to - DCRC Radio Control Club

AMA CHARTER CLUB NO. 329
VOLUME 50
DCRC Club Meeting Friday, December 17, 2004 8 pm
NUMBER 12
DECEMBER 2004
Program: Holiday Pizza Party and Gift Exchange. Please bring your appetite and a small gift to share." Raffle, Ryan ARF donated by Doug’s Hobby
Page 2
District of Columbia Radio Control Club
PRESIDENT: Walt Gallaugher
V.P.:
Kevin Jackson
County Liaison: Jim McDaniel
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Scott Davies
Mike Dooley
Andy Finizio
Walt Gallaugher
Allan Hoffman
Kevin Jackson
Jim McDaniel
Mike Peizer
Nir Schweizer
TREASURER:
301-770-9150
301-843-8818
301-983-8557
301-253-4074
301-845-8485
301-963-6091
301-916-0366
301-589-8299
301-972-2248
Scott Davies
MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY:
Andy Kane
305 Natick Court
Silver Spring, MD 20905-5875
December 2004
Final Flying Days of 2004
By Andy Kane
Sunday December 5, 2004, The sun
was out, the winds were down, the
temp was in the High 50’s and we just
had to go flying.
Today we found, Mel Swerdloff,
David Fepelstein, Dave McQueeney,
Fred Nielsen, Charlie Calvert, Ray Morton, Jim and Joseph McDaniel, Doug
Harper, David Harris,, and Many others
out to enjoy one of the last flying days
in 2004
We decided at the last minute to
make lunch for the guys and just kept
it real simple, beans and franks, and
that was all it takes to make our field
one of the best flying sites in the country.
David getting some time on Andy’s Jet
RECORDING SECRETARY:
Mike Peizer
SHOW TEAM MANAGER:
Joseph and Jim McDaniel, exercising
the J-3, even had some smoke
Jim McDaniel & Allan Hoffman
NEWSLETTER EDITOR:
Andy Kane 301-236-9222
[email protected]
MEETING PROGRAM COORDINATOR:
Kevin Jackson
The DC/RC Newsletter is published monthly by the
District of Columbia Radio Control Inc. Deadline for submitting materials for publication is the last Friday of each month.
Any part of the newsletter may be reproduced for non-profit
purposes unless otherwise noted. Please credit the Newsletter
and Author if named. Articles may not reflect the opinion of
the club, but that of the author.
David Fepelstein and his new J-3
Visit us on the web:
www.dc-rc.org
Did you know that any airplane brought in
to the model shop will receive 3 free raffle tickets.
Bring in your models each month for your free tickets, and to share ideas.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FINAL FLYING DAYS OF 2004
CLUB MEETING MINUTES
LEFT HAND
BOARD MEETING MINUTES
TENSOR 4D
GOOD NEWS/CALENDAR
BACK
PG
PG
PG
PG
PG
PG
2
3
4
5
6
7
On the Cover:
Andy Finizio boost his jet time with his
Composite ARF Euro-sport.
Photo by Andy Kane
David in the foreground and Louie in
the background
both assembling
their airplane stands, Ironwood and
Foam
Dave McQueeney's Latest P-51
See you at the December Club Meeting
Gift Exchange. Friday Dec. 17, 8 pm
December 2004
District of Columbia Radio Control Club
Club Meeting Minutes
Jim McDaniel called the meeting to order at
8:02 PM. President Walt Gallaugher was unavoidably detained and will be arriving later in the evening.
Guests: Julian Cottrell is a friend and neighbor of Maynard
Hill and accompanied him to the meeting tonight.
New Members: Tom Sawyers moved down here from the
Frederick area, where he was a member of the Frederick R/C
club. Jim opened the meeting with a few announcements.
The Board meeting was held the Wednesday before the
regular meeting, because of the Thanksgiving holiday. Nir
Schweizer was officially appointed to the sound and safety
position. The meeting room has been secured for another
year.
The Astronomy Club has been in touch with Park and
Planning and has been asked to submit a letter of intent.
Once the letter of intent has been submitted, Park and Planning will consult with DRCR and make a decision about using
the field for nighttime celestial observation.
The managed deer hunt has been progressing as
planned. The latest hunt at the field was held today. Don
Gray asked about the telephone number to call if a plane
goes down in the woods and you want to retrieve it without
getting shot. Jim gave the number to Don.
Next, Jim introduced Ron Bozzonetti, who wanted to
make a small presentation to a member. Ron took the floor
and said there is a person who shows up at the field always
prepared. He never does anything half way. Through no
fault of his own he crashed a plane, and he did an amazingly
thorough job of it. Ron presented Don Sassaman with a Society of Aircraft Demolishers patch.
Awards & Field Improvement: Allan Hoffman was unable to
attend due to a death in the family, so Jim gave his report.
Before Jim gave the report, on behalf of the members he expressed our concern for Allan and his family and said our
thoughts are with them.
Tim Miller and Don Gray have painted the helicopter shelter. They matched the green of the other structures perfectly.
Recently, Allan was asked if the other shelter down at the
south end of the field would be painted. After some discussion it was determined that the shelter will be painted before
the weather turns hot, next year.
Community/PR& County Liaison: Jim reported that AMA and
RCV have entered into an agreement to supply RCV engines, for evaluation, to clubs who are interested. Jim took a
poll to see if someone might be interested in checking out an
engine from RCV.
Webmaster: Kevin Jackson said he needs photos for the
web site. If you have any please send them to Kevin and he
will likely update the site with them.
Sound & Safety: Nir Schweizer introduced himself to the
members present. He was born and raised in Israel. He is
employed as a full-scale pilot, and his schedule allows him to
fly at the field quite a lot. That’s why he was given the sound
and safety position. He won’t be at the general meetings
very often because he is usually flying for his job on Fridays.
Flight Instruction: Michael Peizer reported that tomorrow is
the last flight instruction session of the year. All in all, it has
Page 3
been a very good year, thanks to the flight instructors and
ground support people who showed up every week.
Membership & Newsletter: Andy Kane is in Florida flying, so
he asked Jim to give his report. Membership renewals are
going strong.
Old Business: Don Gray wanted to readdress the gate procedure during the managed hunt. Jim went over the procedure again. On hunt days we go in and close the gate behind us, but don’t lock it. The idea is to keep the general
public out, only during hunt days, by closing the gate, but not
locking it.
Fred Nielsen said last Sunday two people came out to the
field and started flying combat at the end of the runway.
They can’t fly the pattern and it can be very distracting as
well as dangerous. Nir said he is thinking of designating the
last ten minutes of every hour for combat and everyone else
watches while they fly. Of course, this would apply only
when members are waiting to fly combat. Combat participants usually only fly for ten minutes at a time. Jim said
there are certain safety issues concerning mid-air collisions
and the raining down of debris that have to be addressed, as
well.
Don Gray asked about the shed being broken into. Jim
said we are hoping it was an isolated incident.
New Business: Maynard Hill is pleased to report the AMA
has hired a new executive director, Don Corranda. Mr. Corranda has a very impressive resume and is highly qualified
for the position, according to Maynard.
Raffle: The raffle prize for tonight is a Ryobi 9” Band Saw.
Tom Sawyers, one of our newest members, won it.
Program: Maynard Hill gave a presentation on electrostatic
stabilization. There is an electric charge in the atmosphere
under most conditions, which can be used to remotely determine the attitude of an aircraft in the roll and yaw axes. Maynard and his colleagues discovered this long ago when he
worked at the Applied Physics Lab. He recounted his experiences developing electrostatic stabilization for military use. It
didn’t amount to much because when you really need it, like
in weather, it won’t work. Only Maynard Hill could take a
topic like electrostatic stabilization and turn it into an interesting and humorous presentation.
Model Shop: Roy Day showed a scale Cessna 195, of his
own design, done from a three view. It’s electric powered
and built very light with an all up weight of 4.25 lbs. A brushless motor and 10 cells power it. It has lots of power. Now
that it’s trimmed out it flies well. The wing loading is 15oz/sq
ft.
Dan Mintz brought in a Zagi flying wing with a Speed 400
motor 8 cells. He modified it to make it easier to hand
launch. Flight duration is about six minutes. He has fun with
it out at the field, and can make it do a roll.
Al Diaz showed a Regal Eagle ducted fan trainer. The kit
consists of a small box with pieces of plastic and a video.
The pusher version is longer in the nose than the tractor version. It is not a fast airplane even though it looks fast. It can
fly very slowly, and is extremely stable. Al’s wife helped out
with some of the fine detail work.
Joseph McDaniel showed an E-Flite Tribute. It’s powered
by an Axi 370 brushless motor, and is equipped with Hitec
servos and speed controller. It does all kinds of aerobatics.
The motor mount was modified to be a bit more robust. Car-
Page 4
District of Columbia Radio Control Club
What to do with your left hand
while you’re flying
By BOB KARASCIEWICZ
Students typically do little with their left
hands while learning to fly. Most of the throttle control is of the on/off type—on for takeoff and flying and off for landing. I’d like to
tell you why you should use both controls on
the stick.
Let’s start with a fun maneuver that uses
both rudder and throttle. I call it the “tail
wag.” Start with a nice, high and straight line
(as all maneuvers are started) parallel to the
runway. Have the throttle set to about half.
As you go past yourself (the center),
smoothly raise the throttle to full and let the
airplane gain speed until it gets to full speed.
Now it’s past you and going fast. Pull up to
vertical and go straight up.
As soon as your airplane is going
straight up, start moving the rudder stick
side to side. Take roughly a second to do
this; don’t stop until the airplane slows down
and almost stops. At this point, push down
elevator and resume level flight. Don’t forget
to lower the throttle to approximately half
and make your turn back. Did you see the
tail wag? Wasn’t that cool?
Do it again. Each pass do the same thing
and have fun. Now you are making the airplane do what you want! You’re using the
rudder and it’s a ball. Let’s try something a
little more complicated. If you practice these
things, using the rudder will be just like using
the ailerons. You’ll be doing it automatically.
The flat turn
Flat turn? How does an airplane turn
flat? Everyone knows an airplane has to
bank to turn. My instructor told me that when
I was just starting out! Relax and everything
will be all right. Since you are using the rudder, you can do more things with that beautiful trainer. Let’s try one.
First establish a nice high and straight
line parallel to the runway. As I said before,
most maneuvers start that way. Have the
throttle set to approximately half again. Just
before the airplane gets to the center (right
in front of you), raise the throttle to full. The
airplane will gain speed. As the airplane gets
to the center and is going fast, slowly go to
roughly half rudder (this stick movement
should take about a full second). Use the
rudder to turn the airplane away from the
runway. If you’re going from left to right, give
left rudder. If it’s going from right to left, give
right rudder.
As you input the rudder, the airplane will
start to do two things: roll and yaw (turn). At
this point you will give opposite aileron to
prevent the bank (roll). If you gave right rudder, give left aileron. If you gave left rudder,
give right aileron. Move the aileron stick
enough to keep the wings level. Depending
on the wind, you will adjust the roll correction
by adding or removing aileron input.
Students do little with their
left hands
while learning to fly.
I’d like to tell you
why you should use both
controls on the stick.
To reiterate: If you’re going left to right
at full throttle, give approximately half left rudder, and as the airplane starts to bank, use
right aileron to keep the wings level. The airplane will be turning but not banking. You will
only see the yaw. On aerobatic airplanes,
when you give rudder, the airplane will do
little or no banking.
This rolling as you give rudder is called
roll coupling, and it has a lot to do with the
amount of dihedral in the wing. This is not an
aerodynamics column so I will not go into
why. Hey, my airplane is turning without
banking and I don’t know what to do next?
Sorry, student!
Let’s get you out of the flat turn. When
you have turned enough, just let the sticks
(meaning both the rudder and aileron) go
back to neutral. Please don’t just let go of the
sticks. That “boing” drives me crazy, not to
mention it will quickly wear out your transmitter as it will reduce the accuracy of your stick
input.
Practice this stuff and while you are practicing using the rudder don’t forget to have
fun. There is one danger you may run into
while doing flat turns. After doing a 90° flat
turn, you will no doubt want to do more. That
is, you’ll want to complete a flat circle. They
are really great and very impressive. Do
them, but beware. The flat turn is a high drag
maneuver. After all, you are forcing the airplane to go sort of sidewise. This causes
more drag and speed goes down, causing
less lift. Also, there is even less lift because of
the sidewise airflow over the wing. Less lift
means you could run out of lift. Running out
of lift means a stall. Now don’t start worrying.
You are nice and high, remember. If you do
stall, release the rudder and aileron and return them to neutral, maintain full throttle and
point the nose down a bit. As you gain speed,
give a little up elevator and you will have full
control as before.
In all, it’s no big deal. Stalling is part of
flying. Actually, there is no need to even go
that far. With today’s trainers you could do full
rudder flat turns and multiple circles before
you’d ever get into trouble. Okay, now let’s
get to the really interesting stuff. We’re going
to combine all you have just learned and do
an amazing maneuver that you’ve seen and
admired ever since you started coming to the
field.
The stall turn
You know what to do. That’s right, high,
straight, half throttle and parallel to the runway. As you pass the center of the field, you
will go to full throttle and maintain heading at
a high rate of speed. When you come to the
December 2004
place where you would normally turn around
you will instead give full up. Go up straight,
vertically, and at full throttle. After you have
gone a few airplane lengths and your airplane has slowed down, lower the throttle to
roughly one-third (keep it well above idle).
As your airplane slows, give full rudder and
after about a second, enough opposite aileron to keep the aircraft from rolling.
If you catch it just right, your airplane will
turn flat within its own wingspan. Now you
will be heading straight down. Release the
rudder and aileron, raise the throttle to about
half, and when you have gained some
speed, return to level flight by giving up elevator.
One of the things that can go wrong is
the aircraft flops over on its back or front.
Recovery is the same. Most likely you were
going too slow before giving the rudder. Input the rudder control sooner or don’t throttle
down as much. If you still can’t catch this
maneuver, you may want to talk to your instructor about increasing the throw of the
rudder. Many trainers have very little rudder
throw.
You may not catch the stall turn with a
first try. Try it again! Don’t be afraid to go
back to one of your instructors and ask for
help. This can be a little tricky. You will be
able to do this within a couple of tries.
If you are using a second airplane for
this maneuver, you will probably have less
roll coupling with the use of the rudder so be
moderate with the use of the aileron corrections. At my club, we invite all soloed pilots
to keep coming on training nights. There is
plenty to learn after you solo. After all, we
(as do most clubs) only require the most rudimentary maneuvers and takeoff and landing to solo. Most of your learning will take
place after you solo.
from Ramblings
Roxbury Area Model Airplane Club
Michael Ramsey, editor
Flanders NJ
December 2004
District of Columbia Radio Control Club
Board Meeting Minutes
By Walt Gallaugher
The meeting was convened at 7:15 p.m. at the
home of Kevin Jackson. In attendance were Kevin Jackson,
Andy Finizio, Scott Davies, Walt Gallagher, Allan Hoffman,
Jim McDaniel, and Nir Schweizer. Walt Gallaugher took the
meeting minutes in Mike Piezer’s absence.
Jim McDaniel reported that he had contacted the Department of Recreation to arrange for another year of free rental
of the county counsel building auditorium. DCRC appreciates
being able to use this facility for our meetings at no charge.
The board agreed we should do the holiday pizza party
and gift exchange again this year at the December general
meeting. Scott will look up the receipt from last year’s party to
see how many pizzas we need to order for this year. In addition to the pizza and gift exchange, we will try to arrange for a
slide show of some of the club events from this year.
Kevin Jackson will complete the annual review of the club
books before this month’s general meeting.
The board reviewed open action items. Jim reported he
hasn’t heard anything more from the National Capital Astronomer Club’s request to use the field. Jim said they have
agreed to notify DCRC first if the County shows a willingness
to allow them to use the field. Andy Kane will update the side
bar in the newsletter to reflect the change in the board of directors and show team. Allan reported he is still working on
getting the old metal container removed from the field. This
will most likely happen once the ground is hard enough to
support the weight of the truck. Allan also reported the T1-11
board on the helicopter sun shelter was painted and it looks
good. Many thanks to the club member(s) who did the painting.
The board reviewed once again the pros and cons of
password protecting the newsletters on the DCRC website.
The board agreed that the newsletter should be reserved for
the enjoyment of DCRC members. Current year newsletters
will be password protected after the first of the year. Previous
year newsletters will be viewable so that visitors to our site
can get a better feel for our club activities.
The board also agreed that our webmaster, Kevin Jackson, should go ahead and rehost our DCRC website on a another provider’s server that offers more file space and better
security services.
Meeting adjourned.
Page 5
Flutter!!*&4##!?
By Mark Weiss
Sooner or later, this word and its effects become the topic of the
day so let’s talk about flutter BEFORE it destroys your airplane.
Flutter is the oscillation of the control surface (normally the ailerons). The aileron starts oscillating up and down as the air traveling
over its surface moves it back and forth. It may start as a dull buzz
and can easily end up with the aileron flying off the wing within a few
seconds. So what creates the opportunity for flutter to occur? Here
are the possible choices:
1. Your airplane is overpowered and the construction of the wing
and tail are insufficient to keep the aileron centered due to the
very high speed flow of air over and under the surfaces.
2. The servo attached to the surface is not strong enough to hold the
aileron at neutral.
3. The control rod coming out of the servo output arm is too far from
the center of the servo thereby reducing any leverage.
4. The control rod is too thin and flexible.
5. The control rod is installed too close to the surface of the aileron,
again eliminating the leverage that should exist.
6. The hinging is loose and weak with too much gap from the TE of
the wing.
7. The hinge gap is not sealed.
8. The aileron is not balanced.
9. The servo output arm and or control horn are too flimsy for your
application.
10. Etc, I am sure there are more.
Now, what can be done to eliminate the potential for flutter. Just look
at the list and do the opposite! Here is what I believe are the
main culprits.
1. Position your control rod in the closest hole to the center of the
servo control arm as possible. This provides greatest leverage
and servo strength.
2. Position your control rod in the furthest hole in the control arm
from the surface as possible. Again, this provides the greatest
amount of leverage.
3. Keep the control rod as short and rigid as possible. Never use all
threaded rods as they are weak. Never place excessive bends
in the control rod as this adds weak spots in the rod.
4. Make sure all pieces in the linkage are heavy duty for your needs.
I believe 4/40 should be a minimum on all aircrafts.
5. Choose a high quality servo that can hold the control service in
the desired position.
6. Keep the hinge gap as slight as possible and use a sufficient
number of quality hinges.
7. Using your covering material or a tape designed for this purpose,
completely seal all gaps on the control surfaces.
8. There are many articles available regarding the static balancing of
control surfaces. Refer to these and balance the control surfaces whenever possible. Some surfaces are dynamically balanced by their very design.
9. Use motor sizes that are recommended by the manufacturer. Extra speed places extra stress on your airframes. If you want to
go real fast, build a Quickee or a jet.
If you can easily wiggle any control surface of your plane when
your radio is turned on, you are on the road leading to flutter and
destruction of your plane. I hope these comments have been helpful
and you will never experience the devastating and dangerous effects of control surface flutter.
Written by Mark Weiss for Giantscaleplanes.com
Page 6
District of Columbia Radio Control Club
Designer George Hicks Explains Tensor 4D
Technology Written by: George Hicks
The side force generators (SFG)
are simply vertically oriented wings that
allow the airplane to better fly on its
side (commonly referred to as knifeedge flight) in a similar fashion to how
an airplane flies using its wings. This
additional side area has a much higher
aspect ratio than the fuselage, thus allowing it to generate lift at low angles
of sideslip.
From a pilot's point of view, this
means that less rudder deflection is
required in rolling maneuvers, and
knife-edge flight is slow and easy to
control. Aerobatic models without SFG
have to either fly very fast or at large
sideslip angles to produce enough lift
to balance the airplane's weight. They
also rely heavily on the propeller's vertical thrust component to hold the airplane
With the SFG, one can fly in knifeedge at very low sideslip angles at
speeds comparable to the standard
configurations at very high sideslip angles. The lower sideslip angles also
reduce the roll and pitch coupling,
which makes the airplane easier to
control. Apart from simple knife-edge
flight, an airplane equipped with SFG
can now do virtually everything on its
side that it does with the wing. Knifeedge loops are much easier, because
the SFG can generate enough force to
where the pilot knows that he can control the exit altitude, whereas on the
typical configuration, you must point
the thrust upward or cheat by rolling
slightly just to complete a knife-edge
loop in a reasonable radius. Basically,
with the SFG's precision, knife-edge
flight is possible.
Imagine that every time you wanted
to fly your model plane, you would be
greeted with perfect weather conditions-absolutely no wind, comfortable
temperatures, low humidity, and available light twenty-four hours a day.
"Utopia?" you might ask. No, just your
local gymnasium, arena or golf
dome! Welcome to the wonderful world of indoor electric flight.
Breakthroughs in battery
technology, the use of strong,
thin, high-density foams, small
powerful radio components, and
the continuing evolution of
small, high-torque electric motors have literally made the sky
(or in this case, the ceiling) the
limit. The latest aircraft designs
allow a pilot to perform an entire
3D schedule inside a gymnasium. Ultra
light scale, ducted fan jets and multiengine aircraft are also taking to the air
in this "inside" atmosphere.
Another attraction with these types
of models is the cost. Kits for basic airframes usually cost between $30 and
$60, and many even include the motor
and propeller. Add a speed control, battery and a basic radio, and you are in
the air for less than $200. HobbyZone®
and ParkZone™ also offers complete
aircraft, including radio and batteries,
that can fly in the larger indoor facilities
for less that $100.
Indoor flying is a real bonus for flyers living in the cold northern climates.
Until recently, wintertime flying could be
somewhat of a hassle. It was coats,
gloves, hats and hand warmers. Now,
many clubs are offering opportunities
for weekly fly-ins at local school or rec
center gymnasiums. Not only is it great
for some quality flying time with your
buddies, it keeps those thumbs dialed
in for when spring gets here. I can assure you that there is nothing more fun
than stepping into a warm building on a
cold, snowy winter's evening and flying
a model aircraft.
Large indoor flying events are also
coming of age. These shows definitely
take the swap-meet theme to the next
level. Vendors and manufacturers not
only sell product out of their booths, but
also give actual flying demonstrations.
Shows such as the JR Indoor Electric
Festival (www.jriefestival.com) offer the
unique opportunity to buy-and-fly without leaving the building.
I believe there is no better time than the
present to be involved in RC flying.
Technology and miniaturization have
given us the opportunity to enjoy our
hobby in comfort twelve months a year,
regardless of conditions. Like I said, the
sky (or ceiling) is the limit!
December 2004
December
3 Fri Managed Deer Hunt
4-5 War birds over Sarasota, FL
5 NASA Rocket Launch
10
Fri Managed Deer Hunt
17 DCRC Club Meeting
25
Christmas Day
31
Fri Managed Deer Hunt
2005
January
8
Sat. Managed Deer Hunt
17
Martin Luther King Day
21 DCRC Club Meeting Scott Davies
22
NVRC Snow Fly, Arcola, VA
26 DCRC Board Meeting Scott Davies
28
Fri Managed Deer Hunt
February
March
3-6
JR Challenge Punta Gorda FL
If you have an event you want listed
here please let me know [email protected]
Check me out on the web:
http://members.aol.com/akane92802/DCRCEvents.html
•
For Sale
Old Craftsman metal lathe model
101.07301
• 59" span Albatros DVa, completed.
This airplane was first place in sport
scale at the Toledo show about 10
years ago.
• 72" span Aeronca C3, completed.
• 67" span 1 1/2 strutter. Airframe is
95% completed.
Reasonable offers accepted, I have no
room left in my shop.
AMA 2005 Election Results
President
Dave Brown 15,090
Dave Mathewson 7,925
Bill Oberdieck 3,066
District I
Andy Argenio 890
Don Krafft 748
District V
Tony Stillman 2,038
Judi Dunlap 1,275
Manny Sousa 898
District IX
Mark Smith 866
December 2004
District of Columbia Radio Control Club
Page 7
THE GOOD
STUFF
with this past year. Randy’s Stik has
an OS46AX up front and is using a Hitec Flash 5X radio.
The second picture captures
BY DON GRAY
Chi Lin posing with his Kyosho Flip 3D.
It’s hard to believe that 2004 is Chi has had a lot of fun this past year
quickly coming to an end. And unless learning to hover, but says he is still
you are planning to head south for the trying to mastering the art torque rollwinter, the number of good-weather ing. Chi’s Flip is using a Magnum .91
flying days will be decreasing as well. 4stroke, w/pump) and a Futaba Super
However, those of you who have one 7 radio.
of the modern flight simulators, can
keep right on flying in the comfort of
your home without missing a beat
(sounds like a sales pitch for either
MRC’s Reflex XTR or GP’s G3 upgrade).
tions, the dolly shown in the next photo
evolved. The addition of a rate gyro was
added to minimize yawing during takeoff.
The final picture shows the model sitting
on the dolly waiting to taxi out for takeoff.
See you at the field next year.
Wishing each of you happy and safe holidays!
Now for some at-the-field
show and tell. The first photo this
month shows Randy Smith with his 40size Ultra Stik. Randy joined DCRC
about a year ago so that he could attend our Saturday training sessions.
He became certified last spring, and
although a member of the Frederick
club, he plans on remaining a DCRC
member because he enjoys the great
group of guys he has met and flown
Jim Blanchfield is shown in the
next photo holding his Sureflite Spitfire.
The model, constructed mainly of Styrofoam, has a wingspan of 49” and a
takeoff weigh of 4.3 lbs. It is equipped
with a Mega 22/45/3e brushless motor
using a Phoenix 45 ESC (Electronic
Speed Control) from Castle Creations.
With a battery pack consisting of 12
GP3300 NiMH cells, and turning an
APCe 13x6.5 prop, the maximum static
current draw is 33 Amps at 7,200 RPM.
Average flight duration is 6 to 8 minutes.
Since the model has no landing gear, initial flights were made via
hand launching. However, the model’s
weight and low-wing design, made this
type of takeoff rather risky. Therefore,
an alternative method was necessary.
A bungee-powered catapult was first
tried but had several negatives. A fallaway dolly was considered to be more
suitable; but turned out to be very difficult to control. After several modifica-
My quick trip to FLA, Andy Herold CA
extra 330 and Marlin Husted 3w PA-18
Andy Kane
305 Natick Court
SILVER SPRING MD 20905-5875
Doug's Hobby Shop 2935 Crain Hwy.
Waldorf, MD 20601
(301)843-7774
Call and ask about their monthly specials for
DCRC Club Members.
FIRST CLASS MAIL
DCRC Club Meeting
Friday, December 17,
2004 8 pm
Program: Holiday
Pizza Party and Gift
Exchange. Please bring
your appetite and a
small gift to share."