Saturday,
April 17 Field Maintenance/ Fun Fly/Swap Meet, 10:00 AM. Sparky sez...Clean
out your garage and basement. Bring what you want to get rid of.
Remember one man's trash is another man's treasure!!
Saturday,
May 1st... Field Maintenance Make Up
Saturday,
May 15 ...... Pot Luck Dinner and Fun fly
Saturday,
July 17 ..... Pattern Primer Open
Saturday,
July 31 .... Float fly practice Lake Springfield
Sat/Sun,
Aug 14/15 ... 17th Annual Float Fly, Lake Springfield
Sat/Sun,
Sept. 11/12 ... 4th Annual AA Pattern Contest
Flying has been steady. There have been a number of
"new" members this month at the field. Flying has been marginal
to good on many days. Charles Newton brought a beautiful Four Star Forty
(120 size) to the field. It was too windy. There were several
electrics flown (into the ground) due to the wind and battery failure.
Yours truly almost had a very awkward situation with an electric. I
thought that I would fly it away from the field and out of harms way. The
wind took over and it hit the wind sock pole, almost getting into the flying
area from the west. This was not a good situation and
reminds us that RC flying of any kind needs to adhere to the rules of the
club, i.e., the correct proceedure was to put the electric (even if a trial) on
the runway. Club members on the flight line can be alerted that
this is a trial with no certainty of success. Below are some
photos from the field (click on picture for larger view).
Cold day in 2004 at the field
We once had an AT-6 contest.
This is a flyable leftover.
John Clevenger on the field at last year's
(2003) pattern contest
Thank goodness for the judges, for without
them there would be no contest. This was at the Blacksheep 2003
Pattern Contest
A critical event in any sanctioned event is
the "keep them moving" rule. A recent article in an RC
magazine showed that success of a contest was exactly that, "keep
them moving".
George Ashley on the flight line in front
of judges, 2003 Pattern Contest
Our club president (Dan Curtis) for
2003-2004 with his new pattern plane
Some planes on a cold day in February, 2004
An old member's pattern plane on the stand,
Mike Howard, I believe.
Springfield RC Club, minutes of March meeting - Thursday, March 4, 2004.
Ralph Todd, Secretary.
The club met at the Library Center on south Campbell Street. The meeting
was called to order at 7PM by president Dan Curtis. The attendance was
really up, in spite of a record rain fall, and warm but stormy weather.
Hard copies of the newsletter were received by nearly everyone present.
This aided by allowing last month's minutes to be reviewed before the meeting.
The minutes were accepted without any changes. Treasurer Kevin Murdock
gave a comprehensive report on the club's finances. Two new, and five
returning members paid their dues and were added to the current club roster.
This report was voted and accepted for record.
Old Business:
There was more discussion as to the advantages and disadvantages of increasing
the size of the present building at the field. There were estimates as
to the cost of remodeling and enlarging what we have, for buying a shelter
that could be moved, or to occasionally put up the large tent that
the club already owns, close to our present building. It was decided to
table the subject and give it more thought.
Doug Bennett reported that the bilaws review committee is still studying to
see if any changes need to be made.
New Business:
President Dan reported that the flying field now officially has an address.
It is 7755 N. Farm Road 189, Fair Grove, MO. This will be posted at the field.
It could be very important in emergencies.
After in depth discussion, the club voted to buy $100 of raffle tickets, to
aid the scale model USA team in the world competition for this year. It
will be held in Poland. As well as an aid for the USA team, there are
$2,500 worth of prizes to be given away. The club decided to give these
tickets out as door prizes at the club's next scheduled event.
Bert Turner was elected to receive the top gun award for the remainder of the
year for his service as field master.
There was further discussion as to whether the club should buy a new
fiberglass Port-A-Potty. Jerry Kutz built the one we are using, many
years ago. The alternative would be to paint it up.
A motion was made and seconded that we adjourn about 8 PM. Bob
Pace then held a nice raffle. Charley Newton and James Conlee made off
with the nicer prizes. Members enjoyed visiting and exchanging
flying and rebuilding experiences.
Effective
January 1, 2004, all dues are payable on a calendar year basis for those who
were members in 2002.As was the
case in 2003, 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 2004 in order to
receive your 2004 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,MO65809
MIXING EPOXY:
What to do when epoxy doesn't harden properly
Epoxy is one of the best modeling materials available. It’s useful
as an adhesive for wetting out fiberglass cloth, as a filler, and as
a finishing material. It can be thinned or thickened for a variety
of purposes. But, even though it is useful, epoxy also can be a pain
when it doesn’t harden properly.
There are two important issues when dealing with epoxy:
proportioning and mixing.
Of these two, mixing is the most critical. Misproportioning the
hardener to the epoxy generally leads to slow hardening, but lack of
proper mixing can lead to permanently sticky epoxy. One hundred
quick, hard strokes are recommended when mixing any amount of epoxy.
Count them to make sure that your mixing is adequate.
Always mix your epoxy before putting in any additives. Both thinning
or thickening agents can keep epoxy from mixing properly. Give the
epoxy 100 strokes first and then put in the additive.
Thinning
Epoxy can be thinned using acetone or denatured alcohol. Either of
these can be added to make it more watery. A mix of up to 50%
doesn’t seem to have any effect on the final strength of the
epoxy. Thinning the epoxy will slow down the curing time and make it
wet out fiberglass and carbon fiber better. Thinned epoxy also can
be wiped onto balsa or obechi as a finish.
Thickening
Epoxy can be thickened by adding almost any inert fine-grained
solid, from sand to cotton fiber. Modelers usually use microballoons
for thickening epoxy since they are readily available and add little
weight. Thickened epoxy can be used to make fillets or to fill gaps.
5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, more?
Epoxy comes in formulations for different curing times. The times
listed on the package are strictly nominal and generally refer to
curing time. Five-minute epoxy does not give you five minutes of
working time. At best, you will get 20 seconds of working time in
which to place 5-minute epoxy before it starts to “hit.”
Thirty-minute epoxy gives you around one to three minutes before it
starts to hit. These times will vary with temperature, mix
proportions, and proper mixing, but they are good reference points.
In general, 5-minute epoxy is only for spot gluing. It is great for
small, quick jobs but not for involved tasks.
A general rule of thumb is the working time for epoxy (after 100
strokes of mixing) is about 10% of the time listed on the package.
Keep in mind that epoxy mixed and left in the cup will hit faster
than epoxy that is spread out immediately.
Clean up
Epoxy on the hands can be cleaned with acetone, denatured alcohol,
or vinegar. Vinegar is the most desirable of these three but it
smells. I find that soft soap, when used straight and rubbed
patiently and thoroughly on the hands, removes epoxy residue in a
completely satisfactory fashion. Try it; you’ll like it. The best
thing to do is wear latex gloves while working with epoxy and toss
them when you’re done. It avoids any possible allergic reaction
and eliminates the clean-up problem.
from the newsletter of the
R/C World Flyers
Al Sorensen, editor
Orlando
Aviation truisms The following is a list of aviation truths compiled by a
Continental airline pilot.
1) Every takeoff is optional. Every landing is mandatory.
2) If you push the stick forward, the houses get bigger. If you pull
the stick back, they get smaller. That is, unless you keep pulling
the stick back; then, the houses get bigger again.
3) Flying isn’t dangerous. Crashing is what’s dangerous.
4) It’s better to be down here wishing you were up there than up
there wishing you were down here.
5) The only time you have too much fuel is when you’re on fire.
6) The propeller is just a big fan in front of the airplane used to
keep the pilot cool. When it stops, you can actually watch the pilot
sweating.
7) When in doubt, hold onto your altitude. No one has ever collided
with the sky.
8) A “good” landing is one from which you can walk away. A
“great” landing is one after which you can use the airplane
again.
9) Learn from the mistakes of others. You won’t live long enough
to make all of them yourself.
10) You know you’ve landed with the wheels up if it takes full
power to taxi to the ramp.
11) The probability of survival is inversely proportional to the
angle of arrival. Large angle of arrival=small probability of
survival and vice versa.
12) Never let an aircraft take you somewhere your brain didn’t get
to five minutes earlier.
13) Stay out of clouds. The silver lining that everyone’s talking
about might be another airplane going the opposite direction.
from Space City Crash
Space City R/C
Mike Crotts, editor
Houston TX
