SEN 1227 - 4 July 2008
- Details
- Category: Archive 2008
- Hits: 1137
Table of Contents - SEN 1227 - 4 July 2008
- FAI Twofer
- New F1A Diet
- MMM from the Leeper
- Looking for Buntbone wings
- Skyscraper reminder
- Beat the Vart Reminder
- Rudi Lindner
FAI Twofer
From Mike Roberts
Would you like to spend a few days in the Oregon wine country and come away leading in America's Cup points or at the very least be a contender? Nothing to it boys and girls; just hitch up the Motor Home, fire up your G-5 or go to the nearest highway with your model box and stick out your thumb and head up to Tangent, Oregon for two America's Cup contests in three days and some change. The Tangent Classic will be held on August 22nd & 23rd, flying the bigs on the 22nd and the minis on the 23rd and the Northwest FAI Challenge will be minis on the 23rd and bigs on the 24th. Fly, win and your in the money, no worries.
We will be flying from a new site this year called the Plainview flying field, which for those that have come before is due south of Parkers Field where we have flown for years. Ron & Pierre say it is very good in almost all wind directions. The site will be open for testing and Motorhomes on Thursday the 21st and we must be out of there by Monday evening the 25th. As always, there is lots to do in the area from visiting the wineries to the Evergreen Air & Space Museum (Space is a new deal). Many of us will be staying at the Econo Lodge at the south end of the Albany Airport (541-926-0170) so we can help polish Bruces' Bonanza, or sit by the pool watching people come and go at the Chinese joint (told you lots of fun). Tell them you are there for the model airplane contest but don't even try to explain free flight and all will be good.
As usual, exit I-5 to the east, go to the flashing light (Seven Mile Road), turn right (south) and follow the Willamette Valley Modellers signs. Send me an e mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and I will send you a Tangent Flyer. A final note; if you are not fun and do not treat CD's nice, please go to New York this weekend.
Mike, Ron & Pierre
New F1A Diet
From Ken Bauer
I received a couple of direct responses after my question posed last week as to how much our F1A gliders are pulling on the towline during acceleration. There were no measurements from others, but an agreement that the forces are much higher than we think. It then occured to me that I could try measuring the force simply by dialing up the unlatch tension on my electronic hook until the model becomes unlaunchable. This might be much easier than trying to hold the force gage on the end of the towline while running.
This morning I attempted the experiment in totally dead calm conditions at sunrise. I nomally set this towhook to 25 lbs force, but bumped it up to 35 lbs. Several flights at this tension went normally so I was clearly exceeding this force. I then increased it to 40 lbs and it because hit and miss. Sometimes I could pull hard enough to get off a launch and sometimes not. So for this glider in conditions of absolutely no wind where I was running a different direction each flight, the maximum pull was around 40 lbs. But as all F1A flyers know even a small amout of wind can make a very big difference in pull, so I am now estimating that 50 lbs of pull might be reasonable for conditions with at least a light breeze for these newer models with extremely stiff wings.
So now I am starting to understand why my launches have not been as high as other sportsmen. Everyone has been telling me for a couple years that I have plenty of speed when the glider is low and turning the corner, but that I slow down and the glider loses energy just before the release. Since I weigh only around 155 lbs and now see that the glider may be pulling 50 lbs, then the glider pull is 32% of my weight! Clearly the problem is that I don't weigh enough, I need to fatten up. If I could boost myself up to say 300 lbs, then that 50 lbs of glider pull would be only 16% of my weight and wouldn't slow me down as much! It is simple physics - the more mass I can get moving then the more momentum I will have which in turn will maintain speed despite the heavy glider pull.
So now I understand the secret of some of the more round F1A flyers out there. It is all about mass. Tomorrow is the July 4th holiday here in the US, so if Roger gets this out quickly it will be just in time for F1A flyers to start the new diet. A typical celebration here will include a barb-b-que with hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, ice cream, etc.., all perfect F1A food! I invite F1A flyers around the world to join in this great US holiday (Brits excepted, I don't think US independance day plays too well over there...) and eat your hearts out! No more salads and light foods, but Big Macs, milkshakes, steak, ribs, choclate bars, pile on the sour cream on that potato... F1B and F1C flyers envious? Never too late to convert to F1A, the true eating man's sport. Randy Weiler, there is still hope. :-)
-Ken
MMM from the Leeper
Looking for Buntbone Wings
From: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Skyscraper Annual Reminder for July 5 and 6
Dear Free-Flighters,
All are welcome to the Skyscraper Annual at Barron Field in Wawayanda, New York (near Middletown, Goshen, and Pine Island). It is this Saturday and Sunday, after the Independence Day celebrations!
For the schedule of events click on
http://www.brooklynskyscrapers.org/SKY08annual.html
For the regulars among you, note that this schedule for July 5 and 6 is identical to the Skyscraper Challenge schedule from last month.
For directions and hotels see http://www.brooklynskyscrapers.org/directions.html
Many Thermals!!
Andrew Barron
Home 203-248-5386 (may call)
Beat the Vart reminder
Rudi Lindner
Rudi Lindner, well known as two times worldchampion F1A in the fifties, has left us on 2008-05-24 after a short but heavy sickness.
We will remember him as a great pioneer of freeflight.
--
Ralf Kleine
Germany
.........
Roger Morrell