SEN 1929

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  1. Phedon
  2. Weak Link

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Rumors have been circulating about Phedon dieing in a house fire. I 
tried emailing and phoning Phedon but no response. Today, I drove over 
to his home (not too far away), spoke to his neighbor and confirmed that 
he had past away. The fire had gutted Phedon's house and part of the 
neighbor's. The neighbor didn't have any info re: the cause of the fire. 
He did say there is no family claiming or wanting to claim what's left.

Phedon was a very precise aeromodeller, usually found flying indoor 
gliders. He established several glider records, I believe in Cat. 1 and 
2. He also flew other events. Back in the 70's he earned a spot on the 
USA F1B team (which he later declined). He kept very much to himself. 
Professionally, Phedon had worked for Mattel toys as a model maker and 
had been issued several patents.

- Norm Furutani

News link from Steve Brown: 
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2014/07/06/man-found-dead-following-house-fire-in-hawthorne/


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SEN Item - F1A Towlines 
 
As the aim is to limit the launch height by limiting the towline tension, a weal link in the line ? Contest organisers supply a short length of monofilament of a standard breaking strain and preferably coloured. It is shorter than length A-B near the top of the towline. It forms a weak link and if broken when checked by timekeepers the flight is an attempt. This enables people to still use existing towlines. If an actual towline breaking strain was specified, testing lines would be like testing flashbulbs, - if it breaks it passes. 

Martin

(Martin gave us a sket but we don't do pictures yet in SEN)

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