SEN 738 - 8 Sep 2002

SCAT Electronic News 8 September 2002 issue 738


Table of Contents
=================
Soup or Nuts Max - Blackam
The 55 degree Climb Angle - Barker
The Editor - Brokenspar
July -02 TAN II - Linkosalo
Lionel Hampton - Bokenspar - Who else ?
FAI FF Sporting Code Section IV Change Proposal - Parker
good service. - Wilkinson
Subliminal Corruption ? and other tales
from bunt to mush - Skykieng
Frank Zaic moves - The Bogies


Soup or Nuts Max
================
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i have been reading with great interest the on going views from everyone
regarding the super max.as a regular F1b competitor both here & overseas
i have had the pleasure of competing in all grades of events with
people of all standards of ability & i have the feeling that the new
rules are generally causing a lot of people(including myself), both
confusion & concern.

there is definitely a view,that if you dont get the ist round super max,
you may as well call it a day & with the less experienced & new
competitors, that it's all too difficult & stacked in favor of the
experts.

accordingly i think the rules are counterproductive to our sport &
discouraging to many competitors.
however to settle it once & for all, why not conduct a survey asking yes
or no what everyone thinks & then act one way or another based on the
information received, otherwise we will be talking about this forever.

Don Blackam.



The 55 degree Climb Angle
=========================
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I did not want to labour the point about the 55 degree climb angle but,
since Bill Geisking has commented on it, perhaps I had better try to
clarify things.

This is standard aerodynamics text book stuff and goes back a long way;
I don't know how long but my 1937 copy of Piercy gives it several pages.
It is also in Houghton and Carruthers. The arguments go thus:

Assume an aircraft is in level flight at certain incidence settings of
wing and tail. Now increase the power only (no trim changes) and the
aircraft will settle to a stable climb at a certain angle dependant on
the ratio of the climbing power to the power for level flight, usually
written H/Ho. In actual fact, for a given H/Ho there are two stable
climb angles; one at a low angle at high speed and one at high angle at
low speed. As H/Ho is increased the low climb angle increases and the
high climb angle decreases until they eventually coincide at around 50
to 55 degrees. If an attempt is made to increase H/Ho still further a
stable climb is not possible and the aeroplane will loop. Now certainly
for this set up the maximum climb occurs in the 50-55 degree range but
that is for straight flight with trim settings as for level flight. We
do not fly our aeroplanes like that. We use much higher power and we use
downthrust, sidethrust, downwash, propwash, turning flight, circular
airflow, warps and so on and that's before we even start on moving
surfaces. All this is to change the trim from the level flight (glide)
trim and when we do that the neat full size calculations no longer
apply.

So Martin Simons is correct in his book when he says that about 55
degrees is the best climb angle for an aeroplane climbing at the same
trim settings as for level flight but when he talks about "adjustment
of trim with wing camber, flaps etc" to achieve the 55 degrees then the
whole mathematical structure comes tumbling down. You don't have to
believe me just believe what you see on the flying field. Don't forget
that theory is just a convenient way of recording what the practical man
found out years before!

Best regards

John Barker - England




The Editor
==========
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It's time to salute the SEN editor,
invisible behind his product:

He stands, a few paces apart, his hands clasped
behind his back, with the famous smile.
( take a chance on the spelling...)
the Cheshire Cat.

We have no idea what he excludes.

...well, I do.

on occasioin.

And, I cannot fault him ( ! )

Except.
Except !

My recent humble offer to memorialize the passing
of Lionel Hampton....

Not printed.

I thought " Flying Home " would get it.
Just the mention.


Roger Morrell's run-away machine
enjoys the good fortune of Roger's good judgement.

Good luck !
and, as Joe Macay told me, take care !

Hardy Brodersen






July -02 TAN II
===============
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Has anyone tested July 02 rubber? How does it compare to other batches?


-Tapio-

[Tapio
Sereing I do not do scientific tests I cannot comment of the
specific energy return of this rubber. I have flown with it in
contests. One comment is that it is thinner that the norm,
about 0.038 inch thick against 0.042 for the norm.]


Lionel Hampton
==============
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94 !
In my lifetime, many times a light, a spark.

In a WW II army hospital ward, recovering from a weekend
in Joplin, or Fort Scott, Kansas....bunk mate
Clarence Wardlaw, a Detroiter -- he lived in the valley --
convincing me that Hamp was the greatest drummer that every lived.
Drumming with his fingers on a stool, at bedside,
counting and chanting.
We promised to meet after the war.

Hampton's band, in the 40's. His kids bacame the greats... in time.
Dexter Gordon. The eighteen year old Dinah Washington...' No Voot, no
Boot ' !
Looking out the window during a recording session,
watching the Normandy burn and roll over in her bearth.

Our troop ship, returning from Europe in...'46 ...
greeted in New York Harbor by a ferry boat drawing alondside.
At the rails, on two levels of deck, a band playing.... Flying Home !..
Of course, the famous Illinois Jacquet solo.... verbatim.
All the GIs got to that side of the ship...so the PA told us...
half of you guys get to the other side of the boat...quick.

Clarence said he was Hamp's age....





FAI FF Sporting Code Section IV Change Proposal
===============================================

Submitted By Jim Parker, USA 89015

Section: 4B General Rules for International Contest

Part: B.3.4 Age Classification for the Contest

Proposal: Increase the age of junior F1B competitors to 20 years of age and
F1J (or F1P) to 22 years of age.

Current Code: A competitor is considered to be a junior up to and including
the calendar year in which he attains the age of 18. All other competitors
are classified as seniors.

Proposed Current Code: A competitor is considered to be a junior up to and
including the calendar year in which he attains the age of 18 years for F1A,
20 years for F1B and 22 years for F1J (or F1P). All other competitors are
classified as seniors.

Reason(s): The proposed graduated age limits for Junior Free Flight will
strengthen the participation in F1B and F1J (or F1P) and therefore will
strengthen the overall Junior Program. The participation in the junior F1A
events is strong and does not need to be change. At the age of 18, some
junior F1A flyers are able to compete with the senior flyers and for their
national team positions. Only in exceptional cases, are juniors able to
compete with the seniors at the age of 18 and make their national rubber and
power teams. Therefore, most junior flyers stop flying FAI FF after they turn
18. The above proposal will provide an incentive for young adults to stay
involved with FAI free flight Junior competition and increase the pool of
interested and skilled junior flyers in F1B and F1J (F1P).




good service.
=============
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roger.
ihad heard that mike achterberg had some three piece
winged f1j kits available.
i contacted him via e mail and after several e mails
on the same day we came to an agreement.
so on monday i sent mike a check for the kit.
well eleven days later i had all the parts for the kit
in my hands in my shop.
this included a holiday laborday.
now that is what i call good service.
so now i can start putting it together.
thanks mike for a job well done.
don.

Subliminal Corruption ? and other tales
========================================

Seen at Lost Hills was AA with his fleet getting ready for the team selection
contest in Florida. Gone are the sombre colors of Eastern Europe - they
are new resplendent in the Neons beloved of his workmate Biggles. Maybe
they are concession to the advancing age of the crono team.

Also at the same session was Blake Jensen - a key component in his plan
to repeat or go one better than 2001 is the Subaru WRX - needed to blast
down from the flooded north west to the FF Mecca at Lost Hills in double
quick time.



from bunt to mush
=================
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Just a few loose ends to tidy up to complete my tail end perspective of all
this blunt bunt talk.

The New Zealand expert on analyzing the R.C. HLG discus launch is named
Chris Kaiser. I tried to get on his site but it is gone -- or at least
temporarily out of whack. This very able gentleman had just about everything
plotted out that one could imagine... for instance, the gain from going into
a stiff breeze gave a real boost and was spelled out in segments all the way
up. Anyway, from memory, the best NOMINAL angle was around 50 plus degrees
... give or take a handful of digits. (My interest in the discus launch is
that the folder layout is perfect for such a launch because it -- mine,
anyway -- has zero dihedral when folded -- F. F. dihedral causes a normal
ship to tumble -- Since outdoor F.F. HLG has no area rules the idea is
tempting. To get a perfect transition the proposed, huge, symmetrical F.F.
HLG is launched upside down straight into the wind. It goes up to its apogee
in an interrupted outside loop of which in reality is an EXTENDED BUNT. At
the top, overhead, going downwind, the wings open up for a perfect
transition .... Yeah, needs a timer, auto stab, youthful power, etc.)

For my esteemed UK buddy Barker's benefit I had to go dig up an '83 copy of
Martin Simon's "Model Aircraft Aerodynamics" (the later editions do not have
the pertinent material, although he still stands by it) The reason I got
into this 55 degree climb bit was that several people kept throwing it in my
face after I wrote that the powered folder's best climbing strategy was
straight up and utilizing an axial role for stability. To help disabuse me
of that mistaken notion one kind soul in Australia even sent me a gift copy
of Martin's book. Dave Anderson came up with Martin's email so I could
correspond with him (everything is now gone to hell with that $%@#@
computer)

Anyway, the most pertinent bit from M.A.R.: ..."The best aerodynamic
solution to the problem is variable trim and/or variable wing camber. By
trimming the model under power to climb at 55 degrees with a low CL, and
therefore no excess lift, energy wastage is reduced and there is no need to
spiral."


Oh, Roger, by the way, Its SkykIEng (you've got me startling to spel it
wrog)

Skynamics, a.k.a. bill gieskieng




Frank Zaic moves
================
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THE ZAICs, FRANK and CARMEN

Frank Zaic has long been known in Free Flight circles, mostly through a
series of books he wrote called Model Aeronautic Yearbooks. (See Frank Zaic,
A Tribute: in Free Flight Quarterly, Issue No. 4, July 2002; Freiflug Haus,
37 Windsor Street, Kingston Beach TAS 7050, Australia; e-mail
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). The first Year Book was published in 1934. They
contain model designs and plans, instructions for building models,
information on testing models, sources for materials, aerodynamic theory,
etc. He kept a good record of his correspondence with modelers throughout
the world, from which he drew information to put into his Year Books. Frank
was a member of the Aero Club Albatross in New Jersey. He participated in
model contests around the United States, including the Annual National Model
Airplane Contest sponsored by the Academy of Model Aeronautics. Frank also
went to World Championships and other International contests. His F.A.I.
License for flying full sized gliders was signed by Orville Wright.
Frank, his brother John and a friend started a model supply business
called JASCO from a small apartment in New York, selling mostly by mail.
His Yearbooks were sold through this business, which increased the sales of
model supplies and put him in contact with modelers around the world. The
business was still very young when the friend went back to college and John
Zaic rejoined the family in Slovenia. They left Frank to run the business
alone.
In 1991 he published Frankly Speaking which details parts of his life and
includes poetry and quotes he has written. Much of this short biography is
gleaned from Frankly Speaking.
Franks history is unusual, actually the American Dream. He was born in
August 1912 in Slovenia, which later became the northern part of Yugoslavia.
As a child, he came to New York City; his parents having already immigrated.
He wrote about his arrival at Ellis Island, having spent about two months in
Hamburg, Germany to clear up a health problem. He was ten years old when he
came to the United states. It is an amazing story.
Frank had little formal education, dropping out of high school to work at
several menial jobs, then taking night high school classes. He was largely
self-educated, making good use of the New York City Library. He was working
as a draftsman when the Great Depression came along, but like many others,
was laid off. He weathered the storm, living on very little but what he
earned from selling model supplies.
In 1937 he attended The Free Flight World Championships in England and
the Germany National Contest, making many friends along the way.
During World War II he was in the Air Corps, stationed in Italy. Several
years after the war, Frank moved to a small town outside Philadelphia, where
he met Carmen. They married in 1959 and moved to California in 1962. In his
book Speaking Frankly, he wrote I came to this land of the free by way of
Ellis Island, only to lose my freedom many years later, next door, atop the
Statue of Liberty, when Carmen said Yes.
In California, Frank was a member of the Southern California Aero Team
(SCAT Club). He had been well known to several members of the Club before he
came to California and his advice was sought by many flyers. He became known
as the Father of Free Flight. After all, he had flown models longer than
anyone we knew.
Carmen has an unusual background, too. Her parents came to Guatemala
from Europe, where they established a ranch. I believe they grew coffee.
One parent was from Spain and the other from Germany. Besides their ranch
home, they also maintained a home in Guatemala City where Carmen and her
brother attended a German school. Carmen grew up speaking both German and
Spanish and did not learn English until she came to the United States as an
adult. Through the years she kept in close touch with her family in
Guatemala. Her brother maintained the family ranch and raised several
children. Carmen and Frank made many trips to Guatemala to visit Carmens
brother and her nieces and nephew, who also visited in the United States and
received a part of their education here.
When Frank and Carmen moved to California, they bought a house in
Sepulveda, now called North Hills in the San Fernando Valley. They furnished
it nicely and maintained the yard in beautiful condition. Frank was employed
by Disney Studios here, I believe in audio-animatronics.
They liked to travel; went to Europe several times, New Zealand, Grand
Canyon and other places. Frank had a Leika camera and took beautiful slides
everywhere they went. That camera had a very fine lens in it, and took
exceptionally clear pictures. He even took slides from the back of a mule as
he descended into the Grand Canyon.
Carmen is a lover of animals and always has food on the patio for the
squirrels. She told a story one time about a squirrel she had made a pet of
as a child. She named it Hans. After some time, Hans disappeared. After a
while the squirrel came back, trailing a litter of little ones. Now it was
necessary to give this squirrel a feminine name. Carmen, a mixture of
Spanish and German herself, added a Spanish feminine ending to the squirrels
German name and called it Hansita.
During the time I have known them, Frank and Carmen have kept their cars
exceptionally long and gave a name to each of them. One was called Bumble
Bee. Frank's convertible Volkswagen Bug was stolen from his driveway when
it was more than 25 years old. For many years Carmen drove a BMW 2000.
During my recent visit with Carmen and Frank, I learned about their plans
for the future. Frank is now 90 years old, and his mind is not as clear as
it used to be. He is not close to any of his family, but Carmen has remained
close to her brother and nieces and nephews in Guatemala. They have made
arrangements to move there. Carmen's brother has built an apartment onto the
side of his house for them, they have sold their house in the San Fernando
Valley and are packing to move the second week of September, 2002. Carmen's
niece has come to help them with the final details and fly with them to
Guatemala. Im sure they will be well cared for there. At a farewell
luncheon with a few old friends, Carmen said they will buy a computer so they
can correspond with friends by e-mail. This will be a new learning
experience for them. She also told me she will miss the United States.

Jean Bogart



......................
Roger Morrell