SCAT Electronic News Jan 7 1999

SCAT Electronic News Jan 7 1999


Table of Contents
=================

Junior Team Correction
Ride wanted So Cal to Eloy
Black Magic
Correspondence
America's Cup Calendar Correction
Nothing at WPAFB this year
More F1B Comments - Tapio
NFFS 10 Best Models - Larry Kruse
More Correspondence


USA Junior Team Correction
==========================

The selection commitee for the US Junior FAI FF Team is

George Batiuk
Jim Parker
Art Ellis

George is the chairman. The America's Cup will be used as
the selection contests. More details will be published later.
But if you're eligible or have children or friends who
are look carefully at that America's Cup Schedule.

Ride wanted So Cal to Eloy
==========================

Lee Hines is looking to share ride from the Southern Cal area
to Eloy for the America's Cup contest leaving on Fri 15 Jan.
Call Lee at (949) 945 4850 Home
or (909) 868 4725 Work. Both numbers have answering machines.


Black Magic
===========

No this is not a commercial for electronic timers. ... It a brief
commentary on F1B rubber. From July 97 through May of 98 we had a number of
batches of very good to excellent rubber. It seems to us simple F1B flyers
that "the Rubber Company" should be able to replicate that, because after
all it's just a chemical process like mixing epoxy or making a cake. This
is obviously an over simplistic view. We are getting to be more demanding
consumers and there is no doubt that the quality of the rubber is an
important factor in modern F1B performance. As an engineer and sportsman
as well as a business man John Clapp of FAI Model Supply is more aware of
that than any one else. Someone gave me a test motor from a new batch,
this rubber is OK for many uses but to use it in an F1B competition would
require some real good thermals. People say that "the Rubber Company"
should be able to produce rubber that rates at 4500 "no problem". Well they
have not done it and seems unlikely at a price we would want to pay... So
before you reduce the F1B rubber weight any further you might want to try
one of these test motors. I know that John Clapp wants to have some more
good rubber by the Max Men 14 Rounder and is working to that end. I
understand he want to bring the manufacturer to a major contest, that would
be a good one.


Correspondence
============

Roger,

Now that the SCAT Site is back up (YEAH!!) we need to encourage people
to get the event calendar for 99 together. Many of us need to start
planning our contest year and your site is the only focal point for that
information. I'll throw two dates in the pot to start with.

April 24-25, 1999: 7th Annual Spring Cup, Seguin, Texas. Americas Cup.
Large and Small FAI Events plus Open Power. CD: Faust Parker , 103 Blue
Willow Dr. , Houston Tex. 77042. (713)266-2961.

October 30-31, 1999: 15th Annual Autumn Cup, Seguin, Texas. Americas
Cup. Large and Small FAI events plus Open Power. CD: Reid Simpson, 9207
Hazelhurst, Austin Tex. 78729. (512)258-4793.

Thanks for getting our lifeline back up and keep up the good work. Faust

[reply]

I used you information to update the schedule. Don't forget to send us the
results.




America's Cup Correction
========================

Roger, There is a mistake on the America's Cup schedule that absolutely must
be changed. I am not, nor will be, nor want to be the CD for this years
Patterson. Besides that, the address listed for me under that contest is an
old post office box that we have not used in 5 years. Could you PLEASE make
the corrections before I have an epileptic fit here. Thanks. GB

[reply]

Sorry about that George .. the CD of the Patterson is Don Leath.
It will be updated in due course


Nothing at WPAFB this year
==========================

From: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Roger
Welcome back! I missed the SCAT site. Looking throught the contest schedule
for 1999. There will be no flying at WPAFB this year!. Please remove the
9/10 May reference to a flying session. Thanks!
Norman

More F1B Comments
=================

From: Tapio Linkosalo


> My flyoff suggestion is this. Continue the 35gm motor weight thru all of
> the standard rounds. when the flyoff starts, reduce the rubber weight to
> 25gm.
>
> [comment .. seems to me that you would need to have a different model
> for the fly off .. or at least a different trim setup. As well as two
> collections of motors.]

This is not necessarily the case. We have flown a few contests on a very
small airfield here in Finland using 20 gram motors. You use a few less
strands, and need to adjust the timings a bit, but short of that, the
model performs surprisingly well. Propably a tad smaller prop would be
optimal, though. One could overcome the need of changing the models by
requiring the same models to be used for the rounds and fly-off. Such
change would make using variable pitch prop more necessary to be
competitive, which I think is not a good thing. In fact, I'd like to see
VP props banned altogether, as there is only a handful of people being
capable of producing these clockwork mechanisms.

To get back to the fly-off, I think the original suggestion
misses a major point. We do not need reduction in fly-off performance,
but in the overall performance of F1B's. Looking at the results of Holiday
on Ice World Cup in Norway last year points this out nicely. In flat calm
conditions, 13 glider fliers out of 47 made it to the fly-off (ok, the
snow made towing difficult). In F1B it was 32 out of 37! In other words,
you could make MAJOR mistakes, and still make it to the flyoff (without
help of any lift). My conclusion is that the performance of F1B's is way
too high.

So, what to do to reduce the performance? I do not like the idea of
reducing rubber. It will draw the difference between the top pack and the
Joe Average even larger than it is now, make use of VP props even more
necessary, etc. A few months ago there was a discussion going on about
increasing the minimum weight of the airframe. I think that adding some 20
to 30 grams to the model, while keeping the rest of the specs as they are,
would cut 1+ minutes from still air times, reduce the flyoffs, and shorten
the extreme flights from what they are now.


-Tapio-



NFFS Models of the Year
=======================

From: larry kruse

Just a brief reminder that the postmark deadline for nominations for the
NFFS TMOY competition is Feb. 12, 1999. Only complete nominations will
be given full consideration by the TMOY committee. Complete nominations
consist of the following:
1. A brief cover letter from the nominator.
2. A separate one-page description of model design and competition
record.
3. A separate brief resume of the modeler/designer.
4. A one-page three-view plan with dimensions.
5. A photograph of the modeler with the model.

All complete nominations should be sent to Larry Kruse, Chair, NFFS TMOY
Committee, 1204 S. Mansfield, Stillwater, OK 74074.

Correspondence
==============

From: "Pablo Olsen"
=====

Dear Sir,
I am a FF flyier, I make F1A, F1H and OHGL. Some modelers tell me that in
your list, is posible to discuss, learn, etc. more about the FAI categories
and other classes too. I am subscribe to the FFML, but there is mostly
about scale, indoors, etc., and very little about what I like more. So
delete key is usually used.

I would like to subscribe to your list, if posible, I am very interested in
it.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Regards,

Pablo.



Pablo Esteban Olsen
LW7 - Radio Catamarca 2636
B. Intersindical
4400 - Salta
Argentina

[comment]

The objective of this system is to enable us all to share information about
FAI FF. Information can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to be included in this
newsletter, or posted in some of the topics on the web site.

The more we share information the more we help people like Pablo and
Mark below who don't get to see so many FAI FreeFlighters


From: mark price
=====
To: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Subject: Thanks

Roger, please pass my thanks on to those responsible for getting the
SCAT site online again. I am in the south florida
urban area, free flight areas are far away. Sites like yours allow us to
keep in touch, may be the savior of the FF survivors.

Thanks, Mark Price

From: Gregorie Martin
=====

Subject: Return of SCAT

Hi Roger,

Good to see you back on the air once again. I was getting withdrawal
symptoms from the lack of competition-oriented Net discussion.

The reason for writing, however was to enquire if you are planning to
reinstate the FFML archive service and to suggest, if this hadn't already
occurred to you, that a similar SCAT newsletter archive would be useful.

Thermals,
Martin

PS: This was rejected by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., which I tried first.
[reply]

We will start archiving FFML .. real soon now when I get some
more of this system set up properly.

We do archive the SCAT Electronic News that we send by e-mail.
It's under discussion area.

The correct address is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - Other addresses you may
have used in the past may not work.


-------------------------------------------

Roger Morrell