Volume 2 Issue 3 January
2001 Editor:
Chris Branam
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FLIGHT LOG FOR DECEMBER MEETING
QUORUM
Do we have a quorum for the meeting? We need at least 11 of our 100 members? Yes with 31 members present.
SECRETARIES REPORT
Everyone receive the December newsletter? If not then please get in touch with Chris
Branam 303-750-7277 to update/change email or snail mail. We have two corrections to the newsletter.
On page 1, Treasurer’s Report should have read transfer
to the Janus with checking now at
. On page 2 The rebate should be $15 not $5. Do I have a motion to accept the amended
November minutes as posted in the newsletter?
The motion was carried.
TREASURERS REPORT
The checking account now stands
at . The motion was approved and carried.
WELCOME
We had one guest, Mr. Hal Huddleston. He is gathering information on the club to
possibly join.
OLD
BUSINESS
1.
1.
Paul Noveshanski purchased new signs for the field. Paul and Marv installed the signs, which
really looks good. Thanks Paul and
Marv.
2.
2.
We came up with a schedule of events last meeting with Phil Kenney, our
chef extroidinare, is having conflicts with two of the dates we chose. A new schedule, which has been approved by
the Board is as follows:
—January 1,
2001 Polar Fly —MONEY WAS TO BE IN BY 12/13/00
—May 12,
Just for Fun at Centennial Airport (Static)
—May 19,
Dawn Patrol Fly In
—June 9,
Alex Pluckrose Memorial Fly In
—July 4,
City of Aurora Parade
—August 11,
Cross Country Fly In
—September
8, Pot Luck at the Mile Hi field
—XXXXX,
Parade of the Rockies
3.
3.
Polar Fly—Tom Hanselin is the coordinator and will be handing out
patches for first time participants and pins for subsequent years. As stated above money was due by 13 December
2000.
4.
4.
The board has decided to extend membership to the owners of Blue Yonder,
Action and Colpar Hobbies. They all give donations to our club meetings, and
Action has been added to the list. We
also provide these shops advertising in the newsletter. They provide us new member referrals and
other support. Please urge these hobby
shop owners to join us at the field.
NEW BUSINESS
1.
1.
E-mailing the newsletter seems to be encountering difficulties in some
cases. This was started to save postage
and it does. There are currently 100
members, of those 79 have e-mail addresses.
The postage currently stands at
$6.72. If we were to mail
everyone the newsletter as we have done in the past the postage would run
$32.00. The difference is $25.28 and
that doesn’t include the coping fees. With different systems opening the
newsletter there is bound to be confusion.
Therefore, George and I will try to get an e-mail version of the
newsletter that can be downloaded and printed out. An alternative suggestion was to just send an email notification
that the newsletter was available on the MHRC site.
2.
2.
Yours truly soloed Tom Hanselin’s Trainer on 12/3. Marv will present the solo certificate upon
completion.
3.
3.
Marv Sanders has purchased a snow blade for the front of the
tractor. Does anyone volunteer to be
the counterweight!?
4.
4.
George Kerr would like to get a group together to fly combat. See article.
5.
5.
Bob Bergin had investigated a gate to replace the aging ones at the
field. He presented several options for
single and double gates. A motion was
made to authorize purchase for a single 16’ gate sometime this Winter. A work party will be assembled in the Spring
when the ground isn’t frozen. The
motion was seconded and passed.
6.
6.
Joe Regan wrote an article on field safety for last months Model
Aviation. Congrats Joe on getting your
article published.
Speakers
Retired General Tom Wolters spoke of his experiences flying
the F89, F102, and F111’s. He spoke for
about 35 minutes and had led a quite interesting life. Had you been there you would have heard the
whole story.
Did You Know …
More than 400,000 model aircraft engines were sold in the
United States last year?
HAVE YOU EVER
HEARD OF...
Douglas, Donald Wills (1892-1981), American aeronautical engineer
and aircraft manufacturer. Douglas was a major contributor to airplane
development, design, and production in the United States. Douglas was born in
Brooklyn, New York. In 1909 he entered the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis,
Maryland, where he first became interested in aviation. In 1912 he enrolled at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
becoming the first person to receive a degree in aeronautical engineering there
two years later. He joined the Wright-Martin Aircraft Corporation as chief
engineer in 1915. The following year he went to Washington, D.C., as chief civilian
aeronautical engineer for the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Douglas’s tenure there
ended after only a few months, however, when he resigned over a dispute with
the War Production Board. He then returned to Wright-Martin. In 1920 Douglas
left Wright-Martin to found the Davis-Douglas Company in Los Angeles,
California, with David Davis. The company started manufacturing sport planes,
but Douglas successfully sought a contract from the U.S. Navy for bombers. The
quality of the airplanes Davis-Douglas produced established Douglas’s solid
reputation. Davis-Douglas dissolved in 1921. Douglas then formed the Douglas
Company, which became the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1928. Douglas Aircraft
became the leading naval aircraft manufacturer in the country. In 1932 Transcontinental
and Western Air (TWA, now Trans
World Airlines) asked the Douglas Company and other firms to design an aircraft
capable of traveling 1740 km (1080 mi) with 12 passengers at a speed of up to
298 km/h (185 mph). Douglas produced the Douglas
Commercial-1, or DC-1, which made its first voyage on July 1, 1933. The
DC-1 was able to carry 12 passengers at a cruising speed of 270 km/h (170 mph).
The DC-1 solidified Douglas Aircraft’s position at the head of the aeronautical
industry. An all-metal, twin-engine plane, the DC-1 was one of the first planes
to establish the usefulness of wing flaps in commercial planes. Douglas
Aircraft built only one DC-1, but that plane was a prototype for later members
of the DC family. Under Douglas’s guidance, Douglas Aircraft went on to develop
the DC-3, which could carry 21
passengers at a cruising speed of 305 km/h (190 mph). These planes were so
successful that they were carrying 95 percent of the nation’s civil air traffic
two years after the first one appeared in 1936. Douglas continued to improve
upon his designs. During the late 1930s he worked on a four-engine transport
plane that evolved into the DC-4. In 1955 he began to develop the jet-propelled
DC-8. Douglas served as president of Douglas Aircraft until 1957, when he
turned control over to his son. Douglas Aircraft merged with McDonnell Aircraft
in 1967, creating McDonnell Douglas Corporation.
Thanks for the submission Walt.
Anyone Up for Some Combat?
Are you interested trying some R/C combat? Combat is one of the fastest growing segments of the R/C flying hobby. Mile Hi will have a little combat round for demonstration during the June Fun Fly. If you are interested in ordering a .25 size Combat Airplane ARF to try it out, please let me know at the January club meeting. The Planes are $35+ Shipping if we order less than 6 as a club. If we have 6 or more then they are $30+ shipping. If we order 12 or more, there is a special club deal and the price would come down even farther. I will order as many planes as member signs up for and prepay me at the January Club meeting. Assuming we order more than 6, your cost would be $33 including shipping.
Thanks,
George Kerr (303) 751-2139
ENGINES EXPLAINED FOR THE BEGINNER
The primary engine type used by modelers today is a single cylinder, two-cycle, air-cooled, reciprocating engine that uses glow plug ignition and a special fuel mixture of methanol, nitromethane and lubricants. Most of the components of the engine are made of cast, forge, or machined aluminum. The power that can be achieved from these small engines is phenomenal and can vary greatly from one design to another.
A typical, inexpensive .40 size engine can produce 1.1
horsepower at 11,500 RPM. The same size
racing engine can produce 2.4 horsepower at 20,000 RPM. All of these engines are the same in their
basic components. The design of the
engine effects its power output, reliability, and longevity. Bushings or bearings support the prop
shaft. Wear takes place between the
piston and cylinder wall and the prop shaft and bushings or bearings. Most engines on the market today are
classified as ABC meaning they have an aluminum piston and chrome plated bronze
cylinder sleeve. This combination
normally produces and engine that yields many hours of trouble free operation
if properly maintained. Those engines
that have ball bearings for supporting the prop shaft normally produce about
25% more power and last much longer.
New .40 size engines can range from $55 to $400.
Air bleed screw: Screw for adjusting the amount of air allowed
into the carburetor during idle.
Backplate: Cover over the rear of the crankcase.
Carburetor: Device which mixes fuel and air to
control the amount of mixture reaching the engine.
Cylinder: The section of the crankcase where
combustion takes place.
Glow plug: Device which provides heat for ignition
of the air/fuel mixture.
Head: The component which forms the end of the
compression chamber of the engine.
Mounting lug: The section of the crankcase used to mount
the engine to the aircraft.
Muffler: The device which reduces the noise level
of the engine and provides pressure for fuel delivery.
Needle valve: Device used to adjust the air/fuel
mixture. Described as leaning or
richening/fattening.
Output/Prop shaft: The
main crankshaft which transfers the power of the engine to the prop or main
rotor.
Throttle stop screw: Screw for setting the lower limit of the
throttle movement.
Polar Flight
As discussed earlier the Polar Flight is 1 Jan 2001. Those of you who have paid Tom Hanselin will be given either a patch (first timers) or a pin (seasoned veterans). Half of the $10 fee went to the club, the other half will be put into the pot to be split up by the pilots who fly.
Icy Surfaces
As we are in the dead of Winter, one needs to exercise caution at the field. The shaded areas of the pits can have a good collection of ice and snow on them. Maybe someone can bring out an ice melting product to spread out thus preventing a slip and fall.
PREZ SEZ...“I hope everyone has a great Christmas and gets a new toy for Christmas, hopefully that flies. Looks like a cold winter, so I will probably be doing more building than flying. If you know any speakers for the monthly meetings, please volunteer them. Also if you have an interesting building project or building technique, please share it with the rest of us. I hope you enjoyed General Wolters talk at the last meeting. I could listen to his war stories forever.
Be careful flying this time of year. It is tough to get enough flying time to keep proficient. Also cold hands really make it difficult. Wearing light cotton gloves or even rubber gloves help, but the gloves need to be thin enough to be able to maintain feel. Sokha and I went flying in the wind December 16. I maidened my Spectrum, which flew beautifully, but I bounced the landing and knocked one of the retracts back. The Spectrum really has poor support for the landing gear, which I knew after Ric lost his landing gear. Sokha flew his Contender and on his landing approach he put down the flaps, and went off to the East, turned west at idle, and the West wind continued to blow his plane straight East. He didn't realize that the plane was going backward and pretty soon was about 1/2 mile away. We got his plane back, but just barely. It was really too windy to be flying, duh!
I am building a Solo trainer. It is an ARF, so not a lot of building required. It will be the club trainer after I wrecked
the Easy 2 in a midair with Mario.
Mario lost his Advance 40, that he had just rebuilt after the wing came
off while flying. The midair
removed the Easy 2's tail and the Advance
40 lost half the wing. Both planes then
flew beautifully into the ground.
Chris is doing a great job with the newsletter. Please get any news items to Chris. His e-mail address is Linehand@aol.com. He is always looking for good material. Have a great 2001!”
Electric Starter
Safety
People who start engines by turning on an electric starter
and jamming it against the spinner or prop hub are acting in a hazardous and
unnecessary manner. This could slip and
go into your hand, break props and needle valves or tear up your fuselage. Please place the starter against the engine,
and then turn it on. This will save a
lot of broken equipment and will create enough torque to turn your engine over
effectively.
Testing Your Equipment
You can tell if your transmitter is working, even if you
don’t have a receiver hooked to a servo.
Turn on the television to channel 3 or 4, turn on the transmitter and
move the sticks. You should hear a
change in the buzzing sound if it’s working.
This trick works for AM or FM, but it does not work with PCM. Common causes for no transmitter output
might be a dead internal fuse, which may not be easy to find, or a bad
connection to the antenna, which should be easier to fix. Another cause could be loose cells in a
clip, as is sometimes the case with the transmitters using alkaline cells. To be really safe, it is recommended that
only soldered batteries be used. While
on the subject of transmitters, did you know that leaving them turned on, for
any length of time without the antenna extended, can result in overloading the
output circuits—perhaps to the point of failure?
De-glossing Covering
On some warbirds, it is nice to have a finish that is not as
shiny as the normal finish that comes off the covering roll. How do we flat the finish? Here are a couple of ideas:
1. Scuff the surface with a Scotchbrite pad,
steel wool, or very fine wet/dry sandpaper.
2.
It is best to do the scuffing before you apply the film to the
aircraft. Keep the backing on while
scuffing.
3. The smoother the backing surface you scrub
on, the better the result. Use a sheet
of glass as backing and keep the surface clean beneath the film.
4. If you scrub in two different directions, at
90 degrees to each other, it gives an interesting surface.
5. If you mask out the surface in squares which
match the panels of the full-sized aircraft, you can scratch each panel in one
direction only and the matching panels at 90 degrees to the adjacent panels and
it will look more realistic.
6.
Using the chrome or aluminum covering you can cover floats with the
scrubbed film and get a more realistic look.
7. Try any process on a sample to get the
effect you are looking for, before committing the aircraft to your
technique.
From the AMA Nat’l
Newsletter
CLASSIFIEDS
Giant Scale 1927 Travelair Biplane D4D
Wing span: Upper 72" Lower 64" Length 58" Height to top wing 22"
Covered with Dark Red 21st Century Fabric. Has been flown with a Moki
1.8 but would be perfect for a small to medium gas engine
(G23- G38)
Extras: 2 Servos in top wing with extension cables, flying
wire rigging
$450. Contact Jim
McGee at (303) 699-3346.
DEADLINE
Being that the meeting falls on different dates each month I
have decided to establish a deadline of 1 week following the meeting. Submissions for Prop Wash, classifieds or
Wing Tips can be made via email or telephone to Linehand@aol.com or
303-750-7277.
Next Board Meeting
The next board meeting will be held at Bob Bergin’s house on
8 Jan 2001 at 7:00 p.m. It is open to
all who wish to attend.
Next Monthly Meeting
The next regular meeting will be held at the Aurora Public
Library on Hampton Circle on 10 Jan 2001 at 7:00 p.m.
Door Prizes
The $20 gift certificate from Action Hobbies was won by Dave
Teich.
The $20 gift certificate from Blue Yonder was won by Bill
Robinson.
The $20 gift certificate from Colpar Hobbies was won by
Werner Dorau.
The gallon of fuel from Blue Yonder was won by Marv Sanders.
Thank you to Action, Blue Yonder, and Colpar for the donated
items
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at about 8:30 p.m.