Hear Ye!

The Official Newsletter of the :
Valley Forge Signal Seekers
Radio Controlled Model Airplane Club

An AMA Gold Leader Club

June, 2002
No. 421

From the President,
Warren Barrick

Last month I wrote while the local area sweltered in 92-degree heat. Last
night's club meeting was held in the park under very unusual circumstances
and it turned out to be great fun.

As you well know, we have been witnesses to some of the wildest weather this
area has produced in years, and yesterday was Mother Nature's crowning
achievement. A huge mass of Canadian cool air commingled with some moist
Atlantic air, and with the help of an approaching cold front and a warm air
mass from the south, gave us a doozy of a storm that came endlessly for two
days in unrelenting waves. Our meeting in the park looked relatively safe
until 6:30 P.M., just as we were about to start, when the skies darkened and
a storm rolled in like an express train from the west. My opening remark
was for everyone to get into his or her cars and we would try to ride it
out. Luckily, it was a quick-hitter and was gone in less than 15 minutes,
and we proceeded with a very unusual meeting.

Unusual in that the evening's entertainment, which was to be a
turbine-powered flight by Gene Greatti and his "Hot-Cat," could not be
attempted. Gene did start up the turbine and gave many of us the
opportunity to get a feel for the operation of the throttle and its 2 or 3
second lag as it is moved from idle to full thrust. It was a novel
experience. We are most appreciative of Gene and his willingness to share
his expertise. He is really a true club asset.

Show-N-Tell was unusual in that members were asked to first visit Dan
Natales' pick up truck where his framed up Ziroli B-25 Mitchell was
protected from the elements. Dan has chosen to build the wing in three
sections, and the outboard sections are already glassed and await finishing.
The inboard section and the fuse are being loaded with retracts and radio
equipment and there are many hours to go. Dan has proven his workmanship on
many previous occasions and is a past winner of the club's Technical
Achievement Award. This twin-engined bird is his biggest challenge and we
are all anxiously awaiting its completion. Great job, Dan.

The next stop on our Show-N-Tell odyssey was to yours truly's van where I
had on display my rebuilt Morrisey Bravo which I hope to have flying in the
next few days. I acquired the Bravo from Paul Hicks, one of our senior
members who at the time had grown tired of the hobby, especially lugging
this giant to the field. I purchased a Saito 270 for it and rebuilt some
areas in need of repair and recovered it with 21st Century fabric. I was
able to get one of the last replacement canopies that SIG had on hand and
the necessary decals to bring it back to flying condition. I am hopeful
that Mr. Hicks, who is better known as Bubba, will be on hand when I get it
into the air.

That's about it for this edition, and I hope you've marked your calendar for
the Memorial Fun-Fly on July 6th. Pay close attention to the field rules
and regulations and be sure to "keep it in the box."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SOUND BYTE
by Pat Taggart, Vice President

Noise produced by our model aircraft engines continues to be a concern as we
share the park with other users. We are indeed fortunate to have such a
fine flying field convenient to so many of our neighborhoods and under the
general supervision of the National Park Service. Without a doubt, the
Signal Seekers fly at one of the most desirable - if not the most
desirable - sites in the Northeast.

The price we pay - and it's really a small one - is that we have to keep our
sound levels down. A lot of the folks who use the park are there for
natural beauty, peace and quiet. And even a well-muffled four-cycle engine
could offend someone who comes expecting only to hear the wind and sound of
passing cars.

Club regulations call for our engine noise levels not to exceed 95 db.
Please make sure that you have had your planes sound-checked and the label
attesting to such placed on your models. If you think someone else has a
noisy plane, politely inquire as to whether it has been sound checked and if
not, refer that person to someone with a sound meter. Nathan Marks, chief
field marshal, has one, as does Joe Weizer and, at the moment, Pat Taggart.

Sometimes all that is needed to quiet a noisy engine is a propeller change.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GET THE ROPE UP!
by Pat Taggart, Vice President

With (mostly) beautiful weather suddenly upon us, Saturdays bring a large
crowd to the field - and not just modelers, but scores of curiosity seekers,
hikers and other park users who come to admire our skill, proficiency and
artistry in the manipulation of model aircraft (!).

Most visitors seem to sense where to go and not to go, but often people,
children and pets wander right up to the planes and beyond. They are much
less likely to do this when we put up the rope behind the pit area. The
rope is stored in one of the barrels and really should go up first thing on
a Saturday morning. Please, if you are first or among the first at the
field on Saturday, put up the rope and have a more pleasant day. If people
wander beyond it, politely advise them why it is there. I usually just add a
line like, "Everything on this side of it is either hot, sharp or
expensive - with the exception of Little Round Man."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I HATE ARFs
By Warren Barrick

I was always told as a young man that "hate" was a strong word. It was far
better to say," I dislike [something or other] intensely." That, I was told
was an acceptable form of expression. I hate ARFs in all forms. I don't
care if they are 45% Extras or lowly electric park flyers; they are an
abomination and a detriment to model aviation. They come in all kinds of
configurations readily covered in Monokote or Ultracote in cookie cutter
fashion, and they are all presented to us by mega-modeling corporations who
take their inferior balsa and infernal lite-ply to some third world sweat
shop lined with jig-building apparatus and then return the finished product
to us to "assemble" within a prescribed amount of hours. Their marketing
experts tell us to be "up and flying in a few hours."

What is happening to us, the modeling public? We are being bullied into
believing that we are craftsmen for "assembling" something which was, in
fact, built by some person in a faraway place and who probably doesn't make
enough in wages to afford the product of his/her own labor. We wring our
hands and lament the loss of young fliers and cry woe unto us all because we
are graying and our beloved hobby is disintegrating before our eyes. We are
contributing to its demise by our sheepish behavior and support of this
great scheme of assembling, not building, our models.

Where are the kids? I'll tell you: they are forlorn and discouraged that
they have at one time or another assembled with their Dad an ARF in record
time that they hoped would enable them to enjoy model aviation. After the
first bump or nose wheel mishap, they are discouraged and feel as though
that 3 to 4 hundred-dollar purchase was a waste of time and effort, and they
throw it into the corner of the garage and look for other horizons, probably
"girls or gas." Had they been afforded the opportunity to build a kit, to
spend some quality time working from plans with instruction booklets and
with real parental help, we would know "where the kids are" - probably at
the field with something they built and not an assembled throwaway toy.
We all spent most of last winter lamenting the enormous anticipated
onslaught of park-fliers. As yet our fears have not been realized. I
believe this to be true because the marketing experts at our mega-modeling
corporations placed great emphasis on pushing these products for Christmas
time. They probably sold them by the thousands. What kid/parent do you
know who doesn't want to try every Christmas gift and purchase as soon as
the wrapping is removed? I'll bet that most of them were broken or at worst
destroyed before New Year's Day. Again, try to talk model aviation to that
kid who splattered his ARF parkflier against the bedroom wall.

Now there are many of us who have succumbed to this mania, and indeed
members of the Valley Forge Signal Seekers have gone to the WRAM show and
Toledo and joined the throngs who are purchasing ARFs. Think. Is there any
greater thrill in model aviation than seeing the aircraft you built from
plans with your own hands rotate successfully into the air on its first
flight? Is there really any economy in assembling an ARF when the magnitude
of self-achievement is so great when we build models? I think not!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HOW ABOUT YOUR OWN AIRBORNE SURVEILLANCE?
by Ken Ball

Among the military's "Developments to Watch" is a Marine Corps tactical
drone aircraft system-carried and operated by one man. Non-military
possibilities are intriguing: the system could survey remote pipelines or
powerlines; monitor waterways and view flow patterns or spills; track forest
fires; and/or reconnoiter large tracts for crop or animal status, human
activities, or for security purposes.

Code named Dragon Eye, the system was developed jointly by the Naval
Research Laboratory and the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory. Begun in
March 2000, Dragon Eye is officially described as a system offering small
units reconnaissance and threat detection capabilities. Major features are a
small battery-powered drone airplane operated by a single person equipped
with a wearable ground control station (GCS).

The airplane is a 2 kg hand launched small drone capable of flying for 60
minutes at speeds up to 65 km/hr. It is powered by a pair of wing-mounted
24-watt electric motors. Operating radius is 10 km using a very robust
communication link. At present, there are three interchangeable camera
payloads - for daylight, low light and infrared. The drone itself fits into
a 38 cm x 38 cm x 18 cm backpack. The computer, telemetry and GCS power
supply are configured into a vest.

The operator sees the telemetered images as well as a flight path diagram in
his virtual reality goggles. A preset flight plan stored onboard guides the
plane to a return location should the communication link fail. The operator
also has a "significant frames" button for recording images for later
viewing.

It is expected that the Dragon Eye's low altitude overviews of surrounding
terrain will provide small unit commanders with unprecedented, direct
situation awareness; essentially in real time. Such a system could provide
some very useful information gathering services for utilities or industry as
well.

Key to the rapid development was a decree that the system was to be
fabricated from off-the-shelf hardware and established devices. Units have
already been tested in simulated combat conditions and have been publicly
demonstrated. Several possible camera upgrades via recent developments are
being considered. Two contractors proyided engineering support:
AeroVironment out of Monrovia, CA, and BAI located in Easton, MD. At
present, these contractors are assembling 40 Dragon Eye systems for further
military evaluations.

Major John Cane is the Project Officer at the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab
at Quantico. Project cost goals--with increased quantities-are to get drone
unit costs down to the $20,000 range, and the GCS package down to the
$30,000 ballpark. Major Cane can be contacted at 703-784-6413; or by e-mail:
cane@mcwl.quantico.usmc.mil.

>From Pollution Equipment News.
Submitted by Alex Primas.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CLUB CALENDAR

Tuesday, June 4th -
BOG Meeting in the park at 6:30 P.M. Refreshments.

Tuesday, June 11th -
General Membership Meeting in the park. No backup at the church. Fun with
Bob Dolan. Bring trainers and fun fly aircraft.

Sunday, June 16th -
VFSS Helicopter pilots and their aircraft will be at the Helicopter Museum
in West Chester. Fixed wingers are also requested to display their aircraft.
Contact Mel Jones or Tris Colket for additional information.

Saturday, July 6th -
Memorial Fun-Fly in the park 9:00 A.M. until 4:00 P.M. Rain date July 7th.
Food and fun for club members and guests.

Tuesday, July 9th -
General Membership Meeting in the park. No backup at the church. More fun
with Bob Dolan. Bring leftover trainers and leftover fun fly aircraft.


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