Hear Ye!

November, 2005
No. 461

FROM THE PRESIDENT
By Bob Sudermann

If you missed the October meeting you have got to get a copy of the
presentation Perry Lawrence and Larry Scaggs put together. Perry took a lot
of video during both of our 2005 Fun Flies, and Larry took a bunch of still
photos. The video and photos were edited and music added, and a very
professional CD resulted. This had to take an enormous amount of time and
effort, and it showed. Thanks, Perry and Larry, for your efforts.

In October we also elected the 2006 Board of Governors. By unanimous
motion, all nominated members were elected. Remember, all BOG members,
current and newly elected, need to attend the BOG meeting on December 6,
2005. The 2006 officers will be elected. Note: Only the President must be
a member of the BOG and have voting rights. The Secretary, Treasurer and
Vice President can be elected from the general membership.

Over the last few years John Carrigan has been handling the monthly raffle
and has done a great job. John would like a break as other duties and
commitments are imposing on his time. Perry Lawrence and Larry Scaggs have
stepped up and will be taking over starting in November. Again, thanks,
John, for a job well done, and thanks to Perry and Larry for taking over.

I would like to make a challenge to all those avid ARF flyers. I know time
constraints and/or building space can and does have a great impact on how we
attack this hobby. And I know the ARF's are the only way many of us could
get started and maintain an interest in RC. But let's try this: if you have
never build a model plane, or haven't built one in a long time, pick a
project and start building. It takes months or even years to complete; if
you only get an hour here or there to work on it, keep going. When the day
comes and you get out to the field for that first flight, the feeling will
be much different than when you flew your first ARF or even had your first
solo flight. Let me know if you are willing to take this on. I would like
to keep up with the progress.

Safety Topic:

We have probably talked about this before; however, a couple of weeks ago we
had two cases (that I know of) of "That @#%$#$@ Blasted Prop Hurts!"
Remember, restrain the aircraft and be deliberate with movements while
starting and running your engines.

Remember - Fly Safe and I'll see you at the Field.

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

BOG ELECTION RESULTS
by Steve Kolet

The BOG election was held at the club meeting on October 11. There were
eleven nominees and all were elected via a floor motion and unanimous
approval of the members at the meeting. Congratulations to the newly
elected members of the BOG for 2005. They are

Frank Bakay Vince Judd Larry Scaggs
Tris Colket Luke Koziol Russ O'Brien
Mike Estock Phil Leinhauser Price Stevenson
Mel Jones Sean Merle

Sean Merle has moved to Cincinnati and will be unable to be on the BOG.
Congratulations to all, and thanks for serving.

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

VFSS BOG MEETING
Submitted by Bob Sudermann

October 4, 2005
The meeting was called to order by President Bob Sudermann with 13 voting
member present.

OLD BUSINESS: NONE

NEW BUSINESS:

Item 1: Discussed the BOG elections set for October 11. Those nominated
members unable to attend must send Steve Kolet a short biography.

Item 2: John Carrigan would like to step down as raffle chairman. Perry
Lawrence and Larry Scaggs have volunteered to take over.

Item 3: Short discussion on sound and how IMAC (International Miniature
Aerobatics Club) handles testing and limits.

Item 4: Carl Sutton will coordinate the 2006 Annual Banquet set for
February. If you would like to help or have any suggestions contact Carl.

Item 5: Simon Bush, a long time member, is Science Night Chairman for Shady
Grove Elementary School. This will be November 11, from 6:30 to 8:00. The
BOG voted to supply up to 100 delta darts for give away, and we will be
confirming volunteers to attend and display a few of our RC aircraft.

Item 6: The new Superintendent and his family have moved into the residence
in the Park. Se we need to continue to be good neighbors - stay in the
approved flight box and within the approved sound limits.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:00 PM.

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

CLUB CALENDAR

Tuesday, November 1 -
BOG Meeting at the Church, 7:00 PM.

Tuesday, November 8 -
General Membership Meeting at the Church,
8:00 PM.
Awards Nominations.

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

HINTS & TIPS FROM
THE AMA NATIONAL NEWSLETTER

Tips and Hints
by Larry Dudkowski
from the Prop Masters RC Club,
Downers Grove IL

This column is a collection of things I learned while looking up other
things. Sometimes I run across hints, tips, or articles that aren't big
enough for a whole column but are interesting enough to pass along, so here
they are.

1. Voltage is a critical factor in determining propeller speed in an
electric model. I tried to fly my A-10 using a two-cell Li-Poly pack (7.4
volts 1200 mA). It promptly floundered into the ground. I switched to a
six-cell Ni-Cd pack (8.4 volts 600mA) and found that I had a good performing
aircraft. The same was true for my Tiger 400. Just switching from a two-cell
(7.4 volts) to a three-cell (11.1 volt) Li-Poly made all the difference in
the world. Simply put, it is battery voltage that determines the propeller
speed and therefore causes aircraft speed. It is battery capacity (mA) that
determines the flight time.

2. The next time you out grocery shopping check out the stationary section
of the store. Look in the section where the rulers and protractors are. Pick
up a set of small triangles. They usually come in a set with a 45o and 60o
angle. They work great for squaring up the fins and rudders against the
stabilizers and elevators (or any other spot where you need to have a 90o
angle). You may find that they will work a little better if you cut off
about a ?-inch of the 90o corner of each triangle. I also like to use them
to position the control horns in relation to the servo arm.

For constant cord wings, set the base of the triangle along the control
surface. Slide it along until it aligns with the servo arm and mark the spot
on the control. The same is true for the rudder and elevator.

3. Here's one for you builders out there-if there are any left. When I have
wing-mounted servos, I make some paper tubes to use as guides for the servo
wires. Just roll up some stiff paper (typing or printer paper will do) into
a tube slightly larger than the servo connector. You want to make sure the
connector will pass through the tube easily.

Tape or glue the tube so that it doesn't unwind. Then simply glue the tube
to the wing ribs so that you have a conduit between the servo-mounting hole
and the points in the wing. Being paper it's easy to cut the excess tube.

Now even with the wing covered you should easily be able to thread the servo
leads through the wing to the exit points.

4. You want to put a little thought into when you mount your on/off switch.
This is especially true for hand-launched models such as Combat airplanes.
You want to place the switch in a location that won't be accidentally hit
during the launch.

For Combat models, probably the best spot would be on the top of the
fuselage just aft the wing. There have been a few instances where the switch
was accidentally turned off during the launch. This caused the model to go
out of control and crash at full throttle.

If you use a push/pull switch, try this little bit of advice. Set it up so
that pull is on and push is off. That way, if anything hits the tab during
transport it will not turn the model on and discharge the batteries.

When flying I use a small piece of fuel tubing to hold the switch in the on
position. Simply cut a small piece of fuel tubing about the length of the
push/pull rod in the on position. Then cut the tubing lengthwise, and you
can slip it over the rod.

When ready to power up your airplane, pull the rod out and slip the piece of
tubing over the rod between the fuselage and the tip. This will prevent the
rod from accidentally being pushed in during handling. This little lesson
cost me my Ultra-Stick last summer when the model powered itself off in
flight. Believe me there is nothing scarier than flying a model you can't
control.

* * * * *

How Fast is My Airplane?
Don Johnson, editor
from the Tri-Lakes RC Flying Club,
Kimberling City MO

A good radar gun or some type of speed trap is the most accurate way to
determine your airplane's speed. To get a fairly good idea of how fast your
airplane flies-without any high-tech equipment-is quite easy.

All you need to know is the rpm and pitch (in inches) of the propeller. The
propeller pitch is the distance the propeller will advance in one
revolution. (Technical Editor's note: The pitch is actually slightly less
than that, but close enough to use for this purpose.)

To find the speed, follow this simple equation:
rpm x pitch x .000947 = speed.

The .000947 converts the pitch inches and the revolutions per minute into
miles per hour. For example, if your motor has a propeller with a 6-inch
pitch that turns at 12,000 rpm, the airplane will probably have a top speed
of roughly 68 mph. (12,000 x 6 x .000947 = 68 mph.)

If your model is aerodynamically clean, this figure will be close; however,
if you have a draggy airplane-such as rigged biplane-you could loose 10% to
20% of your speed.

Feedback or comments to: Marilyn Ayres , HearYe editor
Michael Myers, Webmaster

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