news let jan

AMA CHARTER CLUB NO. 329
VOLUME 48
NUMBER 1
JANUARY 2002
Rod Jaeger’s New B-25
See story and more
pictures page 6
Monthly Club Meeting
Friday January 18 , 2002
8 PM
County Council Building
100 Maryland Avenue
Rockville, MD
January Raffle Provided by: Hobby Works
OS .46 LA Motor with Muffler,
Hanger 9 Voltmeter with leads,
Modelsport Video Magazine.
Visit them in Rockville, Federal Plaza 301-468-6304 and don’t forget your
DCRC Discount
This Month’s
Program By
Scott Davies:
Tim Marks from FMA
Direct will discuss the new CoPilot, and Infrared Technology
PAGE 2
JANUARY 2002
PRESIDENT:
Jim McDaniel
V.P.
Walt Gallaugher
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Scott Davies
Mike Dooley
Andy Finizio
Walt Gallaugher
Kevin Jackson
Jim McDaniel
Jeff Mervis
Fred Nielsen
Mike Peizer
TREASURER:
301-770-9150
301-843-8818
301-983-8557
301-253-4074
301-963-6091
301-916-0366
301-309-0227
301-299-4375
301-589-8299
Scott Davies
MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY:
Andy Kane
305 Natick Court
Silver Spring, MD 20905-5875
RECORDING SECRETARY:
Mike Peizer
SHOW TEAM MANAGER:
Paul Howey
NEWSLETTER EDITOR:
Andy Kane
301-236-9222
dcrceditor@aol.com
MEETING PROGRAM COORDINATOR:
Marion Mecklenburg 301-656-6112
The DC/RC Newsletter is published
monthly by the District of Columbia Radio Control
Inc. Deadline for submitting materials for
publication is the last Friday of each month.
Any part of the newsletter may be reproduced for nonprofit purposes unless otherwise noted. Please credit
the Newsletter and Author if named. Articles may not
reflect the opinion of the club, but that of the author.
Visit us on the web:
www.dc-rc.org
Each month at the regular club meeting, raffle tickets are 6 for 5.00, and the prizes
are always great.
Did you know that any airplane
brought in to the model shop will receive 3 free
raffle tickets. Bring in your models each month
for your free tickets, and to share ideas.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Presidents Corner
pg. 2
Club Minutes
pg. 3
Finding Flight Instructors/Washout pg. 4
Flight Planning, Electric
pg. 5
Rod Jaeger’s New B-25
pg. 6
Wootton HS Aerobatic Club
pg. 7
Your Board of Directors BC
Cover: Ziroli B-25 Scratch built by
Rod Jaeger.
Photo by Andy Kane
BY JIM MCD ANIEL
Happy New Year!!!!
It’s hard to believe? But another
year has passed and made room for yet
another. The last 12 months were good
months for DCRC! We had a strong membership base of 260+/- and the new site
continues to mature nicely. Were making
plans for new tables, still negotiating for a
shelter and as a whole doing much better
at staying inside the “Flight Box”. We
even passed the “Sound Testing” performed by the County! Many of our aircraft are as much as 10 db below the
Montgomery County Daytime standard.
There were about a dozen students who
soloed through our flight instruction program thanks to Kevin and his gang. The
only area we’ve not made as much progress as I’d hoped, are the trees. However,
this and the other issues are not far from
the minds of your Board of Directors and
we will continue pursuing them to their
end!
Our dedication day was a huge
success! I believe it
showed to the County
and even to us, DC/RC
how much interest and
enthusiasm there is for
model aviation in this
County. We served over
500 meals, 100 more
than we had planned
for, and it was estimated
that we had as many as
900 people pass thru
during the day. We even
made the Districts IV
Report page in the current (February) issue of
Model Aviation. Check
it out! I only have one
down note of the day
and that was that Don
Cochran, Director of
Parks, Maryland National Capital Park &
Planning Commission,
was not able to attend.
As many of you know,
It’s Don who’s largely
and almost solely responsible for this fields
existence. However, He
did have a good excuse note for missing
the day!
2001 was off to a great start for
our Country. A New President with new
leadership and an economy attempting recovery. And then, September 11th. Most of
us probably know exactly what we were
doing when we heard the tragic news.
There has been a lot said and written about
that day and my hope would be, that
through this tragedy we’ll all become more
appreciative of what we have, and not be
focused on what we don’t and through this
tragedy be a stronger Nation! Please keep
vigilant in your prayers, those who perished or suffer from that day and the loved
ones left behind to cope with their loss.
Thanks to all the members who
came out for this years, December General
Meeting. Again billed as the Holiday Social, we went through a dozen large pizzas
and several cases of soda. A good time was
had by all! Thanks go to my Elf’s, Andy
Kane, Walt Gallaugher and Andrew Davies for helping make the evening a success.
Keep building and see you at the
January Meeting.
Jim
Warning:
Channels 13, 37, 38, and
53.2 have been deemed
unusable at our new field
due to measured
interference. Please do
not operate your model
aircraft on any of these
frequencies. Please
contact Kevin Jackson for
more information.
JANUARY 2002
PAGE 3
The Clouds
by Bill Kuhlman
(Additional information incorporated into the following article was supplied by Technical Editor
Ed McCollough.)
BY MIKE PEIZER
The meeting was called to order by DCRC president Jim
McDaniel at 8:03 PM.
SoccerPlex sent us a Christmas card this year! Jim has
heard nothing but good things about DCRC from the folks at SoccerPlex since the flight demo earlier this fall.
A Chevy Chase real estate investor has purchased 1800
acres in Boyd's, MD. The state of Maryland is buying 800 acres
from the real estate investor and preserving it. The parcel will not
be developed.
A fiendishly clever plot to embarrass Jim McDaniel was
uncovered as the meeting progressed. A diabolical machine designed to make rude noises at random intervals was allegedly
planted by a cabal lead by an infamous local dentist. The plot fell
apart when the group could not decide exactly where to place the
device. After extensive analysis it was discovered that the device
was quite effective at its intended purpose. The incident is under
investigation in an effort to prevent a recurrence.
Reports:
Newsletter/Membership: Andy Kane reported there have been 145
renewals so far this year.
The newsletter will come in on budget for the year.
Events: Andy Finizio reported a few dates for events scheduled for
next year. Opening Day is scheduled for Saturday, April 13th, Octoberfest will be Sunday, October 6 and Saturday, June 8 is County
Appreciation Day. Andy is considering a flea market in conjunction
with a fun fly as an additional event next year. Andy asked the
members for some feedback on his ideas for events next year. If
you have any suggestions for an event please contact Andy Finizio.
Flight Instruction: Kevin Jackson reported he went up to the field
last Sunday and blocked off channels 13,37,38, and 53.2 on the
frequency board. These channels can no longer be used at the
field.
The web site is still a work in progress. It may take as
long as 8 weeks to get it completely up and running.
New Business: Bob Aberman works at Hobby Works in Rockville
and has heard some disturbing things concerning helicopter pilots
at DCRC. He is concerned about how prospective helicopter students might perceive DCRC because of rumors of complaints of
how helicopter pilots are treated. He suggested we try to set up a
representative from the helicopter flyers to be available for new students. Jim replied that this is not a new problem. When the new
field was being designed the helicopter flyers were asked to participate in the design process. They did not. They do not seem to
want to participate in club activities. The club is happy to accommodate the helicopter pilots but they are reluctant to participate in
the administrative process. They have to let us know what they
need. By their own lack of representation at club meetings and
other activities they are only hurting themselves. Ben Patamawenu
is the only helicopter flyer who has been out at the field for work
details. Terry Lamb suggested Howard Matos be approached to
see if he could coordinate helicopter issues. Developments will be
reported as they occur.
Don Sassaman donated a videotape of the flight-testing of
the Scimitar model aircraft to the video library.
Andy Kane said that IMAC has developed a plan for aerobatic planes to meet a sound restriction of 96dB at a distance of 25
feet over grass. Andy left literature for anyone to check out.
Old Business: Don Sassaman asked for an update on the status of
the noise complaint southwest of the field.
Jim said he believes
the county considers DCRC in complete compliance with the noise
restrictions. Otherwise, Jim is not aware of any developments in
this issue.
(Continued on page 4)
Clouds tell us a great deal about overall weather, and how the air and ground conditions are affected. Radio Control Soaring success is dependent upon all these factors. Water evaporates into air warm enough to allow the presence of any water molecules. There is an upper limit of
the number of water molecules that may exist in vapor form (ie: gaseous) in a certain volume of air
and that limit is determined solely by temperature. As the temperature goes up, more water can
“evaporate.”
If the total amount of water in that a unit volume could theoretically hold is already
there, then the air is “saturated” with respect to water vapor and can hold no more water molecules.
If the unit volume cools a bit, some of the water held in that unit volume will come out.
Ordinarily there is enough microscopic dust in the air so that the water molecules
readily attach themselves to the dust particles. These “dust and water molecules” particles grow by
accumulation. At some point the particles are big enough to absorb and scatter light and we “see”
clouds.
If the air temperature is cold enough, ice crystals can form spontaneously instead and
you have the presence of clouds composed primarily of ice crystals, these are the very high, thin
and wispy clouds that you see. While ice crystals can grow through the accumulation of molecules
of water, ice crystals do not grow through the accumulation of more ice crystals.
On the other hand, water droplets can accumulate into larger droplets. When the
droplet size is sufficient to fall against whatever air currents there are, it does so and if it doesn’t
evaporate before it hits the ground, you have a raindrop. Naturally, if there are more little drops
that can get all the way to the ground, you get “rain.”
To better understand clouds, let us define the basic types. Stratus denotes a layer
cloud; the prefix cirrus or cirro defines high ice clouds at altitudes ranging from 20,000 to 40,000
feet; cumulus means a heaping or high piling of clouds; the prefix alto describes a medium level
cloud system ranging from 9,000 to 20,000 feet.
Following is a brief description of several of the basic cloud formations and what
each tells us as applicable to general situations. Terrain influences weather and cloud formations
and is significant under various conditions.
ALTOCUMULUS–fleecy, cottony clouds consisting primarily of broken whitish masses. Usually
comprised of water but can contain ice crystals depending upon atmospheric conditions. Occasional light rain or snow may result. Sometimes these clouds blend into rainy, strong altostratus
systems.
ALTOSTRATUS–dense, heavy clouds appearing at a low level. These are deep gray or bluish in
color. Typically comprised of water although they may contain ice crystals at higher levels. Precedes both warm and cold fronts. Expect steady rain or snow depending upon temperature and
atmospheric conditions.
CIRROCUMULUS–rippled layers or patches of ice clouds comprised of white, long, and drawn
out cottony masses similar in appearance to a wave washing up on a sandy beach. Expect no precipitation from these clouds. If followed by thicker, heavier clouds, expect a drop in temperature
and possible rain.
CIRROSTRATUS–thin, white, hazy clouds of fairly uniform layer which do not blur the sun or
moon but often cause halos. Comprised of ice. The sky may appear milky. Expect fair weather with
these clouds, however, they often precede a warm front, some light rain, with a rise in temperature
to follow.
CIRRUS–scattered clouds with a delicate, filmy, feathery appearance. Always comprised of ice
crystals. No precipitation from these clouds. Usually indicative of fair weather, however, if they are
followed by a lower, thicker bank of clouds preceding a warm front, rain or snow may be forthcoming within 24 hours.
CUMULONIMBUS–these are the ominous-appearing heavy mass of piling, towering cloud systems with extensive vertical development. The higher elevations are often spread out in the typical
anvil shape. These clouds contain a large amount of water and ice and are associated with heavy
rains or hail accompanied by thunderstorms or heavy snow. Cumulonimbus clouds are associated
with thunder storms. That means, you really don't want to be standing out in the meadow with your
radio antenna sticking up in the air when said cumulonimbus has reached maturation.
There is also a type of cloud called mammatous. The name comes from the visual
resemblance of the bottom of the cloud to mammary glands. The formation is due to incredibly
violent and turbulent air currents around the bottom of the clouds. (The last time I saw such clouds,
they spawned at least one tornado and hail stones with an average size as big as a softball. If you’re
a model airplane pilot and you see such clouds, pack up quick and go home!)
CUMULUS–fleecy, billowing cloud formations flat at the base with rounded outlines. These
clouds are heaped up like packs of cotton. Comprised of water. No precipitation is expected from
these clouds when by themselves and typically indicate fair weather.
NIMBOSTRATUS–low hanging, shapeless clouds, dark gray in overall appearance. Comprised of
both water and ice. Precipitation is typically continuous rain or snow.
STRATOCUMULUS–appearance of large, rolling, endless dark clouds often fully covering the
sky. Usually comprised of water. Expect occasional drizzle or snow flurries. Indicative of a change
in the weather.
STRATUS–low hanging uniform layers of grayish clouds of great width. These clouds are usually
comprised of water. May resemble fog not touching the ground (often seen hanging over the mountains or laying in valleys within the mountains). Occasional light drizzle or snow. Fair weather
typically follows.
These are typical formations and conditions to be aware of. There are a number of highly volatile
(e.g. tornadoes) and unusual cloud conditions that do occur dependent upon temperature, atmospheric conditions and terrain. When these threatening conditions do exist, we are made aware of
their presence through our weather services. Fortunately, these are not typical, common occurrences in our lives.
As an RC pilot, it is beneficial to have a basic working of the clouds and how to utilize the conditions and their projections to your advantage.
Happy flying.
from The Spoiler
Pikes Peak Soaring Society
John Read, editor
Monument CO
PAGE 4
JANUARY 2002
Finding Flight Instructors
Washout
by Fred Huber
BY BOB MABLI
I may catch some flack from all sides on this one. Beginners in RC
need to find someone to assist in learning basic aircraft control. Very few people
will argue that point. Finding a good instructor can sometimes be a problem. The
first place to ask is the local hobby shop. They can usually direct you to the closest
RC club.
Knowing where the club field is doesn’t do much good if there isn’t
anyone there when you arrive though, so try to get a contact phone number for a
club officer, who can assist in getting information on who gives RC flight instruction in your area. In many cases, this will get you set up with an instructor.
Do not just show up with an airplane and expect to instantly be offered
instruction, unless it is on an advertised open training day. Make an appointment
with someone. Have your aircraft as ready as possible for the first flight. It may
also help to invite the instructor over for coffee and a preflight checkout.
Sometimes he’ll help you get around that strange part of the instructions you can’t quite figure out. Sometimes the club will require you to join the
club and the AMA prior to giving the first lesson. Each club’s situation and rules
are slightly different, but until the AMA came up with the new “Introductory Pilot
Program,” anyone giving flight instruction to a non-AMA member was potentially
not covered by AMA liability insurance during that flight (a very serious consideration as the first few flights are where the student is likely to make the most
serious errors.)
Where there are no clubs accepting new members, it may be difficult to
even find a location where you are allowed to fly the airplane. Some areas have a
field-overcrowding issue, and it is difficult to be enthusiastic about adding another
person to the line waiting to get a flight in. Flying closer than five miles from a
functioning RC club’s field is not a good idea. The radios can cause interference
with each other within that range if they are on the same channel (you can bet you
are on the same channel as someone else if the local club is not accepting new
members).
Cost of joining a club varies greatly, and in some areas it can cost more
each year than buying the trainer did. Where the club is accepting new members,
it is normally easy to find an instructor. The best idea is to ask a club official who
is known to be a good instructor, rather than grabbing the first club member you
see at the field. Some people who are decent pilots can’t instruct for beans. Some
rather poor pilots do better at instructing than at flying their own airplanes. (It’s
my airplane, and if I crash it, it’s my loss. If it’s someone else’s, I’ll be extremely
careful with it.)
There is the “last resort” of paid instruction. Many modelers frown
upon this option, but it actually makes sense. Full-scale student pilots pay $60 or
more per hour of flight instruction from FAA certified instructors. The system
works, as evidenced by the low rate of aircraft incidents.
Paid RC instructors have very high confidence in their ability to get a
student to solo in a short time. Generally they succeed. A system that works needs
to be accepted better than what the modeling community has done on this. I have
no experience with paid instructors, but I have no doubt one would have saved me
a lot of broken aircraft over the last 20 years. I have learned more in the last four
months about keeping an airplane in the air than what I learned in the previous
19½ years, due to pointers from a couple of highly accomplished RC pilots. One
may be surprised to find out someone who one already knows flies model aircraft.
I have heard of many stories of people who knew each other for years, but didn’t
know the other flew RC or was even interested. Mention your interest to friends
and you may find help very quickly. There is no single simple answer to getting
quality instruction.
In many areas getting instruction is difficult. Where I live, there are
plenty of willing instructors and plenty of open times at the flying field, so I am
lucky. I had to use the Internet to locate the local clubs though. If you aren’t looking for the RC field, no one is going to point it out. The new Electric park flyers
may help a bit, but they are usually not as great as a beginner’s aircraft. There is
no answer to getting instruction that works in every situation. Getting an instructor
will generally make a huge difference in how long it takes to learn, and how many
airplanes you break while learning (very often, with instruction, your trainer can
last several years, be resold to other beginners and give a lot of people opportunity
to learn as you advance to “bigger and better things.”)
from the Pekin RC Club Newsletter
Scott Barger, editor
Peoria IL
Washout may be confusing to the novice glider builder and flier, but
it can make the difference between a gentle, easy-flying and forgiving floater
and an untamed one.
Most all polyhedral glider kits like the Wonderer and the Gentle Lady
instruct the builder to add “washout” to the wing tips. We may assume that the
ARFs provide for washout but it is a good thing to check before the first flight.
Washout is a term that refers to the twisting of the outboard portion of
a wing (trailing edge up) to reduce the angle of attack of the outboard wing section relative to the inboard portion. Doing this assures that the outboard section
will not stall before the inboard section. At stall speed, the center will stall first
and the tips will follow. This prevents the onset of uncontrolled roll during slow
speed flight, especially during the landing approach and touch down where you
don’t have altitude to correct the condition. The roll will occur when one wing
tip stalls before the other or before the rest of the wing.
Washout is easy to add and adjust in a built up wing (ribs and spars)
with heat shrink covering. All it takes is blocking up the trailing edge of the outboard section and heating the covering to set the twist. This usually requires no
more than 3/4 inch at each tip. Be sure that both sides are equal or the result will
be a tendency to roll off onto the wing tip having less twist. While you’re at it,
check for warps in the rest of the wing and correct those by heating and twisting.
Fome-Cor® wings require either that the washout be cut into the foam
when made or that different airfoil sections with different stall characteristics are
used at the root and tip.
A high performance full house thermal ship will have different airfoil
sections blended along the span for optimized lift and drag. The Crow configuration (flaps down and ailerons up) used in landing and high descent rates provides
effective washout by virtue of the aileron deflection.
High speed slope airplanes do not usually use any washout because of
the drag impact. Powered aerobatic airplanes have to have absolutely symmetrical wing sections for precise flying at any attitude-so washout is out. Landing
approaches have to be “flown” in. Too often you will see an airplane snap roll
turning on final because the pilot allowed the airspeed to drop too low and tip
stall resulted on the wing on the inside of the turn.
from The Peninsula Silent Flyer Peninsula Silent Flyers Torrance CA
(Club Meeting Continued from page 3)
Lastly, Don reported the new portable toilet is in need of
servicing. Jim gave a short recap of who has the portable toilet
contract with the county and who should be servicing it.
Raffle: Tonight’s raffle prizes are provided by FMA Direct.
FMA Razor ARF was won by Bob Aberman
Magnum 6 Channel Micro Receiver was won by
Jonathan Kuentz
Micro Lite Switch Harness was won by Charlie Calvert
A Fruit Basket donated by Jeff Mervis was won by
Andy Finizio
Andrew Davies took charge of the Holiday Grab Bag and
handed out presents to the members. He wore a lovely Santa hat
in keeping with the season.
Model Shop:
Chris Myrick showed a Kyosho crop duster ARF. He was
impressed with how well it was put together. It is powered by an
OS .40LA. It hasn’t flown yet. His grandfather was a crop duster
pilot.
Jay Stargel showed a fiberglass glider fuselage he rebuilt
using a custom made jig. The fuselage was given to him. He had
another one he had to repair after he connected the ailerons backwards. Jay built a jig for this one as well. From his descriptions
the two fuselages were pretty well trashed, which shows just how
much can be done in restoring a fiberglass structure.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:29 PM.
JANUARY 2002
PAGE 5
Flight Planning
BY DOUG HOPPER
How many of us, especially newcomers, give
any thought to planning our next flight? How
many of us just take off, fly around for a few
minutes, then land? What do we learn about our
abilities or the airplane’s capabilities during
those types of flights? Many of us are so anxious to get “stick time” that we don’t take the
time to think much about the flight beforehand.
I imagine that many of us make a lot of flights
without a plan. I know I am guilty of wanting to
fly, and often I don’t give much thought to the
flight before getting in the air. Of course, sometimes it is very relaxing to take up our favorite
airplane and just fly around in circles, do a few
loops and rolls, then land.
However, if you are flying a new airplane or are
trying to learn a new maneuver, it is a good idea
to plan your flight before starting the engine.
Beginning pilots, especially, should plan their
flights with their instructors. The instructors
should go over the planned maneuvers with the
trainee and answer any questions they may have
before starting the engine. If you are trying out a
new airplane, you may want to test it at various
speeds or check its stall characteristics.
Lately, I have learned to plan my flights, especially when I want to try out a new maneuver. I
will fly the maneuvers in my mind a few times
before I get the airplane ready to fly. During
those occasions, I have found that I concentrate
more and that I learn more than if I had not prepared a plan. I am also more prepared to correct
mistakes that occur.
The flight plan does not have to be as elaborate
or complicated as for a pattern or aerobatic contest. It can be as simple as practicing left and
right turns, taking off, lining up with the runway
for touch-and-goes or landing. Instructors and
trainees can discuss control inputs required for
the various maneuvers. Experienced pilots can
discuss with other pilots what to expect and
what control inputs may be required for some of
the aerobatic maneuvers.
Whatever reason you have for making the next
flight, you should take a few minutes to plan
what you are going to do when your bird is in
the air. I think it will help make you a better
flier because you will tend to concentrate more
on the control inputs and the airplane’s reaction
to those inputs. It will also help to keep you
“ahead” of the airplane.
That’s all for this month. Have fun and BE
SAFE!!
from The Skyhawk
Middle Point RC Flyers
Doug Hopper, editor
Nashville TN
Electric, Electric
by Larry Sribnick
Should you ever discharge a pack all
the way down?
The short answer is... DON’T! Now
for the why.
When you connect a pack to a
charger, you connect the plus positive, from the
charger to the plus positive, of the pack.
If you run a pack all the way down
and one of the cells reaches zero before the rest
of the cells in the pack (and it will most of the
time), how is it connected in the circuit? It’s
connected plus to minus because the cells are
wired in series in the pack. The result is that
the rest of the cells in the pack will now start to
charge the zero cell backwards because it’s
connected plus to minus rather than plus to
plus as it should be for charging. The end result
is that you reverse the polarity of that one poor
cell and ruin it.
Now, this can’t happen if you just
put a pack on the shelf and let it self-discharge
over a long period of time because there’s no
complete circuit. The pack isn’t plugged into
anything.
Likewise, it can’t happen to a single
cell that you run all the way down because it
isn’t the running down to zero that does the
damage. It’s the remaining cells in a multi-cell
pack that turn into a backwards charger if one
cell is run all the way down that does the damage.
I’ve been telling people this for 20
years but I still see people running their packs
down after every flight. I’ve given up trying to
explain it to them because the attitude usually
is “Everyone else is doing it.” I was happy to
see that Bob Kopski in his Model Aviation column a few months ago told people that he finally came to the conclusion that you shouldn’t
run a pack down after flying.
When you’re done flying, let the
pack cool off until it’s just barely warm to the
touch and then either put it back on the charger
or go home.
from SR Battery Tech Notes
via The Altimeter
Clarksburg Model Aviation Club
Richard Rader, editor Bridgeport WV
WRAM Show Trip White Plains NY Feb. 23, 2002
RCMB is running a bus trip leaving Timonium Park &
Ride Leaving @ 6 AM sharp! [same places as last year]
2nd. Pick-up location: Park & Ride @ Mountain Rd. & I95
@ 6:30 AM sharp $35.00 includes show ticket.
Coffee & buns on the bus
Seat is not reserved until PAID for.
Chrm. George Beck : 410-788-2707
Make checks payable to R.C.M.B.
Send to:
306 Seminole Ave.
Balto. MD 21228
Checks MUST be RECEIVED BY Feb. 1, 2002
JANUARY:
18 DCRC Club Meeting (Davies)
23 DCRC Board Meeting (Davies)
FEBRUARY:
9
Flea Market, Westminster VFW
Ed Bradley 410-635-6436
15 DCRC Club Meeting (Finizio)
20 DCRC Board Meeting (Finizio)
21-24 Florida Jets, Bunnell, FL
www.franktiano.com
22-24 WRAM Show, White Plains NY
www.wram.org (See bus trip ad below)
MARCH:
7-10 JR Challenge Punta Gorda FL
www.aerobatix.com
9 Lebanon Flea Market 717-960-8170
15 DCRC Club Meeting (Jackson)
20 DCRC Board Meeting (Jackson)
APRIL:
5-7 Toledo Trade Show, Ohio
www.toledoshow.com
8-13 Sun N Fun, Lakeland, FL
13 DCRC Opening Day, (Fepelstein)
19 DCRC Club Meeting (Peizer)
20 IMAC Tampa FL, Van Flowers
24 DCRC Board Meeting (Peizer)
24-27 Top Gun, Lakeland FL
MAY:
11 PGRC Annual IMAA Big Bird Fly-In
15-18 Joe Nall Fly In, Greenville SC
www.joenall.com
17 DCRC Club Meeting (Mervis)
22 DCRC Board Meeting (Mervis)
JUNE:
31-2 TOC Of Maryland, SWAP Field
Baltimore ArtVail@erols.com
8 DCRC County Appreciation Day (Finizio)
21 DCRC Club Meeting (Dooley)
26 DCRC Board Meeting (Dooley)
JULY:
19 DCRC Club Meeting (Gallaugher)
24 DCRC Board Meeting (Gallaugher)
AUGUST:
16 DCRC Club Meeting (Kane)
21 DCRC Board meeting (Kane)
17-18 Frederick Airshow FDK, MD
23-25 Bealeton IMAA, Virginia
www.bealetonflyin.com
SEPTEMBER:
20 DCRC Club Meeting (Nielsen) Nominations
25 DCRC Board Meeting (Nielsen)
OCTOBER:
6 DCRC Oktoberfest
6 PGRC 11th Annual Open House Fly-In
18 DCRC Club Meeting (McDaniel) Elections
MODEL AIRPLANE
GROUND SCHOOL
Montgomery County Recreation
Department of Recreation
& Leisure Classes
12210 Bushey Drive
Silver Spring, MD 20902-1099
Call 240-777-6840
to register or go online:
www.emontgomery.org
Classes start 2/05/02 @ 7PM
for three Tuesday nights. Each is a two-hour session.
PAGE 6
Rod Jaeger’s New B-25
PHOTO’S AND REPORT BY ANDY KANE
Rod Jaeger is a fine modeler who has been attending
the Bealeton IMAA event for many years. Rod lives in
Lynchburg, VA, and is a member of the local club. Rod has
been building Warbirds for many
years, the list of his previous planes
include a P-38, F-4U, Sea fury, P47, T-6 and many others.
At this years Bealeton event
Rod had told me of his latest project, and that he thought he might
have it ready to fly before the end of
the year. The model is Nick Ziroli,
B-25 that has been blown up to 1/6
scale, 121-inch wingspan. The
model is powered by 2- Zenoah, G45’s the Futaba radio controls the
plane, retractable landing gear was
built by Robart, and the plane
weighs in at 50 pounds. The special
made Bolly 3 blade 18/10 propellers provided lots of pull.
I got the call from Rod that the plane was ready for its
maiden flight. We picked the FARM club field in Bealeton,
VA, as a meeting place. It is located about half way between
us and it has a long runway with unobstructed approaches on
each end.
I got permission to use the field from the club
liaison, and we made a date to check out the plane. Doug
Harper and I made the trip to Bealeton and we met Rod at the
field. Preflight inspection was completed and the plane was
JANUARY 2002
finally assembled.
Engine run up went smoothly and both engines seemed to be working flawlessly. I was able to make the
taxi test and the plane became very light on the gear, it really
wanted to fly. We brought it back and just made some final
checks and adjustments.
The first flight went very smoothly. The plane turned
out to be a beautiful flyer. Smooth
passed and low inspection passes
showed that the plane was not only
stable but very strong. A few low
speeds pass and then some high
speed passes, man this plane really
looks fantastic in the air. Now for
the power, with full power applied
the plane would climb with great
authority. After a gear pass and an
inspection of the gear, all gear was
down; I made the traffic patter and
the final approach. With 25 degrees of flaps the plane slowed
nicely and the touchdown went
flawlessly.
Rod was so please with the plane that he gassed the
plane and we made 2 more flights. Each flight proving that this
scratch built model was going to be a real show stopper.
Rod plans on putting in some more scale details and
with the operation bomb bay doors and dropping bomb, the
plane will be a hit at any fly in. Plan on seeing this plane again
at the Joe Nall fly In, May 15-18 and again at other Warbird fly
JNAUARY 2002
PAGE 7
DCRC CLUB
&WOOTTON HIGH
SCHOOL AERONAUTICS CLUB
BY JIM MCDANIEL PHOTO BY ANDY KANE
Andy Kane and Jim McDaniel went to the Wootton
High School Aeronautical Clubs December meeting back on
December 11th. As you may recall Wootton High Schools
Aeronautical Club had contacted DC/RC and asked us if we
could help them (it’s members) learn to fly RC airplanes. Of
course! We said, turns out there are about a dozen or so in
the club and we gave them a brief on what was initially necessary to get started. Not the least of which was obtaining
their AMA Membership etc. Having done this, they asked
us to come to the December 11th meeting and
talk with them about where they go
from here. Andy provided
them with DC/RC Membership Cards and a brief
history of the DC/RC
along with directions to
the flying field. In addition to this membership
they will also be sent one
of our monthly newsletters for circulation. We
also brought along a
trainer to show them a
typical trainer configuration and Andy demonstrated how and what the
various controls do. I
think they already had
this knowledge but what
Andy helped them understand was how the Transmitter and Receiver
(airplane) communicate
and thus how what happens on the ground relates to what happens in
the air.
Man, are they anxious as are we looking forward to working
with them to achieve their goal of learning how to fly!
If you would like to help with this program, please contact
Andy Kane or Jim McDaniel. We, you and they will be glad
you did!
THANKS DC/RC! from
Thomas Wootton High School Aeronautics Club
The Thomas Wootton Aeronautics club is a recently
founded local high school club situated at Thomas S. Wootton
High School in Rockville,
Maryland. The club arranges many activities for its members from
flying and
designing RC airplanes to
visiting local air shows.
Like DC/RC, the club is
dedicated to introducing
many students to the great
hobby of RC plane building and flying. In the beginning of the 2001 - 2002
school year, the club was
given free membership for
all club members by DC/
RC. The club received
many benefits along with
the membership including
the use of local airfields
and flight instruction from
DC/RC’s skilled, veteran
plane flyers. Recently in
December, DC/RC President Jim McDaniel and
Membership Head Andy
Kane visited one of the
club’s after- school meetings. Club members were
given their DC/RC membership cards and introduced to the DC/RC organization and all that it
has to offer. The club is
currently in the process of
purchasing RC models,
and members look forward
to their first visit to Walt Good Airfield. Many club activities
are planned for the future, and are made possible by the generosity of the DC/RC staff members. The club looks forward to
continuing to work with DC/RC in the future. On behalf of all
club members of the Thomas Wootton Aeronautics club, the
staff would like to extend a big thanks to DC/RC for their enormous support!
-David Chen (Co-President)
FIRST CLASS MAIL
Return To:
Andy Kane
305 Natick Court
SILVER SPRING MD 20905-5875
DCRC Board of Directors for 2002
TM
www.HobbyWorks.com
Federal Plaza
12274-G Rockville Pike
Rockville, MD 20852
301-468-6330
Mon thru Sat 10 am-9 pm,
Sun 12-5
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DCRC Members.
Jim McDaniel
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