SKYWRITER ONLINE

January, 2002
Next Meeting Time:

Key Exchange Required

The keying of the lock on the field gate will be changed at the end of this year.
The date will be January 5, 2002. Your key should be exchanged for a new key at the time of your 2002 membership application.
Keys may be exchanged at a club meeting by presenting a signed 2002 membership application, your 2002 AMA membership card, payment of dues, and your old key.
Keys may be exchanged by mail by mailing a signed 2002 membership application, your 2002 AMA membership card (or a copy of it), payment of dues, your old key, and a self-addressed stamped envelope to the club secretary. Your AMA card will be returned, and you will receive a 2002 CMRCM membership card and a new key

Presidents Corner
Hello everybody, hope everyone's having a good holiday season with plenty of airplane type gifts. With the lack of snow and cold weather, we're getting one of the longest flying seasons that I can remember.

For our January meeting, we're having Charlie Nelson give a talk about scale modeling and if you've never been at one of Charlie's presentations, you really owe it to yourself to be there.

We're still looking for ideas for any new events that you may want to see next year and we're barnstorming some of our own ideas.

I'm going to leave this short and sweet for this month to leave room for the field director's report. Hope to see you at the January meeting.
by Steve Kelley

TREAURER'S REPORT FOR December 2001
Balance as of 11/30/2001 975.69
 
Deposits:
  2002 membership dues 340.00
  2002 auction proceeds (see below) 15.00
  Total 355.00
 
Withdrawals:
  12/2001 newsletter 101.62
  Account service charge 3.00
Total withdrawals 104.62
 
Balance as of 12/31/2001 1226.07

Note: The 15.00 auction proceeds shown above is a manufacturer's rebate for the raffle prize. This brings the total auction proceeds to 919.90, and the net profit to 406.40

Minutes of Meeting December 3, 2001
Meeting called to order at 7:35 PM.

The Secretary's report for the November meeting was 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 had a meeting with Fish and Game. Details will be published in the newsletter. (See below -ed.)

Old Business:Russ Miller reported that the auction went well, and thanked everyone who helped to make it a success.

New Business: Peter Feil reported that the lock at the field will be changed on January 5, 2002, and members will need to exchange their key at the time of their membership renewal for 2002.

Meeting adjourned at 7:45 PM.

Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting December 3, 2001
Meeting called to order at 8:30 PM.

The board discussed possible speakers for the upcoming meetings.

Mike Doucette gave Peter Feil the books for the past fiscal year to audit.

Meeting adjourned at 9:00 PM.

Field Director's Report - Dennis Cherry
I sat down with Chris Thurlow from the West Boylston office of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. The West Boylston office actually oversees the various sites throughout the commonwealth, including our Westborough flying field.

During our conversation, Mr. Thurlow brought up a number of things which I should bring to the members' attention.

First: Chris feels that flying clubs are relatively compatible with "Fish and Game" properties, and monitors two clubs in addition to ours. While he is quite happy with having CMRCM at the Westborough site, the occupants of the office at the top of the hill would prefer we weren't there.

Second: The complaints that Chris receives are overwhelmingly about vehicles "speeding". The posted limit is 10 mph, BUT, when approaching someone on or near the road, please slow to walking speed. Our vehicles also kick up a lot of dust, so be considerate. (It wouldn't hurt to roll down your window and say hello, either!)

Third: Chris made a point of saying that the other clubs under his jurisdiction purchase gravel for road repairs. Fish and Game brings in equipment during July or August and could handle the spreading and grading. I think we should also consider offering to replace the wooden gate at the entrance.

In any case, Chris Thurlow is an advocate for us at this site. He told me he's nearing retirement though, and there are no guarantees that his replacement will feel the same.

To Repair or Not to Repair?
by Phil Bayly
Concept:

All of us have crashed our share of model airplanes. Following any crash, the immediate question that follows is whether or not to repair the monster that, at that moment, we wish we would never see again. Nothing is more ugly, and painful than seeing a remaining bunch of balsa parts that have just littered up the place and is beyond recognition. You may also have your pride overrun with embarrassment and negative emotions playing their part in the scene. As a diversion to your frustrations, your next thought may be to determine what caused the accident. But alas, it is an exercise of futility to find a way to exonerate ourselves from the blame since we did it through building or flying error.

Following this evaluation, most will quickly come to the conclusion to "junk it all" after salvaging the engine and hardware for the next airplane that will be "better than ever." We've all been there and done that! At least I know I have. I also have observed too many flyers as they rushed to judgement and totally junked their crashed airplanes right on the spot, whereas it would have taken them only a few hours to completely repair the damage. All that said, let's look at some of the logic that usually goes on here.

Logic and Process:

First, we know our planes are originally built from a bunch of small parts anyway. Therefore, we can easily see that a crash simply results in a bunch of smaller parts than with what we originally started to put together again or replace. That makes it sound a lot less tragic, doesn't it? We also know that we spent a lot of time developing our building skills to be able to fit an airplane's parts together exactly right without any gaps in the joints. Beyond it looking better, it means those well fit glue joints will bond together with greater strength, especially if CyA glues are used.

Now let's look at some facts. With a typical crash, most breaks in the wood should occur at places other than at its joints, unless the joints are poorly fit. More on that later, but otherwise, we would only need to glue the separated joint(s) again for an easy repair. Have you ever noticed how perfectly those broken pieces of wood fit back together again? Using our best craftsmanship skills, we could never achieve a joint fit like they will fit together. It is perfect! All of the separated wood fiber ends fit snugly into every mating crevice. Therefore, the first principle to accept for our repair consideration is: Following any crash, gather up all of the parts. This is not to just be a good guy and keep the flying field clear of debris. It is also to have a basis for "crash analysis" and to retain all options for repair.

There are two things that may be lost during your repair. One is a "new looking appearance" and the other is that the center of gravity (CG) usually moves aft a bit from the extra glue and wood being added in the process. Awareness of both of these typical occurrences can usually, minimize the amount of each. So, rule two is: Get everything out of sight until you are cool again and can better assess the repair option.

Now let's deal with "crash assessment." I examine the details at every crash to learn something more about construction. That includes other people's crashes, too. The question to always ask is why did the break occur where it did instead of someplace else, or maybe not at all? Following enough crash inquiries, you may find a pattern emerging. You may begin to better realize where you had excess wood in your construction as well as where more or harder wood was needed. Gussets, hardwood, grain lines. balsa density, and glue joints are just some of the considerations that must be taken if the "next one" on the horizon is to be better. This introduces the third principle: assess the damage with an eye toward improved design and construction layout, as well as to complete the repair.

The Repair Process:

Now let's look at the repair itself since there are definitely some techniques and approaches that can help accomplish the repair of these crashed critters.
  1. Following the "crash analysis" we should know how and if each part fits back together in its original location.
  2. Plan a schedule of events that must occur to get everything back together, including the parts or areas that will need replacement or additions, such as doublers.
  3. Pay primary attention to any repair required on load bearing items such as spars or motor mounts. They may require replacement if they broke off squarely. Doublers are suspect for final strength, but don't under estimate the strength of a good doubler or progressive tripler. Consider 1/64-inch ply for the first layer.
  4. Minimize the tail heaviness that typically occurs from the extra glue and wood that is added.
  5. Progress from the inside outward.
  6. Keep the wing straight with jig studs projected upward from a flat building board.
  7. Wing rib damage (crunched out areas) can be replaced by overlapping and gluing sheet balsa to the remaining rib parts as necessary, front and back and contoured to streamline the covering surface after it's in place.
  8. Broken wing spars need doublers for necessary strength. I prefer thinner doublers on all four sides to box in the damage and to ensure strength in all dimensions.
  9. Fuselage breakage repair is easily done with 1/64-inch ply over the entire broken area with good overlap. There may be a minor bump on the surface that will hardly show through filler and painting.
  10. Motor mount breakage is the most serious. Replace if possible. If not, glue in broken mount part(s) and overlap and glue them and the remaining mount, top and bottom, with 1/8-inch ply. Go through the firewall if necessary. Then re-drill the mount holes. I also add bolt(s) through the mount stud to not rely solely upon the glue. This modification alters the thrust line by the ply thickness and may also require a tank adjustment if the engine is vertically mounted.
  11. Following all wood repairs, you may recover and paint or MonoKoteŽ as necessary. A lot of strength results from the covering, so do not skimp here. Double covering is always an excellent option for additional strength.

Conclusions:

Repairs are easier to accomplish than you first think. If you are unsure about a crashed airplane, begin with the hardest part. if it goes okay, you may continue with confidence. if not, this is the time to concede, not before. Good luck on your new adventure. from Tangled Lines Tampa Bay Line Flyers Controline Model Airplane Club Phil Bayly, editor Tampa Bay FL
from Tangled Lines
Tampa Bay Line Flyers Controline Model Airplane Club
Phil Bayly, editor
Tampa Bay FL