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VOLUME #14 ISSUE 8 OCTOBER , 2002
EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT
Next club event coming in December, December 5, 2002, Thursday, is the Annual Christmas Dinner, Installation of Officers and Friendship Gathering of Fliers, Family and Friends
Where: Knights of Columbus Hall, 2340 West Grand, Springfield, Missouri
When: Doors Open at 6:00 P.M., Dinner at 6:30 P. M.
Menu: Ham, Chicken Cordon Bleu, Rolls, Green beans, Salad, Baked Potato, Cobbler for Dessert, Tea and Coffee (Alcoholic Beverages Available for Purchase)
Cost: $10.00 plus 0.65 tax = $10.65
Reservations: Reservations must be made by November 28, 2002. Call Charles Newton, 883-3354 or Russ Rhodes, 887-7479
IN THIS ISSUE
Springfield
RC Club, Minutes of
October Meeting, October 3, 2002
Kevin
Murdock, Secretary
Following a
meeting of the Board of Directors, the regular meeting was called to order at
7PM by President Charles Newton.
Minutes of
the September meeting were reviewed by the president. Motion to approve seconded
and passed.
Treasurer
Carl Baron gave a detailed treasurer’s report covering the year’s revenues
and expenditures. Motion to approve
seconded and passed. Carl reminded
all members that, as of January 1, 2003 all membership renewals are due.
A prorated schedule will be available for new members.
General discussion concerning the privacy issue of posting members names, addresses and phone numbers at the field and names on the website. Membership list will no longer be posted at the field and names may be deleted from the website on request.
Dan Curtis
reported a success with the recent pattern contest.
The 27 contestants were pleased with the well-run contest and the profit
will help the club treasury. Dan
also covered the upcoming heli-fly October 12th and 13th.
Jon White and John Clevenger will be running the show and Al Shepard,
Charles, Jim, and Ray will be helping or cooking.
Doug
Bennett, Mike Howard, and Russ Rhodes will be handling the preparations for the
Club Christmas Banquet slated for December 5th. Get in touch with one of them if you have videos, photos,
etc. for use during the banquet. Jerry
Kutz discussed reservations and the menu. This
years fare will include ham, chicken cordon bleu, vegetables, and salad served
buffet style.
Reservations need to be made by November 28, contact Carl Baron, Kevin
Murdock, or Charles Newton. $10 per person, pay at the door.
Due to a commitment made by the club, if you make a reservation, it is
necessary to pay even if you are unable to attend.
General
discussion on some maintenance needed at the field.
The pit fence is still scheduled to be revamped,
OD Fine, Bert, and Jerry will be grading the existing gravel to fill some
holes, some dirt will also be brought in for the same purpose.
Thanks to Ralph, the roof of the storage building has been repaired.
Thanks to these guys and others
who give their time and sweat to improve things at the field during their spare
time!
No changes are planned for the club dues structure in 2003. All renewals are due on January 1, 2003.
Club officers for 2003 will be voted upon at the November meeting. Those tentatively volunteering for this grisly task are as follows:
President – Dan
Curtis
Vice President –
George Ashley
Treasurer – Kevin
Murdock
Secretary – Ralph
Todd
Board of Directors
James White, Ron
Cannell, Ray Niles, Lonnie Cort, Harrold Carrol, Charles Newton.
OD has invited the Bolivar 4H Club out to the field for a little taste of the fun that we have. Plans are pending.
Russ Rhodes showed some great, professional videotape of the TOC and Scale Masters contests for the monthly program.
The club raffle followed. Epoxy, CA glue, a gallon of fuel, a new sealing iron and a new starter were raffled off to more fortunate people than me!
With no further business to be brought before the membership, motion was made to adjourn. Adjourn at 8:30 PM.
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
This is the slate of Officers for the Springfield RC Club, 2003, that will be voted on at the November 7, 2002 Meeting to be held at the Downtown Springfield Library. See the marque for the location.
President – Dan
Curtis
Vice President –
George Ashley
Treasurer –
Kevin Murdock
Secretary –
Ralph Todd
Board of Directors - James White, Ron Cannell, Ray Niles, Lonnie Cort, Harrold Carrol, Charles Newton.
Jon and Olena's Heli Fly Comments
The
First Annual Blacksheep Heli Fun Fly has wrapped up, we had 32 pilots, they all
came from all over, Jeff Rankin, Robey Rep. came the farthest, Indiana,,, some
came from Enid OK, Aida, OK, Little Rock, AR. St Louis, MO,, Kansas City, MO,,,
Rolla, MO, Pittsburgh, KS. I will get the final count of where they all
came from later,, This was a HUGE success and all the pilots wants to know if we
will have it again next year? OF course we are, especially with a turnout like
we had, The weather played a huge part in some of our planned events for the
weekend,,, We were going to have a night fly with some of the JR Reps, but
the weather was not right for it, the rain set in and then the
fog and cold temperatures followed. We
had a raffle Sunday. We raffled off
a JR Venture Helicopter and OS 32 engine combo. Ron Walters won that. Mike
Varner from Aida, OK won the V-Blades from Vic Campbell,,, Mike Howard won the
Futaba Radio,,,, Jon White won the Kyosho Helicopter and 32 engine,,,,
Everyone
had a good time while they were, many of the pilots ventured out to Bas Pros
Shops Saturday night since they couldn't fly to shop and eat...
We
would like to thank Vic Campbell from V-Blades for his time and prizes he
donated and his wonderful wife Sherrie for the help too, he gave us lots of
helpful advice and got the word out and passed out flyers to help us out in
making this event such a success,,,,,, MANY THANKS to Vic and Sherrie,,,,,,,,
Vic donated the Kyosho Helicopter and engine and set of V-blades for the raffle.
Thanks again
Thanks
to Sleeth Hobbies for letting us get the JR Venture and engine for the raffle
and the prizes he donated to the event, Thanks Dave.
Thanks
to Hobbies in Motion for donating some really good prizes for this event too,,,
thanks Matt Hite.
We
had many Vendors that donated prizes to us for this event too, so many we can't
start to name all of them
We
want to thank Charlie and Al for the Blacksheep Grill, the food was excellent,
we had many compliments on how good it was from the pilots. Charlie and Al are always there to lend a helping hand,,,,
all of us should give them a thank you when you see them...Thanks Charlie and Al
for everything this weekend,, it was much appreciated......
Thanks
to John Clevenger in helping us get this together too, he has been a huge help
to us too,,,, Thanks John so very much,,,,
Dan
Curtis for CDing the Event, and the help he has given Jon and I to get this
event going and making it a success. Thanks
Dan so much.
Thanks
to all the pilots that came out to support this event in our club. Thanks
guys so much..... Thanks for all the club members that helped out this weekend
too.
Doc
Wessels, we want to thank him too, for letting us borrow the PA system. Thanks
so much Doc we really appreciate it so much.
I
hope I haven't left anyone out. If
I have, please forgive us, Thank
ALL of you for making this Heli Fun Fly a HUGE success for us and the club.
Jon and Olena White
Photos of the Heli Event, Springfield, Missouri, 2002
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 |
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| Panorama (While small click on the image for a better view) | A really beautiful bird (Click on the image for a beautiful view) | Honest, this is really what we saw. (Click on the image for full impression) |
The pilot and his bird, Jeff Rankin, is a Rep, for Robey Helicopters. |
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First of all let me begin by extending my thanks and appreciation to John Clevenger for being the acting CD at the Heli Fly In. I had a sudden and unexpected opportunity to attend the TOC in Las Vegas, NV during that time and John took on the responsibility in my absence and did an outstanding job.
My wife, Ronnie and Mary Wissbaum and I traveled to Las Vegas, NV for 4 days this past month. We immersed ourselves into sight seeing, shopping, dinning, gambling and airplane watching. Needless to say it was a very nice trip. The Tournament of Champions is something to see. The best flyers in the world flying some very difficult maneuvers and maneuver combinations including unknown schedules for a week in the desert. The plane requirements have changed over the years require more scale appearance and therefore the 40 percent size Edges, Extras etc…are the norm at this contest yet the talent level is such that it is still an excellent show and well received by the modeling community and the casual spectator. Big, loud, low and raucous has been a successful combination there, with very nice crowds enjoying the show each day. Springfield had a nice group in attendance. Along with our group, Randy Cameron, Gary Seeloff, Steve Ruble and Adam Quinoz were there and of course Chris Lakin was competing and had his family along. Diana, is Chris’s caller and is a very important part of the Lakin team.
I have included a few photos that were taken through the pit area at the TOC field.
An interesting survey has been posted on RC Universe website. The poll basically ask why a person is not trying or flying pattern with a list of possible reasons from which a person can choose. Complicated patterns, complicated equipment, expensive equipment, no time, boring, no local interest or support are a few of the choices. The leading cause to this point is no local interest/support followed by expense. The expense choice does not surprise me too much. Some of the top of the line latest planes made from unobtanium with the latest stump pulling motor are expensive and would deter many. This has deterred many from many different types of competition for as long as we can remember. That is one of the reasons pattern has entry level classes, with the classes progressing in a somewhat logical manner in demands on both pilots skills and the equipment. Anyone wanting to jump into pattern flying can do see with a minimal equipment investment. Granted the standard ARF trainer is going to be at a disadvantage but it can be flown with some success in the beginning level. More realistically one of the newer breed of smaller pattern ARF’s would be a better choice. More competitive and a much better flying aircraft which also equates to much more fun. Three planes make the short list easily. The Aresti, is a smallish pattern plane that seems to perform very nicely with a YS .63. It is inexpensive and will fly nicely with quality standard servos like the 527/537 JR’s or the Futaba equivalent. Moving up in size to a .90 we have the Swallow provided by Giant Scale Planes. Rodney Elliott and Tim Johnson each have one of these planes and they look very promising. Rodney has an OS .91 2 stroke on his while Tim will be putting a YS .91 4 stroke in his Swallow. Some of you may have seen Mike Howard’s latest plane. He has been at the field a lot lately putting in some dedicated pattern work and having a ball. His is the new JR PROPO that is currently available in Japan with a possible introduction in the US this spring. Mike got his from Ebay on line auctions as did Adam Quinoz. I have flown Mike’s plane and it is rock solid and is a great flying plane with the YS .91 in the nose. It will fly the AMA Masters pattern and handles the lower classes easily. Any of these three planes can be used to learn and compete if desired in the AMA precision aerobatics classes and for a minimal to moderate monetary outlay.
As for the other choice on the survey of lack of local interest we have that one pretty much beat in our area. We had a very nice turnout at the pattern primer in July and very good club participation in the contest last September. I have been watching the different districts contest results this year and pattern entries are growing in several districts so interest is strong and growing and Springfield is certainly not being left behind.
If you have any interest in learning about pattern or any questions regarding some of the first steps to take, please get in touch with me or any other pattern flyer in the club. If you care to look at the poll or survey go to rcuniverse.com and look under the pattern section.
I have talked a lot about ARF’s in this column this month. Next month I will try to expand a bit on my personal thoughts on the ARF’s place in the hobby and in general.
For now…..exiting the box
Dan
National
Newsletter- October, 2002:
Beginning Model Engine
Operations
by John Hunton
We are in the age of the ARF. These Almost Ready to Fly models
are attractive and seem to promise a lot. They bring a new generation of
modelers to the flying field who may not be experienced in model airplane engine
operation. ARFs will not begin to deliver on their promises if the engine will
not start. It is hoped that these notes will assist the beginner to get going
successfully and enjoy model aviation to its fullest.
Most trainer type ARFs are powered by model engines of the two-stroke cycle
type. Two-stroke cycle basically means that the engine fires every time the
piston goes up and compresses the air/fuel mixture (four-stroke cycle engines
fire every other time). The big difference in the two types of engine is in how
the fuel/air mixture is transferred to the cylinder. While the four-stroke
engine uses the upper part of the piston to pump fuel/air in and exhaust out,
the two-stroke uses the bottom of the piston as the induction pump.
When the two-stroke piston goes up it creates a vacuum in the lower part of the
engine (crankcase), a port opens and fuel/air is inducted through the
carburetor. After the piston reaches the top of its stroke the intake opening is
closed. As the piston moves downward from the force of combustion it moves past
an exhaust port which lets most of the products of combustion escape. The piston
moves further downward and opens intake ports, which allow the compressed
air/fuel mixture in the crankcase to transfer into the upper cylinder.
The amount of power generated by the typical combustion action is controlled by
the throttle (amount of air/fuel mixture) and the needle valve (ratio of air to
fuel). For any given throttle setting there is an ideal air/fuel mixture, which
modern carburetors are capable of providing over a wide range of throttle
settings.
While it would seem prudent to set the needle valve to the maximum rpm for every
throttle setting, it is important to realize that lubrication for all moving
engine parts is mixed with the fuel.
Therefore as the mixture is changed from rich (needle more open) to lean (needle
more closed) there is less lubrication available for the engine. With a lean
needle setting and less lubrication the engine will run hotter. With a rich
setting the engine will run cooler. As we will see, neither rich nor lean is
ideal: too lean leading to short engine life and seizing up at full power and
too cool leading to unreliable idle.
Modern engines are generally not run-in at the factory. Parts are not seated yet
and fits are tight. A new engine is not reliable at all, so it is prudent to run
at least one tank of fuel through it before trying to fly. The way an engine is
broken-in determines to a large part how long it will last. Make the first run
on a new engine on the rich side to provide good lubrication and to keep the
engine relatively cool.
If you are trying to start a new engine this is what will usually happen. The
cylinder is cold, therefore the engine needs a richer mixture to begin the
combustion process and start to heat up. You can choke the engine to provide
that fuel rich mixture by placing your finger over the intake and turning the
propeller (this gets fuel up in the fuel line ready to begin feeding) or you can
prime it with raw fuel. In either case when you try to start the engine this
super-rich mixture will usually cool the glow plug when it is transferred into
the upper cylinder. This is why you cannot expect the engine to start if you are
flipping or applying the starter continuously. It is best to choke or prime with
sufficient fuel to start combustion, then wait a while for the glow plug to heat
up again before flipping.
Use the starter in short bursts, leaving a little time between bursts.
Modern engines use muffler pressure to the fuel tank. While there was much
resistance in the modeling community to using mufflers when they were introduced
many years ago, the use of muffler pressure has greatly improved engine
operation reliability. But if you have started your engine and it quits for some
reason, residual muffler pressure will continue to cause fuel to flow into your
engine, perhaps even enough to cause hydraulic lock, which can severely damage
your engine.
If you get to a hydraulic lock condition and you try to flip the engine, the
propeller will stop dead as the piston moves upward (air is compressible,
liquids are not). If you are flipping, and you experience hydraulic lock, your
finger will move up the back edge of the propeller blade and it may be cut
severely. It is a good idea to wear a glove while flipping an engine. With
hydraulic lock it is best to remove the glow plug and flip over the engine by
hand or starter to clear the raw fuel.
While you have the glow plug out, attach it to your glow driver to observe the
color of the element. A bright orange color is normal. A dull red color
indicates that the driver may need charging or the plug needs replacing.
Notice where the fuel level in your tank is in relation to the middle of the
carburetor. If the fuel level is above the carburetor this may cause siphoning
into the engine. If it is below the carburetor, it may be difficult for the
carburetor to draw it up in time to sustain running. Check this fuel level for
first engine operations and add or remove fuel or tilt the model as required for
the proper fuel level condition.
During break-in you will probably be adjusting the needle valve more than any
other time. Please use a wooden propeller to save your fingers. Factory needle
settings are usually very close to optimum so open the needle a few clicks to
provide a good rich mixture.
You have started the engine and have run a tank through it. It is now time to
prepare your engine for flight. At full throttle set the needle to optimum,
which for now is just the rich side of maximum rpm. If your new engine will hold
this setting without seizing it is ready to fly (if not run another tank through
it). There are two conditions that will make this mixture setting invalid. One
is that as fuel burns off the level in the tank gets lower and this causes the
mixture to go leaner.
The other condition is acceleration. With fuel tank behind the engine the force
of acceleration during takeoff will tend to make the engine go lean. The usual
result of this leaning tendency is engine failure at the worst possible time.
Most modelers simulate the takeoff acceleration scenario by tilting the model to
the vertical and setting the needle on the rich side of optimum at maximum rpm
in that orientation.
A word about the other end, reliable idle. When an engine is idling and the
model is coming down, massive amounts of cooling air flow over the engine with
little heat being generated. A too rich idle adjustment will cause the engine to
run even cooler and it will usually quit. Keep the idle setting fairly lean.
Adjust the throttle linkage so full off trim will stop the engine and full on
trim will cause a high enough idle setting to be completely reliable and you can
adjust trim in the air to a low but reliable position.
It is hoped that these procedures can help you learn successfully in a day what
it has taken many of us so many years to develop.
from LadyHawks Aerie
LadyHawks LLC
Ann Wilson, editor
| President: Charles Newton, 883-3354 | Vice President: Doc Wessels, 859-3126 |
| Secretary: Kevin Murdock, 823-7865 | Treasurer: Carl Baron 883-2229 |
| Board of Directors: Dan Curtis, Lonnie Cort, Mike Howard, Ray Niles, Al Shepard, Doug Bennett | |
| News Letter Editor: Russ Rhodes, 3164 S. Glenhaven, Springfield, Missouri 65804, rgr592f@smsu.edu | |
| Web Site of Springfield RC Club: http://www.anglefire.com/mo2/blacksheeprc/index2.html | |
Next Meeting: November 7, 2002,
Midtown Carnegie Branch, 397 E. Central, Community Room, Second Floor (the Old Main Library) Springfield, Missouri, 7:00 P. M.
