SEN 913 - 28 Oct 2004
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SCAT Electronic News 28 Oct 2004 issue 913
Table of Contents
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SW FAI Challenge - Booth
Harbor Freight Models in Seattle - Smith
Found Hank
Minneapolis MAC loses an outstanding modeller - Edmonson
Electric Freight
ROG - Scott
SW FAI Challenge
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Author : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Hi Roger,
We have been watching the weather reports fairly carefully for the last few
days regarding the weekend forecast for the Boulder City area. The
predictions range from clear skies, 65-70 degrees and calm all day, both
days to partly cloudy and 6-8 mph winds Sunday, which is not all that bad.
No rain is expected for the weekend as of about 6 pm this evening
(Wednesday). It did rain today and there is a "slight" chance it will rain
tomorrow, so the big question is whether or not we will be able to get out
on the lakebed. In talking to Jon Zeisloft and others with local knowledge,
the lake bed apparently dries very quickly. We are trying to get a local
flyer to check the field tomorrow. Bob Beecroft and I will be leaving
tomorrow afternoon (Thursday), but will arrive too late to check tomorrow
evening. We will be on the field Friday morning. Anyone who wants the
latest update Friday morning should feel free to call me (760) 889-3201. If
Cingular has service out there, I'll answer. If not, leave a message & I'll
get back to you as quickly as I get back into range.
Thanks,
Bill Booth
Harbor Freight Models in Seattle
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Author : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Roger, Ross Jahnke posted a note about the Harbor Freight models. We here
in the Seattle area have been flying them for a year now and have had a lot
of fun with them. Al Likely teaches a modeling class at t middle school and
used the pusher model as a hook to get the kids interested.
Several of us have lost a total of a dozen of the models to hung. One of
the tractor models flew away on the first flight. To over come this we have
gone to either using a timed charge of 300 Ma for 15 minutes with a charger
made for the purpose. Even at that rate they will run for over a minute and
thermal in light lift.
The most fun is taking the entire power unit and put it into another model
of the stick and tissue type with D/T. Using the timed charge we wtill get
flights of 90 to 150 seconds with ease. One class of models that works well
is the kits from Al Lidberg that are replicas of old timers. the kits in
the 20 to 25 inch range work well with the best flying model so far being
the Playboy.
Another variation is to cut the tail boom off of the fuselage and replace it
with a rolled tube like is used on P-30's. the elevator and twin rudder are
rigged to flip up for a D/T. A badge timer and a microswitch are rigged to
cut the motor off and activate the D/T. With this setup you can give the
280 MaH NIMH cell a full charge and get 5 or 6 flights from the single
charge. Great fun in small flying spaces and for the youngsters.
Homer in Seattle
Great job on the newsletter!
Found Hank
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Author : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Thank you SCAT Hank Cole and I are in touch and I have what I needed
from him. Thank you Hank model designer and flier extraordinaire. He is
82 and still winning in rubber. I hope I can do half as well. Hank you
are in my Sympo paper. Ed Mate
Minneapolis MAC loses an outstanding modeller
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Author : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Hi Roger
On October 24th we lost long time club member Tim Johnson.
Tim has been a MMAC club member going back to 1953, and has always been an
optimistic innovator.
Tim was pheasant hunting in South Dakota yesterday and died from a massive
heart attack. Everyone is shocked because just the previous week Tim was
in good spirits as he won 3 events including CLG and 1/2 A nos gas.
Tim and I had a long relationship going back to him really giving me help
in becoming a free flight club member with the Minneapolis club back in
1954. We roomed together at the 2004 NATs and had a great time. I will
miss my 2 calls a week with him to compare notes.
He is currently 5th in the National Cup in both AMA Classic Gas, and AMA
Glider, and 4 th in AMA Gas. I believe he has also won the Minneapolis
Model Aero Club Championship trophy for 2004. Tim really worked hard on
getting his National Cup points up this year, and I don't think all of his
results have been posted yet.
Tim was a great friend and optimist. At the 2004 NATS, as I was trying to
sleep the night before the dawn unlimited rubber event,
Tim was winding this humongous rubber motor for his classic coupe in the
motel room. He stretched and wound it and was convinced that this motor
would make his model a winner. The next morning as he wound this wonderful
motor, it exploded and he was not able to show the world his sure winner.
Tim was a great supporter of the free flight program and will be sadly
missed by everyone, and we will miss his competitive spirit and smile.
Dave Edmonson
Secretary, Minneapolis Model Aero Club
Electric Freight
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Author : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
On Oct 25, 2004, at 9:30 AM, SCAT user wrote:
> Free Flight Toy
> ===============
> Author : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
> On a lighter topic than rubber weight, I would like to call attention
> to an
> excellent free flight toy that SAM 59 and the Pensacola free Flight
> Team
> have been flying. Its name is "Free Fly Model Airplane" item # 43678
> from
> Harbor Freight, a discount tool company (www.harborfreight.com). The
> model
> is made of foam and powered by a direct drive electric motor. It is a
> tractor with twin rudders and a pusher prop mounted at the TE of the
> wing.
> Wing span is 23". I am told they have other electric models but that
> they
> don't perform well. They list for $14 but I got mine on sale for $7.
For those who do not want to do a search the page is:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=43678
The item is/was on sale for $13.99/6.99. Kind of strange... I initially
looked
it up and found it for $6.99, went backed to check before sending this
email and it's now $13.99!!
Bob
ROG
===
Author : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Hello all,
As a Luddite lurker who enjoys the discussions on SEN, might I toss in a
non-FAI related question in the hope that there are some power flyers with
answers? Thinking about power models that ROG (I did say I was a Luddite),
what is it that enables them to transition from a horizontal path to a
climb? At first it seemed there would be easily identified common factors,
perhaps a certain CG / moment arm / tail size combination for example, but
after going through the old magazines and Zaic Yearbooks, it's not obvious
just what those magic elements are, or indeed whether they exist at all. If
they do exist they are selective, for they allow power models of the past
that were designed to ROG to be safely hand launched at a steep angle, but
do not allow the flat launching of more recent designs that were intended to
be launched vertically.
I have 1/2A Power models of recent design that, if launched flat, will
perform their spiral "climb" in the direction of launch, resulting in a
terminal barrel roll - they totally lack any upward-seeking tendencies. Yet
some models of similar size, such as those that were designed for PaaLoad
events, transition easily to a climb after a horizontal takeoff (or hand
launch) despite appearing to be just very heavy Power models. It seems
unlikely that it is the extra weight making the difference, besides, not all
ROG models are heavyweights. It also seems unlikely that all those ROG
designs of the past were just "suck it and see" lucky guesses or variants of
successful models. What guiding principles did their designers use?
Best wishes
Bernard Scott
..................
Roger Morrell
