September 2010 Find Us Online @ www.114thrc.org President’s Message: M embers of the 114th: It is hard to believe that school has started, football is on TV and summer is officially over. Temperatures should soon be coming down with some great flying weather on the horizon. It won‟t be long and we will be starting our winter projects. A Newsletter for Members of the 114th R/C Aero Squadron. Next Meeting September 14, 7p.m. At Flying Field Inside this issue: Volume 25, Issue 9 President’s Message 1 Vice President’s Message 2&3 Safety Committee 4 August Club Meeting & Model of the Month 5 The field inspection has been completed and the Lease renewal continues to move Air Jousting Tournament forward. I want to thank everyone for preparing and keeping the field looking great. I hope to have more information on the status of the lease renewal by the club meet- F-22 Layout & Joust Practice Events & Weddings ing. 6 7 8 The time for nominations of club officers is approaching. Many of the current officers and committee leaders could use a break. Please let us know if you have an interest in one of the positions. I will provide a list of current club officers and leaders so you know what positions are available. (Ed Note– See listing, bottom column at right) The interest in our flight training program continues to grow. We have students being referred by other clubs. Our new students come in all ages and backgrounds. The 114th fleet of trainer aircraft continues to grow thanks to donations of trainers when our former students outgrow their undamaged trainers. The use of flight simulators has made a tremendous impact on the rapid improvement in our students. Dewey and his group of instructors continue to produce competent and eager flyers/club members. They each bring their own form of energy and expertise to our group. Come out on Wednesdays and help out when you can. We have 2 work days that will be coming up before the end of the year. We are waiting for the weather to cool off. We will need to pull all of the materials out of the storage container so we can install shelves and then organize the contents. We will also need to plant trees and run irrigation to the new trees. Bob McGruff will be running point on the irrigation. The September Club meeting is 7:00 pm, Tuesday, September 14th, 2010 at the field. The program for the meeting will be a discussion on the new F-22 aircraft and recruitment of club officers. See you at the field. Mark Haman Laraine Day September 26, 1944 Board of Directors Mark Haman, President Dewey Walker, VP Wendell Hubbard, Treas. James Bruce, Secretary Bob Carreras, Newsletter Bob Hubbard, At Large Darrel Barabash, Past President Committee Chairmen Field, Bob Hubbard Public Rel., Walter Jackson Chief Instructor, Dewey Walker Membership, Bobby Moore Helicopter, Rusty Haggard Safety, Danal Estes Webmaster, Larry Hilgert Youth, Daniel & Christopher Cole New Field, David Vilbig & Mike Llewellyn Noise, Darrell Barabash Le Journal d ’Escadrille I September 2010 Page 2 Vice Presidents Message: bet all of you can remember some of these lines from the movie Top Gun. “Tower, this is Ghost Rider requesting a flyby.” “That‟s a negative, Ghost Rider, the pattern is full.” “This is what I call a target rich environment.” “Maverick won‟t engage.” During the last few weeks I have been hearing this kind of talk at the 114th quite a bit. You would think we have a bunch of Tom Cruise impersonators at the field. Here‟s the reason why. Frankie “Hitman” Forcelli is putting together a contest of F-22 Foamy Jet Plane pilots. This contest is sure to test every fiber in your being. The “Hitman” himself will give us all the details at the next club meeting on Tueday, Sept. 14th. If you need some assistance in getting your F-22 started, you can contact Bob McDuff, Sheldon Timmons, Bobby Moore, and Joel McDonald. Oh yeah I almost forgot. All of you fighter jocks out there need to have a call sign. I would like to update everyone on the progress of our Wednesday afternoon fixed wing flight training. We have had several students to solo over the last few weeks of training. Congratulations to all that have experienced their first solo flight. I want to thank all of the instructors, and club members who have helped out for this training season. We have a little more than a month left before our Wednesday afternoon flight training sessions come to a close. At this point in the training we should be able to graduate all of our students who are actively participating in our flight training classes. Thanks again to everyone. I would like to take a moment to discuss some issues that involve some of our newer pilots and some of our older pilots as well. There has been a few times here lately that I‟ve seen a new pilot bring out a used plane for us to us to look at to make sure that it is flight ready. On several occasions I‟ve noticed that the pushrods that connect to the servos for the ailerons, elevator, & rudder are utilizing EZ type connectors. This type of connection is okay for connecting to a throttle servo, but you should use a Z-Bend or L-Bend type connection when connecting your pushrod to your aileron, elevator, or rudder servo. If you look at this photo you will see a EZ type connector on my throttle servo, but I have utilized a LElevator Bend connector clevis to my elevator and rudder servo. The L-Bend connectors are secured with a clevis which insures that the LBend connection will not pop off the servo arms. Throttle Rudder Continued on Page 3 Le Journal d ’Escadrille September 2010 Page 3 An example of a Z-Bend connection to a servo control arm is depicted here: There are tools that will allow you to create these Z-Bends with ease. Listed below is one such tool from Great Planes. Great Planes website for this item is here: http://www.greatplanes.com/accys/gpmr8025.html Another issue that comes up quite often at the field is the proper charging of flight pack and transmitter batteries. If you are using a NiCad or Nickel Metal Hydride packs, (NiMH) they need to be properly charged the night before you fly. If you do not charge them the night before, you will not have a fully charged battery when you arrive to the field. NiCad‟s and Nickel Metal Hydride batteries can lose a certain percentage of their charge on a daily basis. Lithium Polymer (Lipo‟s) however will not lose their charge after coming off the charger. Most Nitro ARF kits are equipped with NiCads or Nickel Metal Hydride type batteries. If you fly electric then you are probably using Lipos for the power source of your motor and receiver. If you purchase new NiCads, or Nickel Metal Hydride batteries for your flight pack or transmitter, it is a good idea to perform a “formation charge” to these batteries. This means you should not quick charge this battery for the first time you put on the charger. I know in some cases the manufacturer of these batteries will not address this issue, but a good source of information on this matter can be found on the web. The website is Red‟s Battery Clinic. This website is very informative, and will address just about any question you have regarding RC batteries. The link to this website is http://www.hangtimes.com/ redsbatteryclinic.html. We also have some very good resident experts on batteries right here at the 114th. James Bruce, Mark Haman, Danal Estes, & Wendell Hubbard just to name a few, are very well versed on batteries of all types for your RC aircraft. Those of us that utilize NiCad or Nickel Metal Hydride batteries in our flight packs should have an Expanded Scale Voltmeter (ESV) in your field box. This meter can give you a quick snapshot of the condition of your flight pack battery if it is used properly. This meter should be used at the beginning of your day of flying to let you know that your battery is holding its charge. The voltmeter is equipped with a circuit that will put a 250 to 300 milliamp load when selected to simulate the battery drain from your servo‟s and receiver. When testing your battery with an ESV you should leave the meter connected to your battery for at least one minute. There are several different ESV‟s on the market and are relatively inexpensive. That‟s about all I have for this edition. See you at the field. Call Sign Do-Man Le Journal d ’Escadrille September 2010 Page 4 Hi! This is your Safety Officer, Danal Estes. I haven‟t been writing much because you guys have generally been doing quite well at the field. Also, I haven‟t been flying much this summer due to work and family commitments… but that‟s another story. Because I haven‟t flown much, I also haven‟t been hanging out at the field. Often, when I‟m done for the day, I‟ll put my stuff away and hang out for another hour or two. This gives me a chance to see what‟s going on, and see if there‟s anything safety related that needs a reminder at a meeting or in the newsletter. Well, I haven‟t had my own eyes on the field much this year; but, I have some indirect reports of a few things we could all clean up. I heard about an incident where an aircraft was hand launched, and due to the winds, was hand launched from across the runway back toward the shed/parking area (more or less North to South). Launching from North to South is OK if you talk to everybody before you do it to ensure a clear runway… but… in this case, it was launched DIRECTLY OPPOSITE THE SHED, with predictable results. A few folks in the shed had to duck, run, whatever. The fix for this is quite easy: Walk East before launching, so that you are NOT pointed at the shed! Obviously, if there are any people in the guest parking area, you have to avoid that as well. Remember, the runway is angled quite a bit, and therefore it may also be good to walk all the way to the North fence when launching southward. In any event, be confident that you are NOT going to invade people areas, or figure out another way. Every single incident of an aircraft invading people space is unacceptable. Every incident is a possibility to lose this flying site, forever. Incursions will occasionally happen no matter how careful we are; still, let‟s not provoke it. No launching pointed toward the shed, OK? A few of the things I‟ve heard are “old school” or “Safety 101” things that are beginning to slide. Simple things like: Point AWAY from the pits when starting a Nitro/Gas engine. Ideally, nothing enters the pits, no matter which way you are pointed… but even if a bit of exhaust and prop blast enter the pit from being “pointed away”, this is far preferable to the possibilities that come from “pointed toward” such as a runway aircraft, or a thrown prop. Or even a thrown engine! So: POINT „EM AWAY. Very simple. Another basic: We‟ve gotten very lax about cards in the box. Maybe this is 2.4 gig, maybe it‟s just basic laziness… I‟m not sure. Whatever the cause, we need cards in the box. Let‟s self correct this (so that officers don‟t have to harass people, that is not fun for the officers or the people). And, the most basic thing of all: The flight line. It is clearly marked the way we mow, and it is the RUNWAY side of the taller grass. It extends straight upward to infinity. It also bends a bit at the East end so that we never fly over the road. DO NOT BREAK THE FLIGHT LINE. Ever. Very simple, very basic, and we should all be on our toes about it for every flight. These last three, “Start facing away”, “Cards in the box”, and “Flight Line”… just like every safety issue, these last three can be enforced by every member, every time. If you see something, SAY SOMETHING. Maybe these three are even easier to point out than most safety issues… After all, who in our group would pass up an opportunity to ridicule their flying buddies? Safety Committee Until next time: Be careful out there, and HAVE FUN. Danal Estes Le Journal d ’Escadrille September 2010 Page 5 August 2010 Club Meeting Model of the Month Another beautiful entry Le Journal d ’Escadrille September 2010 Page 6 All Knights & Fair Maidens ‘tis time for theJoust Dates & Times will be Determined at the September Club Meeting Attention, Air Jousting Competitors: The dates & times for the Air Jousting Tournament will be set soon. In preparation, be mindful of the following airplane specifications: 1. Whatever foamy F-22 design you wish to enter 2. Engines are to be 2200 KV or less, 3. Battery pack at 1800 ma or less and be sure to have plenty of batteries on hand. Expect to be in the air for at least four minutes per event. There will be four events, pylon race, limbo, spot landings and full combat. Bring more than one airplane because there will be crashes, although, you can continue the comFrankie, "the Hit Man" petition with those additional airplanes. Details on rules and regulation will come later. Please know, I AM THE GRAND KAHUNA AND I MAKE ALL THE RULES. WHATEVER SPIRIT STRIKES THE GRAND KAHUNA, IT SHALL BE DONE. More to See Page 7 for Bob McDuff’s built up follow, either by personal ejet and parts layout. mail or thru the Newsletter, so be on the lookout. For those of you who have not sent in the registration information, please do so at your earliest possible convenFacimile of ience. I am constructing a The Kahuna Trophy spreadsheet for the sake of formulating a scoring system and need those competitors names and "handles" for formatting purposes. You will be hearing from me. Let the games begin. FRANKIE “the Hit Man” [email protected] Le Journal d ’Escadrille September 2010 Page 7 F-22 Jets for the Air Joust...a closer look! Bob McDuff has some F-22 Jets already assembled, ready to install your motor/radio system. Pictured below is an example of the layout he uses. You can reach Bob at [email protected]. On Sunday afternoons at the club field a group of guys usually meets to fly and try their hand at combat with these F-22 foamies. Stop by and see what all the excitement is about. Want to know more details on motors/ESC‟s/props/servos/etc.? Ask around for guys like Bobby Moore, Frank Forcelli, Bob McDuff, Chris Locke, Clell Oravetz, Joel McDonald and others. They‟d be glad to point you in the right direction. They sure helped me! Carbon fiber Control horn Mini servo 2212/6 2200kv motor 6x4-6x6.5 apc prop Cut out to fit your mount 1300 MA, 3s Battery CG Receiver Velcro 30 Amp ESC Horn plate-balsa, plastic etc. Air Jousting Practice……...Sunday Afternoons Le Journal d ’Escadrille September 2010 Paradise Cove Wedding Schedule Quiet Times at 114thRC Field for Paradise Cove Events DATE 09.03.10 09.04.10 09.05.10 09.10.10 09.11.10 09.18.10 09.19.10 09.24.10 09.25.10 09.26.10 CEREMONY TIME 6:30pm 6:30pm 6:30pm 6:30pm 6:30pm 6:00pm 3:00pm 5:00pm 5:30pm 6:00pm Schedule also posted at Flying Field, check inside Frequency Box Door. Got Ideas, Articles, Pictures or Tips? We’re soliciting material to be used in the 114th RC Aero Squadron Newsletter. Share with your fellow club members. Send your input to: [email protected] Newsletter Editor Bob Carreras 400 Glade Rd #903 Grapevine, Tx 76051 Page 8 UPCOMING EVENTS 9-11 Sept Southwest Jet Rally Heart of Texas Miniature Aircraft Club, Waco, TX 11 Sept 3rd Annual Biplane Fun-Fly Fort Worth Thunderbirds Lake Benbrook, TX, New Thunderbird Field 11 Sept North Dallas RC Club Float Fly The Colony, TX Hidden Cove Park - East Day Area 25-26 Sept DEAF 24th All Electric Fun-Fly Seagoville, TX, Dallas RC Club Flying Site 26 Sept WAMS Fall Float Fly Weatherford, TX, Site: Cartwright Park