Volume 5 Issue 2 Pages 8 AMA #530 District 11 www.eugenerc.com February 2009 Club Mailing Address: Eugene R/C Aeronauts, PO Box 26344, Eugene, OR. 97402 DUES TIME 2009 is HERE, PLEASE pay your AMA and ERCA dues ASAP! ERCA News and Information Next CLUB Meeting – February 24, 7:00 pm at Papa’s Pizza on Coburg Road. If you have a building project, bring it with you for "Show and Tell". Please plan to have your membership dues (ERCA & AMA) current before or at this meeting. At the January Meeting – There were 31 members and guests at the meeting. Al Barrington reported we have 37 members as of January 27, 2009. John Poole was welcomed into the club. There were others at the meeting checking us out that seemed anxious to join as well. Khoi and the board rolled out the proposed budget for consideration. After much discussion and a minor amendment the 2009 budget was passed by an overwhelming majority vote. It will be available soon for your viewing pleasure on the website. (see the Meetings page) Khoi has made some initial contacts at the Oakridge Airport in an attempt to secure permission to use that facility for our July 18th Big Bird Event. The idea was well received by those in attendance. Fun Fly is tentatively set for August 15th, 2009 and a Labor Day Fly on September 7th, 2009. Show&Tell - Frank Blain brought his brand new – and 84.5” wingspan huge – Great Planes Reactor. With its < 17# weight and DL50 on the nose it should perform well. He hopes to maiden it soon. Marty Whittman brought his GIANT Cessna 188 AgWagon builder to show his progress since November’s meeting. At the rate he’s going it could be in the air before you smell pizza. Rod Madison brought his 1/6th scale plans built DeHaviland Beaver to show off “in the bones” Rod has modified to include mounting points for floats as well as standard landing gear. Khoi Tran brought another collaborative effort of his and Frank, a Yellow Aircraft Starfire ducted fan. The stylish, purple jet sports a .90 OS and a DynaMax fan. Reminder to all that the February meeting will be at Papa’s Pizza on Coburg Road. ERCA will provide a selection of pizza pie and the drinks are no host. Winter Flying Hours - During November, December, January, February - Saturday, Sunday & Wednesday flying start time is 12:00 Noon. DO NOT ARRIVE BEFORE NOON Meeting minutes are ONLINE at: http://eugenerc.com/meetings.html Presidents Corner Good news, members. I've gotten verbal approval from the Oakridge Airport manager to use that airport for our July 18th Big Bird Fly In. I'm just waiting for word from Joanne, a member of the Chamber of Commerce, to meet next Tuesday with the Board to discuss our request and give formal blessing. I will then get written approval from airport manager and we're in. It's been quite a process to get access to that airport but I think it's worth the effort. They have a 3600 feet long asphalt runway that is laid down east/west direction but because of the surrounding ridge lines, the wind is always blowing right down the runway one direction or the other. I hope that gets you guys as excited as I am. Please put this winter to good use and build/fix/dress up that big bird you've been hiding in the garage and get her ready for July. This big runway will allow you all to fly your prized bird with confidence. i.e. not have to worry about fighting cross winds like at our field. I plan to advertise this event in the AMA magazine so we can get the word out to folks all over, making it a well attended show. We will discuss details on setting up as the event host at the next few meetings. Please attend and roll up your sleeves to help out. At the Feb 24th meeting (Papa's Pizza on Coburg just south of Beltline), I will invite Bill Schneider to talk about float flying at Dexter Lake. He introduced me to this alternative style of flying last summer and let me tell you, it's a blast if you have not done it. It is a great way to do a picnic at the lake complemented by flying RC. Bill has access to the U of O rowing dock so you can stand on the dock to fly and not have to worry about getting dirt/sand on your plane. You will learn how easy it is to outfit even a trainer with floats and be ready for water take off. Or if you're willing to dive right in, get a Great Planes Seawind like me and get ready for Red Bull Air Race style flying right above the water at full speed!!! See you at the meeting. Khoi Tran ERCA President 2009 Treasurers Corner Treasurer Al Barrington reports - As of February 1, 52 members have paid their 2009 dues. Two new members have joined - Adams, and Moorehead. 2009 Meeting dates February 24th 7:00 pm. Papas Pizza Coburg Rd. EWEB downtown Eugene: March 31 7:00 pm. Training Center April 21 7:00 pm. Community Room May 19 7:00 pm. Community Room At the flying field June, July and August EWEB downtown Eugene: Sept 15 7:00 pm. Community Room Oct 20 7:00 pm. Community Room Nov 3 7:00 pm. Training Center December no meeting. WITH THE WEEKDAY WARRIORS February 2009 As I did last month, I listened to NOAA Weather Radio and they told me that Eugene- Springfield had but 27% of the rain it should have had in January. All that good weather must have come while I was in Arizona, because, since typing the last column, I have been at the field on but one good flying weekday. True, I may well have missed one or two due to a couple of appointments with the doctor and a pair with the dentist, but here’s the little bit I managed to see. Wayne Wahrmund still flies his U-Can-Do and his LT-40, but there is a new bird in his stable. It’s a 40-size Piper Cherokee, very pretty in red and white. The engine in this 40- size ship is an O.S. of the AX series and of .55 cu. in. displacement. "I went a little crazy”, Wayne admitted, cheerfully. The thing flies quite well and Wayne handles it easily. There are flaps, but I haven’t noticed Wayne using them yet. Vern Wells is flying a real antique. This is a Sterling Fledgling whose design must go back to l970 or earlier. This ship had tricycle gear at birth, but Vern’s is a taildragger. The engine is a modest - for this field - O.S. 46LA. The plane isn’t new to this club. Chuck Jenkins acquired it from someone who was selling out, just in case he ran across one of us who had need of a docile model to practice on. Vern’s getting in that practice. Besides these new additions, we had a some of the same old guys flying the same old planes. Frank Blain was out with his Extra 330 and his Obsession and President Tran was tinkering with his Zeke. Had the cowl off at one point and was delving inside the engine room. He did get in one flight that day, all with the gear down due to an air-pressure problem in the pneumatic retracts. Jim Corbett had his flock of electrics, including the Stinger whose new landing gear has cut down on, though not eliminated, the bounces on landing. Doug McWha was, as usual, flying that disreputable EasySport and his twin, the Dual Ace. I don’t know the name of the God of Propellers, but, whoever he is, he has it in for Our Man McWha. When I got to the field, Doug already had a bandage on one finger, cut by the trailing edge as he flipped it. There was a second bandage on another finger which was cut as he reached around the prop from the front to make an adjustment. Say what you will about Our Doug, but you cannot deny that he is brim-full of confidence. He is certain that the very next time he reaches around the prop, everything will he okay. And, of course, it isn’t. Shortly after my arrival, one of the three- bladers claimed yet another McWha digit. After Dr. Corbett had cleaned the gore off of Doug, wrapped the gauze and tape around the new wound, and squeegeed the blood off the mat and into the grass, Doug had the brass- bound nerve to walk up to me and say, “I suppose this is going to be in the newsletter?” He had to ask? By the way, Doug says he had cut himself on props only two or three times. By his reckoning, this incident counted as only one time because they all happened on the same day. There seems, to me at least, to be a bit of fuzzy logic there, but, what the heck, they’re his fingers. While I was down in Arizona, enjoying sunny, 75 degree, weather, I saw some beautiful old aeroplanes at Pima and Mesa. The former has acquired a very handsome Waco ZKS-6, among other things. Interpreting Waco’s alphabet soup, .that. means it has a 285 h.p. Jacobs (Z), a standard interior (S), and conforms to basic assembly drawing “K”. They also have an Oscar, the Nakajima Ki-43 which was the Japanese Army’s standard fighter. They’ve completed their B-23 restoration, though as a civilianized C-67. It’s true that the B-23s converted to transports did rather more flying in that guise than they did as bombers, but I’d still like to see one as a real B-23. New, also, is a Curtiss O-52, the last of the big, heavy observation planes whose job was taken by the far-lighter L-4s and L-5s. Their Yale still looks good in spite of all these years in the Arizona sun. If you have an AT-6 kit and don’t want to fiddle endlessly with retracts, the Yale is worth a gander. Same airframe, even the tail, but fixed gear. You’d have to change the cowl just a little and round the wingtips. And the paintjob is a bright yellow! The Confederate AF Museum up in Mesa was a bit of a disappointment this time. They’d moved out several of the interesting machines and the only notable newcomer was a dandy Cessna Bobcat. A compact twin that the late, lamented RCM had construction drawings for a good 45 years ago. You could call it a UC- 78, AT-8, AT-17, JRC (Navy), Crane (Canadian), or T-5O (Civil). You’ve hit it lucky. I have a lot more to write, but my sinuses hit me Friday night and I’m going back to bed as soon as I mail this. C. O'D. For Sale Aeroworks Yak I'm selling my Aeroworks Yak. It has a YS 140 4 stroke, 9252 servos a 5000 Mah lipo battery with a Fromco regulator. I have near to $1000.00 in this plane and I'll sell it for $700.00. I bought the airframe and servos new and put in two flights on them. The engine I bought used so I don't know how much time is on it but it looks good and runs great. Phone # 726-7482 email a_wellentin@yahoo.com Maiden Flight Ready Flying fine Almost down Smiling pilot Doug Devereaux's Electric - Maiden flight February 17, 2009 at Carl Henson Field. For Sale Frenzy 100 Main Wing I have a brand new. Main wing for a Frenzy 100. (I have 3 built wings for this plane) I don't need a forth. Anyway it sells for about $150. I would like to see $95 for it. And I have the new push rods and clevises. Please let me know if you need anything else. H # 736-8638 C # 513-2716 Thanks, Jeff Engel email allelectric50@yahoo.com Projects 02-16-2009 Here is an update on the Cessna 188 (crop duster) It is in final stages of build and will be ready for color this week. It has been a long road with this thing! All you have are 4 sheets of plans and a big desire. Building is fun for me anyway. I love it. I used 1.5 oz glass cloth on it and it came out real nice. Servos are in the wing along with the flap servos. The rudder was a different design then I have ever seen before. For the control horn they use a 1/4 X 5in brass tube bent at the bottom at a 90 degree and the clevis attaches to that. Then you cut a slot 1/4in along the pivot point and epoxy it in place. However, Carl must have had a different idea on controlling the rudder. When I tried to install the rudder on the vertical, I found that the rear of the vertical was 3/4in to far forward. To make this rudder control work I would have to cut through the rear support. Ok now what ??? So I installed a 1/2 balsa to the rear and added small pieces on the sides and thin sanding the h--- out of it .. But it works!! Then I had to modify the tail cone but that was easy! One other modification is the tail wheel. On the plans the tail wheel is free floating (no input) So, I installed pull/pull cables to control the ground steering. The only thing I have left is CG. That will happen tomorrow. The CG will determine where I put the servos for the elevator. I hope I can install them in the back !! Make life easer that way !! The plans call for one servo for elevator control but I am a believer in two servos for elevator. Doesn’t matter, it’s just one of my things. So Boy and girls I will bring it to the March meeting and it should be ready to fly!!!! See you --Marty Wittman For Sale GoldBerg Extra 330 Similar to above GoldBerg Extra 330 1.20. It has a BMCA 43cc It has a 77 inch wingspan. Futaba 3010's all around, with two 2200mah 6v batteries for the ignition and receiver. It has no receiver with it. Asking $400 Kevin Kelm imdbombboarder@gmail.com Events March 2009 Swap Meet MCMINNVILLE AIRCRAFT MODELERS YAMHILL COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS 2070 NE LAFAYETTE AVE. MCMINNVILLE, OR 97128 SWAP MEET HOURS: 9 AM – 2 PM (SATURDAY MARCH 14) VENDOR SET UP HOURS 9 AM – 4 PM (FRIDAY MARCH 13) WALL TABLES - $20.00 STANDARD TABLES - $15.00 LARRY MILLER EMAIL: lmiller@onlinemac.com PHONE: 503 472 4987 April 2009 From the Rogue Eagles EVENTS page April------------ 4th Swap Meet Grants Pass Fairgrounds April-------------17th thru 19th Agate Lake Float Fly CD Floyd (Bill) Grove Link to Rogue Eagles EVENTS page http://www.rogue-eagles.org/2009_events.htm August 2009 ERCA Fun Fly is tentatively set for August 15th, 2009. September 2009 ERCA Labor Day Fly on September 7th, 2009. Know of any upcoming RC events? Please pass that info to your newsletter editor. TIPS & TRICKS Got fuel-soaked balsa? Fuel leak from the fuel tank all over the tank compartment? If so I have the solution! First, remove the fuel tank if able. Next, try to dry as much as possible. When finished, get some regular corn starch and dump it in the compartment and leave for 24-48 hours. After that, dump out the excess (if able) or use the vacuum cleaner. You will probably have corn starch stuck on the balsa where the fuel was. Just push the tank in and take it back out and use the vacuum to get the rest out. If it is still damp reapply the corn starch for another 24 hours. Repeat as you feel necessary. Yes, there are other methods to use but I have found this one to be best. Tip for cleaning bolts I saw this little tidbit on RunRyder on cleaning bolts before applying loctite to them. To do so, place the pile in a fine strainer (stainless) and sink it in a pot of boiling water and regular, not lemon, Cascade detergent for about 10 minutes. Dissolve the Cascade first. Rinse thoroughly and dry when complete. The parts are very clean when done. No further prep work is needed. This is easier on the fingers than the manual method, especially on a new model with a whole bag of screws to do. Reinstalling the fuel tank with motor installed Have you ever tried to run those pesky fuel lines through the tiny hole in the firewall while the motor is installed and you got a headache? Well here is your aspirin! If you have any old pushrods or old bent landing gear lying around, straighten them as best you can and route them through the front of the firewall to the radio compartment. Then hook your fuel lines onto the wire and pull the wire out of the firewall. Easy huh? — tips and tricks courtesy of Jim's RC.com ERCA CLUB CONTACTS President: Khoi Tran - 685-0086 - kmtranmd@hotmail.com Vice President: Mel Thompson - 746-5699 - met324@comcast.net Sec/Treasurer: Al Barrington - 935-4960 - albarrington@msn.com Groundskeeper: Doug McWha - 741-3326 - flyduke@comcast.net Field Marshals: Marry Wittman - 968-2094 - wittmanm@msn.com Newsletter Editor: Jim Corbett - 344-5022 - james.corbett@comcast.net Next CLUB Meeting – February 24, 7:00 pm at Papa’s Pizza. --- That's All Folks --- Eugene R/C Aeronauts Newsletter Editor 1618 Gilham Rd. Eugene, OR. 97401 FEBRUARY 2009 Name Address City, ST Zip ___________________________Renewing Current Member____________________________ INVOICE FOR 2009 MEMBERSHIP - EUGENE R/C AERONAUTS Please fill in the following information and send back with your Dues Remittance Member Name __________________________________________________________________ 2009 AMA Membership No.________________________ I certify that I have paid my 2009 AMA Dues. Initial _________ Member Address _______________________________________________________________ Member Phone No. __________________________ Member Email Address __________________________________________________________ Newsletter Preference: ____ Email ____ Regular Mail ____ Do not need to receive newsletter Please enclose your check for $ 60.00 as a current member renewing for 2009 and Mail to: Eugene R/C Aeronauts, PO Box 26344, Eugene, Or. 97402. Or bring this INVOICE and $60.00 to the Meeting, February 24, 7:00 pm at Papa’s Pizza.. Newsletter ONLINE at: http://eugenerc.com/NL/CURRENTNEWSLETTER.pdf February 2009