When my life-long friend, who flys in Delaware, and I arrived at the old Builders Square parking lot Saturday morning, I was surprised to see that we were among the last, rather than among the first to arrive. I thought that was curious since the bus wasn’t scheduled to leave for another half hour. In any event I boarded the bus, greeted the many happy veterans of this show, who were excited by the knowledge of what they would encounter in New York.
A moment before the bus began its journey, Joe Weizer announced that there were snacks for the ride up and hoagies for everyone to eat for lunch at the show. Now I’m not a junk food kind of guy, but I was amazed by the variety and quantity of snacks. There were chocolate covered doughnuts, TastyKakes and pies, cheese munchies, pretzels, hard candies, sodas, peanut butter crackers......well,you get the point! In all fairness to Joe, there were apples and bananas for the health conscious too!
During the ride, Joe played the Strobel video tape of the club that was shown at the Awards Dinner the week before. I hadn’t seen it previously, so I enjoyed viewing it that much more on the bus. All I could think was how much fun I was having, and I hadn’t even arrived at the show yet!
The two and one half hour ride took no time at all! The bus dropped us off near the main entrance to the convention center. I walked up to the ticket taker, had my hand stamped, and proceeded into the main exhibit floor. It was at this point that my eyes enlarged to triple their normal size and my jaw dropped open six inches or so! I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. There was too much to take in at one glance. It was overwhelming and it was awesome! I was in a gigantic toy store for adults, and the toys were all about R/C model airplanes and its paraphernalia
Sensing my awe-struck facial expression, and the possibility of being overwhelmed by the show’s magnitude, Jim Campana told me that I was welcome to follow his dad and himself through the maze of booths and vendors. Jim, the engineer, had his floor plan at the ready and had methodically planned his strategy for covering the event. I appreciated the offer, but impulsiveness overcame methodology, and I found myself being drawn from one booth to another based on the “Oh wow! Look at that” factor!
I worked my way through the throngs of people (did I forget to say that there were hoards of people and some patience was required to work one’s way around the floor?)
I spent about five hours going from booth to booth, display to display and floor to floor. I got a kick out of talking to the Sig Model representative about the Four Star 60 on display because that’s the plane I’m building. The Futaba rep answered one or two questions, also.
Personally, I spent my money at a booth on the lower level that sold modeling tools, and purchased a pin vise drill, clamps, #11 blades, contour sanding forms and other useful articles. I was more than pleased with my acquisitions. I noticed that others from the club purchased kits, engines, servos, glues, etc., at really great prices. Rom Boutin gave me a great tip when he told me to check out Bruckner’s hobby booth on the lower level. In fact, their prices were outstanding. I saw a new Futaba radio for sale for about twenty-five dollars less than the advertised price from Tower Hobbies. I “flew” a plane on the Great Planes Flight Simulator. My landing was terrible....I hope this does not portend what might occur at the Field this season!
The static display, incidentally, was great! The workmanship and skill that went in to these planes were beautiful. Some of the planes on display were the “cover girls” that we have seen in our AMA and Model Airplane magazines. They were definitely worth seeing.
So, in conclusion, I can say that I had a lot of fun with a bunch of nice guys, at a place where the enthusiasm for the hobby was shared among everyone. The WRAM Show went beyond my expectations. I really had a good time Thank you Joe, for organizing this trip. I’m looking forward to next year’s show, now that I’m a veteran , too.
Tuesday, April 13.......Monthly meeting at the Church
8:00 PM. Our speaker will be
a spokesman from the FAA.
Saturday - Sunday, May 15 -16......Quakertown, Pa.
19th Annual Giant Scale Fly-In
Buc-Le Aerosportsmen. For
Info or Directions:
Tom - 215-256-4450 (Ev)
Walt - 610-709-0443 (Ev)
Notice - As per previous years, the National Park Service has issued a Special Use Permit to the Delaware Valley Amateur Astronomers to use the VFSS Flying Field after sunset on the following dates:
April 24, May 22, June 19, July 17, August 21, September 18, October 16, and November 13, 1999.
The general public is invited to look through their telescopes and ask questions about Astronomy. You are invited to an evening of star gazing using very sophisicated and high - powered equipment.
Aurora Pattern Plane, OS.45, Futaba FM (gold
sticker) Radio...........................................$300
Super Sportster 60, OS.60, Futaba (gold sticker)
Radio.......................................................$300
Bobcat Sportster, OS.45, Futaba (gold sticker)
Radio.......................................................$250
Japanese Fun Fly, 60 Series, 6 ft.W/S, new ST.60,
includes servos & battery pack.......................$200
Pattern Plane, 40 size, includes Fut servos and battery
pack. (Needs engine & radio)....................$200
All planes precision built and never crashed.
If interested please call: Herman Nade - 622-0484
Here is a technique you can use to make fancy custom lettering made of iron-on film for your plane.
Open a blank page on your word processing program and type in the lettering you want to use. Use a font and size, print it out on your film, cut it out and iron it on. That’s the short version, but the devil is in the details.
I wanted to have the word “Kaos” on the fin of my new plane. I chose a typeface called “Cezanne” which looks like it was quickly painted with an artist’s brush, and 220 point type which came out to be about 3 inches tall. If you use TruType fonts, you should not get jagged edges no matter how large you make it. Select “Outline” as the style. First, print out your properly sized lettering on a sheet of paper, and put this paper printout aside.
Next you have to print the letters directly onto your film covering material. After cutting a sheet of film to size, peel away the backing and place the film on typing paper feeding both through the printer at the same time. Handle carefully after printing - the ink smears easily. You must choose “Outline” style or you will have black ink all over the place!
With the ink outline as a guide, use a new Xacto blade and cut the letters out of the film over a sheet of glass. The glass is very important - wood will not work very well. Be careful not to smear the outlines while cutting.
After the letters are cut out, place them over the original paper printout (that you previously put aside) in order to regain the proper spacing. Run a strip of tape over the letters to hold them straight. Lift the tape and letters off the paper, place it on your plane and iron on using the lowest setting on your iron. Any remaining ink will come off with a damp cloth after ironing. (The ink is on the film only as a guide to cut out the letters with the Xacto knife. After you cut out the letters, you don’t need the ink anymore.)
There you have it: beautiful custom lettering that is completely fuel proof and looks professional!
The highlight of the show was the Rolls Royce Merlin engine, only six inches long, which has drawn crowds every year (see photo above). This is the V-12 with a planetary gear speed-up supercharger which powered British Spitfires and wooden Mosquito bombers, plus U.S. P-51 Mustangs. Modelers have made this engine before but it is usually the size of a loaf of bread or larger. Since 1997 when it was first shown as an open crankcase and assorted parts, it now has pistons, rods, crankshaft, heads, camshafts, operating valves with incredibly tiny valve keepers, dual ignition spark plugs, and super-charger gearbox. All this in spite of time out for open heart surgery. In the effort to keep all parts to scale, some machine screws are size #000-120. These are so small, they make a #2-56 look like a railroad bolt. From #2-56, the sizes go down through #1-72, #0-80, #00-90, and #000-120. The machinist doesn’t have to make the screws but just tapping the holes is enough to induce high anxiety. Much of the machining involves standard procedures on a miniature scale. Valve covers , which are usually castings, were made from bar stock and crafted to final shape using Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM).
Work is still going on into the final stages of this ambitious project. It is the builder’s objective to make this a running engine, and thereby qualify for the top prize at the North American Model Engineering Society show in Wyandotte (Detroit) and the comparable event in England.
I am an Independent Video/Film Producer. That means I write, direct, shoot, edit and package video and film presentations and commercials for large and small companies. In the four years I have been on the east coast, I have done work for ABC, CNN, ESPN, CSPAN, and many other recognizable broadcasters. But the bulk of my work is for local corporations that need a sales or marketing video, training video, or some kind of event coverage. That’s where you come in. If you hear of any company or person that has a need for this type of service, I would greatly appreciate you giving them my name and phone number. In this way you may be seeing me less out at the field, but I will continue to earn a respectable income while attempting to perfect my craft.
Thank you for considering my request.
Ron Strobel, President - VideoNet, Inc.
912 Saint Andrews Dr. Malvern, PA. 19355
Phone: (610)647-3242
www.videonetonline.com (or) ronstrobel@aol.com
As I write this column, I am printing the last pages of the training packets for the April meeting. At this meeting, I will begin signing-up new students for 1999. This is always the busiest time of the year for me. First, I must determine which students have not come back this year. Second, I need to assign six VFSS members who signed-up at the end of the summer last year. My final task of the month will be to assign the new students. I hope that we will have enough training slots available.
Along with that, I have been able to recruit a few instructors. I will announce their names after they pass the flight test.
That’s it for now. I’ll see you at the field.
Jim Myers, Raffle Chairman - has obtained the following items for the April 13th meeting:
Hitec 6-Channel Radio with 4 Servos
Great Planes Easy Sport 40 Airplane Kit
OS .40 LA Engine
Tower Hand Crank Fuel Pump
Tower 12V Starter Battery
Hot Shot Glow Starter with Charger
Welcome aboard Gentlemen!!
Feedback or comments to:
Al Campana , HearYe editor
Michael Myers, Webmaster
Read another Hear Ye! | Back to Valley Forge Signal Seeker's Page | Back to Radio Control Airplanes