Thunderboltaroger/ribcrackers/thunderbolt/2010-02.pdfmaster coverers will get valuable work hours...
Transcript of Thunderboltaroger/ribcrackers/thunderbolt/2010-02.pdfmaster coverers will get valuable work hours...
February Club Meeting
Monday, February 1, 7:30 pm
Budget & Covering Workshop
Livonia Senior Center
5 Mile & Farmington Livonia
Ribcrackers Model Airplane Club
Thunderbolt February 2010
Club 2067
We’re on the web!
http:/www.ribcrackers.org
Gus
Good News for all except the few who like to
Alpine or Nordic ski in southeast Michigan. With
the temperature dropping down well into the 20’s at
night, places like Mt. Brighton and Alpine, ski bums
can weather the mid January thaw that we are in
the midst of. Hurray!
Any model activity in January is good.
This past weekend was complete with a swap meet
Sunday (January 17) hosted by Detroit Aero Mod-
elers and the opportunity to set up some flying time
with six of fellow Ribcracker members that after-
noon. The weather was adequate in the beginning
with continuous improvement throughout the after-
noon. I liked “flying great”, Ron McHale’s routine
where he kept his Reactor down on the deck about
3 to 5 feet off the field and flew multiple circles, fig-
ure eights and the like for what seemed to be about
four minutes right out from the flight line. Very
cool. Alex had skis installed on his Decathlon and,
surprise... flew in a very scale like manner! His
gasser had no problems and was very impressive
to watch. Ralph had a couple of nice flights with his
electric pusher as he did what a glider is supposed
to do. Dennis was in attendance with skis attached
to the “Boss”. After the incidence of the skis was
adjusted he got the little plane in the air and after, a
trimming segment provided some real excitement. I
heard the term “snow and go” for the first time as
he did a few of those. Flight #2 was even more in-
teresting with the “Boss” chasing Ralph right down
the road with what might be described as “smoking
the tires”. The plane will certainly live for another
day. Dennis then brought out a pattern plane that
was much better off the snow and put a smile on
his face. I even got in a couple of flights by using
the road for take off and full flaps for landing and in
between had a great time. I will have skis in the
future to add to the fun.
We have arranged to have a covering dem-
onstration at the February meeting. We will start a
project that will show the basics on the install and if
time allows, be on primary covering using at least
two colors. We will have irons and heat guns and
with the local talent should be capable of answering
any questions. The trim tape might have to wait for
the following meeting but I am sure that we will
cover that too. (Pun intended) Hopefully club
members will gain building and repair skills and
master coverers will get valuable work hours cred-
ited to your requirement for the 2010 season.
Remember co-pilot Radar? Well, who says
you can’t teach a young dog new tricks. With the
help of my four year old Granddaughter who had
too much trouble with the name Radar, he is now
“Rudder”. He made his first visit to the field. A big
success other than Alex’s gasser was a little star-
tling. (We are already working on that. Gas is
good) Reports “What a Hobby”. Indeed.
See you all at the meeting and I expect we
will hear from Dino who snuck out last Friday night
down to Florida for some air time and relaxation.
Now that’s real R & R.
President’s Message Gus Dabringhaus
Meeting came to order at 7:37, when Gus
finally showed up. The minutes from the
previous meeting were approved. A dis-
cussion ensued regarding the “guess the
Airplane and owner” quiz. Apparently
there was a full size plane included to
increase the difficulty. No one actually
responded to the quiz, but all thought it
was in good fun and should be done
again. (what about offering a prize such as a
bottle of CA for the next quiz? – Gerald) All
contributions would be welcome.
Treasurer’s report
Dennis passed out the budget that
was prepared by Roger and was
reviewed by all. The 2010 budget
will be presented at the February
meeting.
The Porta-Pottie is no longer being
serviced but is still on site for our
use. Just remember that it has to last
until spring.
A concern was raised about the defi-
cit. No action is currently being
proposed
AMA enrollment is down
Secretary
Don’t forget that it is time renew
your AMA and your Ribcracker
membership. After the March meet-
ing you will be assessed late fees.
Editor
Thanks for all the contributions.
Don is getting great comments from
people all over the country. The
newsletter is being sent to AMA,
past members and others of interest
so we get more exposure
Disappointed about the response to
the quiz but will try again.
New/Old business
Warren took care of the annual
donation to Walbridge in appre-
ciation for letting us use the field
RCCD Swap meet on the 24th
of January .
* It is the general consen-
sus that better deals can
often be gotten through RC
Universe but you can’t beat
rubbing shoulders and
swapping stories/ideas with
fellow modelers.
Gus would like to include a build
clinic in next month’s meeting. By
moving the official proceedings
along in an expeditious manner
there would be enough time to do a
covering/repair clinic after the meet-
ing. Everyone is encouraged to at-
tend to learn new building tricks or
just get more confidence to repair an
ARF after that “rough” landing.
Along that same vein of thought
there was a suggestion to skip the
budget discussion in the interest of
time but it was decided to keep the
budget for now.
Update on the Flight line move:
Still don’t know what is under the
mound to the east. Until it can be
determined if the mound can be re-
duced the move has been tabled.
This month’s raffle included a
Lanier Laser ARF, transmitter case,
and a 1600 receiver battery.
Model of the month:
Roger Wilfong brought in a mini
Telemaster with two versions of the
wing: one with ailerons and one
without. Roger got creative with the
radio programming so that he didn’t
have to change wires on the receiver
when he switched wings.
Dennis Robbins brought in a Balsa
USA Taube 40 in the bones. He had
an OS 48 4-stroke engine and util-
ized the pinning technique described
in last month’s Thunderbolt. Dennis
also expounded on the virtues of
Aliphatic glue which was used on
this model.
The winner was Gregg Kostyniuk
who brought in a Nitro Edge 540
ARF powered by a Mangum 60. A
very nice looking plane.
Congratulation Gregg!
Respectfully submitted by Gerald Klose
2010 Board of Directors
President
Gus Dabringhaus
810-417-0350
Vice President
Hank Wojcik
313-659-1677
Secretary
Matt Jerue
248-348-5948
Treasurer
Dennis Robbins
248-661-3562
Thunderbolt Editor
Don Unsworth
248-348-0961
Field Marshall/Safety Officer
Alex Alexopoulos
248-909-6869
Chief Instructor
Warren Wells
248-437-2694
Minute Recorder
Gerald Klose
248-582-1803
Raffle Coordinator
Warren Wells
CLUB POSITIONS
January 4, 2010 Ribcrackers January Meeting Minutes
It’s around 10:00 am, the
temperature is very cold and
the sky is a dull grey. Even
the snow covered Ray Field
looks dark and desolate. So
where are the brave and
hardy Ribcrackers Pat Giet-
zen wonders as he makes
fresh tire tracks on Wal-
bridge Drive? Like me, they
are at home in front of a
warm fireplace getting ready
to start the holiday bowl
football games marathon. In
truth, I forgot and I’m the
one that sent out the re-
minder email of the annual
tradition. Ooopppps! There
was a time that the Club
awarded a cash prize for the
first flight of the new year.
It was so valued that a mem-
ber trucked through deep
snow down
Talk about timeliness. On page 54 of Model Aviation, February issue,
there’s an article on renovating a damaged (destroyed ?) plane. This was
the discussion at the January meeting and will be the topic for the next
few months at the monthly club meetings.. Also, on page 77 is a terrific
article on changing out a crankshaft bearing on a YS61 engine. There has
to be someone in the club that has done this and I will volunteer my self
as an assistant to present at a future meeting. Any takers?
Lang Field’s long ¼ mile drive with young daughter in tow to get the first flight. Another member took his dog
along as the required witness!
So, after waiting a decent amount of time, Pat left, but to let me know that he was there, sent me a picture of the vacant
flight line. Such a dark, dismal looking morning, I just couldn’t publish it here. Thanks for the picture, Pat.
It wasn’t until 1:00 pm that the first pilot showed up with a plane. It was Ron McHale and his Reactor outfitted with
skis. Three flights, no other pilots showing up, cold, it was time to call it a day, but before leaving, also sends me a
picture from his cell phone as proof that he was there. So 2010 bragging rights to Ron for the first flight of the year
and the Club’s “ATTA BOY” award. Are those tire tracks on the field?
From the Journal
Don
First Flight of the year Are those tire tracks on the field?
Feb 24, 2010
Skymasters Swap Shop
Larson
Middle School
Joe Hass
248.321.7934
The following are high altitude pic-
tures of Ray Field and the sur-
rounding area. These are survey
pictures taken by USGS on
4/10/2002. I imported them from
TerraServerUSA into a USAPhoto-
Maps program that stitches them
into one huge surface image/map.
I then clipped the desired views,
enhanced them a bit and added
some dimensions that are of inter-
est to me and may be of interest
to club members. If you express
interest in some other views and
dimensions, for example the de-
sired flying patterns, let me know.
The area discussed at a recent club
meeting for an expansion of the
current flight line can be seen in
the lower right hand corner the
top photo.
Runways (Rwy) are given a num-
ber between 01 and 36. This indi-
cates the runway's heading: A run-
way with the number 36 points to
the north (360°), runway 09 points
east (90°), runway 18 is south
(180°), and runway 27 points west
(270°). Thus, the runway number is
one tenth of the runway center-
line's magnetic azimuth, measured
clockwise from the magnetic decli-
nation.
A runway can be used in two direc-
tions, which means the runway has
two names: "runway 33" and
"runway 15". The two numbers
always differ by 18 (= 180°).
Greg Kostyniuk
United States Geological Survey of Ray Field
Nice bird Ralph!
Dennis making last minute adjustments.
Alex’s Super Decathlon
in a great approach.
Gus’s Hanger Nine with flaps down.
SNOW and GO in JANUARY
Ron’s
Reactor.
How about
those skis!
RAFFLE WINNERS Blue Ticket
Greg Kostyniuk…...Gift Certificate
Red Ticket
Matt Jerue………. Lanier Laser ARF
Marshall Stern……... Radio case
Roger Wilfong……….. Battery
895 Grace, Northville, Michigan 48167
Reminder
Don’t forget to re-up your
Ribcracker membership.
Late fees after March meeting.
When your soldering gun tip breaks, a new one can be made from a scrap piece of copper electrical wire. Use a piece
of 12 or 14 gauge copper electrical wire cut to any length. Bend to shape as shown on the attached sketch. Hammer
flat the rounded portion of the tip. File or sand tip to desired shape then install in soldering gun. Apply flux and tin
the end of the wire with solder and it is ready for use. These tips last a very long time but will eventually break from
repeated use. It is a cheap fix and can be done easily by anyone who uses soldering tools.
TIP OF THE MONTH
For Sale Great Planes Super Skybolt electric...flies on 6 cell
lipo from 3200mah to 5000mah, receiver ready $250
CMP Power 3D electric, receiver ready, also flies on 6
cell lipo and flies very good pattern aerobatics $250
I am willing to separate motor, esc, etc also.
Talk to me. I’m willing to bargain.
Ron McHale 248-762-9709
HAMMER THIS PORTION FLAT
THEN TRIM OR SAND
TO DESIRED SHAPE
12 OR 14 GA
COPPER ELECTRICAL WIRE
BEND TO SHAPE DIMENSION
TO SUIT
SOLDERING GUN
Warren