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The Monthly Newsletter of the Bartholomew County RC Fliers
Academy of Model Aeronautics, Chartered Club Number 4779
November 2014
Web Site: www.bcrcfliers.org
2014 Club Officers
President:
Mike Marthaler
(812) 342-1475
[email protected]
Vice-President
Tyson O’Haver
(812) 498-5478
[email protected]
Secretary
Jim Sachleben
(812) 350-8774
[email protected]
Treasurer
Steve Schroer
(812) 350-2781
[email protected]
Field Manager
Dave McDonley
(812) 447-2922
E-mail: [email protected]
Safety Officer
Steve Smith
(812) 350-2781
[email protected]
Events Coordinator
Gary Waters
(812) 526-5627
E-mail: [email protected]
AMA Website
www.modelaircraft.org
District 6 Website
www.amadistrict-vi.org
Next Meeting
Tuesday, November 4th
6:30 PM at Sirloin Stockade
Club Meetings on the First
Tuesday of February to
November.
Have your Tuesday dinner
with us just West of Kroger
on N. National Road.
Food ordering at 6:00
Bring Show and Tell items!!
Minutes of Meeting,
October 7, 2014
Meeting Place: Sirloin
Stockade
Newsletter Editor
Tom Koehler
(317) 885-8904
[email protected]
Webmaster
Mike Bealmear
(812)-350-7793
[email protected]
Facilities Laison
Russ Kuhn
(812) 342- 3031
[email protected]
Call to Order and Meeting
Moderator, President Mike
Marthaler.
Club President, Mike Marthaler
Pledge of Allegiance
Attendance: 25 Members, 1
Guest
President Mike Marthaler
opened the meeting with a
recap of the Clifty Creek
Elementary School Flight Night
Event. Club Member Michel
Tabchouri, acting under the
Cummins Engine Co. EEEC
program, was the liaison person
who worked with Clifty Creek
teachers Becca Lucas and Deb
Holl. They organized the
activities of the evening of
Friday, September 26th.
Several Club Members
participated and the children
enjoyed buddy-boxing in the
school gym, paper airplane
building, air rocket building and
outdoor flying demonstrations.
All who were involved agreed
that the event was very
successful. The children and
parents enjoyed the evening a
great deal. Mike also spoke of
the upcoming Fireman's Cheer
Fund Fly-In, scheduled for
Saturday, October 11th. C.D.
Mike Bealmear asked for
additional volunteers and listed
some of the prize donations he
had received. Marthaler also
spoke of the Club Swap Meet,
C.D. Jerry Nugent, which is
scheduled for Sunday, October
19th. Mike thanked Fred
Rasener for his work as
mowing coordinator. Fred will
continue to coordinate the
mowing schedule in 2015 and
will notify the Club Membership
when a schedule slot is vacant.
The landing strip grass was
particularly healthy this year,
requiring significantly more
mowing activity than in previous
years.
Club Treasurer Steve Schroer
reported the Club Treasury
balance “healthy”. Steve also
spoke of the letter of thanks
received from the Wounded
Warrior Project.
Ken Erickson, will coordinate
pilot training and indoctrination.
His former duties as Public
Relations Coordinator will be
incorporated into the Club Vice
President's duties. Ken listed
the Club Members who are
qualified and who have agreed
to serve as buddy-boxers: Jeff
Hughes, Mike Marthaler, Stan
Durnal, Gary Waters, Steve
Smith and himself.
Club Secretary, Jim
Sachleben reported that the
Club has permission to fly
indoors this winter at two
facilities, Tipton Lakes Athletic
Club and St. Peter's Lutheran
School gymnasium. Sessions
will be scheduled to occur once
per month at each facility for
the months of November
through March. The Bi-Annual
Club Officer Elections will take
place during the upcoming
November Monthly Meeting.
The Vice President Office
currently has no candidate.
As for the other three Offices;
President, Treasurer and
Secretary, the incumbents have
agreed to be nominated for reelection. Nominations for
candidates for all of the four
Elected Offices may be made
until the Election Committee
declares the start of the
election. Appointed Club
Officers will be appointed by the
newly elected 2015 - 16 Club
Officers. President Mike
Marthaler appointed the
election committee as required
by Club Bylaws.
Meeting Motions
It was moved and seconded
that the Club sponsor up to five
indoor flying sessions at each
of two indoor flying sites, Tipton
Lakes Athletic Club and St.
Peter's Lutheran School gym
during the period November,
2014 through March, 2015.
Session costs will be $75 at
Tipton Lakes, and $50 at St.
Peter's, payable in advance, in
full, to the respective facilities
management. AMA insurance
certificates will be provided at
Club expense for the owners of
each facility. The certificate for
St. Peter's for last year's indoor
flying is valid through March,
2015. No additional certificate
will be needed for this season's
indoor sessions at St. Peter's.
Junior Youth members would
be allowed to fly at no cost. The
Motion passed unanimously.
It was moved and seconded
that the Club Flying Site cell
phone be removed and that the
Verizon phone service be
terminated. The Motion passed
unanimously.
MEETING PRESENTATIONS
about transmitter range
checking and airframe
hardware on r/c planes that can
affect transmitter / receiver
reception. Everybody in
attendance walked away with a
lot of good information that
night!
Show & Tell
Jim Merriman gave a
wonderful talk about his close
friend “Henry” who served in
WWII on B24 bombers. His
telling of Henry’s surviving
bombing runs over Germany
was just jaw dropping.
Needless to say, Jim had
captivated us with his
illuminating way of conveying
his stories. Jim also related
some fascinating facts about
F15 fighter jets and drone
aircraft. All in all very cool stuff.
Great presentation Jim!
Steve Smith (Safety Officer)
gave a very useful and
informative presentation. He
covered the recommended
placement of transmitter and
receiver antennas for 2.4 GHz
radios. The significantly shorter
length of these antennas calls
for care in their installation and
orientation. It could literally
make or break your flying day
at the field! Steve also
answered a lot of questions
Jeff Hughes brought his work
in progress pattern ship
“Runaround”.
Just awesome! Steve was
asked about judging where the
ground is on landing approach
at night. He said as he starts
flying nearer to the ground, the
lights light the ground up!
Steve let me fly it at the BCRCF
electric fly in. This plane is such
a blast to fly! Thanks Steve for
bringing the Foaminator with
you to the meeting. What a
treat!
Firemen’s Cheer Fund
Fly-In
Article by Tom Koehler
This is a great looking plane.
Jeff’s workmanship and
covering job is impeccable! It
looks like it will fly right off the
board! Nice work Jeff! Send
out and email when you plan to
fly it. That’s one I’d like to see
fly!
Next up was Steve Smith with
his “Foaminator”. Steve lit this
airplane up for the club
members. With that, the
OOOOOO’s and AAAAAAH’s
were heard from all corners of
the meeting room. It was like a
theater marquis!
We had a very nice turnout for
the Firemen’s Cheer Fund Flyin. There were 26 pilots signed
up to fly that day. And, for the
most part, the weather
cooperated with the usual
BCRCF field “house wind”.
BCRCF pilots make very good
crosswind takeoff and landing
pilots! A lot of practice!
Firemen’s cheer fund flight line.
We had some beautiful planes
and some incredible flying that
day. The helicopters were
tearing up the sky! They were
absolutely astonishing as pilots
flew their routines, all to music.
They didn’t show they had a
right side up until they landed!
To top it off, they were all
“electric”. Batteries… we’ve
come a long way! There was a
really nice Fokker DR1 present.
Very scale like flying.
Steve Smith was flying his all
foam electric speed plane
“Moray”, which was being
expertly flown by him. You
blink or take your eyes off of
that plane, it’s gone! Steve out
of the kindness of his heart took
pity on me manning the BBQ.
He asked me if I wanted to fly
his profile Gee BEE. I jumped
at the chance! What a plane!
That plane will do a flat turn on
a dime, a real pleasure to fly.
Thanks again, Steve!
Steve Smith and his profile planes.
.
At noon, Tom Koehler with
the assistance of Steve Schroer
flew a “Candy Drop” for all the
children that wanted to
participate. A big thanks goes
out to David Christiansen for
lending us his candy drop
airplane. This is an amazing
electric r/c plane. It could
handle up to 3 lbs. of Starburst
candies! Steve and Tom
maxed out the “candy bomb
bay”. Tom manned the
transmitter and the plane took
off effortlessly. One pass of the
field was made and on the
second pass, bomb bay open,
“CANDY AWAY”! The sky
became littered with Starburst
candies. Tom hit the mark!
The field was sprinkled with
candy, dead center and show
center! As the plane cleared
the airspace circling north of the
club field, the word was given
by Jim Sachleben to
“RELEASE THE KIDS”! Just
then parents and children ran
out onto the field. What a sight!
We all loved it! Kids and
parents all smiling with pockets
bulging with candy! Once
everybody had all the candy
they could handle, Jim called
them back and cleared the
runway so Tom could land.
After the landing, Tom turned
around to the crowd. He
noticed the smiles of the
parents and little ones with
faces “stuffed” with candy! It’s
a real nice feeling one gets
when you have a chance to
share your hobby with other
people, especially kids.
As the day went on, people
were really enjoying
themselves. Our brand new grill
was getting a workout! What a
grill it is! Six feet long, 10
burners, 2 foldout side tables
and 2 propane tanks! I had 20
burgers, 10 hotdogs and 10
brats cooking all at once!
There was also enough room
for a steam tray and cover to
keep the cooked food hot. The
steam tray was supplied by
Steve Smith. What a great
idea! Thanks once again
Steve!
At the end of the fly-in day,
the raffle for all the great items
was started by Jim Sachleben.
Who, by the way, did a great
job as C.D. for this event.
Picking out the raffle ticket
winners was done by our young
club member, Alex Swinney.
He even picked his own
winning ticket a couple of times!
Way to go Alex!
Club field shelter with raffle prizes
on the tables.
Some spectator’s enjoying the day.
All in all, fun was had by
everyone who attended the
2014 Firemen’s Cheer Fund
Fly-in. A big “THANK YOU”
goes out to all the volunteers
who without their help, an event
like this is not possible!
BRAVO!
The last Club 40 air race
of the year
Article by Tom Koehler
Hellooooo Race Fans!
Well October 18th 2014 marked
our last Club 40 race for the
year! In fact, it was the last
event held at our field for the
year. There were nine Club 40
air races held this season.
Three of which were held at the
BCRCF field. This last race
was no less exciting than the
prior races held. First thing, I
would like to thank all the
people that made this race very
special, Ken Erickson, Lisa
Koehler, Fred Rasner, John
Vinson, Steve Schroer, Norm
(Ned from Logansport cousin),
Kevin Monroe, Clint Seyer, Tim
Sparks, Tim Porter, Matt
Fornefeld, Brian Merrill, Ned
Gochenour and yours truly Tom
Koehler. Without the
volunteers and pilots, these
races simply would not exist!
My hard hat is off to everybody!
Another view of the flight line.
Check out those ominous clouds!
This last race was absolutely
insane! It put everybody’s
flying skills to the test. We
even had a rookie flying that
day! Kevin Monroe was brand
new to the race scene! Talk
about being thrown to the lions!
Way to go Kevin! The weather
was just not cooperating that
day. Winds out of the west,
northwest, cross and tailwinds,
ARRRRRRRGH! For the most
part, the rain held off. Yes,
there was a spattering felt here
and there but not too bad in the
beginning. The tell-tale would
be the first race heat. Nerves
were mounting as the pilots and
helpers started up their
engines. You couldn’t even
smell the perfume of the “Race
Gods” (Castor Oil) for the wind
was blowing so hard on your
back! Pilots and timers to their
stations. Everybody’s
shoulders were up to their ears,
being as cold as it was.
The Club 40 flight line
It’s COLD! Gentlemen, man your
jackets!
Winter’s coming boys! Anybody
up for ball bearings and ski’s this
winter? Just a thought!
Steve Schroer, our checkered
flag waiver extraordinaire, lifted
the checkered flag for the first
heat. All the pilots hit their
throttles. Then it happened, the
infamous dreaded “Downwind
Crosswind Takeoff Dance of
the Starters” by Steve Schroer.
Artwork by Lisa Koehler (Notice Steve
is still holding the microphone in his
left hand! That’s dedication!)
There weren’t enough rudders
in that downwind / crosswind
takeoff to keep all three planes
from zeroing in on Steve!
Through the expert handling by
the experienced pilots, no
animals were hurt during the
making of this film!
Off to number 1 pylon the
pilots flew. And, did they ever!
The winds were screaming!
Rounding number 1 pylon all
three pilots went really wide.
Then they all flew into the wind,
slowing down quite a bit, flying
erratically until they could get
their “flying legs”. Down to
number 2 pylon and rounding it
as the crosswind pushed them
over almost onto their backs!
The downwind run to number 1
pylon was at breakneck speed.
It seemed like no sooner you
were rounding number 2 pylon,
you were rounding number 1
pylon! Back and forth this was
repeated. It was every man for
himself! All or nothing! After
ten laps of that, you were
exhausted. Now came the fun
part, LANDING! One by one
the pilots were setting up their
approaches for landing. The
wind was blowing at 20 mph!
Crosswind! There was a ton of
concentration and very little
talking. The first plane is
coming in. Up and down,
pitching, rolling and yawing all
at once. You needed to know
and understand the use of your
rudder in this situation. If you
didn’t, you were doomed! One
thing for sure, crabbing into the
wind was the new sport of the
day! Everybody was doing it!
As each plane landed, a cheer
went up from the crowd. They
all made it back in one piece.
The same scenario was
repeated throughout the day.
Clint Seyer “Mr. Greased
Lightning” did some incredible
racing that day. I recall that he
had a 1 minute and 51 second
heat! Just incredible
considering the conditions!
Everybody was averaging way
over 2 minute heats. Nice job
Clint!
Clint Seyer’s winning Sky Raider
We all broke for lunch at the
race midpoint. The burgers,
hotdogs, chips and drinks
tasted great after some intense
racing. Once again, the new
BCRCF grill performed
flawlessly. It doubled as a
heater for everybody huddled in
the shelter enjoying their meals.
Talk about dedication, during
the lunch break, Tim Sparks
and Tim Porter changed out
Tim Porters engine for another
engine! Both Tim’s got the
engine changed and the plane
back flying for the next race
heats! Good show guys!
Tim Porter (left) with a little help
from his friends. Matt Fornefeld
(center) and Clint Seyer (right).
Tim Sparks (left) imparting his
racing wisdom to Kevin Monroe.
All the race heats were
completed and then came the
“feature” races. All the pilots
agreed to race in them. First
up, Tom Koehler (me), Kevin
Monroe, Tim Porter and Ned
Gochenour. Gentlemen, start
your engines! We all got our
engines started except for
Kevin Monroe. Now it was
down to three. Steve Schroer
lifted the checkered flag and
we’re off. The skies opened up.
It was coming down in what
seemed like buckets! One good
thing (if you can say that) was
the wind was at our backs. Our
backs were shielding our
transmitters from the rain! A
little hunching over helped too!
Around the pylons we went,
wildly at times it seemed. I’ve
never concentrated so hard on
flying r/c in my life. It took
every bit of flying technique I
had to keep my plane going
around the pylons. It seemed
like a life time by the time all
three of us had finished our
laps.
And there it was again,
gentlemen, get ready to land! I
was the first to come in. Not
only was it a repeat of landings
earlier, the rain was also really
coming down now. As Tim
Porter said later on, “It was on
the verge of turning into hail”! I
came in with a little extra speed
on this landing. Once again, I
was eating “crab”. I managed
to land without incident. Tim
Porter and Ned Gochenour
were up next. Each had a great
cheering section behind them.
It was amazing to watch these
two seasoned pilots coming in
through the wind and rain. Both
landed without incident. All
three of us returned home with
planes intact! In fact, all the
pilots returned home with their
planes intact! Just incredible
when you think that this was the
worst weather we had for all
nine races this year!!!
Congratulations to Tim Porter
for winning the rookie gallon of
fuel raffle donated by Ken
Erickson.
Congratulations to Norm for
winning the volunteer gallon of
fuel raffle.
Well that’s it folks! Another
day at the races is in the books!
Here’s looking forward to racing
next year!
Hopefully we’ll have TWO
Classes racing next year. One
for the beginners (bushing
engines) and one for the
seasoned race pilots (bearing
engines).
All the best and watch your
six’s!
Congratulations!
Congratulations go out to
Charlie Hobson for winning the
BCRCF club meeting
attendance raffle!!! The winner
was picked by our young club
member Alex Sweeney.
Remember, you must be
registered and present to win.
Wear your club shirt or
nametag and get a dollar off!
Buy, Sell or Trade
USED Hanger 9 Alpha 40
with engine and servos $120
New HS-425 $8.50 each,
30 quantity in stock.
Bearing Type: Dual Ball Bearing
Operating Voltage: 4.8-6.0 Volts
Operating Temperature Range: 20 to +60 Degree C
Operating Speed (4.8V):
0.21sec/60°
Operating Speed (6.0V):
0.16sec/60°
Stall Torque (4.8V): 45.82 oz/in.
Stall Torque (6.0V): 56.93 oz/in.
Operating Angle: 45 Deg.
Nice field box with power panel
$20
JR, XP6102 6Ch Transmitter with
Receiver $45
Last but not least
If any of our readers would like
to contribute articles to the
BCRCF newsletter, please
contact newsletter editor
Tom Koehler, email
[email protected]
‫‏‬
8 Futaba S48 servos $20
GloBee IntelliTach LCD Digital
Tachometer $12
Please contact Gary Waters if you
are interested in the above items.
Tel. 812-350-5417
[email protected]
1. 40 size super sportster with
servos (4 ch). Good flyable shape.
Flew well last season with an OS
46. $20
2. Vintage glider Silkywind 400
(excellent for beginners), receiver
ready (motor, ESC, servos (2 Ch)),
Good flyable shape. Flown this
summer several times. $30
Please contact Marian Liliac if you
are interested in the above items.
[email protected]
JR 11X 2.4 GHz Spektrum DSM2
transmitter for sale. Included are
the aluminum case, SD card,
charger, and neck strap. I will also
include a JR 9 channel Spektrum
DSM2 receiver and JR switch
harness, total price $475. The price
without the receiver and switch
harness is $425.
Please contact Jim Sacleben if you
are interested in the above items.
[email protected]
40 Sized U-Can-Do 3D with a 52 4stroke. Has servos and battery.
Receiver ready. $150
Please contact Tyson O’Haver if
you are interested in the above
item. Tel. 812-498-5478