From The Editor
by Price Dempler
Happy New Year! It's hard to believe that 1996 is here already - time really flies (pardon the pun)! While the cold weather (and 4" of perpetual snow) may limit activity at the field, the Signal Seekers have plenty to look forward to. See this issue for details regarding the remaining seats for the annual W.R.A.M. trip as well as the annual banquet at the Camelot.
Our Web site has been quite busy - in fact, a bulk of this issue comes from e-mail and comments generated from our home page. And for those who are taking advantage of the cold to spend time in the shop, Rob Caso provides a neat diagram showing "Fool Proof Blind Nut Installation."
Did anybody read the excellent article, "Understanding How Models Really Fly" in the January issue of Model Airplane News (Page 70)? It discusses Bernoulli's equation and the Coanda effect as they relate to a wing providing lift. I am admittedly still a little confused about the whole thing - does anyone think that they can provide a fairly simple explanation? I, for one, would appreciate any help with this intriguing subject. I think it would make excellent reading. I hope 1996 is a safe and happy year for all!
Bus Trip To W.R.A.M. Show On Feb 24
The Annual bus trip to the W.R.A.M. Show will be held on February 24th. The pickup point for the trip will be in front of the King of Prussia Plaza Theatre at 8:30am. The cost for attending the show is $30 which includes transportation, meals and admission. The deadline for getting your money to Joe will be the January general meeting. There are only 16 spots left! Anyone unable to make the General meeting who wishes to attend the WRAM show should contact Joe Weiser to make other arrangements.
Annual Awards Banquet On Feb 13
The Club banquet will be held on February 13th at 7:00 PM at the Camelot at 422 Mill street in Bridgeport. The winners of this years Doug Davison and Special Achievement awards will be announced at the banquet. There will be free food and refreshments for all club members and their spouse or significant other. This is going to be fun - make it a point to attend!
B.O.G. REVIEW
The December meeting of the V.F.S.S. Board of Governors was called to order at 7:05 PM on 12/26/95. In attendance were the '95 board and officers and the newly elected 1996 board members. Topics discussed were as follows:
1. The Annual Club Banquet was discussed. The Banquet will be held on February 13 at 7:00 PM at the CAMELOT in Bridgeport.
2. The Treasurer reported our financial status.
3. The 1996 Board, with 12 members present, elected the four officers for the upcoming year. These are as follows:
President: Warren Barrick
Vice President: Alex Patson
Treasurer: Walt Pierzchala
Secretary: Sam Andreas
The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 PM - the next B.O.G. meeting will be held on 1/16/96 at 7:00 at the Church.
From The 'Net
compiled by Price Dempler
From: gbradbur@nlnet.nf.ca
Date: Tue, 12 Dec 1995 10:31:08 -0330
To: mhmyers@netaxs.com
Subject: Fowler Flaps - Rob Caso
Greetings from Newfoundland, Canada. I am the president of the Western Newfoundland RC Modelers. I read a couple of your newsletters "Hear Ye" and found the information very informative. Congratulations to your club for putting together a quality newsletter and putting it on the "Net." I will certainly come back to your "Page" to read your newsletter.
The article that Rob Caso wrote was especially interesting. I built a 72" Telemaster in a STOL configuration and became "famous", or should that be "infamous," for my antics at our field. My Telemaster was powered by an OS max .60. I built the wings with NO dihedral, and they were fully sheeted. I also used wing bolts instead of elastic bands. With full flaps, it would take off in a couple of feet. I did quite a lot of experimentation with props. I even used a 14-4 prop. With the 14-4, the Telemaster would climb straight up. Giant loops were awesome. I agree with Rob that the Telemaster is well suited for modification. I almost forgot to mention that I also modified a 72" Telemaster into a twin .40. I used 2 OS .40 FPs. Performance on one engine is poor, however, but it can be managed by a competent pilot. Best wishes for the coming year, and Merry (RC) Christmas.
PS. I asked Santa for a large scale Corsair!
Regards,
Gary Bradbury
To: mhmyers@netaxs.com
Date: 15 Dec 1995 11:43:54 GMT-0400
Subject: articel from trinidad (Merry Cmas Mike)
Status: O
X-Mozilla-Status: 0001
Takeoffs Made Simple
By Colin Chariandy
The takeoff is often considered the most critical part of full scale flight. Yet model aircraft enthusiasts seem to think of it as an inconvenience or obstacle to another "fun" flight. Simply taxi onto the runway (anywhere will do) open the throttle and aim for the sky. This is the way most of us prefer totakeoff. The result of this practice is never awe inspiring and is always an accident waiting to happen. Here are some simple guide lines to improving those takeoffs:
1. Start with the airplane - reduce nose wheel steering to no more than 15 degrees from center. Most people have about twice as much nose wheel steering as necessary making the takeoff roll too steering sensitive at low speeds. Though reduced steering may make turning around on the runway impossible, clean, straight and safe takeoffs are worth it.
2. Start the takeoff roll from the runway center line and in line with or further upwind of the pit area to avoid possible damage to other aircraft, people or cars should you lose control on the takeoff roll. If you have difficulty maintaining a straight track down the runway or you're new to takeoffs, stand behind the aircraft for a few takeoffs and work your way back to the flying box as you improve. Make sure the runway is safe from landing aircraft before you stand behind your aircraft for takeoff.
3. Open the throttle SLOWLY. Opening the throttle rapidly will cause the aircraft to yaw to the left sharply. If the rudder is pushed right too hard (as it often is), left and right oscillations result.
4. Expect the aircraft to yaw slightly. If you accelerate slowly, only a small amount of the right rudder will be required. As speed increases, rudder pressure can be reduced. In crosswind conditions, left rudder may be needed so be prepared to gently apply the appropriate rudder to keep the aircraft headed straight. If you had practiced standing behind the aircraft this shouldn't be a problem.
5. Don't hold "up" elevator during the takeoff roll. Pulling back on the elevator during the takeoff roll will cause the aircraft to prematurely meander into the air close to the stall condition. Any attempted turns at this time can result in disaster. Instead, gently apply the elevator when the aircraft is up to flying speed - try to limit the climb angle to 30 degrees.
6. Maintain a straight heading after takeoff. Allow the aircraft (and yourself) to stabilize before making that first turn. Many accidents can be avoided this way.
When incorporated into your checklist for each flight, the six points discussed can help eliminate many of those annoying and unsafe takeoff habits. Remember, takeoffs are seldom the first thing taught to student pilots as they require complex control inputs and practice, so don't expect immediate results.
From: www-wg <www-wg@alpha2.ubi.pt>
Date: Mon, 11 Dec 95 14:27:48 0000
To: mhmyers@netaxs.com
Subject: Hello from PORTUGAL!!!
Hi,
I'm a Portuguese student from UBI (Universidade da Beira Interior(http://www.ubi.pt) and i'm studing Aeronautics Eng. in this University. This is a new University and we are the only Aeronautic public University in Portugal. So we don't have lots of help from other experient people in the fiel, since we are the first. We want to form a Model Club, and we need all the suport we can get. If you can send us somo projects or tell us were we can findit, i'll appreciate. Tanks Sorry my bad Inglish. All the best.
MANUEL_6524@UBIVMS.UBI.PT
From: Phil Bousquet <bousquet@digital.net>
Date: Sun, 17 Dec 95 00:45:38 -0500
To: mhmyers@netaxs.com
Subject: YOUR HOME PAGE
In my opinion, your talent in photography may be closer defined as a love affair with photography. I myself enjoy photography and rc model aircraft. The club I fly with is called the Indian River Kontrol Society, otherwise known as IRKS. We are located in Melbourne, Fl., with about 180 members.
All of my aircraft are .60 size and below. I'm mostly a kit builder (scratch building has never appealed to me). I have been flying since 1980 and have been into photography since 1967. From 1957 to 1987 I lived in Miami Fl. and in 1974 I was extreamly lucky to become a sideline photographer for the Miami Dolphins. I did that for 3 years until I was "CUT" as they say in the pro leagues and replaced by someone related to the owner. Such is life, however, I was able to keep all my negatives 7,500 plus.
I enjoy taking still shots of model aircraft but my real interest is in video taping them. I've filled 14 two hour tapes and edited them all down to one vhs tape for my club's use. I have just recently connected to the internet and hope to build a home page with some video of RC aircraft on the page. My provider only permits 3 megs for my personal use and I can't afford a commercial page (200 bucks per month) so I will have to limit what I can present. If your club would be interested in my video (100 minutes with music backround of TOP GUN, The Nats, and local fields) let me know and I'll pop one in the mail to you. My e-mail address is bousquet@digital.net
From: "Michael Myers" <mhmyers>
Date: Sun, Dec 17, 1995 10:30 PM
To: bousquet@digital.net
Subject: Re: YOUR HOME PAGE
What a kind offer! I'm sure your video would be most welcomed and the highlight of our meeting. Do you want to lend us the tape as a courtesy? What are your copyright restrictions or how would you feel if we were to duplicate it and archive it with our clubs "treasures"? I can't wait to see it!
From: "Phil Bousquet" <bousquet@digital.net>
Date: Mon, 18 Dec 1995 16:09:11 +0000
To: mhmyers@netaxs.com
Subject: Re: YOUR HOME PAGE
One video tape coming at you. The tape is for your club to keep. You may make copies if you wish, however, I would appreciate it if the copies remain with your club members and not given to other clubs. Here comes the shareware pitch. IF!? you or your club thinks the tape is enjoyable how about 15 dollars for the material, time, shipping and handling? It's your call. As I said, the tape is your's to keep either way. If any of your club members or other persons not in your club want an original tape, (assuming they have seen it and feel it is worth it) I would be glad to send them an original tape for the same price. TOP GUN is coming in April, so I will be adding more material to the tape.
Happy Holidays to you and yours
Sincerely,
Phil Bousquet
Subj: (no subject)
Date: 95-12-20 12:48:47 EST
From: jteter@services.midusa.net (Jeff Teter)
To:GeeBeeR1@aol.com
Glad to see this site on the net. I'm new to both R/C and the net and am pleased to find the resources. Locally, I'm a member of R/C Propbusters, Hiawatha, KS and have AMA and IMAA memberships as well. The local club has about 25 members and an excellent facility for flying (which is a private air strip owned by one of the club members). I'll look forward to returning to this site soon! Thanks for the info... jjt
Fool Proof Blind Nut Installation
The drawing below was submitted by Rob Caso. It shows a simple way to insure that blind nuts do not "back out". First install the blind nut as usual. Then install a 1/32" ply spacer that has a hole that is the same daimeter as the outside diameter of the entire blind nut. Last, install the 1/8" ply retainer- the hole in this one should be big enough to allow a long screw to protrude through the spacer.
