The Silent Flyer - South Bay Soaring Society

South Bay Soaring Society
AMA Club Charter #163
SBSS is a 501 (c) (7) registered non-profit organization
The Silent Flyer
Message from the Editor
August 2011
Volume 4, Issue 7
SBSS new field update:
Coming up…...
Unless posted otherwise,
meetings are the second
Wednesday of each month
SBSS Thermal Duration
Contest meets at 8:30 AM
last Sunday of the month at
Curtis School - check RC
Groups/Clubs/SBSS for
status at 7:00 AM on contest days, and earlier for
other info.
Monthly Los Banos Aero
tow is on the 3rd Saturday
of every month. Send an
email to George Hollidge
at: g.hollidge@comcast.net
for details.
Always check the web for
flying and contest schedules
in case of change.
Contents
June meeting minutes
2
Upcoming Events
3
2.4 Vision
4
SBSS @ TomCats
6
Fresno ALES
7
Pictures
10
Lots of action going on and several members working to secure a
new field. I’m in on the email chain going on , so let me attempt to
summarize.
Tim Ellis, Javier Romero and Dick Dexter are the all important
ground troops. These guys are Google Earthing ( is that a word? ),
touring the valley, checking out sites, talking to people in the field and
reporting back to the group. Can’t say how many different sites these
guys have been to in the last month, but between them it’s got to be
15 - 20 at least.
Bob Smith, Noel Eberhardt and Sean Worthington are the club
ambassadors. They find out who’s got the political mojo and shaking
their trees. Meet and greet, greasing palms, kissing babies, they are
out there and doing what ever it takes to get the SBSS on the master
list.
Progress has been made, and Pioneer High School and Kennedy
Middle School have been added to a short list of potential flying sites.
Sean has gotten some leads from friends and been in contact with the
Santa Clara Parks and Rec director who was very favorable to our
needs. Noel has been all over, meeting with Cupertino Parks and Rec
( also favorable ) as well as working with the Boy Scouts organization
and promoting the STEM program. Bob is our South County guy, and
he’s out sticking his foot in the doors of the Gilroy and Morgan Hill
dignitaries.
I tell you, I have seen so many emails from these guys in the past
month, I can’t keep it straight. I apologize if I left anyone out, but be
sure to make the next meeting for the full update, it should be pretty
exciting.
Later …...Bruce (belewis01@yahoo.com)
WW. SBSS.ORG
...don’t forget to visit our web site for other news and information: www.sbss.org….
July Meeting Minutes
Bob Smith
South Bay Soaring Society
Minutes from Meeting for July 13, 2011
By Bob Smith, Secretary
6:30PM Business Meeting
The meeting was called to order by President, Bob Brown. There were 33 attendees.
Old Business:
1. Minutes were not published so they were read and accepted.
2. Treasurer report: Balance $7783.88
3. Status of IRS & FTB. Amendments to non-profit status was rejected by the state. John is
working with a friend who is an attorney.
4. Noel made business cards, and will bring samples to next meeting.
5. Flight training with club aircraft and radios by Jerry and Mike has been working well.
6. Winch # 4 refurbish complete.
7. Contest for May was made up in June and contest results for these results and June
results will be published in newsletter.
8. Tomcats event was well attended with 15 on Saturday (11 on Sunday) SBSS members
and friends. There were at least 10 aircraft that were flown during the 30 minutes allotted
for SBSS. This was probably the best attended Tomcats event we have ever had. There
were probably 30 aircraft on display.
New Business
1. PO Box bill is now paid and a discussion as to who has access. Noel and Bruce are the
only ones currently on the approved list.
2. Noel suggested that we provide free membership to members under 18 as long as they
have AMA membership. Discussed and approved by membership.
3. Discussion on Dartmouth closing/lockdown on Sundays. Continued attempts to try and
get official approval will continue. Other school districts may be flyable on Sundays and
will be explored.
4. Noel opened discussion on forming a Field Search Team. Many potential sites were
discussed including Pioneer HS, Harvey Bear Park, and others. Several will be exploring
fields at different sites this week.
7:00 Break… refreshments, cookies & chatter…
7:15 PM - General Meeting
No Flying Activity Reports this month because of entertainment.
WW. SBSS.ORG
2
Coming Events
California Slope Racers - Unlimited MOM - Aug 6-7
Sagas CA - Grass Mountain 2 day unlimited slope race ( 74” min wingspan )
Come race the biggest and fastest slope race course in California at Grass Mountain Park
William De Hagen CD - 213-458-1312 ( email ; dehagen13@hotmail.com )
Sponsored by Southern California Slope Racers
http://www.socalsloperacing.com/
2011 Visalia Fall Soaring Festival - Oct. 1-2
38th annual Fall Festival , CVRC Russell Pond, in Visalia CA. Open, 2 meter, RES. Woodie and
Youth ( 18 and under ). And new this year will be an event just for Hobie Hawks.
Registration just opened up and it’s not too early to start planning for one of the biggest and
best contests on the West Coast. Several vendors show up at this contest and offer special
deals through out the weekend.
Camping is available as well as a Saturday night BBQ. Our own Al Strahm is traditionally the
raffle crazy and has had several BIG prizes in the past ( last years prizes included JR 11X,
Xplorer, Sirus chargers, Horizon Hobby kits and more )
Check the CVRC website for detail - http://cvrcsoaring.com/
10th Annual CVRC Fall Aerotow October 14 - 16
Hey guys, A quick note to let all interested parties know about the 10th Annual CVRC Fall
Aerotow on October 14th through the 16th, 2011. Ten years already, time really does fly doesn't
it? I plan to have T shirts to commemorate the event and... I guess you will have to attend to
find out. Camping and motor homes on the field are fine though there are no hookups, so motor
homes and trailers need to be self contained. For campers that want facilities there is a K.O.A.
nearby.A special invitation goes out to the pilots in the Mid-West and the East Coast to get
themselves some "California lift". For any attendees, I am willing to safely store their crates if
they have them shipped to me. I can store a lot of crates, so come on out. Please visit our club
web site www.cvrcsoaring.com for directions and lodging options. If you have any questions
regarding the event please contact me directly at cmesoar@sbcglobal.net or call 559-3002611.See you there!
Chris PrattCVRC Aerotow CD
WW. SBSS.ORG
3
A new look for your old Vision
by Rich Duder
The genealogy of the Airtronics Vision transmitter can be traced back through Control
Systems Labs in Milpitas, CA., with development directly to influenced by the SBSS. The
glider version of the Vision with its ATRCS programming was the first ever microprocessor
based transmitter with soaring specific mixing. Because of this history, the SBSS
membership today probably has one of the largest cache of Vision transmitters stashed away
in closets.
With the advent of 2.4 GHz band technology, there are several manufacturers of plug-in
modules to convert module based 72MHz transmitters to your favorite brand of system.
These name-brand systems provide a great way to update and keep using your old Tx. They
also get you locked-in to using the name-brand receivers, which can cost $70 to $130 each
for a full-house glider Rx, depending on channels and features.
None of the major brands, Futaba, Airtronics, JR-Spektrum, or HiTec-Multiplex provide
hardware to support the Airtronics Vision transmitter. They also do not support 2.4GHz
conversions for other non-module transmitters (like the Futaba FG series – another popular
dinosaur).
One brand, Xtreme Power Systems (XPS), sells their “Universal” 2.4GHz conversion
module that will fit the Vision Tx with the use of a custom wiring harness. The XPS technology
works fine, but the Tx modules cost $109 (recently reduced from $169) and their 8 channel
“sailplane receivers” are priced at $99 (recently reduced from $129)… each !
Checking hobby shops on-line produces a short list of other options. FrSky ACCST, Corona
DSSS, and Assan are the most common. There is a global on-line community of hobbyists
who post test results of these various systems. The FrSky products have had largely positive
results.
The FrSky DHT transmitter conversion module has telemetry (more about that later), and is
inexpensive at $23. FrSky telemetry receivers are full range (1.5 kilometers), have failsafe,
and are inexpensive ($19.99 for 6 channel, and $25.01 for 8 channels).
The best pricing I have found for these products is Hobby King. Giant Cod hobbies in the
UK also has FrSky parts in stock.
FrSky DHT 8ch DIY Telemetry Compatible Transmitter Module
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=17205
FrSKY D6FR ACCST 6 Channel RX with Telemetry
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=16675
FrSky D8R 2.4Ghz 8CH Receiver with Telemetery
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=14356
WW. SBSS.ORG
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A new look for your old Vision
by Rich Duder
The Conversion:
I unplugged the 72MHz module and the battery pack. I removed the screws that held the
back onto the transmitter, and took the back off. I removed the aluminum shield plate behind
the 72MHz module. I removed the transmitter antenna, and the RF meter (clipping off wires
where attached).
Because the RF meter would no longer function with the new system, it was converted to a
voltmeter to monitor the Tx batteries. Per suggestion by Mick Alias, I modified the meter
housing to fit a GWS Onboard LED 4-8 Cell Voltage Monitor SKU Number: GWOBI03. The
9.6 volt jumper was plugged in, and the +/- input wires were soldered to the circuit card at the
base of the +/- pins of the 72MHz module header.
GWS Battery Meter in modified bezel
Battery Meter Installed
The FrSky DHT module has 3 wires to connect to the transmitter. +/- power leads, and a PPM
signal input. The wires are identified in the FrSky literature that comes with the DHT. The
simple way to install this is to solder these 3 wires to PCB header pins and install where the
old 72MHz module used to plug in. Header pins are available at most electronics stores like
Frys or Radio Shack.
FrSky module to Airtronics
Vision connections
WW. SBSS.ORG
5
A new look for your old Vision
by Rich Duder
The DHT output is a thin coax cable with a threaded fitting on the end that the 2.4GHz
antenna mounts to. I drilled out the hole in the antenna support bracket on top of the Tx, and
wrapped tape around the coax fitting until they fit together snugly. While it may be possible to
fit the DHT into a gutted 72MHz module, I found it easier to just let it “float” inside the case.
I re-assembled the Tx case, and gutted the 72MHz module. I cut the back off of the old
module behind the tabs. This allows it to still lock into it’s hole as a cover plate.
Testing:
Be sure to reprogram your vision for PPM-FM output (PCM will not work with the DHT).
Follow the DHT instructions for binding and range checking your new system. With the 9.6V
jumper in place, a fully charged Tx battery will register all bars on the GWS monitor.
Telemetry:
The DHT comes pre-programmed to beep when the Rx is not receiving good signal
strength. This can be heard when you are range testing the system.
Low receiver battery voltage warning is also standard, but must be set with a program.
More about that, and a low-buck ½ Vario system in the next article. If you have any more
questions, I’ll be starting an RCGroups thread in the SBSS forum for Q & A discussion.
TomCats 2011 Air Show review
Noel Eberhardt
From my perspective, SBSS's 2011 Saturday morning demonstration was outstanding. At
the pilots meeting one third of the pilots were SBSS'ers! We had everything flying
simultaneously, i.e., first the electric planes went up immediately followed by multiple winch
launches of composite sports planes and woodies, an aero tow (Jerry Heimbecker had a kid
from the audience on a buddy box flying the aero tow), and DLG's. Kyle did an excellent job
on the PA describing the on-going action of all glider types and flying styles. Greg
Norsworthy demonstrated Cuban 8's and upside down DLG flying along with Mike
Palvang. The only mishap was the aero tow plane which suffered a damaged wheel strut
after hitting a gopher hole on the edge of the runway doing a U-turn after landing. Jerry
brought his half-scale AK-6 which brought lots of comments, but missed being flown due to
the tow plane damage. One visitor was so impressed with glider flying that she bought a
Gentle Lady kit on the way home and joined SBSS the following week.
I personally want to express my appreciation for all who in any way contributed to SBSS's
excellent showing. I also want to thank the Tomcats for providing parking spaces adjacent to
assigned display area making unloading & set up convenient. For all the time I've been with
SBSS, this was SBSS's finest showing.
Noel Eberhardt
WW. SBSS.ORG
6
First Ever West Coast ALES Contest Report
Bob McGowan
History was made in Fresno California on July 23rd,2011. ALES stands for Altitude Limited
Electric Sailplane. Electric sailplane competition in the past had turned into somewhat of an
“arms race” to see who had the deepest pockets and could buy the best motor and biggest
battery packs for the fastest and highest climbs. I don’t know much about the old competition
formats as I was too turned off by the required extreme launch power to even think about
participating. Apparently I was not the only one turned off because ALES was created to
equalize the launch aspect of the event and allow soaring to determine the winner.
We carry on board an extremely small and inexpensive (approximately $50) device that
gets plugged in-between our receiver and motor speed controller. This device kills power to
the motor when you reach 200 meters or when 30 seconds has expired, whichever comes
first. Climbing to200 meters in 30 seconds does not require an expensive motor and battery
combo; this is a quick, but not an extreme, climb rate. The limiter our team used is the CAM
(Competition Altimeter for Models) available at www.soaringcircuits.com.
The Fresno Soaring Society has a great field and Al Strahm worked with them to help
organize and pull off the first ever West Coast ALES Contest. From the South Bay Soaring
Society we sent a contingent of five: Don Cohn, Marcin Hirny, Ken Izumi, Joe Newland, and
Bob McGowan (me). Conspicuously missing was Al Strahm who had a work emergency that
kept him out even though he was part of the organizing team. Joe just hoped over the hill on
his own from his closer home base and the rest of us carpooled from Sunnyvale in Don’s van
for a fun ride and a good breakfast stop at Casa de Fruita, home of the world famous cup
flipping waiter (no, we did not see him).
The seventeen contestants were split into two classes, one for foam planes such as the
Radian (7 pilots), and one for the rest of us (10pilots). We flew in 4 flight groups with Man on
Man scoring: two flight groups of Radians and two flight groups of open. Next time I think they
will try to do this with fewer but bigger flight groups so that we can fly more rounds in the
same time period. Fresno promises they’ll have their additional grass in soon allowing more
landing spots which was a limiting factor in flight group size this time.
The contest ended at about 1:15 after only 3 rounds because the heat was getting a bit too
much for some of the old guys. I would have liked to fly more, but I think the others in our car
pool were happy to get an early start on the long drive home. The task for open class was 10
minute duration with spot landing (generous 1 meter segments on the tape). Foamy class
duration was capped at 6 minutes. We did not have any foam entries from SBSS so let me
focus on the open class battle with a bit of play by play reporting from memory (which may
not be entirely accurate).
In round 1 group 1, a calm had come over the launch area as we waited for the launch
signal on this moderately windy day. How windy? Let’s put it this way, I was not even
thinking about using my light battery 2 cell battery pack but went straight to the 3 cell knowing
the weight would help me get home.
Just as the preparation time countdown reached zero for launch, the wind picked back up
indicating the thermal causing the calm had just passed us. I went vertical and then up end
over and headed slightly down wind on my climb out, finding myself in great air when the
motor cut off. Everyone else in my flight group did a more typical push up wind type of launch
and found themselves in terrible sink. Unfortunately a couple of my SBSS team mates were
among them and they were all down in about 5 minutes leaving me alone in the big air to
burry them all score wise.
WW. SBSS.ORG
7
First Ever West Coast ALES Contest Report
Bob McGowan
Round 1 group 2 saw our man Marcin end up doing quite well. The air was very tough and
nobody made their full 10 minutes but I believe Marcin was the last one down or within
seconds of it. There was one more plane right there with him, an AVA Longhorn (giant 4
meter span or some nonsense) that landed at about the same time. So being MOM scoring,
both of them got near or at the max points available and the other scores went down from
there normalized against the group winner’s 1000 point max. So Marcin and I were in good
shape after round 1 but sadly Don, Ken, and Joe had taken hits already. Round 2 saw Don
pull off an impressive full group bury. Again clues from the wind indicated the lift had moved
down wind of the field and Don went for it; the others did not. Soon everyone in the group was
on the ground except Don, he flew for many extra minutes causing the others to take a huge
points hit. Don had just put himself back in the race!
In round 2, Ken, Marcin, and I were in the opposite group from Don and I encouraged Ken
and Marcin to follow me as we launched. They did so and we all three ended up in solid lift on
the down wind side of the field. The other pilots in the group were surfing upwind.
Unfortunately Ken found his limit of visibility with his transparent blue green wing blending into
the sky, causing his bird to look like a wispy ghost plane. After struggling with visibility, losing
the lift and altitude, Ken had to turn his motor on to save his plane from the lost lakes of
Fresno's Lost Lake park. Naturally powering back up the motor forfeited the flight and gave
him a zero. Marcin was flying a very light bird, the" Helium” with a high lift airfoil that does not
penetrate well so he had to bail on the lift early and head home. Unfortunately this was
through sink and ended his flight a bit early. I was able to max along with one of the other
pilots who pushed out front; it was that darn AVA Longhorn again, giving him two good
rounds, we were now neck and neck for the lead.
By now a good number of guys were dropping out with technical problems with their planes,
Joe’s plane threw the prop off during Round 2, putting him out of the contest for good. This
just goes to show that reliability and preparedness are keys to contest performance, and
there is a bit more to worry about on these electric gliders than on pure sailplanes. Some of
the Radian flight groups were now down to just two pilots which is not much of a MOM
challenge. This was especially true in one round when one of the two crashed on
launch. Now that’s what I call an easy grand for the other guy!
In what was to be the final round of the contest, round 3, Ken got it together for a great
flight. I was his timer and Ken did a great job working within the limited visibility range of his
ghost ship. He went for one downwind thermal right off launch and before getting in trouble
came up beside us to snag a second thermal and once that was spent, maneuvered in near
the landing zones for a third thermal to get his 10 minute max. Ten minutes can be a long
time, especially when the wind pushes the lift down wind to visibility limits in just a few
minutes.
Don may have been in the group with Ken for round 3, but whichever, Don did not make his
time so his comeback surge faded. I almost forgot to mention Ken’s decent on this fantastic
3rd flight. His light plane had no spoilers the wing and was fluttering like crazy every time he
tried to push it. Time was running out and he still was not coming down fast enough. I
suggested flying inverted, which he did but it would still flutter occasionally. Man that thing is
flimsy Ken! With careful piloting he got down on time and in one piece, but that was quite the
rapid decent.
WW. SBSS.ORG
8
First Ever West Coast ALES Contest Report
Bob McGowan
Marcin and I flew in the group opposite of Ken and we got high and down wind fast
together. Soon we had no choice but to come back, my plane made it back with enough
altitude to make a low save near the landing zones with a second thermal. The sink coming
back form the first thermal was horrendous and I has to use reflex to punch through it. Marcin
does not have reflex on his simple R/E plane and he was sucked down before he could get to
the next lift. As the ten minutes mark approached I looked around and it was just me and my
nemesis, the AVA Longhorn in the air again. I made my turn onto final and noticed I was a bit
lower than I wanted to be. I pushed to get the speed up doing everything I could to stretch the
glide into the wind but I still landed short of the tape. The Longhorn did not chokeand pilot
Mac Powell scored some nice landing points to win the round and the contest. Congrats
Mac!
Unlimited Class Results:1st Mac Powell – 4 meter E-AVA Longhorn, 2nd Bob McGowan –
1.5 meter E-Predator II, 3rd Marcin Hirny – 2 meter R/E Helium, 4th Kirk Stockham – 3.X
meter E-AVA, 5th Don Cohn – Avia 2.5 meter, 6th Ken Izumi – 2 or 2.5 meter R/E fluttering
ghost This particular day the air was challenging enough that landing points only made the
difference in the top two places and for the most part this contest was decided by soaring.
As you can see in the top 6 results a wide range of planes and wing spans were
competitive in open class. With launches equalized, the small planes could do as well as the
big planes when the pilot placed them in lift. On the other hand, the bigger planes may make
the difference when things get really tough. On a nice day, almost anything could win this
type of competition. At this event visibility turned out to be a bigger factor than I expected.
Firstly, 200 meters is pretty darn high and some of the competitors with older eyes said they
have never run their small planes all the way up to the auto cut off because they are afraid
they can’t see it well enough up there. Secondly we often found ourselves drifting far and high
downwind on these long tasks and you don’t want to have to come home early. Pick
something you can see if you want to be successful at this. This will be bigger for some
people than others. And Ken would add that high visibility colors are a plus. The Radian
(foam class) guys were having a blast and for the price, this looks like a good way for people
to get into electric gliders or the hobby in general. The standard Radian appeared to be the
favorite among the competitors. I think the Radians need a few simple “hop up” tricks to get to
the full 200 meters in 30 seconds, but even stock the climb is not bad and gets you close. The
Radian Pro did not appear to as easy to thermal and get air time, but for landing it would have
an advantage with its flaps.
The Modesto guys dominated the foam class with Benard Simpier in first, Bob Umberger
second, and Jeff H. in third. Next time we need some SBSS representation in this class to
take them on. In an un-scientific poll at our RCG SBSS forum it was found that of 27
members surveyed, 21 own electric gliders. In the past few months I have personally gone
from hating electric gliders to respecting them as part of the soaring world. With modern Lipo
batteries and out-runner motors, they don’t have to be overweight pigs (I think the politically
correct term may be “hot liner” but I’m not that up on the e-slang). The first ALES contest on
the west coast is now history and I predict we will see many more. I predict this is the birth of
what will grow over time to be a segment of the sport surpassing winch launch competition.
Much more info and pictures are available on BayRC in the Soaring competition forum http://
www.bayrc.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=8524#p73949
WW. SBSS.ORG
9
Picture Gallery
Al Jones submitted his latest build for
your viewing pleasure
Here is a picture of my new Sierra 2.5 M
from Art Hobby that I Just finished, and
plan on Its Maiden flight in the next couple of weeks. It has RG15 airfoil, wing
cores are polystyrene foam covered with
black poplar veneer.
Al
Bob McGowen preps his E-Predator for
battle at the 1st ever West Coast ALES
contest, Fresno CA. Bob’s sorta build
thread and more contest pictures are
available on BayRC.com
Ates Gurcen sent me an email
asking if I thought his 2M Miles
would be of interest to the club I said Heck Yea! I don’t get
many woodie pictures to publish,
so I was excited to get his message. You can follow the build
on RCGroups in the SBSS club
forum.
WW. SBSS.ORG
10