SEN 1646
- Details
- Category: Archive 2012
- Hits: 1103
- SEN
- Whacked Out
- Systems Integration
- Dick is Back
- NY Recap
- Aeromodeller gets his man
- East of Eden
SEN
This is SEN or SCAT Electronic News. SCAT is the Southern California Aero Team, a Free Flight model airplane club.
The object of SEN and SCAT is to promote the FAI Free Flight classes. Contribution to SEN are welcome by anyone interested in Free Flight. Just send them by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. SEN depends on the contribution of its world wide community of readers for content. While SEN is primarily aimed at the FAI classes any information about Free Flight is welcome. We welcome contest flyers, contest results, technical information, items for sale, new product info, etc …
Whacked Out
Good news - Both the Lost Hills and Perris flying sites have been subjected to addition trimming of the grass and bushes. Jeff Ellington has taken another go at Lost Hills and the SAM/Flying Aces guys did Perris.
There was one group of SAM guys at Perris who wanted to keep the grass long to save their models during trimming sessions but it turns out that most of the are like us and did not like the stalks poking holes in the covering. It also makes it a whole lot better for the F1A guys with their lines too.
Systems Integration
Many years ago with one of my timers and the first of the RDT units we had a problem where RF from the RDT receiver flowed down the wires from the RX and through the timer into the servo causing it to be erratic. The servo manufacturer had tested his product with various frequencies that are used for R/C use but not the one used by the RDT unit. We did a temporary fix by putting choke on the wired between the timer and RDT unit. Later the RDT rx was modified to avoid this.
A similar episode came up recent with the Unilog Energy Limiter as used by some F1Q flyers. In this case the F1Q model ran perfectly on the bench with the Energy Limiter communicating with the timer to tell it when it was cutting the motor and cutting the motor when the Energy Allotment was used. However when taken to the field the EL cut the motor after only 2 seconds. It turns out that the difference was that on the field the flyer had his tracker in the model. Unilog had done extensive testing in Germany with leading F1Q flyers, who used trackers too without ant problems. However they used the popular Ruyter/Doring trackers on 140-150 mhz range, the US flyer has a Walston on 216 mhz. It turns out that the solution was simple and involved shielding the Unilog. That's a fancy way of saying it was wrapped in Aluminum foil.
In a follow up discussion with Ken Bauer he said that this interaction is not uncommon with today's sophisticated electronic devices. Ken is an RF/electronics engineer with a leading semi-conductor company who hels their customer solve this kind of problem. The modern smart phone has a cellular radio, wifi radio, blue tooth radio and GPS radio all crammed together into a package with a computer, a couple of cameras and some audio devices. A wonder it works at all!
Fortunately this problems are relatively rare and in our FF community we have a number of smart people Like Ken , Dick Ivers, Carroll Allen, etc who understand about this kind of problem and can always come up with some good ideas.
Dick is Back
While the ladies were happy to see Pink triumph again at Lost Hills with Tiffaney O'Dell winning F1G. It was great to see Dick Wood back on the field with a F1B wing.
Most of you know that Dick fell while stretching his F1B motor prior to winding at the Ike/Kiwi Cup event in February. Dick broke his hip on that fall in such a way that it required a hip replacement. Dick was taken to the Delano Hospital where the surgeon did and excellent job and Dick has worked hard on his rehab since.
The weekend's Big Al's America's Cup contest at Lost Hills was a little windy to start with and the air very tricking and turbulent. Dick made it to the fly off along with Rich Rohrke and Alex Andriukov. In the flyoff Alex got to his usual height bit I'm not sure if he was a little greed with the stab screw or there was just a little too much turbulence but his model stalled just enough to let Dick pip him by a few seconds, with Rich not far behind in third spot.
Jim Parker took F1A, Mike McKeever F1H, Guy Mennano F1C and Glenn Schnieder finally beat Taron, who missed a round to take F1P.
NY Recap
Reminder of the following Skyscraper and Wilbur and Orville meets, beginning this weekend:
Saturday and Sunday, May 26-27. SKYSCRAPER INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGE. Alan Abriss, CD. For AMA, NOS and FAI events. National Cup, America's Cup (F1A,F1B,F1C,F1G,F1H,F1J,F1P,F1Q), plus World Cup for F1Q. See www.brooklynskyscrapers.org/calender.html for details on the schedule of events and for map of field location, or contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
*Saturday and Sunday, June 9-10. WILBUR AND ORVILLE SPRING MEET. For AMA, NOS and FAI events. National Cup, Sarah Radziunas, CD. See www.brooklynskyscrapers.org/calender.html for schedule of events or contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
*Saturday and Sunday, June 23-24. SKYSCRAPER ANNUAL. For AMA, NOS and FAI events, National Cup, America's Cup. Schedule expected to be the same as for Skyscraper Challenge.
*Saturday and Sunday, August 25-26. WILBUR AND ORVILLE MEET, AMA, NOS, FAI events, America's Cup and National Cup. Andrew Barron, CD. Organized with Sarah Radziunas.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Andrew, apologies for not getting this out before the weekend.
Aeromodeller get's his Man
RCMF Survey:
Good work Meharibear and Wiz (Wiseman ?) http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HMPPX6Z — Who even knew the Royal Canadian Mounties flew ?
— Biggles
"East of Eden"
Re today's SEN 1645 quote:
"Taking the hard-nosed SCAT or certainly the SC part of that,
everyone knows there is no real life in the USA east of Riverside."
As a bonefide 1960s resident of 3rd & Manhattan Ave, Manhattan Bch, CA,
I can verify that all the Beach People of the South Bay area contend no real
life exists east of Sepulveda Blvd.
In fact, the "Tree People", as they are called, were and still are sneered at as
aliens!
Bazynga! [google it, ref to Big Bang Theory...]
Leeper
..................
Roger Morrell