Secretary's Report | Field News | The Model Shop

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Spring
is Here!


I think it is safe to say, "Spring has sprung!" Although it is dark and rainy as I write this, we've had several really excellent spring days over the past few weeks. If you haven't blown the dust off your wings yet, it's time to get moving!
... Make sure you give your model a careful once-over a day or so before you plan to go flying... snug up all the nuts and bolts and double-check the linkages. The big items on my checklist are cycling my battery pacs and looking for leaks in the fuel system. Whether it's the change in temperature over the winter months or simply age, I've had more first-flight-of-the-season problems with fuel tanks dumping their contents into my fuselage (not a pleasant way to start a flying session!). I've gotten into the habit of removing the fuel tank completely and doing a thorough pressure test while the batteries are being conditioned. Pay particular attention to the seal around the stopper. I've found most of my problems could have been prevented by a couple of turns of the screw to tighten the rubber gasket. This extra effort has proven to be well worth it, especially when compared to pulling ALL the guts out of the plane to soak up puddles of collected glow fuel and letting things dry out. Yuck!
... Another sign of spring is the initial field maintenance. Several members (Bill Costello, Dave Seale and Ted Zaborski in particular) have already taken advantage of the mild weather to fill and smooth the plow divots in the turf on the field and pit area. The fences have been repaired... and, by the time you read this newsletter... the runway will have been rolled and fertilized, thanks once again to Vinny Marinucci for the use of his truck. Also, be on the lookout for our new field sign crafted by the artistic hands of Ted Zaborski.
... Our roster is filling out nicely, with several new members more than making up for the few that have decided not to rejoin. One gentleman called me to say that his work had taken him to the Augusta, Maine area, and that he would not be returning to MMAC this summer. He actually apologized, saying, "I enjoyed meeting all of you and I'm sad that I will not be able to continue training with the club. You really made me feel welcome." I did a little investigation and found an established AMA chartered club about ten miles from where he now lives. I encouraged him to look into membership there to continue flight training when work permitted. Perhaps we'll see him again.
... I'll leave you with a reminder that the April 25 club meeting is our annual Winter Project Night. Even if you haven't been building the past few months, this is an excellent opportunity to see the handiwork of many club members and vote for your favorites. Mark your calendars...

Keep up your airspeed!
Jim McCoy

EDITOR'S NOTE: Our 21st Annual Club Banquet has been confirmed for Sunday, October 29. Ray Smith will once again entertain us with live music on keyboard and vocals.

Club Meeting March 28, 2006

Club president Jim McCoy brought the meeting to order at 7:30PM. A motion to accept the February secretary's report as stated in the March 2006 Yankee Flyer was made and seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The treasurer's report was read by Dave Seale. A motion to accept the treasurer's report was made and seconded. The motion passed unanimously. As of March 28th, the 2006 membership count stands at 44 members.
... Jim thanked Peter Mandeville for applying reflective tape to the flying field gate in Medfield. The field condition was reported to be OK. Dave Seale and Bill Costello will be repairing the divets that were created by the snow plowing last winter. Vincent Marinucci will arrange for the rolling of the field. CCRC will be asked to fix up the access road. A new field sign has been graciously built by Ted Zaborski. He will let us know when he is ready to install the sign. Dave Seale will arrange to have the field mowed this year by the same person that has done it in the past.
... Winter Projects night is scheduled for April's club meeting night (April 25). If your plane hasn't been shown before, plan on bringing it to Winter Projects night.
... Bill O'Donnell has now sold over half of the 100 tickets for the SAITO 72 Golden Knight engine raffle. A winner will be picked after the 100 tickets are sold. A chance will cost you $5.00. Contact Bill (508 473 4441) if you are interested in purchasing a ticket. You do not have to be present at the drawing to win.
... The club received a thank you note from the Millis Public Library for the donation of the Model Aviation subscription. Jim McCoy has submitted the application paperwork for the silver level of the Leader Club has been to the AMA.
... Bill Costello will be the CD for a fun-fly scheduled for June 10, details to follow. Dave Eaton has volunteered to CD a fun-fly tentatively scheduled for July 22. CCRC is scheduled to hold their family fun-fly and picnic on June 11. Check their web site for details http://www.charlesriverrc.org
... The 3rd annual Framingham State Space Day is scheduled for June 3. Contact Jim McCoy if you are interested in helping setup and man a booth.
... Charlie Neville is in possession of the club trainer that no one is currently using. The trainer is available to any beginner who would like to use it with one of the club instructors. Contact Charlie or any club officer if you are interested in using the trainer.
... A motion was made and seconded to make Bob Rice, owner of Hobby USA in Ashland, a club honorary member. Bob has been very generous to the club with donations from his store.
... Bill Lloyd, club safety officer, reviewed the flying field frequency control rules. All flyers need to have a frequency pin with their name and channel number on it to go with their transmitter. The transmitter is required to have the channel displayed along with having the red flag attached to the end of the antenna.
... The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 and followed by the monthly raffle.

A big thanks again goes to Dave Seale for bringing
coffee and donuts to the meeting.

Roger Gilman
MMAC Secretary

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Welcome Aboard !

Walt Callahan of Bellingham joined our membership at the March meeting. Walt is new to the area and was a member in clubs in Virginia and Pennsylvania. He has been in RC for the past ten years flying sport glow and electric and is currently putting together an electric P-47 Warbird.

UPDATE: Bob Rice's Hobby USA telephone in Ashland is now 508-881-1700

This Month's Fuel Winner

This new feature was planned to start last month, but as fate would have it, I was the lucky winner. So the column was delayed until we had a new fuel winner at March's meeting. To my astonishment (and everyone's surprise) good fortune smiled on me again. I can't very well interview myself and comment on this moment other than to say I look forward to burning up the nitro in the coming season.

AMA District 1 News

Your Support is Needed!
Several full-scale aircraft companies are demanding royalties from modeling manufacturers, causing some to discontinue producing these products. AMA needs your help. We need you to contact members of Congress to voice your opinion. Go to the AMA website for details about how you can help.

District 1 Fun Fly News
Ed Faria is the AMA Associate Vice President and CD of the 2nd Annual District 1 Fun Fly event. As of press time, Ed says, "We have not established dates for this [2006] event. However, keep in mind it may not take place at Gardner due to the fact that it's a District Event and we would like to spread it around to different sites or states in our region, so other clubs may have a chance to host it. Which ever site is chosen, it will be centrally located in the District." Also, Ed says they plan next time to do video reviews of the aircraft, their pilots and aerial shots of the models.

The AMA District 1 website is still under development, but be sure to check out what's been done so far and bookmark it for the future.

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Leader Club

"Thank you for the donation of Model Aviation to the Millis Public Library. It will be displayed and circulated with our other magazines. If your club would like to suggest aviation titles for the Library to purchase, please let me know. Again, thank you for your generous donation."

Sincerely
Linda Stetson, Director

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The Model Shop

Futaba is now replacing the standard R127DF 7-Channel 72MHz FM receiver with the new R168DF 8-Channel unit. The significant difference is that you can change the crystal to any receiver frequency in both the high or low band. CAUTION: Do not lose sight of the fact that you should not replace the transmitter crystals. FCC regulations come into play here and in the event of accident, AMA insurance would be voided unless changed by a licensed service center.

No sooner had the March newsletter gone to press, when Model Airplane News arrived with an excellent article by Dave Gierke on engine cleaning. He focused primarily on internal varnish and how it affects engine performance. Demon-Clean was mentioned. Also, he liberally used the generic term "chemical cleaner" (ie: paint remover - March 2006 Yankee Flyer) and the use of oil & fine grit paper, water and steel wool. If your engine flames out or has difficulty holding peak rpm needle-valve setting, the engine may be varnished, especially after many hours of use. If you are not a subscriber of Model Airplane News, pick up a copy of the May 2006 issue.

Additional Info Gleaned from the Web

If my engine keep quitting what should I do? The first thing you should do is richen the high end needle value. What typically causes an engine to quit is that it's getting hot. If it is running rich, it will not quit. Avoid running too smoothly, as you should have a little burble. If it sounds like a sewing machine, well that's not good. That means it is going lean and it is getting ready to quit. Don't be afraid to turn the needles. Guys all the time say their engine isn't running to peak performance, but they are afraid to turn the needles. Always remember rich is good and safe but don't sacrifice performance because you're afraid it will get hot.

In performing 3D maneuvers, there's not a lot of airflow over the engine. The plane is not moving forward as it would when you are flying it regularly, so it is important to make sure the engine remains cool. To do this you must have the proper baffling on the intakes of the cowling to direct the air at the cylinders. It is important that you get the baffling as close to the cylinders as possible, as the air will find the direction of least resistance. This is usually down in front of the cylinders. The air must be directed over the cylinders and between them and the firewall. Note: The engine shouldn't be mounted too close to the firewall, as this will restrict the air from circulating between the firewall and the cylinders. if you have a REAL overheating problem, it is also helpful to put a air-dam on the front edge of the opening on the bottom of the cowling. This will create a low pressure area behind it and will draw the air out of the cowling. This, in turn, pulls cool air in the front. A good rule of thumb is to have 3 times the area of exit area on the bottom of the cowl, than intake area in the front.

To keep mufflers from leaking and the bolts coming loose use Versachem High Temp Red Silicone, Type 650. You can get this at Auto Zone. Put a very thin layer on the mufflers and the flanges on the engine. Let this dry for 24 hours. You'll have 1000's of flights without any leakage. To keep muffler bolts tight, carefully clean the bolts and the threads using a Q-tip with alcohol. Then use the red, high-temp Loctite thread-locker. A small torch with a little heat applied on the bolts makes it very easy to get your bolts out. System works very well.

"Remember folks...2 Minutes a Day! 2 Minutes a Day!"

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For us "All Season Pilots" we're happy to say that this last week of March has been perfect for flying. The gouges in the field have been filled, the fencing all repaired and the area policed. Now all we have to do is let nature take its course to wake up the grass seed. On Wednesday the 29th we had to go way out into the swamp toward the water tank to fetch a downed plane. We found the area uncharacteristically dry for this time of year. Daylight savings is about to start this weekend so "come on down" to your Bill Martin Flying Field and join the fun!

Ted Zaborski's twin-engine Avistar, "Charlies Two" made two attempts to get airborne Saturday, March 11. Being a prototype (February 2006 Yankee Flyer), some adjustments were required. However, the two OS25FX's were running perfectly. The biggest detrimental factor for the day was that all the planes that day tripped and stumbled over wintertime's divots and gouges in the runway. On March 28 with the adjustments made, "Charlies Two" took to the air on its maiden flight. Both engines purred with a business-like intensity as the plane flew very well for about 10 minutes. Near the end of the flight the port engine quit having run out of fuel. Each tank has a capacity of only 4 ounces. Although Ted's knees were shaking, he managed to make a proper approach on one engine and landed safely. Plans are already under way for a second prototype, "Charlies Two II".

Peter Mandeville has done a nice job applying highly reflective tape to both sides of the gate making it highly visible, coming and going. This more than fulfills AMA President Dave Brown's request to all clubs. (See March 2006 Yankee Flyer and the March 2006 Model Aviation, page 5). Thanks, Peter. . .

Yours truly was at Norwood Hospital's Emergency Room till 3 a.m. March 12. Not for rabies shots this time, but for having a tic surgically removed from my leg and get preventive medication for EEE. It's early in the season, but bugs are out and about, so check yourself carefully after spending the day down at the field.

Web Sites to Check Out

www.carcmc.org Humorous home-spun airborne videos from the Cape Ann RC Club

www.bassfiles.net/parachute.swf Don't miss this skydiver game! (sound & pix)

http://n.ethz.ch/student/mkos/pinguin.swf Smack the penquin game

www.ssrcc.org/home.htm Haute-Voltige videos on the home page

www.twoplaneguys.com/gavids1.htm 8 Unusual Aviation Videos

www.flightzone.co.za/media/harvards.wmv Water-Skiing AT-6s