MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING

February 10^th, 2009

Meeting Agenda

Opening meeting: Meeting opened with our President at 7:05 pm.

Attending: Members attending are Pendleton, Anliker, Austin, Greene, Bruce, Stephens, Fitch, Calkins, Dover, Carter, Berson, Berger and Marken.

Guests: Ari McMillen, Kate Heinspry (sp). and Alden Johnson.

Treasurers Report: Bank of America, checking account brought in an income of $ 90.00, bringing the balance to $ 2,503.85. The Quimper account earned dividends of $ 29.97, which brings the CD balance to $ 5,079.10.

Safety Report: None

Old Business: The use of stick on name tags seemed to go well. President Marken says that his wife has some creative ideas about a pin on type name tag. Vice President Berson talked about our windsock in need of repair, he took the initiative to keep it "hanging around" a while longer, and remember…who left their transmitter at the flying field? Lou Creedon and transmitter are now reunited.

New Business: Seth Stephens is researching some difficulties at the Chimacum Middle School weather station. It is not giving us good info. Seth will have more information about this at the next meeting.

John Fitch and Bill Anliker shared about forging ahead during the early pioneer days of the flying club.

General: Randy Calkins brought his E-Flight Helicopter. The little chopper went through a rigorous inspection, all the way round the attendance table, and it can still fly! John Fitch said that his Grandfather made a helicopter using goose feathers for the rotary wing. Bill Anliker is doing a repair on his powered parawing. He didn’t have much response to the question, "what does your wife say about it"?

Crash of the Month: David Carter’s new powered glider turned into a ground bound arrow when both wings departed the fuselage. He was able to get the Easy Star back into the air before his time at the flying field was out. Those foamies can be forgiving.

Closing: The business portion of the meeting was brought to an end at 7:35 pm.

Program: Bill Berson introduced Alden Johnson. He is the one that some of the club members may have seen buzzing around the area in a single place, sexy sounding turbine powered chopper.

Alden gave us a very interesting presentation in a very creative straight forward approach. He said that his machine burns about 13 gallons per hour. Those turbines are thirsty. He picks up his jet fuel at Port Angeles.

Don’t miss the upcoming program. David Carter will be talking about his father who was a WWI Ace.

FROM THE PRESIDENT’S HOBBY SHOP

Well folks, with the onset of spring and more sunny days ahead, we get that itch to put something in the air. I would like to take a moment to talk about spring maintenance. I have fallen victim to the spring flying bug more times than I care to admit. I do admit I am a slow learner. That said; allow me to give some advice. First charge and/or cycle all batteries, replace as necessary. After you pull your flier from the depths of storage take two or three hours to inspect her from nose to tail. While you are wiping down the dust and old fuel film with your favorite cleaner, keep an eye out for hanger rash such as structural damage, loose or torn covering, loose windows or canopies. Check out the control surface hinges and wing connection points. Check out the struts, braces, flying wires and landing gear. Shake it up a bit and listen for loose pieces. Make repairs as necessary and before you fly. Check all fasteners and anchor points. I recommend you use tools for this instead of your fingers. Fingers do not torque fasteners, tools do. Remember that you cannot torque-check motor mounts on a cowled model without removing the cowl. Remove all that you can. Your inspection should go as deep as you can. It wouldn’t hurt to pull out the engine at this time either. This will make it easier to accomplish my next suggestion--the fuel tank. Every once in awhile it is a good idea to remove the fuel tank and clean it. If you can see green stuff in your tank, then it is time to service your fuel system. Engines do not run on green stuff. If you have green stuff in your tank then there is a good probability that it is in your lines, filters and carburetor. I have had several flameouts due to green stuff that lead to premature landings. There aren’t many things more frustrating than an engine that won’t stay running, especially on takeoff. Once you have your tank clean and reassembled with new fuel tubing, check for air leaks. Often times, old stoppers have a rough time resealing. Replacement tanks are inexpensive and may be cheap insurance. Remember that the orifices in a model engine carburetor are very small and it doesn’t take much green stuff to clog them up. After you disassemble your carburetor, clean each piece thoroughly and use compressed air to ensure unobstructed passageways. Don’t forget to clean out your muffler. I’ve seen mufflers so clogged up with crust and goop that the engine would not run at all. Baked on oil deposits can cause too much backpressure and the engine cannot breath. Oil buildup can plug the pressure port and will not support fuel flow from the tank. Sometimes it is the little things that need your attention. And don’t forget to check or replace the glow plug. After you reinstall the engine and before you put the cowl back on fire up the radio and check for throttle operation. Install the cowl and check again. Short of having the wing on at this stage, your model should be near flight ready configuration. Check for tight fasteners at the servos and control horns. Check for proper clevis to rod engagement, retainers and clips. Now install the wing. It is time to check for radio operation and control surface movement. Start with a seventy-five foot ground control check. Then check each control surface for freedom of movement with no binding. Confirm surfaces move in the correct direction. Perhaps you need to verify control surface deflection is within specs. The last thing to do before your first flight is to run up the engine and perform some taxi tests. Return to the bench and perform one last inspection of structure, fasteners and control surface integrity. Engine vibration may cause deficiencies to appear that may have been missed in prior inspections.

Now that you have established an airworthy flier, I suggest you go flying.

Respectfully,

Greg Marken

AROUND THE CLUB

J From Bob Kampmann: Neat, new concept of an airplane, see the U-Tube in the lower left corner.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6253734632034016208

NEW MEMBERS

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.

HINTS, KINKS, AND STUFF

J From Kelly Ohland, president of the EAST VALLEY AVIATORS in Mesa, AZ:

This is a short note to remind everyone that the second annual Electric Flight Expo is coming up March 13th through the 15th to be held at the University of Phoenix Stadium (Home of the NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals).  I would like to encourage everyone to visit www.efexpo.com and pre register as a pilot for this event. It was a ton of fun last year and by supporting it we can hopefully have one of the premier RC events in the world right in our own back yard.  Last year there was plenty of open flying and the process went smoothly.  This year's event will have plenty of open flying as well as some new contests including the best of the best from last year. One of the favorites will be brought back this year. The Thunder Power Flying Circus is where you attach a clown balloon to your airplane and everyone flies until there is only one Ace left and everyone else is crying about their popped balloon!

By pre-registering for the event for $30.00, you save $5.00, you receive a free T-shirt, and you get free entry into the event all three days (which will run $30.00).  You also will receive an entry into the pilot's raffle and a 10% off coupon redeemable (in store only) at Viper Hobbies.  Only pre-registered pilots will receive this raffle entry and the coupon when checking in at the registration desk.

J Many thanks to Bob Kampmann for this heads up.

DX6i owners are advised: our service center has a concern of potentially bad stick potentiometers, which can be identified with this easy process:

1) Turn on your transmitter and select the servo monitor display

2) Smoothly move the sticks in each axis, carefully watching the commanded position on the monitor

3) The monitor should show smooth movement tracking with the input. If the monitor "jumps" or hesitates, please send your system in for service using one of the links below.

Radios with a date codes of 809E, 810E, 811E, 812E should be carefully checked. If your radio does not have a date code, the test is still advisable. And please, as is common, check your controls before flight.

Life went on and I was eventually given a Bantam 19 IGNITION engine. My dad helped me mount it, coil, condenser, battery box, and tank on a board that was clamped to the house at just the right height for me to flip the prop. About the second day of flipping the prop the engine actually gave a weak POP. By the fourth day it was popping pretty regularly but had never put even two pops together!

Finally I caved in and enlisted the help of one of the "big" kids in the neighborhood that flew large (to me) free flights. Tommy Kiester came over, made a couple of small adjustments to the needle valve and spark advance, and started the engine after only a couple of flips. He adjusted for a rich mixture and left me for more important things. I was in heaven! In those days the break in wisdom (at least in our area) called for several hours of rich running so I was able to annoy the neighbors with the noisy (no mufflers in those days) engine snarling away for literally days.

Finally the deed was done and I cleaned everything (including the house) up. Then it was time for step 2—identify, acquire, and build a suitable airplane. I mowed lawns, did odd jobs, and on occasion worked at the local printers—anything to generate money to support my modeling habit. Even so, suitable kits cost more than I was able to save while continuing to build and fly non-engine powered airplanes like the Monogram Speedy-Built series. Then there was a revolution when Ray Arden invented the glow plug, thus eliminating the need for all that ignition stuff.

FIELD MAINTENANCE

WOULD SOMEONE PLEEEEEEZE SEND ME A COPY OF THE SIGNUP SHEET SO I CAN GIVE THESE VERY DESERVING PEOPLE A PAT ON THE BACK?

EDITORIAL—A major casualty

I am one of the few members that subscribed to R/C REPORT, a magazine that was known for honest product evaluations and reviews. The prose was usually light hearted and always supported our veterans (Gordon Banks, the owner/editor was one) and our country. The writers poked fun at one another, and especially the editor who always had the last word. In short, it was a friendly, laid back publication that served all R/Cers well. Sadly I recently received the last issue.

The magazine was never a big money maker, so they did not have the resources to continue in the face of rising costs and lost advertising revenue. People were writing in to Gordon for months before the end encouraging him to raise the subscription rates, but he chose not to do so.

FOR SALE OR TRADE

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.

MONTHLY MEETING—January 13 at 7:00 in the SKP Clubhouse

I guess our officers will meet at 6:30 so they can get a head start on the cookies.

From our esteemed president of vice…er…vice president:

Member Dave Carter is scheduled for the March 10 program. Dave has several stories to tell about his father, who flew as a World War One fighter Ace.  Dave has some of his own flight experiences to share as well. Should be very interesting.

Pete Granger

granger@olypen.com