THE FIELDBOX January 2004
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Intro Safety Notes UPCOMING EVENTS |
Intro If you have any ideas, articles, or stories for the newsletter, please email me, or call me to get it submitted. grippm@bellsouth.net Just a reminder that the club dues for 2004 are due by 28 February, 2004. We moved it up one month due to renewal requirements with the AMA for the club. Club OfficersThe elected officers for WTRC for 2003
are:
President: Tim Treneff Vice-President: Jeff Layman Secretary: Mike Grippin Treasurer: Anthony Harden Safety Officer: Dave Huff Field Marshall: Jeff Cowan Rants & Raves from the Safety OfficerDEFINING THE ROPES,
FENCES & LINES
Let me start out by identifying the
different lines that we have already established. As you pull into the field, the first line you come upon is the
RIBBON LINE, currently marked off with steel stakes and ribbon. The second line is the ROPE LINE,
currently made of wooden posts and yellow rope. The next is the FENCE LINE, made of 4 foot high chain link
fence. Finally there is the PILOT BOX
FENCE, designated by the 3 foot high chain link fence. Now that I’ve identified
the markers for you, let me explain what the areas in between these lines
are, and their purpose. Between the
RIBBON LINE and the ROPE LINE is the parking area. This shouldn’t be too difficult to lay out. If you’re flying that day, you should pull
or back your vehicle right up to the rope line for easy access to the rest of
the field. If it’s a guest coming in,
or if your just out visiting and not flying that day, you should be courteous
and park against the RIBBON LINE.
See, that was pretty easy. The next area to describe
is the area between the ROPE LINE, and the FENCE LINE. This area is officially known as “THE PITS”. Pilots and those that will be assisting
the pilots should use this area. The
PIT area should be considered a privileged area to be in, and there is a
multitude of reasons for that. First
and foremost would be safety, duh!!!!!
In the PIT area there are/will be engines running, planes taxiing out,
flammable fuels, explosive batteries, I could go on and on, but you get the
idea. As AMA pilots, we are generally
aware of the dangers in here, and we know where to stand, when to get out of
the way, etc. Guests, and non flying
family members don’t usually have that same innate ability to know where to
be, when. We certainly don’t need to
have a non-flying guest or family member getting injured just because they
aren’t aware of the dangers. Another
item under safety as to why only pilots should be in the PITS, is the safety
of our aircraft. We are proud of our
planes and heli’s, so when not flying, they’re usually proudly sitting in the
pits for all to marvel over. Guests
and children aren’t usually aware of just how fragile the aircraft are, and
one misstep, or accidental trip and fall can destroy an aircraft. The last area to describe
is the PILOTS BOX, that area between the FENCE LINE and the PILOT FENCE. This area has 6 patio blocks layed in the
ground that designate the PILOT station.
Why 6? Well, just because…..That’s
the limit of aircraft that we want flying at any given time. Don’t know about you, but I get nervous at
about 3 planes up at the same time. (Unless it’s combat, eh, eh). PLEASE, PLEASE, when you fly, BE IN THE
PILOT’S BOX. Again, safety is the
reason for this. All the pilots in
the same area, and you can communicate with each other more effectively. Also, being in the box prevents you from
getting run over by a plane taxiing out, or a wayward plane that may be
coming in. The outer fence also gives
you a good place to duck behind in case there is someone out of control and
heading your way. I’ve seen a lot of
us disregard the pilot’s box, and we need to put a stop to that. Unless your practicing hovering a heli in
the heli practice area, you should be inside the pilot’s box while flying. Happy New Year to
everyone, and let’s make 2004 better than the last. Stay safe Dave President’s Corner
In abstention, here’s some notes from Jeff…… A few words from Jeff Layman - The
year of 2003 for the West Tennessee R/C Flyer’s has been a good one. The
field is in great condition, Thanks to the efforts of a few club members
willing and able to donate some time to bring our site to top condition. Most
notably, Mike Grippen led the effort in keeping the grass cut, fertilizing,
watering and making sure that our field was brought up to the current
condition. Thanks to Mike and also Thanks to all that played a part this past
year in the maintenance items that are required in order to maintain such a
great flying site. Another enhancement to the field was the sprinkler system.
Jimmy Gibson and Roger Bivens (and several others) put a lot of effort in
getting the header buried and also in running underground conduit to the pit
area. I’m conservative not too mention any other names because I know I’ll
inadvertently leave someone out, but most club members know who did what and
those many efforts are indeed appreciated by all of the members. Also, during 2003, Tim Blankenship led the effort on getting the JR Civil Air Patrol to the site to build AMA gliders. This was a positive event and was enjoyed by the participants. Tim also CD’ed the “Toys for Tots” event that was held in December. There were app. 21 plus registered pilots and many toys were donated for the cause. The weather was very good and everyone who attended had a great time. Jim McNeil, AMA VP for our district attended and awarded the club the “Club of the Month” award. Patches are available to all members and will be passed out at the next meeting – for those that can’t make it to the meeting we’ll see that everyone gets one of those patches. Jim also awarded the club a flag for being the club of the month. Good job to Tim Blankenship for heading up those events, we’re sure to being doing more of those type events in the year 2004. I’m sure that some kid’s enjoyed a better Christmas as a result of the “Toys for Tots” fly in. In short, a good time was had at the field for a great cause. The Airshow participation by the club was another very successful and fun event in 2003 which brought newcomers and several spectators to the field. I would think that we would want to continue participating in that event for years to come. Also during 2003, membership has grown significantly. I would say that our growth is mostly related to how we treat new perspective members during their visits to the field. Our club has many members who are always willing to help and this goes a long way in introducing newcomers to the hobby and in encouraging model airplane enthusiasts who have recently moved in to this area to join. We also have many members who always make sure that a potential newcomer is encouraged and is made comfortable at our site. This is an important part in growing our club. Many Thanks to all those who have helped foster the friendly and positive environment that we would want to display as a club. From a safety perspective, I would say that our club did well in that area during the 2003 flying season. It has been great serving the club the past few years as Vice President. It has been good to have the opportunity to be a small part of the club and see things move in a positive direction. Thanks to the other officers and members for allowing me to be a part of building this club. The WTRCF club will have many more opportunities in the years to come. For 2004 – I would predict that we’ll have a sun shelter and it looks as if we’ll have a new road by spring. Also, look for more formal events in which we’ll need to be planning soon. Officer elections are also coming up, so if you’re interested in one of those high paying positions – get your name in the hat. The elections, which are outlined in our by-laws, will be discussed in our upcoming meetings. Happy New Year to all! Jeff Layman We will meet again on Tuesday January 13th at Shoney’s 07:00 PM. Field Notes
OK, we’re in that sloppy time of year. We don’t seem to get the same drying out of the ground as we do in the spring and summer. You’ll note that the grounds stay almost permanently wet or damp this time of year. Part of the reason is the temperatures that we get. The grounds will freeze over night, then as the day warms up, it thaws out that top layer and it stays damp. This makes getting around out there in a vehicle a real challenge. Not only just driving back on the driveway, but also driving on the grass in the parking area. I’d ask that everyone just use some common sense when it comes to driving your vehicle on the parking area. Once you get off the gravel, drive SLOWLY, don’t try to make any sharp turns. When pulling out, don’t accelerate hard, spinning tires will just chew up the parking area, and that will take all next summer to grow back. As you pull in, watch out for the damp spots and try not to drive on them if it can be avoided. Also, if it’s too damp, just stay parked on the gravel, and walk your stuff down to the pits. We all could use a little exercise anyway. I got to put down a small amount of pellitized lime, on the runway. In February, I’m looking to put down a general fertilizer with some type of pre-emerge weed killer in it. I’ll also be spraying Roundup on everything that is green about that time. I want to be as weed free as we can be when the growing season starts again. UPCOMING EVENTS
The CRCFM club in Columbia, TN is holding their 5th annual Snowtime Swap meet, it will be Saturday, January 17, 2004 from 9 am to 2 pm. Admission is $5. I’ve never been to this one, but this is the group of folks that braved that cold weather for our fly-in, so we owe them a trip to their swap meet. Let me know if you want to carpool it down there. The ROCKET CITY RC Club of Huntsville, AL is having their annual winter swap meet on March 20, 2004. It will run from 9 am to 3 pm. To see the flyer for this event, go to their web site at www.rocketcityrc.com The GA Aircraft Modelers Association will be having the Southeastern Model Show in Perry GA on March 5 & 6, 2004. Check out the web site at http://www.gama.rcclubs.com/georgia.html . For those of you that have never attended, this is a great swap meet, ton’s of stuff. If you don’t buy something after walking through the buildings, then you really aren’t a true RC enthusiast. As a personal note, I will be going, so if anyone would like to share the costs of the ride and hotel room, let me know.
Chop Talk
Hello, my name is Ricky Gateley (for those of you that don’t know me). And I would like to say I am by no means a professional and this is souly my opinion. Now that’s out of the way lets talk about selecting your first heli. There are mainly two types of helis. Fixed pitch and collective pitch helis. First lets talk about fixed pitch. Fixed pitch means that the pitch of the blades (what gives you lift) is simply fixed there is no movement therefore it uses the speed of the engine to lift and decend. From my experience fixed pitch does not hover very well because you are constantly making throttle adjustments, which causes the heli to float up and down. Now lets talk about collective pitch. Collective means that the pitch of the blades is adjusted with the radio. In other words you raise the left stick and the collective changes the pitch of the blades giving you lift. Collective is very smooth and makes hovering a lot easier because your engine is running mainly at a constant speed keeping your blades spinning around 1700 to 1900 rpms. Now that you know the difference in the two which one do you need? Well it all depends on how fat your pocket book is. There is a little chopper out there called a Light Machine. It is a fixed pitch heli and is virtually indestructible. It cost about as much as a collective heli but I spent around $40.00 total while I had mine and believe me I crashed a lot!! On the other hand the bigger they are the easier they are to fly (more stable) a 30 to 60 size collective heli is 3 to 5 times the size as the lite machines heli. And man could I ever tell the difference. It’s like getting out of a bug and into a caddy! But a crash with it will cost around $50.00 to$150.00 per crash. For what my opinion is worth. If you have someone with experience help you I would go with a 30-size heli with collective pitch. It’s hands down the better heli and if you are patient while in the learning stage of the hover you are not likely to crash. Some good brands to choose from is the Kyosho Caliber, Thunder Tiger Raptor, JR Venture Hirobo Sceadu to name a few. I hope this helps in choosing the heli that’s right for you and may you have many wonderful years of flying helis. If you have any questions fill free to see Tom, Danny, or myself at the field or e-mail me at Ricgat@aol.com C ya next month Building & Repair Tips
Well, winter is upon us again, and most of us are probably in the building and repairing mode. I thought this might be a good time to discuss the different glues that we commonly use, and clear up some misconceptions about them. The most common glue that most of us are familiar with is Cyanoacrylate Adhesive, also known as CA, or to the common folk, Super Glue. There are a multitude of different manufacturers of this type of glue, I don’t have any bad experiences with the many ones that I have used, but some of you may have run across a bad one somewhere. There are 3 basic types of CA glue, Thin, Medium and Thick. We most commonly use the Thin. It’s ideal for balsa wood and it works by being absorbed into the wood and bonding the pieces together. While we usually consider thin CA as being instant set, it is not, it does take up to 10 seconds to set depending on temperature, and humidity of the day. Also, if the wood has previously been glued with CA, it cannot absorb into it, so it will not set nearly as well. Also, thin CA does not work nearly as well when gluing anything to plywood, or any type of hardwood. I’m not saying it won’t work, but it will not hold as well. Thin CA should be reserved for balsa wood that has never been previously glued. Additionally, the set time on thin CA might be up to 10 seconds, but the cure time can be up to 20 minutes. If you don’t want to take my word for it, try cutting a set of threads in a 1 inch piece of balsa, then use thin CA to harden those threads. Wait 5 minutes and run a nylon bolt into those threads. If you now wait 20 minutes, you will not get that bolt out of the wood. While the CA did set and harden the threads, it did not have time to cure and now has glued the bolt to the wood. Learned that one from experience. Medium CA is another one that we use a lot of. It’s viscosity is a little thicker than the thin CA, and it’s set time is 10 to 15 seconds cure time is more like 30 minutes. It’s great for filling small gaps in wood, and unlike thin CA, it will hold plywood and other hardwoods together, although you will have to hold together or clamp the parts for up to a minute. Thick CA is available also. I really haven’t found a good use for the thick stuff yet, it’s set time is pretty long for a CA glue, and if I have a gap that large to fill, I think I’d find something else to fill it with. For the medium and thick CA, you can speed up the set/cure time by using an accelerator. There is some commercially available that you simply spray onto the glued surface to speed up the process. I found that your better off not wasting your money on the accelerator’s. You can make your own at home by putting 1 teaspoon of baking soda in a pint of water, then putting that mixture into a spray bottle. Works fine and dandy. While the CA’s are the heart and soul of our building, they do have some drawbacks. Firstly, CA is VERY EXPENSIVE when compared to other glues. If you build a kit plane using nothing but CA, you’d find that the normal 60 size plane requires 2 bottles of thin CA, and 1 or 1 ½ bottles of medium. That’s almost $30 at hobby shop prices added to the price of your kit, just in CA glue. Additionally CA gives off some awful fumes while curing or being sanded, while the fumes aren’t really dangerous, they can cause a sinus infection that acts like a cold, you’ll be stuffed up for a week, and no medication will break it. You can tell when I’m building cause I always sound like I have a cold. I try to limit the use of CA to those parts that I need to attach quickly and can’t wait for another glue to set. So, you’d like to place a couple of pieces of wood together temporarily, just to see if they fit, or what it would look like, or you’re working with some fabric. For this, I use a spray adhesive. I’m not sure what the “sticky” ingredient is, but again there are many manufacturers of this. I use the one by 3M called 505. Simply place your part together and spray a shot of this on it. Now the parts are temporarily tacked together. Or if using fabric, you spray the surface, then lay the fabric on it. This glue is not permanent, just a temporary stick. The next most common glues that we use is 2 part epoxies. Called 2 part because they usually come in 2 containers, one resin, and the other hardener. Again, there are a lot of manufacturers and types of epoxy. Most epoxies are rated by their set time, most common being 5 minute, 10 minute, and 30 minute. The minute designation reflects the “set” time of the epoxy. By this set time, I mean that the parts can be handled after that time, but don’t put a lot of stress on them, because the epoxy can take up to 24 hours to cure to a hard bond. I have seen folks use 5 minute epoxy at the field, then fly after about 15 minutes, but that is very dangerous, and in one case I saw the joint that was glued fail in midair. So please don’t expect a joint glued with 5 minute epoxy to hold up to stress after just 5 minutes. Anyway, on your epoxies, you mix equal parts of the resin and hardener, then spread them on your surfaces to be glued, clamp them for the specified time, and your done. Do not mix more of one part or the other, it could affect the cure time, and will effect the strength of the glued joint. Another good tip is when your mixing your epoxy, don’t use those fancy mixing cups, or any other “deep” item, mix the epoxy on a flat surface. When mixing in a deep cup, it will effect the chemical reaction of the epoxy and change the set time. I personally use the top from the tubs of margarine that you get at the grocery store. It’s free, plus, when the glue dries, you simply bend the top around and break free the epoxy that’s on there, and you’re back to a clean surface. Use alcohol, or acetone to clean up any excess epoxy from your glued joint, before it starts drying. So your logical question here should be “Mike, why are there different times for epoxies, and when do you use which one?”. Well, I’m not going to profess to be an expert on it, but will give you my opinion and some facts from some studies that I have read. Most kits instructions will tell you to use 30 minute epoxy on parts that need extra strength, such as firewalls, wing joints, or stabilizer joints. To be honest though, I have read studies posted on the AMA web site that show there is absolutely no differences in hold strength between the properly mixed and applied epoxies. I use 30 minute epoxy on spots where I need the extra time to align the part properly before the glue sets up. For anything else, I use 5 minute epoxy. The last glue I’d like to talk about is called Alpha-Resin glue. We commonly know this as Woodworking glue, or Elmer’s glue. I’ve found the yellow wood glue to hold up a lot better than the white type. I use the wood glue on every part that I can, in place of CA. It’s set time is 1 hour, so you can’t be in a big hurry (otherwise, use CA), and the cure time is 24 hours. Sure slows down my building, but the joints are just as strong as with CA, but I don’t end up with the stuffed nose as bad. Plus, wood glue sands a lot easier than wood that’s been soaked with CA. It’s also easier to fill gaps with, and build up fillets where needed. FOR SALE ITEMS
Ryan STA-M with new O.S. 1.20 FP and Futaba 6X-A radio. It is ready to adjust the engine and go fly. It has been flown a couple of times by Jeff Layman and it flies great. 850.00 gets the whole outfit. Stearman Bi-plane with .90 Thunder Tiger. Servo's in wings. No radio. 250.00 Scratch built racer with .60 Thunder Tiger. Has flaps. Servo's in wings 250.00 Raven with 1.08 Magnum. New engine. Plane needs a small amount of work for it to be ready to fly. 300.00 Joss Stick ARC NIB. 175.00 If anyone is intrested, call me at 664-2237, 697-7303, or e-mail at anthony61@earthlink.net. Donation lookout
We’re always on the lookout for anything good that can be used at the field. Hand tools would be nice, we have some, but could stand to have a few more things. A hammer, drill bits, etc. If you have something you’d like to donate, look in the shed to see what we are lacking. Bag of Balsa of the Month
I think that we’ll drop this part of the newsletter, I never get any good input for it. I know we all feel bad after losing a plane, but come on, lighten up and get over it, we all do it. Plus, it’s a lot of fun picking on the crash masters. Next Club Meeting
Next meeting will be Tuesday January 13, 7 pm at Shoney’s. BE THERE, I think there is going to be discussions about construction. Links
Here are some links to some pretty helpful websites: West Tennessee R/C flyers rc planes remote control airplanes r/c r-c flying aircraft wtrcf – our very own combat site by Alex: http://webpages.charter.net/combatcrazy |