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VOLUME #15 ISSUE 4 April, 2003
Webpage for the Springfield RC Club is at
this link:
Next Meeting: May 1, 2003
The Library Center, 4653 S. Campbell, Community Room B, Springfield, Missouri, 7:00 P. M.
(We will be meeting at this location for June, July, August, September, November. The meeting in October will be at the Midtown Carnegie Branch, 397 E. Central, Springfield, Missouri.)
Contents
Springfield
RC Club Blacksheep Squadron May Fun Fly
Boliver Sport Fly, see announcement at Sleeth's Hobby Shop
Sprinfield RC Club (Blacksheep Squadron)
May 17th ------ An old fashioned fun fly. A committee will consider just which activities would be enjoyed by the most members. It will be limited to members and their families. Doug Bennett, Sparky Wessels, and Jeff Schmidt volunteered to serve on this committee.
June 21st and 22nd ------- AMA sanctioned IMAC contest.
July 19th --------Novice pattern contest. Similar to last year. Contestants cannot have placed in an AMA sanctioned contest.
August 16th & 17th --------- Float Fly will probably be at Lake Springfield. There was discussion about checking into the possibility of using Fellow's Lake. It was mentioned that previous attempts however, had been unsuccessful.
September 6th & 7th ----------- AMA Sanctioned Pattern contest. Doug Bennett, Mike Howard, Jeff Schmidt, and Dan Curtis, volunteered to serve on this committee.
October 11th & 12th --------- Heli-Fly Contest. Dan Curtis,
John Clevenger, Don Livermore, and Doug Bennett will make up the committee for
preparation.
President's Column
The flying season is finally upon us. The days are longer, daylight savings time is here and the weather is beginning to cooperate on a more regular basis. Along with these annual events comes the reality of more flying pressure on our field and the associated problems that occasionally arise. I thought it might be a fortuitous time to refresh ourselves with a couple of the etiquette and safety rules that we use at the field. Over the past few weeks we have had several new flyers join the club and may not be familiar with the more essential rules and I know for a fact that some of the , shall we say, not so new members are in dire need of a refresher.
The runway lays north and south. We face east when we are flying. Now imagine a line formed by the east edge of the asphalt runway that extends north and south to infinity and beyond. There is to be no flying west of that line. Now for those that want to pick and nits lets clarify that the line is moved to the west edge of the runway for landings and takeoffs. So there you have it. The furthest west anyone can fly a plane at our field is the extended line formed by the west edge of the paved runway. Now we are realize that it’s so easy to break this rule when the field activity is light or we are flying alone or with or buddies. Don’t do it. When you do this you are jeopardizing field retention at the very least and putting people and property at risk at most. Remember, planes will turn right and they can fly right hand landing patterns and planes can be controlled to land on the runway in a crosswind so loss of radio contact excepted, there is no reason or excuse to be on the wrong side of that line.
The club also has a “no flying prior to 9 am” rule. Let’s abide by that one for the neighbor’s sake. Kind of a no brainer on that one. Now, if you go toting a electric park flyer or non-fuel burning glider out at 8 am and fly I don’t think anyone is going to be yelling about it.
These two items are the ones that I am hearing about the most, so lets try to eliminate the problem now at the beginning of the season, before it becomes a greater problem later.
Changing topics, the field is looking really good this year. Grass is growing very fast much to the chagrin of the mower, Mike. As long as we keep getting some moisture it looks like he is going to stay pretty busy. The workday was held this past weekend and several members were there to do there part in field maintenance and beautification. Thanks to all that came to work. Scuttlebutt has it that there will not be any houses going in on the properties to our immediate north. That is great news.
That is about it for this month. If you have any suggestions for improving are flying site, please let it be known. If you have any questions are complaints on anything concerning the field or flying come and see my at the field.
Have Fun
Dan Curtis
The field crew worked most of Saturday at the flying field. Grass was cut beautifully. Shrubs were pulled from the fence. The pavilion was cleaned really nicely and the trash was hauled off. New flight line and pit area fencing was put up in a very neat and straight fashion. There was a hamburger feast for the workers. Thanks to all of those who put in the extra time and cut out of some flying. O. D. Fine, called, cajoled, and threatened (ha) those who participated with their life if they didn't help out. We need to have everyone work on things that need to be done or nothing will. There are numerous events that the contest directors will be contacting us on, so get ready to help.
Flying has been really good except for the occasional failure of elevator clevises, engine failures, lost perspective, general panic when altitude is lost quickly and excessively, and cross wind landings and takeoffs. I am citing situations that I am aware of over the past two months of the negative side of flying. Sunday, April 27 brought out some beautiful pattern planes. Saturday brought out a very good number of fliers. We have several Sig seniors now at the field that really look pretty and are flying well.
Come out to the field as it really looks good.
Springfield RC Club,
minutes of April meeting, April 3, 2003. Ralph Todd, Secretary
The club met at the midtown Carnegie Library. Meeting called to order at 7 PM
by president Dan Curtis.
Copies of the minutes of the March meeting were passed for review. They were
accepted as written. A detailed treasurer's report was read by Kevin Murdock.
This was accepted, as the club's finances appear in good shape.
OLD BUSINESS:
Kent Monger was introduced as the newest member. He said that he had done
professional announcing and offered his services to the club if needed.
OD Fine discussed with members the things needing attention at the field on
maintenance day, April 26th. He said that Mike Howard had done a great job
using a roller on the mole runs, but that we were still open to suggestions as
how to rid the field of them. The middle fence needs repaired. He said more
chat has been applied to the parking area. Lock combination has been changed
and members will be notified of the change. After discussion, OD made a motion
that we purchase a new sound device to discourage birds from making deposits on
our picnic table. This was voted on and passed.
President Dan reminded us about the importance of pilots being currently paid up
on their AMA dues.
Doug Bennett suggested we purchase a new American Flag for the neighbors to the
South. Kent Monger added that we consider giving them a banner for their show
horse arena. A motion was voted on and passed.
Doug also made a motion to move the old fashioned fun fly from May 25 to May 17
to avoid a conflict. This passed. It was approved by the club to furnish the
meat and drinks for this event.
NEW BUSINESS:
There was some discussion about the importance of young children being closely
supervised while around the area of aircraft, especially while propellers are
turning as motors are warming up.
President Dan Curtis reminded the club the value of entering the club level
pattern and IMAC contest on July 19th. He said it would definitely improve our
flying skills.
Sparky got his CD certification! He, with the help of Doc, and the club, will
again host the float fly on August 16th and 17th, with practice the weekend
prior to that. This will be listed under events in AMA's Model Aviation
magazine.
The pattern contest will be September 6th and 7th. Dan offered to send letters
to suppliers. O'Reilly Automotive may supply the trophies, which is a big
savings. It was agreed to charge a $25 entry fee, which will include lunch. Dan
asked for volunteers to help, and suggested gift certificates, or some means of
recognition.
The Heli-fly contest is October 11th and 12th. Help is needed for this.
Suppliers are especially good in offering prizes for this. It has been one of
the better sources of income for the club.
Ralph Todd won the new "Guess the pilot" game, which was good for 5 free raffle
tickets. It's and interesting way to know our members and what kind of aircraft
they like.
Bob Pace did a good job with the raffle. George Ashley won the gallon of fuel.
He is sure to use that to improve his flying skills for the pattern contest.
A motion was made and voted on to adjourn about 8 PM.
Membership
Information
Dues
2003
Effective
January 1, 2003, all dues are payable on a calendar year basis for those who
were members in 2002. As was the
case in 2002, the dues for the year are $75.00 for adults and $50 for juniors
(students under 18). The dues apply
no matter when you decide to pay your 2003 dues.
As was
the case last year, NEW members will pay a pro-rated amount based on what month
they join the club for the first time.
NOTE:
You must show proof that you have paid your AMA dues for 2003 in order to
receive your 2003 Blacksheep member card. Either
mail your dues with a copy of your AMA card or bring the card to
the January meeting to show to the Treasurer.
You may
mail your check payable to SPRINGFIELD R/C CLUB and a copy of your AMA card to:
Kevin Murdock, Treasurer, 3448 E. Stanhope Terrace, Springfield, MO 65809
National
Newsletter
Teaching Radio Control flying:
Do you have what it takes?
By MIKE LYNCH
This is the
first in a series on teaching Radio Control (RC) flying. Watch for additional
information in future newsletters.
Just because you’re good at something doesn’t necessarily mean you can teach it.
Some of the best fliers at our field admit they do not have the patience to
teach beginners. Teaching requires an ability to see things through the eyes of
the beginner and to modify your discussion accordingly. Not everyone is cut out
for this.
It is my intention to teach experienced fliers how to teach RC flying. While the information will be most useful to beginning instructors, fliers who have been teaching for some time also will find many of my points helpful.
As you were learning to fly, surely you noticed that instructors at your field were very busy, especially during evening and weekend flying. There probably never seemed to be an abundance of instructors, even during designated instruction times. For this reason, many newly proficient fliers should consider becoming instructors.
I will show you how you can become a flight instructor. While there are many ways you can give back to your club, flight instruction is one of the most rewarding.
Before we begin, let me say I admit there are many ways to teach RC flying, and no two instructors will agree on how every concept should be related. The methods I show are rather simplistic, yet they have been proven during 10 years of instruction. You will improve on what I show as you develop your own teaching style.
The goal of this instruction program is to get students to the point where they can fly by themselves. When using my teaching methods, there are four steps (or progression levels) students must achieve to get to the point where they begin flying alone. This makes it very easy to teach since you can organize every technique needed into four basic steps. It also helps you limit the number of things beginners must master as they learn to fly. While you can eventually mix and match techniques for your own teaching preferences, I recommend that you understand the entire process before you make changes.
Let me point out
that this text will stress the teaching of flying skills. I assume you can
relate the basics of aerodynamics and flight, control surfaces, and in general,
what makes an airplane fly. While I do offer some assistance for helping the
beginner pick their first airplane, understanding flying safety, and starting
and maintaining engines, there are things you need to relate before training can
begin.
There are many ways to
teach RC flying,
and no two instructors will agree
on how every concept should be related.
Here are some special notes for beginning instructors:
1) Demand trainer systems. While experienced instructors may be able to teach without a trainer system, as you begin instructing, you will be amazed at how many precarious attitudes beginners will get their airplanes into. Depending on your flying skills, some of these attitudes won’t be comfortable to you. It’s difficult enough to right a wandering airplane with the trainer system. Doing so after a transmitter is passed can be more difficult, especially when the airplane is close to the ground, as it is when taking off and landing.
For myself, if students do not have the trainer system capability, I can easily help them with the early stages of learning how to fly (steps one and two). As long as we keep the airplane high enough, it will never be in danger. Though I have to be much more attentive, I am confident in my flying.
However, as students begin taking off and landing, I make it very clear that there will be little I can do to save the airplane as it gets close to the ground. More than likely, the airplane will be dumped and damaged several times before takeoffs and landings are mastered. As long as my students understand this, I’ll work with them. However, if the students show any sign that they may blame me for the airplane’s damage, I won’t help them learn how to take off and land!
One more point about passing the transmitter as opposed to the trainer system—with the trainer system, you are able to easily retake control. When you pass transmitters, students must give you the transmitter before you can retake control. As beginners progress, they may protest when you ask to retake control. The students may feel they are still in total control even though you know better. By the time they acknowledge they are in trouble, it may be too late for you to save the airplane. I make it very clear at the start that if the student protests when I ask to retake control, I will stop helping.
2) You control the pace. Beginners tend to get a little anxious. You will eventually develop a feel for when students have progressed enough to move on to each new step. Until then, take it slow. If in doubt, stay on the current step until you are sure.
3) Be assertive with your control of the master transmitter. Especially at first, be ready to take control of the airplane at the first sign of mistakes. While this frustrates beginners to some extent, you must be comfortable with the control of the airplane. There may be times, for example, when students come close to the flightline. They may be flying fine, but you will have to take control of the airplane to avoid the flightline boundary.
4) Patience is key. Beginners will have difficulty with things you find easy. This can be frustrating. If you show your frustration, beginners will lose confidence. You must constantly encourage beginners, stressing positive accomplishments to build on.
5) Be on the lookout for new ways to do things. Believe it or not, the best way to thoroughly learn something is to teach it! You will be amazed at how many things you learn from your students’ questions. They really force you to think through things you now take for granted. In order to explain anything, you have to understand it. For questions you can’t answer, look for an another experienced instructor in your club to help.
6) Be sure you can fly out-of-trim airplanes. If you have never taken a new airplane off by yourself, you shouldn’t take a beginner’s airplane up for the first time. To get ready to fly an airplane for the first time, practice this. Get your model in the air and have an instructor intentionally throw off one or more of your airplane’s trims. Practice getting them back to normal.
7) Be sure beginners have an AMA membership card. Beginners must understand that flying can be dangerous and accidents happen. They need insurance when flying model airplanes every bit as much as when driving a car. AMA provides insurance to their members. AMA will allow you to register up to three instructors as those designated to help non-AMA members for a period of up to 30 days. These designated instructors and their students will be insured as long as they follow AMA rules.
8) Keep the left hand on the stick. Through the first two steps, beginners will predominantly use their right hands. You will notice that they will tend to let their left hands stray away from the left stick. Urge them to keep both hands on the sticks. As they begin taking off (in step three), they will need their left hands, and it will be easier if they are comfortable using them.
9) Be flexible. As you begin teaching any subject, you will be amazed at the number of ideas your students come up with. Most beginners tend to be a little naive. They simply do not understand enough of the big picture to draw correct conclusions. However, sometimes excellent ideas come from naivete. Do not be too quick to judge a student’s idea as being bad. They may surprise you!
10) Watch for the student’s saturation point. We all have a limit to how much new information we can absorb in a given period of time. RC flying is no exception. Keep in mind your students will be concentrating very hard during practice sessions, especially during their first few flights. There will come a point when they cannot take any more without a break.
One common symptom of this will be that the student has been doing just fine for about eight to 10 minutes of flying, but all of the sudden, the student starts making mistakes. Students may not understand why they are doing so poorly and may get frustrated. As the instructor, you must recognize when your students have had enough. Suggest a break and land the airplane.
11) Two steps forward, one step back. You must remember that your students will have problems along the way. At times, things you thought they understood will seem to be difficult again (especially after long non-flying periods). This can be frustrating for instructors so you’ll have to show your patience when faced with this problem.
One way to minimize the problem is to do a review of what the students already know at the beginning of each flying session. You can review on the ground, reinforcing their knowledge as well as begin the practice flying by having them do seemingly simple maneuvers they already know. This also helps you begin a more complicated and new topic on a positive note. However, even with reviews, you must be on the lookout for times when students need to take one step back before they can move forward.
Read more at www.palosrc.com/instructors/teachrc.htm.
BEGINNER’S PERSPECTIVE:
Learning how to fly
By MARK SCHAFFER
Learning to fly is a very exhilarating, challenging, rewarding, and fun activity! I highly recommend it to anybody who is interested.
During my first couple of inaugural flights, I was both nervous and excited, kind of like riding a giant roller coaster at an amusement park for the first time. As you prepare to embark on the ride, you are filled with excitement for what is yet to come, but a part of you is nervous and can’t help but wonder what you are getting into. After the ride is over, you realize it was better than you thought it would be! That is what those first couple of flights were like.
During my training sessions, my flight box was wired to my instructor’s flight box via a standard interface cable provided by the club. This allows the instructor to take immediate control of the airplane without me having to do or say anything. Flying tandem like this (the buddy box system) is like a dual cockpit in a real airplane with the instructor sitting right next to you at all times. The instructor performs the takeoff for you using his flight box. After the airplane has climbed to a safe operating altitude, the instructor levels it out and turns the electronic control over to you. My instructor always tells me that altitude is your best friend when learning to fly. The reason being if you do make a mistake, you or the instructor has enough altitude (thus time) to correct the problem.
Next, the trainer provides verbal commands of what flying actions to execute and how to physically perform them on your flight box. If the instructor senses your airplane is in trouble, he or she electronically takes control of the airplane. The trainer also lands the airplane for you at the end of the lesson. Each lesson usually lasts 15 to 20 minutes, and you usually get two to four flights in per session.
During the first
few flights, I would estimate I had control of the airplane three to four
minutes. The remainder of the time, my instructor had control while bailing me
out of whatever mess I had gotten into. I worked with two different instructors,
and both were extremely patient, knowledgeable, and friendly. You can tell their
love of the sport by their willingness to help others learn, and it was obvious
that they enjoyed these training sessions as well. Instructors are a real asset
to the club, and I can’t say enough good things about them.
Learning to fly is a
very exhilarating,
challenging, rewarding, and fun activity!
It may seem hard
to believe, but I was absolutely mentally and physically exhausted from the
adrenaline rush after those first flights. It is a lot to keep up with. You are
listening very intently to every word your instructor says while moving two
unfamiliar control sticks in different directions. And you aren’t able to look
at the controls because your eyes are glued to your airplane at all times so you
know where it is and how it is responding to your control actions. I asked my
new training friends about this, and they all said they felt the same way.
For those first couple of flights, even though I was connected to my trainer’s
buddy box, I was still afraid I was going to crash the airplane in front of a
bunch of people I didn’t know. We (the trainer and I) never did. After the first
flights, I realized that no matter how badly I managed to screw up, my
instructor would save the airplane. At that point in time, I became more
relaxed.
For most of us,
fear is a training inhibitor. With my fear diminishing, my learning curve and
enjoyment started to accelerate. After a handful of additional flights, I
progressed to the point where I could get the airplane to stagger through the
air in the general direction I wanted it to go without the instructor taking
over. I was flying! With more practice, my turns got smoother, and I flew
straight and level without a problem, but the instructor was still taking off
and landing for me.
I was starting to reach a reasonable level of comfort with the ability to fly
pattern laps around the field when the instructor said it was time to start
practicing landings. The nervous/excitement ratio took a big jump with this
announcement! It was time to give up my good friend altitude.
Landing the airplane requires giving up both your altitude and your speed so you
can bring the airplane to ground level. As your altitude and speed decrease so
does your margin of error.
During normal flight speeds at higher altitudes, the airplane is responsive to minor changes in the radio controls. All your flying experience to date has been in this mode of operation. Flying at low landing speeds is a different ball game, and for all practical purposes, it’s like having to learn to fly all over again but in a different way. One example I can think of would be driving a car. When a car travels at highway speeds, it requires very slight, almost unnoticeable movements of the wheel to keep it moving in a straight line. Move it slightly, and the car is quick to change lanes. Now slow the car down to about 5 mph. At lower speeds, it takes more movement in the steering wheel to cause a change in direction. The more drastic the change in direction, the more you must move the wheel.
Flying an airplane at low landing speeds is similar to this. As you begin to lose forward speed, your radio controls become sluggish. The slower you fly, the more unresponsive they become and the more you need to move the controls to make even the smallest correction to the airplane’s flight path.
My instructor did not throw me to the wolves though when I started training for landings. At first the instructor had me reduce throttle while I was still at or near normal flight altitudes. This gave me the experience of how my airplane and controls react at slow speed and how to make proper corrections. I still had my altitude for a margin of error. As I became more comfortable with flying at low speeds the instructor asked me to practice at lower altitudes. I was still hooked up to my instructor’s buddy box, and he gave me constant feedback and encouragement as well as saving my airplane from time to time. At that point in time I was regularly doing low speed fly-bys down the length of the runway at about five to eight feet off the ground.
My instructor told
me it was time to try a landing. He was very candid with me and told me that
when the airplane was only a few feet off the ground on the landing approach,
there would be little he could do to save it. Even though I had trained very
hard at the low fly-bys, I was still nervous about crashing the airplane. The
first time I attempted a landing, my instructor kept telling me to simply take
my time. It actually worked! I was really proud of myself.
For most of us, fear
is a training inhibitor.
With my fear diminishing, my learning curve
and enjoyment started to accelerate.
Have I ever crashed? While I have not had any fatal crashes to date, I have had two hard landings. I dropped the nose of the airplane just moments before landing, hitting the runway. The impact twisted the engine from the mount slightly. The instructor showed me how to fix it at the field and about 30 minutes later the airplane was in good flying condition and back up in the air.
When landing you normally pull the nose of the airplane up a little bit prior to actual touch down. During the second mishap, I pulled up on the nose a little too hard, and the tail section of the airplane hit the runway causing a slight crack in the elevator surface. More instructions on field repair, and I was flying again. When comparing notes with my training friends, it seems all of us have had at least one hard landing resulting in a crack or scratch here and there, but no one has had a crash where the airplane could not be easily repaired. I have done between 12 to 15 landings without incident.
The point I want
to make here is that you should have some realistic expectations that your first
airplane will receive a few bumps and bruises. I will not go so far as to say
that you will never have a fatal crash, but if you work hard with your
instructor, odds are you won’t have one.
from High Flier
North Dallas RC Club
Dan Henderson, editor
Dallas TX
|
Club Contacts:
| President: Dan Curtis- 887-2971 | Vice President: George Ashley- 883-2621 |
| Secretary: Ralph Todd- 859-3073 | Treasurer: Kevin Murdock, 823-7865 |
| Board of Directors: James White, Ron Cannell, Ray Niles, Lonnie Cort, Harrold Carrol, Charles Newton. | |
| News Letter Editor: Russ Rhodes, 3164 S. Glenhaven, Springfield, Missouri 65804, rgr592f@smsu.edu | |
| Web Site of Springfield RC Club: http://www.angelfire.com/mo2/blacksheeprc/index2.html | |
David Sleeth - Owner
"Your Edge to Better Quality & Service"
1912 E. Sunshine, Springfield, Missouri 65804
Radio Control Equipment Specialists
Airplanes, Boats, Cars, Plastic Models, Parts, Service, Tools
(417) 883-1118, (800) 730-3138
