A good turnout of members, wives, and friends of the Springfield RC club, enjoyed a Christmas party December 5th at the Knights of Columbus Hall. We were fortunate once again to have Jerry Kutz to reserve the hall for us.  Enthusiasm and plenty of Christmas spirit was evident as everyone gathered around dinner tables, visiting, and buying raffle tickets.

O. D. Fine returned thanks before we were served an excellent dinner.  Russ Rhodes introduced the new incoming officers. and gave recognition to those officers just finishing up their term.  President Charlie Newton gave words or appreciation, certificates, and plaques to those members who had been very helpful in making 2002 a very successful year. They were:

Dan Curtis, Doug Bennett, Mike Howard, O.D. Fine, Ray Niles, Russ Rhodes, Bert Turner, John Clevenger, John & Olena White, Lonnie Cort, Jerry Kutz, Richard Helger, Ralph Todd, Doc Wessels, Sparky Wessels, Carl Baron, Kevin Murdock, and Al Sheppard.

For the program Doug Bennett lead the group in a game of "Double Jeopardy".

With the help of Mike Howard and Russell Rhodes, they divided the participants into three teams. They were: the Gooney Birds, the Eagles, and the Dirty Birds. Questions were asked that pertained to remote control flying. One question was what AMA stood for. Would you believe we had trouble with that? The teams started out with pretty close scoring, but the Dirty Birds easily pulled away for an easy win.

Next, Doug Bennett again recognized the outgoing officers. A special word of thanks was given to president Charlie Newton. A round of applause was given as he was again presented with the " Top Gun" award and the hand carved miniature pilot, which is given annually to the recipient.

A special thanks was given to David Sleeth, Dan Curtis, and others, for the many dollars worth of prizes they have donated.  Nice prizes were won during the raffle, which was conducted by Doug Bennett, Dale Brown, and Russell Rhodes. Russ was just a little embarrassed to find out that the last two tickets drawn    ( out of several hundred ), were his. He had won the two new airplanes being raffled off. One was a kit form in a box. The other was a very beautiful one fourth size red and white Taylorcraft with nearly a 86 inch wing span.

We had a pretty nice day to fly a couple of Sunday’s back. I was really glad to see some of our pattern flyers taking advantage of the day. No less than five planes and flyers were pitting at the south end of our pit area. Doug Bennett was out getting the first flights on his new Explorer 90. You may have seen this plane being flown this fall by Mike Howard. Now that Mike has his new Focus and an Aries in the pipeline he was able to let this fine flying plane have a new home. Doug’s flights were dedicated to familiarization. Both with the new plane and for him to work out some of the rustiness from many weeks of no flying, due to his theft losses. Actually by the third flight, he was pretty much settled down and was beginning to really enjoy the new plane. A few more times out and then practice and trimming will begin in earnest.

Mike Howard was getting more flight time on the Focus. Mike, as we all know is an accomplished flier, however, next time you see him on the flight line take a few minutes and watch him work on the Intermediate pattern with his new plane. His presentation and geometry are coming along very nicely and his transitions from maneuver to maneuver are getting smoother every time out. He could very well be a force to reckon with in the Midwest this coming season. It is amazing what set goals and practice towards those goals accomplishes.

In the next few weeks when weather permits don’t be a bit surprised to see George Ashley (our brand new VP) show up at the field with a new 2 meter pattern plane. More on this later.

This month I wanted to take a few lines and talk about stall turns. Yep, the plane old stall turn that we all do and love so well. We see so many different types or attempts and stall turns that sometimes we loose track of how they should be performed. We have all seen the pull from almost level flight to a canted vertical climb and then throttle jerked back to idle with rudder slammed to one side or the other. The plane will try its darndest to do a stall turn it really wants to but we just won’t let it. Instead it may fall through or fall out of the vertical track; it may be going up so yawed that instead of a 180-degree turn it can only get 100 or 120 degrees of turn. It may be quivering as if undecided on which way its going and then is suddenly receives a burst of power and flies over the top. Well, none of this really qualifies as a stall turn. The plane should pull vertical from a straight and level track, establish a vertical line and with receding power should begin to slow. When the upward movement of the plane is stopped the nose should yaw through 180 degrees (less wind correction) and move on a downward vertical track. The turn should be no more than one wing width, that is one wing not both wings. Next time you are out give some stall turns a try but this time try to make them the way you want them and not just the way the happen to fall. Entry is very important, it must be straight and level. Depending on the aircraft, you may have to ease in a little right rudder pressure as you pull to the vertical. Smoothly bring the throttle to idle or if necessary a bit above idle, watch the plane it will continue to climb for a few seconds as it is approaching the end of its upward motion begin bringing in the rudder. The plane will pivot on its CG and as the plane begins its downward leg gently let off the rudder, gain airspeed and exit the maneuver. Stall turns are easy, good controlled stall turns are difficult. You will see experienced upper class flyers practicing stall turns time after time. They are a timing maneuver and timing takes practice. A few hints during your practice. If the plane continually falls out to the canopy your are over pulling in the transition to vertical, if it falls to the belly then you are more than likely under pulling and not getting truly vertical. If the plane has trouble on the pivot it could be due to an idle set a bit slow. You must have some air moving over the rudder to be effective. Try them with the throttle trim set a bit higher. If you are doing wing overs, the plane flies over the top and the turn is more than one wing in width then you are carrying way to much power or bringing in the rudder to early while you still have to much forward speed. Give a bit of time to stall turns, when you do one of those dead solid, full stall, center pivot ones it will put a big grin on your face.

Exiting the box………Dan

It is very important to make certain that your receiver is not subjected to excess vibration from the engine in your model. The common practice is to wrap the receiver in soft foam and stuff it into the fuselage. However, the new design of receivers have several, up to five, components that are very easily damaged, or change values to affect a receiver’s performance when subjected to vibration. The best method is to make a box or tube of soft foam plastic or rubber, and make it a size that allows a little movement for the receiver. Then, wrap the bundle with masking tape, not rubber bands, as these compress the foam, and reduce the insolation from vibration. Finally, make absolutely certain that the servo and battery wires emerge from the bundle at the opposite end from the antenna.

I have had many transmitters with channels not working or with travel jammed at one end. Many times this is due to a channel reversing switch not being set correctly. Some transmitters have very light action reversing switches that can change position very easily. Check to make certain that all the switches are at their end positions, and toggle them several times to help keep the contacts clean. If the channel is still bad, then it is usually a problem with the respective stick assembly, usually the pot or its wires.

I hate to see the familiar method of installing transmitter NiCd packs using unreliable snap fasteners rubbing on spring leaves. Too often I have seen these corroded and lacking tension, with corrosion down inside the press studs parts. It is my practice to change all of these battery connections with two heavy-duty two-wired connectors which make a safe and easy to replace pack. I also get to the isolation diode which will prevent cycling or load testing of the internal battery. Here, I install a fuse across the diode, so that it adds to the safety of the charge circuit, as the fuse will blow if a short is made across the external wiring and then the standard diode backs up the protection.

After a severe landing or crash the servos need to be checked for damage to their gear trains. It is not necessary to open up the case, as a real test is to rotate the servo output arm, without the servo being installed and driving the gear train back thought its reduction to the motor. This very severe test will show up any weak or damaged gears by a ratcheting or even a freewheeling action. If you decide to replace the gears, make absolutely certain that you find and remove all the broken teeth, as they are sometimes the same color as the silicone grease used to quieting the gear action. Check for teeth stuck into the good gears, and look where the motor pinon is located for more hidden parts. When you install the output gear, be very careful that you orient it in the correct direction to allow full circular travel looking at the position of the end stop molding.

The metal whip antennas take a beating, so you need to look them over regularly. Extend it fully and give it a shake, checking for slop in the sections as this can be an intermittent connection. Clean it with tissue and alcohol and use WD40 as a lubricant This will keep the internal connecting springs clean. If any of the sections slide back, replace the antenna, and never use metal gadgets to hold the flag in place. If you break the antenna, simply solder the pieces together with brass tubing while you wait for a replacement. Also check at the bottom as the threaded insert often breaks loose.

The standard length is one meter, while USA made receivers use three feet. However, the actual length is not that important, so don’t panic if you chop off a few inches. You can safely splice back the broken end and cover the joint with heatshrink sleeving. To replace the antenna at the circuit board requires soldering skills, so it may be better to splice. Use a similar stranded wire, the gauge and insulation is not very important. Never string a antenna to the model using a metal clip at the end! Always try to route the antenna at least two inches clear of any other internal wiring.

You can check the operation of a 72 or 75 Mhz transmitter by turning on a standard TV set to channel 3 or 4 and noting the pattern on the screen when the transmitter is close to it. You should hear a change in the buzzing sound as you move the sticks on a AM or FM, but not the PCM! A common cause for a dead transmitter is the internal fuse, which is sometimes well hidden. JR transmitters have a problem with weak spring metal in their fuse holders, which can be an annoying intermittent problem and needs retensioning when replacing the fuse.

The Futaba Attack and Conquest Transmitters often have intermittent on/off switches and the only way to replace them is complete dismantling of the stick assemblies and removing the front plate!

If you have a battery box for loose cells, this is deadly! Replace with soldered in cells, and in the Futaba 5 AU and 7 AU, these need their spring battery contacts removed and the connection replaced with suitable matched connectors.

Don’t run you transmitter for longer than 15 minutes with the antenna collapsed, as this will, in time, damage the RF transistor due to excess heat build up. Use a servo driver to set up the servos, then use the transmitter to fine tune the neutrals and travels. A low meter reading us usually a sign of a bad battery pack!

from Flightline, Jean Sellers, editor
13136 Surcease Mine Rd
Yankee Hill, CA 95965