Hear Ye!

The official newsletter of the :
Valley Forge Signal Seekers
Radio Controlled Model Airplane Club
December, 2000
No. 403

Click here for 2001 Renewal Application

From the PREZ
Prez Sez, by Walter Pierzchala

As we approach the end of the year 2000, my term of office as the
Club's President will end. During my term of office, with the help of the
BOG, we were successful in lowering the sound requirement of the planes
flying in the park.
Also, with the help of the BOG, we instituted new field management
rules. It is the help and cooperation of the Club members that makes this
Club work. I wish to thank all of you who have helped in the past, and
extend a happy New Year to all Club members. May next year bring clear
days, with no wind, for our flying enjoyment.

Thank You Gentlemen
Ernie McGauley

Speaking for the entire membership, I would like to thank the entire
staff of club officers and BOG members for giving their time and efforts to
make this club work. Having served as club officer in other clubs, I can
personnally vouch for the unseen amount of time that these people have
spent making things right. Well done!

WRAM Show Trip
The annual WRAM show bus trip chaired by Joe Weizer will take place on
Saturday February 24th. All tickets MUST be paid in advance. The cost is
$35 per person and includes: admission, bus fare, and refreshments. The bus
will leave the Valley Forge Presbyterian Church at 8AM and leave the show
at 4PM. Tickets my be purchased from Joe by calling him or at the
monthly meeting in the church hall.

Builder's Corner
Gerry Keenan

Well, By now we have our kits in hand, our workshop ready and our heads
dreaming about that great plane we are going to fly next year! So let's
open the kit and get down to building. The first thing we want to do is put
the instruction book on the toilet tank. Then go have a bowl of hot chilli
or an order of hot wings, Usually by the time you can get off the can you
will have completely read the instruction book. When I ask people if they
read the instruction first, everyone says yes. In the real world only about
5% do and only about 1% finish. So now that we got that in the open, look
at the parts list. I find if you take a pencil and label the parts ( f-1,
f-2, w-1 w-2 , fuse side, and so on) that it not only makes sure you have
everything. It also helps later on to orient the pieces to the blueprint.
It's well worth the time and trouble. Make sure you can see the marks but
don't press to hard you may have to sand the marks out later.
Kit's usually have you build either the fuselage or wings first.
If yours starts with the fuselage then you are usually working with gluing
the doublers first. Now cut out the required pieces by first flexing on the
wood and then taking a x-acto knife and cutting through the the wood so
till the pieces break lose, cut the pieces don-t snap them out or it could
mean problems latter on. Also have plenty of band aids on hand. You can get
a x-acto knife for about five dollars and I find the # 11 blades at shows
are the best buy. I use a 15-minute epoxy and after laying the pieces
together I use a wooded roller to press them together. This will get the
air out and give good contact. You can get a roller at home depot for a few
bucks. Now clamp it with T-pins recheck everything for alignment, call it a
night, and go have some more chilli. Take you time and let the glue dry
don't rush it. Proceed next with the formers by laying the blueprint down
covering it with wax paper, and fitting the formers to the sides and
clamping it together. Rubber bands are helpful clamps here, Just wrap them
around the plane. Lay the plane over the blueprint and check the following:
Is the fuse straight or is it warped? Is it flat or is one side uneven? Are
the formers square to the sides and square to the top and bottom. When you
get it perfect sit back and look at it from different angles Then call it a
night, and have some more chilli. If it still looks good the next day then
glue it. I use a thin ca for this and then go over again with a thick ca.
Some guys use a wood glue like tite-bond because of reactions to ca's and
chilli. Next the plans will have you add things like stab, elevators,
rudder and so on. Don't forget to install the pushrods, servos, battery,
and receiver before gluing up the outside. Make sure you can fit a fuel
tank in and check the engine mounting.
Most guys use a Zona saw to cut the wood and a block sander to touch
up the cuts. I like to use those easy touch sanders as they are more rigid
and don't flex like the rubber sanders you get at the home centers. I also
have several ones so I don't have to change sandpaper. For example I have
three 5.5 inch sanders, One has 80 grit, One has 150 grit, and One has 220
grit.The 5.5 sanders are about five bucks each so it's no big investment.
When you glue try not to get the glue on covering surfaces as the covering
will stick to the glue and shrink unevenly. Use glue sparingly as it adds
weight.

MEETING MINUTES
Dee Messina

We had a very interesting speaker who was well versed on the Boing
Osprey Aircraft. His talk lasted about an hour and covered all aspects of
the aircraft. We were given handouts and watched a video.
Nominations were made for the "Doug Davidson Award" as follows: Walt
Pierzchala and Alex Primas.
Nominations were made for the "Technical Achievement Award" as
follows: Harold Harrison and Frank Morris.
Voting will take place at the December meeting.
Membership Renewal applications are printed in this copy of Hearye.
The WRAM show trip is planned for Feburary 24,2001. Contact Joe Weizer

BOG MEETING MINUTES
Dee Messina

November 29,2000 18 members present
1. Attendance was down at the auction this year and it was a break even
event for the club.The club paid $100 to the owner of a stolen item. The
club also awarded gift certificates to the three ladies who worked the
concessions.
2. Future changes could include a flea market setup in an effort to solve
some of the conflicts.
3. Banquet arrangements are being prepared. A $5 per person cover charge
will will continue as it was last year.
4. The club is still looking for interesting topics and speakers for our
meetings. If you can help, contact Walt Peirzchala.
meeting adjourned at 8:10PM

WANTED:
NEWSLETTER EDITOR

As many of you are aware, I have a serious medical problem. This month's
newsletter is a thin copy but it was difficult for me to get it together.
If anyone would be interested in becoming NEWSLETTER EDITOR, please call me.
Basic computer skills is all that you need. I will give you
all the help that I can. The program is easy to run.

ADDRESS CHANGES
All address changes and other member information should be sent to the club
membership chairman "Rudy Forst". The newsletter editor does not maintain
this database. Rudy's name & address can be found in your membership
directory. If you do not have a directory, make sure that you get one. It
contains a copy of the field regulations that you have agreed to when you
signed up for membership.


Feedback or comments to: Ernie McGauley , HearYe editor
Michael Myers, Webmaster


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