SEN 1270 2008

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Category: Archive 2008

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Table of Contents - SEN 1270

1. SEN Format
2. John Lendeman
3. Mark's View
4. Death of F1J
5. Looking for Stjepan Bernfest details
6. Arizona Contests
7. Comments from the USA Team Selection Commitee
8. Improving your best model
9. Ginger's Comments
10. Gard Airfoils
11. Looking for an Old F1C

SEN Format

Repeating what was said a few issues back - sometimes the material that I'm given, while it appears OK in the tools I use does not appear in your e-mail reader, notably Outlook express. And when you send it back to be and say part is missing I can see it perfectly well. While I take care to fix these problems, it is nor apparent what the problems with the errant readers are and I cannot reformat all material.

I do not reply to these returns. If you can't read it, go online to www.faifreeflight.org  and read it there. If you want to change to format of the e-mail from HTML to plain text, follow the update link at the bottom of SEN and un check the HTML box. There are other readers, such as regular  Outlook and Thunderbird that will display the e-mails.

John Lendeman

To all who have not yet heard, John Lenderman passed away on Thanksgiving Day after suffering his fourth heart attack. John was one of the finest Wakefield fliers of his time, and he represented the USA on two WC teams as well as serving as team manager. Recently, he continued to exhibit his skills in the indoor arena, flying all manner of rubber powered models and gliders at local meets and at the Kibbie Dome Annual in Idaho.
He was inducted into the NFFS Hall of Fame in 2005.
John was 85 years of age.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Dec. 13 at the Baptist Church in John and Goldie's home town of Clatskanie, OR. 
Cards and/or other memorials may be sent to his family at 17086 Hall Rd., Clatskanie, OR 97016.
Please pass this information to others who might not otherwise see it.
Thank you.
Bob Stalick. 

All:

I continue to read with interest the debate on the new Am-XCup proposal. If
nothing else, more people are starting to think about the future of Free
Flight. 

Once again, I wanted to offer my perspective as a new member of the
community. In particular what it has taken me to fly FAI competitively. 

First and foremost it has taken finding someone to be my mentor. Without
Jack Emery, I believe it would have taken me 5 years to get where I am now –
or I would have never got this far and quit, (See note 1).

Second, it has cost an amazing amount of money. I estimate that in the 2.5
years that I have flown FAI I have spent $7,000, maybe more. My spending has
not been extravagant, I don’t have a large number of models and I build my
own Coupes. I also camp on the field and drive to all of the contests, (See
note 2).

Lastly, flying FAI free flight has taken a tremendous amount of time and
energy. I have given up many other activities and have had to balance
work/family with my desire to fly FAI competitions. 

I bring up these points to show how difficult it is for a new person to
participate in FAI Free Flight. 

Personally, (and I have been hesitant to offer my view), I think we may be
heading in a direction that could break the back of Free Flight. Even though
I love Free Flight, there may come a time that I will not be able to
participate in a sport that costs so much and demands so much. 

Drawing an analogy from Formula 1 racing, there was a time that the
technology had reached a point of no return. The costs were so high that
only a few Teams were competitive and many Teams were dropping out. Luckily
for F1, their governing body abated this trend and instituted regulations to
reduce cost and increase participating. 

All that said, maybe we need to have several paths to the future of Free
Flight. One path can be the Am-XCup with maximum technology and no limit on
costs. The second path could be more of a one design approach with limits on
costs. 

To support the Am-XCup path I would propose that a participation fee be
instituted. The fee would serve two purposes, it would make the participants
financially support the program, and it would gauge the interest level of
the program.  

To support the “Second Path”, I think it is time to solicit the major model
manufacturers on ideas for simplified models (i.e. one design).  Certainly,
it is possible to build F1A and F1B models for around $1,000 and F1C for
around $1,200. 

I would also like to have enough contests in the “Second Path” that a
competitor does not have to get on an airplane to have a chance to finish in
the top five. 

Promoting the sport should also be part of the “Second Path.” We must have
someone in the Free Flight Community who is a Marketing expert who could
help us. I also think some form of Mentor program should be started. I would
really like to see a brainstorm session on ideas to bring new people into
this fantastic sport. Maybe things like loaner models, flight lessons, and a
guide books could be developed. 

Best Regards, 

Mark F Belfield 

 
Note 1

I have an aviation background and a model building background, but until
recently no Free Flight background. My journey into Free Flight began
accidentally. I was bored one weekend and decided to stop by my local hobby
shop. I could not decide on what to buy, but saw a Sig Cub and said what the
heck maybe I can make that thing fly. 

I took my time building the Cub, but as engineers do, I over-built the
model. With my “improvements” the cub ended up weighing 38 grams. 

My first flights were simple glides, and to my amazement the thing actually
flew. I slowly worked my way up and got the model flying for 20-30 seconds.
I was ecstatic. Then one warm afternoon, an amazing thing took place, the
model caught a thermal and not only glided, but it went up. I could not
believe it!

I continued working with the Cub, getting some half minute flights. My
successes with the Cub lead me to the Internet to look for other models to
buy, and to my surprise there were companies dedicated to Free Flight
Models.

I spent many hours reading about Free Flight and decided to call up Larry
Bagalini at Star Link Flight-Tech. Larry spent much time talking with me and
helped me purchase a couple of P-30 kits and some accessories to get going. 

I struggled with getting my overweight and warped P-30’s to fly, but managed
to get some one to two minute flights. I talked to Larry about my flying and
he recommended that I hook up with some other people who flew Free Flight.
This is how I got Jack Emery’s name. 

I contacted Jack through email and he invited me to a contest at Lost Hills.


The morning I arrived at Lost Hills, I parked my truck, got out and just
then an F1C made a smoking hole about 20 feet away. I knew I was going to
like this Free Flight stuff!

I watched Jack and the other competitors fly that day, but I was not
confident enough to fly around the other modelers so I stayed by myself and
“flew.” 

After that contest, Jack and I continued our friendship. He and a few other
modelers not only helped answer my questions and encouraged me, but they
also provided me with models and equipment. I will never forget how the
Coupe given to me climbed and circled on its first flight. 

With Jack’s help and support, I continued to develop and get better at Free
Flight. I also knew that if I was going to experience some of the best that
Free Flight had to offer, I needed to have a certain amount of commitment on
my part. This I did, by budgeting time, money and effort to get to a level
where the rewards, (satisfaction) were high. 

The reason I got started flying Free Flight and why I continue to fly is
that the experience is very visceral – when flying it feels as if I have
found some magic place that elevates my mind, body and spirit. For lack of
other words, it is the Soul of Free Flight.  

 

I will continue to fly Free Flight as long as the satisfaction is there.
Even without contests and the community as such, I might on occasion wander
out onto a dry lake bed and launch my F1B’s hoping to hook a thermal.
However, the flying would not be the same without those people that resonate
the Soul of Free Flight. 

Note 2

These are the approximate costs for my 2 ½ year venture into Free Flight.
This does not include the many models and items given to me. 

Motorcycle -$2000 
Motorcycle carrier - $200
Motorcycle maintenance - $50 per year
A.A. F1B - $2300
A.A Winder - $350
External Winding Equip. - $300
Coupes – 3 x $300
Rubber - $250 per year
Rubber Scale - $75
F1G Winder - $150
Model Box - $150
Trackers - $200
Radio - $100
Yagi - $75
Tools - $200
Model Supplies (Glue, paint etc) - $300 
Wind/Temp Gauge - $75
AMA/Lost Hills/NFFS memberships -$100
Contest and Travel Expenses- $100 per day
P-30’s and Early Models - $300



 
 

Looking for Stjepan Bernfest details

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