrowed
    from the AF Weapons Lab, and it probably cost $100k. He didn't say
    how much he's got in it, and I'm not sure there's any real need
    for such a device, RC-wise, but sure is a neat technical exercise.
    His next trick will be to incorporate a Thermal Sniffler into
    the system, so that a visual display of lift and sink will be
    shown through the eyepiece.
    
    Terry
    

                I finally  got  so  disgusted  with  the  spoilers on the
        Pantera that I  did something about it Sunday.  I ripped the darn
        things out and put  covering over the hole.  Next step was to put
        a fence on the band  saw,  take  a  deep  breath and then run the
        inner panel through it.  I  decided  simply  to  cover  the holes
        between  the sheeting and then use covering  as  a  hinge.    Two
        Airtronics 102 servos fitted perfectly behind the spar,  and  the
        Airtronics Vision was easy to set up for mixing etc.
        
                Today was the time to check out whether I  had  ruined  a
        perfectly  good  plane  (except  for  the  spoilers!).  The first
        couple of starts were hairy because the mixing was guesswork, but
        also because I  was  using  too wimpy a highstart.  Once I had my
        own monster hi-start set  up  it  went much better.  Launches are
        simply fantastic with about 25  degrees  flap,  and  landings are
        incredible.  The flaps are a  full  2  inches  wide and come down
        almost 90 degrees.  The plane comes  down  like  a  shot  at what
        looks like an impossible angle.
        
                The  airfoil  is  also real good with minimal  disruption
        between the flap and main airfoil.
        
                I WILL NEVER, EVER BUILD A PLANE WITH SPOILERS!
        
        
                      _ 
                     / |
           _----____/==|
         /__====------- 
             |-          
            /              
           /               
         Hang in there!      
                           
             Anker           

re: Don't use the servo without inspecting...

Sorry - I have no idea anymore what servo it was - but I started a log
this weekend and etched numbers on all my new servos so I plan to keep
a servo history as well as a history on every battery.

re: Oly II with power pod.

Sounds to me like with the power you have it trimmed correctly - probably
tons of up trim.  As soon as power comes off you have way too much up
and start a sever stall.  My suggestion after you rebuild your wing is
trim for hand launches and sell the power pod at the next club auction.

Now how was my weekend...

I spend the day at the Orange Airport waiting for the wind to calm.
Finally packed up and went out to supper and came back at 6:00 PM.
Wind came to a stop and stayed calm with the sun shinning for one
more hour.

I finally got the first flights on the Hobie Hawk.

Wow - what a hand full.  The first flight was constant stall on
launch (high start) and stall most of the way to the ground.  I added
lots of down trim.  Second flight was still stalling on launch but
flight was much better by adding lots more down trim.  2 minutes.
3rd flight was better - just a little stall on launch - added more
down trim.  2 minutes 10 seconds.  4th flight was better - no stall on
launch and a 3 minute flight.  As the sun was setting the thermals were
dying so it floated really good.

But...

I had a hard time diving off the high start.  Maybe it's my new parachute.
It has a big hole in the top - perhaps it doesn't drag enough to help get
off the hook?

Landings were controlled crashes at best.  I would go into the tall grass
with the wings level and it would do a wild cartwheel - every time!
No damage but looked like it should have broke a tail off or a wing tip.
I would get it down to just over the tall grass and start adding up elevator
until it was at or near stall and POW!

Guess I should learn to just drop it in fast - opinions?

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

    re .559
    
    Kay, it's been a long time since I've seen a Hobie Hawk fly, but
    I recall that they had to be landed very fast, by the standards
    of the day, with full down elevator at the moment of touchdown to
    prevent balooning, due to the high angle of incidence built into
    the wing mount. Trying to plop it in like an Olympic was a sure
    disaster, as you've already discovered.
    
    Terry
    

>>> If you're really hell bent on electrifying a 650, try mounting the 
>>> motor in the nose.  Everything will work much better, but the 
>>> installlation will be a !!#^&*
    
    I've got a book on soaring which is mostly devoted to building the
    Oly 650.  It includes powered versions using an .049 or electric.
    The nose is built slightly differently for each version, but none 
    look like they are a "!!#^&*".  The electric version dispenses with
    the lead in the nose block, and uses a firewall mount for the motor.
    The receiver and servos get moved aft, behind the battery and under
    the wing.  If there's any interest, I can copy the drawings and text
    decribing the electric and gas versions.  
    
    Reply be mail to  NYJMIS::BOBA.

    
    This past sunday was "Work Part Day" at our local field. We added
    100 yards of gravel to our road and parking lot, Painted anything
    that wasn't moving and rolled parts of the field that were dry.
    As the field was closed during the work party no flying took place
    until after 2:00 PM. A fellow chopper pilot was trying out his Legend
    with flybarless head and a set of reflexed Miniature Aircraft blades.
    It seemed to hover better that the original blades but when he went
    into forward flight all hell broke loose. The blade tracking went
    away and it looked like the blades were 6" apart from each other.
    He was luck to get it down. The resulting vibrations caused all
    of the radio gear to come loose and the canopy to almost fall off.
    He hasn't trouble shot the systems yet so the cause is still up
    for speculation.
    
    I was able to fiddle with my newest chopper, a King Cobra from GMP.
    It's not completely stock. 
    Mods...
    
    		Original horizontal stab, modified vertical. Like an
    Xcell mounted to the boom an a 5 degree right offset. 
    		Xcell 60 boom support.
    		Large Xcell landing gear.
    		Legend canopy
    		Rear mounted rudder servo (this is a bracket attached
    tp the boom adjacent to where it exits the main frames.
    		70 % bell hiller mixing apposed to the stock 50%. This
    is done by installing the bell hiller mixers on the ends of the
    flybar rather than on the center of the flybar yoke. Note that the
    Pro head has two seperate flybars attached to the head by a center
    yoke.
    		Xcell paddles and flybar weights.
    		Delta 3 offset at the blade holders. This is done by
    removing the spaces on the blade holdes pitch change arms. It yields
    app. 8 degrees of offset.
    		
    		It seems to hover as well as anything else on the market.
    I forward flighted it yesterday and it does groove. Haven't looped
    or roller it so I can't say anything about it's aerobatic abilities.
    I've installed the Xcell paddles because it's been noted on other
    Cobras that coming out of a loop it feels like you have to " really
    lean on the stick" to get it to come out. However this isn't the
    case with an Xcell. We noticed that the feathering point on all
    paddles except Xcells is app 30% of the cord. The Xcell's paddles
    have a feathering point app. 45% of the cord. We think that this
    adds the athority to the flybar necessary to get the Xcell to
    loop as easy as it does. 
    
    
    Tom
    
    PS: This chopper is being run with a used Webra 61/promix carb with
       Magna pipe.        
    

    
    	Sunday was one of those days in this hobby that start ok, go a bit
    rough, and then come back for a great finish! Twice I managed to scare
    myself spitless, but was able to recover and go home with plane and
    pride intact.
    
    	It was sunny, warm, and only slightly breezy when Dan Weier and I
    arrived at the field at 10 A.M. I quickly set up, ranged checked and 
    went out to fly. I pointed SP3 across the runway and opened 'er up. Let
    in run about 20' and start hauling back un the stick so that by the
    time I get to about 30-40' I'm darn near vertical. About then, ......
    well Al told me I'd get got sooner or later doin' this, and I almost 
    got got this time. About 40 up, slightly down wind, I realize that 
    I'm just about dead stopped, only hanging on the prop with a 10 pound
    plane! I'd rate the sphincter factor about an 8 til I saw the nose
    start to come down and the wings begin to roll level! Thank gawd for
    the prop blast over big surfaces!! Got the sucker level and took a
    second or three to get the nerves back inside my skin where they
    belonged! Whew, dodged one bullet.
    
    	The first three flights weren't too bad, but then I tried a bit 
    of tweaking and prop changing as the engine appeared to be having a
    bit of trouble with the 14-11 prop. It took 3 flights and 2 props to
    get things sorted out, during which I played land too hard and shear
    the nylon bolts on the landing gear twice! Some fun!
    
    	After sorting that out I damn near did myself in again. Eric was
    flying the Unic, I was up doing my thing, and some strange pilot flying
    a sharp 45 was up driving everyone nuts. I came down the field to do a
    bomb drop, and just as I dropped the bomb 2 things happened almost 
    simultaneously. First I flew too close to in line with the sun, and out
    of the corner of my eye I saw Eric doing some really wild hijinks to
    avoid the yo-yo with the Sharp. By the time I got my attention back
    where it belonged I was in a 45 degree bank and a 30 degree dive about
    75' up. Took a few seconds to get the heart rate down again. Did manage
    to grease the landing to make up for it. ;8^)
    
    	But the last two flights of the day were great. I'm getting more
    familiar with the idiosyncracies of SP3. Climbout on take off is best
    done at a max climb angle of 60-70 degrees. Once in the air and flying
    straight and level I can crank it vertically and pretty much hold it as
    high as I can see it. But the part I liked best was, after listening to
    Jim Cavanagh rattle on all day about how slow he could fly, doing a
    pass down the field in which " his Kadet Passed Me!!" ;8^)
    
	                
      "The Sno-man"			

   *            .------------. 
        .---.   |  Can You   |   *                 *            *
        |120|   |    Say     |       *        *          *
    * __|___|__ | BALLISTIC? |   *   .--.
  *    .'* *`.  `----..------'.======|YS|======.
   *   |  ^  |   *   ||       |     .'  `.     |
       `.`-'.'       ||       |     `-..-'     |           *
       'It's `       ||       `================'   *
     / Just A  \+++++||    *         /  \
    /   PANIC,  \    ||           |_/    \_|  *         *
    \    Mate!  /    ||   *       |        |

    Saturday was not the best day to fly, but not the worst either.
    My two brothers and I were ready to go at 8:00am, but the rain
    and fog didn't depart until around noon.  In the mean time we 
    did some checking, double checking and last minute adjustments.
    It took us awhile to get Steve's COMO .40 running.  That engine
    does not set up nicely.
    
    At noon we decided to head out with only our DURAPLANES since 
    the wind was blowing between 15 to 20mph.  Mine and Todd's plane
    have the ailerons added....this would be the second attempt to
    fly with them since the first attempt which resulted in non-
    field-repairable conditions.
    
    Todd is first.  An attempted cross wind take off results in a
    wing tip nose over.  No damage.  Restart and I hand launch it
    for him.  Some minor trimming and it flew great!  I'm next. 
    Steve launches me and away I go.  Again, some minor trim and I'm
    flying hot!  Steve was still having problems with the high-end
    of the COMO.  The "aileroned" DURAPLANES were flying super.  
    They do great rolls and anything else you might want to do.  The
    only thing is you don't worry about crashing because they are so
    tough.
    
    We land and Steve is finally ready to go.  The engine got so much
    attention that "we" forget to do a pre-flight check.  He hollers
    GO... so I pitch the DURAPLANE forward and it dives right into the
    grass.  Stuck like an arrow.  Upon a post-flight check he discovers
    a reversed elevator.  Change the prop, clean the engine, reverse
    the servo and away he goes.  Had a fairly good flight (still having
    engine problems) and lands.  Refuels and discovers his transmitter
    needle is in the red zone.  He's done.  Todd and I put many more
    flights on our DURPLANES chasing each other around and just having
    fun.  Time to go back to Steve house for a B-day party.
    
    We returned around 5:00 with 2 "aileroned" DURAPLANES, 1 EAGLE 2
    and 1 SUPER CHIPMUNK.....yes, the MUNK.
    
    Winds were around 10 to 15mph.  Todd heads up first with a hand
    launch.  Nice and smooth.  Steve takes to the air with his EAGLE.
    No problems.  I get my DURAPLANE ready to go.  Our dad and older
    brother have come to watch, so I decide to impress them with a
    do-it-yourself hand launch.  I grab the plane, apply full throttle
    and toss it.  It takes a "carrier take-off" dip and I got the 
    controls.  Away she goes.  We had some fun.  
    
    Two flights later I launch my DUARPLANE again.  It seems hard to
    trim this time.  I get it up a couple hundred feet when it cuts
    to the left!  I apply right "everything" but to no avail.  It comes
    in full throttle quite a ways away.  I get into the car and head
    down the road.  I crashed 30ft from this guy's garage!!!  He wasn't
    upset at all....I was!  It was buried 8 inches into the ground!
    It took me awhile to get the engine out.  
    
    Damage;  Broken prop, twisted the U-channel and cleaned one servo
    shaft right off the servo.  The crashed also snapped one aileron.
    Not bad for a full power crash.  If it had been my MUNK, there 
    would be nothing left.
    
    Now all I have left to fly is my MUNK.  I just crashed due to dead
    batteries (remember, I had flown for a couple of hours earlier that
    day.  So with my nerves a little rattled, I decide to put flight
    #11 on the MUNK.  I take off, and fly some easy circuits.  Start
    doing some rolls and loops.  Steve is up with his EAGLE 2 so we
    start comparing speed.  His .40 doesn't even match up to my .90FS.
    
    We start chasing each other when I do this weird move that puts
    me into a DEATH SPIRAL!  I quickly remember the same incident from
    last winter on the lake and let go of the sticks.  I figured I 
    didn't have enough clearance to make it, but pull back on the stick
    anyways.  Cleared the ground by about 5ft.  Whew!!!  With nerves
    totally shot I fly a few more circuits to calm down, then land.
    
    What a day for flying........
    
    
    Ken

	
	Interesting weekend that last one ! The week was even better.
	For what you may ask....

	Loosing flying fields.

	The site that I fly at a short distance from here, in Claregalway,
	is being prepared for green fodder - silage. Oh Fermenting bliss.
	The farmer was very polite and said we could come back when the
	grass was cut. That was early on Sunday morning last. Later that 
	day, around 12:00, we went down to the UCG College football grounds
	for the usual flying session. A good few turned up - weather was 
	good (10-15mph) - so we were making a bit of noise. Later on a security
	employee of the college approached me and told me that we had to stop or
	the police would be called in. He was really arogant about it. So I 
	forwarded him to the guy who got the original to fly there. In the end 
	"he was only doing his job" as he said. It was an anomous complaint. We 
	decided that that was unacceptable - as any one could complain in such 
	a manner. He didn't mind and off he went, and we continued to fly for 
	a littel longer. He has yet to come back with anything ie name or letter
	of complaint. All the same the site is in danger of being lost and we 
	are taking it easy till it is sorted out. So thats 1 1/2 site gone...

	there's more ! ...

	That very same afternoon we went out to Moycullen, one of the first 
	fields we used a couple of years ago. I got in some 32 flights - mostly
	quick circuits and a landing. It's a nice field but has a number of 
	houses nearby, neretheless we had a great time with no problems.So 
	that ended that day.

	Well last night we went out there to get in a few flights - we did. We
	had to share the field with some cattle - a thing we were used to in the
	past (the farmer didn't mind). We got a number of flights in, as I said,
	and the farmer's wife appears. She asked use if us men had nothing 
	better to do with ourselves. In the heat of the hunt she preferred if we 
	didn't fly in the field as the cattle were young. We agreed. They, as in
	the past, just moved gradually away from us, never being disturbed at 
	all.

	So 2 1/2 fields gone.

	Well we did gain one - Digital are allowing us to fly on one of the
	football pitches. 

	Probably the worst week of the year so far as regards, where one can
	enjoy a bit of flying.


	Eric();


																																																																																			




	

    Gee, I know of 2 not-so-successful incidents this weekend, one that
    still has me laughing and one that was sad.  
    
    Would either/both pilots care to share the incidents with all of us?
    
    Personally, I had a great time flying Friday afternoon, and I got the
    chance to watch one of my students (Al Ryder) do the best flying he
    has ever done...
    
    cheers,
    jeff
    

>    Gee, I know of 2 not-so-successful incidents this weekend, one that
>    still has me laughing and one that was sad.  

Sorry to be so slow at the reply - been in Marlboro in school all week.

I assume one of these incidents (which?) is mine.
Saturday I took the Berliner-Joyce P16 up for it's safety flight.
My goal was just a simple trim flight then save it for the first
scale qualifier.

I needed to do a Safety flight because I dumped in in Phoenix and
had replaced the wings and horizontal stab with spares and fixed the
fuselage since then.  

Well - I blew the pre-flight inspection that I normally ALWAYS perform
and took off with the aileron servo reversed.

BOOM!

Not sure if I can repair it in time for the qualifier.  Too busy working
on two gliders right now!

Sunday I want to the SR71 Blackbird movie in Nashua N.H. 
It was excellent!  I bumped into Jeff and his family there
at the EAA exhibit.

About that Blackbird.  It was really neat the way the afterburners
would sequence by lighting first the port engine then the starboard
about 1.5 seconds later then both would come up together.  I've never
seen this before.  At first I thought it was a bit random but soon
I realized they always did it exactly the same.  Can anybody
give a detailed explanation of the afterburner lighting sequence?
With the color and sound it was great.  I sat way up front!

In another note I will go into details but the first glider competition
is on the 13th of May in Sidney Maine.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################
    

I've been getting back into the hobby after 6-8 years away and yesterday was 
the BEST day I've had yet.

I fly at the Ware (Divot Digger's) field mostly since it is less crowded and
a reasonable drive from my house. I've been having some problems with wing 
incidence and was recently reminded that my muffler was not legal by current
AMA standards (Hey, the engine came with just a baffle plate ;^) so my weekend
started out with a trip to Bill's in East Longmeadow on friday night. I got a
little carried away with my purchases and spent more than I should have (I
exceeded my wife's current tolerance level ;^) and had to pay my dues on 
saturday. (Sorry, no details there but it WAS raining ;^) I ordered my long
sought Webra parts and picked up two Davis Diesel SoundMaster mufflers. One
for my Webra .40 that had the flowthru that caused concern and another for my
Webra .61 for the Panic. This sets the stage for Sunday.

Sunday, the sun was shining! (then I noticed that the wind was blowing). I 
dragged my son out of bed and we set off (My wife and daughters were going to 
the Shrine Circus for the day so I was FREE) We got to the field around 10:30 
and got set up. This was a new muffler and I set to the task of getting the
engine set up properly. The carb was good for idle and I reset the needle valve
and did some taxi tests. I had redone the nose wheel linkage and now had 
positive ground handling but the nose gear wasn't centered so I adjusted that. I
was REAL impressed with the muffler. This is the quietest 2 cycle muffler I've 
heard (including the Snufflers I've heard at CMRCM) It was worth the pound of
flesh I ended up paying (at home) for it. I got a good solid idle and quick, 
smooth response to full power. Anyway, to shorten an already long story, the
Ware field has a 30' by 150' tar runway and even though the wind was 10-20 MPH
I managed 5 power on landings ON THE TAR! I was really wired to fly and put a 
lot of concentration into it due to the wind and managed to fly the pants off my 
Falcon 56. Tonight I swap the radio into the Panic so I figured I might as well 
"push the envelope" and I flew better than I had in a LONG time. I'd like to 
thank the DECRCM guys for pointing out the incidence problem. I now have the 
incidence RIGHT and the down thrust lessened and it flys straight with the 
controls 0-0-0 and glides the same as power on. I'm sure that had a lot to do
with nailing the landings repeatably (as well as following the "landing your
model" topic and getting back to basics again) I even got a couple of good jobs 
from the instructors at the field due to the runway landing in the wind. I can
now let my son use the .40 for his trainer and go on to the Panic with the 
feeling that I'll have a FUN spring/summer ahead!

    Flying wise, the weekend was totally uneventful consisting mainly
    of the sequence: launch-fly-land, l-f-l, etc. a nauseum. 
    However after our usual post-flying pig out at Wendys, we traipsed
    over to Buzz Averills' house to look at his new old-timer nearly
    completed.
    
    Quite impressive, a "Westener" scaled up 50%, 12ft. span, 16.5 in.
    chord, 1/2" sq. longerons and uprights in the fuse. Power by .90
    Surpass. He used 32 linear feet of orange Monokote, and still has
    the trim to add. Plenty of room to carry various living organisms.
    
    Terry
    

Well this should be in the "all season flyer" note but unfortunately
I didn't get to fly this weekend.  Went to the glider contest in Maine
and visited with some N.H. folks in their camper for 5 hours while we
waited for the rain to stop.

But...

What a beautiful site.  Looking forward to their fall glider contest.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

                Dave Walter seems to be a bit slow getting his report in.
        
                We were  quite a crew that drove down to Simsbury.  Dave,
        John Nilsson, Lincoln  Ross,  can't  remember  his name right now
        (ELS champ two years  ago),  Stuart Strong and yours truly jumped
        into two cars and drove through the driving rain toward Simsbury.
        Individually  we  all  though  it  was  crazy,  but  kept  it  to
        ourselves.  Anyway, the closer we got,  the  lighter the rain and
        it  finally  stopped  altogether  and  strayed  that  way   until
        we started heading home and the reverse conditions prevailed.
        
                There  were 17 entrant into 3 classes (2 meter,  standard
        and  unlimited) with 3 rounds of 6 minute duration and  graduated
        landings.  I had my Pantera to a contest for the  first  time and
        Dave  had his brand new ship.  I decided to enter my  Oly  II  in
        standard and the  Pantera  in  Unlimited.   Into the contest Dave
        offered that I could enter his Metrik in 2-meter.
        
                The  overcast started out  real  heavy  and  got  lighter
        during  the day with the  sun  almost  breaking  through  in  the
        afternoon.  Simsbury only had one  winch  out  and  it went a lot
        more smoothly than I feared.  It  looked bad for a while when the
        2-meters all kept popping off because the winch  had a very small
        drum and wasn't exactly a gorilla.  It feels  really  odd keeping
        the switch down launching a Gentle Lady!
        
                Amazingly,  the  lift was great and I would say at  least
        hallf  of  the flights were maxes.  Most of it was  fairly  light
        slope  lift but there was thermal activity too and it kept moving
        around.   The  group took two pieces of wood home (the wunderkind
        from ESL did  that)  and  the rest of us did quite well.  I would
        have been right at the top ifI hadn't had two disastrous flights.
        This was the first time I couldn't keep an Oly II up for at least
        4 minutes.
        
                As a getting going contest this  was  perfect.  Watch out
        ESL!
        
        Anker

Sorry, I didn't know I was supposed to enter a report. This is the first
chance I've had to read this file since last weekend.

The "ESL Wunderkind" that Anker referred to is Tom Keisling, the 19 year old
college student that tore up all the old Eastern Soaring League records on his
way to expert status. And he took home two more trophies from this contest. It
was because I had seen how nicely his Prophet flew that I decided to build one,
and I haven't been disappointed. It got me to 4th place in Standard class, just
5 points away from the 3rd place score of 1098. I was real pleased with my
flying even though I didn't take home any trophies this time. With Tom, and 
Jim Tyrie, and a few others, the competition was tough.

I got the opportunity to watch Tom's flying style a few times, and it's worth
commenting on. First of all, before he even launches, he watches the other
planes, looks for signs of lift, feels the wind direction. Once he's in the
air, he knows exactly where he wants to go, and he trims the plane for speed
while looking for lift. When he senses lift, he turns into it HARD. After one
or two circles, if he doesn't think it's particularly strong, he straightens
out and continues searching.

He also has GUTS. On one flight I was timing for him, he got off the tow and
immediately headed for a spot downwind of us, losing almost half of his altitude
just getting there. He then started circling where he claimed the lift had
to be because of the wind direction. Sure enough, that bum got into a thermal
and he nearly had a max flight. In another flight, he got so far downwind that
he simply couldn't coax it back to the landing area, landing in a cow pasture
instead. He got a moderate score for that round, but he ended up still winning 
event (Standard class). The point is, he takes a lot more risk (like flying
downwind of the landing area) than I do, and it usually pays off. 'Course, it
helps to know what you're doing too.

Dave

    * * * *   I T   F L Y S !   * * * * 


    I finally finished my trainer last Sunday, but between weather and
    other  obligations, was wasn't able to get it tested.  Since my son was
    coming  home for a visit, I knew that I wouldn't be able to spend the
    much of the weekend at the field.  Worse, the weather report indicated
    a high  probability of rain.

    Friday night was clear, so I went out to the field, but the first test 
    pilot nosed it over while taxiing.  He didn't shut off the throttle 
    immediately, so it blew the motor battery fuse.  After I put in a new 
    fuse, the motor would barely turn over and smoke came out of the motor 
    controller, so I was done for the night.  Fortunately, the problem was 
    only a blown diode across the motor outputs, and the weather stayed
    clear, so Saturday I was back at the field.

    As luck would have it, one of the most respected flyers in the club was
    there, and agreed to test my plane.  After an inspection, tightening up 
    one servo screw, and range testing, I hand launched it while he wiggled 
    the sticks.  After he got it to a safe attitude, he passed me the box, 
    and I was finally flying!  After a year of reading and preparation, I 
    actually had something in the air.  There was enough rising air that
    even a novice like me found a thermal and watched it climb with the
    motor off until I could barely tell which way it was going.  After a
    second climb to altitude and making lazy circles and figure eights for
    a while, I passed the box and he brought it in for a perfect landing.

    The second flight was similar, until he suggested that I try my own 
    landing.  I passed over the field much too high, and when I turned down 
    wind it began sinking at an alarming rate (for me) and I got rattled,
    so he took over and made another perfect landing.  Since he had to go,
    and I was due for dinner, I called it a day.

    Sunday, the weather was still clear, so after I put my son on a train,
    I  went straight to the field.  The only flyer present agreed to help
    me, so I threw it again while he held the box.  Today there was heavy
    cloud cover, and there was no sign of lift, so the flight was shorter. 
    After a couple of climbs, glides, and just tooling around at part
    throttle, I asked if my present altitude wasn't too high for a landing. 
    He said no, just cut the throttle some more and keep it level.  I
    hadn't planned to attempt a landing, but he seemed confident and I
    figured I had to try sooner or  later...  I did as he said, (mostly)
    and after some anxious (scared stiff)  moments the wheels were on the
    ground, and he was grinning like he just  fathered a baby.  When I
    stopped shaking, I put it on charge and prepped for another flight.

    During the second flight while I was gliding around with the motor off,
    he asked if I had ever done a loop.  I said no, so he said nose it down 
    and then pull up.  I don't think he had a vertical dive in mind, but 
    when I pulled up the wing stayed on, so no tears were shed.  The second 
    landing was sloppier than the first, but it didn't nose over so I was 
    delighted and relieved.  By this time, the wind had picked up to around 
    ten to fifteen miles an hour with gusts and lulls so we called it a
    day.

Total score:  Four flights, two landings and one loop.  I'm on cloud nine!
    
    T H I S   I S   G R E A T !

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO CONTRIBUTED TO MY EDUCATION AND INSPIRATION.
    
    Now where are those notes on what I need to learn next....

    My hay field is a great match for my combination of Histart and the
    used (badly abused) and rebuilt Gentle Lady.  I got more than fifty
    flights this weekend, including a couple over five minutes and two of
    nearly ten minutes.  I could have stayed up much longer, but I took
    advantage of the height to play with the plane and to look for other
    thermals.  With all this flying without repairing, I should improve my
    flying ability and my muscle tone (every flight meant about 300 yards
    of walking to retrieve the Histart).

    I had thought the clouds to be high, but today the Gentle Lady was
    passing in and out through the bottom of one.

    
                      Missing heli in Auburn N.H.
    
    
          An interesting thing happened over the past weekend...
    
      It seems that someone in my neighborhood of Auburn N.H. was
     checking out his R/C helicopter and it got away. As I understand
    it he and a few spotters were able to keep it in sight for 5-10
    minutes as they ran down the roads trying to keep up!. Finally the
    heli disapeared aver a stand of trees and off into the woods. 
     
        There is an awfull lotta woods around there so they'll be lookin
    for awhile. The trees are all leaved out and the woods is thick.
    (black flies too). I don't know exactly who this unfortunate flier
    is but he must have hit every house but mine lookin for his heli.
       My neighbors whos know what I do all thought it was an aqcuaintance
     of mine.
    
       Can anyone guess where I'll be walkin when the weather clears?.
    
     kevin p

    I didn't get any flying in this weekend however did take part in
    a demonstration we did for Milton Bradley in East Longmeadow, Ma.
    
    They were sponsoring a run/walk for their employees to raise money
    for the Childrens miracle network telethon. The events started at
    11:00 with the start of the walk. Then followed the run. I think
    they were doing app. 3 miles.
    
    When people started to filter back we started our demonstration.
    There was a taped off area app. 500 ft away from the proceedings.
    We had an area app. 800 x 400 to fly in and out of with choppers.
    It was to tight for any planes. We did have a few planes on display.
    We flew on and off every fifteen minutes of so from about 11:45
    to 2:00. The event broke up at to so we packed up and called it
    a day. All during the flying we had half a dozen or more people
    coming up and asking questions. It was a good day of PR.
    
    
    Tom

    re -2   It never fails to amaze me that such an unstable beast as a
    helicopter tends to fly away so very well. You sure that some guy
    isn't snickering in his basement with yet another helicopter?
    
    
    
    							Dave
    

The comment made was, "If you can fly in this, you can fly in anything"

The Ware club had a Fun Fly on Sunday also. None of the contest coordinators 
showed up but a group of us flew. Everyone was impressed with how stable the 
Panic was in the wind. I got 6-8 flights in and did quite a bit of backwards
flying ;^) The nice thing about the wind at Ware was that it was steady and 
right down the runway. I also got some stick time on an UltraSport 40 with a 
K&B .60 in the nose. This plane will go ballistic and will roll forever. There
wasn't anything it wouldn't do. I did a low, downwind pass that SCREAMED by.
I'm already sawing up the nose of the Sharp 45 from Dan Snow to drop my Super 
Tiger .60 into it so I can chase this guy. I had a lot of fun and brought 
everything back in one piece. I'm starting to get back into the groove I had 
myself in before I stood down for all those years.

Speed Kills (the budget ;^)

Jim

    
    
    
              RE .. .581
    
      I kinda think meybe someone who didn't like the "noise"
    lika a neighbor might just have it at that.. But those woods
    and swamps are so thick that I gave up after ten feet into the woods.
    
      He and some voluteers have been out all week-end in cars and vans
    with binoculars looking in everyones yards,trees etc. I offered
    some help (I didn't say I was already looking) and was kinda rebuffed
    so I didn't even ask his name. (in case I do find it). One other
    thing I'm bothered by is .. I check out my planes using my radio
    (usually with ant collapsed) in my back-yard. Could not I have been
    a part of his problem IF I was on when he was flyin outa his backyard?.
    
     I hope not, but thats why we have flying fields and should avoid
    
       "that nice open unused field by the side of the road"
    
    kevin p

Think I'm finally getting a handle on that PT-40.  Did two
flights yesterday, on the first one Ivan took off and I landed,
on the second I took off and flew the whole time except for a
couple of minutes that Randy Oswald had the box.

Both landings were deadstick and on the runway, not because of
engine trouble but because the Fox is still set very rich and
I've been running out of fuel before I think to land.  

The big improvement is that last week I finally figured out how
to set the differential aileron up properly, and the reward was
that the plane was perfectly balanced under aileron even when in
a deadstick glide.  In fact, I'm gonna have to kick myself into
not getting sloppy in turns and start using rudder as preparation
for the less friendly planes.

Came home with a grin for the first time in many, many, months.

Next week I'm back to practicing figure 8s and procedure turns
down on the deck (that's 75 feet for me!) where I left
off when this whole mess started back last October.

    Got in an after work flying session last night. Winds were
    dropping rapidly by 5 PM, so by the time I got to the field at
    6:30, wind was light to zero, 90F, 10% humidity, CAVU. A perfect
    chance to dial in final trims on the Southwind, and experiment
    with textbook thermal conditions that I suspected would be present.
    
    Sure enough, the heat rising from the street and sandy area running
    parallel to the mowed grass field, created a sharply defined band
    of lift with the down air being confined to rotors over the grass.
    Simply launch, pull over into the street lift and proceed to fly
    up and down for as long as you like at 300-500 ft. where the air
    cooled and the lift stopped abruptly. Got the reflex/elev comp.
    sorted out, aileron diff. as close as humanly possible, so
    that bird is ready for the NATS !
    More of the same weather for the weekend.
    
    Terry
    

Don't know where all the HTA'ers were this weekend, but there was some
great flying to be had. I spent both Saturday and Sunday afternoon at
CMRCM. It was cloudy, but the raid held off for both afternoons and I
put in many flights. In fact, Sunday afternoon the sun came out and it
was down right hot. Also the wind both days was about 0 to 5 MPH.

For Dan and Eric's sake, I started making my flights a little more interesting.
Come up wind, do a half loop, stop at the top inverted, do a roll back to
inverted, complete the loop. Come out of the loop into a right roll, then
left roll and up into a split S. Come back across the field and do another
half loop, roll at the top, complete the loop. Come out of the loop and fly
out down wind into another split S. Come back up wind and do a 4 point roll
into a split S. Come back down wind in a low pass, and then point the nose
skyward and take a break.

I also saw some of the damndest luck I've seen in a long time. A gentleman
flying an Ultra Sport 40 some how lost it and spun it down into the trees
full throttle. When we dug it out, he had about a 4 inch long dent in the
leading edge. No other damage. Later on in the day, he was flying his scale
Corsair, I'd say somewhere around a third scale, and flew it into the ground.
I guess he just lost perspective on the plane. For those familiar with CMRCM,
he was making a turn over the pond coming back upwind toward the field. Coming
out of the turn he just flew it dead straight into the bushes just before the
dirt road. This was also full throttle. When we dug this one out, he had a
couple of small gouges in the bottom of the wing. No other damage. I suggested
he should call it a day while he was still ahead. He agreed.

Harvey Thomasian was there with his Antic. During one of his flights he 
wandered over to where I was sitting and handed me the Xmitter. He gave me
a couple of hints on the flying characteristics of the Antic and then went
and sat down. I must have put in about 15 or 20 minutes of stick time and
what a ball this airplane is to fly. It was a real joy. I did a couple of
touch and goes and it was almost like the plane was flying itself. Other than
the touch and goes, I didn't get to brave and basically just flew circuits
but I was having a blast just the same. I really appreciated the chance to
drive the Antic.

While I was doing that flying, there was only 4 of us left at the field.
Myself, Dan Miner, a guy named Jerry, and Harvey. Dan was there with a nice
Oly II he recently purchased. Nice looking glider. A real gas bag. Dan was
getting some stick time in preperation for this weekends glider contest.
About 3 or 4 minutes after myself and Jerry landed, out of nowhere there
was a 20/25 MPH wind. I mean it was really all of a sudden. We all got down
just in time. Dan was stringing out the upstart for another launch, but
when the Oly II almost got blown out of his hands, he wisely decided against
it. So, we all wrapped up for the day and went home fully satisfied with
our flying adventures.

BTW....I DO know where a couple of the HTA crew were. Eric is on vacation,
    and Charlie was diligently working on his new addition. I tried
    to tear Charlie away but was unfortunately unsuccessful.

	I got to do something new this weekend: I finally flew off of water!
	Thanks to Kevin Ladd, who generously donated his Gee Bee floats to 
	me, I was able to fly my Kadet off a lake in the Adirondacks while 
	attending a weekend party. 

	What a riot, trying to get that thing off the water! The lake was a
	little choppy, but the real problem was the wind. Somewhere in the
	note on float-flying, someone said "Naw, you don't need a water
	rudder...". Well, I sure could have used one. The plane was VERY 
	difficult to maneuver using tail rudder alone, and the weather-vane
	effect would constantly point the nose into the wind. Which was a
	real problem after landing because the wind was blowing to the shore,
	so the plane kept pointing out to the lake!

	But once the plane was in the air, it flew just great. As expected,
	the floats changed its handling a bit, and flying inverted was a real
	test, but overall I was impressed. I even let a few friends get some
	stick time. Landings were absolutely routine, it just skimmed in and
	came to a nice stop (whereupon it would turn it's nose immediately
	into the wind...).

	I had just one unfortunate incident (to the everlasting entertainment
	of the spectaters) while taxiing out in which the wind caught a wing
	and flipped it over. It sat in the water with the nose completely 
	immersed. I had to dry out the interior, and open up the receiver and
	dry it as well, but there was no permanent damage. I tell you, the
	WHOLE plane gets wet, so I can see the need for careful waterproofing
	if you plan to fly off water on a routine basis.

	So, thanks much, Kevin!

	Dave

    
    
         CONGRATULATIONS DAVE!
    
       I knew you had wanted to try floats for quite a while. I am glad
    the first experience was so pleasurable. It helps give the rest of
    us some confidence to try it out!
       I am going up to a lake for a weeks vacation. I figured the last
    thing my wife would want to see on vacation was an RC plane, so I
    didn't even consider float flying as a possibility. So what happens?
    Two days ago she says I should take my ACE 4-40 (not even completed)
    and put floats on it so I can fly it on the lake!
      I can't win, but you can bet I will be better prepared next year!
    
    
     ( I think the only reason she suggested it was because she knew I
       couldn't have it ready on time.)
    
    
                                     Dan W.
    

Went to the Northern Connecticut RC Club Electric Fly in yesterday.

I was hoping to see some really impressive electrics as I have
never been too excited about the old Thermal Charger.  But although
there was quite a variety of stuff I just couldn't get too excited
about any of them.

Planes of note:

1 Electrostreak - looked like fun.
Several UHOs - they consistently went higher and stayed up longer than
               any other type.  Stock motors?  I don't know.
Oly II with 15 cobalt owned by Larry S. from S & R batteries.
1 Electro Cub (stock motor and grossly under powered.  It doesn't
               need more power for normal flight but the takeoffs
               were unsafe)
Goldberg Mirage 550 - Flew great on stock motor - very scale like.
Race Rat - easily the fastest plane there - but didn't look fun.
1 Challenger
Several Electras - they all flew fine.  Cobalts were better of course.
Kadet Senior - Stock plane with 40 Cobalt - flew OK.
Several Old Timers - all flew well.
Phasor(sp) (top flight?) - smallest plane - looked great - flew pretty good
                       but must be a real challenge to get your radio
                       gear in this.
Klienberg(sp) Wing - built incorrectly without the required washout
                     and electric installation was a hack and hand launches
                     appeared to be dangerous because of the way the owners
                     hand cleared the prop - but it flew great.
Big Wing - foam glider converted to electric - should have gotten the trophy
           for the most unprofessional hack.  The guy just glued and taped
           everything on the top of the wing as an after thought.  But...
           it also flew great.
My Thermal Charger - people were really interested in this plane.  I think
                     it get's more respect than it deserves.

=============================================================================

Larry S. of S & R batteries held a clinic afterwards on the care and feeding
of batteries.

They held two events and the CD was so confused and ran things very poorly.
I could write several paragraphs about that.  My wife wanted to shoot him.
But we all know what a thankless job it is so most flyers just went along
with the flow. 

The first event was a 7 minute duration with unlimited motor run and landing
bonus points.  

This was my first flight of the day and I was the first one up in the event.
I lasted 3.5 minutes and ran out of thermals and power.  At the lunch break
after the event was over I flew again and got exactly 7 minutes.  It seems
that trickle charging my battery the night before just doesn't get it topped
up like I would like.  After the first flight and once on the quick charger
then it goes great.

2nd event was a pylon race.  I won this with my thermal charger!  I
expected the UHO's, Electrostreak, and Race Rat would dominate but they
flew way high and way out.  Go figure.

Anyway they also gave trophies for best looking and best performing.
And kits for top spots in the events.  I won a Guillos Electric Aeronca
kit and gave it to the 14 year old airplane nut that I brought to the 
meet.  That made him happy and I knew that I would never find time to 
build it with a Lovesong on the bench, and the queue stacked up with
a Zero, Optica, N9M, and any emergency Glider repairs or replacements.

It was really hot and humid - glad it was electric and we were not pulling 
winch lines.  Next weekend is the Airshow at Westover and the Scale
Masters qualifier in Westfield.  The weekend after that there is a sailplane
contest at the same site in Connecticut again.  The weekend after that is
the CRRC Sailplane contest.  The weekend after that there are two Sailplane
contests - Saturday in CT and Sunday in ME.  Saturday is in conflict with
the DECRCM fun fly in Quinepoxett(sp).  The weekend after that is the Ducted
Fan Fly In at Orange.  That kills July and August.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

    Yesterday I attended our club family picnic. It was a great success
    and
    possibly the best picnic even attended by our club. There was one
    single motivating factor for the attendence. Yousee I was on vacation
    these past two weeks and I had the unfortunate pleasure of having
    to meet with our landlord about a letter that was written to him
    by some neighbors app 1/2 mile away. I found out about the letter
    with the phone call from the landlord and over the weekend of the
    14th tracked down the neighbors and met with the one 's who had
    initiated the letter. Anyways we agreed to some step  to resolve
    the issues and then I met with the landlord the following monday.
    The problem was tha the landlord (for political reasons) had already
    made his decision. You see they will be going for some waivers and
    such to build on some abutting land and don't want any probleme.
    
    SO WE ARE OUT OF A FIELD AS OF AUG 1. GREAT NEWS ON A VACATION...
    
    	Because of this the attendence at the picnic was outstanding.
    The club payed for hamburgers,hotdog, soda and all of the fixings.
    WE had a great time.
    
    
    Tom
    
    PVRCC President, looking for a new club field :-(

    I went to CMRC on Saturday to fly my 15 powered E-Cub.  Climb out was
    great, 35+ degrees of attack.  About 15 seconds out my radio glitched (
    the motor stopped for a fraction of a second), the controls went hard
    left and full up, the plane snapped over onto it's back and headed
    straight in.  Pulled back hard on the stick and almost made it out at
    the bottom of the loop.  Almost.

    Damage to the plane wasn't all that bad, though.  Firewall ripped off
    clean, and a wing spar snapped.  Motor shaft bent some, though.  I'll
    have to send it to Astro to be repaired before I can fly again.

    Well, I got another great flight on the MUNK on Saturday.  The weather
    couldn't have been better.
    
    Ken

    
        Had a great day of flying Sunday at the Gardner field. They were
     having the club meeting at the field @ 11:00, so this allowed me to
     kill 2 birds with one stone.
        After leaving Nashua @ 8:00 am (bright, warm, and sunny), I arrived
     at the Gardner field (up on a hill) in dense fog with the temperature
     about 20 degree's colder. I figured I would be the only one there, but
     when I arrived about 9:00, there were already 5 other flyers. The fog
     started to burn off in about 30 minutes, and a brave sole risked his
     Ultra-sport to check out the height of the ceiling. After he
     successfully completed his mission, I took off for the second flight
     of the day.
        Due to the meeting at 11:00, people kept streaming in to the field,
     and by 10:30, I counted 27 planes in the pits. It seemed there were
     always 4 planes in the air at any one time. One member arrived with
     2 whirrly birds, and he started to put on quite an aerobatic show.
     This was the first time I had really seen a Helicopter fly, and it was
     impressive. Unfortunatly, later that day he went up for the infamous
     "one last flight". He was doing aerobatics over the edge of the woods,
     and was 1/2 way through a roll when the linkage to the main rotor
    broke, sending the helicopter tumbling into the woods. As we started
    across the field to the crash site, I heard his wife yelling; had to
    fly just one last time, didn't ya/ how much is it going to cost THIS
    time to fix! I am surprized he didn'stay in the woods and pitch a tent!
    I think it was just clearly a case of an RC wife gone over the edge
    after seeing several years of building and repair.
         I got in 7 flights all together on the Ace 4-40+, and 2 on the
    Electrostreak. I am getting more comfortable with the Ace, but I still
    need to pay very close attention. I am starting to experiment with
    inverted flight, and I am working on my Hammerhead stalls, and
    smoothing out my rolls and loops. Since adding 2 strips of chrome
    Monocoat to the bottom of the wing, it has been much easier to maintain
    orientation with the aircraft. I still need to work on the full power
    takeoffs, because things happen very fast, which doesn't allow much
    time for correction.
         ON the last 2 flights, the wind was a direct 20 mph crosswind, and
    I quickly found out that the super docile landing characteristics of this
    plane change drastically with a strong cross wind. I ended
    up cart wheeling the plane on one landing (no damage), and had an
    unplanned excursion over the pits on my last landing. I was able to
    recover the plane, and get a fairly decent last landing of the day. In
    hindsight, I should have just landed across the runway, directly into
    the wind, as the flaps allow this plane to execute very short carrier
    landings with a little head wind. Also in hindsight, I knew I was
    getting tired, and the wind was getting stronger, so I probably should
    not have flown the last flight at all. Thank god, the RC gods were with
    me all last week!
       Other highlights of the day included:
    
         - One Super Sportster crashed (Deadstick turn/ downwind turn close
           to the ground.) Damage: ripped out wing bolts.
    
         - Engine fell off an Aeromaster ( same owner as the SS-40 ). He
           was flying, and the engine started revving up and down. He
           declared an enmergengy landing, got the plane on the runway,
           bounced ir slightly, and the engine fell off the plane as it
           stopped. The firewall had ripped off the front of the plane. It
           was only being held on by the throttle linkage. He walked away
           muttering " What a stupid hobby!", but he will be back next
           week like the rest of us addicted RC junkies.
    
         - Pylon racing: 4 planes flying, 2 of the planes mid-aired in the
           turn, a pattern job, and a new Ultra Sport. The pattern planes
           prop went right through the center of the Ultra-sports fuselage
           and the Ultra-sport instantly exploded into a hundred pieces
           easily covering several hundred square feet. The pattern plane
           only recieved 2 minor scratches. It would have been spectacular
           to see slow motion on video, as it happened so fast, it was
           tough to see exactly what happened.
    
         - Formation flying: same 4 planes that pylon raced (before the
            race) attemped to fly LOOSE formation. It was still neat to
           watch, and really had the spectators interested. I can't believe
           there were not any mid-airs.

The CRRC glider contest in Sudbury MA.

DECies that showed up were:

John Neilson(sp) - John was the CD and is a DEC contract worker.
                   I believe he took 1st or 2nd place in Sportsman.
                   But since he has access to all the scores I'll let
                   John join in and post the official results.  The
                   pilots list looked (both expert and sportsman) looked
                   like the who's who of east coast soaring pilots.

Marc Dufresne    - Marc was flying and we exchanged positions in the standings
                   once or twice.

Alton Ryder      - Showed up late to observe.  With a glider in the back
                   of his truck yet.  Boy did I give him a hard time.

Terry Sweeney    - Arrived with Alton and coached me thru thermal hunting
                   on my last flight.  If I had Terry helping from the beginning
                   I might have taken a trophy.  As it was I only had two maxes
                   on the day although every flight was pretty good.

Dave Hughes      - Arrived late to observe.  We may have gained another
                   glider guider!

The following DEC people were missing with no excuse:

Anker Berg-Sonne - work junkets are not a valid excuse.
Kevin Ladd - Scale Masters preparation does not take precedence over sailplanes
Jeff Friedrichs - We know you have a glider - It has my drifter II tail feathers
Dave Bush - Where is that Sophisticated Lady now!
Dan Miner - Stop playing with electric motors and bring out your real glider.

Anyway - Saturday it rained hard most of the day.  We had a huge crowd huddled
under tents and anxiously watching the sky from 8:30 AM till 3:00 PM.  At one
time it actually looked promising so we had a pilots meeting and 5 flyers went
up - then the rain came back again.  

Sunday was wonderful weather.  No wind except for the breezes necessary to feed
the plentiful thermals that were popping up all over.  We flew 6 rounds and I
maxed two.  At one time a fellow and his sun we're asking me intro level
questions about gliders and the contest and as I was explaining how the winch
worked the guy who went up folded his wings on a zoom.  Great timing!

One shot that should have been on Americas Funniest Home videos was when
this pilot and his timer were standing near the landing zone and as the
glider overshot and came at them at ankle height they both jumped and
flew the plane under.  That drew a round of applause.  But I had to speculate.
If the nose had the sharks teeth landing skids (like most did) and if
the plane had came to a dead stop under them - what a site with one person
landing on each wing!

I flew my Hobie Hawk in competition and practiced with my Chuperosa before
the pilots meeting.  Dave Walter also arrived early and I tried out his
Flinger and he flew my Chuperosa for a short bit.  Dave really does a nice
quality job on his airplanes.

We also signed up in a team competition and each team had to pick a cute
name.  Our team was Dave Walter, Bill Johnson (Not the Digital BJ) and I.
We didn't do so well as a team.  The winning team was called "The Old Guys"
or something like that and there is a lesson to be learned here.  Experience
is worth a lot.  

I timed for John Ross one time (an older CMRCM member with a Lovesong) and
I was helping him watch the plane and it was quite rewarding to me that his
flight was within 5 seconds of max and he got landing points.  John was
pretty happy as that was the best flight he ever had.  He probably thought
I talked too much but I'll bet he wouldn't mind doing it some more.

The smartest thing I did all day was convince Ray Carr not to fly his Lovesong.
It had wrinkled the Monokote on the top of one wing just where the wing joiner
ended.  He did this on his last flight the day before and he was going to fly
it anyway.  It may have made the difference between him winning a trophy
but I'm glad I didn't have to watch him fold a wing on launch.  He had plenty
of back up planes and can now take a close look at this wing damage at home.
Don't you hate it when your given a clear warning - and ignore it then something
bad happens and you know right away what the cause was!

For awards they give out nice trophies and as they worked their way from the
top to the bottom you walked over to a pile of prizes and picked one.  There
were some nice kits (Sagitta 600, Top Flight's new 2-meter (forgot the name),
and a Peck Polymers flying wing.  But... There was this really goofy but
interesting looking fiberglass fuselage.  Everybody was asking what it was.
Marc Dufresne finally found the directions - it was a general purpose "knock
about" design.  Fritz Bien was in about 8th place in expert (so he was the
15th person to select form the pile).  Of course the 3 kits were gone right
away so Fritz made a bee line to the fiberglass fuselage - but he was just
kidding and put it back.  That caused a bit if laughter.  I was speculating
as to how all the experts were going to feel really bad when next year that
"knock about" fuselage shows up at this competition and beats them!

After the awards some guys started playing with HLG's but I had to leave
and meet my family.  Sure would have liked to stay another 1/2 hour.

I believe there were 38 pilots and about 22 in Sportsman where I ended up
in 10th place.  At the end of round 4 I was in about 18th place so Terry
Sweeney's thermal coaching brought me out of the cellar.

A great fun contest - hope I gave you some flavor for it.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

    Re: .-1, Kay,
    
    >> Kevin Ladd - Scale Masters preparation does not take precedence over
    >> sailplanes.
    
    *** OH YES IT DOES...BITE YER' TONGUE!!!  :B^)
    
    P.S. What was the "goofy name" for _your_ team??
						 __
				|      |        / |\	   	       
      	         \|/		|______|__(o/--/  | \	   	       
      | |        00	       <|  ~~~  ____ 04 ---- | --------------------
    |_|_|        (O>o		|\)____/___|\_____|_/	   Adios amigos, Al
      |     \__(O_\_	        |	  |___/	 o	   (The Desert Rat)

>>Dan Miner - Stop playing with electric motors and bring out your real glider.

    But I _did_ have a good excuse.  My parents and brother were
    visiting from Texas for the weekend and I couldn't get to the field
    until Sunday afternoon.  As my dad and I arrived at the gate (4PM) I
    noticed a line of cars leaving with gliders in the back.  So, we
    turned around and went to the CMRCM field for a few hours.

    And I didn't even turn on a cobalt motor all weekend, honest!  :-)
    (Although I did fly Tim Samaras' electric plane for a few minutes at
    the CMRCM field.)

                       _____
                      |     \
                      |      \                          Silent POWER!
      _        ___________    _________   |            Happy Landings!
     | \      |           |  |         |  |
     |--------|-  SANYO  + ]-|  ASTRO  |--|              - Dan Miner
     |_/      |___________|  |_________|  |
                      |       /           |     " The Earth needs more OZONE,
                      |      /                       not Caster Oil!! "    
                      |_____/

    Yesterday was our bi-monthly club contest. The tasks were 3 rounds
    of 2 minute precision duration with spot landing--DUMB--see latest
    issue of MB, soaring column for similar opinions. Enough
    philisophizing.
    Anyway, I decided to fly the Vibaro as it hasn't received much use
    lately and I had finally gotten around to removing the redundant
    spoilers, saving 3-4 oz.
    Lift was good and on my first launch was at twice launch height
    after 1 minute. Started bringing her down fast, and at about 100
    ft. on the approach leg, really moving out, a dull roar similar
    to a well muffled 4 stroke suddenly emanates from the plane. The
    right flaperon becomes a blur. Flutter !! I instantly pulled up
    and came around, missing several trees by inches and wondering why
    control response wasn't so good. But I eventually got her slowed
    up, lined up on the spot and down with 39 seconds over and 67 landing
    points. Of course the flaperon servo was buzzing merrily away, stripped
    out gears. With a 55" X 2" solid balsa flaperon hung on one little
    JR 305, it's no wonder it let go. At least I have a good idea what
    the critical velocity is. 
    Since we were having a second contest immediately following the
    first, I decided to go home and get the Southwind, rather than rebuild
    the 305.
    Grabbed the Southwind, then noticed the wing rods weren't with the
    wings. Couldn't find them so scrounged for substitutes. Found some
    1/4" carbon fiber rod for the main rod, and smaller steel rod, sleeved
    with brass tube, for the rear rod. Back out to the field, the second
    contest was cancelled, oh well, got in several good flights and
    practiced approaches a la the PPSS newsletter technique.
    On the third launch, I had just leveled out and was speeding up
    slightly, nearly over the winch turnaround, when the left wing half
    separates cleanly without a sound. A second later the right wing
    follows. The fuselage, with the chute still attached, arrows in
    cleanly from 400 ft. The wings are right behind it, falling root
    first without fluttering. Everything impacts in a 20 ft. circle,
    5 ft. from the chain link fence.
    The right wing came through perfectly, left wing had the forward
    part of the root rib pushed in about 1/2" when it impacted.
    Nose of the fuse. was only 2" into the sod but it took two hands
    to pull it out. NO damage to the nose or forward fuse. but I cracked
    a nose block glue joint while pulling it out. Vert. fin was ripped
    off fairly cleanly from fin and stab inertial loading. Stabilator
    outer housing was pulled through the side of the rear fuse. for
    about 6 in. as the fin and stab traveled forward. All breaks were
    clean and didn't lose any wood so repairs won't be bad.
    Oh yes, the rear 3/32" wing wire and its brass sleeve was twisted
    like a pretzel but the wing root was undamaged. The two rear
    10/32 nylon bolts had sheared cleanly as designed. All in all I
    was impressed with the strength of the structure.
    The moral of this story is don't be so #%&*@ stupid as to use
    1/4" in. carbon fiber main wing rod (of course it had snapped cleanly
    right in the center) especially if you don't know if it's the high-
    modulus type or not.
    A night or two of repair and servo rebuilding and I'll be ready
    to go up to Colo. and kick b**t at their Aug. 26th contest.
    
    Terry
    

>>    practiced approaches a la the PPSS newsletter technique.

    Please describe the "PPSS newsletter technique".

                       _____
                      |     \
                      |      \                          Silent POWER!
      _        ___________    _________   |            Happy Landings!
     | \      |           |  |         |  |
     |--------|-  SANYO  + ]-|  ASTRO  |--|              - Dan Miner
     |_/      |___________|  |_________|  |
                      |       /           |     " The Earth needs more OZONE,
                      |      /                       not Caster Oil!! "    
                      |_____/

    
    >>Jeff Friedrichs - We know you have a glider - It has my drifter II tail feathers
    
    Well, the Drifter-II is still suffering from its bout 
    with "snowblower-itis".  The one piece wing is still in several pieces!
    
    In any case, this close to Rhinebeck, days like yesterday are spent
    dropping bombs, busting balloons, and practicing spot landings.  I am
    also trying to figure out which plane to fly as my primary plane
    at Rhinebeck.... 
    
    cheers,
    jeff
    

    re.598
    
    Dan,
    
    No way I could summarize it. I'll run off a copy from the last two
    newsletters (there'll be more in coming months) and Decmail it to
    you tomorrow. Howzzat?
    
    Mark Antry would be happy to have you subscribe to the newsletter
    at $8 a year. But be forewarned, you'll have to read all about his
    crashing episodes (numerous) too.
    
    Terry
    

RE: .600
>    No way I could summarize it. I'll run off a copy from the last two
>    newsletters (there'll be more in coming months) and Decmail it to
>    you tomorrow. Howzzat?

    OK, sounds good to me.  I can't remember if my personal name still
    shows my mailstop, so here it is: HLO2-3/D11.  Thanks muchly!!
    
                       _____
                      |     \
                      |      \                          Silent POWER!
      _        ___________    _________   |            Happy Landings!
     | \      |           |  |         |  |
     |--------|-  SANYO  + ]-|  ASTRO  |--|              - Dan Miner
     |_/      |___________|  |_________|  |
                      |       /           |     " The Earth needs more OZONE,
                      |      /                       not Caster Oil!! "    
                      |_____/

>    P.S. What was the "goofy name" for _your_ team??

The sand baggers.

re: last few.

Sure glad I picked on the no-shows - looks like I finally
got them to tell us about their weekend!

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

    When I was a kid, Ripley's told of an old Hindu who stared at the sun
    all day, every day; of course, he had been blind for years.  I now
    realize he was probably a retired glider guider.

    After watching the experts at Sudbury yesterday, Terry Sweeney and I
    were chased off the helicopter approach at MKO this noon, so we
    continued our handlaunching at Kollsman's ball field.  On the way home
    tonight we stopped at Mont Vernon hill for 90 minutes of slope soaring.  
    Is this a disease?

    Like Jim Reith, I had the Gnome's wing block ripped out while the 4-40
    Nylon remained undamaged.  The fuselage is now beyond repair, so I'll
    make a new one from scratch with plywood sides like the Chuperosa.  The
    repair of the wing (that had been cut in half by a sapling) held up,
    and the tail feathers are in good shape, so it's worth it.  Yes, this
    is a disease.

    Dave Walter is a damn fine craftsman!  And Kay's Hobbie Hawk is a
    beauty --- I got a good photo of it reaching for the clouds.

    Alton, who is again without a plane in flying condition

    This weekend was like a chapter out of "Soaring Guide to Valhalla".
    Conditions were so good on sat. at the soccer field in town, that
    some of us decided to try the sod farm on sun.
    Five actually showed and we had quite an eclectic group of planes.
    2 meter Gnome, Oly, Southwind, Sagitta 900, Multiplex Flamingo,
    scale DG-100, and my Vibaro.
    Air was totally calm, may have gusted to 5 mph a couple of times.
    By 10AM the lift was beginning to stir, and by 11 cumulus were popping
    all over the place.
    Flying consisted of launch, take your pick of 6 or 7 thermals, climb
    out, lie down in grass, doze off, open eyes-yep plane is still directly
    overhead, listen to everyone  say clever things like, "Man, what
    a day this is." Decide wheather to stay up 15, 30 or 1 hr.
    Tail gate a bunch of buzzards and see if you can p**s them off,
    you can't. Get down on the deck 100 yrds out and see if you can
    make it back in the ground effect, you can. 
    First time I've had to swap out xmtr. and rcvr. batteries in one
    flying session.
    Next weekend I go to Colo. for the contest and watch it drizzle,
    sleet, fog-in.
    
    Terry
    

    Terry, If the weather 's gonna be like last weekend it'll be a great
    competition. NO fissling or fog, just super thermals popping off in
    row. I really believe that here you could choose how long to stay
    up. This is a new experience for me. In my country every flight longer
    than 5 minutes is claimed to be a good one. (not so on slope, of corse)
    
    
    Holm- und Rippenbruch,   Bernd

I attended the glider contest in Farmington CT Saturday.  I had planned
to also attend the glider contest in Topsham Maine Sunday but after
the heat and humidity Saturday I was wipped out and just stayed home
and relaxed.

Somebody remind me next year to give this contest a low priority.

There are a couple of things that I don't like about it.  I've been
there two years in a row and things haven't changed.  1.  The frequency
control system is the CD running around calling you to go fly.  Everybody
puts their radios in impound and he keeps a list of flyers and frequencies.
But he never checks when you take your Tx out and he never follows up when
you put it back.  There are no pins or cards or anything - just a wood
rack.  Fortunately I was the only one on my frequency.  At one point
he called me up and said - "it's OK - channel 54 is clear."  I said "Great
but I'm on 34!"  What a twit.

Also there are two hughe radio towers on the left end of the field.  One
time I was flying towards the antennas and I lost the RF link to my
Hawk.  I was waving the Tx antenna and my heart rate was going when finally
it turned enough to pick up my signal again.  Nobody else had any problems
with those antennas but I remember getting a confirmed hit last year at this
place.

Anyway - enough complaining.  We flew 6 rounds, 3 min, 5 min, 7 min twice.
I think I missed every landing point.  I maxed both 3 minute rounds but that
was about it.  Even Jim Tyre only got 4 minutes on the first 7 minute round.
I believe with the high humidity and 90 degree weather that the planes
just would not soar great in the thermals.  

Just for kicks on the last round I flew the Chuperosa.  I had never had it on
a winch before.  Got nice height on the launch but unfortunately I couldn't
find anything good so I just played with it and had fun.  

I understand that even tho it rained in western Mass all day Sunday that the
weather was nice in Maine and Northern N.H.  Anybody attend the Maine sailplane
contest?

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
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Worked for the club at the Ducted Fan Fly in Orange
Saturday.  So I didn't get any stick time this weekend.

I never seen so many planes crash.  We lost a couple in the
early morning.  A couple thru the day.  Then at 5:00 when things
started to wind down some fellows went to put their safety flights
on a couple plus other guys just stuck around to fly.

Must have lost 5 good jets in the next 1/2 hour.

Sunday we only lost 4 or 5 all day - much better!

One I will remember.  Dan Fish was flying another guys jet and
the receiver went dead.  The plane made a slow spiral down and executed a
landing on the grass - still full throttle however and it went thru 
the pits where one at a time someone was going to grab it but chicked out
at the last second when they thought they would get nailed by it.

It came back to Dan Fish and the owner and they jumped out of it's way - 
so it went across the runway into the tall grass and got stuck.  No damage!

One guy (Lou - from "Lou's Jet Age Hobbies") stuffed 3 planes in - but he
had more - so he just kept flying.

One crashed due to poor frequency impound procedures.  One was turned
on in impound - and this with a scanner!  Later that day the guy running
impound asked me to do it for a bit while he went on break - so I
checked all the transmitters in the impound and found another one left on.
Fortunately nobody was out on that frequency at the time.  All too often
people don't take that job as seriously as it deserves.

The slowest jet there was too fast for me.  Gotta get to that Optica.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
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I too was at the fan fly in Orange saturday. Other than RC video and that
sort of thing, this was the first time that I had seen ducted fans actually
flying (ok, so I lead a sheltered life). Impressive! I want one! (just where
did I put that spare kilobuck anyway?) I had the wife and kid with me but the
little guy konked out after about four hours so we packed up and headed for
home. Personally, I could have stayed the rest of the day. 

G Schrader

I was at the fan fly on Saturday too, and enjoyed it immensely. Thank God for
cool weather, even if it was cloudy and on the verge of rain. I think the 
engines ran better in the cooler air.

One thing that never ceases to amaze me is all the work people put into these
planes, I mean some of them are really beautiful,....but there are guys who
don't know how to FLY the darn things! Case in point: Lou, of Lou's Jet Age 
Hobbies. He had a very nice F18 in Blue Angels colors. The guy decides to land,
and with a cross wind into the pits, he's flying downwind just before the turn
to final. I remember remarking to Kevin Ladd "Boy, he sure is tail-low and 
moving slow". Sure enough, he going so slow, especially with the tail wind,
that the plane doesn't respond when he tries to turn onto final. It just keeps
heading straight for the pits, wallowing like a puffer fish with no fins. He
finally gets it turned away from the pits and it quickly snaps over and crashes,
snapping the nose section in half. He immediately starts asking around for who's
on his frequency, "I didn't have any control!". 

But most of the pilots were very good, and I was especially impressed by Dan 
Fish and Dwight *mumble* who both flew Starfires (?). The high speed passes
close to the deck were very exciting. But I think the speed prize goes to the
Canadian with the Aggressor... WOW, did that plane haul ass! (I love speed...)

Dave

I remember the guy with the F18. I looked up about the time that
he was crossing the pits and thought to myself "SURELY he knows better than
to do THAT". Speaking of F18s, the guy with the other F18 did something
similar. He lifted off with the engine (engines?) putting out way too little
thrust and tried to keep it in a climb. He stalled out at about 50 - 75ft,
dropped straight forward then stalled again just about the time that he belly
landed in the grass off of the side of the runway. Those F18s must be one
hell of a forgiving airplane. I liked the agressor too. I thought that the
Starfires were fast until the agressor went up. I think that it was one
of the Canadian guys who had an F104 (mostly white with itsy bitsy wings).
Did it ever fly?

G. Schrader

    Can civilization stand more three day weekends? Submitted for your
    approval.....
    
    Saturday I decided it was time to fly "Tremolina" again after its
    6 month layoff, 112" scratch built electric sailplane.
    On the first launch at our prarie site, it climbed out in its
    usual slow but majestic way (104 watt motor, 7 cells, pushing 68
    oz.) After 20 seconds it was obvious that motors were redundant,
    so I shut it off and climbed on out in a nice thermal. Cruised around
    for about 15 min. getting reacquainted with its flight characteristics
    and flap operation. Flap effect seemed more powerful than I remembered.
    Trim tab alone would give a good speed up in reflex, and nearly
    dead stop in down mode. After 20 min. and cruising at ~ 1000ft.
    I tried a little more flap reflex. This really speeded things up.
    In fact I suddenly had a large amplitude, low freq. flutter in the
    left poly section. (flat center section with two plug-in polyhedral
    sections, each 1/3 span). I tried to ease 'er back but too late,
    and the sky was filled with an aerodynamic explosion and raining
    blue and chrome monokote bits. Man, what a spectacle ! I was transfixed
    But managed to make out 4 large pieces and one small piece. I started
    running toward the expected impact point, about 200 yrds. down wind
    and tried to keep my eye on all the pieces. The 4 large pieces were
    staying close together and falling very slowly. I resolved them
    into the fuse. with the center section and one plug-in section still
    attached, the other plug-section falling free and a small bit that
    seemed to be a stab half. The other large piece I couldn't recognize
    so just kept running for the impact point. I got there just as
    everything settled gently down. The fuse. and center section had
    been in an inverted flat spin at about 20 rpm, all the way down
    which accounted for the gentle landing. The unidentified large
    piece was the fin, rudder, and stabilator assy. which had pulled
    cleanly off the fuse., clevises popped open cleanly, etc. and had
    no damage at all except 3/4 of the left stab was gone, sheared at
    the outbd. end of the pivot tubes. That was the small piece I saw
    fluttering down. I never found it but didn't look much. The separated
    wing section settled down without a scratch except it had pulled
    the root section of the inbd. panel with it as it departed.
    The center section had heavy damage to both outbd. roots. The flutter
    forces seemed to be concentrated there. The Fuse. , radio, motor,
    prop, batteries, came through perfectly. The fin to fuse repair
    will take 10 min. but new wings are in order along with a stab
    redesign. 
    That takes care of saturday.
    
    On sunday, 5 or 6 of us decide to try out a smaller city park since
    our 22 acre in-town park will be overrun with youth soccer leagues
    for the next 3 months. The small park requires a doubled up bungee
    running through a pulley for launching, insufficent length for a
    regular high start, but it proves feasible for experienced pilots
    and we get good thermals off the surrounding houses, streets, and
    shopping centers. Lucas records a 1900ft altitude gain with his
    altimeter watch in his G.L., and I  have a hard landing with the
    Vibaro, cracking the Obechi in several places. Sun. night repairs
    with white glue proves once again; keep water based adhesives away
    from Obechi, period. The nice bubble  on top of the right wing greeting
    my eyes monday morning, was held down partially with tape running
    chordwise, and off we went to the field. A 3 in. bubble ~1/8" high
    on a 930 sq.in. wing results in some massive tip stall on the right
    wing when flying slow, I am here to tell you, but was able to get
    in several good flights before another hard landing and more Obechi
    splitting. It's time for a recovering on that bird.
    On the other hand I had a blast with my Orbiter hand-launch. Wore
    out my arm and switched to an upstart. It can't stay with Dave's
    60" BOT in minimum sink mode at low altitudes, but get in a little
    lift and wow ! like two bees copulating in a milk bottle, minus
    one bee. It came back without a scratch after dozens of flights,
    and now I'll be serious about getting it really trimmed out and
    working on some drag reduction ideas.
    My eyes are tired, my feet hurt, when's the next 3 day weekend.
    
    Terry
    

Saturday I went to the Brimfield Float Fly for a couple of hours.

I was hoping to see a North Star.  There were 4 or 5 of them there.

They looked great and taxied great but... They were much to fast in
the air for me.  That fellow had the huge Mariner with the Rocket
assist take off there that was at the masters qualifier.  This time
the engines were running much better.  Just as we arrived one guy shot
another guy down.  They had a frequency impound in the back of a station
wagon and frequency pins - but like at so many events you help yourself
and this guy took the channel 44 transmitter out of impound with the
channel 48 frequency pin!  And no he didn't offer to repair or replace
the plane that was now in many pieces about a 100 yards off shore floating.

In my opinion the nicest plane flying was a Gee Bee sport float plane what
just had it's fuselage built on top of a standard Gee Bee float with twin
booms and vertical stabs.  The owner must have done 20 touch and goes with
it while we were there.  There were quite a few flyers and seemed to be
3 to 5 planes in the air most of the time.

The only draw back was you had to pay $5.00 to park of which none of it
went to any RC club - it was for the Parks and recreation commission
(read that Governor Duke).

Sunday - what an great contest we had in Simsbury CT.

My first flight was a max with a good landing.  I had several flights
where I was in solid sink and didn't get over a minute and a half.

I had one where I hit sink and just barely made it back to the landing
zone then I caught a bubble just at the landing zone about 50 feet up.
I managed to milk another 2.5 minutes out of that.  On one flight I managed
to get exact time - but I missed the landing.  With 4 good flights out
of 9 I managed to finish up at or near the bottom of each class.  Being
last may suck at the scale masters but I had a ball.  I had one landing
that was within 6 inches of perfect but it stood up on it's nose for a
second then fell the wrong way - kinda like a basketball shot that goes
around the ring a couple times before deciding to drop in or out.

One fellow had a Comet and was doing laps around an imaginary speed
course.  WOW - I don't suppose that these were world record setting
runs but that is easily the fastest sailplane I have ever seen.  It
was especially impressive because he didn't seem to loose any altitude
on each lap - I think there was a nice thermal over the whole field.

Several folks landed out (me several times) and Les Gearheart put
one through a tree and the fuselage and small pieces came out the bottom.
One young fellow that I was timing for went out too far and lost it
over some trees - they got it back in a couple of hours with minimal
damage.  One other fellow had to climb a tree and last but not least
Jim Tyre lost one in a tree.  It wasn't pilot error - he ran his transmitter
out of battery.  He has a vision but this plane was not using the
vision radio.  Those power indicators don't do any good if you don't
look at them!  Oh ya - one other guy hit a fence post.

I winch launched my Chuperosa several times and popped off EVERY time.
I couldn't figure it out.  I put in 3 clicks of down trim and I always
popped off.  Never at the initial climb out - always about midway
up and well down range.  I took some weight out of the nose last
week and am flying with my CG slightly more AFT than before so my
relationship of the CG to the tow hook should be in favor of not popping
off.  Could it be that my E214 is out flying the winch?  IT didn't seem to
be at a steep angle of attack during the popoffs but I must admit that
with each popoff there was a POP so I don't think I outran the winch like
I used to do with the Sagitta before I started lead footing it.
Any opinions?

I took 3 planes (Chuperosa for practice and fun flying, Sagitta for
2-meter, and Hobie Hawk for Standard and Unlimited).  Like always
the Hobie Hawk draws a crowd every time it flys - fun plane to own.
I can't carry it anyplace without answering questions about the wings!
Although with all the flying it's getting lately and consequent paint chips
and hole patches in the Mica film - it doesn't look nearly as nice as new.

No damage to my planes and at the end of the day we were fun flying
off the winch when my transmitter battery warning went off.  Perfect
end to a perfect day.  So I just landed and packed up.  It is really
nice to know when my Vision alarms goes off I have 15 minutes to spare.
Wish my Futaba 9VAP would last over 60 seconds!

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
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        WARNING *** Prepare yourself for a long ramble *** WARNING
        WARNING ***  This guy's been away for months   *** WARNING
    
    Hi guys!  How's it going?  Even though I've been back from Germany
    for almost a month, it's been so hectic I haven't had a chance to
    say "hi", catch up on notes - and I've only gone flying a couple times.
    Tonight I figured I'd start catching up, but gave up and "set seen" to
    a few days ago.  I couldn't find any stuff about the fun fly in the
    RC conference - don't the "locals" use it any more?  I'm sad to see
    the division in conferences that was present several months ago still
    exists, but I guess that's the way it is.  At this point it's a dead
    horse so I won't beat it any more (no nasty mail necessary).  I guess
    I hafta post this in both conferences to reach everyone, right?
    
    Busy day yesterday, with two hockey games, two soccer games and a
    fun fly to choose from - so I decided to squeeze ALL of them in!  I
    believe anything's possible since that short week in early August when
    we visited Paris, London and the Black Forest in Germany by car, a few
    weeks after we had driven to Venice Italy for a weekend and Innsbruck/
    Salzburg Austria for a day!  Boy does the world feel a lot smaller now!
    By the way, imagine a country full of people that talk like Evil Eric -
    SCARY!  As I struggled to get used to driving on the left with the
    steering wheel on the left, I pondered how this might relate to
    mode1/mode2 - seems like there must be a connection!
    
    Well anyhow, my hockey game was done by noon.  My wife agreed to take my
    daughter to her soccer game and let me go to the fun fly - provided I
    get my youngest son to his soccer game by 2:00.  A little planning
    and an understanding CD (thanks CW) made it all possible.
    
    To keep it simple, my 9-year old son Billy and I had agreed that I would not
    compete - it would be his first contest and I would help him.  He's
    been doing great after only four lessons - and can keep his Eagle-2
    airborn sometimes for a full 12 minute flight with only verbal
    corrections by me.  All I had to tell him was that he might win one of
    those nice CMRCM ribbons and he was psyched!
    
    Unfortunately there were no other beginners for the contest and only
    eight  people overall, a real surprise given the almost perfect
    weather.  So there would only be an expert class this time, and we
    decided that I would compete with his plane and if I won anything
    he would get the ribbon.  I pointed out those Unic-thingys with
    glo-guzzling power plants on the front and expert Panic-stricken pilots
    at the sticks, and told him not to get his hopes up.  Let's just
    enjoy the competition and keep the Eagle-2 in one piece, I told him.
    
    This is where it became a sequel to the "Turtle and the Hare".  In
    each event the Eagle-2 with trusty OS-max 40 (from before the FP
    and FSR days) chugged along, not doing anything spectacular but also
    not getting into any trouble.  The slow part of the fast/slow event
    was a natural for the flat-bottom wing of the Eagle-2, but even then
    I didn't go as slowly as I probably could have - probably due to
    memories of the time I stalled and snapped in my SS20 while pushing it
    past the limit.  I knew how Billy would feel about the first ding on
    his pride'n'joy.
    
    The other contestants graciously let me fly out of
    turn at the beginning of the second event,  timed 3 loops / 3 rolls /
    3 t&g's / land on target.  With full aileron throw (high rate) I
    was able to manage three ugly slow rolls and with the OS40 chugging
    along the loops weren't screaming fast but reasonable.  The t&g's
    were uneventful and the landing luckily hit the target.  I figured it
    was about the best I coulda done with the Eagle-2 and was satisfied.
    Time to hop in the car and take little Matty to his first soccer game!
    
    In the car I told Billy we probably didn't have a chance.  The second
    event was a perfect match for the planes and skills of several people
    there.  One of Dan's ballistic takeoffs are testimonial to that!  Even
    though Ray can be a pain in the high-tech-a**, his skill can't be denied.
    Charlie's usually so smooth you want to give him extra points for style!
    So, even though the Eagle-2 had done its best, I felt our chances for
    even a yellow ribbon were slim at best. 
    
    Watched half the soccer game until my wife arrived - boy what a treat it is
    to watch 5-year-olds learning a new sport and playing without a care
    in the world!  If only our lives could be that simple for a little
    while - I suppose that's one of the reasons we fly our planes, to
    regain a few moments of pure fun and get away from it all!
    
    Wanted to watch the rest of the game, but there will be plenty more
    and it was going on 45 minutes since we left the contest.  A 5-minute
    drive back to the field and we made it just in time for the start of
    the third event, the bomb drop.  It's a good thing, because Ajai's flight
    was well worth the price of admission.  After Dan had nailed a
    seemingly unbeatable drop (15'), Ajai took his bomb and plane skyward - and
    I mean SKYWARD!  Apparently having trim problems with the bomb
    load, he couldn't seem to keep from climbing.  Suffering many jokes
    about dropping from the clouds and not being able to release the bomb
    during his 5+ minute flight, he proceed to work his way down to a 
    reasonable altitude and perform the most beautiful slow-roll release
    which practically nailed the target.  The best comment was something
    like "I tried to drop the nose and suddenly I noticed it was inverted".
    
    I did ok with both drops, getting bad bounces both times but close
    enough (21') to place fourth and pick up some valuable points.  But at that
    point I figured I was way behind, not having seen most of the second
    event.  Steve had incredibly bad luck with his poorly timed flameout
    just after the bomb drop, but fortunately all damage looked repairable
    in a night or two.
    
    The final event was supposed to add a bit of luck to the contest, but
    in reality just about everyone rolled a 2, 3 or 4 on the die, and only
    took a few rolls to get their number again after the flight.  This
    event is where I thought the hot planes would again dominate, but
    it didn't turn out that way.  Almost everyone was landing long and
    hitting their props, presumably due to the funny crosswind in our faces,
    having to run the length of the field to retrieve their plane... except
    for Dan and I who pushed 'em down for those landing points in the 
    target - we didn't have to run as far.  We also had the advantage that
    Ray can't run very fast (!) and he too made an uncharacteristic
    prop-stopping landing.  I tried to milk every ounce out of the OS40 by
    leaning out to peak RPM.  I did check it nose-high - but still almost got
    burned as the engine started to sag just after takeoff.  Charlie recommended
    backing off a touch on the throttle and that seemed to richen it just
    enough to get through the three loops and rolls.
    
    Dan enjoyed my "flying on the run" while running to get the
    dead-engined Eagle-2 after bouncing it off the target and back into the air
    momentarily.  Every second counts!
    
    The contest was over and I was happy with the way I flew but certain
    I hadn't placed in the first three.  My son told me I had done a great
    job and flew his airplane really well - funny how nice they get when their
    birthday is only five days away, ain't it?  I hadn't figured on Charlie's
    scoring system that gives you a point for every person you beat in each
    event.  I did not win a single event but was second twice, third once and
    fourth once for a total of 21 points I think.
    
    Billy was hungry and a little tired, but I told him we should wait and
    congratulate the winners.  I was particularly impressed with guys
    like Tim Samara and Ajai, who have really honed their skills since
    the last time I saw them.  Steve likely would have won a ribbon if
    not for his mishap.
    
    I gave Billy a lesson and then we packed up the car and waited for the
    final tally.  As Charlie announced third place to Dan Snow I was
    surprised, as mentally I had Dan in first or second (not having
    witnessed the engine problems in event 2).  When he announced Ray
    in second place I thought "great!  one of the high-tech a**holes
    beat Ray!".  When he announced first place to me, my first reaction
    was that he must have made a mistake!  Then I looked at Billy and he
    had a grin from ear to ear, which didn't leave him until he was
    asleep last night.  He was so excited about his airplane winning
    a first place ribbon that as soon as we pulled into the garage he ran
    into the house to show it to his mom, brother and sister.
    
    So, even though the summer has been filled with so many other things,
    Yesterday was a nice way to get back into RC and get re-acquainted
    with some old friends.  And even though I won't start touting the
    Eagle-2 as the ideal fun-fly plane, I guess it's true that sometimes
    the tortoise really does beat the hare!
    
    Bill
    
    P.S. Dan I noticed you mentioned that only 3 "HTA's" were there, and
         I have to take exception since I was one of the original
         recipients of Ray's label about 8 years ago!  I think it was Charlie,
         Fred Zayas, and myself that originally got Ray's goat by sometimes
         buying stuff from Tower Hobbies instead of from Ray's RC.  I guess he
         never realized how much business I generated for him, as I must have
         sent at least 5 beginners his way for kits, engines, etc  as well
         as buying several kits, engines and R/C gear for myself.  But
         expecting a "thank you" from Ray is as practical as expecting
         Saddam Hussein to say "sorry, I'll go back home now".  So, if
         "HTA" is interchangeable between "High Tech A**hole and "High
         Tech Airforce" then I'm DEFINITELY an HTA - at least the A**HOLE
         part ha ha!  By the way, for some reason I think I actually like
         Ray,  there must be something wrong with me???

Dear Doctor,

Those early aircraft designers must be the original "Fault Tolerant" 
architects.

For many years I have made the comment to friends flying Biplanes that they 
lack confidence in there building skills so attach a spare wing for when the 
first wing breaks.

This last weekend I had the opportunity to say "I told you so" when one overly
endowed model shed the lower wing and was landed successfully without sustaining
further damage. I was greeted with boos and scorned when I suggested that the
next model should be a Tri Plane which would give added security in case of
multiple failures if said wings. 

I am disturbed that my undoubted foresight lacks the appreciation and homage it 
deserves.

Could you advise what reprobation would be suitable for these doubting
degenerates who fail to appreciate such invaluable advice. 

Signed.

Johna Nostradamius

    Saturday was excellent up here in NW Vermont!  I decided to take the
    MUNK out for a sabatical.
    
    I got to the field only to find it vacant as usual.  Unloaded all the
    gear and gassed up.  My normal routine is to taxi around 5-6 times to
    relieve any jitters and to just observe the planes handling.
    
    Well it payed off when I noticed the MUNK wasn't turning to the right
    very well.  A close examination revealed a loose tailwheel (the wire
    goes up under the rudder and is glued in place).  Apparently the beating
    the tail receives fractured the bond so the tailwheel was lagging the
    rudder.  I then noticed that the vertical stab was loose!  Great!
    
    But I wasn't going to let some minor (yeah right) problems stop me from
    enjoying such a beautiful day.  I got out the 5 minute epoxy and tried
    to glue everything in place.  Unfortunately it was too cool and the
    glue wouldn't set.  Sooooooo I said to myself.......argh!!!!  I won't
    be defeated.  I took some screws out of my flight box and BOLTED the 
    damn stab in place (on the MUNK the stab sits between two slabs of
    balsa).  Well that stiffened it up.  Next the tailwheel.  Got a rubber
    band and wrapped it around the control horn on one side and the screws
    on the other side of the rudder.  Worked like a charm.  Taxied around
    a few more times and got the green light.
    
    Nice take off (still a bit nervous), trimmed out and enjoyed the blue
    skies.  Landed without flaps (hot), refueled and off I go.  Beautiful
    rollout and nerves had calmed down.  Attempted to try a Lomcevak, but
    nerves acted up.  Quit after 4 attempts.  Did a flap landing.
    
    Lets talk a bit about flap landings in the maneuvers note.
    
    Refueled again and off I went.  Did a few loops and rolls and did
    another "hot" landing.  Turned around and did a flaps down take off.
    Boy that MUNK lifts nice.  Returned to the field, packed up and headed
    for home.  Very satisfying.
    
    Ken

              <<< WEWAND::$56$DUA0:[NOTES$LIBRARY]DECRCM.NOTE;2 >>>
             -< Welcome to the Hi-Tech Airforce (HTA) Conference >-
================================================================================
Note 114.150       Week-end Wonders (and other flying stuff!)         150 of 150
ZENDIA::REITH "Jim Reith DTN 226-6102 - LTN2-1/F02"  54 lines  22-OCT-1990 08:49
                     -< Exciting time with tiny planes... >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    I hope everyone else had a less exciting weekend than I did. I made plans
    to visit a friend for a cookout and then some flying this weekend. We got
    down there on saturday around 1pm and then BS'd and ate and finally got
    going to the field about 3:30. I did have some fun in his back yard with
    my Gnome (HLS) and that kept the little kids amused and the dog interested.
    He has a few small trees that made for an interesting avoidance flying.
    I only took thge HLS, a small .049 biplane and an H-ray for myson to fly.
    I couldn't take anything too big and still get everyone into the car. The
    .049 biplane was the one I brought into a DECRCM meeting a few months back
    when it was unfinished. Since I was changing the gear in the Panic to the
    lighter fuselage I figured I'd finish it and toss it into the car for a
    little fun. So to set this up I put the JR Max6 PCM Rx and two small JR
    servos (3001s??) and a 250mA battery. All up weight came to 20 ozs with
    a Medallion .049 turning a 5.25x4 prop. Got to the flying site and strung
    out the upstart and got a few flights in on the Gnome to check out the 
    approaches and the air was very dead. My buddy put up his power plane and
    after his flight I decided to try the biplane. The engine hadn't been run
    in 7-8 years so I was real pleased when it coughed to life on the 35% 
    nitro fuel. A few tweaks on the needle and my buddy gave it a handlaunch
    into the tall grass (I would have preferred a little higher ;^) After two
    restarts I decided to launch it myself and got it airbourne and it flew
    GREAT! Good power and plenty of throw. I got in 3 good flights and was
    helping my buddy set up his .049 Mustang with a couple of S-133 servos
    I had brought along to help with the plane's weight problem. We got it
    all set up but it didn't have enough ailerons so we gave up due to lack
    of light. I decided to fly the bipe again and fueled it up and gave it
    a nice toss into the air. It began to climb out and gently turn to the left
    when I realized "Oh Sh*t! I didn't turn it on!" So here I am 1.5 hours
    from home with it almost dark with $200+ of gear in this little .049
    free flight model. It made it over the tree line (damn) and continued
    the left climbing turn. It made three lazy circles around the field before
    it got blown by the wind and stalled. It dropped the nose and the .049
    ran as good as it had all day and it screamed through the trees towards
    the ground. We got to the crash site and found that I could now mount
    the plane flush to the wall since everything on the right side was
    sheared clean with the fuselage side. I turned on the switch and everything
    worked!. I put the pieces back and tried to stop shaking. Another friend
    and his little son were real sorry to see the pieces of the plane. I said 
    that I was happy to see it and that I had made the plane out of about $3
    worth of scrap balsa but there was $200 worth of radio sitting inside.That
    gave him a new look at my "toy" plane. I got my son up with the H-ray (more
    to allow me to relax) and he did quite well again this weekend. I had gotten
    quite dark by the end of the flight but I managed to land ok and we packed
    up and headed back. I will get razzed about this one for a while...
    
    I'm going to rebuild the little bipe since it flew so well and can be thrown
    in the trunk in very little space. I don't think I'll forget to check the
    controls before hand launching another plane for a while. Someone was 
    watching over me as my name would have been mud if I had come home and
    said that my (birthday present) flight pack had disappeared into the sunset.
    Of course there was no identification in the plane...
    
    It's back, it was fun, it was exciting, I feel foolish!
    

    Saturday was the date for our club multi-task contest at the sod
    farm. About 20 guys, and 2 wives showed up, so we were all set for
    a good contest with cloudless skies, wind  ~ 5 mph, and headin'
    for 70 degrees.
    Unfortunately, after a few test rounds we're suddenly confronted
    with  ~25 mph winds from the east. Most of us packed up and prepared
    to leave, but a few purists swung the winches around and carried
    on.
    Phil Renaud had his brand new Muller Comet out for its first flight,
    after a 9 month wait to receive it, and wasn't about to let a little
    wind stop him. 25 mph isn't all that much for a Comet anyway.
    A pop-off on his first launch and he circles back and lands
    uneventfully. The wind had little effect on controllability.
    His next launch was a real screamer, and now he used the wind to
    good effect to really put it up there. I mean it wasn't too far
    from being specked out right off the line !
    He immediately turns up-sun, and never wearing sunglasses, instantly
    loses it. What happened next is a little hazy, but he was blinded,
    got inverted, lost orientation, and the next thing we notice is
    a vertically diving Comet, which means well over 125 mph in the
    blink of an eye. We thought about running for our lives but nobody
    knew where to run, besides we had all of 3 seconds to make a decision
    and start moving.
    The impact, ~ 30 ft. away, appeared to be nearly vertical, but it
    dug out a 10 ft. long divot in the sod which was sort of hinged on one
    side by the dirt and we were able to flop it back over into the
    trench which varied from 2 to 4 inches deep. 
    The Comet was in numerous pieces, fuselage in 3 pieces, wings and
    tail scattered all over. 
    Nobody knew what to say so we didn't say much. Phil had nearly a
    grand in it since he had quite a few options and even a pre-painted
    wing.
    That was enough excitement for one weekend, so I spent a few hours
    tossing the Orbiter in the park and got one 5 min. and one 11 minute.
    
    Terry
    

    Re: -.1
    
    Wow, that's an awful way to lose a brand new, $1000 plane. I feel bad
    for the guy.
    
    But something sort of doesn't compute. I don't understand how you can
    scrub off so much altitude so fast, and crash nearly vertical. It seems
    like the natural reaction to pull up the nose would check its vertical
    speed. Is there a chance some sort of hardware failure occured?
    
    Dave
    

    Re: -.1
    
    It's possible a hardware failure did occur, but Phil, the pilot,
    says he doesn't think so and that he was blinded by the sun, and
    lost orientation, went inverted all about the same time. He pulled
    up elevator which only made matters worse.
    At ~ 100oz. a Comet will accelerate incredibly rapidly in a vertical
    dive. It probably hit ~ 180 feet per second within a few seconds
    in the dive, keeping in mind it was probably flying 70 + mph
    when he lost it.
    The interesting thing is that we would have all sworn that it hit
    nearly vertically but there was enough horizontal component to
    create that trench. Makes you appreciate the subtleties of crash
    analysis.
    Losing an F3B plane because of insufficient reaction times or a
    split second wrong decision is not uncommon.
    The irony is that almost all current F3B planes are really ARFs,
    albeit very expensive ones, but that the piloting skill required
    to use one to its full potential is at the very highest levels
    of any type of R/C flying.
    
    Terry
    

>    At ~ 100oz. a Comet will accelerate incredibly rapidly in a vertical
>    dive. It probably hit ~ 180 feet per second within a few seconds

    Terry,

    Time for you to take Remedial Physics 101.  Issac Newton proved, long
    before the advent of Model Aeronautics, that weight is not a factor in
    gravitational acceleration.

    It's Drag Vs. Weight that's the controlling factor.

    Most high performance gliders are so clean, though, that I'de bet weight
    makes little difference, where lift is not involved.  In a vertical
    dive, they probably all accelerate at nearly the same rate.


    Randy

    Randy,
    
    I'll certainly agree with your statements. But I'll bet 'ol Isaac
    never put a Comet and a Gentle Lady into vertical dives and then
    noted which one reached the ground first.
    
    Terry
    

    It was a GREAT weekend with lots of HTA fun on friday and two more full
    days at the Ware field. I got to try out my 1 lb. lighter Panic and it
    was much better than before (still not as snappy as Dave Hartwell and
    Charlie but... ;^) Ajai forgot to mention Dave Hartwell, Tom T., Harvey T. 
    and a few other non-flying DECcies that showed up. Great day with NO
    crashes and I'm pleased to announce that it wasn't MY engine that
    coughed and died and deadsticked back barely across the pond. It was the 
    OTHER Jim ;^)
    
    I ran my batteries down all three days and had a ball with the Panic.
    Got my son airborne on Sunday somemore and we had a 1/4th scale Cub fly
    with an 8mm camcorder in it. Got some good spins, loops, inverted flying 
    in and I'll be getting a copy of the tape real soon. We'll be showing
    it at our (Ware) club meeting next sunday and I'll try to bring it to
    the DECRCM meeting on the 13th. If the footage comes out, I'll have Eric 
    include some on the next DECRCM tape.
    

	Sunday was a picture book day after snowing all day on Saturday. When 
	my kids took their lunch nap I decided to give it a try with my ASW24 
	and headed towards MESY (PPSS slope soaring Mesa). When I arrived, 
	Mesy was all dressed up in a beautiful white one, it shure looked
	great with the blue (sky) on top.
	I wondered how far I could drive up, but after 1/3 Mesy showed me some
	restrictions. Oh well, there was almost no wind anyway, so I walked up.
	At the top I looked for a landing spot far down, I at least wanted one
	flight even if I'd had to walk all way down and back up. 
	After assembling and a last check I fought some internals : should I
	risk or shouldn't I ???  I lost - I gave it a good toss in the light
	wind (maybe 5 knots) and flew some eighths, loosing altitude 1/2 of
	Mesy's all over height. After 5 minutes at very low level flight at the
	slope the wind picket up just enough to bring the plane back up and 
	maybe 100 feet above Mesy's top. 
	Now this was the beautiful part : wind from North, the sun was shining
	on the plane and the snow reflected the light right underneath the white
	wings. And the dark blue sky as background. Because the wind was not
	strong all the turns really looked like some, not as usual when the 
	wind is pretty strong and the moment you turn against the wind, the 
	plane stops and turns on the table. After 1 hour cruising
	back an forth the whole slope, my cold fingers gave me a kind of 
	warning to better land. Even the landing was something : because of 
	the snow the plane glided 60 feet before it stopped, like a real one.


	THIS WAS MY MOST BEAUTIFUL GLIDER SLOPE SOARING DAY !

                      \\		*
         *      *      \ \                    __
                        \  \      *           \ \
             *           \  \                  \ \
                       *  \  \            *   / \_\
                *          \  \              /LO |
	*	       .o^^^--------==========___/
		      <      \  \-''
	     *	       '-___-'\  \     *       
			       \  \
         *            *         \  \          Holm- und Rippenbruch,
                                 \ \
               *             *    \\                          Bernd
                                

    Sounds great Bernd. last time (2 weeks ago) I was there there was no
    wind. We knew we didn't want to walk to the bottome so we just went
    home.
    
    Ron

                                                      
       Listening to the weather forcast last Friday, I concluded that this
    past weekend would be a good time to catch up on my building projects.
    The current one I am trying to finish is my Electrostreck conversion
    to "Slopestreak". I rebuilt the fuselage (extending the nose), and I am
    ready to mount servo's etc. I think I am still going to need about 4 oz
    of additional nose weight to balance it off.
       Anyway, in preperation for Friday nights storm, I decided to get my
    snowthrower ready. I had put a new fuel line on in October, but still
    needed to put the clamps on the line. I had also done other prep in
    October to be ready to go. Anyway, I put the clamps on, and fired it
    up. It started up fine, and ran for about three minutes, and then 
    abruptly stopped! It was about this time that I remembered that I had
    drained the oil in October, but never replaced it ( I was out of oil at
    the time, and intended on purchasing some the next day (which never
    happened.) I could have kicked myself in the A*#! The engine
    (A 7 HP Craftsman) was thoroughly seized. ( I can't figure it out, maybe
    I should have used Byron's 15% fuel instead of the SHELL unleaded! I
    attribute this to obviously defective American workmanship, my OS 91
    never had a problem like this!)
        Sooooooo, Saturday morning (ie building time) was wasted shoveling
    the driveway. Saturday afternoon I took the engine off, and took it
    apart in an effort to unseize it (While it was off, I thought that it
    looked to be about the right size to mount on an Ace 4-120, but the
    thought quickly passed when I thought about all the weight I would have
    to add to the tail!)
        The connecting rod was seized to the crankshaft. I was able to
    loosen the whole thing up, emerycloth the bearing, apply oil to the
    bearing, and re-assemble the engine (This all in an attempt to avoid 
    purchasing a new engine for a 21 year old machine).
        Sunday was wasted in remounting the engine, and attempting to get
    it to run ( I did add oil this time!). I finaly got it to run, but only
    on almost full choke. I tried this a few times. Finally on my last
    attempt (notice the foreshadowing) The engine started and kept picking
    up RPM for some unknown reason. The engine finally was running about 
    10,000 RPM, and putting out about 14 hp when the connecting rod went
    through the side of the engine casing. No injury, as it luckily came
    out the side opposite from where I was standing.
        I am now facing a purchase of a short block engine for $190 ( About
    the same price as a Supertiger 90 that I was considering purchasing
    (notice the past tense). They don't make a complete engine for this
    model, so I have a little work to do.
    
       Moron of the story: Dan
    
       Moral of the story: I think you can put together your own
                           conclusions. One thing is certain, it will be
                           the first and last time I do not complete
                           an oil change the same day! 

    
       Definition:
    
         Snowthrower: aka; Snowblower, power shovel, pain in the a#%,
                           cantakerous machine, one of many power
                           tools needed by macho males living in the
                           north country.
    
                           Arizona equivilant: Sandblaster, Tumbleweed
                           mulcher :) :)
    
      P.S. After this weekend, I am ready to move to Arizona, but I would
           probably forget to put freon in my airconditioner!

    Dan,
    	You might find used parts at a service place.  My Sears lawnmower
    threw a rod through the case 15 years ago.  I disassembled it, cleaned
    up the case, epoxied on a patch, bought a rod for $5 and it's still
    running after 15 years.  The patch held fine and it was not in a
    critical place on the block.  The crank was not damaged either - the
    busted rod got caught between the crank and the case and just pushed a
    hole in the side.  Your governor either was also siezed or you didn't
    get it back together right.  
    
    Charlie
    

    As I was leaving the Executive Health Club across from the Manchester
    NH Airport yesterday I heard a jet of some sort in the distance.  The
    next thing I see is not the usual turbo prop flying overhead but an
    armed F16.  After a quick drive to get a better view I was treated to 2
    more touch and goes and a flyby.  He would do the touch at the
    beginning of the runway, fly the length, do a hard pullup and a
    then a very tight turn to the right or left.  The turn was so tight it
    looked like he was skidding, like one would do in a car on ice to bring
    the rear end around.  Add to this some most impressive noise.  My wife
    heard it in our bathroom, 10 miles away.  Glad he's on our side.
    
    Loren

Who could resist a day like yesterday. Today's even supposed to be a little
warmer. Anyone feeling ill???????

Well I know the HTA group couldn't resist yesterday and Dan, Eric, Charlie
and myself worked out some of the cobwebs at the Lazy Loopers field
compliments of the Evil one. Dan and Charlie brought their Unic's, Eric had
his U-PANIC-2, and I got the WOT-4 up on it's new fuse.

Although very mild, it was somewhat windy and that coupled with the layout
and wind direction at the LLFC field made landings interesting to say the
least. The wind was from our backs or right to left most of the time which 
meant it came in over the field across a tree line. The runway was just far 
enough out from the trees that the down drafts from the rotor effect were 
right over the runway. The first part of the flying day saw some pretty hairy 
landings by anyone who was flying as Eric can attest too. My first landing was 
no exception. I had Charlie standing on my right and Dan on my left checking 
out the new WOT-4. As I made my approach, I got caught up in all the turbulence
and ended up flying straight at the 3 of us about 10 feet up. I added a little
power to get flying again, made a left turn, nailed the throttle and went
around. Didn't really bother me too much, and Charlie stood his ground but I
did notice Dan out of the corner of my eye suddenly start a tactical retreat.

The WOT-4 has the new X347 installed and that was fun to play with although
I was only able to try out a couple of the new options available to me. It
flew very nicely with the flaps and elevator coupled and was much more
responsive to elevator control. The first time I dropped the flaps, the
WOT-4 went into a 90 degree dive. Too much elevator compensation me thinks.
Where there wasn't much in there to begin with, I took out all of the down
trim compensation and figured I'd start adjusting from the other end. Next
flight, when I dumped the flaps, it was perfect. The WOT-4 just kept it's
nose pointed straight ahead and looked like it had caught an invisible
arresting hook. I also have the rudder coupled in when the flaps are down
and control response was very good at low speed. Can't wait to play with
them some more. After the second flight, I discovered my throttle linkage
came loose so that was it for me for the day but I consider it a very 
successful outing.

The X347 is a fantastic radio. Some people may look at it and think that
it's desirability is in the function it gives you. You'd be right too, but
it really shows it's stuff, to me anyway, when you have to make adjustments.
As I mentioned, there was too much elevator compensation for the flaps. It
was only about a quarter of an inch, but still too much. Ordinarily, you'd
have to play with servo arms, clevis's etc.. With the X347, I just punched
up the flap/elevator mix, pushed the button to take out the trim, and that
was it. No muss, no fuss. I also wanted to tighten up the sticks a bit and
turn the timer switch lever around so that everything is off in the same
direction. I did that when I got home. I also adjusted the aileron throws
to slow them down a bit. When your only flying about once a month, the
fingers get a little rusty. Making that adjustment was also just a matter
of calling up that function and changing the percentage numbers. About a
two minute job.

Charlie and Dan were tearing up the sky per usual and having a good old time.
The field was in great shape sans a few puddles due to the warm weather. I
don't think anyone made any landings without getting a bath at least once. In
fact it was quite humorous watching all these picture perfect landings wind
up on their nose due to the unexpected hydraulic breaking system everyone had.
Eric had a name for it, but it eludes me at the moment.

Eric spent the remainder of the day, after his one flight, playing engine
mechanic. The SuperTigre 61 on the WOT-4 needed some adjustments before it
would run properly and Eric had that figured out in a jiffy. He then spent
the rest of his time playing with a Fox motor that just didn't want to run.
I really don't know too much about the trouble he was having with it, so I'll
let him do the explaining if he feels so inclined.

After packing up and leaving the field, we all stopped in at the local after
flying meeting place and had some burgers and flying analysis. Now if today
were only Sunday again..........

Steve

    A day like this for vacation is a real pleasure.  A retired buddy and I
    took our powered gliders to the field and flew and flew and flew and flew.

    We still have a solid cover of soft snow.  My Gentle Lady with her skis
    does a ROS like a full scale bird.  And touch 'n goes are smooth ---
    well, most of my touch 'n goes --- well, maybe half --- well, almost
    smooth --- well, I didn't break any props.

1991 WRAM show trip report...

Well I spend two days there again this year.

This will be in kinda random order but I'll do the best I can
to tell you about the show.

I entered the Lovesong in the static glider competition.
I ended up 3rd out of 5 or 6.  There were 4 originally
then one guy pulled out.  That left three - one guy
entered two gliders - both nice big scale ships
with Fiberglas fuselages that he scratch build (molded)
himself.  When I won 3rd place I figured it was also last
but when they announced 2nd place was one of the Russians
then I realized I wasn't last after all.  The Russian gliders
were in a special display area and not with our planes.

Anyway - it was really fun to have a plane on display and
listen to the comments other make.  

JR news:  
  I picked up a JR newsletter (sort of a catalogue)
  which shows a new PCM-8.  It looks just like a PCM-10 with the 
  touch screen but only has 8 channels.  From what I can gather
  in the brochure however it only has memory for 3 planes and
  unlike the 347 has no Helo or Glider modes.

  They also had an photo of Curtis Youngblood using a new JR Single
  stick.  But no details of any single stick in the brochure.

Futaba news:
  An FM Dual conversion version of the Electric receiver with the built
  in speed control and BEC circuit will be coming out in approx 1 year.

  New servos with metal gears - a few types including S133's although I
  would guess they will have a new number.  Couple of months I think he
  said.  In typical Futaba compatibility they will probably have a new 
  connector :-)  Just kidding - no flames.

  They also have a new light weight gyro (for electric helos) coming.

Airtronics news:
  Saw the Infinity 600 and 1000.  The 600 is Vision functionally
  plus power and helo modes in a new box.  The 1000 has touch screen
  programming like the JR PCM-10 and is the fully frequency synthesizing
  system.  It can function as a scanner/monitor and see what frequencies are
  busy then you can select whatever frequency you want.  It has a tachometer
  but needs a cable for it.  It has a clock but you can't access it with
  any convenient switch (like MD7SP or 347 or ACE).

Dynaflite:
  Had a new fun scale Spitfire and there were selling Bird Of Time's
  for $55.  List is $94.95.  Anybody know what Tower or Omni gets for them?

  They had a new electric sailplane that looked nice but isn't available yet.

ACE
  They were selling quasoars for $119.  This seemed like a good deal.
  Even at a list price of $149 I think you can't find a Fiberglas fuselage
  foam core unlimited class sailplane for less!  Can you?

Dura-Plane
  They were showing their new movie and selling Dura-Planes for $25 and
  Dura-bats for $35.

Northeast Sailplane Products 
  They had lots of nice gliders and a new larger catalogue.  But success
  seems to have went to their head.  Even if you buy a glider from them
  they still want $5.00 for a catalogue.  Also I didn't find their
  prices to be at all low and there were no WRAM show specials. 

  Never the less I made a bee line to their display the second day and
  went to purchase a hi-start - but they were sold out so I ended up
  ordering one from home later.  They have hi-starts in 4 sizes.
  Small (HLG), Medium (2 meter), Large (Unlimited class), and giant
  (Cross-Country).  A really nice parachute comes with them and also
  the line is bright orange (although they had no line on display).

  I intend to get lots of the line if it lives up to my expectations.

Russians:
  There was a small group of Russian modelers there and they had interpreters
  available.  I passed 5 copies of IS-1 documentation to them with my name
  and address on so that maybe someone might find me some more documentation
  on a really unique airplane.  It was a real battle to get the interpreter
  to ask questions so I have no confidence that my message went across well
  at all.  They had some stuff for sale.  Glider kits, free flight booms,
  engines, free flight feathering props, folding props, etc.  Their booms
  were really neat with aluminum and carbon fiber and cost $22.

  There engines were reasonable - but unless you were into CL speed or
  FF you would probably only collect them.  They had several small models
  (peanut size but wood or plastic) completed and I watched one guy buy
  one for $120.  I thought he was crazy - but maybe he knew something I
  didn't.  I listened to several New Yorkers explain to their kids how
  the free flight tail booms were ram jets.  

Swap Shop:
  What a zoo but looks like a good place to sell.  Getting your model in
  and out in one piece is a real challenge.

Cars:
  There were several Conley V-8's.  I waited for a video loop at one booth
  for quite a while just to hear one in a 1/4 scale corvette.  Sounded
  great.  The kit for the engine was approx $2,500 - but you don't have
  to machine anything now.  Last year you still had to be a machinist
  to complete one.

Boats:
  Lots of great boats.  One guy had a scratch build sail boat that he
  entered in the static competition.  Looked great - sail went all the
  way up to the ceiling - maybe 12 feet.

So what did I buy.  Well mostly little stuff.

  3 Florio Flyers                          10.00
  Northeast Sailplane Products catalogue    5.00
  Zap-A-Gap-a-goo                           3.00
  2 Airtronics 401 micro servos 26 each    52.00
  3 Carbon burrs for Dremel tool            4.00
  2 all season flyer (2nd year) patches     2.00
  strobe light kit                          5.00
  nav light kit                             5.00
  Decal                                     6.50
  Plastic Helicopter                        8.00
  Miter Master (sanding tool)               9.00
  Skyloft covering                          3.25
  150 ma Sanyo Rx pack                     12.00
  Tow hook                                  7.50

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

Kay,

The Bird of Time sells for $56.99 through Omni.  I'm glad I didn't get
it right now.


      Jim

    Kay,
    
    Coongratulations on yer' 3rd-place win at the WRAM show!!
						 __
				|      |        / |\	   	       
      	         \|/		|______|__(o/--/  | \	   	       
      | |        00	       <|  ~~~  ____ 04 ---- | --------------------
    |_|_|        (O>o		|\)____/___|\_____|_/	   Adios amigos, Al
      |     \__(O_\_	        |	  |___/	 o	   (The Desert Rat)

    Kay,
    
    Is there a price and availability date on the Infinity 1000 yet?
    
    When buying a Dynaflite BOT kit, it is mandatory to inspect the
    wood quality first. For some unexplained reason, the wood ranges
    from unuseable to mediocre in those kits, but if you get a good
    one, they are nice flying birds. Several locals wound up using
    only the plans from the kit, bought all new wood and scratch built
    it. It would have been cheaper to order the plans from RCM.
    
    Terry
    

>    Coongratulations on yer' 3rd-place win at the WRAM show!!

Thank you.  The read accomplishment here was not the 3rd place
but just the fact that I finally finished this bird.  After nine
months or work it is great to see it finally done.  Of course
done is a relative term.  I had to cut 4 holes in the wing to
fix a navigation light and I was in the basement sanding and
putting primer on that this morning before work and will be
putting on paint tonight again when I get home.

3rd place seems to be a part of my RC life - even when there
are only 3 entries.  I have 4 plaques and 2 trophies in my
office now - ALL 3rd place.  It doesn't bother me tho - I really
just like to go and be a part.  Unless I need the placing for
a LSF goal I just want to have fun at the contests.

Thanks Jim C. for the price lookup of the BOT.  I suspect that
for $57 you can't get a bigger wingspan glider kit.

Now some follow up on the WRAM show (I found some more notes).

They had a raffle for 4 radios (Futaba, JR, Airtronics, and Cannon) - 
profits were to help the families of our armed forces.  I put all
my tickets in the Cannon box.

Radio Control Model Builder
  I met Bill Northrop (editor of Model Builder) and told him how much
  I liked being a subscriber to his magazine.

AMC
  Americas Hobby Center was still the biggest business on the floor.
  Eric noticed that they had very few OS engines this time.  Guess they
  don't get the profit margins.  But they two .25 size listed.  Looks
  like they are getting out of the OS business.  They still had the
  lowest price I have ever seen for the top of the line radios.  Their
  show specials go for 2 weeks (I believe they said) after so you can
  call and order a JR 347 for $400 COD.  PCM-10 = $750. Futaba 9VAH = $710
  Airtronics Vision P $459, etc.

Cannon
  I talked to the guy at the Cannon booth (Charlie's R/C Goodies).  They
  make the smallest RC radio systems systems.  But they are AM and not
  dual conversion.  Anyway they expect to introduce an FM dual conversion
  micro system in about a year.  I asked about JR/Futaba compatibility
  and he listened very carefully.  I suggested that it would be nice if
  you could order either version (+ or - modulation) and in a pinch
  take the Rx apart and move a jumper to switch.  Also there is a problem
  with what some transmitters call channel 1 and 2 and etc.  It would
  also be nice to have a good default but the ability to switch jumpers
  in a pinch.  They could find a decent market in light gliders, HLGs, and
  indoor RC for selling Cannon flight packs that are compatible with
  our fancy JR, Airtronics, and Futaba transmitters.  Like I say he listened
  real good so cross your fingers.

Dave Brown talked my ear off about covering materials.  Nice guy.

Easy Built Models Ltd. (from Canada)
  They were selling up a storm with rubber
  kits.  I almost bought a Zero but fortunately they had a completed one
  on display and it didn't look good.  They had a guy launch a $5.00 rubber
  plane in the middle of the display floor several times a day and it flew
  great - frequently getting all the way to the roof rafters and bumping the
  then coming down ever so nice.  I finally broke down and went to get one
  but by the they were out.

The Edjer:
  There was a guy there demoing the Edjer - a sharpening tool for exacto
  knives and scalpels.  Seemed like a nice idea but he couldn't convince
  me yet.  I bought a pack of 100 exacto blades #11 about a year ago
  and still have half left.  Too easy to just dispose on one than sharpen
  it.  When I built the workshop I put a slot in one wall to dispose
  of exacto (and razor) blades.

Fiberglass Master, inc. and Fiberglass Specialties T & D.
  I thought till today that Fiberglass Master was on both floors.  But
  now I see that they were two separate companies.  Darn - I got one
  catalogue (don't know which one) and I asked one if they made any
  glider fuselages (don't know which one).  Darn

Frank Tiano Enterprises
  Frank was pushing PFM adhesive.  I asked what the difference was between
  PFM and silicon.  He jumped all over me and made me try to pull some
  apart and picked up a plane by the canopy that was held on with just
  two drops of PFM, etc.  Made a good demo - but now I don't know the
  difference between PFM and Pacers new Zap-A-Gap-A-Goo?

Pacer
  Nice display but they didn't seem to have available everything they
  had of display - I was ready to get some FLEX-whatever and they didn't
  appear to have any.  Herschel (what's his name) was there.

High Point Produces
  Selling prop balancers for $26.  I almost got one last year and I
  almost got one this year also.  Just can't be convinced that my
  props balanced with my $2.00 balancer are very far off.

Harry B. Higley & Sons, inc.
  Looks like Harry lost about 50 pounds.  I ended up buying two
  Airtronics 401 servos from Harry.  He purchased some radio and the
  came with it and he never used them.  He also had some other servos
  and a couple of engines.  I ended up purchasing some Dremel bits
  from him as well.

RC Video Magazine
  I asked why so long between V15 and V16.  They said their master
  got destroyed at the last minute - plus they moved locations.

SR batteries & Mr. Nicad
  I went to SR to purchase a 150 mah Rx pack and at $21 I said no thanks
  and went over to Mr. Nicad (E.H. Yost & Co.) and got one for $12.

Yellow Aircraft
  Charley Tse (from the Orange club) was helping his brother (owner of
  Yellow Aircraft).  Nice planes - terrible display.  Charley needed
  a shave and bath - like always.  They have no "Baker Jugs" available
  at this time (back ordered).

Kress Jets, Inc.
  They had the .049 size ducted fans available as well as .20 size
  and some kits to match.

L.A.W. Racing Products
  They sell the best transmitter tray going.  $75 and I almost got one
  except for one thing.  I like being able to hold my transmitter
  up as a sun shade when flying straight gliders and I like the ability
  of swinging the antenna around if you think you might be getting hit.
  But they sure were nice.  I must have tried one on a dozen times.

Rossi Engines
  I never spend any time at the Rossi booth but in the parking lot
  I was solicited by some guys in a van who said "Hey buddy - wanna
  buy some stuff?".  "What kinda stuff?" says I.  "Rossi engines
  brand new - in the box".  I figured they were hot.

Vailly Aviation
  Roy Vaillencourt had a new design sport plane on display.  Also
  he is working on a Stinson L5 and showed me pictures of it.  Might
  be my next scale project after the one after the one after the one
  after next - or so.  I still like the Roy's P-47 kit.  Fiberglas
  fuselage and built up wings.

Speaking of Fiberglas
  I've seen more than once that Fiberglas is a registered trade mark
  and is suppose to be typed with a upper case F and only one S.  But
  I still feel silly every time I enter it.  It is not in my dictionary.
  Al - what do you think.

Some guys up on the stage were selling very small F14's.  Looked great
with folding wings and they had a system of hi-starting them to glide.
But - looked like a lot of work.

Well - I ran out of things to say about the WRAM show.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

    Kay,
    
    Loved reading your report(s)! Keep 'em comin'
    
    ajai
    

    Wow! 100+ lines from Kay and < 10 from Ajai. Times are changing ;^)
    

>    Is there a price and availability date on the Infinity 1000 yet?

I think he said 1 year - but I'm not positive.  In a pinch you can
call and ask Airtronics.
    
>    When buying a Dynaflite BOT kit, it is mandatory to inspect the
>    wood quality first. For some unexplained reason, the wood ranges
>    from unuseable to mediocre in those kits, but if you get a good
>    one, they are nice flying birds. Several locals wound up using
>    only the plans from the kit, bought all new wood and scratch built
>    it. It would have been cheaper to order the plans from RCM.
    
Terry thanks for the warning - but if I ever do get one it would
probably be from Tower or Omni - so I can't hardly look in the box
first - also - I don't think I could make a Go/Nogo decision on
a sample of one.

But...Wasn't it you that said Dave Thornberg was flying a HLG size BOT
and other sizes.  Any chance you could get us a copy of the plans for
various size BOT's.  I would like a Non-unlimited class size BOT
and would like to be in a position to consider creating a BOT Fiberglas
fuse.  Dave Walter really got my mind spinning when he sent me the
plans for his new HLG (Predator).

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################
    

    
    	I heard an interesting rumor about OS engines.  Seem that they 
    are in limited supply. There are many types that are out of stock and
    there is no word when they will be in stock.  the rumor goes...
    
    like the engineer responsible for all of the CNC machine tapes left
    the company and took all of the CNC tapes with him.
    
    
    
    Tom

    Re the W.R.A.M. report, Kay,
    
    I just can't imagine that Frank Tiano would've been pushing PFM glue
    since he's the east coast distributor for Pacer.  He should'a been
    pushing Pacer's similar product, Zap-a-dap-a-goo Or whatever they call
    it.
    
    Seeing that PFM is distributed by Greg Namey's Innovative Model Prod's,
    and further seeing that Frank and Greg get along about like a rabid cat
    and dog, it's inconceivable to me that he'd be pushing Greg's product
    rather than his own.
    
    As to "Fiberglas," I've seen the word spelled that way but assumed it
    was a trade/brand name, not the generic descriptive of the material. 
    My Funk & Wagnall's spells it fiberglass.
						 __
				|      |        / |\	   	       
      	         \|/		|______|__(o/--/  | \	   	       
      | |        00	       <|  ~~~  ____ 04 ---- | --------------------
    |_|_|        (O>o		|\)____/___|\_____|_/	   Adios amigos, Al
      |     \__(O_\_	        |	  |___/	 o	   (The Desert Rat)

>   <<< Note 771.642 by UPWARD::CASEYA "THE DESERT RAT (I-RC-AV8) 551-5572" >>>
>                 -< FRANKIE "T" SELLING NAMEY'S PRODUCT....?? >-
>
>    Re the W.R.A.M. report, Kay,
>    
>    I just can't imagine that Frank Tiano would've been pushing PFM glue
>    since he's the east coast distributor for Pacer.  He should'a been
>    pushing Pacer's similar product, Zap-a-dap-a-goo Or whatever they call
>    it.
>    
>    Seeing that PFM is distributed by Greg Namey's Innovative Model Prod's,
>    and further seeing that Frank and Greg get along about like a rabid cat
>    and dog, it's inconceivable to me that he'd be pushing Greg's product
>    rather than his own.

I was confused - It was Greg Namey who gave me the PFM demo not Frank Tiano.
Frank was indeed at the Pacer booth.  In fact I was sitting in the balcony
wondering why Frank was with both Pacer and PFM - but now when you mentioned
Greg - everything clicked.  Sorry for confusing everyone.
    
>    As to "Fiberglas," I've seen the word spelled that way but assumed it
>    was a trade/brand name, not the generic descriptive of the material. 
>    My Funk & Wagnall's spells it fiberglass.

Thanks - in the future I will use fiberglass.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

    Dave Walter wasn't the only one to mid-air a glider this weekend.

    I waited until the only other pilot at the field had his 0.049 powered
    2 meter bird out of my  hi-start air space and then launched my 2x4
    with its GL wing.  Unfortunately, I had just drastically changed my
    control sensitivity with the X347 TX, and I had too little control.  I
    quickly switched to the alternate settings (which were also changed),
    and I had far too much control sensitivity.  My gyrations put the plane
    into his path, and that was the end of both planes.

    Lessons:

    1.	Call out to the other pilots that I'm about to launch.  He didn't
    	know I was in the air until just before impact.

    2.	Never change *BOTH* control response curves at the same time,
    	else I could have switched back to a trusted situation.

    3.	Always, always, always stir the sticks before launch to ensure that
    	the TX is turned on, etc.  Guess why I was flying with a different
    	wing when the accident occurred.

    Eight of the 23 contestants at the Downeast Soaring Club contest in 
    Biddeford, Maine this weekend were Noters.  Some of them did well in
    the ratings, although as Jim Reith said, "Every contest needs it's 
    share of cannon fodder!"       I personally came in last, dead last.

    Conditions were difficult.  The wind was variable in direction and with
    strong, almost-enduring gusts.  There was a lot of lead under the CG's.
    I'm sure Kay will give the details, but amongst the standings were:

                           2 meter       unlimited
        Kay Fisher         >10         **** 1 ****
        Dave Walter          6         **** 3 ****
        Mike Stains *        4              4
        Jim Reith            7             19
        Lammar Phillips      8              ?
        Jeff Friedrichs    >10             12
        Lawton Read          ?             20
        Alton Ryder         22             
        Steve Smith                         ?

    * Mike Stains is a member of my local club who is sometimes a
    contractor at Westminster.  His wife is Robin LEAF:: Stains.
    Speaking of wives, six of the above had their wives with them.

    Alton, who used the winch as a hand-tossing substitute.  Was I supposed
    to stay on for more than 30 feet?

    It was fun. I'm no longer afraid of winches. I did get some comments
    when my tip panels clapped on the zoom (people said the CD noticed, I
    didn't 8^) I did alright for a 23 second initial flight and no landing
    points all day. The events were 10 max duration with a precision
    landing. There were two highlights for me all day. The first one
    involved out pop off champion (and moderator), Al Ryder. He was very
    consistant with his 50 foot launches (lengthen the tow hook arm and
    leave the elevator alone) but on one I timed for him he did a loop over
    the winch area and went right to the landing zone and stuck it in for
    a 73 point landing! The second was one of Kay's Lovesong flights where
    he was WAY up there at the nine minute mark and at about 9:45, everyone
    turned as he made a high speed pass over the landing zone with the
    wings sounding like Crocodile Dundee's telephone. He flipped the crow
    switch and set down a nice as can be. Kay had a very good day with the
    Lovesong.
    
    I drove up friday night in a thunderstorm and had a great time. I think
    most of the DECcies will be back (after all, the next one's on Father's
    Day P^)  The problem I think we had was that everyone expected it to be
    a gas bag day and it ended up being a leadsled day. Most of the good
    lift was off field and you needed to be able to boogie back after using
    it. I wish I hadn't had time to replace my GL fuselage with the lighter
    one. It was real interesting winching downwind for the second and third
    rounds. Congrats to all who competed! We all brought our planes back in
    flying condition!
    
    Oh, yeah. There was one more thing. Another competitor had a big yellow
    unlimited ship that spiraled on the winch. He almost recovered it but
    stuck it in pretty good. Snapped the tail and broke a wing panel.
    Fiberglass tape and CA got him back in the air and he must have done a
    pretty good job because he really zoomed the launch I saw. 
    
    

The day started off early with much anticipation for the contest to come.
The alarm went off at 5 A.M. and I stumbled down the stairs to get that
first cup of coffee into me. By about 6 A.M. I was more or less awake and
proceeded to load up the van. One quick stop at the local convenient store
to pick up some butts and snacks and I was on the road to LKG to meet Dave
Walter and Lamar Phillips. I arrived at LKG at aprox. 6:45 with Lamar right
behind me and Dave dozing in his car. We transferred everything into the van
and hit the road at about 7 A.M.

The ride up was uneventful with the weather clearing the further north we
went. By the time we got into Main, we were under sunny blue skies with
what appeared to be light winds. We made one "pit" stop at a rest area on
the Main turnpike which was about 20 minutes away from the field. Continued
on and arrived at the flying site at aprox. 8:45. The first thing we did
was take a walk around and check the place out. The flying site was a sod
farm and it was absolutely incredible. Acres and acres of open space with the
ground covered with grass so nice you could imagine you were on a golf course.
I can't even begin to guess how big this place was, but the CD stated that
they had just turned over about 20 or so acres of land. That 20 acres amounted 
to probably a tenth of the whole area.

There were three winches set up and Jim Tyrie brought one of his own. The pilots
meeting was pretty much on time and flying started about 10 A.M. I would
estimate there were between 30 and 40 pilots present. I guess the CD figured
there were more unlimited class gliders there than 2 meter so he assigned two
of the winches to unlimited and one to 2 meter. Those were the only ones
you could use. This was ok in the beginning, but things started to back up
later on in the day due to the typical winch problems you run into, so he
eventually opened it up so that you could use whatever winch was free. The
contest seemed a little long but I guess it was pretty average. There were
3 rounds flown with the time averaging about 2 hours per round. One of the
hold up here was that one round had to be completed before the next one could
start.

One of the things we all did upon arrival was look for some warm clothes. It
WAS a bit nippy. The light winds we THOUGHT we had on the way up, turned out
to be rather strong and gusty and stayed that was all day. The wind also
shifted at about the start of the third round and most flights were started
with down wind winch launches.

My performance was dismal and although it was definitely a "hi tech" glider
day, the Oly could have done much better if the pilot had been a little
more alert. Thermals were scarce and with a few exceptions, I believe the
average times were in the 2 minute range. I think this contest was definitely
won on landing points. I only got landing points on one out of 3 flights and
then only got 14. My mistake was spending too much time looking for the
elusive thermal when I should have been bailing out earlier giving myself a
higher approach to the landing target. As it was, two of the three flights,
when I turned into the wind for landing, the Oly just sank straight down.
My launch for the second round flight was interesting to say the least. There
was a cross wind blowing which was pretty much normal for the day. I hooked
up to the winch, hit the pedal a couple of times to get the tension on the
line, and JUST as I was about stomp the pedal and release the Oly, a gust
came along and completely flipped the Oly over onto its back. I somehow
managed to hang onto it and got everything back under control. It was a little
scary though because I was literally a fraction of a second from releasing
the Oly. It would have been a disaster.

Part of the fun was being able to put faces with names. I had the pleasure of
meeting Jeff Friedrichs and Lawton Reid. Also met Sal and Stan from
Northeast Sailplane products. A couple of nice guys that really enjoy there
flying. For a couple of the Decies, this contest was their first winch 
experience and everyone did very well. Jeff did one zoom launch which
aggressively tested Dan Snows building ability and the Spirit held together
no problem at all. In fact, there were several Spirit's there and they all 
did very well even with the wind that we had. Jim Reith was testing his wings 
on nearly every launch and drew comments from the crowd on how much the tips 
were flexing each time he went up. That carbon fiber's great ain't it Jim!!!!

Then there's Kay Fisher. As you've all seen in Alton's note, Kay walked away
with first place and did so quite handily. The love song flew beautifully
and I had the pleasure to time for Kay on his last flight. By that time,
the wind had turned about 180 degrees forcing down wind launches. Kay had
one close call when the winch line snagged and caused him to pop off about
50 feet up. Kay made a nice save and got the love song down in one piece.
Because it was a winch problem, he got a re-launch and this time there were
no glitches. Kay got gutsy and took the love song WAY down wind thermal
hunting. He found a good one and took the ship up to the point that he
didn't want to go any higher. At about the 8 minute mark, he started heading
home. By about 9 minutes he was about 100 yards up wind and still pretty
high. He does a series of dives and then says "oh what the hell, let's do a
roll." So, he does. Although I don't think he noticed, the crowd was quite
impressed with this big love song doing a nice slow roll. By now were at
about the 9 minute 30 second mark and Kay heads back down wind to make
an approach. Turns into the target and is just a hair too high and has to
fly by. He flips the switch on the radio and puts the love song into it's
crow configuration and touches down. I stop the clock only to see a time
of 10:00 exactly (this was a 10 minute duration contest). That got Kay a
nice 700 points and clinched the contest for him. NICE JOB KAY.

So, all in all it was a very enjoyable day. Even though I did poorly, (I
figure I drove about 200 miles and got about 6 minutes of flying time), I had
fun timing for people and helping out with some first time winch launches.
It's always nice to meet new people especially when there nice people. I
think everyone did an outstanding job and look forward to the next contest.

    Well, the Spirit survived my first glider contest. I rode up with Steve
    Smith and Dave Walter. My only mishap of the day came on the ride up.
    We made a pit stop just after we crossed the Maine border for a much
    needed(by me at least) "relief" break. As I was getting back into
    Steve's van, I managed to *sit* on my wing's trailing edge! We had the
    wing(it's a one piece two meter) stand up on it's leading edge by the
    side of the seat. As I sat down, I heard balsa crunch! I quickly got
    up. Luckily the only damage was a slight crack in the trailing edge and
    a dent on the upper surface just behind the leading edge. Great way to
    start off!

    As Steve said in an earlier reply, it was windy when we got to the
    field. But what a field it was! Can you say W I D E  O P E N!!!!!
    The CD said they use the field as the club's regular flying sight.
    If anybody wants to try a glider contest, this is the place to do
    it! There will be one a month until September/October, if I'm not
    mistaken.

    There were quite a bit of DECRCM folks at the contest. Let's see,
    Jeff Friedrichs, Al Ryder, Kay, Jim Reith, Steve, Dave, Lawton Read,
    and myself made for 8 DECRCM'ers in attendance.

    To get on with it, as other have mentioned, our own Kay Fisher took
    first place in the unlimited class with his Lovesong. Way to go Kay!!
    He built an extremely nice ship and flies it great. But Kay, ya gotta
    use the ear plug for that Sniffler!! My ears are still ringing! :^}


    I was fortunate to have Dave Walter(3rd place in unlimited!!) assist
    me with my all my flights. My first and last flights were identical,
    1 minute 35 seconds and no landing points! :^{ On my second flight
    however, I had a 3 minute 31 second flight and got 43 landing points.
    Dave was coaching me the whole way(an worked the winch too!) and help
    a great deal. It help me get an eighth place in the two meter class.
    Thank you, Dave!

    I also timed for Dave on several of his flights. One of which was a
    9 minute 59 seconds flight, with 73 landing points! It was great! 

    As I said, I only entered the two meter class, which was a mistake. I
    should have entered both like everyone else did and gotten more flight
    time. Oh well, live and learn. I'm really looking forward to the next
    contest. Yes, I've been bitten by the bug!!!! Hope we have the same
    DECRCM contingent at the next one!

    -Lamar

    The last one is 11/2 with one every month until then. Next one is the
    6/2 contest in Simsbury CN. At least that one's practically in my back
    yard.
    
    Flying both rounds with the same plane did work out well. I was very
    pleased to find that no one else was on my frequency station (they ran
    a ten station system that seemed fine). I heard the CD remark that we
    only had one OWB radio in the bunch.
    
    Now we need to get some serious practice in at lunch in Acton 8^)

    Forgot to mention that I did win one of the drawings they had during
    the day. I got a discount certificate to COMPOSITE STRUCTURES
    TECHNOLOGY. It's good for 20% off a purchase from them. No minimum
    purchase required. It also comes with a catalog and price list.
    
    Except for some foam and carbon fiber/kevlar stuff, it's all vacuum
    bagging stuff. As I'm not into vacuum bagging, it's up for grabs to
    the first person that want's it (send mail).
    
    Steve

    You know that the times are changing when you hear Kay came back
    winning first place, instead of the usual folded wings on zoom launch!
    
    Congrats Kay!
    
    Also, congrats to Dave Gliding Walter. Seems like we have two denizens
    of the gliding world in our midst.
    
    ajai

    Ya, we seem to be shy a couple of reports here. Come on Kay, Dave,
    Lawton............
    
    
    Steve

    
    That's the way to go KAY!!!!!
    
    
    All this time waiting in the "wings" for that big moment has paid off.
    
    CONGRADULATIONS ON THE WIN.  WAY TO GO...
    
    
    Tom
    
    P.S. Kay, your a numbers man, what'd this cost you to win?? :-)

    Let's see, most of the details on the contest are already entered, so
    what can I add...?
    
    Well, to put Kay's win in perspective, he surpassed several very good
    pilots. Jim Tyrie is in the top 3 of virtually every contest I've seen him
    enter, and he has taken first in at least a third of them (he took
    first in 2 Meter at this one). Also Les Gerhardt scared us all with two
    absolutely monster flights early in the day, when everyone else was
    scratching to get 3 minutes. Frankly, I don't know why he didn't do
    better (maybe one of those flights was in 2 meter class?).
    
    Do you know what a Lovesong looks like on a downwind launch? Kay gave
    us a great demonstration of flying on the edge: in my humble opinion
    (Kay, forgive me for this) you don't spool up the winch enough before
    releasing the plane. When I have a 90 ounce plane in my hand and the
    wind at my back, I want that line so tight it's practically ripping the
    glider out of my hand! Anyway, to visualize Kay's last launch, imagine
    a humpback whale that has just propelled itself above the surface of
    the ocean, nose high, fluke just clearing the water. There's that brief
    instant when it seems to hang in the air, before crashing back to the
    surface in a tremendous spray of water. Well, just before returning to
    the ocean, imagine that humpback whale suddenly accelerating skyward.
    THAT'S what Kay's last Lovesong launch looked like. 
    
    By the way, that wildman Sal of Northeast Sailplanes had a beautiful
    new plane there that he took up for its maiden flight (he didn't fly it
    in the contest). It's called a Magic, designed by some gentleman named
    Weston. The specs are in the new '91 catalog, which I don't have. If I
    remember correctly, it's about 130" span with a T tail and requires a
    computer radio. The wings have a beautiful sweep back from half span to
    the tips, which appear to be only a few inches in chord. The fuse is
    fiberglass reinforced with kevlar, and it uses a slip-on nose cone to
    cover the radio. This plane felt incredibly light! The specs for it
    were around 65 ounces, and it glided forever from a handlaunch. It
    looks like a beautiful alternative to the Dodgeson models, but it's not
    cheap: $300 for the basic kit, and lots more if you want presheeted
    wings, etc.
    
    Anyhow, way to go Kay! Take note soaring world, the Digital Glider
    Guiders are coming!
    
    Dave

    Gee, still no report from Kay, the number 1 guy of the weekend.
    
    I wonder if taking a first place in such distinguished company
    caused heart failure or something??????
    
    Come back to reality Kay. You REALLY DID win. 8^)
    
    Steve

Sorry for my lack of response - been having computer problems.

I saved a copy of a mail response I sent to Dan Miner that can serve
as a poor man's trip report.  I'll just add a bit in the front and
back as I think of things.  

1st I was absolutely amazed and delighted at how many DECies showed up.
It was a 3 hour drive for me and longer for Jim Reith and yet 8 DECies
plus most families plus some brought friends - wow.  I also brought Shane
Ellison - a kid from Orange that is just getting started in RC.  I took
him to one of every kind of contest we could find last summer and
Saturday he flew his Spirit in his first contest.  He finished 12th
in 2-meter (2 points behind my Sagitta's 11th place finish) and 13th
in Unlimited.

Speaking of seeing one of every kind of contest - this Sunday we plan
to visit some guys in Springfield running RC sailboats then go to Westover
and watch the free flight competition.

Anyway - the Sod farm in Maine was nice and others neglected to mention
it wasn't flat - rolling hills.  The landing zone was just up wind from
a hill and the first round had everybody falling short.  Seems to have
been a wind shear just over the top of the hill so you would make a nice
approach and about 50 feet out the plane would just stop.  I watched everybody
else do this and was determined not to fall short.  So on my first flight
with the Sagitta - I fell way short.

Anyway - here is my answer to Dan Miner's mail copied in with his permission.

===============================================================================

Date:	21-MAY-1991 16:03:22.03
From:	VSSCAD::FISHER       "Stop and smell the balsa!"
To:	NM%RGB::MINER,FISHER
CC:	
Subj:	RE: Congratulations!!!

---------------------Reply to mail dated 20-MAY-1991 10:02---------------------

>Kay,

>Congrats on your win in the glider contest.

>Tell me, do you think it was the Practice, Practice, Practice or the
>new Lovesong that did it for you?  (Or maybe both?)  Note that I'm not
>trying to be nasty here and imply that the glider won the contest for you.
>Clearly, even with the best glider, the pilot skill is the most important
>factor.

>				- Dan

Thanks - would have replied sooner but we moved clusters Monday and
my favorite editor (Emacs) was missing and my mail com file was wired up
to use it and...

Anyway - the question "Practice or Plane" is a valid one.
With your permission I will repost this mail in the notes file.

The answer is a little of both and several other things.

1. Luck
2. Statistics
3. Others mistakes
4. Coaching
5. Practice
6. The Plane

Not necessarily in that order.

First Luck, On each flight in Unlimited class I was able to find a
thermal.  On each flight in 2-Meter class I didn't find any thermal.
Although we were allowed to "pick" our own launch time I picked mine
when I seemed most ready - I was paying little attention to the air
and I was pleasantly surprised to find some lift.

Second Statistics.  I have been going to nearly every sailplane contest
in the area (as far west as Niagara Falls) for the last 4 summers.
My LSF number is 6086 which translates to the 60th one in 1986.  In my
first contest I took last in all three classes and have placed last in
several other classes since then.  I won two 3rd places in the spring of 1989 
and my 1st 3rd in the Fall of 1988.  Statistically speaking I was due.

Third Others mistakes.  1st round I got a time of 4'17" and the next two
rounds were maxes.  But I only got landing points on one of the three
landings so of everybody else was flying GOOD - they could have won.
In fact at the end of round 2 Les Gerhardt was a mile ahead of everybody.
Then in round 3 I hit 10 minutes exactly and Les told me that I forced
him to have to fly the 3rd round.  Other wise Les could have taken the
1st place without even flying the 3rd round.  On the way back to his
car Les said he just gave me the contest.  His score for the 3rd round
was 53 points.  He must have popped off.

Fourth Coaching.  One of the fun things about this sport is the willingness
of others to help - even tho it may mean their own defeat.  The reason I
got a 10 minute exact time was because Steve Smith was talking me down.

Fifth Practice.  Well not practice practice practice like Jim Reith or the
old buzzard would expect me to do - but I have gotten significantly more
stick time in the last 24 months then in the years preceding.  Mostly
because of the "All Season Flyer" goal and mostly aided by the dependability,
reparability, flyability of the Chuperosa.  Also easily 95 percent of my
stick time in the last two years has been glider stick time.  But when
it came time to prepare for the contest my strategy was to stand down for
fear that I would brake a plane and take myself out of the running.  I was
never better prepared in terms of airplane readiness.  I brought two planes
I intended to fly and a backup for each.  

Sixth the Plane.  Clearly the plane was a large part of the reason for winning.
I had only flown it twice before.  Once at the Orange Airport where I put
the first trim flights on and managed to land it on the tar, and once at 
Acton where I didn't accomplish a thing (trim or setup wise).  At the
Biddeford ME contest it was the first time I ever launched the Lovesong
on a winch and seconds later it was the first real thermal it ever caught.
The first flight was spent mostly trimming as it needed 4 or 5 clicks of
down trim and a couple of clicks of left trim.  By the time I got the plane
flying right I had lost the thermal.  On the second flight I dove too long
and got too much speed up and managed to flutter the entire wing - luck
It wasn't destroyed.  On the third flight I was launching down wind on the
winch when everything stopped.  I thought the battery died mid flight
but found out after that the retrieval line snagged and broke.  The plane
was only about 20 feet up and barely moving faster than the wind at our
backs but it was still capable of nosing over and making the landing zone.
Scared me good.  I'm not used to it yet - but I do love flying the Lovesong.
Consider that I took it to the WRAM show and it picked up a 3rd place trophy
in static and consider that this was it's first contest and it won 1st place.
Sure hope I don't total it too soon!  But it is not a hanger queen and I will
fly it until it breaks.  Also Dan Car was flying a yellow Lovesong and 
Walt Rady was flying a red Lovesong and there were some other large wingspan
high performance planes in amongst the 24 entered in unlimited class.  If fact
if a person had the freedom to pick a plane for the conditions I would have
picked a Gemini.  Les Gerhardt was flying a Gemini wing on a VS Sailplanes
fiberglass fuselage.  Great plane in a modest breeze.  Even tho it was windy
on the ground it was pretty calm aloft.  But don't get me wrong - I do
love my Lovesong.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

Thus ends Dan's mail answer.
Some after thoughts.

There is probably never a first place as good as your first win
but with so many friends present from DEC as well as the regulars
I can't imagine every enjoying a first as much.  



How am I doing on the humble meter?

Several have send me mail (and phone call) congratulations.
Thanks very much - makes me feel a little (2 percent maybe)
like Al Casey must feel when everyone sends him encouraging mail
before a Masters.

Several asked what I won.  In terms of GOLD, this contest was
not a front runner - that is I'm not complaining but I have seen
other winners take $150 Airtronics kits, etc.  For first place
I received a "Downeast Soaring Club T-Shirt, a $25.00 gift certificate
for Northeast Sailplanes Products, and a certificate mounted in a 8x10
frame.

My wife loves it when I win things like the $25 gift certificate.
Because she knows I will use it towards something costing much more.
When I won a $100 gift certificate at the Scale Masters raffle
in Dallas I put it towards a $250 engine.  I figure this one
will go towards a Pixy.

Several asked how much the sniffler helped.  
I think the answer is "a little".  I've convinced myself that the total
energy probe is only messing up the sniffler so I had it taped shut.
This caused the air intake to in fact be completely blocked off.
the result was more or less a constant tone.  But although I never heard
in increase in pitch when I was in a thermal I could hear a complete
dropout of pitch (not volume) when I was in big time sink.  So I did
kick in the reflex and cover some ground whenever the tone dropped out.
But it did seem as tho it only had two tones - sink air and other.
So I poked two holes in the tape with a pin for the next contest.

Several people in the past have remarked - "A blue airplane - how are
you going to see that in a blue sky?".  I always said "Only the top
is light blue - the bottom is dark blue and I never intend to look
at the top!".  That was almost true Saturday.  But I must admit that
I could only see the plane every half a turn.  But I'm used to that
because my Chuperosa is silver on top and I only see that every half
a turn also.  The only thing that bothers me about this scheme is
if you want to come back and point the things right at you - then
when you drop the nose - it just disappears.  So frequently on long
hauls back I frequently don't fly as efficiently as I should because
I keep sneaking in a motion or two so I can see it moving and reassure
myself that it is really where I think it is.

Sure glad to see no folded wings.  But I gotta warn you guys who were
stepping up to the winch for the first time.  We had a cross wind or
the wind was at out backs.  If we had a head wind you would find that
the winch would have been capable of breaking planes.  For instance
I will worry about lead foot Jim Reith at the next contest.  I don't
think his Gentle Lady (AKA Rude Bitch) can take much more.  So please
guys - don't get over confident based on your experience in Biddeford.
Those winches usually eat a plane or two every contest.

Now after all this talk about the win in Unlimited let's put this
in another perspective.  I heard several (non-DEC) contestants comment on
Dave Walter's HLG.  They were all amazed to see how well it flew
and how well he flew it.

I was talking to Ken Baker the CD and he was interested in
something other than straight thermal duration at some future
contest.  He is considering setting up a cross country course
and a HLG contest.  I've never flown cross country but I have
an LSF goal that requires a short one so I'd love an opportunity
to get that signed off.  Love to have an HLG contest - of course
we would all expect Dave Walter to win - but after all, several 
of us have his Penetrator plans.

In fact there is no reason we can't form a lunch time HLG contest (non-AMA)
in the Acton Soccer field.  Al we have to do is wrangle out the
rule(s) and come up with some good prizes.  If there is any interest
let's discuss it off-line in the Acton distribution list.  If there
is anybody out there who might frequent our Acton lunch time gliding
sessions and you would like to get on the Acton distribution list just
send mail to me or any of the Acton crew and we will mail out the new
list to the listies.

For those who care about such things - here's the story on the Genesis
flying wing.  I trimmed and repaired and trimmed and repaired and trimmed it.
Then I wing walked it and ripped the radio and servos out.  I actually
liked the way it glided once I got it launched - but it was so hard to 
get up without trimming and repairing.  Then one my last flight it snap
rolled (well of course it was my fault) and ripped the fuselage up.  It
could have been easily repairable in one evening - but I looked at it
as an opportunity to get out of the flying wing business.  It needed so
much reflex to fly straight the it could not have been too efficient.
Tho I must admit it seemed to glide nice.  My next biggest problem
with the Genesis was the Vision radio didn't give me much help.  It turns
out when you put it in the Elevaron template the launch and reflex switch
and the elevator preset switch positions all get ignored.  I could put
any value in them and flip the switch and nothing.  I really needed a ton
of down elevator during the launch and it all had to come out at the top
of the launch.  So I had to hold the stick forward with one hand while 
I threw the darn thing then take it out that way.  I was just getting used
to that when I turned down wind and it snapped.  Good riddance to bad rubbish
I thought.  At the Biddeford contest I net another fellow who also had a
Genesis.  His story sounded amazingly similar to mine.  His is history
also.

Sorry for rambling so long.

Thanks again for all the attaboys.

Now back to those Japanese Zero aileron hinges I was working on last night.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

    We had a good sod farm flying session on saturday.
    
    I took the Algebra, Chuperosa, and the Ninja, to get it's maiden
    flight, off the high start.
    
    I'm still wiating for my micro-RCD receiver to arrive, and the Vision
    is still at Airtronics getting checked, so all I had was the Vanguard
    rcvr. to swap between the three planes.
    
    First up was the Ninja. Hand toss revealed a slight tendency to
    tail waggle at a near-stall as it wasn't real happy about flying
    at hand launch speeds, but response was okay.
    On the high start it wanted to stall during the first 2 seconds,
    but it straightened out and flew nicely but briefly.
    
    Another full stretch hi-start launch, a tad more up trim, and DISASTER!
    It was fully stalled leaving my hand and snapped in inverted, 50
    ft. out. The nose was buried in the sod up to the l.e. The rest
    of the fuselage continued down range under the gentle impetus of
    the fully stretched rubber, the empennage flapping along behind,
    still attached by the kevlar rudder cord.
    
    The servos were deposited neatly along the route, but the rcvr.
    stayed onboard and rode 'er out.
    
    First impression was it's new fuselage time, but cooler examination
    reveals repairability. The wing, stab, and rudder came through ok,
    except for the l.e. dowel, and a ripped rudder hinge.
    
    I thought the c.g. was pretty far aft for a slope design, but dutifully
    followed the plans, then got carried away and put the tow hook 1/8"
    forward of the c.g. which made things worse on the launch.
    Next time, everthing will be shifted ~1/4" forward.
    
    Terry

Sunday I was laying around reading the paper when I heard the beautiful sound 
big rotary engines make. I raced outside and was greeted with the site of the 
local B-25 flying over. This B-25 is "SHOW-ME" and was seen as a backdrop to
the pilot interviews on the B-25 WINGS episode. That got me to thinking of the 
Desert Rat and how its been awhile since I called him so I went downstairs to
dial in to the system and get his number. While I'm waiting for NOTES to come up
I hear the sound of big radials again so I raced back outside thinking the B-25
was coming back. This time it was only a single, the prettiest bipe to ever fly, 
the Beech Stagger Wing. What a way to start the day.

I called Al and we had a nice chat. He was especially please to learn of Kay's 
recent 1st place finish. He had a question for Kay when I told him about Kay's 
cost analysis on the Lovesong. Al want's to know if the price of paying off the 
contest judges was included in that list? 8^)

Al asked me if I had seen the latest Scale Modeler. There's suppose to be an 
artical in it about the YAK-9 with reference to a kit. Al is seriously 
considering making this his next scale project. He's contacted the fellow 
producing the kit and the guy will give Al a break on some stuff since Al will
be campaigning the ship.

Al and I talked about K&B. He said the only thing he'd heard was a blurb in 
one of the Mags from K&B stating that they were behind in production due to 
their recent move.

I asked Al if he was getting much flying in and he said he was. Monday he was 
suppose to go out with Chuck Baldridge ( he called me last Thursday from 
Phonix hunting for Al's number.)and Kent Walters to see the maiden flight of the 
new Dauntless. Hope it went well. Al said to pass a howdy back to everybody.

Sunday afternoon, after the daily thunder storm I got out to our field for a 
couple of flights on the Concept 30.  Nice but wet flying. Monday afternoon I 
got to go back to a much dryier field and put in three more flights. While I
was there, I heard something unusual and looked up to see a formation of 5
planes pass over. A couple generic bipes, the Beech Stager Wing, a generic 
Cessna and a Rutan canard design I can't remember the name of. Nice way to 
finish off the weekend.

    Well, Simsbury was interesting yesterday. We had Dan Miner, Steve
    Smith, Dave Walter, Kay Fisher and myself there. They flew 2 meter,
    Standard and open classes with 2 rounds of 8 minute precision duration.
    Dave was the only one of us in the money this time with another 3rd
    place finish in Standard. Conditions were very variable during the day
    and there were so many people there with ch34 radios that after lunch
    they just had everyone with ch34 queue up near the winches and the freq
    pin went back to the winch master. One father/son team signed up for
    all three rounds (both) with the same plane on ch34. They were the last
    ones on the winch.
    
    Conditions were light and the breeze started to pick up in the morning
    but the sun came out and there was some good air during the first
    round. Several contestants went WAY downwind and managed to get back
    but I'm still amazed at how far people are willing to go downwind.
    
    Dan managed to find a balsa magnet, Steve "went for it" on one of his
    landings and then did a field repair on his wing tip panel that let him
    fly his final round. I had my best contest round as my first flight
    including a 90 on landing (but fizzled as the air got worst later in
    the day), Kay got some good rounds in but got stuck in the later bad
    air due to the ch34 queue, Dave still topped out his Predator flights
    while handlaunching, and finally, Shane (sp?) that come to the contests
    with Kay folded his Spirit wings on launch but got them field repaired
    and managed to get the top Junior award. There was one midair with one
    contestant spinning in (Walt Rady) and one collision in the landing
    circle where one guy's leading edge lost to someone's shin.
    
    The real fun was having 7-8 HLGs all in the air at the same time after
    the contest was over. Someone's going to have to ask Dave Walter what
    he was thinking when he took on Helmut in the air. Helmut said there
    was damage but we couldn't tell with all the tape and smiley stickers.

 Sunday was a fun day at Simsbury. Although I didn't finish in the money,
I didn't do to badly considering this is only the second contest of the
year, and my third ever. I finished 17th in standard which was middle of
the pack, and 8th in unlimited with 38 contestants. I had two good flights,
one so so flight, and one )*$*^(_ flight. My best overall flight was just
under 6 minutes and a 97 point landing. Next best was a 7 minute 58 second
flight and 13 landing points (this is where I lost the wing tip.) One other
flight was 3 minutes and something and the last one was only a minute and
a half. I missed landing points on one flight because 3 guys decided to
have a debriefing session while practically standing on top of the target.
I had to abort my approach and make a 360 and never did make it back to
the target. The wing tip was lost on my third flight when I was going for
landing points. I ended up getting knife edge too low to the ground turning
in toward the target and, with spoilers deployed, it just dropped onto the
wing tip which snapped cleanly off. It was field repaired thanks to Jim
Reith and his wood/tools/glue supply and is now just as strong as it ever
was. Covering was replaced with clear vinyl tape. I think I'll leave it
that way and just tell everyone I'm following in the footsteps of Helmut
Lelkie.

As Jim said, there was one midair that destroyed a plane. It was unfortunate
because the crash damage wasn't bad and a sprung spoiler caused the crash.
Walt Reedy (Reidy) and his Prodigy (??) with built up wing tangled with
someone else with a foam/fiberglass wing and Walt lost. Actual midair
damage was only about a 2"X2" section taken out of the leading edge back
to the spar. The problem was, the impact was directly in front of the
spoiler. Walt managed to recover temporarily but then the plane just flipped
over and spiraled straight in. Seems that when he pulled out of the dive
recovering from the crash, the left spoiler came loose and twisted 90 degrees
sticking straight up (almost) out of the top of the wing and somewhat out
the bottom. With all that drag, there wasn't enough control throw to 
overcome it, and that was all she wrote.

There were alot of gutsy fliers there that went WAY downwind. One guy was
so far out, Dave and I were speculating that he was approaching the limit
of his Xmitter range. He made it back no problem much to the surprise of
just about everyone.

Jim Reith Jr. was doing alot of timing for people and timed for me on two
flights. He did a great job. He always kept me aware of what was going on
without being intrusive, and was responsible for getting me down for my 
7:58 flight. He was also aggressive enough to get his point across when I
didn't understand him. Like the time he suggested I move because there were
people behind me. I just thought to myself, ok I'll just remember their
there. Jim then restated his suggestion making me realize I was only a few
feet away from the winch line and could get my skull tent pegged if I didn't
move. I moved. Now if he'll only get off his butt and get his glider built,
I can return the favor.

Oh yea, and then there was Dan Miner and the tree. Out of 40 fliers, I think
he was the ONLY ONE that had to go tree climbing.

Dave Walter got another third place. He makes me sick. 8^)

I don't know where Kay finished, but he had some more great flights with
the Lovesong.

All in all, I think the LTA (lighter than air) crowd did well.

Steve

    You guys are kicking some &*** on the Eastern contest circuit !
    Congrats Dave on 3rd place, and when the rest of you can finish
    the day with all planes flyable , it's a success all around.
    
    Yesterday here, was a peculiar day with breezes ~15 mph and low
    scudding cumuli aranged in parallel cloud streets as far as the
    eye could see. The air was so dynamic that massive lift, the strongest
    I've ever encountered, would suddenly break out and carry the plane
    from 50 ft. to 300 ft. in the space of two turns.
    This was a little too exciting with the Chup, so I got out the Algebra
    which is a little too fast for the small park we were flying off of,
    and had the same spectacular climbs. Landing was a trip, zooming
    back and forth and circling over the spot until I thought it was
    flying slow enough to set 'er down.
    
    Terry
    
    
    
    

Here are the standings through 3rd place:

	2-Meter			Standard		Unlimited
	--------		--------		---------
1.	Mike Lechowski		Mike Lechowski		Dennis Phelan
2.	Chris Ordzie		Tom Peghiny		John Marion
3.	Hans Wiederkehr		Dave Walter		Hans Wiederkehr

Combined high scorer, Juniors: Shane Ellison	
Combined high scorer overall: Mike Lechowski


It was a tough contest. With so many entrants, we could only fly two rounds,
so they made them LONG rounds, 8 minute duration. You couldn't afford to make
any mistakes or you were out of it. My two best flights were in Standard class, 
I got 515 and 568 points out of a possible 580. The only reason I held onto
third place was that some very good pilots didn't get to fly the second round
in Standard until the air had cooled off and the lift became scarce. 

I am still amazed at the pilots who didn't place: Helmut Lelke, John Nilsson,
Jim Tyrie, and expecially Tom Keisling, the guy who flew his 2 Meter downwind
almost to the limit of visibility and still got it back. Each of these pilots
is fully capable of cleaning up at a contest, but... all it takes is one bad
flight. In fact, Tyrie folded the wings on at least one plane and had to suffer
the abuse of some lady as he retrieved the wreckage from her yard.

And nobody mentioned the hazard on the other side of the field: a herd of some
sort of bizarre Irish longhorn cattle, grazing contentedly just on the other
side of the electrified fence. We know it was electrified, one young girl found
out the hard way.

I heard second hand that the overall winner, Mike Lechowski, really cleaned
house last year on the ESL (Eastern Soaring League) circuit. As a Sportsman,
he frequently scored higher at contests than the best Experts. I believe he is
now classified as Expert. He flew a Magic in the Unlimited class and made me
a believer; I watched him execute an absolutely perfect landing, nose right 
onto the mark at a very slow, but steep angle of descent. 

However, the most fun I had was the handlaunch session after the contest was
completed. As Jim said, 6 or 8 handlaunches all buzzing around in the same 
airspace like a pack of mosquitos. Pilots swapping planes. I was attempting
as many loops as possible from a toss (2 1/2). Helmut and I had a midair at 
about 6 feet. Jim then flew his Gnome up Helmut's back while he was trying to
put his plane back together. One talented pilot landed his plane on top of
someones truck. Sal broke his Vector (?) wing simply by throwing it too hard.
All in all, I was proud to be a part of such chaotic lunacy.

Oh, yeah, I just remembered, there was another DECie there, Mike (Mark?)
*mumble* from Shrewsbury. He should give us a beginners viewpoint of the 
contest.

Dave

    There was a pretty good crew from CRRC also but I don't remember the
    names. Might be interesting to put that in the local file.

    Dave reminded me of a couple of things. First is the electrified
    fence. I'm pretty familiar with these as my great grandfather had a
    farm, cows, a barn full of hay just made for jumping into, and an
    ELECTRIFIED fence. Standing on dry ground, on a dry day, you can grab
    onto the fence and just feel a tingling sensation in your hand. Wet
    your hand and you'll get knocked on your A**. As Dave said, some kids
    found this out. I'm talking about a different matter. Like the time
    Jim Reith is helping re-install my wing tip and were sitting next to
    the fence. Jim's son is holding onto the fence just getting that little
    tingling sensation. Jim senior, firmly planted on the ground reaches up
    and grabs his son promptly grounding them both. I thought Jim Jr. was
    going to go into cardiac arrest.
    
    The second was a comment made by Jim Tyre. As Dave said, this guy is
    perfectly capable of sweeping any contest, but he was having a bad day.
    His first couple of flights were less than max time and landings wern't
    that great. Then he folds the wings on the Falcon. Next flight up with
    his two meter falcon, he's overheard telling his timer "he'd be better
    off launching the plane and throwing the transmitter in the woods."
    
    

    I got out this weekend for a little stick stirring. Saturday I went out
    to the field late in the afternoon. Only one other club member there
    which suited me fine. He warned me that the bugs were a bear so I
    sprayed on the bug repellent and took the Concept up. The bugs were
    bad. Half a tank later I had to make an emergency landing because
    something big had landed on my elbow and decided to ignore the bug
    spray. After swatting it I flew the rest of the tank out, packed up,
    and went back home.
    
    I went out earlier Sunday evening and it was beautiful. A light wind
    was keeping the bugs at bay and the temperature reasonable. I started
    flying the Concept way out and up high for fun. Half a tank later
    something went wrong. At the end of one pass down the field I noticed I
    was holding in full right rudder to keep the tail straight. I used the 
    weathervane effect of the tail in forward flight to get me down to
    about ten feet before coming into a hover and settling in. It hit and
    flipped over. Damage was light considering things. The only damage was
    the tailboom is mangled. I'll replace that tonight and then try to
    figure out what happend to the tail rotor. A quick check didn't turn up
    any clues.

    Re: .670
    
    Yeah, my son found out what the cows already knew. He had sneakers on
    and was holding the fence and saying that it only tingled a little bit.
    I thought I'd teach him a lesson and knowing full well that I was well
    grounded, tapped him on the hand, completing the circuit. He didn't go
    back and touch it again 8^)
    
    Little did I know that a little while later, my wife stopped by with my
    middle daughter. My daughter spotted the cattle (all I could think of
    was beefalos - buffalo/cow mix) and went over to the fence and then
    tapped my wife on the arm while holding the fence. My wife was wearing
    sandals and they both found the yellow signs to be correct 8^)

>> (all I could think of was beefalos - buffalo/cow mix) 


  They are probably Scottish Highlanders - large, really shaggy looking
cattle. The males have HUGE horns! There is a herd of them just down
the street from where I live in Westboro.


                  Jim  (just in case anyone was wondering...8^)

    An odd mixture of tragi-comedy this weekend.
    In the sat. contest I took 10th, out of 15, with three flights of,
    1:09, 1:27, 1:49, in a three round, 6 minute precision duration.
    Tail wind launches all day, something the Algebra doesn't like.
    
    Then I helped a guy launch his new Legend, 4 flights on it, and
    he launched downwind with way too much flap.  It was fully stalled
    from the moment it left his hand and couldn't gain speed because
    of the flaps. After 3-4 seconds of wild gyrations, he javalined
    it in from 50 ft. Broke off a wing tiplet, and cracked the center
    leading edge, but the fuselage and tail came through unscathed.
    Thats the second time I've seen a Legend bury its nose with minor
    damage. The massive tail structure is beginning to seem worthwhile.
    
    On sunday while flying the Chup in the park with 3-count them-3
    other guys, I get shot down when another guy launches on my freq!
    My back was to him and I didn't even know he was in the air. Then
    the Chup started responding sluggishly, then lost all rudder control
    while flying straight & level directly away from me. I ran toward
    it and got control long enough to do a 180, then it suddenly goes
    in vertically from 30 ft. I assumed a range problem. Amazing, the
    plane wasn't hurt, broken wing bolt of course, but rcvr. flew out
    and sheared off the wires just where they exit the servo plugs.
    
    When I walked back to where the other guy was flying, he apologizes
    for turning on, in the meantime his plane is thermalling out !
    He never had a radio on chan 32 before and assumed no one else did
    either! Grrrr.
           
    Terry

    Here are the results of today's Downeast Soaring Club contest in 
    Biddeford, Maine.  There are some names missing, and so the ranks 
    (determined from a sort of the scores below) might be in error.
    The missing names are: Jim Reith, Art Faria, Steve Savoi, and Dan
    Miner.  I believe the top ranks are all correct:  Anker took first
    in unlimited, Jeff took third in two meter, and [thanks to Jeff's 
    coaching] I took third in unlimited.  I also took last in two meter.

    2 meter class:
       rank             score    
        
        1                751            Jim Tyrie
        2                741            Ken Baker
        3                735            Jeff Friedrichs
        4                733            Mike Stains
        5                658            Preston Heller
        6                653            Steve Shommer
        7                577            Walt Rady
        8                559            Kay Fisher
        9                518            Shane Ellison
       10                509            Anker Berg-Sonne
       11                493            Alton Ryder
                        
    unlimited: 
       rank             score    

        1                535            Anker Berg-Sonne
        2                533            Preston Heller
        3                532            Alton Ryder
        4                523            Jim Tyrie
        5                482            Jeff Friedrichs
        6                423            Walt Rady
        7                417            Ken Baker
        8                411            Les Gerhart
        9                411            Shane Ellison
       10                404            Steve Shommer
       11                403            Mike Stains
       12                368            Kay Fisher

    This contest was flown in the rain under a low ceiling.  (I think that
    Tyrie went out of sight on every launch --- does that guy have infrared
    vision?)  The first round was 3 minutes and landing; the second round 
    5 and landing.  There was usually enough lift to support those times.

    Jim turned his Gentle Lady into a missile.  Tell us about it, Jim.
    There were other destructions also.

    Mike Stains learned that tape hinges are not water-proof, but he fixed
    them before any mishap.  My launch problems of last month were the
    result of a rear-ward CG; I was happy today with every launch.

    If I had done a better job of responding to Jeff's instructions, I
    would not have been last in two meter.  I WILL NOT be last next month!
    (Next months date and the rest of the summer schedule can be found in
    note 546.13 and also in note 642.4, thanks to a mistake on my part.)

    Well, the weekend started after work on friday for me. I headed down to
    Bose and met Dave W and Jaime?? and later George Mills for some slope
    fun. I didn't even take the Ninja out of the car when I got there. The
    wind was from the west but Dave was having to work to keep the Predator
    up in the light breeze. We decided to head over to St. Marks and string
    out Dave's long histart. I worked out some stress by making high speed
    passes over the field and lots of loops and rolls and managed to scare
    myself with a pylon turn past the trees where I swear I bounced off my
    own shadow. Having vented some stress, I swapped off with Dave and he
    seemed to enjoy the change of pace 8^) Several of us were doing touch
    and go landings and I tried a high speed grass top pass but when I
    pulled up I wacked the tail onto the ground and that caused me to
    tumble. No damage. About this time Dave and George were playing follow
    the leader and George flew into the side of one of the trees down near
    the church (no, Dave didn't follow) Took about an hour to get the plane
    down but there really wasn't any damage so I'm sure George will be back
    out with it this week.
    
    Sunday was the second Biddeford contest. The entire family went up this
    time and it didn't look too promising as we drove through the fog and
    drizzle. When we got there people were checking the ceiling and
    disappearing through it. I signed up for both classes with my Gentle
    Lady. Second guy up the winch folded a wing and helicoptered down. I
    got in a 3:06 with 62 landing points for the 3 minute duration. I felt
    good about my chances. This was going to be a floater's contest. My
    first unlimited round was better time (3:04) but short on landing points
    (27). They opened up round 2 for 5 minute duration since most of us made
    the 3 minute mark in the previous round. The ceiling seemed to be
    breaking up and I feed a little more flap into the launch. I managed to
    stay clear up to the top (although my left tip panel was almost
    vertical) and force of habit, I zoomed. Kaboom! Pieces everywhere. The
    tips and tail were drifting downwind, the center section of the wing
    was tumbling down and the fuselage was standing up straight out of the
    ground. Guess I shouldn't have zoomed. The plane is amazingly intact.
    The fuselage survived the tent pegging, the wing center section just
    cracked a few ribs and the tips separated the two rib bays where the
    pins are for the plug in panels. The bad news is that I broke the JR
    PCM Rx with the impact. Back to JR for service and time to rebuild.
    There were some surprises in the standings and DECcies in the standings
    but I'll let somebody else list them since I didn't write them down.

    Certainly an interesting day...
    
    After seeing practice launches end up in the clouds, we very nearly 
    decided to leave...  But Dan Miner and Jim R. shamed us into staying..
    THANKS GUYS!
    
    I flew my Drifter in 2 meter and Spirit in unlimited....  I am still
    not real comfortable with the Spirit so I figured the unlimited would
    be throw aways anyways...  I was also concerned that the twice folded
    Drifter wing would not make it through 6 winch launches...  So I only
    subjected it to 3...
    
    To give proper credit...  Dan Miner placed 5th in Unlimited, nudging me
    out of the top 5...  Oh well...
    
    Poor Anker, with his LSF form already being filled out, Kay reminds him
    that 3 rounds are required for the contest to count for LSF...  You
    should have seen Anker begging for another round then!
    
    Speaking of LSF, I have to pay more atttention to landing distance for 
    my LSF level....  I had 1 if not 2 qualifiying landings
    yesterday, but I didn't think to measure and record them...  Maybe I 
    will call the CD and find out my points and convert them to distance..
    
    It was a soggy day, and I still couldn't believe how many people 
    intentionally went IFR....
    
    
    Hey, isn't it about time for the 1st annual Deccie glider contest??
    If there is interest, I will try to borrow a winch I know of...
    
    cheers,
    jeff
    

After attending the CRRC contest in the rain and mist last year (or
was it the year before) when we arrived at Biddeford and saw the mist
I was delighted.  For reasons I don't fully understand when the weather
turns sour the glider guiders have more fun.  More fun is poked at everyone
and during heavier rain everyone huddles under the few tents and talks
gliders.  I love it.

I only found one thermal yesterday and I got disoriented in the 1st or
second turn and fell out of it.  The rest of the time the air was so thick
and the winch launches good enough that I could circle for max flights.

I was all set to launch again and fun fly afterwards but when I went to get
the Lovesong I found my hatch cover had come off.  The water softened
the wood tab that tucked under the aft fuselage so I didn't want to fly
and get the fuselage full of water.  As I was putting the Sagitta away I
notices a serious crack around the fuselage (probably caused by the contest
before last where all landings were harsh).  Also the hatch cover on the
Sagitta is held in the rear with tape and that came off.  So I'm going
to be glassing on some serious hatch cover retaining tabs tonight.

Fun contest and I can't wait for another bad weather contest.  I heard
the weatherman say hazy hot and humid temp around 90 so I brought two
coats, plus a raincoat and a sweat shirt but I forgot an extra pair of
boots.  

Congratulations to all who took home plaques and especially to Al Ryder
on his first trip to the winner's circle - who modestly claims luck.  He had 
good flights and good landings and didn't break his airplane.  Doesn't sound
like luck to me!

By the way - one retriever dies before the contest started so they had this
young kid shagging the parachute.  All day long in the drizzle and mist
he was hustling.  Rumor was someone offered him a quarter for each chute
he caught.  Anyway at the end of the contest they passed the hat for donations
for the Chute Shagger - I'm sure he got a buck from every contestant.  I hope
he buys a gentle lady and whips us next time!

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

                For you guys contemplating or building Legends - you will
        love it!
        
                The Biddeford was my first contest with the Legend and my
        fifth or sixth time  out  with it.  Up to the previous time out I
        put all of my time  into trimming it, setting up the Vision radio
        and getting used to the plane.  Just last weekend I had the first
        really good flight on it - after  following  Fritz  Bien's advice
        and adding more weight to the nose.
        
                At Biddeford the plane flew like on rails.   Not a single
        stall and absolutely perfect thermal turns.
        
                The trick on heavy overcast and drizzle seems to be to go
        for the dark parts of the clouds and then keep  the plane just in
        sight.  Using this technique I maxed on every flight (except  the
        one where I popped off).
        
                A note about the Legend:  The flaps are so short that you
        cannot  come  in  nearly as steeply as with a Comano or Lovesong.
        You have to use the flaps (Crow in my case) much as you would use
        spoilers.  You come in a bit high and a bit fast and then use the
        crow to slow the plane and get it to sink.
        
        Anker

    Congrats on your win Anker, and to Al and all you guys who demonstrate
    such devotion to having "fun" ? Wood soaking, tape dissolving,
    disappearing into the rain clouds, sheesh, and I complain when the
    wind shifts 20 degrees.
    
    Anker, how do the tape hinges hold up on the Legend in the wet?
                 
    It's interesting that you use crow on landing. When I watched the
    Airtronics team in AZ. in january, none of them used crow, and landing
    speed were low with flaps alone, at ~1200 ft. field elevation.
    Over here, the two present Legend fliers come in noticeably faster
    with full flaps, but at 6200 ft. They don't use crow either.
    
    I've scheduled two more weeks to complete my Legend. Down to the
    fiddly stuff now.
                                                
    Terry

    We had an excellent sod farm session yesterday. 5 mph winds, gradually
    developing cumuli. One massive anvil developed southwest of the
    field and shut off the sun between Phoenix and Okla. City ;^) for
    about an hour.
    
    My best flight on the Algebra was only 13 minutes but I did it,
    including the launch, with the right aileron clevis disconnected.
    I stood there grumbling the whole time about how sluggish the left
    turns were, never considering that I had a problem; then nearly
    cartwheeled it on landing when I couldn't raise the right wing,
    and only noticed the off clevis when I was slipping the wing back
    on the rods.
    
    Phil had some good flights on his Multiplex Flamingo, "Big Meat",
    so named because on a downwind launch you may as well be throwing
    a 10 lb. salami out there, for all the good it's gonna do 'ya.
            
    Taylor tried some new flourescent green line, made in Turkey, on
    his retreiver drum. For the first 5 or 6 launches there were the
    mother of all line snarls on the retreiver line, then the stuff
    got broken in or something, and it worked great.
    Retreiver malfunctions are ~10 times more likely than winch problems,
    so any little improvement helps.
    
    A few more weeks and I'll be flying the Legend at these shindigs.
    
    Terry

RE: Note 771.675 by ABACUS::RYDER
    unlimited: 
       rank             score    

        1                535            Anker Berg-Sonne
        2                533            Preston Heller
        3                532            Alton Ryder
        4                523            Jim Tyrie
  ***	5   **********	 494   *******  DAN MINER  ***********
        6                482            Jeff Friedrichs
        7                423            Walt Rady
        8                417            Ken Baker
        9                411            Les Gerhart
       10                411            Shane Ellison
       11                404            Steve Shommer
       12                403            Mike Stains
       13                368            Kay Fisher

This was only my 3rd contest and I was elated to come in 5th!.  It was
definately a day where an Olympic II was the glider of choice.  

I blew the landing on the first flight and got 0 landing points.   And
to think if I coulda' only gotten 42 points, I'd woulda' taken first!! 
(Coulda', woulda', shoulda'...)  The final approach to the circle was
out over a small "valley" so it was difficult to judge the proper glide
angle.  Then, at the last minute, I made a turn downwind too far and
couldn't make it back to the circle.

My second flight was short on time (3:45? for 5 min. duration) but I got
a 95 on the landing!!!  Hey, I *CAN* do this landing circle "thingy"!  :-)  
Now all I need to do is practice a few more thousand flights and maybe
I'll get "LUCKY" enough to take 3rd place next time.  :-)

I've got to mention...  The first thing Alton Ryder says to me when he
sees me is "Hey Dan, it's good to see you here - now I won't have to be
in last place this contest."  What a wiseguy.  

So, of course, the glove had been thrown down.  We were having fun all
day giving each other verbal abuse about our flying.  For example, on
Alton's first flight, he gets something like 3:05 (3 min. dur.) with 92
landing points.  As soon as I see him, I say "Hey Alton, you suck!".  It
was a fun day.

Congratulations on your 3rd place, Alton.  You deserved it even if I do
think I deserved it more.  :-)  (Just kidding...)

Alton, see you at the NEXT contest, you big hunk of "cannon fodder".

Jeff - a DECie soaring contest sounds like fun.  When and where?

                       _____
                      |     \
                      |      \                          Silent POWER!
      _        ___________    _________   |            Happy Landings!
     | \      |           |  |         |  |
     |--------|-  SANYO  + ]-|  ASTRO  |--|              - Dan Miner
     |_/      |___________|  |_________|  |
                      |       /           |     " The Earth needs more OZONE,
                      |      /                       not Castor Oil!! "    
                      |_____/

>>    Phil had some good flights on his Multiplex Flamingo, "Big Meat",
>>    so named because on a downwind launch you may as well be throwing
>>    a 10 lb. salami out there, for all the good it's gonna do 'ya.
            
    :-)  :-)  :-)  :-)  :-)  :-)  :-)  :-)  :-)  :-)  

    Poeple around my office are wondering what's so funny.  I sure got a
    good laugh out of that one...

    
     ENOUGH already with the thermals and gliders! Jeesh yous guys
    seem to be taking over da conference. :^) :^)
    
     So for those of us that LOVE the smell of glow fuel here's my
    POWER story. Down here in absolutely beautiful Virgina we took
    to the sky with my flying tank the HOTS II. This be after a xx
    month sabatical. (Cannot tell ya how long cause you'll laugh).
    
     I do my trusty hand launch. More air time that way. All hands look
    skyward. The HOTs is away. Well it takes my four or five laps to figure
    out I got my dual rates on. Darn, thing ain't flying right. Oh lookie
    here, switch, Gee that's better. So I manage to get right sized up for
    some fun now. Hmm, what's THAT noise. Prop and Spinner come off. Now a
    HOTS ain't something ya wanna come in with dead stick after xx layoff.
    
     Some smuck remarks "Darn thing sure glides nice", hey it ain't gliding
    bud its falling. Manage to get her lined up and 12 feet off the deck
    when, WHAMO! tip stall. One dead HOTS. Busted me muffler right off.
    
     Got a forward swept wing now too. About 3 hours worth of repairs.
    Some smuck remarks "Darn thing looks good after that crash", hey
    it wasn't a crash. I ran out of airspeed.
    
     Out of five people flying we had three crashes, two totals. BAD DAY.
    
    -Later,
     Mike Z. (now you glider guys can have it back) :^)

	Had an interesting weekend. Yet another servo has failed on me (am I
	a magnet for lousy components?). I have a Futaba micro system in my
	Predator with S33 servos. Been using this radio for years with no 
	problems. Saturday I tried flying the slope at Bose, but wasn't very
	successful due low windspeed and bad wind direction. After several
	problem-free flights, I launched again and the plane wouldn't turn
	right (actually, it wouldn't turn at all but I got fooled), so I
	ended up doing left turns down to the slope where I put it into the
	grass damage free. The rudder was stuck at dead center, no response.

	Of course, after all the comments in this notefile, I assumed the 
	S33 nylon gears had failed. Nope. The motor died. Sort of. If I
	gave the shaft a nudge it might start up, or it might not. But it's
	definitely broke. Does Futaba fix that, and does it cost any less 
	than a new servo?

	On the power side of the hobby: yesterday was to be the CRRC Scooter
	Race. Of course, the weather pretty much put the kabosh on that. A
	few hardcores showed up, but the intermittant rain would drive us
	under the tarp, and worse that that was the mist that obscured the
	plane if it was more than 700 or so feet away. We tried a few practice
	races, with John Ross brave enough to man the signal board at the
	away pylon. Chris Schuck and I were circling the course when Fritz
	Bein took off and immediately tried to join us. Fritz is a highly
	experienced pilot, but somehow his eyes latched onto my plane (it
	was very misty remember) thinking it was his own, and in seconds
	his Scooter was spiraling into the tall grass at full bore. Nothing
	much left of it forward of the wing, and he had to pull the K&B .20
	out of the ground. We packed up and left after that.

	Dave

    Dave, it may be that just the pot has gone bad.  That should
    be fairly inexpensive to replace...

                                - Dan

No, I checked the pot and it's working fine. The problem is definitely the
motor. It acts as if it is binding, or there's a dead spot, because once it
gets spinning it's ok. Be nice if I could just replace the motor, but it seems
to be permanently bonded to the servo case.

    Another good, windless, sod farm flying session on sunday.
    John showed up with a V-tail Bird of Time. He used the stock fuselage
    from the wing t.e. forward, and faired a tapered fiberglass fishing
    rod into the aft end, to make a very neat pod & boom.
    
    The V- tail had a fixed stab with separate elevators. Stock plan
    form with ~ 4" larger span, elevators had ~ 2 times more area than
    stab, ~ 90 included angle.
    
    It hand tossed ok, but for the first hi-start launch he handed it
    to Thornburg. Dave grabs it and says, "your tow hook is 4 1/2 "
    too far forward."
    
    They decide to  try it anyway. 
    Up it goes at a shallow but acceptable angle, for trim purposes.
    Two seconds after release, FLUTTER, big time. Both ruddervators
    were just a blur. We watched open mouthed, expecting them to explode
    at any moment. John eases back on the stick to slow 'er down. It
    makes it off the end still intact, and flies real nice.
    
    John moves the tow hook back twice and gets rid of the launch flutter.
    Then on the 5th or 6th launch, he veers sharp left on release and
    dorks it pretty bad. Fuselage comes through intact, wing broken
    in three places, one ruddervator torn off. It's repairable.
    
    In the meantime Ted is flying his immaculate red and yellow BOT.
    This thing is a museum piece. If there were such a thing as precision
    scale static judging for non-scale gliders, this thing would win
    hands down.
    Dave is also flying his 14 year old BOT.
    People are wandering around muttering, "so when are we going to
    get the plans and build one of those ?"
    
    Suddenly it's 1977.
    
    Terry 

    
    I had a good weekend.  I was able to complete the covering of the LA-1
    wing I'm working on and dusted off the Calypso to get in three flights.
    The field I usually go to was hosting a scale fly-in so I opted for
    a place in West Springfield called the Eastern Satate Exposition.  This
    place host's many events each year and has a large parking lot.  I'd
    guess it's about 80 arces in size with a couple of paved roads through
    the middle.  This year they've removed all but three telephone poles
    for lights.  This makes the area better and allows you to use the road 
    as a runway.  I put in three flights on the Calypso.   This is the
    first time I've used the new JR347 and I was comletely comfortable
    after the first flight.  On the first landing I was a little hot
    because of the trim set-up.  On the ground it took all of 5 seconds 
    to reset the travel adjustment to shut down the carb.  Computer
    radios are GREAT!!!  I finish the day with the two other flights
    actually using most on them to practice the pattern.  Felt good to 
    get some stick time.
    
    
    							Tom 

    The good news:	I finished the Chuperosa this weekend.
    The not so good:	It came out a bit heavy at 19.23 ounces flying weight.
    The worse news:	I crashed the Chuperosa this weekend.
    The bad news:	I fried a new receiver.  

    I then put modeling aside and worked on the sheep fence.

    Here are the results of yesterday's Downeast Soaring Club contest  
    --- the "Biddeford, Maine" contest which was not held in Biddeford 
    this month.  Because it has been so very dry, the owner of the sod 
    farm closed the property to protect the sod; the officers of the host
    club learned of it only the night before the contest.  Yesterday at 
    an impromptu pilot's meeting it was decided to move the contest to
    Amherst, New Hampshire --- reasonably close to being near home or
    nearly on the way home for many of the attendees.  The Amherst site, 
    about eight miles west of MKO, was known with certainty to be available.
    About 17 pilots went to Amherst, including at least three from Maine. 
    For a dozen people, the day started with three to five hours of driving.

    Next month's contest is apt to be held in southern New Hampshire.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------

    First, some humor.  Terry Sweeney was sharing/flying my plane, a
    beat-up, two meter Wanderer.  He had trimmed it on his first flight, and
    evidently did a perfect job of it.  On his second flight he forgot to
    turn on the receiver, but the plane went up, disconnected from the
    winch, went into a gentle turn to avoid some trees, and landed; his
    time was 1:11 with no landing points --- almost the same as his next
    attempt.  p.s.  To launch without turning on the receiver, you have to
    ignore a fluorescent orange ribbon hanging in your face.

    There was one event, an unlimited seven minute duration, spot landing. 
    Three rounds were flown (eat your heart out, Anker) with the low score
    discarded. There were fifteen competitors plus two pilots who did not
    compete. There was only one smash-up, a wing folding that almost survived.
    
       rank  score    
        
        1     988     Tom Kiesling       MA
        2     927     Jim Tyrie          NH
        3     853     Lincoln Ross       MA
        4     810     Alton Ryder        NH
        5     755     Mike Stains        NH
        6     689     Alan Ball          NH?
        7     651     Jack Russell       ME
        8     568     Steve Shommer      NH
        8     568     Harry Newman       NH
       10     532     Russell Keith       ?
       11     511     Ken Baker          ME
       12     492     Terry Sweeney      NH
       13     423     Kay Fisher         MA
       14     391     Art Faria          NH
       15     298     Steve Brady        NH

    Well I'm not a very happy puppy. I got there nice and earky and the
    contest director said no contest and they were going to go slope
    soaring two hours north. I said I'll pass and went to the beach.
    It seemed the obvious thing to do was to find another site. I must
    of saw several potential flyable fields on the way to the beach
    (with in 15 minutes).

    The one loss of the day was very interesting...
    
    It was a 100" size plane that lost just one outer panel.  With everyone
    kibitzing, he got it most of the way down, holding full opposite rudder
    into it.  We all thought he was going to make, even though he was
    generally headed towards the pits and trees.
    
    He said later that he didn't want to put it into the pits, so he tried
    to let it turn...  When he released pressure, I think he also fed in
    some up, as the bird seemed to stall and spin in from about 30'.  He
    broke up the tail and the rest of the wing pretty well.
    
    Too bad, I thought he was going to save it!
    
    cheers,
    jeff
    

    Damn, damn, damn!
    
    I got up there sometime after George but before 8:30. After trying out
    the port-o-potty I started to get directions until they got to the part
    where you drove north for 2.5 hours. Thanks guys. If there's wind, I'll
    hit Bose, if not, I'll stop by St Mark's in Southboro.
    
    I thought I saw Kay go by as I was getting gas to head home. I wish I
    had stayed. Amherst NH is about halfway home for me. Bah humbug

This past weekend I was in the mood for something a little different so I dug 
out the .25 sized Artic Tern I built last summer and decided to give it another
try. The last time I tried flying it I had problems keeping it from going over 
on it's nose during the take-off run. I gave up that try after damaging the wing
hold-downs in a tumble.

Saturday, I took the ship out and spent about an hour fussing with the engine.
It was ok at idle and mid-range but had no top end. I finally got that taken
care of and then asked one of the experienced fixed wing flyers to give flying
it a try. He managed to taxi it about 3 feet before it dumped over on its nose.
That made me feel better and after looking the situation over he suggested I
move the gear location forward to work a little better on our grass field.

Sunday, I went back with modified gear and gave it another shot. A fellow club
member I hadn't seen for a year was out and I knew he had lots of experience 
with small planes so I asked for his help. The Artic Tern was a handful untill 
he got it trimmed out and I was really glad I had asked for help. My reflexes 
would have been up to the task but my responses learned from heli flying might 
have got the better of me.

With the Artic Tern trimmed out and up high he handed the transmitter over to me
and for the first time I was flying my own fixed wing glow fuel powered ship. It 
was kinda nice. No batteries to shortly run down like my Electra and unlike the 
helicopters, the Artic Tern was stable enough that I could take a hand off the
stick long enough to scratch whatever needed itching. The paint job on the Tern
is a colorful orange with yellow strips. There's a Yellow strip along the top 
leading edge of the wing that would flash in the sunlight everytime I made a 
turn to the West towards me. Neat stuff! Things weren't quite perfect though as 
after about 5 minutes of cruising the sky the engine stopped. I handed the 
transmitter over and my friend set the Tern up for a perfect dead 
stick landing. As the wheels hit the long grass, the plane flopped over but no 
damage was done. 

We adjusted things to get the trims back in shape, fueled up and took off
again. This time the takeoff was picture perfect and he handed me the box so I 
could make the climb to altitude. I got another five minutes of flying before
the engine quit again. I got things squared away and then handed the box over
again.  Once again a perfectly set up landing and once again she goes over on 
her nose. 

We decided a little more elevator throw would help and fueled up again. I was 
feeling comfortable enough with the ship that I decided to do the takeoff. I
took her out, pointed her into the wind, and promptly forgot that my left thumb
would not control the rudder on this 3-channel ship. By the time I remembered
which thumb was which I decided it was better to abort. Lined up again, hit the 
throttle, and waited, and waited, and waited. And just as the edge of the field 
was coming up and I decided to abort she lifted off. But I had just closed the 
throttle down so after a short hop she was back down on the ground.

From that point on we just couldn't get enough thrust out of the engine to get 
off the ground. After a bit, I decided someone was trying to tell me something 
so we wrapped it up for the day. While not a perfect weekend, I did get to fly 
and end up taking my plane home in one piece to boot.    

Last night I got the engine squared away (I hope) and they cut the grass at the
field tonight. Tommorrow evening I'll give things another shot.

    I need help.

    Sunday I was flying power after months of right-stick-only glider
    flying.  When I decided to land my left thumb reached past the stick to
    pull the throttle trim down; unfortunately, it also reached past the
    trim lever and found the transmitter on/off switch.  I happened to be
    in a bit of trouble at the time and didn't notice the difference.  I
    did notice the consequent behavior of the plane, and about the time of
    impact I verified what I had done.

    This was not quite an ordinary switch.  I had already followed the
    advice of one of the magazines and pulled off the [dummy switch] cover
    so this "couldn't happen".  I am determined that it won't again.

    I want a spring-loaded cover over that switch.  Or something else that
    will require special action to change the switch state on this
    Airtronics Vanguard transmitter.  Where can I get such a device?

    Alton

    Al,
    
    My old World Engines Blue Max Tx had a plastic piede that screwed onto
    the switch with the attaching screw and would rotate to go against the
    switch to prevent movement in that direction. You would move the switch
    and then swing this into the space to prevent it from moving back. I
    used it to prevent switching on in my flight box after getting to the
    field with dead batteries after switching on when putting the Tx into
    the box the night before. Since it's a rotary motion, up and down trim
    attempts shouldn't have any possibility of undoing it. If you make it
    fit snuggly, you should be reasonably assured that it won't happen by
    accident. You'll probably need to extend the switch screw and use a
    bushing so that the screw doesn'thave to stay loose to allow it to turn
    (and potentially fall off).

    
    ALton,
    	I'm not trying to be a pain (I understand putting one into the
    dirt) but...  you should set the throttle thrim on the ground so 
    that the engine will idle smoothly and the plane will not roll forward
    on a tarred surface.  This will assure you that the trim is set
    correctly and no "in flight" trim change will be necessary to 
    perform a landing.  Again, sorry to hear about your crash,hopefully
    it's repairable.
    
    Tom

    I should have explained that the set up was a Cox .090 in the nose of
    an old Gentle Lady.  The throttle control is an exhaust block and not
    very effective.  With both stick and trim at the lowest point the
    exhaust is completely blocked except for mechanical clearance leakage,
    but the damn thing still idles and almost refuses to lose altitude.  My
    "normal" technique when I want to land is to go inverted and wait for
    the fuel line to clear.  (The clunk is so short that it doesn't clunk.)
    The "bit of trouble" I was in was a refusal of the engine to die while
    I was inverted and losing altitude plus a bit of over-power at the
    time plus a social pressure to hurry up and land.

    In hind sight, I should have taken it up and level before changing the
    throttle settings.

    Alton, the klutz

    Well, I figure there are more Glider guys in this file so I'm going to
    put my weekend report in here.
    
    Yesterday my son and I went up to the Biddeford ME contest. I hit a
    squirrel on Rt 495 (not a good omen). They set the winches up so we
    launched towards the west. We had decided on the rid up that Jimmy
    would fly in his first contest in the 2-meter class with my Gnome that
    he's been using. The contest was set up as 3 classes (2m, std, open)
    with a 6 minute duration, no points if you went over and a flat 25
    points if you were inside the 50' diameter (25' tape) landing
    circle(s). Jimmy had never flown a winch so I launched for him. They
    flew the rounds in decreasing size order so I flew my first flight in
    each class before Jimmy came up. I've finally got a good indication of
    my dead air time. My first two flights were 2:18 and one later in the
    contest was 2:14. On the 2m flight I caught something and managed to
    fly 6:00.14 but since they truncated the hundredths, it counted.
    Finally, Jimmy gets called. He steps up to the winch (which had an
    irritating beeper tied to the power switch) and we launch with me on
    the pedal and stopwatch. He came off and wandered around the field. He
    came over near the landing area and he was still going up. At the 5
    minute mark I start him looping and tight turning and we can't get back
    to the landing zone. He lands, with his personal best flight of 6:14
    which counts as a zero due to being over. Boy, was he ticked.
    
    I flew consistantly and found thermals several times. I got into a
    boomer like Jimmy's in a later round and deployed my 90 degree flaps at
    the 5 minute mark and pointed the nose down and got my landing points
    at 5:54. I hit my landing points on every flight except the 6:00 when I
    had to hit the ground out a ways to meet the time limit. I was very
    pleased and managed to finally place at a contest. I took 3rd in
    standard, 4th in 2 meter, and tied Jim Tyrie for 5th in open. The sad
    part was that Jimmy placed 10th out of 12 in 2 meter but had as much
    flight time as me if the over flight had been counted. We both had a
    very memorable day.
    
    The only other DECcie there was Kay and he took 2nd place in 2 meter.
    He was bit with the over time bug with a 6:09 Hobie Hawk flight in
    standard. Jim Tyrie took first in 2meter and standard.
    
    One final bit of interest was that Jim Tyrie had a Comet there and flew
    it several times. Quite impressive. Every time he launched it, it went
    invisible off the zoom. I talked to him and he said that he just lets
    it keep going and eventually he picks it up. He first flew it saturday
    and used it as his open plane. He (almost?) stalled his winch with a
    fresh battery on the first launch. Very impressive.

Congratulations to Jim on his first trophy.  The first of many I'll bet.
And Congratulations to Jim Jr.  He flew in a contest and took his plane
home in one piece.

>    The only other DECcie there was Kay and he took 2nd place in 2 meter.
>    He was bit with the over time bug with a 6:09 Hobie Hawk flight in
>    standard. Jim Tyrie took first in 2meter and standard.

I had a great day - of the nine official flights I found thermals 8 times.
I only got stuck in bad sink one time and got a flight under 2 minutes.
I missed several landings.  Two times with the Sagitta I put the nose down 
right about on the target and the darn plane slid for slightly greater (by
inches) than the 25 foot mark - rats.  One Sagitta flight (the only one
that I got a landing on) was 5'58".  As it turned out even with better landings
it was a long ways between 2nd and 1st place.

I had the hawk is a good thermal and tried a mild version on Helmet's
Hobie Hawk altitude loosing maneuver.  Helmet claims that the hawk wing is
so strong that you can dive straight down till you get to the altitude
you want and then just pull full up and let it loop till it looses speed.

So I was thinking of this and way up and I dove it - but not straight down
it was more like 5 or 10 degrees steeper than a 45.  Anyway it seemed to
stabilize at a terminal speed and didn't seem all that fast although I must
admit when you dive straight at yourself you don't get the best view to
judge these things.  Anyway I pulled back into a loop (but not full up)
and it looped only 1 and a half times.  Great but the problem was I got
back down to 50 feet real fast and I had a heck of a time loosing the last
50 feet because I didn't dare loop any more that low and as I dove or circled
it would turn the speed gained back in to altitude.  That ended up putting
me 8 seconds over and earning a Zero for the flight but I gotta admit
it was a fun zero.  In retrospect what I should have done was attempt
a touch and go.  That would have stopped the watch and the hawk is a perfect
plane for this because touching the nose pitches the wing up and puts you
right back in the air.  If I had nailed that flight (and not changed history
on the following flight) that would have put the Hawk in 2nd place.  Course
this is easy for arm chair quarterbacks.  

Most fun for me was unlimited.  My Lovesong is still in repair and I flew
the Chuperosa in the unlimited class.  I got over 5 minutes on the first
flight and was in the top three along with Jim Tyre and a guy named Greg
who managed a 6'00" and nailed the landing.  So I was telling Jim that
it would be social justice if the Chuperosa could beat his Falcon 880
in unlimited.  I said I wouldn't even mind 8th place if he was in ninth.
Speaking of social justice he said last week he shared his Falcon with 
Chris Ordzie because Chris had lost a plane.  Chris ended up beating
him.

As it turned out my second round in Unlimited was my worst round and I dropped
way down in the standings.  This was caused by greed.  I wanted to show
well in Unlimited with the Chup and I say Jim Reith in a great thermal right
over the field so I hustled to get the Chup ready and check out my radio
and get up to the winch as fast as I could.  By then Jim lost the thermal
and I got a 1'43" or something like that and of course - I missed the landing.

In the end the Chup did end up in 6th or 8th place in Unlimited - but...


It did beat Jim Tyrie's Falcon 880 because Jim managed to put in a 6'01"
flight and draw a zero for one round!!!!

Anyway - what a day - not hot or cold gentle winds right down the
winch lines and almost every time I went up I found a thermal.  

I took Shane Ellison with but he managed to trash his Spirit during the
week so he was just going to be a spectator.  This turned out to be
great for both of us because I had him time every flight for me and it's
amazing how much better you can do if the timer/spotter is the same
person every time and you start communicating well.

Some fellow had a Southwind kit for sale for $50.00 - it was there
for sale last month also so I would bet you could get it cheaper yet.

Jim Tyre had a plane for sale for $125 that everybody wanted to buy but
who goes to a contest with an extra $125 ready for impulse purchases.

It was a Bob Seely(sp) fiberglass fuselage with built up wings.  The wings
were the Gentle Lady plan view and Jim said they would handle ANY winch.
The plane was beautiful and ready for a radio.  Couldn't ask for a better
2-meter ship on a nice (not too windy) day.  Anyway Shane took a deep interest
in this since he was without a ship and has a new Spirit due from UPS.

So he was asking Jim questions about it all day.  I jokingly told Jim
that Shane could easily afford the $125 as long as Jim was willing to
take a dollar down and a dollar a landing!

Later Jim Tyre told Shane that if nobody else bought it for the $125
that he could have it for nothing.  Nobody did so at the end of the
contest Shane put the nicest looking 2 meter plane in my Caravan
that the Caravan has ever seen.  Shane gave Jim $20 (all he had) for it.

God I hope he don't break it for a while!

After my last official flight I kept the frequency pin (nobody else
was on my frequency) and I started fun flying the Sagitta till my
transmitter alarm started beeping because the battery was low.  

In my opinion it was the best contest so far this year.  Did you miss
it?  No problem - next Saturday is Al Ryder's contest.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

    As I sit in my office and remember the cold breeze from the malk in
    from the parking lot, I smile as I think back to 6 hours of flying
    yesterday.
    
    I met some friends at the Ware field and we started the day with
    gliders (no power before 11am on sundays). It was a warm day with
    enough wind for great launches and several 6+ minute flights were seen.
    We spent most of the morning launching and BSing and right after we got
    done exchanging tales of power off launches, my son launches his Gentle
    Lady and it makes a nice arc over to the right and into the river. (why
    do we always find fields with water hazards in New England?). It made a
    pretty good splat but was floating as we got a look over the brambles
    on the bank. We ran downstream and I started emptying my pockets so I
    could retrieve it before it headed off down river. Fortunately the
    current carried it over near the bank and I was able to snag it with a
    branch and we dragged it out. Yep, the switch was off. We had a good
    laugh as we poured the water out of the fuselage and set it down upside
    down to drip out. I pulled the cases on everything and dried it out
    with my heat gun and everything was back working by dinner. We also got
    several H-Ray and Gremlin flights in and I'm now building time on both
    OS .25FPs for my P-38 (last) winter project. This will be the next
    thing started and will probably have foam cores initially. All in all,
    a great day with everything brought back intact (Jimmy wouldn't have
    fared as well if it had hit solid ground) and now my son has a tall
    tale to tell when we get started BSing, and a reminder to check the
    controls before launching.

    
    I went down to a local fair grounds for a few hops with my Enforcer
    and ended up staying three hours.  I got in one flight before a car 
    pulled up and three gentleman emerged.  They had an electric Junior
    from Graupner that one of the guys was trying to learn to fly.  He
    was new and the ship looked like it had been through the Gulf war.
    They asked for my help and so we launched.  The rudder was extremely
    excessive so after the first flight we cut his down and this changed
    the flying of the plane from erratic to docile.  We ended up getting
    his about 40 minutes of time on the sticks and he was estatic. 
    He said that one day about tripled his stick time.  That felt good.
    
    On my fourth and last flight with the enforcer something went wrong and
    all of a sudden I needed a lot of left trim on the ailerons. Before
    I could land she went full right and in on her side from about 30 ft.
    Ended up being a cracked servo arm at the spline.  Should take about
    70.00 in parts and a few nights to get flying again.
    
    I also did a little building with the dragon lady. Got the remaining
    work done by installing the tip blocks and carving one.  I should get
    the other one carved tonight after my executive meeting and then she'll
    be ready for covering.  Maybe even this sunday will see her fly?
    
    
    Tom 

    After our club auction yesterday (NH Flying Eagles) I went over to the
    Merrimack field for some nice late afternoon flying with the Sky Tiger. 
    This bird has about 150 flights by now, and I've had a good time with
    it.  
    
    Fueled up, made a routine take-off, and started burning holes in the
    georgeous fall sky.  Suddenly, about 3 minutes into the flight I heard
    a pop sound followed by a funny high-pitched growl, followed by the
    engine stalling.  Steve Mcleave, a fellow club member who was behind me
    said, "hey, I'll bet you just blew your muffler.  Happened to me last
    year with the same engine".  I brought it in deadstick with no trouble,
    and sure thing, the back half of the muffler was missing from the OS 46
    SF.  The looonng screw that holds the two pieces together had broken
    off, allowing the back section to plumet to the ground.  This is the
    second time I've had one of these OS muffler screws break, and it seems
    to me that this is a low quality part.  In fact, I'm not impresses with
    ANY of OS's threaded hardware, having stripped the heads of several
    Phillips head screws in the past.
    
    So, without any hope of ever finding the missing piece, I trucked off
    into the field anyway and made a perfunctory pass around the area where
    it might have fallen, all to no avail.  So that ended my flying time
    for the day.
    
    Just about then, Jeff Freiderichs arrives with his Gremlin.  The fun
    was about to begin.  He gave me some stick time on this plane last
    week, and I fell in love with it.  He started doing low altitude passes
    to knock over some aluminum cans stacked up mid field.  I don't know
    how he did it, but Jeff managed to do several touch'n'go's with the
    thing, although, if the truth be known, I don't really think this is
    what he had in mind.  It was an expensive day, prop-wise, as Jeff,
    determined to hit the stack of cans, made repeated low passes, some of
    which ended in prop landings. (That's when the prop is vertical, and
    the wing is at 0 inches altitude).  But, determination finally won out,
    and just as the sun was setting, he did knock the cans over to the joy
    of the entire crowd.
    
    This plane is so much fun I just have to build one.  Jim Reith, I'll be
    contacting you off line.
    
    Nice afternoon.
    
    -Joe 

    Joe,
    
    The plane has a topic of it's own in the DECRCM notesfile. In there you
    find that Eric (CSTEAM::) Henderson is the kit designer and supplier.
    The kit is also about to go into production as noted in that topic.
    Jeff probably mentioned my name since I've been doing custom wing
    cutting (I cut the wings for your club's Eindeckers) and recently have 
    cut replacement Gremlin wings. (I didn't want people to get the 
    impression that I was providing kits) Eric can provide you with the
    kits and I'd be happy to talk to you about any cores you might need in
    the future.
    
    I'll also be up at the field tomorrow at lunch for a combat session
    with Jeff which should be interesting in this wind.

On OS screws: buy a metric screwdriver from your hobby shop, or
somewhere.  American philips head screwdriers will indeed wreck the
screw heads while fooling you into thinking you'll get the screw
tight.  Treat the screw as gold, its an odd-ball metric screw pitch
and the only ones I could locate cost $1/copy.  See my notes in the
engine topic.

    John,
    
    I looked for the smiley face all over that reply and then suddenly
    realized that you were serious. I suddenly needed to know. I went into
    the woodworking and tools conference and they didn't even have a TOPIC
    on screwdrivers (they do now). In reply 1586.1 is an explanation from
    someone in Europe. The screws are Posidriv style and are almost
    exclusively used in Europe and Japan. The driver has a slightly
    different geometry and will work with Phillips screws but Pozidriv
    screw are generally chewed up with Phillips screwdrivers. The bad news
    is that he didn't think they were available here in the US very much.
    I'll have to look through my tool catalogs at home since my hobbystore
    doesn't carry "metric" screwdrivers. It's the odd-ball metric pitch
    that gives it away...
    
    BTW: The OS replacement throttle arms come with new screws. That's the
    one I keep chewing up.

Oh boy, bet mod Ryder is having a cow now with this side discussion!

The american driver fits just good enough to make you think it'll
work, then when you put the last half grunt on the screw it twists
off.  I've bummed out muffler screws more times this way...

I also didn't know about that one.  I got mine at a local hobby shop.
Its a black handled driver, with a red tip on the handle that swivels
pin vise fashion.  These drivers are imported from Germany, and can be
had in sets.  I only have the one and have used it for my models and
on anything else that has metric screws.  Unfortunately, I still have
a back collection of screwed screws to replace, and we all know about
the cost of OS parts!

    I don't know about the rest of you guys, but with most of the local
    fields closed due to hunting season EXCEPT for Sunday, and then
    having 3 Sunday's in a row get rained out or blown out, I'm getting
    a bit frustrated. I'm just itching to try the modified Magnum.
    
    Anyway, at least 3 of us got some flying in Saturday afternoon. It
    was cloudy but not raining, so I called Dave Walter and talked him
    into doing some glider flying at the Nashoba Regional high school in
    Bolton. None of us had ever flown there before. After I called Dave,
    I called Lamar, and got him to come out.
    
    Dave and I arrived at just after noon time and set up his high start
    and my new up/hi start. The field is plenty big enough and turned out
    to be a pretty nice place to fly. There was ample open ground with
    no goal posts to run into and about the only direction you wouldn't be
    able to streach out a full hi start is from NE to SW. Other than that,
    you could go in any direction.
    
    The wind was light to dead and thermal activity was non existant but
    we could still get 2 to 3 minute flights and plenty of landing
    practice. I got at least a dozen more flights on the Intimidator and
    let Dave take a couple. I'm still happy with the way it flies, and
    Dave didn't have any trouble either. Well, except for the one landing
    where he should have been wearing shin pads.
    
    The Intimidator is fast and needs a lot of room to slow down. Even if
    your set up fairly well, as soon as you drop the nose, she moves out.
    Dave thought he had the landing nailed and then dropped the nose. If
    he hadn't hit himself, he would have flown another 20 yards. It REALLY
    takes getting used to. About 80 percent of my landings were split 50
    50 between being short and about 50 yards too long. The other 20 
    percent I probably would have gotten points.
    
    This week, I will be rigging up speed brakes for the Intimidator
    similar to the F86. Or, if your not familiar with that, like the
    stop sign that swings out from the side of school busses. One on
    each side probably just in from the trailing edge. I wanted to put
    them closed to the CG, but the inside of the fuse won't allow for
    it. I have to put them further back. They will be external to the
    fuse laying flat against the side so I won't be doing any surgery.
    If they don't work, no big deal. I have to do something to slow it
    down though or I'll never be consistant with landings.
    
    Lamar showed up about 2 with daughter in tow and got several flights
    on the Spirit. He also managed to get two more landings signed of
    on his LSF form. We left about 4 and my TX meter was down to 9.4
    volts.
    
    We'll really have to keep this place in mind. It's only a 12 to 13 
    minute ride for me, about 20 for Lamar, and probably 15 for Dave.
    For anyone traveling 495 either north or south, when you get off
    on Rte. 117, it's only about 3 minutes away. 
    
    Now to get the Adante ready........
    
    Steve

    
    
       Don't worry Steve. I predict this weekend will have perfect weather.
     Why?  Because I will be in New Jersey all weekend visiting my sister!
     This will be 4 straight weeks of no flying for me! AArrrggggghhhhh!
    
                                       Lets see how my forcast is,
    
                                                            DW2

Well Dan, if you would build a glider you could be flying. ;^) Don't you still
have an Electra??? 

-Lamar

    
       Yes, I still have an Electra, but I ment REAL flying! :)
    
                                                     DW2
    
       

WRAM show report

Third year in a row I attended the WRAM show and the third year
in a row I took 3rd place.  Anyone need some cereal bowls - each
one with a years more tarnish than the previous one?

Anyway here is my accounting of the event to the best of my recollection.

This year we stayed in the Holliday Inn Crowne Plaza instead of the
Stouffers Inn.  This worked out to $75 per night with all the normal
stuff - indoor jacuzzi and pool and free transportation to the local
Mall.  So that made the family happy.  It was just across the street
from Nieman Marcus and Sacks Fifth Avenue and just down the street
from Bloomingdales - just to wet the wives appetite.

Anyway - unlike previous years this year I decided to bring some stuff
I'd been saving up for the swap shop.  This turned out to be more interesting
that I thought.  Since I had never purchased or sold anything in their
swap shop I didn't realize how it ran.  They charged 10% of the asking
price and you pay the 10 percent when you sign up.  So I made a list
of all my junk and they wanted $27.00.  They do this to encourage realistic
pricing!  It works!  If you decide to lower your price later (I did on three
items) then you are effectively paying more than 10 percent.  If it doesn't
sell - you paid for nothing!

Anyway I ended up selling two small kitchen scales for $2.00 each.
A Futaba AM Gold stickered radio with 3 servos and batteries and chargers
for $15.00.  A Protech 700 charger for $60.00.  The Great Planes Electro 
Streak for $45.00.  My faithful Chuperosa for $35 (I started out asking
$45 but lowered it after one day).  A Badger Mini Spray Gun Set for $15.00.
An Astro Speed Control for $20.00. and I ended up taking my ACE Thermal
Sniffler home as nobody wanted to purchase it (I think I asked $60 then
lowered to $50).

So on Sunday afternoon I stopped by the swap shop and they gave me $194.

Meanwhile back at the show...  

I entered the Steve Schommer Special in the glider static contest.  With it's
59" wing span I positioned it next to a nice 3 meter scale ship.  Awsome.
I did a poor job of grain filling (again) so I deserved not to win first
place but the goofy looking thing that won 1st place made me feel a little
bad.  

Anyway - back at the show...

Things I purchased.

Epoxy (pre lightened) and micro filler $10.00
NSP Parachute and catalogue            $13.00 (never pay list price at WRAM)
RCM Plans catalogue                    $ 4.00
AMA Regulations                        $ 2.50
2 AMA All Season Patches (3rd year)    $ 2.00
OS 4 cycle engine manual               $ 7.00
1" Kevlar Tape                         $ 6.00
2 Vacuum Bag end seals                 $ 6.00
Vacuum Bag                             $ 3.50
Vacuum Bag Plug                        $ 6.50
2 .007x36" Carbon Fiber                $ 4.00
2 Tamiya connectors                    $ 2.00
---------------------------------------------
Total                                  $66.50

Anyway - back at the show...

To me the fun thing about the WRAM show is just watching other people.
What a buying frenzy!  The best place for this is in front of
the "America's Hobby Center" booth.

In the static displays there were many many great boats.
My favorite was the large submarine.  There were 3 RC submarines
at the show this year but one was 9 feet long and weighed 90 pounds.
It had everything.  Next best were the tug boats.

I saw 3 giant scale Zeros for sale.  Yellow Aircraft had
a brand new kit for $350.  One fellow had a Byron's kit partially
completed for $800 and one other fellow had a yellow aircraft
kit in the swap shop for $300.  I was tempted but resisted.
Besides - I just didn't have enough money.

Kress Jets had a display of a produce that they will introduce in the 
future.  It is a belt drive assembly for multi-engine Guillos kits.
This allows you to mount a central single engine (Baby Bee or .035 electric)
and run 2 of 4 engines on wing pylons (B17, B24, B25).  I read about their
success in the magazines earlier this year and really would like to try this
after they drive kit comes out.

Eric Mey was there with his A6 Intruder kits and B17 electric kits.  I watched
the B17 video and have to say I was impressed.  It runs on 28 cells with
4 .05 size motors (not cobalt) with retracts.  My only complaint about
this kit is it is just under 80 inches so it doesn't qualify as giant scale.
Look for Eric to produce a Harrier kit in the DISTANT future - he already
has the mold!

RCD booth.  I asked about the programmable transmitter that they were
producing for Futaba and Airtronics transmitters.  The representative said
that they would not be out in time for the NATS and when they do come out
they will be 1st for their own radio systems then Futaba.  Airtronics will
only happen if the demand is there.

Futaba.  I asked when they would have a FM dual conversion receiver with
the speed control built in.  The guy looked at me like I was crazy - last
year they said SOON!  I didn't bother to ask about a FM dual conversion
micro receiver.

Airtronics was there with the Infinity 1000 on display - it has a clock!
I was eve's dropping at the NSP booth where Airtronics was explaining 
that they were our of Visions and were waiting for more to come from
overseas.  Seems Stan can't get orders filled for them and apparently
sailplane demands are not satisfied with the Infinity 600.  I have
no idea why.  Also there may be a Vision with the V3.0 mods in it shipping
directly from Airtronics in the DISTANT future.

Somebody was there selling some really neat connectors for fastening
high start rubber onto rings and swivels.  Anybody know what the company was?
Wish I had purchased some but I have to measure inside diameter of my hi-starts
first.

If I had a clean work bench and no unopened kits and a few hundred dollars
in my pocket I would have jumped at the Stinson L5 kit from Vailly Aviation
(Roy Vaillencourt).  He has an awsome model on display and there was also
a very nice one upstairs in the giant scale competition.  

Cannon/Charlies RC goodies had a lot of activity.  They had a 6 oz HLG on
display (flying weight with cannon gear).  Terry Sweeney purchased one and I
was tempted but for $35 all you got was balsa with patterns drawn on it.

Dynaflite mean while was selling "Skeeter" HLGs for $15.  Seemed like too
good an offer to pass up and several DECRCMers purchased one.  I was tempted
but just don't have a spare building moment (this afternoon didn't help).

One place had RC sailboats (less radio gear) selling for $10.00 - I was tempted
but passed.

Indy RC (Royal) had a lot of motorcycles.  Remember when we had the long 
series of notes about how you steer one.  The representative said you turn in 
the direction of the turn but can't turn them when they go fast - but that was 
the older versions and he said they require a gyro.  The one on the demo table 
was different.  When you wiggled the Tx stick the front fork was hinged and
pivoted left and right - that is the wheel did not turn - it was free wheeling
like the wheel on a grocery cart.  Also the battery in the bottom of the
bike was shifted from side to side when you wiggle the stick - neat.

Black Baron had a display and demoed 21st century film.  It looked good
to me but I didn't see the whole demo.

Last year the Russians had a delegation - this year it was Polish - some
interesting publications were for sale that are probably usually quite
hard to find.

There was a Model Builder Magazine and in a separate booth was Bill Northrup
a very limited set of plans.  Anybody know what the story is with Bill Northrup
and Model Builder? It looks to me like he lost some power play and no longer
has any control.  Too bad - I used to like the magazine but the last several
issues have started to turn me off.

Nick Ziroli had a booth with his plans and another company had a booth
selling kits made for his plans - wasn't somebody looking for a B25?
I saw a Ziroli B25 kit there for sale.

RC Video Magazine was there - they said the latest issue was "in the mail".
They still owe us one for DECRCM so it will be interesting to see if it
arrives.  From a quarterly issue video they are getting down to one or two
a year now.  Something wrong here.

Sig was there with a huge booth and Hazel was autographing all the Sig 
catalogues.  I should have gotten one to give to Al Casey - I know he
would appreciate it:-)

Bumped into a lot of friends there and also missed a few that I know were 
there.  Didn't realize AJ had a plane in the Sportsman category - wish now I 
had paid more attention to that.  The usual scale bunch from CMRCM didn't make
there appearance this year

Well - that's about all I can recall at the moment.  
There are several WRAM show notes in the DECRCM notes file.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

    So, Kay, what was the "goofy looking glider" that won first place?
    Don't tell me it was the big handlaunch with clear covering and carbon
    fiber up the kazoo. I thought the 3M ASW next to yours was awful nice.
    
    As for using the Infinity 600 for sailplanes, I picked up an
    information sheet explaining the programming process. There definitely
    is not as much flexibility as in the Vision. For example, there can be
    only one flap servo (or two servos on Y connector, of course). You
    can't mix ailerons with the flaps. Also, many of the mixes cannot be
    turned on/off with a switch, they're always on. It's kind of too bad,
    because I like the feel of the transmitter in my hand, it's very
    comfortable. And it's less $$$ than the Vision. I'm sure the 10 channel
    version will rectify the programming limitations, but at what cost?
    
    Dave
    

>                     <<< Note 771.715 by QUIVER::WALTER >>>
>                               -< Goofy glider? >-
>
>    So, Kay, what was the "goofy looking glider" that won first place?
>    Don't tell me it was the big handlaunch with clear covering and carbon
>    fiber up the kazoo. I thought the 3M ASW next to yours was awful nice.

Sorry to say - it was the big clear covered thing that won first place.

>    As for using the Infinity 600 for sailplanes, I picked up an
>    information sheet explaining the programming process. There definitely
>    is not as much flexibility as in the Vision. For example, there can be
>    only one flap servo (or two servos on Y connector, of course). You
>    can't mix ailerons with the flaps. Also, many of the mixes cannot be
>    turned on/off with a switch, they're always on. It's kind of too bad,
>    because I like the feel of the transmitter in my hand, it's very
>    comfortable. And it's less $$$ than the Vision. I'm sure the 10 channel
>    version will rectify the programming limitations, but at what cost?

I don't personally find a single flap servo to be a disadvantage.  Also I wish
on my vision there was a way to run aileron/rudder coupling forever.  As it
is if I have my 3 position aileron/rudder coupling in the middle accidentally
I have a heck of a time turning the Lovesong.

Remember there is a long distance between list price and street price.

Now I have to call the CSL guys - I seem to have found a bug in the V3.01A
ROMs.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

  

    Kay,
    Could you tell us what your perceived bug in the V.301 roms is ?
    
    I havn't played with all the update features yet, don't need the
    exponential flap/elev. mix feature with the Legend, but will probably
    try it on the Omega.
    
    Terry

>    <<< Note 771.717 by ELMAGO::TTOMBAUGH "Naked in a cave in the Jemez" >>>
>                              -< Oh boy, bugs ! >-
>
>    Kay,
>    Could you tell us what your perceived bug in the V.301 roms is ?

Terry, looks like it was just my error.  When we were putting the
trim (Windy) flight on my new HLG the other day I went to add a little
elevator change and nothing I put in moved the elevator.

That is the elevator worked find and the elevator mechanical trim
worked fine but when I went down the menu for Surface adjust and
found Center Elev 0% I could change the number but it wouldn't move
the trim.

So I figured it was just something I didn't understand and I decided
to test at home.  That night I couldn't figure it out also so I called
CSL.  It turns out that the default setting for all the templates with
the V3.01 ROMs is ALT mode = No, Mode B = No.  This ends up being
Mode 1 and puts the flap stick on the right stick.  So I had the elevator
plugged into the only channel that gave output when I wiggled the
elevator stick and actually only the flap trim would fix this.

Anyway - the key to uncovering this mystery is to go down the first
menu column and find the servo value window and when it says FLAP
sure enough wiggling the elevator stick changes it's value and when
it says Elev - sure enough wiggling the flap stick changes it's value.

So all is well - no real bugs found.  I'll call back CSL and let them
know about the default - but perhaps I somehow caused it to be loaded
that way?

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

Went to the Sidney Maine glider contest Saturday.
I was concerned about the weather so I wore long Johns
and took one of every size coat with.

As it turned out it was just right with the long Johns
and my parka as I arrived.  But as the day progressed
it got hotter and hotter and hotter.  I ended up
striping in the parking lot and taking the long Johns
off and was down to a T-shirt for the last few flights.

Not many showed up - 4 in unlimited and 5 in 2-meter
I believe.  Ironically none of the Biddeford crew showed
up and the only ones that were non local were me and
Dan Carr.

Dan won unlimited and I was second.  A local guy named
Art won 2-meter and I was second.

This guy Art was fun.  He had the thickest Down East Maine
accent you ever heard and he talked constantly. 

I have to tell you about the winches.  First we started off
with a real Down East winch.  It was your classic starter motor
but the spool was just about a 3/4" shaft until it wound up
some line and gained diameter.  They said it was a bit slow
but very powerful.  As we started the day with little or
no wind - we needed speed.  I first launched the Hobie Hawk
and almost totaled it because it made a hard right and tracked
straight to the right - less than a wing span above the ground
for quite a distance till finally I brought it up and popped off.

But that wasn't the fault of the winch.  

I was just fun flying the Hawk before the contest started.
I flew the Sagitta in 2-meter and the Lovesong in unlimited.

Anyway later Dan Carr arrived and I warned him about the winch
and told him that I didn't think it was big enough to launch
his Lovesong - that he should for sure try the Pixy first.

He has a lot of winch experienced so he said it will be OK - just
won't get a very high launch.  So I asked him to run the winch 
and throw the plane for me.  This worked out fine for the first two
rounds.  Dan launched my Lovesong and I just ran the Transmitter.
Popped off once when something happened to the retriever and everything
stopped part way up.  I launched the Sagitta myself with no problems.

After two rounds the wind started to come up in the wrong direction
so we took a hot dog break and moved everything and switched to a
much better winch.  I did all my own launches after that - great fun.

Let me tell you about this winch foot switch - this is really Maine
humor.  Picture an OLD rusty door hinge.  The kind you would have on
an old shed.  With a 3 or 4 inch long tapered end and one short square
end.  Now screw the square short end down on a board - the same
board that the winch and battery are on.  Now you can flip the long
end back and forth and it falls against the wood - OK.  Now you put
two rusty (they gotta be rusty) screws thru the board and fasten
the winch motor wires to it.  These screws are directly under the
outline of the long part of the hinge when it is flipped forward.
If you flip the hinge back - that's the safety switch.  If you flip
the hinge forward it shorts the two rusty (they gotta be rusty) screws
together - but the winch doesn't move because the contact is terrible.
So you take your size 11 boot with mud on it and step on this mess and 
it brings the winch to life.

Sounds really rinky dink - but it worked fine.

The area was all farm land and you could make an emergency landing
almost any place.  One time Dan Carr picked up a bubble just on top 
of this huge manure pile.  

I suggested they put the landing target in the middle of the manure pile.
That way if you're really desperate you can get some landing points.

We ended up having about 5 or 7 rounds and they normalized the score
at each round so that the winner of each round got 1000 points.
The landing circle was some random length of tape (Maybe 50-75 feet)
with a big screwdriver at the center.  The plane had to be completely
within the tape and you would receive a 10% bonus for a landing.

But a perfect landing would hit this huge screwdriver and bugger
up your plane.

It was really a fun relaxed atmosphere and the prizes (1st and 2nd) were 
nice trophys with sailplanes on top.  I never got a Trophy with a plane
before.  It's a little harder to find a spot for than a plaque but I'll
find a place!

Also because of the low turn out this doesn't count for my LSF as now
I have to have contests with 15 contestants for level 4.

The second landing zone (after we swung the winch) was very hard packed
(like a gravel road) under some thin grass.  I had one nearly perfect landing
with the Lovesong and I ripped out one of my Sharks Teeth.

Summary - Unlimited was a clean sweep by Lovesongs.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

    
    Hey Kay,
    
      I resemble that remark >> .719  I belong to the Sidney club. You like
    Art Gertloff's Down East Accent?? He IS quiet a character. I arived
    at the field at about 6:00PM and Art was still there flying his
    chopper, and was instructing someone with a buddybox. Was that Art's
    wench?? Art was the one that instucted me in flying. Yep you don't
    see too many of Art's around!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

>                  <<< Note 771.720 by DNEAST::MALCOLM_BRUC >>>
>                        -< I resemble that remark!!!!! >-
>
>    
>    Hey Kay,
>    
>      I resemble that remark >> .719  I belong to the Sidney club. You like

Now where does a DEC employee work in Maine now days?

>    Art Gertloff's Down East Accent?? He IS quiet a character. I arived
>    at the field at about 6:00PM and Art was still there flying his
>    chopper, and was instructing someone with a buddybox. Was that Art's
>    wench?? Art was the one that instucted me in flying. Yep you don't

No - I believe it belonged to Richard (Dick) Hallett - the CD.

>    see too many of Art's around!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To round the picture out I brought my wife with and we spend
the night in a Bed and Breakfast in Kittery.  This got me out of
any trouble for ignoring her on Mother's day!  She enjoyed the
trip and is talking about attending more contests with me!

Oh gee - do I gotta?

Guys like Art help to make that possible and although I can't remember
the other's names there was a swell bunch of guys that made both my
wife and I feel very welcome.

It's one of my longest drives (about 4 hours) but Dan Carr put in
5 hours to come up from Road Island.  But - it is a great place
to fly gliders.  I can't ever remember making an easier landing.
Just fly where ever you want and finally cut straight up wind for
the landing circle.  There was some trees (where the out house is)
that Dan was able to get some ridge lift off for a while but they
were far enough back to not be a hazard.  I tried the ridge lift
and didn't hit anything on them.  I also tried putting the Sagitta
over the manure pile but couldn't see any bumps there.  I can
hear all the jokes about my lead sled Sagitta and manure coming now!

Anyway I had fun and can't get over that winch switch.
Sorry about the spelling - spell likes both winch and wench and
a since wench is closer to a wrench than a winch in a cinch.
Wouldn't you agree?

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

    
    
    > Where does a DEC employee work in Maine??
         ASO    Augusta Manufacturing
    
    > (Where the out house is)  Out house?? 
        Is there something I've been missing all this time??  Or do you mean  
    the corner of the corn field??  That corner of land gets the biggest 
    yield of corn year after year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    
    Bruce
    

>    > (Where the out house is)  Out house?? 
>        Is there something I've been missing all this time??  Or do you mean  

Just take the road past the field for another 75-100 yards and there is an
old out house on the right - in the trees.  It ain't pretty but it works.
In fact it even has a 1/4 moon painted on it!  Check it out.  Bring your
own toilet paper!

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

    A few of us were flying our HLs and 2 meters in the small park near the
    biking/jogging trail.
    
    A young lady walked by wearing transparent shorts and a thong bikini.
    
    What else can I say ?
    
    Terry

Is it repairable?

    Re last
    
    Funny, that was EXACTLY my thought.
    
    Steve 8^)

    Oddly enough, it is. I hit the sapling head on with the nose, peeled a
    small piece of bark off and broke the nose block off. One inch either
    way would have allowed the wing to hit the tree with resultant heavier
    damage.
    
    When she came back down the trail 20 min. later, I nearly took
    Mikes' Gentle Lady right between the eyes. Since we were all looking
    elsewhere the G.L. was pretty much on its own for landing. I looked
    around just in time to see it boring in on me from ~10 ft. out. I 
    threw myself flat on my back and the wing clipped my antenna as it
    passed over.
    
    It was all nearly too much for a bunch of old geezers to stand.
    
    Terry

    Well, once again, RC comradiere has shown just how good it is.
    
    On Sunday, I found the local Cannberra, Australia flying field.  To
    my disappointment, I found out that I had missed a good sized glider
    contest earlier in the day on the other side of town.  Oh well.
    
    Anyways, as I talked to people, everyone was quite friendly.  People
    were quick to point out that I use the sticks the wrong way though. 
    They did say that there was 1 person in the area that flew mode II.
    
    Well, right on queue, he showed up with his Trainer-40.  I spent a
    fun afternoon flying his plane, landing over the sheep that own most
    of the field.  They have a wonderful field in terms of location.  The
    field is rough like the Merrimack, NH field, but there is nothing for
    miles in each direction.  They are allowed to fly dawn till dusk.  The
    only problem is the amount of sheep droppings all over the place!
    
    Well, back to Terry.  It was getting late and people were packing it up
    so I asked Terry and Rod if one of them would give me a ride back to
    town.  Well, Terry then asks me to dinner at his place....  Luckily his
    wife is a true R/C wife and gladly throws some extra food in for me.
    We had a great evening talking about flying and comparing notes and
    prices!!  
    
    It is always great when RC brings strangers together!
    
    cheers,
    jeff
    

>      <<< Note 771.728 by APACHE::FRIEDRICHS "Keep'm straight 'n level" >>>
>                           -< Flying in Australia! >-
...
>    Anyways, as I talked to people, everyone was quite friendly.  People
>    were quick to point out that I use the sticks the wrong way though. 
>    They did say that there was 1 person in the area that flew mode II.

I wonder if that is because down under down is up and vice versa :-)
Did you find the thermals spinning in the wrong direction?

What about the direction of the water when you flush the toilet?

Isn't it hard always flying inverted - even in a trainer?

Do they land with the wheels up?

Is a low wing really a high wing plane down under?

Should the fuel tank be above the carb or below?

Does the wind blow or suck?

If flying low over the field and the plane does a little dip
and hits a sheep - is that sheep dip?

Curious minds need to know.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

    Kay, did you really want answers???
    
    It was interesting to listen to them complain about their field. 
    Although it was a bit rough (about like the Merrimack, NH field)
    they are in the middle of nowheres, with not a tree around!!
    They had seen too many pictures of lush green runways from the mags.
    I tried to convince them that those were few and far between.
    
    Anyways, on to this weekend.....
    
    Let this serve as a friendly reminder...
    
    Mike Stains was out flying his Sophisticated Lady on Friday afternoon 
    at the Merrimack field.  With lots of parking lots and highways around,
    there can be some great hatsuckers (as well as some very dramatic
    downdrafts!)  Anyways, Mike is flying with a power pod...  Just as he
    lets go of the plane, he realizes that he forgot to turn on the 
    RX.  What's worse is that the plane is perfectly trimmed for a slow,
    circling climbout.  It of course, hits a thermal and just went.  He
    said he last saw it at about 2500' and headed for Manchester!
    
    Mike notified the Manchester police (who notified MHT tower), other
    local police, and even the Manchester daily paper...  Why you ask??
    Because it is the *ONLY* way to track the plane back to him...  Mike
    has neglected to put his name and address in the plane.
    
    So, it looks like Mike has lost a brand new RCD RX, 3 servos (including
    a micro), etc., with little chance of getting it back.  (If anyone sees
    a red/white Sophisticated Lady around, please let us know!)
    
    Brain failures like forgetting to turn the radio on will happen, but 
    not taking the few minutes ahead of time to put your name in a plane 
    can be VERY depressing.
    
    cheers,
    jeff
    

    Years ago when I was in CXO (2 months) one of the locals had a solition
    to the brain drain not turning on the RX or TX before a launch.
    He installed a switch that was held open with a piece of wire in the RX
    The same wire key was needed to depress another switch in the TX. The
    key was basicly a piece of wire with a loop on one end with a flag
    attached to the loop. To fly he pulled the key out of the side of the
    glider fuse and inserted it into a hole drilled in the side of the TX.
    
    It was hard to miss the flag hanging off of the fuse side when he
    picked up his plane.  I guess he'd done a few launches without turning
    on the RX or TX.  Seemed to be a simple retrofit if your having that 
    problem.
    
    
    Tom

It can be a simple as dropping in a business card as you're buttoning it up.

Sorry to hear about it. I've done it too and always wiggle the stick even if 
I have to do it with my nose before launch. I got bit by a battery going dead
in a situation just like this. I KNEW it was on!

We never heard whether Terry Sweeney found his HLG after the New Boston contest?

    Thanks Tom, that is an interesting additional piece..  Al Ryder uses
    the removable plug (with large red flag on it) but doesn't require it
    on the TX side...
    
    If I can discreetly get Mike's AMA number, I am going to print up a 
    bunch of labels for him...  
    
    The worst thing was that he was going to fly that at the Nats!  He is
    now trying to throw something together..  (He should have listened to 
    Kay!).
    
    Last I heard Terry had not found his plane, but I haven't heard since
    before my trip.
    
    Cheers,
    jeff
    

    We had a guy do the same thing at out field last summer.   He had a
    Gentle Lady with a power pod - but he did have his name and AMA number
    in it.  He got the plane back almost undamaged many weeks later.  It
    had gone a good 15 miles or so.  It's a bummer to lose a plane, but at
    least he knows why.  Unexplained radio failures are really frustrating.
    
    Charlie
    

    
    No honest, I went through this last year when I through a motor glider
    and accidently hit the switch turning it off. I heart the engine
    screeming like a champ (for the first time it didn't lean out) for at
    least 25 minutes. The view to it was gone after 15 minutes.
    I put an add (?) into a local newspaper ....plane lost....(blablabla)
    and the add below said ....plane found...(blabla). A call and I had
    my plane back after one week with just a broken prop.
    
    
    Bernd
    

    Today I arrived home from work and there was a letter from Australia!
    
    My new found friend had sent me a really nice club patch from the
    Canberra Club!
    
    He has also decided that our price for an X-347 was just too good, 
    so I will be sending one down to him!!
    

    I know this will bore the socks off of a lot of people, but I'm going
    to report on a non-glider experience in this note, which if you look
    back, appears to have become almost exclusively a glider topic.  So
    here goes.
    
    I finally took delivery of a long-awaited Rx for my Gremlin, and got it
    fitted into the fuse last Saturday.  Sunday I headed for the field for
    the maiden flight.  Thanks to Jeff Friedrichs for getting it airborne
    and for making what had to be the hairest trim experience of his life. 
    Seems that when I did the mixing of the the aileron servos to get both
    elevetor and aileron, I was unaware that the way I did it, the trims
    were only working on one servo at a time.  I should have used the delta
    wing setup, but wasn't aware of this until it was pointed out in this
    notesfile afterwards.  I owe Jeff an apology for this as he had no
    warning what he was in for.
    
    Anyway, Jeff wrung it out, and then I began flying it.  I have to say
    that all the reports people have made about the Gremlin being a fun
    plane to fly have been highly understated.  This is possibly the
    funnest plane I've ever flown, and has an immediate infectious quality
    that begs for "just one more flight".  I took it up three times that
    day, three more times on Tuesday, and four more flights last night. 
    Despite the balky engine I used (HB25 purchased used at our club
    auction last year) which has been somewhat a pain in the neck, I have
    had more fun with the Germlin than I ever expected.  It's just an
    absolute joy to push around the sky, have fun with, do all the
    aerobatics your little heart desires, and not even worry about running
    out of fuel since it is easy to land dead stick.  Even the take-offs
    are slick and theres no worry about ground loops or other ground
    handling foibles.  
    
    Am I happy with my Gremlin?????  Not in the least (tongue in cheek). 
    I'm extatic with it!!!!!!!!!!  Can't think of a better way to enjoy an
    afternoon or evening of flying.
    
    GREMLIN FEVER!!!! It burns HOT!
    
    -Joe
                               

Saturday I attended the RC Submarine Regatta at the US Sub Base in
Groton CT.

Awesome.

Many many RC submarines of various sizes.
Several methods were used to submerge.

    1.  Don't - there was at lease one that never submerged.  Just run
        on the surface all the time.  

    2.  Blow ballast with propel.

    3.  Blow ballast with CO2.

    4.  Pump ballast in and out.  This requires the periscope to
        be an air line above the water line.  You might think that
        once submerged this wouldn't work - however one has only
        to pitch up the bow planes and drive to the surface to bring
        the periscope up and then start the pump.  Actually works
        pretty good.
    
    5.  Piston chamber with air on one side in a closed chamber and
        water on the other side.  This is new to the group and I'm not
        sure if I actually saw any using this method.

Scale

    Most boats were copies if real submarines but there were 3 Robbe
    non-scale kits - they worked pretty good and it looks like a 
    good way to start in this hobby if you aren't obsessed with scale.

    There was one Nautilus.  Not modeled after the real Nautilus but
    the Nautilus from Jules Vern.  Looked great.

    There was one Seaview - from the television show.  So here is a
    trivia question.  Anybody remember the name of TV show.  I remember
    Admiral Nelson and Chief Kowalski(sp) was it.  Anyone remember
    more crew members.  It always amazed me then a wall of wires would 
    burst into flames.  After they put out the fire the Admiral would
    ask the Chief how long it would take to repair it.  Usually it
    only took a couple of hours.  I wish field service would hire this
    Chief :-)

    The rest of the boats were scale models of American, German, and
    Russian submarines.  The best sailing one was a Russian Akula(sp)
    sub.  

Vendors

    There were several vendors there.  Two selling hulls.  One was 
    vacuum formed plastic and cheap ($33-50).  One was glass and
    expensive ($250-400).  The experts said the plastic was only good
    for static although the vendor was saying otherwise.  None of the
    boats that went in the water were made from the plastic kits but
    there were another 20 or so boats that were Static only on display.

    Several boats were constructed from "32 Parallel" kits and some
    were purchased in the UK and Germany.

    There was a raffle.  I didn't win.  1st prize was a 32 Parallel
    kit - probably a $200-300 value.  2nd prize was an Airtronics
    radio system.  3rd prize was a Combat Models kit (plastic vacuform).

    There were representatives there (crew men) from two active submarines
    ship stores.  So you could buy hats and T-shirts and sweat shirts
    and do dads from the USS Dallas and one other boat.  Anybody remember
    the hunt for Red October?

    There were two vendors showing precision tools.  There were 3 vendors
    selling plastic model kits and books.  The books were neat and up until
    now I would say I've read every paperback book on WWII submarines.  But
    at this event they had many many books I had never seen before.  I was
    overwhelmed.  I didn't purchase any.  One new book was on sale and
    the author (a retired Admiral) was there signing it.

    I met one German fellow who had served on subs during the war.
    
    One fellow was displaying and selling torpedoes.  They were awesome.
    Electric powered and had contra rotation screws.  The screws were
    only about 1/4" in diameter.

Facility

    This was in a lake (pond) on the sub base that was used for swimming.  It
    was a very nice little (man made I assume) lake with a diving raft
    and platform on the deep end and nice sandy beach around.  There was
    two life guards on duty and nobody was allowed to swim because of
    regatta.  Several folks showed up to swim are were upset that they
    couldn't.

    There was a set of picnic tables set up under a miranda(sp) where the
    vendors displayed their goods and the skippers assembles and adjusted
    and displayed their subs.  

    There was a nice judging stand set up high above the pond and a course
    was set up.  Basically each pilot had to navigate thru a set of markers
    and submerge once and dock once.

    I understand that the docking sequence is where they always fired
    torpedoes - but I never saw one.

Observations

    I wouldn't consider building one without first attending an event
    like this and joining their group "Subcommittee" and reading their
    newsletter.  

    It costs about $600 for a good modest sub.

    It costs as many hours as a scale plane.

    Some (maybe all) seem to be pitch unstable when submerged.  Although
    I didn't see any porpoise I understand it is a major problem and
    some subs have pitch stabilization devices in them.  Most used gyros.
    One fellow was using a pendulum device with hall effect devices.

    There is an optimal size.  I saw several huge subs - 8-11 feet long.
    They couldn't turn in a reasonable space and required 4 men to get
    them in and out of a car.  Remember to submerge it has to weigh the
    same as if it was a jug completely filled with water.  The motor and 
    batteries and receiver and ballast system can't be shrunk easily and 
    the really small subs were also hard to work on.  The optimal size 
    seems to be about 4-5 feet.  Take a look at your desk - it's 5 feet 
    long.

    Most (not all) maneuver better submerged than surfaced.  Most (maybe all)
    are faster submerged than surfaced.

    The course looked easy to me but only one guy got a perfect score.

    Like all other types of RCers, the guys were very friendly and more
    then willing to share info and help you get started.

    My wife Pat went with me and was perfectly happy to enjoy the sun and 
    relax next to the waters edge.  Unlike some glider contests she did not
    feel at all in danger from accident or pilot (skipper) error.

Conclusion

    I'd like to go back next year and get enough information to be dangerous.
    Then I'd like to build one for the year after that.  My wife was willing 
    to let me purchase on of the vacuform kits knowing that it was only the
    tip of the iceberg in expense - but I resisted.  I'm holding out for a 
    really good one - or a scratch built one.

============================================================================

Well that was Saturday.

We left Groton CT and drove to Sturbridge MA.  

Sunday we drive to the Divot Diggers field in Ware MA and...

==============================================================================

I was Jim Reith's guest at the field and the goal was go get enough stick
time on his Gremlin with the buddy box so that I could safely fly my one.

Jim took his Gremlin up (it had not yet been flown) and it was a real hand
full for a flight or two before he got it trimmed out and got the motor
running reliably.  But eventually it smoothed out and he let me fiddle
the sticks.  The rolls were pretty aggressive for me so he landed and
toned it down some more.  Then we tried again and I got a little used
to it.  Then Jim let his son Jimmy get some stick time on the buddy box.
Wow - talk about stressing family relations.  I'll let Jim describe
it from his view.  Another gremlin went up at the same time with a streamer
on and Jimmy was trying to cut it while Jim thought he was out of control!

Anyway eventually I cranked up my Gremlin and threw it for Jim.  First
flight was up about 50 feet and the engine died and dead stick in.

Even tho it was a short flight Jim was sure it needed lots of up trim.
So we programmed some in and leaned the engine a bit and the next throw
was a complete flight.  Jim trimmed it and I finished the flight on low 
rates.  

Also we had to throttle back early in the flight because of flutter.

I had scotch tape hinge (hey - I was in a hurry).

So between flights I had to fix my hinge rip with some Mylar tape that
Jim had.  Also I lowered the throws more.  The next flight (was it the 
last?) Jim thru it and I flew the whole flight.  No flutter but I never
flew it very fast.  I lost orientation 2 or 3 times during the flight.

I kinda think with the long nose and the wing so far back that in the
air it looks kinda like a Wart Hog.

I'm not used to it yet and I'd be dead meat in combat but I am ready
to fly on my own thanks to Jim and his club.

Gotta re-do the hinges and go get some more stick time.

This is the first glow powered plane I've flown in about two years.
I've had a couple of under powered electrics in between - but nothing
that required a flight box and starter etc.

Oh yes - the mylar held up fine.

The OS-25 FP is awesome.

I did pull up for a wing over or stall turn several times and slam the left 
stick over for rudder before I realized I had no rudder.

Now what is it I'm suppose to do if I accidentally get into a flat spin
with this thing?

Pass the streamer and call me Target "K".

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

I related most of sunday's events in the local file but I'll comment a bit more 
in here. Kay did fine with the Gremlin once we got it sorted out. Both Gremlins 
required a bit of reflex when trimmed and Kay and I had both set them up 
symetrical. I should have remembered from Kay's Chup that he likes insensitive
ailerons. The family issue with Jimmy was that everytime he'd get a bit 
agressive near the ground, I'd release the switch and recover for him. There
wasn't time to ask so I used my "conservative" judgement. He has one in progress
so I'll let him bang up his when he finishes. This one is for giving demo/intro
flights. It proved quite popular and at 1/2 throttle most people could handle
it and I could give plenty of sticktime on a 4oz tank. The buddy box using the
Max4 on the 347 worked well. I kept the throttle on the master and the dual rate
switches worked in trainer mode also. It survived about 10 flights by the end of 
the day with just a few broken props. Kay did fine on his full flight and I think
he'll have a ball with it once he builds more familiarity and gets used to the 
high rates as well. I did question the sanity of using the Tx neck strap but I 
wasn't expecting to have to take the Tx anyway. Remember, Kay, the "H" in HTA 
stands for High rates 8^) Get out there and practice those left handed launches!

Re: the ABS subs

Could you strengthen those cheap hulls with the squirt can styrofoam enough? 
Once you got things arranged you could fill in all the gaps with the foam which 
would make it more ridged.

>Re: the ABS subs
>
>Could you strengthen those cheap hulls with the squirt can styrofoam enough? 
>Once you got things arranged you could fill in all the gaps with the foam which 
>would make it more ridged.

Sure - but imagine a 5 foot sub that starts out looking like two large
halves of wheel pants.  Cut them out from their mold and sand till you
get the edges to match and CA.

Seems like it is very prone to simple "woops - too much" types of screw ups
and when your done - it will still take an incredible amount of work to
make it look nice.  I'd rather go scratch from formers and planking than
to have to build formers for an existing plastic shell.

Anyway - back to the Gremlin and Lovesong repairs...

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

    Kay,
    	"Easy Eric" should be your first Combat Kill. :-)  He earned this
    nickname at the Hadley contest.  Glad you had success with your
    Gremlin.  I would recommend real hinges on it though.  Many landings
    stress the elevons and I have broken several hinges so I now only use
    the plastic ones with metal pins.  Actually, you could get away with
    only one of these near the control horns.
    
    Charlie
    

>    Gremlin.  I would recommend real hinges on it though.  Many landings
>    stress the elevons and I have broken several hinges so I now only use
>    the plastic ones with metal pins.  Actually, you could get away with
>    only one of these near the control horns.

I hear you loud and clear.
I really wanted to fly fast but didn't dare because of my wimpy
tape hinges so I have been working on it.  Right now I have 5 each
1/2 size SIG EZ hinges on each side.  Also I had sanded the channel for 
the fuse all the way and didn't have any place to mount hinges near
the horns - I think this was the real reason it fluttered and ripped
my scotch tape.  So I filled that back in with balsa and epoxy and
have the center hinges right at the control horns.  I was also going
to run a bead of silicon hinge full length in addition to the
five EZ hinges.

I know there has been a lot of talk about EZ hinges failing lately
but having consistently good results I don't wanna abandon a system
that has been so good to me.  But I'll watch em close and if they
start to fail I will cut them all out and try again.

Can't wait till the next Gremlin flight - maybe Sunday in Orange.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

I've used the plastic with metal pin hinges in the past. They worked quite 
well and outlasted the wing. This wing I used 5 full EZ hinges per aileron 
and I pinned them with round toothpicks on both sides of the hinge. Only 
used those because I had them on the bench when the wing was ready to hinge.
My GremTwin will probably get the same treatment shortly. Almost to the 
point where I need to think about color schemes 8^)

A couple of round toothpicks from your favorite restaurant and a 1/16" drill 
bit is cheap insurance that the CA wicked in properly.

    I spent my weekend at the New England Scale Masters Qualifier in
    Westfield Ma.  The attendance was down primarily due to the Nat's.
    Those that flew at the Nat's and qualifier didn't bother flying at this
    contest.
    
    The models were quite good.  The flying better than at the Nats.
    
    Phone's ringing, Later...
    
    
    Tom

    
    Kay,
    
    	Don't let Charlie scare ya! :-)  Some of us have been using EZ type
    hinges from the beginning on the gremlins without dificulty.  I've
    broken 2, both when the elevon was ripped bodily from the wing.
    
    Dan
    

    
    
    ...
    
    	as I was saying,  I was at the scale masters qualifier and
    the flying was considerably better than at the Nat's.  I did not
    see a single crash.  One model of particular interest was a
    twin C45 Beech in coast guard colors.  it did not fly a single round
    having engine problems on sat. and on the first round sunday the
    engines would not throttle up equally on the takeoff roll.  Hence the
    model would pull hard to the right.  The pilot decided not to fly and
    that was that.  I was rather disappointed because seeing this model
    rekindled my interest in finishing the small C45 Jeff and I started
    a few years ago.
    
    One point to note is the lack of modelers who use rudder.  It was quite
    apparent who was using rudder and who was not.  Those not using the
    rudder had planes that skidded around the corners.  Too bad.
    
    I ended up talking to Harvey T. and in doing so got some insight into
    the Barne airport managers attitude.  In these last three days this has
    lead to a very firm lead for our club on a field in the local Barne's
    airport area.  As presented to our club, if we get the field we will be
    required to close the field down two or three weekends in the summer.
    Once for the Scale Masters as we would not want to infringe on their
    activity and a second weekend for the Airshow that the guard usually
    runs.  
    
    
    Tom
    

    This has been dormant for a while, so I'll add some recent experiences.
    
    Last Sunday, I decided it looked decent enough, weather-wise, to try
    for some March flights.  I headed down to the Merrimack field after
    calling our Field Marshall to see what conditions might be.  He had
    driven his four wheel drive pickup into the parking area to make it a
    little easier to gain access in the snow, so I ventured out there. 
    Conditions were beautiful, the snow covering was as smoothe as a baby's
    rear end, and winds were moderate but mostly blowing across the runway. 
    Sun was a-blazin'.  
    
    I have home-made skiis on my Skytiger, and they worked very well last
    year every time I used them.  I fired up the engine and taxied out onto
    the runway.  It took full up elevator to allow it to taxi since the
    front ski wanted to dig in.  Seems the consistency of the snow was just
    soft enough that the down-thrust of the engine made the front ski dig
    in at full throttle.  But I held full up elevator, gunned it, and
    although the takeoff run was slower than usual, it built up
    sufficient speed that it rotated.  As soon as it was off the ground, I
    neutralized the elevator and it leveled off about 18 inches above the
    runway, gained speed, and I was off to a great takeoff.  I was real
    pleased with this result, but felt the rotation and liftoff had
    occurred at a speed that was marginally close to stall speed.  After a
    limbering up flight of about 10 minutes (only flew once in February,
    and felt pretty rusty) I brought it in for a landing, and proceeded to
    absolutely _grease_ it onto the snow ever so gently.  It was one of
    those magic moments in this hobby when everything works out exactly as
    it should.  The snow caused a gentle deceleration in a very realistic
    manner, and when the speed was low enough, I made a gentle turn and
    brought it back to the pits for refueling.   
    
    Flight number two was essentially a repeat of the first, but the
    liftoff seemed to me to occur at an even slower speed than the first
    one, and I could tell that the sun was making the snow harder to push
    through, ie, causing more drag on the takeoff run.  But it was another
    good flight, followed by a dead stick landing that was good, but
    not quite the match for the first one.  
    
    Flight three was done with the
    flaps down full, as I was beginning to believe that I would not get up
    enough air speed to rotate, since the snow was really beginning to get
    soft by now.  Well, this turned to be just the right thing to do, and
    although the takeoff speed was slightly reduced again, the flaps lifted
    it off the runway like it was on an elevator.  Another picture-perfect
    liftoff.  How much good luck can one have?  Luck, nothing, its all
    skill!  Sure...
    
    The third flight and landing I felt much more at ease and back in the
    saddle so to speak.  Just had a ball cutting loose and boring holes in
    the sky.  After landing from the third flight, Mike Stains, who taught
    me how to fly, arrived at the field.  I offered him the sticks,
    something he never refuses.  Well, I'm here to tell you that no matter
    what Mike did, he just couldn't get enough speed to get liftoff.  By
    now the snow had become so mushy that it just would not support the
    front ski on full throttle, even with full up elevator.  The two rear
    skiis had no trouble.  But clearly, the surface area of the front ski
    plus the down thrust of the engine, all conspired to make it dig in too
    much.  In frustration, Mike finally gave up, but I must say that I
    really had a great day flying the Skytiger.
    
    I ended off the session with two Gremlin flights just to get the juices
    flowing.  Both cross wind launches came off without a hitch, and the
    flights were, well, how do we say, of a relatively high pucker factor. 
    Both landings were uneventful.  Love that thing.
    
    Sooooo.  Not too bad for the March flights. And if that's all the
    flying I get to do in March, I won't be too dissappointed.  I went home a 
    very happy camper.  Work on the Extra 300 continues..... 
    
    Regards,
    Joe
                    

    Re;-.1
    
    Joe, are you flying the Gremlin you got from RC Technologies?
    
    Just curious as to how it's holding up. 
    
    Chris

    Re: -.1
    
    Right, Chris, that's the one.  I've certainly gotten my money's worth
    out of this Gremlin, given the bashing it has recieved.  Let's see: I
    landed it high in a tree last spring, and the wind blew it down causing
    some wing damage & cracked fuse.  Then I stuffed it into the forest where 
    it managed to miss all the trees and hit the ground at pretty high speed.  
    More wing damage and leading edge had to be beefed up in the mid section. 
    Later in the summer I ploughed it into the ground while doing a low
    areobatic maneuver.  No real damage, but the wing was by now suffering
    from a warp that I keep having to untwist with the heat gun.
    
    Last November I took second place in a Grelmin contest with it.
    
    Even though it's well worn, I still keep doing minor repairs to keep it
    airworthy because its so much fun to fly.
    
    I'm working on a new stock Gremlin I bought from Jim Reith and it will
    replace the old faithful as my primary combat ship.
    
    Regards,
    Joe
         

    Re WARPED WING
    
    Gee, no wonder you were so hard to hit at Ware. There should be
    a rule............ 8^)
    
    Steve

    Right, Steve.  When I do a loop its more like a cork screw.  Can't keep
    the darn thing in line.  Hard to catch tho... ;-)
    
    -Joe

This has been a good weekend. I took myself and my trainer to the field on 
Saturday, and proceeded to fly circuits under the watchful eye of my instructor. 
It's been a while now since I threw the trannie at him, with a "HELP!". I was 
feeling pretty comfortable, just figure-of-eighting quietly around. I let John 
(my instructor) land the 'plane. He suggested that I was ready for a take-off, 
but I didn't feel too happy about that. 

He took off again for me, and handed over. I flew a bit, then decided to try 
some loops. Well, no prizes for accuracy, but no crashes either, so I was pretty 
happy. A few stall turns later I was feeling very happy. I'd got the thing out 
of shape a few times, and recovered with no difficulties. I was flying circuits, 
and getting a tad low. John asked if I fancied a landing. Well, I felt good, so 
I just throttled back,  flew another circuit, and looked. I was a bit high, so I 
opened up, and went round. Back on the circuit, throttle back, keep the wings 
level, and LAND!!!! Right in the middle of the strip too! 

Now I know that you guys who fly cuban 8's with the transmitter behind your back 
may not be impressed, but I'll tell you, I was shaking like a leaf. I am so 
pleased, I really feel like I've achieved something. I now look forward to 
mastering taking-off, practising my landings, and going solo.

What a great hobby! My day was complete when I got home to find that my wife had 
bought me a Sophisticated Lady as a surprise present. (That's the glider, of 
course!). 

Cheers

Nigel

    Glad to hear it Nigel. Like the Toyota comercial says, OH WHAT A
    FEELING!!!!!!!!!!!. By the way, landing is the hard part. Taking off is
    a piece of cake. GO FOR IT.
    
    Steve

>                                        <<< Note 771.753 by SNAX::SMITH "I FEEL THE NEED" >>>
>                                                       -< Way to go Nigel. >-

I second that - good show.

>    Glad to hear it Nigel. Like the Toyota comercial says, OH WHAT A
>    FEELING!!!!!!!!!!!. By the way, landing is the hard part. Taking off is
>    a piece of cake. GO FOR IT.

I second that also - my landings are always an accident about to happen
but taking off has never been a problem for me.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

    Cuban-8's with the TX behind my back, Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! :-)  - must
    be mode-one-der!
    
    Congrat's old chap!. 
    
    Flying is the second greatest experience - LANDING is the FIRST!.  :-)
    
    
    Regards,
    
    E x E.
                                                       

I attempted to attend a Scale fly in at Ellington CT Saturday but...

After not being able to find the field for about an hour it was listed
wrong in the AMA magazine and was really scheduled for Sunday - sigh.

So I wasted Saturday.

Sunday was the (rescheduled) Ellington CT scale fly in
                             CMRCM scale fly in and
                             Simsbury Fall Sailplane Challenge

So I went to the sailplane contest.

It was great!

4 rounds flown in 3 classes with 24 pilots in each class.

Weather was nice and lots of thermals.  I had trim problems
and didn't do so well - but no damage and had a lot of fun.

Sal from Northeast Sailplane Products finished 2nd in Standard,
2nd in Unlimited, and won the high point total.

All rounds were 6 minute.  I scored for Dennis Phelan several times
and he got all maxes to within a second or two - his landings
were all good - but not perfect.  Sal beat him in unlimited
by 2 points.  

On one flight in Standard class when I was bringing the Hobie Hawk
in for a landing I managed to hit a tent!

Should John Ross and I ware a special sign on our back?

  +---------------+
  | Student Pilot |
  +---------------+

OK - take your shots.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

    Kay,
    
      What's Dennis Phelan flying in Thermal Duration these days?
    
            
                                                          Regards,
    
                                                          Jim

        Re:                      <<< Note 771.758 by MISFIT::BLUM >>>

                Dennis is  flying  his wooden ship (obechi covered wings)
        with RG15 airfoils.   Its not his F3B ship but the one he started
        with.
        
        Anker

He flew his Comet at CRRC. 

I've got a question for the assembled masses that came up at lunch.

When you use the notched scrapper on obechi. In which direction do 
you run the epoxy lines? Spanwise with the grain? Chordwise across 
the grain or diagonal?

>      What's Dennis Phelan flying in Thermal Duration these days?

Yes - it was a Meuler(sp) Comet.
He says he is going to build a thermal ship.

Some after thoughts...

There were two winches - one hot one and one mild one.
Two winch operators(usually) and one winch master - Dan Peterson.

I never saw one hold up on the winches all day long.  No line breaks,
No backlashes, No battery swaps, Nobody got hung up on the retriever lines.
That is not to say there weren't any problems - just that if there was
some how I missed it.

Frequently they were yelling "We need pilots".
We had a problem getting timers because they were able to keep so many
flyers flying that almost everyone was either timing or flying constantly.
In the heat this was challenging - but fun.

The only winch related incident was one time when I was timing for Dennis
some smaller lighter craft (might have been a Spirit - there were several
Spirits flying that day) wandered thru hit the line.  The plane did a
pirouette and fell to the ground - I don't think it had too much damage.
But the launch was still OK - no line break.

I have never ever seen such a well run winch setup.
Perhaps it was luck.  But I would guess a lot of prep went into the
arrangement.

3 classes with 24 pilots per class with 4 rounds = 288 launches
plus they allowed pop offs and there were quite a few of those.
Also most used the hot winch.  I should have made note of what
brand it was.  It sure was reliable.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

    re: -2
    
    Jim,
    
       It is my understanding that the expoxy lines should go spanwise
    with the grain.  Use coilloidal silica instead of microballons
    for maximum strength.
    
    On another front, does the Meuller Comet appear to be an easy ship 
    to fly.  I know this relative to what you have been flying, but in
    general is it "a handful".
    
    
                                                           Regards,
    
                                                           Jim       

Yep, I'm using the silica. My thought was that where obechi splinters
so much it might be stronger to have something more binding the wing 
sheeting grainwise.

From talking to Dennis and Jim Tyrie about their Comets, they are a 
fast plane to fly and have a somewhat small speed envelope for each
task. There are very specific speeds where you get much better 
performance and you want to be able to dial in those settings and fly 
the plane in those ranges for those tasks. They respond very well but 
really want to be flown ultrasmooth for best performance.

The only other comment was that while the plane really isn't a handful,
it really isn't a good first high performance ship. Jim said it was a 
step up from his Falcon but not that big a step.

Dennis' Comet was covered with Anagrain/anagray (sp?) which Kennedy 
does carry ($15 instead of the $10 for his obechi) and I ordered some. 
It's a very closed grain veneer and finishes up like furniture but you 
pay a penalty of about 1-1.5 ounces per open class panel. Burt said most 
of the call for it is from the crosscountry guys that need the extra 
strength for the 4+meter ships. I ordered a few sheets to give it a try.

Jim,
   I found a supplier with 48 sheets of 2"x2'x8' Dow Gray. Do you want 
me to get some for you and then meet you somewhere in western Mass with 
it at some point? I can get 8 sheets in my wagon at a time and will need 
the first batch (today) toi fill some orders over the weekend. Haven't 
gotten a price on it yet but I've paid $7.50 in the past. I've committed 
to 24 of the sheet already. It's tongue and groove but I'll be cutting 
lengthwise for the most part anyway.

    
    Well, now I have a few minutes to spare, I thought I'd share a triumph
    with you.
    
    Last Sunday I managed my first ever deck landing with full use of
    arrester wires!
    
    To explain; our field has some low voltage telephone wires strung
    across near one end of it. When the prevailing winds blow you need to
    approach OVER these wires (the club smarta**es come in UNDER!).
    Depth judgement is very, very hard and the wires get smacked
    frequently. Every now and again they break, and the company comes along
    amd fixes them (I guess they'll figure out why they keep breaking
    eventually!). Anway, on Sunday it was my turn. Nice steady approach,
    wings level, rate of descent lovely, no worrie....SPROING!! The plane
    caught the wire, did a lovely tight bunt, and hung there, motor still
    running. A quick blip of throttle unhooked it, and it dropped into the
    heather below with no damage beyond a slightly bent nose leg!
    
    It's wierd though, when I hit the wires I'd have put the plane at least
    twenty feet this side of them. It just shows how hard it is to place a
    plane accurately.
    
    All we need now is a steam catapult   8^)
    
    Cheers
    
    Nigel
    

    re: -2
    
    Jim,
    
       Thanks for thinking of me with the Grey foam.  I have found a local
    supplier who sells 1.5" x 2' x 8' (min. of 8 sheets) for $8.90.  So
    I think I will buy this if and when I need it. 
    
    At this point, I have $100's of dollars invested in kevlar, carbon,
    fiberglass and pink foam and have not yet flown a plane made with
    said materials!
    
    I am dying for time, which is why I paid $400 for a Surprise "kit".
    
    Thanks much for thinking of me, I hope to make it up to N.E. one of
    these days(maybe for the Cape Cod slope fly).
    
    
    
                                                      Regards,
    
                                                      Jim

I was calling for a friend recently at a field with close trees and 
he was doing his landing approach with a somewhat hot plane. He was 
coming in and was at the tree level and maintaining and asked me if 
he was over the field yet. I paused and then said that I was pretty 
sure and he started to decend only to see the trees in FRONT of the 
plane. A blip of the throttle and he was back up and over them safely 
but both of our depth perceptions were totally fooled. We started 
using the plane's shadow crossing the trees after that.

The annual Sal and Stan Cape weekend is supposed to start October 15th.
I've already ask and will be able to make it for multiple days. Be great 
to get a Dec contingent down there. Now where'd I put that spare time...

Glad you found the foam. I had trouble this time so I'm going to stock 
up (about 25-30 sheets)

Kennedy also has a 1.7oz crowsfoot kevlar that I ordered a few yards of.
We'll see how that works out. (hope my order arrive today for the long 
weekend)

I'm trying to start my cape fleet building now so I have at least ONE 
plane to take 8^)

>       It is my understanding that the expoxy lines should go spanwise
>    with the grain.  Use coilloidal silica instead of microballons
>    for maximum strength.
    
What is this colloidal silica anyway?
Where can you purchase it?

R U guys pulling our legs again?  Sure sounds like SAND.
I get enough sand in my wings after a few bad landings.

>    On another front, does the Meuller Comet appear to be an easy ship 
>    to fly.  I know this relative to what you have been flying, but in
>    general is it "a handful".

Well - I can tell you from real close experience it lands like a dog sled.
"Clear the flight deck - there's a Comet in the groove!"

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

The colloidal silica looks like Talc. It thickens the epoxy so it doesn't 
bleed through the skins. You need to notch the scraper because less is 
absorbed into the skins so you need some on the sheeting. The reason for 
using the silica is that it forms a matrix with the epoxy which doesn't 
weaken it. Microballoons weaken it by forming a series of voids (the 
balloons are hollow) in the epoxy.

>"Clear the flight deck - there's a Comet in the groove!"

Yeah, at Al Ryder's speed event last year we were all lined up along the 
"finish" line. We were almost finished when the Comets, using every inch 
of altitude, screamed over the line at waist height at mach 2 (at least 
that's how it looked peeking up from a prone position in the grass 8^)
The sound of the flight changes with speed and Dennis and Mike were able 
to predict their speed from the sound of the plane. They new what a good 
run sounded like. I noticed it at the Nats at Westover when I went over 
to sign up and get my Tx checked the F3B day.

Colloidal silica--check your local fiberglass junkie for a product
called Cab-O-Sil, or something like that.

    So how was your weekend?
    
    Too da*n short! (No Labor Day over here!). Anyway. 
    
    We have a guy at the club who is just dangerous. He persists in taking
    off in dumb directions, then dragging it around *just* above the stall,
    hanging on the prop, straight over the pits. Don't you just love people
    like that? We yell at him a bit, but he doesn't seem to care much.
    Another of his tricks is downwind take-offs. Grrrrr.
    
    Anyway, last week he starts a downwind take-off, and half way down the
    strip he collides with another plane! Fortunately the other plane
    belongs to a guy called Stuart, and is a LARGE own design, featuring a
    25cc Super Tigre engine and a prop that's about 14 inches diameter. The
    idiot's Telemaster 66 just got chewed! You should have heard the cheer
    that went up.....
    
    This brings to mind another tale, which I may have told before (bear
    with me). You know those "arms" that you can buy to hang out of car
    doors and frighten the neighbours? All you do is hand start your 25cc
    Super Tigre with your back to everyone, when it fires you shout "OH
    SH*T!!!" and throw the "arm" up in the air! From memory I don't *think*
    anyone fainted.........
    
    Cheers
    
    Nigel
    

A bit of that happened here recently. A friend was flying alone in a 
secluded area and started his ST3000 without the plane being held 
properly. The engine started backwards and the plane started to back 
away from him. When he throttled back it backfired and started going 
in the right direction and moving forward. He put out his hand 
instinctively and it took the ends of two fingers off. They were able 
to reattach one but the second wasn't found. My sister in law read it 
in the paper and called my wife to check on me. Just goes to show that 
safety really is something that takes lots of practice.

    
    Question:
    
    When flying low passes with your new WW1 style biplane (complete with
    machine gun), how does one stop one's self from shouting
    
    'RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT'
    
    as one passes over the "trenches"?
    
    8^) That was one fun Saturday afternoon! 
    
    Nigel
    

    You don't!!
    
    I have been known to do it more than a few times... :-)
    
    jeff
    

    Got in my Feb flight by doing some ski flying at our New Boston field. 
    The crusty surface made it like flying off ice, but the gentle winds on
    Saturday made for an easy time of takeoffs and landings.  Even my two
    deadstick landings were routine, other than the 200 yard treck thru
    knee-high snow each time to retrieve it.
    
    Made four flights and had a very pleasant time.  
    
    March will be interesting as all this snow melts and we get into major
    mud season!
    
    Regards,
    Joe

March will be easy. There's a RI Gremlin contest 8^)

    Well, one of those "inevitable accidents" almost totaled my Extra 300 
    yesterday.  
    
    I was using the smoker for the first time this year.  I have it on a
    switch on the upper left of the X347.  ANyway, I was having a ball
    horsing around the sky doing averything I could think of, turning the
    smoke on and off to conserve fluid.  At one point as I was going full
    speed straight and level directly out in front of me, I decided to turn
    on the smoke in preparation for a vertical maneuver.  
    
    What happened in the next second completely took me by surprise, since
    instead of flipping the smoke switch, I hit the snap-roll switch
    instead!!!!!!!!!!!  At first, I thought the sudden gyration meant that
    I had been hit, but the motion of the plane looked too familiar to be
    randon hits, and then I realized what I had done.  I made a valiant
    attempt to pull it out, but it just kept spinning in, and since I was 
    very close to the tree line, I completely lost control and strained it 
    thru the trees at full throttle.
    
    Damage assessment isn't pretty:  Wing completely demolished, and both
    wing servos are still missing in action, possibly up in a tree with
    pieces of the wing.  Tail feathers will have to be rebuilt.  Fiberglass
    cowl is totaled.  Landing gear with wheels still attached is hanging on
    a branch out of reach.  WHeel pants both broke off and were recovered. 
    Engine suffered a few broken cooling fins on the front portion of the
    cly head, and the screw that tightens the carb to the body is stripped,
    but it cleaned up nicely and doesn't appear to have any other damage.
    
    Rx and internal servos and components all seem in good shape pending
    testing.  The fuse will need to be stripped to check for structural
    damage, but it doesn't seem too bad.
    
    So, to net it out, a _very_ serious crash, but with time and effort, it
    will fly again.  I already have a foam wing for it, and will begin
    construction after Rhinebeck.  
    
    Oh yes.  The auto snap roll WILL BE DEPROGRAMMED PERMANENTLY!  I've
    really grown to hate it, having lost two planes in two weeks because of
    it.  In hindsight, I should NEVER have had the two switches right next
    to each other.  Some lessons are learned the hard way (sob!)
    
    -Joe, who-builds-to-fly-and-doesn't-see-this-as-a-setback, 
    	-and-is-accepting-this-as-another-character-building-exercise.
    
    	[who am I kidding]
                    
    I never had a chance to recover

    I moved my JR switches around and traded the sizes as well to make it
    safer. 
    
    BTW the snap roll switch is dissabled if the land switch is left in the
    ON position.
    
    Sorry to hear about your loss. I really know what that feels like. I
    actually find it easier to live with dumb-thumb crashes than electro 
    mechanical failures. I can prevent the former but never the latter.
    
    I still have not gotten over the loss of the 120 Graphik so I can
    relate to where you are right now.!.
    
    
    Regards,
    
    Eric.

    
          I was flying the Stryke when Joe crashed. The sound of the Extra
     shredding itself in the trees almost made me sick to my stomach! Joe
    had just let me fly the Extra last weekend, and it is a grat flyer. I
    am sure that we will see it fly again. Persistance is a MAJOR
    prerequesite to being successful in this hobby! :)
    
          Another highlight of the day was when a "GULF" blimb flew by
    the field at only a couple hundred feet of altitude. The thermals were
    wreaking havoc with him, and he was getting knocked around like crazy!
    He was constantly in a climb or dive (sometimed VERY extreme)just to
    maintain altitude! It looked like fun, NOT!, and instantly cured me of
    any small desire I might have had to fly in a blimp! I think a full
    aerobatic routine in an F-16 would have been easier on the stomach!
    
         

    
> Joe had just let me fly the Extra last weekend, and it is a great flyer. 
    
	The Weier curse strikes again!.
    
    Looks like you've not lost your touch? :-)
    
    
    E.

    I have been afraid to program my snap roll switch for this very reason. 
    I have seen it happen twice to others - once on takeoff - crash
    resulted, and once with sufficient altitude to recover.  I do need a
    snap function now for pattern but it makes me very nervous to use my
    "timer" switch for this.  The "Landing" switch does disable the snap
    function on the JR radio so I will use that and make sure that my
    caller tells me to "enable" and "disable" snaps.  I cannot get a good
    snap roll with the control settings I use for pattern flying and I do
    not want to use the "rate" switches for this.  Up until now I have been
    flying Sportsman which does not require any snaps/spins.  The Advanced
    routine includes an Avalanche (loop with a snap at the top) and a three
    turn spin.  I can do the spin with only high rate elevator but the
    Avalanche requires more aileron throw and high rate elevator.  The snap
    roll button allows you to program more throw than you get with full
    stick travel.
    	I'm sorry to hear about Joe's crash!  Eric's right that it is
    easier to take when the cause is known though.
    
    Charlie
    

    Two things that may be of interst:-
    
    1. Both Steve Smith and I have rotated our timer/snap momentary
       switches 180 degrees. so that we can't accidentally pull it "on".
       You need to push down on the switch which is the opposite action to
       holding the TX.
    
    This helps me select the "snap" as a concious effort and also is easier 
    on the pinky when using the same switch as a trainer. (Note it is only 
    active as a trainer switch when and if the buddy lead is plugged in).
    
    2. Steve Lelito uses massive exponential on his Foxfire set ups. It
    means that the first 3/4 of stick movement off center give control
    throws that are close to my normal set up and an extreme stick throw that
    will give a snap roll.
    
    I would prefer a snap roll button like the one that I fitted have to
    the MC-20. You can't confuse a button with a switch lever. Plus the
    action is much quicker. (Also the MC-20 has a guard switch in series).
    
    Do I smell a 347 mod coming on here?.
                        
    On the spins I found it frustrating to find the plane dropping a wing
    the opposite way that I wanted to spin. I then got all cross controlled
    and stalled the spin big time. I was told to only use large elevator
    and rudder defelections on the Foxfire to get a spin?. Still got a lot
    to try and even more to learn...... :-)                                            
    
    
    Regards,
    
    E.

    Well the crash gremlins must have been out everywhere this weekend
    because I lost one too.  
    
    I acquired one of the Hobbyco Ultimate biplanes from Towers scratch and
    dent list for 80 bucks.  Installed my Royal .46 with a davis diesel
    muffler and a new RCD four channel Rx.  
    
    Put it all together Saturday, charged everything up and went out for my
    first flying of the year Sunday.   The plane balances a bit aft, I am
    guessing at the CG point since the wings are staggered, but I think
    well I've got a spare higley heavy hub and we just add it if it needs
    it, in the meantime it has a 10 ounce tank that will provide plenty of
    ballast and we can land and add the hub if needed.  Range check is fine 
    so off we go.
    
    The plane flys great.  A bit of right trim to the ailerons and its got
    that very rock solid feel of any neutral aerobatic plane.  A couple of
    climbs and dives and I verify that it is a bit heavy in the tail so I
    throttle back to land and now my problems begin.  I'm running a 12X4
    prop by the way.  It won't idle back slow enough to land.  This leaves
    me with the delimna of burning off the fuel until it runs out all the
    while dealing with a worsening tail heavy problem.
    
    Then I get the bright idea to run it upside down and hope it leans out
    and dies so I can glide it in.  Its just an offhand thought I don't
    have much faith in since it should not have a problem running upside
    down.  Well I roll inverted going down wind and the motor promptly
    stops.  
    
    Then I try to loop out of the inverted position to head back my way and
    the plane promptly stalls, I recover and it stalls again, then it spins
    its way into a field behind a row of trees.
    
    Totals the plane.  Its the first one I've killed this way for about
    four years.  Bummer!
    
    I guess you have to get stung by stupidity periodically to retain a
    proper level of respect for details and physics.
    
    My post crash inspection reveals a gap in the muffler to head that
    causes the motor to run at a high idle even with the carb closed.  I
    had this problem before with the stock muffler and a leak in the gasket
    that developed due to vibration.
    
    Live and learn.
    
    Will 

    Will,
    	Sounds like it was too tail heavy as you suspected.  By the way, I
    hate the Davis muffler mount.  The mufflers are nicely made but they
    have been too lazy to design a mount that works and insist on using a
    hose clamp strap.  Crap.  I've seen many of them come loose in flight.
    If you soft mount the motor, it will never stay tight.
    
    Sorry to hear of the crash,
    
    
    	Charlie
    

    I won't buy another davis muffler.  This one was excellent in that it
    did make the motor quiet, but I suspect (and have seen Clarence Lee 
    mention this in his RCM column) that the clamp could distort the 
    cylinder.  I also won't buy another Royal engine.  Like Eric says, ya 
    gets what ya pays for.  O.S. for me forever more.
    
    Will

    Oh boy, Charlie, don't EVER ever call that a "hose clamp" to Bob Davis'
    face! I made that mistake at the WRAM show and was quickly informed
    that it's an aircraft grade clamp, not a hose clamp, and then I was
    showered with a 10 minute tirade about his great quality, and the
    lousy quality of everyone else's, and I must be a myopic slime to
    complain that the $50 muffler costs almost as much as the engine it's
    stuck on, and I clearly don't recognize quality and value, and ....
    
    If I hadn't "borrowed" one from Jim Reith, there wouldn't be one on
    my engine, that's for sure.
    
    Dave
    

    Dave,
    	Davis is like that.  I talked to a guy that worked for him in a
    hobby shop and it sounded like he was not very well liked to put it
    mildly.  Ego city.  I understand why his mufflers mount the way they do
    because every engine needs an adapter to mate to the exhaust port.  It
    would not be practical in the low volume business he is in to design a
    mount for each engine that would use standard mounting techniques. 
    Heavy mufflers on a soft mounted engine are a real problem.  To solve
    that problem, you really need a header, flexible coupler, then the
    muffler.  
    
    Charlie
    

I spend the weekend at the New England Scale Championships in
Westfield at Barnes Airport (A10 Country for the Mass Air National Guard).

Anyway I entered my little Sig Cub in Sportsman.  Finished 7 of 10.

There were over 60 entries in all classes so the rounds stretched
out a bit.

Charley Nelson put in two demo flights with his 7 cylinder radial
powered WACO.  Neat.

One fellow had a Yellow Aircraft Zero with an Enya V240.  

The sound was really strange and he was complaining about the performance
but it ran well and sounded interesting and he purchased it because
of the dimensions.

Roy Vallencourt(sp) came up from Long Island with a friend and they
entered 3 planes - one each and one in team scale.

A Hurricane (Roy's), a L19 Bird Dog (team) and the other fellow had
a L5.  All 3 were wonderful and the cockpits and scale pilots
were worth spending some time looking over.  Unfortunately Roy
crashed the L19 which his friend build.  But even after the crash
from it's static score and previous flights it earned a trophy.

I think they both qualified for the masters - I know for sure
the fellow with the L5 did.

Because they had so many entries they were able to qualify 8 from
this contest.

Tom Kosewski(sp) was there with his BIG Sopwith Pup and really flew
it great.  He took 2nd place and qualified for the scale masters.

On at least one flight he was burping the throttle so that it sounded
just like the full scale rotary engines where they can only control
thrust by turning off the ignition to some cylinders.  Awsome.

John Ross was there for the first day only.  He managed to land near
where he took off.

Jack Buckley was flying his Yellow Aircraft P-47M.
He flew great but had some mechanical difficulties
and ended up in 10th place in the expert class.

One flight he flamed out and brought it in for a belly landing.
He didn't think he had time for the landing gear to cycle.
I agree and think he made a great save.  No real damage.  Yellow
P47s land great on their belly - I have personally seen them
do this on tar and gravel many times and always the only problem is
cosmetic.

On another flight he shed some parts in flight.

His son Mitch Buckley was the only junior entered.
Mitch took first place in Junior with a clipped wing cub.

He managed to survive 3 rounds and had some damage
on the 4th round.  Not bad for 11 years old.


Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

    Kay, I heard the spectator attendance was down. Any comments on this?
    
    Also, how was the consession business??????

>              <<< Note 771.790 by SNAX::SMITH "I FEEL THE NEED" >>>
>                             -< Coupla questions >-
>
>    Kay, I heard the spectator attendance was down. Any comments on this?
>    
>    Also, how was the consession business??????

Yes - spectator attendance was not high - I don't know if they
did any advertising.

Concession business was OK - did I miss something?

There were so many contestants that just families made for quite
a few people at the field.

The wart hogs were taxing within a couple hundred feet
of us all Saturday morning - awsome.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

The weekend before last I attended an electric sailplane
competition in Ellington, CT.

There were 3 classes.

Class A Sailplane = 7 cell and below
Class B Sailplane = 24 cell and below
Old Timer         = 7 cell and below

They allowed you to enter the same plane in multiple classes
so there were a couple of Old Timers entered in Class A
Sailplane and I entered my Mini-Challenger in both Class A
and Class B.

I think I was the only 6 cell plane in the competition.
I know I was the only  6 cell plane in the 24 cell class.

But I couldn't find a thermal for beans so didn't do too well.
But my climbs  were excellent and it flew good.

The motor run time was limited, 45 seconds for 7 cell sailplanes
1 minute for old timer, and 30 seconds for 24 cell sailplanes.

Weather was great all day but ended in a major down pour.

Last weekend I attended the 3rd annual Sub Regatta at the US Sub
Base in Groton CT.

I entered my little 21" U-boat and it was the smallest sub at the
meet.  Several of the other pilots (captains) gave me good comments.
I could sail around them (submerged) while they were standing in the 
shallow end putting their boat in the water.

The course was kinda neat but for my boat huge.  The first task
was to back out from a dock to a buoy.  That took me about 5 minutes
because it was so far.  The pylon turns later caused the bigger boats
some problems and they had to back up to make the turn.  I could eat
a sandwich between pylons.  Never the less I have never had a boat
in competition and was shaking something awful.  At the far end of the
course I had trouble seeing the boat and had to run surfaced just for
some visibility.  Even at that I lost it for a while sailing thru an area
of sun light on ripples.

Great fun and I purchased a REAL hull that I hope to get ready for next
year.

A friend here at work (John Kennedy) was aboard the Pargo when he was
in the Navy and a crew man from the Pargo was at the Sub Regatta selling
Pargo shirts, hats, and such for the recreation fund.  The Pargo is
a Short Sturgeon class boat SSN-650 and there was one vendor selling the
only Short Sturgeon class boat I have seen - so I had to take the deep
plunge.

My wife knows that the $175 for the hull is but the tip of the iceberg
in total cost.

I washed the release agent off the hull last night in the kitchen sink.
Amazing how the fresh fiberglass smell comes right back.

Even tho there are many details molded into the hull there are also some
that are not so I have to find some pictures to show the tile lines and
non-skid areas.

All ahead full - blow main ballast.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

Spend Sunday at the Farmington CT scale fly in.

Perfect weather - especially for my little clipped wing cub.

Some Laser type planes and a few AT-6s.

There was one large C-45 twin beech which flew several times
without a problem.

I practiced the scale routine and did pretty bad.

I also was field testing a new on-board glow switch which
I just installed.  I still managed to dead stick once
so I raised the cut off point a bit and the next flights were
OK.  This is something that was very difficult to change
with my old setup of a micro switch on the throttle servo.
It was adjustable but a real test of your dexterity.

First time I ever flew the cub off Grass - made taxi possible
for the first time.  Sure is hard to get used to using my left thumb.

Anyway - great weather - great wide open field.

Didn't see any DEC folks but the usual crowd of 495th scale guys
were there plus a lot of local folks.  Some local TV station
was there making videos.  This is the first time I can remember
being at a scale event where there was no wind and someone could
have flown a Jenny - unfortunately none were present.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

I stopped by the hobby shop last night and picked up my two new JR recievers. 
The store owner was careful to point out to me that the new recievers are only 
6 channel. He said to get 7 channels I'd have to go with the high end 9 channel
reciever. It doesn't matter to me but I found it interesting.

I also got the answer to the problem I was having with the Cobra's rotor head. I
suspected it had something to do with the new blade grips and I was right. New
grips required a different set of shims

    
    
        In addition to working on and flying the SHuttle this past weekend,
    I built a test stand for the OS.61 pumper. I designed it so the 
    stand fit in my "Workmate". I used a 6 oz hayes tank, an
    old S148 servo to drive the throttle servo, and an old R114H reciever
    and Futaba Attack radio which were gathering dust to drive the servo.
    
        After borrowing the tuned pipe from the YS, I tried running the
    engine. The good news is the stand works great, the bad news is the
    engine still wouldn't run correctly. The problem definately seems to
    be that the excess fuel/pressure is not flowing back through the pump 
    and then back to the engine. This narrows it down to either a clogged 
    pump, a defective pump, or the pump needs adjustment. They recommend 
    cleaning the pump with either Methenol, or kerosene, so I will probably
    try that first. If that fails, I have instructions from Jack Z. on how 
    to adjust the pump. If that fails, its back to O.S. for repair.
                                             

  I made it out to the CMRCM field Friday afternoon.  The place was fairly
busy.  Charlie, Eric, Jack, Harvey T., and a couple of other locals were
already there.  I helped Charlie and Eric with their pattern ships a few times
(pit lizard).  The sun was brutal in that it was almost dead across from the
pits.  Any attempt to fly past mid-field would leave you just about blind!  So
we offset the flying area to the far left of the field.

  On my first flight with my Gremlin I went dead stick.  I think the fuel line
popped off.  But what should have been a minor inconvenience ended trashing my
Gremlin!  I couldn't make it back to the runway so I set up for an off-field
landing.  I didn't think I was going fast, in fact, I thought I was at stall 
speed when I hit the top of a bush.  Parts of the plane were flying everywhere!
Somehow I tore off a elevon, smashed in a wing tip, and ripped the engine off 
the plane...taking the bottom of the fuse with it!  Since I didn't have another
fuse on hand it was not field repairable. :^(

  Charlie and I then took up my Wot 4.  It was pretty uneventful.  I did some
pattern practice (they told me not to give up my day job) and had an uneventful
landing.

  I got so wrapped up in the b.s.ing with those guys that I forgot to do more
flying!  One minute it was 3:00, the next it was 5:00 and time to leave.  Oh
well...it was fun.

  Just as I was leaving we saw a hot air balloon that looked like it was
landing up at the fish and game.  After watching it for a couple of minutes 
it was clear that it was heading for our field!  I just had to stick around
and watch!  :^)  They came down the hill and hovered across our field at about
10 feet.  Then they slowly drifted across the road, over the pond, and then
up and over the trees.  It was great seeing it up close like that!  And of 
course, everyone kept their planes on the ground until the balloon was long
gone.

  Other notes:  Harvey T. had his 1/4 scale J3 Cub.  He took it up for a few
flights and did it look (and sound) great!  He's got a huge twin engine in it.
Jack had his new rocket ship...boy does that sucker move!!!!!!!!!!!

  Not a lot of other excitement.  Just a great day to be out at the field!!!


                     Jim

Made a couple of major break throughs with my Shuttle. After upgrading
the collective pitch setup I finally seem to be able to maintain
resonable pitch settings. I now have the Shuttle set up so that it
hovers at a resonable main rotor RPM and now it climbs like a sky rocket
and still maintains a constant rotor RPM across the entire pitch range.
I was able to get in 15 nice flights this weekend without having to
readjust pitch curves or needle valve settings between flights. I think
there is still room for improvement, but I think the Shuttle is finally
running close to peak efficiency.

Wayne  

    > In addition to working on and flying the SHuttle this past weekend,
    > I built a test stand for the OS.61 pumper. I designed it so the 
    > stand fit in my "Workmate". I used a 6 oz hayes tank, an
    > old S148 servo to drive the throttle servo, and an old R114H reciever
    > and Futaba Attack radio which were gathering dust to drive the servo.
    
    You used up a whole radio just to drive the throttle? Why not just
    attach a flex cable and secure the position with some sort of set screw?
    Or do you want to be waaayyyyy away from this engine when you're 
    running it?
    
    Dave
    

    He just wants to be able to sit in his living room and not have to
    listen to the motor while he's getting it set up. 8^)

    
    Dave,
    
       It is overkill, but its nice to make the throttle changes from the
    radio, and see how the engine responds through normal throttle
    ups/downs, etc. Besides, I wasn't using the radio for anything at the
    moment anyway.
    
       I can't expect a "glider guider" to fully appreciate throttle
    response throughout its entire range! :)
    
    Steve,
    
       I hadn't thought about it, but I like your idea :).
    
                                                           

I attended the Justa-Two RC Flyers scale flyin in Clinton
last Sunday.  

There were so many scale planes and pilots that there was
little room in the pits to set up.

Lots of spectators and they were parting up and down route 62
because the field ran out of parking spaces.

It was really windy and I only put in one flight on my Cub.
Lots of guys had problems with landings in the wind including
me.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

    Huh? There's a field in Clinton? New to me. Do they fly there
    regularly?
    

It's Tom K and his buddies. They prefer/require SCALE/IMAA Giant Scale

    It's called the JASTA II field (not jUsta) and it's about 6 minutes
    from the church in Berlin. Not a bad field although landing from the
    left can be tricky with a fast plane (real tall trees). Otherwise, it's
    not a bad place for general flying.

>It's Tom K and his buddies. They prefer/require SCALE/IMAA Giant Scale
    
    In general, don't you have to be "given permission" to fly at this
    field ?

    I believe there's a locked gate involved (haven't been there but heard
    about it)

    It's a club and you have to join. I believe their membership fee is
    something around 40 bucks a year.
    
    I also heard, however, that they are in need of money and so are
    thinking about opening the club up to non-scale members.
    
    Actually, it's be a great place for glider flying espically with a
    winch. Reminds me of the Salisbury field up north.
    
    
    S.

    Turned out to be a great weekend for flying. I had arranged with Eric
    and Charlie to meet them at the CMRCM field at noon time, but due to
    the fact that I slept late, didn't get there till almost 1:30. I made
    the mistake of rolling back over at 8:20 and the next thing I knew, it
    was 11:00. I havn't done that in awhile.
    
    I arrived at the field and found the parking lot "full". Now that were 
    limited to flying on Sunday's only due to hunting season, any nice day
    is going to bring out the crowd. The pits were almost full.
    
    One of the things I really wanted to see fly Sunday was Jack Z's new
    creation. I hear it's a screamer. Unfortunately, there was a little
    mishap during launch and the elevator got busted. Minor damage but not
    field repairable. Shucks.........
    
    I had brought the Goblin and had fun throwing that around the sky.
    Charlie had his new Stuntwagon and it was really flying well with the
    OS32 up front. It's a floater though and didn't want to come down so we
    mixed in some aileron reflex and some down elevator compensation and it
    worked like a charm. It settled in very nicely. Of course, he also had
    his Gremlin.
    
    Eric brought the Dalotel with the new YS120 and was putting that
    through it's paces. The thing is awesome. It's an eleven pound airplane
    and goes straight up. No lack of power there.
    
    Dan Weier was testing out the plane carrying capacity of his new
    Caravan and brought the Stryke, and 2 heli's, and the Gremrocket. He
    also had an OS61 on a test stand and his WorkMate WORK BENCH to attach
    it too. Guess you can put quite a lot in there right Dan???????
    He was getting in some pattern practice with the STryke and just having
    fun with the heli's. Try as I might, he wouldn't let me fly one of them
    though. Got to the point where if I got to within about a 5 foot radius
    of him, he'd just look at me and say NO.....8^)
    
    I did get to do some training though with a new member and his PT40.
    He's actually doing quite well and is about ready to solo. Eric was in
    a corrupting mood (as usual) and took the trainer box during one
    session to test the roll rate of the PT. As expected, it rolled very
    slowly and you needed down elevator compensation to keep the nose up.
    He told the student to do a roll and punch in some down while inverted
    and gave him the box back. The student tried it and did almost a
    perfect axial roll with the PT. From then on, he had it nailed. Then I
    had him stringing maneuvers together doing a loop and then pulling up
    into a roll. By the way, did I mention that the student is a kid about
    13 or 14 years old.........Watch out for this one. He's a natural.
    
    Russ was there with his Telemaster 2000 and practically begged me to
    fly it. Course he does that with everyone. Guess he just likes to sit
    there and watch his airplane fly. I had fun with that and did one
    landing where I intentionally did one of the worst approaches anyone
    could do just so I could complain to Russ that the "airplane" was
    terrible. 8^)
    
    Harvey T. brought his 15 pound quarter scale cub with an OS 160 twin up
    front. I just walked over to comment on how neat the engine sounded and
    the next thing I know, he hands me the TX and says "stay out of
    trouble" and goes and sits down. I had a blast with it. It's so
    realistic it's incredible. Enough power to do loops from level flight,
    stall turns, wing overs, etc., yet at about 1/4 throttle, it was
    amazingly realistic. I did a few landings with it and then kept it down
    before it ran out of gas. On one touch and go, it coughed a bit so we
    wern't even sure it would make another time around the pattern. The
    next landing "had" to stay down. A little pressure on that landing, but
    we made it without any problems.
    
    Got to help another new guy with his 40 size cub and that flew very
    well also. He only solo'ed about a month ago, so he basically just
    wanted someone to stand next to him in case. I took it off and landed
    it, but he did well, and did a takeoff and landing later in the day.
    
    Jack Z. also had his pattern ship there and was putting it through it's
    paces. He was the last one to clean up/pack up at the end of the day.
    
    Eric and Charlie got the Gremlins out at the very end and attacked a
    balloon on a stick out in the middle of the field. They each got
    numerous "kills" and I was playing balloon replacement official.
    
    All in all, it was a great day, no broken airplanes, no safety
    infractions, no gripes, nothing but a good time. Too bad there won't be
    many days like that left.
    
    Now if I could only get Dan to let me fly the Shuttle.......8^)

I managed to get in about half a dozen Gremlin flights in Sturbridge and meet a
few (or is it all? 8^) of the regulars. One guy is an old glider buddy that I'd
lost touch with. I told him about my winch and he said he'd love to try it. I
wonder how cheap a Paragon wing kit is? Managed to make one inverted pass across
the field with the Gremlin that was at -6". Broke the nylon fin bolts and
reduced the prop to a 2x6 8^) Amazed everyone by replacing the fin bolts and
putting it back up inside 10 minutes. Gotta love it. It's 8 minutes door to door
so it looks like I can have a cutting weekend and STILL get in a couple of
flights. This is going to work out VERY nice.

There was a new guy there with a PT-40 that had solo'd a couple of weeks back
(he's been flying 6 weeks) and 2 weeks ago his instructor lost it into the trees
on a buddy box. He built a wing kit and said "I can crash as well as him" and
went out flying. He works 2nd shift and had put 1+ gallons of fuel through it
since wednesday. I gave him some pointers on landing and such and he was doing
GREAT for someone so new. 

    
      As Steve mentioned, I was one of the crew that showed up at C-mass
    yesterday. I ended up bringing EVERYTHING I had that could fly, plus
    several more things that didn't ( chair, workmate, teststand, lunchbox,
    etc.... ). I brought everything for three reasons:
    
       1. I couldn't decide what I wanted to fly
       2. I wanted to test out the carryinf capacity of the Caravan
          with the rack I installed
       3. Because I could! :)
    
        After having driven small vehicles, and mashing all my RC gear into
      them everytime, I really appreciate the load carrying capacity of the
      Caravan!
    
         The first thing I decided to fly was the Stryke. I hadn't flown it
    for several weeks, and had just replaced all the gaskets,etc in the
    Y.S. Well, it turns out I had the regulator gasket in backwards, and
    the gasket was blocking a hole in the regulator, so the YS wouldn't
    run. One hour, and a lot of fiddling around later, I was ready to fly.
    I ended up putting in three dismal flights with the Stryke during the
    day ( dismal, because we were directly facing the sun for several
    hours, which made Pattern flying almost impossible. The contest on the
    30th sould be fun (NOT) ). I also ended up having plug problems, so
    Charlie has convinced me to try switching to OS 8 plugs from the K + B
    plugs I am using.
    
        I put in one flight on the Pocket Rocket. I had brought it to the
    field to put up against Jack's new creation for the speed title, but it
    wasn't to be. The wind shifted during his launch, he ended up 
    launching downwind, and the resulting smack into the runway broke the
    stab. It turns out, it really didn't matter, as the speed/performance
    title clearly went to Eric's Dalotel anyway! He had the Dalo SCREAMING 
    with the rebuild YS120, and after a season of disciplined pattern flying, 
    he really let go!
    
        In addition to wringing out the Dalo, Eric was demonstrating his
    newest manuver with the Goblin. He calls it the "Death Wish", and you
    have to see it to believe it! This plane can REALLY take the stress!
    
        After putting the planes away, it was chopper time. I put in one
    short flight with the Shuttle, but it was still running rough in
    mid-range which made it very difficult to fly. Instead of messing with
    it and tying up the field, I chose to fly the X-cell instead. I was
    able to put in two decent flights, and the engine ran better than it
    ever has. NO Steve! :)
    
        Also during the afternoon, Jack and Charlie decided to try and fix
    the ailing OS.61 I had bought from Jack. After a lot of work, they came
    to the same conclusion I had: The pump seems to be clogged, and is not
    returning the excess fuel back to the tank. Jack took it home to work
    on it, and also to replace the bearing which went bad in it. 
    
        Other highlights of the afternoon were Eric trying to land the
    Goblin backwords ( it didn't work :), Charlie sorting out the 
    Stuntwagon, seeing Harveys Cub with a twin flying, razzing Steve while
    he was flying Russ's plane, and last but not least, some high quality
    Gremlin balloon popping.
    
        A great flying session, and alas, problably one of the few
    remaining this year :(
                       

                    
     Well, scratch one YS.61!
    
       I went up to Merrimack last evening hoping to get the YS fine tuned,
    and to get some pattern practice in. I managed to get two flights in
    with the engine running lousy, including a dead stick landing on the
    first flight.
       Prior to the thrid flight, I attempted to adjust the regulator,
    and after several minutes still could not get it working right. It was
    while I was running up the engine that something let go, the engine
    made some horrible sounds, and then stopped.
       At home I disassembled the engine to find one of the balls in the
    rear bearing had fractured. The part that fractured off managed to
    damage the crankcase, connecting rod, piston and sleeve ( all the
    expensive parts!). This engine will now make a fine paper weight.
       So at this point, I am without an engine for the Stryke, and am
    temporarily grounded. I called Jack Z. and asked him to put a rush
    on fixing the OS.61. He said the rear bearing was totally trashed, and
    Towers was out of stock, so I will be ordering a bearing from BOCA and
    have it shipped to him. With any luck, he will have it ready so he can 
    deliver it to me at the auction on Saturday.
    
       So, with the Stryke down for repairs again, it was back to the
    Heli's. I put in a couple flights with the Shuttle last night, and am
    planning to get some Heli flying in later this afternoon. I was
    originally planning to take the afternoon off and fly pattern, but 
    sh1t happens!. 
    
      The Shuttle's engine is still running rough at hover, so last night 
    I installed an OS 8 plug to see if it will work better than the KB. I 
    also noticed the surface on the muffler flange where it attaches to 
    the engine was rough, and may have been leaking, so I filed it down smooth.
    We will see if any of this helps.
      I also plan to clamp the X-cell down to my Workmate and work on the
    high end needle setting. We shall see how that goes.

I was at Jack's when you called. Didn't you hear me suggesting using your
Gremlin for the contest? 8^)

Mucho thanks go to Jim C. who took time out of his busy "building schedule" to
show me where Jack lived. All kidding aside, I really did appreciate it. The
unfortunate part was rolling into Northboro and having a cop stop me for
speeding at the bottom of the hill 8^( Just wasn't my night.

That OS bearing did a pretty good imitation of a bushing. It was REAL grindy so
you're pretty well off having swapped it out.

Jim

    Dan,
    
    	Where did the bearing come from that let go. Is it an original YS
    bearing, Boca bearing, or some other. If it was YS or Boca, I would
    DEFINATELY let them know what happened and try and get some
    satisfaction. I don't care WHAT you do to an engine. The bearing should
    NOT fracture.
    
    	It's worth a try anyway.
    
    	If Jack doesn't get the OS fixed, I won't need mine till the
    spring. You can use it if you like.

    
       Good thing I have bad luck, or I wouldn't have any at all! :)
    
       At this rate, I just MAY switch to gliders! :)
    
       Jim,
    
         So you were the wise As$ I heard in the background! :)
    
       Steve,
    
         The bearing was a BOCA bearing. To make matters worse, it was the
       top of the line bearing with a special phanolic? retainer! The outside 
       bearing race was rusted ( which indicates fuel is still remaining in the
       engine), but the bearing was only slightly rough ( even with a
       broken ball ). To be fair, the last bad bearing I removed from the
       YS also had several broken balls, but I think the bearin was covered
       on both sides, so the damage was contained. Don't know what I will do at 
       this point, but I sure have had my share of bearing problems this year!
                                                     

At least with Gliders you can run BUSHING servos!

he!!, even Evil Eric himself had fun sloping at the cape (and I hope you guys
are merciless next meeting)

>>Mucho thanks go to Jim C. who took time out of his busy "building schedule" to
>>show me where Jack lived. All kidding aside, I really did appreciate it. 


  No problem!  I needed a break from that intensive building session I had 
going! I was just passing by the television when you got there...I wasn't 
*really* watching it!  :^)

>>The unfortunate part was rolling into Northboro and having a cop stop me for
>>speeding at the bottom of the hill 8^( Just wasn't my night.

  Bummer!   Now you know why I stick very closely to the posted speed limit and
never attempt to make it through the traffic light before it from yellow to red.


  Oh yeah...that was the first time I got to see Pink Lightning!  Real cute! :^)



                        Jim

Well, I didnt think 47 on Rt20 was a problem but it slows coming into town and I
wasn't really paying attention.

>  Oh yeah...that was the first time I got to see Pink Lightning!  Real cute! 
>  :^)

You don't get out much, do you? 8^)

    
    
       Just talked to a rep at BOCA. Seems they have been seeing a string
     of problems regarding the YS.61 engines. According to them, the YS.61
     tends to place excessive "shock" load on the bearings, causing them
     to fail. "Shock" includes vibration,etc.
        Unfortunatly, this coincides with my experience, with the original,
     and now the Boca bearing failing due to reasons other than rust. With
     all the trouble I have had, I will catagorically state that I am out
     of the YS.61 business! The only YS I will consider in the future is
     the 120.
    
        The good news is the rear bearing on the "old" OS.61 longstroke
     ( the one I have ) is the same size as the rear YS bearing. I have two
     of these "in stock" in my workshop, so I will be mailing one out to Jack
     ASAP.
    

    Well, I assume that if Boca is pretty much blaming YS, their not
    inclined to do anything about the new "paper weight".
    
    I'd call YS (Steve Helms) next and relate what Boca said and your 
    experience with the previous bearing.
    
    I would also relate, in a kind of round about way, that you are
    currently discussing the problem "over the internet" and many others
    have had the same problem. More importantly, there are alot of YS
    owners anxious to hear how YS handles the situation.
    
    As you have absolutely nothing to loose, I STRONGLY urge you to make
    the call. Based on others experience in dealing with YS and engine
    problems, you may be pleasantly surprised.
    

I was looking at the YS.45s in a Royal P-38 back a while ago and then Charlie
and Eric seemed to be going through a string of bad bearings in the Unics as I
recall. I was interested in the rear exhaust so I could run the pipe internal.
Does this ring true to anyone else in the file? Am I halucinating agian? I was
pretty hot after the YS/P-38 combo and I recal SOMETHING going wrong on 2-3 of
them in a short period of time...

    
        Yes, Charlie said he had bearing problems with the YS.45's.
    
        Even though the .45s are religiously run dry, and then Mobil 1 is added,
    he said fuel still seems to find its way back in from the pipe, etc. Charlie
    attributes the YS.45 problem to fuel rusting the bearing, where as
    based on my experience, the .61 seems to just destroy bearings 
    ( even without rust helping out! :)
     
        I would have a chat with Charlie if you are considering .45's for
    the P-38.
                                                                 

I had that chat and that was what made me decide against it. I just wasn't sure
what failed part it was that was the culprit. I was pretty sure it was bearings
8^(

Jim

    
      Yesterday, I took a couple hours off and headed up to the New Boston
    field to sort out and fly my helis.
    
       I took the Shuttle for a short flight, and confirmed it was running
    smoother than before. Then, I clamped it down to my workmate and ran it
    through the entire normal and Idle up-1 pitch curve.
       I basically discovered two things, One, it was running WAY too lean
    on the top end, and required the needle to be turned out almost an
    entire turn! I am suprised it even ran in the lean condition. Two, the
    motor couldn't handle the high end pitch regardless of the needle valve
    setting,and required me to significantly reduce the top end pitch. The
    lack of power at the top end may be fuel related, or simply the motor
    getting tired.
       After all the adjustments, I took it for a flight. The mid range is
    running much smoother, there is a nice trail of smoke, and the only
    thing that seems to have suffered is the vertical due to the decreased
    top end pitch.
       
        At this point I put the Shuttle away, and took out the X-Cell. I
    strapped it down and ran it through the normal pitch curve. This time
    I found that unfortunately, the top end needle setting was already as
    good as it could be, so there was no extra power to be tweaked out
    of it. I may have to reduce the high end pitch if I can't get more
    power out of the engine. You haven't lived until you duck under a .60 
    sized chopper running at full power to adjust the high end mixture! :). 
    
        I took the X-cell for a long flight, and then packed it up. I have
    ordered a case of 15% Cool Power, and will try it out in both choppers.
    Several Heli flyers have reccomended the Cool Power. If that doesn't
    cure the "top end" power problems, I will look at engines as the
    cause of the problem, and go from there.
                

Dan,

I can't imaging being under the rotor of a strapped down full power heli. Could
it be that the high end lean mixture damaged the Shuttle engine and that's the
cause of the loss of high end power. On some engines a lean run can really do a
number and they're never the same 8^(

Cape Soaring Weekend!

If anyone is interested or in the area, I'll be spending the entire weekend at
the Seascape in North Truro this weekend doing as much slope soaring as
possible. It's supposed to rain off and on during the week (sorry Dave) but
clear on friday and through the weekend. If anyone is going to be in the area or
interested in coming down, send me email.

Jim

    
    Jim,
     
    Yes, The lean running could have very well damaged the .32. I may be
    looking at a rebuild, but I will wait until the cool power tests are
    complete. I have also been considering upgrading to the new OX .32SX
    heli engine that just came out, so I may go that direction. The good 
    news is the rest of the Shuttle is working well, and I am closing in
    on the engine problems.
    
    I also plan to try the Cool Power in the OS.61 in the Stryke. Charlie
    and Jack couldn't even ge the OS.61 going the other day on the S/W
    fuel, but when they tried a tank of Omega ( cool power with castor),
    it ran great ( minus the pump problems ) 
    
    Re: Being under the rotor. Its not as bad as you might think, but you 
        HAVE to be paying attention when there is a 60/9 prop turning
        1500 rpm right above your head! 
      

  If I remember correctly (doesn't happen too often :^), it was the problems
with the bearings in the YS45's that made Eric try running 0% nitro fuel
through his engines after a flying session to remove any nitro laden fuel from
the engine.

>       I basically discovered two things, One, it was running WAY too lean
>    on the top end, and required the needle to be turned out almost an
>    entire turn! I am suprised it even ran in the lean condition. Two, the
>    motor couldn't handle the high end pitch regardless of the needle valve
>    setting,and required me to significantly reduce the top end pitch. The
>    lack of power at the top end may be fuel related, or simply the motor
>    getting tired.

I just went through this exact same exercise with my Shuttle. I saw
great improvement by changing to the following pitch settings:

Low stick:     	-4 degrees
Half stick:	+6 degrees
Full stick:	+8.5 degrees

The most noticable change was the hovering pitch. After these changes I
was able to get needle settings where the rotor RPM would remain
constant across the entire collective range. The reduced top end pitch
also drastically improved my vertical performace. My Shuttle used to
barely struggle into the air, after the new pitch set up, it had GREAT
vertical performance. I was running 15% SW fuel and a K&B plug.
Performance was fine, and the engine was cool after a full flight.

Unfortunately, shortly after finally getting it set up just the way I
wanted it, I totalled the Shuttle practicing some new manuevers :^(
Instead of pumping a pile of money into the Shuttle, I picked up a used
X Cell 50. I installed my radio and set up the pitch curves to exactly
match the suggestions in the manual, and it flying GREAT.

>       After all the adjustments, I took it for a flight. The mid range is
>    running much smoother, there is a nice trail of smoke, and the only
>    thing that seems to have suffered is the vertical due to the decreased
>    top end pitch.

I don't know what you are running for pitch, but I would suggest you
DECREASE the top end pitch, (and maybe increase hover pitch as well) to
allow the engine to get up on the torque curve. When I got my shuttle
set up right, I could really hear the difference in the way the engine
sounded. It sounded super smooth, and it didn't load down as the pitch
came on.

Oh well, I hope my rambling is of some use.

Wayne  

    
    
    Wayne,
    
        Sorry to hear of your Shuttle's demise. I have been there, and done
    that, so I know how you feel. The plus side is you are trying to move
    forward, and will eventually succeed. A lot of folks aren't willing
    to push the envelope, and thereby never get better. You may want to do 
    what I did and move to the X-cell, and then come back to the Shuttle as 
    a practice ship (the parts ARE cheaper! :).
    
    
        I think you are right on regarding the Shuttle. The only problem is 
    I am now down to about 8 degrees of top end pitch to maintain RPM, and 
    the vertical ISN'T great. Even though the hover is smooth now, I will 
    probably adjust the hover pitch to boost the rpm, keep it in the torque
    curve, and have inertia available for vertical acceleration. I still
    may have an engine problem, although it seems to be running well now.
    
        The top end pitch on the X-CELL is currently 9 degrees. From
    everyone I have talked to, and all the information I have read, the
    SX.61 / X-cell should be able to handle this amount of pitch. Lowering the 
    pitch to 8 - 8 1/2 will help keep the rpms up, but the engine should be able
    to handle 9. Its confusing from a fuel standpoint, in that I am getting
    a LOT of smoke throughout the range, indicating a rich running engine, 
    but it just sips the fuel ( 16 OZ in 25-30 minutes!). I am almost sure
    I have a power problem. If the fuel doesn't help, I will have the
    engine checked out, and then resort to lowering the pitch curve. 
    
                                          Have fun with the X-cell!
     
        

At this point I'm having good success with plain vanilla stuff like SW
15% fuel and K&B plugs, but then I'm not really pushing my machines hard
(except for pushing the Shuttle right into the dirt :^) ). I'll be
listening to hear how you make out with different brands of fuel, etc.

My main goal now is to get so I can do a respectable job of the Class I heli
manuvers. I can do all the manuevers, sometimes even pretty well, but not
consistently.

Wayne  

    
      
           I'm shifting the discussion to note 366 (Chopper notes), that way
       we can find it again if we need too.                       
    
    
     

    
      Anybody else see the ESPN RC coverage last night?
    
      I luckily remembered at 9:30 ( after Seinfeld ) that ESPN was
    broadcasting an RC event, and I tuned in just as they were
    starting their coverage of a T-6 Pylon racing contest.
    
      I thought they did a good job of covering it, including being
    responsible in how they presented it ( new for the media :). I also
    thought  the narrator did a good job of trying to make RC flying an 
    exciting TV spectator event, but unfortunately, it still didn't do a
    whole lot for me. I guess I am just not a person who gets excited by
    watching RC flying.
      The one exception that was interesting was the depth of the technical
    inspections the planes, pilots, fuel, engines, etc. go through prior to 
    (and after) the flights to ensure both safety, and equity between 
    contestants. There is no such thing as just slapping a plane together, 
    and then going racing. I was very impressed at how responsible they
    were running the race. If nothing else did, the coverage they gave about 
    the inspections was positive P.R. for the general public. 
    
      Don't know if I would have the commitment needed to get into full
    blown RC pylon racing, but I applaud the people that do so!
    
    

 

  I only caught a few glimpses from across the bar.  :^)  But they opened
the show with a bunch of crashes and dorked landings.  I guess that was to
get the audiences attention.


        Jim

    
     I missed the first few minutes, so I didn't see any of that. I KNEW it
    was too much to expect to have the media behave!  

I watched it for the most of it. I think I tuned in about 9:10 and they were
showing a segment of "best crashes" with wings getting sheared off and
snap/splats. I was concerned at this point that this was the wrong focus to be
presented to the general public. The rest of the show was very responsible and
well done. My wife grumbled at the wife callers part and we joked about it. I
told her that's what I expected for this weekend's slope sessions 8^)

I found it interesting to see Dennis Crooks after hearing so much about him in
here in the past.

    
        I didn't realize they did the whole hour on RC. I has assumed
    they started the RC segment at 9:30. Sounds like I missed the "best"
    part :). Dennis Crooks certainly lived up to his reputation!
    
                                                    

    Watched it from beginning to end. I think ESPN did a very credible job
    in presenting a well rounded picture of what RC pylon racing is all
    about. I too was surprised at the depth of the technical inspection.
    You even have to bring a video proving you can fly the plane.
    
    I don't think the crashes were inappropriate. They were discussing the
    cost of flying this type of RC and the things that can happen.
    
    I enjoyed it, thought it was a boon to RC flying, and taped it for
    possible future "arm twisting" ammo.

    
       After a late night Friday ( Jim C, have I found a place for you!), I 
    awoke just in time to load the van with items for the Auction. I decided 
    to depart with my Aeromaster, ST.90, Fun-1 ( half built), and an ARF 
    Sport/pattern plane ( the one that I did an outside loop 1 foot too low, 
    and also made an 80 mph landing at a pattern contest :). None of these 
    items fit my current pattern/heli strategy, so it felt good to clear out
    the shop.
       I arrived at 11:30 to find several people already there. Shortly
    there after, the HTA crowd unexpectantly arrived. They all rode up in
    the E-bus. Jack and Eric had several items to sell. Jack also
    brought up my OS.61 with the new bearing installed, and ready for a
    test run. Eric sold his .45 Gremrocket ( minus engine,guts ), and tried 
    unsuccessfully to sell the Foxfire. On of the more amusing parts of the 
    day came when Eric had realized that when he emptied his van to carry the 
    gang up, he had left his 1/4-20 bolts at home to attach the wing on the 
    Foxfire. He and I took a trip up the road to Sommerville lumber, and 
    after a series of mishaps that would have made vaudville proud, we made 
    it back to the church on time.
    
        The auction format worked very well, and the entire auction was done
    in 1 3/4 hours. In previous years, it took that long just to get
    halfway through. I think Jeff came up with a good format that we should
    continue to use in future years.
    
        All my items sold, and the only purchase I made was Jack's ACE
    field charger for $33. I had been in the market for one, so it worked
    out well.
    
        Other than Wally buying a few planes, the HTA gang didn't purchase
    anything much other than hotdogs and raffle tickets. Eric's Gremrocket 
    ended up selling for $50, and Jack got rid of most of his stuff.  
    
        After the auction the HTA gang headed for a stop at RC Buyers. They
    spend about an hour, and made several purchases. I eended up spending
    some of the money I made at the auction on a Hobbico Multi charger.
    
        After RC Buyers, the HTA gang headed south, and I went up to Radio
    Shack to purchase connectors for the two new chargers I had. I spent
    the evening re-arranging my shop to take advantage of the vacated
    space, and also started wiring up the chargers.
    
        On Sunday, I put the OS.61 on the test stand, and tried to get it
    running. After first running it without the pump, and then making a few
    pump adjustments, I had it running very well with it smoothly idling at
    1500 rpm, and then coming up smoothly to 9800 RPM. The problem SEEMS
    to be fixed, but I want to see if I can get it running again before
    re-installing it in the Stryke. Last evening, I retrofitted the Stryke
    from the YS.61 fuel system, to the OS.61 system. If the OS.61 passes
    the test again, it will be an easy installation. Hopefully., I will be 
    able to get at least a few practice flights in this week.
    
        

    Well, again, it was a busy Sunday at CMRCM.  I was feeling rather
    chipper Sunday morning (read: woke before noon), so I managed to make
    it out the field by 10:15.  One other person was there.  He was an
    older man who I had never seen before.  He put in a maiden flight on a
    newly built SIG seniorita (I think).  Turns out he has eye problems and
    has to keep the plane within 500 ft of himself.  He did a good job of
    that.  It also turns out that he only likes to fly his planes once.  He
    gets most of the satisfaction out of building and told me that he would
    build any kit for $50.  After I put a flight in on the T60, people
    started showing up in droves.  Among the participants were: ERic,
    Charlie, Jack, Chris (beginner w/ PT40 and CUB), Mal, Harvey, Ray, and
    some others I don't know (or forgot about).  I spent the day practicing
    stall turns (I plan on flying beginner's pattern next year).  My
    engine quit on 4 of these stall turns and I had to fly a complete
    landing pattern to make it to the field (downwind/base/final).  No big
    crashes ocurred before the rain set in and we all had to go home.  We
    did, however, get a chance to time Jack's little rocketship.  The
    numbers came in at about 140 MPH.  He was flying a 46 SF too.  I made
    up a little table of speeds for times and distances ranging .80s-2.95s,
    285ft.-250ft.  Maybe we can post it at the field?  I made a weather
    proof transparency of it.
    
    Andy
       

>>       After a late night Friday ( Jim C, have I found a place for you!)


  Let me guess....the largest denomination you need in your wallet is 
the $1 bill?....lot's of them?....   :^)



  Saw something neat this morning...2 DEC heliwopters did a formation landing
at MRO!  They came over rt 495 at a spacing of approx. 50 feet separating
their rotors.  They made their approach and landed within 2 or 3 seconds of
each other.  It was great to watch.  I didn't see the takeoff, but it sounded
like they did that in formation also.

  For a moment I thought a SWAT team was being inserted into the campus.  :^)



                     Way cool stuff!

            
                            Jim

    
    
      Jim,
    
          I was referring to a new business that opened in Nashua that
      custom builds any RC kit you want, including partially completed
      kits sitting in people's basements :). We were up late sheeting
      wings, sanding, etc. Why, what did you think I was talking about? :)   
    

  That's EXACTLY what I was talking about!  I heard that they only accept
payment in one dollar bills!  :^)



    

Dave Walter joined me saturday down the cape to slope soar. The wind was NW
which is 90 degrees off from the Seascape (SW is perfect) so we headed out to
Race Point. Race Point is where the group flew 2 years ago for the same reason
but they now have the dunes fenced off so we had to fly from the bottom. The
tide was almost high so there wasn't any real bubble at the waters edge and it
was tough to stay in the lift from below. The dunes are about 20' high in this
section so the lift band is pretty small. We had fun walking down the beach and
flying along and the seagulls enjoyed joining us. We had a few "characters"
(gulls) that would do different things. One would soar directly over the plane
looking down and another would do speed runs along the ridge to show that he
could keep up/compete. It was a lot of fun but my legs were real tired from all
the walking in the wet sand (from the morning showers). We walked down and flew
and after about an hour, I changed batteries and flew back. We had about 2+
hours in the air but there wasn't enough lift for any real aerobatics. I flew my
Sparrow and Dave flew a Predator and I think Dave did a couple of loops on
launches but he can do that on flat land. We headed back and I took my wife out
for some dinner/shopping and Dave headed home. Sunday they were predicting SW
winds at 10 diminishing with rain on the way. I woke up to a guy flying the
slope behind the Seascape and immediately got dressed and headed out. In talking
to him, they had gone to head of the meadow to fly saturday and it was a
quartering wind but a higher slope. Turns out the guy was Bill Griggs that does
the MAN coverage for KRC every year and he was flying a Sparrow that he was kit
reviewing. Taking the pictures was Tom Atwood the editor in chief for MAN. We
did some two Sparrow formation shots with the moon in the backdrop that should
be interesting. I do wonder if I'll get a mention in the test flying section.
They asked a bunch of questions since I had about 5-6 hours in on the plane. I
did do some loops and rolls on the slope and was much happier without the
coupled flaps this time. True to their word the breeze faded and by 11:30 we
were walking to the beach to retrieve planes. Almost all morning there were
parasailers getting trained on the slope. There wasn't enough lift so they were
basically getting used to getting the sail inflated and controlling it in decent
to the beach. The wind was light enough that there was a very tall, light lift
band in front of the slope and little to no rotor at the top. I did a couple of
landings where I just used the flaps and hovered it down. Since the wind was
almost totally gone by noontime, Rose and I took our time coming home early and
did some more shopping on the way back. I'm sure I'll head back in mid-May when
Chuck reopens. Two weeks ago was definately the stronger lift but this weekend
was fun and Rose really enjoyed the quiet flying close enough that you could see
what was going on, 20' away.

Oh yeah, One of the other guys that headed home early was a customer and they
all were familiar with RA Cores which made me feel pretty good. I may be
supplying cores fr some of the future MAN building projects they have in the
queue!

    
      Yesterday at lunch I went home, and ran up the OS.61 again on the
    test stand. I was very pleased it ran just as well as the day before,
    so I installed it quickly into the Styrke. Then the Stryke was loaded in
    the van for hopefully a couple after work flights.
    
      I got to the Merrimack field about 4:00, and after a short run up to
    test the engine, the Stryke was airborne with the OS putting out lots
    of smooth power! Yee HA! Not sure if it was the engine, the cool
    air, or both, but the OS was generating significantly more power than
    the YS. It had very strong vertical, and I even had to back off the power 
    in straight and level to stay in the box! I think the engine has even more
    power available if I shortened the pipe a bit, but it is providing more 
    than the Stryke needs, so I will leave it for now. 
       I managed to put in three successful flights (with NO engine
    problems other than an occasional rough transition from idle )
    before I ran out of fuel and sunlight. I left the field feeling that I 
    finally had a decent running engine with which to practice with.
    
       I plan to take the afternoon off, and get in several practice
    flights today.       
    
         

    Dan,
    
    	Glad to hear the OS is running well. On the other hand, that means
    I'll have to fly against ya on Sunday.......8^) Wish ya could have made
    the NH field yesterday afternoon with Eric, Sonny and I. It was a great
    afternoon and I wanted to let ya fly the LA1. I'm pumped for Sunday.
    Hope Mother Nature is too.
    
    Andy,
    
    	What do you mean you want to fly novice pattern NEXT YEAR. Get yer
    young butt outta bed and be at the field this Sunday by 09:00 and do
    it then. 8^)

    
     Steve,
    
         Wish I could have made it yesterday, but unfortunatly, taking
    yesterday afternnon off was not an option. I was happy enough
    just getting the OS running, and getting a couple flights in (although
    stick time on the LA-1 would have been nice). It must have been a
    perfect practice day, because it was still nice at 4:00.
    
         I am now out of fuel (intentially), so if the Cool Power isn't on 
    my door step this afternoon, I will have to pick up another gallon of S/W 
    before I go flying today. The OS ran great on the S/W yesterday, so I 
    may reserve the Cool Power for the Helis. 
    
    
    NEW TOPIC:
    
         A guy I occasionally work with stopped by my office today and
    asked if I saw the ESPN braodcast last week. He is not a flyer, but
    he commented that the show was very interesting, and that previous to
    the show, he had NO idea regarding how big, fast, and complex RC models
    can get. He was very impressed at the technical inspections done at the
    race, and was especially impressed at the 100 mph+ speeds. When I told
    him that the Reno racers hit 160 MPH, Ducted fans hit 200 mph, and that
    we had a couple of small models that flew 100+, he was completely blown
    away! He kept asking if that was "scale speed" of real speed, because
    he couldn't believe they could fly that fast!
    
       Sounds like the ESPN broadcast impressed at least one non-flyer!     

    
    
         I took the afternoon off yesterday to get some additional much needed
    pattern practice. I was able to put in 7 flights on the Stryke, the
    7th of which was the 100th flight I put on it.
         It was another great flying day with just a touch of wind to keep
    things interesting. The OS.61 ran flawlessly, and it was nice to be
    able to focus on my flying as opposed to the engine. The case of
    Cool Power did arrive yesterday, but not before I left to go flying, so
    I ended up buying a gallon of S/W and going through 1/2 of it.
    
         I also managed to put a couple of flights in on the SHuttle
    between my pattern flights, to vary the metal pressures a bit. The
    Shuttle ran ok, and I was able to start flicking it around pretty well
    opn the last flight.
    
         A couple other flyers also showed up during the afternoon. I
    helped one adjust the low end on the K and B .61 he had installed in a 
    SIG Astrohog. Suprisingly, we got it idling and running very well, and
    he was able to get several flights in with a now smooth running engine.
    
         Another pilot, Fred ? showed up with a new Gremlin. I just soloed
    him a few weeks ago and he is doing very well with his flying. He asked for
    help in breaking in the OS .40FP that he had in the Gremlin. He was
    complaining it would just keep quitting occasionally at the high end.
    He had flown it a couple times on Sunday, and he couldn't get a
    consistent run from the engine. At first I suspected he was running it 
    too lean, we fiddled with it for several minutes, and finally got it 
    running so so. He tried two flights, and it went deadstick both times. At
    this point, he asks if using new fuel might help! ARRGGGHH! Seems he was 
    using up a 1/2 gallon of 3 year old fuel he got as part of a used plane 
    purchase he made earlier this year! After using the new fuel, the engine ran
    flawlessly!
         He had two additional problems with the Gremlin. It developed a
    bad case of flutter, and he really had to be easy on how he flew it. I 
    checked the linkages, slop, etc. It seems like he just has a fairly
    soft piece of aileron stock. I recommended he trim it down on the ends,
    and instructed him on how to do so.
         The second problem came on his last handlaunch. I was flying the
    Stryke, he asked if I was all set, I nodded, he moved upwind from me,
    and handlaunched the Gremlin. The problem was he launched it almost
    straight up (his hand slipped on the oily fuselage). The Gremlin went 
    straight up, then went back over our heads behind us heading for what 
    I thought was a solid impact in the pits or parking lot or worse, but he
    managed to save it, and get if flying again!
        I have too say I was a BIT unnerved for a second or two with a Gremlin
    sreaming around out of control behind me, and me having to focus on the
    plane I was flying. As I mentioned, luckily no harm was done, and a
    lesson was learned. Fred has been an excellent student and is always
    very careful, he just got into a bad spot for a moment. He left the
    field saying he had learned a LOT (flutter, stale fuel, engine break
    in techniques, wiping off fuselages, do's and DON'TS of handlaunching, 
    etc.), so I am sure he will be a better pilot as a result of this
    flight session.
    
                                                          Dan

Attended the Halloween Gremlin contest in New Boston.
Al Ryder was CD'ing for the missing Joe Marrone.

Great weather - great contest.

I got one landing point.
One short flight (that gave Jim Reith one point).
And flew as a drone twice (once actually but
because Ray M broke a prop I went up twice for
him to get a shot at me.  I ended up getting
a non existent landing point then to and 
robbed him of a 3rd place.

Great fun.

Jim Reith was chomping at the bit to get a flight against
Yas and as luck would have it he was in a fly off for
1st place.  I forget if it was standard class or unlimited.

Anyway - Jim is always crowing about flying lower so Yas starts
off the round circling the field at about eye ball height.

Eventually Jim comes down and POW - a great mid air in which
Jim's fuselage is the last one down.  It turns out Jim lost
his fins and a prop but no other damage.  Yas put his plane
in the trash barrel.  Great way to drum up business.

Then to top the day off we had this great demo flight by
Jim Reith of an electric Gremlin.  He was really putting
it thru it's paces - I couldn't begin to describe the maneuvers
he did - it was awsome.  I'll let Jim fill in the details.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

                                                   
    
        Yesterday was the Annual CMRCM Pattern Contest.
    
        As anyone within 50 square miles knows, the weather was PERFECT!
    Even the breeze was straight down the runway!
    
        We flew 2 classes, Novice and Sportsman. We had 9 contestants in
    each class, which is a good showing, especially in Novice. The planes
    used in Novice ranged from a US Aircore, to a Stuntwagon, to a full
    blown YS 120 powered Typhoon pattern ship. Most of the planes in 
    Sportsman were true pattern planes, or closely related types of planes.
    
        Due to the efficiency of the crew running the event, we were able
    to get 5 rounds in!. This was by far the most competition flying I ever 
    did in one day, and I was burnt by the end of the contest! George
    Higgins did a great job running the burger grill, and Steve's wife did 
    scribe duty all day. Steve says now she wants to go to judges school!
    And last but not least, Jim C. did his normal fantastic job of
    computing the scores despite some contestants trying to distract him :) 
    
        Steve and I called for each other, Steve also called for Sonny
    Martell, and I called for Dave Walters. So by the end of the day, we
    had each called 10 flights, and flew 5 (Can you say: Burnt out?) 
        They had 2 flight lines going with 2 judges on each line. They had
    6 judges available, so they were able to rotate occasionally to prevent
    their retinas burning out from staring at the sun.
        Did I mention the Sun? It was brutal ( as usual this time of year).
    The sun was in front of the field all day long, and moved from the left
    end to center to the right end throughout the course of the day. This
    made doing the manuvers difficult at best on some occasions.
    
        There were no crashes despite the blinding sun, and the only
    mishaps were a couple of rough landings, one of which snapped the
    retract leg on Sonny's plane. Luckily he found a spare, and was back
    in the game.
    
    
        I especially enjoyed seeing Dave Walter there, and I applaud him for
    trying the new Sportmans pattern with no upfront practice. He improved
    flight by flight throughout the day, and with some practice and the
    right plane could do very well ( Another potential great pattern pilot 
    who is wasting his skills flying gliders :). He improved and did well
    despite having no practice, having the sun directly in his face, 
    a black airplane (hard to see), and a Magnum engine :). At one point we
    suggested the only additional handicap he could give himself was to
    close his eyes when he was flying! :) 
    
         When all was said and done, I managed to win the third round, and
    eek out second place overall in Sportsman with Sonny and Steve right on 
    my heels. I can't remember the name of the guy from Conneticut who won, 
    but he is an accomplished Sportsman pilot who has been flying Sportsman 
    for 2 years, and has won a few contests (time to move up! :) He ended
    up winning all 4 of the other rounds ( Its pretty hard to lose when you
    count the top 4 rounds, and you win them all! :)
    
         After the contest Jack put up his Rocket ship, but couldn't get
    it running well. He had taken the .46 pumped motor out, and the
    pressure from the pipe in the normal .46 he was running just wasn't
    cutting it. Another thing I noticed was the profile of this plane
    makes it very easy to lose sight of it ( not a good attribute for a 
    fast plane! :) Toward the end of his last flight, he accidently stalled
    it at altitude above the pond. It went into about a 10 turn spin before he
    was able to get it to respond, and he pulled it out inverted only a few 
    feet from "splashdown". It looked spectacular, but we all thought he
    was doing it on purpose! :)
    
         I flew the X-cell fro a short flight before leaving, but I was so
    burnt out, that I had a hard time keeping up with it. Time to end a
    great day of flying, and head out. Charlie, Eric, and I headed over to
    Jack's for "1 beer", and Eric and I didn't end up leaving until 10:00.
    I was totally burnt on the long ride back home!
    

Well, our cluster went down after entering 2 screens of comments 8^(

I won stock. My first win! I won a gallon of fuel. I beat Yaz by cutting hios
wing in half with my fins. I was still flying after the midair but once he was
down I throttled back and fell like a stone (to within 5 feet of the spot). I
tied for 1st with 3 points out of three rounds. I got a cut but it proves that
you could do it with landings.

The electric was tailheavy and out of trim. When I tried to adjust my trims it
stalled and snapped from about 50-100 feet. I'll probably put the stuff inthe
Graupner Jet I have since that is what it was bought for.

More on a more stable connection

Yesterday was the CMRCM annual end of the year pattern contest in Westboro.
In a word, it was GREAT. Last year the wind was so bad, I heard several people
state that if it had been that bad this year, they wouldn't have flown.
Fortunately, mother nature smiled on us, and you couldn't have asked for a
better day. What wind there was, was always right down the runway so no one
had to deal with any crosswinds.

We had a great turnout with a total of 18 contestants. 9 in Novice and 9
in Sportsman. We flew 5 rounds which means we got in 90 flights. We started 
shortly after 9 and were done by about 3:15.

The HTA crowd made it's presents known in a couple of different ways. Eric
Charlie, and Jack Z. were judges. Jim Cavanagh did the scoring, George
Higgins did the cooking, and Dave Walter, Dan Weier, and myself flew in 
Sportsman. The competition was tough and at the end, there were only a few 
points seperating 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place. The guy that won, Walter Johnson, 
won 4 out of the 5 rounds so he kind of blew everyone away. The final result 
for the sportsman class was our own Dan Weier 2nd, Sonny Martel 3rd, and 
myself 4th. I think Dan Weier and myself both flew out presonal best yesterday 
and would have been happy regardless of the outcome. Dan flew 5 excellent 
rounds and deserved 2nd place. Of course, I was calling for him all 5 rounds 
so that's why.......8^)

Dave Walter and myself both had shortened rounds due to problems. On my second
round, my engine quit going into the second half of the first meneuver (double
stall turn). Had an interesting deadstick landing where I JUST made it back
to the field with the gear up. A couple of feet off the ground, I lowered the
gear and landed. I didn't realize everyone was watching but I got a round
of applause for that one. One judge gave me a 10 for the landing. Dave's
muffler fell off (hanging by the muffler pressure line) about half way through
his routine forcing him to land. Fortunately, we flew 5 rounds and they only
counted 4, so we got the opportunity to throw those rounds out.

In typical HTA fashion, we were all helping everyone else out. I called for
Sonny Martel all day and also for Dan Weier. Dan called for me all day and also
for Dave Walter. There were times when Dan was calling for Dave and Dan was
flying next. When Dave landed, "I'd" go pick up his plane while Dan fired up.
By the time I brought Dave's plane back, Dan was ready to go and I could then
carry his plane out and call. Then the same thing would happen in reverse.
I'll tell ya, for three people that had nothing to do with running the contest,
we were pretty busy all day. At one point, I think I fueled up my plane (or
tried to) 3 times between rounds because I couldn't remember if I had done it
or not. Plus Dan and I agreed (and I think Dave too) that 5 rounds in one
day was pushing the extent of our concentration limits. I don't know about
everyone else, but I was mentally and physically exhausted by the time I got
home last night. Dan put a flight in on his Xcell after the contest and I
don't know where he got the concentration from.

The sun was brutal all day long. When we started the contest, it was in front
of us at about the 10 o'clock position. From there, it just moved clock wise
across the sky till it started to set at about the 4 oclock position. There
wasn't a point during the day that you wern't staring at the sun. The contest
people made allowances for the sun, like moving the center left or right but
you still had to fly over/under/around it several times during the round. My
and my wife's eye's actually felt swollen by the time we left.

This is the contest where we encourage people to come out and "try" pattern.
No pressure, help if you need it, etc. There were many people there that I
give a lot of credit too for giving it a try. As Dan mentioned, people were
flying whatever they had and were willing. Dave Walter could be a real threat
if he decided to get a real pattern plane and practice. He did very well.
Boy am I glad he just did this for fun and won't get serious about pattern. 8^)
Stick with gliders Dave. I don't need any more competition.....8^)

At any rate, it was a great day and we all had our fill of flying. At least
under the rigors of pattern competition. I brought my Gremlin for after contest
flying and had no desire what so ever to pull it out of the van. I was in
bed and dead to the world by 9 and could easily have gone at 8. Only problem
is the competition juices were re-awakened and after flying so well, I wish
we had more contests coming up. It's going to be a long winter.

    Sounds like the pattern contest was a huge success.  Wish I coulda been
    there.  I might as well fess up though.  On saturday I participated in
    a pub crawl with several fellow homebrewers.  We rented a motor coach
    and hit 4 breweries in NH and VT.  We got home at 11:30 saturday night,
    and needless to say, I was in no condition to operate even a toilet on
    sunday morning.  All i have to say for myself is "next time", unless of
    course "next time" coincides with the next pub crawl. :^).  I'd like to
    take this moment to wish good luck upon Jim (even though I don't know
    ya that well.)
    
    andy
    
    

>    take this moment to wish good luck upon Jim (even though I don't know
>    ya that well.)
    


  Thanks Andy,  it's appreciated!


  As for the contest...well Dan and Steve did a great job of reporting.  And
it's amazing to thing that the spread between 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place was
something like 4 points in each round...with Dan leading the way with scores
in the low 300's!  

  I didn't get to see too much of the flying though...I was busy tallying the
scores and listening to Dan tell me about a certain establishment he's been
visiting.  :^)

  What a great day!!!!


  Congrats to all the HTA's!!  You guys did a great job!!!!!!



                 Jim

    Great pattern contest! I enjoyed myself immensely, and got plenty of
    flying in, which is all I really want from my $10! 
    
    On hindsight, I really should have entered the Novice class; that's
    about where my pattern skills are. But I wanted to fly as much as
    possible, so I signed up for Sportsmen. The last time I entered a
    contest, the tasks were mostly "announce begin maneuver, do maneuver,
    announce end" and you got a chance to turn around and set up again.
    This 3-maneuvers-in-a-box stuff is MUCH tougher! There's no time to
    recover when you get off line. So, I was pretty much all over the sky,
    describing a "box" the size of Westboro. 
    
    Dan did a heroic job calling for me, and if I'd listened to half the
    stuff he told me, I probably would have faired a bit better, but I was 
    pretty much in information overload most of the flight. (Did anyone see
    that Nova segment where the fighter pilots turned off half their
    eletronic indicators so they could just concentrate and FLY? Well, now
    I know what that's all about.) So I remember hearing the "left rudder"
    comments in my ear, but I had run out of mental bandwidth, and the
    helpful instructions just dribbled out my ear onto the field. Sorry
    Dan.
    
    I had replaced my borrowed Soundmaster muffler with one of Magnum's
    crummy stock mufflers, and even with LockTite applied to the bolts they
    still managed to vibrate out, leaving the muffler dangling by the vent
    line. Thanks to Mike Langran for a couple spare bolts. By the way, I
    was amazed by the number of true pattern planes, even in Novice class.
    I could see a big difference in performance between my UltraSport and
    the patterns. I had to speed up and tighten my maneuvers to avoid
    bogging down at the top, and that threw me off.
    
    Nice day, beautiful weather, good flying, no major crashes. Pretty
    ideal.
    
    Dave
    
    PS: Anybody need a 50% off coupon for Zinger props? I have all the
        Kleenex I need...
    

    Don't let him kid ya. Dave did much better then he let's on. 8^)
    
    Jim C. was amazing at keeping score. He's a human computer.....
    
    I had forgotten about Jack Z's new creation. Definately fast and easy
    to loose orientation on. Not something you fly if you want to relax.
    I was also watching that spin and, like everyone else, thought it was
    intentional. Seeing as how it was an accident, THAT WAS CLOSE.
    
    I didn't realize it till I got home and reviewed the score sheets (I
    picked mine up before I left), but one of the judges stuck it too me.
    I was neck and neck with Sonny all day. In looking at the score sheets
    I was consistantly scoring 7's and 7.5's on the reverse outside loop.
    In the final round, Eric scored me a 7 which was right in line with
    what I had done the previous rounds. The "person" scoring with him, (a
    good friend of Sonny's) who had also scored me 7's and 7.5's all day, 
    gave me a FOUR in the fifth round. This is a K factor 3 maneuver and the 
    four assured Sonny would take third and I would drop to 4th. I talked
    with Eric about it and he agrees I got stuck. Unfortunately this
    happens all the time and there isn't much you can do about it. What I'd
    really like to see is a person, who is an official part of the contest,
    review the score sheets when they come in. The guy doing the scoring
    might be a good person to do this. Anyway, this person would have the
    authority to question descrepencies like this and get justification for
    the score. Actually, I think just knowing someone would be reviewing
    the score would keep judges from playing games. This was a pretty
    glaring descrepency and I think anyone would have questioned it.
    
    Oh well, just pointing out some of the trials and tribulations of the
    contest circuit. I still had a blast and had no problems what so ever
    with the way I flew. It's also satisfying watching friends do well and
    finish "in the money". Congrats again to DW2.

  Challenging scores is real tough.  What I found is that I pretty much
forget the entire flight as soon as it's over.  I'd have to really think
hard in order to give the pilot advice and/or reasoning for a score.  And
unless your watching the flight and coming up with your own score, it's 
just about impossible to give an opinion.  So having the score keeping 
question the score would be impractical.

  And...while you could say that the other judge gave you crap because he's
Sonny's friend, someone else could say that Eric gave you a more than you
deserved because he's *your* friend.  It's a though one!

  That's why we have numerous rounds, switching judges, flight lines, etc....
It aint perfect....but it's about the best we can do.


  BTW - I saw numerous times when one judge would give a zero for a maneuver,
and the other judge would give a half way decent score.  There weren't many...
but they certainly were a few major discrepancies between judges.  Maybe 
something to consider would be having the judges compare scores at the end
of the flight and discuss any major (more than 3 pt) differences.  

  Just a thought......



                        Jim

    It can be done and it isn't that hard. In fact, when it comes to giving
    zero's, judges are SUPPOSED to consult with each other and decide if a
    zero is warranted and if so, they BOTH give zero's. Getting a zero from
    one judge and a score from another should NEVER happen. That's a good
    example though of how something can be "glaring", stick out like a
    sore thumb, and can be questioned.
    
    In my case, all you need do is review the scores from the previous
    rounds. They were all consistant. 7's and 7.5's from "all" judge's,
    INCLUDING the one that ended up sticking me. On the last round, Eric
    "stayed consistant" and the other judge dropped way down, even from his
    OWN previous scores. This one wasn't that hard to call.
    
    If I had known about it earlier, "I" think I would have had a very
    reasonable challange to the score. But, I didn't so I didn't.
    
    Anyway, I'm just pointing out the trials and tribulations of contest
    flying and the things you have to contend with. It's a well known fact
    that bias in judging exists and you just have to deal with it. If
    anyone has seen the AMA judging tape, they even go over it in there.
    It's quite common for "well known" flyers to get higher scores just
    because of their reputation rather than how their actually flying. If I
    ever CD'D a pattern contest, I'd have a judges meeting (which we did
    have) and I'd specifically remind the judges that reputation doesn't
    count and we need to be espically careful on judging friends fairly.
    Which, by the way, can go either way. Some people may score friends
    higher because their friends, others will actually score friends
    "lower" just so that no one thinks their doing favors for friends.

Well, another way to do it would be to have three judges and throw out one
score. You could keep it fair by throwing out the one farthest from the
"average" of the three. That way you couldn't get a boost from a friend or a
killer from someone else's friend. You'd have to bribe ALL the judges 8^)

>>You'd have to bribe ALL the judges 8^)



  That's along the lines that I was thinking....



      It isn't the friendship that counts....it's how big the bribe is!  
              :^) :^)

I think we found your problem, Steve...Forget someone? 8^)

    I had the money ready but when they pulled Jim from the judging pool
    and had him do the scoring, I plum forgot. Shoot......that explains
    everything. 8^)

Next time offer to work on his plane... Works for Charlie 8^)

    I only offer to FLY other people's planes. 8^)

>    I only offer to FLY other people's planes. 8^)


  Well that works fine!  I'll have Charlie build them for me...and you fly them
for me!  That's takes all the pressure off me!!!  :^)

    
    >-< Of course I'll still have to buy the kits.... >-
    
    But, Jim....
    
    Think of all you'll save on NOT having to stock up on 'balsaslow' ???
    :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)
    
    Lin
    
    

>    Think of all you'll save on NOT having to stock up on 'balsaslow' ???


  But you don't understand Lin....I'll have to sprikle some Balsa-slow on
the kits before I give them to Charlie to build.  Then, when he takes forever
to build it, I won't look so bad!  Everyone will think I pick REAL difficult
kits to build!  :^)

  Yeah....I can dream.....    :^)


    

    Yet another beautiful flying weekend.  We were out aerotowing both
    days.  I flew my AeroComposites ASW24 for the first time in two months
    and was very pleased with the ship.  It weighs 8.5 lbs vs. 11 lbs 10
    oz. for the Ka6E I have been flying.  The lighter ASW24 is so much
    easier to aerotow that I am really sold on the benefits of a light
    design, it also lands much better.
    
    Our resident Master's class pattern flyer, Todd Sheehan, has been
    towing for us the last two weeks.  He learned the quickest of anyone
    we have broken in and is doing the best tows we have had.  Seeing him
    pull up Robin's SB-10 with 16 ft. wingspan and 33-to-1 aspect ratio on
    Sunday was spectacular.  The wings on the SB-10 were flexing up on tow
    in scale fashion with the coolest whistling sound eminating from the
    wing.  All eyes in the pits were on this pair as they smoothly towed the
    big SB-10 to 2000'(verified with onboard altimeter).
    
    Todd dropped the towline and with my permission he tested the aerobatic
    capabilities of my 13 lb., high wing(NACA2415), flying anvil.  All
    present were amazed at the show Todd put on with this overweight tow
    plane.  Vertical rolls, avalanche, square loops(inside and out), spins,
    slow rolls, snap rolls, inverted, knife edge - Todd put the plane
    through a full advanced pattern routine.  
    
    Two things stood out after the performance was over:
    
    1) A low end plane in the hands of a capable pilot can do some amazing
       stunts.
    2) The O.S. 1.08 has incredible power to allow the advanced pattern
       routine to be completed with a 13 lb. airplane with 5" wheels.
    
    Todd's performance with my towplane was better than the three 1.20
    4-stroke Lasers that flew that day.  Bottom line is a good pilot with
    mediocre equipment is better than a mediocre pilot with good equipment.
    
    Regards,
    
    Jim 
    
    
    

    
    
         Yesterday morning, I won the argument with myself, and decided to
    head up to the Merrimack field for an hour or so. I figured there might
    be 1 or 2 die hard students who might need some instruction. BOY, did
    I underestimate the number of diehards in our club!
         Despite the 32 degree temp, when I arrived at the field, the
    parking lot was jammed, and there was literally nowhere to park! The
    field was as busy or busier than in July!
    
         We use a pin sequencing system on Sundays to ensure all students
    get a chance to fly and get instruction. At one time, I counted 12 pins
    on the board waiting in sequence! It was about 40 minutes between
    flights the first round or two, but then is settled down to about
    20 - 25 minutes between "rounds". There were tons of students, and
    there were 3 - 4 trainers in the air at all times! There was lots
    of flying, and Joe's Taube aside, very little wreakage. of particular
    interest, Ollie Yates completed several t/o and landings for the first
    time, CONGRATULATIONS!
    
         I flew the Pocket Rocket for several flights, and ended
    up putting a flight in on the Shuttle after things wound down a bit.
    I also had a chance to fly Bob Pratt's Eindecker ( nice, but not my
    cup of tea), and Dick ?'s Diablo ARF. The Diable was having engine 
    problems, and despite several minutes of tweaking, trying new fuel,etc
    we couldn't get the Enya 80 running well. My score with Enya
    engines so far is ENYA 2, Dan 0 :(.
    
         As a side note, Russ (from RC Buyers) seemed to be getting minor
    radio hits on CHannel 40 at the far right end of the field, and Bob
    Lacroix also was experiencing what he thought were radio hits while
    flying his Chipmunk dirivative on channel 40 something. This was of 
    particular interest to me since my X-cell was on Channel 41.  I flew
    the Shuttle on channel 41 yesterday, but kept it low, and away from the
    area people where people seemed to be having problems, and I did'nt
    have any trouble. It's yet to be proved there is a radio interference
    problem at Merrimack, but we have sure had our share of "nibbles".
         
                                                              DW2
    
         

    
    
        Although I didn't make it down to the Gremlin Contest, I did manage
    to take advantage of the nice weather yesterday, and put 3 flights in
    on the Stryke. Its amazing how rusty you can get in a month :). 
    Unfortunately, the nice weather also melted all the frost in the ground, 
    and the Merrimack parking lot was a mud bog (the pits weren't much
    better!). I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get out when it came
    time to leave, but thanks to front wheel drive, it was no problem. When I 
    got home I had to hose the mud off the van, it looked like I just got 
    back from Woodstock II!
        

    Jim R. will probably post a combat report elsewhere, but the Oxford
    contest went off real well. You couldn't ask for better weather and
    it's a great field for combat. We got in 6 rounds, didn't need any
    flyoffs, and were done by about 2.
    
    I survived a mid-air with Ray M. with one prop cut in the top of my
    wing. Ray, on the other hand, went to his backup ship. Took off half
    his wing, and destroyed the fuse. Amazing I only sustained the one
    prop cut. I may just leave it as is as a battle scar.
    
    I managed to get three cuts in the six rounds plus some landing points.
    to take first place. Eric was second and Jack Z. was third in his first
    contest. Only other mid-air was between Charlie Watt and the "mid-air
    king" Dan Snow. Dan made it through the first round without destroying
    a Gremlin, but was back in form in the second round against Charlie.
    Charlie went to his backup ship, and Dan made repairs.
    
    Unfortunately, at the beginning of the sixth round, Dan ended up
    needing repairs to his left index finger. Not sure exactly what
    happened, but it appeared that, after starting his engine, he was
    reaching for the needle valve and had a momentary glitch in depth
    perception sticking his finger into the prop. Havn't heard any details
    but it wouldn't surprise me if it took 2 or 3 stiches to close it up.
    It was pretty nasty. The surprising part was how many MACHO COMBAT
    PILOTS turned into mother hens tending to Dan. Actually, it's not
    surprising at all. We take care of our comrads in arms. Maybe Lin can
    update us on Dan's "condition".
    
    Otherwise, it was a great contest with lots of intense flying.
    Concentration levels were really running thin after six 4 minute rounds
    and the all up gremlin flying saw a couple of gremlins fly into the
    ground. It was great to see all those Gremlins up at once though. Can't
    wait to see the pictures.
    

    Morning Folks,
    
    Dan's doing OK today.  Thanks so much for taking care of him on
    Saturday.  Your calls at home were very much appreciated as well.  He's
    got 3 stitches on the knuckle and a splint.  Stitches will come out on
    Friday this week.
    
    All this didn't keep him home from work today.  He's a mechanical
    designer who uses his left hand to control the mouse for the system he
    works on.  I'll bet the designs he comes up with today will be....shall
    we say "interesting"!
    
    Thanks again and have a good rest of the day.  Would write more, but
    I'm covering for to applications today...
    
    See ya...
    
    Lin
    
    

    Howdy...
    
    Dan asked me to put a note in to say THANK YOU from him to Gary, Steve,
    Eric, Jack, Ron and whoever else gave him First Aid and got him to the
    hospital on Saturday.  Dan is amazed with all the bandages flying that
    he didn't end up taped to somebody else! :)
    
    He tried taking the splint off this morning, but when he went to bend
    that finger.....it told him "not yet!"
    
    Have a good rest of the day....
    
    Lin

    Well, as a christmas present to myself, I found a corner of the
    basement where I set up a new bench that I have pledged will be for
    working on my own planes in the new year during those brief moments
    between cores. There might be hope of an US60 and new open glider next
    season (dare I mention a P-38 and F3E electric too?)
    
    Merry Christmas!

>>>    season (dare I mention a P-38 and F3E electric too?)
 
Hey Jim,
I actually found some time to spend in my workshop over the holiday and I worked
on my P-38 fo a change of pace. The horizontal stab is completed now. In total,
I've got the stab done and the booms about 65% done. At this rate, in another
three years or so I'll be ready to buy some wing cores from you. 8^)

>At this rate, in another
>three years or so I'll be ready to buy some wing cores from you. 8^)

Sounds like I should figure on cutting two sets so I can catch up at that point!

The two OS .25FPs I bought for the plane are "used up". On went to Eric after
being in my box after flying two seasons in my Gremlin. The second was put into
service and last summer ate a conrod in flight. It's still flying with the
conrod out of a .20 but I'll need new engines when I get to that point in mine.
I figured the Gremlin would be useful for breaking the engines in. That was my
actual comment to Eric when I bought my first Gremlin 8^)

    Went out to CMRCM last Friday as the storm was rolling in. Needless to
    say, I was the only one there. The wind was absolutely wicked. I put in
    3 flights and had 3 off field landings. It wasn't fun, but I flew.
    Hopefully, this Friday will be better.

    Had a good R/C Christmas, went slope soaring with two guys on the
    24th and went power flying on the 26th.
    
    Got a chance to fly my Sparrow side-by-side next to my friend Todd's
    home-brew creation.  The Sparrow with it's longer tail moment, lower
    drag airframe and reasonable CG is much smoother and groovier than
    Todd's thickened RG15 50% CG plane.  His rolls much quicker and is
    extremely responsive, which is how he like it.
    
    I also got a chance to fly my friend Robin's 25 lb. 108" wingspan,
    G-62 powered, Yak-12.  This thing flys incredibly slow and scale-like.
    It is much easier to fly than my towplane.  I must say I have come to
    really enjoy power flying!  When my glider stable is complete and my
    flying skills improve, I am looking forward to building a large scale
    plane.
    
    Our annual Jan. 1st funfly is this Sunday, hope the weather holds. 
    Been a great flying year so far.

Sounds like a great holiday weekend. It was definately slope soaring weather out
here. The Christmas tree on the town hall lawn uprooted due to the wind.

What seems to be the advantage in rolls on the other plane? Is it due to a more
rearward CG (which would explain the lack of "grooving") or are the ailerons
larger/more effective? The only thing I was disappointed with on my Sparrow was
the rollrate which appeaded to be abot 3 sec/roll which is a LONG time when
you're crossing the slope.

    RE: -1
    
    I think Todd's plane rolls quicker due to large aileron throws and the
    extreme rearward CG.  These characteristics also make it a very
    "twitchy" plane to fly.  I find the Sparrow rolls much better if the
    speed is kept quite high.  I personally prefer long, slow rolls to fast
    short rolls, so the Sparrow more suits my style.  The higher aspect
    ratio of the Sparrow also works against a fast roll rate.

Yeah, in talking to Dave Walter yesterday he looked up the Sparrow in the NSP
catalog and corrected me on the span. It's 65", which does contribute to the
slower rate. I think the lower speed and lighter conditions of the second trip
to the cape gave me the wrong impression. The problem with the first trip was
that I wasn't comfortable with the plane yet and I had flaperons linked in with
the elevators which slowed me down and kicked me out of the inverted segments.

    Eric, Dan Snow, and myself got our January flights in New Years day
    at the CMRCM field. we cought a window in the drizzle and each got in
    4 or 5 flights with the Gremlins. Even did some balloon popping. A 
    little chilly and the cloud cover was kinda low, but all in all, not
    that bad.
    
    We retired to Charlie's afterwards (Charlie wimped out) and gave him
    a hard time about not showing up.

I heard about it from the Snowman and he claimed to have executed a triple
gainer into a perfect inverted puddle landing 8^) Sounds like you guys had fun.

I managed to repair a Gremlin plus fix up two beater wings AND start back to
work on my US60 (how DID I put in that first retract a year and a half ago? 8^)

    Can't even begin to describe it. The balloons were placed on the top of
    about 3.5 to 4 foot branches. He made one pass and cought the branch.
    Maybe it would be more correct to say the branch cought him. His
    Gremlin did some crazy gyrations, hesitated inverted for a second about
    2 feet off the ground, then dove into the only puddle on the field.
    
    In typical Gremlin fashion, he was back up in minutes.

Yesterday I put my second Submarine in the water.

Actually - just the kitchen sink - but depth is relative.

This one is a 1/350 scale Ohio class US boat.
That makes it about 19 inches long and the height
from the bottom to the top of the missile deck is
just enough for a Futaba S-133 servo.  It weights
just over 16 oz.

It has the running gear from my previous U-Boat
with the exception of the switch and charge connector.

There just wasn't any neat way to hide the switch and
charge cord on this boat so I have to charge it with
two alligator clips.  The Periscope is plus and the
propeller shaft is negative.  The on switch is a reed
switch that is normally closed.  I have to sit a magnet
on the deck on order to turn it off.

Since I now have two boats commissioned and one more in
the ways I finally bit the bullet and purchased a computer
radio for them.  Talk about over kill - this $25 plastic
kit has about $200 worth of electronics in it and is 
being pushed by an ACE Micropro 8000.

Anyway - I just wanna say that I agree with Anker that the
ACE Tx is wonderful.  There are only a couple of thinks
I don't like and many many that I do.  If I already didn't
have glider or power plane computer radios I would much
rather have the Micropro than any other I have seen.

The only things I didn't like are:

1.  The way you have to transpose the trim sittings from a digital
    read out back into the limit and offset values.  Even with this
    tho I believe the autotrim function is better than any other
    vendor.

2.  The way you have to swap limit values to reverse a servo.

3.  The way you have to program dual rate values even when you
    want them disabled.

All in all it is a wonderful radio and a joy to use.
Even tho the new sub is ready for Sea trials - it still won't
be finished till after several days of paint stages.

My 3rd sub - the USS Pargo is almost ready for water.  I made
lead ballast molds this weekend and only need to seal wood in
the free flood area and add foam for positive buoyancy.

Gotta build a Gremlin quick before the March contest.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

Kay,
do all of these subs work like your first one for diving or are they getting
more sophisticated with balast tanks and such?

    The reason Kay is building SO many subs is because they only dive
    
    				ONCE.......8^)

I thought it was because he didn't get penalized for building heavy!

>   <<< Note 771.884 by STOSPT::EATON "Dan Eaton St.Louis,MO,USA, 445-6522" >>>
>                              -< Just wondering >-
>
>Kay,
>do all of these subs work like your first one for diving or are they getting
>more sophisticated with balast tanks and such?

The first and the last ones are simple dynamic divers.
The middle one is has a full ballast system with free flood areas etc.

This weekend I made a little side trip to Toledo and put the 1/350th
scale Ohio in the water for the first time.  Basically I had the same
problems as I did with my first attempt with my U-boat.  It was too light
and wouldn't submerge.  Also because the screw is more central it was
cavitating.  Also it didn't have enough rudder throw.  But it stayed water
tight and if I went first to full throttle and full up stern planes then
then full down it would tuck under and go to the bottom of the pool.

So I have to add more rudder area and weight.

I was on a side trip to purchase another lathe - but that's another story for
another notes file.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

    Well, saturday was a wonderful day to head out flying. We managed to
    get another Gremlin christened and have a ball trying to figure out how
    many spins it took to reach the trees 8^) They're a lot closer
    deadstick 8^)
    

    Eric, Charlie, Jack Z., George, my self and my wife attended the Lazy
    Loopers auction yesterday. They had a good crowd and some decent stuff
    for sale. Eric, Jack and myself brought stuff to sell and we all went
    home empty handed and WRAM show richer. Jack needed a little "help"
    with a couple of his items so George and I got into a personal bidding
    war to get the juices flowing and then the rest of the crowd took over
    from there. Jack made out just fine. 8^)
    
    I "did" manage to get myself in the dog house though. There was this
    rather rotund, jovial guy sitting across from my wife and he mentioned
    that he thought she was very attractive. I didn't catch the first
    comment so I kind of looked at him and said "i'm sorry, what was
    that??". He said "your wife is very pretty". I said "oh thank you.
    Shall we start the bidding at $50 dollars?????". Anyone got a room
    I can use for a few days???????????????? 8^)
    
    About 3:15 when we were all sold out, the group headed over to the
    Loopers field to get our February flights in. It was still warm with
    light winds and we had a ball and the field to ourselves. Charlie
    didn't bring a plane (because we couldn't get ahold of him to tell him
    the plan) so he got his flights in on my Gremlin and Jacks Gremlin.
    We put in 3 or 4 flights and headed home. 
    
    I ended up breaking my engine mount when a low pass was about 1 inch
    too low. The prop cought the ground and stopped the motor. I was down
    at the end of the runway and headed out into the boonies so I attempted
    a split ess to bring it back around. I was only about a foot shy of
    pulling it off. It pancaked in, bounced and cartwheeled. Busted the
    prop and engine mount. I replaced the prop but didn't want to mess with
    the engine mount at the field so I'll do that in the comfort of the
    shop.
    
    It was a fun day and we all got our February flights in.

       Anybody in here see the Daytona 500 this weekend?  They had an RC 
    helicopter with a camera on it.  It flew all around the pits giving
    some really nice shots.  Every time they went to this camera I kept 
    thinking about all the radio traffic at an event like this.  Wonder how
    they ensured it wouldn't get out of control and go into the huge crowd.
    Verrrrrrrrry interesting!!!

    
        I was under the weather yesterday, but it worked out ok, as I
    just camped out on the couch and watched all 5 1/2 hours of the Daytona
    500 ( Only to see my favorite, #3, fall just short once again, BUMMER!)
    
       I did see the RX heli cam, and it immediately got my interest! They
    basically only had it flying over the grass scanning the pit area once
    the race started. When everyone would pit, it would go up. Ironically,
    for the first half of the race, it was the ONLY aircraft that was
    airborn because the Blimp and the full scale Heli ( that relays the
    in cockpit camera pictures ) were grounded due to low ceilings.
    
       The said it was flown by a team from Belgium?, but now they are
    based in California. They have one person flying the heli, and the
    other person operating the camera. From the size of it, and the fact
    that they mentioned it had a weed wacker type engine, it looked to
    be about a 20 lb, custon made bird.
    
       Based on the height it was flying, where it was flying, and the fact 
    it really wasn't doing any fast forward flight, I think it represented
    minimal risk to the crowd ( helis just aren't stable enough to fly long
    distances, even in the case of a radio hit ). It would be interesting
    to know what they were using for radios, scanning equip, etc.
    
       My only thought was if they REALLY wanted to get interesting shots,
    they should have CUrtiss Youngblood flying it (Inverted shots under the
    car, hovering with the camera looking in the window of the cars,
    landing on roofs, etc :)
    
       The other interesting thing were the new "flaps" they have on the back
    edge of the roof on all the cars. They automatically deploy (they come up
    like spoilers ) when the car goes backwards. The idea is to keep the
    rear of the car from lifting when it gets into a spin, etc. They look
    to be deployed by airflow ( vs electronically, etc) as they would
    deploy in the reverse part of the spin, and then go down as the car
    started facing forward again, etc. They seemed to work VERY well, and
    they deployed every time. ( HMMMM, something new to add to the UNIC's
    :)

    
    The Looper's Auction was well attended. Much like an overstuffed
    sardine can. I was able to auction off 2 hanger queens and a 
    Skeeter HLG kit I purchased at the WRAM show a few years ago. All
    entries went for over my minimums and the Skeeter sold for MORE
    THAN WHAT I PAID. Thank you very much...
    
    Steve was excellent at priming the bidding for Jack. I actually wanted
    that engine but $100 was my ceiling and the mouth zipped shut after the
    bid went to $110. We all left pretty much empty handed and with a
    little extra cash for the WRAM show this weekend. If the CMRCM Auction
    on March 6th turns out half as good as the Looper's it will be a
    success.
    
    George 

Holy Sh!t, Batman...

I got a WRAMS show booth!

3 days and counting...

BTW: I will be there with Eric Granger from National Balsa so I should be all
set for help. Thank you for all the standing offers. 

I'll be downstairs near the tool guy. Stop by and say "Hi!"

    
    Congrats Jim... (Or should I say good luck....)
    
    See you on Saturday..... I can hear those stepper motors now.  8-)
    
    George

    
     Wow, things are really falling into place for you! Congratulations! 
    
    ( If you need help bringing extra kits down, I can always bring the
      Hyundai out of retirement and bring down another 13 kits! :)

    We'll see ya there. BTW, when do you plan on sleeping between now and
    then..............8^)
    
    Steve

Sleep? What's that 8^)

Of course I have an order of foam arriving FRIDAY 8^)

Stop by and harrass us when you get there. I'm sure Eric will spend his extra
time in the booth rather than the Balcony 8^)

Jim

    I was just trying to get the bidding going on Jack's engine and
    had NO IDEA George "really" wanted it. Otherwise, I would have shut
    up.
    
    George, we gotta talk more............8^)

    
    Actually Steve I thought you wanted the engine for Colleen's pattern
    ship. 8-) You seemed to stop bidding in the $80-90 range so I wasn't
    having a problem with your bids. It was the joker in the front who took
    over the $100 mark. We should have talked to HIM. 8^)

So what channel was it on?

8^)

>So what channel was it on?

>8^)
    
  You must be that kids dad !!!   8-)

Nope, just heard about it from a few attendees. I'm surprised someone didn't get
him with a pitcher. They could have raised a lot more if they had auctioned THAT
off 8^)

    They auctioned off a Dave Brown computer simulator and the little
    s*it asked what channel it was on.

Harrass him senseless... oh wait, he sounds pretty senseless already!

    Sunday was a fantastic day at the Merrimack Field!!
    
    About 10 pilots were out flying with skis and floats.  It was a warm,
    balmy day, sun was shining, and the wind was basically blowing gently
    down the runway.  Conditions were as good as a day in Feb can be, and
    we had a ball flying off the snow-covered runway.
    
    Since I'm a little short on flyable airplanes at the moment, I
    impressed my 3-channel Fokker Eindecker of Rhinebeck fame (or is it
    infame??) into service by installing a pair of BeeGee floats on the
    fuse, and it flew very well indeed, surpassing my expectations for
    handling, both on the ground and in the air.
    
    It saw 6 flights over a four hour period, and by that time, the
    batteries had pretty well drained, so I packed it in.  Also gave a few
    lessons to some of the beginner pilots.  It is nice to see the
    newcomers adapting to winter flying so early in their careers, and
    seeing them learn additional building and flying skills.
    
    After 5 hours outdoors I was beat.  Not used to that at this time of 
    year.  All in all, however, it was an absolutely terrific day of flying 
    and comraderie.
    
    Regards,                                                           
    Joe

    Well!!??  How was the WRAM show??  Is Jim going to give up his day
    job to cut cores??  Who bought what??
    
    

The WRAM show went well. The people running it were very nice and helpful. I met
a lot of people that had bought stuff from me and got a lot of positive
response. I sold out of Gremlins saturday and took orders sunday. I figured out
a bunch of things I'll do different next year. I brought home enough money that
my booth, room and board, and literature were covered. I'll do several more
orders in custom stuff that people need to send me the plans for. Yeah, it was
worth rushing out for it.

I'll let other people report on the other booths since I only really saw the
guys across the aisle.

Behind the scenes:

Got to meet Brian Agnew and Ed Slegers (sp?). Very nice. After a year of V-tails
and a year of T-tails, this coming season will see full flying stabs return.

NSP wasn't at the show. Rumor has it Stan has left and Sal now IS NSP. Don't
know what this means but it'll be interesting I'm sure.

Slegers commented that his glider business was higher gross than his motorcycle
dealership.

Heard at lunch today that Leroy Satterlee was in the Sig booth

Made several business contacts during the show.

Jim

    
     All I can say is the WRAM show was a REAL "Kick in the head"! :)
    
     I will write a more detailed account of the show from my perspective
    when I get a chance.

When will you guys learn that if you drop the bar of soap, LEAVE IT!

I can't wait to hear this one...

Maybe someone else would like to beat him to the punch and let him try to deny
it?

    (Just typed this in and got an error and net partner lost..Arghhh!)
    
    Met at Charlie Watt's about 7:45. Road down in Dan Weier's Caravan with
    Dan Snow and a couple of guys from Dan's NH club (Doug & ?). I had just
    planned to go to the show the week before so I didn't have a list. Of
    course this means that I really didn't have any critical needs so I
    went down with minimal cash in pocket to protect against the impulse
    buy.
    
    Purchased:
    		Ace Dual Add-A-Trickle from Ace
    		21st Century Covering Iron from Bruckner's Hobbies
    		Replacement Starter Cones from Miller's R/C
    		Small Butane Torch
                Exchanged hardened bottle of UFO for free Zap....
    
    Purchases Passed On:
    
    		Thunder Tiger Pro .61 ABC from Bruckner's.
    		DAD 8ch RX from DAD's.
    		Great Planes Easy Sport 40 kit.
    
    George

The whole gang met at Charlie's anywhere between 7:30 and about 7:45. Eric
pulled out his "seating plan", everyone was assigned their vehicle, boarding
passes were taken, and we headed out.

3 vehicle's were in the "caravan". Eric's "E-BUS" with 10 (I believe)
passengers, DW2's van with 5 (I think) passangers, and myself and wife in
my van. CB's were cranked up and the usual banter was heard on the road to
New York.

About an hour down the road, we stopped at a Roy Rogers (not sure who picked
it but they should be shot 8^)) for breakfast. Then got back on the road
and drove non stop to the WRAM show. We arrived shortly after 11:00 and parking
posed no problems. There's a big field behind the auditorium used for parking
and it was mostly empty. A short walk from the parking area to the front door
found a short line for tickets. Took maybe 5 minutes to get through.

Due to the fact that we have a set meeting place in the balcony we use every
year, people pretty much went their own seperate ways once inside and
occasionally met in the balcony. I had to meet up with Jim Reith and George
Dainis at Jim's booth to drop off a tuned pipe and header so that's where
we went first.

It was pretty crowded at that time and it took awhile to work our way over
to Jim's. We finally made it and the Gremlin booth looked pretty busy. Did
what I had to do there, and then headed down one more aisle to Bruckner's
hobby's. The two major purchases I had in mind were a motor and RX for the
Unic I plan on putting back in the air. My original intention was to pick
up one of the Magnum XL53 but I ended up with something else which in itself
is an interesting story.

Now even though there are alot of people that don't like Magnum motors, I'm
currently running 2 of them and I'm happy with their performance. As a matter
of fact, their very powerful for their size. I'm running one of the original
Pro 46's on a trainer, and one of the new 46 XL'S on the Goblin. So, I
thought the XL53 would be a good choice for the Unic. Well, here's what I
found out (to Bruckner's credit). The former chief engineer for OS left the
company and was the guy that designed/built the XL series of Magnum motors.
This is the motor I have on the Goblin and it's very well made, very powerful,
and runs well. HOWEVER, this person is "no longer" making/designing the
Magnum line. Magnum motors are now made by (gasp) ASP. Unfortunately, the
quality has sunk to ASP'S level and I wouldn't touch one of these motors now.
I "did" look at one which confirmed what I had thought. On the one I looked
at, all I did was move the throttle barrel a couple of times, and I expect
that If I had turned the motor over, metal shavings would have fallen out
of the carb. So be warned. Magnum motors are now ASP motors with the expected
quality problems.

But the story does not end there. The former chief engineer for OS, that made
the "good" series of Magnum motors is now making a motor being sold under the
name THUNDER TIGER. I checked this motor out and was amazed. The quality is
excellent and the design appealing. Judging by what you can "see", I'd put
it up against any OS motor on the market. When I got it home, I took the back
plate off of the motor and was pleasantly surprised to find that the con rod
was "machined" and not "cast" (a step up over the Magnum). The connection
between the con rod and the fly wheel is supported by a brass bushing/bearing.
It appears quality was not spared in the manufacture of this motor. Of course
how it runs is the true test, but judging by everything I've seen, I'm not
worried. If the quality is there, it'll run.  Let me put it this way. The
EVIL 1 checked out the motor and couldn't find anything bad to say about it.
Best part is, the Thunder Tiger Pro 46ABC (true abc) was $85 bucks including 
tax. For a guy that's a Magnum basher "8^)", that's enough testimonial for
me.

Back to the show. I spent about 15 minutes at Bruckners quickly deciding I
didn't want the new Magnum, and taking a quick look at the Thunder Tiger
motors. Didn't buy anything then as I wanted to see what else was there and
compare some prices. Colleen and I made our way back up stairs and went to
the balcony so she'd know where the meeting place was. Sat there for awhile
and as it was still fairly crowded, she sat, and I made my first round of
the main floor. For the most part, everything was the same as last year.
Most of the same vendors, sitting in the same places, selling the same
merchandise. If you looked real hard, you could find some interesting new
stuff, but it wasn't all obvious. I don't mean that negatively, just an
observation. I always get a kick out of the WRAM show.

I think the attendance was down a little this year (on Saturday) as you could
actually see the floor between the people shortly after noon time. Part of
that was probably due to the fact that the show was open to the public on
Friday night this year where it was only Sat. and Sun. in past years. I think
alot of the locals got their shopping done Friday night.

Every once in awhile, you'd run into someone you drove up with or knew from
the hobby, but mostly, we'd see each other and check out each others purchases
in the balcony. We (Colleen and I) had lunch about 1:00 and just kind of did
some people watching. Once the crowd had thinned out some more, Colleen
ventured back onto the floor to have a look around. By about 5 o'clock, I
think our group was pretty much done and only some last minute purchases were
being made. We all re-assembled and headed back to the van's shortly before
6 o'clock.

I ended up buying the Thunder Tiger motor, DAD Interceptor 2000 FM 8 ch. RX,
a new power panel, a bottle of kicker, some props, and a couple of xacto
knives. I also picked up a McDaniel ni starter and charger, and another
power panel for the CMRCM auction coming up in March. Not a whole bunch of
stuff, but what I wanted.

The drive home was pretty uneventful if you don't count having to go in 
circles leaving the WRAM show so we could get gas. You had to go past the
on ramp to the highway to get gas, and then come all the way back to the
WRAM show and head out again to hit the on ramp again. That saying "you can't
get there from here" was in force. The we missed the exit onto 684 and were
heading for New Jersey. Took the next exit to try and turn around but
couldn't so we continued heading for N.J.. Took one more exit and were finally
able to reverse our direction and pick up 684. Then when it was time to
stop for dinner, we got off the highway one (or 2) exits too soon but made it
to the eating place without having to get back on the highway.

There's a chinese food place just before the deli we usually stop at that 
wasn't there last year. Some people went for the Chinese food while other
stayed at the Deli. The Chinese place was an all you can eat buffet type
place and was pretty good. It was about $7.00 per person and people DEFINATELY
took advantage of the "all you can eat" part. The bill for the 8 of us that
ate there was only $55 bucks.

The "caravan" kind of split up at that point with DW2 and his van, along with
DW1 and his car (we picked up Dave Walter at the WRAM show) heading on home
after their deli dinner and myself/Colleen and Eric's van leaving about 10
minutes later after our Chinese dinner. Colleen and I spit off from Eric's
van load on 290 in Worcester. They continued on 290 to Charlie's and we
cut off on 190 to head home. I think we got home sometime around 11:00.

So, it was a long day starting at about 4:45 in the morning and going till
11:00 at night and including about 6 hours worth of driving. But as usual,
it was a good time and everyone enjoyed the trip.

Oh yea, one more thing. Dan Weier HAS to learn to keep at least an arms length
away from Colleen. Or maybe in this case it should have been a LEGS length.
Seems he made the mistake of sitting in front of her in the balcony and
somehow got "kicked in the back of the head". I'm sure it was accidental, er
I "think" it was accidental, well it must have been.......on second thought,
I think I'll stay out of this. 8^)

    (re lost the connection, etc..)
    
    George...
    
    Notes keeps a buffer with your last message in it so all is not lost
    when you get an error like that..  *without leaving Notes* re-open
    the conference.  Once you are back at the note you want to reply to,
    type "Notes> reply/last"
    
    This will bring your last message up in your edit buffer and you can
    continue from there.  In your edit buffer, you can also 
    "do write temp.txt" and write the buffer to a local file...
    
    Enjoy,
    jeff
    

                        
         Steve did a good job of  summarizing the WRAM experience, I will
   just add some stuff from my perspective.
    
         As a side note, I took the day off yesterday, and took the kids
    skiing at Temple mountain. My older son started skiing earlier this
    season, and my other son wanted an intro lesson. Soo, I decided, what
    the heel, and decided to take an intro lesson too :). How did it go, you 
    ask? Well other than being totally humiliated by BOTH of my sons ( and 
    every other 5 - 50 year old on the slope ) I am writing this note by holding
    a pencil in my mouth and pecking at the keyboards as those are the ONLY
    muscles that I can move! :). Truthfully, I AM sore, but I had a great 
    time, and although my 7 year old caught on much better and faster than 
    I did, I still made steady progress through the day ( on the beginners
    slope ), and am ready to go back for another lesson ( once I heal :).
    
         As yes, back to the WRAM show.....
    
         I Picked up Fred Cass and Doug Sprague at RC Buyers at 6:30
    Saturday morning. Poor Doug and Fred were given a full dose of HTA
    during the course of the daym whether they wanted it, or not! :)
    
         Picke up Dan Snow at LKG, then headed down to Charlie's where
    we connected with the rest of the gang.
    
         Other than trying to follow Eric down to New York, the trip down
    was uneventful. Fred had recently moved up to N.H. from the Hartford
    area, so he gave us a guided tour of Conn. This was my first time
    driving ( instead of riding ) in an HTA caravan. My learning is that
    next time, I will stay much further back from Eric, and let him do his
    Van "aerobatics" with PLENTY of clearance! :) I finally figured out why
    Steve never got within a 1/4 mile of Eric driving down! :). Just chalk
    it up to being a rookie! 
    
         The show was pretty much the same, and there were actually a few
    vendors missing (RC City, The JR "guy" (who had a death in the family),
    etc). Wayne Field ALMOST made WRAM show history by not buying ANYTHING,
    but at the last moment I talked him into buying a new fan for the 
    Concept Heli he is building :).
        
         When I first arrived, I visited JIm's booth, then George and I
    scouted out the whole place before making any purchases. Of particular
    note, was the fact that this year's raffle was a Go-Kart instead of the
    traditional JR347/Futaba (?) that they usually raffle off. Good
    marketing technique there ( NOT). Geee here are thousands of RC folks,
    HMMMM, what do you think they would like for a raffle, a radio (NO),
    a KIT (NO), an engine (N0), I KNOW, HOW about a GO KART! Needless to
    say, I didn't buy a ticket!
    
        The highlight of the day for me was visiting the Bergen booth.
    Bergen is a machinest that used to make parts for X-CELL, but branched
    off and started his own business selling X-cell aftermarket
    accessories. He had his newest product, a YS.91 conversion for the
    60 X-cell. My mouth WAS watering! I had read articles on the prototypes
    of these machines, but this was the first time I got so see one. Futaba
    JUST released the heli version of the YS.91, so I would expect there
    will be several YS powered choppers popping up soon! Unfortunatly, he
    DOESN't make an X-cell PRO coversion yet, so I will have to wait :(
    He also produces a "super fan" for the X-cell, and I ended up
    purchasing one of these for my X-cell ( a MUST HAVE item :). The fan is
    machined from aluminum, and the blade design is much more efficient
    than the "stock" plastic X-cell fan. I also bought the counter balancer
    that attaches to the fan. This balancer has about 10 ball bearings that
    are loose in a machined race which bolts to the bottom of the fan. The
    ball bearings move while the fan is turning to counter balance any
    inbalance in the engine and fan.
    
    
        During the course of the day, I made some other purchases, did
    touch and goes with the other HTA's at our rondevous point in the
    bleachers, and visited the static diplays. I have to say, the static
    display this year wasn't even close to last year. They had some nice
    planes there, but there weren't as many, and no real show stoppers.
    
        My purchases were as follows:
    
        X-Cell Fan/Counter Balancer
        KAVAN geared starter
        One way bearing starter shaft/adapter for my X-cell
        A roll of 1/8" and 1/4" plastic masking tape for painting
        2 packages of orange fuel tubing
        A portable butane torch
        Box of 100 X-acto blades
        some heat shrink tubing
        a long 1/8" drill bit for drilling the LA-1's firewall
        pull/pull rudder linkage
    
        I passed ( although JUST barely) on buying a TSK Mystar 30
    Helicopter. I also passed on a Century 21 Iron, and an OS.32 SX Heli
    engine. I will note that all thress are still on my potential shopping
    list though :) As it turns out, I can get the heli cheaper by ordering
    it, and not paying the sales tax at the show, since the dealer was
    from NY!
    
        The trip home was long, made longer by a wrong turn :) As Steve 
    mentioned, the group split in two in Waterbury. We hit a significant 
    snow storm on the way back between Hartford and Worcester, but made 
    it through fine.
    
        As Steve said, the WRAM show is ALWAYS fun, and I will be back.....
    
        Oh yea, regarding Colleen.... One minute I am complimenting her by
    saying she looks young enough to be Steve's daughter, and the next
    minute, she is kicking me in the back if the head! Women, who can
    figure them? :)              
    
    
                    
    

    
       Just got back from the Merrimack Mug Bog. I brought the "Demon" for
    its test flight. I decided to park up on the raod, walk, down, and
    avoid the mud. I think it was a good descision based on the trouble
    Ollie had when he left AND all the mud on the vehicles in the parking
    lot!
    
        This was the first time I had flown anything in about 3 months, and
    it felt good to "stir the sticks" again. I fueled up the Demon, and
    after telling about half a dozen people that it WASN"T a Gremlin :),
    was ready for the first flight.
    
        On the first launch, I couldn't get it to climb, and it just
    settled on the field. Needed more up elevator trim.
    
        I added up trim, and flipped the dual rate to high on the elevator,
    and launched again. This time, it successfully climbed out, but with
    the nose sticking up a bit. When I put it into a turn, it "snapped" and
    went into a perfect inverted flat spin all the way to the ground. The
    only damage was a broken prop.
    
        For the third flight, I selected low rates, and even cranked the
    rates down a bit. This time it climbed out, turned, and I was able to
    complete a couple circuts of the field ( including a roll ) before once
    again, it snapped in a turn, and spun flat inverted down through the
    trees to the ground ( this time I didn't even break a prop! )
     
        At this point, I decided not to fly it again until I could go home
    and work on the problem. I think I still have too much elevator, but I
    think the major problem is I have too much side area to overcome when
    turning. If it had a rudder, I could pull the nose through, but the
    elevons are having trouble pulling the nose through the turn.
         It was visibly "understeering" in the turns, and I think when I
    added aileron in the turn, it was too much, and flipped it over on its
    back.
    
         I could probably add aileron differential, and that will help, but
    I am currently looking at reducing the side area of the fuselage.
    
         The good news is it is crashworthy, and all the other design
    concepts (one peice wing, wing attachment design, servo mounting
    method, engine mount, etc ) seem to be working fine. Hopefully with a
    bit of redesign it will stop its "spinning" habit :)
    
          Before I left, Bob Pratt asked me to fly his H-RAY concoction
    ( minus the landing gear that had ripped off in the snow :). He hand
    launched it, and I flew it for a couple minutes until the engine quit
    during a stall turn. We got it going again, and I ended up flying
    a mock combat mission against Joe Marrone's Eindecker (on floats!). Man
    that Eindecker could really really move! I had trouble staying with it,
    but most of the tiem we were loopiong and turning anyway. It was fun to
    get some sudo combat flying in ( even though I am not sure that was
    what Joe had in mind when he took off! :). 
    
          I was ready to leave again, when Bob Lacroix offered to let me
    fly his Cub on floats, so once again I managed to get more flight time
    in! The cub flies very well, but I was careful when I flew it knowing
    it is Bob's favorite "bird".
    
           A nice session to knock off the "rust"
    
                                                            DW2
         
    

Interesting report, Dan. Where's the Demon's CG? the Gremlin works out to just
under 15%

Jim

    
    The CG is fine, I carefully checked it all through the building
    process. Its a little less than 15%

    I wonder if it's an artifact of the constant chord wing?

    
    
       The constant chord could be a contributing factor, although the wing 
    is about the same size/shape as a SIG Wonder, and the weight is about the 
    same. One of the differences is the Wonder is a shoulder wing, and this 
    is a low wing design. The Wonder also has less side area on the fuselage.
    
       I rechecked the CG, 15% exactly, although it seems to be acting like
    the CG is still too far back. I think having all the weight above the
    wing isn't helping either.
    
       I spent last evening trying to finish up my New Gremlin, so I didn't
    get a chance to really look at the Demon. The more I think about it, I
    will probably tinker with aileron differential, and reduce the elevator
    throw again before I mess with the fuselage design. If it doesn't settle
    down, then it will be "back to the Bandsaw" :). 
                

If you're worried about the fuselage being high, try a few passes inverted and
see if it still happens. The gutter snipe is a shoulder wing as well.

    
     Already thought about inverted passes, I just need to get it a little
    more stable before I try flying it inverted. I agree, that would be a
    good test.

Maybe then it'll spin upright!

mention it to Charlie/Eric tonight and they might have some insights

    No sense mentioning it to Eric. He'd just think it was "normal" or
    "neat" and not have you change a thing. 8^)
    
    Personally, I don't think there's anything wrong with it. It's just
    living up to it's name........"be carefull what you ask for......"
    
    
    Speaking of Eric, he wanted me to pass on that he put a couple of test
    flights on the new Unic 4x4 this weekend. Say's it handles much better
    with the larger wing (lower wing loading) and loops much tighter with
    flaps linked to elevator. He has to work on the Crow though. First time
    he flipped the switch, it fell out of the sky.....8^) Recovery was made
    before reaching ground level but the crow definately needs to be
    reduced. Verticle is acceptable with the OS46 SF pump on the front. In
    Evil terms, that means it goes straight up forever.

                             
          Maybe if I renamed it the PussyCat, and nicknamed it..... Never
    mind :)
    
          Joe Marrone thought I intentionally designed it to spin, so that
    it looked like a helicopter!
    
          Steve, you are right, Eric spends ALL his time TRYING to get his 
    planes to fly like this :)
    
          HMMM, If I fly it inverted, will it spin right side up? :)
    
          I know what the problem is, it needs a bigger engine! Now, where
     was that extra OS.32? :)
     

    
        Didn't make it to the Gremlin contest on Sunday, but I did get a
    chance to test fly the Demon ( Rev 2) again at Merrimack.
    
        Since the last flight, I consulted with Eric and made a couple of
    minor changes. I moved the CG forward slightly (from about 2" to
    1 3/4"), decreased the elevator/aileron throws, and chopped off a few
    square inches from the fuselage side area. Eric thinks that the entire 
    problem is CG related ( and he could be correct). At 1 3/4", the CG is 
    at 13%.
    
        The first launch on Sunday resulted in the Demon not climbing out,
    and instead settling onto the mud on the field. After cleaning up the
    mess ( a garden hose would have helped :), I put the elevator rate on
    high and launched again. This time it climbed out fine, and I switched
    to low rates on the climb out.
        I managed to put in about a 5 minute flight, and it was flying
    much better than last weekend ( but still didn't feel quite right ). 
    During the flight I put the Demon through a few rolls, loops,
    immelmans, and split-s's. About 5 minutes into the flight when I was
    entering a split-s, when the Demon once again entered its infamous inverted
    flat spin, and did a beautiful "autorotation" softly to the ground.
        At first it appeared that once again, there was no damage ( not
    even a broken prop ), but further examination uncovered that one of the
    two rear dowel mounts in the wing came loose. A 5 minute epoxy job
    should take care of that.
        At this point, it was back inthe Van for the Demon. This week, I
    plan to move the CG forward another 1/4"+, and determine once and for
    all whether it is a CG, or a fuselage problem I am chasing. One
    additional thing I have found since Sunday is what appears to be a slight
    negative incidence on the wing which may be a contributing factor. I
    need to carefully measure it to be sure it is not just an opticle
    illusion.
    
        After putting the Demon away, I took out the Shuttle for its
    maiden 1995 flight. Other than being a bitch to start ( the OS.32 hates
    the cold weather ), it flew fine, and I was able to put in about a ten
    minute flight before my hands started to get cold. After watching a 
    couple of other flights, I packed it up, and headed home. 
    

    Dan Snow had the same problem with his 32 on his open class Gremlin
    at the Rhode Island contest. After many minutes of fiddling, checking
    and replacing plugs, and trying different ni starters, I suggested
    he open the needle valve..............8^) 8^) VROOOOOMMMMMMMM

    
     My .32 starting problem was more due to the fact I couldn't choke the
    engine. Its tough to keep tension on the starter belt, hold the rotor
    head AND keep a finger over the muffler to get the fuel flow going! I
    am getting old, and I'm just not THAT flexible anymore! :)

I noticed you gave up trying to squeeze into that tuna can you used to drive.
Now you've got a "gee, I wish my butt were" mini-van 8^)

<incoming!> 8^)

    So how did the Shuttle fly? Did it climb out seem a little better in
    the colder weather, or did it still seem a little sluggish ?
    
    Wayne

                                            
      It was still sluggish on climbout. If it were 90 degrees with high
    humidity yesterday, it probably wouldn't have broke out of a hover! :(
    
      I think the problem is largely due to weight. I added another 3 oz to
    the nose to bring the CG forward a bit, so now the Shuttle is about
    6 pounds 14 oz ( a lot for a .32 to haul around! ).
    
      The plan I am putting together for the Shuttle is to switch back to
    the stock sideframes ( to reduce weight ), move the tail rotor servo
    back to the front ( to help with the CG, and allow me to remove an
    ounce or two of lead up front ), retrofit it with the OS.32
    SX, and install a set of semi-symetrical Yale blades.
      All this together will remove several ounces from the Heli, and
    combined with the advertized 18% power increase from the SX and better 
    blades, hopefully give me a Shuttle with good performance. And.... if
    that don't work, how about a YS.45 conversion! :)
    
    
       One peice of good news is that by moving the CG forward a bit ( to
    the mainshaft, where it belongs ), it tracked better in forward flight.
    I didn't put it into Idle up, so I don't know if it will help with the
    (aweful ) pitching tendancies it has in that mode.

    
     
        I took advantage of a beautiful Sunday afternoon to get a good
    flying session in at Merrimack. Throughout the afternoon, I did some
    instruction, flew a couple practice rounds of pattern, did another
    test flight on the Demon, and got a couple heli flights in with the
    Shuttle.
    
         Instruction:
    
        The Thunder Tiger trainer/engine combo seem to be the popular
    training setup this year. There were three at the field yesterday. I
    ended up flying two of them, both with basically brand new engines
    on them ( a couple of tankfuls run through ). The trainers both seemed
    to fly well, with no particular bad habits. The engines varied a bit,
    but I think that was mostly due to setup. The first one I flew was
    too lean for such a new engine, so I richened it up a few clicks, and
    it burned the entire tank during a 12 minute flight with no problem.
    The previous instructor had complained the engine was quitting under
    sustained full power, so hopefully the engine wasn't abused too much
    during the first few flights.  The second engine ran VERY well, and
    had plenty of power ( the first engine didn't seem nearly as powerful
    ). So, my first impression of the Thunder tiger Trainer/engine is
    positive. As with any ARF, they will not stand any abuse, but they 
    seem to be a good value. Oh yea, one other observation. They may be
    manufacturing these trainers with a bit to much positive incidence on
    the wing. All three trainers needed about 1/8" down elevator to keep
    them from constantly climbing.
    
       Pattern:
                                                             
       Put in two flights on the Stryke. It took a few minutes to knock
    the rust off, but then it felt just like where I left off last fall. After
    coughing the dust and oil out from a long winter nap, the OS.61 picked
    right up where it left, and ran flawlessly through the two flights.
    
    
       Demon:
    
       I moved the CG forward from last week ( from about 12% tp 10% ). As
    I had kind of suspected, it WASN'T a CG problem I was having, and
    moving it to 10% proved it. After about a minute of precarious flying,
    the Demon flipped on its back again and....... (you know the rest of the
    story :). At this point, I am going to take the engine and reciever and
    move them to my new Gremlin, then I will finally have a complete Gremlin
    again. I think the Demon will need to be totally reworked, but I am
    going to wait until the fall to mess with it again.
    
       Shuttle:
    
       Saved the best for last......
    
       Saturday, I spent a couple hours retrofitting the tail rotor servo.
    I moved it to its original position, removed the now extra bracket in 
    the rear, and retrofitted the new Shuttle ZXX (thicker ) control rod. I
    also swapped out the G-10 Hel-X fins for the original fins. All these
    changes allowed me to remove 3.2 oz from the bird. I also started
    working on a new set of blades for it.
    
       Towards the end of the session yesterday, I put in a couple of 10
    minute flights in.  Since I had switched the tail rotor
    servo around ( and reversed it ), I was very cautious lifting off.
    Good thing, because in my late night session, I had neglected to reverse 
    the gyro! After shutting it down, back to the pits, reverse the gyro and 
    try again.
       This time everything went fine, with just a bit of trimming needed
    to get the tail rotor and elevator in order. I put in two 10 minute
    flights including both hovering and forward flight. Everything was
    going well until the end of the second flight, when I was hovering
    about 8 feet off the ground. In honor of Micheal Jordan's return to the
    NBA, the Shuttle ( litterally out of nowhere ) Slam Dunked itself 
    into the ground! It bounced hard ( breaking the gear off in the
    bounce), then fell to the groung, tipped over, and ..... you know the
    rest :(. What happened? I have NO idea, and thats probably the worst
    part. I can't think of anything I did to cause it, but if I did, I
    wish I knew what it was. The best I can describe it is it seems like it
    went to full negative pitch, with at least 1/2 throttle. It literally
    drove itself into the ground in about 1/2 a second. It hit so hard,
    it snapped the aftermarket "Tuff" landing gear that up to know has been
    virtually indestructable!
    
        The good news is that the damage is limited, and compared to
    repairing the X-cell, almost "free" :). I should have it ready to fly
    next weekend again. I have a spare set of skids, and I was already
    planning to replace the rotor blades, so that takes the edge off the
    the mishap.
    
         The damage:     Rotor Blades
                         Tail rotor blades
                         some linkage
                         Main shaft, feathering spindle, fly bar
                         Skids
                         tail boom
    
    
         I was dissapointed about the Shuttle, but it was still a very nice
    spring flying session!
    
       Put in a couple 10 minute flights with the Shuttle later in the
    afternoon.

Breaking Gremlin props doesn't seem so bad, now 8^)

I got a couple of pictures digitized over the weekend and I'll add them to the
homepage. One is the one from my R/C Report ad of me holding the RA Cores
Gremlin. The other is one of the RI contest group shots. I'm not sure which
contest it was from but it's one I had in my office. I'll be adding them to the
page tonight.

Cut 2 dozen Gremlin on saturday and a bunch of custom stuff sunday so I'm
getting caught up finally. I should be able to finish up the rest of it this
week. I still need to put together a stock Gremlin for the 4/2 contest.

Went out to the Amherst field on Sunday to take the UHU on its maiden
flight. Beautiful day! Sonny Martel (sp?) was out there flying an
Esteem. Its a big open class ship, t-tail, looks like most open class
ships of that size. He was getting ready to fly at a contest in Barton.
Apparently he flies for the company that manufactures the Esteem.

Anyway, launched the UHU and it immediately rolled left. I gave full
right trim and stick and was able to level it out. After that I gained
some altitude, and thought for a minute as to how I was going to land
it. Climbed great, the elevator was *very* responsive, (I was worried
that it was too small) After I had figured out how I could get it down 
without crashing or loosing control I killed the motor, and brought it 
around (to the left of course :) and brought it in fast.

It tracked straight in and slid about twenty feet in the damp grass.
No damage. The wind sure doesn't move this plane!!  

I had finished building this plane about three months ago, and hadn't
really looked at it since then. One thing I noticed is that the fin
had warped some.

(Looking at the back end of the plane)

	\
	 \
	  |
	  |
     -----------

Obviously it wasn't that severe, but it was noticeable. Would that have
caused the severe roll to the left. The other thing I'm going to check
tonite is the wings. I'm wondering if maybe I've got some warp washout
that I didn't have before.

Am I forgetting anything obvious?

Dave

is there any right thrust in the engine mount? Does it react the same way power
on versus power off?

Use an incidence meter rather than trying to eyeball it.

Jim

    Did you "laterally" balance the UHU as well as making sure the CG
    was right. You may have a heavy left wing.

    My experience in hand launching electric gliders(Uhu, Arcus, Calibra,
    Waco550,SurpriseII,Trabi) is that right after it leaves your hand is a
    bad time to judge if something is wrong.  
    
    The wing is most likely nearly stalled for a moment or two until the
    prop "catches" and the plane is at flying speed.  This can cause a wing
    to drop.
    
    If the Uhu flys fine once it has gained some airspeed, I would suspect
    that a poor hand toss may be the problem.
    
    Regards,
    
    Jim

Lateral balance was ok. I found a nice warp in the left wing. I was kind
of bummed, because it wasn't there when I built it, but after sitting
on the shelf for a few months it seems to have shown up. The trailing
edge was warped up towards the tip of the wing. (washout right?)
I figure that would probably account for the problem yes?

I managed to twist it back with the covering iron, and it seems to be 
pretty flat now. Hopefully the weather will cooperate this weekend
and I can see if this has solved the problem.

Dave

>    The wing is most likely nearly stalled for a moment or two until the
>    prop "catches" and the plane is at flying speed.  This can cause a wing
>    to drop.

Sorry, probably didn't do a very good job of describing the problem.
I pretty much had to have full right rudder the whole time the plane
was flying just to keep it level. There was definitely a problem...

Dave

                                                       
      
       Yesterday afternoon I loaded the Shuttle and the new grmlin in the
    van and headed up to the Merrimack field about 1:30. My plans the 
    night before were to head to either C-mass or New Boston, but with the
    wind yesterday, I figured Gremlin flying would be about all I would get
    in.
    
       When I arrived, Fred Cass and Doug Sprauge were the only two at the
    field and were engaged in full combat with two Gremlins equipped with
    streamers.
       AFTER they landed, I put my Gremlin up for its test flight. I found
    I had way too little elevator and aileron throw, but the 347 made short
    work of that. After that , It was like I had been flying this Gremlin
    for years ( in actuality, I have just been BUILDING this Gremlin for
    years :).
       After landing I was challanged to some combat. After not having
    a flyable Gremlin since last May and not really wanting to have to
    build a new one if we midaired, I finally conceded to some three way
    combat.
       Glad I did, we put in about three rounds with the wind kicking the
    hell out of the Gremlins. There were suprisingly not any cuts or
    midairs, but the wind managed to make tatters of all of our streamers.
       The only damage came when Doug got disorientated during combat down
    low by the trees, panicked, and stuck it in the "spring pond" behind
    the field. He drained the engine, fired it up and dryed it out, and
    then headed home to dry out the electronics.
    
       The only other flying during the afternoon was:
    
       One flight by Jim Grady with his Fun-1. (He ended up breaking the tail
     on landing after he "snapped" it on landing due to wind .)
    
       I put in one Hovering flight with the SHuttle ( and had my hands
    full ! )
    
       Another member showed up witha rebuilt trainer. He handn't flown for
     2 years and picked yesterday to get back into it! He asked me to
     do the take off and trim it out. It was flying fine, so he took it and
     never looked back. He flew it for several minutes, aborted the first
     landing attempt and then greased it in on the second ( Just like
     riding a bike! :). When I left he was well into his second flight and
     byt then the wind was really starting to die down.  

                            
      In addition to eveything else, I started work on the UNIC this
    weekend. I removed the one remaining aileron, and then proceeded to
    strip the Ultracoat from the wing ( 90% stripped right off, but there
    was one stubborn section that required some heat to loosen it up ).
      Then I proceeded to sand/fill the blemishes in the wing to get it
    ready for recovering. 
      
      I haven't decided yet whether I will go to a 4 servo/aileron version
    as recommended by Eric, but I have decided on going with at least 3"
    "built up" ailerons to increase the wing area/control surface a bit. 
    I like the idea of 4 "ailerons/flaps" but I am not crazy about adding the 
    extra servo weight or go through the hassle of hollowing out the wing 
    for the servo wires.
      Next steps will be building a new elevator, mounting the motor mount,
    installing the servo tray, etc. I plan to use my (gulp!) Magnum .45
    (with an O.S. carb) and tuned pipe, although I haven't ruled out the
    .91 surpass as a "big block" option ;).

I'd be concerned with flutter on the 3" surfaces with that kind of power/speed.
You'd probably have more luck with the extra servos with that kind of area on
the surfaces.

    Well, to prove to myself that I can still fly, I went down to CMRCM
    yesterday.  I arrive shortly before 10 to find the field empty.  Since
    I had some time to burn off before flying could start, I took a walk
    through the woods to see if there was any carnage from pervious
    flights.  I didn't find much except for the tail pieces of Chris' Cub
    he put in last fall.  Then I hauled out the trainer 60 and got it set
    up.  The next hour was spent adjusting my consistently inconsistent K&B
    to run without dying.  I ended up richening it up quite a bit before it
    would run somewhat reliably.
    Ok, so now the engine runs.  What next?  The wind is gusting quite a
    bit and I haven't flown for quite a few months.  Maybe I'll just taxi
    it around a little.  I must have taxied a little too fast because I took
    off:^).  Boy, that wind was whipping around up there.  Every once in
    a while the wind would bank my plane almost 90 degrees.  So after three
    circuits I decided to bring it in.  Landing was a little bit hairy but
    I managed a smooth one somehow.  The only mishap was when the wind
    flipped my plane over as I was turning around to head back to the pits.
    	So now I sit on my tailgate and let my heart rate slow down from
    about 250.  Chris soon shows up with his PT40 but elected not to fly
    (good choice).  Soon after that Jim Cavanaugh showed up in his nice new
    truck. He too elected not to fly and went home to do yard work.  Then
    Jack Z. showed up and put a flight in on a gremlin and called it quits. 
    And finally, on my way out, I passed Mitch. 
    	And that is my excitement for the weekend.
    
    andy
    

    
    
    
    AH HA! I knew If I put enough lures in the pond, I would get a bite! :)
    
    Steve,
    
        I am very concerned about the flutter issue also. When Eric talked 
    to me, I seem to remember he was trying out larger chord ailerons. Do
    you happen to remember the size of the ailerons on his new UNIC? You 
    are right, with 3" chord, the 4 servos would be a better choice.
    
        What is you experience with your UNIC? Do you think it is
    worthwhile doing the 4 aileron mod/ larger control surfaces, or just
    going with "stock" ailerons and two servos. Unless there is a real
    advantage, It would be MUCH easier to just slap in a couple JR 321's
    (in the current servo boxes ), put a couple of stock ailerons on, and
    be done with it.

Yeah, STEVE, what are YOUR thoughts 8^)

Jim (last I checked 8^)

    
     Jim,
    
        Thanks for your usual "Value add"! :)
    
            Now, go back to sleep! :)
    
                              

Dan, check .940 again...

    Well, as I said in .940............8^)
    
    Actually, I think Eric has 3 or 4 inch ailerons/flaps. I havn't seen it
    fly yet, and havn't built mine yet but from listening to Eric I think
    that setup is more of a challange than fun (keeping in mind that to
    Eric, challange IS fun). He's already dorked it because it fell out
    of the sky in CROW mode.
    
    I still may either build the new wing or convert the old one but if
    I did, I would only be interested in the flap function and wouldn't
    mess with crow. Eric has had no problems with flutter but his control
    surfaces are sheeted foam. He did say that coupling flaps and elevator
    gave the Unic a much better (tighter) looping ability. I found with my
    stock Unic that if I had flaperons programmed in, I could extend the
    glide considerably if it was looking like I was going to come up short
    on a landing approach. You can also play with reflexing the flaps to
    help landing in high or terbulent wind. I think in general, the larger
    wing area improves the handling of the Unic although I always thought
    mine flew fine.
    
    I will most likely convert my stock wing and add flaps and leave it at
    that.

    RE .940
    
        My Aplogies Jim, I will go back to sleep now :)
    
        ( It would just be SOOO unlike you to "Bust" Steve's .... :)

    
      Sunday Morning I spent a couple hours getting the Shuttle squared
    away with its new engine. It took some tweaking, but the SX is now
    running great, and putting out lots of power. It seems to be a real 
    nice upgrade for the Shuttle. The only bad news is I found the Kavan 
    starter doesn't turn it over fast enough to start ( maybe it will after
    it "breaks in" some more, but the standard Sullivan starter is 
    working ok now that I have the engine broke in a bit.
     
    
       After lunch I decided to make the trek to C-mass. I figured there
    would be a good crowd ( forgot about the Gremlin contest! :).
       When I got there about 1:30, only Charlie, Jim Sprogna, and a new
    member were flying, and wouldn't you know it, Jim and I were on
    the same channel!
       Charlie was flying his Unic, and Jim was flying, so I took the
    time to setup and fuel up the Shuttle, Stryke, and Gremlin. After
    they landed I took the Shuttle up for a flight. It took a bit more
    trimming and tweaking, but the with the new engine, bell housing and
    bearing, the Shuttle was running better than it has for the past year!
    It is actually fun to fly it again now that I am not fighting it
    the whole time!
       Next I put in a flight on the Stryke, but the crosswind blowing
    staight out from the pits in combination with the lousy position
    of the sun made for a pretty lousy flight.
       About this time, the Evil-1 showed up with his Goblin, Unic, and
    Gremlin. Eric and Charlie put in a Unic flight and at the end of the
    flight, Eric demonstrated the UNIC 4by4's landing capability by diving
    straight down from about 500 feet (not gaining any airspeed), leveling
    out, land, and roll 5 feet, very impressive!
       After the UNIC flight, it was time to break out the Gremlins for 
    some three-way formation/combat. The first flight was without 
    streamers, and the next two were with streamers. We put in some really
    fun flights, and some really tight three -way formation. On one low pass,
    Charlie and I ended up almost in the same place, so Charlie had to 
    basically fly around me while skimming along at 2 feet off the ground.
       On the third flight, we were doing low high speed inverted passes.
    We had done about three, when I lost focus for a slit second, and...
    SPLAT! Eric was laughing so hard I though he was going to wet his
    pants AND crash his plane, but he was able to regain his composure
    before he did either. My engine was about 20 feet further down field
    than the rest of the Gremlin, but suprisingly, I didn't even break
    a prop! I did however, break the mount and fuselage, so my Gremlin
    flying was done for the day.
     
        After the Gremlins, I put in another flight with the SHuttle and
    Stryke. The sun and wind were MUCH better, so the I ended up putting
    in a decent flight with the Stryke. When I took out the SHuttle, the
    wind returned and gave me a bit of a challange, but the Shuttle
    continued to fly great. I was able to get enough speed/climb to try a
    few 540 stall turns and a couple loops, no problem, the extra power
    really helps out! When I did the first 540, Eric asked me if I did it
    on purpose :) After three more, he was convinced :).
    
        Eric then put in a flight on the Goblin and was hovering only
    slightly better than the Shuttle! He did a "death wish" and death
    wish II", much to the delight of a couple onlookers who had stopped
    by.
        Charlie put in another Unic flight, but one of the "Moles" managed
    to reach up when he was landing and rip his gear off.
        Toward the end of the session, Eric and CHarlie did some balloon
    popping with the Gremlins. Charlie ended up hitting the balloon stick
    twice, and both times it slam dunked his Gremlin. He finally had enough,
    and decided to call it quits.
        I took this opportunity to have Charlie fly the Stryke. I wanted
    to get his opinion as to how well it was set up and flying. He did 
    several tests/manuvers and said that other than some significant roll 
    couple from the rudder, it was flying very nice and straight. He also 
    commented that the ailerons needed a bit more throw. After I landed, we 
    mixed in some opposite aileron with the rudder, and through another 
    flight test with me flying, CHarlie coaching, and Eric adjusting the 
    radio settings, we got rid of 99% of the roll couple. This should help 
    the stall turns significantly, and it knife-edged 100% better than it 
    used to.
         It was getting on towards 6 oclock when we finally packed up and
    headed out. I got everything accomplished I wanted to that day (with
    the exception of Smacking the Gremlin :(, so the drive down turned out
    to be worth it. 
    

    I too headed down to CMRCM yesterday.  I arrived at about 11 something
    to find Chris buzzing about in his PT-40.  Another bloke was there who
    I am not acquainted with.  He left shortly though.  The wind conditions
    were interesting, they seemed to be switching directions every 5
    minutes.  For my first flight, the wind was left to right so I was
    excited to get a chance to practice some right handed circuits and
    landings.  When it came time to land, I did numerous low and slow
    flybys to get the feel of it, but I couldn't get my airplane to slow
    down for some reason.  So finally, on one of my flybys, the engine
    quit so I was forced to land (the plane was still going quite fast for
    no engine).  After the plane came to a stop, I noticed that I had just
    made a downwind landing.  That explained a few things!  My next flight
    up (wind was right to left now), my engine quit and climb out but I
    managed to swing my airplane around through the gap in the trees and
    made another downwind landing in the tall grass on the left side of
    the runway.  But then, on my next attempt to start the K&B, I slipped
    with the starter and broke "cowl" (piece of balsa that flanks the
    engine).  So that ended it for my day.
    	Chris also had his new Cub there (hasn't been flown yet) and kept
    debating on whether he would try it.  I think his question was answered
    when he broke his only prop on his PT40.  So, he starts up the cub,
    taxies it out and almost wings over on the first take off attempt. 
    Second attempt he makes it into the air but immediately throttles back. 
    So now he starts to lose lift so he pulls back and throttles up. 
    Meanwhile, the left wing violently dips.  So now his plane is pitched
    at abut 45 degrees and seems to be in it's death throws.  Meanwhile,
    I'm cringing in anticipation.  Next thing you know, he loses all lift
    and plummets towards the long grass on the right side of the runway. 
    He went in at a wierd angle, ripped the wing off and flipped it over.
    Nylon bolts saved his butt, he only has to rebuild the front windshield
    and the V spar attachments on the wing.
    	After that, I watched Jim Sprogna(?) dork about 6 take-off attempts
    before he got airborne.  Then I headed home, passing Charlie at the
    gate as I left.
    
    andy
    

    
    I wasn't at Saturday's Glider contest, but the Nashua Telegraph
    had color pictures of the contest showing Tom ? in the Sunday paper 
    AND an article on Al Ryder/color pictures in Monday's paper. Not bad 
    coverage for a local RC event!
    
    

I had heard there was a photographer there. it was probably Tom Kustus with his
1 meter, 6oz HLG.

Good to hear they're getting coverage locally. Seems the wind was 5 days
delayed...

    Al got an incredible amount of press..
    
    Friday, Page 7 - Brief article about it happening Saturday.
    Monday - 3 Color pictures on the front of the Nashua section
    Wednesday - 2 more color pictures and an article!
    
    Good press like this is hard to find!
    
    cheers,
    jeff
    

I've had better weekends and certainly had a lot better plans for this past 
weekend than how it ended up. 

Other than a bad head cold, Friday started ok as I placed an emergency order for
the JR 388 transmitter only that I've been saving up for. It was an emergency 
order because my wife wanted to know how much extra money I had. I figured I'd
better spend it before she found it and used it on something silly like food 
for the kids.

I had a mild surprise when I ordered the transmitter and asked that it be on 
channel 14. They said the transmitter only version does not come with a 
transmitter module. That kind of sorta makes since for someone doing what I'm 
doing and upgrading from a Century VII but I was talking to the shop owner's 
wife so we'll see what comes out of the box.

Saturday the head cold raged on unabated but I did manage to stop by the 
local hobby shop to pick up an exhaust extension for my Concept 30. I had planed
to stick it back in it's Hughes 500 fusalage and get some flying in Sunday.

Sunday the head cold dropped down into my chest and that did in any hope of 
rescueing what I had originally planed to do this weekend.     

Finally got a good weekend of flying in. Had to come into work on Saturday
and do a little overtime but was done at noon time. The weather guessers
were predicting "windy" conditions so no one was sure if they wanted to go
fly or not. I gave Charlie a call on the car phone and we decided to head 
out. Charlie called Eric and Jack.

Turns out the wind wasn't as bad as predicted (gee, the weather people were
wrong....imagine that.....) and there were a few people at the field. Eric
Charlie, myself and Jack spent the afternoon and had a good time. I brought
the goblin and Gremlin but only flew the Gob. Too much fun......

Monday I got to the field about 12:30 and barely had a place to park. It was
the most people I've seen at the field in a long time. Jack had his
LYKA Jet and Gremlin. Charlie also had his LYKA Jet his Boxer and a gremlin.
Eric brought his new Griphon pattern ship for it's maiden flight, a gremlin,
and his new Unic 4x4. Dan Snow brought his new Boxer for it's maiden flight
and I think that's it.

The maiden flights were both successful and Dan's boxer and Eric's Griphon
flew very well. Both looked good in the air and will be very competitive.
As one might expect, Eric's Griphon went straight up out of sight. Vertical
was unlimited. He made one down wind pass that had to be in the 120 or better
mph range. Talk about screaming. He "say's" he's going to try different
props to "slow it down" but that's like a prize fighter saying he'd rather
have a lighter punch. 8^) We'll see.

Yesterday seemed to be quarter scale cub day at CMRCM. 3 of them were present
plus a Goldberg Anniversary edition cub. I got to fly one of them and had
a ball. Cross wind landings were very interesting but provided great practice
on the rudder stick. Unfortunately, one of the cubs didn't survive the day.

Harvey had purchased a quarter scale cub at Peter Monroe's auction along with
a new YS120 AC. He got the engine running reliably and decided to take it up
on it's maiden flight. About 3 or 4 minutes into the flight, while puttering
along straight and level, the wing folded. One half of the wing fluttered
down to the ground by the glider path, and the other half stayed attached.
While going over things in his mind, Harvey thinks he forgot to screw in the
wing struts to the bottom of the fuse. In other words, he put the screw in
but forgot to put the nut on. When the screw vibrated out, the wing let go.
Fortunately the fuse/engine/left wing came down in soft ground and the engine
survived with only a broken prop and a dent in the back of the air chamber.
Fuse was pretty busted up back to about the trailing edge of the wing. Not
sure what the left wing half looked like. He was pretty bummed to say the
least.

Now that I think about it, he also had an ugly stick type plane in his van
when he arrived. Not sure if he got that at the auction also. During one
of my flights, I hear this thump on the runway and look down to see this
stick shed it's gear and wing. I don't think Harvey was having a good day.

Outside of some typical gremlin "arrivals", one by Charlie during an inverted
high speed low pass, there was no other carnage during the afternoon and
everyone got a lot of flying in. Although the wind couldn't make up it's mind
which way it wanted to blow, it wasn't too strong most of the time so it
didn't present much of a problem to anyone. The afternoon was comfortably
warm and I got a good burn on my face.

All in all, a decent weekend.

Steve

    I, too, got burned on Monday.  It was a good weekend for me too.  On
    Saturday, Steve and Charlie helped me with my first gremlin flight.  I
    took the T60 up once, but it was a little cold for my likes. Sunday was
    similar to Saturday so I didn't go flying.  I assembled my US60 fuse
    instead.  Sunday I came out at about 10 to a few people there.  I fired
    up the gremlin and managed to launch it myself.  I have to say that it
    is much faster than my T60.  This made my T60 seem incredibly easy to
    fly.  The gremlin actually improved my flying with only 4 flights!
    No carnage for me.  Just a receiver problem in the gremlin which has
    been fixed.
    
    andy
    

    Oops, a little flashback from LSE/EDT.
    
    

    Sorry about that bud. How could I forget a new Gremlinizer amongst
    us.
    
    Indeed, Andy brought his new Gremlin out to the field on SAturday.
    Round about mid afternoon, we started checking things out and decided
    it was airworthy and ready for a toss. The engine took a little
    tweaking to get it running well enough, but after that Charlie threw
    it in the air and I held the TX. It flew straight out of Charlie's
    hands and needed very little trim. After a couple of minutes, the
    engine leaned out so I brought it in for some more tweaking. Once
    airborne, Andy took the sticks for the first time. He did extreamly
    well and stayed ahead of the responsiveness and lack of profile for
    orientation. The engine ended up quiting and he made a very acceptable
    dead stick landing from a tuff starting point.
    
    So, as Eric would say, another one is corrupted. Now we just have to
    get him aquainted with COMBAT..........8^)

    It could be worse.  You could have forgotten that YOU were at the
    field.  So far I love the gremlin.  It keeps me on my toes.  I'll
    probably end up building a combat gremlin before long here.  Yesterday
    I decided to go out and buy a motorcycle battery since my Gel cells
    seemed to have died.  I was also tired of asking everyone if I could
    use their starter (K&B .61's don't like to start cold).  It turns out
    that one of my gel cells had split open!  Guess that explains the
    problem.  The motorcycle battery provides AMPLE current I must say.
    
    
    Andy

This past weekend ended up considerably better than the weekend before. Friday 
night the UPS truck showed up late with the JR x-388S transmiter I ordered. The 
lady at the store was correct. The transmitter only comes without the 
transmitter module. I took a module off of one of my Century VII's and spent 
the rest of the evening playing with the radio. I love it, even my wife was 
impressed by the radio.

Saturday afternoon I made another attempt to get the OS40FP on my Dynaflight 
Mustang 40 to run. The 40FP is brand new and I've haven't been able to get it
to run long enough to break it in. It acts like its starved for fuel. Anyway,
while I was messing with the engine my kids came up and said there was a guy 
flying a helicopter at the school in back of my house. I walked over (hoping 
we weren't on the same channel since I had my transmitter on in the garage) and 
it turned out to be one of our remote engineers whose wife's parents live in 
my town. They'd come up for Easter and his wife had run off shopping. 

I suggested we adjourn to my club's flying field so I loaded up the Mustang and
my Spirit glider and we headed out. It's about three in the afternoon and we 
have a five acre flying field all to ourselves. I put the first flight on the
X-388S with the Spirit. It was nice to be out flying even if the timer on the 
TX said the flight only lasted 2 minutes. I put the Spirit up again and handed 
the transmitter to Doug. I think that freaked him out a little because I don't 
think he's ever flown fixed wing before. He settled down and did nicely but he 
handed the transmitter back when it was time to land. On the third launch the
Spirit was about five feet out of my hand on the high start when I heard a 
crack. Another couple of feet and the right wing tip comes sailing off. The 
damage wasn't too bad when it hit the ground and its all set to go again.

I told Doug to fly his Concept 30 and I settled back to mess with the Mustang's
engine again. I finally got the engine to run more than a couple of seconds by
opening the needle valve out to about five turns and having the throttle wide 
open. Since it was acting like it was running in a very rich idle I tried 
closing the needle valve to lean it out some. Closing down the valve didn't 
seem to make a difference and then the engine quit so I decided to pack it in 
and check out the carb on the workbench. Doug got in three flights on his heli
before we headed for home.

Sunday it rained but that was ok and gave me a chance to repair the Spirit and
work on some other stuff. I took yesterday off and worked on my Concept 30 all 
day. I stopped by the hobby shop and picked up some supplies to fix a problem 
with the tail drive on the Concept. I also tried to pick up a spare channel 14
JR reciever crystal. The guy at the shop said they were hard to come by and 
that JR had decided to stop producing them allong with a band of several other
channels around 14. Anybody hear anything about this?       

    Boy, that was a windy weekend!  I went out on saturday with only my
    gremlin.  Jack and Charlie had their Lyka Jets.  That was the most
    interesting part of the day.  I put in a few flights on the gremlin. 
    At one point, I couldn't even get a good enough grip on it to throw
    because it was so windy.  A couple of guys showed up with a loud
    but fast chipmunk.  These two guys developed this great little
    telemetry system.  It told you RPM/fuel left/altitude/ground
    speed/airspeed/Rx battery voltage.  Very impressive.  It used GPS for
    positioning. They're working on a system that will save your positions for
    a whole flight so you can analyze it later on a PC.  Pretty cool.  I
    think they had a "distance from wife" function, but I'm not sure :).
    The two guys make up the company called "Air Data Link" in case you
    have heard of them.  Pretty neat gadget, but expensive too.
    
    Well, I woke up yesterday and it was very windy so I opted not go
    flying.  But, in my quest to push my luck, I packed up the trainer and
    headed out to CMRCM at about 5.  There was a nice 20-30MPH wind blowing
    down the runway.  I set it down in the center of the runway and took
    off without too much problem.  It was sure bumpy up there though.  I
    did about 8 minutes of maneuvers.  Loops were almost impossible.  As
    soo as you got vertical you were about 300 downwind from where you
    started.  Then I brought it in for an uneventful landing.  After that I
    just stared at the plane for about 10 minutes contemplating another
    flight.  Finally, I decided that I had fulfilled my eagerness to push
    my landing ability to the limit and promptly left.
    
    Andy
    

    
    
          Andy made the best Gremlin landing I've seen in months yesterday
     at Central Mass! :)

    It was pure luck, I assure you :)
    I think I'm starting to get gremlinitis.  Somebody help me!
    

                          
       Since Andy didn't provide the details, I will.
    
       He was making a low (5') inverted pass over the runway when the
    engine flamed out. He quickly rolled it rightside up, and got the
    wings level about 2" above the ground and touched down a split second
    later.
    
                                      Pretty cool lookin! :)

    It was all a gut reaction.  I've never dreamed of having to do that
    before!  My first instinct when I saw the engine quit was to say,
    "oh sh*t".  My second action was thinking, "I can't land this upside 
    down."  My third action was a quick a roll to correct the problem.
    I didn't think it would have put me THAT close to the ground though.  
    I figured I would have had about 20 more feet of gliding.  I was rather
    impressed with maneuver myself.  I'm just glad it wasn't my trainer.
    That could have been REAL ugly.
    
    

    
        Yes Andy, you get a prize. 
    
        You are allowed to enter the pattern contest next Sunday! :)
    
        Please be there promptly at 9:30 to "accept" your prize! :)
    
    

    Hmmm... I'm not sure I want it now. :)
    

    
    
        I didn't mention that when we were at the Sayre Pattern meet a
    couple weeks ago that we were flying off the left end of a very nice
    full scale grass runway. There was a 2 place Pitts based there and
    on Sunday between rounds, it took off. The pilot held it on the deck
    till the end of the runway, pulled vertical, hit the smoke, climbed
    out several hundred feet and leveled off. He had done the same thing
    the year before and I thought, gee that was kind of neet!
        The next thing we know he is in a shallow dive coming from the
    left about 1/2 mile in front of us. When he reached "show center" at
    about 100' of altitude, he pulled into a loop, did 2 snap rolls on top
    and then completed the loop about 100' off the deck. My thoughts were:
    How neat, how risky.........how irresponsible, how illegal, how stupid!
    
        Last weekend, Charlie Watt found out from a guy at the Brockport
    pattern contest that the guy "bought the farm" a week later, flat spun 
    into some trees. My thought was: what a waste of a nice Pitts! 
    ( I guess it was actually a Skybolt according to the guy who talked to
      Charlie )
                                                                           
          There are old pilots and bold pilots, but no old, bold pilots! 

Two weekends ago I attended the New England Scale Championships
  also known as the local Scale Qualifier.
  I entered my modest little Cub in Sportsman and came in 4 out of 5.
  There were 14 entered in Expert.

  Nick Ziroli Jr. won 1st with his Hellcat.
  Charley Nelson was 2nd with his Waco
  I think Tom Kasewski(sp) was 3rd with a 1/3 scale pup.

  The rest is a blur.

  There were a few crashes Saturday.  At the end of the day
  the wind came up and most pilots were taking a Zero for the
  flight to same their plane.  In fact eventually Charley Nelson
  asked if anyone was going to fly and only one guy was foolish
  enough to try it - me!  I made the flight OK but in the long
  run since we got to average our best 3 flights the score didn't
  help me.

  But it was great fun.

Last weekend we went to Topsham Maine for a Glider Fun fly
  put on by the Done East Soaring club.  This was great fun.
  I managed to fly my electric Mini-Challenger, Pivot-Plus,
  Sagitta and Hobie Hawk.  Mid morning it started to rain
  and blow but eventually we were back in the air.  We had
  amongst other events a bomb drop and balloon burst.  I cracked
  the nose of the Sagitta pretty bad on the balloon burst.
  Never dig get one!  As a raffle prize I won a Top Flight HLG kit.

Fun stuff - two weeks to go the the Groton Submarine Regatta.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

Last weekend we attended our 4th RC Submarine Regatta at the US Sub Base
in Groton CT.

Great fun.  Lots of unique boats and lots of fun in the water.  I took
two subs this year.  A 1/96 scale Sturgeon class and a 1/350 scale Ohio
class.  I had problems with my speed controller and motor on the large
boat but managed to get it working well enough to take 2nd place in Navigation
in the 60 inch and smaller boat class.  The Ohio ran super and after
the course competition Sunday I run it for over an hour on the left over
battery charge.

I love my big boat (36" long) but the little boats have a much higher
fun to work ratio.

One fellow was there with a very large Ohio class and fired two scale
Trident missiles - powered with propel gas.  Another fellow had a large
diesel boat and fired two torpedoes at my little Ohio.  The torpedoes
were 1/2 the length of my boat!

Several subs sunk and the Navy Seal on duty spent a lot of time finding boats.
More so that at any previous meet.  There were 6 of us with 1/96 scale
Sturgeons so we parked them together the second day and lots of folks
took pictures and related stories about serving aboard various Sturgeon
class boats.

There was one RC duck.  It could turn its head.  

If you like RC and if you like SCALE stuff you really should take a trip
down there soon and check out all the subs at the nicest submarine boat pond
in the world.  

Can't wait till next year.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

                 
    
     Soo, how was my weekend? VERY nice up to the third round of the
   Pococno Pattern Payoff in Penn.
    
     Jack Z, Charlie Watt and his wife, and I headed down for the one day
    constest on Sunday. The weather was nice ( but hot ) on Sunday and
    after 2 rounds I was basically tied for first place with the third
    round to determine the winner.
    
       About 30 seconds into the third flight when I was starting my first
    manuver ( double stall turn ) the Conquest and an OMEN being flown
    in the Masters class tried to occupy the same airspace at the same
    time! The Conquest got half its left wing sheared off, dove for the
    ground and was totalled on impact. The OMEN was also totaled, making
    for a VERY expensive collision! Then to add insult to injury, I spent 
    the next hour hunting in a huge "chest high" Soybean field ( jungle )
    for the wreakage! 
    
       Needless to say it was a LONG drive home that night.
    
       The good news is I have struck a deal with the Evil 1 to buy his
    Conquest and will hopefully be flying again at the Glenn Contest
    next weekend!

This past weekend I got out with my Concept 30 and my Decathalon 40. Saturday I
took them both to the field and was grounded with engine problems on both. 
Sunday, I got both running and put a flight on each. The flight on the
Decathalon was it's offical maiden flight. There were a couple of test hops 
before but they were cut short due to engine problems. I got the Decathalon 
for Chrsitmas 3 years ago so its good to finally have it up in the air.

    Figured this was a good note to get started back up.
    
    I want to thank Wayne Field for the lead on the chopper and the
    pestering to get it set up. Saturday we managed to get the gear
    installed back into it and the radio sort of set up and give it a
    whirl. It seems to be flying pretty well and he took it out for a run
    around the field and I believe a loop. After a few more tweaks and
    installation of the training gear, he handed me the transmitter and I
    got in some hovering practice. I'll let Wayne evaluate how that went
    but I only got into trouble once where I needed to hand back the
    transmitter and Wayne's advice was put it into forward flight and give
    it to me! I have a few new tools to buy as well as some time to put in
    but I'm pleased to say that that the skills learned from the LMH-100
    .049 chopper have transferred and I'll probably keep flying it as well
    since it seems to stand up a bit more to abuse and it's still providing
    useful practice. 2 tanks were pretty much it for my concentration after
    a 2 month layoff on flying choppers.
    
    Jim
    

    Yes, the Choppers out numbered the fixed wing guys at Lazy Loopers
    Saturday morning. It was pretty uneventfull getting Jims machine set
    up. After setting up the radio is seemed to be flying pretty well so
    Jim took the sticks. Apparently the little .049 Chopper experience paid
    off because he was able to keep the Shuttle airborne pretty much the
    entire first tank of fuel! I have no doubt that Jim will be flying the
    Shuttle like an old pro in no time.
    
    Wayne
     

> I have no doubt that Jim will be flying the Shuttle like an old pro in no 
> time.
    
Well, I'm glad you have that confidence. I definately appreciate the help in
getting it set up and tweaked. It was great to see it fly around and such and
know what it's capable of. Time to practice, practice, practice.

Thanks again!

    Hey Jim:
    
    You ought to let Kay borrow it for a tank or two! ;^)
    
    You can even use the .049 as a target drone!
    
    (oops! This isn't the Gremlin thread, is it? ;^)
    
    /dave (front row/Peanut Gallery)

A couple of weekends ago (Nov 17, 18, 19) I attended the 2nd New England RC 
Soaring Convention in Portland Maine.  This was great fun and I highly 
recommend it.

Pat and I stayed at the Sheraton Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
That way we didn't have to drive hard any day and managed to take
in the new James Bond film Sunday evening.

Saturday was the convention with a great set of speakers but more important
was the ability to spend the whole day with folks who just talk sailplanes.

There was an awsome set of prizes in the raffle so I invested $38 on 38
raffle tickets.  I ended up winning a Mystery Ship and a Pik-20 fuselage.
Each would be a $140.00 value.  I ended up making a three way swap with
the Mystery Ship for a Monarch 94 HLG kit.  The Mystery Ship was actually
very interesting.  It is a new design with laser cut wood.  118" wing span
and tee tail.  But frankly I think these larger gliders should have glass
or kevlar fuselages.  Some other fellow wanted the Mystery Ship real bad
and he had one a 2-meter scale glass plane that Dave Garwood wanted and
Dave had the Monarch.  So we did a three way swap.  Fun stuff.

The Pik-20 fuselage was awsome - very large.  There was a completed one
on display and it looked like a greater than 15 foot wing span.  Worse
yet - the root cord was very small - maybe 7 inches.  That makes for
a very high tech wing to manufacture.  Plus you would need a Ford truck
to launch this puppy.  I traded this with Steve Kimbal for a WACO Mosquito HLG.
It isn't that I have the hots for HLGs so much.  It is just that I couldn't
see myself ever having enough time and energy for these large projects.

After the conference we all gathered in the hospitality sweet for some time
and talked then eventually I managed to get my small Ohio class submarine in 
the swimming pool.  But somebody must have peed in the pool because I only
had a depth range of a couple of feet before it would loose the signal and float
to the surface.  I passed the sticks around till eventually we managed to 
break off a sailplane.

On Sunday morning we all went slope soaring at the Eastern Promenade in 
uptown Portland.  It was raining heavy and very very cold.  We stood between
a fenced in tennis court and a 6 feet tall chain linked fence and
thru the planes over the fence over the ocean.  After spending several minutes
getting bundled up and getting up the nerve I had a go at it.  Lincoln Ross
thru my Dodgson Pivot-Plus over the fence and up it went.  I flew back and forth
and mostly pointed into the wind for about 1/2 hour when my glasses started
fogging up.  Pretty soon I can't see a thing and start yelling for help.
Help - somebody take the sticks.  No body responds.  I don't know most
of the folks and can't see a thing so I yelled for the only guy I know
that wasn't flying "Help - Jim Armstrong".  Jim comes over and I poke the 
transmitter at him.  He saves the plane somehow - I still have the transmitter
sling over my head and a soaking wet parka on.  I fiddle with numb fingers
trying to get the neck strap off and then clean my glasses and take it back
to land.  Jim talked me down to a pretty good landing and I quit while
I was ahead.

Great fun.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

I got out this weekend with my Decathalon 40. I've been having 
problems with it being very flaky on take offs or at high power settings.
The real hassle was it wanted to float forever makeing landings an
interesting proposition. I was telling Chris Spohr about the problems and he
suggested changing the 10-6 prop I was using to an 11-5. I tried it out this 
weekend and it made a hugh difference. The plane is now a real joy to fly.

    Re -.1
    
    Dan - you are welcome!
    
    How come you did'nt tell everyone how much of an expert you think I am
    now?
    
    Maybe it's best you don't answer.   :-)
    
    

>   <<< Note 771.977 by 23909::EATON "Dan Eaton St.Louis,MO,USA, 445-6522" >>>
>                 -< It's amazing the difference a prop makes >-
>
>I got out this weekend with my Decathalon 40. I've been having 
>problems with it being very flaky on take offs or at high power settings.
>The real hassle was it wanted to float forever makeing landings an
>interesting proposition. I was telling Chris Spohr about the problems and he
>suggested changing the 10-6 prop I was using to an 11-5. I tried it out this 
>weekend and it made a hugh difference. The plane is now a real joy to fly.

How come.  I would have thought a lower pitch prop would help more
for slowing down.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

> How come.  I would have thought a lower pitch prop would help more
> for slowing down.

Actually, the thrust should be about the same but the bigger prop disk at idle
should slow it down more.

    Jim Reith wins the prize....
    
    Contrary to what most RC'ers seem to think, the larger prop disk acts
    like a brake at low rpm settins.  Dan's problem was speed and propwash
    thru out the flight envelope.  I suggested he go with larger diameter and
    less pitch.  He's a happy flyer now.
    
    Chris 

>    Contrary to what most RC'ers seem to think, the larger prop disk acts
>    like a brake at low rpm settins.  Dan's problem was speed and propwash
>    thru out the flight envelope.  I suggested he go with larger diameter and
>    less pitch.  He's a happy flyer now.

I agree with everyone.  I read the original note backwards.  I thought
he switched from the 11x5 to the 10x6 not the other way around.

It is interesting to note that props brake more at idle then when they
are completely stopped.  Much like a helicopter in auto-rotation I suspect
but I must admit the aerodynamic theory is beyond me.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

    
    
         This past weekend I went down with my mother and eldest son to
      visit my sister in NJ. I had talked to Eric earlier in the week and
      said I might be down that way and I might be able to connect up with
      him, so he invited me down and told me to throw a Gremlin in the
      van.
         I called him Sunday morning and said I would be down about 2:00.
      After an easy 50 minute drive I arrived at the Evil One's pad.
         When I walked in, I almost fell over! He has said he had set up
      his apartment so he could build and store planes, but even I wasn't
      ready for what I saw! His apartment is basically a full workshop with
      a bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom attached:
    
            Living room:  Full length workbench along one wall, complete
                          with three shop lights hanging over the top and
                          2 million tools lining the wall (All the lights
                          and tools are cleverly mounted to 2 by 4s and
                          only required 4 screw holes on the wall for each
                          board). On the other wall was shelving with pattern
                          wings, chargers,junk, etc. The only seat in the 
                          room is one of the seats he removed from his van.
    
             Dining Area: Small table that doubles for building and eating.
                          At the time he had the latest fun fly plane he
                          is building occupying the table. Also another
                          set of portable shelving was filled with RC stuff
    
             Bedroom#1:  Plane storage, chargers, balsa, etc This is where he
                         he had the griffin and Dalotel fuses, and a couple
                         Gremlins stored. The closet was also packed
    
             Storage area off the side of the deck: filled with foam and
                                                    foam wings. 
    
             Bedroom #2, Kitchen area, and bathroom: normal
    
          
           After showing me the canopy mod he did to the Griffin ( it looks a 
        LOT better!), we packed our Gremlins and his Unic and headed to the
        local field, but first we took a detour to the local hobby shop.
        The hobby shop was well supplied and I didn't get out of there 
        before I bought a gallon of Cool Power, a prop , and a TopFlite
        Sierra trainer for my Son ($85 unplanned :).
          
          The local field is beautiful and is basically a huge farm field
        that is right across the street from the local airport. This
        airport has a twist though, the owner is building an Air Museum.
        Out front he had a starfighter, a phantom,(jet) Corsair II, and
        a Shooting star. Quite nice as a backdrop to the RC field!
    
          I put in my first flights since New Years day including a couple
       "formation flights" with Eric. The day was perfect, there was no
        snow left on the ground, and it really felt like spring! Eric put
        in a flight on the UNIC to show-off the YS-45/nelson muffler combo
        (AWESOME!).
          During his UNIC flight, he though it had failsafed for a couple
        seconds, but wasn't sure. We went back to flying Gremlins and sure
        enough, we both got wacked during a slow,low pass. Eric got hit
        starting the pass, but was able to recover. I got wacked at the
        end of the pass. I has just trottled up and was starting a shallow
        climbing bank when it pitched straight down. I busted up the
        leading edge and it was basically unflyable. We decided to call it
        quits and head out. It turns out that there were three other guys
        that day who were getting interference too, including one that 
        crashed a prop driven "F-18" during Eric's UNIC flight. Looks like
        they may have a major problem since the interference was across
        a wide range of channels.
     
              After that, he took me to see his other field which is
       basically a paved parking lot of a local Vocational College. I can't
       believe they have permisiion to fly there, but it actually is a
       pretty decent site that is always cleared off in the Winter!
    
            A nice afternoon, it was time to head back, glad I stopped
       down.  As always, a visit to the Evil One was interesting!  
    
    
             
        

    Yikes - that man sounds obsessed!
    
    I've clipped the description of Eric's apartment to show my SO. I'm
    hoping that after reading that, she'll be *happy* that all I've taken
    over is our office as a Plane Factory - and not the majority of
    the house!
    
    /dave

    Got a call late Sunday morning from the Evil one. He was CMRCM bound
    just driving through Conn. He had business up here on Monday so came up
    a day early.
    
    Packed up the van and arrived at the field about 12:30 with Charlie and
    Jack. Eric arrived about 1:30. Outside of a couple of quick appearances
    by Rene and Mitch, we had the place to ourselves. It was pretty windy
    so everyone drug out the Gremlins and everyone had a blast getting
    bounced around in the wind. It was great to have "the guys" back
    together again. We did the usual 4 gremlin formation flying which was
    more like a 4 gremlin crap shoot. If we managed to stay anywhere near
    each other, it was totally by accident due to the wind. We tried ONE
    low slow pass and almost put 4 gremlins into the deck it was so bumpy
    so we didn't try that again.
    
    Jack lost an engine out over the trees and firmly planted his gremlin
    about 25 feet up in a tree with no branches to climb. He couldn't have
    gotten it stuck any better if he had shimmied up there and placed it.
    Prop, motor, and muffler were directly in the "V" of two branches with
    the muffler hooked on one branch. We ended up finding a long dead
    branch laying on the ground "just" long enough to reach the gremlin and
    free it from it's purch. Charlie and I were standing underneath with a
    sheet ready to catch it as it fell and "almost" got it. It was coming
    down dead center in the sheet and all of a sudden got enough speed up
    to start flying. It zoomed over my head and went spinner first into the
    soft ground. The only real damage was a broken elevon. Other than that,
    just some holes in the covering.
    
    At least for Charlie, Jack, and myself, it was our first time out since
    December and we really had a good time. Nothing like Gremlin bashing
    on a windy day.

    I was tempted to drive out there on Sunday and see if anyone was
    actually flying.  I went to Spags instead and got me a lawn chair
    (finally).   If I had not just gotten back from my ski trip saturday
    evening, I probably would have been down there flying my gremlin as the
    thought has been going through my mind for quite a while.  So what was
    the field condition like?
    
    Andy
    

    The paved road going down from the gate has a couple of snow patches
    still, but is perfectly passable. The dirt road out to the field was
    a little soft but not a problem. The right hand side of the parking
    area was fine. I don't think I would have used any of it from the
    middle over to the left. The field itself is pretty rough. There's alot
    of frost damage. It needs to be rolled REAL bad. Light planes (trainer
    types) can negotiate the runway, but it's unusable for anything more.
    
    I expect the runway will get better and the temps go up, but the road
    and parking area will get worse as the ground thaws. Last year we had
    to close the field for 2 weeks because it was so muddy. Hopefully it
    won't be that bad this year, but it "will" get worse than it is now.
    
    REMINDER.....Next Monday, April 1st, is the CMRCM auction. Come one,
    come all. We had about 100 people last year so it's a good time and we
    had some great deals.

  
  It was a beautiful day on Saturday so I took the Gryphon out for a spin 
  at an old abandoned airport near the Delaware memorial bridge. The YS120 
  SC fired up readily and after some needle tweaking and a tank refill I 
  was all set to test out the new throttle barrel that Futaba had provided. 
  The runway is hardtop and in very good condition after the winter.
  
  The flight went well and as I drove home I reflected on how big the 
  maneuvers could be made and how much more effective the knife edge was 
  now that the Gryphon is sporting a completely revised canopy. I made a 
  note to decrease the down thrust and decrease the toe-in on the mains 
  and then settled back to complete the 30 minute drive home.
  
  I had made four flights with the new set up and had had no deadstick 
  landings. Maybe the new barrel is working? To give my self a break I 
  put in a flight on the UNIC 4x4. This baby is now a rocket ship with 
  the Nelson muffler. I was putting on a show for the peanut gallery when 
  all hell broke loose. Well you could say that was what was going on 
  anyway but I finally broke the plane in the air. Not the wing as you 
  might expect but the stab.
  
  I was doing a "Deathwish-1" with a twist, so to speak. A full throttle 
  dive with max. aileron rate, Half way down you rapidly switch roll 
  direction and then bang in a down snap which, according to Dave 
  Patrick, gyrates into a an inverted flat spin. Well it did it the first 
  two times that I tried it but I did throttle back near the bottom. The 
  last time, yes the last time, I kept the power on and the right-hand 
  stab broke at the root. It did not come off because of the wire joiner 
  between the two elevator halves.
  
  Boy was I in trouble!. Because I was doing spins I had switched out the 
  flapperons. I was heading towards a gravel pit lake at Mach-2. The 
  brain kicked in and I throttled back and hit the mix switch. still not 
  enough, read any up elevator, and impact was yards away. As a last 
  resort I hit the crow flap switch. The UNIC immediately ballooned up 
  because there was no auto-down trim left on the elevator. Phew!
  
  Now I had a plane on my hands that could be flown like a roller coaster 
  on "speed"!. After a series of frantic on/off switching of the crow I 
  timed an approach where the wheels just kissed the runway and the plane 
  was saved to tumultuous applause from the peanut gallery.
  
  Wait was that my exit I just passed? What's that cold feeling in my 
  boots. Boy they were still wet from the ------------ 
  pond water. Unfortunately my mental replay of the afternoons events had 
  a slightly different ending. Did I wish that I had hit that flap switch 
  or what?. Instead I had hit one of the many other switches on the 
  MC-20. I dare say that if it had been a X-347 like radio I might have 
  pulled it off but this is what really happened..
  
  What really happened was that the UNIC hit the pond with a loud 
  "Smack!!!!!!!". You could see it go in and it was clear that the wing 
  had come off and that the tail was sticking up out of the water. After 
  climbing a brand new 8' high chain-hand-ripping-link-fence I was able 
  to see what I was up against. 
  
  The UNIC was in the middle of a gravel-pit-no-living-creature- 
  poluted-hence-the-fence-lake! The wing was blowing around in a swirl of 
  thermal wind on the surface. There was a large oil spill and about 
  fifty pieces of white foam adding to the widening debris picture frame. 
  The fuselage was not moving and it became clear that it had plugged 
  itself into a sand bar about a foot below the water.
  
  Suddenly, and I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP, the wind blew firmly in one 
  direction and the wing rejoined and snagged the fuselage. This was just 
  enough to encourage the fuse to free itself and begin floating towards 
  the shore. It took 1.5 hours to get there. It was out of casting range 
  for most of the time. Then I used a fishing rod to drag it in though 
  the shallow water. [People were at hand to help but I was the only one 
  who had made the over the massive fence. They brought me food and water 
  and a fishing rod and of course buckets of advice] :-). 
  
  When I finally got the wing out it was soaked though and very extra 
  honeycombed. The fuselage came in 20 minutes later and I could hear one 
  servo was still running which was encouraging. The gears were stripped 
  and fail-safe was still working. I switched it off and reminded myself 
  to always continue to fuel protect the R/X and pack because it also 
  keeps out the water!!!!!!!
  
  The damage was extensive. The wing had no material left in front of the 
  main CF spar arrangement. It had been a hollow"D" but it was no more. 
  The Fuselage was basically intact but it was clear that it had 
  penetrated the water and hit the sand bar. Probably the only sand bar 
  in the whole lake. The spinner was scratched and the engine was full of 
  sand slime. The stab was a built-up version to save weight. Clearly it 
  was a bad design decision when you plan to twist them around a lot!? 
  :-(
  
  I pulled the plane apart at my apart-shop, and stripped all the 
  electronics and put them under drying lamp for a 24hrs. The engine was 
  stripped and had sand everywhere but the piston and the bore were 
  untouched - thankfully. I salvaged the flaps and ailerons as they did 
  not let in any water. The wing was totaled and the fuselage cut up and 
  trash-canned. To build a UNIC I now have to build a new wing and 
  fuselage. I will build one almost identical to this one because it was 
  just great to fly.
  
  The airborne pack had three sets of stripped gears and all servos now 
  work. These 3021's lose the same pair of gears every time!. The RX and 
  battery are/were dry and work just fine.
  
  I have recreated the incident several times in my mind and still 
  believe that my daydream would have worked but with less than a second 
  to do anything I was happy to just throttle back and switch flick. A 
  sad end to a plane that has been rebuilt 5 times..........
  
  It happened after my first Gryphon flight and it was with some 
  trepidation that I put in three more practice runs. I need not have 
  feared, however, because all of the gremlins were now in my flight box. 
  I had two, yes two ni-starters bow/blow out on me. One of them shorted 
  out the plug on the charger and blew the meter on the ni-starter.. The 
  second ni-starter was flat due to being on charge on same circuit. Oh 
  Yes, I forgot, my remote connector snapped on the 120. I flew with a 
  borrowed ni-starter. Good job I am not superstitious.
  
  Sunday was much more fun. After air blasting and washing every part I 
  have put the YS45 back together (I seem to have a few spares left over 
  from UNIC #4 and from trying to out perform the Weiered-one's 
  Gremrockets :-)   I then headed for Pine Barons field. I was going to 
  do Gremlins but the six that were there were all trashed as I waited to 
  join in. They just love combat and mid-airs....:-)
  
  I pulled out my trainer and practiced flying with just rudder and 
  elevator on the left hand. Took some abuse for just flying the trainer 
  so I put out some balloons and soon had the end-of-day fun session 
  going. Everyone had packed up except for two wannabe hot-dogs. After 
  that it was "More Balloons, more balloons!". Just a great time and very 
  reminiscent of the Grem-bursts we all used to do.  I forgot to tell you 
  that my next door neighbor tapped on my door a couple of days ago and 
  asked me to check out his "KADET". When I say next door I mean through 
  the wall next door. He lives there with his sixteen year old son - 
  three marriages I think! Well we soon had him trained. After all 
  somebody has to put the balloons out there :-) :-)
  
  We used small pebbles in the mouth of the pre-tied balloons and it was 
  a fast and easy to set them out. We used 15 balloons and I believe the 
  corruption process is slowly taking hold.
  
  RIP the UNIC - Long live taking it to the limit.

Saturday at the Orange Airport.  Sunny chilly and a bit windy.

I finally managed to fly the Gremlin that Jim built for me.
The first throw it went down fast and slid across the paved
runway skinning up the bottom and taking the prop that had
managed to survive Jim's mid air and the CMRCM Pond crash.

Added some up trim and throw number 2 - down again and thru
some grass and skidded to a stop on the paved runway again.
Rats - but this time the prop survived.

Added some more up trim (all I had).   This time it flew.
Needed a lot of right trim and it seemed to stall out
early during the landing so I think it is a bit nose heavy.

But all I have to do is patch the scrapes on the bottom
and I'll be ready for the April Gremlin contest.  Engine
runs fine on my very very old fuel and the radio works fine.
So it's hour or so in the pond didn't seem to hurt anything.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

Saturday was the first glider contest (actually a fun fly)
at New Boston.

Nicest weather I have ever seen there.  Got two 10 minutes flights
in the Hobie Hawk and some throws and a couple of winch launches
of the Dodgson Pivot-Plus.

I managed to kinda pop-off the Pivot-Plus and did a sort of flip
and splash into a puddle.  It sunk below the fuselage and completely
filled the receiver compartment. 

I dried it out but it never did work again till I took it
home and removed the receiver case and opened it up.

Great day for glider flying - no scoring and thermals
coming thru at regular intervals.  The HLG rounds were
fun and interesting.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

    Is it just fate that when I finally pry myself away from weekend chores
    to go flying, the winds are verging on gale force?
    
    Doug and I were invited over to the Quinnapoxet (I think that's the
    name) club field on Sunday afternoon. This field is similar to the
    CMRCM in that it's situated in the middle of state conservation land
    and is flanked by a cornfield on one side and a tree line on the other.
    On the up-side, their grass field is very level. On the downside, so is
    the entire area - leaving it even more exposed to the elements than
    CMRCM is...
    
    By the time we got over there it was around 2PM, and the wind was
    howling - even worse than the previous Sunday. Other than my cousin
    (the member that invited us over) and us, there were no other flyers
    present. And in the ~3 hours we were at the field, only one other
    person showed up, but he didn't even bother to unpack his plane...
    
    Being the stubborn type I was unwilling to punt, so we set up and
    commensed to get airborne - which turned out to be not so easy as the 
    field was in dire need of a mowing, and the drag on the gear (and the 
    prop!) made for some interesting run-ups...But I finally got the knack 
    of it, and with full power and a cloud of grass clippings, horsed our
    little trainer into the air...
    
    We took turns battling the winds and generally had a good time, and put
    in a handful of uneventful flights with me handling landing chores.
    Then I rigged  up a buddy box for Doug to practice landing approaches
    (it was probably insane for someone to learn to land with the wind
    conditions, but what the heck - if he could land in *those* conditions
    he'd be in great shape for anything less ;^)
    
    Doug made a couple of good practice approaches, coming in with a good
    descent rate and keeping everything reasonably under control (with due
    consideration to the buffetting from the winds). So on his third pass
    he went for the landing, and stuck a pretty good one on his first try - 
    he put the plane on the grass pretty smoothly and kept it pointed into
    the gale so it didn't flop over. Both my cousin and I were suitably
    impressed (I'll tell ya', this video-game generation is gonna make a
    lot of grizzled veterans envious of their "natural" ability!)
    
    With that I immediately took apart the buddy system and let Doug handle
    all his landings without assistance, and he only got better, performing
    another half-dozen landings without mishap, each one a bit smoother and
    more graceful. It was only  the takeoff conditions that prevented him
    from making complete flights  (he wanted me to handle horsing the plane
    up).
    
    So we managed to burn up about 2/3rds of a gallon in a little more than
    three hours of flying before the winds got too insane to continue (at
    the end I could hover at well over half-throttle, and made a couple of
    landings with virtually no horizontal vector). I didn't want to push
    our luck and end up folding the plane, so the PT40 survived another day 
    of training without incident...
    
    So, how long before the afternoons are a bit less boisterous?
    
    Cheers!
    
    /dave

    I, myself, was out at CMRCM yesterday.  I brought the T60 and the US60
    out to play.  When I arrived, Charlie, Jack and Dennis were there.  It
    was fairly windy, but I enjoy those kind of conditions when I am flying
    the T60.  My first US60 flight of the year was slightly nerve wracking,
    but it wasn't too bad.  My new retract installation behaves much better
    for taxiing.  The field is still chopped up, so I didn't really taxi at
    all.  Just hit the power and took off.  It was out of trim from my
    RX/battery adjustment, but I corrected that immediately.  The OS .61SF
    was purring like a kitten.  In the flat out down wind runs I was
    probably at least doing 100.  After ten minutes of practicing some
    pattern routines, I came in for a landing.  With even a 15 MPH head
    wind, I still used up the whole runway.  In the process of landing I
    also bent one of the retracts back.  This one had bent earlier so now
    the strut is weaker at the bend point.  Charlie says to heat it up
    after I bend it back and then stick it cold water.  I'll give that a
    try.  I plan to be back out there next weekend with it.  So, Dave, is
    your US60 ready yet?
    
    

    >So, Dave, is your US60 ready yet?
    
    Nah. - the US60 is number 3 on the list of "planes yet to be covered"
    (behind Doug's Easy Sport and my Fun One)...I was about to start
    covering on Saturday  evening, but my SO had other plans for that night
    (had to install Win95 on one of her systems at work)...
    
    Besides, I wouldn't even *think* about flying the US60 in the kind of
    winds I've been flying in anyway. I figure at this rate, between
    weather, rebuilding confidence/skill, and getting the critter covered,
    the US60 probably won't be rolled out until June...
    
    btw: I did see an US1000 with a pumped OS120 4c the other day. Quite a
    sight. The owner was struggling to bring it down in one piece and made
    two missed-approaches before finally planting it (and bending one of
    his Robart struts)...
    
    I wonder if it'd make sense to fit airbrakes to my US60 before I cover
    it! ;^)
    
    /dave

    Well, I made it out to the field on saturday morning around 10 or so to
    find nobody there.  It was windy and not really much fun at all. But I
    brought my new gremlin wing to try out.  Except for some trim
    adjustments the gremlin flew fine.  I finally decided around noon to
    fly the US60 and try and get some practice in for the Sunday pattern
    contest.  It sucked.  First off, I forgot to set my trims back from the
    gremlin so it took of straight up.  It was so windy up there, I
    couldn't tell if my plane was truly in trim.  Stall turns were pretty
    much one direction so I couldn't figure out if my thrust line was off
    or not.  After a couple of those flights, I decided to pack it up and
    head back for a party my friend was having (this factors into sunday).
    Nobody else showed up to fly with me that day.
    
    Now Sunday rolls around and I'm still drinking beer and BS'ing at my
    friends party.  Get home about 1:30.  Think about meeting Charlie,
    Steve, and Dan at the McDonald's in Bellingham in about 6 hours to head
    out to the pattern contest.  Think again.  Think three times. Fall
    asleep.  Wake up 11:30.  Major head-ache.  Go downstairs, put planes on
    charge.  Wince in pain from using brain.  Veg in front of TV.  3 pm or
    so, headache disappears.  Go to field.  Not many there.  A little bit
    windy still.  Fly gremlin again.  Dave flys fun-one.  I fly US60.  Dave
    leaves.  Wind calms down to nothing.  I put one or two flights on the
    US60.  I found out that my US60 was actually set up for throttle kill. 
    When I went to turn dual-rate elevator off for taxiing, noticed that
    the engine quit instead.  Upon further inspection, it was noted that
    I had hit the gear switch instead.  This drew a smile from that Ray of
    sunshine we all know.  When everyone left I took the gremlin out and
    got bored, so I started climbing real high, killing the engine and
    seeing how many different ways I could bring it back.  My last idea was
    to dive straight down, cruise downwind over the runway, loop back and
    land.  I had only 30 degrees to go before I was horizontal!  Well, I
    broke my first gremlin prop.  I also dinged the LE at the end of the
    left wing.  I left it at that and packed it up.
    
    So how did the Halifax contest go?
    
    

The weekend before last I took out my new 1/12 scale Zero for it's
first flight.  I also had my grandson along.  With great fear
I gave it a mighty (scared) throw.  I had put a couple of clicks
of up trim because it kinds felt in my hand like the down thrust
might make it dive on me.  But it climbed nicely so I took
the two clicks out.  Made a gentle turn.  I tried rocking the wings
to see how much aileron throw I had.  Then I seemed to loose
the signal and it went into a spin and I couldn't even throttle back.

My grandson was really impressed.  He helped me bring back all
the small parts (most parts were small).

Heck of a way to do a range test.
Back to the shop.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

Been busy so this is a little late...
A couple of weekends ago I got out to our field with my Decathalon 40 and my 
Spirit glider. I had engine troubles the Decathalon so when the other guys 
started to leave, I layed out the hi start. The two other guys there had never
seen a glider before so they stuck around for the first flight.  That lasted  
couple of minutes and then they had a few questions like isn't it possible
to get the glider to stay up longer. Since the best I've ever done was 
2 minutes and 35 seconds I told them the truth, that I wouldn't know a thermal 
if it knocked me down. They drove off, I launched, and when the Spirit came 
off of the hi start it just kept going up. My jaw dropped and I got a five
minute plus flight in. Now if I could just do that again.

    The Halifax contest went pretty well. It turned out to be a pretty good
    day although some of us didn't fly worth a damn.
    
    It was a partly sunny day and the winds averaged anywhere from almost
    calm to maybe 15/20 mph. Naturally, always a cross wind. Sometimes, the
    wind picked up to "somewhat" more than 20 mph which made for some
    interesting landings. No one had any real close calls, but for example
    people would be carrying about 1/4 throttle right up to the runway
    threshold, chop the power, and be down and stopped in about 20 feet.
    Most landings were made with the nose pointed at the pits to counter
    the cross wind.
    
    We flew 3 rounds of sportsman and advanced. My 3 rounds  were also my
    5th, 6th, and 7th flights of the season so I didn't expect too much.
    Good things as I finished 8th out of 9. A very disapointing day to say
    the least. Although I'm not sure why, Dan Weier aborted his last flight
    and landed. I think he just didn't feel connected with the plane and
    decided discretion was the better part of valor. Actually, he REALLY
    lucked out. Not more than about 30 seconds after he landed, a sudden
    gust of wind came roaring through taking the two easy-up canopy's,
    scoring tables, frequency pins and score sheets with it. The wind kept
    blowing stong for another 7 minutes or so, so it's really a good thing
    he landed when he did. If he had been over the runway when that gust
    came through, it would have taken his plane like it was made out of
    paper. Even if he had been up high, he wouldn't have had enough fuel
    left to outfly the wind.
    
    The only person in our group to take home any prize money (symbolicly
    speaking) was Charlie. He finished 3rd in advanced. Not sure where Dan
    and Jack wound up.
    
    There was a yound kid there flying in sportsman that appears to be
    making a run to be the next Chip Hyde. He was flying a USA Star with a
    120SC hanging off the nose and had the high end Futaba 1024 radio.
    Watching the way this kid was "hand fed" really rubbed me the wrong
    way. Kind of reminded me of the "little rich kid" that has everything
    done for him. In fairness (the little sh*t) did fly well and finished
    second. But picture this. He looked like he was about 14/15 years old.
    One adult carries his plane to the on deck area. Another adult start's
    it for him. The first adult carries his plane out to the runway. The
    second adult hooks his radio to his neck strap for him. All the kid did
    was walk over to the pilot station and fly. He probably doesn't even
    know what the inside of his airplane looks like. Someone built it for
    him. If he broke it, he just walks away and someone fix's it for him.
    All he does is fly.
    
    After the contest, with the wind still howling, he decides to fly this
    60 some odd inch Sukoi with a Webra 120 up front. There was just this
    attitude like, hey....watch me fly, I don't care about no wind". Well,
    after a couple of minutes in the air, the engine died. Where Sukoi's
    tend to glide very similar to about a 9 pound brick, he dumped it out
    in the field ripping the gear and belly pan off. Did my heart good to
    see him "humbled" and taken down a few notches, but then again, it was
    one of the ADULTS that said, oh well....looks like I've got a little
    repair job to do. Can you tell this kid REALLY ground on my
    nerves??????
    
    Anyway, that's about the extent of the excitement at the Halifax
    contest. A couple of us were pretty disapointed in the way we flew, one
    of us took home a plaque, and we all burned up some fuel. This coming
    weekend is the Sayre Penn. contest that I "was" going to attend, but
    based on last Sunday's performance, I've backed out. It's a long way to
    go, and too much money to spend for what would amount to another 6 or 7 
    "practice" flights. I'll probably attend the CMRCM fun fly Sunday
    instead.
    
    Maybe I'll actually be able to win something if all the beginners show
    up. 8^)

This past weekend, I was supposed to go to Sayre Penn. with the rest of the
pattern guys, but ended up backing out due to a large lack of practice. There
was a contest weekend before last in Halifax and I basically SUCKED. Where
I could only forsee getting maybe one more practice session in before Sayre,
I couldn't see driving all the way to Penn. to SUCK again. 8^)

So, I was looking forward to the CMRCM funfly this past Sunday. I should have
known better. Got to the field at about 8:45 A.M. figuring the contest might
get going about 9:30. Harvey was listed as the CD and he usually kicks things
off a little early. Andy Barber drove in shortly after 9:00 and it was just
the two of us for the next hour. Sound familiar Andy???????????? Around 10 a.m.
Mark Hamilton showed up and it turns out he was running the contest for
Harvey. After waiting around till nearly 11:00 a.m. and having only 4 people
at the field, the funfly was cancelled. Just like the other 4 or 5 before it.
I think I'm going to recommend to the board that the regularly scheduled
monthly funfly's be cancelled and one big yearly funfly be held instead.
Probably in conjunction with the club picnic. That way, we can really make a
day of it.

Anyway, I had my Unic with me and proceeded to bore holes in the sky and
fly some of the events that Mark WOULD have had. While doing consecutive
touch and goes with a roll in the middle, I flipped the Unic on one landing
and broke the prop. No biggie. Dennis Johnson came down and needed his Futaba
super 7 re-programmed for his trainer. That was interesting as I've never even
laid my hands on a super 7, but we got the programming figured out and got
Dennis flying.

Andy Barber had his trainer 60 and was punching holes with that but went
dead stick up wind. He got cought by the dreaded down wind turn and ended up
doing a great save, but dumping the plane on the runway. We thought everything
had survived, but then found that the stab had broken loose. I felt it was
field repairable so we borrowed some zap from Dennis and glued the stab back
in place. After letting it set up for an adaquate length of time, I started
pushing and pulling on the repair and although I probably put more stress on
the break that he would have experienced in the air, I managed to break the
repair so Andy was done for the day. Better safe than sorry.

By this time, Dave T. and son Doug drove up with their PT40 trainer and new
Funone. After a couple of warm up flights on the trainer, Dave took the funone
up for an uneventful flight. Once back on the ground, we noticed a mid range
hasitation that needed attending to. I began tweaking the low end mixture
until we had a real reliable idle and good transition to full throttle. It's
still a tad on the rich side, but this is a new OS32 on the front that is 
still breaking in, so that's ok.

Up again, and I begged Dave for a go at the sticks. Took the Tx and immediately
began wagging the wings all over the place. I think I've got the aileron
rates on the Unic set to be pretty nimble, but these were set MUCH higher
than that. I couldn't roll the plane and stop the wings level it was so fast.
I give Dave credit for flying it that way. We dropped the rates later from
SUICIDE to NORMAL and things were much better. 8^)

I put in another flight or two with the funone doing what the plane was
designed for. HAVING FUN. Snaps, spins, consecutive rolls from one end of the
field to the other, slow rolls, stall turns, what ever I could think of. The
funone did it all, and did it very nicely. Snaps were a little bit slow, but
after Dave's first flight with a tail heavy funone, it's now a little nose
heavy. 8^) I think he can push the CG back another quarter inch or so and
snapping type maneuvers will be much better.

The wind had picked up by late morning and was a direct cross blowing into
the pits. It was just strong enough to be challenging/instructional, but not
enough to be rediculous. After we got the funone straightened out, Dave, Doug
and myself took turns playing "land the PT40 in the cross wind". It was 
excellent practice and we had fun. Dave and Doug, by the way, are doing an
excellent job flying and are fun to fly with. I appreciate them letting me
play with THEIR airplanes.

Round about 4 in the afternoon when I began to "feel" the way I looked (like
a well done lobster) due to a severe lack of sun tan lotion (not that I
didn't have any, rather I just neglected to use it), I decided to pack up
and head home. Even though the funfly was cancelled, I was able to make myself
useful, fly some different airplanes, and generally have fun. Not a bad day
at all.

    
    
     Dave, 
    
       HTA rule #1
    
           You should NEVER offer to let Steve fly your plane! :)
    
     

    Ah, but if I didn't have Steve take my planes up, I'd never know if I'd
    set them up with insane control throws or if I was just that shakey at
    the sticks ;^)  In the case of the Fun-One, it was apparently the
    former (well - I'm still shakey - just not as bad as I thought!)
    
    Besides, it's inspirational to see what a pro can wring out of what I
    build, and gives me something to strive for. All this without ever
    threatening to undo what I've put together - such a deal!
    
    Anyway...Not to fawn too heavily here, but I'm sure all youse guys
    realize just how valuable having someone like Steve available to lend a
    skilled hand to rookies like me and my son. Not only does he bring
    strong technical weight to bear on problems, he's also comfortable to
    work with (good teaching manner) which I can see from how well he and
    Doug work together. That's a rare "bird" indeed, and I feel lucky that
    CMRCM has a "Steve"...
    
    So he can fly my planes anytime! 
    
    (And I won't even mention that on Steve's first flight the Fun-One
    found the exact same spot in the "overrun barrier" that I had rolled
    into last week ;^) ...which  inspired the engine tuning session to get
    the idle down...It probably would have helped if I had let him know
    which switch was the engine kill (oops!)
    
    /dave

    
       Its an old joke, I asked Steve one day if he wanted to try flying
    the Acrowot that I had purchased form Eric. I never got the controls
    back for the rest of the day! :)
    
       Of course, we won't mention what I did to the same plane a week
    later when practicing "3 rolls" :)
    
       

    Re. no fear of undoing what Dave had put together.
    
    Steve.....let's see...half roll inverted.....half roll right side
    up....half roll the other way inverted.....half roll....oh sh*t not
    that way....left aileron.....no right....no kick in rudder.....PULL UP
    
    Dave.....that was neat.....i didn't think the plane would do that
    
    Steve....ya...ah....well ah....i've been practicing that one lately....
    ya that's the ticket.....I've been working on that one for awhile now.
    Would you mind taking the Tx for awhile. I have to go get a crow bar to
    undo my sphincter.....
    
    Actually, that never happened. Just some early afternoon humor. But
    come to think of it Dave, how many times did you fly the funone while I
    was there?????????
    
    The Acrowot story is absolutely true and will go down as one of those
    folk lor things.

    >But come to think of it Dave, how many times did you fly the funone 
    >while I was there?????????
    
    Well, not as many times as *you* flew it while you were there - that's
    for sure ;^) 'Tis OK by me though!
    
    I know I got in at least one full flight before you pulled out, before
    we got started with the "PT40 Follies". I wanted to make sure Doug got
    in at least as much stick-time as I did - lest he give me an earful on
    the ride  home =8^O  
    
    Later in the afternoon Doug got a bit nudgy coping with 4 planes in the
    sky,  so he cleaned and packed the trainer while I put in another
    couple of tanks on the Fun-One, and dodged the traffic...
    
    btw: Is the CMRCM rule 3 or 4 birds airborne at a time? I thought it
    was 3 but I might have mixed that up with the Quinapoxet reg's...
    
    Anyway...Doug finally came up with a covering scheme for his Easy Sport
    that I think I can handle (not so many curves on the open wing panels
    this time!) so I'll be starting that tonite. If my SO doesn't have us
    booked already, I'll probably bring a Gremlin or two with me this
    weekend to try out (wait'll you see the rates I got set on those! ;^)
    
    /dave

    Well, *that* was a busy/entertaining Sunday afternoon at CMRCM. Made my 
    mad  dash down from Maine (after a particularly soggy fishing trip)
    worthwhile. Personal upsides: Doug and I left the field with no more
    pieces than we arrived with, the Fun-One CG and trim got closer to
    optimum, and I started playing with flaps, coupling, and snap rolls.
    
    Elevator>flap coupling works a treat - I think I've got that setup
    pretty well - really tightens up the loops. Flap>Elevator mix is still
    way out to lunch - as is the airbrake. My only close call occured while
    trying to tune the flaps while in airbrake mode - right now the critter
    climbs like a bastid when the airbrake is deployed - needs major
    adjustments to the elevator and flap components of the mix - but I
    thought I could twist out some flap to try to neutralize the attitude.
    
    This *might* have worked but after dialing in a bunch of flap
    adjustment I bumped the airbrake switch back to neutral - which left me
    with a ton of negative flap (can you say: lift all gone?) while near
    the edge of the pits. Whoops! Too close to the ground to take my eye of
    the plane, I hit full power, raised the nose as best as possible to
    hang on the prop, then fumbled for the flap knob to get it back to its
    neutral position, and managed to survive a close call. But yikes - that
    was ugly...
    
    Spent the rest of my flying playing with snaps - and the Fun One will
    snap like mad - especially using the snap switch. Gotta reread the
    manual on the 8UA to understand what rates the snap roll switch uses
    because it's a hell of a lot more responsive than using the sticks in
    their low rate positions...
    
    Doug had a major scare as well - took his eye off his plane while 
    inverted when a hapless Lazy Bee was causing commotion in front of
    him. Decidely lost his bearings and commensed a full power inverted
    dive towards the turf, but got her righted and pulled out about 20 feet
    from oblivion (frankly I think that save was strictly luck. "Better to
    be lucky than good"? Sometimes...)
    
    Our travails aside...All the regulars were there - Steve airing out his
    awesome pattern ship and Andy working out with his US60 (and the
    ongoing retract reliability testing ;^) Our newsletter editor
    demonstrated that "silent power" electric is bilge - evertime he fired
    his e-powered glider up it sounded like an air raid siren kicking off
    (the dead are wide awake tonite!). A couple of Cubs floating around -
    one of them terrorizing the general area with parachute drops using
    about 3/4 pound of rocks as ballast (damn near holed Andy's US60
    sitting quietly in the pits)...
    
    The downsides? The club president brought out a pre-WW1 bird (Panic?)
    fired it up, got airborne, then promptly lost ailerons followed by
    elevator, and planted it in the only bare spot in the middle of lush
    tall grassland. Didn't look terminal - mostly large chunks - but it was
    definitely done for the day. Still no idea what happened (post-crash
    range-check was fine)...
    
    Then Ray (of Ray's Hobbies) made his grand appearance, taking time to
    give everyone lessons on how to pitch a sunshade. Got his throne all
    assembled, took his old faithful low-wing (looked like a Bingo)
    up and about, then lost his orientation and augered it into the middle
    of the casual water down range. Don't know if he got it back - last
    time I saw him he was heading out to look for a boat...
    
    Along with assorted other adventures with puckerbrush (and that pain in
    the ass Lazy Bee) the action was frequent and varied. Would've stuck
    around for more but we had to bail early to join a Dad's-Day shindig...
    
    Should have Doug's Easy Sport finished and his TTPro46 ready to fly by
    next weekend (work, weather, S.O., and striper fishing notwithstanding ;^)
    Might drag along our pair of Gremlins to air out as well...
    
    /dave

    
    Dave,
    
       Typically, the snap roll button/switch allows much higher throws than you
    can get even at the highest rates with the sticks. This is one of the
    main reasons a lot of pattern flyers use the botton/switch instead of the
    sticks. Its not that they don't have the skills to do a good snap
    roll with the sticks, you just can't get the surfaces to move far
    enough
                             

    Plus you NEED suicide throws to get good snaps. You don't want to have
    to fly with those rates all the time, so the snap roll switch allows
    for momemtary large throws.
    
    I never saw Ray go into the pond, but when I left close to two hours
    later, Ray was coming back in the gate as I was going out, and he
    didn't have a boat with him. Don't know how he planned on retrieving
    the Bingo. Harvey's plane was an Antic. They usually fly pretty well,
    although that one was pretty small. He had some sort of radio problem
    as he had no control whatsoever. It just went into a shallow dive all
    the way to the ground. I saw it come back with the nose broken off and
    one wing missing.
    
    I was also watching Doug fly when he made his "save". Took me about a
    half hour to get my sphincter untied. Good reflexes though. The kid's
    got a ton of natural ability. When the easy sport get's flying, I'd
    like to see him try sportsman pattern. With a little coaching, I think
    he could kick butt. He could easily be ready for the July 21st CMRCM
    pattern contest.
    
    I had the LA1 out for some tunning/trimming and was very happy with the
    result. I havn't been scoring worth a darn at contests so far this year
    and couldn't really figure out why. I KNEW I was a better flyer that
    what the scores showed. When I just sat back and analyzed what was not
    working correctly, I decided to make some changes. I added 10% more
    exponential to the ailerons and this smoothed things out considerably.
    Intentional corrections were much more subtle (not obvious corrections)
    and should save me some points there. The extra expo also dampened out
    any inadvertant aileron inputs I may have been making. I added some
    expo to the elevator, but ended up taking it back out again. It was too
    much and I was late on all of my pulling manenvers. I took ALL of the
    expo out of the rudder which turned out to be the biggest single boost
    to the way the LA1 was flying. With all of the expo gone, I never even
    came close to flopping a stall turn, and all of my horizontal lines
    were nice and straight. With the expo, I kept on flying in towards
    myself alot. I "knew" I was making rudder corrections, but it turns out
    the expo was keeping it from being enough. Now, when I make
    corrections, the plane responds.
    
    I "did" blow the seal on two plugs and I'm not sure why that happened.
    I havn't made any changes to the motor setup. Come to think of it, the
    last flight at the Halifax contest (which is also the last time the LA1
    flew), I also ate a plug. So that's like 3 plugs in about 6 flights.
    Pretty expensive at $8 bucks a pop. I'll have to think about that one.
    
    All in all, it was a good Sunday though and now that the LA1 is flying
    well, I'm looking forward to the two day Bridgewater pattern contest
    this coming weekend. Maybe I can actually manage to not embarrass
    myself.
    

    re: snap switch rates
    
    I finally took a look in the 8UA manual and discovered that the rates
    for all surfaces used with the snap switch are fully programmable -
    independent of the high/low rates used with the sticks. Pretty cool -
    this computer thingie is just loaded with goodies (and likely I'll find
    some way to actually hang myself with it soon enuff - I came close
    already ;^) 
    
    The rates were still at their "out of the box" settings (ie: 100%
    travel on all surfaces) which explains a lot right there: my Fun One
    low rates are set for 50%, highs are ~70%, both heavily damped with
    expo. When I had the highs set for 100% it was a major "challenge" ;^) 
    I'll leave the snap rates alone for now - at least on *this* model entry.
    A good test for the D-tubed and glassed wings, eh?
    
    re: tight sphincters
    
    ...and heart stoppages, too! If Doug's PT40 had hit the deck at the
    speed/orientation it was in, we'd have needed a pickaxe and a fine mesh
    screen to retrieve the tiny fragments out of the earths crust =8^O
    Hopefully major lesson learned: no matter the distraction, don't take yer 
    eyes off yer bird! Heck, he was due for a "thrill" - he hadn't had a 
    good near miss until this one. 
    
    I'm also looking forward to getting his next plane in his hands. I
    think he's getting close to the airborne limits of the PT40 (though he
    can still use the PT to practice his gettin' up and downs). He's still
    pretty nudgey about flying with other planes in the air though. Don't
    know what to do about that...
    
    re: blowing seals on plugs
    
    What's that actually mean, Steve? Do I take that literally - you
    actually lost the integrity of the plug insulator? What can cause that?
    I know that the wire in a plug can get "ate" by lean/hot runs, and by
    the metal bits when an engine is digesting itself (bearing failures,
    cylinder scoring, etc) but I didn't know the insulator was subject to
    (frequent) failure as well.
    
    Best luck on your pattern comp, btw. You sure looked smooth to this
    uneducated observer, even with the shifting winds aloft on Sunday...
    
    /dave

    Most obvious sign is no compression. You can just spin the prop with
    one finger. Every time the piston reaches TDC, you can hear this woosh
    of air as it leaks out the center of the plug. I'm really not sure
    WHAT causes it although faulty plugs is one answer. I've had problems
    with the OS #8's (which naturally is what the Hanno Special likes)
    lately. Out of the last 6 I bought, 4 were either DOA, or only lasted
    a couple of flights. At 8 bucks a pop, I'm not happy.
    
    Could be my own fault though if the pipe setup isn't correct for some
    reason. Excess pressure could be giving me problems. Kind of hard to
    believe though as I ran all last season with the same setup and same
    plug with no problems. I bought two new plugs (same OS's) so we'll 
    see what happens.

    Another Sunday, another major crosswind...Not too many people at the
    CMRCM field late Sunday afternoon, and the few people that were there
    when we arrived were intimidated by the winds and left without flying
    at all, leaving Doug and I as the only people there. Later on Harvey T.
    and a couple of others showed up and actually did some flying with
    us...
    
    I got Doug's Easy Sport finished late Saturday nite so he was psyched
    to get his hands on it. This was a Christmas present that has been
    sitting in the build-queue for a while, and he's been waiting as
    patiently as a 15 year can for it to bubble to the top of the stack. As
    his trainer ate an aileron earlier in the day and would need a trip to
    the repair bench (the wire joiner pushed through the strip aileron) it
    was good timing to have his new bird ready to go...
    
    The TTpro46 started on its first flip (I *love* these engines!) and we
    ran two and a half tanks through it uneventfully. After tweaking the
    low speed needle a half-turn to clean up the idle and low-high
    transition  it was ready to go, and after a full preflight checkout we
    mowed dandelions for a while to see how it ground-handled. Not too bad
    - the tail wheel needed just a bit of trim to track straight - and with
    the longer tail and nose it's more stable than the Fun One on the
    ground.
    
    So after building up some confidence/courage I made a long run up, got
    her smoothly off the ground and commensed tooling around to check the
    trims. A couple of clicks on the ailerons was all it took to get to a
    stable hands-off condition. I made a couple of high-speed passes and
    then a dive over the field to check for any flutter but couldn't hear
    anything amiss, so after a few rolls, loops, and stall turns I passed
    the tx over to Doug - who had a ball with it! 
    
    He noted that there isn't much self-correction designed into this plane
    so he was careful to maintain orientation - which actually shouldn't be
    too hard with the covering design he came up with (which if I do say so
    myself looks pretty good ;^) He was busily checking out the handful of
    manuevers that he knows so far and was visibly happy with the
    capabilities of this plane.
    
    Naturally we dead-sticked the first landing (running out of fuel on the
    first flight is a tradition with us!) but in spite of starting out down
    wind a ways I got the Easy Sport back to the field and on the ground 
    with just a bit of bounce...
    
    We put in another couple of flights, set up the various bells'n'whistles 
    (flapperons, elev>flap coupling, throttle idle down, etc) and were having 
    a grand old time when I realized we were about an hour late leaving for 
    home and dinner (yikes! the S.O. would be on the war path!). Too bad - 
    when we left at 7:30 the winds had finally abated...
    
    So it was another good day! We continued our streak of leaving with the
    same number of chunks that we arrived with, got a new plane up and down
    three times without a crunch, and generally enjoyed ourselves. A streak
    that I'm beginning to tire of is this wind business - but other than
    flying at first or last light I reckon there ain't much we can do about
    that...
    
    /dave (thinking about a covering scheme for the US60...)

    About time!
    

    I knew that'd wake you up! ;^)

    One thing I forgot to mention: after we'd gotten done with the  engine
    break-in process and were about to fire it up the Easy Sport for its
    maiden flight (I literally had the glow driver on and the flipping
    stick in my hand) the servos threw a complete nutty on us.
    Triple-checked the tx to make sure it was *really* on and the model
    memory hadn't been changed, couldn't find anything wrong, but yet the
    servos were acting like they were possessed. I pulled the driver off,
    shut down the rx, and sat there trying to understand what the heck was
    happening...
    
    Then I looked at the frequency board, saw that only my 44 clip was in
    place. Yet there's one guy flying, and another working on his cub in
    the pits.
    
    Yell over to guy in pits: "Whatsyerfrequency?" 
    "44!" he says. 
    "Where's your frequency pin?"
    "Ooops! Sorry 'bout that" 
    
    If he'd been a few minutes later I'd probably be explaining to Doug why
    his new plane was now a pile of debris...
    
    /dave (let's be careful out there!)

    The radio companies should build a simple Rx in the Tx that first checks
    if there is a strong signal present on your frequency.  Only after
    that passed, would it fire up the Tx section.
    

    re: frequency-in-use "sniffer"
    
    Andy, after reading your thought on this it dawned on me that I'd seen
    a radio advertised that claims to do exactly that - albeit not as
    simply. The "Aristo-Craft Valiant Plus" (what a mouthful!) is a
    synthesis radio that scans the aircraft spectrum and "locks out" used
    channels. Once the scan is done the user can then set the tx synth to
    an open frequency (and pop an xtal in the rx to match, I suspect. No
    mention of whether the rx can be "dialed" or needs an xtal swap).
    
    All well and good. But unless *everyone* had a lockout of some kind the
    near-miss that we experienced (or worse) would still occur...
    
    Just to beat on the point of the earlier post: the offender was a
    veteran pilot (who also happens to be a really nice guy) who was
    quite embarrassed to have committed such a grevious foul. Which
    goes to show that it's not a matter of experience - anybody can just
    forget to follow the drill...

    Well, as much as I hate to admit it, forgetting to grab the pin, or put
    yours up can happen to the best of us.
    
    This past weekend, there was a two day pattern contest at the
    Bridgewater field. Charlie, Jack, Dan Weier, Jim Cavanagh and I arrived
    at about 8:15 and got all set up. Jim was playing "here come da judge".
    The rest of us were flying and paying Jim his bribe money. 8^)
    
    As luck would have it, I was first up in the sportsman class. I hate
    being first. There was only one guy flying in the novice class and they
    were running two flight lines so the novice went up for his round, and
    I started off the sportsman round on the other flight line.
    
    The other guy took off and I switched on and began firing up the LA1.
    After a few seconds, the judges are yelling at me to shutdown. So, I
    killed the engine and looked at them like ya, so what's the problem.
    Then they say "switch off". So, ok. I switch off. Then I hear everyone
    say to the novice guy "ok, your all set now". Thurns out we were both
    on 54. HE had the pin. I didn't. Fortunately, I think because I was
    running PCM and he wasn't, he was getting bounced around but still had
    some semblence of control. So, he flew his round over, I appologized,
    and that was that. Given the caliber of the people running the contest
    I'm surprised they would miss the fact that they put two people on the
    flight line at the same time with the same frequency, but ultimately,
    it was my fault. There was a frequency system in use, and I didn't
    follow it. In the heat of competition, thinking about the flight, etc.,
    I just forgot to grab the pin. I got ribbed about that the rest of the
    day.
    
    But, like Dave say's, systems only work if there followed. Safety
    issues, like using the frequency system, should be practiced to the
    point that they become habit. So, it happens to the best of us.
    
    Ok, so now that the easy sport is flying, Doug should start practicing
    the novice pattern routine so he can compete in the upcoming CMRCM
    pattern contest. I think he would do well and benefit from the
    dicipline pattern flying requires. Besides, Andy needs the competition.
    8^) 8^)
    
    

    Yup, anybody can forget.  That's why I think the radio companies should
    step in here and make a standard.  BTW- I'm pretty sure you don't have
    to change crystals on the synthesis radios.  All frequencies are
    synthesized off a base frequency.  My friend in school designed a
    synthesized receiver for HAM bands.  The way his version worked was to
    store sine wave values in a ram (a really fast SRAM).  The RAM data was
    read out at constant rate that was set by the crystal.  The ram data is
    then filtered to give a perfect Sine wave to use as a carrier (the only
    problem is that the filter has to move with the sine wave frequency). 
    To change frequency, you just load different values into the ram.
    
      
    

    In spite of everything, I had a positive end to an otherwise fitful
    outing on Saturday. I managed to sneak off to get a couple of hours in
    (while Doug was in a baseball game), and showed up at the CMRCM field
    just in time to catch "4-Stroke Saturday": *everything* in the pits was
    equipped with a 4 cycle, from 100+ inch Cubs to tiny bipes.  I felt a
    small pang of regret to disturb the peace with my OS32 2 cycle,  but it
    was just a short pang ;^)
    
    It would've probably been better if the pang had been disabling,
    as I managed to weave a fine web to tangle myself in...
    
    While waiting for some airtime I reconfigured my tx setting for the Fun
    One to swap some of the switches around (like the idle-down and
    elev>flap switches) so they'd be in common placement/function with the
    other models I have on my radio. Then I played with the engine tuning
    as the high speed mix was way too rich...
    
    After all this screwing around I finally got around to trying to fly. I
    say trying because I couldn't get the Fun One off the ground (well, at
    least not *far* off the ground). The first attempt ended with the plane
    in the tall grass without ever breaking contact with the ground; the
    second attempt it actually got airborne - for about 10 feet - and again
    ended pancaking into the grass. Slow-witted me finally realized it
    didn't have anywhere near the power to fly, so back to the pits for a
    retune, where I found the mix was still seriously rich (I still don't
    understand why the engine was so out-of-tune from the previous
    weekend)...
    
    OK, so I straightened that out, and back to the runway I went. This
    time I got off the ground nice and easy, no problems, head out of the
    pattern to play and avoid the pair of lumbering Cubs. Plane flies well,
    I'm having a ball, stall turns, diving and climbing snaps, death
    spirals, etc... 
    
    Then I make an approach to land, notice that I can't shed airspeed,
    coming in way too hot. Blew off the approach and went around, realize
    that (1) the engine idle is way too high even with the idle-down switch
    enabled, and (2) the landing-mode switch won't enable when the
    idle-down function is enabled. Ooops...
    
    So I brought it around again, used the flap knob to drop the flaps a
    bit, held the nose up, and tried to sideslip a final. Still too 
    high an airspeed. Rats! Went around again, got lined up and killed the 
    engine on final. I misjudged the approach and dropped down about 50 feet 
    too soon, brushed some tall weeds before popping back up, but still made 
    it to the runway, and then "landed" in mid-stall with a fine three-point 
    bounce...Not pretty, but no scars to show...I thought...
    
    OK, back to the pits, rework the idle mode to actually idle down,
    invert the safety on the landing mode so I can drop some flap and elevator
    when the idle-down is active, check the high-speed rpms again, refuel,
    and head back out. 
    
    WTF! Ground handling absolutely sucks! I mean, the Fun One has never
    been great at taxiing with the short tail moment and especially as the
    tail wheel assembly had about zero caster to it, but  this was
    ridiculous. When taxiing I had to pump a ton of rudder in  to keep the
    tail straight but as soon as the tail lifted I had to go to  opposite
    rudder or get torqued completely around in a tight circle. I  should've
    brought it back in but instead I hauled it into the air...
    
    But now the critter is acting like it's possessed. It'll fly along for
    a while but intermittantly twitches like it bumped into something hard.
    This is especially noticeable if I coordinate a turn. Hmmm...Better
    bring it back in, something's definitely not right. This time the 
    idle-down is working well and the landing mode is coordinated with it,
    so I can slow down to a trot before touching down (smoothly, for
    once) - but I still can't taxi in a straight line worth a damn...
    
    Back in the pits, I now note that the tail wheel assembly is dangling
    from its leaf spring thingie, as the washer that had been holding it
    steady had come unsoldered in that earlier three-point slam dunk of a
    landing. Given the way it was flopping around a skid would have been
    much more effective. And, one of the tiller springs is riding on the
    rudder push rod (music wire) - thus causing the dreaded metal to metal
    syndrome. Geeze, I was probably lucky to get this plane back intact...
    
    Decided the better part of valor was to clean the Fun One up and pack
    it in for the afternoon as I was going to have to leave shortly anyway.
    A major redesign of the tail gear was in my mind for the evening. But I
    stuck around long enough to watch Harvey nearly rekit his Ultimate - he
    somehow got below the shrub line by the road near the pond - actually
    out of view for an instant - before he got some air under him again
    (what with all the ponderous cubs, this was really exciting ;^) Harv
    still doesn't know how he saved it - or whether he was getting hit or
    not...
    
    Anyway...I said there was a good ending to the day, so here's the
    serendipity: When I got through the gate and down to the bend in the
    access road, a car coming up the hill sounded its horn at me and I
    heard the driver yell. So I stopped and backed up, and the driver asked
    me if I wanted some a bunch of  "rc stuff".
    
    After figuring the guy for a B&E type selling off his loot ;^) it
    turned out he was a recovering r/c modeller (poor bastid!) and he had a
    big box of parts and balsa that he was going to throw out. He was
    going to leave by the gate for someone to find, but when he saw the
    planes in my truck he figured he'd give them to me. Heck yeah - I could
    handle that! So he lays this huge box of stuff on me, says goodbye, and
    slowly heads off down the road. 
    
    When I got home I went through the contents of the box and found over
    $100 worth of bits and pieces, including over a dozen unopened pushrod 
    sets (including some composites), a handful of Zinger props, a covering
    iron and Coverite thermometer, a couple of Higley manuals, some plans
    for e-powered gliders, rolls of covering, folding prop sets for 
    electrics, a bunch  of balsa - both sheets and sticks - and various
    other bits and pieces, nearly all unopened or unused...
    
    A good save to a basically crapola outing...I was able to use bits from
    this collection to build a completely new tailgear set (with *plenty*
    of caster this time and hopefully much more robust while actually
    lighter than the store-bought gear) for the Fun One. 
    
    And it'll be a long time before I ever have to buy another pushrod
    assembly...

    Miscellaneous ramblings...

    Ran into the Evil One at the CMRCM field Tuesday evening. Eric was up
    for the 4th to visit his kids, and decided to scoot over for some
    pattern practice, prior to heading for (the Nationals?) next week in
    Muncie.  In spite of staying up all nite to replace a sheared cam shaft
    on his pumped YS120 (after driving ~100 miles to cajole one off Dean
    Pappas) and fighting some yaw problems, he was in a fine state (if
    still  crotchety about DEC - er - Digital). Eric was even nice enough
    to handlaunch a few trainers (the grass *really*  needed mowing). 

    Speaking of trainers, it seemed like "Trainer Tuesday" - and I'll have
    to remember to wear a  flak suit and helmet next time. Rene was
    buddying a handful of novices who were having typical orientation
    problems on approach, and cartwheels and nose-wheel landings were the
    order of the evening. Concentrating on my own plane was a task as the
    hazard level climbed, and I had one  trainer come at me at full
    throttle just as it bore into the separation  between the field and the
    pits and nearly hit the freq board. I could feel the plane hit the
    ground it was so close. No warning at all. Combined with a handful of
    near mid-airs it was a hazardous evening - in spite of some of the best
    flying conditions we've had all spring...

    The real entertainment of the evening: Rene got caught flight testing
    somebody's light 3-channel oldtimer that flew so bad we were giving
    long odds against it ever getting down in one piece. Any left rudder
    would result in a snap - and Rene was fighting it every foot of it's
    short flight. Sure enough, after a long minute of major struggling, it
    augered into the brush. Amazingly it was retrieved relatively unscathed
    - for whatever it's worth - as on close examination a major wing warp
    was easily evident...

    The grass is growing like a b*itch - most of the trainers had to be
    handlaunched as without a wind there was no chance of a rolling
    takeoff. I sure hope it gets mowed before Saturday or we'll need to
    bring in a hay baler... 
    
    fwiw, the new-and-improved tail gear on my Fun One helped the ground
    handling a bit - having a goodly amount of caster makes a difference. 
    It still won't win any awards for linear stability - I suspect the very
    wide stance of the mains verses the very short fuse contributes to the
    whole problem. I also think the mains are too "tall" - it sets the
    attack angle unnecessarily steep while on the ground. I think I'll try
    building a new narrower/lower main gear to  see what I can come up with
    there. The new rear gear did make the tail a bit lighter so I had to play
    with the cg again to get it back to it's snappy self, but by the end of
    the evening I felt quite good about it.
    
    Have a good 4th!
    
    /dave

    It was inevitable...
    
    I hit the snap switch on final instead of the idle-down switch I was
    fumbling for (unfortunate programming on my part put the latter in
    front of the former) and the Fun One did exactly what it was told to do
    and snapped into the earth (wwaaahhh!) I guess I was lucky the airspeed
    was as low as the altitude that it snapped from, as the wing only
    suffered minor damage (though I stripped two servo gear sets). But the
    fuse will need a *lot* of work to be resurrected...
    
    Rats! After all the work building a fun fly bird, we ended up flying
    Doug's trainer in the club Fun Fly in the Sportsman class. With the Fun
    One I *think* I could've given  Steve a run for his money in the expert
    class (well, maybe not, but at  least he might not have won his class
    in a walkaway like he did ;^)
    
    Oh well...Looks like the US60 will be waiting a bit longer before
    rolling out of the hangar...
    
    /dave (chastened, not stirred =8^O )

    I was either flying or helping someone out when Dave did the old "hit
    the snap roll button while low and slow" trick, so I never saw it go
    in, just heard the groans afterwards. Too bad, but it "is" repairable
    and will be flying again, I'm sure. Things always look worst at the
    filed. Set it aside for a day or two and then look it over. It won't
    look so bad.
    
    Sunday was also another CMRCM funfly. I wasn't going to go, but figured
    where the news letter came out only a couple of days before the
    contest, and where there was a reminder about the contest in the
    newsletter, someone might actually show up. So, I went and low and
    behold, "they came". Not an overwhelming crowd, but enough to have a
    good time.
    
    Dave and Doug wern't going to fly after the crash of the funone, but
    after some arm twisting, they flew the trainer in Sportsman class.
    Dave took first and Doug took second. A father and son sweep. And they 
    wern't going to fly................
    
    At first, I was the only person in the expert class, so I was going to
    borrow someone's trainer and fly in sportsman, but then Ray M. decided
    to fly in expert, a new guy with a Stinger decided to fly, and Charlie
    Nelson showed up with him OMH and flew in expert. So, I fueled up the
    Unic and had some fun. Unfortunately, my throttle was giving me
    problems and it took about 30 seconds to idle down so all my landings
    were "hot". On the first landing, it flipped and cracked the fin. A
    little CA, and we're back in business. Second event was uneventful and
    the last event, it flipped again and broke the firewall out. Not sure
    what was going on with the throttle but on that last landing, I hit the
    throttle kill switch, pulled the throttle trim all the way down, and it
    was still "cooking". Guess I'll have to check that out. In the end
    though, I managed to take first place, Ray M. took second and Charlie
    Nelson took third. I never looked at the scores, but it would have been
    closer if the other guys had had different planes. Ray was flying a
    trainer due to tent pegging his Ace Bingo in the pond, and Charlie's
    OMH wouldn't do outside loops which was included in one of the events.
    So, I won the class, but it really wasn't a fair fight.
    
    The long lost Dave Gould showed up and we put in a couple of flights.
    It's been awhile, but Dave hasn't lost his touch.
    
    Dave and Doug Tatosian brought out their first Gremlin to test fly and
    we got one flight on that. After some minor trimming, I was doing the
    basic "gremlin stuff" and it was flying real well. However after about
    30 seconds of inverted flight, it went dead stick and wouldn't run
    after that. The problem was pretty much diagnosed as a muffler pressure
    issue but with no external clues/problems evident, the tank had to come
    out to check things over. Due to the nature of Gremlins, that was best
    accomplished at home so future flights will have to wait.
    
    So, all in all it was a good Sunday (except for the whooops with the
    funone) and I had had my fill by the time I packed up to head home.

    Well, after letting the Fun One "set aside" for a day I started the
    resurrection process. Although once I got the fuse covering stripped I 
    did discover more damage than had been visible before, it doesn't look
    too bad. Most of the real damage was focused on the *&$#%@! turtle deck
    (if I never have to build another one it'll be too soon ;^) some cracks
    in the fuse doublers under the wing LE, and the doubled former that
    becomes the rear wing hold-down was basically gone. 
    
    The wing actually caused most of the fuse damage - just before the
    spinner cone lodged itself in the ground the wing must've hit
    something because it torqued itself to the point that the fuse gave up. 
    Amazingly the wing damage was confined to the LE at the outermost bay 
    (thank goodness for that). I spent about a half hour trying to flex
    out any other damage but can't find anything else amiss, so repairing
    the wing will only take an hour or so.
    
    In fact the fuse is nearly ready to recover - I replaced the affected 
    formers, scabbed and glued the doubler cracks, and totally rebuilt that
    friggin' t-deck. I just have to let some lite filler harden and I
    should be able to recover the fuse Wednesday night. Fix the wing on
    Thursday, remount the engine and stuff the radio and servos back in on
    Friday, and do a full radio check Saturday at the Quinapoxet Fun Fly.
    
    Geeze...And to think I was fretting over the tail gear only a few days
    ago! ;^)
    
    btw: Anyone know why Tower doesn't list gear sets for the S3101 servo?
    They have gears for every other servo that Futaba makes 'cept this one
    (drat!)
    
    /dave (late night in the hangar)
    

    I knew you'd be back in business before to long. Remember to recheck
    the CG just to be on the safe side.
    
    Not sure why Tower doesn't list that particular servo gear set, but
    I'll bet they have it. It may be the save gear set as for another
    servo so they only list one. A quick phone call should get you the
    answer.
    
    When you do the radio check, remember to REPROGRAM also. 8^)
    
    Just out of curiosity, why do you have an idle down switch/button
    programed into the radio. I've been meaning to ask that, but keep
    forgetting. The OS32 is one of the best idling engines out there so
    there's no need to keep a higher idle on while flying and then try to
    idle down for landing. To me, it's just a complication you don't need
    to worry about unless there's some other method to your programming
    madness. 8^)

    I'll give Tower a call on the gear set. Sure hope it was just an
    oversight to not have it listed in the big catalog...
    
    I'll definitely recheck the lateral balance (the repair to the wing is
    way out near the tip so this is necesssary) as well as the CG. So far
    I haven't had to add "much" weight other than a couple of small 1/32"
    aircraft ply scabs and a bit of CyA. 
    
    On the radion, I've already set the tx to include a throttle-linked safety
    on the snap switch (if the throttle stick is below a set point -
    which is currently not much above the low stop - the snap switch is
    disabled).
    
    Why do I use the idle down function? Two reasons, the first because
    at least when I set it up, the 32 was only two tanks out of the
    box, and I didn't trust the idle, and the second because I can link 
    that function to other "landing mode" mixes (flap droop, elevator 
    compensation, and on the 4 cycle, onboard glow if needed). I can
    gradually tune out much of the throttle mix as the engine continues
    break-in and I get more confident about it not flaming out. 
    
    I'm trying to standardize the setup so my brain might be more easily 
    trained to remember which switch does what across all of our birds 
    (right - *that* worked well so far, eh? Duh ;^)
    
    /dave

    Ok. So I understand your reasoning behind the idle down switch but
    I'd encourage you to have more faith in the OS32 and get rid of it.
    The less you have to think about, the better. Especially while landing.
    It also makes it easier to standardize.
    
    I have somewhat the same set up on the LA1 although I use it for the
    opposite reason. I have a HIGH idle setting set up on a mix switch.
    As soon as I take off, I hit the switch so that my low idle is about
    doubled. This way, when I throttle back during maneuvers, I don't have
    to worry about loosing the engine plus I have the added advantage of a
    little extra airflow over the tail feathers from the prop blast. "My"
    reason for doing this though is because I have to keep the idle so low
    for landing that the engine is barely running. In fact, 9 times out of
    10 when I land, the engine will stop before the plane is done rolling
    out. The windmilling effect is the only thing keeping it going while on
    final. But, it's also low enough that I can loose it during stall
    turns, etc. So I keep a high idle during the routine. BUT, as soon as
    the gear comes down for landing, the switch goes back to low idle, so
    by the time the plane enters the down wind leg, my landing setup is
    engaged and there's nothing more to futz with.
    
    The throttle stick position safety is ok, but I'd have it set to about
    a quarter throttle instead of just above the stop. Low and slow is
    where you DON'T want the switch active yet the way you have it set, the
    switch WONT' deactivate UNTIL your low and slow. Plus you can get
    cought on a windy day when you have to carry a little throttle on
    final. It sounds like you have it set low enough that if you carry a
    little throttle to make the filed, the snap roll switch will be active.
    This is one mix you want to think through carefully. At one time, I had
    the same thing set up on the Unic only with flaps. I had both ailersons
    programmed to drop into a flap position when the landing switch was
    activated. But, in case of a go around, or touch and go, I also had the 
    "switch" set to a low throttle position before it would be active.
    
    So one day I'm making a landing approach, the throttle is low, the
    flaps are down and everything is fine. That is until I crossed the end
    of the runway and got into a little sink. I did EXACTLY what one should
    do and gave it a "blip" of throttle. Guess what happened????? The
    BLIP was high enough to DEACTIVATE the switch, the flaps came up, I
    lost all of the extra lift the flaps were generating, and planted the
    Unic on the runway popping the wing off and breaking out the fuse side
    in the process. Guess how long it took to get rid of that
    mix!!!!!!!!!!!  8^)
    
    Actually, I'm considering going back to the original set up I had on
    the LA1 for high idle. Instead of using the switch, I had the higher
    idle setting mixed with the gear. So, GEAR UP.....HIGH IDLE....
    GEAR DOWN, LOW IDLE. That way, the only thing I have to remember is to
    put the wheels up and down. Then I can use the mix switch as a throttle
    kill switch which I currently don't have.
    
    Anyway, mixes are fun, just make sure you think out all the different
    itterations of things you can run into while that mix is active.
    
    

    
      Dave,
    
          Congratulations at completing a key "RC rite of passage!" :). It
       seems almost everyone in the hobby at one point or another
      "discovers" snap rolls and the "neat" snap roll botton that does
       it all, only to be warned by a more experienced flyer that the snap
       roll botton can be dangerous and to disable it.
          Of course the new flyer ignores the advice, figures they can 
       handle it, and sooner or later snaps into the ground!.
    
          Hence, the cycle continues............ :)
    
    
    
                                              
        
           BTW, I am back to using the snap roll switch on my Pattern
    plane. I don't like it, but it is the only way to get sufficient
    control throw. Thank god this switch does something different in
    Heli mode! :)
    
         

    You're right, and I will have to experiment with the relative position
    of the t-stick as I did this Monday nite while sitting in my office at
    home (obviously, the engine wasn't running ;^) I want to have the rpms
    up high enough to leave some wiggle room for landing into a stiff wind,
    etc, but also have it low enough to allow long diving snap sequences -  
    like to get way up high, drop the rpms very low, and pull as many snaps 
    as I can before pulling up (and letting any onlookers start breathing 
    again =8'O

    btw: Doug accidently discovered that I had enabled the snap switch for
    his Easy Sport memory (I could kick myself for not letting him know
    that in advance of his flight) but fortunately he was well above the 
    ground when he bumped it. He had no idea what had happened but I noticed 
    the partial snap and explained about the switch. That was what inspired 
    me to get the tx out Monday nite - to disable that switch for that model 
    memory. 
    
    What with the price of these multi-model tx's dropping like errant Fun
    One's ;^) Santa might just have to make a trip to Futaba next xmas for
    Doug, so he'll be less subject to his father's whims (and
    screw-ups!)...
    
    re: Dan
    
    The really "pissah" thing about this crash is that it was my first
    crash and it happened on my colorful baby (waahhh!) instead of the 
    plain-jane PT40. That and the fact that it was due to a random act of
    stupidity, more or less unrelated to pilot skill - more a brain fade
    than getting in over my head or an outright loss of orientation or
    control. 
    
    I suspect it's also a rite of passage to have one's intention to be the
    first pilot to never have a bruising crash end up dashed on the ground
    (well, there's goes my "no hitter" ;^)
    
    While walking out to locate the wreckage I was replaying the whole
    thing in my mind's eye and kept coming back to the fact that I was
    trying to shake a deer fly  off my calf and it was definitely
    distracting me. Not an excuse, but I  had never hit that snap switch by
    accident before, and that's the kind of thing that a distraction can
    lead to.
    
    I ought to experiment with snapping just using the sticks, but I also
    have the snap settings much higher than the stick travel - even on
    their high rates - plus I've set of expo' on the sticks for dampening
    small corrections. I might be easily entertained but I love the way
    this plane peels off snaps using the switch - the first few are quite
    violent and lend dramatic appeal ;^)
    
    Aw, shoot. It'll never happen again (right?)
    
    /dave

    Busy weekend - in spite of Bertha...
    
    The Fun One is alive and snappin' again! I burned *many* candles
    Tuesday through Thursday nites to get it rebuilt by the wee hours
    Friday morning (if I never do another turtle-deck again it'll be too
    soon!) and left it with the silicone wing saddle goop to dry, When I
    got home Friday afternoon I checked the CG, then  peeled it apart,
    stuffed it in the car, and zipped over to the field. 
    
    After a lengthy preflight and an extended radio check with the engine
    running at various speeds everything looked good, so up and away it
    went. Only the elevator needed trimming (surprising because I had
    to completely strip the fuse down to the balsa to fix it, plus I had to
    rebuild both aileron servos) otherwise it flew great. Put in five
    uneventful flights working back up to the hair-raising (mine included ;^) 
    stuff and it held together perfectly.
    
    On my return home I was cleaning up my office/building room and noticed
    a pair of small black screws sitting on my table. On closer examination
    I realized that they were the aileron servo horn screws - which I had
    forgotten to reinstall (Another bullet whizzes awfully close by!)
    Thanks goodness the new servo gears provided a good friction fit on
    the horns...
    
    I ended up reprogramming the idle function over to the other side of 
    the tx, using the three-position toggle that I use for the kill
    switch and timer enable. This works out pretty well as now the up
    position enables the timer/sets the high idle, the middle position
    disables the timer/sets the low idle, and the low position kills the 
    engine/timer.
    
    And it's a  l o n g  way from the snap switch ;^)
    
    Bertha not only wiped out the Fun Fly that the Quinapoxet club was
    supposed to have Saturday, it also left their field under water, so
    that blew off the Sunday rain date as well. As it turned out the rest
    of the family was going to be off on various projects for the day so 
    that left me free to cart the Fun One and one of my Gremlins over to
    the CMRCM field. Got there at 10:30, wicked bright sky, temp's heading
    for 90+, humid as hell to boot.
    
    Only one person at the field, and naturally he's on the same channel as
    me, so I did a lot of waiting. I didn't recognize the guy - he was 
    putting a pattern ship together, can't remember the make (but all those 
    P-ships look alike anyway ;^) It was a budget job, built up fuse and
    sheeted foam wings and tail feathers, a bit smaller than the "big
    kids", running a YS91AC instead of the typical YS120. But it still looked
    like a good ship, pull/pulls at the rear, bb-servos throughout, good
    assembly job.
    
    His first taxi around unveiled a castoring main gear (set screw wasn't
    set) as well as some wicked tail bounce (looked nose heavy to me). He
    tightens the set screw, checks the throttle again, puts her out on the
    field, gets up a head of steam, tries to rotate, nothing happening,
    ends up in the grass "net" at the end of the field.
    
    OK, so he gives me a green light, I'd gotten the Gremlin running sans
    radio while he was playing with his throttle, so I did my first
    self-launch with no problem (underhand toss, right thumb on the up
    stick, don't rush it, and voila!) and proceeded to have an uneventful
    first Gremlin flight. What a blast these little critters are!
    
    (Aside to Steve: I tore the whole thing down during the week: tank,
    hoses, filter, silencer, even pulled the backplate and head off the
    engine, etc, couldn't find anything amiss. When I started it up Sunday
    it was leaned out big time, could barely keep running. A good number of 
    clicks richer and it sprang to life, and with a bit more tweaking it 
    ran great all day. I think it had gone super lean and siezed on us last 
    weekend...)
    
    Anyway, as soon as I skidded to a landing I freed the channel for the
    pattern guy and parked the tx in the impound. He's checking control
    throws and I notice what sure looks like way too little elevator (I
    mean it couldn't have moved more than 1/8" at full stick travel!). I
    asked him about that, he says that's what the book called for. I asked
    if he'd checked the cg, he says he did. He's still scratching his head
    about the failure to lift off...
    
    I didn't want to bug him about the elevator throw, so I go back to
    refuel the Gremlin. He gets  his plane back out on the field, revs up,
    uses every bit of the runway to get off but off he goes. I turn back to
    my Gremlin, then a few seconds later I hear the guy yell out that he's
    got no elevator. Uh oh...
    
    I look back, note that he'd made the first left  turn after takeoff and
    he's climbed out over the trees, but the plane is wallowing big time. I
    yell "try high rates" to him, he switches them in, then yells back that
    it didn't help. We both watch as the bird yaws back to the right, then
    pitches toward the paved road.  As it disappears below the tree line it
    seemed to take forever for the  inevitable crash sounds to arrive...
    
    I volunteered to help him look as I was pretty sure I knew where it'd
    be. We walked up the pavement and sure enough, it had gone down in the
    pines just off the roadside, basically disintegrating  on the way down.
    The engine lost the rocker cover but otherwise looked OK and seemed to
    turnover freely, the rx appeared ok and amazingly none of the 6
    servos were stripped. But the airframe was definitely reduced to scrap...
    
    On the walk back to the field I'm trying to console the guy, tell him
    to pick up a quick build and throw something together. He starts
    talking about getting a Gremlin ;^)
    
    So he leaves, I'm there toasting not-so-slowly in the noon heat, I put
    in a couple more Gremlin flights, practicing various forms of roll/loop
    turns, see how close to the field I can make a strafing pass before
    chickening out ;^) then practise spot landings. After an hour or so of
    this I had to take a short nap in the truck with the AC on MAX...
    
    Finally the "Cub Contingent" shows up with Ray close behind (with his
    tent, thank god!). I put in a couple more Gremlin flights, then pull
    out the Fun One, get vigorous with that for a while, then chase  the
    putt-putts around (lumbering Cubs make good targets!) Even with lots of
    sunblock, liquids and occasional trips to Rays tent, by 4PM I'd been 
    baked to a crisp and it was time to head for the showers...
    
    Had to make the most of this weekend as the family is heading for the
    Cape at the end of the week so no flying for a while 8^(  
    (and no, I can't take a bird with me ;^)
    
    /dave (crispy critter)
    
    

I accidently attended a Gremlin contest this weekend.
I was in Maine so I stopped by the KVMA Expo in Fairfield ME.

They had some real bargains in build up sport planes for sale
in their swap shop.  At least 3 nice looking gliders at $30 each.

Anyway - they had a Gremlin demo outside.  It was warm and sunny
and just a slight breeze - perfect.  If I had known they were going
to do the gremlin stuff I would have brought mine.  They flew three
at once and eventually managed to have a mid air.

Also in their swap shop they had one gremlin for $30.  I was tempted
but the covering was a wrinkled mess and I would have to spend a lot
of time fixing that - nothing like a new one tho.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

    First flight of the year, first flight of the falcon, Success.
    
    Headed out to the field Sunday after the Grand-Prix about 10:30am. I
    had worked to about 11 pm the night before installing my radio in my
    new Falcon MKII (AKA Falcon 56), Seems to be a favorite to most of the 
    older fliers but rare at our field. I had an OS 40 FR ? the one with
    the ball bearings and a ring, more power than I'll ever really need.
    
    We had great weather, sunny, hardly any wind all and all a great day for
    a first flight.
    
    After listening to all the stories of Falcons past from 3 of the
    oldtimers I was enthused to get flying. Sounds like this bird was quite a
    popular second airplane back in the 70's.
    
    Anyway to make a long story short, fired up the engine, spent a few
    minutes setting the idle, My dad and I had broken it in last fall. It
    was running great just like any OS should.
    
    Taxied out to the west/east runway turned around hit the throttle and
    about 40 feet was in the air. This plane was designed for a 15 to 19, I
    had a forty which was the engine of choice as the plane developed. Talk
    about your 350 in a volkswagon.
    
    Pull the throttle back to something less than 1/2 and I was flying,
    slight right trim on the ailerons a little down on the elevator it was
    time to see what it could do.
    
    Put it through my limited patern, a few buzzes of the field and it was
    time to land, Went down wind pulled it around cut the throttle and it
    started to fall as planned to a great landing.
    
    4 more flights that day and still in one piece. A success.
    
    Fred    
     

    Although the calendar clearly indicates it's mid-May, the weather
    doesn't read calendars - and thinks we're still in April! 
    
    The wind was a b*tch yesterday - all the way up to dusk it was still
    booming. Sure kept the traffic down at the CMRCM field - there was only
    one pair of people there that had tempted fate by glider towing. 
    Score it: Wind 1, Glider 0 (glider went home in a Hefty bag)...
    
    But I came semi-prepared: I brought both my FunOne and a PT40 that I'd
    extensively reconfigured for use by my son as a beater for club
    fun-fly's. I sawed the original wing in half, took out all but an inch 
    of dihedral, installed new AC ply dihedral braces and glassed the wing 
    center, then converted both wing and saddle to bolt-down instead
    of rubber band, and finally converted to a tail dragger from trike.
    
    With the wind howling I spared the FunOne and pulled out the PT40,
    fueled it and started it up on a tether, then range-checked the heck
    out of it from idle to WOT and a full 180 degree sweep from nose-on to
    tail-on. Finally taxied it out, ran it up and took off...
    
    ...Straight up! (yikes!). Nothing like a flat-bottomed wing in a gale for
    beau-coup lift. The wind was having it's way with the lightweight PT, 
    which was rockin' and rollin' as a result. Add in the fact that it was 
    just a bit on the tail-heavy side of neutral, a lot of sky was being 
    covered in a hurry and without a lot of style points ;^)
    
    After dancing around for awhile I finally got it safely back to earth,
    shifted the battery pack forward a bit, refueled and relaunched, and
    the wee PT was then better behaved. Noted that rudder coordination was 
    definitely required to make decent turns (probably due to weathervaning
    as much as the reduced dihedral) but under the circumstances it flew
    nicely. It certainly rolls much better than before, and as a
    tail-dragger it has much better ground handling than it did as a trike.
    
    All told I put in about an hour of airtime just playing around in the
    wind, including a long set of touch'n'go's just to tempt fate. As much
    fun as I was having, just getting away from yard work was a blessing ;^)
    
    While I was there, Jack Z showed up with his latest skunkworks project
    - aptly called the "Mutant". This was a curious open combat design of
    his, using a double-taper foam wing with a wicked thin airfoil, pvc
    fuse, equipped with ailerons and a vestigial elevator, with an estimated 
    weight of 2.5 pounds, propelled by an OS32F (wheee doggies!)
    
    Two problems: it was tail heavy; and it seems cursed with major
    tipstall (it snapped in on its only landing attempt). Fortunately it
    spiked some really soft turf, so only the prop was damaged. Perhaps 
    the first of Jack Z's creations that may not prove to be successful...
    
    Looking forward to the combat meet down in Sturbridge (hope for good
    weather!)
    
    /dave
    

    Well, I was all charged up and ready to go, but then saw the conditions
    and decided to do yard work instead. I'm "hoping" that sometime this
    YEAR I'll get to fly at CMRCM.
    
    Glad someone had fun anyway............