MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING

The meeting was called to order by President Benjamin at 7:00PM at the SKP clubhouse. In attendance were: Benjamin, Anliker, Fitch, Greene, Oaks, Marken, Olson, Allred, Takata, Calkins, Henley, Nodell and Dantzler.

The minutes of the last meeting were approved as read. The Treasurer’s report showed total assets of $4465.89. This total is comprised of a $4000 CD, $238 in fuel value and $227.89 in available cash. Due to the purchase of a new mower our cash is at a level that will not cover our expenses for the rest of the year. Rather than being penalized for cashing the CD, the Treasurer is loaning the club $1000 until the end of the year when next year’s dues are paid. This loan will accrue interest at the same rate as the CD which is 3.39% per annum.

The Treasurer was authorized to purchase fuel from Northwest Distributors in an amount not to exceed $700.

Anliker will get oil for the new mower and Henley will look into getting filters. The oil needs to be changed after the first 5 hours and every 100 hours or annually after that. Filters are to be changed at the 100 hour or annual oil change.

President Benjamin has sold four of Wylie’s engines for $225. This will be turned over to Mrs. Wylie.

Dale Olson and Greg Marken received their Qualified Pilot certificates.

There was a discussion of the reported cell phone interference problem with PCM systems. It would appear that more information is necessary before any special precautions are taken.

Dates for the Fun-Fly were discussed and Aug. 20 or 27 seemed to be the most likely. In view of his outstanding handling of last years Fun-Fly, there was a ground swell of enthusiasm amongst the membership to have Pete Granger at the helm of this year’s effort.

The Crash-of-the-Month Trophy honors went to recent Qualified Pilot recipient, Greg Marken for damaging his LT-40. (If he were really a "qualified pilot" he would have known how to lie his way out of this one.) The meeting was adjourned.

Submitted by Bill Anliker, Sec./Treas

AROUND THE CLUB

>May 26 and 27 saw a lot of activity at the field in near perfect weather. At one point there were only 2 tables that were unoccupied and all close in parking was in use. Dick Benjamin got in his first flights on his Subaru ARF after I gave it a short trim flight. I found that it was very stable and easy to fly with no aberrations when the flaps were deployed.

>Pete Hanke certified Greg Marken as a Qualified Pilot. Then on Greg’s first flight Memorial Day his landing broke the motor mounts (See MOM for information about landing "hardness")! Fortunately he had a backup plane with him.

>

I qualified Dale Olson June 9 flying this TWISTER 3D—he is a very good pilot and does some low and slow stuff with this airplane that will make you sit up and pay attention.

>Environmental hazard discovered at the field!!!! After taking this picture I checked all of the tables and found another nest under construction in the identical location. I will get some spray to eliminate the problem, but all of us should check our selected table before putting it in the upright position.

HINTS, KINKS, AND STUFF

>One of the planes I bought at the Wylie auction is his old (and I do mean old) DOT 1 old timer. I bought the plane mainly because I wanted the Saito Golden Knight .30 engine that powered the plane. The firewall sort of fell off after I removed the engine and I started removing the silk and dope covering to check the structure. Sure enough there was some oil soaked wood in there. I used K2R on the affected areas to absorb the oil. This product comes in a spray can, applies easily, and dries fast. Give the remaining white powder overnight at least to do its job, and then brush it off. Two or even 3 applications may be necessary to get rid of all the oil. Look for this product in the laundry/household area of the grocery store, as it is a home dry cleaning agent.

>Not satisfied that you got all the oil out? Try putting a sheet of paper towel on the affected area and iron it. You will be able to see an oil stain on the paper towel if you still had some in the wood.

>The July RC Report magazine had a note from my alma mater, Oklahoma State U., telling about how they had shot one of their models down with a cell phone. They were using a Futaba 9Z with a frequency synthesizer. When a call came in to a nearby cell phone the transmitter went crazy, the PCM receiver locked up, and the plane crashed. Additional testing is being done, so the tale is not yet complete. In the meantime, it is best to keep cell phones as far from the pilot’s stations as possible, and DO NOT take your own cell phone with you to a pilot station when you are ready to aviate.

Same subject from Jim Tolpin:

It does happen according to a number of others on the ezone forums. I suspect it happened to me as well. Remember that cell phones transmit regularly to their towers to update messages etc. If you carry the phone in your coat pocket, it may be less than a foot from the transmitter. Doesn’t' matter they are not on same frequencies--swamping can still occur.

Jim Tolpin

AERONAUTICAL JOKE

If the wings are traveling faster than the fuselage, it's probably a helicopter -- and therefore, unsafe.

When one engine fails on a twin-engine airplane you always have enough power left to get you to the scene of the crash.

The Piper Cub is the safest airplane in the world; it can just barely kill you.

(Attributed to Max Stanley, Northrop test pilot)

A Huey Cobra practicing autorotations during a military night training
exercise had a problem and landed on the tail rotor, separating the tail
boom. Fortunately, it wound up on its skids, sliding down the runway doing
360s in a brilliant shower of sparks. As the Cobra passed the tower, the
following exchange was overheard:

Tower: "Sir, do you need any assistance?"

Cobra: "I don't know, tower. We ain't done crashin' yet!"

ROOKIE REPORT

>I bumped into Harry Takata at the field May 27 and we got in 3 good flights. During this time Harry discovered that he could see (and control) his plane much better when it was out of the glare of the South end. He flew his last flight with NO instructor inputs except takeoff and landing.

>We got together again June 23 and he executed a very nice takeoff. We got in 2 long flights before the wind got too bad. I had to take the controls only once during the 2 flights.

MEET THE MEMBERS—Ken Oakes

I lived in San Francisco Bay Area most of my life.  After 6 years in the Coast
Guard and Navy I returned to civilian life.  I worked 2 yrs. at Standard Oil
Refinery as a plant operator, then 27 years on the City of Richmond, CA fire
department, retiring after back injury and operation.
I remembered making rubber-powered planes as a kid.  My grandsons were young now so I thought I would make them a couple of Guillow Kit planes, then a
couple of Cox engine free flight planes.
When the grandsons moved to Washington we followed 2 yrs. later.
I met Wylie at the hobby shop, and was invited to a meeting, then waited
until the next year and joined the club.
I really enjoy the hobby and comradeship of the club.  Also I enjoy the
learning experience including keeping my hand out of the prop!!  I hope?

EDITORIAL

>The theme in this month’s newsletter is crashes. They happen to all of us sooner or later, but as we approach the most active part of the flying year after the winter doldrums, crashes may be more prevalent than at other times. Also, we may have forgotten the courtesy that should be extended to a pilot that has just crashed. Do not loudly exclaim what a dork the pilot is for crashing, even if it is true. Do not go tearing out to the impact site, camera in hand, to record an event that really is very painful to the pilot. Do realize that the pilot is very upset and is trying to accept this personal disaster in an adult fashion. Do offer to help locate or retrieve the wreckage, and if the offer is accepted follow the pilot’s directions. Remember that he is trying to account for all of his equipment and is not in any mood for humor. This is a serious business and should be dealt with solemnly. There will be plenty of time later to crack jokes about the event.

I usually keep a large plastic bag in my airplane car just in case. It really does pay to be prepared to take care of yourself or help out someone else.

>I was chatting with one of our members the other day and he told me about an incident at the field. It seems his plane suffered a structural failure and crashed (you guessed it) about 60 feet into the forbidden area. Without thinking he climbed the fence and retrieved most of the wreckage. Our favorite farmer did not make an appearance, for which we should all be very thankful. Just a reminder for all of us: The sheriff’s department has cautioned us to never cross onto that property without permission (which probably will not happen until he "accidentally" drives a tractor over the landing site). The best way to deal with the problem is to always call the sheriff’s department and they will send a deputy to retrieve the airplane. They have long experience with the farmer and know the law. It just makes sense for us to stay away from the man!

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 pictures are also acceptable.

MANEUVER OF THE MONTH (MOM)—The Competitive Crash

Initially you may feel that this MOM is a bit goofy, and it certainly is not the norm for this portion of the newsletter, but bear with me for a bit. Many, if not most R/C flying clubs, recognize the skills of their most talented crashers on a monthly basis. Trophies or other forms of recognition are awarded to these intrepid pilots who are frequently selected by popular vote of local enthusiasts. It is rare for any other flying accomplishment to be given this level of award, but for some strange reason little has been written on this important and very competitive aspect of the hobby. We shall forthwith attempt to fill this shameful void.

Advice given to RAF pilots during WWII:" When a prang (crash) seems inevitable, endeavor to strike the softest, cheapest object in the vicinity as slowly and gently as possible." Clearly, these British heroes were not into competitive crashing! Today’s airmen have different goals as demonstrated by the vast quantity of humorous material concerning full size airplane "accidents." One can learn much from these writings, but I have not seen a scientific analysis of what constitutes a crash that is truly competitive; in fact, it is my belief that most pilots just "wing it" when they crash. Some even claim that they did not crash, saying, "It was just a hard landing."

We will explore the three elements that together constitute the crash equation. One could differentiate landings according to "hardness," which is the common expression for impact velocity. Another aspect we will have to study is landing attitude. The aircraft landing gear is intended to absorb normal landing stresses, but if the attitude of the landing plane is not such that the landing gear arrives on terra so firma first, bad things may happen. Location is another attribute of crashing that must be addressed as it can lead to true wilderness experiences or worse. I’m sure you now understand that crashing is not the simple maneuver you once thought it was. Even so, there are those that just destroy their planes with no elegance whatsoever. They are the target audience for this compendium.

Let us begin with landing hardness. If hardness is addressed, the plane may actually escape undamaged! I once lost control of a rather hot plane and it went straight in. However, I had throttled the engine back to idle, which slowed the plane considerably. As luck would have it the impact site (location) was a clump of tall, thick weeds, which cushioned the "landing" and allowed the plane to be retrieved undamaged—not even a broken prop!!!! High impact velocity provides the greatest landing hardness, generates the largest debris field, and is absolutely essential if you want to make a lasting impression with your crash (es).

Better pilots than I have told me that they often stay in a flat spin all the way to the ground without damage. Now I have never witnessed such a feat, but the model does have the proper attitude so the landing gear impacts first and the rate of descent is low so hardness is not severe. A more or less vertical attitude is much more common for crashes. Landing "hardness" becomes critical in such a circumstance—the slower the impact velocity, the less damage will be realized. Location may be extremely important if folks insist on landing with a bad attitude.

The absolute worst location to have a crash is into people (it really annoys them) and this kind of crash is sure to bring on the most expensive ambulance chasers in the area, adding to the agony of aircraft damage/destruction. Crashes into real or personal property may be nearly as expensive and could offend a fellow flyer, especially if you use his brand new Astro-Giant SUV as an impact site. …and then there is pucker brush—foliage so thick progress is attained only by slithering snakelike through the mass, often many feet off of the ground. Once you get to your pride and joy how do you get it out? My experience has been that retrieval under these conditions gives a whole new meaning to hangar rash. There are worse locations even than pucker brush. I once lost control of a single channel plane flying on a Galloping Ghost system only to have it crash in a nearby hog wallow. Truly that was a poor choice of location.

Many flying fields feature airplane-eating trees, which provide a new dimension for crashing. One of our local clubs had only a single tree, but it was very aggressive and captured many airplanes in its day. This club developed a rather unique retrieval system based on a bow and arrow with string attached.

Other location hazards involve surface hardness. Let us suppose that you are endeavoring to do a near vertical crash, but you want to minimize the damage. "Hardness" as discussed above is an important factor, but if the location is soft gooey mud damage is reduced and a spectacular splash may result. A crash like this would garner high points in any judging while producing little damage. However, there are those crash aficionados who insist that equipment damage should be the only measure of excellence. Full point equipment damage is rarely achieved unless the impact location is very hard such as concrete or asphalt. A few have managed to rekit their entire outfit, even the fuel tank, but this kind of talent is very scarce. One of our former club members was an overachiever and managed to accomplish maximum points on our turf runway during a full throttle inverted pass. He was such a modest fellow that he refused to appear to accept his richly deserved reward.

This has pretty much covered the basic elements of a competitive crash. Next month I will attempt to describe some of the techniques that folks employ in their crashes—such stuff as DIVE FOR GLORY and THE AUGER, for example.

Remember, any clod can crash, but only skill, practice, and planning will attain real respectability. I hope this treatise has given you some ideas for improving your crashes, and don’t forget to take a large garbage bag to the field every flying session!

MONTHLY MEETING—Tuesday July 12 in the SKP Clubhouse

I don’t have any information on the program and since I missed the last meeting I am a bit out of touch—sorry.

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Pete Granger

granger@olypen.com