September

September 2013
Air Currents
Nigel Watson's Fokker WW1 Fighter - photo by Steve Iverson
The Official Newsletter of the
Diablo Valley Radio Controllers
3500 John Henry Johnson Parkway
P.O. Box 9411
Pittsburg, CA 94565
www.dvrc.org
DVRC Newsletter - September 2013
Page 1
President's Corner...
Greetings,
Just a few words this month. The wind continues. I think I flew four
times at the most since we talked last.
If you weren't at the meeting this month I would like to remind
everyone it's election time again. I will be appointing a nominating
committee shortly. If you want to run for an office or The Board of
Directors let us know. We really need some new faces to be involved in
the running of our club.
I would to remind everyone and especially our new members who may not know that the road
to the field is open space and shared with everyone. Slow down and yield to hikers. If need be,
give them a chance to get their dogs under control before passing.
Come on guys, we need more T-34 racers for next month. Bob Wolfe said he will cancel the
event for the season if there aren't enough.
I want to thank everyone that participated in the Pittsburg Seafood Festival this month. It
was very successful. Everyone seemed to have a great time and I think we generated a lot of
interest.
I have included two short videos, the promo video we used in our Seafood Festival booth and a
short video of the Festival. For HD quality viewing click on the gear icon in the lower
righthand corner of the video and choose HD quality. Youtube defaults to low quality.
Seafood Promo http://youtu.be/Owc7yDVYhc4
Seafood Festival http://youtu.be/hDsuzbFiUx8
-Mel Nash, President
DVRC Newsletter - September 2013
Page 2
Upcoming Events ....
Sat Sep 21 @ 9:00AM - Annual Open House (Cancelled)
Sat Sep 28 @ 9:00AM - DVRC Cup Series
Wed Oct 02 @ 7:00PM - 09:00PM - Indoor Flying
Sat Oct 05 @ 9:00AM - T-34 Races
Sat Oct 12 @10:00AM - Club Meeting (visitors are always welcome)
Guess The Cockpit...
(Answers on bottom of page 6)
C
A
B
D
E
G
F
H
J
I
DVRC Newsletter - September 2013
Page 3
All That Flap... by Alan Bramson
(Partial re-print from article, "All That Flap" - Private Pilot Magazine. Provided by Mort
Tyler ... Thanks Mort!)
Misconceptions about Use of flaps prevail, particularly the notion that they affect all aircraft
in equal ways.
A few moments spent watching aircraft land at any busy training field will reveal that,
although manufacturers have been putting flaps on aircraft since Nelson lost his eye (long
ago, Napoleon time frame), many pilots really do not understand the purpose, what they can
do and what one should not expect of them.
Watch the airplanes. Some use partial flaps for takeoff, even when the type derives no benefit
from them or when a 25 knot wind is blowing down a JFK size runway.
Worse, some use partial flap for landing when the aircraft is fast, high and heading for the
next county. This is even a greater pity because, properly used, flaps can be a great value.
This figure attempts to show exactly what
flaps are good for. Varying with the type of
flap, the first 15° – 25° extension provides a
major increase in lift and a modest increase
in drag. The remaining arc of depression
provides a smaller amount of additional lift
but a marked buildup in drag. Relative
increase of lift and drag depends on the
design of the flap.
Many styles have been used. The next figure shows five popular ones, along with a high-lift
device used in conjunction with a leading-edge slat. Note the percentage lift increase for each
of the various designs.
The simple or plain flap, known as a camber flap, should be banished from the aviation
scene. The 50% lift increase claimed for these insipid devices is suspect. As producers of
drag when it is needed most, they are a nonstarter.
DVRC Newsletter - September 2013
Page 4
The slotted flap shown is very common. Welldesigned examples can be quite effective liftaugmenters but are only a little less anemic
than simple flaps when it comes to adding
drag.
There was a time when most aircraft had split
flaps. I cannot imagine why they went out of
fashion. They provide nearly as much lift as
the slotted variety but on the approach, when
drag is an asset, split flaps are superior.
Fowler flaps are the Rolls Royce’s of the class,
although they are found on some of the least
expensive aircraft. The only flap design better
than the Fowler is the double- or even tripleslotted version fitted to large jets.
By increasing lift, flaps reduce stalling
speeds. How much of a reduction results
depends on the type of flaps and their size
relative to the rest of the wing. Often overlooked is the fact that even the best flaps only
reduce stalling speed by a small percentage of the “clean,” or no-flap, stall speed. The average
modern light plane shows a stall speed reduction of only 5-10 knots with flaps deployed (in
1935, the Miles Monarch, a three-seat touring light plane, had “old-fashioned split flaps that
caused a 12-knot reduction in stalling speed – that’s progress!).
At the other end of the scale, a large passenger jet will save 60 knots or more at the G-break
when its leading and trailing edge high-lift devices spread out like venetian blinds. Flaps
are essential on large, fast aircraft. Without them, lift only can be generated at speeds
prejudicial to safe takeoffs and landings. On the other hand, flaps on a light aircraft, which
stalls at fairly low speeds in the clean configuration, are of greater value as drag-producers.
Underpaid, overworked and unappreciated aerodynamicists the world over are fighting an
uphill battle against drag so that you and I can fly our wonderplanes a few knots faster.
DVRC Newsletter - September 2013
Page 5
When all flying hardware had two pairs of wings, the various bits and pieces were kept at the
right distances from one another by a system of struts and bracing wires. They created so
much drag that, when time came to land and the throttle was closed, the bumblebee descended
as if gravity had just been invented. .......
....(For a complete copy of this article, please contact me at [email protected]).
Club Photo's...
Hmmm, I think I put this wing on
backwards or something?!
Guess The Cockpit Answers... A. PT-17 Stearman, B. Red Barron's Fokker DR1, C. SR-71 Blackbird, D. Red Bull Edge 540, E. Stuka JU-87D,
F. 1981 DeLorean w/Flux Capacitor, G. Goodyear Blimp, H. 747-400, I. T-28 Trojan, J. P-51 Mustang.
DVRC Newsletter - September 2013
Page 6
More Club Photos...
DVRC Newsletter - September 2013
Page 7
And More! ...
I'm not sure why Pixar didn't
want me in their new movie!
DVRC Newsletter - September 2013
Page 8
General Monthly Meeting Minutes...
Date: 8/10/13
The meeting was called to order by Mel Nash at 9:56 am.
Officers Present: President Mel Nash, Treasurer John Tester, Secretary Carlos
Gracia
Total Members Present: 22
Guests: None
New Members: Agustin Howay, Bob Swenson, Huy Nguyen
The record of the last meeting’s minutes were read approved by all of the
members present.
Reports:
Membership Coordinator/Flight Operations
Officer, Jim Seibert:
3 new members; Agustin Howay, Bob Swenson,
Huy Nguyen
Safety Officer, Eugene Aughtry: no new major
issues or news.
Field Manager, Ron Williams: no new major issues or news.
Old Business:
Mort was congratulated on celebrating his 85th birthday.
The Club House window cables have been replaced.
DVRC Newsletter - September 2013
Page 9
Open House remains on the schedule for 9/21. However, a CD has still not been
identified and it may be necessary to cancel it as there may not be ample time
left to properly organize it. Dale has offered to help anyone who can be the CD for
the event with his experience from last year.
It was also discussed as to whether the Open House should possibly be moved to
October not only to provide more time to organize it, but to also have it during
what is typically better flying weather.
New Business:
The Pittsburg Seafood Festival was discussed for 9/7-8. This could represent a
good opportunity for the Club to promote itself to the community. The same
consideration was given to participating in it last year. Unfortunately, the cutoff for joining the event had passed.
It was agreed that based on the potential benefit to the Club for this event, we
will contact the Pittsburg Chamber of Commerce to see if there is still time to
sign up and what all of the costs and other details associated with this would be.
Show & Tell: none
Raffle:
First Prize: Anthony Cox won the SU-31 ARF
Second Prize: Steve Freitas won the Strega
Meeting adjourned at 10:15 am.
Submitted by Carlos Gracia, Secretary
DVRC Newsletter - September 2013
Page 10
Diablo Valley Radio Controllers
3500 John Henry Johnson Parkway
PO Box 9411
Pittsburgh, CA. 94565
www.dvrc.org
2013 Club Officers:
Board of directors:
Mel Nash, President. 925-432-8364
Ted Edginton, Vice President. 925-356-6834
John Tester, Treasurer. 925-930-8454
Carlos Gracia, Secretary. 925-640-8257
Ron Williams. 925-825-5845
Dale Parsons. 925-684-2248
Jack Schonberger. 925-672-4562
Steve Anderson. 925-672-7352
Ron Penn. 925-383-3232
Flight Operations:
Jim Seibert 925-671-6832
Membership Coordinator:
Jim Seibert 925-671-6832
Safety Officer:
Gene Aughtry 925-687-1762
Newsletter Editor:
Steve Iverson 925-963-9459
Flight Instructors:
Ron Williams 925-825-5845
Eric Mocker 510-282-9116
Henry Lu 925-757-1657
Anthony Cox 925-783-3980
Jim Seibert 925-671-6832
Mel Nash 925-432-8364
Ted Edginton 925-356-6834
Dale Parsons 925-684-2248
Ray Davis 925-352-7229
Greg Gallegos 925-783-1072
Field Manager:
Ron Williams 925-825-5845
Editors Note ....
Please send photos, articles, interesting links, and personal write-ups to [email protected] before
the 25th of each month to be included in the next months edition.
DVRC Newsletter - September 2013
-Steve Iverson, Editor
Page 11