March 8^th, 2011

The meeting was opened by President Seth Stephens at 7:00 pm.

Members attending were: Jim and Cindy Cook, Barras, Kennedy, Berson, Anliker, Fitch, Creedon, Jeff and Tom Beres, Olson, Greene, Stephens and Pendleton.

Guests Present: None

The minutes posted on the Web site were approved as submitted.

Treasurers Report: There were no new expenses. There was an income of

$ 308.00 which brings the balance of the Bank of America checking account to

$ 2,619.25. The Quimper CD is currently at $ 6,788.44.

Safety Report: Roy Greene did not have anything to report for safety.

Old Business: Seth Stephens gave the club an update on the FAA-AMA connection. He also reminded all club members to be sure to write to their State Representative to share one’s mind regarding the FAA’s intentions to regulate model aviation and to use one’s own creative expressions in composing one’s letter.

Also, there is still a need for the maintenance signup sheet to find some willing volunteers.

New Business: Seth said that the field trip is set for April 16^th. The club will meet at the flying field at 9 am on April 16^th and then proceed to the Museum of Flight in the Seattle Area.

A committee will meet at the flying field on Saturday the 12^th of March to determine what repairs should be done to the safety fence. That committee is Roy Greene, Seth Stephens, Bill Berson and Vern Kennedy.

General: Seth Stephens shared that Chuck Dantzler had recently passed away. There was a decision made that the club would send Jean Dantzler (Chuck’s wife) some flowers.

Seth reminded us to "pick our brains" for some program ideas.

Jim Cook brought in a Mini Edge 540 ARF to be raffled. Roy Greene won the drawing and $ 21.00 was added to the club account.

Crashes of the Month: None

Service Award: None

Business meeting closed at 7:50 pm.

The Program: Cindy Cook showed some of rotary wing skills as she put her new Blade MCX2 into a few gentle maneuvers. That little bird only weighs 1 oz. and its rotor diameter is 7.5 inches.

……….Good Goin’ Cindy!

L Lawrence Pendleton and Randy Calkins sent me this sad news:

J Tom Eagan sent us this unusual "Sled" SR-71 story

Brian Shul, Retired SR-71 Pilot, via Plane and Pilot Magazine:

It was with great surprise, when, at the end of one of my
presentations, someone asked:  What was the slowest you ever flew the
Blackbird?  After giving it some thought, I was reminded of a story I had never shared before, and relayed the following:

I was flying the SR-71 out of RAF Mildenhall, England, with my
back-seater, Walt Watson; we were returning from a mission over Europe
and the Iron Curtain, when we received a radio transmission from home
base.  As we scooted across Denmark in three minutes, we learned that a
small RAF base in the English countryside had requested an SR-71
fly-past.  The air cadet commander there was a former Blackbird pilot,
and thought it would be a motivating moment for the young lads to see
the mighty SR-71 perform a low approach.  No problem; we were happy to do
it.  After a quick aerial refueling over the North Sea, we proceeded to
find the small airfield.

Walter had a myriad of sophisticated navigation equipment in the back
seat, and began to vector me toward the field.  Descending to subsonic
speeds, we found ourselves over a densely wooded area in a slight haze.
Like most former WWII British airfields, the one we were looking for had
a small tower and little surrounding infrastructure.  Walter told me we
were close, and that I should be able to see the field, but I saw
nothing.  Nothing but trees as far as I could see in the haze.  We got a
little lower, and I pulled the throttles back from the 325 knots we were at.
With the gear up, anything under 275 was just uncomfortable.  Walt said
we were practically over the field, yet there was nothing in my
windscreen.  I banked the jet and started a gentle circling maneuver in
hopes of picking up anything that looked like a field.  Meanwhile,
below, the cadet commander had taken the cadets up on the catwalk of the
tower, in order to get a prime view of the fly-past.  It was a quiet,
still day, with no wind and partial gray overcast.  Walter continued to
give me indications that the field should be below us, but, in the
overcast and haze, I couldn't see it.  The longer we continued to peer
out the window and circle, the slower we got.  With our power back, the
awaiting cadets heard nothing.  I must have had good instructors in my
flying career, as something told me I better cross-check the gauges.  As
I noticed the airspeed indicator slide below 160 knots, my heart
stopped, and my adrenalin-filled left hand pushed two throttles full
forward.  At this point, we weren't really flying, but were falling in a
slight bank.  Just at the moment, both afterburners lit with a
thunderous roar of flame (and what a joyous feeling that was), and the
aircraft fell into full view of the shocked observers on the tower.
Shattering the still quiet of that morning, they now had 107 feet of
fire-breathing titanium in their face, as the plane leveled and

accelerated, in full burner, on the tower side of the infield, closer
than expected, maintaining what could only be described as some sort of
ultimate knife-edge pass.

Quickly reaching the field boundary, we proceeded back to Mildenhall
without incident.  We didn't say a word for those next 14 minutes.
After landing, our commander greeted us, and we were both certain he was
reaching for our wings.  Instead, he heartily shook our hands and said
the commander had told him it was the greatest SR-71 fly-past he had
ever seen, especially how we had surprised them with such a precise
maneuver that could only be described as breathtaking.  He said that
some of the cadets' hats were blown off, and the sight of the plan form
of the plane in full afterburner, dropping right in front of them, was
unbelievable.  Walt and I both understood the concept of breathtaking
very well, that morning, and sheepishly replied that they were just
excited to see our low approach.

As we retired to the equipment room to change from space suits to flight
suits, we just sat there:  We hadn't spoken a word since the pass.
Finally, Walter looked at me and said, "One hundred fifty-six knots.
What did you see?"  Trying to find my voice, I stammered, "One hundred
fifty-two."  We sat in silence for a moment.  Then Walt said, "Don't
ever do that to me again!"  And I never did.

A year later, Walter and I were having lunch in the Mildenhall Officers'
club, and overheard an officer talking to some cadets about an SR-71
fly-past that he had seen.  Of course, by now the story
included kids falling off the tower, and screaming as the heat of the jet
singed their eyebrows.  Noticing our Habu patches, as we stood there with
lunch trays in our hands, he asked us to verify to the cadets that such
a thing had occurred.  Walt just shook his head and said, "It was
probably just a routine low approach; they're pretty impressive in that
plane".  Impressive indeed.

J Jim Cook sent in this one:

See this link for something new in RC flyers.

http://www.wimp.com/sharkclownfish/

J Lawrence Pendleton has a new e-mail address:

lawandcat@gmail.com

J Jeff Beres has this field trip news:

Just received confirmation from the Museum of Flight for our guided tour.  We are to meet the docent in the main lobby at noon for the tour on April 16.  We need to be there 20 minutes or so early to pay at the front desk.  To get the reduced price of $13 each, one of us will need to pay for the group in one transaction.  We will meet at the club field at 9:00am Saturday the 16th to caravan and or carpool the Museum of Flight. The more the merrier so bring spouses, family, and friends!

J Larry Berger contributed this one:

I hope to obtain a brief bio and a picture of our new members to enhance their introduction to the membership. This is voluntary on the part of the newbie, but it should be beneficial for all.

J Thanks to Bob Kampmann for this newsy note:

I forgot to mention the Monroe hobby show, but Jean and I drove over there, and it was reasonably inexpensive??!

I wanted to mention (and yes, this is a shameless plug!) that Stephens Aero had a fantastic booth there!  It alone was worth the price of admission!  Whoever is doing their display models is a Master Builder!!  I only wish I had had the presence of mind to take some pictures...

I know that Seth has built some of their kits, and he can speak to this much more than I can, but what I saw there made me want to try my hand at putting together one of their kits.

They had a Pietenpol Sky Scout that was, in my estimation, museum quality!!  The wheels and tires alone were works of art! 

http://www.stevensaero.com

J From "The Prairie Flyer" newsletter of the Coeur D’Alene Aero-Modeling Society, Editor Stan Allison

Propeller Tip Speed Chart

Match your RPM on the left to your prop diameter on top; the intersection shows your propeller tip speed in miles per hour. After proper muffler installation (and perhaps soft mounting your engine), prop speed is the next largest factor in reducing aircraft noise. You will want to prop your engine for tip speeds in the

mid 300 mph range for quiet operation. A good "red line" would be anything over 400 mph. Note that the new, larger diameter props will present a larger challenge to keep to keep tip speed down; at 10,000 rpm your 17" prop has a tip speed over 500 mph! Bold numbers within the body of the chart represent a good target for tip speed - probably slower than you'll realistically achieve. As a side effect you will be operating more efficiently, since prop efficiency is lowest at high RPM.

Propeller Diameter in Inches

RPM 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

6000 196.3 214.2 232.0 249.8 267.7 285.5 303.4 321.2

6500 212.7 232.0 251.3 270.7 290.0 309.3 328.7 348.0

7000 229.0 249.8 270.7 291.5 312.3 333.1 353.9 374.8

7500 245.4 267.7 290.0 312.3 334.6 356.9 379.2 401.5

8000 261.7 285.5 309.3 333.1 356.9 380.7 404.5 428.3

8500 278.1 303.4 328.7 353.9 379.2 404.5 429.8 455.1

9000 294.5 321.2 348.0 374.8 401.5 428.3 455.1 481.8

9500 310.8 339.1 367.3 395.6 423.8 452.1 480.4 508.6

10000 327.2 356.9 386.7 416.4 446.1 475.9 505.6 535.4

10500 343.5 374.8 406.0 437.2 468.5 499.7 530.9 562.1

11000 359.9 392.6 425.3 458.0 490.8 523.5 556.2 588.9

11500 376.3 410.5 444.7 478.9 513.1 547.3 581.5 615.7

12000 392.6 428.3 464.0 499.7 535.4 571.1 606.8 642.5

12500 409.0 446.1 483.3 520.5 557.7 594.9 632.0 669.2

13000 425.3 464.0 502.7 541.3 580.0 618.7 657.3 696.0

13500 441.7 481.8 522.0 562.1 602.3 642.5 682.6 722.8

14000 458.0 499.7 541.3 583.0 624.6 666.2 707.9 749.5

14500 474.4 517.5 560.7 603.8 646.9 690.0 733.2 776.3

15000 490.8 535.4 580.0 624.6 669.2 713.8 758.5 803.1

15500 507.1 553.2 599.3 645.4 691.5 737.6 783.7 829.8

16000 523.5 571.1 618.7 666.2 713.8 761.4 809.0 856.6

J Thanks to Bob Skoien for sharing this with us—It warmed the cockles of ye olde editor’s heart!

In addition to communicating with the local Air Traffic Control facility, all
aircraft in the Persian Gulf AOR are required to give the Iranian Air Defense
Radar (military) a ten minute 'heads up' if they will be transiting Iranian
airspace.

The following conversation was heard on the VHF Guard (emergency) frequency 121.5 MHz.

Iranian Air Defense Radar: 'Unknown aircraft you are in Iranian airspace. Identify yourself.'

Aircraft: 'This is a United States aircraft. I am in Iraqi airspace.'

Air Defense Radar: 'You are in Iranian airspace. If you do not depart our airspace
we will launch interceptor aircraft!'

Aircraft: 'This is a United States Marine Corps FA-18 fighter. Send 'em up, I'll wait.'

Air Defense Radar: (total silence)

Special thanks to Jeff Beres and Vern Kennedy for taking on one of the most labor intensive months of the year.

If you want to list an item, just send me the details including your name, phone number, and asking price or trade-for item. Low pixel count digital (JPEG) pictures are also acceptable.

Pete Granger

granger@olypen.com