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November, 2001
 WINE COUNTRY FLYERS
Next Meeting Notes from the Triad The club has now decided to return to a more common structure. That is, we will have a President and Vice President next year, rather than a Triad leadership team. We believe that this worked well as a transitional format, but that the club is ready to return to the standard hierarchy. At the last meeting we had nominations for officers for 2002. An excellent slate of candidates resulted from that meeting. At the regular meeting on November 20th, we will have our elections. Since not every position has only one nominee, it is very important that all members come to the meeting to vote for your 2002 leadership team. GET INVOLVED IN YOUR CLUB! We will shortly be contacting the County Board of Supervisors, in order to renew our lease at the Healdsburg Transfer Station, for another five years. We are hopeful that this will go smoothly, We will keep you advised of progress in this area. October Meeting Minutes By: Larry Childs The meeting was called to order by Steve Cole, at
7:30 pm. President : Kevin Riecke and Tom Nowelsky. (Tom would rather stay as the new Newsletter Editor.) Vice President: Larry Childs and Stevo Smith. Secretary: Lewis Makepeace Treasure: Dave Higgins. Events Coordinator: Ron Amrein.Board of Directors:
The 50/50 raffel won by Kevin Riecke (gets nominated for President and starts taking the money already !) Board Meeting Minutes 11/6/01 By: Larry Miller The board members and guests met at Red's Hangar One Hobbies at 7:30 PM.Larry Childs informed us that he has received the notice from the County of Sonoma of their intention to meet with us to renew our lease agree-ment for the use of the field. When the time comes to meet with them, we will work with the new board to make the process go smoothly. Since there is more than one candidate for some of the board openings for next year, there will be an election held at the next meeting. The subject of the holiday dinner came up and Ron Amrein volunteered to take up this project. A flyer with all the pertinent information will be in the mail soon. The Treasurer reminded us that 2002 membership dues are coming up. A notice will be mailed out to each member stating the amount due shortly. Ron Amrein submitted for consideration a schedule of proposed activities for the upcoming year. He has some new and interesting ideas that should be fun. More on this at a later date. There being no more business to take care of, the meeting was adjourned at 8:45 PM. back to topHoliday Party January 12th By: Ron Amrein Make your plans now to share in all the fun and festivities at our Annual Banquet. The date for the big event is January 12th, 2002. We have reservations at Los Robles Lodge for 7:00 pm that evening. Because space is limited you should sendback your reservation form as soon as you receive it later this month. The cost remains the same as last year - $25.00 per person. The same excellent buffet which everyone enjoyed last year will be served. As always dress will be clean and casual. There will be an awards ceremony. If you have any suggestions or candidates please contact Ronald Amrein at 526-4316 or rjamrein@ap.net. This will be different than prior years so don’t miss it. Entertainment has also been arranged, but no, it won’t be a magician. The surprise will be unveiled with the announcement you receive in the mail. A raffle-style drawing will be held. Each attendee will receive a ticket. However that’s where the similarity ends. There will be separate drawings (yes, plural) for the women in attendance. All of the prizes will be wrapped with the winners making ‘blind’ selections.Join us for a great time. Meet some of the many new members who have joined during the past year. See your buddies. Reminesce over the year’s events. Don’t miss out! back to top Field HappeningsBy: Tom Nowelsky I will lead off this month’s report by mentioning that Leonid Shvarzberg had his Extra go down in the woods at the North End of the field a few weeks ago. Although he spent considerable time looking, the plane was never found. Anyone who is traversing that area, please keep your eye out. Someone else mentioned that there may also be a lost Kadet out that way. Seems like an electronic locator might be a good consideration for our "wild" flying site. While we are talking about mishaps, on Saturday, November 3, Phil Heidt had his World Models Mustang go dead-stick at the wrong time. The result was a broken cowl and damage to the left half of the wing....It’ll fly again. Recently, Roland DeConti reminded me that I forgot to write about an incident involving my Zagi and his Kadet LT 40. I was landing, and didn’t notice that his plane was on the runway. The Zagi struck the LT 40, and caused some damage. I should have seen him, but didn’t. Phil Leech recently had a first flight on his beautifully kit-built Kadet LT-40. With some help from Mike Cingari, te plane was trimmed and adjusted and will undoubtedly provide many happy flights. Another Tale From The Past By: Larry Frank As some of you are aware from watching TV documentaries, in 1944 and 1945, the Japanese came up with a rather ingenious weapon, with which they hoped to cause financial and physical damage to the west coast of the United States. They used the jet stream to carry balloons with incendiary and explosive devices to our pacific coast, hoping to devastate our forests. Off the hundreds of balloons launched, little actual damage was caused. The greatest loss was to an Oregon family out for a picnic, whose children stumbled onto a downed balloon, and triggered the explosives killing several of them.I n early 1945, I was stationed at Luke Air Force Base near Phoenix, Arizona. Luke’s primary function was advanced Air Cadet training. There were one hundred Curtis P-40's which the cadets used, plus four B-25 Mitchell’s and twelve P-38 Lightenings. I was crew chief for one of the P-38's. These Jap balloons were carrid as far south-east as Mexico. A number of them had been sighted by the cadets, while on their training flights. The decision was made to arm four of the P-40's, just in case!It was a crystal clear early summer day in 1945, when going to noon mess there were numerous GI’s pointing into the sky and exclaiming "Jap balloon!" Up, up and away, went four gallant Air Force pilots in their trusty P-40's to dispatch the foe. What did us "grease monkeys" do, but hop into the cockpits of our planes, slap on the headsets and tune in to the coming "balloon busting!" Now, the P-40 has a service ceiling of approximately 30,000 feet. Our potential heroes reached this limit, and radiod base that the balloon was 10,000 feet above them.Ah, now comes the mighty twin-engine P-38 to the rescue. The powers-to-be armed one P-38, and used my P-38 as the chase plane. (Who needs a chase plane to down a balloon?) Again I hop into another grounded P-38 and tune in to the action. I’m not sure if the P-38's reached their 40,000 foot service ceiling. What I am sure of is that the pilots radiod back that they were freezing their butts off, and the target was still 10,000 feet above them. While this was going on in Phoenix, that same thing was transpiring at David Monthon Air Base at Tucson, where all they had to send aloft was a B-29. Nor, if they had just called Luke, they would have been told that the 32,000 foot ceiling of the B-29 wouldn’t cut it. It took an astronomy professor at the University of Arizona, to educate the Air Force to the fact that the planet Venus was visible to the naked eye, and that they had sent seven aircraft aloft to shoot down a target that, at its closest orbit to earth, is 380,000 miles away! You can bet your sweet bippy that theAir Force did not publicize this mission! Editors Note: Some new members may not know that Larry Frank is a long-time member of Wine Country Flyers, and has worked tirelessly to further our sport. Larry was a key player in acquiring our Healdsburg flying site, and is the primary reason why we enjoy an excellent relationship with the County Supervisors. Some of you also may not be aware of the fact that Larry, age 80, has been away from the field for some time, due to poor health. We are, therefore, very happy to see that he was at the field on Sunday, flying his new Kadet LT 40. Welcome back, Larry!! back to topSafety First I would like to use this space for some tips and reminders to help make our fun safer.For instance, I note that, recently I and some others were flying our electric Zagi’s and Razor’s from the far end of the field. Some of us were not standing behind the safety fence at one of the pilot stations. This would not be a problem if there were no engine powered planes in the air, but if there were, it could be dangerous. I will not do this in the future. If anyone has any safety related topics, please let me know, and I’ll use this space in future newsletters. Thanks. A report on Night Combat By: Bob Film Ever wonder what new activity some of us sky-jockies will think up next? Well I recently observed a new one, which was pretty wild.I was participating in a two day flying event. After the first day’s flying, there was not much to do, because the nearest "watering hole" was a 12 hour camel ride away. I was just sitting around, listening to RV generators, and watching aircraft repairs. Suddenly, out of the dark I heard a voice, "Ya wanna fly at night?" "Bring your electric foam airplane for pylon races at 8:00 PM." About twenty daring (read crazy) guys showed up with their flying machines. Three pylons were set up in a triangle configuration. They had lights on top. At the signal, from the middle of the triangle there was a mass launch, for a 20 lap event. What a mess.....no one could actually see their plane. So......people began breaking out various night flying aids. Some had special tape, in different colors, that is powered by a 9 volt battery, and lights up. Others had light sticks which, when broken open provide a liquid material that glows in the dark. They spread this material all over their planes, as well as on themselves so they wouldn’t get hit in the dark. Again the mass launch. Sheer bedlam. None of the spectators wanted a front-row seat. (They were mostly cowering under the seats.) By lap 10, it was impossible to tell who was who, and who was in the lead. Planes were being lapped, there were mid-airs, and planes being re-launched. All anyone could see was a kaleidoscope of colors all over the sky. In order to pick a winner, the few planes that were still flying at the end, were held by the pilots, and spectator’s applause regarding the light design was the deciding factor. The scene looked like nuclear test site; people glowing, airplanes glowing, parts of airplanes glowing. The only thing not visible was the faces of the pilots.....they remain anonymous, perhaps for the best. It sure was a whole new slant on the hobby, and definitely not for the faint of heart. Too bad our flying site closes before dark!! back to top NOTICE Due to a vacation, the Deadline for the December Newsletter will be Monday morning, December 10th. This is for December only, and thereafter the deadline will revert to the Second Wednesday of the month. back to topTech Talk There are basically two types of NiCd batteries. Those that are designed for fast charging, and the type that should be slow charged. Fast charging is generally done between two and three times the battery capacity, as expressed in mAh. That is, a battery with a mAh rating of 1200 should be fast charged at no more than 3.6 amps. (1.2 amps x 3). Batteries charged in this way will not become more than just warm, during charging. Slow charge batteries are normally charged overnight at 10 percent of their capacity. That is a 600 mAh receiver battery would be charged at approximately 60 mAh. For electric flight, fast charging batteries can best be charged with a "peak-detect" charger, rather than a basic "timer" charger. The latter can result in batteries that are over or under charged. The former will sense when the battery has reached full charge, and either shut off, or revert to a trickle charge. Trickle charge is generally used for radio batteries, rarely for electric flight packs. Fast charge batteries can be charged at the C/10 rate (10% of capacity), but that will not normally provide the strongest charge. Weekly slow charging, however will help to condition the battery. After the first flight of the day on this charge, subsequent fast-charged flights will usually produce more duration. At the end of the day, fast charge batteries can be stored either charged, or discharged. Neither will cause any harm to the batteries. NiMH batteries should be charged a little more conservatively. Generally, it is recommended that they be charged at no more than twice their capacity, i.e. 1200 mAh should be charged at no more than 2.4 amps. We would welcome comments, corrections, or additional useful information about this topic...send to the Newsletter Editor. back to topRed’s Corner By: Rob Jensen It looks as though our club's future was assured through the nominations at our last meeting.There seems to be more people willing to step up and be part of the leadership process. I for one am very happy to see this. We need this kind of new blood and fresh ideas to keep the club not only functional but vibrant as well. This is more participation than the club has seen in a long time! There are plans afoot to do some really exiting things event-wise next year. If you have wanted to try some skill improving competition, it looks like we will have some more organized events for all skill levels. That's all for now. Time to finish all those unfinished projects for me! Calendar December 1, 2001:The Bay Area Radio Control Club is hosting a Fun-Fly to benefit Toys for Tots. Entrants will need to bring a new unwrapped toy, valued at $15.00. For more info, contact Rob Jensen at Hanger One Hobbies. back to topName The Plane Contest By: Rob Jensen The Dehavilland company has created some of the most classic primary trainers. Two come to mind. The first was a biplane.It was replaced by another Dehavilland monoplane trainer but with higher performance. Strangely they used the same engine. Name both planes and the engine. There will be a separate prize for the correct answer .back to top Classified For Sale: Wingo with Transmitter, Charger, Battery. Used 2Y. $150./offer - Call Curtis Greco at 573-9973. For Sale: The widow of our member Walter Bass has many items for sale. Included are:Built: Extra 300 and Morris the knife Contact Mrs. Bass at 546-5179 back to topLost at the Field: A Hobbico Tachometer. If found, contact Steve Jensen at 528-3966. The following are some of the completed models on consignment at Red’s Hanger One Hobbies. Here is a way to get into the air really fast: SIG Somthin Extra ARF. Modified for 3D aerobatics with enlarged tail surfaces. Servos moved to the tail. O.S. .61 FX all brand new with less than 10 flights. $400World Models Giant Scale Miss America P-51 Mustang ARF. Saito 1.80 4-stroke. Retracts with Robo-Strut suspension. 8 Hitec and JR ball bearing servos with heavy duty hardware and linkages. Beautiful! Just add Rx and Batt. 3 flights since brand new. Over $1600 invested, asking $1400. FVK models 60" hollow molded slope racing glider. State of the art in composite molded technology. All live skin hinged. New never flown. $300 All these, and more, can be seen at Red's Hangar One. GOT SOMETHING TO SELL?NEED SOMETHING THAT ANOTHER MEMBER MAY BE WILLING TO SELL? LOOKING TO SWAP SOMETHING? GIVE THE INFO TO THE NEWSLETTER EDITOR....FREE ADS! back to top Email versus Snail Mail We currently have about 140 members. Over eighty of you receive this newsletter by email, and about 50 get the newsletter via the USPS. This saves the club over a hundred dollars a month; money which we can use for events, prizes, etc.However, it has come to our attention that some members, with email addresses, prefer to receive a hard copy, as well. The club will certainly abide by your wishes. Just let the editor know, and you will be, once again, added to the mailing list. |
