SKYWRITER ONLINE

January, 2001
JANUARY MEETING EVENT
Ron Gagner to display his work-in-progress Tiger Moth, and talk about Scale building and competition.

Next Meeting Time: Meeting Program: President's Corner:
by Steve Kelley
Why build? Since I like to build a lot, I get asked the same questions and thought I'd answer some of them.
  1. Why not buy an ARF? - Good way to go if you want to get into the air fast. Today's ARFs are of high quality and usually a good value. The only problem is that the ARF company will offer a model trimmed in red or blue and sometimes I want a green one. The other issue is that I may want to build a model that isn't offered as an ARF.
  2. How do you find the time to build? - Easy, I just don't watch as much television or spend as much home time at the computer. Unlike some rumors, I'm not a hermit who lives in the shop and only comes out for food and sleep. I average about one hour a day in my shop. If you do it right, you can build one plane a month.
  3. Why build so many? - Why not, it's relaxing, and I always have a ready supply of new aircraft to fly. I only fly my planes for one season, then sell them.
  4. O.K. So I'm going to try it. What kit should I buy? - Something easy. You didn't learn to fly on a giant-scale Corsair, and you probably shouldn't pick it for your first kit. Both Sig and Great Planes produce excellent kits for the first-time builder. My personal favorite is the Sig LT40. The instructions are excellent, the kit is very complete, and the plane flies great.
Speaking of building, I've invited Ron Gagner to come to the January meeting and bring his under-construction Tiger Moth and give a talk on rib stitching and scale building and competition in general. Hope to see you there.

Minutes of Meeting December 4, 2000:
Meeting called to order at 7:30 PM.

The Secretary’s reports for the November meetings were accepted as published in the December newsletter.

The Treasurer’s report for November was accepted as published in the December newsletter.

Field Director’s Report: Dennis Cherry reported that there are ice patches on the field. Hunting season ended November 25. The field may now be used anytime, weather and road permitting.

Old Business: Russ Miller reported that the auction went well. He thanked Dean Anderson for acting as auctioneer, and everyone else who helped with the auction, including Larry McIssac, who was not acknowledged in last month's newsletter. Some logistic changes were suggested for next year to help eliminate "side deals", which are unfair to the club and to the bidding public.

New Business: Someone from the floor asked if the expense noted for new keys was because the lock was being changed next year. Peter Feil explained that the lock was not being changed next year, but more keys were needed for next year to issue to new members and members who need a replacement key. At the end of next year a decision will be made as to whether the lock will be changed in 2002.

Mike Doucette informed us that our current bank, which has become Fleet, will charge much greater fees for our account after the 1st of the year. He has been looking into changing banks to a bank with more reasonable fees. Three local banks are being considered. A motion was made and passed that Mike, in concurrence with the board of directors, should select a new bank.

Peter Feil reported that he had completed an audit of the books for the past fiscal year and that the books appear to be in order. (Our practice is to have a yearly audit of the books conducted by an officer of the club who does not have check signing privilege.)

Kevin Schleicher and Jim Dibb were thanked for setting up our new web site. It contains a great deal of club information, including an application form. It is located at http://cmrcm.tripod.com.

Steve Kelley brought up the subject of flight instructors, thanking our current instructors, and suggesting that more members make themselves available as instructors. Mitch Dante volunteered to be a flight instructor, and said that the best phone number at which to reach him to set up appointments for instruction is (508) 845-8866.

Steve Kelley also announced that he is looking for some members to take the initiative to have a mall show this off-season. The board will support this endeavor, but will not be responsible for running it (similar to the auction, for which Russ Miller has taken the initiative in recent years).

It was suggested that club information (flyers) and applications should be distributed to local hobby shops to help attract new members.

Meeting adjourned at 8:15 pm.

Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting December 4, 2000
Meeting called to order at 8:40 PM.

We need to start setting the schedule of flying events at the January meeting.

The logistics and possible locations of having a mall show this winter were discussed. Further discussion and a solicitation of volunteers will take place at the next members' meeting.

There was discussion of having a combat flying event this season, as well as whether it would be a Gremlin event, or an open Class 'B' event. Kevin said that he had contacted Yellow Aircraft and they might be able to give a presentation at one of our meetings, or have a demonstration at the flying field.

Another subject for presentation at our monthly meeting that was discussed is having someone present what is involved in building scale planes.

Meeting adjourned at 9:10 PM.

Treasurer's Report for November, 2000
Balance as of 11/30/2000 994.08
 
Deposits:
  2001 Membership Dues 485.00
 
Withdrawals:
  Printing: December newsletter, Membership cards for 2001 186.98
  Field mowing: September/October(5) 325.00
  Account maintenance fee 9.00
Total withdrawals 520.98
 
Balance as of 12/31/2000 958.10


Touch-and-Go or Bounce-and-Go?
by Glynn Mount
    Touch-and-go is a great way to practice landings. It's a sure way to rapidly improve your technique, but even the best of us will bring one down a little hard once in a while, and the inevitable result will be a bounce.
    The size of said bounce will be in direct proportion to how enthusiastically your airplane meets the runway. If unattended, of course, the first bounce will be followed by a second bounce and, if the second bounce doesn't break your prop or worse, you might be lucky enough to dribble to a stop before running off the end of the runway.
    This type of landing will usually bring enthusiastic responses from critics on the sidelines.
    There are, however, a couple of ways you can recover from a bad bounce and keep your dignity intact. One way is to maintain "full back pressure" on the stick (i.e., full up elevator) in the hope that there is enough flying speed to cushion the second bounce. If the bounce is more of a high-speed "skip" then this method works well.
    The second method is to immediately apply power and return to level flight. I've tried both methods, and a "bounce-and-go" with quick application of power will usually result in a more positive recovery from a bad bounce.
    The best landing procedure is to hold the aircraft off the deck a foot high with idle power, and try "not to land." The airplane will slow down and "sink in" in spite of you, giving you a smooth transition from air to ground.
from The Cam Journal
Central Arizona Modelers
Marvin Hinton, Editor
West Sedonia AZ


On the Lighter Side
    An airplane pilot with poor eyesight had managed to pass his periodic vision exams by memorizing the eye charts beforehand. One year, though, his doctor used a new chart that the pilot had never before seen. The pilot proceeded to recite the old chart and the doctor realized that she'd been hoodwinked.
    Well, the pilot proved to be nearly blind as a bat, but the doctor could not contain her curiosity. "How is it that someone with your eyesight can manage to pilot a plane at all? I mean, how for example, do you taxi the plane out to the runway?"
    "Well," said the pilot, "it's really not very hard. All you have to do is follow the instructions of the ground controller over the radio. And besides, the landmarks have all become quite familiar to me over the years."
    "I can understand that," replied the doctor, "but what about the takeoff?"
    "Again, a simple procedure. I just aim the plane down the runway, go to full throttle, pull back on the stick, and off we go!"
    "But once you're aloft?"
    "Oh, everything's fully automated these days. The flight computer knows our destination, and all I have to do is hit the auto pilot and the plane pretty much flies itself."
    "But I still don't see how you land!"
    "Oh, that's the easiest part of all. All I do is use the airport's radio beacon to get us on the proper glide path. Then I just throttle down and wait for the copilot to yell 'AIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!,' pull the nose up, and the plane lands just fine!"
from SCRC Flyer, John Lawyer, Editor
PO Box 271, Roachdale IN 46172


A Fast Fix for the Field
For a quick, durable fix on canopy cracks or damage, cut a piece of cloth from an old shirt or pair of pants, and get a tube of shoe goo (used to repair athletic shoes). Apply the shoe goo to the cloth (just as you do resin), and apply to the damaged area. Makes a solid and resilient repair, quick and easy.
Edward
Pearl City HI
via the EIA Newsletter
Vern Mitchell, Editor